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GAF Games of the Year 2015 - Voting Thread [LAST DAY FOR VOTING]

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wouwie

Member
Is The Talos Principle allowed (PS4 release)? The original was released in 2014 but there was an expansion pack in 2015 on pc and a "definitive edition" (game + expansion) on PS4.
 

Wensih

Member
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1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; CDPR unceremoniously abandon the intricate narrative weaves and detailed small scale environments and hubs of the previous entries in favour of huge stretches of unmemorable, unnecessarily large terrain, comically grimdark characters, a meandering plot that bastardizes the source material, and repetitive paint-by-numbers quest design built atop hideously inconsistent and poorly implement game systems. Wild Hunt shows us that people will like a game even if the combat (and everything else) is terrible, and developers will abandon a once admirable vision to the chase the ever illusive and objectively regressive "open world" money maker.

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2. Bloodborne ; Miyakazi and co underwhelm in their not-Dark Souls side title that completely fails to live up to the nuanced complexity of character builds and sprawling level design that the latter series is so well known for. Hinged entirely on a clumsy combat system that borrows heavily from the character action genre yet lacks all of its strengths and polish, Bloodborne is a frustrating sludge through erratic framerates, laggy controller response, awful hitboxes, and trial-and-error encounters that excuse poor game design as "challenge".

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3. Undertale ; Imagine a emotionally engaging classic RPG that subverts genre tropes and expectations for an entirely fresh and unique experience. Now ignore that, and in the hideous, awful GameMaker engine build a faux-RPG that relies on try-hard "muh feels" dialogue, SJW and furry pandering characters, bullet-hell twitch encounters with awful hitboxes, trial-and-error game systems you'll repeat a thousand times over, and a kitchy hipster chiptune soundtrack, all to hook the tumblr crowd and pollute the internet with pornographic fan art of goat milfs and skeletons. Now you have Undertale.

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4. Broforce ; Oh look, another meme game for the meme generation of YouTubers and manchildren doped up on marijuana, covered in cheezos, chortling at their dumb Adult Swim oh-so-wacky "adult" cartoons full of turd jokes and swears. Broforce shamelessly aims for the 80s action hero gimmick and sticks with it until the welcome is well and truly worn out. Hipster fad pixel art and incoherent "look at all these explosions" excuse for game design are the icing on the cake. Probably made by children who were born in the late 90s.

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5. Her Story ; A narrative-first interactive experience that made by a guy who clearly stopped caring about what constitutes as "interactive" the moment he put pen to paper. An hour or so worth of point/click/typing, akin to browsing a Geocities page for non-sequential MPEGs as you put together the world's most uninteresting jigsaw puzzle that doesn't even have a complete image. The only thing that'll underwhelm more than the "interaction" and story without closure is the actress who should have stuck to sport.

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6. Splatoon ; Nintendo unsurprisingly establish themselves as the masters of making baby's-first-shooter, stealing the idea from an indie Xbox game and repackaging it as their own with that typical Japanese perversion via sexualised squid children. Perfect bait for Nintenyearolds who flock to the internet to defend a total lack of launch-day content and pointless drip-feed content unlocks, lack of voice chat, and clumsy party system, all the while praising the game as refreshing in a genre they typically have zero actual experience with.

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7. Transformers: Devastation ; Platinum continue their charade as "top tier action developers" by yet again recycling entire animations and combat systems from earlier titles dating all the way back to Bayonetta, this time around hiding it behind first generation Transformers nostalgia wank that appeals most to internet virgins with their walls of collectible toys, and your father who in mid-life crisis is stuck living in a pop culture generation that has long since left him behind. Also features a bolted on loot system nobody asked for.

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8. Pillars of Eternity ; Obsidian remind us exactly why no publisher in their right mind would throw millions behind this studio to risk building an inevitably buggy, unfinished mess, while following in Double Fine's footsteps of scamming thousands of people out of hard earned money to fund their embezzlement scheme. Successor to the 90s era of isometric RPGs that ignores everything iconic the era is known for. Half arsed combat and story yet further evidence most of the crowd funding money probably went towards booze instead of actual development.

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9. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; Everything you loved about the first game gutted and replaced with garbage off-screen insta-kill enemies, snail paced stop-and-pop encounters, a convoluted try hard "muh acid trip" narrative, recycled soundtrack expanded with other tunes clearly left on the cutting room floor from the first production (and should have stayed there), busted controls, and an uninteresting cast that not only never lives up to the original's highs but retroactively ruins all it achieved. A solid reminder why you should never look forward to any sequel.

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10. Until Dawn ; Sony parade around yet another not-game movie experience that fools the world into thinking they're progressive and groundbreaking in the medium while in the same breath doing everything they can to move away from the medium's strength. Until Dawn is several hours of laughably poor horror movie writing backed by a cast of obnoxious, detestable adults-acting-as-teenager, forced quick-time-events masquerading as deep choice driven gameplay where in the end you'll always go down the same path tapping X and O exactly when the game tells you to.

Favorite descriptions so far.
 
Man, always kinda hesitant on these as I still haven't got round to playing all the big names yet. I only decided to nominate 5 games as the rest were either remasters (Final Fantasy X, Dark Souls II) or disappointments (Destiny TTK, Star Wars).

1. Bloodborne ; I'm a fan of the Souls games and Bloodborne took that experience to the next level with a system that rewards aggression rather than caution. Genuinely worried I might not enjoy Dark Souls 3 as much after playing Bloodborne. That said, Bloodborne delivered a sublime atmosphere from Gothic Horror through to Lovecraftian, Cosmic Science-Fiction. The art is amazing, the music is fantastic - and the Old Hunters only adds to what is already an unforgettable experience. After 3.5 playthroughs, it is my GOTY.
2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Fantastic Metroidvania experience, beautiful soundtrack and art style. Escaping the flooding Ginzo tree was one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I experienced in a game for a long time.
3. Final Fantasy: Record Keeper ; Perfect nostalgia trip for someone who grew up playing Final Fantasy games. Basically works like an abridged version and does FTP very fairly IMO. Has kept me playing daily since I discovered it in early September and still lots to look forward to!
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Story wasn't perfect but it has such incredible game play I can overlook it. World was genuinely engrossing, loved collecting all the 80s tapes and whilst some characters were flawed there were others like the Man on Fire which were genuinely brilliant.
5. Heroes of the Storm ; I was put off MOBAs for a long time thanks to the generally hostile environment and frustrating matchmaking. Heroes of the Storm doesn't cure those issues, but the polish and attention to detail is 10x better than the rest of the genre and as a Blizzard fan it's hard to not enjoy running around as the Lord of Terror with the likes of Illidan, Kerrigan and a murloc beside you.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
1. Yoshi's Woolly World ; One of the cutest games ever made and a fantastic new rendition of the Yoshi's Island formula. No more crying Baby, but a slightly more punishing life meter instead. The level designers really did a fantastic job, in particular on the S-levels to use the concept to the fullest and explore all kinds of level designs. Mazes, skilltests, puzzles, faster levels, slower levels. Everyone who likes platformers should certainly give this game a go.
2. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. ; I wasn't too convinced of the idea of merging both series, but the result is outstanding. The combination of Paper Mario battle commands with Mario & Luigi battle commands makes the fights more challenging and having Bowser meat Paper Bowser has enormous comical potential which was used amicably. The world design shines by combining fighting scenes with mini games, nice envorinmental puzzles and skill tests. Moreover, the pacing has been greatly improved, making for a fluid, fun experience from start to finish. My personal number 2 out of the Mario RPGs.
3. FAST Racing Neo ; Speedy racing is back. FAST Racing Neo is fast, controls well (not F-Zero level though), has great track design with only one exception over 16 courses and is reasonably challenging. I have missed this particular brand of racing games so much, that this small downloadable title manages to exclipse even Super Mario Maker.
4. Super Mario Maker ; I don't have time for my own level designs, but I can appreciate how well executed the editor is. It is easy to use and offers a sizable number of options. Sadly, the community is mainly making pos levels, but playing GAFer's levels as well as my best friends devilish, but fair level designs has been a fantastic experience. SMM will probably give me countless hours of playtime in 2016, too. The gameplay of all Mario styles is so strong that even thoughtlessly built levels still evoke some fun.
5. Ori and the Blind Forest ; It's a bit sad that you cannot revisit all areas upon finishing the game, but other than that, this is one tightly designed Metroidvania platformer. The fantastic level design and the fun repelling mechanics ensure that this is one of the best Xbox games I have ever played - and, not counting Rare Replay's best games - certainly the best Xbox One game. Kudos to thomasmahler, this is brilliant.
6. Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush ; A really nice continuation of the great Power Paintbrush gameplay, enriched by challenging challenges. Naturally nice use of the GamePad's touchscreen and fun level design.
7. Freedom Planet ; Close to a Sonic game and really fun. Had the levels been shorter and the physics been a bit improve, the game could easily have placed much higher. But even still, Freedom Planet is one of the best games of the year and I'm glad it came to Wii U.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes ; I was a bit let down by the game, because the restriction of multiplayer to three players is quite a nuisance and some areas really don't feel great when playing alone. However, the puzzl design was clever and fun and the combat focus luckily did not dominate the game.
9. Steins;Gate ; I was unsure if I could even count this as a game, because interactivity is really toned down and what is there in regards to interactivity is rather weak. However, the story is constructed with a lot of care and is just fun to read. I love Science-Fiction that is being written with attention to detail and I really like the idea of this story. Not perfectly happy with all character designs or story concepts, in particular I prefer the first half over the second half, but all in all, Steins;Gate is a good reason to own a Vita - among all the other nice visual novel style games.
10. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; I didn't like it quite as much as Unity, because I think the mission design was playing it safer and the "Batclaw" is detrimental to the climbing joy, but other than that it is a nice ploished version of the rough gem (yes, indeed, gem, imo the best AC) that was Unity.

