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I'm not a writer. I'm a wanna-be graphic designer and I aspire at some point to be an honest-to-goodness game developer. Until then I will write my bad words and make my slightly better graphics about them. Here's what I have to say in list form:

10. Nimble Quest

For as popular as their previous games were, Nimble Bit's Nimble Quest slipped under the radar and I didn't hear much of it outside of the Something Awful forums. Nimble Quest is exactly what I look for in a mobile game. I am able to play Nimble Quest while standing on a San Francisco Muni bus with one arm clinging desperately to a railing and I am still able to be engrossed by Nimble Quest. It takes the classic "Snake" style game and beefs it up with great mechanics such as pick-ups, upgrades and multiple classes. It's still a wonder to me that it wasn't focused on much in any of the video games outlets that I follow.

9. Papers, Please

I'm going to admit that I didn't play entirely through Papers, Please. In fact, I stopped when I got caught for having too much money from the secret society. Regardless, Papers, Please is a game with completely original game play and actually gives the player choices that makes them stop in their tracks and think about what they're about to do.

8. Saints Row IV

It's not as good as Saints Row the Third, but since it establishes itself as a funner Crackdown and Matt Miller is now a Saint, it is fantastic in my book.

7. Rayman Legends

I recently got a Vita, and during that particular shopping spree I bought Rayman Legends for it. I am really glad that I did. I never finished Rayman Origins because I got sick of the levels half-way through. I ripped through Rayman Legends' "primary" levels in two days because they were so gat-damn entertaining. The levels in Rayman Legends continue to be challenging with a wide variety of systems and art that makes the game easy to play while being enamored by every brush stroke of its animation.

6.Rogue Legacy

After playing countless hours of The Binding of Isaac I decided that rogue-likes were probably my favorite form of game. How could you not like having a slightly different experience every time you play a game?! Rogue Legacy was perhaps not the best its randomness, but its excellent controls, fantastic music and rogue-like systems kept me coming back for hours.

5. Hearthstone

Some people can argue that Hearthstone didn't come out this year, but since they gave tons of people beta access and are taking money for the game I'll consider it one. And it's fantastic. Blizzard knows hows to balance a game. I absolutely love the quick-paced style of the gameplay. Quite often you wind up playing against some asshole who is taking way too long to figure out what to do with his two cards, but Hearthstone is a much faster than the 15 minute Starcraft 2 matches and that takes away some of the anxiety that comes with pressing the "find match" button.

4.Dust: Elysian Tale

Dust is made almost entirely by one dude. It has breath-taking animation, fantastic combat, incredible level design and a pretty good story. I was really happy with every second I spent playing this game (This game out in 2012 on XBLA, but I played the 2013 PC release.)

3. Gone Home

I've been following the Idle Thumbs saga for quite a long time now and I felt really bad for not buying Gone Home when it first came out (I just didn't have any spare money :( ), but I am absolutely ecstatic about the fact that Gone Home has risen as a perfect example of how to tell a heart-warming story in a way that no game has ever done before.

2. Spelunky

Spelunky showed up with its glorious Daily Challenge mode for the PC in 2013. It is the best game. It nearly perfects 2D level randomization so that every game you play is enjoyable and super frustrating in the best way. Hell, 50% of the reason I bought a Vita is that I could play Spelunky while languishing on a Caltrain.

1. Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite has an amazing environment, fantastic music and a top-notch storyline. I don't want to spoil the end so I will just say that Bioshock Infinite is a journey worth experiencing, even if you don't have the means to.

A couple hours ago I finished running through Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent. For some reason I wasn't expecting it to be as short as it was, but this could be because it ends sort of abruptly. Just about everything about the game was good, but I would've liked for there to be more optional side puzzles. Throughout the game I think I encountered maybe 5 or so puzzles.  
 
I wonder if they're going to keep going with the story or have a new, unrelated case in each game.