Support NeoGAF

[loki 16]

You're missing a c in Witcher and MGS needs to be spelled out for it to count, no abbreviations.

Got it.

 

[Mik317]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I needed this game. I generally was bored of most games this year (you'll see below how) and feared that my favorite hobby was dying for me. Its not. XCX hits all of the things I need in games and I can play for hours on end and accomplish nothing and enjoy that shit. It has flaws but man this game is just what the doctor ordered for me. Plus big ass mechs yo
.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Speaking of flawed....this game is very much so. But TO ME for a lot of outside reasons. MGSV is a great game..gameplay wise. But a poor MGS..and yet I still enjoyed my time with it. It has the bloat of open world gaming but not as bad as others (Batman). Controls like a champ, pretty as hell, and very fun. Too bad Konami was unable to hold back their inner fuckery..

3. Splatoon; I'll probably never play this again. Like many multiplayer games, once you get passed up, it is difficult to come back in..but man those 30 hours I did play were great. Splatoon was my GOTY for most of the year. Its fresh, unique, fun as hell and I am damn glad Nintendo is being rewarded for it with sales. Spla2oon is going to be legendary...hopefully.

4. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 ; I fucking love One Piece. I could end it there (and get banned) but I won't. The Musou genre gets a bad rap and one that I kinda agreed with. but until you play a Musou for you...you don't know man. The OP tie in helps you overlook the repetitive nature of the game play but also the fact that it is more than just spam x to win keeps you there. Playing a mission a day is rewarding and fun...but without the OP aspect, probably wouldn't have kept me coming back. DQ Heroes proved that for me as I find that game boring as hell. This isn't.

5. Dragon Ball XenoVerse; I fucking love DBZ... and this game reignited that love. This is the best DBZ game in years (not a high bar of course) and is the closest to actually matching the series. CAP is one of those things I like in games but the actual gameplay was pretty great too. The DBZ game jank is still very much there and the grinding is a bit of a turn off but they finally did it...can't wait for them to fuck it up with the next one like they always do.

6. NBA 2k16 ; I fucking love Bask...ok I'll stop. I buy the 2k games every year like a sheep and generally spend the first 3 months butthurt about some small feature 2k fucked up..before still putting in insane amounts of time anyway. This year wasn't that different except the game was actually not a garbage fire at launch this year so the butthurt was less (latest patch may have fucked things up tho). This being this high however, is exactly why I think this year was weak..its this high because I played a lot of it and enjoyed it...can't say that for the rest of it.

7. Bloodborne ; I haven't beaten Bloodborne. In fact the farthest I got was to the Vicar (got bbbooodddiieeeed), ..and yet that is how much Bloodborne rocks. This is a great game and I am too free to beat it (also other life issues but ehhh), so I watched lots of playthroughs, read up on the lore, and all that jazz and I love all of it. It was much lower but then I realized that of the remaining I passively got more out of this than I did actually playing those. Not sure if that is a good thing or not but it is what it is.

8. Persona 4: Dancing All Night ; I made a rule that anything Persona 4 gets a spot on my list..and well I'm a man of my word. This is another game I haven't put much time in but I had this big stupid smile on my face for the first 1-2 hours of the story mode. Just being back around this characters again brought me such joy..Music is pretty good too and the graphics are damn great for a handheld. Can't speak much on the gameplay tho as I lack rhythm in general. still where Persona 5 at?

9. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; MH4U got robbed. A bunch of (shitty in retrospec) games came out and took my attention away from it and I never got back into it (think I lost the game itself too). Which is the same thing that happened to the previous 80 releases of the series. I like it. I like it a lot but something always gets in the way. The 3ds controls are also a big meeeeh..but no port begging here. Well there is always the next one...

10. Batman: Arkham Knight ; This game probably only makes the list because of the massive flaws (or not much playtime) of any other game I could put here. This game is my exhibit one of a lot of gaming issues. The game itself is fine..great even. You are the goddam batman. It controls great, looks great, sounds great, the combat is good (overrated overall but eh), the stealth sections are fun as hell. The problem is that Arkham City kinda did all that. The main addition of the Battank..kinda sucks and the game also just feels bloated. Not to mention the story kinda sucks. I wanted anything to take this off the list but I can't because a lot of those issues aren't the fault of the game persay...if this is the first Batman game one would play, they'd probably enjoy the hell out of it. Like MGSV it is a damn good game but due to its predecessor loses a lot of its luster.

Honorable Mentions (lol the guy who barely could get to 10 has HM?)

x. Super Mario Maker; Great game. Super fun. But I have no interest in play near impossible shit and my creative juices died at 25 (I am 26). Great concept tho.

x. Tales of Zestiria ; I don't know what happened. This game was great and I was loving it but then..man it just went to shit and nothing major happened. The characters are just bland as fuck (the early game of course), the combat is too easy (again early) and whatever magic TOS and TOA had just has not returned. Probably getting too old for this shit.

I love my top 5 but man I hope next year is a lot stronger and I don't have to pad out my list with games I didn't hate completely.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

1. Fallout 4 ; The mods.
2. Witcher 3 ; The story.
3. Just Cause 3 ; The explosions.
4. Mad Max ; The wasteland.
5. Tales from the Borderlands ; Great adventure.
6. Grand Theft Auto 5 PC ; Open world fun.
7. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection ; The loot.
8. Kerbal Space Program ; To the Muun.
9. Cities: Skylines ; Expanding the cities.
10. SOMA ; great scifi.

 

[Ondore]

1. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; It's long enough to be three different games and all three of them are amazing. You have a great RPG with a lot of travelling and exploration, then a mech simulator in which you're a badass tearing apart giant monsters, then a flying mech simulator that lets you see a massive world from a whole new perspective. It's the best looking game the Wii U has seen or will ever see, and has a different song getting stuck in my head every day. I expected this game to be brilliant for three years, and it even managed to exceed my lofty expectations.

2. Yoshi's Woolly World ; There's never been a quality follow up to Yoshi's Island, but Good Feel hauled it back to the top of the yarnball this year. Woolly World has style for days, and I want to go back and replay levels just in case there's something in the graphics that I missed the first time. The little quality of life improvements, like saving a collectable being acquired once you beat a level, means it's easy to swing in and get to the real meat of the game, the special levels that unlock with 100%ing the first eight levels of each world. Plus, it's the best Mega Man game to come out in the last five years thanks to amiibo.

3. Persona 4: Dancing All Night ; I was intrigued by this game originally because Akira Yamaoka doing Persona covers sounded like a hell of a time. Then I got the game and had a new appreciation for just how awesome Persona 4's soundtrack is and had a chance to say goodbye to characters that I had spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours with in previous games. Even the story mode worked as a warmup to SMT x Fire Emblem next year, so kudos.

4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; I gave up on 3 after one underwater mission too many, so those missions being replaced by the ability to inflict death from above really clicked with me. The Switch Axe served as the right mix of simplicity and tactics for the combat, and the free DLC served as a great harbinger for things like Splatoon and Super Mario Maker. 2015 was the year I finally got to a G-Rank, and that boss fight may have been the most intense ten minutes of combat I've had all year.

5. Splatoon ; This is all due to the Splatfests. Nintendo created a game that was simple enough that even an absolute scrub like me could be useful, while having so many complex systems that I could easily play this all through 2016. And I didn't even touch the single player, the amiibo challenges or the ranked modes, instead sticking to Turf Wars every few weekends and still had a blast. #TeamCallie

6. Stella Glow ; The last game from ImageEpoch was fourth or fifth on Atlus's priority list for most of the year, but it hooked me and didn't let go. I loved the soundtrack and finding ways to abuse the battle system, and more games with social systems need to let you know when it's going to be go time as Stella Glow did. The voice work was great, and the story worked well and even had swerves that took my jaded self by surprise. It's a shame that the developer no longer exists and the CEO f**ked off to Arceus knows where, because this needs to be revisited.

7. Affordable Space Adventures ; Not only does it use the Wii U GamePad in unique ways as an engineering controller, but it actually managed to take a game that's co-operative by its very nature and make it as tense as the best horror titles. It had a great "Just one other thing" mechanic, and told its story in a very funny fashion.

8. Super Mario Maker ; It's hard to screw up a game that offers infinite 2D platforming, and the addition of the Mario Maker Bookmark has really helped me find the good levels in the inevitable sea of automatics and kaizo levels. Mario Maker gave me a chance to stretch my creativity and see if I could make something even 1/1000th of the quality of the games that it uses, and I'd like to think I came close. It'd probably he higher on the list if Dan Ryckert wasn't setting the standard for levels.

9. Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker ; I ended up dropping the original Devil Survivor on about day 3, but Record Breaker kept me going the whole way through and into a really fun second quest. The characters busted out of their stereotypes - and your main character can basically be a gigantic troll - and figuring out how to beat some of these puzzle bosses is very rewarding. A really good soundtrack is the cherry on top.

10. SteinsGate ; The Vita is rapidly becoming a go-to spot for visual novels, and Steins;Gate is an all timer in that regard. I was late to this one coming from the anime, but seeing how the endings played out from different perspectives on the characters that I knew, and the localization was handled quite well.

x. 3D Out Run ; Probably my favorite arcade racer everywhere, and M2 needs some credit for their work with the Sega 3D Classics this year. The new tracks they added for the 3DS re-release sound as good or better than the legendary originals.

x. Runbow ; A frantic multiplayer runner/brawler that caused no end of riots at home, whether it's from a lucky shot in Color Master mode or after I died in the Bowhemoth for the 1300th time. In an era where local multiplayer isn't as much of a factor, the sheer ability to have nine players at once is amazing.

 

[TheDanimal]

1. Rocket League ; I couldn't escape this game. I convinced all my friends to start playing it. One of them has gone on to become much greater than I, but I still love this game.

2. Nuclear Throne ; I've had this game on early access for awhile, but now that its officially out, I can proclaim how good this game is. It is a great game, and EVERYONE needs to play it.

3. Super Mario Maker ; Its infinite Mario. Enough said.

4. Yoshi's Woolly World ; This game just screams adorable, and the gameplay is solid. I didn't see too many people talking about this game after launch, but it is super fun.

5. Mario Kart 8: DLC Pack 2 ; I love Mario Kart, so this was a no brainer for me.

6. Splatoon ; I almost forgot Splatoon! The basic gameplay is so very very fun, but I just couldn't keep playing it for very long. I come back to it every once and awhile though.

7. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D ; I played about 30 hours of the first one and still haven't beaten either version, but the game is great and hopefully I'll beat the 3DS version soon.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; I LOVED this game. Loved it. The sidequests were beautiful and the dungeons were manageable. However, the Stone Tower dungeon occurred. I hate it. Absolutely hate it. But the sidequests in this game are too good not to put it on my GOTY list.

9. Fallout 4 ; I bought into the hype and bought this on impulse. I haven't played too much of it yet, but I've enjoyed my time in the commonwealth so far.

