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[ike_]

1. Until Dawn ; Been years since a game blindsided this much. Very effective tension, great graphics, charming actors delivering those campy lines better than in most actual horror movies.

2. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance ; As a Disgaea nut I was actually worried the series was going to lose me here, but the great enhancements & lovable cast made sure that didn't happen. Probably my favorite cast since Disgaea 2 and favorite Disgaea of all time.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; A streamlined open world RPG with Japanese sensibilities and some very unique and fantastic areas. The enormous scope of some of the geography paired with awe striking draw distance is something to behold. Absolutely amazing.

4. Life Is Strange ; Has some rough edges like the English voice acting and some awkward dialog, otherwise maybe the best story of the year.

5. Cradle ; A short and sweet eerie sci-fi story. All discovery, no drawn out cutscenes. Lame mini-games but they are skippable and become pretty easy once figured out.

6. Her Story ; A completely unique style of game with the story delivered in the perfect way to spark a lot of interesting discussions and theories.
7. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; Fantastic console port: performance matching PC very closely (3-4 second loads, solid 60fps). The Souls game with the largest variety of great unique weapons, armor, and magic. Also includes the DLC which has some of the best areas and bosses in the game by far.
8. Bloodborne ; The few technical issues and lack of replayability & build diversity took its toll on my enjoyment of the game early on. But it was made up for through its fantastic mood & boss design and, in Souls fashion, probably the best DLC of the year.
9. Soma ; Great execution of first person sci-fi psychological horror. The type of game we need more of.
10. Undertale ; Quirky, funny, thoughtful design, and some spot on brilliant music. A really amazing feat for a single person.

 

[vanty]

1. Splatoon ; Pre-release looked interesting, the demo was awesome, and the game was super fun at launch and has just gotten better and better as time has gone on. Splatoon is an easy choice for GOTY and the most fun I've had in a shooter since the first couple of years of TF2.
2. Super Mario Maker ; Super fun, everyone knows it.
3. Rocket League ; Decided to get this in the Steam sale after waiting since it seemed overrated but nope it's fucking great. Not Splatoon level overall but really great fun.
4. Xenoblade Chronicles X
5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; The original is a top 5 game of all time for me, and this is even better. Only let down by being a remake so I couldn't have it top 3.
6. Galak-Z
7. Box Boy
8. Downwell
9. Gunman Clive HD Collection
10. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.

 

[JJDubz]

You need to use a ; for them to count.

Thanks for the heads-up.
I need to stop relying on copy-pasting.

 

[FATALITY]

Also LOL at the Bloodborne fans only voting for Bloodborne and nothing else.

Guys, it's not that important.

if it's not important why do you care?

 

[The Xtortionist]

It's still on my HDD which bodes well considering I've been deleting a lot of other stuff to make space for more stuff. I'll get back to you on that in the next 7 3/4 months.

you know when you were playing the uncharted 4 beta for like six hours straight

do that with batman instead

It's easy!

 

[Comrade Crunch]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; This game was as close to perfect as i've played in along time, when the weakest part of the game is still pretty dang good, The combat, that's saying something. The sheer amount of great writing this game has eclipses all other releases this year.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; Probably one of my favorite stealth games of all time, and among my favorite games in the MGS series. It may not have featured the constant, great, cutscenes the series is known for and lacked a completely satisfying conclusion, but the journey was sublime and incredibly fun to play.

3. Fallout 4; I fully expected this game to take my top spot, while it still turned out great, it fell short in some areas that I hold to be pretty important for the series.

4. Talos Principle

5, Batman: Arkham Knight

6. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

7. Assassins Creed: Syndicate

8. Rocket League

9. The Beginners Guide

10. Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection

 

[The Yo Tornado]

1. Undertale ; Some of the most endearing characters ever written combined with numerous deconstructions and send-ups of JRPG and even video-game conventions. Add on a very fun battle system and not only is it my GOTY, but it might be my favorite game of all time.

2. Yakuza 5 ; 3 years. It took 3 years for the game to hit outside of Japan's shores but it was worth every second. Date a hostess, sing karaoke, play Virtua Fighter, get drunk and beat up gangsters all while enjoying the melodramatic manliness of the main plotline.

3. Blazblue Chronophantasma Extend ; My favorite fighting game with more content. A bit of a price-gouge for series fans, but a tremendous jump on point for newcomers.

4. Metal Gear Solid V ; Does a lot of things wrong, but the things it does right (stealth gameplay, base design, controls) far outweigh not only the cons, but are done better than any other similar title.

5. Pillars of Eternity ; Feels like a natural progression of the old Infinity Engine CRPGs, while also creating its own identity with a unique world, smart writing, and dialogue systems tailored to the personality you carve out for your character.

6. The Witcher 3 ; An incredibly enjoyable RPG with an insanely large crapsack world filled with shades of grey, from characters, to monsters, and everything in between. A wonderful ending to a trilogy while also being open to newcomers to the series.

7. Until Dawn ; Well-written horror adventure game that plays with many genre tropes and circumvents them in fun ways.

8. Tales From The Borderlands ; A very pleasant surprise. Takes a universe I wasn't
that fond of and makes it a hilarious, tension-filled action ride that never lets up.

9. Dragon Quest Heroes ; Adds some much needed fresh air to the Musou formula. The pseudo-JRPG main quest combined with the tower defense elements adds to a fun whimsical adventure.

10. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition ; Takes one of the best combat systems of any action game and adds 3 new play styles to experiment with. A must if you never played the original.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

you know when you were playing the uncharted 4 beta for like six hours straight

do that with batman instead

It's easy!

Yeah but I'm dying for a new high quality TPS.

Takes more effort to get in the mood for Batman: Car Combat Edition.

 

[Trust me. I'm a PhD]

NeoGaf Game of the Year 2015

1. Bloodborne; I tell this story in almost every Souls thread, but I have played and failed to beat every souls game from Demon to Dark II. But despite not being good enough to finish them, I always respected the heck out of them for what they were able to make me feel in terms of atmosphere and genuine fear. Bloodborne was hard enough that I was going to quit, but I didn’t. Rather I pressed on due to the amazing world and design that made me want to uncover more. A brilliant game that retroactively made me love an entire genre more. I true GOTY.

