ResetEra Games of the Year 2018 - Voting Thread (READ THE OP) [Ends Jan 20th 8:59am EST]

Phendrana · Dec 19, 2018

1. Return of the Obra Dinn

What a genuinely remarkable experience this was. It feels so fresh, and it's incredibly clever in how it turns some obvious indie budget limitations into strengths. I think the game look absolutely stunning for a start, and so many aspects come together to create this extremely unique package.

I don't want to spoil anything, but this game really makes you feel like ~~Spider-Man~~ a detective. The game provides you so many different kinds of clues, and the 'aha!' moments come fast and often. I have to give major props to the voicework and sound effects in particular - they're absolutely fantastic.

This is one of those games where, upon completion, I have been filled me with a sense of emptiness rather than satisfaction. I'll never be able to play this for the first time again, and that's pretty sad. Only goes to show how great it is, though.

2. Into the Breach

Into the Breach consumed me. As a big fan of turn-based strategy RPG's, this is my freaking jam. Some of the roguelike elements irritate me at times, but overall it's probably the best combination of strategy mechanics I've ever seen. The way the systems play together is downright masterful. This is a game I will be replaying for years.

3. God of War

From the incredible opening fight against the Stranger, to the quieter moments in the boat with Atreus and head - I was transfixed from start to finish. This was a fantastic experience, and is one of very few games where I have appreciated the attempt to tell a 'cinematic' story. The writing, character animations and general aesthetics are all on such a high level.

It's not perfect - more bosses would definitely be welcome, and I have a few issues with Atreus' story arc overall, but in the face of what the game offers as a whole, they feel like pretty meaningless complaints. I adored this journey, and can't wait to jump into the next chapter. Oh, and the Leviathan Axe really can't be praised enough - it's easily one of my favourite video game weapons of all time.

4. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission

I was initially dismissive of virtual reality, but I'm completely onboard now. This game was pure magic. We're talking Nintendo-at-it's-best level polish, here. It plays like a regular 3D platformer where you control the titular character, but being in VR changes everything. You are IN those worlds. You're now making jumps from angles that would never be possible in a traditional game. If someone had recorded me playing it would look hilarious - I was regularly standing up to peer over ledges, or crouching down and peeking around corners and stuff. The levels are super distinct with some incredible standouts, and the boss battles are all amazing as well. It was so much fun! Definitely one of my games of the generation.

5. Marvel's Spider-Man

Web-swinging is the most important thing you need to get right in a Spider-Man game, and Insomniac knocked it out of the park. Traversal is fantastic, and it only got more and more fun the longer I played. By the end of the game when you're elegantly weaving your way through the city...it just feels awesome. I honestly think this elevates the game considerably.

Combat is solid as well. You have a wide variety of moves at your disposal, and the enemies are no slouch. I was getting wrecked pretty often at the start, and even by the end-game it was still reasonably challenging to build up 50+ combo's. I enjoyed the story far more than I was expecting, too, with great development for a few key characters, and some surprisingly dark moments.

It's definitely a game with its' fair share of issues - most notably in the side content, but I still had a fantastic time with it overall.

6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

To be honest - my response to this iteration of Smash has been fairly tepid in comparison to previous entries in the series. That's mostly due to some issues I've been having with lost inputs - apparently there's a new input buffering system at play?

I really hope Nintendo addresses this in time, because it's the one thing holding it back from being the best Smash ever. Well, that and the abysmal online, anyway. With that said...Smash is Smash, and I love the core gameplay too much for it to be any lower on this list.

Formatted list:

Return of the Obra Dinn
Into the Breach
God of War
Astro Bot
Spider-Man
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Monster Hunter World
Shadow of the Colossus
Overcooked 2
Florence - My comments are above, but I need something here for my votes to be read.

I will be editing this probably right up until the end date, as there's still a few games I need to get to. ~~Obra Dinn,~~ Moss, Tetris Effect, Beat Saber and Celeste in particular. Red Dead 2 is something I'm willfully omitting for those wondering - I hated it.

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**VoteBot: Thanks for participating in ResetEra GOTY 2018! You vote receipt is available here.**

**VoteBot: Thanks for participating in ResetEra GOTY 2018! You vote receipt is available here.**

**VoteBot: Thanks for participating in ResetEra GOTY 2018! You vote receipt is available here.**

Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

Phendrana said:
1. God of War -
2. Into the Breach -
3. Astro Bot - I was initially dismissive of virtual reality, but I'm completely onboard now. We're talking Nintendo-level polish here. It plays like a 3D platformer where you control the titular character, but being in VR changes everything. You are IN those worlds. If Astro Bot is up high on a tree branch, for example, you're literally looking up irl. It's pure magic, and makes even simple platforming feel so fresh. You're now making jumps from angles that would never be possible in a traditional game. If someone had recorded me playing it would look hilarious - I was regularly standing up to peer over ledges, or crouching down and peeking around corners and stuff. It was so much fun! Definitely one of my games of the generation.
4. Spider-Man
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
6. Okami HD
7. Monster Hunter World
8. Shadow of the Colossus
9. Overcooked 2
10. Dragon Quest Builders

Bold your games

Coulomb_Barrier · Dec 19, 2018

AztecComplex said:
God of War 3 is your 2018 GOTY? As in 2010's God of War 3 thats not even eligible? Or is that a typo? Because this year's GoW is just called God of War.

Silly me, I meant GoW 2018. Edited.

texhnolyze · Dec 19, 2018

Just got my confirmation message from the bot.

J 0 E · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - Sony Santa Monica created a masterpiece in gameplay and storytelling and everything, this is my Game of the Generation not just 2018.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - R* reminded us who is the king of open world design, Arthur's journey rivals the best on any medium.
Spider-Man - Running and swinging around NY painted a smile on my face the whole time, this is what Spidy deserves, thank you Insomniac.
Monster Hunter World - The perfect balance of accessibility and fan service, Capcom made a game like no other and the best Online time I've ever had.
Detroit: Become Human - QD's crown jewel, this game tackled very complex subjects in a great way and truly gave the player the power to choose.
Shadow of the Colossus - A faithful remake that made me realize how much I missed by not giving the original a chance, what a timeless game.
Celeste - This game got me interested in Indi games again and what a return, hand-crafted level design and platforming + amazing soundtrack.
Far Cry 5 - Ubi proved to me that they are listening to feedback, removing the mini-map + towers made me enjoy the series again.
Dead Cells - Two things I don't like: Rouge-like + procedurally-generated content. This game combined them both and I love it!!
A Way Out - A truly unique experience, being able to see your friend's game and yours at the same time added a great dimension.

