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Some quick thoughts on every new game I've played in 2016
🕑 Added 2016-09-17 17:01:16 +0000 UTC New video coming very soon! Thanks so much for your ideas on small open worlds the other day - I used some of my favourite suggestions in the video.Anyway, it feels like ages since I've talked to you all. I've been working on this video, working away at Boss Keys, and thinking hard about the next video.
To make up for my absence, here are some really quick thoughts on 2016's games - so far. Turns out: I've played a lot of video games!
Loved
The Witness
Mysterious, addictive, and full of inventive puzzles. Really enjoyed digging into Jonathan Blow's process for that video.
Firewatch
Great vibe, gorgeous landscape, and a grown up and clever narrative. Voice acting is top notch, to boot.
Unravel
Just a lovely little puzzle platformer. Not too tough and a bit repetitive but charming and beautiful.
Superhot
A really clever - and welcome - twist on the FPS genre. Makes for some fantastic firefights and stories.
Hitman
A thrilling sandbox of systems and scripting, letting you come up with so many different ways to murder people. Bit burnt out after doing Sapienza so many times for the video but i'll get the rest at some point.
Hyper Light Drifter
Enigmatic and oblique, with a brutally fun combat system. All the best bits of retro games but with a thoroughly modern twist.
Dark Souls III
What more can be said about these games? Lovely stuff.
Stephen's Sausage Roll
A true hidden gem. This is a super challenging puzzle game, engineered to produce sparks of epiphany - again and again and again.
Inside
Dark and menacing, with a story that will keep turning over in your head and some great puzzles. Animation is out of this world, too.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
A worthy follow-up to Human Revolution. The hub world is full of stories, intrigue, and character-driven sidequests. The rest is good too. I like Jenson's beard.
DOOM
Fast. Frantic. Savage as hell. Every combat encounter is a dance of unique enemies, unique weapons, health and ammo, position, stagger and stun. You're making a million decisions a second. And then you explode into giblets.
Liked
No Man's Sky
Big, bold, ambitious, and deeply flawed. Glad it exists.
Tharsis
Instead of abstracting a dice roll, Tharsis leans in heavily on dice throws as a main mechanic.
Ace Attorney 6
Always glad to see these characters return, but some of the mechanical issues are getting to me. Currently playing this one.
Ratchet & Clank
Looks lovely, plays great, but feels a bit clunky these days. Also, does anyone else just use like 3 guns in these games?
Mirror's Edge Catalyst
Ignore the disappointing hub world and you've got a snazzy Mirror's Edge 2. Slick, sleek, and gorgeous with a handful of well made linear levels to play.
Quadrilateral Cowboy
A new entry in the programming puzzler sub genre. This one's all done with Blendo Games's trademark style.
Darkest Dungeon
A fab exploration of stress and team morale. With, like, demonic beasts and Lovecraftian nightmares.
XCOM 2
Definitely a good game, but too tough for me. My brain's still trying to wrap around XCOM 1. Still, can't beat those tricky turn-based tussles.
Furi
Stylish, engrossing, and tough as hell. I'd probably like this a lot if I was more patient.
Headlander
Seems like a cool Metroidvania. And I dig the 70s style. But between Ori, Axiom Verge, and so on, I've overindulged on this genre. Need a break!
Overwatch
Really competent take on the TF2 thing, with a fantastic cast of diverse and interesting characters. My multiplayer time is largely taken up by Battlefield and COD, but always happy to sneak in a match of this.
The Turing Test
Another fine Portal-alike, but just too easy to truly love. Looking forward to using this to help me understand why some puzzle games are better than others.
Duskers
Clever game. Very tense and dramatic. Full of surprising moments. Love games that really play to a platform's unique strengths.
Grow Up
Just like the first game, it's a clever exploration of the climbing genre. This sequel adds more structure, but it's still silly and playful.
Song of the Deep
One of the Metroidvanias I over indulged with. Shockingly unambitious but still a pleasant and chill experience.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Huh. Surprised myself by putting this in Liked rather than Loved. But it kept me at arms length with its endless walk-and-talk sections and its shallow gameplay. Good ending to the story, mind.
Deus Ex GO
Always like these GO games. Deus Ex is no exception. Sharply designed puzzle games that are perfect for mobile.
Abzu
Utterly gorgeous. A very meditative experience, with flashes of sheer brilliance. Need to finish it.
Rive
Literally just started this. Seems nice: looking to see what it does new.
Severed
Very cool use of the touchscreen, and the art style is incredible. The first-person dungeon crawler stuff isn't really my style, though.
Meh
Far Cry Primal
Dunno. Just didn't grab me.
