I'll list Papers, Please and the Wolf Among Us (even though it feels weird to list episodicals). Card Hunter easily takes the cake for game I've spent most time playing during the last year - and the game I'm most likely to keep playing during 2014 (together with Heartstone). Bioshock Infinite was a bit of a letdown, glorious world and setting. But the gameplay felt a bit "meh". What's your take on gaming 2013? Biggest surprises and dissapointments? Spawned from this thread.
It's a difficult question because there are so many good games and they are so different from each other. It's like comparing apples with oranges. Trying to decide which is the best without any categories is almost silly. For me personally Card Hunter was the game of the year in 2013. CH is a polished and fun game, and because of my CCG and D&D background, I was hooked almost instantly and am still playing after many months. No other game did that to me in 2013. Another great game was Stanley Parable, which I think is more creative than Card Hunter, and possibly one of the most creative games ever made (after Planescape: Torment of course). But Stanley Parable is a weird, philosophical and gimmicky game that is nowhere close to Game of the Year material. Papers, please was unique and fun for a while but it got old pretty fast. I didn't bother to finish it. I agree with everything you said about Bioshock Infinite. That game was awesome until things started to go bad for the player, after which it became more or less a typical shooter.
Kentucky Route Zero Card Hunter I tend to play games at least a couple of years after release, though, so I can't comment on much from this year.
Hmmm... First of all, I don't play commercial games (I'm cheap and I don't want what they're selling). This year I finally bought the full version of PrismaPix (I'd played the demo through at least eight times over several years) and I'm still playing Skyrates (not dead yet!). After Card Hunter, those were the games I keep going back to. I have tried lots of free games (I follow Jay is Games), but there's nothing really memorable there.
Winners. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for being a very fun game. Card Hunter for being a very fun game and being more addictive than methamphetamine. Disappointments. Bioshock Infinite for giving console gamers what we on the PC have had for many, many years. Straight-up fails. Aliens: Colonial Marines for advertising a stunning game but giving the world a lump of tripe.
Beyond Card Hunter (obviously), my favorites of the year include: Papers, Please The Stanley Parable State of Decay The Last of Us Don't Starve Ridiculous Fishing I definitely appreciated Infinite (though the combat was tiresome and my favorite parts of the game involved none of it) and I never got to finish Tomb Raider. Mostly I've playing a lot of older games (Stronghold HD) and Betas (Starbound). It's been a great year for games though!
Oh... that is not so easy. I finally managed to buy a PS3 in 2013, so there were a lot of "new" Games I had to play ^^ But which were my favorites? Well there is one no one of you listed until now I believe and that is: Ni No Kuni - Wrath of the White Witch (PS3) I am still taming familiars, exploring the World and enjoy the Story. Even after more than 70 hours playtime. It's been a long time I had so much playtime in a Single Player game. Card Hunter (Browsergame) Of course is one of my favorites 2013. Not only because I am an old P&P Player but also because the Community in this Game is so great I just enjoy having a peek at the Forums now and then without playing the Game. Nightbanes (Browsergame) Okay this one I believe is a game most of you didn't even heard of. It's from a German Developer Group and was first released in German language in late October of 2013. So it is still in a beta but promises to become a good CCG. I started playing in late December, so I am relatively new but in some months I will be one of the "oldest players" and this is something I like. Also it is a Game my partner is playing and that is very rarely seen. So having the Chance to play a game with my partner is a huge "Pro" for being a good game for me. ^^ Castle Crashers (PS3) Yeah I now. Castle Crashers is not a game of 2013 but I simply love it. It was one of the Main reasons why I bought a PS3 and I don't regret it. This game is the perfect time killer and just and awesome party game. ---- other games worth to be mentioned: Uncharted 3/Assassins Creed 3 & 4 / Last of Us / Beyond two Souls (PS3) I am accustomed to Console graphic ala Wii or SNES. So seeing those Games on the PS3 was just stunning. The Story also seems to be very interesting, but I am not done with all of them yet. ^^* Bishock I & II & Infinite: I agree with you, what you said about Infinite. But (since I only got to play those games in 2013) I definetly liked Bioshock I and II. I just wanted to play more Game like those and therefore was very hyped to get Infinite... ah well as you said... not that much I hoped for. *cuddles* Sisquinanamook
I played Nightbanes SP for a couple of hours and I found it to be rather dull. I finished most quests by simply building a deck with a lot of high HP creatures, and spammed them on the board without even bothering to look what the creatures did or what my opponent was doing. This was possible because the game has a weird system (for a MtG type of a game) where cards do not have a cost and you can play whatever you have in your hand. Also it's alooks like one of those games where you have to pay a lot of money to be able to compete with others. Almost everything worth to get in the shop was only obtainable by real life money. The good thing about Nightbanes was that it made be appreciate Card Hunter more. But that 's just my opinion of the game, yours may differ.
I'll have to praise the recently released and free to play: Heroine's Quest. It's basically a tribute to Sierra's Quest for Glory (or Hero Quest - trademark issues). Lovely game - in quality (so far beyond "fan made") and length. Been playing this since before the new year.
Welp, now I gotta check it out! I'm starting 2014 off with massive amounts of State of Decay and Assassin's Creed 4. So there's that.
I liked the concept of State of Decay (I own it from the autumn sale on Steam), but got somewhat put off by some features - so put in on hold for a while. Are you running the expansion? Or possibly on xbox, which might change the perception in terms of gameplay and control scheme.
I originally bought the game on XBL early last year and beat it. I have since re-bought it on Steam and am playing through the DLC, which makes the game an endless-survival trial. It still has some issues but I love the concept so I forgive it easily. I'm also playing it with an Xbox controller on my PC so...
Good to see "indie games" getting recognition, assuming the label even means anything anymore. I find that I'm following indie games not just to have fun but also to follow the "gaming community," keeping up on current innovations and debates.
The only game I love is Fallout New Vegas. I can play this game again, and again, and again and do nothing more than walk, collect trash and stash it somewhere. My friend once told me I had Diogenes Syndrome or something. I just shout 'Free Mojave!' and started to throw him empy Coke cans. (Then I picked them all again and stored somewhere, but this means nuthing)
Heh, it's where I live, basically, and it's humbling to know the people who've made many of those games and witness them making such amazing stuff. Rami of Vlambeer is an excellent person to follow as he is very outspoken but also very conscientious of his words. While I don't agree with him all the time, I know he never says things without really thinking about what they may mean and their possible impact. I forgot to add Antichamber in that list because goddamn that game is amazing.
