1. gone home ; unlike a lot of western-made, story-based games, this one stuck with me. for a game that has an emotional core which the story revolves around, it's removed from the emotional manipulation usually seen in games (death and tragedy). i don't normally care for this sort of thing. the difference is the design. gone home is wonderfully designed.
gone home had to be set in the 1990s. it's a time with mostly modern technology (answering machines, television, lights), so it's easy to relate to, and it's also the last decade where messages weren't heavily traded via text messaging or e-mails. more than providing a nostalgic setting for many players, it's a framework that allows the story to be told, and it's a story told mostly through messages discovered around the house, with narration from sam to further explain her thinking. the messages are handwritten, typed, and printed on various kinds of materials. there's information crumpled in a trash can, pinned to a bulletin board, hidden inside folders, and tucked away in desks. every character has their own voice/writing style, and handwriting. all this goes a long way to pushing the authenticity of the characters and the drama that happened over the past year.
one thing i immensely enjoyed was how the developers didn't force the player through every single note. in fact, of the four or five stories happening around the main character, it's easy to miss all but the main one. such elements are left to the player to find and decipher at their own discretion. it's a refreshing change of pace from most story-based games where you have to sit there and appreciate the writer's genius. for me, being able to pick up and interact with virtually anything in the house made me more connected to the world of gone home and the story itself.
this was done all with what i can assume was a limited budget. it isn't a very lengthy game, and it isn't graphically impressive either. these are two elements i feel work in its favor. had gone home lasted any longer, i think the story elements would have outstayed their welcome. a more graphically realistic home might have entered the uncanny valley. instead, there's enough information there to let your mind fill in the gaps. the same is true of the story. by giving the player rough ideas of big events, it lets them paint the picture of what happened before they arrived. engaging imagination that way has been done in other games before, although usually as part of a bigger quest.
the graphical quality, the length, the setting, the style in which the story is found, the way handwriting reveals personality- those are all the design choices i love. as far as the artistic elements go, i greatly appreciate how much more relatable it is than most games with an emotional center. seeking acceptance from peers and family, fear of the unknown, and regret over life not turning out as you'd planned- it's far more understandable to most people versus a lot of topics serious video games choose to indulge themselves in.
gone home wasn't the most fun i've had in a video game from 2013, but it was by far the most affecting. i only hope that it becomes the blueprint to follow for developers who wish to tell a story first and foremost in their games for years to come.
2. new super luigi u ; who knew all the nsmb series needed to be super difficult was a time limit and the removal of checkpoints? each level in new super luigi u feels like a condensed level from nsmbu, taking all of its best ideas and cramming them into a 100-second dash to the finish line. it's a game that starts off challenging and becomes far more so by the end of its ten hour run. it doesn't end on the same exclamation point that was champion's road or the perfect run, but that's okay, because the game features at least a dozen miniature versions of those levels.
and while the presentation is basically new super mario bros. u painted green. i think it speaks to the level design that i was too focused on obstacles to care.
3. super mario 3d world ; i swear, it takes ead tokyo two tries before they really nail anything, but oh boy do they ever nail it. whatever problems i had with super mario 3d land are absent here. super mario 3d world has an overworld, difficulty that ramps up, and more vertical platforming thanks largely to the cat suit. it feels like a game somehow lost in time, where the 3d super mario series built on the 2d series instead of working as collectathons. super mario 3d world is the 3d mario game i wanted from my childhood, and it's a dream beautifully realized with its level design and presentation.
4. tearaway ; tearway's platforming isn't special, the story borders on pretentious, and the combat becomes annoying… yet i couldn't help but enjoy myself.
the center of this game is just one hero: paper. this idea informs all the design decisions in the game. it establishes the game's world, provides an interesting aesthetic, and an easily understandable way of interaction. paper is familiar. it's folded, crumpled, torn, and handled all the time. putting that in the center of the player's hands is good communication. it's good problem-solving. it's good design.
the simple act of making the player the sun beaming down on the world did more to make me more invested than any other platformer that attempted to have an interesting story too. and at the end of the game, not only does it make sense, but it's a a story with an actual message. it invites the player to consider imagination.
5. the legend of zelda: a link between worlds ; like super mario 3d world, a link between worlds also felt like something lost in time. it could have been the first 3d zelda with its emphasis on vertical dungeons and occasional switch to 3d space to show link walking as a painting on walls.
the dungeon design is great, making full use of the painting mechanic and two decades of zelda history to make it more interesting. the music is wonderful, the overworld puzzles are nice. everything is condensed down into a great experience.
however the freedom in progression is the biggest star of the game. the rental shop offers hints as to what the most difficult dungeons in the game are, but it lets the player run move about at their own pace. so what if you run into enemies that can kill you in one or two hits- you might also find a treasure chest with a special item inside. those are the consequences of your actions. that's adventure.
6. fire emblem: awakening ; while this may be the easiest game in the series, it also is one of the most interesting. there's a new emphasis on character conversations now that there are multiple generations in the mix. have two characters become lovers and it produces a new character who carries over their stats. it also changes strategy on the battlefield, as families will start fighting alongside each other (for further stat-boosting). it's a small idea that gives the player a lot of control over the way characters act, making playthroughs more personal and unique.
