Sinreaver's Top 10 of 2018

While I don't think 2018 was as phenomenal as 2017, it was still a great year for videogames and much more even than last year was. There could have been dozens of games that made my list this year (and almost did) that would have been deserving of a spot. I also really want to give a shout out to Hollow Knight and XCOM 2, both of which I played this year for the first time and would have easily made the list in the years they came out and this year as well, but rules are rules. Here are my best games that came out in 2018:

List items

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  1. God of War

  To quote Dan Ryckert, “this game is a masterpiece”. There are few games that get an emotional response out of me and this is one of the few that did. While not everyone has a child, everyone has a father, whether they are present or not, that relationship or lack of one has an effect. Not to get too personal, but the relationship with my father had very eery correlations with the Kratos-Atreus relationship, its had lows that I would never had anticipated and highs that are not quite as high as I would have hoped. Like Kratos, my father is a manly man that is larger than life in some ways, and like Atreus, early on in life I worshipped my father and hoped to be like him someday. Also Like Atreus, I grew to see the cracks in my father’s persona over time and became resentful that my father didn’t love me as much as I loved him, or didn’t acknowledge it at least. To this day I’m still trying to figure out a way for him to play this game himself, he doesn’t play games let alone own a playstation, but I still have hope that this game would be able to say something to him that he hasn’t heard come out of my mouth but that’s probably a dream. Back to the game itself, its beautiful, the mythology is enrapturing, the combat and gameplay is fluid and fun, the characters are realistic and fantastical at the same time and the axe always comes back! Every part of this game is polished to a degree rarely seen in any medium and is deserving the title of game of the year and one of the best of all time.

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  2. Assassin's Creed Odyssey

  It seems like this game got a lot of hate this year and honestly I understand some of it. This is a checkbox game pure and simple, every time you set off to do something it is probably one of ten things this game does, and you have probably done a version of that ten times already and you will probably do it at least ten more before you are through the game. The thing is, I like those sets of ten things, I like hunting mercenaries, I like clearing out camps and forts, and the reason I like it so much is one of the reasons I liked Dead cells so much, everything from movement to climbing, fighting and assassinating felt good. I was playing this around the time Red Dead 2 came out and it was striking how bad that game felt in comparison to how good Odyssey felt. Honestly, I dropped Red Dead and continued on with Odyssey and I don’t regret the decision and I think it’s a much better game. The story itself is a basic assassin’s creed revenge fantasy and the endings are a bit goofy but the game itself is the attraction and the reason I put in over 100 hours completing almost everything.

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  3. Monster Hunter: World

  Monster Hunter World is the reverse Pokemon Lets Go of the year, Unlike pokemon, I needed monster hunter to change its formula, and while I don’t think it is all the way there yet, it has made some fantastic steps. Monsters are now easier to track, the maps are much more enjoyable to trek through, there is more tutorialization/guidance and combat itself feels better. That being said, they need to make it easier for people to play together that matchmaking and party system is antiquated at best. That being said, there are few games that can make you feel as good as this one does at its highest point. Taking down a Rathalos or Nerigigante for the first time is exhilarating and receiving the part you need after taking down a few towns can feel equally good. It's even better when you have a crew of friends with you, so get your act together Capcom, you are almost there!

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  4. Dead Cells

  Cut, Cut, Dodge, Trap, Trap, Cut, Cut. Playing this game is playing a musical instrument or practicing ballet. Every action and movement is part of a larger system and eventually when you find your stride (you will find it! Keep going) there is no game that is more entrancing to play. Everything feels good, whether is dodging, parrying with those dumb shields you have been ignoring for ten hours or even spartan sandaling a guy into a wall. Every weapon and tool has a purpose, and even though I did have my favorites there was rarely a time I hated something and by the time I finished the game the first time I knew that this wasn’t an action game, it's a rhythm game and I was playing music on these fools.

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  5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

  Smash Bros seems like a love it or hate it game. When I was a kid, the idea that Pikachu could hit Mario with thunder or that kid with a baseball bat (I have played earthbound now, don’t worry) could bash jigglypuff in the face with said bat was pure magic. The Nintendo 64 however was the last Nintendo console I owned until I got a switch. It wasn’t like I didn’t play smash here and there but I never established that same connection like I did with the first one until now. This collection of characters, even for someone who doesn’t have the most nostalgia for Nintendo, is the most amazing, probably ever for a videogame. Not only that it is fun, flipping from character to character while battling friends that are sitting right next to you is the kind of magic that games have mostly lost. Not every game has to do it, but i’m glad this one does.

