Since 2015 has now come to a definite close, I thought I'd take a little time to look back on the games I bought (and sometimes played) this year. Not all of the games were released in 2015, and some of them are pretty old, but here's a few sentences on each of the games I bought this year (this includes some games I've re-bought, and doesn't include games I've played but bought in previous years. Also no free games or free to play games even though I've spent quite a bit of time playing Pokemon Picross).

These will probably be kind of uneven since I prefer to play a wide range of games for a short amount of time each, rather than go deep on an individual title (although I do do this sometimes). There might also be some light spoilers for some of these games but nothing too egregious.

In no particular order:

Dungeon of the Endless

I picked this up on the tail end of the 2014 Winter Steam sales. I really enjoyed Endless Space, and I thought DooE looked pretty interesting. I only played it for a couple of hours but I really enjoyed it, especially the way it reuses the resources from Endless Space (Dust, Industry, Research and Food) and the trade-offs between exploring, upgrading defenses, and upgrading equipment.

Final Fantasy XIII

I've played a few Final Fantasy games on and off over the years. I've only ever really stuck with FF7 and 8. I kind of like the world which FF13 presented (I actually remember thinking 'man, it'd be cool to play a FF game witih machine gods in it' about 30 seconds before that exact plot detail was revealed in FF13). I only stuck with FF13 for 4 hours (the last thing I remember is encountering Shiva) but I think I was kind of enjoying it. Maybe I'll give it another try.

Iron BrigadeTrenched

I was hoping that Iron Brigade would be something I could play with a particular group of friends. We play a lot of Diablo 3 and a bit of Rocket League, and I hoped that Iron Brigade would be an interesting addition to the group. Unfortunately, one of my friends had technical problems with the game so we only ever played a couple of rounds. The game seems fine although the ship based mission select is kind of weird and feels broken.

Tropico 5

I got Tropico 5 despite being somewhat annoyed by some bad customer service I received after buying Tropico 4 (it basically amounted to 'we don't support your display resolution. Bye!'). Tropico 5 doesn't really feel like a significant improvement from what I've played of 4. I like the campaign structure and the more interesting objectives than 'get a bunch of money/people', but the DLC structure seems kind of unpleasant.

Transistor

I enjoyed Bastion and was hoping to also enjoy Transistor. I really liked the narrator from Bastion, but I don't think I'm a fan of the 'one-sided conversation' nature of Transistor - a lot of the lines seem forced or overacted (this is also something I dislike in the new Star Wars film). I'm also not a big fan of the use of fake computer/mathematic terms - I come across a lot of them during my work. I don't really mind them being 'misused' but I play games to get away from a lot of that kind of stuff.

Running With Rifles

I picked up RWR after watching the quick look. I think it's pretty fun although the camera and aiming systems can be kind of frustrating at times. Also, a few things are unintuitive or badly explained (mainly the progression and currency systems, and the squad commands).

Assassins Creed Syndicate

I skipped Unity after the disastrous release although I did play Black Flag. AssCree: Syndicate seems fine, and I especially like that the stealth mechanics are reasonably fleshed out. However, the sticky walls have screwed me over a couple of times, especially when trying to move through a room while a guard's back was turned, only to get stuck in 'cover' on the doorway and spotted. I might play it some more, but it's still definitely 'one of those games'.

Bloodborne

Bloodborne was the first game I bought for my PS4. I've played it a decent amount (although I haven't yet completed it and currently have no idea where to go despite consulting a walkthrough) and I kind of enjoy it. I really like the look and style of it although I can appreciate the point that it's kind of one-note. I really like calling in hunters (or helping other hunters) but it's kind of frustrating that it's still so clunky to play with a particular person.

Driveclub

I'm really looking forward to a new Gran Turismo release. I really like the kind of 'career racing' genre, and I was kind of hoping that Driveclub would at least partially scratch that itch after having played the demo. However, although I think Driveclub feels pretty good to play, I don't really feel any attachment to the cars I'm driving like I'd expect to in a Gran Turismo or Need for Speed (where you've worked for and probably heavily customised each car you own). It's a fun game to play for a few minutes and then put down, but I can't really see myself getting that much into it.

