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

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Ludens

Banned
1. The Witcher 3 ; Simply, the best rpg I ever played. The plot is amazingly written, the gameplay is top notch. The title is literally filled with unique contents, so you WANT to see all available quests and little spots on the map. Amazing.
2. Metal Gear Solid V ; Yeah, the story is non-existent, the game has literally missing parts. But the gameplay is simply the best you can find for a stealth game. The freedom you have is amazing, the soundtrack is great too.
3. Undertale ; Playing Undertale is like playing a game from the past, when you were a kid and you find pleasure on discovering a brand, new digital world. It has something magic in it, the game is really a shiny, little gem. Also I like the way the developer changed how random battles are handled, never boring thanks to mini-games. Oh, and...that ending.
4. Life is Strange ; The game TT should aim to release. Very interesting story, choices does matter, very emotional moments, amazing soundtrack, a proper gameplay.
5. Grand Theft Auto V ; I usually don't like free roaming games, but even by completing the plot only, I really appreciated GTAV. The plot was funny and interesting, pushing me to play again and again. Missions are never hard (a thing I literally hate from other GTAs), so I had my good time on enjoying the story.
6. Final Fantasy VI ; A classic. Only 6th position because the new graphics adopted by SE for their PC port are just terrible, but the game itself is amazing, full of secrets, optional dungeons, 14 playable characters, an awesome villain the the best boss battle theme released for a FF.
7. King's Quest Episode 1 ; Yeah, only the first episode, but Odd Gentlemen did again an awesome job on bringing new life into KQ. I still can't say if this is a prequel or a reboot, but the first episode was just great.
8. Hotline Miami 2 ; A more of the same, not really good as the first one, but still very good. The gameplay is top notch, even if some rooms are just way too hard because you can't see enemies shooting you. The plot is convoluted, but if you manage to put all pieces together, even the first game...all will have sense.
9. Tales from the Borderlands; I'm not a Borderlands fan, but Tales was really funny and well written. Each episode is unique, full of humor, amazing moments and a good soundtrack. Yeah yeah, the gameplay is exacly the same from other TT games, but the story did its job here.
10. Pillars of Eternity ; A classic isometric rpg done right. Obsidian delivered a great piece of game, here, the gameplay is very funny and full of options to experiment. But the game got the 10th position because the plot didn't really left me something. Still, I wish to see more games like this.
 

SMZC

Member
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced in my life, the ability to play the game however you see fit is ultimately what puts the game on top for me.
2. Bloodborne ; stellar gameplay and superb art design, plus the fact that these games are still some of the few nowadays that bother challenging the player.
3. Dying Light ; not necessarily the best in terms of raw gameplay, but its ability to make you feel like you are part of the zombie apocalypse really makes this game special. Plus the parkour works really well and is a lot of fun.
4. Mortal Kombat X ; great fighting game, and arguably the best MK ever made, with some of the best new additions to the series' cast in what feels like ages now.
5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; not the best at anything I would say, but really makes you feel like you are the freaking Batman. Having some of the best graphics seen to date on console is the cherry on the top.
6. Evolve ; for all the shit this has gotten, I still consider it a unique and extremely fun multiplayer experience.
7. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; dat soundtrack. Other than that, it's bigger and better than its already addicting predecessor. But really. dat soundtrack.
8. Fallout 4 ; typical Bethesda in terms of being addicting as fuck with lots of stuff to do for ages, but I do wish it had improved further upon the company's previous efforts.
 

Zabuza

Banned
1. Bloodborne ; My personal favorite Souls game. Just a fantastic, focused, and well-crafted experience throughout. I still need to play the DLC.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Best WRPG in years.

3. Tales from the Borderlands ; Insanely fun story with likeable characters. Everyone needs to give this a shop.
 
1. Witcher 3; A massive sprawling fantasy epic where even the simplest of side quests has been crafted with care. The dark fantasy, the world, the monster lore, the characters, the women, the Geralt - I loved it all.

2. Batman Arkham Knight; Polished gameplay and visuals, stunning art and design, and the Batman. It has flaws, but it's strengths are considerable. It's both a state of the art modern cinematic action adventure and a game you could totally play in an arcade.

3. MGSV Phantom Pain; I loved the gameplay, and I loved the open world sandbox. Kojima's unique and quirky sensibility and the gritty spy/war setting is a weird and wonderful mix.

4. Fallout 4; Fallout's open world formula continues to be one of the best open world formulas around. Still making my way through Boston, still loving it.

5. Life is Strange; Makes my list even though I've only played one episode so far. I enjoyed the indie vibe and aesthetic and I loved the mix of old school adventure game-style gameplay with the more modern Telltale style.

6. Pillars of Eternity; Love the CRPG revival. Long may it continue.

Sidenote: I don't have a PS4.
 

Ultimadrago

Member
1. Witcher 3 ; A massive sprawling fantasy epic where even the simplest of side quests has been crafted with care. The dark fantasy, the world, the monster lore, the characters, the women, the Geralt - I loved it all.

2. Batman Arkham Knight ; Polished gameplay and visuals, stunning art and design, and the Batman. It has flaws, but it's strengths are considerable. It's both a state of the art modern cinematic action adventure and a game you could totally play in an arcade.

3. MGSV Phantom Pain ; I loved the gameplay, and I loved the open world sandbox. Kojima's unique and quirky sensibility and the gritty spy/war setting is a weird and wonderful mix.

4. Fallout 4 ; Fallout's open world formula continues to be one of the best open world formulas around. Still making my way through Boston, still loving it.

5. Life is Strange ; Makes my list even though I've only played one episode so far. I enjoyed the indie vibe and aesthetic and I loved the mix of old school adventure game-style gameplay with the more modern Telltale style.

6. Pillars of Eternity ; Love the CRPG revival. Long may it continue.

Don't forget to separate titles and thoughts with a semi-colon, not a hyphen, so that your vote counts.
 

amlabella

Member
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Every few years a game comes along that stands out as a truly special release, one that will stay with me for years to come. The Witcher 3 sits comfortably in that category. It took a while to gets its hooks in me, but the third entry in the series stands out as one of the most confident and compelling RPGs I've ever had the pleasure of spending dozens of hours with. The simultaneous beauty and decay of its expansive world compliments the morally gray narrative and multi-dimensional characters. The game also nails RPG quest design, with plenty of side activities that provide just as much fun and intrigue as the main story. Also, I'd like to give special kudos to CD Projekt RED for making a game with so many kickass female characters. Ciri, Triss, Yennifer, Keira, and Cerys are all awesome women who know how to get stuff done. It's great to see that in such a high-profile release.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Metal Gear Solid V is the best video game in the MGS series, but the worst MGS game. I know, I know, just stick with me for a moment. As a big MGS fan, I miss David Hayter as Snake in The Phantom Pain. I miss the iconic boss fights. I even miss the over-the-top cutscenes that go on for far too long. But man, MGSV is some of the most fun I've had with a game in years. Ground Zeroes was just a small precursor for the brilliant sandbox gameplay in The Phantom Pain, a game that asks players to use their imagination like few others. Want to take over that base? How about blowing it up with a rocket launcher? Perhaps you prefer a stealthier method... may I suggest throwing out a series of inflatable decoys that spout off iconic Big Boss lines to distract the guards? Oh yeah, and you should totally shoot a guard with your rocket punch arm while you're at it. Long story short: the emphasis on player freedom makes up for a lot of MGSV's faults as a MGS game.

3. Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition ; I played Divinity: Original Sin last year and enjoyed it a lot, but a series of small issues kept me from loving it. The Enhanced Edition corrects all those issues, makes important story tweaks, and even adds new content to the game such as wands and grenades. I didn't beat the game last year, but I spent 70+ hours with the Enhanced Edition and saw it through to the end. It helps that Divinity: Original Sin features some of the best RPG combat I've ever experienced. Honestly, I loved every time I ran into a group of enemies. Much like another game on this list, MGSV, Divinity: OS rewards creativity. Combat encounters can be difficult, but if you put your thinking cap on and brainstorm creative solutions, much of that difficulty dissipates and the game shines in the process.

4. Bloodborne ; I LOVE the Souls games. Sure, Bloodborne falls under a different name, but this is basically another entry in the tough-as-nails RPG series. Fortunately, Bloodborne attempts to breath life into the familiar Souls formula with a stronger emphasis on quickness and skin-crawling atmosphere that feels like something pulled out of a horror game. I also love Bloodborne's selection of transformable weapons that feature inventive designs and unique movesets. It loses steam in the back half of the campaign, but I'd also say that about the first Dark Souls which is one of my all-time favorite games. I choose to look at the highs more so than the lows, and Bloodborne provides some of the most memorable (and terrifying) moments of 2015.

5. Rocket League ; Here's a game that seemingly came out of nowhere. Some people find soccer to be boring, but trust me when I say rocket-power vehicles give the sport the excitement it needs. Rocket League's greatest strength is its fun factor - any time I enter a match, I know I'm going to have a blast. I didn't quite expect that going in since I tend to avoid competitive multiplayer games. The aid of friends helps, and playing and communicating with other players definitely benefits the overall experience. Also, developer Psyonix continues to support the game with free content and paid DLC that doesn't interfere with the core mechanics. That's the kind of business model I can get behind.

6. Destiny: The Taken King ; I'd argue Destiny was the most disappointing game of 2014, and yet here it is on my 2015 list with The Taken King expansion. The Destiny of 2015 is much different than the one that was released a year ago, and a majority of the improvements over that course of time have made it a compelling experience after dozens and dozens of hours. The monotonous repetition that used to set in largely disappears with the added content in The Taken King, and Bungie also limits much of the grind of old Destiny that caused pointless frustration. Oh yeah, and the new story missions in the expansion are actually fun and worth playing. Shocking, I know.

7. Super Mario Maker ; Plenty of people will pick Super Mario Maker as their GOTY, and I might have done the same if I had more of a nostalgic love for old 2D Mario games. Super Mario 64 was my introduction to the iconic Nintendo mascot, so I don't know games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World like the back of my hand. I have played them though, and I still find joy in creating my own 2D Mario levels in an attempt to find my inner Nintendo designer. Unfortunately, my inner Nintendo designer sucks, so I mostly play other people's creations. That's just as much fun though, and it goes to show how creative the video game community can be with a set of intuitive tools.

8. Her Story ; Her Story is a game that gets under the skin. I couldn't stop thinking about it days after I beat it. The way in which the game allows players to piece together a mysterious murder at his/her own pace with a purposely disjointed video database makes the conclusion that much more rewarding. It all comes together thanks to the magnetic performance of actress Viva Seifert. She appears subdued at first, but a few hours with her in the interrogation room reveals subtle layers of complexity that lead to more than a few theories about the overall narrative. Even now, I question my thoughts on the protagonist and her role in the game. Just a deeply resonating experience.

9. Undertale ; Undertale is a simple and crude-looking RPG on the surface, but it's got heart where it counts. It also subverts expectations constantly. Some of the game's finest moments are hard to describe without spoiling it, so I'll just tell a quick story. When I beat the game, I thought it was a fantastic conclusion and posted about it on Twitter. Then I realized I got the false ending, played through the real one, and FREAKED OUT. Then I learned about the pacifist ending, watched it, and thought to myself, "Undertale is a really special game." So yeah, you should play Undertale.

10. Splatoon ; Leave it to Nintendo to put a unique spin on competitive shooters that appeals to folks like myself who typically avoid the genre. The pacifist task of shooting ink at stationary walls and floors in Splatoon creates an experience that simultaneously gets the competitive juices flowing and keeps my overall blood pressure down. Sure, it was light on content right out of the gate, but Nintendo has done a fantastic job of supporting the game months later in an effort to keep the core player base coming back for more. I mean, how can you stay away from a world with such vibrant colors and ridiculously good Miiverse art?
 

charsace

Member
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; I wanted to put SC here, but I haven't played much of it and it isn't near finished.
2. Gigantic ; Amazing game. I can see it being huge.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Best stealth game I have ever played, surpassing Blacklist and Mark of the Ninja.
4. Killing Floor 2 ; Sequel to one of the more underrated games on GAF. Its damn good and getting better.
5. Hotline Miami 2 ; Another sequel, HM2 is harder than the orginal at times, but still sucked me in.
6. Halo 5 ; Great game. Want to see where they are gonna take it.
7. Pillars of Eternity ; A love letter to old school CRPG.
8. State of Decay ; The tension in this game is hard to top.
9. Dying Light ; A gem that came out of no where.
10. NBA 2k16 ; Best sports sim around. Some of the best graphics around and probably the best AI in gaming.

Honorable Mentions
x. Star Citizen ; Not finished are else it would be first. Amazing experience
x. Fable Legends ; The game is good. I just want another game like Fable 2.
x. Mortal Kombat X ; Fun, pretty to look at, and just straight up brutal.
x. Fallout 4 ; Fun to run around and do shit in.
x. Batman Arkham Knight ; Got this on PC so it dropped.
x. Mad Max ; Another game that surprised me.
 

Anarkin

Member
1. Witcher 3;
2. MGS V;
3. Halo 5;
4. Batman Arkham Knight;
5. Ori;

Don't forget to include at least one comment.

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.
 

felialois20

Neo Member
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1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; the most fun i had on any game this year. I love the open world, and i love building a base with my own little personal army. I spent hours looking for the best soldiers to extract and the materials to upgrade my base.
I had played around 80 hours when I got to the ending of chapter one, which made chapter two even more disappointing. I hated the way the story ended and the bizarre way in which the final missions are unlocked. But overall I had so much fun with it that nothing else comes close.

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2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I am not a big RPG guy but Witcher 3 really had me hooked. The world is so rich and detailed that I could be in it for hours. I barely used the fast travel because I just love going around random places and finding some random quests or people to help. It took a lot of practice and time for me to stop dying constantly, but I enjoyed the combat once I got better at it. I still have probably hundreds of missions to do and I am currently doing the Hearts of Stone Dlc, which I also love. It feels like a game I could play forever.

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3. Super Mario Maker ; After a few leves I figured out I didn't have the patience or the creativity to be a "maker", but the incredible levels people have made make this one of the best Mario games ever. Puzzle levels, weird gimmicks and the expert difficulty levels give this game a very refreshing feel and the classic Mario palettes give it a certain familiarity. I also am a big fan of how Nintendo has been updating it for free.

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4. Downwell ; The most fun i've had on commutes all year.

5. FIFA 16 ; The game i will put more hours into in 2016. The changes made to the defense fix so many ridiculous exploits people had in the past editions and made 16 more competitive online and amongst my friends.

