by langdonx
Regrets and Honorable Mentions:
Regrettably Not Played:
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Honorable Mention:
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This game was nowhere on my radar prior to or at its release, but the snowball of fervor that formed post-launch bumped it towards the very top of my list. The combat, while relatively easy, was still amazing fun, and all of the open world bits kept me perfectly engaged. Shadow of Mordor was the third (of 3 games) that I Platinum'd this year.
Some facts about Dark Souls II: (1) It was the second game (of 3) I Platinum'd this year. (2) To earn the Platinum, I put in slightly over 100 hours over the course of 22 days (~33 hours/week). (3) I took days off from work to play this game. (4) It is the only game in my top 5 without a subtitle. (5) Dark Souls II, while wonderful, was not as good as Dark Souls I, which was not as good as Demon's Souls. (6) I regrettably did not play any of the DLC.
Valiant Hearts has it all -- an incredibly moving soundtrack, some of the best narration in games, a terrifically woven story, a relatively unique setting, gorgeous art direction, cute and quirky animation, and a fantastical ending. I can't think of another game where I actually took the time to read every last "codec" and collectible. The credits seemed to have tease a followup, and if there isn't one, I'm hoping at least the same talented team is cooking up something new.
A fantastic sendoff to a wonderful trilogy that spanned the better half a console generation. I know the ending of the game was total fan service, but I ate up every morsel.
A hilarious delight. Despite its aging concept, the Super Mario RPG style turn based combat was so refreshing. There couldn't have been a more-perfect South Park video game created.
An incredibly addictive and quirky shooter that took me by surprise. It reminded me of a time when I was maybe good at twitch arena shooters (Q2/Q3A/UT). I am saddened to admit that I couldn't get past the final few stages of the 4th world. I had 3-star'd everything prior to that as well. For shame.
The game that keeps on giving is the game that I continue to spend time with. While not as wonderful an update as Super, Ultra was able to provide enough new stuff to keep things feeling fresh, especially with the 1.04 patch (trials, omega, etc). I probably wouldn't have played as much of this as I have, were it not for my arcade machine being at work along with a very dedicated co-worker.
I wanted to like this more than I ended up doing so, though that's not to say that I didn't adore it, because I did. The story was wonderful and even choked me up some at the end. The gameplay was extremely cool, but never totally grabbed me enough to complete that second play through and go for the Platinum trophy. The narration was awesome, but didn't have the same impact as Bastion (I suppose, because I had seen it before). The soundtrack was one of the greatest soundtracks in recent years and one I currently listen to months later and will continue listening in the future.
Lethal League's mechanics are so simple and accessible, while still being extremely enjoyable. The 2-4 player GGPO online experience is perfect! I can't imagine having played much of this game without it.
OlliOlli is the perfect Vita game -- you can pick it up and play it for a few minutes or a few hours. I haven't had this much fun with a skateboarding game since THPS3. I did everything but RAD mode, which might be the most impossible thing for a person with no real rhythm of speak of.