*Work in Progress*
A close to final list of my favorite 10 games released in the United States during 2016.
The "I Shouldn't Restrict Myself to 10 Games" Awards
I knew the Witness would be my game of the year since I played it in January. That's not to say other games didn't impress me, in fact I was surprised at how much what this year had to offer did. However, The Witness stands out against the sequels and reboots delivering a truly unique experience.
Jonathan Blow's first outing, Braid, was an impressive puzzler, and with his followup he's still offering us puzzles. The same way Braid exhausted time mechanics, The Witness exhausts the maze, something you might never think could be as compelling as it is here. The ending leaves a lot to be desired, especially in comparison to Braid, but I'm not sure I'd rather have spent the 30-40 hours getting there any other way.
GOTY 2009: Demon's Souls
GOTY 2011: Dark Souls
GOTY 2014: Dark Souls II
GOTY 2015: Bloodborne
For me, what From Software has done with the Souls series has been the best gaming has had to offer since Demon's Souls landed stateside in October of 2009. That fully remains the case this year. It's not as fresh as Bloodborne was last year, but it brings the Dark tangent to a tight close, surpassing Dark Souls and Dark Souls II in its level and boss design, and is perhaps the best mechanical blend of the series.
It might not have had the same impact as Demon's Souls had on me, or Dark Souls on the rest of the gaming scene, but to me this is every bit as worthy an entry to this already legendary series. I don't feel the series is slipping in the slightest. It might be the first to not take my annual prize, but that should be taken as a testament to my Game of the Year.
The cap to this standout year for the first person shooter is Titanfall 2. It's easily the most complete package of what this year had to offer, and for however brief it is, the campaign is nothing short of stellar.
The writing is remarkably well done, with your strong companion in BT-7274, and the narrative moves with the right mixes of fantastical, believable and impossible. There's never a dull moment and while the writing helps that, it's above all the gameplay that makes it so. Even when you are just running around and platforming. Across the board Titanfall 2 feels and is outstanding.
