Games That I Enjoyed Playing In 2018
- Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
I’ve been playing SFV non-stop ever since it updated to Arcade Edition this year. Now I’m not the greatest SF player but this is the first SF game where I truly enjoyed learning combos and having the effort to practice on the character that I used, namely Karin. SFV may not be everyone’s favorite fighting game but I’ve been able to connect to other players easily and been able feel like I’m getting better at the game as I play. This is one fighting game that I’ll continue to play in the new year.
2. Splatoon 2
I never get to play Splatoon 2 till 5 months ago during an eshop sale. I didn’t expect to love this game so much. It’s short and sweet with each match goes on to 3 minutes. I’m never a fan of the gyro controls and unfortunately Splatoon 2 didn’t help either. It didn’t help much for me during intense matches neither do normal controls. It took great practice but once I found the right weapon for my way of playing, it instantly clicks and I have even more fun. It’s something I’ll always pick up and play for a round or 2 during my free time.
3. Gris
If I wanna explain this game in a single sentence, It’ll be “Journey but 2D without the multiplayer” because it is just THAT beautiful from start till finish. The game kinda starts with the main character losing her voice and going into some sort of a depression state. The game starts from there as she fell down.. somewhere. It is a fairly simple video game with only going either left or right and a few puzzle-ish segments. What made me drawn to this game was the art style and how it has this paintbrush-look to it as it unveils new locations to you. When you go through this game, it’s like you will be seeing every color being drawn right before your eyes. It’s not exactly a long game, but It’s a journey worth going into.
4. Lumines: Remastered
Lumines Lumines Lumines Lumines. I can never get tired of Lumines. No matter how many times I switch on the game and the first skin show up with “Shinin’”, I know I’m in for a ride for the next hour. I was never a Tetris person until I bought my PSP back in 2004 with one of the first game I bought was… You guess it, Lumines. When Lumines: Remastered, I was pretty stoked to finally play it again on a newer handheld machine and I can finally retire my old PSP. It’s the same old Lumines magic but on my Nintendo Switch and I’ll be continue my tradition to play it every chance I can get.
5. No Man’s Sky NEXT
I bought No Man’s Sky earlier this year but I stopped after getting my ship and flew into another planet before putting in down until the ‘NEXT’ update started to roll out and boy, am I glad I didn’t ventured further during the previous update. This is one video game where I can enjoy doing anything I want and doing things at my own pace. It does have an end goal and missions, but that was not the top priority for me so I decided to just cruise around the galaxy and meet aliens.
It have quite a few complex systems that you have to learn at the start but ever since the new update, it has been much more lenient to new players and with multiplayer? It’s much more joyous to play with, even though I have yet to play with someone. Whenever I feel like I wanna take a break from intense games or work life, I’ll hop into No Man’s Sky and have a relaxing time for the next hour.
6. Tetris Effect
On paper, there is nothing much to say about a Tetris game, but when you put Tetris into the minds of the people who made Rez and Lumines, you’re in for a treat. Right from the start, you are drawn in with silence and the music slowly builds up as you progress through your lines. I don’t have a 4K TV nor a PSVR, but god damn, does it still look good on my normal 49 inch Full HD TV. I didn’t expect to love a Tetris game this much, but here I am!
7. Hitman 2
I have a hell lot of fun with Hitman back in 2016, this is truly the same here, if not, much better. It’s more Hitman and more crazy stuffs and more funny shit that we can pull off. This game gives you the freedom to assassinate your target however you want it to be. Throw a screwdriver right through their eyeballs? Check. Throw a Soda Can to their heads and proceed to snap their necks? Check. Disguise as a seamstress and strangle them with a measuring tape? You got it! There are a huge number of ways to kill them and the world is rich enough for you to traverse in and plan your way of killing.
8. Dragon Ball FighterZ
If I told my 12 years old self that I’ll be getting a damn good Dragon Ball fighting game in 16 years, he wouldn’t believe me. When you put MvC gameplay into a DBZ game, it fits exactly just right. It’s definitely one of my favorite fighting games this year and pulling off complex combos felt worth it all the way.
9. Monster Hunter World
Yo. Monster Hunter World is freaking lit. I patiently waited for the PC version to come out, and when it did, I went straight in. I am pretty damn happy how they simplified the gathering segments to make it less tedious and made the beginning tutorial much more welcoming for new players. The gameplay are more or less the same for veteran players, but it welcomes a much more stylish and presentation the way it plays. The amount of monsters are enough for a brand new graphics engine. The world is rich with stuff to go around and I still can get lost in the first area!
