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2016 Has Been One of the Best Years for Video Games, Ever
- Thread starter Greatest Ever
- Start date
It's been so-so for me. Little for my tastes that I wanted to rush out and buy, and some that did appeal had deal breakers (eg SFV not having arcade mode). I doubt I'll even bother voting in the GOTY this time. If things turn out as planned I think 2017 will already be better then 2016 by the half way point.
Magic Mushroom
Member
Sales are not the greatest indicator of quality. I mean, if that was the case FIFA would be the game of the year.
It's hard to argue against titles like The Last Guardian, Doom, Titanfall 2, Forza Horizon 3, Hitman, Thumper, Inside, Overwatch, The Witness and many others.
2017 looks great as well.
Well TLG you can argue against as it is very poor on player feedback and mechanically the controls are broken at times and the game at that point turns into more of a patience simulator then anything else.
Are you nuts? Why haven't you bought it already? You don't like throwing fire extinguishers in peoples faces or what?
Magic Mushroom
Member
In terms of quantity I'd say this year was better, but Bloodborne is still the highest high this gen, I agree.
sounds like owning a cat
Theslammer
Member
Most? Eh, not too sure about that. The Witness did very well sales-wise, for example. Uncharted 4 and Ratchet & Clank set a franchise high upon release. DOOM and Overwatch did very well from what I recall. Last Guardian's pre-orders surpassed expectations. Dark Souls III broke franchise records.
I know Titanfall 2 and Watch Dogs 2 underperformed (and I can totally understand the latter since the former was considered disappointing), but Titanfall 2 was not scheduled properly and that hurt it.
Still, we're talking about quality, and there was high quality in high abundance.
Aizen.S.Kennedy
Banned
Yup great year. This gen has finally hit it's stride. Smooth sailing from here on out. Now if I can just find a way to buy battlefield 1 + Watchdogs 2 each for 30 bucks or under all my desired 2016 gaming purchases will be complete.
Imp the Dimp
Member
What is the point of the comma in the title? I think 2016 has been very good as well.
Theslammer
Member
There was one time in my playthrough that I had difficulty with Trico. The rest of the time felt very organic. Controls are improved compared to SOTC, and I'm not sure what you mean about player feedback.
Fantastic game overall.
Magic Mushroom
Member
I had little problems with it to be fair. Treated Trico well and didn't have many annoyances. There were a few but they were insignificant when compared to everything it did oh so right.
Magical game. Easy Allies is on point awarding it GotY.
Muchi Muchi Pink
Member
No.
Let's go through your list a bit and find what I played:
Overwatch - Tried the beta, not for me, thought it was really poor
The Last Guardian - Haven't played it due to disappointing framerate, will buy a Pro to play this
Uncharted 4 - A good game, but I was a little underwhelmed with where they took the story and the lack of major improvements to the gameplay. But a good, solid game. I liked it.
Final Fantasy XV - Hot mess, we've been through this at length. Unfinished, buggy, disastrous story, MMO-tier fetch quests everywhere etc.
Pokemon Sun and Moon - Linear and ridiculously handholdy, worse than XY. PSS removed, gyms removed, no 3D, too few new pokemon. Quite disappointed.
Dark Souls 3 - Another masterpiece. Possible GOTY. Unless...
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine - ...this takes my GOTY instead.
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - Single biggest disappointment of the year bar none. There were no redeeming features from this failure of game design, imo. A pure waste of my time and money. Still upset.
FIFA 17 - Super slow. The worst Fifa has been in quite some years, imo.
World of Final Fantasy - Hated it, to be honest.
You'll notice that the biggest disappointment of all is what's NOT listed by either you or me - Nintendo games. As a huge Nintendo fan, any year where they perform as poorly as they did this year is going to be a disappointment.
Overall, just a real bad year.
Overwatch - Tried the beta, not for me, thought it was really poor
The Last Guardian - Haven't played it due to disappointing framerate, will buy a Pro to play this
Uncharted 4 - A good game, but I was a little underwhelmed with where they took the story and the lack of major improvements to the gameplay. But a good, solid game. I liked it.
Final Fantasy XV - Hot mess, we've been through this at length. Unfinished, buggy, disastrous story, MMO-tier fetch quests everywhere etc.
Pokemon Sun and Moon - Linear and ridiculously handholdy, worse than XY. PSS removed, gyms removed, no 3D, too few new pokemon. Quite disappointed.
Dark Souls 3 - Another masterpiece. Possible GOTY. Unless...
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine - ...this takes my GOTY instead.