6. Splatoon ; The most fun shooter of the year. Has a great style and it's really funny and easy to learn.
7. Lara Croft Go ;
8. Fallout 4 ; Your thoughts on Game H.
9. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Your thoughts on Game I.
10. Star Wars Battlefront ; Your thoughts on Game J.
 

Wagram

Member
1. Witcher 3 - A massive sprawling fantasy epic where even the simplest of side quests has been crafted with care. The dark fantasy, the world, the monster lore, the characters, the women, the Geralt - I loved it all.

2. Batman Arkham Knight - Polished gameplay and visuals, stunning art and design, and the Batman. It has flaws, but it's strengths are considerable. It's both a state of the art modern cinematic action adventure and a game you could totally play in an arcade.

3. MGSV Phantom Pain - I loved the gameplay, and I loved the open world sandbox. Kojima's unique and quirky sensibility and the gritty spy/war setting is a weird and wonderful mix.

4. Fallout 4 - Fallout's open world formula continues to be one of the best open world formulas around. Still making my way through Boston, still loving it.

5. Life is Strange - Makes my list even though I've only played one episode so far. I enjoyed the indie vibe and aesthetic and I loved the mix of old school adventure game-style gameplay with the more modern Telltale style.

6. Pillars of Eternity - Love the CRPG revival. Long may it continue.

You need to change the - to ;
 

Late Flag

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Just brilliant -- my GOTG so far. Great visuals and art design, great lore, fantastic combat, and some tough-as-nails optional bosses. Head and shoulders above anything else I played this year.
2. Fallout 4 ; There are lots of things to criticize about this title (the dumbed-down dialog and lack of any meaningful choice being obvious options), but it was still lots of fun to play and gave me more than my money's worth. Big step down from Bloodborne though.
3. Rocket League ; So easy to pick and play for mindless fun.
4. Until Dawn ; By far the best "interactive movie" game that I've played. Good direction, pretty engaging characters, and a surprisingly well-constructed story. I'd like to see more games like this.
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; This was a hard game to rate. The gameplay is the best in the series and every bit as good as Bloodborne (although obviously very different). But the story is terrible even by the standards of the franchise, and the game is heavily padded. This is the only game on my list that I didn't actually finish because it just kept on going to the point that I got completely burned out on the repetitive missions.


Honorable Mentions
x. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Would have been my #2 if I was ranking remasters.
x. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; Weakest entry in the franchise, but still better than most games. The remaster benefited greatly from the higher framerate.
x. The Witcher III ; To be honest, I really didn't enjoy this game when all was said and done -- the ending in particular seemed to really drag on, and the combat was incredibly clunky coming fresh from Bloodborne. But it deserves Honorable Mention for a large world with heavily-developed lore. It just didn't click with me personally.
 

Lunar FC

Member
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1. Rocket League ; Was so glad these guys got another shot at this type of game after loving the original so much. Never thought it would of blown up like it did and I couldn't of asked for anything better.

2. Yo-Kai Watch ; I solely purchased a N3DS just to get back into Pokemon games since I had been away from the franchise since the GBA days. With no Pokemon coming out this year I looked for something else to continue to justify the purchase of the handheld. Yo-Kai Watch is basically everything I thought Pokemon should be by now and has raised the bar tremendously for the genre. Now I'm just hoping we get the sequel localized as soon as possible, and the Pokemon can respond in a strong way.

3. Destiny: The Taken King ; Took the game that I had obsessed over for months and nearly improved it in every single aspect. Though I fell off pretty hard after completing the story and side missions on all my characters, it proved that Bungie can still make Destiny the game it has the potential to be, and that I will be back for whatever comes next.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; While it's not the Metal Gear game that most of us wanted, it was still a game so large in scope and variety that I had difficultly just wrapping my mind around it sometimes. But literally no action game has ever felt as good to play as this.

5. Pokemon Shuffle

6. Tiki Taka Soccer

7. Bloodborne ; Basically forced into playing this by my brother I finally began to understand the appeal of these games. The satisfaction when you find the shortcut or beat that boss you thought was impossible the first time you faced him was pretty great.
 

daegan

Member
1. Undertale ; Let me start by leading with my assumption that you've already heard of Undertale. There's a lot that gets said about this game in some corners; its nearly universal praise and passionate fans have attracted ridicule and doubt. Winning GameFAQs' erratically-scheduled "Best Game Ever" poll did it no favors in this view; that it is popular on communities like Tumblr and Deviantart also doesn't help some people's image of the game. In the end, it's their loss; Undertale is the kind of triumph you see once or twice a decade in games.
 
In recent years, a lot of games have staked their claim in player "choice". What ends up tying these titles together is how these choices tend to come up with klaxons blazing and the creators shouting at you with a megaphone: "THIS IS A DECISION". Whether blowing up Megaton or not in Fallout 3, picking an ending in Mass Effect 3, or making any number of choices in Telltale games it is always an idea approached with a lot of caution to avoid player regret.
 
Undertale, on the other hand, asks you to play it. It's up front about the fact that you have choices about how you resolve battles but it never holds the player's hand to feed them the choice they want to make for the game they want to play. There's nothing inherently wrong with, say, showing a player what a Paragon and Renegade conversation option are in Mass Effect and letting them comfortably stay on the path they wish. But Undertale's impact is strengthened by putting down the kid gloves and testing the player's resolve to play the role they wish to.
 
While we're on the subject of battles - battles are crazy in this game. Every enemy attack is a different shoot-em-up style event that you need to learn how to avoid to not take damage. While these start as small bullet-style sprites they rapidly become as creative as the enemies you face themselves, seeming to take delight in you thinking you know how the game's mechanics work only to show you an entirely new way that monsters can go after your character.
 
If you choose to revisit after getting an ending and try things differently, you'll find that almost every action you take changes the game in many ways - new enemies and bosses, different music, even different save messages. The endings are radically different and can even impact subsequent playthroughs of the game.
 
Aside from choice, the game still has a lot to stand on. The characters are brilliantly written and often got me to actually laugh out loud. The jokes are sometimes layered with references but are almost always able to be "gotten" without that knowledge. For example, the skeleton duo Papyrus and Sans speak in the fonts they are named for, but their banter never needs you to know this. Some other names or moments reference anime tropes or other games but are able to stand on their own. (My love of Final Fantasy VI paid off considerably.)
 
Yet when things get serious - and they do - Undertale is able to hit all kinds of notes from spooky to heroic. Nothing helps drive this home more than the music; Toby Fox's score for his game is a masterpiece in and of itself. That said, if you buy the soundtrack with the game, don't listen to it until you've gotten an ending or two; the use of themes throughout can result in some things getting spoiled if you're paying close attention.
 
I could easily write another couple thousand words on this and not be done. But you should play it. The only people I wouldn't recommend this to are those who can't handle any narrative whatsoever in their games, but you know who you are and you're not going to listen to my recommendations ANYWAY so everyone else, please buy and play this.

2. Cibele ; What Cibele seemingly lacks in gameplay it more than makes up for by being a touching, nervous, honest, personal story about love and sex that we do not ever see in games, told in a way that only a game could accomplish. You have probably had a relationship like the one depicted in Cibele.

3. Pac-Man 256 ; This is a weird endless Pac-Man game that manages to be much more playable than standard Pac-Man; it being endless means you're never terribly frustrated at losing progress and it having both a scoring and combo count means that you have more concerns to juggle when you're weighing risks while playing. Do I try to keep my combo alive if it means this ghost might get to me?

