Here we go again. From blockbuster mainstream hits to lesser-known indie gems, these are the 25 games that have kept our reviewers glued to their gigantic HD televisions this year.
As ever, it’s a highly subjective list, based on the titles we genuinely played and played, rather than the critical hits we thought we really ought to consider. Apart from that, the rules were simple: every title in the list had to be released for the first time in 2014 (so no remasters, repackages or conversions of early titles), and everything had to be on console or PC, as we’re handling smartphone and tablet favourites in another list.
Enough excuses. Here are the first five titles from our selection. Check back to this story every day this week for more additions.
25. Titanfall | Microsoft, Xbox One
What we said: “Titanfall is a sort of masterpiece, so confident in itself and its identity, yet so reverent in its art direction to the science fiction visions of artists such as Shōji Kawamori, Kunio Okawara, Syd Mead and Chris Foss. You will play for hours, get tired, think you’re done, and switch it off, but then it nags at you and you go back. Sure, it is the pattern of compulsion that has governed the genre since Modern Warfare, but here it is tuned and perfected and ever-so-slightly evolved, and it is wonderful at times.”
24. Hohokum | Sony, PS4/Vita
What we said: “This genuinely feels like an adventure into the unknown, which is an achievement nowadays, although the non-linearity of Hohokum, while its biggest strength, can make the latter part of the game frustrating. It will doubtless perplex many players, but anyone open-minded and looking for something different will have a ball.”
23. Fifa 15 / PES 2015 | EA, multiple formats / Konami, multiple formats
We cheated! Although EA’s title scored higher, as a group we couldn’t separate these two hugely entertaining football sims this year, so we put them both in together.
What we said about Fifa: “If this is your first Fifa game on the new gen consoles then you will be blown away by all the little details that together contribute to an overall experience not too dissimilar to watching football on live television.”
What we said about PES: “The variety of goals, dribbles, tackles and passing moves means you won’t play the same game twice. It captures the thrills and spills of football brilliantly.”
22. OlliOlli | Sony, PS4/Vita/PC
What we said: “[OlliOlli] brings to life the rhythm and momentum of skateboarding, highlights the importance and impact of a well-timed landing, and engenders the precise focus that will be familiar to skaters across the world [...] It is certainly not a simulation, but for anyone who has travelled with a deck beneath their feet, this is a fascinating interpretation of the experience.”
21. The Banner Saga | Stoic, PC/Mac
What we said: “This is a game with a strong sense of place and the ambiance elevates it beyond the immediate competition. The illustrated 2D art is expressive, while Austin Wintory’s score is nothing short of extraordinary – evocative, unusual and rousing. The designer Sid Meier famously said that a game is a series of interesting choices. It’s a maxim fully embraced by The Banner Saga, which stitches those choices into its very fabric to form a tapestry that is wholly your own.”
20. The Evil Within | Bethesda, multiple formats
What we said: “So, is The Evil Within a proper, back-to-core-values Resident Evil for the 21st century? In a word, yes. It couldn’t even resist the temptation to put “Evil” in its name. It more or less is Resident Evil, with its unathletic, slow-moving protagonist, devastating shotgun, crates to smash, near-monochrome visuals, reel-to-reel tape recorders, squelchy mutant bosses and so on.”
19. Civilization: Beyond Earth | Take-Two, PC/Mac
What we said: “The politics and philosophies contained in Beyond Earth are great new additions from a mechanical and structural standpoint, but more than any game in this series, they strip away the polite veneer of diplomacy. Beyond Earth feels positively Darwinian and that’s fitting in a way; on a hostile alien world, only the strong survive and only the brutal thrive.”
18. Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare | Activision, multiple formats
What we said: “Advanced Warfare is the best that Call of Duty has been for years, a successful negotiation of that troublesome creative and commercial tension. And while the game has nothing substantial to say about the future of warfare, it nevertheless presents a grimly vivid vision of how humanity’s technological ascent will continue to enable the wealthy to better kill and maim others in the pursuit or protection of power.”
17. Hearthstone | Activision Blizzard, PC/smartphone
What we said: “Video gamers may wonder why they would play a card game when their medium has moved beyond such limitations; tabletop gamers may bemoan the fact that people are getting excited about the wrong card game. But if you fall awkwardly between those two groups, Hearthstone will keep you hooked for some time.”
16. Divinity: Original Sin | Larian Studios, PC
Somehow we neglected to review this ostensibly nostalgic role-playing adventure, which harks back to the glory days of the Ultima series with its neat isometric visuals and epic sprawling narrative. However, what really works here is the game’s joyous humour: fantasy video games can be so ludicrously po-faced, but Divinity guides you through its crowded world with a warm smile and a constant stream of knowing jokes. It is like spending 50 hours playing Dungeons and Dragons with a very good, slightly drunken game master. It is the classic RPG for people who have grown tired of classic RPGs.
15. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter | The Astronauts, PC/PS4
What we said: “This is an ethereal and haunting work that left me constantly on edge. Its beauty lies in its hands-off approach, confronting you with a mystery and leaving you to discover fragments of clues which build together to reveal the story. It’s a mystery game, rather than horror – but when a jump scare did happen, it certainly lived up to that phrase. If you want to be free to make your own way through an intriguing narrative in gorgeous surroundings, this subtle, melancholy game is for you.”
