2014 was disappointing in a lot of ways with major titles being delayed and many being released unfinished or with major issues. That said there were still a fantastic batch of games I played this year. Games that didn't make the list but were close include Rogue Legacy, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Divinity: Original Sin, Infamous: Second Son and Transistor.
My top 10 games of 2014 are:
Destiny is a shadow of what it could have been. This game had more potential than any game I can remember but it ended up releasing with drastically less content than expected and a barely-there story. However it still has what are probably my favourite shooter mechanics of all time. The moment-to-moment gameplay is phenomenal, it looks and sounds incredible and it scratches that loot-lust itch. I just hope they can fix the issues that it's had since it launched.
I wasn't expecting this game to be good, let alone great. With the combat from Batman's Arkham games (done just as well, plus added violence!) and the structure of an Assassin's Creed game, Shadow of Mordor mixes things up with a super cool nemesis system which gives your enemies loads of personality and really gives you a reason to fight against them. If more games don't steal ideas from this it will be a huge shame.
Despite being plagued with crippling network issues for months after launch, Driveclub's gameplay shines through with a perfect sim/arcade balance, fantastic track design and a focus on precision driving and beating rival times put up by other players. It's also the best looking racing game I've ever played, especially with the stunning new weather patch.
The original Dark Souls is one of my favourite games of all time with its incredible world design and atmosphere being more important to me than its infamous difficulty. Dark Souls 2 does an admirable job trying to follow up on the brilliant original but doesn't quite hit the mark. It exceeds its predecessor in gameplay but the world, creatures and lore just don't have the soul [sorry] they did before. I'm hopeful having the original director, Miyazaki, working on Bloodbourne means great things for that game.
I enjoyed the hell out of Diablo 3 when it first came out but it definitely had a number of issues that needed working out. The Reaper of Souls expansion (and corresponding loot 2.0 patch) pretty much solved those issues making the game massively replayable in a way the original just wasn't. This is still the most satisfying action-rpg game around.
I thought I was done with Call of Duty after fizzling out on Modern Warfare 3 (I have a couple hundred hours played on Modern Warfare 2) and last year's 'Ghosts' was poorly received. Advanced Warfare however brings some much needed life to the series with a mixed up multiplayer thanks to the exosuits and a singleplayer that is fun from start to finish. Plus Kevin Spacey.
This came out of nowhere and I picked it up on a whim during the steam winter sale. I was sucked in for hours by an engrossing survival sim; trying to upgrade key aspects of my shelter, making sure my survivors made it through a nightime scavenging run, deciding whether to help fellow survivors or act selfishly. It is absolutely crushing when things go bad, and they do, but I keep coming back again and again in hopes of seeing my survivors through.
I played a lot of the Warcraft TCG years ago before I got fed up with the constant uphill battle of keeping a relevant deck. Hearthstone makes a ton of smart simplifications and wraps it in the beautiful polished package that Blizzard is known for. I don't spend hours tweaking decks or looking up card strategies, but I still play a few rounds almost everyday at lunch.
I've put almost 60 hours into Dragon Age and I'm not sure I'm even half way through the story, let alone the countless side quests and diversions. As kind of a 'Mass Effect meets Skyrim', Dragon Age combines an overwhelming amount of content with great characters, a boatload of lore and passable combat.
I know a lot of people took issue with the in-your-face attitude of Sunset Overdrive, but beneath that is one of more genuinely fun games to play this year. I rarely found it frustrating and just grinding, jumping and shooting your way across the city was a blast.
