Overlooked games of 2015.

[The Wykydtron]

Well since Devil on the G-String got released on Steam this year I can talk about it again. Funny how all the GOTY contenders this year are long delayed PC ports coming over to Steam

@The_Wykydtron
Since when where Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 PC ports? Thought all the versions came out at the same time.

I'm pretty meh about those games, I never was into the whole Witcher games in the first place and Fallout 4 was good but it had too many of the problems that were around in Fallout 3 still in there unfixed, some settlement thing going on for some reason that I never used until the story forced me to use it and the voiced protagonist issue has been done to death as to why it's terrible design even just on this site. I don't regret buying it at full price but it's not going to be my GOTY.

I guess the other obvious contender would be MGS5 but fucking Konami (#FucKonami) made their presence known and did their best to ruin it.

So to clarify, my GOTY 2015 list is a bunch of PC ports brought over to Steam, specifically G Senjo, Grisaia and most importantly Guilty Gear Xrd SIGN, which is possibly the most hype game I have ever witnessed.

Anyway the fuck am I talking about, Persona 4 is Game of the Year EVERY year.

Ohhhhhhhhh. I get it now. you where saying the your GOTY contender list was mainly PC ports. ok that makes a lot more sense.

OHHHHH

Spoiler: Sorry I had to

But yeah this was basically the year where Sekai Project stepped in and published an absolute bunch of Visual Novels on Steam (even indie stuff like Love at First Sight,) hopefully paving the way for some really good ones. It's less about the games themselves (they are REALLY good mind) but more what they possibly represent going forward AKA more good VNs officially translated.

Massive speculation by me but maybe stuff like Corpse Party might get added in, who knows. I hope Akebeisoft2 gets more of its works over, between G Senjo and Sharin No Kuni (which i'm expecting to be ported over at any point in time) i'm convinced they know exactly how to write a successful VN. Wonder if Comyu will get in though, not many people share my love of it, on this site at least. I'll defend the opening scene between Akito and Gasai to the death though cuz that shit was perfect.

Now they just need to hurry up and release the two sequels to Grisaia. I mean you release the Magical Girl Chiru Chiru Michiru spin off thing after the first game then don't release anything else for the year? Frontowingu pls.

 

[SKBPinkie]

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

Easily the best game I've played this year. The gameplay is absolutely sublime, and if you force yourself to solo the game, no other game can give you the same level of satisfaction. The fact that it doesn't have a story is entirely A-ok.

Much rather play this rather than a title that focuses on story first, gameplay later. But if you're into that, this year has been pretty good (at least I think it has been). Life is Strange, Tales of the Borderlands, etc. seemed to have gotten a lot of buzz.

 

[Battenberg]

Well this thread's gone well. Largely seems to be a combination of games which can't really be described as 'overlooked' (I'm looking at you too here OP) and people crapping on games mentioned by other people.

As far as my own recommendations go Read Only Memories, Human Resource Machine, Please Don't Touch Anything, and Shoppe Keep all spring to mind as being deserving of more attention than they got (although Sips has deinfitely helped bring Shoppe Keep to more people's attention). Also both Downwell and Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist have been overlooked imo albeit to a lesser extent given how small they both are ('Dr. Langeskov...' is free on Steam if you haven't tried it, well worth an hour of your time).

 

[sXeth]

Tucked way back at the beginning of the year, there was Dying Light.

The story and consequentially, the end boss, were utter crap. But playing the game for the story was an afterthought at best.

Quality first-person melee and parkour in 2 open city areas. 4 person co-op options, and 1 vs 4 where you play as a super zombie (including essentially Spiderman's webslinging, amongst other talents). They did eventually patch in some higher difficulty options as well, if you got bored of your full-on character being able to curbstomp things in a multitude of ways.

 

[Dalisclock]

and Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist have been overlooked imo albeit to a lesser extent given how small they both are ('Dr. Langeskov...' is free on Steam if you haven't tried it, well worth an hour of your time).

Wait? There's an hour worth of game there? My plathrough was like 15 minutes long.

I'm not complaining about what it was(and for free, especially) but I didn't think there was more to it other then the core concept of bumping around behind the scenes of someone else's game.

 

[Battenberg]

and Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist have been overlooked imo albeit to a lesser extent given how small they both are ('Dr. Langeskov...' is free on Steam if you haven't tried it, well worth an hour of your time).

Wait? There's an hour worth of game there? My plathrough was like 15 minutes long.

