… a game that really rolls off the tongue
[Image credit:Mike Lambert]
The idea behindthe best mechanics categoryis to highlight games that you’d love to play even if they had stick-figure graphics, no multiplayer, no music, and no story. Some of them may be filled with complex operations. Others may be simple one-button affairs. Regardless, these are games that keep you coming back again and again, hoping to get all the parts to fit together just a little bit better each time.
The votes were really all over the place here. Games that I figured had a good chance of taking the top spot likeSunset OverdriveandGeometry Wars 3were beat out by write-ins likeSuper Smash Bros.for Wii U,The Castle DoctrineandDivinity: Original Sin. Other surprise staff nominations likeWolfenstein: The New Order,Xeodrifter,Road Not Taken,Mario Kart 8,Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel,Bravely Default,Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes,Dragon Age: Inquisition,Xenonauts,Mercenary Kings,Freedom Wars,Destiny, andInfamous: Second Sondidn’t do quite as well, but regardless, the message is clear: the Destructoid staff plays a lot of different kinds of games strictly for the mechanics.
There was also a three-way tie for third place in this category, between three games that couldn’t be much more different. In the end,Bayonetta 2,Octodad, andShovel Knightall tied for the bronze medal in this particular popularity contest. Now that’s a three-way crossover I’d pay top dollar for. With those games down, onlyOlliOlliandMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordorremained. Keep reading to see which one landed on top, and don’t forget to vote in ourReader’s Poll for your favorite game of 2014.
I’d like to say that this was a close one, but it wasn’t.OlliOllidid incredibly well considering it’s a new IP only available on a select number of platforms, but in the end, nothing even came close to beating outMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. I chalk it up to how well the game’s moment-to-moment mechanics tie into the larger overarching self-directed narrative, forming a portrait of violence and survival that’s a joy to experience from every perspective. It’s taught and compelling on both a micro and macro level, simultaneously believable and fantastic, primitively satisfying and awe inducing.
On paper, it may not sound that special. Pretty much all you do in the game is play cat-and-mouse with a bunch of flesh eating jerks, but you could say the same thing aboutPac-Manand that series is still going strong 30 years later. It will be interesting to see ifShadow of Mordorhas the same kind of longevity. The Tolkien universe it’s based on has been a mainstream hit in Hollywood for over ten years now, and people used to think those books were only for nerds so you never know.
Regardless of what the future holds forShadow of Mordor, it is in this shining moment a Destructoid GOTY winner. Congratulations to the team at Monolith for their success, and tune in tomorrow when we announce the winner of best narrative design of 2014.