There's some games I didn't have the chance to try yet but think will make it to my Top 10 if I did, I'm sure.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Tetris Effect
Astro Bot

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Phellps · Dec 19, 2018

Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Origins was already a great soft-reboot of sorts, moving away from the past storylines and designs and bringing Assassin's Creed to live through a new vision. Odyssey takes it even further. I think no one expected RPG elements to be so beneficial to this series specifically, but the skill tree, the different gear sets and bonuses, it all comes together to let you be your own kind of assassin. It doesn't matter if you want to barge into a fort killing everyone in sight or stealthily sneak your way through it straight to your target only, this game let's you play as you wish and gives you the tools for that. On the story department, the game also delivers. It's the usual Assassin's Creed secret-society-wants-to-do-evil story, but it's one filled with interesting and detailed characters, and it also features one of AC's best protagonist to date. For all of this, it's my GOTY.
Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! - Combat is my favorite part of any Pokémon game, so I was skeptical about it being so streamlined in this game. I had pre-ordered it already, but I still worried that I might not completely enjoy it. As it turns out, the absence of features like Abilities and Held Items was noticeable, but not intrusive. It's a game that takes Pokémon back to the drawing table and tries to redesign all its systems around the idea that you will be catching your own Tauros horde. And, as such, progression is also tied to the new catching mechanic, meaning the game expects you to catch tons of mons, which make some parts of the game more challenging than you'd expect them to be. Being underleveled in this game isn't rare, unless you're really catching a bunch of them. The game is overflowing with charm and Kanto looks incredible with all the new bells and whistles on the visual side, and seeing Pokémon out in the wild instead of random battles is a change I hope they will keep for all future games. It makes the world much more alive. I had an incredible time with this game, certainly lot more fun than I expected to have with a Kanto remake. Still, they really could've kept, at the very least, the evolutions introduced in other generations.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - This game is hard, man. But it's also an incredibly precise and fun platformer, where mastering the gameplay leaves you with a series of ways to navigate and overcome obstacles in the game. Visuals and music are beautiful, and the cooperative gameplay is both fun when you're accomplishing things together and hilarious when one player ends up accidentally sabotaging the other. At times, it can feel frustrating. But it also keeps you trying again and again until you eventually make it.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - This is, easily, the best in the trilogy from a purely gameplay standpoint. Much because the game heavily cuts down on the firefights and gives exploration and traversal the bulk of screen time. And they're actually really good. Disabling visual hints improves the experience by a mile; having to figure out where to go next on your own feels like playing the Tomb Raiders of old, and when you actually try to reach your goal, be it by regular jumping and shimming or throwing Lara face first onto a big rock and smashing your pickaxe into it at the last minute; it all feels great. It's a gorgeous game with beautiful locations, but story falls flat; the recurrent theme of the story is the Maya culture, but the game never manages to fully bring it to life in the plot, making it feel more like just a backdrop rather than part of the story. Dialogue is also weak at times, and Lara has little to no development in this game at all; at times feeling like two different characters. Not what I expected from the devs who made Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Still, the gameplay makes it worth the while and the overabundance of tombs, crypts and puzzles makes Shadow feel more like a Tomb Raider game than any of its predecessors.

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Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

texhnolyze said:
Just got my confirmation message from the bot.

Me too

Btw, i got many confirmation for other people's choices.

Weird

MillionIII · Dec 19, 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 - the best Rockstar game yet, and as a fan of their titles this game truly floored me with it's incredible visuals, animations and story. The gameplay is much more immersive this time and it's a welcomed change. every interaction in this game feels like a next gen proof of concept; from hunting, robbing and npc behavior.
God of War - coming in as a close second is gow'18, a fantastic reboot that gives kratos a new life on a new platform. Very fun combat system that makes any game with an axe look like a joke. breathtaking world design and one very good boi.
Marvel's Spider-man - the best spidey game hands down. Insomniac did an amazing job. The side character's stealth missions and repeating world activities brought it a bit down but I have no doubt that a sequal *ahem* will make it a masterpiece.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - I'm new to this franchise but I'm loving every second of it, great game.
Celeste - very fun and challenging platformer and some nice tunes to listen to while playing.
Destiny 2: Forsaken - the best destiny content that we had, bungie brought me back even though I almost gave up on this game.
Shadow of the Colossus - amazing remake of an amazing game.
Fortnite battle royale - the br game that I still come back to, awesome updates.

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modiz · Dec 19, 2018

yea the bot thing needs to be fixed i tried corecting someone and it thought i voted again.

Arion · Dec 19, 2018

so votebot sent a confirmation message but it's listing the games along with my comment for the game. Is that supposed to happen?

SuikerBrood · Dec 19, 2018

Sea of Thieves - This game has brought me so much joy this year. From the first day of sailing in the beta with a friend, to a 4 man galleon with friends from my childhood. It was the first time in years we enjoyed something like this together. Sea of Thieves is a magical game where you create your own adventures. Some people like it, some people hate it. For me, Rare has created a masterpiece which we won't see in many years. The lack of power progression, the random way servers work and the emphasis on encounters really made this game special. I love that Microsoft and Rare are committed to this game.
Forza Horizon 4 - Playground Games are wizards. Forza Horizon 4 is a perfectly crafted world. Driving around the open world was a really nice way to blow off some steam after work. The multiplayer aspect could use some work, but it didn't make me dislike the game.
Frostpunk - The most surprising game of this year for me. The moral decisions combined with tactical city building makes this game perfectly suited for me. If the game was bigger it could have taken my #1 spot. 11-bit Studios has done a fantastic job with this title.
Two Point Hospital - This game lacked the depth I desired, as did another title which didn't make the list (Jurassic World Evolution), but what I could do, I liked very much.
Railway Empire - This game was fun the first time I played all the missions, but it was also 'fixed' during the year which made me replay it. It just beat games like Surviving Mars, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition and Jurassic World Evolution for me.

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noctix · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - It's an absolute amazing experience. Nothing comes even close. Well apart from spiderman. I was worried that so much hype and so many changes, but it exceeded my expectations. We were all worried the boy will get annoying but he was awesome. Kratos grew as a character over the course of the game and the story delivered in spade. The axe recall never got old. The combat although started slowly gets very engaging quickly. One of the best games ever made for me
Marvel's Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption II
Detroit: Become Human
Monster Hunter World

That's all i got to play this year :(

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patapon · Dec 19, 2018

God Of War - The best game of 2018 for me, a true masterpiece. Graphics, gameplay and narrative, I loved everything about this game. Also +1 for making BOI sound cool. Excellent performance by Christopher Judge. He stole the show with his perfoemance.
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - The best VR game there is. Astro Bot is so full of charm, I was laughing all the way throughout this game. Beautiful, charming graphics and excellent gameplay. Perfect blend for a VR masterpiece.
Marvel's Spider-Man
Shadow of The Colossus
Red Dead Redemption II
Monster Hunter World
Detroit: Become Human
Dragon Quest XI
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Yakuza 6:The Song Of Life

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NicknameMy · Dec 19, 2018

Arion said:
so votebot sent a confirmation message but it's listing the games along with my comment for the game. Is that supposed to happen?

Ehm, maybe use - instead of ;?

Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

noctix said:
God of War. It's an absolute amazing experience. Nothing comes even close. Well apart from spiderman. I was worried that so much hype and so many changes, but it exceeded my expectations. We were all worried the boy will get annoying but he was awesome. Kratos grew as a character over the course of the game and the story delivered in spade.

