Yep, this is a big one. Nominate your favourite PC games of the year! Next week we’ll take a vote and the week afterwards we’ll announce the overall winner.
It’s been a big year for PC games. There have been some good console based games but, for me, this year has been all about handhelds and indie games on PC. For that reason, my own personal nominations for the PC category might look remarkably similar to my indie nominations.
Please understand.
So my nominations…
Proteus
Papers Please
Gone Home
The Stanley Parable (I have played very little of this, but what I have played? Holy shit)
Okay that’s mine — I am now very keen to hear yours! Let us know in the comments below…
Comments
74 responses to “Kotaku Awards 2013: Nominate Your Favourite PC Game Of The Year”
Dota 2 BABEEEEEEEY
its the only game I keep on going back too, no matter what game comes out, i’ll still be playing dota
Seconded.
Allow me to express my agreement through song.
Seriously though, Dota 2 is going to be up there as a serious game of the year contender for me. It made being angry at strangers fun!
yep, dota 2. fantastic pc game.
Antichamber
Bioshock Infinite
Tomb Raider
Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut
Payday 2
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
Legends of Eisenwald
Poker Night 2
XCom: Enemy Unkown
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
Definitely NOT the horrible Bioshock Infinite. With its stupid
infinite parallel universe notion that totally desensitizes every relation you ever made by comparing to the infinitely better ones; those weird as vigours; and “under the sea” was a much better theme.Oh no, don’t talk smack about Bioshock: Infinite. It proves that all hipsters are really smart. If they can’t think up a rebuttal to your claims then they will state you just dont ‘get it’.
Just don’t get what?
And I think you meant “You just don’t get it”, instead of “You’re just dont get it”
You just don’t ‘get it’. It being the ending and the game.
and I was originally typing, “will state you’re not smart enough to get it”, but changed it to “will state you just don’t ‘get it’” because that’s how they simplify it.
Wait sorry, I am a bit dyslexic, who won’t get the ending of the game?
first of all, use spoiler tags. there’s people that haven’t played Bioshock yet. & they dont need you to spoil it for them.
secondly, its a bit sad that in a thread about giving recognition to what you thought was the best of this year, someone has to come in & pointlessly rag on something.
thirdly, you just dont get it :p
but seriously
it was a reflection on freedom & choice & consequences. the ending in particular was Elizabeth showing Booker the consequences of giving up his kid, and what was possible if he didn’t, and then, having seen the possible consequences, Booker then makes a choice as to what path he was going to let the future take (ie accept the baptism & become Comstock, or die & save all those worlds from the suffering he was going to bring)There was no choice.
would you complain that a film has no choice?
would you complain that Call of Duty has no choice?
I’d hope you wouldn’t coz thats just silly
I think it was a similar thing. Bioshock Infinite set out to tell a story, and rather than water it down with branching paths, it stuck to a single narrative. It was a story about the choices the characters made, not the player, and consequences they suffered because of it.
But the choices and theme were its greatest attributes. What makes a video game different from a movie is the ability to have choice, to contribute to the path taken, like any old text based adventure, that is what makes Beyond: Two Souls such a great game, because it isn’t just a movie. I am glad, atleast, that they didn’t call it Bioshock 3, since this would suggest it needed to uphold those features of the first 2. I cannot with a straight face say that video games without story based choices are not video games, or even that they are not worth while video games, since my own nominations prescribe to that category, hence I cannot wholly disagree with your comment. I do think, however, that video games are made special because of choices.
Yeh but the actual game itself was not that fun.
Seriously it was like Doom 2 combat. Again and again and again.
Doom 2 was awesome.
It TOTALLY was.
But that was a loooong time ago. Half Life has happened since then and everything!
You may actually have a fair point, I have no idea what your saying in that last paragraph, particularly the phrase “desensitizes every relation you ever made”.
I preferred the aesthetics of Columbia to Rapture, but I feel thats a personal thing anyway.
It desensitized it because the scope of your universe is infinitesimally small when considering the infinite pool of universes… kind of like saying “What’s the point?”, especially when transfer in-between these existences is seem-less. If you guys really need someone else to point out the disregard of logic in the story simply read a blog: http://neilfarnum.hubpages.com/hub/The-5-Biggest-Plot-Holes-in-BioShock-Infinite
I don’t think desensitized means what you think it means.
To be honest, although I agree that there are major plot holes, I felt the narrative themes were strong enough to carry it. I also felt the story was just fanciful enough for me to focus on the wonder of it rather than the mechanics.
