on this forum. People seem to enjoy it when it happens so I try to do it every year. Traditionally I gather a nominations list during December, and run the poll from Jan 1 to Jan 7. This year I'm late. I am sorry about this. Let's do it anyway!
Here's the boilerplate I post every year: There are a lot of Game of the Year polls out there, but this one is special. Where most GOTY polls just give you a list of maybe five of the best-selling games from the last year, and ask you to choose your favorite, THIS poll gives you a list of EVERY game that came out in the last year (more or less) and asks you to vote for [up to] your top 20-- ranked by how much you liked them.
. We actually wind up with a serviceable ranking of the top hundred or so games from the last year, with blockbusters, obscurities and cult hits mixed in side by side, and a
.
Here's my plan: I'm going to take nominations in this thread until, I think, the evening of January 13 (is that enough time? Should I do a full week of nominations?). I'm then going to run the poll for one week, until the evening of January 20. I'll post a thread back here (watch for it!) with the voting link.
So any game that anyone might POSSIBLY put in their top 20 deserves to go on the list.
for the first time in 2012, and it must be a new game-- no ports, no expansion packs. These rules were set in 2004 and they are basically impossible to follow now. Everything's a port or an expansion and we have people selling betas. So I guess consider this meta rule:
Think about it, if this game you like got on one year, and then we snuck its expansion pack on the next year… half the people who liked it will vote one year and half the other and it will get really low scores. You like this game, but it's gonna get stiffed in the poll. Avoid that.
I made a starting list with some of my friends (thanks in particular to Jragghen). Please please let me know if I'm missing anything-- or if I accidentally put something on that violates one of my rules-- or if I have the listed platforms wrong below (and I like to mark any game that was sold on a console download service-- XBLA, PSN, Virtual Console-- with an asterisk*). I really have no idea about what's legitimate or what was on what platform, the only game I've played this year is Dys4ia so I'm basically a terrible source of information at this point.
007 Legends (360, PC, PS3, WiiU)
100s (iOS)
1000 Amps (PC, Mac)
10000000 (iOS, PC)
4NR (iOS)
A Grain of Truth (Browser)
Ace Combat 3D (3DS)
Ace of Spades (PC)
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd you steal our garbage?! (DS, 3DS)
Aeroporter (3DS)
AirMech (PC)
Alan Wake's American Nightmare (360*, PC)
Analogue: A Hate Story (PC)
Anna (PC)
Amy (360*, PS3*)
Angry Birds Space (Android, BlackBerry, iOS, PC)
Angry Birds Star Wars (Android, Browser, iOS, PC, WP)
Armored Core V (360, PS3)
Army Corps of Hell (Vita*)
Astronot (iOS, PC)
Artemis (PC)
Asphyx (Browser)
ASCIIvania (Browser)
Assassin's Creed 3 (360, PC, PS3, WiiU)
Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation (Vita)
Asura's Wrath (360, PS3)
AVSEQ (PC)
Avengers Inititive (iOS)
Awesomenauts (360*, PS3*, PC)
Bad Piggies (Android, iOS, PC)
Bad Hotel (iOS)
Bang Bang Racing (PC)
Basketbelle (PC)
Beat Sneak Bandit (iOS)
Bee (PC)
Beneath her Belly (Browser)
Black Knight Sword (360*, PS3*)
Binary Domain (360, PC, PS3)
Bientôt l'été (PC)
Birds of Steel (PS3, 360)
Book of Unwritten Tales (PC)
Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Botanicula (iOS, PC)
Brace (Browser)
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified (Vita)
Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (360, PC, PS3, WiiU)
Cargo Commander (PC)
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission (360, PC)
Cart Life (PC)
Cavenaut (PC)
Chaos on Deponia (PC)
