Game of the Year 2016

So I decided that this year I wanted to get in early on my Game of the Year list as I am not really going to be adding any more games to my collection between now and the end of year.

This was a pretty great year for games! Usually my GOTY lists have a bit of filler in them - games that I don't really love but make the 'top 10 games'. This year I personally have about 4 or 5 games that I'd like to have included but didn't make the top 10. I don't play games as much as I used to but still play a fair bit.

There are a few games that I haven't gotten around to playing that may have ended up on a potential list based on what I know of them/what I have enjoyed previously in the franchise.

Unplayed games include: Gears of War 4, The Witness, Final Fantasy XV, Dead Rising 4,Dark Souls 3, Tyranny, Watch_Dogs(z??) 2

List items

• 

  Bloodborne

  2016's "2015" Game of The Year

  If it wasn't for the fact that The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine was expansion content for the already great The Witcher 3 (my GOTY last year, and probably one of my favourite games of all time), I'd have counted that. However, Bloodborne took up a significant and stressful amount of my time early on this year. Let me tell you, playing Bloodborne with a 1 year old child and not having a pause button is a real pain. I recall vividly against one Boss (late game, there's a lot of stairs. I want to say it was Micolash) that I had to hide in one area of the stairs as I had his health a bit down, but my son had woken up and I was helping him. Extra challenge mode unlocked!!

  Runner Up: Fallout 4 (got back into it, started again. 30 hours in. Remains unfinished. Better this time around)

• 

  Forza Horizon 3

  #10

  Just a solid entry - there's not really too much wrong with the Forza Horizon games. Contrary to the GB belief, I quite enjoyed Forza Horizon 2, but with 3 being set in my native (albeit bastardised) Australia, and having a good selection of Aussie cars to hoon around in, the game is just a lot of fun. I haven't put as much time into it as I want because some other games pushed it out of the way, but I want to get back to it at some point.

• 

  Doom

  #9

  What I think will be GB's Game of The Year is far further down the list for me (but it's still on the list, some great games didn't make it). I went in to Doom with a little more hype than the GB crew did because I was going in based off of their hype. I'm pretty bad at this type of shooter (and actually, haven't really played an FPS properly for a few years - what a year this was!) but I think this game runs great and also that soundtrack. What a soundtrack. Well worth the playthrough.

• 

  Sid Meier's Civilization VI

  #8

  Even though this is so far down my GOTY list at the moment I suspect it will outlast the vast majority of these games. I haven't had the chance to dive deep into Civ VI, but I know that I eventually will (I've only finished the one 'campaign' so far). The Civ series is probably one of, if not, my all time favourite and all of the changes in Civ VI I quite like at this stage. Religion is a bit over powered but Firaxis are really good at fixing and balancing this stuff over time. Great that Civ VI did not have the same disappointing launch that Civ V had. Civ V ended up great from a poorish start. Civ VI is already pretty great so I hope this can extend further.

• 

  Mafia III

  #7

  I haven't quite finished Mafia 3 yet but I'm at the real business end of the game. This game is fantastic. The story telling and cinematic style of this game is amongst the best I've seen in modern gaming. The use of soundtrack in this game is simply stellar. As one Vinny Caravella said "wow, every track was a banger back then hey". I've been a fan of the Mafia franchise from the start. This game does pad things out too much but it's manageable if you just do the bare minimum. Early on I was going too hard after the collectibles and side missions which dragged it out. Also, don't play this game like a Stealth Game!! While that is fun in sections, I was doing too much stealth early on and the AI is too stupid. Whistle. Murder. Whistle. Murder.

  The action/shooting sequences are pretty cool though. The AI is decently aggressive, even though some walk to their doom, guys with Shotguns can really ruin your day. Great game

• 

  XCOM 2

  #6

  You were meant to be the chosen one XCOM 2! You were meant to be #1!

  I had XCOM 2 pencilled in for my GOTY this year at the end of last year. Looking ahead to this year, I couldn't see anything else coming up that beat XCOM 2. Then Firaxis almost (and probably will in the long run) trumped themselves by putting out Civ VI. Xcom 2 is a fine game. It is more Xcom, which is a good thing. It didn't have the same impact on me that Xcom:Enemy Unknown did, so it suffers a little from sequelitis. I liked most of the changes made though. I didn't have any performance issues at launch (I was one of the lucky ones) and the game itself is great. This will be a stayer - when I get back to deciding to do a Classic Ironman run I think this will really shine.

• 

  Overwatch

  #5

  So, as I mentioned earlier I've been 'over' FPS games for a while now. I've never really been that big into online multiplayer FPS games (With the exception of LAN Day of Defeat). I have played maybe 15 minutes of DOTA 2 and that's the most MOBA'y I've ever gotten.

  Then the Overwatch Beta came out and wow, did this game knock me for six. The gameplay is so solid and easy to get into but nuanced enough for people to excel at it. I like the fact that it isn't as punishing with aiming as other PC shooters. I also really like the fact that there are characters 'for everyone'. What I mean is how well this game allows you to play how you want to play. You a bit slow and plodding? Here's Reindhardt. Oh, you love twitchy shooters? Here's Tracer. Hey, you played COD mostly? Here's Soldier 76 (who's great). Hey, you're a dick? Here's Bastion.

