End Of/Game Of The Year!

Eleventy Reasons Listicles Are Great | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios

§

This is the year that I've probably played the most board games ever, almost more than video games.  I've thus gotten my "mechanical gameplay" fixes in the analog world and my mechanical gameplay frustrations in the digital one. Although I guess Undertale came out this year and had the most fun gameplay I probably ever encountererd in a turn-based game, Her Story had a bunch of "text" but a really interesting mechanical hook to gather that text, and Pillars of Eternity managed to make me powergame for 30+ hours. Then again Wasteland 2 did that last year as well, and I kinda regret digging myself so deep into both games. But yeah there were and probably always will be some games that manage to combine narrative and thematic depth with classical videogame mechanics that really interest me, and the best contender this year was without a doubt Undertale. Transistor took the top spot last year for both GOTY and had awesome gameplay, but it is kinda hard to compare such a game with say Shovel Knight or Towerfall: Ascension. What makes both Transistor and Undertale interesting is their merging of gameplay and story. Her Story does it as well, but I wouldn't refer to its gamey elements as "classical videogame mechanics" - some would claim it's not a game at all.

Anyway, I won't be listing any board games here, just video(ish) games. The 2014 list has two new episodic games on it which I didn't play until this year - Kentucky Route Zero and Dreamfall Chapters. I finally played Mass Effect 3: Citadel (2013) which made is straight into my top 10 list. Other than that, it's just a bunch of games that have made it into my honorable mentions (and "want to play" category) I think.

The last five years have been very good for me and videogaming. 2011 there were only seven games

Even More Worthy of Mentioning, there have been 10-15 in the last five years, with 26 last year (2014), and there are still more games I wish I had played! This year there were only only eight. I barely had ten games that I thought were worthy of being up at the top ten! But I don't think that has to do anything with any trends or that I played less games this year. I've always missed more games from the latest year than those before and indeed don't have any intention of playing anything I haven't already played that is older than a couple of years, but still, 2015 just wasn't as good a year as 2014, which I didn't even realize was so good until now.

When it comes to this year in blogging, I just started blogging seriously again at the end of the year because I got an internship that wasn't as stressful as my earlier ones and freed up my creative powers. I also started listening to podcasts as a paper boy this summer which inspired me to listen to gaming podcasts and thus made game writing my creative outlet at the end of this year. My most read post in 2015 is one from the beginning of the year (50 reads) which isn't surprising because there is a very long tail for my blog posts. The most read pieces are still very very old, and I'm not really sure that the number is really representative of how many people actually did see the posts, but in either case there is the only post that has 1000+ readers, and there are two that have around 750, one a simple link collection and the other a more personal piece which I think would be better if edited a bit and also expanded to point out things in the vein of "then again perhaps bioshock makes the argument that objectivism can't really work because of the nature of humans" and to clear up my reasoning concerning the conclusions I draw. I think that in part it got so many readers because it was featured in a critical compilation post on bioshock over at criticaldistance or somewhere else.

What will 2016 bring then? Gamewise, there is just too much to list here. I have 150+ games bookmarked which I look forward to, and 50+ small indie game developers whose websites I follow because if they were to make a game, chances are I'd never hear about it otherwise. Developers like Aaron Oldenburg, Lucas J.W. Johnson, Aaron Reed and Michael Lutz. Other developers, such as Sam Barlow, Jake Elliot or Dan Pinchbeck/Jessica Curry I really have no need, considering that Her Story, Kentucky Route Zero and the remake of Dear Esther were such big hits. Some websites, like those belonging to projects A Second Face 2 and Loom: The Forge I've had bookmarked for a longer time than Jonathan Blows recent project...And you know, let's not forget the fact that most games I play I never had a clue about before finding out about and playing them. But there are some games that are coming out in January at least, which I look forward to. There is the biographical couple-made kickstarter game That Dragon, Cancer, Blows six years in the making The Witness, The augmented reality thingamabob The Icebound Concordance, Kentucky Route Zero lookalike Oxenfree, and artsy Oldenburgs first game in a long time, 1000 Heads Among The Trees. So it will be a busy January and it will be a busy year for sure.

As for this blog, who knows. I feel like I need to go out into the world once again and get some inspiration. Right now I've been spending a lot of time in front of the computer and I'm about to some more because I will primarily be looking for a job. Which means I need less screen time, not more. Perhaps some more people, board games, or playing video games with people, which I hope will become a thing. I just might drop out of gaming altogether because it takes up so much time to keep up with things, and I just might need that time if I want to seriously consider making a Twine game. Then again, not right now while I'm looking for work. But maybe in 2016. If nothing else, I have words for the things I wish to put words into, words such as interactive digital theater, combinatorial narrative, secret box, procedural fiction, explorable explanation, emergent story. Well, the things these words refer to are also things I wish to interact with, and I just might be satisfied with that as well in 2016.

2015 also brought some disappointments, but mainly in the form of Metal Gear Solid V which was painful to watch, and Grim Fandango Remastered which also was painful because it wasn't as substantial as my childhood memories made me think. Other than that, it's crazy how many games which I end up loving barely have my attention before release. Of the top ten this year, I only knew about Pillars of Eternity a  year before it was released, and I had heard about Life Is Strange and Tales of Borderlands before release. Most of the games were complete surprises then, and probably 2016 will bring many surprises as well, which is crazy considering how many games I know about from the get-go. As usual, there were far too few games which aimed at reflecting the political climate we live in right. But a positive thing is that gender representation in the top ten games is as follows: 3 games with male protagonists, 3 with gender neutral/self-chosen genders, and 7 with female protagonists. Some of these games even have several female protagonists! When it comes to the production side though only one game has mainly female creators as far as I know. But still.

Before the video game lists, here are some other stuffs.



§HYPE
Who Wins Game of the Year? - The Final Bosman



§ANTIHYPE
Between the date and the emphasis on “exclusive” trailers, it’s pretty clear the ceremony is still an advertising opportunity for publishers first and foremost.  Instead of waiting until early 2016 to recap 2015 games, the awards are held in early December – smack-dab in the middle of the holiday buying season.  The show acts less like an awards ceremony and more like a commercial or buyer’s guide reminding people which games are available and which ones to consider must-buys.
/.../
Most reputable game awards have some reason to exist, some core ethos that motivates the desire to hand out prizes.
/.../
Nothing like this can be said for The Game Awards.  It’s a continuation of an outright embarrassing award show that was always more concerned with generating ad revenue than curating a year’s worth of games.



§ROUND UPS/AWARDS
Critical Distance Podcast Roundup

Cane and Rinse - A Little Look Back On 2015

RockPaperShotguns Christmas Calender

Polygon's 2015 Games of the Year

Kill Screen: The Best Videogames of 2015

Polygons Top Video Game News 2015

the most emotionally resonant games of 2015 opted to confront us with truths instead of helping us avoid them—whether they were ugly or embarrassing or cheesy or pathetic.

