Sony would probably agree that the PlayStation 4's first year wasn't exactly vintage – but then, when does a console ever come flying out of the gates? From a first-party perspective, the platform holder pumped out some quality titles, but compared to its frankly frighteningly lineup in 2013, the past twelve months have fallen short of the firm's admittedly high bar. That doesn't mean that the next-gen system's first full year on the market was poor, though – far from it. While there weren't many standouts, we had a tough time internally coming up with a shortlist that accurately represented the PS4 in 2014 – there was just so much good stuff. Fortunately for us, there were four titles in particular that rose above the rest; read on to find out what we thought was the cream of a rather colossal crop.
Bronze Trophy: Dragon Age: Inquisition
After what was a divisive second game, the Dragon Age franchise is right back on track with the superb Dragon Age: Inquisition. Not many titles can tie a thoroughly enjoyable narrative to a vast open world, but here developer BioWare makes it look easy. Brilliantly written characters, gorgeous locations, refined combat, and a heck of a lot of player choice all combine to create a memorable journey that can last well over 100 hours.
Silver Trophy: P.T.
P.T. has been the source of more discussion than any other at Push Square. When we haven't been recounting our experiences with the promotional release, we've been pondering whether the survival horror deserves a spot on this list. Ultimately, we decided that, despite being marketing for Silent Hills, this playable experiment was one of the more memorable forays in 2014. In fact, we'd argue that it's the eeriest affair to hit a console in over a decade.
Gold Trophy: inFAMOUS: Second Son
Sucker Punch never gets much love. Despite crafting the most consistent PS2 platforming property in Sly Cooper, the studio has always stood in the shadow of its more fashionable first-party peers. inFAMOUS: Second Son, the highlight of the PS4's launch window, gave the Seattle-based studio its time to shine – and it responded with graffiti cans and more rain than a mini-monsoon. This may have been one of 2014's drearier games, but what it lacked in good weather, it made up for in visual sparkle and sublime controls.
Platinum Trophy: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Video games that take great inspiration from other titles often struggle to usurp their "mentors", frequently falling short as blatant rip-offs. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a unique case, then, as it succeeds where so many of its peers fail. By flawlessly combining the parkour-like gameplay of Assassin's Creed with the free-flowing combat of the Batman: Arkham series, this Lord of the Rings spin-off hits a serious sweet spot.
Navigating the bleak yet beautiful landscapes of Mordor while fighting the filth of Sauron's dominion is seriously entertaining stuff – and it leaves little to be improved on from a gameplay perspective. Combine this with the innovative Nemesis System, which extensively personalises your encounters with a host of unique, diversified Orcs, and you have the recipe for something special. Sure, the final story acts are weak and rushed – but don't let that deter you from this year's best PS4 game.
What was your favourite PS4 game of 2014? Do you agree with our winners, or would you have selected something else? Cast your vote in our poll, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
What was your favourite PS4 game of 2014? (69 votes)
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Child of Light
- Destiny
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Far Cry 4
- inFAMOUS: Second Son
- LittleBigPlanet 3
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- P.T.
- Samurai Warriors 4
- Transistor 0%
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War 0%
- Velocity 2X
- Watch Dogs 0%
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
Please login to vote in this poll.
[ Words: Joey Thurmond, Robert Ramsey, and Sammy Barker ]
Comments 42
Since I just got Farcry 4 and DA:I for Christmas I can't give my opinions on those yet. So for as of now my PS4 GOTY has to be InFamous Second Son.
Wolfenstein, Metro Redux, Driveclub & GTA V
Dragon Age should be higher up and P.T., a demo, over Child of Light, Valiant Hearts, Velocity 2X, Transistor and Far Cry 4?
You guys need to reevaluate your priorities...
For me it's like this:
Biggest Surprises: Shadow of Mordor, Transistor and Wolfenstein.
Biggest Disappointment: Driveclub, Watch Dogs.
Bronze: Far Cry 4
Silver: Infamous Second Son
Gold: Dragon Age Inquisition
Platinum: Shadow of Mordor
Biggest FAIL: Destiny
Not even in the list but my own personal favourite was actually unity followed by diablo 3. Watchdogs and destiny were my epic fails of the year
Really? PT? You guys must had a very boring year or this list is a joke.... Far cry 4, Gta 5, Diablo evil ed., Driveclub (at its current state), Velocity 2x, Dragon Age... even Lord of the fallen deserved to be higher here. PT is a dumb demo, with no real clue how to proceed... a good tech demo indeed, but seeing it in the top 4 looks like 2014 was pretty shitty for ps4, which was not
@AFCC I agree with all but Driveclub. It is a great game and yes it did have teething issues but as a driving game it is brilliant!
@ZeD exactly. If you buy it now and play is just one of the best racing in the decade.... stunning visuals (the only true next gen so far) and tons of adrenaline...
@arnoldlayne83 I got it just before Xmas and I am loving it
I don't think the inclusion of P.T. reflects poorly on the PS4's year at all. I genuinely think it's the best example of survival horror in over a decade - it's fantastic.
@ZeD I said it's a disappointment because of all the issues and the fact that it isn't as different as they marketed it! It's just another racing game in my opinion :/
People can complain about P.T. all they want — the votes in the poll don't lie.
For me the best games of 2014 were-
Infamous SS
Call of Duty AW
Shadow of Mordor
Transistor
Far Cry 4
GTA & The Last of Us and yes I know these two are remasters.
P.T. was a fantastic horror innovation and needs more love!
@get2sammyb Kudos for P.T being on the list...it was excellent and it was also on the list rather than the endlessly divisive Destiny, which was a pleasant surprise. P.T, along with Outlast, really rekindled my love of horror games and restored my faith that Silent Hill can still be a great thing in the aftermath of some dodgy entries in the series.
