i don't really see what's so different about it versus telltale's the walking dead except for bandersnatch having better writing, acting, and saying something with the time it had.
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ResetEra Games of the Year 2018 - Voting Thread (READ THE OP) [Ends Jan 20th 8:59am EST]
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i don't really see what's so different about it versus telltale's the walking dead except for bandersnatch having better writing, acting, and saying something with the time it had.
no one's telling you what you can and cant vote for. go nuts
- DUSK - I only heard of the tale of DUSK a couple times during it's early access, but when it officially came out, I took bit of a leap of faith to see what the excitement was, not realizing that it could end up being my GOTY. This game is not only such a freaking blast, but also has stellar level design, secrets, and atmopshere that makes this one exllecent title to keep coming back to.
- Celeste - A tough as nails but rewarding platformer that is enhanced by a compelling story about anxiety and depression, and beautiful pixel art.
- Fortnite: Battle Royale - A pretty fun shooter that has reached culture phenomenon status, and has brought in a lot of cool stuff over the year, including the recent awesome addition of creative mode. The battlepass is also a pretty rewarding micro-traction if you put in the work.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - More Smash with a nice single player mode again, and the return of Wolf, so already quite a improvement from Smash 4. The Belmonts are a very very nice addition to the HUGE cast of fighters.
- Monster Hunter World - A new era of Monster Hunter that is able to streamline the experience without really losing the core of what makes this series so great.
- Lost in Vivo - A very solid horror game that each area of the game provides it's own horror to get through, and is more meaty than it looks, with NG+, and even some nice secret minigames.
- Holedown
- Bendy and the Ink Machine
- Florence
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
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Hope you enjoy it! Just a nice and pleasant game all around!Thanks to this thread:
Hope it's as good as its praise.
- Dead Cells - One of the most frustrating yet satisfying games I've ever played. The replay value is incredible.
- Tetris Effect - After so many years of missing Mizuguchi, I finally got the same feeling I had when I first played Lumines on PSP. VR was an added boost.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Finally a Blackout mode that feels worth it.
- Hollow Knight - In a year that already has Dead Cells, it's amazing we got another perfect Metroidvania. The soundtrack and atmosphere is beautiful. Game truly feels like art.
- Pokemon Let's Go: Pikachu/Eevee Edition - I thought I would hate the GO mechanics, but I think it will be hard to going back to catching Pokemon the old way.
- Astro Bot - Finally a platformer that can rival Nintendo.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Talk about fucking content overload. Gameplay is starting to get stale but you can't ignore the amazing attention to detail.
- Shadow of the Colossus - I hate to put a remake on here, but this game is masterful and the new graphics are suberb.
- Spyro the Dragon Reignited Trilogy - Much more than a remake, but rather a retelling of one of the greatest trilogies of all time. So much value and love put into this game.
- Pokemon Quest - First FTP mobile game to hook me.
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- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - My second VR game ever and the one that truly showed me that VR can really add a new dimension to things. So much attention to detail, so many "wow, that's so cool!" moments and a genuinely fun and well designed game underneath it. A game changer for me and the game that completely sold me on VR. It's a shame so few will get to play it because of the platform though.
- God of War - It took a stale and dated series which I had grown tired of and turned it into a masterpiece. One of the boldest and best reinventions of a series ever and one of the most successful.
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - It's more Yakuza and it will always be one of the most important franchises to me. Not the best in the series and the new engine forced some sacrifices but a fantastic game and a good end to Kiriyu's saga.
- Detroit: Become Human - Always found QD's games entertaining but they always had flaws and ridiculous moments. With Detroit, they made a good and coherent story with meaningful choices and strong moments.
- Celeste - Super tight and challenging gameplay and a simple yet elegant story which made you attached to the charming characters. The boss fight was a generation-defining moment for me.
- Forza Horizon 4 - Who knew racing could be such a god damn joy to play? I didn't until Microsoft practically gave away one of the best games of the year on its release day via Game Pass. Maybe my most played game of the year and grinding races, danger signs and jumps never got old. One of the few games in this list I'm sure I will revisit occasionally.
- Moss - My first VR game and a super charming little journey full of attention to detail and a very well animated and likeable protagonist. Playing it felt like you were in front of a giant theater stage or doll house and the game did a good job at making you feel like you were taking part in it. The game is a bit short and simple in its design but it's just so beautifully crafted and memorable in the end. A great experience.
- Dandara - A unique control scheme, satisfying challenge, great music and gorgeous pixel art made this my most underrated game of the year.
- Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon - It does what made the Castlevania series great well. Good bosses, gameplay, challenge, music and art.
- The Persistence - My first horror game in VR and the high challenge made it a tense experience but it never felt unfair and progress you made saved even when you die so every death felt like a step closer to beating it. Surprisingly good audio and enemy design for a small indie studio. A little bit more polish and a few more memorable sequences/moments and this could have been a true winner.
- Kirby: Star Allies - Kirby will always be awesome but they really need to change up the Dreamland formula at this point. It's nice, plays well, has a few new power-ups but it felt so damn vanilla after Triple Deluxe and Robobot in the same gen. Kirby needs to reinvent the wheel or do like Mario and stick to one 2D game per gen.
- Sinner: Sacrifice For Redemption - a.k.a Janky Souls. Played on Xbox Game Pass and I think the bosses are good, some even creative but there is a lack of polish and the game's gimmick of taking away your power for every boss you defeat doesn't always work super well. It still posed a good challenge and scratched that Souls itch a bit for me.
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- Into The Breach - Hard to master game that kept my interest all year.
- Forza Horizon 4 - Beautiful graphics with content for days
- Armored Brigade - Cold War turns hot tactical wargaming
- Frostpunk -
- Assassins Creed Odyssey - My first time playing an Ass Creed game and it kept my interest for a long time.
- Yakuza 0
- Rimworld - Stories!
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Battletech
- Super Mega Baseball 2
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- Hollow Knight - One of the best Metroidvania ever made. The animation is gorgeous, the environments are beautiful and varied and the combat is hard without being impossible.
- Shadow of the Colossus
- God of War
- Tetris Effect
- Astrobot: Rescue Mission
- The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories
- Beat Saber
- Guacamelee 2
- Celeste
- Marvel's Spider-Man
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man i completely forgot detroit came out this year and that i played through it twice. that says more about my mental state than anything because i was also involved in the post-launch discussions pretty heavily.
just beat hitman 2, and that might round out my year. also have monster boy started and may get to spider-man before the end of the next weekend.
just beat hitman 2, and that might round out my year. also have monster boy started and may get to spider-man before the end of the next weekend.
- God of War - I've been a fan of the series since the day the original came out, and have played every entry to completion. I have to say that SSM completely knocked it out of the park here. They brought the series back in a way that makes it feel fresh while still acknowledging its past. The characters are well realized, the game tells a great story, the world is polished and full of character, and the gameplay is tight and intense. It makes me happy to finally be able to put a God of War game at the top of my list and I can't wait to see where they take the series from here.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - ACO doesn't really do anything new that hasn't been done by other games, and honestly it does a pretty poor job at being an Assassin's Creed game. However, it does a fantastic job of executing on what it sets out to do. It's an amazing open world RPG with interesting systems to interact with and rarely gets in the way of letting the player have fun. When I play I find it hard to put down the controller as they're always something fun to do right around the corner. I quite liked Origins last year and found myself wondering if they would ever top it, and in my opinion they actually pulled it off.
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - An amazingly polished platformer that makes great use of the PSVR. The game is a bundle of fun with a great soundtrack and is endlessly charming. My biggest surprise this year and one of the best platformers I've played in recent history.
- Marvel's Spiderman - A great superhero game and easily my favorite game by Insomniac. It's a fun comic book story wrapped up with a good combat system and a great swinging mechanic.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - A series I've been fond of since the original N64 title with another entry that's a blast to play. I find myself really enjoying the single player adventure mode, and of course the local multiplayer is as great as always.
- Dead Cells - Tight gameplay mechanics and a good progression system makes this a game I have a hard time putting down. I noticed myself getting better every run which lead to an intense feeling of accomplishment when I finally completed it.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - Likely the best narrative and character work I've ever seen in any game. Arthur Morgan is an unforgettable character with a very compelling story arc. Also the game is amazingly beautiful with an awesome soundtrack.
- Far Cry 5 - I have not gotten tired of the formula yet. The game systems and mechanics in Far Cry 5 are among the best the series has had and I found it fun to do Far Cry things in this new setting.
- Guacamelee! 2 - A great follow up to the original. It's funny, beautiful, and plays really well.
- The Messenger - Tight mechanics, fun boss fights, and a killer soundtrack make this a memorable little game. And the storekeeper is hilarious.
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I have 19 games I want to talk about.
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- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
My 2018 was characterized by me finally breaking into the Yakuza franchise with Yakuza 0. After being totally enthralled in the heartfelt tale of good boys navigating the criminal underbelly of Japan, I was hungry for more and proceeded to play several more games in the series before Yakuza 6 finally launched. What Yakuza 6 brought was one of the most emotionally resonant pieces of media I've ever experienced. The change of game engines breathed new life into the series, introducing ridiculous new ways to pummel thugs in the streets of Kamurocho while feeling even more weighty and satisfying than what's come before. The side stories on the bustling streets of Kamurocho and quieter Onomichi make the cities come alive before you, bringing a strong mix of goofiness and earnestness. There are side stories that made me laugh hysterically, and there are those that brought tears to my eyes. Most importantly, the story felt like the final destination in a decade-long journey. It felt like getting to see people I had known all my life for the last time, even for some characters I had only met 20 hours prior. What belies this melodramatic and goofy storytelling is a very relatable story about evolving traditions, and the love families cannot always find the way to express.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Dragon Quest XI was my first time playing a Dragon Quest game. It was also the Dragon Quest game that made me a Dragon Quest fan. Traditional in nature, but epic in scope, DQXI is truly a masterpiece in the JRPG space. As a lifelong fan of the genre, DQXI brought back the same feelings I experienced playing Final Fantasy games as a kid. There is so much of this game that is based in tradition, but evolved to a point where it exceeds its predecessors and contemporaries. Stunning visuals, a fantastic cast of characters, and world-building on an unprecedented scale created a world I never wanted to leave.
- Florence
Combining very creative interaction methods with a bittersweet story of love, this amazing little game floored me with its emotional heft. The soundtrack builds every gorgeously animated chapter in incredible ways and overpowers the player's senses. While the base gameplay comes down to tapping on objects, the way the game presents these actually helps to build the emotions it is trying to express to the player in minute but significant ways. This is truly a gem of mobile gaming and a title anyone who has fallen in love can relate to.
- Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a shining example of a remake that was handled with pure adoration. Much of what I said about Yakuza 6, I could repeat about Kiwami 2 in spite of it being a remake. A modernization of its PS2 release, it recreates the content of the original in the new engine while remaining faithful to the original to the point of having much of the same scene direction throughout its main story. Kiwami 2 proved to be a salvaging of some of the best content the Yakuza team has created in their time working together. It also has what is one of my favorite final bosses in video games, a brilliantly directed clash of ideologies conveyed solely through fists. Despite having played so much Yakuza already by the time Kiwami 2 released, I was more than ready to kick back and let Kamurocho tell me more stories.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Brimming with content, Smash Ultimate is Smash at its best. With more references than one can keep track of, Ultimate never ceases to surprise. Smash was pretty much a known quantity, though; the real game changer is the game's adventure mode. World of Light is a massive and lovingly crafted adventure that is a celebration of Nintendo's legacy. There are tons of challenges that are very creative and test your skills in meaningful ways, including references to series I haven't heard of in ages. I did not expect to love the adventure mode as much as I did, but it is what I have spent the most amount of time with in Ultimate. Couple that with sheer quantity of different modes and challenges to partake in, it offers an endless amount of entertainment. Nintendo have created the greatest Smash game to date with Ultimate.
- 428: Shibuya Scramble
I am not a person who plays many visual novels - I've only really dug into the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series. However, the two things that those games and 428 have in common is that they tell an engrossing mystery in fresh and original ways. Following five different protagonists over the course of a day, the story shows how their paths intersect with one another and how their different actions affect each other throughout the story. Having to rewind to adjust your decision with one character so that another isn't at the wrong place at the wrong time is endlessly entertaining, but the well-defined characters and the sometimes absurd bad endings create an experience that is absolutely filled with heart.
- Celeste
Celeste is a game about perseverance, constantly challenging the player and main character to achieve more with ever increasing difficulty. It is brutal at times, but persisting is a rewarding experience, as you are presented with ever-changing platforming puzzles, a strange and relatable cast of characters, and an evocative soundtrack. Celeste is a game with a strong emotional core and gameplay to match.
