This document lists the top 10 games of 2014 according to Retro Gamer magazine. It provides summaries for each game, praising their mechanics, presentation, and faithfulness to source material. The number one game is Shadow of Mordor for its nemesis system that creates emergent stories. Runner up is This War of Mine for providing a grounded look at the human cost of war. Third place goes to Shovel Knight for its throwback to classic games with modern design.

1. Retro Gamer’s Top
10 Games of 2014
By Fawzi Mesmar

2. 10 - Hearthstone
Hearthstone attempts the seemingly impossible
task of creating a collectable card game to have
the depth of MTG while still making the game
accessible to virtually anyone.
However the expertly made game by the wizards
at Blizzard soars through competition with
excellent solid mechanics, competitive scene
and beautiful presentation utilizing all the familiar
characters from the world of warcraft, making
sure that hoards of fans will be playing, steaming
and talking about this game for a long long time
to come.

3. 9 - Bayonetta 2
Bayonetta 2 is stylish, daring, extreme, loud and
so mechanically solid that it’s hard to ever take
seriously but more importantly nearly impossible
to ignore.
Bayonetta cleverly introduces an easy to pick up
hard to master combat system that flows so
naturally to the player, never allowing for a dull
moment bayonetta constantly demands that the
player up their game skillfully.
When it comes to action games - and those are
becoming a rarity nowadays - Bayonetta 2 is
really as good as it gets.

4. 8 - Child of Light
JRPG is such a weird term, especially when
considering a game like child of light, however
while all the japanese rpg tropes can be found
here make no mistake that it has been iterated
upon and in many ways improved for western
players.
With combat system that is reminiscent of
Grandia II, the game creates a children book
presentation, sweeping orchestral themes, and a
colorful cast of characters.
Ubisoft team in montpellier has certainly been
making important additions to gaming as a
medium recently and child of light is no
exception

5. 7 - Mario Kart 8
Nintendo is synonymous with quality; they are
well known to deliver games that stand the test
of time, work properly and with a level of polish
that is virtually unrivaled in the game industry as
a whole.
While some might dismiss the 8th iteration as
just another Mario Kart game, they would be
missing out on THE Mario Kart game. Every
single aspect of this game has been significantly
improved upon delivering the ultimate couch
experience in a carting genre in which Mario Kart
rules supreme.

6. 6 - Alien Isolation
In this day and age it is not possible for a game
like Alien Isolation to even exist, yet it did and
thank god for that.
A sheep in wolf’s clothing, Alien isolation at it’s
heart is an indie game with AAA aesthetics. The
beautifully and dutifully remade environments,
characters and themes ring so true to the source
material of one of the greatest movies ever
made ever so faithfully.
Deeply haunting, aesthetically pleasing, Alien
isolation is probably the most tense experience
you’ll ever have.

7. 5 - Valiant Hearts
In my praise of Child of Light I already touched
on the importance of Ubisoft Montpellier’s
contribution to modern gaming and advancing it
as a genre, Valiant hearts is no different.
It’s in it’s comical presentation is what make
Valiant Hearts strike all the right chords; the
subject of war and loss is not an easy one to
approach let alone within an entertaining
manner. Valiant Hearts elegant design and
consistently gorgeous themes pack a punch all
the way to it’s outstanding finale.

8. 4 - Super Smash bros for Wii U
As a kid I’ve often had arguments with my
friends on who would win if our favorite video
games mascots starting beating the living crap
out of each other, with that in mind upon seeing
the first screenshot of Megaman, Mario, Sonic
and Pacman battling each other I was short of
breath.
Smash presents ideal solutions for problems
fighting games have been having for years,
anybody can play smash, but once you discover
the depth that in holds - and believe me this
game is DEEP - mastering it is pure bliss and
has a very healthy competitive scene a head of
it.

9. 3 - Shovel Knight
I tweeted at the developers of this game saying:
“I almost dismissed this game as pixel art
hipstery but that was a big mistake. Shovel
knight is a fantastic game.”
Don’t make the same mistake as me, Shovel
knight is a wonderful throwback to the games we
grew up playing, done right with modern game
design tropes added in the mix and in so many
ways improving on mechanics in the process.
It’s easy to see the passion that fueled the
development of Shovel Knight, and it’s wonderful
to feel that sensation of playing good old
fashioned games once again.

10. 2 - This War of Mine
While video games for such a long time used
armed conflicts as exaggerated fantasies of
power and violence, This war of mine gives you
a brief glimpse of the reality of the beast.
You form your own story, your own reality and
every decision you make will wear heavy on your
heart and soul. This is not an easy game to play,
not because of the complexity of its mechanics
but because this is not a mindless experience, it
demands attention from you as a player and as a
human being.

11. 1 - Shadow of Mordor
If it wasn’t for the wonderfully designed nemesis
system, this game wouldn’t be even on this list.
Generally speaking I wouldn’t be expecting
much of a lord of the rings licensed game. But
this game surprised me in almost every single
aspect.
I thought that I saw the matrix, I knew what the
game was trying to do, but still I aborted the
story mission that I was doing, and instead
decided to hunt down the orc that killed me and
belittled me on a quest of vengeance that has
absolutely no ingame benefit other than fulfilling
a part of a story I had in my head.

12. Honorable Mention - Captain Toad
treasure tracker
While playing Super Mario 3D World, I
thoroughly enjoyed the Captain toad levels
within the games, and thought to myself that this
would make an awesome standalone game, but
then again, what more can you do with it that
you haven’t seen already?
Nintendo Tokyo AED had an answer in the form
of a game that just oozes charm, has incredible
design, execution and has been polished to near
perfection.