2019 was an essential yr for the gaming business. Not solely did 2019 usher in some implausible new experiences on consoles and PC but it surely additionally marked the final full yr of the present technology of platforms. By the tip of 2020, we’ll have each the Xbox Sequence X and PlayStation 5 in our arms, in addition to the totally launched Google Stadia, that means that the following technology of video video games can be lastly upon us. Did this present technology, which started in 2012 with the discharge of the Nintendo Wii U, exit with a bang?
Our favourite video games of the yr recommend that it did. From fast-paced on-line shooters and superb role-playing video games to zombie-filled terrors and surreal action-adventures, the 10 greatest video games of 2019 characterize a plethora of recent concepts in addition to titles which have perfected the formulation of their respective genres. The video games coming in 2020 will definitely have lots of reside as much as.
Whereas not all video games might make our last 10, honorable point out should be given to the next titles: Future 2: Shadowkeep, The Legend of Zelda: Hyperlink’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night time, Name of Obligation: Fashionable Warfare, Mortal Kombat 11, Satan Might Cry 5, Kingdom Hearts 3, Metro Exodus, Tremendous Mario Maker 2, and Untitled Goose Sport.
Now, listed below are the perfect video video games of 2019 in alphabetical order:
Apex Legends
February 4 | Respawn | PS4, XBO, PC
Few titles this yr have stunned us as a lot as Apex Legends, a battle royale spinoff set in Respawn’s Titanfall universe. Launched on the identical day it was introduced, this free-to-play multiplayer shooter gave us a brand new approach to expertise the favored battle royale style simply because it was beginning to really feel like there was nowhere left for the style to go. Certainly, Fortnite and PUBG is likely to be answerable for popularizing battle royale video games however Apex Legends perfected the system with its combine of colourful characters, fast-paced traversal, and inventive talents.
Not like its predecessors, Apex Legends incorporates parts of hero shooters like Overwatch to offer the sport its distinctive character in addition to an emphasis on teamwork and technique. Selecting your favourite character and running-and-gunning is not at all times the easiest way to win a spherical of Apex Legends, similar to it isn’t completely sensible to cost into Overwatch with out no less than one tank or assist character. As a substitute, you have to work alongside your three-player group, mixing and matching the totally different Legends and their talents, to outlive the sport’s intense firefights and down-to-the-wire showdowns for first place. There’s hardly ever a uninteresting spherical of Apex Legends.
It helps that the characters themselves are dripping with character and with simply sufficient backstory to make them extra attention-grabbing than your common pores and skin swap. There’s the fast-talking, quick-witted Mirage, whose particular potential permits him to create duplicates of himself to lure enemies; the always-positive Pathfinder, who creates ziplines for quicker journey across the map; Caustic, a scientist who actually loves poison fuel (his fuel traps may be lethal in confined areas; and Gibraltar, a tank worthy of his title due to his bombardment final and plethora of shields. And there are lots extra to select from, catering to most varieties of playstyles. The secret’s to study all of the characters and what they do, and studying every new Legend at all times feels rewarding versus a process.
The sport additionally advantages significantly from the Titanfall-style traversal. Whereas there’s not a lot parkour available right here (a missed alternative when you ask us), shifting round on the sport’s two big maps nonetheless feels fluid, as you run, slide, and zipline throughout Kings Canyon and World’s Edge. Gamers who discover constructing their approach to throughout Fortnite‘s map too sluggish and clunky or shifting by means of PUBG too tedious will really feel proper at dwelling with Apex Legends‘ extra fast-paced method.
We by no means thought we would fall in love with one other battle royale sport in any case of the good experiences which have already been provided, however Apex Legends proves that there is nonetheless lots you are able to do with the budding style. We hope and count on that this sport will proceed to innovate by means of its lengthy lifecycle forward. – JS
Management
August 27 | Treatment Leisure | PS4, XBO, PC
Management is the sport we have needed from Treatment Leisure since Alan Wake‘s metafictional tackle survival horror. Whereas 2016’s Quantum Break was full of time-traveling shooter goodness, it is Management that marks the studio’s return as one of the business’s most fun inventive forces.