2. Destiny: The Taken King; Destiny was my GOTY in 2014, but this is more a refection of my fun (despite flaws) and the lack luster year 2014 was. But The Taken King is a legitimately amazing co-op FPS experience that has made Destiny my most played game of all time (780 hours as of writing; more than all Halos and CODs combined). It brought me closer to my brothers, made me more aware of how I was treating others online, and has settled itself as my favorite new IP of the generation, at only two years in. If you hate it because of what Destiny WAS and not what it is now, give it a try. You may be surprised.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; The Metal Gear games have always come at important times in my life; my conscription, my deployment, my time at university, my marriage, my now my kids’ birth. It is a series that I felt like it grew up with me, and now we are both old men, maybe showing our age. Phantom Pain was the best playing Metal Gear hands down, with the best graphics and presentation, but it didn’t hit home on story in the way I knew it could. Still a 9.5 amazing experience, but (like me) could be remembered for “what could have been” rather than what is.

4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt; Really pretty game with an enormous amount of interesting quests to do and characters to meet. It almost feels like the opposite of Phantom pain in some ways (story over gameplay), but at the end of the day I really had a wonderful time in this world and wouldn’t mind going back next year for some DLC; the mark that a game really stuck with you.

5. Fallout 4; Maybe I am easy to please, but I was more than happy with what Bethesda gave us with Fallout 4. Great world, great characters, gameplay and skill trees that feel much easier to conqure than in 3, and my character of the year in Nick Valentine. Fun game with a WHOLE LOT to due, but I may actually not come back for the DLC. I had my fun, but technical issues did make it a slightly less enjoyable world than the Witcher for me.

6. Batman: Arkham Knight; This game was great, but I was already expecting it to be. I know I probably had more fun with this than the Witcher or Fallout, but I kind of went into those with realistic expectations and Batman felt only “Great” instead of “Amazing” thanks to the lack of boss fights and forced batmobile sections. While I in no way hate the batmobile (the Riddler races are that game at its best) any of the Tank combat was an exercise in frustration and made me dump points into it not because it was fun, but to make it easier. Still an amazing. Beautiful experience (and maybe the best story and acting of the year) that I think people should play, even if they had a bad experience with the PC version.

7. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3; This may be my favorite COD game of all time. I do not play multi-player, only single player and co-op, so most COD games are fun, but short affairs. Not here. Full 4 person co-op campaign (times two!!!!) and the best version of zombies yet has given me a better and more diverse experience than any past entry. Like, “I bought the season pass” levels of surprise fun.

8. Hell Divers; I LOOOOOOOVE me some co-op action! This game was “the love child of Destiny and Diablo” and was a lot of fun for the wife and I. She really digs couch co-op experiences that we can also play with my brothers, so four player couch with online was a real treat.

9. Armello; I really needed something to scratch my X-com/Valkyria Chronicales itch this year, and strangely enough it came from a digital board game about animals. I really like this game the “about an hour a game” approach gives me my strategy fix with a really lovely world and amazing art style in a very concentrated dose. Local co-op or vs would be nice (although difficult) and their absence makes it a little lower, but I have really enjoyed this gem.

10. Until Dawn; My 2015 “Evil Within award for making me enjoy a genre I don’t like” goes to Until Dawn. I do not like horror games, but I love atmosphere and making me feel like trying to survive along side my main characters. Until Dawn does this amazingly in a very approachable way that made it the staple of my wife and my Tuesday nights.


x. Persona 4: Dancing all night; A lot more fun than a rhythm game normally is for me. I am still humming most of the soundtrack.

x. The Order 1886; I love the setting, look, and characters of this world, but not enough of it hurts what could have been something really special. Hope we get a sequel

x. Dragon Quest Heroes; I really like this game, but lack of co-op (what I play these games for) bumps it down for me. Cannot wait to play number two next fall!

x. Battlefront; Only played about 10 hours so far, so too early to call, but the skimpy-ness of the single player and co-op offerings may prevent this gorgeous game from hitting top 10. Edit: Yeaaaah. No top ten, but makes me really hopeful for the future of the franchise once they get a little more time^^

X. Dark Souls 2; just went back and finished it for the first time^^ Solid game, but man are some of the lock on and animation issues sticking out after Bloodborne. Still, worth the revist and better than its reputation.

 

[luknotluck]

1. Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain; I know people don't like its story, but the game is incredible to play. The engine is so refined and runs flawlessly. The gameplay is so much fun to play that I was able to drop over 100 hours into the game. The incredible soundtrack kept me going as I sank hours and hours into the game.

2. Bloodborne; It was a close one between this game and MGS. I love Bloodborne. The game was so much fun to play. The atmosphere was incredible. The weapons were so much fun to use.

3. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt; The open world was so massive and beautiful that it made me come back to this game constantly. The story was amazing and probably the best story of 2015.

4. Fallout 4; This open world is the most fun I've had in an open world for a long time. I spent more time exploring the world than I actually did playing the story. I just wanted to find the many weapons and wanted to experiment with the weapon mods.

5. Batman: Arkham Knight; I know people have different feelings about this game. I was one of those who were affected by the broken PC port, but I ended getting the PS4 version of the game. The batmobile was an interesting addition to the game and it changed the gameplay quite a bit. Some of it was tedious, but some of it was fun. It felt like what a Batman game is supposed to feel like.

6. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate; I was waiting for this game to come out here in NA and when it did I rushed to buy the limited edition n3DS for it. The game is your usual Monster Hunter game, but added a bit more to it. I still play the game every now and then and I will probably play it until the next installment.

7. Rocket League; This game was a surprise to me. I didn't expect this game to be so much fun and I played this without any friends. You can get some intense gameplay moments and some heartbreaking moments. The game is really fun to play and will be for along time.

8. Star Wars Battlefront; This game is fun to play. Its not the same Battlefront that people thought it would be. It really makes you feel like you are playing a Star Wars game. The attention to detail, the sound effects, and the atmosphere make this game.

9. Assassin's Creed Syndicate; The best AC I've played since Brotherhood. It is AC. It is what you get without the bugs and glitches.

10. Dying Light; I didn't expect it to be this good, but after hearing about the approvals on GAF. Tried it and I enjoyed it very much.

Overall, 2015 was a very good year for games. I wasn't able to get around playing some of the other great games listed here and I hope to do so in the near future.

 

[kinoki]

1. Bloodborne ; The first game in the Souls-series that I've finished. C'thulhu meets Le pacte des loups is the perfect recipe. Second to none art direction and a game play pacing that's close to perfect. The first game by FROM that I've actually finished.

