[Attention] The Gamingforce Game of the Year 2015: TOP 10 RESULTS TIME

Let me start with a big thank you to everyone who took part this year; whilst we didn't quite match the 25 participants from last year, it was still a solid 22 voters laying down points across 38 different games (a far more concentrated set of games this time out). So with the numbers crunched and the votes tallied, let's take a look at where the games from 2015 shake out in the view of Gamingforce. As has been true for the last few years we’ll take a look at the top 10 games as picked by Gamingforce (though as has been true for a few years now it's more as 10th place was a 3-way tie this time) working from 10 down to the GFF number 1 pick for 2015.

So, what made it into the Gamingforce Game of the Year Top 10, well let's start with that 3-way tie at number 10 shall we:



10-. HuniePop
[ PC | HuniePot ]

A victory for the GFF trolls as they managed to successfully have HuniePop "make it on the list for shits and giggles". Though Acer was more perhaps more interested in trolling his friend's Steam recommendations: "I must have gifted this to at least five people. Fucking up people's game recommendations with weeaboo game suggestions and hearing them whine about it later is worth the 20 points alone."

For those innocent few (what, they might exist), this is a match-3 game combined with an anime girl dating visual novel, of sorts. "It's basically a dating sim with horrible dialog crossed with Bejeweled. Talk to girls and get them to like you enough to date and then Bejewel their pants off."

And for at least one GFFer it "was originally [their] first pick for Game of the Year" until the next game on our list game along.

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10-. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
[ Multi | Kojima Productions ]

This post concept inspired by Hideo Kojima.

Not written by Hideo Kojima.

Directed by Hideo Kojima.

With a development narrative so confusing, convoluted and messy as to rival one of the Metal Gear series's games 2015 finally sort the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; well, at least as much of the game that had been finished by the time September rolled around at least.

The game is something of a departure for the series moving to be more of an open world sandbox: praised as "it offered so much open world shenanigans" "The game is more open world than ever, you're no longer infiltrating just one large base but rather several outposts in the area which may include just a tower and a camp or an entire village. Rarely will you infiltrate an area that's more like a fortress."

"For the most part it still plays like Metal Gear and the story is no different. Kojima really did a nice job in tying everything up in the MGS Saga, while making sure to f*** with your head with the biggest mindf*** in Metal Gear history."

"A HIDEO KOJIMA GAME.

#FUCKONAMI"

Directed by Hideo Kojima.

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10-. Transformers: Devastation
[ Multi | Platinum Games ]

Let's just take a look at the checklist shall we?:
> Platinum Games - Check
> Transformers - Uh huh
> But proper G1 80s Transformers - Oh yes
> Gorgeous original cartoon looking graphics - Yup
> Vince DiCola working on the soundtrack - You better believe it

If anything was clear from those voting for Transformers: Devastation:
"If anything about this game appeals do yourself a favour and just go buy and play it now. Do it."
"Everyone should buy this game because it's great. Anyone who ever watched the original Transformers cartoons or read the Marvel comics or isn't a gigantic pussy owes it to themselves to buy this right now."
"Fuck you for not buying it."

I'm not sure, but there seems to be a theme there.

Oh and in case you were worried about this being a shallow use of a license like Korra: "Not lying, there is more to this game's combat than Revengeance. There is a combo and cancelling system here that is sublime, deep, and extremely rewarding. You can't miss it." "You can't beat body-slamming robots by turning into a car mid-fight."

"Just buy it already."

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9. Ori and the Blind Forest
[ Multi | Moon Studios ]

Welcome to the 2015's entry in our now yearly list of "Games Deni gets angry that more people haven't played because we're all idiots, especially you you limey bastard" (I'm never sure, but I think he means me with that last bit).

This year the honour goes to the frankly stunning looking Ori and the Blind Forest, which is "the best indie title I've played all year, it is the best metroidvania I've played all year, it is the best platformer I've played all year.

Everything it does, it not only does well, it excels at."

Whilst originally it was feared this might be restricted to the Xbox One as an exclusive it is on PC so we really don't have much of an excuse.

