GOTY 2015: Digital

10. Within seconds of starting in Duck Game, you and a three other ducks will be thrown into a small arena filled with weapons and items, with the simple intention of killing everyone else as quickly as possible. In most cases, someone will die in the first five seconds due to the games one-hit-kill system, when a winner has been decided all four players will immediately be thrown into a new stage with new weapons and new ways to die. This fast paced system is great fun, it allows for quick pick-up-and-play action, an intense atmosphere, and not to mention hours of duck-murdering hilarity. It's similar to TowerFall Ascension, and scratches the same itch.

The game also comes with a selection of single-player arcade games that allow the player to test out weapons and abilities while also earning them hats to show off online. This mixed with the large variety of maps and items makes Duck Game a great title that can provide hours of fun with friends, and the level of enjoyment it provides means that the gameplay doesn't get stale too quickly. This is great local and online multiplayer action.

9. Nuclear Throne is a late entry to this list, as the game only left Early Access on PC and launched on PS4/Vita in December. We already knew it was good, we'd been playing it on and off for well over a year, and on top of that developers Vlambeer have also been livestreaming the development of the game, offering us unique insight into the creative process that has resulted in one of the year's finest indie offerings.

This is a twin-stick roguelike-like shooter that puts players in control of one of several mutants. The levels are procedurally generated and each area is a challenge in its own right. There's some great pixelated artwork to admire, the controls are responsive and balanced, the audio is great, the soundtrack brilliant, and there's admirable depth to the gameplay loop that'll keep you coming back for more. Vlambeer has followed up their excellent work on Luftrausers with yet another stellar offering.

8. Tom Happ's tribute to Nintendo's classic Super Metroid is beguiling beyond belief at times, it could almost be seen as spiritual successor to Yoshio Sakamoto's Super NES masterpiece. The 16-Bit aesthetic is wonderfully recreated, but the mood is so much darker than R&D1 would ever have dared in the 1990s. In addition, Happ doesn't allow his sincere respect for retro to hold back fourth-wall ideas that bring a very modern perspective.

Often what people forget about Super Metroid and the subsequent Metroidvania subgenre is how puzzle-oriented the bigger picture becomes. While the scintillating Guacamelee from Drinkbox took an action-packed, combat celebration route to its attention grabbing scenes, with Axiom Verge, every new weapon becomes a key to unlocking new areas, some paving the way forward while others lead to power-ups that improve chances of survival.

7. This year has been a good one for fans of the roguelike genre, and Downwell isn't even the highest charting example. It is, however, the one that we've spent the most time on, and via our mobile phone we've leapt into the darkness on countless occasions. Short, snappy adventures makes this ideal for gaming on the go, and it's no surprise that this got a mention in our Handheld category.

Downwell is a simple game in many respects, but it also offers increasing depth and nuance as you master its subtle ways. There's a bunch of different enemy types that require a variety of tactical approaches, and as you improve an element of flair creeps into your game and you get better at efficiently dispatching them. Between levels you also get to choose new abilities, and over time you become increasingly powerful, and even more capable of dealing with your enemies. The beasties that you meet on the way grow ever more dangerous, to counter your gathering strength, which leaves Downwell as a serious challenge even for capable players.

6. Fatshark's Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide is the perfect example of what AA or iii (Double-A, Triple-i) can be today. A veteran studio of about 50 people working for a couple of years on a completely self-funded digital release. This game will undoubtedly be released in a box at some point, but our definition of a digital title is whether or not it is first released digitally.

Taking a page or two out of Left 4 Dead's book, Vermintide puts you in the shoes of one of five "heroes" hoping to survive the beginning of The End Times in Warhammer's fantasy universe as Skaven, the rat-like race, pours out across the city of Ubersreik. This co-op title offers a mix of visceral melee action and ranged attacks. Great melee in first person is difficult, but it's really well pulled off here. The design of the city is great, as is the soundtrack from famed composer Jesper Kyd.

