Table Of Content

THE WORLD’S #1 VIDEO GAME MAGAZINE PRE-OWNED GAMES AND ACCESSORIES Looking to get more for your trades? Pro members get 10% extra trade OF GAME INFORMER credit when they sell us their games MAGAZINE and accessories. GAEMS Vanguard Personal GAEMS M-155 Gaming Gaming Environment Monitor With Backpack Reg. $349.99. Offer valid 1/15/17 - 1/21/17. Reg. $229.99. Offer valid 1/15/17 - 1/21/17. Valid for Pro members only. Coupon required. GameStop, Inc. reserves the right to cancel, Valid on SKU 137925 for Pro members only. Coupon required. GameStop, Inc. reserves the terminate, modify or suspend the offer for any reason without notice. right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the offer for any reason without notice. Retron 3 Gaming System Retron 5 10-in-1 System Reg. $139.99. Offer valid 1/15/17 - 1/21/17. Reg. $69.99. Offer valid 1/15/17 - 1/21/17. Valid for Pro members only. Coupon required. GameStop, Inc. reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the offer for any reason without notice. Valid for Pro members only. Coupon required. GameStop, Inc. reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the offer for any reason without notice. • 2x points on nearly every item (excluding GameStop Gift Cards) • $50 in exclusive monthly offers • 10% extra credit on games and accessories • 10% off pre-owned games and accessories • Buy 2 get 1 free offer on pre-owned games (worth up to $55) Plus, all Pro members get 12 issues of Game Informer magazine! Offers valid for Pro members only. Coupon required. GameStop, Inc. reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the offer for any reason without notice. T he Year That Was W ow. What a year. I have a theory that there is a flood of amazing games about every four years. (Check out the games of 2004, 2008, and 2012 to see what I mean.) On that front, 2016 didn’t disappoint and my theory continues to hold true. If there was a device that played games, it had an amazing game to play in 2016. However, there is one disturbing trend that I can’t quite sort out in my head. ANDY McNAMARA For all the amazing titles that came out EDITOR-IN-CHIEF this year, many that would have been [email protected] shoo-ins to be megahits in the past didn’t sell as well as expected. We have Read my column or many indications that games like Call comment on this letter at of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Titanfall 2, gameinformer.com/mag and Dishonored 2 didn’t do as well as or follow @GI_AndyMc anticipated. To me, that’s a real shame. These are amazing games, and hopefully after you check out our Top 50 of 2016 you will go back and give them a shot. It’s hard to parse all the data since the video game industry does such a poor job of reporting digital sales, which increasingly play a bigger role in the overall revenues that games gen- erate. We will never know how many copies Titanfall 2 sold unless EA tells us in an earnings report months after the release, but we know within 24 hours how much money a movie gener- ated. I hope the video game industry addresses this problem someday, but I’m not going to hold my breath. There will always be winners, losers, er and outside influences that a developer witt can’t control that can make a great T n game fall short. For instance, this past o er year we had more games as services m or that offer almost unlimited play and nf constant content updates competing ei m with the new releases as well. But the a @g games industry needs variety, and I w for one love the escape a great triple- o oll A game experience brings. I try to do d f everything I can to support the games n est, a thMata dyebleiv ewrh saitn ghuulrat r2 e0x1p6e mrieonsct ewsa. s that eat there were just too many great games gr d to play. I sure hope that isn’t the case, n a because I’m not sure I want to live in a est world with anything less. at or the l Enjoy the issue. 32 Top 50 Games of 2016 aily f This past year was fantastic for video m d Cheers, game releases, making the culling of this co list particularly difficult. The year brought us new virtual- mer. reality platforms, mid-generation console upgrades, the or launch of multiple long-awaited games, and proved that nf ei the shooter genre still has plenty of room for innovation. m a Our annual argument was a fierce one, but we eventually g sit arrived at a list most were happy with. vi 2 games index Absolver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Batman: The Telltale Series . . . . . . 46 Battle Chef Brigade. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Battlefield 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Blade & Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 1 0PlayStation Overload Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. . . . . . 53 PSX 2016 featured 1 4Digital Intimacy CCihvriolinzaotsi.o n. .V .I .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3529 surprise announcements The taboo topic of sex has always struggled in the inter- Clash Royale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 and opportunities to play active medium. We look back on how it has been handled Dark Souls III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 impressive new games. throughout the years. Darkest Dungeon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Dauntless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Dead Rising 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55, 82 Death Stranding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Death’s Gambit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Destiny: Rise of Iron . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Dishonored 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23, 54 Division, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Doom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Dragon Ball Fusions . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Dragon Quest Builders . . . . . . . . . . 51 Dreadnought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Eternal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 2 0Gamer: A New Far Cry Primal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 FIFA 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Breed Of Cosplay Final Fantasy XV . . . . . . . . . . . . 55, 84 Dressing up a Shiba Inu in 2 4The Best Tabletop Games Of 2016 Fire Emblem Fates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Overwatch cosplay is as Board games aren’t video games, but fans of both share Firewatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 adorable as you expect it a healthy overlap. That’s why we wanted to share our favorites For Honor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Forza Horizon 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 to be. from 2016. FutureGrind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Gears of War 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Hyper Light Drifter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Inside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Killing Floor 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue . . . . . . . . . 91 Knack 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Last Guardian, The . . . . . . . . . . 55, 86 Last of Us Part II, The. . . . . . . . . . . 73 Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The. . . . . . . . . 70 Let It Die. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Madden NFL 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 6 2For Honor Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. . . . . . . 67 3 0Opinion: Virtual Reality Is Still Looking For Its We went hands on Mass Effect Andromeda . . . . . . . . . 66 Software Savior with the near-final version MLB The Show 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 NBA 2K17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Virtual reality is undeniably impressive technology, but it contin- of Ubisoft’s period-hop- Nier: Automata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 ues to lack a destination experience that drives adoption. ping action brawler. Nex Machina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Nidhogg 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 No Man’s Sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Orwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Overcooked. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 04 Feedback Overwatch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Owlboy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – 12 Impulse: The Games Spirit of Justice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Of PSX 2016 Picross 3D Round 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Planet Coaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Plants vs. Zombies: 21 The Good, The Bad, Garden Warfare 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 And The Ugly 6 4Death Stranding 7 3The Last Of Us Pokémon Sun & Moon. . . . . . . . . . . 54 Hideo Kojima’s new Part II Pokémon Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 22 Afterwords: game is confusing, but Joel and Ellie are return- Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 . . . . . . . 49 Salt and Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Watch Dogs 2 we’ve squeezed as many ing for a new chap- Sonic Mania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 details as possible out of ter in Naughty Dog’s Stardew Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 23 Afterwords: the latest update. American wasteland. Steep. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Street Fighter V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Dishonored 2 Super Mario Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Super Mario Run. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 26 Gear: Google Pixel XL Superhot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Superhot VR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 28 Gear: Oculus Tales of Berseria. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Titanfall 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Touch Review Total War: Warhammer . . . . . . . . . . 44 Turing Test, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 31 Timeline Uncharted: The Lost Legacy . . . . . . 72 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End . . . . . . . 40 62 Previews Vane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 8 6The Last Guardian Walking Dead: 80 Reviews After being in 8 4Final Fantasy XV AP aNrtesw I F&r oIIn, tTiehre –. .T .i e. s. .T .h .a t. .B .i n. d. . . 89 development for nearly a At times we Watch Dogs 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,54 96 Game Over: decade, we finally have the doubted it would ever Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Top 50 Games Of 2016 verdict on Fumito Ueda’s release, but we’ve finally Blood and Wine, The. . . . . . . . . . . 44 Witness, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 By The Numbers newest journey. played Final Fantasy XV. World of Warcraft: Legion. . . . . . . . 