14. Dragon Age Inquisition | EA/Bioware, multiple formats
What we said: “Inquisition gets under your skull like red lyrium. Objectively, you know your followers singing the theme music to raise morale after a great loss is cheesy, but you still find yourself humming it on the way to work. Then you spend all day at work thinking if you can find 20 elfroots you can improve your potions sufficiently to beat one of the 10 dragons. That truly will be a good day in what is a truly monumental game”
13. Wolfenstein: The New Order | Bethesda, multiple formats
What we said: “Developer MachineGames has all sorts of fun with the imagined general depravity of triumphant Nazis as well as the technology they would have had at their command by the 1960s. It’s more sophisticated than you might imagine, thanks to a dubious plot device, so you get genetically enhanced, massively armoured super-soldiers, giant dog-like robots and huge multistorey mechs (a Wolfenstein game needs boss-battles).”
12. South Park: The Stick of Truth | Ubisoft, PC/PS3/Xbox 360
What we said: “If any game ever challenged the old distinction between graphics and gameplay this is it, because simple as its systems are, and even as dull as the fetch-questing can sometimes be, the look and script and voice-acting carry this rocketing over the finish line – as well as through the taste barrier. In some ways this game is to the RPG genre what the animated series is to celebrity voice overs: a comic impersonation. As far as the comedy goes, however, Stick of Truth is fuckin-A dude.”
11. Never Alone | E-Line Media, PC/PS4/Xbox One
What we said: “The artwork and overall feel is almost cartoonish, yet beautiful and endearing. Despite its minimalist feel (it is basic to the extent that the characters never even speak), it works well at making you feel involved and I found myself with genuine affection for Nuna and Fox and their mission.”
10. Dark Souls 2 | Namco, multiple formats
What we said: “It’s a huge game, larger than its forebear and it offers perhaps the greatest sense of discovery, victory and, at times, frustration of any video game yet made. There is something mystical in its secrecy, in the obscured rules and storyline that compel you to explore deeper and deeper; there is something primal in the David vs. Goliath stand-offs with hulking beasts and the satisfaction of licking your wounds by a bonfire thereafter.”
9. Far Cry 4 | Ubisoft, multiple formats
What we said: “Far Cry 4 truly shines in the almost bacchanalian sense of freedom it bestows on the player as they traverse through its environment. In Kyrat you have the ability to go anywhere and do pretty much anything – much as Pagan Min would advocate. Here, the only pact you need keep is that with your conscience. God help you.”
8. Super Smash Bros | Nintendo, Wii U
What we said: “The game’s collection of challenges, mini-games and multiplayer options feels like a toy box; there are even demos of dusty old classics such as Pilotwings and F-Zero, which inspired Smash Bros’ level design. It’s refined, subtle and extremely silly.”
7. This War of Mine | 11 Bit Studios, PC/Mac
What we said: “The designers have built something in which it’s possible to survive, but only just – you have to plan carefully and trade well, use the game’s systems to your advantage, stop exploring, limit your ambitions to surviving the next day, scavenging what you know you can find.”
6. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor | Warner Bros, multiple formats
What we said: “It turns out that Shadow of Mordor is that rarest of things in video game culture - an unexpected knockout punch. It’s also a glorious return to form for one of the most interesting developers out there – Washington-based Monolith Productions – whose track record is inconsistent but features glorious oddities such as No One Lives Forever, FEAR and Condemned.”
5. Forza Horizon 2 | Microsoft, Xbox One
What we said: “As a festival of speed, Forza Horizon 2 succeeds in almost every way. With such a strong offering of cars and events, and a gorgeous environment that feels more like a holiday destination than a game location, there’s strength and beauty in Playground Games’ second lap. On top, there’s a stronger multiplayer offering, complete with whole Road Trip events to share with your friends, which take advantage of the game’s spaciousness, the day/night cycle and dynamic weather additions. Add in the ability to start clubs and race socially and you have some real longevity here (even if forthcoming titles like DriveClub and The Crew promise a much more expansive social structure).”
4. Alien Isolation | Sega, multiple formats
What we said: “This terrifying game is a passionate homage to a horror classic, and a rich, well-designed stealth experience in its own right. Giger’s monstrous alien is, for the first time in a video game, as formidable and menacing as it was in the films. It was brave of Sega to take a chance on a game like this, where guns are a last resort, but their faith in The Creative Assembly’s vision has resulted in an unusually clever and subversive triple-A game.”
3. Destiny | Activision, multiple formats
What we said: “Make no mistake, Destiny is fun. It is stylish and technically amazing – it will provide weeks of enjoyment if you are committed to its vision. Gathering with friends to take on missions is a treat, and being joined by strangers for impromptu skirmishes leads to some lovely moments of shared drama”
2. Bayonetta 2 | Nintendo, Wii U
What we said: “The sheer polish applied to every part of Bayonetta 2 is something every major studio should aspire to: the exceptional and wide-ranging soundtrack, the huge number of unlocks, the Nintendo easter eggs, the “making of” materials, and the unlockable characters that bring their own style. Not a single thing has been held back. In this second adventure, Bayonetta over-delivers in every regard, and it will be a long time before another fighting game threatens her crown.”
1. Mario Kart 8 | Nintendo, Wii U
What we said: “Regardless of the Wii U’s troubles Nintendo remains one of (if not the) greatest developers on the planet in terms of making games that are a pure joy to play, and Mario Kart 8 is one of its finest. The question with Mario Kart 8 was never really “is this going to be good”, because with Nintendo that much can be taken for granted. The question is whether it’s the best yet. And, among one hell of a field, it takes first place.”
