Can you believe that 2014 is coming to a close? In just a couple of days, we’ll abolish that dreaded four for ten more years, and a cool, clean, sexy five will take its place.
This year has been great for all types of media, so as always, we rounded up our ever-growing pool of writers to share with you our favourite things of 2014. This time, video games!!
Take a look at everyone’s top 5, top 10, or favourite game altogether below, and be sure to let us know yours in the comment section below!
Shane O’Hare
5. Destiny
A lot of people will probably say that this is one of their biggest disappointments of the year, alongside AC: Unity of course. Destiny didn’t deliver on its promises, and in all actuality is a pretty thin game. But I cannot stop playing it! The MMO Grind feels rewarding. Playing with friends is a fucking blast, and meeting new people to run the raids is awesome.
4. Titanfall
This game came out with a bang. The game was polished and played perfectly on launch, and with most of the other AAA titles at the time having severe issues, Titanfall shone bright. The incredibly fast paced parkour action was exactly what I wanted in a title. It was an amazing break from the methodical matches of CS:GO. The incredible amount of free content that came alongside the expansions also show how dedicated Respawn is to the title.
3. Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2
Not REALLY a full title, but any chance I can sing the praises of Bioshock: Infinite I will. You may remember Bioshock: Infinite was my game of the year 2013, and Burial at Sea Episode 2 is a perfect punctuation to THE best game I have ever played. Playing as Elizabeth was a great change of pace, and that story. THAT STORY!
2. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
This game came out fairly quietly, and god damn was I impressed with it. If your computer can handle it, turn the graphics up ALL the way because the environment is amazing. The skyboxes are gorgeous, and when you get the the bridge in the first area your jaw WILL drop. The story is impeccable but the ending falls a bit flat. Where it does excel is where the intense paranormal events get explained by fairly innocuous items or memories.
1. This War of Mine
This War of Mine is one of the most important games of our generation. The team at 11 Bit Studios have created a title that focuses on a group of people that don’t get representation in war games. Their AI emotion system is something to behold. Characters actions can make them depressed and their effectiveness will hurt. This game may look simple, but it can be extremely overwhelming. And when you’re in day 30 of survival and you LOSE someone because you made a mistake, you the player will really feel it.
Jonathan London
Amiibo Hunter – The Real World MMO (That’s Destroying Our Lives)
Only one game has taken over my life in 2014. Sure, Season 2 of Telltale’s ‘The Walking Dead’ was as perfect and engrossing a follow up to Season 1 as you’ve been told by reading all of its praise from other outlets. Absolutely has ‘Mario Kart 8’ surpassed ‘Mario Kart 64’ as the best entry in the Mario Kart series. And of course all of that other redundant FPS, Triple A title stuff got shoveled down your throat this year, just as it did last year and the year before that. But NONE of those games had me sitting outside of a Best Buy at 8am waiting for the doors to open so I could beat other gamers (and scalpers) to the shelves to come out on top. And no other gaming experience has given me the same levels of frustration, elation and straight up confusion as the real world MMO that we all call Amiibo Hunter: The Quest for $13 Nintendo Toys. When they were unveiled at E3, we were intrigued. When we saw the announcement of each Wave and their interactivity with games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 we were interested. And when we bought our first one… we were fucking obsessed.
Now Derek, Juan, Josh and I are in it to win it. We’ve collected all of Waves 1 and 2 and pre-ordered Wave 3. Hell, I don’t even play Super Smash Bros and I’m getting all of these little plastic statues. Why? Because I have a sickness. And Amiibo Hunter played right into it. I’ve been elbowed by scalpers, celebrated by fellow Amiibo sub-Redditors and have started a coast to coast search (successfully I might add) for rare Amiibo among my friends and loved ones. Unlike any other gaming experience in recent memory, at least in my adulthood, Amiibo Hunter has brought my collecting friends and I together as we scour the landscape for these overpriced little plastic pieces of junk. Never have I traded so many texts, phone calls and emails all relating to a single video game as I have with Amiibo Hunter. It’s bad. It’s at a fever pitch. And it’s going to get a whole lot worse before a cure is found. Bring. It. On.
