Bigfooty Game of the Year 2018 (Voting Closes Friday 11th January Midnight)

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I deleted my post, I jumped the gun really as I've played some great games since.
 

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Probably a few on here that'll only get points based on my list. Starting to get tired of the safe and boring AAA space.

1. God Of War
The older games are probably my all time favourite Playstation franchise so when they threw this into the current Sony first party template machine of 3rd person, over the shoulder, cinematic, action adventure game, I was concerned. Add a kid AI character and I was just about done, this wasn't my God Of War, but BOY! I didn't expect this to be so good whilst still maintaining the combat feel from the previous games. There's been 3 games I've played from start to end uninterrupted in 2018 (my top 3) and this was one of them, the pacing was spot on and never felt like it dragged along. Up there with Zelda BotW as game of the gen for me.

2. Celeste
Start of a big year for Indies for me personally. Wasn't on my radar until I heard nothing but glowing impressions on various podcasts and then the reviews started flooding in, I had to give this one a shot. It would be easy to write this off as just another indie 2d pixel platformer, but there's a narrative being told that combined with some of the tightest platforming controls and challenging gameplay, makes you want to see it through to the end.

3. Yoku's Island Express
From the moment i saw this being demo'd last year i was instantly hyped. In a world of cookie cutter AAA titles, I like to see developers flex some creative muscle and take risks and this one paid off big time for me. Its a mashup of a Metroidvania and a pinball game and it just works so damn well. Catchy soundtrack, amazing art style, all the tropes of a typical Metroidvania but with solid pinball physics just made this one a joy to play and another i couldn't put down until 100%. Felt like i did this one dirty by not making a thread on here like i had planned.

4. Dead Cells
Another that could be seen as "oh look another 2D indie rogue-like" but like Celeste it's the challenging gameplay loop and super tight controls that make this one of my most played games this year. Scratches the same itch as Rogue Legacy did a few years back.

5. Red Dead Redemption 2
Initially began as my GOTY but once you get deep into the gameplay loop where each mission has the same structure and the conclusion to each chapter is a bit rinse and repeat, I've been slowly losing interest in progressing any further. Outside of that I've had a great time, like most Rockstar games, making my own sadistic fun. The voice acting is superb, the attention to detail is head and shoulders above anything out there, this is a big money game that i wish leaned more into being a video game rather than a western simulator. I've already had the ending spoiled for me but it makes me want to get back into it and experience it for myself, it's just finding the motivation and time to push through the current story grind.

These are my locks so far. 6-10 is a bit harder with the amount of games I've played this year and I've got 1 game i still want to play before deciding. Will edit later.
 
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Celeste & Dead Cells have been getting quite a bit of attention elsewhere.

I'll need to play them.
Not sure if they on Xbox though.
 
1. God of War

Big fan of the series and also the new direction. The axe boomerang is so satisfying.

2. Into the Breach

Love a good strategy game and this from the makers of FTL stole a lot of hours from me.

3. Dead Cells

SO SO SO addicting.

4. Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Puzzles meat RPG in a wonderful art style.

5. Far Cry 5

It's just flat out fun. Gun play some of the most fun I've had since Crysis.

6. Subnautica

This game gives me eye orgasms

Honorable mentions:

Fifa 19 - Feel weird giving it votes but worth a mention as only way Tottenham win the lague haha

HADES - Bought it in early access. Impressed so far. Supergiant are now my second favourite developer behind Obsidian.

Games I want to play but have missed - Celeste, Dragon Quest XI & Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

Biggest disappointment = Fallout 76 - Bethesda just stop please :(

Most innovative gameplay = Into the Breach - Just felt so fresh

Best new gaming character = Zagreus (Hades) - Sort of cheating here, not sure I can vote for this game considering early access
 
Clear top five for me this year, and any of my top three are my GOTY in most other years.

1. Detroit: Become Human
2. Red Dead Redemption 2
3. God of War
4. Assassins Creed: Odyssey
5. Marvel's Spiderman
------------------------
6. Far Cry 5
7. Fallout 76
8. The Walking Dead: Final season (Ep 1 & 2)
9. State of Mind
10. Life is Strange 2: Ep 1
 

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dwwaino said:
Just a reminder to get those votes in by the 11th (Friday) for them to count. If anyone already voted wants to make any changes then that’s still cool, just edit your original post.
Click to expand...

