Something went wrong. Try again later

aodhhinsai

This user has not updated recently.

25 1278 24 3
Forum Posts Wiki Points Following Followers

Game of the Year 2016

This was an interesting year for me. I played fewer games overall, but spent just as many hours playing. I think it speaks to the need for "comfort food" games during stressful times. Since I'm finishing up college, I tend to return to a few games that I can approach therapeutically. Hitman isn't a stress free game, but when you know the systems well, the stakes decrease somewhat. The rest of the experiences on the list (apart from DA:I, which I'll get to) are shorter and more linear. You could experience them and then move on. The Uncharted series, Doom, and Firewatch are all relatively self contained, Animal Crossing and No Man's Sky are actively chill, and Jackbox Party Pack 3 is a multiplayer experience. The only odd man out, Dragon Age, I played over the summer break so time was much less of an issue.

Overall, it was a good year. The games released were solid and - more importantly - they really fit the needs that I had. There's something nice about having the right games at the right times.

List items

  • #1 - Hitman: Blood Money is one of my all time favorites (I'm an Absolution apologist too) so I went into the first episode with high expectations. I wasn't completely sold on the concept until Sapienza, but once things clicked I had to get every trophy and complete every challenge. It's a game that gets better and better with each run. Paris, initially a level I was cool towards, became more clever once I recognized the full scope of the systems I could mess around with. These systems, as alluded to above, made it my go-to game for the year. I could cruise through a level while poking at the systems in a hundred different ways. The live content and episodic structure were actually brilliant, and the drip feed release schedule meant I was never too full to enjoy everything provided. It exceeded my very high expectations and deserves the top spot.

    Also good:

    -It's beautiful

    -Some of the best NPC dialog I've heard in ages

    -High level of detail

    -Superlative sound design (I could write pages about this alone)

  • #2 - There's something special about a game that I can convince my family to play. The art and the story were enough to pull them in and we played together. Comparing favorite parts, treasure locations, and screenshots of vistas made this one of my favorite "co-op" experiences all year. I was also glad to see that Naughty Dog was able to finally tighten up the feel of the gunplay. Uncharted 4 just felt good to me. The icing on the cake was the industry leading difficulty options. Being able to adjust both difficulty and aim assist/lock on individually was an amazing feature (especially for my less gameplay oriented family members) and should become a universal standard.

  • #3 - I don't have much to say about Inquisition. It's a big RPG. It felt like a good balance between Origins and II, the movement was slow and side content was mediocre, but the main story and characters were good. Sometimes a game that definitely isn't perfect (or even objectively great) pushes all of the right buttons and ends up here. Regardless of the faults it was one of the most engaging experiences I had this year.

  • #4 - Doom was a game that I picked up and didn't put down until I had a platinum trophy in hand. It's the ultimate palate cleanser. Quick, perfectly tuned, and magically tongue-in-cheek.

  • #5 - This game was worth it just for the dynamic theme for the PS4. Obviously the art is amazing, but the story touched on some themes that are rarely mentioned in games. I appreciated how the smart characterization always felt realistic, no matter how your version of Henry reacted to a situation. I wish more games understood how to root disparate reactions to a single backstory the way that Firewatch does. All of the different response tones made sense given his history, so nothing ever felt out of character. Even with a bit of an anti-climax, I would recommend it to anyone just to experience the sights, sounds, and emotional touchstones.

  • #6 - Link to the Past is very important to me. Naturally, seeing that there was a sequel that took many elements from it was a source of as much angst and worry as it was excitement. In the end the worries weren't warranted because Link Between Worlds is entertaining, just nostalgic enough, and full of smart changes to the formula. Among my few gripes is the art style that, while well crafted and executed, is just a bit... bland? I have a similar problem with the New Super Mario Bros games as well. The 3D models are just a bit generic. That does little to dampen the fun though. The puzzles are good, the fighting is snappy, and the merge mechanics are a really interesting twist on things. I don't want to give Nintendo carte blanche to do direct sequels to untouchable classics (not that they wouldn't anyway) but if the quality holds up like this, I can live with it.

  • #7 - This may be the highest good game to 'meh' ratio out of all of the party packs released so far. Even better; this mix of games was able to reach out directly to my family and grab them by the lapels. We played a ton of this together and we have the T-K.O. shirts to prove it.

  • #8 - #aodhhinsaiformayor. My platform is based exclusively on curbing bell inflation and fighting the Nook lobby.

  • #9 - Before I picked up the Nathan Drake collection I had only been able to see the series from afar. My fist modern console after I decided to quick playing games via boot amp on a MacBook was an Xbox 360 so I was closed off from Sony exclusives. Playing now, it’s tough to make sense of games that are subject to aging gameplay and graphics but have a strong legacy, and lots of critical praise at time of release.

    Uncharted 1 is... okaaay... but without proper context or the kind of critical backing enjoyed by 2 and 3 it just doesn’t have much to offer in the modern day.

    Uncharted 2 is well written and acted even though the wow factor surrounding some of the technical showpieces has diminished.

    I think Uncharted 3 probably holds up the best as a complete package, even if the story is weaker than 2.

    After platinuming two of the three I can say confidently that I enjoyed my time, but it felt lightweight, especially in comparison to my experience with Uncharted 4 a few months later. Play these games but don’t forget that they’re rapidly aging and, like many games that strive for graphical fidelity, not always so gracefully.

  • #10 - I like it and I don't care who knows. Sometimes you need to wander, and NMS allowed me to do so on a universal scale. I didn't stick with it forever, but I do still drop in from time to time in order to space out, listen to podcasts, or just organize my thoughts. Good? Maybe, maybe not. Important to me? Yes, no question.

  • Special Mention. Winner: “Game that was too unfair to include in the competition because it would have won eight of the ten top spots and that’s no fun” award.

    It's one of my favorite games of all time so this comes as no surprise. I played it first on PC (actually, on bootcamp on a MacBook), then X360, now PS4. Ah well at least I have another platinum trophy to show for it.

  • Special Mention. Winner “Would have placed on my list but it corrupted my save and ruined my experience” award.

    I got Rebel Galaxy around the same time I got No Man's Sky. I was expecting to get lost in NMS, and instead, I lost days to Rebel Galaxy's naval-style combat and progression. Everything just clicked; the soundtrack was gritty, the art style was vibrant and unique, and the actual mechanics were a pleasure to poke at.

    That is why I was devastated when my save was corrupted and I lost everything. All of my progression was gone in an instant and I was angry enough that I never went back. It's a crying shame that a game that fully deserved a spot on my list is relegated to the special mentions.

  • Special Mention. Winner “I wish this was better, because I like the promise of what’s here” award (AKA Biggest disappointment).

    Ugh. This game SHOULD have been great. I'm usually tolerant of frame rate issues, but hot damn, this thing chugged on the PS4 for no real reason in the central hub areas. Couple this with the fact that it also felt too lean and you end up with a situation where I had no reason to explore Prague after I finished the (minimal) side quests. Even the main quest line seemed like it was over in the blink of an eye. I felt almost zero connection to Mankind Divided, which is mind-blowing considering how great Human Revolution was. Such. A. Waste.
Load Comments