The Evil Within
Oct. 14th
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As I previously mentioned Resident Evil 4 is one of my all time favorite games, along with Red Dead Redemption and Morrowind. It's a fantastic game, well put together, and it still holds up really well. Sufficed to say I was really excited for the spiritual successor in the form of The Evil Within, considering how shitty the actual sequels to RE4 were. Thankfully I was not disappointing, mostly.
The Evil Within is certainly a better horror game then RE4 was, leaning much harder into the horror rather then RE4's almost B-movie approach to it. It's a creepy game, using dark lighting and disgusting imagery to put you in a constant state of unease. There's still jump scares, sure, but they work because the entire experience has you on edge. There are some particularly gory moments, and it's definitely not for the faint of heart.
Unfortunately, where it doesn't quite meet RE4's level of excellence is in the gameplay. Shooting feels sloppy, and trying to line up shots in unnecessarily difficult, particularly annoying when ammo is so limited. There's a stealth system, which is great since it allows you to conserve ammo, but the game often forgets that it exists and constantly throws you against hordes of enemies. It's possible to overcome The Evil Within, but it'll take a bit of patience.
Legend of Grimrock 2
Oct. 15th
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The first Legend of Grimrock was a great throwback to classic grid-based RPG's from PC gaming's primordial years. It was like stepping back in time, only everything was fancy looking and there was proper mouse controls. Grimrock 2 is a similar experience, only everything is even better.
The first thing to note about Grimrock 2 is the new playing field. Unlike the original, this time you aren't locked to a single dungeon, rather an entire island with multiple paths. That might sound like a bad idea for a grid-based game, and we've seen it fail spectacularly in the recent Might and Magic X. Thankfully, unlike that game, the island of Grimrock 2 is so tightly controlled that the grid based movement still works, at least for the most part, and the mixture of tight corridors and open fields works well with the movement. It is a little to easy to overshoot your moves, especially when holding the movement key down, but's a minor issue.
Combat is improved too, with enemies better able to adapt to your party's movement. In practice, this means that circle-strafing around an enemy constantly no longer works, and you'll need to actually think for some of the bigger fights.
More then just combat are the dozens upon dozens of puzzles that litter the island, ranging from simple brain teasers, to multi-tiered grand mechanisms that require time and patience to figure out. It's likely you'll eventually find yourself stumped, but the design of the world is such that you can leave an area, explore somewhere else, and come back when your ready to try it again.
The absolute freedom that Grimrock 2 grants you, both in it's world and the character building, is a great change from it's predecessor. Grimrock is a fantastic sequel, and just an all around great game to play.
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Oct. 24th
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Call a spade a spade, and call Civ: Beyond Earth Alpha Centauri 2, since that's essentially what it is. Civ: BE moves the series into space, and along with it trims the fat and streamlines the process in the best way possible. It's not the great sequel to Civ V we were hoping for, and it looks and plays a little bit to much like it's earthbound predecessor, but it's a great time-sink and an interesting new step for the long-running PC series.
Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Nov. 4th
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Sick, twisted, disturbing, and shocking are all ways to describe this re-release of The Binding of Isaac. You can also describe it as addicting, enjoyable, and well put together, since it really is. Eschewing the flash based roots of the original, this is a much better compiled game that feels more stable, and comes packed with so much extra content great for fans of the original.
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
Nov. 11th
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So fitting that this was released on Remembrance Day, since it's a constant reminder of how good Sonic used to be. Rise of Lyric isn't on this list because it's a good game, lord no. It's here because of how unintentionally hilarious the whole thing really is. It's often been said that you can't make a game so bad it's good, since unlike movies games require constant player input, but this might be close. Terrible voice acting, bizarre character redesigns, brain-damaged writing, and stupidly simplistic gameplay make this one of the funniest games since... Sonic '06.
Valkyria Chronicles
Nov. 11th
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PC ports of Japanese games are always a gamble. Often they're clunky and the graphics are lacking, especially when it's a port of a six year old game. Thankfully Valkyria Chronicles manages to avoid these pitfalls, mostly, and is one of the best and most interesting PC ports I've seen in a long time.
The game itself is World War 2 by way of Japanese anime. If that sounds weird, you ain't seen nothing. You play as a young man returning home from university who, along with his STEP-sister and a local baker, kill a bunch of dudes with a super tank left over from a previous war.
What.
Thanks to this super tank you find yourself commander of a small squad and sent into action against increasingly overwhelming odds, all the while upgrading and managing the individual soldiers and mixing and matching people for the best squad possible.
