I feel that this year wasn't the strongest for me in terms of favourite games. I have also been exercising a bit more this year (which is good) and have spent a little less time on video game. A lot of my gaming time this year was also dedicated to playing older releases (such as Rogue Legacy) that I had missed. There were also some releases that I'm sure I would enjoy (Dead Cells, Obra Dinn, maybe even COD BLOPS 4) that I never got around to. That being said, my number 1 game was a clear stand out for me and is up there as one of my favourite of this generation.
Playing the remaster of this was the first time that I had played it, other than an aborted attempt to play it on the PS3. It handles clunkily, because it is a game from over a decade ago, and it is not as mind blowing as it obviously would have been at the time. However, I still enjoyed my time with it and liked working out the puzzle of how to defeat each Colossus. The style and music of the game were also super great.
9. Divinity Original Sin II - Definitive Edition
I don't know what it is about this game. I should love it, it should be everything I'm looking for in a game. I LOVE old CRPG's such as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. I played DOS2 when it first came out and dropped off it after about 20 hours. I had a hankering to play it again last year but waited for the Definitive Edition update. It's good. It's really good. I made it a lot further this time, but got to a point where I just felt overwhelmed and it felt more like work than fun. The dialogue is really good - I think the issue for me is that I don't find any of the storylines particularly compelling (which is maybe why I only played a couple of hours of Octopath Traveler and Ni No Kuni II was a massive disappointment to me). DOS: 2 is a great game, it's still on my top 10 of the year, but I don't know why I don't like it more.
8. Diablo 3
2018 – The year of the remaster/Switch port? I bought Diablo 3 when it originally came out ages ago on PC. Played maybe 3 Acts of it and always meant to get back to it, but never did. The Switch port is really good and suits the console well. I really like picking it up for half an hour or so, killing some demon adjacent beasts, then putting the Switch down. A lot of fun.
I have only played a few hours of this so far but I think it really is the best version of Smash and I know that I will put a lot of time into it. The controls and general fighting game ness (not Ness, but the ness of it) of it are taking some getting used to, but I think the overall package is fantastic. I could maybe spend my whole time in the music menu.
6. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
See my above statement about my old love of CRPGs. Pillars of Eternity 1 was a game that I had played through twice, but never actually got to the end of. For what it was worth, I remembered almost nothing of its story. POE2 Deadfire made a really good first impression. This may be in large part due to my recent obsession with the Critical Role podcast and their current campaign, and they voice most of the characters in this (and have a DLC of their characters from their first campaign). I find the systems in POE more fun than that of DOS. However, the latter half of the game lost my interest and I just wanted the game to be done with. I made it through to the end, but didn’t love the back half of the game.
So I’m still only in Act 3 of this game. I’ve dropped off it for a bit. The controls don’t actually bother me that much. I am a bit bothered by the fact that many of the story missions so far seem to be: “Hey, now ALL the Lawmen are trying to shoot you, so shoot the whole town up”. There’s a lot that bothers me about RDR2. What doesn’t bother me are the characters, the attention to detail, the voice acting, the insane amount of interactions and systems and the world the game is set in. It is a fantastic experience which I have enjoyed what I have played.
This has been a really good podcast game. Put on a podcast, run around the map and clear shit from the map. I don’t think it’s as good as Origins and the attempts to Witcher 3 the game mainly fall flat for me. As a History teacher, the world and setting is equal parts awesome and infuriatingly ridiculous. The general mechanics of the game is pretty fun though, and the open world Is a cool one to be in.
It’s just Open World games all up in this part of the list it seems. Spiderman is a dweeb. But he is going through a dweeb renaissance. Spider Man: Homecoming is a great film. Into the Spider Verse is also fantastic. This game is really good as well. It’s had a similar open world map clearing attraction that AC: Odyssey has had. I think some of the story beats are really good and some are not so great. The swinging took some getting used to, but I really like it and the combat feels pretty good too. It’s just fun.
2. Hitman 2
Hitman 2016 was my game of the year that year, and Hitman 2 is more of that. I actually am kind of disappointed that Hitman 2 was not episodic (I understand why it wasn’t, because many panned it for its episodic nature), as I lack the self control to moderate my play of each level. I also worry that some Elusive Targets will be for levels I haven’t played yet. So I have played through each level once, and am now working my way through them methodically. It’s a blast.
1. God of War
It is a HUGE gap between this and the rest of the games on this list. This is the first game I have ever platinumed, because I wanted to stay in the world so much. The only part I didn’t love of this game was the optional parts that needed grinding in Niflheim and Muselpheim. The story (for any game, let alone a God of War game) was exceptional. Some bits which have been criticized, particularly around one Atreus section, still worked for me, even though it took a couple of hard swings. The gameplay is really solid and rewards the player for mastery of it. The way the world opens up and changes is exceptional. Visually the game is stunning. There are probably 3 or 4 moments from this game which are some of the best moments I’ve encountered in a game. Where old GOW games tried to overwhelm you with moments, this one just makes the moments it does present really stick. The opening fight with the Stranger was just, holy shit, that’s what it was. I want to stop typing this and just play through GOW again. Stellar game.
Board Games!!
I’m just going to list these with pictures and a brief description of why I liked them
10. Gingerbread House
Phillip Walker-Harding can do no wrong. Imhotep is still my favourite game of his, but this one plays really smoothly, and the theme and art are really cool. Great family/gateway game that also has enough heavier strategy to it.
9. Boomerang
Card drafting and passing is a sound mechanic and this is a good one of those. This combines that with a little bit of Draft + Write. Plus, for me, the theme is a winner.
8. Werewords
I was worried that this was just going to be a rip off of Insider (and it is), but this is a great implementation of it and was a real blast with the groups I have played it with. Great party game.
7. Architects of the West Kingdom
I didn’t expect to like this given that I only sort of liked Raiders of the North Sea and hated Shipwrights of the North Sea. However, this is a great worker placement game that plays really snappily.
6. Ganz Schon Clever
I am cooling on this game now but I have literally hundreds of plays of this on the app. I recommend the app game for anyone, you won’t regret it.
5. Reef
Similar to Splendor and Century: Golem Edition (or Spice Road if you’re boring), but this is a slightly different take on it. The game looks and feels fantastic, which is what sets this apart.
4. Santa Maria
This was a 2017 release but only made it to Australia in 2018. A great euro game. The dice drafting is mixed with tile laying in a really clever way. The artwork is…odd, but the game plays fantastically.
3. Newton
The first game from these designers that I have really liked (I was meh on Grand Austria Hotel – I haven’t played Lorenzo il Magnifico yet). I did terribly at this game but still really enjoyed it. A point salad with plenty of avenues for points, but it all played rather smoothly
2. Welcome To…
Another Draft and Write game. The nature of this, with the cards being common to everyone, means there is little downtime involved. The theme is a fun one and it works great with groups of any size.
1. Brass: Birmingham and Brass: Lancashire
I can see why the original Brass was a classic. I’ve played both this year. Birmingham is on my list as it is the ‘new’ release. I think I prefer the tightness and limited nature of Lancashire more, but they are both very very good. Every turn is a brain burner and it is a really deep game that I just want to play as much as I can.
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