Written by: Ed Humphries

Damn this assignment.

While I always look forward to these year end “Best Of” blogs, this year’s deadline put me at a slight disadvantage as my favorite game of the year wasn’t slated to hit shelves until three days before the Editors’ concrete due date. Yeah, that’s right – I’m planning on picking a game I haven’t played one second of as my favorite game of the year. I’ll get to that in a moment.

Just to cover my bases, I decided to select a runner-up (or several) for consideration as my favorite games of 2011. And that distinction of “Favorite” over “Best” is key – as I was able to journey through the world of Skyrim, and as taken as I was by that game, it is not among the top tier favorites in my book – even if it is one of the “Best” games I played all year.

Over the last few years, I’ve used this space to spotlight Indie titles. While I absolutely adore many of the top-tier AAA big budget behemoths that jockey for shelf space from late summer to the winter solstice, I’ve felt that so many truly satisfying game experiences were mined by creative small-scale developers; as if what they lacked in resources they made up with pure heart and inspiration. This love for the form was evident in every moment of Limbo and Braid and Shadow Complex; among so many others.

This year, I fell hard for Bastion – one of the big XBLA Summer of Arcade releases. My review was glowing and for good reason. While the game was a dungeon crawler/action RPG at its core – it took so many stylish chances that made me feel like I was journeying through a brave new world. That’s half the reason I game. In fact, that’s the game design in a nutshell – with your character, “the Kid”, set loose in a world devastated by some unseen calamity. As you explore your surroundings, ticking items off a rapidly growing ‘To Do’ list, the game world rebuilds itself around you and every action and reaction is commented upon by the gruff, soulful Narrator. All of this builds to a pivotal final choice – one that brought to mind the closing moments of Braid; where suddenly I saw the game, and my actions, in a whole new light. This was one of my favorite experiences of the year and it’s nice to see this renaissance of independent game design continue to flourish.

On the retail front, there were three sequels that sucked me into their world. All three come from different genres but they share common DNA – with their game design steeped in the importance of setting atmosphere to create a mood. That’s a key element that eludes so many games and when it’s crafted just right, really serves to sweep a gamer away.