JosephKnows

It would be pretty fucking sad if a clicker made the staff list, especially in this year of amazing releases both on the AAA and indie spaces.

I'd sooner bet on Pokemon GO rounding out the top 10 before Adventure Capitalist anyway.

Games have made it onto the site top 10 because of one person. Dan's also the type to fight to the end for what he wants, so I won't count out Stardew Valley just yet. Drew respects the game enough anyway, and he's never been one to be so confrontational in these discussions to really go against it.

Has Vinny played more of Planet Coaster? That could be a dark horse for the lower spots on the list if he has.

I think if the quests were more unique, it would have been a 10/10 for me. I beat it after 40+ hours and never really thought it was unfair. There are plenty of skills and equipment that you should naturally be getting to keep up with the increased dodge and crit chances of the 2nd and 3rd tier enemies. There are clear, efficient strategies to come up with against bosses. And I do very much enjoy the tension of simple mistakes potentially cascading into an entire team wipe or you just getting dumb luck and somehow surviving a dungeon you had no reason to halfway through it. The classes have so much depth to them that it's a joy to discover synergistic combinations. You'll constantly be shuffling through different characters in different dungeons against different enemies that your mind will be constantly thinking up of new strategies and tactics.

But yes, the grind is definitely real simply because of how the game requires you to have four fully upgraded squads at the very least to beat the final dungeon. You're probably not going to come close to that point in the game anyway without a roster of quality mercenaries, but that doesn't preclude grinding at all. You just have to embrace it. I didn't mind it so much when I had podcasts to listen to. I do feel like it's the type of game that most people would have a better time just taking it slow, playing it in short bursts over a long period instead of bingeing it and probably burning out.

I personally really enjoyed my whole time with it and will definitely come back to it when the DLC drops next year. It evokes that same feeling of dread and stress and sheer joy of overcoming overwhelming odds that the Souls series is known for. And the exhaustion you feel late in the game even works on a thematic level. It's got a damn good chance of appearing in my top 10 GOTY list, and that's saying somehing in this year of stellar releases.

FFXV has no chance of making it into ny of the staff awards simply because of its release date. The GBeast crew already said they're going to SF this week, and that's probably for getting all the GOTY stuff done. Even if one of the crew got an early copy, history points to them still taking time to get through a game for a review. Considering how big FFXV supposedly is, I highly doubt any of them would have played enough of it to consider it for their GOTY awards, let alone finish it.

There's still a chance it makes an appearance on one or two of the personal top 10 lists since they don't have to send those in until the week where the awards actually get rolled out. Reviews seem solid so far too. Maybe Brad or Jason get into it through the month!

Never played the first game so this is a neat little thing for me. More deflated about the Necromancer not being available until the back half of 2017.

@humanity: You know how you get plenty of people (most of which are in their 20s-30s completely removed from teen culture) shitting on teen dialogue in games saying "that's not how teenagers talk"? OP's argument is like that but actually based on a real understanding of the local culture and not outdated ideas of society! Authenticity goes a long way in creating the feeling of immersion. That can also be expressed in the choice of music, especially where the geography supposedly matters.

I was one of those who was sure DOOM was a lock for the top spot but since Titanfall 2 dropped and Hitman has been getting more play, GOTY is up for grabs now. It's going to be real interesting because I see Brad being torn apart inside with how many games he'll likely be championing.

He adores DOOM, Inside, The Witness, and Hitman.

If Jeff continues to play Hitman, I can see him supporting it over DOOM in the end because of how badly he thinks of the latter's multiplayer.

Dan and Vinny would also probably side with Hitman over DOOM.

I'm sure the top 5 will be some order of DOOM, Hitman, Titanfall 2 (Jeff is obsessed with it), Overwatch, and The Witness.

Inside and Superhot will probably be in 6 and 7.

Last three spots will be fought over by Gears 4, Forza Horizon 3, Uncharted 4, Watch Dogs 2, Stardew Valley, Oxenfree, and Firewatch. Hell, maybe Thumper gets the VR bump and Alex fights for it to get the 10th spot.

Yeah, this looks like a generic Hollywood sci-fi action movie trailer, complete with your typical editing and Inception gongs. I would say it looks good, but you can't believe anything for sure regarding visuals in marketing materials.

Still hoping the game itself is good since I love the trilogy (yes, that includes ME3), but this trailer didn't really excite me.

@fredchuckdave: I think the solid 60fps goes a long way in enhancing how it looks in the mind's eye. Same thing for me with DOOM and Overwatch, which is impressive for consoles given how hard a lot of your usual game on the PS4 even struggles to maintain 30fps.

To answer the topic:

Uncharted 4

The Order 1886

Arkham Knight

Until Dawn

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

@adequatelyprepared: Not very, actually. There are nods here and there, but this one is very much a self-containef story.

Of course, there's always the post-credits stinger, but you can just ignore that and enjoy the movie on its own.

Marvel has perfected this formula of superhero storytelling that I liked this one too even if it doesn't do anything too memorable. It's got a clever climax, and it's probably the most visually interesting movie in the entire MCU, that's for sure.

But yeah, it's still pretty sad that they can't make compelling villains outside of Loki. I guess the reason for that should be pretty obvious though!

My fear is that they end up doing the same for Thanos. He should be super charismatic.

Haven't actually tried it myself, but watching the Endurance Run for Deadly Premonition was enough for me. The act of playing that game seems to be such a chore that I'm perfectly fine having experienced the weirdness and surprising depth of humanity that game has totally secondhand.