10. Don't Starve
The list starts with the brilliant Don't Starve, which is the first of three games on the list to feature permadeath and is also an example of an ever growing trend in gaming: early-access beta. Don't Starve takes the ever popular survival premise and strips it back to basics; the building mechanics of Minecraft are nowhere to be seen and the combat is more than basic. To survive (or more specifically, not starve) you need to start crafting, you'll need wood for a fire, but for wood you'll need an axe and to make matters more difficult, like the best survival games, the game doesn't give you any instructions. The game is still in beta but from what I've seen so far, it's art style and gameplay could make this a very popular game in 2013 after the game receives a formal release.