We Got This Covered’s 12 Most Surprising Games Of 2014

As we inch ever closer to the final days of 2014, the We Got This Covered staff took the time to think back in retrospect and remember not the greatest or most disappointing games of the year -- we've already touched those bases -- but the titles that took us by surprise. The result was a list of software that weren't tethered with much hype or anticipation in the build-up to release, but still managed to exceed expectations to collectively stupefy us in the best possible way. So while we've long heard of Far Cry 4's greatness, the fact that Destiny is, for all intents and purposes, a flawed masterpiece, along with Mario Kart 8's excellence, it's time now to usher some of 2014's more unassuming and, perhaps, lesser-played releases into the limelight for your consideration. Those pleasant surprises that stole our free time and, ultimately, deserved more attention that they got in the first place. Without further ado and in no particular order, here are twelve of the biggest surprises in gaming for the year of 2014. 12) Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII In a world filled with sequels that refuse to truly switch things up, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII stood out by choosing to shift away from what the other entries in the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy series brought to the table. By doing so, Square Enix brought the largely disappointing Final Fantasy XIII saga to a satisfying close. While the plot, which once again focuses on the boringly stoic Lightning, limps to a conclusion, the gameplay more than rises to the occasion. Doing away with the rest of the cast from the previous two entries, Lightning Returns features the titular god battling all by herself. Instead of being able to switch between party members, Lightning can instead switch outfits, which represent different fighting styles. The combat engine also does away with the Paradigm Shift engine that had been used in the two other Final Fantasy XIII titles. Instead, through the use of different Schematas, or outfits, it feels more like the style of gameplay you would see in a Bioware title. More action-oriented than ever before, Lightning Returns also feels more alive and thrilling from a gameplay perspective. Another thing to note here is that being able to travel between four sizeable worlds lends the franchise a needed feel of non-linearity. Both XIII and XIII-2 were heavily criticized for feeling way to linear for an RPG. With the Doomsday Clock constantly ticking away, players are now free to tackle missions in any order they please. What makes Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII so surprising though is that not only is it great, but that it is great because it chooses to ignore the previous concepts established by the franchise. It’s not often that a series could overhaul itself in such a way that it feels completely fresh from its predecessors. 11) Pix The Cat Imagine if Pac-Man and Snake had a baby. Now imagine if that baby took a hit of acid. I’m not an expert on DNA, or recreational drug use, but I imagine that Pix the Cat may just be the result found here. Sprung from the team over at Pastagames (Rayman Jungle Run), Pix the Cat is deceptively simple looking at first glance. As Pix, you’ll collect the assorted eggs spread across a level, which then hatch into ducklings. Never mind the fact that a cat guiding ducklings is preposterous, you’ll then guide these ducklings into their home. However, much like Snake, you can’t cross your own tail, which proves to be a tall task as things progress. While that sounds fairly average, what separates Pix the Cat is the pulsating and colorful levels. Each level only takes 20-30 seconds to clear, but every single one will leave an impression, whether it’s from the vivid color scheme or from shrinking in size in order to grab some tiny eggs. Of course, once you take that first hit of Pix, you’ll find yourself constantly returning. The simplicity of the gameplay lends itself to being insanely addictive. It’s the type of game where you’ll find yourself saying “Just one more run,” and then later one realize you just spend the last hour chilling on your couch controlling a neon colored cat. Released during a crowded month on PlayStation Plus (Spelunky and Dust: An Elysian Tale were among the notables), Pix the Cat was easily my most played title of the bunch. Endlessly addictive and gloriously absurd, it is, surprisingly, one of the best puzzlers currently found on the PlayStation 4. 