x. Danganronpa Another Episode ; A nice and creative shooter with some fun puzzles mixed in, that tells an interesting side story of DR.
x. Rare Replay ; As it is my policy to not include remakes and ports in a best list, if I can come up with 10 worthy new releases, Rare Replay must be down here, but a compilation of 30 games from Rare's past, among them one of the best games ever made - and the best game I played this year - Banjo-Kazooie for 30€ is really making this hard. Let's just say I played through Banjo-Kazooie twice in a row and had a hard time mustering up the strenght not to go for a third time in a row. Still did Mumbo's Mountain before I could stop myself.
x. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; Careful portable Remake of the (imo) second best Zelda game. Replaying MM was more fun than playing TFH for the first time, which is a really strong point to make for a Zelda game, considering Zelda games always lose something on replays due to knowing the solutions of many puzzles still.
x. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ; Yes, another remake that would otherwise have had a great chance of placing in the top ten. This is the best version of Sonic 2, which is not only my first game I've ever played, but also one of the best ever made. I greatly appreciate the love that went into creating this great version and for now this is the version I will always play - over the Mega Drive original even. To think I have played through it six times this year already...
x. Life is Strange ; Finally, I name Life is Strange, which improved a lot on the Telltale formular and has a great characterisation of the main character Max, howver the support character Chloe is one of the damnest brats ever. Disregarding this, the story itself was weak. The inconsistent time travelling mechanics were never properly explained and many things seemed to happen out of the blue just because it is "cool". The character interaction and direction of situational scenes was outstanding though, so overall, I'm happy I played the game, though there is a lot of room for improvement.
 
Is The Talos Principle allowed (PS4 release)? The original was released in 2014 but there was an expansion pack in 2015 on pc and a "definitive edition" (game + expansion) on PS4.

Yeah.

From the OP:

Playable content released this year is eligible. This includes new games, remasters, ports, and so on.

Edit: The Talos Principle is one of those games that might actually get on my list by the looks of it, but I haven't had the change to play it yet.
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Is The Talos Principle allowed (PS4 release)? The original was released in 2014 but there was an expansion pack in 2015 on pc and a "definitive edition" (game + expansion) on PS4.

The definitive edition is new playable content, so if you explicitly vote for this, it should count.

WTF BTW @ the guy insulting GAF for the unlikely case Bloodborne does not win this vote on the first page.
 
I wish I was as cool as Earthpainting that I could punish the Witcher for stringing the player along endlessly, but I haven't played an additional four games that were genuinely better in order to be able to push it out of the list.
You don't need to go there to be cool, mang. You're actually reading people's posts, which puts you ahead of most folk in these threads.

2. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. ; I wasn't too convinced of the idea of merging both series, but the result is outstanding. The combination of Paper Mario battle commands with Mario & Luigi battle commands makes the fights more challenging and having Bowser meat Paper Bowser has enormous comical potential which was used amicably. The world design shines by combining fighting scenes with mini games, nice envorinmental puzzles and skill tests. Moreover, the pacing has been greatly improved, making for a fluid, fun experience from start to finish. My personal number 2 out of the Mario RPGs.
I wasn't expecting to see this on anyone's list given by its lukewarm reception. Maybe I ought to check it out after all. I usually like Mario RPGs, but the other 3DS entries made me want to skip this one. How wordy would you say Paper Jam is?
 
It seems that my backlog has prevented me from playing any title released in 2015. Expect one.

1. Posting Simulator 2016 ; Believe the hype! Seriously, it is one of the most realistic simulation games that I have played in my entire life. And the AI is great, does not feel like computer-controlled at all, but life-like.

 
1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; 94 hours in and counting. I absolutely love it. One of the finest RPGs (J- or W-) I've ever played. It improves the original for the most part (I still like the music and story better in Xenoblade, but this has more options, a bigger world and much better sidequests).
2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; A charming little game that is not little at all. Glorious artstyle and pixel-perfect gameplay.
3. Splatoon ; Finally Nintendo makes another big IP oriented to a similar market than Mario Kart and Smash Bros. Splatoon doesn't have familiar faces, but delivers thanks to well-thought mechanics and constant DLC for free.
 
It seems that my backlog has prevented me from playing any title released in 2015. Expect one.

1. Posting Simulator 2016 ; Believe the hype! Seriously, it is one of the most realistic simulation games that I have played in my entire life. And the AI is great, does not feel like computer-controlled at all, but life-like.

Nah. GAF Gold is pay to win.
 
1. Wolfenstein - The old Blood ; actually the only 2015 game I played so far...

Honorable mention:
x. Posting Simulator 2016 ; Absolutey love it, although it's pay 2 win.

Oh, and happy Birthday, Fritz!
 
The parser should take all the votes, I think at the end of it, he will manually add up the votes of "The Witcher 3" and "The Witcher III" into a single category, and the same with the most obvious cases.

I should hope so.

Can't imagine the OP will be pleased with the extra work though, albeit a small one.
 

Krigaren

Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Just GOTY.
2. Bloodborne ;
3. Xenoblade Chronicles X ;
4. Fallout 4 ;
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ;
 

raven777

Member
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I know people hate this about the story but I just loved the gameplay so much. The best I have ever played in terms of pure gameplay. I didn't hate the story or character as much as others ( although I was disappointed with it)

2. Bloodborne ; Never finshed any Souls game until this one but I managed to go through until the end. One of the best action RPG combat I had with such amazing weapons and enemies. The Old Hunters DLC made the game even better.

