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[Defuso]

1. Mario Kart 8 ; even my GF plays it.
2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; the music, the artstyle, it is just perfect
3. Fantasy Life ; reaching 150h soon, just incredible content
4. Bravely Default ; Engaging and beautiful in almost all regards
5. Rusty's Real Deal Baseball ; funny concept and great execution
6. Tomodachi Life ; strange, but addicting
7. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; finally he got his own game. It is just cute
8. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft ; i play it each day ...
9. Hexcells ; recommended from a GAFer, i love it!
10. Hyrule Warriors ; i love the fanservice

 

[Neiteio]

I’m going to focus on a Top Six this year.

In descending order:



6. Alien: Isolation ; A nail-biting nightmare simulator, given weight by the all-too-real audio design, exacting faithfulness to the first film’s look and feel, and deliberative pacing.

I haven’t finished this game, and I hear it grows a bit long in the tooth by the end… but what I have played is so memorable and plays so well that it deserves to be celebrated. (UPDATE JAN. 11: Finished game: Perfect length and pacing.)

This is true survival horror… or perhaps “stalker horror” is the better term. I say that because fighting is strongly discouraged. Firing your revolver to defend against the looters and synthetics is like ringing a dinner bell for the invincible alien prowling the ductwork and stalking the halls. Once that creature is rushing your way, you’ll be hard-pressed to elude it.

As Amanda Ripley, a strong female lead with equally strong writing and voice acting, your best bet is to stay hidden. You can crouch-walk, smoothly and silently. You can lean left and right to peek around corners, and push up to peek over walls. You can slide under desks and gurneys, and take refuge in lockers, holding your breath and leaning back to avoid detection. There are vents in the floor and wall to bypass enemies and obstacles. You can sprint, but this creates noise. Your motion sensor also creates noise, so you’ll only want to use it sporadically, to dial in on the location of the alien, or to find your next objective. Likewise, your flashlight provides illumination at the risk of exposing yourself.

You can distract enemies with flares and noisemakers, or by striking the wall with your wrench. You can stun enemies with flash-bangs, or assault them with pipe bombs. There are many tools to craft from the supplies you collect, provided you have the blueprints to build them. Then there are the hacking mini-games, quick and fun; the ability to rewire systems to create diversions or open alternate paths; and the light detective work of searching computer files and listening to audio tapes for pass codes and clues.

All of this provides focus amid the stark horror of a monster that can appear anywhere at any time. The alien is presented with great theatricality, unspooling from ceiling vents and slowly standing on its legs, its silhouette instantly recognizable. The alien is menacing, but if you’re moving slowly and blocking its line of sight, it won’t notice you, allowing for all kinds of too-close-for-comfort moments where its tail drags past as you cower under a table, or where you crouch-walk around a sofa as it circles the opposite side. With any luck, it’ll return to the vents. Then the thudding sounds overhead, once so dreadful, become a source of relief as your cue to keep moving.

The sound deserves a special note of praise. Corridors creak, pipes hiss, computers clatter and whirr, and given the player’s paranoid state, it’s easy to misconstrue it all as the alien. Of course, sometimes it is the alien. And in this handsomely crafted landscape of flickering lights, slate-like shadows, sparking wires and cascading mist, you’re never sure what you’ll find when you turn a corner, your heart in your throat with every step you take. In so many ways, ALIEN: ISOLATION is a masterwork of suspense.


5. Shovel Knight ; An irresistible platformer with controls and mechanics that are a seamless extension of the mind, and a pervasive sense that the entire game was made with the warmest, deepest and most sincere love for games.

I usually ignore indie titles with retro-style graphics, because they're a dime a dozen and usually don't match the gameplay of the era they're trying to evoke. I'm glad I made an exception with SHOVEL KNIGHT. Not only did this game make my Game of the Year list, but I loved it so much on WiiU that I bought it again on 3DS, and I haven't ruled out possible Steam and PS4 purchases, as well. It's one of those "pure joy" games you want to always be available.

Of all the games on this list, SHOVEL KNIGHT is the one that most immediately clicked with me. From the moment you take control and start running left to right, trouncing enemies with pixel-perfect pogo bounces on your trusty shovel, everything just feels right. The controls are always reliable, inspiring confidence to be cavalier with your shovel swings, your quick-pivot turns, your wild leaps of faith over spikes and bottomless pits, whipping out the spade to bounce with pinpoint precision from one floating bubble to another. And as I explained in my analysis of the first level, SHOVEL KNIGHT organically teaches you everything you need to know, simply by letting you have fun and follow each screen to its intuitive end.

The presentation is endlessly charming, personality bursting from the witty writing and idle animations of each NPC. The chiptune music gets me pumped for adventure. And then there are the lushly illustrated backdrops that give each area an undeniable atmosphere, the self-imposed technical limitations sparking the imagination in ways I had thought were lost to time. It's not nostalgia, either, since I have no attachment to the 8-bit era, only a deep respect for the conventions it established, and that are polished here to a brilliant sheen, while still offering its share of forward-thinking concepts, such as the Dark Souls-like risk-reward element of dropping your loot where you fall in battle, and having one shot to retrieve it, or the way you can destroy checkpoints for extra treasure, at the risk of respawning earlier in the level if you're defeated.

If SHOVEL KNIGHT released in the '80s, it'd be revered the same way MEGA MAN is today. It's always special when you play a game you know is a timeless classic. This is one of those games.


4. Mario Kart 8 ; A smooth-as-silk arcade racer, jubilant in its candy-coated presentation, with immaculate handling, genius track design, and the best balance in series history.

At the core of MARIO KART 8 is drifting, sometimes called the “power slide.” Hard to describe in words, but as intuitive as riding a bicycle once learned, the maneuver has you hugging tight corners and hairpin turns without losing speed, building boost power that increases in intensity the longer you drift. Within that drift, you can angle in or out, and the boost kicks in once you release the drift, launching you forward. It’s like firing an arrow, each drift drawing the bowstring taut, allowing racers to slingshot around corners with power and precision.

When you’re not drifting, you’re tricking off changes in track elevation, a well-timed hop resulting in a speed boost. Characters ram into one another, trying to knock each other off the track. And of course, it wouldn’t be Mario Kart if the items weren’t there. MARIO KART 8 has the best balance in the series, a healthy mix of offensive and defensive items, including a new item that finally allows the racer in first place to defend against Spiny Shells. Yet with the removal of item hoarding, holding onto any one item carries a new kind of risk. It is a change for the best.

While the roster has some dubious choices, the playable debut of all seven Koopalings secures MARIO KART 8 as the installment with the best characters to date. Pixar-esque animation and art direction brings the entire lineup to life with a wide variety of contextual expressions that make the new replay feature a riot to watch, as seen with the memetic “Luigi Death Stare.”

But the real characters are the tracks themselves. The emphasis on gorgeous visuals and musical bombast makes each track arresting from an audiovisual standpoint. The game is bursting with color, spectacularly lit, and dense with detail. The glider and underwater sections return, but it’s the addition of antigravity that ties them together so elegantly, allowing for wildly imaginative tracks like “Shy Guy Falls,” where you hurtle up the face of the first waterfall in anti-gravity, round the U-shaped boardwalk at the top, and then shoot down the face of the second waterfall, before gliding off a launch ramp and into a mine shaft. These tracks combine inventive layouts with world-building that clearly loves the source material.

Battle Mode is a bit weak, but that’s OK, because racing on the 32 tracks (now 40 tracks with the first round of DLC, and soon to be 48) never gets old, not when the gameplay is this addictive. The handling is fine-tuned to perfection, the item distribution is more thoughtful than ever, and the tracks are a blast to play. Coupled with the polished performance and presentation, MARIO KART 8 is the best arcade racer yet.


3. Bayonetta 2 ; A madcap whirlwind of exhilarating moves and super-satisfying feedback, shuttling the player from one over-the-top set-piece to another, hitting a high plateau early on, but never slipping off it.

When I think of BAYONETTA 2, I think of many satisfying moments. Like shattering armor with swings from a massive hammer, and cratering a centaur before spanking its hindquarters... Or chewing through the torso of an angel with chainsaws strapped to my feet, the orange glow of each strike conveying the searing heat of the toothy bands... Or firing off bus-sized beetles from a bow with wasp-like wings, plowing into my enemies and pushing them backwards in a splash of crackling green energy... Or flipping through the air and reeling in enemies with thorny whips that lash out from my feet, mid-flip, before slamming them to the ground, a streak of hot pink tracing the arc of each swing... The list goes on and on.

What makes each action so much fun is the immediacy of control, the brisk snappiness of each animation, and the way each kick, punch and sword swing is accentuated by the heroine's lanky limbs, by the comet trail of color that follows each move as it cuts the air. Then there's the weighty shudder of each enemy as they absorb the impact, staggering in the right way at the right time. Through some miraculous feat of engineering, the camera manages to capture all of the action, framing it such that you're close enough to feel the hard-hitting action (something lost with the distance of THE WONDERFUL 101), yet far enough away that you have a handle on what's around you (something that was a struggle for METAL GEAR RISING). The degradation of the enemies as you whittle down their armor adds to the sense of progress. And as they attack, the moves of these monsters are telegraphed by tells that are quick but clean, allowing you to read them and dodge accordingly.

And oh, the fights you'll have! Nearly every monster from BAYONETTA 1 returns, supplementing a menagerie of all-new monsters, including angels that continue the "living cathedral" motif, as well as demons that contrast the angels’ gilded armor and fleshy sinew with sharp, angular bodies made of metal. Each creature brings something to the table, and it's impressive how the game introduces them before mixing and matching them in different ways, testing your skills under a variety of circumstances.

You'll find yourself standing sideways on the rosetta window of a cathedral, or circumnavigating a rapidly ascending globe, SUPER MARIO GALAXY-style, or free-falling down a tower and continuing the brawl underwater. The first level has you fighting atop jets hurtling through the skies. The fourth level has gigantic monsters fighting in the background, mirroring the fight in the foreground between Bayonetta and her rival. Some fans took issue with the final battle, which doesn't manage to eclipse several that came before (to be fair, what could), but mechanically it is a more engaging fight than the battle that closed out the first game.

Speaking of which, the entire game of BAYONETTA 1 is included in the same package, optimized for WiiU with v-sync, making it the definitive edition. And that's before you get to extras like the Nintendo-themed costumes. Playing both games makes it clear how the sequel improves the formula in all the right ways, from streamlined pacing to the reduced number of genre shifts, making those asides shorter and more intuitive to play. While I'm not sure whether I prefer BAYONETTA 2 to METAL GEAR RISING as my favorite in this genre, there is no doubt this is one of the best values in gaming, and one of the best action games, period.


2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; A richly detailed romp through the most dynamic stages in platformer history, the player propelled along by tight design, visceral mechanics, and a spectacular score by David Wise.

I can't talk about TROPICAL FREEZE without gushing about the soundtrack by David Wise. This man composed the soundtrack of my childhood, from DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 2 to DIDDY KONG RACING. But it's not about nostalgia, since in my experience, many non-gamers will stop and go, "What is that? It sounds amazing!" I mean, listen to this, and then listen to this, and then listen to this. Three tracks from an OST of more than 70 songs that change with the ebb and flow of the events onscreen. TF could have sailed to the top of my list on the strength of its soundtrack alone, but put it in the context of everything else, and you have pure ecstasy.

That "everything else" includes sumptuous artwork, full of vibrant color and oodles and oodles of detail... Buoyant animation, imbuing each character with real heart and soul... Striking sound design, especially the deep-bass *BOP* when you bounce off an enemy, conveying the physicality of an 800-pound gorilla bounding through the jungle... And of course, the gameplay. The rhythm and flow of TF is unmatched in platformers. DK's barrel roll allows him to launch himself forward at a moment's notice, firing into the air like a cannonball. He is weighty and powerful, yet nimble and precise. And he is let loose in stages that are arguably the real star of the show.

These stages are ripe with spectacle, and the spectacle is wed directly to the design of the layouts. They crumble and collapse and collide in real time, exploding and imploding in carefully orchestrated chaos, one chain reaction after another. The shifting landscape produces new footing on the fly. In the level "Fruity Factory," a saucer-shaped slice of fruit is expelled from a whirling blender below, and lingers in the air just long enough for DK to roll-jump across it. There are many moments like this, threaded into the fabric of each stage as though it were the most effortless thing in the world.

Each stage is a self-contained adventure, with a beginning, middle and end. The progression of each stage is amazing to behold, events spilling from the background to the foreground and vice versa, often hitting a crescendo as DK reaches the end. One stage, "Frantic Fields," begins on the Savannah during a storm, DK and his trusty rhino plowing through the wind-whipped grassland as lightning bolts scorch the ground at their feet. Before you know it, you've been swept up into a sky-high tornado, where the level proceeds across airborne rocks and uprooted trees, dodging goats on the breeze as you work your way to the eye of the storm. This extends to the sense of progression from level to level, with the storm in "Frantic Fields" setting up the raging wildfire of the next stage, "Scorch 'N Torch."

