1. Rise of the Tomb Raider; Lara gets my GOTY once again (last TR was my 2013 GOTY). I love this series and love what Crystal Dynamics has done. They are my favorite developer, and it shows. This game looks gorgeous, the environments, the water levels, the mission structure, the snow and forest effect. It feels so good to be in the world. This game has outstanding level design, the best I have seen since 2013 TR. Game plays perfectly, the shooting feels fun and exciting, every enemy encounter I find myself salivating as to how many options I got (my trusty bow is always the first option). The story is excellent, and kept me engaged, and the Metroidvania-design is my favorite type of style for gaming, with progression that makes you feel your character’s growth. Love it.
2. Destiny: The Taken King; Destiny got to me again. I played vanilla until the perpetual level 29, then stopped. Came back two weeks before TTK was released to see the Dark Below and House of Wolves content and prepare for TTK. This is my go to game now. The music is excellent and bought the soundtrack. The new levels felt great, the new strikes are awesome, King’s Fall was excellent and challenging the first go around. Everything was improved, and I now play TTK every day since its release, every day. Play Destiny so much, I own TTK on both XB1 and PS4. Now back to the Iron Banner.
3. Bloodborne; I’m a Souls fan. Finished DeS, DkS and DkS2. Bloodborne was phenomenal from start to finish. All the boss encounter were fun, the game was streamlined a bit so combat would be faster and more fluid, and it worked perfectly. From Software are a great developer and this game shows how good their level design is. Every death is a learning experience, and I loved learning. Bring on Dark Souls 3.
4. Rocket League; What a surprise. I kept hearing good things about this PS+ freebie so I gave it a shot. WOW, what a fun game. So simple, yet so entertaining. Definitely a nice surprise, and was addicted to it for a while.
5. Ori and the Blind Forest; Best 2D Metroidvania game since Shadow Complex. This game was gorgeous and charming. The combat was very well implemented and I could not put it down for an entire weekend. Very memorable and my favorite arcade game in years.
6. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; The gameplay is so good. The game is this low simply cause the story honestly sucked and I hated waiting for the chopper every damn time. The game and combat are so good however, that on gameplay alone it’s a gem that must be played. It’s got its flaws however.
7. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin; Again, I’m a Souls fan. Went back and replayed DK2: SOTFS to see wat changes had been done. This is a much superior version to the 2014 release, and since it’s a 2015 game, I’m counting it in my top 10. I really loved going back and doing every single boss and all the dlc. Excellent game.
8. Lara Croft GO; I almost did not play this. I decided to try it on a flight a few weeks ago. I played it for 2 hours straight, did not even notice we had landed. The way the game teaches you the mechanics for each new puzzle is amazing! Playing this game should be mandatory to any game developer. It is text book 1o1 how to teach a player through game design alone, no text telling you what to do, nothing. Outstanding game.
9. Halo 5: Guardians; Best Halo game. Yeah, I said it. I have played all Halo games extensively (I mean extensively, daily Halo 1 LAN parties in college, etc). The multiplayer is perfect in Halo 5, it controls well, great level design and balanced weapons. Feels super good and I am glad how 343i have improve Halo for the better in every way.
10. Batman: Arkham Knight; This game shocked me. The surprise moment when
appeared was legendary. I will never forget when it happened or how the game unfolded afterwards. All the mind games this game plays on you makes it an excellent game. I also really enjoyed the Batmobile, never found the combat annoying. Bravo Rocksteady.