Welcome to my second annual Game of the Year Awards. This year I've decided to do things a little differently. I cut out specific categories completely because I didn't feel too strongly about many of them. Originally this was going to be replaced by a supplemental "Games That Didn't Make My Top 10 That I Also Want To Talk About" thing, awful title and all, but I ended up deciding to just make a single Top 19 list. That's how many games I like enough to put on this list, and who cares about round numbers anyways?

Before I get into the list itself, I do have several honorable mentions. These games were ones I liked but didn't feel strongly enough about to consider for a Top X list, I'm enjoying but haven't finished and feel like I should before talking about it, or I just don't have much to say about. They're pretty good games anyways. These games are (in alphabetical order, not by significance): Battlefield 1, Dark Souls 3, Enter the Gungeon, N++, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Redout, and Salt and Sanctuary. Now that those are out of the way, here are my top 19 games of 2016.

19. Picross 3D: Round 2

Round 2 is not just a good successor to Picross 3D, but innovates in very interesting ways while retaining the polish that the original had. Most people would expect a Picross game made in 2016 to be a free-to-play mobile title, and would probably also expect it to be nothing special. Picross 3D far exceeds those expectations with a special level of care and attention to detail that not many games have at all, much less in this genre. With an absurd amount of puzzles that remain fun throughout, this game is one that will keep me coming back well into next year.

18. Stephen's Sausage Roll

Stephen's Sausage Roll is a brutally hard puzzle game about cooking sausages. Its open world is very interesting, allowing you to solve the puzzles within each area in any order you want, provided you can get to them. The mechanics of the game are introduced very well, not just being some new ability you can suddenly use, but presenting an interaction you haven't seen before which makes perfect sense when you encounter it. I'll admit I have yet to finish this game, as like I said before it is very difficult, but what I have played is excellent and shows some truly outstanding game design.

17. ABZÛ

While some might dismiss ABZÛ as another "walking simulator", which to some extent it is, it is an excellent game. Every bit of it is extremely polished, from the visuals to the controls (which I should add is no small feat for a game about swimming). ABZÛ is a short experience, but one that fits a lot into that time, including a surprisingly well done story. There isn't a whole lot that's interesting here in terms of gameplay, but ABZÛ is still something I would recommend to anyone.

16. Reigns

Reigns boils down running a kingdom into a series of binary decisions. The presentation is top-notch, the characters become quite interesting over the course of the game, and there is a surprising amount of depth to it. While I played more of it on PC, it's primarily a mobile title, and it shows far more thought and innovation than almost any other games of that type.

15. Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a very strong follow up to the 2013 reboot of the series. While I did not enjoy the first one too much, there was definitely potential there, which thankfully its successor makes use of. This sequel provides more open areas with opportunity for exploration, and an almost metroidvania feel with some of the backtracking and hidden paths. Rise of the Tomb Raider is a very solid game and I hope the series continues in the direction it's heading.

14. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

Twilight Princess HD was a remake I did not expect to care much about, despite being a fan of the series. I did not enjoy Twilight Princess nearly as much as the other Legend of Zelda games when I first played it, but the remake ended up being one of my favorite games this year. The additional level of polish, both to the more frustrating parts of the gameplay, and to the outdated visuals make this much more palatable. I think this is a game worth revisiting even if you didn't enjoy its original release. While it may never live up to Wind Waker which came before it, Twilight Princess is a very good game in its own right.

13. Ultimate Chicken Horse

Ultimate Chicken Horse creates an amazing blend of cooperative and competitive gameplay, having you and your friends create a level and then play through it. The goal is to make the level too difficult for your opponents while still finishing it yourself. This leads to some very chaotic and hilarious scenarios. Ultimate Chicken Horse is a simple idea executed very well, and I have a lot of fun playing it.

12. The Witness

The Witness is a game that's hard to place on this list. I feel like so many of the things it does are brilliant, and it has some great and unique examples of good game design, but it really fell apart for me towards the end. The island it takes place on is beautiful and fun to explore. The earlier puzzles are very well designed for the most part, and taught solely through gameplay without feeling frustrating, but the combinations of those mechanics later in the game don't work out so well. This, combined with the very disappointing ending leaves me unsure of where to place this game that for most of my time playing it I considered a contender for best game of the year. The Witness is still a good game, and still one I think is worth playing, it's just not what it could have been.

11. Overwatch

Overwatch is probably the new game this year I played the most of, and I enjoyed a lot of that time. It revitalizes the team-based shooter genre in a new and interesting way, with an impressive cast of characters. Where the game falls short for me is its competitive aspect. I played a lot of Overwatch during the beta and around launch, and with the promise of a competitive mode a month of two down the line because Blizzard was taking their time to perfect it, I had high hopes. The competitive mode turned out to be a combination of the worst aspects of the competitive modes from most popular multiplayer games in recent history, with not a single thing new or good about it. Overwatch is still really fun to play casually on occasion, but I feel disappointed that it could have been so much better.

