We’ve shared our favorite games with you, but which game is 2013’s true number one? We narrowed it down to six fantastic finalists, and tell you which one takes the crown. READ MORE
2013 Best
This year was one of singular experiences for me. Games can take upwards of 30 hours to complete, but most of my favorites have a standout moment that cemented the experience as a good one for me. XCOM: Enemy Within offers substantially more than MEC troopers, but when I saw my first one run off the ramp, I knew I was playing something special. 40 hours later, I still do. That MEC trooper died long ago (I’m not very good at XCOM), but every time I see one come down the ramp or jump down from the Skyranger without a rappelling line, I’m reminded of ‘Bolts’ in his bright pink MEC chassis and the first time he punched a Thin Man so hard that it died.
10. Guacamelee!
Traversal is not usually fun. In Guacamelee!, it is. Combat abilities and traversal abilities are the same, and it never gets old to use an uppercut instead of a super-jump. Crossing from the light world to the dark world is used for combat and traversal as well. Oh, and every handy move you have is taught by a goat. It’s ridiculous and fun and dumb in all the best ways that only games and cartoons can be. READ MORE
What was the best game of 2013? The crew weighs in on our six overall finalists in this episode, discussing why each is worthy of the honor, as well as why each maybe isn’t.
Check out the show here, check us out on iTunes or use the RSS feed in your favorite podcast aggregator. Let us know what you think! Email podcast[at]snackbar-games.com.
Hosts: Jeff deSolla, Chris Ingersoll, Andrew Passafiume, Graham Russell, Henry Skey, Lucas White.
Music: Podcast theme by Tom Casper.
Man, this year’s list came depressingly close to being more “the ten new games I played this year, regardless of actual quality” rather than an actual “top ten”. Part of that is putting most of my faith on the Wii U — and we all know how that played out this year, sadly — but fortunately the 3DS stepped up to fill in the blanks. Well, the 3DS and one specific title that dominated my 2013 like few titles ever have. I also wanted to make a quick mention of my Ouya, which has served its intended purpose of allowing me to stream Twitch.tv to my big screen without needing any complicated PC setup. Oh, and I think I played a game or two on it as well!
Honorable Mention: Kersploosh!
Even in the age of mobile apps and free-to-play quickies, I have a hard time weighing a two-dollar eShop offering against what I stubbornly refer to as “real” titles. Kersploosh! is a great little time waster and a terrific value, but not something I can put on my proper best-of list in good conscience. Pick it up if you haven’t already; I’m sure you have some leftover cash in your eShop account. READ MORE
10. Papers, Please
When building a game, it is so important that its narrative meshes well with the gameplay. While Papers, Please‘s core mechanic is repetitive, the game adds complexity at a fairly good pace. The result is a game that isn’t excessively long and is hard to stop playing. A point-and-click game about a somewhat-mundane border checkpoint isn’t the place you expect a compelling narrative, but Papers, Please offers a wonderful branching story that made me go back and replay it. READ MORE
