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My 2014 in games

Year of the consoles

2014 on a personal note was good year for me. A change of job was necessary, so i promised myself the year of 2014 would involve less work and more leisure time for myself. It so happens the perfect job came about which would offer an increased cashflow and less physical work. Having more time on my hands I thought I'd use it to catch up on my back catalog. This resulted in me purchasing a PS3, Wii U, and an Xbox One throughout the year; necessary due to my now dead PC. The year of the consoles begun.

Having missed out on PS3 Exclusives for the last decade i made it my first purchase of the year and binge played them over the Holidays. A Wii U was bought in June for the sole purpose to play the new Mario Kart, and an Xbox One was bought at the back end of the year as i felt i was missing out on 'Next Gen' gaming with no PC.

Without my PC in tow i got to work on my back catalogue. First stop, Playstation exclusives! Having ten games purchased on the day the console arrived i thought i'd begin working from oldest to newest. I thought It'd give me a better appreciation of how the games were improved upon between releases, and i don't think i could go back to an older version after playing an improved version of the game. Standouts were The Last of Us, Uncharted 2 & 3 and Shadow of the colossus. The Last of Us in my eyes was a masterpiece, writing was on point, characters felt like real people and even for the stick the gameplay gets, the push and pull feel to areas always felt exciting to me. Uncharted 2 & 3 are the closest you'd get to an action move as a game. Shadow of the Colossus was beautiful with fun mechanics, if frustrating at points, and felt like such an original game, a game that had great new ideas with not any games like it.

My Wii U got underused with only Mario Kart 8 and Zelda being played, nevertheless two great games. A similar story with my Xbox one, Halo, COD, & Ryse: Son of Rome were completed. These three games however were less loveable than either the Wii U or PS3 games, graphics really don't make the game.

A couple PC games were finished on a friends system he let me use. Bioshock Infinite, maybe one of my favourite games ever, and Borderlands 2, I love loot!

Games completed in 2014

Games completed in 2013 (11), games completed in 2014 (26). Four of the games being released in 2014 (Games in bold)

10/10 - The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite, GTA V

9/10 - Uncharted 2 & 3, Borderlands 2, Mario Kart 8, Shadow of the Colossus,

8/10 - Uncharted 1, Infamous 1 & 2, Mafia II, South Park, Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

7/10 - Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Journey, Max Payne 3, Zelda: Skyward Sword,

Halo Masterchief Collection, COD: Advanced Warfare, Batman: Arkham Origins

6/10 - The Stanley Parable, Ico, Ryse Son of Rome

5/10 - MGS4: Guns of Patriots, Heavy Rain

2016 update of 2014

With only completing 4 games in 2014 my backlog for this year was enormous, and in 2016 there's 21 down, with 8 to go. 2014 had lots of good games but only a couple great ones in my eyes, my GOTY Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and Mario Kart 8. The good games making a solid top 10, with probably the only contentious game being Watchdogs, a game for no good apparent reason i really really liked. Wolfenstein, a great comeback for an old franchise. InFamous and Sunset Overdrive both very entertaining superhero games, please give either of these developers a big superhero franchise, they'd both nail them. Transistor, a charming game by SuperGiant Games. Alien isolation was enthralling, a game hasn't made me this scared in a long time, sadly i just lasted too long and lost its shock value in the late game. Breaking into my Top 10 is Shovel Knight, a game i tried a couple times on keyboard and mouse and failed on, until i used my Xbox One controller and found the satisfyingly smooth experience. The biggest disappointments came in the form of Dragon Age: Inquisition, A series that has one of my favourite games of all time in it, Evil Within, Bayonetta 2, and D4. None of these four games were bad i just had higher expectations for them, and was let down by their final product; expecting them to rank much higher in my list.

I should probably mention i keep track of every game i play, the console, date completed and a score out of 10. I started doing this at the start of 2013 and it's now become an obsession.

