2015 Community Game of the Year - Results posted! Check the front page!

I'm glad to see Life is Strange getting some love besides my vote.
Also, I think that Bloodborne is going to be a serious contender for #1.

My list is short, cause I tend to get obsessive about 1 or 2 games a year and play those exclusively.

1. Rocket League
2. XCom: Long War
3: Shadowrun: Hong Kong
4: NBA2K15

Thanks Clocky! I've been excited for this thread for the last few weeks.

I noticed in the '2015 Community Board Game of the Year' thread that at the end of each voting post they are posting their list in JSON format, like so:

"PandaEskimo" : ["Coup", "Liar's Dice", "Bang! The Dice Game", "Om Nom Nom", "1775: Rebellion", "Jamaica", "Sushi Go", "Shadow Hunters", "One Night Ultimate Werewolf", "Corto"]

which im guessing the thread runner PandaEskimo is able to skim using some tool to make for easy tallying. I can only imagine tallying the thread to be an awful lot of work. Just thought I'd flag that in case you wanted to hit up Panda to see if its something you'd be able to apply here? Just a thought, you may have your own process that works too.

I had actually made my top ten list last week, not expecting to get into any other games before the years end, but I've just gotten Thea: The Awakening which is great, and I've decided I will run through 'The Beginners Guide' and 'Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald A Whirlwind Heist' in the next week because I loved Stanley Parable and they sound super short.
So my list will be up after that.
Looking forward to seeing what folks have dug this year and tagging what I need to catch up on.

Hey Dr. Langeskov players, the catch-all is here, please join me, I'd love to talk more about this game! With someone other than myself!

Fallout 4

I might come back and add some more later.
But FO4 is #1 by far.

SallyNasty wrote:

My favorite game of the year is that Malor is still alive! Was actually concerned by all the silence! Glad to see you back!

Spoiler:

I will do my actual list this weekend. Still, good to see a goodjer returned to us.

I was wondering if I should mention anything, but that brightened my day as well.

1. Life Is Strange
2. Rocket League
3. Fallout 4
4. The Witcher 3
5. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
6. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
7. DA: Inquisition
8. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
9. Far Cry 4
10. Invisible Inc.

1. Rocket League.

In my mind, nothing else comes close.

I thought I hadn't played anything new this year, but it turns out some of it counts!

1. XCOM: Long War Mod.PC. As someone already mentioned, this Mod makes so many changes, it truly is a new experience, and it was this year that I tried it. And now that I've learned a little bit about modding it further to my own liking, it's no wonder I've clocked in 1493hrs, and counting. I will continue to play this until Feb. 5th, when XCOM2 finally launches!!
2. Cities: Skylines. PC. Love the zen state it puts me into. Truly a great game, and I love that they captured so well what Maxis failed to with SimCity.
.
.
The following I played, but don't believe they deserve the points to be ranked higher, as they kinda disappointed me.
.
9. The Last of Us: Left Behind. PS4. I enjoyed being back in this world, but something just didn't click with me. Perhaps it was overhyped. Lots of people claimed how hard it would be to top or match the main game, and yet felt somehow it did. I thought the main game was a masterpiece, so perhaps my expectations were too high, but this DLC felt flat.
10. Batman: Arkham Knight. PS4. It is truly just more of the same, and I enjoyed it for that, but as opposed to the other 3 titles, I just don't see myself going back to it. Batmobile was too present, hated how they made Scarecrow basically Hugo Strange 2.0. Just in general...meh.

That's basically it. Most of my gaming hours go to XCOM, TF2, and ME3mp. Never got into the Witcher, Star Wars, Destiny, Fall Out, Far Cry, GTA, any of those.

I would like to mention though, my biggest dishonorable mention, Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void. Many say the writing was just as campy and stupid in the first one, but I completely disagree. The original and Brood War really created something special with rich characters, lore, politics, etc. SC2 used non of it, and turned awesome characters into empty clichés. I thought Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm were cringe worthy, but since this was a franchise I loved so damn much, I just had to see how it ended. And it ended spectacularly awful. At least it keeps the same level of quality as the previous 2 games, but I just find that level of quality to be abysmal. I don't want my money back, I think the game is very well made, I just have a huge hole in my soul and heart after seeing what they've done to a world I loved so much long ago. It deserves to lose at least 100 points, and the writers should be ashamed.

