2014 was a year of transition into the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We finally began to see games for the next generation of consoles being made solely for them and not just ports of last-gen titles. Game developers strove to make us believe in a new era of online connected games with titles like Destiny introducing an always online shooter and Assassin’s Creed Unity opening the gates of 18th century Paris to four player coop adventures. And with 2015, we’re seeing more of the same push towards this coop experience trend with Ubisoft’s The Division and Valve’s upcoming 4v1 shooter Evolve.
In light of the previous year’s end and the one that lays ahead, our editors have compiled a list of what we thought were the most exciting games of 2014, as well as the ones you should be on the lookout for in 2015.
Chandler Tate
Top Five Games of 2014:
- Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PC, PS4, One)
- Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC, PS4, One, PS3, 360)
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (PC, PS4, One, PS3, 360)
- Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
- Assassin’s Creed: Unity (PC, PS4, One)
Top Five Most Anticipated Games of 2015:
- Total War: Attila (PC)
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, One)
- Tom Clancy’s The Division (PC, PS4, One)
- Star Wars: Battlefront (PC, PS4, One)
Alana Fearnall
Top Five Games of 2014:
- Super Smash Brothers (Wii U, 3DS)
- Master Chief Collection (One)
- Awesomenauts: Starstorm (PC)
- World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor (PC)
- Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Saphire (3DS)
Top Five Most Anticipated Games of 2015:
- Mewgenics (PC)
- Dying Light (PC, PS4, One)
- Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U)
- No Man’s Sky (PS4)
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (3DS)
Steve Wright
Top Five Games of 2014: I cheated a little bit and threw in some old games. (EDIT: actually Chandler, this isn’t cheating as I didn’t play any games that came out in 2015 except FIFA 15 because I’m bad at buying games. ~ Steve)
- FIFA 15 (PC, PS4, One, PS3, 360)
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PC, PS3, 360)
- Forza Horizon 2 (One, 360)
- Need for Speed Rivals (PC, PS4, One, PS3, 360)
- Rocksmith 2012 (PS3, 360)
Top Five Most Anticipated Games of 2015:
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4) (because Nathan Drake)
- FIFA 16 (PC, PS4, One, PS3, 360) (because FIFA)
- Batman: Arkham Knight (PC, PS4, One) (because Batman)
- Project CARS (PC, PS4, One, Wii U) (because cars)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, One) (because boobs)
Billy Ross
Top Five Games of 2014:
- Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS)
- Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
- Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (PC, Mobile)
- Destiny (PS4, One, PS3, 360)
- Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (PC, PS4, One)
Top Five Most Anticipated Games of 2015:
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, One)
- The Legend of Zelda (Wii U)
- Star Wars: Battlefront (PC, PS4, One)
- Final Fantasy XV (PS4, One)
- Splatoon (Wii U)