2013 was an excellent year for games, both AAA and independent, and what better way to celebrate that than by arbitrarily ranking them in order? I will admit that this list is heavily biased towards the Xbox 360, as that is my main console of choice, but I feel like this llist accurate represents my year in gaming.
Video games are supposed to be fun, right? If we go by that, GTA V is one of my favorite games of all time. I had great fun playing the fantastic single player (the first GTA campaign I've finished since Vice City), but I will remember playing GTA Online with friends the most. The amount of times I have been in tears laughing at some ridiculous shit that just happened is beyond counting at this point. So for those reasons, GTA V is my game of the year.
Now for a game that couldn't be more different than my #1. Gone Home was the game i frantically recommended to everyone I know this year. Exploring the Greenbriar house was an incredible experience, and without spoiling anything, maybe the most emotionally affecting game I have ever played. Everyone NEEDS to play this.
This game is not fun to play. Don't take that as a slam on this game in any way, but merely a summation of how it feels to play this game. The Last of Us is relentlessly bleak, in a way few games have ever even approached. It is, however, one of the best games of this generation and a perfect swan song for the Playstation 3. Just don't expect a joyful experience.
Bioshock is my favorite game of all time, so Infinite had a ton to live up to. It didn't quite live up to that standard, but it did boast one of the most full realized game worlds in the history of the medium. In addition to stunning voice acting and unbelievably beautiful visuals, that alone is enough reason for this game to rest in my top 5.
There were only 4 games this year better than Brothers. I won't say much about the story of this game, but god damn, dat ending. I was close to tears a few times, which I haven't been able to say about a game's ending since Red Dead Redemption.
2013 was the year that Divekick replaced Rock Band 3 as the party game of choice amongst my group of friends. The simplicity of it is by far the biggest selling point of the game, as the same type of people who "Don't play games" that were in love with Rock Band flocked to this game. That is a damn good accomplishment.
Driving a space ship through an alien mother ship while "What is love" by Haddaway plays. Nuff said.
This was by far the most Stressful game I played all year. The game just oozes style and is actually one of the most satisfying gameplay experiences I had this year. This game made me sick to my stomach with stress in a way i haven't felt in years. A great game, and fully Deserving of being in the top ten.
I don't give a shit about Tomb Raider. I just never cared about this series at all. With this new installment, Tomb Raider is compelling and absolutely worth your time. Just a damn fun and well made game. I can't wait to see where they go with this series next.
This is the dumbest game I played all year, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Building off of the foundations of the very solid Far Cry 3, UbiSoft just went absolutely apeshit in the most amazing ways with this game. It's a short experience, but a massively satisfying and hilarious one.
