Well, I think the first great game I played this year was Infamous Second Son. Visually, it was stunning, it had a decent story, and an interesting setting. Maybe it was a cliche that the game set in Washington State has you playing as a First Nations person, but, can something really be cliche when there's only one other game that does that is Assassin's Creed 3? The new powers were very imaginative, but, let's be honest here, neon was the one everyone used. I think what's holding the game back from being my GOTY, is the video boss fight. I understand what Sucker Punch were going for, but it wasn't fun, and in fact, was quite frustrating.
The next game that could be my GOTY would be a little nugget called Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. I was expecting a generic Assassin's Creed clone. What I got was something more. First, they absolutely fucking nailed the combat, Ubisoft TAKE NOTE, you've had eight games to do this, Monolith nailed it on their first time out with one of these types of games. Anyways, yeah, combat was sweet, as was powering up Talion. The story was a little bit so-so, and I'm really fucking sick of Troy Baker in games. But what set this game apart was the nemesis system, something I hope other developers shamelessly rip off. How they managed to give each Orc name it's own chant was a great touch. However, I think what's holding Mordor back from GOTY supremacy is it's setting. In all of Middle-earth to explore, we end up in Mordor. While, eventually there are trees and greenness, there's no towns, no snow, no variety in the world. I like exploring worlds, and Shadow of Mordor gave me just enough of that to realize how boring it's world was.
So, I think, my game of the year might just be....... Far Cry 4. I only hesitate because I haven't finished the main campaign (in fact, I've just finally got to the north for the first time). I mentioned previously that I enjoy exploration of open worlds, and, oh doggy, does this game have that. Beautiful mountain tops? Check. Small homesteads you wouldn't discover unless you stumble upon it? Check. Beautiful lakes with treasure at the bottom? Check. I know Far Cry 3 had all of that, but I think it's the beautiful setting that sets this apart, the tropical environment never clicked with me. Or maybe it's that I had a ton of PS3 games to play when Far Cry 3 came out, and not too many PS4 games at this point. Did I mention how great the grappling is? Or the little helicopter vehicles? Jumping off a cliff and hitting L3 to launch your wingsuit? It's all great.
Other noteworthy games:
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Rogue Legacy
Assassin's Creed Unity (even though I also hated it)
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Hahahaha OH DEAN! Overall I do think it was a very weak year. The weakest we've seen since the PS3/360 launched, easily. I don't think any of these games could beat The Last of Us, Journey, Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, Super Mario Galaxy, for GOTY.