It’s that time of year again! Just like every other year, 2013 was a pretty fantastic year for gaming. I’m curious as to what you all enjoyed the most this year.
It’s looking like the big go-to nominees are Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, Super Mario 3D World, and A Link Between Worlds. I didn’t play GTAV, and I found both Mario and Zelda to be pretty standard fare for games in those respective series (of course, “standard fare” for a Mario or Zelda game is still pretty darn great). I enjoyed both The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite,
but I ultimately preferred Infinite—that was one of the most engrossing games I’ve played in a long time. I loved it.
But 2013 was a weird gaming year for me due to the fact that all of my really favorite games came out in previous years, but were re-released this year. Spelunky and Hotline Miami, two games that I would easily put in my top 10 games of all time, both came out in 2012, but were ported to more platforms in 2013 where I got a chance to play them. And then there was Earthbound, which finally came to the Virtual Console this summer. You know how people always say that they wish they could wipe their memory and re-experience old Nintendo games for the first time? Playing Earthbound was like doing that. It’s the best video game adventure I’ve ever been on and is one of my favorite Nintendo games ever.
…That being said, Spelunky, Hotline Miami, and Earthbound all came out prior to 2013. I was left with Bioshock Infinite.
Then I played Starseed Pilgrim.
It’s a really simple (yet very deep) arcade puzzle game based around a bridge-building mechanic. It’s really hard, too. I played it for a few days, got frustrated with it, and decided to put it down. A few months later, I decided to come back to it and give it another shot. After weeks of playing it every so often (Steam says I put 15 hours into it in total), I managed to beat it.
It’s a really incredibly-designed game; I’d put it up there with Little Inferno, Hotline Miami, and the BIT.TRIP series in terms of using the video game medium to tell a unique story. It’s also one of the most rewarding games I’ve ever played; the first time I “accomplished” something, my whole day was made because I was so hyped up about it. I can’t say much more without giving away what makes it so great, but if a poetic, inconspicuous puzzle game sounds like something that might be up your alley, I’d highly recommend it.
So, despite how much I loved Bioshock Infinite, I’m gonna call Starseed Pilgrim my Game of the Year.
As for games I didn’t get around to, I still haven’t played Dead Space 3, Assassin’s Creed IV, or Batman: Arkham Origins. I’m a pretty big fan of all three of those series, the first two in particular, and I’ve heard some great things about AC:IV (and very mixed things about Dead Space 3). I also still have yet to play FJORDS, another little indie puzzle game that I’ve heard great things about from people who’ve played it—I’ve had it described to me as a Zelda game where you start off with all your items but don’t know how to use any of them. Sounds interesting.
I also played a lot of free PC games this year that really blew me away with their inventiveness, the best of which was
Save the Date. I think there's a running joke on Negative World of me trying to get people to play that game and no one giving a hoot! I’m sure you’ve all heard of
Candy Box by now. And if you want to see what real innovation in first-person storytelling looks like (shot fired at people who think Gone Home is the most experimental game ever made
), definitely check out
The Entertainment, a short spin-off of Kentucky Route Zero.
Not to mention
Titan Souls, a game made in 72 hours which managed to mix Dark Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, and Gameboy Zelda into something more amazing than any of those ingredients on their own.
Also, shout-out to The Stanley Parable. Oh, and The Swapper and Antichamber! And Gunpoint too! Play all those games!
What about you? What were your favorite games of 2013? Anything you haven't gotten around to playing yet? Anything that really stuck out to you as being the best game of the year? Let me know!URL to share (right click and copy) 
