It’s a full house this week on the Gamesline Podcast. John is joined by Lorelai, Maverick and Rose to talk about the last week in gaming. John’s still obsessing about Pikmin when he’s not playing Digimon cards or Pokémon Channel. Lorelai was Final Fantasy pilled at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival which got her playing Final Fantasy XI again while also digging in to Vampire Crawlers on her long road trip. Rose of course played more Marathon, Mina the Hollower, Saros, and Forbidden Solitaire while Maverick played a bunch of Hades 2.

In the news, we go over the interview Mike Fisher gave where he annihilated Yuji Naka, The Witcher 3 is getting more DLC, and a bill addressing the Stop Killing Games initiative is moving forward in California. In other news, Dark Horse Comics is unionizing after their new Embracer overlords started shutting down Things From Another World and shifting focus to Games. If you’d like to sign the petition to support the unionization effort, you can do that here.

You can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on social media @gamesline.net, John, Lorelai, Maverick, and Rose.

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and tell a friend about the show!

If you want to send in questions, send them to our email podcast@gamesline.net!

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Edited by Lorelai

The post The Gamesline Podcast Episode 92: Fantasy Solitaire appeared first on Gamesline.

First was an Indie World!

Witcher 3, Vampire Survivors, Dave the Diver, and Among Us crossover cards are all coming to Balatro in a free update later today.

The creators of GRIS have a new game, Neva, and it’s out October 15th.

Moth Kubit, a unique RPG starring a moth working in a bizarre office, drops Spring 2025.

Toge, devs of Coffee Talk, are making a new Coffee Talk game, Coffee Talk Tokyo. It’ll be ready for tasting in 2025.

Sea of Stars is getting a DLC, adding a new carnival area, new classes for the main characters, and a new character who is just Robo from Chrono Trigger. It’s out next Spring, and it’s free.

PowerWash Simulator is getting a paid DLC where you get to clean up locations from the Shrek series. It’s dropping in Fall.

Morsels, a rougelike shooter with gorgeous pixel art and strange character designs, got announced. Its release date is February 2025.

Date Everything!, a game where you can date everything in a house by Team 17, launches October 24th, 2024.

Peglin, a game based on a game jam experiment from 2019, is fully realized. You play as a lil goblin and play pachinko to do damage to enemies. It’ll be out today on Switch as a timed console exclusive.

Wobbly Life from Rubber Band Games lets you live a goofy lil life as a yellow guy. It’s out in December.

Pico Park 2 is a puzzle game where you have to stack and aim up to eight players to clear rooms. It’s out later today.

Montage time. Shovel Knight Shovel of Hope DX (2025), Europa (October 11th, demo out now), Cuisineer (January 28th, 2025), On Your Tail (November 21st), Metal Slug Tactics (Fall), The Plucky Squire (September 17th).

To round out the Indie World, Pizza Tower is finally coming to Switch. It’s out today.

Fangamer will also release a physical version of Pizza Tower.

Now onto the Partner Showcase!

For the 40th anniversary of Tetris, Digital Eclipse is putting together a Tetris collection called Tetris Forever. It has Tetris Battle Gaiden! And Hatris, which is hilarious. It’ll be out this year, and Tetris will be on Switch Online this Winter.

Star Overdrive is a third person adventure game where you surf around a desert planet on a hoverboard. It’s out in 2025.

Goat Simulator 3 will let you harass an entire island with you friends on Switch digitally today. The physical release will be in November.

Another montage. Trails in the Sky 1st (2025), Star Wars: Hunters Season 3 (September 26th), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone Trilogy (November), Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition (September 26th), and a new event for Disney Dreamloft Valley.

SpongeBob Squarepants: The Patrick Star Game, is confirmed. You play as Patrick and flop around Bikini Bottom, as the game is focused on physics and interacting with the environment. Out October 4th.

Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer, is coming soon. I don’t know why we need this, as we have the Miku and Fist of the North Star versions, but I guess some people have NO TASTE. You can get this lesser edition on December 5th.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2, including Capcom vs SNK 1 and 2, Project Justice, Capcom Fighting Evolution, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Power Stone 1 and 2, and Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein. It’s out next year, and that rules.

The Marvel vs Capcom Collection is out September 12th, with a physical out November 22nd.

