Bigfooty GOTY 2016 voting thread (ends 31/12)

[TheKanga]

It's this time of year again folks.
It's time to think back on the year of gaming now that the year is nearly over.

Same as last year, just post a list on you're top 10 games of 2016.
Haven't played that many games? All good just post the best ones you have played.
Once the voting period is over i'll tally it up and we can find out what the collective of Bigfooty thinks is game of the year.

If anyone has any trouble remembering what games came out this year.
This might be of help: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_in_video_gaming
Also any games that released locally in 2016 can be counted.

Also please try and put some thought into votes and as to why you liked each game.
Makes for a more interesting thread rather than just a list thread.
Voting is from today 29/11 through til 31/12

You can reserve a post or start you're list and keep editing it up until the deadline if you like.

Thanks & Happy voting!

EDIT - Last years thread actually flopped, it was the year before that worked out.
So hopefully we get people voting this time.

 

[TheKanga]

COMPLETE


1. Forza Horizon 3

I've enjoyed the Horizon series since the first game on 360.
The best original IP for Microsoft in sometime.
The third iteration is undoubtedly the best yet.
Playground Games have crafted an amazing sand box to race & explore in.
Bolstered by Turn 10's already excellent driving engine.
It's the perfect balance of sim driving & arcade driving.

The visuals are outstanding, i had my jaw drop while driving on the beach near the twelve apostles
Or driving through the shipyard on my way to surfers paradise while an ominous storm rolls in.
Oh did i mention...this game has the best and most realistic skies ever.
The weather patterns are really a beauty to behold and very realistic looking.

Probably the best driving game ever, it's just pure fun which is the most important thing.


2. Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2 is a game that each player will have a unique experience.
It offers immense replay-ability and opportunities to experiment with different play-styles.
Whichever play-style you opt for can influence the ending of the game.
You can play a non-lethal (low chaos) approach and simply knock enemies unconscious.
Or alternatively you can cause mayhem everywhere you go while watching the bodycount pile up.

Either play style is exhilarating in it's own right.
If you are up for a challenge you can formulate a plan of ghosting (never being spotted)
Entire levels or even the entire game.
It's very rewarding when you use you're brain instead of brawn.
Or in high chaos attaching spring razor's to a swarm of rats before they pass by enemies = profit
Limbs and body parts everywhere.

The level design is top notch and displays the gameworld that is rich in mysticism and lore.
Exploration is rewarded with many secrets and hidden passages to be found.
Arkane studios have done a fantastic job on the sequel.


3. INSIDE

Developer playdead have done a phenomenal job in their spiritual sequel to LIMBO.
It has a fascinating premise and often silently has some poignant messages to convey.
The level design & puzzles throughout the game are quite clever.
The sound design is top notch, seriously try playing the game with good headphones if possible.
All of this combines for a fantastic experience and easily one of my most memorable of the year.
Whatever you do though don't let the awesome ending be spoiled before playing it.

4. Firewatch

This game is storytelling at it's finest.
The writing, dialogue & voice acting are excellent.
They excel so much that it conveys how natural the interactions between the two leads are.
From genuine heartfelt moments to playful banter & wordplay.
The story ultimately has a few red herrings but it's a very enjoyable ride all the same.


5. FIFA 17

FIFA is the only sports game i ever play as i'm not into American sports.
For authenticity EA have struck gold again.
It feels like the real deal and accurately captures the atmospheres & emotion of a football match.
With a few tweaks to the gameplay it's even better than ever.
The transition to the Frostbite engine has been seamless.
The AI seems less robotic to play against than in FIFA 16.
FUT is as addictive as ever and online play is generally very good.
FIFA 17 introduced the Journey a single player story mode.
Which is a fantastic addition and adds even more value to this game.


6. Titanfall 2

This was a great surprise after how underwhelming the original Titanfall was.
Respawn have crafted an excellent campaign that has just the right pacing to keep the player engaged.
Multiplayer is a step up from the original in all facets as well.


