I can think of at least nine reasons this list might be lacking: Gears of War 4, Uncharted 4, Titanfall 2, Salt and Sactuary, Kathy Rain, Virginia, Forza Down Under, Dead Rising 2, and The Last Guardian. All games I didn’t get to play this year. I’ll throw in Just Dance 2017 to make it an even ten.
There is a couple of wtf games in here, I think you just wanna branch out to the jRPG crowd :)
I own only one game on that list, off world trading company might finally get a serious look at , it’s clear I’m missing out. I like how you have fun in your games, I miss that myself .
Once again, a list full of games I haven’t played. Except for Warhammer: Total War, which is awesome! It also has a couple of games I want to eventually get around to.
For me, personally, my top game of this year is The Witcher 3, although I guess that doesn’t count. For games that were actually released this year, I’d probably have to go with Tale of Wuxia, although I believe the original Chinese version was released last year. It definitely has some flaws, but I enjoyed it so much that I not only finished it, but immediately started a new game (which did go to the backburner after a while). I wish they’d update the English version, though.
There’s one thing that’s better in XCOM1: the feeling of defending our world. True, map with a barn looked the same in Tokyo and Nigeria, but still you interacted with more or less real world. In XCOM 2 world map might as well not be there at all, just leave nodes. And all those futuristic generic buildings make sense thematically - but they make the game more generic and strip it out of context.
(My top game would probably be Tyranny. I’m a sucker for RPG and grand strategy. Maybe DooM or Dishonored 2 are cool too, haven’t gotten to those games yet.)
I can swap this list with the most overrated list and they make more sense that way.
I think I’ve played more games on this year’s list than any other - Warhammer:Total War (I refuse to abide by the stupid new naming convention), Offworld Trading Company, and XCOM 2 - sort of (I had an issue with frequent crashing that was never resolved to my knowledge. I should re-install it to see it’s been fixed in the updates. I really would like to get back to it some day).
To my own personal list I would add Twilight Struggle, not only for being so great but also for giving those of use whose real-life friends (as opposed to imaginary Internet friends) aren’t gamers a chance to play it, and Matrix/Slitherine’s excellent don’t-call-it-a-board-game Victory and Glory - Napoleon (although I wish they would hurry with the DLC that lets you play as the British.)
Never mind - I just found this on the Steam forum. I had a feeling it wasn’t selling enough to justify further DLC. Pity.
[quote]Unfortunately the level of work involved with creating a playable Britain with the quality of gameplay we would require from ourselves, is not feasible, due to economics and other commitments of the development team.
We have of course not abandoned the game, in terms that bugs found will be fixed, but we are not planning any DLCs for the time being.[/quote]
This was probably my lamest year of playing PC games in over a decade. Combo of moving into a new house, graphics card blowing, summer being taking up by research, and lots of board game design and development. I literally can’t think of a single game that was released this year that I bought and played. My most played/enjoyed games were: Divinity: Original Sin (didn’t finish it), Diablo III (because it’s so easy to relax with), and Dishonored (yes, it’s taken me this long to get around to it). And maybe HuniePop. But you’ll never prove it.
I was thinking of grabbing Ratchet and Clank for my PS4 Pro since I want to put FFXV on the back burner until it’s gotten some of the updates they announced (not to mention I guess I better at some point watch Kingsglaive) and seeing Tom put it on this list sold me. It’s only like $20 on Amazon, too, so it’s kind of a no-brainer. It looks fantastic.
This is (to me) Tom’s best list. It contains a lot of really fun, inspiring choices. Total War is of course one of top games of the year, and I loved XCOM 2 and OWTC quite a lot as well. I have never played many of the games on this list, so I’m wishlisting them just to give them a try. Especially Oxenfree, that’s incredible looking.
Literally the only game on this list that I have played (if you don’t count the original version of the two remakes, since I did play the first Ratchet and Clank and the original Odin Sphere, neither remotely close to completion) is Oxenfree. But that is really great, for sure.
I still have a vague, secret desire to play Odin Sphere. I’m slapping myself repeatedly in the face to get it to go away.
This year’s Odin Sphere plays much more smoothly (and of course) looks much prettier than the original. It got a bit repetitive for me, so I don’t think it’ll get into my top list, but it was beautiful and the fighting felt right and the upgrades were cool and doled out at the right pace.
Offworld Trading Company is the only other game on this list that I’ve played, and it deserves all of the plaudits and then some. I’m looking forward to XCOM 2, but given my progress with, um XCOM 1, we’re probably talking another three or four years until I’m there.
But if it’s better in every way, then why bother with the original?
In 2016 we’re long past the point where there’s time to play games in order when a sequel completely replaces the original game.
From Tom’s list I’ve played TW: Warhammer, Oxenfree, XCOM 2, Offworld Trading Company
So far, my list would look something like this, assuming I can include big expansions and ‘definitive editions’. It may change if I can squeak in another game or 2 that was released in 2016.
The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine
I love Geralt and the writing so much in The Witcher. The world is so much fun to explore. The combat is pretty good to round it out - not too fast paced and spammy.
Dark Souls 3
There is something about the combat in Dark Souls that just makes me love it every time. I can’t play fighting games with complicated combos or ultra fast speeds. This just feels right to me.
Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition
Challenging, beautiful, and fun to explore.
XCOM 2
I’m a fan of the times missions so I feel enough pressure to not just creep along, but not too rushed so I get careless. It added some necessary excitement.
Doom
Just the right type of paced paced shooter for me. Not complicated to play, just run around and shoot things.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Even though the story wasn’t great the the voice acting was a bit overdone, the action was still a lot of fun. Another beautiful world to explore.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
.Civ VI manages to stay on the list because of the new elements it adds to the game despite the poor AI. If they would only get rid of 1UPT and develop a decent AI… If it even had decent AI it would have been closer to the top.
Darkest Dungeon
The game does get grindy and repetitive, but before it gets to that point it is golden. It does get better once you realize you shouldn’t try and heal up your rookie heroes.
Unraveled
Not much twitchy reflexes are needed, but some areas it can be challenging to suss out what to do. One of the most beautiful games of the year.
Offworld Trading Company
The new spin on what an RTS can be was a refreshing experience.
On thing the list illustrates to me is that I’m having a more difficult time finding strategy games I like a lot. It used to be my mainstay. I think after playing so many of them over the years has made it more difficult to find something to wow me, and goofy AI becoming more and more apparent.
I already have the original! It’s installed! I’ve put a couple of hours into it!
… but you’re absolutely right. It’s the time much more than the money, and this almost certainly ends with me grabbing the second one for < $10 when it gets there and just playing that. After which I will read a review about how XCOM 3 makes the second one obsolete.
This is the next step to true mastery of the backlog. Just assume there will always be a better sequel, ad infinitum!
Thanks for the write up Rob! It’s always nice to see more than just a list.
I didn’t play enough games this year to have a top 10 list, I don’t think. I’ll have to give it some thought.
Of course, it’s December and this is the time of year where I always try to catch up and play some critical favorites that happen to be on the backlog, so that I can make a more informed top 5 voting choice for Qt3 in January.
The Game of the Year was Stardew Valley. There can be no debate. It is universal truth like gravity and there can be no debate.
Well if I’ve never heard of it then it can’t be that great.
Interesting personal reaction to these games for me. There were only 6 streams from Tom this year that I found too boring to keep watching during his Qt3 Livestreams. And all 6 made it onto this list. So maybe these games are better to play than they are to watch someone else play.