Mattie Brices favs

Leigh Alexanders 2015 Farewell Tour

Critical Distances Year In Videogame Blogging

The 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2015

The Top 10 Best Things of 2015 - The Final Bosman

Game Maker's Toolkit - 5 Bits of Good Game Design from 2015

§

A few years after becoming absorbed in what evolved into a hobby, I happened across a desire to reach out to these people, who had only existed disembodied in my imagination.
/.../
I tell you this so that you know how I’m approaching and presenting the games listed below. All released in 2015, these were the ones that spoke most to me, that let me into their creator’s mindspace and maybe also opened my eyes to something. In short, these were the games of 2015 that brought me closer to other people.



§OTHER NOT GAMEY STUFF I INTERACTED WITH IN 2015

Favorite Movies
Birdman
Coherence
Don Juan
Ex Machina
Her
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
In Your Eyes
Robot And Frank
Song of the Sea
Tape
Winnie The Pooh (2011)

3 Before Sunset
2 Before Midnight
1 Before Sunrise

Favorite TV-series
Agent Carter
Fringe
Sense8

3 Rick and Morty
2 Supernatural
1 Ally McBeal

Music stuffs
Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe
Burzum - Fallen
Drudkh - Blood In Our Wells
Katatonia (in general)
Life Is Strange Soundtrack
Marcato Brothers - Podcast & Albums
Muse - Various
Music From Various Zelda Games
Opeth - Ghost Reveries
Pink Floyd -  A Momentary Lapse Of Reason
Purity Ring - Shrines/Another Eternity
Saturnus - Veronika Decides To Die
The Beatles - Let It be... Naked
Timbuktu - Sagolandet
Vanessa Carlton - Heroes & Thieves
Walk Off The Earth - Sing It All Away


I've barely read any new books this year, mostly reread stuff. I've played a lot of boardgames, but meh, I'm getting powernapeytimey here so let's skip those for now. :P




§MY GAMES OF THE YEAR
(ignore the footnotes)

Missed Out On/Want To Play

PCDreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey – Book 2-4
Dropsy¹
NotDoba

Game Of Thrones Season 1 – Episode 2-5 (Telltale Games)
Ori and the Blind Forest
Super Sec Soccer

Console

Everyone's Gone To Rapture
Runbow

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D

Until Dawn

Yoshi's Wooly World

Honorable Mentions
80 Days
A Fistful of Gun²
Assault Android Cactus³

Beneath Floes⁴ (Kevin Snow)
Best Chess⁵ (Pippin Barr)
Cibele⁶ (Star Maid Games/Nina Freeman)
Conversations We Have In My Head⁷ (Squinky)
Cradle⁸ (Flying Cafe for Semianimals)

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist
Dyscourse⁹

Else Heart.Break¹⁰ (Erik Svedäng)
Epanalepsis¹¹

Final Girls¹² (spideyj/Kanane)
Grim Fandango Remastered¹³
Home Is Where One Starts¹⁴

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number¹⁵
Knee Deep: Act 1-2¹⁶
Knossu (Jonathan Whiting)
Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime¹⁷

Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain
Metamorphabet¹⁸ (Vectorpark)

MINKOMORA¹⁹ (Kikopa Games)

Neurotic Neurons²⁰ (Nicky Case)
Obéissance²¹ (Merritt Kopas)

Off-Peak²² (Cosmo D)

Ohmygod Are You Alright²³ (Anna Anthropy)
Orchids To Dusk²⁴ (Pol Clarissou)
Pathologic Classic HD²⁵
Penarium²⁶
Plug & Play²⁷ (Etter Studios)
Radiator1²⁸
Rain, House, Eternity²⁹ (Kitty Horrorshow)
Republique Remastered³⁰Rocket League
Sanctuary³¹ (Connor Sherlock)

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows³²
Soma³³
Subway Adventure³⁴/Bedrooms³⁵ (Stephen Lavelle)

Summon The Apgrod³⁶

Stasis³⁷
Sunset³⁸

Sylvio³⁹

The Old City – Leviathan⁴⁰
The Next Penelope⁴¹
The Static Speaks My Name⁴² (Jesse Barksdale)
Timruk⁴³/Menagerie (Studio Oleomingus)
Titan Souls⁴⁴

TowerFall: Dark World⁴⁵

Even More Honorable Mentions (Even More Worthy of Mentioning)

After School⁴⁶
ChargeShot⁴⁷
Hollywood Visionary⁴⁸ (Aaron A. Reed)
Life Is Short – Interactive Haiku⁴⁹ (Florian Veltman)
Super Mario Maker
The Writer Will Do Something⁵⁰ (Matthew S Burns)
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition⁵¹
White Night⁵²

10 The Music Machine⁵³/Fingerbones⁵⁴/A Wolf In Autumn⁵⁵ (David Szymanski)

9 The Book of The Dead/Viral Dusty Dead Identity Quiz⁵⁶/Tales of the Stop⁵⁷/Death and His Deer/Morning Rituals⁵⁸ (Silverstring Media/Lucas J.W. Johnson)

8 We Know The Devil⁵⁹ (Aevee Bee, Mia Schwartz & Alec Lambert)

7 The Beginner's Guide⁶⁰ (Davey Wreden/Everything Unlimited)

6 Little Party⁶¹ (turnfollow/Carter Lodwick/Ian Endsley)

5 Tales From The Borderlands Season 1 – Episode 2-5

4 Pillars of Eternity/Pillars of Eternity: White March⁶²

3 Her Story⁶³

2 Life Is Strange⁶⁴

1 Undertale⁶⁵

New Horrors
Beneath Floes

Pathologic Classic HD

Rain, House, Eternity

Sanctuary
Soma
Stasis

The Old City – Leviathan

The Book of The Dead/Viral Dusty Dead Identity Quiz

The Static Speaks My Name
White Night

3 We Know The Devil

2 The Music Machine/Fingerbones/A Wolf In Autumn 

1 Undertale (No Mercy-Run)

New Interactive Fiction

80 Days

Beneath Floes

Conversations We Have In My Head
Final Girls
Hollywood Visionary

Morning Rituals
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition

3 The Writer Will Do Something
2 The Book of The Dead/Viral Dusty Dead Identity Quiz

1 We Know The Devil

New Multiplayer Madness

Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime

3 TowerFall: Dark World
2 Penarium
1 ChargeShot

New Funny Games

Dropsy

3 The Writer Will Do Something
2 Tales From The Borderlands

1 Undertale

2014 Wrap-up

There wasn't really a game I thought was deserving of being called the best game of the year until december month, when I finally played Transistor. Oh, my, Transistor. Oh my. Well, to be fair, I did miss out on a lot of games this year which I wanted to play. In fact, I believe that if I were to have made a prediction at the beginning of the year as to what games would make it to my top ten, I think a lot of them would have consisted of games I've barely touched upon. The Witness would be there for sure (which didn't see the light of day 2014 - better luck next year Jon, I'm sure we'll be BLOWn away!) The Vanishing of Ethan Carter seemed very promising too, although I don't think I actually knew about the game a year ago, and decided on playing it when it hits the PS4 with a friend instead of playing it with low fidelity on my pc. Then there's the Dreamfalls, The Wolves Among Us, the Walking Deads, the Kentucky Route Zeros - episodals which I haven't played because I'd rather do them all in one go when they're a wrap. Both The Longest Journey and The Dream Machine have taken many years to finish, and I've decided that waiting is better than playing a bit here and there.

