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NeoGAF Games of the Year 2013 Awards

2013 was the year of overhyped, average or disappointing titles. I hope this year will be better.

Couldn't disagree more. Tons of great games in all kinds of genres. Nintendo in excellent form with the superb 3D World, Fire Emblem and A Link Between Worlds. Platinum delivering two phenomenal action games woth Wonderful 101 and Metal Gear Rising. An incredibly strong and varied indie line-up with games like The Swapper, Papers, Please, Velocity Ultra, Volgarr the Viking, Steamworld Dig, Guacamelee, Gunpoint, Year Walk and Device 6, to name just a few. Then there was the atmosphere of Metro Last Light, the storytelling of Gone Home, the touching story of Brothers, the creativity of Tearaway, the depth of Dota, the tactics of X-Com Enemy Within, the colorful joys of Pikmin and Rayman Legends, the old school gameplay with next-gen looks of Resogun, and whatever you think of AAA, you could do far worse than The Last of Us (which I thought was excellent), GTA V, the surprisngly good Splinter Cell Blacklist and Bioshock Infinite.

For me it was one of the best years of the last decade. So many good and different experiences. I'll be happy if 2014 is just as good and over the moon if it's better.

Great job to those who motivatedt their list. Made for great reading and pointed me towards some games i haven't played yet, as it should be.
 

Gurish

Member
LOL at the X-box 360 exclusive game of the year list!

I am really surprised Bioshock is at number 2 though, considering all the hate it gather in every possible thread at GAF... MGS4 story again? :p

Maybe the haters are usually lazy and only likes to complain but do not like to vote? :p

TLOU on the other hand is not very surprising, considering the love it gets almost everywhere at GAF it was very expected, but Bioshock's ranking is puzzling indeed.
 

Mondy

Banned
2012 > 2013. Wow.

No way in hell. Persona 4 Golden was the only game really worth playing in 2012. That year was truly awful for games.

Overall, a pretty good list. Happy to see Bioshock got so high up. LOU at 1 and Bioshock at 2 is the way it is meant to be and everybody knows it. GTA in my opinion is too high. That game was an all round disappointment.
 
Happy to see Tearaway at #9. Also, Vanishing Avatar, robotrock, UltimateIke, InvisibleStride, Notorious_Roy, Servbot24, Acquiescence, btkadams, SxP, Pie and Beans are my bros
 

demidar

Member
I agree with Luigi's Mansion 2 making it so high on the horror list, I mean it made me repeatedly shit my pants. It's just that scary.
 

Sendou

Member
Well that's a great list. I'm glad to see handheld games getting more recognition this year. Too bad I didn't have time to play Tearaway in time to potentially include it in my vote. Had time to play only one game before voting and the choice was between that and TLoU but in retrospect it seems like that game really didn't need any additional help. Bioshock Infinite was my biggest surprise of this list. I really would have thought it would have been way lower than that. Maybe it just has vocal critique surround it?

Extra credit for The Swapper appearing as the puzzle game of the year. That will do.

I agree with Luigi's Mansion 2 making it so high on the horror list, I mean it made me repeatedly shit my pants. It's just that scary.

Yeah but it really has nothing on StreetPass: Monster Manor (the runner-up for handheld horror GOTY). Nintendo really dominated the horror genre this year.
 

Corto

Member
Yeah. This year was a great year for Handheld games. And if we include mobile it really makes for a great year in portable gaming. One of the best really.
 

Eusis

Member
I honestly can't name a bad year in videogames in recent memory. Maybe bad years in genres, but not the medium as a whole. My taste is pretty wide as far as genres go and I go out of my way to expand it, so YMMV.
It says something when I have to reach to 1996, and even that ended with a huge bang and had some classics like Resident Evil and Super Mario RPG drop mid way through anyway. For some reason I recall 2003 being "bad" but when I look at what games came out then it makes no sense. Maybe it's that that year had a few massive heavy hitters while being one of the weaker ones for stuff like JRPGs, or something.
 

Zemm

Member
Congratulations to the following for having exquisite taste in videogames.

