Matt pays Ethan back for the autoscrolling level in episode 2! Ricardo and Matt’s brother Andrew joins in the ridiculing!
Try the level yourself:
FB47-0000-01F4-E8B5
Mario Breakers #5: Technically Not an Autoscroller
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Mario Breakers: Episode 4
Matt learns the story of the spooky ghost factory. How are ghosts actually made? Find out in Ethan’s devious level, which is aptly named “Ghost Factory.”
Want to find out how ghosts are made yourself?
Use this code in Super Mario Maker: 918f-0000-01da-5ff0
Mario Breakers: Episode 3
Ethan takes on fast moving floors and tests his ability to not jump on a P Switch. Matt and Ricardo get Mario facts wrong. Special guess Laurentius joins!
Want to try the level yourself?
Use this code in Super Mario Maker: B0BA-0000-01C3-1E0E
Game of the Year 2015
Don’t want to sit through six hours of podcasts to find out what our favorite games of the year were? No problem! Watch this video instead.
You can also find our individual top 5 lists here.
GOTY 2015 Matt’s Top 5
Alright I’m late as it is, so let’s get this intro out of the way.
2015 was one of the best years for video games in recent memory. So many great games came out. Both AAA titles and surprise independent nobodies can be seen not only on this list but the hundreds of others that are out there on the Internet. Some of my favorite games of all time came out this year. Usually, I struggle to pick even 5 games that I played and consider good at the end of the year. This year it was a real battle in my head over which game should get which spot, as well as over 5 other games that I had to cut just to make this list possible. As someone who doens’t do this for a living and can’t afford every game and console out there, this was a historic year.
And while 2016 is looking to be a big year (perhaps we’ll see if VR can actually be good or if the NX will be a game changer for Nintendo) I’m not sure it can beat last year for games. I’m certainly hoping it will! Considering stuff I’m looking forward to returning to (Darkest Dungeon) and games I can’t wait to try out (No Man’s Sky) as well as older ones I really want to put more time into (Heroes of the Storm, Vermintide, and Kerbal Space Program) this year already has a lot going for it. The reason that 2015 was so great is it got me excited, I mean like really excited, to play these games. I would be at work thinking about possible directions the plot would go, or new strategies to try out. I would spend time watching YouTube videos of optimal mission paths or techniques, which is something I almost never do. I came home and played some of these games almost every night before bed. In fact, every game on this list almost completely occupied my time with it in one way or another, rather than simply being an enjoyment which began and ended. The best part is I can still see myself playing some of these games in the coming year, especially as several of them have just hours and hours of replay value.
Before we get to the list, here’s a few games that didn’t make the cut but are still pretty dang good:
Honorable Mentions:
Favorite Local Multiplayer: Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Favorite Game that Got Me to Think MOBAs are Actually OK: Heroes of the Storm
Favorite Game I Watched but didn’t Actually Play: Contradiction: Spot the Liar
With all that said, on to the list!
6.(Screw these top 5 Rules) Life is Strange
teens and high school what will they think of next
It was such a close race between this and the game below for the number 5 spot that I couldn’t just leave it out. There are very few games that even try to attempt to cover some of the heavy topics that Life is Strange does, and almost none that pull it off so well. I won’t spoil the details of the plot, but needless to say that my initial impressions of a light-hearted high school adventure (with some sci-fi time travel thrown in) ended up being a little off. The game ramps up the mystery and direness of its character’s situations with each increasing episode, and ends up in some dark places.
This isn’t one of those games that’s good simply because it’s dark though. It earns all of its emotionally charged moments through consistent character development. With one or two exceptions, every character has more to them than first glance will reveal, and even characters I started hating reveal reasons why they act that way. In this regard the game also does a great job of not going too far in the other direction, as plenty of these characters have to live with the bad choices they have made.
The game also evolves the New Adventure Game format popularized by Telltale and brings that genre forward in a way Telltale hasn’t (in most games at least.) The time travel element makes for some creative puzzles and dialogue options without trivializing the content. People have criticized the dialogue for being over-the-top “young people” speak, but while there were one or two times it pulled me out, I thought the amount of teen attitude was spot on.