I play old games!

1. Metal Gear Solid 5 - While I've finished all the Metal Gear games before, this is the first one that I really loved the act of playing. The controls, structure, everything was just fantastic, and I loved the hell out of it. I sank 75 hours into it, and I can see myself going back for more.
2. Dragon Age 2 - Finally played it, didn't love the repetitive everything, but didn't hate it either. Did love the characters and story.
3. Dragon Age Inquisition - Almost as good as Dragon Age 2, and better mechanically, just not as tight a narrative, and the main villain was kind of a wimp.
4. Her Story - Super unique, and I love character studies
5. The Talos Principle - It's "Freshman philosopy class Portal"! Except way longer and with harder puzzles!
6. Monster Hunter 4 - Almost forgot this because it's not on my "finished" list. Probably would have been higher if I did multiplayer. I don't, but it kept me going for 75 hours anyway, so it's good!
7. Tales from the Borderlands - Writing was fantastic.
8. Life is Strange - This is based on only having played 3 of 5 chapters. Might move up later.
9. The Beginner's Guide - Probably would be higher if I was smarter, but I liked the hell out of this anyway.
10. Bulletstorm - Dickpunch.

1. Fallout 4

Honestly, this is the only new game I've played enough to warrant actually ranking. I've played the first 30-60 minutes of a few others, but not enough to justify saying I've played them. I've continued playing a couple of games that I've ranked other years, and I've spent a lot of time playing MMOs that I have already ranked. Guild Wars 2 does have an honest to goodness expansion this year, but I barely touched that part of it before FO4 released, so I don't feel right ranking it yet.

I can rank a bunch of mobile games, since it's about the only form of gaming I can do while my daughter is awake:
2. Fallout Shelter
So good at getting me in the mood for more Fallout that I started playing Fallout 3 again instead of working on my pile while waiting for FO4. It did have a game breaking bug when it first released, but that's been fixed and I'm still working on getting a vault full of dwellers with maxed stats.

3. Mortal Kombat X
The mobile game is very simplified compared to the console version, but it looks surprising good, and runs surprisingly well. Very satisfying considering that I don't have an XB One or PS4 to play the full version yet.

4. Star Wars: Uprising
The current hot SW game for GWJ is Galaxy of Heroes, but I prefer this one by far. I get an actual sense of progression from it, even if I am just running the same missions over and over to make my gear incrementally better. With Heroes, I ran into the F2P wall very quickly, and it's incredibly stingy at handing out rewards compared to other games I've played that used a similar character unlocking scheme.

Ok my real list. It isn't 10 (rest of the games I played this year were either games from 2014 I was cleaning up cheevs on or games that I was just playing for cheevs) -

1. The Witcher 3 – Easily my Game of All Time. I can’t think of a game that pulled me in more, from the responsive and fun combat to the expansive story(which I adored). This game was an absolute treat and I enjoyed all the hours it took to complete all the sidequests(and achievements, natch). Can’t wait to pick it back up for the DLC.
2. Alien Isolation – Phew. This game OOOZED atmosphere and horror. It was one of those games I really couldn’t do more than an hour or so at a sitting as it was just so goddam tense. This was a game that was hand crafted with love and respect for the source material. All the criticisms for the game are valid, but if you were willing to buy into the game – it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in a long time. When I go back to finish up the cheevs, I will definitely be playing on easy, though. Hard gave me nightmares!
3. Batman: Arkham Knight – I think this game was judged harshly(by myself included), but if you could get past comparing it to the rest of the games in the series – what a fun ride. The controls were great, the car was fun(it was! Quit hating!) and the story was actually fairly good. I also thought the season pass was a steal, even at full price(a full 30 minute epilogue for all of the supporting characters, a mini-campaign for Batgirl and a large chunk still to come for the Bat – what a deal! Also I ended up really liking the combat rooms/driving challenges that were added for the different cars/characters). Not the best game in the series, but still a great game on its own.
4. Star Wars: Battlefront – I love this game. The sound design, the amazing graphics, and the easy pop-in game modes – this is a great shooting experience for a casual like myself, and is a must play for all Star Wars fans. Just an amazing game.
5. MGSV – First off – Kojima is a perv. There is absolutely no excuse for Quiet’s character design. She was built from ground up to be Tits on a gun and it was offputting to the max(embarrassing too the max when my wife saw her in the ACC.) That said – the game was a master’s course in system design and stealth gameplay. Once you got past the nonsensical story and puerile camera shots, the game was bliss for a stealth fan, a joy for base management and design, and a treat to play. I really wish Kojima/the industry would grow the f*ck up with the need for walking sex dolls.
6. Assassin’s Creed : Rogue – This should have been 2014’s lead AC game. It was just a joy to play(if you liked Black Flag, you would LOVE this). It has a surprisingly good story, great gameplay, and was a really neat chapter in the AC story. Really a must play for fans of the AC universe.
7. Dragon Age: Inquisition – Wow, what a great game. Good graphics, progressive story, relatively fun gameplay(I am more of a fan of DA2 than DA:O, so there you go – I like one click combat). Really a solid game that I recommend to all.
8. The Wolf Among Us – Telltale’s best to date(in my opinion). Love the noir feel, soundtrack and overall experience. Too bad the creator of the series is a dick, but this game was amazing. Highly recommend.

