At the end of the year I scrolled through my review list and was quite surprised to see, how many wonderful games I played this year. Despite being limited in my time, there were still more games, than I expected. And I decided to make a personal top 5 list of the games I played this year:

  1. Rise of the Tomb Raider
  2. Mutant Year Zero
  3. Wandersong
  4. Cat Quest
  5. Silence

This list also proofs, that I tend to play other games and hardly ever get a game right when it comes out (MYZ was the absolute exception, which I played beginning of 2019 right when it came out).

Other games I had a lot of fun with and should be honorable mentions are the following titles (ordered by alphabet): Broforce, Eternal Senia, Hard West, Her Story, Maize, Open Sorcery, Rime, State of Mind, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Thomas was alone and Tomb Raider.

There were also two big disappointments: Shadow of War was a very tedious grinding experience which ruined the title for me. And Sherlock Holmes - The Devils Daugher in the end just had too many flaws.

So now the question of course stands: Which were your Top 5 of 2019? Which were your biggest disappointments?

Also: Of course there is a GA and what would be better suited than my best gaming experience of the last year? So answer a (really easy) question to gain access to the GA by clicking here!

4 years ago

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My top 5 list of the games I played in 2019 :

  • Duck Season PC
  • SCUM
  • ATOM RPG
  • theHunter Call of the Wild
  • We Happy Few
4 years ago
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Oof, I played many amazing games this year, so I'll do a top 10 instead:

  1. Resident Evil 2 Remake
  2. Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  3. Control
  4. A Plague Tale: Innocence
  5. Inside
  6. Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order
  7. Ys Origin
  8. What Remains of Edith Finch
  9. Castlevania I-IV
  10. The Last Door
4 years ago
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Oh cool! I just played Ys Origin for the first time this year, too!

4 years ago
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I just started playing the Ys series in mid 2018, and I'm kinda obsessed with these games now :D

4 years ago
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Ys 3 on the SNES was my first, way back in the '90s, and I loved it so much that I managed to get my hands on the first Ys for the SEGA Master System. I was... not a fan of the bump system; it takes a lot of getting used to. If I might make a recommendation, if you're looking to get into the series, I'd go with the newest remakes you can find:
1&2 - Ys I & II Chronicles+ (I haven't played it, but I've heard that it's better than the originals)
3 - Oath in Felghana (Plays similarly to Origin)
4 - Memories of Celceta (Haven't played this one, but the SNES version of the original is DREADFUL)

With 5, there's no remake yet, but it is a perfect example of a 5/10 game; remarkably mediocre. It has an attack button, but uses the bump system for finding items? It's weird, but also kinda brilliant; instead of pressing buttons in front of every pot, cabinet, and whatever, you just touch them and get items automatically, so it's like a cat rubbing itself all over the building.

4 years ago
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4 years ago
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In order:

  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • Florence
  • Samorost 3
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
4 years ago
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  1. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) – Wasn't really expecting much, but this game swept me away. Had a good time playing it and can't wait to replay with different choices.
  2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) – I was expecting meme material when I went in, and the game surprised me with how into it I got, and couple scenes really stuck with me on a deeper level.
  3. Little Nightmares (2017) – The aeshetic, the tension, this game was a treat.
  4. WATCH_DOGS 2 (2016) – While I agree with the complaints about repetitive missions and the story, I just really enjoyed exploring the city. I was just acting as a tourist.
  5. Beholder (2016) – Nice visuals mixed with a heavy subject, it just appealed to me immediately.
    Honorable mention: Resident Evil 4 (2005) – All else be damned, Leon is hilarious.

Added the year of release for each game just for fun, really bringing it home how late to the party I am with some of these games. :D I replayed several games on new platforms this year, but I resisted the urge to take any of those into account when thinking about this question. I was amazed to realize how many games came to mind and culling them down to top five was a challenge.

As for disappointments... There sure were a handful of those but I'm only mentioning top three so I'll have mentioned more positives than negatives, bring some of that positivity vibe to the new year. :P

  1. Until Dawn (2015) – I was very interested in this game when it was announced and while I did get it late, I also put off playing it specifically because I thought I'd be very into it. I guess I went in with too high expectations because I was severely disappointed in what I got.
  2. The Council (2018) – Refreshingly original approach to the cinematic gaming experience that fell utterly flat into a trainwreck by the end.
  3. The Witcher (2007) – Just couldn't get past how much I hated the clunky controls and the battle system. Ended up just wanting it to be over quickly.
4 years ago
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Like OP, I usually don't play games right when they release, as my backlog is large enough to wait on better sales for newer titles (unless they end up in a bundle!). Which is probably why I was a bit late on playing some classics, now that I look back at 2019.

  1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
  2. Dark Souls III
  3. NieR:Automata
  4. God of War
  5. My Time at Portia

Honorable mentions would go to Finding Paradise, Rakuen, and A Hat in Time.

Fortunately I can't think of (or just don't have) any games that I found disappointing. There were games that paled in comparison to other games I've played, sure, but none that seemed inherently bad.

