1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
There was only ever going to be one winner. After years in the making, mountains of hype and a couple of cheekily flattering pre-release gameplay trailers, the third and apparently final video game outing for Geralt of Rivia arrived in the summer of '15. The world of The Witcher 3 is the medieval-fantasy RPG done to perfection. It's not only one of the
biggest video game worlds ever, but one that is packed with an unprecedented level of beauty and detail. You can be sailing across a lake, listening to the game's gorgeous haunting soundtrack and watching the stunning sunrise over a distant forest, then happen upon a village in in desperate need of your help fending off monsters, or a grisly murder scene that takes you down a rabbit-hole of intrigue. In The Witcher 3, you're never far away from a place with some kind of story to tell - despite the incredible size of the world. The story itself, while not incredibly original, is engaging thanks to excellent dialogue, formidable characters and well animated faces that actually take some steps towards capturing the general spectrum of human emotions (see, Bethesda? It
can be done). Even the sullen protagonist Geralt comes into his own, and as you spend many, many hours with him, you actually feel warm to gaming's alpha male of the moment. But the real joy of The Witcher 3 isn't found in following the main quest in a workmanlike fashion. It's in exploring the world as a lone wolf, carrying out quests that always run deeper than they first seem, trotting through treacherous marshes in search of treasures and adventure, and taking on formidable enemies using the game's satisfying, highly skilful combat mechanics. The Witcher 3 is a watershed RPG that other games in the genre will look up to for years, and it's unlikely that we'll see anything quite of its quality for some years yet.
Buy The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at GOGHas this been the greatest ever year for the RPG? Let us know what you think in the comments, and if you want your views read by millions of people around the world, then come have a go at writing for WhatCulture!