Impressed by Jeff VanderMeer novel Annihilation and the New Bizarre literary motion, Management is ready within the Oldest Home, the shape-shifting headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Management, which is in cost of investigating paranormal phenomena. You play because the FBC’s new Director, Jesse Faden, who’s in search of her brother and should reckon together with her personal darkish previous to search out him. Alongside the best way, she additionally has to include an invasion by the Hiss, a mystical menace that infects the Oldest Home and everybody inside it. As the sport progresses, Management turns into a mesmerizing journey down a Brutalist rabbithole that twists and turns in sudden and thrilling and barely creepy methods.
Not solely does Treatment’s newest give gamers one of 2019’s most unique video games but in addition one of its most visually spectacular. Its large sterile places of work and hallways give approach to surreal, kaleidoscopic visions which can be disarmining and memorable, that are complemented completely by the bizarre chanting of the floating Hiss and the Board’s unusual directions whispered into your ear.
Like most Treatment video games, Management has a preoccupation with twisting physics and peculiar science, permitting Jesse to telekinetically launch objects at enemies in addition to disregard gravity fully by utilizing her thoughts to levitate. This emphasis on unusual physics, in addition to the puzzles and stage challenges that include these superior types of traversal, enable Management like extra than simply one other linear shooter. – JS
Demise Stranding
November 8 | Kojima Productions | PS4
At occasions, online game auteur Hideo Kojima’s newest title actually does really feel like a strolling simulator, as you journey from level A to B to C delivering heavy parcels (and pizzas) whereas avoiding obstacles throughout a postapocalyptic United States. However Demise Stranding‘s typically painfully mundane supply missions — stroll right here, climb this, wade throughout this river, do not fall over, ship package deal, and repeat — are extra than simply fetch quests. At its greatest, the sport is a veiled commentary on how far aside we have been pushed by the web and social media particularly. Kojima’s unusual, barely incomprehensible sport is about reconnecting an remoted society.
You play as Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus), a contract deliveryman tasked with reconnecting the United Cities of America after an occasion often known as the Demise Stranding has triggered human society to scatter. To do that, Sam should ship essential provides to method stations and cities throughout continental America. Alongside the best way, gamers are handled to gorgeous vistas, intense stealth sections, and difficult terrain puzzles, in addition to spooky encounters with the undead.
And we have not even talked about the infant strapped to Sam’s chest, which detects the demise stranding and provides the sport a bizarre science Lone Wolf and Cub high quality. All of this put collectively makes for one of probably the most distinctive video games of 2019. – JS
Hearth Emblem: Three Homes
July 26 | Nintendo | Swap
Tremendous Mario Maker 2, Astral Chain, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Pokemon Sword and Defend — the Nintendo Swap loved a considerably underrated 2019 that lacked the well-known 1-2 punch of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tremendous Mario Odyssey however was in any other case loaded with worthwhile experiences. Nonetheless, it was Hearth Emblem: Three Homes that managed to face aside from the pack.
Hearth Emblem: Three Homes is, at its coronary heart, a conventional Hearth Emblem sport. Meaning grid-based fight, battles based mostly on countering your opponent, and the fixed menace of shedding a personality that you just’ve constructed and grown to care about. It’s a system that has served the Hearth Emblem franchise properly over many generations, and also you get most of it right here (plus or minus a number of welcome alterations).
