So I was sitting there, thinking to myself: If I were to make a Game of The Year list right now, what would be on it? Would I even have enough to bother with it? Slowly, but surely, I tried to remember all that I've done this year. There actually is some legit stuff, but its tough considering my normal rules for the list. With all kinds of remasters and re-releases, late ports, and unpredictable indie games, and yet high standing AAA prices, its tough to keep up with games that come out in a year and make it in time for the list. Still there did come a few titles to mind. Still in this list I kind of also want to review over even those that would break the rules in a list. I may be reconsidering them in the future, but for now this is just a list of games that are worth discussing that I played in this year. I'll put a star by those that don't follow the standards of being a brand new release in the year to help. This wont quite hit everything (Dust, Doom 3, riddick, Freedom Wars, Mass Effect 2, Stranger's Wrath, Killzone:SF, spyro 1 & 3, shattered planet just to name a few games I played some this year that wont be written about here), but some pretty significant ones will still be put in the spotlight. So lets discuss 'em...
Edit: Sorry for the edits being made. I had to go in and seriously edit this thing like 4-5 major times already, even including whole entries. Its kind of tough to remember all the things one plays in the year when there's just so much out there.
The Order 1886
The sad thing about these lists is that they tend to let go of the solid games of the early year. That's something I want to remedy with this list, so I've tried to find and drag out all the early releases or ports I was probably playing within this year. The Order was actually supposed to be the big major release this year in terms of "next-gen" gaming. It didn't land so well though, and perhaps the fact that I only remembered it when I looked through a list is telling of that. I have a fairly mixed view of this game though, where as most just outright trashed it. I actually nodded, agreed, and liked it whenever I stumbled onto a more positive review of the game. Still I could see the other side of the story. It was short, so very poor on its end note, and just a bit lacking in terms of lasting impact. Its a great action packed shooter, with a great setting, and a plot that has some fun, but in the end it ends before it has the chance to do anything meaningful, and chooses some bad strings to pull along the way. Its a flawed but fun experience, but throw it at the start of the year and I can't see how anyone will remember it for much unless they can pull it into a big successful franchise later. It was a great rental though.
*Metro 2033/Redux
When Last Light came out, I was enjoying it greatly on the PS3. It was an awesome game. Great atmosphere, great story, great gunplay, just all around "great". I kind of wished I could play the original. Thank you Redux! I actually held my breathe a bit though for both games. I just didn't want to feel like I lost out in a linear non-old school shooter. So I didn't want to risk the original investment at $60, and I don't want to support a remaster that sells itself at $50. Seriously stop doing that devs/publishers. So it wasn't until this year that I got it at the amazing price of $15. ...and what an amazing value it was.
Many of the scenes are still pretty fresh in my mind. Sneaking through broken up homes taking out bandits, laughing as the can't find me behind some little chair in the corner when I start slinging knives in their direction, peacefully dodging monsters, digging up old loot while gasping for air at the end of my oxygen mask supply, storming an abandon facility with good comrades, and all the epic set-pieces and story telling in between the opening and ending. Its definitely a great game to have played this year, and I was thoroughly hooked. I need to get back in and work on replaying Last Light, so honestly there's still some slightly new ground to cover. Oh and DLC as well.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
One of the best games to happen last year was Wolfenstein: The New Order. Oddly enough they decided to make a stand-alone expansion named The Old Blood that came out early this year, and it was a blast! In many ways its more of the same. It improves on some things, and degrades others, but ultimately both sides are minor and it was just a smaller purchase of yet another amazing wolfenstein adventure. I particularly loved how they handled the villains this time around, then there was the whole paranormal element putting itself neatly back in, and then there were some neat perk ideas like overcharged armor and mash to reload faster. Oh, and an awesome boss fight in the end. Some people had a cranky reaction to the game, calling the boss outdated, the story rushed, or insisting it was just too little to compare to its bigger brother, but I really don't understand the discussed faults. It nailed things as perfectly as I could want a $20 expansion. My only real complaint was actually how the weapons pretty much all lacked secondary fire, and stealth was far less well done in certain areas as though they just didn't test the level right. The only real crime aside from that is that they released a retail copy of the game long after the digital release, and promising us they were sticking with that. This was actually the first (and currently, the only) PSN thing I ever digitally pre-ordered, so I was a little ahead of them when they changed their minds a month after it was out. Now it mocks me on the shelves. Oh well, game is still amazing, as was its predecessor from last year. Great job MachineGames, I look forward to your future work.