Grow Home

I played this up to getting the tree all the way to space. It's fun but I'm surprised that it got so much attention during the GOTY discussions. I think it's really fun to move around as BUD, and even just messing around in that world is pretty enjoyable - teleporting stuff up to space and throwing it off, etc.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

This is a game closer to the '20 minutes' end of the spectrum for me. It feels kind of janky and unpolished, and I think that's kind of a death sentence in an ARPG.

GemCraft

Conversely, this is one of my most played games this year. I've played the other entries in the series quite a lot on various flash games sites. This is a pretty good podcast game as it's pretty satisfying (and easy) to grind out XP by replaying missions. The customisable difficulty stuff is also cool.

Guild of Dungeoneering

I got this quite late in the year so I haven't played a huge amount of it so far. I kind of like the drawn-on-paper style of it but I'm not a big fan of the 'humour' (nor of the little limericks that seem to accompany a lot of actions).

Rebel Galaxy

I guess Rebel Galaxy is fine for a generic space game, and the broadside mechanics and music do add something to it. However, I've found that the broadsides are kind of meaningless if you upgrade your turrets even a little bit, and the galaxy you inhabit is not really super interesting to move around in.

Riven

I bought this on Steam after already owning a physical copy and a copy on GOG. I really like the Myst series and Riven is the only one I haven't completed (although I've spoiled a few of the others with guides :-( ). I'm a big fan of the world it presents and I think Cyan do a really good job of building these worlds and making them interesting. I'm really looking forward to Obduction!

Anno 2205

I've been a big fan of the Anno series since 1404. I think 2205 is probably the weakest entry in the series by quite a long way - Austin comparing it to idle/incremental games during the GOTY discussions is extremely apt. Although the game is fairly satisfying to play, it feels constantly like you're completing a checklist rather than making any meaningful or interesting decisions. Moon dogs though.

Endless Legend

I bounced so hard off this game that it became my first encounter with the Steam refund system. I tried playing it for an hour but it just felt really slow and directionless. I can see that there's a lot of game here, and it seems fairly well made, but it's not really for me.

Destiny: The Taken King

I played all the way through vanilla Destiny shortly after its release on PS3, before finally getting TTK on PS4. I really enjoyed the time I spent with it and I hope to do the various raids at some point. I don't like that it's going in the same direction as a lot of MMORPGs (i.e., trivialising the older content), and I'm not convinced that it's a game worth getting obsessed over, but I think it's a really fun and satisfying game to play every so often and then put down. Hopefully they don't mess it up too much with microtransaction nonsense.

Act of War: Gold Edition

I originally played this shortly after the release of Act of War: Direct Action in 2005. It turns out that nostalgia can't make up for super low resolution old game jank (at least not in this instance).

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

This was another game I got shortly after getting my PS4. I'd originally agreed to get a PS4 to play MGO with a few friends (a decision I don't regret, but wouldn't repeat). MGSV is a great game, even though I think the story content is a huge let down. It seems to set up so much and then do utterly nothing with it (the ending, and the way it's delivered, is a huge anticlimax for me, especially compared to how the older games end). It contains some great story moments throughout the game (although not really enough of them), and it's a joy to play. MGO is pretty OK but not exceptional. I like how they work Metal Gear-ness into it, but it really needs a lot more maps which I imagine we'll never see.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

I rebought Ground Zeroes on PS4 shortly before the release of TPP in order to brush up a bit (as well as do some of the side missions). Although I really like TPP, I think that the base in Ground Zeroes is a much more interesting location than anything in TPP and it's a shame that there aren't any of these more dense and interesting locations.

Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2

I really like a lot of things about the plot and set up of this game, but I'm not sure I really enjoy playing it as much as the first one. The 'Dracula but modern day' stuff is cool, and I really like the stuff about his castle trying to take him back, but I don't really like how much sneaking around is required in the early part of this game.

