#goty2015

[dashing-darlings]

I just finished reading the last Grace book! It was a fun read and made me nostalgic for the trip I took two summers ago to Paris.

My only complaint is the lack of illustrations! There were so many moments where I wished I could see what they were talking about or doing, but alas there were only the cover pictures.

Have you guys ever read any of the goty books? What's your favorite?

[dashing-darlings]

Here's a shelf picture to show off all my minis... Including my newest one Grace!

I managed to find her and all three of her books online. I know not everyone likes her, but I've been reading her books and they're just sort of a fun escapism. No they're not realistic, but I like them just the same! Plus Grace reminds me of my niece!

[dashing-darlings]

So I decided since I just read Grace's books I would watch her movie and it is so different from the books! My favorite changes were the relationship with Uncle Bernard and Bonbon at the hotel. I didn't like the changes to Sylvie's character as much. They made her more standoffish and less simply scared of not being able to communicate with Grace. The evolution of their relationship in the books was much better.

If you plan to either watch the movie or read the books I would definitely recommend the books!

[axelums]

GOTY 2015: 07-05

Time to continue my GOTY list with numbers 5, 6 and 7

07) Rise of the Tomb Raider

2013s Tomb Raider managed to get my 2nd slot for that year, just losing out to The Last of Us. 3 years later, I'm trying to think if I made the right choice. I’ve played Tomb Raider about 4/5 times since then on various platforms and it actually become one of my favourite games to play.

The sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, for the Xbox One all in one exclusivity system was a great improvement on an already great standard set by the first game. Basically taking everything great about the first game, make it bigger, better and add more of practically everything it had and you have Rise of the Tomb Raider.

More tombs, more open areas, more mods for gear and weapons. Even the additions of crafting and things like side missions made the game more fleshed out and increased it’s longevity. Not to mention the game looks gorgeous; I look forward to playing it again on PS4 when it hits in holiday 2016.

In terms of the exclusivity deal, it never struck a nerve with me as I already had an Xbox One by the time the game hit since I purchased one for Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive back in 2014. Having said that, if you’re still holding off on buying the system and don’t want to wait a year to play this (or don’t have a powerful PC) but you’re able to spend the £200~300 for the console... totally do it for Rise of the Tomb Raider; there’s a big enough back log of games to keep the system happy (some are on this list) but even if you just RotTR for a while, you’ll be content until something else hits. It’s worth owning the system for.

06) Lara Croft Go

In almost the completely opposite side of the spectrum, Lara Croft also came out on mobile devices in 2015 in the form of a turn based puzzle game.

I was instantly in when the game was announced at E3 2015, my only question was “when?”. Luckily it wasn't long as when the game hit in August I got it day one and managed to finish it in just a few sittings. I got hooked. What’s better is, upon completion, I started again. I don’t feel like many puzzle games would draw me in that quickly to restart my whole run but I wanted to play the boards again (of which there’s a lot of) and see how my memory served me (not well as it turns out, or was that for the better in this case?).

Lara Croft GO has the aesthetic of a really clean PS1 game if the textures were a bit smoother and higher resolution, it’s simple, yet clean and stylised:

The puzzles weren't too tough either, they’re real clever, but they gave you the right level of “What do I do? Am I stupid?” to “I’ve actually finished, that felt great”.

I can’t recommend it enough, it’s been on sale for cheap but, come on, it’s like £4 or something, just don’t get that coffee that one day and pick it up.

05) Batman: Arkham Knight

Oh Batman, the super hero who I couldn't care less about. Until Arkham Asylum hit in 2009 and then when I actually played it in 2011 back to back with Arkham City. The series has made me get into the Batman universe in a way I didn't think was possible because I didn't care for any of the films.

The Arkham games, as they've come to be known as. are superb open world (save for Asylum I suppose) that take the Batman universe, a LOAD of DC comics villains, gameplay tropes and progression gating from Metroid/Castlevania and combine it all with the brilliant, and at the time, new combat system.

You’d expect one would be bored of this sort of game by now, what with the 4th Batman game to.... sorry “Last game in the trilogy” as the developers like to put it... actually no, I liked Origins, it was better than Asylum AND City, stop complaining because it wasn't made by the same developers, it’s a legitimately good entry to the series.

Arkham Knight is Rocksteady’s Magnum Opus I suppose. Their final Batman game. Boy, does it show. The detail in everything, the scope of the game, the secrets, call backs, feel of Batman and the Batmobile (We’ll get to that), everything felt like the final entry in a series that has had extreme care and attention from people who are passionate about their work.

