GWJ's Favorite Games from 2011-2014

Pages

For the last few years, our community game of the year voting has allowed forum members to vote not only for the new releases they've loved but for past releases that were new to them in the year they were voting. This means that if you didn't play Catherine the year it was released, you could still rank it among your top picks of the year and have that mean something.

What it also means is that we have data for the last few years of what games people have liked not only when they were new but in the years after that. I thought it would be interesting to put the data from the last few years together to get a sense of what the community as a whole has enjoyed.

The top 25 games as of 2014:

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • Portal 2
  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within
  • The Walking Dead, Season One/400 Days
  • Mass Effect 3/DLC
  • The Last of Us/Remastered/Left Behind
  • Bastion
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution/DLC
  • Saint's Row the Third
  • Dark Souls
  • Bioshock Infinite/Burial at Sea
  • Dishonored/Knife of Dunwall/Brigmore Witches
  • FTL
  • Diablo III/Reaper of Souls
  • Tomb Raider (2013)
  • Mark of the Ninja
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
  • Borderlands 2
  • Dragon Age: Inquisition
  • Gone Home
  • Journey
  • Batman: Arkham City
  • Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
  • Dragon Age 2
  • Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

As of 2013, if you were curious:

  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • Portal 2
  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within
  • The Walking Dead
  • Mass Effect 3
  • Bastion
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution
  • Saint's Row the Third
  • Dark Souls
  • BioShock Infinite
  • Dishonored
  • FTL
  • The Last of Us
  • Mark of the Ninja
  • The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
  • Borderlands 2
  • Tomb Raider
  • Journey
  • Batman: Arkham City
  • Gone Home
  • Dragon Age 2
  • Battlefield 3
  • Crusader Kings II/Expansions
  • Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
  • Diablo III

Damn...I´ve only played 9 of those games.

Wow, I own 24 and I've played 23 (Tomb Raider will happen eventually here).

From this list, I've played Portal 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Bastion, and Batman: Arkham City. I liked Deus Ex; I generally disliked the other three.

I've played 23 of those games. Sorry, CK and Gone Home.

I've finished 15 of them.

I dislike six of them.

Played six and finished three.

Also, how is Lemmings 2: The Tribes, not up there?!?!! That games is pure magic!

Speaking of pure magic, how is Secret of the Magic Crystals not up there?

You are all steaming heretics for not putting Saints Row the Third at #1 because you all clearly hate fun and pure awesomeness.

I've played Skyrim, Portal 2, Saints Row the Third, FTL and Arkham City. I have really enjoyed the first three of those. I also own Walking Dead but never even installed it.

As of today I'll finally get a chance to play a lot more from that list.

I also agree that Secret of the Magic Crystal got robbed.

kyrieee wrote:

Isn't it unfair to count votes for two different releases towards the same game (XCOM). I imagine lots of people voted twice.

Looking over the lists, there were fewer people than you might think.

Also, all games get votes for their expansions and DLC counted in with votes for the main game, so there are votes for "The Citadel" mixed in with Mass Effect 3, for "400 Days" in with The Walking Dead, and all the Borderlands 2 stuff. It's just a real headache to sort all that out on the vote-counting side, so it all gets lumped together.

Isn't it unfair to count votes for two different releases towards the same game (XCOM). I imagine lots of people voted twice.

I've played 16 games on the list, finished 14 of them. Two more that I own but haven't played. It seems like it's mostly a list of games with broad reach, which is a predictable outcome I suppose. At a glace though there's only one or two games I'd put on a list of favourite games from the last three years.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - I like the world, but not the game.
2. Portal 2 - Hated the SP but had fun with the co-op last year.
3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Enemy Within - WinXP, can't play it :X own it though. (Win7 installer keeps crashing)
4. The Walking Dead - It's was alright, didn't hook me as it did others. Hate the bugs.
5. Mass Effect 3 - Ugh. Ending aside, meh. Citadel = yay!
6. Bastion - Don't get the praise for it, at all.
7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - I liked it but I think I wanted to like it. Never want to replay it.
8. Saint's Row the Third - Got a few hours in, had weird audio bugs. Might return to it.
9. Dark Souls - heh
10. BioShock Infinite - It had some good music, that's it.
11. Dishonored - Next Steam sale maybe.
12. FTL - I quite liked it, it's addicting. Had my fill quite quickly though.
13. The Last of Us - Some day.
14. Mark of the Ninja - Very well made, but maybe I don't like stealth?
15. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Loved it, but after Dark Souls the combat feels like poo.
16. Borderlands 2 - Didn't like BL1, so no thanks.
17. Tomb Raider - Couldn't they have called this something else?
18. Journey - PS3
19. Batman: Arkham City - I thought the open world was a step back. AA > AC.
20. Gone Home - Liked it, didn't love it.
21. Dragon Age 2 - Sitting in my origin account.
22. Battlefield 3 - Not sitting in my origin account.
23. Crusader Kings II/Expansions - Too indimidated by it.
24. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - Not yet.
25. Diablo III - It's a bad game. Good that it's last on the list.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

From this list, I've played Portal 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Bastion, and Batman: Arkham City. I liked Deus Ex; I generally disliked the other three.

...of course you did.

