In no particular order:
Idol Showdown
A fan game passion project triumph, especially in the context of the not-making-money publishing status of the thing. It tickles the fandom, but it also tickles appreciation for good fighting games, in a way that isn't all that prevalent anymore in a space where everything contracts into blockbuster series that keep on doing what they've always done. This game can be wonky and weird and not suffer for it because expectations don't chain it down in place, and its embracing of the form is reflected in how some of its very subjects like Korone and Botan have picked up fighting games of late as their own interest and dedication.
Touhou Juuouen ~ Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost
This game has completely lopsided player character balance, some absurd patterns in certain situations, a busted online function, and all kinds of errata that sticks out... but it's also a wonderful time with faces old and new, with inspired character designs, concepts and music fueling what's kept the series relevant for over two decades.
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
I only got into
Armored Core this year, so this game served as an even bigger jump from the series's beginnings to its present than for those who had been awaiting its return during its absence. As such, it sometimes chafed against what had initially appealed about the games and was no longer, or as strongly present in the particulars... but a stellar amount of the series character was retained, even with the newer influences. In that way, I ended up with a moderate surprise in how much I enjoyed it, fearing that I would not be able to.
Rusted Moss
A physically straining, completely enrapturing search action. Immensely technical, emotionally complex, aesthetically committed. Despite the many deliberate and serendipitous influences and similarities, wholly unique in estimation.
Fashion Dreamer
Kind of value this game a lot for its sheer existence.
Style Savvy was always a niche despite the Nintendo backing, and now bereft of that and somehow tapping into a niche-within-a-niche for deviating enough from series standard to put off some pre-existing players... well, you're not going to hear much about the game going forward, or even when it came out. I've had and continue to have fun with it, because I don't otherwise really dip into games that are so free of goals, structure, or any kind of punitive states and systems--this is just for winding down and relaxing in its particular context.
Touhou Soujinengi V: The Genius of Sappheiros
If you were into
Touhou fan games in the early 2010s, you might remember this game; it's relevant now because its 2016 revision was freshly localized and released in English this spring. What you've got in its case is a stupendously good RPG that patterns itself after a mixture of
SaGa and
Etrian Odyssey mechanics and systems... which in conjunction with the source material makes this one of those made-for-me cases of inspirative collision. I'm in no rush to finish it, as savouring that combination is something to linger on.
Flare Nuinui Quest
A lovely
Mega Man riff done under the auspices of a hololive fan work. It is short, gorgeous in its dithered backdrops and arpeggio'd BGM, and always inventive for the duration. Recently updated with substantial new material.
Little Goody Two Shoes
Getting standout lesbian survival horror works two years in a row is some kind of alignment of the stars... and it would be harder to find a brighter one than Elise. I kind of don't have any caveats to think of for this one; it sets out to explore a very specific thing and executes on it with outstanding capability and commitment. A sickeningly pretty game.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
As a culmination of a trilogy started a decade prior, you can't fault this game for modesty in terms of girth. There is an absurdity of material to play around with, and the usual light RPG trappings to structure interaction with the contents for a kind of sustainable carrot-and-sticking. Whether the new note charts are up to par with the prior style is a question I haven't really determined an answer to, but as a project that ultimately recycles so much legacy material, a new spin on that catalogue was probably necessary to justify the continuation. At this point, I want other things with standout musical legacies of their own to rip off the formula... or just contract indieszero to apply it legitimately into new contexts.
Fire Emblem Engage
I play tactical RPGs on occasion without really any interest in simulated tactics, so it's funny that I ended up loving this game as much as I did: the strategy of play is largely considered its strongest aspect--often its
only positive feature. But no, I cared about the game because I loved its cast, visually, conceptually and as voice-acted performances--the best of its series, really--and the fun, ridiculous story they were embroiled in. As an outside observer to the game's series celebration fan service, that particular dynamic worked for me in the inverse as well, making me interested in the material that was being lovingly paid tribute to.
Shinobi non Grata
PC Engine-heads really shouldn't miss this one, or those of the opinion that the amount of bosses in a video game should exceed the stage count. A very convincing evocation of its inspirations, and a terrific boss rusher in its own right.
Touhou Artificial Dream in Arcadia
The best
Megami Tensei release in years, and similarly a top contender for blobbers and
Touhou fan works. It's such a mind-bogglingly considered syncretic expression of its influences that it's impossible not to be wholly swept up in its performance if you carry any affection for any of the components.
Void Stranger
Out of any game I played this year, this had the most staying power. Unfamiliarity with the genre it occupies surely helped that sensation of intrigued alienation, but I can't discount the narrative power of the piece: yes I had problems with parts of it, but the overall dramatic presentation and confident flair is something that could carry almost anything imaginable... and the attraction of the game is partly that it reaches beyond expectations and imagined structural arcs. I wasn't fascinated with it in a kind of "explained" lore-brained way--it's honestly not relevant what happens in specific--but the game's devotion to exploiting everything about its mechanical underpinnings, sound design, puzzle concepts and narrative thematicism for storytelling ends makes it an exceedingly impactful work, and why it engenders such endurance in the mind's eye.