 

[Shane86]

I didn't play many new games this year, and only finished three.

1. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt ; An epic story full of fantastic characters, a beautiful world, and the writing and acting is superb. I spent over 100 hours playing it and still didn't see everything. And man, that time travelling near the end.

2. Bloodborne ; Was a little disappointed how easy it was compared to the souls games but it still had the same amazing art and level design that I love. The lack of character classes compared to Souls games hurts its replayability, I really have no desire to play it again any time soon.

3. Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain ; Coming straight to this from finishing The Witcher 3 made it even more jarring how little voice acting there is and how piecemeal the plot is delivered. Despite the lacklustre story, incomplete second act, and Konami trying to destroy it, I still had a blast playing this.

4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; Running up the side of Big Ben and zip-lining across the houses of parliament was probably my favourite moment in gaming this year, so good. A return to form for the series for sure.

5. Fallout 4 ; Not much to say about this really, it's more fallout. I still haven't finished it so maybe there's some great quests I haven't played yet but I haven't been blown away. Needs more weird quests like the silver shroud.

6. Mad Max ; I don't understand the negative reactions this game received....maybe people were comparing it to the (amazing) movie? I played this with my only expectations being I would play as Mad Max, in the crazy world of Mad Max inhabited by crazier characters, and that's exactly what I got.

 

[jett]

After playing Life is Strange this week, I had to bump off the Batmang to make room for it on my list. I felt kinda dirty having that technical abortion in my list anyway.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

1. Super Mario Maker; Had a blast with it, they totally nailed the creation tools.
2. Pokemon Shuffle ; I sunk over 30 hours on that game .
3. Splatoon ; Most fun I ever had with a shooter.
4. Boxboy ; Amazing puzzle game, Im gald it exists.
5. Downwell ; Really fun and addictive.
6. Galak-z ; That mech .
7. Rebel Galaxy ; Amazing space game , with just enough depth for me.
8. Steamworld Heist ; They made a better X-Com than X-Com, and in 2D! .
9. Tales of Zestiria ; Best tales of game I have played in a long time.
10. Cities: Skylines; it does what EA dont.

 

[snaffles]

1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 ; My first time back with the series since the PS2 versions, the master league has completely sucked me in just like it did a decade ago, ADO Den Haag are champions of Europe after two seasons in charge.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I am really enjoying my time with it so far, but I have piled many more hours into pro evo so it has to get the top spot.

I don't have any of the current consoles and my pc is really starting to show its age so my list is really short this year. I'm sure if I had picked up the English release of Yakuza 5 it would top my list, but I still haven't finished the Japanese version I bought over a year ago, I'm sure I'll get to it in the coming year.

 

[sleepydeer]

Go for it.

Thanks!

 

[Fat4all]

1. Undertale ; One of the funniest, smartest, saddest and most charming games I've ever played. It has an amazing soundtrack. Each and every character has so much personality and heart. Simply amazing, came out of nowhere for me and was a gaming experience I'll always remember.

2. Bloodborne ; A beautiful mix between my favorite mechanics of older Souls games, and a new, faster paced battle system that always keeps you on your toes. Drenched in an art style that's as beautiful as it can be grotesque. Mastering this game was super engaging for me, and it netted me one of the few Platinum Trophy's I've ever earned.

3. Her Story ; An exercise in both discovery and motive, Her Story was very short, yet very memorable. Some super solid character performance by Viva Seifert. Playing this game is almost akin to viewing a live concert, it flows to seamlessly and every avenue yields something interesting about the characters or the themes involved.

4. Tales from the Borderlands ; Hilarious beyond words, yet knows exactly how to play with the emotions of the player. What started out as a promising yet not amazing episode one goes headlong into one of the best games of the year. Each character is super fleshed out, an amazing feat given the small amount of time you spend with them. Some of the best writing done in a Telltale game thus far.

5. Hand of Fate ; One part D&D, one part rouge-like, one part card game, all combining into one of the most interesting and addictive indie games I've ever played. The mysteries the game holds over your head about the nature of the cards, the tokens, and the Dealer himself all forge a brilliant little adventure that has you delving into deep caverns, dark tombs, and enormous mountains, all while keeping momentum using a simple and fun combat system.

6. Tembo the Badass Elephant ; Old school platforming with a wonderful art style and constantly good music, Tembo made me feel like I was a kid playing his SNES again. The flow of this game is exactly what I expected from the creators of Pokemon and Harmoknight. Even occasionally having to replay levels are fun. This game made backtracking fun.

7. Soma ; Fucking brilliant. Not as scary as Amnesia, but much more engaging and smart. Some amazing vocal performances as well. Ever area has a different story and it all ties back to the main theme of the game: What does it mean to exist?

8. The Witcher 3 ; Content-rich, well designed, beautiful open world, memorable characters returning from older games, and a wonderful ending. Before the game came out I decided to read the original novels to refresh my memories of playing the older games.

9. Until Dawn ; The best camp ever, and much more interesting than the limp play through I had with a game like Beyond: Two Souls. Troupe character become realistic in front of your eyes.

10. White Night ; Fees like what should of been the natural evolution for Alone in the Dark. Attention to detail is wonderful and drips form this fairly short but very interesting game.

 

[MrFrankFontaine]

1. The Witcher 3 ; Simply the best RPG I've ever played. The world the CDPR built is just simply amazing and don't even get me started on Gwent.
2. Grand Theft Auto V ; Played it a little on last gen, but quite early in order to wait for the PC release. Game is an amazing accomplishment.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Has some of the best gameplay, but the story was ultimately disappointing.
4. Halo 5: Guardians ; Game plays so damn good and is a lot of fun. If it had split screen multiplayer I'd probably score it higher (although that would apparently impact the frame rate).
5. Her Story ; Just played this and loved it.
6. Call of Duty Blacks Ops 3 ; I'm more of a Halo guy, but this game plays really well and is a ton of fun.
7 Cities Skylines ; Game is immediately addictive and I'm afraid to keep playing it due to how much time I can see myself throwing at it.
8. Star Wars Battlefront ; While I would have liked more content, Dice built a hell of a Star Wars game. Very fun game to not take to serious and have fun with.


Games I haven't gotten too that are in my backlog: Fallout 4; Batman AK; Life is Strange; Ori and the Blind Forest; Tales from the Borderlands; Game of Thrones a Telltale Game Series; The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

 

[sjagolinzer]

1. Bloodborne ; This game has hooked me moreso than any game has in a while. I just love the feel of playing it and the setting and enemy design is sublime.
2. Soma ; I really loved the story and while some of the monster encounters were tedious the story really resonated me and the setting really made you feel the dread of the situation that you were in.
3. The Talos Principle ; I love the puzzles and the story.
4. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ;
5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ;
6. Until Dawn ;
7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ;
8. Fallout 4 ;

 

[MistaBowaa]

I only have a PS4 and PC, and there were some games I missed that likely would beat out a good chunk of these. Overall I wasn't too impressed with 2015, other than Bloodborne. Enjoy:

1. Bloodborne ; 100/100. I do not say this lightly, but this is an example of a perfect game. Everything from the unique story, the breathtaking world design, the adrenaline-pumping combat and the majestic soundtrack, this game has it all. I was never a fan of the Souls games, but for my money Bloodborne is flawless in everything it does and is truly something special.

2. Fallout 4 ; 73/100. This could have been great. However, the plot was rushed to the point that I didn't care at all about the main questline, the game itself felt like a scaled down version of the previous incarnations from last generation, and the creation tool was a waste of resources that could have been spent elsewhere. Still, if you ignore all that and walk off aimlessly into the wilderness, you're still in for a fun adventure.

3. Dragon Ball XenoVerse ; 73/100. I'm not a big fan of fighting games, but this game let me fulfill a high school fantasy of being one of the gang off fighting DBZ villains. It is surprisingly well done, though the story is a bit cheesy and that god-awful lobby music drives me insane.

4. The Elder Scrolls Online ; 70/100. Not much better than The Witcher to me, but as an Elder Scrolls fan this scratched the itch that The Witcher could not. I was pleasantly surprised that this game was not as bad as I'd heard.

5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; 68/100. The gameplay for this game is simply average. Even on Death March, I mostly only needed to resort to my sword. Using signs, grenades, or oils just wasn’t necessary outside of a few enemies that were resistant to physical attacks. Having not played previous Witcher games, and despite my attempts to read up on the lore beforehand, I just couldn't connect with Geralt. And because I couldn't connect with him, I had no interest in the world or the people he met. Without any emotional stakes, this just became another RPG to me. That said, I don't know if I've ever seen this quality of writing in a game of this scope before. Hopefully this trend will continue.

6. Heroes of the Storm ; 68/100. My first MOBA. Not something I would play regularly, but it is hard to deny enjoying Blizzard games.

7. Star Wars Battlefront ; 63/100. It is the best looking game on the PS4 next to The Order: 1886, it boasts stunning music and sound effects straight from the movies, but the overall gameplay is lacking. The poor excuse of a campaign should have been scrapped and resources instead allocated to adding more complexity to multiplayer.

8. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; 60/100. Not much to say other than "it isn't as good as Bloodborne," but most of the journey is still waiting for me with this game.

9. Rocket League ; 58/100. Perfect gameplay. I get that it's a multiplayer-only game, but for me I need something to drive me to keep playing. There's too many other games with excellent gameplay that are also mentally stimulating. Still a blast to play.

10. Rock Band 4 ; 55/100. Disappointing for the lack of features, yet another flimsy excuse of a solo campaign, and issues with the instruments that I can't upgrade without Bluetooth access. Still, it's Rock Band. The actual gameplay is unrivaled when it comes to the music genre.

 

[Sullichin]

I only have a PS4 and PC, and there were some games I missed that likely would beat out a good chunk of these. Overall I wasn't too impressed with 2015, other than Bloodborne. Enjoy:

1. Bloodborne ; 100/100. I do not say this lightly, but this is an example of a perfect game. Everything from the unique story, the breathtaking world design, the adrenaline-pumping combat and the majestic soundtrack, this game has it all. I was never a fan of the Souls games, but for my money Bloodborne is flawless in everything it does and is truly something special.

2. Fallout 4 ; 73/100. This could have been great. However, the plot was rushed to the point that I didn't care at all about the main questline, the game itself felt like a scaled down version of the previous incarnations from last generation, and the creation tool was a waste of resources that could have been spent elsewhere. Still, if you ignore all that and walk off aimlessly into the wilderness, you're still in for a fun adventure.

3. Dragon Ball XenoVerse ; 73/100. I'm not a big fan of fighting games, but this game let me fulfill a high school fantasy of being one of the gang off fighting DBZ villains. It is surprisingly well done, though the story is a bit cheesy and that god-awful lobby music drives me insane.

4. The Elder Scrolls Online ; 70/100. Not much better than The Witcher to me, but as an Elder Scrolls fan this scratched the itch that The Witcher could not. I was pleasantly surprised that this game was not as bad as I'd heard.

