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[uniform]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I've been a big fan of the series since I took a chance on the enhanced edition several years ago. The second game in the series increased my love of the series substantially, having wondered how they can top it. Enter Wild Hunt, topping the second game in all categories. The game would definitely make my top 5 All time list. Apologies for the short explanation, but if I rambled on about what I love about this game, we'd end up with a series of paragraphs no one would read.
2. SOMA ; Well, here's a late addition that I didn't expect to make my list, let alone second spot. I'm familiar with the developers' work and their previous games just didn't click with me. I took a chance on SOMA based on positive word of mouth and a premise too interesting to pass up. Even more surprising to me was being so engrossed I didn't want to stop playing, completing the game in two sessions. Days later, I'm still sitting here thinking about the game. The environment interaction I love so much, very good performances from the cast, the pacing, the melancholy the game made me feel. If I had to describe the game in one word, I'd go with haunting. I loved every moment of SOMA, and I'm interested to see what Frictional Games comes up with next.
3. Life is Strange ; This game scratched my itch for a particular element of the game Gone Home that I enjoyed so much. That element being interaction with environments to gather information. Sure, those two games and most recently SOMA are not the only ones to do this, yet they're games that do it with such style. Picking up a note on the ground, reading a diary, looking at a sign, it's all presented with a style that makes you interested in what's being conveyed. Small details that really flesh out the mystery in this game's world is enough to keep me engaged. Being fond of the lead character and her best friend, seeing them through their journey, that and the aforementioned element were enough to put this game in the third spot on my list.
4. Ori and the Blind Forest ; I'm a sucker for what the gaming press labels "Metroidvania" games. I grew up with several Nintendo classics that inspired these types of games, and more important than nostalgia, that type of game is timeless fun. It just works, and will always work. The game is further propelled by its amazing art, bursting with color, and just the right difficulty. I'll never tire of games like this and Dust: An Elysian Tail.
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I own the previous games in the series and appreciate them for what the were. I never carried the assumption that V would be just like those games, and when it turned out it wasn't, I wasn't let down. This game just feels good to play. This is a game that's so fun to play, it made the negatives (Weak Story/ Repetition) an afterthought. Like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the fun I have just running around completing missions trumps their lack of meaningful story. Also, that amazing eighties compilation!
6. Rocket League ; Multiplayer competitive gaming is not my thing. I don't like it in shooters, sports, or fighters. So I wasn't sure what to expect with Rocket League when a group of friends suggested we all purchase it. In fact, I was pretty much disappointed by the idea of having to play it. I can't really put into words how surprised I was by my enjoyment of this game. It's something special when I lose a match and it's no big deal because we're having so much fun. Some co-workers put together a once a year Christmas LAN party. The intention was to play several games including Co-op/Competitive shooters, Sports, Rock Band. Rocket League was the first game booted, and aside from one level of Killing Floor 2, it was the only thing we wanted to play the whole night. That's a special game.

 

[TheRyanx2]

1. Life Is Strange ; What a great surprise this game was. Loved it.
2. Bloodborne ; Above some of the others since i felt it was more fully featured and complete.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Even with the story/Queit issues and strange omissions, this one stuck with me awhile after beating it.
4. Fallout 4 ; Could of been higher, still great fun, but I just didnt hit many interesting quests in my own play-through.
5. Until Dawn ; Another great surprise for me.
6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Bad boss fights and too much tank, but I still had a blast with this one.
7. Grow Home ; Simple joyful platforming, more please.
8. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; Skipped Unity, and got this free on my new PC. Enjoying it a lot more then I was expecting.
9. Star Wars Battlefront ; Simple, fun nostalgia. A bit shallow, but thats ok.
10. Destiny: The Taken King ; love/hate, but had good time playing with my brother.

"GAH! How did I not get to these games yet" List:

z. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Still working in Witcher 2, took a break when MGSV came out and still haven't gotten back to it.
z. Super Mario Maker ; Just bought this with the Best Buy promo
z. Splatoon ; Just bought this with the Best Buy promo
z. Soma ;
z. Axiom Verge ;
z. Undertale ;
z. Ori and the Blind Forest ;

 

[Jabba]

Do you need semi colons without comments? First time voting. May edit.

1. Bloodborne ; Thought the game was good in initial playthrough. Never thought Bloodborne was cheap ai wise, just hard for my skill level. My second playthrough, that's what has me playing for hours. My skill has gotten better so the game has finally really "clicked". The appearance or atmosphere truly doesn't bother myself. I've had dreams on a regular basis just as weird/grotesque. I'm not good at writing/explaining enemy encounters or even in depth analysis, suffice to say most of them are good and fair more often than not. There was one thing that bothered me, even though it's rare. Enemies skipping animation frames allowing for attacks that shouldn't happen and getting hit when you shouldn't.

2. Metal Gear Solid V ; Played this a ton also. Really enjoyed the experience. The story was just ok but controls were almost perfect. It's the times you can't run up a small rock with the action button pressed that makes me dock it a bit on control. Enjoyed the side ops vehicular missions to the fullest. If I wasn't able to fulton all vehicles, mission was a failure in my eyes.

3 Toukiden Kiwami ; Over 300 hours. Scratched my pso itch for a bit. Easy to pick up and play. The Mitama system allows for a ton of different builds.

4. Vanishing of Ethan Carter ; PS4
5. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ;
6. Until Dawn ;
7. Soma ;

If I finish Dragon Quest Heroes or Tales of Zestiria, I'll put them in, somewhere.

Thanks Tuxfool. Paid so much attention to the format part of the OP, I missed the ban part.

 

[fargofallout]

Just spent about an hour parsing out the first six pages. I'm really curious as to whether what I'm seeing will hold up. Also, formatting is all over the place. I know people have plenty of time to fix their entries, but man, my method of parsing discarded a lot of entries.

 

[CosmicQueso]

1. The Witcher 3 ; What else can be said. The side missions alone were crafted with such care, it's an amazing accomplishment.
2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; I never intended on playing this game, and started it just to see the visuals. But, once I started playing, I quickly developed an attachment to the characters. Then I found how sharp the mechanics were. And then the art and the music pulled me into the world and I couldn't stop. A masterpiece of the genre.
3. Out of the Park Baseball 16 ; A hardcore sports sim that takes great care to get every aspect of being a GM right. From amateur drafts to setting ticket prices to building the pitching staff, every bit of running a major league club is built in.
4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; A game that I wasn't expecting to be this well crafted. I did not want the adventure to end.
5. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; I thought I was done with AC, but in Syndicate, the formula is tweaked, the characters and setting come alive, and before I knew it I'd sunk 40 hours into it..
6. Yoshi's Woolly World ; IT'S SO DAMNED ADORABLE AHHHHH.
7. Batman Arkham Knight ; Nowhere near my favorite Arkham game, and with its share of issues, but Knight made for a decent saturday morning Action game.
8. Life is Strange ; Hella awesome.
9. Rocket League ; Simple concepts executed flawlessly.
10. Until Dawn ; Sitting with the SO and working the controls as she screamed what to do at the TV was a great time.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

worse year since 2012 for me. I really don't have a lot to say, so there won't be any 7000 word, 2 post write ups from me this year =/

Nintendo was prettttttttty weak this year. Pls save us 3D Zelda/3D Mario/Pikmin 4 in 2016

 

[Aaron D.]

1. Fallout 4 ; Bethesda has this patented brand of exploration and discovery that feels wholly unique in the open-world genre. Their worlds simply demand that no stone is left unturned. They did it again with Fallout 4, bringing a much-welcome vibrant color palette to the party as well as shooting mechanics that ** gasp!! ** actually feel good.

2. Life Is Strange ; Loved the grounded nature of this game. Authentic people is everyday normal spaces is such an exciting direction for games (if you ignore that whole "rewind time" thing). LiS also gets my vote for best presentation of 2015, simply gorgeous top to bottom. Bonus props for the incredible licensed soundtrack.

3. Hacknet ; Hacknet makes me feel like a real, bad-ass hacker, not a Hollywood phony. Using a terminal-based interface is genius. Great story to boot, and I loved the voyeuristic fluff writing (non-story emails, irc chat logs, etc.). Hacknet is my Sleeper Hit of the year.

4. Pillars of Eternity ; My Comfy Slippers pick of 2015, PoE marked a welcome return of the classic CRPG format with fresh new coat of paint. Wonderfully descriptive writing brings the characters to life. My favorite words of the year.

5. Skiing Yeti Mountain ; Part 1 of my mobile, F2P, single-thumb game winners. Yeti Mountain is a liquid smooth joy. Addictive Gold par times, TONS of content (800+ levels), no badgering with micro-transactions (watch an ad every dozen levels or so). I just paid the two bucks to turn off the ads. This is my daily-public-commute-podcast-Zen game.

6. Galactic Keep ; An 80s-inspired sci/fi tabletop game for iOS. Galactic Keep is a labor of love, developed over a 6-year period by two people. It has a hand-crafted feel and wonderful, hand-drawn grid-paper presentation. Another title with fantastic, expressive writing. Best $2.99 you’ll spend on mobile all year.

