Bloodborne
From Software, creators of the Souls series, delivered an astoundingly dark, and twisted Neo-Victorian nightmare this year in the form of Bloodborne. Not since I delved into Bioshock’s Rapture have I felt such a compellingly oppressive atmosphere in a game world. Bloodborne’s Yarnham is a place I would never wish to inhabit, yet one I never wanted to leave, a terrifying maze of Gothic spires and cobbled streets, dripping with meticulous detail and crawling with all manner of grotesque, Lovecraftian monstrosities.
Bloodborne’s innate vagueness paired with it’s challenging, yet perfectly balanced difficulty, makes uncovering its myriad of mysteries both daunting and immensely rewarding. Every victorious battle you fight, every secret area you uncover, every weapon you discover, and every piece of lore you unearth fills you with such satisfaction and accomplishment, and urges you forth, deeper into the putrid, moonlit depths of Yarnham.
Yarnham and its surrounding frontier perpetually shocked me as I tentatively traversed its many labyrinthian areas; from the contorted limbs and serpent infested swamps of the Forbidden Woods, to the ice-capped battlements of Cainhurst Castle. Bloodborne’s grimly alluring world is one that will spark the darkest parts of your imagination, render you the best kind of paranoid, and haunt your thoughts long after you’ve left it.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CDProjektRED refined the standards for both what a AAA game and a developer should be, this year with the immensely ambitious final entry in the Witcher trilogy. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt presents an extraordinarily well realized world, seemingly endless in size, scope and minutiae, and tells a dark, mature story filled with challenging, real-world themes, ambiguous morality, and all manner of abominable monsters, both human and fantastical.
The Witcher 3’s finds its affectiveness in its tangibility, the gritty handling of its fiction lends such palpability to the world and its inhabitance. This world, from its scenery and architecture, to its people, creatures and culture, all feel like they have existed for centuries, and it’s this grounded tone, based upon European and Scandinavian folklore and history, that make The Witcher 3’s world, and the stories it plays host to, so compelling.
The Witcher 3 offers such a wealth of high quality content, from Geralt’s main quest, which is both epic and personal, to the countless side quests and Witcher contracts. With CDProjektRED delivering a massive, masterfully crafted core game, along with free DLC and substantial add-on content, the Polish developer has now set the standard for western role playing games.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Lara Croft, one of gaming’s oldest icons, had a glorious and gory rebirth in 2013 with Crystal Dynamic’s Tomb Raider. This unromanticized and unglamorous portrayal of a young Lara presented the heroine in a new light, this Lara felt like an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, not some superhuman action hero. The visceral adventures of the intrepid young Lara continued this year in Rise of the Tomb Raider, a game that built upon, and surpassed, its excellent predecessor.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Lara travels to Siberia in search of the lost city of Kitezh and the “Divine Source” that’s held within its walls. This expedition is soon interrupted by Trinity, an ancient order that now manifests itself as a paramilitary force, who too want to harness this ancient power for their own nefarious agenda. Rise of the Tomb Raiders story feels comfortably familiar, but is executed with such grit and cinematic flare that it feels contemporary and exhilarating.
This expertly told story rushes by at breakneck pace, its many epic, Uncharted-thwarting set pieces tying together the vast hub areas that make up the open world. Every aspect, from combat and crafting, to puzzle-solving, platforming, and exploration, feels sleek and finely tuned and the game’s presentation, from its beautiful visual and art design, to its stirring score and evocative performances, is meticulous and authentic. Unfortunately, due to release date and timed console exclusivity, Rise of the Tomb Raider will be one of 2015’s most overlooked and under-appreciated games, but it’s undoubtedly one of its finest.
Life is Strange
Dontnod’s episodic Life is Strange captured the hearts and imaginations of gamers this year with its strong female leads and ingenious twist on choice and consequence gameplay. Photography student Max Caulfield discovers she has the ability to rewind time, and upon foreseeing an approaching, apocalyptic storm, she takes on the responsibility to prevent it from destroying her town of Arcadia Bay.
This teen drama grows into so much more than it presents on the surface; it’s pretty, painted art style and breezy, acoustic soundtrack posing a facade to a story that deals with some heavy, mature themes, and shows the true cost of Max’s time manipulation. The relatable struggles of teenage life, mixed with the surreal narrative-bending time manipulation makes for a complex web of decisions, but all ones that can be remade, allowing you to explore the many possible tangents .
Life is Strange blends the quaint with the epic, the humble with the huge. The setting in which these grand, apocalyptic events unfold; quiet, small town America, works to accentuate this contrast, and the choices and circumstances that Max faces continue to build towards a finale that’s both grand and poignant. Life is Strange’s narrative is masterfully told and delivered one of 2015’s most affecting stories.
Fallout 4
Bethesda delivered on all the hype and expectations with this year’s most anticipated game, Fallout 4, another massive, quintessential role playing game. This iteration of the franchise felt like the most well-rounded and fully fleshed-out yet, and drew upon an array of post-apocalyptic fiction, and every one of Bethesda’s past games, to do so. Fallout 4 is composed of so many working parts that all work in tandem to create an extraordinarily deep world, one that feels persistent and drenched in history and lore.
Fallout 4’s The Commonwealth, the irradiated remains of Massachusetts, is a vast expanse filled with bustling settlements, ravaged wilderness and retro-sci-fi technology. Fallout 4 may not be the most technically impressive game, but its bold visual design, and use of color, set it apart from the muddy hue of its predecessors. This wasteland, although devastated, seems to be reconstructing itself and is teaming with life, whether it be human and friendly, or mutated and hostile. This morally grey world is host to all manner of tales, and apart from Fallout 4’s compelling main narrative, these stories, whether they be one off chance encounters or lengthy side quests, are what make this world feel so engrossing and alive.
Fallout 4 is a wholly consuming game that always feels like it has more to offer, despite already presenting you with such an overwhelming wealth of content. With additional features from a robust, Minecraft-esque building mechanic, to weapon and armor customization, and an extensive perk tree, Fallout 4 is an extremely thorough role playing game. With both DLC and mods coming soon, Fallout 4 seems to be the game that keeps on giving, and one that will live on long beyond 2015.
Most Anticipated Game: The Last Guardian
Creators of the PlayStation 2 masterpiece Shadow of the Colossus, GenDESIGN (formerly Team ICO), first announced their follow up, The Last Guardian in 2007. After the initial teaser trailer and concept art, the studio went quiet on their progress with the project. It wasn’t until this years E3 convention that fan’s continued patience was rewarded with a gameplay trailer and the promise of a 2016 release.
The seven minutes of gameplay revealed enchanted fans with the studios’ beautifully distinct visual tone and charming characters. The boy and his companion Trico communicate with noises and words indecipherable to the player, yet their interaction seems so organic and relatable. It’s this minimalism that lends such poetry and magic to The Last Guardian, and instills me with a child-like excitement to uncover this mystical world’s mysteries.