Poll: Vote for the Reader's Choice GOTY for 2015!

[ffronw]

Hey Escapists,

It's time to vote for your GOTY pick for 2015. Get your votes in over the next 48 hours by noon on Monday, Jan. 4, and we'll post the results alongside our staff-chosen Game of the Year.

Thanks to the eight item poll limit, this year's write in candidates will be Splatoon and StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void. If either of these is your choice for GOTY, please post and say so.

Happy New Year to all of you!

 

[IceForce]

Ah, so it's just a 'flat' poll this year? (ie: no 'brackets' or multiple 'rounds' of voting?)

I prefer it this way, it's simpler.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Might want to do an article or a feature on the main page to really draw in the votes, poll seems a bit empty at the moment.

 

[Barbas]

Announced it onto my United Nations of Pure Fun Group

Ur a schoilar and a gentleman!

OT: I've yet to finish The Witcher III, but the accolllades heaped upon it (eve nthis far after its release) are something I rarely see. And everyimte I do, it's because something was a masterpiece. So this game must be a masterpiece.

I also got about fifteen minutes in and thought that it was a head and shoulders above everything, EVERYTHING.

 

[Sassafrass]

No Fishing Planet?
How can this be a Game of the Year thread without god-damned FISHING PLANET?!

Seriously though, four of those there are games I loved so I picked one of those.

But only because there's no Fishing Planet.

 

[BreakfastMan]

If I had to choose... Gotta give it to Witcher 3, with Undertale and MGSV as close seconds. Love all those games, but Witcher 3 is probably my favorite. MGSV is definitely the best playing game of the year, but the story had some huge issues, and I love me a good story (it is so much rarer in games than good gameplay). Undertale is about equal with Witcher in terms of writing quality, but... Undertale gave me 6-7 hours of damn good story, while Witcher 3 gave me 60+. Just by quantity of good story alone, Witcher wins.

 

[StormShaun]

This hurt me.
Either Witcher 3 or undertale.
One had SO much content which lasted me hours, yet the other had excellent characters, interesting gameplay, and storytelling that could make someone cry.

Sorry Witcher, but I have to go with Undertale, especially since it intrigued me as a writer.

EDIT: I'd also throw Bloodborne into my highest games. Just remembering it gives me the satisfaction of beating it.

 

[Imp_Emissary]

If either of the last 2 games win, I'll be happy.

Witcher 3 was an open world game that's pretty much raised the bar for all the ones that will follow. It was also just fun to play and gave me a pretty satisfying story even though it was my first experience with the Witcher.

That said, I'll have to pick Undertale because not only did it have a great story, fun gameplay, and wonderful characters. It also did interesting things that can only be done by a video game.

Best of luck to both of them! =w= b

 

[Kingjackl]

For me it's a toss up between it and Undertale, but I'm giving it to Bloodborne. Maybe it's the safer option, but the combat, the atmosphere and the lore make it exemplary in my mind.

God damn, why didn't I play Witcher 3 when I had the chance? No other game on the list (except possibly Cities) has made it through the year without some kind of hype backlash, but that game came out months ago and is still being heralded as a masterpiece.

 

[suitepee7]

I'm a massive fan of FromSoft's games, and I think Bloodborne might be my favourite one yet. I prefer the faster combat, the focus on aggressive gameplay, and the general Eldritch and Lovecraftian themes that run throughout. Witcher 3 is a very close runner up, which is my second favourite, but it is a damn close second. Just started my Undertale run tonight, only about an hour in, but really intrigued and it is looking very promising, but obviously I cannot say it is my favourite so far.

MGS5 I'm gonna pick up when it goes down a little more in price, I have a pretty hefty backlog to get through at any rate, so hopefully by Easter/Summer sales I'll get a chance. FO4 was a massive letdown for me, probably my biggest disappointment of the year, completely mimicking my reaction to Dragon Age: Inquisition last year. It just failed to deliver on so many aspects, and I have no desire to play it after only 26 hours. PoT, I'll get to it at some point, but again the backlog will prevent me for doing that for some time.

 

[Hawki]

Well, there's the unfortunate fact that I haven't played any of the games on this list. Of the games I've played this year, the only ones that were actually released in 2015 were Halo 5, Legacy of the Void, Heroes of the Storm, and Strife, and the last two only count if you ignore that their betas started much earlier.

That said, since you've allowed it, I'll nominate LotV. I know that'll get me a lot of flak, but sorry, I've loved SC2 from start to finish, and god damn was LotV a finish I enjoyed.

