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GAF Games of the Year 2015 - Voting Thread [LAST DAY FOR VOTING]
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
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wild wild rice
Member
Your rant has me intrigued. Just on the page you posted this alone I'm seeing some fairly diverse lists.
Effigenius
Member
Did and do. Good year for the wiiu, but I dont play with other people so smash and mk; have limited appeal (I bought them but only played them in single player). I liked tropical freeze, it was on my goty list last year, but would have preferred a 3d game, and I still havent played either bayonetta game.
wild wild rice
Member
OrbitalBeard
Member
Well, there's the problem!
Effigenius
Member
Yeah, I know. I bought it too. Just in case it gets hard to find. I will play it. Eventually. Although im not usually a big fan of god of war/dmc type games.
Whoops, thanks! Fixed it.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I don't think there's any year in at least the past half-decade where I have struggled to find ten great games to put on a list. For me, the problem is always which ten to choose.
1. Tales From The Borderlands ; Brilliantly funny throughout and the finale was just as strong as the journey.
2. Until Dawn ; I was really looking forward to this game and I think had higher expectations than most, but it was brilliantly done and a great variant to the story telling genre.
3. Life is Strange ; This was such a powerful game for me, but felt the finale was disappointing for what was overall a brilliant game.
4. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ; The world was beautiful, the soundtrack perfect and I loved the mystery.
5. Star Wars Battlefront ; For someone who hasn't really played an FPS since Halo 3, I've pumped 60 hours into this which just looks amazing and replicates the sound and feel of Star Wars brilliantly.
6. Rocket League ; I used to spend so long playing the Football minigame in Road Trip Adventure I always wondered why there wasn't a game centred around these simple rules, it seemed so obvious!
7. King's Quest: Chapters I-II ; Very funny, interesting puzzles and so well polished. Looking forward to the remaining chapters.
8. Project CARS ; Lovely graphics with good track and car selection. Enjoyed the unique career mode and the settings available to tailor how you want to play.
9. Ori and the Blind Forest ; These are what Rayman games should have been. I can see the original Rayman so clearly in Ori, great platforming, atmosphere and sound track.
10. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Three of the best games to come out on the PS3, forgot how much I enjoyed them, UC2 in particular hasn't aged a bit.
2. Until Dawn ; I was really looking forward to this game and I think had higher expectations than most, but it was brilliantly done and a great variant to the story telling genre.
3. Life is Strange ; This was such a powerful game for me, but felt the finale was disappointing for what was overall a brilliant game.
4. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ; The world was beautiful, the soundtrack perfect and I loved the mystery.
5. Star Wars Battlefront ; For someone who hasn't really played an FPS since Halo 3, I've pumped 60 hours into this which just looks amazing and replicates the sound and feel of Star Wars brilliantly.
6. Rocket League ; I used to spend so long playing the Football minigame in Road Trip Adventure I always wondered why there wasn't a game centred around these simple rules, it seemed so obvious!
7. King's Quest: Chapters I-II ; Very funny, interesting puzzles and so well polished. Looking forward to the remaining chapters.
8. Project CARS ; Lovely graphics with good track and car selection. Enjoyed the unique career mode and the settings available to tailor how you want to play.
9. Ori and the Blind Forest ; These are what Rayman games should have been. I can see the original Rayman so clearly in Ori, great platforming, atmosphere and sound track.
10. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Three of the best games to come out on the PS3, forgot how much I enjoyed them, UC2 in particular hasn't aged a bit.
Cornbread78
Member
DriftingSpirit
Member
Yeah, screw those people who lack time and/or money to play everything. Screw'em!
RespectThySole
Member
I don't have a Wii U, but I have played Smash 4 and MK8. They are great, but honestly I've had my fill of those two series. Smash is by far my most played franchise.(probably well over 1000 hours in Melee alone)
I should get a Wii U at some point to play Bayonetta 2 though. However, I don't think I will like it as much as the original based on what I've heard about it.
I would have one by now if there was a proper Metroid game on the console.
What can I say? I'm a self-admitted fan of Otaku Anime Bullshit.
In all seriousness, I'm going to take that a compliment, even if you didn't mean it to be such.
Man, such a great mix of thoughtless, condescending and anti-forum/community remarks put into one paragraph. I think I have to nominate this for my top 10 for GAF Worst Post of the Year 2015. Might be limited in my perspective since I'm not on here as much as you though.
Haunted
Member
Time to throw out the tallies and replace them with weighted averages based on post count and gaming literacy!
There's always lots of good games, but truly great games? After I'm done listing the absolute standouts, it comes down to kind of a wash for the last couple spots. Who can really say what's the difference between the #9 and the #12 spot.