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  6. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

  I haven’t finished this game, I’m probably only half way through this game, it is long and sometimes drawn out. With that said, I have been looking forward to a classic dragon quest game for a while and this did not disappoint. Anyone who has seen dragon quest in the last decade knows that these games eke charm in every direction, The game looks beautiful, has puns flying and has a general tone of lightheartedness that most media these days have abandoned to match the dark tone that life in general has taken these last few years. Anyway this game is classic JRPG combat mixed with a few changes like a sphere grid style skill tree (much smaller and every tree is self contained), with very likeable characters, and a simple story with a few surprises thrown in. I look forward to finishing it, and if anyone is looking for whimsy, skip Ni No Kuni 2 and play Dragon Quest XI.

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  7. BattleTech

  This game is difficult! Not in the way most people say that strategy games are difficult, because frankly, most strategy games are not that difficult. I’m not trying to toot my own horn and say I’m some sort of maestro or something (I’m not), but because most strategy games have a way to abuse the systems and subvert most of the strategy. Maybe I haven’t figured out the puzzle, but battletech seems unabusable, it is strategy at its finest and I love it, Every mech is assembled by pieces, having its own health points. If your right leg loses its health, your mech is going without a right leg for the battle and after the battle, you have to spend time, money and resources to get a new leg crafted out of the shambles of parts that you have blown off other mechs in fights. The out of battle scenario is also fascinating, with your character leading a band of broke mercenaries from scenario to scenario scraping enough cash to keep your ship floating and keep the greedy banks away for one more month while helping out an old friend in need. This game is stressful, difficult and at least by me has to be played in short bursts or I’ll probably stroke out, but I love it.

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  8. Hitman 2

  I didn't like the first Hitman, I loved watching it on a certain site(you know who you are), but when I actually sat down to play it had already lost its magic for me. I think that is the reason that this game so fresh to me. While everybody had played it in 2016 and got more of the same in 2018, I had only watched it in 2016 and because I hadn't played it the memories were less ingrained in my brain. When I started playing Hitman 2 I immediately jumped to the first games missions and while I remembered the general outline of those missions the details were fuzzy and I was able to re-experience them in all their glory and when I did get to the Hitman 2 stages I was razor sharp. Beyond that, there is not much more to say, you're reading this on Giantbomb, you know what Hitman is, and if you don't, then play Hitman 2!

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  9. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!

  Going in, a Pokemon Go styled pokemon entry while a great business move seemed pretty repugnant to someone that has loved Pokemon games for about two decades. the truth is, some of it works, some of it doesn't. The idea of catching pokemon in the Pokemon Go style of simply throwing pokeballs and hoping that the monster stay in the ball reduces the experience to a game of pure luck and the idea od gaining experience from it encourages mass catches of the same type of pokemon over and over again, which not only gets stale, it also discourages building a bond with your pokemon, because not only have you not actively used that pidgey on route 1 (because there are much less fighting opportunities) you will probably catch a better one on route 2 or 3 and switch it out or catch an entirely different pokemon and replace it. However, it is one of the best games of the year, there are several new ideas which if they don't make it in the next entry will be disappointing. Seeing pokemon in the wild is a game changer, not only does it avoid dozens of random encounters when you're looking for that last monster in the area it also makes chaining much easier and adds a lot of life to games that sometimes felt lifeless in the past. Speaking of adding life, this game looks beautiful and really contributes a lot of detail and style to pokemon and areas that most fans have seen countless times, but still feel fresh with new coats of paint. These changes along with smaller ones, including nature changes of wild pokemon, a physical display of IV values and the ability to re-catch pokemon that used to be one of a kind make it one of the most changed pokemon games in ages and one worth playing.

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  10. Minit

  The idea of minit is a simple: one minute to complete whatever tasks you can then your character dies. I initially thought the idea would be frustrating, however almost every task in minit is bite sized and can be completed in one life if you focus on it, making it feel really rewarding that every life is another step complete. It also encourages risk, if I'm at the last few seconds of a life and have a chance at completing something, no matter how dangerous, I am going to attempt it. after all, is it so terrible to lose 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or even a whole minute if I am going to die anyway? All this completely ignores the sheer amount of charm and humor that this game exudes from beginning to end. That said, the game is a bit short and I was acyually left wanting more once credits rolled.