2014 Community Game of the Year - Results posted! Thanks for voting!

Eleima wrote:

I can't even look at your post, ALG, it just makes me want to sob.

I'm kidding, I'll be alright. It's funny though, because I really liked Transistor's "start stop gameplay rhythm", it gave me a chance to stop and actually think about what I was doing, and then unleash the action on the unsuspecting Process. As for the story, I thought it hit a nice balance hinting without just giving it all for free. But as I've said before, different strokes for different folks. :D

I think giving it all away for free is underrated. Or, to quote Joss Whedon "Show all your cards at the beginning. It forces you to come up with new ones."

Which isn't to say I think there should have been a massive exposition dump at the beginning. Some things should definitely stay a mystery, but the story would've been improved a lot if we caught up with what Red and the Transistor know fairly quickly after the opening. Especially given the ending they're working themselves towards. For it to have an impact, I need to be invested in those characters and their relationship, and Supergiant really get in their own way there by withholding so much for no discernible reason.

I'm tempted to make a comparison with Wolfenstein: New Order and how much more touching its climax is, but that risks turning really spoilery.

I can't believe I typed that about a Wolfenstein game. Maybe it should be higher on my list.

I really liked your different "Random, Progressively More Meanspirited Awards" section, I thought it was clever and well thought-out. I'm still smirking from "Star Trek: Into Darkness Award For Inanity, Dumb Fanservice and Not understanding the Franchise". (although it *is* a crying shame, really)

Thanks! I'll say one thing for Thief though: having played it gives me lot more appreciation for Alien: Isolation and how ballsy (for a big budget game) and specific its vision is (so far, at least).

I spent too much time playing FFXIV, which was my top game of last year and definitely not eligible. I only had a few games to cut from my list before getting it down to ten.

1. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - Picking this over Smash Bros.? I don't believe it either, but I cannot. stop. playing. this game. I have seriously been playing it pretty much every chance I get. It's ridiculous. It's not even funny.

2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS My most anticipated game of this year. Half the fun is the anticipation and speculating about what's going to be in the game! Anyway, there are a few missteps, but it's mostly everything I could want in a Smash game: a great roster, improved gameplay over Brawl, interesting non-Smash modes.

3. Shovel Knight Near-perfect in design and execution. Unlike many games with retro stylings, it doesn't lean on tired references and mechanics. Instead, it is wholly original. It's not like any of the games we played when we were kids. It's the kind of game we wanted to play when we were kids.

4. Mario Kart 8 Another game that comes close to perfection. Mario Kart has never looked so good. It makes me wish that every HD game was done up in brilliant popping colors instead of bland browns and grays (see also: Smash Bros for Wii U). The course selection is fantastic, the jazz-inspired music is fun, there's nothing not to like.

5. Flower Played this on the PS4, it looks great in HD. Like Journey, it's short and easy to complete, but the experience is beautiful and sticks in your mind for a while. I wish there were more games in this vein.

6. Crypt of the Necrodancer The only early access game I've played, and I have no regrets, because this one works just fine in its current state. I was originally concerned that the rhythm game / roguelike mashup was only going to be skin deep and the rhythm aspect wouldn't matter much in the final game. I was wrong; the enemies and their patterns require perfect mastery of the beat. Also, that soundtrack.

7. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy I love rhythm games, I love Final Fantasy music, and this execution of the idea is about as great as it can be. Featuring an impressive array of songs and improvements to the RPG aspects of the title, I couldn't ask for more.

8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker This game is too cute and clever for the room.

9. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze This might place higher if we got further into it, but it unfortunately got sidelined for other games. Anyway, the visuals are great and the platforming is top-notch. Plus, it brings back Dixie, the best Kong.

10. Rogue Legacy This is mostly making the list because I didn't get around to many games this year, as I found it kind of underwhelming. It's fun, but if you're not great at roguelike-likes, it features craptons of grinding before you can get anywhere. The release of Binding of Isaac, one of the greatest roguelike-inspired games ever, in the same year kind of makes this one pale in comparison.

I updated my list with Captain Toad, coming in just under the wire.

No worries, Cobble and ALG, I understand why you two didn't enjoy Transistor, but I simply had a different experience. I very quickly caught on to the undercurrents, and my very vivid imagination has a tendency to fill in blanks, so the missing pieces didn't really bother me all that much. As for the gameplay, as I was saying, I actually enjoyed the combat in Transistor more than Bastion's, because of its more sedate pace. *shrug* We'll see what you have to say about it, DoubtingT.

Eleima wrote:

No worries, Cobble and ALG, I understand why you two didn't enjoy Transistor, but I simply had a different experience. I very quickly caught on to the undercurrents, and my very vivid imagination has a tendency to fill in blanks, so the missing pieces didn't really bother me all that much. As for the gameplay, as I was saying, I actually enjoyed the combat in Transistor more than Bastion's, because of its more sedate pace. *shrug* We'll see what you have to say about it, DoubtingT. ;)

Transistor is early on my list of games to play once I actually get the PS4 (looking like a mid-January purchase.) I never played Bastion, but my wife liked it a lot and it looked fun from what I saw over her shoulder.

As for the gameplay, as I was saying, I actually enjoyed the combat in Transistor more than Bastion's, because of its more sedate pace. *shrug* We'll see what you have to say about it, DoubtingT.

I liked it more because of it's creativity and variety -- although admittedly, you only really start to see the full picture there towards the end of the game. Thankfully, for me it was delightfully replayable, and on the second pass through all the amazing is right there for you to tinker with from the very beginning.

I'd like to see another story set in the Transistor universe. Something with more of a narrative and more open to exploration. I know that's not what Supergiant does but a man can dream...a man can dream.

IMAGE(http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20071229194030/en.futurama/images/thumb/d/d3/Albinoshoutinggorillas.png/500px-Albinoshoutinggorillas.png)

Alright, times up for me, no more sitting on this. I'm glad I waited a little while, though, because Mass Effect 3 dropped 6 places due to my experience with it over the past couple weeks, and I remembered better how good Dark Souls 2 was.

In lieu of commentary, I'm posting my whole completion list and some sub-categories, which I think put the top ten into a very descriptive context.

