** Excludes games with fewer than 7 reviews.Īll Metascore data for this and all other tables in this report is from December 16, 2015. * Games with 4 or more reviews in Metacritic's database released between Januand Decem(based on North American release dates, except in cases where a game has not been released in North America). Before that, here's a quick look at how the various game platforms compared this year: In a moment, we'll reveal this year's best-reviewed games for each major platform. (Either that, or we are looking at the new normal, where greatness is a bit more elusive.) So, consider this an exceptionally long transition period to the new hardware.
The belated PC port of 2013's Grand Theft Auto V actually scored a point higher, but that game is ineligible for our official year-end honor since it isn't a new title. Of those, Phantom Pain received the highest individual score (for its XB1 version), making it our official game of the year for 2015.
So the list of "new" great console titles this year is a short one: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (on both PS4 and XB1), Bloodborne (PS4), and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4/XB1).
And two of those were expansion packs, while two more were ports from other platforms. In fact, just 9 console releases achieved a 90+ score. But that total matches last year's number, which represented the lowest number of great game releases in a single year over the past decade. That's not to say there weren't some great games in 2015-there were actually 14 releases scoring 90 or higher, listed a little further down this page. Once again, we are wrapping up a year in which many of the most-anticipated titles saw their releases pushed back to the following year, while others that did surface didn't quite live up to their advance promise. 7 reviews)įor the past several years, our year-end report on the year in games has contained a note stating that if the newest generation of console hardware was going to bring about an explosion of great new games, it hadn't happened yet. What were your favorite shows from the season? What are you excited for next season? Be sure to tell us in the comments below, and for more on anime, tune into IGN Anime Club every Wednesday.(Highest-scoring new title, min. Planetarian may be short, but its message of war and hope will stay with us for a long time. It also serves as a cautionary tale: war not only has the power to disconnect us from each other, but the heavens as well.
This beautiful, introspective mini series about a distrustful Junker and a naive android bonding over projections of stars no longer visible under a nuclear haze delivers all the feels.
Planetarian is proof positive that less is more. ReLIFE does a fantastic job of showing the trials and tribulations of growing up through an intriguing and entertaining spin on the slice-of-life genre. Having already experienced being an adult, Arata becomes somewhat of a guide or mentor to his new found high school friends. As Arata relives high school, he begins to see the missed opportunities and mistakes he’s regretted in the past. Down-and-out protagonist, Arata Kaizaki, gets a second chance at a new happy life by agreeing to an experiment that helps NEETs, people that are Not in Education, Employment, or Training. While the idea of an adult becoming young again to go back to high school is absurd, it works surprisingly well in ReLIFE. If you haven't caught up with Food Wars yet, The Second Plate’s attention to its characters and expansion of what made Season 1 so great is a good incentive to get watching.Īvailable on Crunchyroll and Anime Lab ReLife We’re also getting a better look at the rest of the cast without sacrificing the hero Soma, all the while building to something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a thoughtful commentary on the pressures of fitting in, the repercussions of suppressing one’s emotions, and the responsibility of power.Īvailable on Crunchyroll Food Wars: The Second Plateįood Wars' first season was one of our favorite series of last year, and now its second season is continuing to deliver beautiful food and intense cooking battles with its signature shonen flair (plus just the right amount of fanservice). The premise is goofy (as is the colorful, hyper-stylized animation), but the reason we love Mob is because it’s more than just another hero show.
This hilarious action series follows the crazy adventures of psychic Shiego Kageyama (AKA Mob) as he tries to fit in with his classmates while battling spirits and other psychics. The creator of One Punch Man delivers another knockout with Mob Psycho 100.