Following in the steps of SideQuesting’s 2014 Game of the Year coverage, we’re again not hosting a definitive Game of the Year for the site, instead focusing on the individual writers and their favorites. Hopefully, you’ll be able to connect a little better with the writers that make up this little corner of the web, as many of us will be posting our Top 5 lists throughout the next week. Enjoy, and bring on 2016!
Persona 4: Dancing All Night
I’m not actually sure how to go about talking about Persona 4: Dancing All Night. I could tell you that it’s gameplay is more unique than the returning plastic guitar rhythm games of this year. Or that it’s incredible style and presentation is a perfect companion piece to an already amazing series. Or maybe that it’s one of the the best exclusive titles on a platform that many have been claiming to be dead. What I will say however is no other game this has been on my mind as consistently as Dancing All Night has been this year.
The game’s visual novel story mode might be light on gameplay, but it’s a story packed to the brim with lessons on the power of friendship and how supporting and being supported by friends can bring out the best in a person. It also simultaneously speaks volumes on the dangers of how we consume media and how performers who are treated like products rather than people are forced to deal with it. The track list for the game spans the entire Persona 4 franchise, featuring remixed tunes that I still can’t get out of my head months after I ‘finished’ the game for review. For those that have never played a game in the Persona 4 series Dancing All Night features zero barrier to entry, no required reading and is a great way to check out what all the fuss is about the series without throwing yourself into a seeming intimidating Japanese role playing game.
I can’t recommend Persona 4: Dancing All Night enough, and if you own a Vita and are looking for something to play I implore you to check it out.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The Metal Gear series has always held a special place in my heart. It’s mix of gameplay mechanics and cinematic spy thriller presentation leads to an experience that sits perfectly with what I look for in a stealth game. Metal Gear Solid V switches up the main series in a way that modernizes its gameplay without alienating those loyal to the series. Stealth is no longer the only or best option for taking on missions, not punishing players for taking a “loud” approach to encounters. The open world rewards players for experimenting and interacting with the different things inhabiting it while not overburdening players with too many repetitive activities to complete. Players develop a base which has a tangible impact on how you play, empowering players to develop their own play styles.
Although Metal Gear Solid V gets mostly everything right, it has one glaring misstep. The gross over sexualization of the sniper Quiet undercuts the seriousness of her character arc in the game, instead turning her into something to be ogled rather than respected. With that in mind though, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has one of the most satisfying gameplay loops of last year, if you can stomach it’s tough guy bravado.
Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime
If you live with someone who also plays games or often play locally with a friend you need to try out Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime. Players work together to pilot a spaceship and its many systems that are separated by ladders and corridors. Cooperation is the name of the game, and if you and your partner aren’t communicating and covering for each other you will lose fast and often. Although that is nothing new for cooperative games, it’s Lovers’ need for knowledge of your partner’s abilities while also pushing individual skill that sets it apart.
It also doesn’t hurt that Lovers is a great looking game with an incredible visual language. Players can easily tell what’s going on while quickly being able to respond to the information that’s being presented to them. Difficulty ramps up pretty aggressively towards the end of the game, but through experimenting with the different upgrade paths for the ships systems players can adapt strategies to help push them through.
Lovers in A Dangerous Spacetime is one of the best experiences two players could have playing together in 2015. Just make to have a dedicated partner willing to see the adventure through to the end with you.
Destiny: The Taken King
I’m going to keep this short since the ‘they fixed mostly everything from year one and now it’s way better’ line has been repeated to death.
Destiny is still fully dependent on how you approach it. If you take it on by yourself the experience is sort of lackluster. Playing in a group is still the best option for the game and the only way to experience some of the best content while also getting the best loot. When your friends aren’t available the game finally features activities that feel like a way to help develop and discover new gear rather than chores necessary to maybe have a chance for something cool to drop. The games support characters now add atmosphere and weight to world rather than just being silent and mysterious because Space.
Destiny is now play and not work, and for the first time in a massively multiplayer online game I finally see the carrot on a stick and for some dumb reason I want to keep chasing it.
Bloodborne
Having never really understood the Dark Souls series, I was hesitant to give Bloodborne a shot. Bloodborne quickly circumvented these fears by introducing one of the best starting weapons in any game, the Saw Cleaver and focusing on aggressive combat that feels fast while not actually being that quick.
It’s speed allows you to have metered aggressive attacks, as long as you have an escape route planned in case things start to turn against you. It’s because of that constant evaluation and reevaluation of your situation that makes the combat so enjoyable. Bloodborne‘s atmosphere is really the true star here though, creating a world that feels different from almost everything else this year. Its story enhances this by dealing with what it means for humanity when we attempt to be on the same level as gods and the repercussions on our world for it.
I wouldn’t recommend Bloodborne to everybody, it’s difficult, rage inducing, and in some play sessions it might feel as if you haven’t accomplished a single thing. But if you are up for a challenge and think gothic horror looks cool it’s certainly something special.
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