CopperPuppy
Member
Hilarious. Some people are busy, dude. Doesn't mean they don't love games or can't pop in this thread to give their favorite game a shout.
I am a lawyer and am busy as fuck most of the time. I play games when I can but don't get around to as many new releases as I'd like. If I loved the shit out of Witcher 3 or Ori or whatever, I should still be able to come in, wax poetic a bit, and throw a vote its way.
But, hey, I guess we should disqualify anyone who didn't rectify the "lack of perspective" you were able to overcome in your apparent abundance of leisure.
1. Halo 5: Guardians ; Just a superb shooter and one of the best Halo games to date. Absolutely fantastic campaign in terms of level design and gameplay with the most satisfying competitive multiplayer I've ever played in a game. It's extremely addictive, I bought Fallout 4 and whilst I enjoyed it immensely I just kept coming straight back to H5. A subpar standalone story, some poor playlist management and a lack of gamemodes bring it down somewhat. However, they don't stop it from being an absolute dream to play and a game I'm going to be coming back to again and again. Also Forge is fucking fantastic and would be at number 2 if it were a standalone game.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I've only had the game for a couple of days but I already know it's fantastic. Gorgeous graphics, excellent art direction and some fantastic music give it a superb atmosphere. The excellent writing and voice acting carry some intriguing stories which have me second guessing my decisions and thinking about the game none stop. The combat is also very fun. The prevalence of loading screens and pretty shoddy horse controls are annoying though.
3. Kerbal Space Program ; I don't think I've actually even played it this year. However, this game has provided me with some of the most satisfying and enjoyable moments I've ever had in a game. Unique and superb, I just wish I had a better computer to appreciate it more.
4. Fallout 4 ; Bethesda is the king of world design and they've done it again. Fallout has a fantastic world that has me constantly wandering off my path to "see what that thing over there is". The level of detail never stops impressing me and keeps me wanting to explore every corner I can find. The gameplay improvements over Fallout 3 are also substantial with the shooting finally feeling good and the settlement building is also really fun, if a bit aimless. Graphically it does look fairly dated yet some great art direction manages to make for some good looking and memorable moments.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; I've only had the game for a couple of days but I already know it's fantastic. Gorgeous graphics, excellent art direction and some fantastic music give it a superb atmosphere. The excellent writing and voice acting carry some intriguing stories which have me second guessing my decisions and thinking about the game none stop. The combat is also very fun. The prevalence of loading screens and pretty shoddy horse controls are annoying though.
3. Kerbal Space Program ; I don't think I've actually even played it this year. However, this game has provided me with some of the most satisfying and enjoyable moments I've ever had in a game. Unique and superb, I just wish I had a better computer to appreciate it more.
4. Fallout 4 ; Bethesda is the king of world design and they've done it again. Fallout has a fantastic world that has me constantly wandering off my path to "see what that thing over there is". The level of detail never stops impressing me and keeps me wanting to explore every corner I can find. The gameplay improvements over Fallout 3 are also substantial with the shooting finally feeling good and the settlement building is also really fun, if a bit aimless. Graphically it does look fairly dated yet some great art direction manages to make for some good looking and memorable moments.
Yup, it's a shame that Nintendo weak this year compared to 2014.
Bayonetta 2(my personal GOTY) was robbed to death
http://gotypicks.blogspot.com/2014/09/2014-game-of-year.html
apparently Bayo2 was by far the inferior game according to some people's logic that only the best game wins.
Kind of a weird year for me. The games I've put the most time into that were released this year, like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, definitely aren't GOTY worthy for me. Plus most of my time has been spent on games that weren't actually released this year.
RespectThySole
Member
Dragon Age is lucky it came out in November. The press was still in the honeymoon phase. Completely absurd that it won so many awards when a superior RPG, Divinity: Original Sin, also released that year.
Haunted
Member
Hindsight's always 20/20 and most people publically stating their opinions like that are too proud to go back and admit mistakes, but I honestly believe that DA:I winning as much as it did is one of those decisions where people will look back and shamefully shake their heads in that classic "what was I thinking?" way we all have experienced at least once in our lives. (I look back at my 2006 and 2011 lists and my cheeks are flushing and I just cringe.)
ViewtifulJC
Banned
Dragon Age was the most critically acclaimed western AAA single player story focused console game of the year, of course it won the most
this year is Witcher 3, hence it winning more awards than any other game
Uno Venova
Banned
1. Life Is Strange ; I haven't actually finished Life Is Strange yet since I just purchased it during the Steam Sale, but I can say for sure after playing through just two of the chapters that the story has gripped me like no other video game this year. This will be the first episodic game I'll finish after stopping part way through titles like The Walking Dead and Sam & Max. The rewind mechanic offers a nice way to at least temporarily experience some of the branching choices without requiring a full play through as well. I'll still probably go back and play through this game again after I beat it early next year, to play it opposite to how I've played so far to see just how branched the story does get.
2. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; So, I'll admit it. The real reason this game is so high on my list is because I didn't play The New Order until this year, meaning I didn't vote for it last year. I haven't had as much fun with a single player shooter in quite a long time. Only a few hours into The Old Blood, but it seems like more of the same, with a few minor changes. For me, that's enough. I enjoy the fast run and gun with little bits of stealth, the secrets and shortcuts and the story. And don't forget the solid shooting mechanics. If other shooters have burned you out over the past few years, give both of these games a chance.
3. TIS-100 ; This puzzle game is the most fun I've had "working" on a game all year. Trying to figure out a solution for a puzzle, only to finally figure it out after hours is so rewarding. Just don't hate yourself if you see a friend on the leaderboard with a score a lot better than yours, get back into the problem and improve the efficiency!
4. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster ; I only played FFX two or three times after it came out on the PS2. I enjoyed the game back then, but the changes made the to the remaster have really drawn me into playing it one more time. I just wish the remaster would have included an option story/dialog rewrite, as some of it is kinda corny to me now. Still love the Sphere Grid and Blitzball though.
5. N++ ; A solid platformer with just the right level of challenge. Nice update to the flash game I played so much in college, with new frustrating enemies and way too many levels. You hate yourself and die over and over, but when you finish a level after collecting all the gold pieces you feel so good.
6. Saints Row: Gat out of Hell ; Silly, over the top, and a little repetitive, but damn if flying around hell trying to collect stuff isn't fun. Gat out of Hell also has of the best cut scenes of the year. Has me looking forward to the new Crackdown if the orbs are back...
7. Rocket League ; A fun arcade game to play with and against others. One of the perks of PS+ for me this year for sure.
8. Axiom Verge ; I enjoyed the first few hours of Axiom Verge. The weapons are nice and varied, and the traversal mechanics are a nice touch on the typical Metroidvania. I just wish the back half of the game didn't feel so much like a chore with some overly tough enemies with lots of backtracking.
9. Just Cause 3 ; I've enjoyed what I've played of Just Cause 3, I just wish I could play it for a long session without having the game crash on me due to the technical bugs it launched with.
10. Bloodborne ; I haven't really put as much time into Bloodborne as I'd like, but from what I have played it's a solid follow up to the Souls franchise. Game looks nice and I've died a ton, hoping to be able to beat it next year though.
2. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; So, I'll admit it. The real reason this game is so high on my list is because I didn't play The New Order until this year, meaning I didn't vote for it last year. I haven't had as much fun with a single player shooter in quite a long time. Only a few hours into The Old Blood, but it seems like more of the same, with a few minor changes. For me, that's enough. I enjoy the fast run and gun with little bits of stealth, the secrets and shortcuts and the story. And don't forget the solid shooting mechanics. If other shooters have burned you out over the past few years, give both of these games a chance.
3. TIS-100 ; This puzzle game is the most fun I've had "working" on a game all year. Trying to figure out a solution for a puzzle, only to finally figure it out after hours is so rewarding. Just don't hate yourself if you see a friend on the leaderboard with a score a lot better than yours, get back into the problem and improve the efficiency!
4. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster ; I only played FFX two or three times after it came out on the PS2. I enjoyed the game back then, but the changes made the to the remaster have really drawn me into playing it one more time. I just wish the remaster would have included an option story/dialog rewrite, as some of it is kinda corny to me now. Still love the Sphere Grid and Blitzball though.
5. N++ ; A solid platformer with just the right level of challenge. Nice update to the flash game I played so much in college, with new frustrating enemies and way too many levels. You hate yourself and die over and over, but when you finish a level after collecting all the gold pieces you feel so good.
6. Saints Row: Gat out of Hell ; Silly, over the top, and a little repetitive, but damn if flying around hell trying to collect stuff isn't fun. Gat out of Hell also has of the best cut scenes of the year. Has me looking forward to the new Crackdown if the orbs are back...
7. Rocket League ; A fun arcade game to play with and against others. One of the perks of PS+ for me this year for sure.
8. Axiom Verge ; I enjoyed the first few hours of Axiom Verge. The weapons are nice and varied, and the traversal mechanics are a nice touch on the typical Metroidvania. I just wish the back half of the game didn't feel so much like a chore with some overly tough enemies with lots of backtracking.
9. Just Cause 3 ; I've enjoyed what I've played of Just Cause 3, I just wish I could play it for a long session without having the game crash on me due to the technical bugs it launched with.
