Okay, so 2013 didn't quite turn into the "Year of the Kickstarter" we once imagined, as many high-profile releases were knocked back to 2014. That didn't mean a shortage of quality titles, however, each equally deserving of our attention. But which ones are deserving of the year's Aggie Award hardware? That is the question.

We don't have an answer for you just yet (or rather, we do, but we want to drag out the suspense a while longer), but we are willing to narrow down the pool to our top five finalists in their respective categories.

Speaking of Kickstarter, noticeable by their absence will be the two "broken" games. We're talking about Broken Age and Broken Sword, of course. Both of them arrived with a bang, but having been split into two, they remain unfinished to date. As impressed as we were by the games so far, it's not fair to judge them on the merits of only half a game. Ditto for The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead: Season Two, which have only teased us with promising first episodes so far.

Conspicuous by their presence this year is an abundance of non-traditional adventure games. As developers continue to push the conventional envelope, we're being treated to an unprecedented level of new and creative ways of melding story, exploration, and puzzles (often in varying degrees). For every diehard adventurer whose head this causes to explode, there are many others re-embracing a genre that's daring to break out of the limited formats of yesteryear. There are still lots of classic-style releases contending as well, obviously. Just like the genre itself, there's room for both old- and new-school in our Aggie Award consideration.

No matter what you think of our choices, you'll soon have the chance to vote on your own faves in our upcoming reader poll. The final Aggie Awards presentation will run from Wednesday to Friday, February 19-21, so don't wander off if you want to know which of the following games (listed in alphabetical order) are destined for bloated acceptance speeches.





Best Story

One of the core components of any adventure, the game’s narrative must engage the player’s interest and imagination. Entertaining in its own right, a good story also immerses the player in a believable game world and serves as motivation to overcome the challenges presented. While often accompanied by quality writing, the plot is a distinct feature that may or may not be ably supported by the actual dialogue.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Gone Home

Lost Echo

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief

Best Writing – Comedy

Arguably the hardest genre to write well, comedy done right has the ability both to amuse and uplift, finding humour in the ordinary and laughter in the unexpected. Often dismissed for not being “serious writing” (oh, the irony!), comedy has long been a beloved adventure staple and deserves appropriate recognition.

Astroloco: Worst Contact

The Cave

Fester Mudd: Curse of the Gold – Episode 1: A Fistful of Pocket Lint

Goodbye Deponia

The Night of the Rabbit

Best Writing – Drama

If comedy lifts the soul, then drama explores and challenges it. Though sometimes misrepresented as dry and boring or overly theatrical, a gripping drama simply engages players on a deeper emotional level. Quality writing is essential in maintaining the player’s connection to the characters, game world, and the story unfolding.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Gone Home

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies

The Walking Dead: 400 Days

Best Character

Gabriel Knight... Tex Murphy... April Ryan... Guybrush Threepwood. These names roll off the tongue of any adventure gamer as a testament to the importance of compelling protagonists in an adventure. But just as important are the villains, sidekicks, and significant supporting characters, which are often the juiciest parts. This category recognizes those who have made the most memorable contribution, regardless of role.

Jodie Holmes (BEYOND: Two Souls)

The Cave (The Cave)

Sam (Gone Home)

Jerry Hazelnut (The Night of the Rabbit)

Constable Zellner (The Raven)

Best Gameplay

Puzzles are an integral aspect of adventure gameplay, but not the only one. Good pacing, rich exploration, and variety of activities are all factors in player enjoyment as well, all suitably integrated into the storyline. The best games seek the right balance of these elements for the most rewarding gameplay experience.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller - Episodes 2-4

Papers, Please

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

Best Concept

A somewhat ambiguous category meant to highlight any unusual, distinctive element. A creative concept can run the gamut from story premise to game mechanics, from stylistic choice to technical innovation. It doesn’t even need to have been successfully implemented, as it’s the idea itself that deserves the acknowledgement in a genre renowned for its conservative approach.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

DEVICE 6

Gone Home

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts1 and 2

Papers, Please

Best Setting

Adventures can transport us to memorable places we’ve never been before, including those we never even imagined. Or perhaps to locales we’ve visited already, but never quite like this, making them feel fresh and new and awe-inspiring all over again. This category can refer to an overall game world or even a single environment in a given game so long as it’s a relevant location.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Gone Home

Goodbye Deponia

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Lilly Looking Through

Best Graphic Design

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this category speaks volumes. Regardless of style, this award recognizes games that are not only visually attractive but stylistically distinctive. One look at a screenshot should elicit a “Wow!” followed by “Hey, that’s from…!” Includes both game world and character design, but not cinematics.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Lilly Looking Through

Memoria

Best Animation

From “bustling” city streets that look deserted to clouds that never move, animation is rarely a genre strong suit, often the victim of budget constraints. But richly animated adventures add so much to player immersion that any game that goes the extra mile in this area is deserving of appreciation. This category includes in-game character and ambient animations, plus cinematic cutscenes.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Goodbye Deponia

Lilly Looking Through

The Walking Dead: 400 Days

Best Music

As a complementary element playing in the background, often a game’s soundtrack is noticeable only when it becomes intrusive, but a strong score and attention to pacing can add so much to a game’s ambience. A catchy theme song can likewise make game music memorable, and an in-game musical number even more so. Whatever its particular strengths, the rare game that excels musically deserves its accolades.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

BEYOND: Two Souls

Gone Home

Lilly Looking Through

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief

Best Voice Acting

Often under-valued by publishers but never by gamers, quality voice acting can enhance a player’s investment in characters as surely as poor acting can ruin it. With so much international localization, voiceovers can be difficult to skillfully oversee, but any game benefits greatly from proper direction and believable acting. This category refers to the overall quality of vocal roles in a game, not to individual characters.

