The end of the year is near! Overall, I thought 2014 was a pretty good year when we talk about the quality of games, and I released Picross Pushers, BRIGHT and Be_AT, Cloud Chap for the Nitrome Jam and recently Micro Massive+. I even managed to process by 22 points on my backlog this year, opposed to the -38 of last year. Thanks to my sudden urge to rank all games I've played this year, I've just decided to make a blog post of it. Here are ten games I played this year that I really liked.

Note: This list is compiled by one person, so it features a few oddball picks, and games that didn't release this year but I played this year are also included in the list. The list is in no particular order. The platform I played it on is listed as well.

Knytt Underground - PC (Steam)
A rare game with a magical flair. This game is pure exploration. You play as a mute girl, accompanied by two fairies, one cheery and the other grim, and while you're initially just others problems, in the third chapter you are let free to discover the giant cave system all by yourself. Backed by an ambient soundtrack and a very lush detailed world, and a detailed and clear inventory system and map, this simply is one of the best games you can play if you need a rest from all action packed or hand holding games that are now the standard.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - PC (Steam)
Best described as 'Mario Kart without Mario'! It has an amazing soundtrack, an actual Career mode instead of just 'Grand Prixes' as in Mario Kart, and some more interesting game design choices. Lots of SEGA classics are well presented, and although I'm not a great SEGA fan myself, it is very interesting to see such varying surrounding in one game.
Sequence - PC (Steam)
How about a rhythm/RPG hybrid? That would be Sequence. In this completely voice acted game, you battle your foes on the beat with DDR-style gameplay. The soundtrack is amazing, there are interesting ideas regarding battles and experience, and the story is both humorous and serious.
Kirby Triple Deluxe - 3DS
Kirby does it again- a cheerful game featuring puzzles, switching between the back- and foreground and the famous Copy Abilities. Kirby Fighters is genius, collecting key chains featuring sprites from past games in the series is fun, and there is a lot of inspiration present from Super Star.
Guacamelee! STCE! - Wii U
This game is not easily summarize-able. It has wrestlers, Mexico, lots of references to other indie games, chickens, throwing enemies into other enemies, surprisingly tricky platforming sections, pretty epic bosses and collectibles everywhere. Even if just one of these things grab your attention, you shouldn't get around this game.
Kairo - PC (Steam)
An exploration game at heart. Figure out how to get things to work, and when they do, figure out how they work. Bring life to the world around you by solving all kinds of epic puzzles.
Child of Light - Wii U
An artistic experience. It looks gorgeous, sounds beautifully and grabs your attention until the very end. Although exploration is important, it's the battle system that spikes a lot of interesting ideas. I only hope we are going to see more games like this, because I believe that this is exactly what a game should be- a wonderful experience like no other.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 3DS
I'm not a Final Fantasy fan, but even if you just like rhythm games, this package has it all for you. 220 songs, all provided with three difficulties to play on, a quest mode which plays more like a traditional RPG and an local and online battle mode will make sure you keep playing this game for a long while. I'm still playing this reguarily for three months now.
Smash Bros. for Wii U - Wii U
I don't think this needs any introduction, right? Whatever: Smash Brothers is one of the most polished games to be released this year. It overflows with content, with almost fifty fighters, superb stages and lots of extra stuff. Especially the large music collection, with over 400 pieces ranging from arrangements to original music, impresses me.
Shovel Knight - Wii U
Manages to take a the retro challenge to a modern experience. A charming cast of characters, challenging stages and lots of little surprises, relic weapons and puns. Backed by virt's extremely good soundtrack.

Beside the awesome experiences listed here above, I'd also like to specially mention these games:
Mario Kart 8, Braid, Donkey Kong (Gameboy), Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
FRACT OSC, Etrian Odessy Untold

And here's a list of games that (most likely) release next year that I have high expectations for:
RIVE, Even the Ocean, whatever Choice Provisions is working on, whatever Tomorrow Corporation is working on, Etrian Odessy II and V, the new Zelda


Edit: Just a small rectification- I've just finished To the Moon and it's fantastic. Also playing Transistor right now.

The new Smash Bros. released some days ago, and I've noticed something that Nintendo usually does these days- fit the game for both core and casual audience.

First off, the intensity setting has been near directly copied from Kid Icarus Uprising. In Classic mode, you can set your difficulty level anywhere between 0.0 and 9.0. The intensity slider allows players to tune up the difficulty to exactly their desired level, and even set it lower as intended if the game gets too hard for them, without feeling too forced or game-breaking. The default level is 2.0, and if you want to go higher, you first need a bit of cash to access them, preventing new players from setting the difficulty to high right of the start. It is also a kind of investment- if the player dies, he loses some rewards in the process, including gathered money. The intensity also decreases by 0.5, so the player can score less rewards after they continue. It very weird that this option is only available in Classic mode, since it would have fitted well in All-Star as well. 

Another notable thing: the few 'obscure' newcomers. Some are here to please the true core fans, such as Mega Man and Shulk, while other newcomers are from Wii Fit, Animal Crossing, and of course the Mii's, as well as some others, usually not known for battling at all. These are clearly added to appeal to casual players, instead of the core base (who just joke about the new additions). The more characters the player is familiar with are in the game, the more likely he is to buy the game, and enjoy it.

Also introduced are the Amiibos. Nintendo steps in the footsteps of Skylanders and Infinity with their own twist. In Smash Brothers, the Amiibo is a computer controlled fighter, initially weak, but grows incredibly smart when trained well. Unlike the other toys-to-life games, you can't control it yourself, but you can set its abilities and stats, gain rewards from it, and fight alongside or against it.

Lastly, the release of the 3DS version also hints to this. After all, 2DS'es can now be obtained very cheaply and is more popular than the Wii U, so the possible audience is bigger. The ludicrous amount of content available also makes the game good to advertise. The 3DS and Wii U version can also connect to each other to use the 3DS as controller on the Wii U, or transfer custom characters between them.

Altogether, Nintendo has done it yet again with one of the most respected franchises they have. I hope that more developers see the value of making your target audience as wide as possible, and see the priority of making players have fun over challenging.