#tlou is not and was not a playable horror movie

[nagia-pronounced-neijia]

Excuse me, what the fuck?? You are forgetting the critically acclaimed Uncharted series by the SAME FUCKING STUDIO, my dude. TLOU is a bog-standard survival horror game with character development and interaction that is, at this point, FUCKING TYPICAL of Naughty Dog games.

I can three games that actually WERE fucking revolutionary without even thinking about it.

Wow. What an absolute fucking tool.

[experiencepoints]

2016 Favorites

Games

 Final Fantasy XV

My favorite games of the year tend to be ones that stay in my head long after I’ve completed them. Final Fantasy XV is a game that couldn’t possibly live up to the 10 year hype, and in the end it didn’t. What it ended up being was something completely unique, gorgeous, at times irritating, but ultimately a game that resonated with me that none other did as much in 2016. 10/10.

The world is gorgeous, the characters are beautifully realized, the music is god-tier, and the battle system is dynamic and fun, flawed only with a funky camera every now and then. It’s everything Final Fantasy, translated in to modern day open world AAA game design, and the story, while told in a very back handed kind of way towards the end of the game, still managed to hit home.

There are also so many tiny details that add so much to the overall production. From the interactions between the characters in battle, to the amazing feature that every game should now have in which it automatically captures moments from the game on a day to day basis that enable you to save and share; it’s teeming with detail and heart that many games just don’t even bother with. It’s a game that delivers across the spectrum with incredible over the top moments, and lovingly crafted small ones. It’s a game with glaring flaws, blatant overambition, and beautiful moments, and has a secret sauce gameplay that has a great hook. For all its short comings, I can’t help but look past all of them and find an experience and world that I love spending time in. It’s my favorite game I’ve played all year.

I’m also the guy who enjoyed Kingsglaive (moreso after watching after I completed FFXV’s story); so take that for what you will.

Witcher 3

Yes, Witcher 3 released in 2015, but I didn’t get around to playing it proper until the early part of the year. I started it when it first released; maybe got through the Bloody Barron quest, and then for some reason moved on to something else. I know, terrible.

But after getting reacclimated to the game (plus coming back post-update in which the inventory systems were much improved), I found myself supremely hooked on the game, enjoying damn near every side quest along the way. Witcher 3 definitely edges out FF15 from a diversity in story telling standpoint in which while FF15 does an excellent job of delving in to the central characters of the game; Witcher 3 brought me in to characters I had no idea I gave a shit about through excellent quests and story telling. Even as someone who didn’t have the same attachment to many of the main characters since I did not play the first two, I loved etching out Geralt and Yennifer’s relationship, I super dug Ciri’s motivations and everything she brought to the table, and I found myself invested in the world. Don’t get me started on the excellent DLC. Both DLC releases were amazing, with the final one being a lovely good-bye to the game that still left it plenty open for CD Projekt Red to come back to it some day.

Dishonored 2

Back in 2015, I’m pretty sure the original Dishonored was on my list, and I was happy to see Dishonored 2 have a spot in this year’s list. While it didn’t bring a ton new to the table from a gameplay perspective, the original had already set a fantastic foundation to return to. I still need to play Hitman, but the Dishonored series has been my game where I’ve felt the most agency as a player, albeit with a strong reliance on saving and loading often. I played as Emily in my play through and loved her new abilities as I went for a largely stealth leaning playthrough. Taking a deliberately stealth approach made for many standout moments in Dishonored 2 that truly transported me in to the grimy yet beautifully realized worlds (via some of the most amazingly designed levels..ever) these characters inhabit.  I couldn’t ask for a better sequel to the original, and will continue to look forward to what Arkane Studios will be doing.

Abzu

Abzu! A beautiful game about going on an undersea journey with Austin Wintory providing a wonderfully realized score. It’s short, it’s lovely, and transcendent. Coming from some of the artists and creative minds that worked on Journey, it comes as little surprise on how much Abzu cribs from Journey. And while it doesn’t quite hit the secret sauce that made Journey a classic, it still provides a wonderful, yet succinct escape.

