Andrew's Top 10 of 2018 - Games
2018 was a bizarre year for games. Narrative driven adventure games really took center stage, with the indie scene continuing to impress in a big way and a few AAA titles really pulling all the stops. This year was also one of the best for fighting games, with an explosion of interesting titles all throughout. Today, I’ll be sharing my top 10 games of the year.
It’s possible your favorite games might not be on this list. To recap when I did this last year, this list only represents my opinion; these were my favorite games, not necessarily the best games. Additionally, there were a ton of games I regrettably missed this year that very well could’ve made the list, including:
…and many others
Honorable Mentions
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
Captain Spirit fills a few roles, including story prologue and mechanics demo for Life is Strange 2, on top of being its own unique thing. As its own unique thing, it’s short and sweet, and uses the game medium to create a rich intimate narrative about a boy with an imaginative alter ego. While I definitely enjoyed the use of the game medium to really simulate and capture the sensation of childhood, and loved the story that’s told solely through actions and small details, the experience was altogether too short and small to make the cut. The game can be downloaded for free on Steam and PS4 if you feel like trading a couple hours for something wonderful.
Into the Breach
I actually feel really bad about this, because truthfully I only played this game once for about an hour and remember really liking it. Since then, I’ve seen more footage, read more reviews, and gotten a stronger overall impression of what the game becomes, and if I’m being honest it almost definitely would’ve been a top 10 contender if I had played it more. At the very least, I felt the need to mention it since it was definitely one of the best puzzle games disguised as a turn-based strategy I’ve ever seen, and I say that based only on my dip in this ocean.
Beat Saber (VR)
I think VR is still in the stage of development where it’s not quite advanced enough to just “do anything,” but it’s come far enough to take its current limitations and make good games out of them. To me, Beat Saber is one of the cleanest executed versions of good VR right now: immersive, sensational, and unique. I also love it as the natural evolution of the full-body rhythm game, having started with Dance Dance Revolution and deconstructing it into something simpler yet more nuanced and intricate. It’s not a far stretch saying that this might be the start of the next generation of rhythm games, and Beat Saber is kicking it off in style.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT
For the second year in a row, I got to play an absolutely excellent arena battle game straight out of Japanese arcades, and just like last year it still didn’t quite manage to make the cut. Compared to last year’s Gundam Versus, I think Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is a stronger overall game by being more methodical, refined and tactical (and for plenty of other reasons I recounted earlier in the year). While I haven’t played quite as much going into the second half of the year, the game is still performing incredibly strong in Japan which means updates and DLC keep rolling out. The game is probably cheaper now and shouldn’t be too hard to find, I think it’s definitely worth a curiosity purchase (especially if you can get your friends to play). Now, if only they could master the netcode…
Lumines Remastered
Lumines is still one of my favorite puzzle games ever, having absolutely blown my mind when it came out 14 years ago, and Lumines Remastered is basically just an HD version of that with some polish and cleanup. On it’s own, it’d easily make it in this year’s top 10, but I’m relegating it to an honorable mention because it’s really not that different from the game I played back in 2004, and I’d rather reserve the top 10 for games that are new. Still, Lumines Remastered is a true gem among puzzle games and I recommend it to everyone.
10 - Wizard of Legend
Wizard of Legend is an action packed roguelite in which you play a nameless wizard undergoing “the chaos trials” in an effort to prove themselves as being a true wizard of legend. It’s not the most complicated game in the world, and it seems to thrive on that. Your title is wizard, but the practice is less casting and more slinging, with a focus on tight explosive gameplay in which you throw magic in every direction like it’s going out of style (and try not to die in the process). While I really enjoy the intensity and challenge that Wizard of Legend is wielding, it suffers a bit in terms of overall variety similar to 2015’s roguelite of the year Crypt of the Necrodancer, and unlike Crypt it doesn’t have quite enough nuance to really push it forward. Luckily, there’s a content update right around the corner that should help expand the game and what’s here is already plenty exciting.
9 - Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle
Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of the English voices…
I apologize in advance, there’s gonna be a ton of fighting games on this list because I played a ton of really good fighters this year (and some decent ones that didn’t quite make it; thanks for trying, Soul Calibur VI). This year also had multiple tag team fighters and multiple crossover fighters, with Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle oddly being both. It’s also one of the best tag team fighters I’ve ever played.
The premise here is a crossover collection between three different fighting game franchises (Blazblue, Under Night In-Birth, Persona 4: Arena) and one outside series (RWBY, of which I’ve already talked extensively), in which players create 2-person teams to fight against one another. Controls and mechanics are mostly designed with simplicity in mind — auto combos on both attack buttons, universal reversal action on a single button, automatic forward run — but a deeper exploration at the tag mechanics hides a wolf in sheep’s clothing. One of the issues I have with most tag team fighters is they basically just feel like a 1v1 game in which your partner is only represented as an assist move and nothing more; Cross Tag cracks that open with not only 3 different assists per partner, but also a partner burst, in which your partner flies in to interrupt the opponent’s combo, and active switch, a mechanic that allows you to actively control both characters at the same time while fluidly switching between them. The inclusion of Resonance Blaze as a comeback mechanic also means the game doesn’t end as soon as one character is knocked out. All these functions come together to create a team fighter that actually feels like fighting as a team, with both characters pulling equal weight.