Honorary tie for #1: Spelunky, my last year’s favorite and #1, which I was still regularly playing long into 2014

    Tier 1: joined all-time favorites
  1. Dark Souls (PC)
  2. La-Mulana (PC)
  3. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U)
  4. Mass Effect 2 (PC)
  5. Super Smash Bros. Wii U (Wii U)
  6. Pikmin 3 (Wii U)
  7. Dark Souls 2 (PC)
  8. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PC)
  9. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
  10. Mass Effect 3 (PC)
  11. Tier 2: very good and would recommend

  12. Hexcells, Hexcells Plus, Hexcells Infinite (PC)
  13. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Wii U)
  14. Escape Goat 2 (PC)
  15. The Swapper (PC)
  16. 140 (PC)
  17. Sir, You Are Being Hunted (PC)
  18. Proteus (PC)
  19. Broken Age: Act I (PC)
  20. Gunpoint (PC)
  21. Kami (PC)
  22. To the Moon (PC)
  23. Tier 3: really enjoyed and might recommend

  24. Extrasolar (web)
  25. A Dark Room (web)
  26. Transistor (PC)
  27. Stacking (PC)
  28. The Blackwell Legacy (PC)
  29. Blackwell Unbound (PC)
  30. Blackwell Convergence (PC)
  31. Blackwell Deception (PC)
  32. Cogs (PC)
  33. Bioshock Infinite (PC)
  34. Tier 4: found value in but wouldn’t readily recommend

  35. Jazzpunk (PC)
  36. Digital: A Love Story (PC)
  37. don’t take it personally babe, it just ain’t your story (PC)
    Me & Kids' Favorites: Games my kids and I played and loved together this year. My enjoyment of many of these was so bound up in my kids’ enjoyment that they needed their own list.
  1. (Mario Kart 8)
  2. Super Mario 3D World (see below)
  3. Castles In the Sky
  4. Plants vs. Zombies: GOTY
  5. Costume Quest
  6. (Broken Age: Act I)
  7. Lume
  8. Windosill
  9. (Stacking)
    Oddities: very short experiences that are very good on their own terms but wouldn't be fairly compared with full-length games
  1. Bernband (web) - exploration game by Tom Van Den Boogaart
  2. January (web) - music generation game by Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland)
  3. The Rapture Is Here And You Will Be Forcibly Removed From Your Home (web) - best distillation of Lovecraftian horror
  4. The Second Amendment (web) - play this, seriously
  5. Approaching Infinity Demo (PC) - probably too expensive to ever buy, but so good.
  6. A Postcard from Afthonia (PC) - beautiful mix of poetry and adventure game
  7. The Earl Octopuser (web) - great little adventure/hidden-object game with great art
  8. The Watcher (web) - fun inversion of expectations
  9. Weird City Interloper (Interactive Fiction) - wonderfully strange and experimental
  10. Drowning In Problems (web) - depressing but thoughtful text game by Notch
  11. ORION (web, LD31 entry) - spacecraft cockpit simulator
  12. Super Slalom (web) - short but sweet puzzle game
    Half-baked:
  • Starbound (PC) - played tons of it in first week of early access and loved it, but it’s far from done, so planning to go back into it on release.
  • Sunless Sea (PC) - played lots of it in early access, but too soon to tell whether it will be balanced by release. Right now it’s really interesting and memorable but not quite fun.
    Special Preview: in-progress and saving for next year’s list
  • Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) - I’m going to finish this game if it kills me. I put more time into than many of the games on the above list combined, but might only be a fraction of the way through it.
  • Super Mario 3D World (Wii U) - Half-way through? maybe? It would’ve been a contender for this year’s top five, and made my top ten 50/50 PC/Wii U, but I’m going to save it for next year, because I think I’ll be playing a lot of this with my kids and I really have no idea how much more there is.
Alien Love Gardener wrote:

Also, that shot of the goat smacking against Skyhold's walls.

I legitimately laughed out loud at this part. Some dude thought "I know what'll hurt them! A goat hurled through the stone!"

...then this poor goat just getting splooshed against the wall, sliding off slowly. It amused me, and was completely out of left field.

kuddles wrote:

If there's anything I'm deriving from these lists, it's looking like I need to start playing the Kentucky Route Zero episodes ASAP.

You do.

kuddles wrote:

If there's anything I'm deriving from these lists, it's looking like I need to start playing the Kentucky Route Zero episodes ASAP.

You do.[/quote]

Yeah, it is pretty fantastic. I'm also thrilled to see it on other people's lists!

As usual, I didn't play enough different games for a full top ten, but I went deep with the ones I did play:

5. Destiny - I may have put more hours into this one than any of the others, or maybe even all of them combined, but there are too many flaws to give it the crown. A fantastically social game, it has continued to improve and fill out the missing features. This game nailed co-op with friends, and those opportunities to spend time with people who don't live near me anymore has really been fabulous on a very meaningful level.

4. Mario Kart 8 - One of the best Mario Karts ever, but the baloney Battle Mode really hurts, especially in a household with small kids. Battle Mode doesn't require skillful driving. They also changed races so that the last place player always gets to finish the race, which is actually a detriment to playing with very young players. Before, you could give a controller to a two year-old. Now, you literally have to run the race twice if you do so, and other players just have to wait. Wish they'd made that optional. A fantastic game otherwise, with great level design, and a real battle mode would have made it a contender for the top spot. Hopefully that's coming in DLC.

3. Captain Toad This is the first game on the list that didn't get marked down for a glaring issue (or issues). A perfect game. We haven't finished all of the levels yet, so the $40 price point was nice, but not necessary. A wonderful game to play with my kids. Colorful, creative, and good for the soul. I considered giving it my top spot, but I'm not sure it's an all-time great. As it is, it's perfect.

2. Dark Souls 2 - Loved it. Loved all the co-op, and finally playing a Souls game at release. Now, Dark Souls is a hard act to follow, and this is clearly a lesser game in many respects. Miyazaki wasn't the lead, and I feel like it shows. Still, this game had tons of adventure and exploration, and kept that trademark Dark Souls difficulty. It expanded and innovated the designs, and while it's not an all-time classic, it can hold its head high. Bring on Bloodborne and whatever comes after that!

1. Super Mario 3D World - You want all-time classics? This is an all-time classic. A number of us have said it's the best Mario game ever. The levels are awesome, the cat suit is surprisingly awesome, the music is delightful. It has features that make it wonderful to play with a small child, like protective bubbles and the ability to pick up and carry other characters. I played through every level of the main game with my daughter, a first for us. Oh, and it also pioneered the Captain Toad levels, so give 3D World some credit for that, as well. This game is the total package and perhaps the best couch co-op game ever.

My list:
1. Europa Universalis IV: it has become my precious
2. Dragon age inquisition: hinterlands forever!
3. Diablo 3 ultimate evil edition: couch co-op at its finest!

Getting in before the gun! My birthday is usually the only day I can justify taking the time to actually sit down and knock this out.

