Game of the Year: The Past 5 years

So this one is going to be a little bit off the beaten path, but it’s something I’ve had wanted to write for a while, but I wasn’t sure what form it would eventually take, but now I am ready to put words to page, and highlight games from the past that maybe you’ve forgotten about. But, before we get started, a quick note: for a title to be eligible, I will need to have played it in the year that it came out. No games released in 2017 will be eligible for 2018, for example. And…that’s really the only rule, so without further ado, let’s get into it!

2015

This is the first year I can remember with a real, clear-cut winner, coincidentally the year that I really got into games. There were a few standouts here, Splatoon, Mario Maker and Fallout 4 come to mind, but the one winner here is Batman: Arkham Knight! Rocksteady’s hailed superhero trilogy got a fitting conclusion, and while the addition of the Batmobile as a core gameplay mechanic was the main point of contention for a lot of people (myself included; driving around Gotham was a cool concept, but after a while, vehicular combat got really tedious. I however liked how seamlessly you could exit the Batmobile for ground combat, which got the addition of being able to use downed enemies’ weapons (think clubs and baseball bats) against them. In terms of gameplay, it’s very solid, but where this game really shines is the story. Batman (played once again by Kevin Conroy) is older, and begins to face stiff opposition from the Arkham Knight (played by Troy Baker), a younger, fitter foil to Batman, who seems to know all of Batman’s weaknesses, as Scarecrow plots to release fear toxin all over Gotham. The story is full of the comic twists and turns that are the hallmark of your standard comic book series, and is the perfect way to end this vaunted trilogy of games. It was an unforgettable experience, and one that I want to dive back into one of these days!

2016

2016 was a bit of a leaner year in terms of quality titles, and for this reason, I had a hard time coming up with my list of games of the year in my head, especially for this one. There were 2 main competitors, Battlefield 1 and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Battlefield 1 being a historical shooter set in World War 1 definitely made it win favor with me. It’s War Stories mode is probably one of the better campaigns I’ve played in a shooter. It takes you across the various battles and locales of the Great War. You play as a hotshot American pilot fighting the Germans in British airspace one minute, a British tank unit soldier who’s tank ceases working the next, an Australian soldier at Gallipoli after that, and much more. Though there are only 6 missions, the missions are long enough and fleshed out enough that it can keep you busy for hours! Where the game shines (or struggles, depending on your point of view) is the online multiplayer mode. I’m not good at these kinds of games, and yet I still found this mode to be very fun, and I logged a ton of hours in it. However, I have to give the nod to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, simply because of my own excitement surrounding this game. When we got a PS4, this was what I was looking forward to. Finally, actually good exclusives! Uncharted 4 combines action and platforming in the best ways possible, as shooting and jumping and swinging and using the grappling hook feel super satisfying. The story is super funny and at times kind of heavy, as this is globe-trotting treasure hunter Nathan Drake’s last job before he finally retires, and he’s brought his convicted felon brother Sam along for the ride. The duo experience the usual globe trotting shenanigans as they attempt to find legendary pirate Francis Drake’s treasure before their rivals do. I have my own history with this game, I started playing it in 2016, got stuck on one of the driving sections and set it down. For 3 years. Yep, you read that right, it took me 3 years to beat a game. Granted it was out of apathy and nothing to do with the game, but still. But when I finally did finish it, I felt like it was an awesome action game, and one that got me into the rest of the series, which I need to take another dive into again! In due time I will, and I will maybe do a review here!

2017

2017 was undoubtedly the year of Nintendo, with not only Breath of the Wild being the last Nintendo-published game for the Wii U and garnering almost universal acclaim, but the year also brought the release of the Nintendo Switch! The Switch brought the release of Super Mario Odyssey, a platformer with wide open levels and smaller, non-linear challenges to secure moons (instead of the usual point A-to-point B affairs in past 3D Mario titles), and a new method of traversal, with Mario able to throw his hat, which has been taken over by Cappy, a sentient hat being, to take over enemies and control them, reach high places and make longer jumps. This twist on the Mario formula opens up so many more avenues for future games and gameplay challenges. I’m excited to see what Nintendo can do with it! As for Breath of The Wild, I loved it when I first played it. The openness of it, and there being a gigantic world to explore in any order you chose, as well as the combat feeling extra frantic due to breakable weapons, which I didn’t mind at all, as it shook up the Zelda formula of “dodge and hit one button” makes the game stand out. It was a throwback to the original, and it met every single one of my expectations for what an open world Zelda would look like. So which game gets the award? They both do! They both represent the pinnacle of Nintendo’s output for this generation and this award is a fitting recognition of such quality!