7. Final Fantasy XV

I'm only early into this, about 8-9 hours.
I feel i can comment on it though.
Graphically it's quite the looker.
The combat system is easy and it's fun mixing up combos and different weapons.
The regalia is a bit clunky and weird at first but i love listening to old FF tunes in it.
Gets the nostalgia going that's for sure.


8. Abzu

This is an absolutely gorgeous game.
No wonder that it comes from the same minds that brought us Journey.
A meditative and serene experience.
i often found myself just floating in the depths taking everything in.
Only a short game but well worth playing.


9. The Witness

Certainly a thinking man's game.
95% of the game is just solving sometimes very difficult puzzles & brainteasers.

The feeling of accomplishment and ''aha!'' moments
make this game special when you solve something and the solution comes to you.
The visuals are very nice as well with lots of colors!


10. Mafia 3

It's an imperfect game that could've been so much better.
Where it does excel though is in it's story and the way they presented it.
It has a very nice set up to the game and engaged me from the start.
Once the game gets into it's groove you discover it's repetitive in it's mission structure.
Plus when i played it was marred by a few bugs and graphical quirks.
Still even for the story alone it's entertaining and well worth playing.
------

Honorable Mentions:

Gone Home: Console Edition
DIRT Rally
Quantum Break

 

[The Big Sauce]

Need to finish the multitude of RPGs released in the last 10 days before finalising a list.

Might give The Last Guardian a crack as well.

 

[underthestars]

poor year for gaming. only two i could nominate are
Dark Souls 3, and
Uncharted 4.
only other game i'm interested in is Civ 6.

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

In No Particular Order. My Final List
1. Pokemon Sun - 3DS - Game/Series Changer, Removing the need for HM's and replacing it with the Poke Ride feature is one of the better changes the series has ever had imo, While there are no Gyms (which i feel will be an Alola region exclusive thing) the trials that are in place of them, offer up a refreshing and more Challenging experience.

2. Stardew Valley

3. Dragon Quest Builders

4. World Of Final Fantasy

5. Mafia 3

6. Dragonball Xenoverse 2

7. Madden 17

8. Battlefield 1

 

[beta_condition]

1. Uncharted 4
2. The Last Guardian
3. Overwatch
4. Rachet and Clank
5. Dirt Rally ~ counts right?
6. Gears of war 4
7. Dishonored 2
8. World of Final Fantasy
9. Forza 3 Horizon
10. Doom

Edit ~~ In: The Last Guardian Out: Dark souls 3

 

[bulletride]

Dishonored 2 and Final Fantasy XV are in my backlog but I'm unlikely to get to them this year so can't consider them. Also excluding any remastered/rereleased games so that rules out some fantastic titles including Shadow Complex, Day of the Tentacle, Ratchet & Clank, Batman Return to Arkham and The Bioshock Collection.

10. Oxenfree - Nice little supernatural adventure game, gave me serious Life is Strange vibes, which is of course a good thing.

9. Forza Horizon 3 - Haven't put as much time into it as I should have but the first racing game I've enjoyed in years.

8. Inside - Visually stunning with some awesome puzzle design.

7. Hitman - I wasn't particularly bullish about the episodic structure at first but it ended up working really well considering the story is secondary to the gameplay. Each mission had so much to do, you could play through just once or spend hours working through the challenges.

6. Battlefield 1 - I've actually dropped it down a bit from its original position in my list. While the MP is undoubtedly good, I find myself only ever playing 1 or 2 matches before getting bored and wanting to play something else.

5. Gears of War 4 - SP campaign starts slowly but ended up being one of the best of the year. MP side of the Gears series has never interested me.

4. Mafia 3 - Was repetitive as hell but what was there was so much fun and the story/setting/music was absolutely spot on.

3. Deus Ex Mankind Divided - Story is again fairly nonsensical but gameplay is top notch.

2. Uncharted 4 - Don't need to justify anything here, simply awesome.

1. Titanfall 2 - Criminally underrated as the most complete SP/MP package of the year. Campaign while brief has some of the most unique and memorable level design in years and the MP is fast-paced, balanced and deep.