Dragon Age Inquisition is another game that would have made the top ten prediction, although by now I've accepted that I won't be playing that type of game much more anyway - sad but true. I'm opting out of the 50hour+ games, and going for stuff such as Consortium and Unrest for my rpg fixes. Shadowrun too, for next year. Well, sure, I'll be playing Pathologic and the new Planescape game, which will both be very long games, but mainly I'm just opting out of games which have a lot of filler and to me meaningless violence/gameplay. Perhaps it's no coincidence that two of this years biggest disappointments for me have been The Banner Saga and Wasteland 2 - both oldschool computer RPGs which I helped kickstart. The Banner Saga was simply too epic for me, too abstract, with too little emotion. It has the same problem as had the "Choice of" games, which seemed very interesting to begin with (interactive novels which lots of choices, yey!) but then got me not caring at all about the characters and my motives. Wasteland 2 on the other hand... well, I did play 40+ hours of it, almost finished it actually. But it just wasn't worth it. I know I love those types of games and just using them as escapism, but it wasn't a memorable experience in the end. It gets an honorable mention, basically.

Perhaps I should be skeptic when it comes to my hopes for the old-school pc rpgs that are coming in 2015, but I can't help myself. Pillars of Eternity and Torment: Tides of Numenera are two of the games I'm looking forward to the most next year. Then there's the aforementioned The Witness, the PS4 exclusive Everybodys Going to the Rapture, the X360 exclusive Ori and the Blind Forest and Quantum Break, the remakes Grim Fandango and Majoras Mask, the follow-up Metal Gear Solid 5, the question marks Sail Home, Outer Wilds, Gorogoa and Life is Strange, the kickstarter successes Pathologic (O_M_G!), Ice-Bound (by my favorite creator of interactive fiction, Aaron Reed), That Dragon Cancer, The Sun Also Rises, Epanalepsis, Moon Hunters, the kickstarter non-successes To Azimuth, The Black Glove (Bioshock without combat encounters), and Late to The Party (same guys that made Unrest).

So anyway, speaking of being late to parties, I gotta go. Here's the list of my favorite video games for this year.

2014

Missed Out On, Want To Play

[R]espawn
Amphora

Bayonetta 2

Beeswing

Blood & Laurels
Broforce/Expendabros

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

Chariot

Consortium

Contact Cowboy

Donald Dowell

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Dragon Age Inquisition/Dragon Age Keep
Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey - Episode 1

Game of Thrones (Telltale Games)
Goat Simulator

ibb & obb (Sparpweed)

Hidden in Plain Sight

Kentucky Route Zero: Act III/Here And There Along The Echo

Marginalia

Mario Kart 8

Quora

Screencheat

Shadowrun: Nightmare Harvest

Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall – Directors Cut

Speedrunners

Soul Axiom

Super Smash Bros

Tales from the Borderlands: Episode One - Zer0 Sum
Tennnes

The Deer God

The Sensational December Machine
The Talos Principle

The Terror Aboard The Speedwell (Javy Gwaltney)

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter/The Vanishing of Ethan Carter Prequel Mini-Comic

The Wolf Among Us: Season 1

The Walking Dead: Season 2
Thief Town

Void & Meddler
Framed

The Sailor's Dream

Republique

Revolver360 Re:Actor

Honorable Mentions

// / I’m Really Sorry About That Thing I Said When I Was Tired and/or Hungry (Deirdra Kiai)

02:22AM/Text and Drive: Friendship Never Dies (Albert Lai)

4PM

A City Sleeps

Among the Sleep

Arboretum (Matthew S. Burns)

Bezier (Philip Bak/Niine Games)

Cave! Cave! Deus Videt – Episode 0

Crawl

Cyborg Goddess (Kara Stone, Kayte McKnight)
East van EP/Oracle (ceMelusine)

Echo of the Wilds (Anthony Case)

Error City Tourist/Black Pyramid/Abstract Ritual (Strangethink Software)

Five Nights at Freddy's (Scott Cawthon)

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensons
Girls Like Robots: Nerdfest

Grim Express

Initation/The Way of Yiji (Schizoid)

Lethal League

Level 2 The Virus Master

Luftrausers

NaissanceE

Neverending Nightmares

On August 11, A Ship Sailed into Port (Cameron Kunzelman)

Project Temporality

Rehearsals and Returns

Sleep When Exhausted (Benjamin Willems)

Spelunky

Starwhal: Just the Tip

The Lion's Song (LeafThief)

The Banner Saga

The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo (Michael Lutz)

Three Fourths Home/Letters to Babylon

Tradesmarksville (Molleindustria)

Universal History of Light/The Serpent/The Transgression/Happy Memories/wear & tear/Place and Time/ Vigil (increpare)

Wasteland 2

You Won't Tell Anyone, Right? (Oxeren)

Zest (Richard Goodness)

Close Calls

Broken Age: Episode 1

Chyrza/daymare #1: "ritual"/Dust City (Kitty Horrorshow)

Dog of Dracula 2: Cyber Monogatari

Elegy for a Dead World

hets (ditto)

Journal (Richard Perrin)

Laza Knitez!!

Monument Valley

Octodad: Dadliest Catch

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Sportsfriends

The Journey Down: Chapter Two

Year Walk

10 Bernband (Tom van den Boogaart)

9 P.T (Silent Hills Playable Teaser)

8 Niddhogg (Messhof)

7 Shovel Knight

6 You Were Made For Loneliness (Tsukareta)

5 Towerfall: Ascension

4 Glitchhikers (Silverstring Media)

3 Jazzpunk

2 Unrest

1 Transistor

Annual Video Games

Here we go again, favorite video games according to the release year + bonus.