List items

1. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor is an action adventure game in the same vain as the Batman Arkham Series but set in Middle-Earth instead of Arkham. You play a Ranger who is possessed by one of the forgers of the rings which gives you supernatural Elf powers.
It does well what Arkham does well, the combat is fluent and it makes you feel like a badass when chaining kills together. Satisfying Ork killing at it's best. Chaining together bow, dagger and sword attacks to brutally finish off enemies. With more powers able to be unlocked as you proceed which levels up your ranger giving you new and more efficient ways to take care of enemies. The combat however isn't the star in this game, that goes to the 'Nemesis System'.
The Nemesis system is a game changer, a completely unique system that turns this game from a good into a great game. Creating a pyramid system that has ranks of Ork, from Grunt to Warchief. This system allows for a dynamic living world, that what you do as the Ranger carries some weight. Turning Orks to your side, gaining rivalries with orks that have killed or escaped you, or even fighting battle scarred Orks you’ve defeated before, back from the dead for more. Each Ork has different traits which requires different tactical approaches to defeat them, such as arrow invulnerability, fire resistance, fire weapons, and many many more.
Everything about this game was very good until the cop out of a final boss. QTE is not a way to end a game.
Platform: Xbox One
Date Beaten: 19th March 2015
Time Taken to Beat: 20h
Rating: 9/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 1
2. Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart does what not many games can do to me, give me that feeling of nostalgia from my youth while introducing new concepts making it feel new and fresh.
This iteration of Mario Kart is potentially my favourite, up their with Double Dash for the Nintendo GameCube. A close call but the nostalgia Double Dash brings back for me may slightly eclipse Mario Kart 8. The more I play this game with friends it may change that though.
What I've always loved is the choice these games give you, the choice of tracks, karts, and characters. Bringing in old favourites as well as new additions to the franchise such as link and animal crossing boy. Not only does this game allow for just choices in karts it allows you make alterations on the vehicles to fit the style your after, or statistical changes if need be. Choice also comes in the form of what control scheme you wish to use, but not giving you an advantage or disadvantage if you choose one over the other. What makes or breaks these games though is the choice of tracks and Mario Kart 8 hits it out of the park with choice. The tracks not only have fun interesting gimmicks throughout them but allow for varying routes to be taken and landscapes which evolve over a race for variety from lap to lap.
Sadly what detracks from this game is the lack of a dedicated battle mode. The battles take place on the race tracks rather than specially designed arenas. These arenas allowed for intense battles to take place and you could tell they were crafted for that sole purpose.
Played either as a single player or multiplayer Mario Kart 8 is a gem, bringing back all those nostalgic feelings of my wife while improving concepts from previous iterations
Platform: Wii U
Date Beaten: 19th September 2014
Time Taken to Beat: 11h 26m
Rating: 9/10
2014 rank: 1
2016 rank: 2
3. Wolfenstein: The New Order

The best phrase to describe this game is a 'Very satisfying romp', having the ability to kill futuristic robot Nazis while dual wielding the biggest guns the game offers.
Wolfenstein takes place in an alternative reality where the Nazis have won WW2. No sign of Hitler though, the power behind the Nazis is ‘Deathshed’ the man behind them developing far superior technologies that helped them crush the Allies. A true villain! The serious nature of the story combined with funny dialogue gives the players huge juxtaposition. Treating serious dialogue mixed with comedic nuances, in a world that takes you through death camps and worse. Wolfenstein manages to treat these events with respect and is one of the few games that could pull this kind of gruesome scenario off while highlighting how bad the world could be. Outside of missions the home base emphasizes this comedic attitude with an awesome Easter egg, of you playing an old Wolfenstein games in a dream like scenario. Wolfenstein combines this story with enjoyable, if not revolutionary gameplay.
Having the ability to dual wield weapons makes you want to go all out guns blazing DOOM style, but if you went this route you'd learn quickly that this is the way you kill yourself in Wolfenstein. BJ Blazkowicz can no doubt deal some major pain but also with a relatively low pain threshold BJ is easily killed, getting taken out by a few shots by some enemies. This requires the player to have a more of a pop and shoot attitude to gameplay which feels counter intuitive to what you want to do, nevertheless it still felt smooth and intuitive. Otherwise Wolfenstein did offer some choice in how you approached scenarios, if you wished the stealth approach was an option, potentially going through large sections of areas unspotted. This style never felt like it fitted into what ‘Wolfenstein’ is, so I chose guns blazing in most scenarios. The only time I chose this style was when trying to unlock the upgrades. The upgrades were implemented in a style I liked, making you complete odd kills, such as knee slide kill 5 enemies, or kill a certain amount of enemies without reloading. I enjoyed changing my style of play to unlock these, making some scenarios have an extra difficulty level.
Wolfenstein manages to create a believably grim world with a comedic edge that elevates this game above your basic Nazi killing FPS
Platform: Xbox One
Date Beaten: 27th February 2015
Time Taken to Beat: 13h
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 3
4. inFamous: Second Son

