Solid list! I can understand putting Fallout 4 as your top pick. It won't be mine, but it's certainly the game that occupied my time the most this year, and I think in terms of gameplay, it's certainly the one I had the most fun with.

I had a lot of fun with Shelter too, although it kept breaking for me every time I'd hit about 180 dwellers, which eventually became a deal breaker. Still, it leaves me curious what they can do with mobile games in the future.

Personally, I couldn't stand Arkham Knight. It felt less fun than its prequels - all of them - and the Batmobile stuff was just terrible. I hit a late-game mission where I had to fight my way through tanks and fog and I just couldn't do it anymore. My irritation with that game's worst moments far outweighed any fun I had with the usual great on-foot gameplay.

As for what you want to play, I'd absolutely start with Witcher 3. The prior two games don't age particularly well, so starting with the best one and then visiting the other two as a sort of history lesson makes sense. Rocket League is sweet, even as a solo game, and it's the most fun I've had with multiplayer this year.

Excited to jump into Fallout 4 after reading your take on it. That is one I'm hoping to play in the next week or so.

I liked Arkham Knight, but felt that City and Asylum (especially) were more exciting. I enjoyed Arkham Knight and finished all of it (minus the Riddler Trophies). That being said, it's not something that left me awestruck.

Also, definitely give Bloodborne a long look when you get a chance. I had never gotten into the Souls games until this one. I absolutely loved it. It's been a while since a game had me coming back to play more consistently.

@sparky_buzzsaw: Yeah, Arkham Knight was a slog. So disappointing. I played the other two games to 100% and loved every minute of it. But man, that Batmobile. It sounds like a logical place to take the series on paper but man did it spoil so much of the fun. I can't believe that they focused so much of the DLC on making more of those inane obstacle courses. Such a waste.

Cheers and Happy Holiday of your choice! :)

Good writeup. Couple things: Bloodborne and Until Dawn are both excellent. Definitely start with Witcher 3. Witcher 1 is tough to go back to at this point, and was at best kind of a loosely decent concept. I will say though, don't go into it looking to compare it to Fallout or expecting the same thing. People do a disservice to both games with their constant need to compare them to each other since they're both open-world RPGs. There's so much hype around Witcher 3 right now that if you go into it expecting it to be your new favorite game you might end up disappointed.

That is a good point. I try, and sometimes fail, but try to take each new experience as it comes. But it's hard to go into anything without some expectations these days.

What I plan to do, assuming things work out this way, is that I'm going to have a buffer game between my open-world experiences. After Fallout 4 I'll probably be playing XCOM2. I figure based on what I've already done in Fallout and a second character build I'm already working on in my head that February is a good time to assume I'll have played it all I can. After XCOM, then I'll be looking for a new open-world experience. Witcher probably, or maybe Just Cause 3. I asked for both of those as Christmas gifts so whichever one ends up under the tree. Unless they both end up under the tree, then I'm hosed. But you know, best laid plans and all that. ;)

It would be nice if I could offer someone an objective opinion on Fallout, but I just can't. I'm too biased in their favor. I love it. I loved 3, I loved New Vegas, I just love playing those games. I hope you dig it! Feel free to holler back when you do give it a try. I'm always interested in other takes on games I enjoy, even if people don't like them. (not that I'm saying I expect you won't like it, naturally)

I put a fair amount of time into Fallout 4 (and still not done with it) but I couldn't bring myself to put it on my own list. I just had way too high of expectations for it I guess. The Institute stuff was such a tease that just didn't feel rewarding for me.

I actually found I really enjoyed Arkham Knight because I only played the main story. I didn't do a single side thing and the plot kept me interested for most of the game. It was very dark subject material and I loved that. Seriously though, fuck the bat mobile. That was an awful, awful addition to the game.

@zzombie13: Definitely, I'll let you know what I think once I dive in to Fallout 4.

Like you, I loved Fallout 3. That was the first Fallout I had ever played out. Even ended up buying a few of the DLC packs. However...I could not get into New Vegas. I'm not sure what it was, but it just didn't hook me like Fallout 3 did.

I did end up really liking New Vegas, but it did take a while. It's weird because I liked F3 the minute I heard Liam Neeson and his soothing daddy voice. New Vegas though, it took me a couple of years before I really gave it an honest chance.

I think it suffered from coming out too soon after 3. Like you, I'd never played a Fallout game before 3 so I didn't get it on launch day. I got it for Christmas in 2008 so I didn't start it until early 2009. By the time I finished up playing 3 (because I played it about 8 times plus all 5 DLC packs), New Vegas was coming out in a few months. I think it suffered for the comparison. We went back and played it later and I really got into it then. Perhaps I needed the distance from 3 to fully appreciate it. I played it around 2012 or 13 and that's when it became a game I liked as much as 3.

Many Fallout fans will call it the superior of the 2 Fallouts from Bethesda. I won't tell them they are wrong of course, their opinion is as valid as mine, perhaps more so if they played 1 and 2 which I never did. But 3 just hit all the right chords with me. Being set in the capital and me being a kid from the cold war era, it was all just very affecting. It seems silly now, but when I was a kid people really did feel that we would eventually destroy ourselves in nuclear war. It was almost considered a foregone conclusion. And even though the cold war was over so long ago, those memories lingered. So when 3 came along, set in my nations capital -THE seat of power- man it just hit me. I loved every minute of it. And I went DEEP into the role-play on all of my characters.

You know, that's not such a bad idea. I may replay it just doing the story. Because I did like those bits, quite a bit in fact. But in Asylum and City I liked everything so I assumed I would in Knight as well. So I kept trying them as they come along. Perhaps a second play through is in order.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)!

Arkham Knight is one of the more frustrating games this year. I'm not sure I've seen a game in some time that would have been so drastically better if they just cut like 40% of the game's content. The Batmobile was at best mediocre and should have been for nothing more than getting around the city. And oh man, all those Riddler Trophies...

But at the same time, boy is Gotham gorgeous and fun to just fly around in! And the story is actually really interesting. That bit near the end of the game is one of my picks for Moment of the Year. You probably know what I'm talking about if you played it. I think minus a lot of the extraneous content, it might actually be a better game than Arkham City.

Also, I'm in the crowd preferring New Vegas to 3, but I can see why some people prefer 3. I just like the setting of New Vegas a whole lot.