There’s a new Atelier game, and they got a dragon voiced by Kiryu’s VA in this one. It’s called Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Envisioned Land, and it’s out in 2025.

The Suikoden remasters are still happening! The first two games will be released in a bundle March 6th, 2025.

The Dragon Quest III remake will have a new Monster Wrangler class. It’s out November 14th.

The DS Castlevanias are getting a compilation, and it also includes Haunted Castle and a reimagining of the notably rough arcade game. It’s out later today.

Civilization VII will be on Switch. It’ll be out February 11th.

Tales of Graces f is getting a remaster for the series’ 30th anniversary. It’ll have combat options and all the DLC from the original release. Out January 17th.

MySims returns, in a bundle containing the first game and the Kingdom sequel. It’s out November 19th.

Five Nights at Freddy’s…..They’ve got a new Help Wanted coming, and you have to help those robots run the show. Out Holiday 2024. There’s also a new DLC for Security Breach this Holiday.

Montage again. Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed (September 24th), Tales of the Shire (Holiday), Just Dance 2025 (October 2024), Funko Fusion (Holiday), EA Sports FC 2025 (September 27th), Lego Horizon (Holiday).

Rune Factory‘s got a new style, where you play as an “Earth Dancer” and use magic to grow crops super fast, and also kick some ass. Guardians of Azuma is out next Spring.

Yakuza Kiwami is getting a Switch port. Looks like it’ll be a pretty straight port, but hey, Kiwami‘s great. Out October 24th.

The post Bulletin+: Indie World and Partner Showcase 8/27/24 appeared first on Gamesline.

Coming complete with all additional content, you can play Switcher 3 later this year. For now, you can watch the announcement trailer and get ready to sharpen all two of your swords before the Wild Hunt comes for us all.

The post “Switcher” 3 Coming Later This Year appeared first on Gamesline.

Announced inside of a board report, CD Projekt Red is working on a “triple-A story-driven RPG.” This is another separate game being developed alongside Cyberpunk 2077. Both games have a release time frame of 2017-2021, a frustrating amount of time. I’d assume this is to protect both games so that in case one falls behind, the other can fill in the release gap. If all goes according to plan Cyberpunk would come out first either this year or next, then we’ see a ramp up towards this new title.

We do know this title won’t be The Witcher 4. CD Projekt Red has been adamant they won’t be returning to Geralt’s world so soon. However it doesn’t necessarily rule out the chance that, after Cyberpunk ships, the team wants some more Geralt bathtub in their life (who wouldn’t?).

Hopefully we see more of Cyberpunk 2077 soon and get some hints about what might be in store for CD Projekt Red’s future.

The post CD Projekt Red Is Working On Another AAA Title appeared first on Gamesline.

Follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo, @JohnMichonski, @finaldasa @sewerpeak & @mybuddysuperfly

Get drunk and punch Chooch via iTunes, Hipcast, or Direct Download.

The post VGCC Episode 127: 360 No Stoked appeared first on Gamesline.

We’re tired, we’re drained, and we’re ready to kill. Day four- the final day of our deliberations. Mike, John, Niall, and Michael are down to only the biggest awards of the year, “Worst Game” and “Game of the Year.” 2015 was an intense and jam-packed year. It didn’t really burst out of the gate, but by the time E3 ended in June, the release schedule really picked up. We’re looking forward to next year, but until then, let’s sip some nog, take a deep breath, and relax.

Worst Game: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5

Runners Up: Risen 3 (PS4), Omega Quintet

There’s only one award left. Unlike the previous awards, we don’t just want two runners up, we want a list, in order, from ten all the way to the best game of the year.

10. Rise of the Tomb Raider

9. Kerbal Space Program

8. Undertale

7. Splatoon

6. Contradiction

5. Fallout 4

4. Her Story

3. Super Mario Maker

2. The Witcher 3

Game of the Year: Tales from the Borderlands

If the true measure of success in regards to creating a genuinely great game can be found in the amount of space that it takes up in your head, then Tales from the Borderlands may just be one of the best games of the decade. Yes, it’s a Telltale game, and yes, at times it sacrifices actual gameplay for the sake of the story that it wants to tell, but boy, does it succeed. It’s impossible to play Tales and not get completely engrossed in the story and characters, impossible to not want them all to be happy, and almost as difficult to keep yourself from tearing up at some of the more touching, tender moments on offer. Tales has taken up so much room in the minds of Chooch staff – not just while playing, but in the weeks since wrapping up – that it’s impossible for us to award Game of the Year to anything else. We went on a hell of a ride with a group of friends, and while our individual stories each played out slightly differently, we left touched by the experience.