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - Single biggest disappointment of the year bar none. There were no redeeming features from this failure of game design, imo. A pure waste of my time and money. Still upset.
FIFA 17 - Super slow. The worst Fifa has been in quite some years, imo.
World of Final Fantasy - Hated it, to be honest.
You'll notice that the biggest disappointment of all is what's NOT listed by either you or me - Nintendo games. As a huge Nintendo fan, any year where they perform as poorly as they did this year is going to be a disappointment.
Overall, just a real bad year.
FriedConsole
Banned
There was some good games that came out this year but sales and interest in non-phone gaming is apparent. The industry is going into a decline. We might look back at 2016 as spectacular in comparison to a dreary 2017. Publishers are going to release less games than they did this year.
Theslammer
Member
Yeah, 2014 was slower (though I still had fun), but 2015/2016 really hit it out of the park. I'm loving this gen.
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Nintendo will save video games in 2017, bet
Earthpainting
Member
Owlboy was the game I wanted to play the most this year, and it was great. By that virtue alone, 2016 was worth it. I also didn't think I'd enjoy Overwatch, and I do. I've put quite a lot of hours in Stardew Valley as well, which was my sleeper hit of the year.
Aside from that, 2016 was nothing too special to me. There's a bunch of games I thought were fine, and games I didn't have high hopes for, but also turned out OK. I still have a few of them in my backlog, but I guess on the whole there weren't too many games I was excited about to begin with.
Aside from that, 2016 was nothing too special to me. There's a bunch of games I thought were fine, and games I didn't have high hopes for, but also turned out OK. I still have a few of them in my backlog, but I guess on the whole there weren't too many games I was excited about to begin with.
Theslammer
Member
Doubt it. A plethora is set for release in 2017 already, which is not including stuff that's unannounced, of course.
Not that I completely disagree with you, but you spelled Dragon Quest Builders and Downwell wrong.
CosmicQueso
Member
Okay, you know what? You're right. 2016 would have been better with another C&C with live action bits. A lot better.
Jawbreaker
Member
And Dragon Quest Builders!
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
it was a good year.
a lot of games and i got a PS4 Slim then a Pro
a lot of games and i got a PS4 Slim then a Pro
Theslammer
Member
Since a lot of us like to share what we've played, I may as well share what released this year (couple of these were games that came out on the PS4 this year but originally released last year in case some think I listed 2015 games by accident):
Alienation
Amplitude
Broforce (PS4)
Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Doom
Firewatch
Gone Home (PS4)
Gravity Rush Remastered
Ratchet & Clank
Street Fighter V
The Last Guardian
The Witness
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
I have Titanfall 2, Final Fantasy XV and Rise of the Tomb Raider coming for Christmas. And I still have an interest in eventually playing Dark Souls III, Salt & Sanctuary, Dragon Quest Builders, Watch Dogs 2, possibly Overwatch, Bound, and several others, tbh.
I mean, I straight-up loved many of the games I played. A few I simply liked (Broforce, Gone Home), but overall, I was impressed with the quality of many of these games and the variety as well.
Alienation
Amplitude
Broforce (PS4)
Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Doom
Firewatch
Gone Home (PS4)
Gravity Rush Remastered
Ratchet & Clank
Street Fighter V
The Last Guardian
The Witness
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
I have Titanfall 2, Final Fantasy XV and Rise of the Tomb Raider coming for Christmas. And I still have an interest in eventually playing Dark Souls III, Salt & Sanctuary, Dragon Quest Builders, Watch Dogs 2, possibly Overwatch, Bound, and several others, tbh.
I mean, I straight-up loved many of the games I played. A few I simply liked (Broforce, Gone Home), but overall, I was impressed with the quality of many of these games and the variety as well.
Roufianos
Member
I actually came in here to strongly disagree but your list has changed my mind. There's just too many fall games that I've missed out on over the exam period. Hope to start playing them next week.
Loved:
Pokemon Sun & Moon
Blood & Wine
Gears 4
Ratchet & Clank
Good:
Dark Souls 3
Doom
Battlefield 1
Pokken
Ok:
Overwatch
Quantum Break
Want to play:
The Last Guardian
Titanfall 2
Final Fantasy XV
Infinite Warfare
Watch Dogs 2
Hitman
Dead Rising 4
Telltale's Batman
Massive Dissapointments:
Uncharted 4
Mafia 3
Loved:
Pokemon Sun & Moon
Blood & Wine
Gears 4
Ratchet & Clank
Good:
Dark Souls 3
Doom
Battlefield 1
Pokken
Ok:
Overwatch
Quantum Break
Want to play:
The Last Guardian
Titanfall 2
Final Fantasy XV
Infinite Warfare
Watch Dogs 2
Hitman
Dead Rising 4
Telltale's Batman
Massive Dissapointments:
Uncharted 4
Mafia 3
PeskyToaster
Member
Yeah it's been pretty good and the future is looking bright. Can't believe TLG and FFXV actually turned out somehat good.
