1. Passage ; Jason Rohrer's masterpiece. Passage plays like a brief poem, hovering somewhere just above language as we normally understand it, casually inhaled, and lingering in one's thoughts with its lucidity, simplicity, relevance, and mundane melancholy. The briefest and most minimalist of games, and yet possibly also the most significant and effortlessly wise.
2. Flower ; In a generation often defined by its novel inputs, Flower more than any other exemplified the simple grace of movement. A mesmerizing flutter of an experience, with a piquant story, enchanting visuals, and life-brightening play.
3. Fez ; One of the most clever games I've ever encountered. Straightforward design principles and clean aesthetics combine with unrelenting intelligence to produce this shimmering artifact of puzzling bliss.
4. Dragon Quest V ; An injustice to universal sensibilities was finally atoned for when the fifth Dragon Quest made its long-awaited debut outside Japan. Masterfully leaping to the top of my favorite JRPGs alongside childhood-favorite Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest V is a warm hug of a game, embracing you with its sincerity and warmth even in the midst of its heroic grandeur.
5. Machinarium ; This revived the point-and-click adventure for me. A visually marvelous creation, Machinarium combines the restrained mechanical underpinnings of its genre and an equally unfussy narrative with immediately lovable characters. The result is a delightful and subtle wonder.
6. The Stanley Parable (the Half-Life 2 mod) ; The Stanley Parable is the video game equivalent of Descartes's demon. It's an endlessly clever and malevolent introspection of what it means to be a game, to engage a player, and to allow that player to play. Other games have explored similar territory, but none ever achieved it quite so well as this modest mod.
7. LittleBigPlanet ; I was instantly enamored with this gem. Endearingly friendly, clumsily fun, and infinitely new, LittleBigPlanet is the one game I returned to the most. I often miss its mirth. The joy I've received from playing this with so many friends over the years, from the most dedicated of 'gamers' to the most vehemently disinterested, is immeasurable.
8. Noby Noby Boy ; Video games too often feel like the clusters of systems they are. Noby Noby Boy never did. A surreal seed of infinite enjoyment, Noby Noby Boy was the perfect antidote to so much ceaseless, selfish striving.
9. Far Cry 2 ; Dense, complex, self-reflective, forboding, and slightly psychotic, Far Cry 2 is probably my favorite shooter, a genre I've long grown weary and wary of. This shamelessly hostile game provides you little of what you expect in gamey pleasantries, and instead offers you heaps of scorn for engaging with its ugly, sordid pleasures.
10. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; Playing this game evoked the same deep-brain urges I first felt when obsessively replaying Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World as a child. Galaxy 2 is the perfect hit of nostalgia without being obsequious or cloying, and it's a damn fine game.
I'd also like to mention Crusader Kings II, Dear Esther, and Ziggurat, all of which miss out on this list by only two months but which deserve as much recognition as possible. February 2012 was an excellent time for video games.