Fatshark have already began expanding Vermintide, and we expect both free and paid DLC next year along with the console versions (PS4 and Xbox). It's the beginning of the end and the end is only the beginning.

5. It was recently revealed that Psyonix's physics-based vehicle football game now has more than 8 million players and has made almost $50 million since its launch in July of this year. Its success is well deserved as it's one of the most charming and addictive digital games released this year and one that remains just as entertaining now as it was at launch. It seems that racing around a pitch in a tiny car after a giant ball just never gets old.

Rocket League's charm comes from its simplicity, the simple aim is to get the ball into the other team's goal to score points. Matches last just 5 minutes, but it's the kind of game that you can while away hours on without even noticing, particularly if you've got a group of companions and a friendly competitive spirit. Despite its similarity to football there are no real rules here, no off-side, no red cards, you can even blow other players up with a well aimed high speed collision without being punished (if you're feeling particularly destructive). Controls are simply steer and boost, meaning it's basic enough for everyone to enjoy yet calculating the correct trajectory needed to score and executing it often proves challenging.

New customisation items are unlocked by levelling up, but these are purely cosmetic keeping everyone on a fairly even keel performance-wise. Since launch there's also been an admirable effort to keep gameplay fresh with a steady supply of new content. The most significant of which is the 'Mutator' game mode which changes the gameplay by increasing or decreasing gravity, ball size, speed and bounciness. The festive season has even seen the huge ball replaced by a giant hockey puck with matches played on an ice rink. Thrilling and chaotic, Rocket League should only be avoided by those who are adverse to good clean fun.

4. Her Story pushed the boundaries of narrative when it released earlier this year. Players are shown a desktop of a police computer, stored within it are the files and interrogations of a woman who is being questioned on the disappearance of her husband in 1994. There are seven interviews in total, however they're all separated into small segments that can be found by entering key words or phrases into the in-game 'L.O.G.I.C' database. With the database, you need to discover what happened to this woman's husband.

What makes this game so interesting was how realistic it felt, you're not playing a detective, you ARE a detective, you have to scour through the interviews and collect all data to solve the case alone, no help, no tips, no partners, if you can't do it alone then it doesn't get done; this truly makes it a unique immersive experience. Creator Sam Barlow mentioned that he got inspiration after being let down by games such as L.A. Noire, saying he never felt like he was "being the awesome detective who was having to read things and follow up threads of investigation", this is certainly a project that puts you in that position.

Throughout the course of the game you learn progressively more and more, new characters and places are introduced through the interview and you find out more about them through search queries. It's hard to talk too much about the game without giving away the key words that can be searched and cutting out a chunk of the game immediately, when really this is a game that needs to be done first-hand (it's a cold case that's best done going in cold).

Her Story is a unique game, and we would highly recommend this indie-gem to anyone who puts narrative at the centre of their gaming experience, especially those who have always wanted to solve a police investigation.

3. Moon Studios gorgeous metroidvania style platformer wasn't simply a case of brilliant visuals and production values, it also had the chops when it comes to gameplay. There is something to be said of the importance of getting the jumps exactly right and in Ori and the Blind Forest you're in perfect control of every hop. It's a good thing as you'll know there's no-one else to blame as you hit some of the more difficult and frustrating passages in the game. This has been inspired by some of the greatest old school platformers and it doesn't pull any punches.

The smaller Ori and the larger Naru are the sort of duo you've seen many times before in video games, movies and books. It's a friendship that touches us with small carefully measured gestures, and so much of the game's charm rests on this beautifully realised partnership.

It has taken Moon Studios around five years (if we're correctly informed) to deliver this game and it shows. You can tell that every design decision has been carefully considered and iterated upon. This is true for the visuals, animations and sound design, but also rings true when it comes to the elaborate ability tree.

