I know that, in the past, I've been known for writing really long, elaborate, and often silly game of the year blogs. One year I even somehow managed to warp the GB blog thing into a choose your own adventure starring Luigi. If only I had actually thought to use Twine that year, huh? Anyway, this year, there's no silly gimmicks, and it's not as long as the stuff from some of the past years. That's not because I have fewer things to say about the games this year, so much as it is that I feel like my blogs have only gotten longer and more in depth over the last year. Which is definitely a good thing, but I also feel like I've said most of the things that I want to say about these games, you know? Rather than writing literal pages of text per game, instead I think it's better to keep some of this stuff a bit on the shorter side. Sorry if this isn't as long and in depth as you had been hoping, but that's what happens when you put things off to the day before and then come up with an excuse for why it isn't longer.

Or at least that was the intent when I wrote that paragraph, before writing the rest of the awards. Don't worry, it ain't short. But really, if you've been reading these blogs all year, and following what I post, thank you. I don't get paid to do this stuff, and as much as I'd like to, I'm pretty sure I never will be. I do this because it's fun, and because I know people tend to enjoy reading my long rambles. So, thank you.

Also, in an effort to get this out on New Year's Day, I did not proofread ANY of this! I'm sure it's full of typos and mistakes!

Anyway, let The Moosies commence!

Game I Probably Should Have Played The Most: Life is Strange.

When the first episode of Life is Strange came out, I thought it looked interesting, but not enough to actually play it. Teenage drama wasn't exactly a thing I was looking for in a game at that point, and I don't really like playing these episodic games one episode at a time. If the whole thing ends up being really good, then I'd rather wait for it to be complete, and if most of it ends up being garbage, then I'd feel better not having spent money on it at all.

As time went on, and more episodes released, it became increasingly apparent that I was missing out on something totally worth experiencing. But I held strong onto not buying it until it was finished, mostly because of my still not having much money. Problem is that by the time my willpower against spending money on it was starting to break, GB East decided to start streaming the game, so I figured I might as well just watch them play through it.

Having seen up through the first chunk of Episode 4 (where they left off), I kinda feel bad about not buying and playing this game myself. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Why not just buy it now, Moosey? You certainly buy plenty of dumb games on a whim despite your apparent lack of money." As true as that all is, at this point I would rather see their playthrough, and their choices through to the end. For better or worse, the choices they've made have become the ones that I associate with Max's path through that game, and I don't really feel a need to see through the early stuff again.

Especially given the fact that Life is Strange gets pretty dark, and has some stuff that maybe...Well, let's just say it hits a little too close to home to me. I don't mean that to sound negative, I just mean that I'm glad I had the filter of GB East's goofiness to get through the darker parts of this game. Assuming that makes any sense, which I doubt it does.

Anyway, the point is that I haven't played Life is Strange, but from what I've seen of Life is Strange, it seems like it does what it sets out to do super well, and it's (figuratively) killing me that it's been so long (relatively) since the last time GB East streamed the game. Of all the games I didn't play this year, this is the one I wish I played the most.

Runners Up: Splatoon, Rise of the Tomb Raider.

10. Most Uncomfortably Violent Game: Dying Light.

I was going back and forth for quite a while about whether to actually do a numbered list of the games for this year, or to just give out goofy awards. Instead I decided to do both.

Of all the games on my top ten this year, this is one of the two I would have least suspected would be on it, had you asked me a year ago. It's one of those games that I was interested in from afar, but didn't really want to invest any money in, on the chance that I ended up hating something about the way the game played. Which is why I borrowed it instead of buying it myself, but that's not relevant. Dying Light is a really solid game that has the best first person traversal this side of Mirror's Edge, and some brutally fun combat.

Which brings me to the "award" that Dying Light got. As brutal and gory as games get, this is still the only one in recent memory that sticks with me as maybe being one where it goes too far. Or, more specifically, the fact that early-ish in the game I wound up having to beat skulls in repeatedly whilst the zombies were knocked down in order to kill them is something that has been seared into my brain. Perhaps it's because it felt too real. Later in the game I was cutting zombies to pieces with a swing or two of my fire/electric sword, which is very gory, but in a silly way. Beating skulls in while they lie on the ground was just a bit too real for me.

Not that it stopped me from playing the game, and having a lot of fun with it. Whether it was running for my life from the super powerful night zombies, or Scorpion spearing my way across rooftops with a grappling hook, I had a blast playing through Dying Light. Well, most of it, anyway. The story is lackluster at best, and it has one of the worst final missions in any game that I've ever played. And while I may have enjoyed the act of playing this game more than I did some of the games higher on this list, I am not exaggerating that this atrocious final mission was bad enough that it stopped me from putting it any higher on this list. If this game had a solid story, a good conclusion, and gave me the absurd weapons earlier in the game (so I wouldn't feel bad about crushing in skulls of people, er, zombies lying on the ground), it definitely could have been higher on the list.

