While 2016 wasn’t the best year for video games, there were a bunch that I had a lot of fun playing.
Here now, in no particular order, are the best games I played in 2016.
Far Cry Primal
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Systems: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
While this game’s story was kind of blah, it actually didn’t matter since it was just so fun to wander around the world, grabbing supplies and nailing guys in the head with arrows like I was Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. Though having a pet wolf didn’t hurt, either.
SCORE: 8.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Developer: Ubisoft Massive
Publisher: Ubisoft
Systems: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
As much fun as this third-person shooter RPG may be when you play it with other people — well, other people who are willing to play right and work together, that is — I actually had a lot more fun playing this on my own. And not just because I don’t play well with others. No, it was more because the game’s post-pandemic setting just felt more stark and emotional effective when I wasn’t walking around with a bunch of people.
(You can read my review of the game as a single-player experience here)
Uncharted 4 A Thief’s End
Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: Sony
Systems: PlayStation 4
Thanks to being uneven, especially in the beginning, Uncharted 4 is neither the best game in this series nor this genre. But when it does work, which is often, it works really well, pulling in all of its elements to tell a globetrotting tale of adventure.
SCORE: 8.5/10 (You can read my review here)
Doom
Developer: ID Software
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Systems: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
A marriage of the old school and the new, this sci-fi first-person shooter may be the year’s most unapologetically fun game. Sure, I get why some people might miss such modern touches as regenerating health and iron sights, but if you can live without them, you’ll have fun with this balls-out shooter.
SCORE: 8.5/10 (You can read my review here)
Strike Vector EX
Developer: Ragequit Corporation
Publisher: Ragequit Corporation
Systems: PlayStation 4
While it didn’t have the epic story I would’ve liked, I did appreciate that this game did a great job of injecting mech-style ships into an arcade-style, aerial dogfighting game.
SCORE: 8.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Systems: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Much like its predecessor, 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, this action-packed, cyberpunk role-playing game — which has first-person shooter combat and elements of stealth action — is basically a great Ghost In The Shell game. Sure, it has problems, but it’s still great fun if you like shooting people and then stealing their booze.
SCORE: 8.5/10 (You can read my review here)
Forza Horizon 3
Developer: PlayGround Games
Publisher: Microsoft
While the Forza games nailed the controls a few games ago, and have always had twisty trails, the big thing this one adds is variety. Not only are you driving on paved roads and dirt roads like always, but you also get to drive on the beach and around a city. Even cooler, many races mix it up even further by starting on a beach, then cruising through the suburbs, and finally sprinting through the muddy pathways of the rainforest.
SCORE: 9.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Gears Of War 4
Developer: The Coalition
Publisher: Microsoft
Having killed off all the bad guys at the end of Gears Of War 3, I wondered how they were going to continue this sci-fi shooter series. Well, they did, and boy am I glad. Besides being the beginning of an interesting new chapter in this saga, this game also adds a lot of new elements to this series’ familiar gameplay, which makes this sequel feel fresh but familiar.
SCORE: 9.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Battlefield 1
Developer: DICE
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Systems: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Though I only played this game’s campaign, it’s all I needed to play; it was that good. Playing as five different soldiers at five different times and in five different parts of the world, the game’s single-player mode was harrowing and compelling, especially when you got to use stealth to clear out an occupied village, and when you wore heavy armor and used a powerful machine gun to just tear the place up.
(You can read my review of the single-player campaign here)
Rise Of The Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration
Developer: Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Square Enix
Systems: PlayStation 4
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Systems: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Given how the original Rise Of The Tomb Raider (Xbox One, PC) was one of my favorite games of last year — tied with Fallout 4, for those keeping score at home — and Skyrim was one of my favorites when it came out in 2011, it’s a no-brainer that these reissues would rank among my favorites this year as well. That said, Tomb Raider gets extra points for actually adding something, while Skyrim is just better looking.
TOMB RAIDER SCORE: 9.5/10 (You can read my review here)
SKYRIM SCORE: 9.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Titanfall 2
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Systems: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Much as I loved the multiplayer-centric original, and I did, this sequel was a big improvement just because it added a compelling campaign that was as much fun as the multiplayer. While it would’ve been great if it was just a sci-fi first-person shooter where you occasionally get to drive a mech, what made it way better was that you could double-jump, wall-run, and slide, which opened up the battlefields in interesting ways. Together, it made for the best game I played in 2016.
SCORE: 9.5/10 (You can read my review here)
Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare
Developer: Infinity Ward
Publisher: Activision
Systems: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
While the co-op “Zombies” survival mode was funny and fun, and multiplayer was its usual solid self, it was this this sci-fi shooter’s explosive campaign that was the highlight for me, as it paired frantic firefights and fun space dogfights, with some zero-gravity combat thrown in for good measure.
SCORE: 8.5/10 (You can read my review here)
Ratchet & Clank
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony
Systems: PlayStation 4
Though it’s a remake/reimaging of the original game, this new version of Ratchet & Clank far outranks the 2002 edition, as well as the 2012 reissue, by replacing the game’s clunky controls with the far more intuitive ones of Ratchet & Clank Future and its sequels.
SCORE: 8.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Bethesda Pinball
Marvel’s Women Of Power Two Pack
Aliens Vs Pinball
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Developer: Zen Studios
Publisher: Zen Studios
Systems: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android, PC
Like last year, the new pinball tables from Zen Studios occupied a lot of my free time in 2016. While all of them offered something interesting and fun, my favorite individual tables this year were the frantic Doom table in the Bethesda collection, the two in the Star Wars set, and the Aliens one in the Aliens Vs Pinball collection.
SCORES:
Bethesda Pinball: 8.5/10 (You can read my review here)
Marvel’s Women Of Power Two Pack: 8.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Aliens Vs Pinball: 8.0/10 (You can read my review here)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Pinball: 8.5 (You can read my review here)
So, there you have it, the best video games of 2016. Agree? Disagree? Think I forgot something? Let me know in the comments below.