5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; 68/100. The gameplay for this game is simply average. Even on Death March, I mostly only needed to resort to my sword. Using signs, grenades, or oils just wasn’t necessary outside of a few enemies that were resistant to physical attacks. Having not played previous Witcher games, and despite my attempts to read up on the lore beforehand, I just couldn't connect with Geralt. And because I couldn't connect with him, I had no interest in the world or the people he met. Without any emotional stakes, this just became another RPG to me. That said, I don't know if I've ever seen this quality of writing in a game of this scope before. Hopefully this trend will continue.

6. Heroes of the Storm ; 68/100. My first MOBA. Not something I would play regularly, but it is hard to deny enjoying Blizzard games.

7. Star Wars Battlefront ; 63/100. It is the best looking game on the PS4 next to The Order: 1886, it boasts stunning music and sound effects straight from the movies, but the overall gameplay is lacking. The poor excuse of a campaign should have been scrapped and resources instead allocated to adding more complexity to multiplayer.

8. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; 60/100. Not much to say other than "it isn't as good as Bloodborne," but most of the journey is still waiting for me with this game.

9. Rocket League ; 58/100. Perfect gameplay. I get that it's a multiplayer-only game, but for me I need something to drive me to keep playing. There's too many other games with excellent gameplay that are also mentally stimulating. Still a blast to play.

10. Rock Band 4 ; 55/100. Disappointing for the lack of features, yet another flimsy excuse of a solo campaign, and issues with the instruments that I can't upgrade without Bluetooth access. Still, it's Rock Band. The actual gameplay is unrivaled when it comes to the music genre.

Curious, what would you want Rocket League to have to keep you playing? I think the beauty is in its simplicity and high skill ceiling. You definitely have to be mentally present to beat an evenly matched team.

 

[CDiggity]

1. Bloodborne; I always liked the Souls series, but the system changes that From Software added took it to another level.

2 The Witcher 3: WIld Hunt; Closest thing to open-world perfection I have played in quite some time.

3. Ori and the Blind Forest; This game is really really pretty. Come for the beautiful colors, stay for the fun gameplay.

4. Super Mario Maker; Mario Maker taken to the next level

5. Splatoon; I'm a kid AND a squid? Awesome.

6.Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; Easily the best playing Metal Gear, but gameplay can only take you so far as this clearly has issues, but it just plays so damn good. Endless ways you can tackle missions.

7. Until Dawn; I love me some B-movie shenanigans, and putting it in video game form where you pretty much act as the director controlling 8 souls is fun to create your own version of the story. Best with friends debating decisions on a timer.

8. Rocket League; It's RC Car soccer, it knows what it is and doesn't complicate itself. I like simplicity in games sometimes, and it's great the Rocket League is fun at what it chose to focus on.

9. Undertale; Story is very charming, soundtrack is some of the best of the year, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, hence why it is not higher.

10. Invisible, Inc.; Turn-based stealth agent goodness.

 

[MistaBowaa]

Curious, what would you want Rocket League to have to keep you playing? I think the beauty is in its simplicity and high skill ceiling. You definitely have to be mentally present to beat an evenly matched team.

Mentally wasn't the correct word. I meant emotionally. At the end of the day its a really fun game of soccer. Its great, its fun, but I need more than just the gameplay in a game to keep me coming back. Specifically story, but I know that's not what Rocket League is. Like I said, its a great game, but its not the kind of game for me in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Neiteio]

What's the character limit per post, including spaces?

Also, DS2: Scholar of the First Sin is eligible?

 

[Aarglefarg]

What's the character limit per post, including spaces?

Also, DS2: Scholar of the First Sin is eligible?

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is eligible. It is on the list of eligible games linked to in the first post. The character limit is 24,000 characters including spaces.

 

[RiverKwai]

1. Bloodborne ; First FROMSOFT game I've played for more than 5 min. Could not get into Demon's Souls. This one had me for weeks.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Currently playing through this right now. but unless the last 1/3 of the game falls completely apart, the story is great, the world is great, and the only negative thing I can say is that the combat sucks compared to Bloodborne. I can live with it though. .
3. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition ; Rare that a game is both fresh and nostalgic at the same time. I haven't played anything like this in years. .
4. Rocket League ; A stupid/awesome sounding concept turned out to be a great game..
5. Cities: Skylines ; Not exactly scratching my old school Sim City itch, but very close.
6. Tearaway Unfolded ; Apparently some people don't like this game, or think the artstyle is ugly. I don't have either of those problems.
7. Race the Sun ; A game I never would ave gotten without + that I spent dozens of hours playing.
8. Until Dawn ; Fun, but didn't hold my attention for a second playthrough.
9. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Pretty good remasters, single player only though.
10. Kick & Fennick ; Very cool mechanically. Didn't hold my attention long though.

 

[1er tigre]

1. Bloodborne ; goty material in every way, Level design, art direction, gameplay, it's brilliant.
2. The witcher 3 ; so huge, so well written
3. MGS V ; best stealth game ever
4. Ori and the blind forest ; metroidvania at its best and it's gorgeous
5. Until Dawn ; pretty well executed
6. Batman Arkham Knight ; the best arkham game and another very beautiful game
7. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; best J rpg of the gen so far
8. Fallout 4 ; skyrim with a fallout skin (some may dislike that)
9. Rise of the tomb raider ; a good follow-up to the reboot
10. Life is strange ; very well written

 

[Hasney]

1. Fallout 4 ;
2. Witcher 3 ;
3. Just Cause 3 ;
4. Mad Max ;
5. Tales from the Borderlands ;
6. Grand Theft Auto 5 PC ;
7. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection ;
8. Kerbal Space Program ;
9. Cities: Skylines ;
10. SOMA ;

Need to add at least one comment for it to count brah. And actually be a slightly substantial comment.

 

[Acquiescence]

1. Undertale - One of the funniest, smartest, saddest and most charming games I've ever played. Has an amazing soundtrack and a fantastic troupe of characters.

2. Bloodborne - A beautiful mix between my favorite mechanics of older Souls games, and a new, faster paced battle system that always keeps you on your toes. Drenched in an art style that's as beautiful as it can be grotesque.

3. Her Story - An exercise in both discovery and motive, Her Story was very short, yet very memorable. Some super solid character performance by Viva Seifert.

4. Tales from the Borderlands - Hilarious beyond words, yet knows exactly how to play with the emotions of the player. What started out as a promising yet not amazing episode 1 goes headlong into one of the best games of the year.

5. Splatoon - Pure multiplayer joy. I've never been much for multiplayer games, but Splatoon had me going back to perfect my paths and master the art of the ink.

6. Tembo the Badass Elephant - Old school platforming with a wonderful art style and constantly good music, Tembo made me feel like I was a kid playing his SNES again.

7. Soma - Fucking brilliant. Not as scary as Amnesia, but much more engaging and smart. Some amazing vocal performances as well.

8. The Witcher 3 - Content-rich, well designed, beautiful open world, memorable characters returning from older games, and a wonderful ending.

9. Until Dawn - The best camp ever, and much more interesting than the limp play through I had with a game like Beyond: Two Souls. Troupe character become realistic in front of your eyes.

10. White Night - Feel like what should of been the natural evolution for Alone in the Dark. Attention to detail is wonderful and drips form this fairly short but very interesting game.

This isn't formatted properly. Read the OP.

 

[zero shift]

1. The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt ; To call "The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt" the "GOTY" is an understatement. What the game truly is is the realization of what game developers and gamers a like have been dreaming of from the RPG genre since the 1980s. A living, breathing, open world filled with tight interwoven stories in which the player truly effects with their choices, with a highly engaged main story in the background. All of this done with CG-like graphics and a hours upon hours of professionally voiced dialogue. The game that the teenage dungeon and dragon player dreamed about during the '80s and '90s has finally come to the present. "The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt" is a stunning achievement for the gaming industry.

2. Splatoon ; Let me make this clear. If it was almost any other year besides this one, "Splatoon" would be a shoe-in for the GOTY. Hell, even this year it was close. While "The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt" is about the perfect of a genre and the realization of a long held idea of what a genre and video games should be, "Splatoon" is the opposite. "Splatoon" is a game that focuses on innovative and fresh mechanics. In Nintendo's usual style they take on a traditional genre, the multiplayer shooter genre, but add their own unique wacky twist as they have done with the RPG genre with "Poke'mon" and the racing genre with "Mario Kart". Splatoon focuses not only how many kills a player can get, but how much territory they can cover. Usually this means that the player covers the opposing players map in as much of their teams paint as much as possible. However, the game also offers other modes such as a TF2 payload mode and turf war.

Now this mechanic alone would make the game unique enough, but with the ingenious idea of having the player be able to swim and hide in their own ink and get almost stuck in their enemies ink, it really pushes the game over the edge. "Splatoon" is a breath of fresh air for the stale shooter genre and Nintendo alike. Truly a testament to Nintendo's genius.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; A disappointing Metal Gear game is still one of the best games of the year

Spoiler

unless it is "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots"

. Now to Kojima's credit, at least he tried doing something new. He comes across to me as someone who never wants to retread the same territory. The original Metal Gear Solid pushed the gaming medium to new heights with its unique and revolutionary cinematic experience. Metal Gear Solid 2 not only played with meta-commentary, but also with the player's expectations as

Spoiler

the main character turns out not to be Solid Snake

. Metal Gear Solid 3 takes place in the jungle and has a huge focus on survival. Metal Gear Solid 4 attempted to be a bombastic "masterpiece" with countless set piece after set piece. So where does Metal Gear Solid 5 go from there? Well it follows the trend of open-world games with open gameplay of course.

Charging head first into the trend of open world non-linear games, "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" offers a very Kojima-like vibe for these types of games. Cheesy '80s cinematic gameplay meets open-world exploration and some of the tightest stealth mechanics ever seen. In many aspects "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" excels. Unfortunately, not all is peachy. While the game's mechanics are razor sharp the game design is pretty dull. The open world aspect of the game seems incredible until you realize that, like most open world games, 95% of the game is a desert (half of the time literally) with enemies and objective few and far in between. When you actually get to a base to infiltrate, the level design is not up to par. Ground Zeroes this is not. But looking at the game overall, it is a damn fine game and worthy send off as it shows Konami just how much talent they have lost.

4. Undertale ; A cult classic that people will be talking about for years. Hailed by many as "Earthbound for the modern gamer", "Undertale" is a quirky, unique, light-hearted (but also dark), and charming RPG that never takes itself too seriously. Personally I don't think the game lives up to the hype. It certainly isn't "the greatest game of all-time" to dethrone Ocarina of Time . However, it is a short and sweet delightful treat for any gamer to experience. It takes a delightful spin on the genre by having the character focus on talking more so than fighting. And incorporating aspects of the bullet-hell shoot-em-up genre is a delight and leads to a "battle" system that is the most refreshing since the one "The World Ends With You" presented nearly a decade ago. And yes, I am STILL listening to the game's soundtrack days after completing it.