Games where you play as a Superhuman, either a hero or villain have always appealed to me, having the ability to devastate areas with unique powers and transverse terrain in a variety of ways gives me that giddy feeling. This is exactly what InFamous games have done for me in the past and this is where Second Son exceeds its predecessors!
Second Son makes doing the small things fun, things that would normally be boring fetch quests turn into just another excuse to traverse the city in cool ways. Combine that with faced paced combat situations and satisfying boss battles, Infamous gave me one of my favourite gameplay experiences of the year. The character and story side of InFamous was fairly good, enough to keep my interest over the course but not a great enough story for me to remember it years later.
When games are designed for the player to have fun with, rather than an overtly serious tone, it’ll always make the game appeal to me. I will always choose the fun gameplay over a game with story but no game-play any day!
Platform: PS4
Time Taken to Beat: 18h
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 4
5. Sunset Overdrive

Another game in the same vain as InFamous. Have Fun! and use everything at your disposal to do so. Like Infamous Your pretty much a superhero, unlike inFamous your fighting hordes of zombies infected by an energy drink. The premise and story is ridiculous, but the gameplay is a riot, with the ability to grind on everything gives a great flow to combat. An underappreciated gem!
Platform: Xbox One
Time Taken to Beat: 16h
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 5
6. Transistor

Purchased this game in the most recent steam sale. And wow am I glad I did. I was hesitant in playing this game to begin with as I wasn't to keen on Supergiant games last release, Bastion. It received critical acclaim from pretty much every outlet but something just didn't click with me. I appreciated aspects of it without it amazing me. My expectations therefore were relatively low on Transistor, and boy did they get blown away.
Charming is the word I would use to describe Transistor. A stylish Cyberpunk Turn-based RPG with a female protagonist. It ticks all my boxes!
Transistor follows Red, a performer in cloudbank, who is attacked by the process, a robotic force that is controlled by a group called Camerata. The story begins with Red pulling the transistor out of a lifeless body, the consciousness of the body is then transported into the Transistor. The Transistor then acts as a guide as the man's consciousness talks as a narrator throughout the game while also building a relationship with Red.
The plot is very well told through this narrator type character, similar to the narrator in bastion. I'm glad they used this device in Transistor as it allows for a more personal touch for the player as well as being able to build a relationship with Red. It wasn't a incredible plot that I will remember for years to come, but the ending, where so many games fall down was very well done in Transistor and it left me with a warm feeling once finishing.
That warm feeling was built up throughout the game with the awesome music (of which I bought the soundtrack), and the striking visuals. Both of which create a tense atmosphere allowing the player to feel at ease or in danger depending on the scenario.
The Danger in this game is the Process, a robotic army controlled remotely by the overseeing bad guys. They are taken down in a Turn based combat where you spend turns to fill up the action bar, once the action bar has been spent a cool down period is used where most attacks can't be used. The most interesting thing about this combat is the types of Functions available and the combinations you can use. You have 4 function slots each with passive and persistent slots. The ability to combine any of the functions you obtained in any of the slots allows a lot trial and error gameplay. When you find an effective combination the satisfaction is immediate and allows for experimentation and replayability.
Transistor came as a big surprise to me due my average reception of their critically acclaimed title Bastion. With the combination of replayable turn-based combat allowing endless variations of attack function, charming characters, beautiful world, and satisfying narrative, Supergiant games have made a little gem. A short but succinct story with immense replayability I would recommend this game to everyone. A must play and one of my favourite games of 2014.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 6h 42m
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 6
7. Watch Dogs

I never followed any of the hype for this game so it had nothing yet really live up to in my books; I never even watched any trailers or gameplay of it. So when I picked it up for $10 from game I got a pleasant surprise and couldn’t really understand where all the hate was coming from. I guess if you get onboard a hype train, you’re always going to be disappointed.
You play Aidan Pearce, a normal looking guy, who lives in a pretty normal Chicago, but you’re actually a hacking mastermind, able to control everything with one click of a button. The one button to hack everything felt over simplified but served its gameplay purpose, and I can’t complain that I didn’t have fun with it. The hacking is the tool which Aidan Pearce uses to take down ctOS, this story was fairly intriguing up until a point, and it however outstayed its welcome, feeling it had to clean up all these side stories. If it had ended after a large chase that made you use everything you had learnt up to that point to escape, I would have been satisfied.
The gameplay is what it is! A competent third person shooter and driving simulator which has a novel hacking components, allowing you to hack camera, lights, bollards etc…. The hacking is where it thrives, using objects to distract or kill enemies in order to sneak by, using all your skills to prevent confrontation. Some moments however force you into confrontation, in a small room with overpowered enemies; luckily these are few and far between.
A good start to the series that just needs some refining, hopefully Watchdogs 2 will be its Assassins Creed 2 of its series.
Platform: Xbox One
Date Beaten: 9th March 2015
Time Taken to Beat: 26h 44m
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 7
8. Alien: Isolation

