I feel like every year the general sentiment around these parts is that the year prior wasn’t a great year for games. Maybe that says more about us than it does the state of the industry, but whether or not it was objectively a bad year 2015 is at least going down as the time where we have the smallest amount of titles in the running for GOTY. I struggled a bit to craft my list but that’s not to say there weren’t some gems to be had:
Rise Of The Tomb Raider (XB1)
There’s no question in my mind that Rise Of The Tomb Raider is the best game of 2015 and if it had been given life almost anywhere other than exclusively on the Xbox One I think you’d be seeing it on just about every other editor’s list as well. When faced with the challenge of creating a sequel Crystal Dynamics did the unthinkable and actually responded to criticism and feedback from their previous release, the result is a game where finding fault is surprisingly difficult.
Whether it’s the increased number of tombs and puzzles, the streamlined crafting system, or the greater number of options available in combat, if there’s something you wished the original Tomb Raider reboot had, it’s probably here now. The story is a little goofy at times, with some cliche moments that you’ll see coming from a mile away, but it’s all easily forgotten as you narrowly escape from an attack chopper as it tears the icy cliffside you’re standing on to shreds.
The game is meticulously balanced and an absolute joy to play, which you can find out yourself when it lands on Steam in two weeks.
Chroma Squad (PC)
I enjoy a good tactics RPG as much as the next man, but sometimes playing them can feel like a bit more of a commitment then I have time for. XCOM was fun, but at the time I wasn’t reviewing it and I wasn’t so in love with the stress it induced that I felt the need to come back after the first few hours. Chroma Squad is a tactics game that’s much easier to digest and the perfect title for people looking to get into the genre, or who just want to run a Power Rangers-esque television studio. I was impressed when I picked up the game again months after my review and barely missed a beat. It’s accessible in all the right ways.
Of course the real charm of the game doesn’t come from its combat or its sim aspects but instead from the amount of customization it allows. Everything from your characters names, looks, roles, and catchphrases can be tweaked and there’s nothing cooler than watching your completely custom team shout their catch phrase you made up as they transform into their rainbow alter egos.
In the end the default difficulty is a little too easy, and the Kaiju (giant monster) fights have a bit too much RNG for my liking, but Chroma Squad’s charms absolutely outweigh its faults.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, XB1, PS4)
More than enough has been said about Hideo Kojima and his adventures with his former employer. We don’t need to elaborate any further here suffice to say that it’s currently very unlikely that you will ever play another Metal Gear Solid game again, and even if you do, it will probably be in name alone. Kojima has been promising since Snake Eater that every Metal Gear title would be his last and now it looks as though his prophecy has finally come true.
If you’re going to leave the series you created almost thirty years ago The Phantom Pain is a pretty damn good exit point. Sure it has its share of issues, mostly revolving around some bizarre plotting (in a Metal Gear game?!) and end-game content that feels rushed and unfinished, likely thanks to those publisher adventures I mentioned earlier. But still, you can’t ignore that Metal Gear Solid V is the best feeling Metal Gear ever made. It’s truly an example of mechanics trumping all else. The FOX Engine is a sight to behold and I’m not exaggerating when I say that this game may have the best stealth mechanics ever seen in any game to date.
The Phantom Pain sets an incredibly high bar for the stealth genre as a whole and is undoubtedly going to reign as king for some time to come.
Mushroom 11 (PC)
Indie side scrollers are a dime a dozen, the genre frequently serves as the starting point for budding programmers and as a result is so stuffed to the brim that I normally find it very difficult to get excited about any of it. But then along comes Mushroom 11’s unique gameplay to shake the model up. The premise may not excite: you play as a non-descript blob of goo with the sole goal of moving as far left as possible in a level; but the game’s unique control scheme and level design make for something truly compelling.
In a time where it feels like every game imposes mandatory procedural generation and an infinite amount of replayability on itself it’s nice to see a brief, tightly crafted, deliberate experience like the one on display in Mushroom 11. Every puzzle in the game feels calculated and meaningful and although the difficulty curve ramps up considerably towards the end it’s still a joy to play even if you do have to let out an expletive or two at an incredibly challenging section.
Mushroom 11 may be the freshest thing I played this year. There’s nothing else out there like it and I’d heartily recommend it for anyone who thought they could never love an indie platformer again.
Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
I was not aboard the train when Nintendo announced Super Mario Maker, the concept didn’t appeal to me and I expected a lazy slapped together editor and a price tag that was forty dollars higher than it should have been. It took seeing the game at E3 this last year to make me pretty much do a complete one eighty on the game. Mario Maker’s editor is astonishingly robust and the game’s first couple updates have even further reduced the limits of what you can create in the game. But even players with no interest in using the creator can find plenty to do, in fact I would say most of my time in Mario Maker has been spent outside its editor.
Part of the big appeal for me with Mario Maker is how easy it is to calculate your time with it. Have just a couple minutes to play something? Boot it up and check out the featured or top rated levels that day. A little more time? Drop into a 10 or 100 Mario challenge and dig into a bizarre mix of user created content. It’s been great to play in groups, great to play alone, and the online component is amazingly competent for a Nintendo title. I didn’t think that a single game could keep my Wii U afloat during the holiday season but somehow Nintendo pulled it off and Mario Maker is definitely going to be something I’ll remember fondly when I think of the system long after it’s boxed up and sitting in my basement.
Check back every day this week to see a new editor’s list. You can head back to our GOTY coverage hub by clicking here.
