Well, 2015 was nothing if not memorable. The open world gaming craze ensured we wouldn’t finish half the games we bought. Publishers discovered that they couldn’t actually release unplayably buggy games on Steam without consequences. Star Wars fans spent the entire year praying for Force Awakens and bitching about Battlefront. The impossible happened, more than once. And the battle of Censorship Vs Getting To See Girls In Sexy Underwear continued as it has for centuries.
Now at the end of the year the GameWatcher team traditionally looks back (like every damn site on the internet) to decide our GAME OF THE YEAR 2015. Everyone gets one primary nomination, a runner-up choice, and a short explanation of what they’re getting up to over the holiday break. We’ll then cover a few Honourable Mentions before naming our top game! As a brave Lemming once said, “let’s go”!
**CHRIS SWAIN's Game of the Year:
CITIES: SKYLINES (Developer: Colossal Order Ltd, Publisher: Paradox)**
Chris S says: “One of the challenges of picking a game of the year is the release schedule of the games in question. An amazing game that releases in January can struggle against a great game that comes out in December. Latter releases are just fresher on our minds. As a result I went back and played a few games from earlier in the year to ensure that I have been as fair as possible. I was pleasantly reminded of the amazing Cities: Skylines and how well it plays. I spent hours building the city of my dreams and managing everything from traffic flow to plumbing with the same ridiculous smile plastered on my face. Cities is just plain fun and keeps players coming back for more.”
Runner-Up: Rainbox Six: Siege
“Siege is an awesome game that breathes new life into an age-old formula. I’m not sure it will make many GOTY lists but I’ll be too busy playing it to care.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “I’ll be unlocking more Operators in Siege as I learn the maps and hone my breaching abilities. With my crew of friends teaming together, we will wile away the holidays becoming a crack squad of Special Forces legends. Or die trying. Regardless, it will be a total blast.”
**MATT MOYER's Game of the Year:
ARMELLO (Developer/Publisher: League of Geeks)**
Matt says: “Armello is a true original. The game is beautiful to look at, bursting with original artwork. Each card you play in the game is animated and gives you a glimpse into the magical kingdom which is the game’s namesake. Each character has their own movement and actions, giving them their own personalities. They feel like living beings instead of just pieces on a game board. The gameplay is unique as well. It mixes board game staples like dice rolls and spell cards into a world you’d be happy to play on your table, only it’s brought to life on your computer screen. Because there are multiple paths to victory and each game board uses a randomly generated tile set, you never play the same game twice. The story is of course what ties this all together. While the goal of the game is to kill the corrupt king, Armello is fleshed out with each character belonging to a clan, and each clan having its own reasons for seeking the throne. It’s very fun and easy to slip into a character and fight for your clan, enveloping you in the game’s fantasy. Armello is a one of a kind experience that you will want to experience over and over again.”
Runner-Up: Heroes of the Storm
“Blizzard did with Heroes what Blizzard does best; they took an established genre and brought it to everyone. Heroes of the Storm didn’t solve every problem facing the MOBA genre, and some people will still prefer the MOBA they “grew up” with, but it is simply the most user friendly MOBA around today.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “I’ll be spending most of my time playing Hearthstone. The Explorer’s League adventure finally managed to do what The Grand Tournament expansion couldn’t and changed up the meta game. There are new decks being created all the time and learning to play with them and also against them has helped Hearthstone feel fresh again. I’ll also be working on finishing up all the scenarios in Hard West, a turn-based strategy game with customizable characters set in a mystical Wild West era. Finally, I’ll be plugging away at Minecraft, trying to complete my first Hard mode only run through. [Minecraft has a Hard Mode? - Ed]”
**CHRIS MCKEEVER's Game of the Year:
METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN (Developer: Kojima Productions, Publisher: Konami)**
Chris M says: “When I look at my favorite games of the year, my list generally trends towards games that don’t force your hand as the player. Unsurprisingly then, Metal Gear Solid V makes the top of my list. This was my first experience with the Metal Gear franchise, and despite the game being drenched in lore and history that I don’t know, the freedom and openness of the game secures it as one of the most enjoyable experiences gaming I’ve had this year. Play as Snake, or play as a random operative you’ve recruited along the way; outfit your operative how you like; complete each mission how you see fit.
Do you value the stealth experience? Great, because MGSV has one of the best, most pleasing stealth systems of any game I’ve played. Want to go in loud and destructive? That is just as valid and rewarding a path. How you play the game changes how each level works, which just astonishes me from a design perspective. The locations that you can visit are so well-crafted that there is no single optimal approach, but often dozens of discoverable ways to handle a given situation. This openness means that outside of the occasional story mission, the player creates the narrative experience of the game. The game progresses on your terms, and that’s an experience that no other AAA game I’ve played this year has does as well as Metal Gear Solid V.
