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GOTY 2015 - Close me please.
Mr_Grinch
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
GOTY 2015 Overall Top 20
(With thanks to Infidel for running and posting the results.)
Results determined by Borda count.
Full results with vote rankings
Other vote counting methods:
System Top 10
PC
PS4
XBOX One
WiiU
3DS
PSVita
Original Op Below
First off, round of applause to @Infidel for hosting this thing.
So every year since 2004 @MCC has been doing a Game of the Year poll on this forum. This is the twelfth time we have done this! There's a simple verification system in place this year via pm.
There are a lot of Game of the Year polls out there, but the thing that makes this one interesting is that although most GOTY polls just give you a list of maybe five of the best-selling games from the last year, and ask you to choose your favorite; THIS poll gives you a list of EVERY game that came out in the last year (more or less) and asks you to vote for [up to] your top 20, ranked by how much you liked them. We actually wind up with a serviceable ranking of the top hundred or so games from the last year, with blockbusters, obscurities and cult hits mixed in side by side.
The poll is going to run till the end of January (maybe longer) to give everyone time to vote, and then the results will be posted.
Thanks everyone for the help with this poll! @Infidel is doing all the funky technical script and hosting business. @Mcc set all this up originally and kindly passed it on for us to use. Loads of people helped tidy my initial massive game list, with @sergiocornaga doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
(By the way, if you feel like using this thread to post how you voted, the last page of the poll script spits out what you voted for.)
[/SPOILER}
(With thanks to Infidel for running and posting the results.)
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO) (1267)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO) (1186)
- Undertale (PC) (1104)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO) (953)
- Bloodborne (PS4) (917)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO) (899)
- Pillars of Eternity (PC) (751)
- Rocket League (PC, PS4) (741)
- Super Mario Maker (WiiU) (670)
- Cities: Skylines (PC) (616)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3) (587)
- Splatoon (WiiU) (564)
- Kerbal Space Program (PC) (525)
- Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO, PC) (501)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC) (446)
- Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC) (419)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC) (361)
- Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU) (356)
- Invisible, Inc. (PC) (343)
- Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO) (341)
Results determined by Borda count.
Full results with vote rankings
Other vote counting methods:
First Past the Post
Approval
IRV
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO) (33)
- Undertale (PC) (32)
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO) (14)
- Bloodborne (PS4) (13)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO) (13)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO) (13)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3) (6)
- Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS) (5)
- Splatoon (WiiU) (5)
- Kerbal Space Program (PC) (4)
- Super Mario Maker (WiiU) (4)
- Pillars of Eternity (PC) (4)
- Heroes of the Storm (PC) (4)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC) (3)
- Rocket League (PC, PS4) (2)
- Shadowrun: Hong Kong (PC) (2)
- Soma (PC, PS4) (2)
- Until Dawn (PS4) (2)
- Just Cause 3 (PC, PS4, XBO) (2)
- Star Wars: Battlefront (PC, PS4, XBO) (2)
Approval
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO) (83)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO) (66)
- Undertale (PC) (63)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO) (58)
- Bloodborne (PS4) (56)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO) (55)
- Pillars of Eternity (PC) (50)
- Rocket League (PC, PS4) (49)
- Cities: Skylines (PC) (46)
- Super Mario Maker (WiiU) (42)
- Kerbal Space Program (PC) (36)
- Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO, PC) (35)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC) (35)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3) (34)
- Splatoon (WiiU) (32)
- Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC) (32)
- Fallout Shelter (Mobile) (29)
- Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO) (27)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC) (25)
- Invisible, Inc. (PC) (25)
IRV
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO) (66)
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO) (83)
- Undertale (PC) (63)
- Bloodborne (PS4) (56)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO) (55)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO) (58)
- Pillars of Eternity (PC) (50)
- Rocket League (PC, PS4) (49)
- Super Mario Maker (WiiU) (42)
- Cities: Skylines (PC) (46)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3) (34)
- Kerbal Space Program (PC) (36)
- Splatoon (WiiU) (32)
- Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO, PC) (35)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC) (35)
- Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC) (32)
- Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO) (27)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC) (25)
- Heroes of the Storm (PC) (25)
- Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU) (24)
System Top 10
PC
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO)
- Undertale (PC)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
- Pillars of Eternity (PC)
- Rocket League (PC, PS4)
- Cities: Skylines (PC)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
- Kerbal Space Program (PC)
PS4
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
- Bloodborne (PS4)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
- Rocket League (PC, PS4)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC)
- Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO)
XBOX One
- Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO)
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
- Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
- Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
- Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO, PC)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC)
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC)
- Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO)
- Star Wars: Battlefront (PC, PS4, XBO)
WiiU
- Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
- Splatoon (WiiU)
- Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU)
- Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU)
- EarthBound Beginnings (WiiU)
- Disney Infinity 3.0 (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO, WiiU, Mobile)
- Affordable Space Adventures (WiiU)
- Lego Jurassic World (PC, X360, XBO, PS3, PS4, PSVita, WiiU, 3DS)
- Guitar Hero Live (PS4, PS3, X360, XBO, WiiU)
- Human Resource Machine (PC, WiiU)
3DS
- Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
- Pokémon Picross (3DS)
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS)
- Box Boy! (3DS)
- Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (3DS)
- SteamWorld Heist (3DS)
- Lego Jurassic World (PC, X360, XBO, PS3, PS4, PSVita, WiiU, 3DS)
- Pokémon Shuffle (3DS, Mobile)
- Yo-Kai Watch (3DS)
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)
PSVita
- Helldivers (PS4, PS3, PSVita, PC)
- Nuclear Throne (PC, PS4, PSVita)
- Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4, PSVita, PC)
- Persona 4: Dancing All Night (PSVita)
- OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood (PC, PS4, PSVita)
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PS3, PSVita)
- Titan Souls (PC, PS4, PSVita)
- MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3, PSVita)
- Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines (PSVita)
- Steins;Gate (PS3, PSVita, PC)
Original Op Below
First off, round of applause to @Infidel for hosting this thing.
