Tom Mc Shea, Editor Follow

2012 was an amazing year for games. Do you want evidence? Observe:

10. Sound Shapes

Elevating a game's music to the same plane as the core gameplay is a tricky endeavor that few games seem to get right. Sound Shapes excelled at it. Creatures and objects in the environment created platforms with their songs, and leaping between them offered a pleasing combination of free-flowing movement and dastardly challenge. Every world (charmingly referred to as albums) presented a unique artistic and musical style that continually shifted my expectations of what lay ahead. And the best part of all? A level called Cities with a song written by Beck. As the singer bellowed the chorus, his words manifested in the environment, embodying the perfect mix of music and gameplay that Sound Shapes so expertly achieved throughout the game.

9. Spec Ops: The Line

I have a major problem with military games. By ignoring the realities of war in favor of a fantasyland theme park, they alter our perception of the tragedies that take place every day. Spec Ops: The Line doesn't hide from the truth. Rather, it shows that war isn't fought between good guys and bad guys, that even those with the noblest intentions can perform terrible deeds in the wrong circumstances. Furthermore, The Line thrust the entire modern military genre under the microscope. The power fantasy so common in these games, where murdering thousands of individuals has no repercussions, is examined here in sobering detail. Playing another military shooter after The Line shows how juvenile they truly are, and I can only cross my fingers that more developers treat this delicate subject with respect in the future.

8. I Am Alive

I'm a sucker for stories centered on familial relationships. In I Am Alive, you play as a man in search of his family after a disaster tore his hometown asunder, and it shows what happens to society when no one is in charge. While searching for your family, you find a little girl lost in the wreckage. The bond you form with her is touching without being saccharine, and provides an emotional center for the chaotic events happening around you. Combat is rare and incredibly tense. You often get confronted by desperate survivors without any bullets to defend yourself, but merely raising a gun can be enough to keep people at bay. Few games have examined the psychology of what it'd be like to live in such a terrible situation, so I Am Alive stood out for me in its depressing and harsh view of an unthinkable ordeal.

7. Mass Effect 3

The Mass Effect trilogy was incredibly ambitious at its conception, and I'm floored that it pulled off its huge ideas in such an unexpected way. The choices I made through three long adventures drew me closer to my companions and my ultimate goal, and the resulting payoff in the finale was worth all the time and energy I invested in the games. The sacrifices in the third adventure shook me because I had grown so close to these characters. What's most fascinating to me is that I don't care one bit for the shooting. Mass Effect 2 and 3 were rote cover-based shooters against boring enemies in repetitive environments, so all the action portions were weak points for me. And yet, even though much of the game was tiring, the story was so well told and the characters so expertly developed that I couldn't pull myself away.

6. Closure

No game released this year elicited as many stunned reactions as Closure. The mind-bending concept shows a world where objects cease to exist once the lights are turned off. The solid plot of ground you're walking on can vanish in a flash if the light fails to reach it. It's a crazy idea that's used in new and inventive ways throughout the adventure. Turning a pillar into a makeshift elevator just by moving a light source is eminently appealing, and trying to wrap my head around the devious puzzles made this a deeply satisfying adventure. And even after sinking hours into the game, I would still plummet to my death by forgetting that there really isn't anything to stand on near that door even though I had just been there a moment earlier. Closure is a fascinating concept done really well.

5. Spelunky

On at least a half dozen separate occasions, I openly despised Spelunky. Merciless is too kind a word for the unrelenting platforming trials Spelunky places before you. Randomly constructed levels filled with obstacles and baddies that can kill you at any moment, and yet I have to start from square one whenever my last heart disappears? That's just sadistic! And yet, I kept coming back. I learned to balance my patience and cunning. I learned that greed is the number one cause of death, and that there's no shame in running scared from a boomerang-throwing cannibal. Slowly but surely, I made progress, and I realized what these punishing design decisions were for. Spelunky is about discovery and reward, and by making you fight for everything, you earn everything you get, and the satisfaction of a job well done is impossible to contain.

4. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

Strong narrative in any medium makes me sad when the tale is concluded. I spent more than 30 hours playing Virtue's Last Reward, and in those many hours, I grew very close to the diverse cast of characters. There's quiet Luna, perpetually helping others while scared to divulge information about her past. Contrast her with crazy Dio, a foul-mouthed hot head whose agenda is clearly to save his own butt. And then there's Phi. You meet her in the first scene, and her steely determination and expansive knowledge urge you to uncover every detail about her that you can. These and other strong characters assist and betray each other as they struggle to figure out why they were kidnapped. It's a fantastic story told in a way I haven't seen before. Choices push you down a path, but to see the entire tale, you need to examine every decision. Wrap that up with clever puzzles that tie into the greater narrative, and Virtue's Last Reward catapulted toward the top of my favorite games list.

3. Persona 4 Golden

Ordinary high school problems seem like a dull idea to base a game around, but it's that mundaneness that makes Golden so compelling. Forming relationships is at the core of a life well lived, so the simple act of playing basketball with a troubled friend or consoling your crying cousin draws you fully into this experience. And as you grow closer to the characters, you understand the secrets they hide from the rest of the world. The nurse who feels helpless when her patients die and the hotel heiress forced to follow in her parents' footsteps exhibit relatable problems, and it's empowering to see their troubles resolved. Golden goes so deep into suburban affairs that you feel as though you're a part of this small Japanese town. Exciting turn-based combat exhibits the traditional video game elements you would expect, but it's the personal quest that makes Golden so enthralling. Clearly, this is one of the finest role-playing games ever crafted.

2. Journey

Journey is raw emotion. Instead of letting complexity obfuscate its message, Journey's streamlined action engenders a feeling of simple joy. Exquisite visual design continually took my breath away, and the soaring soundtrack perfectly complimented my movement. As I slid down hills and hopped upon shattered structures, I was entirely immersed in my cloaked hero's journey. This is a monumental achievement that shows how much power video games have. This wordless story resonates because you are in control, and as you struggle to reach the shining summit, you feel connected to this world, eager to discover the mysteries that lay ahead. And just when you think you're alone, that there's no one else in this entire wasteland, you meet a friend. Chirp and hop, follow along. You communicate on the most basic level, and that ties into the overall theme of Journey. This is an experience that strips away the artificial constraints that keep us from understanding one another and delivers a message anyone could digest.

1. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

I'm not going to mince words: Dark Souls is one of the finest games I have ever played. This is a phenomenal experience that gets to the heart of why I play games. Dark Souls respects me. It knows that I struggle at times, that I get down, frustrated. It knows that I sometimes want to give up in disgust. But it knows that handing me something, instead of making me earn it, would leave me dry and empty a few minutes later. That's why the challenge needs to be so high. When I fall down, I pick myself up again, and keep pushing forward.

But it's not the difficulty alone that makes this so compelling. Every element of this game is created with staggering precision. From the health system that governs how much life you can carry with you to the intricate pathways that link this interconnected world, every aspect ties into the overall point. Dark Souls is what's right with gaming. It's why I started playing years ago with The Legend of Zelda, why I pushed through Spelunky and Super Meat Boy even when I was at my wits' end. There is no joy greater than overcoming a challenge through my own will and determination, and Dark Souls is an amazing example of the drive that makes living life so eminently rewarding.