So can we vote on the 11th or do I need to get my list in by tonight?
 
Had to think about this longer than I thought I would have to. I had a top 3 and then absolute daylight until the rest.

1. God of War
I loved everything about this game. The acting, art, environments, voices, story, the combat, and Christopher Judge. One of the best games I've played in the last few years.

2. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
The longer I played it the further it rose up my GOTY. There haven't been many single players games that after 30-40 hours I can put down, then pick up some time later for another 20 or so and repeating this for 100+ hours. This game is massive and has heaps to do for any completionist who loves a nice grind. I also particularly liked how much more mythology is weaved into history.

3. Forza Horizon 4
I'm not into cars or racing games but ever since I started with Horizon 2 I've been hooked on these games. Probably the best optimised PC game I've played in a long time.

4. Kingdom Come Deliverance
"A beautiful mess" I believe I have seen it referred to. A turbulent development history and the game itself is very rough around the edges. However it was just very refreshing to play an RPG that wasn't based on fantasy and it dared to try some things. Hopefully recent updates have made the game more stable as I would love to give it another run through.

5. Detroit Become Human
Usually I'm not into these sorts of things, I get bored without actual gameplay. I grabbed it when I saw it for only like $30 and it was a worthwhile purchase. I found I got really invested in the characters and the story and couldn't wait to start another playthrough. Haven't felt as bummed about finishing a story in a while as I just wanted it to keep going.

6. Thronebreaker Witcher Tales
Firstly it's so relaxing to just be able to sit back and play an entire game with nothing but a mouse. The world itself, while wonderfully crafted, is just a vehicle to go from one Gwent inspired battle to the next. This is so far different from the Gwent of Witcher 3 and never did I feel frustrated wasting sometimes an hour on a battle. It was a sense of accomplishment going back and re-configuring my deck and finally beating the challenge. Most importantly it feels like a Witcher game and that I'm back in the universe when I play.

7. Red Dead Redemption 2
I was anticipating this as my GOTY before it was released. As good as it was something just felt amiss to me. The story and acting were amazing and it was so easy to get lost in the world. At times I felt like while I was trying to play a game it was trying to feed me something else.

8. Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Only included this one after I had a long thing about it. Probably some of the prettiest graphics I have seen and felt more like a traditional Tomb Raider game than the last couple entries of the reboot. I loved the tomb exploring but sometimes I felt like I was jerked out of the immersion when it was time to fight a few waves of enemies. At times this game was confused whether it wanted to be a linear third person shooter or open world exploration. An open world Tomb Raider would tickle my pickle just nicely.

9. Frostpunk
I need to play it some more but I was impressed with what I have. Not usually into city builders but a refreshing take on the genre. The decisions are so stressful because none of them ever seem to be 'good', just not as bad as another.

10. Pillars of Eternity II
Wasn't going to include because I haven't played it any where near enough, but the more I tried to fill my 10th spot the more it felt like I was putting something here for the hell of it. Isometric RPGs used to be the thing before fully voiced 3D RPGs and traditional RPGs like this get looked over. I'm garbage at character building so these games are often harder than they need to be but it's nice to finally play a RPG again unlike what gets called a RPG these days.
 
1. Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar games have created probably the most impressive open world to date.
It literally feels like the world is alive, it's filled with interesting (and weird) characters, varied wildlife and no shortage of side quests.
Visually the game is technically supreme, as is the audio/voice acting.
The narrative and writing keeps the main story enticing to the player.
Arthur Morgan is one of gaming's best protagonists.

2. Forza Horizon 4

I just love this series, ever since the first one on Xbox 360.
Playground games are incredibly talented developers and have outdone themselves again.
Racing or just roaming through the locales of Great Britain is always a thrill.
The introduction of seasons adds a new dynamic to the gameplay and visuals.
Visually it's what we have come to expect from Horizon but even more pretty thanks to the Xbox One X.

3. Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 Roads

An excellent follow up for the LiS series.
The first episode starts out in style and has intriguing characters and a heartfelt story.
The next episodes are right up there as my most anticipated in 2019.

