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[The Xtortionist]

Tentative list; will update later with more words

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; For context, I’m a huge fan of platformers. My first video game was a platformer (Sonic 2 for Game Gear) and I’ve consistently engaged with the genre up to now. However, let’s wind the clock back a few years. In 2010, Retro Studios’ Donkey Kong Country Returns released following a large gap between sequels in the DKC franchise. A satisfying revival of the series, Returns quickly became one of my favorite platformers for its absolutely stellar level design and roll jump mechanic. Sadly, Returns’ presentation was greatly lacking in the musical department – a far cry from the DKC games of old. Enter Tropical Freeze – a game determined to right the wrongs of Returns while keeping everything that made the prequel amazing: the roll jump, incredible level design, and the escalating design of each level.

Tropical Freeze’s triumphs can be boiled down to a few factors. It feels somewhat redundant to speak at length about them, given that Returns already perfected them, but here goes. For starters, the roll jump mechanic is simply the greatest 2D platforming mechanic to exist. This mechanic is a transformative one – a skilled player versed in the mechanic will traverse levels in an almost entirely different manner than a novice player who is not even aware of the maneuver (it should be noted that the game does not punish players for neglecting the roll jump).

Normally, players are expected to activate the target switch to move DK closer to the platform on the right. However, a simple roll jump can bypass this entire sequence. This style of design is pervasive throughout the entire game.

Skilled players will look to chain together roll jumps, repeatedly launching DK and friends across the screen like cannonballs in a frantic sprint to the finish. The roll jump itself feels like unleashing raw power, the move giving a feeling of immense weight while somehow allowing the player a degree of control. Mastering this mechanic is bliss, and represents a paradigm shift on a player’s perception of level design.

Levels in Tropical Freeze can be looked at as an episode in a television series or a short story – each with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and often escalating to the finish. Consider the level Alpine Incline. In this stage, DK starts off amidst an overcast mountain range. Near the level’s midpoint, DK rides a hot air balloon above the clouds nearly to the mountains’ peaks. The final section of this level involves traversing balloon platforms suspended on midair. As a result, this single five minute-or-less stage feels like a satisfying, significant journey.

Fan favorite level Grassland Groove follows a similar formula, though places emphasis on escalating mechanics rather than escalating locations, while also incorporating its soundtrack into the progression. The level begins with a basic platforming sequence while the music includes female vocals. The second “act” of the stage involves challenges revolving around the cling mechanic, backed by male vocals. The final section of this level incorporates both hop n’ bop platforming and clinging while male and female vocals play in parallel. It’s almost poetic, and nearly every level in the game follows a similar logical, escalating progression.

Aesthetically, Tropical Freeze delivers in multiple fronts. Compared to nearly every other platformer I’ve played, Tropical Freeze and its prequel Returns stomp the competition by flooding nearly every stage with unique visual assets. Among these numerous assets is an immense attention to detail. In a game with over 60 levels, this degree of craftsmanship from Retro Studios is staggering to me. Additionally, character fur is a neat graphical trick, and the game always moves along at a smooth 60FPS.

It’s difficult to say much about the soundtrack that hasn’t already been said. David Wise’s OST is all-encompassing, including hype-inducing guitar-driven tracks, slower-paced emotional tracks, and immersive atmospheric tracks. I’ve counted over 50 tracks devoted to levels and bosses, and I’d go so far as to say nearly every damn one of them is great. As a result, Tropical Freeze’s OST is probably my favorite of any game.

Considering Tropical Freeze as a whole, I think it’s clearly one of the best-designed games of 2014. Masterful level design, a dramatic skill curve enabled by the roll jump mechanic, a deluge of unique and detailed art assets, and a downright masterful OST earn it its place on my list. For anyone who has ever enjoyed a platformer, Tropical Freeze is absolutely a system seller for the Wii U and a must play title.

2. Bayonetta 2 ; Phenomenal mechanics, nonstop frenetic action, and top notch pacing. Replayable, stylish, rewarding, also likely my favorite in its genre.

3. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Insane content, polished mechanics, and the online works fucking great for me...all at 1080p/60FPS.

4. The Evil Within ; My "fuck you" pick of the year. Yeah, it's got fucking problems, but the good outweighs the bad. Simply the most satisfying gunplay in a third person shooter, gripping atmosphere, superb pacing, and frequent variety all add up to give the game its spot. A shame some of the inconsistencies with mechanics and poor performance on console drag it down.

5. Dark Souls 2 ; This game entertained me for well over 50 hours. With a huge world to explore, deep mechanics, and challenging design, I think Dark Souls 2 stands as a considerable achievement, comparisons to previous Souls games be damned.

6. Mario Kart 8 ; Single player still leaves much to be desired, but multiplayer has never been better. Online play is butter smooth and the track design is ace. The visuals made my jaw drop on more than one occasion. Also, fuck frantic.

7. Shovel Knight ; This game is what happens when a dev takes a proven concept and executes it near-perfectly. Core mechanics polished to a mirror sheen, clever level design, and a excellent soundtrack make for a charming retro-style package...though it never surprised me much. Really hope the PS4 port has a platinum.

8. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Satisfying gunplay, surprising length, an above-average narrative, and fun characters place this game on my list. I did find some of the late-game fights starting to drag a bit, and the water chapter was a total bore. Some slight jank here and there.

9. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; Such a clever little game. Amazingly pleasing aesthetics. Every action I perform in this game tickles my brain in the right way.

10. Destiny ; Fantastic gunplay. Fantastic aesthetics. Fantastic soundtrack. Awful game...wait, what? How does that happen? Well, I feel like it should be on here somewhere.

Games I'm interested in but haven't played: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Far Cry 4

 

[RecursiveFault]

1. Shovel Knight ; I can't even begin to praise this game enough. Best parts of Castlevania and Megaman combine to create a game that evokes, not only feelings of nostalgia for what it references, but just pure joy in me whenever I play it. The love that Yacht Club has for the games that inspired it feels so genuine within the game itself, and I adored every second of it. Only complaints are the somewhat overpowered relics and that some of Virt's best tracks outshine the other songs.

2. Bayonetta 2 ; So I wasn't a huge fan of the original Bayonetta. The combat just wasn't quite as satisfying to pull off as other games in the genre. Bayonetta 2 however, comes out with crunchier, faster normal gameplay, along with a Devil Trigger, that make pulling off insane combos better than ever. The game has faults, primarily being a bit uninspired, and having some letdown, boring forgettable bossfights, but that core gameplay outshines everything and anything else.

3. Transistor ; Goddamn. The art, the music, that combat engine holy fuck. This game is an absolute joy, and while it's going to be in Bastion's shadow forever for many people, I think I enjoy playing it far more.

4. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; It's crazy that I'm putting motherfucking Smash bros this far down my list, but that's really not a knock against it. Smash 4 is goddamn great, and feels like it's exactly what Brawl could've been. An Adventure mode is missed, but again, the core game is approaching Melee in terms of how much I enjoy it, and that's a feat. Overall, I'm really feeling Smash 4, and will assuredly continue playing it for years.

5. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax; Persona 4 Arena is an awesome beginner fighting game and this just improves on it. With some additional features (Golden Arena mode as the return of SF World Tour) it's just more of that same greatness. Still need to force myself through that story mode.

6. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F Vita ; Ok, so this game is kinda awesome. It's just a rhythm game, of course, but it's precise, portable, and just really damn fun. As my first Project Diva experience, I'm looking to play some more.

7. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; My 2013 game of the year came out on PC, still kicks ass.

8. The Last of Us: Remastered ; As my first time with the game I'm damn impressed, but it's also a great remaster.

9. Destiny ; Borderlands, but with good shootbangs.

10. Dark Souls 2 ; Play Dark Souls 1 or Demon's Souls.

Worst Game: Yoshi's New Island. Fuck that.

Honorable Mentions
x. D4 ; I don't have an Xbone to play it myself so I left it out of the ratings, but watching a playthrough of the game was amazing, and I own it without the console.

I didn't play enough games this year on release to really give a definitive list (I haven't even picked up Tropical Freeze yet!) but the games I did list are all goddamn fantastic. I highly recommend all of them, or at least 1-8. Also not being able to put PT on here makes me sad.