- Unavowed
Unavowed is a point-and-click adventure which follows a group of supernatural detectives who attempt to retrace the steps of the player character after being possessed by a demon for a year to uncover what kind of damage the demon has brought onto Earth. Each part of the game is presented as a case that the player must investigate and resolve to right the wrongs of the demon. What sets this point-and-click adventure apart is its player choice mechanics. There are a multitude of branching paths and choices for the players to make, which ultimately have a notable impact on the narrative. This includes the background of your player character or which allies to take with you to investigate, which ultimately affects how you end up solving a case and leads to a choice on what the resolution will be. The game is packed with difficult decisions and all have a lasting impact on how the narrative plays out. The investigation puzzles are generally very intuitive and rely on logic rather than clicking things together to figure out what to do next. Coupled with legitimately fascinating and emotionally moving cases, and very earnest character writing, this is a clear standout for the genre.
- The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories
The Missing is a difficult game to talk about without spoiling what makes it such an impactful experience. At first glance, it is an indie puzzle-platformer that doesn't seem to differentiate itself from its predecessors, other than having a striking visual style and giving the protagonist the ability to mutilate herself in order to solve puzzles. While the self-mutilation certainly adds a very interesting thematic layer to the puzzle solving, the gameplay itself is mostly passable. At times, the gameplay can be frustrating, as what the game expects of you is difficult to discern due to poor highlighting of what you can interact with. However, the story that belies all this and how it is presented is refreshing enough to be more forgiving of the gameplay shortcomings. The story follows J.J. Macfield as she goes off to find her missing friend, Emily, on an island and encounters some extremely weird and disturbing things. The backstory of these characters is presented to the player through a backlog of text messages which are unlocked as the game progresses. J.J., Emily, and the supporting cast are exceptionally characterized through these text message conversations, every interaction feeling organic and presenting a fully-formed image for characters who are never presented on-screen. This is also where the core of the story begins unraveling and much of the pressures J.J. faces as a college student struggling with her identity are relayed to the player. These struggles are what elevate this game far above many story-driven games, as it tackles subjects which video games rarely touch on. The Missing is an equal parts devastating, endearing, and hopeful experience.
- Monster Hunter World
After trying for many years to get into the Monster Hunter franchise, like many people, I was finally able to break through with World. The streamlining of elements that were previously impenetrable allows the series best features to shine through, revealing its addictive gameplay loop and incredibly deep combat. With World, there is also a level of world design that was not previously present in the series, giving each monster its own behavior and interactions with the environments and making the game's world feel fully realized. The game has become a persistent experience I am constantly returning to, to improve my character and see what other challenges are out there for me to overcome.
- Valkyria Chronicles 4
Valkyria Chronicles 4 is a problematic game that I love. Following the exploits of Claude Wallace, it pits a scrappy squad of young soldiers fighting to defend their homeland against insurmountable odds. Changes made both large and small make the combat design immediately superior to its predecessors'. Completely outmaneuvering opponents or snatching victory from the jaws of defeat at once feels more intuitive and satisfying. The fantastically well-written cast of characters shine, and the addition of new sidestories shine a limelight on previously dispensable squadmates. Following this squad through their campaign is a riveting experience at every turn, and tackles many themes which are often not discussed in games about war. There are moments when these characters must make decisions with dire consequences, and the weight of them is instilled upon the player so perfectly. This is all to say that I am extremely disappointed with this game in the writing surrounding one particular main character, Raz. Raz is initially presented as an all-around ass who is a childhood friend of Claude. He also sexually harasses another female childhood friend, Kai. It is my belief that the developers of VC4 equate sexual harassment to having a delinquent streak, as this is brushed off by the rest of the characters as Raz's general behavior and presented to get a laugh from the player. There are no consequences or admonishment for this behavior. Whereas previous VC games had characters fill similar roles, it was made clear in those games that these characters did not face more severe consequences because although their behavior was unacceptable, the militaries were undermanned and needed any able-bodied soldier available. Those characters would instead be educated in different ways, but it was never presented as though the behavior was acceptable. VC4 makes no such concessions, as Squad E is part of a large military force and Raz's actions go mostly unaddressed by his peers, other than his propensity to put others at risk. VC4 is a game that should be easy to recommend, but I cannot do so due to the attitude towards women that it presents. However, I still very much love it for the things it gets right.
- Return of the Obra Dinn
It is a legitimate challenge to accurately capture the feeling of being a detective through video games. After creating Papers, Please and capturing much of that feeling of being an investigator, Lucas Pope's Return of the Obra Dinn goes even further into that space. While using more supernatural elements than Pope's previous game, Obra Dinn limits you in different ways than the typical detective game and asks that you use something closer to true deductive reasoning to solve the fates of the passengers who were on the titular ship. Obra Dinn is an achievement in video game design. The story itself is rather fascinating, as well, and goes to places one would not expect. This is a game that anyone looking for that feeling of being a real detective should seek out.
- Into the Breach
What makes Into the Breach such an engaging and evocative experience is that it is a puzzle game masquerading as a strategy game. The game is completely transparent about what, when, and how events are going to unfold. Then it falls on the player to make a calculated assessment of what is going to achieve an optimal outcome by weighing their grid power against the lives of their pilots. It is a game where you will stare at the screen for minutes at a time without making a single move, trying to plot out the perfect path. Finally cracking the puzzle presented by a turn and having it play out perfectly is one of the most exhilarating feelings. Coupled with fantastic aesthetics and some really minimal, but effective dialogue, it is an accessible and rewarding experience.
- Shadow of the Colossus
I first played Shadow of the Colossus on the PS2. I did not enjoy it then and did not finish it. I played it again on the PS3, and completed it this time, but almost in spite of my experience with the controls. I did not really think about picking up this PS4 remaster until I did so impulsively. What I am happy to say is that this game finally clicked with me. The insignificance of the player character shone through the gameplay in a way I did not fully grasp prior, and I finally felt the breadth of the adventure. SotC is not only a fantastic remaster, but it's the definitive way to play one of the greatest games of all time.
- Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
Reminiscent of visual novels with branching paths, Radiant Historia throws a layer of strategic and satisfying RPG combat onto its gripping time-traveling plot. Running into heartbreaking bad endings and having to travel back to change your decisions is an emotional rollercoaster. A fantastic remaster of a modern classic.
- The Red Strings Club
The Red Strings Club is a strange, cyberpunk point-and-click adventure that is hard to describe. It does not have many of the traditional point-and-click gameplay trappings, instead having you interview customers as a bartender which affects the ways in which you can progress the story later. In that way, the story ends up feeling very personal, even though you are playing as a fixed character and its scale can be perceived as large. It raises many questions about morality and humanity, and made a brutally strong impact on me following a scene midway through the game. It is a weird game that I would recommend people check out.
- GRIS
A beautiful game about the different stages of grief told through what can only be described as a canvas in video game form. The game may not tell a particularly complicated story, but it tells it well through imagery, music, and thoughtful puzzles.
- Iconoclasts
As a Metroidvania that generally follows a structure of one, Iconoclasts still brings a lot to the table. I particularly loved the level design at certain points in the game, how dynamic the combat could be, and how bizarre the story gets as it progresses. A truly remarkable Metroidvania experience.
- Wandersong
An indie platformer concerned with letting the player have fun with its goofy protagonist, Wandersong just makes me very happy to play. The game's paper cutout style is absolutely gorgeous, and the music is delightful. In spite of its very lighthearted nature, the game confronts some topics of identity and expectations with its characters in a way that feels totally organic through its dialogue, not unlike a game I believe does this exceptionally well, Night in the Woods. Despite having some frustration with the singing controls and the puzzles being on the easy side, this is a really wonderful game.
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- God of War - To be honest this was the only game I played in 2018 due to heavy time constraints and that's why I need to nominate it for GotY. I was immediately captured by the story and played through the game faster than any other in a long time. Taking the effort to make time to play this game is a sign of how amazing it was.
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- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Origins surprised me last year and wound up being my GotY and Odyssey has somehow managed to best it in every way. Combat is improved, progression is much more satisfying, it's secretly one of the best loot games out this year, the story is better, side quests are greatly improved, it added sailing and other new systems and while I loved ancient Egypt, Greece has proven to be just as consistently gorgeous. It is an absolute joy to play and I find myself constantly going back to it. I've racked up 250+ hours so far and I don't see myself slowing down any time soon.
- Tetris Effect - A game I dismissed as merely being sexy Tetris has ended up being my go-to whenever I need to relax for a bit. Who knew an aesthetically pleasing and immersive version of the greatest game ever made would be good?
- Dead Cells - Dead Cells sounds good on paper but it's not until you actually play it that you realize how great it actually is. The smooth, precise controls make the game a lock for one of the best Metroidvania's ever.
- Magic the Gathering Arena - It only took 18 years but a competent online version of Magic the Gathering finally exists.
- Spyro Trilogy Reignited - An absolutely delightful nostalgia trip and possibly the best looking platformer ever made. Even once the nostalgia wears off the Spyro series proves to still be an excellent experience and one of the most charming games I've played this gen.
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - The delightful, Nintendo-like platformer that sold me on VR. Games this full of ingenuity and joy don't come around very often.
- Artifact - It takes a lot for a new CCG to grab my attention but Valve managed to do it. It's a shame the community is in freefall because the core mechanics at play here are engaging.
- Battlefield V - Similar to Artifact, BFV gets the core gameplay mechanics right (after a misstep with BF1) but hasn't seemed to catch on. Content is on the light side as well but I can't deny the fun I've had with it so far.
- God of War - A gorgeous journey through multiple worlds that does a successful job of making me interested in GoW again.
- Moss - An endearing little adventure that uses VR to make you feel more connected to its adorable protagonist What it lacks in depth and glamour it makes up for with heart.
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- Red Dead Redemption 2 - The most well realized open world since Witcher 3. The sheer scale and dedication to realism is second to none. While main mission design get old real fast due to its restrictive design and actual combat encounters are barely passable. The living , breathing world more than makes up for it . It also helps that it has one of the best character writing for most of the cast and Arthur Morgan is probably best written male protagonist in recent years.
- Marvel's Spider-Man - While the actual open world is nothing special and side content feels like it was made in 2008 , swinging is pretty fun and the actual story and character writing is surprisingly good . More than that , the origins of Doc Oc was fantastic and last couple hours were so strong that elevated the whole experience for me .
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Ubisoft just keeps delivering open world goodness. This time it is fully fledged open world rpg set in ancient Greece. While the writing is still weak and ubisofts reliance on emergent /systemic gameplay can get samey after a while it is still a joy to traverse the world and get into combat situations . It also helps that it looks god damn fantastic.
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider - The darker tone , more character driven approach to its story and just far slower pacing was a nice surprise . Lara is actually finally decently written and performances and overall more film like approach to cutscenes finally made me engaged . It also looks really good .
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- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - I just loved the world made for this game, Kass is also the best character of the year.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - many horse collisions, enjoyed the world more than the story.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Maybe too many characters now and adding annoying ones but I still love it.
- Hollow Knight - Surprised me but really atmospheric and lots of depth.
- Monster Hunter World - Spin to win the hammer was my way to victory, has awesome world and godly monster design.
- Tetris Effect - Tetris is so good.
- Dragon Quest XI - I would have gone higher but the music and some of the dungeon design wasn't the best. Still very fun.
- Hitman 2 - If there was no hitman 1 I would place this higher but its more of the same and I know my way around the A.I routines.
- Forza Horizon 4 - Love the world and cars but some decisions on the online which is what I play for were baffling.
- Sea of Thieves - This game gave me some amazing moments, but just got old too fast. I have played the updates and thats how it made my 10.
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- God of War - Easily the best game of this gen behind Botw, Jawdropping production and i never cared about Kratos before this game
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Possibly the best Smash game of all time, dripping with so much love and a decent story mode which imo rivals Subspace
- Celeste - Didnt expect this game to be this good, one of the most rewarding platformers of all time and that soundtrack! dethrones Super meat boy as my fave indie of all time.
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider - My favourite of the 'Origin' trilogy, Fantastic puzzles, great HDR, great side quests and finally a decent story
- Monster Hunter World - The game I've played most this year by far, loved the QoL improvements made which have made it hard to go back and play the older titles and even made me skip the switch game as it seemed 'inferior'
- AstroBot: Rescue Mission - Bought this with PSVR on black friday and its as good as people say, looks great, tight platforming and sets the bar for future VR games
- Spider-Man - Like most people my fave SM game was 2 and didnt play any since this game, I was most surprised by the story IMO think its the best in the entire SM lore, Gameplay was great but kinda burnt myself going for the platinum.
