10. The Talos Principle II (PC)
9. Hi-Fi Rush (XSX)
8. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)
7. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (PS5)
6. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (PS5)
5. Alan Wake II (XSX)
4. Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
3. Resident Evil 4 (PS5)
2. Baldur's Gate III (PC)
1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
People who talk about games online sometimes like to talk about whether a given year was good or bad for games, and for a time 2019 seemed like it wasn't that great. There weren't a lot of big names in the fall and the few there were all seemed to get delayed. But by the end of the year, looking back, there were a lot of really good games that came out. The industry is as big as it's ever been. We'll see if anything from the new consoles makes my list next year.
Best of 2019
10. Ape Out (PC)
Ape Out's main story only lasts about an hour, but it's quite a delightful hour. Each section of the game is an "album", where you play a gorilla that breaks out of captivity and destroys the bodies of anyone who gets in its way as it runs for freedom while jazz drums go wild in the background. The music reacts to what's happening on screen, and that combined with the unique, bold visuals created a fantastic sense of style that is key to the whole game. The game is simple but fun as you mix and match a bit of strategic thinking with a healthy dose of aggression to get through each area. As the game stretches on it can get a little annoying when guys with flamethrowers and rockets are all out to get you, but like I said, you can finish it in an hour.
9. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
Three Houses is the first console Fire Emblem game in 12 years, and Nintendo took the opportunity to expand the scope of the series. You're still commanding your small army on a tactical grid during the battles, but you're also spending time talking to the students you're teaching, choosing what they should study to improve as soldiers, and helping them develop their friendships with you and each other. It's also three or four games in once, since you can make multiple choices that determine which group of characters you spend the most time with and major directions the story can take. The story itself, about how a tenuous alliance between three major factions on the continent of Fódlan starts to crumble as their competing desires make the peace untenable, is probably the game's strongest asset, though there's plenty of tweaks to the combat to keep it different. The battles are fun, but it's really the characters that will keep you coming back to its lengthy campaign.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)
Link's Awakening is the kind of remake that feels like the exact same game, but it's actually creating the idealized version of the original that exists inside your head. Besides the obvious graphical upgrade, the Switch version of the Game Boy classic has numerous improvements that don't really change the way the game plays, but makes the act of doing so simpler and more convenient. You have dedicated buttons for swinging your sword, raising your shield, and dashing, you can make notes on your map, and some annoying interface problems are fixed. Some of the later dungeons in the game have the same problems you may have had before, but if you want is a prettier, easier to play version of the same game, this is it. There's graphical stuttering in the outdoor areas that can be annoying, but if you can look past it, this is all you could want from a faithful remake.
7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PC)
You can see Fallen Order as a synthesis of a lot of popular trends in modern action games. It has structural elements and the precise combat of a Souls game, modern traversal-style platforming, and Metroidvania exploration where your abilities are always expanding and unlocking previously blocked areas. Nothing about it is too surprising or innovative, but it's well put together and mostly fun to play. It also has an entertaining story, which explores the early period after the fall of the Republic which was shown in the prequels and does a decent job of fleshing out its handful of original characters. There are also some technical issues, but they also seem to be better than they were when the game launched a few months ago. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes video games and still has some affection for Star Wars.
6. The Outer Worlds (PC)
Obsidian returns to the first person shooter/role playing/immersive sim genre when The Outer Worlds, a relatively compact but deep game where you play a late arrival to a solar system-sized space colony that is going through a rough time. You can ally yourself with the mad scientist who freed you from stasis or the colonial government that has a bounty on his head, and you can focus on shooting your enemies, sneaking around them, or talking them into letting you in the door. The game is at its best when you have multiple ways to deal with a situation both politically and physically, and it's up to you which one seems the most interesting, or will cause the most or least pain for those involved, depending on your goals. It has pacing issues at times, and it leans a little heavily on the "you're the savior of the galaxy!" narrative, but I had a really good time flying around to different planets with my companions. It's like a video game version of Firefly.
5. Disco Elysium (PC)
Despite the simple gameplay and small size of the world you can explore, Disco is a big game with lots to dig into. You play a cop in a run down part of a city that was the site of a failed communist revolution decades earlier, with no memory of your life prior to waking up in the morning with a hangover and a murder you're supposed to solve. You proceed through the rest of the game principally by talking, asking people questions and responding to their responses. You have 24 different skills you can improve, half of which are entirely mental, and during conversations your skills have the chance of popping in and "talking" to you, giving you additional options which may or may not be useful. You can also "internalize" thoughts, which could give you benefits or penalties once you finish thinking about them. It's a game about small personal interactions as well as big political ideas, as you can get invested in the characters, the murder mystery, or the whole strange fictional world as you see fit. It's the kind of game where you want to play it again just to see how differently it can play out if you act like a different person.
