What's your 2014 Game of the Year?

[s1mplehumar]

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - first game to make me feel this happy that I've seen in a long, long time.

So I shouldn't expect it to go up on Flake Industries?

My gaming tastes are fickle, hence the revolving door of hobby that is Flake Industries. I don't think this game is going to get laid off, though. But seriously, have you played it?

I have not. Like most Nintendo games, it's on my radar, though.

[Xeogred]

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - first game to make me feel this happy that I've seen in a long, long time.

Game of the year though? Pretty crazy.

It looks like what a modern Adventure of Lolo could be like.

[Flake]

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - first game to make me feel this happy that I've seen in a long, long time.

Game of the year though? Pretty crazy.

It looks like what a modern Adventure of Lolo could be like.

Game of the Year, to me, means that the game has to stand out from the herd. There were some other amazing games that I played/seen this year but for almost any of them I can think of a comparable experience offered in another game. Of everything I saw and played this year, only Captain Toad has left me feeling like I was playing something special. It feels big, full of character and is absolutely compelling.

[soul_hacker]

Dark Souls 2, hands down.

[Violent By Design]

I think Shovel Knight is my favorite.

Wasteland 2 and Dark Souls 2 could be contenders if I get around to playing them.

[BoringSupreez]

I feel like 2014 has been the most underwhelming year of gaming in my entire life thus far. Yes, there are certainly a few good titles, (Wolfenstein, Alien, Dark Souls 2) but so many of the AAA games that were supposed to be awesome were surprisingly mediocre (Unity, Watch Dogs, Destiny), and indie games are getting stale to the point that the taste reminds me of EA back in '05/'06. Nothing original was released on current-gen consoles that can be considered a must-have, killer app, revolutionary experience, etc. The closest we got to that were the usual Nintendo sequels that are always solid but never particularly fresh.

To make choosing my GOTY even harder, the two games I enjoyed most this year were re-releases of 2013 games: GTA V and The Last of Us. Check out the top spots on Gamerankings.com for 2013 vs 2014. Now check out 2012. This has not been a normal year.

If GTA V had been released for the first time this year, it would easily be my pick. It looks great, is super addicting and fun, has awesome characters and interesting dialouge, and is not one of those games you beat in 6 hours. I've been playing for at least 15-20 hours and I'm still yet to reach the story's climax. Definitely my honorable mention.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is what I'll have to go with. Yeah, it's basically a paid demo. Yeah, you can beat the primary mode in 20 minutes or whatever it was. That's not how you're supposed to do it though, and if you explore everything the game has to offer, it's actually decently sizeable. The open-world mechanics had me skeptical at first, but Kojima pulled it off. To compare it to past games in the series, it smacks more of Subsistence than anything else. There's a lot of sneaking about, hiding in brush, and analyzing troop movements to do. While the story mode is short, it's quite intense, and successfully has me anticipating The Phantom Pain more than any other 2015 game. Best of all, it doesn't feel similar to any other game I've played (with the exception of MGS3), and that uniqueness is an important thing that's hard to find lately.

[Pulsar_t]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... lors-dream

I want to "play" this game, except I don't have an iOS device of any sort

[dsheinem]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... lors-dream

I want to "play" this game, except I don't have an iOS device of any sort

that's a shame, it is famtastic ... best iOS game this year, IMO

[Sload Soap]

Shovel Knight is my GOTY. It's a late entry but it's just about perfect in every department. I've played a lot of excellent platformers this year and Shovel Knight was only beaten out by such genuine classics as Super Mario Bros 3 and Rocket Knight Adventures in my overall top ten. Sublime.

I'll give a honourable mention to Destiny as well. It's got some major issues and my friends grew tired of it but for that month after it's launch before the grind set in, it was something special.

On the indie side of things I'll give a shout out to Curtain. There's a sub-genre of movies called feelbads and Curtain is a gaming feelbad. It's a grim experience, telling the story of a disintegrating relationship viewed through bleary eyes. However there's a strange catharsis to it that resonated with me all the same.

One last 2014 nod towards Pro Evolution Soccer 2015. I've been glued to it since Xmas eve and it's Pro back to its best. It might not have all the licenses and glitz of FIFA but its gameplay is infinitely better. Best comeback of the year.

[alienjesus]

Project DIVA f and Project DIVA F 2nd are my games of he year. I spoke about them more in the other best games of 2014 thread