Others I've completed/enjoyed include Telltale's Batman, Layers of Fear, Abzu, Doom, Overwatch, Far Cry Primal, Firewatch and Quantum Break. Biggest disappointments were The Division (social aspect kept it fun initially, but the end game was completely broken) and No Man's Sky (had the depth of a puddle).

 

[Runnin Blue]

Wow, going through the list was an eye opener.

I haven't played any title released in 2016 despite playing tons of games this year. My backlog is too big lol. But watch out Deus Ex/Doom, I've got my eye on you.

 

[dwwaino]

Going to need to seriously think this through but at this stage my certainties will be Dark Souls 3, Titanfall 2, Doom and Battlefield 1. These have been the only games to really leave an impression on me this year.

 

[beta_condition]

Just a side thought, might be interesting to post all the games we've played as well just to see the hit rate of games making our lists.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

1. Uncharted 4 - full disclosure, I'm not as rabid a fan of the franchise as a lot are. I enjoyed 1-3 but wasn't quite on board with the hype. This game, though, was exceptional. I even replayed it, which I must say is pretty rare for me. As an experience, this game was second to none for me this year.

2. Zero Time Dilemma - oh man, this game blew my mind. What an incredible end to an amazing trilogy. Hopefully with the first two games (999 and Virtue's Last Reward) coming to console it will get a much deserved greater audience because this trilogy is the bomb. Ingenious puzzles, exceptional writing, brilliant characterisation, unrivalled intermingling of science and fiction and jaw-dropping shocks. Has it all.

3. The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine - this game - sorry, DLC - is an utter masterpiece in my opinion. It flat out embarrasses almost every piece of extra content I've ever played, and does the same to a lot of full-priced standalone games. If this was published by Activision or the like it would form seven main games and three lots of full-priced DLC, such is the amount of content, scope and quality of it. Moving past the brilliant new world - one that offers various points of difference from those introduced in the base game - deep and engaging characters, intriguing story and logical additions to the already superb gameplay, it's rare for a game to evoke a genuine sense of wonder in me (The Last of Us giraffes serve as the eternal example of this phenomenon for me), but this game did it four or five times. Some of the cutscenes were mind-blowing and the attention to detail (exemplified brilliantly by the features of the "illusion") just added an extra, and much-appreciated, layer. It is still marred by some of the issues that impact the base game, which is a shame, but CDPR have developed something truly special here.

4. Pokemon Sun and Moon - if somebody had this higher up the list I wouldn't complain, but I also wouldn't really debate it if somebody had it lower. In terms of general playability it's probably the best Pokemon game yet, but a number of new and old features didn't quite stick. The story was a monumental letdown in my opinion and that's largely what hurts its standing here. It's a shame as the story had huge potential but they didn't get anywhere near that ceiling. Overall an excellent game and worthy addition to the series, but I can't rate it above my two most-loved games of the year.

5. Ratchet & Clank - what an extraordinary reboot. Almost everything about this game was perfect and exactly what I've wanted in an R&C game since the first one. Loved every second. If you haven't played it, get on it. A little short with minimal replayability but very well done.

6. Overwatch - this isn't quite my cup of tea, but even so, I have to recognise a fantastic, successful game here. I would suggest that 2016 will largely be remembered as a shallow year in gaming; a year that had some good titles but lacked games that held your attention for large periods of time. Overwatch bucked that trend and offered a unique, long-lasting multiplayer experience that in some ways redefined the genre. I can't rate it any higher as it's not my kind of game, but it deserves acknowledgement on the list.

7. F1 2016 - rare for me to put a racing game in a list like this, but it's definitely deserved. Took everything they did well in previous games, built on them, and improved a significant number of the knocks from previous games. This game is a perfect case study for developers looking to improve their response to player feedback. An exceptional game in many ways.

