Startselect's Best of 2016

The end of the year is always a time to look back on what's behind us. As most of our employees are avid gamers, we also discussed what our favourite games of 2016 were.

23-12-2016  -  by the Startselect Crew

At Startselect we've got all kinds of gamers. For some of us it's part of our lives; we built our own PC, bought a 4K TV for our PS4 Pro or even bought a VR-headset. For others, it's a way to relax and unwind at home or in our game room at the office. That's probably why everyone looks back on 2016 differently. For some it's the year they truly discovered the magic of Rocket League or Shovel Knight, while others couldn't wait to get their hands on Blizzard's new project: Overwatch. That's why the titles in this list aren't even all from this year, they're just what we will remember 2016 by.

Thijs Kaagman

Title: Content specialist
Game of the year: Overwatch 

It was years since Blizzard launched a new franchise, so I was pretty excited to finally play Overwatch this year. It turned out to be exactly my kind of game; it's quick, quirky and just a damn load of fun in general. All the characters in the game feel really different from eachother, but the way they come together in a balanced fight is beautiful. The steady flow of lootboxes full of skins, sprays and emotes make me want to come back again and again, plus the free updates and the amazing seasonal events are awesome. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm only one more round away from hitting a new level and a new lootbox, and I really need that Zenyatta Nutcracker skin...

Ferry Rovers

Title: Country Manager New Territories
Game of the Year: Civilization VI

This year didn’t have a clear winner for me, making it near impossible to choose between games like Titanfall 2, Dark Souls 3, XCOM 2, Civilization VI, Uncharted 4, Overwatch, Deus Ex MD, Final Fantasy XV, Planet Coaster and the barrage of good indie games that came our way. In the end, my decision is based on playtime and so my personal pick must be Civilization VI. The introduction of Districts, the Civics Tree, and all the revamped mechanics made it feel fresh and a better start-off point for future expansions than the mess Civ V was. While it may not be the “best game this year”, the amount of time spent in this outweighs any other this year, and makes me excited for what's to come for this series!

Koen Dekkers

Title: Creative Account Manager
Game of the Year: Mark McMorris Infinite Air

Sometimes, in the midst of all the thunder and lightning of all the big blockbuster games coming out at the end of the year, a small but honest game is getting snowed under in all the marketing violence. This year that game is Mark McMorris Infinite Air. Fairly unknown and killed by all the Steep marketing, this game is as pure as it gets. Is it perfect? Nope. Is it as polished as Steep? Nope. But is it the snowboard game that purists, snowboarders and wintersport lovers want? Hell yes! Mark McMorris Infinte Air brings you back to the days of Amped, but better! Realistic snowboarding taken to the next level. I am playing this game every single day, just to get my fix.

Bas van Meurs

Title: Brand Manager
Game of the Year: Shovel Knight

Quality gameplay, an amazing soundtrack and lots of shovelling. Shovel Knight combined my favourite genre (hardcore platforming) with elements of all the classics. There are your epic Mega Man style bossfights, Castlevenia style weaponry and more! The very best thing is the continued support from the developers, with extra content being added still. Right now I am blasting my way through the game as one of the villians (Plague Knight), which smartly integrates a storyline within the storyline. I’m planning to play a lot more Shovel Knight in 2017!

Kevin Lieberwirth

Title: Account Manager
Game of the Year: Pokémon GO

I didn't expect to get as hooked on a mobile game as I did with Pokémon GO. The game took the world by storm and it was the perfect summer game for me. I spent many hours after work running around my neighbourhood, meeting up with my friends and catching a load of Pokémon. Okay, maybe the post-release support wasn't great and Niantic kind of dropped the ball with the whole 'Nearby' feature, but the new updates got me right back in the game!

Björn van Beek

Title: Chief Marketing & Sales
Game of the Year: Rocket League

When we finally completed our game room at the beginning of the year, I saw everyone spend their lunch breaks playing a game called Rocket League. I gave it a try and it turned out to be quite hard for a complete noob. But... practice makes perfect! I've been playing nearly every day and I'm having a great time. I'm really starting to get the hang of the controls and tactics and I'm very proud to say my win/lose ration isn't even that bad. Am I starting to become a real gamer?

Sharon Jansen

Title: Production Assistant
Game of the Year: The Witch and the Hundred Knight

My favorite game this year is The Witch and the Hundred Knight for the PS4. This game has a lot of story with some surprising twists and turns. You are playing a little creature and it's fun to fight for the dark side for once. The controls are easy and you learn them as you go, so the fighting feels great. There are different elements in the game that keep it interesting and fun and the amount of levels made sure I was busy for quite a long time.

Jimmy Tavares

Title: Customer Support France
Game of the Year: Fallout 4 (with mods)

A little more than a year after its released, Fallout 4 mods were finally released on PS4 this year! Perfectly on time with my holidays that were starting that same day. I literally spent 5 days non-stop playing and trying out all the different possibilities that it offered. True, there is limitations due to Sony’s restrictions but personally I’m pretty satisfied with it. Most of the mods I was looking forward to have were already released on release date and every day more and more mods are adding up to the (already) long list. I’m still amazed to see how many people actually made the effort to develop mods for PS4, knowing how struggling it is to do it with Sony’s restrictions. Thanks to the Fallout community that made it possible, you’ve made many people’s dream possible!