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[Deleted member 125677]

1. Rocket League ; (PC) This game is a fucking sensation. Every once in a while someone comes up with a stupid concept for a game that against all odds turns out to be absolutely amazing. The concept for Rocket League is: Monster Trucks/Cars with rockets charge after a gigantic ball in a game of football. The basic controls are simple enough, drive car into ball to score goal, pick up boost and use charge to gain speed or to fly through the air. Still it takes a lot of time to master your vehicle properly, to get a good feel of the game and not least how to cooperate with your team. When the feeling of mastery hits you, there's no escaping this pleasure machine.

This game is simply the good shit. Video game smack. The feel of nailing an Aerial, or magically cock blocking your friends from one. There's not one single game on this planet that's more fun to play with your friends right now.

2. Splatoon ; (Wii U) It's been a long time since we got a really refreshing and original shooter, and Splatoon is exactly that. This game proves that the younger generation of Nintendo developers are ready to start making what they want, and how they want. This game is just superb quality all around, and it keeps renewing itself regularly with free new-modes, new-levels and new-weapon DLCs. It's fun, colorful, complex and super competitive.

Obviously the game is mostly about online play (which works great, they actually listened to fans and patched in stuff like private lobbies etc. too). It's easy to forget that the game also have a short but interesting single player campaign, that is more puzzle-orientated than the mp. The single player reminds me of the Portal games in a way, which of course is a huge compliment. It's all in all a big surprise to me that Nintendo beyond all odds managed to create a third person shooter with a long multiplayer life on this dead platform.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; (Wii U) I love the Xenoblade saga. Xenoblade Chronicles ended the Wii era perfectly, and I am confident Xenoblade Chronicles X will be one of the big late games for Wii U to remember (along with Zelda if it gets there next year).

Xenoblade's huge world sucked me in from the start, from the moment I first stepped into Primordia. Monolith has succeeded in creating a good open-world RPG with X. Sure there are some problems, the usual tedious side quests, the weird level distribution of Indigens etc. On the other hand, the world is mind blowingly large without being boring or annoying. This is partly because the eco-environments are interestingly designed and very varied, but also owed partly to your ability to fast-travel more or less everywhere pretty much right from the start. The follow ball is also a very neat addition. All in all, it's a pleasure exploring, charting new terrain, setting up a solid combat team, overcoming new types of enemies, doing side quests (most of the time) and of course diving down into the main story.

4. Hotline Miami 2 ; (PC) Hotline Miami - the original - is one of my absolute favorite games. This tends to complicate things when sequels arrive, and I have to admit that Hotline Miami 2 took some getting used to before it really clicked with me.

At first I was really annoyed by the lack of freedom compared to the first game (the mask setup and the random weapon drops), and that the levels felt more scripted. Still, as I was bursting through hard mode, I came to appreciate the attention to details, the more complex and elaborate level design, and the way the game approached story-telling. The changes has made it a very different game than the first one, but in the end I think we are all the richer for it.

This game also has the soundtrack of the year for me, easily.

5. Super Mario Maker ; (Wii U) Super intuitive level creation, a readily available unlimited arsenal of great stages to play on all difficulty levels. I've lost count over the amount of awe-inspiring and original levels I've had the pleasure of playing, mostly by following great GAF level designers. Daydream's OT is particularly useful, if you're looking for great challenges, or just generally interesting, neat or cute levels to play.

It's also very fun to create stuff for yourself. And although I don't create and upload many levels, I've had some great times making little troll levels for my 6 year old, or even for my wife. The little bastard also thinks it's hilarious creating impossible stacks of Bowsers for his dad to overcome.

6. Ori and the Blind Forest ; (PC) What an amazing accomplishment Ori and the Blind Forest is..

This game has somehow successfully managed to mix all the best elements from action-platformer metroidvanias like Guacamelee, and story based platform adventures like Never Alone and Limbo. The result is a brilliant, rewarding, inspired, engaging, challenging and superbly crafted action platformer that is a joy to play from start to end.

7. Assault Android Cactus ; (PC) As if top-down shooters wasn't graced enough this year with Hotline Miami 2, this gem of a top-down arcade shooter also came out of early access this year. Really tight and solid game-play, lots of variation between the different characters, great levels and bosses and a co-op mode.

8. Downwell ; (PC) Another instant indie classic. Super intense and gratifying game-play, creative and original level design, really addicting.

9. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; (3DS) Monster Hunter is Monster Hunter - always fun to get stuck in for a couple of months. It's probably the best game in the series yet, without really standing out from the previous entries in any radical way. Capcom plays it safe with this franchise, which is both one of it's strong qualities (it doesn't disappoint), but probably also why it don't get near the top of my list.

