Hey folks, and welcome to what's likely to be my final blog of 2016 (unless by some miracle I manage to get the next chapter of the Pokémon Sun Nuzlocke Challenge written before midnight). It's been a really weird year for me in terms of video games. It's a year in which I played significantly less games than I usually do - my total of completed games for 2016 sits at just twelve titles, less than half my usual annual figure of between twenty-five and thirty. A lot of that can be pinned onto real world stuff just getting in the way, particularly increased hours at work and spending more of my free time with my girlfriend. Not having the time to play games hasn't stopped me from buying them, though - the tempting lure of perennial sales on the PlayStation Store has caused my backlog to spiral even further out of control, reaching an all-time high of nearly 350 titles (a number so unwieldy that I now have to track it over on the Backloggery rather than here on Giant Bomb). One of my top gaming priorities for 2017 is to work hard on paring that list down, both by finishing more games and by finding the strength to part ways with games I know I'll never play.

Usually at this time of year I put together a multi-part End of Year Awards, honouring all the games I played over the course of the previous twelve months before whittling the longer list down to the ten best titles. This year, since I barely played ten games total, I figured I'd skip the formalities and cut straight to the top ten. As always, this list is in alphabetical order, and not an indication of ranking (I've always struggled with ranking lists like these, since the numbers start to feel arbitrary past a certain point). Also, I never restrict these things to titles released within the calendar year, so expect to see a lot of games not released in 2016 on this list. I recognise that's generally not the "done thing", but it's always been a necessity for me, mainly due to my tendency to favour older games over new releases.

Before we properly get underway, I'd like to acknowledge the two games I played this year that didn't make this list - Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines and Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line. The former, while impressive from a technical standpoint, ultimately makes too many sacrifices in translating the Assassin's Creed experience to a handheld. The latter, while a solid old-school JRPG that's in many ways superior to its predecessor, regrettably didn't capture my attention in quite the same way. With those acknowledgements out of the way, it's time for me to reveal my Top Ten Games of 2016.

Axiom Verge

PS4 - Thomas Happ Games - 2015

The first game I beat in 2016 is also the first game on this list. I don't have any notable history with the '2D Metroidvania' genre, so I didn't go into Axiom Verge with any preconceptions. In some ways that might be a bad thing, since Jeff's five-star review from last year states that some of the best things about Axiom Verge are the ways in which it subverts the expectations of a player well-versed in these kinds of games. But even without that extra layer of appreciation, I had a brilliant time exploring the world of Sudra and unravelling the mystery around Trace and the Rusalki. Particularly noteworthy are the game's graphics and audio, which emulate their 8-bit inspirations with a deliciously modern twist. The controls are tight, the inventory is varied, fun to use and experiment with, and the boss battles are challenging without ever getting frustrating. Knowing this is all the work of one man makes the level of quality present in Axiom Verge even more astounding. I've never played any of the classic Metroid or Castlevania games, but now might just be the best time to start.

Demon's Souls

PS3 - From Software - 2010

From my first beaten game in 2016 to my last. I first tried to play through Demon's Souls a couple of years ago and ended up hitting a wall at about the halfway point, I think due to some poor levelling decisions that left me with a 'jack of all trades, master of none' character who simply couldn't hold their own against the Demons of Boletaria. This winter I returned to it, starting from scratch with a new character focusing on a Strength and Faith build, and was able to fight through to the end credits. For me, the lure of Demon's Souls lies in the constant striving to become better. Death is a penalty, but also a learning exercise - every time my character fell in battle I would resolve to get back to that spot, correct my mistakes and emerge victorious the next time (hopefully recovering my dropped Souls in the process). The methodical pace of the combat lends itself to some truly thrilling battles, particularly when it comes to the strategically varied boss encounters (my personal favourites include the Storm King, the Tower Knight, and the Armor Spider). Apart from the gameplay, Demon's Souls also delivers a gameworld dripping with atmosphere in the form of the kingdom of Boletaria, and although its story is somewhat simple on the surface, it belies a deep and rich lore that slowly reveals itself to the player through item descriptions and NPC interaction. Demon's Souls may have been my first Souls game, but it definitely won't be my last.

