While there is another thread about GOTY technically. I thought it fitting to separated the discussion based off what Geoff Keely and his award show has dictated as the best games, as opposed to what us normal people think and feel would be our lists for the top spots of this year.
I thought long and hard about what to actually put into this list as there were quite a few games that I added and removed to this list over and over again as the year went on. Ultimately the following is the list of what I thought were the best experiences in gaming this year, but as an added bonus I'll include those that were part of the debate as honorable mentions at the end.
With the exception of one game, the following list is in no particular order:
Nioh 2 - This year started kind of slow, unlike in previous years were there is usually some sort of stand out or sleeper hit in January or February, the first game on my list didn't appear until March. Nioh 2 is a much harder sequel to 2017's fantastic Samuari-Soulsy-Diabloy game. Admittedly Nioh 2 was so much harder than the first game that I almost gave up on it completely. If you look back at my impressions thread, you can read some of my frustrations. However like with most Souls games, I stuck with it and eventually broke through that wall of skill where it all starts to come together. Nioh 2 successfully takes what made the original game great and builds upon it while also trying to address some of the imbalances that the first game had. With a more diverse range of weapons, new skill trees, extra skills learned from the enemies themselves, Nioh 2 turns a great combat engine and makes it even better and even more satisfying to master.
Streets of Rage 4 - This was a game that I initially felt was too stuck in trying to recreate the old school Sega feeling of the first games. Clunky movement, and sluggish combat, was frustrating not because it was difficult, but because it felt like it got in the way. However the more I played, the more invested into the title I got, unlocking new characters, skins, and replaying the game with these unlocks kept me going to see all the different ways i could beat the shit out of a bunch of goons. Overall it's a fairly short game, but it's fun while it lasts once you adjust your expectations.
Ghosts of Tsushima - Bet ya'll didn't think i would put this here, because I was pretty down on the game when it first came out. Ghosts of Tsushima isn't remarkable for it's gameplay, or what it does for the open world genre, but it does have a remarkable way of making the story feel real. Inspired by a real film make who's name escapes me, Ghosts really does act more like a film than a game, and the story it offers and the way it's told works out more like you are playing through some sort of mini-series. Jumping through missions in the way you want adds an interesting serialization to the way the story comes across to the player than actually is pretty cool.
Hades - I don't think Super Giant has made a bad game yet. Personally I wasn't too much a fan of Transistor, but it wasn't a bad game by any means. The way Super Giant is able to blend amazing world building and character writing in with tight gameplay and beautiful music is something that basically earns their place in my mind as the best indie developer out there right now. Hades takes all of Super Giant's strengths and tops it off with quite simply the best combat ever to be put into a Rogue-like game ever. Combat was probably one of Super Giant's weak points, though not very weak, but with Hades that's no longer true. They fucking killed it in basically every possibly way with this game.
Demon's Souls - Oh look Critical put another fucking Souls-like on his GOTY, what a shock. Yeah okay this is kind of cheating because Demon's Souls was already known to be good. However I never played the original game on the PS3. I got into the Souls formula late and by the time I cared about it, Demon's Souls was long gone. So given the chance to play it as the first dive into NEXT GEN has been nothing short of amazing. The game takes what people have loved about the Souls games for years, and cleans it up to a degree that elevates Demon's Souls (remake) as the BEST game in the Souls series full stop.
And Finally......
GOTY!!!!!
Final Fantasy 7 Remake - 570 hours of total playtime, 5 complete playthroughs, countless VR missions replayed just to play the game. How could I not make the Remake of my favorite game of all time the Game of The Year? Everything about this game blew my mind. The characters, the music....holy fuck..the music is simply the best OST in gaming history, the combat system, and even the subversion of it all. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not the game people think it is looking at the box, it isn't even the game the fans thought it would be. FF7R is the greatest subversion in gaming history next to Spec Ops: The Line, and I applaud Square for taking the risk with something that could have gone terribly wrong and pissed a shit load of fans off. Instead they remained faithful where they needed to be, while bending the game around us in a way so subtle that nobody realized it was happening until the end of the game. And for that, it's great. Best Game this year.
Honorable Mentions: The Good but.....
Persona 5 Royal - I mean Persona 5 is fucking fantastic and it was on my GOTY list in 2017 when it came out. However it is just the same game again for the most part with an added chapter and a few extra sprinkles of added scenes along the way. So I could rightful give it a real spot on my list as it simply isn't different enough from the first release. Still insanely good though and if you missed Persona 5's original release, then definitely get the Royal version.
Maneaster - It's a game about being a shark and eating people. It's a fucking stupid game. But it is really fun, a lot funner than it's concept has any right to be.
Dragonball Z: Karakot - Dragonball's first major attempt at making an RPG game in a long while (except for a couple of Japan only gameboy color games I think), and it tries it's best. The game is okay, but the systems of an RPG don't really work out in a Dragonball Z game because any major character advancement is locked to very specific story moments. And the enemies are too samey. It's a fun time and the bosses are really unique with interesting mechanics throughout, and f you are in the mood for watching DBZ's story again then this is a solid get.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon - It's Yakuza, but it's a JRPG now. This game is pretty damn great, it's quirky, it's funny, it's characters are charming. But the turn-based combat gets stale and grindy really quick. Which is fine if you are like me and love that shit, but I feel like this would wear on too many nerves for too many people for me to give it a real spot. But if you are into grindy JRPG's then this is a must buy.
Doom Eternal - It's more Doom. It's really good. But it's just more Doom. It takes Doom 2016, and makes a sequel from it, but I don't feel like it does enough to really standout between the two games. But hey, it's more rip and tear and sometimes you just need some of that to finish up a shitty day.