4. Valkyria Chronicles 4

A must play for any strategy RPG fan.
Missions feel better to play and more varied than the original on PS3.
The story and characters are great, i enjoyed them.
The series usual cel shaded visual style looks great again to.

5. Subnautica

Something about this game gives off a sense of intrigue and mystery that not many others have had.
It really is the survival genre at it's finest.
I loved the visuals and beautiful deep sea areas.
The audio is very good as well with heaps of cool ambient tracks.

6. The Gardens Between

A simple yet clever concept for a puzzle game.
Great control scheme that works well.
The visuals and sound design are very slick.
There's not much story, but what is there is poignant and the game areas and objects add to that.
A short but sweet experience.

7. Celeste

Platforming at it's finest.
The sprite graphics and music just make you feel happy.
Underneath the platforming action is a great story and message.


8. Sea of Thieves

I have to hand it to RARE as they just keep adding stuff to the game. (For free)
They obviously took the criticisms of it being bare bones to heart.
It still is rather simple in mission design and combat.
However some of my funniest multiplayer gaming moments have come from SoT.

9. Hellblade: Sensua's Sacrifice (Xbox One)

Probably the best depiction of mental illness i've seen in this medium.
Hellblade is visually quite stunning and the combat is very satisfying i thought.

10. Below

Admittedly i haven't played much of it.
I think it deserves a spot here, simply due to it's atmosphere.
It's just oozing with it.
Hopefully the punishing difficulty and permadeath isn't to much as i play.
 
This year was a good year in gaming but I didn't spend as much of 2018 playing new releases as I usually do. I spent a month and a half earlier on this year knocking out The Witcher 3 (finally) and nothing that came out this year really came close to that. I spent about another month playing GOW and another 2 months playing RDR2. Throw in Destiny 2: Forsaken and I didn't have a lot of time for other games.

1) God of War: I really enjoyed the old GOW games, so much so that GOW 3 was one of my favourite games of last generation but by the time I played Ascension I thought I might be over the series. But this game was exactly what this series needed, whilst the story isn't probably as deep as they feel like it was the ride they take you on is amazing. The combat was brutal and most importantly satisfying.

2) Dead Cells: I remember hearing about it in early access last year so when it hit consoles I picked it up. I kept coming back to it over the course of the year to do the odd run. It will likely stay on my PS4 forever and I enjoy collecting the blueprints, etc.

3) Spiderman: I'm kind of surprised by how high I have this given that most of its elements were generic open world tropes. But I played half of this before playing RDR2 and half of it after. The first half was fun with amazing movement, an interesting enough story and solid combat. But when I came back to it after RDR2 and how forced the pace was in that game I found a simplistic open world game with high movement options refreshing. The story in the second half is great, doesn't pull and punches and showcases the human side to Peter. It's a really strong effort and Insomniac's second best game this generation (Sunset Overdrive is still better, go play it).

4) Red Dead Redemption 2: At its core RDR2 is an experience, a long and arduous experience that I found myself struggling with at times despite how much I ultimately enjoyed it. For every memorable highpoint there seemed to be an equally frustrating moment that would drive me insane. Arthur Morgan was a fantastic protagonist and the journey you go on isn't quite what I expected going in. The world is amazing to explore, I enjoyed leaving my mark on it but I just wish Rockstar valued my time more.

5) Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu: Speaking of surprises. I was very nervous when this was announced, but what they delivered was a fun Pokemon-lite style nostalgia trip. Despite this, the game actually manages to move forward in some ways and introduces a few mechanics that I hope that they implement into the core Gen 8 games this year. Being able to see the wild pokemon wandering around had much more of an effect than I had previously thought of. The old gripes of Zubat caves are basically over because you can just avoid them and you can find the ones that you actually want easier as well.

6) Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate: I'm not the typical Nintendo gamer, I don't hold Mario, Metroid and Zelda on the pedestals some do. My Nintendo based love actually comes for Pokemon, Smash and Splatoon. So this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. It was predictably good, an absolutely mind boggling number of characters. The single player offering isn't really for me based off of limited play but I still appreciate the efforts to create the weird scenarios that they did.

