Best of 2019: Josh's Picks
The year 2019 is coming to an end and it's encouraged or even expected to reflect on the previous year. Highlights, lowlights, resolutions to ‘git gud’, and so on. Instead of doing the hard work of honest introspection, I'll instead be looking over my favorite video games that I played this year. As is traditional, these will be games that are new to me as opposed to games that were released in 2019.
10) Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PC): A local co-op space shooter where friends frantically run around a spaceship to control the engines, shields, and weapons. The chaos reminds me of the co-op madness of Overcooked, but the tension and pacing are better controlled. The spaceship's upgrade system is worth an article on its own.
9) Pokemon Sword (Switch): I haven't played a Pokemon since Pokemon Red first came out for the Gameboy back in 1998. I haven't revisited the series since, but not for a lack of love of the original. The newest version packs in a lot of quality of life improvements, and the urge to catch 'em all remains. I just gotta.
8) Into the Breach (Switch): A tightly-focused tactics game with a roguelite twist, you'll be hopping through time portals for hours of entertainment. Reminiscent in some ways (good ways) of Advance Wars, but with the interesting twist that you have perfect (or near-perfect) information about what the enemies will do before you plan your own turn.
7) Celeste (Switch): A platformer with a lot to love. The mechanics and controls are simple, but the platforming demands a precise touch. Levels are divided into bite-sized screens with an instant retry when the player makes a mistake(which happens often.) It has a great story that speaks to how success doesn't come from overcoming yourself but rather from understanding yourself.
6) Cadence of Hyrule (Switch): I was a huge fan of Crypt of the Necrodancer, so it should come as no surprise that this game hit all the right notes for me (*rimshot*). The game mashes up classic Zelda songs with hip hop beats just as well as it mashes up classic Zelda mechanics with rhythm-based action. The game gets a little bit too breezy once you have some extra health and the right weapons, but it's a fun romp through a land of Zelda nostalgia.
5) Rimworld (PC): Finally, a game I feel comfortable describing as a "Dwarf Fortress-like" - a base-builder with a heavy emphasis on procedurally-generated narrative. It even advertises itself as a story generator instead of a game. This game shines in the differences between the two, though. It's focused on a dozen stranded survivors instead of two hundred dwarfs, and the systems (especially combat) are a hundred times less obscure.
4) Hollow Knight (PC): A metroidvania par excellence, and a great example of how far good combat mechanics and controls can take you. The core loop is focused and polished to a mirror sheen. There's a dash of souls-like for flavor, but only the occasional boss that makes you want to embed your controller in your monitor. The excellent hand-drawn art makes this one of the prettiest games I've played this year, too. It doesn't innovate in any particularly exciting way, but it does execute extremely well in everything it sets out to do.
3) Super Smash Bros (Switch): This game makes me wish I was living in a college dorm again. Luckily (or unluckily) for me, it's easy to get an online match going. This game doesn't break much new ground for the Smash franchise, but it doesn't really need to. The basic formula of chaotic melee is just as fun now as it was back on the N64. They've tightened up the controls, but the real star of the show for me is a smooth online experience.
2) Brogue (PC): A decade old and still relatively new by roguelike standards, Brogue shows what can happen when you simplify, simplify, simplify. It's a fully-fleshed out roguelike with just two statistics: strength and HP. Everything else (including character classes and attacks) falls out through the randomly-acquired equipment you find diving deeper and deeper into the depths. Easy to pick up and learn, and even easier to fall into, this game is a grade-A primer on what people mean when they say "roguelike".
1) Breath of the Wild (Switch): A fascinating open-world take on the classic Zelda formula or a blasphemous corruption of everything we loved about childhood? Some of my podcast mates may disagree, but I'm in the former camp. This game delivers: excellent combat, a "chemistry" system that allows you some real creativity in approaching an enemy base, and mountains that are worth climbing. While the game does have some faults (lackluster bosses, repetitive dungeons), it more than makes up for it with the sheer joy of exploring the vast world surrounding you.
Looking back, I suppose it was the Year of the Switch for me. Maybe it's understandable since this was my first year with a Switch. We'll see what happens next year - I hear I'm getting an Atari 2600 for Christmas.