Before Alien Isolation was released I'd never seen an Alien film before, yes embarrassing I know. So this game not only opened up a game series for me but a plethora of entertainment, mainly the films though. I can safely say Alien is one of my favourite films of all time, even after nearly 40 years since its release, it remains timeless. And what this game does well is give you the feeling of the original movie! Feeling scared and hunted, and at any moment you could get caught out in the wrong place at the wrong time by the Xenomorph.
So after I'd finished watching all 5 Alien films I got to work playing one. Alien Isolation takes place 15 years after the original and you play Ripley's daughter, who responds to a distress call of her mothers, but all doesn't go to plan and what hunted her mother now hunts her.
As you experience life through Amanda Ripley's eyes the first things that becomes apparent is the atmosphere the game build through stunning visuals, being loyal to the films and the ambient and immersive sound design which makes you always feel on edge, even when the Xenomorph is nowhere in sight. This atmosphere creates a terrifying experience for the player as you sneak your way through the remote trading station, Sevastopol. Playing with headphones on exemplified these feelings, making me jump on multiple occasions with my heart beating out of my chest. If this game was a VR game, it would have probably killed me!
The gameplay is very simple you sneak about the station being hunted by a Xenomorph then androids. This gameplay fits this game perfectly, it exemplifies the perfect hunter that is the Xenomorph, and if you make a mistake the Xenomorph will brutally kill you. The perfect hunter. Alien Isolation does equip you with a few weapons in your arsenal if you get stuck in a tricky situation for a quick escape into a cupboard or under a table. This makes up for about ¾ of this game, the final ¼ changes this formula and hands you a flamethrower. The flamethrower kills the tension giving you a tool to confront the Xenomorph, no longer do you have to sneak about, you just have to spray the flamethrower every time it approaches you. This portion went on for far to long, giving you a fake out ending on multiple occasions. This doesn’t spoil the game it just gives you a sour taste once finished.
Alien: Isolation stays true to it's roots creating a beautifully intense atmosphere that truly gives the ultimate Alien experience
Platform: Xbox One
Time Taken to Beat: 22h
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 8
9. South Park: The Stick of Truth

I love South Park, and I love the Stick of Truth. It perfectly blends the tone, comedy and visuals that make South Park so iconic with an old school turn based RPG, to create an interactive South Park experience. Having Trey and Matt team up with Obsidian was a match made in heaven.
This 'Episode' of South Park takes place with you (The player), playing as the new kid in town. Upon arriving you learn about an ongoing battle between Cartman's Human forces and Kyle's Elf Forces fighting it out for an artifact of limitless power called 'The Stick of Truth'. The game then plays out from there with you as a pawn for the satirical story that unfolds. It manages to incorporate the same dark humour and satire seamlessly into the story and gameplay.
I don’t feel like I can say much more about South Park, but that it’s the perfect game for a fan of the series.
Platform: PS3
Time Taken to Beat: 11h 44m
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: 2
2016 rank: 9
10. Shovel Knight

