Most people would say they go to horror movies and haunted houses for the same fundamental reason: to be scared. That said, I have to hope most people expect a bit more substance from a movie, and while Annabelle: Creation is an effective jump-scare delivery system, it doesn’t have much else to offer.
Set as an origin story for the Annabelle doll from both The Conjuring films and the previous Annabelle, Creation tells a story no one really needed to know, in a setting that couldn’t be more dull.
Set in small town America in-or-around the 1950’s, the film opens with the Mullins family — a father, mother, and daughter — living happily in their large, isolated house outside of town. The father, Samuel, is launching a new line of porcelain dolls, the first of which is completed just before a tragic car accident takes the life of their daughter.
Twelve years after the accident, Samuel and his now bedridden wife Esther take in a nun and several orphaned girls in attempt to bring some life back into their home. Of course, it’s not quite so simple, as the girls start seeing phantoms and the danger quickly escalates.
What follows is a by-the-book haunted house scenario devoid of fresh ideas. The creaky, isolated, 1950s house doesn’t leave much room for the kind of cool scares or creative kills that set one horror movie apart from another. Meanwhile, the plot treads well-worn horror territory while doing very little to surprise us with Annabelle’s origin story. The explanation for Annabelle feels like something writer Gary Dauberman was forced to come up with out of obligation — like some last minute homework thrown together on the school bus before class.
And yet, the jump scares are quite effective. I’ve often said a comedy can be about anything as long as the jokes land, and so I have to at least give some credit to Annabelle for being a horror movie with real scares. As dull as the actual plot was, as little as I cared about the moment-to-moment, as much as I felt like I’d seen it all before, I still left my seat a few times. I think that has to count for something.
That said, I don’t think jump scares count in horror the same way laughs count for comedy. Jump scares are a fleeting thrill, and without dread, psychological horrors, interesting plot, or compelling characters backing them up, I don’t think Annabelle: Creation is worth your time.
I played Severed over a few sessions spread out throughout the year, starting with its release in April and ending just a few weeks ago in an attempt to get caught up and make this list. Each of my sessions was an enthralling joy. Severed is an eminently playable, beautiful dungeon crawler with Infinity Blade-esque touchscreen battles. I’ve bounced off of these sort of first-person maze dungeon RPGs before, but Severed’s perfect blend of that genre with action combat won me over. One of the Playstation Vita’s essential games.
A beautiful, dark, modern take on Zelda with a combat system Nintendo never would have made, but one that should be in all of Link’s future 2D adventures. Hyperlight Drifter is another realization of what games may have become if polygons and 3D graphics were never invented. With stunning pixel art and animation, a haunting soundtrack, and worthwhile secrets and exploration, Hyperlight Drifter is a stunning window into an alternate history of video games.
I enjoyed the original Uncharted trilogy in spite of itself. The storytelling was a treat, but it was always compromised by excessive, drawn-out combat encounters. Uncharted 4 fixes this in several ways. Combat arenas are designed for the new grappling hook and stealth mechanics, and they’re spread more evenly through an adventure packed with variety and some of the series’ most thrilling sequences. That truck chase from E3? That gave me some Fury Road-tier goosebumps. Then there’s the story, which successfully humanizes the cast of Uncharted, digs into Nathan Drake’s flaws, and concludes with a flawlessly-executed epilogue.
After the original Titanfall burned fast and bright, wowing us all before fizzling out, it was obvious that Titanfall 2 was a good idea. A sequel just needed to offer more variety and abilities — and maybe a proper single player campaign. Titanfall 2 not only does all that but it delivers a truly thrilling campaign that only the people behind Modern Warfare 1 & 2 could provide. The adventures of “The Pilot” and his robot buddy BT are packed with fun, memorable moments. On top of that, the multiplayer suite is somehow even more smooth and playable than it was in the first game. This thing puts current Call of Duty games to shame.
The follow-up to Limbo secures developer Playdead’s position as an uncompromising team of true artists. Inside doesn’t resemble most traditional games. It doesn’t re-use assets or gameplay mechanics. From one moment to the next you navigate a uniquely crafted world made up of puzzles that have almost nothing to do with each other. Even moreso than Limbo, Inside doesn’t waste a second on repeated concepts. Despite that, Inside smoothly builds and builds to a crescendo. It saves the best for last, and its best is hilarious, shocking, and disgusting.
Few games made me laugh this year like Mafia III. That’s not because Mafia III is a comedy, far from it. But it tells its story in such a delightfully entertaining way that it was hard to avoid cackling in agreement. From the moments where the documentary-style cutscenes very frankly spoil the upcoming story beats, to the sudden appearance of Joey Mother Fuckin’ Coco Diaz as one of your targets, Mafia III is full of fun surprises. The core gameplay may be straightforward, but it’s also polished and incredibly satisfying. Other open-world crime games should be taking notes.
The differences between Dishonored and Dishonored 2 are subtle but profound, taking this stealth-action-play-how-you-want series from great to essential. Aside from some technical wizardry in some of Dishonored 2’s best levels, it doesn’t do anything vastly different from the first game. Where it excels is in the extra layer of craftsmanship baked into every bit of level design, world-building, and systems interaction. When it comes to 
This is going to sound weird, but I think Dark Souls III is underrated. Blame it on franchise fatigue, a fanbase that was already burned by Dark Souls II, or the proximity to the superior Bloodborne — whatever the case, Dark Souls III didn’t have the same enthusiasm surrounding it, and I think that’s weird. Simply put, Dark Souls III is the best Dark Souls game. The original Dark Souls fumbled in the second half, and Dark Souls II was good, but largely forgettable. Dark Souls III seems to get better and better as it goes, with cool reveals, memorable bosses, hidden quests, a branching storyline, and fearless, uncompromising challenge.
I’m not sure what I can say about the new Doom that hasn’t already been said a million times. From the combat design where you perform melee finishers to regain health, chainsaw enemies to get ammo, never reload, and run around at 90 mph; to the story, which is hilariously self-aware yet deeply serious; and the soundtrack, which sets the tone perfectly; everything about Doom is immaculate. This game shouldn’t exist, but it does and everyone should play it.
This game was my life for a little while. Jonathan Blow crafted a devious puzzle island that taught me its language, rewarded perception, and eventually became so much more than a series of puzzle panels. It’s a shame a game like this can be solved and used up. You can never get that first time back. Thankfully, The Witness makes sure you get your fill, and after dozens of hours, pages of notes, and an epic final challenge behind me, it’s an experience I will never forget.