 

[runic knight]

Ok, got to admit, this years games are very hard to pick a top from. Fallout, Witcher and Bloodborne are amazing games for different directions the games sought to pursue. Metal Gear Solid I have heard is also pretty good, though not having played it yet, hard to know how it ranks. Then you have Undertale, probably the best demonstration of a game creator understanding the medium of the game I have seen in years with how the game it written and acknowledges the trappings of the game the story is being told in, in a way that makes sense. While not the best gameplay or visual by far, it earns a lot of credit for being clever and for characters that I just really like.

So sort of have to try to pick between the very solid overall games from slightly different purposes, or an oddball game that is exceptional in a couple categories but not as great as the other games in other categories.

Hmm, really hard to say. About the only thing I am sure about is that mortal kombat, while not bad, doesn't make the cut.

I think I am gonna go with Witcher. While not as innovatively clever with the concepts explored, it excels everywhere else, and isn't half bad story either.

So Witcher for 1st, undertale for second.

 

[Tanis]

Ya know, as odd as it is to say, a VERY recent game called 'Legend of Heroes: Trails Of Cold Steel' may be my GOTY.

It's nothing ground breaking, but it's everything I loved about the series (which is mainly been on handhelds) in HD.

It's just a fun, traditional, JRPG.
I'm not even done and I can't wait till the sequel comes out.

 

[LetalisK]

Ah, so it's just a 'flat' poll this year? (ie: no 'brackets' or multiple 'rounds' of voting?)

I prefer it this way, it's simpler.

Last time we did a flat poll Mass Effect 3 won GOTY. It made me giggle with glee.

 

[Sonicron]

I honestly thought I'd vote for StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. It was a great game, a fittingly bombastic finale to a series I truly love. While the gameplay was entertaining as ever, it was the visual design, the writing and above all the VO performance that kept me glued to the screen.

And yet, only a month after I finished the game I find it really doesn't occupy my mind at all. As good as it was, I can't say it had a very lasting effect on me, or that it particularly sticks out in my mind.
You know what does?
Bloodborne.
I'd never played a FromSoft game to completion before, and it took me a long time to get through this one, but I stuck it out despite all the frustration, and for that I was rewarded with something special. It satisfied my itch for action, horror and mystery in equal measure, and even though all of my stated preferences for storytelling dictate I should have hated the way in which Bloodborne presented its story and lore, I loved it. The community buzz around it was a welcome bonus, as discussing ambiguous snippets of content was equally interesting as finding them in the first place.
I'm grateful for this game being accessible to folks of middling skill (such as me) despite it being tough as nails. It never felt like a slog, despite occasional frustration, and its challenges rarely felt unfair. It was determination that saw me through it, and I still feel rather good about having been able to beat it.
And the atmosphere... oh Lord, it'll be a long while, I feel, before I'll get to experience something dripping with atmosphere like Bloodborne.
My GOTY 2015, no question.

 

[babinro]

I haven't played any of the listed games so it wouldn't be fair to vote.

From what I've followed, researched and viewed in terms of Let's Plays I'd probably give the nod to Undertale. The game really strikes me as vastly overhyped but it's got more charm and leaves a better impression than the other options.

 

[Pseudonym]

I'm abstaining from this vote. I've only played three games on the list (cities: skylines, undertale and pillars of eternity) and didn't really get into them. I have mgs5 on steamshare but whenever I see somebody play it my immediate thought is 'looks like crysis, but too easy and too Kojima' and then I load up crysis.

I get the feeling that I'd have liked bloodborne the best of the games on this list, but I don't own a PS4.

My favourite this year was invisible inc, it being pretty much the only new release this year that I actually finished. I've mostly played and replayed games I already had or that are old. Hotline miami 2 was neat but failed to live up to the original in both story and gameplay for me. (the music was good though)

 

[Bat Vader]

I can't decide between The Witcher 3 and Pillars of Eternity. Both are great games.

 

[Rad Party God]

I'll go for Witcher 3, besides being overall an incredible open world game, the story, characters, lore and those kinds of details that fleshes out the world are amazing and staggering.

 

[StatusNil]

Witcher 3, for bringing in some of that much needed Diversity of course. Needs moar People of Polish!

Oh, and this vote really should have had some more exposure. I suspect most readers are going to miss this, hidden as it is in the attic of the gaming forum. I myself only noticed because I like to chime in on the Lost Games thread now and then. I mean, 81 votes so far... that's slightly on the low side for a Reader GOTY poll on a site such as this, no?

How about a do-over, with a proper article splashed all over the front page this time? It would be shame for most of the community to simply miss the chance to get in on the GOTY hype.