This is a Nintendo-heavy year, and a really Japan-heavy year. I know which side my bread is buttered on. At any rate, with the exception of #1 I feel like this list could be extremely fluid and move around depending on my mood. The honorable mentions could easily sneak onto the list, and high rankers could drop. This may have been the most difficulty I've ever had ranking 2-10. Lots of really good games with many good qualities and few bad.

1. Platformers on the Wii U

Three games as #1? That's cheating! My alter ego will figure out what to do with it. When it came right down to it, though I'm sort of ranking these three games, it was just a general feeling of how awesome they were that made me realize they belong together. It feels like the early '90s again, with all these amazing platformers available!

1a: Super Mario 3D World — I'm not sure what to say about this game that hasn't already been said. It's brilliant in every way imaginable. The challenge level spreads from Fluffytime Puppy Charmin Pilllows soft to tough as nails, and every little touch they gave the game sings in a way only Nintendo can pull off. This wins my "I kinda want to boot this back up as I write about it" award.

1b: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze — Speaking of tough as nails...this platformer brings the heat. It does it in such an imaginative way, though. The backgrounds are the most lush I've ever seen in a 2D platformer and are utilized in some really imaginative ways. What's more, it's clear the level design team killed themselves to make levels that are interesting both when hunting in every nook and cranny and during speed runs. It's amazing to run through a level at top spinning speed only to find that when correctly executed the platform is always just in the right spot or there's always an enemy right where you need one to make it across that gap. How they did both, I can't imagine.

1c: Rayman Legends — I admit I still am only about 2/3 through this game, but it's pretty apparent it belongs up here. It masters many of the same flow designs just mentioned in Tropical Freeze, with the post-boss thrash metal runs of particular note.

2. Tales of Xillia 2

The best tales game since Symphonia. Probably better than Symphonia, although to fully appreciate Xillia 2 you really do have to play the first game in the series, and that could be considered a detriment. Anyway, this is the total package. A real-time battle system that sings, with tons of depth and variety that I was still discovering 100 hours into the game; a sweet, well-written story that can touch you in all the right places; tons of things to do and nooks and crannies to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of playing this game.

3. Mario Kart 8

I mean, what is there to say? It's perfect. Basically flawless. Online works great, the DLC is fantastic (just downloaded it last night), and who doesn't love ridin' dirty? 10 out of 10 Luigis.

4. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting with this game, but whatever it was I wasn't disappointed. Polished, inventive, and stealthy in all the right ways, My only complaint is that there wasn't enough of it. I really wish they would have eventually released the open world part of Canada at least as DLC or something. But the customization, the people, the myriad ways through any situation, the whole package really came together and sung.

5. Fantasy Life

ALL THE CUTES. This is an adorable game. It's deceptive, though, in that it's adorability hides a surprising amount of depth. There's tons to do, lots to discover, and most importantly the twelve lives all work together in really clever and engaging ways. The designer in me wants to say something like "best implementation of a Skinner Box in 2014" but, I dunno, that lacks soul, and this game has soul. I think I sunk more hours into this game than any other this year.

6. Drakengard 3

Could easily be #1 or not on the list at all. A worthy effort from the former Cavia team, and scratches a lot of the same itches as Nier. I'm not dinging it because it's a genre of game (DMC-style battle) that I suck at, but I am dinging it for a rather frustrating camera. All in all, though, I look forward to finishing this game (I know, I know) and seeing all the super depressing things there are to see. Because, man, nobody can depress the hell out of you like Taro Yoko can.

7. Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

What a phenomenal way to close out the series! Clearly the best of the six mainline games, with the greatest puzzle variety, the best writing, and the coolest minigames. A lovely story and an all-around crowd pleaser. We'll miss you and your devilishly dapper ways, Professor.

8. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

I'm beginning to think that we should petition Merriam-Webster to slap the Nintendo logo next to the word "polish" in the dictionary. Charming, super fun, inventive, and the kids love it too. My only complaint is that I wish there were more levels! Well, maybe there will be DLC.

9. Atelier Totori: The Apprentice of Arland

This one caught me a bit off-guard. I was expecting something a little less fun, I guess, but Totori won me over with its cute little story and its gut-wrenching clock-crunching timing decisions and its incredibly in-depth crafting system. Really, the crafting system in this game is something to behold! So deep, so wonderful, so engaging. In my original write-up I compared it to a game full of the nastiest demon fusion requests you could possibly imagine from Elizabeth in Persona 3. I really think every PS3 and Vita owner that enjoys puzzles and systems and systemy, puzzly goodness should give this one a try.

10. Tomb Raider

There are some legitimate beefs with this game, like the needlessly violent death cutscenes, but it's very, very well-executed. To be honest it felt like what I wanted Uncharted to be: tighter, somewhat more realistic battles and combat scenes; more interesting platforming sections; and an almost halfway interesting story. I enjoyed my time with this game a lot, but I don't feel like it could move up the list much even on a good day for it.

Honorable Mentions

  • Persona Q — Gwuh? A persona game not in Min's top 3? It's true, this game would probably rank if I made this list again in a week, but its many brilliant moments are balanced by quite a few flaws. I love Etrian Odyssey and I love Persona, so this should be a natural fit. Truthfully, I probably had more fun playing this game than I did some others that actually ranked, but at the same time I was more frustrated. Mostly I'm frustrated by Atlus' continued love of deceased equine flagellation, and the extreme Flanderization of the characters they keep foisting upon us. The P3 characters in particular are completely flattened in this game, and it's just sad. That being said, the dungeon designs are really brilliant, combat is pretty fun (albeit a bit broken due to the ma- instant death spells and a weird synthesis of status effect ideas from Persona and EO), it's a great game. But not top 5 great.
  • Antichamber — Trippin' balls, man.
  • Pushmo World — Same great formula, same great fun. I do wish it picked up a little faster, though. It feels like a very long tutorial with very easy levels before you get to the good stuff. Shut up, grandpa! I wanna play with the big boys!

Conspicuous Absences

  • Fallout 3: New Vegas — I put a lot of time into this game, mostly out of respect for Obsidian because I lurve them. But everything felt so samey and so blah. Even with mods, it was fun enough to play for a while, but ultimately it didn't have that really interesting and in-depth Obsidian characters and meat I've come to expect from them. Felt too mainline Bethesda.
  • Bravely Default — A great combat and job system. Really, really great. But seriously WTF is with that story, and the fact that you have to repeat the same damn thing so many times? THIS IS NOT FUN.
  • Dr. Luigi — Okay, I don't get it. I loved Dr. Mario as a kid. Either I've changed, or the game has, because this just didn't grab me at all.
demonbox wrote:

To be clear- post needs to be up by midnight tonight to be counted?

That's right, but it's a pretty flexible definition of "midnight". Just have it up before my post saying that voting is closed, basically.

