Game of the Year 2016
Hello, friends, and welcome to the 4th Annual Cow's Game of the Year List, where we don't talk about Trials of the Blood Dragon or Firewatch even though we played those. :3
First, a few honourable mentions. I cut the list of games I played this year down to 13, and then couldn't cut any more without at least giving a shout-out:
Honourable Mentions
Abzû: What this game got right, it really got right. It didn't hit me on quite the same level as Journey, but the moments of swimming with massive schools of fish were amazing and the soundtrack was lovely. That game is best when it's in pure environmental mode, just letting you be amongst the world. Every time it became an actual game, though, I found the controls lacking and the tasks not very interesting.
Alone With You: While I was playing this, I was really into it. The art and the setup are great. But even by the end I was struggling to care enough to finish it, and none of the characters or story really came together for me. It was enjoyable enough to get through, but it's built to encourage replayability and yet I don't see myself doing that at all.
Helen's Mysterious Castle: This was the hardest cut. I don't even know why I like this game; the controls are bad, the game plays in a tiny window, it feels in a lot of ways like a generic RPGMaker game. And yet, AND YET. The time-based battle system feels really good and interesting and there's just enough to the story that I keep going back, wanting to see more of it. There's something here, absolutely. Also, I think it was like two dollars? so.
...and now, on to the actual list. Oh, and apparently you can't put links in list items, so when I say "possibly-too-heartfelt piece" in Stardew Valley, that's where that link should go.