Reaching each goal barrel can be a real challenge. Many of these gauntlets require a laser-like focus, quick reflexes, nerves of steel, and intuitive skill to overcome. But the game is always fair, clearly telegraphing everything. Combined with the craftsmanship of the stages, and the audiovisual storytelling, the challenge of TF feels far more meaningful than something like, say, SUPER MEAT BOY. There is a real sense of adventure to the proceedings — wild and unabated. One of the most wonderful titles on WiiU, or any platform in 2014.


1. The Evil Within ; Shinji Mikami returns to the horror genre with an intensely memorable, perfectly paced, and amazingly varied tour de force of simmering suspense and punishing encounters. A masterful balance of tension and release, the title has its share of controversial elements, but is far more than the sum of its parts.

Remember the end of the movie RUSH HOUR 2, where the girl from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON walks in with the bomb? And Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have to jump out the window, while Chris Tucker screams, "Crazy-ass biiiiiiiiiiiitch!" Well, I was Chris Tucker during every scene with Laura, a shrieking spider-woman in THE EVIL WITHIN.

Laura is a ghastly apparition, naked except for ballet flats, covered from head to toe in horrific burns. Her face is obscured by long black hair (a Japanese horror staple), and her four arms end in cruel claws. But what gets me is the way she moves. She is wild and erratic, clambering up and down walls, scurrying along the floor on six limbs. If she grabs you, you're done. And you face her multiple times! I was so on edge that I would shout "oh shit oh shit oh shit" whenever she drew near. While running from her, I'd find myself belting out folk tunes, trying to keep my cool. When I finally escaped, I realized I was out of breath.

Laura is an incredibly unnerving and memorable monster, in a game FULL of unnerving and memorable monsters. Any one of these bosses could have been the focus of its own horror game, but in TEW, they all weave together in the tapestry of one grand adventure. It's everything I wanted from Shinji Mikami's return to survival horror and action horror, and a modern-day masterpiece that many overlooked due to a mixed reception.

To be fair, the mixed reception was partly justified. The console versions had performance issues before the patch. I played on PS4, post-patch, and felt the framerate was solid -- slight wavering, but no significant drops. And I saw only one instance of texture pop-in. Some people accuse the game of "jank," but it's mainly limited to a couple "gamey"-looking animations (opening doors, smashing crates -- holdovers from RE4), and sometimes the matches don't light enemies on fire. But the game is perfectly playable.

As for the controversial black bars and camera zoom while aiming, I didn't mind. In hindsight, I think they actually heightened the tension. The black bars created blind spots that forced me to take my eyes off certain bosses while turning cranks, pulling levers and shooting switches, causing a mental egg-timer to go "tick tick tick," knowing I had to move fast or I'd get killed in one hit by an enemy I knew was coming, but could not see.

Everything else is straight-up amazing. It is extraordinarily rare in any year (let alone 2014) to have a AAA horror game of such length and variety. Like RE4, the game is beautifully paced from start to finish, consistently introducing new elements and layering them together in increasingly complex ways, in levels that allow for many different approaches. The game has just the right mix of tight corridors and open spaces, of multi-tiered rooms and passages with blind corners and deviously placed traps. The game trades off in equal measure between eerily silent breathers where you can sponge up the environmental detail and ambiance, and high-pressure endurance tests where everything is out to get you. It's a thrill ride that understands the dramatic contrast of ups and downs, of panicky peaks and contemplative valleys.

Every now and then, there's a "palate cleanser" that takes a dramatic detour from the usual mode of gameplay. These are fun and refreshing when they occur. Then it's back to simmering suspense as you sneak around, disarming and setting up traps, scrounging up supplies, and trying to pick off your enemies... or hiding in closets or under beds and tables as invincible foes search for you... or trying to keep space between you and a chainsaw-wielding maniac, or a man with a vault for a head, or a slithering tentacled monstrosity ... or barely surviving throngs of enemies, scraping by with crudely improvised tactics, using every last bullet or bomb at your disposal.

Therein lies the difference between TEW and RE4 -- and the greatest strength of TEW: You're capable, but just barely. Ammo is so scarce in this game that no matter how carefully you play, your guns will often be empty. The most ammo I ever had was 20 bullets in my pistol; usually I had two or three bullets per gun. And the game is punishing to the point of being grueling at times. While RE4 empowers the player with a roundhouse kick that knocks back six people at once, your melee here does pitiful damage and barely budges enemies. Many foes can kill the player in one hit, and the strongest enemies are relentless in their pursuit. They inspire panic, which makes it hard to keep a clear head while trying to navigate their arenas, avoid traps and manipulate switches. I must have failed some bosses 20+ times.

But you know what? It's exhilarating. The adrenaline rush of confronting these horrors, and the satisfaction of overcoming them, is rivaled only by Demon's Souls and Dark Souls.

You go through battles feeling like this:

And you come out feeling like this:

As I said in my analysis of the game's balance, TEW asks a lot of the player, but is always fair. The game's difficulty scales perfectly to character upgrades, and the game provides just the right amount of everything. I'm endlessly fascinated by how Shinji Mikami keeps the player in this precarious position of vulnerability the entire game. The laser-focused difficulty curve is served well by tight mechanics and smart level design. And then there's the immersion, thanks to the sublime audio and art direction, the story intrigue, and atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife. This game transported me to settings and scenarios I will never forget, and elicited the most exquisite emotions with harrowing gameplay that required both skill and cunning.

Games like this come by only once in a great while. All things considered, THE EVIL WITHIN is my Game of the Year 2014.

 

[pr0cs]

1. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
PS4
I love sandbox games and the LOTR realm so this to me was a perfect mix. Some of the glitchy traversal
got on my nerves and the story sort of fell apart in the last half but overall this was my favorite game
thus far on 'new gen'

2. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
PS4
I didn't think anything of the title until I got sucked in, this is the type of game that I play games for, addictive,
fun, deceptively deep, replayable, silly

3. Last of Us Remastered
PS4
I missed last gen on PS3 so it was a no brainer. I have to play it in small spurts though as I find it
to be pretty tense. I really enjoyed the side stories (Ish et al), overall this game is amazing

4. Forza Horizon 2
XBONE
A great sequel to one of my most played 360 titles. It plays great, has a crazy amount of content and is
what I expect from driving games in the future.

5. Sunset Overdrive
XBONE
A pretty fun game, though I haven't played enough of it to be totally sold on it. I do like the colorful world,
characters and humor though

6. Monument Valley
Android
I got this for free from the amazon app sales and loved it enough to buy the additional puzzles. If more games
like this came out for mobile I suspect I'd give up a lot of my free console gaming time to play portable games.


I have a bunch of other titles that I want to play but I haven't picked them up yet. GTA5, FarCry 4, Wolfenstein by all accounts
are great games. I just don't have time yet to play them.

 

[Doomshroom]

1. Destiny
2. Last of Us Remastered
3. GTA 5
4. Shovel knight
5. Valliant Hearts
6. Hearthstone
7.Child of light
8. Diablo 3
9. Sportfriends
10. Pix the cat

 

[Darth Smurf X]

Compiling this list... I really haven't played that many new games this year. Eek. That'll have to change in 2015. I'm looking at you No Man's Sky, Star Wars Battlefront, Tomorrow Children, Driveclub PS+ Edition, The Witness, Rime, Wild, Uncharted 4 and others.

1. inFAMOUS Second Son ; Coming from the X360, I had missed the entire inFAMOUS series. And having played this game, I guess I really missed out. I loved the concept, the powers were great, the game was fun, the story was good, the characters likable and it was really, REALLY pretty. Definitely worth the next gen upgrade cost.

2. Destiny ; Flawed... but addictive. The FPS gameplay portion is virtually flawless, which is what Bungie excels at. Where Halo began growing stale, this game brought me back to the genre. And I can hold my own in the Crucible... who'd have ever thought that? Sure... the story is lacking, the voice acting needed some more work, but at the end of the day, this is the game I find myself playing. And to think I wasn't even going to buy this game until I was handed a free Beta code.

3. Octodad: Dadliest Catch ; Does this game count? I hope so, because it was not only fun, but it was funny. Who knew controlling a normal human being doing monotonous chores could actually be entertaining? The horrendous controls would usually frustrate me, but in this instance they work and I actually found myself laughing out loud at points. That is very rare for me in games.

4. inFAMOUS First Light ; See #1 but with less content. It was a great backstory that made me like the supporting character more (as I found her a tad annoying in the main game, this game redeemed her).

5. LittleBigPlanet 3 ; This one's a cheat, since I own the game, but haven't opened it yet. But, the plushy that came with it is awfully sweet. I guess I'm waiting for the majority of the bugs/glitches to be patched before I delve into this title. I don't want my progress to get corrupted, stuck on a level or whatever issues the interwebs are warning me about.

Honorable Mentions
6. DC Universe Online ; This game is not new. At all. But it was new to me. It was one of the few games I was envious about over in Xbox land. So when I shelled out the dough for a shiny new PS4 early this year, I didn't even need to purchase a game with it. I had a whole library waiting for me for FREE. And this and Resogun held my attention until inFAMOUS arrived. Sweet, sweet inFAMOUS.

 

[Neiteio]

I feel like I should toss in a vote for Smash Bros. I might add it as No. 7 at a later date (minus any elaborate write-up). For now, I'll stick with the Top Six I posted earlier. I'm focusing on my most memorable titles.

 

[so1337]

You need an semi-colon after each game title like this:


This is for the auto-polling purposes. Thanks.

Is a semicolon required after a game title with no comment? I thought it wasn't.

 

[Scoot McNairy]

1. GTA 5 ; it's just the ultimate 'outdoor world' simulator right now.
2. The Last of Us Remastered ; looks amazing and it's 1080p 60fps which is nuts.
3. South Park: the Stick of Truth ; its a game that no-one wanted or expected but blew everyone away.
4. The Evil Within ; like a new version of Resident Evil 4 but not as good.

 

[Timeaisis]

Is a semicolon required after a game title with no comment? I thought it wasn't.

I don't believe so, but
a) you need at least one comment on your list, and
b) the comment needs to begin on the same line as the game title (hence the need for a semi-colon).

I guess my post was slightly mistaken as you don't explicitly need a semi-colon if you aren't making a comment, but you do need at least one comment in your list. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I'd say when in doubt throw in a semi-colon in there to be sure.

EDIT: I was not referring to your post on the last page as improperly formatted. Your's looks fine.

 

[Neiteio]

I don't believe so, but
a) you need at least one comment on your list, and
b) the comment needs to begin on the same line as the game title (hence the need for a semi-colon).

I guess my post was slightly mistaken as you don't explicitly need a semi-colon if you aren't making a comment, but you do need at least one comment in your list. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I'd say when in doubt throw in a semi-colon in there to be sure.

EDIT: I was not referring to your post on the last page as improperly formatted. Your's looks fine.

Hey Timeasis, I know in the OP it says reverse order lists can work, but can you check mine to make sure the parser will read it? I made a much more elaborate list than usual.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; Retro Studios does it again. They continue to be my favorite developer ever since they released Metroid Prime. This here is one of their best games, and considering the quality of all five of their games, that is saying something. They continue to be the best in the industry in terms of art direction. This here is the best looking game of the generation so far thanks to the absolutely beautiful environments and silky smooth 60FPS. The same goes for level design, mechanics, and animation. All of those are on full display in Tropical Freeze. Much like Returns, if I were to list my favorite levels I would end up naming 3/4 of the levels in the game. Juicy Jungle in particular was perhaps the two best hours of gameplay ever burned to a disc. And of course, you can't talk about this game without talking about David Wise's phenomenal soundtrack. Yamamoto is great at Metroid, but he struggled to make a memorable soundtrack for Returns. Wise is absolutely on point here, with over four hours of fantastic tunes on display.

2. The Evil Within ; This is one of the most creative games I've played in a while. No, it wasn't the return to survival horror that Mikami promised it would be. It was, however, the best action horror game since Dead Space. This is a game that demanded the player respect it's rules. If you try to play it like a standard shooter, you will pay dearly. My favorite thing about the game was the sheer variety across a meaty campaign. From the encounter design to the environments, something new was always around the corner. I also loved the reoccurring boss battles. They were unique in their execution and they felt like true adversaries that kept coming back no matter how hard you tried to kill them. I was also one of the few who enjoyed the story, even though it didn't make too much sense. But I wasn't expecting greatness in that area, as it is a Mikami game.