Dragon Quest

Android (NES) - Square Enix - 2014 (1986)

When I started playing the original Dragon Quest in September, I went into it expecting a rudimentary Japanese RPG with turn-based combat and a save-the-world storyline. In many ways that's what Dragon Quest is, but the time I spent with it revealed it to be so much more than that. Most of the world map is open to you right from the start of the game, with progress gated not by story events or new means of traversal, but simply by the strength of the monsters you encounter. This fact, coupled with the lack of direction, makes for a much more exploratory experience than your average story-focused JRPG. Initially it was frustrating wandering into a new area and dying because I wasn't strong enough to counter the enemies, but that frustration was superseded by a sense of accomplishment when I was able to return at a higher level and push on through. The story progression is surprisingly non-linear as well, trickling pertinent information through to the player through the NPCs that populate its towns, and allowing the player to complete new objectives as they stumble upon them rather than in a pre-determined order. Put all this together and what you have is a game that captures the essence and spirit of adventure - exploration, freedom, and accomplishment. That's how I'll remember my time with Dragon Quest.

Gone Home

PS4 (PC) - Fullbright - 2016 (2013)

There are quite a few titles on this list that might not have been in the running for consideration for my top ten, had I been able to find the time to play more games this year. Gone Home is not one of those games. I'm pretty sure I could have played fifty games in the last twelve months and this still would have been a candidate. As an interactive story, Gone Home blows everything else I played this year out of the water. It combines the core conceits of the point-and-click genre with a first-person perspective and the audio-log narrative device used by games like BioShock. Those mechanics are then given purpose in one of the most beautifully realised gameworlds I've ever spent time in, and used to tell an emotionally captivating story that stayed with me long after I'd put the controller down. I think It's almost too easy to dismiss Gone Home as a "non-game", due to its pared down mechanics and isolated setting, but in terms of the story it tells and the world it builds around that story, I think it rivals the first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead for immersion.

Jak II HD

PS3 (PS2) - Naughty Dog/Mass Media - 2012 (2003)

Before April of this year, I hadn't revisited the second Jak & Daxter game in over a decade. I've played through the original game several times, even going as far as to earn a Platinum Trophy from the HD remaster last year, and I've played a lot of Jak 3 too (I wrote the guide featured on this here very site, don't ya know?). I hadn't revisited Naughty Dog's PS2-era middle child since its original release back in 2003, and with the benefit of hindsight, it's perhaps easy to see why. The first Jak & Daxter's pure platforming has an undeniably timeless quality, one that's lost in the sequel due to its desperate desire to become something it was never meant to be - an open-world Grand Theft Auto-a-like. While that works in Jak 3, it's because the player is given plenty of stuff to keep them occupied. Jak II's Haven City is kind of barren by comparison. I think it says a lot, then, that even with this being the runt of the litter, I was still able to glean a lot of fun from Jak II when I played through it back in the spring. It's funny, it's charming, and when it's not being unfairly difficult, it's actually really fun to play. Here's hoping the same is true of Jak 3 when I inevitably get around to playing its HD remaster next year.

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

X360 - Tt Games - 2007

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga is a really big game. I guess that's kind of to be expected, since it gathers content from the two previous LEGO Star Wars releases into a single package, but even so, I wasn't banking on it being quite as big as it is. One hundred and sixty gold bricks, thirty-six levels, not to mention a plethora of bonus content to be unlocked... That's a big time investment for anybody. Luckily the game justifies its hour count with some fun core gameplay and generally good puzzle design, both of which help prevent retreading old ground looking for collectibles from becoming too tedious. As well as being crammed with stuff to do, LEGO Star Wars is also full of the series' trademark charm and humour, conveying the familiar stories of all six Star Wars movies with a unique LEGO twist (and in the case of anything involving Anakin Skywalker, a lot more personality). Through the last two months of 2016 I put just under thirty hours into this game, and I have a completion percentage of 73.4% to show for it. I'm still in two minds about whether I should aim for the full 100%, but even if I decide not to, I've had more than my money's worth from this title.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD

PS3 (XBOX) - Oddworld Inhabitants/Just Add Water - 2011 (2005)

