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The end of a console cycle is always one of the most exciting times for gaming. While the encroaching Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ate up a lot of media attention throughout the year, veteran developers with years of experience on older hardware proved that there was still some life in the systems that would technically be “last generation” by year’s end. Those developers created some of the most epic cinematic gaming ever this year, building on the ambition and false starts of those that came before them to create some of the medium’s most memorable experiences.

On the other end of the spectrum, indie game developers were busy effectively examining the bounds of what a video game could be this year. 2013 was a year in which many of these professionals showed an incredible comfort and willingness to use the medium in entirely new ways, reinventing genres and also exploring the potential for direct, emotional interactive storytelling. Amidst it all, there were plenty of games that were less revolutionary while being incredibly refined and satisfying examples of their genres. And of course there were a few stinkers that utterly failed to live up to lofty expectations.

It was hard to narrow down this year’s offerings to just 20 top games, but Sam and I are happy with the list we ended up with. Even so, we ended up leaving out some of the best-loved games from other members of the Ars staff. Their list of personal selections includes many more very worthwhile games. For now, though, please enjoy our picks for the best games of 2013.

The Best Video Games of 2013

20. The Swapper

Developer/publisher: Facepalm Games

Platform: Windows

Release Date: May 30, 2013

Ars Technica review

The Swapper might one day be lost to the sands of gaming time. It's another entry in the modern deluge of puzzle platformers, and it certainly holds its own thanks to a welcome twist on the genre—namely, the ability to create and manage a little army of clones to solve puzzles. The game flexes the ruleset of how to create and manage those clones with the right number of puzzles and a gently sloping difficulty curve.

What has stayed with me about The Swapper is its self-awareness—that the creators looked at this weird gimmick and said, “What if our in-game characters had to come to terms with this being an actual technology?” Thus, the solid game comes wrapped in a layer of quality sci-fi. The gameplay and the plot nudge one another along for a very well-paced piece of indie genius.

-Sam Machkovech

19. Plants vs. Zombies 2

Developer: Popcap Games

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Platforms: iOS, Android

Release Date: August 16, 2013

Ars Technica review

This sequel isn’t an incredible revolution over the original Plants vs. Zombies, but it doesn’t have to be. The first game was an addictive, accessible tower defense game that got surprisingly deep in the late game. The long-awaited follow-up adds a few handy new plant-based weapons, but it shines in its new selection of zombies and stages with environmental hazards and boons. The main game is easy enough to blaze through, but an “endless” wave mode and the ability to revisit levels with additional, interesting challenges loaded on top gives the game a much-needed longevity.

EA’s transition to a free-to-play model for the sequel has drawn a lot of controversy, but I maintain that the game doesn’t really feel like a traditional free-to-play title. Any challenge in the game can be overcome with planning and skill without really being tempted to throw money at new super powers, in my experience. Yes, you have to backtrack a bit to avoid paying money for later levels, but the new challenges found in those subsequent level visits never feel like a pointless “grind.” In the end, PvZ2 is as addictive as the first one—but without the need to spend a cent.

-Kyle Orland

18. DmC

Developer: Ninja Theory

Publisher: Capcom

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Windows

Release Date: January 15, 2013

Ars Technica review

The writing was on the wall for a total gaming disaster here. Start with a hack-and-slash franchise that had been run into the ground after years of staleness. Pitch an out-of-nowhere reboot of that heavily gothic-influenced franchise, with a new "emo" styling that was immediately hated by the Internet's vocal minority. Add a development credit from Ninja Theory, which managed both a critical darling and sales-figure poison with Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. And, of course, plan a release date in the dumping-ground month of January.

And yet players got a real beast of a reboot here, ticking every box that could be expected of the Devil May Cry series. Phenomenal art direction pumped color and visual trickery into the game's wild worlds. Some new weapon-swap tricks added the right amount of change to the series' otherwise silky smooth combo-racking, kill-'em-all ferocity. A nimble, no-nonsense script about pouty devil-battlers walked the line between self-awareness and hipster cool, carried well by a great voice cast and rendered in finely animated heroes and villains alike.

It's fun, it's violent, it's nimble, and it doesn't over stay its welcome (though many high-challenge alternate modes await its serious addicts). As a bonus, PC players can run the whole gorgeous, frenetic thing at 1080p and 60 fps, which means players can enjoy a super-early taste of what you'd want in a next-gen, couch-friendly hack-and-slash. Capcom would be wise to reboot this reboot for the newest consoles—at the very least, to get the boring taste of Ryse out of our mouths.

-Sam Machkovech

17. Guacamelee

Developer/publisher: Drinkbox Studios

Platforms: PS3, Vita, Windows

Release Date: April 9, 2013

Ars Technica coverage

As far as its basic design, Guacamelee doesn’t provide much that’s very exciting or new. The basic find-a-new-item-to-unlock-a-new-area-on-a-sprawling-2D-map has been done to death by countless games, most notably the Metroid and Castlevania series. Guacamelee apes the basic structure of these games quite well and provides a well-paced feeling of advancement before its too-soon conclusion.

What pushes Guacamelee over the top, though, is the extremely strong sense of style imbued in every bit of the game’s presentation. Everything from the ridiculous, luchador-culture-infused plot and dialogue to the brightly colored characters and environments that look like cardboard cutouts to the driving Spanish guitar soundtrack are quite unlike anything else being done in video games.

It all comes together to create a strong sense of place that has stuck with me through the year. Guacamelee's atmosphere stands out from the overdone sci-fi, fantasy, and war-torn atmospherics that together capture 99 percent of all other games these days. That’s enough to earn it a sentimental spot on this list.

-Kyle Orland

16. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft

Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, Windows

Release Date: April 30, 2013

In the next 10 years, computers and consoles will advance so far that video games will be able to perfectly emulate the awful, cheesy effects of late '80s action movies. It's hilarious to think that a lot of technology will one day be employed in rendering everything from awkward puppets to hilariously low-rent special effects, but it should happen, and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a testament to such a good idea.

“Sweep and clear all those motherfuckers,” you're told early on as you step into the neon doomscape of this ostensible Far Cry 3 spin-off. This is more like Far Cry 3 spun out of control, though; while the games share an engine and a control scheme, you're freed up from FC3's over-serious hunt-and-hide conceit. Now, you kick ass as a super-soldier named Max who tears cyber-hearts out of his robo-foes and grunts angry-cool nonsense. Oh, and instead of avoiding tigers, you square off against dino-dragon things that glow with radiation, like they’ve been fitted for the world's craziest game of laser tag.

FC3 was not a failure by any stretch, but here is a much more interesting, amusing, and downright fun take on the series, scaled and priced for quicker, more satisfying consumption. It's hard to get big-dumb-and-fun just right, so treasure the fact that someone actually pulled off a modern Duke Nukem game with all of the late '80s trimmings.

-Sam Machkovech