It’s time for the big one. Who did you vote Kotaku Australia’s game of the year for 2014.
And the winners are…
Reader’s Choice
Dragon Age: Inquisition
When this game took out both the PC and console game of the year, I started to see the writing on the wall. Dragon Age: Inquisition was absolutely dominant.
Runner-up
Super Smash Bros. Wii U
I have to say, that really took me by surprise. I had expected maybe Wolfenstein to take the runner-up spot, but the Nintendo crowd really came in strong and focused on this one.
Editor’s Choice
Alien: Isolation
I’ve always claimed 2014 was a pretty weak year for video games, but I did fall in love with a handful, making this choice trickier than I expected. There were a number of great mobile titles — Desert Golfing, Framed, Crossy Road, Monument Valley — and a couple of console games that I honestly loved — Dark Souls II, Mario Kart 8, Destiny, Trials Fusion. But in the end, one game emerged from the pack victorious and that game was Alien: Isolation.
Of all the games listed above, Alien: Isolation felt most important. It was a game that made a statement. Alien: Isolation was a statement, it was message to every development studio and publisher in the world and that message was: “be brave”.
Be brave in your choices. Take risks. Try something new. Be original. It’s difficult to take risks in a AAA environment where the stakes are high and the money at stake is ludicrous. The end result of that is a AAA environment that feels stagnant. Alien: Isolation ignored that. From most perspectives it is a recklessly made video game. I’ve said time and time again that Alien: Isolation is a small miracle: it’s difficult to believe the game got green-lit, let alone made. It’s an anomaly. An incredible anomaly.
I hope more studios in future will have the bravery — and the support — to follow suit and go for broke.
Runner-up
Mario Kart 8
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