The Daily Goat Show’s
Top Five Games of the 2014

So before we get into it, let’s talk about why I chose these five games. It’s easy really. They may not be the best games of 2014 to everyone but when I laid out all the games released this year that I’ve played, and that’s a lot of games, these were the five that stood out to me. They stood out because they left the most lasting impression on me, when I started writing about all the games, these five had me on a roll, reliving my experiences and feelings I had when I played them.

So whether or not these are the five I had the most fun with, these are the ones that had the biggest impact on me as a gamer. And that’s fair enough.

5. Destiny

Destiny is an odd duck when it comes to awards and reviews. It has received perfect scores as well as terrible ones and all sorts in between. Here at the Daily Goat Show it’s the same story. Sometimes I really liked it and other times I didn’t quite know why I was still playing. But that being said there is one thing that Destiny did that made me have to put it on this list. It got me to play Multiplayer. That is a huge feat. I don’t like multiplayer normally, I prefer single player. But Destiny had me joining groups and going on strikes and helping out with public events. I loved it. Mainly because I didn’t have to listen to anyone. The only communication was non verbal. Glorious.

4. The Evil Within

Resident Evil is back! Well sort of. The Evil Within easily captured the feel of the good Resident Evil games while carving out it’s own niche in the Survival Horror world. The game made you shout “yes!” every time you found more bullets. It harkened back to when survival horror was much more “survival” than horror and it’s all the better for it. None of the deaths felt cheap or frustrating once you actually paid attention to what was going on and the end of the game gave you a nice sense of accomplishment. The final boss was memorable but also a nice way of winding down the action and letting you settle in for the ending. Once the credit rolled you were invited to play again with new unlocked gear. It’s an invitation we plan on accepting.

3. The Last of Us: Remastered

Ok, so this is technically a game from last year but it needs to be included. This version was released earlier this year and it was a great excuse to play it again. If you have yet to play Naughty Dog’s masterpiece then make sure you buy a PS4 and get this version of it. The tweaks to the gameplay and graphics are minor but enough to be noticeable and add to the game immensely. The inclusion of the “Left Behind” DLC is a nice addition and great fun but the main game still holds up as one of the best in gaming. If you need a game to show off the PS4’s graphic power then this is that game; even the PS3 version still looks as good or better than many PS4 titles.

2. South Park: The Stick of Truth

I can’t verbally do this game justice. This is a game that must be experienced. It’s been a long time since a game had me laughing from the first minute to the last. SoT delivers the South Park experience every other South Park game can only dream about. Not only does it look exactly like the show, it sounds and plays out just like you’d expect an episode to. That’s not to say it’s predictable, in typical South Park nature as soon as you get a handle on where the story is going, it’s takes a huge left turn. But it all makes sense thanks to the show’s rich history of doing just that.

The gameplay is also superb for this kind of game. It’s like an “RPG Lite” but still has enough depth to where you are still looking for that next piece of armor or weapon upgrade. The battles are challenging but not overly so allowing you to experience the brilliant writing and spot on voice acting. Do yourself a favor, play this game. It’s that good.

1. Dark Souls II

What else can be said about our Game of the Year that hasn’t already? Dark Souls II is as near a perfect game as one could make in this genre. Yes it’s difficult, but it’s not impossible. It knows what it is and offers no apology aside from NPCs that can help in some areas and bosses and even then that may not be enough. You need to be on your game when playing Dark Souls II. Going into a boss fight unprepared will find you dead. It has great pacing to keep you wanting to press forward. You can easily get lost in this game and spend five or six hours playing without realizing it.

If you haven’t played the game yet, there’s no better time than the present. However it will be getting re-released on PS4, XBone and PC with DirectX 11 soon which will be the definitive way to play it. If you are hesitant to try a game of this difficulty rest assured that you won’t go it alone. Messages left will guide you to helpful items, bonfires and warn of danger. You can also get on the internet and fire up the Dark Souls II wiki which would then be the equivalent of selecting an “Easy Mode” as this game has been well documented with strategies and tips layed out for all to see. Even knowing all that, the game is still fun and puts up a fight.

Dark Souls II is our game of the year because it’s fun, challenging, deep and the feeling of accomplishment from beating any of the bosses is better than any reward the game could give you. And if you want more once the credits roll, you can get into New Game+ or give Lords of the Fallen a try. In fact Lords was in the top five as well but I didn’t want two games of the same style in the top five, and to be honest I only played Lords because I enjoyed Dark Souls II so much. I’m glad I did though, Lords of the Fallen is very good.

Honorable Mentions
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Lords of the Fallen
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition
Wolfenstein: The New Order