Best of 2016
Updated over the year.
List items
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Despite admiring the series from afar, before 2016 I'd never played a Hitman game. It took a few videos from Giant Bomb and a few months of positive word of month, but once I finally set foot on that fake plywood yacht for the first time everything clicked. The detailed, clockwork sandboxes overflowing with opportunity, each its own flavor and each highly replayable. The suave, silly tone that allows you to inhabit an Agent 47 that's both impossibly cool and impressively stupid. The improvisational, tactical approach to stealth that ends up feeling like an adventure game with costume changes above all else. And the episodic rollout with weekly content updates, giving each location its time to shine while leaving an impressive amount of content in its wake.
Of everything I played this year nothing has been as tense as the end of each one time only elusive contract, gunning for that exit or blowing it in spectacular fashion. Nothing has been as funny as the sharp character writing, random pedestrian dialogue and surreal Easter eggs sprinkled throughout each episode. And nothing has been as satisfying as a well planned, well executed hit, backed by the knowledge gained from previous runs, knowing the dials to turn and buttons to push to make the systems dance. Couldn't have predicted it, but Hitman is my game of the year.
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My trip to Jonathan Blow's puzzle island paradise is one I won't soon forget. A beautiful and mysterious getaway where learning, logic and careful observation are your keys to unlocking all it has to offer. From the moment you first swipe from left to right on a single line to open a door, class is in session. Everything you need to progress can be found within those glowing panels that dot the landscape; new symbols, themes and variations on existing concepts, cryptic ruminations that provide moments of satisfying epiphany and tools to add to your growing arsenal of puzzle solving knowledge.
The lush and colorful surroundings hint at a lore that never truly reveals itself but simply losing yourself in the meticulous beauty of The Witness elevates the entire experience. That path you always overlooked leading to an area you've never been to, returning to conquer that once inscrutable door puzzle and seeing what's inside.
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All the superlatives that have been thrown towards id software's brilliant reimagining of Doom in 2016 rings true for me. The pitch perfect opening, the puzzle-like gunplay, the self aware tone, the enemy design, gorgeous visuals and blistering soundtrack - everything comes together to create as focused and enjoyable a campaign as I could hope for considering the weight and history behind the name. Playing it again for a second time now and it's even better than I remember from the summer.
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Slow burn Sci-Fi galactic empire simulator that resonated with me more than any other strategy game this year, despite it being a strong one for the genre and having its share of legitimate gripes. The kind of game I can fire up, mess with the extensive civilization creation settings and get lost in space for a weekend at a time every few months or so, trying different approaches and seeing what new changes and additions the folks at Paradox have brought to the table since my last binge.
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Just a blindingly good arcade racer with all the fixings. Whether I'm recklessly sliding across the desert for combos, swapping paint in tight races around city environments or just cruising for challenges while enjoying the music selection, Forza Horizon 3 is a good time and the peak of the series to date.
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Fast and fluid traversal, mechs that pack a punch, a stellar single player campaign and multiplayer with legs.
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From the first trip to the character screen it's clear that Blizzard went and did that thing where they get inspired by their peers to do their thing, but better. Design a bunch of cool hero archetypes with punchy one-liners and complimentary loadouts, unleash them upon cool maps, add the Blizzard secret sauce and watch the serotonin drip. For a competitive shooter Overwatch has a refreshingly bright and hopeful outlook, with a focus on positive reinforcement that allows for a more casual environment if that's what you're looking for.
Strong post-launch support is also kind of Blizzards thing, and they've been delivering on that front as well with substantial updates that increase the value of the game. A seminal title of 2016, and the only multiplayer shooter to check all the boxes of cowboy, anime mech lady, Beast from X-Men as a gorilla, and dwarf with turret.
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A smaller scale project to its predecessor and a clear middle chapter but one that scratches the itch of open ended stealth, near future subject matter and thought provoking conversation like only Deus Ex can. Expands upon the universe in meaningful and interesting ways, and Prague is a rich hub city. Navigating environments is a little formulaic and the AI is pure video game, but it's still satisfying to sneak around, exploit, explore the consistently engaging level and quest design. Some of the best side content of the year.
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A mesmerizing journey and rumination on companionship, one that instantly struck a chord with me as a pet owner. Trico is unforgettable.
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In Final Fantasy XV one of your bros, Prompto, carries around a camera. Throughout the game Prompto takes photos of your crew doing stuff - standing around gas stations, fighting monsters, cruising in the ride, insert plot image here - whenever he feels like it. You can see him doing it in the background, or as other bros pose, or in a selfie as his photo taking skills level up. Driving by scenic views triggers group picture quests, and at night, after setting up camp under the stars and picking out a painstakingly rendered meal, you go through the shots of the day and save your favorites to a library of 150. The bros will comment sometimes, and maybe it’s random but it’s still endearing.
Photography plays into the narrative as well. It’s a link to your father, whose photo with his own bros (now NPC’s) parallels your journey. If the nightly routine changes it has a noticeable impact. And when you’re asked to pick a single photo as the game winds down, I lingered for much longer than anticipated. It hit me then that, despite recognizing FFXV as flawed and compromised, it was also a pretty special. And then not long after it kind of nails the ending, which both reinforced my appreciation and added to the disappointment of a near miss.
The prospect of long term care smoothing out the rough edges is promising, but even in its current state Final Fantasy XV is an engrossing and fascinating journey, if not always an entirely coherent one. Also the soundtrack is dope and the dungeons feel like Final Fantasy.
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When I saw there was a ‘Best Use Of A Farm Animal’ category in the 2016 Steam Awards, I knew which game was getting my vote. Inside gives off a creepy Brothers Grimm meets Animal Farm vibe from the start, spiraling into a surreal narrative that surpasses its progenitor Limbo in just about every way. Even if a few hangups from that game still linger, it’s easy to appreciate everything it excels at. The atmosphere is thick and dreamy, with a striking muted color palette and meaningfully sparse sound design. The animations are hypnotically good, the puzzles are clever and well integrated. Inside is polished, focused, and true to an artistic vision, top tier nonverbal storytelling that’s spooky and strange and I didn't always enjoy playing it but that’s ok too.
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