Sporadic Beep Boops

20. The Witness - I’m already cheating because if I’m being honest, I didn’t actually love this game. The Witness takes a couple dozen hours to finish, and I spent at least half of them staring at a notebook, drawing grids, connecting dots, and having no idea how to pave forward. But even if I didn’t love the game, I respect it immensely. I admire Jonathan Blow’s commitment to this singular idea, of taking the kind of puzzle you might see on a restaurant placemat and coming up with every possible permutation of it. And there is of course a “meta” layer on top of that, where solutions to each component change the environment around you — tree top bridges that unfold based on the paths your lines take, or colored glass panels that create new puzzles on top of old ones. It might be cold and off-putting at times, but The Witness is still commendable as the ultimate puzzle box.

19. SuperHyperCube - I bought into PlayStation VR for games like Rez Infinite and RIGs — big, flashy, “immersive” experiences. And they delivered! I’m a very happy PS VR owner, and I hope Sony builds on its momentum this year. (I’m skeptical, but then being a virtual reality early adopter was always a leap of faith.) However, while I got exactly what I expected from most of the launch titles, it's the simple puzzle game seemingly modeled off of “Brain Wall” that I keep coming back to. I turn on the headset to play Job Simulator or Battlezone, but I always play a couple rounds of SuperHyperCube before I’m done. A solid case for virtual reality not as a thrilling roller coaster, but a hypnotic, relaxing voyage.

18. Headlander - The best game Double Fine has put out since Iron Brigade. Free-roaming Metroid-style exploration, a perfect 70s-synth sci-fi score and a fun body swapping gimmick at the heart of it all. I wish there were more vessels for your noggin to control, but there’s a strong foundation here. 

17. Kirby: Planet Robobot - It’s easy to take Kirby games for granted, and that’s especially true of Robobot, which uses the same engine and many of the same powers as the recent Triple Deluxe. What does the former bring to the table then? Smart level designs that take advantage of the new mechs without letting them dominate the action. A novel mechanical world that feels distinct from the typical pastel meadows. New amiibo support. OK, so maybe it doesn’t add that much to the series, but it’s right up there with Super Star anyway. 

16. Pokkén Tournament - This game is a fresher, more enjoyable fighting game than Street Fighter V. It doesn’t even matter (too much) that the single player is pretty thin or that the roster is small. When’s the last time you played a one-on-one fighting game that felt truly new? Pokkén is a great 3D fighter and a great 2D fighter at the same time, which is no small feat. And it’s also a gorgeously animated recreation of those battles we all imagined happening in our Game Boys 20 years ago.

15. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - The popular sentiment seems to be that Madagascar is when this final Uncharted entry really takes off. Slow drama and frequent cut scenes give way to island exploration and memorable shootouts. My take? The back half is fun and the epilogue is lovely, but I could spend an entire game in Nathan and Elena’s living room, or hopping around the globe for the next story sequence. Wherever you stand, this is a fine way to close out a reliable series.

14. Picross 3D: Round 2 - Seven Picross games — eight if you count the Twilight Princess freebie — on the eShop. That’s a lot of a perfectly fine thing. But none of them are Picross 3D. Thankfully, the real deal finally arrived this year, with hundreds of puzzles and a few extra gameplay wrinkles. Worth the premium price tag.

13. Titanfall 2 - The campaign didn’t need to be good. Multiplayer FPS games live and die by their multiplayer, and many developers seemingly write off the single player experience as an afterthought. That’s why Titanfall 2 is such an unexpected treat. The factory, the time hopping, the airborne carrier — all cleverly designed, with platforming gimmicks that would feel just as suited for a Metroid Prime game. I think the reason the new Mirror’s Edge fell flat for me was that this game featured the same parkour moves in a much more exciting package.

12. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - This crossover game is Persona-lite, yes, but I think that sells the characters and world a bit short. While its inspiration focuses on the pressures of being a Japanese high schooler, #FE is all about the Tokyo show biz scene. Pop music, soap operas, microwave cooking shows — it’s all very goofy, but the game still takes its protagonists’ dreams and ambitions seriously. #FE also makes clever use of the Wii U GamePad, turning it into a tablet/social app that helps keeps the conversations going. Even if you’re not into this particular “scene,” #FE may still win you over.

