10. Resogun

Resogun is a repetitive, albeit fun title released with the Playstation 4. It bears many similarities to the classic arcade game Space Invaders. In Resogun, just like Space Invaders, the player commands a spaceship across a horizontal stage filled with polygonal enemies that the player has to fight while transporting green stick figure characters to specific locations before moving onto the next stage. Despite being incredibly repetitive and simple in design, Resogun has won awards for being the best Playstation 4 game yet, showing how fun it is.

9. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Surprising many, this game arrived as a downloadable title and turned out to be incredibly fun. Set during the backdrop of the wild west, in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger,  the player experiences the life of an old, retired, and incredibly charismatic cowboy, as he tells his story to a group of people. Gunslinger has a unique, comic-art style that does a great job of fitting the game, further enhancing how much fun is had with Gunslinger’s gameplay. The game has a well-written and heavily exaggerated story  bustling with character and benefitting  from the game’s artistic style.

8. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

This title satirizes nearly every iconic 80’s film cliche, creating an incredibly hilarious game packed with references and easter eggs for classic films. Set after the events of a nuclear war, the player takes control of Rex Colt, a mechanically enhanced super-soldier sent to a tropical island filled with dinosaurs to retrieve a missing agent. Blood Dragon combines a well-designed soundtrack, great humor, diverse and unique gameplay that makes it stand out from other action titles released this year.

 7. Metro: Last Light

Based on the popular book series, the player follows protagonist Artyom, 20 years after an eastern-European imagined apocalypse, in which the last of humanity retreated to the tunnels and train stations of Russia to survive. Last Light manages to stray itself from being the typical, cliche post-apocalyptic tale by including sci-fi elements that blend in nicely and keep the story believable. The game puts players into a journey across the Russian wasteland seeking a way to ensure humanity’s safety, while forcing the player to make difficult decisions along the way.

 6. The Stanley Parable

The Stanley Parable can be called a deconstruction and satire of narrative games. The player assumes the role of Stanley, an office worker, who one day finds that he is alone in his building. A narrator with a British accent narrates what Stanley does. Choosing to follow or to not follow the narrator decides the entire path your game goes in. What makes The Stanley Parable unique is its humorous nature, the number of ways the game can be played, and  the narrator’s feeling that he’s a living, breathing person who speaks to you personally, depending on how you decide to play the game.

5. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Arguably the best Assassin’s Creed yet, Black Flag retells the last years of the golden age of piracy through Edward Kenway, a brash and naive character who develops throughout the long and memorable story. The game has a  diverse environment that the player can explore, However, it’s more likely the player will stay on the open seas, as that’s widely agreed to be the best part of the game. Black Flag, as with other Assassin’s Creed titles, remains true to history while mixing in the series’ own sci-fi elements and avoids the stereotypes set of the era from media such as the Pirates of The Caribbean films.

4. Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite is a masterpiece for its story and art design. Set in 1912, Bioshock Infinite portrays the player as Booker Dewitt, a detective sent to find a missing girl, landing him into a floating city far above the clouds. The early 1900s setting allows  Infinite to tackle problems in its story that still persist in this world today, such as racism and xenophobia, making the story more memorable than most games. While the gameplay isn’t always up to par with other games on this list, the gorgeous environments and great writing distract the player from noticing moments in which the gameplay lacks.

 3. The Last of Us

Despite  influences from media such as The Walking Dead, The Last of Us tells the best story in any game this year, while still providing diverse gameplay. The game follows Joel, an old and experienced survivor, after an outbreak of a fungi disease that causes the infected to become unintelligent and violent. In the game, Joel finds a young girl who’s resistant to the disease and sets on a journey along the east coast of America to find survivors who can make a cure out of her DNA. However, the infected are not the main concern of the still-existing society in this dystopia, as the lack of law enforcement brings increasing numbers of criminals who steal whatever  resources people still have.

2. Grand Theft Auto V

Continuing Rockstar’s tradition of incredible games, Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most unique games in recent years. The game allows the player to assume three roles: Franklin, a gangbanger who seeks for a normal life; Michael, a middle-aged and retired criminal who settled down to live with his wife, son and daughter; and Trevor, a violent psychopath who longs to be understood. What makes the game unique is its considerable lack of violence as a mechanic of the game compared to most popular games. For example, the game has several parts where Michael gets together with his family, such as taking his son cycling. Grand Theft Auto V also presents the best cast of characters in the series, which the franchise is often known for. The game should also be noted for its attention to detail, sharp satire and (despite having a story that lacks in quality) incredible and hilarious writing.

 1. Papers, Please

Papers, Please pits the player as an immigration inspector for a prosperous and safe country in an alternate Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The game is simple in design; however, it proves itself to be powerful for its well-thought-out and meaningful writing. The game pressures the player into passing and denying the right people, as they have a family to feed and keep warm; however, in each day of the game’s 30-day  story, new regulations are added, causing the game to become harder. The game isn’t just about checking if people have the right documents with them. The scenarios delve into the player’s morals. For example, a doctor arrives at your checkpoint with a medicine for a rampant disease, missing a paper for a regulation that was added on that day, and a husband arrives with his wife; however, his wife has no papers. The game avoids violence, and it doesn’t need it to engage the player. This is one of the most original and unique games ever made. Papers, Please is the best game of the last year, as all of the other games of the year had  very noticeable flaws, while Papers, Please has close to none.