4. Outer Wilds (PC)
Outer Wilds is a game about an explorer of a solar system, reliving the same cycle over and over again as they try to save their home from being wiped out by the sun going supernova. You have only a few tools with you as you drift around in your tiny spaceship, exploring strange and mysterious planets littered with odd natural phenomena as well as the ruins and writings of a civilization that came before you. You might want to know why you wake up where you started after dying, or what happened to that old civilization, or what you can do to break the cycle. At times the game is exciting, lonely, frustrating, terrifying, and awe inspiring. It's a unique game I would recommend to anyone who likes the feeling of being lost, of not being sure what to do, of finally finding an answer you weren't sure would ever be there.
3. Control (XBO)
Control is a third person shooter with psychic powers. That description ignores what makes the game special, which is its sense of style and densely entertaining story. It takes place entirely inside the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, a mysterious government agency that locates and contains supernatural objects, objects which can cause events that disrupt a society that tries to pretend that nothing really weird ever happens. The headquarters building itself is as mysterious as any object inside, having existed long before the FBC was created and being invisible to anyone who doesn't know to look for it. If any of this sounds cool to you, you should check it out. The brutalist architecture and visual design of the building is cool, the shooting and powers are solidly fun, but the most fun I had with Control was just digging into the strange, funny, creepy history of the FBC.
2. Resident Evil 2 (PC)
Resident Evil 2 is the kind of remake that captures the feeling of playing a beloved old game without being slavish to the outdated design it may have been built on. It has a great balance between the obscure puzzles and atmospheric horror of the older games with the tense action of some of the later ones. It looks amazing, feels good to play, and features Mr. X, a relentless pursuer who will track you all over the place, his heavy footsteps finding your ear rooms or even a whole floor away, to the point that finding a way to defeat him, even temporarily, always brings a huge sense of relief. The story is still silly as shit, but would we really want anything else from Resident Evil? My one real complaint is that while the "A" and "B" scenarios that let you play both main characters are solid fun, they don't actually fit together on a story level, failing to create a cohesive final experience.
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC)
Sekiro has the bones of a Souls game, but the team at From Software have shifted from making RPGs with strong action elements to action games with RPG elements that at this point are only typical for the genre. That's not a knock, it's just funny how intertwined the two genres are at this point. What makes Sekiro different than other action games is that its action is just impeccably great. The stealth bits are fine, using your grappling hook to jump out of harm or cross dangerous gaps is fun, but the core of the game is you and your sword against the enemy. While it's common in games like this to avoid harm until you see a small opening to strike and then repeat the process, Sekiro is all about wearing down your foe's defenses until they're at your mercy. It's hard to describe but when you have learned enough about the enemy to dispatch them without ever backing off or relenting, it feels sublime. It looks pretty, it's interesting to play a From game with a real active story, but Sekiro is my game of the year because the combat is just that damn good.
Delayed Entry
This is the best game that wasn't released in 2019 but I didn't play until then.
Return of the Obra Dinn (PC)
I knew I would like this before I played it, and I did. It's a game of deduction, where you have the ability to touch a corpse and see and hear the final moment of the person it used to be. If that moment itself contains a corpse, you can touch that and go farther down the rabbit hole. You use this ability to... determine the cause of death of the crew of a ship for tax purposes. You must use what you can see and hear along with the ship's manifest to reason out who each person is through logic and elimination. What someone sounds like, what they're wearing, and even the label on their hammock can help you figure out who they are. It's the kind of game that could easily become a series if the creator were less interested in being innovative every time they make something new. It also has a cool visual style and a wonderful soundtrack.
2017 was an interesting year for games. There weren't a lot of all time greats, and seemingly every game that got an audience to fall in love had a large group of detractors who could point to legitimate problems holding it back. Still, there were lots of good games. Some I didn't get a chance to play, some that I enjoyed quite a bit, and some that found their way onto this list.
Best of 2017
10. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Multi)
Resident Evil has existed for over twenty years now, and the series has had a long and inconsistent history. They really seem to nail it with every third numbered game, though. The original Resident Evil brought horror games to the mainstream, Resident Evil 4 is one of the best action games ever made, and Resident Evil 7 is the freshest the series has felt in years. After a few action-heavy games, they returned to a slower pace and scarier tone, and while the gameplay basics are a throwback to the series' roots, its horror influences and immersive setting bring those forward to the modern day. The game gets weaker as it goes on and focuses more on combat and the sillier aspects of the series' familiar storytelling concepts, but it's mostly a really strong game, right when they needed it.
9. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (Multi)
The third and possibly final Dishonored game, at least as far as this setting goes, is a satisfying conclusion to the series' broad story beats, and it brings some interesting tweaks to the gameplay formula. While the first two games star characters trying to return a status quo to a chaotic political landscape, Death of the Outsider is a more personal story about someone with less privilege, and her struggle and drive for revenge ties into the game's abandonment of direct action being an undesirable goal. The series has always allowed for violence, but it punishes it by making the world a nastier place to walk around in if you drop too many bodies. That's gone this time, and along with "contract" side missions that encourage different play styles, I found myself interacting with the world in ways I hadn't tried before in the series. Billy's set of powers is smaller than Corvo's or Emily's, but it's good enough for the game's shorter length, and the final mission aside, the level and quest design is as strong as the series has ever been. A great final note.
8. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)
For my money, Naughty Dog is possibly the most reliable studio when it comes to releasing smart, beautiful, well-written, hand-crafted action adventures. The Lost Legacy started as an expansion for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but it became big enough to release as a stand-alone title, and it's yet another satisfying entry in the series. It stars two previous supporting characters, Chloe and Nadine, as they explore the cities, jungles, and ancient temples of India searching for a priceless artifact. You get the expected mix of climbing, wandering, puzzle solving, and shooting, and a nice story with some really good character work. Two standout sections are a large open area you navigate with an off-road vehicle and an ending that combines a lot of elements from previous set pieces in the series into one breath-taking climactic sequence.
7. Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
Horizon is an open-world game with stunning graphics, a unique combat system, a cool sci-fi setting, and a new main character that I ended up liking a lot. There were some things that bugged me about the game, but it was a strong beginning for a world that I hope I get to revisit in a sequel. It takes place in the far future, after our society has been destroyed and is being slowly rebuilt from scratch, while the humans have to deal with the problems of both large bands of bandits and huge, violent robots, often resembling extinct animals. Figuring out what the whole story is really about is a strong draw, and there are some interesting side stories as well. Experimenting with the different choices for weapons, ammunition and traps, learning what works against what sorts of enemies, is also a lot of fun. There are some small annoyances, but it's definitely worth a try.
6. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (Multi)
When Battlegrounds is working, it's one of the most thrilling multiplayer games I've ever played. You are dropped, alone or in a small group, onto a large island with 99 other people and nothing but a parachute and the clothes on your back. You have to look for resources - weapons, gear, armor, medical supplies. There is a force field slowly closing in on a single random point on the map, and if you're outside the circle, your health is constantly being drained. Certain places are getting hit by airstrikes. You might find yourself dropping right next to an enemy and frantically scrambling for something to defend yourself. Or you might get into a pitched urban firefight. Or a tense sniper battle across rolling hills. Or madly charging towards a safe point in a truck while the force field closes in on you. Unfortunately, you might also spend twenty minutes grabbing equipment before you get nailed by someone you didn't see, all that effort for nothing. That stinks. Luckily, it's only a minute or two before you're in your next match.
5. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (Multi)
Wolfenstein II is an enjoyable, old school first person shooter where you generally sneak around, capping Nazi officers with a silenced pistol to avoid reinforcements, until you're spotted, when you pull out a machine gun in one hand and automatic shotgun in the other and blow away everything that moves with abandon, scooping up ammo, health kits, and bits of armor like a vacuum cleaner. It's fun enough, but the real draw, as with the last game, is the story. B.J. Blazkowicz is one of my favorite modern game protagonists, and his supporting cast is among the most diverse and compelling in the medium. Every story scene in the game is a treat. It might be touchingly considered or completely outrageously insane, but either way I'm completely drawn in. It's unfortunate that a video game taking place in an alternate reality where Nazis won WWII and are walking the streets of America is "relevant", but I love that it pulls no punches and walks a delicate tightrope with aplomb.
4. Nier: Automata (Multi)
When you first play Nier, you'll get a decent action RPG with a slick but shallow combat system, some cool customization options, some uneven anime voice acting and character designs, passable graphics, a great soundtrack, an an intriguing but vaguely unsatisfying narrative. Then the game asks you to play it again, and it starts to open up. You're repeating a lot of the same stuff, but with a new perspective and new revelations pushing you forward. Then you keep playing it, and if you're still along for the ride at this point, you're getting a truly unique game, where the flaws don't seem to matter as much and what they're doing with the combination of story and medium is one of the most memorable experiences you'll ever have. If that sounds interesting, you should play Nier.
