GOTY 2016
Work in Progress
List items
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Clash Royale came out pretty flawed, and I still think there's a bunch of issues surrounding the overall progression system (and how it discourages experimentation). That being said, Clash Royale sessions are just so perfectly timed, and more importantly, almost every single match is fun and exciting. In terms of gameplay, it's pretty much exactly what I want out of a mobile strategy game.
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Dark Souls III is exceedingly well put together package; perhaps the most polished game in the series so far. It also feels much closer to the first game than DSII - though that's also sort of what brings this game down. Dark Souls 2, for all it's flaws, felt markedly different, whereas this last entry in the series doesn't have a strong identity of its own.
There are also few surprises to be had at this point, beyond a couple new interesting enemy types and behaviors; my biggest gripe is the lack of variety in play styles - at this point I've played Dark Souls every which way, and in that sense, this game brings nothing new to the table.
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Valhalla is pretty much a visual novel (as opposed to a game), but what it lacks in terms of interactivity it more than makes up for with style - and while the dialogue can be a little rough around the edges, it's pretty engaging; straddling the line between humorous and meaningful commentary. The soundtrack is also my favorite this year.
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I tend to enjoy Solitaire games a fair bit, and this one's pretty much the best iteration of the genre I've seen so far. The way it blends traditional RPG tropes with the mechanics of Solitaire is really well done, and creates some really engaging gameplay. Unfortunately, the roguelike progression model doesn't really gel well with the longwinded nature of Solitaire; when a few bad draws ruin your run after several long games, it's fairly frustrating (a checkpoint system would have done the game a big favor).
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Despite a few nominal improvement to the overall package, new characters and maps; HoTS feels very much like it always has - it's a fun, but familiar type of deal. I do really like how they've ramped up the complexity of the characters this years - starting out with a relatively straightforward set of characters was a smart move.
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I couldn't find a page for Airplane Tycoon, which didn't really surprise me either. It's a low budget, small team game, located somewhere past the top 100 grossing list.
It's a pretty straightforward game, which is part of what I enjoyed so much about it - though on the same note, the lack of depth ultimately left me feeling bored (but only after a couple weeks of sending planes around the world).
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Dominations is a game that I started and subsequently quit last year; it had a tendency to push all of my buttons in all the wrong ways, which is to say that I became sort of obsessed about playing it.
It follows a pretty standardized formula, but it does so with a lot of flavor - the Age of Empires heritage (same devs) feels very apparent - and I like that a lot. Though it's the semi-permanent progression choices that really engage me, and make think about the game and delve into forums when I'm not playing it.
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Full disclosure, I haven't played any FFXV - but I've been around it a fair deal, and to be fair, I think that's my preferred way of digesting this game - that way I'm able to appreciate its weirdness from afar without slogging through it. I think what I appreciate the most, is its ridiculous attention to detail; like how the food is rendered in lifelike quality. Then there are the affable characters (which equate perfectly to the Ninja Turtles in terms of their archetypes) - it's weird game, and I appreciate that.
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