T-hug's Top Ten Games of 2014

[T-hug]

Now that 2014 is almost at an end, I thought I would share what are my Top 10 games from this year.
This isn't an official list and doesn't represent GBAtemp's GotY or any other of the staff's feelings. It also doesn't cover all platforms as I don't play all platforms, it is simply what I found to be the best of the many games I have played in 2014.
Without further ado, here is my Top 10 for 2014!

#10: Demon Gaze

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What is it?
Demon Gaze is a First Person Dungeon Crawler with similarities to the Etrian Odyssey series.

What's so good about it?
Demon Gaze mixes up the standard JRPG formula by allowing the player to equip and summon a variety of powerful demons that alter the way in which combat plays out. It also has multiple rows of enemies to battle during each encounter adding further depth to the gameplay. The story is good and the art is fantastic.
A sequel is already in the works.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

[prebreak]Continue reading[/prebreak]

#9: Transistor

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What is it?
From the creators of the award winning Bastion, Transistor is an isometric Strategy Action RPG.

What's so good about it?
Transistor made the player piece together it's story by themselves, subtlety dropping clues as to why protagonist Red finds herself in the possession of a damaged talking greatsword. Beautiful visuals accompanied with a harrowing soundtrack really made the game into a unique experience.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

#8: Freedom Wars

What is it?
Freedom Wars is a 'hunting' Action RPG.

What's so good about it?
In Freedom Wars the player must work off a 1 million year prison sentence by battling huge titan-like Abductors. The usual hunting features are present but the addition of a hookshot type weapon and the ability to sever an enemies limbs stops the combat from getting stale.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

#7: Frozen Synapse Prime

What is it?
Frozen Synapse Prime is a scifi turn based strategy and tactics game.

What's so good about it?
What made the game so good for me is there are no frills. It is strategy in its purest form with no bells and whistles and a killer multiplayer mode.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

#6: Final Fantasy X HD Remaster

What is it?
Final Fantasy X HD Remaster is a HD re-release of the classic PS2 JRPG.

What's so good about it?
Much like what FFVII did for the PSX, FFX did for the PS2. Some loved it and some hated it, back in the sixth gen it split fans right down the middle. For me though it is the finest example of what a Final Fantasy game should be. Easily my favorite JRPG of all time, this definitive version of the game released in the first quarter of 2014 had to make my list!

Reviews

Spoiler: Screens

#5: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

What is it?
Danganronpa is a visual novel with investigative elements similar to the Phoenix Wright games.

What's so good about it?
I can't believe that this was a 2014 release! A thrilling journey of murder and mystery and a fine example of the visual novel genre. The already released sequel improves on the original game and Another Episode is sure to be localized for 2015.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

#4: Never Alone

What is it?
Never Alone is platform puzzler adventure game.

What's so good about it?
Never Alone is a charming tale of companionship with beautiful visuals and a unique cultural story from the Alaskan Native Community.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

#3: Velocity 2X

What is it?
Velocity 2X is a mix of 2D puzzle shooter and action platformer.

What's so good about it?
Finely tuned fast action in both the ship and platforming sections makes Velocity a ton of fun to play and a huge improvement over the original game. Easy to play but hard to master, possibly the best indie game to come out of 2014.

GBAtemp Review

Spoiler: Screens

#2: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

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What is it?
Shadow of Mordor is an action adventure game with similarities to both the Assassin's Creed & Batman Arkham games.

What's so good about it?
An original story linked to the Middle Earth Lore, basically the Nemesis System and the brutal combat made this game a winner.

Reviews

Spoiler: Trailer

#1: Dragon Age Inquisition

What is it?
Dragon Age Inquisition is an action RPG and is the third game in the Dragon Age series.

What's so good about it?
I had a really hard time choosing between this and Shadow of Mordor for my number 1 spot. After being disappointed with Dragon Age II, Inquisition wasn't even on my radar. Thanks in part to Destiny being so lackluster, I took a chance on Inquisition and boy am I glad I did! The sheer scale of the game coupled with the gorgeous art direction and varied level design makes this my number 1 game of 2014. Dragon Age Inquisition sets a new standard for Western RPG world design and will be the new benchmark that I measure all future WRPGs by.

Reviews

Spoiler: Trailer

So there we go! That is my personal list of my favorite games of 2014.
Did you play any of them? What is your own number 1 game of 2014?
Let us know in the comments and look out for an official GBAtemp Top 10 2014 poll coming soon!

 

[WiiUBricker]

You should add the systems the games are from.

 

[TheCasketMan]

3DS fans are gonna rage. Let me microwave this popcorn, but I'm proud of being a Vita owner.

 

[Flame]

no Wii U & 3DS games.. on GBATemp


T-hug it was nice knowing you... soon ghost of Christmas dead is going visit you...say hi to Biggie and 2pac to me when you see them......









