Games of the Year and Awful Games of 2015.

[Sould1n]

As noted within the thread creator's post, there is still a whole month to go before the end of the year. Within that last month I might play 2015 released games that might impact my game of the year contender suggestions (or vice versa, my choice in their counterparts) or have my opinion change on games I've already played through progressing even further in them. So what I'm suggesting here could change through either additions or removals (more so the former than the latter, but just mentioning the alternative as it is a possibility).

My Game Of The Year Contenders:

Splatoon - I rarely every play video games online, but Splatoon has been one big exception. The core gameplay is fun to the point of being addictive, with frantic battles filled with energy. The single player isn't spectacular, but was fun to play between many online rounds.

Ori and the Blind Forest - An enchanting game with simply beautiful music and gameplay. Ori is an adorable protagonist and the gameplay is a surprising mix of decent platforming and, at times' intense combat.

Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water - I have yet to get too far into this game, but what I have played so far has been absolutely fantastic. Playing a stage for the first time makes a terrific horror experience, my body tense as I dread the next encounter. A second time on the level manages to give a totally different experience, with a surer mind as to where to go, everything feels a bit more action oriented. This makes for a lovely bit of variety, a different experience offered depending on when I play the game. The game looks lovely, I'm really liking main protagonist Yuri, and the gamepad usage is just wonderful.

My Worst Game Of The Year:

Legend of Kay Anniversary - The only game on My Worst Game Of The Year list, as whilst I've played a few average (Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash) or above average (Rodea The Sky Soldier) this year, I've still found quite a few moments of enjoyment from them. With Legend of Kay Anniversary, I can only claim that I've found a few moments where I didn't despise the game. It has some nice ideas for combat, unfortunately marred by terrible camera angles and finicky controls. Furthermore, the story feels rushed and the characters are absolutely detestable; Kay in particular.

 

[Andy Shandy]

GOTY: Life Is Strange. I can see why it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I don't think I played anything this year nearly as emotionally affecting. Ashly Burch in particular was a standout as Chloe.

Wouldn't say I've played any awful games this year, but I must admit I was a little disappointed with Telltale's Game Of Thrones. What sounds like a marriage made in heaven was too Telltale-y and too Game Of Thrones-y that it all just felt a bit predictable and boring.

 

[Xeros]

Surprised how little love there's been for Dying Light. How easily they forget. My GotY easily goes to Fallout 4, though. I'm already 70 hours in, and I just can't put the damn thing down. One of the first mods out fixed the dialogue wheel, so my only complain went out the window.

Worst of the year? Can't say, really. Most disappointing is definitely The Order.

 

[Evonisia]

Bloodborne continues to be my GOTY. I'm perpetually saddened that I'll never be able to play that game for the first time ever again. Besides the obligatory terrible boss fights I love everything about that game.

Rise of the Tomb Raider was supposed to arrive today but didn't =/. I'm still holding out hope that it'll top Bloodborne given how my love for Tomb Raider 2013 is so immense.

Surprised how little love there's been for Dying Light.

I quite liked Dying Light, especially exploring the world and having the platforming not be terrible. Quite a lot of Dying Light irritated me though so I can't say I'd really think about it in regards to personal GOTYs.

 

[vallorn]

My number 1 was Life Is Strange. I have a feeling if I played Bloodborne, it might be up there as well, but I'm never buying another console. Everything else I played this year was a letdown.

Life is Strange was really quite an excellent piece of work and it was probably one of the most original concepts of the year. But I never really got into it myself. It's good to see that a lot of people did enjoy it though.

 

[sonicneedslovetoo]

OK can we start calling the "Battlefront" game that came out this year "Battlefront EA" to give it the level of distance from the rest of the series that it deserves.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

Witcher 3 wins for me.
Followed closely by Fallout 4 and MGSV.

Life is Strange would come after that.

In the "just good" category I'd place Grey Goo (goot story but bland units).