Runner-Up: 80 Days
“80 Days is maybe one of the most positive, optimistic games I’ve ever played. The writing is funny at times, and incredibly bittersweet at others. It’s a beautiful and uplifting game, and has found a place at the top of my list.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “I’ll finally get around to dedicating some actual time to Pillars of Eternity, a game that very well might have made my GOTY list if I had actually had the time to put the hours into it. I’ll also be revisiting Soren Johnson’s economic RTS Offworld Trading Company, which I played quite a bit in early beta. I’m really excited to see how the game has progressed over the last 7-8 months, and am looking forward to its 2016 release. “
**T.J. DENZER's Game of the Year:
BEYOND SOL (Developer/Publisher: Praxia Entertainment Inc)**
TJ says: “Beyond Sol was an amazingly fun play for me back in October considering I’d not heard a thing of it beforehand. It did well in mixing city building elements and resource management with political elements and real-time space combat. Gathering fleets and zipping around the galaxy in a race to control the most diplomatic, militarily strong, or economically advanced colony is something I’ve gone back to time and time again. It’s easy to jump into and drop out of, but it also has that addictive factor of so many 4K strategy games. It’s not the flashiest or the most complex of games, but Beyond Sol was certainly some of the most fun I had in 2015.”
Runner-Up: Undertale
“What makes a game great? In the case of Undertale, it might just be sheer charm and close attention to design along with a great community following. Undertale had a message and the way in which it explored that message will stay with me longer than any triple-A title that came out this year.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: I don’t care if Fallout 4 isn’t as good as I (or probably anyone I know) may have expected. It’s still absurdly fun. Forty hours in and I still never tire of the journey. Every expedition into the wasteland grants new opportunity at new loot that I can then take back to my settlement and turn into all sorts of cool stuff. Awesome wasteland adventures aside, Endless Legend ticks off so many cool marks in my head that it’s just unavoidable. The factions look awesome, the overall premise is fantastic, and the mechanics of the game look utterly splendid. I’m honestly giddy to fall into that trap where I’ll be up in the AM night after night telling myself “just one more turn” once more.
**ALEXANDER DONALDSON's Game of the Year:
THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT (Developer/Publisher: CD Projekt RED)**
Alex says: “It’s probably no great surprise that I, somebody who in addition to GameWatcher work as an editor on an RPG-specific website, would pick the biggest RPG of the year as a game of the year nominee. It was honestly a pretty tight race between this and Fallout 4 in my head, but in my heart I know, instinctively, that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the right choice. Sprawlingly massive, wonderfully engaging, and with a depth and confidence in its storytelling that few games display these days, it’s truly an achievement for CD Projekt. As somebody who prefers more modern or science fiction inspired settings to fantasy, I can’t wait to see what they can craft in a new universe beyond The Witcher, as Wild Hunt is something of a masterwork, even if its launch was initially rocky.”
Runner-Up: Rocket League
“In being a more modest and small production, Rocket League represents best one of the most important shifts in gaming - with a massive move towards a world where titles of this size can stand alongside the ‘triple A’ juggernauts of the business. There’s not a load of content but in truth it doesn’t need it - the satisfaction around its core gameplay loop is so complete and absolute that it keeps you coming back for hours and hours.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: I have to admit that I’m not as specifically PC dedicated as some of the folks here on GameWatcher [You’re fired! - Ed], and so at the top of my list are a few console-only adventures such as Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Rock Band 4 and Halo 5. However, beyond that, there’s still a lot of shameful PC backlog I hope to eat into including Kerbal Space Program, Banished, Cities Skylines: After Dark and hopefully a whole lot of multiplayer with mates in indie multiplayer shooters Verdun and Insurgency, two favourites from this year.
**ADAM BARNES's Game of the Year:
INVISIBLE, INC (Developer/Publisher: Klei Entertainment)**
Adam says: “There’s something about Invisible, Inc that just works. A stealth-focused turn-based strategy roguelike might not sound like the simplest of concepts, but it just works. That’s testament to Klei’s keen eye for game design - a fact we’ve seen before in Don’t Starve, too - but the result is a game where every decision, big or small, is significant. There’s an almost-perfect risk/reward system that is always tempting you into grasping for that one last treasure trove of resources, praying that it’ll all be worth it. It’s tense, it’s moreish and it’s utterly compelling.”
Runner-Up: CITIES: SKYLINES
“Considering the gaping hole the disappointment of 2013’s SimCity left behind it was only a matter of time before someone stepped in and took control. Make it work, make it mod-able, make it big but - most important of all - make it offline. One of the best city simulation games in a long time.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “I’ll be finally trying to teach myself the intricacies of Europa Universalis IV. Though what that really means is I’ll likely give up and put another 100 hours into Civilization V.”