Best Game That Didn't Quite Make the Cut: Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

Part of me really wanted to put Black Ops III as number ten on the list, but after thinking about it, I decided that since I really am not a fan of the multiplayer, I couldn't do that. Not when the multiplayer is such a huge part of the Call of Duty experience, and when I liked Advanced Warfare's multiplayer so much last year. It certainly wouldn't have been the first year I had highly awarded a Call of Duty for just the campaign, and not the multiplayer, but as much as I like this game's campaign, Black Ops II it ain't. It goes for it in ways that I absolutely love, and ways that I never expected a Call of Duty game to, but it just wasn't quite enough. Maybe if I had the restraint to not play through all of the conceptually great, but ultimately flawed Nightmares mode, I could've justified it, but I've already written this, and I don't have time to go re-writing things.

I really liked that campaign, but most of the rest of the game being a bummer dragged it down. I can stand by that statement. Let's hope that in three years Black Ops IV, or whatever they make can be a uniformly great game. I have faith in you, Treyarch. You can do it!

9. Most Necessary Addition of a Grappling Hook: Assassin's Creed Syndicate.

When I wrote about this game, I totally forgot to even mention the grappling hook until I was adding pictures to the blog. I feel pretty bad about that, because the grappling hook completely changes how traversal in the game works. Well, maybe not completely, because you still have to climb some stuff the old fashioned way after getting it (partly because its auto-targeting isn't perfect), but it's definitely the best addition to the series in years. Perhaps the best one since II added enough depth to what was going on in the game to make it worth playing beyond, "Well this game is amazing to look at." Using it to zoom up the sides of buildings was great, but I found the real appeal being zip lining between buildings to keep off the ground where there's no roofbound passage.

And it helps that most of the rest of the game is pretty good too. The story is disappointing, as is the fact that so much of the story missions require you play as Jacob. I don't just mean that from the, "Too many games star white dudes" point of view, I mean that Evie is, in every way, a more interesting character. I still hope that if they continue with the dual protagonists thing, that they let you play as one the whole way through, give you actual game play reasons to switch between them, or build missions around switching between them to accomplish the goals.

That's more or less why this game isn't higher on the list. I definitely had a lot of fun with the game, and in a lot of ways it's maybe the best this series has ever been. The assassination missions are by fay my favorite out of all of the games, but they're also a fairly small part of the game. And like a lot of games, it's pretty repetitive with the open world stuff. It's a solid game, and I liked it a lot, but ninth place is where it belongs on this list.

Best Metroid Game: Axiom Verge.

The last Metroid game came out in 2010. The last good Metroid game came out in 2007. The last side scrolling Metroid game was 2004, and the last side scrolling Metroid that wasn't a remake was 2002. It's been a long time since the last Metroid worth caring about, whichever one you feel like that game actually is. I really like the Metroid games, and in lieu of Nintendo actually getting around to making another one of those, I think Axiom Verge is a really good stand in for them.

But, as you can see by the fact that it didn't make the numbered cut, it wasn't quite where it should have been. Axiom Verge has a lot of really cool ideas, and really cool spins on how the items for traversing through the world work, how the (large number of) weapons work, and other things that just make playing the game more pleasant, like how the low health beep is in time with the music. I cannot overstate how far that goes to make one of the most annoying things in some games into a thing that is not only tolerable, but pretty cool.

The problem is that when I think about Axiom Verge, three things come to mind. The first is that low health beep, the second is the rad music, and the third is that this game is harder than it should have been. Don't get me wrong, I like challenging games. I know Dark Souls is the most clichéd example at this point, but that's still one of my favorite games, and that game is pretty challenging.

The difference with Axiom Verge is that I felt like most of the challenge I had in the game came from the controls, not from the game being super hard. While I think a lot of the traversal stuff in the game is cool conceptually, it's also kinda hard to pull off. And not in a way that feels good, it's in a way that just feels like it's there to make the game harder than it needs to be. Or maybe I'm just bad at the game and never got the timing for some of that stuff down, I don't know. But what I do know is that while I did enjoy Axiom Verge a lot, it wasn't good enough to make the cut.

8. Most Ludicrously Gory Game: Mortal Kombat X.

If I was doling out these awards based purely on how well games played, MKX would be a lot higher on this list than it actually is. I know I'm no fighting game connoisseur, but I used to really love fighting games as a kid. Sure, it was mostly stuff like Smash Bros and Soul Calibur II that I just mashed around with friends, but I spent hundreds of hours playing stuff like that with friends in my younger days. Then I fell off from fighting games for years, because they either weren't really a thing any more, or because when they came back it was stuff like Street Fighter, which for whatever reason never appealed to me that much.

And, no, MKX isn't the first "modern" fighting game that I played, because I certainly spent a fair amount of time with the MK reboot and MvC3 in 2011. And then I bought Divekick twice because I guess Lang decided they were too good to enable Cross-Buy between PS3 and PS4 (I kid, not that Lang is reading this or cares). I'd be remiss to forget to mention that Super Smash Bros for Wii U was my game of the year last year, but while I still 100% stand by calling the Smash Bros games fighting games, they have a different appeal to me at this point.

Aside from Smash Bros, MKX just feels so much better than any of those games ever did to me, and I can't really put my finger on what it is. It's just fast, and flows in a way that clicks really well in my brain. I would never go so far as to say I was "good" at the game, because I know if I tried to play against someone who was good, I would be setting off the Fraud Detection if that was a thing in this game. That said, I feel totally confident in saying MKX is, so far as just the fighting goes, easily one of my favorite fighting games of all time.

