2018 Community Game of the Year

BadKen wrote:

I honestly feel I have nothing to contribute this year. My solidly PC mainstream tastes are so far afield from everything I've read here that anything I might have to say would have no real audience.

GWJ has gradually been leaning more and more away from my tastes for years now, from the popular topics to the games featured on the front page and on the Conference Call. I guess this year it just reached critical mass for me.

So I'm just going to keep playing my Tomb Raiders and Assassin's Creeds and Crews and Endlesses and Clancy'ses and Agents of Mayhems and Forzas, while the bulk of the community goes crazy for retro graphics and walking around games and three hour experiences.

I'm not looking for pity or condolences, just describing my perspective.

I have two responses to this.

My first, honestly, is to be a bit surprised by it. There's been a lot of enthusiasm for games like Slay the Spire this year, but this is the same community that recently voted for The Legend of Zelda, XCOM, Horizon Zero Dawn, Super Mario, Overwatch, Rocket League, The Witcher, Titanfall among their games of the year. If there's a strong movement toward retro graphics, walking sims, and three-hour experiences, it has yet to be reflected in the actual end of year results. Who knows, maybe this year is the year? It would surprise me, though. (To be fair, I neither know nor care what the conference call is talking about, but they don't vote in these threads, anyway.)

My second response is that this makes me very sad. Running these threads isn't my gig anymore, but they're still special to me. I got pretty ground down and dispirited by them near the end (mostly by the rules lawyering; it's funny until you actually have to answer it), but the whole enterprise is something that still means a lot to me.

One of the things I worked very hard to do, and something that I know is important to Eleima from conversations we've had about it, was to make these votes as inclusive as possible. The rules are simple and straightforward (or so I thought) and wide open so that anyone could show their appreciation for the games they discovered this year that made them happy.

I tried to put a lot of emphasis on that "new to you" thing precisely because I see these threads first and foremost as a way for people to share and discover and break out of their normal conversations about the same games that we've already heard a lot about. The whole point is that it doesn't matter if those things you discovered this year have gotten all the press, none of the press, all the money, or none of the money. This is your chance to say, "f*ck yeah, Jank Simulator 2019 is the bomb! I never cared so much about my single-pixel character." It's also your chance to say, "You know what? Forza Horizon 4 is the best racing game I've ever played, and the changing seasons and open world kept me invested and interested for hours and hours".

I'm sorry you don't feel like you can express that here, and I'm sorry you feel like you wouldn't have an audience. Since I just posted something about those three-hour experiences and walking sims that you called out, I can only assume that my wall of text contributed to that feeling in you, and I'm sorry for that, too.

I hope you'll post your list. You, and everyone else with tastes like yours. I want to hear as much about the big budget, mainstream friendly games as I do the retro indie darlings. There's a huge volume of those games, too, and it's nice to see what stands out as good to people who know and love those games, as opposed to people who are given free copies and paid to review them.

ccesarano wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

What I wonder is what will happen with Fallout 76. Has it been viewed as a disaster within the GWJ Community? It sure sounds like it to me, but I don't really engage with the Bethesda/CRPG/PC crowd in these parts.

I love it, so that should tell you everything you need to know about the broader reaction.

This is precisely why I find you unpredictable. For some reason I never expected you to even look at the game, let alone love it.

It's probably my favorite Fallout game, inclusive of the Black Isle originals, which I adore. The only reason it's not on my list this year is because I don't feel like I've played it quite enough and want to save it for next year's list.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

Clocky, have you played Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, if so, how does it compare to SOMA, Edith Finch, and Tacoma?

I have! It's on my list to replay this year, actually. I was really enthusiastic about it when I first played it, and I might have even named it my game of the year. It's beautifully written, and the setting is stunning. It's a tough game to recommend because it is (by design) incredibly slow, but I do love it. However, I've wanted to replay it to get a better sense of how well it exists as a game, which is what made the three I mentioned so special.

Clocky and zero hit the nail on the head. I come in here and read every list because I love when people talk about things they love! I especially love reading about those games where only one or two people rank them. I was already able to pass on a Mutant Year Zero rec for my friend who's played XCOM a bajillion times. Plus I play AAA-type games on a few years' lag, so knowing what was really the cream of the crop from a year helps me prune the potential pile.

And I do read every list. So if you're worried that nobody cares what you have to say, know that I'll be reading.

(and posting mine, once I figure how on earth to rank disparate experiences...)

Variety is the spice... and all that.

A AAA title usually makes the top of my lists it seems. Monster Hunter World this year, HZD last year and Overwatch / The Division were the top two the year before that.

However only a couple ever make each list because I want to play all of the things, which means I only finish or spend a significant amount of time with a few of those bigger games.

So then the rest is made up of those shorter adventure games, indie titles and dip in/out offerings like Slay the Spire or a rhythm action game* and maybe a mobile title or two.

I do enjoy them all and those smaller games aren't there as filler, but the last three lists I've stuck up do show that on my lists at least a big hitter usually wins out in the end.

I enjoy reading lists from all the folks.

*Didn't find a new rhythm game I loved this year, boo.

Top 25 Greatest Games of 2018 (Including our Game of the Year)
*in case you needed a reminder of a few great games this year.

Just the list, ma'am:

1) Persona 5
2) Dragon Quest XI
3) Hollow Knight
4) Guacamelee!
5) Pillars of Eternity
6) Shin Megami Tensei IV
7) Donut Country
8) Epistory
9) Final Fantasy XIII
10) Girls Like Robots

And now, some navel-gazing:

Spoiler:

1) Persona 5 - It took my heart.

I'm sure we all remember our formative gaming experiences. For me, they were in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. I remember spending hours with Dragon Quest III, Final Fantasy IV, Chrono Trigger, and any other JRPG that was localized and available for a Nintendo system. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and I had long since made peace with the fact that no game would grip me as powerfully as the ones I fell in love with, growing up. Then, Persona 5 came along. I never saw it coming.

It's not perfect, but I love that it has a point of view, and that it has swagger. I love my namesake, a battle track with lyrics, written as if the Phantom Thieves are playing with their foes before finishing them. I love its sister songs, calls to stand up and fight. I love the thematic significance of the enemies you face. I love the evolution of each member of the Phantom Thieves--outcast teenagers who suddenly find themselves with power--and that they often behave in believable ways, and struggle to overcome trauma. If I ever had to debate whether games are art, Persona 5 would be my Exhibit A.

And, I think more games should include scene where the characters share brunch after a big win.

2) Dragon Quest XI - What can I say? I love Dragon Quest, and this is a great one -- maybe (probably) the best yet. Dragon Quest XI is like a fairy tale, or a bedtime story; it tells a classic "hero's journey" story while featuring beautiful graphics, interesting characters (especially Sylvando), and a lot of quality-of-life improvements. This won't be for everyone, and people who like it probably will know that they'll like it. I'm firmly in that camp.

3) Hollow Knight - Hollow Knight is a prime example of "show, don't tell": very little is explained up front, you learn in an organic way, and the learning -- and exploration -- is so very rewarding. Combat, too, is tight: challenging, especially against bosses, but never unfair. I can't wait to see what Team Cherry does next.

