In 2016, esports experienced even more highs and lows than the previous year. That's what it means to be growing. But while the industry surrounding competitive gaming continues to expand on the backs of enthusiastic investors and hype-men, it's important not to forget why anyone actually watches it in the first place: the people playing are really damn good.

"Pa," said the girl, "famine took everything from us, and disease the rest. Also the other day a pack of wolves plain stole old man Edwards, and they didn't even 'splain what they was plannin' to use him fer." The father studied his daughter, gaunt but strong, face hollowed by months of uncertainty. "The video games, though," he replied. "The video games were good this year."

2016 was a big year for nerdy perverts. Overwatch alone probably started an entire sex industry, VR porn became the face of virtual reality and more games tackled raunchy subjects.

The films we've as the best science fiction and genre films of 2016 are a very motley crew. This year we loved superheroes, animation, farting corpses, live action, talking animals, and more. These are films spanning different genres, disciplines, and themes, which experienced varied levels of success. Each is worthy of acknowledgment, though, so check out what we crowned the best of the best, and worst of the worst.

Paintings in video games are like toilets: they don't do much, but you notice if they aren't there. They make a space seem lived in and real. They're often unintentionally hilarious, and they're one of my favourite things in games.

My 2016 was a year of surprises. There were so many games I didn't expect would capture me the way they did, featuring genres and mechanics I usually don't like but that nevertheless thrilled me. I tried a lot of new kinds of games this year, and I found a lot of new favourites. Here's my top 10.

I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that this was one of the most significant years for Japanese role-playing games in recent history, first and foremost because one of this fall's biggest games was a brand new Final Fantasy.

From puzzlers to JRPGs to, uh, more puzzlers, this was a good year for video games. And my top 10 list will probably not surprise any of you.In no particular order, here are the best games I played in 2016:

Taken on their own, individual Steam reviews don't offer a whole lot of value. But taken together, they spin a yarn about a game that's equal parts fascinating, weird, and occasionally funny.

In 2016, WWE turned towards the future. The WWE Network expanded both its user base and its program offerings. The NXT developmental program graduated a new class of Superstars to the main roster. The main roster split into a Raw brand and a SmackDown brand, a healthy move for a company that had gotten complacent due to lack of competition. And women's wrestling continued its upward ascent.

2016 was a year of dazzling heights and dismal lows in the realm of snackology. A year of fast food crossovers, foul cookie combinations, depression day doughnuts and election night tequila. Also we ate a thing that looked a lot like nightmare poop.

If there's one thing I do for this site, it's play a stack of games. 2016 was an amazing year and offered some of the best video games in recent memory. I sat down to list my personal favourites for our year in review.

2016 was a great year for video games, and an even better year for video game music. It was also a diverse year, with a mix of Norse folk music, spy movie histrionics, ambient soundscapes and extremely heavy metal.

The Wii U spent 2016 on life support, relying on a slow trickle of exclusives to keep owners from pulling the plug completely. As Nintendo prepares to release the Switch in March, the Wii U readies its dying breath.

In truth, 2016 was not "The Year of VR." It was the year of the start of VR. Multiple major tech companies released impressive VR systems that were clearly the first of their kind; flawed and fascinating, destined to be improved upon and replaced. The age of immersive technology is upon us, but its future remains uncertain.

The PlayStation 4 evolved this year. Sony's flagship console got a little bigger and a little more powerful, though its potential is as yet undertapped. It also got its very own VR headset, though that headset noticeably fails to match its PC counterparts. It's not clear whether Sony has moved their gaming system in all the right directions, but they're certainly skipping forward.

Dedicated handheld consoles have taken some beatings over the years -- thanks, Steve Jobs -- but as 2016 comes to a close, the 3DS is still thriving. And the Vita... well, uh, I love the Vita.

For the 10th year in a row (!), I've tallied the games I played in the past 12 months and have counted the ones I've "finished." It's clear that it's time for some changes.

We came, we saw, we played. We nominated, we debated, we decided. Here, in alphabetical order, are Kotaku's top 12 games of 2015.