10. Pillars of Eternity ; (PC) I'm very, very grateful that we're given good old crpgs like this in our days and age.


Honorable Mentions:


X. Galak-Z ; (PC)
X. Axiom Verge ; (PC)
X. Metal Gear Solid V ; (PC)
X. Undertale ; (PC)
X. The Beginner's Guide ; (PC)
X. Life is Strange ; (PC)
X. Mushihimesama ; (PC)
X. Fast Racing NEO ; (Wii U)
X. Steamworld Heist ; (3DS)
X. GTA V ; (PC)



Robo's 2014 ballot
Robo's 2013 ballot

 

[Rhomega Beta]

1. Undertale ; A quirky RPG in the vein of EarthBound. It's short, but sweet and filled with wonderful characters and music.
2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Beautiful platformer with fast-paced action and easy deaths. At least you can save just about anywhere.
3. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void ; I've loved the Protoss since the original StarCraft was announced, and I finally get to play their story in SC2.
4. Heroes of the Storm ; Oh cool, Diablo, StarCraft, and WarCraft characters fighting together. Plus I'm having fun with this compared to DOTA.
5. Grim Fandango Remastered ; I'm just really glad to be able to play this game again.
6. Cities: Skylines ; I know it's great, I'm just bad at building cities.

Yeah, I didn't buy many 2015 games.

 

[le.phat]

1. Bloodborne ; With the souls formula running a bit stale, they shake up the core just enough to dictate a completely new rhythm. Beautifully styled, and the best video game portayal of Lovecraft's work to date.
2. Monter hunter 4: Ultimate ; Great addition to the franchise, marred by shit hardware. Still easily coming in at number 2.
3.Witcher 3 ; Incredible story-telling and world-building, fantastic characterisation and acting, an overall incredible adventure marred only by a repetitive and bland combat system.
4. Star Wars Battlefront ; Goregous, fun, superficial: just how i like my FPSes . I'm not a hardcore FPS fan, but i love to vent off some steam every other day and Battlefront offers the right amount of customisation to play the game regularly. Also, best.Star.Wars.Styled.game.ever.
5. Dragon blaze ; Most fun i ever had with a mobile game. It's getting a mention because it's my most 'played' game by far.

 

[The Xtortionist]

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.

Looking forward to your list, Owl

Spoiler

bah gawd that hbk reference

 

[Jawmuncher]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Gameplay was nice and fresh.
2. Until Dawn ; Pribably the best cinematic game yet.
3. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; Really enjoyable story, even for non-fans.
4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; improved on everything from the first game for quite the experience.
5. Xenoblade chronicles X ; The best title this year on WiiU.
6. Halo 5: Guardians ; 343 is slowly getting the halo series back on track.
7. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Easily the best western RPG this year.
8. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; The return of survival horror. What's not to love.
9. The Order: 1886 ; A great blend of TPS action and story.
10. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; A nice stop gap until the next entry in the series.

 

[NightShift]

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.

Holy shit. That hits home hard.

 

[iRAWRasaurus]

1) Bloodborne
2) Witcher III: The Wild Hunt
3) Life is Strange
4) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
5) Destiny: The Taken King
6) Halo 5

 

[DoubleTake]

1) Bloodborne
2) Witcher III: The Wild Hunt
3) Life is Strange
4) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
5) Destiny: The Taken King
6) Halo 5

Fix your formatting. Read the OP.

 

[j0hnny_385]

1) Bloodborne
2) Witcher III: The Wild Hunt
3) Life is Strange
4) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
5) Destiny: The Taken King
6) Halo 5

iRAW, bruh... formatting.

so far seems like it's Bloodborne vs. Witcher 3 for GOTY.

 

[m_dorian]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A masterpiece of open world action RPG tells us the last chapter of Geralt the monsterslayer for hire in a very large and very satisfying way. Pay attention to the side stories and how they help paint Geralt's world, sometimes with bright happy colours but more often with dark grey tones. CDPR at its finest.

2. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; Another great turn-based RPG title set in Shadowrun's cyberpunk/dark fantasy world and a worthy follow up to Harebrained Schemes Dragonfall.

3. Cities: Skylines ; This is the city building title we got the same time when Maxis was killed by EA. Coming from a small Finnish studio called Colossal Order and published by Paradox this game successfully continues from where SimCity 4 left and went beyond, far more than SimCity 2013 ever envisioned. Because "Nature abhors a vacuum".

4. Invisible, inc. ; A turn-based tactical stealth title coming from a Canadian independent studio that excels as a game, functional and artistic.

5. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition ; Where my 2014 Goty became even better, still having a deep but fun to play combat system. Now, with controller support.

6. Wasteland 2: DC ; Turn-based party-based combat in a post-apocalyptic world where the Desert Rangers are mankind's last best hope.

Honorable Mentions
x. Pillars of Eternity ; This title was supposed to be the Baldur's Gate of this generation and it does well in many areas but the game's world and setting were not as rich nad interesting as the lands where Baldur's Gate takes place. A good title, a solid game but, sadly, not a Goty one.

 

[Par Score]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; A fitting end to the legendary series, MGSV finally finds what the series has been lacking all along, truly incredible gameplay. The dynamic open world stealth, and the tools given to the player, provide endless variety and entertainment. Also, D-Dog best dog.

2. Rocket League ; No other game has captured the true joy, the simple pleasure, the ecstasy and the agony that is football, as well as Rocket League.

3. Invisible Inc. ; In any other year this would have been my favourite stealth game. An excellent example of turn based stealth tactics.

