Although i have played 10 games this year, I did not finish all of them, so my top list will not be a top 10 one. Hope it's okay! I'll add my honourable mentions in the end for games I haven't finished yet.
- Outer Wilds - I tought about this game for weeks. It's been years since I didn't wake up at night with the solution to a problem encountered in the game. It was an emotional ride, an impressive one too. What an achievement.
- Control - I already love Sam Lake's writing from the bottom of my heart. This game is something else. It might be one of the funniest AAA games I ever played, the lore is absolutely fascinating. The developers had tons of fun making this game and it shows.
- Death Stranding - What a comeback. MGS V was one of the biggest disappointment in my life. It hurts even thinking about it. I know it's a good game, and I had fun with it, but this terrible bland story. Anyway. But Death Stranding... Man, what an achievement. I love that the team managed to make an uneventful gameplay loop so entertaining, so strong although a tiny bit too easy (the bad guys are more intimidating in design than in gameplay tbh). The story is all over the place, but this mix of campyness and seriousness, of laughs and tears really hit me hard. When I finished it I wandered weeks online just to read some analysis of the story.
- Kind Words - At first I thought this game's concept (writing anonymous letters to strangers talking about your problems and answering to other people's letters) was stronger than its execution. But actually, it works. People are respectful and open. The answers are often thoughtful. Although it's more like a nice looking anonymous social media than a game (that's debatable), a lot of people play along and that's an incredible achievement itself.
- Telling Lies - I really loved the game at first, but thinking about it my affection for it diminished. The concept itself is as strong as Her Story, its execution is even better with its perfectly crafted story. Everything is just incredibly smart. Unfortunally, the fact that it got a wider scope than Her Story also meant that it lost a little bit of its singularity that made the first game so appealing. It's kind of the same evolution between Portal and Portal 2, in both case the two games are amazing, but the surprise and singularity of the first one makes it more appealing to me. Absolutely amazing game and some of the acting is actually incredible. The actress that plays the girlfriend (Alexandra Shipp) is probably my favourite performance of 2019.
- Untitled Goose Game - To be honest I don't think it's the most incredible achievement ever. The game is solid, super funny and plays with stealth tropes very well. But I played it with my girlfriend and the actual experience of playing it with her was very cool. The game became a meme between us and we will probably play it again one day. So I do have to be thankful for this game.
- Deliver Us The Moon - It's hard to have an opinion about this game, because all the exploration stuff is very very good, but the budget Uncharted action sequences are pretty bad and a bit out of place. I still remember most of the game, so it was memorable enough to make me forget about the action. The story told is very interesting, very Tacoma and I was pretty dans invested in it.
Honourable mentions :
A Plague Tale: Innocence - I think I am midway into the game, but what a game! This is proof that slick animation in AAA games is absolutely overrated. It's already the case in many other games, but you don't need a Naughty Dog level of precision in animation to make an incredibly engaging game. Even the gameplay is so-so, not very deep and way too contextual in most cases (it's a sequence of setpieces more than a gameplay loop), but what actually happens on screen makes me so nervous. The first time I encountered the rats is one of the best scenes of the year.
Supraland - It might not be my cup of tea at first, but this is a very competent game, full of great ideas. Every puzzle is well made, difficult but not Witness-level of difficulty for now. It's also pretty and mildly funny.
Eastshade - I have mixed opinions about this game. It's a non-violent RPG/Painter simulator. My big problem is that the dialog is too simple, and the missions too similar. But that being said... It's an absolute JOY to wander around this world, learning more about its history and weird characters. I haven't finished it yet so we'll see.
Games I didn't play but no doubt they would be very high on my list because it's absolutely my jam:
A Short Hike
Disco Elysium
Pathologic 2
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Descenders
Heaven's Vault
I hope I'll be able to play them next year.
Great OP by the way!
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