I'm entering into this year's predictions far more humble than I did 2013's. Why? Because I got everything wrong last year. But that's ok - life is a learning experience, and I've learned to keep my predictions a tad more realistic. So with that in mind, I'M GONNA PREDICT SO HARD YOUR FACE IS GOING TO MELT.Can I break the bad predictions curse? We'll find out in twelve months. See you in 2015, doubters!!(Geez, I really hope I got it right this time).
As 2013 draws to a close, it's time to look ahead to what 2014 might bring in our great parade of Gamezebo predictions. Before we do, though, I think it's important that we hold ourselves accountable for the sins of the past: namely, our 2013 predictions.Were we right? Were we wrong? There's only one way to find out. Check out everything predicted by Gamezebo Founder Joel Brodie, Editor-in-Chief Jim Squires, and former Associate Editor Dant Rambo at the beginning of 2013 to see how right we were. (SPOILER: we were about 67% right).
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play a game inside a dream? That's exactly what Kentucky Route Zero feels like. Everything is normal, except it's not. Everything makes sense, except it doesn't. Context ceases to apply. Every bit of strangeness is met with a mix of hesitation and acceptance.You're in an office building that seems to be both inside and outside simultaneously. The third floor is populated solely by bears. Yet all the while, business as usual is being conducted. People are at their desks. Proposals are being looked over. There's a receptionist who insists you jump through the necessary red tape before seeing someone. Moments like this are what Kentucky Route Zero is made of: that strange sense that lives inside of dreams, where no matter how fantastic the elements at play may seem in retrospect, they're merely unsettling at the time - like puzzle pieces that don't quite fit.It helps that you're not the only one that feels this way. Conway and Shannon, the game's protagonists, seem to share this mixed sense of unease and acceptance. And as unsettling as it all is, it's also quite beautiful. Kentucky Route Zero is a game that capture a familiar feeling that I've never seen another medium successful recreate. I suppose the closest comparison might be a David Lynch film, but even those fall short by comparison.
You know what's better than Dungelot? MORE Dungelot. The original netted a near perfect score in our review back in January 2013, and it looks like the folks at RedWinter Software are ready to revisit this refreshing roguelike with the release of Dungelot 2 sometime next month.While there's not a ton of info available quite yet on what we can expect in this sequel, the trailer below does give a great glimpse at the game in action. And it's clear that the art assets have been given a huge upgrade. Gone are the cartoony characters on the first, replaced by a more traditional fantasy art style.If you're wondering why you should be excited about this one, you really need look no further than the original. Either give it a download while you're waiting for number two, or read our review to find out why you should.
When you get this deep into a year-end countdown, you're starting to look at the best of the best. Everything on today's list, without exception, was a serious contender for Game of the Year. And while none of them snagged that brass ring in the end, there's no denying it: these are some of the best games that 2013 had to offer. If you only play five games from 2013, this is where to start.Of course, if you're looking to play even more than that, be sure to check out our previous best of picks for the year, which you can find at these handy links: #20-#16, #15-#11, #10-6, and +13.
In years past, the week between Christmas and New Years Day is when the annual "Best of" lists pop up. This year will be no different: Best of 2013 awards are already popping up all over the internet, Gamezebo included. From the best first-person shooters to the best puzzle platformers, seemingly every category gets its moment in the spotlight, and the games highlighted get one last pat on the back before a new year full of new games comes kicking down the door.The amount of games that come out every month (even more now that early-build releases are common) is overwhelming. Understandably, gamers simply don't have the time or the budget to keep up with every release. Plenty of great games flew under the radar this year, so I wanted to take a few moments to share with our readers ten awesome indie games that you may have overlooked in 2013.
There have been a ton of great new games to come out in 2013, there's certainly no question about that. But did you also know that a lot of our favorites from the past year were made by brand new development studios? It's true! We saw so many amazing high-quality debuts this year that we only thought it'd be best to point out which studios you'll want to keep an eye on in 2014 and beyond.At first glance, it's easy to see why every game on this list is positively stunning in its own right: from doing something vastly innovative, to just providing downright fun gameplay, it's evident that the teams behind them knew exactly what they were doing. But then once you realize that all of these games are merely the debut efforts of new studios that are still in their youth, then the excitement really starts to build when you start thinking about all of the second and third titles that are eventually going to come!"So here are our picks for the new developers and their amazing debut games that really wowed us in 2013. Want to rave about our choices? Know of a few other newbies that deserve a special mention? Leave us your thoughts down in the replies!
There were so many terrific games in 2013. SO MANY. It was incredibly tough to nail down our top 10. Almost everything you've seen so far in our picks for #20-#16, #15-#11 and even the +13 were all in consideration for the hallowed halls of 'ten'nery. Even some games that didn't even make our top 20+13.In the end we knew that our top 10 had to meet some pretty tough criteria. Maybe they were original; the sort of thing we've never seen before. Maybe they were impeccable; the absolute top of their game, with no competitor even coming close. Most importantly though, these were the games that stuck with us. They games we kept playing month after month or, if not that, that we've never stopped bringing up in conversation. These are the games from 2013 that we're going to remember.