2014 ended up being another year for me where I didn’t play a lot of video games. Whether or not I actually had that space available to me this year was besides the point, I did a lot of personal things that I’ve wanted to get done, and even found myself going back to school for something I’ve always been interested in.

Because of this, a lot of my time in gaming was just to have something to sit down and play without getting too deep into it’s narrative or characters. I could bring myself to get invested in the lore of something… Frankly I think a lot of game’s stories were really bad this year. Aiden Pierce having zero redeeming quality, Destiny basically being written by children, And the disconnect I have with going from terrorism suspect to leader of an Inquisition in Dragon Age.

I just.. I didn’t care this year.

So in all likelihood my tops list is all about the playing experience than any narrative that a video game is trying to accomplish.

7. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker

Case and point, the first game on this list. Captain Toad is nothing more than a collection of new stages based off those side stages in Super Mario 3D world. The very concept of them then, was enough for me to constantly think about how Captain Toad needs to be it’s own game.

What would you classify this game as? Puzzle? Platformer? Maze game? Whatever it is, it’s an absolutely engaging experience that keeps you going from one stage to the next.

6. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

I played a serious amount of this game when it was released on the PS4. Which is technically unfair to say because I was already playing a serious amount of it on the PS3. But the game really opened up for me this year as I’ve had a lot more friends playing it, which only improved my experience so much more.

I’ve never been much of an MMO player considering the last one I’ve played was FFXI it’s fair to say that I was going to heavily favour FFXIV as my next big online game. Though I’m somewhat of an apologist for version 1. A realm reborn is an amazing experience that rivals WoW. the class system is smart, the dungeons fantastic, and it has some of the most memorable boss fights and side quests that I’ve experienced this year.

5. Wolfenstein: The New Order

I haven’t actually played a Wolfenstein game since the original Wolfenstein 3D, so I’ve never experienced a lot of supposed caveats that one would have with the franchise as a whole. ( Or what I hear about them, I guess?) What I love about Wolfenstein is it’s focus on being a single player experience with tremendous level design. Characters that aren’t ridiculous caricatures of Nazi stereotypes, helped realize the world that it was trying to create. The whole presentation from top to bottom was absolutely fascinating.

I’m not really big on shooters these days, probably due to what feels like an over-saturated market. but it’s been the best argument for a single player experience I’ve ever seen in a long time, and an even better argument for how a modern Wolfenstein game should be done.

4. Banished

I put a serious amount of thought into whether or not I should buy the latest SimCity game. I kept being on an off over the idea, to the point where I almost bought it if not for a problem I encountered with a gift card and for some reason the purchase would never happen.

Before I eventually made that purchase, Banished became the answer to scratching that itch, and probably gives SimCity a run for it’s money. Managing and growing a town full of outcast travellers became an engaging chore, a lot of the problems I would encounter for a dying town felt so petty, but in a way that was absolutely realistic. Though there were many times that I thought everyone in the village would die, there was a little ray of hope and suddenly civilization was back to thriving.

That push and pull of everything being fine and then suddenly not, really grabbed me in a way that I would not stop playing a session until everybody was happy again.

5. Mario Kart 8

Top it off with a fairly solid online experience, and I found myself playing this game a lot. Tracks are built amazingly well and novel, even from slight remixes older ones. DLC also breathes longevity into the game in a way that they’re not just selling you a bill of goods. Tracks especially based off of other Nintendo Franchises are absolutely fascinating and worth the price alone.

It's an extremely well done Mario Kart game, that keeps the momentum of the 'Kart racer' going a little while longer.

2. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/ Wii U

I’m bundling these two together because regardless of the platform it is essentially the same game aside from some modes and stages. Being a long time fan of the franchise I guess it’s not that big of a surprised to have this game so high on my list, but if it wasn’t for the highly improved online mode I’m sure it would have been a forgettable experience.

Single handedly the online breathes life into the game that makes me care about it again, and new characters from the roster makes me deviate from picking the same two over and over again. Though a bit of the roster is also quite questionable as it feels like it has a problem with adding too much from the same franchises it’s not a deterrent because the roster is quite huge to begin with.

It’s a party game, a fantastic party game, and one I’m going to keep playing for (hopefully) years to come.

1. Hyrule Warriors

Though a bit ham-fisted Dynasty Warriors is definitely a gameplay concept that can be befitting for a Zelda game. Having not just Link, but OTHER characters of the franchise being playable tickles me in a way that has kept me playing it. If not (Most Importantly) for the Ability to play as Ganondorf.

Really, If I ever imagined a game where Ganondorf would be a playable character this is definitely the number one thing that comes to mind.

