Top Ten Games of 2015

2015 was a pretty stellar year for video games while somehow delivering some of the most flaccid entries in several beloved series. Despite that, even the most disappointing games of the year were a step above many titles in recent years, and somehow in the same year as a 4-hour indie game and a level editor we also saw a dozen large-scale open world titles full of hundreds of hours of content apiece. So without further ado, here's a list that will please absolutely nobody.

Honorable Mentions

I'd love to have put these games on my top list, but each one has some big nitpick that I would feel very guilty about snubbing a game that deserves to be on the list for one of these.

Yoshi's Woolly World

Oh, how I wish I could make a place for Yoshi's Woolly World. The game is beautiful, with an aesthetic that completely destroys Nintendo's previous yarn-based title with Kirby's Epic Yarn. The game is incredibly cozy and well-made, but the game is simply too easy in some parts while being unbelievably frustrating with its hidden collectibles. I'll be playing this for a while, but there's not enough to set it apart from the amazing spectacle that is Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Most of the game feels like a yarn-based redux of the previous entry without enough teeth. Unless you count jumping around looking for hidden clouds, but that's hardly difficult as much as it is frustrating.

Shadow Complex

I only had an Xbox 360 for a little while, but in that time I never managed to pick up Shadow Complex. What a fantastic Metroidvania--I completely understand why it was spoken of so highly after its release. That said, my PC is a toaster and could barely run the new Remastered version at a decent framerate so I feel this isn't the best way of playing the game. Also, Shadow Complex is several years old and I don't feel very comfortable putting it on the top ten when taking that into consideration, especially since I didn't play it in an ideal setting. I even had it on my top ten at one point, but I can't in good conscience put it over this year's new games. Shadow Complex Remastered will very likely be one of my favorite games when it releases next year on current-gen consoles, but I can't help but feel I missed the boat on this one.

Mortal Kombat X

Of all the games I wished could be on my top ten, Mortal Kombat X hurts the most. In-depth mechanics, different styles that change characters in very subtle ways, a complex story mode that utilizes every single character meaningfully while developing both the old and new--for a fighting game, there's way more here than in most. For everything positive there's something negative right away. The new characters feel very much like rehashes of some old ones, the roster is disappointingly small, the story mode doesn't feel nearly as expansive in both tone and scale as the previous entry in the series, and in the same vein there are so many fewer gameplay modes in favor of shallow multiplayer faction silliness. Why is there no challenge tower? Where are my character trial modes? Why does the character select screen try to shake me down for money? The inclusions of micro-transactions are sleazy at best and the DLC characters were absolutely not worth the money. Mortal Kombat X is a great game with a lot of baggage and most of the impressive features were done better in the Mortal Kombat reboot from a few years ago.

The Top Ten Games of 2015

I'm very picky about the games I funnel time into, and aside from that I have neither a decent PC nor do I own either Xbox console. These are the games I loved putting time into and will likely continue playing, especially since half of them are hundreds of hours long and I actually couldn't finish some of them this year.

Number Ten - Undertale

I heavily considered replacing Undertale with Shadow Complex. The Earthbound inspirations do nothing for me but want to play that game--even more given that I finally finished Earthbound earlier this year. The character design is forgettable at best, and don't give me your stupid "but they're skeletons!" bit. I don't care. I actually turned off the game at one point to just play Cave Story because Toriel and Asgore look disturbingly similar to the Mimiga race, and that game actually had a color palette. The EPIC FEELS moments made me feel absolutely nothing--even more than usual for me. I've heard the word "twee" thrown around in describing Undertale and I can't agree more. Every single moment of Undertale is the cutest and sweetest and most precious special adorable thing you've ever seen in your life and I was annoyed by it in the first hour. This might be a complaint many people won't share, but the run time is far too thin. I never felt a real connection with these characters I was supposed to have some sort of emotions toward; they just start being silly and then we're all best friends. This hurts the unique boss fights even more: in one boss you're expected to run away after spending the entire game talking down and sparing every encounter, while in another you're supposed to attack the boss despite the fact that you're told rather explicitly you'll never have to fight anybody. With a longer runtime I feel these encounters could be introduced better, because as it is I'd even call them counter-intuitive in the way they reverse the way the player is taught. Undertale's five hours feel like fanmade tourism of Earthbound full of dad jokes, which makes its ravenous fanbase all the more confusing. Seriously, some of the fans of this game are actually crazy and act like this game is their gospel. The fanart is legitimately terrifying and I couldn't open a single website for over a month after the game's release without seeing the protagonist hugging every character in the most over-indulgent fan drawing I haven't seen since Sonic or My Little Pony hooked...those people.