Enough talk about what the series is and more about Arkham Knight. The Batmobile was great, I really enjoyed how it handled and how it turned into a tank to let you wreck shop, the races were hit and miss, but I actually enjoyed them, quick restarts upon failure weren't an issue either. In fact this is the second one in the series that I finished all the Riddler trophies on (first being Origins).

In fact, it’s the first one that I got 100% in so I could see the “true ending”, that means all side missions, all collectables, all everything. It was worth it though, a great way to send the series off but still leave things open for whatever future Rocksteady have planned.

Arkham Knight was one of the most visually pleasing games of the year, ever actually. It looked and sounded incredible. The city and attention to detail that the developers crammed into it was incredibly dense with references to Queen Consolidated and even Superman. The only thing it was missing was a silhouette in front of the moon of a dude in a cape... I kept looking, waiting, but he was a no show....

If you had ANY love for the previous games you probably should check out the best the series has to offer. I seem to play through all of these games on a near yearly basis regardless of my backlog and I really want to play through Knight again. I can’t wait to see what Rocksteady do next (please be Superman of The Flash) but I’m also looking forward to where the next Batman game is set and I’m already down to play another. Lets do this WB.

4 more left. No hints at what they are this time but I’m hoping to get them up by the end of the week. You might even know where the final 4 are going if you know me at all, although seeing how MGSV went, it might surprise you.

[jackleveledup]

Game of the Year 2015 - My Top 3

#3 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

I don’t know how else to say it: The Phantom Pain is one of the most finely-crafted games ever made. The baseline of quality is astonishing in even the finest details, like the way the camera pans or the ways the wind shifts with each of the game’s weather effects. In a digital industry rife with pre-fabricated pieces and dynamically generated content, MGSV feels strangely hand-made.

Open world games will never be the same to me, not after messing with MGSV’s sandbox. Your objectives are deviously simple: “rescue a hostage,” or “blow up the tanks,” but the obstacles and twists thrown in along the way will make each player’s story both memorable and unique. This is as much a result of the resources provided to players as it is of carefully obscured details. The tools are easy to understand and easy to use - throw something near a guard to make a noise and draw their attention, place C4 and detonate it at your command, shoot a rocket to make things go boom instantly, etc. What’s impressive, though, is the extent to which their effects can be combined, and how Kojima Productions force you to improvise as the tension builds to its peak. Maybe your rescue mission takes you into an enormous, heavily guarded enemy compound. That’s hard enough. So you’ll pack your camo gear, a silenced tranquilizer pistol, and maybe some smoke grenades if things get ugly. And just when you start sneaking away with your hostage friend, the giant, 100-foot tall nuclear-armed robot shows up. It’s not all scripted events, though, because MGSV lends itself so well to planning things out, and chances are things will rarely go how you expect. The process of learning to handle each of the many “...oh shit” moments makes MGSV simply unforgettable.

Ambition, however, doesn’t come without cost. The concluding chapter of the game is such a mess that for a minute, I wondered if I could even put it on the Game of the Year list at all. There are some infuriating, mandatory missions that seem to throw out much of the game’s experimentation-driven style, and their impact on the story is wounded because of it. More than that, it kinda’ doesn’t even end! There are major story threads left hanging, and (dancing around spoilers here) I think the exclusion of David Hayter was a massive missed opportunity. It appears that in some ways Chapter 2 became collateral damage of the Kojima-Konami feud, but in another way, maybe that adds to its intrigue. The chronicle of the game and its fallout has become as much of a story as what is told within the game. I’m hopeful that time will heal some of the bitterness I have in that regard, and that one day I’ll be able to more clearly see the end of The Phantom Pain for what it is.

Like every Metal Gear Solid before it, The Phantom Pain is a landmark in video games history. The freedom the game’s tools provide is nothing short of incredible, and their countless unique interactions create one of the most wild toyboxes a game has ever had. Someday soon I’ll feel the urge to go back and I’ll do something stupid I’ve never done before, like throw a mountain of smoke grenades into a jeep and drive it into the sunset. 

#2 - Splatoon

What would it take to create a new franchise as strong as Mario, Zelda, or Metroid? That’s not a question with a simple answer, and it’s something more than a few game developers have struggled with for decades. Despite all odds Nintendo seem to have struck gold yet again with Splatoon, the freshest shooter we’ve seen in a decade.

