2016 has been a shit year. We won't miss it. But it's nevertheless given us some amazing games, some of which we've been waiting on for years. After a couple of rounds of intense voting, we've come up with our 10 favorites, and assembled an all-star cast of hosts to talk about them, including Bob Mackey, Henry Gilbert, Nathan Ortega, Michael Grimm, and Brett Elston in addition to the regular crew. It's a long'un, so strap in and find out if your favorites made the cut while we lumber toward 2017 and a (hopefully) happier New Year.

It's almost Christmas, so this week, Telltale Games Community Manager Nathan Ortega and Michael Grimm join us to talk about... games where you play as a dad and protect a kid? Really? OK, fine. We then move on to talking about The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Overwatch's surprisingly divisive character development, Nintendo Switch tech specs, and the Nintendo franchises you'd like to see come to phones.

Dead Rising 4 inspires yet another episode theme, as special guests Henry "Fandom Dot Com" Gilbert and Wes Green joins us to focus on five playable journalists who keep little more than a camera lens between themselves and danger. Then it's on to Telltale's fifth Batman episode, Super Mario Run, Hitman and Overwatch adding holiday content, and the game-character holiday ornaments you'd be proud to display.

It's our first show of December, which means the holidays are nearly upon us. More to the point, Dead Rising 4's Christmasy zombie uprising gives us the perfect excuse to - along with Fandom editor Bob Mackey - look at games in which the annual gift-giving holiday is not only threatened, but totes wrecked. We then talk about THe Last Guardian, Dead Rising 4, The Last of Us Part 2, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, and your favorite Final Fantasies.

Final Fantasy XV is out after a 10-year wait, and we're celebrating the only way we know how: by looking back at our five favorite games from the series' 29-year run. Once we've finished enraging fans with our wrong opinions, we shift our focus to Final Fantasy XV, Steep, Nintendo showing up at Universal Studios, and the games you played over the long weekend.

It's Black Friday here in the US, which means that at least some of you are probably already enduring a retail mosh pit to get a few bucks off a new TV. With that heady whiff of capitalism in the air, we shift our focus this week to some of the most noteworthy merchants in video games, some of whom risk life and limb to sell you stuff in combat zones. We then shift gears to talk about Pokémon Sun and Moon, Monster Hunter as a "cinematic universe," and which games you think would make perfect real-life escape rooms.

The Wii turns 10 in North America this week, pushing us to revisit a strange era of dominance built entirely on first-party games - or was it? In spite of its reputation, the Wii had a whole mess of fantastic third-party exclusives that have never been seen again, and this week we'll talk about five of our favorites with the help of Hank "Henry" Gilbert. Then it's on to talk about important stuff that matters, like the PS4 Pro, Watch Dogs 2, the NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Switch news, and the game characters you'd like to see as president.

We're just days away from the 2016 election as of this posting, and "tensions are high" doesn't seem as appropriate an assessment of the general mood as "chaos reigns." Still, we try to keep it celebratory, as Henry Gilbert rejoins the show for a look at five US presidents we can all agree on, if only because their insane policies are confined to the games they inhabit. We then move on to Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Titanfall 2, Owlboy, and the games that you think would be a good fit for Nintendo Switch.

Happy Halloweek, everybody! We're... actually cutting our Halloween theme short a week early, because we only get one Episode 187, and we'd never forgive ourselves if we didn't seize the opportunity to reference an ancient Dre/Snoop song by focusing on characters who went into deep cover to investigate crime syndicates. We then move on to Battlefield 1, Civilization VI, and World of Final Fantasy before talking at length about the Nintendo Switch, Red Dead Redemption 2, and the creepiest things that happened to you while playing games.

As our month of spookiness continues, Heidi Kemps joins us to tackle one of our most bizarre subjects yet: SHMUPs (or shoot-'em-ups, or arcade-style shooting games) that ventured beyond familiar sci-fi trappings to confront something much darker than aliens and enemy fleets. We then touch on Eagle Flight and Return to Arkham, get speculative about Red Dead Redemption 2, mourn the loss of United Front Games, and look at the horror movies you'd like to see get turned into games.

Our monthlong spooky theme continues with some of the most understated scares games have given us over the years: mysterious, often unexplained whispers. Sometimes they're part of the ambient sound, other times they seem to target us directly - but they're always creepy. Then it's time for a look at the week's crowd of new releases, including Mafia III, Dragon Quest Builders, and Gears of War 4; excitement at Red Dead Revolver hitting PS4; and a look at some of the times games scared the hell out of you.

