My Favorite Games of 2018
It's the end of January already, and I’ve been debating
whether or not to post a list of my favorite games from 2018. I don’t think
this will be the most expansive list it could have been, but I feel it should
still be done, at least for posterity’s sake. This will be a little different
from last year where I had one honorable mention and then a full top ten. This
year, I instead have nine honorable mentions of games I enjoyed, but didn’t play
extensively, a top five of games that released in 2018, and then a top ten of games
I played in 2018 regardless of original release date. Most
notably God of War and Detroit: Become Human were two high profile games that I
did not play and will not be on this list, as well as Horizon: Zero Dawn which
I was still playing early last year, but was on my list for 2017 and is
therefore ineligible. I wanted to review more games last year as I played them,
but as time got away from me I decided to instead opt for smaller mini-reviews akin
to my best of 2017 list. This probably wont be as in-depth as that one was, but I felt
I owed it to these games and the people who made them to explain why I loved
these titles as much as I did. Lastly, this is a ranking of personal favorites,
not by what I think is objectively better than the other.
Honorable Mentions
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Moss; Sony Japan Studio and Polyarc - played on PlayStation VR
These were two huge releases for PSVR this year, but
unfortunately I didn’t play more than a few hours of each. I loved what each
did for the platform, and I enjoyed what I experienced of both, but I had to
relegate these to honorable mentions because of it.
- Hollow Knight, Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu, Super Mario Party,
and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; Team Cherry, Game Freak, and Nintendo (in conjuction with NDcube, Bandai Namco, and Sora Ltd.) - played on Nintendo Switch
Much like my PSVR mentions, these games that I played on
Nintendo Switch are all victims of me not putting more time into them. Super
Mario Party and Smash Bros. I did play more of along with family and friends, but
I didn’t get much out of them other than being great party/multiplayer games. I
had fun with them, but they weren’t the type of experiences I felt were worthy of putting in my top lists.
- Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom; Level 5 - played on PlayStation 4
This one saddens me the most. I played probably a dozen or
so hours of Ni No Kuni 2 and really enjoyed my time with it. During the summer, my original
PS4 that I was playing on died after our home electricity was overloaded from
a lightning strike. Everything on that PS4 hard drive was then stuck in limbo on a dead console. For some reason, that save data was never uploaded to the PS4’s cloud
storage, and I never had the chance to go back and start from the beginning.
- Shadow of the Colossus (2018); Bluepoint Games (in conjunction with Team Ico and Sony Japan Studio) - played on PlayStation 4
This is the only game on my honorable mentions list that I
did finish. I had heard so many great things about the original, and I really
enjoyed my time playing the remake as my first experience of this game. Well... mostly. I’m sure back when
it was originally released, it was amazing and ahead of it’s time, and while
maybe it was a victim of high expectations, I couldn’t help think that this
remake still felt too much like a relic of the past. Not in an egregious way,
but things like controls and only depending on the light from your sword
directing you as I rode around in circles trying to figure out where to go left
more of a sour taste in my mouth than remembering the awe-inspiring battles and
gorgeous landscapes.
- Fallout 76; Bethesda Game Studios - played on PlayStation 4 Pro
I feel like I have to explain. No, this game is not well
made. Yeah, I only put about 10 hours into it. However, I did still enjoy what I
played. I didn’t even scratch the surface of whatever sliver of narrative there
was in the game, but I also didn’t have any bugs ruin my experience. All in
all, I had a fun time exploring, looting, and listening to classic Fallout 50’s music and their
cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” over and over. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Top 5 Games Released in 2018
5.
Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within; Telltale Games - played on PlayStation 4
How much I enjoyed this game is opposed with how deeply saddening it is considering what transpired with Telltale Games last year. That’s not something
I feel I need to recap, however I believe it should be mentioned that many people
worked very hard on this game and later that year lost their jobs. It’s a
horrible situation that I hope everyone effected was able to persevere through. Even though
this season of episodes started in 2017, it finished in 2018, and therefore I’ll allow it in this ranking. That along with the fact that it was by far one of
my favorite Telltale games right next to The Walking Dead’s first two seasons.
What I loved about this game wasn’t so much how they portrayed Batman or most
of the classic characters that surround him, but more so the evolution of antagonist John
Doe (aka The Joker). I don’t want to spoil it, but for the first time I truly
felt that your choices finally mattered in a
Telltale game. So much in fact that the final episode was essentially made
twice. Instead of having a few different lines of dialogue or a character
missing, it really seemed that things could be drastically different, and the
emotions that came with some of the ending dialogue between Batman/Bruce Wayne
and The Joker is (for me) some of the most iconic between the two that I’ve
ever seen. Anthony Ingruber, the voice actor for John Doe also did an
immaculate job; one I believe is right up there with Mark Hamill and Troy Baker as iconic voices for the role, if not as well the likes of Heath Ledger for
portrayals of the character in general.
4.
