When it comes to GHG‘s “Best Video Games” lists, we’ve gone from a Top 10 Face-Off in 2013 to a “Best of” podcast last year, to now in 2015, a Clergywide Top 5 (with a podcast coming after New Year’s, too!). We’ve got so many new video game journalists and old staffers with new consoles, that it was only right to gather the immediate opinion of everyone possible.
And we couldn’t pick a better year to do it, seeing the enormity of esteemed AAA releases in 2015…
Who wins the battle between the new Big 3? Who cracks the Top 5? Who did we forget? Find out below, and feel free to click on the respectibe bible scores to read our full reviews.
@OffTheGeekEnd
1. Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt – “While many will choose to follow the main story, the multitude of side quests provide an intense and wonderful added experience.” – 4.75/5
2. Star Wars: Battlefront – “If you DON’T play multiplayer games.. this isn’t the game for you.” – 4.5/5
3. Halo 5: Guardians – 4.5/5
4. Fallout 4 – “You know it’s bad (or would that be good?) when the game starts to invade your dreams and normal life; dreaming of Nuka Cola and finding good loot.” – 4.25/5
5. Just Cause 3 – 4/5
Honorable mention: ARK: Survival Evolved, Destiny: The Taken King, LEGO Dimensions, Mad Max.
@Noway
1. Fallout 4 – 5/5
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 4.75/5
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – 4/5
4. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – 4.25/5
5. Mad Max – “Upgrading Max will take him from fledgling survivor to practical superhuman with fantastic finishers that rival Mortal Kombat.” – 4/5
Honorable mention: Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Mortal Kombat X, Dying Light.
@HueySkyywalker
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – “Even the cardboard box has evolved.” – 5/5
2. Fallout 4 – 4.5/5
3. Bloodborne – “It has all the difficulty and dark tone of Dark Souls meets the hack-and-slash of Devil May Cry.” – 4.5/5
4. NBA 2K16 – 4.5/5
5. Mortal Kombat X – “I highly recommend MKX as one of your first few games for any new system.” – 4/5
Honorable mention: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Madden NFL 16, Star Wars: Battlefront, Batman: Arkham Knight.
@onemyke
1. Rocket League – 5/5
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – “Regardless of what you already know of Geralt of Rivia, the best story will be the one you create for yourself.” – 4.75/5
3. Metal Gear Solid V:The Phantom Pain – “It’s the most fun I’ve had playing a video game like this…in a long ass time.” – 4.5/5
4. Fallout 4 – 4.25/5
5. Bloodborne – 4/5
Honorable mention: Helldivers, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Ori and the Blind Forest, NBA 2K16, Batman: Arkham Knight
@whizbang813
1. Bloodborne – 5/5
2. Rocket League – 4.5/5
3. Until Dawn – 4/5
4. Rainbow Six: Siege – 4/5
5. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate – 4/5
Honorable mention: Destiny: The Taken King – “Worth the asking price due to the volume of content that was simply not there in Year One.”
@DarthHistory
1. Fallout 4 – 4.75/5
2. Until Dawn – “The script, acting, and visuals come together to provide a fully addicting, fascinating game that can be played over and over for different results.” – 4/5
3. Star Wars: Battlefront – 4/5
4. Batman: Arkham Knight – 3.75/5
5. Lego Dimensions – 3.75/5
1. Fallout 4 – “The game is more addictive than a vault full of Jet and Psycho.” – 4.75/5
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – “If a video game were a piece of fine art, this game would be the mothafreakin’ Mona Lisa. Everything in this massive, mystical world is highly detailed and textured and the story blends together like an orgasmic fruity cocktail.” – 4.75/5
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – 4.5/5
4. Dying Light – 4/5
5. Rise of the Tomb Raider – 4/5
Honorable mention: Just Cause 3, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
IG/Twitter @hatandwand
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – 5/5
2. Fallout 4 – 4.5/5
3. Batman: Arkham Knight – “It’s everything I want in a Batman game.” – 4.25/5
4. Star Wars: Battlefront – “The modes and playing with your friends is worth the price of admission.” – 3.75/5
5. Super Mario Maker – 3.5/5
@Lance_Paul
1. Fallout 4 – 4.75/5
2. Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt – 4.5/5
3. Batman: Arkham Knight – “Our view of [DC Comics’] characters has changed because of Arkham.” – 4.25/5
4. Star Wars: Battlefront – 4.25/5
5. Until Dawn – 4/5
Honorable mention: Halo 5: Guardians, Mad Max.
