I'm curious what other people's GOTY's are and your thoughts on this year as a whole. it's been a pretty uneventful year to me, having only played 7 games from 2014 and Threes being my favorite.
huh..................... Diablo III: Reaper of Souls i guess. I mean it turned around a shit game and made it descent. Nothing spectacular. Other than that the only games i played are Left Behind which is good and Dark Souls II which i hate with a passion. That's it.
The only game i can see myself buying for the rest of the year is Civ: Beyond Earth and even that i'm not sure about anymore. I may have burnt myself on Civ by playing way too much Civ 5 this year.
In any case none of these games compare favorably to my favorites of previous years. Last year alone had 3 games that made it on my top 10 list of favorite games from the generation, 2 in the top 5 and even a fourth one that would probably be number 11 on the list.
2014 is as forgettable as it gets for me. I can't think of a single more disappointing year since... ever.
I haven't loved a lot of what I've played this year. Plenty of stuff was fun. Nothing was disappointing. However, nothing stands out as incredible yet. The Unreal Tournament 4 pre-alpha is better than most full games.
Kerbal Space Program is my most played game this year, and it's Early Access and not from this year. I'm not saying this year sucks, but it's definitely not a stand-out year. The new Civ game is my most anticipated game this year.
For me, Titanfall. I feel like every other post I've made to this forum this year has been about Titanfall. To repeat what I've said countless times, it's one of the most balanced multiplayer games I've ever played. I've put around 370 hours into it so far and I still play it daily (although not as much). The free updates to the game that have added new game modes and improved the balance have also kept the game fresh for me. I feel like a lot of people only scratched the surface of it because there were few unlocks and it feels a lot like Call Of Duty in the beginning. The games depth isn't in tonnes of unlocks but in the improvement on the vast majority of things you can do with movement both as a pilot and a Titan. The game is all about efficiency. As a pilot, it is about movement efficiency. Sprinting everywhere is not an efficient way to get around. The game encourages you to wallrun and wall hop by making them faster actions than sprinting. As you get better at learning routes around the map that reduced the amount you sprint, you can start to run flags in under 30 seconds easily. It's an interesting system where the reward for learning it is better than any weapon unlock would be. As for the Titans, I would compare the Titan Combat to Dota. It's lane based (not explicitly) and much like Dota, winning lanes is a priority. Lane victories allow Titans to gank (like Dota). It's rarely about the Titan with the larger amount of health wearing down the other. As a Titan, you are given several options in a fight and careful management of those resources can turn a 2 vs 1 situation into a victory.
Shovel Knight, easily. Wolfenstein: The New Order is the runner up, it is also an excellent game. But man, Shovel Knight is really good. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a 2D action-platformer should pick that up, or anyone who just enjoys good games in general.
I haven't played a ton of games that came out this year, and I'm waiting for Dragon Age before I decide my GOTY, but right now my favorites have been Titanfall, Wolfenstein and Dead Rising 3 (PC).
Dark Souls II. Even though I think it is extremely disappointing and I have no interest in revisiting it. Honestly, this year has sucked for AAA and indie games. The main reoccurring theme to me has been disappointment. Dark Souls II, MGSV:GZ, Titanfall, Watch Dogs, Destiny. All have been disappointing for one reason or another. Watch Dogs was by far the worst. I think I might actually hate that game. I haven't played an indie games that really grabbed me. Granted, I haven't played Shovelknight which I hear is great, but what I have played has been just alright. Hope next year is better.
dark souls 2 has such a hold over me... to the point that I lost interest in other games that I was looking forward to playing. Its been years since the last time I had this happen to me.
It's a fistfight to the death between Wolfenstein, Jazzpunk and LUFTRAUSERS.
All have such a tight hold over my heart. I guess Wolfenstein will come out on top, purely because of how endearing and surprising that game was for me.
I think Titanfall. It's the new game I've had the most fun with so far this year. If Forza Horizon 2 is as good as the last one or if Shadow of Mordor is as cool as it looks they will easily unseat it though. Sunset Overdrive also looks amazing.
This year's gonna be tough. Wolfenstein: The New Order, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Divinity: Original Sin have been my favorites so far. Dark Souls 2 was also excellent, as was The Wolf Among Us. Other games coming out I'm waiting on are LotR: Shadow of Mordor, Civilization: Beyond Earth, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. It's been a helluva year for sure.
as weird as it may sound I'm actually thinking Destiny...
I even said how the game seemed very generic and uninspired before, then watched the ps3 version QL and decided to give it a try.
maybe it's because I went in with really low expectations after everything that had been said about it but God damn I'm loving it, can't remember the last time I was this hooked in a game.
I like how misterious the story is, leaves a lot to your imagination, and the action is pretty fucking solid, strikes are intense and fun as hell.
I guess it's South Park for now. Smash Bros. is going to overtake it pretty easily though if I don't miss my guess. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax may as well.
It's very close between Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze and Hearthstone. I want to pick the former but I think it might be the later. I dunno. I've fallen off Hearthstone recently after SSB4 started leaking a few weeks ago. SSB4 I'm going to super enjoy I think but it won't be Game of the Year because, unlike DKC Tropical Freeze, it doesn't have Dixie Kong in it.
Transistor, because apparently I'm the only one who wasn't disappointed by it and thought it was better than Bastion.
I liked Transistor a lot. The art was great, the combat was very fun, and the story was told in an interesting way even though, in the end, I think it fell a little flat. I beat it twice and got the platinum. I can see how it would be someone's game of the year, but in the end the short length and the unsatisfying narrative kept it from being mine. I will say, however, that while I very much like Transistor I still prefer Bastion. The Stranger's narration, that gorgeous hand drawn art putting itself together before your eyes, mixed with tight action and great music too? Transistor is a very good game but Bastion is something special. A classic.
No other game this year comes close to Titanfall for me. It makes me smile just thinking about that game. Bayonetta seems like the only game yet to release that could knock it off my top spot. I'd love to be surprised by any of the games I plan on getting before the end of the year though.
2014 is as forgettable as it gets for me. I can't think of a single more disappointing year since... ever.
Pretty much the exact same thing is said at pretty much the exact same time every year. There's been a number of great games already released this year and there are still quite a few heavy hitters to come. It's also pretty rare to get even two phenomenal games in a year.
@hunkulese: I'm pretty sure i know what i like and don't like and in better position than you to judge if a year is disappointing or not for me.
Edit: Eh, maybe this sound overly antagonistic. It's great if there are plenty of games you liked this year but i didn't say this is the most disappointing year for me lightly. I've put plenty of thought into it and there really are no other years going as far back as 1990 that have had fewer games i've liked. I know, i have a list on the site for this purpose.
Divinity for me. It has its problems, but holy cow is that combat great. Divinity with a buddy is even better. Kentucky Route Zero is also worth a mention. It isn't finished, but each act is pretty much its own thing anyways, and Act 3 is fantastic.
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