I also really enjoyed Halo 5, but am not done with the campaign yet (Thanks Brian for choosing your family over your friends!), but it is really very good.

  1. Rocket League (PS4) - I think this game came out of nowhere and surprised everyone. And getting it "free" as part of PS+ was an added bonus. Best Sports game of the decade, I reckon.
  2. Valiant Hearts: The Great War (PS4) - A beautifully told, heart-breaking story. Rendered in gorgeous 2D using the Rayman engine. Simple puzzles, no frustration.
  3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4) - Actually kind of disappointing for me, this one. Certainly my least favourite MGS. I much prefer the more linear, story-driven games of the past, even when taken to extremes like MGS4. But it's still some of the best gameplay I've experienced this year.
  4. Volume (PS4) - Simple and precise stealth mechanics make for one of the most satisfying stealth games I've played. Sadly, the story-telling hasn't got a patch on Thomas Was Alone.
  5. Never Alone (PS4) - A 2D platformer set in a beautiful Alaskan landscape. Best enjoyed in co-op. Some clunky mechanics.
  6. Life is Strange (PS4) - Yes, the dialogue is some cheesey, often cringe-inducing stuff, but I was able to overlook that by the end of episode 1. And what's delivered in the end is a great story, delivered with a mechanic that should make TellTale jealous that they didn't think of it first.
  7. Grow Home (PS4) - A fantastic little game, in a genre that sadly has very little life in 2015.
  8. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4) - There are a lot great things about this game: the same, great combat; the driving, as a way of travering the city (way better than Arkham City!); the tank fights (at least the first couple of times); and the graphics. But the game seems to be at odds with itself. You have a city in what is apparently immediate danger, but at the same time Alfred is calling you up to investigate some random serial killer/mystery. Which is it, Alfred?
  9. Shadow of the Colossus (PS3) - A true classic, this one. Its mechanics might feel a little dated at times, but the art direction and landscapes are still top notch. And the boss fights are some of the most inventive and satisfying that you'll find.
  10. Papo & Yo (PS3) - This runs pretty rough on PS3, but that doesn't take away from what is a really touching story. And finally, a puzzle game with decent hints, for those few occasions you might get stuck!

This past year I kept to my resolution about not paying full price for games. I only bought one game at full price. Yeah I know, that sounds like I didn't stick to my resolution, but when you compare that to previous years where I was buying one or two a month...I'd say I did well.

That being said, I haven't played a lot of games this year. I turned into a monogamous gamer, a bit. The majority of my gaming this year has been on three games, all of them being "free". I don't even have ten games to list, or at least I can't remember them, so I probably wouldn't want them on the list if I could.

Rocket League
No one saw this coming! No, I mean...not my vote, of course I'm voting for it. No one saw this game coming. Like, really, who the F!#@ are you and why is it 4am?

"I have to go work game. Leave me alone!"

"Just one more!?"