7. Blackbay Asylum ; Don’t buy Blackbay. Just don’t. It’s crass and non-P.C. Every object in the game has at least 2 wholly unique lines written for it, that is in turn commented on by the anti-hero Doug. And it’s just WRONG. But it’s WRONG in the RIGHT kind of way. At that’s why it easily lands on my Top 10 this year.

8. GTA V ; The PC remaster of this game is a technical marvel. The sheer amount of assets that went into the production is mind-boggling. And putting it all into first-person perspective for the first time completely changes the way the franchise both feels & plays. I’m not big on Summer Blockbuster gaming, but Rockstar just has this magic that pulls me in.

9. Rebel Galaxy ; Grungy with Attitude is how I’d describe RG. A space-combat game on a 2D plane isn’t supposed to work, but it does here. Another title with simply fantastic licensed soundtrack

10 . Shooty Skies ; Part 2 of my mobile, F2P, single-thumb games, Shooty Skies comes from the Crossy Road guys and shares the same presentational style. It’s an endless shoot-‘em-up and it packs a punch in the audio/visual dept. Hilarious, non-traditional characters (both player & a.i.). Crazy-addictive that’s another work-commute, podcast gem.


Honorable Mentions:
x. Her Story ;
x. Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 ;
x. Sunless Sea ;
x. Lara Croft GO (iOS) ;
x. Ryan North's To Be Or Not To Be ;

Likely Candidates I Haven't Played Yet (or put enough time into):
x. Contradiction - Spot The Liar! ;
x. Cibele ;
x. Undertale ;
x. Duskers ;
x. Rodina ;
x. DiRT Rally ;
x. Cradle ;

One thing I noticed about my picks this year is that there are exactly 2 full-priced $60 games on the list. It makes me feel really good about the state of indie game development and the self-publishing/digital distribution model that makes it all possible. It seems like ideas and experiences on offer are becoming exponentially more fresh & diverse as a direct result.

It's simply an awesome time to be a gamer.

 

[tuxfool]

Do you need semi colons without comments? First time voting. May edit.

1. Metal Gear Solid V ;
2. Bloodborne ;
3 Toukiden Kiwami ;
4. Vanishing of Ethan Carter ; PS4
5. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ;
6. Until Dawn ;
7. Soma ;

well:

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.

 

[McHuj]

1. Bloodborne; Only game I've gotten a Platinum trophy in (or wanted too). Other than technical issues, I think this game is almost perfect (I dislike the healing Vials versus Estus mechanic). I love the combat and creature design. It seems as if only From goes crazy and unique with creature design.
2. Battlefront; Awesome graphics and fun gun play. Too bad it's only 5 maps for Supremacy
3. Hotline Miami 2; While not as good as the first one, this was was a lot of fun too.

 

[flatearthpandas]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Absolutely beautiful game. The affinity and normal quests were interesting, the cast was okay. Launching out of New LA and flying across the world to another some quest on another continent... it was an awesome experience. Fetch quests were occasionally a problem and the postgame grind is truly ridiculous, but it was a truly engrossing experience for an extremely long period of time. After 140 hours, there is still a ton of things left to do when I go back to it. The central narrative is very serviceable but the true strength is in the setting, however it is arrived at. The remnants of humanity stranded on a hostile planet. Suitably, exploration, survival, and a sense of constant danger were nailed.

2. Life is Strange ; Interesting concept, creatively accomplished. The atmosphere is consistently remarkable thanks to a great soundtrack and a truly cinematic feel that occasionally left me unaware that a scene has ended and I was in control. I didn't find the narrative groundbreaking but I also didn't find it poor. More, I felt like the game accomplished what it could within the confines it set for itself exceedingly well.

3. Helldivers ; Man, this game makes me want to subscribe to PS+. Played the game for about a week straight all day every day with my friend. Unbelievably awesome multiplayer experience. Like living the starship troopers movie without all the suckage. The ultimate sci-fi badass feeling.

4. Splatoon ; Very satisfying game. It kept me quite busy for a while, which is something considering I don't usually spend any time with shooters of any sort or competitive gaming. It was accessible, colorful, but still competitive and enjoyable.

5. Broken Age: The Complete Adventure ; I played the entire game in 2015, although only Part 2 was an actual 2015 release. I'd be lying if I said the most gripping part wasn't the finale of part 1, but playing both back-to-back I did not finish the game disappointed.

6. Affordable Space Adventure ; I wasn't as crazy as most people about the game but the engine control was genuinely cool and I had a good time doing two players co-op. Felt like there wasn't enough to do for some players though. Wasn't going to add this one but the gamepad use gives it a spot.

x. SteinsGate ; Apparently this is eligible because of the Vita release, which is how I played it, but it is not a new game. That said, I would have placed it third if it was. I very much enjoyed the game, particularly the imo underappreciated element of made-up nonsense becoming meaningful. What originated as obnoxious immaturity grew to actually represent, describe, and embody real consequences and events and something about that struck me as very real. By the end, the nonsense accurately describes the circumstances, not because the characters shaped the world or the world shaped itself to them, but because they happened to discover circumstances appropriate to it.


Nothing else (that I personally finished) from 2015 struck me as deserving to be on the list, despite the free space. Sorry Bloodborne and W3, but circumstances robbed you of me.

Edit: good thing I checked up on this. All comments just said "reasons" but i had the impression I had written things.

 

[RoaringMdog]

1. Rocket League ; One of the most fun games i've played, spent so much time playing this online.
2. Persona 4 Dancing All Night ; Loved the game so much i actually ended up getting it twice, a simple but really fun rhythm game
3. Life Is Stange ; Great all around story and for the first time in a game like this i felt that my actions mattered.
4. Tales From The Borderlands ; Telltale's best work so far, not a huge borderlands fan, but seeing that world this was was fantastic
5. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; Finally a game in the series that can match up to AC2, didn't expect it to be good but i was really happy it was a good as it was.
6. Dying Light ; I love zombie games, so i was really happy to see this come out and be good. Didn't expect much from it but i was hooked for a good few weeks
7. Until Dawn ; Great suprise. Didn't expect anything but i'm glad i picked this up when it came out.
8. Battlefront ; Simple, fun and addictive. Excactly what i want in a mp shooter.
9. Batman: Arkham Knight ; I wish i could put this up higher on my list, but after Asylum and City this felt off. Still a good batman game, but not the finale i hoped for.
10. Shovel Knight ; Hadn't played a game like this in ages, so it was a fun change of pace for me

 

[carpediemdp]

1. Yakuza 5 ; I bought Y5 out of nostalgia, but I forgot how much fun are these games with all the ridiculous side missions, overly dramatic story and clowny characters. I’ve been playing this game for almost 5 hours daily since it launched and haven’t felt tired or bored. I’ve loved all of the previous Yakuza, and this one may be my favorite.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A couple of years ago I tried playing Witcher 1 and 2 but I didn’t like them. I have to admit though that the setting of these games has always intrigued me, and this was the reason I gave W3 a chance and ended up preordering it. Loved it from beginning to end. I have spent more than 90 hours on the game and last week I bought the season pass so I can start with NG+ as soon as I finish Yakuza 5.

3. Until Dawn ; I am a fan of all of Quantic Dream games, and Heavy Rain is one of my top 10 PS3 games, but Until Dawn is many times better. Most of the decisions you make feel like they really affect the outcome of the story and the horror and gore elements are so well crafted. I deeply loved and greatly despised some of the characters of the game. Until Dawn is a haunting, stressful and exciting ride from beginning to end.

4. Driveclub Bikes ; Driveclub is, as of today, my favorite current-gen game and one of my favorite racing games ever, and DC Bikes is a well-received addition to the awesome experience that DC offers. In fact, around the time that this expansion was announced, I was looking for a bike racing game. Thanks EVO for this wonderful game you made.

5. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; It was a pleasure to replay some of my favorite PS3 games with upgraded graphics. In fact, I also loved the fact how a game evolves, both graphically and gameplay-wise, during a generation. Can’t wait for Uncharted 4 early next year!

6. OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood ; Fun, addictive, frustrating game for the vita. I bought it for a very long trip I had. People around me on the planed looked funny at me for all of the fucks and shits and damns I said while playing this. I loved the first and this one’s not only better but also more challenging.

7. The Order: 1886 ; Besides the tedious fights against the lycans, I enjoyed this game a lot. Loved the story, setting and scenery and didn’t mind it being short (it could’ve been a couple of hours longer, though). Hopefully Sony makes a follow-up because it has a lot of potential.