Problem is that the rest of the game isn't quite as good as I had hoped. The story mode is still better than the story modes in everything else in fighting games, but that's one of the lowest bars in gaming. Not that it's bad, it's just not as good as the story in the MK reboot. And the other stuff around the edges of the game isn't really as good as it was in that MK. The challenge towers that change every hour, day, or week are certainly interesting, but not as good as the set in stone challenge tower from the last game. I did like how the Krypt was sort of an adventure game, with finding different items to open different pathways as you explored through it, but that's not enough to make up for the other parts of the game.

But maybe the biggest reason this game isn't higher on the list is that I didn't really have many opportunities to play this game with friends. Not that this has anything at all to do with the game, but like I said, this isn't a list about what are the "best" games of the year, it's about the games that resonated with me the most. And in a game that relies so much on having people to play with, I didn't have as much time to do that as I had hoped. I know I could have played online, but those people are way better than me, and losing repeatedly isn't any fun either.

In the end, MKX is a really good game that I wish I had played more of. I like it a whole lot, but eighth is the right spot for it.

Cutest Game and Best Platformer: Grow Home.

Sometimes you just need a game that is cute, sweet, nice, and pure to relieve stress, relax, etc. I don't really play many of those games, because usually I'm more interested in story, or something that provides a challenge. But I do also really like games with a lot of exploration in them, and this game has plenty of that. But it has all of that without the risk of being suddenly mauled by enemies, or any sort of treachery like that. Well, actually now that I think about it, there totally is this one mean bull in a cave that kept attacking me, and you can definitely fall to your death in this game, but I'm losing track of my point.

The point is that Grow Home was a game that was super charming, and very heart warming. It's also a game that I played at exactly the right time of the year, because I really needed something like that then. I won't really go into details, but trust me. I needed something sweet and nice at that point.

But, as much as I liked it, between some technical issues with the PS4 version, and the fact that there isn't really a whole lot actually to the game, I couldn't justify actually getting this game onto my top ten. Maybe if the Trophy for getting all of the seeds hadn't bugged out, I could've justified this, but that was too far! I shall not forgive a broken Trophy!

I'm kidding. Well, not kidding about the Trophy being broken, but about it mattering that much. Grow Home is a swell little game, and one I had a lot of fun with. Just wish there had been a little more variety, and that the frame rate was better on PS4.

7. Most Disappointing Story: Fallout 4.

Of all the games on this top ten, this is the one I feel most conflicted about. For most of the 90-ish hours I spent playing this game, it would've been an easy top five for me. I know, "It's more Fallout" is a really reductive thing to say, and a thing that can be used positively or negatively, but I really like the Fallout formula. I spent dozens of hours just exploring. Just wandering around, delving into ruins, and occasionally doing quests for people.

This is one of the rare games that I actually managed to get myself lost in. I don't mean that in the literal sense of not being able to find my way, I mean that I lost track of time. I lost track of what I was doing in the real world, and just became immersed in Fallout's version of Boston, and the surrounding areas. That doesn't happen to me in many games this year, but this is probably the one that it happened to me the most in years. And I think that's even more impressive considering how much of a technical mess this game is, between the framerate (which has definitely been improved post launch, but it still shaky), and the same level of Bethesda open world mess that we've come to expect from these games. That I could still find myself more immersed than just about any other game is something that, honestly, is a little baffling to me, still.

But that doesn't excuse the game's issues. Especially in the writing department. I'm willing to overlook a certain amount of technical issues, especially in console versions where a good framerate is surprising, but the level of technical issues this game has, combined with the fact that most of the writing in the game is garbage? That's not excusable. Not given the amount of time and money spent on this game. Part of me really, really wanted to exclude this game from my top ten because I was so disappointed in Fallout 4's story. I wanted to take a stand against this. I wanted to stand firm, and say that games should either work as games, or have a good story/other stuff to make up for the part where it's a mess, or not fun to play (never mind that really, it should have both).

But then I remembered how I spent most of my time with Fallout 4 loving it. That, for most of the game, I was able to look past the jank, look past the mess, look past all of that and just be sucked into that world as I brutally murdered my way through Boston. Good or bad, I decided that Fallout 4 was memorable enough that it had to be on the list, and it somehow wound up at seven. The story is still awful, and like I said, this game could have been a serious contender if some stuff in this game was better. But as it is, it's a seventh place game. And I'm happy with that.

If the game let me have the dog and a humanoid companion at the same time, I might have been able to bump it up a spot or two. I really like having a dog in games, but it's hard to justify taking a dog when the people companions are more useful.

Most Interesting Art Style: Apotheon.

Remember Apotheon? It was the side scroller that was done in the style of ancient Greek vases. To be honest, I had forgotten I played this game, until I was looking through a list of all the games I had played over the year. Good thing I keep notes, huh? Well, the thing with Apotheon is that the game itself was fairly mediocre, and a buggy mess that crashed on me more than all the other games I played this year combined. BUT, man, that art style. Every single thing in the game just nails that look perfectly, and while I certainly don't want to recognize the game part for anything, I also didn't want this year to end without awarding it for its look. And if I had an award for "most male nudity in a game" this would win that too, because this game sure has a whole lost of that. A lot of lady nudity too, to be fair. But Giant Bomb is clearly too family oriented of a site, and I'm too serious of a writer to actually do that.