It's the first week of October, which means we're kicking off a month of supernatural- and horror-themed Top 5s, beginning with a look at immortal, superpowered bloodsuckers who starred in their own games. We then talk about the early releases of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered and Gears of War 4, delve into why Danganronpa on PS4 is exciting news, and look at the N64 games you want to play, but still haven't.

The Nintendo 64's North American debut happened 20 years ago this week. Because any list of its best games would be dominated by Nintendo titles (and would be utterly predictable), let's take a slightly less well-trod road and count down five of the console's best third-party exclusives. We then dig into a bustling week of new releases that includes Forza Horizon 3 and XCOM 2 on consoles, discuss our face-on impressions of Battlezone on PlayStation VR, and talk about your favorite videogame foods.

With the legendary Okami turning 10 in North America this week, Michael Grimm joins us for a look at five cel-shaded games that - partly because of their graphics, and partly because of their forward-thinking design - still hold up alongside modern games. We then speak with special guest Arthur Parsons of TT Games about the second year of LEGO Dimensions, touch lightly on the Digital Homicide debacle, and look at the classic games you'd like to see turned into crazy neon caricatures of themselves.

This is a big week for current-gen remasters of last-gen games, with Bioshock and Dead Rising re-releasing on PS4 and Xbox One, so let's start with a look at five of the best, most feature-rich remasters to hit current-gen consoles. We then move on to ReCore and Pac-Man Championship Edition 2, argue loudly about PS4 Pro and iPhone 7, and hear about the games that you went from loving to hating (or vice versa).

In honor of this week's episode number, our erstwhile co-host Henry Gilbert (now of Fandom) rejoins the show to talk about games that did a 180 in the minds of the gaming public - that is, games that went from being widely considered classics to being widely considered classic turds, or vice versa. Then there's extensive news from PAX West, a look at Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice and Mother Russia Bleeds, and a rundown of the PlayStation games you've always been curious about, but never touched.

After all the recent furor over Metal Gear Survive and Metroid Prime Federation Force, we for some reason decided it'd be a good idea to delve into five other games that turned traditionally single-player series into four-player co-op-fests, sometimes with amazing results. After that, we shift our focus to Attack on Titan, a new ToeJam & Earl, and the Super NES games you never got around to despite everyone saying they're great.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System celebrated its 25th anniversary this week, so Heidi Kemps of gaming.moe joins the regulars this week to talk about key moments that created huge shockwaves not just for the SNES and Nintendo, but for the industry at large. Then it's on to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, King of Fighters XIV, Metal Gear Survive, PlayStation Plus coming to PC, and the Wii games that you'd like to see get a second chance.

This week, we enlist Retronauts host Bob Mackey to help us navigate an ancient landscape of games that were based on movies, TV shows, and cartoon characters... until they came to the US, at which point that was all stripped out. We then switch gears to talk about Bound, Metroid Prime Federation Force, Final Fantasy XV's latest delay, and the classic licensed games you'd love to see make a comeback.

We've got spaceflight on the brain this week with the release of No Man's Sky, so before we start in on the game everyone's talking about, Brett Elston joins us to look back at five of the most iconic spaceships video games have produced. Then it's on to (of course) No Man's Sky, Brut@l, Another Metroid 2 Remake, classic Disney games being granted new life, and the games that have been helping you pull through summer.

Who wouldn't want to experience dangerous situations as a soft, helpless infant? Inspired by their recent playthrough of Baby's Day Out, the VGA crew invite Michael Grimm to join this week for a look at games that let you play as babies. After tearing through that discussion, it's on to talk about Abzu, Batman: The Telltale Series, controversies over Pokémon Go updates and No Man's Sky, and the Achievements that made you proud.

Erstwhile host Henry Gilbert rejoins the show this week, just in time to help us talk about multi-platform games that. for a variety of reasons, were completely different experiences on old-gen consoles. With that out of the way, we move on to Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Headlander, Quadrilateral Cowboy, Comic-Con, the latest Nintendo NX rumors, and the games you'd love to see become esports.

Heidi Kemps of gaming.moe joins us fresh off last week's EVO championships - and with fighting games on everyone's minds, we take a look at some of the weirdest guest characters ever to grace games about people hitting each other on the head with fists. Then it's on to I Am Setsuna, Nintendo's tiny NES Classic Edition, and your favorite video-game ghosts.