3. Night in the Woods (Multi)
Despite starring anthropomorphic animals, Night in the Woods is one of the most relatable games I've ever played. You control Mae, a 20 year old college dropout returning to her hometown for the first time since leaving. She doesn't want to talk about why she dropped out. She doesn't know what she's going to do for money. Her relationships with her friends are different. Old businesses she liked have closed and been replaced with new ones. The feeling of not knowing what the hell you're doing with your life is one that I think lots of people understand, and Night in the Woods nails it. It's also very sharply written, funny and touching when it wants to be. It also has a cool look with a fun art style and really great work with colors. It also has another side to its story, a dark, scary side that works surprisingly well with the other stuff, which adds an edge to the narrative without taking it over. It was one of my favorite experiences with a game in 2017.
2. Prey (Multi)
I can only imagine how much I would love Prey if I liked the combat. Because everything else about the game, besides the long load times moving between areas and kind of a chunky pace near the end, is great. Talos I is a space station that has been taken over by strange, otherworldly aliens, and it's one of the best realized locations ever in a game. You have a lot of freedom to just explore its different levels and learn about its history. You always have a lot of options in how you approach your objectives. You might crawl through a vent, or hack a locked door, or find a keycard for that door in a room you didn't have to explore. You might use your "GLOO Cannon" to create a platform for you to jump through a window, or inject yourself with alien technology to take the shape of a small object and squeeze through a tight opening. You can be stealthy and sneak by enemies, or confidently wreck them with powered up weapons. The story is really fun too. You're never sure who's on your side or really telling the truth, you're not even sure you're being truthful to yourself, and the constant second guessing has a solid, logical payoff. Prey has everything I like about this kind of game, and for the most part, it succeeds at its goals. If only I liked the combat.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U/Switch)
I've been a fan of the Zelda series for a long time. I've enjoyed every game that I've played to at least some extent, but it's fair to say that the formula of long tutorial > enter dungeon > find item > kill boss > find next dungeon was wearing a little thin. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was a step in the right direction by giving you more freedom in how you acquired gear and choose where to go next, and Breath of the Wild takes that even further. It almost feels like they went back in time to the original game, and decided to focus on different elements to modernize it instead of the direction they've been taking for decades. Extended explanations, complex dungeons, and a set narrative path are all gone. Instead, after a short opening section where you acquire four magic powers of varying usefulness, you are thrust into a completely open Hyrule with a single objective (defeat Ganon, of course) and left to your own devices. There are hooks as far as major events you can pursue, but those feel more like suggestions than instructions. Link can climb almost anything and drift from place to place on a paraglider, two abilities that make getting anywhere you can see both possible and enjoyable. Instead of looking at a map screen to find points of interest, you actually spot them and mark them down yourself. It's different and exciting. You never know when you'll find a hidden shrine containing a clever puzzle or combat challenge, or a village full of people you can trade with or help out, or a camp of monsters you can terrorize or mess with, or the ruins of something that an old war left behind many years earlier. I wish the game had more traditional Zelda content. I really miss the big dungeons, and almost all of the side quests are not up to the standards of modern games. But the core experience of being in this world is too good for me to say it's not my game of the year.
Delayed Entry
This is the best game that wasn't released in 2017 but I didn't play until then.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
If there's one game from 2017 I regret not playing yet, it's Super Mario Odyssey. I absolutely would have, I just don't own a Switch yet. My year wasn't Mario free though, as I finally played the sequel to the Wii classic Super Mario Galaxy. Galaxy 2 is naturally less innovative than the first, being a direct sequel that introduces a few welcome elements but often relies on what was already cool about the game. Despite feeling very familiar, Galaxy 2 is a very fun game with dozens of entertaining levels and a few clever surprises.
With both the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One releasing last November, 2013 sort of marked the end of an era, although you wouldn't notice from the quality of the games. There was a nice mix of excellent triple AAA titles and innovative independent releases that made the year a fun and exciting experience the whole way through. I know it was a great year because there were so many really good games in great franchises that didn't even make the list.
Best of 2013
10. The Stanley Parable (PC)
The Stanley Parable was originally a free Source engine mod, but in its conversation to full product it was completely overhauled and remade into what it is now. What it is now is a bit harder to describe. You play as (or are) Stanley, an office worker who one day finds himself alone in the building. A narrator describes your actions before you do them, and you can follow all of his directions to quickly reach an easy yet unsatisfying conclusion. But the real meat of the game is in not doing what you're told. There are tons of ways to disobey the narrator hounding your every move, and they usually result in something interesting, be it a new place you can go, a new insight into game design, or just a funny rant. The game's mix of playing with and subverting expectations while commenting on the nature of choice and interactivity in games is never boring, and the sense of humor keeps it light. You'll definitely understand what the game is doing better if you have a greater than average understanding of gaming history and culture, but anyone can pick it up and at least get a few laughs.