Ultimately (and the reason it sits lower on my list,) the game doesn’t quite stick the landing, though it still managed to leave me with strong feelings few games have been able to do. I also blame Ethan for pointing out how little the characters’ faces emote, which I somehow hadn’t noticed until we began our Spoilercast for the game, and now I can’t unsee it. But don’t let that video game quibble keep you from enjoying the story.
5. Tales from the Borderlands
on the hunt for that vault
Wait a minute, didn’t I just say that Life is Strange is better than any recent Telltale game? Yeah ok, but that was before I played Tales from the Borderlands. This game blew me away, and if it wasn’t for a game further down my list, it would be one of the funniest games I’ve ever played.
Like, Ethan, I have tried repeatedly to get into the Borderlands series and never been able to stick with it. I don’t find loot games engaging, and not only do I not find it funny, but it actively annoys me with its referential and “Internet” related jokes. The more “funny” a character is supposed to be, the more I disliked them (coughcoughHandsomeJackClaptrapcough.)
So imagine my surprise when not only did this game help me regain faith in Telltale’s ability to make engaging games, it made me laugh out loud and care about the story and characters it was presenting to me. It actively plays with Telltale’s own formula, and while it doesn’t necessarily fix some of the problems with this style of game it does reference the foibles that the style has had. It says a lot that even my wife, who has never played a Borderlands game and has no desire to, was excited to see what happens at the end of this story.
Between the excellent writing, the emotive characters, and some cool directions the plot goes to, this game is definitely my favorite Telltale adventure game. Yes, that includes the first season of The Walking Dead. If you’re as burned out as I was on this kind of game, this one might just change your mind. If it doesn’t, it should at least make you laugh.
4. Rocket League
the thing about arsenal is they always try to walk it in
I’m not a fan of sports games. I don’t really like driving games that much either. In fact I don’t even really watch regular sports. With that being said, Rocket League captured me in a way that won’t be any surprise to someone who has played that game. Rocket League takes a formula so simple, which makes you wonder why no one else has thought of it, and combines it with a deep level of skill that gives new and old players reasons to come back to it.
When you think about the concept (rocket cars and soccer) it’s hard to imagine why so few games have done it. Or done it well at least. Even Psyonix, the game’s fairly small developer, has tried this same idea with much less success. This time, they nailed the execution and made sure that every part of the game is addicting and intense. Not to mention the regular free updates the devs have been releasing only adds to the experience.
I could speak about how simple the controls are to learn but how deep they are to master. I could talk about how the size of the playing field and ball works perfectly with the physics, I could explain the joy of perfectly hitting the ball right into the net, only to watch it explode and launch players across the field. I could talk about the equal joy that blocking a near certain goal, or rocket jumping into the air to clear a bouncing ball, or being the first to race across the map to the starting kick off, or the literally dozens of other individual moments that this game provides in spades.
If you have a PC or PS4, you should play it.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
is this the final chapter for big boss and his brother snake
The stories of the Metal Gear games are bonkers crazy, but somehow strangely engrossing to watch. Yet I’ve had no joy playing them. Well Kojima’s (and Konami’s) swan song for the franchise flips the script and just swaps those two. This time it’s the story that’s rather boring (though still ridiculously over written in Kojima style) but the gameplay produces some of the more perfect moments in open world design.
And even then it’s still an achievement, because I usually don’t like open world games. With a few exceptions, I usually get overwhelmed and burned out with all the options and side quests and collectibles and races and the rest of the stuff that overflows out of almost every modern open world game. Metal Gear presents its missions to you in an order that is straight forward, and while there are collectibles, each mission gives you optional side objectives that make them possible to get without feeling overwhelmed.