My first console was an N64, so I missed the whole NES and SNES era of games. Mainly the 2D 8 bit platforms that was so popular during this period. So I have no nostalgia for these types of games, with the only 2D platformer I played being Super Mario Land for Gameboy. This is where Shovel Knight changed how I view 2D platformer. I got it for my birthday and tried playing it with a keyboard and failed to get into it, it wasn’t until I plugged in a controller where I started to really enjoy this game.
Shovel Knight isn’t about the narrative or story, your trying to save your beloved and in order to do so you have to do X, Y, and Z. Shovel Knight is about the gameplay, the characters, and the beautifully rendered new age 8 bit art. The gameplay is fluent, responsive and effective; it’s all about learning the enemy’s patterns and taking advantage of their weaknesses with your Shovel, and your upgradable powers. The powers allow you to throw projectiles or phase shift to become invincible for a short amount of time (Incredibly overpowered Phase Locket), and many more. The powers use mana so must be used sparingly for difficult situations. The Shovel doesn’t only act as a weapon but also a platforming tool in certain areas, even allowing you to kill chain enemies with a downward dig.
The system the game revolves around is a Dark Souls punishment and reward system that allows you to reclaim lost coins if you manage to make it back to your death site. This currency penalty would be rewarding if there was anything to spend the coin on, as after one play through you can easily unlock everything. They also allow you to destroy checkpoints if you wish for more coin, but destroying that checkpoint results in you having to start at the previous one if you die. All good ideas, but with no incentive they weren’t used often in my play through.
The level ingenuity, great music, beautiful design of levels and characters combined with a solid 2D platformer has given me a new genre and avenue to explore in gaming, opening up my eyes to how fun an experience they can be
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 9h
Rating: 8/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 10
11. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

My experience with Halo is as follows, Halo Reach campaign and CO-OP split screen with my brother on the Xbox 360. Then when I purchased an Xbox one it came with the Master Chief collection, so I’d thought I might as well see what all the fuss is about. The idea of a FPS on a console just never appealed to me, so I just chose to ignore the franchise up until then, as I had my FPS needs fulfilled on the PC.
In order my favourite in the collection were as followed
1. Halo 3
2. Halo 4
3. Halo 2
4. Halo: Combat Evolved
I think I preferred the newer games just due to them feeling and looking more modern. A bit stupid judging games based solely on how they look but they all played very similarly. The Master Chief collection did get me interested in the story and I’m looking forward to further iterations in the series.
Platform: Xbox One
Time Taken to Beat: 36h
Rating: 7/10
2014 rank: 3
2016 rank: 11
12. Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut

A bigger less focused Shadowrun game. Dragonfall gives you more to do in every aspect but the focus and charm that was ther in returns wasn't there in Dragonfall. Maybe it was my fault playing one after the other and burning myself on the CRPG format. Still a very enjoyable game nontheless
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 26h
Rating: 7/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 12
13. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Kevin ‘Mother-Fucking’ Spacey made me purchase this game. Anything Mr. Spacey is in I’ll watch or play. His performance in this game is what you come to expect from his work, well-acted, and takes on the persona of the character he’s playing to the tee. If you need a bad guy for any medium, Kevin Spacey is the guy to get.
The game itself is what I expected when I purchased it. A short campaign chock full of well implemented set pieces and cut scenes, as you play the hero coming to save the day. It succeeded in what I was wanting from it! A game that pulls you forward and takes you on a ride, just shoot the bad guys and COD will do the rest.
A solid experience, if not an overly memorable one.
Platform: Xbox One
Time Taken to Beat: 6h
Rating: 7/10
2014 rank: 4
2016 rank: 13
14. Assassin's Creed Unity

With the colossal amount of hate this game got I was expecting a shit show of a game. Too my pleasant surprise I enjoyed it, but hey I enjoy all Assassin Creed games for some reason.
I usually ignore the vast majority of side content in these games so I don’t have a gripe with oversaturated map because I just ignore it most of the time, the combat and stealth mechanics have both improved and the visuals are outstanding (I played it after the vast majority of bugs were fixed). I don’t remember the story but since Assassins Creed 3 I’ve never really cared overtly about the story, it’ll always be predictable kill these bad guy so the Creed can thrive. Do I wish they told better stories, yes, but the stories they do tell are competent enough if not very inspired.
Unity is a solid game, it’ll never be my favourite game but I enjoyed the time I spent with it nonetheless. If you enjoy Assassin’s Creed games you’ll probably enjoy this iteration.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 16h 36m
Rating: 7/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 14
15. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Bioware oh Bioware…. You used to be my favourite game company, making some of my favourite games such as Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 1 & 2. What happened? They’ve gone from making great games to just making good games. Relying on the same old ideas of fetch quests and boring side missions that don’t have any substance, I feel they’re quality is slowly reducing as they go along, declining since Dragon Age 2 was released.
Then incomes the new Bioware release Dragon Age: Inquisition. I’ll start with what I enjoyed about Inquisition. The character creation was in depth and you felt like you were creating a character just for you, selecting all aspects about them as well as the class you wished to use. The world is beautiful, a great fantasy setting to roam for hours exploring the cracks and crevices. Sadly the world is far too large and full of filler, uninteresting missions and collectathon side quests that are all just busy work. I could forgive the lack of mission variety if I enjoyed the combat but in my eyes Bioware have gone backwards in this aspect, opting for a more action oriented combat where I felt like I wasn’t really contributing to the fights. The slow paced combat that involved full control of every party member is gone, no longer do you plan attacks to the exact move, and instead you hold a button down to attack and wait and see the outcome as your party members proceed to do the same. It felt like it had been dumbed down for consoles
Overall Dragon Age: Inquisition is a fairly satisfying experience if a little disappointing. I did spend over 70 hours with it so I can’t say I didn’t have fun at points, it just left me with a sour taste in my mouth of what could have been
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 76h
Rating: 7/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 15
16. The Evil Within

