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[Andrew J.]

I like to pick out one or two particularly notable selections from the soundtrack for my top ten votes. Nice little gimmick that sets me apart.

1. Undertale ; One of the best-written games I've ever played. I can only imagine that Radiation absorbed an affinity for snappy dialogue, distinctive characters, and clever, subversive jokes through osmosis while he was living in Andrew Hussie's basement. The limited visuals are a feature in themselves; not just for retro aesthetics, but to shock and amaze when they break open and show something more advanced. That sense of "I didn't know that this could be that" is also something I bet Radiation picked up from Homestuck. Of course, the soundtrack is excellent, as you would expect from a career musician, with a densely connected web of leitmotifs and a predilection for breaking out from chiptunes to traditional instrumentation that mirrors the visual style. It's not a perfect game - the puzzles are kind of basic, and the pacing drags a bit at points, especially Hotland - but no game has been as compelling this year.

Standout Track: Begentrucking -> ASGORE have stuck in my head more than anything else, probably because I took so many tries to beat that fight. Never did a No Mercy run, but this might be the best version of Megalovania yet.

2. Splatoon ; It's saying quite a lot that I rank this game so highly despite not normally liking multiplayer shooters. But this game's emphasis on territory control and mobility means that even scrub-tier players can make valuable contributions by jumping and swimming past firefights and inking ground behind the enemy team's back. It's made all the more satisfying by the game's internally and thematically cohesive aesthetics, with a world of J-pop fish fashionistas that feels like refreshing mix of Jet Set Radio and The World Ends With You.

While undoubtedly multiplayer-focused, the single-player campaign is no mere afterthought, demonstrating the strength of Nintendo's commitment to creativty and antepiece-heavy game design, with tons of ideas that are thoughtfully introduced, expanded upon, and then combined in ways that provide serious challenges without overwhelming the player. The final boss is a microcosm of this philosophy, introducing new attacks with each phase until a truly frantic climax.

Standout Track: Final Boss Phase 2 (Squid Sisters). Kicks in right when the fight's starting to get intense, it's just what you need to keep your blood pumping.

3. Yoshi's Woolly World ; This game would have been successful if it had been a worthy followup to either Yoshi's Island or Kirby's Epic Yarn. That it lives up to both of them is nigh miraculous. It brings the feel-good cloth look into HD, combining it with top-tier 2D platforming. Difficulty-wise, it splits the difference, definitely being harder than Epic Yarn (you can actually die!) while being fairly liberal with checkpoints and badges you can spend gems on to trivialize certain types of danger, though even those don't stop the second half of the game from getting pretty rough in places. Secrets are cleverly but fairly hidden, and if you notice a stretch of ground or a ledge that doesn't really need to be there, chances are there's something to find there.

Standout Track: Frozen Solid and Chilled. I'm always a sucker for ice level music (look at my pick for Tropical Freeze last year), and this is no exception. Start off with a little icy percussion to let you know the level's gonna be pretty tricky, and then that synth kicks in.

4. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Unfortunately, one of several games I wasn't able to put much time into this past year. Even scratching the surface was enough to convince me how great this game is, with incredibly ambitious scope for the size of the world and the variety of its mechanics. There are probably too many things to keep track of, honestly, but as long as you focus on one or two things at a time it's not too bad. The story's been thinned out compared to its predecessor, but it's made up for with sidequests with much more character and charm. The soundtrack is admittedly divisive, but I appreciate aesthetic maximalism for its own sake, and I'm glad Hiroyuki Sawano felt free to throw everything into the pot and turn it up to 11.

Standout Track: Primordia. It's lacking the vocals that tend to drive people away from the OST otherwise, and serves as the perfect introduction to your time with the game, feeling alien, dangerous, and then epic. The night version adds in just enough extra menace, too.

5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; A large, impressively diverse urban open world, the only thematically and structurally coherent story we've seen from Rocksteady, neat refinements and additions to combat, and a ton of new things added to predator rooms makes this my favorite open-world Arkham game, though I still miss the dense intimacy of Asylum. There are probably too many Riddler trophies, again, and it's disappointing that Rocksteady decided to basically abandon boss fights altogether; I thought they had improved from Asylum to City, and if that had continued here they might have been perfectly acceptable! I can't bring myself to be too upset about the fairly thin DLC offerings, because I got the game in a console bundle and bought the season pass when it was on sale. The Mr. Freeze mission is touching, and the League of Assassins one climaxes with one of the trickier moral decisions I've ever had to make in a video game.

And then there's the Batmobile. It's gotten a lot of hate, but I liked it, for the most part. Racing is fun, driving around the city is fun, fighting tank battles is kind of basic, but still fun. The way it's constantly needed for puzzle solving grates a bit, and the Cobra battles are the worst. I understand Rocksteady felt the need to have a thematic equivalent to predator rooms, but those are all about flexibility; Cobra battles have almost no flexibility. Fortunately they're pretty rare, though their tendency to crop up around key story points is an annoyance.

Standout Track: Fear Within, the successor to my favorite Arkham City track You Should Have Listened to My Warning, both being uptempo predator room themes. I Can't Stop Laughing (SPOILERS) and its reprise (EVEN MORE SPOILERS) are both catchy and darkly funny in very different ways.

6. Transformers: Devastation ; Pure Platinum gameplay goodness, combined with spot-on faithfulness to the old cartoons of my childhood. The campaign's short, true, but there's tons of extra depth with multiple characters and special challenges. It suffers from some of the same problems as Korra (low enemy variety, bland environment design) but thankfully to a lesser extent. The soundtrack is full of awesomely cheesy rock. The loot system is kind of a clunky add-on, and there are story details that actually turn out to be sequel hooks instead of being clearly resolved right here, which is frustrating and exciting in equal measure.

Standout Track: Megatron has the perfect mix of cool and dangerous.

7. Persona 4: Dancing All Night ; A beautiful-looking rhythm game, it plays pretty well but the difficulty balance seems off, with Normal being a tad too hard and Easy being way too easy. The story mode starts off slow, but then takes off and proceeds at a good clip all the way through, letting you spend some time goofing off with your favorite P4 characters. It even has a decent mystery, despite there being only 2 or 3 plausible suspects.

Standout Track: Snowflakes (Narasaki Remix) for being probably the most radical transformation, but of course it's impossible not to love (SPOILERS) Reach Out to the Truth (Dancing on Persona Stage) too.

8. Ori and the Blind Forest ; An absolutely gorgeous-looking game with a heavy focus on movement mechanics. New abilities get doled out regularly, and the game eases you into mastering and combining them so that by the end you're doing tons of crazy shit. The create-your-own save point system introduces some tension, forcing you to think about whether it's really worth saving...for the first couple hours, and then you get some energy upgrades and save as a matter of course before any moderately difficult segment. The story starts off strong but ends up feeling kind of pointless, and the combat is very shallow, with boss fights being both rare and disappointing. The escape sequences are the big climaxes, and while they're certainly intense they probably spike the difficulty a bit too high.

Standout Tracks: Restoring the Light, Facing the Dark and Escaping the Ruins, because I'll be damned if that music didn't give me the motivation to actually beat those escapes no matter how hard they got.

9. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; An iterative improvement on the 2013 game, Rise boosts the combat and weapon variety while opening up the world a lot more and ramping up the setpieces. I wasn't able to do all of the challenge tombs, but the ones I did were serious improvement over their predecessors, with gorgeous scenery and clever puzzles. The story's serviceable, although its twists are extremely obvious. The final few combat sequences are kind of a slog through too many enemies, and there are probably more collectibles than there really need to be. That Tetris one is neat, though! No standout track, nothing really stuck in my mind.

10. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse ; The clay doesn't translate as well as Woolly World;s cloth, and the game repeats some ideas over a relatively low number of levels. Still, it's tons of fun, with a burst of creativity near the end. I had thought this game would be a more sedate puzzle affair, but drawing ropes can get pretty frantic, especially in boss battles. I will say that transformations are used much more extensively and thoughtfully than the other Nintendo platformer on my list.

Standout Track: Fly to the Exit. Man, what is it with me and escape sequence music? The pounding guitar and drums of this one combine with the time limit to create a frantic, memorable experience.

x. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. ; Didn't really put as much time into this one as I should have. An Intelligent Systems strategy game featuring heroes from nineteenth and early twentieth century literature in a goofy comic-book aesthetic. This game is pleasingly insane and fun to play, with an interesting restoration mechanic that leaves you agonizing whether to heal your time now, or wait so it'll be less expensive later.

x. Super Mario Maker ; I do not and have never had a desire to make my own Mario levels, which I recognize as a serious moral failing. Still, it comes prepackaged with a collection of neat little stages, and while there are tons of automatic stages and Kaizo wannabes cluttering up the archives there's also good stuff if you know where to look.

x. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes ; Another one I didn't spend much time with. A silly little adventure with a fun fashion theme, playing with enthusiastic randos to clear stages can be enjoyable chaotic, and even playing solo is all right, if a little tedious in places.

x. The Order: 1886 ; This is not a bad game. Certainly the developers spent a lot of time and passion making it look gorgeous. The combat feels good, and it's not as much of a shooting gallery as some detractors would have you believe. The story has an interesting monsters-as-colonialism angle, and there's a diverse cast of interesting characters. There are some fun setpieces, and I really enjoyed using that thermite gun. However, it does feel truncated. The constant presence of AI partners makes it seem like co-op was removed fairly late into development, and certain gameplay features feel like they needed to be fleshed out a lot more, especially the werewolf fights. The story especially, seems to be going to an interesting place right as it ends; I wouldn't say it feels like the end of Act 1, as some have, but more like two-thirds of the way through. Very little is resolved personally or structurally where the story cuts off. It is my sincere hope that Ready at Dawn gets a chance at a sequel to really do some of the ideas in this game the justice they deserve.

 

[Grisby]

There are now 8 hours to go.

Would you say it's the final countdown?

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

time for you guys to play Xenoblade X

And watch Wings (great show even if it wasn't as good as sibling sitcoms Cheers and Frasier).

 

[twothunder]

1. Splatoon ; So many hours spend playing it and keep coming back. Fun and different to play. Great style and design. Great new IP for Nintendo

2: Xenoblade Chronicles X ; massive world to explore. You won't be done for a long time

3: Super Mario Maker ; Easy to start creating and lots of user made content

4: Majora mask 3D ; updated version of an already great game.

5: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse ; Personal favorite and best Shantae yet

6: Monster Huner 4 ultimate ; Perhaps somewhat easily forgotten. But a good solid Monster hunter game

edit: sorry. messed up. Hope I did it right now

 

[peakish]

Careful, the comments have to begin on the same line as the game name.

Oh. Thanks for the note, I've fixed mine too.

Three mentions of Elliot Quest on one page makes me add it to the wishlist. Hadn't even heard of the name ...


Edit: Just noticed that the organizers PM'd me about this, too. Thanks!

 

[mr stroke]

1. Heros of the Storm ; As someone who hated MOBA's this completely changed everything. Blizzard took the nuance of DOTA2 and made an arcade version of it. Easy to learn, hard to master, and so damn addicting.

2. Life is Strange
3. Witcher 3
4. SC2 Legacy of the Void
5. Tales from the Borderlands
6. The Order 1886
7. Halo 5
8. Rainbow Six Siege
9. Need for Speed
10. Batman Arkham Knight

 

[janoDX]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I believe this is the best game of the year by far, it has tons of content, you can sink hours in there and you'll love everything except the story, it's the ultimate sandbox game.

2. Bloodborne ; I love this game, even after I finished it I get into the game every once and then, the thought process, knowing sometimes that some failures are your own and not your "teammate" one. I love it.

3. Super Mario Maker ; Miyamoto Simulator 2015, you literally can do anything with this game, and create a dream or a nightmare, solid all around and hard when you find the right levels.

4. Life is Strange ; This is a game that reminded me of TWD S1, it was better than S2 of TWD but still not close of S1, still a strong game with some great acting even if the models failed on some scenes.

5. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Wow the world, wow how the WiiU handles it, wow the graphics, wow the story, best RPG of this year.

6. Fallout 4 ; Not as strong as FO3 or FONV, but still a great game all around, there's hours of content, it has a dog, and a metal suit and you kill mutants, what more you ask?.

7. Splatoon ; You're a kid, you're a squid, that's the motto. Fun game, the best shooter of 2015 and it's a time consumer.

8. Undertale ; Classic RPG, but with twists, I love the story of this game, it has many twists that you don't expect and it makes you think, it's amazing what this game has done to call my attention,

9. Destiny: The Taken King ; They came back and they did it right, now it's the shooter people want to play and it took them 1 year, but all is forgiven when it actually works. Still some mistakes but I hope they can fix it for Destiny 2 coming in 2017.

10. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Also known as World of Tanks: Arkham, it's a good game but it's low on my list because of the bat-tank gameplay that it's almost everywhere. Still a strong game by Rocksteady but the weakest of the trilogy developed by them (Origins still the weakest of the entire saga)

 

[silva1991]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - I believe this is the best game of the year by far, it has tons of content, you can sink hours in there and you'll love everything except the story, it's the ultimate sandbox game.

2. Bloodborne - I love this game, even after I finished it I get into the game every once and then, the thought process, knowing sometimes that some failures are your own and not your "teammate" one. I love it.

3. Super Mario Maker - Miyamoto Simulator 2015, you literally can do anything with this game, and create a dream or a nightmare, solid all around and hard when you find the right levels.

4. Life is Strange - This is a game that reminded me of TWD S1, it was better than S2 of TWD but still not close of S1, still a strong game with some great acting even if the models failed on some scenes.

5. Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wow the world, wow how the WiiU handles it, wow the graphics, wow the story, best RPG of this year.

6. Fallout 4 - Not as strong as FO3 or FONV, but still a great game all around, there's hours of content, it has a dog, and a metal suit and you kill mutants, what more you ask?.

7. Splatoon - You're a kid, you're a squid, that's the motto. Fun game, the best shooter of 2015 and it's a time consumer.

8. Undertale - Classic RPG, but with twists, I love the story of this game, it has many twists that you don't expect and it makes you think, it's amazing what this game has done to call my attention,

Replace - with ;

 

[Mr. Patch]

1. Splatoon ; Fresh is definitely a good word to use to describe this game. A kid-friendly shooter that doesn't focus on killing, Control of the turf is the name of the game. Having the ground inked in your color enables you and your teammates to move quickly and stealthy while preventing your opponents from doing the same. It's easy enough to learn for casual play, but is deep enough to allow for competitive play. This game is so much fun and can be fucking infuriating at the same time, yet I keep coming back for more. It also has a solid single player campaign if you're into that sorta thing.

2. OlliOlli 2 ; This game is just addicting. This is the type of fast paced, arcade style game that gaming always needs around. The game's challenges for each stage will keep you busy for a while. The game encourages you to play each level repeatedly so you can master the stage and perfect your route and trick combos to get that perfect run.

3. Rocket League ; It's soccer... with cars... that can fly... How the hell can you not be sold on this?

4. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; This game feels like a throwback to the style of FPS I used to watch my father play as a kid.

5. Fallout 4 ; My first real experience with Fallout and I can't believe I ignored this series for so long. It's easy to get lost in this game (in a good way). Sometimes I boot up the game with the intention of moving the story along only to end up getting sidetracked by numerous locations on the way there. Sometimes I get a little bit too nosy for my character's good, though.

 

[grandjedi6]

1. Splatoon ; Massively addicting and an unique reinvention of the shooter genre.
2. Kerbal Space Program ; One day I'll make it to all the other planets One Day.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; It's a remake but it's also the only good Zelda game of the year.
4. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; A genuinely hilarious game and amazing success despite the initially odd matchup.
5. Super Mario Maker ; Super fun to make levels and would place higher if anyone else I knew owned it or a Wii U for that matter.
6. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse ; My first kickstarted project to actually deliver.
7. SteamWorld Dig ; Great gameplay though a little too short in the end.
8. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes ; An amazing party game if you get the right circumstances set up.
9. Picross E6 ; I like Picross games and this one took up most of my time.
10. SteamWorld Heist ; I think the developer's might have something with this Steamworld concept.

Honorable Mentions
x. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; A game I'm enjoying but sadly haven't had time to get much into.
x. Cities: Skyline ; Another game I wasn't able to get into as much as I wanted.

 

[Alastor]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Back in the day, I loved the first game. Then the second one came out and I loved it even more (dark mode wasn't that hard!). But I've never really felt that they are recognized and appreciated enough by the industry and the consumers. With the third game, that finally changed. Probably thanks to the day-one console versions. But it's still a great RPG, with the best word and quest design I've ever experienced. Undoubtedly the game I've had the most fun with this year, even if I lost my save after arriving to Skelige. I'll wait for the second expansion and then start again.

2. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition ; I've completed the originsl release with a friend in co-op and had a blast. I'm only a couple of hours into this re-release, but it feels more polished in every aspect from the start. I wish guys at Larian at least as much recognition in the future, as CDP Red has now. They deserve it.

3. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition ; Again, I've barely scratched the surface of this re-release. But the original game is THE title I've bought PS3 for back in 2008. And this one has playable Vergil (to hell with the plot!), so it's, by default, at least 10 x more awesome. I just need a little more motivation to get good...

4. Wasteland 2: Director's Cut ;

5. Pillars of Eternity ;

6. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ;

7. Grow Home ;

8. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ;

9. Homeworld: Remastered ;

10. Transistor ;

... Year of the re-releases and remasters indeed.

 

[The Wheel of Fortune]

What an amazing year! I had a harder time making my 2014 list, but this one was full of difficult choices as well. I thought the ballot closed later, so I'm just going to do a boring list with no graphics/pretty stuff:

1. Bloodborne ; I'll never get tired of exploring and discovering new bits of lore every time I play. Solid gameplay from the experts at From that really shines when putting you to the test in its masterfully-crafted bosses.

2. Undertale ; One of those little indie gems that rarely come around. Amazing gameplay and an excellent soundtrack, too! And I'm yet to start my Genocide run...

3. Tales from the Borderlands ; Perfect, witty writing that makes every other adventure game (except UD) this year pale in comparison. With a Cowboy Bebop reference to boot!

4. Splatoon ; This little gem goes to show how multiplayer-based games can be a good thing, especially if they have a fun campaign (with an amazing final boss)!

5. Until Dawn ; I love games with branching paths, and Until Dawn really has that trait nailed done and executed perfectly. You really feel your choices influencing the story, even though some of the characters simply disappeared from more than half of the game.

6. Grow Home ; A simple concept that gave me the most zen experience of the year. The controls are a little bit weird, but if you get used to them, you are in for a relaxing exploration mission with one of the most charming robots of this year.

7. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; One of the best open worlds ever made, with amazing sidequests (contracts) and really interesting lore, paired with subpar combat and clunky controls. Makes you wonder what these guys could make if they got an adequate combat system going.

8. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; An improvement over last year's flop, with refined gameplay and a grappling hook that makes travelling around the lacking open world a breeze. Repetitive sidequests and general Ubisoft trash design are some of this games negatives, but it certainly is a very enjoyable experience, don't be fooled!

9. Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon ; Why the hell do they insist on forcing things that are not Pokémon into the story is beyond me. This could benefit a lot from a Sticker Star/Paper Jam-like philosophy where Chunsoft are prohibited from inserting their dumb original creations into the Pokémon World. Otherwise a really solid entry into this great series, had a blast playing it!

10. Dying Light ; I would rate this higher, but I stumbled upon a nasty glitch that prevented me from getting several trophies and really soured me on the experience. A really, really good and overlooked/underrated game, nonetheless.

x. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse ; I really enjoyed my time with this little game. I'm really disappointed in the boss encounters, though, which are repeated twice and felt very cheap, especially when everything else is top-notch.

x. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; This is the first time in my gaming experience that I skipped a cutscene (or several) that I had not watched beforehand. How did the writing get so.. bad? Was it like that in the original Japanese release? Awful story with woeful plot holes and poorly balanced difficulty. Yet something about it is so enthralling, ah... just exploring and enjoying the great music and combat system is excellent (as long as you don't trigger a cutscene), especially once you get your own flying Skell.

Backlogged (in order of how likely I thought they would get into the list): Dragon Quest Heroes, Stella Glow, Sunless Sea, SOMA, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.

Other great games:
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (amazing gunplay, unimpressive everything else. Frustrating challenge zones or whatever those things were),
The Order 1886 (amazing graphics and setting, including characters, mediocre length and story),
Batman: Arkham Knight (I'm not really a Batman fan, but still found the game really fun outside of how they tried to shove the freaking car into every level for some reason),
Pokémon Shuffle (too cheap for me at times, but still over 1000 plays. Help please. Send me hearts, though).

Other good games:
Yoshi's Woolly World (found it boring when not playing co-op, otherwise a blast),
Her Story (nice idea hindered by lacklustre gameplay),
Life is Strange (bad writing, plot holes, and bad Chloe, but still captivating enough to make playing through it worth it. Don't even make me metion Chloe (again) and the nightmare sequence).

Other bad games:
Fallout 4 (I'm not even going to bother with this one. I'm not a Bethesda fan, but I saw it had many improvements and decided to give it a go. Regretted my decision even before making it to Diamond City),
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (This is the one that hurts the most. I'm a really big Danganronpa fan, but this is utter crap. I'm not a Toko fan, the "teasing" scene in chapter 3 or 4 was in really poor taste, the ending was drawn out and boring, even the story itself was uninteresting. At least I paid $12 for it on release date, so I can't complain about wasting that much money),
Puzzle & Dragons Z (it's not the same without the FTP "charm", sadly. Full of anime tropes).

No remakes (MM:3D) or ports (Grim Fandango) in my list. I find it better to highlight new game experiences that got out to the world this year.

 

[Tizoc]

To my fellow GAFfers who voted for Adventures of Pip: Online High Five
It's one of my fav. games in 2015 and I'm rather happy to see I'm not the only one who voted for it :3

 

[PinkCrayon]

1. Life is Strange ; As one of 5 people who bought and enjoyed Remember Me, I was always going to look forward to what Dontnod worked on next, but this was something special. Over the course of 9 months, I could not stop thinking about Life is Strange, always dying to know what would happen next, even if I didn't understand truly understand what the game was about until it ended. It's a sad (and happy!) story about friendship and love, nothing more, nothing less. Arcadia Bay is fleshed out in a satisfying and realistic way, and the residents come to life through Max's selfish interactions with them. Max and Chloe's relationship hits peaks and nadirs in realistic ways given that Chloe is a bit bratty and Max is desperate for people to like her, and you get invested in their story from the first time they are reunited. Even though the endings felt a little rushed, if you picked the right ending (you know which one), the story felt complete and satisfying and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The apex of open world games. Goes to show that you don't need the biggest open world, you simply need the density to sustain the players enjoyment. And boy does it. Every single side quest meant something, the writing behind them drew me in every time. A satisfying end to Geralt's tale brought me great relief, as it could have been bad or unsatisfying in any number of ways. After the eighty hours I spent with the game, Hearts of Stone dropped and I sank another 20 hours into possibly the greatest expansion I've ever played. A true masterpiece that other open world games should be chasing for years to come. Also gwent. Would anyone like to play some gwent? I have some decks. We should play gwent.

3. Crypt of the Necrodancer ; Something I love about this hobby is that every game I play has the chance to be unique. While it doesn't happen that often, I get all giddy inside when it does. I have never played anything like Crypt of the Necrodancer and it sucked me in. Hard. The amazing soundtrack is not only amazing (amazing), but the way it is essential to the gameplay is very unique. I haven't even made it through the final world, but that hasn't stopped me from putting 12 hours into it, trying to hone my skills.

4. Just Cause 3 ; Chaos, chaos everywhere. Though the story missions were largely throwaway, gameplay-wise, gliding around these huge bases just obliterating everything in sight was just plain fun. I could not get enough of this game, and luckily I can re-destroy any place I want! Bring on the expansions!

5. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Lara Croft is probably my favorite video game character, and her latest adventure did not disappoint. I had a few problems with the reboot, and this game largely addresses them, can't wait for the PC release.

6. Rebel Galaxy ; Twing-Twang, I'm a space trucker! Amazing ship combat and the soundtrack tie this immersive space trucking experience together. Constantly upgrading your ship and buying new ones keeps it from feeling like a grind and the depth of the custom soundtracks allows you to set your own tone.

7. Tales From the Borderlands ; Here are two facts about me and one fact about Tales From the Borderlands: I don't like Telltale games, I don't like Borderlands, Tales From the Borderlands is awesome. A charming heist story with great characters, play it.

8. Batman: Arkham Knight ; I could go on and on about the myriad of little things that disappointing me about Arkham Knight, but the high points were the absolute tip top of the series as a whole. The way the camera is used as a storytelling device is something completely unique to games and makes me excited for the potentials of the medium.

9. Lara Croft Go ; As someone who tends to dislike mobile games, I'm always pleasantly surprised when, maybe once a year, I find one that resonates with me. Everything from the relaxing music and perfectly challenging puzzles to the gorgeous iteration on the Hitman Go art style just came together to create a coherent, stylized package.

10. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; I don't think I've ever been so angry at a game. The prison level nearly broke me, but I felt like a fucking champion when I finally beat it. Not as good as the first game overall, but I enjoyed the disjointed story and hallucination bits enough for this to squeak into my top 10.

