Alright, it’s the big one. I’d like to invite you all to nominate your favourite game of the year.
I think I’m going to find this more difficult than any year in recent memory, mainly because 2014 has been — in my opinion — a mediocre year for video games. Last year wasn’t great, but there were an embarrassment of riches compared to 2014. I remember 2013 being great for handheld releases and 2012 being a big year for indie games. 2014 just fell flat. Australian developers had a great run on mobile platforms but most major releases disappointed or — worse — were flat-out broken.
With that being said, here is my shortlist…
Alien: Isolation
Crossy Road
Dark Souls II
Desert Golfing
Destiny
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Framed
Mario Kart 8
Nidhogg
Trials Fusion
Man, that’s quite a list now that I think about it.
What are your favourite games of the year? Drop your nominations in the comments below.
Comments
110 responses to “Kotaku Awards 2014: Nominate Your Game Of The Year”
Destiny
Dark Souls 2
The Wolf Among Us
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Wolf 2: House of the Wolves – The Wolfening (part 2)
There’s some sort of pattern hidden in there…… I just can’t pick it out though.
Maybe something to do with the Letter W?
It might be… cats?
Clearly its the word The
Dragon Age: Inquisition.
WoW: Warlords of Draenor. If an expansion counts.
Does Diablo 3 console editions count? Cause I think it deserves a mention as the Diablo D3 was meant to be.
Halo: Reach.
Ahahahahaha! But really, despite enjoying some games, there wasn’t really anything this year that wowed me.
Or, maybe I’ve been busy playing so many games I can’t experience them all. I’ve only just met the Alien in Isolation.
GTA 5 – PS4
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Elite Dangerous – I know its not out till Dec, but i have been playing the Beta, Its amazing.
I would like to put destiny on here, but i’m not going to as the story is lack luster, the RNGesus is extremely frustrating, The voice acting needs work and guardians have no personality, But I do really like playing the raid and missions with friends, its a fantastic Coop Game.
Almost gotta be DKCTF by default. Only other option would be Bayonetta 2, but that’d just be going off the assumption based on other Platinum games.
Oh, Elite: Dangerous. Can’t get enough of it.
Dragon age inquisition for sure.
Shadow of Mordor am honorable mention.
Dragon Age:Inquisition
Alien:Isolation
Even though I haven’t completed it yet, my vote goes to Dragon Age: Inquisition. Just can’t get enough of this game atm. I now fully forgive Bioware for DAII.
SHOVEL KNIGHT
OMG SIR YOU ARE AMAZINGBALLZ SHOVEL KNIGHTZ IS FOR WIN!
I vote Shovel Knight also!
Hmm… unlike previous years, I haven’t played any of this year’s candidates (both the article and the comments). Is that a reflection of me or the industry in general in 2014?
Alien: Isolation
Destiny
Mario kart 8
Mario Kart
Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
Smash Bros 3DS
Don’t suppose I can vote for Dota 2 due to constant patches and additions?
…I somehow completely forgot that Smash 3DS was a thing.
Bayonetta 2.
Dragon Age Inquisition
Warlords of Draenor
Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Diablo 3 as a close second.
Dark Souls 2, Destiny and (so far) Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Pokemon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire
Mario Kart 8 for me.
Although I am also super thrilled with Pro Evo 2015. Finally, it’s back to its best.
Surprised to see a few Destiny votes popping up but no votes for Titanfall.
Neither would be my game of the year (both are good) but Titanfall was the FAR more interesting and fun game and I wonder if the only difference is that Titanfall was released in March(?) and Destiny in far more recent. Funnily the worst thing about Titanfall is also the most exploitative thing about Destiny. One game doesn’t inspire you to keep playing while the other game rewards to for the pointless grind.
To me Destiny feels like an empty shell of a game. A pretty game world full of poorly thought out placeholder content anchored by very solid shooter mechanics. At least Titanfall had new and fun mechanics.
Also we really need another month or two (ie the ACTUAL end of the year) before people should be making their minds up.
I don’t know how many people have finished Dragon Age but I know I’m loving it and have barely scratched the surface. New-gen GTA V is probably the best game on the market right now though.
I agree about the needing more time thing.
I’ve still got to play Valient Hearts, Far Cry, Call of Duty, and Never Alone.
Not to mention that I’m still not done with Dragon Age.
Dark Souls 2, Diablo 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition.
Tell me the only reason DA:I isn’t on Mark’s shortlist is because he’s afraid to love again… afraid to know true joy.
I’ll vote for Destiny – I agree that it’s a mediocre year of gaming, and Destiny had a bland story, average acting and a general lack of ‘zing’ than what we anticipated – but underneath it had excellent gunplay mechanics, a solid gameplay environment (I love not having to choose whether I’m going to play single player or multi between games), and stunning visuals.
Honourable mentions to FC4 and Middle Earth: SOM.
