Looking at my list from last year, there's a stark contrast in the scope of what I played. Many games were delayed to this year, and I just didn't play that many big releases as a result. 2015 happily met expectations as a banner year in games. Last year I felt I was just waiting. This year, I still have a plethora of games I'm hoping to get to more in 2016. That list includes Rebel Galaxy, Subnautica (granted it's early access), Her Story, Cradle, Vermintide, Invisible Inc., KOTOR 2, Grow Home, Far Cry 4, Absolute Drift, Satellite Reign, The Beginner's Guide and many others.

There were also a couple games I did play which didn't make the cut which consists of Undertale, Galak-Z, Stranger's Wrath HD, and Vertiginous Golf. I want to focus on the first two.

Undertale I was interested in solely from the chatter about it. I have no background in JRPGs, I didn't love the style, and really had no expectations going in. While it has some memorable characters and moments, I particularly enjoyed laying on the floor and watching the stars with Napstablook, I wasn't too drawn in by the game itself. The final boss fight was intriguing and a nice surprise with how it plays on everything you've done, but I never felt invested in the characters along the way for the grandiose message to hit as well as it did others.

Galak-Z I was anticipating for 2 or 3 years. I'd seen and played it at several PAX events, and was ready to love it when it finally hit PC. The problem is the immensely fabulous style isn't backed up with the same level of depth in it's content. I really enjoy playing it, it's fun and intense, but there's little else to back it up other than the spiffy pause menus. I don't think the shallow content fits with the nature of their presentation as a classic anime. Maybe I expected too much, but I left feeling disappointed overall.

Now please bear with me as I have another quick category before the top 10. That is, Best Narrative Games I Watched Others Play of 2015! In no particular order, Contradiction: Spot the Liar!, Until Dawn, Life is Strange, and The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.

Onto the heavy hitters!

#10 - Counter Strike: Global Offensive

I've had this for years, but didn't give it it's fair due until 2015. Previously I had brushed it aside because it was worse than Source in my eyes. There were no longer my beloved Gun Game mod servers, populated anyway, and casual matchmaking is code for Dust 2. However, a few friends were into the competitive side, so I decided to play with them a bit. Then I noticed some flashy skins. Customization in Counter Strike led to me finally selling Bill's Hat in Team Fortress 2. It still has plenty of problems but it has served as a nice alternative to play with friends this year. It can be frustrating to get your butt kicked when you stop playing for a bit though.

#9 - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

My 3DS has served as a way to dive into franchises I either had no previous history or interest with. Zelda (I know), Animal Crossing, and now this! What drew me into Monster Hunter was that it has part of what I found interesting in the Souls games, the combat, but in a jaunty cooperative experience. There's a ton of fun to be had figuring out how the different weapon combos work, and tackling a boss with friends. I'm happy with my 30 or so hours I put in, and there's plenty more in the game. The only thing that stopped me was the grind for specific material drops.

#8 - Nuclear Throne

I'm a big fan of rogue-likes these past few years. I bought this one about a year ago and have been waiting patiently for it to release. This will probably be similar to Spelunky for me in the next year, though it might not quite have as long of legs. It's great fun to play a few times, or try to focus on a particular goal with a perfect run. I enjoy the way shooting works with limited ammo, there's tons of variety in the characters, and it's hard as butts. I'm also happy there are secrets to discover as that's one reason why Spelunky is so great. Spelunky and Nuclear Throne are great.

#7 - Dirty Bomb

This is something I haven't played in months, and I'm not sure when I'll revisit it. However, the more I remembered playing it the higher up my list it went. This was the game I played feverishly before Rocket League came out. So much so that it was the first time I bought a big $30 character bundle for a free to play game. It has the core of a multiplayer shooter I enjoy. Quick movement, unique characters, and solid shooting. It was an absolute blast to play amongst friends, but unfortunately once Rocket League hit, all of my Dirty Bomb time was poached.

#6 - Metal Gear Solid V

This one is a doozy ain't it? I'll start off by saying this is the first Metal Gear Solid game I've played. I'm extremely thankful for that because it's the best playing MGS game out there. I specifically avoided the series for this long because of how clunky the controls were, and thankfully Drew took the brunt of the frustrations I'd have playing the series while allowing me to see what I was missing out on all of these years. So yes, the gameplay loop is super duper solid, and I like the random customization options all over the place. What surprised me was how invested I was in playing the game stealthy, considering I don't like stealth games. I believe one of the first longer missions I had clocked at 90-100 minutes because I was so meticulous about it. The great thing is that I can then decide immediately I don't want to be stealthy anymore, and sprint right at enemies to punch them in the face with my bionic arm.

So why isn't it higher? Well, for me the loop's appeal didn't last through the content that's there. It waned on me as I got around the 30 hour mark and I knew just how many missions I still had left. I do intend to get back to it, and hopefully I'll avoid all of the FOB bullshit changes in the process, but here's where MGSV and I stand in 2015.

#5 - Fallout 4

They fixed the shooting to a point where I didn't have to engage with VATS at all. I can't tell you how happy that made me feel about actually playing Fallout. That was a big reason why I played so much, let alone finished, the game despite the long list of issues. It also had Nick Valentine who is a genuinely great character who I shared some excellent times together. The other big reason, which was a surprise given I had no expectations for this feature going into it, was the crafting and base building. I now understand the appeal of Minecraft, because I basically just minecrafted for hours and hours. Once I finished my first project in mind, a Pac-Man with Ghost in front of my house, I decided to go...bigger.

