In retrospect, 2016 was a strong year for video games. But last night I had a small epiphany I want to share with you. I'm not sure what I'm trying to get at here, but I know someone more insightful and observant can articulate this much better than me. But here's the gist of it.

This year we saw the releases of games that will mark a new chapter for the lives of their developers. First of all because they worked on them for many more years than it should've taken. And second, because these games prove why they keep making games, despite the constant struggles. But at the end - it's worth it - that's what it come down to.

And let's be honest, it's not like things like this didn't happen last year or that games like these aren't worked on right now. But 2016 just shows me how much developers love this medium.

Doom (2016) -

A game that went through hell and came back to prove that Doom and id Software are not dead and are capable of making the right choices for the franchise, fans and ultimately themselves as creators - going as far as to scrap a project and restart the thinking process behind a game.

Overwatch -

Blizzard's first shooter - a game born from the ashes of Titan - studios' cancelled MMO, which was supposed to succeed WoW - their most successful product. But even according to them the game failed in every aspect. To come back in such a confident manner and make the most influential MP shooter of the year is hard to not make me think how excited they must be to know they've still got it.

Hitman (2016) -

After the rocky reception of Absolution the studio had to prove themselves and fans that the franchise was it's own thing. And even after nobody could understood the episodic format at the beginning, it turned out to be the AAA hidden gem of this year.

The Witness -

Talk about a vision and just sticking to it. That's what The Witness is to me. Jonathan Blow is such a visionary developer, an indie genius in many ways. And no doubt this game is the end of a chapter in his carreer, but it also paves the way of another.

The Last Guardian -

A game that we weren't probably going to get. But Team ICO saw the whole project through and here we have a surprisingly good spiritual successor to some of the most beloved Japanese games ever made.

Final Fantasy 15 -

Basically the Half-Life 3 of the jRPG scene. I can't imagine the relief and proudness of the developers who somehow made this game work, even after such a long dev cycle.

Owlboy -

A game perfected for years and years, equally in art and code to deliver a high-end indie platformer.

The Second Part

But equally this year there were some unfortunate missed opportunities, some of which were so close to being really, really good, but for this or that reason just didn't make it.

Battlefield One -

I'm a huge Battlefield fan and this game was predicatbly dissapointing in many ways. Sure, DICE took a chance, but they never went all the way in in order make this game distinct and give me a reason to buy it like the first 4 games in the franchise. Those were titles which were united by some core values, but still remained nieche for the type of warfare or time period they portrayed.

Mafia 3 -

A game that had too much fluff for the purpose of portraying the same story beat over and over. Which was done to adress criticizm of the old games; that infused with current trends in open world games, the devs didn't find the right balance of meaningful story beats and open ended gameplay.

Street Fighter 5 -

A game that wasn't ready to ship - as simple as that. It had the right systems and mechanics, but whatever they added post launch was just too late for the initial impression people got.

Quantum Break -

A game with potential that was executed in the wrong ways. This could've been a huge mark for Remedy, the devs behind the cult hit Alan Wake.

Mirror's Edge: Catalyst -

Another franchise EA decided to mass market and bet bigger than it should've. To me this game is just too big for what Mirror's Edge should be.

No Man's Sky -

A game that had the right developers and technology, but wasn't delivered correctly, pre and at the launch itself. This game could've been a huge win for the space exploration genre.

As I said before - these types of stories happen every year. Missed marks or long-winded triumphs are a common place in the industry. But I hope my little epiphany helped you realize just how dedicated developers can be - sacrificing years of work and time to make the right game - for us.