48 XCOM 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 3 contents k c a b d e e BioWare’s newest sci-fi adventure received plenty of attention f this month, while other readers shared some of their favorite games and biggest gripes from 2016. M ass Appeal importantly the world’s impression many remakes and remasters of other My very first issue of G.I. was the Mass on you. Combat is a tool that helps to games, all fans can imagine is a new Effect 3 issue. I was a huge fan of the facilitate this interaction, but it’s not the epic side-scrolling Metroid game that first two games, so I was desperately core of an RPG. The shift more toward harks back to a bygone era. Sales on the hunt for any information on shooters means a shift further away could be epic, with 3DS/Wii U/Switch the upcoming conclusion to the tril- from RPG games. I do hope my con- support. Should I address this mes- ogy. Since then, I have completed cern is unfounded as I loved the Mass sage to you, or N intendo i tself? undergraduate and graduate school, Effect trilogy. Kevin Molloy started a new career, and even moved Wayne Gobel Rhode Island a couple times. In those years, Game via email Informer has always been there, We’re guessing Nintendo has whether it be my favorite weekly pod- We wouldn’t worry too much, received that suggestion once or cast for five-plus years running, the Wayne. While Mass Effect’s combat twice before, Kevin, and telling us newest episode of Replay, or the latest mechanics are continuing to is just preaching to the choir. A new game reviews. This month’s coverage improve and expand, storytelling is system always offers new hope, of Mass Effect: Andromeda has been still at the heart of the series. One of but you’re probably better off just amazing, and it’s been fun to come full the reasons our coverage has been playing Axiom Verge at this point. circle. So thanks to Game Informer and so focused on gameplay is because It’s as close to classic Metroid as the hard-working folks at BioWare. If BioWare doesn’t want to divulge you’re going to get. it had not been for that Mass Effect 3 too much about the story for fear of cover, I would’ve missed out on years spoilers. Based on what we know of entertainment and laughs all shared about the premise and characters through G.I. and its community! so far, we’re hopeful Andromeda Marty C. can deliver the same meaningful Springfield, IL choices and relationships, while also packing in plenty of action. For I just want to say I was really looking more on Mass Effect Andromeda, forward to Mass Effect: Andromeda. check out our hub at gameinformer. However, reading the recent article com/Andromeda. on it really saddened me. It sounds like Mass Effect is moving more into Super Moretroid Call of Duty territory and further away If Nintendo doesn’t get its act together from the RPG genre. In RPGs the key and make a 2D Metroid game soon, Contact Us element is story; it is your character’s then I may just have to acknowledge [email protected] impression on the world and more that it won’t ever happen. After so 4 Short Answers To Readers’ Burning Questions: “Why does the new Call of Duty feel exactly like the previous one?” The Snub That Wasn’t Because you acci- Your magazine has been my pri- dentally bought last mary source of information for which year’s game? games to get for quite a long time. However, I’ve chosen to not renew “Do you think Project my subscription. There’s an amaz- Sonic 2017 will be a ing game out there called Terraria, good game?” but you’d never know it if you’re a magazine subscriber. You guys have With a name like that, given this game zero love and that how couldn’t it be? is, quite frankly, bullsh--. I’ve been Y ou Get It Or You Don’t gaming since the NES, and Terraria is “Which Overwatch the game I love more than any other. character would you like When did people start thinking that their opinion of a game Ever. At the time of this writing, I’ve to get an origin story has anything to do with your reviews? Even if y’all didn’t logged 448 hours into this game. I paid video next?” have a scale to rate games on, a review is an opinion about $7 for it five years ago. The develop- Is “all of the above” a game. Everyone has one. Readers act like the Call of ers have released one major update an option? Duty: Infinite Warfare cover ruined their lives and the 10 a year since then, for free. I see you guys reviewed Starbound, which is a Overwatch got is an act of treason. This to me is one of the blatant rip off of Terraria, but no men- many things wrong with the world today. As I see it, Game Worst Opening tion of Terraria. I’d like to believe that Informer has taken the job of informing us about games and the reason Terraria receives no love To A Feedback gameplay, new technology, and everything else related to in print is not because you guys get Letter : gaming to the best of your knowledge and opinions. Thank paid for reviews and the devs refuse to “Hey Ed, This is just my y’all for the entertainment and knowledge. pay you. But maybe that’s naivety on Abe Simpson vent on my part. I see you guys push a bunch Jessie Bowen the current gen sate of games with microtransactions and via email of gaming.” the same tired Call of Duty every year, but not a single mention of how great Titanfall 2 is garbage. Hell, Infinite Warfare was a LOT better this game is. I just can’t support this Question than Titanfall 2. Battlefield 1 was no doubt game of the year. snub, and therefore I can’t support the Of The Month: A lot better than your 10/10 for Overwatch. I’m also tired of magazine anymore. Johnny Perez What game are you most you guys giving Call of Duty more than a 9 every year. I think via email looking forward to in Infinite Warfare was good, but you guys give them such a 2017 and why? high rating every year. It’s fairly obvious you get paid for a lot We totally