The Impact Factor

The Impact Factor’s 2015 Game of the Year Awards!

Article, Part 2 of 2

Here's part two of The Impact Factor's game of the year discussion! If you missed it, you can find part one HERE. Onto more great games!

Honorable Mention: Shovel Knight, Heroes of the Storm, Rocket League, Cibele

These games were all great, but just missed the cut. These four stood out as ones that, at one point or another, were well within my top 10 games of 2015 before being shuffled out for the others I’ve listed here. Congrats to these games on a job well done!

6. Fallout 4

What can I say about Fallout 4 that hasn’t been said a million times in a million different places before? Let’s check some of the boxes off: Fallout 4 is amazing. Fallout 4 builds upon and refines the gameplay foundation laid out by Fallout 3. Fallout 4 has an immersive open world so filled with great details, side-quests and environmental storytelling you won’t ever want to leave. Fallout 4 is peerless in the type of game it tries to be. Fallout 4 gives the player agency in nearly every element of the game, creating one of the best truly role-playing games released this year. Fallout 4 finally made it fun to shoot things without the use of V.A.T.S. Phew, that’s a lot of boxes. All of that aside, Fallout 4 meant a lot to me personally. I had been craving a content dense open world for months leading up it its release. I was lukewarm on Fallout 3 but wanted to be part of the Fallout fervor. I wanted to play a game where reality would fade away, where I would be a survivor in post-nuclear war America. Fallout 4 met and exceeded all of my expectations. I essentially played the game without interruption until I had not only beaten the main story, but also accomplished nearly every in-game achievement (trophy). I loved exploring, finding the hidden richness of every nook and cranny. Voice acting added a new level of gravity to the game’s world, and for the first time I cared about the goings on of other survivors. The harshest critique I’ll levy here is that Fallout 4 is just Fallout 3, but better. Is that really so bad? I respect Fallout 4 as a game on so many different levels, not the least of which was (hopefully) setting a new precedent in which you don’t need a multi-year marketing and preview cycle to make a game a success. I can’t wait to jump back in once DLC is released.

5. Nuclear Throne

The team that made Ridiculous Fishing and Luftrausers is making a 2D twin-stick bullet hell roguelike? You had my attention, Nuclear Throne. Little did I know that attention would turn to adoration and my dabbling would turn into full on obsession. Nuclear Throne is fantastic. It’s my new Spelunky. Ponder for a second what I mean when I write that. Spelunky is in my top five favorite games of all time. Nuclear Throne is giving me the same kind of feeling that I had while I was learning Spelunky, during which every day was an adventure as I set new goals for myself. Nuclear Throne has me fully in its clutches. The team at Vlambeer know how to make a game with sublimely satisfying gameplay and a loop that hooks you, and Nuclear Throne is no different. Where it is different, though, is just how deep and nuanced a game Nuclear Throne can be. Each character you play as completely changes the way you approach the levels. The game is filled with secrets, some clear some obscure. Some that require an unfathomable level of skill. Nuclear Throne is a perfect roguelike. You never feel like stopping a run prematurely because you either took too much damage early or found bad weapons. At the end of each run, good or bad, I found myself thinking, “just one more run.” I played Nuclear Throne for over 35 hours after only two weeks of owning the game. Considering each run is usually between 5-15 minutes, that’s a whole lot of runs (& deaths). And still, I feel like I have such a long way to go because the skill ceiling is so high. I keep on coming back for more because it’s a perfect test of what I’ve learned. It’s fun, frantic, punishing, and addicting. Nuclear Throne sounds good, looks good, and is expertly designed. Of all the games on this list, Nuclear Throne is the one I’ll still be playing in 2016. And I can’t wait.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

If you were to go around the internet and see what game won the most ‘Game of the Year’ awards, it would be The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. By a landslide. For a lot of good reasons too. The Witcher 3 is one of the best open-world western RPGs ever made. The team at CD Projekt Red poured their heart and soul into the game, and it can be seen in every element of The Witcher 3. The world is expansive and brimming with things to see, people to meet, and quests to complete. The story, while simple, is easy to follow and unencumbered by usual RPG tedium. Combat is simple too, but its speed and fluidity give the player a great feeling of power. Most strikingly, every single thing in The Witcher 3 feels hand crafted. No location or path or monster is just there to fill space. Side quests are meaningful, more so than any other RPG I’ve ever played. They feel just as fleshed out as the main story quests, always having something to say or giving the player something new to do. Geralt, Yennifer, Tris and the rest of the cast are instantly familiar with distinct and charming personalities. The Witcher 3 is steeped in Slavic lore, making the monsters you fight all the more interesting (i.e. not always your standard western fantasy fare). Heck, The Witcher 3 even has a fully fleshed out card-based mini game that could have easily been a standalone release. It’s baffling to think how much work into creating The Witcher 3. But the payoff is worth it. The Witcher 3 has made me into both a Witcher and CD Projekt Red fan for life, even if I didn't like item degradation in the game. I’m so excited for what comes next.

