Game of the Year Awards 2015

“Tales from the Borderlands is the most confident storytelling Telltale has shown since the first season of The Walking Dead. But most surprising is how universally accessible the story of the game is. Telltale could have crafted a series packed full of Borderlands fan service that was gibberish to non-fans, following the same internet-heavy, meme-able dialogue the Borderlands series is famous for, but instead the writers truly flex their fingers and deliver something more substantial. Tales from the Borderlands is an absolute joy for everyone, and still delivers some striking moments interspersed between the humor.” – Josh Hinke

Honorable Mentions: Game of Thrones, The Witcher 3, Her Story

“Ori and the Blind Forest is a painted diorama in constant, restless motion. It’s like the god of parallax scrolling reached down, and with a single divine thunderbolt, shattered the game into a thousand layers of artwork, all brought to life by the kind of subtle animation that you never consciously notice but nevertheless contributes to creating a breathing, natural environment. Branches sway, leaves tumble, water drips, ripples radiate away into the background. Does it look better than whatever people think is the glossiest new engine right now? No, probably not, but it made me stop and wonder “how on Earth did they do that?” numerous times, and that’s so much more remarkable.” – David Will

Honorable Mentions: Bloodborne, Tearaway Unfolded, Yoshi’s Woolly World

“Star Wars: Battlefront looks absolutely stunning. The Frostbite engine has been an asset in recent games and it looks ever better here. Although the destruction in Battlefront is minimal, it more than makes up for it with lighting, textures, reflections and visual effects. The attention to detail is exceptional, from the mud that collects on your boots to ice forming on your weapon. The engine is particularly good at rendering landscapes and this is demonstrated across the four main planets of Hoth, Endor, Tatooine and Sullust. Whether running through the ice caves on Hoth or jumping over magma flows on Sullust, the environments are stellar. Endor is on another level though, with perhaps the best foliage since the lush grasses in the third Crysis game. Plants sway beneath your feet as soldiers battle on treetop walkways. Trees are felled by explosions—they even creak on decent—and sparks rain down from bark.” – Ben Thomas

Honorable Mentions: The Order: 1886, The Witcher 3, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

“The game’s propensity for beautiful artwork and soulful music is unmatched. Music feels like it’s trying desperately to get eyes watering up at times, but it’s lovely stuff nonetheless. This is the kind of game that’s so extraordinarily detailed that you begin to worry about the well-being of whoever worked on the art and whether they were perhaps driven a bit too hard.” – David Will

Honorable Mentions:Undertale, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Tales from the Borderlands

“The sound design in Rainbow Six Siege is some of the best around, and is crucial to success. You can determine enemy locations based on footsteps, and in ranked games, there are no grenade indicators, meaning you need to listen for the distinctive clinking sound of a grenade or flash-bang when it is thrown into a room. If you’ve got a nice pair of headphones, your tactical senses are bound to be heightened.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Star Wars: Battlefront, Fallout 4, SOMA

“Within the base, exhilarating tension is provided by strange noises and contorted enemies. The stations are continually producing sound, either from bulkheads creaking under the pressure or unseen terrors scrambling through vents. You will be under threat early, but it is several hours before it becomes terrifying enough to bring hesitation. The different and gruesome monsters are carefully distributed and their presence is usually stressful due to that variety. Sound produced by these creatures is bone-chilling, either because of loud footsteps or hellish shrieks. In a similar fashion to the insanity effect from Amnesia, the screen becomes distorted when enemies are near. Hearing them in pursuit was always nerve-wrecking.” – Ben Thomas

Honorable Mentions: Fallout 4, The Witcher 3, Bloodborne

“Almost everything you do in The Witcher 3 has a surprising sense of gravity to it, and this can largely be attributed to the consistently excellent writing and voice acting. Between the politics, monster hunting and exploration are a lot of personal and humerous moments that lend a lot of depth and weight to the game’s world. The quiet moments, the romantic moments and the funny moments make it very easy to get invested in Geralt’s quest and the characters he interacts with, making the dark storylines and morally grey choices all that much more meaningful and at times devastating.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Tales from the Borderlands, The Order: 1886, Broken Age

