4) Dark Souls III
This might be the last of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s fan-favorite franchise we see for a while, and if that turns out to be true, it’s a hell of a send-off. Offering up a nightmarishly challenging campaign set in a world full of eldritch abominations and macabre visions of hell, Dark Souls III righted the series ship many felt had gone astray in Dark Souls II.
As someone who’d never ventured into the dripping, slimy corridors of the Souls world before, I found this entry a welcoming (well, as welcoming as a Souls game can be, anyway) introduction to everything that makes the series so beloved by hardcore RPG fans. And in terms of universes and lore created by games in 2016, you’d be hard-pressed to find one more fully-realized in its horror than Lothric.