So every year since 2004 @MCC has been doing a Game of the Year poll on this forum. This is the twelfth time we have done this! There's a simple verification system in place this year via pm.
There are a lot of Game of the Year polls out there, but the thing that makes this one interesting is that although most GOTY polls just give you a list of maybe five of the best-selling games from the last year, and ask you to choose your favorite; THIS poll gives you a list of EVERY game that came out in the last year (more or less) and asks you to vote for [up to] your top 20, ranked by how much you liked them. We actually wind up with a serviceable ranking of the top hundred or so games from the last year, with blockbusters, obscurities and cult hits mixed in side by side.
The poll is going to run till the end of January (maybe longer) to give everyone time to vote, and then the results will be posted.
Thanks everyone for the help with this poll! @Infidel is doing all the funky technical script and hosting business. @Mcc set all this up originally and kindly passed it on for us to use. Loads of people helped tidy my initial massive game list, with @sergiocornaga doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
(By the way, if you feel like using this thread to post how you voted, the last page of the poll script spits out what you voted for.)
[/SPOILER}
Mr_Grinch on
+14
Posts
You voted for:
1) Until Dawn (PS4)
2) Tearaway Unfolded (PS4)
3) Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO)
4) Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
5) Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
6) Mortal Kombat X (Mobile, PC, PS4, XBO)
7) Transformers: Devastation (PC, PS4, PS3, XBO, X360)
8) Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU)
9) MonsterBag (PSVita)
10) Driveclub Bikes (PS4)
11) Grow Home (PC, PS4)
12) The Order: 1886 (PS4)
13) Rocket League (PC, PS4)
14) Kick & Fennick (PSVita)
15) Helldivers (PS4, PS3, PSVita, PC)
Until Dawn was the clear winner for me, Tearway managed to sneak in at the last minute and utterly win my heart to get to 2nd place. Prior to that I couldn't decide between Dying Light and Life is Strange.
However having played through Dying Light almost entirely with a friend in coop, as someone who doesn't often game online, it made it win out, just.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
You voted for:
Soma (PC, PS4)
Bloodborne (PS4)
Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
And that was it. That's all I really played this year.
It's been a really hard and pretty shit year really, after selling all my consoles and having to do it very rough until the latter half. I think I might use some of my next writing money to finally get a PC upgrade or a PS4. I didn't even play a single one of these games on a machine I actually owned.
Edit: I AM A DINGUS, I FORGOT UNTIL DAWN.
With the validation that takes place now (don't forget to do this!) I believe you can resubmit your votes and it'll just replace your last ones. I say this because you should vote for Until Dawn. Everyone should.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Downwell (PC, Mobile)
Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide (PC)
Massive Chalice (PC, XBO)
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (PC)
Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
The Jackbox Party Pack 2 (PC, PS3, PS4, XBO)
Broken Age Act 2 (PC)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO)
Halo 5: Guardians (XBO)
A lot of the more popular games i didn't get to play this year so this is just what i have gotten to.
Still a fair amount of great gaming this year
1) Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
2) Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
3) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
4) Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC)
5) Shadowrun: Hong Kong (PC)
6) Invisible, Inc. (PC)
7) Kerbal Space Program (PC)
8) Cities: Skylines (PC)
9) Sunless Sea (PC)
10) Prison Architect (PC)
11) Until Dawn (PS4)
12) Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
13) Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
14) Contradiction (Mobile, PC)
15) Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (Mobile)
16) Game of Thrones (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO, Mobile)
17) Fallout Shelter (Mobile)
A bunch of these games I didn't even play this year cause I'd already gotten dozens of hours out of them in 2014, and another bunch I never actually played, but saw other people playing them. What a weird year.
I would have just voted Kerbal Space Program 20 times if I could. Revolutionary game and a truly awesome testament to the power of early access and what can be possible if it's done right.
Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
Until Dawn (PS4)
Undertale (PC)
Cities: Skylines (PC)
Chroma Squad (PC)
The Sims 4 (PC)
Fallout 4 for obvious reasons (holy crap you guys I've put 316 hours into this thing send help)
Until Dawn appealed to me in a special way. I was super super into Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy when it first came out on PS2, right up until it went batshit insane and started with the ancient cults and Dragon Ball Z fighting and crap, and I've not had the same feeling in a game since thanks to David Cage being a frothing lunatic. Until Dawn pulled off what he's been trying and failing to do with his games for ages - and you don't even have to make any of the characters stop to take a piss, David! I still connected with them! MIND BLOWN
I'd explain why I voted for Undertale but its writing is so incredible that I now have a boner filled with determination blocking the view of my monitor.