All the complaints I have are basically meaningless by saying Undertale is actually very fun to play. The jokes--while being groaners most of the time--are actually pretty fresh, the gameplay is an interesting take on 16-bit era turn-based games, and the many ways the game checks your choices to use them later is very interesting, especially in an era when "your choices matter!" never seems to pan out. And the soundtrack! If I had to give the best soundtrack to a game it would be Undertale without a second guess. To have such an incredible soundtrack accompanying every unique encounter and every track feeling so full of life and energy would be difficult in any game, especially considering it was done entirely by the developer, but this one pulls it off so well that I've had it on repeat several times after finishing the game. I'd love to have played Undertale in an aesthetic and story that wasn't actually Undertale: the gameplay mechanics and soundtrack are subversive and interesting, the jokes have a tendency to be clever, and it's nice to see a game promising multiple endings actually deliver on that. Divorce yourself from the fanbase and any knowledge of the game and go in blind, and you will likely enjoy yourself. But as it is now, I feel Undertale has been dried up by the people who love it the most.

Number Nine - Resident Evil Revelations 2

It's been very difficult as a Resident Evil fan in the last few years, and I don't think it's an exaggeration to call myself a massive fan of the series. In middle school I did nothing but play Resident Evil 2 and in high school, that title was replaced by the absolute masterpiece that is Resident Evil Remake. When I said "did nothing," I mean that very close to literally. I invited a friend to hang out one day and neglected to offer him food, and after an hour into my Resident Evil 2 run I had completely forgotten I invited him to my house at all. I don't care if he ate that night or not, because I cleared ClaireA/LeonB in an hour and a half. I love Resident Evil and you should too, but if you weren't aware of the series until after the wet splat of Resident Evil 5 then I don't blame you for being weary. This innocent take on B-horror movies did not deserve the likes of Operation Raccoon City, Mercenaries 3D, Outbreak, Resident Evil 6, and the light-gun Wii games, and now the series has a near-decade of utter trash weighing down the same legacy as titles like Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil Remake, and the game responsible for revolutionizing 3D aiming: the masterpiece action-horror Resident Evil 4.

The Revelations series is the exact breath of fresh air Resident Evil needs, but the first game had a few missteps. Some of the character swapping was annoying and I really wish I could never see Chris Redfield again in my life. That said, for a 3DS game the original Revelations was pretty nice, and the later HD versions complimented the title's action very well with more intuitive controls. Resident Evil Revelations 2 fixes many of the issues of the first game and brings new additions that finally feel like the newer action style of the series has found a great middle ground with tense horror. The same game that can give one of the most exhilarating bosses in the series can also have some of the most desolate, creepy locales. This is helped by the return of objectively the best characters in the series: Barry Burton and Claire Redfield. Aside from that, Capcom seems to have finally realized the tone for these games works better as cheesy horror; I laughed out loud several times from many of the corny quips, including a certain one in the opening cutscene that involves every character onscreen turning to the camera and winking. The new crafting system feels right at home here, and for the first time in years I'm actually excited to see where Resident Evil is headed.

Number Eight - Until Dawn

I was not excited about Until Dawn. A Playstation Move-exclusive horror game from a largely untested studio? No thanks. I appreciated the premise--a video game of every single cheesy '80s slasher movie cliches with horny teens willing to sacrifice safety to get laid. I can't think of many video games that have attempted that kind of story, unless you want to count the NES Friday the 13th game. So when Sony revealed that Until Dawn had been bumped up to a fully-fledged Playstation 4 title with controller support my ears pricked up right away. And boy, am I glad that this change was made. Until Dawn was one of my surprise hits of the year, flawless in execution and absolutely gorgeous to look at. Sure, it's no beefy PC game, but for what it is Until Dawn is beautiful. Whether you're playing by yourself or hosting this game for your friends, Until Dawn works on every level. Having a game in the style of Quantic Dream's games, like Heavy Rain or Indigo Prophecy, actually fulfill the promise of branching paths and choices with real consequences is a joy to behold, especially when people are arguing over which choice will ensure you don't get killed. For a game that I had absolutely no feelings toward before, I'm now completely onboard the hype train to see what Supermassive Games has in store next.

