You know, I usually cheat and just make a un-ordered list for this every year, but that's just not fun, and I thought it'd be a better challenge and mental exercise to justify to myself, if no one else, what games I really thought were the best I played this year. Listing all the games that not only came out this year, but I also played for a long enough time if not to completion, AND I thoroughly enjoyed ended up being a lot less easy then I thought. It was also the confirmation that as much as I love games and will always be a fan of it, i just don't have the time to put into it like I used to - while I've known this for years now, it's still a little sobering and depressing this i the case, especially since I don't have the excuse of having a family or some high powered job keeping me busy to explain it. Oh, there's the job and the responsibilities of being an adult, but it still seems like I should have more time for this...though i suppose everyone knows that. It's also been kind of an acceleration of the old comment about how "When i was younger, i had lots of time but no money to buy games, and now I have money to buy lots o games, but not enough time to play them all." With how easy it's become to develop games and how many of the programmer sand creators in the Indie scene have become so legitimately great at their work, there are now far more games then ever to play, which made my intial list I jotted down of all the ones I did play this year feel really paltry and ashamedly small for a supposed gamer. Even mostly ignoring Steam and GOG and focusing on just the platforms I own (Wii U, 3DS, and PS4 and whatever trickles out for the PS3 at this point), there's too damn many good interesting games coming out to even remotely have enough time or money to get through it all. Hell, even ignoring Indies, there are too many AAA titles to sift through.
Anyway, I still went ahead and did it after a lot of thought, and while the number isn't arbitrary for anyone else, i did manage to figure out the 10 I liked the most this year, and from there managed to order them. Once again, I cannot begin to stress that these are the games I've played - I actually haven't even bought Fallout 4 yet because of how it seems to have fallen to the typical and increasingly inexcusable "Bethesda game on Playstation" curse of running terribly and I'll wait for a patch to play the game properly. No, I won't buy it on PC because the whole "You're on the wrong platform" excuse is just utter crap and such a terrible cop out, but that's an argument/rant for another time. I know for a fact I'll buy it and I'll spend 100+ hours on it, but for now, I haven't played it and have purposely avoided watching anything about it, so I'm leaving it alone. This doesn't also mean which game is "THE BEST" or anything, it's just the ones I enjoyed the most in ascending order.....though to get to this point, they're going to be pretty good. I mean, I love the Tales Series and Tales of Zesteria is a great new entry in that franchise, but it's also nothing to write home about.
Anyway, in reverse order....
10. Rocket League
I'm not a big fan of on-line competitive multiplayer games, opting for either in-room/couch multiplayer or just single player, but damn, Rocket League got me. For as simple and silly a concept of "Cars playing soccer" is, it works tremendously well, and once you start to figure out the rules and how things work it's amazing, even if you start off terrible and, hell, even if you stay terrible. It's just crazy how much sheer fun is had, and the matchmaking is good enough that you won't be thrown against a bunch of experts if you play the game and will in all likelihood playing against other players of your skill level, even if that level is "We all suck at this but love it anyway." It's really only down here because, again, I don't like multiplayer games that much (though that doesn't stop something else from ranking higher on this list.....) and while I love all the support the devs have been giving this game, once I've had my fill, I'm good and I can walk away and fall off just fine, only popping in occasionally to see the new updates and modes. This is a game where I'm happy for the cosmetic DLC because these guys deserve to be rewarded for making a solid, fun competitive game that doesn't try to force itself to be an e-sport like certain other games that came out this year, instead focusing on making a -gasp!- great game first, and then going "Oh sure, why not" later if "pro" players start to appear.
9. Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Edition + Puzzle and Dragons Z
Huh. A match three game on my top ten list? I'm surprised too. Still, it's not a surprise that Puzzle & Dragons, once stripped of its free-to-play mechanics to bleed a player dry via micro transactions, is actually a very solid puzzle game that smartly uses the Super Mario license for more then just being a recognizable face on game, but also takes the opportunity to properly introduce the mechanics of this particular version of match three to newcomers to the franchise in a way that's not cluttered up with the aforementioned F2P crap. It's actually a neat little wrinkle that moving the little symbols around shoves other symbols around to make the big huge super combos for points, and once you've gotten the hang of it and can play the game on ease even at its actually pretty tough higher difficulty levels, the other version of the game included in the pack is right there for you to jump into, and honestly, it's a pretty smart move since playing the Mario version does the player a lot of favors when one switches to Z. Lots of silly anime stuff there, but still a solid game. I only wish more mobile game developers went through the trouble of making sure the game is GOOD before trying to immediately go for your wallet, but I guess that's why they're rich. Oh well.