But, Three Homes distinguishes itself by incorporating an interesting college system that not solely enhances your emotional funding in your military’s troopers however provides a brand new layer of technique that forces you to consider what you do in-between battles as a lot as what you do throughout them. Hearth Emblem: Three Homes is one of the perfect examples but of how one can evolve an getting older franchise whereas sustaining the core expertise that has saved followers coming again for years. – MB
Outer Wilds
Might 29 | Mobius Digital | PS4, XBO, PC
Image this: You’ve landed on a brand new planet simply in time to study that the close by solar will go supernova in simply 22 minutes. You may have precisely that lengthy to search out out the place you’re, what is occurring, and how one can escape. Sound inconceivable? It might be, however you will have one benefit: you’re caught in a time loop that affords you an infinite quantity of 22 minute lifetimes to determine what is occurring and how one can get again dwelling.
We’ve seen this concept earlier than in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Masks (and, of course, Groundhog Day), however no variation of this idea encourages you to maximise your time fairly like Outer Wilds. As a result of the knowledge on this world by no means modifications, it’s completely potential to discover a method out of your predicament pretty rapidly. Nonetheless, solely probably the most affected person (and intelligent) of gamers will uncover all of the fantastic secrets and techniques contained inside this doomsday state of affairs.
If Outer Wilds had been simply its characters and universe, it could nonetheless be one of the perfect video games of the yr. It’s the truth that it evokes you to understand and maximize no matter minutes of life you’re provided that makes it much more significant than that. – MB
The Outer Worlds
October 25 | Obsidian Leisure | PS4, XBO, PC
The legacy of Fallout: New Vegas is as a lot concerning the high quality of the sport itself as it’s an acknowledgement that tragically few video games launched since New Vegas have replicated what made that title particular. New Vegas practically perfected the Fallout system with its emphasis on selections, penalties, characters, and participant freedom. Even subsequent Fallout video games have struggled to recreate its brilliance.
Drained of watching everybody else battle to construct one thing significant out of the inspiration they laid, Obsidian (and a few of Fallout’s unique creators) determined to cease ready on the Fallout licence and simply make their very own (unofficial) sequel to New Vegas. No less than that’s the elevator pitch for The Outer Worlds.
In actuality, The Outer Worlds is rather more than that. It thrusts you right into a thematically complicated universe the place firms have settled the furthest reaches of area and transformed planets into firm cities. It forgoes trendy open-world design in favor of a level-based construction on a big scale that encourages you to actually discover every space for all of the fantastic secrets and techniques they maintain. It is extremely a lot its personal journey.
Even when it wasn’t, The Outer Worlds would nonetheless be an excellent throwback to a time when participant company, intelligent writing, and unimaginable world and character design outlined the RPG style. – MB
Resident Evil 2
January 25 | Capcom | PS4, XBO, PC
Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 2 is proof that you may’t argue with the classics. This survival horror fan-favorite rises from the grave with revamped graphics and gameplay mechanics, a far more terrifying Mr. X, and an over-the-shoulder digital camera that places you nearer to the zombie-killing motion. This remake is not nearly reviving what labored within the ’90s however making it new once more.
Resident Evil 2 is a masterclass in horror ambiance. Making your method by means of the creepy RCPD headquarters is unnerving in its greatest moments, because the undead claw at window panes and groan from the opposite aspect of lengthy, darkish hallways. The music swells as Mr. X’s booming footsteps develop louder as he will get nearer to his prey. Rooms lined in shadow reveal flesh-hungry predators ready across the nook. Like the perfect survival horror video games, Resident Evil 2 makes you are feeling like a ugly demise is ready behind each door. – JS
Slay the Spire
January 23 | Mega Crit Games | PC, PS4, Swap
Digital CCGs appear to be on the decline, and the roguelike style has been complacent for a while now. So, it solely is smart that Slay the Spire, a CCG roguelike, was one of probably the most inventive, fulfilling, and addictive video games of 2019.
In Slay the Spire, you battle your method by means of varied dungeons armed solely with a deck of playing cards that activate sure talents when performed. With a view to win, you’ve bought to navigate an FTL-like “select your individual journey” map and construct probably the most highly effective deck potential.
