When heavyweight fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat release they usually kill the competition. A Mortal Kombat hasn’t released in 3 years, so in my opinion, the fighting genre has been a little weak. While I’m not wholeheartedly being biased towards Mortal Kombat, there are other great fighting games out there. This year was another slow one for fighters, but a few gems did crop up.

Mortal Kombat X

Mortal Kombat X didn’t just continue the fresh 2D fighting from the 2011 game. MKX delivered the MK experience on a whole new level with more gore, more gruesome fatalities, awesome X-Ray moves, a great new Krypt side game, and amazing online play. MKX is one of the best fighting games in the last decade and took the genre home for the taking.

Runner-Ups

Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax

Skullgirls 2nd Encore

Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late

The PlayStation 4 remains the best selling console this generation, but the exclusives aren’t quite as strong as Xbox One’s. However, the PS4 continues to offer unique experiences no found on other systems. The Japanese game market remains the strongest on PS4 and anyone wanting the Eastern experience will the best here.

Bloodborne

Another Dark Souls clone? No, this is the spiritual successor to the series, say a cousin. The game looks amazing, plays well, and has some fantastic lore and gameplay that you won’t forget. The only thing holding it back may be the difficulty, but sometimes that’s what keeps players coming back.

Runner-Ups

Until Dawn

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance

Tearaway Unfolded

The next-generation consoles finally have enough exclusives to have their own category this year. While it’s a slow start, the Xbox One and PS4 have both sold millions of units and have significant exclusive titles and popular releases that are selling units. The Xbox One probably has the strongest run of exclusives this year and they were pretty fantastic.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider is one of the most iconic video game franchises of all time. With the 2011 reboot, Lara Croft paved a new path for female video game characters and the action-adventure genre as a whole. Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the most brilliant games to be released in the last decade with a fantastic story, great characters, and an amazing world to explore. While the game is Xbox One exclusive for only a while, it remains one of the best on the system.

Runner-Ups

Forza Motorsport 6

Rare Replay

Halo 5: Guardians

2015 may be the Wii U’s strongest year thus far. Despite the few AAA titles, there’s not much more in store for the Wii U outside of the indie games splashing around. The Wii U has been on lift support since day one, but those games that are feeding blood to the Wii U are great.

Super Mario Maker

It’s no surprise that a Mario game would be the best one on a Nintendo console, but Mario Maker stands apart from New Super Mario Bros., as it allows users to create fully-fledged Mario levels and download them other than people have made. This allows for an infinite amount of playtime for a series that every single gamer can relate to on the planet. That is a beautiful thing.

Runner-Ups

Splatoon

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Reissues are stronger than ever in 2015 with nearly every major franchise receiving some sort of HD upgrade. A majority of them were pretty great, but the best ones either rebuild the game from the ground up or offer some great extra content for the hardcore fans.

Rare Replay

Not only does Rare Replay include every single Rare game ever made, but they are masterfully recreated with a sleek and beautiful menu system and plenty of extras such as cheats and developer interviews. These games also bring back memories for anyone who grew up playing games in the ’80s to mid-’00s. Some of the most iconic video games ever made are included and they are about $1 apiece. Who can beat that?

Runner-Ups

Gears of War Ultimate Edition

God of War III Remastered

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

Multiplatform games are more abundant in 2015 than they ever have been. With console exclusives being stretched out further and further the line between consoles is becoming blurred. It’s becoming harder and harder to isolate consoles from one another as features become the same with just a different coat of paint. This year had some fantastic multiplatform games, I wish I could list them all, but only the best made it.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3 is a fantastic game and can finally be enjoyed on all platforms. The Witcher 1 was PC exclusive and The Witcher 2 received a very late and rough Xbox 360 port. The Witcher 3 was made for both consoles and PC gracefully with great controller mapping and PC and keyboard controls. While the console versions suffered fewer bugs, they all eventually got ironed out and the game had an overall even performance level. Of course, the PC version looks the best, but big game releases these days all have some sort of major bugs that hinder the game. It was a tough choice this year, and The Witcher 3 came out on top due to wider multiplatform support.

Runner-Ups

Dying Light

Fallout 4

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Destiny: The Taken King

With the power of cell phones doubling every year, we are getting closer and closer to console-quality experiences on mobiles. 2015 brought out the best games yet with beautiful visuals, vast worlds, and lots of strategies.

Lara Croft GO

Lara Croft has been making a great comeback over the past few years with the 2011 Tomb Raider reboot. Lara Croft GO takes the Hitman GO formula and ups the ante with craftier puzzles in the Tomb Raider formula we all love. The mechanics could never have worked better for the franchise and not to mention the beautiful papercraft visuals.

Runner-Ups

Chaos Rings III

Path to Luma

Order & Chaos Online II

The Executive

The Vita was a little weaker this year, but overall those games that were released were solid. The Vita has lost steam since last year, but here’s hoping 2015 is the year of the Vita.

Superbeat: Xonic

The PlayStation Vita is a dying system, at least in the West, with no AAA titles in existence for the system’s future. What we have is a steady stream of JRPGs and the occasional visual novel. Superbeat outshines these JRPGs and visual novels because it’s one of the few rhythm games on the system and it’s quite excellent. With great visuals, catchy songs, and a fun rhythm system there’s not much else that stands out on the system this year.

Runner-Ups

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Dispair Girls

Atelier Ayesha Plus: The Alchemist of Dusk

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~

Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library the Monster Seal

Despite heavy remakes being made on the 3DS, this was a strong year for the system. The 3DS has proven to be one of the greatest handheld platforms of all time even outdoing its larger console brethren.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D may be the most ambitious and largest portable game ever made. Porting an entire RPG onto a handheld is no small feat, and despite a few major setbacks, the game proved extremely popular and well done as well as selling a whole new system. With an epic tale, fantastic visuals, and great combat, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D proves that massive console games can work on handheld systems.

Runner-Ups

Hatsune Miku -Project Mirai- DX

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D

Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate

The PC came back stronger this year with quite a few hit releases, however, it still hasn’t been as strong as it could be exclusive wise. Still, PC has remained the go-to system for the best looking games in existence.

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void

StarCraft II has remained one of the best strategy games of all time, and Legacy of the Void gives us a rousing conclusion to a decade-old franchise. With a fantastic new campaign, more multiplayer balance, excellent storytelling, and addictive strategy elements, Legacy of the Void perfect an age-old genre.

Runner-Ups

Heroes of the Storm

Undertale

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns

Soma