-1984


10 Solar Fox (Arkad)


9 Excite Bike


8 Millipede/Centipede


7 Boulder Dash


6 Galaxian

5 Pac Man

4 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

3 Pooyan

2 Robotron 2084

1 Jetpac

1985

Close calls

Boulder Dash 2: Rockford's Revenge

10 Balance of Power

9 Bomberman

8 A Mind Forever Voyaging

7 Binary Land

6 Gradius

5 Space Harrier

4 Field Combat

3 Ice Climbers

2 Battle City

1 Super Mario Bros

1986

Close Calls

Alex Kidd in Miracle World

10 Solomon’s Key

9 Alter Ego (Peter J. Favaro)

8 Zanac

7 Adventure Island

6 Paper Boy

5 Bubble Bobble

4 Metroid

3 Balloon Fight

2 Super Mario Bros 2

1 Legend of Zelda

1987

Close Calls

Rainbow Islands

10 R-Type

9 Zelda 2: Adventure of Link

8 Bureaucracy

7 Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It

6 Metal Gear

5 Maniac Mansion


4 Castlevania

3 Mega Man

2 Tetris: The Soviet Challenge

1 Dungeon Master

1988

10 Snatcher

9 Hidden Agenda (Jim Gasperini)

8 Space Harrier 2

7 Ghouls n’ Ghosts

6 Arkanoid

5 Spy vs Spy

4 Ninja Gaiden

3 Mega Man 2

2 Contra

1 Super Mario Bros 3

1989

10 Dig Dug 2

9 Twin Bee 3

8 Blazing Lazers


7 Cobra Triangle


6 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

5 R-Type 2

4 Prince of Persia

3 Adventures of Lolo

2 Dungeon Master: Chaos Strikes Back

1 Final Fight

1990

Honorable Mentions

ActRaiser

Ducktales

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Lost Patrol

Eye of the Beholder

Smash TV

10 Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers

9 Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse

8 Super Contra

7 Ninja Gaiden 2

6 F-Zero

5 Mega Man 3

4 Loom

3 Lemmings

2 The Secret of Monkey Island

1 Super Mario World

1991

10 Mega Man 4

9 Another World


8 Sonic the Hedgehog

7 Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts

6 Ninja Gaiden 3: The Dark Ship of Doom

5 Monkey Island 2: Lechuck’s Revenge

4 Area 88/UN Squadron

3 Street Fighter 2: World Warrior

2 Super Castlevania IV

1 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

1992

Honorable Mentions

Mega Man 5

Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge

The Legend of Zelda: Third Quest

10 Street Fighter 2 Turbo

9 Puyo Puyo

8 Pocky and Rocky

7 Sonic the Hedgehog 2

6 Jezzball/Maxwell's Maniac (Marjacq Micro/Dima Pavlovsky)

5 Super Double Dragon

4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

3 The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse

2 Super Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars

1 Super Mario Kart

1993

Close Calls

Jurassic Park

Mega Man X

World Heroes

10 Sonic the Hedgehog 3

9 Shadowrun

8 Gunstar Heroes

7 Bart Simpson's Nightmare

6 Doom

5 E.V.O: Search for Eden

4 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

3 Sam & Max Hit The Road

2 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

1 Day of the Tentacle

1994

Honorable Mentions

Donkey Kong Country

Jazz Jackrabbit

Mega Man X2

Close Calls

Micro Machines

Streets of Rage 3

10 Cyberdogs

9 Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

8 Contra: Hard Corps

7 The Great Circus Mystery: Starring Mickey and Minnie

6 Puzzle Bobble

5 Beneath a Steel Sky

4 Uni Rally/Uniracers

3 Lode Runner: The Legend Returns

2 X-Com: UFO Defense/UFO: Enemy Unknown

1 Super Metroid

1995

Honorable Mentions

Diddy's Kong Quest/Donkey Kong Country 2

Twisted Metal

Warcraft 2

Zoop

Close Calls

Mega Man 7/Mega Man X3

Micro Machines 2: Special

10 Heroes of Might & Magic

9 Full Throttle

8 Jumping Flash

7 I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream


6 The Dark Eye

5 Alien Soldier

4 Gunbird

3 Worms

2 Strikers 1945

1 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

1996

Honorable Mentions

Dixie Kong's Double Trouble/Donkey Kong Country 3

Donpachi

Pandemonium

Quake

Sengoku Ace Episode II/Sengoku Blaede/Tengai

Twisted Metal 2

Close Calls

C-Dogs (Cyberdogs 2)

Death Rally

Mega Man 8

Samurai Shodown 4: Yamakuzas Revenge

10 Resident Evil

9 Metal Slug

8 Leisure Suit Larry: Love For Sail

7 Three Dirty Dwarves


6 Tapestry (Daniel Ravipinto)


5 Nights: Into Dreams

4 Mario Kart 64

3 Diablo

2 Soul Blade

1 Super Mario 64

1997

Honorable Mentions

Blood

Duckman

House of the Dead

Mega Man X4

Nightmare Creatures

Shadow Warrior

Close Calls

Diddy Kong Racing

Dungeon Keeper

In the Changing Room (Jackie Craven)

Need for Speed II

10 Blade Runner

9 Worms 2

8 Fallout

7 Croc: The Legend of Gobbos

6 Diablo: Hellfire

5 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

4 Strikers 1945: Part 2

3 Starcraft

2 Dodonpachi

1 Final Fantasy VII

1998

Honorable Mentions

Banjo Kazooie

F-Zero X

Gunbird 2

LSD: Dream Emulator

Medievil

Rockman & Forte

Sanitarium

Space Bomber

Close Calls

Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now

Micro Machines V3

NHL 1999

Photopia (Adam Cadre)

10 Liero (Joosa Riekkinen)

9 Fallout 2

8 Dink Smallwood

7 Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

6 Hexplore

5 Starcraft: Broodwars

4 Grim Fandango

3 Baldur’s Gate

2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1 Metal Gear Solid

1999

Honorable Mentions

Aisle (Sam Barlow)

Darkstone

Grandia

Guwange

Heroes of Might and Magic 3

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

Metal Slug X NHL 2000

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Roller Coaster Tycoon

Soul Calibur

Vib Ribbon

Close Calls

Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty

Fight of the Sumo Hoppers (Tuomas Korppi)

Super Smash Bros

Worms Armageddon

10 Silent Hill

9 Exhibition (Ian Finley)

8 Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast

7 Castlevania/Legacy of Darkness

6 Final Fantasy VIII

5 System Shock 2

4 Unreal Tournament

3 Street Fighter 3: Third Strike

2 The Longest Journey

1 Planescape Torment

2000

Honorable Mentions

Banjo Tooie

Diablo 2

DX-Ball 2

Dragon Blaze

Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Metal Gear: Ghost Babel

NHL 2001

Resident Evil Code: Veronica

Space Channel 5

Close Calls

Ricochet (Counter-Strike)

10 Shade (Andrew Plotkin)

9 Galatea (Emily Short)

8 Escape from Monkey Island

7 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

6 Rameses (Stephen Bond)

5 Shrapnel/9:05 (Adam Cadre)

4 Deux Ex

3 Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)

2 Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn

1 The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask

2001

Honorable Mention

Conkers Bad Fur Day

Cyberd

Deadline, or, Being Douglas Adams (Gunter Schmidl)

Diablo II: Lord of Destruction

Final Fantasy X

Freak Out!/Stretch Panic

Gothic

IF Arcade

Kingdom Hearts

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Pleurghburg: The Dark Age (Chrille Blomqvist)

Project Zero/Fatal Frame

Resident Evil Remake/Resident Evil Zero

Serious Sam

Super Monkey Ball

Zone of the Enders

Close Calls

Devil May Cry

Frequency

Jak & Daxter

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory

Ribbons (J.D Berry)

10 Super Smash Bros Melee

9 Rez

8 Luigis Mansion

7 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

6 Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

5 Max Payne

4 Shadow of Memories/Shadow of Destiny

3 Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal/Ascension

2 Silent Hill 2

1 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

2002

Honorable Mentions

Ketsui

Mad Maestro
Ratchet & Clank
Sly Raccoon

Super Monkey Ball 2

The Trials of Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Close Calls

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

10 Hobo Soccer (Magic Whisper)

9 Psyvariar: Revision/Psyvariar: Medium Unit

8 Pop n’ Music 8

7 Guilty Gear XX

6 Super Mario Sunshine

5 Ikaruga

4 Noiz2sa (Kenta Cho)

3 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

2 Metroid Prime

1 Metroid Fusion

2003

Honorable Mentions

Espgaluda

Kya: Dark Lineage

Narcolepsy (Adam Cadre)

Soul Calibur 2

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest

Warioware Inc: Minigame Mania

Yume Nikki (KIKIYAMA)

Zone of the Enders: 2nd Runner

Close Calls

Amplitude

The Apprentice (Herculean Effort Productions)

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Samorost (Amanita Design)

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4

10 Seiklus (cly5m)

9 Perfect Cherry Blossom (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

8 5 Days a Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

7 Beyond Good And Evil

6 dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU

5 Silent Hill 3

4 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

3 The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

2 Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

1 Parsec47/rRootage (Kenta Cho)

2004

Honorable Mentions

A Case of the Crabs (Pinhead Games)

Beatmania IIDX 8th Style

Glass Rose

Imperishable Night (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Polarium

Thief: Deadly Shadows

Tuboflex (Molleindustria)

Tumiki Fighters (Kenta Cho)

Close Calls

Go go roppongi Stick!

