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dijag

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2018 Game of the Year

Metroidvania of the Year: Yoku's Island Express

There were several solid entries in the Metroidvania genre this year, but Yoku's Island might be the most unique and refreshing of the bunch. You play as a dung beetle whose (dung?) ball is used as a pinball to move around the map. Yeah, this game is something else.

Rogue-like/lite/whatever of the Year: Dead Cells

Still not a big fan of the rogue...whatever genre, but Dead Cells seems like one of the best so far. Cool pixel style art, tight controls, and a boatload of unlockable items kept me playing it for about as long as I can stomach a game in this genre.

Most Overhyped: Tetris Effect

"Revelatory, Life Changing, Must Experience"

It's Tetris. Sure it looks cool and has some nice music...but it's just Tetris. The same game I've been playing for decades on dozens of platforms. The hype for this was a bit much.

Most in Need of Modern Controls: Red Dead Redemption 2

There is no denying that the world, story, and characters in RDR2 are about as good as it gets in video games. Unfortunately the game feels like it is actively fighting against the player every step of the way with frustratingly outdated controls and insanely deliberate pace. Rockstar still makes must play games, but they really need to modernize their control mechanics for future releases.

List items

  • A stellar reboot of the classic franchise. The combat feels much more satisfying and meaningful than the button mashing style of the previous games. The throw/return "Thor" style ax weapon is one of the better mechanics in any recent game. Kratos seems far more like a real person and the story in general is well done and sets up nicely for potential sequels.

  • A near perfect mix of an arcade and sim style baseball video game. Easy to pick up and play, but includes a unique difficulty system that allows precision tuning for the perfect challenge. Goofy fun player/stadium designs and just the right amount of sim style stats and modes. Pitchers getting knocked the fuck out by line drives might the funniest gaming moment of the year.

  • If last year's Origins was a nod towards The Witcher 3, Odyssey is a full on embrace. It never quite reaches that level of greatness, but this is a massive open world with seemingly endless side stories and places to explore. I had a blast working my way to the top of the Mercenary ladder (nemesis system alert!) and single-handedly hunting down and murdering an entire cult. Kassandra is the best assassin since Ezio and this is best AC since Brotherhood.

  • Platforming doesn't get much better than this. Difficult but fair, each level introduces new mechanics to master. Great soundtrack and a minimal but meaningful story.

  • It's a Batman Arkham game but with a Spider-man skin. Thankfully that formula still works very well when done right. It suffers from the same 'tons of similar repetitive side stuff all over the map' issues that the later Arkham games did, but it looks great, has a good story and most importantly, the web swinging around the city feels amazing.

  • It's more Yakuza but with a brand new engine! The new engine certainly makes everything look nicer and the combat is smoother and more seamless, yet it also seems like there is less variety to the fighting and heat actions. The story beats did not quite hit the highs of last year's Zero, but it was a satisfying conclusion to Kiryu's tale.

  • 2016's Hitman reboot made for a far more accessible and enjoyable to play experience, and the sequel streamlines the formula even further. Not a single bad map, all with depth and many options for either serious hitman action or just to goof around. The episodic format from the previous game is gone and it did feel a little strange to have all the maps available from the start rather than taking a month or more to explore a single map while waiting for the next to release.

  • Darksiders returns from the dead thanks to THQ Nordic and Gunfire Games. Part 3 clearly suffers from limited resources with abundant technical issues, but it's an overall solid continuation of the series. Fury is the best of the Four Horsemen so far and the obviously Souls inspired gameplay feels a little like Bayonetta with a rad slo-mo timed dodging mechanic. The boss characters are wonderfully designed and mostly a joy to battle. Here's hoping we don't need another near miracle resurrection and 6 year wait for part 4.

  • If you took a Souls game and gave it an art style that doesn't make you want to puke, a story that is not completely incomprehensible and some interesting characters, you might end up with Ashen. A Journey like drop in/out online co-op mode (that can be easily toggled on or off) adds some randomness to the experience.

  • Despite an overly long tutorial mode and some persistent annoying gameplay interruptions in this entry, Horizon continues to be the only must play racing series. Weekly seasonal weather changes add some nice variety to the gameplay. The open world feels much more alive with the addition of real online players taking over for the AI Drivatars from the previous game.
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