7) Assassin's Creed: Odyssey: I haven't played much of this having only started this week. But I really loved Origins from last year and this is a lot like that with dialogue options which is something I really dig. I imagine that when I play more of this it would probably move up my list.

8) Celeste: Another from my barely played enough of category of late list filler but this seems like a cool if tough platformer that I want to see more of.

9) Into the Breach: I saw this on a bunch of end of year lists so I picked it up on sale on Switch and I'm enjoying the concept. Especially how the focus isn't just on killing everything. Moreso just keeping everything else alive and area denial.

10) Monster Hunter World: Like many this was my first experience with the series and for a couple of weeks I enjoyed what it offered. I think my biggest issue with it was that I couldn't find a weapon that clicked for me so I went through the story trying bits of everything.

I wish Return of the Obra Dinn was on a console because I think that would have been super high on my list this year because it seems amazing and if I could have nominated the Destiny2: Forsaken expansion I probably would have slotted that in somewhere in my 2-4 range as it basically saved the game and introduced a bunch of cool areas and long term ideas.

Edit: Forgot about categories.

Biggest disappointment: Fallout 76

Best Character: Arthur Morgan

Most innovative: NA
 
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calyam said:
Cramming on the final day :tearsofjoy:
Click to expand...

That has basically been my gaming over the last fortnight. I only finished Red Dead 2's story completely late December so I had a lot to catch up on.

I 100% approve of you getting Sunset Overdrive onto your list and I was tempted to do the same but I thought having not played the PC version myself that I probably shouldn't.
 
I'm late and these won't count, that's fine. I'll post anyway.

1.Into the Breach
Pacific rim chess, I hate slow games and this game had flipped my entire perception of what video games i'm into.

2. Dead Cells
Game is clean, fair fun and a blast to play.

3.MHW
Another game that subverted my preferences and i love this thing, matchmaking aside.

4.GOW
It's good, doesn't hit any high highs but it's good throughout.

5. RDR2
Has the highest of highs this year but so, so many lows. Incredibly frustrating and dated gameplay designs marr an amazing experience.

6. A.C Odyssey
An incredibly crisp and fun experience, would be alot higher if the game wasn't far too long and bulky.

7. Yakuza Kiwami 2
Just picked up yakuza within the last 2 months and have blown through 3 of them since then. Kiwami 2 is the first i've played on the new engine and it really enhances and already amazing experience.

8. Kingdom Come
A game that should be commended for what it's trying to do, even if it doesn't always deliver. Hits more than it misses, i enjoyed it.

9.DBZ
The game i've been waiting my whole life for, a good DBZ game. Shame i absolutely suck at fighters.

10. Salt and sanctuary (Switch)
2D Dark souls. a bit unfair at times but it offers something new to the genre with some amazingly fun weapon combos. loooooooove this game.
 
LukasTheGreat said:
I'm late and these won't count, that's fine. I'll post anyway.

1.Into the Breach
Pacific rim chess, I hate slow games and this game had flipped my entire perception of what video games i'm into.

2. Dead Cells
Game is clean, fair fun and a blast to play.

3.MHW
Another game that subverted my preferences and i love this thing, matchmaking aside.

4.GOW
It's good, doesn't hit any high highs but it's good throughout.

5. RDR2
Has the highest of highs this year but so, so many lows. Incredibly frustrating and dated gameplay designs marr an amazing experience.

6. A.C Odyssey
An incredibly crisp and fun experience, would be alot higher if the game wasn't far too long and bulky.

7. Yakuza Kiwami 2
Just picked up yakuza within the last 2 months and have blown through 3 of them since then. Kiwami 2 is the first i've played on the new engine and it really enhances and already amazing experience.

8. Kingdom Come
A game that should be commended for what it's trying to do, even if it doesn't always deliver. Hits more than it misses, i enjoyed it.

9.DBZ
The game i've been waiting my whole life for, a good DBZ game. Shame i absolutely suck at fighters.

10. Salt and sanctuary (Switch)
2D Dark souls. a bit unfair at times but it offers something new to the genre with some amazingly fun weapon combos. loooooooove this game.
Click to expand...

All good.
I'll count it.


Voting is now closed.
Can a MOD please lock thread.
 
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