 

[jem0208]

.

 

[Welfare]

1. Titanfall ; Have you seen Titanfall?

Respawn, the original Infinity Ward that was responsible for Call of Duty, and in turn the creators of Medal of Honor, have done it yet again by evolving the FPS format from slogging through tiny maps, ADS, and no Titans, to running and parkouring across rooftops and building walls, ADS, and Titans. The mobility of Titanfall is top-notch, and hey, others must think so too, as juggernauts Call of Duty and Halo seem to be incorporating similar movement options to their latest games. Being multiplayer only does not harm this game, and it proves that you can have multiplayer only games for full price.

2. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; And following the game that revolutionizes mobility option in a FPS and is online only, we have quite possibly the best NEW FPS campaign of 2014 that harkens back to the gameplay styles that started the FPS craze.

The gun play in this game is amazing! Every weapon feels powerful and can do the job if you're out of ammo with another weapon. The campaign is just long enough for you to have some attach to the main cast, and is just brutal enough on the hardest difficulty that every encounter you conquer makes you feel like a badass that can take down the Nazi regime. This game is FPS campaign fun incarnate.

3. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare ; Man was this a good year for shooters.

In a very strange move, EA had PopCap make a 3rd Person Shooter out of PVZ...

And it was the best move they made all year. The game is online only, but just like Titanfall, it doesn't hinder it at all. The game is highly replayable with many costumes and weapons you can unlock from playing the game, the controls are tight, the graphics are colorful, and the whole experience is light hearted. The game has free updates that add even more to the game, and keeps giving you a reason to put this in your disc tray even after launch week.

4. Halo: The Master Chief Collection ; It could've been so much better.

Ah, MCC. The game that was hyped up by Halo fans as being the return of Halo. #Weback, everyone would type on Twitter. Unfortunately, with a borked launch, many have been left with a sour taste and won't look back.

That still didn't stop me from enjoying all 4 campaigns from Halo's 1-4, and the brand new paint job that has been given to Halo 2. Each game is still highly replayable (except 4) and shows that FPS's don't need Michael Bay explosions to instil epicness and badassery. The multiplayer, when it works, is wonderful. H2A multi is a fun experience that doesn't detract from the overall package, and getting to play Halo CE online has breathed new life into a game I only got to play on LAN for all these years.

When this game works, it's good. The problem is that it doesn't work all the time, and just disappoints me to no end, but there is still a collection of amazing games underneath the all the issues, and for that, I can't knock it down too far.

5. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die ; Oh man, D4. It's so good!

Story was interesting, I found David Young a good protagonist, and the way this ends just make me yearn for more. Gameplay was solid (I played with a controller) and I never felt once that it was the games fault that I got anything below a "Great". Music was superb and the sounds were good. I really hope this gets continued in 2015.

6. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ; It has been a VERY good year for the FPS genre.

Following in Titanfall's footsteps, CoD: AW has given you the Exo Suit, which gives you more mobility than in any other CoD before. You can now double jump, thrust towards any direction, and ground pound fools from above. The campaign is the main reason for AW being in my top 5. Nice sound direction, gameplay and level design are superb, and Irons is a villain that doesn't give a shit. This games campaign rivals that of MW, and for that, I have to Sledgehammer props.

7. Metro Redux ; 2 games that I missed from the last generations in one $50 package. Metro 2033 and Last Light are equally good. Gunplay is solid, the music is sublime, and the Metro/Overworld environment really makes you feel that you have to watch your back. Very solid experience.

8. Sunset Overdrive ; A very colorful, funny, over the top, open world game made by Insomniac. Traversing Sunset city was enjoyable, with movement speed being just right so I'm not going so fast that I can't look at the city and fight, but not slow enough that it feels like a chore getting from place to place. Controls are very fluid and responsive, and each weapon was unique and felt very powerful. This deserves a sequel.

9. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ; While the main mission may be on the short side if you just blaze through it, Ground Zeros offers plenty of replayability in the other side missions it has going for it. Music and voice acting are great, it plays like a MGS game, and has me pumped about the Phantom Pain.

10. Mario Kart 8 ; A very fun kart racer with amazing online. Controls are good, and is a massive step up from MK Wii, the last MK I played.

2014 has been a pretty good year for games, but I didn't really play that many new games this year. 2015 is going to change that, however.

 

[Uno Venova]

This thread is really getting me hyped for when Shovel Knight is on the PS4.

 

[John Harker]

What a difficult year.

Especially my 1-3, they are pretty intensely battling it out right now.
I think that 'reserve for later' thing is pretty dumb so I won't post a list till I'm sure.

But I wanted to add to the thread that I see a ton of negativity about 2014, but when I write it all down - it was a really good year for players.

I have about 17 games on my 'completed/near completed' list, not to mention 11 or so more on my 'havent started or finished' list. That's a lot of titles across a lot of platforms and a lot of different genres. I'm not sure how I'm netting out yet, but there's a few indies/'A-AA' games peeping into my tops!

 

[mrpookles]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; After 60 hours, I'm still a long way from beating this, but this game has consumed me like no other this year. When I'm not playing it, I'm thinking about it. The fan-service to fans of the series has been top-notch.

2. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; I don't think this game could have been better. I've watched the show religiously since it began airing and they've just nailed it perfectly. It felt like a full season of the show. Brilliant.

3. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor; The surprise hit of the year for me. It was somewhat repetitive and the story was arse, but I was engrossed in clearing out every activity on the map while decapitating orcs.

4. The Wolf Among Us ; Surprisingly great, considering the reviews weren't outrageously positive. The whole premise, mixed with Telltale's writing hit all the right notes for me. Can't wait for Season 2.

5. The Walking Dead: Season Two ; Started off a little flat, but almost reached the heights of Season One for me. Clementine is just an excellent character.

6. The Last of Us: Left Behind ; In one short-ish, beautifully-made DLC, a whole new layer of context was added to one of the very best games of last gen.

7. MLB The Show 14 ; The best game in the series so far (PS4 version). The dynamic difficulty was a huge step-up for me, as I've never been that great at the series. I had to force myself to put it away after 100 hours so that I could get time to play other games in the pile.

8. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; This came out of absolute nowhere. Even after the initial reviews and general reaction, I still didn't believe that it'd be that great. Good gameplay and one of the better-paced narratives in a shooter in recent years.

9. NBA 2K15 ; My yearly addiction and a much better outing than the feature-poor current gen 2K14. Still the best series in sports.

10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ; After the mildly disappointing Ghosts, this is the real first step into next-gen Call of Duty. A very good campaign and the best multiplayer since Black Ops 1.


Honourable mentions
x. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ; I literally beat this in an hour, which prevents it from being any higher. I'm also not much of a 'replay value' person, so as confident as I am that there's more content on offer here, it's still a bit annoying. However, the short time with it was breathtaking and has me at maximum hype for The Phantom Pain.
x. The Last of Us Remastered ; Couldn't put it in the top 10, but this remaster made me enjoy the game so much more. Classic.
x. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel ; Haven't had enough time to play it, but this would no doubt be in the top 10 if I had. The Borderlands formula is just so right.
x. Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode 2 ; This would be in the top 10 if both episodes could be voted for as a package. Incredible send-off for one of my favourite series.

edit: Added Left Behind.

 

[Wabba]

1. The Last of Us: Left Behind
2. The Wolf Among Us
3. Infamous: Second Son
4. Titanfall
5. Transistor

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

1. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ; Baller?

2. Bayonetta 2 ; You think this is baller?

3. Chain Chronicle ; How baller?

 

[Teriaaaaa!]

1. Super Smash Bros for WII U ; Smash is an addiction for me so of course this is no1.
2. Mario Kart 8 ; Big step up from previous MK games
3. Super Smash Bors 3ds ; See 1
4. Bayonetta 2 ; Haven't had time to beat it yet, but it is great.
5. Bioshock Infinite BAS2 ; BSI was my tied GOTY last year, so more of it is a good thing.
6. Mario Kart 8 DLC 1 ; See 2
7. Kirby Triple Deluxe ; Most underated 3ds game IMO
8. Hyrule Warriors ; I am shocked I liked this as much as I did...
9. Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze ; Good game but nothing amazing (soundtrack aside)
10. Pokemon ORAS ; Felt like they could have done more with this but whatever.

