My Top Ten Games of the Year for 2013
God, just, fuck you 2013.
Ah, that's not fair, come back. Come back. Look, it's nothing personal, okay? Some yucky shit happened this year. You did have some pretty compelling video games, I must admit. Hell, it's a testament to the strength of your collection of games that I sweated bullets trying to get the this list down to ten. But if there's one thing you've taught me, 2013, it's that nothing lasts forever and not everyone survives. So here, I take a moment to mention those that just didn't quite make the grade. (Or you can just skip down to the list if my melodrama is scaring you off.)
Thomas Was Alone would be on this list if it hadn't been so inconsiderate as to have been released in 2012. Fantastic fucking game, go play it.
Volgarr the Viking, Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien, and Monaco were brief but passionate affairs. Nothing that shatters the paradigm, but damn fun regardless.
Injustice: Gods Among Us was the best fighting game I played that wasn't Skullgirls, and god damn is Skullgirls amazing.
Don't Starve was often too stressful, making it more fun to watch than play, but I think that speaks volumes about its quality. It's what I always wished Minecraft was. That game hates you, which makes bending it to your will all the sweeter.
Pokémon Y seized me for a hot minute and just did not let go. Congrats, Nintendo, you made me realize I have some nostaliga for Pokémon.
Payday 2, well... bank robbing is still fun.
Metro: Last Light wasn't quite as strong in the story department as its predecessor, but hot damn did it play better. And it proves once again that if you want someone to tell you about man's inhumanity to man, ask a Russian. Love it.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is, perhaps, a bit manipulative, predictable, and rote. But the point it tries to make is good, and the way it makes that point at one very critical part of the game... Man, it's the sort of thing only video games can do, and I love it for that.
The Last of Us missed this list by a hair's breath. Strangely, when I got to the end of it, I didn't feel like it had shaken me to my core or provided a revelatory Moment of Truth. But I did sit back and appreciate it for what it was: damn good art. You were damn good art, game, and stories told both inside and outside of video games could stand to take notice of what you did this year.
Oh, and that Tomb Raider reboot? A worthy successor. Welcome back, Lara! (Er, again.)
What follows, then, is a list not necessarily of the objectively best games of the year. This list is irrevocably tainted by the foul hand of personal importance. Some are here on their own merits, and some because they speak deeply to me personally. And so, without further ado: