When it comes to a list like this, it’s important to know why I enjoy gaming. Frankly, it’s the same reason I enjoy books, movies, TV, and anime: I love a well-told story. And though some of the games here may not be the pinnacle of gameplay, you’re bound to get an awesome story, if nothing else.
Danganronpa 1・2 Reloaded
While technically two games in one package, I feel confident including them both in one entry because both of them rank among the top visual novels I have ever played. Both Danganronpa games pit a group of high school students against each other in a death game with only one way out: kill one of their classmates and then get away with it. Then, taking the formula of the Ace Attorney series to the next level, each chapter ends with a courtroom battle with no judges or lawyers — where speed of thought is as important as finding contradictions. Add to this a voice cast that will make any anime fan swoon and you have a real gem of a game. If you liked 999, Virtue’s Last Reward, or any of the Ace Attorney games, these two titles are a must play.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII has had a rocky relationship with many gamers. I, however, am not one of them. I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2, and many of the complaints I hear about each seem like minor nitpicks at best. However, everyone should be happy with Lightning Returns. It has an open world, challenging battles, and fast-paced combat. With costume-centric gameplay and a time limit counting down to the end of the world, the game feels like Final Fantasy X-2 meets Majora’s Mask — and that is a good thing. If you, like me, want to dive in one more time and see the fates of all the characters you’ve come to care about, or if you want to play a game that has heard all the criticisms levelled at XIII and XIII-2 and taken them to heart, Lightning Returns is definitely a game you should try.
Bioshock Infinite
Yes, flying through a city in the clouds excites childhood fantasies, and yes, running and gunning with a plethora of superpowers at my fingertips is tons of fun. However, the reason I really love Bioshock Infinite — so much so that I nominated it for Kotaku‘s game of the year — is due to three reasons: the setting, the story, and Elizabeth.
The world of Columbia is so vivid and imaginative, I couldn’t help but be drawn in. Meanwhile, the plot is equal parts mystery and sci-fi adventure and, thanks to its character relationships, grabs you hard and never lets go. But none of that would be possible without Elizabeth, the most fleshed-out (and useful) AI partner I have ever encountered in a video game.
If you like parallel world adventures, strong female protagonists, imaginative worlds, and truly emotional tales, Bioshock Infinite is the game for you.
Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
After years on the sidelines, Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, is back in the courtroom and looking for justice. By this point in the series, you probably know what to expect: complex murders, crazy witnesses, and more over-the-top courtroom drama than you thought was possible. But on top of that, Dual Destinies does a good job of keeping the core of the series the same while streamlining gameplay and introducing new characters you can’t help but care about. If you like logic puzzles, mysteries and most of all, fun, then Dual Destinies should spend some quality time in your 3DS.
Macross 30
So often these days when we use the term “fan service” we mean it as a negative — often referring to over-sexualisation of characters for no other reason than simple titillation. But Macross 30 is another kind of fanservice — the kind that comes from getting to know the characters of the Macross universe for 30 years, all the while dying to see just how they’d interact with each other. Macross 30 allows just that by creating a world outside of time where all the characters from across the series can exist alongside one another for an original, massive adventure. Moreover, the vast majority of the original vocal cast from across the various series return to their roles — sometimes for the first time in decades. Add to that massive amounts of transformable planes, immensely powerful space battleships, and more missile spam than you could possibly imagine and you have a game no fan should live without.
Saya No Uta: Song Of Saya
Before Madoka Magica, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Fate/Zero and Psycho Pass, there was Gen Urobuchi’s first breakthrough work, Saya no Uta: Song of Saya. This horror genre visual novel follows a young man who, after a car accident, sees the entire world — people, buildings, trees, and animals — as fleshy, slime-covered eldritch abominations. He is driven to the point of suicide by the disgusting horror all around him until the day he meets a mysterious girl named Saya — the only thing in his world that looks normal. Dark and twisted, the best thing about this game is how it slowly but surely makes you care about the characters in such a way that, even as they do horrible, unforgivable things, you are firmly on their side. In other words, it makes you empathise with the villain in a way unlike any game I have played before.
Tomb Raider
I’m generally a fan of prequel reboots. Much of the time, a hero grows so strong over the course of sequel games that any sense of danger or mortality is stricken from the character. Prequel reboots, however, allow the character to be taken back to a level where true tension can once again exist. This is the reason that Tomb Raider is so enjoyable. With a Lara Croft new to both killing and tomb raiding, the game is much more suspenseful; and thus the action packs far more of a punch than in many iterations of the long-running series. More than that though, the game works hard to balance this potential mortality and still have Lara be a strong female character.
