2015 was fantastic for gaming, giving us some of the most awaited titles (and best) of the past decade. We got new Fallout, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, and Halo games. Nintendo gave us many more adventures with some of its most classic characters, including Yoshi and Kirby, plus new IPs, like Super Mario Maker and Splatoon, that showed that the Big N can still deliver major hits. Not to mention that we got our first new Star Wars console games in several years. And plenty of other titles that you won’t find on this list deserve honorable mentions, including Rise of the Tomb Raider, Dying Light, Helldivers, SOMA, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Not a Hero, Star Wars Battlefront, Disney Infinity 3.0, and Just Cause 3. Don’t let the list fool you, we loved these games very much.
12. Jotun
Sept. 29 | Thunder Lotus Games | PC We had a chance to sit down with this hand drawn action-adventure game at PAX East 2015 and were immediately impressed by its simple hack-and-slach gameplay and somber mood. And the finished product absolutely delivers. Jotun takes the simple approach to action-adventure, down to its minimalist animations and art style, but delivers a beautiful tale of heroism. Don’t let the hand drawn style fool you—the visuals are astonishing, as Thora, the Viking protagonist of this particular adventure, looks down from the highest peaks of her Nordic world at the beautiful sights, which include ancient tombs and shrines. Jotun mixes puzzle-solving with intense boss fights that are reminiscent of contemporary action RPGs and dungeon crawlers such as Dark Souls. But again, we return to the game’s epic tale, told through intelligent visual cues and the poetic asides from Thora. It’s storytelling done right. Many AAA games would do well taking a look at Jotun, which shows that the simple approach to storytelling is often key.
11. Mortal Kombat X
April 14 | NetherRealm Studios | PC, XBO, PS4 | Review Boasting one of the most diverse rosters in the franchise, this latest installment also features plenty of new characters to choose from, including many of the offspring of classic fighters, such as Jax and Johnny Cage. Mortal Kombat X also takes its online component a step further, taking 1v1 multiplayer and adding a meta-game that allows factions to go head to head for a worldwide competition. And don’t forget the Living Towers challenge mode. Basically, there’s so much to punch do and it’s all just so good.
10. Splatoon
May 29 | Nintendo | Wii U Splatoon is the definition of sleeper hit. While some fans might have shrugged Nintendo’s latest foray into the shooter genre, its massive success is undeniable. And for good reason: it’s an addictive third-person shooter multiplayer game that’s all about having fun. Not ruthlessly blowing people up. And that’s rare and unique in the genre. Nintendo’s current-gen console has suffered for the past few years for its lack of third party titles, such as Call of Duty and Battlefield, but Splatoon shows that the Big N can do shooters just as well and with the company’s unique “family first” aesthetic. Nintendo brilliantly replaces the bullets and high-tech rifles with vibrant ink and weapons resembling water guns. Its backyard water gun action could almost be called a masterpiece of nostalgia. This one’s absolutely for you and the kiddies.
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9. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Sept. 9 | Asteroid Base | XBO, PC On top of having the best title ever, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is the most fun you’ll have with a friend this year. This hectic space arcade shooter gives us a grand sci-fi adventure in a cartoon universe that’s being attacked by evil forces trying to wipe love from the universe. And as trippy as that sounds, you’ll quickly embrace the ridiculous story because you’ll be busy manning the cannons, shields, and wheel of your very own starship.
8. Batman: Arkham Knight
June 23 | Rocksteady Studios | PC, XBO, PS4 | Review Batman: Arkham Knight is the conclusion to the Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady. The series has come a long way since the spectacular Arkham Asylum, which, in retrospect, gave us a much smaller scale adventure with the Caped Crusader. Arkham Knight, in comparison, is massive. Here we get the biggest, most epic, and complete Batman game ever made.
