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!
Guitar Hero Live
Guitar Hero Live was my biggest surprise of 2015. If you would have told me this time last year that they’d be bringing back both a new Guitar Hero and a new Rock Band and that I would be way more into Guitar Hero, would have called you a damn liar, but lo and behold, here we are.
Whereas Rock Band 4 just feels like more Rock Band (Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!), this game felt fresh and new in a way I didn’t expect. The switch from 3D renders to FMV for crowds were a welcome change, and the new six button controller took some getting used to but ultimately ended up feeling way more challenging and rewarding than previous games in the series. Sure, the track list for the base career mode is less than stellar, but the expanded GHTV catalog more than makes up for it.
Life is Strange
I’ll be the first to admit that Life is Strange is flawed in a ton of different ways, but I loved almost every second I spent with it. It’s a lot of shitty teen melodrama, but it’s a lot of shitty teen melodrama wrapped around a larger story, and it’s the only game this year that had a story beat hit that resulted in me setting down the controller and resting my head in my hands for a good 10 minutes before restarting the entire episode to right the wrongs I committed. It feels deeply personal and emotional in a way I didn’t quite expect, and I think that’s great.
Kerbal Space Program
Kerbal Space Program has been in early access since before Steam even had an early access category, but it wasn’t until this year that I fell deep down a hole with it.
I’m not good at it, by any means. Hell, it’s safe to say that a good 90% of my launch attempts end in a fiery explosion and the death of 2-3 good Kerbals, but when I have a successful launch with enough fuel left to get into a stable orbit, I don’t even care that I can’t get back to the surface. The feeling of accomplishment is more than enough.
Everything in Kerbal Space Program is soul-crushingly difficult, and I love that about it. That harsh learning curve and element of randomness knowing that one small thing can fail and the whole craft could implode in on itself like a dying star makes every small victory feel like a genuine triumph, and I love every second of it.
Destiny: The Taken King
When Destiny launched in 2014, it was a fucked up game. Now, marching into 2016, Destiny is still a pretty fucked up game, but they’re getting there, slowly but surely, and The Taken King was a big leap forward.
The added story missions, while not the longest piece of content, was better than anything included in Year One of Destiny, and it shows that Bungie is still capable of solid storytelling and creating a great atmosphere. Adding the ability to infuse and level up existing Year Two weapons, along with the slew of smaller quality of life improvements, turned this game into something I casually dipped into to something I was totally obsessed with.
I will also say that dunking on Oryx at the end of the King’s Fall raid was without a doubt the most satisfying thing I’ve done in any game in 2015.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
I was all aboard the Metal Gear Solid V hype train from day one, so when I finally got my hands on it after years of trailers and gameplay footage I was nervous as to what I was going to get. What I ended up getting was a game with two massive open-world areas that refined a lot of the base building and resource management elements of Peace Walker and topped it off with signature Metal Gear insanity.
To be clear; I hate the ending of Metal Gear Solid V, to the point that when the big, final reveal happened for me, I threw my controller on the table screamed “Fuck this” at the top of my lungs (Yeah, my neighbors love me) and paced around my apartment for a good 10-15 minutes. From the start I wasn’t in favor of replacing series-standard codec conversations with optional cassette tape audio logs, and found the amount of story lacking. But the ending really screwed the pooch, solidifying the game both as my favorite game of the year as well as my biggest disappointment.
That being said, the 50+ hour journey getting there more than made up for it. Sure, there is less story here than in any other Metal Gear Game, but what is there is solid and just as crazy as the games that precede it. When I was playing it, I was all-in. When I was at work or not playing it, it was all I can think about, and I think that is really special, especially considering it’s the last “true” game in the series.
It’s not the Metal Gear finale that I wanted, but it’s still an amazing experience that is second to none, in my opinion.
Also, there’s a dog with a sneaking suit who can murder people with a knife, so, yeah.
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