The post Game of the Year Awards 2015: Day Four appeared first on Gamesline.

Now we get into the meat of the awards. Day three finds our intrepid heroes, Michael, Mike, John, and Niall, all ready to duke it out. If you’re wondering how or why we came to these decisions, or just would rather listen to it in real-time, then check out our GOTY podcasts above! Otherwise, read on to see the big winners from Day Three!

Today we take care of “Best Moment, Scene, or Level”, “Best Writing”, “Best Character”, and “Most Annoying Character”.

Best Moment, Scene, or Level: Bloody Baron Quest (Witcher 3)

Runners Up: Mettaton Boss Fight (Undertale), Finger-gun Battle (Tales from the Borderlands, Ep. 4)

Complicated and morally ambiguous, Witcher 3 is filled with characters who aren’t entirely good or evil. Characters whose inner demons scream haunt their every action. The Bloody Baron and his efforts to search for his daughter and wife best encapsulates how intertwined and dark these story lines and characters can get. The Baron is a violent drunk who has scared off his family with his terrible behavior but he’s trying to his best to make up for his terrible, inexcusable actions. As his family rejects him and you see the lengths they’re willing to go to reject him you begin to really feel for the Baron. This is the first big quest you undertake in Witcher 3 and it really showed off just how great this game would be.

Best Writing: Witcher 3

Runners Up: Her Story, Tales from the Borderlands

Often times, open-world games struggle to make themselves feel in any way alive. Sure these games might be otherwise fine experiences, but failure to create a living, breathing world is often part of their downfall – it’s an issue that’s cropped up this year in the likes of Metal Gear Solid V and Just Cause 3, but it’s something that Witcher 3 excels at. Good writing should do more than simply further a plot – it should build a world, imbue characters with a sense of realism and relatability, drive home that something is at stake, and WItcher 3 does this throughout. No matter how small a side-plot, Witcher presents it carefully, thoughtfully, and with sharp writing. It sets a new precedent for open-world games, one that should give other developers pause in future. There’s a new bar for writing in video games, and it’s a high one.

Best Character: Loader Bot (Tales from the Borderlands)

Runners Up: Inspector Jenks (Contradiction), Sans (Undertale)

Mario, Sonic, Cloud, Solid Snake, Samus Aran, Lara Croft – gaming has a long history of forging memorable, charismatic characters who have gone on to be the torchbearers for their respective series and developers. Now, in 2015, we have a new entry to the list – Loader Bot. Telltale did a wonderful job reinventing the Borderlands universe from top to bottom, but who would’ve thought that a previously cannon-fodder robot would rise to become the true hero of Tales from the Borderlands? Loader Bot is everything a true hero should be – honorable, charming, self-sacrificing, and totally off his rocker. Rhys and Fiona are great characters, but Loader Bot is the true heart and soul of Tales, and that’s why we all love him.

Most Annoying Character: Warren Graham (Life is Strange)

Runners Up: Quiet (Metal Gear Solid V), Alphys (Undertale)

Look. Sometimes, you come across a character so terrible, so utterly repulsive, that it feels like the easy way out to crown them the worst of the year. Maybe it is, but seriously, fuck Warren. This kid is a creep in every possible respect, his constant, usually unreplied-to texting, his anointing himself as Max’s “white knight”, his self-absorbed displays of faux-chivalry, the whole nice-guy facade, Warren is the most annoying, unlikable character of 2015, and it isn’t even close. Not only that, dude’s a total stalker too, and personally, the most rewarding part of Life is Strange was showing Captain Creepy absolutely no affection at the end. Warren makes my skin crawl. Get fucking bopped, son.

The post Game of the Year Awards 2015: Day Three appeared first on Gamesline.

Still, I feel like my list is pretty well rounded. There’s been tons of good games that I have played this year, and spots 6-10 were a real battle between around twenty different games, any of which could’ve wound up on this final list. But, with that said, let’s get down to business.