No Man’s Sky

What a cool ass game. I’m aware of the things that the devs said that ended up not being in the game. I’ve seen the hilarious vine of a wonky ass dinosaur being compared to the majestic E3 201X trailer that featured more majestic creatures. I know, there’s some jank in that game. But I came in to No Man’s Sky with no preconceptions, minimal hype, and just a love for sci fi and space. I was not disappointed.

I recognized the basic similarities between all of the planets fairly early on my 30ish hours I played, but that didn’t take anything away from the fundamental thrill of zooming to a new galaxy every time. I mined away for materials on planets that didn’t really do anything for me except power my next blast off from the planet, only to turn around and let the amazing soundtrack by 65daysofstatic envelop me as I turned my spaceship to take in the always spectacular and unique views. Hell I even enjoyed the space combat for what it was.

I don’t look at it for what it may have been, but for what it ended up being. I know that it’s not the easiest thing to reconcile if you were hyped to high heaven, and I can understand being frustrated at the devs for some of the things that didn’t end up coming to pass. But I found myself loving the resulting experience.

I never completed the main ‘quest’. I didn’t really feel the need, and I don’t think the devs wanted me to feel that way either. I think they were happy to provide a unique escape from not only the real world, but the usual stuff that comes out in virtual worlds as well; and I was happy to take them up on that.

Inside

Inside was wild. Anytime a game delivers a ‘hollllly shit’ moment, it usually finds its way to my favorites. The first 90% of Inside would probably be just enough to be on this list. An immersive and intense atmosphere is laid out for you to take a young lad through a heavily guarded scientific military installation with each area providing a brain scratcher environmental puzzle that are always just the right level of difficulty to stump for a few, then make you feel smart when you figure out how to move forward. While not quite on a Portal 2 level, it’s right there in the same ballpark. If you haven’t finished Inside, I won’t spoil it here, but again, the last tenth of the experience delivers a mix of excitement, horror, and giddy-ness that left me stupefied. Classic status attained.

Uncharted 4 – Naughty Dog raising the bar yet again. While it doesn’t reach the heights of TLOU, it’s an amazing showpiece that proves Naughty Dog continues to be the master of blending a compelling narrative, unparalleled cinematic expression in gameplay, and oh yeah, it’s super fun to play. 

Overwatch – Multiplayer-centric shooter with amazing playability, accessibility, and super fun characters. I didn’t get in to it as much as some; but I appreciated the universe that Blizzard has built here. Even though I don’t play it as much as I did those first months, I still love seeing the community be so passionate about it. Hoping they add in a single player story campaign at some point. 

Rocket League – yes it was on my favorites list last year but ehhh…Rocket League is love. Rocket League is life. The game that keeps on giving.

I Am Setsuna – I AM UP FOR MORE GAMES LIKE THIS. What a lovely game. Unapologetically cribbing from the same elements that made the 16 bit JRPGs from the SNES / Genesis / PS1 era so damn good still work today.

The Last Guardian – a beautifully told story with gameplay experiences you won’t find anywhere else. It doesn’t live up to Shadow of the Colossus (what could), but as a continuation of Team Ico’s legacy, it’s a beautiful piece of the puzzle.

Downwell – Old-school challenging as shit, but expertly crafted.  

Final Fantasy XIV - Continuing to play FF14 on an on again off again basis and eternally trying to catch up to the story. While I don’t think I’ll ever be in fully caught up, I continue to love this game anytime I spend time with it.

Titanfall 2 – Super snappy action packed shooter with plenty of variety in story telling and multiplayer that made it my shooter of choice this year.

Rise of the Tomb Raider – a great sequel; and I actually really enjoyed the narrative too. In many aspects, I prefer the aesthetic to that of Uncharted 4, but both games deliver an amazing adventure. Really hoping Crystal Dynamics not only continues to bring more Tomb Raider adventures, but also gets back to exploring some of their more dormant series. I’m looking at you Soul Reaver. 

Music

Thrice – To Be Everywhere is to Be Nowhere

Amazing to see my favorite band reunite this year and release what I consider to be their best album ever. The album’s themes are awesomely realized, and each song has a resonance to it that seems to leverage a mastery of their creative aural tool set. I hope these guys keep making music for many years to come.

tricot – the

Japanese math rock never sounded so good. While this album came out back in 2013, my discovery of it this year colored many of my days. A favorite to put on while memorizing Kanji on lunch breaks.

