With the end of 2015 quickly approaching and no more games to be released, now seems like the perfect time for us to explore which games we consider to be our favourites of 2015. Each Rocket Chainsaw writer has chosen one title each which they consider to be their favourite of the year. With such a small number of games being selected, this does mean that there are a number of excellent titles that have sadly missed out this year. Have a read of what we consider to be the best games of the year, and feel free to comment on the article, or our Facebook or Twitter pages and let us know what your Game of the Year was for 2015.

Zach

Undertale

For me, game of the year is the one that had the biggest impact on me as a person during the year. Without a doubt, this year that honour goes to Undertale. The game was the perfect storm of an engaging plot, fun twist on RPG combat, meaningful player agency mechanics and a world full of quirky loveable characters. I laughed, I cried, and I felt genuine guilt and satisfaction. I could go in to further detail, but this is a game best experienced as cold as possible. Just play it.

Adam

Undertale

One of the year’s biggest surprises is also its best game, and one that on the game’s own advice, I can never play again. If you want to see how a game can challenge your preconceptions about story, character and gameplay, and how these intertwine with each other, you have to play this game now. I can’t even tell you that much about it, as the joy comes from experiencing and solving Undertale for yourself. Amazing music, memorable characters and some very interesting replay value (if you can bring yourself to do it). Just don’t search for fanart.

Jarrod

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

A fairly safe, predictable choice, but Wild Hunt resonated so strongly with me in personal taste that picking anything else just wouldn’t be honest. Through the dark fantasy themes, gorgeous topography and art, memorable cast, haunting soundtrack, and unmatched sense of adventure, CDPR managed to accomplish my borderline “dream game”. It’s easily my favourite open world game, and among my favourite games of all time. And it’s not too often a new game comes around that makes me feel that way.

Tim

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt

As someone who seeks out the kind of vast, expansive experience that open-world games offer, The Witcher 3 was pretty much heaven for me. From its gorgeously detailed world, brought to life with some of the best visuals in video game history, to the incredibly well-designed quests and storylines, everything about The Witcher 3 is as near-perfect as video games get. That’s not even mentioning how vast the game is, with easily a hundred hours’ worth of stuff to do, and none of it feels like filler or padding. This is the new standard that everyone else who wants to make a big triple-A open-world title has to live up to, and will be for years to come.

Joseph

Smite (Xbox One)

I have to admit I’m not normally a fan of free-to-play titles but Smite has a special place in my heart. I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting with different builds for Gods, and the Smite community are always happy to share tactics and strategies. Hi-Rez, the game’s developers, are also constantly releasing updates which add new content and balance existing gameplay. Due to having over 70 playable characters no two online matches ever feel quite the same, expanding the game’s replay value. There’s a reason Smite has become my most played Xbox One title, and that is because it’s just so much fun to play, especially with friends.

Anthony

Rainbow Six Siege

In a year with multiple stand-out titles, one unique game stood out as my personal favourite. Rainbow Six Siege, although simple in scope, has personally been the most entertaining game of everything I’ve played in 2015. Intense gameplay, with two small opposing groups doing their best to outwit each other with a combination of teamwork and strategy, delivers an edge-of-your-seat experience. Choosing your operator and fortifying the base are equally important, creating a chessboard-like scenario where each player fills a vital place on the team. One bullet can be the difference between victory and defeat, so Ubisoft’s title successfully sets itself apart from other first-person shooters. The shooter also fills the void for a competitive, team-based shooter where you always want to play just one more round. Rainbow Six Siege is a unique, intense and entertaining title and my personal GOTY pick for 2015.

Andrew

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Until a few years ago, I never played any shooters beyond Counter Strike and didn’t really feel a pull towards the genre as a whole. That changed quickly after I purchased my Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and found my nice in third person cover based shooters. Abruptly, I went from not caring about shooters at all, to them being my favourite genre. During all of this, I still craved the heavy story experiences that I was used to from my love of role playing games, and I found those in titles like Uncharted, Mass Effect and Tomb Raider. With this preamble, it’s probably not surprising that Rise of the Tomb Raider is my game of the year. With the large emphasis on character and story, a fantastic setting, some of the best graphics I’ve seen and more customisation than Tomb Raider, it was a relatively easy choice for my game of 2015. However, if I could pick a game from last year that I completed in 2015, Sunset Overdrive would be giving Lara a run for her money.