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The New Yorker: The Best Video Games of 2015

I'm so glad Kerbal Space Program is getting some recognition. I'm sure it'll only continue when it starts being released on virtually every other platform.
 
Did you even bother to check who wrote the piece? And find out anything about his history of gaming?

I mean, come on. The fact that you don't know Simon Parkin says more about you than your silly perception of the New Yorker.

I didn't say anything about the writer. I'm talking purely about the publication in general. They employ very intelligent people who are generally good writers, but as a whole I often find the New Yorker very elitist. I know there are fantastic articles, maybe even gaming related ones, but that's just how I view the publication. So, upon seeing that they have a best games of 2015 list I was curious, and while it was heavily indie/artistic game focused, I was expecting basically no AAA games which was incorrect.

And who is Simon Parker and why should I seemingly be ashamed to not know who he is?
 
I didn't say anything about the writer. I'm talking purely about the publication in general. They employ very intelligent people who are generally good writers, but as a whole I often find the New Yorker very elitist. I know there are fantastic articles, maybe even gaming related ones, but that's just how I view the publication. So, upon seeing that they have a best games of 2015 list I was curious, and while it was heavily indie/artistic game focused, I was expecting basically no AAA games which was incorrect.

And who is Simon Parker and why should I seemingly be ashamed to not know who he is?
In which case, what does the supposed elitism have to do with the author?

Simon Parker is one of the better writers in the industry. Ex-Eurogamer (freelances there on occasion still), also done work for EDGE, Guardian and even wrote a book (Death By Video Game). The dude has like a bajillion reviews to his name. He's no chump posing as knowledgable about games.

List of some good stuff posted earlier:
Simon Parkin
Simon-Parkin-003.jpg

Shooters: How Video Games Fund Arm Manufacturers
The boy who stole Half-Life 2
The Videogame Invasion of Iraq
Who killed Rare?
That cancer game
Who spilled Hot Coffee
Blurred lines: Are YouTubers breaking the law?
Gaming Your Brain: How video game companies are making a science of turning your data into profit
Winners might use drugs
And more
 
Hipster click bait list.

Yes, more clickbait from that infamous clickbait farm, The New Yorker.

This article slots neatly between "You won't believe these 7 things Noam Chomsky keeps in his wallet" and "Congress can't stop talking about the Debt ceiling. The reason why will make you cry."
 

FlyinJ

Douchebag. Yes, me.
I didn't say anything about the writer. I'm talking purely about the publication in general. They employ very intelligent people who are generally good writers, but as a whole I often find the New Yorker very elitist. I know there are fantastic articles, maybe even gaming related ones, but that's just how I view the publication. So, upon seeing that they have a best games of 2015 list I was curious, and while it was heavily indie/artistic game focused, I was expecting basically no AAA games which was incorrect.

And who is Simon Parker and why should I seemingly be ashamed to not know who he is?

So wait you agree that it's an excellent publication that has great content and hires fantastic writers... but... it's elitist?

What does that even mean?
 

Elandyll

Banned
Good list imo.

Interestingly, at first I was like "Sunless Sea? But it's a 2014 game!"

Forgot it released early 2015 hehe.
 
It's a good list. Xenoblade Chronicles X is a very interesting pick. Playing it now. So far I'm enjoying it, but I'm not consumed by it just yet.

I disagree with the absence of the The Witcher 3, but what fun is a list of you agree with everything on it?
 

Erheller

Member
You guys going all ape shmidt over Ori doesn't make sense to me. It is just a very solid Metroidvania with amazing production values. I liked it a lot and forgot it the second it was over.

List is really good of the games I played and I now have to play all the ones on there I haven't heard of yet.

Personally I wouldn't argue for Ori as one of the 10 most inventive games this year, but to be fair, the bash mechanic is really creative and is one of the reasons why moving around in that game is so fun.

I see we have many unanswered prayers to Salt in this thread.

iunderstoodthatreference.gif
 

Firestorm

Member
So wait you agree that it's an excellent publication that has great content and hires fantastic writers... but... it's elitist?

What does that even mean?
I think by elitist he means writes meaningful pieces instead of behaving like BuzzFeed or The Huffington Post.
 
Wow pretty awesome list. I like these lists that aren't the usual triple-AAA fluff and has stuff that I haven't even played before. Unlike other posters echo chambers and self-validation is useless to me, so lists that I 100% align with are boring.
 

Wasp

Member
I've noticed there's a trend recently that a lot top ten of the year lists contain many indie, and arty games. Pretty similar to the movie industry actually.

This is a good thing, five years ago these lists would have been populated by only AAA games. Hopefully more casual and non gamers will learn there's more to videogames than CoD and GTA.
 
It's disappointing that people see lists like this as agenda-driven or wrong or trying to be "edgy" rather than as an opportunity to learn about good games that they might have overlooked and expand their horizons

There are flaws but coming from Echo Bazaar, Failbetter's web based game, it's great to see they are evolving the setting and they are doing it on their own terms. I am excited to see if they will release another game in a different genre/format.