"IT IS SO PRETTY. AND THE SKY FULL OF STARS. SHOULD HAVE SENT A POET."

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8. Fallout 4
[ Multi | Bethesda Game Studios ]

Despite rumours leading into the event, Bethesda pulled off quite the surprise by announcing Fallout 4 at E3 in June and then having it come out just a few months later in November.

For the most part people seemed to come from having played and liked Fallout 3, though there was no clear consenus on whether 4 was just more of the same, or perhaps even a step back:
"Fallout 3 remains one of my all time favorite open world games, and so far I'm getting the same enjoyment out of Fallout 4."
"Bethesda caters to what I like playing. Lots of sniping, sneaking, and etc. What I don't like about it is that the perks do take a while to get."
"I do enjoy the gunplay, stealth, and economy of the game."
"Despite being arguably a step back from even Fallout 3 I still had a fairly good time with this. I definitely don't think they can get away without having major changes for Fallout 5, and I doubt I'll come back to the DLC for this one even, but it was still fun to lose myself in this game's world for a while and OCD explore everything."
"I love everything about what I've played so far, and the townbuilding mechanic somehow makes it even more addictive than Fallout 3 was."

Though the new mechanic of being able to build towns and structures didn't win everyone over: "I'm not that crazy about the 'build your own settlements' aspect".

Despite mixed comments the game still managed to accrue enough points to put it at number 8 on our list.

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7. Splatoon
[ Wii U | Nintendo ]

If I may be so self-indulgent as to quote myself: "Who would have thought it'd take Nintendo and the Wii U to deliver one of the most refreshing and fun shooter games for years? Splatoon is just a pure joy."

This is a theme that carried through the comments submitted by those voting for Nintendo's colourful take on the online team shooter:
"This was a game that surprised me in its entertainment value, since I don't care for shooters much. My total hours sunk into this game is somewhere around... Oh... 200 hours?"
"Splatoon, with its very fun, very accessible gameplay, and most importantly, NEW styling, shows that Nintendo can in fact make a new thing that doesn't completely suck out loud."
"Who would have ever thought i'd get really into an online shooter? One of those things where Nintendo just kept looking at a thing and asking what could make it more Fun(tm)."
"I am garbage at every single shooter that has ever existed, but thankfully this has objectives besides kill everyone so I'm only a useless lump like 95% of the time instead of 100%."

And with so much time and focus put on the inventive multiplayer it can be easy to forget that Nintendo also delivered a short, but fun single player campaign with one of the best boss showdowns in recent years set against "possibly my favorite soundtrack of 2015".

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6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
[ Multi | CD Projekt RED ]

OK I'm going to be biased here as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the conclusion to CD Projekt RED's Witcher trilogy of games, was my #1 game for 2015. And whilst the game didn't get votes from a large number of people (though plenty of people did name it as something they meant to get to but didn't) it impressed the few who did vote for it enough to push it all the way to #6 on our list.

"As an open world RPG, as a Witcher game, as a conclusion to an excellent series of games, it's peerless. It's massive in scope and scale, it's stunning to look at, it's incredibly well crafted. Every little side quest and activity you can do has a beginning, an arc, and a conclusion, often taking you in surprising directions, places and situations, constantly delighting and presenting you with experiences and journeys and characters and narratives that feel meaningful and completely relevant. It will probably be daunting and even exhausting to some, but take the time to live in this world. It's incredible, and without question the best game of the year."

Oh and it's another game from the list with a cracking soundtrack.

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5. Rocket League
[ Multi | Psyonix ]

Rocket League is incredibly simple but surprisingly difficult to explain as the reductive description of "football with cars" doesn't really do it justice. For the best attempt, it's over to our resident eSports '1v1 ME BRO' hopeful Mo0: "Rocket League is FUN. Rocket League is tuned to perfection, with a skill ceiling high enough to immediately and naturally foster high-level eSports play, but an ease of understanding and playability factor that enables less hardcore people to easily pick up and enjoy it. It also makes for a wonderful 'shooting the shit with buds' game." "Rocket League is the Ideal Video Game."

