While a terrible year for many things, 2016 was phenomenal for
games. Not only do I passionately love more releases this year than normal, but
I could easily make a Top Ten list out of games that aren't for me but that
I've watched people explode over.
Stardew Valley, Overwatch, Darkest Dungeon, Civilization 6, Pokemon Sun
and Moon, Uncharted 4, Owlboy, Dishonored 2, Titanfall 2, Keep Talking and
Nobody Explodes... The hits have kept coming all year. After multiple years of AAA console games lagging badly, those companies have finally started fulfilling their promise. At the same time, indie developers have continued their explosion in amazing output. It's been a pleasure
just to listen to different players gab on what's captivated them. Developers endorsed games from genres I'd never known they even played in before.
In some cases, I just haven't had the time and money to play
things yet. I'm sure I will like Firewatch and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End when
I have the opportunity to play them. One game noticeably absent is No Man’s
Sky, which I’ve held off playing since the developers are working on so many
content patches. It sounds like it will be an entirely different game with all
the updates next year. Given how polarizing the release was, and how busy my
writing schedule got in Autumn, I figured I’d wait.
As with every year, I’m going to list my Top Ten
Games of the Year. As with every year, I’m including ties where I don’t see any
reasonable comparison for one title being ahead of another. Because ranking art
is silly, and if we’re going to be silly, then let’s go all the way. This year
there’s a three-way tie for first place, followed immediately by a three-way
tie for fourth place. We even open on a tie.