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JayPB08

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GOTY 2015

You know, 2015 was a pretty good year. I graduated from high school, started college, some of my favorite Rock bands released new albums, some of my favorite movie franchises put out new iterations, and I got to play some absolutely awesome games. It was the year of the sequel, and even though most of the games I played this year were already established intellectual properties, I dare say that this may be the strongest single year for the industry since 1998. There may not have been as many products released this year that will shape development like games from 1998 did, but that's not to say that some of these titles were downright unforgettable. Keep in mind, I did not play every notable game this year for three main reasons:

1. It may not appeal to me ~ Dying Light, Moral Kombat X, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Tales From the Borderlands, Project Cars, Heroes of the Storm

2. I don't own a PS4 ~ Bloodborne, Rocket League, Until Dawn

3. I just didn't have the money/time ~ Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 3, Massive Chalice, Kerbal Space Program

However, I'm still content with the line-up of games I did get to play this year, and I can't wait to see what 2016 will offer after such a strong 365 days...

Click here to see my lists from 2013 and 2014

List items

  • Guys, this is as good as it gets. Metal Gear is probably my personal favorite video game franchise, just above Zelda, GTA, and Smash Bros, but I can say without a doubt that The Phantom Pain trumps all that came before it. Other longtime fans may be let down by the significant downsize of story, but it's the gameplay that's truly revolutionary here. Stealth and other action games have permanently been altered, thanks in part to the masterclass strategic gameplay and refined open-world accessibility. In turn, The Phantom Pain is truly ahead of its time because of how well it crafted its perfected action formula. I dropped an astonishing 93 hours during the course of September and half of October alone on this game, completing every mission, every Side-Op, and finishing everything with a long-sought-after S-rank. No game has ever influenced me to drop that much time into it within such a brief period, and I'm not convinced one ever will anytime soon. People will talking about The Phantom Pain's open-world progressive structure ten years down the line, and you owe it to yourself to give this masterpiece a shot. From the already iconically sinister hospital opening sequence, to the decisive mind-melting finale, you'll never want to put it down. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is my game of the year for 2015.

  • CD Projekt Red gave us something that every other gaming corporation refuses to do upon reaching a pinnacle of success: an ending. Wild Hunt rightfully feels like the conclusion to a trilogy, a solemn goodbye to the aging protagonist that is Geralt. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings was a pulse-pounding thrill of high fanatasy action, when The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a subtle tale based around character development. We finally get to see individuals only mentioned in the past, like the love interest Yennefer, and the narrative is situated around locking up all personal characteristic ties. Despite all that, Wild Hunt is still masterfully able to adhere to new audiences as well (and I think most people who have played 3, never touched the originals). This game had some of my all-time favorite quests I've ever played in an RPG before, and the overall story is incredible. On top of that, the combat is system is very strategic and the game's choice system is one of the most pristine I've ever encountered. To put it simply, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an instant classic that definitely deserves your attention, and you'd be only hurting yourself by not playing it.

  • If you only take away one thing from this list, let it be this: experience what Her Story has to offer. It's extremely cheap (only $4 at the time of writing), short, and absolutely unforgettable. Show it to your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your best friends, I don't care; just spread the word to as many individuals as possible, regardless if they care about gaming. No one's ever told a narrative the way Her Story does, and unless a rather strange sequel is made, no one probably ever will again. At its core, the game is searching through a police database of video clips. These videos contain a woman's various interviews behind the mystery of her husband's disappearance, and your goal is to connect the pieces to figure out the truth. Throughout the narrative, you'll come across two Earth-shattering twists that will probably shock any newcomer. There's no set length, as the game is only over when your personally satisfied, but I can't stress enough how much of an intriguing experience this resonated with me. Play Her Story with headphones, the lights off, and two hours of free time on your hands; and that's coming from somebody who rarely plays games like that. It's about as cheap as renting a movie, and will keep you thinking about it days after completion. Play Her Story, because you won't regret it.