Evil within failed in my eyes at the aspects of creating a really absorbing world required for a player to feel real terror in. Everything about this game is competent but without the ability to create real fear and tension it failed as a horror game. It took huge inspiration from RE4 but RE4 is an old game that may have aged well, however those mechanics have been used in millions of different games and in better ways. A solid experience without that 'it' factor.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 13h 21m
Rating: 6/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 16
17. Lords of the Fallen

Platform: PC
Lords of the Fallen is clunky, its enemies are few and copy and pasted, but yet I felt myself coming back to it. It begins as a Dark Souls-esque game but within about 5 hours I had a magic build that broke the game and turned it more into an action adventure. So what did I like about it, the environments and setting are what I’ve been wanting in a game for so long, and this is this is closest a game has come to making me feel like a Viking. You could say that’s not saying much as every other game based on Vikings is god damn awful!! The combat has been slated as the weakest point of the game; it’s no Dark Souls, with the controls being much slower and chunkier but that says more about the perfection the Souls series reached rather than a gripe on Lords of The Fallen. The beginning of the game was difficult for me but slowly I forged my rogue character with magic abilities and I was cruising through it, until the final boss where I struggled to beat it for far too long. My solution was to equip a huge hammer and just charge the final boss and I beat him first time, which kind of takes away from what I’d geared my build towards throughout the whole game. Clunky, Buggy, Collision detection is wonky, but I still had an enjoyable time with it.
Date Beaten: 11th November 2017
Time Taken to Beat: 13h 56m
Rating: 6/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: N/A
2017 rank:
18. Bayonetta 2

I really really wanted to love this game. If you told me the premise and gameplay mechanics without even knowing what this game was i would have said it could be my favourite game of all time.
What made it so dissapointing for me? i struggle to really answer that question. A combination of things probably. Well written and like able characters with a interesting narrative driving the plot along, but i just wasn't remotely invested in it. Smooth slick combat with lots of enemy variety and huge boss batttles, but i felt myself sticking to the same old reliable combo that was sufficient enough for me to progress. Half naked woman fighting, but my interest was waning already.
A great game for some people, and i really can see why people loved this game but it just wasn't my jam and falls into the good 6/10 category.
Time Taken to Beat: 9h 27m
Rating: 6/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 17
19. Nidhogg

Simplistic game with a whole lotta depth! The controls offer you very minor changes in your stance but are bloody hard to perfect as you get crushed over and over again by opposition. Nidhogg is a fencing game at heart, played at breakneck speed with the goal being to reach the opponents end of the screen until you’ve beaten their last stage. To do this you must best your opponent by killing them…repeatedly It offers a variety of ways to win, even without killing the opposition more than once, just jump over them and sprint for the winner’s podium… GULP or you can duke it out at each section to better your opponent with a combination of stances, jumps, kicks, disarms and knockdowns. For under a pound Nidhogg was an enjoyable couple of hours, it could maybe have been more if I had gotten into the multiplayer aspect.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 2h 24m
Rating: 6/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: N/A
2017 rank: 18
20. Child of Light
21. inFamous: First Light

What made me like InFamous just wasn't there in First Light, a very dissapointing standalone for a great game.
Platform: PS4
Time Taken to Beat: 4h 30m
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 18
22. D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die

Insane, it was a wild ride from start to finish that i completed in one play through. Sadly the charm that was so awing in Deadly Premontion wasn't quite there in D4. I really do think with more episodes to explain what in the hell was going on would have grown to like this game. However in this state it isn't worth playing.
Platform: Xbox One
Time Taken to Beat: 5h
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 19
23. Luftrausers

An enjoyable two stick shooter that has a difficulty that can be overcome by mods to your planes. A game i play a few times but never got hooked into!
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 2h
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: N/A
2017 rank: 22
24. Jazzpunk

