Today isn't so much about one particular game as it is the output of a single studio.
Throughout this year I've been enjoying several titles from one source - Tell Tale Games - between Season Two of The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and most recently the Game of Thrones adaptation, the studio has been knocking it out of the park with their episodic adventure games.
Now it clearly helped that I was a fan of all of these properties in the first place, but if anything that is often as much of a curse as it is a potential blessing. You have high expectations when it comes to worlds, characters, and stories, that you already have a relationship with. It's also where I feel that Tel Tale succeed the most.
It feels like they treat each license with respect and understand that they are all different, and strive to try and capture the genuine essence of each of these properties. The Wolf Among Us felt like a Fables game (and I say that as a reader of Fables since the first issue). The recent Tales of the Borderlands feels like we would expect an adventure on Pandora to feel like, and strikes just the right anarchic chord. The first episode of the new Game of Thrones adventure drops you into the aftermath of the red wedding and feels like a genuine extension of the HBO adaptation.
The writing continues to be of a relatively high standard, with only the occasional misstep. Likewise the characters are interesting and engaging, whether they are established characters, such as found in The Wolf Among Us, or new characters in a world we know.
I could even argue that when you throw in some of the other games that are coming out of the indie scene (try Kentucky Route Zero as a start!), some great iOS games, and veterans alike (Broken Age etc), that adventure games aren't just back, they are in the middle of what you could argue is a renaissance. Sure, it might not be the same as the old point and click games, but the essence of what makes an adventure game work is most definitely found in these titles. They are the adventure games that fits with our modern platforms.
If it's not quite a golden age with a slew of clear classics, there is a good case to made for this being the next best thing, and I have a feeling they aren't done yet!
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