Loving Games You've Never Played?

With the GOTY podcasts in full swing I had myself looking back on my year in video games. For me, I didn't play many games that released in 2015 so if I were to hypothetically make a top __ list, it wouldn't be very close to 10. But it had me thinking about watching playthroughs of certain games and if they belong in my favourite games of the year. GBeast's playthrough of Until Dawn specifically had me wondering about this. I watched them go through the whole thing and I really loved a lot about it. But I didn't play it. I watched them make the choices and explore the environments. I sort of want to include Until Dawn in a personal list of 2015 games I loved but I feel like that's a terrible thing to do considering I've never actually played it.

What do you guys think about this?

I submitted a top ten list to giant bomb, 1 through 10 was nothing but Super Mario Maker... just about the only new game I played this year.

If I were to include a game based on how much I was entertained watching other people play it... again it would be Super Mario Maker.

Having said that, if your criteria for including a game on the list is being thoroughly enjoying it as a spectator, I say go for it. In this world of twitch and youtube videogames have very much become tv shows that can sometimes be even more enjoyed by watching rather than playing them.

That isn't a terrible thing at all.

It all just comes down to how strict you want to be with it. Either way, it's just a list.

Well, I watched Dan play through all of Half Life 1 and came out loving it way more than any of my time with Half Life 2 (Which I actually played). So, take of that what you will. Other games Like Contradiction, Bioforge, Persona 4, Deadly Premonition and various others I hold a special affection towards. All are game I watched various people on this site play, and all are games I like very much. It's kind of just a thing nowadays with the way games media is.

It's your list so do what you want with it. I don't see anything wrong with recognizing that a game you havent played yourself is good.