 

[Soul Lab]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; This is it. The most beautiful world ever created imo. 120+ hours in and can't get enough of this game.
2. Splatoon ; Splatoon is the best new ip in years <3. good job Nintendo! You still have it
3. Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; Finally I was able to play the game. It's so different, unique and so good. One of my favourite Zelda games for sure. Could easily take first place. But it's still a remake so I decided to place it 3rd
4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; MH3U was my first MH and I liked it. MH4U improved the gameplay in many ways and I loved it.
5. Super Mario Maker ; Never thought that creating my own lvl is so much fun. Good usage of the gamepad
6. Yoshi's Wooly World ; Surprise of the year for me. Love the art style
7. Fast Racing NEO ;

edit: holy crap forgot Majora's

 

[Alcoholikaust]

1. The Witcher 3 ; CDPR hit it out of the park- Huge interesting world- fantastic writing- stellar quests-and most impressive sidequests in pretty much any open-world game to date.
2. Bloodborne ; Miyazaki's gift to Sony, Souls fans were treated to an offensive-driven take as it's more tactical slower paced cousins.
3. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Making one of the largest worlds in an RPG is a feat in and of itself-making that world achievable on WiiU is a monumental task. I loved my 30 hour build up to get a Skell- and the 25 hours since then. Great characters -an impressive soundtrack, a fun combat system- and using my friends characters as support through online was fantastic.
4. Mad Max ; Avalanche did a phenomonal job of taking the best parts of games and placing them together in the post apocalyptic wasteland we have with Mad Max. I never thought what I was doing was a chore-because the game's world, upgrading the magnum opus and its combat was enough to drive me to completion on both XB1 and PS4.
5. Call of Duty: Black OPS 3 ;My favorite Call of Duty since MW2- this one is stuffed full of content. An impressive mp suite, Zombies mode, a new freerun mode, and a lengthy campaign-there is a ton to play see and do here.
6. Dark Souls 2:Scholar of the First Sin ; I loved Dark Souls 2. You give me an updated version with different enemy placement and new areas and enemies from the DLC content-and Im yours-From B-team.
7. Dying Light ; This one was surprise for me-purchased during that 19 dollar game and season pass snafu-quickly became my favorite zombie-related game of all time. Parkour was implemented well-the melee was fantastic and the music reminded me of 'The Thing' soundtrack.
8. Fallout 4 ; Bethesda caught alot of flak for 'dumbing down Fallout'- I didnt get that at all. I got a fallout with fun gun mechanics, great music, some of the best companions in any game released this year (Valentine ftw) and a great settlement-building mini game that I have been addicted to since launch.
9. Rocket League ; Cannot stand sports games-none of them hook me. This game had me sit for hours with friends trying to master its simple-yet complex gameplay- simply a joy to play-I see why a certain squirrel I know swears by it (Flunkie). Will be playing this around the holidays with family.
10. Wolfenstien:The Old Blood ; A return to castle wolfenstien was absolutely everything MachineGames fans wanted and we got it. Some of the best weapon feedback aoround- game had my adrenaline pumping the entire time. Plus the undead-because why not?

edit:will add thoughts in a few minutes

 

[StAidan]

I'll jump in with three GOTY votes and two honorable mentions. Splatoon kind of killed any chances I might have had of actually playing 10 games this year.

1. Splatoon ; I don't play shooters, but I put more time into Splatoon than I did into all of my 2014 gaming combined (and I finished almost 50 games last year). This game cannot be praised highly enough. Like, it's literally quite impossible.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; An intriguing world of monstrous proportions, and the only game that could tear me away from Splatoon.
3. Yoshi's Woolly World ; The game I played with my kids. It's adorable, it's fun, and it's even decently challenging.
x. Super Mario Maker ; I love me some 2D Mario gaming, so I enjoyed the handful of hours I put into this game. Certainly not GOTY material, but I'm sure I'll load it up every once in a while to play a few levels.
x. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse ; Overall I was disappointed in Kirby's latest release, but the soundtrack has been in constant rotation in my house for months. It's the epitome of musical joy, and the whole family loves it.

 

[antitrop]

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. Crypt of the NecroDancer ;
6. Life is Strange ;
7. Cities: Skylines ;
8. Downwell ;
9. Helldivers ;
10. Hotline Miami 2;

Comments to be added

Ah, finally. I was just reading through these and thinking "More people need to play Nuclear Throne", right as I got to your post.

 

[Sorc3r3r]

1. The Witcher 3 ; Outstanding overall, with a quest design that ruined all other WRPGs in my eyes, a great story telling, amazing atmospheric effects, the combat was on a meh side, but the perfection is not of this world.

2. Dying Light; Went into this game almost for case, left amazed, the zombie-free run combo worked great for my enjoyment, the game offered challenging missions and situations, i loved the soundtrack, loved the night setting, finally a day night cycle that make sense.

3.Bloodborne ; Game design at its finest, fast and furious, unforgiving, mysterious, sick art design worth to have a film or anime transposition.

4.Metal Gear Solid V ; Masterful gameplay, I loved the freedom left in the hands of the player to approach the missions and the tools given to use in all this freedom, the game works so beautifully that seems obvious that it should work like that but it's an outstanding achievement.

5.Project Cars; It's time to take a spot for a sim, the game that has given me another take on the racing sim that i loved and still love, a great dedicated dev that keeps improving its game over time.Great work SMS.

I played a lot more games than this 5 entries, but my goty list is restricted to this 5, (Well Pcars is a little forced in there but i wanted to give it a spot), since the other games I've played do not deserve to be candidate winners.

Each one of this game taking the crown will have all my approval.

 

[BaraSailey]

1. Bloodborne ; I wasn't a big fan of Dark Souls, but I decided to give Bloodborne a shot due to the faster style of gameplay and setting. I absolutely loved it. It's challenging, but very satisfying and rewarding. The game requires you to really learn how to play it, and with its' responsive combat, it feels great to learn. The lore is also fascinating, and the enemy designs are top notch.

2. Life is Strange ; I purchased this game to fill some time between two big releases, and I was pleasantly surprised. The game was fascinating from the start and filled with great characters and a very cool atmosphere. I went through a lot of different emotions playing this game, and from start to finish it was a very powerful experience. If Bloodborne hadn't come out this year, Life is Strange would have easily gotten my top spot.

3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; One of the best open world games I've ever played. It was filled with beautiful environments, interesting lore and characters, and a solid story. I still haven't completed every quest in the game, but this is one of those games where I feel the desire to do just that. Also, Gwent is amazing!

4. Until Dawn ; I'm a massive fan of horror games, and this game did not disappoint. I wouldn't say the game was scary, but it had a great atmosphere and a set of characters that went beyond their stereotypes. The butterfly effect system was well implemented and it was cool to see what decisions lead to which outcomes. I also really liked the idea that everyone could die given how you reacted and responded to things during the game.

5. Rocket League ; I'm not a big fan of games that are sports related, and when I first heard of Rocket League I was I bit apprehensive. My friends convinced me to download it while it was free on PS+, and I instantly fell in love with it. The game is addictively fun, and I constantly find myself coming back to it just to play a couple games. It's pretty easy to get back into, and is just so crazy and fun.

6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Arkham Knight was definitely not a perfect game, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it. The story was an intriguing and well written version of Batman encountering

Spoiler

Jason Todd

again, and the combat was smooth and satisfying. The ability to switch between characters during combat was incredibly smooth and fun, and the section where you got to switch between Batman and Robin was probably the highlight of the game for me. I had a blast playing this game regardless of its' flaws.

7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Just like Arkham Knight, this game had some shortcomings which were not fully Kojima's fault, but I enjoyed it regardless. The open world aspect was interesting and fun, and I enjoyed having the freedom to just play around with different tools I developed. The story was solid, but left me wanting a stronger sense of conclusion overall. I had a lot of fun with MGSV, and definitely want to play through it again someday.

8. Mad Max ; I love the Mad Max movies, so I was eagerly anticipating this game. It did not disappoint. The game created such an interesting wasteland in terms of design; each area of the map truly felt unique, which I feel is a great accomplishment given it's a wasteland. Making your Magnum Opus was really cool, and the combat felt like a much more brutal version of Batman's combat system.

9. Fallout 4 ; Fallout 4 is very similar to Fallout 3, which I'm honestly fine with. Exploring Boston and the areas surrounding it has been a pretty fun experience. The characters you meet along the way are also interesting, and the little stories you find about characters in the world before and after people went into the Vaults are fascinating and build the world very well. I still haven't beaten this yet, but what I've played of it so far I liked.

10. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water ; It's a miracle this game was even released in the West, and I am so happy Nintendo decided to do it. I'm a big fan of this series, as well as that classic survival horror feel that these games have. This game felt like an old school horror game, and had interesting, creepy lore and imagery which pulled me right in. Using the gamepad as a camera was also the best use of the gamepad I've seen so far.


Honorable Mentions
x. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition ; I love DMC4, so it's not surprising that I love the Special Edition. With three new characters to learn, as well as minor tweaks such as turbo mode, this is definitely the definitive version of DMC4.

x. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; I never beat this game when I was younger, so I took this remaster as an opportunity to finally do just that. Playing through it made me remember how much a truly miss old survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It was satisfying to finally beat it, and a blast to play.

x. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; Just as good as the amazing base game, The Old Blood was a fun ride from start to finish. It had an interesting story, a good villain, and great combat.