9. Saints Row IV (Multi)
Saints Row: The Third is the artistic pinnacle of the Saints Row series, as weird as it is to use the word "artistic" in that context. In comparison, IV sort of feels like a bloated expansion pack or downloadable add-on, taking place in the same city and completely screwing with the series' framework of open world crime game by turning you into a super hero. In case you don't know, the game's basic premise involves (1) the gang's boss becoming President of the United States in the opening sequence, followed by (2) aliens invading Earth, which results in your capture and insertion into (3) a computer simulation of the city, which you are able to hack in order to essentially (4) gain a variety of super powers. It's nuts, in a series which is known for redefining what nuts actually means in video games. It's also incredibly fun to play, which is the key. I like the other Saints games I've played, but for the most part what you're actually doing is driving and shooting. In Saints Row IV you're running at hyper speed, leaping many stories at once, and basically breaking the world for your own amusement. It's just about as pure as enjoyment can be in the medium. As a bonus, they still have a great handle on the characters, and they're still a lot of fun to hang out with.
8. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
Along with a couple other releases, Super Mario 3D World justifies owning a Wii U, even if the system's future for anything resembling competent third party support looks bleak. It expands on the core gameplay of Super Mario 3D Land, which mixed elements of both 2D and 3D Mario games into a slick and satisfying experience, adds 4 play support and HD graphics, and basically taps the basic mechanics for as much action as they can handle. It's not the greatest Mario game ever - having to support multiple players of varying skill inherently limits the potential of the game design. But it's still really fun to play, even alone, though with friends or family is certainly preferable. It's amazing how this series manages to still be exciting so many years later with the same core ideas.
7. Tomb Raider (Multi)
The cycle of innovation and imitation in games can be a pretty funny thing. When Uncharted: Drake's Fortune came out, featuring gunplay, climbing through exotic environments, and solving puzzles in ancient tombs, it was hard to miss the influence from the Tomb Raider series. And now with this new Tomb Raider featuring a more down-to-earth take on its protagonist, cover-based shooting, and a focus on quick traversal over thoughtful rumination on your surroundings, it's hard to miss the influence coming from the other direction. But Tomb Raider's isn't quite an Uncharted clone, having as it does a greater focus on survival, backtracking, and an essential desperation that goes a long way to define it. I wouldn't say either approach is really better, and I'm glad we're getting multiple takes on a central concept that is just so darn appealing. The new Tomb Raider still feels like Tomb Raider while managing to stay modern, and I find it hard to say it's not the most approachable and well-executed game in the series.
6. Grand Theft Auto V (Multi)
Grand Theft Auto V is the most fun I've had with the series in nine years. In many ways, the game has problems, from its questionable ethics to some weird design snags that other open world games have already solved to a plot that goes a lot of places that it probably doesn't need to. It's kind of a mess, really. But San Andreas is one of the most fully realized worlds I've ever seen in a video game, from its picturesque winding mountain roads to its gaudy downtown storefronts. It really feels like a huge place. And it's honestly a fun place to hang around in. The main gameplay focuses on driving to different places to shoot different people from behind cover, and in that way it's not much different from the last game. But there's a lot more big moments this time around that you remember for months afterward, and it all handles a little better, and the game's tone matches its content with less confusion. And the heists... well, the heists are awesome. I only wish there were more.
5. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Multi)
People like to make fun of the story in games a lot. And a lot of times they're right. But there are certain things that games can do with storytelling that just aren't possible in film, novels, or any other medium. Brothers is a prime example of that. In it, you control two brothers at once, each hand controlling one or the other. It may sound like that gets confusing or frustrating, and it does from time to time. But for the most part it's manageable. At least enough to get you through the few hours it takes to complete the story. During that time it's a solid puzzle game, with clever and intuitive solutions and some satisfying temporary mechanics. The game's real strength though is the story, which is touching, unforgettable, and much, much more effective because it's a video game. Play it and you'll see why.
4. Bioshock Infinite (Multi)
I was honestly surprised by the tons of criticism this game received starting immediately after and lasting for a long time following its release. The reactions are strong and generally understandable, but I have a hard time agreeing with them. I think people wanted things from Infinite that it wasn't prepared to give them. It has a lot of subjects it touches on without fully exploring, from racism to totalitarianism and all kinds of things that would be hard to do justice to while trying to be an action game and tell a crazy sci-fi story. And ultimately, Bioshock Infinite wants to be an action game that tells a crazy sci-fi story. The shooting at its best provided some of gaming's best thrills this year, the world of Columbia and its inhabitants are well-conceived and fun to look at, and the main characters are excellently conceived and portrayed by the writers and voice actors, anchoring a plot that at times is over the top but ultimately serves its primary goals well. Infinite is messy, but I think it's a pretty wonderful mess.
