2018 may come off feeling like it wasn’t that great a year. I’ve had my own shares of ups and downs, and we’ve lost some truly great people this year. Even in games, 2018 hasn’t been all that kind, with considerable practices within the industry to worry about. Again, I didn’t get to play all that I wanted. I didn’t get to play a fair amount of games this year, making it surprising just how hard it was to put this list together. Not because I didn’t play enough games, no, it’s just that 2018 had some truly wonderful games.
So, in sort of no particular order, here they are:
Monster Hunter: World
The Monster Hunter: World demo graced my list back in 2017. Even as a demo, Capcom had managed to bring together a game that was truly great. Now as 2018 ends, I’ve got to say they’ve only built upon it to even greater heights. Slightly disappointing weapon designs aside, everything about Monster Hunter: World comes together into an unforgettable experience for series veterans and newcomers alike.
There’s just something special about Monster Hunter that I’ve never truly put my finger on. All I know is that despite its smaller roster of monsters to hunt, World has managed to crank that feeling well beyond a ten. Perhaps it’s the charm and burning spirit of the game’s new cast, pushing you on to tackle each new challenge with a big grin. Or the astounding majesty and might of the new creatures you’ll face, their grace and ferocity on full display as you fight for your life. Or maybe it’s the joy of jumping in with three other hunts, working together with each powerful strike, each slash of a sword or explosion from a gunlance, or the gust of wind from a Rathalos’ wings to the might slam of the Nergigante’s claw. The score is as excellent as ever and each time the score swelled when the monster fell, I was grinning from ear to ear. And hey, maybe if you’re lucky the desire sensor will be kind to you.
Overcooked 2
I’m a pretty social gamer, in the sense that I love sharing gaming experiences with other people. Outside of conversation, this manifests more in the form of diving into co-op experiences rather than the competitive. Overcooked 2 manages to somehow mix that competitive rush into a frantic little co-op experience. What starts out as you and a couple friends casually chatting as you chop, fry, and serve up foods into a mad, chaotic rush to meet orders as your environment shifts and changes around you. From magic schools to crashing hot air balloons, you’ll cook your way through kitchens both delightful and weird. This is a game that pushes cooperation, because working alone only leaves a group putting out fires and screaming about dirty dishes. In Overcooked 2 too many cooks don’t spoil the broth.
Monster Prom
Monster Prom is the best party game of the year. Nothing you say can change my mind about it. I know we got a Mario Party this year that’s a return to series form, but Monster Prom does something no party game’s ever really done. It makes high-school fun – I, uh, mean – it’s a dating sim that’s also among my favorite experiences this year. You and up to three other friends pick one of four monster teens hoping to score a date to prom with the most popular kids at school. Monster Prom is self-aware little game is filled to the brim with charming characters, absurd moments, and all the nostalgic joy of a high-school experience. It’ll poke fun at pop culture, dating sims, and even you. Monster Prom‘s true brilliance comes from the parts where the game set you up to debate against your friends on some hilariously absurd scenarios to see who got to go first in the next round. Going first in Monster Prom is key, because that way your friend can’t steal that fiery demon’s heard before you do! Warning: Play this with friends and you’ll all end laughing so hard it makes your stomachs hurt.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
“Everyone is here!” is what Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was announced with, and that statement was meant with every ounce of weight it holds. Featuring a roster 74 characters strong, with even more on the way, Smash Ultimate is a love letter to its own history, and to video games in general. Replacing the trophies are the new Spirits, tied directly into the game’s single-player Adventure Mode. Spirits are the souls of video game icons from the franchises of the Smash roster beyond, hitting nostalgic icons like Excitebike to familiar faces from a plethora of series, both renowned and obscure. The game itself features callbacks to various franchises, including two heartwarming odes to Street Fighter II. The moment you unlock Ryu, just jump into the Classic Mode, trust me.
On the subject of modes, Smash Ultimate, is overflowing with ways to play. There’s a few modes from before missing, but there’s just so many ways to bring the fight that you’ll rarely find yourself lacking in things to do. As someone interested in the competitive side of the game, the option to set different rule presets for Smash mode itself is such a welcome addition. And the options within that are deep enough that you can set up all kinds of custom games to really shake up your fight nights. In bringing everything about Smash together, Smash Ultimate has also combined the best for its gameplay, featuring enough for Melee diehards and Smash WiiU/3DS newcomers to create what I believe is the definitive Smash Bros. experience. It’s just really, really hard not getting excited about anything in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!
God of War
I’ve never really been a fan of the God of War franchise. Back when others were falling in love with Kratos’ pantheon slaying adventures, I was deep into one 100+ hour RPG after another. I sat with others as they played the God of War games, but I never actually played one myself till, well, God of War. I only got this one recently, when I traded my copy of Spider-man for a friend’s God of War. So I can say with confidence, that God of War truly deserved that Game of the Year award. My budding existing interest in Norse mythology, combined with the gorgeous environments and the satisfying combat system really drew me into God of War like I hadn’t expected. But it was the dynamic between Kratos and Atreus, both in gameplay and story that kept me around. Also the Leviathan Axe. Take notes for a Thor game, Marvel.