3. Yakuza 5 ; I haven't finished it yet but I played far enough to give this game 3rd place. The visuals are outdated due to being on PS3 and animations are still bad, but the game is so satisfying in many ways. The characters, story, combat, traversing real cities, amazing mini-games, etc. It's amazing package.
 
1. Life is Strange ; One of the few western games that managed to pull me in with its story. The characters, soundtrack and artstyle are great, and I love the way Life is Strange showcases modern high school life.
2. Splatoon ; As someone who’s not a fan of shooters at all, Splatoon surprised me with its fun, fast paced gameplay and unique multiplayer modes. Tower control especialle is one of the most fun multiplayer modes I’ve ever played. The single player is an awesome combination of platforming and Splatoon’s trademark shooting and squid transformation mechanics, and it works out amazingly well.
3. Freedom Planet ; A side scrolling platformer clearly inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog, yet filled with its own character and style. The platforming mechanics are solid, making the fast paced gameplay very enjoyable. Soundtrack is great too.
4. Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls ; The first spin-off of the amazing Danganronpa series shows the world outside of Hope’s Peak Academy and Jabberwock Island for the first time, and it’s filled with despair. The story, while not as good as the previous games, is unique and shines a new light on the events of Danganronpa 2. Character interactions are great, and the amazing voice acting only helps making it more enjoyable.
5. Sonic Runners ; Never thought I’d ever vote for a mobile game, but here we are. Runners is a side scrolling infinite runner with many elements from classic and modern Sonic games, like badniks, boost rings, multiple pathways and Wisps. The simple controls make it easy to get into, but the gameplay is so much fun it’ll be hard to put down. This being a Sonic game, the soundtrack is amazing as well.
6. Persona 4: Dancing All Night ; Persona 4 has awesome music, so a rhythm game is only natural, right? Filled with remixes and even a 20+ hour story mode that’s decent enough, P4D is a great rhythm game for fans of P4. The mechanics are not perfect, but the great soundtrack makes it still a very enjoyable experience.
7. Yoshi’s Woolly World ;
8. Guitar Hero Live ;
9. Super Mario Maker ;
10. Affordable Space Adventures ;
 

Kurtofan

Member
1. Undertale ; The surprise of the year, really moving games with great dialogue, great humor and really inventive gameplay.
2. Bloodborne ; From software at its best, the monster design, the level design, the atmosphere...everything is top notch, the dlc is great as well.
3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Really expensive open world game, with tons of good written characters, the side quests are well written and numerous.
4. Splatoon ; Don't have the time to play as much as I'd like to, but I have a blast everytime.
5. Pillars of Eternity ; Great RPG, good characters, great worldbuilding, a ton of things to do, minor default: the stronghold.
6. Batman:Arkham Knight ; It's the fourth game in the series but it's still as enjoyable as ever.
7. Tales From the Borderlands ; Just amazing characters and hilarious situations galore.
8. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; Another great Shadowrun campaign, good characters.
9. Life is Strange ; Really interesting and original episodic adventure game.
10. Until Dawn ; I don't usually play scary games like that, but I heard a lot of good things about this and I don't regret it at all!
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
I wasn't expecting to see this on anyone's list given by its lukewarm reception. Maybe I ought to check it out after all. I usually like Mario RPGs, but the other 3DS entries made me want to skip this one. How wordy would you say Paper Jam is?
Paper Jam is not wordy. All thos lengthy tutorials are completely optional and what is there in terms of words is funny conversation.
 

Kyonashi

Member
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1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Well, you certainly kept us waiting, Snake (and Kojima). From the original reveal trailer at the 2012(!!) VGAs, we knew this wasn't going to be your typical game. Fiery dream whales, #teamcg, "Ground Zeroes is a paid demo", Chico is Quiet... I'm glad I was with you all through the literally insane discussion during the wait.
But it finally arrived, and by god is it the greatest stealth game ever made, and I'd go so far as to say best open-world game ever. Yes we expected more from the story, yes there were disappointing elements (
Chapter 3 when
) and yes MGO was sent out to die. But no-one makes games like Kojima. And this is one of the most enjoyable, expansive, interactive experimental and granular sandboxes I've ever had the pleasure of sneaking around inside a cardboard box. Also the fulton sound effect = best sfx in gaming ever? Yes.
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2. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward ; The hype surrounding this expansion was enough to drag me into this game in a way no MMO ever has. Having played 20 or so hours in the beta of ARR, and then not bothering to subscribe for time/money reasons, I caught the bug this summer, most likely due to the fact I was unemployed and had the time to be able to play as much as I wanted to. And oh boy, did I. But what I found was an incredibly charming and satisfying game full of rich lore, wonderful characters, incredibly entertaining content, and heartfelt little nods to the history of the franchise. Incredibly recommended to any RPG fan, even if you don't necessarily like MMOs.
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3. Splatoon ; Why don't we have more game companies like Nintendo? Absolutely genius game design and the best original characters Nintendo has created since Chibi-Robo. This game is an absolute joy to play and I picked it up for £25 off Amazon, which makes the free DLC support that much sweeter. It's like Nintendo just made the purest online shooter they could, free from violence and microtransactions and bullshit corporate practice. It's fun, colourful, and absolutely fresh.
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4. Undertale ; Just finished this last night (6th Jan) and had to edit it in. Really engaging and well-made indie title which combats a ton of the RPG battle fatigue by mixing up systems, including bullet hell, dialogue choice and mini-game variety. Plus plays with the systems of what 'games' are in a really interesting way. If you've played this you'll understand what I mean when I say I never want to play it ever again.
True Pacifist ending ftw
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5. The Beginner's Guide ; I don't want to comment on this game. If you're at all interested, or you played The Stanley Parable, buy and play this. That's all I'll say.
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6. Rocket League ; Rocket League feels like a cousin to Splatoon in a way, paring down all the unnecessary elements until you're left with something tight, infinitely replayable, and hella competitive without ever feeling unfair. Psyonix have done a great job with supporting this game
(DELOREAN!!)
and releasing it through PS+ was a stroke of genius.
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7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; Something I'd wanted ever since the Ocarina of Time 3D port finally packaged the game in a way that was available to me. I acquired my N64 very late in the game and never played through either of these titles, though I'd tried and given up with emulators in the past. This was a Day 1 buy for me, and although I'm not sure I enjoyed it *quite* as much as I would have liked, I adored the darker themes, mask personas, and overall feel of this game. It has a twist of Lynch about it, and I'd love to see another entry explore some of the weirder elements of this black sheep of the Zelda series.
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8. Downwell ; I'd go so far as to say this is the best game I have ever played on my phone. The difficulty curve is perfect, the unlocks are spaced close enough together to keep you hooked and the palettes are an absolute joy to discover. It totally nails the 'just one more go' gameplay in this neat little package that feels completely trimmed of fat. At this price, I'd encourage every single one of you to buy it.
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9. Guitar Hero Live ; This shouldn't really have worked, should it? FMV Guitar Hero with a Spotify-like TV channel where you don't get to choose the music you play could have gone so, so wrong, but FreeStyle Games understood what made the franchise a great party game and they freakin' ran with it. A full reimagining which succeeds on almost every level (calibration needs a bit of work, imo). If only the existence of this game didn't make me sad to think what would have happened if Activision had given the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise to a competent developer with as much love for the series...
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10. Fallout 4 ; Welp, it's definitely Fallout. Not so much a fan of the forced backstory for your character (what's with that male-only voiceover at the beginning??) but this wasteland is definitely incredible to lose yourself in. And the crafting/junk mechanics are the best addition the series could have asked for. I levelled up to 10 barely killing anything, just building my treehouse mega-fort. That was awesome.

