Mega Ran is a Guinness World Record holding rapper and DJ. When not touring, he releases hip-hop albums. His newest EP “AGES” is out now.
I have to preface my 2019 Top 10 list with a bit of a cop out: I traveled heavily this year between wrestling events (I kinda got beat up at Madison Square Garden) and world tours (Europe and Japan), so I placed a huge emphasis on travel-friendly games in my top 10 list: either games that were accessible on the go, or that were great pick up and play games. So sorry in advance to any 70-hour games that dropped this year, I’ll get to you eventually. And you can Strand Death.
Here are my top 10 of the year:
Honorable Mentions: Mortal Kombat 11, Modern Warfare and Sega Ages: OutRun (can I even count that? Well I will).
10. Downwell
I love pretty much everything Devolver Digital puts out--and this is the best type of game for me. You can play for five seconds or five hours and still be just as satisfied. The best comparison if you haven’t played it is Metroid, but instead of choosing your path, you’re moving downward all the time. With its super-fast gameplay, you’ll die a lot, but you learn something after each death. Brutal fun, more than worth the $3.
9. What the Golf?
I think the tagline got me for this one--it was “The Golf Game For People Who Hate Golf,” and that was enough to make me try it out. One of the few games where I’ve legitimately laughed out loud in an empty room. So silly, so simple yet so creative. I bought it twice, on mobile and Switch, with no regrets. Great times.
8. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
There isn’t much more of a satisfying feeling than Force Pushing fools off of cliffs, or lightsaber dueling. Jedi nails so many of the things we love about Star Wars, and squeezes in basically every other action/adventure game you’ve played over the last 3-4 years. And it was the perfect length, I got everything I needed out of it in 12 hours or so.
7 . Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda
It took me a while to understand this game--as a guy who hadn’t played much NecroDancer--but once I got the hang of the gameplay everything else was a breeze. Beautiful graphics and awesome sound, this game was a masterpiece and super enjoyable the entire way through.
6. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Was so glad I backed this, and so glad I requested the Steam version because I heard the Switch had some issues. I loved it. As a guy who puts Symphony of the Night in my top 10 of all time (I even wrote an album about it), this game felt so familiar. The story didn’t really grab me, but who cares? So many cool weapons, and discovering secret nooks and crannies was big fun. It required a little more backtracking than a guy like me has time for these days, but I was certainly satisfied with the game.
5. Baba Is You
Baba doesn’t boast top-notch graphics or an orchestral score, but is quite simply the best puzzle game I’ve played in years. The game was designed and scored by one person, Arvi “Hempuli” Teikari, and finds fun in the seemingly simple concept of rule adherence. Sound confusing? Probably.
The premise isn't immediately noticeable, but the best thing is that you can choose to change the rules written on the stage to complete the puzzle another way entirely. Of course, the first level is pretty easy, but later stages really test the brain power and patience, making me thankful for the rewind feature that they let you utilize to replay the previous move.
With its charismatic design aesthetic and intense challenge level, the game tosses aside your assumptions like nothing I’ve seen before, and with over 200 puzzles, I’ll be playing it for a long time, no doubt.
4. Apex Legends
Even wrote a song about this bad boy!
I haven’t seen a game drop with so little hype and fanfare and take over like this one.
With all that could go wrong (and usually does) with Battle Royale games, I’m so in awe sometimes of how smooth Apex Legends is. The graphics and sounds are awesome, there’s never a long wait to hop into a game, and it’s fun, even if you suck like I do.
If there’s a downside, it’s just that it rewards frequent players, and folks like me who don’t get to get a lot of playtime won’t get to see most of the cooler aspects of the game.
They took all the best parts of Overwatch, Fortnite, Destiny and Titanfall, and did a heck of a job with it. I absolutely love the game, even when my friends don’t want to play with me. The season updates are done well and this is a game that I can see myself playing for a long while.
3. Super Mario Maker 2
How do you take arguably the perfect platformer and make it better? Just ask Nintendo.
This game really had no reason to be as excellent as it is. Nintendo could have easily slapped the DELUXE branding on it and re-released the Wii U game and no one would have cared. But no, Mario Maker 2 is the game that I never thought I’d see, because in essence it means no one ever has to buy another Super Mario game, ever, because it’s that good.
Mutliplayer leaves a lot to be desired, but I didn’t mind as a single player guy. I’m not even much of a level maker, but I’ve really enjoyed playing other folks’ levels.
2. Resident Evil 2
So. Good. I sat up between tours determined to beat my times and this remains the only game I’ve actually completed this year, yet I did it more than once. I was so satisfied with everything about this game. I really hope that remaking dated classics becomes the new norm, because this needs to happen with so many other PS1 games that I loved that just haven’t aged well.
RE2 Remake is scary, challenging and fun, with great sound and visuals. I’m hoping they give every game in the series this treatment (Code: Veronica too!) I didn’t know what to expect but Capcom knocked it out of the park. Full disclosure, I felt weird about giving a remake or sequel game of the year, but in any other year it would have been my #1, if not for….
1. Untitled Goose Game
Even as the world’s nicest guy, I do sometimes revel in the opportunity to be a mean old jerk--especially in a video game--and that’s what UGG gives me, big time.
Wackiest concept ever, but so simple. You’re a goose and you get to eff up everything in sight. I love it. I laughed, a lot. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible, and the game is just downright fun. I’ve been playing it since its release and I find something new to do each time I pick it up. Such an original concept. I’ve even found myself feeling bad about some of the things you have to do to folks in the game, but that’s just part of the fun.
The AI can be kind of dopey, but I honestly didn’t let that keep me from having a good time. Best few bucks and few hours you can spend on a game this year, I guarantee it. HONK!