Number Seven - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

I've never gotten my Hunter Rank up in the four Monster Hunter titles I've played. I'm so sorry. You can have my "hardcore" card if you want, I don't care really. Despite that, I've spent hours upon hours just going through the single player Village quests in all of the games I played, and the new Caravan quest line is the best single player content the series has ever offered. Fun new weapons, changes to existing weapons, and a great mixture of revamped old monsters and brand new ones alongside much-needed mobility options make this both the most accessible and the most fun Monster Hunter entry. Sure, I won't be G rank any time soon--and probably not even after Monster Hunter X finds a stateside release--but even if it's just for a few minutes or long playing sessions there's always something to enjoy about this game. Now, where's our Monster Hunter 4G HD Ver., Capcom?

Number Six - Super Mario Maker

I can basically sum up my enjoyment of this entire game with a suggestion from a friend while making a throwaway level: "You can probably fit more Hammer Bros. over in the corner there." Super Mario Maker isn't the first level editor and it certainly isn't the most affordable at a whopping full $60, but it's just so accessible while full of tricks to create levels so challenging I doubt Nintendo's playtesters could penetrate them. This game could have been ruined in so many ways: if it didn't ship with online sharing, if it had just a few less options, if it only had one or two tilesets--really, it could have been screwed up on so many levels and it's just such a perfect package. Add in curated levels, new event modes, and constant updates with new features and you have one of the best Mario games of all time.

Number Five - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

I wish I could show you, beloved reader, some of the speculative conversations I've had about this title. I envisioned a dark tale of self-destruction, one of the first Metal Gear games grounded in relative reality without nanomachines or singing AI robots. Everything to be seen of The Phantom Pain in pre-release videos and content shown to the press made it look like the best title in the series and one of the greatest games of all time. For reference, much like Resident Evil I played Metal Gear Solid for the first time when I was very young. Playing a demo disc of Solid Snake sneaking into Shadow Moses is one of my most breathless game memories, and seeing so much of that game (much of which went over my head, I mean I was like nine so can you blame me?) after being an outspoken Nintendo fanboy for my entire life up to that point completely shifted my perspective. I played every single title in the series as they came out, stood in line for Guns of the Patriots, and replayed all the games in the series--including the MSX and PSP games--in the year leading up to this game's predecessor, Ground Zeroes.

Much like Mass Effect 3 and L O S T, The Phantom Pain wagged its finger at me while reminding me that hype is a very dangerous thing. The troubled development time, absolute bonkers story, a twist that went nowhere, a completely lifeless main character, the ending just happening with no real lead-in, micro-transactions (especially some introduced after the game's release) really, really marred my enjoyment of this game, and as far as Metal Gear games go this is one of the worst. The story is worse than even Portable Ops and I will fist-fight you in the street if you say it's better than the masterpiece that is Sons of Liberty or MGS1. Or Snake Eater, even. That's a good game, and we all remember the teardrop at the end. What do we remember about The Phantom Pain? Nanoma--er, parasites? A cute half-hour of hamburger discussion? I want to forget the story of this game even happened, and now it's forever canon and I cannot escape wolbachia talk.

But you know what? This is one of the most fun games I've ever played. Not a single part of my 130-hour playtime was wasted, and I still haven't finished all the Extreme levels. That 74% is going to be chipped away at with glee, but if this was a different series or even a different part of the Metal Gear timeline I wouldn't be so upset--yet, like Undertale, I'd be lying if I said actually playing the game wasn't one of my best experiences of the year.

Number Four - Xenoblade Chronicles X

I can tell you every last detail about the Xenogears Perfect Works story without batting an eye. I played it for the first time three years ago and it has actually kept me up at night thinking about some of the outstanding moments that game presents. Go play it right now. Don't go play Xenosaga, Tetsuya Takahashi's re-imagining of Xenogears Perfect Works with his new studio, unless you're willing to dig through some actual bad games to reach the shining beacon that is Xenosaga Episode III. Even the best parts of that game are callbacks to Xenogears. To say the least, the Xeno- series had some problems. As much as I love the game, even Xenogears is a bit of a mess--the second disc is largely unfinished, and the rumors surrounding it are horrifying at best.

