2018 sure was…something, wasn’t it? I know a lot of you had a hard year, and I’m certainly no exception. I lost a grandfather, spent longer than I’d like unemployed, and just generally had a bad time for a good chunk of 2018. Fortunately, the games of 2018 were pretty darn good. Thank goodness, because if the games were as bad as everything else I’d have to catch up on my backlog! Trimming my list to 10 games was harder than last year, and the top two games switched places more than a few times. I would almost call it a tie for number one, but that wouldn’t be any fun, would it? Anyway, these are the games I enjoyed the most in 2018 and I can’t wait to experience 2019 (and all of its games) with you.
10. Lumines: Remastered
I was almost certain that Tetris Effect was going to take this spot. When I sat down to write this article, I realized I just like Lumines Remastered more. Lumines is a game all about making squares as quickly as you can against the backdrop of a killer soundtrack. When I sit down to play Lumines Remastered with headphones on, I enter a special kind of trance that makes the next hour feel like a handful of minutes. Lumines Remastered’s other modes, puzzle mode and multiplayer chief among them, make the title one of the more well-rounded puzzle game offerings of 2018. If you like puzzle games, do yourself a favor and give this one a shot (with headphones, of course).
9. Dragon Ball FighterZ
Dragon Ball FighterZ is the sort of game I pictured myself playing when I played the Budokai games as a child. Not only is the game visually stunning, as is the norm for developer Arc System Works, it’s incredibly faithful to the source material and, most importantly, fun to play. Complex fighting game staples like massive combos have been streamlined with short “auto-combos” and super dashes that home in on opponents. The tools and systems of FighterZ made it feel approachable to genre newcomers while empowering old pros. The only real mark against it is the fact there are just too many Gokus.
8. Hitman 2
The only thing keeping Hitman 2 this low on my list is the fact I just haven’t played it enough yet. I’m playing Hitman 2 the same way I played Hitman in 2016: by doing a mission several times in several different ways before moving on to the next one. This took a long time in Hitman and will likely take even longer in Hitman 2 thanks to the much larger levels. That said, what I have played of Hitman 2 has been an absolute joy. The larger maps are chock full of things to find and inventive ways to kill people. Other game modes like escalations and elusive targets serve as a way to mix things up on the same handful of maps, and combined with the inclusion of the entirety of 2016’s Hitman make for a game filled to bursting with the content I love.
7. Monster Hunter: World
Monster Hunter: World shows what a handheld franchise can become when given the power of home consoles and PCs. World’s unified maps add so much fluidity and realism to hunting, since neither you nor the monster can just “leave the room” and take a breather. Fights are intense, dramatic, and in the late game, dangerous. The gameplay that made Monster Hunter a staple of the handheld scene holds up wonderfully, even if things have been simplified since Monster Hunter Generations. Attacks feel great, breaking monster parts is satisfying, and watching your prey fall feels like cause for celebration. The numerous armors and armor skills (not to mention the 14 unique weapon types) give players an incredible number of viable playstyles. It was amazing to see Monster Hunter be the game I hoped it could be and get the support it deserves.
6. Red Dead Redemption 2
What? Why are you looking at me like that? Yes, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a great game. The characters are interesting and (mostly) well-written, the story is fantastic (except for that bit at the beginning of chapter 5), and the visuals are easily the most impressive I’ve seen this year. The biggest snag, for me, is the mission structure. Red Dead Redemption has one of the biggest open worlds of the year, but the missions are practically on rails. You do the mission the way Rockstar intends, or you lose. I don’t think that’s acceptable in a modern open-world experience. But despite that snag, I was still compelled and engrossed enough to see the story through to its completion. The inevitable deaths that come along the way (I mean, A LOT of these characters aren’t mentioned in the first game) still took me by surprise, and I was still saddened to see them go. Arthur Morgan is one of the best-realized characters I’ve ever had the pleasure to play. Red Dead Redemption 2 is still absolutely worth your time.
5. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission reminds me a lot of Ape Escape for the PlayStation. When I was a boy, Ape Escape taught me how to use a DualShock controller while still being a fun experience. Astro Bot didn’t teach me how to use my PlayStation VR (I’ve had the darn thing for over two years), but it does a marvelous job of showcasing how the PlayStation VR and DualShock 4 can work together. Your VR visor can be used to head soccer balls back at enemies, break barriers, and you have to shake your head to remove sticky vision-obscuring globs. The DualShock 4’s touch pad, light bar, and gyroscope are key parts of solving environmental puzzles. Most importantly, the game surrounding all these feature “tutorials” is fun.
Playing as a relatively stationary character while controlling an adorable little robot was a fantastic choice for a VR platforming game. Astro Bot will need to maneuver above, around, and underneath you, and it all manages to feel natural. Small details like not being able to just walk off of high ledges (Astro Bot will instead stop and the edge and do a “whoooa” animation) and the Super Mario Sunshine-esque hover move which sends lasers from Astro Bot’s feet all the way to the ground keep the more difficult stages from feeling outright impossible. All of this is supported with a lovely art style, a magnificent sense of scale, and an incredibly catchy soundtrack. If you own a PlayStation VR, you owe it to yourself to check out Astro Bot: Rescue Mission.