4) Guacamelee! - I played Guacamelee! before Hollow Knight, and certainly didn't expect another Metroidvania to top this experience. Stylistically, they're very different. Guacamelee! seems quicker, and I don't mean that the gameplay is faster (it's not), that exploration is unimportant (it is important), nor that it's shorter (it is, but that's not my point). I think it's in the way Guacamelee! handles death. Checkpoints abound, you lose nothing but progress, and if you run into spikes in a tight platforming room, you just zip back to your last platform and try again. Hollow Knight does this with spikes, too, but in the confines of its death system: return to the last save point, and find your ghost. So, it seems like Hollow Knight requires much more planning for the big challenges; Guacamelee! lets you throw yourself at them with (relatively) reckless abandon.

5) Pillars of Eternity and 6) Shin Megami Tensei IV

Both of these were games I lightly sampled in an earlier year, but didn't make it far enough to reasonably evaluate them. This year, thanks to the CRPG and JRPG clubs, I finished both. Both were solid experiences that I'm glad I played, and did a lot of things right.

The first time I played Pillars, I found its systems extremely confusing. They're just similar enough to a D&D rule set to trick familiar players, but the differences matter a lot. The world was fascinating, but the worldbuilding sometimes too cumbersome and not especially well-paced: all the big reveals from Act III and Act IV would have been interesting to know early on, when they could have shaped our character's knowledge of the game world and interaction with it. But I absolutely loved the way that Pillars abandoned a morality meter, instead relying on reputation with different regions and factions, and personality traits that developed as I decided how to handle particular conflicts, and influenced the choices I'd be able to make in the future.

SMT IV didn't quite click with me the first time. Maybe finishing Digital Devil Saga a year or two ago, and Persona 5 this year, helped me understand the battle system better. Maybe just giving up on the truly terrible overworld map and using a FAQ to find places helped me cope with frustration. But once I dug in, and knew that I'd be able to talk with Godzilla Blitz and Mr GT Chris to talk with about the things I discovered, this game came alive. Battles were fast-paced, decisions in and out of combat were interesting, and this was a perfect game for my commute.

7) Donut Country - Enjoyable, great art, and doesn't overstay its welcome. This 2-3 hour mobile game was a breath of fresh air between some of the longer projects listed above. My favorite part was the Trashopedia that updated between missions: this racoon's point of view about the stuff he "disappeared" always made me smile.

8) Epistory - Probably the most distinct game I've played this year, Epistory is a typing game with a beautiful pop-up book aesthetic. It's a great example of a setting and gameplay that fits a theme: the main character is reflecting on her life, and words are her medium: for moving around, to trigger her different abilities, to interact with the environment, and to defeat the little insect enemies throughout the world. In fact, when an enemy catches up with and "kills" you, the main character muses about how "that wasn't quite right": the true enemy, then, is writer's block, or the stubbornness of our own memories and thought processes.

9) Final Fantasy XIII - I've played most of the Final Fantasies, and this year I finally gave XIII a try. I can see now why it was so polarizing. The art was beautiful, the setting creative, and the conflict really interesting, though I generally prefer the swords-and-sorcery-with-steampunk FF settings to the super-high-technology FF settings. Lightning was one of the best main characters in the series, and I was upset each time the game cut away from her to make me spend time with someone else. But, the game was painfully, aggressively linear. I don't need a huge open world -- FF X is one of my favorites, after all -- but I need some choice about something. I'm not sure what: maybe a little more direct control over combat? Maybe a few more interesting branching pathways in the Crystarium? The occasional optional path in a map that is more than just a dead-end to a treasure chest? Some townspeople to talk with? I enjoyed my time with it, but this game felt like less than the sum of its parts.

10) Girls Like Robots - This year, I finished a bunch of games that I played already; I wasn't sure that I'd have 10. This charming little puzzle game was a lot of fun: essentially, it's a series of spacial logic puzzles where -- most of the time -- you want everyone in the level to be as happy as possible. The title comes from one of the first rules you learn: Girls like robots (+1 happiness for each adjacent), and robots like girls, but robots really don't like being surrounded by girls. This was an easy game to play for 10-15 minutes at a time before bed, as I wound down for the night.

Games I can't yet rank, but that could make the cut next year:

God of War - I bought this earlier in the year, and played through the beginning of the game, but it was hard to connect with this when (1) I was in the throes of other big projects (Pillars, Hollow Knight, etc.) and (2) when every time I started, without fail, my wife asked me to turn down the volume on the TV. I can't blame her for not wanting to listen to Kratos ripping a monster's jaw off. But so much of this game is in the relationship between Kratos and Atreus, I can't connect with the game this way. I'm hoping to get some good gaming headphones around Christmastime and try again in 2019.

Invisible, Inc. - A game I've dipped my toe into a couple of times, but as with God of War, I've been too wrapped up in other things. This is one I'd like to tackle in 2019, as it seems to have some really interesting mechanics and I love the art style.

I managed to play more games this year than I did the prior year with a newborn in my life, but I spent more time enjoying older games and re-releases than I did playing new games. It's interesting to me because 2017 was absolutely filled with brilliant games that I played the hell out of. Well, as much as I could.

2018, for me, holds a lot of promise for quality gaming, but so much of it isn't gaming I'm particularly excited about. Rockstar released a gigantic game, but I don't like playing their games so I'm avoiding it at full price. It's a shame, they make such cool worlds with insane production values, but then they go and make it no fun to play. (This video nailed why I have so little interest in Rockstar games. Worth a watch.) I want my open worlds to be more like sandboxes, something Breath of the Wild does and, well, little else does! Dammit, Nintendo.

Seriously, open worlds are awesome to explore and it's why I tend to like Bethesda games with their many shallow systems and avoid the heck out of pretty much every Ubisoft game. Bethesda games aren't generally good in my opinion, but I enjoy mucking around in them and seeing what happens. I want more Far Cry 2 in my life and less Far Cry 3.

But I'm completely open to the fact that others like those types of games. To me, too many games feel safe and that's cool. But with my limited time, I'm more interested in novel experiences. That's a funny thing to say since the top of my list is the opposite of novel.

1. Dragon Quest XI. There is nothing novel about this game. Absolutely nothing. It's a 100 hour game that follows a formula established thirty years ago. But oh what an achievement. The pacing is about as close to perfect as you can get in a long form JRPG, though I'm nowhere near the end of the game atm. My first 30+ hours with the game are more than enough for me to determine that this is the best paced JRPG I've played since the original Xenoblade Chronicles. It certainly helps that the graphic fidelity is insane with nary a jagged edge anywhere to be seen (and I'm playing on a vanilla PS4). While it's something of a cliche to say this, DQXI manages to look like what I imagined games would look like when I was a kid. The characters and story are fine, but they do what they're meant to and make the player feel like they're living through an epic fantasy story. minor annoyances abound, naturally, but the poor music selection and awkward voiceless protagonist aren't big enough hurdles to overcome the sheer joy of playing through this game. It's a traditional JRPG from the series that started it all in Japan, but it's the perfecting of a formula. It's the Citizen Kane of video games. I'm kidding, but it's a masterful achievement nonetheless.

