This felt like a pretty alright year for games. Considering that I only have a Wii U, a couple iOS devices, and a low-end pc to work with, I missed some great games that I would have otherwise purchased, but overall I'm really quite pleased with the games that I got into this year. That said, I'll get started.
This game is pretty much the opposite of Super Smash Bros. in terms of my expectations versus the reality. I shrugged my shoulders at the prospect of another Mario Kart, having no real interest in it. However, it blew my expectations out of the water. The game's main strength is that there is always something to do. Whether it's drifting just right around a turn to get a mini turbo or squeezing through a shortcut to shave off a quarter of a second, you are always busy in a way that feels immensely satisfying when you pull it off. The addition of totally competent online went a long way in creating replay value in this game, as a gaggle of human players is much more satisfying than predictable AI.
I'll admit I expected this to be number one for sure before it came out. It's another Smash Bros. game! However, by no fault of the game's, it is just another Smash Bros. game. The game is extremely polished and definitely improves on the combat mechanics of Brawl, finding somewhat of a satisfying sweet spot between Melee's unforgiving speed and Brawl's floatiness. It's a great game, and probably one that I'll stick with longer than any other game on this list, but it didn't come around with any big surprises.
This game definitely didn't pack the punch of its predecessor, lacking its crop of likable characters and meaningful decisions, but I get the impression that I still liked this sequel far more than most did. Playing the game from Clementine's point of view gave me a chance to approach the game in a very different way than I had done as Lee. Being surrounded by unreliable allies forced me to play in a more introspective manner. In Season One, I at least consistently had an extremely likable character to protect, whereas in Season Two I was forced to try to find little ways to be a decent person and do something good in this bleak world. I look forward to Season Three, although they could probably stand to let go of the existing characters and the baggage that they carry.
This game has a knack for making people very, very loud. Even if the mechanics definitely need to have the kinks ironed out, the game is largely here to make people laugh, and on a certain level the winner of each round I played was the player who got the others to laugh the hardest. I'm sure this will weasel its way into my 2015 list with its official full release.
Keeping up what Samurai Gunn started, Nidhogg had my friends and me gathered around a computer monitor muttering angrily under our breath and feeling cheated. I mean that in a good way! Mostly!
This was a game with a lot of problems. I never understood when I was in danger, and in general I just didn't feel like the rules that the world operated under were explained well enough for me to invest myself in the world and make informed decisions. In Walking Dead, you understand just as much about the world as the character you embody, and any confusion is intentional. In The Wolf Among Us, I was plopped into a character for whom this supernatural nonsense was second nature, and there was no everyman character to force out explanations. Still, the game's storytelling was strong, and the moment to moment stuff along with many of the moral choices kept my attention and kept my friends and me talking.
While much of my appreciation for this game stems from some of the best videos that Giant Bomb put out this year, I did get some chances to play this game with a friend of mine. Who doesn't like a little improv? In no time I was speaking Spanish, acting like an anthropologist, and writing whale poems.
I'm very bad at this game. Perhaps everyone is, but it's fun twisting around and trying to manage a partner while you shuffle around like crabs fighting over a piece of food rather than anything resembling ballet dancers.
Its fire burned so bright, and then was out in a flash. Goat Simulator is really funny for about ten minutes, and then wears off. However, I was able to reignite that repeatedly by sticking new people in front of it and watching them bust up at the absurdity of the whole thing.
Despite repeatedly hearing that I should play this game in one big chunk, I regret not splitting it into 2 sittings. Despite a really strong start with same phenomenal surrealist humor, by about 3/4 of the way through the game I felt that it was dragging. Still, a wonderfully charming game that I'm sure I would have liked better if I took my time with it.
