Game of the Year

It has been an interesting year for video games. It was the first full year either of the two new consoles had and it was also the first wave of next-gen only games. But the most interesting thing I noticed which directly involves this Game of the Year round up I’m doing is that it was a year of subverted expectations. Games people had high hopes for or were considered “big” games disappointed or failed to leave an impression; Destiny and Watch Dogs come to mind. While games people had little expectations for or forgot were even coming out blew everyone away; Wolfenstein and Shadow of Modor. It was a very weird and exciting year so let’s go over my favorites games of the year.

Top Ten

(1)Dragon Age: Inquisition – The odds were stacked high against BioWare, Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect 3 were massive letdowns and hopes were not high on the studio ever recovering. Fans held their breath as Dragon Age Inquisition reared its head, would we get the ambitious developer of Mass Effect 2 or the lazy absent-minded one from Dragon Age 2. Lo and behold, Dragon Age Inquisition rode in on a white horse delivering the most engrossing, fully realized game world of the year. The characters in Inquisition are some of the best BioWare has ever created, multi-layered and complicated, you’ll want to spend hours hanging out with them. They even manage to hold together an otherwise forgettable, run of the mill, world-ending plot. With this game BioWare has managed to both rectify every complaint players had while still brilliantly executing on all of their strengths. Dragon Age Inquisition is by far the best game of the year, mind-bogglingly massive, painstakingly detailed, gorgeously rendered, filled with wonderfully realized characters and so lovingly crafted the game oozes an enrapturing confidence that you’ll wonder where the past 90 hours of your life went.

(2)Shadow of Mordor – I’m not usually attracted to game play mechanics in video games, I’m more interested in the mediums capacity for storytelling. But what’s interesting about Shadow of Mordor is that its focus on one particular system, the Nemesis system, allows for a form of storytelling that is wholly unique to the medium. Shamelessly borrowing mechanics from other games, namely the Arkham and Assassin’s Creed series, Shadow of Mordor polishes and blends those two formulas while adding in a never before seen AI system that makes such a profound impact on the player experience people will be begging for it to be implemented in nearly every game moving forward. Enemies are shaped by your actions, they remember and adapt. You'll even form deep seated rivalries with randomly generated AI, it's unprecedented and unbelievably impressive. Shadow of Mordor is impressive on so many levels, not only is it immensely fun to play but the fluid way in which the game reacts to your every action is endlessly entertaining.

(3)Far Cry 4 – If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Far Cry 4 may be a lot more of the same, in fact it’s unapologetically identical to the previous entry in the franchise, but that doesn't stop it from being an infectiously enjoyable romp. As someone who advocates that video games should take more risks and step away from the relative safety of well-established franchises and game play mechanics, I find myself conflicted playing Far Cry 4. On the one hand it’s fun as all get-out but it feels so familiar, not just within its own franchise and genre, but the ubiquitous Ubisoft template layered over the game makes it feel like it’s treading a lot of well-worn ground. But damn it if I don’t still feel compelled to climb every bell tower to reveal the map, and hunt animals to upgrade my wallet. I enjoyed my 20 or so hours in this fictionalized Himalayan countryside a whole lot, but I don’t plan on being this eager to play another Far Cry experience in this style in the near future.

(4)Bayonetta 2 – It’s an incredible feat Bayonetta 2 accomplished. It manages to outdue everything its predecessor did and then somehow top itself with each subsequent chapter of it's 16 chapter story. The opening level sees the titular character fighting corrupted angels atop a fighter jet as it rockets through a city and it only gets crazier from there. But the zaniness is not the only draw, the mechanics have been embellished and honed, combos are easier to string together and a slow-mo dodge allows you to manage tough fights. Bayonetta is likely the sharpest character action game ever released, a bold claim I know, but you'll be hard pressed to disagree with once you experience it.
Bayonetta 2 not only plays wonderfully but its complete lack of respect towards comprehension is staggering and one of the great joys of playing through its bouts of insane action and random nudity.

(5)Sunset Overdrive – Early on Sunset Overdrive does little to distinguish itself outside of a shockingly vibrant setting. But Insomanic Games bring their seemingly patented innovative weapon design and exceedingly fun game play to create a roll-licking good time. The games humor oftentimes misses the mark, but it allows the game to take ever increasingly ridiculous set pieces in strides while poking fun at video games and breaking the fourth wall. Traversing the world is this games strong suit, I've never played a game that felt this polished, considering the amount of things you can bounce on, grind on, fly off, climb up and around it’s staggering the game never losses its momentum. Stringing together these traversal elements while laying waste to thousands of energy drink infected mutants (it’s a thing) with batshit crazy weapons is some of the most gleefully indulgent fun I've had in a video game all year. 

(6)The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is an immensely atmospheric game that tasks you with discovering the mystery of a quiet riverside town. The game rewards exploring every nook and cranny with excursions into reality bending side stories hidden in little side areas throughout the game. The game boils down to finding clues and then ordering the sequence of events correctly. But game play is not what Ethan Carter is all about, the game is at all times haunting; a nervous feeling of unease permeates the entire game as you wonder whether whatever mysterious force is at work in this small town will come out from the shadows and confront you. I loved every second of this game; it evoked a great sense of wonder and lured me in by my obsessive need to discover. I hypnotically made my way through the ominous mystery discovering every secret along the way without pausing once. I was completely enamored with the game and was only slightly disappointed with how it wrapped up.

