2014 is an odd year regarding the best of what gaming has to offer. In the first real year in the lifecycles of the PS4 and Xbox One, games were getting noticeably bigger but also more experimental. In truth, many of the year's best games, especially ones that really changed the industry going forward, were neglected in the year-end awards.

A few of these games have much more cultural and historical significance to the video game industry than the majority of highlighted Game of the Year candidates. One title in particular got snubbed hard by most publications, and it's quite shocking in hindsight.

10 ♎ Alien: Isolation

Hard To The Core

2014 had a ton of stellar and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:influential horror games, but one acclaimed title that didn't get imitated much afterward is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Alien: Isolation. A hardcore horror title, Alien: Isolation makes you about as powerless as you can get. Most hꦕorror games of this nature have a plethora of tools you can use to survive, but not here.

If the Alien spots you, you're screwed unless you have a flamethrower or Molotov cocktail. Plus, the game brought back the old system where save points double as checkpoints, a bold move at the time and even now. That system still exists in the recent 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Resident Evil titles, but only on the hardest difficulties. With its sheer nonconformity, you can't help but love its bold, restrictive approach to horror.

9 ♊ Hearthstone

The Start Of A Revolution

One game that did earn plenty of accolades that absolutely deserved it was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Hearthstone. It's arguably the most important game of the year in terms of what it did to the industry. Hearthstone was the first massively successful original DCCG (digital collectible card game) because Blizzard perfected how to do a card game like this in a digital ecosystem.

There were earlier examples with Magic: The Gathering Online and a few fan-made Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG simulators, but Hearthstone was the first to knock it out of the park. A lot of the DCCGs you see today would not exist without Hearthstone. Even something like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Yu-Gi-Oh!: Master Duel would be so much different without it.

8 Bayonetta 2 ⛄

One Of The Wii U's Best

The Wii U had a big problem with system sellers. There just wasn't a game that made you go out and buy the system. However, the Wii U did have good exclusives, and 2014 had some of its best. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bayonetta 2 was a killer action title and a breath of fresh air at the time. Nowadays, there's plenty of action games in the vein of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Devil May Cry and Bayon෴etta coming o🌱ut, but it was barren in 2014.

The gameplay, combat, bosses, and enemy variety are all drastically improved. The only downside compared to the original is the clear lack of budget. You can tell Platinum is working with nickels here, and that isn't how the first game came off as. Regardless, Bayonetta 2 remains one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:best games in the Wii U's library.

7 𒈔 Wolfenstein: The New Order

A Taste Of That Old-School Spice

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Wolfenstein: The New Order revitalized the stagnant series hard by adding sweet old-school elements and a great story to boot. The New Order kicks so much ass, and a large reason for that is dual-wielding. In 2014, you didn't see dual-wielding in shooters that often.

In Wolfenstein: The New Order, you can dual-wield every weapon in the game, and it's so fun blasting baddies with the heavy-duty arsenal. The story's an alternative history tale where the Nazis won WW2, and the characters and writing here are great. New Order is a must-play modern FPS and the best of the current Wolfenstein games.

6 Th♎e 🧜Talos Principle

A Philosophical Puzzle Game Masterpiece

Right up there with Portal regarding 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:best first-person puzzle games is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Talos Principle. Both games are incredible, but part one, in particular, is such a fascinating title with its story. You start clueless about what's going on, but as you play more and more, you find added details and ultimately come up against some very thought-provoking questions.

For people who really dig deep into philosophy, Talos Principle will be one of your favorite titles. Besides the story, it's also an excellent puzzle game, though more difficult than Portal. There's not much help here, but that ultimately makes it more satisfying once you finally solve the puzzles.

5 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze 🐲 𒆙

The Best 2D Platformer On The Wii U

Legendary developer Retro Studios, who created the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metroid Prime Trilogy, revitalized the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Donkey Kong Country series with Return🎀s back on the Wii. That game was already incredible, but the dial was turned🏅 even further with its sequel, Tropical Freeze. This time, you get two other characters to use in place of Diddy Kong: Dixie and Cranky.

All three have their own unique abilities and are better suited for certain le♉vels than others. This creates quite ๊a lot of depth, and you should think about it because Tropical Freeze is just as hard as its predecessor. Complete with an amazing roster of levels, Tropical Freeze is one of the greatest 2D platformers of the generation.

4 ☂ Shovel Knight 𝔍

One Of The Greatest Indie Games Ever Made

One title you may have forgotten that came out in 2014 is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Shovel Knight. Originally a Kickstarter game that grossed $311,502, Yacht Club Games put that money to good use to create an unforgettable indie classic. On the surface, Shovel Knight is an evolved 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:DuckTales, but it does a lot to enhance b💟oth the treasure aspect and action game elements.

Treasure hunting in DuckTales was more about discovery, while in Shovel Knight, much of the hard coin comes from skilled play. A good example is the destructible checkpoints, a baller money-making move for the experts. The action's also far more intense than anything you'd see in DuckTales. Shovel Knight remains a defining indie game from this time period and the best one all year.

3 Five Nights At Freddy's

The One That Started It All

It's hard to express just how important 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Five Nights at Freddy's is to the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:horror genre, indie games, and gaming as a whole. With the use of video content such as Let's Plays, indie games can have much more exposure than some triple-A titles. Yes, Slender was the first to take advantage of this, but FNAF used it to its fullest extent.

The game itself was a short but terrifying experience, originally priced at only $5. Despite its small nature, FNAF was the biggest horror game of the year, showing that you can do so much with so lit♓tle. Inspiring to many, FNAF is the only 2014 title worthy of being inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

2 P.T.

The Corridor Of Doom

While not as influential as FNAF, P.T. changed the horror zeitgeist. Many horror games afterward were suspenseful walking simulators, and judging by P.T.'s quality, it's not hard to see why. The game map's so small, but that's what makes it great.

Every loop, you're terrified when turning that corner. The graphics are gorgeous, like most Kojima games, and Lisa remains one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:most terrifying enemies in gaming. Like FNAF, sometimes, less is more. Unfortunately, P.T. was pulled from the PlayStation store about a year after launch, so you'll most likely have to go the modding route if you want to play it.

1 💦 🌠 Mario Kart 8

The Racing Game GOAT

Nowadays, many will argue that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mario Kart 8 is the greatest racing game of all time. It's the entry that went full force into the competitive aspect, and while a risky choice, the game's all the better for it. All the luck nonsense of previous titles was diluted to the point where elite-level players would win virtually 100 percent of the time.

While it seems that casuals will be pushed away from this, it actually had the opposite effect. The playerbase of Mario Kart 8 ballooned to levels never before seen in the series, and the game's still getting new support to this day. The title saw a few Game of the Year awards, but not as many accolades as you'd expect now.