Game of the Year 2015
Honourable mentions:
11.Invisible Inc
12.Axiom Verge
13.Jotun
14.Mordheim: City of the Damned
15. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
List items
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Before Bloodborne I had never finished a Souls game. Now, as a result of Bloodborne's sumptuous Gothic carnage I have completed them all. Losing the shield and quickening the pace pushed the experience more towards my character action instincts, where the visceral thrill of the hunt forced me away from over-cautious cowering into unrelenting and savage bloodlust. So thank you Bloodborne, for giving me a fitting mentality to take back to conquer previous FromSoft torments, and for igniting the spirit of Elizabeth Báthory in my soul.
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I do so love a man in rubber, but sometimes it has other exciting uses, such as on the muddy wheels in Codemasters crowning glory. It would be somewhat eye rolling to call it the Dark Souls of driving games, but the tension and anxiety of its thin line between glory and shame are not too dissimilar. Impeccable handling and nuanced terrain make the challenge all the more enticing and rewarding for those willing to brave its wonderfully treacherous roads.
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Whilst the script may appear to have been mauled by Kojima's dog, the gameplay in his Metal Gear swansong is imperious. The mix of stealth, combat, and technological weirdness come together so nicely and controls like dream. Add in Hideo's psychotic flair for all things nonsense and you have an aptly ridiculous and wonderful end to his time with one of the strangest, yet compelling video game series ever.
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A story about young people that is mature and has some thematic depth? Well colour me purple and call me a Kinect game. Max Caulfield anchors this elegant tale of love, friendship and loss in a manner that is so rare in stories about teenagers; grown up. It's not perfect by any means, but the reflective atmosphere and gentle melancholy that permeates much of the adventure is a soothing tonic to the usual car crash of asinine adolescent angst.
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A game of two principle characters, neither of which I really liked, yet by the time the magic was over, I was beaming from ear to ear. Like any good sci-fi, Soma is a story about ideas, not just space weapons or intergalactic nookie. It's smart, has a great atmosphere and has the right sort of pacing to keep you engaged throughout. The end also deserves special mention for what was a unmixed delight.
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Ever had a dream to rule the galaxy as the Queen of an interstellar empire of bdsm fetishists? To conquer planets in fabulous latex and heels? ...no? Well I do and Galactic Civilisations 3 made it a reality, albeit only in video game form. Whilst Sid Meier's own galactic efforts have stumbled a touch, Gal Civ 3 manages to capture that 4X magic with more toys to play with, and more ways to customise and command your own merry band of spacefarers.
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Although not as emotionally or as intellectually stimulating as Telltale's walking dead games, Tales from the Borderlands is nevertheless very engaging and has much more to offer in terms of humour and charm than any of the games from which it derives. A diverse and likeable cast, great pacing, some nice if predictable twists; it's all crafted with care and attention and the quality of the voice acting is typically impressive.
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It's been far too long since I've played a good city builder. Not since the original Sim City have I poured so much time into creating a sprawling apocalypse of bourgeois decadence. The size and scope of your creations are truly impressive, with a vast array of ways to customise their development and/or terrorise the unfortunate plebeians who toil under your all-powerful gaze.
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Being based on such a show was always going to prove a challenge, and yet Telltale pulled it off rather well. That it apes the show so nicely is credit to the writers, where the brutality and lack of sentiment is well evoked here, making for some deliciously wrought tension and drama as characters balance themselves between impossible choices, and where nothing ever seems to go right. It may be GoT-lite in some ways, but for a fan of the show such as myself, it works as an effective companion piece to the main event.
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A real surprise treat as all signs suggested I would quickly tire of this rather slow moving undersea adventure. However the sense of exploration and discovery, coupled with great writing and atmosphere, ensnared me for well over 30 hours. The world of Fallen London is engrossing and imaginative, where every port brings new and interesting characters and cultures. The more and more I explored, the more I grew to feel a part of its strange world, which made it all the harder for when the inevitable time to leave came round.
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