10 Games I didn't play in 2015
By emfromthesea 0 Comments
With 2015 coming to a close I started the annual tradition of formulating a top ten list to give credit to my favourite video game releases of the year, but having read through a variety of GOTY articles over the past few days it's apparent that the games that I could spend an evening trying to write about are already getting there props from much more capable writers across the web and on this very site. And while I do still have a top ten list that you can look at should you be curious, I thought it be better to take some time and reflect on the games that I missed this year. Be it because they completely passed me by, or because I simply didn't have the time to play them. The latter of which is becoming more and more of an unfortunate reality. In any case, the games that appear below rank on this list simply because I'm really bummed that I didn't get to play them this year. They might not have even appeared on my GOTY list regardless but I still would like to experience them. I doubt I'll get to all of them by the end of next year however I would certainly like to try. Without further adieu, here is the top 10 games I didn't play in 2015.
Honourable Mentions:
This game would probably be at the top of my list if not for technically being unfinished. Despite sounding likes there's plenty of there to play, I committed myself to waiting until the game was feature complete until I would finally sit down and try it. Unfortunately that meant waiting until 2016.
My stubbornness prevented me from playing this game until I saw Unity and Rogue to completion. That was probably a mistake, because I didn't care for the first few hours of Unity and I have little desire to play a boat-themed Assassin's Creed again. I'll get to Syndicate some day.
Look, I know Evolve's dlc practices were less than savoury and that the game wasn't exactly overflowing with content, but I really loved what was there. I've been dying to get back to Evolve ever since I lay it down. I love their creature and character designs, and once the last hunter of the recent season pass is released I'll probably dive back in and play around with the new content next year.
10.Her Story
Admittedly I have played Her Story. For about two minutes. Between watching the first few minutes of the quick look and playing a very brief amount of the game, I know that this game is something that I need to play. Not just because I enjoy the act of note-taking, or that I have a soft spot for crime fiction, but because the game oozes mystery. I have managed to avoid any and all spoilers regarding the way the game plays out, and should it be discussed on the Giant Bomb GOTY podcasts I will most certainly avoid those sections, simply because I need to see whatever is in this game for myself. Whether or not the game lives up to its mystique is another thing, but it definitely has me intrigued enough to regret not playing it before the year end.
9. Batman: Arkham Knight
Arkham Knight appears on this list not for a lack of trying. I was among the many unfortunate PC players to suffer several issues with the that version at launch. I played roughly an hour or two of the game before giving up and settling on waiting for a patch, knowing not that it would take as long as it did to receive one. By the time the game was patched (though apparently not as much as it should be) the little time I did have to play games was being spent elsewhere. Funnily enough that may have worked in Arkham Knight's favour. Of the two or so hours I played of the game I felt a lot of fatigue towards the Arkham games, in no small part due to my recent time with Arkham Origins. Having had time to not think about Batman I'm actually quite eager to give it a decent try. It helps that Scarecrow is my favourite villain from the Batman comics.
8. Stasis
Being the avid fan of horror that I am, I've had my eye on Stasis for a little while now. I'm not big into point & click adventure games but after loving The Fall (which you should totally play) I was completely willing to give it a shot. Unfortunately when it came time to choose which horror game I was going to dedicate my time to, Stasis was put up against SOMA. Given that SOMA appears on my top 10 and Stasis is found here...you can tell which one won that fight. Nevertheless, I would still very much like to play Stasis. Even if it has to wait until next Halloween.
7. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Wolfenstein: The New Order landed in 7th place on my GOTY list of 2014, so I felt this was an appropriate place to put The Old Blood. Ever since the announcement trailer for Wolfenstein: The Old Blood I have been very interested in giving it a try. I would have liked to see more of the WW2 setting in the New Order and The Old Blood looked to give me just that. Unfortunately it arrived at a poor time, for when I finally had a moment to sit down and dig into a game The Witcher 3 had came in the post. Since then it's sat on my Steam wishlist and I've been waiting for a chance to give it a shot. For whatever reason that didn't come in 2015.