5. Rodea: The Sky Soldier ; The game that officially marks the end of not only the Wii's era but motion controls as well. 2007 to 2011 was a heavily polarized era for gamers. You had one side that were embraced the changes of motion controls who saw innovative and unique titles such as "Zack and Wiki" and "Children of Eden", as well as the abilities motion controls could offer with games like "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword" and "Sorcery." On the other hand, you had gamers who loathed motion controls for their perceived inaccuracies and seemingly dumbing down their games by bringing in a much more casual audience. This was battle back and forth between the two groups for years until motion controls finally fizzled out in 2012.

"Rodea: The Sky Soldier" is a game that was suppose to be released at the absolutely twilight of that era. Originally scheduled to release in 2012, the game got delayed got delayed for a 3DS and Wii U version. The game was finally released along side the (far inferior) Wii U version as a pack-in. Now while the game isn't perfect, it is a testament to what motion control gaming has to offer. A fully realized 3D Rocket Knight Adventures, "Rodea: The Sky Soldier" offers up traditional 16-bit style gameplay and puts it in not only the 3rd dimension, but with the revolutionary motion controls as well. The result is gameplay that at times is so tight, simplistic, and satisfying that it could only be with Nintendo's trusty controller. A game worthy of being a send off to the underused motion control technology.

6. Life is Strange ; This game went under my radar until the last few weeks. Honestly, I am glad for that as I managed to binge on this game all in one go. I will admit, "Life is Strange" is not perfect. For starters a lot of the characters are assholes, even cartoonishly so. At times it is like watching an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm only with teenagers and not funny. There is also the matter of the tonal inconsistencies especially at one part of the game (players know which one). Not to mention the lipsyncing is so bad that I was amazed that the game was developed with english in mind. There is also the matter of performance issues as I can't run this game at 4K in 60fps and a few times not even 30fps. Yet "Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin" stayed a butter smooth 60fps at 4K no matter what happened and "The Witcher III" never dipped below 30fps at 4K despite being a technical marvel.

Where "Life is Strange" shines is its pacing, story-telling, and characters. The game's pacing is almost perfect. It seemed that every time I completed an event it changed things up slightly enough that I wanted to continue the game. The story-telling is also part of that. It seems that after ever small segment something interesting happened. And while the characters are mostly assholes, some of them actually grow on you by the end of the game. I will admit I was initially surprised that a game by the developer of "Remember Me" and focused so much on teenage girls became a million seller. But after playing the game I am not too surprised anymore.

7. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I'm going to say this right off the bat, this game was a disappointment. "Xenoblade Chronicles" is one of my favorite games of all-time, but its sequel isn't up to par. That said the game was a highly enjoyable experience and definitely has a new take for the RPG genre. Rather than the game being focused on progressing a single story or fulfilling multiple sidequets, the game takes a different approach. Exploration is the name of the game. The main purpose of the game is to explore the world as you plant probes, defeat monsters, and hunt for treasure. Even the sidequests almost solely focus on these things and the story missions give the player requirements that often result as simply exploring more of the world before progressing.

While this seems interesting and even refreshing during the first several hours of the game, it soon gets tedious. The problem is that the game doesn't really go anywhere else with the exploration. Yeah you set probes, get treasure, collect random items, and hunt monsters. But that is only so fun doing so many times, especially when the latter two are marked on your map. Quite simply, the game is the "Metal Gear Solid V" of RPGs. While the world is huge, most of it doesn't feel that exciting. With "Metal Gear Solid V" it was because it was all desert, but with this game it is usually an overload of randomly generated environments. There is also the matter of the TV show-like affinity missions, which while are unique, unfortunately come at the expense of the main story. The game is certainly one of the better RPGs to come out in recent years, but with so many quality RPGs coming out this decade developers need to up their game.

8. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; Certainly weaker than its predecessor, "Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin" is still a fine game and stands head over shoulders to most of its counterparts. The flawless design of the player vs enemy experience takes a bit of a backseat to a bigger focus of player vs player. It is very common in the game for the player to be invaded. Much more so at least than in the original Dark Souls. And in case you don't get invaded by another player, the game spawns invaders for you to fight anyway! Add covenants that pretty much all focus on PvP as well as a much more friendly messaging and bloodstain touch system and you have a much more "connected" Souls game compared to its predecessor.

Unfortunately this seems to have come at a cost of the meat of the game. The game contains, on average, worse locations, worse bosses, worse exploration, and pampering difficulty. It is definitely worth the play, but it is definitely not the first game I would recommend to someone wanting to get in to the series.

9. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse ; This right here is where I feel that the games I list stop being "GOTY list" quality and are simply here to fill up space. As I have said in the title, I have played very few games that were released this year. In fact I probably have played no more than a little over a dozen. A big reason for this was that I finally got a Wii U and since then I've played catch up for a lot o the Wii U games and later generation Wii games I have missed. While my gaming year as a whole was one of the best ever as I got to experience "Bayonetta 2", "Xenoblade Chronicles", "Sin & Punishment: Star Successor", and others, this left little room for games fresh on the scene.

Now "Kirby and the Rainbow Curse" isn't a bad game by any means. In fact it is quite good. It is a sequel to the beloved Canvas Curse game for the Nintendo DS as it uses the same touch screen controls as players guide a path for Kirby to explore the world and fight off evil. The controls are very intuitive, and makes for a very calm and relaxing experience. Unfortunately the game doesn't offer much of a memorable experience and contrary to what one may think it isn't very re-playable. Due to this, it would have to be a pretty slow year for the game to even make number 10 on my average GOTY list.

10. Heroki ; Last year I gave "Terra Battle" a shout out for people with mobile devices to pick up and play. This year I am giving a shout out to "Heroki." The simplest way to put it is that this is the mobile game that gamers have been begging for. A full lengthened, traditional gaming inspired, game that uses motion controls for intuitive control purposes and not just copy and pasting virtual thumbsticks or directional pads. The colorful graphics, tight controls, well placed collectibles, and intuitive ways to take out enemies, make this game feel like a Sega game in more ways then it simply having them as a publisher. Unfortunately this game bombed and is now only $5. Gamers have to learn to vote with their wallets.

 

[CoolBumpty]

1. Undertale ; It's my favorite game to come out in a number of years. It felt like a great combination of Mother 3 and the Stanley Parable but much better.
2. Rock Band 4 ; It's the weakest entry in the series and I've gone back to Rock Band 3 but it's still great.
3. Plague Inc: Evolved ;
4. Rocket League ;
5. Duck Game ;
6. Nom Nom Galaxy ;
7. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash ; It's still a good game for local multiplayer, but is bare bones for the price as every review has mentioned.
8. Dropsy ; Puzzles aren't great but the soundtrack and emotional impact are.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ;
10. Super Mario Maker ;

Honorable Mentions
x. Rare Replay ;
x. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ;

 

[Bananastand]

1. Super Mario Maker ; As a huge Super Mario fan, this is basically the game I’ve been waiting for my entire life. I love the editor, I love playing 100 Mario challenges and I really enjoy seeing other people playing my levels. Massive props for Nintendo for bringing new stuff into the game for free.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; It’s the most amazing/disappointing game I have ever played. I don’t really like the story but the gameplay is so freaking good that it has me coming back. Really excited to see what Kojima does next.
3. Bloodborne ; This is my first Souls-like game and I absolutely loved it. It’s punishing, but it never feels to unfair and I just adore the setting.
4. Axiom Verge ; Since Nintendo refuses to make a new Metroid I get my Metroidvania where I can get it. Axiom Verge gets what makes these types of games so great. I’m waiting for the Vita port so I can play it again.
5. Splatoon ; I have never been that good in online shooters so I never really stick with them. That changed for me with Splatoon. I played this game a whole bunch and the free dlc has been absolutely great.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D ; Never really liked this game on N64, but now that I’m a little bit older I feel like I can finally appreciate all the weird en crazy things this game is trying to do. It’s super ambitious and most of the game still holds up.
7. Galak-Z: The Dimensional ; I love me some space combat, but most games in this genre feel slow, confusing or boring to me. Galak-Z just gets it. The game is fast, transforming between ship-types is super fun and I can’t wait for the final season to finally drop.
8. Until Dawn ; I love a good horror movie and this game makes you feel like you are playing one. The characters are all super shitty in the best way possible but in the end I desperately wanted them all to survive this horrible night. Playing this game with a bunch of friends is an absolute blast.
9. SteamWorld Heist ; Since XCOM 2 is only coming out on pc for now I need to get my strategy-fix somewhere else. SteamWorld Heist did just that for me. It has a cool and unique world and I feel like it’s just the right length. I’m expecting to see more people rave about this game next year when it’s out on other platforms.
10. Downwell ; Playing this game on a phone is kind of a bad idea but I loved it nonetheless. Super fun, super frantic and I love the style and use of colour.

 

[Grexeno]

1. The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt; To call "The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt" the "GOTY" is an understatement. What the game truly is is the realization of what game developers and gamers a like have been dreaming of from the RPG genre since the 1980s. A living, breathing, open world filled with tight interwoven stories in which the player truly effects with their choices, with a highly engaged main story in the background. All of this done with CG-like graphics and a hours upon hours of professionally voiced dialogue. The game that the teenage dungeon and dragon player dreamed about during the '80s and '90s has finally come to the present. "The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt" is a stunning achievement for the gaming industry.

I'm not sure if the quoted pictures in this post break the formatting?

 

[Cheesemeister]

I'm not sure if the quoted pictures in this post break the formatting?

Yeah, it didn't work.

zero shift NON-VOTER DISQUALIFIED BALLOT HAS GAP

 

[warheat]

1. Life Is Strange ; LIS and Shadow Of The Colossus are the only game I've ever rated 10/10. Even with its flaws. The presentation, the atmosphere, music, and character development is so good. It's been months since I finished the game, still think of it every single day. Definitely my GOTY 2015 and I'll say the soundtrack is at least on par if not better than the famous Chrono Cross.

 

[zero shift]

Yeah, it didn't work.

Sorry about that. Wasn't aware the quoting would mess things up. I fixed it. Is my vote still disqualified?

 

[Grexeno]

Sorry about that. Wasn't aware the quoting would mess things up. I fixed it. Is my vote still disqualified?

I think so. Comments need to start on the same line as the game title and semicolon.

 

[Emerson]

edit: nvm, issue resolved

 

[Wabba]

1. Bloodborne ; My first souls game, and I absolutely loved it, don't think I am ever going to play it again because the setting was emotionally heavy, and at times frustratingly hard. But the first time was just perfect even better when I was doubting myself that I was good enough to finish it.
2. The Witcher 3 ; The story and character was surprisingly good. Never played a Witcher game, but felt at home right away. When I was rowing my boat to Skilling Island in search of Ciri and the most perfect tune come on I just knew that this was a special game. And the amount of polish that this game has is rare in a RPG or any game. It was a close race between this and bloodborne for the top spot.
3. Metal Gear Solid V ; One of my favorite franchise ever. I would have preferred a tighter story and more standard approach instead of the open world. But the game play made it one of the funniest games I have played this generation.