**JONAH FALCON's Game of the Year:
FALLOUT 4 (Developer/Publisher: Bethesda Game Studios)**
Jonah says: “The latest in the Fallout series is a deeply flawed game, but “deep” is the key word here, since long after completing the main quest, there always seems to be something surprising and new to discover. Discussing the events with other players always ends up with comments like “Wait - I never saw that!” and “You can DO that?!” For every frustrating thing in Fallout 4, there are three things to overshadow it. Plus, Fallout 4 has the best mods of any PC game since Skyrim.”
Runner-Up: Out of the Park Baseball 2016
“While the sports strategy sim is one of the more niche genres in PC gaming, it’s also one I’ve grown up with since 1985. Out of the Park Baseball is the one that’s blown them all away. The latest version has upped everything from customization to simulation to stat tracking to trade AI. If you have the least bit interest in baseball, give it a try.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “I’ve been endlessly playing XCOM the past few weeks, with the Second Wave challenge. All of the delicious XCOM 2 news and previews have influenced me into getting into it again, and I’ve been rediscovering just how good a strategy title it is. The Enemy Within expansion just adds to the fun. In the three years since the game was originally released, it hasn’t aged one bit.”
**JAMIE DAVEY's Game of the Year:
ROCKET LEAGUE (Developer/Publisher: Psyonix)**
Jamie says: “2015 has seen some truly brilliant releases, with the likes of Fallout 4, The Witcher 3, Grand Theft Auto V, Cities: Skylines and Life is Strange expected to hit a lot of people’s lists for the best games of 2015. Some of those games would probably be on my list too, but because of the agonising, addictive gameplay of Rocket League I haven’t had a chance to get through them.
This driving meets football hybrid has completely dominated my gaming space since it was released In July. The nature of the game allows for some truly memorable matches, which is in my opinion, better than anything FIFA has to offer for a fraction of the cost. Pick it up for £14.99 on Steam, but please, try not to get too frustrated when you go on a losing streak in ranked matches.”
Runner-Up: Resident Evil HD Remastered
“Since the first release on the Sega Saturn in 1996, Resident Evil has been one of my favourite series. Therefore I was pretty excited to play Resident Evil HD Remastered, which adds a few more improvements to one of the best remakes ever made. It gets a mention from me because I spent a good few months playing it, trying to complete the game with just the knife (I still haven’t been able to do that!).”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “I recently discovered CNCNet, which is a free program that allows you to play games like Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert 2 and Dune2K online against other players in multiplayer. I haven’t played these games online since EA shut the servers down and CNCNet is a wonderful service that allows you to do that with relative ease. There’s still plenty of players online, so I’ll try and get in quite a few games of Dune2K and Red Alert 2 over the holidays, along with either Assassin’s Creed Syndicate or The Witcher 3.”
**CHRIS CAPEL's Game of the Year:
DYING LIGHT (Developer: Techland, Publisher: Warner Bros)**
Chris C says: “As the writer of this article, what usually happens is that my colleagues hoover up the more obvious GOTY choices and I’m left with naming the one game that I actually had the most fun with despite knowing other games are better. Last year was South Park, and this year my head wants to say The Witcher 3 but my heart says Dying Light.
Techland’s second stab at an open-world first-person zombie survival game corrected all the problems of Dead Island and added parkour. Which was literally all they needed to do. Killing zombies by booting them into a spike trap is fun. Running over the environment and evading running zombies with your elite climbing skills is fun. Doing all the mad quests for all the mad people of Harran is fun. 2-4 player co-op with random competitive missions is fun. Having night fall and the extra hard zombies come out and hunt you is… feckin’ terrifying. I put 40 hours into Dying Light and I loved every minute, something even The Witcher 3 can’t boast. I’m proud to call it my Game of the Year.”
Runner-Up: SOMA
“SOMA came so close to being my GOTY, but I decided to go with fun over emotional impact. SOMA is terrifying but it’s no Amnesia - the scares don’t just come from monsters hunting you, they come from the themes and ideas Frictional force you to think about. If you like horrors that keep in your head long after the credits have rolled then SOMA is the game for you.”
What I’m Playing Over The Break: “What every other GameWatcher staff member is doing: trying to catch up on the mountain of games I’ve bought but haven’t finished. Life Is Strange and Undertale have my attention, King’s Quest and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate are freshly and unwisely bought and awaiting me, and yeah I probably will get in a fair few matches of Star Wars Battlefront too. Y’know, if anyone’s playing the damn thing still.”