*Rogue Legacy
I kind of jumped the gun on praising this one. What started out as a promising and fun little thing to kill time with on the Vita, became kind of a chore. Its got a fun meta-game of getting coins, paying for upgrades, and going even deeper into the castle. Yet with such high rising prices and little improvements, you lose that somewhere going up and once that wall hits your just told to "git gud". The problem is the same as it is with all side-scrollers like this, you can't "git gud" you just get lucky. Your on some flat plane, some enemies spam projectiles, and you dodge them and slash at them. You have some room for tactics in what you play, how you upgrade, and when you use your magic, but the bulk of the game is in reflex and randomness. Oh and of course its extra random because rogue-likes are trendy, right? ugh, yeah sadly they are. Naturally, this also happens to be one of those games out there people attach themselves and the Indie name to, weirdly name dropping and covering this game instead of literally hundreds of others which hold way more potential and actually do something a little more unique. Sorry, but I'm just not into it, and cannot support the absurd fame it has. This is one of those games I played this year that is only worth mentioning in saying, I'm sorry I gave it too much credit earlier this year. Its not a terrible game of course, so don't put those kind of words into my mouth, but its really what comes to mind when I think of indie games that are NOT for me. I gave it more than a fair shot this year, had some fun at first, and yet it didn't turn out to be that special in the end. I look forward to so many other indie stuff coming up though, so maybe this image of rogue-like sidescroller infested indie scenes will start to stop after some time so we can keep up with some more reasonable diversity in the indie scene.
*Inherit The Earth
Yes because clearly a game as old as I am (no really, date is nearly the same as my birthday) belongs on a list discussing games of 2015. Yeah I know, weird, but at some point making this list I remembered and realized this should be noted as a unique experience I played this year. I rarely ever take the chance on an adventure game, but I felt this one might have been worth it. At a cheap price, with a plot that felt interesting, and I played an early demo that was pretty fun. I decided to give it a try, and... it was alright. I can't say it truly paid off in a big way, because it didn't really. It was a fun story, decent enough to beat, and just short enough that it didn't out-stay itself. Plus there was a guide to help with some of the worst parts. Still the game failed in part because of its tragic dev story where the publisher butchered the plans in order to appeal to children, halted development on a cliff hangar, and then they couldn't build enough of a name recognition against people like Tim Schafer to get a kickstarter funding up in recent times. Its looking grim for what could have been a good series, and its even more tragic when you look into the extras and history put out and stumble into art work that could have been taken for Disney films. Still it is what it is, and its not a very great game by itself. And those psudo 3D mazes are just a pain. I wish things could have ended better, but as it was it was fun enough worth calling the first point & click I truly found worth playing at a mature age (other-wise, putt-putt counts :p).
Tower of Guns
Wait, this came out in 2014!? No, screw it, I'm not staring this. That just doesn't feel right, and this was PS4 only in 2015. See what I mean about late ports? Anyways this game came out of PS+ one day this year and seriously surprised me. On steam it looked like rogue-like bullet hell, so I just said "Nope, not touching it!" at the risk of it just being absurdly difficult. In the end it turned out to be... well, rogue-like bullet hell, but way funner than I thought that would be. Plus I suppose I wasn't thinking much of the 3D element, but its basically a platformer thanks to that. So... basically 3D FPS platformer with a nice light hearted art style, awesome upgrading abilities to compliment a mostly one gun deal, and most unexpected of all a story generator that randomly gives you one of several stories fitting over the otherwise plot-less climb up through the tower. Nice guys, real nice. I've got to admit, its a pretty good game. My only complaint is probably that its just really simple. There's really nothing else to do than play the game over and over again, so its kind of a time killer game more so than anything deeper. I ended up deleting it for extra space after a few weeks of strong play. I'll return though, because they were some seriously fun rounds.
*Metal Gear Rising
So two fun facts about this and my personal experience. 1) I never hated raiden. I didn't. The bait & switch wasn't effective for me, and if anything seeing him suddenly go cyber ninja on us all just left me confused but as okay with it as any other weird MGS decision (and there are many weird MGS decisions). So whereas this game marked his redemption, it just marked an awesome game from the character I actually started the series with. 2) I got this at a grocery store for like $10... yeah, that's just weird and I thought it was worth sharing. Okay but in all seriousness though, this game was an excellent trip of extra weirdness back into a great series. Before this, and excluding ground zeroes, it had probably been over a year since I had truly gotten immersed into the MGS series, but by the time this thing ended I was all hyped up and pumped for that fact that The Phantom Pain was on the way to bring us more of this awesome series. Of course, not necessarily the gameplay, but cinematic wise yeah.
