Game 1: Phoenix Wright 1 (3DS download ver.) - completed Jan 1st
Really, really loved this game, heard it was great for aaages but one of those things I never got round to. Was better than I ever imagined, the cartoony looks bely the fact that it goes into really deep and heavy stuff - the later episodes in particular were amazing.
Game 2: Phoenix Wright 2 (3DS download ver.) - completed Jan 4th
Again, was surprised that they took the story to another level in the last episode of this one. A bit more random backtracking and less checkpoints in this which made it unneccessarly difficult but still loved it. I highly recommend both games so far. Onto the third one...
Game 3: Infamous First Light (PS4 - PSN) - completed Jan 10th
I had already beaten Second Son and I found this much better - a really pleasant surprise. Better story, better/faster ways of getting around the city and the new powers were really fun to use - going into the arena was fun and I did not think I'd be saying that after getting tired of clearing out the map in SS. Would've happily paid full price for this if I knew it was going to be this good, getting it for free is just a great bonus!
Game 4: Captain Toad (WiiU) - completed Jan 24th
This was a struggle to get the motivation to complete. Game looks gorgeous but was not really enough game for me. I knew what I was getting into - about 70 little dioramas but each one is finished so quick it feels like a lot less. There are certainly a lot of varied ideas implemented to stop the stages from feeling too samey (the trains in particular were good) but I guess I'm just not as interested in this type of game as much as I thought I would be after playing 3D world, oh well.
(in between here, finished Thomas was alone and Hotline Miami again for the umpteenth time, they don't count for this but they are still amazing)
Game 5: Life is Strange Episode 1 (PS4 - PSN) - completed Feb 1st
Loving this so far, perfect play through with girlfriend game. Graphics are surprisingly good at times, music is really good and I like the gameplay even though it's basically the Walking Dead (which I have only played 1 episode of). Great job Dontnod and I look forward to the rest of the season, waiting until March is a bit of a long time though, at this rate it's going to be 6 months plus before we see the end which is far too long for an episodic game IMO.
Game 6: Framed (iOS) - completed Feb 1st
For what this game is going for, it is basically perfect. I did get it when it was free but I can heartily recommend it to anyone. The music is perfect, totally achieves the right secret agent vibe throughout. A game that actually controls best using a touch screen so it has a reason to be on iOS, too. Animations are a stand out, reminds me of the old Flashback, Another World rotoscoping. It introduces new ideas when just moving panels around on its own is getting boring and ends right as it begins to wear out its welcome. Excellent little game and probably one of the best I've played on iOS (except for Simogos games and Super Hexagon).
Game 7: Final Horizon (PSVita - PSN) - completed Feb 10th
This is exactly the sort of "I'd only play this if it was free" game that is perfect for PS Plus. If you do play it I urge you to play until at least mid way through Act 2. The first entire act is bad (only two choices of tower per tiny map!) and you can extrapolate that to say that the whole game is bad because you shouldn't have to wade through so much but once you get through that you have 6 towers each of three levels to choose from and a couple of actually interesting enemies to fight. It's a crying shame that this part of the game is over before you get to use many tactics because it is actually fun, especially for free. I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this because I am a veteran of defense grid (which is a much better game) and if anything this has made me want to buy Defense Grid 2 once it goes down in price as it has got me back to tower defense after a hiatus. In summary, do not buy this, but if you have it for free, try it, in fact it'd probably be a good 'my first tower defense' come to think of it.
Game 8: Element4l (PC - Steam) - completed Feb 10th
Not a lot to say about this game, brilliant original idea but can get utterly frustrating with long sections where a slight physics based hitch can screw you. The addition of the 'press H for help' system makes this game, the difference between getting stuck and seeing that each puzzle is actually possible is enormously motivating, would've probably given up had that not existed. Nothing special but fun whilst it lasted.
