Gaming’s 2015 has been a big one, with the rivalry between Sony and Microsoft seeing more exclusives than ever, while PC gamers have continued to watch from above, and Nintendo watches from the sidelines as per usual.
2015’s big triple A titles hit us left and right – especially towards the end of the year.
Here at Techly, we thought we’d put up a vote between our gaming writers and writers who game and figure out what we thought was the best, the worst, the prettiest, and more, for the year that was.
Myself, along with Tyler O’Hare, Chris Southcott and Techly’s Editor Tristan have voted in the following categories:
Game of the Year
Worst Game of the Year
Best Graphics of 2015
Studio/Developer/Publisher of the Year
Indie Title of the Year
Most Anticipated of 2016
After tallying the votes*, we’ve got the results!
Techly’s Game of the Year 2015
Nominees: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Fallout 4, Bloodborne, Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void, Splatoon, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Batman: Arkham Knight, Rocket League.
First place: Fallout 4
One particular game stood head and shoulders above the rest. Fallout 4 received two 1st place and two 2nd place votes. The long-awaited Bethesda title launched in November and was received with fanfare.
With creative-types taking advantage of the Settlement building system, the accompanying Pip-Boy application for smartphones and the simple-to-use, hard-to-master gameplay mechanics, gamers embraced the game almost instantly.
With a hauntingly beautiful landscape, memorable characters (except you, Mama Murphy, you jet addict), and a plethora of mods available on the PC version, this game wins our 2015 Game of the Year.
You can check our our full review of Fallout 4 for the Xbox One version here.
Runner-up(s): A Tie! Bloodborne and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Bloodborne and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain both come close, and both are very deserving of their high rankings this year.
Developed by FromSoftware, the team behind the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne is in a similar vein to the Souls series. The game has been hailed as a masterpiece with amazingly detailed environments and character models, challenging gameplay, solid story and an immersive soundtrack. Our review at the time from Tyler said “As a result, Bloodborne is one of the most frustrating, rage-inducing, BS games you’ll ever play. But that doesn’t stop it from also being one of the most enjoyable experiences available to the PS4 to date.”
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain marks the final Hideo Kojima game in partnership with Konami. With an open-system in regards to completing objectives and amazing storytelling, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is widely regarded as the greatest game in the Metal Gear series.
The Worst Game of 2015
Nominees: Tony Hawks Pro Skater 5, Godzilla, Coast Guard, Evolve, Alone in the Dark: Illumination
(note: Tyler didn’t play any of these games so he did not vote. He was lucky that he didn’t play any of these games)
First place: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5
Not the title people want to go for. But we did manage to vote, and we voted Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 as the worst game of 2015.
I love the Birdman, I really do. But this really didn’t do much to help the franchise out at all. As a huge fan of the franchise, I felt like this one could be removed without anyone noticing (except for an increase in the franchise quality).
Boring environments, the SLAM system, technical faults. If you were looking for the nostalgic feel of the THPS series, THPS HD (X360, PS3, PC) is what you’re looking for. Avoid THPS5 at all costs. Please.
Runner-up: Godzilla
In an attempt to cash in on the movie featuring Bryan Cranston, Godzilla was created. While the Playstation 3 release was seen in 2014, the Playstation 4 release in 2015 drew criticism due to it’s terrible graphics and poor gameplay. If I were to describe this game, it would be “A Playstation 4 game, ported from a Playstation 3 game with the graphics engine from a Playstation 2″. There’s no reason a game should look this bad, and shouldn’t have passed quality inspection at the Bandai Namco publishing office.
Best Graphics
Nominees: Until Dawn, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, The Witcher 3, Halo 5, Project Cars
First place: Project Cars
Graphics. The eye-candy of the video game industry. With new technology, new consoles and new graphics cards comes titles that push tech to their limits. And Project Cars comes away with the game with the best graphics in 2015.
The driving simulator featured some of the best graphics, counting both vehicles and tracks.
The realism of the game made damage on the cars more than just cosmetic. Developers Slightly Mad realised the graphics potential of damaged cars and applied it to the game. Even the go-karts in the first campaign races looked incredible.