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare (PC)
Closure (PC, PS3)
Cinders (PC)
Code of Princess (3DS)
Combat Mission: Fortress Italy (PC)
Cook Serve Delicious (iOS, PC)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (360, PC, PS3)
Corrypt (iOS, PC)
Cortex Command (PC)
Craequ (PC)
Crashmo (3DS*)
Crimson Shroud (3DS*)
Crusader Kings II (PC)
Curiousity: What's in the Cube (iOS)
Darksiders 2 (360, PC, PS3, WiiU)
Dance Central 3 (360)
Dead or Alive 5 (360, PS3)
Dear Esther (PC)
Dead Trigger (iOS, Android)
Deadlight (360*, PC)
Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten (PC)
Deponia (PC)
Desperate Gods (PC)
Diablo 3 (PC)
Dino Run SE (PC)
Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World (Browser)
Dirt: Showdown (PS3, 360, PC)
Dishonored (360, PC, PS3)
DJMAX Technika Tune (Vita)
Dokuro (Vita*)
Double Dragon Neon (360, PS3)
Dragon's Dogma (360, PS3)
Draw a Stickman Epic (Android, iOS, WP)
Dust: An Elysian Tail (360*)
Dyad (PS3*)
Dynasty Warriors Next (Vita)
Dys4ia (Browser)
Dungeon Village (Android, iOS)
Dustforce (PC)
Elemental: Fallen Enchantress (PC)
Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion (3DS)
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (360, PC, PS3, Wii, WiiU)
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (PC, ZX Spectrum)
Endless Space (PC)
Escape Goat (PC, XBLIG)
Escape From Age Of Monsters (iOS)
Escape Plan (Vita*)
Euro Truck Simulator 2 (PC)
F1 2012 (360, PC, iOS, PS3)
Fable: The Journey (360)
Far Cry 3 (360, PC, PS3)
Fashion Icon (iOS, Android)
Fez (360*)
Final Fantasy: Dimensions (iOS)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (360, PS3)
FIFA Street (PS3, 360, Vita)
Fingle (iOS)
Fix It Felix, Jr. (Browser, iOS)
Foam (PC)
Foldit (PC)
Football Manager 2013 (PC)
Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone (PC)
FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
Fluidity: Spin Cycle (3DS*)
Fly'n (PC)
Frog Fractions (Browser)
Forza Horizon (360)
Game of Thrones (360, PC, PS3)
Gateways (PC)
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (PC)
Goblet Grotto (PC)
Gotham City Imposters (360*. PC, PS3*)
Granny Smith (iOS/Android)
Gratuitous Tank Battles (PC)
Gravity Rush (Vita)
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (PSP)
Guild Wars 2 (PC)
Gungnir (PSP)
Hack, Slash, Loot (PC)
Halo 4 (360)
Happy Wars (360*)
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (3DS)
Hatoful Boyfriend (PC)
Haunt (PC)
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (360*, PC*, PS3*)
Hexagon / Super Hexagon (Android, Browser, iOS, PC)
Hero Academy (iOS, PC)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (Vita)
Hotline Miami (PC)
Home (Benjamin Rivers) (PC)
Housefly (Browser)
Howling Dogs (Browser)
Hybrid (360*)
Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2 (PS3)
I Am Alive (360*, PC, PS3*)
Ib (PC)
Illegal Crime Game (PC)
Imscared (PC)
Incredipede (PC)
Inversion (PS3, 360, PC)
Intrusion 2 (PC)
Journey (PS3*)
Just Dance 4 (360, PS3, Wii, WiiU)
Kairobotica (Android)
Kairo (PC)
Katawa Shoujo (PC)
King Arthur II (PC)
Knights of Pen and Paper (iOS, Android)
Knytt Underground (PC, PS3*, Vita)
Krater (PC)
La Mulana (PC, Wii*)
Legend of Grimrock (PC)
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (360, 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii)
Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Game (360, 3DS, NDS, PC, PS3, Wii, Vita)
Liberation Maiden (3DS*)
LiquidSketch (iOS)
Lim (Browser)
Little Inferno (PC, WiiU*)
LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3)
LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (Vita)
Lone Survivor (PC*)
Lumines: Electronic Symphony (Vita)
Katawa Shoujo (PC)
Kumiho (PC)
Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3/360/PC)
Kinect Star Wars (360)
Last Story (Wii)
Legend of Grimrock (PC)
Letterpress (iOS)
Live Forever! (PC)
