20 Best Video Games Of 2015

12. Rise Of The Tomb Raider

Considering Microsoft made a big hubbub about securing Tomb Raider as a timed release for the Xbox One, they've done about as much to promote it as Sony did the PSP. You'd barely know about Lara's latest, and that's a crying shame - because it's her finest yet. Seriously, if you liked the direction things were going in the 2013 reboot, simply add refined controls, a massive perk tree with tons of abilities, sumptuously gorgeous graphics, very emotive cutscenes and a ton of forward thinking. Rise of the Tomb Raider is already outdoing the next Uncharted at its own game. Core gameplay definitely mimics Drake's adventures, but with Rise, Crystal Dynamics have introduced some nifty one-button crafting systems that double as contextual prompts. Pick up a bottle, and you can produce a makeshift molotov. Grab a can and it's a grenade, an enemy radio and it's a sentry mine - all based on a material system that challenges you to explore the fairly open world for the best equipment before heading to the next waypoint. Microsoft really need to get behind Tomb Raider in a big way while they still can, as what's here is hands-down the best Lara's ever played; a robust combination of perfected gameplay mechanics in tandem with a very emotional and surprisingly well-acted story.
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.