6. Tales from the Borderlands
It's a real shame I didn't get around to playing this game because earlier in the year I was in a very Borderlands-y mood. I had picked up The Handsome Collection and spent countless hours with it, to the point that I was so obsessed with Borderlands that I themed an art project around the art direction featured in the series. At the time I had heard some good things about Tales from the Borderlands but I didn't want to dive in until the whole game was ready to play. Since The Wolf Among Us and the second season of Telltale's The Walking Dead took absolutely forever to wrap up, I haven't had much desire to play games episodically. Meaning that by the time Tales from the Borderlands had concluded its first season my fervour for Borderlands had passed. I'll still play it eventually but it may take the announcement of the second season or another Borderlands sequel to spark my interest.
5. Cradle
I don't know a great deal about Cradle other than what I remember reading from Austin's review and that some people who worked on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series are responsible for making the game. Having enjoyed games like Gone Home in the past, I would have loved to jump into Cradle and see what it's all about. The screenshots give a window into what looks like a wonderfully unique aesthetic and as I am aspiring to work as an artist in this industry, I feel like I owe it to myself to see that art style on display. Unfortunately when it first hit Steam I was busy saving as much money as I could for moving out of my parents house. Missing that brief moment in which I had time to play the game meant that I never got around to grabbing it. It'll likely be another game that I buy before the Steam sale comes to an end.
4. Sunless Sea
Between Darkest Dungeon, Sunless Sea and another game that I shan't spoil (you know the one) it's been a good year for fans of Lovecraft. It's not like games haven't ripped from the Lovecraftian visual library before, but I appreciate that more games are trying to convey the mentally damaging effects of Lovecraft's monsters as opposed to just making them enemy mobs. I've been a fan ever since I watched The Evil Dead films a few years back. Sunless Sea in particular has also been described as a "roguelike", giving me even more reason to want to play it. Though as it would turn out, whereas SOMA won out against Stasis, the time I could have spent playing Sunless Sea was instead spent playing The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth. Nevertheless, I do intend on playing Sunless Sea sooner rather than later.
3. Transformers: Devastation
After High Moon Studios was moved off the Transformers Cybertron games and onto making ports for Call of Duty (thanks, Activision) I thought that was it for good Transformers games. Which was particularly disappointing after how much I enjoyed their Fall of Cybertron game. Last years Rise of the Dark Spark while not terrible, didn't exactly instil confidence in me. Yet, out of seemingly nowhere, I find out that Platinum is making a Transformers G1 game. Normally this would have been an instant purchase for me but Platinum's recent attempt at a Legend of Korra game made me weary. As it would turn out it sounds like the game is a lot of fun, if a little on the short side. With the game now on sale I think this will definitely be something I pick and play before my winter holiday is over. Though I was personally always more of an Armada guy, I did grow to appreciate the older cartoons over time and Platinum's rendition of the G1 art style might be the best one to date.
2. Just Cause 3
Despite numerous attempts, I could never get Just Cause 2. I simply never really found it enjoyable to play. Navigating the world felt like a chore, and looking all over enemy bases to find the one item pick-up you missed was a pain. So you can imagine I wasn't terribly excited for the release of Just Cause 3. Then the quick look came around and Vinny did that he always does in open world games and I was way more interested. Still, I wasn't ready to bite and spend a bunch of money on a game that I still might not enjoy. Though it just so happened that a friend of mine had been playing it and I got the opportunity to try it. Needless to say, it's on this list because now I really want to play it. I can't put my finger on why it I'm drawn to it much more than it's predecessor but if I had to guess it's something to do with the wingsuit.
1. Undertale
Yep, this game. The game that's taken a certain part of the internet by storm and now they won't shut up about it. And yet I still know nothing about Undertale. I haven't seen any footage, nor have I read any reviews. I'm not even going to look for a image to accompany this part. But according to hearsay, it's either one of the best games of all time, or completely rubbish. It's rare for me to hear talk about games when I'm out in public or in class, and even then it's reserved for the bigger more mainstream titles like Fallout or Battlefront. So it says something when I overheard a conversation regarding Undertale not long before finishing for winter. I imagine on some level it's to do with the circles I'm in but it surprised me just how many people were talking about Undertale. To the point where I now need to play the game. I need to know what it is and why it's stuck with so many people. Will I like it? Who can say. One thing's for sure; it'll be the next game I play.