Another year, Another GOTY List
And what a curious year it has been! 2014 won't stand out in my mind as the "greatest year of gaming", but it's definitely not been devoid of strong releases. We've been through some rough patches, for sure, but there's also been a lot of surprise and excitement. I've got to hand it to the indie devs this year, as they fill out more and more of my top 10 lists with their games. And now, standing at the verge of 2015, I could not be more excited for what the next year holds. There looks to be some killer games on the horizon, and I'm ever optimistic. But before that, let's knock out this GOTY as I recount my top 10 favourite games of this year.
10. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Let's start this list with a game I had no intention of buying way up to the release. I mean, c'mon, the Call of Duty series was starting to feel tired four games ago, right? And Ghosts demonstrated not only a lack of innovation, but also a drop in quality, right? How could this game be any different?
Oh, Kevin Spacey is the villain? And everyone is jumping around in supercharged moon shoes? And the game looks really pretty? Huh.
Aaaand I was dragged back in. Yeah, it's a Call of Duty game. But it's a damn good one.
I can't recall where I heard it, but I feel the comparisons to the original Modern Warfare are apt. This game feels like the biggest step forward for the series since Call of Duty 4, in that it pushes the FPS genre in a direction I hope others will follow. Simply maneuvering around in the exosuit, pulling of dumb tricks like smashing into enemies from above, was the most fun I have had in a multiplayer shooter in a long time. It just felt fresh, like nothing I'd ever tried before.
As for the campaign, I had a lot of fun with it. It's very linear, and quite short, but the presentation is excellent. As bizarre as it was to see digital Kevin Spacy giving me orders, he does a good job of not phoning it in. This feels like a Kevin Spacey performance, and the devs make good use of him. And did I mention how pretty the game looks? Between the smooth framerate, impressive set pieces, and cutscenes that look so good it almost looks real, it's a visual delight.
It's not all perfect, though. This time round the survival mode feels half-baked and entirely uninteresting. The multiplayer could really benefit from dedicated servers. And the game can't quite escape feeling like a Call of Duty game, for better or worse. But despite it's faults, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare gets my seal of approval and the tenth spot in my GOTY list.
9. The Walking Dead: Season Two
The first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead was my favourite game of 2012. So naturally the odds were going to be stacked against the second season. Did it live up to the original? Maybe not entirely, but I won't hold that against it. It was a bumpy road for season two, but a road definitely worth taking.
Though I enjoyed the first two episodes, I wasn't entirely on board with The Walking Dead: Season Two until episode 3. I guess until that point I just didn't know if I was happy with Clementine being the main character. Whether or not she could stand by herself, without Lee. But episode 3 illustrated not only the strength of Clementines character, but also the supporting cast. I won't give away any spoilers, but there's some excellent twists and turns throughout the season. Unfortunately, despite episode 3 being great, I felt episode 4 dropped the ball. Almost akin to episode 4 of the original season, it felt like a bridging episode between the much more impactful events of 3 and 5.
Speaking of, the finale to this game left me in tears. Something the original never quite managed to achieve. It's truly bittersweet, and a great sendoff to the characters Telltale's The Walking Dead has created. I'm not sure I'll be able to return to this series if it comes back, but know that it is not because I was disappointed with this season, but because I feel the finale poetically ended the game in a way I don't want to see continued upon. At any rate, The Walking Dead Season Two is absolutely worth playing for anyone who enjoyed the original, it it's my 9th favourite game of this year.
8. Far Cry 4
Despite it holding a high position in my favourite games of 2012, I don't remember Far Cry 3 with the fondest of memories. The PS3 version was mired with bugs and a shoddy framerate. While there was a lot to like about the way the game played, it was far too long and there wasn't enough variety in the environment. The story had a host of interesting and enigmatic characters, but did little with them. Enter Far Cry 4, a game that is very similar to its predecessor, but a game I found to be much more satisfying.
The basic design of Far Cry 4 is very reminiscent of Far Cry 3. You're still hunting animals, conquering outposts, climbing radio towers, and getting high of drugs whilst burning crop fields. I can understand where that might put some people off, but experiencing that type of gameplay on a consistent framerate felt refreshing. I'm sure it looked even better at 60 fps, but I was satisfied with a solid 30 on the PS4.