2. The Alliance Alive. I don't have much to add to what Clock wrote. If DQXI is traditional to a fault, The Alliance Alive is the exact opposite of that. How many ways can we change the long-established JRPG formula? Oh, in about every way. The combination of Saga (throw out traditional leveling) plus Suikoden (collecting people) makes for an enjoyable game. Bonus points for flying/gliding exploration. The main knock on the game, other than the horrendous mid-game difficulty spike, is that it's a budget title on the 3DS which likely ran out of money to give a final polishing pass to the latter half of the game. That doesn't matter when the game you're playing is novel on multiple levels.

3. Yoku's Island Express. Metroidvania pinball. Wtf? It's awesome. And absolutely novel.

And that's my list. That's all. Seriously. I went back through and looked at everything I played, everything I bought and everyone else's lists and nothing stood out to me. I've played a ton more Diablo 3 and Skyrim on my Switch, but don't feel like including them. They're more like re-reading a book than fresh experiences.

I've fallen behind on Yakuza games as I still haven't fired up Yakuza 0, oddly enough. If I was still up to date on the series then Yakuza 6 would likely easily be on my list.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of my top played games time-wise, but it's not on my list because I think it's a bit of a mess and the opposite of DQXI. This year I wanted something a bit more refined, so perhaps XC2 Torna will feel better to me. (Also, exploration in XC2 took a major step back from XCX and I was surprised to find how much it hurt the game for me.)

I'm waiting on Slay the Spire to hit Switch. Hollow Knight and Dead Cells I own, but need more time with.

I will hold off on Fallout 76 until next year as the game is still slowly coming into its own. Right now it's a competent Bethesda loot and craft experience and one I will spend more time in, but I'm nowhere near far enough in to rank it.

I could go on. There's much I missed and much I've yet to play, but these three games are what made my 2018 special.

Prior Years:
2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011.

The Quick List for Eleima:

Spoiler:

10. Fire Emblem Warriors (Nintendo Switch)
9. Lost Sphear (Nintendo Switch)
8. Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
7. I Am Setsuna (Nintendo Switch)
6. Octopath Traveler (Nintendo Switch)
5. God of War (PS4)
4. Mega Man 11 (Nintendo Switch)
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo Switch)
2. Darksiders 3 (PS4)
1. Iconoclasts (PS4, Nintendo Switch)

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-10.jpg)

It's kind of a baffling year when I play so many games and yet Fire Emblem Warriors makes the cut. Which isn't necessarily calling Warriors an unworthy entry! It's more that Fire Emblem Warriors is such a... simple game. I originally placed it in position 9, but when I tried to describe its merits and any detriments I realized it... just kind of is.

So it gets spot number ten simply because it's fun, even if not outstanding. By dropping some traditional Fire Emblem elements into the otherwise over-done Warriors formula they managed to make a hack-and-slash that is just infinitely entertaining for me. Tactical enough and reflexive enough to keep me coming back to its steadily more challenging Heroes mode. My only real gripe is the complete lack of Fire Emblem heroes pre-3DS.

Winner of the "Most Fans Serviced" Award 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-9.jpg)

Tokyo RPG Factory has had it pretty rough in the reception department. Like its predecessor, Lost Sphear sought to reach back into the classic days of the JRPG and bring those sensibilities to a new generation. Unfortunately, everything from the presentation to the mechanics have failed to impress, and for understandable reasons. Lost Sphear wants to try and do something classic yet new, but their system of materials dropped from foes rather than cash has only managed to encourage grinding in the worst ways. You need items from the game's beginning to unlock end-game skills and abilities. Not only is the player often prevented from trekking back to the start, this system demands the player fight foes that offer no other form of reward. To me, that's the very definition of "grind".

Nevertheless, I had a good time playing Lost Sphear. While it wasn't the greatest or most memorable of stories, I liked each of the characters and the plot turns succeeded in calling back to the sorts I enjoyed in my youth. It felt familiar, but also managed to avoid being exceedingly trope-heavy and predictable. The mechanics also worked well enough that, with the proper set up of skills and "artifacts" set across the planet, any fight could be dominated with a series of chained-together buffs and bonuses. I can only hope that Tokyo RPG Factory is given the chance to work on something new, and that they take the time to reconsider their approach going forward. They can do better, it just requires stepping away from their current template.

Winner of the "Oh yeah, I played that this year" Award 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-8.jpg)

Of the games I've played this year, Marvel's Spider-Man is easily the most over-rated. I don't mean to disparage anyone else because of that feeling, as I was so certain it would be a top five myself. However, I've also spent enough time discussing those flaws here and here. Yes, Spider-Man is anything but Spectacular, padding its 10-15 hour campaign out with 10-15 hours of bloated, copy-paste activities typical of all open-world games.

But that doesn't mean Marvel's Spider-Man is just as average as its contemporaries. While it may not achieve the Amazing heights those opening hours promise, there is never a time where swinging across the city's skyline gets old. I may not be fond of the aggressive enemy A.I., their ability to pivot mid-swing to land a punch 180-degrees away from the original target, or the skill tree holding Peter's best abilities hostage. Despite these flaws, the action combat is a highlight. Perhaps most of all, Marvel's Spider-Man is almost the best realization of a real, honest-to-goodness super-hero video game. From rescuing civilians trapped in wrecked cars to collecting pigeons for a local hobo, Insomniac remembered – albeit only briefly – that there's more to being a hero than pummeling punks into the concrete.

This is nothing to say of the faux-science mini-games, which I greatly enjoyed. As silly as it was, it felt like some genuine Peter Parker work, again reminding the player that there's more to this masked vigilante than his tights and webbing. A trade-off, then, for the forced and groan-inducing stealth sections – except for the one with the Rhino. Now that was a good way to separate the gulf in ability between Spider-Man and civilians.

So, yeah, an over-rated game, but it still manages to be full of one-of-a-kind experiences.

Winner of the "Most Backpacks" Award 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-7.jpg)

I Am Setsuna not only set the stage for many of Lost Sphear's mechanical shortcomings, it is actually slightly worse in its grind-driven nature. Certain materials will only drop when beasts are slain with specific elemental attacks, meaning the player must continuously swap party members if they wish to have enough materials to gain new abilities – including late-game abilities. This, like many other aspects of its gameplay, are poorly explained.

That doesn't really matter much to me. Unlike Lost Sphear, I Am Setsuna doesn't approach the same degree of difficulty in its main story as its descendant would. Instead, I Am Setsuna is a 20-25 hour journey through a dying world, asking the simple question of "what is a life worth?" No, it's not asking what makes life worth living, though the two certainly seem similar. We're all going to die, after all. The difference is that we don't all make the same decisions. We don't all make the same sacrifices.

It's that angle on an otherwise common theme – especially in anime and JRPG's – that gives I Am Setsuna more heart than the majority of games I played this year. It isn't the second coming of Chrono Trigger, but it's a game I'd love to revisit more in the years ahead.

Winner of the "Most Blatant References To its Inspiration" Award of 2018.

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-6.jpg)

I think what a lot of people never get to realize about Octopath Traveler is that it's supposed to be about the world more than the characters. Unfortunately, it struggles in getting this idea across, and thus can easily begin to feel a bit long in the tooth. It also never feels like a slog. The combat is simply too good to feel that way.

