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

This is my list, for better of for worse.

1 Undertale

This is one very interesting game, to me. I haven't played it much (about 2 hours in), but have read amply about people's impressions and experience with it, and I find myself more and more intrigued by how well it has been received. The art style is simple and reminiscent of Earthbound/Mother, but very much a style of its own. The writing seems pretty good so far. What makes it my game of the year is how odd it is compared to just about every other game this year, and how well it plays while being that odd.

2 Super Mario 3D World

This would have been my game of the year, but it was edged out in the end by Undertale. Nevertheless, this game is sheer Nintendo joy. Not hard, but challenging enough; even the little ones can get through it with some persistence. The entire design is sheer happiness for me, at least that's what in conveys and how my heart perceives it. The moment I fired this game up on my WiiU I couldn't help but play it until I had completed it, and it's some of the best fun I've had playing with my daughter.

3 Tearaway

Another oddball, but so full of charm. I couldn't put this one down once I started it, either. Way better than Little Big Planet (which bored me) if you ask me.

4 Pillars of Eternity

Part of the Isometric CRPG renaissance and, IMO, the best one yet.

5 Xenoblade Chronicles X

Open-world JRPG with Mecha? Sign me up! I'm still going slowly on this one since it dropped early this month, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.

6 Bioshock Infinite

Good FPS that does the 'Shock lineage honor, but it's the third act of the narrative that really hit me in the feels. In this alone, to me, it is the best 'Shock game out there, the System installments included.

7 Citizens of Earth

Nice little funny title with great enemy designs and clever writing that doesn't take itself seriously at all. What's not to like? Earthbound/Mother fans should give this one a whirl.

8 Lone Survivor: Director's Cut

This game, in 2D, has scared me more and made me feel ill at ease in ways few horror games have. This is the Silent Hill/Fatal Frame of 2D horror, and at times does it better, too.

9 The Witcher 2

It's the Witcher. Two. What is there to say?

10 Sword Art Online

I was never big on the MMO simulation single player JRPG subgenre, but having enjoyed the show, I decided to give this a go. Despite a laughably bad translation, it's enjoyable enough and emulates the show faithfully enough so as to make the unintentionally funny text easy to ignore. The battle system is pretty good, too!

You Bioshock Infinite voters got me to reinstall it. I never did finish the DLC.

BadKen wrote:

You Bioshock Infinite voters got me to reinstall it. I never did finish the DLC.

The DLC is better than the main game in my opinion. Well the Burial at Sea stuff, never touched the Battle in the Sky stuff.

Added a couple "Just Missed the Top 10" and "Didn't Play Yet or Enough Of" to my list.

Didn't alter my Top 10 at all.

Thanks, Aaron.

Just a reminder: if you edit your list, please let me know if you changed the order of anything. The forum tracker isn't really setup to let me know that someone changed something back on page three.

I thought as much.

Didn't want to have you rummaging back, wondering what changed in the edit.

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3

Newest iteration of the CoD series. The last couple, while ok, were pretty much forgettable. For me the biggest difference are the new movement mechanics. Even though it's limited to a power bar you have full range of Parkour type abilities which makes for some intense and extremely satisfying game play. This has been so much fun that i actually bought the Season Pass. Something that i avoided in the previous CoD games.

2. Rainbow Six: Siege

Speaking of intense game play. The hardcore aspect of being punished (punched out for the round like CS) for making a mistake, in not watching your corners, or bad aim, or not communicating with your team mates, is exhilarating. Add in realistic destructible environments and your normal bomb runs or hostage rescues attempts end up being different every round unlike the old versions of the game which over time became an exercise in specific route running. Then add in a very good version of the old stand in of Terrorist Hunt. It's like a return of an old friend.

3. Smite

This was a bit of surprise to me. I had repeated invitations to the alpha and beta for the game which i had ignored. Thinking i had enough solid MOBAs in my life. Had some friends ask me to jump in to play with them and ended up being surprised at how much depth/meta was in this one. I was hooked. Easily the game i spent the most time playing this year.