4. Neko Atsume ; It's in English now, even, so if that was a roadblock for you it's alright to jump in now. Probably the most chill F2P game I've ever played with regards to getting you to spend your own money. Delightful to drop in on and check in on your cats. A very zen collection experience.

5. Her Story ; This is a game you can finish in an afternoon but will stick with you for quite a while afterward. It uses disjointed, out-of-sequence storytelling as a gameplay mechanic with a sensible reason to exist in the game world. It slowly unravels differently for every player and leaves everyone with an opinion after finishing it. Its revelations are haunting and so is Viva Seifert as the person being interrogated. It's brilliant work.
 

illusionary

Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The best RPG that I've played in years, with a thoroughly engrossing world and story, interestingly designed quests and a seemingly simple combat system that actually has quite a bit of depth at harder difficulty levels. Alternatively, a better card game than Hearthstone...

2. The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone ; The expansion allowed a good excuse for me to spend more time in Geralt's world, bringing a very varied collection of new quests. I'm very much looking forward to Blood and Wine after this!

3. Axiom Verge ; I adore 'Metroidvanias' - but this must be about the first game that I've played that fully recaptures the Super Metroid experience and deserves as much attention as it can get. Sadly, the game seems to be absent from most high-profile GotY lists, probably not helped by its release fairly early in the year.

4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; I was planning all along to wait until the PS4 release, but am glad that I didn't! Following the growing trend of introducing an open world to the experience, this develops nicely on the positives of 2013's Tomb Raider. Exploring, and locating and navigating tombs is what Tomb Raider *should* be about, and that's just what we get here.

5. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; I'm a fan of the franchise in general, but will still admit that Unity was something of a dip in quality, at least at launch. This is a very strong return to form, though, with an interesting pairing of characters, and bodes very well for the future!

6. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Definitely worth the wait, the move to introduce a full open world to Metal Gear definitely paid off, allowing a very free-form approach to stealth encounters (or just all-out assault, if you like, however un-Metal Gear than may be!). A fitting end to Hideo Kojima's series!

7. Super Mario Maker ; Effectively unlimited Mario levels, so long as you can find them, and Nintendo have done an admirable job of expanding the game post-release. Bonus points also for spawning the engrossing rivalry between Patrick Klepek and Dan Ryckert.

8. Ori and the Blind Forest ; An absolutely beautiful Metroidvania/platformer - and surprisingly challenging as well. This was a sway to start my Xbox One ownership, alongside Rare Replay!

9. Fallout 4 ; I don't find the post-apocalyptic setting as engrossing as some (fantasy or sci-fi are more my preference), but Bethesda's well-realised wasteland is worthy of praise. Technical shortcomings can't be overlooked, though, and I hope that the game gets the patches that it needs to live up to its full potential.

10. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; Pretty much anything Zelda gets my attention so the game started from a position of strength in my mind; this re-release ties in nicely with its new portable format and makes great utilisation of the 3DS's 3D capabilities.


Honourable Mentions
x. Rare Replay ; As a re-release collection I don't feel that I can rank this any higher, but with the amount of time that I've put into this I have to at least mention it.
x. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; ditto!
x. Splatoon ; Hugely innovative as far as shooters go, a standout multiplayer game on the Wii U and impressively well-supported post-release.
x. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I definitely feel that this could be ranked higher, but I've not yet put enough time into the game to be able to justify that.
x. Yoshi's Woolly World ; Those who dismiss the game as too easy are missing the point of Yoshi platformers - much of the fun and challenge comes from the collectibles rather than the raw platforming, and while it's no Yoshi's Island, it comes pretty close. The stunning art style has to get a mention too!
x. Batman: Arkham Knight ; While not quite the triumphant end to the series that it could have been and let down slightly by the Batmobile sections, Arkham Knight still brought a very satisfying Dark Knight experience.
 

Cleve

Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; An amazing world, with amazing characters. Truly a leap forward in the open world rpg genre.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Story issues aside, this was the first game in a long time that was just so fun to play that I forgot what time it was and played until 3 am night after night
3. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Perfection of the Uncharted formula with a great sense of reward for exploration. I can't wait for the DLC, and for more people to get the chance to play this game.
4. Pillars of Eternity ; A love letter to fans of the infinity engine rpgs we all thought would be dead in the larger scale. This game stoked a fire in me for it's style of rpgs I haven't felt in 10 years. I can't wait to see more.
5. The Age of Decadence ; Holy shit, what a surprise. Another classic computer style rpg slipping in and making me wonder how I did without them for so long.
6. Until Dawn ; Man, this is another one that caught me completely by surprise. For something that is essentially a FMV game from the 90s it captures it's setting and characters in a way that draws you in and makes you want to replay it's events and discuss it with friends in a way I haven't felt in a long time
7. Axiom Verge ; For a game that I was initially luke warm to, it really opened up in ways that a lot of other metroidvania games don't, I can't believe it's the labor of love from just one person.
8. Ori and the Blind Forest ; A truly gorgeous game with some of the best platforming in the metroidvania class. Very excited to see what's next from them.
9. Dying Light ; A game that really showed what the studio could do. After playing dead island, my hopes for this game were not high, but it truly surprised me in every way. I hope the last DLC pack is out soon, I can't wait to dig back in.
10. Rocket League ; I'm torn and would happily put this game higher on my list, but there has just been so much other great content this year, but if I want a fun party game, I know where I'm going.


All this thread has done is remind me just how much fantastic content we got this year. I really need to get my Undertale and Life is Strange on.
 

Karu

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Maybe my favourite game of alltime. That's all I have to say.
2. Rocket League ; Best MP 2015, one of the best overall.
3. The Witcher 3 ;
4. Until Dawn ;
5. Olli Olli 2: Welcome to Olliwood ;
6. Apotheon ;
7. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition ;
8. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ;
9. Life is Strange ;
10. Fallout 4 ;

x. Resogun ; Wow.
x. Race the Sun ; Gooood.
x. The Last of Us Remastered ; WOW.
x. Transistor ; Wow.
x. Driveclub ; Wow.
x. Assassin's Creed Unity
x. Wolfenstein: The New Order

One of the - if not the best year in my gaming life. Not all hits, not by a mile, but with The Last of Us, Rocket League, Bloodborne and Transistor I potentially played 4(!) new entrys in my Top 10 GOAT-list. With Until Dawn, The Witcher 3, Divinity (which I'm currently playing through, quite impressed so far), Resogun, Olli Olli 2 and Driveclub right after. I mean... what a year...
 

CamelCloud

Member
1. Bloodborne ; I am a huge fan of the Demon- and Dark Souls series, you can imagine how hyped I got when this was announced. They made a good choice going with goth architecture and Lovecraftian theme. The gameplay is amazing as in all of the Souls games. Beating a boss actually takes skill, and when you finally learn what direction to dodge, when you finally figure out the timing on the dodge, it feels very rewarding to finally beat the boss. Despite the 30 fps lock due to "next-gen" consoles hardware, it was still enough to snatch my number one spot. GOTY.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Where to being, a very big and detailed world. Although being riddled with bugs at launch, the guys over at CDPR have done amazing work patching bugs and adding a lot of content (10 free DLCs!). The game itself looks gorgeous on PC, one of the best graphically looking games this year. Why isn't this game number one on my list? Because of the gameplay. As much as I love that they have tried to make it more polished, the gameplay has been at fault since the first Witcher game. Sometimes it's unresponsive, sometimes the character does things by himself, and the horse can seriously fuck off.

3. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Oh god, I was one of those who played this at release. On PC. Thank god I have an overkill PC for 1080p gaming. Looking past the issues this game had at release, and looking at the game itself, this was a very fun experience, possibly the best Batman out of the trilogy. People complain about the Batmobile, but I absolutely loved it. Gameplay fun and smooth as always, allowing for a lot of variety during fights and stealth. The gadgets at your disposal are mostly the same, with addition of a some new and some being upgraded. A thing I will agree on as a flaw of this game, is the story and the Arkham Knight character. For fans of the Batman universe, it is very predictable who this character is, for fans of the games and generally newcomers to the Batman universe, it's a big "Ok, cool, but who is this guy?" when the reveal drops. This is the reason, added with the bugs at launch, why this game is not higher up.

4. Fallout 4 ; Finally, they give us a new Fallout. Albeit a Fallout with barely any RPG elements, it's another Fallout. And that's more than enough for me to sink hundreds of hours into the wasteland - again. The game looks better than any Fallout ever, and the gun gameplay is finally responsive and fluid. What I really dislike about this Fallout is the dumbed down dialogue options, map size, repetitive faction quests and story. I for one did not expect Bethesda to give this game an amazing story, because that's usually how all Bethesda's open-world games are - Obsidian has had the "better" stories. Still, this was very weak from them. The ending is very, very meh, even compared to Fallout 3. Performance was also another issue I had with the game, god rays had barely any visual impact, but could chew up tons of FPS between ultra and high setting.

5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; An open-world MGS, yay. I think there's a theme going with games this year? Anyway, the first chapter is some of the best MGS I have played, the gameplay is incredibly smooth and delivers tons of options to missions. Taking things from MGS: Peace Walker and updating them was a great choice.

6. Soma ; Scary, just like Amnesia. Good graphics, good story and amazing atmosphere.

7. Dying Light ; Dead Island like it should have been.

8. Grand Theft Auto V ; The absolute version of the game.

9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ; Most fun I've had in a CoD since CoD4.

10. The Beginner's Guide ; Like Stanley's Parable? You'll like this.

x. Killing Floor 2 ; Got plenty of dosh, mate! Did everything KF1 did and made it better.

x. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number; Great soundtrack, a bit harder than HM1.

*All games played on PC (1080p, 60-144fps max settings on a 980Ti) excluding console exclusives.
 

usp84

Member
So it possible to change my list by editing my post?

Mostly to add a game or two since i only listed 5 anynway the first time
 
So it possible to change my list by editing my post?

Mostly to add a game or two since i only listed 5 anynway the first time

Yes, the thread will be downloaded and processed when the deadline hits, so edit away.

1. Bloodborne ; git gud
2. Rocket league ; git gud v2
3. Galak-Z ; git gud v3

According to the rules...

OP said:
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.
 

wig

Member
1. Bloodborne ; My very first ~souls game. I was so terrified to start playing it because of the notorious reputation that the souls series has but once I learned how to play, I was sucked in. I could not get enough of it.

2. Fallout 4 ; I'm a huge Fallout series fan so this was my most anticipated game of the year. Sadly, I have not been able to complete it as I am short on free time but I have really enjoyed what I have played. One big gripe I have with the game is the watered down conversation options but it has not ruined my enjoyment.

3. Until Dawn ; I had been looking forward to playing this ever since the PS3 version was originally announced and I am so glad that it lived up to my hype. Loved every single thing about it. I am dying for a sequel.

4. Life is Strange ; Holy hell. This game took me by surprise. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I beat the game in a 4 days. I played it every chance I got. The story sucked me in. I got so attached to so many of the characters. I am constantly thinking about choices I made in the game and pondering about what I could have done differently. This game is just... wow.

5. Witcher 3 ; This game was such a great introduction to the Witcher series for me. I went in pretty much blind and was blown away by the amazing story and deep side quests. It's such a stunning game too. I think this game will be higher up on my list once I finish it. I only got about halfway through but I plan on going back to it eventually.

6. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; I had a PS3 but never played any of the Uncharted games. There was no particular reason for never playing them, I just never payed much attention to the series. I was so excited when they announced the collection because that meant that I would be able to play the definitive versions of the series. I was immediately sucked in to the story in the first game and was blown away by how vastly improved the sequel was. I am so excited to play the third entry. April 2016 can't come soon enough!

7. Rocket League ; Just a fun and straight to the point multiplayer experience. I love playing quick games every now and then.
 

Tapejara

Member
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; While I still have yet to reach the end of the game, Metal Gear Solid V it my game of the year. It's just...perfect. While I do have some problems with the game, it's an absolutely amazing experience. First off, the gameplay is a huge improvement over past games in the series. The decision to go with 60FPS was brilliant, as was offering players the freedom to tackle missions how they want. I've only just started chapter 2, but despite the less prominent story I find myself just as invested in the game's narrative as I have past Metal Gear games. And I might be in the minority on this, but I love Kiefer Boss. The game might be a departure from the series' previously established formula, and it might be missing an ending, but I can so without confidence that it is the best game I've played all year.

2. Godzilla ; Despite mixed reception, I ended up enjoying Godzilla quite a bit. The main attraction is the God of Destruction mode, which sees Godzilla invading Japan and trying to grow as big as possible, all while destroying everything he can. Despite the mode's repeititive nature and the game's less-than-intuitive controls, I ended up spending quite a lot of time smashing buildings and fighting other kaiju. It may not be a perfect game by any means, but it's one that gave me many hours of enjoyment this year.

3. Yoshi's Woolly World ; Combining an adorable aesthetic with solid platforming, Yoshi's Woolly World is a charming 2D platofrmer that quickly found its way into my GOTY list. The general level design is simple with some creative twists thrown in, as well as plenty of secrets to look for. The difficulty is just right, in the sense that it's quite accessible without sacrificing any of the fun. It's one of the Wii U's best games this year, and unfortunately one that's fallen off the radar.

4. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege ; I had been interested in Rainbow Six: Siege for quite some time, but I didn't expect to end up enjoying it quite as much as I did. It's easily one of the best multiplayer games released in 2015. The close-quarters focus is a refreshing change of pace. In addition, the sound design is top notch; breaching ceilings and walls delivers a satisfying boom

5. Super Mario Maker ; I think Super Mario Maker might be the 2015 release I've spent the most time in. Admittedly, I spent little time with the game's creative tools, opting for to play the community-made levels. And I spent a lot of time doing so.

6. Gears of War: Ultimate ; I actually didn't expect this game to end up on my list, considering I hated the original Gears of War. Perhaps it was the enhanced lighting, the great technical performance or the fact that I played it in co-op, but I ended up really enjoying the Gears of War remaster. It's a great experience that I'd recommend to any new Xbox One owner.

7. Destiny: The Taken King ; With The Taken King expansion, Bungie did something no one thought possible: they made Destiny good. Having spent quite a bit of time with the vanilla game, The Taken King improves on the base game and makes it the compelling experience the original release was supposed to be. Its storytelling builds off of the foundation set by House of Wolves; incorporating a great cast and cleverly written dialogue to produce a much more interesting game.