Game 9: Pix the Cat (PS4 - PSN) - completed Feb 15th
What a surprise this turned out to be, one of the very best free PSN games I ever received! Main mode alone is really well designed with the best visual and sound feedback, I just found myself trying to get into the zone more and more and 'wasted' hours playing it. Still a couple of score trophies to get though - grrrr. On top of that, you get 100 tough levels of puzzling (started on release and just literally finished today) and 100 'nostalgia' levels of a fantastic old timey black and white atmosphere, It's amazing how much this game gets right, I have no trouble recommending it at all. The only blip is that the 4 player mode is a terrible mess that shouldn't even exist really but when you get so much other good stuff it's hard to complain.
Game 10: Gunman Clive 2 (3DS - eshop) - completed Feb 15th
Holy crap, biggest surprise of the year so far, I went in getting this because it was cheap and it would support a Gaffer but it's actually amazing! Way more levels than I thought, and it goes back to the 'correct' way to make games IMO - even though there are a lot of levels, each one adds something new and/or interesting to the mix, theres no wasted space retreading things or just walking along shooting a couple of baddies. I really love the fact that reason is utterly thrown in the bin for the sake of making a fun game. I laughed when riding a mine cart on the back of a dinosaur then burst out laughing when transitioning from that to riding vertically up a wall on the minecart - the game it totally insane and all the better for it. I want this guy designing new Mario or Rayman levels!
Game 11: The Order 1886 (PS4) - completed Feb 27th
Wow! Completely blown away by this and I went in with quite high expectations, only to have them totally surpassed. The best graphics and sound I have ever seen in a game, fantastic voice acting, great story and such an atmospheric world in an original setting that I love. The only let down is the ending, especially since I just wanted to stay in that world as long as possible. This is the first 'next gen' leap in graphics, the game to show your friends and family.
Game 12: Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (PS4) - completed March 1st
I consider this 'completed' since I beat story mode, beat up to champ on Arcade and completed most of command training. What a great fighting game! They've come a long way since I played DoA4 ages ago. There's just so much of everything. Crazy number of characters and stages, feels like double DoA4s roster, comprehensive training mode stuff, a million costumes and I love the throwdown idea of challenging whilst playing single player. The story mode is unbelievably bad however, and the online population seemed very small but for the £25 I paid, it's totally worth it. The number one best thing about this game for me, which makes me realise how much I value this feature, is the music select function. I absolutely loved the music from DoA3 and being able to pick and choose which part of the game gets what music is just the best, same reason why Sonic Generations was so good. More developers do this please!
Game 13: OlliOlli2 (PS4 - PSN) - completed March 13th
Can't believe this was free! Hasn't hooked me like the vita one did originally but really a good addition to the series. Level design is as good as ever but the music is a real disappointment this time round. Finished all the amateur objectives but can't be bothered to do all the pro missions, just too ludicrously hard. Probably wouldn't have bought this but fantastic for free.
Game 14: Resident Evil HD (PS4 - PSN) - completed March 15th
Phenomenal, cannot believe how well this holds up. It's sad in a way that this is still better than the majority of games released since. Has an utter blast playing it and I don't know how much they changed for the remake but couldn't remember anything past the initial mansion so it was like playing it for the first time. Feel weird saying this but this is in running for my game of the year. Good trophies too - is it really possible to finish it in 3 hours?! (took us 12)
Game 15: Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 1(PS4 - PSN) - completed March 15th
TBD
Game 16: Hotline Miami 2 (PC - Steam) - completed March 18th
Holy shit what an amazing game, had a couple of average levels early on but picks up more and more and the last level is absolutely stunning! Was so sad when it was finished but new game plus is already excellent from the very first level. Can't wait to go through it over and over like the first one and piece everything together (if that's even possible!)
Music is better and worse, more tracks than ever so they couldn't keep the quality up but it is so incredible when it all gels. Game was absolutely worth the wait - buy it!