Cities: Skylines. So I'm still salty as fuck about the absolute travesty that is SimCity 2013, all the lies spouted by EA, the main designer jumping ship right after the shitshow began and trying to crowdfund some other game with a fellow Maxis refugee after driving a stake through the heart of another one of Will Wright's creations (I know he had nothing to do with this SimCity but c'mon). Cities: Skylines is like a textbook on how not to fuck up a city sim by comparison. A plucky little studio that made such a profit on the game that they got the office a chocolate fountain for everyone to enjoy.
Chroma Squad is a charming little love-letter to the super sentai series with an XCOM style turn-based combat system that came out later than it wanted thanks to Saban being a bunch of dicks. It's a labour of love, and that shines through in the gameplay, I think.
So after all the shit I talked about SimCity earlier, I'm still posting The Sims 4 as one of my absolute favourites to come out in 2015. I very nearly did not buy this game (certainly didn't for the bullshit price on Origin) because I told myself 'never again' after how EA seems to routinely destroy Maxis IP. But The Sims is different, it's one of their bigger bread and butter releases (not counting all the FUUTBAWL clones, obviously) what with the expansion packs and what not. The Sims 3 also had left a bad taste in my mouth because it's so poorly optimised that I literally couldn't play the whole game with all of the expansions I bought installed at the same time. So it was a great relief to me then, that The Sims 4 not only runs really well, but the gameplay is a huge improvement for me. A lot of people argue that it's too bare-bones on content, but extra couches and TVs and shit won't make up for poor fundamental gameplay, and Sims 4's many little improvements make it a joy to play - from the new emotional state buff/debuff system to how much stuff your Sims can multitask now.
Steam profile - Twitch - YouTube
Switch: SM-6352-8553-6516
Thank you for voting, Drake.
You voted for:
Chaos Reborn (PC)
Invisible, Inc. (PC)
Massive Chalice (PC, XBO)
Prison Architect (PC)
Conquest of Elysium 4 (PC)
Nuclear Throne (PC, PS4, PSVita)
Soma (PC, PS4)
Underrail (PC)
Ronin (PC)
Mini Metro (PC)
Satellite Reign (PC)
Assault Android Cactus (PC)
Broforce (PC)
Steredenn (PC)
Mordheim: City of the Damned (PC)
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC)
Nom Nom Galaxy (PS4, PC)
WftO is basically Dungeon Keeper 3 except with a few names changed. It's not even that much of an exaggeration.
Life is Strange was the clear winner for me. I was really rooting for Dontnod to succeed here and they absolutely did.
Invisible, Inc. is a close second - the Ambush mechanic was a real fun change of pace. Another mention goes to Jotun, for being a really fun challenge and having style for days.
My final shoutout goes to Super Mario Maker, for being the second time I've voted for a WiiU game without owning one... I did manage to play it though and love videos of it, so it's just too awesome to not vote for.
This game started a bit weird for me, and it took me a long while to go back to it after Episode 1. But man, I'm really glad I did, cause I came away loving pretty much everything about it.
2. Bloodborne
I hated Dark Souls 2, so I was a little concerned the luster may have been coming off the series for me. Luckily, Bloodborne was fantastic and restored my faith.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
This is the quintessential Metal Gear Solid game to play. It's unfortunate that the story was completely inconsequential (and let's face it, pretty much non-existent), and the microtransactions and general post-launch bullshittery exist, which helps keeps this off the #1.
4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate
What a turn-around for this series. I absolutely loathed Unity. This game, though, was fantastic. I did nearly everything you possibly can do in this game (outside of collecting every collectible cause fuck that.)
5. Kerbal Space Program
I probably played this game more than any other game this year. Many a Kerbal lost their life on the way to the Mun.
6. Super Mario Maker
I've always wanted to make Mario levels! Really glad this game turned out as great as it did. Would've been a huge bummer had it not.
(7. Destiny: The Taken King
I enjoyed Destiny when it came out, but the lack of content was a real problem, and the amount of grinding put me right off of doing absolutely anything post-story. Thank god for The Taken King, then. Now Destiny is a fantastic shooter that I actually enjoy playing beyond the story, and can 100% recommend to other people.) Since this isn't on the list, it doesn't count for this, but it would be here.
7. Cities: Skylines
I always loved SimCity, but with EA dropping the ball with the latest one, this one really picked up that slack. It's just a really fun city-builder, with a great mod community to iron out any shortcomings.
8. Crypt of the NecroDancer
I love this game, but I am terrible at it with the keyboard controls. I eagerly await its PS4 release.
9. Dying Light
Never finished this, but I really enjoyed just running around the environment and slicing up zombies.
10. Invisible, Inc.
I didn't even play this until after Christmas, and only picked it up because of Austin's (Giant Bomb) passionate, list-fueled defense of it. But I'm really glad I did. It's a really fun rogue-like turn-based strategy game. The only thing I will say is that with this style of game, I kind of wish the levels were hand-crafted instead of being procedural.