The axe recall never got old. The combat although started slowly gets very engaging quickly. One of the best games ever made for me

You have to vote properly, otherwise it won't count

justiceiro · Dec 19, 2018

CrossCode - what can I say, I'm playing this since the Kickstarter, and even back in the demo I saw that the game was fantastic. The environment, the puzzles, the bosses, the plattaforming even, everything is so well done. Combat is a bit of a hit or miss, but following the topic criteria, I think it's the best game released this year that I ever played.
MapleStory 2 - wow, almost forgot this one. I was very surprised by how much you can do on a mmo rpg that is not combat. There is almost no grinding, there are servers in my region and everything seems so flexible, and the level for customization is absurd, even for free to play users. Combat is kinda fun, albeit too easy, but it's also the only other game I played this year that was released this year, so... I mean, it's still a good game.

I didn't see in the list, but I assume since it was launched in the west this year, it counts, right?

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LatscherGnu · Dec 19, 2018

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - simply the most fun i had this year, the first 3d platforming game that just made sense and felt right to me
Lucah: Born of a Dream - i'm a sucker for dark atmospheric games and this one plays well as a bonus
God of War - the outstanding game direction, acting and combat carries despite some weaknesses
Tetris Effect - it works, been my go to game to relax ever since i tried the demo
Exapunks - really glued me to the screen, best Zachtronics game so far imho
Darksiders III - great exploring and combat, i far prefer this style of "open world" to anything Ubisoft has put out
Beat Saber - never thought i'd one day add a video game to my workout routine
Return of the Obra Dinn - amazing puzzle game, would easily be top 5 if i could play it for longer than half an hour at a time without getting a headache due to the graphics not playing well with my brain. I think the game looks great, just have this problem with some games :-/
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - classic jrpg with all the expected "faults", but close to perfect in execution
Artifact - Haven't had this much fun with a card game since the early days of magic when everything was new to me over 20 years ago, somehow so many games end up really close with the last few moves deciding the game... that said, it feels like a beta right now in serious need of some rebalancing and expansions
BallisticNG - Honorable mention to this gem, some rough edges but for anyone thirsting for more wipeout content this is it

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TheForgotten · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - Loved the story and but do wish they had more big boss battles. Amazing journey playing the game
Marvel's Spider-Man - Enjoyed the story, So much fun in combat, and swinging around NY. Gave more than just Peter depth and held my expectations. felt like a good trilogy of spider-man movies.
Far Cry 5 - I enjoyed the chance up moving to America. But do wish they went a little harder with some of the themes in the game
Spyro Reignited trilogy - Going back and playing these games was great fun. some levels were like playing for the first time, others i still recalled and loved most of the updates they made
Red Dead Redemption 2 - All the expectations i had on this game were too high. the slow start and slow pacing the first 5 chapters put me off. I wish they story was more balances because the final 2 chapters and post game were much better. but by then i was mostly over the game
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - I wish this game was made by the same team as the last 2, if so i might of enjoyed it more. It did have its moments where it felt like the same game, and times where it just felt like they turned it into a TR game mid way into development.

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h3ro · Dec 19, 2018

Destiny 2: Forsaken - I love it, warts and all. I love the time I can spend in a fireteam with my brother who lives across the country doing random quests while catching up on his day. I love the new friends I've made from across the world (literally game daily with guys from the UK and some from Australia while living in the States). I love the rush of doing the new raids (Last Wish was amazing!). The initial launch wasn't all that great but they really turned this ship around and I hope they continue to build off this base for the future.
Forza Horizon 4 - More Forza. The music, the lights, the feeling in my stomach after launching off a hill. Love it.

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Rommaz · Dec 19, 2018

Got my receipt and because i put a hifen between spider and man its says I've submitted marvel's spider lol.

galv · Dec 19, 2018

Forza Horizon 4 (XBO/PC)

Arcade racing games don't sell is a myth that seems to exist in the games industry. Pray tell then, why Forza Horizon 3 is one of the true system sellers for the Xbox One? Forza Horizon 4 is good. It's damn good. The cars feel and handle fantastic, the graphics and visuals are ridiculously good, the racing is heavily customizable, the soundtrack and radios have a lot of fun tracks to listen to and the game has a really good sense of progression. The car list is massive and the open world is as well. It's everything you could ever want from a racing game. It's an absolute step up in every single way above Horizon 3, it's actually crazy. Though they seem similar on the surface, I pretty much said the same thing about Horizon 3 in 2016 and all the same things are true for Horizon 4. The additions of seasons adds variety to the map, encourages you to use different cars in different events and the large amount of showdown events added to the game is definitely welcomed - I kind of missed them in Horizon 3. All in all, it's the best racing game this generation, and I'd wager one of the best ever made. And while it may be "formulaic," I'd rather get something like Horizon 4, a sequential step up in every way that retains the identity of the franchise, and understands what the prior games did right and is worth keeping, than some radical remake that destroys its own core by tossing out the baby with the bathwater.

Dragon Quest XI (PS4/PC)

If you have nostalgia for the JRPGs of yore, but the old classics are just slightly too old to play and your eyes bleed looking at pixel art, what can you do? Play Dragon Quest XI - a game that revels in the fact that it is a classic JRPG. In every single way. It's a comfortable, safe and relaxing turn-based JRPG about a strapping young lad who is a chosen one that is needed to save the world from evil darkness. Along the way, he meets companions who seem to fulfill the usual RPG class-archetypes. Loud grand orchestral music (the orchestral mod is a must, no seriously) blares in the background as the party traverses the world fighting monsters in a classic turn-based system, exploring dungeons, and completing quests. No, Dragon Quest XI won't win awards for originality. But there's something to be said for actually making a game of this sort in 2018 knowing that it's never going to win over the Fortcraft or Minenite crowd. But there's a lot of great things that gaming in general somehow left behind somewhere in the mid to late 2000s, as large publishers shied away from funding certain genres of games like arcade racers, turn-based JRPGs, 3D platformers, strategy games, puzzle games, CRPGs and so on because they don't fit the criteria of a "successful" game: open-world and/or cinematic. Thank the Lord that someone's out there who still makes something that I want. Thank you for bringing Dragon Quest XI to the big-screen and to the West in 2018.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (PS4/XBO/PC)

It's weird seeing a Ubisoft open-world near the top of my list. I'm just as shocked as most of you that Assassin's Creed Odyssey simply wasn't good. It's great. It seems to be a theme this year of iterative sequels that manage to improve on the base set by the prior game to ascend to new heights. The largest changes made to the Assassin's Creed formula is in the gameplay itself; continuing on from Origin's focus on becoming somewhat of an action RPG, Odyssey improves on Origins in almost every way, with a compelling story, with a downright fantastic protagonist (I played as Kassandra), and an absolute wealth of objectives, missions and quests to complete. The most fun parts of Origins' gameplay was slowly clearing out outposts, strongholds and fortresses, and in Odyssey, they've been placed front and center. It's the bread and butter of Odyssey and it feels just as satisfying as ever and never gets old. Also new is the dialogue system, allowing you to have more agency over the character's choices in the slower segments of the game and it's a refreshing change of pace. But by far, the largest and most impactful change has been the combat overhaul. With the addition of abilities you can use in combat, Odyssey now plays far more like an ARPG, with strategic skill combos being your bread and butter - a far cry from the strike and parry brawler system found at the series' roots. The combat is fast but most importantly incredibly fun and very satisfying to nail when played well. It's a system with great depth and a supreme feeling of satisfaction when it all comes together. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is fantastic and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the series and to even those who didn't enjoy Origins - there's a lot more to love here, and it's coming from someone who thought Origins was a highly forgettable experience.