On one hand it's reminiscent of a Shin Megami Tensei game, where discovering enemy vulnerabilities is essential to success. It is also very much like the Raid Boss of an MMO, where buffs, debuffs, and damage phases are the true key to victory. Yet I am also reminded, of all things, of American Football and the meta-strategy of managing the play clock to ensure victory, or rob the opponent of more opportunities to score. Only here, it's about whether you'll break the enemy's defenses now or wait an extra turn to build up your boost power. It's a combat system filled with interesting choices. Scanning the turn order at the screen's top to figure out when you're going to break which foes and how you're going to deal as much damage as possible – or prevent your party from suffering the hurt the opponent is capable of laying on.

Many have accused the game of "being grindy", but I never once ground for experience. It's simply a matter of swapping character classes, gearing your party up optimally, and knowing which moves to use under which situations. While the game felt unnecessarily long, I never felt in my 75-80 hours of playing that it was a slog. Really, Octopath Traveler has become a new standard in turn-based role-playing combat, and it's going to be a tough one to beat.

Winner of the "Most Civilians Robbed Blind" Award 2018.

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-5.jpg)

I was so down on this game when I first started playing it. It was only due to my podcast cohort Steve twisting my arm so vigorously that I even bothered to get it. The combat was so basic and clunky with an awful camera position, and the self-serious tone of its story just felt like typical bait for games press to "feel like a grown-up". The only saving grace were the carefully constructed maps that lit my brain up like a Christmas tree, beckoning for me to follow hidden paths and discover secret treasures and items. To solve puzzles with the axe rather than merely carve generically modeled undead with it.

Like Spider-Man, the biggest issues I have with God of War are the moments it imitates every other AAA game in the business. Holding basic abilities hostage in a skill tree, as if players are incapable of figuring out combat more complex than "hit button to plunge axe into skull". Loot-based equipment that turned success into a matter of higher numbers than skill-based mastery. For so long I groaned and rolled my eyes at the immense praise this game received.

But I kept playing. I kept playing because, at the very least, I enjoyed the exploration. I liked finding things, and I loved how the world was carefully constructed with a hub rather than a "true" open-world. Though the combat failed me for hours, the exploration kept me coming back... and then I discovered the Valkyries. I reached Muspelheim and its slew of combat challenges, objectives, and limitations. I found Niflheim and its poisonous, almost rogue-like maze that could be a perfectly viable stand-alone product. Finally, finally I discovered the real meat of God of War. Finally the combat was able to shine bright and true, testing my abilities despite the high-level armor I bore. And yes, finally I even found something to appreciate in the narrative, though it's... okay. Pretty average, but the effort is there.

I loved God of War, but not the same God of War everyone else seemed to become so taken with. I loved the optional stuff. The main story? It's alright. For me, it's all about that 8 minute fight with the lead Valkyrie that I still have saved on my PlayStation. I don't know what everyone else is so enamored by, but I desperately hope the sequels are more like the optional content rather than the main story.

Winner of the "Best 'BOY!'" Award 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-4.jpg)

About the only complaint I have for this game is that Block Man is a weird first boss and not all powers are created useful. In fact, the first three stages are a bit oddly challenging on Normal difficulty given the tough nature of Block Man and the problematically functioning acid shield. Even so, the Casual difficulty was a great method to train up and learn the game's levels and foes while the higher difficulties prepare and encourage a greater mastery.

Of course, what really makes this entry in the Blue Bomber's long-running franchise pop is the Speed Gear. It doubles as a tool for the developers to craft interesting, reflex-based obstacles while also providing players a quick assist. Mega Man may be incapable of the mobility of his SNES descendant X, but the Speed Gear makes up for it by slowing opposing bosses and stage hazards. This also reduces the designer's need to craft cheap insta-kill challenges. This is easily the most accessible Mega Man that manages to maintain that classic difficulty for those seeking it.

I haven't enjoyed a Mega Man game this much since X, and while those problematic bosses and powers prevent it from being as infinitely replayable, it is the first one to come as close for me. I'm curious to see where the Blue Bomber's future lies now that a new team has tackled and evolved a concept that had been growing stale, decaying, and relying purely upon nostalgic appeal.

Winner of the "Most Cels Shaded" Award of 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-3.jpg)

I loved Super Smash Bros. on WiiU and 3DS. It was the first entry in the series that I managed to play more characters than Samus – though I'd gradually find favor in Zero Suit Samus anyway, as it turns out. I was worried that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would adjust and tweak the mechanics just enough that I'd lament the move forward, becoming stuck on the predecessor just as so many had and remain stuck on Melee.

Gladly, Ultimate feels just right. With even more options for customization and a truly, ridiculously full roster, it makes it difficult to imagine how you'd possibly make a worthy sequel. However, the only thing Nintendo could not fix was my new living situation, taking away one of the reasons Smash on WiiU became so beloved: my roommate at the time. He and our fellow Smashers now live over an hour away, and we have yet to schedule even one day to play online together... which itself comes with lag, performance problems, and a need to rely on our phones or Discord for communication. Without close friends living nearby to regularly play together – the majority of whom care little for tier lists and just like having a good time – it relies mostly on single player modes that honestly feel more like a grind when you consider how much time needs to be spent to unlock characters.

Which is why World of Light is such a wonderful addition. What I expected the mode I played least has become the mode I enjoy most, bouncing from each bite-sized combat challenge to the next while swapping Spirits as if they were gear in an RPG. A meta-game to add onto the core game, World of Light is such a simple single-player experience that manages to entertain for hours on end. My living situation may have changed, causing Smash to become more a solo experience for now, but Ultimate has made up for it in the most wonderful way possible. Truly, this is the best Smash has ever been.

Winner of the "Most Soundtracks" Award 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-2.jpg)

Look, I know I'm a contrarian. I know I always gotta be coming in with my obscure or less-favored games and celebrate the crap out of 'em. God's honest, even I didn't expect Darksiders 3 to rank so high. I had high expectations after replaying the first game, I desperately hoped for something less tedious after replaying the second, and after my first few hours I nervously swore it's just a little airborne, it's still good, it's still good.

As I continued playing, I learned. I got used to the controls. I stopped trying to fight a horde of foes at once and began to kite and isolate them. I unlocked new upgrades and abilities. I began digging into every nook and cranny to find useful, purposeful trinkets that directly modified and improved Fury's build. "Okay," I thought to myself, "maybe this is good enough to beat Spider-Man after all." I kept playing and said "I... think I like this better than God of War." I used all of Fury's newfound abilities to interact with the environment and discovered more and more hidden treasures and secrets. "I think this is in my top three!" Then I beat it, and immediately wanted to start a new game and experience it all again. "I think this is almost my favorite game this year..." I was flabbergasted.