 

[Griss]

Here's a quick ballot as I didn't play half as many games last year as previous years and haven't found the time to put together my thoughts. I was without my consoles for the first 6 months of the year and the games in the latter half of the year took about 100 hours each so I have a very small pool to choose from. I feel like if I played it it had a 75% chance to make this list, ha. For the first time every I really struggled to fill out 10 games, and you'll see that I get pretty negative as the list goes on.

Overall I would describe this as the year of blockbuster AAA games that overstayed their welcomes. Games that were utterly stunning for about 20-40 hours before completely losing the plot and starting to overwrite the good memories with bad ones. Games that, with better pacing, might have been my favourite game of all time. Five of the games on my ballot fall into that category, and that will be my overarching memory of this year. That, and it was a poor year for Nintendo.

(Bear in mind it's 3am here, it's the deadline and I ain't proofreadin' this)

1. Bloodborne ; There are certain games so complete in all integral areas of game design - the core gameplay, art, music, atmosphere, level design, pacing - that those separate facets of design coalesce into far more than their mere sum and as a result the game transcends what others in its genre have been able to achieve and it reaches the level of a masterpiece. I suspected that this is how I might feel about Bloodborne after merely a couple of hours exploring Yharnam... but that's how I felt about a lot of the games on this list after a couple of hours. The difference is that like all of the most legendary games, Bloodborne is perfectly paced throughout and maintains its genius until the very end. It stands up there with Ocarina of Time, Res Evil 4 and Dark Souls as the greatest third person adventures of all time. I don't care if the core gameplay puts those games into different genres - the sense of pacing, the sense of a team in complete mastery of their talents leaving no stone unturned - it feels the same.

It wasn't perfect though. The Chalice Dungeons were dull. Had I played through them during my initial playthrough rather than after then that might have affected my enjoyment. Fortunately, I didn't. The ending was underwhelming narratively and while the world-building and lore was stunning, your own character and the NPC's personal storylines were lacking. But that's about all I can nitpick.

The insight mechanic is the most obvious way to demonstrate how neatly and brilliantly Bloodborne merged game design, atmosphere, story and world-building. As your character explores the world, he gains insight, a type of currency. You, the player, are also building up insight - an understanding of how the game works, how the world works. As the character's insight grows, the world around him changes, which has gameplay ramifications. As the player's insight grows, his understanding of the story and grasp on the reality of the hunt changes. And it all comes together when the red moon rises in my most memorable moment of the year...

Just a pure masterpiece.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Look through the third OT and you'll see me getting ready to sell the game after six hours and begging people to help me enjoy it so I wouldn't have wasted my money. I wasn't the only one - those threads were common on GAF. Thank god I received some great advice, slugged it out until meeting the Bloody Baron - and it all suddenly clicked. I went from enduring the game to being completely enraptured by it.

The strengths and weaknesses of Witcher 3 have been well hashed out here a hundred times, so I'll just note that I agree that the combat was poor and frustrating, and that the world design and writing was vastly superior to anything else I saw this year.

And then I'll give a story. I thought the game was huge when I was in Velen. I never checked the map to know what Skellige was like - I was expecting a tiny island. When I arrived and that celtic hymn-like music started playing I was bowled over. Then I saw islands way out in the distance. Surely not...? I rode to the water, got in a boat and set off on my adventure, my jaw on the floor as the reality that I had a huge, beautiful archipelago to explore started to sink in. But on the way I had to skirt a misty peninsula with a lighthouse. It wasn't lit. That didn't seem right. I got out of the boat, only to find the lighthouse keeper beset by a ghost. The island (my original target) was, for the moment, utterly forgotten. Myself, utterly engaged. Utterly immersed. Utterly delighted.

That basic experience happened again, and again, and again. That was The Witcher 3.

3. Metal Gear Solid V ; I was too hyped for this game. That's why I was devastated that it was, by far, the worst best game of all time I've ever played. On the other hand, it was also definitely the best unfinished piece of shit I will ever experience. The open world was used magnificently to frame the stealth sections, but the open world was really just an Ubiworld series of guardposts and copy-pasted side-missions. The writing was top-quality, the voice acting utterly professional, other than the fact that the cut-scenes were farcical, the pacing rubbish, the story irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, the ending insanely insulting.

Can you tell I'm conflicted by this game? Just a little?

To put it in its simplest terms - I've never played better gameplay than what MGSV had to offer. The amount of options you had as Snake, and the quality of level designs he was put in amounted to the best third person gameplay I have ever encountered. Every moment infiltrating a base in this game was an utter dream. We knew that would be the case due to Ground Zeroes giving us a taste, but there's no doubt that they utterly delivered on that promise. For that alone, I'll always fondly remember the hours I lost to this game and that's why it gets the bronze medal.

Almost everything else, though, was a shitshow. The story was massively underwhelming. Barely anything happened in most missions. The open-world added very little but reduced level variety to almost nothing. The fulton mechanic was hugely intrusive and had multiple negative effects on gameplay. Mother Base was a useless timesink. Quiet was an embarrassment. Ocelot was a non-entity. Skullface was a joke. Hiding important plot details in an endless stream of shockingly dull tapes was a horrible idea. There were hardly any boss battles and those that were there were terrible. The online mode wasn't ready at launch and wasn't that good when it arrived. And most importantly of all, the 'ending' mission was genuinely the worst attempt at a game ending in an otherwise decent game that I've ever seen, and I've rarely been so angry. We know that the true ending was cut out now. Only makes it worse, to be honest.

In the end, Kojima's touch as a visionary storyteller utterly deserted him and he fell flat on his face. And as a huge MGS fan that hurt. It really did. I still cannot believe he could have looked at that 'car ride' sequence and been happy to put his name to it. But in the process of losing his storytelling mojo, Hideo managed to deliver the ultimate MGS from a gameplay point of view. It's a stunning turnabout for such a story-driving series, but perhaps it's a fitting end. And that's something I've come to terms with.

4. Rocket League ; I was so annoyed hearing GAF overhype this game for ages. It looked so stupid. Impossible to control, a 'lol so random' game being given more props than it deserved because it came from a small team. That was my take on it. Then I finally got my PS4 back and got a chance to play it myself. And frankly, the hype, as far as I'm concerned, did not go far enough.

I'm not much for online games, but I must have put in close to a hundred hours into this one. The controls were tight and fun. The netcode flawless. The games tight. The goals spectacular. The music fantastic. The visuals as sharp as a razor. It was the kind of game we used to get for full price back in the PS2 era, the kind of game that has died off as increasing prices reduce publishers' risk taking. But here it was, as polished as any game that came out this year, and given out FREE at launch on PS4.

The single most pleasant surprise of the year.

5. Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin ; Clearly inferior to Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Clearly superior to almost every other game that released this year. It's the old Zelda problem - when you're part of a legendary series of games, being a bloody fantastic game isn't enough. You might still end up being labelled 'the bad one', just for the crime of not being one of the greatest games of all time.

My biggest sticking point was the visuals - it's obviously cross-gen, the texture work is awful in plenty of spots, and the entire lighting system is complete ass, and makes everything look bland and flat. Aside from that, everything just seemed a little less inspired than usual for From - the bosses were less inspired, the story was less inspired, the world was less inspired. Still good, just... less so. Adaptability as a necessary point-sink was annoying, making the early-game a real pain in the ass.

But it's a Souls game, which meant the combat was still satisfying as hell, and the level designs were still intriguing. No-Man's Wharf was a particular highlight for me and the Shrine of Amana was From hitting their best form again. But those areas contrasted with a lot of dull forest areas, and the lack of clever interconnections in the world design meant it was lacking that Metroidvania special sauce that made Dark Souls and Bloodborne so special.

I've heard the DLC is good, I still haven't gotten to it. I look forward to it.

6. Mortal Kombat X ; There's so much to like about this game. They did what I love fighting games to do, which is tear down the entire roster and rebuild it from scratch. Yeah, your favourite from 9 probably got cut. Mine did. So what? Every old character is brand new, and the '3 variations on each character' system is fascinating. All told this gives MKX its own sense of flavour - it feels utterly different from MK9 while so many other fighting games feel like glorified expansion packs, and for that Netherrealm must be applauded.

In terms of gameplay Netherrealm took all the lessons learned from MK9 and Injustice and came up with a punchy, responsive gameplay system that I loved. Combos in this game are super-satisfying. The animation is spot-on and highly imaginative (the throws are fantastic). Brutalities are a great addition, and can really rub your friend's face in the loss if you can pull one off against him. The game offers a robust story mode, and living towers are perfect for a short gameplay session. There's always something to do, always a reason to turn on the game. As for production values, it's slick as hell, the voice acting and intros add a bit of personality and the backgrounds (few as they are) are stunning.

The one disappointment I had was with the story - it simply didn't go the way I wanted it to. It's subjective, but Sonya was my least favourite character in MK1. Then MK2 came around and it was Jax. They are the two characters I can't stand, and the special forces bore the shit out of me. So what did we get here? Two new characters being Sonya mk.2 and jax mk.2, and the entire story being based around them. The writing also completely lost the cheap, humorous C-movie kung-fooey feeling of MK9, which was a big disappointment. Johnny Cage, in particular, was ruined. But compared to everything else in the genre MK's story was still head and shoulder's above the rest, so I can't go too hard on it.

7. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; A magnificent world, a horribly designed game. Mira is one of the most stunning and beautiful worlds ever pressed to disc. (Or stored on a hard drive.) From the first moment to hour 100, it takes your breath away and keeps you coming back for more. The artistic achievement here is off the charts. The virtual tourism experience alone warrants the game's place on this list.

Too bad almost everything else is a failure of some description. The story is awful, and drags on and on through endlessly dull dialogue between non-characters while your bland avatar stares mutely on. It's shockingly bad. The gameplay has the same problem as the original Xenoblade - the mechanics are good, but the monsters never test you or force you to react to them, so only half the experience is in place. You can go on auto-pilot and beat 99% of the enemies in the game. Strategy is never necessary. The game throws what feel like hundreds of useless affinity missions and basic missions at you, and by the time you get your Skell you are no longer exploring Mira so much as fast-travel-hopping around it, pausing just long enough to get whatever's currently on your 100-item shopping list.

And then you get the ability to fly and the game throws all of that interesting topography - the one thing the game has going for it - out the window. Bad design decisions abound - the sad truth is that while this is a stunningly ambitious game, it's in no way a worthy sequel to the astonishing Xenoblade Chronicles.

A special shout out needs to go to the soundtrack, which is one of the most intrusive and least appropriate I've ever heard, and consistently gave me headaches while in New LA. Some tracks are incredible, but it doesn't excuse how bad the worse ones are, or that so many are vocal tracks that obscure spoken dialogue. The music in this game is ultimately a disaster.

8. Fallout 4 ; It was fun at times, but it felt like a worse Fallout 3. Almost every change was for the worse. It was so uninspiring. So uninspiring I really don't feel like writing any more than this about it. It just... was. The entire main story was executed so... not poorly, but just... underwhelmingly. Finishing the game was a relief.

Salem Witch Museum was awesome. Glowing Sea was cool. The rest of it? Dull, dull dull. Didn't help that the game didn't explain radiant quests so I spent the first 6 hours trying to get to the 'end' of the Minutemen quests. Terrible way to start a game, and entirely Bethesda's fault.

9. Mario Maker ; Had tons of fun making my own courses, had far less fun playing other people's courses. I think that's the general book on Mario Maker. It didn't hold my attention for more than a week. I wish finding the kind of levels you wanted to play had ben easier (No auto-play levels, no gimmicks, and NO PUZZLES, dammit.)

I'll never take Nintendo's level design abilities for granted ever again, that's for sure.

10. Driveclub Bikes ; Did I enjoy bikes as much as Driveclub? No, I far prefer the cars. But Driveclub is so good as a whole and I got so much enjoyment out of it this year that it gets a point here just for the fact that Bikes is still Driveclub. Same amazing tracks, visuals, etc. Just much harder to corner and far more likely to kill yourself, that's all...

 

[nckillthegrimace]

Video games.

1. Undertale ; I think we undervalue sincerity because it's really easy to be cynical. Cynicism helps protect us from disappointment and cynicism helps us feel smart because we're not falling for that one. But, you know, cynicism will eat you alive as that doubt turns inward. Undertale completely rejects cynicism and, consequently, is the most sincere game I've ever played. It's a shame that I cannot say any more because I want people to play the game for themselves and reach their own conclusion about its themes and content. It's also a shame that the previous sentence has been said so many times about Undertale that people who haven't played it are sick of reading it and have perhaps turned on the game without checking it out. But maybe you should let your shield down and trust that no one's trying to fool you and the effusive praise around the game is just as sincere as the game itself.

2. Splatoon ; Nintendo has created a brilliant shooter by approaching it from an outsider's perspective. The goal of territory control through the spraying of ink empowers players to create new strategies on the fly and ensures that no two matches are the same. Hiding in ink reloads, dodges, sprints, and enables stealth. By merging these secondary actions into one button, the player is allowed to focus on shooting. Further, the superb singleplayer teaches valuable multiplayer techniques and culminates in a wonderful final encounters that completely shames pretty much every boss from more conventional shooters. And the game has a lovely aesthetic that the game accurately calls "fresh." That's really a perfect descriptor for the whole thing.

