For two years now, I've kept track of every game, movie, TV show, and book that I've completed. The idea is not just to remember what I've been consuming and when, but to encourage myself to finish what I start. It also lets me easily share a list of everything I've been enjoying, so if you tend to like the same kinds of things as me you've got a quick stop to check out recommendations.
Without further ado, here's the full list of everything I finished in 2015:
Games
- Pokemon: Omega Ruby - 1/17
- Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris - 4/28
- Destiny: House of Wolves (Beat Skolas) - 6/22
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Momohime's Campaign) - 7/26
- Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition - 9/6
- Destiny: The Taken King (Beat Oryx) - 10/2
- Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - 12/4
TV Shows
- Psycho-Pass S1 - 1/14
- Broadchurch S1 - 1/19
- Astonishing X-Men - 3/27
- Samurai Champloo - 5/4
- Daredevil S1 - 5/22
- Game of Thrones S5 - 6/14
- True Detective S1 - 6/23
- Knights of Sidonia S2 - 7/9
- Agents of Shield S2 - 7/11
- BoJack Horseman S2 - 7/19
- Sense8 S1 - 8/28
- Silicon Valley S1 - 9/1
- Silicon Valley S2 - 9/20
- How I Met Your Mother S9 - 9/25
- Blacklist S2 - 10/5
- Luther S1 - 10/24
- Black Mirror S1 - 10/29
- IT Crowd S1 (Rewatch) - 11/5
- Futurama S1 - 11/5
- Aldnoah Zero S1 - 11/16
- Rick and Morty S1 - 11/23
- Rick and Morty S2 - 11/25
- Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood S5 - 11/28
- Luther S2 - 12/14
- Jessica Jones S1 - 12/19
Movies and Stand-Up
- That Guy...Who Was In That Thing - 1/1
- Nick Offerman: American Ham - 1/2
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - 1/5
- Prince Caspian - 1/11
- Voyage of the Dawn Treader - 1/16
- Donald Glover: Weirdo - 2/2
- Patton Oswalt: Tragedy Plus Comedy - 2/7
- Iliza Schlesinger: Netflix 2015 Special - 2/7
- Big Hero 6 - 2/14
- John Mulaney: New in Town - 2/16
- Aziz Ansari: Madison Square Gardens - 3/22
- Russel Brand: Messiah Complex - 3/23
- Bill Burr: I'm Sorry You Feel That Way - 3/30
- The Big Lebowski - 4/23
- Berserk: Egg of the King - 4/27
- Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend - 5/4
- Hot Fuzz - 5/5
- Avengers: Age of Ultron - 5/13
- Mad Max: Fury Road - 5/21
- The World's End - 7/8
- Dave Chapelle: HBO special - 7/18
- Chef - 8/1
- Demetri Martin: At the Time - 8/26
- Lord of the Rings: Battle of Five Armies - 8/30
- Into the Storm - 8/30
- Expelled from Paradise - 8/31
- The Maze Runner - 10/9
- Mean Girls - 10/9
- Anjelah Johnson: Not Fancy - 10/12
- John Wick - 10/12
- Godzilla - 10/18
- Her - 11/2
- Gone Girl - 11/3
- Shaolin Soccer - 11/6
- Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Pain - 11/8
- Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Whispers - 11/9
- Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Tears - 11/9
- Insurgent - 12/14
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 12/22
- Django Unchained - 12/28
- Silver Linings Playbook - 12/29
Books
- Hawkeye Vol.2 - 1/2
- Hawkeye Vol.3 - 1/5
Observations in Retrospect
- In mid-January, I found out Yomi's Gate got accepted into SXSW, which would occur in mid-March. In that period of prep time, I didn't start or finish anything new that couldn't be consumed in a single evening. The only movie I watched was Big Hero 6 for Valentine's Day. Everything else was a comedy special. I now recognize this period of time as "crunch" and want to avoid ever doing it for that long again.
- For someone who makes games, I finished shockingly few games. There are a few unfinished but close that didn't make the list yet (Bloodborne, Persona 4: Golden, Toukiden Kiwami, Shovel Knight), but mostly I played way too much Destiny.
- I did not read much this year. I wanted to, but in a year where I released three games, traveled repeatedly, and struggled every single month to pay the bills, books felt like a huge exercise in focus that I just couldn't muster. They're not like games, which force you to pay attention; you have to be the one to make the focusing decision. I intend to remedy that in 2016. I love books and have so many I would like to read this year.
- Availability on Netflix is by far the #1 factor in determining if I'm going to watch something. If it's not on Netflix, odds are good that I didn't watch it. In June, HBO GO was added to that availability list, but Netflix still dominates by quite a bit.
Year-End Favorites
Games: Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is my Game of the Year pick. It sucked me in like no other game I've ever played. I took a while to finish it, being distracted by Destiny, but I loved everything about being immersed in that world. It was a truly magical experience and now I can't wait for the next game from CD Projekt Red to come out. Destiny: The Taken King was excellent, too, and would have held my attention much longer if I wasn't trying to active get out of the habit of playing Destiny at the expense of all other games.
TV: Rick and Morty, for sure. Easily my favorite show of the year. Hilarious and honest, I loved every second of it and I plan to rewatch the whole thing soon. Aldnoah Zero and Psycho-Pass are my runners up. Aldnoah Zero is gripping, giant robot action that doesn't let up, with a soundtrack from the composer for Attack on Titan that just plain rocks. Psycho-Pass is the closest thing you're going to get to new Ghost in the Shell.
Movies: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still fresh in my mind, but I adored it. If not that, then Big Hero 6 would easily be it. I loved it. I watched a ton of movies in 2015 that I really liked. John Wick, Chef, Mad Max, Age of Ultron, Hot Fuzz, and Django Unchained could all also be in either of those spots.
Books: I mean, Matt Fraction's run on Hawkeye is excellent. Even with no other books on that list, I have no trouble calling this one out as a favorite.
What did you enjoy in 2015?