Best Games of the Year, and Biggest Disappointments - GOTYs

Originally posted on my LinkedIn.

2019 was no 2007, but it still had some very good games. For several reasons, this was probably the year I played (as in, finished) the least amount of games for the last 10 years. There’s also several titles from 2019 I still plan to play but didn’t have the time yet. Among them, Gears 5, Death Stranding, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Modern Warfare and Judgment immediately come to mind, but I’m sure there’s more.

I like lists, so I decided to make my GOTY one. Purely based on my own opinion and taste, nothing more.

In no particular order (besides number 1), here are my favorite games of the year, and also the biggest disappointments.

GOTY: CONTROL

Control, from Remedy Entertainment, is easily my Game of The Year! Blending sci-fi, supernatural elements, Twilight Zone vibes, hilarious humor, great writing and, perhaps above all else, the best third person action since Vanquish! Control’s combat is so tight and polished to perfection, you could assume this is the second or third installment of an ongoing series. But no, Remedy completely nailed the gameplay to perfection in this first try.

Control represents the best of videogames: a new IP, with new ideas and concepts, bold, mature, smart, and immensely enjoyable to play. Too bad it wasn’t an instant commercial hit, but it’s showing legs, and I hope in the end it sells enough. Remedy deserves it.

 Disappointment: ASTRAL CHAIN

I’m a huge Platinum Games fan! I just mentioned Vanquish when writing about Control. I was extremely hyped about Astral Chain from the moment it was announced. And then, I got my hands on it. In the first hour or so I was like “ok, this will get better at any moment now.”...and then it was 2 hours...3 hours...and I hard quit. Too much anime nonsense, boring and constant exposition, and a combat system that felt like it didn’t want me involved. I was so bummed.

Good: MY FRIEND PEDRO

For those people who think videogames are all about the gameplay and fun, then My Friend Pedro is a must play! I played the campaign 3 times on the Switch, and more recently again on the Xbox One. Replay value is huge in this game, and not because you unlock new content (although you do as well), but simply because it’s SO MUCH FUN, and every time you play it you can try new things. Plus, it has a bunkers meta narrative holding the whole thing together that can be...quite surprising.

Good: METRO EXODUS

Metro Exodus was so unfairly snubbed in most GOTY lists I’ve seen this year. Really sad. This game completely took me by surprise. I never played the previous Metro games, simply because I’m not a fan of claustrophobic scary games. Exodus however is anything but. It’s an expansive and very well focused single-player story-driven FPS that mixes open-world areas with linear levels in a way that very few games can pull off, if any. In my opinion, Exodus is almost at the same level as some of the best single-player FPS games like Half-Life 2, Chronicles of Riddick and the likes.

Good: A PLAGUE TALE: INNOCENCE

A Plague Tale came out of “nowhere” and ended up being one of the most memorable games of the year. By now you might be starting to notice a pattern in my list...yes, I mostly play and enjoy single-player games. I like games that are well written, respect the player’s time (no grinding!), keep up a good pace throughout, and ultimately leave memories behind after finishing. Plague Tale is all this, plus very good production values! Asobo Studio (the dev) has been producing games for more than 15 years, but Plague Tale is the one that finally put them on the map for most people. Looking forward to whatever they do next!

Disappointment: THE DARK PICTURES ANTHOLOGY: MAN OF MEDAN

Talk about a bummer! I’m a big fan of Until Dawn (previous game from Supermassive Games), so naturally I was very hyped for Man of Medan. Essentially, it seemed to be more of the same, but in a different scenario with a different story. What could possibly go wrong? Well, pretty much everything as it turned out. And I do mean, everything! Narrative, characters, gameplay, pace, graphics...gosh, it’s really a mess. Hope it’s just a bump on the road for the developer, and not indicative of anything else.

Good: RESIDENT EVIL 2 - Remake

I’ve always been terrible with scary games, in particular with survival horror ones. The anxiousness and tension usually overwhelms any enjoyment I might be getting from them, and very few games in the genre have been “good enough” for me to overcome my fears and enjoy them. Res2 remake is an absolute marvel! It’s the remake of an old game, but it totally feels new and fresh! It’s immersive, it’s scary (but not too much) and it’s so well made! What Capcom did is truly remarkable and sets a new standard for remakes to come in the future.

Notable Mentions:

Days Gone: I’m still playing it and LOVING IT! The bad reviews baffle me, as so far I haven’t encountered anything much to complain about in this game. I’m about 20 hours in, I think.
Rage 2: Was fun while it lasted. Better than I expected.
Doom 3 (Nintendo Switch): Great port. I was too scared to enjoyed it when it originally came out, but now on the Switch I finally got to play it and finish it. And enjoyed it!
Katana Zero: Another game I’m still playing. I think I’m very close to finishing it, and loving it! Would make the main list if I finished it.
PES 2020: Last PES I played was 2016, and it wasn’t great. I was happy to get back into the field this year and discover a game that truly reinvented itself over the years. PES is, once again, better than FIFA. As it should be!