This was probably the best year for mobile games yet. Thanks to the ever-increasing power of phones games can have better graphics, stories, controls, and console-quality gameplay. There were a ton of awesome mobile games this year and I couldn’t pick them all. I wanted to pick games that didn’t feel too repetitive or completely ripped you off with microtransactions which were also an even bigger problem this year.

Assassin’s Creed: Pirates

Pirates weren’t just the best looking mobile game this year but also carved out a great feature from Black Flag and made a perfect port to mobile phones. There are so many missions to complete, upgrades to unlock, and the ship battles were just so much fun. It somehow steered away from the repetitious gameplay that most mobile games are plagued with and didn’t require microtransactions to play through.

Runner-Ups

Real Racing 3

Dead Trigger 2

The Walking Dead: Assault

Plants vs. Zombies 2

The Vita grew very strong this year compared to last year’s weak games. If the Vita continues like it did this year it could be as strong or stronger than the 3DS lineup. While the Vita lineup was strong this year it needs more frequent quality game releases to continue selling well and getting more developers on board.

Tearaway

Runner-Ups

Soul Sacrifice

Killzone: Mercenary

Muramasa Rebirth

Ys: Memories of Celceta

This was a very strong year for the 3DS. There were many great first-party games, but third party games also rocked the handheld. Games were very rich in gameplay and story this year and helped push the 3DS as the top handheld. Many games had better 3D effects than last year and just felt more wholesome and solid.

Fire Emblem: Awakening

Fire Emblem isn’t just the best strategy game this year but also the best 3DS game. The rich and deep story, addictive and well-paced combat along with great characters. There were many great 3DS games this year but Fire Emblem shocked everyone since they were expecting another GameBoy Advance type of game.

Runner-Ups

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

The PC kind of struggled this year, but was a great year for indie games. There weren’t many heavy hitters like Crysis or any other PC exclusive AAA game. What we saw were great indie games that pushed themselves beyond what big-budget games can do and even crafted whole new genres. Usually, the best PC game has some of the best graphics of the year, fantastic gameplay, rich multiplayer, and something that only the PC can offer.

The Stanley Parable

You may say that it’s unfair that a Half-Life 2 mod gone stand alone is the best game. The Stanley Parable actually isn’t much of a game but an interactive narrative. The story is so strange yet so grounded that you don’t want to stop playing. The fact that every path you take is narrated and adjusted accordingly is awesome. This game won by sheer story-driven elements and a unique narrative.

Runner-Ups

Papers, Please

Gunpoint

Civilization V: Brave New World

Path of Exile

2013 was another slow year for the Wii U. There weren’t even that many games that were released for the struggling console. There were a few great gems, but overall they weren’t anything truly amazing. Hopefully, 2014 is a better year for the console.

Super Mario 3D World

3D World was a fantastic platformer and was the best Mario game for the Wii U yet. The graphics were fantastic and the game was so much fun in co-op and featured some fun mini-games. Despite this, it’s still not the best game the Wii U can produce but was a solid platformer this year.

Runner-Ups

Pikmin 3

New Super Luigi U

The Wonderful 101

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

I like to do things a bit differently for the best console games. Most websites will pick multiplatform games which I find pointless. The best platform-specific games should be exclusives. You will notice the Xbox 360 is absent this year and probably won’t show up again. The only heavy hitter (or any for that matter) exclusive was Gears of War: Judgement which was sub-par and below Gears of War expectations. The PS3 had some of the best games this year and was stronger than ever. Sony put a lot of time and money into projects for 2013 and it really paid off. Will the PS3 run this strong next year? Maybe not seeing how the PS4 is already out, but we’ll see.

The Last of Us

The Last of Us may have had some flaws, but it was a beautiful game. It looked nearly next-gen and was a truly crafted piece of art for the PS3. It had a gripping story, great characters, and a fantastic atmosphere full of gritty urban combat. There were many fantastic PS3 games this year, but this one shines above all.

Runner-Ups

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Gran Turismo 6

Beyond: Two Souls

Puppeteer