8. Batman: Arkham Knight
All right, let's get it out of the way first - the Batmobile sucks. I've said my piece about it plenty before in the game's proper thread, but to sum it up, good on Rocksteady for trying something new even though it explodes spectacularly into a garbage fire and is the worst and most nonsensical part of the game. Still, that alone isn't the main reason why this is so "low" on the list - honestly, I've already played this game twice at this point, three times if you count Asylum. It's awesome and it's fun and it's great, but it all feels so samey and it's quickly wearing out its welcome to me. And no, I'm not going to blame it wearing thin on Origins existing, because I'd still feel the same way. Hell, let's be honest, Rocksteady does the exact same thing that Origins did that made me frown at that game:
And while it's all just a retread, it's a great use of the formula, and it's still great being Batman and doing Batman things. I actually just wish they had done something else new besides the Batmobile to try and make it just a little bit more fresh to me, because I still like the game a lot, it wouldn't be on this list otherwise.
7. Grow Home
It's an Ubisoft game where you climb something really tall and collect 100 glowy collectibles....and it's good? Jokes about the Ubisoft Ur-Game aside, I was utterly surprised by the appearance of this game and how much it charmed the crap out of me. The UbiArt engine has made some pretty damn good little games like Valiant Hearts and less so Child of Light lately, but this was something else. That first sentence is exactly what it is - you're a little red robot who needs to climb a beanstalk to get to the top, helping it grow all the while collecting things in order to get to the top, and your little robot grabby hands are controlled by the shoulder buttons. It's so simple and basic but I was engrossed and sat through all of it because it just struck the right chord with me. It's charming, cutesy, and fun. Sometimes you don't need more then that.
6. Life is Strange
Full out, this game ends much weaker then it begins and runs into a wall in the last episode, but the experience of playing it and the developers/writers being willing to go for it where other games would not even bother won me over. It's...weird and almost hard for me to explain, but I enjoyed the game the most when it was about nothing. When Max, the hipster photography teen just pokes around this sleepy little coastal town that's seen better days runs into teens doing what teens do and nothing of consequence happens, it's better then when it gets to that whole giant storm might murder all of us prophetic vision she gets. It's just so weird, I at first frowned at how simplistic and one dimensional characters were....but as a teenager, most people kinda ARE just that from that point of view, it's only when you get over yourself and dig deeper you see people with more depth, if only just. The characters themselves aren't necessarily anything to write home about, but as a whole, the lot of them interacting with one another both positively, negatively, and apathetically makes it all work really well for me, and it does a good job of really looking and showing how something like, say, a viral video can completely screw you up when people spread it around about you, and while it's heavy handed at times it's all stark and truthful without going into "After School Special" mode. I also really enjoy how it's a game about trying to fix things that've been broken after the fact, which the time travelling powers works in very well, and while Episode 5 is uneven I like how it fully addresses the mechanic that players have been abusing for the last few hours. Max and Chloe's relationship is also pretty well done, and I'm actually super disappointed how it suddenly takes a right turn at the end that just felt weirdly forced, almost like they felt they had to go down that road, that or they just did an awful job of hinting it would go that way.
It's not for everyone, and many of the more interesting questions and mysteries raised either get unsatisfactory answers or get none at all, but the time I spent playing and meeting all the characters and reading the flavor text and listening to all that aggravatingly melancholy soft Indie Rock that an alleged punk like Chloe would never be caught dead listening to ended up being well worth the time investment. I like it, and it's probably the game, along with Persona 4, that nails teens the best with the least "Hey there fellow young adults" tone the best.