10. Sonic Dreams Collection

Has there ever been a greater collection of games assembled into one neat package? I’m not so sure. Everything about Sonic Dreams Collection made me laugh, cry, and question my own sanity. As great as My Roommate Sonic, Make My Sonic, and Eggman Origins are though, the undoubted highlight for me was Sonic Movie Maker – which may just surpass Silent Hill 2 as my favourite psychological horror game of all time. Arcane Kids, I salute you.

9. Just Cause 3

Sometimes a game comes along that couldn’t be farther from perfect, but yet, is still just a ton of fun – and what better example of that, than Just Cause 3. Just about everything about JC3 reminds me of Saints Row: The Third – the wanton destruction, over-the-top characters, bombastic set-pieces, and, oh, did I mention all that gorgeous, beautiful destruction? Just Cause 3 might be the most cathartic experience I’ve had with a game all year, as well as being the best-looking technically – and with a little more variety, it would’ve been higher on my list.

8. Lost Dimension

Not a lot of people took notice when Atlus released Lost Dimension in August, and if we had a “Most Underrated” award here at Chooch, I’d probably be pulling hard for it. Lost Dimension is one part tactical RPG, one part Danganronpa, and it all comes together just so, so well. The randomization of the traitors works surprisingly smoothly, and the internal drama within your group that the game creates kept me going throughout, as did having to adapt in battle as I lost two of my favourites. If you’ve got the capacity to play Lost Dimension, you owe it to yourself to try it.

7. Cradle

There’s just something about Cradle that wowed me. There’s a moment, early in the game, where a train flies overhead as you traverse the Mongolian steppe, that for possibly the first time in a video game, made me instinctively pause and just sit, stunned. I don’t know what exactly it was about that moment; but it solidified that for me, Cradle was gonna be something special. I totally understand why someone would get frustrated with Cradle and quit on it after 15 minutes – it can be needlessly obtuse and un-intuitive, especially early on – but if you dig a little, there’s a real gem buried underneath.

6. OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood

2015 hasn’t been a great year for extreme sports games. SNOW took a ton of backward steps in early access, the abominable Mad Snowboarding stunk up Steam, and god, do I have to talk about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, probably the worst game of 2015? Thankfully, there was one ray of sunshine for extreme sports fans this year – OlliOlli 2. OlliOlli 2 is everything that a sequel should be; retaining the strongest aspects of the original, while making small, clever additions that add up to a fantastic experience. OlliOlli 2 has been my go to “kill twenty minutes” game this year, and probably will be for a while to come – at least until OlliOlli 3 hits.

5. Contradiction: Spot the Liar!

Yes, really, it’s 2015, and I’ve got an FMV game on my list. Contradiction is incredibly low-budget, but it wears it’s limitations on it’s sleeve, playing up the camp in every scene to ridiculous proportions and ludicrous effect. The story the game tells is crazy, the characters absolutely off their rocker, and the performances from the actors, notably Rupert Booth, who plays Inspector Jenks, are the kind of indescribable that honestly, you do really need to see to believe. Contradiction never takes itself seriously, and at times, you can see the awkward stitching that just about holds things together, but god I love it, and while it may not be perfect, it still holds a place in my heart.

4. Ori and the Blind Forest

2015’s been a great year for the Metroidvania genre – games like Apotheon, Environmental Station Alpha, and Axiom Verge all did great things with one of my favourite genres, but none of them can even come close to matching Ori and the Blind Forest. It’s rare that you can say that a game redefines its genre, but Ori does – it’s the best Metroidvania game since Zero Mission, it’s bursting with soul and sincerity, and it’s absolutely gorgeous to boot.