"...Okay!"

That's what you are going to be hearing every night once you take this pill. Even if you are not playing with KingSasquatch. I don't want to call this game addictive because of the negativity of that word, but this game is like a drug.

Until Dawn

I did not expect this at all. I've been playing this pretty much non stop since I opened it on Christmas. The acting, the story, the twist. Man. It's got me hooked. I can really see myself playing this over and over to see all the differences that your decisions make.

Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet's attempts to make a MMORPG that is easy to get into has paid off. This is the first game of it's kind that I have ever played. I expected to be overwhelmed with systems, menus, and annoying quest lines. But they have made it all so intuitive. It doesn't lack complexity, though. You can still dive deep into crafting, PvP, and world exploration.

Lara Croft Go

Every year there is one game on mobile that really grabs me. For the past two years it has been Square Enix's board game like conversions of their larger console hits. This year they gave Lara Croft the Go treatment. Just like Hitman before this game has "keep playing" written all over it. Each puzzle is fun and not too complex to get frustrating, and short enough to where you will be up all night for "just one more".

There is one downside, you are going to want to keep playing once you finish. Lucky for you, there are collectibles to get that add some replayability. And if this one is anything like Hitman expect a few expansions, one of them already being release for free.

Helldivers

I can see myself playing this one for many months to come. I haven't been able to play it a lot, but I've played it enough to know it's great and deserves a place here.

Bloodborne

This game is in my shame pile. There is no reason this game should be unfinished. I am really disappointed in myself for not beating this game. It still deserves to be played by anyone that has a PS4 and hates themselves.

Super Meat Boy (Vita)

SHUT UP! So what if I played and beat this game when it came out in 2008 on the 360. It got rereleased this year on the Vita and it's great.

"But the rules..."

I know. the rules say I get to decided and I'm deciding. I'm voting for it!

Onechanbara Z2 Chaos

Okay. Everyone gets to have a guilty pleasure right? Well, if we do, this is mine.

Batman: Arkham Knight

I mean, I guess this one is good. I beat it. I played it this year. I dunno. I'm running out of games.

btw, I saw Rocket League coming. Ask carrotpanic. I pinged him every day with a countdown to the launch. He hated it.

I loved SSARPBC and Rocket League is everything I had hoped it would be and more.

To be clear, I hated the fact that you were reminding me of something I already knew about. Not that the game was coming.

_Free_ wrote:

btw, I saw Rocket League coming.

Nope. No one saw it coming.

I would have never known about it if it hadn't been free on +.

_Free_ wrote:

I loved SSARPBC and Rocket League is everything I had hoped it would be and more.

Holy crap, I knew Rocket League was a sequel to a differently-named game, but I didn't know that game was called Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars! That's the best game title I've heard since Beneath a Steel Sky, maybe even better.

Gravey wrote:
_Free_ wrote:

I loved SSARPBC and Rocket League is everything I had hoped it would be and more.

Holy crap, I knew Rocket League was a sequel to a differently-named game, but I didn't know that game was called Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars! That's the best game title I've heard since Beneath a Steel Sky, maybe even better.

Yeah, but they were smart to get rid of it. It makes it hard to recommend and turns a lot of people off.

Oh crap I forgot about Legacy of the Void. Editing my list.

Sorry Clock.

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - I played the first two Witcher games with the subtitles on and the Polish voice acting because I hated the English voice work. I still don't care for the Geralt voice in Witcher 3, but the rest of the voice acting is great. And I really enjoyed Geralt's dry humor this time. The biggest achievement this game made, though, is having such a huge world where the side content is as good as the main content. I never felt like I was playing filler material.

2. Grow Home - This is by no means an epic game, but the few hours I played were simultaneously so fun and relaxing that I have to put this up high on my list.

3. Undertale - I still can't believe this was mostly the work of one person. The twitchy old-school gameplay didn't do much for me, but the plot, characters, dialogue, music, and humor were fantastic.

4. FRACT OSC - This is like Myst set in a techno music world. I like Myst, and I sometimes like techno music. So there you go.

5. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture - Yeah, it's more an interactive story than a game, but I enjoyed unraveling the story bits and felt the ending held together. And the music was great.