4. Kerbal Space Program ; I would have voted for this every year for the last 3 years if it had been eligible, it's not only one of the best games ever made, but also one of the most important. It belongs in a museum.
5. Project CARS ; The only one of these games that actually made me money, one of the most accomplished examples of crowd funded development to date, and a damn fine racing simulation to boot.
6. Life Is Strange ; A fantastic narrative adventure told from a novel perspective, and with some amazing twists and turns.
7. Rebel Galaxy ; A great arcade-y take on the often stale space-trading genre, sadly lacking in longevity.
8. Grow Home ; The best Assassin's Creed game since Brotherhood.
9. Agar.io ; The good bit of Spore, made multiplayer, and playable in a web browser.
10. Cities: Skylines ; The perfect replacement for what EA have done to the once venerable Sim City. The king is dead, long live the king.


Honourable Mentions:

x. Bloodborne ; An excellent game, but I've been soured on it's merits by the vehemence of it's fans.
x. Undertale ; Ditto.
x. The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt ; The game I'm saddest about not having gotten around to playing more than an hour of this year.
x. Super Mario Maker ; The game I'm saddest about not having gotten around to playing at all this year, but have watched the most hours of.

Edited for nuance.

 

[Acquiescence]

iRAW, bruh... formatting.

so far seems like it's Bloodborne vs. Witcher 3 for GOTY.

You're right there. I'm surprised by how few votes MGSV is getting considering 4 won GOTY on this very site... twice! I guess it really was a let down for some people. It'll still end up being #3 or 4, but I expected it to come out on top.

 

[BY2K]

An excellent game, but I can't bring myself to give it any points to feed its insufferable fanbase.

Seriously? You won't put those 2 in the Top 10 just to spite the fanbase?

 

[Uthred]

1. Bloodborne ; I was already a fan of the Souls series but none of them since Demon Soul's grabbed me like Bloodborne. While the quicker more frenetic combat appealed it was really the Cthulhu mythos inspired setting that hooked me. Never found the lore of the other soul's games particularly engaging but really got into trying to divine what was going on with BB's setting.
2. The Witcher 3
3. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
4. Resident Evil HD Remaster
5. Elite Dangerous: Horizons

Didnt play a lot of eligible games it seems, lots of solid updates in Warframe and Seasons in Diablo 3 sucked up the majority of my gaming time.

 

[fantomena]

1. Bloodborne ; Not just the best game of the year, but also one of the best games Ive ever played. Ive finished the game 4 times, completed The Old Hunter DLC and everything about the game is magnificent. The fast paced gameplay, the artistic design style, the story, areas and the bosses makes Bloodborne the best game of 2015 for me.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; This game respresents everything I want from an open world RPG. A solid and interesting story, a beautiful dynamic world and side quests that actually are interesting.

3. Life is Strange ; This game took me by suprise. I had no idea what was coming for me the moment I started up episode 1, but what I got was an amazing journey through life, hard work and friendship. Dontnod did great work with this one.

4. Tales from Borderlands ; I finished this not so long time ago. Might be the best work from Telltale so far. I loved the story, the characters and the humour the game contained. I was very skeptical about it when the game was first announced, but when the credits rolled after finishing the last episode I had a very positive feeling.

5. Ori and the Blind Forest ; The best plattformer this year, so freaking good. The story is both sad and cute, but the amazing graphic style is insanely beautiful. It really took me by storm.

6. Rocket League ; This game was also quite a bit of a suprise. I did not expect anything from this, but the game is simply as it is super fun. Ive played it a lot on both PS4 and PC and it is simply just os much fun.

7. Until Dawn ; I was super skeptical about this one I really did not have any expectations at all, but I heavily enjoed what I played. Really enjoyed the game overall

8. Cities Skylines ; Whaty SimCity 5 should have been. Tons of options, lots of mod support, build huge cities and fantastic developer support. The bes tcity builder in years.

9. Pillars of Eternity ; Im not that much into CRPG, but I really likes this one The design and the story were really good and the amount of content in the game is incredible.

10. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; A standalone game to one of the best shooters in years. It did not change a lot, which is exactly whi i liked is as much as I did. The best shooter of 2015.

 

[DieH@rd]

1. Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt ; Amazing achievement in RPG genre
2. Bloodborne ; First souls game that grabbed me
3. Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain ; Salutes to Kojima
4. Project CARS ; Best car sim of the year
5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; really liked it
6. Life is Strange ; Best episodic game of the year
7. Uncharted Collection ; I asked for this
8. Rocket League ; suprising fun
9. Ori and the Blind Forrest ; good metroidvania [but buggy]
10. Wolfenstein The Old Blood ; Best fps game of the year

 

[Acquiescence]

1. Bloodborne
2. The Witcher 3
3. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
4. Resident Evil HD Remaster
5. Elite Dangerous: Horizons

Didnt play a lot of eligible games it seems, lots of solid updates in Warframe and Seasons in Diablo 3 sucked up the majority of my gaming time.

1. Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain
2. Bloodborne
3. Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
4. Project CARS
5. Batman: Arkham Knight
6. Life is Strange
7. Uncharted Collection
8. Rocket League
9. Ori and the Blind Forrest
10. Wolfenstein The Old Blood

Not formatted properly. Won't count.

 

[DoubleTake]

So many votes will go unaccounted for because people cant be bothered to read the OP or take note of everyone elses posts...-__-

 

[Par Score]

Seriously? You won't put those 2 in the Top 10 just to spite the fanbase?