2. Rocket League ; Pure fun bottled up in motorized ball busting cars. What's not to like?

3. The Beginner's Guide ; The 4th wall narrative gets another treatment by the minds behind The Stanley Parable. A look into the fractured mind of a creative soul and how he imposes his own desires into his own creative works which are always at odds never reconciling.

4. Destiny: The Taken King ;

5. Tearaway Unfolded ;

6. Cities: Skylines

7. Her Story ;

8. Life is Strange ;

9. Star Wars Battlefront ;

10. Dreamfall: Chapters ;

The "still haven't played"-bucket: The Witcher III, Until Dawn, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Batman: Arkham Knight, N++, Axiom Verge, Undertale, Fallout 4, SOMA, Galax-Z, Halo 5, etc.

 

[Angry Puppy]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; In a year filled with great games, this still manages to stand out.
2. Super Mario Maker ; Could've also been my GOTY. Addictive and incredibly imaginative
3. Undertale ; Best surprise of the year.
4. Cities: Skylines ; I might've spent more time on this game than any other through the year.
5. Until Dawn ; Also could've been my surprise of the year. Didn't expect much, got a great time in return.
6. Pillars of Eternity ; For great minds
7. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Filled in my AAA 3rd TPS needs well enough. Now waiting for Uncharted.
8. Life Is Strange ; Great experience
9. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Beautiful
10. Rocket League - Addictive multiplayer

 

[Robot Pants]

1. Bloodborne ; Souls game with a cosmic sci-fi twist. What's not to like?

2. Hotline Miami 2 ; Best soundtrack to a game of all time. Interesting story this time around and improves on the first game in every way.

3. The Order 1886 ; Graphical marvel and technological showcase. Impeccably acted and presented. The whole thing is top notch.

 

[Kuro]

1. The Witcher 3 ;

Huge world with so much to do and see without it getting repetitive because the story and quests were so damn well written. Its my favorite WRPG of all time and it felt like I was really exploring the land with Geralt. The combat was a good enough vehicle to progress through the game and I was a fan of the Jedi Knight games which felt very similar.

2. Bloodborne ;

Incredibly crafted game with deep lore and fantastic action. The game's art design was such a pleasure to experience as well and that gameplay kept me tense and excited at every moment. From Software went from the okay Dark Souls 2 to this amazing game.

3. Metal Gear Solid V ;

Best playing third-person shooter I've ever played. The stealth action and controls were so perfect. The 80s theme was so perfect. The quirky metal gear solidisms and interesting characters really had me hooked. The gameplay was simply addicting and its the best playing Metal Gear. The subpar story and feeling of being incomplete kept this from being my game of the year but its still an amazing game.

4. Splatoon ;

Really innovative and cute multiplayer shooter that was my favorite mp experience of the year.

5. Undertale ;

 

[Nimby]

1. The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt ; One of the most immersive worlds I've seen this gen and last gen. Might have ruined other WRPGs for me, and it will be tough to surpass in the years to come.

2. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance ; Colorful strategy RPG with a lot of cool characters. The battles are insanely fun and the music is great too.

3. The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth ; Expands the shit-ton out of Rebirth and is truly countless hours of fun. Had one of best ARGs I've seen too.

4. Super Mario Maker ; I like to complain about what's lacking in Super Mario Maker, but what it does have is great, and leaves me wanting more.

5. Call of Duty: Black Ops III ; Campaign is trash as usual, but multiplayer is where it's at. The class system is very refreshing in a series that is so stagnated.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; One of favorite N64 games with better textures and 60FPS. The improved inventory from OOT3D makes this the definitive way to play Majora's Mask.

7. Rocket League ; Playing with friends is awesome. Really fun, and I am happy with the support it's gotten.

8. Fallout 4 ; Better than Fallout 3, but a step down from New Vegas. Dialogue options are very limited and of course the story is underwhelming, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun with it.

EDIT: Got a PS4, have to add more games to my list.

 

[TheLastCandle]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X; The only game I played this year that kept me up playing until 6:00 AM. I'd say that's good enough for #1.
2. Splatoon
3. Super Mario Maker
4. Yoshi's Wooly World
5. FAST Racing Neo

 

[EthanC]

1. Mario Maker ; Pretty much every game I played this year is an iteration of an older game. This game does it infinitely better than the rest. There's so much joy in the creating and playing of other people's levels. Far and away the best game I've played this year and also this generation. This is a game that will never get old as long as there's new levels to play.

2. Rise of the Tomb Raider; Best third person action game I've ever played.

3. Destiny - The Taken King ; Makes the list purely because of the number of hours I put into it. It's got great game mechanics, but thanks to the tireless efforts of the developer to sour hardcore fans like myself on the game, it's not a great game.

4. Fallout 4; Doesn't do much different from the previous game, but it does it wonderfully. Definitely one of the best games released this year.

5. Ori And the Blind Forest; The very best "small" game released this year, bar none. And better than most full-priced titles

6. Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin; 60 FPS and no frame pacing issues. It's not as great as Dark Souls 1, but it's still wonderful. An incredibly deep game.

7. Halo 5 ; Without question the best FPS PVP game not named Titanfall

8. N++ ; Pretty much just more of the same. But it's more of the same greatness.

9. Borderlands Handsome Collection ; Same as Dark Souls 2, these games are so much better in 60fps.

10. Witcher 3; Hated the combat but the total package rises above that

Honorable Mentions
11. Until Dawn; Great rental, terrible full-price purchase.

12. Bloodborne ; The depressingly shallow combat relegates it into last place position among Souls games, but it's still a good game despite numerous technical issues and an incredibly boring post-game offering. Worth playing just for the artwork and atmosphere.

 

[The Illiterati]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Much has been said already, but I loved the story, the characters, and the solid quests.

2. Undertale ; I love non-violence as an option in a game, and this game made that choice a mind blowing and rewarding experience.

3. Axiom Verge ; Perfectly takes the idea of Metroid and elevates and evolves in all the right places.

4. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward ; This is my first MMO, and I spent more time on this game than any other. For two months I was enraptured, and this expansion was an amazing leap in quality and a wonderful cherry on the top of the hugely long main quest.

5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; I expected to hate the Batmobile but I didn't mind it at all. I felt the story presentation was a huge leap as compared to the other games(beyond the AK reveal). I also thought the co-op fights were a breath of fresh air. I was really surprised how much I loved this.

6. Brandish: The Dark Revenant ; My last game I beat this year, and a huge surprise for me. The next three are Falcom, and they've become my favorite publisher. The gameplay just clicks perfectly with my tastes.

7. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky ; I might've thought this would be higher, but the battle system really drags it down, I hated that even easy battles took forever. But beyond that I really loved the simplicity of the story and characters, the entire thing is just pure refreshment. SC came too late for me to get to, but I am starting it.

8. Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim ; These games are as usual, pure amazing gameplay. This is probably my least favorite, but so much fun nonetheless. I wish these had one million clones.

9. Until Dawn ; I've always enjoyed the David Cage style games, but this one got it right in so many more ways. Ultimately fleeting, but still one of the best experiences of the year for me.

10. Tales from the Borderlands ; Echoes of Until Dawn, this has such little "gameplay" but I was completely surprised by actually loving the characters and direction, when I expected nothing.

x. Pillars of Eternity ; I wanted to like this more than I did, but the combat eventually wore out its welcome for me, and the overall feeling I was left with was underwhelmed. I still enjoyed many hours of it initially though.

x. Dropsy ; I had to mention this because of its charm. I expected something twisted and dark, but in reality its much more hopeful and feel good. Dropsy can wrap me in his sweaty embrace any day.

x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; I loved it for the most part, but ultimately it felt like more of the same from the last one.

x. Picross e6 ; Truly more of the same, but almost twice as much of the same.

 

[Slamtastic]

1. Undertale ; Hilarious, but with a genius meta narrative on what it means to the world and characters of a game to be a player and play it. One of the best soundtracks in years, and the best of 2015. A triumph of indie gaming.

2. The Beginner's Guide ; As far as meta narratives about video games as a medium goes, this one takes the cake. A twist that left me with a stomachache and questions about what is real and what is fantasy. Also a genius look into the mind of a creative with moments that really hit home.

3. Evoland 2: A Slight Case of Spacetime Continuum Disorder ; Following the trend so far, clever in its use of narrative incorporation of ideas about the video game medium and the evolution thereof, the appeal of seeing things you remember referenced, and a solid play experience on its own right.

4. Devil May Cry 4 : Special Edition ; A fantastically controlling game where you can always push yourself to be better. Unfortunately the solid core of character control, abilities, and interactions with enemies is brought down by the surrounding game, and the series still feels like it hasn't reached its full potential.

5. DmC: Definitive Edition ; A good game that got way too much hate thanks to some dumb comments by Tameem and others during the prerelease. The definitive edition further improves the game by directly addressing complaints fans had about the vanilla version, although I was fine with the base game as it was and didn't feel a need for most of the changes made to make it more similar to the previous games. But for those who didn't play the original version on PC, the 60fps is a game changer.

6. Transformers Devastation ; The same great character control and flashy style of the other Platinum games, but feels a bit too much like a Frankenstein of parts from greater games. As someone not interested in the license, I'd replay Bayonetta 2 or MGR before this one. The loot system and character leveling also slightly over complicated the action game experience.

7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; After watching the whole series via Let's Plays (multiple times by different players), the control scheme chosen for Ground Zeroes and TPP finally made this series click for me. It's a blast to control Snake and mess with guards, but the lack of the story presence and feel of the other games in the series does hurt. After a while, repeating the same gameplay loop with no "MGS craziness" in between gets tedious and loses that spark of drive to keep coming back. Especially when everybody starts wearing helmets.

8. Super Mario Maker ; A fantastic idea that no one thought we'd get. Infinite Mario levels! Convient to download, play, and even make! Little Big Planet without the terrible physics! In execution, the number of decent levels is so low and searching for them takes extra out of game effort that I haven't got much play out of it. But for those precious few levels that really capture the spirit of real SMW levels, it's fantastic. I only wish they would keep adding contents and put the upcoming web portal inside the game itself.

9. Mortal Kombat X ; A fantastic example of how to do a fighting game as a "complete package" (while other franchises provide the example for how to do them as a "service"). Once again, story mode was a fun romp and I love how the series is not afraid to drop fan favorites, introduce newcomers, and advance the status quo of its universe. Of course, due to pulling double duty with a full single player campaign and support for the tournament scene, it can feel stretched thin. There's only so much you can get out of the contents they give you (no matter how much more it is than the competitors), and the game might as well be single player only if you don't have live competition because online is unplayable.

 

[Denton]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; This is a third game in the Witcher series, and third one I'd give 10/10. No other company managed this. No, 10 does not mean the game is perfect - there are some small issues here and there - but it means that this is an unforgettable experience unlike any other. In fact, it kind of became my favourite game of all time. Why?
It is simple. There are two things I love most about games - exploring beautiful new worlds, and enjoying well written, interactive, nonlinear narrative.
And Witcher 3 delivers both. Oh, how it delivers. The world is one of the largest ever in an RPG, all without sacrificing any of the detail, beauty, or wonderful variety. From swamplands and murky battlefields of Velen, to majestic Skellige isles, through stunning valley around Kaer Morhen to the expansive free city of Novigrad, the world in Witcher 3 has no equal. And of course, as someone who read all the Witcher books several times over the last 16 years, enjoying all these places recreated in such stunning detail is an extra special treat. Arriving to Novigrad was expecially heartbreaking, after remembering the ending of the short story "Eternal Fire".
And then there is the storyline. This is the best written game since Planescape: Torment. Every quest is beautifully written, makes sense in the world, has an actual context. All characters feel real. The way some book characters, like Dijkstra or Keira Metz or of course Yen and Ciri, were brought to life, is unparalleled. Frankly, this might just be the best adaptation of anything ever.
Is it perfect ? Of course not. I have two issues with the story. They are fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but still...it is something I wish was modified in upcoming patches or DLCs. Elaborating further would require spoiling, so I will avoid that.
This game lives and breathes its quests and sidequests. In Witcher 3 and its expansion, I:
- hunted for a Giant on a remote island
- participated in a hilarious theater play
- investigated serial murders
- took part in large gwent tournament with surprise at the end
- interacted with adoptive daughter and ensured she got enough confidence to take on large responsibilities
- experienced an authetic, amazingly funny wedding
- took part in deciding who is going to be crowned next king of entire Isle nation
- slayed many epic monsters, usually with interesting narrative around them
- got drunk with my fellow witchers and then crossdressed and drunk dialed religious figure who was taking a *defecation expletive* at that moment
- traveled through different worlds
- participated in a medieval heist
- was provided an amazing and satisfying conclusion to a saga I started in 1999 by reading "Last Wish" for the first time
- and many many more memorable things
There are few more small issues with gameplay, like Roach not always doing what I want him to do, or inventory being a little unwieldy with a controller, but these were quickly improved in patches, so whatever.
Anyway, to wrap this up. Witcher 3 is the best game I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It combines two things I love - exploration and storyline - into a single package, at higher quality than anything else. Other companies should carefully study this game. Maybe we could get less stupid boring fetch quests in other open world games if they do. One can hope.

