The Best Games Of 2015
I haven’t been quite as consistent in making a best games list annually but this year I thought I’d change that. Much like music, I felt that 2015 was not the strongest of years, but that the top titles were utterly stellar.
To begin, I went through all games I had received trophies in and/or beat (plus a few Nintendo 3DS games, as those are the only two platforms I really played). That list is as follows. Oh, and for titles with an *, it means they came out prior to 2015 but that I didn’t play those until last year. A + means I beat it again, perhaps an updated version or on a new platform.
- PS4: Bastion (*)
- PS4: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3
- PS3: Chariot (*)
- PSV: Color Guardians
- PS4: Dying Light
- PSV: Fat Princess: Piece Of Cake
- PS4: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (*)(+)
- PSV: Hotline Miami (*)
- PSV: Hotline Miami 2
- PS4: Jamestown +
- PS4: Journey (*)(+)
- PS4: Just Cause 3
- 3DS: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (*)
- PS3: Lego The Lord Of The Rings (*)
- PS3: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (+)
- PS4: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- PS4: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (*)(+)
- 3DS: New Super Mario Bros. 2 (*)
- PSV: OlliOlli2: Welcome To Olliwood
- PS3: Rain (*)
- PS4: Rocket League
- PS4: Resident Evil HD Remastered (+)
- PS3: Resident Evil Revelations (*)
- PS4: Resident Evil Revelations 2
- PS3: Resident Evil 4 (*)(+)
- PS3: Resident Evil 6 (*)
- PS4: Rogue Legacy
- PS3: Sherlock Holmes (*)
- PS4: Shovel Knight
- 3DS: Super Mario 3D Land (*)
Plenty of other titles (PS+ games, for instance) that I chose not to include. So, what are my thoughts on this year? Well, first, I went through a Resident Evil rage and then a Mario Renaissance upon purchasing a New 3DS. In preparation for the big autumn release, I started going through Metal Gear games again, trying out Peace Walker, replaying MGS3 and Ground Zeroes and diving right into the glorious Phantom Pain. It was a year of binge playing, much like many of us do with television shows nowadays.
I got a pair of platinums, played the excellent Far Cry 4 and enjoyed some titles with my wife by playing Rain and Sherlock Holmes. It was a good year, not a great one, with several of my best experiences being old games (3DS titles especially).
But what was the BEST? Which were the top 5? Everyone else’s list have titles like Fallout 4 (never played any of those games) or The Witcher 3 (same!) Here’s a rather-unofficial Top-5 list.
#5: Dying Light
While I haven’t beaten this title yet ($15 Black-Friday deal), it’s a huge improvement over the disappointing Dead Island and truly gave me a sense of fear and dread. Nighttime in this game was a truly horrifying experience. Visually it’s one of the best-looking games ever and the gameplay was different enough to keep me interested. It’s just a shame I got this at the end of the year when my #2 and #1 games came out!!!
#4: Rocket League
The year’s fourth-best title was FREE? I usually download PS+ titles right away so that I ‘own’ them but I don’t usually prioritize actually playing them. After a few weeks of hype, it was time to check it out and oh man, I was hooked fast! Simple, pick-up gameplay but a deep system of play allowed for newcomers to start off on an even keel. There were so many “OMFG” moments! Unlike some other titles, I’ll come back to play this again here and there surely.
#3: Resident Evil: HD Remastered
I was always embarrassed to say I never actually beat Resident Evil. I’d played it on the PS1, borrowed it from somebody…way back in like 1997. Then I played the original REmake on the GameCube but bailed on that. When half a zombie was crawling through a window and I had one before me and one behind, I was done. But the HD version drew me in and I beat it several times, once even speed-running it in 2-and-a-half hours. I quite liked it and that led into my RE madness for a few weeks. Didn’t help that my wife was away for four months at the time!!!
#2: Just Cause 3
Oh, Just Cause. If I’m not mistaken, IGN gave the console version a 5.9. Whatever! JC3 is a terribly-flawed game…but I don’t care one bit! I never encountered the game-breaking bugs others did. What I did encounter was a ludicrous and amazingly-fun game dedicated to blowing every goddamn thing up in sight. And for that, I salute its intent. I had a blast (total pun) wing-suiting around the world, flying, diving, crashing, jumping massive chasms, using the grappling hook for infinite purposes and liberating the most beautiful and insanely-detailed world in gaming history. While my #1 game ruled, its world was barren compared to the diversity and the nooks and crannies of this title. I don’t care what review other sources give this title, it filled its purpose perfectly and was utter madness…just what I expected and wanted.
#1: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Back in 2010 I wrote about MGS I vs. III vs. IV. I’ve spoke of this often, but I had in the summer of 2008, run through all four main entries into the MGS saga in one summer. It was friggin’ great. And then Kojima announced V. Do we *need* part five? Snake’s story was told. I was satisfied. And so I avoided all press entirely, really. I mean, c’mon, Snake on a horse? Open world? Whatever. But as the date approached, the MGS world beckoned me and I couldn’t avoid it. And when September 1st arrived, holy shit, I was blown away. What you get in 5 is the least-cohesive of all MGS stories (and that’s saying something), but it is also the most silky-smooth gameplay I’ve ever witnessed. The usual Kojima depth is there in spades…far more hours still await me after I’ve passed the hundred-hour mark. I don’t know how many other games I can say that about. I wrote about its awesomeness a few months back. Ultimately, while the story was the weakest part, MGSV sits aside its brethren as triumphs in the gaming world and my reservations about the need of another game were rendered nonsensical. This game is spectacular and is the best game, hands down, of 2015 and probably the past few years as well.