Top 10 video games of 2014

This year has been a rather weak year for gaming. Quite a few video games that were supposed to come out this year were pushed to 2015. Also some of the bigger games that came out this year were disappointing (AC: Unity, Watch Dogs, Thief, Destiny…). That being said there was also an abundance of great games that came out in 2014. So here we go

10. Shovel Knight

Shovel knight is a great indie game. It is a mixture of several old-school games. Some that come to mind are Zelda 2, DuckTales and Mega Men, and its overworld is reminiscent of Super Mario bros 3 overworld. There is even a touch of Dark Souls. It probably would have been higher on my list if the boss fights were harder.

9. The Walking Dead – season 2

After the success of the first Walking Dead game it was no surprise that Telltale decided to do a second season of Walking Dead. While the second season wasn’t as good as the first one, it still managed to surprise me in certain ways. Dialog was great, and new characters as well as those from previous season were pretty interesting.   It was even more obvious in this game that decisions that you make didn’t make much difference in the big picture but nevertheless making some of these choices was pretty hard.

8. The Talos Principle

The Talos Principle came out late this year and that was probably the main reason why it didn’t make a lot of top 10 lists. This puzzle game however deserves all the praise it got. I am generally big fan of puzzle games, so it doesn’t come as surprise that this game made it in my top 10. Ingenuity of some of these puzzles is quite astonishing. It is a must play.

7. Middle Earth – Shadow of Mordor

When this game was first announced I had some skepticism towards, but all my doubts were squashed after first couple of hours of gameplay. Story is probably the weakest part of the game, but everything else in this game is so great. Sure it borrows fighting mechanics from Batman Arkham games but it was definitely for the good. If you are going to borrow something borrow from the best. Also the world traversal is reminiscent of that in Assassins Creed. The biggest success of this game is that it manage to refine those things that borrowed. Its biggest innovation is the Nemesis system, which really make this game that much enjoyable.  It is definitely a great action-RPG.

6.South Park: The Stick of Truth

I love South Park to death so it is no surprise that it made my list. RPG elements in this game were slightly lacking. However the humor and story are the things that make this game very enjoyable. It had some of the best writing from Matt Stone and Trey Parker.  It is a must play for every fan of the series.

5.Bayoneta 2

Sequel to one of the best hack and slash video games manages to improve on its predecessor in all the best ways. Combat seems more fluid, story is funnier and more enjoyable and even some of the boss fights managed to put certain boss fight from the first one to shame. And i got to say I prefer Bayoneta with short hair.

4. Far Cry 4

Far Cry 4 managed to take everything that made Far Cry 3 great and amplify the level of fun. Riding an elephant and taking an outpost that way is so much fun. Pagan Min is a great villain even though that similar to Vass from previous game he wasn’t that much in it. Supporting characters in this one were kinda weak, but that didn’t take that much from the experience. The sheer amount of craziness in this game is pretty jarring.

3.Dragon Age: Inquisition

Great story and characters were the staple of previous Dragon Age games, and this remained unchanged in this one as well. This is also the game that took me the most time to complete. It is a huge game, that even after completing it I still feel that I only scratched the surface. Game play is really fun, even though it is more on action side than it was on RPG side. Ending of this game is kinda weak, and that is the only reason why it wasn’t higher on my list.

2.Divinity: Original Sin

Divinity: Original Sin is a game that is a love letter to those old school RPG’s like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale. .Dialog between the characters is pretty funny, and story as crazy as it is it managed to keep my interest for all of 50 hours it took me to complete this game. Managing your party and combining their attacks never felt so satisfying.

1. Dark Souls II

In spite of what general community says about this game this was still my favorite game of the year. Gameplay and inventory management were greatly improved upon. Certain criticism of this game is pretty valid. Boss fights and the way in which the world is connected definitely pale in comparison to first game. But still gameplay is were its at and this is where this game excels. It is hard to speak of the story of this game since its pretty minimalistic, but lore behind items and bosses is pretty extensive.