I've edited to clarify, but it's not out of spite. I loved those games when I played them, but by this point I almost wish they didn't exist thanks to their fans.

I'd rather recognise some less glamorous stuff like Grow Home and Rebel Galaxy.

 

[cheesekao]

1. Bloodborne ; Best combat of any souls game and I think this game has spoiled me since playing the older souls games feels so bad right now

2. Disgaea 5 ; Over the top SRPG goodness. Disgaea has always been one of my favourite SRPG franchises and this one manages to further improve upon the tried and true Disgaea formula. It ain't no paradigm shift but it changes enough.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Fantastic game play that gives you a lot of options. Probably the best open world stealth game there is.

4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; Je suis monte. Had a lot of fun with the mounting mechanic. Haven't played a monster hunter game in a while and this reminded me of why I love it so much.

5. Ar Nosurge Plus ; The story was really intruiging with its meta elements and all

 

[User 479360]

1. Until Dawn ; Just like playing through a horror movie. Does a great job of combining horror with Heavy Rain style gameplay. I want to play it again now, and I've already beaten it a couple of times.
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops III ; Tons of content, incredibly replayable and polished.
3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; What more can be said about this great epic? It could've been my pick for GOTY.
4. Fallout 4 ; The game I'd been pining for. Not the masterpiece I was hoping for, but pretty close.
5. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Great, epic and polished to a T. A very, very good sequel to a great reboot.
6. Life is Strange ; Interesting, immersive, entertaining and unique. Loved it.
7. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Outside of the Batmobile puzzles -- which were hit and miss -- I liked it a lot. It's a great sequel and way to end the trilogy. Don't get all the hate.
8. NHL 15 ; One of the best hockey/sports games in years.
9. Splatoon ; A great new IP from Nintendo, with incredibly replayable and entertaining multiplayer that is good for all.
10. Tales From the Borderlands ; One of Telltale's best, combining one of my favourite developers and one of my favourite series.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is my front-runner for POTY. Simply beautiful. :')

 

[Xion86]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

(Haven't had a chance to play through all of The Wicher 3 yet )

 

[tuxfool]

Seriously? You won't put those 2 in the Top 10 just to spite the fanbase?

I can totally understand the instinct after reading a post like this example, even if it is a minority.

1. Bloodborne ; Fuck everything else. If this game doesnt get GOTY then gaf has their collective heads further up their asses then I realized. Its a fucking masterpiece.

 

[MiamiWesker]

Oh man so far it seems this may be closer than I thought seeing that gaf went witcher 3 crazy. Im an MGSV guy, hoping that wins, or even bloodborne.

 

[ethomaz]

I don't have a TOP10 to be fair because most I played this year was Destiny: The Taken King but from the others games I can say:

1. Bloodborne ;I'm a huge Demon's Souls fans and after the weird way they go with Dark Souls I found Bloodborne to make me fell happy again dying. Bloodborne plus the Old Hunter expansion is everything gamers asked for.

2. Destiny: The Taken King ; Don't be fooled here... TTK is only 2nd because it is a expansion otherwise it will be my GOTY. The game is so good and so addictive that I can't stop to play it. The best gunplay ever created in a FPS... I stopped to play others games after Destiny with few exceptions.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; The best Metal Gear Solid game I ever played... that says a lot... Kojima delivered everything they could... I'm playing yet and loving it.

The others games I played while fun are not in quality level I wish for GOTY content... so I will list just these 3.

 

[JimJamJones]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; One of the best games I've ever played.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I love open world games. This is one hell of an open world.
3. Bloodborne ; Frame rate is a bitch, but I LOVE the design.
4. Kerbal Space Program ; I'm a sucker for space and NASA.
5. Splatoon ; Caught me off guard. Thought it would be good, but not this awesome.
6. Super Mario Maker ; It's Mario. That you Make!
7. Star Wars Battlefront ; It's the best Star Wars experience out there. You literally feel like you're in Star Wars.
8. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Story aside, the gameplay is impeccable.
9. Fallout 4 ; I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a bit disappointing, but it's still really great.
10. Crypt of the NecroDancer ; Out of left field. Addicting as hell and tons of fun.

Honorable Mentions
x. Until Dawn ; Love horror movies. This is Horror Movie: The Game.
x. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; A remake of an N64 Zelda? Yes please!

 

[SictorVullivan]

1. Bloodborne ; Simply put of one the most engaging, fun and challenging games for while. I've played all the Souls games and this was the one where I thought they found the perfect balance between the combat and the gameplay systems working together. The world is dark, haunting and oppressive, the game looks and sounds fantastic, and just everything about it oozes quality.

2. Rocket League ; Going into this year I had never heard of this game or it's PS3 predecessor, but oh wow it's probably the game this year that I have put the most time in with it's multiplayer, and of course the addition of new cars, new modes and events still make it a game I want to play today. Nothing can beat the feeling when you score the winning goal in the last few seconds of a hardly contested match.

3. Fallout 4 ; Takes everything I loved from Fallout 3 and turns it up to 11. The shooting and VATS are much better this time, the world and places are really fun to explore, and overall looks and plays well. While the story is a bit flat, exploring areas and getting lost in that for hours is what makes this game so damn good.

