What a strange year. We have more great open-world games than I can ever remember: The Witcher 3, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Just Cause 3, and Fallout 3, plus more that I'm forgetting. That's a considerable amount of content for each game, even though I have nowhere enough time to play just the ones I bought.
I love Max. This introverted, nerdy girl always with a camera handy is such a departure from almost every protagonist other in gaming, and every dorky reference she makes further endears her. Her time-travel powers are almost unneeded, but without those mysterious abilities, along with her friend Chloe, Max wouldn't go through her character arc.
You can argue whether Life is Strange hit the landing with the last episode or if the dialogue is too awkward, but developer Dontnod has created a wonderful journey with outstanding cliffhangers and two of the best female characters in recent memory. And that is why Life is Strange is my 2015 Game of the Year.
It's telling of how much I enjoy the basic Rock Band gameplay that I'm willing to name the fourth game as my second favorite game of 2015 despite the multitude of problems (glitches, minimal character creation) and lost features (keyboards, online). With time and content updates, Rock Band 4 might even surpass Rock Band 3 as one of my favorite games ever.
I'm nowhere close to the end of The Phantom Pain, but I don't care. This is the stealth game I've wanted for a long time. While certain missions offer restrictions, most just tell me where to go and allows me to use my bag of tools to accomplish my objectives however I please, whether that's so stealthy that nobody is aware of Snake or simply delivering head-shot after head-shot. It's my favorite Metal Gear by a mile.
I expected Nintendo to somehow drop the ball with Super Mario Maker, but I am so glad that I'm wrong. The level creator itself is easy to grasp and a joy to use. Online sharing could've used more search options (although Nintendo created a site to address this), but it's decent. My biggest complaint is simply the amount of levels designed to screw the player, something anyone could've predicted. Despite that, Super Mario Maker is a fantastic game.
I'm already aware of where Steins;Gate is heading thanks to having seen the wonderful anime series, but like reading a book after watching the film adaptation, I'm gaining a deeper understanding of characters and events. Steins;Gate is a visual novel through and through, so there is little gameplay to speak of, but the story makes up for it.
It's a testament to how likable the cast of Persona 4 is that they manage to make this hum-drum story even somewhat entertaining. Saving an idol group through the power of song just doesn't make for the most entertaining fiction, and the music/rhythm gameplay is fun, but nothing exceptional. The real winner is the soundtrack, which brings over a number of original and remixed tracks from P4 and spin-offs.
Grab the Collector's Edition if possible just for the 2-CD soundtrack.
Where some Nintendo games hold your hand for far too long, Xenoblade Chronicles X swats away your hand almost immediately and forces you to learn on your own. It's a game that rewards exploration, whether it's the combat or trekking across the planet Mira. Speaking of which, Mira is stunning. Through a combination of hardware, art, and presumably a sort of dark magic, Mira trumps Fallout 4 and Witcher 3 in environmental beauty.
I'm still early when you consider how massive this game is, but I'm going to keep exploring that uncharted planet through the new year.
No sequel has managed to reach the high quality of the original Yoshi's Island, but Woolly World comes the closest by far. With an adorable yarn aesthetic and a fun soundtrack, this game isn't lacking for style, but it shines with level design. This isn't a remix of levels found in Yoshi's Island, as it regularly introducing new gameplay elements. The creativity isn't up there with the original game, and it doesn't stray from the established gameplay, but it's a good platformer.
Activision's attempt to reboot Guitar Hero is mostly a success, with my problems stemming from my preference to Rock Band. The new six-button guitar is fun and manages to emulate chords pretty well, but since your hand never moves, there is no sensation of traveling up and down the neck of the guitar. For all the talk about this guitar being closer to the real thing, it's more that you're gaining an aspect of a real guitar while losing another.
On-disk songs are weak and unfocused, wrapped around live-action concert footage that does little except make me cringe. The star of the game is GHTV, which streams out a growing selection of songs. It's great for casual play, but I'd prefer buying songs that I can't play endlessly instead of burning through "Plays."
War never changes, and neither does Fallout. The fourth numbered installment plays almost identical to Fallout 3, but I fail to see that as a problem. Walking through a post-nuclear wasteland, scrounging through aging containers, and fighting off Raiders doesn't get old quickly, and now we have weapon and Power Suit modification. It's a shame that the village building is so poorly explained and user-unfriendly.
Had I more time to dig further into Fallout 4, I'm sure it would be higher on this list.
