Worst Games of 2016
Most Innovative Game of 2016
Winner: Pokemon GO
Honorable Mentions: Super Hyper Cube,
A lot can be said about Pokemon Go, both good and bad. One thing that can’t be denied is that the game is one of the most innovative of 2016. Sure, it’s formula is a straight copy from its predecessor, Ingress, but that game was ridiculously innovative, and Pokemon Go has allowed the world to see it. We were all talking about VR all year, and this AR (augmented reality) game came along and showed that the world was ready for this. The fervor has certainly died down, but those early days, with bands of Pokemon trainers wandering parks, schools, and any other public place with enough Pokestops, were truly magical, offering some of the most fun and unique gaming moments in history. Going into 2017, Pokemon Go is still racking up millions of dollars from its users, but we’ll have to wait and see if Niantic can innovate once again to keep them playing.
Most Disappointing Game of 2016
Loser: No Man’s Sky
Dishonorable Mentions: Tom Clancy’s The Division, Battleborn, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
It goes without saying that No Man’s Sky is the most disappointing video game of 2016. Many people had high hopes for the game as it promised that you could explore an entire universe with Hello Games claiming you can visit 18 quintillion planets. Not to mention Sean Murray promising to gamers that something cool can be seen at the center of the galaxy. Spoiler alert, the center of the galaxy was nothing.
High hopes for No Man’s Sky were dashed upon release
Alas, the game came out and it was one of the most mundane and boring experiences that you will ever play in 2016. The 18 quintillion planets were nothing more than just the same old assets being reused in different arrangements. Every planet was barren and cold with nothing interesting to see. You will also see the same buildings and same aliens occupying every planet that you visit.
Don’t get me started on the animal life. In the trailers, we saw dinosaurs, large snakes and even flying beasts. When I played the game, everything looked like yellow rabbits. Again, this is just Hello Games rearranging the game’s assets over and over again claiming that everything is unique.
The game also launched without a lot of advertised features. People wanted to have epic spaces battles where you could ally yourself with different alien factions. However, large scale space battles were not present at launch.
These are just some of the reasons why No Man’s Sky is our most disappointing video game of 2016.
Game with the Worst Launch of 2016
Loser: No Man’s Sky
Dishonorable Mentions: Pokemon GO
Even though No Man’s Sky is also our most disappointing video game of 2016, it also had the worst launch of the bunch. Sure Street Fighter V had a lack of content at launch and Pokemon Go wasn’t going for the first few days, but nothing came close to the amount of anger people had for No Man’s Sky when it came out.
The game launched as a broken mess for many gamers. Whether you played the game on PS4 or PC, the game would crash on your multiple times. This was very annoying because you would lose your save progress whenever it decided to freeze and crash.
Freezing and crashing issues plagued the game at launch
Due to the crashes and missing features, people asked in droves to get a refund. Some people even claimed that the Steam page was false advertising. Either way, you know you have mucked up a game’s release when lots of customers are demanding a refund in the first week.
To make matters even worse, Hello Games and Sean Murray stayed silent for several months after the game’s launch. It seemed as if they didn’t want to admit or even apologize that their game was utter garbage.
Anyway, Hello Games eventually tried to redeem themselves by releasing the “Foundation Update”. It’s probably too late as nobody is interested in the game anymore.
Read on for our best game of 2016