Nintendo flipped the genre as we know it by focusing on territory instead of kills, and it’s surprising just how much depth this one decision creates. Score is not calculated by kills or even territory control over time - instead, it’s a measure of who has painted more of the map in their color at the very end of the 3 minute match. You could focus on “splatting” enemies to stop them from painting your own ground, or spend the entire game following players, painting over areas after they finish. Shooters were once known as some of the most impenetrable games to beginners, but Splatoon creates utility for players of all skill levels, since even a rookie can shoot paint on an unclaimed area. This could be done by setting mines, hiding, or even just quietly claiming the lesser-contested portions of the map. The variety in each of the many “guns” have a large effect on how you play, too. While much of the industry is attempting to create esports-ready titles, Nintendo quietly accomplishes the esports ideals on its own: it’s dead simple to pick up and extremely difficult to master. That doesn’t mean I’d ever dream of playing Splatoon competitively, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun whether you’ve been playing for 10 minutes or 10 months.

Honestly, Splatoon shines in just about every aspect. There’s a pervasive sense of style that feels super modern, and you can see it clearly from the fashion to the color palette. The music, on the other hand, is more than modern, it’s incredible and unworldly. These touches go miles in fleshing out the game’s world into something tangible. Most importantly, Nintendo has continued to build on Splatoon for months with free maps, weapons, game modes, features, and events. It seems impossible for a game to excel in as many areas as Splatoon does. To me, excellence seems almost par for the course with Nintendo, but even still - Splatoon is among their best and I’m always ready to play more of it.

My 2015 Game of the Year: Undertale

It’s...difficult to explain Undertale’s effect on me, even more so to do that without spoiling what makes it so special. So let’s start with how I felt:  I sobbed when I finished Undertale. I cried harder than just about any game I’ve ever played, and I reflected on it for weeks after. It’s been months and I still feel its absence in everything else I’ve been playing. It’s a game that became so real to me that I’m not sure how objectively I can even see it anymore.

Part of what made Undertale so powerful to me is that it seemed to know me almost better than I do. It becomes apparent over the course of the game that Toby Fox (the game’s creator) has the empathy of a thousand, because he seems to perfectly predict your mentality at every turn. There are undertones of darkness mixed into a cute and innocent facade, and as soon as you start getting a little freaked out, you’ll get slapped out of it with a joke. This sense of whiplash in many ways defines the game, but it’s incredible how little knowing that matters. I was caught off guard time and time again, to the point where it was hard to know what to feel or what’s the “right” solution. I had to put real thought into my actions simply because it wasn’t clear who I could even trust. I’ve never been an enthusiast of games with “moral choices”, and Undertale isn’t necessarily one of those either, but it’s important that it messes with you so much because your actions carry significant consequences. Even in the tiniest of details, it’s shocking how many of your “choices” characters will notice and call you out on. Undertale is not a game that is content with being played - it plays you right back.

The story, characters, and humor would be enough on their own to land Undertale on my Game of the Year list, but the combat design is absolutely brilliant. No exaggeration: these are some of the most memorable boss fights I have ever had the joy of playing. Entirely new mechanics based on each character are introduced, refined, and fully explored within a single encounter. Important characters won’t hesitate to straight up break the rules of the game for their own fight! It’s mind blowing. I can vividly remember more than a few scenes where I just gasped at the screen, stunned at how the game had turned itself on its head.  The music accompanying each boss is perfectly designed, matching the flow of the fight and building on the emotions at play. The amount of detail given to each character extends to minor enemies too, because all monsters have their own unique attacks, jokes, and hidden interactions. 

Ultimately, I think how much Undertale means to you is dependent on how much you’re able to connect with the characters. An unfortunate side effect of the game’s success is that it heaps vast expectation onto a game that, honestly, doesn’t seem designed to impress. It’s immensely smart and thoughtfully created, but it’s not any sort of immaculate production from beginning to end, like Bloodborne, Splatoon, or many of the other games that came out in 2015. If it was meant to be the pretentious industry-disruptor some project it to be, I don’t think it would work as well as it does. It’s a modest vessel built in service of a handful of characters that Toby Fox deeply cares about, and he wants you to care about them too.

Undertale was emotionally powerful to me at a level that very few games have ever reached. I would be thrilled to go on about its happiest, saddest, funniest, and scariest moments, but more than that, I want everyone that’s interested to be able to go in blind and be as genuinely surprised by it as I was. I wish I could forget everything I knew about it so I could discover it again and again. 