3. Gone Home (PC)
Gone Home's designer and writer Steve Gaynor actually worked on the Bioshock series for a while, but he left it to do something smaller and more personal. I'm glad he did, because Gone Home is special. It's another game that tells a story in a way only a game can, having you uncover its details through examining an environment rather than actually seeing anything play out in front of you. People talk about it not being a "real game", whatever that means, and saying that the story would be better as a book or a movie. This is nonsense. A video game is the only thing Gone Home could possibly be. It shows that you can use the familiar mechanics of looking at and touching things to tell a story you don't see in mainstream games, and reveals how silly it is that you don't. There's no reason every game has to involve killing hundreds of people to get a point across, and yet there are still people out there insisting that there is. Gone Home gave me one of the best and most authentic emotional experiences I had in 2013, and I wish more people were open to seeing it the way I did.
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
My friend mentioned that whenever a new Zelda game comes out, a lot of people crap on the previous one. This is mostly true. I don't think it will happen with A Link Between Worlds though, because it seems like almost everyone who has played it describes it "the best Zelda in X years", where X is the number of years since the last Zelda game they truly loved. In my case, A Link Between Worlds is my favorite Zelda game since Majora's Mask, and since that's my favorite video game ever... yeah, I like A Link Between Worlds a lot. It takes the basic framework and world design from A Link to the Past, a fan favorite, and modernizes it with the best controls the series has ever had (yes, ever (except for the 3DS' terrible form factor)) and many updates to the functionality. It's also the least restrictive Zelda game in a long time, letting you wander around the whole world after the relatively brief tutorial and letting you tackle most dungeons in whichever order you desire by letting you rent or buy whatever items you need to get through them whenever you want. The dungeon design is fantastic, the boss fights are a blast, and the ability to flatten and move along walls really opens up the possibilities for getting around. In short, it understands what people love about Zelda better than any game in over a decade, and just lets them have that. A bit pandering maybe, but it works.
1. The Last of Us (PS3)
There are two types of The Last of Us players: those who love the gameplay and story, and those who only love the story. I'm one of the former. I have a hunch that people who didn't like the gameplay were going about it the wrong way. I don't usually like using the "you're playing it wrong" argument, but with The Last of Us, it's easy to approach it from too much of an action or stealth direction, when your best bet is to blend the two. It's a game where you don't want to be mobbed by enemies, and the best way to do that is to both avoid being detected and actively take out any enemies you can without them noticing in order to thin out their numbers. You have a variety of tools at your disposal to get the job done, from improvised weapons you can use up close, to traps you can build and use from a distance, to guns in case you get desperate. Some people like it on easy, some people like it on hard, but if you can make the combat in The Last of Us work for you, it's among the most satisfying that you can experience. And as I mentioned, the story is awesome too. Assisted by fantastic graphics and sound design and great voice acting and mo-cap work by the cast, they take something as tired as yet another zombie apocalypse and wring it for all it's worth emotionally. It has all the weight and power of The Walking Dead while still having a robust action/adventure game behind it. It's just one of the best games to come out in years.
Delayed Entry
This is the best game that wasn't released in 2013 but I didn't play until then.
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
With all due respect to Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Galaxy is the real deal. Despite being six years old when I played it, it was amazing how good it was. It takes what I loved about Super Mario 64, improves on its faults, and brings it way into the future with its take on how crazy a platforming game can act while still being comprehensible. While some areas resemble a typical Mario environment, it really shines when it takes the "galaxy" part literally and has you hopping between interstellar objects floating in space with their own gravity. It's incredibly disorienting when you first start running around on what appears to be the ceiling, but once your mind reorients, you'll find yourself doing all sorts of crazy things and not thinking twice about it. As a bonus, playing it after watching Gravity gave me multiple opportunities to freak myself out by nearly floating away into the endless void. The motion controls are merely competent and I wish I could have played it in something higher than 480p, but I can't blame the game for Nintendo's issues with hardware.
The first regular Zelda game on a console in five years came out as the Wii's life cycle began to wind down to a close, perhaps too late for it to have a major impact on the gaming landscape. I think Skyward Sword is a really good game, and I certainly had more fun with it than I did with Twilight Princess. But Twilight Princess came out in 2006, and Skyward Sword doesn't do enough differently to be as notable as that game was at the time. People were hoping for Nintendo to really do something different with the series, and while they made a polished and enjoyable adventure, it's not much different from what we're used to.
I do generally like the setting and general story of Skyward Sword - it goes back to the beginning of the series, and shows the origin of a number of elements that have recurred often throughout the twenty five years that they've been making these games. The game's a bit slow to get going, features repetitive dialogue, and has some interludes that don't really lead anywhere, but the game was designed well enough that it didn't really feel like a slog before it got going. There's a bit more to the characterization than there was in the past, too. It's hard to really develop the cast too much when they don't really speak and almost all of their dialogue is exposition, but the main players felt more like people than they usually do. And while I'm tired of gorons at this point, they did make a point to introduce several new types of creatures.
