Been a few years since I have been on top of this. 2015 was largely a backlog year for me, with very few of the games I played this year being FROM 2015. Even the one I did manage to play and enjoy were not games I managed to finish. As a result, there may be a few big name releases that just don't make this list.
Easily my most played game this year, Blizzard does a tremendous job of focusing on what makes the moba genre fun and complex while removing the unnecessary bits of complexity that just serve to confuse the average gamer. Replacing hundreds of item choices with talents individually customised to each hero retains just as much practical choice while making it much more approachable for a new player. The variety of maps keeps the game interesting and fresh, and each one has far more action even from the beginning of the game. Combine that with some of the most inspired hero design a moba has seen, and you have probably the best game currently available in the genre. A very surprising inclusion for me on this list as I am almost always a story over gameplay kind of guy.
I felt hesitant about putting this on the list because I haven't even come close to finishing it, but the time I have put into MGSV was some of the best time I had with games this year. Honestly I miss the more narrative driven entries into the series, but the game still has a lot to offer and an almost endless amount of content. Unless the game radically changes towards the end, I am fairly confident in adding this to my list.
The last in a trilogy of one of the greatest game franchises of all time, Blizzard really knocked it out of the park. Not only is the story a fairly satisfying conclusion, the campaign manages to offer unique gameplay in every mission. Even as a Zerg player who has mostly retired from multiplayer (solely because I hate widow mines), I greatly enjoyed all the time I spent into this game. Of every title on this list, it is the only one I finished in one marathon game session.
Many open world games this year, I think 2015 will probably be the Year of Immense Open World games. Dying Light combines some RPG-esque mechanics with smooth parkour-style traversal and zombie action. I thought I was pretty much over zombies by now, but Dying Light showed that the genre still has some legs. There is a LOT of content in this game, to the point that about half way through I ended up just mainlining the remainder of the story in order to finish it. It is an easy title to recommend to anyone who likes open-world games or zombie games.
Full disclosure, similar to MGSV, I haven't finished this one yet, it has been a rough year for playing new games. The Assassin’s Creed series is probably my second favourite game series of all time, and Syndicate is one of the highest points of the series. I played it right after marathoning through AC3/Black Flag/Unity, and still didn’t feel burnt out or tired of the gameplay at all. The setting, the characters, and the presentation of Syndicate make it feel like one of the best games the series has had to date.
Technically an earlier release, the western Vita version was 2015 so I am included it on my list. Often considered, for good reason, one of the best visual novel type games currently available, steins;gate hits on some very complicated story beats that will leave the player intrigued and guessing until the end. Gameplay here is almost non-existent, but that is par for the course in a visual novel game. If you are like me and play games largely for the story, this should be right up your alley.
While generally regarded as too short, The Order is a very well put together package. Possibly one of the best looking games we have seen this generation, The Order features a dark alternative London in 1886. Creative weapon design, characters, and environments make this a pretty fun game if you can get it for sale. When the only criticism that can be levelled at a game is that it is too short, you have a pretty good game.
A continuation of the epic Disgaea series, while the setting of Disgaea isn't as good as 3 or 4, the gameplay continues to evolve in ways that make this simply the best Disgaea to come out yet. If you like the series, you will love D5. If the game has been too complicated for you, this will do nothing to alleviate that.
Citizens of Earth is an awesome concept for a game that is ruined by a few poor design choices. The gameplay floats somewhere between Earthbound and Pokemon, and features a fun combat system that never takes itself too seriously. Where it starts to fall flat is with the sheer AMOUNT of combat you are expected to do, it just becomes tedious after a certain point.