STYYYYYYYYLLEEEEE! A very intriguing world the makers of Jazzpunk created, but once again the lack of things to do really reduced my lack of enjoyment. Funny events and dialogue throughout the couple hours i spent with it but not nearly enough within Jazzpunk for me to reccomened it.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 1h 54m
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 20
25. Never Alone

Games that are based on cultures I know nothing about will always grab my attention, especially with Never Alones art style. Never Alone is a fable told by the Alaskan indigenous tribes. Where folklore and the culture is portrayed through small pieces of a documentary unlocked after every act and through small collectibles.
The story follows Nuna and her arctic fox companion who set out in order to find what is causing the never-ending blizzard. With spirits helping and hindering you along the way and polar bears trying to have you for dinner, Nuna's adventure never bored me.
Once again I was attracted by the 2D art style and beautiful winter scenery. I am a sucker for my visuals. However this game is another beautiful game hindered by its gameplay. Easy puzzles, sometimes clunky controls. Too often I felt the controls were the reason I was failing, not the difficulty of the game. When dying repeatedly it felt less like surviving and more like trying to progress to the next stage, which broke the immersion. Maybe playing the two player co-op would fix this issue but I didn't have the chance to try it out.
All in all I felt this game was a very basic 2D platformer that failed to deliver on it's promising art style. The problems are easily remedied, with hopefully similar games based on cultural history being produced. As a game I do feel It's a little bit disappointing when your favourite part of a game is the documentary style snippets.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 3h 06m
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 21
26. Far Cry 4

Everything i enjoyed so much about 3 i disliked about this game! i don't know why, but it's maybe because it felt so formulaic, and too much like a game that's made to just be a game. I barely touched the side mission due to how bored i got with the game, and for some reason i needed to see it through....
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 17h 28m
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: N/A
2017 rank: 25
27. The Fall

Interesting story but around my least favourite genre, the point and click. I'm sorry The Fall, i'm sure to point and click fans your great, but pointing and clicking just ain't that exciting for me!
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 3h 12m
Rating: 5/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 22
28. This War of Mine

First of all I understand this is a game in the survival horror genre, taking place during a war where life is a struggle for common people to just survive. but doing the same things day and night in a dreary environment just stopped me from wanting to continue.
The gameplay all felt like a grind, I feel that’s how the developers wanted it to feel, that is not however what I personally want from my games. The grindy nature of This War of Mine turned any enjoyment I had to dust.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: Retired
Rating: 3/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: N/A
2017 rank:
29. Neverending Nightmares

Dark and twisted walking simulator. Another game similar to the The Fall, a good game for the right person but i just need more game-play in my games.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 1h 36m
Rating: 3/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 23
30. A Story About My Uncle

What most took me by surprise from this game was reading the overwhelmingly positive reviews on steam. I feel i must of have been playing a different game than everyone else.
'Intuitive controls', i would say they were competent at best. 'Amazing Gameplay', First Person platforming with tools such as boost jump, grappling hook, power boots. All unlocked within the first 30 minutes of the game. And none are fun to use since the game is so darn easy, with the level design being repeated so often, very uninspriring! 'Gripping story', boring story that didn't feel like it went anywhere or accomplish anything. The story combined with the narrators badly written drivel and poor voice acting further lessened my attachment to anything in this game.
Everything about this game from the story to the gameplay and graphics were woefully disappointing. Couldn't not recommend this game enough.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 2h 52m
Rating: 3/10
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: n/a
2017 rank: 27
31. Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide

Too much to learn and do, just wasn't interested in investing the time required in order to ascertain the knowledge for my Civilization to succeed.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 1h 12m (Retired)
Rating: N/A
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: N/A
2017 rank: 25
32. Thief

First person stealth. I love stealth, and i love first person games, but combined they leave you feeling incredibly clunky and unstealthy. 3rd person when behind cover, similar to how Deus Ex handles it is the only way i could play this mix of mechanics.
Platform: PC
Time Taken to Beat: 2h (Retired)
Rating: N/A
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 24
33. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

I never gave this game much of a chance. I enjoyed the small amount I played but it got lost in my back catalogue. Once I eventually completed Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain I never felt the need to play more Metal Gear. So here it sits at the bottom of list, Retired!
Platform: Xbox One
Time Taken to Beat: 1h (Retired)
Rating: N/A
2014 rank: N/A
2016 rank: 25