 

[hal9001]

1. Bloodborne ; My very first type of souls game. Brutal to the point of screaming in difficulty but so so worth it. You feel like a god every time you beat a boss. No other game gets you addicted to pain and reward so much. The atmosphere/level design locations are some of the best I've ever encountered. HP Lovecraft would be proud.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; One of the biggest disappointments this gen in terms of story and cut content, but boy is the gameplay some of the best ever. At the end of the day in gaming that's what matters the most.

3. Batman: Arkham knight ; I was somewhat sceptical about this game. Waited a long time before playing it but really enjoyed it. The story, graphics and the bat mobile were all really good.

4. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ; Stunning. I won't spoil it for you but the game is not what it seems. Graphics and slow paced adventure story make it a great experience.

5. DmC: Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition ; One of the best action games around. There, I said it.

 

[SM239]

1. Splatoon ; This game is the reason I only have two other games on my list. When I saw the announcement for this game my initial reaction was "Wtf is this? Some licensed Nickelodeon crap?" Even after seeing gameplay I was very skeptical about the game all the way up until launch. Then I finally played it. Everything just clicked. The movement system is fantastic. The weapon variety is great. The gear system has me constantly thinking of new gear combinations to get the most out of different weapons. Everyday I look forward to getting home from work and playing with the guys from SplatGAF. From "Wtf is this crap?" to over 1,200 hours of play time. This game is something else.

Spoiler

My backlog is bigger than ever now. RIP me.

2. Undertale ; Very unique battle mechanic, great soundtrack, brilliant writing, and a fantastic cast of characters. I honestly felt more emotional towards these black and white sprites than any big budget motion captured 3d model.

Spoiler

I could not bring myself to do a genocide run.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; One of the best Zelda games made portable with an improved time and saving system. The improved graphics and 3D are nice too.

 

[Anth0ny]

Nintendo was prettttttttty weak this year. Pls save us 3D Zelda/3D Mario/Pikmin 4 in 2016

Between their handheld and console this might be their weakest year ever for me. Doesn't help that I didn't even care for some of their more critically acclaimed games this year (Triforce Heroes, Mario Maker, Xenoblade).

 

[Menome]

1. Life Is Strange ; I never really got on with Telltale games after the first season of The Walking Dead. I expected them to improve on the formula rather than reiterate and repeat with different franchises. Life Is Strange really does feel like a proper evolution of this manner of episodic story-based game. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but it certainly smoothed the edges of a previously rough experience.

On its own merits Life Is Strange excels at character-based drama. The overarching plot is similar to the execution of Twin Peaks' murder-mystery. In that show, who killed Laura Palmer wasn't the focus, it was the event that brought a wonderful cast of people together and the same can be said for Max Caulfield's vision of the future in the first episode of Life Is Strange. It's not a game about saving your hometown, it's a game about the people you meet along the way.

Life Is Strange touches upon a number of 'mature' subjects that games have never been that adept at addressing before and handles them with just the right mixture of tact and drama to stop it from ever feeling exploitative of the subjects at hand. You're also not always the hero of these circumstances, the events may have long transpired and you're simply there to help someone pick up the pieces or despite your best efforts you can still end up causing someone harm without intending to.

It speaks volumes that I can go on for three paragraphs without even mentioning the game's core time-travel mechanic. It's a crutch to the storytelling experience that allows you to do a once-over on certain decisions and engage in a few clever puzzles. It drives the plot but doesn't feel overbearing and it's possible to get through the game with a minimal use of it.

This game has been an absolute delight to play through all year and I look forward to DONTNOD's next title.

2. Bloodborne ; It's been a whirlwind two years for myself with the Souls series. I first played and completed Dark Souls in January 2014, Dark Souls II came out that summer and somewhere in the midst of that we had the leaked images of "Project Beast".

Now in the position of everyone else when it came to anticipation, Bloodborne lived up to the hype. Swapping the dark-medieval aesthetic of the Souls games and swapping it for a Victorian-styled gothic horror approach has given a new lease of life to the series.

The new aggressive-combat style of gameplay was an easy mould to fit into thanks to my previous non-shield characters for the Souls games and I found myself much preferring the combat and creature design overall here, even if there weren't quite as many memorable bosses this time around.

3. Rocket League ; It came from almost out of nowhere to become one of the year's best-loved titles. It's a sports game for people who don't play sports games because it strips away the impenetrable rules and boredom of FIFA and Madden games. It gives you a handful of rocket-powered cars, an impossibly bouncy ball and two goals. The concept and controls are simple enough for anyone to pick up and play and that's why it's great to just stick on for half an hour to play whilst dinner's cooking or when you've got friends over. It's pure, unadulterated fun.

4. Her Story ; A game that changed the rules on how stories can be told. The live-action FMV is a 90s trope that was previously thought to be left in the past, but Her Story forgoes a cast of amateur-drama actors for one singular actress: Viva Seifert.

She manages to carry an entire 4-6 hour experience purely by herself and keeps the intrigue up regardless of which of the hundreds of clips you choose to watch. The entire experience is a non-linear trawl through a police interview database and yet manages to unravel itself with intrigue and drama regardless of what order you manage to view the clips in.

5. Chaos Reborn ; A reboot of the classic strategy game by the original creator himself: Julian Gollop. The concept remains the same: turn-based strategy with a semi-randomised set of spells but updated with online play, new spells and single-player content to earn items for new pre-arranged decks of spells and abilities.

The dice-roll mechanics of spell casting mean that even the most seasoned player can have a bad round and the newest recruit can score some lucky shots and gain a win, but manipulating those chances and gambling on casting illusion-variants of creatures means the game maintains a true strategical edge and stops the game from being a random-chance experience.

Plus, a bloody nice community playing the game that takes wins and losses in good humour helps keep this game as one I'll turn to for a quick round on a constant basis.

6. Pillars Of Eternity ; The people wanted a return to the old-school classic RPG and Obsidian delivered in spades. Whilst Divinity: Original Sin may outclass it in combat and world-interaction, Pillars Of Eternity succeeds in making it feel like your statistics and actions in the world matter. There's a main plot to work towards finishing, but how you get there and who joins you in the quest is completely down to you and your choices.

7. Tormentum: Dark Sorrow ; A point-and-click adventure game set in a landscape where every screen is a mixture between H.R.Geiger paintings and the cover of every heavy metal album in existence. You can make a number of morality-based decisions along the way, where even the obviously 'right' thing to do can have unintended consequences further down the road. It would place higher if not for one rather frustrating choice that can be made right at the end of the game which can invalidate a lot of what came before, but the full experience is still worth playing even if that occurs.

8. Until Dawn ; Oddly, this has become the party-game of the year at my flat. There's now a regular group of six of us who are playing through this game a couple of hours at a time yelling at me on what decisions to take whilst I'm in control of whomever's on screen.

The game has taken a number of tropes from numerous horror films and blended them together into one of the best 'interactive-movie' experiences we've ever had on consoles. It both plays to and against cliches of the films horror-buffs love and provides enough variation in play to warrant at least two playthroughs. In an age where I'm usually one-and-done with games, it really does take something special to make me go back through something a second time.

9. The Beginner's Guide ; A stealth-released narrative tale that's still causing some controversy to this very week as to the line between fiction and fantasy. It is one of those games that requires being experienced as cold as possible. So if you enjoy story-focused walking simulators, this is for you. If not, then there's always Steam refunds, am I right?

10. Everybody's Gone To The Rapture ; An incredibly well-detailed rendition of an English countryside village that's been subject to an unknown phenomenon, leaving it completely deserted. Your only guide a strange glowing orange light that reveals the final hours of the people who lived there.

A strong narrative-based game that was let down by the slightly over-done slow pacing and a not entirely intuitive method of unlocking the full story in each area. (Pro tip: Just follow the light wherever it goes, no need to explore as you'll get to everywhere eventually). Still, it got to me emotionally in a few scenes and is the best radio-play I've ever walked through.

 

[theecakee]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; I think this game is the new bar and standard set for RPGs, best RPG to come out ever so far. My biggest complaint was there was just too much content to get through, I just had to stop with side quests because it was just getting too long. Easily my GOTY this year, a near flawless game and everything I would want from a WRPG, that many WRPGs like Elder Scrolls have lacked with a good story and meaningful characters. I honestly think this is a game that will influence many games to come for the generation.

2.Life is Strange

3.Rocket League
4.Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
5.Until Dawn
6.Undertale
7.Cities Skylines
8.Super Mario Maker
9.Splatoon
10.Rise of the Tomb Raider

HONORABLE MENTION
SOMA
Hacknet
The Beginners Guide
Fallout 4
Her Story
Downwell

 

[Kito]

1. Splatoon ; I hated shooters before this game, and yet I can't imagine getting more hours out of any game in the future, except for Splatoon 2.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I guess Elite Dangerous: Horizons is ineligible because they released it as Early Access on Steam?