3. Mario Kart 8 ; The best entry in the series since Double Dash. I was losing faith that the team had really lost their magic, as I wasn't a big fan of the DS, Wii, or 3DS entries. I was ecstatic that they finally managed to make a collection of interesting tracks. Unlike the past few games where there were only a few standout tracks, almost every track here is at least good, if not very good. And also unlike many games in the series, the music is actually not terrible. Of course, the graphics are impressive as well, especially from a technical perspective. The animation is fluid, the online works, and it's just damn fun to play. The DLC will ensure that I play this one for a long time to come. I only wish I could find enough friends to get together and set up a tournament like the good old days.

4. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; This is perhaps the most unique game of the year. I, like many others, wished for EAD Tokyo to make a full game of the Captain Toad levels from 3D World, but never for a second believed they actually would. It was easily my biggest surprise of last E3. The game did not fail to deliver. EAD Tokyo continue to be one of the most efficient and creative teams in the industry. Much like their Mario titles, every level brings something new to the table. Sure, there is no continuity, no "world" that gets established, but that's part of the fun... Knowing there's something brand new in the next level. Toad and Toadette are incredibly cute. The game looks gorgeous with incredible detail in the diorama styled levels, and the spacey/abstract backgrounds provide an atmospheric backdrop. This is an awesome action puzzler here, where fun is the name of the game.

5. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 ; Let me say that I agree with those who were not too fond of the modern day sections. But really, even some of those parts weren't that bad. I actually really dug how they fused the castle architecture with the modern city... The pointy spires and huge archways weirdly blended well with city buildings. There were also some really cool sequences... The train fight for example. The past sections were both beautiful in their art direction and fantastic in gameplay. The mechanics were solid and much more fun than the first Lords of Shadow game, and the boss battles I felt were easily the best of the year. Yes, even better than Bayonetta 2's. I often find myself not very fond of orchestral scores in games, but I actually really dug the music in this title. I also enjoyed the story for what it was.

6. Dark Souls II ; A disappointment, but only because Dark Souls and Demon's Souls are so phenomenal. This game boasts the same fantastic environmental and creature design that the series is known for. The mechanics are still great and the boss fights still huge, punishing, and awesome. My problem was the world was simply not as well put together as it's predecessor. The level design wasn't as good, and it didn't fit together as a cohesive whole the way Dark Souls did. There were some fantastic and beautiful individual locations though, like the Iron Keep and Dragon Aerie. I also liked how they had a lot of boss battles where you were fighting two foes at once. They were very thrilling and really kept me on my toes.

7. Bayonetta 2 ; From a mechanical standpoint, Bayonetta is unmatched in the hack'n'slash action genre. I absolutely love the creature design as well, particularly that of the angels. Some of the demons were interesting as well. The Umbran Climax was my favorite addition to the game. A well timed dodge into witchtime followed by unleashing a barrage of crazy hair demon attacks is incredibly satisfying and made me feel particularly badass. This game was pure spectacle from beginning to end, broken up only by delving into the lore, which I always found interesting in this game. I feel odd putting it at number 7. Much like it's prequel, I loved it, but not as much as everyone else seems to. I am incredibly happy it was made though and at this point will almost blindly support any big project Platinum does.

8. Shovel Knight ; When I first saw this game, I was incredibly psyched about the fusion of Mega Man x Castlevania. Then when I saw the Zelda II style towns I knew I would be sold on nostalgia alone. Of course, I knew the gameplay and music would be awesome, and they are. Action platformers are a dime a dozen in the indy scene, but this game is special. I pray for a sequel with playable Shield Knight. It would be the bomb diggity.

9. 1001 Spikes ; Easily the hardest game of the year, I am a sucker for masochistic 2D platformers, and 1001 Spikes delivered that. I did feel that there was a lot of trial and error bullshit along the way, but there was some really clever level design. Controls were good, and music was catchy. It was also pretty damn long, so definitely a great value for the price.

10. Super Smash Bros. For Wii U ; I don't really have much to say here. It's definitely better than Brawl. I love a lot of the new items, and some of the new stages are really cool. Some great new characters as well. I enjoy using Mega Man, Charizard, Villager, and the Koopa Kids/BJ. Something about the gameplay isn't as satisfying as Melee and 64 though. It's Smash Bros. through and through though, and that is definitely a good thing.


Honorable Mentions

x. Kirby: Triple Deluxe ; A cute, fun Kirby game that isn't up to the pink puff's usual standards.
x. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Though it was nothing like good old Wolfie 3D, I had fun killing Nazi's and robots again in a meaty singleplayer campaign.

 

[TripOpt55]

Finally got my list together. Here it goes!

1. Far Cry 4 ; By and large Far Cry 4 gives us more of what was great about Far Cry 3, but when you loved that game as much as I did that isn’t a bad thing at all. Like its predecessor, Far Cry 4’s open-world delivers memorable moments in spades. Some will feel familiar like random encounters with the ferocious wildlife that inhabit the game’s fictional nation of Kyrat, chats with its eccentric leader Pagan Min, or stalking baddies silently with your bow. Others though are unique to this fourth entry. Like flying over enemies in a one-man chopper to pepper them with explosions from your handy grenade launcher sidearm. Or climbing the mountainous terrain with your new grappling hook. There’s siccing your ghost tiger on enemies in the fantastical Shangri-La levels. Or how about racing up alongside an enemy vehicle and hopping across to take them down before zooming off down the road in their ride. And then of course, there are elephants. If you thought taking down outposts in FC3 was fun already, they are even better here. Just imagine riding into one on an elephant, blasting away from on top of your noble mount with a shotgun, slamming enemies into the ground with its trunk, and charging into a convoy of reinforcements to send their jeeps tumbling away. It may be because of my love of elephants, but nothing in gaming this year was more fun than going to battle atop one of these huge creatures. It may be a cliché or even a little silly to say a sequel is like the previous game on steroids, but it seems really apt here. Far Cry 4 is like FC3, but better in every area that matters. As a result, it is my game of the year and one of my favorite first-person shooters of all-time.

2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; I think part of the reason I loved Tropical Freeze so much was because it was really the first time the DKC series clicked with me. I think I was a little late to the party on the original on SNES and I don’t care much for the controls of the Wii’s Donkey Kong Country Returns whereas neither was an issue when I played Tropical Freeze. But it is mostly just because Tropical Freeze is such an excellent game. Few games nail the aspect of challenge better than TF. Even when I’m dying (which I admit I did fairly often), I was never frustrated and finishing a tough sequence was always rewarding as a result. And similar to Bayonetta 2, the aspects I didn’t care much for in previous DKC games (mine cart and rocket barrel levels) are both less prevalent here and of a higher quality when they do pop up. And then there is the soundtrack which I can’t say enough good things about. Above all else though the game just excels so much during the more traditional stages. The level design is exquisite in its appearance, deep with its use of mechanics, and creative with its layouts. I appreciated the longer length of each individual one compared to Returns as well. And it all controls perfectly this time around. As a platformer fan, this is what I live for in games and no other title this year delivered on this front like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

3. Mario Kart 8 ; Mario Kart 8 really ticked all the boxes for me in what I want from the series. Tight controls with an analog stick? Check. Inventive new courses and a myriad of quality classic tracks? Double check. Great local multiplayer with plenty of customization options? Yep, it’s got that too. It also delivers some fun new additions like the cool anti-gravity mechanic, new items like the Boomerang Flower and Super Horn, and Off-TV Play. We are seeing new content added to the game via DLC for the first time, something I’ve always hoped for. Even the graphics are beautiful, not something I usually expect from the series. It’s unfortunate they’ve botched the battle mode yet again, but as far as racing goes it is as fun as multiplayer gets. It’s my favorite Mario Kart title and sure to be a staple when gaming with friends for years to come.

4. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Wolfenstein: The New Order wasn’t even on my radar coming into the 2014. Suffice it to say, I didn’t expect it to top much-anticipated titles like Destiny or find itself in my top five come year’s end. With their first effort, MachineGames delivers one of the best FPS campaigns around. I love the way it blends new and old school FPS design. You can run and gun with a pair of shotguns or creep around stealthily taking enemies down with throwing knives. The game is level-based, but allows for lots of options and paths despite its linear structure. Side objectives and the game’s upgrade system encourage experimentation. It combines to create a gameplay experience that feels expertly crafted and more importantly is just plain fun. The most surprising part of the year’s most surprising game though is the narrative. There is an unexpected amount of heart for a game that has you blasting away at giant Nazi robots and it helps to create a more well-rounded experience. Wolfenstein: The New Order is a top-notch effort and not to be overlooked by any gamers out there, but especially FPS fans.

5. Bayonetta 2 ; I still don’t care much for the aesthetic of the series or the lead character and I feel the story gets in the way of my fun at times, but with combat this good none of that makes much of a difference. The depth on offer here is simply unmatched in the action genre today. It brings back a lot of what made the original great: the excellent Dodge Offset and Witch-Time mechanics, the wonderfully over the top scenarios, the fun yet outlandish weapons, the top of the line boss encounters, the pitch-perfect controls. But Bayonetta 2 also improves on the original’s formula by adding new mechanics like Umbran Climax, delivering a better performing more beautiful experience via the Wii U hardware, and even trimming some of the first game’s fat by sticking to the core gameplay more and being less obnoxious when it doesn’t. The end result is my favorite pure 3D action title outside of the first two modern Ninja Gaiden games… which is to say it was really awesome.

6. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris ; I just love what Crystal Dynamics has done with this spinoff series. It takes a lot of the core elements of classic Tomb Raider and delivers them in a completely different way with some of the most clever cooperative play out there. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris doesn’t make a huge step forward from Guardian of Light, but it gave me more of what I loved about that game with some nice new ideas thrown in the mix. The hubworld is fun to explore, the staff and torches make for some amazing puzzles, and four-player co-op allows for a couple more friends to join in on the fun. I’m a sucker for the Egyptian setting too which doesn’t hurt. Temple of Osiris is a great follow-up to GoL and a good way to tide you ever until Miss Croft’s next big-budget outing.

7. Threes ; Threes! really hits all the right notes to make it the perfect mobile puzzle game. The simple swipe mechanics are a great fit for today’s smart phones and it acts as a nice timekiller on the go. It also packs a good amount of strategy into its addictive gameplay that help make it a superb puzzle experience. Laid over all of this is some catchy music that will be stuck in your head for days and a cute artstyle that makes getting to new numbers rewarding (I mean who wouldn’t want to see the next fun character you’ll unlock or hear their adorable sound effects). It comes together to create a nice little package, one you can tell the developers put a lot of love and care into.

8. Infamous: First Light ; I enjoyed Infamous: Second Son quite a bit, but this standalone downloadable follow-up manages to top it. It does so by focusing on Second Son’s best power set (Neon) and making it even better. Never before has movement in Infamous been as much of a joy as zooming around with Fetch’s suped up Neon abilities. The new arena battles are also a great addition to the series, one I hope sticks around if the series continues. Short but sweet, First Light is the high point in the Infamous series for me.

9. Watch_Dogs ; There is no denying that Watch Dogs visuals didn’t live up to the initial reveal and the game definitely follows a very similar formula to other Ubisoft open-world titles, but I found myself having a blast with the game anyway. The hacking mechanic really adds a nice twist to typical sandbox shootouts and car chases. It even makes things like tailing missions a bit more interesting through the use of security cameras. They really nailed the controls for both shooting and stealth which makes for a game that plays extremely well. Throw in a bustling Chicago that feels alive and a nice variety of side missions (I really appreciated some of the puzzle-focused ones as a change of pace) and you have a really good first stab at a new open-world IP. If Ubisoft can improve on it with a sequel the way it did with fellow sandbox series Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry, we could be in for a real treat with Watch Dogs 2.

10. LittleBigPlanet 3 ; I had difficulty settling on a tenth game this year. As much as I loved LittleBigPlanet 3‘s story mode (the new hubworlds, characters and power-ups make it the most fun I’ve had with the series) it was over far too soon. It wasn’t until I dove into some of the community’s offerings that I finally decided to give this game the final spot on my list. It reminded me just how impressive the editing tools here are and the kind of creativity that can come out of them. Seeing users put all LBP3‘s clever new mechanics to work once again left me in awe. The series debut on the PS4 is a little rough around the edges, but it achieves some amazing things as well.

Honorable Mentions
x. The Last of Us: Left Behind ; I decided to stick with standalone games for my list as opposed to DLC despite this being elgible (mostly because that is how I do things on my blog), but this would be somewhere in the top five. TLOU was my GotY in 2013 and one of my all-time favorites and this was an excellent addition to the game. I particularly loved how they used existing mechanics to create games for the girls and the three-way combat encounters in the other portion of the game. Great story too that makes the main game's even better.

 

[Elandyll]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; Bioware made me fall in love with the Dragon Age universe again, and actually surpassed the original for me in almost every way. The only 2 problems I have had were the lack of clear indications of the level target for areas and quests, making it a pointless process of trial and error at times, as well as the many vapid MMO style fetch quests (though mostly optional which, when the case, ought to have been made very clear) which tend to dilute the game when without them it would have been a 60+ hours extravaganza of the best restaurant in town, instead of a 100+hours Vegas Style buffet with some amazing food mixed with some mediocre bits here and there. A true celebration of modern Western RPGs in many ways.

