Nick - The Boss
Grand Kingdom:
Our Review
This title's not going to be for everyone, but even though it's
been out for quite some time now, I still pop in pretty regularly.
Well, almost daily for my login rewards, but also just to put a few
levels on my primary unit every weekend or two. I've done just about
everything the game has to offer, but I enjoy it enough that I keep
coming back to it.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End:
Our Review
This one is something of a sentimental pick for me, because while
it is not my favorite release of the Uncharted games, it was a
satisfying conclusion to an absolute favorite video game series of
mine. It's one of those few games that I went back to for more (and it,
like Grand Kingdom was featured in Beeps and Beers from me this year).
Final Fantasy XV
Our Review
This guy just barely made the cut this year with such a late
release, but I am very comfortable with this game's buddy approach to
storytelling. It won't go down as my favorite Final Fantasy title of all
time, but great production values and plenty of fun systems had me
spending a lot of time with this one.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII
Our Review
This one narrowly beats out Nobunaga's Ambition: Sphere of
Influence - Ascension for me. Objectively speaking, Nobunaga is the
better game, with a little more polish and some nice quality of life
features missing from Romance. But this is my personal list, and I have
always had a personal preference towards the characters and setting of
the Romance series, so it gets the nod here.
Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
Our Review
Just narrowly edging out BlazBlue: Central Fiction for my fighter
of the year (and dominating the overly rushed Street Fighter V), Guilty
Gear offers incredibly slick graphics and gameplay making it
best-in-class for the genre this year.
Honorable Mentions-
Bravely Second: End Layer - Our Review
My favorite reason for using the 3DS this yearForza Horizon 3
I'm not even a big racing fan, but this one was a blastNBA 2K 17 - Our Review
Probably my favorite sports game this year, but some early bugs knocked it down a few pegs for meCivilization VI
Another Beeps and Beers companion of mine, but I wish the AI was betterXenoblade Chronicles X - Our Review
One of the only reasons I used my Wii U this yearChris - The Sidekick
Pokemon Sun
An amazing entry into the pokemon series, a series I'd fallen off
on due to the general formula always staying the same across the games.
However, I'd been hearing how much friends were enjoying the game, and
how it added a lot of new mechanics, and changed up the formula.
Overall, the new generation of Pokemon games have really hit the mark,
with an overall polished experience, a new formula for world
exploration, instead of gyms, and an amazing story, compared to any past
pokemon game, with good surprises, and proper character development.
In the end, it was a solid entry into the series, and I highly
recommend looking into it.
Dark Souls III
Our Review
This game was very early into the year, but nonetheless remains
alive, and easily something to come back to. I wrote up a review when
the game came out, and I still enjoy the game just as much as I did
back then. With an expansion pack recently coming out - offering a new
landscape, some interesting bosses, and new weaponry, spells, and
armor, and adding in a PvP arena - there's still more you can do, and
there's one more DLC slated to be released early into 2017, so look out
for that.
Corpse Party (3DS Remake)
Our Review (PC)
Corpse party's a generally ill-known series, but nevertheless
something great if you're into horror games, but don't mind slower
gameplay for more plot. The plot remains the same as the original, with
some added chapters to fill in gaps left by the plot, but in the end,
it's still tried-and-true for the series, and offers a great
experience. There are 4 exclusive extra chapters available in the 3DS
remake of the game, that give even fans of the past remakes something to
look forward to other than a prettier experience. There's full art in
the 3DS edition, so you can see the gruesome pictures drawn up by the
team, and immerse yourself even more into the world. All considered,
the 3DS version of the original Corpse Party is easily the definitive
version, and something to add to your collection if you're the kind of
person that would enjoy the genre.
