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

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Wozzer

Member
1. Bloodborne ; There’s no avoiding comparisons with the Souls series given the core design of Bloodborne closely resembles it, with areas of refinement and exclusion. The atmosphere is eerily fantastic, enemy design varied and exceptionally horrific and the combat is vastly refined and well executed. However it’s a far shallower and less explorative affair with fewer items to discover, character builds to experiment with or combat variety to master. Bloodborne is the best game FROM have made, but it’s not their best RPG and for this reason it’s not my favourite of theirs either. Still bloody fantastic and easily the best game on offer from this generation so far.

2. Super Mario Maker ; Your thoughts on Game 2.

3. Witcher 3 ; Your thoughts on Game 3.

4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; What a thrill. The Phantom Pain can best be classified as a beautiful mess, being both a contended for both my best game and biggest disappointment of the year. It’s painfully clear throughout that the very public development hell has impacted the game's vision resulting in continual cut corners, pacing issues and an abyssal piecemeal script. That said the breadth of game systems, sublime stealth gameplay and oozing potential is hard to overlook. It’s a polar opposite of typical Metal Gear expectations, and I can’t help but consider what could have been.

5. Fallout 4 ; Your thoughts on Game 5.

6. Pillars of Eternity ; Absolute nostalgic CRPG bliss. Everything from the handcrafted world to the presentation of the UI has an attention to detail that feels to have been built with unbridled passion from Obsidian. Growing up on the likes of Baldur’s Gate there’s a continual sense of nostalgia and frequent referencing to aspect that made such RPGs memorable. The scale of the world, engaging personalities of cast of party members, level of character progression and real-time strategic gameplay kept me engaged from beginning to end like no other RPG has for a very long time. That said it’s not a flawless victory as the story, arguably the most important aspect of a game in this genre, is lackluster and waits far too long (an hour before the end) before revealing its overly teased twist reveal. The story in itself is solid, as is the dialogue that carries it, it’s just unfortunate that it’s kept from the user until it's too late, ending abruptly before you’ve even had chance to wet your appetite.

7. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; A lengthy more refined and varied sequel to the fantastic first installment. Ultimately it falls a little short in level design that often makes the encounters and overall pacing inconsistent but the sum of its parts still makes for a fantastic package. Without a doubt the music alone represents the best score I've encountered in a video game. There is even an attempt at a storyline with a wealth of characters from different backgrounds and even periods in time, and whilst I'm positive there's some logic to be drawn I have absolutely no idea what it is. Fantastic game highly recommended to all.

8. Broken Age ; With expectations low I was taken by surprise on how charmingly presented and cleverly intertwined the multiple protagonist story was implemented. As promised it's a classic point and click adventure game by Tim Schafer, and with that comes the requirement for dialogue that oozes wit and charm along with clunky puzzle design. The first half is a little easy but worth it for the concluding story twist that is just enough to carry the second half, which is twice the length, to its satisfying conclusion. Not quite enough to sit alongside the masterpiece of Grim Fandango but a worthwhile trip down memory lane.

9. Rocket League ; You’re a car, with rockets, that is locked in an arena and needs to push a big ball into a big hole… what’s not to love? In a trophy lusting haze I played the game extensively, grinding away balls into goals like a superstar football car-thing. It’s campaign is overly simplified but I don’t know quite what else you’d expect from a game of its nature; though the lack of dialogue wheels and plot twists are a shame. All around good fun!

10. Life is Strange ; Your thoughts on Game 10.
 

PranooY

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Spent almost 200+ hrs playing this. 4 entire playthrough and hours of PvP. The Old Hunters DLC was super rad too. So without question Bloodborne is my GOTY 2015.
2. Steins;gate ; Always wanted to try this out since I got into VNs after playing Zero Escape series, Had seen reviews praising the stellar stories. All these didn't prepare for the awesomeness of Steins;gate. I ended up crying at the various endings. And replayed it multiple times to get all the endings. Steins;gate is a freaking amazing game. And my GOTY #2 vote goes to Steins;gate even though I know that it won't count since its a port. I just want more people to know abt it and give it a try.
3. Undertale ; Went in expecting a overhyped meme-y game, but it turned out the hype was justified. A freaking awesome game, Enjoyed everything abt it : the super rad music, the jokes and the sad story abt the Monster Kingdom.
4. Until Dawn ; This came outta nowhere. And became the game which had everything I wished a David Cage game would have.
5. Life is Strange
6. Tales from Borderlands
7. Fallout 4
8. Rocket League
9. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

Will edit with comments.
 
1. Until Dawn ; This game came out of nowhere and surprised the hell outta me. Great story(ies), great visuals, music, performances, atmosphere, just everything. They absolutely nailed what David Cage has been trying to do for years. I can't wait to see what Supermassive is putting together next. This is horror done right. Would be amazing if they reunited the writers and cast and did an American Horror Style anthology series in a new setting with new characters.

UntilDawnRD-610.jpg



2. Batman: Arkham Knight ; A great finale to a great series.




3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; A triumph from a gameplay perspective. Great soundtrack and visuals. A complete failure from a narrative perspective in my opinion. Wasted opportunities.




4. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ; Yep, still love Uncharted as much as when I first played it.




5. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ; I'm quite interested in these slow burn mysteries. This was a good one.




6. Soma ; Creepy and depressing.




7. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate ; Probably the best AC game since Brotherhood. Modern day is still shit. The historical parts were decent though. I'd play a game with Jacob and Evie again.




8. Mad Max ; A decent approximation of being Mad Max. Lovely visuals. Car combat is awesome. Have yet to finish it though.




9. Mortal Kombat X ; Been a long time since I played an MK game. Had a lot of fun with it.




10. Call of Duty: Black Ops III ; I haven't finished the narrative yet. Maybe my position will change. But since I play COD for the campaigns, this entry into the BO series is missing the interesting characters and and addicting conspiratorial attitude of the previous games.

It just feels off. That said, Treyarch really outdid themselves in packing this game with content, and the love shows. Props to them.






Games I wish I played this year:

Rise of the Tomb Raider: Based on the reviews and reactions, it probably would have been my #1 of the year.


Fail of the Year:

The Order: 1886

What a letdown.

 

JonnyKong

Member
1. Life is Strange ; Emotional, exciting, great soundtrack, superb acting, what more do you want? It's a real game changer, pardon the pun, into what we can expect from narrative driven games in the future.

2. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Absolutely beautiful and superb platforming.

3. Splatoon ; Playing this is practically injecting colourful insanity into your arms.

4. Rise of the Tomb Raider ; A really, really great follow up which is better in every way.

5. Tales from the Borderlands ; A very funny, likeable and heart warming tale showing Telltale at their best.

6. Skylanders Superchargers ; A game which took me by surprise for how great it was. Each level was different and tremendous amounts of fun.

7. Affordable Space Adventures ; Amazing use of the gamepad. Original and atmospheric puzzler.

8. Until Dawn
9. Everybody's Gone To The Rapture
10. Yoshi Wooly World

Will edit later with comments.
 