Edit: The different genre/format being a true rpg given how character driven EB is.
They're working on a Sunless Sea expansion that takes you to the world under the water's surface
screenshot_vent-300x168.png
screenshot_shipwreck-300x168.png
 

Mutagenic

Permanent Junior Member
The best part of these lists, once again, is to educate yourself on the games you may have overlooked throughout the year.
 

besada

Banned
Sunless Sea was one of my most enjoyable video game experiences this year. MGS V was another. I think it's an interesting list. I also think all the list whining and suggestion of agendas is an embarrassment. All it does is make you look stupid and juvenile, as if you can't imagine that someone likes things that are different than the things you like.
 
So wait you agree that it's an excellent publication that has great content and hires fantastic writers... but... it's elitist?

What does that even mean?

I'm saying they have intelligent people who can write well. I very much dislike their writing style and often the content, but that doesn't mean I can't acknowledge the skill it took.

In which case, what does the supposed elitism have to do with the author?

Simon Parker is one of the better writers in the industry. Ex-Eurogamer (freelances there on occasion still), also done work for EDGE, Guardian and even wrote a book (Death By Video Game). The dude has like a bajillion reviews to his name. He's no chump posing as knowledgable about games.

List of some good stuff posted earlier:

Again, I wasn't deriding the author; I wasn't even saying whether it was a good or bad list. I was making a statement on the inclusion of more AAA type games on the list than I expected given the publisher and the common opinions thereof in other fields of entertainment.

Think of it like this: in a best of 2015 from the New Yorker they include Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man and Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nations among other indie darlings and high art/abstract films. The former would seem very out of place given the type of criticism those movies normally get from the New Yorker (sometimes the reviews even sound condescending), while the latter type of movies are what generally get very positive reviews and glowing prose. I wouldn't necessarily say that hypothetical list is good or bad, but given the predilection to the experimental, indie type of film that list would surprise me.
 
By no means a bad list.

But I would suggest the writing in W3 is among the very best (if not the best) in any AAA game. So somewhat odd for the New Yorker of all outlets to snub it.
 

Rozart

Member
"Hidetaka Miyazaki’s latest finds treasure within cliché. The aesthetic is familiar gothic horror. The diseased town of Yharnam, with its blood-slicked cobblestones, flickering oil lamps, and spindly iron fencing, is inhabited by assorted eldritch monsters—rabid Dobermans, hoe-wielding peasants, fat Hitchcockian crows—which you attack using a Victorian blade-cum-blunderbuss. The game’s structure, however, is idiosyncratic. As in Miyazaki’s earlier games, Yharnam pieces together like a grand and elegant contraption, interlocking in unexpected but pleasing ways via corridors and ladders. The director’s interest in arcane storytelling, told in half-whispers by the characters you meet and the props you find, captivates, as does the game’s combat. Bloodborne subverts the prevailing wisdom that contemporary video games must mollycoddle their players and quash mystery."

New Yorker never disappoints. They have such interesting writers.

That's such a brilliant lil summary. Parkin is a fantastic writer.
 
It had its moments, but purely from a storytelling perspective. The gameplay... was there gameplay?
And? You're not seeming to get it. It doesn't matter if you felt there was no gameplay or the only strength were in the storytelling. It doesn't matter if you thought it was the worst game of the year.

That's your opinion. But that isn't the writer's opinion
 

Gbraga

Member
Holy shit, I'm really surprised Sunless Sea got an award. Did not expect that at all.

Congrats to those guys.

Not until January. But like he says, it's already more complete than many games. Definitely one of the better EA titles ever, along with Kerbal of all things.

It's still dangerous, though. I agree with the sentiment, but not too long ago they made one specific alteration that completely changed everything, and many people hated what the game became because of it. So much that they had to include the old method again as an option.

I feel like it would be better if Early Access games didn't count. It's also a bit of a silly reason, that it's more complete than many games. Many games are definitely shorter than half of however long Final Fantasy XV will be. Doesn't mean it's ok for them to just release the first half they said it's almost ready and don't bother finishing the rest anymore.

The story mode is a pretty damn important feature to not take into consideration when nominating it for GOTY.

Even if everything works out perfectly, and the final game is just a much better version of the early access game, what if it influences it the other way around? Early Access it's only the #10 game, but the full one is the best thing you've played in the year?

It's just a dumb move to indicate an early access game, in my opinion.
 

mattiewheels

And then the LORD David Bowie saith to his Son, Jonny Depp: 'Go, and spread my image amongst the cosmos. For every living thing is in anguish and only the LIGHT shall give them reprieve.'
It had its moments, but purely from a storytelling perspective. The gameplay... was there gameplay?
I liked that it didn't bother with something just to fit in with everything else. I figured that the whole point of the thing was for me to absorb the whole thing on my own, and let me deal with it personally instead of putting in gameplay as an itch to scratch.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
It's a guy's personal preferences. The offended responses in this thread are HYSTERICAL. Seriously rethink what you're doing.

BUT HE'S GOT AN AGENDA!!!! HE MUST BE TRYING TO KILL THE THINGS I LIKE!

Rabble rabble
 
I liked that it didn't bother with something just to fit in with everything else. I figured that the whole point of the thing was for me to absorb the whole thing on my own, and let me deal with it personally instead of putting in gameplay as an itch to scratch.

The narrative was clearly their only concern, but I think it would have been nice to add a little more environmental interaction and a faster sprinting speed purely for the sake of convenience.
 
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