Overwatch
Overwatch is a game that everyone's heard about, and probably a
game that a lot of people are sick of hearing about. I don't play it
much more, a lot of the novelty has worn off, but I still managed to
rack up over 70 hours into the game before I stopped. For me, the game
was amazingly fun when I first started playing, but some things have
shaped the game in a negative way. The ever-increasing amount of
balance changes that end up weakening existing characters and creating
unbalance for a lot of different levels of play hasn't been the
greatest. It's something that was bound to happen, and while I don't
dislike constant balance updates (Read: League of Legends) there's
something to be said when a game that originally was all about just
having fun, instead of catering to the competitive side of things,
which honestly, Overwatch shouldn't be about. The competitive scene
balances a lot of the game, but unlike something such as League, CS:GO,
DotA, or any other similar title, the competitive just isn't anywhere
near the same level, and doesn't redeem the fact that characters most
people liked, that weren't/were issues at levels lower than the top,
got balanced into unhealthy ways, and different core identities, than
were originally intended, because of the competitive side of things.
All in all, it is still a great game, and definitely deserves the spot
on this list due to its success, but I can't play it anymore because
it's just not what it was supposed to be, even with all the constant
content updates, which are amazing on Blizzard's part.
Watch Dogs 2
They really did well on this one. Watch Dogs got a lot of flack
when it was released because of so much that wasn't what it was hyped to
be. From graphics downgrades to gameplay being more finnicky than
expected, and numerous bugs and server issues, it felt more like a GTA
clone than a game where hacking is important, and that just wasn't
great. That said, it was still a fun game, but compared to what it
should have been? Not great. Watch Dogs 2 has tried to rectify that, and
honestly, I feel they, for the most part, succeeded. There are still
issues, in that gunplay is something I feel shouldn't even be in the
game for the hero, or at least not lethal. But I digress, hacking has
had a significant step up from the last game, both in usefulness and
usability. You can quick-tap to hack so many objects in the world, you
can set up traps for enemies, you can ride scissor lifts and forklifts
to get to new locations, scout out areas with a 3D-printed drone, and
generally just do more. There's a lot more to do in this iteration of
the game, and I definitely feel like it's worth checking out.
Hamza - The Design Guru
Mother Russia Bleeds
Not having a powerful enough PC (as of yet) means I often miss out
on the graphically-demanding AAA games and have to wait a long time
until I can upgrade my computer to even remotely have a chance to run
them at playable frame-rates. All is not lost, however, as I always have
the ever-reliable indie market to fall back on. Championed by the
legendary Devolver Digital, this game is a brutal beat 'em up that is
sure to win over fans of Double Dragon and Streets of Rage. If you like
your action hardcore and music so loud it practically rebounds off the
walls, then look no further than Mother Russia Bleeds.
Devil Daggers
I'm quite ashamed to admit that until a few weeks prior to
uploading this list, I had absolutely not heard of Devil Daggers.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered it initially came out at the start
of the year, with newer versions added along the way. Anyway, now that I
have hastily put in a good 4+ hours into it, I can safely say I have
not played a more distilled, pure, naked form of addictive gameplay in a
long while. For the uninitiated, Devil Daggers is all about survival -
in the most brutal, stark definition of it. You see, the game only has
one achievement, and that is to survive for at-least 500 seconds.
Don't get fooled though - it is amongst the most challenging
achievements available. With graphics that harken back to the
first-person shooters of the 90's, there is much to love (and treasure)
about this game, and then some. Without a shadow of a doubt, Devil
Daggers is my 2016 GOTY!
Shadow Warrior 2
I'm going to keep this one simple: if you love a wide and wacky
range of weapons from this to that, then do yourself a favor and add
Shadow Warrior 2 to your wish list. The surprisingly deep amount of
weapon customizing is commendable, but it's the addition of magic and
special attributes that you can attach to your weapon of choice that is
the real kicker here. And yea, the rest of the game is great, too!