Minarchist wrote:

Three games as #1? That's cheating! My alter ego will figure out what to do with it.

Spoiler:

I'll count Tropical Freeze and Rayman Legends as #2 and #3, drop everything else down two ranks, and cut the bottom two entries. Shuffle it around if you want to save either of those two.

Due to the death of my PC way too many months ago, this list will be really short this year

Diablo 3
PvZ 2
Star Wars Commander
Kingdom Rush Origins

And that's it

(I play way too many iPhone games from years past- I probably need to expand my palate)

1. Banished - I've seen others say that Banished has no "soul", but I think it excels at what it set out to do, especially considering it was made by one person, Luke Hodorowicz. The addition of survival to the city-building gameplay really clicked for me, and I absolutely loved my time with it. Recently, Steam Workshop was added to the game, so I created a new town and played for another 15-20 hours with the Colonial Charter mod, which tweaks a few things and adds a lot of cool stuff.

2. Endless Legend - I've not played very many 4X games, and the only ones I've put a lot of time into were Civ 4 and 5, but damn, I really like Endless Legend. As othes have stated, it brings some fresh ideas to the genre, and the art design is excellent, too. I've only played through one full game (after doing the tutorial twice) before moving on to other 2014 games that I wanted to play for the purposes of this list, but I can guarantee that I will be playing a lot more of Endless Legend in 2015.

3. South Park: The Stick of Truth - Coming in just under the wire - I installed it yesterday and played for over 5 hours straight, and will resume playing immediately after posting this list - this may be one of the best lisenced games ever made. Not only is it a competent RPG, but the total South Park aesthetic is flawlessly reproduced thanks to the art, animation, writing, and the massive contribution by Trey Parker doing countless lines of dialogue for so many characters.

4. Wasteland 2 - If I had played the CRPGs of yesteryear during their heydey, I would have nostalgia for the genre, and this would likely be higher on the list. That said, I am a proud Kickstarter backer of Wasteland 2. I haven't finished it yet (too many games, not enough time), but I really enjoyed the 20+ hours I've played so far. Brian Fargo and company have produced a great game and another great example of crowdfunding done right.

5. Spintires - Mud physics, y'all! After watching a gameplay video of this, I knew I would be playing it at some point this year. There aren't a lot of different things to do (uncloak checkpoints, find and unlock vehicles, deliver stuff from point A to point B), but if you let yourself get immersed in the gameplay, Spintires provides plenty of significant challenges and rewarding accomplishments.

6. Doorkickers - This is a very cool top-down, tactical strategy game that makes good use of its RTWP (Real-Time With Pause) gameplay mechanic.

7. Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Harebrained Schemes made some good, and much needed, improvements to the groundwork laid previously by Shadowrun Returns.

8. FTL: Advanced Edition - Subset Games released this awesome expansion to an already excellent game, which add loads of new content. And the best part is that it's totally free!

9. Broken Age Act 1 - Despite Double Fine's problems in 2014, I really enjoyed my playthrough of Act 1 and very much look forward to playing Act 2 ... someday.

10. Vailiant Hearts - Some of the gameplay became a bit tiresome for me, especially the nurse's Guitar Hero-esque, rhythm-based QTEs, but Valiant Hearts earns a spot on my list for its unique art style and use of its charming player companion. Walt FTW!

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

Three games as #1? That's cheating! My alter ego will figure out what to do with it.

Spoiler:

I'll count Tropical Freeze and Rayman Legends as #2 and #3, drop everything else down two ranks, and cut the bottom two entries. Shuffle it around if you want to save either of those two.

I love when you fight with yourself.

Shout out to Danopian for the great and detailed list. I bookmarked it to check some stuff (the indie games) out later!

ClockworkHouse wrote:

:P

Spoiler:

I'll count Tropical Freeze and Rayman Legends as #2 and #3, drop everything else down two ranks, and cut the bottom two entries. Shuffle it around if you want to save either of those two.

Let's go with this, then, for numerical purposes:

SM3DW
Xillia 2
MK8
DX:HR
DKC:TF
Fantasy Life
Drakengard 3
Azran
CT:TT
Totori

(Tomb Raider and Rayman off-list)

Honorable Mentions:

Wildstar – I want to love you! There’s some serious design issues in this game, but the other parts are all so awesome (housing, especially) that it’s a shame the game is going to die.

Endless Legend – If they keep working on this game it’ll be in my list next year, but I had to put it aside as it’s not quite fully baked for my tastes. Great visual design, especially in the UI, but if the AI isn’t up to snuff (and it’s getting there, reportedly) then I pretty much won’t play.

Infamous First Light – I get bored in these sort of open world action games after, oh, a half hour. First Light doesn’t mess around and you’re having fun in just a few minutes. I really enjoyed the Crackdown-lite collecting of orbs. The best part is that the game didn’t overstay its welcome and the story was done in 5 hours. I’ve even done half the challenges, but I’m not terribly good so I may not bother finishing them. That Platinum trophy does seem incredibly close though…

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth – Definitive way to play this game. It just controls so much better and like Hotline Miami it is definitely best played on Vita.

And now onto The List:

(10) Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Yes, at the end of the day you can probably find a game very similar to this for $5 on your phone or $10 on Steam. But when we talk about AAA development, this is it. Hands down the first ever AAA puzzle game I’ve ever played. Nintendo has filled this to the brim with personality in a way I’ve never quite seen a game do. That said, the game does feel a bit half-baked because of reused boss battles and reimagined levels from 3D World. Not a huge knock in my book, but I was definitely disappointed when the boss battles turned out to be pretty much the same thing (and boringly easy). Those recycled aspects really knocked this down my rankings. That and I don't like the cart levels using the Gamepad as a view finder.

(9) Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls – Diablo 3 is an amazing success story for me as it was an absolute disaster at launch that got fixed in all the ways I wanted it to. Then they came out with Loot 2.0 and a myriad of other changes and it’s an even better game now.

(8) Shin Megami Tensei IV – SMT brings the vibe. Seriously, this game has the best vibe and location of any JRPG. There’s just something about this game that clicks with me in a way that the Persona games don’t. Don’t get me wrong, Persona games are fantastic, but SMTIV is what I’d rather play. Great soundtrack.

(7) Lego City Undercover – I’m sorry, but this is easily the best Lego game I’ve played. It surpasses being a Lego game by having humor that’s actually funny and moving the game play into an open world. Nintendo made a Lego game and everyone yawned. Are you crazy?!? This game is fun. Load times are some of the worst I’ve ever seen, but if you can be patient there’s a really fun Lego game here.