5. Assassin's Creed Syndicate
I'll never apologize for liking this series, but even I will say that Unity last year was just a bad game, even beyond the bugs and glitches and technical issues. This game proves that this franchise is still very much viable for people who like the game even without having a boat to captain. The grappling hook and the streamlining of the side quests makes this game fun again, and both Jacob and especially Evie are pretty great characters to play as. I mean, it all falls down to whether or not you like AC, and if you do, this is probably one of the best ones made, maybe being only bested by Brotherhood in some regards. While I won't spoil it, it also manages to do two very big things that never leaked prior to release and both are unexpected and appreciated in their own ways, and made me kind of glad. Unlike Unity, I actually want to go out there and take over all the districts of London and do all the other sidequests because it' just fun again. Also, the way Evie just murders people with her cane sword and Jacob does the same with his giant knife are brutal, even for this series' standard. Just...woof. It's up this high because I just had a ton of fun with it, and as depressing as this sounds, it actually does more to shake up its formula then Arkham Knight, and on top of that, I'm interested in this DLC a opposed to that overpriced Season Pass for AK.
4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
Oh man. I have so much left of this game but I've already played for so long. This is a dense ass game, and I still keep wanting to run headfirst into it no matter how much it hurts. I tried Witcher II on the PC, and even once I dropped the setting low enough that it ran perfectly, the game fought you at every turn, and I'm glad they finally managed to make one of these games playable. Just the tone and atmosphere of this game along with the stunning scenery and how amazingly well written and thought out the named NPC's are is an accomplishment, and I'm willing to overlook how fighting is still clunky and unrefined, and what should be epic fights against monsters are just barely contained exercises in frustration. The story and the quest lines and how everything just pops up and becomes fully fleshed out just impresses me so much that I wish I played through more of this before the next game came out. I need to sit down and lock myself somewhere this month before new games come out and just finish this game already, but it has that whole Elder Scrolls/Fallout thing of every time you turn around there's another sidequest.....but the writing for each of the quests, even the simple ones, just make them feel so much more real and gripping then the typical Bethesda sidequest. They honestly feel like they could be their own little main quest since so much thought gets put into them. Really, i almost wish this game weren't so dense so I could be done with it, but then I suppose it might not be on this list at this point. If nothing else, it got me reading the Witcher books, so for that I'm grateful.
3. Splatoon
Nintendo somehow made the best on-line shooter this year, and I don't know how that occurred. It's impressive how well Nintendo has supported this game since release, and like I said above about Rocket League, I don't like on-line competitive games....but even more that that game, this on just got to me. It's just fun, and it's just a really great, complete package. It's oozing with its own unique style in every sense of the word, it's a different take on an otherwise well worn shooter genre, and it makes it so everyone can be helpful in a match - it's actually way more helpful to your team to paint the ground then it is to straight up duke it out with the other team, and once they did actually fix match making and other things by taking actual feedback about its shortcomings and adjusting the game, it's just great. The internet has somehow not managed to ruin this game despite being about young squid teens that spray goo on each other -cough- and that in and of itself is a miracle. Oh, I know it's out there, but it can somehow be avoided, so I'm calling that a win. As much as it ticked off people, the parceling out of the game's content slowly over months actually worked in its favor and got everyone used to how the game works, and it helped this game and its community grow more then it hurt it, oddly. I'm looking forward to seeing where this IP goes.
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear is nonsensical, insane, and gleeful about it in every way, and this game in particular is way too self serious and self absorbed about all of it....but my God, it's fun. As repetitive as it cane be, this game is just a blast to play, because there are so many ways to do what is otherwise the same mission structure every time - drop in via helicopter, scout the area with binoculars, maybe interrogate some soldiers and/or rescue some prisoners/informants, then go kill/kidnap someone/something and fight stuff, then fly away. The tools you have at your disposal to do this, and the way the game actually adjusts itself to you as you do so is kind of staggering, and that's before you get to the really insane, crazy late game stuff. The story line is actually immensely disappointing, and that second chapter of the game completely falls apart at the seams but not in the spectacular crazy way prior Metal Gears have, but it doesn't matter to me. Having my dog go and electrocute a dude so i can go and attach a balloon to him and fly him away to my ocean base, or having my sniper lady who I need to find a way to get clothes on just murder everyone in a base while I sneak in, or walking into the outpost myself, play "Final Countdown" on my in-game Walkman, have Keifer Sutherland scream "ROCKET PUNCH!!!!" and knock everyone out with a flying fist makes it all worth it. The game play just feels so good and smooth, I just wish it felt this goo in prior games when the crazy story was in full force.