- Octopath Traveler - RPG's aren't really my thing apart from a select few (TWEWY, FF15,P5,Pokemon) played the prologue demo and fell in love with the game, gorgeous artstyle, engaging combat system and fantastic soundtrack, only like halfway through but still a great time.
- Red dead Redemption 2 - Never really enjoyed the First game but loved the Undead nightmare add-on, after seeing how good the reviews were i had to give it a try and boy it sets a new medium standard on all respects, Some of the best HDR I've ever seen, outstanding voice acting and the amount of detail in the world is mindblowing.
- Shadow of the Colossus - Played abit of this on Ps3 but my save got screwed and never went back to it, If this wasn't a remaster it would be higher on my list as the job Bluepoint did was exceptional, Graphics on my Pro were outstanding, Colossus battles bar a couple were all memorable and the world even mostly empty felt real.
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Wow, this is exactly my experience with this game. I wanted to love this game so much but the previous two versions left me so disappointed. I am so glad the PS4 version was finally able to click with me.Shadow of the Colossus
I first played Shadow of the Colossus on the PS2. I did not enjoy it then and did not finish it. I played it again on the PS3, and completed it this time, but almost in spite of my experience with the controls. I did not really think about picking up this PS4 remaster until I did so impulsively. What I am happy to say is that this game finally clicked with me. The insignificance of the player character shone through the gameplay in a way I did not fully grasp prior, and I finally felt the breadth of the adventure. SotC is not only a fantastic remaster, but it's the definitive way to play one of the greatest games of all time.
- Hollow Knight - (NSW) - How could I place a game I never actually got to finish in my #1 spot for the year, that makes no sense? But it actually does. The fact that I left this unfinished is not because this is a bad game, but because it is such a tremendous one. The amount of meat to this bone can be so overwhelming, just like its numerous labyrinth paths and enemies that can crush you so unforgivingly you cannot help but cry in some remote corner of your home. Yet... you keep pushing. There is an incentive to do better, and unravel the mysteries of this world as you read the clues left in the environment, which by the way make for a super compelling story that I would recommend everyone goes on the internet and read for themselves if you haven't already. This was easily my GOTY, and not only that, this is one of my favourite games of all time.
- Marvel's Spider-Man - (PS4) - After watching Into the Spider-Verse in theaters I couldn't help but jump at the opportunity to get myself some more web-slinging in my life. I bought this game at full price 1 day before it went on sale for like 30%. I wasn't even upset though because this was easily one of my most favourite games this year. Just like Spider-Verse, the game did an amazing job at using the comic book feel of storytelling, and taking it to the next level with some amazing performances in all the characters in this beautiful New York. The city too is as alive as the people who live in it, and it may as well be a character of its own. Traversal hadn't felt as comfortable to me since the days of Spider-Man 2 on my PS2. I still remember going after those balloons lol (man I was kinda disappointed they didn't add that type of mission in here as well, guess going after pigeons was as close as it could get). All and all, an amazing game.
- God of War - (PS4) - Man what a brilliant game God of War was. I struggled to place this in third since I loved it so much, but ultimately Hollow Knight and Spider-Man took the edge. What can I say about this game that hasn't been said a million times before… Finally we give a damn about Kratos and what's going on in his life, besides punching and slashing through Gods and other mythological creatures. The relationship between him and his son is so dynamic and complex it had me glued to my screen from beginning to end. I want to see more of Atreus' own adventures too as he grows and whether the lessons learned in this first game will carry over to the second when it comes to the game's design.
- Octopath Traveler - (NSW) - This game was gorgeous and it kind of managed to be what I imagined RPGs would look in the future 15-20 years ago. It did a lot of good but also fell a bit short due to how repetitive the loop is. Although interesting, each chapter is composed of the same gameplay loop of being in a town, going to X dungeon to defeat X boss and that's the end. The game feels very compact which is ideal for a handheld experience, but in the long run it made the game feel very samey to me. If it weren't for its amazing cast of characters and stories, it probably would have been lower on my list.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - (NSW) - I actually never played any of the other Smash titles after the Nintendo 64, and yet it still very much felt like I remember it feeling back in the day. The huge roster and solid single player modes will last you for dozens of hours, and the multiplayer will be there until Sakurai eventually is ordered to make another one. The online experience in my opinion falls a little short when it comes to interactions, incentives, and even connectivity. It feels very basic with not a whole lot to keep me coming back for more. The lag is very real unless you play connected to your router directly as well. Great game still though.
- Dead Cells - (NSW) - This game is on my list based on its gameplay alone, since story is basically non-existent. It just feels so good to control the main character. As you dodge and slash through enemies you can't help but feel invincible at times, until you are humbled again by some enemy that instantly kills you. Progression is made in an interesting way, although after a while the game begins to feel a bit too repetitive for my liking.
- Pokémon Let's Go, Eevee! - (NSW) - It felt real good to revisit Kanto. Pokémon Blue was my first videogame ever so I had to play this. For better or worse some things were simplified and streamlined which was fine for what they were going for with this project. I am looking forward to the next generation title and seeing what features are carried from Let's Go and which ones return from the older games.
- Into The Breach - (NSW) - I wish I had gotten this game sooner. It would be higher on my list, but I simply haven't played it for long enough to say whether it would be higher or lower than the titles I've chosen to place above it. The game is quite simple yet, deep with its mechanics and feels a lot like chess, as many have mentioned in their reviews.
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 - (NSW) - Got this game in a sale recently so just like Into the Breach, I haven't played enough to be able to judge it appropriately. That being said, I loved what I played since it just felt like more VC which is a series I love.
- NBA 2K19 - (PS4, NSW) - Although I don't support the microtransaction shenanigans 2K keeps pulling with their NBA games series it's undeniable to say this is a bad game. They refined a lot of the gameplay issues lots of people had (also introducing new ones, but we'll push that aside). MyCareer is still terrible if you want to have a good time on your own, but something like Play Now or the incredibly robust MyLeague mode makes for a game that lets you feel like you are a part of an actual team, either by playing the GM role, by simulating matches, or by even going back in time and playing as the greats. If you love basketball get this game. But get it during a sale please. And don't be like me and buy it on two platforms either. The Switch port much like last year is quite excellent if you don't mind playing the game at 30fps. I'd say that's my preferred way of playing a quick match here and there.
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- Monster Hunter: World - I've always wanted to see a big budget Monster Hunter game and I finally got it this year and it was awesome. I've been a fan of the series since Monster Hunter Tri on the WII and this one streamlined a lot of problems I had with the past titles making the game much more user friendly while still keeping the intensity of the past titles Monster battles. I think the accessibility of the game really helped it and I'm excited to see the series move forward in the future.
- Shadow of the Colossus - The original version one of my favorite GOAT so obviously I have to put this remaster at the top of this year's list. BLuepoint did an amazing job on the game and it looks incredible.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Played and loved every Smash Bros. since the original N64 version and Ultimate is the best Smash since Melee. The fighting feels great, the graphics look awesome, good story mode, still amazing multiplayer, great soundtrack and great new characters added (especially loved Richter).
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - At first I didn't care for RDR 2 due to the clunky feeling controls and slow paced game-play of the opening chapters but once Chapter 3 hit are started to really like the game and everything clicked. The story had pacing problems but it was overall good and Arthur Morgan is Rockstar's best protagonist they ever created. Although I was getting annoyed with how long the game dragged on for overall I walked away from it with good impressions and I think about it from time to time even after completing it.
- DUSK - The best FPS since DOOM 2016, it nails the old-school FPS game-play perfectly and even though I only played a few hours (I got it during the last Steam Winter Sale) its one of the best games of 2018. I can't wait to play more of it.
- Diablo III: Eternal Collection (Switch) - I haven't played a Diablo game since the early 2000s so I was a little hesitant about picking this game up for the switch but I'm glad I did. Its perfect for the Switch because I could jump on and play for about 30 minutes or longer and finish a dungeon and collect some loot. Also it runs at a pretty smooth 60 FPS in dock mode and portable mode, which impressed me quite a bit.
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I wondered this myself. It hasn't been mentioned in this thread so far until you asked about it. It's not on the official spreadsheet, but I think you could definitely make an argument for it. If you really want to put it on your list, I'd get in touch with an admin and ask them about it! (Personally I had too much on my list to fit it, but I think it deserves a nod because although it's ultimately kind of hollow, I found it to be a fun ride.)
i looked into it and the wikipedia page for 'interactive film' describes that genre as a kind of video game.
considering it came out at the end of the year and after the thread was made i don't think it was in consideration for the spreadsheet initially.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - I'll admit that I'm a fan of Rockstar's style of game. And this is the best they've ever done it. RDR 2 is the most realistic looking open world game ever made. In addition to the beautiful scenery, realistic weather effects, bustling towns, and lifelike wildlife, the game has one of my favorite protagonists ever in Arthur Morgan. He feels very authentic as a tough guy with a dry wit, whose internal conflicts eat away at him. And I enjoyed going on a journey with him through all of his ups and downs. The characters are so well written that I even cared about the side characters, hoping some of their fates wouldn't include a horrible, grisly death. I also liked the combat and wasn't bothered by the methodical movement or pacing of the game. And the missions are so varied that I never got bored of them. I spent about 80 hours in this game and gladly would have doubled that had there been more single player content.
- Marvel's Spider-Man - Going into this game, I was expecting a beautiful version of New York city, fun web swinging, and beat 'em up style combat. I got all of those things. What I wasn't expecting was the characters to be so well done. The writing and voice acting are on par with the Uncharted series in my opinion, which was a nice surprise. The characters elevated the game from good to great. And the story takes some dark turns. It wasn't just written with kids in mind which I appreciated.
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - This was a fun, if somewhat easy, action RPG. I actually enjoyed the battle system more in this game than in the first game. I also enjoyed the light kingdom building mechanics. The music could have been better and the story ultimately didn't go anywhere for me, but I found this to be a very relaxing and enjoyable game. It still has that studio ghibli-esque art style (I don't believe they were directly involved this time) that's pleasant to look at. I had fun hacking and slashing my way to the top of my very own kingdom.
- Detroit: Become Human - I'm a fan of Quantic Dream and I got exactly what I was hoping for out of this game. It's a great looking game, with a pretty good story, and tons of choices to make and outcomes to see. It also has another one of my favorite characters from a game this past year, Connor the android/detective. If you like Quantic Dream's games or adventure games you should play this, and if you don't, this game probably won't change your mind.
- God of War - This is only the second God of War game that I've finished (I finished GoW 2) and the first God of War game that I've actually enjoyed. This version of God of War looks incredible and I really enjoyed the big set piece moments. I also liked the characters for the most part. But, although I enjoyed the combat in the new God of War a lot more than I enjoyed the combat in the previous games, I still didn't like the combat that much. Unless I'm playing a shooter, I don't enjoy the close over-the-shoulder camera that God of War uses. The combat in these games isn't tailor made for me.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Comparing this game to RDR 2 is a little unfair, but I'm going to do it anyways. Odyssey controls better than RDR 2, but the writing and characters (other than Kassandra who was a top 3 character last year imo) pale in comparison. The mission variety is also lacking. I really enjoy the combat and stealth in this game but how many times can you sneak into an enemy base and burn their supplies before it gets old? This game still has that classic Ubisoft problem where they make you do the same series of things over and over and over. I still enjoyed the game and spending time in its world, but I thought it overstayed its welcome.
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance - This game has a lot in common with its protagonist. Henry is an everyman who isn't a natural warrior, but he does the best he can with what he's got and manages to have some success, despite his shortcomings. That pretty much sums up KCD for me. It's a game that would probably be better if it were made by a more accomplished studio. But nonetheless, I thought the game we got was pretty good, despite the jankyness and almost game breaking bugs. It had some interesting fighting mechanics, beautiful scenery, and I even enjoyed the light survival/sim elements.
- Hitman 2 - I've been a Hitman fan since I played Hitman 2 on the PS2 many years ago (had no PC to play the first game back then). The latest two Hitman games are a return to the Blood Money style but with all of the modern improvements that you would expect. And it's great. I love figuring out different ways to complete each assassination. The only reason I didn't rank this higher is that I kind of burnt out on Hitman with the previous release, so I didn't spend quite as much time with this. And it's short on new locations, making it more of an expansion than a standalone game.
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider - I feel like a lot of people slept on this game. It might be franchise fatigue again? Or maybe it just came out at the wrong time. But I thought this was a very fun game. Especially for stealth game fans because this game promotes the use of stealth a lot more than the previous two games. There aren't as many sections in this game where a bunch of enemies appear out of nowhere and you're forced to get into a big shootout like there was in the past. And of course the game looks great. If you enjoyed the previous two Tomb Raider games or you like the Uncharted series, you should give this game a try.