3. Bloodborne ; Bloodborne feels more like a sequel to Demon's Souls than the Dark Souls games. It's intricate and creepy and structured in a way that Dark Souls just isn't. You aren't wandering through a series of vaguely connected areas to hide behind a shield while you kill random knights and monsters. You are stalking the streets of Yharnam for an express purpose: hunt beasts. Kill them and find meaning in slaughter. And, maybe, you'll gain the insight necessary to discover a higher purpose.

4. SteamWorld Heist ; I usually do not like tactics games, but SteamWorld Heist fixes my problems with the genre by focusing on a limited number of characters and allowing the player to physically aim every shot. It's fascinating how those little changes can make a game seem much more engrossing.

5. Yakuza 5 ; The attention to detail in even the most mundane of side activities in Yakuza 5 is astounding. It's as if Yakuza 5 ate several other games and grew strong on their flesh; there's a robust taxi game where you must obey traffic laws and make small talk with your passenger, an Initial D inspired drag racing game, a hunting game, and, yes, and rhythm-based idol simulator. And that's not even getting into the cavalcade of mini-games, which include several sports, karaoke, and even a fully functioning Virtua Fighter 2 arcade machine. Oh, and it's also a totally badass brawler RPG.

6. Metal Gear Solid V ; While it may lack the complete narrative insanity of previous entries, those impulses have been fueled into the gameplay, which features precision and ridiculousness in equal measure.

7. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I wish I had played more of Xenoblade Chronicles X, but it's unfathomably vast. So large, in fact, that even hopping into a giant mech fails to do much to reduce the scope of the world. It's amazing to explore and watch the native beasts roam around; it's a mystery that more games have not adopted Xenoblade's scheme of rendering most animals peaceful until attacked. It does wonders for the majesty of the world.

8. Tales from the Borderlands ; I hate Borderlands and I am sick of TellTale's brand of adventure game, but the focus on comedy and, more importantly, comedic timing makes this the studio's strongest game since The Walking Dead: Season 1.

9. Super Mario Maker ; Aside from providing infinite Mario levels, Super Mario Maker allows the observant player to learn new things about design from every level played. And sometimes the glorious failures impart more knowledge than the slick constructions of future Miyamotos.

10. Box Boy! ; Box Boy! reminds me of a primitive Super Mario Galaxy: the player has an extremely limited moveset, but the game constantly invents new ways for those moves to be used. A tiny game with big ambitions.

 

[peakish]

Video games.

Undertale ; I think we undervalue sincerity because it's really easy to be cynical. Cynicism helps protect us from disappointment and cynicism helps us feel smart because we're not falling for that one. But, you know, cynicism will eat you alive as that doubt turns inward. Undertale completely rejects cynicism and, consequently, is the most sincere game I've ever played. It's a shame that I cannot say any more because I want people to play the game for themselves and reach their own conclusion about its themes and content. It's also a shame that the previous sentence has been said so many times about Undertale that people who haven't played it are sick of reading it and have perhaps turned on the game without checking it out. But maybe you should let your shield down and trust that no one's trying to fool you and the effusive praise around the game is just as sincere as the game itself.

I really like this.

 

[Rctdaemon]

1. Splatoon; Proof that Nintendo can and will continue to be a leader. Here we have a game that took everyone by surprise when it was revealed, had a massive fan art community before it was released, has received substantial free updates since release, and has a style all its own. I admittedly played and enjoyed Octo Valley more than the multiplayer, but it was still a lot of fun.

2. Transformers Devastation; Activision knows the shortest path to my heart: Platinum. Better than Legend of Korra, but not quite at the same level as Bayonetta, Transformers was another manic action game from one of the studios that knows how it's done. Plus, there's something ridiculous about a flying truck crashing into a giant robot.

3. Rodea the Sky Soldier; A frenetic game of "the floor is lava" combined with Sin & Punishment and Sonic-esque gameplay made for one of the craziest experiences I've had this year. This is definitely going to be in high demand once it goes out of print.

4. Grow Home; Much like last year's ubiART games, Grow Home is the kind of game that I wish Ubisoft would make more of: small, stylish, and not focus tested to death. Grow Home scratched the 3d platformer itch that I've had from anticipating Yooka-Laylee next year and it did so with an adorable main character. Please let your teams keep doing small projects like this, Ubisoft.

5. TIS-100; I haven't really gotten a chance to stretch my assembly muscles since graduating from college, but this gave them one hell of a workout. TIS-100 has to be one of the most abstract puzzle games I have ever played and I loved every frustrating moment of it.

6. Ori and the Blind Forest; A breathtakingly beautiful animated journey that I will never forget.

7. Pillars of Eternity; I'm not much one for traditional RPGs, but Obsidian completely sold me with this one. I don't know what they're going to do next, but I'll certainly consider sending money their way again.

8. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood; It follows in The New Order's footsteps quite well, but I got tired of the nightmare levels. That was a nice touch the first time, but if I want to play Wolfenstein 3d, I have it on CD. On a side note, what do I have to do to get a similar game in the Heretic and Hexen world? I thought that Ziggurat was okay, but it left me wanting something that wasn't a roguelike.

9. Super Mario Maker; I'm probably not going to get too invested in the user generated levels, but Nintendo has to be commended for acknowledging Mario rom hacks and enabling players to generate their own Mario levels with official tools.

10. Devil's Third; It's the game equivalent of a B-movie action flick: dumb, violent popcorn fare without a care for what anybody thinks. Maybe I'm stuck two generations ago, but I'd rather have more games like this than the trendy AAA open worlds that are currently plaguing games.

 

[Alastor]

6. Grow Home

Thanks for reminding me I've played it this year

 

[Danthrax]

1. Rocket League ; I had no idea I'd have so much fun with this game when I first gave it a try. The mechanics are simply but they're so addictive. Games are like Pringles — once you finish a match, you've gotta hop into another one right away, you can't stop there. The controls are just perfect, like butter in your hands. (I'm coming up with a lot of food analogies for this game, I don't know why.) It looks beautiful — it ought to, considering it's just eight cars and a ball in an arena, but it still bears mentioning. I like that the game doesn't take itself seriously, between the choice of soccer-playing RC cars and then all the crazy cosmetic things you can add to them like what comes out the back of them as they drive by (blue flames? dolla dolla bills?). The chat system on the D-pad is a nice way to communication without allowing people to just shout profanities and slurs against mothers at each other, even if it takes some memorization to get your thought out before the next ball is set. The netcode is really good (in stark contrast to a certain other multiplayer game, see below) and that seals the deal on making Rocket League one of the most fun, satisfying experiences of the year for me.

2. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse ; I love the art style. It all really looks like clay and everything is adorable. It's the sequel to the DS' Kirby Canvas Curse that I've been waiting a decade for. I'm so glad they made this game. It does kinda suck that you pretty much can't look up from the GamePad while playing it even though I want to look up at my beautiful HDTV to admire the graphics, but there's not much you can do to solve that. Some people might have an issue with the Amiibo support amounting to cheats, but I was so concerned with the "I can only use these once per day!" thing that I ended up not using them much.

3. Metal Gear Solid V ; Looks gorgeous on the Xbox 360, the version I bought since I got Ground Zeroes on sale digitally for $5 on 360. Wish the story weren't so half-baked, and I feel like the difficulty ramps up too fast — I kinda suck at games, though, so that might be just me. Quiet is an embarrassment almost as much as how Konami treated Kojima. But it's good to go on sneaking missions again, and ballooning sheep into the sky as they "BAAAAaaaaa" into the distance never stops being hilarious. P.S. Free Hayter

4. Splatoon ; I really like this game, but I want to love it and I just can't. That's because the netcode is shit, which is a big problem when the game is heavily focused on multiplayer. Dying to someone who appears to be pointing nowhere near you sucks. Getting in with a strong squad during a Splatfest and then getting a connection error in the lobby, losing those squadmates forever, sucks. Getting the dreaded "unstable connection" box during a game followed by the inevitable boot back to the mode selection screen, which counts against your "Hawt" meter as losing that game, REALLY sucks. The poor netcode alone is why this game doesn't deserve to even sniff Game of the Year. But it does deserve recognition for having a fantastic art style, a brave and fun writing style, and a fresh take on shooting with great core mechanics. The post-launch support is really commendable, even if the first two months involved simply unlocking content on the disc, I could understand their idea behind slowly letting players experience "new" stuff together. And the next seven months provided all newly created content not found on the disc, all of it free, which is the way DLC ought to be for most games. I really hope Nintendo fixes the netcode for Splatoon 2 — and with the way this game has taken off, especially in Japan, there will be a Splatoon 2, I'm sure.

5. Super Mario Maker ; This "game" is so addictive. It's the platforming level creator I've wanted since I was a child — to an extent, as I designed levels for Sonic the Hedgehog and Commander Keen back then, not Mario, but I'll take what I can get. It certainly does take some time to realize that not every level needs to be suspended over a gigantic bottomless pit of death, but once I stopped leaning on that crutch, designing doable, fun levels became more satisfying. Too bad a lot of other people's levels are too difficult for me. I feel like part of that is because I didn't grow up with Mario games so I don't understand a lot of the mechanics of these various Mario styles, and it's necessary to have them down pat to solve the puzzles in other people's stages. It can be frustrating venturing into Course World, and choosing my own stages to upload there is like picking which 10 children are your favorite. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun with this game (when I wasn't falling into yet another bottomless pit of my own doing, heh).

6. Guitar Hero Live ; I like the new button setup. It feels more difficult to get my fingers in the right spots compared to the old five-in-a-line controller, and it's tough to wrap my head around some of the new combinations they throw at me, but I like the new experience overall. The songlist is quite spotty, but I guess it gets hard to choose good songs when you put most of the best electric guitar rock songs in the first three games. At least there are still plenty of good ones to play. I think the FMV stuff is pretty cool, especially since there are multiple bands at multiple venues. It sure as hell looks miles better than the terrible art style all the other Guitar Heroes employed. All in all, I've been away from these types of games for half a dozen years or so and it feels good to return to them.

7. Yoshi's Wooly World ; So, so cute. Seems like it shouldn't be very stressful — and the lack of a timer helps — but it gets surprisingly challenging at times. They go a bit overboard with the collectibles, which drives my OCD a bit nuts, but it's clearly intentional to increase the replayability and make it a bit more than an exercise in blasting through a series of platforming levels. And they do their best to make puzzles in the levels, which are fun but not too hard to figure out, which is nice. The tons of yarn Yoshi "costumes" are really great. It was fun scanning in all my Amiibos* to check out how they implemented each into the game.

8. Destiny: The Taken King ; Dinklebot shall be missed. I'm glad the game has some decent content now, but the whole thing probably should have been delayed from 2014 until November 2015 and released Taken King as vanilla Destiny. Oh well. The shooting is fun but I'm still not fond of how loothwhorish the whole thing is. But tens of thousands of people putting hundreds of hours each a year can't be wrong — Destiny is undeniably addictive, and TTK pretty much saved the young franchise from fading into irrelevancy after the first year's rocky start. Those Sparrows, though — slippery as a fish swimming in KY jelly.

9. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy+ ; This is my first Ace Combat game. It's quite arcadey but that kinda makes me feel less stressed out than if it were more hardcore, so I'm OK with that. The flying is fun and the 3D is nice. The Y button, used to do some crazy automatic maneuvers to get right behind a targeted enemy, feels a little too much like cheating but it also feels kind of cool, so I'm torn on whether it should have been kept or discarded. It's there, and I use it, so whatever. The Amiibo paint skins are quite cool — Pac-Man (with a Pac-Man level drawn all over the plane) and Zelda (with very ornate gold trim all over the fuselage) are my favorites, with Donkey Kong (the plane has a red necktie painted from the cockpit back toward the engines, so funny) coming in close behind.

10. Batman Arkham Knight ; Even though I played this on PS4, I have to downgrade this game to the bottom of my list because of the bullshit WB put gamers through on the PC version, which was the version I originally wanted. I hope I did my small part in repaying them for that tragedy by getting the game during the hour that Amazon had a pricing error on the digital PS4 version complete with season pass and sold it for about $15. In any event, Batman is awesome in the game, of course, but the Batmobile is sucky in the game, of course.


*Except the Pokémon ones, heh. Thanks, Gamefreak.

