Far Cry 4

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.

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.