- Shadow of the Colossus - I played and finished the original back when it first came out. Playing this game a second time made me wish I hadn't played it before so I could experience all of the colossi for the first time. Not in a sappy kind of way where I'm wishing I could go back in time just to experience the game for the first time again. It's just that the problem with playing it once before is that I remembered most of the colossi's weaknesses right away, which takes away a lot of the fun. But there's no denying that this is a beautiful looking remaster of a great game. I really enjoyed exploring this world again and hunting down all of the lizards, which I didn't do the first time.
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- Celeste - My hands started cramping for the first time at around the 20 hour mark. I think that's a testament to how much of a grip the game had on me. What kept me coming back to the game was its consistency. That consistency was in the controls, the artstyle, and the difficulty curve of each room and level. The story didn't interest me as much as the storytelling through the gameplay. Platforming tropes like "dark" versions and "escort the princess" are given their proper depth with the character building. I did have some gripes (timing-based platforming can kick rocks) but overall a fantastic game.
- Soul Calibur VI - I haven't had much fun playing a fighting game since Soul Calibur II. I also haven't played a Soul Calibur game since Soul Calibur II but I have played other fighting games. It's nice to confirm the "gimmick" of the 8-way directional weapons-based combat of the series isn't what makes it a good game. You can sink a endless amount of time developing your fight style for any character (which mostly goes out the window when playing against real opponents). Yoshimitsu was my main and learning the evolution of his moveset was a ton of fun. The new mechanics of reversal edge and break attacks are really satisfying to counter and execute. All that said, the game could've used more content and characters. Hopefully that will be rectified by the DLC.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - I'll be honest, I haven't beat the game yet but I've also been playing it pretty much non-stop since I got it a week ago. The last Assassin's Creed I played was II and I haven't played any since (sensing a pattern here?). And similarly to SCII, I'm impressed by the improvements made to the formula. Like ACII, I care for the characters and the story which makes for a very satisfying feedback system.
- Into the Breach - I had a great time with FTL. And I was pleased to see that many of the elements that I enjoyed from FTL are present here. To me, the tenet of Subset Games is to place the real gameplay in the preparation phase. This way, the player has infinite time to execute their strategy and not much else to blame. I adore the idea of condensing and repurposing the spectacle of kaiju/mech battles into a sprite-based strategy game. But after a couple runs, I didn't really find the game that much fun to play anymore.
- Guacamelee! 2 - I played through this game with my roommate and had a blast. The pacing is masterful. The problem is that everything is merely solid so I don't exactly remember much despite beating it only a couple months ago.
- A Way Out - On paper, this game was a dream. A cinematic co-op based game inspired by the sibling experiences of a (notoriously) passionate developer? I got it day one. And it managed to pull it off at some points. But the game depended too much on my investment in the story where it should've crafted more engaging gameplay experiences.
- Minit - A nice little novelty that I beat in a couple hours. It had a very nice execution with humor to spare.
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- Red Dead Redemption 2 - Despite its sometimes clunky controls and consistently lackluster gunplay, Red Dead once again pulled me into its world in a way few games ever have. The characters were rich and well developed. The attention to detail on work around camp, the relationship with your horse, and the reverence given to the land captured me. I wanted to get lost in the world of Red Dead and this game managed to pull me in for the 70 or so hours to see it through when no other game could this year with my schedule. While I wish the mechanics around gunplay were more enjoyable, this was by far my favorite experience of the year and very likely holds a spot in my all time top 10.
- Into the Breach - A head scratcher that shows its hand before its played. Never a chore to work at and improve. Brilliant in a way I have missed in strategy games since the days of Advanced Wars. Gave RDR2 a run for its money for #1.
- Divinity Original Sin 2 - I have not finished this, and need to restart it with the definitive addition, but have a healthy dozen hours in it. I love that I hate some of the characters. I love the classic top down real time (or not) strategy. I've been longing for a game that hits the tactical beats that Dragon Age Origins had, and this game does that and throws on a healthy heap of difficulty to boot. The story has failed to grab me like Dragon Age Origins did, but the game stands apart in a field catering to one button battle wins. I hope for more.
- Forza Horizon 4 - A great if somewhat static entry in the series. The location is great. The seasons are a welcome addition. I'm not sure what they can do to freshen up the Horizon entries, and its a great time for a few weeks and sporadically throughout the semi-annual cycle. I felt like they were onto something with the buy a house, build a life sort of approach, but those aspects were surface level at best. If you want to drive amazing cars in a beautiful world without the limitations of it's simulation brothers, you just can't beat Horizon.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Multiplayer was nothing short of a disappointment this year. The maps are at best, middle of the pack with respect to CoD's history. The balance is terrible. Specialists are rearing their heads as the cause for the majority of deaths and most of whose abilities cannot be reasonably countered. I feel like they represent CoD losing its way. The spawns (at least until Christmas) were utter trash. Getting spawn killed or shot in the back within seconds of spawning is inexcusable. If someone told me I'd give up on BO4 multi faster than I did WWII, I'd have laughed; yet here I sit not even tempted by the new maps to dust it off. Truly a disappointment if there ever was one. With that said, Blackout is a game changer for me. I love the tight feel of CoD mechanics in a battle royale mode. I played ARMA 3 BR a fair amount and never carried myself to a solo victory. The same went for PUBG. To have controls and mechanics I have known and loved for a decade enter the arena for some BR; well there is nothing like it. With fifty or so cumulative wins across modes, each one tastes just as sweet. Kills in Blackout have a satisfaction and weight to them that regular multiplayer (in CoD and other games) just becomes underwhelming. Final circle gunfights and long range sniper battles, dominating wins or close loses; I'm hooked and hope it carries on as a staple of the series as zombies has.
- Soul Calibur 6 - This only brings up the rear because I only picked it up in the new year and my time with it has been limited. From what I've played, its the SC that I enjoyed almost two decades ago on the Dreamcast. The feeling of tapping out familiar juggles and combos with my old favorites just brings a smile to my face. This would have likely ended up higher if I had more than a few hours into it, but it seems like a solid entry into the SC archives. I look forward to my time with it to come.
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- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NSW) - I've had this game the least of any games on this list, but I already can tell that it's a pretty exceptionally put together title absolutely loaded with content. I've never REALLY loved Smash to the extent some people do, and I still don't, but despite that this probably is the best game of 2018, and a game I'm sure to be playing sometimes for quite some time to come. It's definitely the best Smash game since Melee. In 2018 I spent a whole lot more time playing Wii U than Switch, but maybe this will make things different in 2019? We'll see though.
- WarioWare Gold (3DS) - This newest Wario Ware game is the best one since the first game and its Gamecube adaptation! I really love WarioWare: Mega Party Games for the GC, it's my favorite party game ever, but while I like them quite a bit, none of the other Wario Ware games quite recapture the magic of the original; the various twisting and touching mechanics never interested me quite as much as classic button-based minigames. I mean, I like motion controls and touchscreens a lot, but for the specific things you are doing in Wario Ware, I think dpad and button controls work the best. Well, this game has all three of those gameplay modes in it, with a mixture of new and old microgames. This isn't just a port or something, it's an all-new game with lots of new microgames. And it's a fantastic package that makes use of every feature of the 3DS except for, well, stereoscopic 3D (sadly...) and that plays fantasticly well. It's outstanding stuff.
- Tempest 4000 (XBO, also on PC and PS4) - This game is pretty much a port of TxK, Jeff Minter's Tempest clone for the Vita, to home platforms. And like TxK it's a fantastic game. I still like the original Tempest 2000 the best, but this game's also pretty great and it's awesome to have a nicer-looking followup of his all-time classic, even if things like the minigames aren't as good as the original ones are. T2K is one of the best games ever, and this game is pretty awesome too.
- Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption (PC) - This is the new game from Corey and Lori COle, the makers of Quest for Glory, one of my favorite PC game series of the '90s. It's set in that series' world, except you only play a rogue this time, a guy named Shawn. See, while this game has QfG's humor, it's got more story. This game is set in a school for heroes, as the name suggests, and you're in the rogue class. I love Quest for Glory, and this game is good, but I don't love it as much as the QfG games; most notably, rogue always was my least favorite class in those games, so that you can only play as a rogue here has been my biggest issue with the concept since its announcement. Despite that though, it is pretty good, and it's absolutely worth playing for its sense of humor -- Lori Cole's writing here is great, and often pretty entertaining!
- Kirby Star Allies (Switch) - This game is the fourth main title in the new Kirby game style that began with Kirby's Return to Dream Land on the Wii and continued in two 3DS games. And like the three games before it, this is a very fun and easy platformer with nice graphics and lots of great classic Kirby gameplay. This time, though, you can play as multiple characters in single player, which is pretty cool! They even added more characters as free DLC, which is awesome. Sure, the game's easy by default, but there are enough difficulty level options and unlocks here to present some challenge, and I always have liked the classic Kirby formula, which this game executes on well. It's not the best Kirby game, but it's good fun.
- Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido (3DS, also on NSW) - This puzzle game isn't my favorite one on the 3DS, but it is quite fun in a fast and frenetic way. There's also a Switch version but the 3DS one is definitely better.
- SoulCalibur VI (XBO, also on PC and PS4) - I don't know if I'll like a Soul Calibur game again as much as I did the second one, but this game is pretty good and definitely plays like Soul Calibur for the most part.
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas (NSW) - This game is easy, but the combat and flying are fun. I like the plastic ships too, they're well modeled. You do need to get a bunch of stuff for it, but it's a good enough game that it makes me want to get the toys.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (XBO, also on PC and PS4) - I've always liked the AC series a lot more in the concept of their historical settings than I have in the reality of their gameplay, which I always lose interest in early, but this one might be the best one yet.
- 40 Winks (N64) - This Nintendo 64 game was finished but cancelled back in 2000, before a homebrew physical-games publisher managed to get the rights and finally released it. Well, the Playstation version released back in 2000 and this version is quite similar, but it's better enough thanks to the improved graphics and such (and an exclusive two player co-op mode) that it isn't the same. As a big N64 fan I had to get this, and it's good. It's a decently fun 3d platformer. It's not amazing, but it is good enough, and I've got to mention it. I know it's an unlicensed game and isn't exactly new (being a game cancelled back during the system's life), but 2018 did see this games' first ever official and home cart release, and it was of a new, more finished version of the game than the rom that leaked years ago. (Note that the same publisher also released a PC version of 40 Winks in 2018, but that is a port of the PS1 version, not the N64 one, so it's not this version of the game.)
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- God of War - "This path you walk... Vengeance... You will not find peace. I know."
The GOW franchise was pretty much ready to die or be shelved for a long time after Ascension. The formula had been recycled multiple times and it was perfected by the 3rd mainline game of the series. 5 year later, SSM returns to the franchise, gives it an RE4-like soft reboot and release the best game in the franchise. Cory Barlog and the rest of the team have done an amazing job in continuing the story Kratos, using a new mythos, creating one of the best hub world I have ever seen and pulling of a almost not cuts game. Is a game that should never worked on paper but it somehow does and I can't wait to play the rest of this Norse trilogy.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - "I gave you all I had. I did."
It seem crazy that this game is not my GOTY. Rockstar Studios are to be commended for the insane amount of work they have put into this game. Its an open world like none other and they remain unmatched in an industry filled with open world games. Why is it not #1? Well as much I love Arthur Morgan and the overall story, Red Dead 2 felt too big when compared to RDR1. It improved in a lot of way but it's also lacking in other such as the gameplay mechanics and the lack of player agency. This game also feels like the most safest R* game by far unlike GOW which had more riskier moves that ended up paying off. Also Red Dead Online has failed to impress. All in all, its the best western simulator you can ask for.
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission - "♫ I Am Astro Bot ♪"
Holy hell. I got a PSVR Day 1 and it has been a pleasure with no regrets.I have enjoyed the various VR experiences but nothing has come close to how amazing and fun Astro Bot was. I wouldn't call it the Mario 64 of VR gaming buts it's definitely the best non-Super Mario game I have ever had the pleasure to play. The game uses the VR aspect in every way possible and it does the one thing many VR games fail to do and its immersing the player into the game. Being a player and having control of the protagonist at the same time is just ingenious with the way this game handles it. There really is nothing like Astro Bot in the market right now and Sony would be fools not to take advantage of the high potential Astro Bot has for the future of Playstation.