10) Alien: Isolation The very moment Alien: Isolation was announced, it became burdened with a very specific breed of expectation. Releasing a mere eighteen months after the abomination that was Colonial Marines, many believed it would be a monstrous flash in the pan -- a title that wouldn't have the capacity to step out of the shadow of its spiritual predecessor and be thereby doomed to failure. But credit to The Creative Assembly for delivering not only one of the most surprising games of the last twelve months, but one of the best horror experiences in recent memory. While Colonial Marines honed inspiration from James Cameron's Aliens and the balls-to-the-walls action it evoked, Alien: Isolation scales that back to where it all began: Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece. Putting players into the shoes of one Amanda Ripley, The Creative Assembly's title is an exercise in bone-chilling atmosphere. Having gained access to a mountain of archival material from 20th Century Fox, the developing team were able to render Sevastopol station to retro-futuristic perfection; so much so, in fact, that you'd believe you were exploring a deleted scene from Scott's film. But what is an Alien game with the indelible Xenomorph. H.R. Giger's serpentine, nightmare-inducing beast may have teetered towards the point of saturation of late, but Isolation reintroduces audiences to the acid-spewing goliath in style. By making the Xenomorph procedurally-generated, The Creative Assembly have crafted a true slice of terror, as players have to constantly adjust their strategy in order to gingerly creep past the unrelenting extra-terrestrial. It's a phenomenal and memorable experience made all the more exhilarating by the game's stellar sound design and setting. Naysayers be damned, Alien: Isolation was exactly what the long-running franchise needed after being relegated to a generic action series. 9) Child of Light There's no doubting that Ubisoft, as a studio, experienced a turbulent end to the year what with Assassin's Creed: Unity and, to a lesser extent, Far Cry 4 running into an array of launch issues right off the bat. But a disappointing conclusion can't undermine the eye-catching arrivals of Valiant Hears: The Great War and, crucially, Child of Light earlier in the year, which showcased a much more diverse side of the French publisher. Infused with a rich strand of JRPG sensibilities, Child of Light was released as a passion project from one Patrick Plourde -- creative director of Far Cry 3 -- and told the story of Aurora, a flame-haired young girl hoping to reunite with her mother. It's a touching, coming-of-age story made all the more powerful by the serene fairytale aesthetic that encapsulates it seamlessly. Told entirely in rhyme, Ubisoft's avant-garde title taps into some of the core tenets of the genre and yet introduces some new-fangled features that fit perfectly into its lush, watercolor-styled world. Chief among those is the combat system. Balancing the active timed battle system found in Final Fantasy and its ilk with dynamic, turn-based features that allow players to interrupt enemies (and vice versa), the encounters within Child of Light are much more challenging than you would expect. In fact, the tactical combat system is one filled with depth, meaning that the small amount of grinding that you are required to do is more fun than chore. Since release, there have been murmurings that Ubisoft are exploring the option of a sequel to Child of Light coming off the back of excellent sales. Whatever the outcome, the publisher has laid a gorgeous foundation along with a colorful cast of characters -- not to mention the wonderful Igniculus -- and we're cautiously optimistic to see what the company does next with the gorgeous UbiArt engine. 8) South Park: The Stick of Truth While South Park certainly hasn’t gone the way of The Simpsons just yet, it’s managed to survive for almost two decades with hardly a stumble to be seen. That is, if you’re not paying attention to their video game releases, all of which have been notoriously bad and downright ugly. Wanting to do things right, Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to work closely with Obsidian Entertainment to finally create a faithful adaptation of their life’s work. Not only did South Park: The Stick of Truth turn out to be a good game, it actually ended up being one of the year’s best. Taking more than a few notes from Paper Mario, the turn-based RPG elements were surprisingly well-done (if not a tad simplistic), and the trademark brand of humor that Stone and Parker brought to the game kept it from getting stale. It’s hard to remember the last time a game this funny was also this much fun to play, so extra kudos to both Obsidian and the South Park team for crafting a genuinely hilarious game that doesn’t hurt to experience. Stuffed full of moments that had fans laughing for weeks just thinking about them, The Stick of Truth may have saved some of the best laughs from the past few seasons for itself. Licensed games have been surprisingly great this year, and The Stick of Truth was one of the best in 2014. Remaining faithful to its source material, both visually and in attitude, it served as a reminder that not every game based off of a successful series has to be a shameless cash-grab. Rather, they can give you a chance to battle gnomes underneath your lusty parents. 