2. The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone ; Expansions count, right ? Well, this is best expansion I have ever played for any game. Just the best stuff from the main game distilled into one 20 hour long unforgettable adventure.

3. Life Is Strange ; Beautiful, melancholic time manipulation teenage adventure that broke my heart and left it in pieces.

4. Dying Light ; Best zombie game ever made. No kidding. The fusion of freerunning, combat and almost STALKERish atmosphere is intoxicating. Add well integrated co-op, stunning Old Town, some beautiful sidequests (in Old Town) and fantastic support by Techland. You get a game that would have been my GOTY last year, if it wasn't delayed.

5. SOMA ; This is as pure as hard scifi horror gets. My favourite Frictional game, had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. The ending in particular hit hard as hell. Unforgettable experience, must play.

6. Grand Theft Auto V ; Best GTA game to date with best PC version to date. Brilliant recreation of LA, funny script, lovely first person view.

 

[Dog Problems]

1. Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition ; It's a short and easy adventure game that focuses on narrative. Its rural setting and the complicated relationship between the protagonist and her mother are things I could really relate to and it's rare for a video game to offer that for me.

2. Beyond Eyes
3. Sunset
4. Axiom Verge
5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
6. Ori and the Blind Forest
7. Invisible, Inc.
8. TouchTone
9. Dyscourse
10. Sage Solitaire

 

[Zukuu]

Aren't there a few titles missing on the spreadsheet? Like "Sword Coast Legends"

 

[xplicitone]

1. Bloodborne; Great environment, lore, game play/boss fights. Everything is so good
2. Ori and the Blind Forest; Beautiful and so fun. One of the best Platformers ever.
3. Rocket League; great MP.
4. Destiny: The Taken King; Expands on a great game.

 

[JudgeBooty™]

1: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; One of the most engrossing RPG's I have ever played, and the proof that even in an open world environment it's not impossible to tell a great story. I can gush about this game for ages, so it's best I not even start.
2: Pillars of Eternity ; A throwback to the games I used to love when I was a kid, and I'm glad to say that I'm not ranking it this highly on nostalgia alone, it's a great game in it's own sense and doesn't have to rely on old sentiment left by old cRPG's.
3: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I loved this game for it's expansive gameplay and interesting, if not exactly coherent, story. It sets the atmosphere in missions like The Devil's House and really managed to grab me in ways few stealth games do.
4: Rocket League ; Best competitive multiplayer game I've played this year. Don't think I've had this much fun with any of the other games, but they generally have more to them than just fun factor. It's not Game of the Year material, and I can't in good conciousness rank it higher.
5: Kerbal Space Program ; I've never been this happy with any game that's made me feel this stupid before, but KSP manages to make my failed attempts at space exploration both funny and memorable.
6: Grand Theft Auto V ; I never played it on console, having put my PS3 away for a powerful PC rig. I've not yet finished the story, as it doesn't interest me that much, but the online part had me hooked for hours untill hackers came and ruined everything.
7: StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void ; I love StarCraft, story isn't the greatest but anything that expands upon this game deserves a mention in my GotY list.
8: Hotline Miami 2 ; Pure top down perfection... And the sountrack, oh my god, the soundtrack..
9: Her Story ; I really enjoyed this game, great narrative, but limited somewhat by the gameplay,
10: Fallout 4 ; The exact opposite of TW3, it shows that Bethesda still doesn't know how to write a good story in an open world game, no matter though, as I still had fun exploring the different locations and upgrading my weapons.

 

[RexNovis]

What about the PS2 games on PS4? Could those potentially count or are they invalid?

 

[timetokill]

Aren't there a few titles missing on the spreadsheet? Like "Sword Coast Legends"

As the OP states, the list is not exhaustive. We will be adding games to it as they are nominated here.

What about the PS2 games on PS4? Could those potentially count or are they invalid?

If it was released this year, it's eligible. But rereleases are only counted in certain categories. See the OP "scoring" section for details.

 

[Spinifex]

1. Life is Strange ; Donnie Darko meets Twin Peaks meets Veronica Mars. Amazing experience and the biggest surprise of 2015, also featuring a fantastic sound track.
2. Fallout 4 ; Not a great Fallout, but what a game. Nobody crafts worlds like Bethesda.
3. The Witcher 3 ; Amazing story with superb characters and dialog.
4. Tales from the Borderlands ; This criminally overlooked game is easily Telltale's best effort since The Walking Dead.
5. Cities: Skylines ; A city sim this good has been a long time coming, it's nice to finally have one for the modern era.
6. Massive Chalice ;

 

[StaffyManasse]

1. Bloodborne ; Bloodborne is in game form, a hunt for the truth. Even when every next step brings the hunter deeper into the nightmare and madness, the hunter can't help but take the step, because it also brings them closer to the truth. Looking back the trail of blood, the adversaries at terrifying, seem now no more than mongrels to be slaughtered without hesitation, fear or trouble. The hunter has grown strong, but will it be enough for the horror that awaits? So much has already been said about Bloodborne. About the visceral combat, the atmosphere, the story and the world building, the audiovisual mastery, and how all this fits together perfectly. There is no need to recount how Bloodborne stands among the greats in these aspects. Truly a masterpiece to remembered among the greatest of the medium.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The Witcher 3 might just have done the impossible and succeed in mixing character focused fantasy epic with a huge open world to explore and get lost in, in a way that neither part is dragging the other down. It is full of stories, big and small with characters you end up caring about, be they main characters or a quest giver for some small side quest. This is my favorite aspect of The Witcher 3. The abundance of stories. Then add wonderful and believable world with great visual quality and an amazing soundtrack. The Witcher 3 is a juggernaut in the genre.