 

[Grexeno]

1. Bloodborne: My first souls game, and I absolutely loved it, don't think I am ever going to play it again because the setting was emotionally heavy, and at times frustratingly hard. But the first time was just perfect even better when I was doubting myself that I was good enough to finish it.
2. The Witcher 3: The story and character was surprisingly good. Never played a Witcher game, but felt at home right away. When I was rowing my boat to Skilling Island in search of Ciri and the most perfect tune come on I just knew that this was a special game. And the amount of polish that this game has is rare in a RPG or any game. It was a close race between this and bloodborne for the top spot.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: One of my favorite franchise ever. I would have preferred a tighter story and more standard approach instead of the open world. But the game play made it one of the funniest games I have played this generation.

Game titles and comments must be separated with a semicolon, not a colon.

 

[Emerson]

Thanks as always to Cheesemeister and timetokill for all the work they put into this. I really look forward to this whole process every year. Thanks to all those before and after me who put a lot of thought and effort into their lists. I love reading them. Now here are my favorite games of 2015.

10. Tales From The Borderlands ; As a Telltale fan, when this game was announced I thought to myself "So that'll be the first Telltale game I skip," and I genuinely planned to. Imagine my surprise when Tales From The Borderlands turned out to be one of their strongest releases yet. I have no affinity for the Borderlands universe, but this game just clicked all around. The writing was often genuinely funny and the characters well-performed, and especially early on I loved the way it played with unreliable narrators. Telltale also nailed the look of Borderlands in a way that really did service to the game. It was a bit lacking on the "Tough Decisions" front and I certainly never felt as if I was especially shaping the plot. Despite that, I enjoyed the experience start to finish, and my surprise that I liked the game at all definitely amplified that.

9. Fallout 4 ; Fallout 4 was a weird thing this year. It was announced with relatively little fanfare, and the hype seemed extremely muted right up until launch. Maybe everyone felt the way I did, that Fallout is a known quantity and you're either going to buy it or you're not. I do like Fallout, and I liked Fallout 4 too. It's a great setting, a huge world with a lot of options and many ways to play it. Even its most polarizing feature, base building, did a lot for me as I constructed a towering monstrosity of a sky city above the Red Rocket. And yet, something about Fallout 4 felt empty to me, and still does. I was never overwhelmed by content like I have been with past Fallout or Elder Scrolls games. By the time I made my way through the main storyline, I didn't feel like a ton was left to do unless I wanted to grind some generic infinite quests or hunt collectibles. The storylines in general I also found really lacking, with a pretty bad deficit of interesting characters or plot developments. Don't get me wrong, I played about 40 hours of this game and enjoyed it a lot at times, but in the pantheon of great Bethesda RPGs I cannot say it ranks highly.

8. Bloodborne ; It's rare that I fall in and out of love with a game so often as I did with this one. To start with the positive, I'm a huge Souls fan. Take that formula and put it in a Dark Victorian fantasy setting and that's music to my ears. For most of the game I reveled in the atmosphere that absolutely drips off of every aspect of Bloodborne. The weapons and monsters are unique, and the gameplay as rock solid as ever. It wasn't quite as hard as previous Souls games but I still found myself challenged in the way I've come to expect. Where Bloodborne did fall off for me was lack of variety. Though I really like its aesthetic, the game rarely does anything to switch it up. While the weapons are great, not once in the entire game was I given significant incentive to switch from my starting weapon. Though I enjoyed the core gameplay, there is very little room to vary your approach or experiment. It's normal for me to play Souls games in fits and starts, but this was more than usual, and I never actually managed to quite finish it. It says a lot for the game, though, that despite these grievances it still ranks this highly.

7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; There's no game this year that I'm more torn by than this one. I love Metal Gear. I wanted more of it (I still do). I didn't get much of it. What I did get was an incredible, cohesive open world game with a ton of mechanics that somehow manage to gel together rather than being an enormous mess. Its open design allows you to approach every encounter in many ways. It looks and runs great, and the series has never played better than this. It's a fantastic game. Is it a great Metal Gear Solid game? Not really, especially if you come to the series for its fun and absurd story. Given that the gameplay has only ever been barely competent before, I find it hard to imagine many fans who come for anything but the story. The story that's here is fine, with a handful of great moments. Its final twist is so ridiculous it's impressive, and even more impressive is that it actually damn near works well in the context of the series. Yet this is a game with cutscenes in the single digits, very little plot and a nearly silent protagonist. It also feels clearly unfinished. The mess surrounding Konami and particularly their handling of this game and its FOB system has only served to further tarnish its name.

6. Rocket League ; The game that nobody saw coming. The smartest PlayStation Plus deal ever made. I remember very vividly downloading my free copy on PS4 and playing my first games. I just smiled and laughed the whole way through. Immediately after my third or fourth game I bought it on Steam. I just had to play this game with my friends. It was an obsession for the first two months and a steady pastime since. It's just pure joy in gaming form. Rocket League controls like a dream and is truly skill-based and rewarding to succeed. There are not many better moments in gaming this year than knocking in a close goal, seeing the explosion send cars flying, and the crowd roaring. As if anyone needed more reason to love this game, the postrelease support has been extremely solid with several free patches with cosmetics and new maps, as well as a few DLC packs with more cosmetics, and cosmetics only. Of all the games on this list, almost certainly this is the one I'll continue playing the longest.

5. Destiny: The Taken King ; Oh boy. Destiny. I actively avoided this game last year. It sounded like developer hubris gone horribly wrong. Something in the back of my mind always said "Come on, you'll love this stupid game," but I fought it off. This year's release proved too much to resist, by finally offering a good value for the money. To Bungie's credit they also did a real service to their game with their huge Year Two update, making all the original content much more cohesive and accessible. For the money, this release of Destiny no longer suffers from a content problem. Once I got in, I was in hard. Everything about the game is slick. The shooting is top notch, and they certainly nail the appeal on their Exotic weapons, constantly urging players to chase them further down the rabbit hole. The raids are huge, intimidating, sometimes incredibly maddening, but also some of the best gameplay this year had to offer. Unfortunately, once I'd gotten through all the content and did a bit of grinding, I fell off a bit and haven't gone back in a month or so. Yet that in no way takes away from the great times I've had with Destiny, and I'm absolutely on the hook for whatever their next release may be.

4. Quiplash ; I have no doubt that this game will not be highly rated by others on this site. So I'd like to highlight it here and tell you why this game actually means a lot to me personally. Quiplash is a game from Jackbox in their new model, where you use a mobile device as your controller and play party games with friends. Some of them are great, some are okay, a couple are terrible. Quiplash is probably the best of them. It's simple: a question prompt comes up, for example "A good way to get fired," and you put in your hopefully comedic answer. Everyone does this at once, for a bunch of different prompts with only two answers per prompt. At the end, the answers are displayed and the players vote on their favorite answers. It's super fast paced, has a lot of content, and is just plain fun.

More importantly though, I spent some really great times with this game this year. In July, all my best friends from both local and far away came to town for my bachelor party, and we spent nearly the entire day before (and some of the day after) playing it. I've rarely ever laughed so hard in my life. Spending a whole weekend with some people I rarely get to see, having all kinds of fun, and this was a sizable part of it. In September, the night before my wedding everyone was in town again, and we (me, my now wife, and all our friends) were all up late playing this. I'll cherish those memories forever, and this game will always be a part of that. Even though you almost certainly won't have the same experience, this is a seriously fun game and great for friends, family, all sorts of settings. Please give it a try.

3. Until Dawn ; I hadn't even heard of this game until it came out, but it didn't take more than a brief look at it to know it was right up my alley. This game represents all the strengths of the cinematic storytelling ("Quantic Dream") genre and a whole lot less of its weaknesses. Until Dawn is truly an 80s teen horror movie in modern gaming form, and with that comes a lot of the tropes common to those films. Yet it's all put together so well and with just the right balance of self-seriousness that nothing ever feels out of place. Some of the characters are the perfect type of awful, easy to hate people you're looking for in a slasher horror story, with some others being incredibly likable. While this list features a couple Telltale games which more than ever limited my control over the story, Until Dawn relinquishes a lot. Literally every character can either die or survive, and an awful lot can change. As with most horror stories, the early bits where the mystery is in full effect are more gripping than the resolution, but I was still hooked from beginning to end.

2. Life is Strange ; In a year where Telltale continued to accelerate its output in the modern adventure genre they practically built, it's a bit ironic that the show was stolen by a relative newcomer. Life is Strange is the story of a young girl named Max and her friend (romantic interest? That's up to you), Chloe. Max discovers an ability to manipulate time in many ways and she hopes to use it to avert a natural disaster to her town. The actual mechanics are unique and mesh well with the rest of the game. The story is simply fantastic. It plays with a lot of time travel tropes, uses a couple and subverts a lot of them while introducing a few lesser-explored concepts. The twists this story takes are simply nuts[/b/]. I can think of at least 3 or 4 moments that left me truly shocked. It gave me some agonizing choices to make while also making me feel like my decisions mattered. It's an incredibly emotional story which was deeply affecting throughout. And hey, it's got some great music, on a few occasions layered over an emotional character montage, which is always a ticket to the old single tear in the corner of the eye. In the genre it ranks up there with The Walking Dead Season 1, maybe surpasses it in some ways. Play this game!

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; What can I even say? This might just be my favorite game of all time. It's been discussed a lot. It looks incredible and runs great on PC. The world is shocking in both its absolute magnitude as well as the unbelievable attention to detail leaving very few areas feeling like filler. The writing is without equals in the genre and without many in gaming as a whole. There's an absurd amount of content in The Witcher III, and it's almost all great. A lot has been said about the Bloody Baron quest line, and it deserves that recognition. It centers around a more complex character than games are used to, and it's a very long and intricate quest line that surpasses a lot of entire games. But I don't feel like the later story is any appreciable step down. Every area brings a new cast of characters and new interesting things to do. Even tiny, one-off side quests are well written and feel like something worth doing. It's a world that feels "lived-in" like few others. The combat is challenging on harder difficulties (which I did), but admittedly not as complex as the last game. If that's good or bad is up to you. Look, I admit I'm a Witcher fanboy. "I've read the books," that sort of thing. You really don't have to be in order to love this game, but it helps. This game does service to its source material in a way that few do. There's a quest between Geralt and Yennefer that ties together their entire history together and does it in a powerful way no matter what you choose at the end. There's little things, like a brief flashback (to the books) shot of young Ciri running to hug Geralt which genuinely made me tear up on its own. I could go on and on about this. There's a whole functional and fairly fun card game in here for no reason. The first DLC was great and the second looks to be better. Why go on though? There's no question. This is my top game of 2015.

