The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Think of an RPG that has the storytelling ability of The Last of Us, a more dynamic Shadow of Mordor combat system, in a Lord of the Rings setting. That is what you get with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a game with loads of content and fun shenanigans to be had. Hunting down monsters and upgrading the protagonist, Geralt, is a lot of fun, but the real fun lies within the storytelling. Many side missions feels like an entirely different game itself, and each one has a different ending. I highly recommend doing all of the side missions and contracts, and there are a lot of them. The writing is extremely engaging, ranging from pure hilarity to intensely emotional. The game itself has different endings depending on the dialogue options and actions you take throughout the game, making the experience more your own. It is an open world, filled with danger, cities, secrets, and monsters. I haven't played an open world game this immersive in a long time. There are tons of weapons to choose from and you can customize Geralt however you want. The world is giant, too. It has one of the largest maps since Skyrim. Thankfully, this is also a game you can jump right into without playing the previous Witcher games. You won't be lost when the game begins. The DLC (Hearts of Stone, I have yet to play the other one) is inexpensive and is an absolute blast to play as well and I highly recommend that. This game certainly lives up to it's game of the year win (though my favorite was MGSV). There are a few setbacks to the game, however. Geralt outside of combat is difficult to move around and you may find yourself looting the crate you didn't want to. There have been many glitches but that is to be expected in a game this large. Most have been patched up as well. Overall, this is a game that hardcore gamers and casual gamers can get lost in. It will be a long time before another game like this one comes out, which is a shame. There are not many games that have the ability to be fluid, funny, emotional, and fun to play like this one.