And Mo0 was far from alone:
"What a blast of a game. I'm a fan of soccer games and arcade-y driving games and Rocket League merged them both together quite well."
"Car soccer! Jumps! Boosts! Flying! Incredibly tight controls and a simple concept made well leads to a game that random people can just have fun with, while leaving space for other people to get really good at."
"Its sublime, the skill ceiling is somewhere in the stratosphere and Mo0 got to say "1v1 me bro" in a non-ironic context."

The game even earns the trademark Skills' "Awww yiss" seal of approval.

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4. Super Mario Maker
[ Wii U | Nintendo ]

For Mario's 30th Anniversary Nintendo released Super Mario Maker, a level editor for multiple flavours of classic 2D Mario platforming. The focus was perhaps more on designing and crafting your own levels, but the result was there was a wealth of weird, broken, interesting, inventive and maddeningly evil levels for people to find and play online.

"Create your own Mario levels or play someone else's. Neat idea and very fun"
"I got the chance to play and build levels with my buddy over the holidays and it is a blast! We spent hours going through levels finding new ways to up the ante."
"Make levels. Play your friend's levels. Leave Abby and Mark comments on the difficulty of their levels."
"I had fun playing friends' levels too. Except for Qwarky's levels. Qwarky's levels can burn in Hell."

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3. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
[ 3DS | Capcom ]

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate took the "punching dinosaurs in the grundle" game onto the 3DS platform and managed to attract a few Monster Hunter newbies in the process, though it wasn't necessarily smooth sailing getting up to speed:
"My first Monster Hunter game and a thoroughly frustrating experience. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have Skills answering my hundreds of questions as I started out, because the in-game documentation, manual, and tools are woefully inadequate.
Figuring out the movement and attack capabilities of your weapon, figuring out the patterns of a monster, and putting them together into a dance of pain and suffering is so good, and so polished, and so satisfying. If fun were mathematically quantifiable, I guarantee I would have had more of it by volume in MH4U than in any other game I played from 2015."
"This was the first Monster Hunter game i've found myself actually getting into, thanks to it's easy and effective online play, as well as the number of GFFers who were always willing to play. Still behind in the single player, but overall this game was a lot of fun to play with other people."

And for those returning to the series, well it didn't disappoint:
"Has problems with guild quests and some UI stuff but the core of this game is too fantastic. Fuck it. Need MHX like a cocaine fix or something."
"This made the transition from console to handheld surprisingly well, especially with the addition of the second stick on the NDS. Countless evenings spent hunting with friends, and I did way more single player than on MH3."
"4 showed that Capcom does occasionally have a grasp of how to make a game that easily-distracted people like me can play without boggling at spreadsheets. Its deliberate, fussy-but-not-too-fussy gameplay, combined with a... not completely awful... lobby system, kept me playing with bros on the Intertron far longer than any multiplayer-focused game has in recent memory."
"Ridiculous amount of fun multiplayer. Jumping and mounting enemies were excellent new features that added a lot to fights. Underwater combat may be missing, but nobody cares."

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2. Xenoblade Chronicles X
[ Wii U | Monolith Soft ]

After performing technical wonders on the Wii with Xenoblade Chronicles, Monolith Soft bring a spiritual successor to the Wii U. Xenoblade Chronicles X, much like its predecessor, offers an almost overwhelming amount of things to do, but the star is Mira the world the game takes place on, and I think the best justice I can do to people's enthusiasm is to quote in full CHz's wonderful summary:
"One of my favorite things about the original Xenoblade Chronicles was the setting. The backstory of the game is a pretty run-of-the-mill creation myth: two gods fought to a standstill, and the world as we know it grew from their bodies. That myth, though, is literally true. You follow the titans' anatomies as you climb up one and then the other, and each body is clearly visible from the other as they remain locked in combat. It's wild and memorable.

Xenoblade Chronicles X's setting is much more mundane: it's just a world, the planet Mira.

Except, it's a world of unparalleled scale and true geography.