“No character is as impressive as Max’s rambunctious sidekick, Chloe, and together they share awkward and poignant moments as a result of their rekindled friendship. Chloe’s voice actress is a perfect match for her personality; Ashly Burch brings exuberance and craziness with a voice that matches Chloe’s movements and expressions, from dancing on a bed to firing bullets at bottles in a junkyard. Chloe is such a likable character that she becomes the ideal partner in time. For most of the adventure, she is the only one in Arcadia Bay that knows, after a fantastic proving sequence, that Max can rewind time.” – Ben Thomas

Honorable Mentions: Red Baron (The Witcher 3), Loader Bot (Tales from the Borderlands), Joker (Batman: Arkham Knight)

“The setup of Her Story is simple yet original. Your job is to reconstruct a series of police video interviews about a murder case. The tool that you’ll be using can find video clips based on key words that can be heard in the videos. The videos of detectives asking questions are missing, so the only clips you’ll be working with are the responses of the suspect. The clips are anywhere between a few seconds to a few minutes long, and presented in perfectly stylized 90s VHS videos. Her Story will truly make players feel like a detective.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: Rainbow Six Siege, Splatoon, Grow Home

“The Wild Hunt provides both immense quantity and incredible quality with its seemingly endless quests, an engaging central storyline and many compelling off-shoot subplots packed with memorable moments and characters. It has more components than could be possibly covered in a review that isn’t the length of a short novel; there is a fully fleshed-out card game called Gwent, horse racing, fist-fighting and story segments that see you playing as the elusive Ciri. If you have any interest at all in well thought out fantasy universes, RPG games or good storytelling, I can’t recommend The Wild Hunt highly enough; be warned though, if you are a completionist, you might have an aneurism when you learn just how much there is to do in this game.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Fallout 4, Bloodborne, Ori and the Blind Forest

“Multiplayer is the best part of Black Ops 3, both from a technical and entertainment perspective. It is a careful mix of old and new. Most modes are still 6v6 and many previous scorestreaks return. The major changes involve wall-running and thrust-jumping. You can run along any wall, but many of the maps have specific wall-running locations—either to circle the map or to take a shortcut between action lanes. Map variety and structure is up with the best in the series, with good sight lines and encounter zones. The game focuses heavily on action lanes—usually three—and you cannot use thrust-jumping to shatter the intended design. But never fear, there are plenty of opportunities to flank. The new specialists provide brief moments of power and tension without upsetting the balance. They also bring some more personality to the online matches. “ – Ben Thomas

Honorable Mentions: Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, Splatoon

“Thanks to the variety of play styles afforded by the weapon mechanics, the gameplay shines despite the perceived difficulty. Unlike perhaps in the past Souls games, dying in Bloodborne is still frustrating, but it always feels like your fault. You didn’t dodge fast enough, in the wrong direction, or simply got greedy or careless with your attacks. It’s never because the game is cheap or because the controls failed to detect your input. The action is visceral, with each attack carrying a satisfying feeling of impact, and losing half your healthbar in one blow will put your nerves on edge. Bloodborne is a mix of frustration and joy, defeat and revenge. The focus on fast paced combat creates a new experience even for franchise veterans, and also makes a great entry point for newcomers.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Rocket League

“While Cities: Skylines may lack the extensive variety of assets and polish that an EA game may provide, it hopes to make it up by a notably lower selling price point, and more importantly modding support. Steam Workshop is directly integrated into the game’s main menus, letting you download the latest and greatest creations from other fans. And those creations are pretty darn good, because the terrain and asset editor that comes with the game is just as robust as the in-game city building tools. It’s well optimized and runs without issue, partly thanks to not overly demanding visuals. The new title from Colossal Order may not be a revolution for the city building genre, but it’s a well-designed sandbox experience that’s priced right.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: Undertale, Her Story, StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void

“You’ll find that the game finally “clicks”. In that moment, you will be consumed by the atmosphere, the addicting gameplay, and the endless cycle of frustration, joy, and tense combat. Experienced Souls players will find Bloodborne to be something new, with a much more aggressive play style and a fresh start for the franchise. Newcomers that love the equivalent of “don’t get hit” challenge modes in other action games will also be off to a strong start here. If you’re completely new or only tried the Souls games briefly, Bloodborne brings enough new elements to the table to warrant a look. If you get through the first few hours and get a sudden urge to push onwards (that’s the big decision point for recommending the game), you might just get it. You’ll understand why some gamers love this franchise, and why you should join their ranks.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Until Dawn, Tearaway Unfolded

