Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
With Shadow of Mordor Monolith Productions gave us two things: a great, fun Lord of the Rings game that was Assassin's Creed meets Batman: Arkham City meets Middle-Earth in the best possible way. But more importantly, it gave us the nemesis system—a new way to think about both character design and non-linear narrative. —Bo Moore Warner Bros.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
With Shadow of Mordor Monolith Productions gave us two main things. For one: a great, fun Lord of the Rings game that was basically Assassin's Creed meets Batman: Arkham City meets Middle-Earth in the best possible way. But more importantly, it gave us the nemesis system—a new way to think about both character design and non-linear narrative. By crafting your enemies on the fly with a mix-and-match system of character models, traits, strengths, weaknesses, and character quirks, Shadow of Mordor's narrative evolves as a direct response to your presence in the world. It's a new approach to character design, and one we hope to see much more of in the future. —Bo Moore
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
I know I wasn’t alone in wishing for an entire game based on the puzzle levels from Super Mario 3D World, yet Captain Toad exceeded my expectations. —Daniel Feit Nintendo
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
I know I wasn’t alone in wishing for an entire game based on the puzzle levels from Super Mario 3D World, yet Captain Toad exceeded my expectations. Like Monument Valley, there’s a toy-like charm to the tiny levels that Captain Toad & Toadette explore, and Nintendo’s EAD Tokyo team has always excelled when it comes to crafting levels. With a hero and heroine who cannot jump, the variety of environments in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker keep the game’s simple goals interesting and fun. And most stages have a secondary goal for an extra layer of challenge. —Daniel Feit
Goat Simulator
There are absurd games, and there is this. Coffee Stain Studios’ Armin Ibrisagic wrote that the pitch began as an office joke: “goats are funny, let’s do a goat game.” The resulting Goat Simulator does just that: you are a goat and your only goal is to goof around.—Daniel Feit Coffee Stain Studios
There are absurd games, and there is this. Coffee Stain Studios’ Armin Ibrisagic wrote that the pitch began as an office joke: “goats are funny, let’s do a goat game.” The resulting Goat Simulator does just that: you are a goat and your only goal is to goof around. Unrealistic, buggy physics allow your goat to reach great heights and headbutt parked cars into oblivion. There’s a resemblance to the sports-playground games of the past; imagine if Tony Hawk forgot his skateboard, walked on all fours and was a goat. Development is ongoing: a recent update added a (fake) massively-multiplayer world, lampooning RPG tropes by adding character classes such as “microwave.” —Daniel Feit
Whatever Your Favorite Telltale Game Was (tie)
This year was when the company's signature formula of episodic, gripping choose-your-own-adventure stories blossomed beyond zombies and grew in all directions. If you wanted more Walking Dead, you got it, but we also had a series based on the Fables comic and the beginnings of two series based on Borderlands and, most excitingly, Game of Thrones. —Chris Kohler Telltale Games
Whatever Your Favorite Telltale Game Was (tie)
Our game of the year for 2012 was Telltale Games' take on The Walking Dead. This year was when the company's signature formula of episodic, gripping choose-your-own-adventure stories blossomed beyond zombies and grew in all directions. If you wanted more Walking Dead, you got it, but we also had a series based on the Fables comic and the beginnings of two series based on Borderlands and, most excitingly, Game of Thrones. It's tough to pick a single episode that stands out---it's whatever type of interactive fiction strikes your fancy. —Chris Kohler
Mario Kart 8
There's nothing quite like Nintendo's bash-and-crash, family-friendly take on racing games---almost literally, since all other developers seem to have abandoned the field to Mario Kart---and the Wii U update is easily the thing that's keeping that fine layer of dust off of everyone's GamePads in 2014. —Chris Kohler Nintendo
Mario Kart 8