Game 17: Ori and the Blind Forest (PC - Steam) - completed March 24th
Firstly, this is a very good metroidvania game and if you are at all into the genre, you should absolutely play it. The graphics are outstanding, the difficulty is great and the length and size of map is good. Nevertheless, much to my surprise I was still disappointed with it.
Unlike many others, I didn't like the feel of the jumping, especially the double/triple jump which barely did anything. The story was completely throw away and the abilities you do get seem very rote - basically the same or worse than every other metroid game. After finishing it I had no desire to get secrets since they are basically some experience or some more max health, nothing very exciting to obtain (unless I never found any of the real secrets I guess). The truth is I think I have just been spoiled by La Mulana which is vastly superior and I'm beginning to think is my GOTG - I started another run immediately upon finishing Ori as a matter of fact.
Game 18: Jamestown+ (PS4 - PSN) - completed March 25th
Wow! Hugely surprised by this game, absolutely the shoot em up we needed in my house, having 4 players elevates it above every other non-Treasure shooter in my book and I love the variety of ships and the crazy story. Totally shocked by this one which wasn't on my radar at all, it was just bought as another 4 player game for the PS4 and I am smitten with it. Having a scoring mechanic I can actually understand is a big plus too - I'm looking at you, Cave
I'm hopeful this will eventually be a free PS Plus game because more people need to experience it.
Game 19: Axiom Verge (PS4 - PSN) - completed April 6th
What a journey I went on with this game! At first since I'd heard it was like the next Fez I was utterly enthralled and loved picking up encrypted documents and using the disruptor. The levels were well designed, difficulty was great and the map was old school brilliance. Even after seeing the ending I just wanted more. Then....I found a certain item which pissed me off so much I just said fuck it and went and looked up all the other secrets in the game because it was such mystery ruining bullshit. I thought I was done with it but I just randomly started a 'no deaths' run on a whim and am appreciating it just for the action part of it, rather than the supposedly clever bits which amount to nothing. Hugely disappointing because I was basically mis-sold on it but as a simple action game it is one of the best I have played in a long time in all honesty.
Game 20: Far Cry 4 (PS4) - completed April 18th
We have been playing this on and off since Christmas and only just finished it! Huge game with a billion (mostly good) things to do. Its really good in just about every way, excellent endgame weapons in particular and the Shangri-la missions were really well done. Only complaint is the ending is very brief and poor. Pretty much guarantee I will buy Far Cry 5 when that comes out, still haven't had enough of open world done right.
Game 21: Defense Grid 2 (PS4 - PSN) - completed April 27th
Finally, this was on sale for a reasonable amount. Definitely the best tower defense game I've ever played but even so, it just seems pretty simplistic. Once you work out how good temporal, concussion and meteor towers are, you're done basically. Glad I bought it but I think I'm done with tower defense for a long time.
Game 22: Injustice (PS4) - completed April 28th
Was so glad to get this for free and have been chipping away at it for ages. The story mode isn't nearly as good as MK9s (maybe because I don't follow DC comics stuff) but still a good romp and it is great to have to try out a lot of different characters. Green Arrow was a surprise favourite. A solid fighting game and an unbelievable freebie to get from PS plus.
Game 23: Broken Age (PC - Steam) - completed May 6th
I loved the first act and cliffhanger and to be honest I really liked the first half of act 2 - I wasn't bothered by the same locations at all and the humour was good. However, the wiring stuff got very tiresome and the ending itself suuuuuuuuuucked. I cannot believe they spent as long as they did making the game and setting up such an interesting premise to end it like that. Truly awful ending, probably the worst I have seen in years.
Game 24: Race the Sun (PS4 - PSN) - completed May 7th
When I say completed I mean reached level 25. Not really anything to this game, I would've been greatly disappointed had I bought it. The graphics seem to be overly simplistic and not in an 'art style choice' way. Gameplay is just an endless runner with very basic missions and upgrades. I guess I enjoyed it enough to get to max level but it's not worth playing to be quite honest.