Regrettably, Cross Tag is really only a good game for the actual versus and online play. The story mode is woefully mediocre, and the challenge modes leave a lot to be desired. Still, if versus play is your jam, this one is incredibly smooth, explosive, and absolutely loaded with depth, though it may be too crunchy for some. It’s one of the only team fighters I’ve played that actively feels like you’re playing a team and not just individuals with teammates sitting on the bench, and that alone earns it plenty of merit.
8 - Gris
Painterly watercolor aesthetics, emotionally enthralling score, and some of the strongest use of color within any game this year, Gris stands out as pure artistry. The narrative is an abstract expression of a young woman going through the many stages of grief over the loss of a loved one as she struggles to find happiness again; the game then explores said narrative through a simple, mostly linear exploration as a puzzle platformer, in which progression is halted via the collection of balls of light that connect in a constellation-like fashion to bridge you through various obstacles. The whole thing is visually and aurally sublime, and makes for a fantastic centerpiece for the “videogames as art” argument.
Sadly, for all its splendor, the Gris is pretty bare in terms of actual gameplay. There’s some minor platforming and puzzles (especially late in the game), but for the most part it’s just walking. I still enjoyed taking my time to really feel out each new locale and absorb the mood that Gris’ fantastic artistry evokes, but what stops it from reaching higher is that it’s much closer to an interactive art piece than a game, and I mean that both as compliment and criticism.
7 - Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Between the new “Bloodstained” franchise, the amazing Netflix Castlevania series, and Simon, Richter and Castlevania showing up in Smash, it sure seems like gothic action horror is making a hell of comeback. Curse of the Moon specifically sets out to capture that NES-era Castlevania combat platforming experiencing, and Inti Creates managed to do so while also adding a fresh take with the switchable characters aspect and variable pathing based on your party. The nuances here add a surprising amount of fun, replayability and expression, and it helps that they are so fluid and seamless throughout. While the actual combat can be a little stiff, mimicking its precursors almost to a fault, there is something satisfying about landing each hit and fighting each boss. As an homage to an earlier era of gaming (without most of the nonsense that exists in a lot of actual NES games), I think it’s worth the $10 price tag.
6 - Dragonball FighterZ
So, if we’re just talking competitive play, I think Cross Tag is a better game, and ultimately utilizes the team aspect to the absolute fullest. Dragonball FighterZ isn’t nearly as interesting in this regard, hardly using the tag mechanic as anything more than a basic assist for 1v1 gameplay, but it is visually more inviting and its gameplay is significantly more approachable while having just enough nuance to keep things exciting.
However, the two main reasons I place Dragonball above Cross Tag are accessibility, and the latter actually offers a strong single player focus. The game features a large campaign with a superb story — one that actively plays with the structure of a fighting game and addresses the power creep problem of Dragonball’s overall mythos — and ultimately captures the feeling of a “Dragonball” style adventure. Also, while I don’t think Dragonball has quite as much mechanical depth as Cross Tag, it’s definitely a step above in terms of overall visual clarity and impact. I actually find both of these team games to be in pretty close contention, but I have a much easier time recommending this than the other.
5 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Look, I just did a huge article on Smash, so I’m not really sure what more there is to say. Ultimate reconstructs the game’s physics to create a game that emphasizes tighter mechanical prowess and explosive gameplay, all while featuring more characters than any other fighting game in history. Plus, a return to form for strong single player content comes back with World of Light, refined Classic and Training Modes, and the huge time sink that is Spirit Board. Sakurai should be proud, this might be the best game in an already gargantuan series.
4 - Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st]
Alright, I promise this is the last fighter on the list. Like I said, a lot of great ones came out this year, and the one that really takes the cake is Under Night In-Birth: Exe Late[st], or Unist for short. While not as aggressively accessible as Dragonball, Unist uses a very basic 4-button setup with fundamental consistency across its cast, and creates depth with a solid structure of core mechanics and honest gameplay that rewards skill over raw power. It sports a pretty large cast at 20 characters, each of whom play very distinctly and all of which are fairly straightforward to operate. At the heart of the core mechanics is a system called Vorpal that (without getting too specific) grants a system advantage every few seconds to whichever player is generally performing better. In a unique twist, the Vorpal system grants greater favor to players with good defense over offense, allowing it to work as a comeback mechanic and giving battles a cool implementation of “turns.” There’s also beginner-friendly tools like the forward dash button and automatic combos. The whole experience is very structured and gives both sides ample opportunity, but you can feel like there’s lot of room for creativity within it.