It's not all the same, though. The environment of Kyrat provides a much more interesting and varied landscape to explore, and most of the time it's stunning to look at. The differences in verticality, though not as extreme as I initially thought they would be, give a sense of vastness that Far Cry 3 lacked. Aside from game world, the wilderness has also seem a revamp, further ensuring that you are never safe. Be it an eagle dive-bombing you, a demon fish taking bites out of you, or a rhino charging you, Kyrat is not messing around. If there is one complaint I have about the sandbox element of Far Cry 4, it's that much of the side content feels like a collect-a-thon. I only wish Ubisoft would design more dynamic missions that encouraged exploration, as opposed to ensuring I cover every inch of the map simply because you stuck a propaganda poster there.
Speaking to the story, I found it to be a mixed bag. On the one hand, I thought the new villain was excellently portrayed by Troy Baker, even if you don't see much of him. The backstory behind the main story is also very interesting, and a strong attempt at blurring the lines between what is right and wrong, good and evil. The two faction leaders you end up working for support this idea, even if it is a little hamfisted in its execution. The main part of the story I take issue with is the main character, who adds very little to the story and comes off as boring the vast majority of the time. And the game isn't devoid of enigmatic characters who do nothing for the story - similar to Far Cry 3.
Even still, I had a lot of fun with Far Cry 4. I might not recommend to those who have played Far Cry 3 already, but for those who haven't, you are missing out.
7. Wolfenstein: The New Order
Where did this game come from?
I guess I should have been more excited for this game, considering the people behind The Darkness were working on this. But still, what a nice surprise! What most struck me was the presentation and the story. It has a very distinct tone to this narrative, which could be jarring at times, but also came off as charming. The way it would transition between certain scenes, or the way the characters interacted, felt different compared to the other "blockbuster" video games out there. They also managed to make B.J. Blascowitz more than simply a generic, gruff solider.
In terms of the gameplay it was good, simple fun. I enjoyed that both stealth and action were viable routes you could take, though it was a little inconsistent in where you could and couldn't be stealthy. There's also nothing quite like running and gunning whilst double-weidling two automatic shotguns that fire shrapnel rounds. And there was some nice variety in the locations you visit, the likes of a giant Nazi facility, prison camps, and the freaking moon, to name a few.
I'm eager to see where the series goes on from here. Whether or not it's headed up by the MachineGames guys might decide my excitement, but nevertheless, a great entry into a series I've never quite gotten into.
6. Transistor
I have yet to finish Bastion. I'm not entirely sure why, as I can recognize that it is well made. I guess it just never hooked me. I did not have that problem with Transistor.
Transistor might be the best example of a game this year in which the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. No single element of Transistor blew me away, except maybe the soundtrack, but everything seemed to work in tandem to each other. The "vision" of the game was felt in the visuals, the sound design, the gameplay mechanics, the story, even the voice acting. Everything helps support this desolate, yet beautiful world SuperGiant Games have created.
It's not especially long or complex in it's gameplay, but I don't necessarily count that as negative. Transistor tells a story in all the time it needs, and no more. And if you're a completionist, the NG+ mode offers variations on enemies and powers to keep things interesting. Speaking of the powers, I really liked the way the narrative would open up as you used different powers. It gave incentive to use combos that might be out of your comfort zone, or you simply weren't aware of. It was an interesting way of tying the narrative to the mechanics, something I'd love to see more of.
Also, the music. Wow, the music. It's fantastic stuff, and I have found myself listening to the Transistor soundtrack well after I finished the game. Even if you never try the game, do yourself a favour and listen to the soundtrack.
5. This War of Mine
After I'd watch the fantastic trailer, and seen this game in a few other GOTY lists, I knew I would have to play This War of Mine before I made my top 10 list. And I'm glad I did.
This War of Mine tackles the survival genre, a genre that has quickly became over saturated in the past few years, in a way that manages to both be engaging and atmospheric. This is a game that I didn't necessarily have "fun" with, but I wasn't meant to. This War of Mine is meant to be stressful, frustrating, sometimes scary and always depressing. More than any other survival game I have played, it made me feel worried about losing.