And when you get into the missions themselves you get to some of the best open world, best stealth, best sandbox gameplay I’ve ever seen. There are just so many ways to tackle each mission, so many different weapons you can equip for each given scenario, and so many options to tackle difficult objectives. That feeling of sneaking into an enemy fortress, quietly tranqing guards or even making your way completely unseen to your objective, and getting out before people even know you’re there is one of the best in the world. Then you pull the trigger on your C4 and all the radar towers in the base explode, leaving smoking rubble and shocked guards as you fly away in your helicopter. Or if you want to run in with a shotgun and a rocket launcher, calling in an airstrike as you order you sniper to open fire on all exposed heads, you can certainly do that too.
games are art
Also you can Fulton a bear, I don’t think I have to explain too much more.
2. Super Mario Maker
getting the goombas out of those pipes once and for all
Super Mario Maker is THE Mario game. It successfully makes game creation an easy and fun process, and also provides infinite Mario levels for our enjoyment. I was having a blast just trying the 100 Mario challenge for a while, but it’s almost impossible to play without creativity just seeping into your braining and whispering “You could make something cool like this!”
At first most of the user generated content was fairly poor, but it has gotten better and better since release, and by following a few key creators I have been able to find some really good levels. The joy of playing Mario 1, 3, World hasn’t changed (even with their slightly updated physics) and even New Super Mario Bros has its place with its unique mechanics.
But nothing quite comes close to watching your level get played. I have been trying to create “good” Mario levels, but I have also seen the joy of just being a jerk, especially when it’s Ethan and he dies to the same Spiny every time. And even the times when I was frustrated with his level (but seriously who makes an autoscroller round 1? He’s gonna regret that) I was having fun. Also the Spiny that killed me is a cheater.
1. Undertale
the undertale logo
What a surprise! The indie darling that took the Internet (and GameFAQs) by storm is is also my favorite game of the year.
Honestly, at this point everyone’s probably sick of hearing about Undertale. The game itself is far better the less you know about it. And while it doesn’t exactly put its best foot forward, it plays with your expectations in such an amazing way, which is part of what makes it so great.
It has hilarious humor, great characters, meaningful drama that doesn’t feel forced, and plays with mechanics and tropes in games that honestly pushes the entire medium forward.
But I think Griffin McElroy of Polygon put it best:”Undertale is an easy game to assume you already know… I had already decided out of hand that I knew everything about it. An hour in, I was pretty sure I knew some things about it. Two hours in, I was mystified and head-over-heels.”
If you can get to that point and allow yourself to be mystified, then you will be in the for the best gaming experience of 2015 (and all-time according to www.gamefaqs.com).
GOTY 2015 Ethan’s Top 5
What a year it’s been.
An absolute ton of excellent games came out in 2015. Even though I played more games this year than I have in the past, I still didn’t put enough time into all the games I wanted to play.
2015 was the year of the open world. What felt like tons came out and each of them somehow managed to differentiate themselves from the pack. Problem is, big, impressive, open worlds take a long time to complete. 2015 produced not just a lot of games, but a lot of game. Blah, blah, blah, this year was great, but what is worth playing you might ask? Well, in my not so humble opinion, these are my favorite games of 2015. Okay, these are actually my honorable mentions, but scroll further and you’ll find my list.
Undertale:
Despite my problems with the beginning of the game and being absolute trash at bullet hell games, Undertale is a charmer. Within the first hour or so, I thought I had this game figured out, but pretty quickly, this game goes bonkers. All of the characters, even the lame monsters found in the wilderness, are memorable in their own way. Couple that with an amazing soundtrack and you have a game that will be remembered for years to come. (I know Tumblr certainly will.)
Cibele:
I want more games like this. Personal stories. Cibele is about its game designer, Nina Freeman, who falls in love with a guy through an MMO during her college years. Personal stories have been explored in film, books and to an extent in song lyrics, but not much in games. I feel games have the potential to give a more intimate look at someone’s life than any other medium. For the most part, Cibele succeeds. I can’t say all of it comes together, but I love what Cibele is and I hope to see more games like it.
