I try to play a lot of games in my free time. I don’t play as much as I used to, but nonetheless, I want to talk about the list of games I enjoyed the most this year.
To be entirely honest, most of these games were not released in 2015 — my favorite picks are in fact not from 2015 at all. (For instance, I have yet to play The Witcher 3.)
Dragon Age Inquisition
The best Dragon Age yet. It comes quite close to my favorite Bioware game, Mass Effect. I played through the first two games in the series last year, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. Once Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser was released, my opinion of the game changed quite a bit, simply because the ending of the game is so well done with the expansion. (Whereas the original ending is rather lackluster.) I also listen to the wonderful soundtrack fairly frequently, which is something I almost never do.
RPG. Time played: 78 hours
Fire Emblem: Awakening
I knew that Fire Emblem was one of the most well-regarded games on the 3DS, but it was ten hours into the game that I figured out that I was addicted. I spent over fifty hours playing this during public transport and even when sitting at home. One of the best turn-based strategy games with tons of fun characters.
Turn based strategy. Time played: 55 hours
The Talos Principle
It’s hard to explain The Talos Principle; it’s quite like Portal 2 in that it has puzzles and requires some thinking, but it’s different since it’s also a bit of a philosophical adventure. There’s a demo that is different from the main game. Try it out, see if you like it. Elohim says hi.
Puzzle. Time played: 20 hours
Apotheon
I love Greek and Roman mythology, so this platformer was right up my alley. Can be completed in less than 10 hours, so it’s a great game to play if you don’t feel like playing an open-world game.
Platformer. Time played: 6 hours
Total War: Shogun 2 & ROME II
I also devoted quite a few hours to conquering Japan and most of Western Europe when playing both Total War Shogun 2 and ROME II. While ROME II was a sad disappointment at release, it has become a great game with many patches. Shogun 2 was also wonderful, and probably the best in the series. I have yet to tackle a real ATILLA campaign.
Strategy. Time played: 51 hours (ROME II), 47 hours (Shogun 2)
Hearthstone
Addicting as hell, and available on your phone. Enough said. I wasted too many hours having so much fun with silly decks. Luck is a heavy factor in this game.
Card game. Time played: Possibly more than 80 hours
Gyakuten Kenji 2
Edgeworth Investigations: Prosecutor’s Path is a fan-translation for the sequel to original Edgeworth Investigations, which is an Ace Attorney spinoff. As such, I was forced to play it on an emulator. Possibly the best installment in the Ace Attorney series, and it wasn’t even brought to the west. If you enjoy Ace Attorney, this is a must-play. Objection, Capcom!
Detective game. Time played: 25 hours
Conclusion
I played a lot of games this year, and the most memorable ones I listed here. The list is pretty varied in genres, and I can recommend all of them wholeheartedly.
What were your favorite games that you played this year? Leave a comment to let me know.
(Also, remember the posts I was going to write every few months? Yeah, that didn’t really happen. Sorry about that.)