11. Rhythm Heaven Megamix - I can’t get enough Rhythm Heaven. They could put 20 new musical minigames on a cart annually and it’d make my list every year. Sumo wrestlers, lumberjack bears, monkey slumber parties — all magic.

10. Severed - A Vita game! It’s great to see DrinkBox Studios stretch beyond sidescrollers with this first person dungeon crawler full of grotesque monsters and creepy, colorful mazes. Swiping and poking on the Vita’s touchscreen feels great. The controls are key to Severed’s success; if battles were menu-driven, the entire game would fall apart. 

9. Pocket Card Jockey - I hope Nintendo keeps letting Game Freak be this weird. It’s not just that it’s horse racing plus solitaire. It’s your jockey biting the dust and being brought back from the dead to repay his debt to the angels. It’s the brassy, big band score that accompanies every race. It’s horses with luchador masks and cats hanging from their backsides. Pocket Card Jockey is a miracle of localization.

8. Pokémon Sun - Yes, another Pokémon game. The Alola region is the best thing to ever happen to this series. Previous games had regions based on cities like New York and Paris, but the results always felt half-hearted. In Sun (and Moon), the tropical island setting influences everything from the creatures you catch to the trials you complete. I’ve never demanded a believable world from this series, but that’s kind of what we get here, and it’s terrific.

7. Inside - This is the type of game where the less you know going in, the better. It’s Limbo — a previous Justin GotY — filtered through a twisted dream logic that I still can’t get out of my head months later. 

6. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I know you don’t like Sticker Star. Rest assured: that 3DS oddity feels like a rough draft for Color Splash, which improves upon its predecessor in every way. A textured, vibrant world that rivals Tearaway in its papercraft. Thrilling scenarios like a train heist, an underwater game show and the throwback above. Hilarious dialogue that mostly makes up for the many, many identical toads. I miss the liberties Intelligent Systems used to take with the Mushroom Kingdom, but everything else about Color Splash restores this spin-off series to its former glory.

5. Overcooked - This year’s couch co-op champ. Cooking with a partner is all about communication, and that’s doubly true when the kitchen is split across two flatbed trucks or on an iceberg rocking back and forth. My friends and I love head-to-head games like Smash Bros. and Towerfall, but it’s nice to play a game that’s all about puzzle solving and careful planning together. And I love the wistful stage select music.

4. Dragon Quest Builders - Minecraft has always fascinated me, but I don’t do well without direction. That’s why I’m so grateful for Dragon Quest Builders, which breaks down the open world construction into small, manageable tasks. I started off just sticking to blueprints and keeping decorations to a minimum; now, I’m spending hours building up towns the way I want them to look, for no other reason than my own personal satisfaction. Even taking the crafting element out of the equation, Builders does a great job of capturing the adventuring spirit of its parent series.

3. Pokémon Go - I didn’t set out to put THREE Pokémon games on here, and in a vacuum, this is much less satisfying than Pokkén or Sun. But we don’t play video games in a vacuum, and certainly not this one. I played Pokémon Go in Central Park, talking to strangers to find out where the Ivysaur was hiding. Or I played on my lunch breaks, exploring parts of South Street Seaport with coworkers that I had ignored for years. Go’s peak came and went, but it remains one of my fondest experiences of the year.

2. The Last Guardian - Another game that’s more than the sum of its parts. The Last Guardian is finicky and sometimes frustrating. Trico is hard to climb. The camera doesn’t know what to do when you’re up against the wall. So what? How many games feature a creature this lifelike? He may be an illusion made up of A.I. routines, scripted animations and fur shaders, but all of those elements come together in a uniquely convincing way. His evolution from reluctant ally to friend has a subtlety I’ve never seen before. I’m glad Ueda spends as much time focusing on the inner struggles as he does the external ones. Hope it doesn’t take another decade for his next game.

