Game of the Year 2016

So yeah, 2016 has been a strange year, but for all the crap that has gone down in the last twelve months one thing is clear, there was a lot of good games this year.

My list is a bit more Indie/3DS focused this year as my PC is getting a bit long in the tooth at this point and therefore I’ve skipped a lot of graphics intensive AAA games this year.

A few I played that fell short of the list this year but deserve a mention anyway are (in alphabetical order): The Banner Saga 2, Civilization VI, Darkest Dungeon, Downwell, Event(0), Oxenfree, Salt and Sanctuary, The Witness.

Anything else I’ve not played or is too old to qualify for this year’s list. (Day of the Tentacle remastered would have won this if I didn’t feel it was against the spirit of the list to include it)

List items

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  1. Firewatch

  There could be no other number one for me this year, sure the plot is a bit iffy at times, but it hits the emotional beats with pin point precision. The fact that it’s oozing with style and has superb voice acting further cements it’s place at the top of my list.

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  2. Stardew Valley

  Wow, when Dan Ryckert first put this game on my radar I thought to myself “that could be fun for a couple of hours” some 100 hours later I’m still going back to my farm to check in on my family. The only complaint I have is that Robin is undateable.

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  3. Hitman

  I’ve always liked the concept of the Hitman games but they’ve never really clicked with me, usually it’s the controls not allowing me to do the thing I want to do. This is not a problem in this game, everything just works, and it’s super fun just going through a map and seeing what kind of scenarios you can set up. The episodic releases helped in making you concentrate on one map and then cooling off for a while only to return eagerly when the new episode drops. Also, being from Sweden I do a double take every time the ICA is mentioned as ICA is a major grocery store chain here.

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  4. Thumper

  I love a good rhythm game and this one delivers. The strange sci-fi horror visuals matched with the fantastic but oppressive soundtrack and the sectional levels make this a must. I probably will not dip into the hard mode they added, but it’s nice to see it there for those that feel the main game isn’t hard enough.

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  5. Superhot

  I almost forgot this came out this year, I was sure it was a 2015 game but no and that means it needs to be on here. This is just what happens when fun and style have a baby together.

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  6. Picross 3D: Round 2

  Yeah I’m addicted to Picross, and this remains damn good picross.

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  7. Rhythm Heaven Megamix

  For some reason this is called Rhythm Paradise Megamix in my region, no matter what it’s called though the fast paced rhythm minigames hit the spot perfectly, and the music is really good.

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  8. Pokémon Sun/Moon

  Much like Picross 3D Round 2 is just a really good Picross this is just really good Pokémon, still that goes a long way, they continue the streamlining of the series that they started with X/Y removing much of the busywork while remaining true to the core of the concept. I have to catch them all. (also I picked Litten, not that Poplio or Rowlet aren't good enough, they're just not cats)

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  10. Quadrilateral Cowboy

  I like Blendo games a lot so I was excited to play this one, and while I like the hacking game it paradoxically feels like the game play gets a bit in the way of the usual Blendo storytelling and style that I love so much. It’s still a very good game, but perhaps I torpedoed it a bit with my on expectations.