7. rayman legends ; the levels in rayman legends are easier than its predecessor, but that's not necessarily a bad thing when they are still inventive and original. it doesn't hurt that the game is packed with content. rayman legends also did something that i can't recall any game doing before, and that is making me laugh from the presentation of the level design. the final level of this game is almost maddening, but absolutely hilarious.
8. bit.trip presents… runner2: future legend of rhythm alien ; i wasn't expecting this. i thought this would be a rather simple runner platformer, but there are quite a lot of obstacles and collectibles to change up challenge on the fly. it feels like a very customizable and also directed platformer. i do take issue with some elements, like the backgrounds being hard to distinguish from the foreground in some instances, but overall this was a great surprise.
9. pikmin 3 ; pikmin 3 combines the somewhat stressful beat-the-clock elements of the first pikmin with the laid-back attitude of pikmin 2. it's also a game that utilizes the gamepad fairly well. in addition to providing an extra layer on presentation of the story (video communication is done through the gamepad to other crew mates, but on the screen it shows the character holding the pad and the same image that's on there), it also streamlines strategy. after nine years of waiting, pikmin 3 almost felt like a sendoff for the series- one last return combining the old formulas while also providing its own twist. if this is the end of the pikmin series, i am left satisfied.
10. brothers - a tale of two sons ; it's hard to get me to care about death in video games as a driving force when it's so overdone these days, and brothers is no exception. however, the unique control scheme and puzzles centered around it succeeded at showcasing personality between the two characters while rarely ever wresting control away from the player. it's a welcome change in completing puzzles where other games might have had the second character controlled by an a.i.
x. the stanley parable ; i think the stanley parable exists outside of lists and video games. it's a video game- i wouldn't want to take that away from it- but it exists as a commentary of video games. in that sense, i agreed with it quite a lot. it had much to say about choices in games, about video game storytelling, and the role of the designer and the player. the fact that there's not a lot for the player to
do has me wondering if it's also commentary on story-based western games. it's also one of the reasons it keeps it off the list. for anyone who really likes stories in games, and can't understand why i don't care for them for the most part, i recommend checking it out. it's a good and humorous ride.
x. nes remix ; i'm not traditionally a fan of minigame compilations or microgame compilations (like warioware). i think nes remix succeeds because it plays off familiar video games and introduces achievement-like challenges. i feel like i'm being taught how to play 30 year old games in new ways. and the actual changes to old games in the 'nes remix' categories are a lot of fun.
x. the last of us ; once upon a time, the last of us was on my top ten. then i played gone home and realized that what the last of us seeks to do, gone home does far better.
despite that, i do appreciate the things the last of us does well. the acting, animation, and direction are all top-notch. scavenging is a great idea that fulfills a couple categories (world-building, character-building, and netting the player supplies). the story characters and the gameplay characters also don't feel like two different things, and the ending in particular is great for pulling back from a very obvious and manipulative ending for something to ponder instead.
x. ys: memories of celceta ; never having played ys, or anything from falcom, i didn't know what to expect. memories of celceta scratched an itch for a lighthearted rpg that i didn't know was there. it doesn't have the memorable characters from skies of arcadia, the dungeon design from the legend of zelda, or the sprawling overworld of xenoblade chronicles, but i was able to enjoy it for what it was. the combat system never got old, and i was compelled to complete charting the map 100%.
x. grand theft auto v ; i remember when grand theft auto iv was coming out. four years after san andreas, i couldn't imagine what sort of craziness would be added on top of hijacking trains and flying around in jetpacks. then most of the stuff from san andreas was removed and the game focused heavily on a disjointed story.
gta v is a return to form, bringing back its juvenile satire, gigantic game world, and focus on gameplay. i was skeptical of the three-person main characters idea, but it truly made missions far more interesting than they'd ever been. however, the story meanders a lot. this has an affect on missions as they slowly become more and more tedious. the best parts are the heist missions, which require a lot of buildup and planning. it gives the player more control over how they turn out. unfortunately, the heists are not the central part of the game.
for all it does right, i don't think it wows me anymore. maybe if this came out in 2008, i would have been impressed, but it feels like there's a huge large world full of potential that's never lived up to. i still enjoyed my time with it, but i was glad when it was over.
x. metal gear rising: revengeance ; this is the last game that felt 'lost in time'. revengeance is some sort of ps2 game that someone decided to finally make in 2013. the story is lovably ridiculous and the gameplay and presentation is similarly over-the-top.
x. pokemon y ; last year, pokemon black 2 was on my top ten list. that was mostly because i only played 13 games from 2012. pokemon y might have made the list too had it been a slower year. it's definitely pokemon, except with a far bigger focus on presentation. i think what stood out to me most was the music. everything else is kinda okay, and i didn't like the constant turning me back at the beginning of the game.
x. the wonderful 101 ; the last honorable mention goes to hideki kamiya's newest fever dream. i don't know if i actually like the wonderful 101- there's a lot of times where the player may as well be watching a cutscene, and half-baked gameplay is introduced to break up the game's established action game stuff. it starts and ends on pretty good notes, and it's just a shame that the game bookends itself around a soft middle.
2012. sleeping dogs ; this could be the reason why gta v isn't higher on my list. sleeping dogs actually had likable characters, decent motivation, and some focus. i don't like that the world is so small, but it felt organized. the combat, hijacking, and environment interactions also helped me feel a lot more involved than i usually am in sandbox games.