At the end of the day we came away very impressed with Ori and the Blind Forest and it's one of many games this year that perhaps deserved a larger audience than it ended up getting. As it stands, if you missed out on playing it around launch, you may want to look it up on either on Xbox One or PC (Steam) - you're in for a treat for all the senses (well, that depends on how your house smells).

2. Dontnod Entertainment (Remember Me) did a lot of things right with their first narrative-focussed episodic title, Life is Strange. It's a format pioneered by Telltale Games, but an argument could be made that Dontnod leapfrogged the genre leader in 2015.

It tells the story of a friendship between two young girls who lost touch over the course of five years as one of them, Max, moved to the big city (Seattle) while her friend, Chloe, remained in the small town of Arcadia Bay. There's a lot to be said for games taking us to increasingly diverse places and offering different perspectives, and there wasn't many settings more eye-opening and refreshing than this.

The supernatural elements of time travel and the murder mystery of Rachel Amber (very much a Laura Palmer-inspired character that everyone seems to have a connection too) may from time to time appear to be central themes, but at the end of the day the five episodes (or days) where Max and Chloe reconnect are what this game is about. A coming of age story about two girls in a contemporary setting is unusual, but that alone wouldn't qualify Life is Strange for this list. It's how well the narrative have been pulled off, how every seemingly mundane scene finds meaning as the week in Arcadia Bay comes to its dramatic conclusion.

Where Telltale Games has strived to make their episodic games more and more focused on the narrative and player choice, Life is Strange does a great job of striking a balance between gameplay and dialogue options. There is a lot to experience on the sides of the main story, little bits of information and gameplay that enrich the experience.

The game covers some truly difficult subjects. Things like family ties, broken families, discipline and surveillance, as well as bullying, themes that are rarely covered in video games, but Life is Strange is a great example of how you can approach these subjects in a meaningful yet sensitive way without ever becoming too moralising or black and white. Ultimately this all feeds into the decision Max is faced with by that ominous lighthouse where everything starts. The storm is coming and she is at the centre of it all. This is so much more than a story about finding a missing girl, and it's not just a story about time travelling and alternative timelines, or even friendship; it's an emotional roller coaster and at the end of it we were tearing up.

1. Much of what we admire about Galak-Z: The Dimensional owes something to nostalgia, we must admit. But its infectious energy, rousing the can-do attitude of any gamer in search of a true challenge, is what captivates most of all. Also, everything looks and sounds so whizz-bang wonderful.

It's been a long while since the basic mechanics of a game have felt like re-learning to ride a bike. But to its enduring credit, Galak-Z first of all demands that you take joy in its twirl, drift and boost Asteroids-on-energy-drink control scheme. The scope for finesse while piloting your craft, which is a Defender meets Gundam robot space-ship, proves how deeply Jake Kazdal's 17-Bit team understand their 8- and 16-Bit gaming heritage.

17-Bit bring an authentic old-school Japanese anime aesthetic to complement the flagrant Mega Drive overtures on parade. You don't need to be into all of that, but an affinity with 1980s era TV Shows and the video games they inspired definitely helps.

There are shades of Kazdal's involvement with Rez and Space Channel 5 here too, with ultra-stylish presentation throughout the five 'episodes' of each hard fought 'season'. Not just visually, but the attention paid to sonic pay-offs after chaining hits and scoring bonus points are integral to the pulse-racing experience that keeps you clutching the controller so hard.

This self-proclaimed "love letter to classic shooters" bravely embraces a hard-line approach to progress based on a roguelike premise of permadeath for its missions. Though your time invested into upgrading the Galak-Z is recorded and you options broaden over time, all immediate progress is lost upon losing just one life. It forces you to think tactically, as opposed to hit and hope. It makes you acutely aware of the physics, allowing you to appreciate every possible approach to the combat.

While reminding us so knowingly of what made video games of the past so compelling, Galak-Z also stands as a shining example of how such meticulous indie titles are keys to the future. What's magical about Galak-Z is that you can only truly appreciate it after taking control. This is pretty much everything great about games that ever was and will be.