 

[T.O.P]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; the more i play the more i'm falling in love with this game, probably one of the best open world rpgs games ever made.
2. Tales From The Borderlands ; Telltale's best effort yet, absolutely charming and hilarious game, i need a sequel, so fuckin bad.
3. Life is Strange ; this was my breakthrough year for narrative driven games, fell in love with the characters and the AMAZING soundtrack, probably one of the best experiences i've ever had when it comes to videogames.
4. Ori & The Blind Forest ; best metroidvania of the last 10 years imo, outstanding artstyle.
5. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; CD's Uncharted 2 moment...gorgeous game.
6. Forza Motorsport 6 ; T10 keeps perfectioning an already solid formula with their best game yet, especially after the mediocre F5.
7. Until Dawn ; Fantastic atmosphere in one of the best horror experiments in the latest years.
8. Guilty Gear Xrd ; got me back into the fighting game genre, complex but extremely satisfying...with a bangin soundtrack to top it off.
9. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; still a looker after all these years, a must play for horror fans.
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ; mediocre sp but with the best mp since MW4, shame about the zombie mode tho.

 

[Apenheul]

1. Super Mario Maker ; Among my top 4 I could've ranked any game as number 1 but there's a good reason why I chose SMM: it's because it scratches my itch for any 'temperature' of game, if I want to be creative I make a level, if I just want to play a few levels quickly I look at the new high ranked levels, if I want to have a challenge I do the 100-Mario Challenge on expert. No other game this year satisfies so many play styles.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; This is what I always wanted the Dragon Age games to be like. Large, dynamic and full of exploration.

3. Splatoon ; This gives me the same vibes as CoD Modern Warfare did when it released back in the day, it has the same kind of short high action gameplay moments and you don't have to be the K/D type of person who can headshot everyone at first sight, you're
just as useful when you're the strategic type.

4. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Did I just say exploration? Well this game does it better than any other game I've played this year. I just haven't played it as much as The Witcher III.

5. Bloodborne ; I had a really good time with this game, the most streamlined of recent FROM Software games and just about as good as Bayonetta 2 was the year before it. Somehow I'm not as interested to replay this game which is why I haven't tried the DLC yet.

6. Ori and the Blind Forest ; I only briefly played it because I was into The Witcher III and Xenoblade Chronicles X when I got this, but I'm looking forward to finishing it in 2016.

7. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; After so many MH games and clones I find myself less into it than usual, but MH4U is without a doubt the pinnacle within its genre IMO.

8. Rocket League ; Fun game, reminded me of Ubisofts Street Racer from back in the days. It lacks the variety and depth of something like Splatoon which I why I ranked it lower but still great fun.

9. Yoshi's Woolly World ; Long explorable levels, cute themes and a good difficulty level. I really enjoyed this game.

10. Her Story ; As soon as I read that this was a Sam Barlow game I pre-ordered it. The game was not quite as involving as I had hoped but still a really good experience.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

1. Fallout 4 ; I feel Bethesda stepped up a bit from Skyrim and especially Fallout 3. Main storyline is shit, but that's kind of expected at this point from Bethesda. I loved pretty much everything else. Exploration was fun, companion characters were well done for the most part, and I loved the new perk system. Playing with a Luck build was the most fun I've had with combat in the series by far. It's not a perfect game, and I still feel New Vegas is better, but I still loved it.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Going in, I wasn't a fan of the series. Barely played the first game, and played about half of the Witcher 2 and didn't care for it. But I loved this game. It feels like Red Dead Redemption given the RPG treatment. And I love RDR and RPGs. The main storyline overall is alright but pieces of it and many side stories are brilliant. On the negative side, the loot system sucks, quest gameplay is really repetitive, combat gets too easy too quickly, weapon degradation is annoying, and the level-up system is dull. That aside, where the game shines bright, it shines brilliantly.

3. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; I had grown tired of Telltale's games and had zero interest in anything Borderlands related, but I was bored one day and the first episode was free, and so I figured why not? I got one of my two big surprises this year, loved everything about it. The story and characters were all great. Just well done overall.

4. Pillars of Eternity ; Obsidian going back to infinity engine style games was something I could never pass up. Backed it on Kickstarter and it was definitely one of my most anticipated games of the year. And overall it was largely a success. My one big complaint would be the companion characters, only a couple of them were interesting or fun, the rest were pretty forgettable. But that aside this was a great return to a classic era and I look forward to playing it again when the other expansion releases.

5. Until Dawn ; My other big surprise this year. Not even on my radar but my friend kept talking it up. I mostly ignored her because MGSV was releasing soon after. But between her and the Giant Bomb quick look I gave in, and loved the hell out of it.

6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; I still prefer Asylum, but this was still good fun and above Arkham City. The batmobile tank stuff did get old pretty quick, but I liked most everything else. Some of the stuff they did with hallucinations was brilliant.

7. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; A huge step up from Unity. Jacob and Evie were fun characters and London was great to explore. It reminded me a lot of AC2 which is always a good thing.

8. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; A great way to relive one pretty good game, and two great games.

9. Wasteland 2: Director's Cut ; I enjoyed this game a lot, and it would have probably been higher in the list if it ran competently. Played the PS4 version and there was weird slowdown and incredibly frequent crashes. But I liked the gameplay, the difficulty, and the various quests. If they ever patch it to run decently I'd love to revisit it.

10. Grim Fandango Remastered ; Classic Tim. Had not played this game in forever. Really looking forward to replaying Full Throttle. That was always my favorite of his.

 

[Bolivar687]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; The HD Peace Walker follow up I hoped it would be, but I didn't realize I would also get, arguably, the greatest sandbox action game of all time.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; A perfect send off for Geralt, with story tangents just as compelling as the main quest they branch off from.

3. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; A larger story, harder missions, and the same brutal aesthetic that made us fall in love with the first one.

4. The Order 1886 ; With the lights off and headphones on, this was one of the most immersive games I've ever played. A stellar blend of games and film that had me feeling like I was on a movie set at times.

5. Dragon Quest Heroes ; Surprisingly delightful, plays like a third person Diablo but is still Dragon Quest through and through.

6. Grey Goo ; Petroglyph proves they still got it, delivering another stellar RTS.

7. OlliOlli 2 ; Great soundtrack, colorful visuals, very exceptional Vita.

8. Magic Duels Origins ; The Hearthstone killer (if only Wizards and Stainless would let it).

9. Helldivers ; The poster child for hop-in, hop-out PSN crossplatform co-op games.

10. Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Season Pass ; Please don't hate me for putting a season pass in this! But the content season was one of my favorite gaming experiences of the year, with the third map pack Supremacy being perhaps my favorite DLC map pack ever for CoD. Advanced Warfare was a much-appreciated shot in the arm for the series, while still prioritizing situational awareness above all else, despite the chaotic movement system. That's more clear than ever in the wake of Black Ops 3, with its overly safe map design, clearly tacked-on movement system, recycled customization, and an overall lack of content. I'm hoping the PS4 AW community keeps rolling for another year!! (Please don't tell Cod_Gaf D: )

 

[Revan]

1. Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain ; Best gameplay I think I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing in 30 years of gaming (400+ hours with the platinum/100% completion and still playing) It truly is sublime. The story is divisive for Metal Gear fans but I personally liked it. Stunning/almost photo-realistic visuals and an otherworldly soundtrack makes Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain my GOTY by a country mile.

2. The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt ; Best RPG I've ever played. The story is incredibly crafted and acted and incredibly mature (The Bloody Baron) for a AAA title. Amazing visual and a great soundtrack.

3. Rocket League ; Indie game with AAA production values surprised me this year. Countless hours of fun and wickedly fun couch co-op.

4. God of War 3 Remaster ; I didn't play many games this year but man - GOW3 @ 60 FPS was a feast to behold. Still looks better then some current gen AAA games.

 

[Nocturnowl]

worse year since 2012 for me. I really don't have a lot to say, so there won't be any 7000 word, 2 post write ups from me this year =/

2015 claims another victim, roll on 2016.

Still leagues ahead of 2012 though.

Nintendo was prettttttttty weak this year. Pls save us 3D Zelda/3D Mario/Pikmin 4 in 2016

How can you say that when they unleashed your long awaited GotY Devils Third on the world?

 

[oktarb]

1. Warframe ; Most underrated or talked about game but my most consistently played game over the year. Constant upgrades, no fear of taking risks.
2. The Witcher III : Wild Hunt ; Phenomenal world. great storytelling and immersion that's off the charts.
3. Fallout 4 ; Though it didn't take a lot of risks it solid enjoyment every step of the way.
4. Hearthstone ; Addicting, accessible and you don't feel locked out by people that just spend a zillion dollars on packs.
5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Great writing, like being in a comic book when you were eight.
6. Dying Light ; Main game was exceptional, expansions left a little to be desired.
7. Star Wars: Battlefront ; Gorgeous and fun but I'd like to see where they go with it.
8. Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide ; I'm a sucker for all things Warhammer but most are crap. This game - left 4 Dead meets Warhammer is well done and worth a look.
9. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; So glad I beat the hell out of it before they went invasion and micro transaction batshit crazy. The best stealth out there.
10. Elder Scrolls Online ; Late entry to my list simple because I've only started enjoying it in the last two weeks. Getting past level 25 and running dungeons changed the game for me.

