Resident Evil 2 says PS4 and XBO in the sheet and misses PC,
B-Dubs
I finished only 16 games in 2019 and the majority wasn't even released this year so I won't be able to name 10.
- Control - A Remedy game through and through with brilliant action combat, beautifully graphics and best ray tracing implementation to this date, badass heroine, cool level design and great world building and story. The gameplay is not that focus like their previouis games but still more than most of the games these days that want to cater to everyone and a mass audience with convoluted features. Control doesn't. It's simply a blast to play and such a unique and fresh idea and setting.
- Resident Evil 2 - Never played the original beyond the police hall entrance because I never owned a PS1 until a few years ago and preferred to wait for the modern approach. Wasn't disappointed. Graphics are awesome, the blend between oldschool gameplay and puzzles and modern look and controls is amazing. Finished it twice consecutively and I'm still at my third playthrough. This happens not often. Atmosphere is grim, puzzles and action are fun. Great game.
- Gears 5 - My first Gears (of War) game because I wanted to play another game with a strong female lead and was positively surprised. The shooting mechanics feel dated at first and I usually avoid cover-based shooters especially since Max Payne 3, Quantum Break and now Control. Playing it, or any other shooter, after Control really makes you miss destructible environment or at least particles flying around when you the environment that is so not interactive that Control make almost every other shooter feel like from the last generation in that regard. Fortunately the combat is still lots of fun, the Unreal 4 engine really shines and renders beautiful visuals. I enjoyed the often light-hearted bro-attitude of the characters and the campaign length was spot on. Gears 5 made me play Gears 4 because I wanted to see more of the characters. I plan to play it again once they release the promised photo mode.
- F1 2019 - Every year again and every year Codemasters managed to improve on their game since they got their act together with 2017 which would mark the beginning of best official F1 games released ever. The details are maybe only obvious to the avid player who play every yearly iteration but I like the little and maybe sometimes less obvious improvements. In any case, the gameplay is great and they really delivered that F1 circus and experience on screen. Races can be tough and exciting, with dynamic weather and accidents, requiring you to adjust your strategy on the fly and on track. Practice programs and developing your car is motivating and feels rewarding when you learn tracks not only for race sake but to feel involved in the car development. Amazing racing game with lots and lots of hours of fun.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 - I probably could write a post that exceeds the character limit so I make it short. Beautiful and one of the most believable and alive open worlds with impeccable character design with characters are depicted in such a nuanced way they really come to live. The gameplay, despite people reduce it to shooting and delayed controls only, is actually fun: you ride and, you steal and rob, you hunt, buy and sell, explore and shoot. And everything looks visually great. Gun fights look phenomenal and popping enemies is fun. The game is a subversion of common mainstream trends of consuming everything a game has to offer has fast as possible for flashy rewards. RDR2 takes it time and you to slow down with it. Going on a hunt does have an effect on the gameplay when you sell pelts and carcasses or bring them to your camp in order to improve it. But the visual clues and real effect feel so subtle it almost makes no difference save for the experience you have while you're doing it. You take in the atmosphere and escape. But you don't have to and can shoot your way through the story, though still not as fast as you usually accustomed to. The conclusion of this story is one of the greatest ever and the game does feel like an epic journey. The detail obsession of this game is overwhelming and it's one of the very few huge and epic open world games I've finished and still want to spend more time in it. Only three games, including RDR2, managed it so far.
- Call of Duty Modern Warfare - Despite its many flaws and detestable practices of microtransactions in a full price game I have to admit that it's sheer fun to play. The gunplay is a blast and after Apex Legends and CODMW I tried Rainbow Siege again, after years, and couldn't play it longer than two matches until I uninstalled it again. Both games, Apex and CODMW really raised the bar in hit feedback and gun look and feel and sound. CODMW offers so many different game modes instead of relying on one mode only, offers such a variety of weapons and is getting new maps, the real content because it's playable, free of charge. If they want to increase their income with digital crap that has no real meaning inside the game, so be it. I still don't like it, but I can look past it. I mainly play Search & Destroy and therefore avoid the clusterfuck modes and matches have been so tense and exciting it's just so much fun to play.
No GOTY material for me but as honorable mention:
Apex Legends - It's the first BR game that manages to make me play it more than a few hours without uninstalling it with disgust. Apex is about shooting and it does feel great. Most legends are memorable and you have to give Respawn lots of credit for ever expanding on a basically free to play game. My only gripe with this game and why it comes after CODMW, the embodiment of corporate greed, is because like almost all BR game it rests on its BR game mode only. While other fully fleshed multiplayer games packed with modes include battle royale, these BR games don't do the same: with Apex offering such impeccable gunplay it would be staggering to play a proper TDM mode, or objective-based modes like conquest, Search & Destroy or Rush modes like in Battlefield. At least they now have a objective-based game mode, but it's time-limited. Why, though!? It feels fucking great and is awesome! Running around for 10 minutes without any sight of enemy and then get wasted by surprise within one minute doesn't respect the game's awesome gunplay and feel. Nor does the gambling if you drop early for the action. So I highly anticipate and would enjoy more game modes and I'd even pay for it. In any case, what they done with a free to play game is only outclassed by Warframe. But we will see where Apex Legends is going the next few years. I hope they stick around and improve on an already great framework the game provides.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - It's not the first FS game I've played but the first I've finished. Finally there is character interaction and visible character agency and the plot doesn't feel so disguised, playing "hard to get", like previous FS games. The game doesn't resolve around lame looking rolls or turtling behind a shield but instead offers amazing sword fights. You could simply mash that block button if you want, but it still looks great when swords are crossed, with the clang sound of metal hitting metal. Then you have those fantasy and weird elements that doesn't make much sense as you watch it. The dark and gritty atmosphere is great combined with the setting of feudal Japan. Unfortunately at no point I felt like a bad-ass ninja except for assassinate unaware trash mobs. But with every boss fight going on an hour and 34509 tries until I beat them I never felt like a capable sword master due to its difficulty. Most fights I only won by cheesing them to death and whereas I managed to kill many bosses first try in Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3, I only did so with exactly three bosses in Sekiro and I'm not even sure if one of them count as a real boss (that armored dude on the bridge). The endings felt too abrupt and the conclusion, after all those hours felt lackluster. I played it for 60 hours which, measured by that time alone, seems great but I can't say I enjoyed every single hour of it and, to be honest, maybe only enjoyed a third of it. The "git gud" attitude won't help to make it my personal GOTY but I'm sure many people will think differently and I can understand why this game will be the GOTY for many people. The lack of hand holding and usual AAA-tropes aren't present and puts the player back into spotlight.
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