Friend of the show Bob Mackey (of <a href="http://www.retronauts.com/" target="_blank">Retronauts</a> and <a href="http://www.usgamer.net/" target="_blank">USGamer</a>) joins us this week to count down five games that took clear inspiration from an established series, but recaptured what made the originals great instead of being pale imitations. Then it's on to Pokémon Go (of course!), Monster Hunter Generations, Evolve going free-to-play, and the game-hero childhoods you'd most like to see.

Michael Grimm returns to the show this week to help us talk about five games that flashed back to their heroes' childhoods, letting us experience their most important formative memories firsthand. Then it's on to thoughts on Inside, Furi, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII; Red Dead Redemption and The Warriors arriving on modern consoles; and your personal picks for Game of the Year (so far).

We're at the midpoint of 2016, so it's time to look back at the last six months and assemble a non-definitive, highly subjective list of our favorite games of the year so far. If you haven't rage-quit by the end of it, be sure to stick around to hear us talk about Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Nintendo's NX mutterings, and your dream mashups of two completely different series.

A show number with "69" in it only comes around every 100 episodes, so we take full advantage this week, as Michael Grimm joins us for a somewhat NSFW show about games that used the (sometimes-dubious) talents of former and current adult-film actresses to great effect. Once the moaning is out of the way, it's time to dig in to Mighty No. 9, Umbrella Corps, No Man's Sky's legal troubles and your favorite E3 items that weren't showcased at a press conference.

E3 is coming fast, so let’s distract ourselves just a little before the show starts with a Top 5 about (surprisingly competent) games based on “unscripted” television shows about “real” “people” who are “not entertainment lizards in hu-man guise.” The second segment gets a bit parkour-flavored, what with the one-two punch of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst and Watch Dogs 2’s reveal, and then it’s on to your most frustrating memories of losing a game to a glitch or hardware failure.

In belated tribute to the PS2 "classic" Jaws Unleashed's 10th anniversary last week, this episode focuses not on the triumph of being a shark, but the terror of being its victim, with a Top 5 about the most stressful games to swim in. Then it's on to a heated discussion of One Piece: Burning Blood, Primal, Mighty No. 9's latest trailer and the most memorable dreams you've had about games.

We begin this week's show by exploring the theater of the mind, with five games that take place entirely in their characters' heads and/or dreams. We then weigh in on the the Overwatch mania currently driving the internet bonkers, along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, Hideo Kojima's studio plans, and the games you play with your kids (or will play with your hypothetical kids).

Shadow of the Beast arrival this week is a reminder that sometimes, it's possible to tell a clear, engaging story without any actual dialogue. And that pushed us to spend this week's Top 5 discussion looking at other games that tell rich stories with little more than pantomime and grunting. We then move on to Doom, Homefront: The Revolution and Valkyria Chronicles Remastered before turning our attention to worrying game-movie plans, Shenmue remasters and your ideal toys-to-life games.

This week's release of Uncharted 4 is by all accounts a fitting send-off (for now) for one of the PS3 era's most beloved series, and so we get all topical with a frank discussion of five iconic roles inhabited by voice-acting supertalent Nolan North. The discussion then gradually meanders to our time with Uncharted 4 so far before we turn our attention to Disney Infinity shutting down, Assassin's Creed getting a movie trailer and your favorite moments in Star Wars games.

Mikel returns as host this week, and we celebrate by cursing America's pastime with a list of five baseball-themed games in which you never actually play baseball. We then jump back to the present with a look at Battleborn, before shifting to reactions to Call of Duty news, the Ratchet & Clank movie getting panned by critics, and the non-Zelda Nintendo franchises you'd most like to see revived by the NX launch.

Special guest star Heidi Kemps of <a href="http://www.gaming.moe" target="_blank">Gaming.moe</a> rejoins the show this week, just in time for a discussion about our favorite improbably non-Japanese ninjas. Then it's on to talking about Star Fox Zero and the rumored PlayStation 4.5, after which we tackle your favorite Superman and/or Batman games.

Ratchet & Clank's arrival this week sparks a Top 5 discussion about that great and rare Ouroboros of modern media: Video games that got turned into movies and TV shows, and then back into games based on those movies and TV shows. We then dive into a fevered discussion of Dark Souls III, touch on Titanfall 2's multiplatform reveal and take and earnest look at your favorite sports games.

Now that Final Fantasy XV finally has a release date 10 years after it was first announced, Gamespot editor Scott Butterworth joins the hosts this week for a look at five other games that had long and troubled development cycles, but emerged beautifully. Then we dig into Quantum Break and Mega Man Legends 2, marvel at Danny DeVito’s ignorance of Pokemon, and look at your favorite April Fool’s pranks of all time.

