hylian_elf wrote:

b0r1s wrote:

I actually have a list of five this year. Just need to decide on order.

Not this year. And it was shit anyway, just ask Chalice.

That literally took 5 seconds for it to sink in. Tired.

Does a port to console count? I forgot about Soma on ps4. Released this year but pc version came out last year. Also Amnesia collection gonna drop at end of November on ps4. In theory would that count?

I think my list is Dirt Rally.

Pokemon Go

Elf, this is not me casting my vote yet, I'll do that nearer the deadline.  I'm cross-posting (with modification and extensive expansion) from the Reg-aborto-thread:


The GotYs of 2016 Past
(aka the short list so far, not sorted yet)

Firewatch
A masterclass in videogame writing, both in terms of the narrative and the dialogue, and great voice acting. From the opening text section through to the resolution, it set and maintained tremendous tone of life's balance of melancholy, mundanity, and the frisson of interpersonal relationships. It wasn't perfect; it tossed a stone into the water too early (I hope those who've played know what I mean, I'm trying to avoid spoilers) but it did what it set out to do very well.  It was very unfairly criticised for technical frailties.  Yes, it doesn't compare well to The Witness - with which it shares only its colour palette and camera perspective - but The Witness is an anomaly; Firewatch was never any less reliable than almost any other indie release.  I'd say that playing this should be compulsory for everyone here.

Ratchet & Clank
I appreciate that writing, "it's fun," is considered poor form in videogame criticism, but it really is that simple here.  Okay, I'll try to explain why.  Ratchet's animation is loose enough to allow room for personality, but tight enough to allow for some crisp platforming when you want it.  This means that general gameplay has  casual, lolloping feel to it, but attempts to complete sections at speed always feel under control.  The graphics are lush, solid and colourful; the environments are busy enough that you can spend time just watching the world go by, but they are not distracting while you play.  The script is genuinely funny and knowing at points, without being cringeworthy.  The weapons are the key, though.  It maybe helps that I'd never played more than ten minutes of the franchise, but they are wonderfully inventive and satisfying to use.  The various results encourage experimentation with combining different types, and the upgrades keep things from getting stale.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Again, this game is not without faults. It contains way too much combat, which then fucks with the plot and the lead character's, um, character.  But... but... it largely does what it intends to do very well.  I'd rather the combat didn't exist, but it's the best combat of the franchise.  The scripting and voice acting are superb; the relationship between Nathan & Elena is the most convincing, natural, believable relationships in all videogamedom.  The world is beautifully detailed and often simply beautiful.  The bell tower is one of my standout moments so far this generation.

No Man's Sky
Yup.  I spent a month playing this solidly after release. I ignored my entire gaming collection for a whole month, such was the extent to which this game drew me in.  Yes, I know it's not the game a lot of people thought it would be, but it has laid the foundation for those games to arrive in the near future, and it's a tremendous universe in which to spend time while we wait for those to arrive.  The relationships with the Gek, Korvax and Vy'keen may not be as complex as hoped, but they are nevertheless brimming with character.

Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration
Ignoring Elf's platform racism and illogical rule enforcement, this could well be in my top five.  Again, it's not without its issues; too much combat, not enough effort put into environment exploration and traversal, Lara forgot some of the skills she developed last game, and the plot is another rehash of pretty much every other Uncharted and Tomb Raider, but I'm still having fun.  (Sorry, there I go again with the 'f' word.)


The GotYs of 2016 Present
(aka I like what I've seen, but haven't played enough to legitimately vote for)

The Witness
At times it's a little opaque; I wasn't sure I was on the right tack, and wasn't seeing much by way of confirmation.  But the difficulty curve of the puzzles seems about right (I'm still fairly early on) and it is undeniably gorgeous.

Unravel
A little loose in control where the levels seem to require tighter control, but it has a charming aesthetic.

Salt & Sanctuary
An old school take on the the new school games with old school sensibilities.  Nails.

Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure
I've played the first couple of missions of solo, and a couple of rounds of multiplayer.  Ace fun.

Push Me Pull You
It's fucking weird, but had me and my mate laughing out loud.

10 Second Ninja
This is fucking hard.  n++ / Super Meat Boy style platformer.  I'm rather surprised it's not been a big hit on this forum.

DiRT Rally
Um, it's DiRT Rally.  I'm not sure what else you want me to say.

Mantis Burn Racing
I'd prefer it if it was closer to Motorstorm RC than unarmed mashed, and it desperately needs an instant restart, but this is a solid top-down racer.  The upgrade system is, uh, a bit different, but I've already accidentally lost a few hours to this.


The GotYs of Schrödinger's Cat
(aka bought but not yet booted)

Adr1ft
Um, yeah.  Oops.


The GotYs of 2016 Yet to Come
(aka I'm hopeful)

Rez Infinite
I'll probably cave on pay day.

steep
Hopefully it doesn't end up Ubifuct.

Gravity Rush 2 / The Last Guardian
I suppose it's inevitable that some 2017 slippage would occur.