Honorable Mentions
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x. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ; If only more games were set in locations we've never explored in games before. Shropshire is incredibly well realised in this haunting sci-fi tale, which misses a couple notes in my opinion, but tells an interesting story whilst incorporating new elements for The Chinese Room's experiments. Some of the best ever voice acting and music in these kind of narrative games too.
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x. Bloodborne ; I know this is going to be lower on my list than a lot of people's, but I just haven't played enough of this game to rate it any higher. The only Souls game I've completed is Dark Souls, and honestly I just don't have the time or inclination to complete any of the others until DSIII rolls around, 'cause the beta was the tits and it looks like the definitive package. The Lovecraftian aesthetic of Bloodborne was rad though, and hopefully I can get back to the copy that's floating around my housemates at some point.
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x. Action Henk ; More pure, fun gameplay. Completely fluid and a joy to play.
DISCLAIMER: I met the main devs for this title at a convention and we're friends/acquaintances now. But I honestly believe this title is well worth your time. And it's good to know the people behind it are lovely dudes too!
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x. The Order: 1886 ; Suffers a bit from Bioshock Infinite syndrome in that it wants to tell a well-written and engaging narrative but stuffs itself full of gunplay. One step forward, two steps back. But it is UTTERLY gorgeous, and I can't say I didn't enjoy playing it as one of my first truly new-gen-feel experiences. Hope it gets a sequel to see where they take the franchise.
 

Tiops

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Best Souls game. They managed to make the gameplay even better.
2. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward ; Great expansion for my favorite MMO ever. Can't stop playing.
3. Pillars of Eternity ; The game shows you what great writing really is.
4. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; Still the best remake ever. And the best Resident Evil.
5. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth ; Infinite replayability.
6. Undertale ; Interesting take on the RPG genre. Awesome characters.
7. Heroes of the Storm ; First MOBA that I played for more than 1 hour.
 

Duffman

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Chalice Dungeons suck but otherwise this game is a damn fine masterpiece. The combat in Bloodborne is just so good.
2. Kerbal Space Program ; The feeling when you have finally succesfully landed on the Moon is something that no other game can give you
3. Metal Gear Solid V ; The story and characters are bad, it is unfinished and the open world areas feel lifeless and empty. And somehow it is still top 3 game I played this year because the controls and gameplay are spot on and it is just so much fun to fulton random enemies and steal those massive resource containers from enemy bases
4. Rocket League ; PS+ was worth it this year for this game alone. Most fun I have had with a sports game since PS2 era.
5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Probably my favorite Arkham game. Batmobile was a great addition in my opinion.
 

8bit

Knows the Score
Will probably need some fixing later....

1. Yakuza 5 ; I am so happy this was released, thought it was never going to find it's way to the west yet it seems the delay might actually have piqued further interest.
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; A great game that will probably be overlooked by most due to their familial blood feuds with Microsoft.
3. Lego Dimensions ; lovingly crafted with appearances from some of my favourite things.
4. Splatoon ; A deep co-operative shooter with a surprising look and feel.
5. Lara Croft GO ; Possibly the most enjoyable mobile title I've played, both clever and tricky.
6. Star Wars Battlefront ; Shallow, but there's been little I've found as fun as chasing the Millennium Falcon to destruction in a TIE Fighter.
7. Elite Dangerous ; It's Elite on my telly in 2015.
8. Alphabear ; This has actually taken most of time especially in transit, short fun word puzzle stuff but with a sometime questionable mechanic for advancing.
9. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved ; Have played this one quite a lot on Vita, wasn't really a fan of the first but this brings objectives to the game and makes it into something a bit more enjoyable.
10. The Beginners Guide ; A short sketch of a game which unravels itself through progress, a well told tale and managed to be controversial and sometimes offensive depending on your reading of it. Please don't refund it after you're done with it.


Not sure there's anything else I'd mention, some significant disappointments this year.
 

Nyrad

Member
1. The Witcher 3 ; I never got into Geralts previous adventures but "The Wild Hunt" convinced me with its gorgeous open world and numerous well written side quests. The only flaw for me was the fighting system which brings me to my number 2

2. Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain ; I love the freedom in tackling all the different objectives. Even though the story fell flat it's the best playing game in the series by a long shot and nearly on par with Witcher 3 for me

3. 80 Days (PC) ; I can't believe a (once) mobile game is in my Top 3 but 80 Days was a wonderful experience from start to finish. I finished it multiple times and still want to see more of it.

4. Undertale ; Completed it a few days ago and still thinking about it. Oozes charm and has many great ideas but first and foremost its just really, really funny :)
 

roytheone

Member
So you have to write it exactly like in the spreadsheet?

The Witcher 3 or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt won't count? That can't be right. I think only if the title is abbreviated e.g. TW3 or MGS5 it won't.

TW3 and MGS5 would probably lose more than half of their votes if that's the case.

Officially, yeah. But I think if the automatic counting tool gives something like 100 votes for witcher III and 30 votes for witcher 3, I would think they will still count that as 130 votes. A single vote for "the snitcher 3" will probably be discarded though.
 

ecierif

Member
1. Bloodborne ; I was sometimes overly reliant on magic in the Souls games and was a bit intimidated by this being melee-focused. Turns out melee is really fun, especially with the faster pace. I may prefer the sprawling worlds of Souls, but feel that BB makes a case for quality over quantity with its focused world, versatile weapons, increasingly strange horror aesthetics and, possibly, my favorite combat of the Souls-like games.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I like the creativity that is encouraged. I don't like much of the BS that gets in the way of the game or repeatedly managing Mother Base. Sometimes it feels great to play, other times I'm left shaking my head. I'd like a more focused MGS VI that pairs the expanded options with tighter, smaller-scale, possibly linear level design, like a series of Ground Zeroes-like bases.

3. Batman: Arkham Knight ; There is more Batmobile and repetitive side content than I expected. I don't know if it is the best direction to take the series but at least it feels like a novel addition.

4. Until Dawn ; I think Heavy Rain remains my favorite interactive drama (even though, or perhaps because, it sometimes feels like an unintentional B-movie), but I like that this doesn't take itself so seriously and has an enjoyable bunch of characters.

x. Mortal Kombat X ; The new characters and variations are cool.

I didn't play much because I have no current gen systems, but I briefly had access to relatives'. I can imagine Axiom Verge, Ori and the Blind Forest, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Tomb Raider and Fallout 4 or Witcher 3 filling out the rest of the top 10 if I had played them.
 

iNvid02

Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A gem of a game. I’m not enough of a wordsmith to sufficiently extol the virtues of this game, and that’s probably going to be done much better throughout this thread anyway, so instead I’ll point out something that I think is worth remembering. You’ll notice there is a gap below, this is because right now CD Projekt Red are simply a cut above the rest - if you’re releasing your AAA game DRM free, without alternate forms of monetisation even being a conversation point, rewarding pre-orders with copies of prior games, high quality soundtrack, videos, artwork, & comics, crediting customers for regional price differences, giving away numerous DLC, providing post release support to the tune of 11 patches in 5 months, offering paid content that sometimes exceeds the quality of the main game, on top of creating not only one of the best RPGs of all time, but arguably one of the best games of all time, you deserve to be acknowledged with a gap at the very least.

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2. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Can't talk about this game without first mentioning the state the PC version launched and remained in for months, it was kinda despicable. With that said, their first major update in September solved most of the issues I had, and coupled with enough RAM, and running the game off an SSD, I was able to finish it without any paging problems. I’m glad I did, because it ended up being one of my favourites this year. I appreciated how they managed to weave the batmobile mechanic into almost every facet of the game, traversal with that thing managed to remain fun throughout, although the tank battles wore me down in the end, dragging the whole experience down a peg which was a shame. The side missions were fine, I got through most of them because of the small narrative bites they provided, but the more "checkboxy" ones were left alone. Speaking of the narrative, it was one of the things I enjoyed most about this game. The mystery of the Knight's identity compelled me to really push on with the story (I had an idea who it was, but their purposeful twist worked and threw me off again). Voice acting and visual storytelling was excellent (Hamil nailing it once more). It certainly had its flaws, but none were enough to take away from the story beats, most of the core gameplay, and the general experience of being the Batman.

