14 DAY TRIAL // A Game of the Year suite of articles is currently rolling out on Softpedia Games, designed to give our readers a look at the video games that we consider the best in their category for 2014, set to culminate just before we move into next year with the revelation of our Game of the Year winners.
As the gaming industry gains in complexity, it becomes harder and harder to make this selection and name a title as being the best, even if the awards category is very narrowly defined to contain just some of the titles launched in a 365-day period.
When it comes to the Game of the Year, the choice is even more difficult because the title that takes the award needs to offer something truly exciting while also appealing to as many players as possible.
This is increasingly difficult given our fragmented present and the fact that there are large segments of players who only focus on a narrow set of genres or mechanics.
The Banner Saga and Qvadriga
One of the first video games I played this year was The Banner Saga, created by Stoic Games, a turn-based strategy battle experience that also has a complex story to tell with some impressive character design.
I played it almost obsessively for about two weeks, fascinated by the combat scenarios and by the fact that loss was an inescapable part of them.
I then left it behind and my memories of The Banner Saga were clouded by the passage of time and by the fact so many other titles were launched during the year, a big part of which I have also reviewed.
Something similar happened with Qvadriga, a turn-based Ancient chariot racing simulator that also quickly became a favorite of mine only to be then buried under the weight of other titles.
I replayed both games recently and I am thinking about adding them to my Game of the Year series, explaining why I believe they offer something unique that many players might have missed.
By definition, Game of the Year awards cannot show off the variety of games launched in a 12-month period, but I sincerely hope that we will manage to have a good balance of big releases, some of which can deliver quite a lot of content for gamers to explore, and smaller games that often have cool ideas even if they are not fully developed.
