My Games of the Year in 2016

I have finally gotten around to making my list for 2016...here we go!

10. Every game that I did not play this year

I had trouble singling out a game that I felt strongly about to occupy the ten spot. So I decided to include all the games that I did not play or finish this year, since a lot of them would have made the Top Ten. These include: Stardew Valley, Inside, CoD: IW, Thumper, SuperHot, The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy XV, and many others that I can not remember. 2016 was a pretty sour year, but it was a A+ year for games. Now that this is out of the way, here are the 9 games that made a big impact on me in 2016

9. Pokemon GO

I thought a lot about what made a big impact on me this year, and I kept thinking of the vacation that I took to Chattanooga to visit some friends that were doing a internship up there. This was the same time that Pokemon GO came out on iOS. We spent entire days walking around and visiting different locations around downtown Chattanooga trying to capture Pokemon. At some point my friends and I met up with a group of 20 and all went and captured a Dragonnite at the aquarium. It was such a inclusive experience.

This game would be higher if the game part was better. The gym battle stuff never really did anything for me, and not being able to trade was a big bummer. I even hit a bug when I downloaded a update and then it deleted my save, which in turn I deleted the app. However short my time with Pokemon GO was, I don’t know if I will ever have a experience like I had on that vacation ever again, and that was enough for me that this game made this list.

8. Enter The Gungeon

I have not been the biggest fan of “rouge-like” games. The first one that I really enjoyed was Binding of Issac. I really dug the aesthetic, and the shooting felt nice, but could have been better.

Well to me Enter the Gungeon fits that mold: a rouge-like game with great shooting, and a neat look and feel. Everything about this game just feels well thought out. From enemy shotgun shells firing shotguns at you, to the lore entries in the game that help craft a universe for this game that make it feel lived in. This game is (at least for me) extremely hard, and there were multiple times were I cursed its name, but when I finally accomplished the goal of making it to a floor that I had not made it to is when this game really shined, it felt like overcoming a gigantic obstacle. While it is not perfect, I did feel like I was getting better, the more I played, and that feeling kept me coming back.

7. Uncharted 4

So before Uncharted 4, I had never played a Uncharted game…yeah this one was my first. I guess I just had luck to play the one that a lot of people feel is the best one in the series. From the facial animations to the writing of the dialogue and the storylines with these characters, Naughty Dog just continues to up itself. The quiet moments in this game are as close to masterpiece that one (I believe) can get, and that is something that a lot of games still struggle to get right.

Now the actually gameplay does at least for me leave something to be desired when there are games like MGS: V that are so tight with third person shooting. With that being said the gameplay is nothing bad enough for it to ruin my time with the game, it was serviceable enough to get me to the next story bit. Between this and The Last of Us, whatever Naughty Dog comes out with, I will pay attention to.

6. Ratchet and Clank (2016)

I had not played a Ratchet and Clank game since the last one on the PS2, and since I never had a PS3, I missed out on the games for that system. This is a game that caught me by complete surprise. I assumed that this was just getting made to help promote the movie. But with Insomniac getting on board is what finally caught my attention. This game was GORGEOUS, and it ran so well on PS4. The platforming was fun, the shooting felt great, and for me it was a fun look back at a genre that I had not played in a very long time. Hopefully this game did well enough for Sony put this franchise back to the forefront.

5. Pokemon Sun

This was my first traditional Pokemon game since Soul Silver for the DS. I have always like the games but could never convince my self to go buy a hand held system just for them, so when my DS broke, I just kinda forgot about them.

Fast Forward to Black Friday 2016 and here I was standing in line at a Walmart at 10PM buying one of those $99 New 3DS with a copy of Pokemon Sun.

They made some very smart changes to the Pokemon formula. First, getting rid of gyms and replacing them with Island challenges, where you had to face a totem pokemon (which is a more powered up version of a regular pokemon, imagine Goku going super sayian) Second allowing pokemon to call allies to battle made you rethink some of your strategy since it became 2v1. The story has also been expanded in a way that I found very interesting, focusing on a family drama and different dimensions. All in all it has been a great year to be a fan of Pokemon games.

4. Titanfall 2

Coming into this year I felt pretty burned out on first person shooters, with the only one that I had played in recent memory being Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which I found very fast and responsive but something was missing.

With Titanfall 2, I feel like that vision I had for CoD: AW was perfected. The campaign was super strong with cool moments and mechanics that don’t overstay their welcome. The controls are responsive and very simple to learn. While the story is simple and besides BT, there are really no characters of note, I still think that it pulls its own weight

The multiplayer for Titanfall 2 is where it gets its bread buttered. It is fast, almost too fast, but god is it not addicting. I am not the best multiplayer person in the world, but even when I do awful I am still having fun with Titanfall. This is one of those games where do something like wall run, bounce from wall to wall, then shoot a guy and just feel badass…and this game allows that.

3. Firewatch

Firewatch was my GOTY for most of 2016, it only changed when I played the next two games that we will get to

This game is gorgeous in a different way then Ratchet was. Between the sunsets, with the sunlight coming in through the trees, seeing off the cliffs and viewing the forest. It is a very subtle beauty.

The dynamic between the characters of Delilah and Henry is something that was special, though maybe more on Henry’s end. Henry just seemed to be the stronger of the two characters, because of the strong background he gets involving his wife at the beginning game.

The story really hit me. After getting jumped that one time near the lake, it turned this game into a more tense experience, and while the story does not stick a perfect landing, it definitley changed how I played the game, I started looking around slower, and it always felt that there was someone behind you at every turn. A great first game from Campo Santo.

2. Oxenfree

I played this on the recommendation of Alex after he talked about it on the quick look.

This game starts you meeting your new stepbrother and inviting him to come to this island hangout that your “friends” do every year.

The story becomes almost immediately more than that we you discover the supernatural nature of the island. A radio plays an important role in this game just as it does with Firewatch, as you can only interact with he ghosts with the radio. Though the game does feel rushed with some spots, it has an ending that makes you think about the story and offers some replay value.

1. DOOM

I never expected this game to be anywhere near the this list. While the multiplayer leaves lot to be desired, not that it is bad, just feels uninspired, but the real part of the DOOM is the world class campaign.

I have no nostalgia for the original DOOM, but this game builds on everything that game did in the 90’s and remakes it for a 2016 audience. Everything form the glory kills, to the enemy placement, to where the collectables are placed feels so inspired, you can just feel the love that they put into this game. It is something that is simple, does not take itself too seriously. The combat also fits in that description.