GOTY 2015: Games That Didn't Make The Cut

It was a surprisingly wild year for games, and as a lot of you know, I love Game of the Year time. I'll be doing three main posts for GOTY 2015: A game of the year video, an Honorable Mentions list, and this feature, where I list a selection of games that didn't quite make the cut, for better or for worse.

GOTY 2015: Games That Didn't Make The Cut

Undertale's a game that has its own voice, and while shaped from games like Earthbound, has its own personality as well. It's almost a cognitive dissonance to have the game on this list as there's a lot to like here: Breaking the fourth wall, morality, the importance of relationships, and an honest look at what makes a game engrossing.

That being said, for as much as the game does well (characters are VERY memorable, fantastic music), it slips where it counts. The morality choices throughout the game aren't necessarily transparent, but they're extremely binary. For a game that questions whether or not you're a good person, or what decisions would fit your morale compass, it literally locks you into an enveloped ending if you go off the rails even a single time.

Now I don't want to go into spoiler territory, but there are multiple endings, and it interests me that people that would complain about a series like Mass Effect or Deus Ex having the developers make your final story decisions for you don't also complain about Undertale's take, which is handled in a very similar manner. You're either a murderer or a pacifist, with the neutral ending being a non-ending of sorts. While the game rewards multiple playthroughs, I don't feel the incentive to immediately revisit the world.

This may also be a moment of the hype getting to me. I love Earthbound, and people across internet message boards calling this a second-coming seemed like a perfect treat to round out an already stellar year. While it definitely sparks the same imagination, Undertale is a bit heavy-handed as opposed to Earthbound's slow-burn revelations. I have no problem recommending Undertale as a game worth playing, but keep your head about you going in. This isn't Earthbound, and it's the game's greatest blessing and worst curse.

Mad Max is one hell of a game: I just wish there was more to it. After seeing Fury Road, I immediately came home and purchased the game, wanting to live out the bizarre fantasy I just saw on the big screen. The game nails the feel of the movie, with insane car battles, neat characters, and something to look at around every corner.

Playing through Mad Max was a bitter-sweet experience, as the game shows its hand very early on, relying on its positive feedback loop to make the game feel longer than it should be. It's in this weird category of game, as I wish it was shorter OR longer. The current length doesn't quite feel satisfying enough, while also feeling like it overstays its welcome given the content provided.

The driving mechanics are a dream, the combat is a smooth simplified version of Arkham's perfection, and scavenging the wastelands for gasoline and parts for my souped-up car kept me engaged. What ended up happening as I was driving and fighting and looting, however, is I waited for the other shoe to drop and it never did: Those three things exist, and that's it. This feels like a perfectly cooked steak that has absolutely no flavor.

What Mad Max does, it does incredibly well. If they would have made the game a six hour experience with this content, I honestly believe it'd be the sleeper-hit of the year. As it stands, I think a sequel would do this game wonders. Remember the leap from Assassin's Creed to Assassin's Creed II? Mad Max gives me the same vibe. Bear witness.

Skyrim came out in 2011. I put about an hour into the game, then let it sit collecting dust in my digital Steam backlog. The game didn't engage me at the time, and I didn't feel bad for not playing it when it was fresh. Fast forward to 2015, I'm now 100+ hours into Skyrim. All of these hours came from this year, all of them on Twitch.

I bring this up because this exact same phenomenon is happening with Fallout 4. I've put a handful of hours in, did some quests, had a few neat moments, and shut the game off. There's no incentive for me to continue, as the Wasteland given to us here doesn't feel all that different from Fallout 3 or New Vegas, both games I've put considerable hours into. Fallout 4 just suffers from fatigue, and I'm not sure if it's my fatigue with Bethesda's style of game, or if it's truly the design style itself that is wearing thin.

Yes, they've added crafting. Yes, they've added settlements. Yes, they've allowed you to Minecraft your way into all sorts of hilarious situations, really placing your stamp on the Commonwealth. The fact remains, though, that I feel like I've done this before, and in locations I've already visited. As difficult as these games are to make, seeing one trash-filled abandoned building after another leaves a strong sense of deja vu. It's beautiful in its own way, but the sense of exploring isn't there for me with Fallout 4. It's all the same, and even with the new crafting mechanics of picking up every little trinket you find, it's still not interesting.

Maybe there's an "A-ha!" moment with Fallout 4 that will hook me in, but if it hasn't happened in the 7 or so hours I've already given the game, I don't think it's going to happen. The combat feels much better, and I'm glad they've messed with the ideas of giving the player more freedom and customization, but currently it's just not working for me.

Who knows, if 2015 was any indication with Skyrim, I may sink my 200 hours into Fallout 4 come Summer 2019.