Witcher 3

I really tried to enjoy playing this (and I gave it quite a lot of hours), but in my opinion the actual game part of this is straight up bad. The storytelling is absolutely superb and is second to none - the character animation and voice acting in cutscenes is great, and the general writing is pretty good. However, I don't think I really had 'fun' playing this game at any point. The combat and character movement feels terrible, the UI is a mess, and the levelling system makes no sense. The quick action system is a joke, especially when you're trying to use multiple potion or bomb types quickly. I'm also really not a fan of the open world design from a gameplay or story perspective - I think that the older games' chapter based model suits these games much better.

Dark Souls 2

I played this a decent amount, making extensive use of JOLLY CO-OPERATION. Although I really understand the criticisms levelled against this game from a world design perspective, I had a lot of fun playing this.

JULIA: Among The Stars

I got this in a sale thinking it'd be a kind of open world-ish space detective game. It's actually a super weird adventure game, initially starting as a whodunnit with some weird puzzles but eventually becoming something very strange. I really wish they'd stayed closer to the original whodunnit plot (trying to unpick all these mysteries of abandoned space colonies was much more interesting to me than the later stuff).

Divinity: Original Sin

I got this during a sale to see if I enjoy CRPGs. I don't think that I do. As with Endless Legend, I can see that there's a lot of good game here, but it's not really for me.

You Must Build A Boat

I really enjoyed 10,000,000 and I think it's probably somewhat better than this. There are some improvements on the formula, but I think the promise of actually building the boat and what game provides don't really match up. The actual tile matching stuff is still great though.

Castlevania Lords of Shadow

I played this all the way through, including the DLC (although I didn't 100% it). Although I came into it expecting some sort of actual metroidvania, I still really enjoyed this. The voice cast is just ridiculous (in the best way imaginable) and the cinematic setting up the second game really got me excited (although for a game which I found kind of disappointing). Also, I think the DLC kind of dragged on a bit too long.

TIS-100

I really enjoyed playing TIS-100 despite it reminding me a lot of my job. I got stuck eventually (as I have done with every Zachtronics game I've played) but I really enjoyed the style and execution of TIS-100.

Darkness 2

I played a decent amount of the way through this. I think it's pretty cool and the way it controls is kind of interesting, putting gun control on triggers and Darkness control on bumpers. The story is I guess kind of OK, I'm not sure I really saw enough of it for it to really develop too much. I might check out the comic at some point.

Resident Evil Revelations 2

I bought the first chapter of this just to play the 'raid mode'. I had a few hours of fun with it but it got a bit repetitive after a while. There's a good variety of weapons, characters and equipment, but some of the microtransaction stuff seems a bit nasty. I haven't played the actual story content at all.

Infamous: Second Son

I'm not really a big fan of this. I think the game is reasonably OK, but Troy Baker's character and performance really puts me off. The character is obnoxious and I really hate the cinematic that plays when you get a new power. Just that little animation completely kills this game for me.

Vermintide

This game seems cool and I really wish I could convince a few of my friends to play it. I played with randos a few times, then took a break, then read that the community around this game was kind of bad (more experienced players basically yelling at newer players, kicking them out of games etc) so I put it down again.

Cities Skylines

This is certainly a much better game than 2013's SimCity. However, it's kind of easy to make the cracks show in the simulation. There's some cool stuff here and I like the variety of tools it gives you (and the way they kind of unlock as you play).

Creeper World 3

I spent quite a bit of time with this and really enjoyed it. Like Gemcraft, this is another flash game which got a steam version. There's a campaign mode which has a kind of terrible story which is really weirdly paced (and really badly written) but it's pretty fun to boot up, play a mission or two, then put down again. I'm not convinced there's really much strategic depth to the game but it's another good podcast game.

Rocket League

I think this is probably my game of the year even though I haven't really played it a whole bunch. I think I found a lot of the big releases of 2015 kind of disappointing in some way, but Rocket League delivers 100% of what it sets out to do. I kind of want to try and introduce more people to it - it's really easy to explain the concept, and it's always satisfying to play.