Think that's all the games I have played this year...

 

[ViewtifulJC]

9. Destiny

Xtortionist pls

 

[JNA]

1. Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc ; It deserves the love. Fantastic game with a solid thrilling story and characters.
2. Dragon Age Inquisition ; Best RPG to come out this year with a HOLY OMG amount of single player content and a fun multiplayer.
3. Hearthstone ; The most fun and addicting card game to come out in a long time. Blizzard really struck gold with this one.
4. South Park: Stick of Truth ; A somewhat unexpected outcome. While the story is actually kinda short for the most part (even if you do every little side quest), it is one hell of a ride with all the characters you love from the show.
5. Super Smash Bros Wii U ; best fighter to come out this year. And it's Smash...what else you expect? XD
6. Bayonetta 2 ; Once again another well polished and fun action game from Platinum.
7. Mario Kart 8 ; a little bare bones when it comes to content but for what it does have...it is one hell of a party game.
8. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Just finished this game....I wished I played it sooner because it is by far the best shooter that came out this year.
9. Bravery Default ; arguably the best JRPG to come out this year. Yeah as pretty much everyone and their grand mother is saying, the second half of the game is a turn off but it's an otherwise great game still.
10. Destiny ; Despite it's flaws (oh boy does it a lot of flaws), it is an overall fun experience from level 1-20 and the multiplayer matches are well polished and fun.

Honorable mentions:
Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair I would have put this at number 2 but I think it was best to only have one Danganronpa game in the top 10. PLAY THEM DAMN IT!
Dark Souls 2 It's a solid game but also a VERY disappointing one. The majority of the bosses are forgettable and slow, the online when released was even worse than the first Dark Souls, the story and characters also forgettable, and only a slight improvement to an already very good gameplay content. Again, still a good game, but also the most boring of Dark and Demon Souls. Just play Dark Souls and Demon Souls instead.

 

[Dawg]

ViewtifulJC is a master of deception. By making a complaint on the first page about other people spamming the reserve message, he indirectly made a reserve post himself. After the dust has settled, he himself will clearly edit said post and nobody will remember what happened. Truly an ingenious person. I applaud you for this sinister plan, my friend.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Xtortionist pls

Oh come on, we had fun.

Spoiler

I think

 

[ViewtifulJC]

ViewtifulJC is a master of deception. By making a complaint on the first page about other people spamming the reserve message, he indirectly made a reserve post himself. After the dust has settled, he himself will clearly edit said post and nobody will remember what happened. Truly an ingenious person. I applaud you for this sinister plan, my friend.

no one will remember, unlike your unfortunate post interrupting the Bayonetta 2 OP that will forever shame us all

 

[Vire]

Oh come on, we had fun.

Spoiler

I think

It's alright I almost did the same thing, I flip-flopped back and forth if I wanted to include it in my top ten since it's actually probably the game I've played the most this year in terms of sheer play count time. I think the thing that sealed the deal for me was how the DLC and exotic upgrades were handled... Just beyond unforgivable and the whole thing feels like a giant middle finger to the people who care most about the game.

 

[Aarglefarg]

1. Dark Souls II ; Still great, still number one, despite the less impressive world layout.
2. Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky ; Excellent battle system and lots of gauge-filling fun.
3. Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen ; Chapter-based structure around different characters in different regions made some effective world-building.
4. Shovel Knight ; I dig it. Visuals, sound and controls work together and it offers a reasonable challenge.
5. Atelier Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland ; Implementing the lessons learned in the years following its original release results in a significant improvement.
6. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; Its elements work very well together. It doesn't reach the 'well this part just isn't fun' point as often as DKCR did, which compensates for its similarities to its predecessor.
7. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ; The nemesis system made it a lot of fun to do side content, and a lot of the story content unlocked great new abilities. Some story missions in the middle didn't impress but it picked up again.
8. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; I rarely play first-person shooters, but this mix of stealth and action and satisfying victories kept me playing to the end.
9. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments ; This is what I wanted from LA Noire. You piece together evidence and draw conclusions, which it allows you to get wrong. Not that I took advantage of this option. And then: you make moral decisions about handling the case, to add another layer.
10. P.T. ; In some senses, it is a bad 'game' (however effective it begins). But in another sense that includes the metagame, its inclusion in such a list is more understandable.

 

[Xilium]

None of the games I was looking forward to this year lived up to my expectations/hype so I'm going to cheat and put a bunch of re-releases at the top of my list.

1. Final Fantasy X HD Remaster ; It's my second favorite RPG of all time but with better graphics. <Insert Avatar Quote Here>

2. Suikoden II ; A re-release of one of my all-time favorite RPGs.

3. Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster ; Ditto.

4. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix ; Ditto.

5. Infamous: Second Son ; So this was the first game in the series I played so I can't really comment on how it compares to the others. On it's own though, I thought it was a pretty enjoyable game. None of the games systems stood out to me as being particularly exceptional but the combat was fun enough most of the time and the sidequest were simple enough that their repetitiveness didn't bother me much. Overall, the game was short enough that the various elements didn't become tedious and there were some legitimately fun moments throughout the game and the powers were pretty interesting (well, 2 of them) and looked really nice. Also, I found the story and characters to be entertaining so it was a mostly positive experience for me. It's the new game that released this year that I had the fewest amounts of complaints about, which is rather odd for me considering it's not an RPG.

6. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; Not too much to say here. It's a pretty simple 90's era JRPG throwback from a mechanics point-of-view that is then drenched in South Park humor. It's just a purely, casually fun game to play that doesn't overstay its welcome, which would be a fairly easy thing to do with a game centered around humor.

7. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ; The XIII trilogy has been an interesting ride. I certainly wouldn't consider these games as ambassadors of the FF franchise but I did enjoy playing through all of them. For better or worse (depending on who you ask), FF is a series that is always experimenting with mechanics and it's the reason why it's my favorite RPG franchise. In the case of LR, I actually quite like the mechanics of the game despite having initial reservations about the time limit mechanic specifically. My biggest complaints with the game would be having content locked behind a second (or more) playthrough of the game (I hate it when any game does this) and having so many useless schema due to the locked-in skills being weak (which partially ties into the first complaint as there is an upgrade system available in subsequent playthroughs).

8. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ; It took being able to play this game with a controller for me to finally enjoy one of these games. Having movement and attacks tied to mouse clicks is something that has always annoyed me in older MMOs and was something that also annoyed me with my initial foray into the series. I decided to give the game another shot when the console version released and with my control frustration nullified, I got to understand what people like about these games. That said, endgame grinding for legendaries has to be one of the most tedious things I have ever done in a game, and I pretty regularly play MMOs. I'm glad I got to finally experience the enjoyment of playing the king of the "loot whore" genre, but I don't think I want to play another game so heavily centered around RNGesus.

9. Dark Souls II ; I love the combat in these games but am generally not a fan of the setting. I don't really want the Souls games to change as their setting is pretty unique but I do wish a more traditional fantasy game would just outright steal their combat system.

10. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc ; I really enjoyed the characters and narrative of this VN. The game threw out just enough little hints that I was able to figure out some of the cases and big reveals before they happened/were told to you, which is always something you want in a mystery story. The reason why it is number 10 though is because I really didn't care much for the gameplay. The searching for clues part was fine but all the mini-games associated with the actual trial itself were not especially fun. I feel the trial should have been more intuitive and not so gamefied (the rhythm mini-game was especially annoying).



Honorable Mentions
x. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; I think the game has a decent amount of potential but its execution is rather poor. I would compare it to something like Alpha Protocol or Dragon's Dogma but unlike those games, I don't feel DAI is particularly exceptional in any one area unlike the aforementioned (conversation system and combat respectively). I feel like the series has an identity crisis and Bioware doesn't know what type of game they want it to be, so they try to make it be everything and falls short in all areas. Still a decent game (carried largely by its budget), but it could been - should have been - great.
x. Tales of Xillia 2 ; It's more of Xillia which was a game that was just above average for me.
x. Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars ; Would have been an alright dungeon crawler if you didn't have to level each heroine individually (Basically, too grindy).
x. Bound by Flame ; Studio's budget clearly began running out towards the end of the 2nd act. The last 1/3rd or so of the game is just very rushed, which is a shame because it's an alright game otherwise.
x. Monster Monpiece ; Relatively simple but fun card game. Nothing exceptional though.
x. Ultra Street Fighter IV ; I don't actually play this game (well) but I've gotten quite a few hours of enjoyment watching the various tournaments throughout the year.
x. Watch_Dogs ; I actually thought it was an alright game for the most part, but the driving is laughably bad.

