Okay, I've finally accepted that I'm not going to be able to play all the games I wanted to in time for them to make this list. I did get most of them in but there is a very good chance that Rise of the Tomb Raider, Dishonored 2, and XCOM 2 would have competed for spots on this list if I had time to play more of them since I liked the previous games in each of those series so much.
Anyways, here is my list. I'll try to keep my descriptions short so this isn't a nightmare to read through but I'm happy to go into more detail about any of these games if anyone is interested in hearing more about them.
1. Overwatch - This one was easy for me. I had more fun with this game than anything else I played this year. I was starting to think multiplayer games weren't my thing anymore since I have played less and less of them over the last few years but Rocket League from last year and Overwatch this year have taken more of my time than every other game combined in the last 2 years. It turns out I'm not growing out of multiplayer games. I just want unique, fun experiences that center around teamwork instead of my poor kill/death ratio.
2. Titanfall 2 - This game almost didn't make my list at all since I had only played about the first hour of the campaign until yesterday. Luckily the game is only about 6 hours long and I had the day off. This game had some amazing moments and I hope it sold well enough to get a sequel. I know EA said they were going to stand behind this franchise but it sounds like the sales were pretty terrible.
3. Superhot/Superhot VR - I already liked Superhot a lot but then I got a Oculus Rift and played Superhot VR. Superhot is a FPS where time only moves when you do and both you and every enemy will die from one hit. It is an amazing gameplay mechanic that I'm surprised I haven't seen before. To be clear, Superhot VR is not the original game with VR support. Superhot VR is a completely separate campaign. As far as I'm concerned this game is the best reason to own a VR headset.
4. Hitman - I've never played a Hitman game before this one except for the first couple hours of Absolution. I have beaten a few of the missions several times and I'm always able to find a way to do it that I haven't seen before. The elusive targets and escalation missions are also great. I will continue to play this game and I look forward to season 2.
5. Doom - I really like this game. The opening 5 minutes or so was probably my favorite gaming moment of the year. I had a big dumb grin on my face the entire time. The only problem is that I haven't finished it. If I had I could see it possibly moving up to number 3 on my list but I don't see it overtaking the top 2 games. This will be the next game I finish.
6. Stardew Valley - This is a cutesy farming game with some dungeon crawling and NPC relationship building thrown on top. This game is not for everyone. For example, I can't imagine that
yourbeliefs would like it very much for the same reasons he doesn't really care for Civilization and XCOM but loves Doom. Stardew isn't a strategy game but like those games the moment to moment gameplay just isn't much to write home about. It does have the same ability as those games to keep me sitting at my computer way too late into the night when I meant to just get a quick 30 minutes in before bed.
7. Inside - This is a beautiful puzzle game that almost feels like a horror game at times. It doesn't have jump scares or ghosts but it is incredibly creepy. The reason I like this game so much is because every screen feels hand crafted and every item and part of the environment is there for a reason. The puzzles feel smart without being too hard. It's a good balance of keeping the game from getting boring without making me frustrated that I'm stuck in one room for too long. There was one moment that actually gave me goosebumps and that isn't something that typically happens to me in games. The story was just a little too ambiguous for it to be higher on my list.
8. Gears of War 4 - I had versions of this list where this game was higher but I think this is the right spot. I really did have fun playing it and Horde mode is still great. It is another Gears game and we already know that formula pretty well by now. I think the games above it are just more interesting in 2016.
9. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - If this was a best robot companion list it would have been above Titanfall 2 for me. I've heard that the sales numbers for this year's game are down and that's too bad because this is my favorite COD campaign ever. They made more significant changes to the COD formula than they ever have before and it resulted in a really cool "space marine" type game. It's unfortunate that the reaction the this year's multiplayer is keeping people from this game but I think it's worth playing for the campaign alone.
10. Civilization VI - Even without any expansions this game is already a significant improvement on Civ V with all it's expansions. Since Civ V is one of my favorite games that is saying a lot. It is lower on my list for the same reason Gears 4 is but I have no doubt that I will still be playing this game much longer than anything else on this list with the exception of Overwatch.