understand your frustra- of your reviews. tion, Johnny. We love Terraria too – Raymond Thomann which is why we devoted a full-page via email preview to it in issue 221, gave the game an 8 in our excerpted review in issue 242 and featured it in our Finally, somebody who gets it: People who disagree with us survival game round-up in issue are one of the things that’s wrong with the world today. See 252. So we totally get why you can’t how much happier readers are when they realize that? subscribe anymore…wait, what was the problem? y (Left) Andy moderated PSX’s The Last of Us Part II panel this year, which p featured Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann and the actors s behind Ellie and Joel, Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker. (Right) Also at PSX, Suriel and Reiner caught up with i Limited Run’s Douglas g Bogart, who helps preserve downloadable games with limited releases on physical discs. Keep up the good work, Doug! PHOTOS FROM THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY feedback 5 On Your Mind S end Reinforcements! myself included, enjoy playing. In Ode To Joy I am a huge fan of Titanfall, and have conclusion, we need more stuff. Dishonored 2 is the Thief game we’ve been ever since the first one came Jonah Engle been waiting for – Stephen Russell out. Now that Titanfall 2 is out, I have via email (a.k.a. Garrett) even voices Corvo, been playing it nonstop and have no less. Finally, we have a new Thief enjoyed every second of it. However, Respawn has stated its intent to game that’s good! Not to mention I fear for its future – like the first continue supporting Titanfall 2. the stunningly gorgeous art direc- Titanfall, Titanfall 2 lacks content. And unlike most games, the tion, deeply engrossing mechanics That’s a problem for people like me additional content will be free. and gameplay, and fantastically nos- who want to play this game for a Hopefully that will keep play- talgic old-school sensibilities. Whew! long time. If Respawn Entertainment ers entertained, and pique the Just had to get that off my chest. As does not add things like more titans, interest of additional gamers; you w ere. weapons, and abilities, it will spell Respawn certainly deserves Adam Fister the end of a game that many people, the success. via email Gears of War 4 does not disappoint. The Coalition was given an already impressive combat system to work with and made it even better. Not only am I running over barriers with ease, but I’m grabbing my enemy and bringing them over to me for a brutal execution! The Coalition took an amazing series and put a twist on it. You can recognize and feel it’s Gears of War, but at the same time it’s unique. It comes together so beautifully. Emily Reece The Joke’s On Us via email In issue 284, we asked readers to amuse us with their best video game-related joke. The results were unani- There’s nothing better than excit- Andromeda mous: You should all keep your day jobs. Here are the edly gushing about a new favorite Excitement game! 2016 made a lot of gamers least-groan-worthy responses, including a joke about happy, and it’s the season for Game of the Mario’s pants that was submitted by three separate read- sharing and celebrating that hap- Year Chatter ers…for some reason. piness. You can see which titles Nintendo Switch the G.I. staff loved the most in our Questions Question: What material are Mario’s overalls made out of? Top 50 Games of 2016 feature, Answer: “Denim-denim-denim.” Aaaand I’ll see myself out... starting on page 32. 4K/VR Skepticism Sam Shellhammer (and Balta Bueno and Bob Stoute) Horrible, Horrible Jokes Question: Why does the Titan need an optometrist? Answer: Because Titans can’t Blink. Stone Kruger Question: What did Zelda tell Link when he couldn’t open the dungeon door? Answer: “TRI-FORCE!” Marcos E. Mendez (Left) Sony’s Annette Gonzalez, Epic’s Nick Chester, and independent PR rep Joy Fox were all smiles at PSX, mainly because we pulled out our camera and said “cheese.” (Right) PR guru Tara Bruno, Square Enix’s Riley Brennan, CHAIR’s Laura and Donald Mustard, and Bethesda’s Matt Frary fell for the same trick! (continued on page 8) 6 feedback Fantasy Violence Mild Blood Mild Language Simulated Gambling © 2004, 2015, 2017 ARMOR PROJECT/BIRD STUDIO/SQUARE ENIX All Rights Reserved. © SUGIYAMA KOBO DRAGON QUEST, SQUARE ENIX and the SQUARE ENIX logo Suggestive Themes are registered trademarks or trademarks of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. Use of Alcohol JOURNEY OF THE CURSED KING is a registered trademark or trademark of Square Enix Co., Ltd. Nintendo 3DS is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2017 Nintendo. 1 y WINNER 1 Neko Pataky r Move over Noctis: There’s a new brooding boy band e star with magnificent hair in town. l l a 2 Haji Abdullah Based on his facial expression, it appears we caught g Ryu in the “dou” phase of a Hadouken. 3 Lizette Lee Coreano That love beam goes both ways, Bulbasaur. 4 Amanda Lin BioShock is one of those games that really makes you ink. We mean think. Think about ink. » Submit your art for a chance to win our monthly prize. Please include your name and return address. Entries become the property of Game Informer and cannot be returned. Send to: Game Informer Reader Art Contest, 724 First Street North, 3rd Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401 | Email to: [email protected] (Left) And now for something completely different: Bungie’s Genevieve Waldman earned herself a new admirer during a trip to Africa. (Right) This month we said goodbye to the illest interns in G.I. history: Ian Boudreau, Kevin Slackie, and Michael Leri. 8 feedback