 

[Cheesemeister]

After further consideration, P.T. is eligible due to not being a part or demonstration of the future game it's promoting. It's certainly an odd case.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Xtortionist pls

It's not quite GOTY, but it's not quite not top 5 either. It's just something you have to list for yourself.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Destiny has the absolute funniest video game moment of my life when me and Papercuts beat the last level and were just...STUNNED that was actually the last level. A slightly bigger version of a robot you've killed for hours x3, and Stranger Lady telling you to buy the DLC in December(that wasn't any good).

Tears from my eyes, man, we were laughing so fucking hard.

 

[PooBone]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; My first character was a 98 hour playthrough. It is my favorite RPG I've played since Mass Effect 2 in 2010. Bioware made me a fan of the Dragon Age universe while having failed with the first two games.
2. Alien: Isolation ; I'm a fan of the movie franchise and this is the best game in the series. Hands down.
3. The Last of Us Remastered ; A great reason to go back to this classic. One of the best paced and best told stories in gaming to date.
4. Strider ; Underrated game in my opinion. Addictive as hell and fun to unlock and explore the map and upgrades.
5. The Wolf Among Us ; I loved it, but I recommend playing all the episodes close to each other, without the month-long gaps.
6. The Swapper ; Great little puzzle game with a compelling story.
7. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Really pretty and fun to blow shit up. This one surprised me.
8. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; Great remaking of this town I hadn't visited in a while. Authentic is the word I'd use to describe South Park: TSoT
9. Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes ; We've all heard and given the same complaints. It's too short. But going for all the achievements was great fun and extended this game. In all honestly, it's just hype machine for The Phantom Pain, and I'm pretty hyped.
10. Halo: The Master Chief Collection ; Even without the online functioning, it's still my favorite franchise and the redone Halo 2 graphics are a big step up from their efforts with Combat Evolved. It makes it onto my list.

Honorable Mentions:

x. Destiny : I fully expected this to be my game of the year. Instead, it gets an honorable mention as my most disappointing. I put a lot of hours into Destiny, and enjoyed running around with friends. But once I'd seen the content and leveled my gear and gotten all exotics, I was very quickly done with this undercooked, overpromised mess.

 

[megalowho]

1. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft ; I never had the patience or right group of friends for CCG's in the past despite thinking they were a neat idea, which is probably why Blizzard&#8217;s free card battle game with Warcraft people feels like it was mathematically created from the ground up to hook me in. You can feel it in the pageantry and fanfare of new card unveilings. The sweet spot of 7-12 minute matches. The delicate balance between planning and luck, anticipation and reaction, approachability and complexity. The serotonin drip as you unleash the hounds with a couple of knife jugglers lying in wait.

Every voice sample, spell animation and superfluous interaction fits in just so, displaying an overall commitment to polish that few developers can match. Substantial content updates have kept things fresh over time with the promise of more to come. And there's a perfect amount of social interaction for friendly competition - voluntary, in character exclamations between strangers passing in the night. It&#8217;s coldly calculated science disguised as a warm fireside companion, the one game that's kept me coming back for more all year long and my overall favorite from 2014.

2. Bayonetta 2 ; Colorful, confident and relentless, Bayonetta 2 is an assault on the senses and reflexes from start to finish that improves on the original from top to bottom. A campaign where each chapter is a spectacle and every character wants to go to Fimbulvinter, a trove of challenges and unlockables to work towards after completion and brilliant gameplay further refined to be as stylish, fluid and fun to execute as any I've come across in the genre. At it's heart, Bayonetta 2 is pure arcade action; the DNA of Sega, Capcom and Nintendo combining to infuse Platinum's work with old school sensibilities alongside a generous serving of cheesecake and chaos.

3. Valiant Hearts: The Great War ; There's never been a war game quite like Valiant Hearts. It's historical magical realism, the tale of four connected people and a dog as they cross paths and puzzle adventure their way through wartime Europe in the early 20th century. Cohesive hand drawn artwork and animation gives an expressive, detailed look to the game, the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful, the cast is likeable with relatable circumstances and there's enough mission variety to keep things moving and interesting. Education, exaggerated French stereotypes, urine soaked cloths as makeshift gas masks, a musical sequence or two, and in the end, a powerful experience that hangs around long after it's over.

4. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; For a series as keen on history and lore as Dragon Age, previous games often felt restrictive and the big picture never really came into focus. DA:I is the big picture, striking a measured balance between hand crafted and open world with a variety of locations that are distinctly beautiful, highly explorable and at times overwhelming as quest logs and new map markers begin piling up. While the breadth of world building is impressive and the party based combat is entertaining it's the political intrigue, major plot moments and getting to know the company you keep that makes it great. There's so much ambient conversation and contextual dialogue that you could probably play through twice and not hear it all.

5. 80 Days ; An exciting take on literary adaptation, using the well known novel as a framework for a branching and replayable steampunk adventure around the world born of choice and circumstance. As you chart a course through 144 potential destinations, different cultural themes, subplots, characters and fantastical contraptions are presented in plain but elegant original text that's well researched, engaging and consistent with Jules Verne's voice. Player input is requested every step of the way as you manage everything from Passepartout's internal monologue to multi part story threads and hidden routes waiting to be uncovered.

6. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; 2014 was a great year for RPG's, and one of the most surprisingly satisfying arrived in the form of a note perfect romp through South Park from Obsidian and the show's creators. Drawing inspiration from classics like Paper Mario and Earthbound, the loot and class based RPG aspects are a perfect compliment to the novelty of being able to walk around and interact inside the show. There's a vast amount of writing and voice work from Trey Parker, Matt Stone and friends, the story goes to some real fucked up places like Canada and there's a good balance between callbacks and original content throughout.

7. Nidhogg ; Peak Nidhogg is a sublime dance - a fever dream of swordplay, anticipation and momentum swings with chunky pixels and Daedelus and a flying worm that eats you at the end. Deceptively simple (and frustratingly sparse with only four stages to cycle through), it's the best one hit kill fighting game since Bushido Blade and I was taken by its frenetic charm from the very first match. Even in the midst of a local multiplayer renaissance Nidhogg stands out as special, and while online isn't perfect it's a worthy substitute in a pinch and a welcome addition to the overall package.

8. Blackwell Epiphany ; After 8 years, it's the end of the road for Wadjet Eye's Blackwell series and the perfect time to recognize a new classic of the point and click genre now that it's finally complete. Epiphany is both a satisfying conclusion to the characters and story threads introduced over the five game arc as well as a sharp, smartly designed adventure that outdoes its predecessors on its own merits. Not quite a standalone title, more like the final chapter of a prolonged episodic saga; play them all back to back for maximum effect.

9. This War of Mine ; It's like The Sims, if the goal was to try and survive day by day as civilians in a deteriorating Eastern European warzone. Surprisingly systems heavy with an emphasis on crafting, trading and exploration in the form of nighttime trips to nearby locations, the stories that unfold naturally just by playing are as good as any written narrative this year. Tense but not too complicated, thoughtful without being preachy, it captures that elusive "just one more turn" feeling and provides a glimpse into a world rarely explored in the medium.

10. Jazzpunk ; Funny, surreal and delightfully stupid first person exploration. A cyber spy world of nonsense to poke at with weird, interactive goofs at every turn. Jazzpunk takes the kitchen sink approach to video game comedy - parodies, puns, one liners, silly minigames and sight gags are delivered without shame and with a zany frequency the Zucker brothers would be proud of.

Honorable Mentions:
x. Divinity: Original Sin ; A lovingly traditional isometric cRPG with robust turn based combat.
x. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ; Tried and true brawler and traversal mechanics are elevated by Monolith's innovative enemy AI, clan and hierarchy systems.
x. Shovel Knight ; A love letter to 8-bit platformers. Tight controls and memorable music.
x. Transistor ; Customizable and cool strategy action, soundtrack of the year.
x. P.T. ; Bite sized psychological horror slash proof of concept game announcement.