Fallout 4

I think Fallout 4 is a much worse game than 3 or New Vegas. So many of the quests seem to be repeatable cruft, and there don't seem to be as many quest hooks as in New Vegas or Skyrim (where every settlement you entered had a few interesting quests which you could immediately pick up). There is some really cool stuff here (I especially like the Glowing Sea and the areas 'off the map') but I think Fallout 4 is ultimately kind of weak. I'll probably check out the DLC but this is the first Bethesda game I put down without finishing the story.

Car Mechanic Simulator

I picked this up in a sale and played with it a bit. It seems to get very repetitive very quickly which is a shame. I think the newer version is meant to be quite a bit better so I might pick it up on sale at some point.

Infinifactory

Another great Zachtronics game. I think the core mechanics wear out a fair bit before the newer content comes in, but there's an interesting variety of puzzles, and some interesting moral questions posed by the game (although nothing too heavy handed).

The Talos Principle

If this had been released 3 weeks later it would be my game of 2015. Although I was initially kind of put off by the contrived nature of the puzzles (i.e., redirecting lasers, manipulating forcefields etc. rather than something more 'world based') the game eventually won me over with a pretty good story and stunning visuals and atmosphere. I've had some annoying technical problems that I think are entirely due to my PC, but this still rates extremely highly for me.

Mad Max

I really like the convoy battles in this but the rest is kind of bland. Also I wish the dog featured a bit more. 2015: year of videogame dogs.

Axiom Verge

I played this quite a lot but didn't finish it (maybe I'll go back). I think this game's pretty cool although some sections (mainly the drug/dream section) drag on a bit too long. Also although the glitch aesthetic is kind of well done, I'm not sure I want to see a lot more of it in other games.

Lichdom Battlemage

I found the spellcrafting in this game super confusing so I didn't play a lot of it. It's a good looking game and it's fun to shoot fireballs at things.

Need for Speed Rivals

I bounced off this fairly hard. I really wish that they'd make an old style Need For Speed Underground. Nos spray shows and underlighting absolutely essential.

South Park The Stick of Truth

I kind of like this game but I don't think that I really like South Park enough to get a lot out of it. Also there's a lot of travel time which I didn't really enjoy that much.

Galak-Z

I like being the spaceship a lot more than being the mech. There's some cool stuff in this game, although I don't think it totally nails the look it's going for. Flying around and sneaking/shooting is pretty fun, and the gun and ship upgrades make things pretty interesting.

Nuclear Throne

I really like Nuclear Throne. It has a huge amount of character, and is constantly fun and challenging. It's the kind of game that you can really feel yourself getting better at as you play. There are a decent number of characters and a lot of secrets and unlocks to keep things interesting - and it seems Vlambeer are still in the process of adding more. Also: Mony Mony Mony.

Human Resource Machine

I really like the weird story stuff in Tomorrow Corp's games. Although Little Inferno was kind of light from a 'game' perspective, it really Went Places. Human Resource Machine plays like a less complicated/hardcore TIS-100, and is probably the 'programming game' to go for if you aren't a crazy person. I've always enjoyed programming games, Colobot being my favourite, and I hope we see a lot more of them. I actually worked on one myself for a while and got something kind of working, but eventually gave up on it (my hobby became a bit too much like my job). I really want to see more Colobot style games where programming is a useful in-world mechanic, using robots to automate processes rather than modifying scripts attached to objects.

Downwell

I really enjoyed the time I spent with Downwell. Although it's maybe a little thin, it's great for the price. Like Nuclear Throne, it's really satisfying to feel yourself improving at it and getting further and further down the well.

Well, those are the 49 games I bought in 2015. There are a few 2015 releases which I didn't buy and might pick up later (mainly SOMA, maybe Her Story) and some I'm really looking forward to in 2016 (The Witness, The Division, Tomb Raider). If I end up picking up another console this year (probably an XBox, maybe a WiiU) I'm sure there'll be a lot of 2014 and 2015 releases on 2017's version of this list.