3. Soma ; Narratives is something I have been into a lot lately, and SOMA absolutely nails its sometimes horrific science fiction one. There story itself is great science fiction that could almost work as a novel or a film, but not quite. And this is not because the story is not on the level of other media. It absolutely is, and stands proudly. The reason SOMA has to be a game, is because some elements of the narrative would not work without the immersion, the interactivity and the first person view. Player interaction actually makes the narrative of SOMA stronger and not weaker, as sadly is the case in many games. This makes SOMA worthy of recognition. Add in great atmosphere and audiovisual design and presentation and we have an experience no science fiction aficionado should pass.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; This game was not easy to rate. It is a game that does great many things wrong, but the things it does well... It. Does. Really. Freaking. Well. When the story is on it's high gear you just stare at the screen thinking "whoa video games are great", and when an infiltration goes sour and you end up going Apocalypse Now (attack helicopter and Ride of the Valkyries included) on the enemies you can't help but feel pure video game fun. The Phantom Pain is an unfinished turd of a game that has been sprinkled with so much genius it miraculously ends up being good.

5. Axiom Verge ; Axiom Verge puts the player into a wonderful and alien world that still feel right like home. It hits the nostalgia notes very strong, but also can stand on its own feet. Smooth gameplay, great visual world building and a thumping soundtrack make this game a must for the fans of the gameplay genre and science fiction. And I have never even played the original Metroid games.

6. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; Another hard to rate game. I was a bit disappointed in DS II after Bloodborne, but still ended up playing it more than most games this year. DS II is lacking in some of the ways that made Bloodborne (and I assume DS too) so special, but in its core there is still that great FROM hearth I have fallen in love with.

7. Life is Strange ; My teenage years were in a different time and place. That does not mean I did not care for the characters of this adventure. And not only the main characters. I cared what happened to the drug dealer, janitor, the homeless lady. This is way beyond most games and made for a memorable experience.

8. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; 80's B-movie in game form - the prequel. A big turn of events caught me by surprise and made the experience even better. A classic in the genre of Nazi shooting for sure.

9. Rocket League ; I don't often get excited about sport games, but when I do, it's about rocket powered turbo cars.

10. Helldivers ; One of the most fun co-op games I have ever played. Unfortunately matchmaking issues kinda broke the momentum for the game and I moved on, but I still remember the laughs I had with Gaffers as we trucked on drove over each other. It was magical.

 

[Tizoc]

Brandish for psp released in january this year so it should count i take it

 

[Forerunner]

1. Halo 5: Guardians ; After the debacle of Halo 4 and MCC it’s great to see 343i finally hitting their stride with Halo 5. The multiplayer is easily one of the best in the series and the campaign was a huge improvement over Halo 4 and other past titles. The only real issue I have with it is the lack of content compared to past Halos (Firefight, certain game modes, and etc). However, this seems to being getting fixed slowly with monthly free content updates. I can’t wait to see what this game will look six months to a year from now.

2. Cities: Skylines ; This is the game SimCity (2013) should have been. It has everything you want from a city builder and the expansion After Dark adds even more content.

3. Fallout 4 ; Some people found this to be disappointing, however, it’s still one of my favorite games this year. The main issue I have with this game was the dialogue and story other than that I loved every minute in the wasteland.

4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Easily one of the best western RPG created. It has some of the best quest lines I ever seen, Bloody Baron, for example. However, the clunky combat and movement really held this game back for me.

5. Star Wars Battlefront ; While extremely light on content this game is the definition of fun. It’s a nice throwback to the shooters of old. Furthermore, it’s easily the best looking game ever released.

 

[Sax Russel]

1. Witcher 3 ; GOAT
2. Pillars of Eternity ; Story petered out a bit near the end, but the aesthetics and mechanics keep it high on the list. Mostly lived up to my hype/expectations.
3. Tales from the Borderlands ; The Borderlands universe I love amazingly explored and expanded upon in a non FPS setting.
4. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; Improving on Dragonfall in almost every way. Would've been higher on the list if the story had been one of those ways too.
5. Life Is Strange ; Interesting gameplay hook + good story + great soundtrack = much more enjoyable than I thought it would be, not usually my kind of game.
6. Transformers: Devastation ; Ridiculous Platinum goodness applied to Transformers? Revived the mutilated corpse that the Bayformer movies had left behind in their wake. Many hours were spent completing the story and challenges on Prime difficulty.
7. Star Wars Battlefront ; Light on content, and it does begin to sting, but man the Star Wars audio/visual experience is just so good. Keeps me coming back to fly the Falcon or blast an AT-AT just one more time.
8. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; Approaching some kind of Stockholm syndrome with these games, but I enjoy the traversal mechanics combined with their usually well crafted cities to keep coming back. Victorian London, a favorite setting, seals the deal.
9. Anno 2205 ; An incredibly engrossing city builder/RTS-lite/economy sim that introduces new elements and styles with each entry, I'll keep playing Anno games as long as they keep making them. And beautiful to boot.
10. Mad Max ; A flawed, collect-a-thon kind of game, there's a few things still that help push it into this list - amazing art direction, very satisfying driving/car combat, surprisingly interesting/uniquely laid out mini-camps for most of the (very many) collect-a-thon items that kept me wanting to explore and see them when I *never* go out of my way for this kind of random stuff in open world games.

x. Infinifactory ; Complex three dimensional construction assembly line puzzles. SpaceChem in 3D! Need I say more!?
x. Fallout 4 ; Very disappointing story coupled with an incredibly bland and empty world with little of interest in it to reward exploration. More of a dishonorable mention really. I was hoping for so much more.
x. Just Cause 3 ; Another case of hoping for more, especially after being infatuated with JC2. The over the top gameplay doesn't quite make up for the feeling of aimlessness, but blowing shit up is still kind of fun =P

 

[PfantzyPantz]

This made me realize that I've only played one 2015 game, but even so LiS would always have been the top of my list.

1. Life is Strange ; One of the most personal and emotional games I've ever played. One of the only games to have appealed to me so much in every aspect.

There were some parts that I wished were executed better, but I have high hopes for the dev team in the future.

 

[Zukuu]

Would Tales from Borderlands count for this year or last year?

