Runner Up of the Year: Elite Dangerous
I first tried Elite Dangerous when it was still in the game preview on Xbox One. I did a bit of exploring and tried combat missions and hauling but did not find it interesting enough to continue. Recently I got back to the game and even bought the Horizons expansion.
I have not played a space sim since Independence War II: Edge of Chaos. Elite requires a lot of time to get into and grinding for credits can be tedious. The combat mechanics and exploration are fun enough and flying around in super cruise on kind of a soothing experience.
The real depth of Elite appears to originate from the community. For example, there are subreddits for coordinating the powerplay, which is fairly dull as a game mechanic, and community events like the Christmas carriers convoy. And of course, the game has superb opportunities for taking pretty screenshots.
I definitely want to invest more time to Elite Dangerous. Most likely it will not be my most played game for the next year, but I am looking forward to getting some material for screenshot posts.
[Elite Dangerous © 1984 – 2016 Frontier Developments Plc]