2015 Game of the Year: Day 2

Welcome everyone to day 2 of my personal game of the year awards. Today I will run down the best animal companions of the year, the best looking and most stylish games, then finally the best music of the year. Today features some of the lighter categories so there won't be too much in the way of spoilers. With that said, let's get going.

Best Horse

• D-Horse- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Roach- Witcher 3
• Various- Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Honorable Mention:

Various- Assassin's Creed Syndicate: This mention isn’t so much the horses, but what can be done with the horse-drawn carriages. Creating a demolition derby in the middle of Victorian London is tons of fun.

Winner:

D-Horse- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: Diamond Horse is the first buddy you get in MGSV. Although he is quickly forgotten due to the other buddies, D-Horse still has many fantastic uses. He can be used for stealth purposes, but he also has one of the more bizarre uses of any buddy in the game. Big Boss can order him to defecate on command, and the droppings can cause enemy vehicles to spin out of control and crash (I was unable to do this because I have bad timing). In comparison to the other horses of the year, D-Horse also controls the best out of all of them. Although there were only three horses on this list, D-Horse rides away with the award for being the best.

Best Dog

• D-Dog- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Dogmeat- Fallout 4
• Pompidou- Life is Strange
• Various- Undertale
• Wolfie- Until Dawn

Honorable mention:

Various- Undertale: There are a ton of things that make Undertale a fascinating game. The dogs are just one of those things. They play various roles from random NPCs to enemis that you can fight. Or you can pet them to gain their affection, ending the fight peacfully. There was a bit of competition for the second place spot, but the ways the dogs of Undertale are used earns them this spot.

Winner:

D-Dog- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: There was only one winner for this category. Not only do you find him as an adorable puppy, you get to hang out with him on Mother Base until one day he just shows up as a bad ass wolf. When taking him on missions, he is easily the most useful buddy because he will pinpoint every single object, animal, enemy, and prisoner in an area (Quiet is similarly useful, but she misses quite a bit of stuff). On top of spotting everything, he can also be given a knife or a stun baton in order to help take the fight to the enemies directly. Although there were many worth mentioning, D-Dog is the top-dog.

Most Grafix

• Batman: Arkham Knight
• Bloodborne
• Contradiction: Spot the Liar
• Dying Light
• Her Story
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Need For Speed
• The Order 1886
• Project Cars
• Star Wars Battlefront
• Until Dawn
• Witcher 3

Runners Up:

Need For Speed- Also wins best use of green screen. Mostly on this list because those first person fist bumps look reeeeeaaaaaal good.

Her Story- it's almost like watching a movie.

Winner:

Contradiction: Spot the Liar: it's almost like watching a movie, but in HD.

MOST STYYYYYYYYLE

The term style takes into account every aspect of a game's aesthetic . The games listed were able to mix unique art styles with fitting soundtracks and, in some cases, gameplay mechanics to create a stylish experience from top to bottom.

• Broken Age
• Fallout 4
• Fallout Shelter
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
• Life is Strange
• Rocket League
• Splatoon
• Tales from the Borderlands

Runners up:

Broken Age: If I had to describe the style of Broken Age in one phrase, it would be "disgustingly adorable". This game fills me with so much warmth and fuzziness that it almost hurts.

Splatoon- Nintendo's unique take on the multiplayer shooter combines Nickelodeon with elements of 90's skate culture in some fantastic ways. The soundtrack makes each battle just as fun as the last and fact that the whole game is based around teenagers that can turn into squids causes the game to drip with style. This game is also one of the best looking games I played all year and a lot of it has to do with the incredible visual art.

Winner:

Tales from the Borderlands: If you want to talk about games with STYYYYYLE, look no further than Tales from the Borderlands. This game is pure style, from the amazing late title cards to the moments where each character turns the story into their own personal power fantasy. Even this game's heaviest moments are done in the most stylish way possible.

Best Soundtrack

(OST and Licensed):

The soundtrack in a game can make good moments into great ones with the right selection of tracks. Each of these games deserves recognition for either having a great line-up of licensed songs, fantastic original music, or a combination of both.

• Assassin's creed syndicate
• Broken Age
• Fallout 4
• Life is Strange
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• Rocket League
• Splatoon
• Tales from the Borderlands
• Undertale
• Witcher 3

Runners up:

Undertale: I usually don't go too crazy for chip-tune songs, but Undertale's were fantastic throughout the whole game. Here is a link to the full soundtrack, but I would like to point out a few songs in particular: Spider Dance, Death by Glamour and Another Medium. I will also give this game credit for being the only game in the top 3 without licensed songs. Originality is always a good thing.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: The soundtrack of MGSV reads like a best of compilation of songs from the 80's. The best thing about this soundtrack is the variation between those songs. It is a great mix and there is no better joy than going crazy with a rocket launcher while listening to "Rebel Yell" or "The Final Countdown".

Winner:

Life is Strange: The soundtrack of Life is Strange features some of the best licensed music I've seen in a game since GTA: Vice City. What sets this game apart is that its indie soundtrack provides the perfect backing for the events of the game. Much like Vice City's soundtrack perfectly fit the neon drenched 80's aesthetic, Life is Strange's perfectly fits its setting of a small arts school in Oregon. What makes this game's music even better is that the use of indie songs allows each track to fully define some of the most memorable moments in the game because none of those songs are smash hits. From the moment I heard "To All of You" by Syd Matters in the opening sequence in the game, I knew I was in for a treat and the rest of the soundtrack does not disappoint at all. The use of "Mountains" by Message to Bears made one of the most devastating moments in the game even more impactful and Amanda Palmer's "In My Mind" encapsulates how Max's character changes over the course of the game. Before Life is Strange, I had no interest whatsoever in this style of music, but this soundtrack opened my mind to some of my new favorite songs. Beyond those, the OST is equally fantastic and this game has one of the most best main menu songs of any game this year. Every track, both licensed and original, feels unique and purposeful. I actually bought an acoustic guitar and "Obstacles" by Syd Matters has become one of my favorite songs to play because I fell in love with the phenomenal music in this game. This year has had some truly incredible soundtracks, but none match up to that of Life is Strange.

And with that Day 2 comes to a close. Tomorrow... Day 3. Business is about to pick up as I run down my lists of Best performances, recount some of the Best Characters of the year, and finish the day with Best Gameplay and Best Story. As always, thank you for reading and if anything you see inspires you to leave a comment or two, please feel free to do so.