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Top 15 games of the year, according to Metacritic

N

nynt9

Member
I was thinking about how often I disagree with Metacritic scores (I know they're mostly pointless to some, and I agree, but others don't) so I decided to take a loot at this year's highest scoring games.

Lo and behold:

15. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
14. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
13. Final Fantasy VI (iOS) - 91
12. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
11. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
10. Fez (VITA) - 91
09. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
08. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
07. Table Tennis Touch (iOS) - 92
06. Threes! (iOS) - 92
05. Banner Saga (iOS) - 93
04. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS) - 93
03. Traps n' Gemstones (iOS) - 93
02. VVVVVV (iOS) - 95
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95

edit 2: bolded "new" releases since several people mentioned only new games

My thoughts:

I'm sure the iOS stuff will see a lot of hate, so I'm not touching that. A few things struck out as odd to me though. The PC version of DS2 for some reason being put below the 360 version despite having clear advantages like modding and whatnot. Threes! is a great game, but I find evaluating games like those really difficult compared to a game like, say, Dark Souls. And it's also weird that the Banner Saga iOS version is so high whereas the PC version is nowhere to be found as I've found the iOS version to suffer from significant performance issues.

Also interesting is Shovel Knight's WiiU/PC versions not being as high as the 3DS version, VVVVVV still going so strong, and the highest rated game being TLOU:R.

So, in your opinion, how does this reflect on Metacritic and on the gaming industry?

edit:

The "iOS games aren't real games!" list:

nynt9 said:
If you wanna go that way,

15. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (WIIU) - 90
14. Fez (PS4) - 90
13. Metro: 2033 Redux (PC) - 90
12. Velocity 2X (VITA) - 90
11. Rayman Legends (PS4) - 90
10. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4) - 90
09. Dark Souls II (PS3) - 91
08. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
07. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
06. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
05. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
04. Fez (VITA) - 91
03. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
02. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
Click to expand...
 
A

antitrop

Member
List with iOS removed (left Hearthstone, because eh, it's on PC)

09. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
08. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
07. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
06. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
05. Fez (VITA) - 91
04. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
03. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
02. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS) - 93
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
 
A

AntiFacebook

Member
Dark souls on XBOX 360 got a higher score than on PC?? That's crazy. Other than that, a good list, though very different than mine.
 
L

LoveIsOver

Member
So excluding iOS and games that came out last year, Shovel Knight has taken the top spot. To everyone that hasn't played this game...I HIGHLY recommend you do so. Immediately.
 
T

Toki767

Member
Metacritic is so weird. Rayman Legends has a 91 on Xbox One and PS3, but a 90 on PS4 and 360 (and a 89 on PC)
 
L

Lunar15

Member
Normally I don't care about lists or metacritic, but the fact that DKC:TF isn't on here is a crying shame. For me, it's the best game this year. Not sure why reviewers were so down on it.

Super glad to see Shovel Knight, though!
 
N

nynt9

Member
antitrop said:
List with iOS removed (left Hearthstone, because eh, it's on PC)

09. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
08. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
07. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
06. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
05. Fez (VITA) - 91
04. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
03. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
02. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS) - 93
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
Click to expand...

If you wanna go that way,

15. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (WIIU) - 90
14. Fez (PS4) - 90
13. Metro: 2033 Redux (PC) - 90
12. Velocity 2X (VITA) - 90
11. Rayman Legends (PS4) - 90
10. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4) - 90
09. Dark Souls II (PS3) - 91
08. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
07. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
06. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
05. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
04. Fez (VITA) - 91
03. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
02. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
 
A

AntiFacebook

Member
antitrop said:
List with iOS removed (left Hearthstone, because eh, it's on PC)

09. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
08. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
07. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
06. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
05. Fez (VITA) - 91
04. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
03. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
02. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS) - 93
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
Click to expand...
Banner saga is also on pc.
 
F

flkraven

Member
antitrop said:
List with iOS removed (left Hearthstone, because eh, it's on PC)

09. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
08. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
07. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
06. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
05. Fez (VITA) - 91
04. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
03. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
02. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS) - 93
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
Click to expand...


Isn't that VVVVV game on PC too?
 
P

PhoenixDawn

Member
Can't believe Rayman Legends is on there and not Tropical Freeze. They're both great games, but Donkey Kong just takes it to another level, especially with that soundtrack.
 
A

antitrop

Member
nynt9 said:
If you wanna go that way,

15. Fez (PS4) - 90
14. Metro: 2033 Redux (PC) - 90
13. Velocity 2X (VITA) - 90
12. Rayman Legends (PS4) - 90
11. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4) - 90
10. Dark Souls II (PS3) - 91
09. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
08. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
07. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
06. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
05. Fez (VITA) - 91
04. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
03. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
02. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (iOS) - 93
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
Click to expand...

That's a damn good list of games.

I wish Wolfenstein reviewed a bit higher, but Bayonetta 2 is my personal GOTY.
 
ptuck874

ptuck874

Member
images
 
B

Balb

Member
iOS reviewers' standards must be low if FFVI iOS received that kind of a rating. Port was a disgrace to a classic.
 
L

Laconic

Banned
Shame that we are excluding iOS/Android games.

I never thought I'd say that.

