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You may call this a "Game of the Year" list. I suppose that isn't far off from what this is. However, as it's essentially just me here, I figure a blog entry would be the smarter play. Who knows, maybe I'll push it to the front page as one of those spicy editorials that are never controversial and everyone always agrees with 100% of the time. This also allows me to be super casual with explanations for my choices, if I provide one at all.
What I'm going to do here is just get my "Game of the Year" choice out of the way right now. Then after that I'm going to go through month-by-month selecting the games I liked the most. I might miss some simply because the list I'm using may not be complete for whatever reason. Also, I usually only pick games that I have played on platforms I own with maybe a couple of exceptions. I'll note those exceptions in the actual list if I have any.
Game of the Year: Resident Evil 2
I'm getting this one out of the way right now. Despite coming out near the start of 2019, Resident Evil 2 remained my favorite game even when there was a fair number of great games that came out in the months following.
The original Resident Evil 2 was one of my favorite games from the OG PlayStation era. I played through the scenarios countless times. The amount of nostalgia the 2019 remake had to overcome was massive. Thankfully, it really delivered on numerous fronts. I had a blast playing through the game and I'm really glad they at least attempted to keep the different scenarios (Leon A/B, Claire A/B) in place.
Even with that said, I do wish they had changed up the scenarios a bit more than they did. It feels like the original game did more with this idea than the remake did. I also feel like having Mr. X be this ever-present foe through all scenarios took away from his perceived threat. In the original Mr. X only showed up in the "B" scenarios and when he did it was usually a shock. In addition, players were able to temporarily incapacitate Mr. X in the original, allowing them to acquire various materials and upgrades as a reward for what are usually very tough fights. In the remake, it's actually impossible to down Mr. X at all.
Ah well, no game is perfect though, right? The fact that my gut feeling never fully swayed from calling Resident Evil 2 my 2019 Game of the Year is all the convincing I needed.
Other Games I Liked by Release Month
January
Slay the Spire – The only "card battling" game I have ever liked. Before you ask: No, I don't like GWENT. Triple Triad was merely "OK." Sadly, I spent more time with Slay the Spire when it was in Steam Early Access. I can only imagine it's gotten far better since its full release about a year ago now.
February
Astroneer – Though this one was in early access for about three years, it was given a 1.0 release in early February. This has been a real chill game to play with some friends. It's a sandbox game that allows you to build bases on planets, create structures, sculpt the land, mine resources, and explore colorful alien worlds.
March
Audica – This one is a VR rhythm shooter. It's actually from Harmonix, a group that knows a thing or two about rhythm games. While most people know about Beat Saber I feel like Audica needs some love too. A visual feast for the eyes blends music with various FPS mechanics. You are limited to the songs that Harmonix included with the base game, or you can pay for some DLC that they have released. There is no official custom track support.
Devil May Cry 5 – I'm not great at it, but it was still quite fun to play. I'm sure it's even more enjoyable if you're good at stringing together abilities for some crazy combos. Plus, it just looked fantastic thanks to the RE Engine.
Risk of Rain 2 – Another early access title that is already a hell of a fun to play. It's a third-person action shooter where it's you and up to three additional friends going up against ever more powerful foes. The game becomes more difficult as time progresses. You get tons of power-ups, tons of unlocks, and various characters that all have very unique abilities. The team has been steadily adding new content in over the past several months.
April
World War Z – Countless games have tried to capture the magic from the Left 4 Dead franchise. None have succeeded except for World War Z. The only bummer is that on PC it's still exclusive to the Epic Games Store (affiliate link). If it's a timed exclusive, Steam users might be able to pick this one up in April, or just pick it up on Xbox or PlayStation.
Yuppie Psycho – I didn't play this one myself. I did watch it from start to finish in a stream. It's a horror game with an incredibly original story, pixel graphics, plenty of gore, a cast of bizarre characters, and a fairly lengthy playtime. You play as a new hire at a big corporation. Though you think you're there to work a simple 9-5 as a desk jockey, you quickly find out that you're actually there to hunt a witch that has begun to terrorize and murder employees.
May
A Plague Tale: Innocence – If any game made me hesitate in calling Resident Evil 2 my GOTY, this was it. Outside from an ending that was a bit off-kilter, this was an amazing game from the very start. I could talk at length about this game's strengths but I already did that very thing in the review I wrote earlier this year.
June
The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr – At least once or twice a year I am sucked back into playing ESO for far more time than I care to admit. I come back to it for a few months every time a new expansion is released or I get the MMO itch. The initial release of Elsweyr content and story was fun to play through. I'm glad ESO, in general, managed to do an about face from its garbage launch in 2014.
Judgment – Though the similarities are numerous, Judgment proved itself to be far more than a simple Yakuza spin-off. Like with A Plague Tale above, I shared far more of my thoughts on this one in a review from near the game's release.
The Sinking City – Of all the Lovecraft-themed games that came out recently, The Sinking City is the best one. I called it "the best love letter to Lovecraft" in my review and I stand by that today. I have no idea if the game has been updated to address the issues I had with lackluster combat and poor animations.
July
Horace – Though I own it, I did not play Horace. However, I saw it played from start to finish. On its face, Horace is a challenging 2D adventure-platformer. Below the surface though lies one of the most charming games I have ever seen. There is a story that has the capacity to make you laugh, make you groan, make you hope, and make you cry thanks to its smart writing. You play as the titular Horace, a robot that wakes up after years of inactivity in a world where humans and robots are at odds with one another. Over the course of the game, you will work towards your main directives: Cleaning up trash and bringing your family back together.