Elite
The crew
Elder Scrolls Online
Watch Dogs
Titanfall
I know it wasnt released in Australia but God Eater 2 was the most fun I’d had this year. As well as Gundam Breaker.
Dark Souls 2
Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright
OR
Smash Bros 3DS.
This is with the caveat that I haven’t played Dragon Age or Bayonetta yet.
Game of the year: Mario Kart 8
Runners up:
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
WoW: Warlords of Draenor
South Park: Stick of Truth
Through passes in FIFA15
I really don’t agree with people listing Destiny. If the most you can say is “the shooting felt good”, that’s very nice, but it doesn’t cover for the fact that it ultimately didn’t go anywhere. I played a fair bit of it (got to level 25 or so) and I didn’t hate it, but it just doesn’t felt flat the whole way through – never really amounted to much of anything except higher numbers on gear.
Gotta be Dark Souls 2.
Honourable mentions to Mario Kart 8 and TWD Season 2.
Wolfenstein for me (again)
Donkey Kong is almost the perfect platformer. And such a beautiful soundtrack.
That said Shadow of Mordor took Assassin’s Creed and made it better, so there’s that
Meanwhile, Assassin’s Creed took Assassin’s Creed and made it worse. Go figure.
Nominating FarCry 4 cause I’m currently playing it and it is RAD! Vote will probably change in a week or so when I get around to Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Child of Light.
Mario Kart 8.
South Park: The Stick of Truth.
Gotta vote for these, as I really feel they will fall by the wayside – they’re both an absolute joy, and deserving of Game of the Year status.
Destiny. Just on play-time…
I am between:
Shovel Knight
Child of Light
Hmm, haven’t played a single game in your list Mark, might have to try some of them out.
I never thought this year was lackluster during it, but now that I look back it is hard to point to any stellar releases.
So for me I’d have to go:
The Last of Us Remastered – my first time playing TLOU, I knew next to nothing about it and loved every second.
Dragon Age: Inquisition – only 10-15 hours in so far but I’m really digging it.
Divinity: Original Sin – a love letter to Baldur’s Gate II, one of my favourite games of all time.
Shadow of Mordor – as a Tolkien nerd I took a bit of umbrage at the lore changes, but the gameplay had me hooked big time. I actually Platinumed it cuz I just wanted to do everything and keep playing, which is something I very rarely bother with.
Honorable mention to DOTA 2 which I discovered this year and now love and hate in equal measure.
Wolfenstein The New Order
South Park: The Stick of Truth
* Alien: Isolation
* Shadow Of Mordor
* The Last Of Us: Remastered
* Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
* Bayonetta 2
* Divinity: Original Sin
Deja Vu. Didn’t we just do this?
Dragon Age: Inguisition.
Dark Souls 2
Alien: Isolation
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd
Shadow of Mordor
Borderlands The Pre-Sequel
GTAV Console Edition
Assassin’s Creed Uni… no, I can’t write that with a straight face 😀
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Shadow of Mordor
Destiny
Divinity: Original Sin
LOU: Remastered
Super Smash Bros. Wii U
Crossy Road was nominated again…
Shovel Knight
Alien Isolation (need to play a lot more though, but wins just off how well it recreates my all time favorite movie)
Probably Far Cry 4 for me, just ahead of Alien: Isolation and PES 2015. While those are all good games, the fact that they’re vying for my GOTY suggests it hasn’t been a spectactular year.
Transistor.
HOW HAS NOBODY SUGGESTED TRANSISTOR YET?
I SECOND YOUR SUGGESTION YOU MAGNIFICENT BEAST OF A MAN
I THIRD YOUR SUGGESTION AND AM ALSO NOT WEARING PANTS NOW FOR NO REASON
I FOURTH YOUR SUGGESTION AND I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO ADD
MK8
Bayonetta 2
Mario Kart 8
(Getting Smash Bros tonight… but it will have to be good to beat those others)
Runners up:
Shovel Knight
Pullblox World
Duet
Color Zen
Bonza
A very strong year for mobile games.
South Park: Stick of Truth and Wolfenstien The New Order
If we can count them (I know they started in 2013) I have to go with The Wolf Among Us and Walking Dead Season 2.
If not, then Alien Isolation or South Park: Stick of Truth.
I don’t know if i can count early access games, but i’m super into Unturned at the moment, especially with the new OPERATIONMAPLELEAF update. If not, I would say Nidhogg
Valiant Hearts
This War of Mine
South Park: Stick of Truth
Shadow of Mordor
Trials Fusion
Outlast:Whistleblower ( I know it’s a dlc,but it was scary as shit)
Watch Dogs
Child of Light
MK8
Super Smash Bros Wii U – got it today. Awesome so far.
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Okay not most popular opinion around but I really enjoyed Infamous second son, close second would be watch dogs. On a side note, the game that took my surprise even thou I thought would be a turd was the new cod, doesn’t get my vote but still I enjoyed it
The Walking Dead Season 2 is the game of the year for me by far. So many emotions I was sure I had become incapable of feeling.
