What a year it has been for video games

2018 has been a great year for video games. There have been so many awesome games released this year that it was impossible for me to play all of them. It’s that time of the year where people list their favourite games of the year and that’s what I am going to do now.

It’s been hard but I’ve come up with my top 10 games of 2018. Which games have made the list? Grab a drink, sit down and find out what my top 10 games of 2018 are.

 

10. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory

Another year, another good Digimon game. Bandai Namco has been knocking out great Digimon games for the past two years and this year’s entry, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory is fantastic JRPG that has a gripping and emotional story too.

It plays similarly to 2016’s Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth so it has a brilliant monster collecting and evolving gameplay with a turn-based combat system. It’s incredibly fun to play and again like I said last year, it feels good to get awesome Digimon games again.

I can’t wait for Digimon Survive which is the game that is releasing in 2019. Namco’s track record is good so I have high hopes for it. If you’re a fan of Digimon and/ or JRPGs then don’t miss out on Hacker’s Memory.

 

9. Dragon Ball FighterZ

Dragon Ball FighterZ would be higher on my list but I need to play more of it. What I have played of FighterZ is very fun and even got one of my friends who isn’t that into fighting games (he’s a huge Dragon Ball fan) playing this. Playing this game also got him into trying out other fighting games, this now means I have another friend to play fighting games with.

I love how fast this game is, it really captures the feeling that the characters you are playing as are super-powered. Also, can we take a minute to appreciate how good it looks? It looks as if the developer Arc System Works just took the anime and turned into a game, it’s that good.

Arc System Works has done a stellar job in making a Dragon Ball fighting game and I can’t wait to see how this evolves.

 

8. Warframe

It’s been a big year for Warframe, the release of Excalibur Umbra, the announcements of the next big story chapter, Railjack and the next big open-world space called Fortuna at Tennocon 2018. Fortuna is out and holy hell is it good. It improves upon the Plains of Eidolon in pretty much every single way. It’s bigger, more diverse, you can have a hoverboard and pull off Tony Hawk-esque tricks. Also, you can have a pet Moa, a pet robot!

Then there is Excalibur Umbra (who is now one of my favourite frames) who was obtainable from the excellent ‘The Sacrifice’ quest. The Sacrifice advanced the story in a way I did not expect but it’s somehow now even more interesting than ever before.

2018 has been great for Warframe and I’ve put countless hours into it this year. Now’s a great time to get into Warframe, the game is the best it has ever been and 2019 looks like it will be another phenomenal year for it.

 

7. Monster Hunter: World

It’s been a while since Monster Hunter appeared on home consoles but Capcom sought out to change it, and change it they did.

I like the Monster Hunter series but there are so many games that I lost track after not playing a couple of entries. Monster Hunter: World was a game that I hoped it would rekindle the love I once had for the series and it did.

Hunting monsters has never felt or looked better. Using massive weapons and laying down traps to take down monsters feels great. The bigger creatures have very good A.I. and require a good strategy in order to beat them. This means that every encounter you have with these beasts is different.

MH: World also has co-op and teaming up with friends to take down an Anjanath is incredibly fun. Monster Hunter: World is a game that me and my friends can buddy up and slay some monsters.

Monster Hunter: World brought back my love for the series and it appears to have hooked many others as well, as over 8 million copies have been sold. Monster Hunter is back!

 

6. Spyro Reignited Trilogy

The little purple dragon is back and he’s never looked better. After the fantastic Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy, people were hoping that Spyro would get the same treatment and he did.

The Reignited Trilogy contains the first three games that were released on PS1 many years ago; Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon. All three games have been lovingly recreated and you can tell that developer Toys For Bob, put a lot of heart and soul into remaking these games for a new generation of gamers and for fans of the beloved series.

All three games still a tonne of fun to play and gameplay wise, they hold up rather well. Spyro 3 has stood the test of time the best but that makes sense but the big surprise is finding out that Spyro 1 still feels good. Sure, the controls have been tweaked in the Reignited Trilogy but Spyro still holds up well gameplay wise, more so than the first Crash Bandicoot.

Spyro Reignited Trilogy brought back some fond memories I have of the series when I played it when I was a kid. The collection plays the nostalgia card for fans and that’s not a bad thing if when handled well. All I wanted was the first three games with a fresh coat of paint applied to them and that is what I got.

 

5. Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise

ATATATATATATATATA!

I love the Yakuza games and absolutely adore Fist of the North Star. So when Sega decided to combine the two and make a game, I was over the moon. It was as if Sega were monitoring my dreams and thought yeah, let’s make it for him.

