Before we dive in to the list, a reminder that Ars Technica's annual charity drive sweepstakes is still going on. Don't miss your chance to win some great prizes while giving to a good cause.

2014 was a difficult year to pin down in gaming. A number of highly anticipated AAA blockbusters ended up letting down both critics and many players with horrible narratives (Watch Dogs), broken design (Assassin's Creed: Unity), too-punishing difficulty (Alien: Isolation), or underwhelming repetitiveness (Destiny). A lot of the best games of the year actually came out in some form in previous years (Hearthstone, The Last of Us Remastered, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Grand Theft Auto V's re-release) and thus didn't feel like they belonged on a list highlighting what was truly new in 2014.

On the independent side, there were a lot of interesting experiments but few stand-out, bona fide hits that will stick with us the way Papers, Please or Gone Home have in years past. In the middle were plenty of games that were endearing (Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker), well-constructed (Shovel Knight), enjoyably brutal (Dark Souls II), or just plain silly (Goat Simulator). But most didn't stand out enough to really represent the year.

So after much debate and discussion among the Ars editor brain trust, we've come up with this list of 20 games that we feel represent the best and most interesting titles of the year. It's a bit of a mish-mash of titles with only a top few that really stand out above the rest as true classics. Still, these are the games we think people will look back on and remember when they think about the muddled past 12 months in gaming.

20) Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Gearbox, 2K Australia2KWindows, Xbox 360, PS3October 14, 2014

It's easy to write Borderlands: The Pre-sequel off as just more of the same, a rehash of the two collect-a-ton-of-weapons shooters that came before it. I'd argue this wouldn't be that bad even if it was the case. The Borderlands series has always joined solid shooting action with interesting, RPG-style level-up skills and mechanics, pithy one-liner dialogue, and an engrossing loot reward loop that's constantly throwing out bigger and better weapons as a carrot to push you along. The Pre-sequel is no different in this regard.

But the latest Borderlands also brings its own twist, in the form of some intriguing low-gravity gameplay. The game's new moon setting not only means you have to keep an eye on oxygen levels, but also that you can traverse the environments with long, languorous, floaty double jumps. Add in a powerful butt-slam attack, and you have a mechanic that completely changes the way gunfights play out compared to the first two Borderlands games, allowing for more aggressive, three-dimensional attack strategies that are extremely satisfying. It may not be the most original game on this list, but it was one of the most pure gaming experiences we had all year.

-Kyle Orland

19) Super Time Force





Capybara GamesXbox One, Xbox 360May 14, 2014

2014 was a pretty good year for the Contra-styled run-and-gun throwback; we got to sink our teeth into the high-quality likes of Broforce, Mercenary Kings, and Risk of Rain (which is super brilliant, but technically launched in late 2013). When asked to pick this year’s best game to draw inspiration from the likes of Gunstar Heroes, my vote has to go toward Capy Games’ Super Time Force.

Here is the rare game I actually wish didn’t fall into the usual retro-styled aesthetic trap; it’s the only thing holding back Super Time Force’s delightful bombast, which players must visually navigate both during live shooting sequences and when they pause the action to rewind and respawn as one of many companion heroes. I’d kill for a Saturday morning-themed refresh, with more hand-drawn art that looks like the clear-yet-shoddy animation stylings of G.I. Joe. Other than that, Capy’s ingenious time-travel gimmick makes this game’s epic shootouts that much more interesting to pull off. I’ll probably replay the whole thing again once I put some money down on the “Ultra” version currently on PC (and coming to PlayStation systems next year, as well).

-Sam Machkovech

18) Monument Valley

Developer/Publisher: Ustwo

Platforms: iOS, Android

Release Date: April 3, 2014

If M.C. Escher were to design a video game, it would end up looking like Monument Valley. Think of it as the long-delayed update to the long-dormant maze game genre that was a force in early arcades and home consoles of the '70s and '80s, but Monument Valley has a mind- and space-bending three-dimensional twist that makes it feel completely fresh for a new audience. With a flick of the touchscreen to rotate the playfield, walls becomes floors, floors become stairways, and paths that were inaccessible across a wide gap become easy to traverse. After an hour or so playing Monument Valley, you'll find your mind trying to rearrange the real world in the same pretzel-twisty ways for the rest of the day.

It doesn't hurt that Monument Valley is graced with one of the most delicate and beautiful presentations on an iDevice, especially when played on an iPad with a retina display. Gentle pastel colors dot landscapes rendered in sharp, easy-to-parse angles combined with the gentle, haunting music to create a brain-teaser that relaxes you even as it tickles your lateral thinking muscles. While this gentle gem is over much too quickly, a $1.99 DLC update came out in November to extend the experience. We hope it's just the first of many.

-Kyle Orland

Listing image by Aurich vs DC