 

[royox]

1. Dragon Age Inquisition; +200 hours played. This game is amazing.
2. Bravely Default; The return of classic job based JRPG I've been waiting.
3. Super Smash Brothers for Nintendo 3DS; Being able to Poop and play Smash at the same time. Priceless.
4. Diablo 3. Reaper of Souls; D3 was shit, the expansion is what it should have been. Wellcome back diablo.
5. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Innovative nemesis system.
6. Destiny: Halo MMO. Totally sold. But play it with friends.
7. Dark Souls 2; Great game, but drinks so much of the previous one.
8. Star Wars The old Republic: Shadows of Revan expansion.

 

[hatchx]

1. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Smash is like a sport to me, and I was really impressed with 5-8 players fighting, create-a-level, and 1080/60fps graphics. It feels so good to have the Gamecube controller in my hand again. So, so good.

2. Mario Kart 8 ; Fantastic. The tightest controls, mechanics, and weapon balance in the series combined with the gorgeous animated worlds of the Mario Kingdom brings this series to life.

3. Donkey Kong Country : Tropical Freeze ; Maybe the best 2D platformer ever, and some of the best graphics I've ever seen. Tropical Freeze has some of the best 2D level design out there.

4. Bayonetta 2 ; I was caught off guard by this one because I missed the original, and was never too blown away by what I saw. The demo absolutely blew me away. The controls and graphics are so damn smooth. Mmmmm.

5. Destiny ; I'm not even a big FPS fan, but thank god for Destiny opening up the linear, corridor shooters of the norm. I am still only at level 20, and I don't really understand the loot system (and find the tower boring), but the gameplay really shines, playing with friends is a lot of fun, and there are some truly epic FPS moments.

6. Captain Toad : Treasure Trackers ; Delightful little puzzle adventure game with EAD Tokyo art and design. There is nothing more to say.

7. Shovel Knight ; An old school look with modern-day design sensibilities? Count me in. Not to mention great chip-tune music, bosses, level design, and a heart-warming story that doesn't overstay it's welcome. Shovel Knight is a special, special game.

8. Final Fantasy theatrhythm : Curtain Call ; I'd feel bad for anyone who got the first one, because the sequel Curtain Call is far, far better. It just has way more songs, some cool modes, and the ability to use the buttons rather than the touch screen is a godsend. Really, this is a very fun and addictive game, and has some awesome little RPG-lite modes within a very fun and simple rhythm mechanics.

9. Mario Golf : World Tour ; It's the best Mario Golf to date. Nuff' said really, but I'll say more - this game has a lot of content and modes. Surprisingly deep online and single players modes, and a lot of beautiful courses!

10. Outlast ; Scariest game I've ever played. Seriously. I've played a lot of survival horror games in my day, and this game instantly rose to the top and became a classic for me.

Honorable Mentions:
x. Kirby Triple Deluxe ; I'm not a huge kirby fan but I really had fun with this one. It just seemed really polished and well put together, with a delightful presentation and enough gameplay tricks to keep me entertained through-out.

 

[The Xtortionist]

It's not quite GOTY, but it's not quite not top 5 either. It's just something you have to list for yourself.

It does so much better than most games (gunplay, music, graphics) that I feel like I have recognize it, but god, the greater experience blows. The game is such a contradiction.

 

[IndustryX]

1. The Last of Us Remastered; My favorite game of all time in full 1080p 60 FPS loved every second of it for my third and fourth playthroughs, Grounded mode was awesome as I never had a chance to try it on PS3.

2. The Last of Us Left Behind; Great DLC that I never played until the remaster

3. inFamous Second Son; Awesome traversal, great graphics, really fun open world game, loved the powers.

4. South Park Stick of Truth; Such a great game, felt just like an episode of the show, was pretty easy, but the humour, characters and world made up for it. Tons of fun.

5. Mario Kart 8; Great Game, and it's HD Mario Kart at 60 FPS. Gorgeous game.

6. Super Smash Bros U; HD Smash, nuff said

7. Super Smash Bros 3DS; Excellent handheld offering of a great franchise

8. Far Cry 4; Pretty fun romp through the Himalayas

9. Minecraft PS4; MineCrack

10. Madden 15 PS4; Best Madden in years, actually looks next gen, plays well

Honorable Mentions
x. Rogue Legacy PS4
x. DriveClub

After reading these lists it is very apparent I need to play Dragon Age and give Binding of Isaac a shot!

 

[daegan]

1. P.T. ; I have rarely experienced tension in a game like this, or mystery in a game like this. It is remarkable that even in 2014 there are times when the internet doesn&#8217;t break everything seconds after it is released. Still worth playing now, but playing it as everyone was trying to figure it out was something else entirely. Bravo.
2. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair ; Amazingly paced. Blazed through the 30 hours I spent on this. More great music and tons of extra content just make this more worth it.
3. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc ; Because you have to play both of them.
4. Nidhogg ; a fighting game my wife will play. So much shouting and screaming.
5. Bayonetta 2 ; I&#8217;m sure it wouldn&#8217;t actually taste good if you tried to eat the disc (or your system if you downloaded it) but if it were a dessert, Bayonetta 2 would taste out of this world and unlike anything you&#8217;ve eaten in years, but like your favorite thing you ate as a kid.
6. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call ; Controls that anyone can play with and a positively stupid amount of content make this a must own for anyone who likes FF or rhythm games on DS. Just LUDICROUS.
7. Transistor ; visually gorgeous and plays completely different from what I was expecting. Going back through is rewarding and fun because of how much more difficult everything gets; forcing the player to try new combinations out to open up more backstory is novel as all hell and got me to try many different abilities that I wasn&#8217;t expecting.
8. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ; Problematic content aside, this is one of the first games to actually show new ways of thinking about old gameplay ideas in the new generation (despite being cross-gen.) It&#8217;s not perfect yet, but The Phantom Pain will be another GAF-killer when it comes out and it&#8217;s not hard to see why.
9. Vib-Ribbon ; FINALLY
10. Drakengard 3 ; Technically completely broken and obscenely repetitive, the writing and acting makes up for all of that to make this my favorite campy game this year. &#8220;I kill my sisters. I take their men."

 

[Incendiary]

This is the first year in a long time where I'm struggling to fill out a full top 10. I guess the fact that I've yet to jump into the PS4 yet (waiting for Bloodborne) and have refused to get any cross-gen games on my PS3 when I can get them at better quality later on down the line has tightened down my list somewhat. I also spent this year mostly playing games from last year on the cheap. I'll go ahead and list what I can now, by the time voting ends I may acquire some more games that I can add to and change up the list.

1. Super Smash Bros for Wii U; It was a debate between this and Dark Souls II for game of the year, just as I knew it was going to be from the very beginning of 2014. In the end, though, the endless fun I've had screwing around with friends, training Amiibos, and learning to play more competitively through For Glory mode just makes Super Smash Bros come out on top. I mean, with an amazing soundtrack, beautiful graphics and fun levels and the largest cast of characters yet, how can it not be the GOTY?

2. Dark Souls II; Definitely my favorite single-player experience of the year. I loved nearly every second of the game, I thought it was another perfect addition to the Souls franchise, especially with how NG+ switched things up a bit. It was challenging, but not too challenging. My only gripe is that the DLC wasn't offered as a season pass for 360, but that's okay because I'll be picking up the PS4 version with all that content next year for sure.

3. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze; Best platformer of the year bar none. David Wise's soundtrack was stellar. This game literally got me to buy the Wii U because I had to play it and it didn't disappoint. While Dixie Kong was quite clearly the best sidekick Kong, overall the platforming was tight and each level was simply wondrous to look at while trying to make those tricky jumps.

4. South Park: The Stick of Truth; A 15-hour South Park episode is what I expected and that's what I got. Trey and Matt's humor was on point and the battle system was Paper Mario-esque in a very good way. It's a shame this is likely the only amazing South Park content we're going to get, but I'm glad we got this at least after all the THQ troubles.

