These Are Our Favorite Video Games of 2015 (So Far)

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

It's a fallacy, utterly, to say that summertime means no new video games, because there is a handful of potential greatness coming up in the next couple of months. Volume arrives on the August 18, and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture just a week before that, both Sony console exclusives; the Rare Replay collection (so excited, but I'm old) will be released on August 4 for Xbox One, and The Flame in the Flood at the end of July; and good-looking isolated-cabin horror Until Dawn is finally out on August 26.

But given that a great many gamers won't be rushing to these niche delights (compared to what comes in September, anyway, with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Mad Max, FIFA 16, LEGO Dimensions, and Super Mario Maker), it does make sense to use this period of relative commercial calm to remind everyone of the games of 2015 so far that have been really special. Not necessarily the best the year's had to offer so far, but favorites, certainly.

I asked Twitter a very simple question: What 2015 game would you recommend to a friend? I read the replies, and this is what I've been left with: five brilliant games from the past six months that you should pick up now.

(Recommended by games journalist Jem Alexander and video games PR Robbie Paterson, who doesn't work this game so shush it, you)

Parisian studio Dontnod's five-part episodic adventure game puts you in the shoes of teenager Max, back on her childhood stamping ground of Arcadia Bay, Oregon after time away in Seattle. She reconnects with old friends, gets on with her education at Blackwell Academy, and discovers she has the ability to rewind time. Which is ever so useful for avoiding falling lighthouses, changing her mind about the best means to intervene between argumentative supporting characters, and pulling loved ones out of the way of oncoming trains. It's a leisurely paced, somewhat meditative experience, now three episodes deep, full of wonderful licensed music (including Bright Eyes, Mogwai, and Sparklehorse) and atmospheric lighting. Gentle puzzles, little fetch quests, and lots of dialogue give Life is Strange a point-and-click accessibility, and the affecting relationship between Max and best friend Chloe keeps the player locked in for the full five installments—the next will be out soon.

(Recommended by Videogamer.com's Jamie Trinca and Unwinnable managing editor Owen R. Smith)

Polish developers CD Projekt RED have delivered a fantasy role-playing game of amazing scale with the third main entry in their Witcher series, which sees the player assume the role of a professional monster hunter whose usual quarries take a back seat to the pursuit of his adopted daughter. If you've ever yearned for a Red Dead Redemption-style open-world adventure, but with a Game of Thrones-recalling aesthetic draped across its epic landscapes, this is the game for you. I'm on my second playthrough, and I'm regularly finding previously unseen extras—absorbing side-quests, new dialogue with shady might-be allies, shiny armor, and lethal blades that I'd missed first time around. The depth of this game is unreal. The Witcher 3 is where I go to when I need picking up, its world of magic and menace utterly entrancing, completely escapist, and yours to explore almost however you see fit. If you stopped the year right now, this would be my favorite game of 2015.

(Recommended by games journalists Chris Schilling and Sayem Ahmed)

Capcom's portable behemoth is like The Witcher 3 in the sense that your avatar has a penchant for tracking and slaying foul beasts, but its design is based around much shorter sessions, its maps compact but varied of terrain. Pick your contract, scoff a meal to activate perks, armor up as best as you can afford, and hit the plains, caves, and deserts in search of guts-spilling glory. 4 Ultimate is the first 3DS Monster Hunter to support online multiplayer, so there's fun to be had stalking and stabbing in the company of friends, ganging up on creatures that one player alone would struggle to beat. (Although it's still best played in local co-op, so you can shout instructions at your wingmen.) It looks sharp on the 3DS screen, with fewer rough edges than expected; the 3D doesn't make you vomit up your breakfast on the train to work; the music is completely charming, likewise cat-like Felyne companions; and improved movement, including the ability to scale rock faces and jump-attack enemies, makes this an addictive commute companion.

(Recommended by games journalists Rich McCormick and PJ O'Reilly)

I've never truly got along with either Dark Souls game, despite my best attempts, and Demon's Souls remains in my ever-growing pile of shame, untouched. But Bloodborne has at least eased my stress with From Software's series somewhat, showing that with a little dedication I can just about crack video games that are, basically, really bloody difficult. Hands up, I've not progressed super far in this meticulous hack-and-slasher, personally—to say that other distractions have come along is an understatement—but its gloom-kissed environments and bestiary of grotesque enemies to slaughter are beautiful in their grimness, and once I had perfected the counter attack (and you really do need to master it, as soon as possible, or else face a near-vertical struggle), I was doing away with Yharnam's horrors left, right, and center. Assuming I get the chance for any catching up myself this summer, this is the game I'll be turning to – once LEGO Jurassic World's polished off, of course. The cleric beast's got nothing on a blocky indominus rex.

(Recommended by me)

Last year, Mario Kart 8 was my I've-got-15-minutes-I'll-just-have-a-quick-spin go-to game. This spring, it's been Splatoon, Nintendo's frantic, funny, sometimes infuriating (but only ever for a few seconds) multiplayer shooter/decorator where the objective isn't the annihilation of the opposition team (of anthropomorphic squids in snapbacks and hi-tops, obviously), but the coating of the map in more of your squad's paint than your rivals. It's paintball meets de Blob meets Quake III meets Jet Set Radio meets everything you've always loved about Nintendo: quirky, colorful, instant to click, and effortless in its just-one-more-go addictiveness. Catchy music, too, from Zelda series composer Toru Minegishi and Shiho Fujii, who last worked on MK8—the kind that's still rattling around your head three hours after you've put down the GamePad. It won't keep you glued to your telly like The Witcher 3, for several hours in a single sitting, but if it's pick-me-up gaming for sizzling short-play sessions you're after, for crying out loud buy a Wii U already.

Look, yes, lots of good games have come out in 2015, so far. These are just five of them, as suggested by people on Twitter. If your favorite isn't here, it doesn't mean I think any less of you. You're just lovely, and you've got great taste in games. We can definitely be pals.

Follow Mike Diver on Twitter.