Game of the Year Awards 2015 - Most Promising RPG

The visitors of RPGWatch and the editors agree on the first place for the game they look forward to most, but their second and third rankings are different.

Editors' Choice & Gamers' Choice: Torment: Tides of Numenera

We came together on this one, editors and readers, and it's not exactly a leap to predict that this will be an absolutely smashing RPG.  Planescape: Torment was quite possibly the most lauded RPG in history, and a lot is riding on this spiritual successor.  It's similar in so many ways - a world strange beyond description, unimaginably distant from everything we understand, yet injected with enough humanity to hit us where it counts.  And yet it's a bit different than its 1999 namesake; the worlds are slightly different, the rules are slightly different.  But it's similar enough to make our blood race with the possibilities.  Maybe...just maybe...it can help us recapture some of the amazing nostalgia, the sense of wonder we felt in trying to reclaim the life of a single protagonist, or in being caught up in a narrative so much bigger than ourselves.

We already know that the writing is excellent.  We already know that the graphics and sound are excellent.  We already know that it's being developed by a talented team with a proven record making solid RPG's.  And now, we wait...eagerly.

 

 

Gamers' Choice Runner up: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Among our readers, the newest Deus Ex installment has got everyone buzzing.  It's easy to see a trend; possibly, many of us like games about humanity itself; its essence, reclaiming it, transcending it.  AAA studios typically aren't popular around here, but our members have placed their doubts aside and put their faith firmly in the hands of Eidos Montreal to deliver the next gripping installment to the cyberpunk thriller.  Like The Witcher, Deus Ex is famous for delivering a grim, dark hero of few words whose story we can shape to a certain extent.  Also like The Witcher, Deus Ex goes really light on the linearity; its missions can be tackled when one feels ready.

When Adam Jensen is ready for the latest chapter of his tragic tale, you can bet that RPGWatch will be, too.

 

 

Editors' Choice Runner up & Gamers' Choice Third place: Divinity: Original Sin 2

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is something of a paradox.  In some ways, we know important details about it, and in others, we know next to nothing.  As of writing this article, we don't really know as much as we'd like; we know the graphics are amazing, we know that the game doesn't feel quite as ridiculously silly as its predecessor, and we know that Chris Avellone has joined the project (adding to our hopes that he might nudge the game toward taking itself a touch more seriously and increasing the immersion factor in the process).  The fact that it ended up raising four times its goal on Kickstarter shows that a lot of people are clamoring for a sequel; the isometric view, the amazing graphics, the effortless way it executes character interaction and turn-based combat...a lot of hopes were riding on the first one and it took those hopes and turned them into a classic with what felt like effortless ease.  We've no doubt of their ability to do the same thing again with its sequel.

And we can't wait.

 

 

Editors' Choice Third Place: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

For many of us (okay, maybe just for me), Kingdom Come: Deliverance feels a bit like a spiritual cousin to The Witcher 3.  The latter takes place in a dirty medieval world inspired by Eastern Europe in the Late Middle Ages, and the former is a true-to-life game that actually takes place in Eastern Europe in the Late Middle Ages.  Warhorse Studios has made a lot of promises; an innovative, realistic combat system the likes of which we've never seen, a faithful recreation of Bohemia in the turbulent fifteenth century, beautiful graphics, and the adventure of a lifetime.  There's no doubt that, like CD Projekt RED, Warhorse is taking their time with this one, releasing updates at what feels like a leisurely pace, and driving its supporters absolutely crazy in the process.  But, if you'll allow us to continue with the comparison to The Witcher 3, if that game is any indication, a leisurely development period, stunning graphics, and a novel combat system will make for an immortal classic that will smash sales records and keep people playing for hundreds of hours, trapped hopelessly in its beautiful, brutal medieval world.  Time will tell, but here among the editors, we're waiting with a certain eagerness to travel back in time.  And some of us may never return.

We're fine with that.

 

 

The Numbers

The following tables shows the results of the voting by our visitors.

Gamers' Choice

Rank	Game
1	Torment: Tides of Numenera
2	Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
3	Divinity: Original Sin 2
4	Mass Effect: Andromeda
5	Dark Souls 3
6	Kingdom Come: Deliverance
7	XCOM 2
8	Grim Dawn
9	Enderal - The Shards of Order

All other games scored a percentage of less than 2 %.

And the votes of the editors can be found below.

 

Editors' Choice

Rank	Game
1	Torment: Tides of Numenera
2	Divinity: Original Sin 2
3	Kingdom Come: Deliverance