Lollipop Chainsaw (360, PS3)
London 2012 (360, PC, PS3)
Madden NFL 13 (PS3, Vita, Wii, WiiU, 360)
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 (360, iOS, PC, PS3)
Major League Baseball 2K12 (360, PC, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii)
Malicious (PS3*)
Mark of the Ninja (PC, 360)
Mario Party 9 (Wii)
Mario Tennis Open (3DS)
Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC, WiiU)
Mass Effect: Infiltrator (Android, iOS)
Max Payne 3 (360, PC, PS3)
McPixel (PC, Android, iOS)
Men of War: Condemned Heroes (PC)
Miasmata (PC)
Middens (PC)
Middle Manager of Justice (iOS)
MirrorMoon (PC)
Mobiloid (PC)
Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour (iOS, Android)
ModNation Racers: Road Trip (Vita)
Moving Away (Browser)
MotorStorm RC (PS3*/Vita*)
Microsoft Flight (PC)
Mutant Mudds (3DS, PC, iOS)
Nano Assault Neo (WiiU*)
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (PS3, 360)
Nautral Selection 2 (PC)
Nugen Specter (PC)
NBA 2K13 (360, Android, iOS, PC, PS3, PSP, iOS, Wii, WiiU)
NCAA Football 13 (PS3, 360)
NeverDead (360, PS3)
New Little King's Story (Vita*)
NHL 13 (PS3, 360)
Ninja Gaiden 3 (360, PS3)
NBA Baller Beats (360)
Need For Speed: Most Wanted (360, PC, PS3, WiiU, Vita)
New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)
New Super Mario Bros U (WiiU)
Nintendo Land (WiiU)
Offspring Fling! (PC)
Of Orcs and Men (360, PC, PS3)
OFF (PC)
Orgarhythm (Vita*)
One Piece: Pirate Warriors (PS3)
Orcs Must Die! 2 (PC)
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation (PC)
Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)
Papo & Yo (PS3*)
Penny Arcade OTRSPOD 3 (360*, Android, PC, iPhone,)
Perspective (PC)
Persona 4 Arena (360*, PS3*)
Pid (360*, PC, PS3*)
Pinball Arcade (360*, Android, iOS, PC, PS3*)
Pineapple Smash Crew (PC)
Pixeljunk 4AM (PS3*)
Plague Inc. (iOS, Android)
PlanetSide 2 (PC)
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (PS3, Vita)
Pleasuredromes of Kubla Khan (PC)
Pokemon Black and White 2 (DS)
Pokemon Conquest (DS)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 (360, Android, DS, iOS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii)
Probability 0 (PC)
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (3DS)
Prototype 2 (360, PC, PS3)
Punch Quest (iOS)
Puzzlejuice (iOS)
Puzzle and Dragons (Android, iOS)
Qasir Al-Wasat: A Night In-Between (PC)
Quiet, Please! (iOS, Android)
Q.U.B.E (PC)
Quantum Conundrum (360*, PC, PS3*)
Rabbids Land (WiiU)
Radiant Defense (iOS, Android)
Ragnarok Odyssey (Vita)
Ragnarok Tactics (PSP)
Rainbow Moon (PS3*)
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (PS3*, Vita*)
Rat Chaos (Browser)
Ravaged (PC)
Really Big Sky (PC)
Red Rogue (PC)
Reprisal (Browser)
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (360, PC, PS3)
Resident Evil: Revelations (3DS)
Resident Evil 6 (360, PC, PS3)
Resistance: Burning Skies (Vita)
Retro/Grade (PS3*)
Resonance (PC)
Retro City Rampage (360*, PC, PS3*, Vita*, Wii*)
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii)
Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure (3DS)
Ridge Racer (Vita)
Ridge Racer Unbound (360, PC, PS3)
Risen 2: Dark Waters (360, PC, PS3)
Rock Band Blitz (360, PS3)
Rocket Island (Android)
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword (3DS*)
Salvation Prophecy (PC)
Scribblenauts Unlimited (3DS, PC, WiiU)
Shank 2 (360*, PC, PS3*)
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen (Vita)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (DS)
Silent Hill: Book of Memories (Vita)
Silent Hill: Downpour (360, PS3)
Sine Mora (360*, PC, PS3*, Vita)
Sound Shapes (PS3*, Vita*)
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion (PC)
Skullgirls (360*, PC, PS3*)
Skylanders: Giants (360, 3DS, PS3, Wii, WiiU)
Sleeping Dogs (360, PC, PS3)