Crono27

Member
1. Xenoblade Chronicles X
2. Witcher 3
3. Yoshi wooly world
4. Splatoon
5. Super Mario Maker
6. Tales from the borderlands
7. Life is strange
8. Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim (PC Version)
9. Mortal Kombat X
10. Codename Steam
 

zonezeus

Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Had my doubts about this game. I find most open world games boring, tedious, lacking atmosphere and horribly written and I was afraid even CDPR won't be able to pull this off. Turns out my worries were unfounded. Yeah, the combat is clunky. Yeah, the movement is not buttery smooth. Yeah, you can easily get lost in your own inventory. Yeah, Roach can fuck right off. And you know what? I don't give a damn about any of these, because Witcher 3 was the first open world game to show me that open world games might not only be enjoyable, but actually amazing. Unparalleled quest design, engaging characters, solid narrative, unbelievable atmospehere - CDPR not only alleviated all my fears but actually surpassed all expectations.

2. Undertale ; Great game out of nowhere and I would have missed it if it weren't for GAF. Intelligent humor and writing, mechanics I haven't encountered anywhere before, a soundtrack I could listen to for ages. All done by a single guy. What am I doing with my life?

3. Shadowrun: Hong Kong ; A worthy successor to Shadowrun: Dragonfall. What it lacks in general story (compared to it's predescessor) it makes up with practically everything else - quests, characters, combat and (finally!) Matrix parts just the way I imagined them.

4. Tales from the Borderlands ; Borderlands game done right.

5. SOMA ; Could have been much better in the gameplay department - less hide and seek with repetitive monster, more puzzles of any kind - but in terms of atmosphere and narrative it was one of the best games I've ever played. Plus it tackled some of my favourite sci-fi themes (AI, transhumanism) in a mature and thought-out way, which more often than not cannot be said about modern fiction.

6. Rocket League ; If you told me that in 2015 I'd enjoy a game with both cars and football in it I would probably laugh in your face. Alas, here's Rocket League, my second most played game this year. Life's funny.

7. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Edition ; A very successful blend of old-school cRPG values with fresh, innovative mechanics. Delivered where others (*cough* Pillars of Eternity *cough*) failed.
 

NotUS

Member
1: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; - Next level open world gaming with great storytelling, combat and quests. One of the best games ever made

2: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; - Incredible stealth mechanic, if only it was complete

3: Grand Theft Auto V ; - Excellent PC Port of a great game

4: Dying Light ; - Huge step forward from Dead Island

5: Bloodborne ; - Punishing and rewarding combat

6: Fallout 4
; - Good game, should sit higher if it had a better engine and quests

7: Pillars of Eternity ; - Finally a real RPG!

8: Witcher III: Heart of Stone Expansion ; - Incredible expansion, better than most full retail games

9: Project CARS ; - Amazing crowdfunded racing game

10: The Order: 1886
; - Short but fun, hope they can build on it and make the next one less linear
 

OsirisBlack

Banned
1. Bloodborne ; The game that made me a believer in the souls series I had never gotten into the series before and had this game day 1. Just got into it about 4 maybe 5 days ago level 114 Str Arc build level 10 holy moonlight sword.... easily the game of the generation so far. PvP, Co op, Chalice dungeons, NG+ multiple endings , phenomenal DLC the entire package is pretty ridiculous.

2. Final Fantasy a realm reborn Heavens Ward ; this may be the single best expansion to any game MMO or otherwise that I have ever played. Such a memorable experience.

3. The Order 1886 ; my favorite new IP so far this generation Bloodborne would be my second favorite new IP. Music, atmosphere, shooting and story are all amazing just wish it was longer and encounters were more varied it got better from the bridge until the end. Hopefully we get a sequel to address the issues. A technological masterpiece and one of the few games to release this year that didn't need a day 1 patch to keep a stable framerate or address bugs and issues.

4. Ori and the Blind forest ; I have completed this game three times and I keep firing it back up.

5. The Witcher III wild hunt ; A really amazing game the combat seems better than it was in the Witcher II. The visuals and story are top notch. If it played better the day I bought it, it would rate a lot higher.

6. Uncharted the Nathan drake collection ; Having missed all of these games the first time around this was quite a ride completed all three games in two days time. Amazing ride and cannot wait on the 4th game.

7. Mortal Kombat X ; best mortal kombat in a long while and my favorite fighting game of the year besides the SFV alpha/beta.

8. Rainbow six siege ; the most fun I have had with a shooting game in years. Tactics actually matter and you never feel safe.

9. Metal Gear Solid V the Phantom Pain ; Really liked the game but it kind of fell off after I burned through it. Didn't really like the online multiplayer that was added later and their treatment of Kojima San actually affected the way I feel about this game.

10. Until Dawn ; the game telltale has been trying to make for years.
 
Good year,

1. Bloodborne ; Fixed a lot of issues i had with Dark Souls for me, and i loved the cthulhuesque themes. Finished it twice in a row straight away.
2. Destiny: The Taken King ; Racked up hundreds of hours in this with my friends and a lot of gaffers.
3. Star Wars Battlefront ; Perfected the Star Wars visuals and sounds, that alone was enough for me.
4. Shovel Knight ; Finally a truly well made Megaman homage. No other lo-fi platformer did it for me.
5. Metal Gear Solid V ; Best gameplay in the series to date, amazing combat encounters. Terrible plot and "resolution".
6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; A good final chapter of the Arkham games, tank battles aside it was great.
7. Mortal Kombat X ; Best fighting game this year, really well made and great visuals.
8. La-Mulana EX ; Waited so long to finally get this on the Vita, still playing and finding new secrets.
9. Nuclear Throne ; Addictive roguelite i will probably never finish :D
10. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; First game is one of my favourites and the sequel with it's new gameplay mechanics was great as well.

Honorable Mentions
x. DariusBurst: Chronicle Saviours ; Great to see a "big" shmup being released with tons of content and new ideas.
x. Yakuza 5 ; Finally. Haven't played it enough to give a rank tho.
x. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth ; Such a fun roguelite in this year of roguelites.
x. Transformers: Devastation ; An amazing G1 game, loved the aestetic.
x. Wasteland 2: Director's Cut ; The true Fallout 3.
 

KrYcHu89

Neo Member
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt; Best Game ever made.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

3. Bloodborne

4. Fallout 4

5. Pillars of Eternity

6. Divinity Original Sin: EE

7. Driveclub

8. Until Dawn

9. Life is Strange

10. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin
 

usp84

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Just the best game i have played this year. The DLC just made it untouchable for me.Great gameplay, amazing OST and the atmosphere is just so much better than anything out there.

2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Best open world in a long time. great story and characters and fantastic quests.Only bad thing was the combat.

