What's going on, y'all? 2016 kinda sucked in the world outside of video games, but fortunately we got one of the best years in games in a while. So much good stuff came out this year and I wasn't able to play it all, but that's a good thing. There are games to be played by everyone now and it only means that games have a bright future. With all of that said, here are my favorite games that came out this year. Let's hope 2017 kicks ass.
Sic Parvis Magna. It’s a phrase that has been with the Uncharted franchise since Drake’s Fortune and it still rings true. This game is a tour de force. It is unbelievable how far ahead of the pack Naughty Dog is. It looks amazing, it runs great and the writing is second to none. Uncharted 2 was my favorite game of the last generation and this game blows it out of the water. Everything is ratcheted up including career high performances from Nolan North, Troy Baker, Richard Mcongagle and Emily Rose. This game not only shows how far Uncharted has come the 1st game, but how far Naughty Dog has come from its days working on the Playsation 1. Uncharted 4 is the culmination of all of Naughty Dog’s work and it is unforgettable. It’s not only my game of the year. It’s one of the best games I have ever played.
DOOM has one of the best single player campaigns I have played in years. There are so many things that DOOM gets right. It looks at modern first person shooters and spits in their faces by having an attitude, no reloading and a kick ass soundtrack. The opening sequence is fantastic, all of the weapons feel great, the movement is on point and it runs very well. DOOM constantly keeps giving you great weapons and as you gain weapons, it starts hurling more challenging fights at you. The ramp up in difficulty is nearly perfect. Towards the end of the game, you will get to a point of zen. You’ll be constantly moving and shooting while fighting for your life. While you’re fighting for your life, the soundtrack will be blasting and all I could say to myself was “Man, this is fucking awesome”! DOOM kicks so much ass.
Inside is the closest thing I have played to a perfect game this year. That is all you should know about this game. Now go and play it.
I am one of the couple thousand people who played Titanfall 1 for two years after release. I hit the level cap and kept on playing. It was my game of the year in 2014 and with that I had high expectations for Titanfall 2. This game managed to somehow surpass them. The campaign is super creative. It is one of the most unique campaigns I have played. The multiplayer is still ridiculously fast paced and has a break neck pace that is unmatched. It's too bad no one bought this game because it is the best shooter package this year.
I love stealth games. Hitman is a really dumb game that knows it's dumb. They let you dress up as almost anything and most of the levels are designed so well that the player assassinate the targets in a multitude of ways. Each level is replayable and I learn something new about it every time through. I can't wait to see what they cook up for season 2 because the elusive targets will keep me busy for a while.
Dishonored 1 was an awesome game, so I was sold on this game when it was announced. With that said, I was blown away by the level design. There are so many different ways to get through each level and the powers between Emily and Corvo are really fun to use. I will go back to work on my ghost playthrough soon.
The best Battlefield multiplayer since Bad Company 2. There is an epic sense of scale that Battlefield 4 was not able to get to. The game looks great and the World War I setting really makes this game stand out. Oh, and the campaign is really cool too.
I'm a huge Batman fan and was pleasantly surprised by how Telltale was able to apply their own spin on the Batman. The twists are actually really cool and I like their Batman costume design. The elephant in the room is that Telltale's engine is awful. I got lucky and didn't run into any problems, unlike Tales from the Borderlands last year. I hope they're able to do a second season, but more importantly, fix their damn engine.
I played a shit load of The Division. The world looks cool, the guns are fun to shoot and the coop is really fun. Unfortunately I fell off of the game after the developer admitted that they were going back to fix the game. I haven't gone back since, but I may jump back in if the season pass goes on sale again.
Much like Life is Strange in 2015, this game was very high on my list 2/3 through the game. Unfortunately the game falls off a cliff after that, just like Life is Strange. The soundtrack is amazing and animations look great. This game is able to tell a story without saying a single word until it goes off of the rails. A really short and cool game.