 

[O.DOGG]

1. The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt ; This one came as a surprise to me. Even though I had played previous games in the series (Witcher 2, never finished Witcher 1), I was pretty indeferent towards the world, its lore, its characters. I only got it on the first day because it came as a bonus with my new videocard. I expected it to be an OK game that I would enjoy and then forget about and throw away never to play again. I did not expect to spend every waking moment of the next couple of weeks playing it. I did not expect I'd be reading all the books in the series for the month after. I did not expect to love it so much. But I did. Everything about it is masterfully crafted - the graphics, the story, the characters, the quests, the voice work, the music, the atmosphere, the world itself, even the combat that so many seem to hate. I love it all. There is no other option but to put this as my number one game for the year and one of my top 10 games of all times.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; In every other year, this would have taken the number 1 spot. It only came up short because it was clearly unfinished as it was released and left me not completely satisfied in the end. Even so, I played it far more than any other single player game (300+ hours), even though the story only takes a fraction of that to finish. The gameplay is simply unparallelled. I consider this the greatest stealth game to this point. Kojima is a genius and this is his masterpiece, albeit a flawed one. An exceptional game on almost all levels, this one will remain a classic to me.

3. Pillars of Eternity ; Though it wasn't quite what I expected (I expected this would be the game of the year for me), it was a very pleasant return to the isometric RPGs of old.

4. Batman: Arkham Knight ; An excellent conclusion to the Arkham series. I was lucky to have this run very well on my PC, and I enjoyed it very much.

5. Ori and the Blind Forest ; An infuriatingly difficult but nonetheless remarkable metroidvania I had fun with towards the end of last year.

 

[HUELEN10]

1. Horizon Chase ; It's hard to put into few words how incredible this game is. All I can truly say is that we FINALLY have something worthy of the OutRun name once again. If you like OutRun, Lotus Challenge, Or Top Gear and have a mobile device, you NEED TO PLAY THIS GAME. It is the answer to the questions of what would a modern retro-styled OutRun racing game play like, what controls for a mobile game SHOULD feel like, what a new Top Gear would sound like, and possibly the most important question of all: Can a game on mobile be a true core console experience with no watering down or bullshit, and if so, how?

The answer is an emphatic, and surprising yes, and this, THIS is how you do it.

Is this value-priced mobile game truly great enough to beat every single release of 2015?

WITHOUT A SINGLE DOUBT



I look forward to seeing you in my big screen OT when Horizon Chase comes to the big screen later this year. until then, keep those fingers bleeding.

2. Super Mario Maker ; Unfortunately, I have not been able to put nearly the amount of time I've wanted to in this, but that time will come soon enough! For now though, know that I absolutely love every single costume unlock and hope to one day upload at least 2 decent levels by year's end. As a fan of NSMBU and NSMBU physics, this one's a winner. Love love LOVE that they put SMW Spin Jump on the shoulder buttons!

3. Rare Replay ; 30 games for 30 bucks? I know we are supposed to write a comment on each game, but is there really anything more that needs to be said? For 30 bucks you get RC Pro Am 1 AND 2, Conker's Bad Fur Day, every console Banjo, and for the first time for home release, Battletoads Arcade. If you own The One and DON'T own this game, I'm gonna send Major Nelson to kick your ass.

You deserve it.

So, that's it for the top 3... I mean, you can stop reading now. After all, if it's not gold, silver, or bronze, what's the point?

Oh, okay, fine...


4. Broken Age: The Complete Adventure ; I played as Shay as far as I could, then I played as Vella, and then my mind was blown in a way a game hadn't done in years... AND THAT WAS JUST PART 1! The folks at Double Fine absolutely nailed this, one of the finest point and click titles in years.

5. Steven Universe: Attack the Light! ; He's the Paper Mario gaming deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll criticize it being a licensed mobile game, because it can take it. Because it's not Paper Mario, it's an example of portable RPG done right, a full-fledged adventure with the things that made the originals great: A classic true Paper Mario game in everything but name.

6. Octodad: Dadliest Catch ; NOBODY suspected this to get ported to the One, but it did, and I loved every hour of it. But the question remains: where DID the kids come from?!?!?!?!

7. Splatoon ; I'm honestly not a girl who's big into online gaming (though that will change when Rocket League hits The One!), but I gotta admit that this game isn't half bad. Is it worth the 40 I paid for it for the time I've put in? Maybe not, but it's been okay as something to do after a long day. Not bad, and that's no easy feat being a shooter that I actually WANT to put in my console to play. Good job Nintendo.

8. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse ; Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is excellent, but the problem with it is the Gamepad. Canvas Curse is amazing, and this is definitely a superb and worthy sequel without a doubt. The problem is that since you need to play on the gamepad, you also have to deal with compression and artifacting, plus a resolution too low to appreciate the art. Truly, i have more fun WATCHING the game than playing it. Still though, compression aside, this is an excellent title worth every cent of the low 30 USD MSRP.

9. Tembo the Badass Elephant ; Part hero, part legend: all man. That's the best way to describe Gamefreak's side-scrolling Xbox One/PS4/PC adventure! The presentation and music is just so over-the-top and epic, you'll never stop smiling. Game Freak absolutely needs to do more games that aren't Pokemon, it's where they truly shine!

10. Runbow ; The only thing holding this back is lack of GCN controller support, but only Nintendo is to blame for that. If you want a great party game, look no further. i absolutely love Runbow, and became a believer with their E3 demo. it just goes to show that sometimes a simple idea with polish can go a very long way.

 

[victreeb3l]

1. Splatoon ; Freshest gaming experience in a long time. Insanely stylish and addictive, with a fantastic soundtrack to boot. Nintendo absolutely nailed it.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; This game has 100 faults but what it does well, it does exceptionally well. 150+ hours later, I cant stop thinking about this game. This game will be remembered fondly.

If you love exploration, a deep battle system and giant fucking robots, you must take a trip to Mira. Just try not to get eaten.

3. Halo 5: Guardians ; Halo is back. Single player was sorta meh but the multiplayer is a ton of fun. The controls, traversal and gunplay is tight and feels excellent. Great job 343!

4. The Witcher 3 ; I hate the combat and horseback riding but its hard not to be impressed with what CD Projekt Red accomplished with W3. Theres just so much of, well, everything and its a hard game to put down.

5. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Graphics are absolutely jaw dropping. Its also just a ton of fun to climb and discover caves and shit.

6. Mario Maker ; Addictive. Made me appreciate just how hard game design is.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D ; Never got a chance to play it on the N64 but this game lived up to the hype.

8. Yoshi's Woolly World ; The aesthetic is cute as hell. Never fails to put a smile on my face.

 

[Dash Kappei]

...aaaand done!

 

[Ban Puncher]

1. Splatoon ; I ain't squidding you, this game is inkcredible.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; 450+ hours logged, four FOB's (all bought with free Konami FunBux) and I am still playing it every day since launch. What it lacks in usual Metal Gear storyline shenanigans it makes up for in gameplay.
3. Super Mario Maker ; A childhood dream game. User created levels can also double as nightmare fuel.
4. Bloodborne ; Dark Souls Turbo Edition.
5. Rocket League ; Football but actually enjoyable.
6. Transformers: Devastation ; Totally worth the thirty year wait. Everyone should give everything to Platinum.
7. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I'm really feeling it.
8. Yakuza 5 ; Everyone should buy Yakuza 5 so I can play Yakuza 6 in English. Osu.
9. Contradiction - Spot The Liar! ; If I did THIS, would it mean anything to you? \m/.
10. HuniePop ; Puzzle & Smut.

Honorable Mentions
Nekopara Vol. 0 ; Smut without the smut.
Batman: Arkham Knight ; Bat Tank kinda sucked but I'm always a sucker for Conroy and Hamill and the combat/combo system is still god-like.

 

[Stoze]

Here it goes. I made the mistake of starting with the honorable mentions and explaining why they didn’t make the cut, kinda burnt myself out a bit and made this take a while. I'm really happy with my list though.

1. Undertale ; Undertale is my game of the year, and to be frank, it wasn’t even a close fight between anything else on the list to get here. My first play through of Undertale and one of its extra endings was one of the most surprising and enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had in video games. That play though affected me physically, because I was either playing along with a smile on my face, happily laughing, talking out loud to myself in excitement, or getting chills from a single line of dialog uttered from a character. Then I did a second play though taking a different path, and that smile turned into gritting my teeth, nervously laughing and talking to myself, feeling like complete shit, and once again getting chills after hearing certain lines from the characters, this time while fighting me.

That sums up the mushy, emotion, “here’s what I felt” stuff. When it comes to design, writing, and gameplay, Undertale takes its constant surprises and continues to excel there. The best example is the “box”. Undertale’s combat takes place in a box where you move your cursor/heart around, dodging projectiles. As the game progresses, this box becomes a complete playground for you, and as it stretches and contracts, the bullet hell gameplay suddenly becomes a platformer, then a rhythm game… and then many more that I won’t spoil. The projectiles in this box reference the monsters you’re fighting, monsters which reference each other, and then are referenced by key characters and NPC’s in different areas through dialog, because the continuity in this game is painfully constructed. The writing at times appeals directly to my sense of humor, and then somehow it makes me care seriously about its goofy characters as well as a plot that almost sounds childish from its description. Then I find myself completely obsessed with all this stuff, to the point where I’m traversing the wiki after playing, watching others play to see their reactions, and even checking out data mined content.

The game is constantly playing with your expectations, whether it be breaking the fourth wall or breaking tropes of the RPG genre. Undertale is a heavily scripted game, which manages to constantly entertain and surprise in a genre where you feel like you’re often dropped into a pool of loot, experience, and rng. The massive, amazing soundtrack also adds to the surprise, with many different memorable area, boss, and mob battle themes. I still listen to the soundtrack almost daily. Even the OST contributes to the continuity I mentioned, with key melodies linking themes and characters and their relations to each other.

Honestly at this point I’m blathering and my thoughts about the game are spewing out in an unorganized and poorly written fashion. This game is just absolutely wonderful, and I think about it all the time even months after playing it. Undertale isn’t a game for everyone, but it is the game for me.

2. The Talos Principle ; Like Undertale, The Talos Principle is a game that somehow manages to almost perfectly marry its gameplay, presentation, storytelling, overall themes, and even the environmental design. The fact that it does this despite it having these things practically separated from each other in game is kind of crazy. You can choose to ignore the exposition, and you can choose to ignore a lot of the puzzles. As someone who didn’t ignore anything except some of the hard to get optional star puzzles, The Talos Principle is immensely gratifying in all aspects.

This game is constantly working your brain, whether it be reading ancient texts, doing the actual puzzles, arguing philosophy, or piecing together the back story. The best part is, all this stuff is really good and well executed, and I never felt like my brain was being overworked. The writing is excellent, and the difficulty curve feels well-crafted to where I never got majorly stuck or frustrated in this game despite the large amount of puzzles and dealing with many objects in the later levels. I generally don’t find myself playing puzzle games for hours at a time, but The Talos Principle is an exception. TTP is a brilliant game from start to finish, one that really doesn’t waste your time, and one that will go down as one of my favorites.

3. The Witcher 3 ; I believe The Witcher 3 is the most time I’ve ever put into a single player game. In fact looking back at this list, it’s surprising how I was able to actually spend time on other games last year, but then I remembered that TW3 completely consumed my entire summer and even some of fall.

Witcher 3 and did what basically every western RPG has tried and failed to do for me, and that’s to completely immerse me and interest me in the world. I’m talking about reading every single line of every single book and description of this universe, paying attention to every word of dialogue and never skipping it. Absorbing all the locations, people, plotlines, everything. This is in part due to things like CDPR’s top notch writing and storytelling, which may be the best I’ve seen in the RPG genre. Then you have the world itself with its ace art direction and character design that further helped reel me in, as well as the varied and excellently produced soundtrack, the surprisingly good graphics and animations for a seamless open-world game, and…yeah.

The Witcher 3 is just a hell of a package, and when I think back on it almost all of its flaws escape me. Unfortunately some of its great moments do as well, which isn’t a surprise considering the approximate 200 hours I put into this world. Overall the Witcher 3 is the biggest and one of the most fulfilling grand adventures I’ve ever spent in a game world.

4. Super Mario Maker ; The more I think about this game, the more I think it’s one of the most significant pieces of software Nintendo has ever produced. It feels like they finally handed us the keys to the kingdom, giving us multiple sets of 2D Mario assets to use with the most intuitive level editor to ever grace a home console. Seriously, the editor is so fantastic that it makes you constantly take it for granted, and I could write a paper about its cool nuances and triumphs in design. The learning curve to Mario maker is so miniscule that you can hand it off to people who don’t play much games, and they can understand it immediately and create a level. More importantly though, the refined NSMBU mechanics that are standardized across whatever style you choose make it so the levels are fun to play even if the design is amateur.

Then of course there’s online and sharing component. Once I started following a few people who had the type of incredibly enjoyable design I was looking for, it spiraled out of control to the point where I’d never have enough time to play the amount of great levels seen in my followed creators feed or even the “you might also enjoy these levels” selection you see after finishing any level.

