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Slant Magazine: The 25 Best Video Games of 2018
- Thread starter Courage
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Yup yup.
I still need to make time for some pinball action with Yoku.
Why? They explain why it is resonated with them
To each their own, but its hard to reconcile in my mind how anyone could have RDR2 15 places below GoW. I'm playing through it now and trying to decide if GoW or RDR2 is going to be my GOTY. I also thoroughly enjoyed Spider-man, but don't feel like it is at the level of those two, and its inclusion so high, with a far less compelling open-world is also a head scratcher. It controls better than RDR2, but it is far more repetitive and there is less to discover. I recognize that the shooting gallery mechanics of RDR2 are also repetitive, but when I play RDR2 every session feels like a different experience with a range of unique and different encounters.
But I do like that their list isn't cookie cutter and that they are giving some love to some overlooked games.
True. Shame this will never happen again cause Sony is over. E3 cancelled. Nothing at the Game Show Awards. They lost the plot. Arrogance back. Shame
*sarcasm*
As someone who turned around on God of War, already loved Spider-Man, and can't stand Rockstar's stubborn desire to keep making games that feel terrible to actually play... yeah, I can get behind this list. I find it regrettable that Yakuza Kiwami 2 didn't make it on there, however.
The developer of this game (Lucas Pope) is literally just one dude that made the entire thing. I doubt he'd be able to port to console anytime soon if ever. The game can run on most toasters, so don't let that stop you. Game's the best detective game I've ever played and a hell of a puzzle game at that.
Any list that doesn't have Celeste in Top 5 is a curiosity for me this year. Gameplay, story, music, depth, originality - to me, while not my overall favorite I think its the closest to perfect (or fewest flaws) of any game this year.
Why is it hard to reconcile? All you need to do is understand that those feelings only apply to you, you alone, and no one else. And that lists having games in X spot aren't saying you're wrong or that X is worse than Y, but that Y appealed to and resonated with them more.
I had to look up Paratopic (not Paratropic, OP) and I discovered that one of the devs is our very own DocSeuss! At least I think so, based on the Twitter name and avatar. Will definitely check that out sometime.
Also a bunch of good indie representation up there. Good to see Into the Breach and Obra Dinn taking up spots in many lists. I'd completely missed Legendary Gary and Forgotten Anne, glad to have discovered them!
Also a bunch of good indie representation up there. Good to see Into the Breach and Obra Dinn taking up spots in many lists. I'd completely missed Legendary Gary and Forgotten Anne, glad to have discovered them!
That's all well and good, I just personally disagree with their premise that Spider-Man nails both gameplay and narrative. From a game design standpoint it was probably the weakest first party Sony game released this year, with its insta-fail stealth sections, lackluster open world activities, half-baked progression, and combat that often gets pushed past its breaking point (see the DLC). And on a narrative level, the game is bookended by its best moments but really sags in the middle.
So it's not to say that somebody can't enjoy it more than I did, or that the game isn't decent. I'm just surprised to see it ranked so high, is all.
Anytime I feel that game is getting unfairly
Seriously though, I love RDR2 - I think it's one of the greatest triumphs of this medium. But it's also a game that pushes simulation components onto an industry heavily predicated on twitchy gameplay and snappy mechanics. There's a weight to this game - both literally and figuratively - that clearly compels some and repels others and while I personally love the languid pace of this experience, I can understand on some level why some people don't.
RDR2 isn't GTA with Horses - it's a simulation of a bygone era replete with the limitations therein.
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You must be confused. This is a list of games they liked. Not "slammed".
Not once you know these were the first to not give a glowing RDR2 review (7/10 I think).
Hitman 2's story was exactly what it needed to be, i.e. 5 minutes of cutscenes you watch once and then skip the next 50 times you replay each level. If they wasted more of the extremely limited budget on making prettier cutscenes instead of generating those incredible levels, that would have been a huge waste.
Sure, I have a decent laptop that could run it but I hate playing games on it. I understand what you say about Lucas but Papers Please came out practically on everything so, maybe there was some long term plan to release Obra Dinn on consoles (I'm convinced there is one but not announced and probably won't be for a considerable amount of time tho).
Yeah, the person who wrote the blurb for the list enjoyed for the same reasons as you
I don't buy Hitman for its story, I come for great level design and lots of ways of taking out your target, and Hitman 2 absolutely delivered on that front. Definitely one of the 10 best games this year.
Wait... isn't this part of a list of the games they liked the best?
