It's that time of year again. It's time for some......
Making a Top 10 list has become tradition in this blog, and I'm not about to break it this year. Unfortunately, I'm not one to always keep up with recently released games, so you won't be able to get your hot game awards on what game from the current year you should have an opinion on. Instead, I simply want to recommend a bunch of stuff I played this year that you may or may not like. To be honest though, I think I played and featured more current year games this year than on any other previous year. Still, you shouldn't expect this to be full of modern games. If it was, then it wouldn't be my kind of list.
So yeah, there's no real rules for this list. Only thing I'm taking into consideration is if I played the game for the first time this year. This also means that I can feature as many games as I want from one franchise or genre, so don't expect much diversity on my list either. This is purely my biased opinion based on the very biased and disorganized way I play games over the year. Considering I'm not really planning on finishing any new games this year, I think this is as best a time as any to get this list wrapped up.
2019 was an okay year for me in terms of games I guess. I didn't have much time to play games this year and focused more on other things. However, the games I did play weren't as good as previous years. That's probably because I became too focused on catching up with franchises I was interested in more than anything else, which meant playing either a lot of jank or games that I just found to be pretty okay. I also didn't play many games this year, so there's that too.
Well, I think that's just about enough preamble, let's get this started.
BioShock is interesting. As a fan of System Shock 2, I did find the gameplay and level design to be a bit too 'watered down' for my tastes. Furthermore, the story just kind of falls apart for me after the infamous twist and there's a lot of holes I can pick into it. However, I still think BioShock was a great game. The gameplay was fun, the levels were fun to explore, the art design was fantastic and the story gave me an interesting cast of characters that evolved and explored its critique of objectivist ideals. The game's atmosphere is also unlike any other for a first person shooter and definitely the aspect of the game that's held up the best.
It should come to no surprise to anyone who follows my content that this year I focused mostly on keeping up with the Hitman series. I've always been interested in its fascinatingly unique gameplay mechanics and getting into it was, for the most part, a great experience. Hitman (2016) is one such highlight of this great experience. After the disaster that was Hitman: Absolution, I was so happy to see the franchise try to take serious steps forward to regain some of its lost identity and greatly expand upon the gameplay established in Blood Money. Though I believe the game doesn't have as much focus as Blood Money, its still impressive what IO Interactive managed to do with this quirky sandbox stealth game.
After being really impressed by The Sacred Stones last year, I made a point out of playing the rest of the Gameboy Advance Fire Emblem games that I missed. The first I played was The Binding Blade, which was really good. I didn't like it as much as The Sacred Stones, but it did give me a lot of what I already liked about this series. Though the mission design was rough at times and a lot of the mechanics needed streamlining, I still had a lot of fun overcoming the challenge of this game. In terms of story, Binding Blade also gave me a strong villain, a strong conflict and interesting themes, even if the main cast was a bit on the weaker side. Overall, its a game I'd recommend and one I had tons of fun playing through. If you're itching for more Fire Emblem to play, then I definitely recommend it.
What HASN'T been said about Fate / Stay Night? I'll tell you what hasn't been said, that it's really damn good. Looking at the amorphous cash-cow conglomerate that Fate has become now, it's easy to forget that the original Visual Novel that started it all was a legitimately great and heartfelt story. Fate introduced us to a fantastic magic system with tons of details and mysticism that made it enthralling to read about in all the different circumstances and perspectives its fleshed out in. Yet, that world-building was always in service of telling a story with strong themes of self-actualization; coming to terms with yourself and your ideals to become the best person you can be. This strong core was punctuated by a great presentation that included great visuals and a fantastic soundtrack. Though most of these elements are gone in the later entries and adaptations in the series, its still not a good reason to put down and forget the novel that started it all.
Much like Fate / Stay Night, this is another game that has more people talking about it than actually playing it. The endless roundabout discussion of this game put me off from finishing it for years, but now that I finally played it I can safely say that its good. Akin to Fragile Dreams from last year, the game isn't perfect, and there's a lot of roughness and age you have to put aside in order to value it for what it is. However, the game's charm really does overcome its weaknesses. Persona 2 presents a wonderful cast of characters that are not only fun to be around, but also have insecurities that get fleshed out throughout the story. It's a game that always keeps you guessing as it balances lighthearted crazy antics with hard-hitting human drama.
Persona 2 is a story about a group of teens facing their past and themselves, shining through their strengths and most importantly, their weaknesses. It's about a group of people who seek each other because of the circumstances in their life and how that blossoms into a beautiful friendship that will not crumble, even if the tides of fate want to throw it away.
