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[rj]

the useless, fascinating question: what is the best game of the past year? for, you know, you

for me it's the fall. excellent writing throughout, satisfying mechanics-narrative integration, and fucking out of nowhere stellar as shit voice work. a good thing worth checking out, and i can't wait for part two.

second place is hatoful boyfriend, an intentionally disarming game that rewards dogged persistence above and beyond any game i've seen all year. it's completely the opposite of what it appears to be the first, second, third, fourth, and maybe even fourteenth times you've played it; once you unwrap its layers and actually stumble upon what the joke is hiding, it pays off in bizarre, horrifying fashion.

[ThemsAllTook]

There was a lot I liked this year, but Crypt of the NecroDancer stands above them all. I have a soft spot for rhythm games, and it was especially interesting to see that genre come back as a roguelike. The soundtrack has been in my playlist since the game came out, and it hasn't gotten stale at all.

[s0]

shadow of mordor probably just because i didnt expect it to be so damn good and it totally took me by surprise.

idk i dont even remember what came out this year. i dont think in years. rip.

[starsrift]

Seemed like a lot of great games this year, and a lot of great games I haven't yet played.

I probably spent the most time and fun in DotA, but for me the game of the year is Depression Quest, and it actually has nothing to do with the game itself (sorry Zoe). The industry is still shaking out - both the press and developers - it's a revolution that's been slowly brought to a boil of which DQ was just the latest chapter, and long-needed.

I also had a lot of fun with Warlock 2, Blackguards, and This War Of Mine.

[Impmaster]

Hearthstone. I'm an addict, even when it's boring. Probably a bad sign.

[Fallsburg]

I have 2:
Shadow of Mordor - The play itself is fine (same old Arkham stuff) and the nemesis system is crazy simple, but showing how effective even basic procedural narrative can be is a big deal.

Mibibli's Quest - Megaman with absurd sensibilities.  Turn a Megaman level into DDR? Why not?

[s0]

I have 2:
Shadow of Mordor - The play itself is fine (same old Arkham stuff) and the nemesis system is crazy simple, but showing how effective even basic procedural narrative can be is a big deal.

shadow of mordor is great because it's what i always wanted assassin's creed to be

[Razz]

Bayonetta 2 was insane and crazy, I loved every second of it. So probably that I didn't play too many new games this year though.

[Türbo Bröther]

idk i dont even remember what came out this year.

It's the same with me. I'm sure there were plenty of good games that were released this year but you'd have to give me a list before I could recall more than five of 'em and most of those five I didn't play anyway. Either this is the effects of aging or there just wasn't enough games that were different enough to stand out. Or maybe it's because 2014 was the year of unfinished games and the ones that were finished just got buried under, like, a billion Kickstarters, Early Access failures and next gen remakes of last year's titles.

Anyway, METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES - Mister Race Edition is my pick of the year despite really just being a taster for the next game in the series but it's so densely packed it's practically a game on its own. Plus it's knocked Deus Ex off the top placing for best ever demo which is a position that's arguable but hard to dispute.

[TheLastBanana]

I don't think I could pick a GOTY, but I can give a top 3:

Shadow of Mordor is definitely up there for me. The combat wasn't quite as smooth as the Batman games, and the story was pretty mediocre, but the procedurally-generated aspect of it made it a blast to play. I hope we see other games borrow and refine concepts from the Nemesis system.

TowerFall Ascension is also fantastic. Technically TowerFall came out in 2013 on Ouya, but seriously, who actually owns an Ouya? It's quickly become one of my favorite multiplayer games of all time. It's really easy to pick up and it's endlessly fun at parties, but there are a lot of cool tricks to learn if you put some extra time into it.

Lethal League is hands-down my favorite fighter. I usually don't enjoy fighters much, actually, but again, I feel like it strikes a really nice balance between accessibility for new players and a high skill ceiling. For anybody who hasn't played it, it's like... Jet Set Radio Deathmatch Pong. Give it a try.

[yeahjim]

For me it was Dungeonmans. I've been playing roguelikes since I discovered Rogue on a used IBM 286, and I've been a fan ever since. The end of 2014 saw the game's first major release, and while the game isn't the second coming per se, it's fast, crazy, and sometimes hilarious. Not as stupidly simple and repetitive as Dredmor, and a lot more accessible than the likes of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

[knifeySpoonie]

I don't want to say "this is the best game" etc but these are some games I really enjoyed and sank hours into (when I actually had any spare hours) because they kept drawing me in

Risk of Rain - Far more tactical than i thought it would be when reading reviews and stuff. pleasantly surprised

Broforce - Therapeutic shooting RAAAAAAAA

Kingdom Rush (series) My go to Ipad game when I have time to burn travelling etc. (although Ive just added a couple of cool games like 80 days over xmas to try)

[EdFarage]

shovel knight

[Tanner]

towerfall. if we're counting things that we just played this year: persona 4 or rune factory 4.