So if the most disappointing category is a list of games that should have been better, the most surprising category is the opposite. These are games that were better than they should have been. Just as disappointing is about falling short of expectations, these surprising games exceeded expectations and, in some cases, were among the best games of the year.
The second biggest surprise of 2016 was this game not being terrible.
Considering you say that in your #1 pick in this list, I suppose the biggest surprise of 2016 is in a different list? ;)
Maybe he’s talking about Trump.
No pleasant surprises for me out of the games I’ve played.
I’m tempted to play House of the Dying Sun now so I can lazily use my gamepad instead of dragging out all the sim gear.
Yay! This is probably my biggest surprise of the year. Such an awesome game.
Doom was also my biggest pleasant surprise of the year. I really went into it thinking it was going to be some weird mish-mash of ideas and leftover bits of the Doom 4 project. I expected an unfocused mess, and when I found out that it was a laser-precise reinvention of Doom that somehow completely changed the gameplay, but kept the feel of Doom that you thought you remembered, I was blown away. The only unfortunate part of Doom is SnapMap which is a poor substitute for fully open modding and map making.
If we leave it in games maybe he’s talking about Shadow Warrior 2. I’m not sure but I started thinking about Doom and how great it was but my recent shooter play has been Shadow Warrior 2 and not Doom so maybe that’s it. We’ll find out soon though.
Tom Mc
I either own or now have wishlisted every game on this list.
I don’t think I even heard of Seraph before.
Glad to read this about Home front - I’d been interested in the Division but turned off by the mmo functionality. Will look a bit deeper on this.
Totally agree on Homefront. Great game if you get it for 20.
I didn’t think of it for yesterday’s list but I totally would have put Mirror’s Edge Semicolon under disappointments. I really loved the first game and I think what it did so much better was focus - I really don’t think this kind of game really works with an open world. Even open world driving games need to give you roads to operate within the constraints of.
I’m surprised I liked Hitman GO as much as I did and finished the game. It’s definitely not my favorite game of the year, but i wouldn’t have guessed I would have enjoyed cracking the movement-based puzzles. Also, I’ve only played 2 levels of Hitman but like what I’ve seen so far. I’ve only played the original Hitman way back when, and didn’t like it that much - so I didn’t think I’d liek the new one as much as I do.
I also agree with Doom. I had no intention of getting it, but due to the love expressed for it I got it and am glad I did. So often I get stuff due to the excitement for a game and I end up being disappointed. Not so for Doom - pure awesomeness.
Ooh, Gremlins Inc somehow completely passed me by. I’ll have to check that out. And Seraph. Steep, I think I’ll wait for the sale. I don’t mind it not being SSX, and I love snowboarding in real life (and get to do it much less frequently than I’d like) but I do like a bit of structure to my gaming, so I’m worried I’ll fall off it fairly quickly.
For me, the biggest surprise was DotA 2 7.00, aka DotA 3.Basically a total overhaul of the game, introducing skill trees, a new map, a new hero and a new UI, as well all the usual balance tweaks and hats. It’s a pretty bold step considering that the community was probably as happy as it’s ever been with the state of the meta.
For new new games, I think I’d have to go Doom as well. I had zero anticipation for this and while it’s still something I just dip into now and again, I like it more than almost any other shooter I’ve played in the last five years.
The way the new Hitman turned out really is success story. The last game, Absolution was really the low point of the entire series (I have played them all, and barely was able to finish the last game), with smaller levels that almost seemed linear, crappy story, sexy nuns! And then to go from that to the huge levels, great encapsulated missions, elusive targets, episodic release format of the new game, and have it all turn out so so so so so good is really the most surprising game of 2016. I can’t recall a developer do so much wrong in a previous game to pretty much do a 180 and do so much right in their next game.
Definitely agree on Doom – after the multiplayer beta my hopes for the game were crushed but after all the positive buzz at launch I picked it up and it’s made my short list for GOTY.
This one might be recency bias but after grabbing The Division for ten bucks it’s well exceeded my expectations of “mediocre cover shooter in an interesting environment”. The gearing and light crafting are really scratching the ARPG itch I’d been feeling of late. Planning to grab the season pass as the added survival mode looks like an interesting spin and takes full advantage of the world they’ve built.
Finally have to give a nod to Dragon Quest Builders. Minecraft has never really worked for me… until they added direction and the Dragon Quest license. Would love to see a sequel, this was the perfect game to relax and tool around in for a while and I haven’t found a good replacement. edit: Good news! Sounds like a sequel is in the works.
The optional challenges in Hitman that encourage a different approach to the map is also great. You learn the map and apply what you’ve learned to take a new approach.
I didn’t expect much from Clash Royale. But it turned out to be probably the best competitive multiplayer RTS I’ve ever played. After what was probably about 4000 games (i.e. a minimum of 200 hours) I was forced to make a clean break and uninstall it. Any kind of “I’ll just play a little bit of Clash Royale every now and then” half measure was doomed to end with a CR binge that’d only end when the phone ran out of battery.
Too bad about the business model. While back in the day it was possible to get to the highest level arena without paying money, I doubt it’s true for anyone starting now.
Now this is a list! I too am poorer in money but richer in potential entertainment after reading this.
Ok, what is the screenshot at the top from?
That’s MechWarrior: Ardennes Offensive.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.