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FakeKisser

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Fakey's 2013 Games of the Year

Go here for my full post, but I wanted to make this list, as well, since I think it is just a nice feature. :)

Honorable Mentions to My Top 10 Games of 2013

DmC Devil May Cry

I really liked Devil May Cry. I never played any of the other games in the series, so I was not attached to the design of the main character in the previous games. I found Virgil more compelling than Dante in the new game, but what really made me like this game is the imaginative levels/areas as well as some of the great boss fights (such as the Rapter News Anchor, Bob Barbas). I'm not a big fan of the gameplay when I start having to learn combos. So, the Virgil DLC got to be much for me. However, even when I had to turn it down to "easy," I found it fun to just go through the levels the developers designed.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

I really loved Ni no Kuni for many hours. It just got to be too long, and I really hated the grinding I had to do at several parts. If the game was half the length and didn't talk down to the player as much, it would have been very high on my list. However, given what the game became, it just didn't make the list...

Games I didn't get to this year that, based on reviews, could have possibly made it to my Top 10 Games of 2013...

List items

  • I'm as surprised as anyone to see Tomb Raider at the top of my list. Based on reviews I read or podcasts I listened to, the fact that I've never played a Tomb Raider game before may be part of it. I came to this game with fresh eyes on what Lara Croft could be.

    I was very disappointed with the conclusion of the Tomb Raider story. I really wanted to see a realistic conclusion, not just "magic," but I just found all of the gameplay so fun. It is one of very few games in which I searched for hidden collectibles and even went back to the game after finishing it to collect some I missed. I also went back to the game several months later to play the DLC tomb, though it was very short.

    When it comes down to it, I just had more fun, consistently, for longer with Tomb Raider than any other game this year. So, yeah, it feels weird for me to say so, but Tomb Raider turns out to be my #1 Game of the Year for 2013.

  • I got really frustrated with The Last of Us many times. I didn't feel like every minute of the gameplay was fun. Clearing out rooms or areas filled with half a dozen to a dozen armed men...or certain types of infected "patrolling" just the right way to block many stealth attempts at taking them out...was not always fun. However, I really enjoyed the story, and many elements of the stealth gameplay and resource management was very fun. So, when I think back on this game, I can't help but put it at the top of my list.

  • I was very pleasantly surprised by Far Cry 3, and Blood Dragon delivers many of the things I loved, such as possible stealth gameplay, clearing out bases, crafting, and an open world that is fun to drive or glide around in. I would take the main game over Blood Dragon, if given the choice, but the sequel offered a very funny setting, some hilarious dialogue, and a fun campaign that was a nice reprieve from the dark and gross world of the main game. I really hope more developers make similar stand-alone games like this to allow players to revisit fun, familiar mechanics in a different setting.

  • Gunpoint is a pretty simple game, but it combines many elements I love from other games: stealth, hacking/rewiring to manipulate the environment and solve puzzles different ways, and "ghost" gameplay puzzles (i.e. it can be easier to just take someone out, but it is harder to avoid an enemy altogether). The dialogue and story was also amusing but entertaining and engaging. I really hope that Tom Francis can expand upon the mechanics and deliver another Gunpoint, because I really don't feel finished with that "world."

  • I really liked Metro 2033, and Last Light gave me more of that world with what I thought were better mechanics and mission design. I played through all of the story DLC, as well, to get more of the world and gameplay. I definitely would be excited for another sequel.

  • Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was much more emotionally impactful to me than any other game this year. The ending (highlight to see spoiler: burying "my" brother, trudging to the end without him, and standing over his gravestone with my father) was really hard, and I truly appreciated that the game asked the player to do those things it asked at the end. The mechanics did get a little annoying at times, but I accepted them as part of the game, and they really did pay off at the end, when the mechanics helped tell part of the story.

  • Gone Home may not have impacted me as much as other people, which is not because I can't relate to the story. As a fan of "indie" film, I think I've just seen similar stories too many times to be completely blown away by the Gone Home narrative. That being said, I had a lot of fun going through the house, looking through all of the objects, and piecing together the story. I really took my time and only missed one note. I didn't anticipate a horror story as much as others did, either, but I still fund the story arch to be pleasantly surprising in a lot of ways. I do hope we get more games like Gone Home in the future.

  • I have always loved the StarCraft games. For two or three years, I followed the professional StarCraft: Brood War eSport scene. Heart of the Swarm didn't grab me as much as Wings of Liberty did, in regards to the campaign, but that is mostly because I'm not a big fan of the Zerg. The Protoss campaign has a big chance of being my favorite, since I like controlling them the most in StarCraft II. However, Heart of the Swarm is just an amazing strategy campaign with a compelling enough story that kept me playing all of the main missions and side missions, as well.

  • I'm a big fan of certain types of "puzzly" games. The Swapper, like Portal, Quantum Conundrum, and 1000 Amps,scratched a very specific itch to explore a world and challenge myself to use a specific set of gameplay mechanics and rules to make it through increasingly more complicated puzzles. I really disliked Antichamber, mainly due to the lack of truly consistent rules, but The Swapper really delivered the type of puzzle game I can get into.

  • I never played The Stanley Parable mod. I did play the demo that was released on Steam prior to the retail game's release. So, I did have some taste of what The Stanley Parable was about. However, I still found almost every minute spent in the game enjoyable. I went back through it at least a couple dozen times to try and find new paths and dialogue. Due to the lack of real gameplay (besides moving forward and occasionally clicking on things), this game almost didn't make my list. After playing it, it really didn't stick with me long. However, when I thought back on my enjoyment of it and weighed it against other games I played, it ended up at my #10 spot. It's also one of the games on this list I'm most likely to replay, since the comedy will still be funny, and it doesn't take long to run through it a few times.
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