“Forza Motorsport 6 marks the full, overwhelmingly impressive debut for the racing franchise on the Xbox One. From the huge amount of offline racing, to the extensive roster of cars and tracks, to the well organized multiplayer. There’s not much that FM6 gets wrong, with immersive night/rain conditions, featuring 24 cars on the track, a great sense of speed, and it does it all at an unwavering 1080p and 60fps. From an overabundance of content to great gameplay, the bar has once again been set for simulation racing on consoles.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5: Guardians, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

“Whether you’re an old school Mario fan seeking some nostalgia, a creative type wishing to flex his or her artistic muscle, or just a gamer who enjoys a solid platformer, Super Mario Maker more than delivers. It offers a smorgasbord of features and endless streams of user-created content (much of which is quite good), and provides a new spin on an old series, while still adhering to the classic style that made the original Mario series such a phenomenon. This game does the franchise proud, and only adds to its legend.” – Stephen LaGioia

Honorable Mentions: Splatoon, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

“Don’t let the little things steer you away from Tales from the Borderlands. Narratively, you’re looking at Telltale at their best. This series is so wonderfully creative, so devilishly funny, and so impossibly charming, if you’re ever going to play a Telltale game, make it this one. Not only is this series crafted with the narrative confidences only Telltale can deliver, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Telltale game.” – Josh Hinke

Honorable Mentions: Game of Thrones: Season 1, SOMA, Rocket League

“The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone is a stellar expansion that builds on the strengths of the base game while mitigating its weaknesses. Some of the best boss fights in all of the Witcher 3 and difficulty that is perfectly tuned to high level post-story Geralts serve as a baseline for a tale that is every bit as good as the best narrative threads in the series. Memorable and unique new characters like Gaunter O’Dimm and Olgierd von Everec alongside some more familiar faces are woven into some very interesting situations for Geralt, culminating in an experience that any Witcher fan would be remiss to skip over.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Legacy of the Void (StarCraft 2), The Taken King (Destiny), The Old Hunters (Bloodborne)

“Frictional Games have outdone themselves by producing a substantial and intriguing adventure that has all the horror trappings we have come to expect from the talented studio. This is their best looking and most atmospheric game yet, with tense interiors and isolating ocean walks. The variety of creatures and locations is quite surprising and progression is steady thanks to good horror pacing and increasing unease. The tension is complemented by an intriguing story and a large cast of voiced characters. Interactivity within the world is basic and logical, but it still proves valuable and keeps the player firmly grounded in the world. SOMA is one of the finest horror-adventure games thanks to its thick atmosphere, healthy variety, tidal pacing and riveting narrative.” – Ben Thomas

Honorable Mentions: Tearaway Unfolded, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Gravity Ghost

“In a world where games are constantly building on one another, it’s little more than a footnote, but that’s not the world where Ori seeks to have an effect. While those games may move us forward little by little, it’s the existence of games like this one that remind us why we move forward at all. It won’t be remembered for making any great contributions to gaming, but it might just be remembered in some minds, in a decade or so’s time, as that one game that turned one lazy Sunday into a beautiful, extraordinary, occasionally keyboard-snappingly difficult adventure. That’s just as important, right?” – David Will

Honorable Mentions: Life is Strange, Bloodborne, Splatoon

“Though a standout RPG for its time, the first Witcher had some of these trappings, with a rather lengthy play time that came about as a result of a lot of drawn-out fetch-quests and collectathons. The sequel did away with these ‘filler’ quests almost entirely, and as a result was significantly shorter. Now after many years of development, CD Projekt Red have done the seemingly impossible: they have created a game that is much larger than both previous entries in terms of both length and geographical size, and despite this, somehow manages to steer clear of any obvious padding or filler. The Witcher 3 has a mind-boggling amount of high quality content in terms of both the main story, seemingly endless hand-crafted side quests, and also in terms of organic exploration of the game’s vast and vivacious world.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Resident Evil: Revelations 2