3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Not in a million years would i have thought a few months ago that this game would be "just" my 3rd favorite game this year.Everything looked ready to make this probably the best game of all time BUT for reasons we may learn some day something went wrong is some areas of the game.Of course the gameplay was amazing and i had so much fun playing.Still an amazing game

4. Batman Arkham Knight ; Depsite the endless batmobile battles and some bad side mission i really enjoyed the game.

5. Rocket League ; A pretty good and fun game

6. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; Lots of hour spent again this time on PS4

7. Dishonored: Definitive Edition ; Cant wait for the sequel


Well that's it really. I will play more 2015 in 2016 lol.Maybe i will edit this if finish another game
 
1. Kerbal Space Program ; Who would've thought that such an adorable game would be such an effective way to teach spaceship design and orbital mechanics? One of the only games where getting into a stable orbit for the first time gives such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. Multiply that feeling a hundredfold when you finally land safely on the Mun, then again when you are able to bring a crew back from the Mun, and yet again when you get onto other planets.
2. Yakuza 5 ;
3. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky ;
4. Shadow Complex Remastered ;
5. RONIN ;
6. Her Story ;
7. Hacknet ;
8. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ;
9. Ys: The Ark of Naphistim ;
10. Tales of Zestiria ;
x. Ori and the Blind Forest ;
x. Heroes of the Storm ;
x. Crypt of the Necrodancer ; The only reason this isn't higher this year is because I put it on my list last year, when it was in early access. Still a wonderful fusion of genres with plenty of heart in it.
 

Ratrat

Member
Hmmm...rip MGS GOTY streak. Also its pretty clear Bloodborne will win by a landslide. Undertale looks like its doing pretty well too.
 

Hydrargyrus

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Best game of the "souls" series for me. The gameplays is faster and more agresive, but what makes it so special is the atmosphere and ambientation. I highly doubt that there would be another game this game better than this, at least for me.
2. Until Dawn ; This year' surprise. Original and very entertaining. Very replayable and fun to play with company
3. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake collection ; Still solid games, even without the online component. Lot of hours of fastastic gameplay.
4. Rocket League ; Best online experience this year. I couldn't be grateful enough for be able to play it thanks to PS+.
5. Fallout 4 ; Even with its defects, still a fantastic Fallout game. Some changes are well received and some other not, but the game is huge enough to be in this list.
6. SOMA ; There are some parts of the gameplay that should be polished, but overall, the experience (thanks to the story and ambientation) is awesome.
7. Helldivers ; Best coop game for me. Really fun to play with friends and the support after the lunch has made this game even better. One of the best cases of good support.
8. Metal Gear Solid V ; I really don't know what makes me list this game, because one part of me hates it, but the gameplay is so good that deserves to be here. The story is poor, the gameplay (playing like me), could be boring some times, but as Fallout 4, this game is so huge and good that it's necessary to be listed.
 
1. Undertale ; 2015 was the year of long, disappointing open world games that wasted my time, so it’s was glad my most anticipated title of the year was also primed to be the fresh breath of linear air that cleansed my palette. I’ll be honest, Undertale is a hard game to talk about, as digging into why it appealed to me is rife with spoilers that will undermine your own impressions if you haven’t played it yet. Let’s just stick to that Undertale is fresh, well-written, has fantastic music and utterly memorable. Its take on combat makes it engaging both on the offensive and defensive turns, which is something you only rarely see in RPGs. It’s drenched in easter eggs and secrets, and makes perfect use of its medium. It’s not without its problems though, the most biggest being that the game doesn’t do the best job at guiding you to its intentional path, allowing you to get rid of large amounts of content in the game. The second problem is one it can’t help, but both its fans and detractors are a bit too eager to spoil new players. Still, it’s the most memorable game for me in a long time, and I’m happy I was able to play it.

2. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ; It doesn’t happen often that a series just keeps getting better with every single entry, but Monster Hunter is one. The 4th gen refines old mechanics, expands upon them, and adds a ton of new stuff as well. For the first time in the series, I had the feeling that we’re no longer held back by legacy content with questionable PS2-era hitboxes, and it’s glorious. My weapon of choice this time around was the Great Sword, which was a weapon I hadn’t seriously dabbled into before, and it was wonderful. Of all the games this year, this is the game I played the most, and I do not regret a minute of it.

3. D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die ; Swery’s latest game finally got ported to PC. D4 is a point & click (or point & hold) adventure game made based around a detective crime drama. It’s full of interesting characters, amazing music and delightful Swery fluff. This is the entry of this year that left me hungry for more, and I can’t wait until the inevitable second season.

4. Life is Strange ; Second adventure game on my list this year (and not the last), which surprised me a little bit. I assume it’s because of the aforementioned fatiguing big games that otherwise occupied the rest of the year. Anyway Life is Strange is a slice of life drama with time travel, set in a quiet small town next to a university. The time travel aspect allows you, Max, to rewind time after completing/failing certain choices or sequences, which brings an interesting ripple to the genre.

5. Crypt of the Necrodancer ; Crypt of the Necrodancer uses old and familiar elements to blend them into something entirely new. It’s a roguelike where the moves are paced around the beat of the music. It sounds simple, but it’s probably one of the harder games I’ve played this year. This has been the game I dipped into whenever I had a few moments to spare.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; XBCX is a flawed game in many aspects, but its strengths were not lost on me. Its world design is some of the best I’ve seen in any game to date, which is hugely impressive considering its size. Everything feels hand-made, and rewarding to explore. It took the bold choice of hiding a colossal chunk of its story and characterisation into optional sidequests, hidden amongst piles of grindy MMO quests. This was probably a mistake, but it helped lower my guard for all the places it’s willing to go. It’s good to see a sci-fi again that is willing to question humanity beyond its basic surface level elements.

7. King’s Quest ; Nostalgia warning: I like King’s Quest, and did not have a lot of faith in this “reboot”. To my pleasant surprise, the new team knew what they were doing. The game was charming and pleasant. Its second episode came out only recently, and really mixed things up again, which made me excited for the rest of them. Adventure Games really stepped up their game in 2015, finally dragging it out of the Telltale budget copy-pasta era. I can only hope Telltale takes note and steps up their game in a big way.

8. Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows ; One of the best games of 2014 gets a DLC campaign that completely overhauls the gameplay mechanics, and adds enough new content to make it a stand-alone game? Did I mention it’s completely free for Shovel Knight owners? This is basically feels like Yacht Club Games is doing a victory lap around other games of the last few years, while at the same time writing a love letter to me personally. Challenging, but loved every moment of it. Will definitely look forward to its next expansion that’ll probably hog another slot on next year’s list.

9. Rocket League ; Sometimes ‘right place at the right time’ is a thing a game needs, and Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars’ sequel was finally able to prove itself to the grand public. Its concept is simple, but incredibly fun. I normally don’t even look at competitive games at all, but I was able to get a lot out of this one.

10. Hearthstone ; My mobile game of the year. It’s been a while since I’ve played a virtual card game that had such a low barrier of entry, while still allowing for an immense amount of depth. I didn’t really end up playing a lot against human players, but I got a lot out of the single-player battles. It’s also free. The first Blizzard game I’ve ever liked.