- Celeste - "You are many things honey. But you are not a mountain climber"
I beat it 2019 thanks to Xbox Live Gold and boy do I regret not playing it sooner. I don't usually like hard games because they can easily frustrate me. But there are certain games like Hotline Miami, OlliOlli or even Bloodborne where thing just click. Sure the game is hard but damn it I want to beat and I want to get to the end of it and tell myself "I did it". And Celesle does just that, and on top of that, it makes me care for Madeline and her journey to the top of Celeste no matter how annoyingly difficult it got. Great music, great art direction, clever game design and a really nice story that hit close to home. Celeste is another excellent Indie that belongs next to greats like INSIDE and Journey.
- Shadow of the Colossus - "Raise thy sword by the light, and head to the place where the sword's light gathers."
LTTP on this one, but I'm giving it its dues. There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said already. Yes the game is like work of art come to life, yes the controls are clunky, yes the games looks amazing for a remake, it could easily pass as a game from this generation. Fumito Ueda was ahead of his time and this is one of the greatest games of all times and it need to be played once by any gamer. And you have no excuse since its on 3 platforms :P
- Detroit Become Human - "You look human, you sound human, but what are you, really?"
As a huge Heavy Rain fan, I was hyped as hell for Detroit and thankfully the game lived up to almost all of my expectations. The game is very overwhelming with choices which is great when compared to Heavy Rain, it has insane visuals, a great soundtrack and top notch voice acting. But when it came to the overall story, the game became a bit predictable which is understandable given how many choices the game has juggle around, it can't be easy to make a great compelling story without losing track of the choices and consequences of the story. QD has made a great game with the potential to be expanded on with an expansion or a sequel.
- Marvel's Spider-Man - "How come the Avengers don't have bird poo missions?"
Insomniac has done the almost impossible. A great GOTY worthy Spider-Man was delivered and it was spectacular. Though it falls for the usual open world side quest trap, Spider-Man PS4 manages to improve on every aspect of its predecessors from Vicarious and Beenox. In a way, the game feels like the greatest hits albums of all the great ideas previous Spidey games did and mash together into this beautiful game. There is a lot of room for improvement for the upcoming sequel and I know I will be there when it arrives.
- Yakuza 6: A Song of Life - "If the Tojo Clan even thinks about laying a hand on my family...I will bury all of you."
I'd like to thank Sega and everyone involved in making Yakuza a thing again in the west. I absolutely loved Yakuza 0 and I have become a fan of the franchise ever since. Yes it's a bit hard to fully enjoy and appreciate Y6 with just 0 and Kiwami but I think what makes the Yakuza games so damn good is the excellent protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. Once again he makes Yakuza 6 another enjoyable journey and even though this is his final game, my love for Kiryu is big enough to play all of the rest of Yakuza games when they all finally come out on PS4.
- Forza Horizon 4 - "Hey eyes Forward! Ignore the camera and look heroic"
I do like driving games even though I suck at them (mostly). But the Horizon series has kinda made me love driving games somewhat. I play a bit of 3 here and there and it was fun but for some reason 4 just clicked. The driving felt great even for an amateur like myself, the environments were mesmerizing, cars looked sexy as hell and the addition of small story missions made it even more enjoyable. This is my type of driving, it's just great fun all around.
- Dragon Ball FighterZ - "Pshh. Everyone's a Saiyan nowadays. What have I been missing? Heh! And they're all SUPER Saiyan, too!"
Oh yeah, I also suck at fighting game, but guess what, I didn't with this one. And wow am I glad that I did not miss out on this one because this is easily one of the best Dragon Ball game I have ever played. Mind you I haven't played many of them but I have to praise Arc System for somehow making this game look almost 1:1 with the anime/manga. This games like this one is one of the reasons I love gaming as a whole, no matter what genre it is.
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- God of War - A whole new world, a completely changed combat system, Kratos actually being a dynamic character that we can relate to and care for. This is the reboot that God of War needed to enter this generation with the same revere it received when it started on the PS2. Sony Santa Monica delivered on every front. Once I got past the slow beginning, the game ramps up to a magical, all-time great action game with combat that's fun to master, beautiful environments to explore, and a great father-son story wrapped around an interesting and unique take on Norse mythology. This was the first game in 2018 that got me wanting to spend all my free time to go back home and play so that I can enjoy more of its combat and continue the story to watch how Kratos and Atreus's relationship grow over each conflict they encounter. Although it may not be till a new wave of consoles appear for the followup to be revealed, SSM has shown with this game that they made all the right choices in bringing Kratos back to gaming relevancy. I can't wait to see how they'll top this in the years to come.
- Forza Horizon 4 – The Forza Horizon series continues to be Microsoft's best franchise in this generation. When Forza Horizon 3 came out, I said that the only thing this series was missing was a course creator. Although it's a bit basic and cars have been removed due to licensing issues to pay for this, I'm glad to finally see it in this entry. The changing seasons dynamic is awesome and truly makes the same roads you drive feel different week by week especially when comparing winter to the other seasons. The push to be more connected online compared to past games also got me to finally do some races online along with teaming up to do various challengers which was a fun change from offline racing which is already fantastic by itself. It still has that addictive quality to its driving with a great balance between simulation and arcade handling along with the joy of simply driving around in its open world outside of the races. Getting an Odesza song as the game's theme shows continued great taste in song selection for the in-game radio stations. The only new additions I didn't like are the dancing emotes and cosmetics that you can potentially win in the lottery spins. I much prefer cash or a new car seen in the previous games because getting money or a new car at a fast rate is part of the enjoyment of this series for me.
- Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology – I knew this game as one of the great JRPGs on the DS but not getting a DS till late in its life cycle didn't allow me the time to give the original a chance before moving on to other hardware. Many years and a Black Friday sale later, I finally had my opportunity. I love the time traveling mechanic in the story although it sometimes got me confused in trying to remember what specific events happen in which timeline which is occasionally necessary to continue the plot. Stocke is a great protagonist with a personality and demeanor that makes him feel right for the task at hand of tediously traveling through time over and over to find the perfect course of actions to do to save the world. I enjoyed the turn based battle system as well, finding it really fun in planning how to push and pull my enemies all into the same grid to land large combos. I also liked how the game gives you the option of experiencing the original game completely before tackling on the new game seen in this remake which allowed me to see the original ending and the new ending all in one playthrough. As someone that struggles to get into JRPGs that aren't named Fire Emblem, Shin Megami Tensei, or Legend of Heroes, this game is easily one of the best JRPGs I have ever played.
- Celeste – I came across so many 2D platformers over the past few years. All of them I would play for about an hour or two but then my interest wanes and I'm off to try out another game. Celeste became the exception. The tight controls, the level designs, and the puzzle-like boss battles puts it over all the other platformers I attempted. Last but not least, you can't mention Celeste without talking about its soundtrack. That is the cherry on top for this truly special platformer.
- 428: Shibuya Scramble – Before making this list, I never would have thought of putting a visual novel on a top 10 list. I was more than prepared to give up when I discovered there wasn't any sort of text speed option. Yes, I knew that this is deliberate in order to set up the tone and pacing of the story but nevertheless, the lack of an option was disappointing. I got more frustrated when I realized that it was the type of visual novel that encouraged you to backtrack over and over frequently. But I pushed on because I wanted to know why this game was once known as that Wii gem that would never cross the pond to the states. The ten year wait for this localization was worth it because WOW what a story! Seeing how these characters' stories slowly connect over time and intertwine over the main plot to a riveting climax and conclusion was a payoff that made this visual novel's lack of QoL features a miniscule offset in the tale that it presents. My favorite part of the story was seeing how the trivial bits of text and information given in the exposition unravel to become core components towards the story's plot twists and revelations later on.
- Shadow of the Colossus – Saw 15 seconds of footage and afterwards told myself "I need to experience this masterpiece one more time". Worth it for anyone that missed out over a decade ago and for everyone else, the fresh coat of paint is more than enough reason to play through it again even if you still remember how to beat most of the bosses.
- Gris – It's 2d Journey to the point it even does a 2d version of that scene from Journey. With fantastic visuals, presentation, and music, this is an experience worth going through at least once in your life. If I had to describe this game with one word, it will be "beautiful" because many of its aspects beyond just graphics can be described with this adjective. The night after I finished this game, I had dream where this game's music was playing in the background. Today, I don't remember any contents of that dream outside of the elegant piano and the haunting vocals playing somewhere off-screen. It definitely has left an impression on me.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Maybe it's just me getting older but I'm not getting the same enjoyment of playing matches as I did back on Wii U and Melee. It's still fun to play but what draws me back over and over instead is the fan service and attention to detail this game gives to every represented franchise in the series (ignore Final Fantasy and Cloud for the sake of this discussion), From the endless list of spirits to the hundreds of music tracks ranging from the original to modern medleys, covers, and remixes, this game has reached a level beyond what you call a love letter. The decision to streamline the process of unlocking all of this along with the fighters themselves is a welcome change compared to the past entries. Seeing how the DLC strategy is promoting 3rd party series coming to the Switch, I can't wait to see future franchises being represented in Smash with the same love and care and attention to detail that will give me reason to play it again and again in the upcoming year and maybe beyond.
- Donut County – Genuinely funny throughout and incredibly satisfying moving a hole while watching it become bigger and bigger as more objects are swallowed in. This has become a favorite to recommend for those "1 to 2 sittings over the weekend" to others.
- Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux - Years ago, I gave up quickly on the original DS game due to my "Press Turn or bust" mentality of the SMT series. Being older, wiser, and a bit more open minded, this remake got me to give this game a 2nd chance. The dark atmosphere and the demon collecting helped to smooth the SMT itch I had since completing SMTIVA and P5. Though I still think the battle system is nowhere as fun as Press Turn, the game as a whole is a great RPG and became the first reason for me to turn on my old, crusty 3DS in the year 2018. If you're into SMT at all, this game can't be missed.
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- Celeste - There's really only one game I want to nominate/mention for this year (despite having played more than 20, but still having a lot of 2018 "must-plays" left to go through), and it's Celeste. Although it's not a perfect game (some sections felt quite draggy the first time through), everything I've played after it has felt sloppy and just not as tight as I now know that gameplay can be.
One of my all-time favorite games! - Iconoclasts - Luckily I finished this game just before the voting deadline, and I feel like I have to nominate this one too. One of the best metroidvanias ever! Great controls, amazing boss fights, good level design and a great non-intrusive story.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Hollow Knight
- Yoku's Island Express
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- God of War - This isn't just game of the year, it's probably game of the generation. Most games have 1 or 2 very notable flaws but when i finished the game and looked back the biggest complaint that i had was the small font size, it excels in combat, level design, pacing, visuals, music, and story telling and its all wrapped up in a very polished package that lasted me a good 50 hours
- Marvel's Spider Man - It's not very often that we get a great licensed game and Spider Man is one of my favorites, Insomniac really nailed the web slinging and made the game look amazing with a very good story, the only reason it isn't #1 is because alot of the side missions become tiresome busy work after a while.
- Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - One of the best JRPGs of the generation, NNK2 is gorgeous and does a good job of giving you more than just the battle/cutscene/battle/cutscene game design that JRPGs sometimes have a tendency to fall into, building your own kingdom that has in game benefits and exploring the world to recruit members to that town is very satisfying, it also has a RTS mini game to help change it up. Music is also very distinct, when you hear it you know its ni no kuni music. Difficulty at the begining is way too easy but it becomes more challenging throughout the game.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - My first real entry into the DQ series, i was skeptical that such a conservative franchise could hook me but it absolutely did, i spent over 100 hours in this game and wanted to do everything, it's just such a jolly game, like a warm blanket on a cold winter day. The conservative game design doesn't hurt the game, the music is good but its terribly utilized and it does start off slow or it would be higher on my list.
- Detroit: Become Human - I thought Heavy Rain was boring, Beyond Two Souls had me hooked for an afternoon but then it went downhill and bored me, but Detroit had me hooked the entire time, i absolutely love the flow chart showing you what decisions you made and what you could have done and all the thousands of possibilities, every decision based game should have this. One thing that alot of decision based games get wrong is that when you go back for a second playthrough you find out that choosing the game is smoke and mirrors, and the story doesn't change much even if you make the opposite choice that seems really important, Detroit is not one of those games, protagonists can turn into antagonists, characters can straight up die early and have an enormous impact on the story, you can go to completely different locations with completely different scenarios.
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy - I rented this game on a whim because i had nothing else to do and i'm so happy i did. Spyro is just fun, the current market is oversatured with large open world titles full of grinding and forcing you to sink hundreds of hours into them, you can 100% a spyro level in 5-10 minutes, you can platinum a spyro game in 10 hours. There's no complicated button combos, you don't have loot, you don't have to level up a god damn thing, you just play and enjoy it.