Honorable Mentions

x. Telltalle's Game of Thrones ; Like I said above, I'm a bit of a sucker for Telltale's most recent crop of games (since The Walking Dead), and this is no exception. Add in my fanaticism for A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, and I was incredibly excited for this. I did enjoy it quite a bit. I thought the (original) main characters were, overall, well conceived and I grew attached to several of them (though not to plenty others). The storyline did put the player in some horrendous moral quandaries, some of which I agonized over before making a decision, no less than I expected from a marriage of this series and Telltale's game style. That being said, this game showed the rough edges of Telltale's formula much more than usual. The graphics (while in a few places capable of being gorgeous, had a nasty quality to them at times. Aside from a few marquee moments I felt less agency than usual over the story. Finally, some of the characters from the original fiction felt truly shoehorned in at times. I understood the urge to include them, but it really limited them at times more than anything. In all, an enjoyable though flawed journey.

x. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Every year there's a game I regret not being able to spend more time with before GOTY, and I very much suspect this year, it'll be Tomb Raider. I enjoyed the previous game while playing it, but nothing was particularly memorable about it after the fact. This game makes a much better impression with more interesting environments, more complex mechanics, and a great visual package that surprised me with its quality and performance on Xbox One. Unfortunately I only just got the game for Christmas, and simply haven't been able to play enough to rank it among my top games. But everything I've played so far has been excellent.

x. Call of Duty: Black Ops III ; Another surprise. As a lapsed Call of Duty fan I'm always open to the idea of playing a new year's entry, but haven't truly enjoyed one since Modern Warfare 3. Last year's was a step up, but I feel this one is even better. I quite like what they've done with Specialists, and there feels like a lot of stuff to unlock through the multiplayer progression. There's a good selection of modes (though missing some of my old favorites such as One in the Chamber), and a handful of the maps are really good. I've never much enjoyed Zombies mode so I won't comment on that. Nor have I even started the single player campaign, which is surprising to me as I always have in the past. I imagine I will still play it at some point, but for now I'm getting plenty of enjoyment from the multiplayer.

x. Contradiction: Spot the Liar! ; Nowhere near the greatest game on this list, but a little gem so unique I felt it ought to get a mention. Like many I'm sure I would never have heard of it if not for Giant Bomb, but I'm glad I did. I played this while traveling cross country and back and that's just about the perfect setting for this game. The game is a relatively simple point and click mystery adventure with the twist of everything being FMV. The story is moderately interesting but nothing groundbreaking. The gameplay is functional but again nothing to write home about. The characters and their actors, though, are another story. There's a ton of genuinely funny, weird stuff in this game and it simply brought me a lot of amusement this summer. Its actors do it a great service (intentionally, I hope), and the script feeds right into that wheelhouse. Again, whether the script was intended this way is another question.

 

[Diancecht]

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Amazingly realised world. Tons of meaningful and handcrafted content. I love the books, I love the games. I think I played about 400 hours in between PC and Xbox One.
2. Dying Light ; The best free running system in any game. Techland perfected its formula and crafted a masterpiece of a game.
3. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Between the exploration, tomb raiding and stealthily killing enemies, RotTR takes the 2013 reboot and makes it a better game.
4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; Dear God. Finally a proper fucking game from Ubisoft.
5. Tales from the Borderlands ; I absolutely hate Telltale and it's formula (and the shit ridden of a game engine) but I love Borderlands universe so much, even the Telltale can't fuck it up.
6. SOMA ; As an old school Penumbra fan, I just had enough of this FPS horror games. But Soma makes it up with it's amazing story and realized world.
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ; Solid multiplayer, shocking single player. I always had a soft spot for Black Ops series.
8. Total War: Attila ; Oh wait what's this? A Total War game that is not %100 shit ridden at it's launch? Get in there son!
9. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; It wasn't as good as the main game but still a far better story experience then most of the FPS' I've seen in a long time.
10. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; First game was something different; an amazing game. Wrong Number was kind of a let down but still deserves to be in this list.

 

[BrosukeHanamura]

1. Undertale ; There hasn't been a game in years that has resonated with me as deeply as Undertale has. The clever writing, the characters, the music, and the charming artstyle all come together to make something really special, and the combination of traditional RPG combat with bullet-hell-shmup mechanics make the game a truly unique experience.
2. Life is Strange ; This was my first experience with episodic story-based games, and I'll attribute that to the setup. A slice-of-life high school drama turned time-travel mystery was something that grabbed me immediately, and the plot and score kept me invested. The dialogue is often cringeworthy, but regardless, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the experience, even if the final episode didn't quite stick the landing.
3. Mortal Kombat X
4. Persona 4: Dancing All Night

 

[Majestad]

Witcher 3 is such an amazing game. GAF will be two years on a row spot-on with my own choices if it wins GOTY.

 

[Domstercool]

1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; The Witcher 3 is an incredible game that left such an impact on me after I had completed Geralt’s adventure. I missed its world, characters and incredibly story telling that playing similar games just made me enjoy them less. I couldn’t help but match them with CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece. It is superbly written, characters are crafted with more than just a single layer, which makes for some of the best narrative and quest design in RPGs and the most compelling side-quest and interactions I’ve experienced in video games.

Geralt’s closure sets a new bar for moral adventure storytelling, with outcomes that bring a range of emotions and unpredictability, an epic journey filled with lush, beautiful graphics and environments, quality voice acting and memorable quests knitted masterfully together with the game’s tactical combat, traps and sign systems. In a year where it felt like the open-world genre was flooded with games, The Witcher 3 stands out as not just a fantastic open-world title, but is up there in the echelons of best role-playing games and my personal pick for Game of the Year 2015… oh, and it also has Gwent.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; The latest entry in Hideo Kojima’s epic franchise is different than what we normally get. Kojima has previous gone with a focus on complex stories with stealth gameplay to back it up, and while the series had interesting gameplay concepts, I always felt Splinter Cell was the better stealth game. That is no longer the case with The Phantom Pain, as Kojima Productions has crafted a truly outstanding sandbox game that somehow manages to be the best stealth game I have ever played.

We can complain about the story or Kojima not having enough time to put in a third chapter, but when it comes down to it, The Phantom Pain is about the gameplay, the open-world that is laid before you to tackle in a multitude of ways that the game enables you to do with all the gear and mechanics built in. It’s funny how we talk about how big a world is or how dense it is, but with this game, both open-world environments aren’t humongous, nor are they stuffed up like a Christmas turkey. What is there are bases, soldiers, wild life, dynamic weather and other beautifully looking tiny details that bring character to the environment.

The Phantom Pain contained some of my favourite gaming moments of 2015. There aren’t many games that left it to me to sort my own mistakes out if a mission went wrong. The many options and freedom this game offers is a sign of trust from the developers, leaving it to players to recover and adapt, rather than the game overriding the player’s control. A confident game from a confident team led by Kojima, leaving us his swansong for the franchise before Konami turn it into the king of Pachinko machines.

3. Rocket League ; I never played Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, the predecessor to Rocket League, but if watching Top Gear has shown me anything, it’s that playing football with cars could be a lot of fun to watch, but actually participating in it would most likely suck after the initial spark has worn off. This is simply because cars are too big, easily damageable and their agility is compromised as speed increases. Rocket League gets rid of all those issues by changing the sport of football to be based around remote control cars, a huge, floaty ball, loose rules, and somehow with its simple, but perfectly elegant controls, these remote control cars can easily drift, turbo boost, drive up walls and rocket boost magnificently into the air that Knight Rider’s KITT would be jealously (that vehicle should totally be DLC for this game).

Rocket League is a refreshing entry for sports games, hell, even for multiplayer titles. It’s a simple game to play, one that anyone can get into and have fun, yet masterful players can perform some amazing feats of aerobatic tricky – seeing those in a match is outstanding, causing the chat to fill up with people spamming with the shortcut emote “Nice Goal!” Thankfully, what makes Rocket League brilliant is that those skills aren’t required for people to have fun with the game. Breaking it down, this is just a fancy version of pong with super agile vehicles, sure, but with its easy to get into nature, Rocket League became one of my most played multiplayer games of the year – it is masterfully crafted, highly addictive and full of hectic moments that no matter if you win or lose, you will always be back for more. With developers that care behind the game and new content coming frequently – over the Christmas period there is the Snow Day mutator going on, which changes the game into a chaotic version of ice hockey – and big DLC plans for the game in 2016, it looks like Rocket League will have the legs to keep going for another season.

4. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; With each release of Monster Hunter, Capcom seems to be able to make it the best one. I remember saying that back in 2013 about the Wii U version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and now with the release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on 3DS, Capcom has once again made the series better.

For starters, Capcom finally added online to the handheld version, which was limited to console titles in previous games. It’s almost like Capcom tried to get this latest Monster Hunter to be successful in the west, where the series has been more of a title for the niche hardcore audience who has grown to love hunting the game’s bestiary. It worked, as Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate has the most western sales of any entry in the series, but it’s more than just online that makes this better than previous entries. A big change was the addition of verticality, being able to climb on more surfaces and jump off cliff sides to land on monsters and hack them while they furiously try to shake you off. Creative weapon designs, such as the imaginative Insect Glaive, a staff that launched out pet bugs to drain essence from monsters and turn it into stat buffs, meant I was no longer wanting to be a dual sword specialist.

All these new things made got me back into the addictive and rewarding gameplay that consists of hunting monsters around lush habitats aiming to improve my gear and take on the bigger monsters of its world. This is the pinnacle of cooperative action and is one of the few games to make its story your own, sharing tales of hunting down these amazing monsters, the trials and tribulations of four hunters working together to finally accomplish the big task of beating all the monsters in the game. It’s huge, long and can sometimes be draining, but by god does its gameplay end up so rewarding, and it was nice to see new people jump on board and understand what makes Monster Hunter tick.

5. Assault Android Cactus ; I feel that by saying the following sentence I probably won’t have to explain why this in my game of the year list. Assault Android Cactus is the best twin-stick shooter since Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. That is a big statement, but seriously, Assault Android Cactus is one of those twin stick shooters that makes itself an example in how to spice up the genre with energizing gameplay and well implemented mechanics. It’s not just a love letter to the genre, but a modernization of it.

Assault Android Cactus is a slick game that feels so good to play, feels so right in your hands as you dance around danger and rapidly blast enemies with awesome weapons. With satisfying controls, intelligent game mechanics, charming presentation and terrific level design, this game is never short of supplying high-octane fuelled fun. It manages to bring refreshment to such an ancient way of playing video games. Assault Android Cactus does all this while never slipping up. It’s a shining example of the genre and one of the most easiest recommendations I can give to anyone who enjoys exciting chaotic action. Assault Android Cactus is simply the best arcade game for quite some time.

6. Splatoon ; On release I wasn’t so sure about Splatoon. I did not like how most of its multiplayer content was coming later on in free downloadable updates, I still don’t like how Nintendo force us to only have two maps in rotation in Player or Ranked mode that change every four hours, especially when they are now 14 maps available – it just feels like an artificial stoppage that no longer needs to be there. But spending time with the game I found something special there. It’s a game where there is tons to love about it that overcome those negatives. Even though it was advertised as a multiplayer title, the single player featured some great level design and some fantastic boss fights, but at the same time it taught you how to play the game, growing the player ready for its main attraction, the online multiplayer.