10. Bloodborne ; I haven't really put as much time into Bloodborne as I'd like, but from what I have played it's a solid follow up to the Souls franchise. Game looks nice and I've died a ton, hoping to be able to beat it next year though.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I was gonna vote for Transistor but I checked and it came out in 2014. Damn, I didn't get a single new game in 2015...
For me the problem isn't that I haven't played great games this year -- it's that I play great games, but many of them tend to be from past years. That plus lack of time makes it hard to put a list of 10 current games together.
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
Divide gaf into centurions. 80 centurions with 10 posters each with high post count and savoir de jeu video. 30 centurions with 80 low post count gaming illiterates. 1 centurion for all junior members.
Then we vote by block.
Aaaand the award for Completely Missing The Point goes to this guy.
These are opinions. Period. And also, as people have stated before, not everyone can afford, or have the means to play every game. For my part, I have never gone back and cringed at my lists. Your opinions changed? Fine. But don't try to bring the entire thread down just because of your own personal issues. People can vote how they want; don't shit on them for their personal tastes. And don't say that's not what you're doing, because you are.
John Rabbit
Banned
1. Bloodborne; Bloodborne represents a marked leap forward technically, artistically, and mechanically from From Software's already ambitious and nigh-inscrutable previous action RPG outings. Everything in Bloodborne is dripping with an attention to detail you're not afforded because you're desperately trying to not to get sawn in half. Or transported to a nightmare dimension. Or sacrificed to an eldritch, lunar, demi-god. From Software even decided to provide you an essentially limitless amount of content with procedurally generated dungeons that almost seem like a complete afterthought. That Bloodborne received such a fantastic expansion to it's already rich and lively (deadly?) cosmic by-way-of Gothic horror world only cements it as one of the best games of the generation.
2. Journey; The PS4 re-master was my first time playing Journey and I feel like I've finally been given access to a nightclub that everyone else has been enjoying for years. I've never been more moved, more touched, more emotional, about a game in several years. An absolute master class in game design and artistic expression. Even listening to the end theme as I write this causes an involuntarily spread of goose bumps and a lump in my throat. Thank you to all my faceless compatriots, especially that one person who stuck it out with me almost to the very end; I'm sorry we didn't get to fly together.
3. Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair; Earth Defense Force 4.1 is actually an updated version of 2013's Earth Defense Force 2025, however the improvements, both large and small, are significant enough to the game's internal structure that it could (by a not insignifcant stretch of logic that only psychos who enjoy games like EDF can trade in) be considered a new game in the series. Although Sandlot manages to bring the newest in console hardware to it's knees once again, overall EDF 4.1 is much better moving, playing, and experienced game than it's predecessor.
4. Rocket League; Rocket League is, to quote a popular enthusiast gaming outlet, "A videogame-ass videogame". Rocket League exudes the kind of grade-school "what if X was combined with Y" mentality that an entire generation of arcade-style gaming explored in the late-80s to mid-90s. That the game feels like it's being broadcast from the UK, complete with a banging, anthemic, eurodance soundtrack, and controls like a dream is just several layers of icing and cherries on top.
5.Until Dawn; Going entirely by it's premise on paper, Until Dawn has no right to be good; which is just as well because the game is absolutely fantastic. A veritable treasure-trove of completely tired cliches, motifs, and tropes, Until Dawn's imminently repeatable 8-hour, branching storyline manages to deconstruct, twist, and invert every one of them. It simultaneously meets and subverts every expectation that it sets up. It pairs the frantic helplessness of modern horror gaming with the teeth-gnashing pseudo-empowerment of survival horror of yesteryear.
6.Fallout 4; Fallout 4 is like that song you played, played, and overplayed, during a particularly poignant time in your life. It came to mean something more than just the sound of the music or the meaning of the lyrics; Fallout is synonymous with a time, place, and an emotion that go beyond the game itself; an idyllic slice of your past. Bethesda managed to remix that song in some pretty interesting and clever new ways this year, but I'm not exactly sure I want to listen to it quite as many times as the original.
7. Dying Light; Dying Light delivers on every promise that Techland made in their first attempt at open-world zombie smashing, Dead Island. The traversal mechanic is not only functional, but incredibly fun and essential to your continued survival and the crafting system is more nuanced and varied. While the game suffers from some pacing and bloat issues and the lamentable removal of analog combat control, the added dynamic of the day/night cycle, some really impresive visuals, and the "better than it ought to be" writing and acting go a long way to keep you invested and motivated.
8. Her Story; A model example of making entire mountain ranges out of ant hills; working with a very basic premise and a basic set of tools to interact with that premise but creating an entire universe of possiblities and discussions and trains of thought, many of which derail completely. I still think about this game about once a week. My wife and I are still not entirely sure what the "truth" is when it comes to what we saw and heard. We're not even sure there is one. Definitely the most left field game on this list and Viva Seifert's performance is fantastic.