I'm not complaining about what it was(and for free, especially) but I didn't think there was more to it other then the core concept of bumping around behind the scenes of someone else's game.

Yeah it's not a long game for sure, honestly you could probably 'complete' it within the space of 5 minutes. I tend to dawdle through games exploring every corner as I go plus I think I did a second playthrough to listen to all the tapes which is why I have an hour's playtime. I guess it depends on what you're into how much you'll get out of the game, personally I thought it was great (I imagine anyone who liked The Stanley Parable will enjoy it the same way); honestly I would have been fine paying a couple of quid for it.

 

[astrav1]

I got tired of Vermintide very quickly. The combat all too often boils down to mashing left click at a big pile of rats. It's basically just a reskin of L4D except everyone gets a melee weapon. Which is fine I guess, but I've already played L4D. I don't really need to do it again with different character models and dull RNG loot grinding.

Oh, and the ogre rats are just bullshit. Massive damage soaks with no real counterplay besides stubbornness or getting them bugged out on staircases. Enemies with huge amounts of HP do not make for engaging gameplay. They're just fucking tedious.

Life is Strange is... alright. I suppose. I played the first episode a week or so ago but haven't got around to the rest. It looks like it could get better. The teenager dialogue is hideously awkward though. It's very, very, very obviously written by adults who haven't been teenagers for quite some time and seem to have gotten their idea of how teenagers act from magazines and reality TV. I'd hate it if it wasn't so consistently hilarious.

Telltale's offerings shit all over it though. No question there. With Telltale games I'm always eagerly awaiting the next episode. With Life is Strange I bought the whole lot, played the first episode and haven't felt any immediate need to continue.

Dude, trust me, you should play more. By the third episode it goes from flatout embarrassing to play to an actually interesting story where your choices either matter or are at least mentioned within the story. Far better then the trash Telltale has offered lately. Life is strange does interactive drama right. The dialogue itself is not the best in some parts, and I don't really identify with some of the characters, but I can safely say that the first episode is in no way representative of the rest of the game.

 

[lazinesslord]

One game I really like that was overlooked was Dragon Fin Soup. It's turn based strategy rpg that has a fun main character, challenging but fair difficulty, a lot to do, replay value and a really pretty art style.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/299600/

 

[Dalisclock]

and Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist have been overlooked imo albeit to a lesser extent given how small they both are ('Dr. Langeskov...' is free on Steam if you haven't tried it, well worth an hour of your time).

Wait? There's an hour worth of game there? My plathrough was like 15 minutes long.

I'm not complaining about what it was(and for free, especially) but I didn't think there was more to it other then the core concept of bumping around behind the scenes of someone else's game.

Yeah it's not a long game for sure, honestly you could probably 'complete' it within the space of 5 minutes. I tend to dawdle through games exploring every corner as I go plus I think I did a second playthrough to listen to all the tapes which is why I have an hour's playtime. I guess it depends on what you're into how much you'll get out of the game, personally I thought it was great (I imagine anyone who liked The Stanley Parable will enjoy it the same way); honestly I would have been fine paying a couple of quid for it.

Ok. Don't get me wrong, I liked it for what it was. For a second there I thought there was something I needed to unlock or different paths to find like TSP had.

Next time through I'll explore a little bit more.

 

[Fractral]

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is rarely talked about and stole several months of my life, so I'll mention it here. It's basically a step up in every way from MH3U. New weapons, new awesome monsters, the Jump/Mount mechanic, even an infinite progression thing with the random loot in Guild Quests.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Easily the best game I've played this year. The gameplay is absolutely sublime, and if you force yourself to solo the game, no other game can give you the same level of satisfaction. The fact that it doesn't have a story is entirely A-ok.

I'd say MH4U had the best story in the series (not that it's much of an acomplishment). The characters were vastly more interesting than in the previous games, and there was always a reason why you had to be doing what you were, at least in the Caravan. It at least made taking down Gore Magala more satisfying when you knew it had already kicked the shit out of the Ace Hunters.

 

[Frankster]

AGE OF DECADENCE AGE OF DECADENCE AGE OF DECADENCE AGE OF DECADENCE AGE OF DECADENCE

^^^^^^

Seriously, Age of Decadence people, a running for best crpg of past 10 years yet totally overshadowed by that overhyped glory hog Pillars of Eternity.

There's also renowned explorers which is a rather original...euh I dunno if i'd call it an rpg but point is it did its own thing and it did it very well, shame to see it sold poorly, as far as I understand it the dev's previous game, Reus, sold a LOT better.