Maybe I'm the last person on Earth bummed about what Nintendo's done to Battle Mode, because Mario Kart 8's reception has been astoundingly positive. There's nothing quite like Nintendo's bash-and-crash, family-friendly take on racing games---almost literally, since all other developers seem to have abandoned the field to Mario Kart---and the Wii U update is easily the thing that's keeping that fine layer of dust off of everyone's GamePads in 2014, and probably well into 2015. —Chris Kohler
Nidhogg
It's a one-vee-one mixture of fencing and tug-of-war with an atari aesthetic. It's simple enough to understand after just a few minutes playing, yet offers competitive depth on par with the likes of Street Fighter and StarCraft. Best of all, matches are as fun to watch as they are to play. —Bo Moore Messhof
The last few years have seen a great resurgence in a sect of gaming largely killed off by the advent of online play: Local multiplayer. Games like Samurai Gunn, Towerfall and a bevy of others have brought back the joy of sitting on a couch with friends, competing against one another as opposed to some faceless voice on the other end of Xbox Live. The best of these games is Nidhogg, a one-vee-one mixture of fencing and tug-of-war with an atari aesthetic. It's simple enough to understand after just a few minutes playing, yet offers competitive depth on par with the likes of Street Fighter and StarCraft. Best of all, matches are as fun to watch as they are to play. —Bo Moore
Jazzpunk
It's the Top Secret! of video games: an absurd series of espionage missions that resembles a traditional story but uses that structure to deliver gags at a rapid pace. Taking full advantage of the medium, Jazzpunk subverts players’ expectations by creating a game world where anything can happen. —Daniel Feit Necrophone Games
It's the Top Secret! of video games: an absurd series of espionage missions that resembles a traditional story but uses that structure to deliver gags at a rapid pace. Taking full advantage of the medium, Jazzpunk subverts players’ expectations by creating a game world where anything can happen. Clicking on a random object can trigger a one-liner, or it can transport the player to another environment entirely. One minute you’re searching a beach for clues, the next you’re fighting for survival in a wedding-themed bloodsport. That dogged pursuit of the truly unexpected, more than any one joke or character, is what made Jazzpunk the funniest video game in years. —Daniel Feit
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Never mind that it's a fun, exciting role-playing game with a plethora of massive, beautiful, open world maps, Dragon Age: Inquisition has the absolute best characters of any game I can think of in recent memory. The game's main storyline is interesting enough. I liked it, but found myself caring far more about the people I experienced it with. —Bo Moore Electronic Arts
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Never mind that it's a fun, exciting role-playing game with a plethora of massive, beautiful, open world maps, Dragon Age: Inquisition has the absolute best characters of any game I can think of in recent memory. The game's main storyline is interesting enough. I liked it, but found myself caring far more about the people I experienced it with. From the snarky, crude Elven archer Sera to the posh sorceress Vivienne, your companions form the lifeblood of the Inquisition experience. BioWare's writers have outdone themselves. —Bo Moore
The Last of Us: Left Behind
We don't often put expansion packs into this list, but Left Behind was no ordinary DLC. WIRED contributor Laura Hudson: "It’s difficult enough to find a game where a woman is the main character. Finding one where you play as a woman and have positive, meaningful interactions with other women? It’s like spotting a goddamn unicorn." Sony
We don't often put expansion packs or downloadable content into this list, but Left Behind was no ordinary DLC. To quote WIRED contributor Laura Hudson's review: "It’s difficult enough to find a game where a woman is the main character. Finding one where you play as a woman and have positive, meaningful interactions with other women? It’s like spotting a goddamn unicorn. I’ve spent my entire life playing videogames, and Left Behind is the most emotionally powerful experience I’ve ever had in the medium."