6. Best Multiplayer & PlayStation Plus Game of the Year: Rocket League.

I remember that when I first learned about Rocket League, it was just another beta for a game that I signed up for. Didn't really expect much from it. Maybe it'd be fun, but ultimately just another thing I play, shrug, and not think about again. But the moment I played Rocket League, I knew that I couldn't have been more wrong. This game took two things that I wasn't really a fan of (cars of a questionable size and soccer) and combined them into one of the most fun games of the year. I played quite a bit of that beta, and ended up really looking forward to the game. And when it was announced as a free game? The hype was real, let me tell you.

So real that I think I actually forgot to ever write about it here on GB. Which is a shame, because this game was the source of a lot of the most pure, unfiltered fun that I had all year. Getting a crew together and smashing about on the field of Rocket League fast became something I looked forward to. The game is fun enough on its own, playing against random people, but it shines as bright as a very bright shiny thing in a place that is surrounded by not shiny things when you're playing and chatting with friends. This game wouldn't have been nearly this high on my list were it not for my friends that I played with. Those fellows that we crafted lore for the game about (it's set in the Cars universe, and every time the ball explodes, we're sacrificing a human inside the ball to the machine gods). Those fellows that I played with when we got destroyed 9-0 by the best player on the planet (no, really, he was that guy that was posting insane videos of the game around launch). Thank you, Ross, Tom, and that Scottish guy? Mark? He was an all right guy, I just didn't know him that well.

But, ultimately, Rocket League also wins the saddest award: Game I Wish I had Played More Of. The developers kept supporting the game after launch, with new modes, new arenas, new mutators, and new cosmetic stuff to buy. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, we just never got around to playing much, or really any of it in the last few months. Unless they actually just abandoned me for someone that can play better. In which case, my fury knows no bounds.

In all seriousness, Rocket League is a stupendous game. The framerate could be a bit better, but aside from that, and the music being kinda terrible, I don't have any complaints with the game itself. I just wish I had played more of it. Maybe then it could have cracked into the top five. But for now, sixth is really the highest I could get it in, because the top five are some pretty superb games.

And, maybe, in the new year it can take the award for "Game of Last Year that I kept playing." Assuming I do such an award, because I didn't have a game for that this year. I blame my cousin for getting really good at Smash Bros and always playing Zero Suit Samus so that no one wanted to play against him, which meant it was always 1v1 with me and him, and that stopped being fun pretty quickly. Unless I played more of Advanced Warfare this year than I remembered. Hm. Whatever, I'm rambling now!

Game I'm Most Glad I Didn't Play: Destiny The Taken King.

Remember my Destiny obsession last year? Yeah, it wasn't exactly healthy. Obsessively playing through the same content over and over again in the hopes of getting a rare weapon, or some crafting materials was, in retrospect, a bad use of my time. And while many people have come to really like Destiny now that The Taken King has made what seems like a fair number of changes, I didn't come back. Why? Because of a lot of reasons. Part being that it didn't seem like there was enough content to justify the price if I was going to play through it only once. Part was that I didn't want to get sucked back into Destiny again. Not that I have so many other, better things to do with my time that I can't afford to use it playing Destiny. It's because while I wouldn't say I was addicted to Destiny, it was probably the closest I've ever gotten while playing a game. And that's bad. I didn't want that to happen.

So I stayed away. This isn't a judgment of Destiny, or anything in The Taken King. I just wanted to take a little time to pat myself on the back for, once in my life, being able to resist. And I'm glad I did. And, honestly, I'm hopeful that whatever is in store for Destiny next year (Destiny 2?), it's a good game that is worth playing not for some endless loot grind, but because it's a good game. Something that I can enjoy, maybe replay some stuff with friends, but ultimately just be a fun game that I don't obsess over. We'll see.

5. Rainiest Game: Batman: Arkham Knight.

Sometimes I just don't get why people feel the way they do about some games. Really, this applies to a lot of things in life, but this is about games. Arkham Knight is one of those games, and, to a certain extent, I kinda feel that way about a lot of this franchise, because I still seem to be the only person on the planet that thinks Asylum is the weakest of them, and that game was a bit too small and restrictive for its own good. But that's an argument I don't want to have, because I know I'm alone and this isn't about Asylum, this is about Knight.

I really liked Arkham Knight. A whole lot. But if you listen to most people online, the game seems like a disappointing, mediocre game that's more well known for the PC version being busted than anything else. And I think that in itself is disappointing, because I think, in terms of the act of playing as Batman whilst you sneak around and beat up thugs, this is the best that Batman has ever been. Sure, the Batmobile stuff is not as good as just Batman-ing around, and there's quite a bit more of the Batmobile than there should have been, but it's far from a bad, or mediocre game. I would even go so far as to all it a great game.

