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pkmnfrk

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Game of The Year 2014 Users Choice

Coming up with a list is difficult because as it turns out, I've not spent a whole lot of time playing games that came out this year! I've put dozens or hundreds of hours into Dwarf Fortress and Minecraft, and would definitely be my top picks, but it's questionable whether they are eligible, so I've opted to leave them our.

I did play a few additional games that came out this year, but I don't think they deserve recognition on my list. Games like Wolfenstein... uh... I'm sure there's others, but I can't think of them right now.

Anyway, here's my top 9 games of 2014!

List items

  • The Talos Principle is tragic in release date. It came out after everyone did the official game of the year lists, so it's unlikely to get any recognition. This is highly unfortunate in that it is a fantastic game, reminiscent of Portal in that it is a series of puzzles in isolation, but with a far more serious tone.

    The narrative is entirely passive, relying on your interaction with terminals, audio logs and mysterious QR codes to provide any clues into the underlying scenario. It touches on questions of philosophy (what makes a person?), but doesn't beat you over the head with it if you don't want it to.

    But, the meat and potatoes of this game is the puzzles. Every puzzle revolves around using a set of tools to reach a puzzle piece locked away in a confined area. They are, for the most part based entirely on logic, rather than finding a hidden switch or something. This doesn't make them easy, but it does make them consistent. You never feel as if the game is unfair to you or hiding information that you need to succeed.

    At least, until you aim for 100% completion. There are hidden collectibles and bonus puzzles that rely on breaking out of the mould set by the rest of the game. Fortunately, these puzzles are completely optional to reach the credits.

    Anyway, this game is engaging on both the narrative and gameplay fronts, and has enough polish that it easy makes my #1 spot.

  • Let it be known that I am a huge sucker- er, fan of the Pokémon series. If you have played any previous Pokémon game, you know what's up with these.

    They have all the graphics and quality-of-life improvements introduced in Pokémon X/Y, along with the setting created for Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire.

    I do have some criticisms of the game. During battles, the game is noticeably framey, even with the stereoscopic 3D disabled. I don't recall this happening in X/Y, but I haven't gone back to verify it. Also, they roll some new mechanics into the game (Primal Reversion) which factors into the plot, but they just kind of shove it in there instead of reworking the plot a bit to make it fit better. Finally, I hate cross-country berry farming. I rather liked the Berry Farm you had in X/Y.

    On the bright side, the new Pokénav features are great, the music arrangement are fine, and they even add some new plot after the main game is over. They even allow you to catch a Pokémon which previously was restricted to events.

    Overall, I had a ton of fun with this one, making it a solid #2.

  • Wait, what, there was a Kirby game this year? Yes, there was. I know, I was surprised to hear it too, a month and a half after it was released.

    Maybe I'll feel like fleshing the rest of these out some day.

  • Never got to play the other games in this series, but I loved this one.

  • This is basically MMO The Game, but without other players. Unless you want them! Also: Lots of crafting.

  • I like open world games, though I prefer them when you have super powers and don't need to drive so much. This one is pretty good nonetheless.

    Disclaimer: I was convinced to play this game by my current boss, who was the executive producer on this game (up until a year before its release, which lost him any kind of actual placement in the credits. He's under Special Thanks or something dumb)

  • I had a lot of fun with this game, although I found I could not play it for more than 2-3 hours at a time before wanting to kill myself.

    Hmm.

  • Neat ideas, but sometimes aggravating execution. Still pretty fun, and a good way to kill a few hours. Won't make you a programmer, though it helps if you're already one.

    Fun facts: The backslash used to be called the "hack" key by programmers, since that's one syllable instead of two (because programmers are lazy). Thus: Hack 'n' Slash = \ & /

  • Weird game to dick around in. It was fun, and therefore has a place on this list, but had I played literally any two other fun things this year, they would have displaced it.
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