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ArbitraryWater

Internet man with questionable sense of priorities

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GOTY 2018

With only a scant number of days left, it's time for me to consider which games from *current year* managed to leave any sort of positive impression on me. This is opposed to my (preliminary) list of games from *not current year* which does the same thing, only less bound to the constraints of space-time.

I'll give it to you straight: While it seems like 2018 was a pretty fantastic year for some people and their personal tastes in games, that wasn't nearly as much the case for me. I definitely played my share of great-to-fantastic stuff, but I'm not nearly as enthusiastic about it as I was for most of my 2017 list. I'll probably end up getting into reasons in my inevitable blog on this subject, but regardless of my enthusiasm here is a list of 10-ish games that I think are pretty good.

List items

  • After getting away with using PS2 assets for literally 14 years, Capcom finally made a modernized Monster Hunter Game aimed at normal humans instead of lunatics like me. I managed to not totally destroy my life with this one, which I'm not sure is a pro or a con.

  • Valkyria Chronicles 4 is more Valkyria Chronicles, which unlike Hitman is a really exciting thing because Valkyria Chronicles 1 came out a decade ago.

  • Hitman 2 is more Hitman. Hitman 2 is more, better Hitman. That's all you need to know.

  • Dad of War is an impressive feat of soft rebooting, giving a strong showing of what kind of things AAA budgets and talent can do, even as it follows some well-worn modern AAA design tropes that I think I might hate.

  • Deadfire's presence on this list is partially contingent on me getting back to it at some point, but I think it's a really good RPG, even if it feels a tad cracked in some places.

  • As opposed to real, traditional fighting games, people will actually willingly play Smash Bros with me without coercion. This one seems like it might be the best Smash Bros has been.

  • The closest thing to a "divisive" game on this list. I don't think all of Octopath Traveler's weird experiments with structure work in its favor, but I still really like its attempts at making a low-key but decidedly old-school JRPG. Bonus points for a fantastic soundtrack.

  • Also known as "The game that probably helped mess up my arm," Vermintide 2 was a lot of fun earlier in the year. Before I messed up my arm. Uh, but really, it's a very good Left 4 Dead with a lot of really smart progression systems and ways to play.

  • (Tie)Dragon Ball FighterZ might be the first time I've ever wanted to get into an Anime fighter before I was reminded that I'm not great at fighting games and lack the patience and manual dexterity to get better.

  • (Tie) If DBFZ was the first anime fighter I would seriously consider getting into, then UNIST is the second. Seriously, if I didn't get curbstomped into the infinite abyss the second I tried to find an online match in this game, I'd probably be playing it right now.
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