And while the story is a bit more predictable than it should be, and doesn't really treat the women in the game very well, I think the presentation of the story is one of the best of the year. People deride the game for its inclusion of The Joker, but I think the way the game introduces him, and uses him throughout the game is pretty clever. These games have become known for doing clever, weird things like that, and I think this continues that very well. And even outside of that, there's just a good, I dunno, cinematography(?) to a lot of the cutscenes. Almost Kojima-esque in some ways, which may be a negative to a lot of people, but I mean it as positively as I can. I know I have been pretty critical of some games in the writing department this year, and this one has some writing issues too, but I feel like good cutscenes don't get the praise they should in games. And this one certainly has some of the better ones that I saw all year.

It's just plain fun to play, too. It's a good reminder of just why it is that so many games have tried to ape the Batman combat, and also that none of them have gotten it done as well as these games have. At least none of the ones that I've played, anyway. And while I wouldn't really consider Arkham Knight to be a stealth game, it still does the stealth bits better than most action games that try to do stealth. Picking off enemies one by one is just as great as it's ever been, and now you can chain them together in a way that is a great evolution of that stuff.

I don't care what anyone says, I loved this game. When I first started writing up this stuff, originally I had Arkham Knight lower on the list than it is. But then I started writing about it, and remembered just how much I did love it, and I had to put it higher. And none of you could stop me! But seriously, this game gets a bad rap that I think is mostly undeserved. Well, the PC version deserves it, but the game itself is great. A bit too much Batmobile, and a too predictable twist make it less than what it could've been, but overall, it's still easily one of my favorite games of the year. Like all the games in my top five, in most other years this could have been an easy game of the year for me, but it couldn't quite make it there.

The Seventh Annual Moosies "Retro" Game of the Year: Batman Arkham Origins.

You know, for most of the year, I just assumed that I would give this award to A Link to the Past, because this was the first time I had ever played that game to completion, and that's a game that is considered by many to be one of, if not the, greatest games of all time. But then I got thinking about Batman, how much I love all of those games, and how Origins is the one that people "attack" the most, despite most of those people not having played it to completion, and you know what I decided? Why on Earth should I give this award to the "obvious" winner when I can give it to the Batman prequel that most people don't care for?

And you know what? I just did. Not just because of some dumb joke, but because of all the games I played this year that were from older years, this one stuck out to me. I think this game is actually really good, and in some ways, maybe the best of the Batman games. I definitely like it the most in terms of story, and character development stuff. And it's a Shane Black style story that really has very little to do with Christmas, but is set at Christmas. There's actually a nice little moment midway through the game where Alfred calls Bruce over the radio at midnight to tell him, "Merry Christmas."

I think it's stuff like that that made me like this game as much as I did. Game play wise it's just another Arkham City, even down to the fact that a large portion of the map is literally taken straight out of City, just with more snow and Christmas lights. But it's got heart, and it treats the characters more like actual people than the "main" Arkham games do. It's why I called him Bruce, instead of Batman. Because that wasn't just Batman brooding, it was a nice little moment. And there's more in the game too. The moment where a teenage Barbara Gordon meets The Batman, and willingly helps him despite knowing her father won't approve was a, I dunno, it was kinda cute. And there's other, more spoiler-y stuff in the game that I don't want to get into, but take my word for it. It's got the best character stuff and writing in those games. At least I think so.

And the game itself is fun too. The framerate isn't great, at least not on PS3, but it's got a lot of fun stuff in there. The sneaky-knock out all the guys areas are really well designed, in terms of paths you have for sneaking around, options for taking them out, etc. Maybe even some of the best of the series, now that I think about it.

Arkham Origins is a much better game than you've probably been led to believe. As someone who loves all of the Batman Arkham games, and ended up replaying both Asylum and City after playing Knight this year, I still think Origins is my favorite. Not the objective best in terms of pure game play, but it's got heart, and I love it when games have heart.

Runners up: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Nidhogg.

4. Ryan Davis Memorial Award for Best Use of Facial Hair: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher III is a game that I really, really liked a whole lot. I loved exploring that world, I loved talking to people, and going through each and every dialog choice because I wanted to soak in every last detail that I could. And for the most part, those details were worth soaking in. For as big as "big" most games are, for as jam packed full of stuff as most big games are, most of that stuff is just filler. It's just there for the sake of having something there. Towers to climb simply for the sake of having towers to climb. Bases to clear out for the sake of having bases to clear out. Enemies to kill just for the sake of having enemies to clear.

But not in The Witcher III. Here, everything has a purpose, and a reason for being. Nothing exists purely for the sake of arbitrarily existing. It's all a part of one massive, cohesive, incredible world. This is a game where I intentionally turned the minimap off because I wanted to find my own way, and not be constantly looking at a tiny circle to know where to go. I wanted to be absorbed into the world as much as I could. Soak it all in.

A game where taking a leisurely horse ride through a forest could lead to a town I'd otherwise never have found. A town with some side quest in it that seems normal, but as I delve deeper into it, it becomes clear that there's some twist, some little thing about it that makes it memorable and different. That level of care and craft put into almost every little nook and cranny is just astounding.

