Your games of the year 2014

What were the best games you played for the first time this year? Your best games don't have to be games released this year, though they can be.

Here's my personal list, and I'll stick with my top 3 for now. I've included for consideration games I started last year but finished this year, and I've excluded games I started this year but haven't finished yet.

1. I don't think it should surprise anyone who has been on this forum long enough that I'm giving my #1 slot to The Last of Us. Even after starting it and finishing it this spring, I still talk about it a lot and recently replayed it. I can make a criticism here and there, but I loved it. It gives a fresh spin on zombie apocalypse, and is presented incredibly well. It holds the most emotional death scene I've seen in a game, made me cry several times, and the infected were plain unnerving to deal with, even at the end of the game when I should've been getting used to the distinctive clicking and the truly horrific things the designers thought up for what the Cordyceps infection does to the human body. It was challenging without being unfair, even with one-hit enemies everywhere. And the soundtrack by Gustavo Santaollala. A must-play.

2. This one was also easy. I have to give it to DontNod Entertainment's solid first release, Remember Me. There was truly original stuff here, primarily the memory remix mechanic. Unique, creative, fun and refreshing. I liked the build-your-own-combo system and the fighting in general, and a strong, solid female protagonist. Put that in a unique setting with some interesting ideas about where technology is headed and a great soundtrack from Olivier DeRiviere, and you get an excellent game, especially considering it was the studio's first. I hope to see more from them.

3. This one was tougher to decide, but I finally realized I had to give it to Bioshock, which I started last year but finished this year. I had to do this because this game made me grow as a gamer. It made me realize I DO like shooters, when they have good single-player campaigns. Considering its amazing atmosphere and willingness to explore contentious and sophistocated ideas, along with solid gameplay, I'm glad I played this game and gave it time and patience to click.

What are your favorite games that you played this year?

1. Star Trek Online: Delta Rising
The second expansion to Star Trek Online (following 2013's Legacy of Romulus) brings many new things to what's admittedly half of a great online game-- the in-game level cap is raised from 50 to 60 for all characters (giving players the respective ranks for Starfleet, Klingon Defense Force, and Romulan Republic captains), a new type of bridge officer (the Intelligence Officer) grants new ship and away team abilities, access to new (ugly) ships and new (ugly) uniforms and uniform accessories, your captain can use skill points after level 50 to learn new to Delta Rising abilities, and, of course, new storyline and new missions in a new area of the galaxy, the Delta Quadrant (last explored by the USS Voyager during the TV series Star Trek: Voyager.

But that's not all-- Delta Rising also serves as a miniature Voyager reunion! Tim Russ, Garret Wang, Jeri Ryan, and Robert Picardo reprise the roles of Tuvok, Harry Kim, Seven of Nine, and the Doctor, likenesses and all! (They join Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto, Chase Masterston, Michael Dorn, and Denise Crosby on the voice cast.)

2. Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok
Once upon a time, there was a series called Quest For Glory. Over the course of five wonderful games, you got to experience the story of (INSERT NAME HERE) as he went from a man who learned to be a hero through a mail-order course to prince of a desert sultanate, honorary warrior of a Maasai-like culture, Hero of Five Lands, and (possibly, depending on how you played the game) king, husband, paladin, wizard, or Chief Thief. There was a lot of humor, a lot of action, a very good underlying story, and, of course, because these were Sierra adventure games, a lot of humorous/stupid deaths.

Heroine's Quest is a worthy successor to the Quests For Glory of old. You are no longer in lands inspired by medieval alpine Germany, the Arabian Nights, darkest Africa, Transylvania, or Ancient Greece; instead, the land of Fornstigtuna takes its inspiration from Viking-era Scandinavia. Just like the series that inspired it, your heroine can be either a mighty warrior, a powerful sorceress, or a cunning thief. You get to fight monsters, solve the villagers' problems, and generally Do Right and Be Heroic. (And, naturally, die a lot.)

3. Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall
The only computer game on this list that actually came out in 2014, Dragonfall is the long-awaited DLC campaign for Shadowrun Returns, a new roleplaying game in the universe that combines cyberpunk and high fantasy.