Nevertheless, it's almost, but not quite. The story feels like absolute filler, even for a series whose epic tale reads like the notebook of a thirteen year-old metalhead (and I'd know!). I like Fury well-enough, but in the same way I enjoy War's overly serious tone. The one thing Darksiders 2 had was a delightfully sarcastic Death whose emotional core gave meaning to what little narrative his game possessed. Fury's arc feels more manufactured, and the events have the feel of forcing a reason to exist in the wake of the prior two games. Perhaps more drastically, however, this game has some glitches. A minimum of three crashes and two instances where the sound cut-out not just in game, but across the PlayStation operating system until I closed the application. One crash and the loss of sound occurred in the days following a new patch.

Nevertheless, Darksiders is a franchise I love, and Darksiders 3 combines Metroid-style exploration, Soulsborne encounter and world design, and retains that Bayo-May-Cry combat, combining into a unique experience I shall surely wish to return to. If I am a Darksiders fanboy, it's because 3 managed to course correct from the pitfalls of the second.

Winner of the "Most Metal" Award 2018

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-1.jpg)

How often does a game you play in January even get remembered in time for Game of the Year? I was tempted to just go ahead and drop Darksiders 3 in the top spot anyway, but held back for the reasons mentioned above and understanding that it was recency that gave it such favor. In time, I know I'll cool on Darksiders 3, much as I've cooled a bit on Iconoclasts.

But then I think about the game again. I think about all the nifty secrets and optional bosses I'd like to tackle. I think about how I played it three times this year alone and enjoyed it each playthrough. A sort of side-scrolling Zelda – but not like Adventure of Link – filled with ever-evolving puzzles and abilities based around a small set of mechanics introduced at the game's start. It never gets boring, each boss is unique, and I don't think there's a single zone or location I hated. Sure, I preferred zones over others, but never did I dislike a single minute of this game.

Even so, these things don't elevate Iconoclasts to Game of the Year. It's the story of Iconoclasts that does it. A story with a brilliant cast of characters, each driven by a self-assured sense of right and wrong, desperate to fulfill some greater meaning in their lives. Each of them awful in some fashion, yet each of them made sympathetic through their human struggles and plight. Even the worst of them has a logic that can be followed, though the conclusion is clearly horrible and misguided.

Iconoclasts is a great, great story. Not a great story for a video game, a great story that beckons me to revisit it and dig deeper as all great media do. Just thinking about it makes me want to replay the game. It also makes me want to be that guy, dragging friends and family into the living room to watch key scenes and exclaim "ISN'T THIS AMAZING?!" while completely oblivious to the lack of context deriving the scene of the meaning that makes it so impactful.

I don't play indie games often. I tend to only like the ones that are evocative of my years playing the Super Nintendo. Not necessarily in music or aesthetic, though Iconoclasts certainly captures both. Artsy games don't appeal to me, masochistic platformers don't do it for me, and quirky genres built around point-and-click mechanics don't do it for me. Perhaps that means I'm always going to feel that the indies that do make an impact are unfairly overlooked. Iconoclasts released roughly at the same time as Celeste, and everything people love about that game I love about Iconoclasts. Story, soundtrack, aesthetic... but the manner in which Iconoclasts tells its story and the way in which it plays... it is, to me, so much better.

But in the end, that's simply because of who I am and what my tastes are. I can only hope that I sell someone on Iconoclasts, because even if it will never be your favorite, I think you'd be glad you played it nonetheless.

Winner of the "Best Soundtrack According to My Subjective Tastes" Award 2018


IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-honorable.jpg)

Spoiler:

I considered throwing the Secret of Mana remake into the top-ten list, but in truth there's not nearly enough to distinguish it from being a different experience to its predecessor. The shift to 3D was equally beneficial and detrimental to how it felt to play, and it also was a buggy experience that crashed my PS4 quite often. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable time and a wonderful way to experience a touchstone game from my childhood in a new way.

Meanwhile, Destiny 2: Forsaken I think could have counted as a vote, but to do so felt dishonest. I also have a love/hate relationship with Destiny at this point, having such solid mechanics to beckon me back despite knowing its all an endless treadmill. Forsaken has done a lot to add more enjoyment to that treadmill, while simultaneously making activities like Escalation Protocol a lot more fun (now that everyone is high enough in level to actually survive it). I'm not convinced to purchase the annual pass yet, but I'm also not willing to put it down for good, either. I finally have a variety of horde-style activities to partake in. If only I'd have one nearly as good as Prison of Elders.

Finally, I got around to playing the first Devil May Cry this year. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I also desperately wished it could have a polished up remake. It did not age too well, but at the same time it aged better than I expected. I could not have completed it without a guide, and I'm not sure I'll ever want to return to it, but I'm glad I finally got to go back and experience it for myself.

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-contender.jpg)

Spoiler:

This may be my longest list of contenders yet. Mario + Luigi: Superstar Saga, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and Shin Megami Tensei IV I simply stalled out on. All three games were quite good, but for some reason I simply... stopped playing my 3DS this year. Perhaps that should be a goal for 2019, to return to some of these titles and finish them up. As it stands, these were both games that could easily have made my top ten if I had not only finished them, but remembered my 3DS was ready and waiting to be played on. You'd think I'd have relied on the 3DS more when I hurt my back and was only able to game lying down, but at that point I was focused on Lost Sphear only to get absorbed into Octopath Traveler. These games were, unfortunately, the victims of such focus.

The same can be said for Battle Chasers: Nightwar and Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion. I've enjoyed what I've played of both, only in their cases there is something about the experience that gives me a sense of... not satisfaction, but no desire to really return and see it through. For Battle Chasers it is largely a result of the loot system leaving me feeling under-powered. For the Octo Expansion, I think it's the sheer volume of challenges available. On one hand, it's an awful lot of content for the price, and many of the challenges are greatly enjoyable. It tests the player's abilities in a way the base game never had. At the same time, it feels unnecessarily packed. So why don't I just grab the Four Thangs and be done with it? Oh, you're so silly. I can't just do the bare minimum! If there's 80 missions, then 80 missions I must complete. Just... when I feel like it.

Finally comes Monster Hunter World. Another victim of my hurt back, which prevented me from doing any gaming while sitting into mid-to-late September. I have friends who player Monster Hunter, but not as readily and easily as my Destiny friends. Moreover, Monster Hunter World has such an awful online system you'd swear it was outsourced to Nintendo. You cannot simply co-op the campaign with friends, and if you're like me and have a friend that insists the game is bad because they followed a foolish guide that recommended the Hammer, you'll have a tough time convincing that friend to hop online to slay some monsters. As a single player experience Monster Hunter World isn't bad, but I never had as much fun with it as I had playing with friends... and I'm not sure when we'll all be ready and able to get together again for it.

As such, these games were all good, but victims of circumstance and, in some cases, simply incapable of keeping my attention.

IMAGE(http://www.ramblepak64.com/img/gwj/goty2018/gwj-goty-disappointments.jpg)

Spoiler:

I really only have myself to blame for SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. Somehow I believed the game might actually have conservative costumes available for its characters, which would allow me to use it as an introductory fighter for my niece. Nope. While there are some, what few costumes are available are primarily sexified. There's no effort put into its story-mode, meaning there's no fun to be had in mixing and matching characters. This is also my fault for believing they'd put even a tenth of the effort that was put into Rival Schools back on the PlayStation. Even then, this isn't even a good introductory fighter. The mechanics are so shallow I'm not even sure if there's a way to master it. I think it's the first game I'll end up deleting off of my Switch. I've played some awful fan-service games before, but this is just a new rock-bottom for me.