HITMAN 2 (PS4/XBO/PC)

For all intents and purposes, HITMAN 2 is, in essence, HITMAN Season 2. And therefore, there isn't anything that massively overhauls the HITMAN experience and if you enjoyed HITMAN, you'll be sure to enjoy HITMAN 2. You can think of it as a map pack, or an iterative sequel, but whatever it is, the quality of the maps lives up to the original game and I think, honestly, exceeds it at times. Not to mention, the entirety of Season 1 can also be played in HITMAN 2's updated engine and that's a huge plus side too. For those who aren't familiar with the series, this is a quick summary of my thoughts on HITMAN (and by extension, HITMAN 2): This is, for the most part, what a stealth game should be. What the game lacks in the story department, it makes up in the gameplay department. Large, large open levels, endless replayability ensures that you can easily put over 100 hours into this game, now that all the episodes are out. It's remarkable how much you can miss following one "opportunity" thread - there really are a million different ways to tackle each assassination, and it harkens back to the roots of the franchise. Few stealth games handle this well, and HITMAN nails the controls and gameplay, as every action feels seamless. Not to mention that the developers are continually adding more and more content, more and more assassinations and maps, and it never seems to become stale.

Monster Hunter World (PS4/XBO/PC)

Here's where it's evident that there's a massive glut of games that I really enjoyed this year. I didn't enjoy Monster Hunter World. It was my entry into the Monster Hunter series and there's lots to love. I'm just terrible at the combat system and the game seems to love to tell me that. But I can certainly appreciate the craftsmanship and that's where the next game also gets a vote from me - I appreciate what it's trying to go for even though it's not my cup of tea. There's a lot to love here and I've seen the amount of depth the game has - it's just not for me.

Marvel's Spider-man (PS4)

Whatever. It's not great. It's not bad. Story was quite good and somewhat interesting. Gameplay was nothing to write home about. There's just nothing worth doing except for the main story. Which isn't necessarily a knock, it's just that everything boils down to the same thing: solve stupid pipe puzzle or fight enemies. The stealth isn't nearly as fun to use as it was in Batman either. There's a pretty conspicuous lack of gadgetry. Go back and play Arkham Knight and take a look at Batman's toolbelt, all of which is fun to use in combat/predator missions. And then look at Spider-man's arsenal. Yeah. And then the most egregious quest type: the forced stealth sections. Fuck Mary-Jane and fuck Miles. The first time they did the stealth sequence it was okay. Then they did it again. And again. And again. Stop. They weren't fun. They take all the fun out of being Spider-man. And that's what this game is, there's a good underlying base for a game but the way it's presented don't take the strengths of Spider-man and push them to the forefront. They made an Arkham game yet again and not a great one.

God of War (PS4)

I didn't enjoy God of War. It's a thoroughly disappointing experience after the first 3 or so hours. And it hurts, because those first 3-4 hours were glorious. And then it all falls apart. God of War tries to present a mature story with a father figure guiding a young child. Kratos/Atreyus remind me of the underwritten dynamic in Star Trek: The Next Generation, between Worf/Alexander. In fact, it's almost the exact same dynamic. A proud warrior father tries to teach his son patience and maturity after the death of their respective mothers. And it just absolutely pales in comparison not just to TNG, but even to the dynamic that Joel and Ellie share in The Last of Us, a game I was lukewarm on but grew to enjoy more as time has gone along, and it's all down to how Naughty Dog were able to write Ellie's character and give her agency. In fact, playing God of War made me rethink on how much Naughty Dog got right with The Last of Us. So in hindsight, I'm thanking God of War here, just to show me how behind almost everything in the video-game industry is when it comes to writing a competent cinematic script. I came into God of War giving zero shits about anyone not named Kratos, and I left God of War giving zero shits about anyone not named Kratos. Atreyus is a waste of a character, with zero relatability, the characters like Freya and Mimir who are actually interesting are underwritten and underutilized and the best moment in the game is a throwback to the prior trilogy. The gameplay falls absolutely flat with the repetitive enemies, annoying ranged enemies with high mobility and crowd control effects, and absolutely god-awful reskinned boss fights - no seriously, which was your favorite boss? Was it the troll fight? Or the second troll fight? Or the ice troll fight? Or the fire troll fight? Or the troll gank fight? Or the fire and ice troll gank fight? The tacked on RPG elements also were a source of annoyance - why anyone thought locking important skills in a character action game behind an experience system was a good idea is beyond me. And for the love of god, just because Naughty Dog put platforming sections in Uncharted doesn't automatically mean you should copy it for a character action game. They're not fun, they're not engaging in the slightest. And don't get me started on the puzzles - I thought that Valve proved that the gaming public weren't braindead with the release of Portal 2 but I guess we've just all regressed mentally.

God of War sneaks onto my GOTY list for the year just because everything else was somehow even more mediocre (or I haven't played yet). It sneaks on here simply because of the highs it can and should have reached - seriously the first couple of hours are great. Until you realize that's all Sony Santa Monica had time to polish. I was half tempted to just put a bunch of 2017 games that I got around to playing this year for the hell of it, but almost all of those would have been ranked #1 if I did so. It's a sad, sad year, desperately lacking in titles that interested me. But 2019 is shaping up to be a fantastic year, so there's hope on the horizon.

Honorable Mentions:
Dusk
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Insurgency 2
Far Cry 5
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Celeste
Project Warlock
CrossCode

For parsing:

Forza Horizon 4 - Best arcade racing game ever made.
Dragon Quest XI - Very old school and long JRPG with lots of charm.
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey - An improvement on Origins in every single way and unexpectedly really fun.
Hitman 2 - Basically more levels for Hitman 1 which was an incredible game, should really be called Hitman Season 2 rather than Hitman 2.
Monster Hunter: World - I'm terrible at it but it's a good game.
Marvel's Spider-man - It's a standard open world game that feels like watered down Arkham Knight laden with repetitive side-quests and combat.
God of War - Tried to be a Naughty Dog game but just isn't. It's frustrating because there's a good chunk of this game I really enjoyed.
Iconoclasts - An indie game that got overshadowed by Celeste on launch but it feels super fun to play, the story is good fun and it has a lot of charm.
Vampyr - An action RPG with a lower budget but brings to the table a wholly unique and original experience.
Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom - The other JRPG from this year somewhat worth playing after all the patches.