4. Star Wars: Battlefront

Battlefront games for me have never felt like their more grittier or hardcore FPS brothers/sisters. They were always nice diversions. The ones for Star Wars were warm/fuzzy reminders of the action we saw in the movies. Some nice action while waiting for more serious movies or games that had more lightsabers in them. This definitely hit that mark. A very beautifully rendered game. There were times that i died just from being dazzled by the landscape. While not as in depth as other shooters this one is still a lot of fun and delivers on the warm/fuzzies.

5. Project: Gorgon

This MMO is a return back to times when exploring and collaborating with other people you find in the world was more important than hunting for the next [!]. When doing a quest involved using your mind and testing your memory of the world you've discovered. This game while still in alpha has been a welcomed surprise. Sadly the graphics for the game also return back to those earlier times. It intentionally looks like the old Asheron Call and EverQuest games.

6. Star Wars Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire

They reworked their story telling mechanics back to where this feels more like an actual Bioware single player game. I'm still up in the air whether that's a good thing for MMOs or not, but the story was a blast to go through, and i'm still enamored with the combat of this MMO. While the system itself is iterative of your standard button pushers the animations for your actions are pure Star Wars gold.

7. Destiny: Taken King

I resisted and resisted coming back to this game, but after repeatedly being told it had been overhauled by Bungie with help from the guys that did Diablo i figured i'd jump in and take a look. It actually is more fun than it was. Maybe it's the timing or the folks i play with but yea i'm enjoying my rise through the light levels and not bored out of my mind when i play.

8. Squad

This one was another surprise for me. The Project Reality guys from BF2 finally came out with their game. It's a tactical shooter relying on chain of command and communications across the battlefield. Imagine a cross between Arma 3 and Delta Force. Each player in a squad has a role to play and each squad on a side need to work together to win the battlefield. This is a lot of fun when folks on your team work together. It's actually on Steam Early Access now so hopefully more folks will be jumping in.

9. Heroes of the Storm

I started the year off playing nothing much except for this game. I keep dipping back into it from time to time. If i hadn't been seduced by Smite this probably would've been the most played game of the year for me.

10. Survarium

Beta of a F2P shooter that has early access on Steam by the guys who did STALKER. Still unclear on the history, but this was originally on my radar because it was being advertised as a MMO. It feels and looks like STALKER, but a solid shooter without an over abundance of hackers. Which for an Eastern EU game is surprising. It has the old school Action Quake mechanic of bleeding out unless you bandaged yourself and multiple factions you can choose from which determines what gear you can use. There were other F2P shooters i poked at over the year, but i kept coming back to this one while i waited for the higher profile ones to be released.

This year was a weird one, besides being super busy with work, I also had my gaming time reduced dramatically from last year. I barelly managed to fill out a top t̶e̶n̶. five. First two were easy!

1: Rocket League - (PS4) without a doubt this is my game of the year, It was a toss up between this and number 2, but it all came down to what I'm still coming back to every night. It also introduced me to the wonderful community of GWJ and their friends. Winning or loosing this is the most fun you can have this year.

2: Drive Club (PS4) Hands down the best racer I've played this year. I've sunk countless hours mastering the courses and cars that It provided. This game made you earn every achievement and victory and the generous season pass brought even more content to the game with addition of more championships and a whole new mode for motorcycles.

3: Infamous Second Son (PS4) Best superhero game thats not about superheroes. I enjoyed every minute of it in both the main game and the stand alone expansion First Light.

4: Guilty Gear Xrd (PS4) I'm not very good at fighters but this is the game that we ended up sinking tons of hours anytime anyone came over my house. Crazy fighters and silky smooth gameplay made this a very enjoyable experience

5: Magicka 2 (PS4) My PS+ suprise of the year. I would have never even thought about trying it if it didn't show up on my list. Had alot of fun playing throught it to the end.

6: Disgaea 5 (PS4)
I had a blast playing it untill I got distracted by Rocket League.

Wanted to throw in couple honorable mentions.
Journey, Flower and Entwined I had fun playing those but I don't think they are significant enough experiences for me to warrent to be in the list.