Metal Gear Solid: V:
I can’t believe I played a Metal Gear game. I didn’t think I’d ever touch one of these after attempting to play Metal Gear Solid II. The overworld, free-to-play, mechanics are super wonky, but most of the mission designs are a blast. Congratulations Hideo, you got me to put 40 hours into a game that I didn’t even think I would touch. For that, you get an honorable mention.
Rise of the Tomb Raider:
Rise of the Tomb Raider doesn’t break new ground, but it is one of the best game-ass-game, big-budget titles around. It has a solid story, gorgeous graphics, a manageable amount of side content and awesome tomb raiding. It took everything enjoyable about the first game and refined it beautifully.
5. Her Story
She’s so charming with her guitar. Too bad she’s probably a murderer.
While not a game I could ever go back to, this is easily one of my favorite experiences of 2015. Her Story is a game where you look through an unsorted list of interviews. The only way to navigate through these files is by typing words from the transcript into the search engine. It sounds so simple when you explain it, but it’s a completely innovative way to tell a story. It also is one of the few games I know of that doesn’t have a definitive ending. Just play until you’re satisfied.
Her Story makes you feel more like a detective than any other game I have ever played. Combing through files on a familiar interface felt real and sometimes I would forget I was using a computer within a computer. Because you can see the clips in any order possible, the story comes together in an organic way unique to your playthrough and thought process. There are no hints, there are no checkpoints (per-se), it’s just you trying to piece together the story in your head.
This is a form of storytelling that can only be done in video games and I want more.
4. Super Mario Maker
Everytime I killed Matt with some BS obstacle, my heart skipped a beat.
I played this game at Matt’s house and figured I knew everything I needed to know from that brief play session. “Neat it’s a game for making infinite Mario levels. That’s cool.”
No, no, no. It’s so much more than that. It revolutionizes level creation tools by allowing anyone to use it. Without any prior experience, you can put together a solid level in 10 minutes. That level won’t be anything clever, but it’s amazing to create a level that looks like it might actually appear in a Mario game.
No other game gave me the same level of joy of watching someone bash their head against a level I created myself. Between the play testing and the level creation it’s the only game in my memory that made me feel like a real video game developer. “Oh, Lakitu can be used to exploit this section. Is this jumping section more frustrating that it is fun? This level needs more variety.” The process of watching a friend or family member play a level I made, had me questioning all of my design decisions. It’s safe to say that part of the accessibility is because you’re making Mario levels. A game nearly everyone has played.
The creation interface is one of the rare cases of design where usability also dives into obscurity. Dragging items on top of obstacles and shaking the item to change it is brilliantly intuitive, but sometimes I found myself lost at where to find specific items. For example, checkpoints turn into arrows when you shake them. I can kind of see the logic, but it’s a bit of a stretch. I had to Google where to find them. It’s not as instinctive as shaking a wiggler and OH NOW HE’S AN ANGRY WIGGLER.
Seeing other people’s courses is a blast too. Sometimes before I head to bed I pop on a 100 Mario challenge, which tasks you to beat 16 randomly selected courses with only 100 lives. It’s a great way to see some of the most curious content and blow off steam before bed. (was this level made by a kid?) There is so much to love in this wonderful package and I can see myself playing this years to come.
3. Tales from the Borderlands
Choices in video games.
I don’t care for Borderlands at all. I think the shooting feels terrible and the world is boring and fraught with referential humor that never did it for me. When Tales from the Borderlands was announced from, interactive story maker of all things popular, Telltale, I hardly cared. Oh boy, I can’t wait to play a story driven game with a ton of insufferable characters. But after hearing many people saying this was their favorite Telltale game ever I gave it a chance. (Full disclosure: Telltale sent me a Steam code as well, which pushed me to play it)
Boy, I wasn’t expecting to love this game as much as I did. This is the first Telltale game where death and choices don’t matter much, so I wasn’t going in expecting all of my choices to affect the story like so many other Telltale games are expected to do. All of the characters are diverse, colorful and lively. I fell deeply in love with almost everyone in the game. Even characters I disliked in Borderlands 2 became fully fleshed out lovable people. This game’s humor is top notch with memorable moments from every single episode and that’s not including each episode’s intro featuring some of the best use of licensed music ever.