2. Infamous 2nd Son/ First Light ; What can I say? I love the franchise to start with, and Second Son improved on almost every aspect on the previous 2 opuses. Amazingly, First Light managed to even do a little better than that in a tight 4-6h package, the only obvious thing missing being a multiplayer revamp of the training arena seen in First Light. Maybe for Second Son "2"? It of course doesn't hurt that the game (and expansion) are visually gorgeous.

3. Diablo III Reaper of Souls ; I got tired rapidly of Diablo 3 on PC back in 2012, but playing it locally co-op with my spouse on our TV, somehow, made it into a brand new game for me. Loving every minute of it, and the game itself is great, and was very well adapted on console.

4. Divinity: Original Sin ; I was very much looking forward to the return of the isometric BG2 style RPG, with a deep system, and I was not disappointed. Steep dificulty at first, but it then is a rich RPG experience the likes of which I have not had in years.

5. The Last of Us/ Left Behind ; Mostly rating the DLC here, but the PS4 remaster is pretty amazing in its own right (the game was my GOTY 2013). An excellent addition to the amazing experience that already is The Last of Us.

6. Far Cry 4 ; I am generally not into shooters, but I happen to love sandbox experiences like Just Cause 2. I have to admit that (while not being done with the game yet) Far Cry 4 is just pure fun, and I am having a blast with it.

7. Metal Gear Solid 5 - Groudn Zeroes ; Short? Definitely. But was it also an amazing showcase of what a modern MGS can be, with the Kojima-san touch pretty much intact? I believe so. It was only about 2-3 hours of my time, but those were some tense and immensely satisfying 2 hours. And I can go back for more.

8. World Of Warcraft Warlords of Draenor ; I honestly thought that after completely bypassing the Kung Fu Panda expansion, there was no way they would get me back in. And yet they did. Enjoying it so far, the loads more of "go kill X of that" quests are dragging me down, but the very welcome addition of the Garrison is (almost) a game changer. Definitely worth trying again if only for that.

9. Monument Valley ; Didn't expect much for an Android/ IOS game, but had my mind constantly blown away by this amazing little piece of puzzle goodness. Rarely stumped, but always engaged, I have to remember to try the expansion some time.

10. Destiny ; Admitedly, if the year had not seen so many games pushed into 2015, Destiny would probably not be on that list. It makes the cut thank to its gameplay, and artistic merits (Visuals/ Soundtrack). But for someone as myself who is not big on MP, and given that the story is objectively rubbish (obviously hacked and slashed to death), there isn't much left.


I regret not having had the time to play: Alien Isolation; Shadows of Mordor; Legend of Grimrock 2; Watch Dogs; AC:Unity; The Evil Within; P.T. (it's on my hard drive, just haven't given it a chance yet).

Disappointments:
LBP3 ; Somehoew doesn't recaptures the magic of Little Big Planet for me, even though I skipped LBP 2 entirely
Destiny ; It is good. Yes. But soooo much less than what I hoped it would be.
Everquest Next: is a no show, and nowhere close to be finished apparently. We have Landmark, but I am not -that- much of a crafter.
Homeworld Remastered: Is it going to come out? Ever?

 

[so1337]

EDIT: I was not referring to your post on the last page as improperly formatted. Your's looks fine.

I fought in the GOTY trenches before. I know the ins and outs.

 

[Deactivision]

1. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Soooo good. I'm not one to nitpick too hard but for my money this is the perfect iteration of an absolutely classic series, fully justifying the Wii U's existence once and for all. The controls are spot on responsive, the roster is incredible, the music library is simply massive, and the game looks and feels marvellous. I am still getting my butt kicked all the time but I am enjoying it more than I ever have.

2. Bayonetta 2 ; Simply wow. Thank you once again, PG.

3. Bayonetta ; Having never played the original before, Bayonetta was a revelation. Punishing and stylish and weird and epic and skill-testing and above all, fun. An amazing, classic action game bested by the sequel only due to a higher level of polish and fewer frustrations.

4. Mario Kart 8 ; See #1. This and Smash were a truly killer duo for the Wii U in 2014. Great DLC enhances the value and pushes this game well beyond my expectations. Still holding out hope for an expanded Battle Mode.

5. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; Really challenging, beautiful platformer. And that OST, OMG.

6. Shovel Knight ; Just about the best love letter to NES-era gaming that I could imagine. Pixel-perfect platforming with a terrific soundtrack.

7. Kirby: Triple Deluxe ; Looks gorgeous on my 3DS, a great big ball of pure pink pleasure. Best Kirby game so far.

8. Scram Kitty and His Buddy on Rails ; Great platformer-shooter hybrid, really tough at times but tons of fun.

9. Fantasy Life ; I've barely scratched the surface of this game but I can tell it will keep me and my son occupied for a long time.

10. Hyrule Warriors ; Good, not great, but massive and fun. A pleasant surprise.

Honourable Mentions:

x. Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones ; might make the list if I didn't find myself getting stuck trying to locate the next test chamber one too many times.
x. Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire ; I've barely started this one; the sense of sameness is inescapable but it's Pokemon, so I don't care.

 

[Bacon]

1. The Last of Us Remastered ; I never got around to this game last year and it was the perfect game for me to sink my teeth into once I got my shiny new console. Great game, everything that could be said about it has probably already been said, so I'll just let it's ranking speak for itself.

2. Destiny ; There is no game made in 2014 that I played more than Destiny. I realize it has several glaring flaws but I still enjoyed my time with it and can't say enough about how good the gameplay feels.

3. Shovel Knight ; I never played those old Mega Man games that this game is said to be an homage to. That didn't impact my enjoyment of this game one bit. I had a blast on my commute with this game. Really well done.

4.Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition ; I bought this game on a whim early in the PS4's lifetime because games were somewhat sparse back then (you could say that they still are). I didn't really know what to expect from it but I ended up enjoying the hell out of it. I usually dislike collectibles but I ended up enjoying collecting stuff and just enjoying the world in this game. Excited for the next installment.

5. The Binding of Isaac Rebirth ; I'll readily admit that I am not good at this game, like, at all. It's a testament to how fun this game is because I keep coming back. Every run feels different and fresh, and it feels like I get a different power on every single run. What a blast this game is. Also put this game in the category of "best ps plus game of the year"

6. Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition ; I was a newcomer to this game with this version. I ended up playing through the 5 acts and felt satisfied. I didn't want to continue grinding but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the time that I did spend with the game. The abilities feel so good to use that it's a very satisfying game to play.

7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ; I enjoyed a solid 2 or so weeks with this games multiplayer. The movement stuff didn't quite do enough to keep me around but I think it's a solid step in the right direction for this franchise.

8. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ; I wanted to like this game more than I ended up liking this game. The nemesis system is undeniably awesome but I couldn't get over how bland the rest of the game was unfortunately. Shoutout to the most boring open world that I've maybe ever played in.

9. GTA V ; I played through this game last gen but I thought it was worth mentioning here because of how good of a port job this is. The graphics are friggen amazing and the first person view is also really fantastic.

10. P.T. ; What a weird, brilliant thing this is. It may not be a "game" but damn if it wasn't pants-shittingly scary.

 

[Razzorn34]

1. Bayonetta 2 ; Easily the pinnacle of action games.
2. Mario Kart 8 ; I always know what to expect from Mario Kart. It never disappoints.
3. Dark Souls 2 ; Thanks PC mods for making this look as it should have.
4. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Instant fun. No matter who is playing.
5. Ultra Street Fighter IV ; Still my go to fighting game. 5 years later.
6. Hyrule Warriors ; Who would have thought a musou game could be this addicting?
7. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; My unfinished 100+ hour playthrough tells the story.
8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; I hope this sparks a new franchise.
9. Transistor ;
10. Child of Light ;

Honorable Mentions
x. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F ;
x. The Walking Dead: Season Two ;
x. Bravely Default ;

 

[chadboban]

A wonderfully written and incredibly well put together list

Dude, can I like put your list in my top ten? It's that good!

I mean, if I didn't already have 5/6 of the games you named I'd probably be running to my nearest game store to pick them up. Thanks to you I'm actually going to see if I can save up some cash and get Alien Isolation on my PC before voting time is up. My list is never going to be this articulate or eloquent, but I ain't gonna sit here and act like I ever had a hope of writing something that good. lol

Man I really need to get to work on finishing up some other games. That deadline is really starting to creep up on me.

 

[tiny raptor]

.

God damn, that was well-written.

Does anyone ever get so attached to a game that you treat it like your own child? So that as you read the stuff people are saying about the game, in the back of your mind you're going "You better not say anything bad about my game...", your fingers at the ready to type up a scathing response if they do say anything bad about it?

I feel that way about Tropical Freeze and The Evil Within, and you didn't say anything that offended me, hahaha. I think I agree with everything you said on them.

Anyway, that was well-written. Specific examples and just excellent writing overall, serving the reader very well. Concise, and easy to understand. Well done.

PS: Will type up my list later, just wanted to compliment Neiteio on a hell of a write up for now.

 

[Timeaisis]

Hey Timeasis, I know in the OP it says reverse order lists can work, but can you check mine to make sure the parser will read it? I made a much more elaborate list than usual.

I don't have access to the parser cheese is using, so I'm not 100% certain. But, what I know about parsers and having done stuff like this on forums before, your's looks perfectly fine.

I believe the parser is just looking for the the number, the title, and a semi-colon (if you are leaving a comment) so it can separate comments (or extra stuff, like image links) from the title of the game. In your case, you are doing this perfectly with your bolded summation thing followed by a more detailed description. So, I believe you are good.

BTW, awesome list and write-up. I apparently really need to play TEW.

 

[Azure Phoenix]

1. Valkyria Chronicles ; Unlike others, I can't even say that I never played VC before the Steam release. I'm ashamed to say that I tried the demo many years ago, hated it, and wrote the game off entirely. Thanks mostly to Fire Emblem Awakening, I was willing to give this one more shot and I am so glad that I did. It's a really enjoyable and beautiful strategy game with a light plot that still manages to incorporate some of the brutal themes of war.

2. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc ; You have no idea just how difficult deciding between the two Danganronpa games was this year, they are literally so close that I cannot separate the two, with the order changing virtually daily. DR1 was a generally more rounded game, with better fleshed out characters and a more believable setting, however DR2's high points were oh so much better than DR1. Never did I see such a reaction to any part of DR1 as the complete despair the finale to Case 5 in DR2 brought to most people.

3. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

4. Planetarian ~ The Reverie of a Little Planet ~ ; What is a kinetic VN from 2004 doing here on a 2014 GOTY list you ask? While there is literally no gameplay at all, the feels generated by the ending of that game more than earned it this spot pn my list. We can also thank the localised release of this game on Steam for opening the floodgates and bringing many more VNs to the west.

5. The Idolm@ster: One For All ; I won't go into this one too much, virtually nobody here will even know what it is. While this spinoff to the series cut most of the schedule and management aspects from Imas 2, the improvements made to stage performance gameplay are astronomical.

6. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd ; While I personally hate a lot of changes that have been introduced to the series in the F games, particularly the new line star notes, which break the hard rules the series has always stuck to in regards to readability of notes, I can't deny that with the DLC included it has a formidable lineup of vocaloid songs that make it the default choice of Miku game to play.

7. Freedom Wars ; An ambitious new PSO/MH style of game on the Vita, it kinda came out of nowhere at a budget price and made a fairly big impression. Not much content and brutually difficult, but something about it was pretty addictive. Unfortunately it would have been much higher up, had the postgame content not been an atrocious grind on top of it having the worst final boss ever.

8. Mario Kart 8 ; Absolutely horrid new item distribution system and complete dumbing down of gameplay from MK7 mostly put this on the shitlist for me this year. That said, the first DLC pack was incredible and exactly what all DLC should aspire to be. It deserves a place here purely to set an example.

9. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax ; Pretty much filling spaces at this point. Adachi was fun to play as and the ridiculous selection of old Persona songs to choose for stages was nice. Story was pretty much meh however, certainly can't stand up to the impact that Labrys' backstory had in P4A1.

10. Destiny of Spirits ; Let me preface this, as an actual game DoS isn't good, nor will I make any argument why I'm putting it here. It's essentially my grown up football sticker album, one which has drained far more time and money over the last year that it should have.

 

[grandwizard]

Remember the end of the movie RUSH HOUR 2, where the girl from CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON walks in with the bomb? And Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have to jump out the window, while Chris Tucker screams, "Crazy-ass biiiiiiiiiiiitch!" Well, I was Chris Tucker during every scene with Laura, a shrieking spider-woman in THE EVIL WITHIN.

Haha, awesome list!

 

[tiny raptor]

So here it is.