(6) New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Holy crap the coin aspect, gimmicky as it is, adds a cool little layer I wish all the Mario games had. That said, this is probably my favorite of the New series so far as it has some of the most interesting levels we’ve seen.

(5) Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS – There’s more to do in this game than any other fighter ever conceived. Smash for the Wii was a gigantic miss for me as there was some sort of disconnect between my button presses and the actions on screen (I think…been a while), but that isn’t the case here. Visually amazing, tons of music, tons of levels, tons of/too many characters, lots of fun side things, okay board game, fun collecting game on 3DS, etc. I will be playing this for a long, long time.

(4) Super Mario 3D World – Really good and easy to roll your eyes at over another Mario game, but there’s a lot to love about this game. It doesn’t come together for me quite as well as it does for others (the overworld map is merely okay to me as I didn’t feel like I was discovering anything, for instance, but a huge improvement over the NSMB way of doing it). Maybe I’m on the wrong side of the hype train, maybe I simply don’t like 3D Mario games enough, but I am simply not as in love with this as the rest of the world. Nintendo manages to throw in some brilliant levels that were not possible on lesser hardware (ie. shadows) while also packing in Captain Toad levels that were an absolute revelation – Nintendo is willing to take chances! I think the Galaxy games were more fun overall and the literal shine will wear off of this for most people when they go to play through it again in a couple years. Don’t get me wrong, this is an absolutely fantastic game in a catalog of fantastic Nintendo games on the Wii U, but 3D platforming was better in space than with its feet (mostly) planted on the ground. Or maybe it all comes down to this: I don’t like the cat suit very much. Way better than the Bee Suit though.

(3) Mario Kart 8 - I absolutely cannot agree that this game is perfect, Battle Mode feels entirely tacked on and that is a huge miss for me. Five years ago I would’ve awarded this the Best Game Ever because I didn’t have a 4 yr old to play this with. Without a decent battle mode, however, we find ourselves playing MK Wii for its battle mode and I otherwise didn’t like MK Wii. That said, everything else about this game, including the DLC (best bang for your buck DLC ever), is near perfect. I would’ve liked more control over replay clips, but the Luigi Death Stare deserves its own award for existing and that’s thanks to the limited clips that are in the game. Sonic Transformed was a really good kart racer that topped recent entries in the MK series, but MK8 squashed Sonic like the pesky little bug he is.

(2) Super Mario 3D Land – Better platforming than 3D World, not quite as good overall packaging. Gameplay trumps packaging for me, though, and I think this is the better platformer. A few years from now I'm going to need to revisit the two games and compare them side by side and maybe I'll put 3D World over 3D Land, but for now this is my preference.

(1) Xenoblade Chronicles – 2012 was a tough year for me. I left Colorado to move back to Maryland and in the process I basically went broke. XC came out a month before I was to move and I bounced off of it rather quickly. I wanted to love the game, but it was just too ugly and I wasn’t in the proper head space to take it on. After I moved the game was sold for hot cash along with my Wii. The things we do so we can eat. I swear! But then I got to thinking. Between 2012 and now I had played a ton of MMOs and none were quite hitting the sweet spot I’ve been looking for. Hey, I should probably give Xenoblade another go. The visual fidelity won’t matter as much and if it does I can always play it with an emulator. Long story short, I’m in the right headspace for this game now. It is simply a stunning single player MMO. I like to collect things. I like to craft things. I like to see myself wear what I make. Apparently I also like fetch quests because I’ve done a million of them in this game. It probably has more to do with the world, which I like but don’t love, and the music. Probably is the music. It’s certainly not the main characters who are boiler plate and the main story takes too long to get where it’s going, but is exceptionally paced otherwise. This is the first game in a long, long time that I’m okay running around in for no reason other than to be there, even if the cities are rather sparse in part to the game being on the Wii.

So, congrats to Nintendo. Never expected that because I well and truly thought I was burnt out on Nintendo properties, but then they went and made some of their best games ever. Kudos.

Happy New Year everyone! May the upcoming year be the best for you and yours!

Here's my picks for this year. Would've posted this sooner but I wanted to see if Captain Toad shook things up a little.

10. Captain Toad (Wii U) - A late entry, but totally adorable. We haven't gotten terribly far but this was enough to be the barrier to entry for the list.

9. BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 (PC) - A great swan song for Irrational. While I think there were some completely unnecessary narrative bits in it, it was a solid effort and it felt really good to revisit Rapture and Columbia one last time. Also, the stealth mechanics weren't total trash making this the Monaco of the year for me.

8. Blackwell Unbound (PC) - A surprise entry that I started playing over Xmas since I've been meaning to try Wadjet Eye's games for a long time. It's got big chunky pixels with a great soundtrack, better than expected VO (impressive for an indie game released in 2007), and less emphasis on puzzling than most adventure games, which made it really easy to slip into this version of NYC. While I'm not done with it yet, I already want to spend more time with this series and I'm greatly looking forward to playing the rest of them (maybe in 2015).

7. Luftrausers (PC) - Do you even raus? Solid white knuckle arcade action which I expect nothing less of from a Vambleer game. And a stellar soundtrack. It's just a shame about the controversial imagery.

6. Binding of Isaac: ReBirth (PC) - I feel bad for putting this on the list and at so high a position, but this is absolutely the definitive version of Isaac and a brilliant way to remake/remaster an existing game. Only real flaw with this is the change to the soundtrack (DanyB 4 Life!)

5. Persona 4 (PS2) - I'm nowhere near finished with this but per the rules I have to list it this year. This doesn't feel like nearly as big a shakeup for the JRPG genre that P3 was, but it's got some great characters and a fun setting. I really like the additional attempts at filing off some of P3's rougher edges. If I had played this at launch, this easily would've been my GotY, but there was some really stiff competition...

4. Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS (Wii U / 3DS) - I'm listing both versions as a single entry (sorry Clocky) because to me they are two sides of the same coin. It's Smash. It's great. And I can play it on a big screen in hi-def or on the road. End of story.

3. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) - Hands down the best iteration in this long running franchise. A weak Battle Mode isn't enough to shake my love for this game.

2. Shovel Knight (PC) - It's like those games you loved on the NES, only better. An absolutely wonderful tribute to 80's platformers, but applies some technical tricks and 20 years worth of design improvements to make this a rare throwback game that not only wears the influences on its sleeves, but surpasses them.

1. Transistor (PC) - Amazing combat system, amazing visual style, amazing soundtrack. I had a lot of fun with this and this was the first game on Steam where I sought out all the achievements which included a second playthrough.

Honorable Mentions:
Diablo III Reaper of Souls (PC) - Blizzard did a great job rehabilitating this game (and the company's image) this year between the 2.0 Patch and this expansion. If you felt burned by D3 at launch, you owe it to yourself to give it another try.

