Video Games That I Have Enjoyed Playing in 2019
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It’s that time of the year again where we share stories of video games that we have played this year and it is quite an amazing one in fact. There were just too many games to play and not a lot of money to spend on them but I have played some of the major video game releases this year. (Hell yeah Kingdom Hearts 3!)
1. Kingdom Hearts 3
Until today, I’m still not convinced that I’ve played Kingdom Hearts 3 this year. KINGDOM FREAKING HEARTS 3! I’ve waited almost a decade and a half for this numbered sequel to come out and boy were there a lot of side sequels in-between.
As I booted up the game, watched the preview movie, and as it entered into the title screen with a new version of Dearly Beloved started playing, I just sat there and weep while the entire song plays. When the song finished, I… waited and listened to it again. It is THAT GOOD and THAT NOSTALGIC for me. I barely even clicked on ‘New Game’, but I eventually did start it anyway.
The story is quite questionable at first, but towards the end, it got quite into a tear-jerker for me. Sora thinking he’ll be going up against Xehanort alone but then Donald and Goofy walked along beside him? That was my favourite scene ever. Overall the conclusion to the Xehanort Saga was alright. It turn out to be more questions than answers. Unfortunately that would maybe all answered in the DLC next month.
The gameplay pretty much went back to form from it’s KH2 days but a lil bit more sprinkled on top. Playing it in 60FPS with performance mode was a delight and the disney ride-esque skills was amazing and fun. There were honestly some skills and the form system that I wished I still had from KH2 but I welcome the new changes with the Keyblade. It looked pretty overkill but it is not bad.
Overall, I loved the game and maybe I’m being a bit bias but am I glad I got to see it end with my own eyes so I don’t have to look forward to another Kingdom Hearts game for many years to come….. until that after credits thing that connected from the Chi video game. =/
Kingdom Hearts 3 is available for PS4 & Xbox One
2. Tetris Effect (PSVR)
I have played Tetris Effect endlessly last year and it was a hell lot of fun. Early this year, I borrowed my friend’s PSVR and I quickly played the game in VR. It is surely quite the trip in VR and it brought a whole new experience to the game. It’s more Tetris but much more immersive in VR. Do try it in VR if you have the chance. It’s amazing.
Tetris Effect is available for PS4 & PC
3. Control
A few years back, I pushed myself to finish Alan Wake and though it was not my kind of game, the story continued to hooked me in and I managed to finish it along with the DLC chapters. Quantum Break was another video game that also pushed me to finish the game and was also not my kind of game, but nevertheless, it was an alright game. Control though, this is probably my favourite video game from Remedy since their Max Payne days.
The story, the world building and most importantly, the gameplay, it was crazy good and I felt pretty much like a badass playing through it. You play as a female protagonist named Jesse Faden. She went to a Bureau to look for her brother who went missing when they were kids. Jesse mostly monologues throughout the entire game and it surprisingly works, but that monologing was actually because she was speaking to someone who wewon’t know until the end of the game.
Now let’s get into the gameplay. The gameplay is what kept me hooked most of the time cause you’ll be shooting and throwing things at enemies. As you play along, Jesse will gain some amazing powers like Telekinesis, Flight, and Dash moves. Your main weapon is just a single Handgun but the special thing about this gun is that, it can change to shoot various projectiles like a Shotgun, Laser, or a Machine gun. It is great.
Overall this video game is amazing to boot and you’ll be able to encounter various things in this and not to mention the amazing visuals that comes along with it. It is not the most amazing looking game but the art direction really sells it and I wildly recommend for those who loves a good mystery lore and wonderful gameplay.
Control is available for PS4, Xbox One, & PC
4. Resident Evil 2: Remake
Ah yes. The good ‘ol Resident Evil 2. The very first RE game that I’ve played back in the PS1 days. 20 years later, we surprisingly have a remake of the original RE2. The first thing I gotta say is how terrifying those zombies are and the visuals are pretty striking!
When you first boot the game, you can tell from the start that this is gonna be an entirely different game. From start to finish was quite amazing ride. Yes, you’ll be at your beloved RPD Station but man, do the dark areas able to scare the crap out of you the first time.
It is technically the RE2 that you love but much much more and amazingly looking great. The gameplay is amazing and it keeps you on your toes most of the time. I managed to finish the game around the 10 hour mark. It sounded short but let’s not forget, we have 2 different characters in this game. Claire and Leon. So if we put them together, you will have around 20 hours of content but adding to that, they have a ‘2nd Run’ option in the main menu when you cleared the game the first time. It introduce you to new things to do and different endings which already totals up to at least 30+ hours of gameplay alone.