Speaking of fandom, Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time was... I suppose disappointing. I didn't dislike it, and I don't think all of its mechanics are bad. I simply find it to be a bit tedious. It requires you do a lot of replaying its arcade bits while wandering the school grounds suffering from a Groundhog Day curse. It's fun and amusing, but even after unlocking the ability to warp around parts of the school it takes so long to get anywhere. As a result, it was a game easily dropped and forgotten, which is the opposite of what you want from something as charming and delightful as Little Witch Academia.

Finally comes Shadow of the Tomb Raider, a game that wouldn't have been so disappointing if I hadn't played its two predecessors in the months before. I was actually tempted to put this at number ten on my list seeing as I did enjoy aspects of it. For the first and final thirds of the game, the stealth is the best the franchise has ever seen. I really liked the abseiling mechanics for exploration and navigation. The problem is each of these benefits is over-shadowed by the limp-wristed shotgun and awful new foes. Combat was thrown into optional challenge tombs, a section of the game enjoyed by people that prefer puzzles over firefights. All of Rhianna Pratchett's work in turning Lara into a strong character are wiped away by Eidos Montreal's confused efforts to criticize white colonialism by... celebrating white colonialism? Not only does Lara violate the prime directive while the developers compartmentalize certain aspects of Mayan culture with "the bad ones", the game ultimately puts Lara on the pedestal of the great white savior. It's easily the least thought-out of all three games, and the reason it was beat by Fire Emblem Warriors is because I'm not sure I'd actually want to play this game again.

Neither Tomb Raider nor its sequel of Rise were great games, but they certainly deserved better than this, and so did this new interpretation of Lara Croft.


And that's it! That's my list this year. Sorry for clogging up the thread with words words words (well, only partly sorry. I am desperate for attention and approval, after all), but I hope many of you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Sorry to also add a bunch of games only for them to have a single vote, Eleima.

BadKen wrote:

I honestly feel I have nothing to contribute this year. My solidly PC mainstream tastes are so far afield from everything I've read here that anything I might have to say would have no real audience.

GWJ has gradually been leaning more and more away from my tastes for years now, from the popular topics to the games featured on the front page and on the Conference Call. I guess this year it just reached critical mass for me.

So I'm just going to keep playing my Tomb Raiders and Assassin's Creeds and Crews and Endlesses and Clancy'ses and Agents of Mayhems and Forzas, while the bulk of the community goes crazy for retro graphics and walking around games and three hour experiences.

I'm not looking for pity or condolences, just describing my perspective.

My tastes have rarely coincided with the GOTY thread consensus, but that doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the things you enjoy. I've often put games from past years on my list too, for example I put Super Metroid the year I played it, some 15-20 years after its release. It's not about voting for games, it's about reflecting a bit about what you liked this year, and perhaps something on someone else's list catches your eye.

I don't think it is just Badken. I had an eye opening conversation the other week.
Someone was raving about the Switch and the only thing I could say about it was that I liked the split controllers because it prevents shoulder cramping when playing for hours at a time. I have broad shoulders so typical controllers are way to small for me.
So the Switch fan asked me what kind of games do I like. I was stunned. For the first time since I have been playing games, I had no recent reference to start a conversation. I actually blurted out, "I don't know" and it shocked me.
It has been such a long time that I have had that "can't wait till I get home so that I can play" experience that lasted more than 3 days. Aside from the D3 necro pack (but that may have been 2017) and WoW patch 7.3.5, I've got nothing.

It could have been Battletech but loading and reloading took forever and killed my interest.
It could have been Pillars of Eternity 2 the campaign kept fizzling out at the big city.
It could have been Pathfinder Kingmaker but that was a mess.
It could have been Battle for Azeroth but Blizzard keeps punching altoholics in the gut which is odd because the game has been out so long that everyone by this time is an altoholic.

2018 I think has become a year where I rediscover how much I like my older classics. Dow2 + Expacs is still fantastic. Gratuitous Space Battles is still fantastic. Icewind Dale 2 is still fantastic as is IWD EE. Dark Sun 1+2 is fantastic but oddly, 2 is more awkward to play. (even with DOSbox some things happen too fast) Mechcommander 2 is still the best.

After reading many of these GOTY entries I realized how woefully inadequate mine is and even if I tried my best, mine would pale in comparison.

ccesarano wrote:

And that's it! That's my list this year. Sorry for clogging up the thread with words words words (well, only partly sorry. I am desperate for attention and approval, after all), but I hope many of you enjoyed it nonetheless.

What, no. Your post is PotY so far. It is all about style. A true AAA post. The repetitiveness of the open-word was almost bearable.
No really, that is the kind of lists I love about these threads.

kyrieee wrote:

My tastes have rarely coincided with the GOTY thread consensus, but that doesn't matter as long as you enjoy the things you enjoy. I've often put games from past years on my list too, for example I put Super Metroid the year I played it, some 15-20 years after its release. It's not about voting for games, it's about reflecting a bit about what you liked this year, and perhaps something on someone else's list catches your eye.

Very much so.

fangblackbone wrote:

Icewind Dale 2 is still fantastic as is IWD EE.

Still need to play these. The CRPG club hates fun though. Pretty sure I was one of the only ones voting for it both times I nominated it!

LastSurprise and garion, you both have done a great job of getting me excited to play Dragon Quest XI.

cces, as always, I like your long write-ups. Oddly, our impressions of Lost Sphear and I Am Setsuna were pretty much inverted. I thought Lost Sphear was the stronger of the two; slightly weaker as a narrative but much more enjoyable to play. A question about it: did you finish the game post-credits? I stopped at the first credit roll and have meant to go back but just haven't yet. Maybe next year.

garion333 wrote:

(This video nailed why I have so little interest in Rockstar games. Worth a watch.)

I watched this. I almost switched it off in the first few minutes for being so YouTube, but I watched, and I'm glad I did. His video is about Red Dead Redemption 2 (which I haven't played) but it summed up so well my thoughts and experiences with Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and other open-world games lately.

There's that perpetual tension between finding my own solutions for things and charting my own course, and the designer's insistence that certain problems sometimes be solved in one and only one way (cinematically!). Gimme those Legos, yo.

Thanks for sharing it.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

cces, as always, I like your long write-ups. Oddly, our impressions of Lost Sphear and I Am Setsuna were pretty much inverted. I thought Lost Sphear was the stronger of the two; slightly weaker as a narrative but much more enjoyable to play. A question about it: did you finish the game post-credits? I stopped at the first credit roll and have meant to go back but just haven't yet. Maybe next year.

It's not that I felt Lost Sphear was less enjoyable to play, but it's longer length makes it harder to go back to, the weaker narrative gives less impetus for me to return, and I feel their inability to fix I Am Setsuna's mechanical issues was more of a detriment than the freshman effort that is I Am Setsuna. When it comes to playing them, there's... not really enough to differentiate them, which again might be a negative considering how little I used the Mechs.