9. Grow Home; Sometimes you want to go home. Again. Grow Home let's you do that both literally and figuratively. With an art palette that is like a distilled, refined, loving pour of "16-bit platformers", one of the year's best soundtracks that consists of literally two very similar sounding songs, and the gangly but adorable B.U.D. and his smarmy but attentive M.O.M., Grow Home is a powerful 1-2 punch pastiche of 3D platforming and the warm fuzzies of nostalgia.
10. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; Boss. This game is kind of a pain in my ass. It doesn't have enough batshit insanity to fill an ocean. Something's wrong here, it must involve Cipher. This is kind of a grudging entry because there are a fleet of games that could sit at this spot just as easily. The fact that they aren't is because of how amazingly fluid and tight the mechanics are in The Phantom Pain. Rather than incorporate a bunch of systems and let them sort themselves out in a sprawling open-world, Kojima Productions crafted a very specific set of playgrounds for the player to interact with, and then gave them near-endless ways to go about their business. It's just a shame that all that work didn't go to providing one final, completely insane from top-to-bottom send-off for the series as we know it.
Honorable Mentions:
X. Just Cause 3
X. Cities: Skylines
X. Super Mario Maker
X. Nuclear Throne
X. FAST Racing Neo
Random Awards:
- 2015's 2014 Game of the Year: Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Edition (that the game continues to recieve meaningful content updates on console is astounding; really hoping patch 2.4 makes it down too)
- 2015's Best Powerpoint Presentation: Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair
- 2015's Biggest Disappointment: Just Cause 3
- 2015's Best Surprise: Super Mario Maker
- 2015's Game I Wanted to Play The Most But Didn't: Splatoon
- 2015's Best Character: Dr. Alan Hill (Peter Stormare), Until Dawn
- 2015's Worst Trend: (Tie) Everything Was Early Access/Peter Stormare wasn't in every game
- 2015's Good Guy Developer Award: Psyonix
- 2015's Wish for 2016: VR Doesn't Price Itself Right Out of Relevance
The Witcher 3 is also extremely good, so I think that helps.
I don't disagree with you that inquisition was very overrated, but saying Witcher 3 mostly wins because of it being that type of game is nonsense, it also is just very, very good.
The Dear Leader
Banned
1. Life is Strange ; The most heartfelt and endearing game of the year, with characters and story telling that made me feel entirely engaged and genuinely care for the fate of the people of Arcadia Bay, a game about the journey through time and the relationship between two character, Life is Strange is my game of the year.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; CD Projekt Red has perfected the RPG formula, consistently The Witcher III has impressed me with it's incredible writing, interesting quest lines and absolutely insanely detailed world that feels real and lived in. Everything from the characters, to the loot, to the music, to the world that just feels hand crafted with love and attention to detail.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Hideo Kojima's swan song, MGSV has the best, most refined and versatile stealth game play of any game I've ever played, it is a example of game play over everything else, all though everything else in this case is still incredible well done, for the most part, the story waivers a bit towards the end and some of the online components of the game are underwhelming, but none of that takes away from how much of an incredible game MGSV was for the 120+ hours I've played.
4. Dying Light ; A big sleeper hit for me, I expected another Dead Island style game with same amount of problems, but what I got was a fantastic free running, zombie killing adventure that grabbed me and sucked me into it's world. Tight game play, great weapons, and a incredible sense of freedom make Dying Light one of my favorite games of the year.
5. Fallout 4 ; Not without it's problems, Fallout 4 is just as engaging as previous Bethesda open world games, they have a certain way of sucking me into the world they crafted for 100's of hours. While a very familiar game, it is also a very fun game that scratches a certain itch that only Bethesda can.
6. Rocket League ; A game I got into just a few days before finishing this list, I thought it would be over hyped as a lot of games tend to be, but I was wrong, every hour of Rocket League I play seems to move a spot up on my list, it's a perfectly balanced game that takes the multiplayer formula back to it's basics with such incredible tight game play and just an a insane amount of fun.
7. Undertale ; A little RPG that came out of no where, I have no affinity for Earthbound or the other RPG's that this game is inspired by but I found myself enjoying Undertale's unique game play hook, unique concept and genuinely funny characters. It subverts all the expectations I had going in and totally exceeds them at the same time.
8. Tales from the Borderlands ; TellTales best writing to date, the characters are funny, and relatable. While in the Borderlands series, it doesn't follow any of the trappings of the series but makes it's own path as one of the funniest games of the year.