A Boy and His Blob
I first read about this game in a magazine way, way back in 2009. I
remember totally falling in love with the screenshots, they were so
beautiful and cute. The hand-painted graphics, lush environments, the
cuteness of the titular characters; all indicated that A Boy & His
Blob is a must-play for those who love getting their hearts melted while
solving neatly laid out puzzles. The only problem: the game remained
Wii-exlusive until the beginning of this year, when it was ported to the
PC by the ever-dependable Wayforward Technologies. Seeing how the game
is an accessible and lovable treat to the eyes, ears, and the heart, I'd
say the 7 years wait was totally worth it.
Deadly Tower of Monsters
This was a bona-fide surprise discovery of the year for me. I'd
never heard of the company ACE Team before in my life and now thanks to
this game I cannot seem to get enough of their games, each wonderfully
surreal than the last. This game is a lovely loveletter to the campy
B-movie scene of the 1950's, with eye-pleasing aesthetics that borrow
from that time period. Though the gameplay gets a bit repetitive after a
few hours, it's not enough to completely bog down the experience, with
the excellent narration and tongue-in-cheek presentation keeping things
fresh and humorous just enough for the player to go that extra "five
minutes". You should definitely play it!
P.Y. - The Coder
Dragon Quest Builders
Our Review
I normally save the best for last but this year? The King is at the top of the pile!
Dragon Quest Builders was my absolute favorite title of the year.
Taking a what if scenario, Builders follows the events of what would
have happened to the world if the Hero decided to side with the Evil
Dragonlord instead of slay him to free the lands from his malevolence.
Given an open sandbox it's up to you to restore the light to the world
in order to pave the path for the future Hero that will hopefully do the
job right this time.
I spent countless hours and stopped paying attention to the clock
after having put sixty or so hours in two or three weeks. Hell the first
day of release was a good twelve of those hours. Building towns, saving
people, creating new items and recipes, and generally having fun either
tearing something down or building something up before going into epic
boss battles and then diving back in to do challenges, I was hooked. The
first dragon you go up against in full set of armour was awesome! Then
there was the next one… in your underwear… not as awesome but you had a
stick! It was exhilarating for different reasons.
The Little Acre
Our Review
The Little Acre has just come out and honestly it deserves a space
on this list regardless of how late to the game it was. It was a
brilliant work of art and it had me hooked from the beginning to the
end.
I'm still learning the ropes on what makes a good Point and Click
Adventure as I've honestly only started experiencing this style in the
past few years. You can keep looking at me that way if you want to but
no, no I have not yet played Monkey Island. The Little Acre however has a
perfect balance of story, characters and their interactions with the
world that mostly come through puzzles. Some of these were obvious,
while others had to make you wonder exactly how the hell you were going
to get dressed without getting out of bed all the while not waking up
the sleeping monster AND getting the dog to do your dirty work.
Echoes of Aetheria
Our Review
Dancing Dragon Games have really hit gold with Echoes of Aetheria.
Actually not only have they hit gold but the two that follow are all
Indie RPGs created with an RPG Maker. That's how much these three titles
meant to me this year and the runner ups while I loved, didn't mark me
as much.
I had already had a chance to play Skyborn (DDG's previous title)
and was shocked when I loaded up EoA to see that the battles were an
entirely custom system designed from the ground up with three rows and
five columns in which your characters could move around. The story was
good but the systems that it used in order to tell the tale were amazing
including sieges that had enemies come from several avenues and had to
be dispatched before they could get to their destinations.
Tales Across Time
Our Review
Tales Across Time is Critical Games' second title following 8-Bit
Adventures which was its own level of interesting. A good interesting.
While it isn't overly long, it focuses more on a narrative experience of
three individuals separated by time but with something that they
unfortunately all have in common.
Not many games can cause me to have shivers but this is definitely
one of them. Had it been any longer I'm not sure the outcome would have
been the same as the concepts would have been marred by fluff. Instead
of fluff, Tales Across Time only takes a couple hours but it is time
very well spent with three completely different storylines, fleshed out
characters, interesting battle mechanics and one of the creepiest bad
guys that I've had the pleasure of running away from. I know they are
working on an 8-Bit Adventures 2 but I would really like to see more
like this.