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Kudo · Dec 19, 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 - To nobodys surprise, Rockstar slams it out of the park again.
God of War - Series that has grown so much that it's almost unrecognizable, leaves players wanting for more.
Monster Hunter World - Undoubtedly one of the best multiplayer games this generation will see, and huge leap for the franchise.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance - One-of-a-kind game with focus on realism and narrative.
Ashen - Surprise of the year, very Souls-flavoured title with more focus on co-op.
Touhou Luna Nights - Metroidvania featuring everyones favourite characters.
Fortnite: Battle Royale - Game that in name surpasses all gaming.
The Forest - Everyone who owns VR headset owns it to themselves to experience this game with good group of friends.

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Kaswa101 · Dec 19, 2018

Rommaz said:
Got my receipt and because i put a hifen between spider and man its says I've submitted marvel's spider lol.

Same lmao

Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

galv said:
1. Forza Horizon 4
2. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
3. Hitman 2
4. Monster Hunter: World

- Reserved to finish up writeups.

Bold your games

FondsNL · Dec 19, 2018

Darksiders III - Despite all the hate it's my GOTY. Exploration and combat are spot-on. I haven't felt this good really exploring a world and having fun with its combat since Bloodborne.
God of War - A bit too story driven for my tastes. The combat was good and engaging but the pathing was just a bit too linear. I never felt like I had too much control over what was going to happen next. What did happen though, was amazing good fun.
Monster Hunter World - It took a while for me to get to grips with the plethora of customization options the game had to offer. But once I did get to grips with it, the game has so much to offer. The monster designs are superb. The areas are fun and diverse. Combat felt good.When it comes to a game about the grind though, there was just not enough incentive for me to go on beyond hunting legendary monsters.
Death's Gambit - Side scrolling dark souls. Sort of overstayed it's welcome a bit. The later part of the game was a drag. But the start was a lot of fun. 16 bit darksouls, huzzah.
Red Dead Redemption - A bit of an uninspired open world game imho. Yes it looks pretty and yes it it's immersive... But come one people... do we really need to be impressed by all these random mini encounters that lead to more random mini encounters later on? Too much of a rinse and repeat cycle to me... do a heist, disperse, do a heist disperse etc. etc.

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Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

FondsNL said:
1. Darksiders 3 - Despite all the hate it's my GOTY. Exploration and combat are spot-on. I haven't felt this good really exploring a world and having fun with its combat since Bloodborne.
2. God of War - A bit too story driven for my tastes. The combat was good and engaging but the pathing was just a bit too linear. I never felt like I had too much control over what was going to happen next. What did happen though, was amazing good fun.
3. Monster Hunter World - It took a while for me to get to grips with the plethora of customization options the game had to offer. But once I did get to grips with it, the game has so much to offer. The monster designs are superb. The areas are fun and diverse. Combat felt good.
When it comes to a game about the grind though, there was just not enough incentive for me to go on beyond hunting legendary monsters.
4. Death's Gambit - Side scrolling dark souls. Sort of overstayed it's welcome a bit. The later part of the game was a drag. But the start was a lot of fun. 16 bit darksouls, huzzah.
5. Red Dead Redemption - A bit of an uninspired open world game imho. Yes it looks pretty and yes it it's immersive... But come one people... do we really need to be impressed by all these random mini encounters that lead to more random mini encounters later on? Too much of a rinse and repeat cycle to me... do a heist, disperse, do a heist disperse etc. etc.

I didn't play a lot of games in 2018... Becoming a dad is time consuming.

As posted above, bold your games

And yeah, Darksiders 3 deserved more love.
But you better write "Darksides III"

Kaswa101 · Dec 19, 2018

Happy to see Far Cry 5 and AC Odyssey getting so much attention. Fantastic games :)

Deleted member 2254 · Dec 19, 2018

Only counting games first released in 2018, so no remasters, late ports and such for my list.

1) Forza Horizon 4 - As a huge racing game fan, I can only say that Playground managed to one-up what was already the best ever open world arcade racer. Can't stop playing.
2) Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 - There may not be a campaign this year, but Blackout is the best Battle Royale out there, the multiplayer is one of the all-time greatests, and the Zombies maps are very creative too.
3) Super Mario Party - Party games are back, and this one brought tons of hilarious hours for me and my fiancé already. Definitely one of the smartest buys this year for me.
4) Sea Of Thieves - This game made me feel like a true pirate, adventuring in the middle of the sea, and it's glorious. The variety wasn't high at first but the joy of playing is something else.
5) OnRush - Yes, this game was doomed to fail from the start, and like number 4 variety wasn't its strong point, but it's also one of the most hectic and exciting arcade racers since Blur in 2010, so it has to make this cut.
6) Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 - This ridiculous sidescroller with mafia and mutants just got even more ridiculous with nazis and such added to the mix, and a completely revamped gameplay that makes the first game look incredibly dated.
7) Battlefield V - Another one suffering from limited content and variety and a campaign where the quality goes up and down, but it's also true that Battlefield multiplayer has not been this fun in a while, and that's no small feat.
8) Far Cry 5 - A gorgeous game that makes the Far Cry formula near perfect at this point. Nothing groundbreaking for those who know this series, but easily the best open world FPS out there right now.
9) The Crew 2 - It's no Horizon, but shapeshifting into different vehicles is one of the most ridiculous things I've done this year, and while the game is far from flawless it's quite a lot of fun, and the post-launch support has been solid too so far.
10) Picross S2 - Could one of my favourite timewasters not be included? Sure, this franchise never evolves, but should it? I'd buy another 20 episodes of this to be honest, and this one had a couple neat additions to the formula that makes it a superior game compared to S1, despite the baffling lack of touch screen support.

Unusual list, but the thing is, I have a lot of potentially excellent 2018 games I own but I haven't played enough yet (including Monster Hunter: World, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, DUSK, Ashen, and so on). I also don't own a PS4 as of now and have little interest in RDR2, hence my fairly unusual picks. Still, these are the 2018 releases I enjoyed the most this year, even though I spent a lot of time playing games from prior years as well like Rocket League, Mario Kart 8, PUBG, Fortnite BR and so on.

Elephant · Dec 19, 2018

God Of War - I've never been a fan of the God of War franchise, despite my best attempts. It just never clicked for me. I always thought this was a shame because I'm well into my mythology. So this masterpiece of a game completely caught me off guard when it was released, completely blowing away my expectations. A joy to play from start to finish.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Rockstar being Rockstar and creating a living breathing world to get lost in. The voice acting was particularly superb and I haven't cared that much about a protagonist in a long time.
Spider-Man - Just pure fun. Everything was smooth and the traversal was spectacular.
Return of the Obra Dinn - I love a good mystery and this was fantastic. Most importantly there's no hand holding. It respects your intelligence, which is rare in modern games.
Detroit: Become Human - I thought the overall plot was really interesting and well executed. It suffered from a bit of cliche writing throughout, but overall I enjoyed my time with it.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 - Yakuza is just a fun franchise that speaks to me on every level. I'm a new player from Yakuza 0, as I somehow missed the games the first time around. Kiwami 2 was great, but these earlier games really show how far the Yakuza team have come with recent games.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission - The best VR game i've played so far in it's short life. I'm convinced VR has a bright future and Astro Bot only reaffirms that belief.
A Way Out - I thought i'd have a good time with this game before it was released, but actually sitting down with a friend and blasting through it was just an amazing experience. I think it was brave choice to do a co-op game, and perhaps didn't get the love it deserved because of that, but it really worked and surpassed my expectations.
Two Point Hospital - A big old nostalgia trip that took me back to playing Theme Hospital in my pyjamas as a young kid. Great humour and an excellent time waster.
Ni No Kuni II - The unfortunate problem with this game is that it had to follow Ni No Kuni 1, which set a really high bar. It didn't quite live up to that expectation and suffered because of it from a critical standpoint. But it's still a beautiful and accomplished RPG that shouldn't be overlooked.