3. Her Story

If you had told me a couple of years ago that I’d have not one, but two FMV games on my Top Ten list someday, I’d probably have laughed at you. But that’s a testament to just where we are today – great games come in all shapes and sizes, from big-budget Triple-A productions to small indie games coded by one person, and starring a solitary actress. Her Story is phenomenal – I played through the whole thing in one sitting, and was hooked from start to finish. To think that a gamified search engine could be so gripping, that the twists and turns of the story could cause me to literally have to stand up and pace around my room in an attempt to soak it all in, I mean, who could’ve seen that coming? Her Story is like nothing else I’ve ever played, and it’s simply unmissable.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I love open-world games, and Witcher 3 may just be the best one ever made. Witcher 2 left me wanting more, if not completely blown-away, but Witcher 3 was an eye-opener. The things that CD Projekt RED have done with the formula are revolutionary – the world-building, characters, the sense of life imbued into goings on… it’s just incredible, and never has an open-world game felt so alive and realistic, even with all the elves, dwarves, monsters and mages running around. What’s more, Witcher 3 retains the incredible depth of it’s predecessors, while also streamlining things to make it accessible for newcomers. Witcher 3 is a bold step forward for both the open-world and fantasy genres, and makes just about every one of it’s contemporaries look tired and antiquated by comparison (looking at you in particular, Fallout 4).

1. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5

Just kidding, could you imagine?

1. Tales From the Borderlands

This was a real hard decision. I absolutely adored Witcher 3, and struggled to slot it into second place, but, eventually, I chose to go with my heart over my head – and so, my personal game of the year, is Tales From the Borderlands. I’ve never been the biggest fan of first-person shooters, but the Borderlands series is the general exception to the rule. Borderlands has always had it’s flaws – while it’s always presented an incredibly interesting world, a propensity for poor writing, an over-reliance on memes and shoddy character-development has always hindered it. Tales From the Borderlands finally delivered on the promise Pandora always held, and by focusing on a fantastic, eccentric and eclectic cast of characters – from Handsome Jack, who develops into one of the best villains in games over the course of the series, and Loader Bot, to Rhys and Fiona, Tales has brought a waning franchise back to the forefront of my mind.

Not only that, it’s actually really, genuinely funny, for the first time in the franchise. The game still has some of that typical Telltale jank, but god, it’s refined in all the ways that formula most needed to be. I no longer felt like I was being shepherded between major set-pieces, instead it felt like I had actual agency and influence over the direction of the story; and the game’s use of the unreliable narrator (or really, in this case, narrators) trope is excellent. Tales places first on my list on the strength of its writing, its world, its characters and the fact that I’ve rarely cared so much about the cast of a video game. And god, how about that Power Rangers Megazord sequence in episode five, or the finger gun battle in episode four, ‘cause God damn were those funny.

The post Niall’s Top 10 Games of 2015 appeared first on Gamesline.

If I had known I would end up writing for a games publication, I might have, you know, actually played more games this year. But hey, there’s always 2016. Here’s ten games I really liked out of the ones I played. They’re good! At least I think so.

10. Downwell

It’s cheap, simple, fast, fun, and addicting. What else could I ask for? Downwell is a literal free-fall of a game that moves as fast as you can drop, and I love it. For a game that just relies on moving right to left, jumping, and shooting, Downwell feels surprisingly good to play. Like other fast-paced streamlined roguelikes, you immediately want to jump back in, even after dying for the twentieth time in a row. All this combined with a slick retro aesthetic adds up to a game that’s hard to turn off and easy to sink a lot of time into. Talk about getting bang for your (literal) buck.

9. Environmental Station Alpha

If its accidental cousin Axiom Verge is beauty through complex pixel graphics, Environmental Station Alpha is beauty through simplicity. Despite being so minimally rendered, the world of ESA feels dense and alive in a way not many games of its kind do. ESA plays like any other “metroidvania” title, but the setting is what really sells it. That isn’t to say the gameplay isn’t fun, because it is- even when the game gets unnecessarily more difficult, I was still having a good time. Whatever the reason, I thoroughly enjoyed my experiences as a little robot traversing Environmental Station Alpha and its unique and deadly (uniquely deadly?) biomes.

8. Sonic Dreams Collection

For me, Sonic Dreams Collection wasn’t just the ship that accidentally launched a series, but one of the singular strangest gaming experiences of my entire life. The short time I spent with SDC on that one August afternoon is still burned into my mind which such clarity that I could probably exactly quote every word I said while we recorded that playthrough. SDC serves as both a jarring parody and a surreal reflection of a limping game franchise and its infamous fandom, and of course, it’s also just weird as hell. As far as unforgettable games go, SDC is pretty high on the list. I still see Big the Cat when I close my eyes sometimes.