2018

This one is no contest: It’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Allow me, for a moment to wax poetic about why:

The reason for this choice is twofold: first, the anticipation. When I was about 12 and for years after, my brother and I played the first Red Dead Redemption almost yearly as a kind of winter break tradition. When you experience something like that year over year, it gets deep down into your psyche. It feels so familiar that it’s almost automatic when you play it again. I feel like everyone who plays a lot of video games knows that feeling! I knew the story backwards and forwards, which sees former outlaw John Marston helping the federal government track down the members of his former gang. Along the way, you, as John Marston, meet characters who represent and embody early 20th century American ideals. You meet lawmen, government men, revolutionaries, peasants, snake oil salesmen, an old west gunfighter, and many other weird and wonderful people in between. It’s a tale of how one man fights to stay alive as the world changes around him, and he’s powerless to stop it. It’s a tale of one man fighting to be free from government obligation so he can settle down. It’s also a tragedy, if you know how it ends. It’s also one of my favorite games of all time. Naturally, a sequel was inevitable, and in 2016, it was finally announced, and delayed twice, releasing on October 26th, 2018. I’ve felt this feeling several times throughout my life, when there’s something you’ve been looking forward to for so long comes to fruition, there’s this initial rush of excitement, and then it subsides, then you can focus on enjoying what you’ve been looking towards in the first place. That’s what I felt here. Now secondly, the actual game.

Set in 1899, you play as Arthur Morgan, a lieutenant in Dutch Van Der Linde’s gang, as the gang is on the run after a heist gone ambiguously wrong. They’re running from the law, all the while being pursued by the various rival gangs you encounter on your journey. John Marston, younger, angrier and more inexperienced, returns, as does the gang you had to hunt down in the first game, as well as some new and fresh faces. Throughout all the violence and bloodshed, the fact that the camp is a physical site that you can visit and upgrade through donations, and you can find people playing cards, strumming a guitar, and just living their lives. Occasionally, they’ll even throw parties. This human elements is juxtaposed with the more brutal and violent clashes you have throughout the duration of the game with law enforcement and rival gangs and outlaws alike. The first half of the game is about Dutch’s utopian promise; throughout the game he keeps the gang dreaming of an ideal, Eden-like paradise, waxing emotionally about the benefits of farming mangoes in Tahiti, or whatever his lie of the day is. And that’s all it is, lies that are carefully rehearsed under a veneer of familial love and protection. The entire game is a story about the slow death of a family, that’s accelerated at the back half of the game. In my mind, with this death of the family comes the death of something else, but this requires reflection on a question: What is being left behind when a society progresses? In the case of this game, the thing being left behind is the ideal of the “cowboy/outlaw” and the cause of this is the industrial Revolution. But in this death, newer, “fictive-kin” style families are formed, and for Arthur, John, and others, redemption is found by the end. It’s a very emotional story, and one that I consider to be one of my favorites in all of video games. The game is very fun, and it looks very good (and these are massive understatements by the way) but that narrative is so powerful and was so worth waiting for, that this won my game of the year, no contest!

2019

What happens when directors are out of the spotlight for a while? Some (such as Coppola) resurface with failures (Godfather III being an example). Others bring smash hits. Such was the case with legendary game director Hideo Kojima, the architect of the Metal Gear series, who went independent after a messy divorce from Konami. His debut game as an independent creator? The weird and wonderful Death Stranding! This game was announced at E3 2016, with a cryptic trailer, and as the game got further in development, more cryptic details of the game were revealed before it finally released in November of 2019. And when it finally did come out, I immediately became drawn to it.