6. Lords of the Fallen - I don't have the stomach for the punishment of the Souls games. This was part Souls-with-checkpoints and part Darksiders 2. I can see how other people felt it was a cheap imitation, but I enjoyed it. I thought it did a great job of making my guy feel like a powerful lumbering badass.

7. Rise of the Tomb Raider - Much better tomb raiding than the previous game. For some reason I wasn't as into the combat this time around, and the story is well written but still not compelling to me. The story's too serious for the overall style of the game. I'll get any tomb-focused DLC they release.

8. Wolfenstein: The New Order - A tight FPS with good pacing and some interesting characters. The story was cheesy but I still wanted to see where it went.

9. Apotheon - This one has an eye-catching visual style and a lot of Metroid-style exploration and upgrades. Some of the boss battles were really clever, too. I was a little surprised that it didn't get more attention.

10. Animal Gods - A Kickstarter game that didn't live up to its original intentions. The gameplay was simple and repetitive, but the visuals and music kept me into it for its short duration. This made the list mostly because I wanted to have ten titles.

I always find it interesting how many games I play that I enjoy just fine during the time I spend with them but don't have much to say about them in hindsight. I can't always tell while I'm playing how enthused I'll be about a game once I've been away from it.

I need to edit my picks! I forgot about the awesome that is Shooty Skies!

I also added the numbers that I forgot. Apologies.

Link.

I bought a PS4 for Xmas last year, and a week later won a Vita in a raffle giveaway. So my list is deep on oldies but goodies that I never had a chance to play as I was a 360 only gamer last generation. It was also #theyearofhorror and #theyearofartsyfartsy.

1. P.T.
Yeah, it's a demo, but what a demo! "Holy F u c kballs" are about the only words I have for this.

2. Tearaway
How delightful is this game? F U C K ING SUPER UBER DELIGHTFUL, THAT'S HOW DELIGHTFUL!
Bar none best use of all the Vita's features, including both cameras and the back touch pad. Some of the platforming at the end was a bit frustrating, but dayum, so good. I'm glad I found a used copy, because I can't imagine playing this on PS4, especially since they didn't pack in the PS Camera.

3. Home
Wow. I went into this not knowing much about it, but bought it on a whim for $0.99. Best dollar I ever spent. While it relies on the 'protagonist wakes up with amnesia' trope, the way the story unfolds makes for some serious mindf*ckery. If you want a game that you can talk about 'what do you think happened' for hours with friends and other players, this is the game for you. It's super short too, so it's interesting to play through more than once and see how different decisions can elicit different theories as to what actually happened.

4. Valiant Hearts: The Great War
While I find myself becoming increasingly lukewarm on Ubisoft's tentpole AAA titles, they are really nailing their smaller scale games. Between this and Grow Home, they are managing to stay on my list of developers I like.

5. Until Dawn
What's there to say about this that hasn't already been covered. A+ tropey teen horror flick. I played it twice to try different decisions, and while it doesn't change the broad story beats, it does make for a more personalized experience with some of the finer details, and how you may connect the dots in your head.

6. Gravity Rush
Such a great use of the Vita functionality. I was very surprised at how open world of a game it was, and it definitely gave me some Assassin's Creed vibes in terms of the exploration and finding treasures around the world. Has a bit of stereotypical anime/jrpg tropes that I found a bit eye rolling, but a really great game and story. Looking forward to the sequel.

7. Outlast
This was the first game I played on my new PS4. So good, and a great twist on the 'no weapons' horror genre. I found this to be much more enjoyable than Alien: Isolation.

8. Grow Home
What a great little game. So tranquil just climbing vines and growing sprouts. The procedural movement of the robot made for some hilarious pratfalls, and it's balanced with some really great floating mechanics which was great fun to just cruise around the world and sight see.

9. The Wolf Among Us
Yeah, Willingham is kind of a douche, but the world that he created is compelling, even if it relies heavily on gendered noire tropes. Really fun and clever takes on fairy tales living in the modern world, and I'm particularly enamored with the soundtrack and color palette. After having just replayed The Walking Dead seasons 1 & 2, it's neat to see a different universe and the progression in Tell Tale's development process.