Fuckin’ Shades.
Juan Carlos Marquez
Wii U Game of the Year: Bayonetta 2 by Platinum Games
Let’s rewind the clock back to September 2012. Nintendo had just made the surprising announcement that the sequel to Bayonetta would not only be coming to the Wii U, but that it was also being published by Nintendo–making the game a Wii U exclusive. As expected, a number of XBOX and PlayStaton owners filled social media with negative comments directed toward Platinum Games–accusing them of betraying the loyal fan base by releasing the game on a console fans of the original didn’t [yet they fail to recognize that Bayonetta 2 wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for Nintendo], but a few went as far as making death threats towards Nintendo and Platinum Games developers unless they released the game to ‘real’ consoles.
Well, Bayonetta 2 remained to be a Wii U exclusive and was released this October, and as of this writing, there have been no reports of any suicides or attempted murders towards anyone working at Nintendo or Platinum Games. Thank goodness for that.
A Metacritic score of 91, and perfect scores from Game Spot, EDGE, and Destructiod, several Game of the Year awards and nominations, after all the death threats and negative criticism, Platinum Games, Nintendo, and Wii U owners certainly had the last laugh.
3DS Game of 2014: Bravely Default by Square Enix
The DS had a number of fantastic RPG titles in its library. The handheld boasts an incredible an already incredible library of RPGs with the likes of Fire Emblem: Awakening, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Code of Princess, and Monster Hunter Tri. Square Enix added one more gem to NIntendo 3DS in Bravely Default–one of the beautiful RPG’s ever to grace the Nintendo 3DS. When the demo launched in January, North American gamers got a taste of Bravely Default and quickly found out why the game quickly became one of Japan’s hottest titles since 2012. With another Bravely Default game already coming our way, Square Enix has found themselves with another hit on their hands–a hit which has earned the title of best 3DS Game of 2014.
Derek Kraneveldt
It seems like this year was both phenomenal and terrible for gaming. We saw a ton of great, great new titles, sequels, and indies, but also far too many remasters (one of which made it on my list… yeah), a ton of delays, and a myriad of broken-at-launch Ubisoft titles. There were so many games that I wanted to love, but couldn’t even stand (Watch Dogs for instance), a bunch that ended up mediocre as hell (Destiny, though I couldn’t stop playing it) and a ton of acclaimed titles that I haven’t yet had an opportunity to play (Bayonetta 2, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter just to name a few). I’m really looking forward to 2015, if not mostly to play the games that were delayed in 2014, but also to play all of the games that I missed this year! Again, the games below are in no particular order, aside from #1.
The Last of Us: Remastered
Yep. One of the best games I played this year was an upscaled and remastered version of the best game that I played last year. That is how freaking stellar The Last of Us is. Reliving that beautiful, heartbreaking campaign but with much improved graphics and sound had me just as in awe as the first time I’d played it. It’s so hard to imagine that my first experience with TLoU had only been a year prior, but it’s a game that I can’t wait to experience once again.
This is a world that I’m terrified of, but it’s also a world that I simply can’t get enough of. Everyone needs to experience this title.
Amiibo Hunter
Amiibo Hunter is a game that I love with all of my heart, and hate with all of my wallet. I went back and forth about Amiibo figures, deciding after seeing prototypes at SDCC that I would definitely be buying a few, but changing my mind and deciding not to buy any after seeing leaked particularly bad looking figures shortly before launch.
Then, launch day rolled around. I strolled into my local Toys R Us just planning to take a look… and walked out with a Mario (little did I know that the half dozen Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer figures that were sitting on that shelf could have paid for my next trip to Comic Con).
Then, the next day came. That day I bought Link. The next day, Kirby. Now, I’m here:
It’s also brought me closer with my Geekscape brethren, which is my favourite feature of Amibo hunter. We’re all watching each other’s backs, looking for Amiibo that some of us still need, and messaging each other the hilarious stories that come up on our hunts. It’s a blast, and I can’t wait for my Luigi to get here from Alaska (thanks Shane).