Dark Souls II
Wolfenstein: the new order and far cry 4
WoW: Warlords of Draenor,
if expansions dont count, dragon age inqusition.
Wolfenstein: The New Order
My votes:
GTA V
Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor
Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition
Last of Us: Remastered
Destiny
Haven’t been able to put in enough time with Far Cry 4 or Dragon Age yet to judge them. I think it’s been a good year though, especially this last quarter.
It’d have to be either Mario Kart or Shovel Knight, even though the latter arrived like 6 months late…
My votes have got to go to Mario Kart 8 and DKC: Tropical Freeze.
It’s been a pretty good year to be a WiiU owner!
Trials Fusion and Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition, no question.
Alien: Isolation
Wolfenstein
PS4:
Far Cry 4
Watch Dogs
Infamous: Second Son
The Last of Us Remastered (Probably doesn’t count)
Trials Fusion
Minecraft (Again, probably doesn’t count)
PS3:
Borderlands Presequel.
Hearthstone. So many hours of my life…
Definitely.
Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare
Far Cry 4
Wolfenstein
Sunset Overdrive
Forza Horizon 2
It’s only in the last day I’ve bothered to buy anything released this year.
What a dire year it has been.
Dragon Age
Destiny
Far Cry 4
Mario Kart 8
Donkey Kong TF
Plants vs Zombies
South Park the Stick of Truth
Wolfenstein The New Order
Mario Kart 8
Shadow of Mordor
Geometry Wars 3
Forza Horizon 2
Sunset Overdrive
The Last of Us on PS4 is my game of the year. Didn’t play the original release
Ffxiv ps4… If that counts
Far Cry 4 needs more love than it is getting – it is a REALLY good game!
And Smash Bros 3DS was good too
Sims 4 ^_^
I would have to say Broken Age is at the top of my list for GOTY
Wolf Among Us I found fantastic. The last episode was one of the few truly “Holy Crap!” moments in gaming I’ve had. It stands out to me.
My games of the year:
Wolfenstein
The Wolf Among Us
Last of Us: Remastered
Wolfenstein: the new order is the standout for me this year
I honestly couldn’t decide, I’ve had a good time with a lot of games in 2014.
Titanfall surprised me, while the content lasted.
I was a bit disappointed in Destiny, for the same reason, I guess I expected more.
Shadow of Mordor is great and so was Stick of Truth.
Dark Souls 2 was just as painful/rewarding as DS.
What they did with GTA current gen is awesome, can’t wait to pick it up on pc for the mods.
I seem to have skipped an entire year. I’ve played games, but apparently nothing that was actually released this year.
Without a doubt dragon age Inquisition
While Destiny was pretty good and I thoroughly enjoyed Infamous: Second Son, my votes go to…
Warlords of Draenor – despite the first few days, it has revitalised WoW with the amazing new content.
South Park: Stick of Truth – That game is made of solid gold. Great story, didn’t drag and felt like an extended episode. Loved every minute of it!
Smash U
Bayonetta 2
Shovel Knight
Shadow of Mordor – probably spent the most time this year. Addictive.
Watch Dogs – yes, not perfect, but a lot better than Assassins Creed (never liked it), and played it until the end. Enjoyed a lot of the side quests which is unusual for an open world game.
Infamous First Light. Enjoyed my time back in Seattle. A lot better than i had expected it to be, just not very long though.
Forza Horizon 2. Got both this and Driveclub and I think Forza is infinitely better. Fun, accessible, addictive. Everything you would want in a racer.
Valiant hearts: The great war.
Amazing, amazing game. I learnt more from this game alone then any SOSE class.
Bayonetta 2
The Evil Within – It’s not perfect but what it does, it does really well
Fantasy Life
Alien: Isolation
Mario Kart 8
Divinity: Original Sin
Underrail
Everything else is AAA trash
can i vote pokemon (x/y) or (OR/AS)
Jeez, bar a few games, this year was a bit of a stinker in comparison to what next year seems to hold in store. I don’t have a vote, I think I’ve only played Far Cry 4 out of all these games, and only then for a couple hours.
Dragon Age Inquisition
Shadow of Mordor
Alien: Isolation
Call of Duty:Advanced Warfare (All Platforms)
Grand Theft Auto:V(PS4 and XBOX One)
Wasteland 2
Divinity Original Sin
You console scum.
Dragon age inquisition
alien isolation
1. Destiny.
2. Far Cry 4.
Still haven’t played The Crew, Dragon Age Inquisition or This War Of Mine yet.
It really has been a pretty poor year for gaming. Last year we had GTA V and The Last Of Us, both worthy of being GotY. This year Destiny is my GotY and it’s only borderline worthy of the title.
Far Cry 4, South Park: Stick of Truth, GTA V
Oh man, I loved Wolf 2!! Are you pumped for Wolf 3: The Wolves Hour, Featuring Sir Wolf W. Wolvington III (& Knuckles) next year??
Octodad