4 . Batman: Arkham Knight ; Despite all the brouhaha around the PC version and the batmobile sections, I absolutely loved this game. Gotham looks great, Batman attacks and moves play and control really well, and the story albeit being predictable near the end was really fun and engaging. What I also love is how the main and side quests incorporated a load of Batman's villains.

5. Until Dawn ; A game that out "heavy rain"s Heavy Rain. Game looks gorgeous, the choices really matter and the story changes dramatically over the course of your playthrough. A real sleeper hit.

 

[jaina]

So many votes will go unaccounted for because people cant be bothered to read the OP or take note of everyone elses posts...-__-

Copying the template and then names from the google doc is essential.
E.g. it's Tales FROM and not OF the Borderlands, everybody

 

[j0hnny_385]

/cut

Fix your formatting etho!

from the OP:

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.

 

[Qurupeke]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; This game is not perfect, maybe far from it. This doesn't mean it's not a personal 10/10 game that I loved though. It hits every point I love. It has a tremendously large world that you can explore right in the start. It has huge monsters and a great ecosystem with various alien settings. It has a great and complex battle action-based battle system. It has "passive" online features. The story and music weren't bad either. Oh and it has mechas that are used in a great way. That's my selling point. Flying with the mecha is a must experience in this game.

2. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; One of my favourites series and this is my favourite game in the series so far. I was a bit skeptical that this was on a handheld but I've never been so wrong in my life. The experience is even better. The game is packed with tons of armors, weapons and, of course, monsters. It's really huge and I loved the addition of rocky areas and less stable ground. I can't wait for the next MonHun.

3. Splatoon ; Overhyped as hell, I can't say it's one of the good games I've played. I'm not really a fan of it. BUT it's pure fun. I found the concept pretty unique for a shooter, a genre I'm not really fond of. Characters and the world are also a lot more charming than I thought. I haven't done much with it after the first couple of months though, which means I' m missing important content.

I really don't feel like nominating anything else, I really didn't play much this year.

 

[ethomaz]

Fix your formatting etho!

from the OP:

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.

Is it better now? Can I maintain the bold tag?

Edit - I removed the tags

 

[Raitaro]

1. Bloodborne ; While it lacks the build and world variety of the Souls games, no other game this year immersed me as much, made me yearn harder for more weapons and content, and made me want to return to it as quickly when its DLC (The Old Hunters) came out (to deliver many of those things).
2. Splatoon ; I was sold on this game's vibe, look and gameplay the moment they showed the first footage and it never ceased to entertain me after it first became playable in the tests and then in the final version.
3. Super Mario Maker ; A few updates and DLC packs short of the perfect game for old school Nintendo/Mario fans as well as an intuitive and playful tool to teach level design using basic but memorable elements (and to show how briliant the source material always has been!).
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; While the story never delivered on its promise for me, the moment-to-moment open world action kept me entertained for hours on end due to the world design, soldier and gear fultoning, and general atmosphere.
5. 3D Outrun ; A dream that finally came true, i.e. a portable yet arcade perfect version of the ideal "bring with you on holidays" game (now give us Turbo Outrun and 2006 as well please M2!).
6. Transformers: Devastation ; Another dream come true, being the perfect blend of Platinum action and 80's nostalgia.
7. Final Fantasy VII (PS4) ; Like finding your favorite old trousers that, while a bit worn and even dirty, still fit perfectly and make you feel snug.
8. BOXBOY! ; A simple yet fun and deep puzzle platformer with the most minimalistically charming protagonist ever.
9. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure ; Always enjoyable, these games, even when it's not the most fresh or full bodied version unfortunately.

2015 definitely continues a worrying trend of me spending more time on watching games and game coverage on Youtube or discussing them here on Gaf than actually playing them, hence why I only put up 9 games (and why some of them are quite small scale releases or re-releases). Our limited living space that forces me to constantly switch around and reconnect machines as well as some of my consoles dying on me (like my PS3) - AND having our first baby - all did not help to get me over the increasingly higher bump to fire up a game compared to the "bumpless" method of being instantly entertained by stuff on the internet when you have a few moments to spare. I should work on remedying this as I definitely start to feel less and less connected with the actual games that I still love dearly (going by the few I did manage to play).

Bonus lists (using other letters since they needn't count in the voting at all, i.e please don't ban me):

My most enjoyed/viewed let's play games of the year (which are part of the problem described above because of how much playing time they took up):
y. Bloodborne ; I must have watched as many hours of this game and its DLC as I played it, even when it lacks the build variety of the Souls games (leading to lots and lots of Ludwig's Holy Blade users unfortunately...), which to me only further cements this game's combat and ability to draw people in.
y. Until Dawn ; The perfect game to watch and rewatch around Halloween time to see how people react differently to the choices and jump scares.
y. Super Mario Maker ; Endlessly watchable for fun and nostalgia as well as to learn new things for your own attempts at level creation.
y. Splatoon ; Also nearly endlessly watchable due to the instantly frantic on-screen action and the commentary that flows from that naturally.
y. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; A surprisingly good RE game with plenty of classic tension and set pieces despite its limited budget.
y. Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void ; A game too taxing for me to play but enjoyable to watch commentated matches of (which seem to be a dying breed...).
y. The Order: 1886 ; Another Halloween favorite that I preferred to watch rather than playing (or "playing", going by the amount of gameplay) it.
y. Ultra Street Fighter IV ; An old favorite of mine to watch pro matches of, which I did plenty this year.