SMM is an incredibly addicting and enjoyable game that’s a dream come true to Mario and platformer fans such as myself. The most astonishing thing it did was make me crave the act of purely designing and creating, which rarely so happens anymore in games for me.

5. Axiom Verge ; The reigning champion for the entire first half of 2015. Calling this just another good “metroidvania” clone would be a complete dismissal of just how excellent this game really is. If Metroid and Super Metroid are master classes in game design, then single developer Thomas Happ aced the class and then became the professor. Axiom Verge is filled with neat items and upgrades that impress and drastically change up the game. The game is really fast paced, zipping you through its moody environments but making sure there’s enough time to make you want to return and collect secrets. Some of the secrets are incredibly rewarding and go beyond just navigating through hidden spaces on the screen or using the correct item to bringing up comparisons to games like FEZ in terms of how out of the box they are to solve. The story and lore is interesting, but never gets in the way of the gameplay, and the controls feel perfect. The game is just so cleverly designed that’s its honestly hard to put into words without having it right here and playing it.

6. Tales from the Borderlands ; This is simply Telltale’s best in terms of writing and presentation, and the best overall. With no weak episode in sight and an ending that rivals Undertale’s pacifist ending in just pure awesome insanity, this game was a pure delight to play through. I fell in love with the characters alarmingly fast, as well as the fantastic intros which marry excellent music picks with charming visuals under great direction from TT. The worst part about playing this game is knowing that Borderlands 3’s writing will probably pale in comparison. The story and plot moved in consistently interesting and entertaining ways, and the pacing between calm scenes, player control, and crazy and hilarious scenes was perfect.

7. Life is Strange ; LiS probably has the most issues out of all the games on this top 10 for me. Not technically speaking, as the game ran perfectly with seamless camera transitions and rewind effects making the engine put Telltale’s to shame, but more along the lines of design and writing. I felt like meaningful and witty dialog was taken out of this game and padded up with mundane remarks, and by the end of the 5th episode I found myself losing some patience after having gone through the same environments so many times. Then there’s the shoddy facial animation and hit or miss voice acting that jolted me out of the experience more than a few times.

The reason LiS is on here though, and why it’s really the only one I felt the need to write criticisms against it, is because the emotional beats and moments of this game hit that strongly with me to somewhat override my complaints, and there’s a significant amount of them across the episodes. People who have played the game know what I’m talking about it. Without going into spoilers, this game made me think about my own life and how I should’ve spent more time with friends, reconnecting, and made me just want to be a better person. This game is also really god damn sad, but it has an alluring warm atmosphere that I’ve never really experienced before, and probably the best high school setting I’ve played through in games. The wonderful twangy and mellow acoustic soundtrack was a great addition as well. The excellent presentation and game direction also helped me gloss over my issues and put this game up here as one of the best things I played in 2015.

8. Splatoon ; The only competitive multiplayer game I played last year, and for a good reason. Splatoon takes an interesting and fun spin on shooter mechanics with its symbiosis of movement and shooting. I mean, I really, really love moving around in this game. With attractive colorful visuals at a silky smooth 60fps, Splatoon is not only stylistically unique but supremely polished and a joy to play.

9. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes ; The party/co-op game of the year for me. My sister and I played through the entirety of the campaign in this game, switching off between who uses the manual and who operates the bomb. Needless to say, this game is a blast and you need total synchronization from your partner if you want to make it through all the different defusal objectives. Beating a new objective is very rewarding, as does seeing each other quickly become better to the point where it feels like cheating because of how well you have things memorized. Keep Talking was not only one of my favorite games last year, but it was also a pretty interesting one for the medium. Half the game is played by looking at a pdf and not looking at the actual game, and the fact that it remains so tense despite that is quite the feat.

10. Grow Home ; Grow Home is here because of everything else on here. Let me explain - it throws away the constant stress and information overload of Keep Talking or Invisible Inc.. There’s no high dexterity required like there was for beating hard Mario Maker levels or moving and shooting in Splatoon. It doesn’t making you feel like garbage like in Undertale or Life is Strange…you get the picture. Grow Home is a purely refreshing game. Want to see how far you’ve progressed? Look down. Want to see where you need to go to win? Look up. Take your time, fly over the environment for fun, go check out those caves. There’s no constant minimap hunting or blips on a radar. Want to find crystals to upgrade BUD? Listen for the hum, look for the glow. Grow Home’s beauty is in its simplicity, and it’s a game that reminds me just how joyful simply moving around in a 3D space is. The best part is you get to do it without needing a heads-up display all the time.

Honorable Mentions
x. Invisible Inc ; Klei takes the stealth mechanics from Mark of the Ninja (one of my favorite games and my retrospective 2012 GoTY) and injects it into a turn-based strategy game ala XCOM. Invisible Inc. is a game that is so immaculate in its design that despite almost having half my list be games defined or advertised by having lots of impactful player choices, the amount of hard decision-making that goes on when playing this game trumps all of them combined. This is a game that consistently gives you every piece of information to succeed, and yet remains incredibly tense and challenging almost all the way through. Where the problem lies for me is the game being so information heavy and stress inducing that it ends up kind of not having that spark of fun in games like XCOM or FTL. That combined with a frustrating screen scrolling bug that happens every time I boot up the game made it so this game just barely didn’t make my list.

x. Ori and the Blind Forest ; A wonderful 2D side-scroller with absolutely beautiful visuals and music. Ori has some incredibly slick controls and movement mechanics which include the absolutely brilliant “Bash” ability that dramatically changes the way and pace you move through the game. The game includes satisfying, challenging platforming that takes advantage of the great controls and Ori’s abilities, and a skill tree that makes collecting ability orbs and killing enemies rewarding. Where Ori unfortunately lost its spot on the top 10 list was the absurd closing off of areas and the numerous points of no return among other things, which directly negates its own design that encourages exploring and returning to previous areas. I also had some unfortunate massive game slowdown during the last parts of the game that hindered the experience for me. Still, Ori is a great game, and the new edition of it coming out looks like it may improve on everything I’ve stated.

x. Hotline Miami 2 ; You’ve probably already heard how Hotline Miami 2 was somewhat of a disappointment due to its major changes in design. The game focuses on larger levels that obscure enemies and line of sight to them. It revolves around constant trial and error and stop and go gameplay rather than just go and improvise, as well as abusing choke points, no mask/character selection…I could go on. Even with all that said, starting up a level and hearing that phenomenal roaring soundtrack just feels so damn good. Not only that, but unlike most sequels, HM2 practically assumes you’ve played the first and starts the difficulty level off from there, ultimately providing a more satisfying challenge and making it surprisingly hard to go back to the original.

 

[RespectThySole]

Happy to see Transformers getting some love.

 

[Ozium]

how long after voting ends are results posted?

 

[FearMyWrench]

1. Splatoon ; The Nintendo EAD shooter I never knew I wanted, but loved.
2. Heroes of the Storm ; All the goodness of League, without all the shit.
3. Super Mario Maker ;
4. The Jackbox Party Pack ;
5. Yo-kai Watch ;
6. Yoshi's Woolly World ;
7. Tabletop Simulator ;
8. Cities: Skylines ;
9. Fallout 4 ;
10. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer ;

 

[Ryoku]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Amazing and engrossing world to explore.
2. Splatoon ; Nintendo's take on the shooter genre. Incredibly original and super fun.
3. Rocket League ; A simple concept made unique through the use of cars and physics mechanics.

 

[Cheesemeister]

how long after voting ends are results posted?

As soon as is possible given the copy-paste technology at our disposal. Last year it took 5 hours. This year, we want to beat that time significantly.

 

[Herla]

1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter ; The conclusion of this story, and a great one. I also loved the first game, even if it took quite a bit to get to the "meaty" parts in the story, but this one just. doesn't. stop. There are plenty of moments that are "end-game" worthy, and yet there's another chapter, and another chapter, and another chapter ... this game lasted me 97 hours and, combined with the first, is one that is bound to stay on my mind for a long, long time.

2. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel ; People described this one as one of the worst in the whole series, if not the worst, and I can see why they might think that. But the astounding amount of gameplay and quality of life improvements completely overshadowed the less-than-exciting story and (at first impression) tropey characters. My favourite part in Trails in the Sky was to talk to every single NPC to learn their story, and in this game the major ones not only have a unique appearance, but an entry in your notebook with a little drawn portrait. That's just fantastic. Also, probably my favourite soundtrack of the year.

3. Yakuza 5 ; It's Yakuza 5. It's great. Buy it. In all seriousness, I would've placed this at number 2 but I felt some of the story bits kind of brought down the whole story and there were enough gameplay improvements compared to 4. But other than that, this game has more content than ever, an amazing supporting cast and some very interesting side stories. Shinada is a great new character to play as, but I wish there was more Akiyama. Like, a whole new game worth of Akiyama.

4. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward ; Out of nowhere, this game grabbed me and did not let go. I tried the trial, then the base game, then the expansion, then a little more time to finish the expansion and holy shit I completely forgot about the games below this one. To talk about this expansion in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and new bosses, with some nice twists and enjoyable moments that actually made the grind required to reach certain quests not as annoying as I would've expected. Note: I played it as a single player game (with co-op dungeons), so I did not experience the worse raids and end-game or whatever that everyone seems to be talking about.

5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I really liked the first two Witcher games, but always thought they were a bit overrated and the promises made by the developer never actually represented in the game. This one delivered and made me revaluate CD Projekt RED as a studio. For the first time someone has managed to perfectly merge a story heavy game (with actual good writing) into an open world filled with interesting quests that felt meaningful (I don't consider New Vegas to be story heavy). Even the simplest mission or collectible on the map has a story behind it. It's too bad that, as usual, the combat is mediocre, the itemization boring and the character progression system as basic as it gets. But they're getting there.

6. Bloodborne ; The game I bought a PS4 for, before it was even announced. And...it's great. The combat is improved, the story and lore more interesting than ever, the level design is impeccable...then I finished and never felt the need to play it again. The whole package is astounding, but when I think back to other souls games it just didn't grab me as much. Maybe because of the lower difficulty, or maybe for the lack of diversity in playstyles.

7. Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball ; When everyone was raving about Rocket League I was thinking of Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball. Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball is an easy to play, hard to master first person shooter involving (Robot Roller-Derby Disco) Dodgeball with trick shots, momentum, powerups, a custom soundtrack and a Basketball mode were you can actually Slam Dunk the ball. It reminded me of the days of Unreal Tournament and Quake 3, and it's an enormous shame that this game never got popular. At some point I got too good at it and there weren't enough players, so I just stopped playing. Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball.

8. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; When I started the first actual mission I started thinking "oh wow, this kind of reminds me of Deus Ex more than Human Revolution ever did". Then it kept going, and going and going...going nowhere. I got bored, stopped playing, microtransactions and drama kicked in, and the game fell down from 1 to 8. God damn it, the gameplay is so good though.

9. Rocket League ; it's not Robot Roller-Derby Disco Dodgeball but it's still a whole lot of fun. I just wish it didn't come out in the summer: one round and I was soaked in sweat. What is this, actual sport!?

10. Pillars of Eternity ; What are you doing down here Pillars of Eternity, I spent so much money on you, you deserved to be at the number one spot! Simply enough: I did not play enough of it. And the fact that it did not grab me enough to play all of it is proof enough that it needs to be at the bottom of the list. Not out of the list, mind you, because the game is still an achievement. But when I hear of the minimal involvement of Avellone and the worthless Stronghold (the feature I was looking forward to the most) it's difficult to come back and invest the time required to properly complete it. I'll come back to it after both expansions are out. Also RTWP is balls.

Honorable Mentions
x. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; Shadowrun fatigue kicked in and I played just a couple missions and, so far, it seemed as good as Dragonfall. Sadly, it was not enough to properly judge writing and gameplay differences, so it'll have to stay as a Honourable Mention. I'll give it a better chance in 2016 when the mini-campaign is out.

 

[AniHawk]

As soon as is possible given the copy-paste technology at our disposal. Last year it took 5 hours. This year, we want to beat that time significantly.

responded to your pm, by the way. edits made.

 

[LowlySmokeGuy]

I find this really interesting, and it may be a case that everyone thinks their first Souls type game is the hardest

I thought Bloodborne was by far the easiest, and having just started Scholar, I think the enemy placement (of the early areas at least) makes it by far the hardest.

Dark Souls 2 is weird for me because it has IMO by far the easiest bosses of the series, yet the other regular enemies are by the hardest in the series. I think Bloodborne is somewhere in the middle for both.

 

[AniHawk]

That rascal!

i had assumed it was fine based on this from last month:

Which?

Great, thanks.

regardless, i've edited the list and removed my #8 choice.

 

[boo]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; My character Leo after a battle: -I am sorry that I lost my Cool back then. Reply friom game character Doug that I fought together with: -I didn`t know you found it in the first place.
Well, thanks a lot, DOUG. Here I am trying to look cool in front of Elma...