  • I died no less than 558 times in Ori and the Blind Forest, and it was still one of my most pleasant gaming experiences in 2015. Metroidvanias may not be as special to the market as they once were, but this game is a reason why the genre should always be welcomed with open arms. With such a visually appealing art-style coincided with perfected mechanics and challenging combat, Ori and the Blind Forest is probably my favorite side-scroller in years. When this game came out initially, I thought it had a legitimate shot at topping this list come the end of year. Obviously it didn't quite accomplish that feat, but I just want to reiterate how much this game blew me completely away upon first finishing it. If you're a PC or Xbox One owner, you owe it to yourself to purchase this excellent product...sorry PS4 owners...

  • Can a game be considered an MMO still if it isn't focused on being massively multiplayer or online? There are Monster Hunter-esque elements of cooperative play here for sure, but the crux of the experience is strictly single-player through the scripted attributes Monolith Soft has provided. The gameplay here looks right out of the post-World of Warcraft MMO craze, from the way quests are gated to the combat system, but they all come together in a way that is as impactful as a game like World of Warcraft can be without the necessity of always being connected online. When you throw in breath-taking visuals on the Wii U (I know, hard to believe) and a massive sense of scale, it easily becomes a stand-out title of 2015 amongst many other open-world constructions. It's a game that strips out a lot of the decisive "anime" in JRPGs that's refreshing, even if it comes at cost of isolating the first game's die-hard fanbase. I'm not even sure when I'll be done with it, but it's certainly been quite a trek as of the 30 hours I've put into it thus far.

  • Fallout 4 came out of E3 as my personal most anticipated game of the year, and while it didn't quite reach that personal hype I set up for myself, I was still massively entertained while roaming the destroyed landscape of the Commonwealth. It took me a total of 28 before I even reached Diamond City because I was too busy doing side-quests and just roaming the wasteland. Add that with a plethora of new weapon customization, an interesting story, and a terrific use of factions; it all composes to form an objectively solid game. Sure, a lack of evolution of the Bethesda template may be dismissive for some, but I was personally still eager to experience another adventure in retro-future America.

  • I wish Super Mario Maker was released about fifteen years ago, because I would have been able to input so much more time into it than I was able to in 2015. You probably don't need me to tell you how awesome this creation tool truly is, and how it's been literally a childhood dream come true for many individuals. My only wish is that that there was some full-fledged Nintendo project within, but that doesn't stop this product from literally being "endless Mario." This is a game I know I'll be coming back to throughout the years, if only to see what possible tribulations await me in the 100 Mario Challenge.

  • Halo 5 could have been so much better than it was. The mission design could have been more varied, the story could have had more instances of Master Chief (you know, the main character), and there could have been more modes added to the multiplayer. However, what's good in Halo 5: Guardians is really good. Mechanics-wise, this is probably the best-playing FPS I've ever encountered on a console, and the character movement is so refined that it may make going back to the previous games difficult. Not to mention that Warzone is fantastic new addition to the Halo formula, and playing co-op within the campaign is still engaging with friends. After a somewhat diminishing Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians is definitely a step in the right direction for 343. Even though it still has a handful problems that keep it from reaching excellent status, I can't wait to see what Halo 6 will bring.

  • Hearing the words "a competitive shooter from Nintendo" may still seem weird, but the final product was nothing short of successful. I was intrigued by this game from its initial Direct announcement, and the game did not let me down. Testing out different mechanisms to cover the ground in ink never ceased to lose its appeal, and the multiplayer gameplay is simply pristine. On top of all that, Nintendo has consistently updated it with new maps and weapons to play for free! Add that with a rather underrated single-player campaign filled with ingenious boss fights and unique platforming design, and you've got a new intellectual property that every Wii U owner ought to own.

  • Axiom Verge is not Metroid. It may look and kind of sound like it, but it's not trying to be a duplicate of any kind. Instead, I see Axiom Verge as an ode to one of Nintendo's most underutilized franchise (*cough* Federation Force *cough*). Is it successful? Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, Axiom Verge still has it's own fair share of problems, but the sum of its parts is one of the best retro throwbacks I've ever played. Alongside its great level design and memorable enemy encounters, I was easily drawn to experience all 99% that I did...yeah, still kind of mad at myself for that.
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