7) P.T. Having crept unassumingly onto the PlayStation Store off the back of Gamescom, many players didn't know what to expect of P.T.. At the very least, we knew by the teaser trailer that the PlayStation-exclusive title was a horror experience of some kind, but it was only when people booted up Hideo Kojima's clandestine masterclass and ventured down that by-now infamous corridor for the first time that it slowly became apparent. It was, essentially, a playable teaser. A most unusual (and wholly brilliant) marketing campaign to reveal Kojima and Guillermo del Toro's new-fangled Silent Hills. It was an Easter Egg that took some time to figure, given that players had to dance to a very specific beat in the closing stages, but when the secret got out, P.T. was lauded with praise. And while it's easy to dismiss Kojima's experimental horror game as a mere stepping stone for Silent Hills, the power, atmosphere and indeed quality of P.T. can't be overstated. One of the core tenets of any good horror experience regardless of medium is pacing, and it's here that P.T. really flexes its distorted muscles. For the uninitiated, the teaser has you explore the same corridor over and over in an endless loop; like the Penrose steps, only much more terrifying. With each passing journey, players discover a new clue that helps progress the surprisingly engaging story of one man's decent into insanity. And that's exactly where this game excels. Stalked by the vengeful spirit of Lisa, the halls soon become distorted passages in the mind of your silent protagonist, with blood splatters and a mutilated sink baby hinting at the unspeakable tragedy that unfolded prior to your visit. As a playable teaser, it establishes the tone and production values of what's to come rather wonderfully, but as a standalone experience, P.T. is one of the best horror titles of the year. 6) Velocity 2X Before it was even released, developer Futurlab billed Velocity 2X -- the sequel to 2013's PlayStation Mini -- as two games in one. Mixing space-faring arcade gameplay with platforming action, the studio's follow-up iterated on all of the core ideas of its predecessor with aplomb. Offering up silky-smooth gameplay within a gorgeous, far-future setting, Velocity 2X tasks players with ploughing through a selection of missions collecting as many of the elusive Rekenium shards as they go. As far as set-ups go, it's about as by-the-numbers as they come, but levels are so expertly designed -- allowing you to flit between your Quarp jet and foot travel intermittently -- that it becomes difficult to deny the game's inherent appeal. In fact, playing on the Vita takes this to a whole new level, considering how you can blaze through numerous levels in a small period of time (skill dependent), making Futurlab's sequel the perfect commuting companion. It won't be remembered for its story nor its world-building, but Velocity 2X offers up a slice of platforming that is near-perfect. Now excuse us while we circle back to try and perfect all of our level scores. 5) Transistor Every year, there's always seems to be that one title that comes along and simply blows you away. For me, that title was Transistor. Supergiant Games' sophomore effort -- following up on the critically adorned Bastion -- bore certain similarities to its next of kin, including the isometric camera angle and silent protagonist, but the studio's latest is arguably a more refined package that its spiritual forebearer. Chronicling the poignant story of Red, the game takes place in the cyberpunk city of Cloudbank -- a city controlled by a benevolent breed of artificial intelligence known as the Camerata. All of this is portrayed in one of the most visually astute art styles of the year, and Supergiant has created a protagonist that is as interesting as she is mysterious. Couple this with a wonderful, almost haunting soundtrack that perfectly reflects the environments and a combat system so deep you'll have to explore the new game + mode to truly unearth all of the possible permutations, and you have an indie title that earns its title of a beautiful and compelling RPG. It's unique in a genre renown for grinding and repetition. Its battle system is as bold experiment that pays off in droves, and Supergiant's wonderful art style helped cement Transistor's reputation as a game that we won't be forgetting anytime soon. 4) Murdered: Soul Suspect Released just a month before its developer shut its doors for good, Murdered: Soul Suspect ended up being a curious swan song for a group that had yet to make a name for itself. Putting players in control of a detective’s ghost, following his unexpected demise at the hand of a strange killer, Murdered exists as a bit of a niche title. As such, it’s no surprise that it debuted to middling reviews. However, given that its development was difficult, and that it resulted from Square Enix’s plan to develop something that catered to Western gamers, the simple fact that it at least turned out to be pretty good is a victory in itself. In fact, given the title’s development woes, its developer’s problems and its abnormal structure, we admittedly expected very little from it, and were surprised by the quality of what we received. Sure, it wasn’t a masterful offering or a wholly memorable experience, but we can live with that. That said, if you’re not a fan of slow-paced games, this one will never appeal to you, no matter how hard you force things. It’s methodical and precise, and requires you to use your head, as you attempt to solve puzzles and find clues that lead towards the unknown killer’s identity. That means a lot of walking, talking and inspecting. One of the best things about the game, though, was its use of the paranormal. Not only was the main character a ghost himself, but the plot was far from natural or ‘normal.’ That made what could’ve been a bland experience a much more interesting one, and kept us invested until the credits rolled. 3) Nidhogg Despite their lethal nature, swords and other sharpened weapons often feel blunt when used in most fighting games. For instance, if I play Soulcalibur, I shouldn’t be able to slash someone in the head with a sword and have them be just fine. Nidhogg understands this, which is part of the reason why the gameplay is as engaging as it is. There is little background to Nidhogg, as players are thrust into a duel right off the bat. Armed with swords, players can hold their weapons at three different heights: high, medium and low. Mastering the art of the duel is key, as placement can either lead to a successful disarm or a weapon through the gut. Although killing is important, the real goal is to get to your opponent's side and get swallowed by a massive mythological worm. Yes, you read that right. The simple, yet complex gameplay of Nidhogg also extends to its graphics. The bright, but appealing 2D sprites look like they could have been possible on the Atari 2600. At the same time, though, the animations are crisp and lively, and there are plenty of details to be spotted in each level. In a year filled with excellent party titles, Nidhogg stands out by how much it can straddle the line between simplistic fighter and carefully balanced duel. Multiplayer battles can range in time from anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, as a game of tug of war brews between friends and family. Knowing that death is just a simple mistake away, tensions are quick to rise, which to me, is important in my multiplayer games. I want my friends to know that death is coming for them, and I don’t care if that makes me sound like a monster. 2) Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc It’s almost difficult to describe Danganronpa as a surprising title simply because its existence was hardly noticed by anyone who didn’t really care about the visual novel genre. Luckily, word of mouth spread about the unique story and Phoenix Wright-ish class trials gameplay, and Western audiences began to take notice. What we found was an intriguing murder mystery full of memorable characters, murderous teddy bears and intense courtroom drama. It’s a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to gameplay, switching between story-drive point-and-click and verbal battles to solve each murder, but the story just got better and better with each death. Steeped in the cheesy territory most Japanese titles reach at one point or another, some of Danganronpa’s dialogue elicited more laughter than drama, but the cheesiness added even more to its charm. It has a distinctive style and soundtrack that manage to draw players into the scenario naturally, creating an eerie atmosphere in Hope’s Peak Academy that is utterly oppressive and relentless. If you’ve never been interested in the visual novel genre or just feel like you never would be, then give Danganronpa a try, as it serves as a great entry point. By twisting some of the more boring elements that make up the genre into something entirely new and different, it creates a game that is both successful at pulling in newcomers and at satisfying genre veterans. And most people hardly even know it exists. 1) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Every year, numerous licensed games make their way to market, but only the odd few ever end up being noteworthy. It’s a cycle that has persisted in gaming for as long as I can remember, and is cheekily referred to as a curse by those in the know. One game that avoided the norm and wasn’t hampered by the issues that most licensed titles fall victim to, was 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor from Monolith Productions (F.E.A.R.). Despite being based around one of the world’s most popular and expansive pieces of English fiction, the game catapulted itself into Game of the Year contention thanks to addictive gameplay, inventive mechanics and an impressive amount of polish. And, seeing as we were unsure of what to expect from it, the fact that it turned out to be as good as it did has resulted in it being one of the most surprising games of the calendar year. Although Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor obviously borrowed elements from Ubisoft’s venerable Assassin’s Creed games, it introduced something great that we’ll hopefully see more of. That is, the Nemesis system, wherein the game world’s enemies live within a hierarchy. Those who kill targets, like main character Talion, are promoted, and can achieve such high status as that of a Warchief. However, though it doesn’t always work in his favour, Talion is also able to use this system to his advantage, by meddling with minor players’ minds and helping them become promoted. By doing so, he’s able to spread his influence throughout the Uruks and instill those under his control in pivotal positions. Within the next two or three years, it would be great to see a sequel to this impressive game. After all, now that Monolith has succeeded at creating a solid base formula, they’ll be able to expand upon it in interesting ways. However, in order to keep things fresh, they’ll need to stay away from the annual release cycle that threatens to make their main competitor old hat.