Each month, Critically Sane will select, from the releases in that month, a game that is worthy of our prestigious game of the month award, and a few runners up that are worthy of recognition. These games will form the basis of our GOTY discussion later on in the year. On to March!
Game of the Month: Titanfall
This has been quite the March. Between Dark Souls II, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Age of Wonders 3, there’s been an excellent, top-of-the-genre type title for anybody. But if you’re looking for the game that truly revolutionizes a genre, look no further than Titanfall. Titanfall is the first truly great shooter in some time, the first wildly successful attempt by a AAA developer to do more than iterate on previously established concepts since Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare established the tenets of their respect forms of modern FPS. Titanfall tackles the hard problems: how does a shooter make losing fun? How can we add verticality to the modern shooter? How do we add speed and complexity to a genre without making it inaccessible? In a month with games for all comers, Titanfall stands above the rest as a truly innovative and excellent title.
Runner-Up: South Park: The Stick of Truth
It is hard to fathom that South Park has existed for 17 years and is still going strong. Even harder to believe is that South Park: The Stick of Truth is finally out and not only that, it is actually pretty great. Ever since the airing season six episode “The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers” (in 2002), I have wanted a South Park RPG that explored the town of South Park and gave access to the wonderfully sick world created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Stick of Truth delivers that. The game has all the trademark irreverent humor of the show and goes places I never would have believed and it does it all with some simple, yet fun gameplay. If you weren’t a South Park fan prior to the game, you won’t be after playing it either, but if you are a fan, you owe it to yourself to experience what The Stick of Truth has to offer.
Runner-Up: Dark Souls II
Extremely challenging and equally rewarding, Dark Souls II sticks closely to the template established by the original Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls. But when your foundation is one of the greatest action RPGs ever made, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. More Dark Souls could never be a bad thing. Small tweaks such as a hub town and the ability to fast travel at will streamline the experience, making a large, daunting world feel more manageable. And if you have the patience to brave that brutal world, you will find a wealth of content that more than earns your time and money. Dark Souls II packs enough content for several games, and every victory feels like beating the final boss in most other games.
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