Project Cars stunned everyone with its photorealism, and that’s why it got three out of four 1st place votes from us.
Runner-up: The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 has the prestige of not only being a visually stunning game, but finishes off the trifecta with good gameplay and a great story to boot. Created by Polish developers CD Projekt, the game features free DLC and was embraced after it was reported that they had redirected their marketing funds to the development and polishing of this game.
2016’s Most Anticipated Game
Nominees: The Division, Uncharted 4, Quantum Break, Detroit: Become Human, Final Fantasy XV, No Man’s Sky, Dark Souls 3, Mafia 3, Persona 5
First place: No Man’s Sky
Yep, we’re hitting the end of the year, so what better to do than to get absolutely hyped for 2016.
It was a close race, but we’re absolutely excited for No Man’s Sky.
Based on what we’ve seen, the seemingly infinite possibilities this game brings is exciting. Plus it has an offline mode (ahem, EA).
This indie title by Hello Games is being marketed as a first-person survival adventure game. With over 18 quintillion planets and what looks like a bit of PvP and PvE with spaceships, the hype is deserving.
Runner-up: Detroit: Become Human
Quantic Dream’s Detroit: Become Human hits second place on our most anticipated games of 2016 list. The company’s resume includes story-driven titles such as Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, so it’s exciting to see what kind of story they can conduct with this title.
Studio/Developer/Publisher of the Year
Nominees: Ubisoft, Rockstar/2k, Nintendo, Devolver Digital, Bethesda Softworks
First place: Bethesda Softworks
We decided to include groups that released multiple high-scoring titles in 2015 (in-case you were wondering who Devolver Digital is, they released multiple games in 2015 that received 80%+ rankings on various ranking sites).
With Fallout 4 being voted our Game of the Year, it’s no surprise that we voted Bethesda Softworks as our Developers of the Year.
Bethesda also published Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, a contender in our Game of the Year nominations. With it’s solid line-up, and the addictive Fallout Shelter, Bethesda was unanimously voted our pick of the year, receiving four out of four 1st place votes.
Runner-up: Nintendo
Nintendo are like the silent achievers of the publishing world. With the Wii U releases being monitored by Nintendo, they’ve allowed themselves to release what they believe are the most fitting titles for their brand of consoles and handhelds.
While they’re not the most aesthetically pleasing, or high budget games, Nintendo have been publishing some of the unsung titles of the year, including Xenoblade Chronicles X, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D and the Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes.
Indie Title of the Year
Nominees: Undertale, Her Story, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth, Kerbal Space Program, Hacknet, Soma, Rocket League
First place: Rocket League
Indie titles proved to be some of the biggest hits of 2015. The nominees didn’t need the help of the big name studios, and all managed to pull in “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam, as well as high praise from other gaming score aggregate sites.
With a spot in our Game of the Year, and almost reaching 2nd, Rocket League was the overwhelming vote for the Indie Title of the Year.
It was honestly tough to choose between all of the games here, but the simplicity of Rocket League put it above the rest.
With constant-replayability, almost little to no commitment when playing games online, and the simple premise of ‘football with cars’, Rocket League executes the idea perfectly. There’s nothing like pulling off Saviour saves with a roaring crowd in the background and teammates missing the ball when it lands.
Runner-up(s): Another tie! The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth and Undertale
The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth is listed as an expansion for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, but it’s so good that it could probably be its own title. With a huge list of added features to an already amazing game, and some hidden clues hinting to some future releases, gamers embraced developer Nicalis for being able to continue the game without dropping quality.
One of the most popular games on Steam, you may have already seen a bunch of YouTube Let’s Plays for Undertale. On the surface is a standard RPG, but with incredible story writing, and an interesting ‘non-combat’ mechanic, it’s a definite must-have for your Steam library.
And there you have it! Agree? Disagree? Let us know below! And remember that opinions are subjective!
It’s been an absolutely fun year in gaming and it was great having you along for the ride. We’ll see you in 2016!
*The voting was based on a points system: After initial nominations were agreed, we ranked each game individually. The higher the rank, the more points. For example, eight nominated games would be ranked 1 to 8, with first place getting eight points, second getting seven points and so forth. (It’s not as complicated as it sounds.)
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