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; I've been listening to the soundtrack in my car: on the way to work, and on the way back. In the shower. While I browse the internet. It's a classic that I'll be listening to for years to come. Many times it's downright orgasmic. And the levels are more varied and unique than in Returns, maybe because this game goes for a quality over quantity approach (there are 6 main worlds and 1 short bonus world). Favorite levels: Sawmill Thrill (the way it goes from inside a sawmill to the water part felt believable and AMAZING), Bopopolis, Alpine Incline, Wing Ding, Grassland Groove, High Tide Ride, Cliffside Slide. Favorite songs: Busted Bayou, Sawmill Thrill, High Tide Ride, Fruit Harvest, Scorch 'N' Torch, Wing Ding, Chilly Coast, Irate Eight - Tension (Lockjaw's Saga Returns) It's the best 2D platformer ever, and one of the best games ever period, too.

2. The Evil Within ; An amazing masterpiece. Level design, pacing, gameplay, atmosphere, creativity...this game is nearly flawless in every area. Mikami wasn't lying when he said he was finding creative ways to pace the game; it's not just about action -> quiet moment -> action -> quiet moment. There's all kinds of gameplay in the game, and it never gets tiresome. It's so masterfully designed that you get in a rhythm, and you don't want to put the game down. Don't make us wait another 10 years, Mikami ;-;

3. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc ; Killer app for the Vita. The story is compelling, the atmosphere is constantly dark and suffocating, and the characters are well-written, so that when they die it really hits you. Also, some of the gameplay mechanics are really intuitive, like the see-through map that you can turn on and off at will that overlays the screen as you explore the school. And the investigations are actually fun to, um, investigate because, *gasp*, they actually make sense (to the point where you can figure out whodunit before the trial itself is underway)!!

4. Dark Souls II ; It obviously wasn't as cohesive as the original Dark, but it's still got great level design, balance, atmosphere, music and gameplay. Of all the games released in 2014, I sunk the most hours into Dark Souls II.

5. Driveclub ; Best non kart-racing game ever. Serious racing aficionados need to have this in their gaming lineup.

6. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; The first 6 chapters are great with great level design and thrilling setpieces. A couple of the chapters leading up to the finale were frustrating difficulty wise (not in a good way), but overall this game is an excellent FPS with an emotional story. I got teary eyed at the end.

7. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse ; Hot babes, challenging yet balanced gameplay, great level design, and a rockin' soundtrack composed by Jake Kaufman.

8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; It's a good game. Fun, bite-sized, satisfying to do the extra objectives because it's hard to do them sometimes. I still prefer more narrative-driven games, though. This one (and I had the same problem with 3D World) doesn't feel like there's much of a point to playing it outside of just to play it (ie: just like a minigame you could play on the iOS or something), and in contrast, that's something that Tropical Freeze absolutely nails in its overall cohesion. Still, Tracker deserves a spot on this list just for being as good as it is.

9. Mario Kart 8 ; I wish it took more chances, but it's addictive, the online worked perfectly for me, and Mastering the Drift™ on each course was as satisfying as it's ever been for the series.

10. The Last of Us: Remastered ; (Would've been higher were it not a remaster of a game that came out in 2013) Still a masterpiece. In fact, it's even better on PS4. Smoother framerate, better graphics. You also appreciate the foreshadowing and just the design of the game more on a second playthrough.

 

[Andiie]

1. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor ; World of Warcraft has been my favorite game every since I first started playing late 2006. After two fairly disappointing expansions I felt my interest starting to wane and I played less and less only ever dabbling in low level battlegrounds from time to time. Warlords of Draenor feels like a return to everything I love about the game and has given me renewed faith that Blizzard can keep the game fun for many years to come. I've probably put more hours into the last month and a half than the entirety of the previous two years (insanely about 500 hours) and I'm still having fun.
2. Forza Horizon 2 ; I'm not a huge fan of racing games but when they're gotten right they can be really enjoyable. I didn't expect it to be as fun as it is. My favorite moment or event was the Road Trip to Montellino. I was given a choice between certain cars and the one I chose was really difficult to control. I had a lot of trouble keeping it on the track but quickly learnt if I could slide the car into corners and let the drift carry me around I would have an easier time keeping on the track. Sliding around corners at full speed and somehow staying on track felt incredible on those white dirt roads. This would come close to topping my favorite racing game, RalliSport Challenge 2.
3. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ; Early November I was certain this was my number one game but Draenor quickly put an end to that. The changes Blizzard made to the loot system and end game had improved the game ten-fold. Playing a Crusader from level 1 on a higher difficulty than I usually play on felt hugely rewarding. I was loving playing and then I hit cap and somehow it blew me away even more with the events and everything they had to offer. Nothing beats running an event with a large density of enemies and mowing them down with ease. It feels so good to play on console I have trouble going back to the PC version.
4. Infamous: Second Son ; I had almost forgotten Infamous had come out this year being released all the way back in March. It looks phenomenal. The rain effects and lighting early on are some of the best on any console. My favorite part of the game though, outside of the feel of the game and controls, is being able to remove nearly all the DUP presence from an area. As silly as it sounds I would spend a lot of my time breaking everything I could that showed that DUP were ever in that zone. It felt brilliant to me being able to change how the map looked and make it feel less like a highly controlled city.
5. Destiny ; I came into playing Destiny late into the year not expecting much due to all the backlash the game received. So far I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. The combat is the game's strength. Some of the battles, even early on, can be really intense with plenty of enemies to keep you busy and it really gets the heart rate pumping trying to land that precious headshot when you're getting swarmed. I love it.
6. Valiant Hearts: The Great War ; A delight of a game. The story is well told and touching. We need more games like this.
7. Driveclub ; Driveclub has been my go to game when I want something to play for 10 minutes or so. While the graphics are mind-boggling at times its real strength is in its fantastic sense of speed and intense difficulty. Trying to hit some of the more difficult race times and objectives is pure white knuckle fun. When I get more time I'll dive head-on into challenges which I'm sure will provide even more enjoyment.
8. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare ; A fun shooter that works better than it first appears to. Dressing up the different class characters with the various costume unlocks is a lot of fun and it plays really well. If only more people played so I could find a more populated game.
9. Shovel Knight ; About as good of a retro platformer as you could ask for. The attention to detail is king as I'm constantly impressed by the little touches the devs have included and thought about. Well worth a play.
10. The Last of Us: Remastered ; What can be said about The Last of Us that hasn't already been said? I never got much of a chance of playing it on PS3 because I kept getting motion sickness from it but the PS4 version seems to have fixed that with its improved performance and visuals. It still looks stunning and the beginning always affects me. Just a brilliant game.

Honorable Mentions
x. P.T. ; Deserves to be mentioned purely for doing something different and causing a lot of excitement and talk amongst the community that happens less often than it should. Hopefully the full game provides that same value.
x. Far Cry 4 ; I haven't played enough to give a great opinion on the game but it essentially feels like an improved Far Cry 3. The open world elements are some of the best going around.
x. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ; I really loved this game at first and had a lot of cool moments in-game thanks to the highly regarded nemesis system. It's many issues with the system really let it down sadly but what exists is still a very enjoyable game and rightfully one of the year's best.
x. Spelunky ; A challenging game that I'm glad made its way onto the PS4. The newest addition for me was the daily challenge which really impressed me greatly. Being able to try your best at the challenge then see how you compared to the rest of world was really fun and then being able to also watch replays of the best players, and even pick up tricks and tips that you weren't aware of, made it a lot of fun and added an enjoyable social element to a solid single-player game.
x. The Elder Scrolls Online ; I actually enjoyed my time with ESO after only playing because a family member wanted me to. Combat isn't as good as it probably could be but it plays better than many recent mmos I've tried enjoying. With more hours in a day I could see myself happily playing this more often than I did.
x. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; I'm a little late to the party on these next two, I wish I had played these earlier so I could have let them sink in as I've just played them. Wolfenstein feels like a return to the golden age of the fps when single-player, corridor shooters were all you would find in the genre. The combat feels so good and even the story seems to work really well. The action feels nicely broken up so it doesn't get old and when they let you wreck havoc it's a lot of fun. Not that great to look at but there are a lot of cool little touches. This reminds me a lot like Quake 4 which I loved back in the day so if it ends up living up to that I'm in for a treat.
x. Little Big Planet 3 ; It's been a while since I played a LBP game. LBP 3 seems like it's more of the same things that people love with a few new ideas to change things up. The best thing about these games is the creativity in the set like levels. The levels come to life as you play them, with easier controls, which really makes playing them a lot of fun. Can't wait to get stuck into the rest of it.
x. TowerFall Ascension ; This game is always a lot of fun. Like Shovel Knight there are a lot of cool little details that really make the game stand out and you're always coming across really awesome moments where you're screaming "did you see that?" ,to your friends, in shock that something so cool could actually happen. The best local multiplayer game around imo.

 

[ThisOne]

Bayonetta 2 is going to easily win game of the year, it looks like.

 

[joey_bone_bomb]

1. Alien: Isolation ; Everything about this game was amazing. Art direction, sound design, gameplay mechanics, graphics, instrumental score, story, use of license, and the list goes on. One of the best gaming experiences I've had in years.

2. 80 Days ; What a gem. This made me feel like I was right there on the journey, living the adventures and discovering the world basically, all that with a very simple yet beautifully effective art and sound design. Almost felt like the future of story telling in a way and certainly made the book it's based on come to life for me.
Giving the original story a very Verne worthy steam-punky look and feel was also quite brilliant and worked wonders in making that story feel very fresh again. So simple yet so exciting. One of the biggest surprises of the year.

3. Hitman GO ; Thank you Square Enix, old Eidos, IO Interactive or whoever is responsible for this. This is how you translate AAA console titles for the mobile market. A simple port just does not work for these touch devices in 99% of all cases, and this game is one of the best examples of a developer taking the idea/concept behind a console franchise and turning it into a mobile experience built from the ground up for these devices. The creative minds behind this deserve a lot of credit, both for successfully bringing the Hitman franchise to mobile treating the franchise, the devices GO was built for and most of all the consumer with respect and also for the beautifully crafted board game look that I had not seen before in any game.

4. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th Anniversary Edition ; I had only ever played (and loved) Gabriel Knight 3, so even though this game is a remake of the original Gabriel Knight the story is completely new to me. Had this not come out I would have probably never experienced the first Gabriel Knight, and well, I would have definitely missed out. A very lovingly crafted remake of one of the absolute best adventure games ever (as I understand). While some changes or new features/additions might (apparently) sour the taste a bit for fans of the original, I really appreciate some of the new stuff I learned wasn't in the old game. Especially the incredible female narrator, which I had to get used to first (in part because of her very thick but obviously fitting New Orleans accent) but now consider one of the best features of the game. My favourite narrator in years probably.
Also, while this comes in an all-new, more modern coat of presentation I can still feel I'm experiencing a (cult) classic when I play this.
More of these lovingly and meticulously crafted remakes of classic old adventure games please!!

 

[blackMamba1187]

1. Bayonetta 2 ; wii u. I loved the first game and could not put this down once I began playing. Went straight into Bayo 1 right after. Funny, endearing, with first-class gameplay. I thought the story was fine, too.
2. Valiant Hearts: The Great War ; ps4. Beautiful art and a touching story about a time-period that, admittedly, I didn't know much about. The game definitely stoked the flames of curiousity.
3. Wolfenstein the New Order ; ps4. Where the hell did this come from!? One of my favorite stories, with the best characters this year. Oh, and you can dual-wield almost anything =)
4. Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor ; pc. Does the traversal better than assassin's creed, with combat nearly on par with batman. The nemesis system is great and can't wait to see it in future games/franchises. I ran around for many hours battling named orcs before I figured out what I was "supposed" to be doing. I regret nothing.
5. Forza Horizon 2 ; xo. I had been looking for an arcade-y racing game to really sink my teeth into and this game fit the bill perfectly. Can't wait to get into the new dlc.
6. South Park The Stick of Truth ; pc. Matt & Trey, matt and trey. These guys are genius' that seem to have a direct line to what I think is funny. Game was amazing and I would love a sequel, one-day, but maybe they should just go wherever inspiration takes them next. Whatever they come up with is sure to be hilarious.
7. Sunset Overdrive ; xo. Colorful, irreverent and a whole load of fun. Not since THPS have I seen the "lines" in the environment with such clarity. Pop-punk soundtrack and some of the side characters were fantastic as well.
8. The Last of Us: Left Behind ; ps3/4. A touching side note to one of the best-realized characters I've ever experienced in a video game.
9. Threes ; phone/ipad/xo. Still playing to this day and have purchased gift copies for multiple friends. I imagine this game will be in the rotation for quite some time.
10. Super Smash Bros ; wii u. What is there to say really? The online worked day 1 for me!

Honorable Mentions
x. Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition ; ps4
x. Hitman GO ; ipad
x. Call of Duty Advanced Warfare ; ps4
x. One Finger Death Punch ; pc
x. P.T. ; ps4
x. Nidhogg ; pc
x. Jackbox ; ps4

 

[Neiteio]

Dude, can I like put your list in my top ten? It's that good!