Slender: The Eight Pages (PC, Mac)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (360, 3DS, iOS, PC, PS3, WiiU)
Sorcery (PS3)
Soul Calibur V (360, PS3)
Snapshot (PC)
Sniper Elite V2 (360, PC, PS3)
SpaceTeam (iOS)
Spelltower (iOS)
Spelunky HD (360)
Spec Ops: The Line (360, PC, PS3)
Starseed Pilgrim (PC)
SSX (360, PS3)
Starhawk (PS3)
Starseed Pilgrim (PC)
Street Fighter X Mega Man (PC)
Street Fighter X Tekken (360, iOS, PS3, PC, Vita)
Style Savvy: Trendsetters (3DS)
Super Monday Night Combat (PC)
Super Space ____
Sumioni: Demon Arts (Vita*)
Super Amazing Wagon Adventure (PC, XBLIG)
Super Monsters Ate My Condo (iOS, Android)
Syndicate (Xbox 360, PC, PS3)
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack! (Vita, PC)
Tales of Graces (PS3)
Talisman Prologue (PC)
Tape Dream (PC)
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (360, PS3, WiiU)
Teleglitch (PC)
Terra Tam: The World Warrior (Browser)
The Blackwell Legacy (PC)
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav (PC)
The Fabulous Screech (PC)
The Illogical Journey of the Zambonis (PC)
The Sea Will Claim Everything (PC)
Thomas Was Alone (PC)
Tiny & Big: Grandpa's Leftovers (PC)
The Pyraplex (Android)
The Room (iOS)
They Bleed Pixels (PC)
The Darkness II (PS3, 360, PC, OSX)
The Dark Knight Returns (iOS)
The Dream Machine (PC)
The Journey Down (iOS, PC)
The Walking Dead (iOS, 360, PC, PS3)
The Secret World (PC)
The Real Texas (PC)
The Republia Times (Browser)
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (360, PC, PS3)
The Unfinished Swan (PS3*)
Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (3DS)
Thirty Flights of Loving (PC)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (360, PC, PS3)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online (PC, WiiU)
Tokyo Jungle (PS3)
Torchlight 2 (PC)
Total War Shogun: Battles (iOS, Android, PC)
Touch My Katamari (Vita)
Transformers Prime: The Game (3DS, NDS, Wii, WiiU)
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PC, PS3, 360)
Trials Evolution (360*)
Tribes: Ascend (PC)
Twisted Metal (PS3)
Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita)
Unmanned (Browser, PC)
Unit 13 (Vita)
Unmechanical (PC)
Unstoppable Gorg (PC)
Vanguard Princess (PC)
Velocity (PSP*, PS3*, Vita)
Vesper.5 (PC)
Vessel (PC)
Vidiot Game (PC)
WWE '13 (360, PS3, Wii)
War of the Human Tanks (PC)
War of the Roses (PC)
Wargame: European Escalation (PC)
Waking Mars (Android, iOS, PC)
Warlock: Master of the Arcane (PC)
Warriors Orochi 3 (PS3, 360, WiiU)
Way of the Samurai 4 (PS3)
When Vikings Attack! (PS3*/Vita*)
Wild Blood (iOS, Android)
Wipeout 2048 (Vita)
Wreckattear (360*)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360, PC, PS3)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3)
You Have to Win the Game (PC)
Ys Origin (PC, Vita)
Zaga-33 (iOS, PC)
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS, Vita)
ZiGGURAT (iOS)
ZooKeeper Battle (iOS/Android)
ZombiU (WiiU)
Posts
is
Also, some more fodder because I can't just leave you be :v
Dungeon Village (Android, iOS)
Kairobotica (Android)
The Pyraplex (Android)
I don't THINK the latter two were released on iOS, but I'm not sure.
Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time (PSP)
maybe
And although Persona 4 is definitely the best game this year it would be a real stretch to say that it is eligible : (
Street Fighter even less eligible.
Ragnarok Tactics (PSP)
It is at once as awful as you would imagine a Ragnarok Online tactical RPG would be and not nearly as neat as you would imagine a Ragnarok Online tactical RPG would be : (
Also Linux and OSX if they need to be added.
Sound Shapes (Vita/PS3)
Symphony (PC)
Home (PC)
Thirty Flights of Loving (PC/iOS)
Bang Bang Racing (PC)
edit: Cook Serve Delicious (PC/iOS/iPad) - I spent an embarrassing amount of time on that game...
Lumines: Electronic Symphony (Vita)
No nominations from me because I am poor.
