Gore and Jason’s Games of the Year

Anthony Gore’s Picks

I played more games in 2015 than I ever did in years past for our year end “awards.” This should have been a boon when compiling this list of my favorite games of the year, but it really wasn’t. I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, but I found the selection of games to release in 2015 a little underwhelming. Now don’t get me wrong, I played some great games, but with this being the second full year of the newest console generation I was just expecting more. When comparing this generation to last, in the second year of the Xbox 360 we saw BioShock, Call of Duty 4, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect. The PlayStation saw those games (some in its first year), as well as Dead Space, LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3, and Mirror’s Edge. While it’s easy to look back now, I just feel like all of those games were trying new things or creating new IPs. A majority of the games from this year, as good as some of them may be, seem like slightly improved iterations on old ideas (Fallout 4), the exact same game with a new coat of paint (Rock Band 4), or just old games released as new. So I wouldn’t say it was a bad year for video games, just a safe year and one that was rather disappointing.

Before we get started, here is the obligatory “what should or shouldn’t make the list statement.” It seems like every year people want to argue about what should and shouldn’t be allowed on a year end list. Well for me, if it was released on a platform for the first time in 2015 it is fair game, regardless of its original release date. With all that in mind, let’s get down to it.

Bastion
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: April 7

One of my favorite games from 2011 finally made its way to Sony platforms in 2015 and it was just as amazing as I remembered. From the art to the combat to the music, Bastion is not only beautiful and memorable, but also a lot of fun. It may actually go down as one of my favorite games of all-time, so I can’t recommend it enough.

The Binding of Isaac Rebirth
Platform: Nintendo New 3DS
Release Date: July 23

This pick is a slightly stretched version of the truth. While I own Rebirth on the 3DS, a majority of my time spent with it was on PS4 and Vita (mostly because I was chasing trophies). It’s an addictive little dungeoncrawler that could keep you busy for hundreds of hours while you try to collect every item, see every ending, and unlock every secret. Regardless of where you play it, Rebirth is more than worth your time and a worthy contender for game of the year.

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Fallout 4
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: November 11

At the time of this writing I’m around 26 hours into Fallout 4, my character is level 24, and I still haven’t even made my way to Diamond City. So, I’ve probably barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. I know after two months I should be further along, but with work and the other games I’ve been playing I just haven’t been able to spend as much time with it as I would have liked. That said, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every second I’ve spent with Fallout 4. It may not be completely revolutionary and may play a lot like Fallout 3, but you know what, I’m okay with that. It’s more of something I loved, so how could I even be salty? Plus it made a number of improvements to boot, so I look forward to delving deeper into Fallout 4 in the coming months.

Mega Man Legacy Collection
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: August 25

I missed the boat on Mega Man back in the day. As a child, my family owned most of the classic NES games, but for whatever reason we never had a Mega Man game. So I didn’t get my first taste of the little Blue Bomber until Mega Man 9 released on XBLA and I instantly fell in love. Over the years I tried to catch up with the series, but not until the Legacy Collection released did I truly feel like I was getting the true Mega Man experience/history lesson I had been wanting. For a measly $15 you get Mega Man 1 through 6, exactly as they played in their original form, complete with flaws and exploits. Not to mention a good bit of bonus content including challenges, enemy/Robot Master bios, and more. The Legacy Collection is an amazing package that fans of the series and newcomers can both find enjoyment in.

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Mortal Kombat X
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: April 14

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again; I don’t particularly like fighting games and I’m kind of terrible at them, but I love Mortal Kombat. I’ll say it right up front; Mortal Kombat X is the best MK game I’ve ever played. This is coming from a casual perspective (as far as the fighting mechanics go) and from someone who didn’t play online much. That said I probably spent at least 100 hours battling though the story mode, challenge towers, and grinding traditional towers for XP. I also played through a tower with the three variants of each character at least once, earned as many trophies as I could, and bought all the DLC. After all that, I’m still a mediocre MKX player (ha!), but I loved every second of it.

Nuclear Throne
Platform: PlayStation 4/Vita
Release Date: December 5

Nuclear Throne is a game I’ve been waiting on for years. I prefer to play games on pretty much anything but the PC, so I wasn’t able to check out the early access version of the PC build. This actually turned out to be a good thing because when Vlambeer stealth released the game in early December it was all new to me. So it was a complete learning experience and it did not disappoint. Now I have yet another “roguelite” experience (to add alongside The Binding of Isaac and Spelunky) that I can continually come back to.

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Resident Evil HD Remaster
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: January 20

If you know me, then you probably know that Resident Evil is one of my favorite franchises, so it shouldn’t really be a surprise to see this game make my list. The GameCube remake of the original game is my second favorite title in the series (only behind RE4), so getting an updated version on new consoles was an unexpected treat. It’s still the great game you know and love, but with new difficulty settings, updated controls, and trophy/achievement support. So if you’ve never played this gem, now’s a great opportunity. Actually, if you still haven’t picked it up, you might wait for the Origins Collection which is a physical copy of the game that also includes an HD Remaster of Resident Evil 0 (one of the most underrated games in the series). Either way, you can’t go wrong because you’re getting that Resident Evil goodness regardless.

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Games I Spent the Most Time With in 2015
Animal Crossing: New Leaf | The Binding of Isaac Rebirth |
Fallout 3 & 4 | Fantasy Life | Mortal Kombat X

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Super Meat Boy
Platform: PlayStation 4/Vita
Release Date: October 6

I’ve talked about my love for Super Meat Boy ad nauseam, so I’ll just say that it’s finally on Sony platforms and it’s just as fantastic as it was on XBLA and PC. I had always dreamed of a day when I could play Super Meat Boy on the Vita. That dream has finally come true and it is glorious. I love Super Meat Boy and you should play it.

Until Dawn
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release Date: August 25

Until Dawn is probably the biggest surprise of the year for me. I was intrigued by it for a long time and always planned on playing it because I love the horror genre, but I honestly didn’t think I’d enjoy it much. Boy was I wrong. It’s a campy, self-aware throwback to classic slasher movies of the 80’s and is absolutely brilliant. It’s also one of the few games that truly had me feel like every decision I made was crucial to the outcome. The fact that every character can survive or all of them can meet a gruesome demise, really hammers this home. I still have a lot to experiment with when it comes to Until Dawn and I very much look forward to seeing how much things can really change.

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*Damn your PC exclusives!

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Gore’s Game of 2015

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Gore and Jason’s Games of the Year

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