The year is pretty much over, so what's the best stuff you played?
Stardew Valley - My GOTY by a comfortable margin. Combined Harvest Moon-style farming simulation with some shockingly good writing and characterization. There was just a hint of darkness lurking beneath the surface, which was thrown into sharp relief by the cute, pixellated art.
Grim Dawn - It did Diablo 2 better than Diablo 2 did. Both deep and sprawling with a seemingly infinite number of potential builds and playstyles.
Stellaris - Did some things well, but didn't quite live up to the Crusader-Kings-In-Space hype. Suffers from a really dull midgame and some weird difficulty spikes.
Firewatch - Best dialogue of the year. The plot really petered out towards the end but it was a hell of an experience.
No Man's Sky - Super disappointing, but I still respect their ambition and I had quite a bit of fun with it. I just wish they could have actually finished it before release.