3. Fallout 4 ; What can I say love Bethesda's games, and this is another one of those.

4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; The tick-tock cycle for this series is quite apparent at this point, Syndicate joins Black Flag with a smaller marketing budget, a more lighthearted tone, refining and improving upon its predecessor while throwing in a couple of new things here and there (even if some are sort of borrowed from past games). This is in contrast to AC III and Unity, ambitious titles (in the context of the series) both gameplay wise and technically with huge marketing campaigns like RISE and UNITE. I've generally preferred the latter type of games because they most felt like the series was progressing/changing things up even if they were marred by technical issues, but I like Syndicate a great deal, it refines a lot (minor changes like dividing the map into sections and not showing chests/additional collectibles until the map is zoomed in a certain amount to avoid overwhelming you go a long way), it also brings back the kidnap guard feature to offer additional stealth options as well as the conquer/upgrade mechanic. It really is similar to Black Flag where it just prioritizes having fun above all else.

5. Life is Strange ; Dontnod have made 2 games so far in Life is Strange and Remember Me, both have been a little rough around the edges and fell short of being truly memorable for me, but they were still enjoyable with their interesting premise, setting, or characters, and a great music selection/score. I felt I chose the right ending here, so didn't feel betrayed when Life is Strange was over, but still, it’s all about the journey rather than the destination with this game. If you like adventure games then I’d recommend Life is Strange, it’s the genre’s standout title in a year where Telltale had 2 different seasons going on.

6. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; A charming, humorous romp with some great characters and just the right balance of drama - it's Telltale's best series to date, and a reminder that games can actually do comedy right as well.

7. Just Cause 3 ; Fun. It seems like people were expecting more from this over JC2, but personally a new sandbox to mess around is enough for me with a Just Cause game.

8. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ; Visually and aurally stunning, turned out to be just the palate cleanser I needed, although I wish I waited to play it on PC now that the Steam release has been apparently leaked

9. Fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy Remastered ; Probably the best comedic game I've ever played

10. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I like my narratives in video games, so this was a bitter disappointment in that regard. It felt incomplete with odd pacing, and silent snake wasn’t great. Moving away from the story, the timers on base development were annoying, mission deployment with the chopper each time to mask loading time? was repetitive and became irritating, the environments were drab and static and the open world generally felt dead, the game's crossgen roots no doubt exacerbated the issue. However, the core gameplay was fantastic, and while it couldn't redeem the entire thing for me, it offered a lot of opportunities with emergent gameplay, I was able to create my own stories, and get enough enjoyment out of that part of it to put it on this list, which should give you an idea of just how satisfying its mechanics are - it's one hell of a stealth action game, just not a great Metal Gear.

x. Game of Thrones: Episodes 2-5 ;
x. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China ;
x. Grand Theft Auto V ; Had a great time revisiting Los Santos on PC and really digging into the side missions, optional activities and screwing around with mods. Some time was spent just cruising around and admiring this world they created, something I just couldn't do on PS3 - its a stellar PC port. Replaying heists and online missions was super fun too, although the lack of new and meaningful single or multiplayer content has been disappointing, if they had introduced some new story or mission DLC this year I would have had to put this in the top ten for a second time.



until next time
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AHA-Lambda

Member
1. Life is Strange ; Definitely the game I adored most this year, having eagerly anticipated each episode in turn, and one where I found little to no fault that bothered me. A wonderful story that is like a coming of age indie movie in episodic game form, with a diverse cast of characters you can't help but empathise with, and a story that tackles some heavy themes for video games without totally fumbling the ball including family strife, depression, sexuality, suicide, and euthanasia.

2. The Witcher 3 ; Late entry here! I played through the first 2 games before this recently and tbh, wasn't seeing the fuss much. But I'm glad I stuck with them as if nothing else they introduced me to the lore of this world, and I feel I'd much less appreciate this game without them. This game shows CDPR really coming into its own, in a game of massive scale and streamlining some of the previous entries more rough edges. The story, characters, writing and worldbuilding are just splendid, even if I'm one of those that isn't much of a fan of the combat system. Most impressive is that CDPR created a massive game world and yet the amount of filler questing is kept to a minimal; this game will keep you hooked in that addictive way that only good open world games can provide. The bar has been raised for open world games from here on out.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Simply the most expansive stealth open world sandbox we've ever seen. Yes, it can get very repetitive in places but the moment to moment gameplay is so damn good! You are given the tools to take down any task in almost anyway you see fit, echoing a stealthy Just Cause. Admittedly yes the story is hot shite and unfinished, but no game had me more addicted (50 hours+ in 5 days) this year.

4. Contradiction ; A very late entry to my top 10 here, having only finished this yesterday! Loved this, a well paced murder mystery that hooked me to the end, with a cast of characters that are just so engaging to watch, with many trying to out-ham each other and it's glorious. Imagine if Deadly Premonition was set in country England and was a 90s FMV game.
Fortunately, the puzzles aren't downright terrible as per the era either, with plenty of hints and help systems to guide you along, which helped me greatly as I'm terrible at these kinds of games.

5. Undertale ; A nice surprise here. A very novel RPG with some genuine laughs, deep choice making and storytelling, and a unique combat system. You won't play anything else like it this year.

6. The Beginner's Guide ; A very interesting one, that I dare not describe too much for fear of spoilers, but if Stanley Parable was a commentary on game design and player agency, then this is a commentary on games development and the relationship devs have with fans. It's a game that kept me thinking long after completing, and one I couldn't not put in this list.

7. Bloodborne ; More Souls always makes me happy, and with some new combat mechanics and aesthetic stylings to keep it a bit fresh.

8. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Simply more Batman, and that for me was enough, even if it is creaking a bit nowadays (and the DLC has been all hot garbage). it provided an engaging story with some good twists, more of the gameplay its known for, plus the Batmobile to spice up the variety (sue me, I liked the batmobile!).

9. Hotline Miami 2 ; More Hotline Miami, if albeit a little more worse for wear due to some really unfairly designed levels, but man that soundtrack! Once again, that soundtrack combined with the amazing 80s pixel neon aesthetic, and fast paced ultraviolence just elevates this game to more than the sum of its parts.

10. Broforce ; Like Contra, but if it were a parody of the popular culture of action movies, with destructible environments, and lots of explosives. The destructible environments with the explosives, plus each "bro's" unique move set provides a tonne of ways to tackle each level, and with each level being so short along with the bro unlock system its great for quick bursts or long play sessions.

x. Until Dawn
x. Ronin
x. Titan Souls
x. Zombi
x. Ori and the Blind Forest
x. Resident Evil HD Remaster
x. Shadowrun: Hong Kong

EDIT: K, now I have played the witcher 3! :p So i've edited the list accordingly
 

Anticol

Banned
1. Bloodborne; What can I say, FROM Soft did it again.
2. The Witcher 3; Just finished it a week ago, spent a lot of hours in it and it was totally worth it.
3. Mad Max; A lot of people dismissed it, but I thought it was a pretty solid game.
4. Until Dawn; wasn't expecting it at all but was amazing.
 

Jameson

Member
1. Life is Strange ; The feels.
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; IMO best gameplay from an AAA game this year.
3. Tales of the Borderlands ; Big Broderlands fan, story was great, cast was insane.
4. Rocket League ; I had so many great nights playing with my friends.
5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; So many great moments for any batman fan.
 