Marvel’s Spiderman; Insomniac Games - played on PlayStation 4 Pro
Playing Spiderman is probably the most pure fun I’ve had
playing a game this year, but with a few caveats. While I don’t think the story
was quite as engaging until the final hours… or considering I feel the game has some pacing
issues between the second and third acts… and that some of the side missions
were redundant and took the fun of the moment to moment gameplay away, this
was still an overall blast to play. By the ending hours, I would be playing for
hours upon hours because I didn’t want to stop. It’s combat is incredibly
similar to the Batman: Arkham games, and while I still feel those games are
better in a number of ways and are the superior superhero/comic book games,
Spiderman still did enough to be it’s own success. I was worried it be "Spiderman:
Arkham", but it did enough to separate itself enough to not be an issue while I
played the game. However, as much as I enjoyed it, the little things that
bothered me were still too much for me to rank it higher. That said, this being the first game I played on a PlayStation 4 Pro, at times the game was absolutely stunning, and had a great photo mode to boot that made for some spectacular screenshots. Certain moments at the end of the game were some of the most beautiful visuals I've ever seen in a game and really sold me on what the PS4 Pro could do.
3.
Celeste; Matt Makes Games - played on Nintendo Switch
I don’t have as much to say about Celeste as I might with
other games on this list because it’s the only one that made it this far that I
have yet to finish. That said, there is nothing negative I can say
about this game. The gameplay is pure platforming at it's finest and incredibly fun to try and master,
while the meaningful story is powerful and crafted perfectly. And the music is absolutely astounding, and probably my favorite soundtrack for the year. Hopefully I will finish this game soon, and while I don’t
know if it would’ve placed any higher than this, the talented people who worked
on it have an amazing accomplishment with Celeste.
2.
Red Dead Redemption II; Rockstar Games - played on PlayStation 4 Pro
Here's the big one. The open world in this game is quite
possibly the most ambitious thing I've seen in gaming, and Rockstar Games
nailed it perfectly. From the beautifully realized setting to the multitude of intense character moments, everything in this game was made with purpose and intent to a like I've never seen before. I wasn’t sold on this game when I first started. The
pacing and the deliberate way of controlling protagonist Arthur Morgan was
holding me back. I couldn’t step away however because of the narrative. No
spoilers here, but the arc of Arthur Morgan is perfectly told. It’s why he’s
now one of my favorite protagonists ever, and why this game is also one
of my all-time favorites now. By the time I reached about halfway through the
game, I could not stop playing. Where I used to play an hour or two at a time,
I as playing 7, 8, or even more. It’s a feat of the medium and a game that other developers
making an open world sandboxes I don’t think will exceed for a long time. Also, this is probably one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen. I took hundreds of screenshots and my fiance thinks I'm a madman because of it.
1.
A Way Out; Hazelight Studios - played on PlayStation 4
I know not a lot of people would expect this to be anybody’s
number one game of 2018, but here we are. Maybe it’s because I didn’t play God
of War, but even though I think games such as Red Dead Redpemtion 2, Spiderman,
and Celeste may all technically better games, none of them gave me the
experience that A Way Out did. Not only were it's character moments, dialogue
and narrative all beautifully realized and played out, but this game wouldn’t
be what it was for me without being able to play it with my fiance over the
course of just 3 play sessions. I don’t want to delve too far into spoiler
territory, but suffice it to say, even though I somehow didn't see the biggest plot
twist coming, what happens after that is one of my favorite gaming
experiences ever. The emotion from, not just the game, but the dynamic of sharing
those moments with someone I love were extremely powerful and heart-wrenching. It’s something I
never experienced in this medium before, and I don’t know when I ever will
again. Josef Fares, for as much flack he may get for being brash and outspoken,
crafted a wonderful experience, and everyone at Hazelight and anyone who worked
on this game should be incredibly proud. It’s a game that I feel was criminally
overlooked and underplayed, but deserved much more attention for what it accomplished.
Top 10 Games I Played in 2018
10.
Prey; Arkane Studios - played on PlayStation 4
I can't quite put my finger on why I decided to put Prey on
this list as opposed to something like Shadow of the Colossus. I enjoyed both,
and equally had issues with both. Prey was a game that had me in and out of it.
At times I was enraptured by the atmosphere and narrative the story presented.
Other times I found those very same things dull and uninteresting. The combat
was…okay, and there were random difficulty spikes throughout the game that went
from challenging to feeling unfair in an instant. I did enjoy the openness in tackling the exploration, and how it contrasted with the narrow and claustrophobic setting of space
station Talos 1. And while I wouldn’t say the choices presented to you as a
player were entirely engrossing or game changing, they did have an underlying
impact that proved to be somewhat vital in how the story finishes. One completely optional
choice near the end of the game had me wrapping my head around what to decide
for hours, and even sat with me afterwards as I wondered if I made the right decision. It
was moments like that which supplant this game on my list. Even though I didn’t
enjoy it from beginning to end, there was something special there. In some ways
I wish it was the Prey sequel we were going to get originally almost a decade
ago, but I am intrigued if Arkane returns to this franchise and what they could
do to expand upon this rebooted universe.