I feel a bit bad that AC Odyssey and Dragon Quest aren't on my list, but I still haven't played them yet. I'm sure they'd make my top 10 if I had the chance to get around to them.

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Kenzodielocke · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - I am still blown away. I never finished a God of War game before, yet this game managed to make callbacks feel nostalgic. Combat is great, characters are great, world building was tremendous and they managed to make Atreus feel like a believable kid. Amazing experience as well.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - I accept every criticism this game gets and agree with those as well, but it was a phenomal ride, Arthur Morgan is the best character Rockstar has created. It is the second Rockstar game I finished, despite it being way too long for it's own good. Amazing soundtrack.
Monster Hunter World - I played 20h of MH4U, liked it, but my hands hurt. MHW is MH but better in every way, but content, which feels lacking, but still enough to put more than a 100 hours into this game.
Marvel's Spider-Man - Fun game, very good story, probably the best Spider-Man story in moving media. Combat is fine, swining is awesome. They could make a better open world and quest design better in the next one.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - Let Kiryu rest. This was a worthy goodbye. Had it's shortcomings, but it ranks amongst my favourite Yakuza games.
Divinity: Original Sin II - Defininitive Edition - Not finished this yet, but this is some amazing stuff. Fun combat, lots of fun writing and dialogue. Definitely the best CRPG out there since Baldur's Gate II.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Had fun with it, has a lot of shortcomings, but I guess this is the series that will never really evolve. Music was bad, orchestral or not.
Forza Horizon 4 - Don't play racing games, had game pass, had a lot of fun. Nothing more to say here.
State of Decay 2 - Had an alright time with it.

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Matty H · Dec 19, 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 - This is a once in a generation game. It might not be for everyone but it knows what it wants to be and absolutely goes for it. The ending was well worth getting to (especially the END end) and there were so many great moments along the way.
Marvel's Spider-Man - The most fun I've had with a game all year, possibly multiple years (until I tried VR not long after). It does what you want a Spider-Man game to do, swinging feels great, boss fights are fun, the characters are complex and the story hits the right notes.
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - This gave me 'VR wow face' more than anything in VR so far. Also, best water levels in any platformer. Ever.
Beat Saber - Not a Jedi trainer. Yeah right ;)
Moss - Short and sweet but it's made less impressive by Astro Bot. Still looking forward to the next chapter though.
Rush VR - Using the move controllers to almost touch cliff walls as you fly past is exhilarating. Only just released on PSVR.
God of War - I really need to finish it.
Celeste - I can see why people love it. I've only just beat the hotel chapter. Platforming is top notch but I'm not good enough to get the Strawberries. I wish the characters would talk less and the themes were delivered either more succinctly or more subtly.
The American Dream - Dark humour. Starts off charming and a little wacky but it really goes to some dark places. Move tracking can get wonky though.
Onrush - Fun but needed a racing mode.
Brawlout - Only played an hour or so but I mostly got it as a party game. Maybe it'll get more playtime over the holidays. Don't have a Switch for Smash, can't ya tell?
Wipeout Omega Collection - Would be higher but it's a VR patch to a remake that came out last year.
Playerunknown's Battlegrounds - In PC land this was last year's game but for me on console, it's all I played from Jan through to June. Player population completely disappeared from Oceanic servers though. Desperately needs PS crossplay with Xbox.

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digitalrelic · Dec 19, 2018

Marvel's Spiderman - It's the perfect comic book videogame. Zero cynicism, full of joy, controls like a dream, is polished as hell, is just the right length, has amazing voice acting and score, and some of the best graphics I've ever seen. It's my most fun game of the year, and my favorite game of the year.
God of War - What an amazing reinvention of this franchise. One of the the best stories in videogames, super tight gameplay, and ridiculously ambitious. It's not only one of the best games of the year, but one of the best games ever made.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Kassandra is one of the most compelling protagonists in all of videogames. The world is beautiful, the gameplay is just "gamey" enough without trying to pretend to be super-realistic (and therefore unresponsive and unintuitive). It's my favorite AC game ever.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - "Ultimate" is the correct description of this title. It is the culmination of all of the games before it. The best Smash game.
Forza Horizon 4 - A lot of "best of the franchise" entries this year, and FH4 is no exception. It's the best game in the best racing series around.
Far Cry 5 - Probably the best story a Far Cry game has ever seen, and the inclusion of coop was amazing as it allowed my wife to play through the entire story with me.
Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII - It's super fun. Tight COD gameplay mixed with the new battle royale mode made this game one of my most-played of 2018.
Sea of Thieves - Sparse on content on day one, but it's been fascinating to see how much effort the folks at Rare have put in over the course of the year to flesh the game out. It's a much better game than it was at launch and I think those who haven't looked at it in awhile should give it another try.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - This makes my list only because I can recognize what an accomplishment it is, and that it's one of the most ambitious games ever made. It's not for me, but it is undoubtedly one of the greats.
Madden NFL 19 - This only makes my list because it's my most played game of the year. It's fine. I'm addicted.

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Zutrax · Dec 19, 2018

DUSK - Too many people sleeping on this one, it's such an incredibly perfect throwback to the early ages of FPS games, plays incredibly similar to Doom, Quake, Half Life, etc. Very intricate level designs, key collecting, tons of solid weapons, really inspired art direction. It grabbed me more than any other game this year.
Tetris Effect - Tetris is tried and true, everyone knows Tetris. But the framework around it this time was absolutely gorgeous, the music and visuals elevated a Tetris experience into a perfect one.
Return of the Obra Dinn - Succinct, unique, challenging, Obra Dinn is such a fascinatingly original title that felt like no other game I've played before. It's a challenging logic puzzle contained within an interesting and fleshed out world with a very interesting art style framed around it. It had some overly difficult or obtuse moments, but for the better part of the experience it was terrific.
Monster Hunter World - I don't feel like I have as much to say about the AAA games on my list, they've all been discussed to death. However, MH: World took what was a very niche and obtuse series and turned it into something that was much easier to swallow and really flourished.
God of War - Big, beautiful, wonderful characters and story, and the combat was incredibly fun and deeper than it initially seemed. The spark the franchise needed to go from great to essential.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - It's smash bros. but like... all of it + more. Honestly not a lot to say, it's just the perfect Nintendo fanfare.
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - VR's killer app, perfected platforming shoved into a VR experience. This is the VR game to play, people aren't exaggerating when they say it's something akin to Sony's Mario right now.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy - One of my favorite old adventure titles remastered perfectly, not much else to say.
Donut County - A really short, clever, and funny experience. Gave me Katamari vibes, and anything that does that is an auto win for me.
Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! - These games surprised me, they actually made Pokemon feel a bit more appealing more than they took away. I was very hesitant about the Pokemon Go mechanics (and frankly those are still my least favorite part of the game), but all the streamlined EV and IV training, ability to combo and catch shinies easier, seeing Pokemon on the overworld, etc. There are a ton of improvements I want to see in every future Pokemon game. Really revitalized my love for the series.