3. SOMA

I’ll let a bit of my SOMA review serve as a quick intro, “SOMA sets a new high watermark for narrative in games. Frictional’s newest explorer slash survival horror title is a thought provoking, immersive masterpiece. Smart level and monster design keep the player actively engaged with the heady experience and maintain a great sense of momentum throughout. SOMA is deeply unnerving, content to keep you up at night rather than jump out of a dark corner to scare you.” SOMA is a game that asks the player questions about what it means to be human and what it means to die. Frictional Games matured in their storytelling, world building and gameplay in a way I never expected following Amnesia: The Dark Descent. You can tell each and every part of your trying experience in SOMA is handcrafted to immerse you in the world and the questions it asks. Long after I finished playing SOMA I wrestled with the ideas put forth by the game. How do I define my own humanity, for instance. But SOMA isn’t just some philosophy textbook. It’s a meticulously well thought out interactive experience. SOMA is a game that uses the tangibility and immersion to reinforce a narrative that could only be found in games. Frictional’s horror pedigree strengthens the game’s more terrifying moments, but also acknowledges that the scariest thing is your imagination. SOMA is easily one of the best horror games I’ve played in years and makes me so excited for the future of narrative in gaming.

2. Undertale

I was a bit late to the Undertale party, but man oh man I’m so happy I played it. This charming, old school-inspired RPG from toby fox met, exceeded, and subverted my expectations. Narrative, gameplay, fourth wall or otherwise. Undertale is a game that both stands alone as an exceptional experience as well as offers a commentary on games as a whole. The central message behind Undertale is one of non-violence or, at the very least, understanding the ramifications for your violent actions in video games. Undertale is supremely clever in doing so, with an innovative battle system and remembering your actions across play throughs or saves. The world Undertale establishes is so fully realized it comes as no surprise when you start discovering all the game’s hidden complexity. Undertale is also genuinely funny, filled with hilarious dialogue and some of the best gaming characters of 2015 (Sans and Papyrus are so great). And the music! Undertale has the best soundtrack of the year, too. I’ve seen Undertale described as a JRPG in which tedium and monotony is stripped away and replaced by humor. I can’t say I disagree (though I often like JRPG tedium). Undertale is a concise 5-8 hour experience that knows what it is and what its not. In these couple of hours Undertale establishes its own rules, tweaks them, breaks them, and keeps you on the edge of your seat as it constantly keeps the gameplay and story fresh. Undertale is probably one of the most replayable RPGs ever made, as each time you play you gain a new or fuller appreciation for the world. From my Undertale review, “Undertale is a peerless experience and serves as a perfect example of the power of auteurship in games. It’s one you shouldn’t miss.” I couldn’t agree more, me.

1. Bloodborne

“Bloodborne is a true evolution of the Souls series, taking an enormous leap forward in much the same way Dark Souls did for Demon’s Souls before it. Miyazaki and team distilled the truest essence of what makes a Souls game work and builds upon that foundation in a thoroughly unique and profoundly interesting way. The brutal and often unforgiving nature of Bloodborne works in perfect synergy with its lightning fast, hyper-aggressive precision combat. A dark and grotesque world serves as the perfect foundation of this blood-filled dark odyssey into madness and nightmares. Bloodborne has a nearly unparalleled sense of cohesion, and exudes complete confidence in every single design decision. I cannot recommend Bloodborne highly enough.” (You can read my full Bloodborne review for more)

Bloodborne is a masterpiece. Bloodborne has fought off a deluge of exceptional games over the course of 2015, staying at the top of my tentative game of the year list ever since it was release. The game is just…perfect. Combat is at a series best. The world is dark and fascinating. The gameplay loop is better than ever. The feeling of satisfaction you get when taking down one of the game’s many challenges is unrivaled in gaming. Perhaps the highest praise I can give Bloodborne is that it is just so damn confident in its design. Nothing has been compromised. Bloodborne is unashamed by its ambition, unfettered by the demands of modern gaming. It gives you a fun you can only ever find while playing Bloodborne. I’m confident Bloodborne will be looked back on as one of the best games this console generation. Bloodborne is not only my favorite game of the year, but it’s objectively 2015’s best too. So congratulations Bloodborne, you are The Impact Factor’s Game of the Year!

And of course you can hear my thoughts on the top five I listed here in The Impact Factor's game of the year podcast! You can find it below.