@ShogunRok if you want to consider the pool you are wrong because Dragon Age should be first.
@ShogunRok @ferrers405 Somehow, I don't think Robert would be too concerned if Dragon Age got the platinum trophy
i cant believe PT has come out on top. it was by far my favorite "game". i just cant believe so many people agree! where is Alien Isolation??? that was an awesome game!
My game of the year is gonna have to go to inFamous Second Son from the games I have played. I have played a lot of games this year but no other game has engaged me to have fun playing while gameplay is fun to play with as well. I wish there was a multiplayer concept to the game though. I still am vying to get Dragon Age Inquisition when I actually get a chance. But 2014 has been a bleak year for the PS4 in terms of games being released.
2015 is looking much brighter with No Man's Sky. Uncharted 4, The Division, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, Star Wars Battlefront, Arkham Knight, so much to look forward to.
I totally disagree with PT being included and Infamous SS being so high up. Infamous was a fantastic experience - but an incredibly short one, for such a big-name game. Lack of length and depth ruins it for me. PT I don't think matches up to the other games in this list. I disagree with Inquisition being so far down; it is a fantastic experience with hundreds of hours of potential gameplay. It's such a deep game where everything you do matters and changes your experience, encouraging multiple playthroughs. Shadow of Mordor, however, I agree with wholeheartedly. A unique, interesting, captivating game that I just want more of!
My list would probably go something like...
Bronze: Infamous SS
Silver: Far Cry 4 (yes, incredibly similar to FC3, but a wild ride nonetheless)
Gold: Inquisition
Platinum: Shadow of Mordor
Honorable mention to Wolfenstein, which was an enjoyable single player shooter but, like Second Son, lacked enough content to justify the purchase.
Dragon Age for me, I got right into it and ploughed in 200 hours. I started shadow of Mordor but it didn't immediately grab me like dragon age did. Not sure a demo can be considered really. I'd go, dragon age, everything else comes second, out of demos I'd say MGS Ground Zeroes was just as good as P.T.
@ShogunRok but P.T. is free, therefore presumably everyone has played it, not fair really...
Where is DriveClub?
Best racer for years!
Also ground zeroes was easily as good as at least half of that list.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare or GTA V. Neither are in the list so vote from me. From the games in the list I'd say COD is the best but even that is no way near my game of the year. I've either played them and moderately enjoyed them (COD, PT), found them utter garbage (Watch Dogs, LBP3) or not tried them once or enough to pass judgement (the rest).
Also, PT while rather good, isn't a game. It's a Playable Trailer. Clue is in the name.
@rastamadeus PvZ is always criminally overlooked
No love for Wolfenstien Funnily enough I also thought First Light, even tho its DLC, was much more enjoyable than Second Son.
@MadchesterManc PvZ was something nearly all big or little releases weren't for me this year: fun. That for me is the most important thing. It's one of only four games (GTA V, Smash and Project Diva F 2nd being the others) I've regularly returned to because it's so enjoyable. There's been games I enjoyed - Second Son, First Light and sadly Persona Q for example - but once over I've felt no need or want to return to them.
I say hands down Dragon Age!
Fifa 2015 & GTA V
Ps could always be DriveClub LMAO
For me it was these games I played the most;
Dragon Age
FIFA 15
TLOU remaster
Cod Advanced warfare
Bar TLOU, Mordor has to be my fav, such a fun game.
@ferrers405 @k_andersen @Bad-MuthaAdebisi Just to be clear, I think this list is a shambles and a disgrace, and I think every Push Square writer apart from myself should be lined up and shot.
My list would have Dragon Age right at the top, defecating on the competition and everyone else's terrible, wrong opinions.
You all make me sick.
@ShogunRok that's more like it, might be interesting to do a poll in the spring when maybe all those Oct/Nov games are finally completed.
Hmm infamous falls short IMHO, story was way too short, lame side content, infamous 1 and 2 were way better. As for pt not a fan of horror, although I did buy the last of us. Dragon age should be platinum. Shadow if mordor wasn't that great. The story was OK but very repetitive gameplay take down the orc army, second half kinda the same except you could control the enemies . there was no amazing game. What about gta5 with fps mode, far cry 4 was also decent and the metro games were also good
inFamous: Second Son. And like some others, I don't agree with PT being on there at all, really does make PS4 look weak.
@ShogunRok lol
Oh dear, that's not at all right. Shadow of Mordor was pretty mediocre imo. It wasn't a bad game, but it definitely wasn't all that memorable. Just an endless world of orcs and slaves- the monotony drove me to quit playing it.
And Infamous Second Son, well, that game was definitely not better than Dragon Age Inquisition.
1) Dragon Age Inquisition
2) Far Cry 4
3) Infamous Second Son
Yes, that's better.
@JaxonH I fully agree with regard to Shadow of Mordor. It is not a bad game but in my opinion far for great. It has been quite a while since I have been disappointed with a purchase. It looks good, the idea is good but it lacks depth to keep my interest. All I remember is killing orcs, and then some more Orcs.
Like others I too don't understand why GTA and Diablo are not even in the list for the poll. Sure they are remakes of other platforms but for PS4 I consider them as new released titles.
@ferrers405 - I totally agree. The positioning of PT simply doesn't reflect how good a year we've had for smaller digital titles. Either Child of Light or Valiant Hearts should have been bronze, with DA: I in at least silver.
I picked Destiny just cause its been the game I've played most these past few months. Even though its a mess and oh so frustrating.
(Haven't played Dragon Age or Infamous yet) Alien Isolation isn't on the list
I hope there is a Most Disappointed award, just for Destiny. so much promote on the lore and scope...
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