Because of a post apocalyptic event, the titular Death Stranding, the US has entered an era of post-apocalypse. The Death Stranding caused all dead bodies to explode in nuclear fire. In addition to that, there is also the issue of timefall, rain that causes anything it hits to age rapidly, and BTs (short for Beached Things), paranormal monsters that when seen and when they chase you, cover the ground in a black, tar-like liquid, which can slow down your movement. They are vulnerable to bullets soaked in your player character’s blood, however. You yourself can’t see them, you need a specialized piece of equipment called a BB, a baby-like being who floats around in a pod strapped to you at all times, except when at rest areas, where he is allowed to float freely.

Yeah, I know, this game is strange. Kojima’s games have always been obtuse like that, and they usually take multiple play-throughs to decipher. But at its core, this is a story of connections, and the power of humanity to make them.

The Monster Energy Collab isn’t even the 10th weirdest thing in this game

You, as Sam Porter Bridges, are tasked by your mom, who is also the President, to reconnect America to something called the Chiral Network, kind of like a supply chain for people hunkered down after the Death Stranding. To do this, you need to complete deliveries. Yes, this may be a “walking simulator”, but the walking is the best part of it. It’s not simply about getting from point A to point B, rather it is about how you get there, you need to strategize, and this comes down to what equipment you carry, whether or not you use vehicles or even what route you take. It’s undoubtedly the only action game I’ve played where the terrain actively factors into your strategy (as far as I’m aware, golf isn’t this complicated). The game actually has an innovative multiplayer mechanic as well. Occasionally, while out in the world, you might stumble across things left by other players, like ropes, ladders, weapons, vehicles or other items to help you traverse this perilous landscape. This is why this game is so great, it actively encourages cooperation and leaving things behind for people to help them, while other communities of online multiplayer are so hostile, this one (apart from a few wiseguys who stick vehicles right in front of places you need to get into) is not. And I think that is part of what makes this game great, because I occasionally dropped off supplies for other players and I like to think I’ve done good for those players. BB as well is one of my favorite mechanics in the game, and I don’t know exactly why, just having a constant companion who’s always there and helping you throughout this empty post apocalypse is very comforting. I’ll espouse on this more when the Director’s Cut comes out and I have time to review it so keep an eye out for that. All in all, even though I didn’t understand what the game was trying to say thematically, I loved it anyway, because it’s a moving and unique experience.

2020

Last year’s winner shouldn’t come as a shock to anybody if they’re a longtime reader, but my game of the year for that year was Animal Crossing: New Horizons! It was a combination of many other different factors all converging together and creating one unforgettable experience. Firstly, the pandemic and nationwide quarantining measures meant that people were spending more time indoors. Secondly, for me personally at least, it gave me an excuse to stay inside and work on this blog! And I feel as though, even still, I can look back on those posts and say I did a good job! It was my first experience with the Animal Crossing franchise, and I will hold it near and dear to my heart forever! The customization of everything from the way your island is laid out, to the color of the different tools you use, to the look of the outside of your house, the graphics, the various different villager events (birthdays, firework shows, etc.) made for an unforgettable experience throughout the year! It’s something that Nintendo has lagged behind on in recent months, preferring to rehash update content from last year, and that’s partially why I stopped playing the game regularly, but I hold out hope that major updates will make a return, and hopefully soon. Because I, and so many others, know this game is great and it has the potential to be even greater!

2021

Which game will take the crown for 2021? Well, right now the frontrunner is Hitman 3, a near-perfect take on the stealth game genre. But upcoming games such as Back 4 Blood, a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, Deathloop, Bethesda’s action game exclusively for PS5, and Far Cry 6, Ubisoft’s latest entry in the upcoming franchise are sure to provide some competition. Or will a game that’s already released, such as Housemarque’s roguelike shooter, Returnal, take the crown, when I eventually get around to playing it? That remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: whatever game wins the honor for game of the year, will be wholly deserving of the title, just like the past five winners!