Game of the Year 2019
Another year, another list of games I right enjoyed.
List items
-
Destiny 2's Shadowkeep expansion may have been more iterative than the revolutionary Forsaken, but external to the game it accompanied a massive shift in the landscape as Destiny 2 went free to play.
Shadowkeep served as a kind of formal endorsement of Destiny's shift from a game you play for a hundred hours every time an expansion drops to a live service game with enough hooks to keep dedicated players constantly coming back for more.
With a satisfying campaign that left most players clamouring for a resolution and a long-tailed season pass which gives you a reason to keep playing, Shadowkeep was a brilliant expansion.
-
A return to form after the slightly lacklustre MKX. Mortal Kombat 11 looks, sounds and feels amazing. Netherealms have also managed to turn the Krypt portion of their games (the bit you grind for) into what is effectively a clicker with the new AI battle, and I think that's something we can all get behind.
-
It's like if Harry Potter turned into an incredibly dark war story half way through (does Harry Potter turn into one of those? I don't know). Fire Emblem: Three Houses has a frankly astounding number of well-written, likeable characters with battle mechanics which are solid enough to keep the game entertaining for its 60 hour life span.
-
Fucking style personified. But that description is also overly simplistic. While one could not doubt that Katana Zero is dripping with neon noir style, where this game really shines is in applying a level of mechanical tightness to the Hotline Miami - esque pixelated combat puzzles. Cracking the code of each level rewards you with a full speed replay of your actions which encapsulates just how much of a badass Katana Zero can make you feel.
-
It's the Division but more. Also it's hot now.
While some fans have questioned the changes made to the end game between installments, there is little question that Division 2 is a better playing game than its predecessor. With noisy, powerful feeling gunplay and enemies who are just the right side of bullet spongeyness with frighteningly aggressive AI.
-
It's X-Files meets Twin Peaks with a dash of Lovecraftian horror and my word does Remedy's latest release have an eye for spectacular moments. It might drag a little in the middle but believe me when I say that the game saves its best moments for last, and you wont want to miss any of them.
-
FFXIV didn't really come out this year. But then one might argue that FFXIV has been released and re-released at least twice since it was first available to buy. Regardless, this is my list and I'll break the rules if I want to. Even as dyed in the wool non-MMO person FFXIV's wonderful mixture of nostalgia, engaging writing, classical character design and a score which is as good as any other Final Fantasy game has rightfully seen it established as one of the most popular and enduring games in the world.
-
An absolute mechanical revolution in the world of Total War. The introduction of a new retinue system for managing your armies as well as a dynamically developing campaign map and diplomacy which is miles ahead of anything the series has offered before, Three Kingdoms essentially took a series which was already doing very well and elevated it.
-
Anthem is a broken game. Its general flow, its loot, its mission structure, its story, they're all somewhere between middling and bad. However, what isn't bad about Anthem is the bit where you get to actually play it. The flying, the weight of your Javelins as they rocket into the earth and send enemies flying, the brilliant combo system for your elemental powers and the profoundly different way that each of the four suit choices feel as you pilot them all go quite some way for making up for Anthem's other more lacklustre elements.
Anthem is on this list because despite its numerous short comings it was still an incredibly fun game to play.
-
SamSho 2019 was a solid entry in the SNK revival story, one which lives on essentially the other end of the spectrum to MK11's AAA spectacle.
In many ways SamSho feels low budget. The models look dated, the game modes are limited and - as is tradition among Japanese fighting games not called Street Fighter - the matchmaking is still bizarrely convoluted. But, be all that as it may, the core gameplay is still SamSho and it is still brilliant. The tense, yawning quiet moments before the sudden clash of steel is still as exciting as it ever was.
Load Comments