2019 was a pretty mixed bag for gaming. E3 last year gave some pretty big promises for 2019, with Anthem being one of the games I was the most hyped for. And while it certainly was fun, it still lacked a LOT and when BioWare and EA straight up abandoned the roadmap for the game, it was pretty disappointing to see.
And the less said about Fallout 76 and Bethesda's handling of that the better. I mean, talk about a wasted opportunity. The concept was sound, heck I was really hyped for it. But when it launched that hype quickly turned to just a big old "what the fuck happened?" feeling.
And just what the heck was Rage 2? I mean, on paper it had some merit. Making an open world FPS set in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max world, made by the people who made the Mad Max game. But with the uninteresting story, unlikeable characters and boring repetitive gameplay I just couldn't get into it and that was a huge shame for me.
But, we're not here to discuss the biggest failures of 2019. We're here to celebrate the best 2019 had to offer, at least for me. So let's take a look at what I played in 2019 and what my best experiences were!
10. THE ETERNAL CASTLE
This fake remaster caught my attention early this year. Boasting some rather intense visuals using solely a CGA palette and with very great use of shadows and contrasts, Eternal Castle definitely won me over with its artistic direction.
It also helps the game draws a ton of inspiration from classic cinematic platformers like Prince of Persia, Flashback, Out of this World / Another World and BlackThorne, games that I grew up with on PC. It was a huge nostalgia rush for me and with a great synthwave soundtrack, there's not a whole lot to dislike about the game.
If you haven't checked out The Eternal Castle I highly recommend doing so. Even if it may not be an actual lost game from the 80's, it's still a really cool retro-inspired experience. And we need more games with CGA graphics.
9. ANTHEM
It may not have been what they promised, and in terms of end-game content it fell disappointingly short in the end. But Anthem still was one of my most fun experiences this year.
It's a game that definitely is best enjoyed with some friends, as the game unfortunately was not fun playing on public servers. But having some friends in a private game was definitely the way to go for me.
Anthem won me over with the gameplay and just how well the different Javelins synergized with each other. And not to mention just how cool you felt using them, especially the Storm. I know a lot of people love to hate on Anthem for how badly EA treated the game and not to mention the working conditions it was made under.
But for what it's worth, I still think this is a game with a lot of potential. And let's hope BioWare and EA can rework it into something better than what we got.
8. HEDON
This Doom 2 mod is probably one of my favourite games this year. In terms of content, it delivers a solid 15 hour campaign with a ton of exploration, an exciting story and a lot of intense retro FPS action.
It also helps the protagonist is a thicc orc berzerk with a penchant for huge axes. And with the game's multiple difficulties, some involving special weapons and more of a melee focus, it's a game worth replaying just to see the different things it has to offer.
7. DUSK
It's almost difficult to recommend DUSK to anyone who didn't grow up playing countless hours of Quake on a dusty Pentium in a basement while trying not to step on your Pog collection and guzzling Surge. DUSK is a love letter to the mid 90's FPS scene in so many ways, it could almost itself be from that era. And at first glance, you could easily mistake it for the best Quake engine game ever made without the Quake engine.
It sells itself as somewhat of a mix of everything great about retro shooters, taking inspiration from the aforementioned Quake, Blood, Redneck Rampage and Half-Life just to mention a few and mixes elements from all these classic shooters in seamless ways.
It's fast, it's fun, and is tailor made for boomers like myself. So if any of what I said above tickles your hype glands, go and grab a copy on Steam right now.
6. UNTITLED GOOSE GAME
The success of Untitled Goose Game is baffling and completely understandable at the same time. Despite its lack of a name, and despite it releasing only on Epic Game Store and Switch, it has amassed a huge cult following this year, myself included.
There isn't much to dislike about the game in all honesty. It has an incredibly charming cel shaded art style that gives the game a very timeless feel to it. And you play as a goose whose only goal in life is to be a complete dick. As geese pretty much tend to be.
It's a short game but what it packs in there is pretty much a nice world to explore and interact with. And just as a stealth game I think it works beautifully.
5. SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
One of the things I got this year was a Nintendo Switch. And it came with one of the games I wanted the most for it. being Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
I've always had a love for the Smash Bros. series, ever since my first experience with it on the GameCube with Smash Bros. Melee, it became one of my favourite fighting game series for its huge cast of diverse characters.
And with Smash Bros. Ultimate that cast is not only bigger than ever, but the game has some of the best gameplay in the series. It's been so distilled at this point it's turned into the perfect Smash game.
4. AMID EVIL
Amid Evil might be one of the best shooters I've played period. With its dead simple story, it still manages to deliver an amazingly memorable experience just from the sheer impact of its visuals and level design alone.
It takes you to vastly different places, all with distinct architecture and design, with some of its later levels providing some of the most beautifully dream-like landscapes I've seen in games in a while.
This is a game you need to play simply for the experience of it. So grab it on Steam now if you haven't!
3. BORDERLANDS 3
To say I'm a huge Borderlands fan might be an understatement. I have almost 300 hours in the first game, and over 1000 hours in Borderlands 2 only on PC alone (not counting the countless hours I've spent with the PS Vita port). And combined with Pre-Sequel and the Tales From The Borderlands games, that number might be close to around 2000 hours across the whole franchise.
So a third game is something I've been anticipating for a long time, especially given the ending of Borderlands 2 which teased at the possibility of exploring vaults across the universe.Which is exactly what Borderlands 3 is about.
So far Borderlands 3 has ended up blowing away all my expectations. The quality of life improvements brought to the core gameplay are extremely nice, to the point where going back to play the older games would feel archaic. And the writing has matured so much that it makes Borderlands 2 feel like it's embarassing to play through.
So definitely go check out Borderlands 3 if you have any interest in the franchise like me.
2. THE OUTER WORLDS
When this was first announced, I was thrilled to hear about it. A game from the makers of Fallout New Vegas with a similar style to Fallout? Sign me up.
And still, even with that in mind, Outer Worlds has completely blown me away. The game's universe feels so rich and developed, and the writing is amazingly satiric yet still touches just the right amount of heart strings to feel emotionally impactful.
And props to Ashly Burch for her portrayal of Parvati Holcomb who is just one of my favourite companion characters in any game now. I've always enjoyed her as a voice actress and seeing her break free from the typical "crazy girl" roles she's had so far is refreshing.
I just can't say enough good things about this game. It's pure RPG bliss, and the combat is great. It's the best Fallout game not made by Bethesda to be honest.
1. ION FURY
This may be the game I was most anticipating this year. After teasing us with a preview campaign that honestly blew me away, and a name change from Ion Maiden to Ion Fury due to a stupid legal battle, Ion Fury finally released on August 15th. And since then, I've had a pretty near religious relationship with this game.
Built on the Build engine, the same engine that powered a ton of 90's FPS classics like Duke Nukem 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage, TekWar and so on, Ion Fury is one of the best old school shooters out there right now, since it authentically feels like a game from the era it draws its inspiration from.
It has everything nailed to a tee. Gameplay wise it lacks a bit of the crazy weaponry from its inspirations, but makes up for it by making every weapon feel powerful, unique and useful depending on the situation. In most shooters of its era, the pistol is your desperation weapon. But in Ion Fury, with a lock-on mechanic it becomes one of the most useful weapons for dealing with the smaller enemies in the game. And every gun has an alt-fire mode that offers tactical advantage.
And the soundtrack. MMMF. It's been so long since I've heard a proper tracker music soundtrack, probably not since the days of Deus Ex, and Jarkko "Roz" Rotsteen has delivered an AMAZING soundtrack in Ion Fury. With a range of genres, taking inspiration from everything from dub, breakbeat, techno, synthwave and so forth, it is a diverse and beautiful soundtrack that I've taken to remixing myself in my own style, simply for my own love for it.
I simply lack the praise needed to properly tell you how good Ion Fury is. You just need to play it yourself. So go on Steam and grab it now.
And those are my top 10 games of 2019. Have any games of your own you played this year and wanna tell me about? Feel free to drop a comment and follow me on Twitter!