On the flip side, gah, my wallet!
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Captain Toad is a fucking bad ass. We all knew it when we played the original Captain levels in 2013’s Super Mario 3D World, but we were beyond excited to learn that the Captain would be getting his own game this holiday season.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a fairly easy play through, but you’ll definitely be pounding the table in frustration trying to complete some of the tougher challenges. For the most part, it’s one of the most relaxing games that I’ve played in some time, and it’s the most fun I’ve had playing a puzzler in years. It’s also a freaking budget title, coming in at just $39.99. It’s more than worth it.
If you’re looking for more on Captain Toad, here’s my full review. TL;DR: buy the hell out of it.
Alien: Isolation
This game scared the shit out of me… before I ever even saw the Alien.
It’s also the first game that I ever played using a headset, which didn’t help the situation at all. Alien: Isolation completely slipped under my radar. By slipped, I mean that I ignored it because the Alien games have largely been terrible for years now (remember Colonial Marines), and the franchise has essentially been tarnished to the point where I didn’t even care as I walked passed their stellar booth at SDCC.
Then, the game came out and I read the reviews. Then I bought it. Then I shat my pants.
I still haven’t finished Alien: Isolation. Every time that I think about playing it, I instead think about how I don’t really feel like being scared right now and play something else. But I’m looking forward to the day when I can get back to it and take on that Xenomorph once more. The game adds some incredibly original mechanics, makes excellent use of depth-of-field, and (especially with a headset) is the scariest game that I’ve played in years.
Gah.
1. Mario Kart 8
I’m not putting Mario Kart 8 at the top of my list because I’m really, really good at it. I’m putting Mario Kart 8 on my list because I’ve put far more hours into it than any other game this year, and because that’s something that I don’t see changing any time soon.
Plus, Mario Kart 8 made my often Nintendo-bashing roommate sell his PS4 and games to buy a Wii U, which he has put far more hours into than he ever did his PS4. That has to count for something.
Whether playing along, online, or with three other people on your own couch (thank you Nintendo), there is no game in recent memory that I’ve had as much fun with as I have Mario Kart 8. It’s an absolutely gorgeous title, with a buttery-smooth framerate, and SO many tracks (and it just got eight more, with another eight coming in March).
Back when I reviewed the game in May, I said that “Mario Kart 8 is the most fun I’ve had playing a video game this year.” And that holds true to this day. It’s the best game that I’ve played all year, and I can’t wait to play it some more!
Honorable mentions: The Walking Dead: Season 2, The Wolf Among Us Super Smash Bros. Papers, Please (iOS), Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, P.T.
Joshua Jackson
Honorable Mention: Amiibo Hunter
For all intents and purposes, Amiibo Hunter is the worst game that you can get caught up in. It’s stressful, sucks up days out of your life, and constantly asks you to dish out another $12.99 for its physical DLC. It’s internal clock forces you to wake up at obscene hours to increase your chances of unlocking the latest characters, and you have to keep an eye out for douchebags in sunglasses who are looking to take them all for themselves. It’s all around terrible, but we can’t stop playing it! That alone deserves a mention, and might have actually made the list if it was a real game, rather than the sad, sad state of our lives at the moment.
14. InFamous: Second Son
The InFamous series made some huge changes when it made the jump to the Playstation 4. Aside from its obvious visual upgrade, the game took its first steps into the real world with its Seattle setting to follow its new protagonist who could learn a variety of powers. What we got from Second Son was the first glimpse of greatness from Sony’s latest console, with a memorable story and entertaining game play that made each of its miniscule eight hours of play time enjoyable. Sadly, that last aspect holds the game back, being a significantly smaller game than its two predecessors. Even still, Second Son has earned its place as one of 2014’s bright spots, so let’s hope Sucker Punch can expand on this exciting world in the inevitable sequels.
13. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
No matter how much time goes by, I don’t think the world of Middle Earth could ever get old. If you need any proof, Shadow of Mordor released as an original story within the Lord of the Rings lore, placing you primarily in the boots of a murdered ranger seeking revenge for the loss of his family. Part Batman: Arkham City, part Assassin’s Creed, Shadow of Mordor allowed us to explore Tolkien’s vision in a way we never have before, with a huge open world, many familiar characters, and an army of Uruk to destroy, this game had something to offer for fans and non-fans of the property alike.
But most impressive was its ambitious nemesis system, a non-linear system where killing certain enemies affects the enemy army. But if someone escapes your wrath or kills you, they’ll rise through the ranks and receive promotions based on their accolades over you. Even defeated enemies may come back with wounds that reflect what you did to them during your last encounter. Such ambition in a new IP is rare, and earned Shadow of Mordor a spot as one of 2014’s highlights.
12. Titanfall
As one of the most anticipated games of the year, Titanfall succeeded in almost every way that it sought out to. Its focus on movement and mechs rather than at camper friendly environment that many other shooters foster forced you to change the way you play, with large scale online battles against people all around the world. Offering some of the most fun I’ve had in a game this year, interest waned when the community started falling out and its half hearted story failed to offer much of a reason to stick around. Still, that doesn’t change how much of a blast Titanfall was, and can still be. Let’s just cross our fingers for a proper campaign next time.
11. Sunset Overdrive
Sunset Overdrive had a lot to prove. After an exciting, yet vague debut trailer, Insomniac, (of Spyro and Ratchet & Clank fame,) literally came out with guns blazing with their first Xbox exclusive. A completely tongue in cheek take on the open world game, the company took all of the lessons they learned from Ratchet and amplified them with this shooter/platformer. Framed by an anti-consumerism story where the latest energy drink is turning its consumers into mindless monsters, traveling through the city, shooting enemies while in motion, and inexplicably bouncing from car to car between power line grinds was the most fluid experience of the year. Being able to do so much in such an intuitive fashion made you feel like an instant badass, which is only held back by its barren city and repetitive missions. Still, not bad for its debut title! If nothing else, it proved that a post apocalyptic shooter doesn’t have to be grey and brown.
10. Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire
2014 marked the year that Hoenn was finally confirmed, bringing remakes of the beloved 3rd generation of Game Boy Advance games to the 3DS. Unlike most remakes however, the game went above and beyond with new features, including a series of new story elements, an expanded roster of Pokemon, and a new way to catch your favorite creatures thanks to the stellar sneaking/Pokenav mechanic. Sadly, with its status as a remake brought many of the issues that held back the originals, namely the removal of some popular features and an over-reliance on HMs that over encumbered your team with useless attacks for the majority of the game. Even still, OR/AS give me hope that the series will take some huge steps in the future to help the long running RPG series innovate in ways that it hasn’t before.
Read Josh’s review here.
9. Hyperdimension Neptunia: Re;Birth 1
I never would have expected to enjoy this title as much as I did, but yet, here we are! Named one of the best RPGs I’ve played in years, Re;Birth 1 is everything a remake should be. With a complete reconstruction of the story, an altered real time turn based battle system that took the best parts from previous entries and perfected them, and rebuilt worlds to explore, it was exactly what the starving Vita needed in terms of exclusive games. The Remake System was icing on the cake, allowing players to alter dungeon items, enemies and difficulty as you play, helping to create an experience catered to the player. Throw in the trademark Neptunia charm, silly writing that doesn’t take itself seriously, and a fair share of fan service, (assuming that doesn’t turn you off from a game,) and you get my biggest surprise hit of the year.
8. South Park: Stick Of Truth
In my review earlier in the year, I was pretty hard on Stick of Truth. Its technical issues, short length and inability to return to dungeons that you’ve completed were big problems that weighed down an otherwise entertaining RPG. But as the months have gone on, there are few games that have released this year that have stuck with me as much as South Park has, both because of its simplistic, yet effective battle system that relies on status effects, and its insane scenarios that range from gut bustingly funny to gag inducingly disgusting. At the end of the day, a game that will be remembered for years to come for its personality can help it rise above any issues the game might have had. So while Stick of Truth might not be *better* than the games below it from a technical standpoint, the strength of its overall package help make it a game we won’t ever forget.
7. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Retro Studio’s second go at the Donkey Kong franchise was everything that you would expect out of a sequel to the incredible Wii title, Donkey Kong Country Returns. Adding Dixie Kong, and the playable debut of Cranky Kong to the fray, Tropical Freeze fixed the biggest complaint that was thrown at the original. Namely, Nintendo’s stubborn decision to only allow motion controls. Now, with a variety of control options, the rest of us can experience how well designed, (and soul crushingly difficult,) these new DK games can be, namely how shocking the game can be as you progress through levels. I don’t think I’ve screamed at my TV more than I have when sharks would eat the tracks in front of my mine cart, or when a giant squid would attack while I was fighting powerful currants. Fun, challenging, well designed, and a fantastic co-op experience, there’s no doubt that Tropical Freeze belongs in every Wii U owner’s library.
6. Inazuma Eleven
Sports. RPGs. Two genres that are completely opposite from each other, yet somehow Inazuma Eleven works so well! Reminiscent of the Blitzball mini-game made famous in Final Fantasy 10, Inazuma plants you on the soccer field as a struggling team that’s in danger of being disbanded if they suffer another loss. The result is a fast paced “battle” system and crazy special moves that range from the ball being lit on fire to defenders creating mirages of themselves. Local multiplayer functions, hundreds of recruitable characters, nearly endless customization and a so absurd, it’s incredible story carries Inazuma to the 2014 championships, and it’s really telling that this port of a game that’s about half a decade old holds up so well in its long overdue North American debut. Please, let us get the sequels!
5. Fantasy Life
This has been a huge year for Level 5. Not only were they the ones behind the above mentioned Inazuma Eleven, but Professor Layton took his final bow in Azran Legacy, alongside his highly anticipated crossover with Phoenix Wright courtesy of the developer. But out of all these titles, Fantasy Life was their definite highlight. This 3DS action RPG allows your custom character to live out their “Life,” this game’s word for job class. Except instead of being a warrior or mage, you can choose to be a tailor, blacksmith, miner… Basically any of the support roles in the background of most titles in the genre. Or if you want to do everything, you can make your own armor, then switch classes and tear monsters up with your home made equipment! These features are only amplified by a simplistic, yet addicting battle system, a focus on material gathering, and a witty script that constantly put a smile on my face. Online and local multiplayer for huge monster hunts only further prove why Fantasy Life was one of the highlights of the year for me.
4. (Tie) Mario Kart 8/Forza Horizon 2
I’m not typically a huge racing guy, but Mario Kart 8 and Forza Horizon 2 exemplify everything that I love about the genre on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. With Mario Kart, we have an easy to pick up and play multiplayer funfest, where skill is just as important in the game’s 32 tracks as what item you end up with to screw your opponents over.
Forza on the other hand, offers the most beautiful open world racing environment I’ve ever seen, complete with the “Drivatar” feature that was highly touted during the Xbox One reveal. Being able to jump straight into this huge world and explore, buy cars, start events or drive side by side with real people in a mostly seamless fashion, and you get the most impressive racing sim I’ve played since Test Drive Unlimited.
They may be complete opposites when it comes to style, but these two games show off how great racing games can be in their own, distinct way, making gaming in 2014 much better off.
3. Bayonetta 2
From the minute this game was announced, the storm of controversy surrounding it could be heard all around the Internet, (and had nothing to do with how little its protagonist was wearing for once.) Yes, Bayonetta fell into that familiar trap where pockets of the gaming community claims Nintendo needs to “grow up with their audience,” yet declares that a game like this “doesn’t belong on a Nintendo system,” when they are released. Hey, if Bayo is in the same company as games like Madworld and No More Heroes, then I’d say she’s doing something right.
But when the game finally released in October, it was everything we could have wanted from an action game and so much more! Tight, fluid game play and a fairly steep challenge was expected, but the ridiculous amount of unlockables costumes, weapons, difficulties and fights still managed to blow away an action game veteran like myself.