Honourable Mentions:

x. Contradiction ; Quirky FMV adventure game with a decent story and cast. There’s not a lot to talk about here, other than that to suggest you check out some clips or reviews. It's not a game for everyone, but that's ok.

x. Bloodborne ; A Souls game by any other name smells just as Souls-y, so you know what to expect at this point. They took should shield away this year, but I was never a shield player so it wasn’t that huge of a change. Existing mechanics were polished up, and feel better than ever though. If you have time to check only one From Software game out, this should probably be the one.

x. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Third time's the charm. The Witcher 3 was finally able to make itself approachable to your average player. I really enjoyed its take on RPG quests, which felt elaborate and part of its world. Sadly enough most of its story feels like a carrot on a stick, and too many of the characters feel nearly identical in their personality. While names, appearances and backstories change, most of them spout the same type of tiresome snarky replies like a teenager, really hacking away at their likeability.
 

juicyb

Member
1. Life is Strange ; Not many games have left me with a sense of loss after completion as Life is Strange did. This game does so many things right as a character driven narrative that it’s hard to place my finger on one particular aspect. Max and Chloe’s relationship and their continued trust in one another as shit gets crazier and crazier was mesmerizing. Each character is fleshed out in a way that makes them feel believable. The town of Arcadia Bay feels alive. I spent a little over 12 hours in it, but I felt like I lived a lifetime there. It’s rare that anything can evoke such an emotional attachment to it, regardless of medium, but that’s what Life is Strange did for me. An amazing, amazing game.

2. The Witcher 3 ; What an achievement this game is. The Witcher 3 is an enormous and expansive open world game with amazing writing, memorable characters, and engaging side quests even! Never has a game combined so many different elements while still retaining its identity of character driven narratives. The world is gigantic, and the characters that inhabit them even more so. Each quest, and I mean each, not just the main quests, but the side quests, the contracts, the gwent tournaments, just everything in this game has a place and history within the world. The way in which Geralt grows as a father figure to Ciri throughout the journey is amazing and well thought out. I don’t want to give too much away, but this game is the best Western RPG ever created.

3. Her Story ; Her Story was a unique experience for me. You start off with the keyword “Murder” typed in and four videos appear. You click through each one and pay close attention to what the character is saying while being interviewed by a detective. From there, you use your own detective skills to find out more about the murder, the characters involved, and the solution to it all. Each player will have a unique perspective on Her Story, as the revelations and answers are revealed differently depending on what leads you decide to pursue first. I finished the game in one sitting, took down notes of key words I heard during the interviews, and used them to search through the database until I had exhausted almost every possibility. An incredible journey.

4. Bloodborne ; Let me preface this by saying that Dark Souls is one of my favorite RPG’s of all time, so Bloodborne had a lot to live up to. The game oozes atmosphere and style throughout it’s architecture, weapons, outfits and enemy designs. The combat is intense and visceral, encouraging the player to get up close and personal with these horrifying enemies and boss battles. And here in lies some of the limitation for me. I had always been a sorcerer in previous iterations of this series, and to have that aspect limited and in many respects, taken away, left me with limited options in my build. I still had a blast being a much more melee focused character, but I also missed that ranged combat from the Souls series. Either way, this game does a great job in melee focused combat and each impact feels insanely gruesome and well earned.

5. Ori and the Blind Forest ; I’ve never been much of a fan of metroidvania style games as they are called. Side scrolling platformers never really hooked me until Ori and the Blind Forest. The main thing that got my interested in this game was the beautiful art style. It just felt fantastical. Every scene and interaction was amazing to look at and truly felt like you were in an interactive painting. The level of detail and craftsmanship is apparent in every scene, and that alone would earn it a spot on my list, but it also combines addicting platforming and exploration into the mix to make a truly great game.

6. Until Dawn ; Until Dawn was an unexpected marvel for many, but I had been anticipating it for over a year before its release. The setting, the Heavy Rain esque gameplay, the amazing graphics all combined to pique my interest from the start. The game suffered through many delays, but that was never apparent in the final product. A beautiful, haunting experience filled with tough decisions and engaging moments.

7. Rocket League ; Rocket League was a joy. One of those games you can hop on for a match or two at a time, and have it turn into hours of crazed yelling and intense matches. Who would have thought that racing remote controlled cars and hitting a giant ball could be so addicting? This is the soccer game for people who don’t like soccer. I’ve never gripped a controller as tightly as I did when playing this game since SF4 matches.

8. Fallout 4 ; A game I just could. Not. Put. Down. Fallout 4 comes in at number 8. I played nothing but this game for a week straight when it came out. The world was just incredibly fun to explore and shoot things in. Finding different guns and testing them out on the various, but somewhat limited enemies was fun for awhile. The reason this game isn’t higher on my list is because after I completed it there just wasn’t much to think about. I had a lot of fun for that week, but I can’t remember many particulars about why. It’s the definition of fun but forgettable fluff.

9. Project CARS ; It’s been awhile since I enjoyed a sim racer as much as Project CARS. The feel of the cars, the beautiful graphics maxed out on my new PC, the encouraging chatter of your race partner, and the unique career mode all combine to make an intriguing and fun racer. It’s fun to be rewarded for good driving in this game, whether it’s an invitation via email to a random event that let’s you try out new cars, or just emails from fellow racers congratulating you on your success. The game does a great job of being easy to get into, but difficult to master. The AI is surprisingly well behaved and they don’t smack into you every chance they get, which in turn made me want to respect their lines and not knock them out of the way.

10. Cities Skylines ; A fun little city-builder that had it's hooks in me initially. I look forward to more content in the future to give me another reason to jump back in!



Man no Huniepop on the list?! It came out this year.
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
1. Batman: Arkham Knight; I loved the Batmobile, thought it was great fun and the hate was way overblown. Rest of the game was excellent as well.
2. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.
3. Bloodborne.
4. Fallout 4.
5. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
6. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.
7. Star Wars Battlefront.
8. Until Dawn.
9. Rise of the Tomb Raider.
10. The Order: 1886.
 

Huggers

Member
1. Bloodborne; The lore. The gameplay. The atmosphere. The level design. The enemy design. All are way ahead of the competition for me. Amazing soundtrack too. I like the way the story is subtly delivered. You have to almost investigate it and piece together what's going good on. Bloodborne is incredible

2. Rocket League; one of the most addictive and simple mulitplayer games ever. Easy to learn and difficult to master.

3. Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection; with the Last of Us being so completely brilliant it's been easy to forget the quality of the Uncharted games. The second one in particular is a glorious action comedy adventure. Shame about the lack of mulitplayer but still an awesome series.
 
