FELIX's top games of 2015

4. Rocket League

Rocket League is the sequel to Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, a name which, while a bit of a mouthful, is a fairly accurate description of both games. It’s essentially a football game, but with cars. Obviously, cars don’t have feet so they couldn’t call it that (although that doesn’t stop Americans from misusing the term).

It’s miles better than both Fifa and PES, two games which have had years to evolve. Somehow, as a car you feel more like you’re actually playing football. There’s a large focus on your positioning and strategy, and it’s certainly no good to just chase the ball around. To save goals you have to perform almost impossible acrobatic maneuvers. You can perform all sorts of tricks thanks to the rocket boosters attached to your car. You can even fly if you want, but you’ll only embarrass yourself.

Developers, Psyonix, add another layer of complexity by allowing you to blow up your opponents if you ram into them hard enough. So, just when you’re about to score a goal you can be temporarily taken out of the game.

The thrill of speeding from one end of the pitch to the other is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in a sports game. If you thought Walcott was fast, Rocket League will blow you away. It’s refreshingly fast, which often results in goals scored seconds after the game starts.

This holiday don’t ask for Fifa and put Rocket League on your wish list instead.

3. Splatoon

Nintendo created one of the greatest first-person shooters of all time when they released Metroid Prime for the GameCube in 2002. However, since the people have rarely associated Nintendo with the genre. In 2015, with Splatoon they innovate yet again, producing a third-person shooter that attempts to redefine what a competitive shooter can be.

There is no death in Splatoon, only the sudden explosion into a pile of ink. The aim of the game is to cover as much of the map in your team’s colour. So, rather than being a game about taking down the opposing team, it’s more about taking control of the map. Paint a surface with your ink and you can turn into a squid and swim through the map, vastly increasing your speed.

This is certainly a game for all ages; violence is nowhere to be seen. In the absence of blood there is nothing but paint and it’s all the more fun for it. Maybe other developers should take note.

At first, the game’s art style will probably remind you of an awful nineties cartoon. It’s Nintendo’s weird attempt at trying to look cool, and it seems to have succeeded. Someone’s even made a whole zine dedicated to the fashion in the game and the weird half-human half-squid hybrids that you play as. The soundtrack is similarly ‘rad’ and like all Nintendo games you’ll quickly be humming along.

The only problem is that you’ll have to buy a Wii U to play it.

2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

A major complaint with the Metal Gear Solid franchise has always been that it relies too heavily on drawn-out cutscenes and a nonsensical plot. Luckily, The Phantom Pain is largely devoid of the problems that plagued the series’ past, and as a result Kojima has created arguably his greatest game yet.

The Fulton surface-to-air recovery system introduced is probably the best innovation in a gaming this year. Take someone (or something) out non-lethally and you can attach a balloon to their back to send them to Mother Base, the central hub of your operations.

Whether in Afghanistan or Angola-Zaire, it’s incredibly satisfying to quietly take out an entire outpost of soldiers and then have them all join your army as researchers, medics or foot soldiers. With each extra recruit, you really feel like you’re making progress. This is one of the many ways the world feels incredibly reactive; each small decision you make causes a ripple, large or small. And you can approach each mission (or side-mission) in seemingly infinite ways. I can’t think of a single time where I felt restricted by the tools available to me, which is often the case even in games labelled as open world sandboxes.

The Phantom Pain is what all future open-world games should aspire to be: responsive, lifelike, and beautifully rendered. Kojima, take a bow.

1. Undertale

In videogames, the act of killing is almost universally rewarded; yet, in reality there is no worse crime one can commit. There are many games, particularly when stealth is involved, where entirely pacifist playthroughs are possible (although this rarely beneficial to the player). Undertale gives a certain humanity to its enemies through its humour and charm. It doesn’t actively encourage you to spare those you encounter, but I’ve never felt worse murdering something digitally before.

Tobyfox’s debut is a shining gem in an endless stream of unimaginative indie games and an industry obsessed by open worlds. By twisting JRPG mechanics, it’s a game that feels instantly familiar while still pushing the tired genre forward. Other than the ability to be merciful, Undertale will be remembered for it’s hilariously sad script and fourth-wall breaking mechanics (this is a game which could only work on PC). Even the presentation of the game, from the beautiful Earthbound-inspired graphics to the genre-spanning soundtrack, is flawless.

Undertale recognises that understanding and compassion are essential if we truly wish to resolve conflicts - a message that is all too obvious and yet so commonly ignored. Instead of trivialising death, it makes it a core theme of the game.

If Jeremy Corbyn played a single game this year, this would be it.