1. Fattony12000 (63)
2. alice (61)
3. gketter (60)
3. Mii (60)
5. kpaadet (59)
6. fuzzylogic (58)
6. megalowho (58)
8. EatChildren (57)
8. RibbedHero (57)
10. Dusky (56)
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
EatChildren's user affinity.

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1. ShockingAlberto (127)
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2. robotrock (123)
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3. jyoung188 (120)
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4/5. bomb (117)
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4/5. The Xtortionist (117)
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6. Net_Wrecker (113)
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7. polyh3dron (111)
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8. LGom09 (109)
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9. ViviOggi (107)
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10. Apdiddy (105)
 
Happy to see TLOU dominate. It was easily my favourite game of the year. Bioshock Infinite is a good second place despite some of the disappointments. I generally prefer handheld gaming nowadays but the Top 3 were truly ambitious titles and rekindled my love for console gaming which prior to this year was starting to dwindle at an alarmingly quick rate.

Great work to those who compiled the data.
 

Danielsan

Member
I somehow forgot entering my list, but I'm glad to see The Last Of Us took the GOTY left everything else far behind. It would have gotten my nr.1 pick as well.
 

Tizoc

Member
Great list, I should start Last of Us after I'm done with Blood Money HD.

Nice to see Tearaway up there too
Killer is Dead must be #21 right?
 
Great list. Glad Tearaway and The Swapper got recognised. Will dig into itnfurther later.

Had to laugh at Sonic beating Gran Turismo 6. Simulation category is strange.
 

Marjar

Banned
Wow. After seeing all the negativity surrounding Bioshock Infinite I'm surprised it took #2. Guess the detractors are just a very vocal minority.

Rather predictable list, but still very good. 2013 really was a damn good year.
 

Tizoc

Member
Wow. After seeing all the negativity surrounding Bioshock Infinite I'm surprised it took #2. Guess the detractors are just a very vocal minority.

Rather predictable list, but still very good. 2013 really was a damn good year.

FYI Mass Effect 3 managed to make the top 10 list in 2012 IIRC, GAF is weird that way.
 

IrishNinja

Member
aw, Resogun not in the top #'s....that's what i get for not voting, but i didn't play many of these & hate doing that.

from what i did play though, this looks like a good list. well done everyone, especially the poor souls tallying the votes!
 

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
This is the first time where I don't know everyone who's on my affinity list. Well that's interesting, lol. I guess we don't frequent the same threads.

But at least my affinity scores with people are muuuuuch higher than they were last year! Last year was like 40 something, I think.

aw, Resogun not in the top #'s....that's what i get for not voting, but i didn't play many of these & hate doing that.
I didn't even get to Resogun and it was on my To Play list along with NES Remix and TW101. :/
 
SMTIV would take tops for me personally, but this is a very solid list by all accounts.

I don't agree with the order of course (that's life!), but I dig the variety on here.
 

IzzyF3

Member
I don't get how MGR got this high though.

One of the ugliest and most repetitive games i've played in years.
Boss fights are all the same, the areas are so drab it hurts the soul, every enemy encounter is exactly the same..
Nah, I had to force myself to finish it. If that was one of the best games of the year, 2013 was a terrible year.

I agree. It was such a god awful game with probably the worst story and even worse characters I've played in video games, and I actually like convoluted stuff that people mark as being "anime." But eh, it is what it is.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Guess the detractors are just a very vocal minority.

Such is with all forums, it's really impossible to gauge just how many people like something, and to what extent, when those people maybe do not feel like talking about it. People, in general, love to complain, bitch, moan, and dissect the things they find frustrating and underwhelming. It can make for good discussion, but it does make up for a lot of discussion. It's why you get threads like "How can they improve *insert franchise*?", which has implied negativity, and that that can give the false impression that strong negativity is the prevailing opinion or consensus amongst majority of GAF posters.

As I was just saying on twitter, this year's GOTY list is a glorious "fuck off" to people who keep peddling and preaching this supposed rampant anti-Nintendo agenda and narrative running through GAF moderators, posters, and the community at large. As if GAF somehow attracts an extreme majority of gamers with a bias against or disinterest in Nintendo software. Three games exclusively published by Nintendo, and developed internally at Nintendo, in the top ten. Seven Nintendo published games in the top twenty.

