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Dark Souls was the game this year that I completely lost myself in. Despite some unfortunate technical shortcomings (framerate) there were a number of reasons why Dark Souls appealed to me so much. The combat is one of the best around, being both strategic and visceral. The design work is incredible, from the look of the equipment to the characters and enemies you encounter to the layout of the world and the locations you visit. The challenge is also a great part of Dark Souls and it wouldn't be the same without it. It literally makes you afraid to progress and there's such a sense of dread when the stakes are as high as they are and you have no idea what could be around the next corner. Atmosphere is an aspect of games that extremely important to me and Dark Souls has this in spades.
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Even though Battlefield 3 isn't the complete package I was hoping for, the multiplayer alone (best enjoyed with friends) is enough to make up for any shortcomings in the campaign or co-op. The gunplay is solid, the unlock system is deep and the chaos that ensues when you have dozens of players fighting over a control point is fantastic. It successfully pulled me away from Call of Duty's multiplayer and I expect to keep playing it long into 2012.
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I played Witcher 2 fairly late in the year (I didn't have a PC capable of playing it in its full glory when it launched) and it completely blew me away. The world is incredibly well realized and though it's still based in a fantasy world, it's much darker than usual with many shades of grey. Decisions are not cut and dry and will make you think long and hard about what you should do. It's also the best looking game I've ever played.
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For the first few days of playing Skyrim I was completely absorbed in the world. The vast amount of things to do and places to explore was staggering. There are certainly aspects that I wish had been handled better, primarily melee combat and some of the AI but it's a game I intend to return to as I still have a lot left to see.
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The first CG trailer sold me on this game immediately...then the following months of gameplay footage lowered my expectations drastically. Thankfully the final game ended up coming as close to the living up to the original Deus Ex as I think any modern game could. The choices you're given in approaching any situation and the awesome cyber-punk world were my favourite parts of this game. That and reading every single god-damn email I could get my hands on.
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A standalone expansion for my favourite RTS game of all time, Retribution offered a pretty robust singleplayer that was playable by any of the 6 races and continued to add to the great Last Stand and Competitive multiplayer. As much as I enjoyed Retribution though I think it's time Relic showed us something on Dawn of War 3
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For me, Portal 2 was completely about the characters and the writing. The puzzles themselves were clever and mostly fun but it was Wheatley, GlaDos and Cave Johnson who made Portal 2 so memorable
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Bastion probably would not have ended up on this list if it weren't for the soundtrack..specifically 1 song on that soundtrack. The part of the game that you hear it created a moment for me and it propelled Bastion past being just a beautiful, solid, action game with a clever narration mechanic.
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Before playing it I expected Uncharted 3 to be much higher on this list, however despite being an amazing graphic showcase, packed with action set pieces, quiet contemplative moments and character backstory..it didn't have the impact on me that Uncharted 2 did. I also found myself frustrated quite often with the mechanics of the game and seeing the next cutscene became my primary incentive for playing.
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I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Space Marine. Relic is one of my favourite developers but it was unknown territory for them. It was a very fun, balls-out action game with awesome, bloody combat, a decent story, and fun multiplayer. I just wish the levels hadn't felt quite so empty a lot of the time and that there were more RPG-mechanics added in.
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