The story, a fairly straight forward heist comedy, is still interesting, but the characters are what make this game stand out above the rest. Another rare feat in episodic gaming is each episode continually gets better and better. When the credits rolled, I couldn’t shake this feeling of melancholy. I may never see more adventures of Fiona, Rhys and friends. Maybe that’s for the best, because this is one of the few games in recent memory featuring a solid ending.
Forget your “Telltale fatigue” or your dislike for the Borderlands universe, this game transcends beyond that and is one of the most fulfilling story driven gaming experiences this year.
2. SOMA
Too spooky.
I didn’t expect much in the terms of story from the developers of heart attack simulator, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but the story made SOMA fantastic. Frictional Games toned down the horror in SOMA and instead focused on building a cohesive world dripping with atmosphere and a compelling narrative.
The narrative was my driving force between the game’s bugs and horrible monster encounters. The monster sections aren’t horrible because they’re scary, they’re horrible because they can be utterly frustrating. Luckily, dying isn’t a big deal in this game, which everyone I streamed this for can attest to, but it still made progressing through the game more chore than fun.
Of couse there are always real life scares.
Remember to lock your doors.
The best times I had in SOMA were when I was exploring the rotting underwater lab and poking through the puzzles the game presented me. Each puzzle was unique and thought provoking not only from a logical, problem-solving standpoint but from an ethical standpoint as well. At one point the game makes you constantly restart a person’s digital consciousness multiple times with different settings just to get information out of him. Each time he’s scared, frightened and says the exact same line of dialog. Each time I hoped he would give me the information. After I got it, I was presented with the choice of erasing the hard drive, essentially ending his life for good or leaving him alone inside the confines of a hard drive forever.
I erased it. I’m a murderer…but I did the right thing…right? Please tell me I’m not horrible.
The beauty of SOMA is it presented me choices I had to make, but none of them affect the game later on. Instead, it affected me personally and how I viewed my own morality system. Is your consciousness, confined to a nearly non-functioning robot an excuse for human life? No other game this year made me think about the big questions in life as much as SOMA did.
1. Heroes of the Storm
People still make mistakes.
Look, if you know me, it’s no surprise this game tops everything else on my list. No other game this year comes close to the hours I have dumped into this game. MOBAs aren’t new to the gaming world or to me. I had a couple years of my life where I deeply invested in League of Legends, but as my real life responsibilities grew and I wasn’t able to devote as much time to playing it as I used to, the game’s complexities overwhelmed me and I dropped off. I tried a few times to go back, but the game kept changing and asking for more than I was willing to give.
Then I heard of Heroes of the Storm. A few of my friends had been singing its praises so I booted it up and instantly fell in love. No longer did I have to worry about learning each character’s last hit window, worry about which items to buy or sit through what could be an absolute slaughter after our team’s luck took a turn. Instead I found unique characters (Cho’Gall lets two players play the same character at the same freaking time!), diverse maps, shorter more action packed games, and a surprisingly deep talent system.
As a Blizzard fan, it’s also a joy to see how the company translates all of its characters and worlds into a MOBA setting. It’s like Super Smash Brothers for the PC! Even though this game is more accessible than most MOBAs, it still has a decent amount of depth to it after you scratch the surface. If anything, the game revolves more around teamwork than around equipping your character properly, which unfortunately in turn has lead to a semi-toxic experience higher up the ladder.
They can’t stop my passion for this game, though. Every time I pick Murky (pictured at the stop of this article) his dumb stupid face makes me grin with all the memories of slaughtering all my foes with a dumb baby murloc. Heck, I didn’t play nearly all of December, but I can’t wait to get back into it. I know Heroes of the Storm will welcome me with open arms.
This game shines by offering something new in an increasingly crowded MOBA genre and I can’t wait to see where it goes in 2016.
SHAMELESS PLUG: If you’re thinking of playing Heroes of the Storm, please sign up through this link. It will give me a dope mount that I can ride into battle. I’ll send you pictures if you want.
