Creat list Slag! I really need to play Until Dawn someday, and MGSV as well... though the 100 playtime on that is a tougher commitment. Some of my own favs on here as well- glad you're digging Axiom Verge :)
Splatoon is one of the few beloved games from this year that I just couldn't get into... the "feel" of the game never agreed with me for whatever reason. I really like a lot of the ideas in there though. Fortunately 2015 had plenty of good stuff to go around, so no great loss for me, and I'm glad a lot of people have enjoyed it!
That Final Fantasy dump can only lead to great things :)
Following the FFVIII insanity this year was very entertaining! I played VIII when it was new, and it happens to be one of my favorites in the series. I've played most of them too, and I'm curious to see where this rabbit hole may lead you!
Austin is a total baller, he's been great on the site this year. Love seeing his picks for the year; this list feels very genuine and was fun to read. Keep it up!
Nice list Marino! Some interesting picks on here! I'm still on the fence about trying Persona 4: Dancing All Night. I take it from this list that you highly recommend it :)
Also, I started playing Pokemon Picross (I love both Pokemon and Picross), but the free-to-play walls are a little annoying, and while I appreciate that they put a $30 cap on what you can spend, I wonder if it would just be more cost effective to scoop up $30 worth of Picross e games. I haven't played any of them, and something tells me I'd get more out of my $30 from those?
@dietmango: Thanks! A friend and I were just talking about how Nintendo hasn't been very aggressive with their console pricing, given how few games are on it. The Smash Bros + Splatoon bundle is the best I've seen, and if those 2 games are of interest, getting that bundle + Mario Maker isn't the worst deal... but I agree in general that that system continues to be a tough sell :-/
If you like story-based/adventure games (especially the choice driven ones like the Telltale stuff), then Life is Strange comes with the heartiest recommendation. Well, so long as you can handle awkward "teenspeak" :)
@slag: Everything I keep hearing about MGSV is that it plays much better than the previous games, which has me curious to check it out when I carve out the time. At the very least I will try Ground Zeries (courtesy of PS+) to get a feel for it. If it plays as well as everyone says, I could see myself getting into it!
LotV's launch got completely overshadowed by Fallout 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider, all of which released on the day day. But LotV has top notch mission design, and it's campaign is very much worth a play for people still into that style of RTS (even if the story was "meh"). What really grabbed me about LotV though, even more than the campaign, are the multiplayer changes. I got hooked back in WoL, but HotS didn't add quite enough to keep up the pace, and I fell off it for a few years. LotV really improves and irons out a lot in the multiplayer; it surprised me, as someone who played hundreds of hours during WoL, just how much more solid it feels. A friend and I have had tons of fun diving back in.
Cool list! Despite choosing to highlight smaller/indie games, you still had no trouble filling out a list of 10 solid games! There's a lot of good stuff on here, many of which I considered for (or put on) my own list. Goes to show how diverse games really are now, and how the "little guys" can hit just as hard as the big boys.
Also, nice to see Box Boy get some love. That game's rad :)
Awesome list! Life is Strange was a complete surprise for me as well... that game delivers some wrenching, emotionally affecting moments. It's a great story that hits home in a lot of ways, and I haven't been able to get out of my head since. I also greatly prefer it to Undertale :P
Her Story is fantastic, and was the game I really wanted on my list, but just barely didn't make it. It has such a cool idea that it executes really well, and the acting performance is extremely good. Grim Fandango Remastered is one of the games I didn't get around to this year, but it's high on my "to play" list. Good stuff!
Thanks @slag! I totally agree it’s been the best year for the new consoles thus far; not that it has the strongest competition there! My only reservation about 2015’s status among the greats is that, for me personally, it is missing a landmark, all-time great as you mention. 2015 is definitely a very strong year with tons of awesome games, but when we’re talking about the very best of the best, everything comes under even more scrutiny. Anyway, that’s a big old tangent for another time; what matters for now is that 2015 was a great year for games!
I think one of the biggest signs of this year’s quality, as both you and @sparky_buzzsaw mention, is that there was such a large variety of good games that we can all have very different, but equally strong lists. There’s enough high quality games to pick from to satisfy all tastes, and I really like seeing the spectrum of cool games that appeal differently to different people! It feels like video games are reaching a point where they have enough diversity, and we don’t all pick the same “best” games every year, which is awesome.
For me, I would guess Pillars of Eternity, Axiom Verge, and N++ are the main ones that won’t appear on many other lists- that’s really cool you got to meet the devs of the latter two! Those are all fantastic, and highly recommended if you can find the time. And I wouldn’t fret too much about having to wait for Tomb Raider; the PC version isn’t too far off, and it will probably look even better than the Xbox version! I was pretty happy to finally get some use out of my Xbox One though...
Finally, regarding Metal Gear Solid V, I’m the rare person who has never liked MGS, and did not play MGSV. I’ve actually never finished a MGS game; the control and general feel of the games have always felt poor to me, and the overwrought exposition always seemed like a bunch of nonsense. (Though perhaps that’s the charm!) It seems like MGSV fixes at least the control part, but given my lack of positive history with the franchise, and how many other time-consuming games I played this year (I was still knee-deep in both The Witcher 3 and Mario Maker around the time MGSV came out), MGSV was an easy time-sink for me to cut. I actually did a pretty good job of playing a lot of the noteworthy games from this year (especially considering the first four months were knocked out by school), but MGSV didn’t make it. Maybe someday!
Thanks @humanity! As I mentioned to @slag above, I wouldn’t worry much about waiting for Tomb Raider. Something tells me you may end up playing the better version on PC :) Now that I look back and tally up my list, at least half of them (or more, depending on where you place Life is Strange) came out in the first half of the year. I remember thinking around April that this year was off to an amazing start, then the summer was dry, and some fall games got delayed (XCOM 2, Uncharted 4, etc.). But some strong surprises landed in the fall for me that really rounded out the year nicely.
Thanks @sparky_buzzsaw! I agree, the quantity, quality, and variety of this year’s games has been wonderful! It’s made seeing everyone’s different lists really cool :)
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