1. Bloodborne ; I felt the Souls series was slowly declining in quality so went into this not expecting much. The change of scene and combat pacing was a breath of fresh air. It actually felt like my first time with Demons Souls all over again. When Game of the Generation comes round this game will get my vote then too!
2. Witcher 3 ; This would have been my GotY if the combat and loot weren't such a let down. I enjoyed my time with it but putting myself through the game again would feel like a chore unless the combat system was overhauled.
3. Metal Gear Solid V ; Mixed bag with this one. I enjoyed the open world playground but I never used it to its max potential. I went through the entire game with just the Tranq pistol so all the extra gadgetry was wasted on me. A real lack of any story but good gameplay really divides me on this but despite that I loved putting 80 hours into it.
4. Divinity Original Sin: EE ; A GAF recommended game. While i find turn based combat quite boring and slow nowadays (I used to love it as a kid) this game didn't feel like a drag to play. Every encounter felt fun and unique, experimenting with spell combos is really what made it shine.
 
Hmmm...rip MGS GOTY streak. Also its pretty clear Bloodborne will win by a landslide. Undertale looks like its doing pretty well too.

I think its gonna be very close between Witcher and Bloodborne. Both amazing games though. Im surprised but not suprised Fallout 4 isn't getting as many mentions.
 

LP_Dragon

Neo Member
1. Bloodborne ; Definitly the most complete Package this year. Thrilling Bossfights, Lovecraftian Horror and the best Level Design since Demon' Souls. Paired with the beautiful Art definitly my Game of the Year.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; Different to many others, this might actually be my favourite Metal Gear, mostly becaus this is the first one, where I like both story and gameplay. And the gameplay is simply amazing. Except for the cut mission and the presentation of Quiets character i really liked the story too .
3. Tales from the Borderlands: Episodes 2-5 ; Everything good about TellTale came together in this one. Great Story, fantastic Humor, my favourite Characters this Year. They really hit the Nail on the Head wth this one.
4. Rocket League ; Best Multiplayer this Year. Period.
5. Until Dawn ; I am normally not a big fan of Horror-Games, but Until Dawn managed to grab me from start to finish. This is how i want narrative Games to be (Please TellTale?)
6. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin ; I already really liked Dark Souls 2 on PS3, and the better Resolution and Framerate are great. I am still not sure if it better than vanilla Dark Souls 2, but it sure is a good Remix for seasoned players. Having the DLC, best Souls-Content created so far, included also really helps
7. Fallout 4 ; It is Bethesda doing good Bethesda stuff. The writing improved mostly compared to earlier titles, but it still has some big problems.
 
1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; First time I didn't skip any dialogues or cutscenes in a game.

2. Grand Theft Auto V ; Great game, never played the last gen versions

3. Divinity Original Sin EE

4. Forza Motorsport 6 ; Good, but not as fun as Horizon 2

5. Star Wars Battlefront ; It was like beeing in Star Wars, great graphics and sound design

6. Call of Duty Black Ops 3 ; I don't know why I keep going back to this.
 
1. Xenoblade X
2. Ori and the Blind Forest
3. Resident Evil Revelations 2
4. Fast Racing Neo
5. Devil's Third
6. Splatoon
7. Super Mario Maker
8. The Witcher 3
9. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
10. Yoshi's Woolly World
 

RexNovis

Banned
Hmmm...rip MGS GOTY streak. Also its pretty clear Bloodborne will win by a landslide. Undertale looks like its doing pretty well too.

Looks to be in favor of the Witcher 3 so far to me. Lots of lists aren't including Bloodborne at all whereas most every list includes the Witcher.
 

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
1. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC ; Personally this is the best game for me this year. I just realized after playing all the games that came out this year (and some came out beforehand), it was pretty... Weak. Trails in the Sky SC was the saving point of this year. It was great and very reminiscent of a PSone JRPG.
2. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel ;
3. Grim Fandango Remastered ;
4. Until Dawn ;
5. Final Fantasy Type-0 HD ;
6. Dragon Quest Heroes ;
7. Mega Man Legacy Collection ;
8. Ultra Despair Girls: Danganronpa Another Episode ;
9. Corpse Party: Blood Drive ;
10. Tales of Zestiria ;
 

Abylim

Member
1. Bloodborne ; Amazing how they can still make a game like this feel so fresh. I played it for the 7 days straight it took me to get the Plat. Like all Souls games, it was challenging but fair, and very rewarding. Probably my second favourite Souls type game.

2. Metal Gear Solid V : The Phantom Pain ; I was hooked from the beginning. A fitting send off for Kojima. I dont get all the "unfinished" complaints. I would have loved more game, but I know what happens next in the story. Still blown away by some of the twists and just how fun it was to run around in a sand box and play MGS.

3. Fallout 4 ; The story was a bit off from the get go, but I cant deny how much I loved my time in Boston. Building settlements in this setting was something I didnt know I wanted until I sank sooo much time into it here. I loved shoring up my defenses and making settlements safe for the people. I cannot believe how much time I spent doing that, but it was so fun. Gameplay was a step above NV, with some steps backwards in the role playing department, but all in all, I loved it.

4. The Witcher 3 ; Wasnt sure if I would like this. I played TW2, and it didnt click. This game definitely clicked! Loved the characters, and the world. The crafting was ok, but daaaamn, the world felt amazing. Doing sidequests was fun in this setting. I loved riding around looking for places of power. I didnt love the combat, and the alternate control scheme helped.

5. Dying Light ; Complete surprise for me. Picked it up for $40 aud awhile back. I loved it from the start (well maybe after the tutorial) so much that my fiancee went out and got a copy. Then my friend did. We played it together for the entire duration of the game (minus the stupid end part) and had a blast. Bring on the dlc!


Will do more later, if thats allowed.
 
1. Bloodborne ; What can I say. I think this is my favorite Souls-game after Dark Souls. It put's many combat systems nowadays into shame and also tell a story, that is pretty unique.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; I played on PS4, so my experien with this game wasn't the smoothest, but I liked how well it is written, the world is beautifully crafted and I am a sucker for "dark" fantasy.

3. Until Dawn ; It was just so fucking fun to play, seriously supprised by how well this game turned out.

4. Bloodborne: The Old Hunters ; Best DLC From Software ever created, therefore the best DLC ever created.

5. Batman Arkham Knight ; Many hated it, I liked it. Best production value on console this year. Such a polished experience

6. Fallout 4 ; It is fun to play and loot, the narrative and the writing sucks. Not a good RPG but a fun game to play.

7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; I hate this game. I hate it so much. But while I was playing at, I had a lot of fun, the stealth was intense. So it has to be on this list.


That's about it. Played a lot of old games this year.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
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1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; CDPR unceremoniously abandon the intricate narrative weaves and detailed small scale environments and hubs of the previous entries in favour of huge stretches of unmemorable, unnecessarily large terrain, comically grimdark characters, a meandering plot that bastardizes the source material, and repetitive paint-by-numbers quest design built atop hideously inconsistent and poorly implement game systems. Wild Hunt shows us that people will like a game even if the combat (and everything else) is terrible, and developers will abandon a once admirable vision to the chase the ever illusive and objectively regressive "open world" money maker.