Marvel’s Spider-Man
I’ve taken to calling 2018 the Year of the Spider. Between the excellent Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse and the wonderful Marvel’s Spider-man, 2018 has been the web-slinger’s year. It’s rare for a game to capture me as powerfully as Spider-man did right from its opening moment. From the glimpse to the ever relatable Peter Parker’s life, to the seamless transition from a leap out the window right into the heart of the gameplay marked the beginning of the best ever web swinging experience put to video game. The New York of Marvel’s Spider-man is as alive and vibrant as its real life counterpart, I’ve been told, even if it does lack some of the city’s charming vibrance. Insomniac’s own take on the character’s lore stays true to the heart of Spider-man, of his personal struggles and his chaotic adventures, spinning around them a brand new web that builds a story both deeply engrossing and personal. This is a game that shows Spider-man at the height of his superhero career, having taken down one of his biggest adversaries and building up a slew of tech to help him keep New York safe.
The combat initially felt derivative of Rocksteady’s Arkham games, but it’s the moment you start to experiment with it that you realize just how much you can make it your own. My own preference switched between ending encounters completely unseen to trying to use a combination of as many gadgets as possible. Insomniac’s Spider-man is a version of the character that is going to stay with me for a long, long time. This game is something special, because there’s nothing else that brings a more authentic experience of being Spider-man.
GOTY:
Celeste
Celeste is a truly special game. It’s a wonderful, challenging, beautiful experience. Celeste is also my Game of the Year, and I’m confident in saying this before I’ve even told you about why I love it so much. I didn’t get to play Celeste until last month actually, but it pulled me in so quick, took a hold of my attention so quickly that I was taking breaks at work just to put some time into getting through one of Celeste’s many intensely challenging screens. Celeste is tough, each of its challenges require quick reflexes and near razor accuracy to get through unscathed. More so if you choose to grab every strawberry you come across, or seek out cassettes to unlock harder B and C-side levels. It’s also a warm, supportive game. Telling you that you only need strawberries if you wish to brag to your friends, or that you needn’t worry about your death count, for you’re better with each fall. And if it still proves too much, Celeste encourages players to modify it to their style with an assist mode. I’m a big advocate for game accessibility, and the assist mode is something I’d love to see more of. Under it’s classic visuals and impeccably crafted gameplay, Celeste is also a powerful depiction of mental struggle, of anxiety, of everyday mountains that can pile up to feel like the one it’s named after. I built a personal connection to Celeste‘s characters in a short time. Celeste is an experience brims with the message of love and care, of the perseverance needed to push beyond. The challenge is almost metaphorical in a sense. But as a game, as an experience, and as a message, Celeste is what stories and video games are all about.
Honorary Mentions (Or games that came out the year before):
Golf Story
I picked up my Nintendo Switch in June this year, and one of the first games I got for it was Golf Story. I’d heard a lot about Sidebar Games’ Switch exclusive last year, and it had become one of the games I’d yearned to experience. The wait was every bit worth it. Golf Story is set in wonderful little world where most problems are handled with a simple game of golf. Or a not so simple game of golf. Golf is basically the heart of this RPG, with visuals that took me back to some of my favorite RPG experiences all those years ago. Golf games have always somehow managed to entertain me, despite my lack of interest or concern for the actual sport. And with Golf Story’s combination of RPG elements, quirky characters, and possibly the best depiction of dialogue boxes I’ve ever seen in a game, it’s become an experience I will eagerly and firmly push others towards. If you’ve got a Switch and still haven’t tried Golf Story out, I recommend it. Hole-heartedly.
Gorogoa
Gorogoa is literal art in video game form, it’s described as a puzzle game, but it’d be far more accurate to call it a an experience. Better yet, a journey. Gorogoa is a journey, of the player, of the character they control, and of the environment they inhabit. It’s a journey through life, through dreams, and the past, and future, and possibilities. A dive into spirituality and religion. I know I’m starting to sound a rather pretentious here, so I’ll put it forward in simpler terms. Gorogoa is a puzzle game, where you manipulate gorgeously drawn images in a two-by-two grid. The game explains little to you as you’re pulled in, and though the puzzles aren’t all too complex, the solution to each is a treat for the eyes as you fall upon one ‘Aha!’ moment after another. It’s a short, sweet game that I promise will linger with you long after you’ve left it, then returned to it, and left it again. And if there’s one game I could possibly consider recommending more than Celeste on this list, it would be Gorogoa.
Destiny 2
If Activision Blizzard had not decided to offer the base game for free, I don’t think I would have ever tried Destiny 2. Curious, a couple friends and I hopped in to check Bungie’s sci-fi grindfest out. What I ended up finding was a superbly enjoyable co-op experience, one that I’m engaging in almost daily. It’s an easily accessible little game, with charming characters and enough depth for those that desire it. The story in Destiny 2 is sub-par, I’ll put that out there, but running through one strike after another, comparing drops and opening engrams together with my fireteam has given Destiny 2 a place in my heart. Heck, I’ll be picking up Forsaken and the rest of the expansions soon enough to keep this gunslinging, space magic romp going longer.
Games I wish I’d played this year:
Return of the Obra Dinn
Iconoclasts
The Gardens Between
CrossCode
Florence
A Way Out
Dragon Quest XI
Octopath Traveler – I’m actually playing this right now. I just didn’t get deep enough to see if it made my list. It’s beautiful though, and a worthy addition to any Switch library.