Bastion (PC) - Great debut title from Supergiant. I just with the controls and the story clicked better with me.

Quest for Infamy (PC) - Highly ambitious tribute to Quest for Glory, which I enjoyed but the weak voice acting (especially having played Blackwell Unbound) and bugs making combat a chore dampened my enthusiasm for finishing this. Plus, I got stuck on a quest. Hopefully the upcoming patch fixes most of the issues (aside from the voice acting which can be disabled) and I can get back to this at some point.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (3DS) - Part sequel, part remake (like BoI). The sheer volume of music in this game is outstanding, and they overhauled a lot of the game and created a much better package. Plus there's a ton of DLC for when you get bored with the 100+ songs on the cartridge!

Terra Battle (iOS) - A F2P puzzle/RPG thing by Sakaguchi that's better than it has any right to be. The mechanics tickle the brain and the game never feels like it's panhandling. My only gripes are the random recruitment and some of the character designs are a bit bleh.

Games I wish I had spent more time with:
Bravely Default (3DS) - I really liked the old school feel of this, but I ended up getting distracted by a newer game and never made it back.

Mercenary Kings (PC) - I feel like I barely scratched the surface of this game but I enjoyed the experience and wish I could see more of it.

DKCR Tropical Freeze (Wii U) - We made it to the end of World 2 before throwing in the towel for the time being. Solid controls, excellent visuals and music, and probably worthy of the title of "The Dark Souls of the Wii U".

Infested Planet (PC) - I completely forgot about this until someone mentioned it in the Steam sale thread today. Great little blend of "horde mode" and RTS gameplay. I only got a couple levels in, but this is something unique and special that I would love to get back to if I remember it again.

EDIT: Thank you Clocky for organizing and processing this again this year. I just finished reading through all the previous lists and it's really cool to see the variety of games people picked and to see what patterns emerged!

Final, final edit, (thanks Taharka!) here

Here we go! I'm listing the platforms I played the games on in parentheses after the title.

Edit: 12/31 latest possible addition:

1) Dragon Age Inquisition (PC)

This one is a gimme. My most anticipated game going into the year, and story-wise, character-wise, and (mostly) gameplay-wise, it lived up to my insanely high expectations. Bugs and a few strange UI decisions are currently being sorted out, but I know I'll be back to this game over and over, as I was with Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2 (and the Mass Effects, to a lesser extent).

2) Wasteland 2 (PC)
My third most anticipated game, going into 2014. I Kickstarted this game, with the hopes that it would live up to the old classic, and it exceeded those expectations, bringing a wonderful hybrid of the party mechanics and world interactivity of the original Wasteland and the worldbuilding and atmospherics of the first two Fallout games.

3) Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (3DS)
One of the rare 2014 games I can point to actually completing, this was another solid entry into the Ace Attorney/Phoenix Wright series. The humor and terrible puns click with me, the puzzles were engaging without being too far in either direction of the difficulty curve.

4) Saint's Row IV (PC)
Well, this literally came out of nowhere at the final hour. I was gifted this by Taharka, and put it on for a spin on 12/30. Five hours later, and I'm wholly invested in this absolutely, obscenely ridiculous fun game. Another week and it might have made its way as high as two on my list. I'd played Saint's Row III, but it didn't ever stick with me the same way. First open world sandbox GTA-esque game I've sunk decent time into since GTA IV, and first I've enjoyed since GTA III.

5) Nidhogg (PC and Arcade cabinet)
Getting the chance to play Nidhogg at Rabbitcon on Julian's cabinet elevated it from a very fun, but ultimately forgettable little trifle to one of the most epic technicolor blood-drenched battlefields I've ever fought across.

6) Monument Valley (Android)
Beautiful game, fun puzzles, clever storytelling.

7) Out There (Android)
Very fun, punishing roguelike space game, in the vein of Weird Worlds, which I used to absolutely adore.

8) Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)
A slightly older entry from the series, but apparently necessary from a plot standpoint before playing the most recent. I've made it more the 75% of the way through, and it definitely holds up as a solid Layton puzzle game.

9) Civilization: Beyond Earth (PC)
My third most anticipated game. An excellent game using the Civ V engine, but I would have loved to see more personality between the factions. As is, I feel like mods will be able to put that in place, and a major expansion or two will probably take the game into the pantheon next to Alpha Centauri. I'd hoped to see it there at launch, but will settle for it having a long tail.

10) Broken Age (PC)
Half of an incredibly charming game. If it means Doublefine has to cancel some of their other projects, I'd be happy to see more of their resources dedicated to finishing this.

Obvious omissions that will be on 2015 list - I didn't have a chance to play these, but I know I will next year:
Divinity: OS
Persona Q
Warlords of Draenor

Honorable mention:
Tie Fighter - This re-release on GOG made me so happy.

So...what's the deal with Shadowrun: Dragonfall? Seen it on many of your lists. I know it's a standalone version of an additional campaign, but do you need to have played Shadowrun Returns for its story to make sense (i.e. is it a sequel)?

danopian wrote:

So...what's the deal with Shadowrun: Dragonfall? Seen it on many of your lists. I know it's a standalone version of an additional campaign, but do you need to have played Shadowrun Returns for its story to make sense (i.e. is it a sequel)?

It's not a sequel, and it's generally considered the better story, and better implementation of the system of the two (they're working on a third set in Hong Kong now). That said, Dead Man's Switch (the default campaign) is absolutely worth the 10-15 hours it takes.

*Going out, will finish when possible*

This was a super weird gaming year for me. Kind of reminded me of my younger years where I spent alot of time on a few games, because I could or because I didn't have the money. I hardly purchased any new games this year at full price, and most have been on iOS. I guess that's what happens when you're addicted to something and the other choices don't seem so grand.

1. Hearthstone (PC) - So yeah, I like this game. I play practically everyday. I estimate around 500 hours this year. It did many firsts for digital card games, the presentation is really outstanding and they've already had two sizable content additions in their first year. I don't think I've been this attached to a game since TF2. Still waiting for that iPhone support!

2. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PS4) - I loved this adventure. The story took a weird split halfway through, but the real story that mattered were the multiple narratives made by the Nemesis system. Playing with AI that actually changed your game in interesting ways made this game shine.

3. Ghost Trick (iOS) - A wonderfully quirky story with inventive Goldberg-esque puzzles dressed up in styyyyyyyyle. One of my favorite adventure games.

4. Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4) - Shoot, spell, roll, repeat. I have to admit being a little disappointed in its end game content, but the journey with my Demon Hunter was well worth the time.