It's a game where many side quests are better written and more interesting than the main plots of many games. I could even say it's a game where the side quests and sub plots are better than the main plot of The Witcher III. And, you know what, I think I will, because as much as I did really love this game, at some point I need to also mention the stuff I didn't like. This is my number four game of the year, after all. Not number one.

I can really only think of a couple games from this year with stories that kept me really involved and interested the whole way through. Sadly, this wasn't one of them. And that's a real bummer, considering how good it is at its best. But I can't let a game that eventually devolves into a "chosen one" story off the hook that easily. Especially not when the game seems like it is pretty clearly building to a dramatic climax, but then reveals there's actually ten plus hours of game left, and I found myself trudging to the end as quickly as I could. All the wind was taken from my sails, and it really lessened how I felt about the game as a whole.

But don't get me wrong, this isn't like Fallout 4. This isn't a really terrible ending that almost ruins the entire game. This is just a case of going on a bit longer than I think it should have. But that's not the only issue I have with the game. For as good as the writing can be, all too often the game is pretty sexist toward its women, and if you couldn't tell from what I've written about some of the other games on here, I've gotten pretty sick and tired of that in games. Well, in general, but you know. This is 2015, we should expect better, especially when this is one of the best written games of the year, overall.

I suppose the real lesson learned from The Witcher III is that it's not about the destination, it's about the-

Oh, yeah, the facial hair. Not only does the game have an ample amount of majestic beards, but it features the return of a long dormant feature last seen (at least in games I've played) in Deadly Premonition: Real Time Beard Growth®. And because of that, I can't think of a game more worthy of winning the award for Best Use of Facial Hair.

Like I said, the game has its flaws. And I think it has more flaws than most people do, to be honest. But I still loved it, and I think it more than deserves its place at number four. Maybe if it'd been less sexist, and nailed the ending, it could have been higher. But we'll never know, because inter-dimensional travel is probably impossible, and even if it is possible, I don't have access to it.

Best Transforming Mech: Galak-Z.

There's a lot to like about Galak-Z. It's got some good style (that I think is lessened by the awful looking characters, especially in the cutscenes), an interesting take on rogue-like mechanics, and most importantly, it's fun. But while the game didn't really grab me enough to get onto the top ten (especially with the Arcade Mode and Season 5 not yet on PS4), I still wanted to write at least a little something about it here. And eventually what I decided on was to award it for having a rad transforming mech. It's a pretty useful one, too, because I used that mech a lot. Maybe more than I should have, given the number of times my "strategy" of rushing in with my shield up and sword charged just ended up with me having less health than I did before the fight. And it has a grappling arm, which I don't use nearly as much as I probably should, but I like it.

That's about all I have to say on Galak-Z, so let's keep this metaphorical train moving!

3. Best Lore/World: Bloodborne.

The Witcher III may have had a world I wanted to explore because it was beautiful and vast, but Bloodborne had I world I needed to explore because I needed to delve deeper into the mysteries of Yharnam. And unlike almost every other game I played this year, the deeper I got, the more invested I became. The more obsessed I became with finding the truth. With connecting the dots, with figuring out what was happening in the sick and twisted world that From Software crafted.

And the deeper I went, the more I needed to know. Werewolves? Beasts? What are these statues? Nightmares? Are nightmares real? Insight? Great Ones? Eyes within? Blood? What does it all mean? Well, I'm not going to tell you. Few games have captured my imagination in the way that Bloodborne did, and I'm not going to spoil the fun for you if you somehow have made it this far without playing it, or finding out.

I will say that this game's bait and switch is fantastic. So much of the game is just Victorian style buildings, and werewolf looking beasts. But then there's this whole other layer of cosmic horror lying just underneath, just out of reach, just waiting for you to finally be able to grasp it and when you do...

Bloodborne is a superb game. Every single inch of the game is absolutely drenched in atmosphere. Few games achieve what they set out to do half as well as Bloodborne does. Honestly, even at number three, it pains me that I couldn't find a way to put this game higher on my list. But between the last two games on the list just being absolute killers, and a few missteps on the part of Bloodborne (cough, vials and having to warp to a place and talk to a lady to level up, never mind the framerate), third place was the best it could land at.

I know popular opinion of Bloodborne seems to be that it's good, but not as good as Dark Souls, but so far as I'm concerned, it's better. And not just a little better, I'm talking way better. Or, at least, I like it way better. I love Dark Souls, and still consider it one of my all time favorites. But everything about the world of Bloodborne, and how it plays just puts it on a whole other level than anything Dark Souls could ever match. I know people complain about the lower variety of "builds" in Bloodborne. And that's a valid complaint. I still think the transforming weapon and gun is way more fun on its own than anything I ever played in Dark Souls I, II, or Demon's Souls.

Okay, I'm getting a bit rambling at this point, but that's because I'm writing this at night, and I've let my Insight get too high, so my Frenzy resist is low. But really, the fact that this game has a system in place to replicate the Lovecraftian idea of things that are so horrifying just being near them can drive you to madness is amazing. Speaking of, you know what Bloodborne did, that no other game has ever gotten me to do? It got me to go and read hundred year (ish) old texts. After I played this game, I realized that I had never actually read any of Lovecraft's stuff. So I went and did that. And you know what? He was pretty racist and I think From Software outdid him in all good aspects of his writing (for the record: The racism is bad, and I probably didn't need to point that out, but like I said, writing this later than I should be).