It’s weird to think of Nintendo creating an online title. This is a company that has stuck with the old ways, yet with Splatoon they accomplish three things that I would never thought would be happening any time soon with Nintendo. 1. They made a fantastic new IP without the red plumber in sight. 2. They created a third-person shooter and 3. It was an online multiplayer game, and while Nintendo are still being stubborn with their online communications in games, Splatoon was a breath of fresh air in the genre, bringing refreshing squid mechanics that allowed players to swim in their own coloured ink, making for some superb gameplay and verticality movement in cleverly designed maps that were made for abusing the power of a squid. I might not be a kid, but I sure felt like a squid, who was a kid – squid now, kid now… I think you know where this is going, so before I get caught up in the game’s awesome soundtrack, I’ll leave with this final statement that Splatoon is one of the most energising and enjoyable third-person shooters and new IPs to come from not just Nintendo, but from everyone in the industry since this generation started.

7. Dirt Rally ; Rally games are some of my favourite in the racing genre. There is something incredibly thrilling about blasting down a dirty road at heart-racing speeds with the unknown laid out before you, a voice to your side shouting out “ Right two, long, don’t cut” and a slab of stone is hiding in the grass to the inside of the corner as you carefully slide around the bend past it. Dirt Rally is the return of Codemasters, who previous left the focus of rally behind in their Dirt titles to bring a mixture of other vehicles and extreme events for more of an arcade experience. Rally games have been in a bit of a slump state, with the official WRC games being decent attempts, but just not quite hitting the quality that I am expecting for a representation of the sport.

This is where Dirt Rally comes speeding in bringing a bright light – it’s the best rally game for aeons, and it’s all thanks to the developers bringing a superb representation of the sport. Dirt Rally requires concentration, it’s a title where coming first in every stage isn’t entirely its focus, it took me a few hours before I eventually managed to clock a time that put me in top position in the single player competition, but even then I was having so much fun trying to drive fast and stay on the path. Dirt Rally is a learning game – I learnt this from my first attempt, where I flew right off a corner, down a cliff side, adding a 15 second penalty to my time. There is no map to see what’s coming, it’s all down to what you see and what you hear from your personal navigator, the trusted co-driver who has your life in his hands. Dirt Rally is a challenging, thrilling, quality rally game with a fantastic handling model that portrays the various gravel, dirt and ice under your wheels with precise car handling. This is a game that not only celebrates an amazing return to the genre from Codemasters, but for me, is, no question, the best racing game of the year.

8. Heroes of the Storm ; What’s interesting about Heroes of the Storm is how it managed to make me actually really enjoy playing a Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Before touching Blizzard’s attempt at a MOBA, I had dabbled in League of Legends, Smite and Dota 2, and while I didn’t hate them, I only ever played them when friends wanted me to party up, as I did not feel captivated by the limited maps, item mechanics and length of the matches.

Heroes of the Storm fixes 90% of my issues with MOBAs. For starters, it streamlines the game by removing items and replaces it with skill selections that unlock as the character levels up. Levels are now shared across the entire team, so no longer are people getting shouted at for focusing on getting their character stronger. The game also does not limit its map selection. As as of this post, Heroes of the Storm includes 10 maps, with each map based around a unique objective. Sure, the final act is to destroy the enemy’s core, but to help accomplish that maps will have players hunting treasure chests to pay a pirate to shoot cannons at towers, take over special towers that shoot lasers at towers, collect items that will weaken the opposition’s minions and towers, and one of my faves, the Diablo III inspired demon summoning, where a key shrine will light up and killing 40 enemies will release a demon to work for you until it dies. This is a MOBA for people who don’t typically like MOBAs, switching up the stereotypical design with different map layouts and quicker gameplay. For me, I see this game as the Smash Bros. of MOBAs, a title that was made for people who just want to battle with fun objectives without needing to go deep into setup and items, and with matches averaging around 20 minutes, this is the game I went to for multiplayer action if I wasn’t playing Rocket League.

9. Bloodborne ; From its initial leak, where a Gothic setting, ravaging beasts and guns were revealed, uttering the worlds about Bloodborne being ‘Dark Souls in Victorian times’ got everyone excited. Spending time with the game, it’s clear that Bloodborne, while taking ideas from Miyazaki’s previous Souls games, is more than just a re-skinned Dark Souls. It begins with combat, where the defensive approach of Dark Souls has been tuned to offer more offensive and rapid combat. Shields are no longer available to use, instead, replaced with guns to bring range damage and a new stun mechanic that with perfect timing can leave enemies open to a visceral attack. Having no block button means players have to keep on their toes and use the dodge as the saving grace in the tough battles that live in the world of Bloodborne.

There is more to Bloodborne that just the excellent and weighty crafted combat – the feeling of accomplishment is second to none. It’s so rewarding when overcoming an obstacle, be it a challenging zone or an imaginative boss design, that I just wanted to continue on and see what other situations awaited me. The city of Yharnam feels coherent. It’s a world filled with horror and grotesque inhabitants, but beautiful and deceiving landmarks that makes exploration mystical and exciting, and just like Miyazaki’s titles before it, Bloodborne channels people to work together both inside the game with help hints and death recaps, but also outside of the game by combining people’s thoughts on the story, its history and the mechanics of the game in a joint effort to find out what Bloodborne is hiding. Some people might be disgusted at that concept, but I personally love having to figure out a video game, with Bloodborne being one such experience I won’t forget.

10. SOMA ; It was going to be hard for developers Frictional Games to follow up one of the most scariest games in existence, the frightful and distressing Amnesia, with a new horror title. While SOMA did not freak me out as much as Amnesia, the game has improved puzzles, a better story, a through provoking concept that gets you asking about the future and where we are heading to preserve ourselves. The underwater setting and metallic environments that sit on the ocean floor bring the creeps, and when new enemies designed around the game’s themes come to life, sniffing and hunting you out, the sense of dread arises and my heart rate begins to increase. The atmosphere and psychological impact this game has when you’re playing in the dark with a pair of headphones pulls you into this dreary world for a great, frightful ride that leads to an ending that leaves you fulfilled with the outcome. As far as horror goes, no game this year will get under your skin more than SOMA.

 

[Agram]

1. Bloodborne ; The best FromSoft game which actually exceeded all the expectations. I played for a hundred hours and I couldn't stop admiring the art direction, lore, gameplay, the world. Like in Souls games, it provides the biggest sense of accomplishment in gaming and it is so fun to play. Bloodborne is an unforgettable experience.
2. Destiny: The Taken King ; my biggest surprise of the year. I hated the game when it first came out, but this... This fixed every issue I had and it's my most played game of 2015 and, as it seems, it will be the same in 2016. Despite its flaws, I enjoy it. A lot.
3. Tales from the Borderlands ; I thought TWAU is the best thing Telltale's ever gonna make, but they surprised everyone. This was announced alongside GoT series and people were asking why a Borderlands story. Well, they chose the right IP. The humor is (mostly) excellent and it is a direction I want more developers to follow. Drama and sad stories is fine, but we don't get enough games to laugh with.

Well, that's it. I grew tired of open-world games so I still haven't beaten MGS and The Witcher. Soon, maybe.

 

[GSG Flash]

Didn't play a huge number of new games, a lot of my gaming was focused on tackling my backlog. That said, of the new games I've played, this was my top 7:

1. Witcher 3 ; Best game I've played in a long time. The sidequests in this game would be main quests in other games, and the world is massive, it's pretty much like 3 games in 1. Graphics are amazing, whether it's the god rays from the sun or the clothing on the NPCs, the attention to detail in this game is astounding. CDPR have quickly gone up to become one of my favourite developers in the industry.

2. Batman Arkham Knight ; I know this game gets a lot of flak but I had an immensely enjoyable time with this game. I loved the batmobile, it was bad ass. The one negative is the requirement to get all Riddler trophies to get the better ending.

3. MGS 5 ; Metal Gear in an open world environment. Not much else needs to be said. MGS4 was one of my favourite games of last gen, MGS 5 is even better. Haven't beaten this game yet, but it is easily one of the best games over the past few years.

4. Journey PS4 ; First time playing Journey this year. It's not so much a game as it is art. The experience was really amazing and I actually love the fact that the game was short, it was easy to pick up but featured the full audio/visual experience of a full length game. Loved the multiplayer aspect to the game as well, as a single player only gamer, this is one multiplayer game where multiplayer doesn't hurt my single player experience.

5. Bloodborne ; Love the universe of Bloodborne. The graphics are amazing, the music is amazing, the game is very atmospheric and creeps the shit out of me. Would probably be higher on my list if the game was easier. Unfortunately never beat it because I didn't have time to invest in the game due to the difficulty.

6. Undertale ; Not going to lie, I didn't know what was the big deal about this game at first. Thankfully the game was on sale on Steam and I got the chance to play it. This is probably one of the most creative games I've played in a while. Love the humour and music in the game as well.

7. Project Cars ; Finally got to play this one on PC after avoiding it on PS4 due to the lack of G27 support. As a racing sim goes, don't see how you can get better than this. The graphics are amazing and the physics and handling of the cars is lifelike. The host of of options hurts the game a bit in my eyes though, including the options for graphics settings. Sometimes I just get lost in the menus. Another positive for this game is the great music in the menus.

I've also yet to play Xenoblade X and Fallout 4 because I haven't had the time, but I'm willing to wager that both would probably be in my top 5 if I played them.

 

[Risev1]

1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Kojima's last Metal Gear is not without its flaws, but what it offered is perhaps the best stealth action gameplay ever in a video game. Phantom Pain is simply unrivaled mechanically, and I've never played any game that played or controlled as well as this game did. The story, while mildly disappointing, is still entertaining enough, and there is no denying the production values of the cutscenes.

2. Rocket League ; I bought Rocket League on a complete whim. I thought I'd put a couple of hours in at most and call it a day. However, 75 hours later, I just can't stop playing.

3. Bloodborne ; There is not much that I can say about Bloodborne that hasn't been said already. All I will say is that this game gives me goosebumps still whenever I play.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; There is much to say about Witcher 3 that doesn't necessarily go in its favor. The combat system is passable at best and extremely dull at worst, the controls feel extremely unpolished, and the rough animations in cutscenes take away from the otherwise great stories that this game offers. However, there are times when everything clicks, when you're roaming on top of a hill on Roach (or on foot, considering the horse controls are absolute garbage) and you look at the sunset reflecting upon the huge world ahead of you. It's the classic case of a game being extremely better than he sum of its parts.

