by sessh
Rejoice! It’s this time of the year again.
Time to spend time with our families and loved ones, eat an unhealthy amount of cookies and hope that this time around we’ll actually get presents that we won’t have to later sell on Ebay (stealthyly of course, we don’t want to hurt anyone‘s feelings and all that).
So you guessed what time I meant by now? That’s right: It’s Christmas season again and so let’s talk a bit about…wait what do you mean we are a bit early for that and I can’t just assume that you are even celebrating Christmas in the first place? I mean come on, who wouldn’t celebrate Christmas? Oh I see, different religions and such - makes sense.
Well, okay then. I guess let’s not talk about Christmas, religion or why we hate that not everyone believes in the same things we do and instead let’s all despise and fight each other over things that really matter and make a difference:
Let’s all compile lists with our favorite games of the year and hate each other for including/excluding that one game that we really love/hate, since that’s just how we roll. (Yeah, I just used that phrase.)
Anyone wanna go first? No? Okay, then I’ll start.
With the intro out of the way (did anyone even read it and is still around?) I want to say that I felt a simple list just wouldn’t cut it for me this year and since I’m in a really good mood for writing some undoubtedly dumb stuff here we are.
*drumsticks*
It’s a GOTY blog in list form, because why not? One which includes not only my top 10 games of 2014, but also the games that didn’t quite make it and some random musings. See? Just like the title promised.
Everything‘s even blocked up in some handy categories, so highlights are quick to find and no one has to read anything they don’t want to. (Read it anyway, damn it!)
And now finally the main event:
Spoilers! It’s been a very RPG heavy year, with no less than 6 RPGs being featured in my Top 10 (If you are now going „Wow, that’s actually more than half of the list.“, you really earned that grade school degree. Good for you!), 5 of them battling it out for the top spot and 3 of them being games I have 100+ hours on in a single game file. RPG „heavy“ indeed.
(Read my more in depth Divinity review here.)
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Okay, this game truly came as a surprise to me. I'd heard of the Divinity series, but never played any of the games and wasn't even aware this was coming out. Then I saw the first minutes of this on UPF and I knew immediately I had to get it. Oh boy was that a good decision, because this game is just amazing. Amazing enough to score first place here! Let's start this off with the game's world and combat system. The world is huge (even though it doesn't seem like it at the start) and gorgeous and there's a lot of hidden stuff everywhere. The ability to mark and write stuff on the map should be in absolutely every game ever (from the start and not being added in by fan mods). Enemies don't auto-level along with you, so there is a, let's call it "suggested" route through the game, but you really don't have to follow it, if you feel up to the challenges of some very tough enemies that is. At the outset the game can be pretty harsh, but as soon as you recognize some of the tricks and synergies in the pretty much perfect combat system you feel like you can do anything (and kill everything). Nothing like casting a rain spell on fire demons to weaken them and then hit them with chain lightning to stun them or casting a fireball on a poison cloud and watch everything explode. So the combat is brilliant and the world is amazing. Now what about quest design, characters and story? Well, the quests are another thing that's great about the game, since there's just a lot do, with some cool, if ultimately meaningless, decision making involved. The general writing and dialogue in quests is outstanding and full of quirky humour. There's also quiet a lot of variety here, with quests ranging from solving a murder mystery, searching for a weresheep to playing a town full of orcs and mages, so the start killing each other. The NPCs, through the bank, are pretty great also. As an example: There are two talking wishing well brothers, named Walter and Wiliam Mc Wishing Well, who got tricked into fulfilling the wrong person's wishes. What more do you need to know? Oh and have I already mentioned that the game's sneaking system would even make Solid Snake proud? Here we have characters tiptoeing around hidden in barrels or bushes. It's ridiculous and fun. Of course there are some flaws also. The story isn't great (even though there's some potential there and it's enjoyable enough overall) and at times seems to build on some of the lore established in previous Divinity games. Another annoying thing is that sadly there are only two named NPCs who can become companions, seriously limiting your class choices for the two main characters if you want to plan ahead, but at least their respective backgrounds are interesting. Ultimately all that's really minor nitpickings in a game that shines in every other aspect. So this is the best game of the year by far and maybe even the best game in the last 5 or so years. Go and play it, if you haven't! Right now!
The first game is among my top games of the last generation and the second one was okay (I guess?), but who cares about DA2 really, because Inquisition pretty much just nails it. An amazingly crafted and ridiculously huge world for you to explore, an absolute ton of quests and collectibles, a combat system that's good for people who like action and also for more tactic oriented folks (believe me, you need the tactical few on Nightmare mode) and, like always in Bioware games, some truly great characters (Dorian is my favourite. That moustache alone is really selling him). The overall story is also pretty good. Just short of first place, really.
I loved the first game, which is evident if you look at my GOTY list from 2011 (top spot!), and this is a really good sequel. There are some nice improvements to most of the mechanics and the added enemies in NG+ runs are fun, but the kinda just didn't take things far enough. To me this feels more like a Dark Souls 1.5 than a true sequel. Also the world is not as great and well crafted as the world in the first game, which is a real bummer.
I love both P4 and P3 so this is another nobrainer. The persona systems mix nicely with Etrian Odyssey's dungeon crawling which makes for a truly great combat system. The story and characters are fun and as whimsical as always (except for newcomers Zen and Rei sadly, who I find just boring). Teddy deserves better than he gets in this game, though. Why can't anybody seem to bear him?
It's an overlong South Park episode. Do I need to say more? The combat is decent also, and it looks just like the show, which is quiet simply an amazing feat.
A very fun game, with one truly amazing feature (you guessed it) the much talked about Nemesis system. The story is forgettable (except for the very end), but this is just a well-polished fun world to explore, with much better combat than any of the recent AC games had. Also, oh my god I hate you so much Garokk Scar-Face!
I never would have thought, that I would jump on the COD train again, but here we are. I'm with Jeff that the movement in this game is almost perfect and just what this franchise needed. Nothing like getting the jump on your enemies, literally.
Everything in the vain on the old Fallout games is great in my book, so that I would love this game didn't come as a surprise to me. The combat is a bit clunky at times as is the technical aspect of the game, and the story is, well, not really there, but it's a cool game in a great setting.
I didn't like the original all to much, because for whatever reason I just couldn't handle the keyboard controls, but man the console version is amazing. It's just a clever random game and I for one really dig the art.
I'm a sucker for competitive card games and this is, in typical Blizzard fashion, just a very well polished game overall. With GvG just out, upsetting a lot the existing meta, this deserves a spot on the list.