Well 2016 is rapidly closing on us and for games it's been a hell of a year. For the last few years when I've done a top 10 list on the site I've scraped together the final few entries but 2016 when I put together a list of games I loved this year it was easily 10+ games and cutting it down to a top 10 was pretty difficult. Hopefully next year has just as many great games.

First off before getting to the actual list I have a few honorable mentions that I wanna make.

GEARS OF WAR 4

Gears of War 4 should be on my top 10. I'm a massive Gears fan and it really should be on my top 10 but it also does not deserve to be on there. The campaign is an absolute blast and story-wise presented the world of Sera post Locust war really well. The foundations of the multiplayer are very solid and CAN be really fun. However the way The Coalition have handled this game since launch has been beyond disappointing. The sheer amount of micro-transactions that are seriously expensive are a rip off. The lack of communication and responses from The Coalition to issues with shot inconsistencies up to the feedback of the recent UIR pack leaves me feeling not like a valued Gears player but someone who has to just keep giving them more money for the lottery based gear packs.

I think this time next year once all this crap has been sorted Gears 4 will be an absolute blast to play but right now I have no desire to touch it for more than a match a week. TC lost a lot of fans faith with how this game has been handled.

POKKEN TOURNAMENT

I had low/ no expectations for Pokken before release. The premise sounded cool and all but did not give it any consideration. Looked like a Pokemon and Tekken hybrid. Then I played it at a friends house and fell in love. Played a good solid amount of hours before deciding I HAD to acquire my own copy. Before I knew it I was spending countless hours practicing with friends and entering into a tournament at my local Streetpass Group. Pokkens basic mechanics are very simple but take a lot to master which is the sign of a good fighting game. The dynamic between the two phases allow for some real fun fights. To be honest with you the only reason this isn't in the top 10 is that I dropped off the game recently.

FORZA HORIZON 3

This game is simply beautiful. I thought Horizon 2 was fun but it felt like there was just a but too much and became a grind. The way progression is handled in Horizon 3 is a lot more fun. Not much more to say here really. That's the main reason it didn't make the cut. It's amazing and a great sequel. I also have a habit of taking screenshots a lot in this game.

Some other mentions that I want to make but not so much to say about.

Fire Emblem Fates - Loved Awakening but have not put enough time into it yet.

Gal Gun: Double Peace - I love the fact that this got localized and they did not hold back in anyway. Fair play.

Dark Souls III - Really enjoyed the time I have put into DS 3. Just didn't get round to finishing it.

Right now it's time to get to the main event. My top 10 games of 2016.

10: God Eater Resurrection

I've tried numerous times to get into the Monster Hunter series and always seem to get to the same point where I drop off. This hasn't been the case with God Eater Resurrection *Included with God Eater 2 Rage Burst*. I've really enjoyed the story that the game has even though it is pretty anime *As a side not the anime series itself was pretty good*. Being able to move my save between the PS4 and Vita versions has been a nice feature. Also have really enjoyed gathering materials and crafting new weapons to go hunting with. The only downside is how often the environments repeat quite a lot. Looking forward to wrapping this up and starting the sequel.

9- Deus Ex Mankind Divided

I was pretty late getting into Human Revolution even though I had it at launch but once I got into I REALLY got into it and went on to fully point it. This has kind of been the situation with Mankind Divided but I have gotten pretty fair into my playthrough so far and have really enjoyed what the game has to offer. I really love the cyber punk world Adam Jensen. The side missions have been very well written and loved the intrigue being set up. Will be going back to wrap this up soon.

8-Megadimension Neptunia VII

I really have enjoyed seeing how much this series has gotten better over the years. With the remakes of the first three games on Vita being a blast and all the cool side games that have come out have been fun. The sense of humor in the Nep games do rely on 4th wall breaking and such but it has always been silly enough to put a smile on my face. The changes to the combat system was a nice update to the systems used in the three Re;Birth games to make it a bit more challenging. I'm also at the point where I simply enjoying seeing the adventures these characters go on. Even if it is anime as anything.

7- Oxenfree

Haven't played too many 'Indie' like games this year but I totally loved Oxenfree and view it in the same light as I did Life Is Strange last year. This game gave me a real horror/ thriller vibe that meant I did not want to put it down. The conversation system is real neat and the art style is cool. I don't want to post anything major plot specific due to the main thing for this game is the plot. However some of the new things since the free update have been real cool. Like this screenshot a mate of mine took :)

6-Bravely Second

Bravely Default was a perfect throwback to old style JRPGs and Bravely Second keeps that going with new characters and jobs available to use. This game does at times feel a bit off with how much humor that is used in a plot that is pretty serious. The art style is cool and I still love the idea of Braving and Defaulting to stack up turns in fights.