- Octopath Traveler - As you can probably tell from my top 4, JRPG is my favorite genre of games and Octopath features some of the best art and combat of the genre, unfortunately it's non linear story design completely undermines one of the most important aspects of a JRPG, character interactions and companionship, you can choose to go to any of the 8 characters missions however you want, the huge downside to this is that the game doesn't know who's in your party during the story, so it just pretends like they aren't there. Instead of feeling like one grand adventure, it feels like im playing 8 individual storys with only one protagonist. Had they written this like a traditional JRPG with a more linear story it would probably be in my top 5.
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider - Eidos Montreal was able to put their own flavor on the Tomb Raider formula, opting for less gunfights, more stealth options, more exploration, and more puzzles.
- Guacamelee! 2 - Guacamelee is all about expertly crafted level design and mechanics, it's side scrolling nature allows it to make everything work just right. Whenever you jump and do an upercut it's exactly the right height you need to get onto a ledge, whenever you use your wall jump from one side of the area to the other, it's the exact right height/length you need to get to the platform. Everything is just precise and feels great. The goofy bits are just a bonus.
- Monster Hunter World - My first entry to the Monster Hunter franchise, i was baffled as to why the games were so popular but MHW made me understand, i get it now. I'm not even a multiplayer/co op player but playing through the game solo was still fun and enjoyable. Learning to make traps, equip gear with certain abilities, and watching/waiting for just the right moment to attack a monster or lead it into a fight with another monster is very satisfying, it does an incredible job and making the world feel like a real eco system with a real food chain.
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- Detroit: Become Human - An emotional rollercoaster. I still think about this game months after beating it.
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - The best VR game I've played. A 3D platforming tour de force.
- God of War - Sony Santa Monica's masterpiece. Visceral combat and a wonderful story that endeared me to Kratos in a way I didn't think possible.
- Dragon Quest XI - An absolute joy from start to finish and one of my favorite JRPGs of this generation.
- Marvel's Spider-Man - Traversal is sublime, combat is a ton of fun, and the story is surprisingly good. Oh, and Yuri Lowenthal is perfect as Spider-Man.
- Celeste - Incredible platformer with a really beautiful story.
- Tetris Effect - Mizuguchi + Tetris + VR = Pure Magic!
- Shadow of the Colossus - A wonderful remake of one of my favorite games of all time. It's only this low on my list because it's a remake.
- Octopath Traveler - Primrose is bae. That is all.
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 - A return to form, but not quite as good as the original. A very good SRPG nonetheless.
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- Celeste - A perfect platformer with incredible soundtrack and nice story.
- God of War - Great journey, platinumed it in a week and wanted more.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - The best open-world game this year. Kassandra is amazing.
- Tetris Effect - Incredible Tetris with incredible soundtrack.
- Wandersong - The game nobody played but everyone should.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - I'm glad that whenever I decide to play a JRPG it turns out to be fantastic.
- Yoku's Island Express -- Another game nobody played but everyone should.
- Into the Breach
- Monster Hunter World
- Minit
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- Celeste - A beautiful meditation on anxiety and personality wrapped in a an equally beautiful aesthetic, level design, and especially soundtrack.
- Florence - It made me cry. Mechanics married with metaphor.
- Marvel's Spiderman - Really fun playing open world spiderman game that was a relentless ray of positivity in 2018 that was greatly appreciated.
- God of War - An excellent reboot of a franchise with a very touching story and excellent gameplay.
- Hitman 2 - More of an amazing thing continues to be amazing.
- Dead Cells - The pinnacle of roguelikes.
- Monster Hunter World - Getting me to engage in monster hunter nonsense is a testament to the quality.
- Donut County - BK for best new character.
- Gris - A very beautiful game. Maybe the best looking thing i've ever seen.
- Subnautica - Fun survival game with a twist. Falls apart towards the end but it's damned good.
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- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - The title isnt a lie, the game is a culmination of the series up to this point, with both the most content of any smash game ever and with the most detail given to each character yet, its going to end up as my favorite entry in one of my most favorite series.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Its a JRPG through and through but it has all the hallmarks of the genre that I know and love while maintaining its unique identity as a Dragon Quest game. The monsters really sing in HD
- Tetris Effect - VR is finally justified to me with tetris effect, a game that has the rock solid core of tetris but is surrounded by some of the best visuals and music you are gonna find in a game this year
- God Of War - Before this game I hated Kratos, but walking out the other end of it he's perhaps one of my favorite characters in gaming this generation. The story is certainly deserving of the praise it is getting, but it's also worth noting that man, that axe sure does feel good to swing.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - Man the game can take some getting used to, which is strange for such a famous developer and series but once you are willing to give yourself over to the game's admittedly slow pace, but once you do some of the best most impactful moments of the year can be found in Red Dead Redemption 2
- Monster Hunter World - It's the first monster Hunter i was able to fully throw myself into and I found myself loving the world and the monsters within. Bursting with charm and having depth to the gameplay and multiple weapons to master, I found myself having a good time throughout the struggles of learning how to hunt each monster.
- Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion - What a great followup to all the things I loved in splatoon 1's campaign but found lacking in base splatoon 2's hero mode. Level design that is demanding but unique in what it asks you to do helps the game never feel to repetitive and the entire final portion of the game is a treat from beginning to end.
- Octopath Traveler - An incredible aesthetic and wonderful soundtrack help to give flourish and highlights to an rpg battle system that is extremely fun to experiment with and one that continues to have new wrinkles added to it each time i turn on the game. The story isnt the traditional save the world narrative but I found almost all of the personal journeys each character went on engaging.
- Celeste - Celeste suprises with just how solid of a platformer it is and how touching the narrative can be in moments. Matt Makes Games stepped up their game for their first big single player adventure after gaining popularity with Towerfall Ascension and I'm so happy Celeste gained popularity in what was a pretty stacked early months of the year.
- Into The Breach - Into The Breach takes the run based approach and shortens it to work in nice chunks that can work when playing for hours or when playing for 10 minutes on the bus. The game is deceptively deep for having a relatively small map but the more you scratch under the surface the more you come to appreciate the intricacies of each map and unit.
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You misspelled "Ultimate"
And Octopath Traveler isn't bolded
Been and odd year for me. Skipped over a lot of big games just due to being busy throughout the year only to sit down towards the end and realize the best games I played this year came out in 2017... Granted I didn't have a Switch then, but oh well.
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- God of War - Got this just after Black Friday. Always had an interest in it from the previews, but I was never a fan of the GoW universe and Kratos from the original games. Not that I thought they were bad, they just never did it for me. Anyway, I don't usually blow through games in a few days anymore (For instance, it took me 8 months to finish Horizon last year), I did with this one. Everything about this game just clicked for me. The combat was excellent, the axe has to be one of the most satisfying weapons I have used in a game. I loved all the characters, and some of the moments in the game are ones I would love to go back and experience again for the first time. Just an excellent game all around.
- Destiny 2: Forsaken - Destiny 2 originally wasn't what I wanted out of a sequel. I didn't hate it like a lot of people, and played it fairly regularly. Forsaken brought back what I love to Destiny and made it where I wanted to continue to play it. Yeah, it still had issues: The overall loot pool for weapons and armor still felt a little empty, and the drought of exotic weapons and armor was horrible, but it was still fun to play. Plus the fact all new classes for Warlock where viable to use made me have some bias towards it.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Haven't owned a Nintendo console (barring 3DS) since the Gamecube. Played Brawl, remember tripping, and then the 3DS version of 4 for all of 5 minutes before I hated the controls and never touched it again. Going into Ultimate, I thought I was going to hate the Spirits and the World of light. Well.... that's all I really play now. Yeah, I enjoy collecting them even though some battles and mind blowing frustrating. Only problem I really have with the game is the lag online, but oh well. Still enjoying it without playing online much.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - I have a love/hate relationship with this game. I love the detailed world and the amount of stranger interactions you have in it. I love the hunting, fishing, and side missions in it. I hate, hate the campaign. I think the characters and story a fine, even great, but I could never get past how restrictive and linear the missions were. I had to stop around Chapter 5 because I just got so bored with playing the missions.
- Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! - I was originally going to skip this game because the catching mechanics didn't interest me, and I have played through Red/Blue tons of times already. Well, both my girlfriend's and mine birthdays are in December, so I got her Eevee, and in turn she got me Pikachu. It's fun. I do enjoy the roaming pokemon, and playing through Kanto again with some different pokemon is nice. It's good as an entry game into pokemon and I hope some QoL improvements do make it into future generations.
- Dragonball FighterZ - So, I like fighting games (though I suck at them), I like Dragonball, and I like the team based MvC type games..... Yeah, this game checked all the boxes before it came out. I just love watching the game mostly. It's beautiful and looks like it was ripped right from the anime. Just hope the get all the tournament crap worked out since it is one of the best fighting games in years.
- Hollow Knight - I'm too early into the game to put it higher, but am really enjoying it so far.
- Sonic Mania Plus - Same as Hollow Knight... I'll get around to them eventually.
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- Red Dead Redemption 2 - Horse testicle stimulator.
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission - I looked at my robot friend and they waved at me. (Robots are still the number one threat to humanity and we should destroy them before they destroy us)
- God of War - Dad of War!
- Florence - 😭😭😭
- Into the Breach - Punching an alien into a city is hilarious.
- Donut County - I too want a Drone.
- Forza Horizon 4 - I'm sorry I destroyed your stone wall.
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - RUGBY BABY (Not going to lie, this is probably the best Rugby game since Jonah Lomu Rugby on the Playstation).
- NBA 2K19 - Please don't judge me. I can stop playing these anytime I like. It's fine. IT'S FINE! I SAID IT'S GOD DAMN FINE, LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!
- Dead Cells - Thank god you come back to life because i'm terrible..
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- God of War - I though everything came together in this game perfectly. From the world, the story, the graphics, sound, music. They were able to make Kratos interesting and left me yearning for more.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - Arthur Morgan is one of the best video game characters of all time. Rockstar crafted an amazingly detailed world and told an equally interesting story with Arthur.
- Marvel's Spider-Man - One of the most pure fun in games this year. I had a blast swinging around the city and thought the combat was fun. It was also one of the best Spider-Man depictions out there.
- Pokemon: Lets Go, Pickachu! - A blast of nostalgia which i found fun and endearing.
- Detroit: Become Human - Visually stunning and I enjoyed following Conner's story.
- Celeste - I enjoyed the challenge this game provided. Thought more than a few times that I had hit as far as I could go but felt great to beat it.
- Octopath Traveler - I enjoyed most of the characters and found the combat fun.
- Florence - The controls used to tell this story were beautifully done and helped to elevate and convey the emotions of what was happening.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Surprisingly enjoy multiplayer and having a blast with friends in Blackout.
- Donut County - Fun story and cast of characters
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1. Tetris Effect - A lot of the AAA games this year left me feeling empty. I took a sort of year long break from video games and found Far Cry 4, God Of War and especially Red Dead Redemption 2 hard to get into. This felt like a warm, loving embrace at the end of such a shitty year and awful experience I found RDR2 to be.
2. Super Smash Bros Ultimate - I was red hot excited for Brawl and 4. So many new characters/levels/modes. Ultimate to me just looked like 4 with a ton of tiny changes, honestly. Like, just give me the Belmonts as 4 dlc was my initial thought. World Of Light changed that, though. Playing as Kirby (and only Kirby for me) on a mission to save all of videogames was a wonderful experience. The tons of quality of life improvements to casual and hardcore play, along with the amazing additions to the greatest video game soundtrack of all time put it so high.
3. Hollow Knight - SOTN is one of my top ten games. Super Metroid is up there, as well. HK, I believe stands among it's ranks. This game took me forever to beat because of the constant backtracking and that's my only complaint. A beautiful, ethereal masterpiece for the Souls/Metroidvania generation.
4. Into The Breach - Octopath started me into gaming heavily again, but this was the game that totally hooked me like nothing else in forever. I didn't get to play FTL but hearing so much acclaim that when the indie Direct ended with this being out I immediately got it. A masterpiece of sheer design.
5. Celeste - I think Towerfall is one the greatest games of the generation. My friends and I have had so much fun with it, but was worried when the followup was announced as a single player game. The solid mechanics, lush sprites and great music carried over but what was different was a compelling story for a platformer.
6. Astrobot Rescue Mission - I feel bad adding this because I'm only halfway through. But I do feel so strongly about it I have to put it on here. It's absolutely my favorite PSVR game experience so far. Mario 3D Land but you're inside the game.
7. Dead Cells - My latest addiction. I loved Rogue Legacy and Castlevania. This combination of both, with it's driving soundtrack and gorgeous animation carry a heft that keeps me coming back over and over and over.