The game follows a familiar structure, starting you in an introductory area to learn the ropes, slowing allowing you to enter new areas, and accomplishing various tasks in between trips into dangerous, puzzle-filled dungeons that are the meat of the gameplay, before eventually pushing you toward an endgame that leads to the final boss fight. The sections between dungeons were more involved with usual, and while they aren't quite as tricky, they do feel like real, focused challenges rather than filler you have to do before you're allowed to advance. You will acquire items you need to get past certain obstacles, learn to fight new enemies, and encounter interesting things in the world before you can advance. I also thought they did a good job with side quests this time, or at least it seems that way since I did more of it than I have since Majora's Mask came out. A lot of it revolves around Skyloft, the town in the clouds you start the game in, which isn't particularly big but is filled with people who have a problem they need help with or some useful equipment to sell you.
It's interesting to look at how the dungeon design has changed over time with these games. The older 3D games had lots of simple, repeatable challenges like having to light torches or push blocks, and tons of locked doors with tons of keys to unlock them. Over time the design has gotten more focused, with fewer keys and more specific, location based puzzles as the technology and sophistication of the design has improved. I wouldn't say they're necessarily more fun, but they're thought through a little better. The boss fights are about what they always are - some are tougher than others, none are truly frustrating, and they all test what you've learned and the items you've found in unexpected and satisfying ways. The biggest problem I had with most of them though tended to revolve around the controls - the Wii version of Twilight Princess had you swing the remote to make Link swing his sword, but Skyward Sword is much more specific about it, with every item depending on your ability to aim or swing precisely with the remote. It's a function system, and the way it influences the combat is interesting, but there were often still issues getting it to work precisely and it led to a few frustrating moments.
One problem the series has always had that Skyward Sword fixes is that there's actually a use for all the money you find. You don't have to worry so much about the size of your wallet, and you can buy things like potions (which are actually useful since fairies don't fill your health bar up any more), larger pouches for your ammo, and special gear with various uses, and you can also collect bugs or rare treasures to pay for upgrades to your gear. I still say Zelda is an action adventure, but these changes make the game feel a bit more substantial and closer to an RPG. Something they haven't fixed is the feeling of the game being padded out a bit, which is especially noticable towards the end. Yes, there's another lengthy segment that feels suspiciously like a fetch quest, and while there's enough unique stuff to do that it isn't entirely lazy, it does feel unnecessary since the game is plenty long without it - I left a fair amount of optional content on the table, and the game still took me 40 hours to beat.
Skyward Sword definitely has a few warts, and it's hard to shake the feeling that the Zelda series is behind the times, even ignoring the fact that the Wii can only display it at 480p in the year 2012. But it's still a Zelda game, and that means it's a charming adventure with some enjoyable dungeon and combat design, and an experience that's entirely comfortable to sit through. Perhaps that slight lack of ambition keeps it from being an absolutely classic game, but it's still one I'm totally glad I took the time and effort to play.
Being employed for all of 2011 might not have been great for my free time, but it did allow me the freedom to try out pretty much any new game I was interested in, which worked out pretty well. I don't think I've ever managed to play this much new stuff around when it came out before. I haven't finished playing a couple of these games yet, which would normally mean they wouldn't make the list, but I feel I've played both of them enough to say about where they stand compared to the other stuff.
Best of 2011
10. L.A. Noire (Multi)
I don't look back on this as fondly as other games on the list, but a lot of that is probably reaction to all the horrible stuff we heard about the game's development and a bit of revisionist history. At its core, Noire is a very fun game that managed to mix adventure game-style mysteries with open world action effectively. The post-war Los Angeles setting was realized beautifully, the facial animation is pretty staggering, and the tale it weaves has all the elements of classic film noir. There are plenty of small issues, but the experience matches the ambition well.
9. Battlefield 3 (PC)
It's really too bad that beyond the graphics, sound design, and a few standout moments, the campaign of Battlefield 3 is otherwise so bland and fails to take advantage of what makes the franchise unique, because they could have helped make the game one of the best shooters in a long time. Instead, it's merely memorable as something that failed in its ambition to beat Call of Duty at its own game. The multiplayer saves it, though, combining all the best elements that they've found over the years into something addictive, rewarding, and very fun to play, whether you can maintain a decent kill ratio or not. And man, it really does look and sound fantastic.
