With writing better than most books, humour sharp enough to cut your tongue out, and puzzle design and mechanics that scream creativity, Portal 2 was always going to rank highly on my list. It's a testament to how great a game can be when it accepts every avenue of entertainment gaming can provide, and doesn't restrict itself to singular ideals of what a game "should" or "shouldn't" be. Add in a great co-op mode (with writing and humuor as on point as the SP) and a near endless supply of player created levels, and Portal 2 isn't a game i'm likely to forget any time soon.
Steins;Gate (like most VNG's) is not your traditional type of game. Where in most games you would directly control the movement and actions of your character, in Steins;Gate you sit, read, and occasionally make choices. To some that may sound boring, but as someone who adores books but also loves the ability to interact with the world's they describe, VNG's are something I've grown fond of over the years. Add to the mix Steins;Gate's crazy, hilarious, and often times disturbing story of time travel, alternative universes and squishy green bananas, and you 40+ hours of an incredibly happy Zekkyou.
On a side note, if you aren't a fan of reading (of which there is a lot here) but enjoy watching anime from time to time, i'd highly recommend watching the show. With exception to Clannad: AS, it's the best VNG to anime adaptation I've seen.
The Last of Us? Ranked almost at the top of a list written by someone whose values both gameplay and plot? Whoda thunk it, Johnny.
There's not much i can say about TLOU that hasn't been said a million times before. The story could never be described as original, but is told masterfully through the interactions and travels of its main characters. In tune with the story the gameplay can be tense, nerve wracking and filled with far more choice than you'd expect from a game with a focus on linear progression. Most surprisingly of all though (to me at least), is that it sits in a very exclusive club as one of only two games with a competitive multi-player mode that i enjoyed this gen. The SP alone would have been enough to land it a spot among my favorite games of the generation, but combined with the MP it secures its place as my personal 7th gen king.
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