Psyvariar 2: Ultimate Final

Tontie (Eyesmaze)

10 Levers (Patrick Smith)

9 Blue Chairs (Chris Klimas)

8 Cirque de Zale (Rebecca Clements)

7 Katamari Damacy

6 Mushihimesama

5 7 Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

4 The Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions


3 Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

2 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

1 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

2005

Honorable Mentions

Anna (Vince Twelve/xiigames)

Cave Story (Daisuke Amaya)

Cedric and the Revolution (Bernie)

Conker: Live and Reloaded

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat

Electroplankton

Espgaluda 2

Facade

Guilty Gear XX Slash

Gunroar/Val & Rick (Kenta Cho)

Haunting Ground

Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan!

Soul Calibur 3

Close Calls

The Apprentice Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)

Beatmania IIDX 9th Style/Beatmania IIDX 10th Style

Blue Wish (x.x)

Pop n' Music 11

Resident Evil 4

10 We Love Katamari

9 Killer 7

8 Soviet Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)

7 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved

6 Psychonauts

5 Experimental Gaming: Tower of Goo, On a Rainy Day, The Crowd, Gravity Head, Square Off, Attack of the Killer Swarm, Riff, Attack of the Killer Swarm, Darwin Hill (Kyle Gabler)

4 Jade Empire

3 Whom the Telling Changed (Aaron A Reed)

2 Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

1 Pathologic

2006

Honorable Mentions

Automaton (Mr Colossal)

Hallway of Adventures (Mordalles)

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Mushihime-sama Futari

New Super Mario Bros

Torus Trooper/Titanion (Kenta Cho)

Close Calls

Beatmania IIDX 11: IIDX RED

Blue Wish Resurrection/Eden's Edge (x.x)

La La Land 5/La La Land 4/La La Land 3/La La Land 2/La La Land (TheAnemic)

Merry Gear Solid (Arthur Mr. Podunkian Lee)

Museum of Broken Dreams (Jonas Kyratzes)

The Shivah/Blackwell Legacy (Dave Gilbert)

10 Within A Deep Forest (Nifflas)


9 Pop n' Music 12

8 Dreamfall: The Longest Journey


7 WarioWare: Smooth Moves


6 Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock


5 De Baron (Victor Gijsbers)


4 Guilty Gear XX Accent Core

3 Spooks (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

2 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

1 Trilby's Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

2007

Honorable Mentions

Beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD

Blackwell Unbound (Dave Gilbert)

Chalk (Joakim Sandberg)

Contra 4

Feed the Head (Patrick Smith)

Frozzd (Jesse Venbrux)

Hyperbound (Michael Iantorno)

La Croix Pan (TheJBurger)
Mountain of Faith (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

Pacman Championship Edition

Sumotori Dreams (Péter Soltész)
Rorschach (Collecting Smiles)

Samorost 2 (Amanita Design)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

Trilby: The Art Of Theft (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Close Calls

Game, game, game and again game (Jason Nelson)

Garden of Coloured Lights/Excellent Bifurcation (Linley Henzell)

Knytt Stories/Knytt (Nifflas)

Murder In A Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)

Nelly Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)

Super Stardust HD

10 Immortal Defense (Radical Poesis Games)

9 Sam & Max Season 1: Cont’

8 Mass Effect

7 Mondo Agency/Mondo Medicals/Clean Asia (Cactusquid)

6 Super Mario Galaxy

5 The Witcher

4 Bioshock

3 Portal

2 Passage (Jason Rohrer)

1 6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

2008

Honorable Mentions

Achievement Unlocked

Des Rêves Élastiques Avec Mille Insectes Nommés Georges (Deirdra Kiai)

Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu

Fallout 3

Geometry Wars Evolved 2

How Many…

Tension/The Void

Virtual Silence/Seven Minutes (Tuukka Virtanen)

Close Calls

Blue Wish Resurrection Plus (x.x)

Free Culture Game/Queer Power/Oiligarchy (Molleindustria)

Little Girl In Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson?)

Psychosomnium/Seizuredome (Cactusquid)

Rescue: The Beagles (Nenad Jalsovec)

Self-destruct/Xoldiers (Terry Cavanagh)

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

10 A Second Face (Jospin Le Woltaire)

9 Gateway II (Anders Gustafsson)

8 Nanobots (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

7 Aether (Edmund McMillen)

6 Karoshi 2.0/Execution/Pazzon/Torque/Karoshi/Karoshi Factory/Karoshi: Suicide Salaryman (Jesse Venbrux)

5 Gravitation/Police Brutality/Between/Perfectionism (Jason Rohrer)

4 Dear Esther (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)

3 World Of Goo (2d Boy)

2 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot

1 Braid (Jonathan Blow)

2009


Honorable Mentions
!, Robot/Shifters Box (Ben304)
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (Petri/Kloonigames)
Alabaster (Emily Short)
And Yet It Moves (Broken Rules)

Backup/Bars Of Black And White (Gregory Weir)

Blue Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)

Chaser (Connor Carpenter/shadestorm)

Devils Tuning Fork (DePaul Game Elites)

Play: Free Will - The Game (raitendo)
Gray (aeiowu/fucrate)

Korsakovia (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)

Harpooned (Conor O’Kane)

Nestlings (Lewis Denby)

The Path (Tale of Tales)

Small Worlds (David Shute)

Takishawa Is Dead! (Andrew Brophy)

The Endling Archive (Kazuki Mishima)

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

Ulitsa Dimitrova (Lea Schönfelder & Gerard Delmás

Walker & Silhouette (C.E.J. Pacian)

Close Calls

Au Sable/All Our Friends Are Dead (Amon26)

Eden’s Aegis (x.x)

Evidence of Everything Exploding (Jason Nelson)
Flower (thatgamecompany)

Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Gravity Bone (Brendon Chung/Blendo Games)

lose/lose (Zach Gage)

Mental Repair Inc (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)

Merry Gear Solid 2: Ghosts of Christmas Past (Arthur Mr. Podunkian Lee)

New Super Mario Bros Wii

Repent (Aaron Oldenburg)

Spectre (Vaguely Spectacular)

Super Karoshi/Focus (Jesse Venbrux)

Tales of Monkey Island

Today I Die (Daniel Benmergui)

We the Giants (Peter Groeneweg)

White Butterfly (Linley Henzell)

Windosill (Patrick Smith)

10 The Company of Myself (Eli Pülonen)

9 Time Fcuk (Edmund McMillen, William Good & Justin Karpel)

8 The Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)

7 Batman: Arkham Asylum

6 Judith/Don’t Look Back/Pathways (Terry Cavanagh)

5 Radiator 1-2: Handle With Care/Radiator 1-1: Polaris (Robert Yang)

4 Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

3 Dragon Age: Origins

2 Everyday The Same Dream (Molleindustria)

1 Opera Omnia/Home/Therapy Game/Mirror Stage/The Black Yeti/Signifier (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)

