Honorable Mentions

Day Z: Due to it being a mod, I don’t really feel comfortable giving this game a spot on my list, but damn if I didn’t love it. Sunk a lot of time into this game over the summer. It was really unlike anything I’ve ever played before. If only the game was polished up and made specifically for that purpose, I think it could be something even better.

Mass Effect 3: I’m putting this on here because I thought it was actually a pretty decent game, and I don’t think it deserves the hate everyone has given it. I will say it was disappointing in many ways. So, I actually really liked it, but I don’t think it deserves a spot on the list.

10. The Playing-Old-Games-Cause-I’m-Poor Game

I've played a ton of old games this year. I started off in January playing Twilight Princess, which I thought was pretty good. Not great, but good. The beginning of the spring semester was taken up by some really great co-op in Dead Island, and a returning addiction to Gears of War multiplier. Somehow I found myself throwing away the first month of summer break by playing more Minecraft then I thought I'd play in the entirety of my life. Then, later in the summer, I rediscovered the awesome game that is Starcraft II.

Lastly, do you know what's awesome? Old 8-bit and 16-bit games. I get a sudden returning fascination with older games almost once a year, but this year it lead me down an awesome path. I bought a Genesis and a ton of old games, and I finally beat Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario World for the very first time. A lot of this year has been spent rediscovering old gems, and I can honestly say I wouldn't mind if I was only able to play old games for a while. And man, the old music is just fucking amazing. I could listen to old video game music forever. In fact, here's a cool little website for those of you who also love old game music.

9. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Oh...Oh GOD! WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING! HOW IS THIS ON MY TOP 10! Well, Zombies, that’s why. Most years I get to the third for fourth prestige in multiplayer, and I've only gotten to level 32 this year. That’s because it’s just the same old boring shit. Yeah, there’s some new stuff in there, but I’m just so sick of the same old thing again and again every year. I usually only get it because my friends do, and this year I was strongly against getting it...but I gave in. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed...with the Zombies mode that is. The campaign is utterly terrible, and the choices are just stupid. I played through it on Veteran to get the achievements, and I couldn't wait until it was over.

I know many people don’t like the Zombies mode, but it’s really the only redeeming thing about CoD anymore. I've gotten hours and hours of enjoyment out of it, and it’s actually the only thing my friends and I play anymore. It’s a great multiplayer game, and I honestly wouldn't mind if they just threw away everything else about the CoD games and just focused on the Zombies mode.

8. Spelunky

THIS GAME IS HARD AS FUCK! AND I LOVE IT! It actually may have made it further up the list if I was actually able to play more of it, but how the fuck am I supposed to unlock the shortcut to the last area...I mean, that’s fucking impossible.

7. Dyad

This game fucks your head, but in a good way. Just a crazy mix of music and flashing lights that takes all of your concentration to the point of becoming physically exhausted after playing.

6. Trials Evolution

I have one stupid achievement left to get in this game...and I bet I’ll never get it now that I haven’t played it for a while. Another game that is hard as fuck, but extremely satisfying. I could probably play new Trials tracks forever and never get bored.

5. Fez

I was so busy with school that I haven’t finished the videos of me playing this game, but I love it. I actually really like it without all the crazy complex puzzle solving stuff in the new game plus, but that stuff just makes it that much better. I probably would have had it further up on my list if I played it when it first came out and everyone was trying to figure the thing out, but I’m still having a great time with it.

4. The Walking Dead

You’ll find my criticism here. Even though that’s mostly negative thoughts, I still really liked the game. Episode 2 was one of the best story experiences I've ever had in any game, and even though it ended up disappointing me, it is still worthy of being pretty high on my list this year.

3. Hotline Miami

This game is just fun. It’s just awesome fun. Not to mention it has the best soundtrack of the year. I would also say it’s more psychedelic than Dyad with its serial killer/mob story on 10 different drugs.

2. Borderlands 2

This is the only retail release on my list other than CoD. That’s probably because I don’t have money to buy many games, but it’s also because I just haven’t been excited about many games this year. I think it’s been a pretty weak year for the big Triple A titles, but I actually think that’s a good thing in some ways.

Borderlands 2 could have been better. It improved upon the first game, but didn't change much. That being said, Borderlands was an awesome game, and I was ready for more Borderlands this year. It stands out above the rest in a weak year.

1. Journey

My game of the year is Journey because it does something no game has ever done before. It uses the interaction unique to video games to create an unbelievably dramatic and intense interpersonal experience without even allowing words to be spoken between the people communicating and interacting. Journey must be played with someone else to really understand why it’s such an amazing game. If you didn't play Journey with a co-op partner, then you didn't play Journey. On your own, Journey is a visually and musically beautiful game that uses its art and simplicity to create a relaxing experience in a world that can’t help but be explored. On your own, Journey is a fantastic advancement on the abstract ideas of That Game Company’s previous game Flower. On your own, Journey is a great game.

With another player, however, Journey becomes something much more. It becomes an experience of companionship unlike any I have ever felt before. Journey uses its restrictions on communication and drop in/drop out multiplayer to make you feel like you’re actually exploring this world with someone else. That other person being there really draws you into the world and the exploration, and the lack of communication options actually deepens the relationship in an extremely odd way. Climbing up the mountain at the end of Journey and reaching the climactic ending with a companion who stuck with me during the duration of the game was something I have never felt in a game before. We had only been playing this game for a few hours, and we never spoke a single word to one another, yet there was this awesome feeling of companionship and teamwork that I would never have had when playing with even a close friend.

That is the best way I can think of to describe Journey at this time. It’s really hard to convey what is truly special about Journey with words on a page. It’s simply something that needs to be experienced. In what I consider a weak year, Journey stands out as one of the best games I've played in the past 5...probably one of the best I've EVER played. Yeah, I said it. FUCK YOU!

Games I did not play that may have made it had I played them if I wasn't a poor college student: X-Com, Mark of the Ninja, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed III, Halo 4, Far Cry 3, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Tokyo Jungle, Hitman: Absolution