GameWatcher proudly presents our Best PC Games of 2015, where we’ll be tallying who we think are on the right track to gaming bestness, as greatness is over-rated. Month-by-month we’ll use our keyboards and mice to pass judgement on those who thought themselves worthy of our wallets, time, and upgraded drivers. We begin with January.
Grim Fandango really is a masterpiece, although it’s not a completely perfect one. The story, world, voice acting, music, script and style are some of the best gaming has to offer, rivalling the best animated movies. The puzzles are 80% superb, best the adventure genre can do, and 20% frustrating as all hell. Nevertheless that’s an absolutely minor thing in the grand scheme of things, and the world and writing are so incredible you’ll let any trial-and-error moments slide. The Remastered edition ensures that Grim can be played today, and the cool Developer’s Commentary and Mouse Controls mean that even people like myself who have played Grim a dozen times can still enjoy it fresh again. Not much has been done with the graphics other than a bit of widescreen adding but the lovely style the game has means that it doesn’t matter, and it still looks great anyway. To put it all into one sentence: you want to experience the best storytelling in gaming, you need to play Grim Fandango. You’ll have to use a walkthrough on the Forest, but it’ll be worth it. So then Double Fine, Disney… Day of the Tentacle: Special Edition ready yet?
When James Barnes assigned to review Avernum 2: Crystal Souls,he couldn’t help but approach the task at hand with a certain degree of caution. As someone that was both fresh to this world when the original Exile series (Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is a remake of Avernum 2, which in turn is a reimagining of 1996 title Exile 2: Crystal Souls) released and hasn’t explored the classic PC RPG sub-genre, he feared its merits would get lost in translation. As it transpires, Crystal Souls has a timeless appeal, with its rich fantasy narrative retaining a lustre that betrays its years. For those who are already fans of the series, James would suggest Crystal Souls is an essential purchase. For those none the wiser to Spiderweb Software’s extensive back catalogue, there’s no better time to join the fight.
Dying Light is a very impressive game that’s clearly had a lot of care and attention put into it. Harran is great to explore with the mostly well-implemented free-running and killing zombies never gets old, especially with the upgrades you pick up and the new enemies introduced throughout the campaign. The online portions are neat and it’s worth playing co-op as it keeps the game interesting. Basically the only real thing holding it back is the unnerving feeling that it’s just Dead Island with some excellent new ideas, and if you’re purely playing single-player you may well get tired of it before the credits roll. Graphically the game is impressive but things are pretty washed-out and brown, and on PC it’s tricky to keep a good frame-rate. Nevertheless the negatives are mostly minor or should be fixed (either by Techland or the community), and unlike its predecessor Dying Light is definitely a zombie survival game that’s worth the wait. It might even deserve a Game of the Year Edition this time.
Richard Nolan is embarrassed to say that he really liked this game, but he tore through it in one sitting and felt better off for having done so; “I feel like I need to load up an FPS and run around with the biggest gun I can find for a few hours to make up for it.” The reality is, Life is Strange is a really charming enjoyable experience with a great deal of character depth and an intriguing, if not entirely original, story. It’s not without its flaws, like Richard said, the girls seem to act and look younger than they supposedly are, and some of the lines seem rather forced and fake, but overall it’s woven well enough as to put together a fulfilling and enjoyable experience.
While some things might just appear a reskin of the super power stuff Volition has done already in Saints Row IV, the presentation of it all and how it wraps up together in Hell gives it a pass. Make no mistake this isn’t a full blown adventure but a ‘just go with it’ adrenaline rollercoaster ride; it has its ups and downs, with plenty of big drops for the rush, but it’ll be over soon enough. Gat out of Hell is a great round off to the Saints Row adventure as it gets wackier and wackier, with it standing as a defiant parody of how the Saints ended up in this mess.
The biggest problem Grey Goo has is that it’s far too hard for what it is, which is a fun Command and Conquer-style RTS. Chris has played lots of this type of RTS and he’s rarely encountered one with such a non-existent learning curve - you either know everything immediately or you die. Which is a shame, because everything else on display here is really good fun. The factions are all unique, enjoyable to play, and mostly balanced despite being so radically different, along with all that Trident Rush nonsense in multiplayer. That the campaign is only 15 missions and you have to play each faction in turn is a little annoying, but it’s not a game-killer. The cutscenes are all very impressive, as is the graphics and audio, and Chris found himself simply drawn in by it all. Probably Petroglyph’s best game (especially if you’re not a Star Wars fan), it won’t steal the RTS crown from Blizzard or Creative Assembly but if you want a straight fun strategy you won’t regret being absorbed by Grey Goo. It’s still a stupid title, though.
Coming so soon after the first entry Blackguards 2 is a surprisingly packed improvement over the original, giving you the chance to dominate and rule over South Aventuria with all the bitterness and rage such a task would need. It won’t suit all newcomers to PC TRPGs and yes, battles can be brutal and unforgiving at times, but for those with even the slightest bent towards getting knee deep in stats and tactical battles then Blackguards 2 is a worthy purchase.
It’s interesting that in 2002 Capcom completely remade a beloved title so it felt like a new game, whereas in 2015 Capcom just re-releases a 13-year-old remake with a controls, widescreen and texture patch. Nevertheless despite being aged in the voice-acting, aiming, and not-telling-you-anything-you-need-to-remember departments Resident Evil is still a fantastic game. While the fixed camera angles and the adventure-game like puzzles will shock more recent series fans it’s all still enjoyable, and the Crimson Head zombies, the great and ever-surprising design and the atmosphere ensures the remake feels like a unique entry in the series. I haven’t even mentioned the two giant campaigns for Chris and Jill which play completely differently, especially if you finish one before starting the other, so there’s value for money here too. While the “HD Remastered” tag feels a little hollow, if you just consider this a slightly updated re-release of a fantastic game then Chris can heartily recommend Resident Evil HD Remastered. Just remember to have a notebook and pen handy.
That was our January edition for Best PC Games of 2015. Our judgemental PCs are already groaning for this month’s batch of hopefuls, and that includes the likes of Evolve, Total War: ATTILA, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Homeworld Remastered Collection, Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, and even the ‘full release’ of The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. That’s a lot of judging, but we pledge to stay opinionated.