This CCG roguelike could also be simply corresponding to different titles and genres, but it surely distinguishes itself due to an excellent deck drafting system that ensures practically each technique is feasible and that few video games play out the identical method. At a time when troublesome video games typically punish you into “doing it proper,” Slay the Spire encourages you to search out your individual method by means of its world and experiment with out worry of shedding all of it.
Like Civilization and different addictive technique experiences earlier than it, Slay the Spire masters the artwork of encouraging you to say “another strive” till the peeking rays of the morning solar make you notice that you just’ve simply misplaced hours to one thing really unimaginable. – MB
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
March 22 | FromSoftware | PS4, XBO, PC
As we close to the tip of a gaming decade that was no less than partially outlined by the improvements of Darkish Souls, it’s pure to surprise if we’ce attain the tip of the glory days of the Souls style. In any case, how a lot fuel can presumably be left in that tank? If Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is any indication, the glory days might have solely simply begun.
The reality is that Sekiro does distinguish itself from the Darkish Souls system in a number of notable methods. It means that you can transfer round your environment rather more simply, its story is barely extra deliberate than the narratives within the sequence that impressed it, and it locations extra of an emphasis on upgrades and gadgets. It additionally performs with the traditional Darkish Souls respawn mechanic by supplying you with a second probability to make issues proper.
On the coronary heart of all of it, although, Sekiro is an excellent testomony to the lasting legacy of Darkish Souls. It’s a difficult sport with unimaginable ranges, sensible world design that enhances and divulges a compelling plot, and a few of the perfect boss battles of its technology. In different phrases, it’s that very same sensible mix of old-school sensibilities and new ideas that reminds us that gaming is typically at its greatest when it presents us with a good looking journey to beat. – MB
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
November 15 | Respawn | PS4, XBO, PC
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was an opportunity for Digital Arts to proper previous wrongs with its dealing with of the Star Wars license, and due to Respawn’s professional adaptation of the galaxy far, far-off, the sport delivers the single-player story-based expertise followers have been in search of. This newest Star Wars title harkens again to the perfect action-adventure video games from the LucasArts period whereas including fight reminiscent of the Darkish Souls sequence, Metroidvania exploration, and parkour platforming impressed by Respawn’s very personal Titanfall. The result’s a title that celebrates each the outdated and the brand new, wrapped up in a fun-filled story that will not fully shatter the Star Wars universe however options a number of sudden twists and turns alongside the best way.
The sport stars Cal Kestis, a former padawan compelled into hiding after Order 66, the purge that marked the tip of the Jedi Order, with just a few Jedi left alive in all the galaxy. Whereas he tries to stay nameless at first, Cal is quickly thrust right into a battle in opposition to the Empire at a time when even the Insurgent Alliance is simply starting to take form. The Empire is on the peak of its energy and the darkish aspect reigns supreme, however Cal and his associates are the glimmer of hope that might restore the sunshine aspect of the Pressure. Admittedly gentle on stakes however large on character, Jedi: Fallen Order covers all of the story beats you’d count on whereas additionally that includes a surprisingly deep dive into the mythology of the Jedi, with hidden tombs to discover and secrets and techniques to uncover.
However the true stars are the fight and platforming, which add a brand new layer of depth to the traditional Star Wars system. This is not your common hack-and-slash fight system. Mastering the artwork of the lightsaber takes persistence, timing, and technique. Stormtroopers and different Imperial brokers strike with out mercy whereas the Inquisitors are masters of the Pressure, and taking down every enemy requires a considerate method. In the meantime, the parkour platforming retains the sport from feeling too monotonous, as you climb, swing, slide, and leap over obstacles whereas exploring the hidden corners of the galaxy. This all makes for a pleasant package deal that’s now the bar for future Star Wars video games to come back from EA. – JS
John Saavedra is an affiliate editor at solar. Learn extra of his work right here. Comply with him on Twitter @johnsjr9.
Matthew Byrd is a workers author for solar. He spends most of his days attempting to pitch deep-dive analytical items about Killer Klowns From Outer House to an more and more perturbed sequence of editors.