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man
I’ve been intrigued by Marvel’s Spider-Man since it was first unveiled, mostly because I associate Insomniac Games with high-quality releases. Spider-Man blew my already high expectations away and delivered my favorite super hero game to date. Spider-Man handles exactly like you would expect him to, he’s agile, focused more on his webs and speed than raw power. I never fast-traveled during my time with the game because travelling via web-swinging was just too much fun. Swinging across Manhattan also meant more time stopping small crimes and, well, feeling like a superhero taking down the bad guys. Evading attacks and counter-attacking feels great. Webbing and gadgets give Spider-Man’s combat a surprising amount of depth, though you can finish the game without total mastery.
The story, while largely predictable, still managed to resonate with me. One of the final twists is telegraphed throughout the game (especially if you’re acquainted with the franchise), but there were points in the game where I was hoping against hope that it wouldn’t happen. I dreaded the inevitable, but from a place of compassion for the characters in question rather than a distaste for the predictable. Insomniac Games produced a Spider-Man experience on par with anything Marvel has, if not better.
3. Return of the Obra Dinn
Easily the most niche title on my list, Return of the Obra Dinn felt like a game almost tailor-made for me. A puzzle game set aboard an old sailing ship focused on solving the mystery of what happened to the ship and its crew? I couldn’t download Obra Dinn fast enough! Lucas Pope has worked his magic yet again and made paperwork a compelling premise for gameplay. You play an insurance adjuster armed with a book and a magic pocket watch, tasked with determining if and how everyone on the crew met their end. Find a corpse, open the watch, listen to a brief audio clip, then walk around in a 3-D snapshot of the instant that person died. Repeat with a different corpse or bloodstain. That’s all the information you get.
That meager amount of information turned into pages of notes, which for me is a huge plus. It took several repeated viewings of the “memories” to discern those final few crew members, but it was the sort of puzzle experience that I live for. Clues from cot numbers to grouping in an artist’s rendering all became vital as my time aboard the Obra Dinn went on. The retro-inspired graphics served as just enough obfuscation to require close inspection without crossing the line into frustratingly unidentifiable.
It took me just over nine magical hours to discern the fate of the Obra Dinn’s 60 crew members, and I am genuinely sad that I will never get to experience it for the first time again.
2. God of War
God of War did something I didn’t think was possible, it redeemed Kratos. I thought Kratos, and by extension the God of War franchise, had gone too far into meaningless, angry violence to be of interest to me again. But Santa Monica Studio took the angriest man in videogames and turned him back into the tortured soul he hadn’t been since his PlayStation 2 debut. Kratos no longer lashes out at the world around him, but he certainly isn’t at peace. Kratos knows what he is, what he and those like him are capable of, and all he wants to do is spare his son the burden of divinity. Seeing Kratos and Atreus toe the line between the tension of a strained relationship and sharing their grief and back had me invested in their journey from the very start.
The combat and the violence are still present, but there’s more focus to God of War than previous entries. Button mashing doesn’t clear rooms anymore, you have to think about what enemies are present, be familiar with your moves and abilities. The moment to moment gameplay seems to have matured along with the writing.
That maturation, for me, is what places God of War at the number two spot on my list. The evolution of Kratos and God of War as a franchise is a monumental accomplishment. An even bigger accomplishment is making that evolution feel natural. God of War is one of the finest games of this generation.
1. Celeste
Celeste is one of the best 2D platformers I have ever played. The controls are tight and responsive. Each level introduces and builds upon a new mechanic with Mario-esque levels of execution. Celeste is a difficult game, but when you do make a mistake the restart is almost instantaneous. The levels are broken up into short screens to keep you making progress, despite how many times you’ve died. Celeste is a modern-day master class in 2D platforming design.
But Celeste isn’t content to be excellent on just one front, oh no. Celeste also has a fantastic story. Madeline’s journey up Celeste Mountain and her (literal) conflict with her own doubts and anxieties has made an impact on so many people this year, myself included. Celeste gave me pause to reflect upon my own struggles with doubt and anxiety, and while I can’t say my struggles are over as a result, any game that really gets me to look in the mirror is going to be remembered as something special.
I’ve saved the best for last, the music. My god, Celeste’s soundtrack is stellar. Composer Lena Raine has produced one of the best musical scores in video games. Intensity waxes and wanes in perfect sync with the events of the story. Madeline’s anxiety is almost palpable in certain scenes thanks in large part to the music. Celeste’s soundtrack has made it’s way into my regular rotation, and I’m not sure it will ever leave.
All of the aspects I listed above coming together in perfect harmony is why Celeste is my favorite game of 2018. If you haven’t played it, I highly recommend giving it a chance. I’m not going to stop playing any time soon, that’s for sure.
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