Games that I enjoyed but didn't quite make the list:
Despite enjoying the original 3 God of War games I was pretty done with the formula of a raging Kratos killing everyone he can find while screaming about the gods. This new reboot, brought a surprising amount of depth to Kratos and I really enjoyed watching how his relationship with Atreus developed through the story. Combine that with a very satisfying and fleshed out combat system, great exploration and side-quests and incredible production values and this new God of War kept me hooked through till the end credits (and beyond). I had a lot of faith in Sony Santa Monica but they really went above and beyond with God of War, exceeding my expectations and making me extremely excited for the inevitable sequel.
Call of Duty has been my 'turn off your brain and have some fun' type of game for a while. I racked up a surprising amount of hours with Black Ops 3 multiplayer and I was pretty confident that Treyarch would deliver again, especially with their take on the all-popular Battle Royale genre (having played quite a bit of PUBG). I think I've already put more hours into Black Ops 4 than the previous iterations, thanks to a super solid multiplayer mode that's made some good new additions and what might be my favourite Battle Royale mode to date. It certainly helps that I've had friends to regularly jump in with but this is my favourite Call of Duty in years and so far has just been getting better with post-launch support.
Assassin's Creed games have been a bit hit or miss with me in the past (Brotherhood and Black Flag probably being my favourites), but with last years Origins they really mixed things up with the gameplay of the series, and I've found myself generally enjoying its change to a more RPG focus. Initially I didn't have a lot of interest in Odyssey as it felt like too quick a turnaround from Origins. However the overall improvements and new systems like dialogue choices really made me feel more invested in my character, Kassandra. The vast amount of game on offer here is staggering and the fluidity of combat and traversal has made it really difficult to go back to older open world RPGs.
This spot is specifically for the Destiny 2 year-two expansion: Forsaken. Up until this expansion, Destiny 2 has been a fun but ultimately disappointing release, with over simplified systems and a loot grind that ultimately wasn't rewarding. They had sucked a lot of the enjoyment out that had existed in the original Destiny. Forsaken corrected a great deal of this with randomized stats on loot drops, better mod systems, two really cool new zones, a new faction and some actual mystery and intrigue. I don't have the time I used to have to dedicate to Destiny but I'm glad they've managed to rebuild and fix Destiny 2. Now we just have to see if they screw it up again when they eventually release 3.
Vermintide 2 improved on the solid original in just about every way. Better maps, more interesting classes and weapons, more visceral and impactful combat and a solid loot system to make the general repetition of co-op horde games a little less so. This game was a blast when played with friends, and even pretty enjoyable when played with randoms or bots.
The indie pixel-art platformer feels a bit tired these days but the extremely positive word-of-mouth Celeste received around its launched piqued my interest. I really enjoyed the razor sharp controls, great level design and cute but touching story, only tapping out once I got into the super-difficult B- and C-Side levels.
It took me a little while to warm to this as it's so different from anything I've played. Once I started getting into it, seeing the stories that took place across the Obra Dinn and piecing together what happened to each of the crew members was extremely compelling (and challenging).
A mostly mindless, super grindy mobile gacha-rpg, Onmyoji pulled me in with a really beautiful art style and kept me hooked for months with cool characters, a manageable power grind through deep progression systems and a not completely soul crushing gacha system.
As the first triple-A Monster Hunter game (that wasn't or didn't look like a portable game), MH:World initially blew me away with the gorgeous landscapes and monsters that were filled with personality. As a mostly solo experience I began to find the repetition and the length of missions to be a bit too daunting, but I still enjoy occasionally jumping in to fight a giant mud dragon with an Axe bigger than my character than can turn into a sword and explode, and then turning that mud dragon into a sweet hat.
This developer's debut, FTL, was a really cool game that just felt unfair more often than it felt fun for me. with Into the Breach, they managed to make a turn-based strategy game about fighting giant bugs with giant mechs (pixel art Pacific Rim? yes please!), into a concise and deliberate puzzle game. By giving you the tools and information to know the outcomes of your decisions every turn, it gives you the absolute satisfaction in taking what you initially think is an unwinnable mess, and pulling out a brilliant decisive victory.