7. Prison Architect

The best prison game since Hard Time, and certainly one of the best strategy games in recent memory, Prison Architect‘s 1.0 release is a practically perfect experience. And it’s fun, too! Having a blast building your sadistic human containment unit is only the first step of a management juggle that’s every bit as punishing as rewarding based on the occasionally questionable decisions you have to make. Like other strategy games, it’s easy to sink a lot of hours into Prison Architect, especially with the extra Escape Mode. Prison Architect is sure to satisfy anyone hungry for a management sim, and if nothing else, it’s proof that we all live in our own prisons.

6. Grim Fandango (Remastered)

Confession time. I would lay my life on the line for Psychonauts, but I had never played that other big game Tim Schafer was known for (Broken Age, right?). Thankfully, Grim Fandango was remastered this year, and I finally got to experience the world of Manny and company. Also thankfully, it was as good as I had hoped. Sure, some of the puzzles remain a bit obtuse, and some of the mechanics feel outdated, but overall, the story, writing, and art design of Grim Fandango is fantastic enough to irrevocably win me over. The humor hits all the right places, and I struggle to think of any part of the narrative I didn’t enjoy. And who knows? Maybe in ten years we’ll see another three million dollar (adjusted for inflation, of course) crowdfunding campaign for Grim Fandango 2: The VR Experience?

5. Nuclear Throne

Nuclear Throne, like Prison Architect, languished in Steam early access limbo for quite some time while the developers made constant tweaks and updates. Thankfully, it’s finally out in full release, and I couldn’t be happier with the final result. I didn’t start playing it until this year (so it would’ve been on this list regardless), meaning I can’t speak for how much it’s changed. But as it stands now, Nuclear Throne is a masterful addition to the roguelike/shmup genres that benefits from a stripped-down, purely gameplay-focused experience. It’s colorful, fast, brutal, and fun as hell. Much like Downwell, it’s easy to sink a lot of time and a lot of deaths into Nuclear Throne without regretting a single second.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I deliberated for a very long time on the placement of this and Bloodborne for #4/3, but since I’ve actually finished Bloodborne at the time of writing this, I’m putting it ahead of Witcher 3. Anyway, Witcher 3 is a wonderful example of a full-blown fantasy RPG that manages to pull you in with a solid narrative, a rich world, and (generally) enjoyable characters, and then keep you hooked with excellent gameplay. I was skeptical at first, but having made my way further into the game, I’m addicted. Witcher 3 does almost everything right, and the fact that I can place it this high on the list without having finished says a lot about it. I also love the black comedy and snarky dry humor that seems to pepper the otherwise serious world – did anyone else get Deadly Premonition vibes from the quest where you have to find the old woman’s pan?

3. Bloodborne

My window of comparison is probably a little narrower than some, considering the only FromSoftware game I played prior to Bloodborne was the first Dark Souls. I loved that game to death and still haven’t touched the sequel (although I’ll definitely be playing 3 in 2016), but Bloodborne is a major improvement to the Souls formula that makes for a faster-paced and generally more enjoyable gameplay experience. Gone is the endless “shield shuffle,” replaced instead by a system that rewards you for getting in close and cleaving everything to pieces. It feels so much better, and that’s not even to mention the plot and incredible art direction that manage to seamlessly blend dark Victorian architecture with bizarre Lovecraftian (in the truest sense of the word) sentiments. I totally understand why not everyone enjoys these games, but personally, I had a blast with Bloodborne.

2. Tales From The Borderlands

“I cannot hold back your tide of bad decisions.” At first, Tales From the Borderlands was just a nice thought for me; an small addendum to the Borderlands universe. By the time I finished it, Tales was more of a godsend. It didn’t just add on to those previous games I had enjoyed, it blew them out of the water. My expectations were low thanks to the non-narratives of the first two games, but Tales has the kind of writing that stacks up to the best of them, much less to the bottom-of-the-barrel standards set by Borderlands. If I had time to gush about all my favorite parts of Tales, it would take a whole other article, and since it’s my first (and possibly only) TellTale game, I can’t critique the apparent non-evolution of the game mechanics. In the end, Tales takes an established universe and uses it to spin a unique, incredible story that’s just as stone-faced somber and gut-bustingly funny as anything else.

