8 of the Most Important Games This Year

No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky was one of the biggest releases in 2016, with fans waiting eagerly to finally get their hands on the space exploration game. While it’s no secret now that No Man’s Sky didn’t quite deliver on all of the expectations of fans, it’s still an incredibly important game nonetheless.

It’s important in both a positive and negative sense. Positive, simply because this game is a bit of a technical marvel. No Man’s Sky is essentially running on a rather complex mathematical algorithm which allows the insane scale of procedural generation of its planets, plants, and animals.

But at the same time, No Man’s Sky is also incredibly important due to its message to other developers. Hello Games was creating something incredible, and props to them for doing so with such a small team. Where it struggled, however, was with its messaging and it seems a little bit of confusing wording led to some features that sounded like they would be in the game, being completely absent and claims of the game being falsely advertised tarnishing the game’s otherwise excellent achievements.

 The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine

First off, yes, Blood and Wine is an expansion of 2015’s Game of the Year that released back in May this year. Offering a new, beautiful area to explore, a huge main quest path, a bunch of side quests, Witcher contracts, new armor, and all manner of other features, Blood and Wine was more than your average piece of DLC.

In fact, Blood and Wine is the prime example of how an expansion should be done. It not only managed to change things up ever so slightly thanks to its fairy tale setting of Toussaint, but it provided a good 30+ hours of high-quality content. While other games release smaller bits of DLC at a premium, CD Projekt Red continued to show their love for the fans and offered them one hell of a final journey with Geralt. Developers, take note. This is the way that expansions should be done.

Overwatch

On the surface of it, Overwatch may just look like any old team-based shooter. However, the smash hit that came to both Xbox One, PS4, and PC earlier this year has demonstrated exactly how an online shooter should be done.

With a cast of memorable characters, free updates constantly coming to add in new content, and balancing at the heart of the gameplay mechanics, Blizzard has not only provided console and PC players with a team-based shooter almost as timeless as the likes of Team Fortress 2, but one which stands out in a crowd of other titles demanding a chunk of money for new maps and additional content in the future. The future of Overwatch isn’t going to cost a penny, and any other standalone multiplayer shooters should start taking notes.

Uncharted 4

As we leaped over chasms, sped through markets in a jeep, and saved the day one last time, we couldn’t help but feel the whole experience was one bittersweet goodbye. When a character such as Nathan Drake has stood so prominently in Sony’s lineup of memorable characters, it’s difficult finally close the book on their adventures.

Uncharted 4 was an absolute masterpiece of a game, and we couldn’t have asked for much more in the final chapter of Nate’s adventures. It wrapped up many of the questions that fans had about Nate, Elena, Sully and what may lie in store for them in the future, and managed to maintain some class while doing so. Uncharted 4 is a perfect example of how to do justice to your series in its finale, and one adventure that will stand true as one of the greats for quite some time.

Pokemon GO

Pokemon GO will probably go down as this year’s biggest phenomenon, quite literally taking the world by storm a few countries at a time. Though its premise is quite a simple one, it was all that nostalgia and its addictive gameplay that had people in their thousands running around their neighborhoods because there was a Blastoise nearby.

If Nintendo’s first proper foray into the mobile market is anything to go by, then the next couple of years could be really interesting to see what we get. It showed that, when their franchises are used in the correct way, they have incredible stopping power no matter what platform they’re on. Pokemon GO changed the way people commuted to work, got people heading outside for hours on end, and socializing with people they would never have spoken to otherwise. It had an effect on society, and that’s
incredibly impressive for a smartphone game that has you throwing Pokeballs at Pidgeys.

Quantum Break

Quantum Break’s story of time manipulation and travel was an interesting one and was executed pretty darn well by Remedy Entertainment if you ask us.What made Quantum Break stand out, however, was the way in which its story was delivered. Playing through the game saw players pick up a majority of the details, but at the end of each chapter, the action switched to an intense live action show where the decisions players made in the game determined what played out in these cutscenes.

Blurring the lines between video games and TV has never been done on the same disc before, and while many expected the TV show element of Quantum Break to be kinda bad, it turned out to be an enjoyable break from the action and was interesting to see exactly how our decisions made an impact. Though no other games have been announced that will deliver the story in this hybrid manner, Quantum Break was a pretty good start.

Final Fantasy XV

When Final Fantasy XV finally releases in November, it’s going to be one of the biggest releases in quite some time. Not only does it mark the first ‘proper’ single-player Final Fantasy game since XIII in 2009, but it also sees the game’s 10-year development cycle come to an end.

With many heralding Final Fantasy as the king of JRPGs, seeing its true return this year is going to be a pretty monumental moment in the video games industry. Whether it delivers on fans expectations or not is yet to be seen. Though whether it’s a masterpiece or disappointment, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s gonna be remembered for quite some time.

Pokemon Sun and Moon

With the aforementioned Pokemon GO bringing Pokemania to a fever pitch, Sun and Moon are the titles that look set to make 2016 the official year of Pikachu. Following the remakes in the form of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire back in 2014, Sun and Moon aimed to really mix things up a bit, and potentially change the way people look at the franchise.

The Pokemon series has always told a happy story where the protagonist takes down the evil crime gang and goes on to become the best there ever was. While it’s by no means confirmed as of yet, Sun and Moon may be changing this up and telling a much darker story. This could be exactly what the series needs to stay relevant, and when it’s including a bunch of new features such as Alolan forms, Z-moves, Ultra Beasts, and more, Sun and Moon could be the most drastic change in the series’ history.