PSN/Steam/NNID: SyphonBlue | BNet: SyphonBlue#1126
1. Splatoon (WiiU)
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU)
3. Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
4. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker (3DS)
5. Pokémon Shuffle (3DS)
6. Yakuza 5 (PS3)
7. Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU)
8. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS)
9. Final Fantasy Record Keeper (Mobile)
10. Pokémon Picross (3DS)
11. Game of Thrones (PC)
12. Nintendo Badge Arcade (3DS)
13. Pokémon Rumble World (3DS)
Some more thoughts on each game:
1. Splatoon
I was hooked the instant the game was unveiled at E3 2014 and I was not disappointed. Normally shooters are pretty atrocious on console because twin stick aiming just isn't precise enough, but thanks to the game's motion controls this isn't an issue in Splatoon. The game is stylish, looks great and is just fun as hell to play, both in singleplayer (which has one of the best final bosses of all time) and in multiplayer. I'm glad that the game was such a phenomenal success, meaning a sequel is all but guaranteed.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles X
It was a close call between this and Splatoon. I had a fun 100 hours with this game, but it didn't quite reach the heights of the first Xenoblade. A tutorial would've been nice, the (main) story was a bit weaker and a silent main character didn't help matters, but nearly everything else about this game is top-notch. Visuals, music, voice acting, localization, the sheer amount of content and customization and flying around this beautiful world in GIANT FUCKING ROBOTS is just awesome.
3. Super Mario Maker
I was surprised at how easy and fun it was to build levels - beforehand I thought that I would spend most of my time playing other people's levels, but creating my own was really fun. It also gave me tons of respect for Nintendo, because hey, guess what - building good Mario levels is really fucking hard! Unfortunately the majority of levels out there suck, but there are enough good ones out there that there will always be something to come back to.
4. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker
A good port of the original, and I finally beat it (despite having to lower the difficulty for the final boss *cough*). The added voice acting was pretty good too. I haven't played a whole lot of the Triangulum arc, so I need to get back to it at some point.
5. Pokemon Shuffle
Pretty much my surprise game of this year. Yeah, it's just a match-3 with a Pokemon skin..but I'm still playing it. It's just fun to start it up once or twice a day and play a couple of rounds.
6. Yakuza 5
Disclaimer: I haven't beaten it yet, but I'm somewhat close to being done (halfway through part 4), so hey. It's pretty much more of the same, which is what I expected. I appreciate the variety in locations because Kamurocho really is getting boring at this point. Some parts work better than others - Saejima's part really wasn't very good. I liked Haruka's part, although it makes for some really, really weird tonal shifts and doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the game.
7. Yoshi's Woolly World
The best Yoshi game since the original island. A really good 2D platformer with a fantastic visual style. Still, I would've preferred if the difficulty was distributed a bit more evenly - just getting through the stages is way too easy, whereas getting all the collectibles is somewhat hard and the special stages are just ridiculous.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Man, when this game works, it works. Co-operatively solving puzzles and beating bosses with two other random people can be fucking amazing. I nearly broke my touchscreen by spamming the cheerleader emote so hard when we beat the final boss. Still, you likely won't always have that optimal experience - sometimes people will disconnect, and sometimes people just plain suck. Unfortunately the singleplayer isn't fun at all. Don't be discouraged if you don't have any friends to play this with - playing with randoms and making it work is a really satisfying experience.
9. Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Gameplay-wise this is not as in-depth as I would've hoped - unless you're fighting a high-level bosses, it's literally just spamming attack with all your characters. Still, the production values are high for a mobile game and there's tons of content, so I'm still having a good time with it.
10. Pokemon Picross
This probably would've been higher on my list because the game itself is tons of fun, but I pretty much shot myself in the foot by basically investing my in-game currency poorly. Turns out that unlocking all 5 Pokemon slots and the alt-world are pretty bad investments, so now I have to wait 1-2 weeks each time until I have enough saved up to unlock a new area.
11. Game of Thrones
This will probably be the last Telltale game I buy. Walking Dead season 1 is beginning to seem more and more like a fluke.
12. Nintendo Badge Arcade
I had a tough time rating this. It's not that much of a game, really, but getting badges for your home screen is pretty addictive (I'm at 140 now, without paying a single cent). Also, it's almost worth it to play the game just for the rabbit. Just hilariously written.
13. Pokemon Rumble World
Not very good, unfortunately. It all feels very samey since you're just running around and spamming your attacks without much strategy.
Honorable mentions that didn't make the list for one reason or another:
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (New 3DS)
A good port of the original, and playing it again really cemented it as one of my favorite games of all time.
Majora's Mask 3D (3DS)
Again, a really solid port with some excellent additions and changes that make the game a lot more enjoyable.
Life is Strange (PC)
Only played the first episode, but I quite liked it despite, like, 75% of the people in it being pretentious, unlikable hipsters.
There were a couple more games that unfortunately I'll never be able to vote for because "lol, fuck you Europe", but I'm looking forward to playing them this year.
While I played several other good games this year, LIS was so far ahead of all of them that it felt right to put it by itself. Definitely one of my favourite games of all time.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
My list:
Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC)
Mortal Kombat X (Mobile, PC, PS4, XBO)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4, XBO, PC)
Knights of Pen & Paper 2 (Mobile)
Fallout Shelter (Mobile)
NASCAR '15 (PS3, X360, PC)
Fallout 4 is getting my top marks only because it got the most playtime out of me of all the games. Nothing I played this year has really been "OMG! I'll play this forever!" like X-Com Enemy Unknown or old school Zelda. Super Mario Maker could have except for the terrible levels it kept spitting out at me in Expert mode. And yes, Nascar is on there because my brother got it and I played it.