I’ve only had this game since Christmas but I have already had so much fun with this game, from the story, combat and minigames. Bartender Kenshiro is one of the best things I have experienced in a game for a while, it’s hilarious. The combat is like the Yakuza series but with Fist of the North Star’s over-the-top and violent martial arts.

The story is non-canon and I like that Sega did this. Lost Paradise didn’t need to follow the manga down to a tee, it needed to be its own thing and it proudly struts its stuff like a peacock. If I wanted the game to follow the manga, I’d play the FotNS games from Koei Tecmo or read the manga again.

Lost Paradise is gloriously hilarious experience and I have loved every minute I have played of it. This does make me wonder though, will the Ryu Ga Gotoku studio and Sega give the same treatment to any other anime and manga?

 

4. Soul Calibur VI

Soul Calibur is back! After two average entries, Soul Calibur VI is a big return to form for the series. The speed that the series is known for is back, the gameplay is fast, fluid and flashy.

Soul Calibur VI is a soft reboot of the series as the story of SCVI is a retelling of the first game. There are two story modes, Soul Chronicle and Libra of Souls. Libra of Souls is a story mode for a created character and it has some RPG elements that make the mode really cool. Libra of Souls is that good that with a bit of smoothness and more RPG elements, it could become its own small game of sorts.

Create-a-soul is back and is crazier than ever and people have been making some very weird characters. A quick search on YouTube will show you some of the community’s creations, just brace yourself for some weirdness.

Soul Calibur VI is a return to form and as I said in my review, the “soul” of Soul Calibur is back and I am very happy. I wrote a review of Soul Calibur VI a few weeks ago, check it out if you want.

 

3. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Dragon Quest XI is absolutely brilliant, I haven’t fully completed it yet but it appears this high on my list because of how much of an impression it has left on me. It’s a mainline Dragon Quest game and it’s also a traditional turn-based JRPG and I wouldn’t have a ‘proper’ Dragon Quest game any other way.

The story is good and I have been really enjoying it and as you’d expect from Dragon Quest game, it involves darkness and the world tree, Yggdrasil. I love all of the party members, each one is different and brings a unique feel to the party. I also love the dialogue between them as it can create some interesting moments.

Dragon Quest XI is a very pretty game, the colours are vibrant and lush and Akira Toriyama’s renowned art style shines brightly and is proudly on display. It’s one of the best looking games I have played, it’s an absolute delight to look at.

I have loved every second of Dragon Quest XI so far and I will more than likely enjoy the countless hours to come. It feels good to play a main Dragon Quest game on a console again.

 

2. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Kiryu’s last chapter definitely lived up to the hype and I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried at the end of this game. I’ve been playing the Yakuza games for several years now and I’ve gotten to know Kiryu so well that he’s kind of like family in a way. The story is incredible, emotional and very well-written. Once again the Ryu Ga Gotoku team have shown that they are masters at storytelling.

The main story is brilliant and so is everything else. Yakuza 6 uses a brand new engine and the series has never looked better. The substories are also well-written and some of them nearly made cry. Also, I have to mention Ono Michio-kun, I won’t say anything else, I don’t want to spoil it.

Yakuza 6 like previous entries have activities and I love the ones found in Yakuza 6. You can have sophisticated conversations with people in a bar, go to a gym, lead a clan, run your own baseball club and go spearfishing. Spearfishing is a ton of fun, I punched a freaking shark!

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life was a stellar entry of the series that concluded the story of one of my favourite characters in gaming. Kiryu’s swansong is an adventure everyone needs to experience.

 

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

It was close, 2018 was a very good year for games but Red Dead Redemption 2 is my game of the year. I was eagerly looking forward to this game but I was also worried that the story wouldn’t be as good as the first game. I don’t know why I was worried because not only did Rockstar create a story better than the first, they knocked it out the park and then some.

The story for Red Dead Redemption 2 is quite possibly one of the best I have experienced in a game. It has drama, emotion and well-written and diverse characters that you care about one way or another. You get to see Dutch’s gang who are on the run from the law, go through many problems, all of which impact the gang and eventually add up to the climactic events of the game.

The main protagonist Arthur Morgan is phenomenal and I wrote a small piece about how he is one of the best characters I have ever played as. He is flawed, deeply so and he is ignorant to them for the early parts of the game. As the story progresses he realises he isn’t perfect and that he needs to improve and maybe even change, if he wants to survive. His character growth between the beginning and the end is immense and impressive. It’s a true redemption story, one that gets you really caring about Arthur.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best games that I have ever played, not just in 2018. The online component, Red Dead Online needs some work but RDR2’s single-player offering is so strong that it deserves to get the number one spot.

 

That’s it folks! Those are my top 10 games of 2018. What games made your list? Let me know in the comments below. If you wrote a list of your own, link it in the comments so I can read it later.

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