Game of the Year 2014 - The 10 best PlayStation Vita games

The Vita suffered a blow in 2014 which, in the past, would have been a handheld's death knell.

Adding to growing fears that the Vita was a system ready to be killed off after disappointing sales, Sony's Shuhei Yoshida admitted that the firm would be releasing fewer first-party games for the handheld.

We're lucky, then, to have had consistently excellent third-party support for the Vita in 2014 – from indies in particular, who've embraced the Vita in a big way.

Against the odds, then, it's been a good year for games on PlayStation Vita. Don't believe us? Well, why not join your chums at Pocket Gamer as we run down the handheld's ten finest games of 2014? Strap yourself in.

Velocity 2X
By FuturLab

When I played Velocity in 2012, a PSP mini from a little-known developer, I thought it was the most transformative shmup I'd ever played. Being able to teleport was a small, yet crucial tweak to the formula, as was the focus on speed.

With FuturLab having since earned Sony's backing, 2X sees the studio returning to the original concept, leaving restrictions behind and going all-out. Protagonist Kai Tana can now not only leave her ship, but sprint, jump, and teleport through fast-paced run-and-gun sections. A rare example of a shoot-'em-up which feels not like a throwback, but something distinctly new.

Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition
By Mojang and 4J Studios

A game which has the power, even after having been released on pretty much every platform out there, to be a 'killer app' for the Vita. After all, this is the best portable version of what's possibly the biggest game in the world right now.

It's obviously slightly limited in comparison to the PC version, but far more feature complete than Pocket Edition on mobile platforms – which is the only portable alternative.

Factor in comfy dual-stick controls, as well as creative connectivity with the PS3 and PS4 versions, this Vita version's the best bet for 'crafters away from home.

Freedom Wars
By Sony Computer Entertainment

Freedom Wars is everything a great first-party exclusive should be, enriching the Vita's software line-up with its tantalisingly unique concept.

An interactive Orwellian nightmare for the Monster Hunter generation, the game sees you working off a million year sentence by taking on missions for the 'greater good' of an oppressive government. Alone or with friends, you'll be looting and upgrading your way to freedom, battling against rules which are weighted against you.

A brilliant example of mechanics and plot working in true harmony.

On PlayStation3, BlazBlue: Chronophantsma was a gorgeous-looking, technically-proficient, and incredibly hardcore fighter – not something you'd expect to make the transition to Vita without losing something special.

But, remarkably, it's just as good on Vita. The visuals are just as clean as on console, while the framerate doesn't miss a beat.

Chronophantasma also features five new playable characters, alongside tweaks which bring more depth to the table. And while we didn't much care for the game's lacklustre story, we reckon that – on gameplay alone – BlazBlue: Chronophantasma is one of the finest fighting games on Vita.

Surge Deluxe
By FuturLab

The second FuturLab game on this list, Surge Deluxe is the acceptable face of an increasingly stagnant Match-3 puzzle genre.

Taking the same philosophy as Velocity 2X in injecting speed and urgency into a by-the-numbers genre, Surge Deluxe has you dragging an electrical current through blocks of the same colour using quick wits and quicker fingers.

It's a relatively simple puzzler – and one which doesn't even use any of the Vita's many buttons, opting for a touchscreen-only system – but it taps into that sense of obsessive replayability, of repetitive perfectionism, that FuturLab is so good at provoking.

Fez
By Polytron

Fez is an indie game with such a high profile – what with it featuring in Indie Game: The Movie, the many controversies surrounding its creator Phil Fish, and the unclear status of its announced-then-cancelled sequel – that people often forget that the game itself is such a remarkable triumph.

An utterly gorgeous perspective-shifting platformer, whose stunningly-detailed world plays host to a great sense of exploration and mystery, there really is nothing quite like Fez.

Luftrausers
By Vlambeer

The appeal of Luftrausers is hard to capture in words. But hand someone a Vita with it running, and it won't take them long to be won over. The joy here is in the playing.

It's pretty meagre on the content front, but the sepia-tinted dogfights of Luftrausers are endlessly satisfying in their marriage of movement and shooting, even if the arena and its enemies remain the same.

And factoring in a choice of weapons, bodies, and engines for your craft, totalling some 125 combinations, Vlambeer has created a game which never plays the same twice, despite its sparse elements.

Metrico
By Digital Dreams

A game that seems to have been sadly overlooked by many, Metrico is an incredibly clever puzzler with some truly unique ideas. The basic gist is that elements of the game world are affected by your character's actions in abstract ways.

Jumping may affect the height of certain platforms, for example, or your character's coordinates could be used to dictate the position of particular level elements.

Noting how the level is reacting to your actions, you're tasked with making your way to the end of each stage in a 2D platformer-style perspective. Smarter and more stylish than 90 percent of games this year.

PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate
By Q-Games and Double Eleven

As I was keen to point out quickly in my review, Shooter Ultimate is not really a shooter. It's more like a puzzle game, in which you use the elements to provide a safe passage for you and those you've rescued.

Using pockets of water to douse your overheating ship, or spraying lava into a waterfall to create a dam of molten rock is the real appeal here, as you manipulate your environment and watch nature react around you.

But, if you're after shooting, there's plenty of that, too. Just be prepared to think a little along the way.

An incredibly slick and pared-back gem of a strategy game, which has you and your opponent devising turns at the same time. This small change makes a big difference, as it has you nervously second-guessing enemy manoeuvres before locking in your turn.

It's welcoming to an audience of non-strategy buffs, too, as your units will automatically shoot on sight. Your only job, then, is to get your troops into positions in which they can see without being seen.

But there's a surprising amount of depth to that system – not to mention everything looking and sounding fantastic.