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Perhaps my biggest surprise of the year. Nothing leading up to this game's release made me think I would like it as much as I did. Bleak setting, bleak protagonist, knock-off gameplay mechanics. In actuality everything about it was done so well and meshed together so completely that it was absolutely enjoyable from minute 1 to the very end. The nemesis system is perhaps the most promising thing i've seen to come out of this new generation, and no other game in a long time has made me feel like such an unstoppable whirlwind of destruction.
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I'm one of those weird people who enjoyed Dragon Age 2 quite a bit. Not for the gameplay or level design, but the characters and the story and how much it made me care about them and about what happened. This game is absolutely better from a gameplay perspective, and nearly reaches the same highs where characters are concerned. There are a few issues that were hard to get around, and hardware incompatibility made the first week almost unplayable for me until I found a workaround, but if this is representative of Bioware's offerings going forward then I will continue to be a fan of this series for a long time.
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I hated Far Cry 3. Not for any gameplay problems, but because the characters were just so completely unlikeable in every respect. This game fixes that problem, and while the story isn't anything to write home about the gameplay and exploration is still just as enjoyable. Pagan Min is Handsome Jack done correctly.
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South Park's style and brand of humor combined with a completely enjoyable RPG. As a fan of the show, exploring the town and interacting with the characters and all the little references was fantastic. As a fan of RPGs the combat was never a chore, the progression was well-done, and the pace and level design was well managed. They really pulled it off with this game.
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It's hard to make a follow-up to my favorite game of all time. Dark Souls 2 was a valiant effort, but various little things stuck out and kept this game from rising to the original's heights. Nevertheless it was an altogether fantastic experience going into it blind and discovering how to survive along the way, and I greatly anticipate whatever From Software will come out with next.
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I've never been very good at games like Metal Slug or Contra. This game managed to take the side-scrolling aesthetic of those while adding in mission-based progression in a semi-open world environment. Add in the gun crafting system and it has all I need to lose dozens of hours in. This game was also on my 2013 list, but the time I spent with all the new content added upon the official release in 2014 I think qualifies it for a second appearance.
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A fun little puzzle game with an open world and a charming story. Outside of one irritating character the humor was always right on spot and never outstayed its welcome, and the main conceit of the movement/puzzle system kept adding on additional mechanics to keep itself fresh for the entire runtime.
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I never played the original Wasteland, but the same origin that spawned Fallout is absolutely evident throughout all of this game. Tactics aren't exactly my area of expertise in games, but like XCom this game managed to simplify things enough to where I was never overwhelmed with what was going on. A bleaker setting than Fallout, but nonetheless just as enjoyable.
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My first Dynasty Warriors game, quite enjoyable. Perhaps if I had been playing all of them up to this point i'd be used to what it offers, but being new to it was a fun experience for me. PC version came out in 2014, which is where I played it.
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I haven't put much time into this as of writing this, but even from the few hours i've spent I can tell i'll lose quite a bit of time to this game. It has the same "just one more turn" that is Civilization's hallmark, while having enough mechanical differences and unique faction options to make it a whole new experience to explore.
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