Game 25: Transistor (PS4 - PSN) - completed May 12th
Bought this on launch, played an hour then set it aside. Finally came back to it and finished it in one short play session. The main thing about the game is it should've been about 3 times longer. The leveling and systems are very good and interact very well but just when the story is going somewhere and you are expecting a kind of act 2 twist it just ends! A terrible shame as the combat, art and speech are good but it seems all the side stuff in the game amounts to nothing, it might as well have not been there. Can't recommend this, if you must try one of these games, definitely go for Bastion, that is a great game.
Game 26: Box Boy (3DS - eshop) - completed May 13th
Wow! Automatically goes to the top of the 'value of the year' category - this game gives you more for a fiver than you could possibly ever expect. Over 20 worlds of levels along with loads of extra challenges, it embarrasses every modern 'split-up-to-give-DLC-down-the-line' game out there. Very simple but really well tuned to be fun and a surprisingly excellent additional game mechanic right near the end mean it is amazing all around basically. Don't hesitate, just buy it right now!
Game 27: Futuridium EP Deluxe (PS4 - PSN) - completed May 14th
This game was hugely disappointing - it could've been so good! I loved the original Uridium - all they needed to do was make it fast, with great music and punchy sound effects (I cannot believe the shooting effect got past QA, its truly awful). The graphics are spot on and the colour filters are a great idea. A key thing missing too is a crosshair, that alone would've improved the game no end. A real shame.
Game 28: The Room (PC - Steam) - completed May 17th
Really great puzzle game with brilliant production values - sound effects and wood textures and the like were outstanding. The single complaint I could level against it is the control with mouse had a few issues, clearly better on ipad but I can't blame them since it was originally designed that way. Finished it in one session but I found the difficulty to be just right, never frustrating, but required some thought. Great game!
Game 29: Wolfenstein - The Old Blood (PS4 - PSN) - completed May 30th
In a word - fantastic. The only negative I can level against it is the way it has a slightly boring first level (just like the New Order) while it winds up but once it gets going it is brilliant, loved playing through it. Shout out to the last boss being very well done, too, which is nice, rather than just fighting a variant of mecha hitler in all these games each time. I did eventually get a bit bored of playing the original Wolfenstein but since those bits are optional, I just skipped them, just shows you how far we've come really
Game 30: Steins Gate (Vita - PSN) - completed June 8th
Wow, I really love a good VN and I played this over 15 hours in three days - had to get to the end. Having said all that, the ending is huugely disappointing, they build so many fantastic 'gun on the wall' bits ready to use later and then promptly ignore virtually all of them and go for the stupidest, generically happy ending they could. Going in I was told this was more revelatory than 999 and VLR which prepared me for what I thought was going to be the best game ever, to be honest. This isn't even close to those two, but if you have played this first, I strongly recommend you play through 999 and VLR to have your mind blown.
Game 31: Bloodborne (PS4) - completed June 14th
Hooray, first run finally complete, time to go through properly with a guide. Don't have much to add on to what everyone else is saying but yes it is an amazing game. Personally I prefer Dark Souls 2 (pre scholar) because the difficulty is just a tad less frustrating, but BB is still great, loved the last boss fight. There were a couple of times I just lost interest and stopped playing for a while though - I went 'the wrong way' early on and kept getting stuck against super hard enemies and bosses and then Rom put me off for a long time. Still, the amount of secrets and ways to play is really quite something. I've never loved a weapon in a souls game quite as much as I did the rifle spear in this. Loved every move in its moveset.
Game 32: Battlefield 4 (PS4 - PSN) - completed June 15th
TBD
Game 33: Evil Within Season Pass (PS4 - PSN) - completed June 21th
Jesus, this was so good! What a game. Even the standalone game I consider one of the games of 2014 but the season pass felt like so much content. If you had to play through the full game with all the season pass in one go, you'd be there for a long, long time. I was slightly disappointed that the plot wasn't explained a bit more though, I didn't mind it not tying up neatly in the main game, but I figured it might at the end of the season. Kidmans end boss was a high point but the whole thing was really nice, showing you can do a good game like this without an RPG upgrade system and it still be great. Roll on Mikami's next game!