Games I wish I had played/I plan on playing (or to watch a let's play of...) next year:
z. Rocket League ; seems right up my alley as an almost Splatoon-esque accessible, colorful and frantic multiplayer game.
z. Undertale ; While I fear that it could never live up to the endless praise showered upon it, what I've seen of it seems genuinly fun and genuine.
z. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Perhaps a bit run-of-the-mill by now due to its similarities to the other Arkham games, but one I do want to play.
z. Broforce ; Definitely on my to play list due to our shared love for 80's action heroes.
z. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; While I'll never enjoy this game as much as its siblings, I definitely want to at least watch a let's play of this.
z. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; I was waiting for a Wii U version but since that might not be coming, I might jump into this series with the 3DS version.
z. Monster Hunter X ; Same with 4, depending on which game ends up being better for beginners.
z. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; An old favorite of mine to return to once in a while, now even made more enticing to do so.
z. Shovel Knight - Plague of Shadows DLC ; I really liked the core game last year so playing this will definitely happen sooner or later.
z. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I did plan to make this game my entry point into the series, but all the initial problems made me quite hesitant to jump in.
z. Grow Home ; Should fit my 3D platformer loving self like a glove.

Happy holidays Gaf and let's toast on an equally awesome 2016!

Edit: one question about the official spreadsheet: the FFVII PS4 port doesn't seem to be included but can it still be voted on as a 2015 re-release?

 

[Krauser Kat]

1. Witcher 3; Amazingly Written, beautiful world. Passable combat. I spent the most time with it this year and loved every hour of it. GWENT!
2. Hotline Miami 2; Give me them hard beats and a bat to the head. I still love these games.

 

[Ostinatto]

Just counted every Bloodborne and Witcher 3 votes, and HOLY SHIT THE RESULTS !!!

 

[tuxfool]

Just counted every Bloodborne and Witcher 3 votes, and HOLY SHIT THE RESULTS !!!

Does it really matter at this early stage?

 

[Ostinatto]

Does it really matter at this early stage?

It matters

 

[ethomaz]

Just counted every Bloodborne and Witcher 3 votes, and HOLY SHIT THE RESULTS !!!

You can count Destiny: The Taken King too

 

[Raylan]

1. Until Dawn ; Suprise hit of the year. The story, the storytelling, the characters, the graphics, the soundtrack and the atmosphere were amazing. So much fun with high replay value. Out of nowhere!
2. Bloodborne ; The perfect evolution of the Souls games for me. Best RPG since... can't even remember.
3. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; The perfect remaster for an amazing franchise. Now better than ever.
4. Tearaway Unfolded ; Most underrated game of 2015. An unique experience.
5. Helldivers ; Finally a fantastic Starship Troopers game.
6. SOMA ; Great story, beautiful setting, creepy horror/alien atmosphere
7. Cities Skylines ; Yes, "Sim City" is back. Really great game. I'm happy for the devs
8. Broforce ; Pure, mindless fun.

 

[Anarkin]

Just counted every Bloodborne and Witcher 3 votes, and HOLY SHIT THE RESULTS !!!

Can you post them?

 

[18-Volt]

1. MGSV: The Phantom Pain ; It might not the best MGS ever but it did the good old stealth action fun in best way as possible. Overall quality is better than any game of 2015.

2. Bloodborne ; I admit, I couldn't even pass the first boss but that doesn't mean I wasn't amazed by the beauty of Bloodborne's world. Best game from from ever. I expect to finish the game... I don't know... in twenty years?

3. Super Mario Maker ; aka. Mario: All You Can Eat Edition. I'm not into designing games myself but playing stages that some talented people created is exactly my thing. This is a 2D Mario game which never ends.

4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; King of Beast slaying games. It deserves to be called a proper sequel. Lots of new stuff, new weapons, beast riding, online (finally)... Plus best visuals on 3DS is a cherry on top.

5. Splatoon ; Is this the most fun party game or what? This is how you create "new stuff". Felt absolutely nothing like I have played. I'm not a online gamer myself but this game can make me one.

6. Rocket League ; And another "new experience". Soccer game with RC cars. Sounds weird but plays awesome. All I want is a handheld version of this game. NX perhaps?

7. Yo-Kai Watch ; Undertale, Undertale... No. 2015 had a Earthbound-esque game and it was Yo-Kai Watch. A Blast to play from beginşng to end, excellent monster designs and a Leve-5 classic: amazing visuals on 3DS. Really looking forward to sequel next year.

8. Superbeat: XONiC ; I have played all DJ Max game that released in west, but this is by far the superior. There have been revivals of other rhythm games this year but XONiC takes the crown. Awesome soundtrack.

9. Tales of Zestiria ; Last time a Tales game was on my annual top 10 list was the year Graces F released. Well, Zestiria made that happen again. Full of tropes but this is a true tales game. I'm still on progress finishing it, I might have more to say about it when I do.