 

[boinx]

1. Bloodborne ; My favorite souls game so far as it has dethroned Demon's from the top spot for me. Absolutely loved the world they crafted for this one and for the first time I got into the lore and story in a souls game. The combat felt like it was hand crafted for my tastes. I only wish there was even more of it. Hoping for a sequel.
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ; CoD has returned back to form after crappy games from the other studios proving Treyarch has become the top CoD developer these days. Zombie mode has gained some welcomed depth to it thanks to added objectives and rewards. The new specialist system aka choose your champion system works surprisingly well and most of the maps are pretty alright in the MP.
3. Until Dawn ; When I played this for the first time with friends, we decided that we would have 2 characters to control between us from the cast and what a fun night that was. Turns out that horror works really well for these type of games, I only wish there was a little more variation with how things could work within the story.
4. Fallout 4
5. Batman: Arkham Knight
6. Resident Evil HD
7. Star Wars Battlefront
8. Mortal Kombat X
9. N++
10. Tales from the Borderlands

 

[Resident Evil King]

1. Bloodborne ; I fell in love within minutes of starting this game and though I'm still only about halfway through, it's as fun to play as it was when it first came out 9 months ago, and I continue to be blown away by the art direction, level design, enemy variety and amazingly rewarding gameplay.

2. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; a more than adequate update of one of the greatest games of all time.

3. Fallout 4 ; I haven't played this as much as I'd like to have, but I really like it nonetheless

4. Super Mario Maker ; If I was told 20 years ago that this game would one day exist, I'd have been in absolute disbelief.

5. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; an incredibly well done remaster of three games that have never looked/played better.

6. Hotline Miami 2 ; despite a few changes for the worse I still felt this was a great sequel, which reminds me I'm yet to actually finish it and should give it another go soon.

7. Resident Evil Revelations 2 ; some things I hated about this game but overall it felt like a step in the right direction for new RE titles. It has some genuinely great moments/sections, and the Raid mode is extremely addictive and adds a lot of replay value.

8. Until Dawn ; I really need to get back to this but what I played was awesome.

9. Wolfenstein: The OId Blood ; truthfully I haven't gotten that far in this, but I love the core TNO game so much that I feel this expansion deserves a mention.

10. Dishonored: Definitive Edition ; I know this wasn't an amazing remaster and more work could have gone into it, but I'm happy enough with having a slightly sharper looking version of the original game (which is amazing) plus all the DLC and being able to play it on my PS4.

 

[Megatron]

Would Tales from Borderlands count for this year or last year?

This year. At least episodes 2-5 do. I guess technically episode one wouldn't count.

 

[ninjablade]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Loved everything about this game.
2. Batman: Arkham Knight ; best controls and performance in a open world game.
3. Bloodborne ; Amazing gameplay, graphics and art style
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; fun game

 

[Tizoc]

This year. At least episodes 2-5 do. I guess technically episode one wouldn't count.

It counts regardless since the full game experience concluded this year
Thus it counts

 

[Nyx]

1. Rocket League ; Came out of nowhere to become my favorite MP game in years.
2. Until Dawn ; Easily one of the best ''interactive movie'' games ever and as a horror-fan it was right up my alley.
3. Divinity Original Sin Enhanced Ed. ; The best RPG I played on PS4 this year, absolutely in love with the turnbased combat.
4. Helldivers ;
5. Football Manager 2016 ;
6. Transformers Devastation ;
7. Cities Skylines ;
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 ;
9. The Witcher 3 ;
10. Mortal Kombat X ;

Most disappointing game of the year : MGS V, it was great for the first hours but became boring and tedious very fast after that.

 

[Zukuu]

Even tho I could vote for more games, I will only vote for the games I played personally and liked enough to care about to listen them.

• [*]1. Fallout 4 ; It's a step up gameplay wise, but a step down in every other aspect compared to New Vegas. Still, I played around 100 hours and enjoyed it immensely. I also really liked the new skill system. Hope we will see a NV-esque spin off in the future that fixes everything.
  [*]2. Bloodborne ; As a Souls veteran of the first hour, I felt right at home with the new system and found Bloodborne to be the easiest entry yet. It's also the shortest by far and it was the least enjoyable experience (and that is still much more than most other games; speaking about first world problems here). The weapon and in particular armor variety really hurt the game imo. Exploring was never really rewarded.
  [*]3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
  [*]4. Rocket League ; The epitome of fun. Who said split screen is dead? We meet up regularly to play local 2vs2 or together against 3 or 4 other people online.
  [*]5. Pillars of Eternity ; The game could have done much better. I still enjoyed it, but it felt a bit underwhelming at times. The combat also has really dumb difficulty spikes that you need to cheese through (well hello petrify!) on the highest difficulty.
  [*]6. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; To me a step down from vanilla Dark Souls II. It's still Dark Souls tho, so of course I still enjoyed it... just less than the vanilla version of the game.
  [*]7. Sword Coast Legends ; It's a fun little game that scratched my cRPG needs a bit. It's nothing to write home about, but it's enjoyable.
  [*]8. Underrail ; Ok, I lied, I haven't played it yet, but I love the old Fallout games (even finished Fallout 2 recently again), so this will probably end up being pretty enjoyable for me.
  [*]9. Dying Light ; Co-op fun, yay!
  [*]10. Deathtrap ; Enjoyable co-op game featuring a mix between Diablo and Tower Defense. Had a blast playing it with a friend. Somewhat short lived tho.

 

[tiebreaker]

I haven't played many new releases this year, so a top 7 would suffice I guess as some aren't worth mentioning in a top list and some games I haven't spent much time on.

There are also some noteable releases that I'll probably like but haven't had the time to play due to various reasons. Yakuza 5, Disgaea 5, and Fallout 4. So, here goes:

1. Bloodborne; for me it is currently the best game of the generation. The gameplay is satisfying, visually it's stunning, and the sound design added a lot to the atmosphere.
The only let down is the chalice dungeons, shame some of the best boss battles are locked in those dungeons.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles X; Despite its flaws, Mira is just a joy to explore. And the battle system isn't shabby at all. Obliva sea during sandstrom is very pretty.

3. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3; best musou to date.

4. Until Dawn; Sleeper of the year? I think so. Deciding who to keep alive is fun and the voice acting is excellent.

5. Tales of Zestiria; likeable casts, great combat, but the story falters at the end. Still one of the better Tales of games in recent years.

6. Life is Strange; Would have been higher for the story turns worse at later chapters.

7. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016; they improved on the 2015 version which is already a great game. The late transfer updates and stupid goalkeepers unles they have 80+ rating knock some points off of this game.

 

[Randy Savage]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; By far the game I spent most time with this year. Loved the gameplay and actually liked the story. Mechanically and control-wise, there was nothing else coming close to MGS this is year.