After a routine run goes horribly wrong, you are the leader of a small team of shadowrunners, mercenaries for hire against the corporations that rule the world. Your only clues as to what went wrong are an orc in pitch black combat armor, and the name Feuerschwinge, a dragon that laid waste to Berlin in 2012, long-thought dead. What's the connection? Why did your friend have to die for this info? And how will it end for the Berlin Flux State?

Shadowrun Returns is only one half of the whole, of course. The other half is the massive campaign editor, which allows you to make your own Shadowrun campaign! And who doesn't love game creation systems that let you make fun games?

4. Dungeons & Dragons: Fifth Edition
This is a cheat, and I admit it fully. But hey, it's a game, I played it this year. This is the fifth edition of the world's most popular (and first!) roleplaying game, and it brings with it several innovations-- healing between combats is easier, fighters are near-unkillable juggernauts in a straight fight, every class gets several different paths to choose from once they get a few levels under their belts, and so on and so on. The most important change from the most popular edition(s) of the game, in my opinion: Magical items are no longer a thing you're expected to buy and improve.

Being a Small character such as a halfling or gnome still sucks, just like in Fourth Edition. =p

So, best of the games I played this year?

1. Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut

While it is a game with numerous technical issues as is pretty obviously the result of someone whose ambition wholly exceeded their available resources, the game wins on the strength of not only its soundtrack and other general presentation, but on the fact that the came took time to build a community of memorable weirdos and then letting the plot loose amongst them, plus the main character himself is far from being the sane man of the bunch. The final leg of the game is also a really hard watch, on account of SWERY having, by purpose or accident, created one of the most despicable villains the horror game genre has yet produced.

2. Strike Suit Zero: Director's Cut

Hey, this one was released this year, so it counts. It is still a very interesting beast, and makes enough changes to the original to make it a worthwhile game on its own. The game was restructured so that you get the titular vehicle earlier, and brings to the forefront a couple of systems that existed in the original but were not made all that obvious to the player. Beyond that, it's still an excellent space combat game, and the closest we're going to get to a good Macross game, so do keep an eye out.

3. Just Cause 2

One of four open world games I've played and enjoyed (others being Mercenaries, Saints Row 2, and Mount & Blade). An action movie may occur at any moment.

4. Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC

It's pretty much only natural that the first things that will get my attention about a JRPG are "Falcom" and "Localized by XSeeD games", and that combination of the two did sorta get my attention immediately. It's a pretty fun tactics-lite RPGin its own right, but on top of that there are the details, such as having a different "This chest is empty" message for every single chest in the game. That and it's different magic system and actually fun characters do make it something to be enjoyed.

5. Ryuutama: Natural Fantasy RPG

If I have a copy in my hand, it counts as "out". It should be ready by Christmas for the rest of 'yall, but I have been wrong before. I have talked at length about the game before, but the short version is that it's a recently localized Japanese tabletop game about travel in a fantasy world which is built on an attitude of play called honobono, which isn't all that common in Western roleplaying culture. In essence, Ryuutama is not a game you can play through clenched teeth, but rather meant to be a far more easygoing and friendly sort of roleplaying experience that's pushed by the game's art style and text and even the sorts of magic your characters are allowed to do- it's at the forefront of a few games that really brought me back to the hobby.

Haven't played many current games, but I would think Mario Kart 8 and Smash Wii U would be in the running. Both are arguably the best in their respective series.

Legend of Grimrock 2. You can read my review on it on my steam page.

Bragatyr wrote:

Haven't played many current games

Just as a clarification, your games of the year don't have to be games released this year. Even if it's ten years (or just pick any number) old but you played it for the first time this year, it could be your game of the year. None of my best games of the year were released this year (well, unless you want to count The Last of Us Remastered, but I haven't played that, I've only got the original version).

But here's a few runner ups for me, having given this more thought.

Mass Effect - like Bioshock, started it last year, finished it this year. I love the universe and the characters, and will eventually be playing ME 2 and 3, both of which I have.

Octodad: Dadliest Catch - I don't think I've played a game that has made me laugh as much as this one did just simply playing with the physics. It's an absolute riot. The game itself is pretty short (it is an indie title), but I had a ton of fun with it while it lasted.

Borderlands - I sunk a good bit of time into this doing basically all the side questing and I really enjoyed it. Sure, the grind eventually got to me after completing the main campaign and moving onto the DLC, and I haven't played it in at least a month, but I will be getting to BL2 and the Pre-Sequel in the future.