The Notformes
(aka not for me...)

Gone Home: Console Edition
If I wanted to interact with everything in the hope that it's one of the 5% of things with consequence, I'd go back to the 80s or play LA Noir, and I don't want to ever play that again.  Or this.

Doom
I'll concede, I probably haven't given this a fair crack of the whip, but it didn't grip me.

Not a Hero
I probably just need to git gud.

Broforce
Wouldn't qualify due to Elf's racism, if it was good, but it isn't.

Dead Star
There's a lot to like, but it didn't grip me.

Furi
I nearly broke a pad in anger.  The very definition of 'not for me', which is a pity, because I thought I was going to love it.

Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair
I have a soft spot for EDG games, but this still feels like a warmed up PS2 title.  I can forgive that sensation when something actually is a PS2 title, but this lacks ambition and is the lesser for it.

Abzû
This could've been on my shortlist, but it was determined to scupper itself, and succeeded.  Still worth a playthrough, especially if you're a Journey fan.  For me, it's a so-near-and-yet-so-far disappointment.

Oxenfree
As discussed in the Worst Game thread, it's broken-ness put me off before it got going.  I'm going to give it another go before I commit, though.

TrackMania Turbo
Again, as discussed in the Worst Game thread, this is on my shit list for fucking itself up although, once you come to terms with it, there's fun to be had.

When did "keep talking and nobody explodes" come out. That shit is really good.

As an aside, I'm putting on edf 4.1 every time I just want 30 minutes of utter nonsense. It's kind of jolie-laide and I kind of love it

WorKid wrote:

Pokemon Go

I'm not gonna count this just on the basis of keeping the list pure and unsoiled by utter shite. 

(Are you serious, by the way?)

No Costume Quest 2?

Hey! I'm not that draconian.

I'll leave it in along with other such votes. Just to show up how silly people can be with their votes.

hylian_elf wrote:

WorKid wrote:

Pokemon Go

I'm not gonna count this just on the basis of keeping the list pure and unsoiled by utter shite. 

(Are you serious, by the way?)

Totally. As evidenced by my massive fucking hiatus (welcome back me! Yay!) it's been a funny old year for one reason and another. But I'll always remember the summer me and the kids explored all sorts of new places, walked for miles, laughing and catching pokemon, battling gyms together, going to parks for no reason other than because we heard there were Squirtles there, when Beth got a golduck but mine scarpered, and that time we took down a level 7 gym between the three of us.

I've not played much other stuff (a few good mobile games maybe like polytopia and warbits and guild of dungeneers and good ole FTL) but yeah summer 2016 will be the summer of PoGo.

Thanks Workid. I'll count it and update list next opportunity.

Time to allow dlc, Blood and Wine is too good.

As seen as Divinity 2 is now delayed and there's only Pokemon coming out that I'm interested in I'll do mine now:

1) Darkest Dungeon

On one quest, Paul Daniels got really stressed out after fighting several mushroom men. He started to say negative things in the heat of battle. Such trinkets as 'oh well, the young ones should be at the forefront' just after young Pete Doherty got smashed for some big damage. This irked Pete and after the quest I sent him to the chapel to flagellate himself for some relief. Pete however, enjoyed whipping himself so much he refused to leave for a week. This was a bit annoying as two of my other main characters - Moira Stewart and Chris Moyles went on an all night bender after being left together in the tavern and went AWOL. Leaving me with the pairing of Sinead O'Connor and marksman Noel Gallagher. They didn't really get on. Noel was a gambling addict who got caught cheating, Sinead tried to help him out but he pretty much told her to piss off which was upsetting for everyone. This is why this brilliant game is number 1.

2) OverwatchI've never been into a shooter as much since L4D2. Bursting with character and putting a focus on teamwork, this feels for me like the spiritual successor to Team Fortress 2.

3) Fire Emblem Fates (Conquest)I don't know how your marking this one, but if it's counted as individual games I pick Conquest. I love it's purity. No messing about grinding. A pure, unadulterated slog. Absolutely hard as nails (on Hard/Classic) but such a fucking joy when a strategy comes together. This path has easily the best characters in the package as well.

4) X-COM 2The best thing about this is they way they gave you time limits. It added a serious amount of pressure to each mission. I loved the way this time it felt like you were playing against another opponent, with all the Dark Events etc. Still tough as nails as well.

5) Dark Souls 3Maybe the fact that I played this through as a wizard on my first try has knocked this down the list a bit. It was just a bit shite comparatively to my second playthorugh as a rouge build. Still I did end up enjoying it despite some initial frustrations. Very familiar, but still cracking.

Notable Omissions:

Street Fighter V: Poured hours into it. Incredible fighting system blighted by horrible mismanagement, bad net code and loathsome micro transactions.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided: Solid, but HR was better.
Monster Hunter: Enjoying it loads but way too familiar to make the top 5

Cheers

Updated.  Thanks to Tempy for tip on pasting plain text.