2010

Missed Out On

Metro

Honorable Mentions

Alan Wake

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer (Nicolau/calunio)
Being There (Jordan Magnuson)
Blades of Passion (Drew Wellman)
Crimzon Clover (Yotsubane)
Conquer the Shadow World/Lackadaisium (Ultimate Walrus)
Cow Clicker (Ian Bogost)
Depict1 (Retro Affect)
Digital: A Love Story (Christine Love)
Dual Transform (Andrew Plotkin)
Eternally Us (Ben304)
Fallout: New Vegas
Feign (Ian Snyder)
Flaws (Jon Ingold)
Frenzy Defense (Jan Willem Nijman)
Hero Core (Daniel Remar)
ir/rational (Tom Jubert)
Limbo (Playdead)
My First Quantum Translocator
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
P0nd (Peanut Gallery)
Puji (Alexander Jhin, Matt McKnett, and Pat Kemp)
Puzzlebots (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
QWOP (Bennett Fodd)
Sand-dancer (Aaron A Reed & Alexei Othenin-Girard)
Super Crate Box (Vlambeer)
Super Street Fighter IV
Symon (Singapore MIT Gambi Game Lab)
Technobabylon – Part II/Technobabylon – Part 1 (James Dearden)
Tedium (EddieC)

The Dream Machine Chaper 1 & 2 (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)

Tower of Heaven (askiisoft)
Which (Mike Inel)


Close Calls
...But That Was [Yesterday]/Together (Michael Molinari)

A House in California/Hummingbird Mind (Jake Elliott & friends)

The Arm/Refus Q. Jibberjabber's Day Out/Flin McGraw's Last Day (tipp)

Covetous/Good Fortune (Austin Breed)
Dragon Age: Awakening
Howard Glitch Game (Robert Allmand)
Loneliness (Jordan Magnuson)
Loved (Alexander Ocias)
Norrland/Gamma4 (Cactusquid)
Octodad (DGE2)
One Chance (AwkwardSilenceGames)
Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
suteF (Ted Lauterbach)


10 After (Aaron Oldenburg)


9 Memory Reloaded/Leaky Worlds: A Playable Theory (Molleindustria)


8 The Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)


7 VVVVV/Phobiaphobiaphobia (Terry Cavanagh)

6 Super Mario Galaxy 2

5 Mass Effect 2/Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadowbroker

4 Life Flashes By (Deirdra Kia)


3 Snakes of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Alex Van Wijst/Baron)

2 Looming/The Day/Narthex (Gregory Weir)

1 Treatise/Hush/Modernauts/Primitive Pattern/Starfeld/100 Names/Queue/The Terrible Whiteness of Appalachian Nights/The Rose Garden/Catalan/Cascode (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)




2011

Missed Out On, Want To Play

Alice: Madness Returns

Outland

Super Mario 3D Land

Honorable Mentions
A Mother's Inferno (Dadiu/David Adler)
Animal Puncher/A Mother in Festerwood (Austin Breed)
American Dream (Stephen Lavelle, Terry Cavanagh, Jasper Byrne and Tom Morgan-Jones)
Apollo 2 (Robert Yang)
At A Distance (Terry Cavanagh)
Batman: Arkham City
Cat and the Coup (Peter Brinson/Kurosh ValaNejad)
Chainworld (Jason Rohrer)
Crime Zone (thecatamites)
Encyclopedia Fuckme and the Case of the Vanishing Entree (Anna Anthopy)
Fotonica
Freedom Bridge
Glitchhiker (vlambeer)

Gyossait (Amon26)

Hot Throttle (Cacusquid)

NightSky (Nicalis/Nifflas)

No Longer Subject to Judicial Review (NiallM)

Not Tetris 2 (Maurice Guégan)

Raccord Sniper (Nicolai Troshinsky)

Soul Brother (Jasper Byrne)

Spent (McKinney)

Suction Co-op (Gustav Dahl)

Technobabylon Part III (James Dearden)

The Dream Machine: Chapter 3 (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)

The Play (Deirdra Kiai)

To the Moon (Kan Gao)

Trine 2

Wither (Rastek)

Wunderputt (dampgnat)

You Shall Know The Truth/The Book of Living Magic (Jonas Kyratzes)

Close Calls

Labyrinths (György Dudas)

Rebirth (Daniel-D. "Guert" Guertin)

The Stanley Parable (Cakebread)

The End of Us (Chelsea Howe & Michael Molinari)

These Robotic Hearts of Mine (Alan Hazelden/Draknet)

10 Trauma (Krystian Majewski)

9 Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony (Final Form)

8 Negative Spacecraft (Chris Cornell)

7 A History of Democratic Process in Eire/English Country Tune/Salome/ Pirouette/Oíche Mhaith (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)

6 Rayman Origins

5 Balloon-Diaspora/Ruins (Jake Elliott)

4 Bla Bla (Vincent Morisset)

3 Maybe Make Some Change (Aaron A Reed)

2 Bastion

1 Portal 2

2012

Missed Out On, Want To Play

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Honorable Mentions

.heartbeats (Sebastian Trelles)

As Slow As Possible (György Dudas)

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

Drawception

Home (Benjamin Rivers)

Howling Dogs (porpentine)

Intake/Ten/Fall/Closet (Maddox Pratt)

ir/rational Redux (Tom Jubert)

It's all Fun and Games Until Someone Blows Their Brains Out (Mikael Vesavuori)

Kairo (Perrin)

Knytt Underground (Nifflas)

Lim/Brace/A Synchronous Ritual/Terf War (Meritt Kopas)

Lone Survivor (Jasper Byrne)

The Love Letter (axcho and knivel)

Mari0/Not Pacman (Maurice Guégan)

Middens (John Clowder)

Mirrormoon (Team Focaccia)

Nuign Specter (Jake Clover)

Or, What Is It Like To Be A Thing? (Cameron Kunzelman)

Otherworld: Spring of Shadows

Resonance (Vincent XII)

Slender: The Eight Pages (Mark J. Hadley)

Spec Ops: The Line

Super Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)

Tales of the Minus Lab (Alex Beachum)

Timebomb (Kenta Cho)

The Republia Times/6 Degrees of Sabotage (Lucas Pope)

To What End (Chelsea Howe, Michael Molinari)

Close Calls

Anestesia (Pedro Paiva)

dys4ia (Anna Anthropy)

First Draft of the Revolution/Bee (Emily Short)

Hotline Miami

I Remember the Rain (Jordan Browne)

Journey Down: Over the Edge HD (Theodor Waern)

Katawa Shoujo

Laza Knitez! (Team Buttfighters)

Perspective (nfyre)

Remembered/Syncope/The Question Unquestioned (Chris Klimas)

Slave of God/Promises/Sickness/The Good Sister/RAPIDFIE (increpare/Stephen Lavelle)

The Colder Light/Intercept (Jon Ingold)

The Dark Room (ThatsMrRobinson)

Thomas Was Alone (Mike Bithell)