10. Devil Daggers

If you tried to turn Quake into Geometry Wars, you very well might end up with something like Devil Daggers. While there's not a lot to this game, it does what it sets out to do extremely well. The gameplay feels great, it's fast-paced, and trying to beat your own time or that of a friend on the leaderboards is very enjoyable. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Devil Daggers is its powerup mechanic. Certain enemies can drop gems, and collecting enough of these will upgrade your weapon. The catch is that gems are only absorbed while you're not firing your weapon. Finding the time for this when you're surrounded by hordes of monsters creates some very tense and interesting situations, and really makes this game stand out from anything else like it.

9. Kirby: Planet Robobot

Planet Robobot is both a return to form and an innovation for the Kirby series. The new robot suits fit in very well and compliment the core gameplay mechanics of Kirby. The level design is quite good, with interesting enemies and bosses. Where this game really shines, however, is the very well done set of ablities Kirby has at his disposal. Rather than just gaining one or two new abilities with each costume, in Planet Robobot each represents a whole new moveset. These are well designed, have a lot of depth, feel like cohesive movesets, and are just very fun to use. This fun core gameplay combined with some interesting side modes makes this a surprisingly refreshing entry in a long running series I had mostly given up on.

8. Firewatch

Firewatch is an excellent story-driven game set in a beautiful world. I don't want to say too much about it as I think everyone should play it for themselves, but it creates some great characters and tells an interesting story. My only complaint is that the ending felt a bit rushed, but it's still very much worth playing and is one of my favorite games this year.

7. Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 expands on its predecessor in some very good ways. While I was hesitant at first about the addition of a singleplayer component, it is very well done and much more fun than most shooter campaigns. Where it really shines however, is of course its multiplayer. Easily the best multiplayer shooter of the year, Titanfall refines and adds onto the fast paced movement of the original, creating a system that encourages fast-paced and highly skill-based gameplay. The titans also feel much more developed this time around, with each titan presenting a distinct gameplay style, they're definitely more than a tacked on gimmick. Everything about this game feels like a step forward, and it's something I can see myself playing for a long time.

6. Hue

Hue is the best puzzle platformer I've played in a long time, standing along with some of the greatest such as Braid and Fez. It is based around a very simple mechanic: you can change the background color to make any objects of that color disappear. This mechanic is well thought out and used in many interesting ways. The puzzles are intuitive, and start out easy but become quite challenging later on. Hue is a wonderful experience, and something that any fans of the puzzle platformer genre would certainly enjoy.

5. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley takes the best parts of Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, and manages to improve on them in a very impressive way. Made by a single developer, this is one of the most fun games I played all year. With a wide variety of activities and an addictive day/night cycle Stardew Valley was constantly entertaining. The cast of characters, each with their own story, are interesting and fun to interact with. I had a surprising amount of fun with this game, and you can't ask for much better for what it is.

4. Thumper

Thumper is the best rhythm game I have played in years. I have heard the game described as "rhythm horror", and I think that is quite accurate. It is one of the most tense and stressful games I have played, but in a very good way. The music is amazing, the visuals look great, and the controls feel fantastic. If you like rhythm games there is no reason not to give Thumper a shot.

3. Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper Light Drifter is an amazing action adventure game, taking inspiration from games like Dark Souls and The Legend of Zelda, and it certainly lives up to the expectations set by that. The art style is very unique and extremely well done, one of the best examples of pixel art in a game. The combat is fast and difficult, with some very well designed boss fights. The exploration of this beautiful world is enjoyable, and the game manages to tell an interesting story even without words. Hyper Light Drifter is easily one of the best games of the year even in a year with so many great games.

2. DOOM

I don't think anyone expected a DOOM game coming out in 2016 to be good. With Doom 3 and Rage being lackluster, and the beta for this year's DOOM showcasing the atrocious multiplayer component, it was not looking like this would be a good game. Thankfully, that was not at all how things turned out. DOOM is just as fun as the original games it is based on, but in a different way. It is very much its own game while retaining the familiar style of the series. The guns feel amazing, the combat is fast and fun with a unique melee system that works surprisingly well, and the addition of platforming fits in nicely with the rest of the game. DOOM is probably the most surprising game to come out this year, and it is one of the best singleplayer shooters of all time.

1. Hitman

After playing DOOM, I didn't think anything would top it as my favorite game this year. I am not a fan of the Hitman series. I am not a fan of stealth games. However, I think Hitman is the best of both of those. It's the most fun I've had with a game in a long time. The world is very immersive, with the perfect mix of serious and silly in its story and characters, and the sprawling levels are so much fun to explore. I think several of the levels in Hitman offer some of the best level design in video games, with the weaker ones still being exceptionally good. Hitman makes good on the promise many games make but fail to achieve of letting the player accomplish their goals in whatever way they want. Any idea you have in Hitman feels like it was anticipated by the developers, and can probably be done. This feels absolutely amazing, and lets the player create their own story and goals within the game. Many developers would shy away from creating so much content that many players will never see, but it makes for such an amazing game with a great amount of replay value. Hitman isn't flawless, but it's the most fun I've had with a game not just this year, but in a long time, and I think it is fantastic.