The best games of 2015, according to Metacritic

The end-of-year Metacritic roundup is the closest thing gaming has to an official verdict, and 2015’s edition read like a changing of the guard. Only 90 new releases cleared the site’s midpoint that year — and three titles stood clear of the pack: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4/Xbox One), Bloodborne (PS4), and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4/Xbox One).

The official Metacritic Game of the Year: Metal Gear Solid V, which posted the year’s highest score on Xbox One. The technical top of the list — GTA V on PC — was disqualified from the crown on the grounds that it was a port, not a new release, a ruling that still sparks arguments.

The image below preserves the actual Metascore table as the year closed.

A decade on, the podium aged remarkably well — all three are still considered generation-defining. If the list sends you back, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and its rivals remain cheap, essential picks.