The best games of 2016 were weirdly concentrated. The year was pretty phenomenal for games, but they tended to be clustered in particular genres—while it was an incredible year for strategy games and shooters, it wasn’t so hot for open-world RPGs or, say, Nintendo games. I’m a Nintendo and strategy games reporter, and the former group is largely absent from this list. Star Fox Zero missed the mark. Some pretty fun shooters like Far Cry Primal and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided are certainly worth playing, but aren’t quite game of the year material. Overall, it was a bad year for the Wii U and a great year for the PC—and, for this gamer, it was the best year that strategy games have seen in years.

Apolon’s Best Games Of 2016

6. Pokémon Go

Okay, admittedly the gameplay in Pokémon Go isn’t the robust thing ever to grace our mobile phones. But that gameplay was truly unique—nothing like catching Pokémon in the real world had ever come along before, and the game was the sensation of the summer. Because there had never been anything like it. And I had just as much fun as the rest of us, even though the magic has faded. Pokémon Go isn’t the best game of 2016, but it’s probably the most important, so it earns its spot on this list.

5. Stellaris

Grand strategy on a galactic scale—as Stellaris’ tagline goes—has been tried before, but the magic Paradox touch brought something new to the genre. Stellaris offered the sense of wonder and exploration we need in a grand strategy game. The endgame is rich with cool events. The midgame was a little weak at launch, but has been beefed up already, and—like all Paradox games—will develop dramatically more over time. As far as sci-fi games go, Stellaris has the sort of scope and vision behind it that we hoped No Man’s Sky would have—albeit in a very different genre.

4. Pokémon Sun and Moon

Pokémon Sun and Moon have been recognized, without much of a dispute, as the best games in the series. The new Pokémon games fix so many problems that the old ones had—most particularly the pace and the difficulty—while adding tons of new features that made the games feel fresh. The redesigns of some of the original Kanto Pokémon showed a new inventiveness that permeated the games, and gave Sun and Moon the most mass appeal in several generations of the series.

3. Hearts of Iron IV

World War II games are a dime a dozen, but every once in a while something really special comes out. Hearts of Iron IV is like that, and is probably the best World War II strategy game ever made—if you can get over the incredibly steep learning curve. Unlike most games in the genre, Hearts of Iron IV really is about strategy, not just battle tactics (although those are a huge part of it too). It’s the only World War II game I’ve played where the traditional Axis and Allies aren’t set. Your political choices can determine who actually enters the war—does France become communist and side with the Soviets? Does Spain join the Axis? Does the war end and immediately lead to a third world war based on a shattered peace and new conflicts between the democratic Allies and the Communists? All these are options in Hearts of Iron IV, and that sheer flexibility earns it a spot on this list.

2. Civilization VI

Civilization VI is one of the best two Civilization games, and that’s really saying something. The game builds on the core systems of Civ V but adds so many new features and big ideas that it’s an entirely new beast, far better than its predecessor and in the same league as the still-exceptional Civilization IV. Civ VI has years yet to grow into itself, but the base game is incredibly well-made, and more fleshed out than any of the vanilla games usually are. Best of all, Civ VI feels like a complex, modern board game—the addition of Districts make the map matter more than it ever has before. Civ V was a step back for the series, but Civ VI is a dramatic two steps forward—and one of the best games of the year.

1. Stardew Valley

In a year with a supremely crazy news cycle and, for this reporter, a large amount of family health issues, escapism was just what the doctor ordered. And Stardew Valley’s escape back to nature, to a simpler time, is the perfect release. Made by one guy and very directly inspired by the original Harvest Moon, with a graphics style to match, Stardew Valley was the year’s shock hit, and for good reason. It’s hard to explain exactly why farming eggplants, taking care of cows, and making friends is so satisfying and cathartic. But it is. This reporter came to Stardew Valley late, only in October, and has already logged more hours on it than any other game this year. It’s a game about the cycle of life—the routine of the days, the seasons, the years—and about becoming part of a community. And it’s my personal best game of 2016.