Check out all of our Best of 2014 coverage here and Worst of 2014 coverage here.
In a year dominated by ostensibly bankable hits failing to deliver and surefire successes missing the mark, the field of what could be considered the best of 2014 is surprisingly open (as you can see from our best games of 2014 staff list). But amid that instability, and perhaps because of it, the bright spots on the horizon that maintained their warm glow on arrival felt all the more special.

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