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Pretty good year, honestly. I still have like 5 or so games that I haven't even started that would probably make the list.
Pillars of Eternity (PC)
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
Transformers: Devastation (PC, PS4, PS3, XBO, X360)
Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO, PC)
Rocket League (PC, PS4)
Final Fantasy Record Keeper (Mobile)
Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU)
Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PS4, PSVita, PC)
Star Wars: Battlefront (PC, PS4, XBO)
Audiosurf 2 (PC)
Kerbal Space Program (PC)
Fallout Shelter (Mobile)
Halo: Spartan Strike (Mobile, PC, WP)
I didn't play a ton of big name games, and really my list is all about the first 4. I'm playing Pillars now and my god it's a brilliant, beautifully written game. MGS 5 was some of the most fun I've ever had playing in a game, even though it's a bitter ending to a legacy. Transformers Devastation was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Such nostalgia and a genuine joy to play. Ori...it's stunning.
I watched a ton of Rocket League so I figured I needed to give it a high ranking, and FFRK tickles your nostalgia bone something fierce. I only played like an hour of FO4 and Xenoblade otherwise I'm sure they would be a little higher.
2. Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU)
3. Bloodborne (PS4)
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO)
5. Mortal Kombat X (Mobile, PC, PS4, XBO)
6. Transformers: Devastation (PC, PS4, PS3, XBO, X360)
7. Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
8. Heroes of the Storm (PC)
9. Broken Age Act 2 (PC)
10. Catlateral Damage (PC, Ouya)
11. Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
admittedly there is a lot this year I didn't get to yet (armikrog, axiom verge, asscreed syndicate, splatoon to name a few) and there is only one game I played and explicitly did not like (xenoblade chronicles x) that i didn't bother listing.
FO4 got dead last for me because I didn't dislike it or anything, but I had virtually no other opinion on it afterwards other than "that sure was a video game I played".
I gave MGSV top because its really rare that I play a game I have a strong dislike for to start (I don't much care for open world gameplay and a lot of other stuff was rubbing me the wrong way) pull a total 180 for me as it got more nonsensical and quoteable as it went on. the rest of the top half are probably not in any particular order aside from having to assign them one
You voted for:
1. Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PS4, XBO, PC)
The best traditional Assassin's Creed game, Black Flag is still my favorite because I am a sucker for the naval combat and exploration, but as far as exploring a city goes, this one is tops
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider (X360, XBO)
Aside from the shit story that may somehow be worse than the story in the first game (quite the accomplishment), this sequel was better in every single way, and I'm glad I decided not to wait a year to play it. Can't wait for the sequel. Maybe get rid of Rhianna Pratchett?
3. Rocket League (PC, PS4)
Definitely the biggest pure surprise of the year, and aside from Destiny it's definitely the most time I've put into online multiplayer with friends. It made soccer interesting! And then hockey! Just add RC cars to boring stuff. Who knew.
4. Rock Band 4 (PS4, XBO)
A lot of people saw it as a disappointment after 3, but since I saw 3 as a disappointment after 2, I look at this as an overall improvement. There's some quality-of-life changes that they still need to get in there but they've been doing a great job with updates, and the fact that nearly all your DLC is still playable on a new console years later is just astounding
5. Emily is Away (PC)
A neat little free game on Steam that I imagine will have at least some sort of impact on anyone who ever used AIM throughout their high school and college years. I feel like a lot of these indie games that try to capture that teen experience do so in a time when I was not a teen (the early '90s in Gone Home, modern day in Life is Strange), but this one was just the right time period for me
6. Lara Croft Go (Mobile, WP)
I'm a whore for Tomb Raider, always have been, and fuck Hitman, so when Hitman GO was making waves last year my response was a big "who cares," but when I heard Lara Croft was getting the same treatment I paid attention. I'm glad I did, this game is rad and a perfect little puzzler. Apparently Hitman Go is coming to console? Hopefully Lara Croft GO does as well with more content.
7. Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PC, PS3, PS4)
Man, I hate musou games, like a bunch, and I didn't think anyone would ever turn me around on them. I didn't like Dynasty Warriors 2 back at the PS2 launch, and on PS4 I tried a Dynasty Warriors just to see if anything had changed in 14 years. It hadn't. Then I tried Hyrule Warriors. That didn't work either. But the appeal of seeing the DQ art style in luscious HD made me buy this on a whim, and I don't quite know what did it, but something about it just clicked. I'm likely not gonna stray into other musou games, but I'll definitely check out Dragon Quest Heroes II when it hits (if it hits America).
8. Disney Infinity 3.0 (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO, WiiU, Mobile)
This game certainly started a vicious addiction. It's a weird beast of a game - all your characters have upgrade trees with abilities not unlike those you'd find in a character action game, but the actual games they're relegated to are dead simple, simpler than even any Lego game you'd play. Luckily, I don't mind some simplicity, and like Lego games, I found this to be a pretty great palate cleanser in-between all those other "serious" games. Also the creation tools are really varied and, unlike other creation games I've played recently, really intuitive to use. Also you can give Rapunzel a lightsaber, just sayin'.