Few games that didn't really click with me

Tales of Zesteria (PS4) after a really strong start I tapered off at about 15 hour mark. I think I may just be a wrong time for me be playing really long jrpgs, so I will definatelly give it more time next year when the mood strikes.
Witcher 3 (PS4) I enjoyed playing it but just never could commit the time needed for it. Plan to revisit next year.[/b]

Alright, let's give this a go.

I've got Battlefront and Yoshi's Wooly World coming my way next week, so those may squeek in, though I doubt it.

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10. Etrian Mystery Dungeon (3DS) - A crossover game that works better than I ever expected. I like Etrian Odyssey games, mostly from afar, as that style of dungeon crawling wears thin for me fairly quick. Roguelikes, however, I can play for hours and hours on end for some reason, though Mystery Dungeon games have tended to have shorter shelf lives than, say, Stone Soup. Regardless, adding an Etrian Odyssey character customization layer (and polish) to a Mystery Dungeon game produced the best Mystery Dungeon game I've yet played. If only the series would move away from its atrociously slow starts. I hate having to go through 5+ hours of playing for incredibly basic features to be unlocked.

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9. Crimsonland (PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Android - yes, I've played them all) - Somehow I completely missed out on this game when it originally released in 2003. Boy oh boy does this game hit me in the right spot for what a great arcade shooter should be. Tons of weapons, tons of upgrades, a bunch of game modes, simple controls and lots and lots of enemies. The weapon selection is what makes this game, it's basically Robotron and SmashTV taken to an extreme and I love it. Hell, it's so simple and good I'm tempted to make my own Crimsonland-esque game!

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8. Helldivers (Vita, PS3, PS4) - I want to like this game more, but I just don't have time for a mp focused title. Trying to get a set time to play with non-pubbies is really tough for me right now. But the core here is really strong as a coop top down twin stick shooter. Another game with a good selection of weapons that help keep things varied.

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7. Axiom Verge (PS4) - Metroid and Super Metroid have been hugely influential over the years and while more recent Metroidvania games have been good, most people continue to look back at Super Metroid as the pinnacle of gameplay, discovery and atmosphere in the genre. While Axiom Verge doesn't quite get it right on the atmosphere or story level, it more than does so on the gameplay aspect. Axiom Verge presents the player with a slew of clever weapons and tools to interact with the game world, many of them based on glitching the game world. Traversing the world did get a bit tedious without the ability to fast travel, something I would've appreciated for the post-game scramble to find every secret in the game (still haven't!), but otherwise this is easily the best Metroidvania title I've played in as long as I can recall.

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6. The Elder Scrolls Online (PS4) - I bounced off of the game on PC fairly quick mostly because it felt like the game would play better with a controller. The console release was delayed and then delayed some more, but it was worth the wait as I believe this game is best played with a controller as minor amount of lag in combat isn't as noticeable. Either way, if you like to explore in games, especially Elder Scrolls games, then you'll probably really enjoy TESO. The world is quite large and getting larger with each major DLC release. Combat gets a bit repetitious, following in the footsteps of all other Elder Scrolls games, but that is more than made up for by being able to steal. Yes, thievery in a semi-theme park MMO and I love it. Like so much so I kind of stopped playing the rest of the game and just went around fencing items.

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5. Cities: Skyline (PC) - Screw you, EA. What was done to the SimCity franchise with their always on BS absolutely killed what could have been a good game back in 2013. Thankfully, Colossal Order took note and fixed all the bad design decisions Maxis made in the 2013 SimCity version, including the ability to mod the game. While replayability feels fairly low with this title as it was released, the DLC expansion and the aforementioned mods breathe a bit of diversity into the experience. Colossal Order hit an absolute home run with their first proper city builder and the future is beyond bright for this series.

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4. Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U) - Released on December 4th, I've put enough hours into this to say that it'll probably also be on my 2016 list. Maybe not. Either way, there's simply not enough time left in the year to see if the story in the game picks up and vaunts this game to the top of my list, but from a gameplay perspective this game does so much right. Systems piled upon systems with some of the best open world exploration I've ever experienced. The art team is also to be commended for coming up with some truly alien creatures. I had expected this game to sit at the top of my rankings, but the lackluster story and overly verbose and tropey dialogue are keeping my enjoyment of this game somewhat in check. Fifteen hours in, though, and I'm itching for more.

