NG+ GOTY 2013 – Ozzy’s Top Five

January 7, 2014

This week, the New Game Plus cast and crew will be revealing their favourite games of the year. Today, our music producer and retro streamer Ozzy talks about his top five games of the year.

My top 5 games of 2013 reflect my taste in games and preference in platforms. I don’t own a Wii, Wii U or a PS Vita and I don’t use my PC for gaming. I also don’t enjoy most FPS games, and open world games side-track (or side-quest!) me away from the main objectives so much that I lose interest in them. With that in mind, I may not have played some of the big titles that are in your top 5. Bioshock: Infinite, GTA V and Dota 2 are probably great games, but I have not played them. So this is my personal list of titles that grabbed me this year, and some of the reasons why.

[Watch New Game Plus’ Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate review]

I am a huge Castlevania fan and followed the development of this game closely. A lot of people did not like this game because it was not the 2D Metroidvania-style game Nintendo handhelds are known for. However, I heard many times that the studio was making a continuation of the Castlevania style before Symphony of the Night, and in that regard I think they succeeded. Add to that a shake-up of the family tree and timeline and some clever uses of 3D, and I found plenty of love for this title.

[Watch new Game Plus’ Tomb Raider review]

I love the original Tomb Raider. It was my first foray in 3D gaming and will never be forgotten. This remake did not do what I hoped it would. There were no nods to the past games, music, characters, levels or stories. However, this new world Lara Croft populates, though drastically different, was one of the best action movies I played this year.

[Watch New Game Plus’ Injustice: Gods Among Us review]

Apart from Batman: Arkham Asylum, this is probably the best use of a superhero licence I have seen in a game. All the characters play very differently and at first their moves may seem a little sedate — until you connect with their special moves. These are so ridiculously over the top that you can’t help laughing as you are wind-up punched (as in: a literal around-the-world wind-up) by the Flash.

[Watch New Game Plus’ Dragon’s Crown review]

Vanillaware’s 2D brawlers are always special, and this was no exception. Though you always had the option of playing as different characters with unique movesets, this time you could play four of them at once! Couple this with the most gorgeous 2D art around and nods to brawlers of the past (every time I saw Rannie, I wanted to kick him and have him drop potions), Dragon’s Crown is an experience not to be missed.

[Watch New Game Plus’ The Last of Us review]

Naughty Dog’s new IP did everything that this generation worked on perfecting, did it well, and put it into one package. It had item-crafting, stealth, melee, cover-based shooting, cinematics, quick-time events and a world, story and characters that drew you in. Most of all, it put survival back into survival-horror.