The remake pretty much got me to do some speed running and it is quite fun! The game gets pretty wacky trying to quickly power through zombies without killing them.
Resident Evil 2 is available for PS4, Xbox One, & PC
5. Superhot VR
Hey now, I’m finally able to play this game and my god does it bring joy to all my friends who are insanely casual at games pretty much loved it from the get go. Not only did I made them play their first VR game, but also made it Superhot VR their first foray into VR and it was such a joy watching them play. From almost accidentally punching one another to punching a wall. It was amazing and funny.
This is one VR game where it made my friends a true.. VR believer(?) and it shows. I hope to try on more VR games in the future myself!
Superhot VR is available for PSVR, Oculus, & PC
6. Sayonara Wild hearts
From the makers of Year Walk and Device 6 comes a very very different game called ‘Sayonara Wild Hearts and what an amazingly different game it was. It is by far the shortest game on this list but the journey through from the starts really pulls you in. The visuals, the soundtrack, the game itself. It is a very easy game and it looked like it’s for the more casual players. It is also very forgiving cause when you die, you instantly respawn and it helps for the casual players.
What mostly sold me on the game was the visuals and the soundtrack. My god does it hooked you instantly. It is pretty much a simple plot on paper. It starts as this girl who had her heart broken. A broken heart so big it raptured into time and space. That’s the basis of the story but as you play along, the end plot slowly comes to fruition for you and it pays off amazingly well to you as a player.
This is another video game I will high recommend. Go get it. It’s amazing.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is available for PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, & PC
7. Tetris 99
Now this is another wonderful surprise. TWO TETRIS VIDEO GAMES ON MY LIST!? It sure is! This is an F2P game for the Nintendo Switch but the only caveat is that provided you are an NSO subscriber.
This game is pretty much your basic Tetris, but the amazing thing is, you are going up against 99 other Tetris players and it is quite the hectic one. It is amazingly fun and also hard because you are also up against pro Tetris players at random. with the recent update, it kinda lessen the difficulty because Nintendo releases an update where pro Tetris players can duke it out in a separate challenge room so the main one gets to be on an even ground.
For those who love playing Tetris growing up and loves a good challenge. This is one game where you’ll love playing through daily.
Tetris 99 is available for Nintendo Switch
8. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
I was honestly skeptical when I read the previews of this game that it’ll be entirely different from From Software’s typical souls games. I got even more surprised that Sekiro was originally suppose to be a Tenchu video game! now that would’ve been cool! Now here comes Sekiro.
Sekiro is not your average souls game and it borrows somewhat the fluidity style from Bloodborne but made the parry mechanics much more important. It is quite a challenging game, probably even the hardest of the souls game. What separates it from other souls game, the game is somewhat linear and the story has an ending but it still has that amazing traversal it has from the rest of the souls game.
As for the gameplay, don’t come in thinking it’ll be a souls game, it’s surprisingly not. It has somewhat similar controls to other souls games but the gameplay mechanics are vastly different and it is genuinely refreshing to go into a game knowing it’ll be different. It’s amazing and you really feel like a samurai/shinobi.
The story is… not bad. I love the world of Sekiro and the world building is very interesting but I didn’t quite dig the story as much but it is still enjoyable in it’s own right. There are enemies that you fight that will make you look like a badass and it feels super great when you manage to defeat them. It’s great.
Overall, I enjoyed for what it was, but not something I will play the second time. Maybe I will play again later down the line when I’m more free!
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is available for PS4, Xbox One, & PC
9. Yakuza Kiwami 2
I knew I’ll find more fun when I start playing Yakuza Kiwami 2 and it did not disappoint at all. I was honestly afraid that it might get few content like Kiwami 1 but it did not. It gave even more fun sidequests and more cabaret club story goodness!
The story takes place one year after the events of the Kiwami 1. Kiryu and Haruka pretty much settled down and put the gang crime life to be but things goes awry when an assassination attempt was made that puts his friends in jeopardy. Kiryu looks like mean spirited guy but he’s all heart.
This game puts a hell lot more content than the previous one. More karaoke, more mahjong, more cabaret club, much more stuffs, and… some voyeur which I won’t explain. It introduces you to so many things it comes to the point when you forget about the main story and just walk around the nightly streets of 2 places.
The side quest stories are back and also part of the meat of the game and they are as funny as serious as heartwarming as you might expect from the substories of this franchise. You see the daily lives of strangers and Kiryu just had to bother into their lives and also save them from troubles in the process.
