Demands at work and less me time with my collection of consoles forced me to pick my battles when it came to the biggest titles of 2018, but I managed to get through a few of them and discovered some a few smaller delights along the way.
While some of the issues I had with the gameplay and mission design of its beloved predecessor eight years ago remain frustratingly unsolved, Red Dead Redemption II is an almost unparalleled open world experience. The desire to explore was only ever interrupted by its shockingly well told story, with twists, turns, stakes and drama genuinely befitting of a world class television series - with Arthur Morgan one of the most endearing and well written video game protagonists I have ever come across.
The precociously titled Marvel’s Spider-Man (remember Peter Jackson’s King King: The Official Game of the Movie?) nails everything it needed to nail – the web-swinging and other traversal mechanics, the free-flowing Batman-style combat, and the characters and storytelling were all executed nigh-on perfectly.
If EA never gets cracking on a follow-up to Burnout Paradise, then the Forza Horizon series is likely as close as we are ever going to get. The fourth entry takes full advantage of being always online, with driving that remains best in class, and the Xbox One X version served up some of the best visuals of the year.
Donut County is consistently funny and charming, with a surprising amount of thought behind some of its puzzles, backed up by a cute art style that really pops on a mobile device and perhaps my favourite video game soundtrack of the year.
From taking down targets at an F1 race in Miami before escaping the scene dressed as an enormous flamingo, to running around an American suburb popping off head-shots in a clown outfit, IO Interactive once again ensured that for every moment of genuine stealth excellence there was a ridiculous opportunity for nonsense to satisfy fools like myself.
Pokemon: Let’s Go combines the fun catching mechanics found in the mobile game with the overall structure of the original Blue, Red, Green and Yellow instalments released on the Game Boy, making for a fresh enough take on a familiar adventure that provided me with a warm feeling of nostalgia and a welcome distraction while commuting.
Florence tells a touching and powerful story that we can surely all relate to, and came closer to making me shed a tear than any video game story in quite some time.
While it certainly looks and feels like more of the same at first glance, Overcooked 2 makes some key changes that make playing it even faster, more frantic and more satisfying than it was two years ago.
As a theme park nerd, my decision to abandon PC gaming exclusively in favour of consoles some 10 years ago can sometimes fill me with regret. Thankfully, Parkitect – a love letter to the halcyon days of RollerCoaster Tycoon and its first sequel – is probably capable of running on a toaster and so has found a welcome home on my modest Macbook.
Burnout Paradise is one of the greatest driving games ever made and the well-deserved remaster – sporting 4K visuals, a smooth as butter frame-rate and all of the DLC released for the original game – was the perfect way to remind me of that.
