2018 has been one hell of a year in terms of gaming. Many people were thinking after the blast from 2017 games coming out this year would not be better. It was hard to top the lush open worlds of Zelda, the action of PUBG, the story of Horizon Zero dawn, the magic-filled world of Mario Odyssey and Cuphead. But the publishers and developers made sure to surprise every bit of gaming community.
The favorite genre of games of this year was action, adventure RPG. We saw many reboots, remakes, and successors of old franchises making there way back into the limelight.
There were full priced AAA titles but the year was notorious for the small developers too. We saw games like Florence getting nominated for the game of the year awards.
Return of the Obra Dinn and Tetris effect were the games that made the case that simply stacking blocks can turn out to be an emotional experience.
Many games deserve to be in the list of best Video games of 2018, but we strived hard to pick the best for our readers. Here’s the list of the best games of 2018.
Celeste
Starting with one of the best indie games that were released this year. Celeste looks like a traditional platformer game but its far more than that. It has a compelling story that teaches mistakes can be made right. The pixelated mountains like level design fit well with the exasperating soundtrack. In order to enjoy the game, you need to praise the retro looks and accept the fact that you are going to die many many times.
Dead Cells
Almost all of us have played Castlevania at some time of our life. The heartbreaking news came at the start of the year that Konami is abandoning its long and successful title. But there is no shortage of open-ended “metroidvanias” games that follow the same style as Castlevania. However, these games are not as good as the Castlevania or Metroid series.
There is one game though that looks a lot like Castlevania but plays differently and has its own story to back the beautiful pixelated graphics. The gothic look of the game resembles our favorite title, but its brutal combat, ever-changing world and a plethora of unique abilities make it a game of its own caliber. All in all, it feels like a classic filled with modern day graphics. You are going to have fun if you have never played the Castlevania series but don’t mind the insane level difficulty here.
Monster hunter world
Monster Hunter series has been around for quite a while now. Every other entry in the series was not getting much attention except for the hardcore fans of the series. There was a dire need of change in how the game looks and feels and as a result Minster Hunter World came out earlier this year. The change from a level based design to an entire world was welcoming for both newcomers and the fans of the series. The new game brought modern sensibilities into the franchise. The endless world makes the overall look and game mechanics more natural than before.
Additionally, the game now has the tense of unintentional monster hunting thanks to again the open world. In 2018 the game finally became an overall package which made it more approachable.
Lastly, Capcom is not abandoning the game anytime soon. As a result, the incoming updates we will see an increase in roaster of the characters. Most importantly the renowned Witcher Geral of Rivia will be making a cameo in the game.
Pokemon: let’s Go
There is no denying that every kid from the 90s has played the pokemon game at least once. The main reason why these Gamefreaks flagship titles are so popular is the fact that every game from Pokemon: Yellow to the Pokemon: Let’s Go have been rich in content. The players get to live in the world of their favorite anime series.
The last game for the series was for Nintendo’s 3DS console way back, a successor to the series was long overdue. Especially after the huge success of Nintendo Switch console Fans were demanding another Pokemon game for the new console. This year we finally got the latest and greatest Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu or Pokemon: Lets Go Eevee. These games are a reboot of the original Pokemon Yellow and hence feature the Kento region and 101 Pokemons.
The game was meant to ease the way of the Pokemon Go players to the traditional Pokemon experience. The idea of changing the gameplay is always a gamble in such a hugely popular series. However, in case of Pokemon: let’s Go the gamble paid off in favor of Gamefreaks.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the last AAA title that released this year. The hype of the game was building from E3 2017. The Ultimate build upon the 20 year old smash formula and made it bigger and better. The roaster now has more than 70 characters to unlock. Most importantly these characters are so diverse that everyone can play with their favorite characters. The roster includes characters from Pokemon series, Super Mario series, The Legend of Zelda series and many more. Ultimate improves on its predecessors on every situation. The roaster is more robust, more customizations, better single player mode, and improved skillset for each player. On top of these Smash retains its approachability and entertainment aspects.
Even though the game is competitive it has certain elements that make sure the player does not bog down by the sheer competitive nature of the fighting genre. The game has customizations catered towards the hardcore players and for the players that are in the game for fun.
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man is one of the central characters of the Marvel’s Universe. It is the only character that has been considered in depth for gaming. We had so many Spider-man games but none of them could not give the actual feeling of wearing the Spidey suit and swinging around New York to deal with the crimes. The Insomniac’s Spider-Man was the reboot of the Spider-Man games exclusive for PlayStation 4 only.
It’s hard to explain the feeling you get when you swing around the streets of New York City. The game is in a way an open world action adventure, with a huge city to explore, lots of collectibles to find, a plethora of bad guys to beat and on top of that a compelling story. You will not forget the story of this game it is so perfect. You are essentially playing as Peter Parker who happens to be Spider-Man and it just makes the whole story better.
Red Dead Redemption 2
You only get a handful amount of games from Rockstar, but when you get it you know it would be worth 100 hours. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the prequel of the immensely popular Red Dead Redemption released in 2010 and the sequel of Red Dead Revolver from the 90s. The game features one of the biggest and most dense maps in the history of gaming. The NPCs in the game are on such a level that you can follow the life of a single NPC and you would appreciate how much effort they have put in the game. The game follows Arthur Morgan from the Dutch van der Linde’s Gang.
If you are into Wild West then this game is the closest one can get in experiencing the era of cowboys. From the action set pieces in the mountains to the quieter moments like horse ridings in the plains or cooking meals. It is a game that will absolutely engross you and make you feel like you are living another life.
God of War
We cannot forget the game of the year. The reboot of the God of War series is by far the best game that you can play this year. Its biggest surprise is the progress of our overly arrogant protagonist to a humble father who is teaching his son how to survive in the wild. The story of the game is where it gets all the points. Not to mention the action set pieces, the father-son talks. It sure is the game that is worth your time. the reviewers of the game have even said that if you do not own a PlayStation 4 then you should grab one for the sake of this game.
The relationship between Kratos and his son Atreus develops through the game making it the most compelling story in the history of gaming. Additionally, only the title of the game of the year is enough to make you play the game right now.
This was our list of the best games released this year. We hope you enjoy the games as much as we do while reviewing them for the last time.