Star Fox Zero
There's a fine game here, under those awful controls. Surprised there hasn't been a patch (I wasn't the only one complaining!)
Mighty No. 9
Might No. Nein! Nein! Nein!
Project X Zone 2
An absolutely joyless grind, mixed with some of the worst fan fiction ever. Glad to see Ryo Hazuki team up with Phoenix Wright outside of my dreams, but still. Brain numbing.
Tom Clancy's The Division
The whole Destiny thing doesn't really work in a realistic setting, if you ask me. Laying hundreds of bullets into a man wearing a hoodie just feels weird. I only played the beta, I should add
Pokemon GO
Utterly rubbish where I live. No worth draining my battery for. Wish I could have been part of the phenomenon but.. oh well.
Bound
All style, zero substance. A game about dancing to beat back the demons sounds brilliant, but this doesn't do it for me at all.
Oxenfree
Charming, and a clever 2D take on the whole Telltale thing. But it lost my attention and never got it back.
Should probably play
Pony Island
Dunno what this is but looks intriguing.
Fire Emblem Fates
Got it. Played a couple hours. Life got in the way.
Stardew Valley
Heard lots of good things. Gotta try this at some point. Would love a handheld version.
ReCore
Sounds like a really fun PS2 throwback... stuffed with nonsense to pad out the running time. Will rent it.
The Flame in the Flood
Not a big survival game guy, but would like to try this one.
BoxBoxBoy
Only just finished Box Boy this year, so I need some time.
Kirby Planet Robotot
Got it, haven't played it.
Dirt Rally
Same
Zero Time Dilemma
Enjoyed 999 and Virtue's Last Reward. These games need a lot of time. though. So it will have to wait.
That Dragon, Cancer
Not sure I can deal with this one. Even the radio story I heard about the development destroyed me.
Hue
Looks like a lovely puzzler, and right up my street. Can't wait
Obduction
Weird looking thing from the guys who made Myst. Not sure if my Mac will even run it. Hm.
Videoball
Heard good things!
Comments
Harmony
I'm really hoping more people play Obduction, cause it's a throwback in a really good way. Nobody really making anything like Cyan does, both when they were making games and since they closed / re-opened.
Game Maker's Toolkit
Stuff like how the health system is pointless, being ahead of the characters but not being able to say, not getting clear feedback from failure. stuff that's always been there but never properly addressed by capcom
Alex
What exactly are the mechanical issues you have for AA6 exactly?
James
As someone who loved BoxBoy, the sequel was a huge disappointment. Much like Escape Goat 2, BoxBoxBoy slowly introduces you to the same mechanics and obstacles that the first game introduced, making it feel like a mediocre repeat of the first game. The ability to create two sets of blocks really doesn't add enough to justify the retread.
WasabiNoise
(And yes, as soon as I've seen the list, I searched for Division :D)
WasabiNoise
Nice list! I've been playing "Tom Clancy's The Division" a lot but I entered when they fixed some of the bugs from level 1-30. But what you mention is happening now to the challenging modes (normal -> hard -> challenging -> heroic).. Actually, they are going to release an update on October (1.4) that is going to make life after Level 30 much easier (maybe it will piss off hardcore gamers, top 5%?). Well.... I could talk about this for long, but they are going to change the map so you can go into a tier level, rather than entering to the mode when you do a mission (now you walk the world and kill any enemy with one or two bullets). I think it's an interesting game and it's changing a lot from beta to 1.4.
Game Maker's Toolkit
I just wanted to add, because looking at it now it looks like i'm buying a billion games a month - many of these are rented, borrowed from friends, free on PlayStation Plus, or provided by the developer. I'm actually pretty fussy about which games I'll actually buy!
Game Maker's Toolkit
Sometimes you're thinking ahead of the game, but you're punished for showing evidence too early. It doesn't provide much feedback on wrong answers (generic response to wrong evidence presented). The lives / game over system is basically pointless. Little things like that. Same as all the other games - shame they've never really addressed this stuff
Tom T
What mechanical issues do you have with AA6?
Lovely list, Mark. One FPS I have played about 120 hours of is Rainbow Six: Siege. I get the entirety of my FPS fix from this game - no more COD or BF4. I just love the tactical (and technically asymmetical) aspect of it. With the new anti-cheat system I think it's a must-play. A lot of the DLC is cosmetic and every time a DLC pack is released the entire community is given a new map to play. Ubisoft's best game in YEARS imo...absolutely criminal this game didn't get the marketing push The Division did. Just my thoughts on the game lol.
Manuel Alcoba
I have exactly the same feelings regarding Zero Time Dilemma.,,
