The best video games of 2016 are as usual a sundry gathering of delights I both saw and didn’t see coming, a medley of experiences that range from the traditionally exquisite to the exquisitely nontraditional.

TIME publishes its top 10 games list in November to coincide with the start of the holiday season. What you’re reading now is that list slightly reorganized to accommodate late November and December stragglers, as well as a few things I played later than expected.

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Write to Matt Peckham at matt.peckham@time.com.

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