2015 has come and gone and it has been the best year of gaming in a long time. Instead of dumping all the major games in a four month period, they were spread throughout the year. While some games are better than others, getting them into a list was much harder.
There are stipulations in this list, no remasters or HD remakes. Resident Evil HD, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection are out. And it had to be games that I completed: Fallout 4, Mad Max and Broken Age are out. The games in this list are games that I played and loved and that I believe to be the best in the genre.
5. Until Dawn
We’ve had games like this before, mostly from David Cage, but where David Cage failed, Supermassive Games succeeded. They created a game where you end up caring for the characters, choices actually do matter, and the story is surprisingly excellent. While the game does get a little cliché, what the story is really about is something I didn’t see coming. The fact that anyone can live or die based on your actions is reason enough to be on this list.
This is retro perfection. Not only is Shovel Knight one of the best games of the year, it’s one of the greatest indie game of all time. It’ll stand side by side with Braid and Super Meat Boy as one of my most favorite. The challenge the game gives you is not to be underestimated. This is as hard as old Nintendo games and beating the Boss Rush is one of the best feelings I had this year. And if you think it was too easy, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, the free expansion, will give you that extra challenge you seek.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Writer/Director Hideo Kojima has created his gameplay masterpiece with Metal Gear Solid V. While the story isn’t up to Kojima standards, it makes up for it with the amount of freedom you have. Many games claim they have freedom, but those games don’t have as much freedom as this. This is the last real Metal Gear Solid game we will ever get and Kojima ended it with a bang.
2. Bloodborne
Lovecraftian horror at its absolute best. The game is difficult, really difficult, but that didn’t stop me from beating the game three times with the second time being New Game Plus. Everything drips with atmosphere and Bloodborne is genuinely terrifying. There is no cheap scares either, the monster design is expertly crafted and the most terrifying monsters I’ve ever seen in a game.Bloodborne should never be missed. My only regret is that I may not be able to get the platinum because of the Cursed Dungeon, one of the final dungeons in the Chalice Dungeon.
This was a toss up between Bloodborne or The Witcher 3, but at the end of the day, I had to go to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. CD Projekt Red has not only created the absolute best game of the year, but this would be remembered as one of the best games of the generation. This is the game all other Action RPG’s will be judged against. In a time where companies are trying to suck all the money out of you, it’s refreshing to know that there is at least one major company that will not only release free DLC, but does it 16 times and saves its paid DLC for something more substantial instead of underleveled DLC. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is truly Game of the Year.
2015 will be long remembered as one of the best years in gaming and 2016 looks to rival that. Persona 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider for PlayStation 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, Quantum Break, Mass Effect Andromeda, and The Last Guardian are some of the games that I can’t wait to play. So here is to another great year of games.
Jesse Webster is a Senior Writer for MONG and is either going to raid tombs or burn his dread.
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