I own twelve, ten on 360 and two for Mac, played ten, finished six, picked two as my games of the year for their respective years, dislike three, scandalously dislike one I've neither played nor own, paid full price for seven, bought four on sale, been gifted one, gifted three, and traded back two (one was a gift, sorry non-Goodjer).

Gravey wrote:

I own twelve, ten on 360 and two for Mac, played ten, finished six, picked two as my games of the year for their respective years, dislike three, scandalously dislike one I've neither played nor own, paid full price for seven, bought four on sale, been gifted one, gifted three, and traded back two (one was a gift, sorry non-Goodjer).

This is starting to sound like a logic puzzle in Professor Layton. Other than White Dude Saves White Girl and Multiracial Cast Gets Et, I can't figure out what you're talking about, though.

There's not a single Japanese game on that list.

I find that a bit depressing.

ccesarano wrote:

There's not a single Japanese game on that list.

I find that a bit depressing.

Dark Souls?

ccesarano wrote:

There's not a single Japanese game on that list.

I find that a bit depressing.

Dark Souls!

Kind of a bummer anyway, but this is the forum we chose.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Gravey wrote:

I own twelve, ten on 360 and two for Mac, played ten, finished six, picked two as my games of the year for their respective years, dislike three, scandalously dislike one I've neither played nor own, paid full price for seven, bought four on sale, been gifted one, gifted three, and traded back two (one was a gift, sorry non-Goodjer).

This is starting to sound like a logic puzzle in Professor Layton. Other than White Dude Saves White Girl and Multiracial Cast Gets Et, I can't figure out what you're talking about, though.

Riddle Me This

ccesarano wrote:

There's not a single Japanese game on that list.

I find that a bit depressing.

Check again. Dark Souls is sitting pretty at #9.

Edit: Doublehauser'd

I own ........ all of those games. Played almost all of em too.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Dark Souls?

Blind_Evil wrote:

Dark Souls!

Kind of a bummer anyway, but this is the forum we chose.

psoplayer wrote:

Check again. Dark Souls is sitting pretty at #9.

Edit: Doublehauser'd

Gaaaaah, I even looked over the list a second time to make sure I was right in my initial impression. I suppose I just don't think of Dark Souls as a Japanese game due to its style, which is rather unfair to From Software.

Best part about the list is it helps me prioritize my pile.

garion333 wrote:

I own ........ all of those games. Played almost all of em too.

I would too except I'm going to borrow TLOU whenever Dan is done with it.

Clocky: Play Journey. Because when you inevitably hate it at least you'll only have lost a few hours to it.

In other news, I have no idea what so many people see in Arkham City.

I'm shocked to see if I've played 18 of those. I don't feel like I play often so it's a pretty clear indication of how many cues I take from the podcast and this community.

(Thanks Clocky)

Here are more interesting breakdowns:

13 are from the US
4 from Canada (Deus Ex, Dragon Age 2, Mark of the Ninja, Mass Effect 3)
3 from Sweden (Battlefield 3, Brothers, Crusader Kings II)
1 from China, I think (FTL)
1 from France (Dishonored)
1 from Japan (Dark Souls)
1 from Poland (The Witcher 2)
1 from the UK (Batman: Arkham City)

2 are single-console exclusives, and both for PS3 (Journey, The Last of Us).

2 are PC exclusives, but are available for Windows, OS X, and Linux (CKII, Gone Home).

5 are available for mobile (Bastion, Borderlands 2, FTL, XCOM, The Walking Dead), and only one of those is not on iOS (Vita only: Borderlands 2).

I'm not sure how you define "independent", but either 3 (FTL, Gone Home, The Walking Dead) or 6 (CKII, Portal 2, The Witcher 2) games qualify.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Gravey wrote:

I own twelve, ten on 360 and two for Mac, played ten, finished six, picked two as my games of the year for their respective years, dislike three, scandalously dislike one I've neither played nor own, paid full price for seven, bought four on sale, been gifted one, gifted three, and traded back two (one was a gift, sorry non-Goodjer).

This is starting to sound like a logic puzzle in Professor Layton. Other than White Dude Saves White Girl and Multiracial Cast Gets Et, I can't figure out what you're talking about, though.

A hint will cost you one of Luke's fingers.

Plat Played Fin GOTY Dis Cost Gifted Traded Skyrim 360 x x 2011 $60 x Portal 2 360 x x $60 Walking Dead 360 x x Sale Bastion 360 x x $15 Deus Ex 360 x ಠ_ಠ $30 Dark Souls 360 Sale Dishonored 360 x x 2012 $60 x FTL Mac x Sale Mark of the Nja 360 x x $15 x The Witcher 2 360 x ಠ_ಠ $60 \( ・_・) Borderlands 2 360 x ಠ_ಠ Gift \( ・_・) Gone Home Mac Sale

I played 11 of the top 16 on the list, and none below that. I guess that means I have a discerning palate.

Wow, I own 23 of these and have played 19. Not bad!

Hm. I've played four of the top five, 7 of the top 10, but only 11 of the top 25. And there are three more on that list that I already own but haven't played.

I'm glad to see Dishonored made this list. It was my own number one this year and didn't even get a mention, but I thought it was absolutely spectacular.

Pages