8. Sayanora Umihara Kawase Plus ; I was interested in this game when it was announced it was coming to the West, but I didn't pick it up until just recently when the series was delisted off of Steam. Playing it on my Vita and it's a lot of fun, albeit quite challenging. I find there can sometimes be a bit too much luck involved - and considering this is a platformer that's not exactly a point in the game's favour.

x. Bloodborne ;

x. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ;

x. Helldivers ;

x. La-Mulana EX ;
 
As always, although I played lots of games during this year, I didn't play enough 2015 games to write a list of 10 contenders to Game of the Year. Still, I think this can be fun:

1. Splatoon ; This is the game I played the most during this year. I'm not a big fan of shooters but there are some online multiplayer ones that I've enjoyed a lot: Those include Halo: Reach, Lost Planet and recently, Splatoon; since more than 10 years ago I've been waiting for another Jet Set Radio game, this gen I've played two games that have given me some JSR vibes: Sunset Overdrive and its amazing traversal mechanics, and Splatoon with its amazing presentation, its wonderful level design, the funny soundtrack, its mischievous atmosphere and its overall coolness. I consider Splatoon to be the greatest Nintendo game I've ever played and I'm very excited to see the future of Splatoon, but at the same time I'm still enjoying it A LOT.


2. Bloodborne ; I consider Bloodborne another game in the Souls series and it is what I wanted it to be, and even more than that. I love the art direction of the game, the games locations are spookier than ever (which is something that made me lower the pace at which I played the game), the combat is great too (but that's a given for all Souls games, right?), I liked the soundtrack (although I must say that Dark Souls and DSII's soundtrack is better) and the story -again- is one of the things that make me feel as if this game were Archeologist Simulator 2015. I love everything this game has to offer, except the things I don't: the chalice dungeons, the game would be higher on this list if it weren't for them.


3. Tales of Zestiria ; It doesn't probably feel special for some people but this is the first Tales of game for the PC so, I think it deserves some recognition, specially if it turns out that Sorey really is the first "Tales of" protagonist that was designed and written to be gay (I'm waiting for a confirmation here). Even in the case that the last part weren't true, the game is still pretty good so it deserves to be part of this list.

4. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ;
5. Xenoblade Chronicles X ;
6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ;
7. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ;
 

TheFatMan

Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; What can I say about this game that hasn't been said a thousand times. One of the most immersive worlds ever designed by a developer. A fantastic and exciting musical score. Characters that are actually interesting and aren't just generic bad guys and good guys. I have very few complaints about this game, and most of those were addressed in patches. One of my top five games of all time, and definitely the deserving winner this year.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I knew I was going to enjoy this game, but the magnitude of my enjoyment was off by several factors. If it wasn't for some glaring flaws in the game systems (tiny UI, confusing and unexplained systems, bad sound mixing) this would be my hands down number one game of the year. This game is beautiful and vast and full of interesting things to the point that some glaring problems almost seem non-existent after a few hours. If you own a Wii U, buy this game right now.

3. Rocket League ; My surprise game of the year. I downloaded it day one from PS+ thinking I was going to be getting a silly game I might play for a few hours. 900 games later Rocket League is still my go to game when I want to unwind and have some mindless fun with my friends. Pysonix hit a home run and I can't wait to see what they bring us next with their well supported DLC.

4. Super Mario Maker ; If you love Mario than you pretty much have to own this game. Not only is it the largest Mario game you could ever buy, with literally thousands of user generated levels, but it lets you make your own! Why Nintendo didn't do something like this ages ago is beyond me. A real home-run if not the most groundbreaking idea.

5. Tales From the Borderlands ; I went into this game with VERY low expectations. I got it on sale late in the year, and thought, why not? I had been spurned by Telltale games in the past (cough, Game of Thrones, cough). Boy was I thrilled to be wrong! With a great soundtrack, a great story, hilarious dialogue (you will actually laugh out loud) and an art style that actually fits the universe Telltale has reminded me why they were once the masters of story-choice games!

6. Call of Duty: Black Ops III ; Treyarch has long been the masters of FPS gameplay and they prove yet again why all the rest of the CoD developers need to play catch up. With three game modes that offer more content than Destiny and Battlefront combined and more DLC on the way, Call of Duty stays relevant and fun despite many of it's naysayers.

7. Life Is Strange ; What can I say about Life Is Strange. I loved it, and I hated it. Had this game ended after episode 3 I probably would have placed it much higher on my list. The soundtrack was fantastic and the characters and choices made you feel like part of the world. Sadly, I felt all of this was washed away by the poorly written ending that felt rushed and pointless.

8. Destiny: The Taken King ; This is Destiny how it should have been! While maybe not a "new game" the changes made in this expansion changed Destiny from an ok shooter to one with depth and interesting class choices. Changes to loot and rewards also made the game feel more enjoyable and accessible to new players. If only this is the game we would have gotten last year.

9. Dying Light ; The best survival horror game I played this year. I admit I am not a huge fan of the genre but I found this game enjoyable for the thirty plus hours I put into it. The night time sequences were truly nerve wracking to the point I would find myself sweating horribly during game sessions. A real nod of the head to the first game I ever played that was able to scare me without using jump-scares.

10. Tales of Zesteria ; A classic JRPG for a modern age. Some of the best graphics you will see from the franchise to date and a combat system that was fun and interesting. Being able to freely switch between characters mid battle, and combining them into super-characters was a blast. The story was mediocre and held it back from being higher on my list, and higher on my list of Tales games.

x. Batman: Arkham Knight
x. Cities: Skylines
x. Star Wars Battlefront
x. The Order: 1886
x. Final Fantasy Record Keeper
x. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
x. Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster
 

Iscariot

Member
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; While it's a game with numerous flaws. It's simply such a joy to play and experiment in it's sandbox. Truly some of the best gameplay in a 3rd person action game I've played.

2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; A platformer with lush visuals, nice music, and one of the stronger story openings of a game in recent memory. With economic storytelling it manages to get it's hooks into your heart early.

3. Rocket League ; I'm terrible at this game. But it has such fun gameplay and solid competitive roots that it's a blast to play with friends regardless.

4. Helldivers ; I've laughed so hard playing this co-op game that I've gotten abdominal cramps. It captures the goofy fascism of Starship Troopers (the movie) perfectly.

5. Call of Duty: Black Ops III ; Arguably more of the same, but I find the formula entertaining in terms of multiplayer. I also feel like the weapon balance is very solid.

6. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Does a grand job of making you feel like you're in a world. Cresting a hill on your horse as a storm rolls in is breathtaking (at least on PC). The game also features pretty strong dialogue through it's entire length. No small feat.

7. Batman: Arkham Knight ; While overall I find this a disappointing end to the trilogy, it has grand moments. It also helps how lovely Gotham looks in this game, and all the small details checkered in the environment.

8. Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition ; The best character action game of all time just got better. It'd be higher, but I had to dock for essentially just being a DLC pack.

9. Dying Light ; A real underrated gem. Terrible story, but the parkour is super fun and when night falls it gives a real sense of danger.

10. Transformers: Devastation ; I haven't played much of this yet, but as someone who grew up with Gen1, this is some amazing fan service. Gameplay so far is that Platinum fire.
 

Slixshot

Banned
1. Rocket League ; Countless hours laying with friends. This game is such a breath of fresh air and is one of my favorite games to keep coming back to. Rocket League takes top spot this year.