 

[Ryan_MSF]

1. Bloodborne ; Without doubt my favourite game of the year, if not my game of the generation so far. No other title has had me so invested, both in and out of the game world, spending countless hours slaying beasts on the streets of Yharnam, and spending countless hours outside of game researching Lore and playthroughs on YouTube. Miyazaki-San and the team at from have created not only an incredible game, but also in my opinion a complete masterpiece. Bloodborne was my first real introduction to the Souls franchise of games, and introduced me to the rest of the series, of which I've poured countless hours into up to this point. Without doubt the greatest game this year, and the purchase that justified my purchase of a PlayStation 4 so far.

2. Rocket League ; My sleeper hit of the year. I never thought that such a simple premise could result in hundreds of hours of game play, some of the biggest rivalries with my friends over PSN, and just such unadulterated fun. Considering this came free with PS+ I feel as though it justified my yearly subscription alone. If you've not got rocket league, go and buy it this instant!

3. Tomb Raider : Rise Of The Tomb Raider ; In my opinion one of the most overlooked games of 2015. The team over at CD have made an incredible title, one that gripped me from the opening moments, all the way till the very final hours, I genuinely felt for Lara on her adventure, and the story, along with the fantastic game play with improvements from the 2013 reboot, I had a blast playing this game. I look forward to the game coming out on PC, those juicy 4k screens in the screenshot thread *eye hearts emoji x3*

4. Resident Evil HD ; I cannot adequately put into words the sheer enjoyment i felt whilst loading this up for the first time. I played both previous iterations of Resident Evil at release, and playing through this after a long period away gave me such nostalgia for this kind of survival horror, which I feel has been sadly lacking in recent years, especially in the Resident Evil franchise. This and looking forward to RE0 gives me hope that Capcom may finally realise what most of us are looking for in a RE game!

5. Mortal Kombat X ; Mortal Kombat has been my favourite fighting game for the longest time, and MKX is absolutely an addition to the reasons why I love it. With it's fast paced brutal action, incredible graphics that still blow me away, and the amazingly disgusting fatalities, MKX is one game that I'm constantly loading up for just one more play, in addition to the ever growing roster of DLC characters, I think MKX is one i'll be playing for a long time to come.

6. Life Is Strange ; I'm going to echo the sentiments of a lot of people here and say that I think Episode 5 was fucking awful, however the amount of hours I invested into this game, the amazing story of Max + Chloe, I can't not include LIS in my top 10 games this year. I initially passed this one off as just a boring teen-angst game designed for the tumblr crowd, however I was pleasantly surprised when I found a very real story that I could get fully invested in.

7. Until Dawn ; Until Dawn. I had high hopes for the game prior to release, getting into discussions about how I thought the game would be fantastic, to my more than cynical friends, however I was happy to be proven correct in my early predictions. Until Dawn is everything David Cage wishes he could create. UD is exactly as it appears, a cheesy 90's style teen horror, with genuine suspense, and amazing replay value. Playing through this with my girlfriend, and taking turns with the controller was one of the most fun experiences this year.

8. NBA 2K16 ; It's hard to list my favourite games this year without mentioning 2K16. In addition to just being the all round best simulation available the story mode was utterly fantastic, and I had a genuinely great time playing through it. Deserves a place on my list for that alone!

9. Assassins Creed Syndicate ; When it comes to AC:S i'm aware that it has it's faults, however the character of Evie alone meant I had to put the game on the list. She is by far one of my favourite female characters in gaming, her sarcastic wit, everything about her was just an absolute joy to experience, and If Ubi are listening PLEASE GIVE US MORE EVIE!

10. Starcraft 2 : Legacy Of The Void ; The next expansion to an already great franchise, SC2 is one of those games that no matter how much I try to stay away, it always ends up dragging me back in. Whilst i'm utterly terrible at the game, playing with friends, watching the finals online, Starcraft will forever have a place in my heart, and therefore, a place on my list.

 

[jmizzal]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Great Epic RPG
2. Splatoon; Most innovative shooter in years
3. NBA 2K16 ; Best Basketball sim ever
4. Super Mario Maker ; Making 2D Mario levels in all styles what more can you ask for
5. Life is Strange ; Great adventure game
6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Batman plus the Batmobile
7. Star Wars Battle front ; Fun Star Wars battles
8. Devils Third
9. Call of Duty Black Ops 3
10. Madden 16

Honorable Mentions
Rainbow Six Sieg

 

[Anth0ny]

2015 claims another victim, roll on 2016.

Still leagues ahead of 2012 though.

Yeah, looking back, 2012 was just... fuck.

Cleared a ton of my backlog that year, and funny enough, I actually cleared my backlog completely this year!

 

[RespectThySole]

1. Warframe ; Most underrated or talked about game but my most consistently played game over the year. Constant upgrades, no fear of taking risks.
2. The Witch III ; Phenomenal world. great storytelling and immersion that's off the charts.
3. Fallout 4 ; Though it didn't take a lot of risks it solid enjoyment every step of the way.
4. Hearthstone ; Addicting, accessible and you don't feel locked out by people that just spend a zillion dollars on packs.
5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Great writing, like being in a comic book when you were eight.
6. Dying Light ; Main game was exceptional, expansions left a little to be desired.
7. Star Wars: Battlefont ; Gorgeous and fun but I'd like to see where they go with it.
8. Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide ; I'm a sucker for all things Warhammer but most are crap. This game - left 4 Dead meets Warhammer is well done and worth a look.
9. Metal Gear Solid V; So glad I beat the hell out of it before they went invasion and micro transaction batshit crazy. The best stealth out there.
10. Elder Scrolls Online ; Late entry to my list simple because I've only started enjoying it in the last two weeks. Getting past level 25 and running dungeons changed the game for me.

Names of games have to be spelled correctly or they don't count. No abbreviations. Use the spreadsheet in the OP as a guide. Your #2 choice should be The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. You are also missing an r in Battlefront.

 

[Bittercup]

1. SteinsGate ; For me the best game I have played this year and easily one of my top games of all time. Great writing and characters and the story especially once it gets really started is just so good.
I really like the unique take on time travel and how 'scientific' the game is about it combined with all the otaku culture mixed in.
Gameplay is a bit non-existent but that is not really a flaw. Rarely did have a game hooked me this much.

2. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; I love Resident Evil and I'm not really critical about it. If it's RE I'll most likely like it. Revelations 2 is another Resident Evil, so yay.
But it's not even just that. Revelations 2 is actually a great game and does a lot right. From atmosphere to enemy encounter and story, this is one of the best RE games for me.
And it's nice to have Claire back as the protagonist and Barry was surprisingly awesome and the whole father/daughter story between Barry and Moira was a cute idea for fleshing out the characters and Moira is just great. I love her character.
Raid mode is again very addicting and something I wish to see in every new RE.
The game is not perfect and you clearly see the low budget and at first I had placed the game a bit lower on my list, but thinking about it: This is the only game I played through three times this year and counting all the playtime, this is the game I spend the most time with. I still play raid mode today. It really deserves to be one one of the top positions.

3. Life is Strange ; Another game about time travel and what a beautiful game this is. I love the characters and interaction between them. And the game has one of the most emotional stories this year and made me cry several times.
The wait between episodes was a bit too long but I actually liked having breaks. The speculations about what happened/might happen next and discussing it with other people and comparing decisions was part of the fun and the wait between episode 4 and 5 brutal.

4. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ; One thing I really like about the FFXIII games is how every game tries to do things differently. I enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII quite a lot even with its flaws. XIII-2 was ok, the changes didn't quite work for me but it was still fun enough. And then there is Lightning Returns, a game that plays nothing like its prequels. And the beginning is rough. Time pressure with a clock ticking constantly (even though it's actually not very limiting at all but you can't really know that when you just start the game the first time) and the graphics are just bad together with the huge selection of horrible looking and out of character outfits.I'm glad I got the XIII outfit for her instead. Still the best one.
But in the end it's my favourite game in the series. The battle system is similar to the prequels and still fun but faster this time and all in one character. The whole game structure is refreshingly different, with all the quests and talking to NPCs and hearing and helping with their stories and I like that the gameplay is not always just about battles either. And the focus on Lightning and her as the sole protagonist was a great choice, especially since I like her the most from the FFXIII cast.
Overall the story is nothing great and very predicable. It's just a nice game to see all the characters again, how their life continued and how they handle the end of the world. And bonus points for having Vanille not talk with too much of an anime voice. She sounds a lot more pleasant like that.
It's probably not one of the best games this year but it's just one of those games that I just love for no particular reason.

5. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; The surprise hit. After the horrible marketing early on and after never finishing Unity I hadn't planned to even buy this game. I'm glad I did though.
The story is a bit weak but this is the most fun I had with any AC since AC2. Nice gameplay improvements for stealth and traversal with the grappling hook and Evie is a great protagonist and Jacob is fine.
One of my personal pet peeves with open world games is that often the world is just there as a setting and not really anything to do in it expect driving to the next mission or maybe some collectibles. That's why I enjoy the Saints Row games and the Saboteur so much. They are fun to play outside of missions and for the first time I can say that about Assassin's Creed, too.
It happened regularly when I was on my way to the next mission, one hour later I still haven't reached it yet since I was so distracted having fun in the world. Conquer districts, assassinate enemy leaders, free some kids, steal some wares etc. Everything just works and is great to play and never feels like a chore you have to do.
And this is the first AC where I feel the secondary goals often actually add some additional enjoyment. Especially the later stealth missions where you aren't allowed to get detected or some little variations like assassinate someone but let the target be killed by someone else added a small but fun bonus challenge. Plus some of the best main assassination missions in the series.

6. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Probably one of the most impressive games in a long time. This game is huge and beautiful and the world is designed with so much care.
Great writing even down to simple side quests. This game raises the bar for AAA RPGs by a lot.
Unfortunately technical issues lowered my enjoyment quite a bit. Even after so many patches the game is still crashing constantly for me. Else I would have ranked it higher.

7. Code: Realize: Guardian of Rebirth ; This year was great for otome visual novels. One genre I always felt was under-represented in the west.
Code:Realize is my favourite among them, with great guys to romance and a likeable and not totally passive heroine. Wonderful game.

8. Hyperdimension Neptunia Rebirth 3: V Generation ; Late to the party. I started with Rebirth 1 this year and then played all 3 and Action Unleashed over the whole year.
Neptunia is just silly. The title character and the games. Just so silly. The dialogues really are the highlight of the series. I don't think any other game made me laugh that much this year.
The gameplay is fine. Pretty solid turn based JRPG battles with a good amount of customization with gear and skills. Works good enough.
But really the writing and characters are just so funny and the games don't take themselves seriously at all. It's just nonsense but right my taste.

9. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; The gameplay! Kojima Productions really nailed the gameplay and controls. Of all games released this year I would say this is the one that plays the best.
But way too little story and what is there is silly, Ocelot is disappointing, no codec talks and the worst part: Snake as an almost silent protagonist with no David Hayter voicing him. I like Kiefer Sutherland's voice in general but this was absolutely pointless.
With over 120h played I don't think I spend as much time with any other game except Resident Evil Revelations 2. So even with its flaws it certainly deserves a place on my list. Good game that could have been so much more.

10. Actual Sunlight ; A game about depression. That's certainly not not an easy topic and not 'fun' to play. Easy to mess up as well but with its great writing Will O'Neill made a very unique game and one I'm glad I played.

 

[newjeruse]

Names of games have to be spelled correctly or they don't count. No abbreviations. Use the spreadsheet in the OP as a guide. Your #2 choice should be The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. You are also missing an r in Battlefront.

You're mistaken. Star Wars: Battlefont is the type-and-learn game released for kids 8 and under.

 

[Cotrip]

1. Bloodborne ; It surpassed every other Souls games imo. The combat is fast, deep and very fun. I also got immersed into it's lore and theories - something I never did for the other souls games. Best From Software game and one of the best I ever played.
2. Life is Strange ; Was genuinely surprised by this adventure. Very polished (compared to telltale games) and with choices that has real impact on the story. Loved the characters and the writing is terrific. Oh, great OST too!
3. Fallout 4 ; Despite being a little disappointed at first, eventually I got hooked by it's new mechanics, especially the town building system. Not revolutionary, but very enjoyable like the other Fallouts.
4. Soma
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
6. Dying Light
7. Until Dawn
8. The Order 1886
9. Dark Souls II: Scholar of The First Sin
10. Game of Thrones Season 1

 

[Kane1345]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; MGS is my favourite series by my favourite game director in the world. The open world core gameplay is fantastic and I spent 60 plus hours just exploring the world without really touching the story. Fantastic game and I can't wait to see what Kojima is doing next.

2. Bloodborne ; The best souls game ever created. The genius level design and perfectly executed combat mechanics combined with the incredibly eerie atmosphere made it a very close second.

3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The Witcher 3 has the best open world I've experienced in an RPG. Interesting characters coupled with excellent quest design made this a memorable game.

4. Yakuza 5 ; Yakuza is one of my favourite Japanese series and I was so excited to play this after years of thinking it would never happen. It also happens to be excellent

5. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; This game has the most stunningly crafted world and creature design I have ever seen. The story is great and piloting a giant mech taking out enraged monsters never gets old. So glad I played this before voting ended.

6. Star Wars Battlefront ; I'm a huge Star Wars fan and of DICE too when it comes to MP. This scratched the Star Wars itch for me and I can't wait for the DLC.

7. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; As you can tell from my avatar I'm a huge Monster Hunter fan. This version of the game is a refinement of the excellent gameplay from the previous entries and still is my favourite co-op game series. This was only 7 on my list because I play with a group of friends and they haven't had much time to play sadly. Hopefully that gets rectified this year!

8. Life is Strange ; This came out of nowhere for me. Especially since I didn't really like episode one that much. I stuck with it and boy was I happy I did. Episodes 2 - 5 were excellent.

9. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; This was funny and included a charming cast of quirky characters.

10. Destiny: The Taken King ; Fixed all my problems with vanilla Destiny and I can't wait to see what updates they have planned in the coming year.

 

[dancingphlower]

1. Bloodborne ; This game was everything I wanted a Souls-type game to be. Retain the challenge and world building of the Souls game but in a new Gothic Horror setting, while making the combat fast and fluid. Everything about this game just feels right. From the enemies to the levels to the weapons, everything just clicks. From Software managed to streamline the Souls experience without dumbing down the game, and I applaud them for that. Easily the game that I've had the most fun with this year, and I'm excited that Dark Souls III is taking some nods from this game. Also, the Old Hunters expansion is an example of DLC done right. Other developers need to take notice of what From Software is doing.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Sure, the game is light on story, and what's there isn't the best, but the gameplay systems are just sublime. At 60 fps, everything from basic movement to the shooting feels silky smooth. The best gameplay in a stealth game ever. Hyperbolic? Nope. The freedom of expression in the play is what makes this game stand out to me, and other games should aspire to that same level of freedom.
3. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Outside of the Batmoblie portions, this was the perfect Batman game. One thing that stood out to me was the level of polish on display here. I loved the way gameplay and story were integrated. The story in this game was actually great, and was something that really could only have been told as a video game, which Rocksteady should applaud themselves for. The combat is the best that it's ever been, showing all of the other copycats how it's really done.
4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The game that Dragon Age: Inquisition should have been. Great characters and story, great world and quests. The only thing wrong with it was the combat, which is a shame, otherwise it would probably be higher on my list.
5. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition ; This game would have been my game of the year in 2008, and it remains a good game, but at the same time it's still pretty much the same game with a few new characters. It's still got the best combat in an action game by a country mile.
6. Mortal Kombat X ; I'm not overly fond of some of the new characters, but the action remains as fast and furious as MK9, and the presentation is great. In a year light on fighting games, this game still manages to push the genre forward in terms of delivering the complete package.
7. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate ; The course correction that the series needed after the debacle that was AC: Unity. It's the best traditional AC game since Brotherhood, with great new protagonists and polished gameplay. A newer and leaner Assassin's Creed for the new generation. Hopefully the next entry pushes further in this direction.
8. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; One of the best games of 2014 gets an updated re-release, with remixed enemies and reworked gameplay. I can't say I'm a fan of all of their choices, but being able to play in 60 fps with a squad of four people to take on a dragon is a great feeling.
9. Until Dawn ; Honestly I didn't expect too much out of this game but it was a really pleasant surprise. Great story (for the genre) and great presentation puts this game above the rest of the adventure game pack. I found myself really invested in the characters and was really upset when I accidentally got one of them killed.
10. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; Not quite the Resident Evil that fans were hoping for, but a really solid co-op game with interesting gameplay. I had a great time playing this with friends.

 

[KAKYBAC]

1. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die; Swery is the best character writer in games, he creates real three dimensional people and even though the story of D4 can be seen as a trite tale of amnesiac guilt and revenge, it is his characters which bring the idiosyncratic charm. Also a fantastic soundrack.

2. Yakuza 5

3. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

4. SOMA

5. Rainbow Six: Seige

x. MGSV: The Phantom Pain; "only" played it for 50 hours, first 20 were new and enchanting, a genuine innovation of open world stealth however the remainder of my experience was utterly soured by horrendous plot balance and pacing, awful and skill-less weapon/perk unlocking and overall grinding atmosphere. This doesn't deserve my vote but mere recognition that i did play this overblown monstrosity.

