The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Blood and Wine
OK, so maybe I’m cheating a little bit on this one, but this downloadable content of The Witcher 3 was without a doubt the best gaming experience of 2016. With a playtime between 20 to 30 hours for just a non-completionist run, Blood and Wine could pass as a standalone game. The playable area of the sunny, vineyard-riddled country of Toussaint was a breath of fresh air from the dreary war-ravaged Novigrad of The Witcher 3.
Blood and Wine stays true to the gameplay. The creators added several changes, including an upgradable house, making sure to satisfy the role-playing game fans. The writing, as usual, knocks it out of the park and our last moments with Geralt as a playable character are sure to leave you with a smile on your face.
Civilization VI
After six years of waiting, Civ 6 had a lot to prove to take the throne of Civ 5. Luckily for all strategy fans, Civ 6 continues the decades long success of the Civilization series.
If you’ve ever played a Civ game, then Civ 6 will feel comfortably familiar as the core of the game has remained unchanged. Several additions—including religious warfare—have changed victory conditions, though they aren’t much different from Civ 5. Other improvements like a beautiful art style and unit stacking have done nothing but improve the series. If we can expect to wait another six years for Civ VII, this game will have no problem filling the time.
NBA 2K17
You will rarely see sports games make it on a “best of” list, but NBA 2K17 is one the best sports games to be released in years. The series has been pushing the genre for several years, resulting today in amazing graphics, terrific presentation, smooth authentic gameplay and surprisingly in-depth off-court gameplay.
The series found a balance the last couple of years in trying new content while simultaneously refining what has worked in the past. This is most evident in their second attempt in a storyline-driven MyCareer mode which is a vast improvement over the Spike Lee directed story last year, and the continuing improvement of MyGM mode. This year’s installation of the NBA 2K series is a must buy for those who only update every couple of years.
Battlefield 1
Developers DICE took a risk this year moving their Battlefield series back in time to World War One, while all other multiplayer shooters were taking a more futuristic theme. The risk paid off as Battlefield 1 was the best first-person shooter of 2016.
The multiplayer game modes keep the “organized chaos” of a battle, which has been a staple of the series, while also having gameplay slowed down because of the historically accurate weapons and machines at your disposal.
The single player campaign steals the show this year with its surprisingly great storytelling. Divided into six separate stories across different theaters of war, the single-player campaign provides engaging gameplay, which introduces almost every aspect of gameplay you’ll encounter in multiplayer. The campaign’s stories were interesting humanizing war tales, making Battlefield 1 well worth the playthrough.
NBA 2K17 was released Sept. 20, 2016.