8. Octopath Traveler - This was the game that really brought me back after a hiatus. FF6 is a top ten game for me, but while I dug Bravely Default was not very excited for this. The days of JRPGs really hooking me was over in the PS2 era outside of Persona. I don't hold it up that high, but it's amazing regardless. The story structure, presentation, music and combat are all stellar. I wonderful surprise for sure.
9. Mega Man 11 - Capcom sure is on a roll these days. 9 and 10 were games I liked and respected but didn't get far in. The new additions to this, along with the stellar presentation kept me coming back and was super happy to finish it. Mega Man X is an all time favorite, so I hope they make a new X game with this team.
10. Soul Calibur 6 - I love fighting games and feel this is one of the best entries this generation. Sadly, the single player content didn't grab me but there's a lot if it does. The combination of SC2's speed and refined new mechanics that make it easier to jump into were great.
Other games:
Dragon Quest 11 - I'm near the end of it. It's a nice throwback rpg and I love Sylando. The music, though (yikes).
Red Dead Redemption 2 - the first to me was a masterpiece I 100%. I loved John Marston as a flawed man trying to make things right. RDR2 is the tale of a man stuck with other awful men who keeps questioning them but never does anything until it's far far farrrrr too late. I felt like I was trapped in an abusive relationship for 70 miserable hours.
Spider-Man - I really enjoyed this game. Spider-Man 2 with Arkham level of production and care, sweet. Doc Ock's story was surprising and the traversal and combat felt great. Can't wait for a sequel.
God Of War - Enjoyed the previous games and Last Of Us was a GOTY for me. So yeah, didn't feel it hit the game I had in my head. It's very good, though I just wish the story had delved deeper into Kratos's remorse.
20XX- Rogue Legacy but Mega Man X! It's rad!
DBZ Fighters - Finally a great DBZ game! Its rad, but I liked the Marvel vs series way more.
BBTag Battle - a really fun tag game with all the animu.
Forza Horizon 4. FH3 was a favorite of mine 2 years ago. This one hasn't grabbed me yet. It's so samey and the setting not nearly as cool.
Nintendo Labo - I bought the vehicle kit for my cousin's kid and he totally loves it. Built some crazy stuff and he's only 10. Was skeptical but glad NIntendo made this thing.
Ultimate Chicken Horse - fun party game
The Messenger - I'm only at the Tower Of Time. Pretty rad so far
Far Cry 4 - bleh, I loved 2 and 3 but was really hard to care about this. I maybe got halfway?
Minit - seems rad, just not super far
Beat Saber - this seems cool as hell, ive just not put a ton of time into it
Earth Defense Force 5 - I love EDF, this is a good one. Maybe halfway through seems kinda samey as 4 though
Death's Gambit - man the combat feels so limp. Disappointing.
Duck Game - fun party game
Iconoclasts - not living up to the hype for me. Seems nice, I'm maybe halfway.
Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon - fun, loving throwback to Castlevania.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 - I beat this and the gameplay was very fun but man I did not care for this cast.
*if I need to take down my more games section I will. I used to do it on gaf, not sure if it's ok here.
2. Super Smash Bros Ultimate - I was red hot excited for Brawl and 4. So many new characters/levels/modes. Ultimate to me just looked like 4 with a ton of tiny changes, honestly. Like, just give me the Belmonts as 4 dlc was my initial thought. World Of Light changed that, though. Playing as Kirby (and only Kirby for me) on a mission to save all of videogames was a wonderful experience. The tons of quality of life improvements to casual and hardcore play, along with the amazing additions to the greatest video game soundtrack of all time put it so high.
3. Hollow Knight - SOTN is one of my top ten games. Super Metroid is up there, as well. HK, I believe stands among it's ranks. This game took me forever to beat because of the constant backtracking and that's my only complaint. A beautiful, ethereal masterpiece for the Souls/Metroidvania generation.
4. Into The Breach - Octopath started me into gaming heavily again, but this was the game that totally hooked me like nothing else in forever. I didn't get to play FTL but hearing so much acclaim that when the indie Direct ended with this being out I immediately got it. A masterpiece of sheer design.
5. Celeste - I think Towerfall is one the greatest games of the generation. My friends and I have had so much fun with it, but was worried when the followup was announced as a single player game. The solid mechanics, lush sprites and great music carried over but what was different was a compelling story for a platformer.
6. Astrobot Rescue Mission - I feel bad adding this because I'm only halfway through. But I do feel so strongly about it I have to put it on here. It's absolutely my favorite PSVR game experience so far. Mario 3D Land but you're inside the game.
7. Dead Cells - My latest addiction. I loved Rogue Legacy and Castlevania. This combination of both, with it's driving soundtrack and gorgeous animation carry a heft that keeps me coming back over and over and over.
8. Octopath Traveler - This was the game that really brought me back after a hiatus. FF6 is a top ten game for me, but while I dug Bravely Default was not very excited for this. The days of JRPGs really hooking me was over in the PS2 era outside of Persona. I don't hold it up that high, but it's amazing regardless. The story structure, presentation, music and combat are all stellar. I wonderful surprise for sure.
9. Mega Man 11 - Capcom sure is on a roll these days. 9 and 10 were games I liked and respected but didn't get far in. The new additions to this, along with the stellar presentation kept me coming back and was super happy to finish it. Mega Man X is an all time favorite, so I hope they make a new X game with this team.
10. Soul Calibur 6 - I love fighting games and feel this is one of the best entries this generation. Sadly, the single player content didn't grab me but there's a lot if it does. The combination of SC2's speed and refined new mechanics that make it easier to jump into were great.
Other games:
Dragon Quest 11 - I'm near the end of it. It's a nice throwback rpg and I love Sylando. The music, though (yikes).
Red Dead Redemption 2 - the first to me was a masterpiece I 100%. I loved John Marston as a flawed man trying to make things right. RDR2 is the tale of a man stuck with other awful men who keeps questioning them but never does anything until it's far far farrrrr too late. I felt like I was trapped in an abusive relationship for 70 miserable hours.
Spider-Man - I really enjoyed this game. Spider-Man 2 with Arkham level of production and care, sweet. Doc Ock's story was surprising and the traversal and combat felt great. Can't wait for a sequel.
God Of War - Enjoyed the previous games and Last Of Us was a GOTY for me. So yeah, didn't feel it hit the game I had in my head. It's very good, though I just wish the story had delved deeper into Kratos's remorse.
20XX- Rogue Legacy but Mega Man X! It's rad!
DBZ Fighters - Finally a great DBZ game! Its rad, but I liked the Marvel vs series way more.
BBTag Battle - a really fun tag game with all the animu.
Forza Horizon 4. FH3 was a favorite of mine 2 years ago. This one hasn't grabbed me yet. It's so samey and the setting not nearly as cool.
Nintendo Labo - I bought the vehicle kit for my cousin's kid and he totally loves it. Built some crazy stuff and he's only 10. Was skeptical but glad NIntendo made this thing.
Ultimate Chicken Horse - fun party game
The Messenger - I'm only at the Tower Of Time. Pretty rad so far
Far Cry 4 - bleh, I loved 2 and 3 but was really hard to care about this. I maybe got halfway?
Minit - seems rad, just not super far
Beat Saber - this seems cool as hell, ive just not put a ton of time into it
Earth Defense Force 5 - I love EDF, this is a good one. Maybe halfway through seems kinda samey as 4 though
Death's Gambit - man the combat feels so limp. Disappointing.
Duck Game - fun party game
Iconoclasts - not living up to the hype for me. Seems nice, I'm maybe halfway.
Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon - fun, loving throwback to Castlevania.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 - I beat this and the gameplay was very fun but man I did not care for this cast.
*if I need to take down my more games section I will. I used to do it on gaf, not sure if it's ok here.
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- Dragon Quest 11 - What if a game made you weep for oh, 130 hours? When veterans operate on a master-class level it can be very moving.
- Octopath Traveler - What if the Bravely team (sorta) made a new Romancing Saga (sorta)? Well, you'd get an extremely good game.
- Black Bird - What if your favorite game director made a music-focused Fantasy Zone, packed it with secrets, and also personally mailed you a one of a kind signed piece of art?
- Warioware Gold - What if Nintendo made a loving tribute to your favorite handheld series? Split Screen Ultra mode alone is delirious levels of entertainment.
- Chuchel - What if the most consistent game developer built another beautiful playground for you? Amanita makes these look effortless every time.
I. Phantasy Star; M2 i <3 u
II. The 25th Ward; a miracle Suda release two years running
III. Shenmue 1 and 2 HD
IV. Yakuza Kiwami 2
V. Dangun Feveron
Also a shout out to the continuing resurgence of robust gallery-dense collections, whether it's SNK, Capcom Belt Scroll, or Street Fighter. Finally, I'll note Tetris Effect, Smash Bros. (after 10 years of skepticism!), Wandersong, and Deltarune as solid enough, Ni no Kuni 2, Overcooked 2, and The Alliance Alive as personal disappointments, and 428, Obra Dinn, and probably Save Me Mr. Tako as games I know I will love when I get to them.
It's an even-numbered year, which are always just okay years, but just okay is okay when your backlog has been untenable for years, so it's all good.
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- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age - I love every Dragon Quest game I've played except for VI. Loving XI was no surprise. What I didn't expect was loving it as much as I did. I think that is in large part due to the great cast of characters. The game does a really good job of fleshing them out, especially in Act 2 of the story. You can also tell how much care the developers put into the game. Not only is the game beautiful, but the monsters are so well animated. It feels like one of the few RPGs where you kind of want to play in 60fps to experience some of those really nice death animations. This was also the game I used to test Steam's Proton layer.
- Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk - The only reason I played this was because I forgot to cancel the preoroder. I had totally forgot this game existed and what type of game it was meant to be. I'm really happy I forgot, though. For the period of about a month, I was really into this game. I found the whole coven pact thing to be really interesting. Having skills not being really tied to your characters, but instead of a group that you put your characters into, it allowed for some really nice formation strategy, which is the kind of thing I really like. I think this might be my favorite DRPG now.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - I like Smash, so I like this game. Not much to say except that World of Light is a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I really like the thought they put into the fights in order to give it the 'feel' of the emulated character.
- Stellaris: Megacorp - This expansion had some pretty fundamental changes to the core Stellaris gameplay. The biggest was just changing the way planets worked. I barely even knew how to play when I first started. I tried a game as the new corporate type and that was pretty fun. I'm excited for whatever the next big expansion will bring. I feel like Stellaris has one big one left.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Torna The Golden Country - Nothing much to say here except that I really like the battle gameplay changes they made here.
- Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings - Atelier Firis is probably the first Atelier game I stopped playing because I just didn't like it. I even made a good attempt. I was pretty worried for the series until I started play Lydie and Suelle. I think having a nice base town is really important. Gives you kind of a centering feeling, which feels important for a more slice of life kind of game.
- THE iDOLM@STER: Shiny Colors - The only previous idolmaster game I've played is Starlight Stage, which is apparently pretty different from the core console games. Shiny Colors is how I imagine the console games play. It's split into two parts: one where you produce an idol which works like a management game. The other is where you take five of the idols you've produced and compete with other idol groups in a timing sort of game. I think even the PvP has a fair amount of strategy to it. This is a gacha game, but it's very generous. SSR rates are prettyhigh and just doing daily and weekly missions gives you enough to make a 10-roll every two weeks. The PvP part is still bad civilization, though.
- Resonance of Fate 4K/HD Edition - I had this game for PS3, but didn't really get to play that much due to being a college student. I'm really happy that they rereleased it. This probably has the most interesting battle system I've played in an RPG. Also, I love anything that let's me play dress up with the characters.
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire - I really wish I had more time this year. I loved the first game. Unfortunately, I've only been able to play about 10 hours of this. It was a pretty good ten hours, though. I really should finish it, as this is probably the last Obsidian game that will come out on Linux...
- Lumines Remastered - Lumines was the first game I bought on the PSP. I was a college student, so I didn't have enough immediately for a memory stick, so I used to never turn it off so I wouldn't lose my Lumines progress. I really love this game.
- Ikaruga - I liked Ikaruga before, so of course I'd like it on Switch. I'm still really bad at it though. It was nice playing in TATE mode for the first time, though.
Unfortunately, this year was very busy for me. I was able to play very few games to completion this year and thus the list is pretty short.
As an aside, should Labyrinth of Refrain really count as a remake/port for this?
Since 2018 is the first time it's coming to the west anyway. (not like the game would win anything anyway.)
EDIT: I just realized that I forgot about Resonance of Fate.
