Best of 2014: Top 10 Reader-Voted Best Games of 2014

CraveOnline readers, you have spoken.

It’s been a mixed bag for games this year. While there have only been a few truly fantastic releases, there have been plenty of disappointments in what has been an overall controversial year for the industry as a whole (when is that ever not the case?). Developers are still seemingly having teething issues with the new generation of consoles, and software has therefore been rather hit-and-miss. However, you have chosen the games that you felt were worthy contenders for game of the year, and the results are quite surprising.

Here are the games that YOU decided were the top 10 best games of 2014:

Top 10 Fan-Voted Games of the Year 2014

10: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

One of the sleeper hits of the year, Monolith Productions surprised everyone when they produced a truly great Lord of the Rings game.
Putting a huge amount of emphasis upon its "Nemesis System," which saw players able to cultivate their own rivals in the game's world who would then be promoted through the ranks of the Orc army, gradually becoming more and more powerful, Shadow of Mordor proved that a game needn't have a wide array of mechanics to prove popular - it simply needs to do what it sets out to do with competence.
Such was the proficiency of the game built upon the foundations of the excellent Nemesis System that Shadow of Mordor proved to be your #10 favorite game of the year.
9: Dark Souls 2

Though it was arguably weaker than the first Dark Souls and its predecessor Demon's Souls, Dark Souls 2 was still a great deal more accomplished than most other games on the market, which is a testament to how well From Software has the Souls formula nailed down.
With a wide variety of seemingly insurmountable enemies to duel with, beautiful landscapes to explore and an immensely challenging level of difficulty, Dark Souls 2 was an engrossing game that captivated enough of you to earn its place within this top 10 list.
8: Destiny

So Destiny wasn't the game we expected it to be. It wasn't some hugely ambitious console MMO, nor was it a game that was destined (excuse the pun) to have a 20-year lifespan as Bungie had suggested.
However, it was a rather addictive shooter that inveigled players so much that they actively chose to stand in front of a cave, mindlessly shooting at waves upon waves of respawning enemies in order to acquire better gear.
Destiny certainly had its faults, and they have been well-noted since its release, but despite a middling critical reaction it has proven to be one of the most popular releases of the year with consumers, its accomplished shooting mechanics and excellent raid missions have both served to make it your eighth best game of the year.
7: Child of Light

Combining gorgeous hand-drawn art with fun platforming/RPG gameplay and a wondrous soundtrack, Child of Light has managed to sneak its way past a myriad of big-budget releases in order to insert itself into our reader-voted top 10.
Ubisoft kicked off a rather woeful year for the company with this gem of a game, that managed to generate goodwill for them with gamers before they inevitably ruined it with the shoddy releases of Assassin's Creed Unity and DriveClub.
6: Super Smash Bros. 3DS

The most commercially popular 3DS game of 2014 is, judging by our readers' votes, the handheld console's second-best release of the year.
Releasing Super Smash Bros. 3DS before its Wii U equivalent initially seemed like an odd business decision from Nintendo, but it ultimately worked out well for the company. The game sold by the bucket load, achieving almost universal acclaim with fans of the series hailing it as a successful transferral of the fighting series from home consoles to portable.
5: Shovel Knight

You could be forgiven for growing tired of games with 8-bit visuals that attempt to inveigle a sense of nostalgia out of those of us who grew up in the '80s/'90s, but if all of those throwback titles were as accomplished as Shovel Knight, we'd be thankful.
Despite the limitations of the visual style, Shovel Knight remains a consistently good-looking game throughout its 10-hour runtime, offering varied level design, tight gameplay and immense boss fights, which clearly mimic those of the Mega Man series whilst also offering enough deviations on the formula to make them memorable in their own right.
4: Bravely Default

Bravely Default is the game you deemed the best handheld title of the year, and it deserves that accolade.
Though it released in Japan earlier than this year, it only make its way to Western shores in 2014, and we lapped up this excellent adventure with gusto.
Many hailed it as a JRPG revival, and a sign that developer Square Enix still knew how to make games in the genre despite a poor run of releases in the Final Fantasy series.
3: Mario Kart 8

Here it is, readers: your third favorite game of the year.
Many have said that Mario Kart 8 is the very best game in the series, and it's not difficult to see why. The gameplay has been fine-tuned to provide a perfect balance between skill and chaos, the new tracks each hit the mark (and the downloadable courses are even better) while the visuals showcased what Nintendo could do with the Wii U, despite the console not being as technically powerful as its peers.
Mario Kart 8 had a huge impact on the fortunes of the Wii U, marking a big boost in sales of the console and finally putting the flagging system on the map.
2: Super Smash Bros. U

Here it is, folks. Your runner-up.
Following the success of Mario Kart 8, Nintendo issued a follow-up punch with Super Smash Bros. U, and it was a knockout blow.
Boasting the largest roster of the series to date and a healthy selection of stages that each brought something new to the table, Super Smash Bros. U also came packed with game modes for both solo players and multiplayer bouts, along with online gameplay that actually worked (take that, Brawl!) and 8-player Smash.
We loved it, and it looks like you enjoyed it as much as we did, as you made it your second favorite game of the year.
1: Bayonetta 2

In a surprising turn of events, Bayonetta 2 is our readers' favorite game of 2014.
When it was first announced that Platinum Games' sequel to their critically-acclaimed beat 'em up would be releasing exclusively on the Wii U, many complained. However, when it was revealed that Platinum had been working arm-in-arm with Nintendo to ensure the game would be up to scratch, the exclusivity deal was entirely justified.
While it didn't reinvent the wheel for the series, it improved almost every facet of the original and Bayonetta 2 proved to be a top game in the Wii U's ever-expanding roster of superb titles.
And that's it. Our reader-voted top three games of 2014 are Wii U exclusives - it seems that the underdog console completely ruled the roost when it came to quality this year.