1. Fallout 4 ; In a year filled with great games, Bethesda's latest outing still manages to take home my absolute favor. No game does exploration, discovery and general randomness better than a Bethesda game, and Fallout 4 delivers that in spades. The studio still sorely needs a few new writers, but their vision of post-apocalyptic retro-futuristic Boston is one that no other game in 2015 has managed to top.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; The last adventure of Geralt of Rivia succeeds at pretty much everywhere Fallout 4 stumbles. It's an impressively written, graphically jaw-dropping game that paints a bleak but beautiful picture of a world filled with monsters. Its inventory and menu design is one of the worst to ever grace an AAA RPG, but even that can't dampen the fun of stepping into Geralt or Rivia's leather boots and fighting, ploughing and Gwent-ing your way through Temeria, Nilfgaard and Skellige.

3. Tales from the Borderlands ; Telltale's never-ending stream of content has left me quite burnt out on the Telltale Games-formula, but Tales from the Borderlands rose above that to secure a place on my Game of the Year-list. Superficially, it suffers from all the same flaws every Telltale game has ever suffered from: a glitchy engine, underwhelming graphics and little to no actual gameplay. What Tales from the Borderlands does have, however, is incredibly sharp writing, a fantastic storyline, some incredibly memorable setpieces, likeable characters with excellent voice-acting and a healthy dose of humor. Tales from the Borderlands may not be the best game of 2015, but it's most certainly the funniest.

4. Halo 5: Guardians ; 343 Industries finally made a good Halo campaign. Its story received a lot of flak, but I honestly found it to be simple, effective and quite refreshing. A new wind is blowing through the Halo universe and I am quite excited to see where it goes next. On the other hand, the game's multiplayer, while fun, lacks the variation required to keep me interested for a long period of time. It'll be interesting to see how 343 handles the game over the coming year, and beyond.

5. Destiny: The Taken King ; Destiny has always been a controversial title and that hasn't changed over the past year. What has changed, however, is the sheer content the game now offers. Destiny: The Taken King is everything Destiny should have been on the day it released. It's a full-fledged game with plenty of PvP and PvE activities, and many ways to fuck around with your friends. Bungie's handling of the game continues to be frustrating bordering on the incompetent, but with The Taken King they've at least proven they still know what makes a good game tick.

6. Ori and the Blind Forest ; I never beat Ori and the Blind Forest. I adored the game's gameplay, its looks and its music, but I never beat it. The game looks like a happy romp through a child-like fantasy forest, but hidden underneath the surface lies an incredibly tough experience often bordering on the frustrating. Nevertheless, it is quite worthy of a spot on any Game of the Year list.

7. Rare Replay ; In terms of value, little beats this Microsoft-published collection of classic Rare games. 30 Games for 30 euros makes it probably the best deal of the year.

8. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition ; The remaster of the original Gears of War comes at an opportune time. The Coalition wisely decided not to remaster the entire series, instead offering the rest of the games for free with the Xbox One's new backwards compatibility. As a result, the Ultimate Edition of the game is a fine-looking, polished remake that plays almost exactly like the original. Combined with the other 4 games it comes with, that makes it one hell of a deal.

9. Forza Motorsport 6 ; I'm not much of a racing fan, but Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 6 plays pretty damn good. What I liked most about the game, however, were the new weather effects. Putting on some music, stepping into your car and driving around the Nürburging during heavy rain is one of my most vivid gaming memories this year.
 

Arion

Member
1. Bloodborne ; A megalomania of horror and action, Bloodborne is a masterpiece of design and creativity. It demands the utmost engagement from it's players. A moment of hesitation or fault will spell doom. All done not for punishment but to pull the player deeper into it's world and madness. There is an allure about the game unlike anything else. Every aspect of the game, visuals, music, lore and gameplay, serves this purpose. The deeper you delve into the game the harder it is to withdraw. Before long panic sets in as you realize there is no escape. You have been caught as the game forever etches itself into your psyche.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Kojima has delivered a true sandbox experience. A vast array of abilities and tools are granted to the player as they are set loose on the battlefield. Every objective can be approached with total creativity. You are in control and in the best possible way. There is something to be said about the feel of controls in this game. The connection between player and Snake is fluid; He is a seamless extension of the player. Very few games achieve this and those who do can be felt at the very bones. This feeling is unseeable and inaudible yet it is felt by everyone. There is craftsmanship to video game controls and Kojima Productions has delivered that with absolute mastery.

3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The Northern Realms is an open world with the vastness of an ocean and the depth of one too. It is steeped in history, culture and folklore. The world has been filled with memorable remarkable characters all with murky grey morality. Along with them, as Geralt, you play a part of this giant fantasy epic. Myth and reality collide as the line between man and monster are blurred. The narrative is meaningfully mature, poignant and far above ordinary video game stories. The dialogue, player choice and quests are all designed with such attention and sophistication. The performance of the actors also deserve special mention. CD Project Red has certainly raised the standards on many fronts.

4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; This game took 250 hours of my life and crippled my hand and I still love it. Why? Perhaps it's the mountainous amount of content. Or perhaps it's high level of quality despite the quantity. It might also be the infectious charisma that drapes every aspect of the game. Not just the NPC with their quirky dialogue but the monsters too in all their drooling gruesome glory. From rubbing you tummy after a hearty meal to pulling a of a devastating ultra combo with the charge blade, all the animations are top notch. Nevertheless, my love for this game is due to it's tight addictive gameplay loop. Hunt monsters, gather materials, craft gear, hunt bigger monster and repeat. Combined with deep combat mechanics and reiterated to perfection, MH4U is a fantastic titular experience.

5. Rocket League ; Rocket powered cars playing football is a simple concept yet it is fashionably executed. A beautiful game.

6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; A very solid game. All the parts are very well made and the sum of it is exactly that. I was skeptical about the batmobile at first but it is actually a great addition to Batman's arsenal. Above all this is great way to end the Arkham trilogy.

7. Axiom Verge ; A Super Metroid clone but not quite. AV does enough to distinguish it self. The pixel art is fantastic and the gameplay is engaging. Add in a dash of subverted expectations and you have a great game.

8. Undertale ; A highly charming and charismatic game. Lots of great characters, good humor, catchy music and a meaningful story. The game encourages a pacifist play style by making it's characters far too lovable to kill. The fourth wall is seldom broken but it does not feel forced as it is integral to the story it is trying to tell. Toby Fox deliberates on the powers of saving and resetting a game that the player possesses. It made me consider how fragile a world within a game is and how much control we, the players, have over them.

9. Destiny: The Taken King ; This was my comfort blanket game. It's fun to just jump in do some dailies, run a strike and a few crucible matches.

10. Hacknet ; It's like Hotline Miami but with hacking.
 
I'm gonna have to have a good think and come back to this later. I honestly haven't played a lot of new disc releases this year so I'll have to look through my trophies and see what I played.

Question: does Final Fantasy VII PS4 count? Not that I have played much of it yet, but I'll hopefully play more before the end of the year. EDIT - it's not on the spreadsheet linked in the OP, so I guess not.
 

Anarkin

Member
1. The Witcher III - I never got into Geralts previous adventures but "The Wild Hunt" convinced me with its gorgeous open world and numerous well written side quests. The only flaw for me was the fighting system which brings me to my number 2

2. Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain - I love the freedom in tackling all the different objectives. Even though the story fell flat it's the best playing game in the series by a long shot and nearly on par with Witcher 3 for me

3. 80 Days (PC) - I can't believe a (once) mobile game is in my Top 3 but 80 Days was a wonderful experience from start to finish. I finished it multiple times and still want to see more of it.

4. Undertale - Completed it a few days ago and still thinking about it. Oozes charm and has many great ideas but first and foremost its just really, really funny :)

Comments on games must begin on the same line as the game title itself, following a semicolon (;) Not a hyphen. Not a dash. Not a slash. Not a space. Not a period. A semicolon.