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- Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna the Golden Country - When it was announced we were getting story DLC I wasn't expecting this. Enough content unique enough to grant it it's own physical game. This is basically a missing chapter from the main game and it is fully worth it. Graphically it looks better than the main game and has even more qol improvements. The entire expansion pass is worth it.
- The MISSING: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories - I'm shocked this game isn't getting more attention or talked about more, good or bad. It's a short game and not perfect, but it covers a lot of serious subject matter that most games rarely touch in just 5-8 hours. And it does it with genuine care and a positive hopeful message in the end. The text messages are where most of the story is and they're all really well written. Ranging from funny to anxiety inducing, they really help flesh out the characters. So make sure to get all those donuts!
- Black Bird - I'm bad at this game, but I just want it to do well so that little onion can keep making games.
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- Assassins Creed: Odyssey; what a massive surprise! I did notever think an AC game would make my list letalone top it. I just 'finished' the game and first DLC at 92hrs... was hooked from the beginning. Greece was a joy to explore and I found the gameplay to be tight and just FUN. I was moved by the story and its conclusion. What an amazing game..... I still have a lot to do and look forward to Ubisofts updates throughout the year.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age; huge fan of the Dragon Quest series and this was hands down the best JRPG I have ever played. Soundtrack aside and hard monsters on... the story, gameplay, world, characters and superlative game world had me hooked long past the credits.
- God of War; a perfect game. Start to finish. So much fun and so damn epic. If not a little too sentimental.
- Red Dead Redemption 2; clunky gameplay aside the best open world yet and the best interactive cowboy simulator of all time. The Seven Samurai of video games.
- Onrush; Burnout is my favourite racer series of all time and this is the closest thing to it since. I was hooked for over 80 hours... a shame you raced bots most of the time and single player was average.
- Destiny 2: Forsaken; renewed my love for the franchise and brought me back to it.
- Burnout Paradise Remastered; showing its age but still the fastest and most kickass open world racer out there.
- Dark Souls Remastered; loved my visit back to this game but was STILL stopped at Ornstein and Smaugh.
- Octopath Traveler; brought me back to my previous greatest JRPG of all time Final Fantasy VI. I see this as its sequel and it topped it in every way. Charming. Gorgeous.
- Valkyria Chronicles 4; I loved the original VC and this game brought it back to life with some truly great turn based strategy and a splash of Sega charm.
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- God of War - Probably the best semi-reboot I have ever played. Amazing graphics, amazing environments, great combat that keeps the spirit of the original games, a great, zelda like semi-open world and a story that made me actually care about Kratos make this game my goty. Can't wait to see where the series will go next!
- Hitman 2 - I always wanted to get into this series, and this year was the year I finally did it. I played both hitman 1 and 2 and loved them to bits. From the first run where you just bumble through the fantastically designed levels to the 10th run where you are incredibly effective and know where everything is: the game never bored me. I keept going back to levels to get my mastery up, and as someone that almost never replays games that says a lot.
- Divinity: Original Sin II - Definitive Edition - This game takes the original I already loved and then fixes almost all problems I had with it. Healing after battles is easier, inventory management is easier, less dice rolls, better skill system, the list goes on. But it goes even further and the changes made to the battle system (the magic and physical armor stuff is brilliant) and the story (having way more defined characters that all have an interesting back story to choose from is amazing) push this game even higher.
- Hollow Knight - One of the best metroidvania's i have ever played. It controls like a dream and it is incredibly fun to find secrets everywhere and fight the bosses. But where the game truly shines is its atmosphere. The feeling of dread and panic when you enter a new area and have no idea where the map or a bench is is almost second to none. The DLC being disappointingly only bosses is a shame, I wanted a lot more exploration.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - One of the biggest gaming disappointments recently for me. This game had everything to not only be a goty shoe in, but even a gotg candidate. Amazing story, amazing world, amazing characters, amazing side content, amazing use of music, amazing graphics. This was supposed to be a slam dunk. But then the game has just as much annoying shit, like the slow walking in camp, one of the worst weapon select systems in gaming history, slow ass missions that are just riding for 5 minutes, bad controls, a shitty bounty system and a terrible pace that reaches a low point in the epilogues that just were incredibly boring to me and no fun. The lows are very low, yet the fact that this game still is on spot 4 shows how high the highs could be. Its just a huge shame the game fumbles so hard on other parts :(
- Marvel's Spiderman - A great new york city, great swinging mechanics and great combat makes spider-man a winner. But what really elevates it, is the surprisingly well done story. Some of the character work is fantastic. The bad and boring side content is a shame but easily ignored.
- Far Cry 5 - While Far Cry 5 had a disappointing story and wasted story (and a horrible ending), it is still so good in just having chaos and mayhem. You could simply try to kill a couple of cultists on a road and it could easily spiral out into a huge battle with fire and explosions everywhere. Love it. The changes in progressions are also very smart, and not having a linear set of missions but instead rewarding the player for just going out into the world and discover shit is great.
- Bayonetta 2 - These switch ports of bayonetta 1 and 2 were the first time playing these games. And where 1 was a disappointing, annoying slog through gray environments while the game keept insulting me that I sucked, 2 was so, SO much better. No more insane QTE, a rating system that doesn't always give you stone unless you are at least very good, much better environments, the list goes on.
- Celeste - I love meat boy type of hard platformers, and this game is one of the best in its kind. Add a surprising emotional and personal story to it and you have something special.
- Dead Cells - This game just feels so good to play. Just so, so good. Have I said enough times that it feels so good? because it feels so good to play.
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video games I enjoyed and recommend
2018 games I like but haven't played enough to give a recommendation:
2018 games which I intentionally don't give an honorary mention to:
There's games I played before 2018 which got a rerelease/port (and are eligible) but this post is already long enough.
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- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - very fun gameplay, MGSV camp clearing stealth or a super-hero cutting through fools, great world, addicting, not all systems fully fleshed out but you can focus on the parts you enjoy
- Yakuza Kiwami 2 - good yakuza story, dragon engine is a nice improvement, I like the progression system because it encourages restaurant visits, combat never got dull
- Divinity: Original Sin II - Defininitive Edition - magical in co-op, good tactical combat, very well written, lots to discover, the game encourages you to exploit every mechanic
- God of War - impressive combination of current video game mechanics
- Return of the Obra Dinn - engrossing puzzle
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider - decent story/gameplay for fans of the reboot with less combat, split difficulty sliders deserve a special mention, got me to do 100%
- Celeste - varied platforming, a bit challenging but never unfair, great controls
- Battle Chasers: Nightwar - awesome (traditional) JRPG
- Forza Horizon 4 - fun, looks great
- The Gardens Between - interesting new puzzle mechanic
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - good single player
- Pocket City - decent sim city for a couple of hours
- The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit - sweet, short and concise family story
- Octopath Traveler - nice dialogue, battles, music. did not keep my attention as much as the titles above
- Iconoclasts - very interesting world, smooth platforming/combat controls, beginning is great (I'm only 2 hours in) but I have heard that the end is very disappointing
2018 games I like but haven't played enough to give a recommendation:
- Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
- Lumines Remastered
- Yoku's Island Express
2018 games which I intentionally don't give an honorary mention to:
- The Quiet Man
- Detroit: Become Human
- Dead Cells
There's games I played before 2018 which got a rerelease/port (and are eligible) but this post is already long enough.
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- Celeste – The best way to blend story with games is to allow the story to supplement the gameplay, and Celeste does an excellent job on that part. The anxiety aspect blends well with the incredibly difficult challenges that you'll be facing ahead, but fortunately the controls are smooth enough that you would be able to accomplish it with time. Mix that in with incredible music and you have yourself one of the best platformers of all time. Just need to get one more strawberry...
- Hollow Knight - If I played this game last year, it would've overtaken Mario Odyssey as my GOTY. For a small indie game, no other game this year had the better atmosphere or the most solid gameplay. I didn't mind spending hours getting lost in the world, collecting the different maggots, and powering up your weapon just enough so you can take on the next boss. It was hard for me to put it down at times, and thanks to it being on Switch, I didn't need to at times. This game is perhaps one of the best Metroidvanias of all time, and I'm glad that it's on consoles now since more people can experience it.
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 – When I played the first game, I was amazed with how well it was able to manage good gameplay with a good story (albeit a very basic one). After the series moved to handhelds, it was kinda disappointing how the series got hampered with the second game (and the third game never coming out to the US). With the fourth game, however, you can see that they recycled a lot of music and other assets from the first game in order to make this as cheaply as possible, but even still, the levels provide an excellent amount of challenge that, along with other quality of life changes, makes the gameplay better than even the first game. It's only a shame that I didn't really like the characters in comparison to the first game, but ironically enough, I like the side characters more thanks to the squad stories.
- Dragonball FighterZ – As someone who has never really been a fan of fighting games, I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed this game. The combos were simple enough that I was able to make moves willingly, which is a first for a fighting game for me. All the characters were fun to play, and hell, I even managed to win some games online, which I never thought would be possible for me in a fighting game. It also helps that the artstyle is true to the anime and even the story mode has a little fun with the characters, even if it gets repetitive after a while. I haven't had this much fun with a fighter since MvC2 and I would definitely recommend everyone to pick it up, even if you suck at fighters like me.
- Beat Saber – Not since playing Rock Band 2 a decade ago have I been so enthralled with a rhythm game like this. It's relatively simple, and unfortunately it only comes with a couple songs, but the modding community makes this game as incredible as it is. You can make tracks for any song, and you'll get a special workout with each one. I could only play this game 30 minutes at a time as I get completely pooped by the end of my session. I could go as far as to say that this game is a killer app for VR as I recommend everyone who has a VR headset to pick it up. You'll get hours of enjoyment from it.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Unfortunately there seems to be very little that is actually new with this game, the single player aspect of the game seems relatively lacking in comparison to previous entries, and the fact that trophies are gone is understandable, but is still very disappointing. Even so, it's still some of the most fun I've had this year with friends. Whether you play with items or not, there are so many options to mess around with that no battle is ever the same. With 8 players, chaos will reign, but you'll have a smile on your face the entire time.
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission – This is what a VR game could be like if a major developer puts their best effort into it. A fun little platformer that uses VR to move the camera around. I really like the artstyle and the general charm of the game that makes it strangly Nintendo-like in a way, but it's just a shame that you can't really move your main camera around to give you a better look of the environment. Too many times I lost track of something and I had to restart the level again to get it. Outside of that, it's still a relatively fun game and is definitely something you should get if you have a Playstation VR.
- God of War – Although I generally don't like these type of games, God of War's achievements in atmosphere and graphics need to be celebrated. From Freya's home to the snowy mountains, there were so many parts of this game that made my jaw dropped, and with the help of HDR and the PS4 Pro, it really showed what the hardware was capable of. Gameplay-wise, the combat felt a little too clunky for me, especially in comparison to previous games. I also noticed that I was fighting the same enemies and the same giants over and over again, which helped make the game a slog to go through. Overall it felt way too similar to The Last of Us, but with Kratos this time. Hopefully they can refine things for the sequel, but I still enjoyed it overall.
- Yoku's Island Express – One thing that I was obsessed with this year was pinball. Unfortunately The Pinball Arcade lost the license to Williams tables, and unfortunately the Pinball FX versions just aren't as good, but fortunately there's a new game that can help scratch my pinball itch. An interesting little game that mixes a pinball game with a Metroidvania. Relatively short, but still very fun and can't recommend it enough.
- Lumines Remastered – What more do I have to say? It's Lumines! The game's still fun and the soundtrack is still amazing. Now all they need to do now is port Electronic Symphony and we're set.
- Forza Horizon 4 – Although I haven't really spent as much time with this game as I thought I would, the time that I did spent with it I had a blast with it. I really like the controls and the graphics also look great. Never really played a Horizon game before so this was a great new experience for me.
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey - I was given this game as a gift so I would like to say thanks for giving me this game. From what I played, the game is a lot of fun, but can get very repetitive after a while and the grind can get unbearable. However, I did enjoy this more than any of the other Assassin's Creed games I've played before this.
- Rush – Wow does this game look great in VR! Unfortunately using your hands to control it can get a bit tiresome, but using only the headset, it's a complete blast to play, though it can get too easy at points.
- Far Cry 5 – This game would've been in my top 10 if my game did not end prematurely. Unfortunately there was a bad glitch that autosaved over a place where I was dying over and over again and I couldn't continue unless I restarted the game from the beginning. It's a shame since I was really enjoying it, even as much as I enjoyed Blood Dragon. Maybe one day I'll play it again and hopefully that glitch is fixed by now.
- Wipeout Omega Collection – This game came out last year, but it cannot be stated enough how awesome the VR is for this game. Made me appreciate these games a lot more than when I initially played them on the PS3 and Vita.
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