5. Danganronpa (Vita) - upupupu Hope, despair, thrills, chills and kills! I was so wrong to doubt recommendations even though I hadn't played a visual novel.

6. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (PS4/Vita) -

7. The Wolf Among Us (PC) -

8. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (PC) -

9. Infamous: Second Son (PS4) -

10. Sky Force 2014 (iOS) -

Honorable Mentions

Dishonorable Mentions

Top 10 Games of 2014

(According to Me)

This year has been a weird one in games altogether and also was a change for me in how much time I had for video games. I don't want to make too much of a preamble, but I'm sure Dragon Age: Inquisition would be at the top, or very close to the top of my list. Unfortunately, I have had Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II on my "To Play" list for as long as I can remember, but just never found the motivation to crack into either. Well, after hearing such good things about DA: I, I found the drive to dip into Dragon Age: Origins. Since I haven't had much time to play many games, I still am deep into the end of Dragon Age: Origins. I've thought about just skipping to DA:I, but I had such a great time playing through all of the Mass Effect series and know I want to explore the world of Thedas more. So I consciously made the choice to keep myself from falling into the zeitgeist and just play through the series. I don't regret my decision, but know my list is going to be very different from what I would have thought coming into the beginning of the year.

Now, to the list!!

1. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (PC): This is the game I've spent the most time with this year, by a huge margin. I remember dabbling in the Pokémon card game growing up, but never really got into Magic or seriously invested in any Collectible Card Game. With Hearthstone, Blizzard did what they are so great at: Bringing a concept and polishing it to that addictive shine. I'm not anywhere near the top of the Constructed charts and I'm still missing enormous portions of the Cards, but I love the strategic nature of this game and the simple to understand and hard to master gameplay. This is the game that made me think that a "Free to Play" business model could be something that I wouldn't hate vehemently whenever it was implemented in a game. Number one for me, with a bullet.
2. The Last of Us: Left Behind DLC (PS3): I normally wouldn't put DLC as a ranked game on my list, but I've seen so many others do it and this piece of content was so great and so standalone that it should definitely be considered. This would be my number 1, except Hearthstone took up so much time and mind share (for me) this year. This was a short couple hours, but was a great, self contained story that hit almost as hard as the main game. I also loved how Naughty Dog repurposed mechanics in interesting scenarios for this DLC. I also nominate this for Best Fighting Game of 2014 as well!
3. Dragon Age: Origins (PC): I've thought about starting this game for a very long time. With DA:I coming out, this was the year I finally got the motivation. A lovely throwback and of course the choices and story are amazing. Intrigue, politics and dragons, what's not to like? Can't wait to get to Dragon Age: Inquisition, but I'm loving going through the franchise from the beginning.
4. Hitman Go (iOS): A fantastic Hitman game that was completely built from the ground up for the mobile platform. A deep game with great elements from the console games that are transmogrified into simple touch controls that are intuitive. Sleek, simple and yet deep and thoughtful. A lovely little game for a big Hitman fan.
5. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PS4): I would have loved this game so much more and would have had it higher in the list if the story in this game wasn't such nothing as to be almost nonexistent. But in terms of just a fun game and an awesome new system, this game is top notch. I hope to see more refinement of the Nemesis system in the coming years. A great addition to gaming.
6. Dark Souls 2 (PS3): A decent sequel to Dark Souls, but with some problems of generic bosses. Also hampered on my list by playing Dark Souls 1 too close to this game. Too much of a good thing and all that.
7. Destiny (PS4): Amazing looking and such tight shooting, but no substance here. Fell off of it quickly and never really got a chance to play this with any GWJ folk. Was still a fun shooter with some interesting loot and mechanics, just didn't stick and the story was nonsense.
8. inFamous: Second Son (PS4): I loved this game when I played it earlier in the year. But after being away from it for so long, there are way too many times when I even forget that this game existed. But Man! The graphics on this game and the Neon and wet pavement of this game looked outstanding!
9. Nidhogg (PC): A great time playing couch co-op with my brother. I just wish I could have played this with more people this year. A fantastic party game.
10. Starbound (PC): This little game didn't have much impact or staying power, for me personally, but the hours I played of this with my wife this year were wonderful.

Games I'm remiss to have missed this year and can't wait to play:
1. Dragon Age: Inquisition: As stated in my preamble, I'm sure this game would be at the top of my list or very close to it, but I am one of those people that wants to immerse myself in the world from the very beginning. Can not wait to get to this game!
2. Wolfenstein: The New Order: I have this game bought on PS4, but I haven't gotten around to firing it up since I've been focused on playing through Dragon Age: Origins. I can't wait to give this game a try. Heard so many great things.
3. The Fall: I have only heard bits and pieces about this game, but it just recently came to be something I really want to play after hearing about it from Vinny Caravella on Giant Bomb's Game of the Year deliberation podcasts. Sounds amazing.
4. Broken Age: I've heard pretty good things about Broken Age, but never got around to having the time to play it. Maybe someday, or once Broken Age is finished, I'll get around to it.
5. South Park: The Stick of Truth: I don't know when I'll get to this game, but so many people have said great things. I just have to find time to play this when my wife is no where around to even hear this game. Vulgar and offensive and also something that makes my wife roll her eyes? Well, maybe I'll be able to play it on the laptop in bed with headphones while trying to keep the volume from disturbing the wife. Maybe I won't ever get to play this...

I'll edit this post later with a 10-to-1 listing with explanations (and honorable mentions) but, for the time being, here's my list for tabulation:

Spoiler:

1. Hearthstone (PC)
2. Wolfenstein: The New Order (360)
3. Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)
4. Transistor (PC)
5. Dark Souls 2 (360)
6. Desert Golfing (iOS)
7. Hoplite (iOS)
8. Ascension: Darkness Unleashed (iOS)
9. Rusty's Real Deal Baseball (3DS)
10. Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

10. Gone Home
I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of Gone Home. It's a brief experience, but one where you're never sure what is around the next turn, or through the next door, nor what ultimately lays in wait at the games conclusion. It is, as I mentioned, a short game, as even with a cautious approach with attention to the smallest of details I saw the credits roll in 3 hours. The game carried a real tension, for me, with the house casting shadows whilst creaking under the weather affects of a storm. All the while being unable to ascertain whether or not you are actually alone, nor how the tale may end.

9. Bioshock
I spent 28 hours with Bioshock, most of which I was enthralled with. There was a section prior to the end game where I fell off the horse and could not motivate myself to get back on. I managed to get through the muddy moments and I am glad that I did, because either side was an experience I thoroughly enjoyed (as I played to free the little sisters) with an ending that is burned into my memory. The gameplay was solid, if of a tried and tested method. The world and the characters were absolutely amazing. The atmosphere of Rapture and the charisma of Andrew Ryan are not to be understated. I was a fan of the collectible character logs that filled in the backstory of Rapture and its citizens. Listening to them was always a pleasure as they helped colour the world and bring it to life.

