If you want to sell games in the $91 billion-and-growing global market, you really need a great trailer.
This year was full of awesome examples of the sometimes under-appreciated video game medium, and cutting the list of best trailers down to a dozen proved tricky. But the selection below (presented in no particular order) hopefully captures the thrill of being a gamer in 2015, reminding us of what a great hobby we’ve chosen to embrace.
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If anyone wasn’t already sold on CD Projekt Red’s incredible role-playing game, this stunning cinematic launch trailer from Hungary’s Digic Pictures would surely tip them over the edge. It also whets the appetite for the Witcher feature-film project coming in 2017 from celebrated Polish creative studio Platige Image.
Pokémon Go
Nintendo’s finally going mobile, and this trailer for its upcoming collaboration with Google’s Niantic Labs showcases the awesome potential of an augmented reality Pokémon game. The real world better watch out.
Clash of Clans
This Clash of Clash commercial is the only gaming entry in YouTube’s global top-10 for 2015, racking up well over 88 million views. It debuted during February’s Super Bowl and features a seriously angry Liam Neeson (AngryNeeson52) swearing revenge on fellow Clash of Clans player BuffetBoy85.
Shower with Your Dad Simulator 2015
This trailer for Shower with Your Dad Simulator 2015 features awkward 8-bit nudity (so beware if you’re viewing at work) paired with a catchy-as-hell rap. Half-a-million views later, indie developer Marbenx‘s decision to get really weird looks pretty smart.
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PlayStation VR
Sony neatly solved the problem of marketing virtual reality earlier this year by stripping away the geeky-looking headset and showing how it actually feels to immerse yourself in another world. Maybe this marketing approach will help Sony sell an estimated 1.5 million PlayStation VR headsets — and the games to go with them — in 2016.
Until Dawn
One of this year’s surprise success stories, Until Dawn has players make life-changing decisions in a glorious tribute to the teen-horror film genre. This live-action trailer — accompanied by Robert Frost’s classic poem, “The Road Not Taken” — does a great job of re-creating the mood of the game and showing how seemingly small choices can actually mean a great deal.
“It’s not really an empowering poem of choosing your unique destiny that others haven’t taken,” said the trailer’s director Lloyd Choi. “Its meaning is more bleak and bittersweet, and I found that perfect for Until Dawn.”
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Fallout 4
Bethesda Softworks had a great showing at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), revealing both Dishonored 2 and Fallout 4, a sequel it somehow kept quiet right through the development process. This glorious trailer gave us a glimpse into the post-apocalyptic world that would consume so many gaming hours during late 2015.
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Strafe
Strafe looks like the best first-person shooter that didn’t come out in 1996. The Kickstarter campaign behind the retro-inspired project raised over $200,000 at the start of the year, partly thanks to this awesome trailer, which looks like it could have fallen straight out of the mid-’90s.
Star Wars: Battlefront
We got our first, tiny glimpse of Star Wars: Battlefront way back in 2013. But this April-released reveal took interest in the game to another level, showcasing DICE’s vision for a multiplayer shooter that embraces everything that’s cool about the Star Wars universe.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
This year has seen the rebirth of a couple of gaming legends we thought we’d never see again — Shenmue’s Ryo Hazuki, coming back in the crowdfunded Shenmue III, and Cloud Strife, returning in Final Fantasy VII Remake for PlayStation 4 (and also appearing in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U). Cloud’s arrival in this announcement trailer brought a rapturous reception at this summer’s E3.
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Mortal Kombat X
Actor David Ury — once crushed to death by an ATM machine in the TV show Breaking Bad — shows the reality of Mortal Kombat’s bloody arena battles, portraying the janitor tasked with cleaning up the mess. NetherRealm Studios also gave us a revealing insight into the lives of the official doctor and trainer behind the popular fighting series in this trilogy of live-action shorts.
FIFA 16
Electronic Arts must have pulled in a lot of favors to get soccer legend Pelé and NBA star Kobe Bryant to appear in this live-action tribute to FIFA 16, which also features contemporary soccer stars like Lionel Messi and Alex Morgan. It was the only gaming video to figure in YouTube’s U.K. top-10 this year, coming in at No. 6, three places ahead of a 6-foot man in a 6-foot giant water balloon. Yep, you read that right.
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