It feels not so long ago when we were eagerly waiting for titles like Batman: Arkham Knight, Silent Hills, and Evolve to release and sweep us off our feet. While some titles totally blew us away, many others let us down, while some sneaked in out of nowhere to surprise us, much to our amusement. With glitchy games like Batman: Arkham Knight (PC only), superb indie titles like Undertale, and open world games like Fallout 4, that took weeks away from our lives before we even realized it, 2015 finally nears its end and here is a look back at the good, the bad and the worst the year had to offer.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt—The Good

Even after one hundred hours of playing this open world game, there still seems to be another happy hundred hours of life left; and I am not even including the two additional DLCs with 30 hours each of play time without having to pay extra....yep! You read that right, we are so glad that EA did not publish this game. A game worth spending every buck, if you own any of the next gen consoles and even the owners of a decent gaming PC can enjoy this excellent title, which looks pretty decent even on the lowest settings.

The Order 1886 —The Bad

After much hype and the glimpses of its gameplay footage revealed at E3 last year, The Order 1886 turned out to be the best looking game on next-gen consoles so far. But that’s about it. Apart from the graphics, nothing else was commendable. In fact, everything else turned out to be a massive disappointment and for those who paid the asking price of $60, the game felt like a rip-off. Still, nonetheless, there is hope for the sequel if the creators learn from their mistakes and do not end up making a game relying only on Quick Time Events(QTE) like this utter failure. 

Ori and the Blind Forest—The Good

This one is more for the love of platformers, but make no mistake here as there are certainly no nostalgic points that ranks this game this high on my list. Ori And The Blind Forest is an emotional ride that captivates gamers with its soothing audio and dynamic visuals that perfectly convey every emotion the game holds. Apart from the excellent narrative, the gameplay in itself is a dream come true for any platformer—where trigger fingers combined with impeccable timing give a true feeling of achievement every time you clear an obstacle. With roughly under a dozen hours of gameplay, Ori And The Blind Forest still manages to retain plenty of replay value with an experience you won’t forget any time soon.

Halo 5 Guardians—The Bad

Another highly anticipated sequel, Halo 5 was a sequel that turned out to be a complete disappointment. Halo 5 Guardians is a fine example of what happens when you introduce a new protagonist after selling the game entirely based on the original one. We missed playing as Master Chief, as he only appeared in cameo appearance in three missions out of eleven total. Not to forget the absence of split screen mode. This game used to be a system seller back in the days of first Xbox consoles but not anymore. In fact, far from it.

Mortal Combat X—The Good

Even after nine previous games, Mortal Combat X still reigns supreme as the best fighting game, hands down. Released on the next-gen consoles and PC, Mortal Combat X brings all of its previous roster of iconic fighters, along with six new faces that will undoubtedly leave a mark on the future of the franchise. With the most fluid gameplay mechanics ever witnessed in Mortal Combat games and strikingly pleasing background during fights, this game has set the bar for future fighting games. And to much delight of the gamers, the “Fatality” features the goriest and most brutal visuals yet and we love...don’t judge us.

Evolve—The Bad

Another highly anticipated title which held a lot of promise but fell flat on its face is Evolve.

Inspired by the growing popularity of Massive Online Battle Arena (MOBA) genre, the team of developers from Turtle Rock Studios took upon this highly ambitious project. But the title held back on maps, skins, and other in-game features that made the game repetitive, predictable, and after a while utterly boring. There might be some hope of breathing new life to this project in the coming years, but only time will tell if the developers will fix their mistakes and give the fans what they are asking for.

Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain—The Good

It is clear that ‘V’ in Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain stands for victory, as Hideo Kojima does it once again. Redefining the stealth genre, Phantom Pain writes a pivotal

chapter in the series and opens the game towards new avenues. An astonishing story, excellent voice acting, and magnificent gameplay mechanics  makes this game the best installation in the franchise yet and that says a lot. If you own a next-gen console and still do not own this title, then my friend, you have been missing.

Alone in the Dark Illumination—The WORST

A game franchise with cult following, since its release in 1992, the latest edition was an utter insult to the genre of survival horror. With graphics which might have raised some eyebrows a decade ago, with story and gameplay that only manages to get yawns out of gamers, Alone in the Dark Illumination seems like sin that should not have ever been committed. It is still hard to figure out if this game actually came out in 2015 or if we are just having a déjà vu from 2008. Thank you for ruining my childhood, Atari.