2012 was a good year for vidya games. Here are my favorite games that I played in 2012. (Not necessarily released in 2012.)
Games I Played that didn't quite make the cut: Assassin's Creed 3, Diablo 3, Counter-strike: Global Offensive, Tribes Ascend, Dear Esther
Games I Didn't Play that may have made the list if I had: X-Com (Have it now and MAY amend my list for it), Hotline Miami, Chivalry, Sleeping Dogs, Mark of the Ninja, Trials Evolution, FTL, Halo 4
This top spot was harder this year than any year I can remember. There were so, so many good games this year, and any of my top 3 could have reached this spot if you caught me on a different day. Journey wins out, though, because it is just so damn perfect. It sets out to give you exactly what the name implies and does so with elegance and beauty. The icing on the cake was the emotional connection it fosters with complete strangers who may have absolutely nothing in common with you except the ownership of a PS3 and Journey. I still remember the random partner I was assigned to and played the entire game with in a single sitting.
You can take your cerebral "emotional tour-de-forces" and hipster-ass "transcendence" and shove it for my #2 spot. Epic, exciting, balls-to-the-walls action on a massive scale. It doesn't deliver on every promise all the time, but when it does, it's glorious. It's free, but I've still spent an unhealthy amount of money on it. The only game on my list that I will probably play well into 2013.
The actual 'gameplay' parts of this are only just so-so, but that's not why you're playing this game. "Emotionally affecting" doesn't even begin to describe it. I have never cared about characters in a video game the way I cared about them in The Walking Dead, and rarely have I cared this much about characters in any entertainment medium, ever. The bar has been set for storytelling in games.
Fez messed with my brain, man. I can't remember the last time I got out paper and a pen to try and crack codes in a video game, and the apply that code to other parts of the video game. This was so much more of a mind trip than I expected, and I love Fez for it.
Yes, I know this came out in 2011! I didn't play it until January, give me a break. Damn if this game isn't made of just pure, unadulterated fun. Just play through the first two or three missions... you'll see.
Ho-hum gameplay? Sure, but it's competent enough. That's not the reason this game is listed so high. Play this game right through to the end(s). It is a big, grown-up story that handles player agency in organic ways that are only just now starting to become a 'thing'.
A fairly 'whatever' story and a bit of a weak start (mechanically) didn't stop this game from becoming a ton of fun once the toolkit started to expand, and showed us what all stealth games have been missing all these years: magic.
I love Mass Effect in general; the only reason this game isn't higher on the list is because it does sort of disappoint in its climax, and some of the depth and breadth of the world has been stripped away. There is still plenty of ME here, though, and so it earns its place.
I've only just recently unlocked the 2nd island in this game, so this is a big old #7 with a bullet. I still think this game is a blast and definitely knows what side its bread is buttered on, leaning into the open world craziness. Plus it let me act out my favorite video game role, reclusive woodland sniper man.
Came out on PC in 2012, and that's where I played it. This game was a blast... so much charm, a delight for the senses. Mechanically, on par with the best side-scrollers out there.