Vidiot Game

10 Unfinished Swan

9 Almost Goodbye/Prom Week (Aaron A Reed)

8 March/Connections/Get Closer/The Path Taken/Exhaust (mindful xp)

7 Journey (thatgamecompany)

6 Unmanned (molleindustria)

5 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD

4 Mass Effect 3/Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut

3 Thirty Flights of Loving (Brendon Chung)

2 The Walking Dead

1 Dear Esther

2013

Missed Out On, Want To Play

A Slow Year
DEVICE 6
Dishonored
Doki-Doki Universe
Dust: An Elysian Tail
F J O R D S
Guacamelee!
Kentucky Route Zero
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Mass Effect 3: Citadel
Metro: Last Light
New Super Mario Bros. U
Puppeteer

Richard & Alice

Resogun

Risk of Rain

Saints Row IV

Sonic Lost World
Starseed Pilgrim
Super Mario 3D World
Tearaway
Teleglitch: Die More Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Novelist
Tomb Raider
X-com: Enemy Within
Year Walk
ZiGGURAT

Honorable Mentions

7 Days (RevoLab)

Anodyne (Analgesic Productions LLC)

Antichamber

At the Bonfire (finny)

Auti-sim

Autumn's Daughter (Ali Sajid Imami & Shumaila Hashmi)

Bioshock Infinite

Black Crown

Coloratura (Lynnea Glasser)

Contrast

Divekick

Dominique Pamplemousse (Deirdra Kiai)

Drop A Beat, Giuseppe! (Major Bueno)

Dysphoria City (Spanglypants)

Even Cowgirls Bleed (Christine Love)

Experiment 12 (Various)

Fragments of Him (Matazone & Sassybot: Mata Haggis, Tino van der Kraan, Elwin Verploegen, Henriette Sande)

Home Again (Chris Klimas)

I'm Frontline (Kenta Cho)

Inner Vision (Sunil Rao)

Jostle Bastard (Pippin Barr)

Kim's Story (Kim Moss)

Mass Effect 3: Leviathan

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine

Naya's Quest (Terry Cavanagh)

Negative Space (Maddox Pratt)

Papers, Please (Lucas Pope)

Perspective (Pohung)

Problem Attic (Liz Ryerson)

Proteus (Ed Key & David Kanaga)
Save the Date (Paper Dino Software)
Slavoj Žižek Makes A Twine Game (Cameron Kunzelman)
Slender: The Arrival

Sluggish Morss/Sluggish Morss: A Delicate Time in Space (Jake Clover & Jack King-Spooner)

The Bridge (Case Western)

The Impostor (Deirdra Kiai)

The Last Door (Chapter 1 & 2)

The Last of Us

The Raven – Legacy of a Master Thief
The Whispering Thing (Gregory Avery-Weir)

Zero (Arturs Grebstelis)

Close Calls

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

Castles in the Sky (The Tall Trees)

Catachresis (Cameron Kunzelman)

Choice of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)

Depression Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)

No-one Has To Die (StuStutheBloo)

one-two (一-二)

Rayman Legends

Reset (Autumn Nicole Bradley)

The Swapper

To My First Born Son/Sleeping Scared/Ollam House (increpare)

10 The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 – Faith

9 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

8 Knock Knock (Ice-Pick Lodge)

7 Ossuary (Future Proof Games/Gregory Weir)

6 The Walking Dead: 400 Days/The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 1 – All That Remains

5 Outer Wilds (Alex Beachum)

4 The Stanley Parable HD Remix/The Stanley Parable Demo (Galactic Café/Davey Wreden)

3 18 Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)

2 Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance

1 Gone Home

My inner childs favorite games

My inner (dualistically oriented) grown-ups favorite games

These are my favorite games as deemed so by the intellectual within me, by the person within who does not wish to play games only for the sake of playing them or having fun or getting better at it or appreciating the aesthetics, and so on. These games are games that transcend the time which I spend with them and contribute to the dialogue I have with myself and others concerning matters of what a good life is, what justice can be, if love is possible, and other questions of prime importance. There are a number of games that fit neither here or in ”the list of my inner child”, which are those games that gameplay-wise are very good, yet I discovered them as an adolescent (or later), and the games which have adult themes and are very well-executed, yet do not seem to have themes which I necessarily think I can incorporate into my daily living, themes that do not make me remember the game in other contexts than that of nostalgia or video game criticism.



First stage
Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn
Bioshock
Deus Ex
Jade Empire
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Portal
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
System Shock 2



Second stage
Grim Fandango
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot
Opera Omnia
Portal 2
Silent Hill 3
Shadows of Memories
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Longest Journey
World Of Goo (2d Boy)



Third (and final?) stage
Braid (Jonathan Blow)
Dear Esther (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)
Final Fantasy VII
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Pathologic
Planescape Torment
Silent Hill 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask

Sequelitis

A videogame sequel begins with most vital questions already answered. Who am I? Where can I go? What can I do? How does the world work? What are the limits? Instead, I only ask: What's different this time? Is it better than the last one? Can I dual- wield? Videogame sequels traffic in features and upgrades, keeping pace with the times, meeting fan expectations. Their logic is that of the genre novel, of repetition with variation. Their pleasures are those of the tweak, the nuance. They reward the discerning palate with shades of difference. It is the death of mystery by a thousand refinements.¹



In a business where sequels abound and the question of ”why” seems to get it's most clear answer in fiscal numbers or notions of ”improvement” (of game mechanics and graphics, mainly), I have great respect and derive chunky joy from sequels which make their point of departure meaningful, and also have producers who are gutsy enough to support that willing departure from established sequel-conventions of ”bigger and higher”. And sometimes, that damn sequel with improved interface and graphics, or with more nuanced game mechanics, makes me question why I was skeptical to the ”now made perfect” sequel in the first place.

We identify a series – videogame or otherwise – according to how well it obeys the formal rules established by its predecessors, much as we identify the next number in a numeric set according to whether it was derived from the set's algorithm. The act of obeying those self-made rules (along with our awareness of such obedience) becomes a trope in itself, a behavioral habit that identifies us as consumers of a product. By demanding the continuation of a series, an audience can become as typecast in its desires as the product that it demands.

The cycle of iteration creates an illusion of progress without granting true progress – freedom from the cycle, from zero, from the set. Think of escaping the cycle as a return to a state of Taoist p'u – the uncarved block that represents receptivity, passivity, and the simplicity of beginnings. Sense cycles, repetitions of personal behaviors, can never be permanently discarded. However, they can be modified toward a better identity once a person, with self-awareness, leaves that state of p'u and tries to do – and become – something new. ²

Third place, first outing

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Super Castlevania IV

Dodonpachi

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2

Mario Kart 64

Mass Effect 2/Mass Effect 3

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

System Shock 2

Super Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars '

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2/3/4

Second best, nigh the top stop

Fallout 2

Guilty Gear XX/Accent Core

Ikaruga

Lode Runner: The Legend Returns

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

Metroid Prime/Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion

Portal 2

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Super Mario World/Yoshi's Island/Super Mario 64/Super Mario Galaxy

First place, second row

Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Guns of the Patriot/Snake Eater

Silent Hill 2/Shattered Memories/Silent Hill 3

Street Fighter 2: World Warrior/Third Strike

The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask/A Link to the Past/Ocarina of Time/Wind Waker

Trilby's Notes/6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

RPG's

1 RPG's
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
Dragon Age: Awakening
Fallout
Fallout 2
Final Fantasy VIII
Mass Effect
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines



2 RPG's
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal/Ascension
Dragon Age: Origins
Jade Empire
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

The Witcher

3 RPG's
Baldur’s Gate
Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn
Final Fantasy VII
Planescape Torment
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Mods

Since mods often are community efforts, endlessly bettered and updated as a living ofganism, attributing them dates or specific authors can be hard. Sometimes it's possible, but for the sake of laziness I'll skip that part completely and just go ahead and tell you about the game modifications which have greatly contributed to my enjoyment of these (RPG) games.