5. Shovel Knight; Mega Man melee game? Sold from Day 1. This is the first Kickstarter I backed where I'm 110% satisfied with the finished product I got. Everything I expected from the game was there, and I really look forward to see what Yacht Club Games comes up with next.

6. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel; All the fun of Borderlands with 50% less gravity. Love the new characters and their banter, although I haven't finished the game yet I'm well satisfied with this iteration in the franchise.
7. Civilization: Beyond Earth; A little bare bones, but the space Civilization game we got was plenty entertaining and really fun to play with my friends. It will definitely be a large time sink over the next few years.
8. 80 Days; I didn't expect to be putting an iOS game on here, honestly, but after the rave reviews of this game I gave it a shot and I'm pretty impressed with the breadth of choices this game offers. A pretty cool choose your own adventure game.
9. Five Nights at Freddy's; I played this for a little while and it TERRIFIED me. The fact that it was so simplistic yet still keeping the game intense was an achievement and I really enjoyed it, best surprise game of the year, I'd say.
10. The Jackbox Party Pack; A new set of You Don't Know Jack, plus Fibbage and Drawful have kept me and my friends pretty entertained. A great local multiplayer experience, and the whole using people's phones instead of controllers is ingenious.

EDIT: Made my final adjustments to my top 10, swapped out 1001 Spikes and Mario Kart 8 for Five Nights at Freddy's and Jackbox Party Pack. Much more comfortable with my list now.

 

[revimack]

1. The Last of Us Remastered ; Good port of one of the best games of all time.
2. Wildstar ; The best MMO I've ever played. Definitely has problems, but it's miles better than anything else.
3. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ; Excellent COD game.
4. Grand Theft Auto V ; A good port of an excellent game.
5. Infamous: Second Son ; Very fun and pretty. Short but sweet.
5. Halo: The Master Chief Collection ; Very good ports of excellent games. If this included Reach it would be my #1.
6. Sunset Overdrive ; A lot of fun.
7. Titanfall ; Fun and dynamic. Shallow and has major balance issues though.
8. Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions ; Hasn't been put together all that well, but it's still geo wars.
9. Driveclub ; A decent racer with very very pretty graphics.
10. Destiny ; A big disappointment. Still a very good game though.

I didn't play any of the big nintendo releases this year unfortunately. I'll play them soon.

 

[JayEH]

1. Bayonetta 2 ; This is the most "cinematic" game I've ever played. What other game lets you essentially play what you what normally see in cutscenes?
2. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Better than it ought to be. Great story, VO, gameplay.
3. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ; Metal Gear gameplay at its best with tons of replayability. It's not a demo but a taste of what's to come in The Phantom Pain.
4. Dark Souls II ; Not as good as the original but still amazing. No other games out there like souls
5. Far Cry 4 ; Not a fan of FC3 but the change in setting and character helped me enjoy this game a bunch.
6. Titanfall ; A new game with mechs from the original CoD team? Sign me up!
7. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle ; Not a great fighting game but a great Jojo game. This game is all fan service all the time.
8. Mario Kart 8 ; Another great MK game.
9. inFamous Second Son ; Still not as good as the original but it's better than inFamous 2. Cool powers and a great looker
10. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die ; Quirkiest game of the year.

 

[Cartman86]

1. The Last of Us: Left Behind ; It takes the best stuff from the original game and adds even more character moments. Character moments that have unique gameplay. No game this year even touched the photo booth or "fighting game" moments from this game.

2. P.T. ; It's always great when a studio you worry has lost their touch can come along and surprise you. P.T. might be the most fresh and relevent thing to come out of videogames this year. The perfect format for streaming and the internet watercooler culture. It helps that it's beautiful and the horror is incredibly well done. Too bad it didn't take long for people to figure out what it was.

3. TowerFall Ascension ; The most fun I had this year with a bunch of people in a room was this TowerFall. It had the most yelling and screaming of the year.

4. Dark Souls 2 ; It's a Souls game. While 2 wasn't as fresh for me as the first Dark Souls there is still nothing else out there like it.

5. The Wolf Among Us ; Fantastic art, music, and voice acting. Kept me hooked from the title screen. I ended up playing it in a modern TV viewing sort of way. One episode every day or two which is the way to play these games it seems.

6. Sportsfriends ; Another great couch game. From the simple genius of Hokra to the hilarious confusion of Super Pole Riders. However, Johann Sebastian Joust is really what marks Sportsfriends as one of the most innovative games in history.

7. Vib-Ribbon ; Played it for the first time this year. It's a short game, but I was humming the music for weeks.

8. Broken Age: Act I ; Broken Age is a story for kid's told by adults. It's my Gone Home of 2014 in that regard. It's all about the worries kids have of controlling and pampering parents filtered through the humor of Tim Schafer and the darkness of classic kids fables.

9. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; The Stick of the Truth is one of those rare games that you play almost entirely to see what crazy thing it's going to do next.

10. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor ; The Nemesis system is the most innovative system in a mainstream game this year and will be one of the coolest things over the next couple years only to become stagnant and complained about.

x. Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 1: Zer0 Sum
x. Jazzpunk
x. Super Smash Bros. Wii U
x. Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker
x. Transistor
x. Valiant Hearts: The Great War

Didn't finish/start in time
Dragon Age: Inquisition, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Far Cry 4, The Fall, Neverending Nightmares, Mount Your Friends, Lethal League, Kentucky Route Zero Act III, Gang Beasts, Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Alien: Isolation

This year wasn't great for anything involving games... or anything in the world at all.

 

[Randomizer]

1. Bayonetta 2; I had high hopes for this game but never excepted it to outdo the original. I'm glad I was wrong, almost no filler and with improvements in all the right areas. Gorgeous art style, great new weapons all with gameplay that's the best in the genre.

2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze; Quite simply one of the best 2D platformers ever made. Just some fantastic level design and a nice bit of challenge. The added characters add a nice bit of varied and the music was some of the best this year.

3. Mario Kart 8;
4. Super Smash Bros. for WiiU;
5. Dark Souls II;
6. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes;
7. The Evil Within;
8. South Park: The Stick of Truth;
9. Hyrule Warriors;
10. Kirby Triple Deluxe;

 

[libregkd]

Man, 2014 was a real weird year for me. I spent a lot of the time catching up on releases from last year and haven't picked up most of the major retail releases from this year, even if they are games I'm dying to play (MGSV, Diablo, Dragon Age). Let's hope I'm a bit more caught up for next year's voting.

1. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth ; I've heard a lot about this game. I actually had the original (along with it's expansion) gifted to me on Steam quite a bit ago but I never really got into it. There were just multiple things that hindered my ability to enjoy and explore the game but the main drawback was no controller support. Yes I can go through the hassle with using something like Joy2Key or something but I really didn't care enough to jump through the hoops. The PS4/Vita release gave me a second chance to try the game and boy am I in love with it. It was only released in November but it must be one of my most played games this year. The core gameplay is a joy, but what keeps me going is this sense of exploration, finding these items and wondering what they do and how they can stack upon eachother and lead to some absolutely crazy character builds. It's just an all around good time and always make sure I get atleast a run in a day.

2. The Last of Us: Left Behind ; The Last of Us was my GOTY for 2013 and this expansion was still able to captivate me in the same way. It's rather short, only 3-4 hours long at most, but it sticks with you even after the ride is over. As with the main game, Left Behind does a absolutely wonderful job telling it's story but it also manages to add in some new combat situations and gameplay elements to the mix Some of the new combat situations were actually the type of scenarios I complained were missing from the main game so I'm rather glad that Naughty Dog was able to implement them in here. It's a fantastic piece of DLC that, if you loved the base game and haven't play this yet, I would highly suggest doing so.

3. Transistor ; Man, this game. The art direction is amazing, as is the game's music and presentation. But not only that, the game played amazingly well. I never played something quite like Transistor, it's mostly a strategic based game, where you plan out your moves to deal with your enemies but something about the times where you were on the defensive, actively dodging and trying to get out of the way of oncoming attacks was thrilling.

4. inFamous: Second Son ; I've been a fan of Sucker Punch's inFamous series and Second Son is a great addition to the franchise. It was the first 'next-gen' game that really wowed me with it's visuals and is still one of the better looking games that was released this year. The game itself is what I expected from an inFamous game, some of the mission variety left me wanting more but the addition of being able to wield multiple powers was such a welcome element to the game that it makes it my favorite one in the series. Having a better cast of characters helps as well.