;)

Officially, yeah. But I think if the automatic counting tool gives something like 100 votes for witcher III and 30 votes for witcher 3, I would think they will still count that as 130 votes. A single vote for "the snitcher 3" will probably be discarded though.

I hope you're right or else it might not even make the top 10.
 

spineduke

Unconfirmed Member
1. Nuclear Throne ; Vlambeer's newest and greatest creation yet. Fight your way through the wastelands with a dizzying array of weaponry and mutant perks. No story, no fluff - just pure arcade bliss.
2. Invisible Inc. ; Klei's output has been getting better with every release. Turn based stealth roguelike that noone else has been able to do right. God damn did they do it right.
3. Grow Home ; Technically a little on the fragile side, content-wise very light, but Ubi have created something special here. A beautiful aesthetic, a wonderful sliver of a world to explore and some charming mechanics to navigate with. A surprising gem considering the lack of 3d platformers we have today.
4. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Shockingly well executed, and it blitzed us out of nowhere. My go-to showcase when I want to demo how solid indie games can be to the newcomers to the scene.
5. Cities: Skylines ; The SimCity game we all deserved - does everything right. Everything.
6. Crypt of the NecroDancer ; Great concept and execution - it's identity lies with the music, and the music is what brings out the meat of it's gameplay. If you love Danny Baranowsky, you can add +1 to this.
7. Life is Strange ; A game that isn't all that mechanically interesting, but the story it brings really sets it apart from most titles I've played this year. Charming and human, something worth visiting at least once. More videogame stories of this caliber please! Thank you Don't Nod.
8. Downwell ; I'm a sucker for mechanically solid and simple concepts. Tumble down a well while chaining up combos with your gunboots. There's a certain zen to be achieved through mastering it all, and then looking back at how far you've come along.
9. Helldivers ; I haven't played many titles this year, so this is teething at the end of my list - It's fun but short-lived.
10. Hotline Miami 2; Divine soundtrack - not so divine gameplay. It took everything from HM1 and turned it up to 11. I played it to completion, and certainly enjoyed it. Just not sure when (or if) I'll ever re-visit the game thanks to many frustrating levels.

Comments to be added
 

nilbog21

Banned
1. MGS5; flawed, but obviously the highest quality game of 2015
2. SC2: LOTV ; best campaign of the 3, still a shit game overall
3. Hotline Miami 2
 
Tell ya the truth man, I don't think I'm writing one this year. Just not that passionate about this year's crops of games. Even Bloodborne and Axiom Verge(my favorites) are 8/10 games. Don't feel like waxing poetic about them as GOTY contenders.
Look what you did 2015, you made JC lose his smile, disappointment of the year.

*Bloodborne worship, also a top 10 list*
This helps me recover from the above disappointment, good work Xtortionist, I need this thread to fulfil my need for long arse posts reminding me why we all spend so much time talking about vidya games in the first place.

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

Guys, it's not that important.
Ah, the MGS4 2008 revote tactic.
Well it works.

(nope, I'm not still bewildered by it at all)

*all your favourite games actually suck: the post*
I approve of this bold new direction.
 

YeSp

Neo Member
1. Bloodborne ; Amazing game...best on the Ps4 so far. I love the gameplay, setting (Lovecraft), art and sound design. Myazaki delivered a gem ... Its easily my game of the year.
2. Fallout 4 ; The first fallout game I got into. Didn't like the previous games. Great open world sandbox
3. Tales of the Borderlands ; I love Borderlands and Telltale games. And they didn't disappoint with this episodic game.
 

Hektor

Member
1. Undertale ; It's so lovely, funny and charming. The narrative is done in a unique way that only videogames can achieve. And Papyrus is beschde.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; This one catched a lot of flak for not beeing enough MGS, for not beeing Zany enough, but i loved it. Not for the same reason i love MGS3 or the other games, but i love it nonetheless. The controls are tight, the gameplay is amazing, rewarding and just flat out fun.
3. Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void ; Blizzard is still the master of good RTS Mission design. It's just 2bad how they fucked up the story with so much nonsense, but like with MGSV i don't mind if the gameplay is sogood.gif
4. Bloodborne ; It's lovecraftsouls, what is there left to say?
5. Pillars of Eternity ; An oldschool party RPG from Obsidian is pretty much selfexplanatory.
6. The Beginner's Guide ; I have a hard time wrting about it because of spoilers, so all i'm saying is, you should try it.
7. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; After the las few Telltale games i kinda gave up on this studio, their writing got progressively worse, the choice'n#consequence stuff got less and less ineresting and the Engine still sucked, but TftB is a return to topform, one of the funniest adventures i've played in quite some time. Engine still sucks tho.
8. Contradiction - Spot The Liar! ; Your thoughts on Game H.
9. Life is Strange ; A beautiful well stylized trip back2school. That game really brought back memorys, good and bad ones.
10. Persona 4: Dancing All Night ; It's fanservice, but i'm a sucker for it. Shame on me..

Honorable Mentions
x. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die ; I don't know if this counts, as the game itself released 2014 and only the PCPort did in 2015. That's why it's here. Swery da best.
x. Hand of Fate ; The Combination of Roguelite, Cardgane, Choose your own adventure and ActionRPG is a lot of fun. A lot.
x. Grow Home ; Ubisofts best game 2015.
x. Age of Decadence ; A complex and deep and challenging crpg where choices actually do have consequences. But due to that, it's rather short and an individual playthrough only takes up between 2 and 10 hours.
x. Transformers: Devastation ; This is definitely not a cheap licence cashgrab. It may have been intendet as such by activision, but P* made sure that we get an actually good and fun videogame. It's more than meets the eye. GOT IT?
 
Bloodborne-Coming-to-PlayStation-4-in-Early-2015-More-Details-and-Screenshots-Revealed-446178-4.jpg

"We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood."

1. Bloodborne ; When Project Besst first leaked it was mass hysteria on this site. A few screenshots and gifs generated two 80+ page threads(100posts/pg). I'd never seen that sort of hype for a game on this board. Fast foward 8 months and the game released to critical acclaim. Bloodborne was the first AAA game to live up to the incredible amounts of hype it generated. Of course no game is perfect. Frame pacing issues annoy those unfortunate enough to notice them, and load times at launch were unacceptable but have since been improved. Despite these small complaints Bloodborne barrels forward in every other regard. Gameplay is visceral with trick weapons that are each unique and support differing play styles. World design that is incredibly cohesive. Level design that keeps you guessing. Story/Lore based on Lovecraftian themes that are subtly presented yet astonishingly detailed, only revealing itself to those willing to gain enough insight. All of these elements are melded together beautifully to make what I feel is my favorite game of all time. The recent expansion only adds more of these things at the same quality. Bloodborne is a masterpiece and GOTY.

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2. Mortal Kombat X ; When I wasnt playing Bloodborne I was learning the ropes in this fighting game. I've never been one to purchase a fighting game, especially new. MKX bucked that trend and has made me a very avid follower of the FGC. Say hello to my Dualist Liu Kang if you ever meet DoubleDeazy2 online.
 

