Here we are, another year another game awards tradition. 2016 was a fantastic year and better than the last few we had. This year was declared the year of the shooters. We had so many amazing shooters from Battlefield 1 being brilliant to Far Cry: Primal being entertaining. The first-person shooter has been the ugly stepchild of the gaming industry since the mid-2000s and I think this year has redeemed that genre. The shooters this year were smart, entertaining, and some even went back to their roots; right where gamers have wanted them all along. There’s an interesting shift in the industry where we are turning back time as companies have run out of new ideas. They are riding on nostalgia, but some companies are smart and are modernizing their nostalgic formula to create new mega hits.

We also had more disappointments this year than I can ever remember. Mighty No. 9 was the unofficial Mega Man sequel that turned into a turd, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst delivered a fun game, but a poor story and unlikeable characters in a very immersive and unique world. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare continues to steamroll its own legacy by taking players to places and the series to new areas where no one asked. Homefront: The Revolution took the intense narrative and atmosphere of the first game and completely ruined it. Tom Clancy’s The Division turned a potentially revolutionary online shooter into a Destiny clone. But the biggest of all was No Man’s Sky. That was a train wreck like something we have never seen before. Star Fox Zero? Street Fighter V? The list goes on.

I’d also like to add the remission of the Vita and Wii U. There just weren’t enough exclusive games for each console to consider them. The Vita had mediocre JRPGs and the Wii U has been officially discontinued now that the Switch is on its way next year. They were both great while they lasted, and hopefully, their replacements will do even better.

What we are left with is a year full of great shooters and plenty of amazing remasters. Yeah, those are still a thing and they are getting better by the minute. A new trend with PC owners is that if you have the original copies you get the remastered versions for free. I hope this trend continues. And without further delay here are 2016’s best games that you need to play now! Happy Holidays!