(7)Shovel Knight – Shovel Knight perfectly recreates classic Nintendo platformers from the 8-bit era while not being a slave to them. A game layered with nostalgic callbacks that improves on those classic games it emulates with smart modern design sense. Shovel Knight is a true homage, it doesn't lean on the games that inspired it but it uses them as stepping stone to achieve something altogether new.  The music is immensely memorable, the levels more so, the tight controls are pure bliss and it all comes together in one of the best retro indie games. I'm struggling not to call this game perfect because no game is ever perfect but Shovel Knight is so finely tuned and meticulously designed and crafted it comes damn close.

(8)Transistor – Transistor is only Supergiant Games second game but they already show a master class skill in game design. All the great things about Bastion are here but with it comes a more nuanced game play system. A mix between turn-based and real-time strategy, combat involves combining a variety of powers to fight the various enemies. Tactically approaching every enemy encounter is a necessity and the hundreds of power variants you can equip allow for literal thousands of game play styles. The cyberpunk world is well realized, the narrator this time around is your weapon who, as the story later reveals, is something much more. The art is gorgeous and the wonderfully dreary music will make its way onto your iPod within minutes of completing the game. Transistor is one of the rare games where both style and substance are well executed, the game looks and sounds beautiful but the combat system is also rewarding and deep. Supergiant Games third game can’t come soon enough.

(9)Wolfenstein: The New Order – I don’t think anyone was expecting anything from this game but it should come as no surprise that some of the minds that brought us the incomparable Escape from Butcher Bay managed to breathe life into a dormant, once mindless franchise. Wolfenstein manages to tell a surprisingly poignant, truthfully written and acted alternate future story wherein Nazi’s win WWII and go onto occupy the Moon. If this sounds ludicrous it’s because it is, and that allows the game to stand out amongst the now rote modern military shooters that have flooded the medium. Wolfenstein is impeccably designed. A myriad of gameplay options are laid at your feet and all are incredible fun to experiment with, whether it’s stealth, minor puzzles, character interactions or the traditional over the top mowing down of enemies. Once the initial surprise wore off, Wolfenstein still stood tall atop a heap of dead Nazi’s as an unapologetically fun and well-designed shooter with a compelling, if outrageous, story the likes of which hasn’t been seen in recent years.

(10)The Evil Within – This one will surprise most people I would think, and yet three months after completing the game I’m still thinking about it. The Evil Within feels like a logical extension of ideas and mechanics introduced in Resident Evil 4, the issue is that it is not 2005 and ten years is a long time in the world of video games. It is filled with a lot of frustrating anachronisms but I still found myself looking forward to each new level and ridiculous boss. The story is nonsensical but it does offer opportunities to do just about anything a horror game would like to explore. Creepy abandoned village, haunted mansion, insane asylum, name it you probably confront it at one point or another. The game illicit genuine moments of dread and fear; ammo is scarce, enemies are abundant, and dying is common. Unfortunately other times it’s a frustrating mess with unclear game play mechanics. It may strike you as a bit odd that a game I have repeatedly made concession about is on my TOP 10 list, but this game just evokes feelings of immense joy from me. Maybe it’s getting by on the laurels of my love for Resident Evil 4 but regardless I enjoyed the game immensely despite its shortcomings.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Wolf Among Us – Telltale has consistently crafted some of my favorite video game experiences for two years now. The Wolf Among is no different and though it fumbles in the execution of its densely intertwined mystery, the smoky noir world they establish and the seedy characters that inhabit it are so engrossing it’s a series I’m desperate to see return.

Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea – As Bioshock Infinite stood as my favorite game last year I would be remiss not to include the very excellent two part dlc, Burial at Sea. Taking place in Rapture before the events of the first game you play as the two leads from the last game, Booker and Elizabeth. With the mind-bending revelations of Infinite on the table, Irrational has a lot of fun with time travel, parallel universes and general craziness while never losing sight of the immensely grounded main characters plight to vanquish their metaphorical demons. This two part dlc wraps up the entire Bioshock universe in splendid fashion with some of the best moments in the entire series sprinkled throughout these two four hour stories.

The Last of Us: Left Behind – The folks at Naughty Dog crafted yet another resonate emotional journey, this time in only a few short hours with an outcome veteran players already knew. Despite those limitations they still managed to illicit tears from this feigned cold hearted fan. Turning established mechanics from the main game on their head to tell a story of indelible love, this bite sized apocalypse left me astounded and thoroughly moved.  An absolutely unmissable experience. 

The Banner Saga - The Banner Saga is a turn-based strategy game with a Tolkien level of world building. The world of Banner Saga is immensely detailed, and I mean immense the world map is filled with towns, landmarks even histories of the world all intricately explained. A staggering amount of work went into fleshing out this beautiful world, and good god is it beautiful. Artistically, you won't find a better looking game this year full-stop, this game is astoundingly gorgeous. The story is quite good as well and while unrelentingly bleak, the fascinating characters you meet and devastating decisions you make along the way deliver a surprisingly engrossing experience.