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
HELLDIVERS - Chris Bashaar gave it 9.5, one of the highest scores of the year, and called it “one of the best multiplayer games of the year” from the creators of Magicka. One to check out for sure.
STARCRAFT II: LEGACY OF THE VOID - A fine end to the Starcraft saga, potentially even to Blizzard’s long time as a revered RTS developer. Nevertheless while it’ll satisfy most Starcraft II fans it’s hardly a good jumping-on point.
PRISON ARCHITECT - John-Paul Jones referred to it as “Theme Prison” which makes me want to buy a million copies instantly, but a few gameplay niggles let it down from GOTY status.
BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT - If you’d told me a year ago that Rocksteady’s final Batman game wouldn’t even get a Runner-Up nomination from me I’d be sick immediately, but here we are. A hideous atrocity of a PC port that took four months to get at least in slightly working condition coupled with a poor, predictable storyline ruined all the effort Rocksteady actually did put into Arkham Knight. Shame.
JUST CAUSE 3 - Similar to Batman, JC3 is huge amounts of epic fun but unfortunately the game’s in a sorry state right now. Persevere and you’ll have one of the most enjoyable explosion-friendly experiences in gaming on your hands, but it might be worth waiting for a few more patches. Oh, and turn off Vsync.
WARHAMMER: THE END TIMES - VERMINTIDE - Yes, it’s definitely a clone of Left 4 Dead. But it’s a very good one, perfectly recreating Valve’s co-op masterpiece and adding better graphics, interesting character classes, and the Warhammer universe. That should be enough for anyone.
HER STORY - Yes, it’s an FMV-driven adventure game with a search engine interface. And it’s one of the best games of the year. No, I don’t quite believe it either. The sharp writing, fantastic acting and surprisingly addictive gameplay make it one of the year’s best surprises.
GALACTIC CIVILIZATIONS III - A 4X space strategy title that doesn’t get bogged down with micromanagement and keeps things interesting throughout its massive play time? Sign us up!
GRAND THEFT AUTO 5 - Our one and only 10 score of the year went to Rockstar’s masterpiece. Sadly some residual bitterness about it taking so long to get to PC, that mod support is still nonexistent despite the thriving community, or just a general feeling of boredom with predictable realistic open-world games like GTA (that’s me, baby) meant that everyone on the GameWatcher staff has forgotten about it.
LIFE IS STRANGE - We loved the first and second episodes of this then kind of forgot to review the rest. Ahem. Anyway, this case of Dontnod beating Telltale at their own type of game (and with an original story no less) was one of 2015’s most compelling (and slightly upsetting) experiences.
PILLARS OF ETERNITY - If I hadn’t been distracted by a million other open-world games and Nick Horth had bloody remembered to write his nominations Obsidian’s stellar Baldur’s Gate-successor might have made it into the Game of the Year considerations. I’ll play it in 2016, I swear!
Right then! Dim the lights, start the fanfare, bring on the dancing chickens, and a winner is you!
THE GAMEWATCHER GAME OF THE YEAR 2015 IS...
The Witcher 3 and Rocket League both came very close in the initial nominations, but in the final votes the overwhelming majority of staff chose Colossal Order’s Cities: Skylines as the GameWatcher Game of the Year 2015! The massive upset that was the last SimCity may have sent fans clamouring for a similar but actually good city-building experience but Skylines was more than ready to deliver on fun value. Spraypainting urban centres instead of placing every single building sounds simplistic but in actuality it makes the experience more enjoyable as it leaves the player to focus on the actual city management angle. Easy to get into, hard to master, difficult to let go of. That’s the mantra for all the greatest games ever made and Skylines follows it well. Oh, and the amazing modding tools and Steam Workshop support just validates the experience even more. A worthy Game of the Year!
From the review by Nick Horth: “Colossal Order cottons on to the reason people like these city-building games; they want freedom, not restriction, streamlined, easy to use systems, not needless complexity. In that sense, Cities: Skylines is a resounding success. In summary - here’s the city-builder you’ve been waiting for. Enjoy.”
Well, those were our personal and team choices. Do you agree? What’s your own Game of the Year? Sound off in the comments board below and let’s get discussing them endlessly.
Oh, and farewell 2015. You may not have brought Jaws 19 or decent hoverboarding technology but you were certainly an interesting year for games. Will the big-budget likes of XCOM2, Doom, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Overwatch, Total War: Warhammer and Dark Souls III be standing tall in December 2016, or will indie titles like Cuphead, Unravel, Hyper Light Drifter, No Man’s Sky, Kingdom Come: Deliverance or Night In The Woods take our next Game of the Year? We’ll find out together I guess! Can we start the countdown now please? I’m fed up with this crappy year…