The multiplayer was kinda rough during the launch of the PC release, but it has been fix by now and it’s been smooth sailing most of the time. If you are new to monster hunter or curious to see what they offer, Monster Hunter World is the best place to start as they help through some of the tutorial. If you already have friends who started playing this game, ask them for help as they can join your party even though they are in High Rank or whatever they are. This game is for every hunter for every needs.
10. Florence
When I first heard of this mobile game, I was already quite intrigued by it. This game is not a very long game and you can actually finish in probably an hour or two. I finished playing this game while I was drinking alone at a cafe while waiting for my next meeting. It is what it says. It is an interactive story video game where you control this girl’s life. You don’t get to choose exactly what she has to do but live through her life. The way the gameplay was shown to you was quite simple but there are times where things can get “complicated” but sometimes I can also say, life can be “complicated” too if you know what I mean. It is a very joyful game to play and quite an emotional one too. Go get it. You won’t regret it.
Heck, I’ll even link it to your respective android and apple store page:
Google Play Store -https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mountains.feathertop&hl=en
Apple App Store -https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/florence/id1297430468?mt=8
11. Dragon Quest 11
The majority of my gaming time that I spent this year was Dragon Quest 11. Boy what a ride this game was. Dragon Quest 11 is a JRPG in the long running series Dragon Quest. It is as the title says, you’re on a quest to save the world and the 11th entry is no different. You name your character and you’re off to your journey while meeting new companions along the way.
I play this game pretty much around 30 minutes to almost 2 hours everyday. The commitment to playing this is quite great for my age when I’m working and all that. It is, of course, quite worth it in the end as the story is one of my favorites this year. The gameplay is pretty basic with your usual JRPG style games, but what made it more easier to navigate around in the open world is there are NO. RANDOM. BATTLES. Thank god I don’t have to forcefully sit through every random battle and either fight my way or run away. It is a godsend and I can navigate through the game much quicker.
What drawn me to this game was the story, settings, and it’s characters. It was a pretty enjoyable ride from start to finish. I do must add that the music was a bit of a let down though, with the lack of the orchestral soundtrack and the composer decided to use MIDI soundtrack for the entirety of the game, minus the opening video of course. It was by no means degrades my love for the game, though I wish they implemented orchestral soundtrack like what they did with Dragon Quest 8 for the PS2. For JRPG lovers, I would highly recommend this game if you have the time to play it. The english voice-overs are quite charming and the monsters are pretty amazing.
12. Forza Horizon 4
I love the Forza Horizon series. It’s just one fun racing game to play around with. They’ll put you in a giant sandbox and you can drive anyway how you want it with any car you want. Driving through a huge rice field with a god damn Ferrari is really fun! The handling of the driving is a mix between simulation and arcade-y. It fits my way of having fun with a driving game.
This game offers many activities for you to do in. With this being the 4th entry, you are now in Britain and this time, you’ll be enjoy through the 4 seasons. It really spice things up a lot in the game and it keep things really fresh whenever a new season comes. We’ll have specific season activities or a specific season car that we can unlock along the way. Tired of the same season already? Then we have to wait for 2 real world weeks and it’ll automatically change the season for you. It is fun going through the Fall season as it is my favorite season of the year personally.
One of the activities the game throws at you can be special racing activities like racing with a group of dirt bikes, or a train, or an airplane. It does feel gimmicky at first but it was a really fun one to experience in. There is one activity where you become a stunt driver where you do stunt driving for the celebrity actor which looks exactly like your character. You have a huge choices of names and you can either be a number selection of male or female body models. I love the selection of character customization this time around as you can customize your winning dances and clothing.
Overall, Forza Horizon 4 is one of my most fun video games that I’ve played this year. It is nice to drop in and race a few miles with random players from around the world. The one thing I wish is that they’ll bring back the option to listen to custom music. It was actually a huge deal for me during the previous entry and it was listening to my own songs while playing the game. I hope they bring in some day. For now, I’ll stick to Horizon Pulse and hope for Chvrches to come on.
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That concludes the list of games that I’ve enjoyed playing this year! I know there are certain amazing popular games like Red Dead 2 ,God of War, and some others that I didn’t play, but I’ll find time to go play it soon! 2019 is coming in a few days and Kingdom Hearts 3 is just right over the horizon. May all of you have a great 2019! See you there!