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2. Bloodborne ; Miyakazi and co underwhelm in their not-Dark Souls side title that completely fails to live up to the nuanced complexity of character builds and sprawling level design that the latter series is so well known for. Hinged entirely on a clumsy combat system that borrows heavily from the character action genre yet lacks all of its strengths and polish, Bloodborne is a frustrating sludge through erratic framerates, laggy controller response, awful hitboxes, and trial-and-error encounters that excuse poor game design as "challenge".

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3. Undertale ; Imagine a emotionally engaging classic RPG that subverts genre tropes and expectations for an entirely fresh and unique experience. Now ignore that, and in the hideous, awful GameMaker engine build a faux-RPG that relies on try-hard "muh feels" dialogue, SJW and furry pandering characters, bullet-hell twitch encounters with awful hitboxes, trial-and-error game systems you'll repeat a thousand times over, and a kitchy hipster chiptune soundtrack, all to hook the tumblr crowd and pollute the internet with pornographic fan art of goat milfs and skeletons. Now you have Undertale.

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4. Broforce ; Oh look, another meme game for the meme generation of YouTubers and manchildren doped up on marijuana, covered in cheezos, chortling at their dumb Adult Swim oh-so-wacky "adult" cartoons full of turd jokes and swears. Broforce shamelessly aims for the 80s action hero gimmick and sticks with it until the welcome is well and truly worn out. Hipster fad pixel art and incoherent "look at all these explosions" excuse for game design are the icing on the cake. Probably made by children who were born in the late 90s.

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5. Her Story ; A narrative-first interactive experience that made by a guy who clearly stopped caring about what constitutes as "interactive" the moment he put pen to paper. An hour or so worth of point/click/typing, akin to browsing a Geocities page for non-sequential MPEGs as you put together the world's most uninteresting jigsaw puzzle that doesn't even have a complete image. The only thing that'll underwhelm more than the "interaction" and story without closure is the actress who should have stuck to sport.

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6. Splatoon ; Nintendo unsurprisingly establish themselves as the masters of making baby's-first-shooter, stealing the idea from an indie Xbox game and repackaging it as their own with that typical Japanese perversion via sexualised squid children. Perfect bait for Nintenyearolds who flock to the internet to defend a total lack of launch-day content and pointless drip-feed content unlocks, lack of voice chat, and clumsy party system, all the while praising the game as refreshing in a genre they typically have zero actual experience with.

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7. Transformers: Devastation ; Platinum continue their charade as "top tier action developers" by yet again recycling entire animations and combat systems from earlier titles dating all the way back to Bayonetta, this time around hiding it behind first generation Transformers nostalgia wank that appeals most to internet virgins with their walls of collectible toys, and your father who in mid-life crisis is stuck living in a pop culture generation that has long since left him behind. Also features a bolted on loot system nobody asked for.

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8. Pillars of Eternity ; Obsidian remind us exactly why no publisher in their right mind would throw millions behind this studio to risk building an inevitably buggy, unfinished mess, while following in Double Fine's footsteps of scamming thousands of people out of hard earned money to fund their embezzlement scheme. Successor to the 90s era of isometric RPGs that ignores everything iconic the era is known for. Half arsed combat and story yet further evidence most of the crowd funding money probably went towards booze instead of actual development.

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9. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; Everything you loved about the first game gutted and replaced with garbage off-screen insta-kill enemies, snail paced stop-and-pop encounters, a convoluted try hard "muh acid trip" narrative, recycled soundtrack expanded with other tunes clearly left on the cutting room floor from the first production (and should have stayed there), busted controls, and an uninteresting cast that not only never lives up to the original's highs but retroactively ruins all it achieved. A solid reminder why you should never look forward to any sequel.

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10. Until Dawn ; Sony parade around yet another not-game movie experience that fools the world into thinking they're progressive and groundbreaking in the medium while in the same breath doing everything they can to move away from the medium's strength. Until Dawn is several hours of laughably poor horror movie writing backed by a cast of obnoxious, detestable adults-acting-as-teenager, forced quick-time-events masquerading as deep choice driven gameplay where in the end you'll always go down the same path tapping X and O exactly when the game tells you to.
 

shmoglish

Member
Top 3 is enough? Hard enough for me to rank those games.

1. Rocket League: Most played game this year. over 1300 games in the full game and over 100 in the beta. I am in love and this game will never be boring.

2. The Witcher 3: Great Writing, Quests, World and characters. Best game I never finished.

3. Bloodborne: Great artdesign, challenging and the good old Soulsformula. Great game, will replay it with the DLC next year.
 

zarmena

Member
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1. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; This is honestly one of the best games I've ever played, full stop. From the moment it starts, I just feel like I'm on a journey. The motivation for Geralt feels real and close to his heart. The lands are downright gorgeous from the forests to the cities to the Skellige Islands and beautiful weather system. Dialogue is top notch, voice acting is phenomenal, the characters are extremely memorable, the quests are supremely well made and unique and I truly enjoyed the combat. Swords strikes had impact, using the signs was fun and knowing when and how to attack was instrumental. I fucking love this game.


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2. Fallout 4 ; This took up so many goddamn hours of mine this year and every one of those hours was great. The Commonwealth is massive and I LOVE wandering into the middle of nowhere and discovering something that tells a story through its environment. Coming across locations and seeing their names pop up is almost addictive. Lots of great characters like Piper and Nick Valentine, massive improvement in gunplay and combat that felt like a legitimate shooter, fun quests and enjoyable upgrade and customization system. The main storyline is thoroughly interesting.


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3. Until Dawn ; This practically took me by complete surprise this year. I didn't get it at launch but I played through it in two sittings (would have been one but it was almost 3 A.M.). I couldn't get enough. Supermassive did such a great job making all the characters come into their own, and you definitely will have favorites by the end. A surprisingly well made story, fantastic acting and writing with what felt like real, emotional interactions between the characters. That Killzone engine does wonders too as these are some of the most lifelike characters I've seen in a game. I didn't want the game to end.


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4. Bloodborne ; I wasn't a big Souls fan for the longest time, as I gave Demon's Souls a shot a very long time ago with bad results. I guess I developed a more open mind over the years and I absolutely fell in love with Bloodborne. The brutality of the combat and the enemies, the minimalist storytelling that seemingly shares its story through select characters and through its environment are some of the things that really struck out to me. I also applaud the team for their goddamn brilliant level design and some of the most badass bosses I've had the pleasure of fighting in a game. And let's not forget that fucking amazing art design.


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5. Batman: Arkham Knight ; Contrary to many here, I loved the Batmobile. The controls were fluid and simple and I enjoyed the tank battles, though could have done with a fewer of them during the course of the game. Probably one of the best looking games I've played, the combat was as fun as ever with slight adjustments and improvements made over the prior two in the series. Scarecrow was a great villain, the Joker sections were unforgettable and I have never felt more like Batman than any other time in gaming. Fantastic sendoff Rocksteady.

Fully agree with your top three. Witcher 3 and Until Dawn really, really surprised me. Loved them to bits.
 