Only one game let me down: Mortal Kombat X. Wouldn't say that it's bad, but a lot of nickle&dime plus forcing a mobile game on you if you want to get all the unlocks, plus shitty performance on PC.

 

[Laughing Man]

GOTY Main Stream: Dying Light

Amazing zombie action brilliant pacing, actually scary in places and just a huge amount of fun.

GOTY Indie: KSP

It was a toss up between KSP or Prison Architect (though Factorio poked it's head in and would have been there if it wasn;t still in Alhpa.) In the end I give it to KSP just purely because looking at my Steam stats it tell me I am approaching the 900hour mark, which is both scary but given just how good the game is I can understand why. Am I the only one that after watching The Martian decided to build a KSP version of the Hermes designed to do Ares style missions to Duna?

Worst: MGS5 The Phantom Pain

Oh where to start, piss poor acting, piss poor direction, a half finished game, boring, repetitive, so far up it's own ass that it hurt. You had a game like Witcher 3 that came out this year that had awesome voice acting, interesting characters telling a really good story (anyone who did the bloody baron mission will tell you how good it could be) and then you had MGS with characters, story and direction that looked like it was done by a fucking monkey and what elevated it up the list for me was that the critics would have sucked Hideo Kojima off and given him £40 for the pleasure given half the chance. The game was plain and simple bad

Oh and this was before it turned out that a third of the game was missing, and Konami then started with the whole online FOB insurance, pay to win bullshit which infiltrated far too much in to the single player for my liking. I hope Witcher 3 wins GOTY because this pile of rat spunk deserves the pretentious dog dick of the year award.

Surprise hit: Mad Max

A new movie which I assumed would suck ass and a game that just happened to pop up in the same year which I also assumed would suck ass and then not only did neither of them suck ass but they actually both turned out to be rather good, yeah really surprised by that.

Biggest MEH of the year: Fallout 4

I am enjoying it, don't get me wrong but the whole game feels more like an expansion, it doesn't feel like a really good follow up to F3 you then combine that with a few issues, the wasteland seems even deader than the last game, (less developer made settlements) the dialogue is meh, the quests are actually pretty poor in number (I;ve reached a point where I have one main quest, which I have no idea what to do next with, and a whole bunch of the random generated fetch quests) and then you add in the fact that the Gamebyro (or is that Creation Engine) is now really starting to show it's age and you have a game that is just take it or leave it, not bad, not brilliant and really quite forgettable.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well putting aside the unspoken rule that Persona 4 is GOTY every year no matter what else comes out, here's my vote.

Thanks to Sekai Project being the best thing that ever happened to video games (just in front of Team Fortress 2's Love and War update,) I can say that Devil on the G-String is GOTY 2015. Legitimately the best mystery story ever, beautifully executed with awesome plot twists (the end of Chapter 1 cannot be described as merely great.) Also the soundtrack is pretty unique with every song bar a few being spins of a bunch of old classical pieces. Not just remixes or anything, actually good songs on their own merits but are clearly inspired by existing classics.

Just get it when it goes on sale for the holidays, they even released a non voiced version for some reason? When you could easily just turn off voices in the options? I mean I know some people hate listening to voices in a language they don't know but god damn if Maou's voice isn't the sexiest thing in the world. Voices even work towards some of the key plot points as well, it's weird. I couldn't imagine Haru's kind of dual personality coming across as well when she goes from a weird kooky girl with no social skills to some confident Lil Miss Sherlock with nerves of steel without the voice acting backing it up.

Also huge props to Kanon's VA for being an energetic loud character with a voice that is actually not earache inducing.

I've not played much bad stuff this year really, I mean Arkham Knight was fucking unplayable even after the "fixes" but everyone just refunded it and moved on with their fucking lives so y'know.

 

[1981]

I already named The Witcher 3 as my GOTY, so here are some other fine games:

Undertale
Great story, but the combat wasn't to my tastes.

SOMA
Could've used some refinement.