“If you and some friends are looking for something fun and light-weight to mess around with this summer while waiting for fall releases, Rocket League should prove a worthy candidate. Playing with random strangers or with AI provides a significantly less enjoyable experience as it is the camaraderie and “oh man, did you see that!” moments that elevate the game above its simple premise. Rocket League represents a simple idea well executed, forgoing variables like powerups and dramatically different vehicles or maps in favour of balance and tight mechanics.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Rainbow Six Siege, Dying Light, DiRT Rally

“It is easy to love Star Wars: Battlefront because of its authenticity to the universe, but it is easier to fault it for its mistakes. The large modes are compromised by dubious map structure and truly awful spawn points. It becomes a test of stamina just to keep playing them. With a limited number of maps, and a bland collection of solo missions, there are some questions about value. Star Wars: Battlefront is like a young Jedi that failed to complete his training and turned to the Dark Side because an inhospitable planet broke his resolve. The Star Wars movies taught us there is a way back from the Dark Side — it just might take a few sequels.” – Ben Thomas

Dishonorable Mentions: Evolve, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Mario Party 10

“Only highlighted by its incredible style and often intriguing storylines, Hotline Miami 2 is riddled with poor design choices, gameplay issues and various bugs and glitches. It’s much longer than the first game with a series of story threads that vary in quality from poignant to pointless. This is a very flawed game mechanically, especially when compared to its much tighter predecessor (boss fights aside).” – Tim Reid

Dishonorable Mentions: Need for Speed (2015), Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power, Mario Party 10

“The major changes involve wall-running and thrust-jumping. You can run along any wall, but many of the maps have specific wall-running locations—either to circle the map or to take a shortcut between action lanes. Falling off walls can be deadly but some mistakes are less dangerous. When wall-running, you’re in motion, vulnerable, but also able to surprise. Getting the jump on enemies is tremendously satisfying as you see them gaze up towards your rain of bullets. Thrust-jump offers some verticality to combat without the discrete exo-jump that was present in Advanced Warfare. The gunfights are smooth because you are not abruptly changing aim, but still need to account for the third dimension.” – Ben Thomas

Honorable Mentions: Splatoon, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, Halo 5: Guardians

“Out in the game world is where The Phantom Pain truly shines. The game’s mechanics are extremely polished – from Boss’ movement to his takedowns and using the various tools at your disposal. If you choose to be stealthy, as the game usually encourages but never forcefully suggests, it’s incredibly satisfying. Sneaking your way past enemies, neutralizing them, using distractions and finally reaching your goal deep behind enemy lines is a thrill, almost every single time. From using hold-up to interrogate enemies for information, or simply eliminating everyone like a silent assassin, the gameplay offers so much player choice it can be exciting just to think about the possibilities. Finding the loadout and rhythm that works for you, and then playing the game the way you want just never gets old. But if things do go south, Big Boss has a huge arsenal of lethal weaponry that can be developed and used in the field. Weapon handling and gunfights feel surprisingly satisfying, given the game’s stealth roots. Going in guns blazing can prove challenging, but the action is very fun.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: Batman: Arkham Knight, Bloodborne, Dying Light

“You’ll be hitting the starting grid of these tracks in one of Forza Motorsport 6’s staggering 400+ car roster, which is more than twice the number of cars at launch in Forza Motorsport 5. There’s brand new 2016 models, the usual assortment of supercars, sports, compact class cars, muscle cars, Grand Prix beasts, and more. Forza Motorsport has never had an issue producing a solid car racing simulation, and FM6 is no exception. All of the cars in the game feel different, unique in their own ways, and the calculations that go on under the game’s hood result in a realistic race day experience. But there’s an important aspect to it – it’s fun. FM6 makes it a joy to drive, from the everyday Honda to the extreme LaFerrari. From the sometimes annoying understeer and slippery roads of FM5, Forza Motorsport 6 handling feels smooth and purely enjoyable.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: DiRT Rally, Rocket League, Project Cars

“Total War Attila represents the series at its best, taking the improvements and additions given to Rome 2 and combining them with the more challenging gameplay and clever AI found in Shogun 2. Much needed tweaks to the existing formula alongside the addition of meaningful politics and nomadic factions make this the most engaging Total War in some time. Given the large amount of high quality content, varied play styles between factions and refined gameplay mechanics, Total War: Attila signals a remarkable return to form for the series, with relatively few but well thought out additions.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Cities: Skylines, StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void, Grey Goo