I mean, if I didn't already have 5/6 of the games you named I'd probably be running to my nearest game store to pick them up. Thanks to you I'm actually going to see if I can save up some cash and get Alien Isolation on my PC before voting time is up. My list is never going to be this articulate or eloquent, but I ain't gonna sit here and act like I ever had a hope of writing something that good. lol

Man I really need to get to work on finishing up some other games. That deadline is really starting to creep up on me.

God damn, that was well-written.

Does anyone ever get so attached to a game that you treat it like your own child? So that as you read the stuff people are saying about the game, in the back of your mind you're going "You better not say anything bad about my game...", your fingers at the ready to type up a scathing response if they do say anything bad about it?

I feel that way about Tropical Freeze and The Evil Within, and you didn't say anything that offended me, hahaha. I think I agree with everything you said on them.

Anyway, that was well-written. Specific examples and just excellent writing overall, serving the reader very well. Concise, and easy to understand. Well done.

PS: Will type up my list later, just wanted to compliment Neiteio on a hell of a write up for now.

BTW, awesome list and write-up. I apparently really need to play TEW.

Haha, awesome list!

Typing from mobile. Thanks for the kind words, guys.

And Chad, I think you'll really dig Alien: Isolation. Give it a try!

 

[Kiyo]

1. The Last of Us: Remastered ; Last year, this game was my GotY and this year was a bit weak when it comes to new games compared to last year imo. So once again, we have The Last of Us on top of my game of the year list. Playing it on the PS4 with it's upgraded graphics and in 60 fps was great and truly the definitive way to experience this game. Enough has been said about this game both this year and last. If you haven't played it, you should.

2. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; There's so much to do in this game that I haven't even been able to completely finish it, even though I've been on it every free moment I've had since last week. I've put a little time into all the previous Dragon Ages, but this is my first time getting deep into one of these and I've enjoyed my time with this game immensely. If I wasn't allowed to vote on The Last of Us again, this would be my GotY.

3. Shovel Knight ; Up until a week ago (when I got DA:I) this was my GotY. The controls, the story, the soundtrack are all great and it made me realize how much I missed great platformers. I'm definitely double-dipping on this when it comes to PS4.

4. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ; I preordered this game months before its release because of a combination of a Steam deal and the developers being so openly confident about their game. There were hour long gameplay videos months before its release. They even moved up the release date, something you normally never see. It ended up working out as the game turned out to be very fun. The only thing holding it back from being higher is the somewhat weak ending.

5. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; What a pleasant surprise this game turned out to be. I wasn't expecting much but I ended up picking up this game pretty cheap around the time it came out and I enjoyed it so much I ended up buying it for my friend as well. The comedy, the gameplay, and the creative uses of the IP combine to make this a pretty good game and I'm glad I didn't immediately write it off.

6. Alien: Isolation ; This game has revived a genre I thought might be forever relegated to indies (not that that's a bad thing). Survival horror does seem to be making a return though and this was the game that did it for me. As a fan of the Alien series, I had high hopes for this game and was not disappointed.

7. The Walking Dead: Season 2 ; Not as good as the first season, but it still kept my attention all the way through. I can't wait to see how they manage all the different endings going into a third season.

8. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft ; This game would be a lot higher on my list a few months ago but the expansion was a little bit disappointing for me. I still enjoy it a lot though and play it nearly every day. As someone who grew up playing TCGs (Pokemon, Yugioh, MTG), this just scratches that TCG itch for me. Something that other video game TCGs like Solforge or any of the MTG games haven't been able to do.

9. Lords of the Fallen ; Another surprise game for me. I didn't even buy it until a couple of days after it released because of some positive comments. I went into it expecting a bad Dark Souls game but it managed to find it's own and I enjoyed it.

10. Grand Theft Auto V ; Waited until the PS4 version to really play this and was a bit disappointed considering the hype it got last year. It's still a great game though with so much to do and see, it deserves a spot in my top 10.

 

[KoolAidPitcher]

First of all, I will admit to being very busy and not having played many of the games on other people's lists this year. Games I have not yet played include Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Bayonetta 2, and a lot of the Nintendo games. That being said, here is my top 10 list from the games which I have played.

1. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F ; I became so addicted to this game for the first half of the year, that I became a playstation button master.

2. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die ; So many memorable moments and craziness. This is still the only game I have for the XBOne, haha.

3. Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F 2nd ; The sequel to the amazing Miku craze. I'm so happy these games were localized.

4. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea: Episode 2 ; I enjoyed this expansion more than I enjoyed Bioshock 2. I thought this was an excellent way to end the DLC story arc.

5. The Last of Us: Left Behind ; I enjoyed the change of pace this addition to the Last of us brought. We really got to see some background story and some great atmosphere.

6. TowerFall Ascension ; I had zero expectations for this free PS+ game, and was blown away by how awesome it was. This game is the reason I have 4 PS4 controllers and is amazing multiplayer fun.

7. The Last of Us: Remastered ; The 2013 GOTY has been remastered, and is better than ever. Why is it on the list? Because it was one of the most enjoyable experiences for me this year.

8. Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax ; A fun anime-style 2D fighter with lots of style. This game will probably never be released outside of Japan due to licensing issues with the characters. That being said, it's still a great 2014 game. One more thing-- I did not see this game in the spreadsheet. Could it please be included? Here is the GAF thread for the game.

9. Grand Theft Auto V ; The remastering went above and beyond anyone's expectations. I had so much fun playing Grand Theft Auto 5 again.

10. Destiny Public Beta ; This is one of those rare cases where I had a lot more fun playing the beta than I did actually playing the game. Do not tally this along with Destiny. I did not see the ability to vote for the Destiny Public Beta in the spreadsheet; however, I think it should be an option since it meets all of the requirements to be included.

 

[Riposte]

I read though the thread to collect lists I liked or appreciated in some fashion. Unsurprisingly, I saw a lot of "reserved" and just enough faulty formatting that it's almost incredible (I'll forgive at least those who get too fancy), but again, not surprising.

I will say this though, people have made a lot of jokes about "reserved" posts (including literally empty lists or lists without descriptions) at this point, but the idea of it is so stupid that I'm willing to say with a bit of seriousness that such posts should just not be allowed or at least heavily discouraged (for what good that may do, given what I just said about formatting). There's not a single good reason for it. It just boggles my mind. It's like something that gets more annoying the more you think about it and because I just read this whole thread, I've been thinking about it more than I should.

I mean imagine if you walked into one of throwaway trash threads about like, "Your favorite dogs in videogames?" and saw this:

The top 10 dogs of videogames are as follows:

{color=red}#1{/colour} : - = I can't commit to an answer yet, but I still want to take up this space on the internet, to make sure you all understand that I have nothing to say right now. I need more time to think about dogs in videogames just like I needed to make that fact I'm not contributing to this thread at this particular moment known. Thanks, and I hope you are as excited I am to look at this random post somewhere in the middle of page #7 ten days from now to see the exact same post.
#2 : - = Your thoughts on Dog B.
#3 : - = Your thoughts on Dog C.
#4 : - = Your thoughts on Dog D.
etc.

Who is that for!? Maybe I want to read your list, but even as one of the few people who probably even bothers to read more than a handful of lists including one's own, I'm not going to be scanning older pages I've already read through. Forums don't work that way: people look at the newest or the newest since their last visit. And let's be real, if you can't be assed to just pen this shit down in a notepad file and post it when it is good and ready and all polished up, then you don't care enough to go back an edit that post. If you do, then it's worse, because no one else cares.

 

[spekkeh]

Small positive I think is that because the first pages were booked immediately, the other users perhaps feel less inclined to rush their list.

 

[Hasney]

I agree with that. I've been clicking the "go to first new post" everytime it gets bumped so I have no idea who even reserved the first page anymore because I'm not reading their lists, only the new ones posted.

 

[Infinite_Daremo]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; Loved DA:O. Played DA2 and was pretty much done with Bioware and the series after that. After seeing a lot of pre-release streams and previews of the game it genuinely looked interesting. Then GAF reviews and impressions swayed me on the game, hearing it took most people 80+ hours to complete also helped that decision. Upon opening it Xmas day I managed to rack up 14 hours of constant play (thanks to remote play), something I haven't done since my teens (i'm now 27). I've been playing on Nightmare and whilst sometimes cheap the combat is genuinely fun, I've disabled all party AI except my tank and I honestly don't find much difference in the combat from DA:O if you play it this way. After currently 77 hours of play i'm still not bored of the game and there are still 2 zones I haven't explored and i'm still getting destroyed by the first dragon. After the tragedy of DA2 this definitely restored my faith in the series.
2. Divinity: Original Sin ; Amazing game. The first proper co-op story heavy RPG i've ever played. Running through it with a friend was genuinely a refreshing experience. I was worried about combat being slow paced between 2 players but everything in the game works perfectly. The combat is very tactical and still punishing on harder difficulties. The story is the same as the first Divinity from what I vaguely remember about it but it's not bad. The sidequests are where it shines for me, quests you uncover relating to the Pet Pal perk were some of my favourite. Another GAF recommended game.
3. Wasteland 2 ; The real Fallout 3 (or Wasteland sequel ). I was worried about buying the game but once again a GAF thread convinced me. The writing, combat, world are exceptional. Some of the consequences for the decisions you made really impacted the world and for the first time actually made me regret some of the decisions I made. The only let down for me was playing it early when there were a tonne of bugs and crashes.
4. Dark souls II ; I can't really say anything that anyone hasn't already said. But playing any souls game with my friends always yields greats memories. The amount of times my friend died against the Chariot boss was comical, I recorded every death and made a montage of it.
5. Grand Theft Auto V ; I previously played this on PS3 but the slow OS and shoddy frame rate dampened my opinion of it. On PS4 i've had a blast with it. What made it stand out was actually trying GTA: Online. I was surprised how good it was. The missions were quite repetitive and the community is full of dicks who do nothing but kill you but that's pretty much what I expected from it. Trevor was also one of the most memorable characters i've encountered in a game.
6. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; Not a genre I usually bother with but i'm a big MGS fan. After seeing the GAF thread and reading impressions I eventually got it on PC. The game play is flawless and the Zandatsu chopping tech is possibly my favourite innovation of the entire generation, one which I mimic'd in 2D but wasn't smart enough to do in 3D. One of a few games that made you feel like a badass without pressing A to win. I suppose its more press B to counter at the right time and win though
7. South Park: Stick of Truth ; I was sceptical about a licensed game as I can't think of a single good one but since it was Obsidian developed and looked identical to the TV show I couldn't help but fall for the aesthetics. The story, writing and dialogue were superb, the only lacking part was the combat which was very simplistic but the humour involved with it all kept it interesting enough. This is possibly the only franchised game i've ever bought and its a shame we will probably never see another like it.
8. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ; A genuine surprise. The combat was very simplistic and the world design was very drab. But the Nemesis system and variety of ways to tackle combat situations kept the game exciting for a while.
9. Rogue Legacy ; I played this on Vita and its possibly the only reason I would have played it this long. I couldn't put the game down, the RPG and Roguelike mechanics blended very well together and the variety of classes and perks kept me wanting to play more. Some of the ideas inspired me to add them to my companies game too.
10. inFAMOUS: Second Son ; A fun open world game with amazing visuals which sadly lacked in the story department and short length. The game did offer another replay through with the good/bad levelling but it wasn't enough to make me bother with again. The first play through did keep me hooked from start to finish though.

So thats 4 out of 10 games that GAF's recommended to me and I only got into the Souls series because of GAF. A lot of these games I probably never would have played otherwise.

 

[joey_bone_bomb]

1. Destiny
2. Last of Us Remastered
3. GTA 5
4. Shovel knight
5. Valliant Hearts
6. Hearthstone
7.Child of light
8. Diablo 3
9. Sportfriends
10. Pix the cat

"You must have at least one comment in your ballot or it may not be counted. The comment must be more substantial than "GOTF lol" or what have you. Posting without comments may also subject you to a ban."

 

[gelf]

I didn't really manage to play enough of this year releases but here's what I've got.

1. The Evil Within ; I don't care about arguments about what horror genre it belongs to all I know is in this game I found the most true successor to Resident Evil(pre 4) I've ever played. Ammo is very thin on the ground for most of the game and you have to plan the best way through using as few bullets as possible, and the game gives you plenty of options to do that with all the traps. I also like the environments in the game, there's more variety then I expected and their beautiful in a gross way. The gameplay is nicely balanced and the game is always throwing something new at you just at the right time before you get tired of certain segment

My only real complaints would be that I'd like to have seen more chapters like the one on the mansion where you actually spend time exploring and solving puzzles rather then being constantly being pushed forward. Also the plot is nothing special but when the rest of the game is so good I don't care about the storyline motivations.

