My top 10 favorite video games of 2019
Showing 1-10 of 10 items
2019 was the year I got into Formula 1. This game was a large part of that. It helps explains the sport and allows the tweaking of difficulty in such a way I went from easy AI and all assists to hard AI, low assists, 100% race length and tweaking my car setup for each circuit. I hope the story mode gets built out more in next year's edition.
Although the narrative falls apart in the end, I cannot deny how much I love the visual design of this world. Of the calming boredom of delivering packages. Of the sheer pleasure I got from planning out my route and then having to adjust it as I went along and the weather and terrain changed unexpectedly. Good stuff.
It's Dark Souls meets Star Wars? How could this not end up high on my list? It's even the game that convinced me that a Souls-like with difficulty settings wouldn't be the heresy I was secretly convinced it would be. Better than Rise of Skywalker.
In full disclosure: I have yet to play the final episode. Just like the first season, this episodic game tells an incredibly affecting story that has me at the edge of my seat and considering my choices. Also not afraid to take some touchy subjects head-on. Remains to be seen for me if they stick the landing on that, though.
Style. This game's got style. And if there's anything I'm a sucker for, it's style. Add to that weird, surreal paranormal stuff mixed with mundane bureaucracy, and you've got a jam made just for Jeffry. If the gameplay had been more engaging, it would've ended up higher on my list.
A fun story mode and very accessible and easy-to-learn fighting system made me put in lots of hours into this game. If a fighting game can make me play multiplayer matches and not be immediately frustrated, it's on to something.
Although not particularly deep and having a bit too much of centrist-liberal bent to its politics, it did allow me to play as anarchistic socialist who blows up corporations.
The closest a From Software game has come to knocking Dark Souls II off its throne. Its new take on the combat and unique setting also helped.
While not as strong as Until Dawn, the multiplayer movie night made was an incredibly fun way to spend an afternoon with my partner. We yelled at the screen and each other and got to screw with horror movie protagonists. Eagerly awaiting other entries in the anthology.
As racing games go, this is a fun, diverse one. There's a lack of coherence to the career mode, but the idea of hiring team members that have differing levels of skills and loyalty is interesting.