It’s packed with egregious amounts of mind numbing stuff, but considering my year, this is exactly the kind of thing I needed in a video game. It’s crazy, It’s hard to recommend something in which the popular opinion is super indifferent. Yet, I can’t recommend it enough as a game that makes me think, what can we do differently with the Zelda franchise, and how can we make it work?

Best Music: The Neumond recordings in Wolfenstein: The New Order.

If you were going to ask me what would take this category on merit alone, I would have been convinced it was Drakengard 3’s soundtrack. But as a way to help realize the world of The New Order, the team went out of their way to create songs to make the world so much more realized.

The very idea that they looked at music that was popular in the era and thought about what the Nazi-Germany equivalent would be is absolutely fascinating, and it was a soundtrack that stuck with me for most of the year.

Bad Game that I found a way to enjoy: Watch_Dogs

It’s bad. I mean, it’s not offensively bad, but I couldn’t find myself enjoying it as much as I have GTAV or Sleeping Dogs. playing this game felt especially boring after coming away from GTAV, and there was so much about it that bummed me out.

Maybe, if the game made a stronger case for hacking it would have been an interesting game that could take the open world into cool direction, but so much of it fell flat.

That being said, as some point I found myself enjoying the game through the PS4’s share functionality, and I created fun for myself in the form of incredibly dumb youtube videos that have no-one but myself to tickle the funny bone. So in a way, yes Watch_Dogs is really bad, but thanks to PS4 share, it became so bad it’s good. so thanks for that #PS4share.

Biggest Disapointment: The Evil Within

Sure, I could giggle at all the parallels to Resident Evil that I’m pretty sure this game wasn’t trying to make, but that just wasn’t enough. The gameplay wasn’t fun, the characters were terrible and the narrative never made any cohesive sense. If Shinji Mikami was trying to return to his roots, he seemed to have forgotten was his roots were and the end product wasn’t even something you could call a poor man’s Resident Evil 4.

But you know, It makes Resident Evil 6 look pretty good.

Delightful Surprise: Terra Battle

I never even realized that Mistwalker was taking time focusing on phone games. I’m not even sure how I stumbled upon it in the first place, but wow! It’s a fascinating concept of Puzzle and strategy that progressively gets challenging in a way that makes you think about the strategy you need to win, and along the way you learn tricks from your own skill level which makes you play faster and smarter.

I recommend this game based solely on the principle that once Terra Battle gets 2 million downloads, they will create a console game based on the lore. I’d be curious to see them reach that goal, if only because I want to see if they’ll make gameplay that is just as intiative and engaging.

How come nobody told me about this? (2014’s 2013): Rogue Legacy

Technically a game that came out this year because of it’s release on the PS4, but it also technically isn’t, because it’s just a port that doesn’t really change anything from the original release.

I wish I played this sooner though, because holy crap!

The controls are so tight and responsive that not a lot of games accomplish these days. Dodging enemies and traps were so exhilarating to the experience. The very idea that every generation of your bloodline is a different way to play, and spending money at the beginning of every generation to see what you can unlock is enough to hook you into another run. It’s these qualities that made playing addictive all the way to finishing the game.

Why isn’t there an english version of this yet? Pictlogica

Seriously. If you looked at my GOTY list from last year, you know that the entire thing was really a front for the Picross e series on the 3DS. While you can easily download Pictlogica from the App store anyway, it really doesn’t change the fact that I have no real understanding on what the game is.

I mean yes, it’s part Picross and part turn based FF game, that I’m find with and played a lot of it, but I’m pretty sure that’s only 20% of the game. I think it’s in Squenix’s best interest to release an english version, even if there is an incredibly niche market for it. Heck I could probably argue for this in a way that most people would argue for Yakuza 5.

But it is what it is, and even though it’s not in english it has enough going on that doesn’t stop me from playing what I’ve lightly come to understand about it.

Best Character: Edea Lee

I’m really happy that I’ve had the chance to play Bravely Default. I don’t think that it’s got a strong story, but it definitely has a beautiful presentation and it’s delightful to play. But when I think of this game, only one thing really comes to mind and that is one of the party members Edea Lee.

Possibly the BEST voice acting performance that game had to offer as the Justice-Bent Stubborn-Minded, Edea was totally brought to life in a way that I couldn’t help but enjoy. and definitely stood out as the most interesting character in the game.

Most Memorable Moment: Titan Extreme (FFXIV)

I can’t really say that I love these kinds of things in MMOs. fighting a boss and being done with it is going enough for me, and I really don’t like going out of my way to fighting a harder version of it, (especially if I didn’t like that boss in the first place.) But this year I was willing to get suckered into doing Titan Extreme in FFXIV, and though it was an incredibly painful experience from top to bottom, when we finally pulled it off and beat his ass, I’ve never felt so relieved in my entire life. If only you could have heard the skype call as Titan was delivered the final blow, biggest/best moment out of anything 2014.