9. Mad Max ; Some would call Mad Max a mediocre game, I would call it a well crafted, but simple open world game that really nails the Mad Max vibe and offers some of the best car combat and visuals of any game this year. It's not perfect by any means, but it hooked me unlike a lot of other games this year I had a a great time for the whole ride.
10. Grand Theft Auto V ; It's GTAV, but it looks better, performs better, and has a bunch of cool new features from the previous generation, like a cool FPS mode and custom radio music. The PC version of this game really shines, it felt held back by the hardware it was on before but now it feels like the version of Los Santos I always wanted.
Honorable Mentions
x. Cities: Skylines ; Excellent city builder, with great production values, you can tell the developers have a real love for the game and the series they built.
x. Contradiction: Spot the Liar! ; FMV detective adventure with the best character of the year, Detective Jenks.
x. Downwell ; Addicting little game with tight game play and a cool art style, best $3 I've spent all year.
x. Her Story ; A excellent FMV story game with a neat twist to the formula, giving anything away would be a disservice, a unique experienced that must be had.
x. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; Follow up to one of the best action/indie games of all time, fantastic soundtrack with even more hard as nails game play.
x. Killing Floor 2 ; Addicting co-op zombie killing action, the shooting just feels so good, one of my guilty pleasures this year.
x. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Didn't play enough of this game this year sadly, but from what I've played it showed how special this game is, absolutely beautiful art and music, I look forward to play it more in 2016!
x. Pillars of Eternity ; A classic RPG in the year of our Lord 2015, I found it hard to get into but it's one of those games that is always in back of my mind that makes me want to go back.
x. Warhammer: The End Times: Vermintide - a co-op rat killing slaughter fest set in the Warhammer fantasy universe, incredible production values, and really satisfying and visceral combat.
x. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; More Wolfenstein, which isn't a bad thing at all, does some unique stuff with it's two campaigns that really opens up the game play system they've built.
On closing, it's been a great year for gaming, can't wait for 2016!
ViewtifulJC
Banned
not making any real judgment on Witcher 3, just saying critics definitely have one certain type of game in mind when it comes to these things
only outlier here was 2012, cuz Mass effect 3's ending backlash. So they gave it to the small western developed single player story driven console game instead.
More_Badass
Member
This man has good tastes. Sunless Sea is so so good
Mr. Poolman
Member
1. Undertale ; Among the greatest games I've ever played. This game actually speaks to the player (not the protagonist character) and ask them questions about how much of a "good person" you are. A gem of a game that I will remember for years to come.
2. Splatoon ; We live on a strange world where Nintendo produced the most original, creative and fun shooter in years. A breath of fresh air on a saturated market of generic shooters.
3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Beautiful game, great characters and good quest design, could be the best RPG of the year, but was unfortunate enough Undertale was released this year.
4. Ori and the Blind Forest ; A graphical masterpiece with complex Metroidvania gameplay, a joy to just watch the beautiful world.
5. Super Mario Maker ; The game I was not aware I really wanted/needed.
6. Grim Fandango Remastered ; The good ones never age. And that is true with the remastered version of this classic. A must for any serious gamer.
7. Jotun ; An unexpected beautiful and challenging game. My time with it has been short, but I'm impressed with the world building and breathtaking artwork.
2. Splatoon ; We live on a strange world where Nintendo produced the most original, creative and fun shooter in years. A breath of fresh air on a saturated market of generic shooters.
3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Beautiful game, great characters and good quest design, could be the best RPG of the year, but was unfortunate enough Undertale was released this year.
4. Ori and the Blind Forest ; A graphical masterpiece with complex Metroidvania gameplay, a joy to just watch the beautiful world.
5. Super Mario Maker ; The game I was not aware I really wanted/needed.
6. Grim Fandango Remastered ; The good ones never age. And that is true with the remastered version of this classic. A must for any serious gamer.
7. Jotun ; An unexpected beautiful and challenging game. My time with it has been short, but I'm impressed with the world building and breathtaking artwork.
darkfletcher
Neo Member
Here I go!
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The stories, the Bloody Baron, the monsters, Geralt, the people living there and their stories... everything! I just can't get enough of this game.
2. Life is Strange ; I spent 15 minutes thinking on what to do in one of the 2 ways to finish a chapter in this game. Th8is game and its moments are going to stay with me for a very long time
3. Barman: Arkham Knight ; I was Batman
4. Bloodborne ; I just get killed and killed over and over again... and I want more pain!
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; There is no wrong doing in this game. Love seeing other people finishing a mission I've done in a different way
6. Star Wars Battlefront ; It might be a very simple game... but I can jump in it and play for 20 minutes everyday and feel that I am in a galaxy far far away...
If I had played this year's Assassins Creed I'm sure it would have been included... but must finish other games before jumping into that one!