But, to more specifically answer your question, I did finish the game post-credits. There's about another 20 hours if I recall? I might be misremembering it as 20 and 20, but there's a surprising amount after those credits. It helped elevate the narrative, and perhaps I could use a replay to better get what thematic elements they were going for, but it just didn't resonate with me as strongly as I Am Setsuna.

robc wrote:

After reading many of these GOTY entries I realized how woefully inadequate mine is and even if I tried my best, mine would pale in comparison.

To everyone who feels like their list doesn't measure up:

it's not a competition.

It's a place to say "Here's what I found enjoyable", it really doesn't matter if your list is 10 games no-one else has ever heard of because that's how hipster you are, or 2 games that everyone's heard of because that was all that advertised during the Superbowl half-time.

EDIT - As someone whose list tends to be all over the place, I appreciate a three item list of AAA games, precisely because that's a space I pay less attention to, and I love seeing a zeitgeist coalesce around a game to let me know to pay attention to it.

First off, thank you to LarryC, Bubblefuzz, LastSurprise, garion333 and ccesarano for your lists! ALl votes have been taken into account.

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

This is the second year in a row I've felt I have worthwhile contributions! I'm just holding off until the last possible moment.

All contributions are worthwhile!

kergguz wrote:

There hasn't been nearly enough chat about rules this year. It's a christmas tradition folks!

I will kick you out, I will!

robc wrote:

Can I nominate a game that I've played each year for the past five years because it got a patch fixing some spelling errors? It's practically a new game! Eleima will allow that right?

IMAGE(https://media.giphy.com/media/6Q2KA5ly49368/giphy.gif)

EverythingsTentative wrote:

If that's allowed then I'm changing my post and putting Overwatch back in. It got, like, a new character and map, and was balanced into the ground. Can't even identify what it is anymore.

Don't you dare!!!

Bubblefuzz wrote:

Love this thread. Thanks Eleima.

Finally, someone with some manners! Thank *you*, love your list.

Okay, enough kidding around, I'm going to be serious here. I'm just catching up with the last 35 posts (work is crazy, and kids are, well, kids), and I really want to thank Clocky for her long post at the top of the page, because she and I could not agree more. Others have written posts in the same spirit, and it warms my heart, because a lot of you get the drive behind the thread.

It's not just about the numbers. It's not just about seeing how many points this triple game gets over this one. Sure, we're going to rank them in the end, but what truly matters is the love we hold for the games we play. What they mean to us, what stories they tell, what zen state they lead us to, the fun times they allow us to share with each other. That's what matters. Remember my results post last year? It's about what *you* have to say about them. Heck, I'd even mentioned games that got edited off lists! And this year, I have plans for more detailed special mentions. So please, to all of you think "my list doesn't matter": it abso-freakin'-lutely does. <3

For the moment, we have no fewer than 233 games that have been shown love by 50 people. And I think that's amazing. Last year, we had 157 goodjers show up for a whopping 472 games. That's truly mindblowing, and a testament to the wonder of the gaming era we live in.

Jonman wrote:
robc wrote:

After reading many of these GOTY entries I realized how woefully inadequate mine is and even if I tried my best, mine would pale in comparison.

To everyone who feels like their list doesn't measure up:

it's not a competition.

It's a place to say "Here's what I found enjoyable", it really doesn't matter if your list is 10 games no-one else has ever heard of because that's how hipster you are, or 2 games that everyone's heard of because that was all that advertised during the Superbowl half-time.

It wasn't my selection of games I was commenting on - because that is just what I enjoyed. It was my write up of the games that is inadequate. We've had some really nice write ups in this thread and mine are kinda crappy

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - I almost made this my #1 and #2 choices this year because of the completely different gaming experiences the different modes give. Treyarch ignored the single player story mission this year and gave us Multiplayer, Zombies and Blackout (battle royale mode). This is the first CoD in years that has pulled me in and kept me engaged for as long as it has. I normally go in and finish a prestige or 2 and then dabble for the rest of the year. 2 months in and i'm just now starting to come up for air to check out other games . The multiplayer is a blast and easy to get a handle on and the progression systems with their new operators are solid. The BR mode is the icing on the cake. A much improved and solid playground compared to all the other BR games that allows tactics and smart plays to be made. On top of that, Treyarch is truly engaged with the community and making balance changes on a regular basis and not ignoring their customers.

2. Conan Exiles - Funcom continues their work inside the world of Conan with a survival game. This game had a rough Early Access start, but was able to turn things around and improve on their EA start and delivered a really solid survival game at launch. It's not only one of the best looking survival game out there as you try and navigate the harsh world around you. It also offers one of the best building mechanics i've seen in a survival game without having to be modded a dozen different ways. They're still improving on it and adding new functionalities as time goes on. They've successfully captured the feel of that world and trying to survive in it feels rewarding.

3. ARK - I came into this late as a recommendation from a work colleague and found out GWJ had their own server. So i jumped in and was impressed with all the interwoven mechanics that the game had to offer. I felt spoiled a lot of times from spending so much time in Conan Exiles, but my frustration with building was eased quite a bit because i was riding f*cking dinosaurs! That and of course the awesome GWJ crew that was there as well!

4. Far Cry 5 - I had not played FC since the first one and when finding out this one was going to allow coop jumped in and had a blast. It does have some of the 'ubisoft sameness' about it of their other open world games, but it wasn't enough of a distraction to stop us traipsing around taking out zealots.

5. BFV - Much improved next step in the evolution of the Battlefield franchise. Most of my complaints from the previous one had been addressed and enjoy playing. They do need to do better about their release dates though. This was released at one of the worst times of the year. Also have to give them credit for listening to their customers. They almost reverted back to some BF1 settings with the TTK and actually listened to our feedback and set things back to as they were at launch.

6. SCUM - Or DayZ 2.0... Seriously this is everything that we were promised from DayZ and they never delivered. Their attention to detail and their ability to pull it off is exceptional. Now if they can just fix the netcode issues!

7. Mutant Year Zero - I used to stare at the RPG handbook at my local gaming store all the time and never bothered to pick it up. I wish i had now. The characters in this are engaging and i love the world/setting. The X-com like combat with a twist is satisfying when trying to do things 'just right' each round and nailing it.

8. Hunt: Showdown - A solid battle royale done the Crysis way. Disturbing, creepy, beautiful setting that allows you to team up with a partner while getting your goods and trying to escape with them. All while facing other players and nasty bosses along the way.

Honorable mentions
Bunch of games pulled me in and didn't let go this year. There's been others i've played and enjoyed but not really enough to form a solid opinion for GOTY. I'll probably dig into some of them more later on in the new year.

Realm Royale
WW3
BATTLETECH
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Ashen
X4:Foundations

robc wrote:

It wasn't my selection of games I was commenting on - because that is just what I enjoyed. It was my write up of the games that is inadequate. We've had some really nice write ups in this thread and mine are kinda crappy :-)

And I'll reiterate - it's not a competition.

There's lists in this very thread that are a plain list of ten games, with zero additional navel-gazing. More power to them. Not everyone wants to write a 2000 word screed about every game that caught their eye in the last 12 months.

Post away, fine sir.

