When the dust finally settles upon 2016, the gaming community will be able to look fondly upon it – and not just for its institutional successes (the return of the Battlefield franchise, the continued success of the Uncharted series, etcetera), but for the games that no one saw coming.
Every year has them – video games that come out of nowhere to shake up the landscape of gaming – but no one is able to predict which video games will do it.
Below, we take a look at the most surprising video games of 2016. Maybe we'll see these coming next time.
Most Surprising Games of 2016
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Most Surprising Games of 2016
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1. DOOM
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
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rnGive me one game you found more surprising than DOOM, and be honest. Revivals of retro shooters haven’t gone too well recently – what with Duke Nukem Forever still leaving a bad taste is gamers’ mouths. Even with id Software’s success with the Wolfenstein reboot, people really didn’t expect much from DOOM.
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rnHilariously enough, though, this was all id Software’s fault. Reception of DOOM in the early public testing period was mostly negative – and some of it was ravenously negative. Why? Because all early access to the game was in the multiplayer mode, which is by far the worst part of the game, and far and away its only bad part.
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rnOnce people got their hands on the full game, DOOM became an instant staple of 2016, when everyone expected it to be a blip about which most would rather forget. -
2. Inside
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows rn rnThe spiritual successor to the wildly popular Limbo, Inside certainly had some big shoes to fill. And while it could be argued that Limbo’s success foreshadowed the success of Inside, I’d say differently. Limbo was Playdead’s only video game, and, when footage started to come out for E3 and PAX, it seemed as if we were just going to get another Limbo. rn rnEven as good as Limbo was, few game sequels get the same leeway that big IPs such as Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed get, which is to say that smaller games and game studios can’t get away with making the same games over and over again. rn rnThat must really mean that Inside was something special, because it’s one of the most acclaimed games of 2016, regardless of platform, and it’s currently sitting as the third most-listed video game in terms of year-end lists. I’d like to meet the one guy who can genuinely say, “yeah, I predicted that.” -
7. Stellaris
Platform: PC rn rnOh boy, another 4X game, as if the market doesn’t have enough of those, and in a year when Civilization VI, Total War: Warhammer & XCOM 2 area also releasing, no one expected Stellaris to do well at all. And hell, we even would later get the Early Access of Endless Space 2. rn rnBut Stellaris really was the genuine article – a game as addictive as it is deep. It’s also one of those games that’s really hard to put down. You’re always thinking to yourself “I’ll stop when this research finishes,” or “Just one more battle,” and pretty soon you’ll find yourself awake at 2 a.m. when you have to work at 6 a.m. rn rnStellaris is here to stay, making its mark on one of the most saturated markets in video gaming, against all odds. -
10. The Witness
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, iOS rn rnWhen’s the last time we had a truly great puzzle game? Probably Portal 2, but even that we saw coming, because of the success of the first one. The Witness? “Never heard of it” was the general reaction. rn rnAnd why should you have? The Witness didn’t have any real play at any of the major conventions or expositions last year before its January 2016 release. PAX? Nope. E3? Nope. Gamescom? Nope. Because of this lack of exposure, and the overlong development period The Witness endured, people mostly forgot about it, and didn’t know what to expect when it finally got here. rn rnBut, if you we lucky enough to pick this title up, boy were you in for a treat, with a level of challenge and imagination in the puzzles that no one saw coming. The Witness? “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that. It looks awesome.” – That’s more like it. -
8. Overwatch
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
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rnBlizzard is used to turning out successful games, so it’s no surprise that their new IP Overwatch was a great game. That being said, no one expected it to be this good, or, more importantly, this popular.
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rnWe’re talking more than 20 million players, being billed as the hottest new eSport on the market, with revenues north of half a billion in one year. I mean really? It’s not often that a new game on the block can come out this strongly, but Overwatch was the one.
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rnEven in light of the lengthy beta period, no one saw this one coming in the way it did, and it looks like it’s here to stay for a long time. -
6. Planet Coaster
Platform: PC
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rnIn a year populated by perhaps the best crop of first-person shooters of all time, there was little room for other games to succeed. That meant that going outside the proven formula was a bit of a gamble, but going way back to before first-person shooters were even a popular item? Good luck.
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rnPlanet Coaster didn’t need luck, when the resurrected the theme park simulator. They understood the fundamentals of what made those games so appealing, but also used the modern gaming technology to increase what you were able to do. Just google “Planet Coaster customization” to see the sheer amount of detail you can put into your park.
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rnOn one hand, since this is by the same developers as the original Roller Coaster Tycoon, it may not be much of a surprise, but we’ve seen too many of these retro-revival reboots fall completely flat to not be at least a little skeptical in advance of this release. Luckily for us, that skepticism was misplaced, as Planet Coaster was a rousing success. -
5. Shadow Warrior 2
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Linux, Mac rn rnA game that appeared to be as derivative as it was unimaginative turned out to be neither. While Shadow Warrior 2 certainly wore its influences on its sleeves, it managed to be its own entity with all the excitement that entails. rn rnWith all the games that released this year, Shadow Warrior 2 would win the award for most satisfying combat, and I don’t think anyone saw that coming. rn rnEspecially when you consider that Shadow Warrior 2 is a sequel, and that the original wasn’t very good, the former’s success is a lot more impressive. It was able to transcend the flaws of its predecessor and deliver a unique experience. -
4. Stardew Valley
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PC
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rnIf at the beginning of the year, I told you that one of the most beloved games that would come out in 2016 would be a farming simulator, you would have laughed me out of the room. Little did you know, that wasn’t nearly the craziest thing to happen this year.
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rnStardew Valley is that very farming simulator, releasing originally back in February, and while there wasn’t much else around that time of the year, I can certainly think of a few games that aren’t similar to web-based Facebook games that could have grabbed my attention.
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rnAnd what Stardew Valley did is most impressive, because it had two releases (a console release in the fall, after its early-year PC release). That meant it had to surprise us and then capture our attention again in a much more crowded release window, and it still did, and got a lot of year-end consideration for it. Who predicted that? -
9. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
Platform: Wii U
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rnThe Wii U is effectively dead, with production on the console stopping entirely, and Nintendo’s new console, The Switch, peaking over the horizon. But, the Wii U has always boasted an impressive library of exclusive games and IPs that made it a worthwhile purchase.
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rnBut one such title, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, flew way under the radar toward the end of the Wii U’s lifespan. I was fortunate enough to review this game back when I was a freelancer whose only job was to review the games that no one else wanted. Every now and then, though, I’d get a gem thrown my way, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE was definitely one of them.
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rnA crossover between popular Nintendo franchises, Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE even played a bit like the Persona game, but with an anime story anyone could enjoy and combat that was both inventive and wildly entertaining. It’s safe to say this game was a huge surprise, and a rare find for 2016. -
3. Owlboy
Platform: PC rn rnOwl what now? What was perhaps the most charming indie game of the year, Owlboy had a development cycle that rivaled that of The Last Guardian, but it didn’t have the pedigree of Fumito Ueda, so no one cared. Owlboy’s development team, D-Pad Studio, has only ever worked on this. rn rnIn fact, their Wikipedia page redirects to the page for Owlboy. rn rnDespite all of this, it’s one of the most acclaimed PC games of 2016, according to Metacritic, beating out the likes of Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. Well played, D-Pad.