1. Overwatch - I didn’t even know what Overwatch was until two weeks before its release, and even then, I didn’t expect much from it. I had played Team Fortress 2 and thought it was just fine. I knew what to expect. Medics, tanks, builders — that sounded familiar to me. But I was so wrong. Overwatch isn’t just a team-based shooter; it’s the superhero team-up game I’ve been longing for since “The Avengers” was in theaters.

All 23 (and counting!) heroes have their superpowers, and all of them have their jobs to do. What really sets Overwatch apart is when these heroes are bouncing off of each other. Any combination of six is going to have its own dynamics. Mei dropping ice walls to give Reinhardt time to recharge his shield. Junkrat dropping traps to help Bastion watch his back. Mercy gliding up to Pharah to give her rockets a little extra punch. Every battle brings new possibilities and strategies to the table. I’ve played over 100(!) hours and feel like there’s still so much to learn.

20. Steven Universe: Attack the Light - The gold standard for licensed mobile gaming. Like the cartoon it’s based on, Attack the Light does a great job of subverting conventions - name another RPG where the sole healer is male - while offering up exploration and battle controls that feel perfectly suited for touch screens.

19. Rock Band 4 - Ultimate comfort food. In some ways, this actually feels like a step back from 3, given the lack of keyboard support and track sorting options, but I’m just glad to have my library available on a current-gen console. I love how Harmonix continues to put out DLC for nearly every musical taste. (Quick shout-out to this year’s Guitar Hero; I only have enough room in my apartment for one plastic instrument game, but I do appreciate the attempt at something new!)

18. SteamWorld Heist - Dig was already great, but Image & Form really found its groove with this sorta-sequel. Perhaps the friendliest, most approachable turn-based strategy game ever, without sacrificing depth. The steampunk “Ocean’s Eleven” game I never knew I wanted.

17. Galak-Z - I haven’t seen a minute of Robotron or any of the other 80s anime series that inspired this space shooter, but this still feels authentic to me. That specificity really sets Galak-Z apart. I went back and forth between this and Nuclear Throne for my randomly-generated twin-stick pick, but all of the little flourishes gave this one the slight edge.

16. Read Only Memories - This is basically a more grown-up, modernized Snatcher, a thoughtful exploration of gender and sexual identity concerns that’s also just a really great mystery. Though simple, the digitized backgrounds and portraits that make up Neo-San Francisco and its inhabitants immediately draw you in. This came out right as this year’s *big* indie darling was dominating the conversation, and I think it got overlooked as a result.

15. Code Name S.T.E.A.M. - One of two unfairly maligned 3DS games this year. Like Heist a few spots prior, it’s a turn-based strategy game. Unlike Heist, it’s not overly friendly to newbies, and the long enemy turns at launch didn’t do the game any favors. However, by the time you’ve assembled a full squad of four soldiers, the strategic possibilities open up greatly. Levels complement their abilities perfectly, with alternate paths, sniper perches and even occasional vehicles scattered throughout.

14. The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes - Here’s the other 3DS game most people didn’t like. In this case, *some* of the maligning is warranted. Connection issues get in the way too often, communication options are limited and the “single player” mode is barely functional. BUT! If and when you find the optimal play conditions, the game goes from lousy to magical. While Four Swords was mostly about offense, Tri-Force emphasizes puzzles and occasional set-pieces that are frequently brilliant. (For instance, there’s a mine cart chase in the fire dungeon that’s just as thrilling as all of the Spinner stuff from Twilight Princess.) I don’t blame anyone for passing on this one, but there is a game worth fighting for here.

13. Downwell - My “just-one-more-game” game of 2015. Not much to say about this expertly-crafter shooter. The various blaster boots feel great, the controls work well even on a small phone, and varied enemies keep you on your toes all the way down.

12. Axiom Verge - Thoroughly Metroid, without any “-vania” needed. Like Shovel Knight last year, it does a great job of both truly feeling like it’s right out of the 8-bit era while also catering a bit to more modern sensibilities. Every time you think you’ve explored every corner of the map, there’s some slight visual glitch that catches your eye.

