Great year. I’ve played SimCity2000 more than everything else in this thread combined, and it would’ve won it this year for me, but Zelda: Link’s Awakening is Zelda: Link’s Awakening. That game is absolute brilliance. It went far beyond what it’s platform was supposed to be doing and was even doing stuff it’s “big brother” on the SNES (ALttP) wasn’t. Still one of my absolute favorite games of all-time.

So yeah; Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Myst and Doom are both legendary games that defined their respective genres. I have tried both and liked neither. I have never liked any FPS-game and Doom is no exception.
Myst is more of a strange exception since I am a fan of adventure games. I tried playing it a couple of times and got bored within the hour each time. Many puzzle heavy adventure games is created to make the player feel smart. Myst seems instead to be built in order to make the player feel dumb. Can't deny the exhilaration feeling of finally solving one of the abstract riddles that is presented, but for me it just to much of just trying things and having know idea of direction or feedback if one is on the right track. Or the more probable cause is that I'm just stupid.

Links awakening is the game I would rate highest among the selections in the poll. I consider it the best paced game in the Zelda series. But it do have some major flaws, mainly the difficulty of bosses, many are a straight up joke. It is probably the first Zelda game I beat on my own and I have enjoyed it in recent playthroughs as well. Almost any Zelda is a contender for game of the year but I think this is a case where I'm a bit blinded by nostalgia.

Simcity2000 is great. It is the only Sim-game I enjoy playing. The gameplay and graphic style still holds up surprisingly well today. It is only when one of the alien monsters show up and the extremely low frame-rate gets noticed and annoying. Would not give it game of the year still.

Secret of mana gets my vote. The combat is bit clunky by todays standards but the colorful graphics and music make it joyful. I was never a big fan of the turn based combat style of RPGs at the time. The more action oriented combat of secret of mana (even if it is interrupted by using magic) was kind of new at the time. Action RPG would be more popularized in a few years on pc.
This alone is not enough to elevate it to game of the year heights, but the addition of multiplayer is. Playing a story heavy RPG with a sibling or significant other was a real treat at the time and it would take until Divinity Original sin until it was done better for me.

For me it's really hard between Myst and Phantasy Star IV.
PS IV is a great finale for the original series, blending beautifully elements of the three previous games. It's one of the best examples ever about how to end a series.
Myst is another favorite series of mine, I have them all 5+1 on my shelf! (In fact I'm just in middle of project replaying them one per year, this year's was III.) And looking both story and gameplay, I might say the first is best of them all.
This is my hardest choice yet, but I'll have to give it to Myst.

Third would be Master of Orion, definitely one of my top 3 strategy games ever. (I slightly prefer the first to second.)
Others to note from the year: Betrayal at Krondor, Simon the Sorcerer (and more less known adventures than I care to list), X-Wing, Wing Commander: Privateer and a nice Sega CD RPG Vay.

This might be the only time I go "other".

For me, it's Day of the Tentacle. Creative, hilarious, and endlessly clever, it's one of the best point-and-click adventure games ever made.

I went for Phantasy Star IV. Easily one of the best games of the generation and the best RPG ever released until that point. It's certainly a great end to the original story, but I do wonder what could have been if they made Phantasy Star V with a new plot on the Saturn...

Doom probably deserves to win overall, the quality and the impact are both there in spades.

People are only voting Link's Awakening because its Zelda.

And finally, I'll give shout-outs to Secret of Mana and Gunstar Heroes. Both excellent too.

Other - Romancing Saga 2, granted, I’m rather new to this game, but I put over 100 hours into multiple playthroughs on it during this generation. This is not a game I expect anyone else to enjoy, it’s very particularly aimed at my tastes and the Saga series is a small niche - but those who like these games, love them.

In the day, I’d be debating SimCity 2000 vs Secret of Mana.
I was a big fan of Master of Orion 2, but I don’t recall ever playing the first one. Gunstar Heroes was a game I liked a lot.
Mortal Kombat 2!!! Baraka ruled! (He was popular. Wasn’t at all surprised when he became US President).

Phantasy Star 4 was one I liked a lot as well. Although, after replaying Phantasy Star 2 recently and not being able to make it very far before I quit, I wonder if my memories for those games are better left in the past. Speaking of SaGa, FF Legend 1 was also a game I found infuriating to play when it was released on Switch (about 30 years after the original), but I liked it as a kid. Secret of Mana is another game I liked a great deal less when playing it in more recent times - although, my opinion on Mystic Quest/Adventures of Mana is about the same as it always was. I ended up liking some games a lot better - Final Fantasy 2, for example which was formerly my least favourite FF game and now my second favourite (next to 4) of the original 5 games.

What a year, too many great games to play.

Point & Click adventures really hit their stride with Day of the Tentacle leading the pack

yet also the hilarious Sam & Max Hit the road,

The excellent Gabriel Knights: Sins of the Father

The incredibly charming Freddy Pharkus Frontier Pharmacist

The Mysterious Return to Zork

The experimental The 7th Guest

And of course the one that got many more people into PC gaming, Myst


Many more other great games that year with stealth platformer Syndicate, Star Wars X-Wing with Death star trench run, Wing Commander: Privateer, Frontier Elite II's huge leap in open space exploration, the incredible charming and addictive The Settlers

Still one of the best 4X games where you could design your own units from one of the best tech trees in strategy games, Master of Orion

A personal favorite tactical strategy game and cult classic Space Hulk

The addictive Simcity 2000 with many improvements and isometric view

More great sequels as well In Prince of Persia 2 and Alone in the Dark 2, Duke Nukem II, Populous II, Lemmings 2

Yet Doom is the one that created the most buzz thanks to shareware release of its first level. The launch of Doom was an event, everyone needed to experience it and it worked on pretty much any computer and still fun playing in a tiny window at low frame rates.

What a year!

Another difficult year, though I think the last one for a while. For me it's between Doom, Secret of Mana, Mega Man X and Simcity 2000. I think I'll go with Mega Man X, but ask me tomorrow and the answer might be something else entirely.

Wait, Settlers is from 1993? I thought 1994!

Edit: Okay, I see, the Amiga version came out in 1993, the DOS version only in 1994. Well, that changes my Top spot for this year to The Settlers, then. Also, Sam and Max comes to the third spot.

So in short, the new Top 5:

1. The Settlers

2. Day of the Tentacle

3. Sam & Max Hit the Road

4. DOOM

5. Secret of Mana

Actually I'm voting for it because it's an awesome game.