TwiztidElf

Member
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1. Splatoon ; At the start of the year, if someone had have said that my personal 2015 GOTY would be a Nintendo developed online shooter, I would have pissed myself laughing. Then I played it. It is the complete package. So fun to play and so addictive. It's so smooth, slick and colourful, and the music is amazing.
2. Assassin's Creed Syndicate ; A franchise that I enjoyed early but lost faith in. The London setting created a mild, passive interest in me, but then the positive comments started flowing in, so I had to get it. I'm glad I did. Best Assassin's Creed IMO. Yep, better than 2.
3. Rocket League ; Like Splatoon a lot of online fun.
4. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. ; Intelligent Systems are one of my favourite devs, and this did not disappoint. After it ended, I went straight back and played through the entire Advance Wars series again.
5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; Such an amazingly crafted world.
6. Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void ; Protoss are my least favourite race. Disappointing ending to the trilogy, but still fantastic fun.

Forza6 and Undertale are two games I didn't get to play that may have made the list.
At some point I'll probably try Bloodborne aswell, but I didn't like the person I became when I tried to play Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.
Soma and Life is Strange both look interesting also.
 

Rosur

Member
1. Rocket League ; Game I've spent the most time with this year and its fun going in and playing a few matches. Gets better when playing with mates either online or local MP and giving good DLC support.
2. The WItcher 3 ; Great story especially in the side quests where they are more than just fetch/ kill quests.
3. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
4. Yoshi's Woolly World
5. Hearthstone
6. Batman: Arkham Knight ; PC issues and too much focus on the batmobile for boss fights gave a disappointing ending to the Arkham trilogy but still was fun to go around as batman and the dual play sections where fun.
7. Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void
8. Mad Max
9. Cities Skylines
10. Just Cause 3 ; If it wasn't for the challenges gating upgrades and the poor performance this would of been a lot higher on this list.

Honourable Mention:

x. Bloodborne ; Great combat and satisfying when you got hard enemy. The only thing I wish was they where a bit more generous with save points as running through bunches of enemies again and again just got tedious and stopped enjoying it and don't have the time to put into something like this to get good.

There's a few other games that if I had spent more time with or actually played my list would be different as want to play Dying Light and Life is Strange, finish The Order 1886, put more time into Mad Max and the Witcher 3 and I should also pick up Undertale at some point.
 
No lies detected
I was entertained and amused by your take until I got to Hotline Miami 2. Now I'm just bummed out because that's the one where its problems actually prevented me from enjoying the game. I guess I should take solace in the fact that it still managed to reach people enough to make make some folks' lists.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
1. Splatoon ; Best final boss in years at the end of a good, but short single player campaing. Best online MP game this year, fun, competitive and addicting. Great pace of updates kept me playing this longer than any other console game before.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Best open world, very immersive and rewarding. The game has nailed the atmosphere and feeling of being the survivors who landed on a dangerous and unknown planet and the challenges that you need to face to keep surviving. Great side quests (normal missions) and a lot of great side stories and characters.
3. Ori and the Blind Forest ; Perfect atmosphere and a great platformer. Was a joy to play it, even on the more difficult parts.
4. Fast Racing Neo ; The futuristic racer that we didn't expect but we fully deserve. The tracks are great (expect one), they nailed the handling and the sense of speed is crazy. The perfect modern arcade racer.
5. Cities: Skylines ; Best city simulation ever. Even better after the last updates, unfortunately I need more time to play it.
6. Affordable Space Adventures ; Maybe the best use of the Wii U Gamepad. The mechanics of the game are very inventive and it makes it equally fun to play as single player or as co-op. SP is more challenging, but co-op can produce some crazy comic situations where communication using screams is almost guaranteed.

Looking back at 2015 I didn't play so many games. Partially because my playing time is quite limited, partially because most of the big AAA games don't do anything for me, although I try some of them from time to time just to test my PC. But I play some 4-5 hours and I drop them for ever. A lot of them looks nice though, but that's not enough to put them on a GOTY list. Plus I still played EU IV obsessively and only Xenoblade X made me drop it completely.

I was torn between Splatoon and X for the first place, but I decided to pick Splatoon because it was a new idea that was so greatly implemented. Although one could say that X is also a new game compared to the original Xenoblade.
 

Denton

Member
Haven't participated in one of these before, but the thread rules would indicate that typing Witcher 3 doesn't count, which is weird, because that's the game's name. I've got no idea where they're pulling these roman numerals from.

From the game's logo, presumably :)
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1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt ; CDPR unceremoniously abandon the intricate narrative weaves and detailed small scale environments and hubs of the previous entries in favour of huge stretches of unmemorable, unnecessarily large terrain, comically grimdark characters, a meandering plot that bastardizes the source material, and repetitive paint-by-numbers quest design built atop hideously inconsistent and poorly implement game systems. Wild Hunt shows us that people will like a game even if the combat (and everything else) is terrible, and developers will abandon a once admirable vision to the chase the ever illusive and objectively regressive "open world" money maker.

and moaaaaaaar.

I fucking knew you wouldn't disappoint. Best list in the thread.
 
1. Bloodborne ; amazing game which the DLC makes even better.
2. Xenoblade chronicles X ;
3. Undertale ;
4. Splatoon ;
5. The Witcher 3 ;
6. Metal Gear Solid 5
7. Rocket League ;
 

Ansatz

Member
1. Splatoon ; Here's another game that follows Nintendo's philosophy of taking an existing template and turning it into its own thing, it's the Mario Kart of online shooters. No match plays out the same, Splatoon never falls into a predictable pattern like so many other shooters do. Heck, every duel is unique because how you approach it depends on how the ink is distributed in your immediate surroundings. The single player acts as a tutorial but also offers a fantastic Mario Galaxy inspired campaign.

2. Super Mario Maker ; This game wouldn't work nearly as well if it wasn't for the Wii U gamepad. The interface is everything in a level creator and SMM nails it, the process of making your own level is both fun and simple.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes ; A co-op game that demands teamwork with brilliantly designed levels and challenges. I love how there are multiple ways of approaching enemies and puzzles, part of the fun is finding creative solutions with the tools given to you.

4. Xenoblade Chronicles X
5. Yoshi's Woolly World
6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
7. Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2
8. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
9. Box Boy!

I found a typo in the spreadsheet, it's Yoshi's Woolly World not Wooly World
 

Donos

Member
1. Witcher 3 ; deinstalled Dragon Age III after around 7 hours but Witcher 3 was magic from start to finish. Don't get the hate for the combat.
2. Bloodborne ; close second but although i love all the souls games, having to watch youtube vids and read GAF threads to grasp glimpses of the story puts it after W3 which is very strong in the story departement.
 
I like 2015, it is a good year. I have played many games from blockbuster titles like Witcher III to smaller indie titles, but only a few can make the list.