 

[Butane123]

Been writing this off and on the last week. Probably a bunch of rambling thoughts and grammatical errors, but I figure if I don't post it now I'll forget tomorrow.

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; I'm generally a nut for open world games. I love the exploration. I love the fact I can be doing one quest line, and then go off on a tangent and then completely forget about it for 20 hours. I might be odd, but a lot of times I don't even care if the combat is bland I can still sink a ton of hours into games regardless of how much it sucks.

Now here is Witcher 3. This game has the most natural, authentic world I have ever seen in a game. The towns and cities feel like they're actually built into the world instead of just a walled off place that's bigger on the inside than what it should seem from the outside. Another thing is the people and characters in all the quests give it personality unparalleled in other open world RPG's. Even the most insignificant side quests have interesting plots and details.

While the combat is no where near the level of Bloodborne and MGS V, I feel like it was overall serviceable and did not distract from the core experience. Also, I'm a sucker for Gwent, so that also helps.

2. Rocket League ; PSN+ has been very hit or miss for me this year... Mostly misses. Transistor and Rocket League were easily the highlights. So Rocket League feels like a game my 8 year old self dreamt up while playing with Micro Machines in the mud. It's cars with rockets playing soccer. That sentence right there is enough to already make the game great. Now combine that with excellent controls, easy to pick up yet hard to master mechanics, great free updates, and an ever expanding soundtrack that is amazing enough to jam to on the title screen and you have made a game that instantly satisfies almost anyone.

After probably hundreds of matches, I still can't get enough of this game and can't wait to see what the future holds for casual players, like me, to esport enthusiasts.

3. Destiny: The Taken King ; So Destiny was my GOTY last year (Note: I didn't vote on GAF). Full disclosure time: I'm a complete Bungie fanboy to the point where I have been a community moderator for them for nearly 7 years. That being said, I loved vanilla Destiny despite all of its numerous faults, and I love The Taken King even more.

I could easily write a whole essay over faults in this one too, but it fixed so many major ones from vanilla that you can really see how special Destiny can be if they can keep refining and improving their core systems.

Short version: The questing system really helped Destiny to go from an aimless loot treadmill to a game with goals and actual unique, tangible rewards that you get for completion and not RNG. The missions and strikes are much better designed than anything in vanilla and I enjoy grinding them out. The raid was long, difficult, and easily the best co-op content you can play right now. And as always, the gameplay is just so much better than anything else on consoles. That being said, there still needs to be some improvement. The game dissolves pretty quick once you start running out of quests, and the lag in PvP and be unbearable at times.

4. Bloodborne ; I'm not a huge Souls fan. I find the games fun, but I always found the combat to be a bit too slow and defensive for my liking. I absolutely love the speed added into Bloodborne's combat. It flows much better than anything in the Souls series. Unfortunately I never got a chance to finish the game. I loved the Victorian setting, but once it took a turn to Lovecraft nightmare, it just kind of lost me. Also I was severely disappointed in the lack of covenants and build options. I always like to run something that mixes magic and direct combat, and I just did not find the spells in the game satisfying at all to even try to use them. Another thing is I felt that it took such a long time in the game for you to start finding spells and weapons focused on Bloodtinge and Arcane stats that you already had a character with heavy investments in either strength or skill to try to level them up. Still, a very, very fun game.

5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; To be completely blunt, MGS V easily has the best stealth combat and open world combat I have ever seen in a game. Everything about it from the movements, the shooting, and the enemy interactions felt spot on and amazing.

To echo a lot of people, I also felt like this, was a really weak MGS game. MGS to me has always been about the wacky, over the top story, interesting boss fights, and interesting locations. I found MGS V really didn't have any of those traits. The mission structure was just a discombobulated mess and the fact that each had it's own beginning and ending credits was weird and broke the immersion for me. If the game felt like the last few missions of Chapter 1, then it would of been more akin to MGS for me.

Mother base was just a weird micromanagement task, and if I ever see the language

Spoiler

Kikongo

again I might jab my eyes out. Don't get me started on Quite.

6. Splatoon ; Don't actually own a Wii U, but every time I'm at my brother's place I sneak a few rounds in. This game really shows that more developers need to get more creative with multiplayer shooters.

7. Fallout 4; This game played it way too safe. It's still fun, but I never shook the feeling that it is anything different from Fallout 3. The combat is much improved, but still feels junky if you're big into shooters. It's fun, but man they really gutted the RPG systems in it.

8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ; First CoD game I have played since Black Ops 2! Campaign was... weird and forgetful. I also don't like that the ability to have load outs in campaign as I feel it really dilutes mission design. The multiplayer is fun and I like the reduced emphasis on score streaks. How some people can play enough to be master prestige level 1000 already is beyond me.

9. Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows ; This is more for both Shovel Knight and the expansion since I first played it in 2015. Both are great with excellent design and levels. I loved that Plague of Shadows was able to reuse levels with its own unique mechanics to add onto the main game.

10. Star Wars: Battlefront ; This game captures the feel of Star Wars like no other game. The graphics and sound design it's just nuts. However... man, I wish this game was a class based shooter and borrowed more mechanics from the old Battlefronts. It's fun in short bursts, but it really lacks depth to make me want to play it for a long time.

 

[Lime]

I wish I was able to play Undertale without distractions. I keep dropping in and out of it and sometimes I'm worried that I have to have played Earthbound or early 90's RPGs to understand the references. I'll give it a go when I have more free time and space.

 

[AniHawk]

That's a really nice write-up. Makes me that much more likely to finally get around to trying the game, honestly.

while it's not very long, it still feels like an adventure, and doesn't waste your time.

the image i chose for undertale in my list was the moment i actually found myself loving the game. it's honest, and the moment is earned.

 

[CarbonFire]

Better throw in my votes before the door closes.
---
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; The best open-world wRPG in years, if not ever. I enjoyed the combat, loved exploring the vast yet intricately designed world. Almost all the quests were high caliber and engaging, as were many of the characters in the game. I've already put in 180 hours in two playthroughs, and can't wait to jump back into a third massive run once the final expansion is out.

2. Rocket League ; More like Crack League. I've put in close to 400 hours into this game between the PS4 and PC versions. Such an amazingly deep yet approachable game, I stare at the skill ceiling somewhere up on Mars and think, "one day I'll get there, just gotta keep practicing." Just one more game. Just one more aerial goal. Just one more impossible save. Just one more demolition. Just one more....

3. Infinifactory ; Space Chem in 3D, my dream come true. My solutions aren't always the most elegant, but damn does it feel good to solve a particularly challenging assembly puzzle. I wish all puzzle games allowed this much flexibility in their solutions.

4. Helldivers ; Had more fun with this game than I expected, especially for how repetitive it seemed on the surface. Squeaking through a high level mission with everyone extracting was an incredible thrill that refused to get old. Neither did "accidentally" dropping a resupply on a teammate.

5. Star Wars: Battlefront ; I'm a sucker for all of DICE's games, and this is no different. Yes it's thin on content, and yes the balance is out of whack, but most of what is there is still a fun shooter. And Star Wars is Star Wars, so I can't say no.

6. Cities: Skylines ; Out Sim City'd Sim City. Not a perfect game, but the best game in a long time to scratch that city building itch.

7. Metal Gear Solid V ; Certainly the best playing MGS game ever, even if the story fell flat halfway through. I probably won't go back to it, especially after the terrible post-release garbage Konami pulled with the game. But it was a hell of a ride.

8. Grow Home ; A delightful little platformer that does what it does really well. Feels good despite the rather clumsy protagonist.

9. Bloodborne ; While I'm starting to get a bit fatigued on Souls style games, this is still a fantastically put together game. I put it down far too early, been meaning to go back and finish it before the Spring games take up all my time.

10. Nuclear Throne ; I did not reach the Nuclear Throne.....yet. But man is it fun to try.

---
So many games on my wall of shame from just 2015 I didn't get to. It was an embarrassment of riches this year.

 

[Reticent Rhino]

As always, there's never enough time to get to everything I want (Witcher 3, Undertale, Mario Maker, etc.) so this list is just a snapshot of what I liked from 2015 at this point.

1. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ;
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I don't mind that the story's so light (which Kojima warned us about way back when this was Project Ogre, so my own expectations were in check) when it's so much fun seeing all the different ways you can approach a mission.
3. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved ; Somehow despite loving GW2, I skipped over GW3 at launch and didn't get around to playing GW3 until the Vita version (which is technically what I'm voting for here) launched on PS+ this year. It was good enough to convince me to double-dip on the PS4 version when it went on sale a few weeks later.
4. Until Dawn ;
5. Mario Kart 8: DLC Pack 2 ;
6. Yoshi's Woolly World ;
7. Splatoon ;
8. Batman: Arkham Knight ; People really weren't joking about how much the Batmobile drags the experience down. During that first tutorial where you have to charge up the car's weapon, before I realized how to strafe, I honestly considered just quitting right there, which is something I almost never do. I'm glad I didn't, because there was enough here that played like the other Arkham games (which I loved) to enjoy- but yeah, all those tank battles get tedious, particularly when they literally send dozens of drones at you. I'm also docking points for Arkham Knight not including enough Challenge Maps out of the gate, as those were my favorite parts of the previous games. Definitely the weakest of the four, but the core combat, predator sections, and all the Batman references are still a solid formula for me. I'd definitely be down for another one, though preferably set between Origins and Asylum.
9. Grim Fandango Remastered ; The characters and humor are fun, but some of those puzzles are pretty obtuse without a faq.
10. Rocket League ;

x. Bloodborne ; I'm still very early in this, but so far I vastly prefer Dark Souls' slower, defensive-minded pace.
x. Grow Home ;
x. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster ; FFX is one of my all-time favorites, but I feel weird about giving points to a game I've played 14 years ago (unlike Grim Fandango, which was new to me).

 

[MrCookiepants]

1. Metal Gear Solid V ; stealth gameplay perfected. Disappointing is some aspects and way beyond my expectations in others, as with all Kojima games. Can't justify giving anything else top honors.
2. Fallout 4 ; loved every minute I spent with this game. Beautiful, detailed world and a refined formula that admittedly doesn't bring much new. Story didn't grab me and that's probably why I've yet to finish it.
3. Tearaway: Unfolded ; I finished this in one sitting after picking it up for a depressingly low price. It reminded me how much I miss Nintendo. A joy from beginning to end.
4: Until Dawn ; my yolo day 1 buy of the year. And I didn't regret it. Incredible presentation, interesting characters and tense moments throughout.
5. Bloodborne ; Another game I didn't finish. I feel like it's a better game than Dark Souls, but franchise fatigue has well and truly kicked in. I don't enjoy these cheap bosses anymore. I'm at the stage of my life where I just don't have the patience.
6. Mortal Kombat X ; this game is brilliantly executed in every way imaginable. For whatever reason, the fighting mechanics couldn't keep me interested past the first 2 weeks. It's still a blast to play when friends come over.

I don't wanna give the Shitcher 3 any points, so I'll end my list there. :> Didn't really play much this year.

 

[Corpekata]

I wish I was able to play Undertale without distractions. I keep dropping in and out of it and sometimes I'm worried that I have to have played Earthbound or early 90's RPGs to understand the references. I'll give it a go when I have more free time and space.

You really don't. Well, maybe some general 90s JRPGs as there's one big scene that riffs on a famous FFVI scene, but the game is not that overt in most of the references. I'd wager a great many of the game's considerable audience are too young for SNES JRPGS to have been a huge part of their lives, especially one as niche as Earthbound was.

As long as you have some sort of basic knowledge of RPGs I'd wager you'd be fine. And really, Undertale has more to say about western games than it does Japanese ones.

 

[SolidLifts]

1. Bloodborne ; Bloodborne is the rare AAA game that puts Design above all else. It lays out simple rules and holds you to them without mercy. Guaranteed to be frustrating as hell, but damn if there isn't a better feeling than PREY SLAUGHTERED in gaming this year.

2. Metal Gear Solid 5 ; Metal Gear has been in development forever and it shows - in a good way. Packed with innumerable systems that all come together masterfully. The defining next-gen gameplay is ironically available on last gen systems.

3. Life is Strange ; Not embarrassed to say I have now experienced the "coming of age struggle" as a high school hipster girl. Thank you Life is Strange devs, you are updating the following quote to include games "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies."

4. Axiom Verge ; Axiom Verge is a passionate love song for Super Metroid, but damn if I didn't want to play that. I got completely lost in the atmospheric world Tom Happ has created, and a part of me never came back.

 

[timetokill]

This was mostly the Year of Waiting for me, since I left a great deal of games to "wait" until next year when I'd have more time to play them.

