2019 GOTY
Taylor's 2019 GOTY
From a remake of a beloved classic to a game about delivering packages and everything in between.
List items
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My favorite two games of all time are the original Resident Evil 2 and Final Fantasy VII. I was excited and worried when they both got remake announcements. Resident Evil 2 Remake is one of the best games I've ever played. There is no doubt that this is the best playing and looking game in the Resident Evil franchise. One feature that might not sound like much but is a game changer is the map. Anyone who has played the early Resident Evil games knows it can sometimes get frustrating keeping track of all the different keys and items needed to progress through the game. Not in this game, the map tracks every item you see in a room, marks what keys are needed for doors, and even lets you know if you've found everything in each area. The last thing I will praise about the game is the amount of fan service this game has. Things like being able to switch to the original soundtrack, playing as the original polygonal character models, including the Elza Walker costume for Claire from Resident Evil 1.5, and even bringing back the tofu. I love this game.
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Devil May Cry came back in a big bad way this year. The last entry we had in the franchise was the reboot DmC in 2013 that had a mixed reception from the fanbase(I like it). Devil May Cry 5 is a continuation of the original story line. Capcom must have had a fire lit under them after the success of Platinum's Bayonetta 2 because Devil May Cry 5 is the best playing game in the franchise. The game play is so smooth, the game is gorgeous, and the soundtrack rocks. God bless the RE Engine! The DMC story has always been anime levels of cheesy but I enjoy it. The ending of DMC 5 is complete fan service but I loved it. Lastly Dante gets a fucking motorcycle that can break apart and used as a fucking weapon!
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Being a Kojima fan even I was getting to be a little worried about Death Stranding leading up to its release. Thankfully I can say I absolutely loved this game. There was something about delivering the packages and traversing the open world that was just peaceful. Using or leaving items or structures to help fellow players made me feel good inside. Ultimately the story is what kept this from being my number 1. I didn't dislike the story as much as some people but that info dump at the end just wasn't a good way to end the game.
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I've been a Dragon Ball fan since the original Ocean Dub release in the US. I will play every game release the franchise has but that doesn't mean I like them all(Looking at you Ultimate Tenkaichi & Battle Of Z). Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission is a spin off of the still active Japanese arcade card game that originally released in 2010. This is the first time this game series has had a western release. I've put over 200 hours into this game so far. I've collected over a 1000 cards featuring almost every character from every incarnation of the franchise. Bandai Namco has been consistently releasing free dlc adding more cards including cards based off of the latest movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The only reason this game isn't my favorite game of the year is the game play. During the card battles in every mode(Story, Arcade, Online) basically you will need to win a quick time event for every attack, defense, special ability, etc. With that said I absolutely love this game and will continue to play it for another hundred hours.
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Three Houses was the first Fire Emblem game that I actually completed. I put around 60 hours in this game and don't regret it. They clearly took some inspiration from Persona this time around and I think that's what made Three Houses one of the better games in the series. The strategy part of the game is as good as ever in my opinion. I came to really care for the characters that were in the house(Black Eagles) I chose to teach at. The story is anime to the bone and feels rushed near the end. Visually the character models look great but the backgrounds look very bad. If you are a fan of strategy games and have a Switch I recommend you check it out.
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Ryu Ga Gotoku finally got to make a new ip! Judgment is still basically a Yakuza game. Takes place in the same fictional section of Tokyo and everything. That's not necessarily a bad thing, the Yakuza games are great. I was just hoping for more. Judgment has the same basic formula as the Yakuza games except you are playing as a former lawyer that is now a private detective. The combat feels the best it ever has. Judgment runs smoothly and is using the Yakuza 6 engine. I really disliked all the drone side stuff. Doesn't control the best and the races were very boring to me. There is a decent story in Judgement that has twists and turns. Personally I enjoyed the game the most when I was doing the side cases. That's where the game lets its wackiness shine. Get this game and track down Ass Catchem. Yes this game has a parody of Ash Ketchum.
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Sony Bend's first game since Uncharted Golden Abyss on Vita. I am so over zombie games. The genre has been run into the ground. That's why I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Days Gone. It has a lot of tropes of modern open world games. Capturing enemy bases, so-so side quests, etc. I enjoyed upgrading and riding my motorcycle around the post apocalyptic Oregon. The story while way to long is pretty good and actually has a happy ending. The game look amazing and even better if you have a pro and a 4k TV. It frame rate dropped a lot when the game fist launch but the post launch patches have seemed to smooth them out. The best part of the game is fighting the hordes of freakers. It is nerve racking. The strategy to beat them is completely up to but you better come prepared.
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Netherrealm's games get better with every release. This time around they slowed Mortal Kombat way down and I think it fits the series. Every blow feels big. The X-Ray mechanic now works with random strikes and moves instead of the full meter move. This makes some the fights seem even more brutal. Fatality's continue to be great. Netherrealms continues to have the best story mode out of all the fighting games. They end this with a clean slate so i'm interested in whats next. The roster is ok with some fan favorites missing but I understand they can't just keep doing MK 9's over and over again. Why this game is so low is due to the microtransactions and the way they handled the krypt this time around.
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Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Ghost Rider on a team? Sign me up! I've been a Marvel Comics fan since a kid and will always give a game featuring my favorite Marvel characters a try. They didn't stray to much from the Diablo lite game play that the X-Men Legends games started with and that's a good thing. The X-Men Legends/Ultimate Alliance games have always been good games to just chill with your friends and beat up some bad guys. The roster in UA 3 is great and with the dlc it just gets better. Everyone should be able to find a character they like. They pull from basically every corner of the Marvel universe with the story and at best its fine. The story is a reboot and doesn't continue where UA 1 & 2 left off. Some levels are better than others(fuck the Dark Dimension). The game looks great and has a lot of style. The only thing they added that I really disliked is the Iso system. Iso's are just drops that vary in rarity and stat boosts that you can equip to characters. This sucks because they are constantly giving you the lowest tier and they want you to dismantle and upgrade them. It just takes a long time to mess with and it seems completely unnecessary. Get together with some friends and play this game.
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I debated if I should give my number 10 spot to either Jump Force or Bloodstained. I decided to go with Jump Force. On paper its always been a great idea. Take all of Shonen Jump's characters and put them in a fighting game. This is their third time trying and they actually made a fun game. It still has a ton of flaws and I would not recommend this game if you are not a fan of any of the Shonen properties. I go back and forth on the art style. At times it looks amazing and the idea of making these manga and anime characters look like they belong in our world is both creepy and kinda cool. This game has some of the best character damage I've seen in games. During a fight characters can change from normal to bloody and ripped clothing. The roster is great! Has most of the manga and anime genres greatest characters like Goku, Luffy, Vegeta, Yusuke, Ichigo, etc. The story is trash but leads to some fun dialog between the characters. Overall I had a lot of fun with this game and it deserves to be on my list.
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