GameSided Game of the Year 2015 | Martin’s Picks

This year was filled with nostalgic looks back, but what were the top 10 experiences of the year? Martin shares his Game of the Year 2015 list.

2015 was such a nostalgic year in video games. As we look ahead to the year 2016 with a slew of new IP and new ways to play, this year was another year of the nostalgic retread from the major publishers to the Indies. Games like Star Wars Battlefront brought back old franchises, a series of HD remasters of major franchises (God of War, Gears of War, and a ton of other war variants) occupied space meant for titles now pushed to 2016, and the biggest indie games were those that reminded us most of the past. Games like Ori and the Blind Forest maintained the Metroidvania style game as the most critically acclaimed indie games.

We saw the return of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Call of Duty Black Ops 3 went forward in time and somehow still ended up with a zombies mode set in the 1920s. Halo returns again and everyone wants to know what’s going on with Master Chief. Even the recently rebooted Rise of the Tomb Raider returned to an old style of gameplay. Fallout 4 is inherently nostalgic. Metal Gear Solid V reminisces on old school action movies, 80s music, and stealth gameplay. This was also another year of growth for the video game industry where the two hottest consoles are still selling ahead of their predecessors. Nostalgia was needed this year as fans came out in droves to support these titles they know on consoles they might not be familiar with.

This is my list of what I played, and what I enjoyed the most throughout the entirety of 2015. If you have differing thoughts on any games listed in my Game of the Year list, make sure to leave a well-reasoned argument in the comments section at the end. You can also reach me at my Twitter account: @gotmab21.

With that in mind, here is my list for Game of the Year 2015.

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