Making a game is often a huge undertaking. Making a successful game all by yourself is a staggering feat, and it's one that the five creators behind the games in this week's Top 5 managed to pull off spectacularly. The it's on to a look at the Oculus Rift and its key launch titles, Let's Play controversies, butt controversies and a look at your favorite Game Boy Advance memories.

It’s a jock-out lockout this week, as Retronauts host Bob Mackey joins us to take a look at the gawkiest, dorkiest, most pedantic nerd archetypes the games industry has thrown at us over the years. Then its on to a rip-roaring discussion of Day of the Tentacle Remastered, the week’s flurry of Nintendo rumors and/or hoaxes, and a look at the VR headsets you think have the most potential.

This week, we delve into those strange and short-lived days when it was considered bold and avant-garde to market cheesy games around the promise of nudity and stick them on consoles. We then return to modernity with a look at Salt and Sanctuary, EA Sports UFC 2 and Senran Kagura: Estival Versus, then delve into some of the new announcements from the week of GDC before looking at the oldest save files you someday plan to return to.

We get an early jump on St. Patrick's Day this week, with a hiss-heavy segment celebrating five videogame snakes that Ireland's patron saint would doubtlessly have run out of the country on a rail. We then snap right back to the present with a look at The Division, Rise of the Kasai on PS4 and Hitman; wallow in the sad sagas of Lionhead and the Coleco Chameleon; and dig into the best games you never played the DLC for.

The regular cast settles in this week for a look at five bosses that showed up to challenge fist-themed heroes while packing decidedly non-punchy firearms, often with predictable results. With that out of the way, we shift our focus to Superhot and this week's torrent of re-releases, the announcement of Pokemon Sun and Moon, and the survival skills you'd want if you were literally bombed back to the Stone Age.

This week, former Game Informer editor Tim Turi joins us to talk about our favorite prehistoric adventures where sweaty men in loincloths fight dinosaurs. (Appropriately, none of them were made after 1997.) Then we shift slightly to talk about Far Cry Primal, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Vive pricing news and your favorite fighting-game characters.

Ryan J. Hodge, author of Laser Time's own Play/Write series, joins us for the first time this week to chat about frumpy Soviets, suspiciously unnamed guerrillas and other commies who've taken starring roles in games over the years. Then it's on to talk about Street Fighter V and Fire Emblem Fates, free Sega games on Steam and your earliest crushes on game characters.

Our sesquicentennial episode takes a fond look back at some of the absolute worst voice acting ever to appear in video games, as Heidi Kemps joins us to talk about her upcoming MAGFest panel. Then it's on to a packed week of new releases that includes Firewatch, Unravel and a new Naruto; a goodbye to GameTrailers; and the games you'd play if you were trapped in a reality-resetting Groundhog Day situation.

Video games have been around since at least the '70s, but introspective games - ones with a statement to make about how we approach and play games, and what we expect from them - are still relatively rare. With The Witness out this week, however, we decided to take a look at how Jonathan Blow's earlier effort helped push metacommentary in games - and then we use it as a jumping-off point to talk about a few others. With that out of the way, we can talk about The Witness, Final Fantasy Explorers, Mighty No. 9 getting delayed again and the third-party Nintendo exclusives that you'd like to see get a second life.

For decades, character designers have kept a hidden ace up their sleeve, one so powerful that they probably feel like hacks for using it, and so rarely do: if you put a cute face on a vaguely rounded shape, the resulting character will be irresistible and people will line up to buy its merchandise. Today's Top 5 looks at some especially effective blob protagonists (blobtagonists?) whose quivering, jelly-like forms have kept us entertained over the years. It's then on to talk about this week's charming re-releases, including a Boy and His Blob and Dark Cloud 2, before we take a hard look at the songs you were introduced to by games.

Following this week's first round of sad news, Dan Amrich joins us this week to help pay tribute to David Bowie the only way we know how: by basing a Top 5 around his more notable ventures into gaming. The sadness bleeds into our second segment with a look at That Dragon, Cancer, but lets up with Pocket Mortys, Amazon's 20% new-game discounts and a look at the games you're looking forward to the most.

Welcome back for another year of VGA! As has become tradition 'round these parts, we begin the year by looking ahead to five games we're really excited about. (There isn't a whole lot that's been revealed about some of these, though, so it's a short segment. Then it's on to a quick look at Amplitude, some quick laughs about the Star Wars "RPG" Kicstarter and other news that's erupted while we've been away, and a rundown of your favorite games of last year.