Great list Drew!

I hope Brothers wins the vote on Steam today.

Wow. I was not expecting my list to be this close to Drew's (4/10 were the same, same top 2 in the same order).

Good on @drewbert for not falling into the weird backlash Infinite got, after everyone agreed it was fantastic.

That stuff is weird.

Shocked Zelda made such an impression. Glad you enjoyed it, Drew!

Only one sim-like game? Where is Comrade Drew, capitalist pigdog spy!?!

I think that's why I liked Beyond as much as I did: low expectations.

If there's anything Cage games engarner in folks, it's this.

Great list.

Thanks for a great year Drew ^_^

That's a list. Know that was not easy. Can't wait to see more.

Good list, nice write-up.

I guess I should finally play Brothers...

Oh man, don't tell me I waited all this time and there aren't going to be top ten videos this year. I've been loving those for the last few years. We get articles to read every day. We want top ten videos!

Good list though. Except for the racing game. I've never been able to care for those kinda games at all.

A fine list this year Drew. Seems just right given what I know of your tastes. For me personally the difference between The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite came with the hard mode since that was the difficulty of my first playthroughs. Bioshock's high on my list but I disliked the bullet sponging for the harder modes and that's what decided it for me. Thanks for all your hard work during a difficult year.

Fantastic list Drew!

@rabbithearted: You should check it out, it's pretty neat.

@drewbert Your description of Brothers nails it. It really is a modern Grimm's tale.

Good, well-rounded list. Surprised he put Gone Home so high but Drew's always been an enigma.

Nice list. I totally disagree with the top two, but I see where you're coming from. As much as Infinite disappointed me, there are parts about that game that I really, really liked.

Brothers is going to be GB GOTY

Nice list. I'm a sucker for being immersed in story too, so I trust this list even though I haven't played 90% of the games. Bioshock's on the list to Santa, so great to see it at the top of yours @drewbert

Nice list, Drew! You and I were on the same page this year, it seems, having 4 games in common (including our #1 & #2 games being the same!, plus Papers Please and Zelda) If I had 11-15 in my list, Brothers and Gunpoint would have made it for sure. I'm surprised and impressed that Zelda made such a positive impression on you, even with you not having played much of the series. I guess it speaks to how good that game is.

And your description of the story twists in Brothers was really spot on. I actually found the level with all the giant corpses legitimately disturbing, partially because it's totally messed up and partially because of the tone change that occurs around that point.

In retrospect, it's not all that weird, especially amongst people that value gameplay over a good story and hope for better integration of the two.

You used the machine guns in Bioshock Infinite?

Like, voluntarily?

What the heck is the back story for that picture with Drew in the ninja mask?

Drew, you stole my list. Haven't played gunpoint, but now i have to.

I would gladly pay $20 for a sequel called that.

Lotta great games on this list!

I too really enjoyed F1 2013! However I played it for a week and was like WHEW this game is exhausting. Playing it is like threading a needle that's going 200mph.

I'm in the same boat as Drew and haven't ever really played a Zelda. I added the game to my wish list a few days ago because it sounds excellent!

Great list Drew, I'm with you on Bioshock Infinite. I just finished it the other day! Walking around this floating wonderland, I got caught up looking at just downright bizarre posters in toilets and listening to mind numbing PSA's of Fink justifying 16 hour working days. Was simply wonderful.

Hell yeah F1! Best driving game to hit consoles in quite a while.

Except fo the alpha of Papers Please, I haven't played any of these. I have a lot to look forward to. Except F1. I'm sure it's great, I wont play it.

Alright, I suppose this settles it, I want to play Beyond soon. I really liked Heavy Rain when it came out, then kind of ruined it for myself by seeing how the scenes could play out 'differently'. By your recommendation, I think I'll try to get a copy on boxing day. Also happy to see F1 on the list, even if I didn't get to play this year's iteration.

One vote for Bioshock Infinite. If this is the trend, this could mark the first time I agree with Giant Bomb's GOTY pick ever.

@nettacki: But that seemed to come about after everyone had finished it. I don't remember hearing anyone complain before that. I enjoyed playing it. I wouldn't replay it, but I didn't feel like it was hampering the game as much as the gameplay in TLOU ruins that game.

Still not sold on Gone Home.. I mean it just kind of reminds me of that feature in games where you can view a 3d model of an object and read its description.. Like how you could view treasures in the Uncharted games, or something similar.. and that's all I see in the gameplay. I think I need this game to be spoiled for me, because "sorry I don't want to spoil it for you, it's sooo good you have to play it for yourself" isn't really doing anything to get me any more interested in the game. I just can't see myself enjoying that kind of gameplay.. searching around for bits of story and piecing things like an amateur detective.

On the flip I think my interest in Brothers has piqued a little, seeing that it's compared to Germanic folktale. Like Gone Home, still don't think the gameplay is impressive but.. I think with both I would really need to set aside some time to REALLY dig into their worlds, the stories.

Or just have it spoiled for me, which I'm okay with, because I don't know when I will have that time to actually play the games..

Awesome.

I just don't get why Beyond Two Souls is on his list. The story, controls, dialogue, gameplay in that game are all really bad!

Must say that Drew´s list surprised me a bit. Expected Drew to have more simulator type of games on his list.

Lot of choiches which I also would have picked for my personal top ten (Bioshock Infinity, Last of us, Beyond Two souls).

@drewbert of all the hype with brad and brothers, your paragraph has sold me. Bought it tonight. Good stuff, duder. Stoked to see you toss your hat into the ring.

If wish The Last of Us was a novel..

I think Infinite was absolutely overrated, but I also think the hate it gets is more a reaction to that than a real representation of its quality as a game.

thomas danby media

I really like Drew's writing style - and this is a fantastic, diverse list!

More Drew-articles!!

I didn't really enjoy the second half of Bioshock: Infinite, expect for a few moments. The first half of that game is fantastic though.

Amen to that! Even aside from Bioshock it's an strong, personal list. I like.

There ya go, Christmas Duck.

Great list, Drew :) Some games I played, some I hope too :)

Have an awesome Christmas and New Year!

preview of GOTY festivities??? :D