Ara Fell
Our Review
In a way this is best for last because… wow. Ara Fell really
showed what could be done with and RPG Maker and quoting Stegosoft games
once again, they "brought RPG Maker 2003 kicking and screaming out of
retirement!". I'm very glad that they did.
Ara Fell blew me away. Honestly anyone who says that "oh it was
just made with an RPG Maker" has a lot to learn with titles such as
these. One of the first items starting off is that the world while not
open, does not feel restricted. Exploring places that you should not
even be in yet (due to level differences) is possible if you look hard
enough. Walking around, crawling, jumping, and other abilities that
follow exist in order to better explore the world. Combat is fun and a
little different than usual with twists of its own. If you need an RPG
to get away from the AAA levels, this is definitely one to look into.
Honorable Mentions
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2 - Our Review
Class VII are back and after finishing the first and jumping straight into the second it was clear to see that Trails of Cold Steel 2 was only one one of the best games that I played on my Vita, but also an improvement upon the original which was already great.Arslan: The Warriors of Legend - Our Review
I'm a fan of Musou titles but Arslan for me was one of the best as it runs more with a story than it does with combat. There's still a fair amount of combat but all of it feels like it actually matters and is not simply filler between cutscenes because your actions are what lead the events from one point to the next.Dark Souls III - Our Review
Love it, hate it, run away screaming in the night, Dark Souls 3 was awesome and one of my favorite of the series. Seriously try to go back and play Demons Souls… good luck. Holy Hell it's hard after playing this. It's not everyone that will love this newest entry but for me it was the best one yet and I quite enjoyed the Bloodborne smoothness of dodging added into what makes Dark Souls, Dark Souls.Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir - Our Review
From cult classic on the PS2 to hit on the PS4. Best part? It contains the original if you feel like taking a trip back down memory lane. Honestly? Play the new one. Leifthrasir is more than just a HD port, it's a full blown remake of the game with new systems in place in order to provide a smoother experience. The story is the same but the supporting elements make it much easier to re-experience this magical tale.I am Setsuna - Our Review
I am Setsuna is an homage to the great Chrono Trigger. Those from the white expanses known as Canada, where it snows three quarters of the damned year (another two feet yesterday), will feel at home as the arctic wastelands are all that you are going to see. Thankfully there are bright colours to permeate the snow as well as an incredible piano arrangement that supports the title from start to finish. I do hope that more is done with this series as it was a pleasure to sit through.Richard - The Obsurist
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
Our Review
Odin sphere: while it may technically be a remaster, boy was it
done properly. It wasn't just a fancy graphic update, but the gameplay
was smoothed out and it just felt so much cleaner than its original.
Odin sphere was a great game to begin with, and the remaster reminded
people why.
Monster Hunter Generations
Our Review
Monster hunter generations: always been a huge fan, with 500+
hours clocked on each installment. Needless to say, the latest monster
hunter is going to be on this list for me. Besides, with the new styles
introduced, my friend who mains a hunting horn is now officially called
"the flying tuba", and nothing will make me stop laughing whenever I see
him in action.
Digimon Cyber Sleuth
Cyber sleuth: this was the digimon game I didn't know I needed.
The characters were hilarious and entertaining, the gameplay was solid,
and I loved making a team out of all my old TV favourite digimon.
Salt and Sanctuary
Our Review
Salt and Sanctuary: always enjoyed the demon/dark souls games, and
always loved 2D side scrollers. Salt and Sanctuary was a wonderful
combination of both of these, with what I would consider a much better
multiplayer system.
Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls
Our Review
Vs. Sega Hard girls: probably my favourite neptunia game so far,
it was great to see IF in the spotlight. Combat felt refreshed, the
quest system was interesting, the new field map commands were cool, and
Neptune's role had me falling off my couch laughing way too hard.
Robert - The Tech
Tyranny
The Division
Rimworld
Hyper Light Drifter
Jeff - Super Secret Character
The Division
XCOM 2
Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition
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