Top 10 Games of 2018

[Alyxx Thorne]

Originally posted at https://alyxxgameroom.blogspot.com/2019/01/alyxx-top-10-games-of-2018.html

 

2018 was a year where I sadly wasn't able to play all of the hot new titles. For one, I didn't build my new PC until like October and my old PC was too limited for me to greatly cover new titles. I also don't have the ability to play any console exclusives so games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man or God of War won't be on my list I'm afraid. But here's what I did play in 2018 and what I thought about it. It'll be less of a "these are the best games I played in 2018" and more of a "games from 2018 I wanna talk about" kind of list.



10. FALLOUT 76

For the record while I did really enjoy Fallout 76, it definitely hits the bottom of my list for obvious reasons. Fallout 76 is not a $60 game, neither is it a particularly good game. But it does a lot of things right and credit where credit is due, if you're looking for a co-op Fallout 4 experience, this is pretty much spot on. And exploring West Virginia with its absolutely gorgeous hills and landscape is a real treat. I've been enjoying my time in Fallout 76 this year and definitely will continue to do so in 2019.


9. DESTINY 2

While it technically released in 2017, I started playing Destiny 2 this year when Blizzard decided to make it free in their Battle.net launcher, and I definitely enjoy what I've played so far. Having a still really active playerbase and being pretty much something I've wanted for a long time, being a massive multiplayer online FPS, it's not hard to get into Destiny 2. I had my reservations going into it from people who gave it fairly negative reviews, but so far I definitely think it's a great game and I look forward to continuing playing it. I also enjoy how the story bits makes it feel like a single player game at times, just one you can also play with friends.

It also might be one of the most gorgeous games I've played recently, having a gorgeous colour palette and industrial look at times that I really enjoy. Kind of like Mass Effect it does feel really Star Wars influenced with its humanoid looking aliens and space opera story, so that may explain why I enjoy it so much, being a huge Star Wars fan. I haven't played the expansions yet but definitely will do so eventually.


8. FORSAKEN REMASTERED

A bit of an unexpected but welcome release this year was Forsaken Remastered. I'm admittedly a huge fan of Forsaken and played it a lot in the early 2000's as a free copy of it was bundled with a PC gaming mag my mother subscribed to at the time (though I was the one who probably enjoyed it more). It's a 6DOF shooter ala Descent though with more of a dystopian cyberpunk tone to it.

The remastered edition is definitely worth grabbing as it makes the game more playable on modern PC's and adds a lot of new graphics options, making the game more gorgeous than it's ever been. I'll be covering this game in a review pretty soon but so far this is one hell of a remaster to grab if you're into 90's FPS's.


7. WOLFENSTEIN II: THE NEW COLOSSUS

B.J. Blazkowicz returns in this awesome direct sequel to 2014's "The New Order", the first time the franchise has ever had a direct sequel mind you, this time taking on a Nazi invasion of the USA. Much like The New Order offered a glimpse into an alternate future, Wolfenstein II takes this concept even further by showing a 60's USA that's become tinted through the occupation of Nazis.

It's a dark and at times really disturbing game that also gives a ton of backstory about BJ and why his hatred for Nazis is so strong. While I remain conflicted on whether this is my favourite game in the franchise so far or not, I definitely think it's an amazing game and I've had a blast with it so far. Looking forward to giving it a full (and awfully delayed) review coming 2019.


6. MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA

A game I probably should have reviewed in 2017, Mass Effect Andromeda is a game I've decided to take my time with. Not because I think it's bad, far from it, I am enjoying it a lot to be honest. And I want to be able to give it a proper review from someone who has spent considerable time with it rather than the kneejerk reaction most reviewers tended to give the game when it came out.

The main reason for the delay though is that my previous PC simply struggled a lot with it. With my current PC being able to handle it at max graphics I am finally ready to tackle it all and a full review will be coming in 2019. I've been playing it on and off in 2018 and so far I am really enjoying it. Hopefully I'll be able to complete it pretty soon.


5. RAD RODGERS

Rad Rodgers is one of the latest games from 3D Realms and developer Slipgate Studios (Bombshell, Rise of the Triad), and received numerous updates this year including a port to Nintendo Switch. If you want my complete opinion on the game, make sure to check out my full review of it here. But summarized, it's one of the best platformers I've had the joy of playing recently, helped by its unique off color Rick & Mordy esque humor.


