5. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's expansion, Heavensward, turned out pretty well. I spent a lot of time in 3.0 and had a pretty good time. The story was really good, and the new skills for the classes were all pretty useful and fun to use. The new classes are hit and miss, but a nice addition nonetheless. I'm not a big fan of the new content in 3.1, but there's still time for patches and new content. FFXIV is still my go to MMORPG.
4. Mortal Kombat X
Mortal Kombat X was a nice surprise. Building on everything that made Mortal Kombat 9 great, the game managed to keep my interest much longer than most fighting games tend to do. The fatalities are brutal, the fighting system is smooth and fun, and it's visually stunning. Were it not for some somewhat laggy online modes and a pretty bad story mode, this game would surely be higher on the list.
3. Fallout 4
Many will probably be surprised to see this at number 3 and not number 1 on my list, but it actually has nothing to do with the quality of Fallout 4. It's an amazing game, there were just 2 games this year I liked better. Fallout 4 is massive, there's tons to do, and it added a rather nice building system that makes picking up all that junk actually worth doing. I'll admit I don't think Boston is quite as interesting to travel around as Washington DC was, and the story isn't quite as good in this one either, but it's still a great game and you should play it.
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3 is a fantastic western style rpg. In fact, it may be the best one ever made. It's massive, it's pretty, and it's story may be one of the best ever told in a video game. Though I wouldn't say it has the best combat in the genre, it's still smooth and everything is incredibly customizable. Any other year, this would be my game of the year, bar none. However, it was another game that filled my soul with determination...
1. Undertale
Undertale is special. I paid $9.99 on Steam for one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had. Undertale will make you emotional. There are multiple ways to play through Undertale, and each one makes you feel different, but very strong emotions. How Toby Fox managed to do this with paint art and an old school jrpg styled game, I will probably never understand. He did it, though. With paint and Game Maker, Toby Fox made the best game of 2015. I can't recommend this enough. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and if you're not careful, you might even "have a bad time." If you haven't played Undertale, stop what you're doing, open Steam, download it, and play it. It will run on almost any machine Works on Mac too. You have no excuse.
Honorable Mention. Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition is definitely a good western styled rpg. It has nice visuals, fluid and fun combat, and a decent story. Unfortunately, it also came out the same year The Witcher 3 did, a game that outclassed Dragon Age in almost every way. It's still worth playing, though.
Disappointment of the Year. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
I didn't completely hate Metal Gear Solid V. In fact, the opening is the single best opening to a video game ever. It is absolutely wonderful. However, I spent the next 10 hours or so running around a desert doing boring side quests. Given, the gameplay is very innovative and gives you many different ways to tackle each mission, but it wasn't enough to keep my attention. I quit playing it. I may not even go back to it, unless someone can convince me it's really worth it.
So that's it! What were your favorite games of 2015? Feel free to comment here or on Facebook. Thanks for reading!