2. Bloodborne ; Hours and hours of getting my ass kicked, but the same number of hours kicking ass. I had never played through a souls game before but Bloodborne hooked me from the moment I saw the aesthetic. What a wonderful atmosphere this game had, such precise gameplay. Haunting soundtrack to wrap everything up perfectly. My buddy and I played through this together and had one hell of a time without looking anything up.

3. Destiny: The Taken King ; So many hours sunk into this game. They fixed it! I hated Destiny when it launched with its barebones storytelling and shitty explanation of everything, but Nolan North replacing Dinklebot and some in-game text for missions made such a surprisingly large difference. Great experience now.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; This game was so much better than I expected. I have played through part of MGS and MGS 2, never played 3 or 4 and loved Rising to death. But this game plays better than all of those (except that Platinum goodness). It took me a while to warm up to this -- traveling around the map was a pain in the ass at times, but once you get into the groove of doing missions and really trying to be creative, the game opens up and becomes one of the best experiences this year.

5. Until Dawn ; Similar to Bloodborne, my buddies and I played this at night for a few days post release. We LOVED our experience. Freaked us out at times, gave us some great laughs. Definitely recommend playing this game with friends! It's a great experience.

6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Alright, I REALLY enjoyed this game. I thought the Batmobile was actually really great! Yup, it's true! Too often are game sequels "more of the same" and Rocksteady had the balls to be like "what if we added something completely different to this final installment?" they did and I thought it worked great. Would have I liked a handful of bossfights WITHOUT the bat-tank? Yes. But hey, I enjoyed everything else about the game. Oh and the game looks fucking amazing.

7. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; This was one I really dug. It wasn't mind-blowing to me and dragged here and there but The Witcher 3 creates an amazing world with so much to do and gives you great reasons to do it. The quests never really felt bland, the story was solid from start to finish and the world itself was interesting. European MidEvil is good stuff!

8. Dying Light ; Big surprise this one! Came out of nowhere and expected very little considering I didn't like Dead Island, but Dying Light was an awesome experience. The game just played really well and was one of the first experiences this year that I remember having fun with. Good times killing zombies :)

9. Halo 5: Guardians ; Long time Halo fan. The game plays wonderfully. Multiplayer can be a blast! The story didn't really hook me though... and that's disappointing which is why this is so far down on my list. I actually only own an xbox for Halo... everything else is just an added bonus, so to have this low on my list is a bit of a bummer.

10. Transformers: Devastation ; Platinum Greatness! Transformers is only a Michael Bae movie franchise to me, but I do recognize that those who love the cartoon say this pays great homage to it. The game was a real fun time to play through! Will go back to it again at some point in the future.
 

lt519

Member
I have a good free week ahead of me to play some games, hoping The Talos Principle will deliver and make it into my list.
 
1: The Witcher 3 ; Just a amazing package. Stunning technically. Wonderfully written. Incredibly long while also keeping the quality up and always pushing you forward. Its a game I cant imagine being made at any other studio or publisher without some businessman taking a knife to it for DLC purposes or so they can get it out 6 months earlier.

2: Rocket League ; Wonderful game. Perfect downloadable game. A hit the scene has needed because ever since the Summer of Arcade went away something has been missing and Rocket League feels like it feel out of that imaginative era when the downloadable scene was on fire.

3: Bloodborne ; Fun game. Most consistent Souls game to date.
Admittedly it doesn't have the replayability or sheer variety a Dark Souls game but I was never the hardcore Souls guy who relayed it. I see it as more of a spin off that focued on the moment to moment combat and less on stats and it was a fun 50 hour blast.

4: Until Dawn ; It set out to be a a slasher horror story with the Heavy Rain formula and nailed it.

5: Fallout 4 ; Its a step back in a lot of ways. But I would be lying if I said I didnt put 40 hours into it and enjoyed a lot of it. I just wish the story was better and the choice that made Bethesda games great returned.

6: Destiny The Taken King ; Bungie Finally put some decent missions and a story into Destiny. Its a good if basic combination but unfortunately it doesn't seem like it will be bringing me back until September 2016. If they can make a actual games worth of content that is this good next year then that could be something special.

7: MGSV TPP ; Its a flawed game. Its unfinished. Its poorly written. Its hilariously sexist. But core of the game is so good. Its wasted potential but the potential is clear to see.
 

randomkid

Member
 
Aside from choice, the game still has a lot to stand on. The characters are brilliantly written and often got me to actually laugh out loud. The jokes are sometimes layered with references but are almost always able to be "gotten" without that knowledge. For example, the skeleton duo Papyrus and Sans speak in the fonts they are named for, but their banter never needs you to know this. Some other names or moments reference anime tropes or other games but are able to stand on their own. (My love of Final Fantasy VI paid off considerably.)
 

Nice writeup, you got at a lot of what I was planning to say! I think a lot of people sort of gloss over how great the jokes can get to be in this game, even if I wasn't personally fond of the FF6 and anime references.
 
It's time! Welcome to the official voting thread for GAF's Games of the Year 2015.
(...)
Voting Ends: Saturday, January 23, 2015 at 5:59am PST / 8:59am EST. No extensions. No exceptions.

Not sure why people are still voting, Cheesemeister made it quite clear when voting time's over...

;)
 

tuxfool

Banned
1: The Witcher 3
Just a amazing package. Stunning technically. Wonderfully written. Incredibly long while also keeping the quality up and always pushing you forward. Its a game I cant imagine being made at any other studio or publisher without some businessman taking a knife to it for DLC purposes or so they can get it out 6 months earlier.

2: Rocket League
Wonderful game. Perfect downloadable game. A hit the scene has needed because ever since the Summer of Arcade went away something has been missing and Rocket League feels like it feel out of that imaginative era when the downloadable scene was on fire.

3: Bloodborne
Fun game. Most consistent Souls game to date.
Admittedly it doesn't have the replayability or sheer variety a Dark Souls game but I was never the hardcore Souls guy who relayed it. I see it as more of a spin off that focued on the moment to moment combat and less on stats and it was a fun 50 hour blast.

4: Until Dawn
It set out to be a a slasher horror story with the Heavy Rain formula and nailed it.

5: Fallout 4
Its a step back in a lot of ways. But I would be lying if I said I didnt put 40 hours into it and enjoyed a lot of it. I just wish the story was better and the choice that made Bethesda games great returned.

6: Destiny The Taken King.
Bungie Finally put some decent missions and a story into Destiny. Its a good if basic combination but unfortunately it doesn't seem like it will be bringing me back until September 2016. If they can make a actual games worth of content that is this good next year then that could be something special.

7: MGSV TPP
Its a flawed game. Its unfinished. Its poorly written. Its hilariously sexist. But core of the game is so good. Its wasted potential but the potential is clear to see.

1. The Witcher 3 ;

These need fixing.
 

kami_sama

Member
1. Undertale ; For me it came out of nowhere. Engaging story and great characters.
2. Life is Strange ; After not so stelar Remember Me, DONTNOD came up this year with this gem.
3. Downwell ; Extremely good gameplay loop design. You can't stop playing.
4. The Witcher 3 ; Your thoughts on Game D.
5. Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth ; A DLC, but I've played it for almost the same time asthe base game.
6. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; Not as good as Dragonfall, but still very good.
7. Her Story ; Completely new way of telling stories.
8. TIS-100 ; Very well made programming puzzle game.
9. Pillars of Eternity ; The return of the WRPG.
 