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Garf107 · Dec 19, 2018

Into the Breach - I was completely blown away by the quality of this game. The battles are small puzzles where every move you make is crucial. The rhythm of the campaign is perfect too, and the presentation is top notch. The music and sound design (including HD rumble on Switch) especially are really well done and add so much to the atmosphere of the game. I think it's one of my favorite games ever, and I haven't even tried all the teams. A masterpiece.
Yoku's Island Express - The concept of pinballvania and the cute protagonist had me sold on the game before starting it, and it didn't disappoint. The world is beautiful, the pinball sections work great, and everything is very charming and relaxing (the music in particular). The most pleasant game of the year for sure.
Celeste - Everything has been said on Celeste: great level design, tight controls, awesome music, and a surprisingly touching story. Amazing.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Yes, there's a contradiction between the open world and the very narrow structure of the story missions, but this game does a lot of things very well. The setting, the characters and all the open world elements do so much to make you feel like a part of this group, and the story is pretty interesting and nicely told. And of course, the graphics are fantastic.
Dead Cells - Very satisfying gameplay and nice gameplay loop = great roguelite. I will certainly come back to it when more content drops, and maybe I'll even beat the last boss then...
Quarantine Circular - Played it just after Subsurface Circular, which I think is the better game. Nonetheless, this second Bithell Short is a fantastic experience with a great presentation and clever dialogue. Both of these also touch on very interesting subjects, while leaving enough to the interpretation of the player.
Hollow Knight - I've been folowing it since its Kickstarter and I'm glad it turned out great! I'd probably have put it higher if I played it last year when it originally released.
Minit - Very clever concept that could be finetuned for a (spiritual) sequel one day. Also a nice hommage to one of the best Zelda games.
Mario Tennis Aces - A solid Mario sports game, really fun to play with friends. It could have used more minigames and personality though.
Kirby Star Allies - Weaker than the great 3DS entries, but Kirby games are always fun to play and this is no exception.

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erd · Dec 19, 2018

SweetNicole said:
You can use anything to break between a bolded game title and your comment. Hyphens, semi-colons, colons, etc.

Is this actually true? I separated the comments with em-dashes instead of hyphens and my receipt showed the titles together with the comments, as opposed to just the titles that everyone who separated with hyphens got. The same issue seems to be occurring for people using semi-colons, looking at some of the receipts. Additionally, titles that contain a hyphen are being broken up in the receipts (lots of votes for "Marvel's Spider", for instance).

Either the receipts are broken, or there might be a problem with the parser.

Moai · Dec 19, 2018

Red dead redemption 2 - its amazing what open world games have becomed and this one has great production value and the attention to detail is top notch.
Super smash bros ultimate - its the culmination of this saga with so much content that it can be intimidating at first.
Marvel spiderman - great action packed game that captured the feeling of being spiderman.
Battlefield v - despite the bugs this is the best gameplay on a bf game in years. The potential is there.
Forza horizon 4: this game is one of the best arcade racer made to this date.

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Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

Garf107 said:
Into the Breach - I was completely blown away by the quality of this game. The battles are small puzzles where every move you make is crucial. The rhythm of the campaign is perfect too, and the presentation is top notch. The music and sound design (including HD rumble on Switch) especially are really well done and add so much to the atmosphere of the game. I think it's one of my favorite games ever, and I haven't even tried all the teams. A masterpiece.

Yoku's Island Express - The concept of pinballvania and the cute protagonist had me sold on the game before starting it, and it didn't disappoint. The world is beautiful, the pinball sections work great, and everything is very charming and relaxing (the music in particular). The most pleasant game of the year for sure.

Celeste - Everything has been said on Celeste: great level design, tight controls, awesome music, and a surprisingly touching story. Amazing.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Yes, there's a contradiction between the open world and the very narrow structure of the story missions, but this game does a lot of things very well. The setting, the characters and all the open world elements do so much to make you feel like a part of this group, and the story is pretty interesting and nicely told. And of course, the graphics are fantastic.

Dead Cells - Very satisfying gameplay and nice gameplay loop = great roguelite. I will certainly come back to it when more content drops, and maybe I'll even beat the last boss then...

Quarantine Circular - Played it just after Subsurface Circular, which I think is the better game. Nonetheless, this second Bithell Short is a fantastic experience with a great presentation and clever dialogue. Both of these also touch on very interesting subjects, while leaving enough to the interpretation of the player.

Hollow Knight - I've been folowing it since its Kickstarter and I'm glad it turned out great! I'd probably have put it higher if I played it last year when it originally released.

Minit - Very clever concept that could be finetuned for a (spiritual) sequel one day. Also a nice hommage to one of the best Zelda games.

Mario Tennis Aces - A solid Mario sports game, really fun to play with friends. It could have used more minigames and personality though.

Kirby Star Allies - Weaker than the great 3DS entries, but Kirby games are always fun to play and this is no exception.

Glad to see Yoku's finally getting some love

honest_ry · Dec 19, 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 - The best written, acted, realistic and most alive gaming world ever.
Marvel's Spiderman - Just an absolute pleasure to play
Forza Horizon 4 - Simply put, the best driving game ever made.
State of Decay 2 - Just a really fun co-op experience
Battlefield 5 - Yes its clearly an early access beta. But the actual gameplay is totally fantastic and its one of the best multiplayer shooters in years.
PUBG - No other game offers the tension like it. So much fun

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Garf107 · Dec 19, 2018

Borowski said:
Glad to see Yoku's finally getting some love

I don't think enough people played it unfortunately...

Saint-14 · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - From a dead franchise that was about to get axed, a protagonist most people didn't care about to one of the biggest and best Sony games ever, who really saw that coming? If there ever was a perfect game then it would be GoW in my book.
Monster Hunter World - As EZA said "the world will finally understand", what an amazing game this is, never thought fighting the same monsters over and over again would be so satisfying and fun.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Despite the issues it has Rockstar still managed to make something special, never played a game with a world as alive as this one's combine that with an amazing story and characters and you have a strong contender for game of the gen.
Marvel's Spider-Man - I never was a fan of superhero games so wasn't sure if I'd like this but I was pleasantly surprised, the transversal, combat and story are all top notche, the second game will blow minds if they do better with the world and side activities.
Hollow Knight - The first Metroidvania I've played and a great experience it was, it is really hard to find something negative to say about the game.
Octopath Traveler - This is such a charming game with great visuals, soundtrack (it was robbed) and combat, it would have been higher if most stories weren't so boring.
Dead Cells - Still getting through this but it deserves to be here for how much fluid and satisfying the combat is.

