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My Top Games of the 8th Generation

Well, I did it. I finally joined the ranks of the 9th generation by getting my hands on an Xbox Series S. It won't be too long until my launch model Playstation 4 eventually gets unplugged, dusted off, and put away in a secluded cupboard or closet. As I looked at my list of games that I played on my PS4, I became wistful of all the titles I had played (100 to be exact). I felt it was appropriate to make another "My Top 10" list for no reason other than to shine the spotlight and show some love to some truly wonderful games that some may have never thought of playing, never heard of, or loved as well. As stated before, this is MY top ten games and just solely my opinion.

List items

Fallout 4

Fallout 4 kicks off this list at Number 10. As an avid fan of the Bethesda Fallout games, I was so excited when they announced the long-awaited sequel to Fallout 3. It also was released during a pretty rough time in my life, having been laid-off from my job roughly a couple weeks before its release. This game really did just enable me to get lost in the massive open world of post-apocalyptic Massachusetts. It was an interesting premise from a story perspective as well. Having your main character be alive during the initial dropping of the bombs, your wife, baby, and yourself hurry into a vault and get cryogenically frozen. After witnessing someone killing your spouse and kidnapping your kid, you set upon the path to find your child and get some answers. What made this game great for me was there really isn't a "Good/Evil" way to finish the game to a certain extent. The environment was also beautiful in a dark, dying world kind of way. The Glowing Sea area really sticks out to me as something so eerie and gorgeous at the same time. After completing the game and seeing every path to its conclusion, Fallout 4 was definitely a fun 100+ hour adventure.
Battlefield 1

At Number 9 on the list, Battlefield 1 was the last Battlefield games that I got super invested in. I've loved the Battlefield franchise since Bad Company and loved all the 'modern war' era games. After playing BF4 pretty much non-stop at the time, I was very worried about the rumors flying around that the next entry would take the series back to the tired, overused setting of World War II. So many shooters had done so many games set in WW2 that I was still tired of anything related to that theater of war in particular. DICE soon revealed the trailer and totally took me by surprise when it showed that it was, in fact a World War game, just that it was World War 1. As an American, I can say that we don't get taught about WW1 all that much and is one of the wars we don't talk about much as a country too often. DICE must've caught on because they did some amazing features that really did try and teach the player about the Great War with the 'Codex', which had pages of information that you unlocked by achieving certain things while paying the game. So many articles about the countries, weapons, and battles that took place and was all really well done. They also introduced a new mode called 'Operations' which was a historically inspired, multi-map match that highlighted key moments in the war such as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The game also felt incredibly tight and played wonderfully with minimal problems unlike the launch of other titles. It's a game I still have installed on my PS4 and play on occasion as the player count is still relatively high and is still a joy to play.
Silent Hills

Not sure if you can count my 8th place title as a "game" per se, but it's my list and I call the shots on here. P.T. (Playable Teaser) was a game demo that dropped out of nowhere and caught the gaming world by storm. It was simple in its execution, but also disturbing and nerve wracking to play. The looping hallway, the radio talking about a man who butchered his family before killing himself, and the faint breathing and moaning coming out of the speaker on the controller, only to get jumped by a hideous ghost lady that scares the hell out of you. That moment is where people would quit right then and there. Only if you stuck with it and completed the crazy puzzles and mind-bending scares until the end, would it reveal that it was the concept of a Hideo Kojima, "Silent Hills". It never got made unfortunately, as Kojima and Konami eventually parted ways, (putting it lightly), and the project was quickly cancelled. Konami even pulled P.T. from the Playstation Store which made it unavailable to anyone to download... except for the few of us who never deleted it. I would've loved to see what would have come from this project, but alas, P.T. is all we'll ever get.
Rocket League

Number 7 is a game that became a popular juggernaut in part due to being free with Playstation Plus and being the 'right game, right time'. Rocket League takes two things and mashes them together in such a unique way that it just becomes addicting to play. Cars with jet engines and arcade style soccer. It really sunk its hooks in me after only a couple matches and scoring a couple goals. I would play so many matches that I would forget time existed and just keep playing for hours. Over and over, I would play more and more just to unlock all the hats, rims, rocket trails, all the customizable bits I could. Even though matches were five minutes long, they never felt like it as it seemed to go by so quickly. I look back on my time with Rocket League and just think to myself "If it wasn't for it being the free game of the month on PS Plus, I probably would've never given this game a chance.". Sometimes, being free can do amazing things.
Street Fighter V

Street Fighter V comes in at 6th place and that reason really is because of the "Love/Hate" relationship I share with it. Coming off Street Fighter IV, I was eagerly awaiting any news and watching as much as I could find about SFV. I played the beta tests and was still pretty excited fir the eventual release while ignoring the god-awful performances of said betas. When it came out, I became very disappointed with the product. There was barely any single player content and what little there was just didn't appeal to me. It came out with a 'Character Story' mode with braindead A.I. and storyboard style drawings and a Survival Mode that someone would only theoretically play to unlock costume colors. But, who cares, it's a fighting game and the important part would be its online component. Well, it was crashing, on fire, and borderline unplayable. This game seriously left such a bad taste in my mouth for a long time. Time marched on however, and eventually the issues got fixed, Arcade Mode and a Dojo mode got added, more characters were released, and leadership at the company level changed hands. After around Season 3, I finally started warming up to the game and honed in on a character that matched my playstyle and started to really love the game. This was in no small part due to the friends that also played the game and had as much fun as I did with it. I'm super happy that the game got so many improvements and I just hope Capcom can learn from this games troubled past and puts the next Street Fighter title on the right path.
Battlefield 4

