The action category was the strongest this year. We had some amazing action games that helped kick start the next-generation of gaming as well as usher in some new franchises and surprisingly fantastic sequels.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor isn’t just the best Lord of the Rings game, but one of the best action games in recent history. The engine for Sauron’s Army is just revolutionary. Mordor has the first open-ended story that truly is based on your decisions. If you kill one Uruk and allow another to live it can change what happens later on when you get to the war chief. The game also looks fantastic and has some of the best combat since God of War and Batman: Arkham games.

Runner-Ups

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions

Alien: Isolation

Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

Bayonetta 2