9. Mortal Kombat X (Mobile, PC, PS4, XBO)
This is a weird case here. I find this to be an improvement over MK9 in every way, basically. The Krypt is engaging, the story is really cool and doesn't rely on retelling a well-worn story, and all the new characters are fantastic. Yet for some reason it just ended up not having any staying power with me. I also hate their insistence on putting in horror movie characters as DLC, it's SO STUPID.
10. Star Wars Card Trader (Mobile)
Hardly a game at all, you get a daily amount of credits that you can spend on cards, and you can spend real-life money to get more credits to buy more packs. And then you trade with people. Randoms or friends. What I do know is that my friends and I started playing this back in March of 2015 and still check it daily and offer up trades to each other. Getting a good pull or a good trade is still a fun little thrill
11. Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU)
Nintendo had...a pretty bad year on the Wii U, but this just kinda popped up towards the end of the year to save a little bit of face. I really dig the egg-throwing mechanic of Yoshi but always hated the art style of Yoshi's Island, so for me, this is a great move, because Kirby's Epic Yarn was a gorgeous game and while this doesn't ape that game's style completely, it's close enough.
12. Nintendo Badge Arcade (3DS)
They also had a pretty bad year on the 3DS, but again, Badge Arcade came at the end of the year along with Pokemon Picross. It's Nintendo's headfirst jump into microtransaction stuff, and while that generates feelings in some people (I think microtransactions are A-okay), they give you some free stuff to work with each day, and the rewards are actually pretty neat - I always love it when games reward you with things you can use outside of the game, so using badges to decorate your home screen is pretty awesome
13. Mad Max (PC, PS4, XBO)
Woo boy, didn't expect this one at all! Like, wow. Two Avalanche games in one year, one is Just Cause 3, and the other is based on a series of films I don't like, and I especially loathed Fury Road. And yet somehow Just Cause 3 ended up being the disappointment, and the Mad Max game was awesome. Driving just feels really right in this game, it's got Batman-esque combat with more demanding timing, and like JC, it appeals to the completionist in me with running tallies of all the collectibles you can get in an area. Gorgeous game as well. If I'd been able to spend more time with it, it'd likely be higher.
14. Pokémon Picross (3DS)
This should be 3D, because 3D Picross is superior to 2D. That said, I normally find 2D Picross completely non-engaging, but throwing a Pokemon skin on it will pique my interest, apparently. This probably goes for most genres
15. Lego Jurassic World (PC, X360, XBO, PS3, PS4, PSVita, WiiU, 3DS)
It's a Lego game! Everyone already knows if they love or hate these. For me, it's dependent on the franchise, so I love some (Marvel, Star Wars) and don't like others (LOTR, Indiana Jones). This one fell right in the middle for me. They do go through campaigns for all four Jurassic Park movies, but two of those movies are really bad, and even the wit the Lego games usually brings to the table can't save them in video game form. It also had some weird glitches and felt generally more unpolished than most Lego games do, but I still had a good time overall.
16. Dying Light (PC, PS4, XBO)
Like Mad Max, I feel like if I spent more time with this it'd be higher up on my list. Which is surprising, because fuck zombies. But parkour! And the fact that they actually made nighttime in a video game super frightening. I loved what I played, I just only ended up playing four hours or so.
17. Her Story (PC, Mobile)
A pretty cool little experimental game, I ended up keeping Notepad open on my Mac while I ran through all the videos, picking out key words as I went along to put into the search engine. I definitely wanna keep an eye out for this dev in the future - imagine what they could do with an actual budget and more than one actress.
18. Undertale (PC)
This game is cool, and I enjoyed playing it as a pacifist, but that said, I feel like the internet did kind of ruin the experience of it. Not just the (somewhat annoying) enthusiasm for the game overall, but the enforcement of being a "right way" to play it. As a result, I ended up playing it in a way I probably wouldn't play most games, because pacifist runs aren't usually my thing - if there's a way to kill things, I do. Honestly, the best thing about the game for me was the battle system - using a shmup as a means of avoiding attack is honestly ingenious, and I can't believe I haven't seen it used more often (I think I recall someone saying a JRPG had done it before though).
19. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3, PSVita)
It's another one of these! These are good.
20. Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
It's fun and all while I'm playing it, but...man, kinda just failing to grab me at all. No hooks whatsoever. I wonder if I'm ever gonna return to it, and I didn't even get that far storywise.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Easily my favorite game of the year, delivering on all of the promise of the first two games. Simultaneously the best story-driven RPG and best open world game I've played since New Vegas. And I didn't even like Gwent.
2. Shadowrun: Hong Kong
Out of the many 2015 games in the turn-based isometric RPG revival, this one had the most compelling plot and most interesting characters, even if it paled a bit in comparison to Dragonfall.
3. Dying Light
The first big surprise of the year for me. The combination of first-person parkour and zombies actually worked, and the early portion of the game where the player is woefully underpowered and trying to club one zombie to death with a broken spatula before fleeing in terror is tense enough to make the later parts where you're a ridiculously powerful rooftop-sprinting, flame-sword wielding zombie decapitation machine all the more satisfying
4. Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Another surprise, although I wasn't as much on board with the Unity hate train. Formulaic, yes, but sometimes that formula works.
5. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Surprise number three for me, especially since I suck at PvP shooter games. Bought, played, and regretted both BLOPS3 and Battlefield: Hardline this year, mainly since getting instagibbed every five seconds while accomplishing nothing lost its charm pretty quickly. But Siege's more methodical, tense, and varied gameplay makes me feel that I'm at least getting something done even when I get downed pretty quickly, and the co-op multiplayer modes are also enjoyable.
6. Mad Max
A game that was better than I expected but one that I still wanted to be better than it was. After a while the grindy nature of the game wore thin, but like Dying Light I enjoyed both exploring the game world and the transition from an early feeling of survival horror to eventually feeling nigh-invulnerable.
7. Batman: Arkham Knight
While I didn't have (most) of the issues that other folks playing the PC version had, meaning I could actually play the game without waiting several months post-launch, an overall disappointment. Some parts of the formula still work, but there is such a thing as too much Batmobile.
8. Renowned Explorers: International Society
Another surprise, impulse bought during a Steam sale and wound up sinking more time into than I thought. Rough around the edges, but a fun take on both RPG and turn-based gameplay mechanics, with a really goofy sense of humor. Nothing says exploration like getting angry sheep so depressed they run away crying instead of attacking you.
9. Fallout 4
Another disappointment, mainly since in every way that's important to me it was a huge step backwards from New Vegas. While there were some interesting characters, side missions, and locations, the main story lacked both coherence and consequences, culminating in a truly terrible ending that killed any desire I had to replay the base game. The interesting, branching missions of New Vegas were replaced with either utterly generic MMO-style procedural "go here and kill 10 ghouls" quests or more scripted missions that still boiled down to nothing more than "go here, murder a bunch of dudes, read some terminals, go someplace else".
10. Pillars of Eternity
Another disappointment, although in this case it might just be that PoE wasn't the game I was dreaming of, which involved a lot less dungeon crawling and punishingly difficult combat than apparently Obsidian was dreaming of.
Runners-up:
Evolve (Because I'm a sucker for asymmetrical PvP even when plagued with the inevitable balance issues, I guess)
Helldivers (Because I'm a sucker for twin-stick shooters)
Life Is Strange (Because I'm a sucker for losing interest after the first episode, hence it's not in my top 10, probably, but I'll get back to it at some point, I promise)
Star Wars: Battlefront (Because I'm a sucker for Star Wars, at least for short bursts before I realize how things like auto team balance and preventing massive amounts of spawn camping are kind of important in multiplayer shooters)
1. Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, XBO)
3. Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
4. Cities: Skylines (PC)
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
6. Axiom Verge (PS4, PC)
7. Pillars of Eternity (PC)
8. Bloodborne (PS4)
9. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (PC)
10. Kerbal Space Program (PC)
11. Shadowrun: Hong Kong (PC)
12. World of Warships (PC)
13. Heroes of the Storm (PC)
14. Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below (PC, PS3, PS4)
Thanks to the organizers for the work put in to put this thing together. Some random thoughts:
Life is Strange and The Witcher 3 were basically 1 and 1a for me, the Witcher 3 is as perfect a traditional videogame as I've ever wanted, while Life is Strange just appealed to me on so many different levels and from what it was trying to do in my opinion attained complete perfection.
Axiom Verge and Pillars of Eternity easily make the list for best transporting me back to specific times in my life over the course of a couple solid days spent playing them (late-80's NES days and high school CRPG days respectively).
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes I only played once this year for about an hour with my wife and parents, but that hour was enough fun to firmly place it on my list. Trying to find other opportunities to play that in the new year.
Kerbal Space Program I think would have gotten higher if I had more time to experiment with it and learn it. I forsee playing this game long into the future but didn't have enough time to dive too deeply into it this year.
Shadowrun Hong Kong is the perfect example of what kickstarter is great for, the shadowrun games in general have been a model for what I want from a kickstarted project.
World of Warships is niche and has lots of Free to Play bullshit built into it, but for what it is and how it aligns w/ my interests in particular, its as entertaining as I'm likely to find.
Honorable Mentions
2 games that weren't on the list but that I would have ranked had they been on there:
Warhammer 40,000 Armageddon (PC/iOS) - This is basically SSI's Panzer General but with Warhammer 40k characters and units; very niche but I fit perfectly into that niche, so I greatly enjoyed it.
Templar Battleforce - Ipad only game I believe which is probably why it wasn't listed. The best Warhammer 40k Space Hulk clone/version I've ever played, and perfect for the iPad.
1. Splatoon (WiiU)
2. Undertale (PC)
3. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
4. Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
5. Art Academy: Home Studio (WiiU)
6. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (3DS)
7. Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU)
8. Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
9. Aviary Attorney (PC)
10. Yoshi's Woolly World (WiiU)
11. Contradiction (Mobile, PC)
12. Neko Atsume: Cat Collector (Mobile)
13. Viridi (PC)
14. The Beginner's Guide (PC)
1. Super Mario Maker (WiiU)
2. Splatoon (WiiU)
3. Mortal Kombat X (Mobile, PC, PS4, XBO)
Played a lot of games this year but not a lot of games from this year. The ones that I did play are really fucking solid though. As someone who doesn't give a damn about online shooters Splatoon really surprised me with how much it absolutely burst forth with creativity and fun in equal measures. Fun . . . in an online shooter!? Truly an achievement.