Oh and of course there is Lara’s bow — my pick for the most satisfying game weapon of the generation. In my playthrough, I rarely used anything else.
Grand Theft Auto V
On the story side, GTA V has three plot lines that play excellently against each other: One is about a criminal who got out of the game only to find that a life of luxury is a horrible existence; another follows a kid on the street looking to be something more than a thug; and one follows the personification of those of us who have turned on a GTA game and gone on a mass murder spree for no other reason than that we could. Watching these three stories intertwine through Rockstar’s clever dialogue makes for a great — and often hilarious — experience.
Gameplay-wise GTA V is a lot of things: a driving game, a third-person shooter, a mini-game collection, and an MMO. But what made GTA V for me were the heist missions: choosing a plan, setting it up, and then watching it all turn to utter crap before making it out by the skin of my teeth in the end.
Beyond: Two Souls
For people who value plot above all things, David Cage games are a real treat — and Beyond: Two Souls is no exception. Jumping back and forth through the life of a girl and her ghostly companion, this game tells a tale ranging from drama, to horror, to sci-fi, to action — and does it in a way that never seems out of place. But more than all that, it is a personal story about trying to come to terms with the person you are. It is a game that hits all the right emotional notes thanks to its stars Ellen Page and Willem Defoe. Their performances are excellent and show why interactive movies shouldn’t be treated like the black sheep of gaming.
The Stanley Parable
What can you say about The Stanley Parable without ruining it for those who haven’t played it yet? It’s a game about a lot of things: choice, philosophy, video games, stories and a million other themes depending on how you play it. And make no mistake, this is a game you will play again and again as you explore every choice, every possibility the game has to offer.
But regardless of which path you set out on, The Stanley Parable is always an enjoyable experience — largely thanks to the omnipresent narrator who, like Portal 2’s GLaDOS, serves as everything from villain to constant companion to comic relief. To put it another way, if you play one indie game this year, play The Stanley Parable.
Comments
13 responses to “Richard’s Top 10 Games Of 2013”
I totally agree with this list. you’ve got great taste in games Richard!
Always a breath of fresh air to see kind words for FF XIII and XIII-2, they definitely received way to much criticism, overall nice list.
Play bravely default and you will wonder how they messed up ff13 so bad and wasted so much money on it.
People can enjoy what they want, however FFXIII really only got deserved criticism. I mean 13 was a very pretty game but so shallow on gameplay and story. The characters were average at best and the story was a convoluted mess. The gameplay was the nail in the coffin for 13 it was so simplified and boring. Haven’t played XIII-2 so they most likely changed it possibly for the better but XIII was just such a weak Final Fantasy entry and overall a weak jrpg. I speculate if somebody were new to FF as a series perhaps it was a great experience and thoroughly enjoyable. As a long term fan of most if not all the prior entry’s it was such an utter disappointment to myself and the criticism was more then deserved.
Not into anime style games so a good 1/2 of your list I would never play, but its good to see someone mix it up a bit.
Missing Last Of Us and Assassins Creed 4.
AC4 might have been my favourite of the year, it was most certainly the best surprise.
Also downloaded Saya for something different, might have a go of that when there aren’t children around.
Beyond two souls would be one of the worst games I played this year.
Until recently I’d never heard of Danganronpa, but after a quick bit of research I’m pretty excited about this. Been dying to get my hands on something like 999/Virtue’s Last Reward for a while now.
Thankyou for reminding me about Saya No Uta: Song Of Saya. I’d heard about this game ages ago & always meant to check it out, but ended up forgetting about it due to too many other games on my plate.
Considering I’m now waiting till Feb for my next PS3/PS4 games, I think it’s a perfect time to check this out. 😀
It would’ve been nice to add a small note as to which games were for what platform.
I went and googled them anyways, but it would’ve saved some heartache to spark interest and then have it snatched away when it’s not available on a platform I own.
Don’t know who Richard is or why he has a list of top games for the year. From the games chosen im guessing he is a 13yo girl from Japan
Why on Earth would you assume that? He has put some of the best games of 2013 on this list- Phoenix Wright, Tomb Raider, The Stanley Parable etc. You can assume that games like the visual novels on this list are aimed at teenage girls, but that is far from the truth; these games have a wide appeal thanks to their complex themes and intricate plots, and that’s why they’re on this list! If you’re just a fan of blowing things up, you can go back to those hordes of dull and repetitive FPS games, which obviously do not belong on this list.
I got so I excited when I read the description for Danganronpa, 999 is easily my favourite game and this sounded great fun.
But its on Vita, which I don’t own 🙁
Pretty crushed.