4 years ago
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Atlas
Arma 3
Age of Empires 2 HD

4 years ago
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I almost wanted to list the 5 oldest games I have in my library just to spite a specific individual. :)

Sadly I don't have the time for that, and each year I naturally gravitate towards trying out the new releases of the year, so you're getting an only 2019 list, alas. :P

  1. Hypnospace Outlaw
  2. Risk of Rain 2
  3. Baba Is You
  4. The Legend of Bum-Bo
  5. Nowhere Prophet
4 years ago
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I didn't really play as much in 2019, but here were a couple games I enjoyed in 2019 (no particular order):

  • Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes - Had a lot of fun messing around with it despite how small it is
  • Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter - Really loved how intense the game was. Always felt like I was in an impossible situation but would some how get through it
  • SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell - Was fun trying to find all the hidden beer cans in each level and also figuring out best way to get a fast enough time. Really fun if you like first person parkour challenges
  • Minit - Really enjoyed the simplicity of the game. Reminded of the first Zelda game. The timer gives tension, but because you have unlimited tries, you can still explore the world
  • Prologue for a Vacant Kingdom - Technically just a free demo of a game in development, but was still lots of fun an really looking forward to the full game
4 years ago
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ETS2
Anno 1404
AdCap
...
...

4 years ago
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A Plague Tale: Innocence
Observation
Sekiro
Detroit: Become Human
Pistol Whip

4 years ago*
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  1. Tabletop Simulator
  2. Barotrauma
  3. The Outer World
  4. Minecraft
  5. Totally Accurate Simulator

although, I am trying to quit video games, (or the very least lessen my time spent playing).
Ive ended up watching youtube videos A LOT instead, which is equally bad...

who wants to quit games with me? raise your hand.

4 years ago
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Ni no kuni 2
Rakuen
Changed
Shenzhen I/O
Wizard of Legend

4 years ago
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Mad Max
Call of duty 4 remaster
Superflight
Tiny Echo
Lantern

4 years ago
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4 years ago
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I didn't play a single thing that came out this year, but I've still managed to have some extremely memorable experiences, and I've played everything from newer PC games to stuff for the Famicom Disk System.

  • Broken Reality - I've always loved exploration from gigantic worlds in video games to old ladies' houses in meatspace when I'm delivering their prescriptions. This is more of the former, and it is GORGEOUS, but more than that, it's a satire of social media that is both hilarious and panic-inducingly saddening. This is the best thing I've experienced in years.
  • Transistor - I went into this expecting Bastion 2, and was quickly disappointed. Then, I stopped being stupid and started judging it on its own merits, and I loved it. It's such a surreal experience, and the combat system is equally so, but very engaging. Like Bastion, it forces you to experiment in its extra little training areas, and they are BRILLIANT. I even love their atmosphere; there I was on a twilit beach covered in the oil of all the robots I'd slaughtered, half-stopped in time, humming some traditional Hawaiian tune, and I just had this, "What the HELL am I even DOING!?" moment. It's like one long fever dream. A LUCID fever dream that I came to master.
  • Tengami - A Point-and-Click Adventure that's filled with beautiful gradients, and functions like a pop-up book drawn in traditional Japanese artwork, and if that's not enough for you, the score was composed by the legendary David Wise. The puzzles were pretty engaging, too.
  • Super Mario Bros 3.75 Torva Edition/3.87 Burst Shoes Edition - Aubrey Hakomi is my spirit animal; these hacks have tight level design, but what I absolutely love about them is that they're mostly black with some bold colors as accents. I just can't get enough of this aesthetic, and here it is in full, relentless force; my own dark rainbow wonderland.
  • Mega Man 4: Voyage - Another rom hack, but you wouldn't know it; almost everything has been changed. The music is all original, there are new enemy behaviors (including bosses), new graphics; it's a technical marvel. This thing stands today where Dragon X Omega did 15 years ago; it's that revolutionary.

Addendum: I totally forgot that Yakuza Kiwami 2 is something that I played this year. I love the Yakuza series, and this was an excellent entry, though I had to take a little time to get used to it. Not sure if this or Zero is my favorite out of the 3 I've played, but it's a strong contender in an already strong series. I'd say that this probably bumps out Mega Man 4: Voyage; I'm not good at numbered rankings.

4 years ago*
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Ведьмак 3: Дикая Охота-Игра года издания
Баба - это ты
Frostpunk
Forza Horizon 4
Теневая тактика: клинки сегуна
Думаю выбрал именно эти 5 игр)

4 years ago
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  1. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
  2. 428: Shibuya Scramble
  3. Unavowed
  4. Concrete Genie
  5. Max Payne 3

Honourable mentions:
Star Wars: Republic Commando, Way of the Passive Fist, DOOM 3, Vampyr, Torchlight II, BUTCHER, My Friend Pedro, The Secret of Monkey Island

Biggest disappointments:
A Tale of Caos - My very first SteamGifts win that I only got around to play in 2019 but fucking hell it was terrible.

4 years ago
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Synth Riders
Beat Saber
Pistol Whip
Vox Machinae
Audica

4 years ago
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