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Savantcore · Dec 19, 2018

Red Dead Redemption 2 – I'm of the opinion that the greatest games don't just entertain you but transport you to a whole other world. There wasn't any other game this year, or perhaps ever, that did it as well as Red Dead Redemption 2 did.
God of War – As a massive fan of God of War since the first release, I had massive expectations for this reboot. It absolutely lived up to them. The only drawback was the lack of spectacular boss battles that the series is famous for, but it's more than made up by the incredible combat, graphics, story, and more.
Tetris Effect – Tetris was a perfect game back in '85. It's a testament to its quality than in the following three decades, it's been basically impossible to improve on it. Except now, that is. Tetris Effect is a brilliant marriage of that perfect gameplay with a brand-new audio-visual experience. And in VR, it's sensational.
Into the Breach – I picked this up on a whim and have since found it very hard to put down. A simple premise on paper becomes an incredibly in-depth, time-sucking, punishing yet rewarding strategy/puzzle game. One of the best 'just one more go' games I've ever played.
Marvel's Spider-Man – So much has been said about Spider-Man already that it's almost redundant to add to it here. All I can say is that repetitive missions and a hollow-feeling New York stop it from being an all-time classic in my book, but fun combat, simple but enjoyable puzzles, and wonderful web-slinging make it one of 2018's highlights.

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Kamaros · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - After a long time, the irredeemable god is back. And he must learn to be a father and control his anger towards the world. The best graphics that I have ever seen, the superb sound design and soundtrack, and dear heavens, the sweet gameplay. All of this together with a compelling narrative and plot makes it my GOTY, and one of the best i've ever played.
Shadow of the Colossus - Yeah, what I have to say? The best Ps2 game remade almost from the scratch to prove that still holds up as one of the best and unique games ever. Bravo, Ueda and bravo, Bluepoint.
Hollow Knight - Yeah, the everyone's darling. It's deserved. Amazing gameplay and sense of exploration and PACKED with content, you will get your money's worth. Also, Team Cherry deserves the best for making the game low price in the digital stores around the world (South America here <3).
Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Heyyy Sakurai and team, heard you made the best version of your world class game fighting series, heh? Yeah, combine the roster with all the depth and core gameplay everyone has, all the stages and a freaking single player adventure mode? Oh my god, this is the game to engage the whole family in the Xmas night.
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales - Well, ever heard of Gwent? So, we made a whole 30 hour game around it, with an overworld to explore and the ever engaging choice based conversations. If you read the books and like the lore of The Witcher, this is a gem. And the reworked Gwent is in it's best version ever here. Come on CDPR, give me that sweet Switch port.

Feels bad that i didn't played Octopath Traveler, Dragon Quest 11, Celeste and Dead Cells yet. I have a feeling that they would make it to my list :)
I played RDR2 and Spider Man, but didn't feel that they deserved the mention.

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Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

Garf107 said:
I don't think enough people played it unfortunately...

It reminded me a lot of Rayman Origins

What a joy to play

OnanieBomb · Dec 19, 2018

...didn't we already have this thread? I feel like I already put a list on here...

Phendrana · Dec 19, 2018

Borowski said:
Btw, i got many confirmation for other people's choices.

If it's counting your quoted posts twice, that's not good.

SweetNicole should probably be made aware of this, if she isn't already.

OutofMana · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - Never expected to be pulled back into a series that felt stuck in the past with its over the top violence and one note character. It blew me away and finally made me care about Kratos as a character. I never thought i'd enjoy another GoW game let alone be excited for whatever comes next.
Monster Hunter: World - My first MH experience and it will not be my last. It took a while to get used to all of the systems and controls, but had a blast after I got the hang of it. I must of put in like 300+hrs playing with friends and randoms. Really looking forward to the expansion next year.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey - The more RPG elements introduced gave me a more Witcher vibe. I throughly enjoyed the story and characters in this more than the previous effort. Kassandra is up there as one my favorite characters in the series.
Marvel's Spider-Man - The best Spider-man game i can remember playing. Swinging around the city just feels so great. They did a good job making you feel like the webslinger and were able to do new things with existing characters.
Celeste - One of the best games i've played on the Switch this year. Challenging but not the point of extreme frustration. Add in the awesome art style and soundtrack and it's hard to beat. I'm glad it gave me a reason to dust off my Switch this year.

Quick question. Am I supposed to omit the hyphen and colon from the game's title? I ask because that's the way it officially appears.

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tuffy · Dec 19, 2018

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate - Brimming with stuff I enjoy in a Monster Hunter game. It's fun seeing old favorite monsters back again (like Brachydios and Zinogre) as well as all new monsters with great designs (like Valstrax or the new Deviants). Similarly, it's good to be back home in maps I know by heart (like the Deserted Island), yet the new map is also put together well with a cool atmosphere and lots of great places to fight. It's chock full of great gear to forge, and the ability to fuse it for different looks gives me an excuse to forge equipment I might not otherwise - so I can go full Fashion Hunter and not have to worry about my best mixed sets looking like total clown suits. Even the styles and arts systems have grown on me; I've come to appreciate how they've enabled really challenging endgame fights that demand every tool at your disposal to win. And, of course, the online multiplayer system is also a great way to have fun with friends for hours at a time - a room with three other hunters posting different quests in turns just feels right, and is exactly the sort of experience I look forward to in a Monster Hunter game. So even though I've put over 500 hours into it so far, it has so much to do that I still have quests to do and things to forge and tactics to try out. It's easily my Game of the Year, and one I'll keep going back to for some time to come.

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Chorazin · Dec 19, 2018

God of War - Dad of Boi was a surprisingly touching story filling the cracks of an extremely fun action game.
Celeste - Music, story, difficulty, all on point here. WHERE IS THE DLC???
Dead Cells - Ok, just one more run. This loadout is awesome! HOW DID I DIE EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT SON OF A..... Ok just one more run *clock screams past midnight on a work night*
Marvel's Spider-Man - Loved the take on Spidey and MJ's relationship, and the fresh take on some stalwart villains. Suits were awesome, web swinging feels awesome, great witty quips.
ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission - Adorable! Wonderful animations, great use of the leading and head positioning of the PSVR. Worth playing the whole thing even if you find too much VR nauseating and the PSVR hurts your head.
Tetris Effect - Best Tetris since Tetris DS.
Donut County - Have a Trash Day! *duck emoji* Super fun and relaxing to play on my iPhone. The only mobile game I put any time into at all in 2018.
Cultist Simulator - I still don't think I really know how to play this.....but I'm having fun? So much insanity.....
Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! - Best rhythm game of 2018! Tap buttons to the beat, make the sounds, feel happy. Yay!
Katamari Damacy REROLL - Still as fun as it was when it originally came out.

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Borowski · Dec 19, 2018

Phendrana said:
If it's counting your quoted posts twice, that's not good.

SweetNicole should probably be made aware of this, if she isn't already.

I know, but that's not my fault tho

Just helping people to get their votes through

CloseTalker · Dec 19, 2018

Yeah I quoted someone's list to talk about it, and I got a receipt saying those were my votes. That's gonna need to be fixed.

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