. GOTY 2014 – Tom Orry

Game of the Year: Diablo 3

Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition is far and away my favourite game of 2014. It's also something that I initially had next to no interest in. I remember when Blizzard fans were going nuts over the game on PC back in 2012 and I didn't understand why. You click on things and get loot and do that over and over again. No big deal, or so I thought.

Blizzard brought the game to consoles in 2013 and I still didn't care, but when it arrived on PS4, in lovely 1080p and 60fps I was tempted to take a look. Initially it did nothing for me. Combat felt simplistic, my character was horribly underpowered, and visually it didn't really do anything to push the new console. I was underwhelmed.

But I stuck with it. I have no idea why I did as a shortage of free time means I'm quite picky about what I play, but I'm glad I did as I eventually discovered one of the most fun and addictive experiences I've ever experienced.

And I'm pretty sure I have no clue how to play the game properly, and here's why:

• I constantly dump items in order to pick up new ones that might be worse
• I have hundreds of thousands of credits yet have never bought anything from a merchant
• I've never played the game with any other human
• I haven't died in about 20 hours
• I beat the main boss in Act 3 in about three seconds
• There are things in the game's menus I don't understand
• I've refused to upgrade one item to a better one because it gives me a beast friend
• I can't tell you what class I am

There's clearly a lot about Diablo 3 that I don't understand, and this is while playing the, presumably dumbed down, console game. But here's why I love it.

• I am a badass with badass abilities
• I can obliterate a room full of enemies in moments
• I have a beast friend who appears when I get into a fight
• I get new stuff all the time
• I equip better stuff and become even more powerful
• I level up all the time
• I munched a big bad boss in seconds
• I can glide effortlessly across the floor and then smash enemies up with by shield

Diablo 3 is brilliant. I recommend it to everyone. Just don't ask me anything about it and expect an answer that shows a deep knowledge of the game's probably complex systems.

Trials Fusion

Trials Fusion is a real love/hate game. I played it obsessively for a few months earlier in 2014, initially working through as many of the stages as possible, trying against all hope to finish the later ones, and then giving up. Then I tried to beat some friends' top times, and the whole shooting match was taken to another level. Ex-VideoGamer writer Jamin was my main target, so I pumped countless days into trying to beat his time on one of the early stages. I did. I was excited. He then trounced my time. My love of the game was over. Thanks, Jamin. You managed to ruin something I loved. Not for the first time.

Bayonetta 2

Had I not discovered Diablo 3, Bayo 2 would have been my favourite game of 2014, and funnily enough it's a game that has some similarities with Blizzard's loot-fest. It's another title that I didn't play like you're 'meant' to. Like the original, Bayonetta 2 features some pretty complex combat mechanics, designed so that expert players can show off even when played on the hardest difficulty setting. I'm not one of these masters and never will be, instead enjoying the speed, the set-pieces, the sheer insanity of the whole thing.

This is a game in which you fight angels on top of a moving jet plane, batter a massive dragon on the edge of a skyscraper, and conjure up massive beasts using your own hair. It's completely batshit, and all the better because of it.