Chris Tilton is a composer and he’s written music for a few TV shows (Fringe, Zoo) and video games (SimCity, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Black).
When not working, he can be found playing video games, or perhaps procrastinating in chat on a Giant Bomb live stream.
10. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint
I haven’t played a Ghost Recon game in well over a decade, so I had no real expectations for Breakpoint. What I do enjoy, though, is exploring maps and taking over and/or looting locations in an open world. For me, a big part of the fun is trying to figure out how to get the treasure/loot/etc without being seen or causing a ruckus. Recon is key! If I am spotted, I found it pretty easy to hole up somewhere and let everyone come to me. The thing is, the open world is huge! There’s just so many locations that if I botch one place, there's always another challenge to move on to. I love coming back to this one in between other games.
9. What the Golf?
The only phone game I really play is solitaire, and usually in very small doses to pass the time. So What the Golf? comes along and kind of fits right in. I played only on my phone and had a great time with its irreverent “pull back with your thumb” slingshot-style gameplay. I found it easy to hop in and play a course or two, maybe more. There's so much variety, and I was excited to see what awaited me next. I was always surprised. The less you know going in, the better!
8. No Man's Sky Beyond
As someone who built LEGO as a kid (and still does), Base Building in No Man’s Sky is a relaxing creative outlet. Kind of like in The Sims when you give yourself a bunch of money so you can build your dream house, only in No Man’s Sky you can find that perfect mountaintop in which to build it. When this game came out in 2016, it was more of a relaxed or meditative experience with simple resource gathering. That still exists, but now there are all these systems on top of each other to engage in. I did several deep dives into the game over the years as major updates have been released, and have thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. With the Beyond update that was released this past summer, I am now able to experience all my bases, freighters, and space dogfights in VR. I got to stand inside my mountaintop dream house!. Then, there was yet ANOTHER update that happened a few weeks ago, adding all sorts of new features and quality of life improvements. I’ve logged over 360 hours and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.
7. Final Fantasy VIII Remastered
Final Fantasy VIII came out around my peak excitement for Final Fantasy. I fell in love with the series largely because of Nobuo Uematsu's music, but also because I realized I loved participating in an epic story. Considering the leap forward of cinematic style from the SNES era to PlayStation, I couldn’t wait to see what was next. To date, this my favorite Final Fantasy, though sometimes I go back and forth with VIII and VI. Patrick Klepek wrote a great article earlier this year on why FFVIII struck a chord with many of us at the time if you want to dive into it a bit more. Mostly what I liked was that it pushed the series forward with a more mature story and with even greater cinematic flair. This was also the first time Final Fantasy had a live orchestra. It’s only for the opening and the ending, but I was in heaven. I had a great time going through this again, and appreciate it more with age.
6. The Division 2
I had planned to try out the first Division, but ended up jumping on board with the sequel. For a loot based shooter like this, I am so glad they have matchmaking for the main missions. I found this game to be quite difficult when trying to go solo on missions, but luckily it was easy to team up with others. I had a really great time! I hope Destiny will do this, as I enjoy playing these types of wave based, move around cover to cover kind of conflicts, with other people in the mix. Also, this game just plays great. I enjoyed that it pushed me shoot more strategically, and I found myself loving every engagement, even if I'm just wandering around looking for loot. The open world here is a mostly deserted Washington, D.C. post virus catastrophe. It's just a neat, eerie backdrop because the societal downfall felt like it just happened, and was not some distant dystopian future. If Ubisoft makes a sequel, I’m there.
5. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
As someone who really enjoyed the Nintendo DS follow ups to Symphony of the Night, I was excited for this spiritual sequel. It feels like a direct homage to Symphony of the Night specifically with the map layout and story beats, but also incorporating many elements established in the DS series. They did what they needed to do here. They got the gameplay right. The upgrades right. It is just fun to run and jump around killing demons while exploring. The abilities are fun, surprising, and not just duplicates from previous games. Love the music in the sorcery labs.
4. The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds turned out great. I was already sold from the get go, so I avoided most coverage of this game. It was just what this fall needed, at least for me. The comparison to Fallout: New Vegas is apt, as one of my favorite things about that game is that there were hours of quests that involved mostly dialog and no combat. It was something I really loved and appreciated, and that idea is definitely back here. I think I was a little overwhelmed at first about what my goals should be, but I really appreciated the game not telling me what to think. I could simply make up my own mind about what I should or would do, or who I should or shouldn't trust, and that is not something that happens often in game narratives. Another highlight is all the ambient dialog your companions will have which other. This ended up being one of those worlds I happily got lost in.
3. Death Stranding
Kojima's dedication to adding cinematic techniques with the Metal Gear Solid series is one of the reasons I keep coming back. I think Metal Gear Solid V is one of the best stealth action games ever made. I love all the crazy narrative directions he goes in, including some of his older games like Snatcher and Policenauts. I came to Death Stranding curious, and I have to say I really did get into it. I love Kojima’s dedication to being cinematic about everything you do while playing (or watching). Once you get settled in, the story slows down and you’re allowed to really discover and connect the world at your own pace. I loved venturing out into the unknown. It was exhilarating when I tried to cross some snowy mountains for the first time. It was dark, windy, cold, and scary. And those feelings and environmental hazards even affected your actual character’s ability.I enjoyed where the story went, and found it to be one of the more satisfying Kojima tales. It has all the Kojima-isms you'd expect, whatever that means to you. It's not as crazy as MGS at its craziest or as meta at its most meta, but it wraps up in a much more emotional way than I was expecting. I think each individual's taste in Kojima's work is going to affect how the story lands for you. It worked for me. It's a game to really invest in. I'm looking forward to whatever's next.
2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
I don’t really want to say too much because everyone should absolutely play this game knowing as little as possible. Engaging, character driven story? Check. Good writing, directing? Check. Good performances? Check. (Greez is my favorite!). Music coming in where it counts? Check. Big cinematic moments where everything is working together with fun as hell gameplay? Check. While I do yearn for a Star Wars game that treats the lightsaber with the respect it deserves (it will chop your arm off in one swing), I feel Fallen Order is a pretty good compromise. The combat feels great, and once you get your main handful of force powers, things can really become an awesome spectacle. The characters are great, the emotional beats are great, the swings of the plot are great and it all adds up to the best Star Wars game I've ever played.
1. Judgment
After having finished Yakuza 6 earlier this year (which I love), I wasn't sure if I was ready to go back to Kamurocho. Not only was I wrong, I love Judgment even more than the Yakuza series. I loved getting to know a whole new cast of characters. Wandering around busy Kamurocho felt more nostalgic after having experienced a few Yakuza games here. The side stories are also a big part of the game and they top notch. However, the central mystery and the characters that get wrapped up in it is really is the star of the show. As the mystery unfolds, the drama ramps up in real satisfying ways. It’s characters worth caring about in an epic Japanese mystery soap opera. By the end, I felt like felt like I had experienced a long running TV show and was sad to say goodbye. Congrats to Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s best game ever! Don’t miss this!