8. Batman: Arkham City (Multi)
For an open-world game, Arkham City isn't that big, with a map that only takes a few minutes to get across even if you have to glide all the way around its weird shape, and not much to do beyond the main story besides collecting a whole ton of Riddler trophies. But the core gameplay they brought back from the last game is still so good, that actually playing it beats most open-world games on the market. The combat and stealth get a better chance to shine when there's more groups of goons to stumble across, and the more focused stuff once you get indoors is still a lot of fun. It would be hard to capture the thrill of being a super hero better than this.
7. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (PC)
The first game in the series had a lot of cool ideas, but it was ultimately a bit hamstrung by its nature as a sort of strange European RPG by a first-time developer. They used that experience very well though in crafting the sequel, a much better game that smooths over some of the rough edges well enough to let the good stuff underneath really shine. The game looks fantastic, with graphics that compliment the visual design and impress without being flashy, and the gameplay is a solid mix of discovering and learning about the game's world with a combat system that is tough but fun and rewarding. A really nice success story.
6. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC)
Another surprisingly good sequel, Human Revolution learns from the mistakes of the last game that tried to follow up on the original classic and stays true to what was actually interesting about it while updating things that needed updating for the modern day. The game is not without significant flaws, notably in the design of the boss fights, but the core experience is so solid that it's hard not to get sucked into it. The game is really meaty, with plenty of interesting content and very little in the way of filler, giving you twenty solid hours of science fiction roleplaying and action and allowing for a variety of approaches to almost every situation. It's hard to really connect with the story, but the act of playing it is always compelling.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
I feel like the Zelda series has gotten a raw deal from many gamers in the last few years, perhaps starting with some backlash there was towards Twilight Princess when it came out earlier in the Wii's existence. Some complaints about the way they've decreased freedom and increased the tedium are valid, but I think sometimes these people are looking for something that they're just not going to get from the series anymore, which has always been meant to be friendly to kids. Taking into account changing standards and some of those now-systemic flaws though, I think Skyward Sword is perhaps the best game in the series since Majora's Mask. After a slow opening, the game opens up, and there's a lot of fun to be found in its world. Trying to tell an origin story again makes for a pretty interesting narrative, the use of motion controls is better justified, and the dungeons are as fun as ever. It's not the game-changing Zelda people probably wanted, but what it is is a very fun and comfortable adventure.
4. Bastion (PC)
A lot of times I get really into smaller games like this despite the gameplay, because their stories and presentations are unique and enchanting. That's true here, but the actual game part is really good as well. Bastion is a short but satisfying action RPG that hooks you both with its myriad of fun weapons and powers and all the ways it has to enhance the whole experience, from the unique setting and art style to the wonderful soundtrack and the unforgettable narration. And it might just have the most affecting story of any game on this list.
3. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
I find it odd that Uncharted seems to be held to a totally different narrative standard than other action games. Most of the time it's fine for a shooter or platformer to jump all over the world for very little reason, but since the characterization and voice acting in Uncharted is so good, people expect consistency in the plot too, and complain if a part of the game is only there because it's cool and certain threads get lost in the shuffle by the end. I understand hoping for a little more, it just seems unfair to me. Anyway, Uncharted 3 isn't the revelation that Uncharted 2 was because of course it isn't, but it still manages a fun mix of shooting, jumping, and puzzle solving, it's still funny and exciting, and its big moments are still staggering in their technical complexity and ability to impress. If it's Naughty Dog's last Uncharted game, it's a great note to go out on.
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)
I played Oblivion for well over one hundred hours and called it my favorite game of 2006, so you know when I say that Skyrim is better in almost every way, I must really think something of it. It again captures the joy of exploring and getting to know an immensely large world, but improves on pretty much everything about that experience. Skyrim is a land with an intriguing history and sense of culture, and it's absolutely filled to the brim with cool stuff to do. There are six major questlines all with their own little twists and wrinkles, and their stories are generally much more interesting than what you'd find in the earlier games. There's more side stuff to do, and the basic experience of finding a dungeon and then raiding it for all of its treasures is more fun and less repetitive. If there's one thing the game doesn't do as well, it's come up with individual quests that feel as special at certain memorable moments. But the overall feeling of playing the game for many, many hours is undeniably superior.
1. Portal 2 (Multi)
I said Portal 2 was my favorite game of this generation of hardware, and I stand by it. It's just the right length, with its story mode being a significant chunk of content lasting just the right length, and the co-op being a meaningful addition. The puzzles are just as mind-bending as before, relying less on reflexes and more on your ability to think through a problem, and having plenty of new tricks and elements to keep things fresh the whole time. The story is funny and intelligent, expertly told in ways both direct and indirect, with well-written dialogue being superbly delivered by the small voice cast and the environment being carefully crafted to tell you everything about Aperture you'd ever want to know without saying a word. It's just the best example of both good game design and good execution of that design on this list, and it's my favorite game of the year.