7. Halo 5: Guardians
Oct. 27 | 343 Industries | XBO | Review Halo 5: Guardians continues the adventures of Master Chief, who’s gone AWOL to search for an old friend. Joining him is his Spartan squad, the Blue Team, who you might recognize from the many Halo novels. Another group of Spartans, Fireteam Osiris, is sent on a mission to find the Master Chief and bring him home. Behind it all is an ancient Forerunner artifact that could mean the end of the galaxy. So, another day in the Halo universe, basically. Halo 5: Guardians also introduces squad-based commands and a new multiplayer experience. And yeah, you can aim down the sights now! Basically, Halo 5 gives us more of what we loved from its predecessors—the fast-paced shooting, immersive story, characters, and unique weapons that are a signature of Microsoft’s flagship. It also helps that the game looks and plays great. This is a must-have for any Xbox One fans.
6. Destiny: The Taken King
Sept. 15 | Bungie | XBO, PS4, X360, PS3, PC | Review And you know what? The expansion improves on almost every aspect of last year’s vanilla experience, including many much needed fixes to character progression. Most importantly, we get a much more immersive story in the game’s second year. While some will say it’s too little too late, The Taken King has helped Destiny reach its true potential, elevating it to a real contender for the best shooter on the market today.
You can buy your Xbox One bundles and consoles here!
5. Fallout 4
Nov. 10 | Bethesda Game Studios | XBO, PS4, PC | Review Fallout 4 isn’t an immediate overhaul of its predecessor. There’s less of a jump in innovation than what players experienced from Fallout 2 to Fallout 3. And that’s okay. Fallout 4 is a classic example of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This sequel is a bigger dose of what we love and want. Plain and simple.
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
May 19 | CD Projekt Red | PC, XBO, PS4 | Review The Witcher 3 is a true marvel of the western RPG genre. Series protagonist Geralt of Rivia returns for an epic adventure to the Northern Kingdoms to hunt monsters and find his long-lost love Yennefer. On top of that is the Wild Hunt, a supernatural group of elves that stands between Geralt and his mission.
You can buy your PlayStation 4 bundles and consoles here!
3. Super Mario Maker
Sept. 11 | Nintendo | Wii U | Review We probably don’t really need to sell this game all that much. Super Mario Maker lets you make your own Mario levels and challenges, play through them, and then dare others to get through your death traps unscathed. If that isn’t the Mario experience in a robust sentence, we don’t know what is. Taking a note from platformers like Little Big Planet, Super Mario Maker is basically an endless Mario platformer in which you’ll never play the same level twice. It’s glorious and a must-have for Nintendo fans.
2. Bloodborne
March 24 | From Software | PS4 | Review Bloodborne is about what you’d expect from From Software, but with a faster pace and a different art style. The guys behind the Dark Souls series still give you plenty of challenging monsters to slay. And yes, you will absolutely die. A LOT. ALWAYS. FOREVER. But that shouldn’t stop you from experiencing this year’s best PlayStation exclusive. Joe Jasko, our game critic, said it best in his review, so I’ll leave this one to him:
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Sept. 1 | Kojima Productions | XBO, PS4, PC | Review There’s a reason we gave Metal Gear Solid V a perfect score: it’s an absolute masterpiece and a perfect exit for video game auteur Hideo Kojima from the series. I dare call Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain the best action-adventure game I’ve ever experienced. You get a sense after being dropped into your very first mission in Afghanistan, where a lot of the game takes place, that the folks at Kojima Productions thought of everything when creating this sprawling epic. Fusing a higher emphasis on gameplay with the convoluted plot you’ve come to expect from this series, The Phantom Pain offers tons of things to do on and off the battlefield. Acquire vital personnel and equipment to build up your Mother Base, get revenge against the villains who almost killed you nine years ago, or face off against your buddies in Metal Gear Online, the game’s online multiplayer component. All of this, while collecting cassette tapes of the best and weirdest 80s hits. John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek US. Find more of his work on his website. Or just follow him on Twitter.