Though primarily a platformer, the gameplay variety is impressive. At some points, you may be walking on the ceiling to solve puzzles. The next moment you are in a 3D first-person shooter, or running from spear-chucking monkeys, or stealthily trying to avoid detection, or bouncing rays of light to solve a puzzle, or playing an Outrun clone, or playing rhythm game clones with 16-bit versions of familiar songs, or flying through Mode-7 inspired sections, and the list goes on.
The game was developed by just two people: Paul Helman and Sean Scaplehorn. Horace is also free right now on the Epic Games Store for a limited time. I implore you to check it out for yourself. Even if you read this in the future and it's no longer free, be sure to check out Horace on Steam or the EGS. It's normally $14.99 and it deserves far, far more people playing it.
August
Remnant: From the Ashes – This one took me by surprise. It's as if you mixed gameplay ideas from the Souls games with third-person shooters. Levels have different variations. You can even "re-roll" your game worlds to experience content, level designs, bosses, and even weapons you otherwise would never see in your first roll. Co-op is really where this game excels though. I'm not sure I would have had as much fun as I did if I wasn't playing this in co-op. Though it was completed a couple of times already, I'm looking forward to whatever new content the devs cook up in 2020.
World of Warcraft Classic – I wasn't even going to play this but I decided to try it out, you know, just to see. There's no way I could possibly enjoy WoW as it once existed. I remember WoW as being this incredible slog back in the day, to the point where I would get a month subscription after months of nothing and try again only to find myself kind of hating it. I actually never got into the game until Wrath came out. Some life events turned me off the game and I took an extended break again from Cataclysm until Legion. I played a lot of Legion and then dove back in for Battle for Azeroth. Even if there were some really stupid story and gameplay ideas added in BfA, the general improvements made over the years were nice. There's no way the original release would be good.
Well, I went back and I liked it. I was surprised that I liked it. It probably helped that I didn't roll a Hunter this time around. It probably also helps that I was no longer new to the MMO genre as I was when I first picked up WoW back in the day. Leveling up again felt meaningful in WoW. There was meaningful social interaction again as people had to manually find others in order to run dungeons. It was wild and it was great.
Despite the fun I was having, I cancelled my subscription and have not returned. Blizzard's actions with regard to China, Hong Kong, Blitzchung, and a lack of a good apology made sure that I would not be giving them any more money in the here and now. Will that change in the future? I mean, maybe. I'm not going to lie and say "absolutely not!" It's entirely possible that Diablo IV doesn't suck, isn't predatory, and is somehow good enough to make me abandon my principles.
September
GreedFall – It's been years since we had a new Dragon Age game. That itch needed to be scratched somehow. Then GreedFall comes along with its beautiful environments, complex systems, the freedom to build the type of character you want, and potentially dozens of hours of gameplay. To say that GreedFall scratched that itch something fierce would not be a lie. As with a few of my other favorite titles, you can read my full impressions in the GreedFall review here.
The Surge 2 – This sequel managed to surpass the original in nearly every conceivable way. It still had some jank, and the last part of the game isn't as strong as the first 2/3rds but it's still a really enjoyable action-RPG. Plenty of addition words can be found over in my review for The Surge 2.
October
The Outer Worlds – The writing is, as expected, the real star of The Outer Worlds. I would have preferred if there were more to do and see in the game. Though you can travel to different worlds, all of the flora and fauna are the same. Enemy variety is lacking. Having to backtrack and sit through numerous load screens for quests can be very tedious. It's good but not great. And no, this is certainly not Fallout: New Vegas in space though you may think it is at the start.
WWE 2K20 – Not because the game was good. God no, that game was some real hot garbage. However, it's because of the fact that it was hot garbage that made it so memorable. The number of images, gifs, and videos that came from glitches in that game was legendary. It's because of those pieces of media that this game managed to provide me with more entertainment than games I actually played in 2019. God help you if you spent money on that pathetic trash. That game was so bad that it reportedly pushed a significant number of devs to quit and go elsewhere just so they wouldn't have to be associated with it anymore.
November
Death Stranding – I'm going to say right now that I have not completed Death Stranding yet. It's mainly because every time I do play it, I end up playing it for something like 4-5 hours straight and just never want to quit. It's a super enjoyable, almost cozy gameplay experience, and I am totally fine with taking my time with it. I almost passed on this completely solely because of the negative reviews. However, it was because the game was so absolutely polarizing amongst all reviewers that I decided to pre-order it. I am very glad I did. Then again, I'm someone who finds enjoyment just chilling with some American Truck Simulator every now and again. This is a lot like American Truck Simulator, just on foot, and with a healthy dose of Kojima weirdness included. Death Stranding isn't for everyone, but it is for me.
Pistol Whip – Another VR rhythm game has made my list, the first being Audica. Pistol Whip blends rhythm with some John Wick style FPS action. You will have to dodge environmental obstacles and virtual bullets that are shot at you from enemies. These baddies will pop up in every direction and your goal is to shoot them in time with the beat of the EDM song playing. My biggest gripe with this game is the rather paltry song/level selection, and the lack of custom song support.
December
Halo: Reach – I'm just glad Halo is back on PC if I'm being honest with you. Though still enjoyable, Reach isn't exactly near the top of my list for favorite Halo games. The multiplayer in particular is amongst the weakest of the franchise. Reach is the first step in seeing the entirety of The Master Chief Collection come out on PC. It also gives me a good excuse to once again earn those achievements for playing through each Halo game on solo legendary.
That's It
I might be missing a couple of games here and there, but I think I covered my bases well. If you want more, you should check back here in a bit. I'm already kicking around some ideas I have for 2019's biggest dumpster fires.