[axelums]

GOTY 2015: 22-21

​2015 was fantastic for video games and throughout the year there were so many great ones I felt as though I couldn't make a top 10 list without cutting so many that I still felt so highly about.

For this reason I decided to make two lists, 01-10, the normal top 10 list, my favourite 10 games of the year, as well as 11-20, the rest of my favourite games that didn't quite make it into the top 10 but still deserve recognition for being real cool (at least in my opinion).

To start, however, there were 2 games that I really enjoyed but didn't quite make it on to either list. Not because I felt like they didn't deserve it, they sure do, but mainly because I didn't finish them or didn't play nearly enough to warrant a place on either list.

So with introductions over with, here are my games of 2015: 22-21.

22: Broken Age: The Complete Adventure

I feel bad for not being able to finish the second act of Broken Age purely because I completed the first act in one sitting and having played so much else since act twos release, any reason I could give for not finishing it just feels trivial.

I really enjoyed the first act, interesting puzzles, fun characters and a wonderful world filled with a pretty art style and great music.

The second act (so far) has been more of the same, save for swapping characters and environments, but I've only gotten an hour or two (of like 4/5 maybe?) so I hope it keeps on like this. I didn't finish it because I didn't want to rush it, I just wished I played it more.

21: Super Mario Maker

Mario Maker: Giant Bombs Game of the Year. For some reason I feel like there's 20 games that came out this year that were better than it.

Well, not quite. I'm presenting these as two titles that I refuse to put on the list because I haven't played enough of them to warrant a slot in the top 20 and Mario Maker is one of the games that I don't feel like 'I' deserve to put on my list.

I've watched way more Mario Maker than I have played and I've played a lot more than I have created. I'm not a very creative person (says the guy typing on a blog about video games...) but I've made one level and, while I think that level is... kinda rubbish, I made it, me. I made a Mario level, and that's pretty cool.

What's great is that ANYONE can make a Mario level now. There's effectively infinite Mario 1, 3, World and U levels. With the exception of some objects, but they're getting pretty good at giving out free updates to the game with content and new things for people to mess around with.

I think I'll try to knuckle down with the creator now that most of the games I'm playing has died down and I have a while between releases at the start of this year. Maybe I'll do something with Mario Maker levels further into the year.

To wrap up the start of my GOTYs I'll have 2 more "sets" coming: 20-11 and 10-01. It'll probably run through to the end of January (since January is usually my "get games finished x write about them x post that stuff" time of the year).

[notlisteningblog]

#112: Games of 2015 - Our Top 5 Games of the Year!

[jackleveledup]

Game of the Year 2015: Honorable Mentions

I’ll talk about the very best games of 2015 soon with my Top 3 of 2015, so what follows here is not exactly a conventional “top ten” list. Instead, Honorable Mentions is a place where I can recognize as many or as few games as I feel deserve special attention (but just missed the cut for Game of the Year). Fortunately for this year, that was...a lot! 

Bloodborne

There’s a deadly allure to Bloodborne unlike anything I’ve played before. Every single second you’re dared to take just one step further into the horrors of Yharnam, one more swing of the axe before backing down for an instant of caution. This tension climbs to its peak in nearly every battle and morphs button presses into a cautious but calculated dance. Any enemy can end you should your judgment lapse, but the more you hesitate, the more likely you are to mess up or get caught off guard. Each movement, offensive or defensive, comes with consequences that will be taken advantage of when used poorly. You’re left with only your weapon and your finely honed instincts to come out on top.

Some semblance of mastery is not just useful, it’s necessary. There’s one boss very early on that demands a level of understanding you may not have gathered from the weaker enemies prior. But for every challenge the game throws at you, it builds an even larger payoff when finally overcome. I missed out on each of the Souls games before Bloodborne, so to many I’m sure this sensation isn’t new, but I’m in love with From Software’s confidence in their players. Guided tutorials are commonplace now, and they have their purpose, but it’s a sign of brilliant game design when you’re trusted enough to figure so much out for yourself. 

If you don’t fall prey to it first, you’ll learn to crave the danger. The story is minimal, cryptic even, but it harmonizes so well with the mood of the game. There’s a strange parallel at play as your initial distress evolves into curiosity, with bosses spaced out carefully to match your character’s ascent. It’s a little unfortunate that the plot leans so heavily on prior knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft, because the things that make the story so interesting will otherwise come off as total nonsense. Regardless, even if you miss out on why the story works, the mystery is more than intriguing enough to pull you through from boss to boss.