I have to say though, the on-line stuff is disgusting. Konami went and changed a lot of the rules and caveats of the on-line component after launch that I highly recommend you play it entirely off-line and don't bother with the Forward Operating Base, because the rule changes are such a blatant attempt to squeeze every last dime they can out of the players it's sickening. Basically, you can create a second base to store the resources and stuff you've collected in the game so you can hold more, and upgrade it to make your research capabilities better and all that jazz, but the caveat is that other players can sneak onto that base and steal your stuff and/or your soldiers. It used to be, you could just ignore that and never play on-line, and you'd be cool, but they changed it so that even if you don't log on, they will outright take some of the money and stuff you've collected from your main base and essentially hold it hostage/in escrow on your FOB, forcing you to long on to get at it, because if you don't, that money disappears, and that's that. But then logging on leaves you open to attack, but oh look, you can spend real world money on insurance so you can keep some of your stuff anyway. Sure, you can go and steal stuff back from the guy who attacked you, but if s/he has insurance, they won't notice, so why bother.
Other then that whole mess, the single player game is amazingly fun and awesome, and it's really sad to see Kojima go and I'm really curious what the ending was supposed to really be like before he got cut off from finishing it. If you liked the series at all it's worth playing, just know in advance it's very different from what came before.
1. Super Mario Maker
This has to be a cosmic joke, right? All the years of people complaining about how Nintendo is creatively bankrupt because all they do is keep releasing Mario platformers, then they release probably the most creative and fresh game all year where you.....make your own Mario platformer. But of course not, because this is typically what Nintendo does best. This game is amazing, and honestly, I hope the NX is backwards compatible and whatever weird portable controller it has still has a screen so I can keep playing this game for years and years on end. Level builders have always been around, but this is the first time it's been intuitive, easy to understand, and most of all fun and charming to use. I still don't think I'm any good at making levels, but I still love doing so, and the number of options this game has to make them, and once again, the amount of support its been getting post release is great. Just playing the game is good fun too, I'll just sit down and do a 100 Mario challenge and be satisfied. It's not perfect, the curation and sorting stuff on the PC is helpful but should really be in the game, but they're all minor quibbles. It's a solid game, and it's a joy to make a course and upload it, or watch someone else play it and give critiques, and just seeing everyone coming together for this game that finally makes sense of the Gamepad has been refreshing. I may have spent more time in some of the above games then this one, but it became pretty clear after a few days of messing with this game that it is easily my favorite game this year, and it's well deserved. I really hope for that backwards compatibility and that the NX is a success on top of that, because more people need to be exposed to and play this game, and it's a damn shame if the low install base of the Wii U keeps that from happening.
I guess this is where I put my honorable mentions and disclaimers? Like I said, haven't played Fallout 4 yet, or Just Cause 3. I really like what I've played of Xenoblade Chronicles X so far, but I don't need another giant ass game to go through right now so that's on the shelf. Persona 4: Dancing All Night is kind of amazing and goofy and a weird end to those characters' stories, but whatever. Hand of Fate is damn cool, Final Fantasy Type-0 lost me because of the weird motion blur, but that's been fixed so I'm trying it again, and Yoshi's Woolly World is adorable and gorgeous. Rock band 4 is more of the same, and how the hell did Codename: S.T.E.A.M. a strategy game by Intelligent Systems, end up being such a disappointment? I really wish my PC were better at gaming because there's a lot of itneresting games on Steam, and I wish more would come to console.
So! You don't have to do 10, you don't have to explain yourself, and you don't have to put them in order, but what are your favorite games from 2015?
Edited by DarkJuno, 02 January 2016 - 02:17 PM.