“It’s fun that defines Tales from the Borderlands and it’s clear that Telltale enjoyed themselves while making the series. After life-threatening zombies, the grisly murders in Fabletown, and the back stabbings of Westeros, it’s refreshing to see the developers let loose with some jokes – and trust me, they’ve got some good ones. While the cast is stacked with the talents of Patrick Warburton, Nolan North, Troy Baker, and Chris Hardwick, the stand outs surprisingly are the two non-human characters: Loader Bot and Gortys. Tales from the Borderlands has got it where it counts and delivers a series that is more than worthy of the franchise name. It’s a Telltale game that’s a winner for all, not just fans of the best-selling shooter.” – Josh Hinke

Honorable Mentions: Game of Thrones: Season 1, Life is Strange, Stasis

“Similar to the previous Witcher games, the Role-Playing aspects of The Witcher 3 come across more in the choices you make than in the way you develop your character. You can choose to put points into alchemy, spells or conventional fighting techniques, but regardless of what path you take you will still probably use bombs, spells and potions and fight in more or less the same way. Gear customization however plays a bigger role. Your stamina bar that determines how many blows you can parry or how much you can dodge also determines how quickly you can cast spells. Using heavy armor slows stamina regeneration, meaning you will probably focus more on swordplay, while lighter armour lets you dodge around and cast spells more frequently at the cost of increased fragility. The crafting system works in much the same way as the alchemy; you will find schematics that outline what parts or ingredients you need to brew a potion or craft a piece of equipment. Exploration and conversations are immensely enjoyable while investigation sequences offer a unique way to learn about events after they unfold.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Fallout 4, Pillars of Eternity, Undertale

“When it comes to annual franchises – especially those set within the rigid framework of a real world sport – innovation can be difficult. While the gameplay remains solid season to season, major features like last year’s player relationships can misfire. With FIFA 16, the focus was once again to bring changes to the pitch, and the game pulls it off. Additions like FUT Draft and Player Training are welcome and help beef up the already extensive game mode offerings, but it’s the action on the field of play that fans will remember the most. There are still occasional mishaps, but overall, FIFA 16 is a resounding success.” – Alex V

Honorable Mentions: Rocket League, NHL 16, NBA 2K16

“Ori’s movement is every bit as fluid as it looks – which is to say, like being in some kind of parkour-themed shampoo commercial – and the controls hold a near-perfect balance between responsiveness and momentum. Wall-jumping is relatively painless, something that we probably ought to be grateful for given how badly some games seem to bugger it up, and there’s even an ability later on that lets you use enemies and projectiles as spring-boards, with predictably radical results. Not exactly overflowing with original ideas, but a great Metroidvania nevertheless. Platforming mechanics are near-immaculate.” – David Will

Honorable Mentions: Super Mario Maker, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Kalimba

“I’m not normally a huge puzzle guy, often times because puzzle games seem to struggle so much with incorporating their challenges into the game narrative in a natural, fitting way. While that’s still partially the case here on occasion, things are helped by the attempt to tie the narrative into the puzzles. If you’re a player that likes to skip over big chunks of narrative text, I urge you not to in STASIS as the PDA’s scattered around the game, in addition to moving the story forward, will also give you important information on item locations and puzzle solutions, making them all the more important to pay attention to.” – Quinn Levandoski

Honorable Mentions: Her Story, White Night, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

“Rocket League is not a complex game. At least, not on the surface. You and up to three team-mates charge around an arena in RC-cars, attempting to corral a large, floaty ball into the spacious net of the opposing team while also preventing them from scoring on yours. You can boost, jump, and barrel roll in a variety of ways in order to help, but random luck seems to play as large a role as player skill when it comes to goal scoring. While this premise probably sounds too thin to prop up an entire game, the mechanics have been tuned such that performing fairly simple maneuvers is surprisingly satisfying. When you get a basic handle on the controls, Rocket League is hilarious, insane fun. The intentionally silly customization is part of the overall vibrant, colorful style that keeps the game’s mood light, with the cheering crowds cementing the soccer match-like atmosphere.” – Tim Reid

Honorable Mentions: Guitar Hero Live, Cyberpunk 3776, Downwell