What I decided on next, was to create the Planet Express ship. I found many frustrating limitations within the game that led to two or three mods being installed and a plentiful helping of console commands just to make it work. It required a location move because I hit the build ceiling in Sanctuary, but I did it. Stupidly, I did it. I was so elated that I even brought it to Reddit, a site I don't regularly post on. Anyway, here it is, with more pictures at the link.

The worst part was building it, going through the trouble of wiring it all, then finding out there weren't enough color options to do the shading I wanted. Oh well! I'm hoping that the Obsidian tease of a Fallout in Louisiana wasn't just that. I'd love to see what Obsidian could do given another opportunity because the overall story in 4 was poo.

#4 - League of Legends

This is an astonishing one for me because it has been my top game each year that I've been playing it, until now. It speaks volumes of how good 2015 has been that it fell this far as well. I wanted to put it lower but the truth is, I didn't feel as passionately for any of the games behind it. But, let it be known there is a big drop off in opinion of #4 and #1-3.

What happened? Well, I still play it regularly with the same friend group as always. I still enjoy spending the time with them playing games, but you may have noticed my list has a few other multiplayer experiences included. That's because I started to branch out and convince them to play other games with me for the simple reason that I just don't enjoy League of Legends like I used to, particularly since Riot's big pre-season patch a couple months ago. I enjoy my friends enjoyment, but I haven't enjoyed playing it personally, win or lose, for about as long as the patch has been out. It's a crazy realization to come to for a game I've spent years playing, but I think it's happened in part because of one particular game on this list which lies ahead. I'll dig deeper on that soon!

#3 - Valiant Hearts: The Great War

This is one of the best, if not the best, representations of a subject matter that is hardly touched in games (WWI). I quite enjoy history and this year got into Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast, specifically his series on The Gear War. I was in the mindset to play the game and it wholly delivered. The art is gorgeous, the gameplay is decent, though I was especially motivated by the collectibles which add photographs and factoids from the era. The characters were surprisingly good too, considering the minimal voice work and animation. Most of all though, and why it's third this year, is the ending. It hit me like a truck and almost brought me to tears. Incredibly moving and powerful, highly recommended.

#2 - Tales From The Borderlands

I am so sad nobody on Giant Bomb's staff played all of this to get it's fair due in the GOTY deliberations. As for me, I am ecstatic I decided to give it a shot after mostly ignoring the fanfare I was reading around October when the final episode came out. I avoided it for so long because not only had I not been interested in Telltale's output since The Walking Dead Season 1, but it was coupled with a franchise that has such bad stories in it's own series that I just had no confidence that something I'd enjoy could be made. I can't express how content I am that I was proven wrong. I genuinely enjoy Borderlands as a universe, and believe interesting things could be told. Telltale made good on that while creating a multitude of new characters with depth. Not only that, but they managed to take my most hated character in the franchise in Handsome Jack, and turn him into someone I actually felt sympathy towards. That alone is worth accolades. Loader Bot is the biggest snub for character of the year. In fact, I don't think there's a single character I disliked.

It was so refreshing to play an adventure game that was just about a fun ride through a humorous action adventure. From the first episode it felt a bit like my experience whenever I watch The Fifth Element. I'm sucked in immediately and know I'm in for a fun wild ride. Yes there are choices, but I never felt like I needed to reload a save because I screwed up or got an outcome I was unhappy with. I enjoyed how much fun there is just seeing how the main story unfolds, without being worried about alternate endings or multiple playthroughs. The important reason for that is because the player's choices aren't the most important thing that happen within each episode. That allows the writers to make something truly special without worrying about if it breaks on certain branching paths. I hope the Borderlands team takes notes on this game or collaborates with the writers for their next game, because this one made me excited for Borderworlds (or whatever it is). Tales from the Borderlands is my biggest surprise this year, more people should do themselves a favor and play it. I really wanted it to be number one, but sadly one other game came out in 2015 and stole my heart.

#1 - Rocket League

Rocket League is one of my favorite games of all time. I've always been a fan of mechanics over everything else. Games that feel good to play. In Rocket League, you are completely in control of what you do. It has an incredibly high skill ceiling, yet is just as fun when you're first starting out and figuring out how to double jump properly. The game also combines two of my favorite things in sports and driving, but wasn't satisfied there. It turned out to be the best soccer game in years. It's the closest a game has ever come to mirroring the elation of scoring a goal in real life. Or making any great play for your team. Or seeing your teammates back you up with their own fantastic plays. It's also served up some of the most hilarious moments in gaming this year. I've enjoyed every single type of experience, from winning tournaments, to custom drunken nights with friends, to mutators, to playing solo nightly. Psyonix managed to tune their original idea and polish it into an absolute gem.

But it isn't just the game itself, Psyonix has gone on to support this game in the best way I've seen for a game I've cared about, ever. They have been doing DLC the right way by offering numerous free updates, along with cheap ($2-4) cosmetic items. It's made me happily buy everything they've put out thus far just to support them, let alone the fact the items themselves are worth it. I can't wait to see what they have planned for 2016. I'm hoping for a basketball variant, and more licensed cars like the Ecto-1.

There is one last thing which I mentioned earlier in this post regarding League of Legends. Rocket League is a multiplayer game that I can play endlessly, without getting frustrated or flamed, because the core is just so good. It's why it's eaten time from games I enjoy playing such as MGSV and Dirty Bomb. Legends has lost it's luster to a new league. It's just the best you guys.

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post, and a very happy new year to everyone. :D

Cheers,

-KnifeySpoony