9.
Superhot; Superhot Team - played on PlayStation VR
I got my PSVR early in 2018 and the first game I played on
it cemented why I never regretted my purchase. While I may go months without
turning it on, I will never forget my time playing Superhot. It is literally
like nothing I have ever played before or since, and is still my favorite game I've played on the still relatively new platform. You feel like a complete and utter
bad-ass taking out enemies in slow-motion and catching guns in mid-air while
dodging knives and a barrage of bullets. It proved to be quite a show piece too
as multiple friends and family all wanted to try it out immediately after
seeing it. There's a lot of great and quality VR titles in PlayStation ecosystem, but I don’t
think any give you quite the same feeling that you can get with Superhot.
8.
Telltale's Batman: The Enemy Within; Telltale Games - played on PlayStation 4
(see above entry)
7.
Marvel's Spiderman; Insomniac Games - played on PlayStation 4 Pro
(see above entry)
6.
Celeste; Matt Makes Games - played on Nintendo Switch
(see above entry)
5.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice; Ninja Theory - played on PlayStation 4
I still don’t fully understand Hellblade, it’s story, or the
motivations and actions of it’s protagonist Senua, but I do know how powerful
this game was. As far as gameplay goes, its simplistic design made for surprisingly
tense combat encounters and interesting exploration. If you look deeper though,
you can feel the intensity and the sorrow of Senua as you go on this harrowing and torturous journey with her. Melina Jurgens undoubtedly did something absolutely incredible
in her debut portrayl as Senua, and it truly gave life and personality to a somewhat
convoluted narrative. Even though by the end I didn’t fully grasp what had
happened, I could not deny how powerful this game was and its insights into
those with mental struggles. It’s an incredibly important game for this medium
and one I hope will be remembered for a long time.
4.
Fortnite: Battle Royale; Epic Games - played on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, and Nintendo Switch
I didn’t know if I wanted to put Fortnite as high as this,
but the stats speak for themselves. I played this game for over 300 hours. While
that may not seem like much for those who play competitive or online games more
regularly, but this was different for me. As someone who mainly enjoys single
player experiences, I may spend up to 100 hours in an engaging role
playing game, but Fortnite took over my life almost entirely for a few months in 2018 after I started
playing it that February. I ultimately dropped off around October of that year, and while I
was never truly that good at the game (I only won about 5 games not including large
team battles), I couldn’t stop playing. While I do think sometimes of the
other games I could have completed during my time spent with Fortnite, I don’t
regret playing it as much as I did. At first it was a fun game that I would
play online with family and friends, but as I got into the game’s battle pass
content with its unlockables, I would play and play to complete challenges for
hours on end to obtain as much cool cosmetic content as I could. It’s the perfect carrot on a stick game that keeps you engaged
and wanting to come back, but as soon as I found myself entrenched into another more substantial game
(in this case Red Dead Redemption 2) I dropped off pretty quick. I go back
every once and a while for a match or two, but I don’t think it will ever pull
me back in to the same degree it did before.
3.
Red Dead Redemption II; Rockstar Games - played on PlayStation 4 Pro
(see above entry)
2.
A Way Out; Hazelight Studios - played on PlayStation 4
(see above entry)
1.
Pyre; Supergiant Games - played on PlayStation 4
I haven’t decided exactly where yet, but Pyre is one of my
favorite games of all-time. I don’t want to retread much of what I said in my
review, but this would have been my game of the year for 2017 if I played it
then. After playing it earlier last year though, it is by far my favorite game that I played in 2018. As much as I
loved games like A Way Out or Red Dead Redemption, or with how much time I spent in
something like Fornite, I cant think of another recent game I unequivocally loved as much as
Pyre. From the gameplay, to the characters, the plot, and the music, I adored
every aspect of this game. For more in depth information, I suggest checking
out my review, but all-in-all Supergiant has a masterpiece on their hands with Pyre. I
feel that with nearly two years out from its initial release, this game has been
overlooked and maybe even forgotten from most people’s minds, but I'd recommend to
just about anyone. It’s somewhat unconventional, but is truly a diamond in the rough of
the myriad of games that release in this day and age. Go play Pyre.
For anyone who took the time to read any of this (even if it was just to see what the games were), thank you. I know it's not much, but I appreciate it and it truly means a lot to me. I
stepped away from writing more about games in the middle of last year due to a number
of things, and while it’s something I'm truly passionate about, it’s not
something I can dedicate much time to. Between work, family, other hobbies, and
actually playing games, it’s hard to find a free moment for this. That said, I thought I should
at least share my thoughts on these games, even if it’s already a month into
2019. Anyway, thank you again, and I hoped you enjoy checking out my favorite
games from 2018!
I do ther gaming content in a more "bite-sized" form over on Instagram @StarDistrictGaming if you want to give that a follow, or if you love cute dogs in your Instagram feed, you can go follow @TwixandGarrus!
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