5. Undertale ; You get to date a Skeleton. I don't see why I need to say anything else.

 

[Volcynika]

1. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; After putting 100 hours into this, how can it NOT be my top game of the year? MH3U for Wii U was a good intro, but this one I just enjoyed top to bottom. Definitely a game I enjoyed both solo and with friends. It was something that made sure I will continue to get future games in the series.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; After going through a few weeks of just playing this, it has been on my mind as of late. I had never finished the original Xenoblade, but may go back to it just to see what I was missing. I loved the exploration, the music, and getting a Skell was a definite shift in just what I could do. Those moments in the big battles where the music lines up just right can be incredibly exciting.

3. Tales from the Borderlands ; I had been a bit wary of Telltale's games after Walking Dead S2, but I got this one while it was on sale (it helped all the episodes were already out). Story was entertaining, loved the characters and setpieces, and the Borderlands universe was just absurd enough to have some completely over the top moments. Loved all the intro credits sequences as well, those were all a very important piece in something special.

4. Life is Strange ; This game had its ups and downs, but I enjoyed going through Max's story of an ability for rewinding time. I felt a lot more freedom in terms of choices as I could see the results of every option and pick the one I felt best about. It approached serious topics better than most games and its great to go back and see all the little things that you just didn't pick up on due to a lack of knowledge of the future. I hope Dontnod keep going with what they're doing and keep putting out interesting games.

5. Crypt of the Necrodancer ; As a person that's really been dipping into roguelike/roguelite games, this combines that interest with some fantastic music from Danny B. Enjoyed it during its Early Access period, and I almost beat the game. Even though I didn't beat it, this game had the "just one more attempt..." hook in me, and when you end up with a fantastic run with just the right items...feels good.

6. Destiny: The Taken King ; I had never played Destiny prior to this release. Aside from the asinine fact that it took me like a day and a half to even download everything I needed, I enjoyed it. I got to play with friends who I hadn't gamed with very much in forever or at all. It definitely has its problems, but jumping on with people to talk to and play before they all got absorbed into Fallout 4 was enjoyable while it lasted.

7. Cibele ; I wasn't super familiar with Nina Freeman prior to the release of the game, but after her Giant Bomb appearance, decided to see what this game was about. It is a very personal experience she put out there, and while it is extremely basic as a game, I felt it was very deserving of the short time I spent with it. Something I could see some of my own experiences in a bit, and a game I'll recommend people check out if they even have a tiny bit of interest.

8. Super Mario Maker ; Making levels is intuitive and fun, and even through the tons and tons of "bad" levels, there can always be a good idea hidden somewhere in there for use in my own creations.

9. Rocket League ; It made soccer fun for me. All that needs to be said.

10. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Beautiful game with great movement and platforming. A game I got on release and played it all the way through. While I couldn't go back and get 100% of everything, it was a very memorable game. Looking forward to seeing what they do with the enhanced/definitive/whatever edition they have coming in the near future.

Honorable Mentions

x. Earth Defense Force 4.1 ; Destroy giant bugs with friends. Always fun.

x. Splatoon ; Nintendo doing something right with a new IP in a genre they don't really mess with. Incredibly surprised how well this turned out. Stay fresh!

x. Bloodborne ; Fun Souls-y game, Dark Souls 3 is staying on my radar.

x. IA/VT Colorful - Nice to have a shake-up in terms of rhythm games when the genre was ruled mostly by Hatsune Miku

x. Undertale ; While the internet wouldn't stop posting everything possible for this game and I was unsure if I would get around to it unspoiled, I did end up having a good time with it. It really turns things on their head and surprises you in some unique ways. I have already recommended it to friends and others.

x. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate ; Wish I had played this more. I enjoyed the first few hours, but haven't had enough time to put into it to put it on my list.

 

[Yarbskoo]

1. Grand Theft Auto V ; I missed this one on consoles, so I was new to the game when the PC version finally came out. This is probably the first GTA game I've played that I felt had satisfying gameplay when shooting, driving, or both. I haven't yet seen the story to its conclusion, but the story and characters are already more appealing and interesting to me than in any other GTA game. The world is big and beautiful, especially with the aberration removed and the haze toned down. The voice work is pretty good all around, and I liked the original musical compositions much more than anything the series offered previously. I've played GTA V for 134 hours.

2. Broken Age ; So after Tim's wild ride was over, what did we end up with? Well, it's not Grim Fandango, but I think this is actually one of the better games in the genre. The puzzles start off pretty easy, but some of the later ones require some creative thinking, and have some nice payoffs. There's a few puzzles that don't work very well, but for the most part it's not too frustrating while still requiring some experimentation. The story set up by the first half isn't quite fleshed out well by the end of the second, but the characters are charming and well written. The animation may not be as impressive as some of the earlier hand drawn adventure games, but the environments are beautifully crafted, though I wish there were more unique ones in the second half. The music is great, McConnell's compositions are both grandiose and whimsical. OveralI, I wish the game didn't feel so rushed by the end, but what's there is quality. I played Broken Age for 19 hours.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D ; Okay, I'll be honest I barely played this one. Still, from what I did play, it's a worthy remastering of one of my top 5 Zelda games. Like Ocarina 3D, MM3D both enhances and preserves the original gameplay, while making the game much more pleasing visually. The graphics here are improved even more than they were in Ocarina, and it's one of the prettier games on the system. I played Majora's Mask 3D for a whopping 3 hours.

4. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; I was more hyped for this one than I have been for any game in a long time. After spending some time with it, I can say it really is a great game, though it isn't really on the same level as the original. The gamplay is complex, and there's a lot of things to do and keep track of. The side questing wasn't one of the original game's strong points, and it's a bit disappointing that it's been given so much focus here. The world of Mira is the strong point of the game, and rightly received the most care and attention. It's massive and complex, and I've had more fun exploring it than just about any other video game world. While the character models are a bit lacking, Monolith's environment artists once again create a beautiful and expansive world that pushes the perception of what the hardware is capable of. The game's sound design has some serious problems, but I really like a lot of the soundtrack. It's not as good as the original game's music, but there are a few tracks that I like quite a bit. I played XCX for 79 hours.

5. Splatoon ; It's nice to see a unique take on the third person multiplayer shooter. By the time I got around to playing it, the game had quite a few modes and lots of equipment. I'm not crazy about the map rotation system's implementation, but the gameplay is a ton of fun, and there's lots of great customization options available. The single player was a decent training mode, and I love the atmosphere the game takes on during splatfest. The game oozes style, with its colorful visuals and some fresh music to splat to. I played Splatoon for 55 hours.

Honorable Mentions
x. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes ; This one's really only here because it's the other game I played this year. It's pretty good I guess, I had some fun with it. If only the online mode worked better and the offline mode wasn't so clunky. It's probably my least favorite Zelda. At least the music was nice. I played Tri Force Heroes for 29 hours.


That's it. Hopefully I formatted everything correctly. I don't normally play games the same year they came out. Most of my time this past year was spent playing older games, like Halo: Combat Evolved, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and SoulCalibur.

 

[roytheone]

1- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Amazingly realised world. Tons of meaningful and handcrafted content. I love the books, I love the games. I think I played about 400 hours in between PC and Xbox One.
2- Dying Light ; The best free running system in any game. Techland perfected its formula and crafted a masterpiece of a game.
3- Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Between the exploration, tomb raiding and stealthily killing enemies, RotTR takes the 2013 reboot and makes it a better game.
5- Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; Dear God. Finally a proper fucking game from Ubisoft.
6- Tales from the Borderlands ; I absolutely hate Telltale and it's formula (and the shit ridden of a game engine) but I love Borderlands universe so much, even the Telltale can't fuck it up.
7- SOMA ; As an old school Penumbra fan, I just had enough of this FPS horror games. But Soma makes it up with it's amazing story and realized world.
8- Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ; Solid multiplayer, shocking single player. I always had a soft spot for Black Ops series.
9- Total War: Attila ; Oh wait what's this? A Total War game that is not %100 shit ridden at it's launch? Get in there son!
10- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood ; It wasn't as good as the main game but still a far better story experience then most of the FPS' I've seen in a long time.

I could be wrong, but I think you need to replace 1- with 1. For it to count.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Witcher 3 is such an amazing game. GAF will be two years on a row spot-on with my own choices if it wins GOTY.

Just by glance in the thread, Bloodborne will win rather handily on GAF.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Just by glance in the thread, Bloodborne will win rather handily on GAF.

Hope so. It's the better game.

 

[Hasney]

Just got back into Witcher and noticed I'm 170 hours in and just made it to Skrellidge. Loving it again though, might have to bump it up to first place... But I loved Fallout. Dammit.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Just got back into Witcher and noticed I'm 170 hours in and just made it to Skrellidge. Loving it again though, might have to bump it up to first place... But I loved Fallout. Dammit.

Flip a coin. When it's in the air, you'll have your answer.

 

[Hixx]

1. Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; Most games of this size suffer when it comes to consistency but not this one. Beautiful world, great cast, fantastic quests, a brilliant story and so much to do and see. Admittedly, the combat at its absolute best is merely adequate but the rest of the game makes up for it and so much more. Comfortably the game of the year and one of the best ever. I fell in love with the game during the famous 'Bloody Baron' questline and stayed at that level until I saw my ending... and I've still got Hearts of Stone to play and Blood and Wine to come in 2016!

2. Rocket League ; I can't believe how satisfying and... moreish this game is. The easy to learn controls with hard-to-master mechanics lead to a real sense of progression in your ability with the game. It has pretty much replaced FIFA as the game I go to when I just want a few rounds of something fast and simple, and FIFA has been that game for years.

3. Halo 5 ; One of the better Halo campaigns and my favourite multiplayer offering the series has given out when it comes down to gameplay, I was pleasantly surprised by the return to form after 343s first two Halo releases.

4. Resident Evil Remastered ; Many people loathe the new controls, which do make the game far more accessible and easy, but I loved them. They let me get immediately stuck back into an old Resident Evil game without having to worry about reacquainting myself with the controls after over a decade!

5. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; Improved on the 'original' in many ways but the combat was a real disappointment to me. Looked gorgeous and was still a lot of fun to play through in spite of the combat issues, however.

6. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain ; Such an odd Metal Gear game. Great controls, mechanics and pacing but a story that was so incredibly forgettable and clearly unfinished that it left a sour taste. But the game was good.

7. Tales from the Borderlands ; Of the two Telltale games I played this year, I can't believe that Borderlands would be the better of the two. Interesting story, really likeable characters and some really fun scenarios.

8. Gears of War Ultimate Edition ; A really nice remake of one of my favourite ever games. But while I loved the multiplayer when it was first released on the 360, all this release made me do was yearn for a similar remake for Gears 3.

9. Batman: Arkham Knight ; I've enjoyed each game in this series less than the one before it but they are still all fine games. While the game had a lot of low points that involved the Batmobile and the Arkham Knight himself... being Batman is still so fucking fun, man.

10. Resident Evil Revelations 2 ; Came out of nowhere for me. Can definitely feel that it was a budget title but Capcom's best effort in this series since RE4. I hope they take more inspiration from this game than they do Resi 5 or 6 for whatever they do with their next RE game.