2012 was actually a pretty good year for gaming. But, before we sign off of it completely, we should take a moment to stop and look at some games you might have missed, and that really deserve a playthrough.
Dragon’s Dogma
There’s a lot wrong with this game. The dialogue is repetitive: “‘TIS WEAK TO FIRE!” is something you’ll hear a lot. The plot is not a model of narrative economy, aside from the finale making you wonder just how depressed the writing staff was. And it’s got distinctly Japanese quirks that are not for everybody.
But it’s a very flexible open world, more engaging, dynamic and colorful than Skyrim; decisions here matter more and their consequences are more visible. The combat is top-notch and fighting as every class is fun. And, most importantly, when you climb a huge enemy like a mountain and stab him in the heart, or cling for dear life as a dragon takes to the skies while you hack at his face, you will hear the symphonic metal solo of the gods in your head. Dragon’s Dogma, when it clicks (and it often does) is what gaming should be at its best: simultaneously thrilling and hilariously ridiculous, having you do things that are literally impossible and enjoying every minute of it.
Hotline Miami
Essentially, this is what would happen if David Lynch made a Super Nintendo game with modern technology. The basic gameplay is simple, but with a difficulty curve best defined as “brutal”. But it’s really the atmosphere that makes this game: The bright, neon colors, careful use of sound, and overall and overpowering sense of something just deeply wrong intensifies as you play, culminating in some profoundly disturbing moments that are best left discovered for yourself. Hotline Miami is a strong argument for games as art, and it’s also cheap on Steam.
The Unfinished Swan
Journey hogged all the accolades and publicity this year, but there’s no denying that when it comes to its first-party downloadable games, Sony is doing something right, embracing new takes on old genres. The Unfinished Swan is undeniably a first-person puzzle game that does things right, and it deserves a playthrough if you haven’t already.
Mark Of The Ninja
A stealth game in 2D sounds a bit goofy on paper, but if anything, it works far better than it has any right to. Taking away 3D graphics and camera concerns means the game is appealingly simple to pick up, and yet unique among platformers and challenging in its own right.
Any we missed? Let us know in the comments!
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Dragon’s Dogma became my addiction last year and when the the Dark Arisen drops it will suck even more nights out of me, and Death will probably murder me non-stop.
What did you enjoy about Dragon Dogma? I played it for about 10 hours and loved the battle system, but I just couldn’t get into it. I really wanted to love it, but something about it was holding me back and I gave up after a while.
What I liked was the freedom this game gave me with how tactical the battles would be and all the different approaches I could take on different foes that stay at your level, roaming around to find a new dungeon/fort/epic random battle in the vast world and feeling a large difference with day and night I highly enjoyed the class system and all of the different perks and skills you can gain and combinations you can come up with the carry over from different classes.
There is much more but I am not trying to right a review in a comment..
In my opinion it was a fairly ambitious and overall average game. Dragon Dogma 2, should it ever be announced will probably be much better. My biggest complaint with the game was the real need to have 4 people in your party, but only having control over 2 of them. The other user created characters should have been optional, not the only way to play.
Oh yeah, my PSN is Neiryu please take my Main Pawn out for a spin and give him some awesome bounty. Thanks!
I’ll do that, but it might be a while. I’ve got DMC to review and the review season in general is cranking back up.
Not a problem at all, my general present I receive is a herb or rock. You could spoil me with a Maker’s Finger..
My 2 favorite games of the year were Borderlands 2 which I’m sure everyone played and Crusader Kings 2. If you havent gotten around to playing CK2 yet you really owe it to yourself to do so. Such and unbelievably addictive and rewarding strategy game.
I hold it right up there in the same esteem as the civilization and the best Total War games.
There were a good 4 months there where I thought of very little else!
Hmmmm, I missed that one, but I’ll have to try it out. Steam, I presume?
Ya available for cheap on steam. Something like 10 bucks when i got it. Money well spent.
I love me some strategy games. Thanks for the recommendation of CK2. I hadn’t heard of it. I’ll check it out.
Dragon’s Dogma was by far one of my favorite games. After a bit of grinding the game really comes into its own. There’s nothing quite like being ambushed in the forrest by a dragon, a griffin, and some of those goblins and being able to take them down.
I love being a Magic Knight. Cannon spell plus twirling blade attack equals bullet spam. HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW, BANDITS?!
I pretty much stick with Assassin while my pawn is a Warrior/Magic Knight and I keep two mages in the party one for buffering me and Cass (my pawn) and the other for elemental attacks.
Thanks Dan. I’ve been looking for something fun to occupy my game time. I finished Far Cry 3 a week ago and haven’t been able to find anything that jumped out. I’ll check these out. Is Dragons Dogma only console? I’m mainly a PC gamer. Haven’t touched my 360 in months and months. I just love Steam so damn much.
DD is console only, for now anyway. But it was a cult hit, so it’ll probably be $30 at the GameStop.
I’m actually playing Dragon’s Dogma right now. It can be frustrating in some places (especially the escort missions) but taking down the big guys is extremely satisfying.
If you’re big enough, and can time it right, you can pull a chimera onto its side. Boy was THAT fun to discover!
Buried under all the Diablo III hype was the game that is actually the true successor to Diablo II. If you guys didn’t play it, play Torchlight II. I spent thousands of hours (sad isn’t it?) playing Diablo II and Torchlight II takes everything you love about that game and adds improvements to the things that bothered you. My only two complaints are that Engineers clearly are not meant to use cannons due to the class-specific uniques they have and that the main quest is pretty short. This is remedied by the incredible Mapworks dungeon generator and New Game+.The game is awesome and worth $20.00.
Swamped this week but wanted to do a drive by and say Dragon’s Dogma HELLS YES. Dogma showed huge potential. If the grab mechanic had been an available option in Dark Souls’ combat my blood pressure probably wouldnt be this high.
Binding of Isaac didn’t come out this year but the expansion that added a ton of content did. With Issac and FTL this year I think I’ve become addicted to roguelikes now.
The Walking Dead game is actually pretty good.