We here at Sound On Sight like to release our list as late as possible in the year. The way I look at it, the list is meant to represent what our writers have watched and championed throughout the year, and so we allow our writers until the 28th of December to submit votes for their …
Following in the footsteps of its divisive forebears, Dark Souls II is an incredibly challenging and endlessly atmospheric action-RPG. Now, with three expansions under its already sizable belt, Dark Souls II is about the most bang a player can expect for their buck for this gaming year, and even though it lacks the power and punch of the original Dark Souls, it has enough new elements and content to easily justify itself. A brutal and beautiful ride, Dark Souls II is an easy pick for my favorite game of the year.
Like ABC’s Once Upon a Time on acid, Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us tells an intricate and involving story of fairy tale and urban legend characters who have been cast out of their fantastic realm and into our world. Set primarily around a series of horrific murders, and the consequences they have on this secret community, The Wolf Among Us employs Telltale’s now signature style of cause and effect storytelling to its greatest capacity yet. Based on the comic series Fables, The Wolf Among Us is a chilling and engrossing neo-noir, and stylistically the coolest game in years.
Due to its propensity for conflict, war has long been a popular backdrop for video games but never has it been seen like this. Filled with humanity, sorrow, and honesty, Valiant Hearts: The Great War uses the true history of World War I to weave together the stories of its protagonists (ranging from a German soldier, to a French POW, to a Belgian combat nurse). The gorgeous graphics, evolving gameplay, and original design only serve to make the experience offered here more enticing. Thoroughly moving and steeped with loss, Valiant Hearts is not a game you will soon forget.
While gamers could be forgiven for being a little trepidatious at the prospect of the Walking Dead series continuing without most of its main cast from the first volume, luckily those concerns turned out to be needless. The second season in Telltale’s zombie anthology focuses on Clementine, the most vulnerable of its cast of characters, and uses her vulnerability as the narrative crux of the plot.
We asked some of our writers what their top 5 games of 2014 were, and have since compiled them into five parts. They will be released every two days, starting today, with each writers top 5 counting down through successive entries.