A year of ups and downs and genuine surprises

For a year that I thought would be light on purchases for games I ended up getting a lot more then my early 2018 self expected. Outside of some obvious early hits there wasn't much for me to get hyped on. Months later and I'm now struggling to even fit just a limited number of entries on my list.

God of War (2018)

An absolutely fantastic reboot of the series that manages to tell a deep narrative with plenty of nuance that ties well into the games mechanics. It also moves the series more towards adventure type gameplay with an interesting open world with plenty to check out and a leveling gear system that has the right about of depth to keep inventory management interesting without getting overbearing.

Monster Hunter World

Easily the best version of the series thus far and the most newbie friendly for the series. Though not as deep as previous Ultimate games it was expected though given this is a brand new engine and setting, and what it does provide is enough to satisfy both new and longtime players of the series.

Marvel's Spider-Man

Solid open world game that brings Spider-Man back to the forefront of headline licence for games. Movement feels great and combat is just interesting enough to not be overwhelming or too simple. It also paces itself enough to avoid dragging on the game with too many side missions or collectibles.

Tetris Effect

One of the better complete package Tetris game released in recent years, working in the fantastic visualizer work done for games like Lumines for a multitude of skins, levels and even bonus modes that also tie into a weekend community event. The VR compatibility is another bonus that works far better then expected.

Return of the Obra Dinn

One of the more engaging puzzle titles I've played in a long while whose mechanical hook kept me engaged in finding the next scene or working out the who and why's for every crew member of the doomed ship. Also major points for replicating old Macintosh pixelation design.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Seen a few VR platforms that have tried the same formula of bringing Mario or Banjo type gameplay with you acting as the observer from up high, Moss would of taken this spot for its design and clever ideas but Astro Bot RM just blew it away with a more interactive flow to levels that engage both your robot friend and your VR self in-game.

Spyro Reignighted Trilogy

A stellar remake of the first 3 games that ooze with love and care for bringing these games to current gen visuals.

Forza Horizon 4

Refines a lot of the changes from the last game to make the progression less of a pain to unlock tracks. Still a wonderful spread of cars, races and even unique events both in its career missions and seasonal events.

Starlink: Battle for Atlus

A good take on the toys-to-life game that feels like a more objective based and smaller scaled No Man's Sky, points for making the toys option but the ship figures are still well built even if the mounting part needs work.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

A very last minute entry only because it ended up being a lot more entertaining then I expected. A mesh of X-Com style tactics with small group RPG elements in which its you verses a map full of bads who will storm you entirely if you don't try to work your stealth to pick off stragglers or melt foes before they can warn others. The setting is also a nice throwback to old 1980's post-apocalypse RPGs featuring randomized mutations, anthros a plenty, and ghouls bent on blowing up the world again that need shooting.

1. Drop the Bad Company 2 'consolization' influence and go back to the BF2/2142 system.

Bam, series redeemed.

Only it wasn't paid with my money, rather gifted to me by a great friend who was both very generous and very drunk at the time.

I now feel owed to him for the first time, kinda wish I knew they had Space Marine on their Steam wishlist during that last sale.