BEYOND: Two Souls

The Cave

Gone Home

The Night of the Rabbit

The Walking Dead: 400 Days

Best Sound Effects

As with music, sound effects are frequently given short shrift in adventures, but effective use of audio adds a vital layer of moody ambience. You may not be able to put your finger on the reason, but some games make you feel like you’re really there, and often the atmospheric sounds have drawn you in subconsciously.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

ASA: A Space Adventure

BEYOND: Two Souls

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Papers, Please

Best Independent Adventure

Some independent studios release their games commercially, but with no external publisher backing or secure distribution channels (at least at first). These self-published titles rarely get the attention (or sales) they often deserve, and the best of them merit a closer look from anyone who’s overlooked them to date. This list does not include games from companies fully established as publishers, even if they develop games internally.

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Gone Home

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Lilly Looking Through

Papers, Please

Best Console/Handheld Adventure (Exclusive)

The home console and handheld platforms haven’t quite championed a genre resurgence like we once hoped they might, but there were still several quality titles released in the past year. To avoid duplication, the following includes only those games exclusive to non-PC platforms. Ports are not deemed to be original releases, and are therefore ineligible.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Lost Echo

Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies

rain

Year Walk

Best Non-Traditional Adventure

For a genre that’s remained largely unchanged for decades, it’s actually got a rich history of experimental titles that push the creative envelope in unique, memorable ways. They don’t “evolve” or “redefine” adventures, but rather expand our understanding of what an adventure can we with their bold vision. Purists may resist, but this award honours those games that stretch beyond traditional genre conventions to offer something completely new, or at least present the familiar in imaginative new ways.

BEYOND: Two Souls

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Gone Home

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Lilly Looking Through

Best Traditional Adventure

Why mess with a good thing? While innovative adventures provide a welcome breath of fresh air, the lifeblood of the genre continues to be the many games that closely adhere to the comfortable, tried-and-true design formulas. Full of inventory and logic puzzles, memorable character dialogue, epic storylines and immersive exploration controlled with an intuitive point-and-click interface, they may not have changed much since Monkey Island and Myst, but they’re no less enjoyable when done well.

Goodbye Deponia

Lost Echo

Memoria

The Night of the Rabbit

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief

Best Adventure of 2013

No sneak peeks! A winner has already been decided, but we're not tipping our hand. Join us February 19-21 to find out!



Final Notes

To be eligible, a game must have been launched through digital distribution, self-published online, or commercially released in either North America or the United Kingdom in the calendar year 2013.

Although their respective first episodes were released in 2013, Broken Age, Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse, The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us will be carried over to 2014.

The first two episodes of Bot Colony were made available to purchase in 2013 but are still in beta, so the game not yet eligible.





Complete list of eligible games



PC/Mac (includes multi-platform releases)



Adventures of Max Fax

Alone in the Park

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

ASA: A Space Adventure

Astroloco: Worst Contact

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

The Cave

Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller – Episodes 2-4

Cold Case Summer

Conspirocracy

Detective Case and Clown Bot: Murder in the Hotel Lisbon

Dominique Pamplemousse in "It's All Over Once the Fat Lady Sings!"

Doorways: Chapter 1 and 2

Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon

Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy

Dream Chamber

The Dream Machine: Chapter 4

Dreamscapes: The Sandman

Eleusis

Face Noir

Fester Mudd: Curse of the Gold – Episode 1: A Fistful of Pocket Lint

Finding Teddy

Gomo

Gone Home

Goodbye Deponia

Helga Deep in Trouble

Hypnosis HD

The Inheritance

The Inner World

The Inquisitor: Book 1 – The Plague

Jack Haunt: Old Haunting Grounds

Jack Keane 2: The Fire Within

Journey of a Roach

Kentucky Route Zero: Acts 1 and 2

Lilly Looking Through

Master Reboot

Memoria

Montague's Mount: Episode One

Murder in Tehran's Alleys 1933

Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths

Namariel Legends: Iron Lord

Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall

Nancy Drew: The Silent Spy

Nancy the Happy Whore and the Perfidious Petrol Station

Necrotic Drift Deluxe

The Night of the Rabbit

Nightmare Adventures: The Turning Thorn

Oknytt

Papers, Please

Quantumnauts: Chapter 2 - Black Hole Happens

The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief

Reversion: Chapter 2 – The Meeting

Richard & Alice

Secret Files: Sam Peters

Tiny Thief

Violett

The Walking Dead: 400 Days



Console/Handheld (exclusives)



BEYOND: Two Souls (PS3)

Blackbar (iOS)

The Curse of Shadow House (iOS)

DEVICE 6 (iOS)

Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery: Episode 1 – A Bump in the Night (iOS/Vita)

Layton Brothers: Mystery Room (iOS)

Lost Echo (iOS)

Maniac Manors (iOS)

Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies (3DS)

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (3DS)

rain (PS3)

The Starship Damrey (3DS)

Year Walk (iOS)