5. Velocity 2X ; Part shooter, part platformer, Velocity 2X is combines the odd mix to create something really damn cool. The game is fast. Really fast. And once you get into the rhythm of things it reaches that plane of 'Woah I can't believe I actually pulled that off' The space shooting part of the game is just as great as the first game, but the addition of short, fast-paced platforming section during levels serves as a great way to break away from space sections without interrupting flow.

6. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix ; I've been a huge Kingdom Hearts fan for a number of years and, while this is not the first time I have experienced the Final Mix content, it is the first time I've experienced them in English. Final Mix adds so much more content to vanilla Kingdom Hearts 2, it's kind of ridiculous. 7 new boss battles, new abilities, new mini-games, new cutscenes, a new area dedicated to platforming, a new and awesome difficulty mode, there is just so much the Final Mix version gets right that it's a shame it wasn't included in the original release. The collection also includes Birth by Sleep Final Mix that, while not as extensive as KH2's Final Mix, being able to play Birth by Sleep on the TV with a controller is something I've always wanted.

7. inFamous: First Light ; The game is similar to inFamous: Festival of Blood in scope, but the included combat arena is a really cool addition. It's a simple wave-based arena but, as someone who thinks the combat within inFamous is really satisfying, an opportunity to just beat the crap out of hordes of enemies is incredibly appealing. Fetch's power is, of course, Neon, which brings the challenge of making Fetch feel and play differently enough from Delsin to keep it interesting. Fetch is agile. Her mobility is so much greater than Delsin that it is kind of hard to go back to playing as him. It's just really fun to dash and jump around, and the addition of little 'boost' portals scattered around Seattle pushes it up even further. The story is okay, it covers the background of Fetch and what led her to getting captured by the DUP. The side mission stuff is largely forgettable as well, but the game as a whole is a very good time for anyone who is a fan of inFamous.

8. Luftrausers ; Amazing shooter. This game has sort of been in the media for quite a long time before it was finally released but man was it worth that wait. It's an incredible fun arcade-y type shooter with a retro style where you are just racking up points to get your score as high as possible. The game has a variety of plane parts which can drastically alter the control of your craft and the type of fire your plane dispenses on enemies. It's just fun, fun, fun.

9. This War of Mine ; This game took me by surprise. It's a survival/life simulator(sorta?) that uses the Siege of Sarajevo as backdrop for what's happening in the game. During the day, you spend your time taking care of your band of people trying to get through this war but during the night, you go out to abandoned (or not abandoned) areas to scavenge for food and other supplies to help your group of people. The game strikes a balance between the two 'modes' of play which makes for a very engaging experience. There is no real narrative to speak of that is presented in the game. But the characters you meet and their personalities and needs allow you to craft your own narrative, which can get you attached to these characters as you try to get them through the war.

10. Hohokum ; What is Hohokum? Honestly, even after all the time I put into this game, I don't think I can give a really good answer. You control a 'Long Mover' and you go off to find/rescue your other Long Mover-like friends while taking in the sights and sounds of wildly strange and colorful worlds. The game doesn't really tell you anything, it gives you no clear instructions on how to find these friends of yours. It just releases you into this world to explore and figure out how to go about saving these other Long Movers. It's a very refreshing thing for a video game to do given that they usually give you rather explicit instructions or guide you to a very specific path or goal and that was part of the joy of the game. Just figuring out how the world worked and what needed to be done to 'progress' through the game.

Honorable Mentions:
x. The Last of Us Remastered
x. Shovel Knight
x. Sportsfriends
x. Final Fantasy X HD

 

[random25]

1. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; The "hypest" game that delivered big time. Ridiculous amounts of content, contains some of gaming's best characters, great online play, 8-player smash for more riot...Nothing can really top this game for me this year.

2. Bayonetta 2 ; Highlight Reel: The Game. Honestly, just the rival fights in this game is so worth the entry price. I don't know how much I replayed those fights.

3. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; Best 2D platformer yet. And with the best soundtrack this year combined with beautiful art style and top notch gameplay, this game deserves to be in my top 3 for GOTY 2014.

4. Shovel Knight ; It gets retro gaming right. From its inspired gameplay, to awesome old-school soundtrack that gives you Mega Man nostalgia, to clean 8-bit graphics, the awesome folks at YCG really did a great job.

5. Mario Kart 8 ; The best Kart racing I've played, and I've played tons of them from different platforms. Tracks are just not cool-looking, but also very creative. BGM is also awesome. And the DLC just makes an already great game better.

6. Persona Q ; I'm still in the middle of this game but oh boy this is really one great game. Borrowing elements from one of the best dungeon cralwers ever (EO) then adding the all-star cast of the most famous Persona games (P4 and P3), you are really in for a treat.

7. Bravely Default ; This really feels like a Final Fantasy game when the previous FF games kind of headed in a different direction. Even with its flaws, it still is one of the best RPGs of this generation.

8. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS ; So...yeah, since the Wii U and 3DS versions are separate, might as well include this one. Easily my most played 3DS game this year. Its smooth gameplay is very surprising even with 3D on, and it's 3D is perfectly implemented here.

9. Kirby: Triple Deluxe ; A severely under-appreciated game. One of the best 3DS games this year, with a solid Kirby gameplay, cool side modes, great visuals and 3D effects, and a badass soundtrack.

10. Hyrule Warriors ; A surprise hit for me. As in, I like Musou games, but this really got me hooked much longer. It has tons of fan service for Zelda fans, and also tons of content that keep you coming back again and again.

Honorable Mentions
x. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax ; A great fighting game. Much better than the first one.
x. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker ; Still haven't finished but it really is charming and quite fun to play.

 

[Poodlestrike]

1. Sunset Overdrive ; Absolutely brilliant game. Totally redefined what open world traversal is supposed to feel like, at least to me. Throw in a ton of fantastic weapons and surprisingly clever writing, and we have a winner.

2. Shadow of Mordor ; Number 2 was basically a tie, but Shadow edges out Inquisition because of the Nemesis system and combat, both of which are hugely enjoyable, and the former was downright revolutionary. Set a new standard in "living, breathing worlds."

3. Dragon Age Inquisition ; Nothing revolutionary, but a huge, sprawling RPG really hit the spot.

4. Wolfenstein: The New Order ; Loved, loved, loved the story, but the combat didn't do much for me.

5. Halo: The Master Chief Collection ; When it works, there's nothing that can touch it, but it spent so much time not working that I really can't justify putting it any higher. Mostly functioning now, though.

6. Titanfall ; Fun game, introduced a lot of really fun concepts, but it didn't have the pull to keep me in. Still pop back occasionally, though. Works damn well.

Will fill in more when I think of them.

 

[texhnolyze]

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition ; Still so hyped even after the game released for a month.
2. Divinity: Original Sin ; Major surprise, enjoyed every battle of it.
3. Valkyria Chronicles ; Enjoyed every moment of it.
4. Dark Souls II ; Enjoyed it with my gamepad.
5. South Park: The Stick of Truth ; A unique and fresh experience of my RPG year.
6. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls ; It's Diablo, I always come back to it.
7. Shadowrun: Dragonfall ; Surprisingly good, much better than Returns.
8. Watch Dogs ; No matter what people said, it's a good game.
9. The Banner Saga ; A great indie turn based RPG, I have the mobile version too.
10. Wasteland 2 ; A new Fallout 2, what can be wrong?

Honorable Mentions
x. Bayonetta 2 ; GAF love it, even though I haven't played it.
x. Child of Light ; Loved the concept & art, smooth gameplay.
x. The Evil Within ; Gave me goosebumps till the end.

 

[fastmower]

1. Bayonetta 2 ; Probably some of the best gameplay in a game, period. Also, I think I've fallen in love with Bayonetta!
2. Dark Souls II ; Not as good as Dark Souls, but still blew my socks off.
3. Mario Kart 8 ; Beautiful, charming, and almost infinitely re-playable.
4. P. T. ; Probably the scariest game ever, and just as surprising of a reveal.
5. Bayonetta ; Like I said...I've fell in love.
6. The Last of Us: Remastered ; My game of the year last year. Still amazing, but I would feel bad putting it first.
6. Grand Theft Auto V ; ridiculously detailed and immersive world.
8. Pushmo World ; So much fun with the family and friends!
9. Infamous: Second Son ; Super stylish and fun.
10. Driveclub ; Very fun and the drift events are insanely addictive.