Baldur’s Gate

Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal

Planescape Torment

The Bigg's Widescreen mod/Ghostdog's incredible UI mod
Qwinn's Planescape: Torment Tweaks
Planescape: Torment Ultimate WeiDU Fixpack

Planescape Torment: Unfinished Business

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

TSL Restored Content Mod

Shmups

Boy did I used to love these. For the last five years or so, instead I've dropped out of sight, seeing how what is produced these days is very inspired by the Japanese arcade tradition. All right, so I used to love that tradition – these days I do not, but my taste for procedurally generated content and the opposite of punishing gameplay is still strong, even if it doesn't take much to put me off.

Insert Credit

Blue Wish Resurrection (x.x)
Cyberd (?)
Dragon Blaze
Eden's Aegis (x.x)
Eden's Edge (x.x)

The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)

ESPgaluda

Garden of Coloured Lights (Linley Henzell)

Gunbird 2

Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony (Final Form)

Negative Spacecraft (Chris Cornell)

Imperishable Night (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Psyvariar
Psyvariar 2
Tumiki Fighters
Ultimate Stage (?)

White Butterfly (Linley Henzell)

1CC

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved

Gunbird

Ikaruga

Mushihimesama

Noiz2sa (Kenta Cho)
Perfect Cherry Blossom (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Self-destruct (Terry Cavanagh)

Strikers 1945

1LC
Area 88/UN Squadron
dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU

Dodonpachi

Parsec47 (Kenta Cho)

rRootage (Kenta Cho)

Strikers 1945: Part II

Independent Point & Clicks

High nostalgia factor for me, almost from the get-go, for some reason, even though I didn't exactly ”grow up” with SCUMM and LucasArts. I've clicked a lot in my life, and in games made in Adventure Game Studios especially, but I'm out of the loop also in this area. The genre needs less weird puzzles and, brace yourself, ”meaningful choices”. Or non-choices. But things that evoke some sense of purpose and has life-affirming qualities beyond the isolation of a puzzle.

2 Clicks Away From Total Awesomeness

Anna (Vince Twelve/xiigames)

Blackwell Legacy (Dave Gilbert)

Blackwell Unbound (Dave Gilbert)

Little Girl In Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

Mental Repair Inc (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)

Nelly Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)

Rorschach (Collecting Smiles)

Technobabylon Part 1, 2, 3 (James Dearden)

The Dream Machine (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)

The Shivah (Dave Gilbert)

The Trials of Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

1 Click Away From Total Awesomeness

5 Days A Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

7 Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

A House in California (Jake Elliott & friends)

A Second Face (Jospin Le Woltaire)

Cirque de Zale (Rebecca Clements)

Gateway II (Anders Gustafsson)

Murder In A Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)

The Apprentice Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)

The Clique

6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Snakes of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Baron/Alex Van Wijst)

Spooks (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)

Soviet Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)

The Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions)

The Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)

The Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)

Trilby's Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)

Interactive Fiction

A genre wish I have held the highest hopes for, for many years now. Mostly I get frustrated over the interface problems and prefer ”less interaction” and more meaningful choices, which reflects what game I've put on this list too. And although also this is a genre I am utterly tired of right now, I have high hopes for what the future will bring.

Close Calls

Deadline, or, Being Douglas Adams (Gunther Schmidl)

Intake (Maddox Pratt)

The Play (Deirdra Kiai)

Sickness (increpare)

X

9:05 (Adam Cadre)

Aisle (Sam Barlow)

Alabaster (Emily Short)

Being There (Jordan Magnuson)

Choice of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)

Dual Transform (Andrew Plotkin)

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams/Steve Meretzky)

In the Changing Room (Jackie Craven)

Narcolepsy (Adam Cadre)

The Colder Light (Jon Ingold)

Xyz

Blue Chairs (Chris Klimas)

Blue Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)

De Baron (Victor Gijsbers)

Depression Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)

First Draft of the Revolution (Emily Short)

Galatea (Emily Short)

Remembered (Chris Klimas)

Ribbons (J.D Berry)

Shade (Andrew Plotkin)

Tapestry (Daniel Ravipinto)

Xyzzy

18 Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)

Almost Goodbye (Aaron A Reed)

Exhibition (Ian Finley)

maybe make some change (Aaron A Reed)

Photopia (Adam Cadre)

Rameses (Stephen Bond)

Shrapnel (Adam Cadre)

Whom the Telling Changed (Aaron A Reed)

Multiplayer (3+) Games

Games to play with cherished friends, or games through which one makes new friends (and enemies). Get your ass over into the couch/in front of the keyboard and let's boot this shit and a couple of beers up!



Multi Tap

Bomberman (different versions)

Drawception

Glitchhiker

New Super Mario Bros Wii

Rayman Legends/Rayman Origins

We the Giants (Peter Groeneweg)

Mega Tap

Laza Knitez! (Team Buttfighters)

Micro Machines V3

Ricochet (Counter-Strike)

Super Monkey Ball/Super Monkey Ball 2

WarioWare: Smooth Moves

Ultra Tap
Mario Kart 64
Super Smash Bros/Super Smash Bros Melee
Unreal Tournament
Worms 2/Worms Armageddon/Worms

Co-op Games

We VS the World

Balloon Fight

Cyberdogs/C-Dogs (Cyberdogs 2)

Diablo 2/Diablo

House of the Dead

Ice Climbers

Journey

Metal Slug/Metal Slug X

New Super Mario Bros Wii

Smash TV

Streets of Rage 3

We VS We

Battle City

Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)

Pocky and Rocky

Portal 2

Super Double Dragon

We Are One

Lode Runner: The Legend Returns

Rayman Legends/Rayman Origins

Super Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars/Contra/Contra: Hard Corps

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

Three Dirty Dwarves

VS Games

Puji (Alexander Jhin, Matt McKnett, and Pat Kemp)
Super Mario Kart/Mario Kart 64
F-Zero
Street Fighter 2: World Warrior/Street Fighter 3: Third Strike/Super Street Fighter IV
Soul Blade/Soul Calibur
Diddy Kong Racing
Micro Machines V3/Micro Machines
Liero (Joosa Riekkinen)
Hobo Soccer (Magic Whisper)

Puzzle Bobble

Worms 2/Worms Armageddon/Worms
Spy vs Spy
Fight of the Sumo Hoppers (Tuomas Korppi)
Ricochet (Counter-Strike)
Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)
Super Monkey Ball/Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Smash Bros/Super Smash Bros Melee
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core /Guilty Gear XX
Unreal Tournament