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3. Splatoon (Wii U) - Nintendo made a shooter and it's the most innovative shooter we've seen since, well, Doom. Just as Wolfenstein and Doom changed the landscape for shooter, so has Splatoon. I don't know if a bunch of Splatalikes will surface, but I can honestly say that Splatoon is unlike any other shooter I've ever played, including odd mods, conversions and mutators for Unreal Tournament. A variety of weapons interacting with a variety of modes all for the sake of painting levels in different ways. It's brilliant! What knocks this game down in my personal rankings is simple: broken matchmaking, inability to choose levels or simply have more than two levels rotating at a time and unbalanced gear and weapons. These are the sort of issues that can be patched in and more than fixed in a sequel. As it stands, Splatoon is the best shooter out this year.

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2. Super Mario Maker (Wii U) - A childhood dream come true. Nintendo's focus on ease of use really pays off here and they've created the best game making toy thingy ever conceived. Sure, you will be building within the strict walls Nintendo has put around you, but inside that cage you are given an intuitive toolset to design to your heart's content. Biggest knock I have against this game is that the kid likes it more than me and I'm a bit burnt on the game because of that. Mario Maker is a landmark title in my life, I can see myself keeping a Wii U in my house until the day I die. Unless a Mario Maker 2 is made in the future. Endless creativity and fun. Love this game thingy.

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1. Yo-Kai Watch (3DS) - I am developing something of a history of putting games as my #1 that I know won't have a chance in hell of winning anything once the votes are tallied. I guess that's my way of making my voice stick out. I dunno. Either way, Yo-Kai Watch came out of nowhere and sucked me in. I don't usually like game demos as I find myself tired of the game by the end and that sours my impression of the full game, if I ever get to it. I completed the Yo-Kai Watch demo three times. I fought every battle I could, went fishing in all the fishing spots and caught bugs at every bug location. Yo-Kai Watch is a kids game, a somewhat too streamlined Pokemon, but it's also fresh and very Japanese. What are yokai? The short answer is ghost or spirits, but that's a very Western description. The longer version is that they're the creatures and spirits on display in Studio Ghibli titles like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. The tanuki suit in Super Mario Bros. 3 is also of yokai origin. They're a part of Japanese folklore and coupled with the Shinto shrines located throughout the game there's a definite strangeness to my Western mind. That said, it's also a deeply familiar game as the town of Sakura could be dropped straight into a Pokemon game without much trouble. Regardless, Yokai Watch might not have the depth of Pokemon, but it has the polish of Level-5 coupled with a more interesting concept as there's just enough spookiness here to make me want to catch all the yokai. Hopefully we'll see more of this series, which I expect we will seeing as the next game will be set in America. Maybe you too will then want to catch them all.

That's because you're a wonderful idealist, garion.

That's certainly true. However...

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Just tagging this so I can find it easily when the time come to submit my list. There's still a steam sale + christmas vacation to get through. I don't foresee my number one or two changing (SPOILERS: It's The Witcher 3 and Life Is Strange), but the rest is less set in stone.

Also trying to decide it's kosher to submit a game I gave a shoutout for it's opening hours on last years list for this one. Technically, it's not new, but I hadn't had enough time with it before last year's deadline.

Alien Love Gardener wrote:

Just tagging this so I can find it easily when the time come to submit my list. There's still a steam sale + christmas vacation to get through. I don't foresee my number one or two changing (SPOILERS: It's The Witcher 3 and Life Is Strange), but the rest is less set in stone.

Also trying to decide it's kosher to submit a game I gave a shoutout for it's opening hours on last years list for this one. Technically, it's not new, but I hadn't had enough time with it before last year's deadline.

I'd say it's Kosher if you feel like you really experienced it this year.

garion333 wrote:

4. Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)
3. Splatoon (Wii U)
2. Super Mario Maker (Wii U)

Looks like it's about time I got a WiiU!

Heard about this on the podcast. Thought I would through in my two cents.

