Best year of this past decade in gaming
Aug 25, 2019 10:01:45 GMT -5
Post by Xeogred on Aug 25, 2019 10:01:45 GMT -5
Maybe I didn’t play enough, but I felt 2018 was a pretty weak year after the decent streak we had from 2014 through 2017.
Then again, I did not like the new God of War at all, so that could be a big part of it. As someone who’s really into action games like Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden, the concessions they made to the combat and gameplay for the story and cinematic presentation that is now the Sony house style did not pay off. But I realize I’m in the extreme minority on that one and I can see someone getting more out of it if they like the story.
The only games that I really liked were The Return of Obra Dinn, Into the Breach (favorite game of 2018), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
I also didn’t get to check out Dusk, Mega Man, and Monster Hunter, which I can tell I would each at least liked.
Yeah 2018 was a bit of a slow year.
I predict I might take some issue with the new God of War combat, from what I watched of streams and such when it was new. Looks like it has that pseudo "slowdown" effect when you hit stuff, which a lot of Western action games seem to go for. I'm not sure what the point of this is, to emphasis some kind of "punch" to your hits, but I think it just hampers precision. I recall the original PS2 God of War's being guilty of this too. Frankly, I think those games are pretty lame compared to Onimusha, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, etc, and it's embarrassing how those GoW games spawned so many clones. But I'm getting on a rant here, the new GoW being more of a Zelda-like seems promising to me. So I'm going in as someone who has some serious issues with the first two, but I'm open to see what this one is like.
The new Spiderman looks cool too, kind of reminds me of Infamous. I might check it out eventually.
Dusk is an excellent love letter to 90's FPS's in general, here's my quick little review I wrote up:
Believe the hype. This is one of the best games I've played in all of 2018. I'm extremely picky about any retro throwback styled games but this one really nails it and then some. While it does look like a little love letter to Quake and or Blood at a glance, you will quickly start to see other strong influences that shaped this gem. From the immersive dark tones of Looking Glass Studios' games like Thief and System Shock 2, to the dark moody atmosphere of STALKER, with nods to Half-Life and what seems to be even the newer Supert Hot, Dusk has it all. Yet Dusk isn't just a simple homage to the greats, it grinds up all these influences and still molds everything into its own gritty flavor and personality. While many fans will praise the awesome metal tunes (with no traces of crappy dubstep!), I actually really loved the slower ambient portions of the music as well, I've had some tracks stuck in my head for days. Technical limitations meant nothing for David Szymanski as he bends every level into something unique, even dipping into the surreal the further you get with some levels that completely awestruck me. All guns are a blast to use, all enemies are challenging and fun to demolish, the levels and pacing is excellent and constantly inventive, secrets and environmental storytelling chalk full to explore and discover. Dusk is just as good as the classics from the 90's, if not even better in ways. I will definitely be revisiting this one a lot and will immediately buy more Dusk if an Episode 4 or more happens. Sieg David Szymanski!
Mega Man 11 was pretty cool if you're a fan of the series. Nothing mind blowing, but worth checking out for sure. There's an odd lack of Proto Man and Bass though, along with the Wily Castle section being short... I'm not sure how well it did for Capcom in the long run. Hopefully we don't have to wait another decade for another traditional Mega Man game.
Monster Hunter World was my first MH experience and pretty awesome. It gave me a Phantasy Star Online-esque fix I haven't gotten since, well PSO! It was one of the rare times I played online with some friends again too, it's probably a running joke among my local friends how hard it is to get me to play games with people thesedays. I'm on the fence about Iceborne coming out soon though, I absolutely adore snowy settings and it looks like a massive true expansion pack, but MH's learning curve is STEEP and it would take a lot of work to get back into. Not sure I'd want to start a new character or anything either, looks like I logged 65h43m. Also my PSN expired so I'm not sure I want to play nearly $100 for that and the expansion to play some more...
On the other hand, I'll probably be ready and interested in the inevitable sequel. It's pretty crazy MHW became Capcom's biggest selling game of all time, not sure who could have predicted that one. It's a really cool game though, if you're up for the patience required and don't mind the gameplay loop (it's like Oops All Bosses Souls haha).