These are the games that most stood out to me at the end of this year. It's been kind of a wild one in terms of video game releases; there's a mental 'honorable mentions' list nearly equal in size to this one and that's probably with me forgetting several titles I really enjoyed this year.
It's hard to talk about this game outside of the context of it being the conclusion to a trilogy I've been following since 2007 with the release of the original 'Witcher' game. The Witcher 3 is a very satisfying end to Geralt's arc; the story isn't the most amazing I've seen in an RPG like this but the emotional payoff at the end was some of the best I've had in a video game series. The game itself is incredible; the so-so moment to moment gameplay is propped up nicely by a lavish world to explore, rich in detail and absolutely gorgeous to boot.
MGSV is a bad Metal Gear game. It doesn't have half the wacky antics that a sequel to MGS4 should have - and, yet, it's one of the best stealth action games I've played this decade. For all my gripes with it, it's hard to deny it a spot in my top 3 of 2015. You can set your helicopter to blare 'Rebel Yell' every time you get extracted!
In terms of sheer enjoyment per dollar I don't know if I've done much better than Tales this year. Just when I thought I was getting a little tired of the Telltale format of games - and as someone who enjoyed Borderlands but not necessarily its humor - this is a project I was a little suspicious of. It took about fifteen minutes to win my heart - everything from the flawed-but-lovable cast of characters to the quick writing to the stylish intro credits makes it a shoe-in for my top 3.
A clever little game that a lot has been said about already. Hard to deny its mix of creativity and charm.
My head wonders whether this should be on the list at all, but my gut tells me it should - the ferocity with which I devoured this game was almost scary. I couldn't stop - exploring every nook and cranny, optimizing my guns, learning about all my companions. This game completely sucked me in, flaws and all. Should Bethesda games be able to get away with what they do? Probably not - but Fallout won me over pretty hard.
I love Baldur's Gate II. It was one of those formative games that'll be forever inextricably linked to my childhood - the sort of deep, sprawling fantasy RPGs that would kick off my lifelong love of the genre. Pillars is a love letter to Baldur's Gate and many other series like it but also a pretty solid modern take on the genre; I'll certainly be looking forward to more of it going into 2016.
Much long Undertale, this wasn't a game I expected to love - but here we are at #7 on my top ten list. It takes the FMV game 'genre' and adds a clever non-linear twist; combined with a just-strong-enough performance I found it an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable game.
Skylines - along with the After Dark expansion pack - satisfied my desire for a successor to SimCity 4 in a way nothing else to date has. Some things about it could be better - the interface and the traffic simulation, perhaps - but this has been one of my go-to 'cool-down' games; something I can sit down and puzzle over, optimizing and building here and there, without feeling too stressed by anything.
It's Left 4 Dead but fun.
I told myself I was done after Unity. There was no way they could bring me back - not for yet another AC game. Uh, yeah... I was wrong. Maybe I'll be wrong again next year, too.