In a lot of ways, Bloodborne has me worried that I might never play a game that does what this game does as well as this game does it ever again. Now, I know what your thinking: Run-on sentences are a problem you need to work on, Moosey. And that Dark Souls III is out next year. And you're right on both counts. But while I'm sure Dark Souls III is going to be a good game, and probably a great game, there's no chance in Yharnam it gets me like Bloodborne did. I doubt even a Bloodborne II could do that, unless they found something even crazier and wilder to do. Who knows!

What I do know is that I adore Bloodborne, and I wish the few things it does wrong were better, because otherwise it would be as close to perfect as I think any game I've ever played has been. But as it is, having to grind for those vials was a bummer, as was every time I sat through those loading screens. And thus, because of not optimal user experience, this amazing once in a lifetime game gets third place! Video games!

Best Episodic Game That Was Partially Released In 2014 And Isn't Up For Any Spot On The Top Ten Because Of Course I'm The Person That Would Enforce A Dumb Rule Like That: Tales From the Borderlands.

Tales from the Borderlands was a fun game. I don't think it's a GOTY contender, and frankly I don't think it would have gotten into my top ten even if it was purely released in 2015. Or maybe it would have, I'm not sure. The Walking Dead did when that released, and I feel like Tales is both a better game, and a game I enjoyed more. But it's also a goofy, kinda silly thing that doesn't have the impact of a serious thing like The Walking Dead. Especially not when the mere concept of Telltale Games games has become a running joke. At a certain point, these games all follow the same formula, and how much you enjoy one is dependent on how good the characters and writing are, more than anything else.

Thankfully Tales from the Borderlands gets that stuff right. It's not the funniest, or best written game I played all year, but it's an easy second, at least in terms of the humor. The characters are all likable, except for the ones that are intentionally supposed to be unlikable. It's solid, it's fun, I don't really have much else to say about it. I would probably play a second season if they made that, which is more than I can say for The Walking Dead. I own season two of that through PS+, and haven't played that.

2. Best Story/Writing: Undertale.

Of all the games on this list, Undertale is still the hardest one to write about. Not because I'm not overflowing with positive things to say about it, but because there's only so much I can say without spoiling the game, or going into a boring amount of detail about specific moments that I probably can't do justice to in the first place. So, I'll go back to what I wrote about it in my blog a couple weeks ago (last year, at this point). This game reminds me of all the best parts of the Mario RPGs that I absolutely loved back when I was younger, and of all the best parts of Metal Gear Solid 2.

It's a game that manages to combine everything sweet, wonderful, funny, and good about those goofy games with the completely bonkers nonsense that you expect out of a lunatic like Kojima. But more than all of that, it's a game that takes whatever it is that you give it, and gives it back tenfold. If you show the game compassion, and humor, it does the same to you. But if you're cruel and merciless, then the game fights back in ways that few games do. Of course, I didn't do that, I went the first route, because I'm not a monster.

To be honest, for as much as we all know what my number one game of the year is, and how it's the super obvious choice for a whole plethora of reasons, Undertale gave me pause. There was a while when I was seriously considering it, even if I obsessed over the other game, and ended up playing that one for over 150 hours. But even just the fact that Undertale gave me pause, that this weird little game that came out of nowhere like this could do that to me? I would have never expected that, and I think that speaks to just how much I really liked this game.

I'm sure some of you are reading this and just shaking your heads, because I know this game has its detractors. Both those that have actually played it, and the ones that haven't. And that's fine. I can't make you play it. You're the ones missing out on one of the funniest and most charming games I've played in years. Of course, if you're that sort of person, you'd probably end up having a bad time anyway.

Before I move on, I just want to say that if you hadn't noticed, this year's Moosies logo does in fact have some dumb references to Undertale in it. Let me show you it again, in case you forgot.

And, it's finally here. What you've been waiting for. The Seventh Annual Moosies Video Game Awards Game of the Year! Isn't the excitement, just, well, exciting? Without further ado, the winner is:

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

1. FMV Game of the Year and The True Successor of Deadly Premonition: Contradiction: Spot the Liar!

When I think back on the year of 2015, this game stands out to me. No, I didn't actually play it, but I don't know that I've ever laughed harder than I have at some of the goofs in this game. Sure, that was accentuated by the filter of Giant Bomb East, but even on its own, it's a fun, goofy time. Even beyond the obvious plot similarities, it does what Deadly Premonition did so well back in 2010. It ropes you in with a really goofy cast of characters, and some performances that are at once actually kind of good, but also really funny for reasons that flirt around the line between intentional and unintentional. If you haven't played it, or haven't watched GB East play it, I highly recommend it.

What's that you say? A contradiction?

What do you mean in Undertale I said I played my Game of the Year for over 150 hours, and then said that I haven't played Contradiction at all?

Well, about that...