When I play Telltale's The Walking Dead, it may be equally as good at setting a tone, but never do I feel like my choices will prevent me from having a satisfying conclusion to the narrative. When I play Don't Starve, I may die, but that death doesn't mean much and I'm always rewarding regardless. When I play DayZ, well, I don't, because the interface and systems in that game are clunky and hard to understand.
This War of Mine provides an experience where I mourn the loss of the characters not because they have complex backstories or dramatic deaths, but because it signified a failure on my end. Where I am driven to stealing and murdering because it's all I can do to survive. Where simply having a small surplus of supplies for a few days is one of the most satisfying feelings. Where, at the end, I can easily say it was one of the most memorable times I have had with a game this year.
4. Alien: Isolation
If you had told me that an Alien game would be in my top 5 games of this year, after I had named Aliens: Colonial Marines the worst game of 2013, I would have laughed in your face. And yet here we are. As if the universe was apologizing for the time and money I spent on Alien: Colonial Marines, we have been granted the best Alien game to date, and easily one of my favourite horror games.
If I could summarize all that makes Alien Isolation such a good game in a single phrase, it would be: attention to detail. Be it the lovingly crafted environments, the spectacular use of lighting and sound design - both very reminiscent of the original film, or even the look of the monster itself, Alien feels like a game set in the Alien universe. And when you are travelling through the many corridors, motion tracker in hand, you yourself feel like you are in that universe.
And holy crap, this game can be scary at times. After a quiet, atmosphere-building start, you eventually trigger what can only be called a hunt. Then, for a good portion of the rest the game, the Alien will forever be on your tail. When I caught onto the fact that the Alien is often stalking the areas you are in, and if you were to make a lot of noise it would appear, I became paranoid at every little noise I would hear coming from vents and walls. Perhaps the greatest triumph of the game is how intimidating it makes the creature. Compared to the broken bullet sponges that were the Aliens in Colonial Marines, this creature is gigantic and practically unstoppable. It truly feels like an Alien out of Ridley Scott's film.
Coupled with some really creepy-looking androids and the occasional human interaction, the game just has enough variety to sustain the many hours you will be playing it. My only concern is that they try to sequelize this concept, which I don't think would work very well at all. But as a single experience, Alien Isolation was a delight and is easily my favourite horror game of 2014.
3. The Wolf Among Us
If you caught any of my talk over in the discussion threads, you could probably tell this game was going to appear in my top 10 list as soon as the first episode released. Not only did The Wolf Among Us introduce me to my now favourite comic series, it is a fantastic interpretation of the series in video-game form and easily my favourite game Telltale has ever put out.
Even from the beginning, Episode 1 introduces you to the wonderfully bizarre premise of the Fables universe in a way that is understandable to newcomers and is great fanservice for those who have read the comics. The aesthetic is reminiscent of Telltale's other works, but there's so much more colour on offer here. The neo-noir atmosphere can be felt right down to the game's fantastic intro. I won't delve into spoilers, but from episode 1 and onward, you'll experience a great detective tale of mystery and deception, with a host of interesting characters.
Speaking of the characters, Telltale has done a great job of both surfacing characters that the comic fans with recognize, but also in creating new characters that fit right into that world. The voice acting is also superb, with small-time actor Adam Harrington providing a very believable performance as the main character, Bigby Wolf. The performance also changes with how you play the character, which is where the element of choice comes in. Rather than having drastic influence over the conclusion of the story, you instead have control over the character of Bigby Wolf. Whether or not you want to play good cop, bad cop, or somewhere inbetween. This gave all the episodes a nice level of replayablity, which made the long wait between episodes a little more bearable.
More than any other game on this list, I'm eager to see where this series goes. There's so many stories that could be told within the Fables universe, and I'd love to see more of them in video game form. Until then, I think I'll just replay The Wolf Among Us again.
2. Dark Souls II
For a while I toyed with whether or not I considered Dark Souls II to be disappointing. I have a tremendous amount of love for the original, it being one of my all time favourite games. And when I compare it to Dark Souls II, I probably favour the former just a little bit more. But when I think back to the time I had with the game, I can't hold that against it. It might not be the best game in the Souls series, but Dark Souls II is still an incredible game well worth it's place in my GOTY list.