There's also Templar:Battleforce which I really liked, didn't expect much of it but turned out to be one of my hidden gems of 2015.

Oh, and the ogre rats are just bullshit. Massive damage soaks with no real counterplay besides stubbornness or getting them bugged out on staircases. Enemies with huge amounts of HP do not make for engaging gameplay. They're just fucking tedious.

Feel more or less same way about vermintide and the loot system ended up being more of a detriment then a good thing imo since meant 90% of my time was playing Horns of Magnus over and over since it was the only level people seem ok to do on harder difficulties.

But just to say Rat Ogres are nowhere near as BS as you make them out to be, it is quite feasible to tank them with little damage with good timed dodges or blocks (I do this all the time, empire soldier is my main) and how fast you kill him depends on how many strength potions and/or bombs you got saved up for the encounter, but even on harder difficulties Irarely struggle with the rat ogre, usually the problem comes with the swarms of rats that come with the ogre, all it takes is a few packmasters to appear whilst you are focused on the ogre and its gg.

Of all the faults one can throw at Vermintide I strongly feel this is an unfair one, rat ogres are more fun to fight then the tank was in l4d by far (imo of course).

The men... Really, what do they have? Why is there even a witch hunter (other than the excuse of bringing the fire mage) against Skaven? The Dwarf gets fire pistols... but we already have a fire mage. And the Mercenary... is brooding?

Yeah no arguments that the empire SOLDIER (why is everyone here calling him a merc? did i miss something? i mean throughout the entire game other pcs call him sergeant or w/e so im pretty sure he is no merc) is functionally identical to the dwarf, the ONLY differences I can come up with is that empire soldier tends towards swords and greatswords whereas dwarf is more axe orientated....

I'll defend the witch hunter though, he does play differently to the other 2 male classes:
-rapiers offer an option the other 2 male classes simply don't have
-witch hunters can have 2x pistol combo and fire a pistol in melee in conjunction with rapier
-witch hunters are more offensive and poorly suited to tanking even with a stamina boosted weapon, if you want to tank a shielded empire soldier or dwarf is the way to go.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

I honestly do not have much frame of reference to work from with under-the-radar games. Only by how often they are mentioned or advertised. However...

Tales from the Borderlands was a nice surprise. But it didn't quite stick the landing. Besides, it wasn't exactly overlooked. It got about as much attention as you'd expect for a game of its relatively modest means.

I might be forgetting some games of course. Perhaps someone else will post something that has slipped my mind.

This game needs more love than it is currently getting, which, other than J.Sterling, isn't much at all. It is hardly referenced here, only GOT and the odd Walking Dead news spot. Perhaps the audience is not as wide as the Borderlands braindead shootathon, i cannot imagine shoot n looters enjoying the sudden change of, well...everything. It does have some surprisingly deep emotions and character development, considering the humour baseline.

Mad Max. the game is a technological marvel, while not new mechanics, the mechanics it uses is used marvelously, has a great progression curve but since it was made for the Original movies and not the new remake everyone keeps overlooking it and pretend it never happened, whereas it might be the best technical game of the entire year. If you like openworld titles do check it out. Ignore those MEDIOCRE critics.

I agree. Many seem to overlook that this game gives us something we have not had in over a decade; satisfying car combat. There should be more of it really. The environment could have been boring, samey desert. But they kept some interesting variety with destructable scenery too. If only there were more convoys though, many normal enemies became too quick to take down and there is something cathartic about slowly tearing apart another car with a harpoon gun while flying over dunes of a dead sea.

To add to the games, Styx, Master of Shadows. I...think that was this year. But great pure stealth with open ended, expansive levels, optional objectives, different methods and unique tricks. Hardly is mentioned i notice.

Trine 3? If a little short, but an audio-visual treat nonetheless. It might not be under the radar, i don't know. I don't hang about above the radar much these days.

 

[The Enquirer]

Star Nomad 2 Released 14th Dec 2015
"A space trader & combat sim meets squad-RPG, large scale conquest, choice driven gameplay with fluid & punchy tactical real-time combat set in a dynamic open-world sandbox."

VoidExpanse Release 2nd April 2015
"Explore the vast reaches of VoidExpanse -- mine asteroids, upgrade your ship, trade, complete missions, advance your character and survive fast-paced combat with hostile aliens and mercenaries in the rich and exciting Sci-Fi universe of VoidExpanse!"