But Final Fantasy VI remake is sensible, if asthetically questionable. The gameplay tweeks are things that I REALLY hope get implemented into a 3DS Remake. Viable Cyan is an awesome perk. Then again, I'm just a fool in love, for still hoping for a 3DS version.
 
M

Maintenance

Member
Balb said:
iOS reviewers' standards must be low if FFVI iOS received that kind of a rating. Port was a disgrace to a classic.
Click to expand...

They should rate mobile games by addiction (and MMOs too, if we go by that rule).

Something like: Threes - Heroin/10


And I agree with what you said about FFVI.
 
N

nynt9

Member
Worth noting that Banner Saga is a great and new game that originally came out on PC, only its iOS version charted high on metacritic.

Laconic said:
Shame that we are excluding iOS/Android games.

I never thought I'd say that.

But Final Fantasy VI remake is sensible, if asthetically questionable. The gameplay tweeks are things that I REALLY hope get implemented into a 3DS Remake. Viable Cyan is an awesome perk. Then again, I'm just a fool in love, for still hoping for a 3DS version.
Click to expand...

I agree. Though the port was also buggy and flawed at points, and some people hated the art style.
 
S

Superfrog

Member
List doesn't make sense without comparability filtering. For example, Shovel Knight (3DS) and Fez (Vita) both only have 6 reviews each. It doesn't make sense to compare them to any game or game version with 40+ reviews.

Also, for multiplatform titles, it usually doesn't make sense to include individual platforms. Only the platform version with the highest number of reviews should be included.
 
Mugatu

Mugatu

Member
I don't think porting old games to new platform should them 2014 games. I can understand The Last Of Us since that received some changes but not VVVVVV or Fez or others.
 
D

DecoyOctopus

Member
LoveIsOver said:
So excluding iOS and games that came out last year, Shovel Knight has taken the top spot. To everyone that hasn't played this game...I HIGHLY recommend you do so. Immediately.
Click to expand...

Well, the 3ds version of Shovel Knight only has 6 reviews.

Shovel Knight (PC) - 85
Shovel Knight (WiiU) - 88
 
A

antitrop

Member
SuperSonic1305 said:
iOS games are reviewed by iOS sites with their own standards for what makes a mobile game good. Completely irrelevant in a comparison to console/PC games.
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's not like I hate iOS games or anything, I do have an iPhone and play games on it. But the standards of iOS game reviews are laughable.

The comparison just shakes out better if you're looking at console/PC games that are generally reviewed to the same standards. I may have been a bit unfair to VVVVV and Banner Saga.
 
G

gift of 100 gab

Member
Even with touch screen controls VVVVVV towers over most games. I'm sad that Towerfall: Ascension is not on this list - I thought that'd be 90+ for sure.
 
N

nynt9

Member
antitrop said:
Yeah. It's not like I hate iOS games or anything, I do have an iPhone and play games on it. But the standards of iOS game reviews are laughable.

The comparison just shakes out better if you're looking at console/PC games that are generally reviewed to the same standards. I may have been a bit unfair to VVVVV and Banner Saga.
Click to expand...

While I agree that their standards are awful, metacritic doesn't treat them differently which is the problem I'm trying to demonstrate.
 
F

flkraven

Member
SuperSonic1305 said:
iOS games are reviewed by iOS sites with their own standards for what makes a mobile game good. Completely irrelevant in a comparison to console/PC games.
Click to expand...
Why does hearthstone a pass? Why not a pass for the other iOS games that appear on PC? Sounds completely arbitrary
 
D

DirtyCase

Member
Seems a little lackluster besides Dark Souls 2 and Bayonetta. Here's to hoping for a better year in 2015.

Also metacritic is broken
 
S

SkeptiMism

Member
I'd throw a wild guess that the thing with Banner Sage being so high on iOS ratings but not anywhere to be seen on PC, is because it's a good game, and while there are a lot of good games on mobile too, it's a lot harder to find those games that are different from the rest.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
nynt9 said:
If you wanna go that way,

15. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (WIIU) - 90
14. Fez (PS4) - 90
13. Metro: 2033 Redux (PC) - 90
12. Velocity 2X (VITA) - 90
11. Rayman Legends (PS4) - 90
10. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4) - 90
09. Dark Souls II (PS3) - 91
08. Dark Souls II (PC) - 91
07. Bayonetta 2 (WIIU) - 91
06. Kentucky Route Zero - Act III (PC) - 91
05. Rayman Legends (XONE) - 91
04. Fez (VITA) - 91
03. Dark Souls II (X360) - 91
02. Shovel Knight (3DS) - 92
01. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4) - 95
Click to expand...

Not a horrible list, but the lack of Donkey Kong is disturbing.

Also wasn't Rayman Legends last year (edit: oh I guess PS4/Xbone versions dropped this year)?? And wtf is Kentucky Route Zero.
 
O

ohlawd

Member
Anth0ny said:
Not a horrible list, but the last of Donkey Kong is disturbing.

Also wasn't Rayman Legends last year (edit: oh I guess PS4/Xbone versions dropped this year)?? And wtf is Kentucky Route Zero.
Click to expand...
I'm totally waiting for The Last of Donkey Kong: Remastered next year now.
 
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