Bloodborne deserves to be played to experience its masterful sense of progression and combat design . The bar has been set for PS4 exclusives, and it’s pretty damn high.

Box Boy

As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to figure out that many of my absolute favorite games are those with massive expansions of dead-simple mechanics. Super Monkey Ball, Super Mario 64, any Zelda, you get the idea. I don’t know if I would call Box Boy a “massive expansion,” but it’s definitely thorough, and its mechanic is awesome. Your little Box Boy can push a number of identically-sized blocks out of his body. At first your instinct will be to toss blocks around and build paths to jump on, but you can also keep them attached to your body to modify its shape, kind of like Tetris blocks. There are plenty of twists on the concept as the stages progress, rapidly enhancing and testing your understanding.  Here and there I’d catch myself staring blankly at a stage in thought, but no solution felt impossibly out of reach. You’ll feel smart for figuring things out, and fans of puzzle games know there’s no greater sign of quality than that.

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below

If you needed any more proof that 2015 was insane, it’s right here: a breath of fresh air for the beat-em-up genre? DQ Heroes takes vague inspiration from strategy and tower-defense games by letting you place monsters around the map to do your bidding. It's a dead-simple concept that can be applied in a lot of cool ways, like precise micro-management of control points, or just calling in an entire goon squad against a tough monster. This is still a beat-em-up, though, so none of that gets in the way of flying solo and cleaving your own path through the monstrous horde. It looks incredible, too - this is far and away the best 3D interpretation of Akira Toriyama’s artwork we’ve ever seen. Keep in mind I’m saying that as someone who’s seen the two new DBZ movies, Battle of the Gods and Resurrection F. It’s not even close.

It may be a spinoff of both Dragon Quest and Dynasty Warriors, but it shines as one of the more unique games from both series. 

Ori and the Blind Forest

Ori is that rare kind of game that simply shimmers with polish. Most 2D games don’t see the same level of production as games from more "modern” genres, yet Ori goes above and beyond as one of the most beautiful games of 2015. From the painted backgrounds to the cutscenes, music, and dungeons, there’s an awe-inspiring, cohesive, and unforgettable sense of style. Enjoy the scenery at your own risk, though, because completing the game is no walk in the park. Ori’s quick and precise handling gives way for some devious challenges, particularly in the escape sequences that cap off each dungeon. I wasn’t quite on board with all of the design choices (like locking players out of areas after completion), but Ori's stunning attention to detail and inventive mechanics make it the best game on the Xbox One so far.

Rocket League

It would probably be weird to call a car-based soccer game “elegant,” but the way Rocket League handles is honestly a work of art. This game took summer by storm with its sheer simplicity and kept me around with its ludicrous skill ceiling. Whether you’re an expert or a total beginner, it’s a joy to zoom around the soccer arena attempting to crash into anything at all. With any luck you’ll hit the ball, but even when you miss it’s still pretty fun.

Psyonix also deserve recognition for their approach to post-launch support, offering meaningful paid additions to the game without disrupting the flow for the audience at large. That’s to say nothing of the free maps, features, and customization options that have kept the game fresh for months. 

In a different year, Rocket League would have easily secured a place on my top 3, so I think it’s a real testament to 2015 as a whole that I’m forced to recognize it here instead.

Yokai Watch

Level-5′s reputation for character design is practically legendary at this point, and Yokai Watch is no exception - but don’t make the mistake of judging it at face value. What begins as a lighthearted and simple little RPG builds on itself steadily in a way that has kept me glued to my 3DS since Christmas. I thought it was just going to be a cute ghost-themed Pokemon clone, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Yokai Watch hooks you by finding ways to keep you busy, whether you’re bouncing from mini-game to mini-game in combat or chasing down a ghost you bumped into in town. Each area of your stomping grounds is full of little secrets, like hidden alleys, shortcuts, and supernatural hijinx. What I love most, though, is that yokai are everywhere. Your next friendly fighter might be in the trash can next to you, in the alley behind the shop, or possessing your parents back home. It tackles the spirit of adventure with whimsy, and never pushes you to work any harder than you decide is necessary. It’s trendy for games to try and be compulsive as all get-out, so it’s super refreshing to play something that hooks you with options and enjoyable distractions rather than randomized loot and progression.