1. Destiny: The Taken King ; Last year I wrote an essay about Destiny and why it became my goty for 2014. I am still here, playing Destiny almost every day. The Taken King feels like a grown, more mature branch of the Destiny saga. What the first year did right and wrong, it is clear there is a process of self-learning. Bungie, they made this game financially succesfull, but now they are destined to shut everybody up. But do they even need to? The formula of industry beating gunplay with some of the best cooperative game design ever (raids); they already have nailed that shit. Just give me more stuff like the Dreadnaught, a new King's Fall, new legendary and exotic weapons and stuff, tits and bits to do and I am a happy camper. Stuff like the Echo Chamber strike, gimme more of that goodness. The new found humor, smiles and charm are an added bonus. Destiny: The Taken King is a big succes.

2. Bloodborne ; What can I say about Bloodborne. Bloodborne is just precious. Yharnam looks and atmosphere is thick and palpable. The fog, the darkness, the sounds, the blood, the growls and screams. it is Dark Souls but nastier, more aggressive and even more ruthless. And yea it also plays ridiculously well; it is a very very good computer game indeed. Its mechanics are great, challenging, no bugs, no handholding, none of that bullshit. Bloodborne is the first true 'killer app' this generation to purchase a new system for, just to be able to play one game. It is that good.

3. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt ; the world of the Witcher III is visually the new benchmark. GTAV beats it with everything else though, but man did CD Project nailed the Witchers medieval towns, wardrobes, clad steel plates, cloth, Dandelion's make up. It is amazing. There are great vistas. Great fucking vistas, also the music really sets the mood. This open world grandeur man, easily worth a vote.
 

maximrace

Member
1. Halo 5: Guardians; Best multiplayer in years, great mix between Warzone and Arena. Free content is just the icing on the cake.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt; One of the best rpgs I played in years, a classic.

3. Rise of the Tomb Raider; I loved the reboot, this is just more of the same. Awsome singleplayer game with so much content.

4. Ori and the Blind Forest; This game is a piece of art, nothing more to say about it.

5. Forza Motorsport 6; Forza is my favourite racing franchise and 6 is one of the best yet.

6. Rare Replay; Never played any of the Rare games before. Great collection of classics, so much worth the money.

7. Fallout 4; So much stuff to do, so little time.
 

ZombAid82

Member
1. Splatoon ; Leave it to Nintendo to revolutionize the TPS-Multiplayer Game. What a Blast!

2. Shovel Knight ; Played the game last and the DLC this year and I bought it three times. Best MegaMan-Game evar!

3. Super Mario Maker ;

4. SteamWorld Heist ; seriously, i'm pretty baffled that nobody has this game on his Radar, easily the most overlooked game this month! Not even a Game related blog! I would have written one for this awesome game, but i'm still a junior...

5. Xenoblade Chronicles X;

6. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.;

7. Bloodborne ; only that far back, because I don't have the time to play the game right now, my first Souls-Game, very hard, a steep learning curve and just no time for that^^

8. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance ; the same as Bloodborne, just not enough time :-(

9. Axiom Verge ; Best Metroidvania I could play this year, sorry Ori but I don't have an XBone

10. Fallout 4; I don't wanna set the world on fire.....
 

Zalman

Member
I have to say 2015 was a pretty disappointing year for me. Many of my most anticipated games got delayed, such as Zelda, Uncharted and Persona, which meant there wasn’t much for my gaming tastes this year.

That said, there were a few titles I really enjoyed that exceeded my expectations in many ways.

1. Splatoon ; Splatoon is the most imaginative game I’ve played in a long time, and it has managed to stay fresh over the course of the year. The 3-minute matches make it easy to pick up and play for short periods of time (unless you get hooked like I usually end up doing). It’s fast-paced and has little downtime. Even when there’s no one else around you, there’s still something to shoot. You see the results of your work right away and it’s always satisfying to cover territory. Even if you die, you can get back into the action right away. Heck, even the waiting for matches manages to retain my attention thanks to the lobby minigames on the GamePad. Splatoon is a game that screams with personality – not just in terms of its game mechanics, but also its characters, setting and even soundtrack. You know you have a special game in your hands when even the simplest act of moving around is a joy. There is nothing else like it.

2. Super Mario Maker ; I’ve always entertained the idea of creating my own Mario levels, but I never expected it to be this much fun. Super Mario Maker is the first level creator I've actually enjoyed messing around with. Most of it comes down to the simple nature of the game. The grid-based user interface makes it easy to drag and drop whatever you want, and it never feels frustrating. Pressing a single button allows you to instantly play through your creation to see if it’s worth uploading or not. The level creator is not only intuitive, but it even has personality. Shaking a Koopa Troopa changes its color, hovering the eraser above Mario makes him nervous, and pressing the analog stick changes the hand to a cat paw. It somehow merges Nintendo’s sense of humor with their game development know-how. This, combined with the excellent sound design by Koji Kondo, makes the entire package feel expertly created. As a whole, Super Mario Maker made me appreciate the work that goes into game design even more and made me think of it in ways that never crossed my mind. That’s a big accomplishment in and of itself, and while my levels are far from being some of the best out there, I still feel proud every time I upload a course.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; The most recent game on my list. The first Xenoblade was my favorite JRPG of last generation. It came at a time when Final Fantasy had stumbled and JRPGs weren’t what they used to be. Xenoblade Chronicles X continues to impress, but at the same time it feels like a completely different game. The overall style and tone of the game is different, and I kind of admire the fact that they went somewhere else with it instead of making more of the same. What hasn’t changed is the satisfying exploration, the unique combat system, and the absurd amount of things to do. After playing certain other games this year, I thought I was sick of open world games, but Xenoblade Chronicles X has rekindled my love for them.

4. SteinsGate ; Ever since I played the first Ace Attorney game, I’ve always had a soft spot for visual novels. SteinsGate is a game I had heard very little about, and I never really bothered looking into it. When it finally came out on PS3 and Vita, I went in completely blind. The only thing I knew about it was that it was a highly-acclaimed game from a genre I enjoyed. It completely blew me away with its memorable characters and insane twists. I purchased the soundtrack as soon as I beat it and watched the anime adaptation as well. It came out of nowhere for me, and for that reason it might be the biggest surprise of the year.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D ; I hadn’t played it before, so it was like a brand new Zelda game to me. It definitely stands out as the odd one out in the series. I really do like the time mechanic, and it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be. You feel more attached to the NPCs in this game than any other. Seeing them live their daily lives again and again make you feel like you know them, and it’s kind of sad knowing what’s going to happen to them in just a few days. Seeing the moon come closer and closer every day is absolutely insane. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as their first Zelda game, but it’s definitely a unique experience that shouldn’t be missed by fans in the series.
 

vocab

Member
1. Witcher 3 ; Goty
2. Age of decadence ; It finally came out.
3. Yakuza 5 ; Digital only, but at least we getting zero.
4. Rocket League ; carbol
5. Odallus: The Dark Call ; castlevania duh.
6. Dropsy ; Hug sim.
 

ZanDatsu

Member
I didn't like any games this year, sorry. Uncharted in 2016 and maybe Maff Effect so I'll probably like a game next year. I'll post if I liked anything in your thread next year if you make one.
 
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