Note: This list consists of the best games released in 2018 that I played. There are several games that came out in 2018 that I did not have a chance to play, and therefore could not qualify for this list. I've also decided to exclude episodic games that are incomplete (Such as "Life is Strange 2").
Notable Games I was Not Able to Play/Play Enough of: Pit People, Monster Hunter: World, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Objects in Space, Artifact, Return of the Obra Dinn, The Hex, Octopath Traveler, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales.
This
is probably one of the more controversial entries on this list, mainly because
a lot of people are just done with the "Far Cry" franchise. For those
who don't know this series has garnered much criticism over the past several
years for not evolving enough. "Far Cry 3" was a critical and
commercial success released back in 2012, and when the developers saw that they
just kind of stuck with the same thing. Over the next several games not much
changed from the combat, to the mission structure, to leveling up, etc. and it
annoyed many fans. And while FC5 doesn't make any drastic changes it looks like
it's a step in the right direction. FC5 takes place in the norther United
States where you play a member of law enforcement who tries to arrest the
leader of a dangerous cult in an area called Hope County. After the mission
goes wrong, you're stuck in the fear-stricken Hope County and must partner with
locals to combat the cult, save your captured teammates, and save the county.
Like I said earlier, FC5 isn't a big jump forward, but it is just enough. It's
obvious that the developers wanted to try to be a bit different with this one,
particularly with progression and mission layouts. It's not perfect, but just
like the previous games, I just find it very fun.
Every year at some point we receive what I like to call the "indie darling." Now there are a bunch of great indie games that come out every year that offer something different from the Triple A affairs and the emerging Double A market; but the indie darling is the one that captures almost every one's attention. This year, that was "Celeste." The game tells the story of Madeline, a young woman suffering from severe anxiety and self-doubt, who decides to overcome a great obstacle in climbing a tall and treacherous mountain. "Celeste" is a platformer game in the vein of titles such as "Super Meat Boy.: It's very difficult, and you die a lot. Various mechanics are introduced throughout but overall it is simple; but from that simplicity is beauty. This game was simply a joy to play, despite its difficulty that's enough to make many quit, I powered through all the way to the end. And with the inclusion of B-Side levels that are even harder than the base game, and with more levels on their way next year, there's a lot to love about "Celeste."
Technically, this game came out last year. Released on early access on Steam, you could play an almost complete version of this game last year; but with the full game being released a few months ago let me explain why I love this game. "Dead Cells" is a metroidvania style action-platforming rogue-light that appears to take heavy influences from "Dark Souls" (that's a lot of sub-genres for one game, but accurate). The gist is that you are an un-dead creature who must traverse several levels that change every time, but as you play you unlock new weapons and abilities that make following playthroughs slightly easier. Much like "Celeste" the concept of "Dead Cells" is easy, but the execution is brilliant. Playing is rewarding and fun, and even when you loos you feel like you accomplished something. Fast, frantic, and fun. "Dead Cells" is one of the most rewarding games you can play that was released in 2018.
Fighting games are a genre that I've always liked, always appreciated, always enjoyed watching and playing, but have just never gotten into. Maybe because the gameplay loop doesn't interest me after a while, or maybe because I suck at them, but whatever reason they don't hold my interest long. And while this game didn't keep me playing forever, "Dragon Ball FighterZ" kept me playing longer than most of its genre. DBFZ is a team fighting game revolving around the legendary anime franchise "Dragon Ball Z" (also including several characters from its sequel series "Super"). Before a match you choose three characters from a moderate size cast and battle it out. On top of fun but easily accessible fighting mechanics, great music, a surprisingly fun single player campaign, what really made this game stand out would be its graphics. Running on Unreal Engine 4, this game is drop dead gorgeous, with an art style that perfectly translates from the anime. My only real complaint would probably be that while the cast of characters is diverse, there aren't that many of them. Even so, this is one of the most enjoyable fighting games I've ever played.
If
I had to guess what title released in 2018 will end up winning the most
"Game of the Year" awards, I would guess this one. 2018's "God
of War" is a kind of relaunch of the long running series. Before this one,
there had been six games in the franchise, all drastically different than this
one. All the previous games followed Kratos, a demi-god in ancient Greece who
goes on a quest to kill all the gods, with the games utilizing a combat system
of Kratos taking on hordes of enemies in an almost beat em' up style of combat
from a pulled back, over-looking camera. This one though is completely
different. Taking place years later, Kratos is older, calmer, but still angry.
The game starts off with Kratos preparing a fire to cremate his recently
deceased wife, leaving Kratos as the sole caregiver for their son Atreus. His
wife's last wish was for her ashes to be spread at the tallest mountain in all
the lands. So Kratos and his son set off and encounter new enemies along the
way. "God of War" is a staunch departure from all previous games. The
combat system is a now over the shoulder point of view, the tone is completely
different, and takes place in a whole new world, and everything about it is
brilliant. Mature, complex, exceptionally well written with some of the best
motion capture and voice work ever put into a game, a camera that never cuts,
and maybe the best graphics we've ever seen on a console. "God of War"
is a tour de force that should be mandatory for anyone with a PS4.