1. Broforce
2. Destiny : Taken King
3. Party Hard
4. Rocket League
5. Her Story
6. Jack box collection 1 and 2
7. Gunpoint

Broforce - this one might not be right only because I cant remember if i started playing it last year or early this year, either way it would make my top 10 list forever. I dont know what it was about this game that grabbed me, but it took hold hard. I put in a ton of hours almost immediately and have followed all of the updates until its official release. Its a great game and worth every penny.

Destiny: Taken King - I have had a love hate relationship with destiny, I bought it day one and put in like 200+ hours. I got frustrated at the game and the amount of time I put into it and traded it in to grab far cry. Beat far cry and a few other games but kept watching videos and streams of destiny. Picked it up again after they announced taken king. Played another 200+ hours and got frustrated again about the amount of time i was putting into it. Now I am currently done with the game, but still own it if I ever want to jump back in.

Party hard - This is another one of those games that kind of came out of no where. I saw a demo during PAX night at microsoft and I saw a lets play. Immediately I was on board. It dropped in price on the steam sale and I dropped a quick 20 hours into it. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and would love to play more like it.

Rocket League - This game is bananas and a blast. From the first time I played it I was hooked. The thing that makes this game amazing is playing it with friends. Now only if i had time to really learn how to be a bad ass at the game.

Her Story - This is a game that may not really be amazing nor did it end strong, but was a fun experience with my wife. I grabbed it on the steam sale and we plugged 3 hours into it and had a blast. The best part was playing with the wife.

Jack Box - The jack box games are too much fun. The basic design of the games are brilliant. Now that I own both of them I wish they would go the route of cards against humanity a bit more and release small dlc packs to pad out the categories.

Gunpoint - I wanted to round out my list a bit more so I added this one. I put a good amount of time into it, but not a ton. It was super enjoyable and I will go back and finish it.

1) Witcher 3 for the reasons everyone else has mentioned already. Like many others, I was a bit lukewarm on the first two (mostly due to the gameplay) but loved this one.

2) SOMA had such fantastic atmosphere, and it was interesting to explore some of the themes in a game setting since that allowed a sense of agency absent from books.

3) Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void is big and dumb and awesome.

4) Fallout 4 is a really good game, but didn't burrow into my psyche as much as the top 3.

5) Pillar of Eternity was a great throwback to old CRPGs. Some good hooks in the setting but a the individual bits of story can be bland.

6) Heroes of the Storm is just fun. I can see why it would be a bit basic for MOBA vets but it suits me.

7) The Beginner's Guide is not fun and may not even really count as a game but very impactful. As said upthread, almost literary.

The List!
1. Fallout 4 (PC) You had me at hello. I know I will put in 500 hours into this in the years to come and might never finish the main story line. I love the fact that every house has its own little story and I can explore those at my own pace.
2. Cities: Skylines (PC) Who knew building heavily congested town with a gorgeous day night cycle could be so amusing.
3. World of Warships (PC) You drive a boat and shoot/ram other boats... drops mic.
4. Dark Souls 2: scholar of the first sin (PC) Insanely hard, immensely satisfying.
5. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox one) it was a free xbox live game this summer, i tried it and really dug sailing around the Caribbean singing sea shanteys.

My +1 would be EU4 common sense (PC) The common sense expansion changed the game so dramatically it is like playing a new game.

1. The Witcher 3
Unlike many in here who said that they didn't much care for the predecessors, I've been a huge fan of the series since the first game, which I already counted among my favorite games of all time. I also liked the second one a lot (though not as much as TW1) and have read some of the books. And even so, with me anticipating The Witcher 3 more than probably anything, they managed to exceed expectations. No videogame, as far as I'm concerned, has ever managed to create a more alive world, filled with so many sympathetic, funny and scary characters, bleak, tense and amusing stories, dense and tight gameplay, such beautiful vistas and, of course, Gwent.
I never much thought about what game would be my all-time favorite before, but now, this is definitely it. Nothing even comes close, as far as singleplayer experiences are concerned, anyway.

2. Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-
I never really could properly describe what I love about 2D fighting games, unfortunately. Somehow, the process of constant learning, seeing through your opponent (or being seen through), practicing ever more difficult and specific setups and combos just never gets old for me – at least in certain games. The Guilty Gear series is definitely one of those; though I couldn't quite justify getting a console just for one game. The recent and sudden release on Steam was already the best Christmas gift I'll be getting this year, getting into this game again is just amazing.

3. Life is Strange
After never quite finishing the Walking Dead and only having a cheeky look at a bit of Telltale's later output I kind of felt like I was done with the genre they had established already. Turns out I was just done with the way they decided to go about it, Life is Strange managed to keep me engaged throughout in a way that few games before have, and certainly none of its particular style. I fully bought into every twist they presented me with and by the end I realized I was going to miss those characters the way I sometimes miss characters after I finish a good book.

4. Super Mario Maker
I like Mario a whole bunch, but that was always about it. I probably wouldn't even have gotten Mario Maker, were it not for my son, who is a huge fan of the games; the old NES ones moreso than the newer iterations (strangely enough), though of course he loves those, too. So of course we had to get him Mario Maker. I never thought that we would have so much fun building levels together, playing the mad sh*t that the people on the internet put up and then coming up with some mad sh*t ourselves. A very pleasant surprise and just an absolute delight of a game.

5. Undertale
After everyone going on about this one for a month or two, I finally decided to give it a go – turns out all the raving didn't come out of nowhere. The writing and the battle-system, as well as the design of this peculiar world really were what did it for me, though I even came to appreciate the art-style, which was what had initially put me off while looking at screenshots. Awesome game, even without the background of having played Earthbound or whatever other stuff it is supposedly referencing.

Those top 5 were quite easy to come up with, especially numbers one to three, I didn't even have to think about. There were many other great games this year, as well as many interesting looking ones which I have yet to give a try. My spots 6-10 are considerably less set in stone, though of course those are all great games as well:
6. Invisible Inc.
XCOM with a stealth twist, executed incredibly well – sign me up!
7. Dying Light
Much better than what I had expected after Dead Island (though that wasn't terrible. The parcour reminded me of how I felt playing Mirror's Edge, which is quite impressive.
8. Far Cry 4
Unfortunately, due to PC-issues, I couldn't yet complete the game, but my enjoyment of yet more Far Cry 3 in a new environment with new toys is out of the question. Seems the Far Cry games are the only Ubisoft open world games that have a good enough basic gameplay loop for me to properly enjoy them.
9. Infinifactory
Now, SpaceChem was incredible. It was also way too hard for me to finish after a couple of planets. I got considerably further in Infinifactory, while it providing exactly the same joy upon puzzle completion. Those Zachtronics-games really are something else.
10. Infested Planet
The only non-2015 game on the list, I believe. When it came out, it looked interesting, but for some reason the term of "Tower-Defense" came up while I was looking at the game at the time, which put me off back then. Only having played it I realized it was nothing like that, it is, in fact, a very tense and quite stressful tactics game, with probably more enemies on screen than any other. Highly recommended.

Some honorable mentions:
Cities Skylines, Olli Olli 2, Renowned Explorers: International Society and Assault Android Cactus

(This was fun to write up! )

I just realized I forgot Valiant Hearts, but it'll go in my honorable mentions, Clocky, so no change to my list.

Clearing the pile and a crazy project at work limited the amount of new hotness that I played this year but I did get through ten games!

1. Axiom Verge (PS4)
I LOVED this game--the music was great, controls were tight, nostalgia was felt for Super Metroid. The story was weak but did anyone play Super Metriod for the story? I found the gameplay difficult at times but not too punishing (especially for someone like me who isn't very good at games). It is the kind of game that makes me want to go back and try to find all of the secret areas and items that I missed.

2. Infamous Second Son (PS4)
I got a PS4 at the very end of 2014 and was really looking forward to this. I enjoyed the Infamous games on the PS3 and this was another winner. The powers were fun to use and the game was just the right length to not overstay its welcome. The extra Paper Trail mission was a nice addition. The evil playthrough had some story issues but I distinctly remember the ending packing an emotional punch that I wasn't expecting.

