Runoff 2014, Game of the Year

[The_Liquid_Laser]

The 2014 Game of the Year is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
The runner up is Alien: Isolation.
The master thread for all of these contests can be found here.

There needs to be a runoff since 31% of the votes went to the "Other" category.  Three games made the cut from the first round and they are joined by three more from write-in votes.  First here are the three games that made the cut:

Dark Souls II (PS3/XBox 360/PC)
Almost every major series has at least one divisive entry, and in this case that includes Dark Souls 2, at least for the fan base.  However, critics disagreed, giving the game a 91-92 on Metacritic which were higher scores than the first game received.  Dark Souls 2 has also sold over 13 million copies across all platforms.

 

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)
The most divisive part about this second entry was the platform it appeared on.  While the first Bayonetta was made for PS3 and XBox 360, Bayonetta 2 was a Nintendo exclusive.  The game scored a 91 on Metacritic and has sold over 1.5 million units total on the Wii U and Switch.

 

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
Not only was this the best-selling title on the Wii U, but it’s the best-selling title on the Switch too.  Mario Kart 8 has sold over 65.4 million copies total and is still going strong to this day.

 

These are the games from write-in votes, all of which have a colon in their title:

Divinity: Original Sin (PC)
Larian Studios needed to partially crowdfund this game in order for it to be made.  After completion the game scored an impressive 94 on Metacritic, making it Larian’s highest rated game up to that point.  This humorous game inspired by RPGs like Baldur’s Gate has sold over 2.5 million copies.

 

Alien: Isolation (PS4/XB1/PS3/XBox 360/PC)
This space-horror game is based on the Alien film series.  Let’s be real though.  Basically, all space-horror games are in some way based on the Alien film series.  (Yes, that includes Metroid.)  Alien: Isolation has sold over 2.1 million copies.

 

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)
Retro Studios crafted this latest entry in the DKC series.  Tropical Freeze had sold over 6.6 million copies total on the Wii U and Switch.

 

Runoff voting for 2014 Game of the Year will end on Sunday, Dec 10 at 11:59 PM, EST.

 

Games that didn't make the cut to the runoff round:

Hearthstone (PC/Mac/Mobile)
Five Nights at Freddy’s (PC/Mobile)
Shovel Knight (Wii U/3DS/PC/Mac/Linux)
Super Smash Bros for Wii U/3DS (Wii U/3DS)
Destiny (PS4/XB1/PS3/XBox 360)
Dragon Age Inquisition (PS4/XB1/PS3/XBox 360)

Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 11 December 2023