Note: I am not a fan of rogue-likes or strategy games so there won’t be any of those on the list. Also I don’t own an xbox one or ps4 so I was unable to play exclusives for those. Lastly my computer lacked the ability to run most AAA games this year and i only recently made an upgrade. As such i only had time to play one of the myriad of open world games released this year before making this list.
Honorable Mentions:
Please play Life is Strange. The dialogue may be on the corny side but this game goes places. It's one of the best stories i've ever seen in video games. Chloe and Max are so important. Don't have yourself spoiled on this game. If you've already watched the GBEast playthrough i highly recommend you get the game and play through it before they finish it.
I haven't been this attached to a group of characters ever in games before. This game is charming , funny , sometimes frightening and can be a tearjerker. Undertale has a lot more to it that surface level (and i'm not even talking about the myriad of fun easter eggs). While I played the game and went on my way I felt my love grow for this game every time I watched someone play it first time. The emotional and funny moments still hold up after multiple playthroughs. Undertale is something really special.
Undertale also wins my "Best Music" award.
The game i probably logged the most hours in this year. The endless creativity of the community made it so I could just load this up and play it whenever I wanted to. I became a much better mario player because of this game. Another example of Nintendo continuing to support a title after release. It's december 23rd as of this writing and people are still talking about and making levels for super mario maker. I hope this game stays big for awhile to come.
There is something about this game. The low poly art style the big expanses and just the pure joy of climbing higher and higher. A very simple small game that made me smile the whole time i was playing it.
JC3 might just be the biggest mixed bag on my list. It's highs were high enough to make up for a lot of the lows (challenges , airplane control and the lackluster story). Changing the parachute into a weapon platform that floats , adding the wingsuit for fun and fast traversal led to many fun moments. The other additions to grappling and tethers and the super fun special weapons make this fun 60+ hours in. Provided you're creative enough and love to watch stuff 'splode.
Nintendo finally decided to put real effort into a new ip and it was spectakalar! The world is fun and vibrant is oozing with personality. The constant stream of updates keep it from slowing down and i love dressing up my squidgirl.
I have had untold amounts of fun with this game with friends and family and at parties. I love the problem solving , the shortcuts , moments of panic , the communication breakdowns. I'm gonna keep this game in regular rotation just because of how clever and fun it has been.
What can I say? I love supersonic acrobatic rocket-powered battle-cars. This is the first competitive game in a while that captured my attention and held it. The constant free content updates from the devs and some neat cosmetic dlc (i love my delorean help) are what keep this game vital.
Despite it's flaws Dragonball Xenoverse is the perfect db fan game. Being able to create your own OC and see others' and play through alternate history dbz events is a blast.
