The official mandate has come down from the top—that it is December, and we all write about games, so we all have to pick some arbitrary number of them that we enjoyed above all others this year. I am taking on this task in the way of our forefathers, using their traditional number (10) and order (from great to most greatest). Games were chosen for this list using a highly scientific list of criteria, including but not limited to dopamine levels, blood alcohol content, tarot, and how badly I wanted a button making machine upon completion. This is my game of the year.
1. The World Ends With You
This one surprised me too, but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t justify not putting this vast, strange, innovative and compelling portable game at the top of my list. There’s a lot to think about here, so let’s dive right in.
The World Ends With You is, at its heart, about cacophony. It’s about the cacophony of urban living—too many people, too many sounds, too many thoughts and banal life stories. It’s about the cacophony of capitalism—too many constantly swirling brands and fads, too many “friendships” borne purely of what you buy and what you own. It’s a game about surviving the barrage, about blocking out the white noise to find your own value in the meaninglessness.
The story follows the meaning. It’s about a teenager who endures the constant assault on his senses by keeping it all out, and the strange, surreal events of a fatal game that forces him to confront and engage in life. But most interesting is that the mechanics of the game also follow along, and yet are somehow workable.
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