1. Age Of Wonders 3 ; I've played so much AOW3 this year and it eats my life away every single time. I don't even consider it a 4X really, not in the onboard mental compartmentalisation I go through -- it's a turn-based combat game with a 4X-ey strategy layer. The battle system is so good; variety, interesting systems, customisation and a distinct lack of dice rolls. That last point has a large part of why I enjoy the combat so much -- there's no missing on basic attacks and this allows for a lot more forward planning, you know you'll kill a unit and can position/focus/retreat in confidence. Tiny, simple system that I've spent a lot of this year thinking about.
2. Divinity: Original Sin ; Most fun turn-based combat ever put down in videogames, straight up. The opening 10, 15 hours are stunning, especially. A game which appreciates the part of pen n paper RPGs that's most fun - brain-engaging improvisation and playful, ego-stroking environmental interactions.
3. Might & Magic X: Legacy ; Janky and wobbly in places, presentation-wise. Skippable story. Lack of meaningful stats to consider outside of your core class choices. And amazing turn-based combat with exceptional balance. There's a recipe that this game follows to the letter, hell, beyond the letter. It nails why I play games like this and demands my attention, deliciously, from start to finish. It's a game that will grab you by the nuts by the second level up and not let go.
4. Banished ; Simple, clean, fresh, comforting, reliable, relaxing, nice, neat and uncommonly humble. I think I'll be playing Banished for years and years. It's a game entirely free from annoyances.
5. Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut ; Combat's okay, serviceable, but the world-building, writing and characters are all perfectly pitched in the pulpy sweet spot that this genre revels in. A really fine piece of interactive story-telling, sublime escapism.
6. Legend Of Grimrock 2 ; A lovingly crafted world of buttons and puzzles and atmosphere with a combat system that I'm not fond of. The parts of Grimrock 2 which appeal to me, which suck me in and have me perma-grinning on the inside, are so strong that the minor design niggles inherent in the game (wall-staring, square-dancing) don't faze at all. For a tile-based 'puzzle island', this game's most surprising element is its little story moments, its scripted events; the game has exceptional character.
7. Wasteland 2 ; Flavour, writing, scenarios and world are spot on. Atmosphere through the roof. Combat's good enough to avoid tedium. Some UI elements aside, hard to actually fault the game. It does what it sets out to do with great success. Really easy to have fun with this game when you're in a mood for its specific setting. The game is a huge celebration of telling tales of the wastes.
8. The Banner Saga ; I've several problems with the combat, but they're on the side of 'interesting system design discussion', rather than dismissive 'this is crap'. I think the battle system just needs more time in the oven, the next iteration should be fantastic. And that aside, the rest of the game is superb. The writing is tight, directed and uses brevity where other games would wallow in exposition. The presentation is outstanding, truly beautiful in a retro cartoon way that lends an odd (perhaps personal to me, based on my childhood) legitimacy to this other-worldly magical land that the events occur within. It also has the best gameworld map. The best ever.
9. This War Of Mine ; Respectful and muted and just complicated enough to let its emegent storytelling sing. Not a happy song, but a personal and maudlin one, with a voice somewhat unique in this kind of resource management, pseudo-stealth game. Definitely a mood game, not one to have as a fallback - I can only play it when I'm after a certain experience. But if I'm looking to engage with emotions and uncertain fates in the face of adversity, TWOM has my back.
10. Blackguards ; A combat game, just a combat game, with an intensely open and detailed party-building foundation underneath it. The story is forgettable, flawed in places. The world is just a spreadsheet you go through. The writing has its moments but, for the most part, it's uninspired fantasy fare. None of which matters! This is wonderful turn-based grid combat, with varied and deadly encounter maps, brutally unforgiving dice and enemies abound. The game absolutely does not focus on its weaker aspects, the game absolutely does focus on getting you into mean fights and one-upping itself every battle. There's arguably an odd reliance on save-scumming for initial encounters, if only to figure out how the environmental interactions on any given map function, or to stick a middle finger up to five shitty opening dice rolls, but it is what it is. A very satisfying combat game. An additional positive aspect of the presentation is also an important, simple one -- everything's very, very snappy, very responsive. The game feels nice.
Aaagh, I look at that top 10 and I just think, "Fuck, 2014 was, for my personal tastes, really damn good."
Honourable Mentions
x. Wolfenstein: The New Order ;
x. South Park: The Stick Of Truth ;
x. Hearthstone ;
x. Endless Legend ;
x. Dragon Age: Inquisition ;
x. Xenonauts ;
x. Dark Souls 2 ;
x. Warlock 2 ;
x. Valkyria Chronicles ;
I wish I'd picked up and played The Talos Principle, everything I've seen about the game screams "mmmm, delicious." Just a bad month for finding 'treat myself' funds where games are concerned. Damn you, Santa.