  I dropped off this when Competitive Season 1 came out. I wasn't levelled enough to join competitive right away and the social games were suddenly really bad, but then the competitive games were not that much fun either. I haven't played this in months but it made a really good impression. Would like to get back to it.

• 

  Battlefield 1

  #4

  So I'm a History teacher and, therefore, prior to this game's release I was already AGAINST this game because of how ridiculous it looked. Then a friend convinced me to buy this game and play it online with him and it's probably the most fun I've had playing a game online in a damn long time. Part of it is down to my own social experience - it's a great way for me to catch up with a friend that I don't see too often anymore. We get onto Battlefield, chat with each other and just have fun playing the game. The single player vignettes are pretty good (except the Lawrence of Arabia one which I hated). This game captures some of the 'feel' of Trench Warfare (through the huge waves of enemies charging at you) even if, at the same time, it captures almost none of what Trench Warfare was actually like. I think "Operations' is one of the better online modes I've ever played, it feels like a real back and forth battle and this game is just a lot of fun. I am wincing at the prospect of buying the game 'again' to get the season pass (in terms of price), but I likely will.

• 

  Total War: Warhammer

  #3

  So earlier when I said Civ might be my favourite franchise? I said might because I'm not sure if Total War is my favourite franchise.

  Rome II though burnt me a bit. It was awful at launch, and even after they fixed the game (which they did end up doing really well) the mid-late game was just too bloated. My empire would always get really large and there were no real strong opponents, just a bunch of little ones, and it became busy work. Couple that with my absolute zero interest in Warhammer and I could not care less about the release of this game.

  Then, because I read some good things about it and because I have no self control, I bought this a month or so after it released. Boy am I glad I did. This might be the best Total War game that Creative Assembly have made. (I just wish it was for a historical game). However, they use the Warhammer licence really well. I like how differently the factions play. The integration of quests and more attainable short and long term goals really helps the game. The overworld map, which generally limits where you can settle, is a lot more manageable. The AI in the battles is not completely idiotic. This is a fantastic game

• 

  Stardew Valley

  #2

  So I never played Harvest Moon but always read about it enviously in gaming magazines. Picked this up when it came out not sure what to expect. I haven't played it in a while and my farm is mediocre at best, but this is a long haul game that I am definitely going back to. The day to day tasks of this game are really quite addictive. The social interactions are fun. Each character has personality and there's a story with each of them. I have never been one for the collecting/crafting pixel games until this. Stellar game

• 

  Hitman

  #1

  Jesus, where did Hitman come from? The whole 'episodic' release of the Hitman games this year sounded like a pretty bad idea. Except, paying my money up front for the whole thing, it turned out to be great. Hitman is a series I haven't had much to do with. I own Hitman 1, 2 and Blood Money but only got them in a Steam Sale last year so haven't touched them. Absolution was okay but it was too easy to get spotted (you put on a disguise and someone with the same disguise would see you half the map away). This game though, Hitman 2016 (Season 1) is just fantastic. Where do I start? The game plays really well - it ticks that box. The levels are great and intricate, yes, some more than others but there's no 'dud's in my view. The game has so much to do - each level is deep, there's so many ways to tackle the main missions, and the game encourages you to try these. Then there's the pressure of the elusive targets. Then there's the escalation missions. Hey, you done? Try some user created targets or make your own.

  I think I have Mastery on 2 of the maps and I know I've sunk about 35-40 hours into this game - I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I also have no idea what the story is really but hey, who cares. (Actually kind of weird that my top 5 aren't heavy story games as usually it is the story in games that is my jam)

  Bring on Season 2!!!

• 

  Titanfall 2

  The runners up:

  Titanfall 2: Picked this up in it's already early released sale. Enjoying the campaign, but have not yet finished it. I have passed "that" mission though that the GB crew love. The multiplayer is okay. Kind of like Doom it's not really my type of shooter, it just doesn't play the way I like to play. Unlike Doom it's missing the kickass atmosphere and soundtrack (not to say that these are bad, but they're no Doom). This is a really solid shooter, it just doesn't make my list.

  Uncharted 4 - Yeah right you like Story games, you didn't even put Uncharted 4 on your top 10!! Look, Naughty Dog are a solid developer. The Uncharted games are solid. This game had a couple of my favourite story related moments in the whole franchise. The set piece style gameplay though has just worn a bit thin on me. The stealth didn't feel different enough and it just felt like an Uncharted game. That's not a bad thing, but it didn't do enough to make my top 10.

  Ratchet and Clank - If there was a game though that I would really really want to get onto my top 10, it would be this. It just can't because of the other 10 games on there. Any other year Ratchet is a top contender. Never played any of the games before and this was a really fun experience. Definitely worth playing. I feel really bad that this isn't a top 10 game.