PSNStores 2015 Game of the Year Awards: Day Five
Posted by Curtis H on January 8th, 2016 | 0 Comments | Tags: Game of the Year 2015
The PSNStores Podcats spent three hours last week debating 13 different categories for our 2015 Game of the Year awards. Today brings Best PS4 Game, our Top 5 Games of 2015, and Curt’s Top 5 2015. Check out the videos below to see our choices or listen to our Game of the Year podcast to see how those choices were made!
Day One: Best Story, Best Soundtrack, Charmingest Charming Charmer
Day Two: Best Visuals, Best Multiplayer
Day Three: Whity the Dolphin’s Character of the Year, Biggest Surprise, Most Disappointing
Day Four: Worst Game, Best AAA Game, Best Vita Game
Staff Picks: Collin’s Top 5 of 2015
Staff Picks: Eric’s Top 5 (in no particular order) of 2015
Staff Picks: Brad’s Top 5 of 2015
Staff Picks: Curt’s Top 5 of 2015
Best PS4 Game
Life is Strange felt like a breath of fresh air in the adventure game genre to us. The rewind mechanic alone opened up so many opportunities for interesting puzzle design that Life is Strange completely capitalizes on. Our excitement for the game even lead to us starting up a spoilercast series just to talk about our love for this game.
Runners-Up: Rocket League, N++
Top 5 Games of 2015
2015 is over and we’ve loved going back to revisit the year that was. This marks another year in the book for us at PSNStores and we’re thankful for all of you who have continued to visit the site. This year we’re doing things a little different. Instead of coming up with an overall Game of the Year and two runners-up, we’ve settled on a Top 5 Games of 2015. The following are exceptional games that, no matter their rank, are absolutely worth checking out. The following are the PSNStores Top 5 Games of 2015:
5. Grow Home
Games these days tend to be layered with dozens upon dozens of mechanics. Grow Home throws that away in favor of a very simple goal and a beautiful world to explore. Eric mentioned in his personal list that he appreciates that this is one of few games he’s played this year in which you’re not killing anything. Grow Home instead features just a really nice world that you can chill out in and just lose some hours to. Plus it’s nice to hear MOTHER let you know how good of a job you’re doing.
4. Axiom Verge
It’s easy to make the Metroid comparison with Axiom Verge. The inspiration is clear, but it’s also so much more than that. The way the game uses glitches and subverts what you expect from a Metroid game is both clever and truly unique. Then there’s the great soundtrack, the awesome way that bosses blow up, and just how densely packed this world is. Axiom Verge is an impressive feat and that’s not just because it was mostly developed by one person.
3. Nova-111
I fought for Nova-111 in most of the categories during this year’s deliberations. The biggest reason why I’m such a sounding board for this game is because of how original it comes off as being. The art style, the sound design, the characters’ quips, and, most notably, the gameplay all impress on a large scale. Turn-based strategy games can be onerous and interminable, but Nova juggles its tactical mechanics with real-time elements. The enemies and environments often come together to form puzzles that are surmountable with the right amount of attention. We saw a decent number of games in 2015 that fit neatly into little genre boxes. Instead of being blown away by revamped Metroidvanias or retooled adventure games, I was way more affected by the game that felt most unique to me this year. Support this game so that more like it can come to fruition! Also, it fits nicely on the Vita.
2. Rocket League
Rocket League, the sequel to the PS3 cult-favorite Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars, shows how fun a simplistic idea can be. Soccer with cars doesn’t seem too intriguing at first, but after playing with its pin-point controls and fair and balanced gameplay, Rocket League is a great game to play with friends or alone. Rocket League made us feel like we accomplished something. When you score the go-ahead goal with 5 seconds left, or make the game-tying save in overtime, these are the moments that kept us coming back for more.
1. Life is Strange
If you’ve been following this website throughout the past year this should come as no surprise to you. Life is Strange without a doubt is our favorite game of 2015. In fact this may have been one of the easiest years to pick a Game of the Year for our staff. Life is Strange started with Brad and myself before eventually spreading to Eric and Collin. It infected us in a way that very few games have ever done in the past. In prior categories we’ve praised Life is Strange for it’s soundtrack, characters, and for the breath of fresh air it gave us. Life is Strange established a world that we cared about and one that we loved returning to multiple times throughout the year. It’s rare that we all agree on a single game, but in this case it was unanimous. Life is Strange is the overall PSNStores 2015 Game of the Year.