Dyad (PS3*)
Pinball Arcade (iOS, Android, 360*, PS3*, Mac)
Sine Mora (360*, PS3*, Vita, PC)
Wargame: European Escalation (PC)
Skullgirls (360*, PS3*, PC)
Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita)
Retro/Grade (PS3*)
Shank 2 (PS3*, 360*, PC)
Tiny & Big: Grandpa's Leftovers (PC)
Gotham City Imposters (360*. PS3*, PC)
Prototype 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Papo & Yo (PS3*)
Deadlight (360*, PC)
Hybrid (360*)
Hero Academy (iOS, PC, Mac)
Sorry I like being thorough
I think when you make the main poll it might be worth mentioning that you're counting Xenoblade Chronicles as a 2012 game because people who bought the original European release or imported it might not realise
XBL, Steam & Tribes: elmartino333
The only nominations that I can think of at the moment that haven't been named are:
Ace of Spades (PC)
SpaceTeam (iOS)
Mixer: Kestrel1 | Twitch: KestrelTV
Fly'n (PC)
Dota 2 (PC)
Dota 2 is kinda still beta, but availability has been ramped up heavily in the last few months, so I'd say include it.
This is a clickable link to my Steam Profile.
10000000 (iOS)
Suggestions:
Red Rogue (PC)
Incredipede (PC)
Thomas Was Alone (PC)
Cart Life (PC)
Teleglitch (PC)
Starseed Pilgrim (PC)
Cave Story for 3DS on the eShop and Sword and Sworcery for PC don't qualify because they are the same game on a different platform. But I think P4G should count because it has a bunch of extra content.
Oh and THANK YOU MCC!
New Little King's Story (Vita*)
Crimson Shroud (3DS*)
Aeroporter (3DS*)
Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown (PS3, 360)
Super Monday Night Combat (PC)
AirMech (PC)
Microsoft Flight (PC)
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Chaos on Deponia (PC)
Anna (PC)
Book of Unwritten Tales (PC)
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav (PC)
Resonance (PC)
The Blackwell Legacy (PC)
To the Moon (PC)
Unmechanical (PC)
Steam: abunchofdaftpunk | PSN: noautomobilesgo | Lastfm: sjchszeppelin | Backloggery: colincummings | 3DS FC: 1392-6019-0219 |
I've been playing this since (secret) santa got me a Vita. It's awesome and is in my top five for the year.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Contributing writer at Marooner's Rock
Twitch broadcasting! Currently playing through Wing Commander: Privateer
Pinny Lanyard
Army Corps of Hell (Vita*)
DJMAX Technika Tune (Vita)
Dokuro (Vita*)
Dynasty Warriors Next (Vita)
Escape Plan (Vita*)
ModNation Racers: Road Trip (Vita)
MotorStorm RC (PS3*/Vita*)
Orgarhythm (Vita*)
Resistance: Burning Skies (Vita)
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen (Vita)
Sumioni: Demon Arts (Vita*)
Unit 13 (Vita)
When Vikings Attack! (PS3*/Vita*)
Not sure how many, if any, would be on any top lists, but they came out last year and it's just all about representation.
Super Monsters Ate My Condo (iOS, Android)
Knights of Pen and Paper (iOS, Android)
Draw a Stickman Epic (iOS, Android, Win8)
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
What is this game, can you give me a link to it? I'm not even gonna try searching for that in Google
Didn't add new VF5 (VF5 was on list in 2007), didn't add DOTA2 (not released yet)
Thanks all
Here's the steam page. It's the other 2D pixel art survival horror game.
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (PS3*, 360*, PC*)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (Vita)
Rainbow Moon (PS3*)
And a few fixes:
Tokyo Jungle (360, PS3) Sony developed
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack! (Vita*, PC*) Ported to Steam like 6 months after the Vita version
Velocity (PSP*, PS3*, Vita*) It's a PSP Minis title, so playable on all three platforms
Papi y Yo (PS3*) I assume this is meant to be Papo & Yo? Might want to correct the name or people will probably get confused
Virtue's Last Reward (3DS) and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS, Vita) are the exact same game
I also noticed a lot of ordering mistakes (like all the K games in the middle of the L's), so you may want to copy it into a text editor (like Notepad++) and run a sorting algorithm on it (like TextFX).
As for the penalty box, while I'd like to vote for P4G, as I never got the chance originally, I find it hard to justify it. I vote that none of those 4 games get nominated.
Knytt Underground (PC, PS3*, Vita) Available on PC too.
Dikembe Mutombo's 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World (Browser)
Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone (PC)
War of the Human Tanks (PC)
Oh, and I think Persona 4 Golden should definitely be included. It had a lot of new content/changes that made it different enough from the PS2 version.