A world that, despite all its convenient paths and tree branches and outcroppings you can use to climb things, still truly does not care that you exist.

A world of people and non-people, where a hundred stories are chaotically woven into the frayed fabric of a desperate, yet optimistic, city.

Mira is just a world: the biggest, most actualized world there's ever been in a video game."

Oh and it has transforming mechs. So yeah.

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1. Undertale
[ PC | Toby Fox ]

And here at number 1 for 2015 is, by far and away, the clear winner and absolute indie darling of the year, which feels like a massive undersell given how much love the game has received across the internet: Undertale.

"Undertale was a wonderful experience from start to finish. I don't generally get sucked into a game with quite the level of fervor that Undertale caused, but holy crap did I binge this and then not stopping talking about it."
"Most emotionally captivating and replayable game of the year"
"Brilliant analysis of what it means to make a narrative decision. Music rules too. One of the more interesting games to actually talk about outside of pure mechanical discussions."
"Really successfully deconstructs the elements that make an RPG and turn it into something memorable, original, and thought-provoking. The pay off at the end of the game is incredibly worthwhile. Great music, varied game play, quirky characters."
"I'll just note that I've played through it more than 5 times now. You can NEVER stop discovering all the extra little touches and dialogue that Toby put in the game, it's incredible."
"This game is adorable with a lot of curve balls and twists, along with a lot of replay value."
"I rarely think about most games after I've beaten them really, but this one still is on my mind off and on even months after beating it."
"Unique combat, spectacular music, and an all-around wonderful experience."
"Everyone's already gushed a ton about this and I feel like it totally deserves it."
"Undertale is my favorite game of 2015."

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So there you have it, the Gamingforce Game of the Year 2015 Top 10. Has this been a triumph? Did those that won truly deserve it? What really should have been there, what shouldn't have? What was too high, and what was too low? Start the discussion/bitching below.

Once again a big thanks to everyone taking part, hopefully it's still worthwhile and we can keep things going again next year. Until then.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Undertale's meta reminds me a lot of Uchikoshi's work more than any other game comparison it got. Don't let anyone tell you it is like Earthbound, because it isn't at all. I am glad it won, it is very cool. Very deserved. Probably one of the most interesting experiences we have had on this list in recent years.

I will have to expand my thoughts on the others.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Great job, OP. It's really awesome that several games I played made this list. I did buy Undertale during this past Steam sale, but haven't gotten to it yet. I've played maybe one game of Rocket League, but my brother has recently put some time into it under my Steam account because he's been playing it on PS4 and was wanting to try it on PC before grabbing it (which he's going to since he says it's better on PC).

Spoiler:

Okay, so I'm pretty damn excited that Huniepop made it and while I could express my excitement, I think Tails and Skills can do a much better job of it than I ever could.

YouTube Video

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Skills how do you feel about HuniePop tying Transformers, please use as many vulgarities as possible

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Consider that I could have given HuniePop one more point to be a true troll and it would have knocked out both MGSV and Transformers but I did not. We are all winners. =)

I was speaking idiomatically.

Reminder that everyone who voted for Witcher3 placed it as their #1. Truly a small group of refined taste and unparalleled insight into gaming.

Except Deni, there's something fucky with that boy.

Most amazing jew boots

can i re-cast my vote for top game with witcher 3 once i play it

because the main guy is hot and thats worth like a million points alone

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Seris

can i re-cast my vote for top game with witcher 3 once i play it

because the main guy is hot and thats worth like a million points alone

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I probably would have given Fallout 4 some points if I'd gotten around to playing it yet. I'm holding off until I finish replaying FFX though (Beat Dark Shiva last night so nearly there).

Also the rule on not nominating early access games takes out half of what I want to nominate each year. This year I would have given points to Beseige and Flying Tigers: Shadows over China which are both a lot of fun. I should probably play Undertale at some point but I fear I'm a bit too cynical to really enjoy it.

How ya doing, buddy?

This list was ass tbh.

no offense.

no homo

Good thing Zip participated to try and make the list less ass.

Oh wait.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.