Alright that about does it for my list. What do you guys think? What games stood out to you this year? What game do you think stands above all others? What game do you think I'm crazy for including here?
I thought long and hard about what to actually put into this list as there were quite a few games that I added and removed to this list over and over again as the year went on. Ultimately the following is the list of what I thought were the best experiences in gaming this year, but as an added bonus I'll include those that were part of the debate as honorable mentions at the end.
With the exception of one game, the following list is in no particular order:
Nioh 2 - This year started kind of slow, unlike in previous years were there is usually some sort of stand out or sleeper hit in January or February, the first game on my list didn't appear until March. Nioh 2 is a much harder sequel to 2017's fantastic Samuari-Soulsy-Diabloy game. Admittedly Nioh 2 was so much harder than the first game that I almost gave up on it completely. If you look back at my impressions thread, you can read some of my frustrations. However like with most Souls games, I stuck with it and eventually broke through that wall of skill where it all starts to come together. Nioh 2 successfully takes what made the original game great and builds upon it while also trying to address some of the imbalances that the first game had. With a more diverse range of weapons, new skill trees, extra skills learned from the enemies themselves, Nioh 2 turns a great combat engine and makes it even better and even more satisfying to master.
Streets of Rage 4 - This was a game that I initially felt was too stuck in trying to recreate the old school Sega feeling of the first games. Clunky movement, and sluggish combat, was frustrating not because it was difficult, but because it felt like it got in the way. However the more I played, the more invested into the title I got, unlocking new characters, skins, and replaying the game with these unlocks kept me going to see all the different ways i could beat the shit out of a bunch of goons. Overall it's a fairly short game, but it's fun while it lasts once you adjust your expectations.
Ghosts of Tsushima - Bet ya'll didn't think i would put this here, because I was pretty down on the game when it first came out. Ghosts of Tsushima isn't remarkable for it's gameplay, or what it does for the open world genre, but it does have a remarkable way of making the story feel real. Inspired by a real film make who's name escapes me, Ghosts really does act more like a film than a game, and the story it offers and the way it's told works out more like you are playing through some sort of mini-series. Jumping through missions in the way you want adds an interesting serialization to the way the story comes across to the player than actually is pretty cool.
Hades - I don't think Super Giant has made a bad game yet. Personally I wasn't too much a fan of Transistor, but it wasn't a bad game by any means. The way Super Giant is able to blend amazing world building and character writing in with tight gameplay and beautiful music is something that basically earns their place in my mind as the best indie developer out there right now. Hades takes all of Super Giant's strengths and tops it off with quite simply the best combat ever to be put into a Rogue-like game ever. Combat was probably one of Super Giant's weak points, though not very weak, but with Hades that's no longer true. They fucking killed it in basically every possibly way with this game.
Demon's Souls - Oh look Critical put another fucking Souls-like on his GOTY, what a shock. Yeah okay this is kind of cheating because Demon's Souls was already known to be good. However I never played the original game on the PS3. I got into the Souls formula late and by the time I cared about it, Demon's Souls was long gone. So given the chance to play it as the first dive into NEXT GEN has been nothing short of amazing. The game takes what people have loved about the Souls games for years, and cleans it up to a degree that elevates Demon's Souls (remake) as the BEST game in the Souls series full stop.
And Finally......
GOTY!!!!!
Final Fantasy 7 Remake - 570 hours of total playtime, 5 complete playthroughs, countless VR missions replayed just to play the game. How could I not make the Remake of my favorite game of all time the Game of The Year? Everything about this game blew my mind. The characters, the music....holy fuck..the music is simply the best OST in gaming history, the combat system, and even the subversion of it all. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is not the game people think it is looking at the box, it isn't even the game the fans thought it would be. FF7R is the greatest subversion in gaming history next to Spec Ops: The Line, and I applaud Square for taking the risk with something that could have gone terribly wrong and pissed a shit load of fans off. Instead they remained faithful where they needed to be, while bending the game around us in a way so subtle that nobody realized it was happening until the end of the game. And for that, it's great. Best Game this year.
Honorable Mentions: The Good but.....
Persona 5 Royal - I mean Persona 5 is fucking fantastic and it was on my GOTY list in 2017 when it came out. However it is just the same game again for the most part with an added chapter and a few extra sprinkles of added scenes along the way. So I could rightful give it a real spot on my list as it simply isn't different enough from the first release. Still insanely good though and if you missed Persona 5's original release, then definitely get the Royal version.
Maneaster - It's a game about being a shark and eating people. It's a fucking stupid game. But it is really fun, a lot funner than it's concept has any right to be.
Dragonball Z: Karakot - Dragonball's first major attempt at making an RPG game in a long while (except for a couple of Japan only gameboy color games I think), and it tries it's best. The game is okay, but the systems of an RPG don't really work out in a Dragonball Z game because any major character advancement is locked to very specific story moments. And the enemies are too samey. It's a fun time and the bosses are really unique with interesting mechanics throughout, and f you are in the mood for watching DBZ's story again then this is a solid get.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon - It's Yakuza, but it's a JRPG now. This game is pretty damn great, it's quirky, it's funny, it's characters are charming. But the turn-based combat gets stale and grindy really quick. Which is fine if you are like me and love that shit, but I feel like this would wear on too many nerves for too many people for me to give it a real spot. But if you are into grindy JRPG's then this is a must buy.
Doom Eternal - It's more Doom. It's really good. But it's just more Doom. It takes Doom 2016, and makes a sequel from it, but I don't feel like it does enough to really standout between the two games. But hey, it's more rip and tear and sometimes you just need some of that to finish up a shitty day.
Alright that about does it for my list. What do you guys think? What games stood out to you this year? What game do you think stands above all others? What game do you think I'm crazy for including here?