Clunker

Member
Living life in last gen is making me feel more distant and disconnected from the current zeitgeist than ever. :( But that’s cool - I don’t have much time to play nowadays, so outside of maybe one or two cases I doubt my list would look much different.

SPsCLQe.jpg

1. Life is Strange ; I had no idea I’d rate this so highly when I started it, and I don’t think I can pinpoint any specific moments of the game that spike it up so high in my mind, but thinking back on the entire experience of playing Life is Strange (which I played through in one week around Thanksgiving) leaves me with such a warm feeling of bittersweet joy, nostalgia, and closure that I can’t help but smile. The unreasonably amazing soundtrack (seriously, hearing a Mogwai tune in a game blew my goddamned mind) helped create such a grounded and tangible sense of “place” at Blackwell Academy that I loved just walking around and talking to people. While some people talk shit about the game for feeling pretentiously tumblr-y or hipster-y, I thought it hit an honest tone that people just aren’t used to encountering in games. As a dude in my 30s, I know that a ton of kids like Max and Chloe exist, and it felt so refreshing to live that life through those eyes, even though it was nothing like my own experience - specifically *because* it was nothing like my own experience, actually. And I’ve been a fan of Telltale and adventure games in general in the past, but Life is Strange managed to create its own aesthetic and feel. Games that don’t rely on violence as the primary verb get a lot of brownie points in my eyes, and in this sense Life is Strange was such a relaxing and refreshing game to play through because it was just … chill.

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2. Destiny: The Taken King ; Even though I’m not actively playing it right now, in the rawest sense of “games that defined 2015 for me,” Destiny and The Taken King together lorded over at least three months of my life, and I loved it the entire time. From a play and feel standpoint, this stood head and shoulders over everything this year, and it’s likely the best “feeling” shooter I’ve ever experienced. This became my go-to title because it scratched my “pick-up-and-play” shooter itch and my “grindy lootwhore” itch, whether I wanted to satisfy one in isolation or both together. The loot chase is golden while it lasts, the new abilities and subclasses are hilariously fun, I love all of the new strikes (even Undying Mind, for god’s sake), and I haven’t even tried the King’s Fall raid yet due to time. TTK was, like many have said and will say forever, so close what we all wanted Destiny to be from Day 1. Yes, it has some pretty heinous aspects to it in terms of monetization and overall design, but the sensation of being on the ground floor and in the shit with co-op buddies is unmatched. This isn’t TTK-specific, but Destiny has been the one game that’s gotten me to open up to randoms online - the PS3 community is genuinely great (outliers aside) and while I’ve had to use external sites like Reddit and the100.io, the people I’ve found have been amazing - I’ve finally had the “modern gaming” sensation of having a crew of people that invite me to games and jump in unbidden to help out. TTK ratcheted this up by giving my circle all-new content to gorge on, so the chase was made infinitely sweeter by having fresh trails to blaze.

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3. Undertale ; While I’m not as ga-ga over the game as I know a lot of folks are, it was a fantastically heartfelt and entertaining experience that subverts your expectations and is so much more clever and honest than I ever expected. I haven’t had more legitimate laughs from a game in ages, and it goes so far beyond the regurgitation of Internet memes that it appears on the surface.

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4. Lara Croft Go ; There’s something to be said for the arc and shape of a good short story. In this sense, Lara Croft Go felt just as long as it needed to be - perhaps a tidge on the short side, but that’s more a matter of the game simply leaving me wanting a little bit more. The “Go” format is applied beautifully to the Tomb Raider universe, and it’s funny how legitimately different this feels from Hitman: Go. The mechanics make perfect sense and somehow manage to make turn-based gameplay feel like a perfect adaptation of the internal logic and puzzle-y nature of old-school Tomb Raider.

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5. Pillars of Eternity ; While I haven’t even come close to finishing Pillars, the 20-30 hours I’ve experienced have left me with the bizarre sense of nostalgia for something I’ve never experienced. The truth is that I’ve always been somewhat of a CRPG poser: While I respect and admire games like Baldur’s Gate, I’ve never been able to get more than 10 hours in without feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, or lost. Pillars manages to sidestep some of the old D&D baggage and has managed to create something that feels simultaneously classic and modern. The writing is sharp and witty, the world feels vast and dangerous, and I can’t wait to push further in.

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6. Heroes of the Storm ; Who knew I was a MOBA guy? I sure as fuck didn’t. By stripping out some of the more insane elements (the in-match item store, etc.), speeding things up, and applying that delectably smooth Blizzard polish, Heroes became a nightly ritual for me for weeks. I’ve since toned down on playing, but I still love jumping on for a quick set of 2-3 matches. Its casual nature is what appeals to me most.

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7. Her Story ; Genuinely the freshest and most mindblowing game I’ve played all year. It’s a one-trick pony, but that pony has such a good trick! It’s also the most obvious sort of game that no one ever thought to make, and that’s what I found so brilliant about it.

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8. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; From a universe and writing perspective, Harebrained’s Shadowrun reboots have been top-notch since Returns, but Hong Kong felt the most fresh and inspired because I’d never experienced anything China-related in the Shadowrun universe. The SPRG-super-lite gameplay felt a little too stripped-down in Returns and even in Dragonfall; this begins to bring just enough in to the point where I feel a little more satisfied.

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9. Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate ; Loot loot looooooooooot. The online kept me going for about a month straight, and I’m not even all that great of a MonHun player. I lost my way in this due to work and getting distracted with other games, but I’ll find my way back some day. The best playing Monster Hunter has ever felt.

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10. Final Fantasy: Record Keeper ; Mobile energy-based free-to-play games rife with microtransations get shit on (and rightfully so about 95 percent of the time), but FF:RK is a very cool example of how nostalgia and feel can create a fun experience for people that stay casual and low-key about their free-to-play experiences. I wish there were a bit more involvement in the battles themselves, but by and large my latent FF fanboy tendencies from the 1990s were stoked constantly.

Honorable Mentions
x. Tales from the Borderlands ; All of the below are games that I know I would have loved, if I’d spent more time with them (and had the time to spend!). Just, you know, I didn’t. :(
x. Darkest Dungeon ;
x. Read Only Memories ;
x. Invisible Inc. ;
 

Quonny

Member
1. Tales from the Borderlands ; Best TellTale game, and absolutely hilarious. I loved every second of this game, and I really don't care for Borderlands at all.
2. Disgaea 5 ; Perfected the formula. Ditched the RNG, had a good-enough story, and the grind was enjoyable. Truly this is the most polished NIS game ever made, and it shows.
3. The Witcher 3 ; Awesome world and story, along with the best minigame since FFVIII. Enjoyed almost every part of this game, warts and all.
4. Bloodborne ; I liked this a lot more than the Souls games. Faster pace means more fun. I'm not the biggest fan of the genre, but this one hit a sweet spot.
5. Teslagrad ; Short and sweet. Loved the world and atmosphere. Puzzles weren't too hard but some of the secret scrolls really stretched your mind and fingers.
6. Life is Strange ; Chloe almost ruined this game for me, but I still liked it a lot. I thought it kinda fizzled (as my favorite parts were the high school bits), but an engrossing story with some interesting characters.
 

Karish

Member
1. Rocket League
2. Witcher 3
3. Batman Arkham Knight
4. Ori and the Blind Forest
5. Until Dawn
6. Fallout 4
7. NBA 2K16
8. Halo 5
9. Tomb Raider
10. Mad Max
 
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