Ragnar Blackmane
Member
This year has nothing on 2017. I mean the next year kicks off with Ni-Oh, Persona 5 and possibly Nier Automata and Mass Effect Andromeda among others. And that's just the first four or five months and games that come to mind immediately.
But new games I bought this year despite my rather limited budget:
XCOM 2: Great game, huge improvements over the last game. Only thing that is disappointing is the focus on "alphastrike or die" rather than being able to set up and substain prolongued firefights after having played Long War extensively
Banner Saga 2: Very hyped, bought it for cheap, realized that saves from part 1 weren't cloud saved and I lost all my progress. When I can motivate myself to beat part I again I'll come back.
Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Great game and wonderful for bridging the time till Persona 5 finally releases. Will definitely beat this.
Dark Souls 3: Great game and very nice gameplay improvements over 1 and 2, love it.
Battlefield 1: Great game, playing right now, best Battlefield since Bad Company 2
40k Battlefield Gothic Armada: Amazing 40k game and pretty much the best 40k atmosphere in any game so far. Also great gameplay. Was really pleasantly surprised.
Stellaris: Mostly what I expected, a pretty good game. Find Crusader Kings 2 still more engaging though as far as Paradox games are concerned.
Pokemon Sun: Pretty much the best Pokemon game in a decade IMO. Finally some challenge, full 3D environments and exploration rather than grids, good story and characters and more focus on that (I actually do like the cutscenes), the extremely stale gym battles being abandoned in favor of more varied totem battles is very welcome and finally mostly good looking new Pokemon after 3 very disappointing gens in that regard. Very refreshing setting. Also trainer models. Though more bothersome Multiplayer (I hate the plaza) and the removal of the ORAS Pokemon finder is disappointing. Still the Pokemon game I have been waiting for for a long time.
But new games I bought this year despite my rather limited budget:
XCOM 2: Great game, huge improvements over the last game. Only thing that is disappointing is the focus on "alphastrike or die" rather than being able to set up and substain prolongued firefights after having played Long War extensively
Banner Saga 2: Very hyped, bought it for cheap, realized that saves from part 1 weren't cloud saved and I lost all my progress. When I can motivate myself to beat part I again I'll come back.
Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Great game and wonderful for bridging the time till Persona 5 finally releases. Will definitely beat this.
Dark Souls 3: Great game and very nice gameplay improvements over 1 and 2, love it.
Battlefield 1: Great game, playing right now, best Battlefield since Bad Company 2
40k Battlefield Gothic Armada: Amazing 40k game and pretty much the best 40k atmosphere in any game so far. Also great gameplay. Was really pleasantly surprised.
Stellaris: Mostly what I expected, a pretty good game. Find Crusader Kings 2 still more engaging though as far as Paradox games are concerned.
Pokemon Sun: Pretty much the best Pokemon game in a decade IMO. Finally some challenge, full 3D environments and exploration rather than grids, good story and characters and more focus on that (I actually do like the cutscenes), the extremely stale gym battles being abandoned in favor of more varied totem battles is very welcome and finally mostly good looking new Pokemon after 3 very disappointing gens in that regard. Very refreshing setting. Also trainer models. Though more bothersome Multiplayer (I hate the plaza) and the removal of the ORAS Pokemon finder is disappointing. Still the Pokemon game I have been waiting for for a long time.
Didn't realize I had so many titles from your list... then again it included most decently-rated or better major titles (AAA or indie) released in 2016.
