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Last year was a solid year for gaming filled with an abundance of games for every kind of gamer. With all of those games, there were a few that stood out to me as the best. Here is my Top 10 Games of 2018 derived from all of the games I played throughout the year.
10. Detroit Become Human
Detroit Become Human set the bar for interactive games with spot-on storytelling and a wide variety of player choices that shape its outcome. Over the course of the game, you’ll find yourself in control of 3 different characters whose fate is determined by the choices that you make. The game takes place in Detroit (if you couldn’t tell) and focuses on the tension between humans and androids following an outbreak of deviant (self-aware) androids. All of this coupled with a great supporting cast makes Detroit Become Human a game worth playing.
9. We Happy Few
We Happy Few is set in a world based on an alternate history of World War II where Germany managed to invade England. In order to end Germany’s occupation, England ends up making a deal with them. This deal gets Germany to pull their forces from England at a cost so bad no one speaks of it. Eventually, the government is forced to make a new drug called Joy that forces anyone who takes it to be happy with the side effect of also causing them to forget their past. The game follows 3 different characters on their journey to fulfill their own goals and to escape the city known as Wellington Wells. The charm in this game is how appearances can be misleading. When hopped up on Joy, the city is full of color and everyone seems happy and pleasant. When its effects wear off, the city’s true nature is exposed as it is run down, dull and not a happy place at all. Couple that with side quests so interesting that they will make you push off the main story and you get a charming survival game with an open world atmosphere.
8. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Even though it hasn’t been out a month yet, I put enough time (around 100 hours) into Smash Bros before the new year that I felt it deserved a spot on this list. After my time with it, I have determined that this is the smash game we wanted and the smash game we deserved. It comes with the largest roster in a smash game to date with 74 fighters and over 100 stages to duke it out with your friends on. Of those 74 characters, only the starting characters from the original smash are unlocked, which I thought was a nice touch as I quite enjoy unlocking characters. Smash Ultimate also saw the introduction of over 1000 Spirits themed from various games that can be equipped to your fighters to give them different abilities or starting items in battle. On top of all the fighters, stages and spirits, Smash Ultimate also came with what I consider the bread and butter of the game, the World of Light story mode. In it, Kirby must free his captive comrades to battle the evil masters of light and dark to save the world from destruction in an adventure that took me well over 30 hours to complete on normal mode. While playing World of Light, you can unlock all of the fighters as well as a good chunk of the spirits in one playthrough. Adding the cherry to the top, Joker from Person 5 will be the first DLC character for the season pass (and my new main). With all of this content, Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a must have for every Switch owner.
7. Ni No Kuni II Revenant Kingdom
Compared against the original, Ni No Kuni II Revenant Kingdom took the charm of Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch and crafted a beautiful Studio Ghibli inspired world with a solid story and fluid gameplay. It follows Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum on his quest to form a new kingdom following the uprising of the Mousekin (rat-people) who overthrew him from the throne of his previous kingdom of Ding Dong Dell. Over the course of the game, Evan meets a wide variety of interesting characters that help him on his journey as he discovers a darker plot around the game’s major events. Outside of the main story, there are plenty of other things to do like building up the new kingdom or collecting elemental spirits know as Higgledies that support Evan and friends during combat. The only thing I really didn’t care for in this game was those pesky skirmish matches. Skirmish is a game mode where you control a chibi Evan and fight enemies using squads of troops at your disposal. This particular game mode can get old really quick and is quite the grind if you are trying for the platinum trophy. Overall, Ni No Kuni II was one of my favorite games released last year.
6. Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee
I want to start this section off by mentioning that I am a huge Pokemon fan. Pokemon was the game that really got me into gaming all those years ago when Red and Blue originally launched. So when another game was set in Kanto, I tried to be optimistic about it and boy was I impressed. While Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee wasn’t the new core game we were hoping for, changing up how catching and leveling Pokemon worked in these games made for an exciting unique way to exploring the original games while also being a good entry game for gamers new to the series. I found myself broke more often in these games than any other game because I spent so much time catching Pokemon that I was using all of my money on Pokeballs. You may not openly admit it, but every past and preset Pokemon fan has imagined at one point or another what it would be like to catch a Pokemon and this game does well at providing that experience (when the joy cons are working correctly that is). This game is another one that would make a good addition to any Switch owner’s library.