11. Affordable Space Adventures - Now that Splatoon and Super Mario Maker are here, this is no longer *the* GamePad killer app it was when it first arrived, but that shouldn’t take away from all of the clever ways ASA takes advantage of the system’s bells and whistles. This game is mostly about balancing internal heat, reducing engine noise, selecting landing gear ... and it’s riveting.

10. Box Boy - A great example of creating simple mechanics and exploring them as completely as possible. Intelligent Systems takes a basic concept - you’re a walking box that can create extensions of yourself - and then finds all the permutations of that across 20+ worlds. A minimalist wonder.

9. Yoshi's Woolly World - I’ve only been waiting for this game for about 20 years! The original Yoshi’s Island is my *all-time favorite* platformer, and Woolly World isn’t quite on that level. But it more than makes up for all the cruddy Artoon rehashes we’ve seen over the past decade. Even if you’re not looking under every fabric for knickknacks, the level design is very smart in how it gently encourages players to explore. Sometimes it sticks just a little too closely to the all-time greatest platformer’s blueprint, but even then, seeing these classic elements recreated in textiles, buttons and sequins is still a delight.

8. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Maybe I’ll make it to the end of this one. Maybe I won’t. Doesn’t matter. Even if a 100+ hour runtime is a deal breaker for you, it’s hard to argue with the appeal of XCX’s scope. When it dawns on you that those hanging mountains and floating islands in the sky aren’t just background, but actual places you’ll get to explore someday, the sense of awe is unparalleled. You really are a pioneer in this world. And we’ve come a long way from the blurry fields of its predecessor. Original Xenoblade still looks totally fine, but XCX environments truly feel alien; any given screenshot looks like Yes album art.

7. Yo-kai Watch - I love Pokémon, but I don’t think the mainline games have surprised me since Gold/Silver. That’s why Yo-kai Watch is so exciting. The interconnected, still-pretty-Japanese town is more fully realized than any of the regions in its inspiration, and the dumpy collection of spirits have the same weird charm that the original 151 had so many years ago.

6. Bloodborne - I’ve gone from hating this game, to loving it, to hating, to loving it, etc. etc. At least in *recent* memory, this is the most punishing, unforgiving game I’ve ever played. But it’s not unfair. Not only can one conquer Bloodborne, but once you’ve mastered the parrying, charged strikes and other techniques, you’ll be able to hold your own against foes way above your weight class. I’m not sure if I’m ready for Dark Souls 3 next year, but I’m glad I finally gave one of Miyazaki’s gauntlets a try.

5. Monster Hunter 4 - A Monster Hunter game that finally clicked for me! It’s not even that MH4 is that different from 3, but it tweaks the various inventories and mechanics just enough to make the experience much friendlier to rookie hunters. It’s inherently repetitive, which I can see being a turnoff, but the huge roster of bosses kept me hooked for many hours.

4. Splatoon - This, more than anything else, is the type of game I want to see from Nintendo on the NX. Not in terms of characters or genre, but in terms of pure rebellious spirit. Splatoon completely reinvents the shooter, to the point that it barely even qualifies as one. You may be firing (squirt) guns, but the properties of the ink, and how you claim territory, mean that even a less aggressive player can be an MVP. And lord knows that I’m no expert on “cool,” but I don’t think that word’s been more applicable to a game since Jet Set Radio. Easily my favorite multiplayer experience this year.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - After the excessive exposition dumps in Guns of the Patriots and the overwrought, uncomfortable story bits in Ground Zeroes, I was honestly ready to write off The Phantom Pain. And while I do think the story and overall campaign are severely compromised - either because of budget constraints, or behind-the-scenes shakeups - the overall experience is still a masterpiece. Given that the world is so open, I was worried that stealth would be even harder to maintain, but in reality, it’s the opposite; I can finally play Metal Gear the way Kojima intended it to be played. No more awkward crouching. No more awkward wall hugging. No more guns a’blazing, unless I feel like it. The game is so much more responsive than I would have ever dreamed. And even if the story falls flat, there are enough flaming whales and Fulton recovery launches to keep the series’ silly spirit alive for this final (?) outing.