2. Dark Souls 2 ; No it isn't as good as Dark Souls 1 in some areas but that game is my game of the generation and it would be hard to top that. I still loved this one though and it only falls down when I nitpick it compared to the original.

3. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; Love the parry mechanic, love the boss fights, love the soundtrack, love this game.

4. Valkyria Chronicles ; Wonderful game with a charming artstyle. I'm kinda ashamed I didn't pick this up when it was on PS3. I feel like I'm responsible for it being shoved onto the PSP for the sequels.

5. Freedom Planet ; A sorta Sonic clone that gets right the kind of level design needed for a platformer of this type in a way that Dimps could only dream of. Unlike thier Sonic games in that it actually incorporates speed, platforming and sprawling levels with a lot of verticality like the Mega Drive Sonics and isn't dependant on pits of doom and stupid traps to provide difficulty. Closest I've seen a game get to Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

6. Metal Gear Solid V : Ground Zeroes
7. Driveclub
8. Ultra Street Fighter 4
9. The Last of Us: Remastered

May add further entries and comments later.

 

[Cymbal Head]

2014 was a tough year for me. No head-and-shoulders standouts; in fact, many of the best games I played this year were 2013 releases. Then again, this was also a year where I tried to curb my spending on games, so I know there are some contenders I missed out on.

1. Mario Kart 8 ; How can the game that gave us the Luigi death stare take anything less than the top spot? Every part of Mario Kart 8 is oiled to perfection, from the lively and bafflingly lovely visuals, to the best-in-series track design, to the meme-enabling replay mode, to the DLC done right. We won't talk about battle mode.

2. Shovel Knight ; This is how retro revivals should be: retaining the the aesthetic charm and relative mechanical simplicity of of 8-bit games, without needlessly fettering itself to frustrating and outdated conventions. An obvious labor of love. Now give me that DLC!

3. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ; My lone foray into the traditional AAA space this year, and the rare case where I gave into new-release hype. It was so worth it. I think the shadow of this game will grow throughout the generation as we see nemesis-like systems work their way into more games.

4. 80 Days ; The gameplay is half interactive fiction and half resource management, a blend that works splendidly well, but the real strength of 80 Days is in its world building. If you've ever played/saw/read Steampunk set in Victorian England or the Wild West and wondered what the rest of that planet looked like, here's your chance.

5. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze ; It's fucking Donkey Kong. I think this is the best example of pure design chops on my list. Just classic platformer design, with plenty of variety but no gimmicks. Retro Studios somehow outdid themselves with this one. Oh, and the David Wise soundtrack is magnificent.

6. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; The only reason this isn't higher on my list is that I am officailly old and therefore have fewer opportunities for local multiplayer. The amount of content in this game is beyond staggering.

7. Hatoful Boyfriend ; I never would have predicted this would end up on my GOTY ballot. I went into Hatoful Boyfriend expecting a short, jokey romp of a visual novel. What I got was my longest single play session of the year, compulsively running down every last ending and sitting rapt as the surface of the world peeled back to reveal something surprisingly dark, and shockingly touching.

8. Monument Valley ; After playing the main game earlier this year and the Forgotten Worlds expansion more recently, I can say without hesitation that this is the most visually imaginative game I've ever played. What's more, all that imagination also happens to be the game's primary mechanic, and it's all perfectly suited for the tablet format.

9. Tower of Guns ; A nicely handled application of the roguelike-like formula to an FPS template. Tower of Guns is a a small game in many respects, but it feels great to play (it's possible to collect enough jump upgrades to hit a quintuple jump), has a lot of personality, and most importantly, it doesn't make unearned demands of the player's time and attention. Terrible Posture set out with the express purpose of creating a "lunch break FPS" and made a good showing of it.

10. The Wolf Among Us Season 1 ; For me, this is the game that proved that Telltale is more than just The Walking Dead (underwhelmed as I was by Season 2). The Wolf Among Us has a wonderfully intriguing setting, and I'm excited to see more of it.

Honorable Mentions
x. Lovely Planet ; This game deserves more attention. A whimsical FPS with bite-sized levels and a focus on speed and precision of movement. A tremendous breath of fresh air in one of the most aesthetically samey genres around. It looks and feels like something classic-era SEGA might have made, right down to the soundtrack (which is excellent).

x. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter ; Too many serious flaws for me to consider putting it in my top 10 list, but I think that The Astronauts deserve credit for creating a beautiful slice of open world and for taking some real risks with the game design.

 

[Doug Heffernan]

Gonna go with a top 5...

1. Shadow of Mordor ; Great start to a new next gen IP that truly feels next gen..

2. Titanfall ; Start match, boost jump, wall run, zipline, "oh look my Titan's ready!" I put my titan in follow mode half the time, which speaks to how fun the traversal is in this game.

3. Forza Horizon 2 ; Forza Horizon 1 was one of my favorite racing games of all time. This doubles down on that formula while adding enough to keep it fresh with a focus on off-road.

4. South Park ; The definitive South Park game. A real treat for fans of the show.

5. Sunset Overdrive ; One of the funnest open world games I've ever played. The world is so colorful and vibrant with tons of customization for your character,

 

[Kurtofan]

I don't get the "reserved" thing, are first pages real estate or something

Bayonetta 2 is going to easily win game of the year, it looks like.

Is it? I haven't counted.

 

[matmanx1]

1. Divinity: Original Sin ; for me, it totally re-ignited my love for old school CRPG's and was entertaining and engrossing for many hours. I love the gameplay, I love the humor and wit and I can't wait to see what Larian is up to next.

2. Destiny ; Despite all of its flaws it is the game that I have put the most hours in this year. It's beautiful and well produced and the actual gameplay (which is the most important aspect of any game) is second to none. And it has the benefit of an AMAZING community here on Gaf.

3. Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment ; Definitely my GOTY for the Vita. It has tons of content, runs well and has an absolutely fantastic battle system that rewards skill and creativity in how you set up your character for each fight. For a fan of Sword Art it really is the next best thing to actually being there.

4. Wolfenstein The New Order ; Call this "the most surprisingly great game of 2014" because for me, that is exactly what it was. I loved it most of all for it's big, giant heart and the way it told its story through characters that acted and felt real. But beyond that the gameplay was classic old school shooter and the action was punchy and visceral. And that soundtrack! What a great package.

5. Diablo III Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition ; I waited a long time to play Diablo III after seeing the reception it got upon its initial release. And I am glad I did. The console version is fast, fun and runs quite well. While not the best looking game of 2014 by any shot the art is pure Blizzard and most importantly captures that "Diablo" atmosphere perfectly.

6. Dark Souls II ; While not the classic that the first game was it nevertheless provided hours of joy (and frustration). I co-oped nearly the entire experience this time around and the game felt perhaps quicker and easier than the designers intended because of this. Still, the gameplay is pure Dark Souls and the pirate ship sailing in to the cove (what a cool moment!) is a sight I will not soon forget.

7. Infamous Second Son ; This was my first "oh wow" moment in my PS4 ownership experience. Sucker Punch made an incredibly beautiful game that just happens to be really fun to play at the same time.

8. Tomodatchi Life ; My wife's favorite game this year. Silly, zany, wacky and just plain adorable.

9. Akiba's Trip ; For an Otaku like myself this game was really special. It's got a lot of humor and a decent story and cast of characters. Add in plenty of unlockables and one of the more memorable and hilarious battle systems in recent memory and you get one of my favorite games of the year.

10. Transistor ; Perhaps a case of style over substance Transistor is still a cool experience.

Honorable Mentions
x. Game K ; Your thoughts on Honorable Mention Game K.
x. Game L ; Your thoughts on Honorable Mention Game L.

 

[Xater]

1. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ; Mordor is the game Assassin's Creed Wishes it could be these days. The combat system might be lifted from the Arkham games but it works great here. It's also a very competent stealth game. The Nemesis system is the icing on the cake and I have spent a lot of time playing with that. I just wish they would not have blocked so many abilities behind story progress.

2. Wasteland 2 ; Wasteland 2 is a return to the kind of RPG I love. Good writing, great turn based combat and lots of things to do. On top of that everything you do feels like it matters.

3. Hearthstone ; Best implementation of a digital CCG. Got even better with the first real expansion.

4. Outlast ; Great horror game, that relies maybe a bit too much on jump scares. It also had excellent DLC.

5. Door Kickers ; It's Rainbow Six planning mode the game. An idea perfectly executed with lots of content for a small price.

6. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; Just as fun as the couple of levels in SM3DW if not more. Sadly a bit light on content for the asking price.

7. Hyrule Warriors ; This might be my favorite Musou title Koei has ever done. Great fan service, lots of content and the Adventure mode is really cool. If only the frame rate was more stable and they had voice over. Seriously just having the text at the bottom during missions kinda hurts the gameplay.

8. Bayonetta 2 ; It's funny how my thoughts on Bayonetta 2 are basically the same as with the first game. Great combat, terrible story and characters. Kamiya probably should not write video games.

9. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; Beautiful game with a well crafted world, which also has lots of content. Still, even with the inner Circle quests the side quests still feel hollow overall. I wish they would have done more with that. The combat also becomes too easy on normal, bump up the difficulty once that also happens to you.

10. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; South Park really felt like a season of the show, which is incredible when you remember I am talking about a video games. it just lacked a bit of variety and the combat was probably a bit too simplistic.

x. This War of Mine ; What a great concept and such great execution. I feel like it's an important game. Not only does it succeed in being thought provoking but also in actually being an interesting game to play. Had I spent more time with it it might have been way higher on my list.

x. Destiny ; I had lots of fun with Destiny despite it's problems. The first "expansion" though really soured my feeling son the game.

 

[Andrew J.]

I read though the thread to collect lists I liked or appreciated in some fashion. Unsurprisingly, I saw a lot of "reserved" and just enough faulty formatting that it's almost incredible (I'll forgive at least those who get too fancy), but again, not surprising.

I will say this though, people have made a lot of jokes about "reserved" posts (including literally empty lists or lists without descriptions) at this point, but the idea of it is so stupid that I'm willing to say with a bit of seriousness that such posts should just not be allowed or at least heavily discouraged (for what good that may do, given what I just said about formatting). There's not a single good reason for it. It just boggles my mind. It's like something that gets more annoying the more you think about it and because I just read this whole thread, I've been thinking about it more than I should.

"Reserved" posts ought to be deleted.

 

[JustinJ004]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition; (PS4) This actually turned into a run away for me which I didn't expect at all. Massive, amazing settings, good story and I found the combat fun too.
2. Dark Souls 2; (PC) Played all the Souls games but this is the only one I cared to finish. Plus I loved wreaking fools in the Belltower - the rage messages were golden.
3. Infamous: Second Son; (PS4) Amazing looks and very solid gameplay. Could have been longer but what is there kept me happy.
4. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare; (PS4) Never thought I would chart a CoD game again but this was my surprise of the year. Loved the single player and multi holds up too.
5. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor; (PS4) So much potential for a new franchise. I thought the Nemesis system started well but you soon out power it and it becomes dull, plus the ending was pants.
6. Titanfall; (PC) Loved this to bits but got empty pretty quick and the DLC spilt the community too much for me.
7. Alien: Isolation; (PC) Had me scarred shitless several times. Love the atmosphere and retro-future setting
8. PES 2015; (PS4) The best PES since 6 and one of the best football games ever. Just wish it sold better and had proper kits.
9. Wolfenstein: The New Order; (PC) Fun for the most part and great looking to boot. Got a bit dull towards the end but I'm looking forward to a sequal.
10. The Banner Saga; (Xperia Z3) Not sure if this is allowed but by far the most fun I've ever had with a mobile game.

Not the best year for gaming but I enjoyed all of the above. Destiny at one point would have just been in the top 5 but the more I played it the more I resented and eventually hated it.

 

[Diprosalic]

1. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Great game all around, game parties in my social circle where dead before this and Smash kinda revived it. So much fun and a nice balance between serious play and for fun.
2. Bayonetta 2 ; Masterclass in gameplay
3. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; Charming, challenging, fun. Surpassing its predecessors easily. Retro are so underrated, maybe the best western developer in the industry.
4. Mario Kart 8 ; Some of the best tracks and gameplay in the series with solid online, easy pick for the top 5. World class DLC doesn't hurt either.
5. Destiny ; I get it, i really do but so many hours of fun can't be ignored.
6. Hearthstone ; Easy to learn, hard to master. Was never a card guy but the simplicity of HS turned me around and got me hooked.
7. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ;
8. Shovel Knight ;
9. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS ;


don't have a 10 yet. might edit one in later.

 

[hersheyfan]

1. Dragon Age Inquisition (PS4/XB1) ; Bioware's output hasn't been the greatest lately... they've been very uneven IMHO. As if in response to my dwindling faith (and, as I suspect, a significant portion of their hardcore fanbase), they overcompensate with one of the most jam-packed, engaging, straight-up entertaining RPG's I ever played. Fetch quests be damned, this is my game of the year - any game that can make the Elder Scrolls titles diminish in my eyes is clearly The Shit. You can feel that the game was made with love.

2. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PSV) ; I had zero expectations for Danganronpa. I first read about it on Kotaku, and the concept sounded interesting - a visual novel version of Battle Royale, made by the Zero Escape guys? Sure, I'll bite.
Twenty odd hours and one Platinum trophy later, I had a new favorite visual novel series. It took out goddamn Phoenix Wright! If DAI hadn't come out in 2014, DR1 would have won hands down.

3. Fantasy Life (3DS) ; Level-5's checklist simulator is ostensibly a game about nothing in particular; somehow, a game about dicking around managed to turn the mundane into things I couldn't get enough of. Animal Crossing for the ADD set, Fantasy Life will give any obsessive compulsive the shakes for weeks.

4. Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4/XB1) ; In a year full of underdog surprises, I did NOT expect the new Wolf to get anywhere near within sniffing distance of my personal top 5... yet here it is, smoking a stogie while sitting on a pile of recently deceased Germans. Like many others, i appreciated its surprising characterization, but the absolute best thing about The New Order was how honest it was: no multiplayer, no regenerating health, just you, the Nazis and several very, very large guns.

5. Ys: Memories of Celceta (PSV) ; Keeping with the whole underdog theme, I raise my glass to the little action RPG that could. Reminded me of the JRPG heyday of the PS2 era in some of the best ways; the dialogue could sometimes be a little wooden but that was part of the charm. Some might say that Celceta is one of the crappier examples of the Ys franchise; I say that Ys on its worst day is better than plenty of other series on their best days.

6. Geometry Wars: Dimensions (PS4/XB1) ; In 2014, Activision revived the Sierra brand for shits and giggles. With it though, they revived one of my absolute favorite shooters - GW just never gets old, and no matter what particular flavor of Geometry you subscribe to as your favorite, the developers ensured that you would find it within. 15 bucks, you say?

7. Threes (Android/iOS) ; Battled with 10000000 for most of 2014 as my go-to mobile time waster du jour. I'm paranoid about keying in credit card information on phones in general, and I always delete the card from Google Wallet as soon as the purchases clear. Hence, I don't buy too many games on Droid. Soon after I played Threes though (on someone else's phone), the game basically reached through my Xperia's screen, told me to shut up, and took my money. No lyin'.

8. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4/XB1) ; I played the ever loving crap out of this game, despite having done the same for vanilla D3 on the PS3. I thought that I was officially done with hack and slash for a while but picked up RoS on a whim due to a lack of new PS4 releases at the time... this remains one of my 2014's happiest "mistakes".

9. Far Cry 4 (PS4/XB1) ; At this point, the Far Cry series is getting dangerously close to stagnation - I'm not sure if I can sign up for another entry, sight unseen, if good old Ubi decides to annualize it. But for another year at least, they have managed to keep the dogs of Ennui at bay - Ajay Ghale's struggle against an endearing magenta-loving sociopath remained entertaining from beginning to end. They have to take it somewhere interesting for the next game though (not just in location, in terms of concept) for me to re-up for another year.

10. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (3DS) ; It's arguably the most casual, dumbed-down installment (or sub-installment, you know what I mean) of the Etrian Odyssey series, and definitely the crappiest of the "modern" Persona games, if you can see it as such (it does have Velvet Room-ing and monster collecting, cut me some slack). But somehow, they came together to produce a game that I enjoyed quite a bit, taken for what it is.

Honorable Mentions
x. Professor Layton VS. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS) ; This game is crap, by the standards of both series: the puzzles in the Layton sections are easy as hell and samey, while the Phoenix Wright courtroom battles are downright idiotic and are easily some of the worst in the entire Ace Attorney oeuvre. But there's a lot of fan service, and as a mark for both franchises I can't help but grin at some of the dialogue. Who knew that constantly slamming your hands on a courtroom table gave you the ability to knead bread like a pro?

Disclaimer: I only have a PS4, PS3, PSV and 3DS. No gaming PC, no Xbone, and no Wii U (although I am planning to get a Wii U this year), so I haven't played MK8, the Wii U version of Smash, Bayonetta 2, or Sunset Overdrive.

 

[Shake Appeal]

1. Invisible, Inc. ; Your favorite game of 2015. While still in Early Access, Klei's masterful pairing of turn-based tactics and stealth has appropriately crept under the radar on GAF, but that will change. Even in its infancy, this was a thing of pure, pared-back design, to the point that it's almost unbelievable no one thought of it before. And it's only gotten better as its developers have added new toys, new tools, new threats. This is stealth sweetened with the agony of being one square, one rued action, from safety. Instead of puncturing the tension, the alternating turns serve to ramp it up, until chaos is an inevitability you can only delay. Invisible, Inc. makes sure that your best-laid plans are always subject to change, to knife-edge choices, to the relentless ticking of the clock. In asking players to find a solution to carefully posed combinations of enemies and environment, the finest stealth games are often the best puzzle games. Klei's genius here is in making those combinations perfectly procedural, "roguelike" — so that you never encounter quite the same problem twice. Don't let this one get by you.

2. Shadowrun: Dragonfall ; In a year of revival for the CRPG, Dragonfall offered the best balance of compelling systems and compelling storytelling — and the closest thing to a pure pen and paper experience. Was there any other role-playing game this year as confident in its every hour, from first to last, as this one? Streets and kieze ahead of the earlier "Dead Man's Switch" campaign, which was already verging on excellence, Dragonfall was an unqualified treasure. If Harebrained's next leap forward is as bold and sure again, they'll have the pre-eminent role-playing franchise in their hands.

3. Alien: Isolation ; Nasty, brutish and long, this was a game that had no right to be as good as it was. Dogged by past disappointments, saddled with the faithful incompetence of the gaming press, Isolation somehow overcame its rote button-pressing and occasional repetition to become something wicked all its own. Yes, it's cruel, you assholes — it's fucking Alien. Use your wits. Be Ripley, not Lambert. Now climb out of that useless locker; the devil is waiting. See how she smiles.

4. The Banner Saga ; The first time I played The Banner Saga, it wouldn't have scraped into this list. The second time I played it, I might have grudgingly offered it the ninth or tenth spot. Then I played it a third time, a fourth, a fifth on mobile. I don't know why I keep picking up this rough boulder of a game and lugging it skyward, but I do. I guess I admire its perverse combat, its shrugging off of death and loss, its refusal to unfurl at anything faster than a glacier's pace, even as the world is ending. I guess it's teaching me something.

5. Kentucky Route Zero (Act III) ; It seems unfair to keep including KRZ on these best-of lists year after year. But it would be churlish to exclude it. Until Cardboard Computer are done with this, the apotheosis of interactive fiction, there won't be a smarter or more poignant title in any given 12-month span. And there may never again be a moment as breathtaking as Junebug's performance in The Lower Depths.

6. Threes ; Compulsive, enraging, and very close to perfection.

7. Wasteland 2 ; The isometric CRPG has spent a lot of time in the wilderness, and Wasteland 2 offers a lot of reminders as to why: jank, a stunning lack of balance, more jank, needless sprawl, clunk, jank, clunk, jank. Yet somehow this property that we all thought dead pried itself out of the grave — carrying a heap of baggage, with the weight of literally decades of expectation on its back — and stood tall. A triumph.

8. Titanfall ; Respawn's shooter came in white-hot under a cloud of hype, and often felt like it was struggling to stay ahead of the AAA curve. Yet taken on its own merits, this is an unashamedly joyful game that chains together everything that's fun to do at speed in first person — and then consistently rewards you for doing it with more flair, more daring, than the next guy.

9. Divinity: Original Sin ; In 2014, the most original turn-based combat I can remember in an RPG collided head-on with some of the least interesting writing and more "erratic" world-building I've lately endured. Larian are a few scribbles short of a masterpiece, but in the meantime can settle for having crafted this heady and ceaselessly inventive role-playing game.

10. Transistor ; It may be less than the sum of its parts, but Transistor is built from such exquisite, precious things that it doesn't matter. With its hard angles and soft lighting — and a combat system that always feels like it's about to click, right up until the credits roll — it's like the half-remembered dream of that one game you always wanted to play.

Honorables: Thief, This War of Mine, The Wolf Among Us, Xenonauts.

 

[DCS]

1) Driveclub
2) Last of Us: Remastered
3) Littlebigplanet 3
4) Infamous: Second Son
5) Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate
6) Infamous: First Light
7) Pix the Cat

Yeah, that's all of the games I played in 2014 for more than five minutes. I need to play more!

 

[eXistor]

Finally getting around to my list. I'm not gonna be making it too long-winded like previous years, I'm just glad I'm able to find the time to even make this one.

1. Legend of Grimrock II ; Not one but two tile-based rpg's that blew my mind this year. Grimrock II gets the nod from me. What I love about it is the fact that the game respects the player's intelligence (sometimes asking a bit much of mine to be honest!). The game is full of clever and sometimes devious puzzles, fantastically diverse level-designs, lots of well-hidden secrets and the game does nothing to help you along the way outside of providing cryptic hints. You can drop important items, there's no fanfare when you pick up power gems (basically, the goal in the game is collecting these), no quest markers (you place your own if you're so inclined). It's stuff like that that make Grimrock II into something very special. It feels like you're doing all the work and you know what? It's immensely satisfying. A lot of games can learn something from Grimrock II's design.

2. Might & Magic X: Legacy ; Grimrock II gets the higher position, mainly because that one is more polished and has better puzzles, but M&MX is a veeery close second place. Whereas Grimrock II is a lonely experience, the world of M&MX has lots of towns and inhabitants that give you actual quests. Both work perfectly in their own way, but I have to say: I do love exploring towns. Really, this is another fantastic entry to the genre and I'm very glad it even exists. These types of games are not for everyone, but I implore rpg lovers to check these two out, there's just nothing like a game where you have to actually play the game and pay attention instead of blindly following orders like so many AAA games do.

3. Alien: Isolation ; Not only was 2014 a great year for oldskool RPG's, it was a great one for survival horror and I think Alien Isolation just might be the best this year. The game goes on too long, losing some of its tension along the way but for the most part it succeeds in holding my attention. The first game to truly nail the original movie's tone, this one feels like a game that's gonna be talked about for years to come. A great hide-and-seek game.

4. The Evil Within ; I still don't know what the story is about and I'm sure I still don't care about the characters, but its main strength is in it hugely diverse levels. The game just keeps changing up and I personally loved the game's presentation. Very atmospheric and with a decent challenge to boot, this is one I 'll be replaying more than once (in fact I already did). Not the most original game and it does lack that layer of polish I've come to expect from Shinji Mikami, it's still a fantastic expereicne that knows what it wants.

5. Danganronpa 2 ; I chose part 2, but part 1 is easily its equal (didn't want to use two spots for two games in the same series). Like 999/VLR, these games had me gripped from start to finish with amazing plot-twists and fun characters. Rarely do I even care for story or characters in games, but Danganronpa (and games like PW and 999) are big exceptions. A truly exhilarating experience that keeps you guessing until the end.

6. Divinity: Original Sin ;
7. South Park: The Stick of Truth ;
8. Dark Souls 2 ;
9. Mario Kart 8 ;
10. Hyrule Warriors ;

Honorable mentions:
x. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ;
x. Lightning Returns ;
x. Super Smash Bros for WiiU ;
x. Shovel Knight ;
x. Broken Sword 5 ;
x. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze ;
x. NES Remix 2 ;
x. Kirby: Triple Deluxe ;
x. Valiant Hearts ;
x. Dragon Age: Inquisition ;

Gonna add thoughts later

 

[Paganmoon]

1. inFamous: Second Son ; So much fun with just traversing on its own, and it looked gorgeous to boot.
2. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ; Translated so well to console, and the multiplayer/Co-op gives the game much replayability , this game was meant for consoles.
3. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
4. inFamous: First light ; Same reasons as inFamous:SS but with added arena combat, outstanding (too short to be nr 1 though)
5. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
6. Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea - Episode Two

Those are probably the only ones I would want to give points to for GOTY. Really liked AC: Unity and Watch_dogs for example, but they had too many technical issues/gameplay problems, that I'd not want to give them points.

 

[Sayers]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition; I've been waiting for this game since Dragon Age 2 (yeah, I liked DA2, come at me). It was everything I wanted it to be. Great characters, a beautiful world to explore, and the best combat in the series. I think my favorite part was how they handled Morrigan's story arc. She's grown from the sarcastic, cynical and spiteful girl we knew in Origins to a woman capable of great love but in a way that felt completely natural.

2. South Park: The Stick of Truth; It felt like I was playing a really long episode of the TV show. I don't think there is any higher compliment I could give.

3. inFAMOUS: Second Son; Not as good as the first, but a vast improvement over 2.