5. Kingdom Come Deliverance
If you are into open world RPGs and have not heard of or know anything about Kingdom Come Deliverance, then you need to step up your game. Now, I will be the first to admit that this game isn’t for everyone. There are not powerful creatures to battle or magical powers you possess. You aren’t even the chosen one who has to save everyone from some world ending threat. No, you play as a peasant named Henry who happens to be the son of a blacksmith set in the Kingdom of Bohemia during 1403. Henry finds himself on a quest for revenge as everything he’s ever known is taken from him. This journey won’t be easy as Henry is a peasant who doesn’t have any skills giving the player a blank slate to shape him how they see fit. The game itself has a pretty decent story with many side quests and places to explore that I found myself sinking over 100 hours into the game. One thing to note is when the game originally released in early 2018, there were a lot of quest and game-breaking bugs that have been mostly patched. Playing the game compared to then is like a brand new experience.
4. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Have you ever wonder what it would be like to play as a Spartan warrior wreaking havoc in ancient Greece with your own crew of battle-hardened seamen (or sealadies)? Well so did Ubisoft and the resulting product is called Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. A game where you play not only as a Spartan, but more specifically as a grandchild of King Leonidas wielding his legendary spear on a quest for vengeance. Along the way you will face many enemies, complete a large number of side quests (like the one where you go fetch some viagra plants for a blacksmith), pillage and plunder enemy ships and even battle some of the deadliest creatures from Greek Mythology. Add in one of the best stories to be in Assassin’s Creed and you have a game that easily ranks in my top 10 games of 2018.
3. Marvel’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man has been my favorite superhero dating back to 1995 watching the cartoon as a kid, so you can believe me when I say that I was beyond ecstatic when they announced a game for PlayStation being developed by Insomniac and man did they kill it. Focusing on an older Peter Parker, Marvel’s Spider-Man tells a story unique to the game while giving gamers an authentic Spider-Man experience. From fighting criminals to making gadgets and web-slinging around the city, everything was so well put together and that made the game really enjoyable for me. I spent at least an hour at the beginning of the game just web-slinging around because it was easy to do and so natural. In fact, it was so enjoyable to me that for the rest of the game I really didn’t do any fast traveling. I even went as far as collecting all of the collectibles as soon as I could just so I could keep swinging around. Getting away from the web-slinging, the game also contains some really fun boss fights, a wide variety of gadgets just waiting to be used, and a whole lot of awesome spider suits to keep you going for quite a while. Along with that, the story was just as good as the rest of the game making it hard for me sometimes to pull myself away from it to take on some of the side content. This game easily earned a spot in the top 3 games on this list.
2. Dragon Quest XI Echoes of an Elusive Age
Dragon Quest XI was my first Dragon Quest game and it really blew me away. It follows a teenage boy who also happens to be the Luminary, the chosen champion of the world tree who is destined to defeat an evil threat and bring light back to that world. On this journey, he is joined by a colorful entourage of party members that each have their own unique skills and are so evenly balanced that I found myself switching the party around pretty constantly. Some other things I really enjoyed included the good old fashioned turn-based combat, the multitude of side quests and the level grinding up to level 99 (it’s not a real RPG if there’s no grinding involved). The whole game took me 120 hours to beat and really stood out as one of the best RPGs of 2018.
1. God of War
The only thing I can really say about God of War is BOY! Seriously, though. We got to play as Kratos again in an action-adventure game focused on Norse Mythology and he’s a dad. There are also giant monsters, memorable side characters and let’s not forget the brief and purposeful stories. What more could we want? How about a fantastic story where we get to see not only the boy, but Kratos grow as characters and form a deep bond by the end that all started after the passing of Kratos’ wife. Her last request was for both Kratos and Atreus to cremate her and scatter her ashes from the tallest peak in the Nine Realms. I really don’t want to go into much more in case there are some people that haven’t played it yet, just know that this game was hands down my number 1 game of 2018.