Final Symphony – Music from Final Fantasy VI, VII, X.

A more perfect symphonic realization of the music from some of the most classic and highly regarded Final Fantasies, you’ll likely never find (and I’ve listened to a lot of them). If you have an appreciation for the music in these titles, you owe it to yourself to make some time to listen to this album in full and be moved. Can’t wait for Final Symphony 2.

Movies and TV

Arrival

A wonderfully shot tale exploring how humans react to aliens visiting Earth when not prompted by much else beyond their arrival. My favorite movie of the year.

Moana

Continuing to love Disney’s resurgence in their animation, and Moana turned out to be a beautiful film that hit all the right notes. No One Knows still playing on my Spotify every other day.

Star Wars - Rogue One

Finally, the creative license has been obtained to explore other elements of the Star Wars universe on film. Rogue One’s story was a great place to start by telling the story of the theft of the original Death Star’s plans. While I’m excited for the mainline movies, Star Wars fans know there is so much to dig in to outside of the Skywalker story, and I honestly find myself more excited for the side story potential, then the primary episode ones.

Westworld

I loved Westworld’s inaugural season so much, I’m frankly concerned about them doing a second if only for thinking that there is no way they can top S1. Robots!

Doctor Strange

Really glad that Marvel is starting to expand their universe to include some of the atypical characters that don’t get a lot of cinematic love. While I didn’t know much about Doctor Strange before the movie aside from seeing him pop up in certain comic book stories, the nature of his powers I’m sure will make for some awesome crossover stuff in the movies to come. And of course, the movie, as it was, was super fun.

Game of Thrones – Season 6

At this point, my affinity for the books has completely waned in favor of the show’s ability to get the story moving. Hoping that George Martin releases the final two books alongside each of the final two seasons.

10 Cloverfield Lane

A more unnerving movie I don’t think I saw this year. John Goodman brought his A-game to this story set in the weirdo Cloverfield universe. I enjoyed the original maybe more than the average person, but with the end of 10 Cloverfield Lane, it looks like they’re taking a potentially very unique approach to this world.

Dragon Ball Z – Resurrection F

Fuck yeah, why not! DBZ was a massive part of my childhood, and it had been a long time since I was able to just enjoy some crazy DBZ action. Resurrection wasn’t the end all be all anime movie, but it was a perfect injection of everything that I loved about the series and a great addition to the movies.

Kingsglaive and Final Fantasy XV: Brotherhood

Ask yourself, when is the last time a video game had a complete feature length film and well crafted anime mini-series release, in anticipation of the game’s release? I can find plenty of issues with Kingsglaive as a film, and Brotherhood provides a detailed, yet surface level introduction to Final Fantasy 15’s heroes, but as things that didn’t have to exist, but do; I found them massively entertaining and awesome as predecessors that built up and invested me in to the world of FF15.

Kabeneri of the Iron Fortress

Seemingly available only streaming on Amazon Video, this relatively short anime season (13 episodes or so?) seemed to crib a lot from Attack on Titan at first glance. Not surprising I guess since the director is the same guy who directed AoT, along with other awesome stuff like Death Note. What I loved about Kabeneri was its ability to not dilly dally too long on world building and exposition. AoT does this, which to its credit, engenders a dramatic, more tension filled effect. In favor of reducing tension, Kabeneri briefs you on the set up, and then sprints all the way to a satisfying finish of the first season, while keeping the story and character development moving at a good clip. Relatively small story arcs from episode to episode always pay off in fantastic action pieces, and the music is beautiful throughout.

 La La Land

I might just love the music and dance numbers in the first half of La La Land more so than the movie as a whole. Westside Story being one of my favorite movies of all time, this is as close as I’ve seen a modern day film capture that same energy. I’m just sad that it’s only largely there in the first half. Thematically that fits with the movie’s narrative, and what’s there in the second half is interesting, but it’s just not as fun. Still, really thankful that a movie like this could get made, and be this good.