Game 34: Batman Arkham City (PC - Steam) - completed July 1st
Half way through the year- hooray! Had to play through this before starting Arkham Knight. Hadn't had a chance before because my 360 disc broke, got it on steam sale for virtually nothing so had no excuse not to. Really great game, the combat and predator stuff was pretty much exactly what I was hoping for but adding the open world city in virtually added nothing, it was so generic as black blocks for each building it may as well have been a VR mission from MGS so I never felt a reason to explore or spend time flying around doing side stuff. Fortunately the main story stuff was all very good, especially a boss fight in the middle of the game, one of the best bosses in ages. Highly recommend it but still Arkham Asylum was better. Onto Arkham Knight!
Game 35: Batman Arkham Knight (PS4) - completed July 7th
Holy crap, this is the first 10/10 game this year, absolutely astounding. I feel like I played this game in the most ideal scenario possible, on PS4, straight after City, no crashes and only happened to do the good side quests. The game just keeps on stepping up a gear until it becomes freakin amazing. Best story and ending in a game in a long time. Due to the story carrying quite a bit forward from City, I would recommend playing through City before playing this even though I think City is the least good of the three.
Driving is a bit weird to get used to but still pretty fun, Batmobile combat I actually loved, a great addition to the predator, traversal and combat portions of the game. There's so many good story beats I want to mention but you definitely don't want to be spoiled on it.
Game 36: Her Story (PC - Steam) - completed July 12th
Really enjoyed playing this, great game to play with someone else, because discussing the plot is basically the whole point. Can't say anything without spoiling it but trust me, it's a good un. Now that I have 'completed' it (seen the credits) I feel like I have to go and discuss with other players what really happened - to the GAF spoiler thread!
Game 37: Murasaki Baby (PSVita - PSN) - completed July 12th
I really wanted to love this game but unfortunately its just not fun. I'ts laudable to try and make a game taking advantages of all the Vitas functions but just like Kinect, the back touch is so bad, you just can't make a game responsive or fun using it. The art style and style in general is really nice, but the actual platforming was a chore due to the controls. If you want a game that uses the Vita and is actually good, get Metrico instead, it's this kind of game done right.
Game 38: Ether One (PS4 - PSN) - completed July 17th
What a turn around. This game is like the exact opposite of Broken Age - pretty bad for a lot of the game but the end ties up so well it retroactively makes what you've done amazing. I loved the final stage of this so much that I highly recommend anyone who got it free on PSN play it through to the end. Don't go and try to solve all of the projectors though, they are so hard and rely on information you may not even have when you discover them that they will put you off playing (did to me anyway). Just collect all the ribbons and pay attention to the story and in no time you will have finished it and it'll be great. I would love a big budget AAA game in this vein.
Game 39: Monster Bag (PSVita - PSN) - completed July 19th
I love the art in this game - so clean and hi res. It looks somewhat in the style of a flash game but how it actually should be done to look great and not 'like a flash game' if that makes sense. Loads of levels, in fact the primary complaint is the game should've finished after level 14 - great level and every one after that is horrendous test of patience, even some randomisation meaning you can't finish a level without dying at times! It's like they forgot everything that made the game good! Play through to level 14 and you will have a fun, if quite basic, time.
Game 40: The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (PS4 - PSN) - completed July 19th
First off, the graphics are phenomenal, absolutely beautiful game. Much, much shorter than I expected but the open ended-ness of it is nice and handled quite well. Wish we'd found the fast travel earlier though, it was very trying running from one side of the world to the other twice. Good, interesting stuff going on in the game though, good if you can get it cheap.
TBC