With 2015 around the corner, we take a look at our favourite games that came out in 2014. Which ones impressed us, which ones challenged us but most importantly, which ones were so much fun we couldn’t put the controller down!
Cat S-D:
1. Mario Kart 8
2. Child of Light
3. Watch Dogs
Mario Kart 8 shows that you can bring back a series with new challenges yet keep it true to its roots. It’s a perfect mix of innovation and retro. The new courses and items will keep you on your toes and the DLCs will make you fall in love with this game all over again.
Leah:
1: Sunset Overdrive
2: inFAMOUS: Second Son
3: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
I chose Sunset Overdrive because of its bright colours, crazy humour, solid combat system and some of the most creative traversal mechanics and boss battles I have played in a while. This game is a whole lot of awesome.
Simon:
1: Wolfenstein: The New Order
2: Final Fantasy 14
3: Shovel Knight
It was a hard decision to make, but ultimately, Wolfenstein came on top for me. It did right what so many other corridor shooters have failed to accomplished. Being able to balance between sneaking and going full on Rambo is the most fun I’ve had playing a single player campaign in a long time. The story is interesting, the weapons are fun, the enemies can sometimes be very challenging, rather than simply plentiful, and I actually cared for the characters. Killing Nazis has never been more fun!
Catherine Ashley:
1. Wolfenstein: The New Order
2. Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
3. Child of Light
2014 has been a pretty weird year, gaming-wise. The games I thought I’d pick as my GOTY (Destiny, Halo: MCC) crashed in flames of disappointment, while others were just a pile of blah. Some gems did shine through though, and I’ll have to agree with Simon on this one and dub Wolfenstein: The New Order as my Game of the Year. The game was just really, really fun. The story is fantastic, as it’s a depressing rendition of alternate history which served to answer a question many have asked: “What if the Nazis had won?”. Also, the introduction of Blazkowicz noir-style dialogue added an intimate edge to an otherwise formulaic shooter. The mechanics were fantastic, the guns were fun and I really enjoyed the nod given by MachineGames to the series longtime fans through their awesome easter egg. It really didn’t get the attention it deserved, and you should definitely pick it up.
Alicia Alexandra:
1: Divinity: Original Sin
2: Fantasy Life
3: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Divinity: Original Sin is made up of (what I consider to be) some of the most important characteristics a game can have: extremely wordy, void of handholding and deliciously tedious. I fully intend to sink more hours into stealing everything that’s not nailed down in Rivellon, even after 2014 is done.
Devin Kerr:
1: Shovel Knight
2. Dragon Age: Inquisition
3. Far Cry 4
Shovel Knight was the first game in a long time that got me excited from start to finish. Upon turning on the game and seeing the bright colours and retro animations, to the hair-pulling difficulty that I’ve so long missed with so simple a set of controls. It’s a trip back in time to an age when things were far more simple, but much more difficult as well. The attention to detail is shown in every adventure, boss fight, and town. This game made me put down Borderlands 2 on many occasions, and I’ll let that statement speak for itself!
Stephanie Brandon:
1. Dragon Age: Inquisition
2. Shovel Knight
3. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
I’ve been kind of obsessed with Dragon Age: Inquisition since its release and have spent an unhealthy amount of time experiencing everything Thedas has to offer. DAI successfully combined everything that I loved about Origins (one of my favourite RPGs of all time) and II, but managed to create a game that feels exciting and new, yet still part of the Dragon Age universe.