 

[Reedirect]

1. Life is Strange ; Unlike all the others, this was a yearlong experience.
A twelve-hour testament to why I love interactive storytelling, with great characters you care about, told in a way that moved me more than any game I've ever played.
It goes places I didn't expect it to go. Like on top of this list.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Profoundly flawed, but incredibly compelling in almost every gameplay aspect.
Kojima's near perfect goodbye to the series.
3. Bloodborne ; FROM keeps the formula fresh with forcing you to take even more risks and be more aggresive than in the past.
Maybe the only reason this didn't completely blow my mind is that I expected it to be amazing. And it was.
4. Rocket League ; Who would've thought that football with cars would ever be this damn fun? Insanely addictive, perfectly executed madness.
5. SOMA ; A deeply twisted and unnerving story is the reason why you should play this strangely overlooked game.
And then there's the horror, the atmosphere, the absolutely top-notch pacing...
6. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Not as strong as 2, in my opinion, but a great RPG nonetheless.
A fantastically designed open world and strong side quests are the main reasons why it's here, despite some wonky mechanics.
7. Tales from the Borderlands ; It's a Telltale game, so it runs like shit and no decision matters, but that's not important this time.
The well written characters make sure you have a blast on this sometimes tragic, mostly hilarious journey.
8. Fallout 4 ; 80% pleasure, 20% pain, but I mostly remember the first thing.
9. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Too much Batmobile, but being Batman never gets old when you perfect an already legendary combat system and move through Gotham with such style and fluidity.
10. Until Dawn ; An ode to dumb teen slasher movies that's actually smarter than it seems. It delivers on everything it sets out to do as an interactive drama.
Solid atmosphere and fun performances.

Honorable Mentions: (all Top 10-worthy games, but this was a strong year)
x. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ; Best RE since 4, enjoyable Raid mode.
x. The Beginner's Guide ; An interesting walk through a troubled mind.
x. Her Story ; Amazing presentation, but the narrative didn't grab me too much.
x. Rainbow Six: Siege ; Highly tactical, insanely satisfying if you're playing with the right people.

 

[oktarb]

You're mistaken. Star Wars: Battlefont is the type-and-learn game released for kids 8 and under.

Ya! Exactly! One apparently I didn't play.

 

[RespectThySole]

Ya! Exactly! One apparently I didn't play.

You're mistaken. Star Wars: Battlefont is the type-and-learn game released for kids 8 and under.

Lmao!

 

[dog$]

Oh, good, I don't need to have actually played ten games in the year. Phew. I was worried I'd have to sink a credit into Sound Voltex and CrossXBeats or something. School of Ragnarok was bad enough.

Anyway. Beyond the #1 there are five games which I purchased this year. Let's talk about them a bit.

1. Beatmania IIDX 23 Copula ; This year's GOTY comes from Konami and has nothing to do with Metal Gear. Through sixteen years and twenty four entries, the series continues to remain alive at high standards. With a small rule tweak, Hell Charge Notes introduce a logical progression to challenge which doesn't necessitate making new 2000+ note charts. The visual theme and meta-unlock systems are endearing, though I ultimately may find myself preferring Pendual (and on the latter point, players who can AAA everything may find Copula's unlock system to be very basic compared to other games - but I'm not one of those people). Regardless, it's a new IIDX, so it wins.

2. Dragon Quest Heroes ; Seeing the DQ world awaken in this manner was definitely satisfying, and the care that went into the details of the interface, sound effects, characters, monster scale and monster density came together very well here. Advancing upon a wobbling sea of blue slimes in the open field felt surreal, and finally gave the impression that those cute blobs could actually be menacing if they formed in large enough ranks. This is the game that has actually brought progress to the DQ series after having stalled with DQ8 (though perhaps I would say that about DQ10 if I had the chance to play it (unlikely though since I have completely no desire to play anything with a periodic fee)).

3. Nights of Azure ; (&#12424;&#12427;&#12398;&#12394;&#12356;&#12367;&#12395 After seeing some images and small clips of the game before release and learning of its pedigree, I found myself wanting something new to play and felt safe in making a dice roll on picking this up. Overall, I'm glad that I did, but there are reasons for which I didn't place this game as my #2, and it basically comes to the fact that for each positive aspect I could name, I could also cite a correlating negative. For story content, there is plenty to be found between the human characters as well as the snippets which come from the supporting monsters, and it's interesting how revisiting old areas (at least a few times) can reveal even more - but, the poses and facial expressions which the characters usually make (particularly Annas) tend to be so lifeless, stereotypical, and at times even unrelated to the spoken words, that it diminishes the narrative. For combat, the response to input is generally sharp (though there's at least a few maneuvers which are seemingly just for flash and never actually hit anything) and having non-useless assistants does help keep fights gratifying - but Annas's repertoire of attacks among the four weapons is limited (and the Twin Blade weapon is basically far better than the other three), and there is no type of coordination between your attacks and those of your supporters, which makes each individual enemy battle having all attackers rush opponents in a similar manner. The areas to traverse are well varied and predominantly not simple straight hallways, and the scale of size with many areas are impressively large - but the texturing and geometry composition behind these elements are very basic, which manages to have the areas simultaneously exist as both intricate and dull. There's a lot to like about this game, but there's also a lot about this game which frankly seems amateurish.

4. Jamestown+ ; Oh, yeah, this did come out this year, and newly for PS4, so here we go. It's pretty nice overall, but something about it doesn't grab me very strongly, and I'm not quite sure I can articulate just what that could be without putting more time into it. Despite that, it does have good structure and response in play, and the concepts of the item store and side missions does help flesh it out.

Honorable Mentions:

X. Darius Burst ; Purchased on PC since I figure that I could potentially at least play the game in its proper resolution on there, and that I probably wouldn't make time to get around to playing it very often on PS4 if I had purchased that instead. Between the aforementioned Jamestown as well as other shooters in my backlog like PS3 Caladrius and Ketsui as well as 360 Saidaiojou and Bullet Soul and others, I know that the only way I can possibly have the time and mindset to play these games in the future is on PC, but I haven't committed the purchases to a dedicated PC of my own quite yet. So while I have purchased this and Mushihime on Steam, I have yet to play either. Had I played this, I'm willing to bet that it would be my #2 and everything else would be shifted down a rank.

X. Gal Gun Double Peace ; So many steps forward and back. I bought the first one on PS3 because I found the concept to be hilarious, and eventually found the game to have some enjoyable elements with its character development despite glaring flaws in pacing and the like. I didn't even realize that a sequel was being made until a few weeks before it came out, and seeing that it would come on PS4 I felt compelled to support it to give the series another chance as well as support a console game over its handheld counterpart. Simply stated, the lack of Move support kills this game. By forcing cursor movement with the analog stick, the quantity of enemy encounters is far reduced as well as having less tension due to the girls not doing much of anything other than standing and waiting to be shot for much longer periods of time than the first game. The X Ray vision element does actually give the game a much needed level of interaction with the environments by enabling players to find hidden trinkets in them, and doing this does help to reinforce the additional supplemental storyline content which the sideline girls have in the game. Those are all good things, but it is not enough to make the game feel fleshed out and active enough to not be drudgery to play. It's a real shame, as they have a unique game concept and in two attempts have managed to find a way to make two games that are very flawed in their own unique way.

Well, this was cathartic. For 2016, I'm looking forward to Star Ocean 5 and uh.... um...

 

[Zach]

5. Skiing Yeti Mountain ; Part 1 of my mobile, F2P, single-thumb game winners. Yeti Mountain is a liquid smooth joy. Addictive Gold par times, TONS of content (800+ levels), no badgering with micro-transactions (watch an ad every dozen levels or so). I just paid the two bucks to turn off the ads. This is my daily-public-commute-podcast-Zen game.

Aaahhh, yeeeaaah. Downloading now. Thanks, guy.

 

[Wagram]

Reading through all the comments for Bloodborne makes me feel like there will be a lot of disappointed people for Dark Souls 3. Then again, there were disappointed people with Bloodborne so it works out. Keep in mind disappointed =/= hatred or shit experience.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Reading through all the comments for Bloodborne makes me feel like there will be a lot of disappointed people for Dark Souls 3. Then again, there were disappointed people with Bloodborne so it works out. Keep in mind disappointed =/= hatred or shit experience.

What I've played at Gamescom was quite close to Bloodborne in feel.

 

[skelekey]

1. Tales from the Borderlands ; This was a fantastic adventure and a joyous romp. They made better use of the world than the original Borderlands. I fell in love, literally.

2. Until Dawn ; This was a great take on the slasher genre that kept you engaged throughout. The twist was a nice touch as well.

3. The Order: 1886 ; I had a blast playing through this game. It was a tecnical marvel from start to finish. The sound design was amazing, It's still the best looking game on console, and I experienced no glitches, frame drops, Amazing voicework throughout, and quick loadtimes. Photo mode added even more fun as you could play though it with different filters enabled.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; An excellent game with great atmosphere, and for a change, an open world game that didn't squander it's narrative. The quest design was great.

5. Rocket League ; I had a good deal of fun with this game. It's truly deserving of the praise it gets.

6. Fat Princess Adventures ; This game is great fun. A light and cheery atmosphere and good humor keep me coming back. More cake please!