My Top 5 Games of 2016

2016 spat out some pretty incredible video games. Ranking them wasn’t easy beyond the top spot. Admittedly I didn’t have the time to play as many as I wanted, but I’ve got to get those Rocket League matches in sometime, ya know?

5. Hyper Light Drifter

I’ve been looking forward to this game since its stunning pixel art and music first popped up on Kickstarter. For the most part, the game really delivers on its promises. Combat is fast-paced and tense, and the environments are amazing to look at and explore. Coupled with Disasterpeace’s haunting soundtrack, this should be my favorite game this year. Unfortunately, I bounced off a bit hard towards the end and never finished it. It gets somewhat repetitive, but I still enjoyed my stay.

4. Inside

I was pretty torn on how I felt about Inside, but the mind-bending final act cemented its place on this list. And made me feel like I needed a shower. It’s a puzzle-platformer at its core, but the puzzles were never challenging and usually just felt in the way. Inside truly shines in its gorgeously-bleak art direction, as if you’re playing through a series of intricate dioramas set in a beautiful dystopian ruin. I was a bit disappointed in the ambiguity of it all, but there’s something special about the world Inside paints that makes me yearn for more.

3. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley was something I tried out of my love for old Harvest Moon games. I certainly did not expect to spend 50+ hours on my farm, humming along with the charming soundtrack and eagerly awaiting each changing season. The game is jam-packed with content, a surprise and incredible achievement considering the soundtrack, programming, and art came all came from one person. Tending to crops, building relationships with the townsfolk, spending days fishing, fighting through the mines, rebuilding the town center. The list of fun things to do seems endless, but the game is balanced tightly enough that it never feels overwhelming and constantly evokes the feeling of “just one more”. Then whoops, it’s 3AM and my real-life newborn will be up in an hour.

2. Doom

Who would have thought a first person shooter campaign in 2016 would be anything more than forgettable? Add id’s recent track record, the delays and rewrites, and this was a recipe for the bargain bin. Doom laughed in the face of those odds with guns blazing and guitars chugging. Doom is pure, unfiltered fun. The combat dance and gameplay loop feel like a high-speed multiplayer shooter where you’re the best player around. The game’s got serious swagger, too. Doom’s tongue-in-cheek plot takes itself seriously enough to be interesting, but is hilariously self-aware. The breakdowns and heavy guitar riffs aren’t in the background, they’re screaming in your face and beautifully tuned to the player’s actions. Doom’s campaign is exceptional and worth the price of admission alone.

1. The Witness

How do I even talk about The Witness? A strong contender for my favorite game of all time, I’m jealous of anyone who hasn’t played it. Recapturing the magic and discovery is an impossible feat.

To truly explain my love for The Witness would diminish what’s so great about it. There’s no hand-holding or tutorials in The Witness, which is refreshing amongst modern mainstream games. Instead, The Witness uses a superbly-designed environment to teach and guide you along the way. No game has ever made me feel like The Witness has. The aha! moments that happen throughout are more akin to solving a difficult programming challenge than solving a simple line puzzle. From the rules the puzzles layer on, to the infamous “challenge”, to profound and game-altering discoveries that change your very perception of the island around you, The Witness feels like a once-in-a-lifetime game. Don’t look anything up. Don’t cheat if you get stuck. Do go play The Witness.