I think I love this thread (and the past ones) so much because it celebrates the idea of playing games that you find fun and talking about them. This is in contrast to a lot of popular discussions and lists that talk about new games and move quickly on to something else.

If we want to be more inclusive of celebrating games, we could remove the rule about "new to you". I can understand why some people feel left out by that rule when they enjoy playing some games across a number of years. For those of you who feel left out by that rule, as long as you put a disclaimer on those items, I think everyone is happy to see your list and thoughts about them.

I personally play mostly new-to-me games that came out in the past few years, a few games from the 90's or 2000's, and replay a few games I like quite a bit. If I had to pick games that came out this year, I think the only one is Minit which was less than $5 and was only a few hours long.

I don't know whether this thread helped introduce me to or reinforce the way I play games, but I'm happy for it. I enjoy listing the games I play throughout the year, writing some notes as I go, and looking back over them at the end of the year. As I'm getting older, I remember less and less about the day to day, and it's a fun way to revisit those games.

I love reading about the games people enjoy enough to list. Last year's love for Mass Effect Andromeda convinced me to give it a try and focus on the things I would enjoy. It made it to spot 10 for me this year.

This thread is awesome. In the first days of the month, someone mentioned Pyre. I loved Bastion and Transistor but somehow missed that this was even a thing. Added it to my wishlist after. Today it went on Steam sale for 60% off. And Taharka, over in the Steam Sale thread, gifted it to me before I could buy it myself.

This community is the best.

I might spend the next 10 days playing it to try to get it on my list, or I might just save it for next year. Tune in soon to find out.

I have 15 games picked out for my list, I have zero clue how to put them in order!

robc wrote:

It wasn't my selection of games I was commenting on - because that is just what I enjoyed. It was my write up of the games that is inadequate. We've had some really nice write ups in this thread and mine are kinda crappy :-)

When I first read your comment I thought about trying to write a response, but I couldn't find the words. When Jonman first replied I wanted to add on, but nothing I could write sounded effective. At this point I cannot help but feel guilty because, while I joke about writing a novel, I've clearly put a lot of time and work into my list and it feels weird to think that my work somehow makes someone else feel worse.

I am horrible at writing about things outside of my perspective, though, so any efforts to try and put this thread into perspective just sounded like I was going on about me me me (kind of like how I am now). And I just deleted a bunch more text because I'm trying to figure out what would lead you to feel this way without doing so from the perspective of someone as indulgent (and, let's be honest, hungry for attention and approval) as I am.

All I can really think to say is that we're a broad bunch here at GamersWithJobs. Some of us have a lot more time on our hands than others. Some of us have made games a deeper part of their identity than others. Some of us practice writing more formally than others. Some of us have kids and families and then others don't. I really don't know what else to say than "it takes all kinds".

Maybe it's because several of us have mentioned that reading through people's reasons are a highlight. The thing is, sometimes you don't need paragraphs of text. Sometimes a sentence, or no sentence at all, is all that's required. If it didn't occur to you to go into great detail regarding your picks, then I would say stick with that instinct. If you want to go back and add some reasoning to go with your choices, then do so because you want to say something about them, not because you're looking at everyone else's lawn and thinking you need to step up your gardening game. Once you're motivated by others in such a sense, you start losing the fun.

Please do not feel pressured to "step up your game", and please do not think less of yourself because of what others do. I'd like to think that none of us are trying to show others up, we're just expressing ourselves in a way we find enjoyable – or as much as we're interested in doing so. It can go both ways. Major expression of passion or minimally invasive contribution.

All that matters is how you would want to spend your time, and none of us want you to spend that time doing something you don't enjoy.

There. I hope I said something wise in all of that.

Personally I promise I'll write my list in some kind of grammatically butchered Engrish!
Also ranting and snark.

ccesarano wrote:

All that matters is how you would want to spend your time, and none of us want you to spend that time doing something you don't enjoy.

Speak for yourself!

Honestly no reason to overthink any of this. I enjoy reading those long-form lists. But I also enjoy the short lists. If someone mention like 7 out of 10 games I already like, and 3 games I haven't paid attention to, I'll go look up those 3 games, assuming there might be something worthwhile in there. No words needed for that.

ccesarano wrote:
robc wrote:

It wasn't my selection of games I was commenting on - because that is just what I enjoyed. It was my write up of the games that is inadequate. We've had some really nice write ups in this thread and mine are kinda crappy :-)

At this point I cannot help but feel guilty because, while I joke about writing a novel, I've clearly put a lot of time and work into my list and it feels weird to think that my work somehow makes someone else feel worse.
...

Don't feel bad, that wasn't my intent! I'm admiring so many great write ups (yours being in that group). I don't really feel bad about it, just recognizing that articulating my thoughts about games isn't at the same level. I think it is cool what you and others have done and hope you continue to enjoy doing it!

Here are my top 10 games that were new to me this year:-

1 Prey
2 Forza Horizon 4
3 Football Manager 2018
4 Abzu
5 Rimworld
6 Rime
7 Into the Breach
8 The Dream Machine
9 Battletech
10 Dead Cells

My Personal List:

1. Monster Hunter World
2. God Of War
3. Vermintide 2
4. Red Dead Redemption 2
5. Dead Cells
6. Destiny 2 : Forsaken

PikaPomelo wrote:

If we want to be more inclusive of celebrating games, we could remove the rule about "new to you". I can understand why some people feel left out by that rule when they enjoy playing some games across a number of years. For those of you who feel left out by that rule, as long as you put a disclaimer on those items, I think everyone is happy to see your list and thoughts about them.

As the person who has probably caused the most unintentional suffering for the people who manage these threads with regard to this point in the past, let me jump in and save them some trouble this year.

I think that as with many other aspects of the conversations that happen in these threads, the interpretation of what is “new to you” is ultimately a decision each person gets to make for themselves. But, they should make it carefully, and in the intended spirit of the thread. In many cases it might be just as good to just discuss a returning favorite that you keep playing (or replaying) but not actually include it in your ranking.

The main reason I’ve been so adamant about flexibility here in the past has been with regard to the trend towards games as services where the same game continues to become a new experience year after year, even when there might not even be a new named expansion pack or other update that would qualify as a “new” product. (I (in)famously included Elite: Dangerous at or near the top of my list in three consecutive years for this reason.) And the trend towards remakes and enhanced rereleases of games is also tricky — sometimes enough is changed, or simply playing an old favorite in a new, improved context IS enough to be a provide a new experience.

So in any case, if you really feel like there’s enough to justify calling it a new experience to you, no one is going to tell you that you can’t. I know I sure will be with Destiny 2 this year, and quite possibly with Rez: Infinite as well (unless I play another game or two in the next few weeks that is exciting enough to jostle things around on my list-in-progess).

EDIT: Also, if anyone wants to discuss this further, we should have a different thread to do so, so as to not once again visit psychological trauma on the wonderful folks who have devoted so much time and energy towards organizing this process year after year.

zeroKFE wrote:

EDIT: Also, if anyone wants to discuss this further, we should have a different thread to do so, so as to not once again visit psychological trauma on the wonderful folks who have devoted so much time and energy towards organizing this process year after year.

This ol' thread is ready to be necro'd if you should have need of it.