My Top 10 Games of 2018

It’s that time of the year, when self-importance is at its highest, and everyone share their lists of best this and that. And I find myself rather important to myself, so here’s my list.

A few house rules — this list is of the best games I first played during 2018, meaning the game may actually have been released previous years. I’m no professional journalist with free access to all games, so I’ll have to make do with the games I pay for myself and find time to play. So as an example, Assassins’ Creed Unity could have made the list (spoiler — it didn’t). My list — my rules.

Also, I also hand out a dubious honour, the most disappointing game. It’s not necessarily a bad game, just furthest from the expectations I had on the game.

Finally, a few games get an honourable mention. They were great, just not good enough to enter the top 10. After all, it was a great year for gaming.

So without further ado, lets get to it.

Hollow Knight

10 First of the list is a bit of surprise to myself. I’m not much of an “metroidvania” fan. I like platform games, but I rather prefer the traditional Mario style. But Hollow Knight is just so very good. The charming graphics, excellent gameplay and very challenging dungeons. Add that they are all procedurally generated and you’ve got a game that will last you a very, very long time.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

9 I think this may have been the most difficult game for me to place. Looking at hours played, this is up at the very top. It is my favourite fighting game ever. But I have to chuck it down the list a bit as penalty for it’s rather lacklustre multiplayer bit. Matchmaking is messy, playing with friends online is even messier. The good part is that this is all fixable through patches, so here’s hoping.

Super Mario Odyssey

8 More Mario. This is actually my first proper play-through of a 3D Mario game, and I really enjoyed it. It’s oozing with charm, and great to play with my 3 year old. It could have landed much higher on this list, had not the competition been so fierce.

Red Dead Redemption 2

7 Easily the most ambitious game of 2018. The level of detail and care that’s gone into this game is just amazing. It set a new standard for open-world games and others will have to up their game to compete.
Still, I missed something, the actual gameplay wasn’t as sharp as the rest, and I’m still not 100% decided on what I feel about the slowness of the game.

Persona 5

6 If RDR2 was the most ambitious, then Persona 5 was the most stylish. The presentation is just so brilliant and sharp that it feels like you are playing inside an anime. It’s one of my biggest regrets that I’ve not yet completed the game. And when rumours of a Switch version started bubbling, I sort of parked it and hoping the rumours are true to start a new playthough.

Batman: The Enemy Within

5 As I said in my review, it’s the best that Telltale had made up until that point, and now given the collapse of the company, it will stay at the top. I’ve always been a Batman-fan and this is up there with the Nolan-trilogy as the best interpretation of the caped crusader.

Mario Tennis Aces

4 Mario’s final entry on this list. The single player part is a bit meh, but the multiplayer is great, especially after the improvements over the year. It’s been my go-to game when bored and not sure what to play. It great for solo tournaments and even better in doubles. If only Nintendo used the same practice with their other online games.

God of War

3 Many lists puts this at the top, and while my does include games from previous years, I couldn’t put it top of the 2018 either. But this is a bloody brilliant game. Action is perfectly paced, and fun puzzles, and a great return for Kratos, a series I’ve not played since its first entry. I welcome it’s linear structure in favour of a focused story and it’s a game I rushed to complete.

Detroit: Become Human

2 I have to confess, I’m a sucker for David Cage’s games. This year I had a bit of marathon and played though Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls and finally Detroit. Heavy Rain has a better and more engaging story, but it’s gameplay is far from perfect. Detroit: Become Human story is almost as good, and gameplay much better, which gives it the place on this list. It’s story is meaningful and thought-provocative, while having arguably the best acting in a video game to date. It’s just a shame it’s over so soon and another half-decade to wait for next game.

Most disappointing game — Super Mario Party

Before we more on the winner, it’s time to mention last years most disappointing game — Super Mario Party. It’s not a bad game, not at all. In fact, it’s the fact that it’s overall a very good game, that makes the pretty much non-existent online multiplayer all the more disappointing. I wrote more about Nintendos clueless online strategies here, which Super Mario Party is the best example of.

Honourable mentions

Here’s a list of really good games that I just couldn’t fit into the list.

• Assassin’s Creed Syndicate — The pinnacle of the Assassin’s Creed series. Stayed true to what the game series is really about (which has been forgotten in Odyssey and Origins)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2 — Really good JRPG, but maybe gets a bit too over-complicated. There’s so many bits and parts that you are still getting tutorials 30 hours into the game
• Overcooked 2 — A blast to play with friends, and works great online (see Nintendo!)
• Octopath Traveler — A very promising game, but the lack of a greater story made it too much of an chore in the end.
• Bayonetta — Mabye the oldest game on the list, but fast paced and enjoyable, if not my favourite genre.
• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker — great puzzles and nice to play a course or two.
• Mario + Rabbids — Mario meets Xcom is arguably the best strategy game on the Switch (Civ 6 says hey!), and just surprising that it works so well — who would have thought.
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — vrooooom. Another example of how good and fun Nintendo’s games can be online, if they just bothered with it.
• Starlink — Worth its money (when on sale). It’s a good and fun game, maybe a bit repetitive and not worth it at full price. Playing as Fox a nice bonus for Switch owners.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

1 Ah Zelda, I can say so many negative things about it — the weapon durability, the passive story and the fact that there’s only 5 proper dungeons.

But damn near perfect game still. The little story-telling there’s there is so well balanced and emotional, to a level I’ve never seen in a Zelda game before. Even though I never met the bulk of the cast, as they are already dead, I still manage to get a bond to them, and care to avenge them. The open world and almsot endless amount of things to discover. The visual style that just makes me want to run or ride around.

I’m so excited about what’s next for Link and Zelda. Hopefully they’ll announce something during 2019 and that they expand on this version of Zelda. Just continue where we left of with a new adventure with Zelda playing a more active role. Maybe even co-op. I’m getting giddy already.