RIP in peace T-Hug

 

[GameWinner]

To be honest, I the only two 3DS games I cared about this whole year were ORAS and Persona Q. Bravely Default is fine but I honestly haven't touched that in months now. So yeah, my list is almost the same.

 

[GamerzHell9137]

Haven't played(and beat) much of 2014 games but the one i did were:

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F2nd
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Shovel Knight
OlliOlli

Don't regret spending time on these.

 

[RevPokemon]

My top ten

Shovel Knight (3ds)

Pokemon Alpha ruby

A link between worlds

Smash Bros 4

Bayontetta 2

NBA 2k15

Stick of truth

Kingdom hearts 2.5

Hyrule Warriors

And hero's of loot

 

[FAST6191]

no Wii U & 3DS games.. on GBATemp


T-hug it was nice knowing you... soon ghost of Christmas dead is going visit you...say hi to Biggie and 2pac to me when you see them......




RIP in peace T-Hug

How can there be games of the year when said systems have no games?

 

[mightymuffy]

Difficult to pick a GOTY for me, it's between 2:

Mario Kart 8
&
Forza Horizon 2

The whole house are gamers, and I've often got friends or family round... I suspect if this wasn't the case then MK8's limited single player would've made my decision far easier. Horizon 2 has set the bar for racers this gen, and has set it that high I'm not sure it'll get beaten either, THAT'S how good it is!

Other worthwhile mentions:

Smash Bros (Wii U, though the 3DS version was also rather decent), and Shadow of Mordor.... Destiny & Transistor were also very decent (though Transistor didn't reach the lofty heights of Bastion, so for me was a teeny bit disappointing)
Last of Us Remastered was glorious again, but I'm not including remakes as they don't count, which includes the similarly excellent Halo:MCC. As a driving game nut I also enjoyed The Crew (once you got past the piss poor story/plot) and DriveClub.

Roll on 2015 - already looking like there's some crackers on the way, with hopefully more to follow!

 

[T-hug]

no Wii U & 3DS games.. on GBATemp


T-hug it was nice knowing you... soon ghost of Christmas dead is going visit you...say hi to Biggie and 2pac to me when you see them......









RIP in peace T-Hug

Well I don't play much 3DS as my son is always on it and I haven't bought a WiiU yet but intend to in 2015 (I'm currently saving for one). I'm sure you noticed that the site stopped being primarily Nintendo focused many years ago and we now cover all platforms
I'm not going to put games in my top 10 that I haven't played though I imagine Bayonetta 2 would be in there somewhere if I had it as I loved the first game.
I've completed every game in this list and many of them to 100% for the platinum trophies.

 

[CathyRina]

I missed out on many games this year but I really love Freedom Wars.
I also picked up FFX HD but I didn't like it. I suppose im the other half of the fanbase T-hug was talking about
An other honorable mention would be Minecraft for PS Vita. I could never imagine how addictive that game is when you can play it anywhere.

 

[trumpet-205]

I think DangaRonpa 1 and 2 should be put together.

I probably cross out Demon Gaze though, I prefer Etrian Odyssey more.

 

[Vipera]

It's called "T-hug's Top Ten", not "GBATemp's Top Ten". I don't agree with this list at all, but I respect it. No rage is justified.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

>No Dark Souls 2

I am very disappointed

Obviously Dark Souls 2 is my top pick for GOTY, but I also enjoyed what I played of Dragon Age Inquisition and Far Cry 4. The former I've only played a couple hours of so far unfortunately, and the latter I put a good 10 or so hours into it and both are quite fun, pretty much what I expected from both.

Other than that I haven't really played too many 2014 games I guess This year has pretty much been a billion hours of Dark Souls 1 and 2 for me

EDIT: Oh, an CoD AW was actually not too bad either, enjoyed what I played of that.

And Lords of the Fallen, it would've been such a nice game if it didn't crash every 5 minutes

 

[Jiehfeng]

Haven't played(and beat) much of 2014 games but the one i did were:

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F2nd
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Shovel Knight
OlliOlli

Don't regret spending time on these.

Is that the new metal gear game? How was it?

 

[GamerzHell9137]

Is that the new metal gear game? How was it?

Fun and short.

 

[Taleweaver]

Nice list.

Hard to say to what degree I (dis)agree with it as I haven't played 'em (or can judge what you have played and didn't made the list), but I appreciate the effort.

 

[BlackWizzard17]

I have seriously never heard of half of those games and/or simply haven't played the other half, Seems like a great list though. I pretty much didn't play many different games this year but when I did there was only one game took my soul away from the others

 

[Walker D]

I liked the list ...Will force me to check some new games

 

[back25]

I wonder if these fanboys would need to put up their favorite systems crap on first page so much if they actually had good games.