1. Undertale

Okay, look. If we’re being honest, there are games on this list that are probably “objectively better” than Undertale, and there are games with more actual “game.” But that doesn’t count for diddly-squat, because I had more fun playing Undertale for the first time than anything else on this list. Maybe I only enjoyed it so much because I got in on that first wave before the proliferation of a fandom, but again, it doesn’t matter, and I frankly couldn’t give a damn. All the elements of Undertale came together managed to inspire such a genuine reaction within me that giving it anything less than my personal Game of the Year award would be a major disservice to the game and to myself.

And that’s the thing about Undertale – it’s such a genuine game, such a labor of love, that playing it was an honestly refreshing experience. That isn’t even mentioning the strong writing, the unique spin on turn-based combat (and the accompanying visuals), and the massive, iconic soundtrack that’s equal parts quantity and quality- the kind I can’t listen to without feeling those emotions again. I could go on for a very long time about this game, but here’s what it comes down to: Undertale cost me the same price as a fast-food meal, and for whatever reason, managed to hit me with more emotional responses than most other games I’ve ever played. I beat it (with the true ending, which I totally didn’t get very teary during) in two settings of about five and a half hours each. And I might never touch it again, because there’s no way it could live up to that first playthrough. Undertale was such a flawless experience for me on a personal level there’s no way anything else even stood a chance for my Game of the Year. Sorry, Witcher 3. Maybe next time?

The post Ryan’s Top 10 Games of 2015 appeared first on Gamesline.

Game of the year is officially, and finally, underway! John, Niall, Michael, and surprise guest Mike Cosimano all sit down and go over some of the best and worst from 2015. If you want to be surprised by our winners and losers then click the links above to download the first of our series of GOTY podcasts, where we deliberated and discussed everything.

Today we hand out awards for ‘Best Soundtrack’, ‘Best Visuals’, ‘Most Remastering’, and the ‘What The Fuck Award’. Every award will have one winner and two runners up. Let’s get to it!

Best Soundtrack: Party Hard

Runners Up: Undertale, Ori and the Blind Forest

Bet you didn’t see this one coming, huh? You’ll find little argument from your friends at Chooch that Party Hard is by no means a great game, but man, does that soundtrack shine. There’s not a bad song to be found on Party Hard’s OST, and while plenty of games in recent years have tried to ape 80’s music, Party Hard does it better than pretty much all of them. Absolutely every song on here is a banger, but it’s the Beverly Hills Cop-esque “Don’t Stop Party” that really steals the show, and fittingly, I don’t think this party’ll stop any time soon.

Best Visuals: The Witcher 3

Runners Up: Star Wars: Battlefront, Splatoon

Few games can make their worlds come alive. The Witcher 3 wasn’t just a feast for the eyes with accomplished technical effect that made the world pop and breathe; it was the little touches that really blew us away. The cities would sprawl out as you approached them, the landscape shifted and changed slowly as you rode along, and the stop-in-your-tracks vistas gave the world life. From the huge castles to the winding roads, Witcher 3 made sure everything felt natural and wonderful and worn. A master class in world building.

Most Remastering: Rare Replay

Runners Up: Grim Fandango, Mega Man Legacy

Several times we discussed getting rid of this award category. Looking back on 2015, it felt weird to award the practice of HD re-releases. They weren’t bad games, but we’d rather reward new games and new experiences. Luckily for us there were some amazing packages and remasters that earn our attention and praise. Rare Replay easily sets a new standard for old games coming to new hardware. Set around a wonderful shell of history and combined with series of challenges, Rare Replay packages thirty games that track a game company’s lengthy past. Not every game was worth revisiting, but the sheer love and attention given to every title and the games as a whole was a great gaming treat.

What The Fuck Award: Konami

Runners Up: Comcept, Shenmue Kickstarter

2015 was a good year for games, but it was also a weird year for games. There was a lot of head-scratching moments involving questionable crowdfunding bailouts, defunct indie consoles, and a stolen shipment of Splatoon amiibos, but the “What The Fuck” award undisputedly goes to literally everything Konami got themselves involved in this year. From the highly visible falling out with Hideo Kojima to the revelation of a terrible work environment, Konami bungled 2015 in such spectacular fashion that generations to come will use their name as a synonym for “PR disaster.” The cherry on top was the half-true news that they would cease AAA development, an announcement that spread much faster than they could correct it. Will Konami pull themselves out of the ashes in future years? Doubtful, but whatever happens, 2015 was truly Konami’s year to lose.

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