Ones I Bought:
Witness, The
Forza Horizon 3
Final Fantasy XV
Pokemon Sun and Moon
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
Gears of War 4
Stardew Valley
Ratchet and Clank
Darkest Dungeon
SMT IV: Apocalypse
Dragon Quest VII (3DS)
Still Need to Buy:
Last Guardian, The
Uncharted 4
Hyper Light Drifter
Dishonored 2
Titanfall 2
Inside
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Dark Souls 3
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
Doom
Battlefield 1
Watch Dogs 2
XCOM 2
Firewatch
Civilization VI
Steins;Gate 0
Rez Infinite
Tyranny
Owlboy
Steamworld Heist (came out on 3DS on December 10, 2015)
Ones I Bought:
Witness, The
Forza Horizon 3
Final Fantasy XV
Pokemon Sun and Moon
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma
Gears of War 4
Stardew Valley
Ratchet and Clank
Darkest Dungeon
SMT IV: Apocalypse
Dragon Quest VII (3DS)
Still Need to Buy:
Last Guardian, The
Uncharted 4
Hyper Light Drifter
Dishonored 2
Titanfall 2
Inside
Deus Ex Mankind Divided
Dark Souls 3
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
Doom
Battlefield 1
Watch Dogs 2
XCOM 2
Firewatch
Civilization VI
Steins;Gate 0
Rez Infinite
Tyranny
Owlboy
Steamworld Heist (came out on 3DS on December 10, 2015)
flintstryker
Banned
I feel like I see this thread every year
The last few years most of my standouts have been indie games, but mid-size to AAA games have been kicking ass this year. Even December decided to throw out Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun right before the year is over, and it's easily in my top 10 of the year.
Only area I can criticize is there weren't that many indie standouts for me this year. Some good stuff for sure, a few great titles, but not as much as the last few years.
Still, it's nice to see a game called DOOM be in the GOTY discussion for so many people.
Also, a solid year for stealth games:
Only area I can criticize is there weren't that many indie standouts for me this year. Some good stuff for sure, a few great titles, but not as much as the last few years.
Still, it's nice to see a game called DOOM be in the GOTY discussion for so many people.
Also, a solid year for stealth games:
- Dishonored 2
- Hitman
- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
pretty average gaming year for me, it seems this was a great great year for fans of shooters, i'm not much of a shooter fan though. as I tend to play mostly nintendo games/adventure games so I mostly avoided a lot of stuff this year. I would have got dark souls 3, but I feel like i'm burnt out on that series.
NOW 2017 looks amazing compared to this year with zelda, horizon, red dead, scalebound, persona. yep so much better games already.
I think the Infinite Warfare campaign is the best CoD campaign since MW and Mankind Divided is a really good game despite its issues. You might disagree with that opinion but there's no reason to not at least mention them in the context of this conversation. Haven't played FFXV myself yet but I can guarantee you it'll pop up on a bunch of GotY lists. Hell I know people who loved ReCore for the kind of throwback game it was. It feels like there was a lot of diversity this year. That's a good thing.
Auto-Reply
Member
It beats out every year that came after the end of 2015!
Already Torn
Banned
For the 3DS it's one of the best years in its history, for consoles as a whole it was alright (not as good as 2015 for example), and it was the worst year for a Nintendo home console perhaps ever.
All together it was pretty alright, which is really good compared to the rest of 2016. Not as good as 2015, and it looks like 2017 will be better.
All together it was pretty alright, which is really good compared to the rest of 2016. Not as good as 2015, and it looks like 2017 will be better.
Theslammer
Member
Oh heck yes on early next year. I'm really looking forward to Gravity Rush 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn. I'm watching Nioh and I'm thinking we may get Full Throttle Remastered in Q1 as we did Grim Fandango/Day of the Tentacle.
Intheflorsh
Banned
Definitely a very good year. With the exception of Mafia 3, pretty much every game I was looking forward to I ended up enjoying.
AHA-Lambda
Member
tiebreaker
Member
TLG and FF XV actually delivered made this year better than 2015 for me.
Benzychenz
Member
I love how big the list in the OP is and it still missed a ton.
Dragon Quest Builders
Tokyo Mirage Sessions
Fire Emblem Fates
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Bravely Second
Rhythm Paradise Megamix
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Dragon Quest Builders
Tokyo Mirage Sessions
Fire Emblem Fates
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Bravely Second
Rhythm Paradise Megamix
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Greatest Ever
Member
OP is an idiot, Quantum Break sucks and Gears of War 4 has a boring campaign. Mirror's Edge and Zero Time Dilemma were both disappointments too.
What's next, Dynasty Warriors?
Go fuck yourself OP.
With a cactus.
What's next, Dynasty Warriors?
Go fuck yourself OP.
With a cactus.
Primethius
Banned
Yep, 2016 has been fantastic! Lots of great stand out titles and game of the generation contenders for me. And just a lot of hits for me both in the AAA space, smaller budget titles and indie arena.
Just a whole lot of genre variety as well.
Just a whole lot of genre variety as well.
Riposte
Member
It's more like he put some bad or slightly worse games in place of better ones. Like Furi vs. Hyper Light Drifter. SMT IV Apoc was cool, but TMS#FE was better. Pokemon Go is basically planking.
In line with the JRPG tilt of your post, I'd also mention Stranger of Sword City is one of the best games of the year.