Platinum Games wouldn’t stop there though, adding an online cooperative challenge mode with a variety of selectable characters that keep the game fresh after all the single player difficulties have been conquered. And to think, this title almost never saw the light of day. Nintendo deserves a special thank you for taking a chance on a game that other publishers wouldn’t touch, awarding us with the best action game of the generation so far.
2. Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS
Easily my most anticipated game of 2014 from the moment Mega Man debuted in that incredible trailer from last year, both versions of Smash fired on all cylinders to bring us the most fun, frantic fighter of the year. The ridiculous amount of characters, faster paced game play compared to Brawl, numerous stages to get beat in, an ample amount of new items, and a much improved online mode, these features alone would have been enough to top any game of the year list.
But this wasn’t all Smash delivered in its fourth entry. The 3DS version brought the game into the world of StreetPass, encouraging us to have the game at the ready for tags, which could always lead to battles! While it did have to make some conscessions when bringing such a huge title to the small screen, it managed to recreate a faithful experience that we could take on the road, complete with new features like character customization and Smash Run, a substitute for Adventure Mode that wasn’t very good. Regardless, portable Smash was an achievement in and of itself.
Which brings us to the Wii U version, which is clearly the much more realized title between the two. As the series’ first foray into an HD world, the console version abandons Smash Run for a four player board game mode that’s more fun than it should be when you’re playing with four real people. But the real main event is 8 player Smash, making an already hectic 4 player experience go completely insane! Within its chaos though, lies some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I’ve seen friends that I haven’t visited in years because everyone is so eager to give the game a go, and I can honestly say that Smash is single handedly reviving local multiplayer, which is a powerful thing. The wear and tear is showing on my Wii U from having to take it with me so often, but it’s impossible to complain, and is easily my game of the year.
Or it would be, until an unexpected wave of despair took me completely by surprise…
1. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc/Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Even I find it hard to believe that a Japanese based text adventure that almost never made a Western debut, and on a platform most have forgotten about would be able to beat out games like the PS4’s killer app, a legendary Mario series, and the most anticipated fighter of the decade, but Danganronpa managed to do just that.
Released in mid February with little fanfare, the original Danganronpa was a screwed up game. Pitting some of the most memorable, beloved characters I’ve encountered this year in a literal death school, where the only way to escape was to get away with murdering a classmate, all orchestrated by an adorably evil teddy bear, was such a demented concept that I just couldn’t look away. Sacrificing some of the reward that comes from a game like Phoenix Wright, which asks you to solve mysteries with the evidence provided, Danganronpa 1 narrowed it down to create a faster paced experience in the form of class trials. Carried by hysterical dialogue, the class was tasked with discovering the true killer for each case, which were filled with moments that I won’t soon forget.
Danganronpa 1 could easily be on this list as a standalone title, which is a testament to how truly fantastic Danganronpa 2 was. Building on everything that its predecessor laid out while improving the amount of options given for each scenario, a brand new cast of characters with even crazier scenarios came about on the Island of Mutual Killing. While poking fun at some of the nonsensical plot points of the first game, the new adventure quickly engrosses the player in a mystery that ties up all of the loose ends left by its prequels, while leaving more bread crumbs to leave us frothing at the mouth for more. From a story standpoint, nothing comes close to Danganronpa this year.
With that in mind, I’ve said time and time again that game play is king. Without great game play, story doesn’t mean anything. It is a video GAME after all. But while Danganronpa could have relied on its morbid narrative and colorful characters, the developers at Spike Chunsoft decided that wasn’t enough, becoming a genre defining series that changes the concept of what a text adventure can be. Tying in elements of dating sims, item hording, rail shooters, logic puzzles and even snowboarding games into something that’s typically thought of as nothing but a point and click read-a-thon. It’s always admirable when a developer takes such risks in an industry that’s becoming more and more satisfied with complacency, but it’s rare that they pay off in such a big way. Danganronpa is one such case, making it the clear choice for 2014’s game of the year. Bravo, Spike Chunsoft, and by the way, thanks for Warrior’s Way!
So, how’d we do? Let us know if you agree with our choices, and be sure to share yours, in the comments below!