8. The Witness - an amazing take on the puzzle genre. I enjoyed every second of it, but the final challenge was easily the best part. The feeling of pride when I finally got through it was unexpected. Looked beautiful too, and the audio of random philosophical quotes littered around the place set the scene wonderfully. A simple game, but I adored it.

9. Pokemon Go - debatable whether it belongs in this list, but I've opted to include it. The game has been remarkably mis-managed by the developers but the concept was relatively well-done and took off like a rocket.

10. Telltale's The Walking Dead: Michonne - I was impressed by this after growing concerned about the franchise after season 2. It started slow, tried to do a bit too much (in particular by introducing far too many characters and, as a result, struggling to meet Telltale's usual standard of character development), and struggled with frame rate issues at times, but I really enjoyed this mini-series. Not amazing, but did a lot of things well.

Honourable mention: Day of the Tentacle Remastered. Great hit of nostalgia and the remaster itself was absolutely brilliantly done. Can't justify putting it in the list as it's not a new game, but it's a superb old-school game that was flawlessly remastered.

Dishonourable mention: The Division, an absolute shitshow that sucked me in with the beta and proceeded to break my heart.

Haven't played (a lot): Oxenfree, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Firewatch, Far Cry Primal, Need for Speed, Pokken Tournament, Quantum Break, Dark Souls III, Doom, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter, NBA 2K17, Mafia III, Battlefield 1, Civilization VI, Batman: The Telltale Series, Titanfall 2, Dishonored 2, Watch Dogs 2, Planet Coaster, Final Fantasy XV, The Last Guardian, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier.

 

[Hooligan87]

No man's sky?

 

[Mighty P]

Uncharted 4
Rise of Tomb Raider (PS4)
XCom 2 (PS4)
Dark Souls 3
Doom

 

[TheKanga]

Keep em coming guys, let's really get a great thread this year.

 

[kangle4]

Do they need to be in number order or are you just tallying up how many times a game gets mentioned?

 

[nameless]

Final list:
(Will add comments if I get time)

10. Deus Ex
9. Quantum Break
8. The Last Guardian
7. The Witness
6. Titanfall 2
5. Battlefield 1
4. INSIDE
3. Uncharted 4
2. Overwatch
1. Stardew Valley

Never got to finish: Doom, Mafia, GOW4 or Hitman

 

[TheKanga]

Do they need to be in number order or are you just tallying up how many times a game gets mentioned?

Numbered order (1-10) would be great.
Or (1- how ever many you played)
If people post without numbers i'll just assume top to bottom is in preference.

 

[Badesumofu]

Looking at these makes me realise how few new release games I play these days. Had my eye on a few like Dues Ex and Mafia but didn't end up getting either one after looking at reviews and impressions. Probably get each at some point, when the PC ports are up to scratch and they are discounted. After that I discovered Europe Universalis IV and haven't felt any desire to play anything else since. Barely even touched Civ 6.

Dark Souls 3 was great. Watch Dogs 2 looks worthwhile. Might manage a list later.

 

[Balony_pony16]

1) Uncharted 4... no contest really
(daylight)
2) Division. No longer play it but got heaps of miles out of it. Great shooter with a different spin to online.
3) Mafia... real repetitive but nice world, story, era setting and awesome music
4) Fifa... also gets a mid range vote for me

didnt like much else. Real rubbish year for gaming

 

[TheKanga]

You haven't played enough of the great games.

Forza Horizon 3 & Dishonored 2 will be battling it out for my no.1 spot i think.

 

[aussiedude]

Do digital games from 2015 that got a physical release in 2016 count? if so Life is Strange is making my list.

 

[Mister Carlton]

Reserved because everyone else is doing it.

No man's sky?

Was a mistake.

 

[Mister Carlton]

Reserved for sacka

 

[TheKanga]

Nothing wrong with reserving, then you can be on the first page

Btw could mods maybe sticky?

 

[TheKanga]

Do digital games from 2015 that got a physical release in 2016 count? if so Life is Strange is making my list.

Yes that's fine, didn't some of the later episodes of Life is Strange release in 2016 anyway?
Will probably make my list somewhere as well.