BMaxwell

$30 Disco Elysium
$10 God of War
$25 Dragon Quest Builders 2
$25 FF12 on Switch
$38 PS4 controller

Really been digging Disco Elysium and DQB2 so far.

This is me too. About once a year I see someone raving about how terrific these 2 games are, about how they never need Diablo again, and I think "MAN I must have missed something!" Then I reinstall them, listlessly play them for a few hours and fall off. I don't know what it is about them, but both are on a list of about 10 games that I am drawn to but never actually enjoy; I play them, fall off, then come back a year later and do it all over again.

I tend to enjoy smaller releases far more than AAA ones, and I'm having trouble paring down to only 10 games for a top 10 list. For me however, there are a lot of very good, very interesting games that came out this year but very few that I feel a real passion for. I had a lot of 8/10 games this year. Nothing wrong with that, but the past few years have had more 9-10 rated games for me. (Yes a numbered rating system is lazy but it communicates the overall feel at a glance).

@conmulligan: Not that I've heard, no. I didn't love last year's format, but who knows? Maybe it'll grow on me if they keep it that way. It was definitely a more positive discussion, which I know some of the crew would prefer.

@bonbonetti:

I'm a sucker for Lovecraft-esque stuff, so the theme is what put it on my radar.

I didn't realize there was a demo! I'll have to give it a look then. Thanks!

@bonbonetti: Can you talk a little about Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones? It was on my radar, but the Steam reviews have been Mixed and that has scared me off.

Control.

Man, I got Alan Wake'd by Remedy again. So much of that game is so neat - the world, the writing, the story bits. But man the combat was just this dreck I had to get past to see the good stuff (third person action/shooters are NOT my jam). I found the map not great, the checkpoint system to be shitty, and I had a few side quests where I'd go to the location only to figure out that I (apparently?) lack some ability or something that I need to finish it. Eventually I realized that I had to talk myself into playing it more, and I quit.

It's a game that would have benefited greatly from some difficulty options: just let me ass my way through the fights so I can enjoy the world dammit.

Earlier this year I re-listened to the 2016 GotY stuff. I really like the way Best Game wrapped up that year. A couple of games made their way onto the list even though only 1 person on staff liked each one. Vinny suggested axing Uncharted 4 to make room for Hyper Light Drifter, Thumper, and Stardew Valley. The virtue of this being that it's the site's list, and that members of the staff had a real passion for those games.

I'd like to think that mentality applies to the top of the list too. The hope is that no one on the editorial staff has a strong dislike or apathy toward the best game of the year. It's why Read Dead 2 and God of War weren't going to win, despite maybe seeming like more "wow" titles than Tetris Effect. It's a game that everyone on the staff could feel good about, and I'm okay with that.

In the end, the whole thing is silly and the process comes down to whatever that little roomful of people decide is best. It's site that's about the personalities as much as the games, so I can't mad at any of this.

@seikenfreak: Man, I was impressed with Divinity Original Sin 2 but I had a real hard time coming back to it every time. It's super well done, and I had fun with it once I'd start playing it, but I had to drag myself back to it every time. That game is dense.

As for RE2, I was impressed by how much the 2nd playthrough was different from the first. It didn't feel like there was a lot of redundancy there for me.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Well, almost.

For each of the past 2 years, I've written up a top 10 over on my sick Tumblr. I thought reexamining those would resemble fun, and it'd also be a good time to re-hash GB's top 10 from the past 2 years.

My 2017 Top 10:

10. Children of Zodiarcs
9. What Remains of Edith Finch
8. Super Mario Odyssey
7. Slime Rancher
6. Divinity Original Sin 2
5. Pyre
4. Persona 5
3. Hollow Knight
2. NieR Automata
1. Night in the Woods

So 2017 may have been, for me, the best year of games ever. The top half of the list contains some of my favorite games in recent memory, and in retrospect the best of the year might not even be on that list. I missed Yakuza 0 altogether that year, but I finally tried in earlier this year and it is fantastic. (images and words here).

Giant Bomb's 2017 Top 10:

10. Dream Daddy
9. Tekken 7
8. Night in the Woods
7. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
6. Destiny 2
5. Cuphead
4. Super Mario Odyssey
3. NieR Automata
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
1. PUBG

My spirit was holding Alex's hand as he tried to push NieR to the top. Third place is very respectable though, plus I think I was making him uncomfortable. Also PERSONA 5 IS THE MOST STYLISH GAME AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL.

My 2018 Top 10:

10. Gris
9. Tetris Effect
8. The Red Strings Club
7. Donut County
6. Moonlighter
5. Dragon Quest XI
4. Moss
3. Slay the Spire
2. Monster Hunter World
1. Astro Bot Rescue Mission

2018's lineup didn't hit quite as hard as 2017's games did for me. If I had a do-over, I'd swap out Gris for Florence or maybe Dead Cells. Gris hit hard and faded fast for me. (images and words here).

Giant Bomb's 2018 Top 10:

10. Dragon Ball FighterZ
9. Monster Hunter World
8. Hitman 2
7. Marvel's Spider-Man
6. Return of the Obra Dinn
5. Into the Breach
4. Red Dead Redemption 2
3. God of War
2. Dead Cells
1. Tetris Effect

It felt like the most passion in the room last year was Dan's disgust with Red Dead 2. Tetris Effect felt like it won Least Objectionable Game of the Year. People argue what they feel, and I can't hold that against anyone.

How is 2019 looking to you? I'm having trouble paring it down to 10, but there are only 1 or 2 games I feel any strong passion for. A lot of very good games came out this year. Not much in the way of great games for me though.

How do the past 2 years stack up for you? Did you make top 10 lists? How do they hold up?