10. Hohokum
ARTISANAL INDIE HIPSTER ALERT
In a time of critiquing the status quo of white bald space marines in games, I found this to be a breath of fresh air. I suppose it could be considered a walking sim, but the protagonist has no legs.

Man, looking at this list, I seem to favor opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of genres/experiences.

Honorable Mentions:
The Order: 1886
Xeodrifter
Murikami Baby
Monster Bag
Last of Us Remastered
The Swapper
Counter Spy
The Evil Within
The Unfinished Swan
Ether One
Another World
Alien: Isolation
Grim Fandango
Nathan Drake Collection
Infamous: 2nd Son & First Light

***2nd draft, gonna see how this sits for a bit.

Nel, I can tell you that Tearaway is definitely less successful as a PS4 game. It's better on the Vita.

1) Rocket League - To date, this is the only game I've played where I wanted to purchase every DLC just to support the developers. My friends and I started having Rocket League parties that reminded me of Halo parties we used to have on the original Xbox. Nothing this year compared to the feeling I get when I intentionally score.

2) Splatoon - It took a while, but Nintendo finally put a fresh twist on the shooter genre. I loved the feel of the weapons and how bright and colorful the game was. I even loved how they slowly rolled out new content. I wish more companies would adopt this model. I still hate the random stage selection, though.

3) A Story About My Uncle - I got this in a Humble Bundle this year, and I'm glad I did. I beat it in two sittings, but the grapple mechanic was really fun. It sort of reminded me of the first Portal.

4) Tales From the Borderlands - This was my first Telltale game, and I really liked it. The story and characters were all top notch. I wish there were more puzzles, though.

5) Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic - I had never played this before. I loved Mass Effect, and most of my friends seemed to prefer this game. While I'm not sure if I would say I really prefer this game over Mass Effect, I can easily see the appeal.

Thanks, Clocky. I'll put some thought into this tomorrow after work.

As always, a year has went by with a select few titles that I had hoped to play being passed over for the new release. I had planned to play Deus Ex: Human Revolution. That didn't happen. I started Xenoblade Chronicles (the Wii original). I made two false starts on Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I apologise to these games. Dishonored, too.

What I have enjoyed shall take some tea fueled pondering to rate and rank. It's kind of fun!

Update: Okay, I played some more games and had to reorder my list quite a bit. Here's the final list:

1. Hearthstone (Blackrock Mountain, The Grand Tournament, League of Explorers)
2. Her Story
3. Crypt of the Necrodancer
4. Undertale
5. Rocket League
6. Heroes of the Storm
7. Ori and the Blind Forest
8. Shovel Knight
9. Evolve
10. Titan Souls

Spoiler:

Hearthstone was my GotY last year and it's still the game I've enjoyed by far the most this year and it's been kept fresh by three new content releases.

Update: Her Story is just an amazing interactive and truly nonlinear experience with some very nice acting. I've only unlocked about half the videos but it's really engrossing. I fear the actual plot may be a little cheesy but I'm really glad I got into this before the year's end.

Crypt of the Necrodancer was in my list last year but I hadn't realized it was only half finished at the time. The complete game was an even more satisfying experience.

Undertale should be higher on my list but I haven't played it too much myself, mostly watching it on streams. I actually had a bad first impression of the game but watching one full playthrough made me reevaluate the game and I hope I have time to play it in full myself. Update: Even though I still haven't played it that much more, I still feel compelled to put this game higher. It just has the right mix of delightful characters and interesting metacommentary on games.

Rocket League has a lot of depth for such a simple game and might be higher on my list if I hadn't only just picked it up. However I do find the controls quite finicky and hard to master and I'm not sure I want to devote too much time to that. Update: Putting in some more time I decided to bump this up. What I really like about it is that it's a sports game where you have to master the sport, not a sports simulation where the character you control does most of the work.

Heroes of the Storm is a strong game and I've enjoyed it quite a bit, but mechanically it's mostly a retread of League of Legends for me. However it cuts all the fat that makes it the game I go to these days.

Ori and the Blind Forest is an amazingly beautiful game and a wonderful little Metroidvania. Might've been higher on my list if I didn't find the story just a little too nonsensical and some small design elements a little frustrating like the escape sequences.

