2014 in Video Games

[scotland171]

What did you think of the year that was, 2014?

It was the first full year of the new generation, but while the Wii has gone, the PS3 and Xbox360 still seemed to be doing well.   

What do you think are the games of the year? 

What games will people will still be playing for years to come?

What games of 2014 will you still be playing in years to come?

Any big high profile games that fizzled? 

Was it a good year for gaming, an okay year, or a bad year?  What were the stories of the year?

While the consoles get the big publicity, the 3DS and mobile gaming did quite well - Shovel Knight, Bravely Default, Link between Worlds, Valient Hearts: The Great War, 80 Days, The Banner Saga, Monument Valley, and Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft all come up on lists of the years notable games.  

[Captain_Crunch1]

I think it was an okay year for gaming - considering originality and freshness. However, if you look at commercial success, it was definitely a great year for gaming. 

I played a lot on my 3DS this year and I especially enjoyed Shovel Knight, NES Ultimate Remix and Yoshi's New Island. Shovel Knight was even one of the best games I played the last couple of years...

As for big high profile game that fizzled, I unfortunately have to nominate Sonic again. I'm a huge fan, so it pains me we got the like of Sonic Boom this year, after last years horrible Sonic Lost World...

[ptdebate1]

Great post, Scotland! I was thinking of doing it myself but you beat me to the punch.

2014 was a below-average year. Not as terrible as 1983 or 1995, but not much better either. Many highly anticipated releases were delayed to 2015, and many of the ones that were released on time were hampered by technical problems. 

The games of the year are, therefore, easy to narrow down.

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition
2. Dark Souls II
3. PT (it's barely even a game but it HAD to make this list. Pure genius.)
4. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
5. Mario Kart 8

What game will people still be playing for years to come? Smash 4 because it'll be the definitive entry for a long time and DA:I because it's almost infinitely replayable.

And how about the most disappointing games of the year? Also easy. There are far more than 5, but I figured I'd keep it small to save everyone's time.

1. Destiny
2. Assassin's Creed: Unity
3. Thief
4. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (I guess everyone probably saw this coming)
5. The Evil Within

[Vexer1]

I thought it was a pretty good year overall, enjoyed several games- Sonic Boom(not as good as Lost World, but still enjoyable), Advanced Warfare, Destiny, Evil Within, Alien Isolation, Borderlands Pre Sequel, Lords of Shadow 2, Earth Defence Force 2025, Far Cry 4, Ground Zeroes, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Yaiba Gaiden Z and Watch Dogs.

Wasn't really any titles that massively let me down this year, sure Destiny didn't live up to the massive hype it generated, but it's still been a fairly enjoyable experience, Isolation was also kind of a let down(bit too much fake difficulty in some parts and a little too much backtracking towards the end) but it was still engaging enough to keep my playing.

[PinMike86661]

It was a great year for the Wii U and PC; the more sucessful next generation consoles haven't had as much exclusives, though. This year definitely proves gaming is going backwards as the majority of the most celebrated PS4 and Xbox One games are multiplatform; what makes a console great is exclusitivity as it gives reasons to buy it and the Wii U is the only new console having them thus far. As for PC, it's not so much exclusives as much as the majority of console games can be played on a platform that has more benefits than just playing games and DVD/Blu-Ray discs. I think this year be a repeat of last year with not many definitive home console exclusives for the PS4 and Xbox One, with the Wii U having more, and nearly every non-Japanese console game being available on PC via Steam, UPlay, Origin, and BattleNET. That said, I believe there is no good or bad year for gaming as there are enough gaming platforms to satisfy one's needs; even during the Video Game Crash-era there were still classics being released in arcades, computers, and home consoles via indie developers and major companies. Overall, I liked this year, even though there weren't many next-generation exclusives barring Wii U.

As far as the consoles I own this generation, I have the Nintendo 3DS (Launch Model), Nintendo Wii U (32 GB Deluxe), Sony PlayStation Vita (Wi-Fi OLED Model), a newly built computer using semi-recent components (uses 2013-2014 motherboard with a last-generation Intel i5 CPU and an overclocked last-generation Nividia GPU), and the last-generation consoles; I'm quite satisfied with these choices and with would-be PS4 exclusives being on PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3, I don't see myself buying one until there is a price drop or a good deal, and while the Xbox One does have some a couple exclusive STGs in Raiden V and Natsuki Chronicle (developed by Eschatos-developer Qute), it's still not enough to buy one right now even though there are more exclusives compared to its rival. Slight-jadedness aside, I greatly appreciate these newer consoles being region-free, which I think Nintendo should do for their 3DS devices but most likely won't.

[Herschie1]

I still can't get enough of MLB 14: The Show, although, like most other sports games, I probably won't be playing it in the years to come. I recently picked up Hyrule Warriors after not being too impressed, and it's starting to grow on me. Then, being the Nintendo fanboy that I am, I have been playing Smash Bros. on both the 3DS and the Wii U. All that coupled with the phenomenal "The Last of Us Remastered" on the PS4 made 2014 one heck of a year. 

[JustLikeHeaven1]

I think in the grand scheme of things 2014 was a fairly underwhelming year overall.  Very few new games came out that looked new/different/exciting for me.  Nintendo seemed to have a quality year with some top notch stuff for the Wii U and 3DS....can't really say the same thing for the PS4 and Xbox One.  I still don't see a compelling reason to own one of those machines yet.  I also don't really see this changing much in 2015.  I'm perfectly fine with waiting though...being an early adopter isn't necessary when there is plenty of good games to play for the 360/PS3/Wii.

[Weekend_Warrior1]

Even if sales numbers don't really show it, Nintendo really stood their ground with the Wii U in 2014.

They has some very solid first-party releases, along with a surprisingly good third-party exclusive - Bayonetta 2!

On the PS4 and Xbox One, I felt quite underwhelmed with most of their releases. The seemingly endless 'mature, first-person shooter genre' and the neverending Assassin's Creed sequels is just getting sickening.

[Vexer1]

Agreed on AC, after the disaster of Unity hopefully Ubisoft will get the hint permanently retire the series for good, though I disagree on FPS, I lvoe the genre so i'm always happy to see more of those and I don't find that "sickening" in the least.