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The stories, the Bloody Baron, the monsters, Geralt, the people living there and their stories... everything! I just can't get enough of this game.
2. Life is Strange ; I spent 15 minutes thinking on what to do in one of the 2 ways to finish a chapter in this game. Th8is game and its moments are going to stay with me for a very long time
3. Barman: Arkham Knight ; I was Batman
4. Bloodborne ; I just get killed and killed over and over again... and I want more pain!
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; There is no wrong doing in this game. Love seeing other people finishing a mission I've done in a different way
6. Star Wars Battlefront ; It might be a very simple game... but I can jump in it and play for 20 minutes everyday and feel that I am in a galaxy far far away...
If I had played this year's Assassins Creed I'm sure it would have been included... but must finish other games before jumping into that one!
AngmarsKing701
Member
Me neither. :-(
timetokill
Banned
Those spots are all worth 1 point so don't fret too much about placement!
TwiztidElf
Member
I only voted for 6 games out of the heap I played this year too.
I don't know how Haunted is able to deduce the breadth and variety of peoples gaming for the year based off their goty votes.
For the record, based off this thread, I played Undertale. I wouldn't put it in my votes. GAF'd again! I swore I wouldn't let it happen again after Papers Please.
Pagusas
Elden Member
Not meant as an insult at all, just rare these days to see somone with such exacting taste.
Aarglefarg
Member
I haven't finished Tales of Zestiria or Yakuza 5 yet, a major reason for wanting to edit. It's been a great year for games and narrowing it down is difficult.
1. Bloodborne ; The decision to replenish the player character’s health when the player attacks immediately after receiving damage was an inspired change to the Souls formula.
2. Splatoon ; At one point in the year, Splatoon was ahead of Bloodborne in my list. Frustrations with people frequently getting disconnected brought it down one level, with the result of too many matches for too long coming down to which team lost one extra player.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D ; I had played little of Majora’s Mask before, wanting to focus on Ocarina of Time first, which I had only actually finished for the first time soon before Majora’s Mask 3D was released. It was probably for the best that this was the first way to play it.
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; The core gameplay simply worked so well. It could have been streamlined more, changes after release were not to its benefit and the ending was disappointing. I still don’t know if it was a good Metal Gear Solid (it could be) but it was a great game.
5. Undertale ; I expected a homage to Earthbound. I did not know it had a bullet hell-styled battle system, which worked remarkably well.
6. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; It gave me an increased appreciation for the early series, with the understanding that the game is ultimately about planning. Planning what to do before using an ink ribbon, planning which items to take and to where, planning which zombies are worth some bullets.
7. Dragon Quest V ; Released in my country for mobile this year and this is the way I played it first.
8. Final Fantasy VII ; The PS4 version stands up much better than I thought it would.
9. Tales of Zestiria ; The gameplay is overly complicated by unnecessary systems, but I still like it. I like the characters and the story concept goes in some unexpected directions.
10. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; Fun characterisation, dramatic turns and good direction. A surprising late addition to the list.
Honourable Mentions:
x. N++ ; Simply great platforming (though it can be unclear if a fall will be fatal).
x. King’s Quest: Chapters I-II ; If all parts were released this year maybe it could have made my top 10, maybe Episodes III-V could be in my top 10 next year.
x. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; New enemy placement makes it feel fresh.
x. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Dramatically increased my appreciation of the pacing and structure of Uncharted 1 and the scale of Uncharted 3.
x. Emily Is Away ; It was only with the climax, or it becoming clear that the climax was inevitable, that it won me over. The storytelling effectively used the gameplay.
x. Yakuza 5 ; I'm not far into this yet (maybe 5 hours), and so it could have moved into the top 10 if it was released earlier in the year.
The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Xenoblade Chronicles X just didn't grab me so much.
1. Bloodborne ; The decision to replenish the player character’s health when the player attacks immediately after receiving damage was an inspired change to the Souls formula.
2. Splatoon ; At one point in the year, Splatoon was ahead of Bloodborne in my list. Frustrations with people frequently getting disconnected brought it down one level, with the result of too many matches for too long coming down to which team lost one extra player.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D ; I had played little of Majora’s Mask before, wanting to focus on Ocarina of Time first, which I had only actually finished for the first time soon before Majora’s Mask 3D was released. It was probably for the best that this was the first way to play it.
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; The core gameplay simply worked so well. It could have been streamlined more, changes after release were not to its benefit and the ending was disappointing. I still don’t know if it was a good Metal Gear Solid (it could be) but it was a great game.
5. Undertale ; I expected a homage to Earthbound. I did not know it had a bullet hell-styled battle system, which worked remarkably well.
6. Resident Evil HD Remaster ; It gave me an increased appreciation for the early series, with the understanding that the game is ultimately about planning. Planning what to do before using an ink ribbon, planning which items to take and to where, planning which zombies are worth some bullets.