So in short, it's a really good story. It may not be the kind of game you're used to, but its definitely got its heart in the right place, and it definitely won over mine as well.
The Fire Emblem franchise takes Ace Combat's place from last year when it comes to games that seem to absolutely dominate the list in terms of quality. Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is definitely one of those greats. It takes everything that was a problem with Binding Blade and carefully refines it to create an experience that is challenging, varied and ultimately a blast to play through. I loved learning about this dynamic and energetic cast of characters as well as the enticing story filled with twists and turns. And the music is no slouch either, though that's already a high standard set by the series as a whole. Overall, I'd definitely recommend Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, both as a good starting point for the series and a treat for returning players.
After playing through a series full of ups and downs, it was so cathartic to finally get through Hitman: Blood Money. Much like The Blazing Blade, Hitman: Blood Money takes every lesson learned from the previous games and combines it into a refined, polished, focused and absolutely fun experience. The game is a challenging, yet wholly entertaining set of wonderful sandboxes, designed to test your creativity and problem solving skills by asking you to kill targets in discreet and inventive ways which push the limits of the game's rules and systems to its absolute limit. The presentation is great, the mechanics are great, the story is consistently tense and entertaining, and the music is the swan's song of Jesper Kyd's musical style for the series. Hitman: Blood Money still remains as the peak of what the Hitman series can offer.
DMC. Is. Back.
No other words can describe Devil May Cry 5 in a better way. This game is the culmination of Hideaki Itsuno's vision for an action game and a dedicated effort by the whole team to create the best action game of the whole generation. All the new additions, gameplay styles and mechanics add up to create a game that's satisfying to play, yet challenging and gratifying to master. The story is a great reunion that should give fans a long-lasting and satisfying conclusion to all the hanging story threads. And the presentation is top-notch, with impressive visuals and art design and probably the most exciting soundtrack in the entire series, which has been carefully programmed to sync up with the action of the game. There's not much else I can say other than "Play it. It really is that good.
It's only fitting that the last Ace Combat game I've played is the best one in the whole series. After playing through most of the series last year, I was excited to discover what Ace Combat Zero had to offer this year, and it did not disappoint. Though Ace Combat 3 still has a place in my heart, it's hard to deny that Ace Combat Zero offers the most striking presentation in the whole series as well as the most focused game in terms of gameplay. The game doesn't pull any punches and it once again delivers a story that's fairly straightforward, but shines through thanks to its wonderful presentation and character. As for the gameplay, it retains the best elements of Ace Combat 5 while trimming a lot of the fat, making Ace Combat Zero an experience that's unrelenting and exciting all the way through to the end. Ace Combat Zero also has the best soundtrack in the entire series with a unique and wonderful style painted by Spanish guitars, a foreboding orchestra and electronic music. I believe no other game in the series has been able to top the wonderful mix of style and substance that Ace Combat Zero has and therefore I will remember it as the most iconic game in its entire series.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses did to Fire Emblem what Devil May Cry 5 did to its own series. After a period of uncertainty and new entries that took the series in an unfavorable direction, I'm so happy to say that Three Houses not only brought the series back from its slump, but also created one of my favorite games of the entire generation. Technically, its rough; but artistically, its amazing.
Three Houses presents a wonderful and ambitious world with plenty of moving parts, factions and perspectives that paint a picture of war that's perfectly in line with the core of the series. It's cast of characters is not only well-rounded, but also hides plenty of layers of depth that reveal details about the world as well as the overall themes that the game is trying to portray. The game has four routes that show different sides of a war with no clear good or evil morality, only factions that fight for what they believe in and won't compromise for peace. Three Houses expands on the anti-war sentiment of the previous games and comments on the inevitability of this war, as well as the tragic consequences that the conflict creates for these main characters.
The new gameplay additions are also full of a great number of options that make repeat playthroughs interesting and unique. Not two playthroughs of this game are going to be the same, and the game gives the player a great blend of challenge and forgiveness for their mistakes.
Three Houses is one of the most ambitious Fire Emblem games to date. For these reasons and more, I'm not just happy to say that it is the best game I played on 2019, but one of the best games I've played this whole generation. If you own a Nintendo Switch, you owe yourself to give it a try.
And those were my favorite games from 2019. Unfortunately, I don't think I have much room for honorable mentions. I hope you enjoyed reading about these games, and hey, if you haven't played any of them please give them a try. The last 5 are especially excellent games and you owe yourself to give them a shot.
Oh yeah.... I think I also have a chance to do a "Top 10 Games of the Decade" list...
Are you ready?
Here goes.
Blink and you'll miss it.....
There. Feel free to judge my taste.
Here's to another good decade.