Best of 2013

The Last of Us: It may not have the scope of Rockstar North’s crime epic, but Naughty Dog’s postapocalyptic survival game has more going for it. It’s new intellectual property in a world full of sequels. It boasts a better narrative, and the developers coaxed out unforgettable performances from actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. The Last of Us is the exact opposite of the blockbuster titles where players are empowered to save the world. It tells the personal story of Joel and Ellie with subtlety and grace, something that most games fail to do.

Grand Theft Auto V: It’s astonishing how developers can capture the past 10 years on a piece of plastic, but Rockstar North managed to do it. The team built a twisted facsimile of Southern California and made it mirror our own times. The trio of Franklin, Trevor and Michael deal with government corruption, money problems and each other in a gorgeous world that players can spend weeks exploring.