Shovel Knight was a very charming little game although it was a more punishing platformer than I expected.

Evolve was a really cool asymmetrical multiplayer game but I think I liked it more than most and just couldn't keep with it solo.

Titan Souls is another charming little game that's all about fighting cleanly designed bosses from a top-down Zelda-like perspective with minimal mechanics.

Honorable Mention: Broken Age Act 2 was a decent continuation of Act 1 marred by some frustrating puzzles and a somewhat flat ending, but still it was nice to revisit that world and get some closure.

Honorable Mention: Legacy of the Void had pretty bad writing, I thought it was even worse than the previous SC2 installments, but the campaign was still fun to blast through.

Quick Honorable Mentions: Overwatch (still in beta), The Banner Saga (gift from Squee, thanks!), Terraria (played it a lot one weekend then never again, first time with one of these "craft" games), Life is Strange (also mostly just watched it on a stream).

Thanks for doing this again Clock!

1. Dota 2

I'm a game tourist by nature, and it's reflective of elements of my personality I'd like to moderate. Because of this, I've been searching for nearly half a decade for a game that I would want to play for a long time and be rewarded for my focus. I never in a million years thought it'd be Dota. I got interested this summer after watching The International for the first time this year and decided to see how far I could go up this very scary mountain. Everything I'd heard about community toxicity, arcane systems, and often frustrating games turned out to be true. But what's also true is that the game is so astoundingly good that it's worth it. This isn't true for any of the other Mobas I've played. Dota is something truly unique and special. I've also been enjoying what interactions I've had with other Goodjers in it, almost always Damnable Bear, and I hope to have more in the future.

2. Mass Effect 2

I'm late to the party on this one, but when I finally got a computer I was proud to run it on, this was the first big game I wanted to play. I've got nothing to add to all the acclaim for this, except to say that the ME universe is the first fictional universe that I've come to really love since Star Wars when I was a kid. I'm excited to finally start ME3 once I finish...

3. Dishonored

This is such a remarkably well realized experience. I'm loving my stealth playthrough, which is everything I wanted from Thief but never really felt like I got. I wish I didn't feel like I was punished for going high chaos though, which makes it less likely that I'll do another run. The other problem for me is that the world is so well rendered as this bleak and horrible place that I have to get over a mental hump to start the game.

4. OlliOlli

This was a huge surprise for me, and sucked up a surprising amount of my time. It's pure joy to pull off a solid run, and for all the fast action I find it surprsingly relaxing.

5. The Beginner's Guide

This game wrecked me in such a good way. The spoiler section on the podcast and the discussion in the catch-all gave me tons more to think about. I can't think of another game that did that to such an extent.

6. Heroes of the Storm

This is my go-to when I can't commit the time to a Dota match. It's a lot of fun, but I hate the hero unlock model, and all the things they do to streamline the game also make it less interesting than Dota. Still, it's well done and I love that I can get in and out of a match against bots in about 15 minutes.

7. Bionic Commando Rearmed

Pure nostalgia with a fantastic soundtrack and a save system to make this a lot less punishing than the original. It's a shame Grin isn't around anymore.

8. Super Time Force Ultra

Marrying the run and gun of Contra to the time rewind mechanic, multiple heroes, and general hilarity made this one a treat. Short and very sweet, with a lot of genuine laughs.

gravity wrote:

2. Mass Effect 2

Aw man, what fortunes befall your way! I totally get you, and I love that universe to death, and 2 was my favorite although all 3 are fantastic. The connection to the characters is simply something I haven't seen done as well anywhere else. I wish I was playing for the first time. Don't wanna hog up the thread, but please, visit our ME dedicated threads (we have one for each and another for 3 multiplayer, if you care to indulge, there's still some folks, myself included, who regularly still play) and tell us all about your experiences!

kexx wrote:

Don't wanna hog up the thread, but please, visit our ME dedicated threads (we have one for each and another for 3 multiplayer, if you care to indulge, there's still some folks, myself included, who regularly still play) and tell us all about your experiences!

Will do! I've been curious about the ME3 multiplayer and I'm honestly a little shocked it's still going. It speaks a lot to the series that it is. Thanks kexx!