Games of the Year ’14

Kyle

Overall I’d say that 2014 was a disappointing year for video games. Broken games seemed to be the norm, rather than the exception. While the year held some of my most anticipated games ever, almost all of them resulted in a good, but not great experience, or total frustration at the issues plaguing the title.

And yet, 2014 was also the year of fulfilled promises. Nintendo finally got on their game with the Wii U, pushing out enough to fill a top 5 list all by themselves. And I finally got the Alien game that I’d wanted for years with Alien: Isolation. On top of this came the fantastically funny South Park: The Stick of Truth, Telltale’s continued focus on storytelling excellence, and a few innovative and exciting games that made the year worthwhile.

Looking over everything that released in 2014 it feels like the year we looked back. Remakes dominated my play time, and licensed titles from decades old properties finished it off. A few bright sparks shined through this, but overall it was a year that focused heavily on the past. This isn’t necessarily bad (and my not having time to play Sunset Overdrive, Bayonetta 2, Hearthstone and others likely exacerbated it), but hopefully 2015 is filled with more innovation and originality than was offered in 2014.

10. South Park: The Stick of Truth

9. Mario Kart 8

8. Titanfall

7. Halo: The Master Chief Collection

6.The Last of Us: Remastered

5. The Wolf Among Us

4. Shovel Knight

3. The Walking Dead: Season Two

2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

1. Alien: Isolation