10. Stella Glow ; SRPG is alive! But Imageepoch sadly isn't. Spiritual successor to Luminous Arc, but much better than any game in series. A must play for any SRPG game but probably go unnoticed by majority.

Honorable mentions:
X. Xenoblade Chronicles X
X. Transformers Devastation
X. Rock Band 4
X. Etrian Mystery Dungeon

 

[Namikaze1]

1. Bloodborne ; What can I say about this masterpiece of a game (in my opinion of course)? From the moment you wake up and walk down the stairs to face certain doom in the shape of a werewolf to facing the strangest shit ever encountered in a Souls game (yeah, BB is not a Souls. I know. Whatever.), every moment was an experience I'll never forget. This was the first From game I truly beat without resorting to summoning for help and the one I came to love the most. Yeah, I like Dark Souls but Bloodborne is my number 1. I'll never forget the three days I spent fighting this one boss in one of the harder dungeons. I'll never forget how I came close to beating said boss, being one hit away from ending it, only for my controller to die. All I could do was watch as my character was trashed by the beast. I did came back the next day and killed the beast in the first run of the day.

2. Rocket League ; I didn't expect that I would have the most fun multiplayer experience this year from an indie game. The game just screams fun.

3. Fallout 4 ; what do you do once you get to Diamond City? You spend the next 60 hours ignoring the main quest and doing all kinds of side quests from masquerading as an old tv show hero to recapturing an old fort. Ever came across a Deathclaw duking it out with a Mirelark Queen? I sure have and let me tell you, the Mirelark Queen won.

4. Destiny: The Taken King ; I've been a part of the Destiny community since the alpha. I watched as the game evolved and devolved into the game it is today. With The Taken King, Bungie addresses some of the criticism sent their way for a lack of an actual story campaign. The Taken King did not just add a few hours of single player content, new legendary and exotic gear, new crucible maps, and a new raid, it changed the vanilla game as a whole. I'll never forget completing the new raid without any deaths with fellow gaffers from the Destiny community.

5. Undertale ; Decided to try out the game during the holiday break after seeing it pop up on many GOTY lists. I'm so glad I did. Game quickly became one of my favorites of 2015.

6. Her Story ; Similar situation to my number 5 pick.

7. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; the moment I was free to do as I please, I set about finding the meanest beast I could find. Along comes this gryphon who swoops down and lands before me. After 30 minutes of dancing around and slashing every chance I could, the gryphon came swept me off my feet. Poor Geralt ended up being killed by the gryphon. I was a terrible monster slayer but as Geralt grew stronger, so did I (metaphorically speaking). I went back and challenged the beast that had slayed me. I now roam around the world with its head strapped on to Roach.

8. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; I wasn't expecting much with Syndicate after being disappointed with Unity. But the game exceeded my expectations. Evie is a wonderful addition to the franchise (even though I played more as her brother).

9. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; honestly, this was one of my biggest disppointments of the year but the gameplay is so wonderfully great, it made it on to my top ten.

10. Life is Strange ; great story with great interesting characters.

 

[Nestunt]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; It is so rare for a videogame trilogy to work and be properly concluded. What a ride. I was really afraid when the last third of the game started because of past experiences with other sagas. It surpassed my expectations and this game had been in the top of my most anticipated list since it was announced. The conlusion battles are at the same level and sometimes better than movie epics, the world is vast but does not feel empty. The distinctive cultures and habits of different regions really shine and the stories that even the smallest side quests give you are so refreshing and give a flavor to the open world that truly is a breakthrough in game building. The controls are not as bad as some people say, the graphics are amazing, the music is epic and the story with meaningful characters is one of the best in any medium. I will never forget their names.

2. Bloodborne ; This game is almost perfect. It is a masterpiece. It's not my number 1 just because The Witcher is a more ambitious project that did deliver and I have to reward that. But man, did I feel rewarded playing this game. My first "Souls" and all the expectations that had been building from people's love of Souls games were met and went even further. I was addicted to that gameplay loop. The controls were, as I said, perfect. Every movement was instinctive because I felt like a true puppeteer. And the world - what a design choice. It was the first game I played that I truly felt scared in moving forward, and I loved that feeling. Completely immersed. Oh! OST of the year also.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; My review: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=185725526&postcount=507.

4. Star Wars Battlefront ; Yeah, it does not justify the price point. But if you know what you are buying and for what you are buying it, it achieves the feeling of contextual power fantasy better than almost any game. The controls are for babies, but that was their target demographic. I don't feel that there is not that much variety - been having a lot of fun cycling through regular modes, heroes and squadron. And for whom the audiovisual component of a game is very important, the graphics and the sound design help mitigate that price point.

5. Mortal Kombat X ; I was a bit disappointed with this game, but that's only because the previous entry was such a step forward in how to deliver a modern fighting game. The game plays better that its predecessor but the production value doesn't seem to make the same jump (in some aspects I felt it was worse - even though they probably spent more hours and money on that aspect of the game). Still, no fighting game comes close to what they are offering alongside the fighting itself.