 

[Dahbomb]

Working on a few comments for my GOTY, please don't ban me until I edit them in.

1) Bayonetta 2 - The best pure action game of the year and it has polished the mechanics of the first one to the highest level.
2) Dragon Age Inquisition - Astounding scale and ambition, DAI is quite possibly the biggest game of the year and it holds all of that quite nicely which is an achievement by itself.
3) Divinity Original Sin - A quality title in the isometric RPG genre. Stellar combat strategy and great RPG mechanics.
4) Dark Souls 2 - While it doesn't achieve the highs of the first one, combined with the DLC Dark Souls is still an excellent action RPG that tests your mettle like the games before it.
5) Shadow of Mordor - The combat is nothing to write home about but the presentation and the Nemesis system is enough to make it a very enjoyable and unique experience.

 

[Dawg]

no one will remember, unlike your unfortunate post interrupting the Bayonetta 2 OP that will forever shame us all

 

[Grexeno]

1. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Oh my goodness. Perhaps no other game has ever attempted to deliver such a massive and varied amount of single and multi-player content and succeeded. The roster is the best it's ever been, seemingly touching on every single corner of Nintendo's (and friends') stable of characters and IPs that any fan could ever logically want. The stages are amazingly fun to play on, and the game busts out 1080p 60fps visuals literally no matter what sort of crazy bullshit you throw at it. Online works without a hitch, which makes up for the comparative lack of single player content in both quality and quantity. The soundtrack combines songs taken directly from their original titles with incredible remixes to give you just the right soundtrack to your mayhem. The gameplay is the best it's been since Melee, striking a great balance between that game's pure speed and Brawl's more deliberate approach.

This is truly the true potential of Smash.

2. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair ; A must-play for fans of both Zero Escape and a certain blue-suited attorney, the Danganronpa series released both games in the US this year, including the superior sequel. Danganronpa 2 features a more likeable cast, great new pieces of music, and much more difficult and interesting mysteries from the get-go. All leading up to the final, mind-melting plot turns, this game should be played by any fan of visual novels and mystery games.

3. Mario Kart 8 ; Unquestionably the most polished and fun Mario Kart yet. The tracks are imaginative and beautiful, the soundtrack is a step above previous entries with its gorgeous orchestral melodies, the controls are pitch perfect, the graphics may be the best in a game this year based simply on artistic values, and the online works like a charm. And to top it all off, the game is going to be supported by some of the best DLC ever made, adding an insane amount of content and value for an incredible price.

4. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc ; This game melds the investigation and trial gameplay of Ace Attorney with the tone and atmosphere of Zero Escape to produce the equivalent of a murder mystery you have to force yourself to step away from every now and then to eat and drink.

5. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 ; Finally playable in English thanks to a stellar fan translation, this game improves on Ace Attorney Investigations in every conceivable way, with better individual cases and a better overarching plot, great new characters and excellent uses of existing ones, a soundtrack that stands as one of the series' best, and a head-spinning final twist that leads to a final encounter that will erase your bad memories of AAI 1's endurance test of a final confrontation.

6. Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire ; Once again the Pokemon series delivers another addictive monster-catching game that sucked away hours of my life. The fan-favorite Hoenn region is brought to life with gorgeous 3D graphics and a redone soundtrack, and features some of the best Pokemon in the series.

7. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS ; The first Smash outing on a handheld proves the worth of the concept beyond simply "Smash on the go." This game runs just as well as its console counterpart and features a comparable lineup of great stages. The Smash Run mode is a great time-waster that I wish could have found its way into the Wii U version.

 

[Sayter]

1. Bayonetta 2
2. Mario Kart 8
3. The Wonderful 101

 

[seady]

1. Bayonetta 2 ; This is no doubt the most polished and most fun game I have played this year. The story behind-the-scene revolving this game is just as interesting (that the game was cancelled, and was later funded by Nintendo in order to come to fruition).

2. Bravely Default
3. Shovel Knight
4. Mario Kart 8
5. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
6. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
7. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
8. inFamous: Second Son
9. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
10. P. T.


As you can see, my gaming taste is becoming more and more handheld/mobile-focus. Also many Nintendo games this year - probably has to do with the lack of games on the PS4 and XBone this year while Nintendo keeps pushing out great games.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Man, I gotta finish Elminage Gothic, Transistor, and Persona Q! Time catching up on me again.

1. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ; Baller?

2. Bayonetta 2 ; You think this is baller?

3. Chain Chronicle ; How baller?

Aaaaaaaaaand we have our "Best Pictures Complementing One's Post" award already!

 

[Theognosis]

1. Mario Kart 8 ; Beautiful animation and graphics, masterful soundtrack, tight controls, online is a blast, 60 fps splitscreen.
2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; Well-balanced characters, classic gameplay, full HD graphics, 8 player madness at 60 fps.
3. Bayonetta 2 ; Action game of the decade.
4. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; Best 2D platformer ever.
5. Samurai Warriors IV ; My personal Game of the Year on PS4.
6. Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition ; Multiplayer Diablo!
7. Hyrule Warriors ; This year's biggest surprise.
8. Mario Kart 8 DLC ; DLC of the Year.
9. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; Lovely, clever and adorable.
10. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire ; Hey, it's Pokemon and it's great!

x. NBA 2K15 ; Good but the legends' cloth animations are missing.
x. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS ; The portable SSB at 60fps.

 

[Xilium]

People really should just copy/paste the example ballot from the 1st post and fill in their choices from there because there are quite a number of invalidly formatted post already.

 

[Vire]

Destiny has the absolute funniest video game moment of my life when me and Papercuts beat the last level and were just...STUNNED that was actually the last level. A slightly bigger version of a robot you've killed for hours x3, and Stranger Lady telling you to buy the DLC in December(that wasn't any good).

Tears from my eyes, man, we were laughing so fucking hard.

At least the music was awesome during the last boss. :/

 

[squadr0n]

Work in progress


1. Destiny. Best shooter this year. Along with addictive qualities and amazing sound make this my Game of the Year!
2. Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes. My favorite franchise finally fleshed out in an awesome engine. This is just a small piece of what The Phantom Pain's game world size is but I still put tons of time into this game.
3. Bayonetta 2
4. Styx Master of Shadow
5. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
6. Far Cry 4
7. Divinity Original Sin
8. Alien Isolation
9. Dragon Age Inquisition
10. Wolfenstien The New Order

 

[doraemoe]

Overall criteria: new games first, sequels later.

1. Child of Light ; This game is just so charming, incredible beautiful art. It's simply but everything fits the game well.
2. Shovel Knight ; There are lots of 8bit games in the market now, but few can reach the Shovel Knight level of polish.
3. Super Smash Bros for Wii U ; First time play Smash Bros, holy shit this game has too many contents even without patch and DLC.
4. Etrian Odyssey Untold ; Released in Au this year, it's really another beloved EO game, I personally like the story model, although the new stone system is not that good.
5. Bayonetta 2 ; When the game first announced I feel skeptical since it looks stupid, but after played W101, I became a huge Platinum Games fan and finally got this. This game is just phenomenal.
6. Mario Kart 8 ; I used to think Mario Kart is more suitable on handhold
7. Civilization: Beyond Earth ; New Civilization! Yeah! It still need some patch to address some problems, but overall it's a good starting point.
8. Monument Valley ; This game is just mind blowing, the level design is brilliant. Definitely remind me of M.C. Escher.
9. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea ; Infinite to me is a disappointment, but this DLC saved it.
10. Captain Toad ; Right into action! No cut sence bullshit!

x. Bravely Default ; Your thoughts on Game I.
x. Threes ; Your thoughts on Game J.
x. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ;
x. NES Remix 1/2 ;
x. Crypt of the NecroDancer ;
x. Rusty's Real Deal Baseball ;

 

[Majestad]

All these Bayonetta 2 mentions.... Keep at it brothers, you know what's good.