Elandyll

Banned
1. Bloodborne; No contest for me this year, certainly the most atmospheric action rpg I have ever player. Everything in it was stellar, from the gameplay to the art direction and score, as well as the cryptic lore you have to piece together yourself.
2. Life is Strange; Never thought an episodic indie game heavy on story and featuring a teenage girl would be my runner up, but here we are. Amazing game.
3. Soma; Must have been the year of "scary" games for me, because Soma rapidly became one of my most awaited with their weird viral video campaign, and the game did not disappoint.
4. Fallout 4; After playing F3 this past summer, more of it and next gen was what I ordered, and that's what I got. Super glitchy and still with its fair share of problems inherited from his older brother, but it's imo an amazing game I have put dozens of hours in. With a better story and ending it could have ended higher on the list.
5. Witcher 3; Although disappointing in more ways than one compared to my hopes, W3 is still an incredible achievement in so many ways as well, from the scope of the game to the graphics to the amount of content. And... Gwent. With a better main story, it could easily have been my #2 this year.
6. Trails in the Sky; Just a few hours in, but I can tell this one will be very special to me, considering how much I love Suikoden. Thank you GAF for pointing out this gem to me.
7. Until Dawn; Talking about expectations, this one blew them away. Didn't expect much from what appeared to be a "choose your own adventure" QTE fest with cliche/cheesy script, to one of the best games of the year. Props to Supermassive.
8. Sunless Sea; Weird, Deranged even, but addictive. Another one I didn't expect to be here, but the exploration of that dark underwater world keeps me coming back... I'll need more crew to eat, I mean to help me.
9. Battlefront; Maybe quite light on content but everything I have played so far screams Star Wars, and with incredible presentation to help the immersion. If only there had been a SP campaign and more content...
10. MGS V; barely makes the list due to the blandness of its open world and lack of story integration for me. Weird thing is, the only reason it also makes the list in that state is due to the great gameplay and open ended design where you can approach an objective with dozens of different ways.
 

jaina

Member
1. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; Very consistent great writing and characters. The music from the intros will follow me for the rest of my life. (The episode 2-5 restriction is because of the eligibility, Ep. 1 is great too)
2. Life Is Strange ; I really enjoyed the main mechanic, it made the decisions more interesting because you can see both immediate consequences. The story is a bit less consistent than Tales from the Borderlands, which helped me with ordering the two games. I appreciate the dark situations in Life is Strange, they are very well handled.
3. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; So many systems, such a huge amount of quests and stuff to do. But the game manages to not overwhelm, you want to continue from one task to the next. Everything is just a means to explore planet Mira, and it's so beautiful and mesmerizing. I'm only at 32 hours, without mech, and haven't seen the later half, might change the rank until January.
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Repetitive, but still fun after 70 hours stealth action. New story beats appear almost randomly. Fultons are addicting. Most characters are assholes, you don't care for them. Buddies are great, I preferred using Quiet. But D-Dog > Quiet as a character, despite Quiet's short blips of interesting background story. Declined EULA and played offline without FOB, so can't comment on that stuff.
5. Axiom Verge ; Don't get turned off by the "similarity" to Metroid. Axiom Verge does a whole bunch on it's own. I found it easier to get into than Super Metroid (played an hour of it this year).
6. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; The sequel to AC: Brotherhood, and a damn good one. I'm hesitant to say whether I enjoy the stealth more than MGSV, despite far fewer tools.
7. Splatoon ; Singleplayer is fun platforming with my favorite end boss of the year. Turf wars are the gift that keeps on giving, easy to have fun and hard to master. Playing dress-up is the cherry on top. Have not bothered with ranked.
8. Rocket League ; Had more "oh let me just hop in for one match" moments than Splatoon for me. Like Splatoon, I'm still having fun when I'm losing. Best game that feels like playing real yet, the "running" into position, coordinating attacks with team mates, anticipating passes, balancing offense and defense.
9. Her Story ; Unique experience. Satisfying story. I think it'd be still great if you discover the main revelation early on or are spoiled (I got it at a pace that felt perfect).
10. Contradiction ; FMVs! Every character/actor has something appealing and their performance are the main reason why I recommend this game. The "contradiction" mechanic is servicable.

Honorable Mentions
x. Undertale ; Mostly fun battle mechanic (mechanic!=the mini games). Good world building. Charming characters. Great musical themes. Respects the player's time for retries but I still got annoyed every time I had to retry a failed fight. I laughed more in Tales from the Borderlands and Contradiction and overall enjoyed 10 other games more though. Played N and TP endings so far.
x. Until Dawn ; Similar to Life is Strange in the over the top teen dialogue, which is not for everyone. Watched Giantbomb's LP, but would very likely enjoyed it if played by myself too.
x. Grow Home ; Cool climbing mechanic, short enough so it doesn't get boring.
x. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 ; Fun dialog in this adventure.
x. Tales of Zestiria ; I liked the hours I've played so far.
x. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Great art and atmosphere, fun platforming. I like the soul link save system. The escape sequences are totally annoying and frustrating, especially if you don't see the next danger and need to trial and error step by step. Great length (doesn't overstay it's welcome).
x. Nintendo Badge Arcade ; I don't want to use the badges, just want to own some. That bunny got me buy several rounds.
 

Klart

Member
1. Fallout 4; I'm just a sucker for Fallout. So yeah, they let out some things from previuos games, but most of the good parts are still there and the graphics & shooting are better.
2. Tales from the Borderlands; Great characters & story. A really fun ride.
3. Zombie Vikings; Great & funny coop beat 'm up.
4. Rocket League
5. Disney Infinity 3.0
6. Lego Dimensions
7. Skylanders: SuperChargers
8. Grow Home: Controls could be frustrating, but relaxing game nonetheless.
9. OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood
10. Mortal Kombat X
 

LoSnupo

Member
1. Splatoon ; Nintendo shows the world how can be a funny TPS and shower customers with 7 months of free contents
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; There is a world and poetry inside. Oh, and lot of bests to slaughter.
3. Bloodborne ; Made by H.P.Lovecraft himself
4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A breathing world and a great narrative
5. Fallout 4 ; Because war never changes. Neither my love for Fallout.
6. Yoshi's Woolly World ; It can be dangerous: too much sugar.
7. Super Mario Maker ; Because everyone has a little Miyamoto inside.
8. Toukiden: Kiwami ; A nice port on a ps4 without Monster hunter (Sony, i want Soul Sacrifice on PS4!!!)
9. Dragon Quest Heroes ; Still dont know if its a Musou or an RPG. Well,I've enjoyed both.
10. Blood Bowl II ; Dwarves rocks, High Elves sucks

x. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance
x. Dying Light
x. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
 
1. Halo 5 ; 343i did everything I hoped they would with the game - map design, enemy encounters, just pure Halo bliss.

2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; I had high hopes for this game when it was first revealed, it somehow managed to surpass my already lofty expectations.

3. Tomb Raider: Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Took everything that made the reboot great and cranked it up to about eleven, fantastic game just a shame it probably won't make the Top 30 here :(

4. Life Is Strange ; Quite possibly the best game in this genre I've ever played, loved what DontNod did here.

5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; I love Batman, that is all.

6. The Witcher III ; Beautiful open world, beautifully written characters with a real sense of player empowerment.

7. Rare Replay ; I'm a massive Rare fan and this trip down memory lane was simply joyous, put together with real love and care.

8. Forza 6 ; Turn10 took everything that was lacking in FM5 and made sure it was in here, such a great consistent studio.

9. Star of Decay - Year One Edition ; I missed this on 360 and loved the game on the XB1, a true survival horror game. Looking forward to what Undead Labs cook up next.

10. IDARB ; Bonkers game, just a truly bonkers game. Lots and lots of fun though.


Overall I'd say 2015 was a really great year for gaming. 2016 though, oh boy. That looks like the kind of year you tell your grand kids about in 40 years lol
 
1. Splatoon ; FGOTG.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A big, beautiful and touching game.
3. Super Mario Maker ; Puzzle game of the year.
4. Bloodborne ; The best Souls game.
5. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. ; Criminally slept on.
6. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Better than XC in every way except "1 2 3 4 !"
7. Destiny: Taken King ; The best playing console shooter gets a bit better structure.
8. Earth Defense Force 4.1 ; Dreamcast GOTY
9. Affordable Space Adventures ; eShop essential right here.
10. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse; Fun to play, go figure.
 
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