And Super Mario Maker is simply one of the best games I've played between this and the last console generation. Its hard to say too many good things about the game really. I became obsessed with that thing and must have created at least 30 levels; not to mention sinking in over 200 hours in two months time, which is all the more absurd given how much I was working at that time. Super Mario Maker replaced a lot of quality sleep I would have gotten on several nights and it was always worth it.
As for Mortal Kombat X I only played a few rounds at a friends but it was enough for me to want to vote for it because that game is really visceral, brutal, and just extremely polished. I quite enjoyed it and hope to go back for more soon.
Yeah I have a lot of games I know are awesome but I haven't put on the list for one reason or another. Low playtime being the biggest reason. Hence the lack of Witcher 3 on my list, which is a shame because I love some Geralt. Alas, my rig isn't really cut out for the task. Basically my criteria has become if I smile and feel good when I see a title as I scan the massive list of games it goes in to be sorted. Any kind of hesitation means it's not worthy. Then I put a decent amount of effort into sorting out my top ten. Like probably almost five minutes of mostly undivided attention. I do what I can.
Something else I noticed about my list is the shadow of Julian Gollop. First up my GOTY, Chaos Reborn, by the man himself. It is a master class in risk/reward management in tactical battles enhanced with a delicious bluffing system. The multiplayer systems are pretty fantastic and they are giving the community all kinds of great tools to create worlds to adventure in and organizations of wizards to rule them. I'm hoping Chaos Reborn sticks around doing its thing for a long time because it is obviously built to grow. A mighty foundation for a bright future of wizard battles. Then number two and three on my list are both heavily inspired by X-Com, with detailed management oriented strategic layers and high stakes turn based tactical combat. The fact that both games feel and play so differently is a testament to the flexibility and strength of those design elements.
Anyway the list.
You voted for:
Ori and the Blind Forest (XBO, PC)
Tales from the Borderlands (X360, XBO, Mobile, PS4, PC, PS3)
Undertale (PC)
Splatoon (WiiU)
Life Is Strange (PC, PS4, PS3, X360, XBO)
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
Fallout 4 (PC, PS4, XBO)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (WiiU)
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
Invisible, Inc. (PC)
Pillars of Eternity (PC)
Shadowrun: Hong Kong (PC)
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (3DS)
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (3DS)
Broken Age Act 2 (PC)
Her Story (PC, Mobile)
Game of Thrones (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO, Mobile)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker (3DS)
Crypt of the Necrodancer (PC)
Ori, Tales and Undertale were all close contenders for number one but Ori gets it for revitalizing one of my favorite genres. The big ticket items Fallout and Metal gear (havnt gotten to Witcher yet) fell a little short of my hopes but were still solid games. Everything below Pillars I still enjoyed but there wasn't much in the way of difference between number 14 and 19.
I adore and feel very strongly about the top eight games and their positions. Everything else I've played enough to count for the list, but not enough to have very strong opinions about yet.
Heroes of the Storm is far and away my GOTY, and probably the only game I've ever played steadily for an entire year.
Ori and the Blind Forest is my favorite metroidvania, full stop.
MH4U is the only game I've ever preordered, and it arrived during one of the worst bouts of depression at my old job. I was incredibly unhappy, and it was like exciting, concentrated joy. I've only played it a few dozen hours, but it's great, and it was there when I needed to not think about life.
Rocket League is on the Steam-boxed TV in the living room for silly split screen multiplayer, which is kind of great. Anything with multiplayer jumps way up my list by default.
Undertale is wonderful and I need to beat it.
I got Code Name S.T.E.A.M. on sale for $10, and it was totally worth it. Really tight and polished. My only major complaint with it is not about enemy turns (which are totally fine), but that it kinda feels like a budget title. There's a linear campaign, and a bare-bones multiplayer mode and that's kinda it. Fire Emblem Awakening feels huge and replayable, and this feels small.
Pokémon Picross is my introduction to picross. Oh my goodness, ya'll. How did I not know about this thing? I don't care for the monitezation, but I like everything else about it. Need to track down Picross DS.
Downwell helped me survive sitting in the living room and listen to people talk about politics on Thanksgiving. Adulting is easier when I can escape into little games on my phone.
1. Undertale
2. Splatoon
3. Pac-Man 256
4. We Know the Devil
5. TIS-100
6. EarthBound Beginnings
7. Panoramical
8. Trigger
9. Axiom Verge
10. Environmental Station Alpha
A lot of years lately I have not been enthusiastic about my votes but I feel *so good* about my top five here. Each of those top five games is something that changed the way I think about video games.
I feel bad that I have not played: Downwell, Cibelle, The Beginner's Guide
paper jam doesnt come out for another couple days in the states
Boo for pointlessly staggered release dates
Though I did also play two remakes/remasters (Majora's Mask 3D and Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition) and one early access game (Killing Floor 2).
I see a few people voted for The Sims 4, but it doesn't belong here. It came out in 2014. Only the Mac version came out in 2015.