7. Dragon Quest V ; Released in my country for mobile this year and this is the way I played it first.
8. Final Fantasy VII ; The PS4 version stands up much better than I thought it would.
9. Tales of Zestiria ; The gameplay is overly complicated by unnecessary systems, but I still like it. I like the characters and the story concept goes in some unexpected directions.
10. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; Fun characterisation, dramatic turns and good direction. A surprising late addition to the list.
Honourable Mentions:
x. N++ ; Simply great platforming (though it can be unclear if a fall will be fatal).
x. King’s Quest: Chapters I-II ; If all parts were released this year maybe it could have made my top 10, maybe Episodes III-V could be in my top 10 next year.
x. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; New enemy placement makes it feel fresh.
x. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Dramatically increased my appreciation of the pacing and structure of Uncharted 1 and the scale of Uncharted 3.
x. Emily Is Away ; It was only with the climax, or it becoming clear that the climax was inevitable, that it won me over. The storytelling effectively used the gameplay.
x. Yakuza 5 ; I'm not far into this yet (maybe 5 hours), and so it could have moved into the top 10 if it was released earlier in the year.
The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Xenoblade Chronicles X just didn't grab me so much.
I guess I am kind of old school in that regard. I see your point.
pots555
Member
1. Until Dawn ; something about this game just clicked with me.
2. Fallout 4 ; still so much to do.
3. Life is Strange ; story, music, characters...amazing.
4. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; massive and lots of fun.
5. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt ; one of the best rpg's ever made.
6. Bloodborne ; atmosphere and brutal gameplay. Great!
7. Star Wars Battlefront ; some little things are annoying.
8. Destiny the Taken King ; just started this but it's amazing.
9. Divinity Original Sin ; deep and rewarding.
10. Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the first sin ; still going strong after 80 hours.
2. Fallout 4 ; still so much to do.
3. Life is Strange ; story, music, characters...amazing.
4. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; massive and lots of fun.
5. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt ; one of the best rpg's ever made.
6. Bloodborne ; atmosphere and brutal gameplay. Great!
7. Star Wars Battlefront ; some little things are annoying.
8. Destiny the Taken King ; just started this but it's amazing.
9. Divinity Original Sin ; deep and rewarding.
10. Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the first sin ; still going strong after 80 hours.
Haunted
Member
It doesn't have to be a top 10, if there aren't enough games that you feel deserve to be highlighted, it's fine to list fewer.
Plague Doctor
Member
Thanks to this thread and a discount, I just picked up SOMA. I am pretty psyched.
kamineko
Does his best thinking in the flying car
holy shit it all makes sense now
Are you happy now xtortionist.
1. Fallout 4 ; It has problems, the dialogue system is terrible and the bad performance does not match the quality of visuals on display. But everything outside of that is a major improvement over Fallout 3, which is probably my favourite game of all time. The world is the most dense of a Bethesda title, its pretty, and the combat is on another level. The world lives up to their standards, the glowing sea is a great concept, and I especially like the more lonely blasted forests and marshes.
2. Dying Light ; The mobility and sleek combat makes this feel like a real next gen zombie game. All the easter eggs and free updates gives you a sense that some real love went into making the game. Playing Zombi after this was a complete step backwards.
3. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; I love revisiting games with major changes across the board. The changes are mostly for the better, in a game that I already considered to be a worthy successor to one of the best games of last gen.
4. Cities: Skylines: I believe this is my first experience with a modern city builder. While it did just make me want to play Pharaoh again I enjoyed my time with it.
the rest: games I haven't played enough of to vote for: the witcher 3, mgs v, just cause 3, zombi (pc), assassin's creed rogue (pc), pillars of eternity, grow home
Every year I want to make a bigger list but I can't be bothered finishing more games. The Witcher 3 seems pretty good but I'm only 8 hours in.
2. Dying Light ; The mobility and sleek combat makes this feel like a real next gen zombie game. All the easter eggs and free updates gives you a sense that some real love went into making the game. Playing Zombi after this was a complete step backwards.
3. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; I love revisiting games with major changes across the board. The changes are mostly for the better, in a game that I already considered to be a worthy successor to one of the best games of last gen.
4. Cities: Skylines: I believe this is my first experience with a modern city builder. While it did just make me want to play Pharaoh again I enjoyed my time with it.
the rest: games I haven't played enough of to vote for: the witcher 3, mgs v, just cause 3, zombi (pc), assassin's creed rogue (pc), pillars of eternity, grow home
Every year I want to make a bigger list but I can't be bothered finishing more games. The Witcher 3 seems pretty good but I'm only 8 hours in.
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