First and foremost, the game is very similar to the original Dark Souls. The key differences will probably only be recognizable to those are familiar with the series. Some of those differences are for the better, others are not. The likes of being able to respec your character, or making other classes more viable in both PvE and PvP, or a more robust multiplayer, are all welcome changes to the Souls series that make playing the game much more enjoyable. That said, the narrative that is hidden behind item descriptions and character dialogue is a little too obscure and open to interpretation. The original Dark Souls allowed room for you to create your own theories about its world, but there was always enough context for you to be sure about those theories. With Dark Souls 2, it feels like there are gaps in the narrative that can't be filled in by the player, which is frustrating as someone who really likes those games for their story. Dark Souls II is also weaker in the boss department, in a situation where quantity does not equal a higher quality. Many of the bosses feel a little too similar, and as many people have pointed out, you will spend the game fighting a lot of human enemies wielding large weapons. The world design also falls a little short of the original. Both aesthetically, and in the way there is an over-reliance on fast travel.
I'm sure this is sounding pretty negative by now, but let me be clear, this is a Souls game. Meaning nothing compares to the amount of fun I had simply experimenting with the different weapons and powers, conquering that difficult boss after the umpteenth try, reading the various item descriptions as I tried to piece together the story, and then giving up and watching lore videos on Youtube. This remains one of my favourite series of games, and even if Dark Souls II is little weaker than the game that preceded it, I would take a Souls game over most other games I played this year.
1. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
If you had told me at the beginning of the year that the remake to The Binding of Isaac would be my favourite game of 2014, I would have believed you in a heartbeat. After spending 180 hours in the original, The Binding of Isaac was easily one of my favourite games of all time. Now, after playing the remake, I can safely say that Rebirth is better than the original in every single way.
I hesitate to even call it a remake, because that robs it of some credit. Between the 100+ new items, the new endings, the new bosses, the new challenges, the new characters, and even the seed mechanic, this feels like a new game. And it can't overstated how much the 60 fps benefits the game. I recently returned to the original, and I almost couldn't play it, it felt that bad. That said, the game isn't devoid of issues, unfortunately. With the secret character, in my opinion, being poorly designed. And there's still a handful of bugs that need to be ironed out. Aside from that, though, the game is a lot of fun. It's punishing, but that only makes it all the more satisfying when you can get a good combination of items that help you win the game. And in that regard, it's impressive how many items work off each other, creating a whole lot of crazy synergies for you to play around with.
I won't go on much longer about the game, as I've talked about the game to death in the discussion thread, but I'll say I had a blast with The Binding of Isaac, even more than I did with the original. If you were put off by Rebirth being a remake, you shouldn't be. This is a game well worth your time.
Honorable Mentions
There's a handful of games that I played this year that didn't appear on this list, that I did enjoy, but were just slightly edged out by the competition. I still think they're worth mentioning, though, so here they are.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax - Fun fighting game with a cool, if also fanservice-y, story mode.
Blazblue Chrono Phantasma - Another fun fighting game with a lot of content and an interesting cast of characters.
Trials Fusion - My first Trials game. Equally as satisfying as it is frustrating.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Worth mentioning for the nemesis system alone.
inFamous: Second Son - A very pretty inFamous game with a decent story and fun powers. Just a little too short.
Games I missed but will totally play later
There's also a handful of games I didn't get to this year, but I still intend on playing. Here they are.
The Fall - The quick look sold me on this game. I just need to play it!
Jazzpunk - Sounds really good, just not bought it yet.
Dragon Age: Inquisition - A friend is getting me it for Christmas, so I'll play it soon. Patrick's article made me want to play it.
LittleBigPlanet 3 - I'm a sucker for the LittleBigPlanet games. I look forward to trying out the create mode.
The Evil Within - I like horror games, so I should play this.
Lords of the Fallen - I like Souls games, so I should play this.
Closing Remarks
And that about does it for my GOTY list. It's been a good year, full of cool games. I'd also like to take the chance to express my thanks both to the site and its community. The site has provided a wealth of great content this year, and both Jason and Dan have been excellent additions to the staff. Community-wise I feel like I'm actually starting to fit in amongst the rest of you. Partaking in the chat whenever a live stream is on, or bumping into some familiar users whilst surfing the boards has been a lot of fun. I hope to stick with the site in the years to come, and maybe even make some good friends while I'm here. Until then, I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and I'll see you around in 2015. Thanks for reading.
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