There were so many great-looking games this year that I didn't have a chance to play because of a lack of time and Platinum desires. I'd like to think I'll make it to some of them next year, but with the Q1 2017 packed as tightly as it is, my confidence is low.
Regrets and Honorable Mentions:
What a delight this game was! From capturing and stacking mirages, to leveling up and working through mirage boards, to the magic system, to the (dare I say) revolutionary way you buy items (FFXV feels terrible as a result), to the decent story that serviced the game's mechanics quite well, to the Vita support (!!), everything in this game was firing on all cylinders for me.
INSIDE was probably the most surprising game for me this year. I had played LIMBO in 2012 and thought it was decent enough, but wasn't actually planning on making INSIDE a priority this year. However, given all the hype surrounding the game and the all great reviews, I knew I had to play it. Playdead has clearly perfected the art over the past 6 years since LIMBO's release.
The beginning sequences are enough to draw anyone right into the cryptic, but intriguing the story. The puzzle elements were dialed in just right such that they never became frustrating. And the finale... totally unexpected... flabbergasting.
I had really high hopes for this game, and am happy to say that (for the most part), it delivered.
I loved Shadow of the Colossus to pieces, and enjoyed ICO alright. Team Ico does such a great job of making you care about the characters in its games, and The Last Guardian was no exception.
This would've been my GOTY if it weren't for the sometimes frustrating camera and controls. I'm willing forgive Trico's stubborn behavior, because I really do think it was by design and that the game was better off for it. This should really be turned into a full-length movie.
What Starbound turned out to be this year was a huge surprise for me. Someone gifted it to me in December of 2013 when it was still in Early Access. Despite being such a huge fan of Terraria, I was totally turned off. I didn't touch the game again for almost 3 years when it was released in June.
It turned into a fantastic little game with the everything I loved about Terraria, but wrapped up in this great little package with a plot, characters with personality, tutorials, side quests, and an actual ending with credits.
Damned if this game didn't take me way back to a time when twitch shooters reigned king. The action in Doom was crafted to perfection and made feeling like a I was awesome at parkour and could take on anything in my way.
Playing this on a newly built PC with a GTX 1070 after having a terrible gaming PC for so long, might have had something to do with my enjoyment level.
More of the same sounds doesn't sound like praise, but with Dark Souls, that's exactly what you want. The third in the series (really the 5th with Demon's and Bloodborne) had some really great bosses and the same wonderful gameplay loop and co-op mechanics.
It's interesting to look back at my time-to-platinum stats for the Dark Souls series and see how my addiction level hasn't waned...
Dark Souls: 3w 3d
Dark Souls II: 3w 1h
Dark Souls III: 2w 1d
Unlike Bloodborne though, I didn't return to this after beating it.
As a huge fan of SteamWorld Dig, I came into this game knowing it was fundamentally different, but was certain that whatever it was would be a polished gem. I wasn't wrong. Heist has the same great art style from Dig, great characters, and turns out to be one of my favorite turn-based strategy games of all time. I just wish I was good enough at it to get the Platinum trophy.
I didn't pay any attention to The Division leading up to its release, because it's not the type of game I normally play. A few friends picked it up at release though and convinced me to give it a shot. I'm really glad I did.
As a single player game, it's a hard sell, but the cooperative elements of the game make it really shine. The shooting felt good, and the character progression up until the end game wall was great. Despite not being interested in PVP and not being great at console shooters, the Dark Zone is an awesome idea that I spent a bunch of time with (mainly grinding, never looking for PVP). All the patches and free post-game content were icing on the cake.
This game has me really conflicted. I recognize that it's a great game with an incredible story, but it just didn't resonate with me like 1-3 did. I didn't feel the desire to play it again on crushing and get all the trophies. I don't really know why, but I assume it can be contributed to fatigue. It was still a good ~16 hour experience with a lot of insane and wonderful moments.
Street Fighter V is another game that has me conflicted. I loved SF4 and all its iterations and have been playing them regularly for 8 years now. I played SF5 straight for a few months starting in February (even played a few betas before that), but despite putting all that time in, I'm still not sure if I really enjoy the game, or am playing it out of some obligation or desire to continue to play competitive fighting games.