Some interesting picks here. Will check out the link on my break.
Meat is walking like a boss. Only dude who brings an axe to a gun fight. Arthur where you at son....
Yeah, I was using that term very loosely and not specifically directed at Slant.
I don't think they were 'slamming' RDR2.
I think Spider-Man is a 10/10 despite the weaker aspects of the game because it all ties into the best traversal system of all-time. I wouldn't find it weird if it placed #1.
I said "to each their own and hard to reconcile in my mind"
My mind only applies to me. Please understand that it is my mind and that difficulty of reconciliation only applies to me in this case and not necessarily anyone else. For me, having experienced and liked many of the same games, I internally have a hard time understanding how a person arrives at RDR2 being so far behind GoW and Spiderman, since I also had a similar taste for those games as the author(s). I never said they were wrong, just that I think/felt differently.
I would suggest that Slant did not put this list out there to be their opinion in a safe and guarded space. They want it to be thought provoking, read, and commented on. Debate only raises more awareness of their list and publication. Art is relative and measuring it in lists is always a bit silly, and would be really pointless making one if no one was allowed to debate, comment or critique it.
? It got ported to ios and vita. The game's only 2-3 sittings so you don't have to deal with your laptop for long. But I get it.
I think Spider-Man's combat elevates it to one of the top spots for 2018.
I think the combat is so good it makes up for some of the weaker portions, specifically the lackluster stealth sections.
I think the combat is so good it makes up for some of the weaker portions, specifically the lackluster stealth sections.
my #1 isn't even on the list.
really? i think the movement was a lot more interesting than the combat itself.
really? i think the movement was a lot more interesting than the combat itself.
Really hope more lists put RDR2 further back like this. Could've also wished for critics to fairly judge the actual gameplay, but it's too late for that.
Anything to prevent Rockstar from releasing another game with absolutely shit controls.
Anything to prevent Rockstar from releasing another game with absolutely shit controls.
This list is probably closest to my own. So that means it's brilliant, and everyone involved a champ. Slate reviews are mostly written by that guy who hates everything, right? This is also closest to my perspective on games.
True. Spider-Man should be number 1 and RDR2 should not be on the list at all.
Yeah, its really great. I preferred it even to the Arkham games. It felt hard to master at first, but late in the game when I was going for the platinum, it started to feel a bit like the Matrix when everything starts to click with Neo and he's blocking attacks like things are going in slow motion.
I think for the sequel they need more enemy variety, more bosses and more varied boss battles, and maybe a little more interaction in the open world. Spider-man's story was also really well done, which elevates it to me.
Honestly, I don't think December is the ideal for GOTY lists; I had DUSK as a late addition to my ballot, for example, which is I N C R E D I B L E but it came out just a few days ago. While I can't say for sure how everyone would have felt about the game (maybe they'd have hated it), the release date and the timing of the list means not everyone was able to spend much time with it (if any). I also simply have not played Ashen at all, and Below isn't out till tomorrow.
But given that Slant does movie/TV/music lists in addition to just the games list, I understand why all this stuff needs to come out around the same time for us at least, and our editors worked ungodly hard to get this thing out when they did, actually pushing the ballot deadlines back later than normal so we could have time with some of the early December games (though stuff like Mutant Year Zero that I thought might have made my list ended up not cutting it since I kind of soured on that one as it went along).
I imagine it kinda varies for every publication, but I don't think we'll end up considering later December releases for next year's list, unfortunately. But then, given the length of games in general, we didn't have time for every game this year regardless; I wish I'd spent more time with Battletech, for example, or gotten into Two Point Hospital or Subserial Network.
It's a good-as-hell platformer.
While placement is always gonna be seen as important, I think working on a collaborative game of the year list for the first time has taught me to put more stock in inclusions than anything else, for what it's worth. Games being higher up says more about how many of the participants liked a game than any general, agreed-upon statement about one's game's quality relative to another (and I imagine that's even more the case for GOTY lists that have more people contributing than this one did).
- Excellent production values
- Outstanding traversal system
- Solid story
- Stellar combat
It's not my #1 but I'd place it in my top 5 easily.
Personally I found the combat incredibly repetitive and the story kind of dull. And it never felt like there was much to do in the world but swing around.
It's odd that you think everyone else shares your opinion of how that game plays.
I have ZERO issues with the controls in the game - I actually wish more games played like RDR2.
Yes I too wish more games controlled like ass. It makes it more immersive because life controls like ass too.