Last year we saw some of the biggest names in video games, from the heart-pounding Resident Evil 7 to manic wackiness of Super Mario Odyssey and brand new games like PUBG, Horizon Zero Dawn and Cuphead. This year offered an incredibly varied mix of interactive experiences. Like the free-wheeling Spider-Man and Red Dead Redemption 2. But 2018 was a fantastic year for smaller games. Florence interactivity to show what it feels to fall in love and Tetris Effect made the case that stacking blocks can be an emotional experience.
The was a lot to choose from but we have whittled it down to these. Check them out.
Beat Saber
Beat Saber is a mashup of Star Wars and Guitar Hero. The concept is simple, but when you strap on a headset and get in tune with the music, it’s an absolutely absorbing experience.
Florence
Florence lasts less than two hours, but it manages to tell an incredibly powerful story within that short time. It’s short, sweet, and sentimental, and it will absolutely melt your heart.
God of War
The relationship between Kratos and his son builds naturally over the course of the game, resulting in one of the most compelling video game narratives of the year.
Monster Hunter: World
The new game brought modern sensibilities to the series, with a huge world made possible by modern consoles, and a more seamless design that made venturing out into the wilds feel more natural. It still has all of the tense, often unpredictable monster hunting you’d expect, but this time it’s in a much bigger and more approachable package.
Pokemon: Let's go
It’s a game meant to ease Pokémon Go players toward more traditional Pokémon games.
Red Redemption 2
It’s slow and plodding, with fussy controls and underexplained mechanics. But it also has a depth and texture like no other virtual world before it. From the high-intensity action set pieces to the quieter moments, like riding on horseback or cooking a meal, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that will absolutely engross you if you let it.
Spider-Man
The game is, in many ways, a typical open-world action game, with a huge city to explore, an obscene number of collectables to find, and lots of bad guys to beat up. But all of those elements are made all the more enjoyable thanks to Spidey and his web-slinging abilities. It’s the rare game where you’ll want to track down a few dozen random objects just because it’s so fun to move around the city.
Yakuza 6
Yakuza’s first proper current-gen game is also a send-off for longtime leading man Kiryu. It offers the series’ most fully realized rendition of Tokyo yet but doesn’t sacrifice the quirky writing and thrilling combat that have made the Yakuza games so beloved.
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