Gameplay wise this was a really fun, even if short, trip into a strange but successful spin-off. Its so full of energy, and feels like it does just enough to stand out from any other hack & slash. The cut-scenes held up brilliantly, it gave a different view for Raiden that strangely felt great, and there was just so much weird but awesome moments. It also caused some reflection, because honestly I realized Platinum was really in their element here. While Kojima studios was still involved in the cinematic scope, it felt interesting that it carried so well with what Platinum was doing (and have done before), and all of this combined with Deadly Premonition just makes me think of how awesome Japanese games can be when they really try and tie in their weird way of story telling as well. I hope one day Platinum really can do a sequel for this game, though naturally given Konami's position that's not likely.
BloodBorne
I feel terrible for saying it, but... BloodBorne? The souls series has, by this point, convinced me that I don't really know what to think or do with some video games anymore. These highly in-depth, massively fun, replayable, tense, gripping, excellent story filled games all seem to just feel reduced to a Gone Home exercise of play it, love the emotions of it, and stop at some point to return to some other traditional gaming experience. Its a very special franchise, and I still believe they may even be the best games to exist... ever... but yet I also don't feel compelled to beat them. They're fun to go through, and then you just find your mind wandering over to something else, and something more you call and feel "fun" sits in the mind better. I guess the franchise is almost too good to feel worth putting among normal games and experiences, and thus too good to remember all of the reasons why you like them. No really, I can't seriously get myself to pull back on all the moment-to-moment feelings, and all the tension, I can just recall and praise the game for how "cool!" or "awesome!" some piece of it was. Its literally too intensive and in-depth to seriously try and wrap up why this thing is brilliant but yet not hitting the perfect mark to beat it. Oh well. I played it this year, enjoyed it, and moved on while nearly forgetting it came out this year. So... here's it is on the list. yay?
King's Quest: A Knight To Remember
...and to make myself feel even worse for not knowing how to discuss Bloodborne, lets talk about a game I remember with extreme magic, wonder, and excitement, and great emotional clarity, and then follow it up by saying its a freakin' point & click adventure game. Yeah this is just weird, but I mean I cannot gush enough about how awesome this game is. To call it "magical" isn't just a silly hyperbole, it truly feels that way. Its a fantastic game that calls upon fantastical fairy tale vibes, has the absolute best casting I think they could possibly get, exceptional animation that comes off beautifully from start to finish, and clever plot designs and puzzles that just work well. The writing, execution, and the interactivity is all just perfect, and it has created what is easily not only one of my favorite adventure games, but what is easily going to make it somewhere on my GOTY list. Its basically a Disney movie in tone and magic, drawn out in length by gameplay logic, and letting you do enough to have a stake in the story and feel like your truly telling the tale just as much as the game is telling you a good one. By the end, I just cried. It wasn't because they had a sad tear jerking ending, or something so intentionally moving, but rather the very fact that this is a product that just exists and causes such a powerful reflection of what gaming, animation, and the creative human mind can accomplish and put out into the world even in times where people are constantly angry critical. Plus, it stamps out the typical trope of episodic games needing the other episode. This one is, by itself, a fantastic story that just leaves enough questions to earn a sequel if you want to go that way, but by itself is a complete package that leaves you feeling like you've witnessed a full and grand adventure. This game is just the definitive idea of "magical" manifested as a video game, and if you haven't played it yet, you're just cheating yourself of so much laughter and joy. This one is certainly worth discussing from this year.
*Awesomenauts
Yes I've already discussed this game quite a bit, and put it in the honorable mentions of a list before, but its really stormed and taken a firm grip within this year. Besides, we're talking about a game that really has come a long way. Its received constant support on the PC side, and they've been lately talking about (and showing) a speedy increase in production and new stuff. We're at the point where there's basically a new character each month or two, and that's a big deal in a MOBA. A new character is like a new set of weapons in an FPS, or a new mini-island of quests in an RPG. You could argue too much updating is bad, and believe me Awesomenauts shows those moments to, but in general the game has come a long way and me and a friend of mine have been playing it like crazy this year. Until I lost my laptop, and thus the ability to truly play much of it, it was basically a daily thing at multiple points in the year. It also helps that Nibbs became a new main of mine, and was released this year. With a near infinite amount of experimentation within the mechanics and characters, it held strong as a game worth playing long after its initial release, and on the PC its just amazing. Sadly it looks like I'll be back on the less updated PS4 form, but oh well. Hopefully I'll be back on a laptop sometime soon.
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
This game is a bit embarrassing to talk about, because it blows my GOTY'14 out of the water at its own game of incredible open world formats. Not only that, but it humiliates the rest of the industry in terms of support, passion, and generosity that the team behind it has given to players. They truly want to be the best of the best, and are willing to earn it the fair way and with some truly smart marketing tactics. ...but that's not why it stands potential chance to earn top spot on GOTY lists. Its the real-time beard, right?