Rebel Galaxy Released 20th October 2015
"Rebel Galaxy is a swashbuckling space adventure, with action-packed combat, exploration, discovery, trade, and ?negotiation? with the outlandish denizens at the edge of the known universe."

Victor Vran Released 24th July
"Victor Vran is the isometric action-RPG where your skill is just as essential as your character build and gear. Experience intense combat action: dodge, jump and unleash powerful skills to finish off your enemies!"

Underrail Released 18th December 2015 ,)
"Underrail is an old school turn-based isometric indie role playing game that focuses on exploration and combat. The game is set in a distant future, when the life on the Earth?s surface has long since been made impossible and the remnants of humanity now dwell in the Underrail, a vast system of metro station-"

That's a few goodies that flew under the radar at least.
I've only played Victor Vran and a "demo" of Underrail but each and every one sounds good enough to be noticed.
I will try out most of these with time, except perhaps Rebel Galaxy..or perhaps I will.

I enjoyed Rebel Galaxy immensely. It's not a game that does anything revolutionary, but what it does, it does extremely well and has an excellent price tag to go along with it. Basically imagine the naval combat from Assassin's Creed 4 with some additions in a Firefly setting.

OT: I will need to second a lot of this list. While it hasn't technically come out this year, the open Beta started this year, so that sorta counts? Anyway, Brawlhalla is a very fun brawler on PC.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I enjoyed Rebel Galaxy immensely. It's not a game that does anything revolutionary, but what it does, it does extremely well and has an excellent price tag to go along with it. Basically imagine the naval combat from Assassin's Creed 4 with some additions in a Firefly setting.

Thanks for the recommendation.
Never played any Assassin's Creed game. Any similar to one of these; Corsairs/Sid Meier's Pirates/Windward?

I do love me some Firefly but I'm not as particular when it comes to passive entertainment.
I've noticed that its preferred input is via controller or gamepad. Since I game on a PC I use Mouse & Keyboard.
I love the fact that it's playable in third person view but dislike playing a capital ship instead of a fighter.

I love Freelancer, Galaxy on Fire 2 and found Darkstar One "acceptable".
I do not like Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, or Starpoint Gemini.

Hence my maybe.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I see almost no one talking about "The Magic Circle".

It's a fantastic little world-based puzzle game that comments on a lot of how triple-A and Indie gaming has fallen, while being generally funny and creative.

The basic premise is that you're a meta tester for a game stuck in development hell due to the development team being a pack of obsessed loons with various personal hangups, and some entity within the game essentially gives you the ability to hack the game through the gameplay itself in an attempt to either finish the game yourself, or to get the developers to get the hell over themselves. It's amazing.

It lets you trap a demon-monkey-dog thing, then rip the teeth out of him and replace it with a railgun, then slap those teeth onto a mushroom you've attached helicopter blades to, and then send them to kill an army of group-thinking bug thingies. Among several other situations, up to and including using the "death" state to solve puzzles. And since the puzzles are all in-world, using the same set of rules, there ends up being a LOT of ways to solve each one.

If you are interested in game development at all, you absolutely MUST play the game. There's no way around it. You just HAVE to.

Plus, your sarcastic support character is voiced by Stephen Russel. The original Garret. And he's great.

Spoiler: Le Trailer

 

[The Enquirer]

I enjoyed Rebel Galaxy immensely. It's not a game that does anything revolutionary, but what it does, it does extremely well and has an excellent price tag to go along with it. Basically imagine the naval combat from Assassin's Creed 4 with some additions in a Firefly setting.

Thanks for the recommendation.
Never played any Assassin's Creed game. Any similar to one of these; Corsairs/Sid Meier's Pirates/Windward?

I do love me some Firefly but I'm not as particular when it comes to passive entertainment.
I've noticed that its preferred input is via controller or gamepad. Since I game on a PC I use Mouse & Keyboard.
I love the fact that it's playable in third person view but dislike playing a capital ship instead of a fighter.

I love Freelancer, Galaxy on Fire 2 and found Darkstar One "acceptable".
I do not like Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous, or Starpoint Gemini.

Hence my maybe.

It basically means you have access to broadsides instead of forward firing guns like in, say, the Battlefront games. Any forward firing power you have comes from automated (though you can control them and set their targeting AI individually, a very nice feature might I add). It has been a while but it is sorta similar to SMP. The gameplay takes place on a horizontal plane. When you play the game though you can see why.

I've been playing using a mouse and keyboard with no issues.