5- Final Fantasy XV

I totally did not expect this game to as fun as it is. For it to be so long in development it'd be easy to throw this in the same boat as Duke Nukem Forever and was why I never let myself get to excited for it prior to release.I'd messed about with the demos and watched a few trailers but at a point I chose to stop and just see what the game when it finally hit. 50 hours in at chapter 8 and even someone who enjoyed the trilogy of XIII games I can admit this reignited my love for Final Fantasy. The road trip aspect is really well done and I find the four main characters real enjoyable and do come across as friends. The game is real pretty and the open world nature is real awesome *Especially in contrast to the problems of linearity in XIII*. The combat system initially seems a bit simple in execution and looks like chaos but the more time I put into it the more I have gotten on with the mechanics the combat uses. Even if the camera can get a bit much at times. I also think one knock against this game is that I'd say *at this time before the big story updates* that viewing at least KingsGlaive is pretty crucial, Brotherhood not so much but still enjoyable.

4- Uncharted 4

Uncharted 4 simply looks outstanding. Naughty Dog once again know how to get everything out of a system they work on. Initially my reaction to this game was that it was unneeded. Nate had run his trilogy through and they were all pretty enjoyable. Having Nate be older and 'Out of that' life style only to be dragged back in is cliche but pretty cool. You can tell that between Uncharted 3 and 4 that Naughty Dog went for story focused after The Last of Us and the story is very damn good. The gun play had been refined enough and those set pieces.....man those set pieces. I'm also glad that this game feels like a proper end for Uncharted. There is a solid ending. I believe they should leave it like that and enjoy the great legacy they have earned. Also did I say how pretty the game is? It's pretty.

3- DooM

Guys. DooM. Fucking DooM man. My feelings on this before release went from excited to couldn't give a shit. The reveal looked cool. The mulitplayer beta left a sour taste in my mouth. So I thought I'd hold off on it see what the response was....then I was work....looking at DooM standee and decided to take a chance and boy am I glad I did. First off the multiplayer in my eyes is still pretty weak and found no desire to put a lot of time into it. Thankfully that does not matter because the single player is so fucking good. Simple, gory, bloody, loud and soooo much fun. It is the closest you can get to having original Doom gameplay in this day and age. Yes the game has a plot, a good one too. The Doom marine does not give a fuck about any of it. With just his actions you know who and what he is. He kill demons and enjoys killing them. Don't destroy this plot device? Nah just punch the shit out of it cause it's related to demons and hell so it must be destroyed. The music is real dumb and awesome with how it ramps up and then ramps up even more. DooM is proof that not every shooter has to have deep story or anything like that......it can just be pure fun.

2- Titanfall 2

Despite everything that Titanfall 2 had going against it. Going in the ring against Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare and in my mind it still came out on top. Respawn have made a perfect follow up to the first Titanfall. An Epic single player that even though is the typical FPS length *5-6 hours* the pacing is great and it does not feel like it over stays its welcome or ends anti-climatic. The levels are well constructed and the mix of gun play and platforming is great. On top of that you have the redesigned multiplayer. Takes the fast paced fights from the last game, which itself took from the great IW CoD titles and turns it up. Small tweaks like changing how leveling works, networks and unlocks. Titanfall 2 is simply the best of that type of FPS on the market. Those executions, pilot and titans, amazing.

1- Overwatch

I am simply in love with Overwatch. Despite being online multiplayer only * I would love a single player in this universe* Overwatch is so much fun. I love the art style, Blizzard really knocked it out of the park. One of the biggest surprises for me was the fact that Overwatch actually worked real well on consoles. The roster of heroes are great, varied and simply fun. The events that blizzard have held have been a great mix up to the core game type of Overwatch and then the arcade update dropped with 3v3 Elimination. Oh boy do I love 3v3. I have played so many 3v3 matches since the update. I can't stop raving about it. I love the strategy of hero picking to make sure you have a good team set up and it almost feels fighting game like. I've had some great mind games in matches. I can't wait to see what other things Blizzard have in store for Overwatch as we go on. So yeah Overwatch is my Game of The Year. Now I need to go back to 3v3.....