Hitting the halfway point on my list is also one of the earliest releases in the 8th generation coming out in 2013. Battlefield 4 took what made Battlefield 3 great and expanded on it. Modern warfare, bigger maps, and great gameplay. The maps were way more spacious and able to have more players on console than before thanks to the advantages of new hardware that the developers were able to use. They also introduced a new concept to the maps in "Level-lution" which added specific elements to the maps that would alter how the play area was used. The set pieces they used were awesome to see, like the skyscraper that would explode and transform "C" point from a rooftop battle to a foggy, rubble filled area filled with nooks and debris to hide behind. I had so much fun running around with my CATS squad and spent so much time with it that I would honestly believe it if you would tell me that I spent over 200 hours in the game. This was one of those games that just lived on my PS4 for years and I've flirted with the idea of jumping back into it here and there. Definitely a high-water mark for the franchise, and one I hope DICE can get back to eventually.
Metro Exodus

At 4th place comes Metro: Exodus, the most ambitious game in the Metro series. Artyom is back and this time, after discovering that the world outside of the Moscow Metro system is free from heavy radiation, the Rangers find themselves in a situation and flee to the surface to discover a whole new land and forge a trail to find a new place to settle. This game is just straight up gorgeous and was a joy to play from beginning to end. Graphically, this game was an absolute powerhouse and the environments you find yourself in are extremely well done. It was incredibly easy to immerse yourself in the multiple open worlds you would be in. 4A Games not only made an awesome world, but the story was one that really glued me in as well. Coming across whole new civilizations of people and dealing with the trials and tribulations of Artyom and his family was a very satisfying experience. The gunplay and combat have also come a long way from where they started back in Metro: 2033. It feels snappy, has great weight to it, and the ability to customize in the field ats a great element to its open world gameplay. This game also has some of the best DLCs in the franchise as well. Two Colonels, which brings the story of a late game character to light. And Sam's Story, that stars the titular character of Sam, a member of your Spartan Order that goes on a journey to find his way home back to America. I'm a huge fan of 4A Games thanks to this series and am eagerly awaiting news as to what is next for both this franchise and studio.
SOMA

Soma wears the bronze as one of the many narrative based, story driven games that just completely floored me. Starting off as a man suffering effects from brain damage after a severe car accident, Simon takes part in an experimental brain scan treatment and wakes up in an underwater facility with no memory of how he got there and must survive the horrors of the base to find out what happened and how to escape. The atmosphere is done really well here as everything looks old and dreadful. The few times you do make it out on the ocean floor is also very open and scary, which is a nice contrast from the claustrophobic hallways and labs. Number one priority goes to the story. While confused in the beginning, I became more invested in it as Simon and his acquaintance, Catherine Chun, makes there way through various obstacles. I can't really say anything more about the story, because it was so good and every detail could be considered a minor spoiler. It has such a powerful presence that when the ending finished, I was just fried mentally and just sat on my couch and watched the credits roll asking particular questions the game presented to me. It really stuck with me for a long time and shook me to my core. I should stress, if you never played Soma, you should. And for those who don't like monsters chasing you around with no way to fight back, they added an option to remove all monster so you can enjoy the story without the stress of death.
Firewatch

I've played Firewatch around six to eight times and each time was just as good as the first. getting the silver medal for 2nd place, Firewatch is another narrative driven game which puts you in the role of Henry. When his life is beginning to come apart, he looks to escape by taking a job as a lookout in the Shoshone National Park. Looking to spend the summer alone, his only companion come in the form of his supervisor Delilah, who he can only talk to via his handheld radio. As time goes on, mystery unfolds and tension and paranoia ramps up in the woods. First and foremost, the character development and voice acting of both characters are phenomenal. Both of them are just so believable as people with all their interactions. An amazing accomplishment since you never physically see one of the main characters. It was one of the key reasons why I loved this game so much and did repeat playthroughs. The open world is wonderfully done as well. I loved when I could wander around the woods just soaking up the trees and gentle wind. The story is the main driving force of this game and really ramps up the goosebumps as you go deeper in. This game is one of my absolute favorites and one I will go back to when I get in the mood for a great story that will take six hours or so to see through.
Valiant Hearts: The Great War

And finally, the gold medal goes to a game that not a lot of people have even heard of, I feel. Ubisoft Montpellier's Valiant Hearts: The Great War is just a straight up masterpiece of presenting such a horrible and important event in history with an elegant, unique art style and a story that stays with you long after the final cut scene. I initially saw the E3 trailer for this game and was blown away by its presentation. That trailer made me so emotional that I knew I had to play it. You take on the roles of multiple characters throughout the game and are all linked together through certain connections. Karl, a German immigrant is forcibly separated from his French wife, Marie, and his son and is deported and drafted to German Army. Emile, Karls father-in-law, is drafted into the French Army, despite his older age, and struggles with the frontlines of war. You also take on the roles of an African American man named Freddie, who volunteers with the French Army after the death of his wife during an air raid. And Anna, a Belgian veterinary student who works as a battlefield nurse while trying to track down her father who was kidnapped by the Germans. The 2D art is simply amazing and fits in well with the gameplay style. a rather simple and barebones platform/adventure style game. One of the best things they did with this game was include collectables that unlocked historical articles and details about World War 1. It's such a wonderful touch and I absolutely love it when games based on actual historical events give you the history of said events. The ending of the game is probably one of the most powerful and heart wrenching ends to a game I have ever seen and it's one I think back too quite often. This astonishing 2D game gets my 1st placement on my 8th Generation List and is something that really deserved more attention than it got.