Preemptive Retaliation

1. Shadow of Mordor – 21 hours – The nemesis system is what really made this for me. Sneaking through the ruins of Mordor, stalking the bastard that had killed me twice already, was an engrossing thrill. Building up an unstoppable character was fun, but it became a bit god-mode like by the end. It was good.

2. To the Moon – 3 hours – I didn’t react to this the same way others online did. I’d heard of people in tears about it, how it opened their eyes and made them think… I didn’t get it. I felt betrayed that it didn’t resonate with me as much as others. It all felt fake and hammy.

3. Bayonetta – 15 hours – This was nothing short of a big barrel of fun. I didn’t quite get it to begin with – the humour was too off-kilter for my taste – but I settled into the gameplay and became engrossed in getting gold and S rankings for missions. Pulling off the perfect dodge and combo made me cheer with joy.

4. Bayonetta 2 – 20 hours – More of the same, but prettier, tighter, an annoying secondary character, but so slick, so very very slick. I’m still terrible at it, but I love it still.

5. Grim Fandango – 5 hours – I gave up halfway through this. I remember playing this back in the day and not getting anywhere. The puzzles were too obscure for me, and I’m afraid to say it was the same this time. I got as far as the Casablanca-esque section, but even that was with a walkthrough. The humour was great, but not enough to get me through it.

6. Metroid Prime – 12 hours – Bought this again for the virtual console after I never finished it for the Gamecube. After I got the first powerup I couldn’t put the game down. I became obsessed with how the areas themselves were puzzles to navigate and solve, working through to become stronger and more efficient. I felt great accomplishment finishing it.

7. Hotline Miami – 5 hours – Good, fun, simple, violent. Every loss was my mistake, which led to great frustrations and greater urge to get things right. 

8. Styx: Master of Shadows – 10 hours – I didn’t complete this, but I got what I wanted. I played a no kill run, trying to ghost it as much as possible. It was extremely rewarding to go through, but the story didn’t hold me enough to keep going. I loved the gameplay, but I didn’t care about the character or what he wanted.

9. Talos Principle – 14 hours – I kind of burned myself out on this one. The puzzles were extremely interesting, and well thought out, and the overarching plot was beautiful and thought provoking and I really cared what I was looking at… but it was too long. I just wanted to finish the puzzles to get the next snippet of story, and I stopped liking them as much. They stopped being fun and just became obstacles.

10. Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D – 22 hours – One of my favourite games for the N64. It still stands up today. 

11. State of Decay – 1 hour – Tried it, wasn’t my thing, ended it.

12. Grand Theft Auto V – 73 hours – Close contender to my game of the year. Had amazing fun with the main campaign and story, and endless hours of fun with Mike robbing banks and stores and flying about in helicopters. Racing him across that massive landscape, trying to tag each other with grenades, were times filled with sheer glee.

13. Her Story – 3 hours – Had a fun afternoon puzzling this out, and a further afternoon debating theories with other people about it. A great use of the videogame medium to tell a different type of story.

14. Dishonoured DLC – 4 hours – The only way I play stealth games is no-kill, trying to keep as stealthy as possible. I managed not to kill a single person through all of this, but dammit they kept spotting me.

15. Dark Dreams Don’t Die – 1 hour – This was recommended on a podcast I hold on high regard. Turns out we have differing taste.

16. Rocket League – 2 hours – Thrilling stuff. Someone else put it best by saying that it’s a chaotic mess; no one knows what they’re doing, it’s all chance and random… but when you get a goal it’s the best feeling in the world.

17. Deus Ex: Human Revolution – 30 hours – No one died on my watch. I thought no one saw me either, but I guess I was wrong. I liked this game more than I thought I would. Well thought out levels, and taking down enemies while sneaking about like a ghost is so satisfying.

18. Titan Souls – 2 hours – I’ve written about this before, and it’s a contender for my best this year. It’s short and sweet, and it has its flaws, but it’s got a raw simplicity to it that I adored. The way the lore was so open, the way the boss battles were frantic puzzles, the style of the game itself… it really struck a chord with me.

19. Homeworld Remastered – 20 hours – In the final battle I was overrun. My fleet was attacking baddies off in the distance with a paltry fleet defending my mothership. A warning came through, letting me know that more ships were warping into attacking range, and I slumped defeated against my keyboard… only to find they were reinforcements, there to save the day. I literally whooped for joy. 

20. The Beginners Guide – 1 hour 30 mins – As someone who writes, this spoke to me. After finishing it it gave me an itch to create something, to build something with my own fingers.

21. Undertale – 8 hours – I’ve said enough about this game already. My favourite moment was looking up youtube videos online and having the game itself call me out on it.

22. Darksiders 2 – 23 hours – I liked this since it was a love letter to spectacle fighters and Zelda games. It dragged on towards the end, but I’d say that was more my impatience than anything else. 

23. The Banner Saga – 9 hours – The most stressful game I played of the year. The decisions were heartbreaking and polarising, and I felt the true pressure on being a leader responsible for people’s lives. A good game that was cut too short. I’m looking forward to the next one.

Honourable mentions:

Witcher 3 – I played about 30 hours of this in 2015, but another 40 in 2016. A fantastic game that I’m still digesting. I reckon I made the best choices possible, and got the best outcome… but I’m not done with this game yet.

Helldivers – I’ve had a load of fun with my friends playing this game. I played it almost exclusively in December, but I still haven’t got the helldiving capes. I’m no where near done with it yet.