Unist is also incredibly impressive on the visual and aural level. The overall aesthetic and animation creates an atmosphere that’s both a little mysterious yet incredibly clean in detail, and the electronic soundtrack is one of the most vibrant in its genre. This is a game that plays itself as “cool”, and constantly gets away with it via strong style, tight gameplay, slick motion and lots of room for personal expression.
It does still suffer from the common fighting game problem that is the lack of single player options, which means it could be a little difficult to enjoy by your lonesome (despite having fantastic training and challenge modes), but as fighting games go this was definitely the one to beat this year, and I’d say none of them could.
3 - Monster Hunter World
This is the best Monster Hunter title, which is already impressive enough, but the degree by which its an improvement is really something else entirely. I had a lot to say about Monster Hunter World earlier in the year, and the game has only improved since with semi-frequent free content updates and game collaboration events. Monster Hunter World’s biggest addition to the series is that of an interconnected ecosystem, replacing map zones with one massive intricate latticework of elements. “World” is a fitting name, as the environment plays a much bigger role in the hunting process, providing natural traps, high grounds, and various walls, platforms, and pillars that change the dynamic of each hunt.
And as action games go, Monster Hunter has always been especially rewarding and World is no different, with all the crafting and mechanics you’ve come to expect from the series further refined for this HD outing. Definitely the best AAA game of the year, and a massive achievement in immersive design.
2 - Celeste
I’m not at all afraid to admit that I wholeheartedly love Celeste. Back in January, I said that Celeste was the most impressive title to come out of 2018 so far, and I waited the whole year for another that could leave me so light on my feet. In the end, there was only one that really came close, leaving me to spread out the bliss of Celeste for a whole year. That there was enough to do so leaves me with immense satisfaction, and even now the game continues to be as strong as the day I first played it. At the end of the day, Celeste is probably the hardest game I know that I feel confident recommending to everyone, especially because the difficulty is actively encouraging and blazes a truly profound narrative trail in its wake. With its amazing controls, synesthetic soundtrack, and emotionally charged story, Celeste was definitely the strongest overall game of the year…even if it wasn’t quite my favorite.
1 - Iconoclasts
This was so incredibly close. I was debating between this and Celeste for the last few months, but in the end I landed on Iconoclasts despite it being maybe slightly less excellent overall.
I’m not at all afraid to admit that I loved Cave Story, which obviously is not this game but it was crafted out of more or less the same conditions: Indie platforming metroidvania featuring a silent protagonist and beautifully designed and historically rich setting, made over the course of several years by a solo auteur foreign designer with an amazing story to tell via unfiltered vision by virtue of it being a one-person show. Swap out Japanese creator “Pixel” with Swedish creator “Konjak” and five years with eight, and everything else basically lines up. I don’t make the comparison to describe Iconoclasts as being a ripoff of Cave Story, only to highlight that the game is largely an unfiltered, incredibly personal experience created not so much for profit but rather to release an artist’s vision with the world. It’s hard for this kind of game to not leave an impact, for better or worse, and on that sway it’s quite fortunate that Iconoclasts lands in the same ballpark as Cave Story. It’s not good, or even great; Iconoclasts is flat out astonishing.
At it’s heart, Iconoclasts is a puzzle platformer disguised as a pure action game. All the enemies, bosses and various challenges are built more as problems to solve less than adversaries to simply beat (not to say that they are easy). This core design also leads to it having probably the most overall creative array of bosses compiled within one game, each one creating an astoundingly different experience. While some of the solutions are perhaps a tad esoteric, the design is bursting with imagination. Speaking of design, the overall visuals of the game not only showcases plenty of strong animation, but also displays a staggering understanding of the world the creator wanted to make, rich with history and character. The music and sound design is overall strong; while maybe not as iconic as other elements, the soundtrack is no slouch.
But easily the strongest aspect of Iconoclasts lie in its heartbreaking, riveting, and provocative story. There’s an incredible amount of substance here to unpack regarding religion and belief and how they don’t define your worth as a person, self-identity versus cultural identity, contradictions of behavior we often find ourselves in when pushed to duress, and (especially in pertinence to the lead character) the weight of actions against the intent of words. And what an intricately mooded piece, running with an undercurrent of sonder, packed with charm, and lightly seasoned with humor and horror, all balanced in a manner clearly fragile yet all the more impressive for it. There’s just too much for me to talk about here.
This was a game I wasn’t ready for, not in the slightest. Celeste is an amazing game, no doubt about it, but Iconoclasts slipped in like a summer rain and drowned my head in all manner of newness, leaving so strong an impression I can’t dry it out. Despite some of its flaws (or possibly because of them), Iconoclasts is my absolute favorite game of 2018.
And that’s my list. 2018 was such a ridiculous year for games, and I woefully felt I could only scratch the surface. I played no shortage of amazing games this year, and I imagine I’ll spend half this upcoming year just playing catch-up. But hey, I’m just one person. What were your favorite games of the year? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to donate to our Patreon. That’s all for 2018, but I have a feeling 2019 will be just as exciting.
