Gaming trends have fluctuated rapidly throughout the history of the medium, but some tend to stick around longer than others. Thanks to the continued success of Minecraft, we have seen a dramatic increase in survival games over the past few years, and it hasn’t let up. Some are directly inspired by Minecraft, but there have been a fair few games that buck the trend. Klei Entertainment’s take on the survival game, Don’t Starve, is one of those games, combining the basics of the genre with some exciting changes. READ MORE
When it comes to reminding us of our gaming pasts, in particular the games we grew up with, no one does it better (or more frequently) than Nintendo. It is often considered the Disney of the gaming industry, and for good reason. While this trend of relying on nostalgia isn’t exclusively a Nintendo idea, one of its most recent releases, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, is exemplary of its desire to remain in touch with its past. It signifies both its struggles as a company over the past decade and how it can easily overcome those struggles: by continuing to look forward.
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I’ve been putting together top ten lists for a while now, but this might just be the hardest to I’ve had to create. Some amazing games were cut, such as Grand Theft Auto V, Tearaway, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Rising, Gunpoint, Year Walk and countless others. This process highlighted one of the best problems you could have: there were simply too many good games released this year. In the end, I’m pretty happy with the results, even if so many other games I love just missed the cut.
10. Rayman Legends
Like with Rayman Origins before it, Rayman Legends is an absolute joy to play from start to finish. The thing that strikes me the most about it is how well it handles and the excellent level design constructed around that handling. Every mistake I made was my own mistake, not the fault of the game or the controls, which is always a necessity when it comes to making a good platformer. The Murfy stages are surprisingly solid, even during solo play, and the music levels are the perfect blend of charm and challenge the series is now known for. In short, Legends is an expansion on an already amazing formula, and manages to surpass the original in some remarkable ways. READ MORE
The indie scene has been booming over the past few years, leading to the creation of more personal projects. We’ve seen games like Papo & Yo, To the Moon and, most recently, Gone Home. These titles may not tell true stories specifically, but they center on topics that are easily relatable. The latest in this growing trend is The Novelist, a game that utilizes supernatural elements to tell the story of a family in crisis.
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Has there ever been a developer you want to love, but can’t simply because its games were not for you? For me, that team was Media Molecule. For the longest time, I was able to appreciate the LittleBigPlanet series from a distance, but found the act of playing it less than enjoyable. It allowed players to express their creativity in remarkable ways, leading to some entertaining user-created content, but it ultimately wasn’t for me. Recently, it released its first Vita title, Tearaway. LittleBigPlanet demonstrated some of Media Molecule’s undeniably charming ambitions, but Tearaway feels full to the brim with its specific brand of creativity.
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