2. Undertale - A quirky RPG that owes a lot to Earthbound, but manages to find its own voice early on. Undertale does so many things well. It’s constantly subversive, even when you think you’ve learned all its tricks. It’s marvelously paced, with battles that never, ever grow tedious. Most importantly, it has more heart, warmth and compassion than any other game I played this year. Like Mother 3, Undertale feels epic while keeping the setting intimate. Even if parts of the game look like they could have been programmed on the ZX Spectrum, the overall creation is a world the feels teeming with life and secrets to discover.

1. Super Mario Maker - This spot *must* go to Super Mario Maker, a game that has captured my imagination like no other this year. The level sorting - SMM’s lone weak spot - isn’t perfect, but every time I visit Course World, I manage to find something unexpected. It’s more than just “infinite Mario.” I’ve seen so many carefully timed puzzle rooms and enemy combinations that are unlike anything EAD has ever dreamed up.

Crucially, it’s actually fun to create levels too! It’s true that most amateur designers won’t necessarily understand the balancing and gradual progression that goes into the best levels, but nearly everyone understands the fundamentals of Mario. All you need to do is drop in a few platforms, sprinkle in some power-ups, and suddenly you have something that’s fun. And personally speaking, I’m constantly inspired by the community to find new ways to build on this basic foundation.

I really hope Nintendo continues to expand this concept, whether it’s through software updates or even a port/sequel on its next console. It’s too strong to be left behind on a single, struggling platform.

So all of that seems promising, but is it what Minecraft players want? Are children, presumably the primary audience, going to “get” what Telltale is trying to do, or is it going to feel like a bait-and-switch? Are players who have spent years creating their own “stories” in Minecraft going to take to a more traditional narrative, or is it going to be seen as a betrayal of some kind? (Story Mode isn’t being sold as THE mythology of the franchise, but I could see some confusing it as such.) I personally have no idea what to expect.

Peace Walker is the middle ground between the self-indulgent, story-driven style that came before (which I still mostly love) and the gameplay-first mentality of the most recent game. Frankly, that feels like the perfect balance to me. As goofy as the story is - Snake confronting an A.I. of his original mentor, with all the overwrought dialogue you’d expect - it serves as the backbone to the whole package. As much as I love V, I could skip the ending entirely and still come away satisfied, but it’s nice to have some real motivation beyond leveling up your base and finding new ways to tranquilize guards.

Even with more emphasis on story, Peace Walker is not nearly as linear as its predecessors. There’s so much to see and do within the game, even within individual missions. Recruiting soldiers, recovering blueprints, rescuing hostages - it’s cool to see the foundation for what would come later being laid down on a handheld system. (And for the record, I never gave the HD remake much consideration. I suppose remapping buttons to the Vita’s second stick is a small cheat, but I still wanted to play Peace Walker as Kojima and team originally envisioned.)

I can’t imagine that anyone wants to jump through the Ad-hoc Party hoops required, but I’d be up for co-op sneaking if you’re interested!

Final Fantasy IX - Peace Walker might not qualify as retro, but this one does. I don’t know what originally inspired me to finally check this one out. Maybe it was hearing its gorgeous soundtrack in Theatrhythm, or it was a botched Radiant Historia save that cost me hours of progress and left me looking for a new JRPG to play. Maybe it was just wanting the two gigabytes on my memory card back. Whatever the reason, it’s done. Credits have rolled. Hooray.

I do enjoy the series, especially the PS2 and SNES entries, but both VII and VIII have always left me cold. The industrial, futuristic setting has its appeal, but the characters are so angst-ridden and the stories so self-serious that I just have never been able to fully embrace them. But IX ditches most of that. Even though both Zidane and Vivi spend the journey searching for meaning, and have pretty similar “tragic backstories,” the game spends very little time wallowing. Battles are probably a bit slower than I’d have liked, but the pacing is surprisingly brisk. I don’t think there’s a single dungeon or town in the game that lasts more than a dozen screens.