3. Rainbow Moon (Vita)
I put 120 hours into this game over the course of this year. It was a perfect handheld game to be played in short bursts--fun, some strategy, plenty of grinding but perfect mindless game to play at the end of a long and stressful day. It is probably rated higher than it should be since was a fairly simple RPG but it helped me get through a very stressful first half of the year.

4. Infamous First Light (PS4)
More Infamous featuring the best powers in Infamous Second Son and the fun sidekick character Fetch. It is a prologue to the Second Son game and is relatively short--bite-size Infamous game like Festival of Blood.

5. Trine 2: Complete Story
I played Trine 2 on PS3 and was very happy to see PS4 get the extra chapters. I played through this game with my son and it was a blast with extra powers and more areas to explore. It might be the prettiest game that I have seen on the PS4 so far.

6. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
I played this as part of the quarterly RPG club. I have had this on the pile for awhile and happy that GWJ gave me a kick in the pants to fire it up. The graphics are very nice in this game and the story is fairly well done. A fun, challenging and occasionally irritating strategy RPG like no other that I have every played.

7. Resogun (PS4/Vita)
It's Defender but prettier! I am not very good at these games so I don't know why I keep buying them but it was fun and score chasing (I'm always the chaser, never the chasee) kept me playing later than I should with "just one more try."

8. Shovel Knight (Vita)
A friend of mine insisted that I get this game. I'm glad that I did--this was a really solid platformer.

9. Sly Collection (Vita)
I played and finished Sly 1 when it first came out but never played the other two. After 100+ hours with Rainbow Moon, this was the perfect pallet cleanser. Vita is the perfect platform for these games.

10. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (Vita)
More Sly. Done by a different developer than the original three but still well done.

Honorable Mentions:
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 Remixes - both were fine HD versions of the originals; I enjoyed playing through them with my son
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD - more nostalgia and plays great on Vita!

Biggest Disappointments:
Natural Doctrine (Vita) - I really wanted to like this game but excessive load times, lack of checkpoints/too long missions and the fact that later missions appear to have only one way to win made this strategy RPG too frustrating. The punishing difficulty didn't bother me as much--usually I realized my mistake--but too many other things bogged this game down.
htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary (Vita) - This was another niche game that I took a chance on. After a certain point, the slight lag and inconsistent response time on the touch pad (the control scheme) got to be too frustrating. Bleak and confusing story made me curious to see what was happening but I couldn't get over the controls. Also, seeing this little girl impaled on spikes, sliced into pieces, ripped in half by demons and whatever other evils befall her got to be too much to watch.

So at after how many pages does it become a faux pas to edit a post?

Having finally been able to put a chunk of time into Just Cause 3, I need edit my list. Not quite sure where yet, but its going to bump most of them down a rank.

Mantid wrote:

So at after how many pages does it become a faux pas to edit a post?

Having finally been able to put a chunk of time into Just Cause 3, I need edit my list. Not quite sure where yet, but its going to bump most of them down a rank. :?

I think you can edit and simply post afterward that you have edited your first post. Thread owner will then look up said original post and factor in the changes...

I think that's how it works, anyways.

Yep, make Clockwork's life as easy as possible by linking back to the updated post, but you can do it up till the voting closes.

You're both correct.

Updated. Added a few and moved another.

https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

OK, I've finalized my list:

https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

That is my final answer.

This was a tough year. There were so many large, AAA, open world games that were so good. So, most of the smaller games that deserve mention did not even make my top 10. Certainly a good problem to have. 2015 is simply the year of the open world game. Maybe for this reason, I game my #1 to a small game that grabbed my like no other multi-player game has in years...

1. Rocket League
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
3. Soma
4. Fallout 4
5. Dying Light
6.Rise of the Tomb Raider
7. Life Is Strange
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
9. Until Dawn
10. Ori and the Blind Forest

Honorable mention: Shovel Knight

The list needed an update. I've been having fun with Just Cause 3, but the more I play, the more I'm realizing that another game deserves its spot more. So I've bumped Just Cause for Shadowrun: Dragonfall.

Link to post.

I'm responding to attempt to clear up what I was getting at, not to argue, as that was not the intention.

Gravey wrote:
RnRClown wrote:

It doesn't score in areas such as atmosphere, musical score, world building, writing, character development, voice acting, and so on, and so forth.