Desensitized, as in you care less because you feel less.
Tomb Raider
Bioshock Infinite
Night of the Rabbit is the only PC game I’ve finished this year so I’d guess that says something.
Edit: I lie. Wolf Among Us was also excellent and I can’t wait for the next installment.
Arma 3
That is all.
Seconded
Obligatory Battlefield 4.
Also Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon. The most fun I’ve had playing a game this year
Resident Evil: Revelations
All of my nominations are available on console, but I personally played them all on PC.
Batman Arkham Origins
Bioshock Infinite
Grid 2
Battlefield 4 (multi-player)
Night of the Rabbit!
Arma 3 or Battlefield 4.
Bioshock Infinite
Arma III
Battlefield 4
FEZ!
Skyrim – Legendary Edition
Because its Sykrim!
I know its multi platform …but can I nominate FF14:ARR ??
Bioshock Infinite, replaying recently has further solidified its awesomeness for me!
Grand Theft Auto 5… oh wait.
But seriously, XCOM: Enemy Within is amazing.
I want to nominate Minecraft again since it has been updated. Other than that would probably say Just Cause Multiplayer 2, Day Z or just anything that’s actually been a bit creative with its design process. Same old FPS year in year out just doesn’t cut it for me when it comes to PC.
I’ll give a mention to Poker Night 2, Audiosurf 2, Monaco and Spelunky (PC release) while I’m at it. So yeah, a bit similiar to Mark’s choices actually. Half my PC gaming is more indie orientated nowadays. Still can’t decide though…
Hell, I’ll just go with Candy Box!
My problem with GOTY voting is most of the time I don’t play games until at least a year after release.
Of the games I played this year would probably go with Bioshock Infinite or Sang-Froid – Tales of Werewolves. I really like contrast as well but maybe not quite a GOTY contender for me.
So possibles but haven’t played yet so couldn’t say:
Injustice: Gods Among Us, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Blood Dragon
Also wondering on what people think about the following and if they are eligible or not
ENSLAVED™: Odyssey to the West (Previous release on other platforms)
Kerbal space program (In Early Access so still under development but playable)
ARMA III
I must say Path of Exile again
What’s the criteria for eligibility here? Because the best PC experience I’ve had this year was probably playing through Ys I & II, but those games are 25 years old and the updated versions released on Steam at the start of the year are probably pushing 10+ by now, just new to PC in English via Steam in that particular configuration (achievements etc)
Bioshock Infinite
GTA 5
GTA5 is not on PC…. Unless… do you work for Rockstar? 🙂
My vote would be for Bioshock Infinite or Tomb Raider. I really enjoyed both games (though I know that both had their detractors). I’m sad to ay I don’t think I’ve played any PC exclusives this year!
Are we coubtung majorly updated games? If so: gmod 13 and tf2. Then Sues ex hmdr oe Sainrs row iv.
Wow… played most of my games on PC this year, and yet they all had some problems. Bioshock had pacing problems and was told through the wrong genre (would have been a great adventure game)… Batman was a great mashup of great storylines, but was a bug-riddled mess. Rocksmith 2014 is a great teacher with some really neat ideas, but would be much more enjoyable if I could use my awesome USB headphones with it instead of my dinky little earbuds… Hmm…
Gonna have to go with Metro: Last Light or Gone Home. Despite being both very different games, I just love the atmosphere in both.
For me out of the games I did manage to play I’d have to say:
Bioshock Infinite
Assassin’s Creed IV
FEZ
The Swapper
I would also put Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut but since it’s a re-release I don’t think it counts.
Pretty average year for the games I have played. I just hope Wastelands 2 will prove me wrong.
I’ve thought long and hard, and of the games that I have played, I’m going to have to go with the one that I had the least troubles/problems with, not the game that I loved the most.
Tomb Raider.
It’s in my top 10, but things higher on my list, like Batman: AO, just couldn’t get there due to bugs/pacing/other issues.
In saying that, I haven’t played the Stanley Parable or Papers Please yet and everyone is raving about them.
Papers, please isn’t really fun, its more of an experience.
The Stanley Parable was fun however.
I’ve been lucky enough to play most big releases this year through well timed hardware purchases (yep the game were free) and I can’t really think of anything that felt like GOTY stuff.
Tomb Raider was good. Far Cry 3 was ok. Crysis 3 was severely underwhelming. Bioshock was ok.
Just had a scroll through my steam list and yeh, nothing’s standing out.