Then, something beautiful happened. Something incredible and unbelievable occurred: Takahashi's Monolith Software was bought by Nintendo. Their new title, Xenoblade, finally showed off what Takahashi could dish out without budget or time constraints. And with the Wii U, Monolith's new game Xenoblade Chronicles X steps up the scale and world of the previous game while creating a grand science fiction story of intergalactic war, of mankind being stranded without a home. X is one of the most breathtaking open worlds ever made, and to think it's coming from a console as underpowered as the Wii U without breaking a sweat is even more impressive. The story beats sound gleefully similar to Xenogears Perfect Works and the new mythology surrounding events of the series is engrossing; I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here, but for now I just want to jump back in my giant mech and fly over the beautiful world of Mira.

Number Three - Yakuza 5

I can't believe this game came out. Up until now it really seemed like Sega had given up on Yakuza--or as it's known in its home country Like a Dragon (a much better name for the series)--in the West. The last entry released here, Yakuza Dead Souls, was an absolutely dreadful experiment in third-person horror shooters. Yakuza 4 is a great game, but that game came out in 2011 here and it really seemed like that was the last of this amazing franchise we would ever see. There are walkthroughs for the entire game to translate the script, and now that I've gotten my hands on it I can see why.

If you're unfamiliar with the series, here's a rundown: take a third-person beat-'em-up, drop it into a roleplaying game system complete with character inventories and random encounters, and throw in a ton of side activities like arcades, restaurant hopping, karaoke, hostess clubs, and basically all the stuff that made Shenmue fun without the baggage of sailors or places they hang out. Yakuza 5 expands the series even more with rhythm games, great new characters, and even more side content including the new Another Drama system, a complete sidestory for every single character alongside their main story and sub quests. This isn't the best Yakuza released in the West--that honor belongs to the ungodly rare Yakuza 2--but it's very high in the running and I can't wait to get the full completion for it. Now that Yakuza 0 is coming out here I don't have to urge people to drop into the series with 4 or 5, but I'd still recommend you try any of the games you can.

Number Two - The Witcher 3

While this is the first game in the Witcher series to go open world, the attention to detail alongside the sheer scope of the world absolutely humiliates other developers with higher budgets. There's really not much to say about this that others haven't: the writing is sublime, the acting is on-point, and even on PS4 the graphical quality is second-to-none. No, I haven't finished it yet. Sorry. My in-game time counter says I've spent a total of ten actual days exploring the world and I really desperately hope that's wrong, but even if it's half that I wouldn't be surprised. There is so much content and the developer just throw out free DLC for months to show appreciation for their fans, much in the same way they did for the second game which is also excellent. This is one of the best open world games of all time thanks in part to having the detail of a much smaller game, and it revels in that intimacy while showering the enormous landscape in points of interest. I'm still up in the air over whether or not this game trumps Red Dead Redemption as my favorite open world game, especially given that game's heart-wrenching ending, but the game's RPG roots with character building and customization might just push it over the edge by the time I see the game's ending in 2018.

Number One - Bloodborne

I've spent three hundred hours on the first Dark Souls and I'm completely okay with that. FromSoftware knows how to create a world seeped in history that is just beyond your reach, begging  you to dig up the world's dirty secrets. I loved that game so much I finally finished Demon's Souls after being completely destroyed in my original run, and even though I spent less time on that game there are very serious arguments about which of those games is better. Bloodborne, while not bursting with content like Dark Souls or even Demon's Souls, instead focuses on complex systems, a horrifying world, and a story that belongs right alongside the creepiest works of H.P. Lovecraft. Bloodborne hooked me in its first trailer and I'm still playing through New Game+ on several characters. Its mechanically complex history is reflected in its mechanics, with some of the most rewarding fast-paced combat seen in years. Go buy a PS4 for this game. Succumb to the nightmare of having no other exclusives and hunt...whatever, this metaphor sucks. Game of the year.