 

[Miroslav]

1- Bloodborne ; Simply the best experience this year on any platform. The gameplay is ace, the ambientation, the lore... Everything just hits the right notes. Even if you are not into the dark souls series, do yourself a favor and play this gem.
2- The Witcher 3
3- Ori and the Blind Forest
4- Fallout 4
5- Xenoblade Chronicles X
6- Rise of the Tomb Raider
7- Metal Gear Solid V
8- Batman Arkham Knight
9- Axiom Verge
10- Tales of Zestiria

 

[swit]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A great sequel. Surpassed my expectations in almost every way.
2. Grand Theft Auto V ; (PC version)
3. Mortal Kombat X
4. Undertale
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
6. Life is Strange
7. Dying Light
8. Fallout 4
9. Pillars of Eternity

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Remarkable how people still fuck up the formating. It's not like there's a lack of examples.

1. [game name] ; [explanation]

How hard can it be?

 

[Schlomo]

1. Super Mario Maker ; I wasn't very excited about it when it was announced. A level editor, big deal. Little did I know I'd turn it on almost every single evening for 2 months after it was released, play some of the best Mario courses ever created and spend hours on fine-tuning courses of my own (also thanks to the GAF community)! The amount of thought and care that went into it make it so much more than a simple editor, and Mario provides the perfect "grammar" to unleash your creativity.
2. The Witcher III ; It combines the strengths of 1 and 2 to make one of the best games of all time.
3. Yoshi's Woolly World ; It looks similar to Kirby's Epic Yarn at first glance, but level design is on a whole other level and rivals even the original Yoshi's Island. Combined with the incredible hand-crafted visuals, this is the finest platformer the gaming world had to offer this year.
4. Batman Arkham Knight ; As the 3rd/4th game in the series, it does suffer from feature creep a little, but it's still such a brilliant mix of different gameplay styles that it's one of the most fun games this year.
5. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; The big name hurt it, because it couldn't keep up with my sky-high expectations. But even though story and characters were a let-down for me, Mira is the best realised open world yet and rewards exploration like no other game this year.
6. Metal Gear Solid V ; After MGS 4, this is a triumphant return to form for the series. Putting gameplay first was the absolutely best decision Kojima could have made, even though I do understand the complaints that he went too far in that direction and failed to deliver a compelling story.
7. Splatoon
8. Stretchmo
9. Ori and the Blind Forest
10. Rittai Picross 2

x. FAST Racing Neo ; It's an impressive technical achievement, has a nice soundtrack and, most importantly, is a lot of fun!

Stretchmo/Fullblox/Hiku Dasu and Rittai Picross 2 seem to be missing from the Spreadsheet.

 

[wild wild rice]

Remarkable how people still fuck up the formating. It's not like there's a lack of examples.

1. [game name] ; [explanation]

How hard can it be?

So bizarre. Especially when the easiest and laziest way to make your list is to just copy and paste from the OP.

 

[Par Score]

Remarkable how people still fuck up the formating. It's not like there's a lack of examples.

1. [game name] ; [explanation]

How hard can it be?

Especially considering:

You must have at least one comment in your ballot or it may not be counted. The comment must be more substantial than "GOTF lol" or what have you. Posting without comments may also subject you to a ban.

But looking at how many people post in other threads without reading the OP or any of the posts, I can't say I'm that surprised.

 

[Necron]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; one of the best RPGs ever crafted due to the great dialogue, story and characters. However, small things tend to annoy during longer play sessions (e.g. not all the icons showing up on the map, clumsy horse controls and quickly repeated sentences from NPCs). CD Projekt Red are a great developer and they deserve the #1 spot in my books for what they've accomplished. I couldn't have dreamt that we'd get a Witcher game like this when judging the humble beginnings found in Witcher 1. I look forward how they'll handle Cyberpunk.

2. Life is Strange ; I didn't expect an episodic game to have a hold over me this year but developer Dontnod successfully managed it. I liked their previous project Remember Me but it's Life is Strange that really impressed me. I look forward to a 2nd season and their next title Vampyr.

3. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; a solid expansion by MachineGames and a return to castle wolfenstein with lots of mysticsm and the occult. Eagerly awaiting a sequel to my favourite FPS from last year. You can tell that much of the talent from Ex-Starbreeze studios is still here.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone ; a great expansion to an already outstanding game.

5. Bloodborne ; I've grown somewhat tired of Dark/Demon's Souls-esque entries but I liked what the Team at FromSoftware have crafted. The art design is amongst 2015's best.

6. Her Story ; a good and short mystery (one that'll probably never be fully understood). Shame it has such a limited interactivity...

7. Contradiction ; yes! Another FMV game on the list by Tim Follin! One with the most hilarious campy acting ever (Jenks!)... 2015: Return of the FMV.

8. SteinsGate ; features a great story about time travel and my last game for the PS3.

9. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain ; That ending... the Konami drama... somehow turns MGS5 into a very meta game. Goodbye Metal Gear... you will be missed.

10. Until Dawn ; similar to Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls only better.

Honourable mention:
x. Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns ; a nice expansion that I should find more time to play. However, Arenanet have done a good job in expanding the story, character builds and more to give everything a fresh look.

x. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; a game that I completed via splitscreen. The only splitscreen game I played this year. Shame really... I'd wish more games like this had it.