1. The TRUE 7^th Annual Moosies Video Game Awards Game of the Year:

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

You didn't fall for it, did you? You knew what was missing. You knew what the real game of the year was. Or, at least, what my real game of the year was. You knew that I couldn't possibly go through a year with a game like MGSV without giving it the top spot. Even if it had been a garbage fire of a game, with my obsessing about it for literal years before release meant that there was no way it wasn't going to win. This is the only game in my life that I was actually counting down the days to its release. And I don't mean just a few days, or a couple weeks. I mean months. Hundreds of days. I don't remember how long it was, but I remember doing it from the very day that the release date was announced. Never in my life had I felt so much anticipation for a game. And thankfully, my faith wasn't misplaced.

Not completely, anyway. As much as I love this game, as much as I love playing this game, it has faults. The story, at the end of the day, is disappointing. The twist, the "Truth," is disappointing. The way the game handled it's only meaningful woman character, Quiet, was disappointing. Everything about the way that game ended was disappointing. Aside from Metal Gear Online being fun to play, and some bug fixes, everything done to the game post launch has been disappointing, and actively made the game worse.

But none of that matters, because this is still not just my favorite game of the year, but one of my favorite games of all time. In fact, the only things stopping me from outright declaring it my Game of All Time are the story and Quiet. Everything else about the game is everything I ever wanted from a Metal Gear game, and heaps and heaps of things I didn't know I wanted on top of that. Did I know that I wanted an eyepatch wearing dog buddy with an electric knife? Did I know that wanted the ability to shoot a robot fist out in a literal rocket punch? Did I know that I wanted to tie balloons to just about everything that isn't bolted down, so I could send it back to my base and horde it instead of actually using it?

No, I didn't know I wanted those thing, but Kojima was right. I did. MGSV just plays so fantastically well, and has so many varied options, all of which work, and most of which are so much fun that I'm still blown away by the game, even several months later. Even though I had astronomical expectations, I'm still surprised they managed to pull off so much stuff so well in this game.

If only the story was better. If only the game wasn't so pervy about Quiet. But, when I think about that stuff, and I think about 2015 as a whole, I feel like MGSV is the best summation of 2015. It's a game of stupendous, incredible highs, and depressing, disappointing lows. At its best, MGSV is one of my favorite games. At its worst, it's a sexist mess that doesn't even have an ending. It just stops after the game arbitrarily decides to reveal what the twist was. Part of me wants to say it's both the best game, and most disappointing story, but really, after Ground Zeroes, I was expecting a bad story, so I would be dishonest if I did that. Also I still think the story in this game is better than Fallout 4's, but that is 100% NOT a discussion I want to have.

Instead, I'll end this by saying that MGSV is the only game this year, and the only game in years to bring me to the verge of tears. There's one part of the game where what it makes you do, and the way that it presents it almost made me cry. It takes a lot to get me to cry, outside of things like actual, real world tragedy involving my friends, family, etc. When a game manages to get that sort of response out of me, it's such a rare occurrence that it resonates with me more than just about anything else. And MGSV is one of only a handful of games to ever do that.

And if that doesn't convince you that this game deserves the number one spot here, go back at read my MGSV blogs. One of them is a super spoiler blog, so be prepared for that. But that's my game of the year, and I stand by it.

MGSV Also Wins:

Year of the Dog Dog of the Year: DD.

Year of the Horse Horse of the Year: D-Horse.

Predictions Time®!

What's Predictions Time®? It's a "new," special segment in which I make predictions about the coming year, and specifically next year's Moosies. Will they be even remotely accurate? Who knows! Only time will tell, and time is an elusive mistress that doesn't share secrets.

Moosies 2016 GOTY: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

Reasoning: Neither Mass Effect Andromeda or Horizon: Zero Dawn get released in 2016, and I really liked Human Revolution. That, plus a bigger budget and (hopefully) a bit better of a story means that game will likely win big for me.

Moosies 2016 Game I Play More Obsessively Than I Should: No Man's Sky.

I bet that No Man's Sky ends up being a fairly standard game to play, but that I end up spending well over a hundred hours just exploring in that game, before realizing that it was all a waste. I end up thinking of it similarly to Destiny, though not really the same because at least No Man's Sky won't be insidiously designed. Just really big and kinda boring.

Destiny 2 is a Free to Play Game.

Maybe a long shot, but who knows?! Given the trajectory Destiny has gone in terms of monetization, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this was the case. Again, I doubt it'll happen, because I think Activision would much rather get the $60 up front and then charge for all sorts of things after the fact. Not unlike the current Destiny situation.

2016's Assassin's Creed game is disappointing, as in that year's Call of Duty.

I know, I'm saying the things everyone else is too scared to say. Making predictions that seem WILD and IMPOSSIBLE.

Persona 5 gets pushed to 2017, renamed Persona V: The Persona Pain.

Seems pretty obvious to me.

Nintendo pulls a Sega Saturn with the NX. Announces and releases it the same day.

I don't actually think this'll happen at all, but if it does, I can say I predicted it.

There's still no new F-Zero or Metroid games.

Speaking of things that make me cry.

The New Zelda Game finally gets a name, but still gets delayed into 2017.

That, or they announce a name and release it within six months of said name. Or they pull a Saturn.

And that's actually it! Thank you for making it through this blog that somehow wound up being a lot longer than I originally intended. Whoops!