DOTA 2 is freaking perfect! I have spent hours and hours on it with my mates at LANs, hours playing online mastering every hero and sooo many hours experiencing the updates and events. It’s freaking awesome 🙂
When the online is running perfectly this is just unbeatable: Battlefield 4 gets my vote, my mouse always seems to find the shortcup on my desktop 🙂
Easily has to be Europa Universalis IV.
The culmination of years of development and design iterations to finally present a grand strategy game in an easy to use fashion. Need to work out how to fix rebel threats? There are buttons and sliders right next to the summary to fix that. Your economy is in the shit? There are things to fix that right there as well. Never mind the revamped map is stunning to look at as well.
I totally agree. Personally, I think the PC game of the year should be either a PC exclusive, or a game that is primarily designed for the PC. And I don’t think any game this year sums up more wonderfully the complexity and detail possible in PC gaming than EU IV.
It’s not the most complex game they’ve made (nothing can take away Victoria’s crown), but it’s not simple by any means, even with the impressive streamlining they’ve done. I love the new trade system; there’s little more satisfying than successfully building a trade network sending wealth from the far reaches of the world back to Europe. And there’s little more annoying than having that trade network stuffed up by another Great Power. (Not that I’m pointing any fingers GREAT BRITAIN and why are you even embargoing me in the Caribbean, you don’t even have colonies there)
It’s not all good news; the treatment of native peoples in Africa and America would be terribly racist if it wasn’t treated so neutrally. But aside from that there’s little to fault, really.
Payday 2
Rogue Legacy
Somewhat Battlefield 4
The wolf among us
The stanley parable
There are probably a few more I cant remember.
Gone Home or The Stanley Parable. Leaning towards Gone Home but I wouldn’t be disappointed with either winning.
Edit: Also The Wolf Among Us, although I kinda want to wait for the rest of the season before I make my final judgement.
Payday 2
Also, holy shit I’ve played next to no AAA PC games which were released this year. Most of my PC gaming has been with titles from last year. Dishonored, for example.
Bioshock: Infinite
Am I the only one who thought gone home was a huge letdown? It was… pretty good, and then it ended. I was like, “is that it?” especially considering it’s price tag…
The Stanley Parable, on the hand, was absolutely perfect and had a very fitting tag for how long it lasted.
Battlefield 4
Borderlands 2
State Of Decay
The Wolf Amongst Us
Xcom Enemy Within DLC
.. Not the BEST year we’ve had considering its a new gen in gaming year and If I could pick one Console game Id pick
The Last Of Us -Off topic yes but I have never played a game in all my what 30+ years of gaming that melded me to the story regardless of score etc
best free PC game Path of Exile or Dota 2
Borderlands 2 was released last year. Unless you can count GOTY edition in this, which I’ve been playing since it came out.
Yes dan your absolutely correct I just held off till this year.. sorry man.. I’d edit it if Id noticed before you commented 😛
Path of Exile. What Diablo 3 should’ve been.
EU IV
Arma III
Apart from these, Pay Day 2, and Cube World, I can’t remember playing many 2013 released games this year.
Huh, honestly, the only PC game I played this year that came out this year was Bleed, the Platformer-Shooter-BulletHell thing, so I guess I have to nominate that. This… reveals a lot about my spending habits. And to think that I have 33 uninstalled games, all from previous years.
The game is good, but I beat it in 3 hours on normal difficulty. It’s clearly designed for re-playability. Pick it up when it goes on sale.
Steam Page:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/239800/?snr=1_7_15__13
Bioshock Infinite – Defied my expectations of it and after finishing it I sat down and played through it again – I loved the combat in it, reminded me of the combat in 2, which was really fun. And I used all the vigours rather than just a few plasmids like in the first. And the story!! Oh my – what fun!
ArmA III
Bioshock: Infinite
The Stanley Parable
While I’ve played several indie games this year I’ve felt the best one I’ve played is The Stanley Parable I just don’t get other pushes for indie titles I’m not hipster enough
I’m gonna go with The Stanley Parable as its the most unique thing I have played in a very long time.
def gotta be
Papers Please
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
Antichamber
Gone Home was fantastic, hilarious and creative. Definitely my PC game of the year.
ARMA III
Some of these might not have been released in 2013 but my favorites:
Kerbal Space Program
Chivalry
Terraria
Battlefield 4 when it’s not crashing.
Europa Universalis IV. PC Game doing what PC Games do best.