The gameplay is what you’ll be doing most of the time and I find it much more enjoyable than Yakuza 0 and Kiwami. It uses a brand new engine which featured first in Yakuza 6(which I’ve yet to play) and it looks super pretty to look at. The street night life is beautiful and the food and convenience stores are pretty realistically amazing to look at.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 continues their amazing fun content and I hope they continue to do so in the many years to come! If you like some nice crime who dunnit but also interested in fun gameplay, start with Yakuza 0 and play it from there! It’s an amazing franchise! You won’t regret it!
Yakuza Kiwami 2 is currently available for PS4 & PC (2020 on Xbox One)
10. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
I got super duper excited when Ace Combat 7 was finally announced and I was really hoping it could deliver the essence of the original PS2 games and it totally delivered!
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a semi-simulation flight game and it’s more action-y than simulation. It drops you into this fictional world full of lore on it’s own right and you’ll go against crazy giant ships or crazy armor powered laser aircraft carrier. The history lore of this franchise is a crazy one and it dates back to the PS1 days!
The story is pretty good and you are a silent protagonist like the previous games. You will go 12 missions or more while the story slowly unveils itself to you while to you dogfight in the skies.
The gameplay mostly retains from the PS2 days but brings a much more modern gameplay mechanics taken from Ace Combat 6 and the 3DS one. There is also a checkpoint feature so when you die, you don’t have to continue back right from the start like the previous games which is a very very good thing!
There is actually a VR mode for this and I look forward to try it out one day when it’s on sale for the PS4. It’s not available on the PC unfortunately.
In conclusion, it is a wonderful game and I feel pretty happy that this franchise is finally back. I hope we’ll get an immediate sequel in the next 2 years or so.
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is available for PS4, Xbox One, & PC
11. Untitled Goose Game
This game is probably one of the most charming games that I’ve played this year. The goose is on the loose and he is there wreck havoc in this small town!
It’s fairly simple game. You control this goose and there’ll be a checklist for to clear. It’s mostly just ruining another person’s day while you move forward to the next one. Simple right? Actually not really as the game went on. It’ll be a bit of a puzzle and performing the right action at the right time.
It’s quite a short game too but it has some bits and pieces that you can enjoy post game like pimping up your goose into various clothing or look into a secret or two. If you like a game to play in short burst while enjoying wrecking havoc and enjoy the awesome bits of piano tunes, you’ll free right at home with this!
Untitled Goose Game is available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, & PC
12. A Plague Tale: Innocence
I wasn’t honestly expecting much when I first booted up the game and thought it’ll be a short one too. Boy how gladly wrong I was. It was engaging, the story is pretty amazing and you start getting emotionally attached to the characters.
You play as Amicia who is just living her normal life at the estate while her little brother Hugo got a mysterious sickness and he had to stay home only. The plot starts to go in a serious direction fairly quickly and you’re in the middle of the mess right away.
What makes this game interesting for me is the amazingly rendered rat plague. It is disgusting and the game continuously shows you how terrible they can be. They’ll eat anything up in it’s path.
The gameplay is quite cool. You control Amicia mostly but you also need to be wary of your surrounding cause you’ll be escorting and take care of her brother throughout the journey. Your main “weapon” is a slight shot or some sort and you can upgrade it as you play along.
It’s mostly a stealth game but it gets more intense as the story goes on. The graphics is fantastic at 60FPS and the art direction is great. I love the voice acting as well but I played it in french voices cause it is taking place in France after all. It works.
You’ll be drawn into this world and it’s characters. It’s also surprisingly a long game for a pretty linear plot. You’ll be in for a treat going into this video game.
A Plague Tale: Innocence is available for PS4, Xbox One, & PC
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That pretty much wraps up my list this year! I honestly did not expect to go until 12. I thought to myself this entire year that I didn’t play much video games but here I am! It’s a bloody good year for video games no matter how small the amount of time you spent playing this year.
I will list down the games that I wished I played this year. There were a huge number of amazing video games that I wish I could play but due to financial problems, I wasn’t able to. I do hope I’ll be able to play them next year!
Speaking of next year, 2020 is gonna be another crazy year for video games. Final Fantasy 7: Remake, Doom: Eternal, ANIMAL FREAKING CROSSING FOR THE SWITCH! Now that is one video I must get day one! I was so bummed my 3DS was stolen alongside my copy of New Leaf. I hope I’ll be able to play it day one!
That should wrap things up! It has been a really rough year personally for me but I try not to get things get me down and hope to live through positively and be more sincere with people who I hold dear to me moving forward.
I’ll see you next year! Hope you guys had a wonderful 2019 and hope you have an amazing 2020! See ya and take care!
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Video Games That I Wished I Played On 2019
- Devil May Cry V
- Pokemon Sword & Shield
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
- Super Mario Maker 2
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Death Stranding
- Telling Lies
- The Outer Worlds
- Outer Wilds
- Disco Elysium
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- Judgement