Life is Strange
Far exceeded my expectations, but I still had the nagging feeling that something was missing.

Gravity Ghost
Great story and visuals, but the jumping felt a bit hard to control.

80 Days and The Silent Age
Originally released on mobile platforms in 2014 and 2012, respectively. Even if you consider them games of 2015, they're a bit too lightweight to be PC Games of the Year.

Dropsy
Great story and visuals, but some of the traditional point-and-click adventure puzzles held it back.

Many of the indie games had the same issue: "Great story and visuals, but..." I would be happy with a remake or sequel that changes nothing but gameplay. Undertale could also use an artist's touch. Oddly, the two mobile-first games excelled both in gameplay and visuals, even if they were comparatively minimal.

I've yet to play Her Story, Tales from the Borderlands, Grow Home, Fran Bow, Read Only Memories, Three Fourths Home and The Beginner's Guide.

 

[jhoroz]

Bloodborne

Getting back to this game with the new DLC reminds what I loved about it so much the first time I played it. Traversing the fucked up and unsettling world of Yarhnam is like an experience like nothing else I've had this year and the new DLC is its own brand of grotesque brilliance. A majority of the new bosses also belong in the pantheon of great Souls bosses and the transition into the final area of the DLC is masterfully done.

Witcher 3

Movement, combat and lackluster main quest aside, this game had some of the best writing and quest design in an open world RPG and also probably the most realized world I've experienced in the AAA market. Bethesda take notes, because the Witcher 3 has pushed the boundaries to the next level in its genre.

Undertale

My overall game of the year. No other experience this year has left an impact like this game. The main story in itself is great, but the way the storytelling takes advantage of the fact that it's a videogame enhances the experience in a way that any other medium of story-telling couldn't. Makes me hopeful for the future of video games and storytelling in video games in general. Toby Fox is tremendously talented individual and am looking forward to his future endeavours.

Honourable Mentions

Life is Strange-Promising show of potential from don't nod, but I think awkward dialogue, ham-fisted writing and character development and awful final chapter that practically undermines the entire experience holds me back from falling head over heels in love with this game like a lot of other people. The fact that I can't stand 80% of the cast doesn't help either.

 

[Nimcha]

Fallout 4 is the best for me. I don't like that some features were removed but the atmosphere is excellent and I am having so much fun with the weapon mods. So much variety.

Worst: Witcher 3. I picked it up because people keep harping on about it but it feels totally bland and characterless for me. Terrible story, terrible characters and terrible combat. At least it looked somewhat nice and because it's apparently so popular I managed to sell it for the same amount I bought it.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

Well, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Yakuza 5 aren't out yet so I won't be choosing my GOTY till 2016.

Worst game I've played...I dunno. Dragonball Xenoverse maybe? I didn't really play much. Just messed around in the character creator and then got bored.

 

[Bombiz]

Well, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Yakuza 5 aren't out yet so I won't be choosing my GOTY till 2016.

Worst game I've played...I dunno. Dragonball Xenoverse maybe? I didn't really play much. Just messed around in the character creator and then got bored.

so you basically didn't play any games that came out this year?

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

I don't believe in an absolute GOTY, since every game is unique, so instead I use the award system, the same way the Oscars do. There is also an award show called the Galosh, which give awards to worst performance and cinematography (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galoshes#Galoshes_in_media). Because, just like the shoe they are named after, the films tend to wallow in filth and feces.

Ladies and Gentlemen, and Nonbinary induviduals *Corrects bow tie*, let the awards begin:

Most innovative mechanic : Besiege

The game took the digital Lego constructor and combined it with Workshop elements to create a passionate community and promote creativity. I know, this sounds like buzz words, but when I got the first version of the game, people could only make steel Penises on wheels. After comming back to the game after a four month long hiatus, one of the players figured out how to create a perpetual motion engine, which the rest of the community picked up on and started to create guided ballistic missles and flying battleship that dispence drones that can be induvidially controlled to prepare a tactical strike. It was one of the first games I got to get my grandmother to play, since she used to be a math lecturer she found it quite entertaining.