Monument Valley
There is beauty in simplicity. It’s not a challenging game, or a long one. Most of its puzzles are simply a matter of touching a switch. Yet Monument Valley made me feel like I was peering into another world, where my fingers push and pull and twist the environments to guide a tiny person on a journey.—Daniel Feit Ustwo
Monument Valley
There is beauty in simplicity. It’s not a challenging game, or a long one. Most of its puzzles are simply a matter of touching a switch. Yet Monument Valley made me feel like I was peering into another world, where my fingers push and pull and twist the environments to guide a tiny person on a journey. That tactile sensation, coupled with the game’s Escherian geometry, made the experience akin to playing with a magical toy. Monument Valley captivated me---as well as my children, who replay it at every opportunity. —Daniel Feit
Octodad: Dadliest Catch You: an octopus disguised as a human. Them: Humans who are blissfully unaware of this seemingly-obvious fact. Your mission: Conduct your normal life without alerting anyone to your horrible secret. The game: A heartwarming tale of family togetherness, mixed with innovative, brilliant, fun, emergent gameplay. —Chris Kohler Young Horses
Octodad: Dadliest Catch You: an octopus disguised as a human. Them: Humans who are blissfully unaware of this seemingly-obvious fact. Your mission: Conduct your normal life without alerting anyone to your horrible secret. The game: A heartwarming tale of family togetherness, mixed with innovative, brilliant, fun, emergent gameplay. This reminds me of the sort of game I'd spend $40 on during the carefree PlayStation 1 days, like Incredible Crisis or Parappa the Rapper. A triumph. —Chris Kohler
Shovel Knight
There have been a lot (like, a lot) of games that throw back to the 8-bit era, but none were so perfect and so thorough as Shovel Knight. Its creators understood what makes a perfect NES game: Being able to pogo-stick jump like Scrooge McDuck. Everything else is negotiable. —Chris Kohler Yacht Club Games
Shovel Knight
There have been a lot (like, a lot) of games that throw back to the 8-bit era, but none were so perfect and so thorough as Shovel Knight. Its creators understood what makes a perfect NES game: Being able to pogo-stick jump like Scrooge McDuck. Everything else is negotiable. Gorgeous pixel graphics, catchy chiptunes, even an intriguing storyline told in brief caps-lock text and pantomime---this is the best NES game never made. A must-play for aging gamers, and something that'll get the kids wanting to play Dad's stash of old cartridges. —Chris Kohler
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Competitive Smash players weren't in love with the Wii version of Nintendo's all-star fighting game series. But all seems to be forgotten now that the Wii U version (and the 3DS version) is here. Great new characters round out the roster, and an eight-player mode means nobody has to wait their turn anymore. —Chris Kohler Nintendo
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Competitive Smash players weren't in love with the Wii version of Nintendo's all-star fighting game series. But all seems to be forgotten now that the Wii U version (and the 3DS version) is here. Great new characters (the dog and bird from Duck Hunt!) round out the roster, and an eight-player mode means nobody has to wait their turn anymore. (Now, if only they could get those GameCube controller adapters and Amiibos back in stock…) —Chris Kohler
Sunset Overdrive
I was blown away to find that Sunset Overdrive was a hilarious, hyperkinetic, finely polished open-city superhero adventure that took the best parts of classic games like Jet Grind Radio and Crackdown and blended them into a perfect rainbow-colored smoothie. —Chris Kohler Microsoft
Sunset Overdrive
I wasn't sure what this holiday season's big Xbox One exclusive was going to be. I never really got into developer Insomniac's previous games. I was blown away to find that Sunset Overdrive was a hilarious, hyperkinetic, finely polished open-city superhero adventure that took the best parts of classic games like Jet Grind Radio and Crackdown and blended them into a perfect rainbow-colored smoothie. Grinding on telephone wires and blowing up orange blob mutants with explosive teddy bears is even more fun than it sounds, and it's more of a platform action game than a straight-up shooter---refreshing, in today's market. —Chris Kohler
South Park: The Stick of Truth
South Park games have a spotted history, insofar as none of them were any good. Stick of Truth was the promised redemption---and boy, did it live up to the hype. —Chris Kohler Ubisoft
South Park: The Stick of Truth
South Park games have a spotted history, insofar as none of them were any good. Stick of Truth was the promised redemption---and boy, did it live up to the hype. An RPG battle system right out of Paper Mario (the good ones, I mean) and a story from Matt and Trey that tied into the show made this like playing an episode of South Park. It's shocking how much fun, and how funny, this game ended up being. —Chris Kohler
Hearthstone: Game of the Year
With Hearthstone, a small team of Blizzard employees took what had been conceived as a fun side project and built it into one of the best, most widely played competitive card games ever. —Bo Moore Blizzard
With Hearthstone, a small team of Blizzard employees took what had been conceived as a fun side project and built it into one of the best, most widely played competitive card games ever. Unlike tabletop CCGs like Magic: The Gathering, Hearthstone's digital interface handles deckbuilding, gameplay setup, and most importantly: Rules. There's no need for an extensive primer or to take a college course in order to understand how the game works---just play it. Blizzard's games focus on the idea of being "epic," but for the pint-sized Hearthstone, "epic" had to mean something different. It's polished, simple, and thanks to brilliant UI design for phones and tablets, playable on the go. —Bo Moore
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