1. Splatoon ; My favorite game of this generation, easily. When first revealed I couldn't have been more dispassionate about it, but at some point it got its tentacles around me and would not let go. I got so addicted to this game that I needed to go cold turkey on it for the sake of my work, which hasn't happened in many, many years. Playing this game made me wonder why more games weren't as fresh as it is. Why is style so disregarded in games? I'm not a stylish person in reality -- fashion has never make much sense to me. Weirdly enough, this game (in combination with Nintendo's Style Savvy) made me "get it." I'm too poor to do much about it right now, but this game somehow opened my mind to that part of my life that's been missing. As far as the game goes, it's simply brilliant and brilliant in its simplicity. There's a Miyamoto quote that I live by, which says that "a good idea is something that does not solve just one single problem, but rather can solve multiple problems at once." Splatoon is jam-packed with these good ideas. Ink becomes the "good idea" that solves a million problems -- it's ammo, it's a way to recover ammo, it clearly marks territory, it's a buff to you and your team, it's a nerf to your teammates. This simplicity allows the metagame to shine, and allows each player's play style to be clearly visible. This simple twist has blown the doors off of online shooters. Playing Halo 5 this year, in spite of its additional movement options, felt absolutely slow and antiquated in comparison. It's not only movement, but the absolute superiority of gyro controls for aiming, which are quicker and more precise than any twin stick solution. The Miiverse integration is the best I've seen in any game, with beautiful or fun or weird or funny drawings all over the place, soaking the plaza in character. The soundtrack is weird, infectious, and uniquely SPLATOON. What's more is it's a game anybody can play. You don't have to be good to feel like you're making progress. And when you get good, it's plain as day how far you've come. This game is an absolute triumph, and I'm overjoyed that it's caught on like it has.

2. Undertale ; I bought this game at launch and let it sit for a while before playing it. By the time I got around to it, I was vaguely aware of a lot of fervor regarding it, and after playing it I can see why. I think the comparisons to Earthbound are overstated, save that I think it is disarming in the way that Earthbound is. Saccharine stuff that goes down sweet, so when it turns bitter you feel it in your core. It's definitely a game that stays with you. And it helps that unlike a lot of games in this vein, it feels sincere -- another Earthbound-like quality, perhaps, and another of the game's strongest suits.

3. Super Mario Maker ; This game is one of the most expressive games I can think of in the recent past. When I play somebody's level, I feel like I'm getting to know them personally. I've gotten a "feel" for how certain GAFfers approach Mario games and the levels they like to make, even! This is the game that got me to want to do livestreaming, which is something I never really thought I'd be interested in. But the fact that this game is so expressive, so universally accessible, and so vibrant and engaging in its community really speaks wonders to how elegantly Nintendo designed the process of making a level. Beyond that, the "meta" of the game is absolutely fascinating. You tweak your levels to get more likes and attention. You do what you can to promote your level outside of the game. You look at other levels, see what's popular, and maybe try your hand at it. I love it.

4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I'm a big fan of the Witcher series, and I've loved every entry, in spite of and sometimes because of their flaws or quirks. The Witcher 3 is immediately entrancing and awe-inspiring, and it feels mature in a way that you don't see much in the AAA game space. It's not the sex and violence, it's the knowledge of when to be subtle and when to be dramatic. It's a self-assuredness that comes across in a big way.

5. Invisible, Inc. ; I've realized that although I never get super excited by Klei games before they come out, when I eventually get them I find a really solid, fun experience that I'm rarely disappointed by. Invisible, Inc. gets compared to Xcom a lot because of the tactics-based nature of it, but it has a style and flair all its own.

6. Her Story ; I like this game in theory. When I went into the game, I was really wanting a detective experience. And while I guess I technically go that, I really wish I was actually a detective in this game. I want a game where I'm a detective and all I do is get sent around to various police agencies who are stumped with their investigations and I look through their stuff and figure it out. That's not this game, but this game made me feel confident it would work and be spectacular.

7. Mini Metro ; It's so deliciously simple, the kind of game that asks for a minute but takes an hour, and you don't feel bad afterward.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; My favorite of the 3D Zeldas, and the best version of it. The only reason I'm not voting it higher is because it's not really that new.

9. Assault Android Cactus ; I don't play a lot of twin-stick shooters, so I can't compare on a genre level. I will say that this game is frenetic and exciting and I love the reload animations.

10. Emily Is Away ; Big nostalgia trip. As somebody who grew up in the days when this stuff was relevant, it immediately got me thinking of my own past and the way relationships happen and are conducted over instant message. It doesn't replicate the exact feelings, but it touches on them enough to make you remember them anyway.

 

[Ghost303]

1. Bloodborne ; Bruh this game should win on setting alone. The combat? Killed it. The Architecture? Killed it. Character design? Killed it. Soundtrack? Bodied. DLC? Straight murdered. Even the progression in this game was a lot more natural than previous souls games. I usually end up pretty overleveled but this one was a hearty challenge right to the end of my first playthrough. Then I proceed to get smacked for another 4 playthroughs over two characters. The only weak point of this game is the chalice dungeons and I think it’s because I did them in one run instead of sporadically like they were designed to be played. I had no idea what Lovecraft horror was which is weird because I’ve spent a good amount of time reading Edgar Allen Poe and had never heard of HP Lovecraft. Maybe it’s not the first game to influenced by him but it definitely did it best in terms of cohesiveness.

Slight rant incoming. Based Miyazaki might be the best in the industry at this point when it comes to delivering full and memorable experiences which is weird because FromSoft games are a constant snub in GOTY discussions by major game journalism outlets. I think Miyazaki and his team deserve some praise not for just this glorious game but the entire SoulsBorne series. They haven't put out a ‘bad’ game in over a decade. Too many great developers go unnoticed for what they bring to this industry. Not to take away from other great games but it seems like accessibility hinders these games success maybe more than it should and I don't know if that's because the community makes them seem inaccessible or an inaccurate reputation of being ‘too difficult’ is just part of the developers image now. Difficult? Sure, but impossible they are not.

This game, oh it sings to me. It's enough to make a man sick.

2. Rocket League ; This is the best, dumb idea for a game I’ve ever laid eyes on. I was playing with two of my friends a few days ago, probably played 20 matches and must’ve lost 15 of them and was still having so much fun. It’s so simple that nothing seems unfair and I’m not yelling at other players loadouts or tactics. This might be the only multiplayer online game I didn’t hate after the first 3 months.

3. Until Dawn ; Unlike a lot of ‘gamers’ I actually enjoy these types of interactive narratives. I think they’re a nice change of pace and this one for me is the cream of the crop as far as they’re concerned. So cheesy and so entertaining sums this one up.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Gameplay? God Tier. Story? Garbage. So I spent 2 months playing through MGS1-4 and watching Peace Walker in preparation for this game. I’ve owned all the Sony home consoles since PS1 and had never played a Metal Gear (blasphemous I know). Loved MGS1, 3 and 4. So you can imagine my disappointment when the unfinished pile of garbage that Konami called a story was bestowed upon me. The longer I spend away from the game the more I hate it even with its impeccable stealth mechanics. The storing of resources online is what made me quit after I finished the story. Still, gameplay wise, it might have the best stealth mechanics of all time.

5. Need for Speed ; I’m kinda mad this one made my list. I’m giving it points but only because I’m a tuner at heart and had been begging for and underground remake for years. It’s a step in the right direction for need for speed even though it is littered with issues. Always online being the big one and the lack of a manual transmission option being the next. Also why isn’t my Evo X in it but all three versions of the BRZ made it. Makes no sense. Hopefully the next one is better.

x. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters ; I didn’t see it in the eligible games spreadsheet or I would’ve listed it at 5 but I will give it a shout out anyway for being some of the most enjoyable content in Bloodborne. Spent a good 10 hours getting destroyed in it my first time though and that’s longer than some games I finished this year.

x. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege ; I like this games vision I just don’t think it was fully realized. This is a titanfall type of situation. I like the vision the developer has, it’s just going to take a sequel to fully achieve it.

x. The Order: 1886 ; This game's setting is interesting and the story wasn’t terrible but I can’t give it points because it just wasn’t long enough for what it was trying to achieve. Journey is my third favorite game of all time so sheer length isn’t its issue but it didn’t do enough in its runtime to put itself in a GOTY ranking.

x. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; I personally couldn’t get more than 3 hours into either of the first two so I’m not touching this one and I’m not sure it would be as highly praised if it didn’t have boobs in it but I can recognize it as great effort from CD Projekt Red.

x. Life is Strange ; Only just finished episode 1 so can't weight in on its overall quality yet but I'm enjoying it so far.

I spent most of my year playing Bloodborne, Rocket League, TLoU multiplayer and a ton of old games I hadn’t gotten around to. It was a good year for great game play. I previously would say I enjoy a good story like the Last of Us more that something that plays perfect but after 2015 and games like Bloodborne, MGSV, and Rocket League, I’m not so sure anymore.

 

[bonesquad]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Excellent game with a lot to gain. Not my favorite MGS, but thoroughly enjoyed the many, many hours spent sneaking around.
2. The Talos Principle ; Mind breaking puzzles with an interesting narrative. Quite different from Portal, my GOAT, but helps fill the time before Portal 3 drops

Spoiler

3. Life is Strange ; Telltale like game way better than any Telltale game. And a nice punch to the gut... more than once.
4. Until Dawn ; Most horror games are too stressful, but the idea of taking part in a slasher flick was intriguing. Turned out even better than I hoped.
5. Her Story ; Amazing how a game who's core mechanic is gaming a search engine can be so engrossing
8. Destiny: The Taken King ; Following Diablo 3's lead, launched with a solid core but poor surrounding package, and fixed in year two becoming an extremely addicting game
6. Tales from the Borderlands ; Held back by its Telltale roots, but really enjoyed the epic adventure woven within
9. Prison Architect ; Haven't got sucked into a sim game in years, so many different systems to play with
7. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Hated, HATED the tank battles, but everything else is great
10. Rare Replay ; Sad reminder of what Rare once represented, but an amazing collection of games in a cool package


I made the mistake of creating my top mobile games list first. That made it hard to include those here because I felt they already got their vote. Otherwise games like Room 3 maybe would be listed here...

 

[RoeBear]

1. Bloodborne ; Gameplay is top notch and caused me to despise a lot of Dark Souls 2. Even after beating the game numerous times it's still fun to create a new character and challenge bosses with different builds.
2. Shovel Knight ; The base game is excellent, however I never realized how much I love this game until they released the Plague knight dlc. With Plague knight it almost feels like I'm playing a Mega Man Zero game.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I don't play MGS games for story so I wasn't that upset about where everything went. The Multiplayer is great and hopefully it will continue to see support well into the future.
4. Transformers Devastation ;
5. Disgaea 5 ;

 

[RexNovis]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Excellent game with a lot to gain. Not my favorite MGS, but thoroughly enjoyed the many, many hours spent sneaking around.
2. The Talos Principle ; Mind breaking puzzles with an interesting narrative. Quite different from Portal, my GOAT, but helps fill the time before Portal 3 drops

Spoiler

3. Life is Strange ; Telltale like game way better than any Telltale game. And a nice punch to the gut... more than once.
4. Until Dawn ; Most horror games are too stressful, but the idea of taking part in a slasher flick was intriguing. Turned out even better than I hoped.
5. Her Story ; Amazing how a game who's core mechanic is gaming a search engine can be so engrossing
8. Destiny: The Taken King ; Following Diablo 3's lead, launched with a solid core but poor surrounding package, and fixed in year two becoming an extremely addicting game
6. Tales from the Borderlands ; Held back by its Telltale roots, but really enjoyed the epic adventure woven within
9. Prison Architect ; Haven't got sucked into a sim game in years, so many different systems to play with
7. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Hated, HATED the tank battles, but everything else is great
10. Rare Replay ; Sad reminder of what Rare once represented, but an amazing collection of games in a cool package


I made the mistake of creating my top mobile games list first. That made it hard to include those here because I felt they already got their vote. Otherwise games like Room 3 maybe would be listed here...

Your numbers are out of order. You need to fix it if you want your votes to count

 

[Bright-Light]

1. Rocket League ; This game is perfect. It is the most fun i have had in years. So addictive, so fun, sogood.gif.
2. Bloodborne ; Atmosphere alone makes this a great game, but then on top of that bloodborne has fantastic gameplay.
3. Her Story ; Read a gaf thread about this game, then watched a stream and still thought "what the hell is this?". Bought it, played it, loved it. It's success has me excited for what will come next from this genre.
4. Until Dawn ; Thought i was burned out on the "choose your own adventure" genre, turns out that im just burned out on telltale. Until dawn is a great game to play with an SO that doesnt game.
5. Fallout 4 ; I understand all the shit that this game gets, but for me it is still great. Atmosphere when wandering around the wasteland is tense. The world they have built is amazing.
6. Metal Gear Solid V ; Mechanics are almost perfect. Game makes me feel like a super badass.
7. Contradiction ; I love Jenks.
8. Prison Architect ; My first time playing a game of this type. Great fun.