Gameplay, when there is some, is a tactical affair. You spend points to take control of a unit, then move them using up action points, and attacking enemies by aiming in third person. The trick is that it's all real-time, and units can and will, fire at you while you're moving around. It takes some time to get used to, but after the first few missions you'll get it.
There's also a shitload of cutscenes. Like, a serious shitload. For every one mission there's at least three cutscenes surrounding it on both sides. Thankfully the story is interesting enough to keep you connected, and the voice acting is decent for a translated game.
This War of Mine
Nov. 14th
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TWoM is a game of survival, sadness, and depression, often at the same time. It tasks you with staying alive in the midst of a devastating civil war, and examines a side of conflict that often goes overlooked in video games. You are not a soldier, rather you're just a group of regular people trying to get by. You'll need to scavenge to survive, and your dealings with other survivors won't always be friendly. You'll do some terrible things to live, and you'll suffer for it. An interesting idea and great gameplay make this sad tale one to check out.
Shadow of Mordor
Nov. 18th
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Technically the full title of this game is Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, but I didn't call it that because it's connection to Middle-earth is shaky at best. It doesn't do Tolkien or his world any major disservices, but it also doesn't really fit in either. Shadow of Mordor is an expanded universe title in a universe that doesn't really need expanding.
What it also is, is an engrossing and endlessly entertaining game to play. It's gameplay is instantly familiar, equal parts Arkham City and Assassin's Creed, you'll climb and stealth your way around the region of Mordor, stalking hordes of Orcs and taking them out. The stealth works great, with a recognizable detection mechanic, but when that fails you get into the swordplay, which is also really, really fun. Like the aforementioned Arkham games, combat in SoM is a rhythmic affair, rewarding you for perfectly timed strikes and blocks. It's tempting to forego stealth, just to lop off another dozen or so Orc heads.
When not literally chopping off heads, you'll be doing it figuratively, thanks to the dynamic Orc Nemesis system. Amongst the throngs of nameless Orcs are the captains, each with randomly generated names, strengths, and weaknesses. They act as mobile mini-bosses, and while you can fight them in ordinary combat, finding and exploiting their weaknesses is a great challenge that's truly rewarding. Even better is the late game, which allows you to command the Orcs and play them against one another for even bigger conflicts.
Attached to the great gameplay is a great story, exploring fatherhood and what you would do for revenge. It's got some connections to the world of Middle-Earth, and one surprising guest appearance, but it's fine if you haven't read the books or seen the movies. Overall it's a great game with plenty to do and a ton of Orc beheadings, which is fine too.
Super Smash Bros. WiiU
Nov. 21st
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Nintendo characters beating the hell out of each other. What could be better? How about an expanded roster, more levels, more gameplay options, and more items? That's what SSBU is. There's a tonne of new content and characters, but the core gameplay remains the same. You choose a beloved Nintendo character, like Mario, Samus, or Link, and make them fight to the death. Simple, and a lot of fun. If you liked the last few entries in this series then this is a no-brainer.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zero
Dec. 18th
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I honestly didn't think this game would make this list, due to it's late release. Thankfully, it launched on Steam for $15, so I scooped it up and dove in head first.
Acting as a prequel to next years Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain, MGS:GZ is a bit of a weird specimen. It's not quite a demo, and it's not quite an engine test. At best it feels like a standalone DLC for a game that hasn't been released yet.
What it also feels like is a great step forward in the long running stealth series. I unfortunately only have a little experience with the MGS series, specifically MGS3: Snake Eater, so my point of reference for MGS5 is a little off. What I do understand is how greatly improved the gameplay is over it's predecessor. Everything in Ground Zero is smooth and simple to do, from just moving around the environment to taking hostages and even shooting is better. For the first time in the series you can actually infiltrate with ease, and stealth is no longer any hassle.
The setup is that you are the Big Boss, a legendary soldier/spy and it's 1974. You must infiltrate a US black-site prison camp in Cuba to rescue two prisoners, Paz and Chico. How you do that is up to you, literally, since GZ is an open world game. The camp is small, but there are plenty of things to see and explore.
If the purpose of Ground Zero was to get me excited for Phantom Pain then job well done. It may be short, but for a slice of Kojima flavored weird, I'm willing to pay to play.
Lumbering into 2015
Well that's it, the list of games that weren't complete disasters this year. 2014 really kind of sucked, since the highest praise some games got this year were "at least it's stable", Let's hope 2015 is a little better, and maybe this industry still has a chance.
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