@guycopes3
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 4.5/5
2. WWE 2K16 – 4.25/5
3. Batman: Arkham Knight – 4/5
4. Madden NFL 16 – “Holy Gronk at an after party with a bunch of rowdy BU sorority girls, the gameplay this year has taken a huge step up.” – 4/5
5. Until Dawn – 3.75/5
Honorable mention: Rocket League.
@eyebzombie
1. Batman: Arkham Knight – “Since Arkham Knight is the ending of this Batman game, Rocksteady is giving you the full bang.” – 4/5
2. Dying Light – 4/5
3. Mortal Kombat X – “Eat. Sleep. Mortal Kombat. Repeat.” – 3/5
4. Star Wars: Battlefront – 3/5
5. Destiny: The Taken King – 2.5/5
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – “It’s more than what I expected.” – 5/5
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider – 5/5
3. Dying Light – 4.75/5
4. Batman: Arkham Knight – 4.75/5
5. Fallout 4 – 4.5/5
Honorable mention: Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Until Dawn, Mad Max.
@AdamMondschein
1. Fallout 4 – 5/5
2. Mad Max – 4/5
3. Star Wars: Battlefront – 4/5
@eskobts
1. Fallout 4 – “With [Fallout 4], you have an even better version of the greatest RPG known to man.” – 5/5
2. Dying Light – “Dying Light is a roller coaster of fast-paced action and slow, steady, terrifying suspense.” – 4.25/5
3. Mortal Kombat X – 4/5
@radio_adventure
1. Star Wars: Battlefront – 4/5
2. Halo 5: Guardians – 4/5
3. Transformers: Devastation – 4/5
@RobotCookie
1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – “Gameplay is still tight and the sneaking mechanics are still some of the best in the business.” – 5/5
2. Fallout 4 – 4/5
3. Batman: Arkham Knight – 4/5
@TravMoody
1. Fallout 4 – “I’m thrilled to announce that Fallout 4 has WON the 2015 video game World Series.” – 4.75/5
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – “[Witcher 3‘s] notion of having less loot becomes a great thing, as there’s a bit of sell-and-exchange strategy that other overly-generous RPG’s don’t offer.” – 4.75/5
3. Rise of the Tomb Raider – “ROTTR improves and expands on what Lara was primarily known for far before Brad Pitt’s ol’ lady strapped on those boots and twin pistol holsters: tomb raiding.” – 4.5/5
4. NBA 2K16 – “The amount of detail put together in one sports video game cannot be matched by this edition.” – 4.5/5
5. Forza Motorsport 6 – “Despite a few minor chinks on its ultra shiny polish, Forza 6 is still above and beyond every other racing sim on the market.” – 4.25/5
Honorable mention: Mortal Kombat X, FIFA 16, Batman: Arkham Knight, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
***GHG’s Games of the Year***
1. Fallout 4 (SEVEN 1st place votes; THREE 2nd place votes; THREE 3-5’s)
2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (TWO 1st place votes; FIVE 2nd place votes; ZERO 3-5’s).
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (FOUR 1st place votes; ZERO 2nd place votes; THREE 3-5’s)
4. Star Wars: Battlefront (ONE 1st place vote; ONE 2nd place vote; FIVE 3-5)
5. Batman: Arkham Knight (ONE 1st place vote; ZERO 2nd place votes; SIX 3-5’s)
***GHG’s Indy Game of the Year***
–Rocket League
***GHG’s PlayStation 4 Exclusive of the Year***
–Bloodborne
***GHG’s Xbox One Exclusive of the Year***
-Rise of the Tomb Raider
***GHG’s Dark Horse of the Year***
-Until Dawn
***GHG’s Fighting Game of the Year***
-Mortal Kombat X
***GHG’s Sports Game of the Year***
-NBA 2K16
***GHG’s Honorable Mention***
-Mad Max, Dying Light.
Stay tuned for our Best Video Games of 2015 Podcast, for a more in-depth listen on our Top 5’s, as well as Worst and Most Disappointing Games of the Year, in addition to our forecast for 2016!!!