I think the technological progress from sculptures of human genitalia to guided ballisic missiles represents the microcosm of human technological progress.

Biggest dissapointment : Shadowrun: Hong Kong

Maybe it was my fault for overhyping it, but the entire game was just a rehash of the previous game - Dragonfall. A lot of the arcs were forced and formulaic and the combat was brocken in terms of balancing. They shower you with skill points, so I could major in pretty much every class and even then combat felt far more limited. My crew were just sitting in the corner while my character mowed down waves with my OP cyber weapon that I got for spare change. For some reason they replaced hacking with a inbred son of metal gear and bad point and click adventure games. As a cherry on top, one of the characters is a red samurai which doesn't fit the story and half of his dialog consists of exposition dumps about why he is a red samurai and therefor fits the story.

It's a good game, though rushed and recycled. I expected more from the developer that crafted a story that made me shed a tear in the last itiration of the series.

Indie Darling : Undertale

The less you hear about it the better. One thing I can say about it is that it encompases why people play RPG's and games in general, to immerse ourselves in world, not though advanced rendering, but though witty writing. Comparing Undertale to AAA games is like comparing a short by an animation student to a Michael Bay film. Both leave you with an impact, though one stays closer to your heart because one is closer to heart.

If you didn't play it, go and do so.

Anyway, sorry to cut it short, but I need to go get up early tomorrow, so I'll add more later.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

Well, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Yakuza 5 aren't out yet so I won't be choosing my GOTY till 2016.

Worst game I've played...I dunno. Dragonball Xenoverse maybe? I didn't really play much. Just messed around in the character creator and then got bored.

so you basically didn't play any games that came out this year?

I played a lot. Just few from this year. The first half of the year I don't remember playing any games worth mentioning. Second half I only played MGSV and FO4. Fallout is poop, MGSV was great, but like I said, there are two other games coming out before the end of the year that I'm anticipating.

I didn't play Witcher 3 because I didn't like 1 or 2 and I didn't play Bloodborne because I don't have a PS4. I'm not going to claim GOTY for games I never played and it's not my fault theres been like 5 noteworthy games released in 2015.

 

[FPLOON]

GOTY: Tales of Zestiria

Biggest Disappointment: I haven't played Tales of Zestiria yet...

Well, shit... This is [still] a conundrum... Uh... I guess you say 2015 was pretty uneventful for me in the realm of new video games...

But, FPLOON, didn't your best friend give you a copy of Undertale for your birthday not long before you bought the game Highschool Romance during Steam's "AUTUMN SALE!" event? Surely, you can make a "Top 3"-like list with those games, right? ...Right?

Other than that, I really haven't played any games that have come out in 2015, at least... yet, I own three 2015 game copies...

 

[Windcaler]

The year is not yet over so again its meaningless to vote at this time but my current thoughts are as follows

Bloodborne: Lovcaftian horror made by the same director of Dark souls, the masterpiece that deserves a place in the games that are art category. Not as good but still pretty freaking good

Kerbal space program: Take a simple premise of running your own space agency to explore the stars and put it in a game. Its interesting, its fun, its endearing, and I hope and pray it eventually comes to the consoles because of how much of a gem it is. Its hands down brilliant and you owe it to yourself to try KSP.

Shadowrun: Hong kong: Once again Harebrained schemes nails it! These guys are a lot like fromsoftware, they only do one kind of game and they do it really really well. Its easily my favorite RPG of this year, yes above witcher 3 (which I didnt play so that automatically dismisses it from my list) and fallout 4. In truth unless something amazing comes out this year this will be my game of the year. Sadly something better did come out

Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced edition: Take the best RPG Ive played in a decade and add content plus bug fix the whole thing and you get this game. If it wasnt for it Shadowrun Hong kong would be my top choice right now but an evolutionary game deserves recognition and DOS is still evolutionary to this day