So what?

To me? It's not that important. To the gaming industry? Maybe just a smidgen considering the ilk of games that often take the awards, and the reasons for which they are lauded. It is generally world building this, or atmosphere that, and writing so forth. It has almost been held up as a standard that has to be met to even be considered, by the professionals. Yet for Rocket League that has been dialled back a little in some circles. That was the whole point. I'm happy on one hand that it is so. I'm confused on the other that it was not for others.

There is a discernible difference between that which is the most enjoyable, and that which is the most impressive, I believe. If we're talking about the most fun to play I'd probably have Splatoon on top. If we're talking about the most impressive I think Bloodborne may take the crown. If we're talking about a mix of both (that's where we get into scoring individual categories and seeing which averages the best score as a result) then it's probably the title that is top of my list, which I'm still working on.

Demyx wrote:

I've never played Rocket League and don't see why this matters. Some of the greatest games of all time -- ones that are extremely popular, critically praised, and universally considered important to gaming lack in most of these areas. Super Mario Bros. doesn't have world building, writing, character development or voice acting, and the atmosphere and musical score are good but primitive. Ocarina of Time has no voice acting, little character development and minimal writing. And so on.

Firstly, I agree. I love Super Mario Bros. and its importance not only to gaming, but my love for everything video games should never be understated. But how many such games receive the highest accolades of praise these days? Not many. I'm thus surprised that Rocket League - a game that is a throwback, of sorts, to a simpler generation of games - has broken through that standard, at least for some. There's a reason you had to go back so far with the simpler choice of games that are still amazing, and important. They tend not to be recognized with as much earnest now. Shovel Knight? Honourable mention, with a few puzzled stares.

Demyx wrote:

A whole lot of video game criticism attempts to critique games like movies, and I feel like your post is kind of the same thing. I won't say it's wrong if that's what appeals to you in games, but I don't think it should be a universal standard.

I don't think it should be a universal standard, either. I was commenting on exactly that universal standard as commentary and how it finally seems to be subsiding for, of all games, the one that came up and spurned my "Oh, I was talking about this lately" moment - Rocket League!

I have always went along with the standard as a way of evaluating the opinions of the professionals. For personal favourites amongst friends and communities, it matters not a jot. I said as much in my post. No one bothered to quote that bit!

RnRClown wrote:

This is more so in media circles. Here, we can choose whatever we want, for whatever reasons we want. That's not my interjection. That stemmed from one host or another on IGN interrupting, more than once, to say "... but, guys, Rocket League!" during a mention of this years games. If it's the GWJ GOTY 2015 that's awesome.

That has been there all along.

Demyx wrote:

The inclusion of voice acting as a criteria is particularly baffling to me, since so many of my favorite games, even recent ones, don't have it.

It's only as odd as the rise that atmosphere saw, and world building. As games evolve the categories that they can be scored in multiply, and by doing so the simpler titles that do not require such can be, and have been pushed out. I'll bang the drum for the likes of Tetris, Super Mario Bros, Space Invaders, Resogun, and even Rocket League, all day long. Again, I was attempting to highlight that it, to me, is odd to see Rocket League being talked of in the press alongside the likes of Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, and Metal Gear Solid V.

I thought Shovel Knight was a great game. An amazing game. It was scoffed at by many a professional when one or two mentioned it in the same breath as the aforementioned standard achieving titles. Perhaps I want to slap them in the face with that when they're now trying to gloss over the humble fabric of Rocket League, when Shovel Knight was looked down on because of its humble fabric. Resogun, too. They weren't just saying different strokes, they were highlighting an opinion on it not being able to share the same spotlight.

1.- Halo 5
2- Gone Home!, just played recently and got it as a gift from skylarhawk
3.- Cities Skylines!, the real SimCity Game.
4.- Transistor
5.- Ori and the blind Forest, xbox one
6.- League of Legends, you gotta have a Moba in this list
7.- Darkest Dungeon
8.- Guild of Dungeoneering
9.- One Way Heroics, best 1usd spent on a game(usd per fun)
10.- Broken Age