I've long considered myself a fan of the Oddworld series of games, but prior to this year I hadn't played through Stranger's Wrath before (mainly due to not owning an original Xbox at the time of its release, I hasten to add). Upon clearing it from my Pile of Shame back in January I found myself wishing I hadn't waited so long, since this spin-off is probably the best game in the entire franchise. It's not just the gameplay (which does a fantastic job of combining first-person shooting with third-person action). Nor is it just the world-building (something the Oddworld games have always done brilliantly). It's not even the way the story, characters and objectives evolve and change as the game progresses. It's the way all those ingredients come together, against all odds, to deliver what is probably the most quintessential Oddworld game to date, despite it being nothing like any of the Oddworld games that came before it. I could go on for ages about what I like so much about Stranger's Wrath. Come to think of it, I did just that when Gino "@thatpinguino" Grieco invited me onto his Deep Listens podcast back in February to discuss the finer points of the game. Like I said earlier, I don't do ranked lists, but if I did, I'm pretty sure this would be at the top spot. Bottom line - if you haven't played Stranger's Wrath before, even if you have no previous experience with the Oddworld franchise, I implore you to check it out.

Pokémon Omega Ruby

3DS - Game Freak - 2014

Does this count as cheating? After all, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire was in my list of the top ten games I played in 2015, and this is effectively the same game. If you're willing to hear me out, my reasoning is that this playthrough differs pretty drastically from the Egglocke adventure that put its partner on last year's list. This was a true story playthrough, my attempt to experience everything this up-rezzed return to Hoenn had to offer, and boy, did it deliver. Where Omega Ruby really shines is in its post-game content. The Delta Episode, Mirage Spots and other assorted distractions blow the meagre post-game offerings from X and Y completely out of the water, giving me a reason to stick around in Hoenn long after beating the Elite Four. The inclusion of Omega Ruby on this list also represents my 100% completion of the National Pokédex, without a doubt one of my biggest and proudest video game achievements ever. My only regret is that my progress through Pokémon Sun has been slowed by my Nuzlocke blog series - I'm pretty sure if it hadn't, it would have comfortably taken this spot. Ah well, there's always next year...

Ratchet & Clank

PS4 - Insomniac - 2016

I have a real soft spot for the original Ratchet & Clank, moreso than any of its sequels. While those games are mechanically superior, I've always felt that the first game has this incredible, unique vibe and style that was lost in the rest of its PS2 iterations (to date I still haven't played any of the Future series on PS3). That's why I was a little bit worried going into this remake - what if that vibe was missing? Thankfully, playing the game revealed I had nothing to worry about. Ratchet & Clank 2016 does a great job of dragging its source material into the modern age, preserving its essence while trimming away some of the fat and updating the visuals and mechanics to ensure it looks and plays better than ever. The self-referential humour has shades of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, and the "greatest hits"-style weapon roster is fantastic (although I did miss having the Suck Cannon around). I loved Ratchet & Clank so much that after beating it, I did something I almost never do and jumped straight back in for a Challenge Mode playthrough. If that isn't high enough praise for the Lombax and robot's latest adventure, then I don't know what else I could say to convince you.

Wild ARMs

PS1C (PS1) - Media.Vision - 2012 (1998)

Wild ARMs is probably the game on this year's list that I feel most conflicted about. It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's not an especially great one either. Pretty much every facet of the game, from its story and characters to its combat mechanics, is cookie-cutter JRPG trope fodder. What really set Wild ARMs apart and elevated it to memorability for me were its pseudo-Western setting and Zelda-style dungeon puzzles, both of which offered enough of a variation on its otherwise common-or-garden JRPG trappings to keep me interested right up to the end. It wasn't an easy ride, and it definitely wasn't a short one either - from beginning to end, it took me around four months to see the credits roll. But when you spend that much time with a game in any capacity, it's going to leave a lasting impression on you. For that reason alone, Wild ARMs would warrant a place on this list. The fact I ultimately enjoyed the experience ended up being the icing on the cake.

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That was 2016 in a nutshell for me. Here's hoping that 2017 brings with it more opportunities to play and maybe even finish some video games, if only to make choosing next year's top ten list a little more challenging. I'm now heading off to see in the New Year with my best friends, a few beers, and plenty of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros.. To everyone reading this, I hope 2016 has been kind to you, and I hope 2017 is even better. Take it easy duders, a very Happy New Year to all, and I'll see you around.

Daniel

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Currently playing - Pokémon Sun (3DS)