4. DUSK

This game. This game right here. So imagine if someone took Redneck Rampage, Blood, Quake, Half-Life and somehow mixed these things together and made some kind of game that plays and looks and sounds like it somehow was taken out of 1997 and then polished up slightly. That's basically what DUSK is. A pastiche of the best 90's FPS's and as much of a love letter to that era as it could potentially be a product of it. DUSK foregoes almost all modern gaming trends including randomly generated levels and health regen in favour of hand crafted levels with old school armor and health systems. Even its movement feels like it belongs in the Quake engine with its bunny hopping, rocket jumping and insanely fast gameplay. Expect a full review coming very soon. So far this game is a hell of a blast.


3. SHADOW WARRIOR 2

Man 2018 was just my big backlog year. Shadow Warrior 2 for some reason is one of those games that just ended up in my backlog after briefly playing it in 2016. So I jumped into it with a friend and we had a fucking blast with it. This might be one of the best co-op shooters I've played lately and it was surprisingly in-depth with the customization of weapons and abilities. It feels like it focuses more on the guns than the previous game where almost too much focus was put on melee combat. Melee combat gets a lot of focus here too don't get me wrong but it does feel like guns now serve a bigger purpose than in the first game. I'll hopefully get around to giving it a full review soon which is long overdue.


2. CLIVE BARKER'S UNDYING

So for Halloween this year I decided to revisit a game from my childhood. I'd played a short demo of Undying back in the early 2000's but never actually played the full game. So when I saw it was cheap on GOG.com I decided to get it and give it a go. And man is this game just an awesomely dark and disturbing horror shooter. Like with Hellraiser, Clive Barker's story here really delves into themes of a dysfunctional family ruined by a horrible curse. The backstory behind this family is probably the best part of the game and the thing that holds it all together. Like with alot of games on this list I do plan on writing a review of it eventually but for now I'm still playing through it and having a great time. This game at times feels like a first person Resident Evil and it's done wonderfully.


1. DELTARUNE

 

This game came out of absolutely nowhere this year. After a series of mysterious tweets on Toby Fox' Twitter (seemingly in character as W.D. Gaster from Undertale), he eventually linked to a site containing a "survey program". Later revealed to be the demo for a yet unfinished game named Deltarune (a clever anagram of Undertale), my experience playing through this was one of the most mixed experiences I've ever had. I had no idea what this was going into it since I was one of the earliest people to play it (before everyone knew what it was) and when I played it I wasn't sure what to think. Was it a sequel to Undertale? Was it a prequel? Well apparently, Deltarune is neither and that is what's fascinating about it.

Essentially, it is an alternate reality story, set in a universe of Undertale where the war between monsters and humans never occured, which is just incredibly fascinating to see. It's like looking into what Undertale could've been if it had been developed as a more linear game with less focus on player choice. Because in Deltarune, your choices don't matter. It turns a lot of the ideas from Undertale on their head entirely so whatever this game turns out to be when it gets completed, it will be a totally different experience from Undertale. Regardless, I am incredibly hyped for it and I truly hope it gets made. Because it's easily the most memorable gaming experience from 2018 for me. 

[Icebox]

Good choice for number 1.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Yeah Advanced Warfare is awesome, glad to hear someone else likes it too. It's my favourite CoD to be honest.

[BTGBullseye]

What about mods? MMod technically came out in 2018... (Dec 28) Seems like a fun mod so far.

[Psychotic Ninja]

Here's my top 10

 

10) Spyro Reignited Trilogy

 

It's Spyro, as you know and love. Nothing much else to say here.

 

9) Super Smash Bros Ultimate

 

This would be much higher on the list, but it came out at the very end of 2018

 

8 ) Ni No Kuni II

 

Great game, great stand alone title. Many improvements over the first one, especially with pacing. It's more of an ARPG, where the first one was a weird cross between a Pokemon game, and an ARPG. Both are great for what they are. In the end, Ni No Kuni II's biggest fault is, as a sequel, it's not as good. The sidequests aren't as creative, the rewards don't help the player out all that much (if at all), and they added in two mobile genre "minigames" that feel out of place, and parts of them are mandatory. One is the base building minigame (thankfully no microtransactions, but has the dual currency system. The other one is a siege attack game, where you take control of your troops, attacking (or defending) a base. Both of these are mandatory, to beat the game.

 

7) Hitman 2

 

It's Hitman. No episodes here, one full game. If you love the Hitman series, you'll love this. Expect more or less from the 2016 one. You can also upgrade your purchase to get all the levels from the 2016 one, or get them for free, if you already own the game (on the same system). I still don't know how I feel about this approach with sequels. My biggest gripe is all the different "editions" the game has. You have your Gold, Platinum, Silver, Ultimate, and More ultimate than ultimate edition.

6) Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory

 

It's a side story to Cyber Sleuth, and the game kinda expects you to play the other one, to get the full experience of this one (the MC from the first one cameos here as well, and if you port your save over, you get a couple of nice items, and the MC is the avatar you chose). The gameplay is improved a bit more, balanced more, no real "That One Boss" bullshit fights (especially in post game). Although, it has a "That One Level", which is the exact same "That One Level" from the first one but in reverse. Good luck getting all the treasure chests there. If you're a Digimon fan get both games. Play Cyber Sleuth, before Hacker's Memory. At times, it can leave you with the feeling of "this should have been DLC". However, both games' story will take you about 40-50 hours to beat, so both are well worth their price. They're also solid JRPGs, with the combat system similar to Final Fantasy X/10. So, even if you don't know what Digimon is (first of all, shame on you), but you're interested in JRPGs, these might be worth checking out. Who knows, you might end up liking Digimon.  Two final notes: There's no English Dub (despite having trailers in English), with basically, last minute translation. So, expect some errors here and there, although the translation job is still amazing. Also, the story for both, are more mature for Digimon (it being a kid friendly anime after all), so if this piques your interest in Digimon, don't go in expecting a very mature anime (well, with the exception of Tamers).

5) Octopath Traveler

 

Alright, I'mma level with y'all. I only have a few hours put into this game. So, I can't say much about it. However, from the little bit I've played, I can safely, without a doubt say, this easily deserves to be in my Top 10 list. It probably would be higher, if I'd actually beaten the game in 2018.
 

4) Dragon Quest XI

 

I went in, knowing very little about the Dragon Quest games. I knew that Akira Toriama does the character designs, so there's plenty of DBZ-esque characters throughout the series (which is also true with Chrono Trigger, especially when animated cutscenes were added in). Also knew that the series is, or was very punny, especially the older titles. I also knew about the series's mascot, the Slime, and that the series is extremely popular over in Japan. Like Star Wars levels, if not more so. That's about all I knew about the series, going in. I'm not big on JRPGs that are 60+ hours long, mainly cause I grew up with the Final Fantasy series, which typically are 20-40 hours long, not counting post game. So, I wasn't all that thrilled going in, and it didn't help, that at the time, I basically was being overworked, which only left me about 2 hours of free time after work. So, I didn't have a whole lot of breathing room to play. So, I was stressed playing it, and I kinda just wanted to get through the end as quickly as possible. I've been informed that the post game, easily adds in another 20+ hours of actual story progression content. So, it only took a company 20+ years after Chrono Trigger, to release a game with post game content that adds to the story. Now that I have a lot more free time, and a better job, if I was to revisit this game, I might be more than willing to do the post game content.

 

3) Boy Of War

 

First of all. The combat is just top notch. It's perfection at the start of the game, and by the end, with all the crazy combos, and upgrades, it's beyond perfection. The story felt a bit flat at times, with an amazing villain that tried a bit too hard to get you to feel for him towards the end. Your companion/son feels less a competent AI partner, and more of an extension of the player. Personally, this is great. He adds to your combos, and you don't have to worry about keeping him alive. You don't have to play the previous GOW games to fully enjoy this one, but it certainly helps. One or two lore/references to the previous titles, I did get, but I'm sure there were many, many others that I missed.

 

2) Shadow Of The Colossus

 

I never played the original on PS2, and only played a small bit on PS3. So, after the 3rd (or 4th) Colossus down, I was going in pure blind. I encountered a glitch during one of the fights, where I took the beast out of the arena, and into a much bigger area. So, the sudden jump for the final blow cutscene was hilarious. Most of the story is told without words, just visuals, which is just done brilliantly here. It can be something easy to mess up *cough*TheQuietMan*cough*. As soon as I had beaten the game I had wanted to replay it right away. It's that damn good. If you haven't yet, play it. PS2, or PS4. Oh, and play Ico on PS3 or PS2.

1) Spider-Man

 

 

 

[Alyxx Thorne]

Good list, Ninja!

[Im_CIA]

1. Kingdom Come: Deliverance

 

Solid opening. It really had me with its supposed deconstruction of the typical "Hero's Journey" formula that most RPGs follow. Unfortunately, that fresh  feeling of being a useless, dirty peasant in way over his head slowly tapered off. The story became more player-centric as the game began to edge back unto the beaten path, and after a while, it really just became Skyrim: Affirmative Action Edition. The sword-play was still the most realistic I've ever seen in a game though, and with in-house rules,  you could still tweak your experience to be more like the anti power-fantasy it was slated to be.

 

6.5/10. This was the only new vidya I played this year, so winner by default.