After 1165 different people voted, the "GAF consensus" is that over 1/3rd of 2013's apparent very best software, out of hundreds of potential candidates, was published exclusively by one company: Nintendo.

Much like me bitching about Metal Gear Solid 4 making No.1 on GAF's 2008 GOTY list, and then in the revote, the proof is in the numbers. No matter how matter how vocal I am, and no matter how many posts I make dissecting its awfulness, it was clearly awesome and important and wonderful for a whole lot of people on NeoGAF. Just like, for this year, The Last of Us, BioShock Infinite, and Nintendo were.
 

AniHawk

Member
taking a look at series in the top ten, bolding their highest ranking, and highlighting their lowest.

assassin's creed:
assassin's creed: #14 in 2007
assassin's creed 2: #5 in 2009
assassin's creed brotherhood: #12 in 2010
assassin's creed revelations: #34 in 2011
assassin's creed 3: #25 in 2012
assassin's creed iv: black flag: #10 in 2013

super mario:
new super mario bros.: #4 in 2006
super mario galaxy: #1 in 2007
new super mario bros. wii: #8 in 2009
super mario galaxy 2: #3 in 2010
super mario 3d land: #9 in 2011
new super mario bros. u: #22 in 2012
new super mario bros. 2: #42 in 2012
super mario 3d world: #4 in 2013
new super luigi u: #62 in 2013

metal gear?!:
metal gear solid 3: #1 in 2004, #19 in 2005, #14 in 2006 (subsistence), #135 in 2012 (snake eater 3d)
metal gear acid: #90 in 2005
metal gear portable ops: #27 in 2006
metal gear acid 2: #156 in 2006
metal gear solid 4: #1 in 2008 (and 2012 edition)
metal gear solid peace walker: #22 in 2010
metal gear rising: #7 in 2013

bioshock:
bioshock: #3 in 2007
bioshock 2: #33 in 2010
bioshock infinite: #2 in 2013

grand theft auto:
gta san andreas: #4 in 2004
gta liberty city stories: #19 in 2005
gta vice city stories: #51 in 2006
gta iv: #6 in 2008
gta chinatown wars: #64 in 2009
gta v: #3 in 2013

the legend of zelda:
four swords adventure: #23 in 2004
the minish cap: #21 in 2004, #10 in 2005
twilight princess: #1 in 2006
phantom hourglass: #12 in 2007
spirit tracks: #22 in 2009
skyward sword: #5 in 2010
ocarina of time 3d: #31 in 2010
the wind waker hd: #38 in 2013
a link between worlds: #5 in 2013

fire emblem:
fire emblem: #106 in 2004
path of radiance: #14 in 2005
the sacred stones: #36 in 2005
radiant dawn: #29 in 2007
shadow dragon: #103 in 2009
awakening: #6 in 2013

tomb raider:
tomb raider legend: #44 in 2006
tomb raider anniversary edition: #56 in 2007
tomb raider underworld: #109 in 2008
lara croft and the guardian of light: #20 in 2010
tomb raider: #8 in 2013
 

RooMHM

Member
I don t know if I m even more worried by the results compared to last year.
Hope this year's games will be "moving" and "cinematic" enough to reach top10. Sigh.
 

demidar

Member
Code:
demidar
1. Chacranajxy (129) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95345722&postcount=1086
2. Phatmac (101) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=96732965&postcount=1481
3. Mutagenic (100) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97557800&postcount=1760
4. Drkirby (90) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97586177&postcount=1809
5. Sallokin (89) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94935739&postcount=894
6. Burnburn (80) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94117516&postcount=302
6. slaughterking (80) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95823055&postcount=1290
8. Goldmund (77) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94152931&postcount=388
8. Hours Left (77) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94645291&postcount=747
10. Korigama (76) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97634540&postcount=2067

I am only familiar with 3, maybe 4 of them. And by familiar I mean I recognize their avatar.

:/
 

spekkeh

Banned
Moar liek NeogAAAf amirite.

No seriously, this year was great because almost all the entries are great. Excellent job in polling it and I'm especially loving the affinity list Cheesemeister and Timetokill (who's my number two broheim apparently).

I am glad it's a top 20 though, so games like Gone Home and Papers, Please also have a chance to shine. Would have expected the latter to end up a lot higher, also going by the ballots.

