Game of the Year Push Square 2014

With the holidays still in semi-swing, you were never going to stop us from squeezing one last feature out of our ongoing Game of the Year coverage. We put a ton of effort into this year's articles and videos, but figured that you may have missed the odd story while out and about over the Christmas break. Worry not, though, because we've compiled everything in one easy place. Don't worry if you don't agree with our picks either, as our reader poll is still running. Once you've selected your favourites, well, we guess that we'll get ready to do it all again in 2015.

Best PS Vita Games of 2014

For a format that's struggled in an age of smartphones and tablet games, the PlayStation Vita has carved out a committed niche of core gamers who love the handheld to death. We get a lot of requests here at Push Square, but number one with a bullet is more coverage for the Japanese giant's miniscule machine – and it's hardly a surprise, when you consider the console's outstanding hardware and console-esque controls. A petite install base means that the diminutive device sadly didn't play host to too many blockbusters this year – but there were more than enough high achievers to keep fans occupied.

Bronze Trophy
Luftrausers
Silver Trophy
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Gold Trophy
Rogue Legacy
Platinum Trophy
Freedom Wars

Best PS3 Games of 2014

It's been a funny year for the PlayStation 3. While the system has received plenty of support in 2014, it feels like the attention of the industry has moved on. Cross-generation titles like Destiny and Far Cry 4 have all been advertised with the PlayStation 4 in mind, and sales have taken a tumble as a consequence. Despite what many of you may think, though, we haven't forgotten about Sony's ageing appliance, and in order to prove it, we've put together a list of our top four PS3 titles from the past twelve months. For this, we decided to focus on forays that didn't come to next-gen machines, purely because they all went into a separate internal poll. Please understand.

Bronze Trophy
Tales of Xillia 2
Silver Trophy
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
Gold Trophy
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Platinum Trophy
Dark Souls II

Best PS4 Games of 2014

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.

Best PlayStation Games of 2014

4 Goty Dragonage 1

Bronze Trophy: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Sadly, big budget role-playing games are often in short supply these days, but when one finally comes along, it can turn out to be something special. Dragon Age: Inquisition is one such title, featuring a fantasy world that you can really sink your teeth into.

5 Goty Pt 1

Silver Trophy: P.T.

Stealthily announced at Sony's Gamescom conference, P.T. was billed as a 'Playable Teaser' for a new first-person horror game by the fictional 7780s Studio. After the sort of frenzied investigation that only the Internet can provide, it was discovered that the daunting downloadable was in fact a demo for a new Silent Hill game directed by none other than Hideo Kojima. Needless to say, this clever reveal stands as one of the most ingenious video game marketing stunts in recent memory.

6 Goty Inf 1

Gold Trophy: inFAMOUS: Second Son

Few games feel quite like inFAMOUS: Second Son. We forgive Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption the odd controller quirk because their sandboxes are so sizeable that they mask any shortcomings, but delicately guiding the dextrous Delsin 'Too Cool for School' Rowe through the dreary districts of Seattle is this PlayStation 4 exclusive's underlying appeal.

7 Goty Mor 1

Platinum Trophy: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

2014's Game of the Year winner perhaps comes as a surprise, given that we weren't all that confident in its success when it was originally unveiled. Unsure if it was a movie tie-in or simply another in a long line of disappointing Lord of the Rings titles, a slew of intriguing trailers, conference appearances, and developer interviews meant that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor slowly worked its way into our consciousness, and we're certainly glad that it did.

That's everything from us, but as already alluded, there's still time for you to vote for your favourites in our poll. We'll have one more article detailing all of your picks tomorrow, but until then, we hope that you've enjoyed all of our coverage over the past week or so.