What does earn it a lot of credit for that potential is the amazing open world variety and depth. The fact that every monster bounty, every real quest, and even every box that can be open, stands some chance to tell an amazing story that may even rival the main quest. Not only that, but the amazing cut-scene quality, interactions, and literal role-playing is so tightly and well done that you can actually watch as the world becomes one with itself and see things change based on your actions. Its the small things I'm talking about to, not just big moral choices. At some point I go out of my way to stop an assassination that stemmed from a long line of side-quests, and in doing so I met with an elderly lady who I had to question so I could proceed with monster-detective type work. Later on after all that is tied up, I follow another side-quest related to a much bigger character, and I end up re-visiting the ladies house in a party. As we meet again and she asks me for help, she stops to ask if we've met before, and that is followed up with the correct answer acknowledging a totally optional area before that meets with this also optional quest-line, and all it really does is change some small talk. Yet that change itself feels so real, and so beautifully well done for a format that has never even bothered trying to tell such coherent side stories before. Having moments like that, alongside amazing combat, AI that aught to win awards, amazing story set-pieces, and such great core writing, all add up to one of the best RPG and Open world games I've played. MGS5, I'm looking at you when I say there's only one chance I see of somebody beating that this year, but whether that happens or not The Witcher 3 is an incredible game that I still need to wrap up from this year. I gladly aim to review it once I have a proper laptop set-up again.
*Skylanders
My thoughts from both "Now Playing" articles still remain valid. I don't really know what else to say about these games. They're alright in the end, pretty fun, but not worth going through the trouble for to take head-on. I think its a fun little quirky game I'll pick up and enjoy from time to time. I love its cast, its colorful world, its lengthy campaigns, and just the fun in swapping out characters and wrecking the place. There's plenty of nice mini-games to do off to the side to, and I love the arena challenges. Overall decent game, glad I played it this year, but almost not even worth mentioning on the list in the end.
*Legend of Kay: Anniversary (not sure if this is really worth a star or not)
Finally, the last major game I played and finished this year sadly did not go out on such a bang, but rather a whimper. Legend of Kay is kind of like one of those old technically bad FoxKids Saturday morning cartoons, only it forgets to have fun with itself and instead hopes you have fun through its gameplay. ...and that gameplay can be fun, and great at times. I'll gladly say that Kay was a fun game that I'm glad to have played, but dang is it so flawed. The writing, the voice acting, and various poor parts of the level design, and that final awful boss battle all just point to a schizophrenic team that didn't know where its full potential lied in. The comic cut-scenes, combat, and the variety of platforming elements were all so great though. Oh, and of course the fact that this is a "remastered" PS2 game which looks so good is just incredible, and deserves great praise as well. Still on an objective technical level, the game just isn't that great. I wish it were, and I wish I could be here telling you I played one of the best 3D platformers I missed out on from the PS2 days, but instead I sat there thinking "eh... well its done, so now what?". ...but the box art is awesome! See I can't quite find enough reasons to praise or put down the game.
What's left...
Yet remember, despite so much on this list, there's still the biggest launch area to come up yet for the year. As fall and winter approach, we're going to see some heavy hitting game releases coming up, as well as a noteworthy amount of smaller ones. Nintendo has 4 solid Wii U games coming up (or 3, if your in the UK and already have Yoshi), there's MGS5, the big annual games like AC and COD, There's Battlefront, Until Dawn, and of course Fallout 4. I'm sure I'm missing something as well. That's at least 3 major open world games, the biggest FPS series running, a competitor, and a new big budget cinematic thriller for horror or David Cage fans. Personally speaking though I have my interest in all Nintendo games, but will likely wind up with none before the year is done. Meanwhile I'm probably passing on fallout for now, and I think I'll refuse the offer of the shooters and AC. So for me, the only one that looks sure for now is The Phantom Pain, but that is one big order to have really. Then there's a few months of PS+ stuff, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that armello wins the upcoming vote. On top of that, I may consider the re-release of Dishonored, but that's not set in stone. There's a lot going on this year, and even more amazing things to happen in just the first half along of 2016. As I said last article, we've got a great near-future ahead of gaming, and nearly everyone seems to have a game worth looking into coming out sometime just around the corner.
Edit: Also just a funny little post-post note. I looked through the list at some point to find two broadly common things that suit my usual standards: The game's direction in art style either seems to be extremely dark in this washed out or violently "bad-ass" tone, or look to be of some colorful toon-like sort. Star Fox is the only exception, neither looking full toon or action-heavy, and I only choose that because I didn't want to pollute things with my MGS5 hype all over again. Yup, seems typical of me.
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