2. Tales From The Borderlands

3. Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection

4. Until Dawn

5. Life Is Strange

6. Assassins Creed: Syndicate

7. Mortal Kombat X

- Mostly been playing my back catalog, so a lot of 2014 stuff

 

[hamster3 3]

1. Evolve ; A game criticised for its DLC. It is a fun game whether you want to play alone (Monster) or as a team (Hunters). I spent countless hours playing this game.
2. The Witcher 3 ;
3. Guitar Hero Live ;

 

[Aureon]

1. Undertale; No contest. The new paragon of storytelling in videogames. No way around it. Soundtrack and gameplay are just icing on top of an already unbelievable game.
2. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate; The new responsible for my wrist issues. Immersive and with top-notch gameplay, the king of action is once again back.
3. FFXIV: Heavensward; Holy shit, soundtrack. An incredibly well-rounded MMO round, and the most Final Fantasy thing i've seen since FFIX.
4. Kerbal Space Program; This feels too late. It's been there for years. I don't like the changes made since 0.24 one bit, and feel like it's a terribly maintained game - but the game core is the purest, most innovative genius of the last ten years. I'm a physics BsC, and i genuinely feel KSP has done more to further my knowledge of orbital mechanics than hundreds of hours of lectures, while giving me unbrindled fun.
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; Let's give credit where credit is due. Game was evidently out of the oven too fast, and narrative wasn't really there - but gameplay was utter, top notch. There's no denying that.
6. Life is Strange; While i don't particularly like the characters, writing is very, very good.
7. Gemcraft: Chasing Shadows (Steam); The new paragon of Tower Defense, and a masterful execution of minimal storytelling and RPG elements. A diamond in the sand.
8. Endless Legend: The Lost Tales; The best 4X of the year (again). Definitely better than it's precedessor, but perhaps not innovative enough to be revolutionary.
9. Cities: Skyline ; A fun take on a semi-forgotten genre. The innovative gameplay element of optimizing routes has been very fun.
10. The Beginner's Guide; We need a new category. "Game" ain't cutting it. Games descend from puzzles, sports and stories: This is one that reminds us what they are when they're just telling a story, and how hard is it to do so. A very inspired, if short, story.

x. Ori and the Blind Forest; Credit where credit is due: Art.

Dishonorable mentions:
Massive Chalice. As a backer, i really hoped for.. more. It ended up being a stripped-down version of a SRPG, with a very boring main gameplay loop.
Doesn't qualify, but true GOTY:
Factorio. I've been up and about this game for three years at this point: Every time, it sucks me in like nothing else ever has, and spits me out no less than 100h later, with newfound clarity. No gameplay loop has ever been funnier than this for organizational-minded people.

 

[Turkoop]

I dunno if someone asked this, but are remasters allowed to list ?

 

[RexNovis]

Aren't there a few titles missing on the spreadsheet? Like "Sword Coast Legends"

Sword Coast Legends comes out in 2016. At least on PS4. Is it already put on PC?

 

[ZeroRay]

1. Bloodborne ; Fuck the essays mayne, best game I played all year. Old Hunter's DLC just confirmed it more. Best Souls game since Demon's /sony stan

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Awesome story and world. White Orchard got me feeling like the imagination I put into playing my old CRPGs back in the day was finally realized on screen. Gameplay mechanics and the systems governing them could have been a lot better however.

3. Life Is Strange ; Whoah there! Hella, hella, hella cool game bbs.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Ace mechanics and early level/mission design. Too bad mission variety never got more interesting, and the underlying systems became a pain in the ass.

 

[Denton]

All the people typing for example "Witcher 3" - does that count or is the full title as in the spreadsheet ("The Witcher III: Wild Hunt") needed ?

 

[Conkerkid11]

1. Bloodborne ; Even one of the weakest in the FromSoftware library is still a fantastic game that has absolutely mastered the combat and visual aspects, while leaving something to be desired in terms of world design and variation.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The best open world story-driven RPG ever that proves Bethesda could do a whole lot better if their fanbase weren't so easy to sell to.
3. Fallout 4 ; A great game that held my attention for quite sometime, but the worst in the series. Improvements made to the visuals and gunplay were welcomed. It's unlikely Bethesda will ever return to their roots though, as they dive further and further down the well of catering to casual gamers.
4. Ori and the Blind Forest ; The most beautiful game of the year, and the best platformer of the year. Platformers like LittleBigPlanet where the developers don't understand the slightest thing about precise movement will never exceed in the gameplay department.
5. Splatoon ; The best online multiplayer game of the year. Addicting gameplay, and loads of new free content post-launch.
6. Rocket League ; The second best online multiplayer game of the year, also with loads of new free content post-launch, and also addicting gameplay.
7. Halo 5: Guardians ; A so-so campaign, with solid gameplay, but disappointing lack of content. Even the recently added Forge mode, while great, is missing sharing features first introduced 8 years ago in Halo 3.
8. Undertale ; Fantastic writing and gameplay carried this game to great lengths. Unique combat, and a great self-aware approach to storytelling.
9. Cities: Skylines ; EA's SimCity met its maker this year.
10. Dying Light ; Best zombie game of the year, with great parkour mechanics. Crazy amounts of improvement made since Dead Island.

Honorable Mentions
x. Mad Max ; Just as surprising and impressive as Shadow of Mordor before it. Takes vehicle-based combat to a whole new level, and looks amazing doing it. Will be overshadowed by all the other open world games released near the end of the year.
x. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes ; A fantastic party game that came out of nowhere for me. This was the same year I'd heard about Space Team on mobile devices as well. With a similar approach, you get to know your closest friends more than you'd normally like to, as everybody slowly progresses toward shouting at the one person in the room attempting to defuse a bomb. This game is fantastic, and the fact that it's setup not only so it's only necessary for one person to own it, but that the bomb defusing guide can be updated at the developer's will, is amazing.
x. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; As much as that amazing intro pulled me in, and I found myself enjoying all the goofy stuff that could be pulled off during missions, I found myself struggling to find a good reason to finish chapter 1 of the game. I eventually finished chapter 1, but never ventured far into chapter 2. Going back and playing Ground Zeroes, I wish they'd dropped the open world formula and stuck with what they were good at. Everything that made the previous games so good was badly damaged by their approach toward a genre they're not familiar with. The world was barren, and travelling between mission objectives felt like an overly long interactive loading screen. The story also suffered, not only because of the game being open world, but because the voice actor for Snake probably came in one day, recorded 5 lines, then they ran out of money in the budget to provide him with.

 

[Zukuu]

Sword Coast Legends comes out in 2016. At least on PS4. Is it already put on PC?

Yes. http://store.steampowered.com/app/325600/