Now
to be honest, of every game on this list this is probably the one I played the
least of. I've been meaning to give it more time, but sometimes life just gets
in the way; even so, this game is brilliant. "Into the Breach" is a turn-based
strategy game where you operate three mech suits that fight off giant insects
trying to destroy cities. The title comes from a term in the game, where if you
lose a battle, you can retreat into another timeline (saving one of your pilots
to save that timeline from destruction). Playing the game is like playing a
complicated game of chess; the map is on a grid an, you're given prompts of
exactly how the enemies will move, and you need to figure out the puzzle on how
to defeat them while defending the cities. The gameplay itself is simple, but
at the same time is layered and complex. Coupled with great pixel-art, a
wonderful soundtrack, and a steep challenge with every level makes this one of
my favorite games from 2018.
This
is a small game that I heard about a week after its release, that's how little
attention it had. But the reason I heard of it was because of the critical
acclaim, receiving perfect and near perfect reviews from several major game
publications. So, I picked it up, and I'm very glad I did. "The
Messenger" is a lot like "Celeste," it's a challenging 2D
platformer, but this time with a more retro feel. You play a ninja going on a
request to avenge his friends and must traverse many areas and face challenging
bosses with platforming precision. While feeling distinctly old school,
"The Messenger injects enough interesting mechanics to keep things fresh.
And with a lovely pixel-art style that starts as 8-bit but transitions to 16
bit at a certain point introducing even more mechanics, and you have one of the
best platformers I've played in a while.
This is it, the big one, the blockbuster of the year and a game fans have waited over 8 years for. "Red Dead Redemption 2" is a prequel to one of the greatest games of the modern era, it had a massive development team, an unparalleled budget, a big marketing push, and anticipation we rarely see in the games industry. And with all that, the final product is quite incredible. RDR2 follows Arthur Morgan in 1899, an outlaw part of a notorious gang who have become incredibly wanted after a robbery gone bad in a nearby county. You travel with your gang, pulling off big scores in the hopes of getting enough money to run far away from all their troubles. RDR2 is a game that is not for everyone, and after playing it it's not hard to see why. There is a certain realism to the game that some view as tedious, the control scheme feels a bit clunky, and the game has an overall slow pace. All valid criticisms, but for me the pros outweigh the cons. Incredible graphics, a masterfully told story, beautiful and vibrant world, tons of stuff and weird/fun missions, frantic combat (best played in the first-person perspective if you ask me), and some of the most memorable characters ever put into a game culminates in one of the year's best.
This might actually be the fan favorite of the year, and if you played it for five minutes it's easy to see why. Simply put, it's fun as hell. As you could probably guess, this is a Spider-Man game. It's an original story around the titular character after he's been a hero for several years. It primarily follows a New York after the crime boss Kingpin is arrested and a new gang comes into power. And as Spider-Man it is your job to stop them. "Spider-Man" doesn't rewrite the book when it comes to open world games, if anything it stumbles over many of the problems this style of games suffers from. Even so, what it does right is that it refines almost everything about open world games. Collecting items, upgrading powers and suits, defeating gangs, completing challenges, and all the side missions feel fun and rewarding. Pile that on top a great, original Spider-Man story and you already have a success. But what this game does best is movement. Traversing New York City as Spider-Man never gets old. Web-slinging, wall-running, dive-bombing, and everything else you can do is fast, fun, and exhilarating. It's the best aspect of one of the year's best games.
Now
if I'm being honest this is the least inventive game this year, cause at the
end of the day it's just "Smash Bros." For those who don't know, the
"Smash" series is one of the longest running franchise's Nintendo
has, with the first game coming out in 1999 on the N64. Since then every Nintendo
Console has had an entry, each an improvement in some way but not drastically
different; and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is no exception. But what
this game does right is refinement, it is the biggest and most refine game in
the series. It has every level, character, and item from all the previous games
plus several new ones. There are so many options to this game that it feels
endlessly playable, plus more difficult AI and a surprisingly good single
player mode makes this the best Smash to date in my opinion. If I had any
problems with this game it would be that it's not a drastic improvement from
the previous installments, and that test have shown that the latency for
"Ultimate" is worse than previous games (not terribly bad, and I'm
not sure it can be fixed with software patches, but a problem none the less).
Despite its issues, "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is easily a must
have game on the Nintendo Switch.
Since I started my list of the best games of the year way back when I've had only a few years; games can only qualify if they were released the year of the list, and no remakes/remasters of older games. Well last year I broke the rule of game release dates when I included "Persona 5" (since it was released in 2016 in Japan), and I'm kind of breaking that second rule with this entry. "Tetris Effect" is "Tetris," few ways around that. But the reason I include it is because I think it's the best version of "Tetris," which I think is the best game of all time. "Tetris Effect" is what I imagine "Tetris" would look like if I asked a developer to make it after dropping acid. It has classic "Tetris" with all the best mechanics introduced by every iteration of the old Russian game. But it also includes a bunch of new game modes, each bringing something different to the table. Coupled with gorgeous visuals and some of the best sound design put into a game in 2018. Even if it is just a better version of "Tetris," that's still pretty damn good.
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