8. Super Mario 3D World
Perhaps I went in expecting too much. Perhaps playing 3D World directly after another excellent platformer (that ranks higher up on this list) hindered its impact. I found it too easy and ran out of steam with my original playthrough in a quest to unlock a more challenging difficulty. The presentation is top notch. Great visuals. Great artwork. Great music. Great level design. But for all of that it still failed to hook me. My favorite moments were the Captain Toad levels. 3D World was a real let down, in part due to those lofty expectations, as it was one of the games I went out and purchased a Wii U to play. It still makes the cut, but for a game I envisioned as running away with my GOTY award, it fell well short.

I have returned to 3D World recently, with a more managed expectation, and a hankering for co-op to expand the experience. I am having a better time with it this go around.

7. Batman: Arkham City
Mark me down as a huge fan of Arkham Asylum. It ranked #3 on my GOTY 2013 list. I was excited for Arkham City and it did not disappoint. It opened up the world a lot more, but not so much so that it derailed what is best experience as a focused tale. I did traverse the city. I did knock a few side missions on the head. Yet I never found either to distract from the main story, in fact they helped to flesh out the world and the tale that was playing out. It lacked the initial wide eyed amazement that Asylum had, but the gameplay remained on point and the lore of the Batman universe was as intriguing as ever. It simply did not innovate enough to better its predecessor.

6. Shovel Knight
I loved every moment of Shovel Knight. The boss battles are epic. The levels are creative and unique. The music is very good. The gameplay feels nostalgic, but it is really so much more than what it has been inspired by. Different suits of armor. Shovel upgrades. Feats to accomplish. And a lovely little tale that is simple and oft tread, yet it has merit and hits home nonetheless. It's a game that shall not see anywhere close to the playtime that the titles above have already garnered, and may continue to garner, thus I cannot place it ahead of them.

5. Child of Light
A charming tale with equally charming characters. The protagonist, Aurora, is awesome. She has a resolve that cannot be quashed. The battle meter added a unique twist to the gameplay, one that I appreciated. Each character had a personality and traits of their own that they brought to the table. The music was enchanting. The art style, beautiful. It wasn't a difficult game, but the boss battles had their moments. There were instances in the game where I was cheering with Aurora, as well as those where my heart went out to her. The poetic nature of the dialogue bothered some. I found it different, but never in a detrimental way. It didn't exactly add to the experience, but I don't feel that it hurt the journey either.

4. Destiny
If this were based solely on hours played, Destiny would be the reigning champion. The minute to minute gameplay is some of the best to be found anywhere. I have played many a game with friends, some of which I've only been back in regular contact with due to Destiny. The story and the lore left a lot to be desired, but the worlds are amazing to look upon and to traverse. Destiny may have ranked higher if not for the recent decision taken by Bungie to rectify their limited scope for the future of Destiny. I have had a prolonged break from Destiny since the DLC went live and I feel better for it. I cannot, though, ignore the joy I experienced whilst playing Destiny up until that time. I shall return, it's too good of a game to ignore. I simply think it best to see how the game evolves before jumping back into the fray.

3. Resogun
The best exclusive on PS4 that is not a remastered re-release. It is the game that made me wish I owned a PS4 prior to the fact. The visuals are great. The gameplay is top notch. Quick. Varied. Responsive. Addictive. The DLC added some superb new game modes that really broaden what Resogun has to offer. The base game alone is well worth the cost, and could see hundreds of hours in return. The DLC really is great, though, and well worth the asking price. For those who like shoot-'em-ups, and those who enjoy jostling for position on leaderboards (whether globally or between friends) it should not disappoint. It certainly lived up to my expectations and then some. I can see myself playing Resogun until the day my PS4 is retired.

2. Mario Kart 8
This would be the winner if not for one other title that really clicked with me and reignited my love for gaming at a time when it appeared to be on the wane, and caught me somewhat out of left field on an impulse. Mario Kart 8, nor any other title can compete with that accolade. But, what Mario Kart 8 can do is claim to be the closest in challenging for that crown. I played through every track in single player, first at 50cc, then at 100cc and finally the challenge-tastic 150cc. I claimed three stars in each cup. I took on and bested every Nintendo ghost in time trials. I then turned my gaze to Mirror Mode, and that was a real kicker, but a rewarding one.

I have played a lot online and in local multiplayer. The game never gets old and the fun never ceases. My wife adores the game. My best friend seems to have a soft spot for it, too. The battle mode is rather lackluster and hinders an otherwise flawless game. The first DLC pack has added a lot of content for the price of an adequately priced lunch. This is another game I can see myself playing for years to come.

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Overall, I loved everything about the game. It's rare that I complete any game, which is testament to just how good Tropical Freeze actually is. The level design is amazing. The controls are fantastic. The art style and the unforgettable musical score are a beauty to behold. It stands as one of my all-time favorite games across all generations, without question.

Tropical Freeze is my defining reason for owning a Wii U. As I mentioned above, it caught me at a time when my love for gaming appeared to be on the decline, and it was a real surprise, too. I remember seeing a preview online followed by a reasonable price at a trusted retailer whilst browsing for other titles. The preview looked good and Donkey Kong reminded me of better times, and that was enough. It arrived promptly and brought a splash of colour to my black and white world. I played for long periods. I played frequently. I hunted out every puzzle piece. I achieved every KONG letter. I toppled every K level! I would replay levels just to gaze upon the beauty of the artwork and take in the memorizing musical score one more time. My wife watched intently and would show her scorn if I decided to play without informing her that I would be doing so. She even started her own save file, only to be humbled by the difficulty. It's the game that just kept on giving. It didn't disappoint me in a single area. I would pre-order a sequel right now. I will buy whatever Retro develop next. I also think David Wise is a musical genius. I think it's clear to see that I'm a fan of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze!

Honorable Mention(s)

Bastion
It was an enjoyable game. The gameplay was good. The artwork was magnificent. The narrator was excellent, as too the music. The story was okay. I'm glad I played Bastion, but with hindsight it has not held up as well as I had originally considered. The characters were interesting and the different weapons were a joy to experiment with. It simply hasn't lingered in my thoughts as other games have.

  1. Escape Goat 2
  2. Hexcells Infinite
  3. Hotline Miami
  4. Risk of Rain
  5. Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal
  6. Sunless Sea
  7. Banished
  8. Tetrobot & Co.
  9. Wasteland 2
  10. Steamworld Dig