Great to see so many Wii U games, they got neglected in all other popularity contests on other websites. Seems like everyone that owns a Wii U has a NeoGAF account, lol.
 
Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond.

Code:
1. libregkd (104) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94417885&postcount=668
2. klee123 (93) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=96593483&postcount=1445
3. Pie and Beans (82) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97316294&postcount=1644
4. Ataturk (80) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97129127&postcount=1580
5. Razor554 (78) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94400155&postcount=661
6. Recall (75) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94106653&postcount=227
7. bomb (74) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95339341&postcount=1083
7. EatChildren (74) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95473987&postcount=1120
9. The Xtortionist (73) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94734775&postcount=812
9. ZealousD (73) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94097428&postcount=152

A mod and one founding father in my list *giggles*
 

Mr. RHC

Member
First of all, thanks to timetokill and cheesemeister for conducting this and everybody else participating!

This is a cool and interesting list, plenty of genres represented, glad to see some RPG's faring well as well as Bioshock Infinite getting some love!

I also love this User affinity data, it's nice to see people with similar ideas and receptions!

My bros and dudettes!
1. Sallokin, my homeboy! (84)
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1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; Who would have thought... I'm so pleased that the positive changes that saw the original release salvaged (somewhat) managed to continue into the relaunch. I have sunk so many hours into this game since it released and it continues to be a fun, rewarding experience. This really felt like a make or break for Square Enix and the team should be immensely proud of what they were able to accomplish. I also really love how open and forthcoming they are with the letters from the producer and things of that ilk.There have been some missteps since the launch, but I have a really positive outlook for 2014.

2. Necrovex (83)
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5) Bioshock Infinite ; Lukewarm towards the gunplay but I loved everything else about the game.

3. Sinthetic (81)
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7. Beyond: Two Souls; I'm a huge fan of David Cage and while I didn't enjoy this as much as Heavy Rain, I still found many segments of it to be enthralling. The highlight for me was Homeless and the best decision I've ever had to make in any game (at the end). Really great stuff with astonishing visuals.

4. Alessandro (80)
6. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; You don't immediately recognize this as a Final Fantasy because of the slow pacing of the story but don't be deceived by its MMO disguise: It's probably the only good FF that came out since FFX.

5. abrack08 (79)
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4. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies ; Really good. Loved Athena, Apollo was redeemed, it was great to see Phoenix in a mentor role, great prosecutor, judge was still hilarious, music is amazing, etc. Only problem was having the big twist in the final case spoiled for me, but that's not a knock on the game obviously
5. klee123 (79)
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1. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; Absolutely amazing as an MMO and a FF title and a massive improvement over 1.0 which I also bought, but loathed. The game which redeemed Square-Enix in my eyes.

5. libregkd (79)
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3. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn ; I've never been one to get sucked into MMOs, I've tried quite a few and end up quitting in a month or so. This however has me addicted so much so that I'm afraid it's going to cause my backlog to grow at a much faster rate.

8. masterlobo (78)
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5. Bioshock Infinite ; A surreal tale. A carefully crafted setting bound by its very particular set of rules welcomes players to a game full of imagination. While gameplay may not be the strongest merit the game has, it's by no means a flaw either. Featuring likable characters and a complex storyline that to many may probably border on pretentious, I had a blast enjoying this game.

9. DidntKnowJack (76)

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9. Beyond Two Souls ; A flawed, but riveting game. The amazing visuals alone vault this into the top ten.

9. GillianSeed79 (76)
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9. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; With such a ridiculous subtitle, you know the game you are going to play is probably going to be crazy. MGR is a blast whether you are slicing Metal Gear Rays in half from the start while running on missiles like platforms or chopping up bad guys into sashimi-sized pieces. It also has arguably the most memorable end boss this year. Lastly, it’s a game that actually encourages replays to get everything out of it and embraces the concept of new game plus and mastering different difficulty levels.


What I learned from their lists is, that most of them didn't like Bioshock's gameplay too much, some enjoyed Final Fantasy XIV as much as I did and that I probably need to play Fire Emblem Awakening and Shin Megami Tensei 4!
 
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