Here are our Game of the Year winners

Here are our Game of the Year winners

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The Game of the Year is a strange notion nowadays. There are Game of the Year editions for almost every title and every publisher claims that their title is a Game of the Year. Instead of picking one game from every genre, we had a discussion among our writers and went over our reviews. Based on the amount of fun we had, or how impressed we were, we picked a few games.

Our AAA Game of the Year:

This was an easy choice believe it or not. A lot of fantastic experiences have come out over the past year including Halo 5, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6, Fallout 4, and Witcher 3. However, Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition blew us away. While we may have had some gripes about how the title made the transition over to consoles, the level of consequences imbued into the game are truly astonishing. In titles like Witcher 3, there are consequences but they don’t matter at much when you engage in routine activities like looting or talking to companions. Divinity: Original Sin Enchanced Edition has companions with their own personalities that argue with you on how you should play the game or make certain decisions. You also have to be careful when dealing with enemies, do you kill everyone who crosses your path or spare their life? Lastly, do you steal from everyone in sight or are you careful with your actions.

I remember that there was this one area in Divinity that required me to dig up graves to find a particular object. There was a mother grieving for her daughter but I was playing the game like any other title, I would loot corpses, dig up graves, and steal from everyone and destroyed anyone who crossed my path. The grieving mother attacked me when we dug up her daughter’s grave in front of her. I genuinely felt guilty for what I had done and decided that I had made a lot of wrong decisions I would not make in real life. I was used to playing role-playing titles in such a weird way that I forgot that this was a game where every minor occurrence truly mattered. This impressed me the most and our writers. This is why Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition deserves our Game of the Year award.

Our ID@Xbox Game of the Year:

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is an oddity. It might have a strange name but it’s a challenging and pretty hardcore game. The title is fun and extremely satisfying when you make progress. This is the first game where I felt that I really needed a friend. It might even be best experienced with a friend. I’ve played titles like Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and Halo 5 and I’ve been fine on my own. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is the exception. No matter how good your computer-controlled companion is, a human is better. It changes the whole game, the banter, the exchange, the interactivity changes completely. It feels like a different title.

This is a game that’s a true test of skill and it’s quite rare nowadays in my opinion. Working together is essential and it’s required to succeed. I’ve never felt like this about any other game this year, maybe ever. Lesson’s learned from this title helped me communicate better with my team while playing a title like Halo 5 because I learned to interact with my teammate on a more efficient level. It’s just amazing.

We also want your opinion. Out of the games we reviewed in 2015 found here, which one is your absolute favorite? Let us know. Do you agree with our choices. Let us know too.

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