Hants County reporter shares top video game picks for 2018
This year has been an interesting, chaotic year. My wife and I were fortunate enough to get a new dog — which has been wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but it has taken over some of our free time.
With that, my favourite hobby and way to relax, playing video games, has suffered a bit. I’ve found myself playing games in quicker bursts, whenever I can find a few minutes here or there.
Sadly, the long, story-driven games that I usually crave have taken a bit of a backseat to the games that are easier to pick up and put down.
Please note, I love my dog and wouldn’t trade him for anything. But I do miss some of my gaming time, especially for those wonderfully epic, story-driven games.
With the preamble aside, here are the best games I played in 2018. Please note, this doesn’t mean these games came out this year, but rather are the top games I was able to play this year.
10. Lumines Remastered, Windows, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One
Whether for a quick 10-minute play session, or a multi-hour marathon, great puzzle games are a perfect way to unwind after a long day at the office. And it’s hard to find one much better than Lumines Remastered.
Originally releasing on the PlayStation Portable in 2005, this masterclass puzzler has finally made its way to a wide array of platforms in 2018 with the remastered edition. Blocks, each containing four squares with one of two colours drop down while a rhythmic beat plays. Players have to line them up, not unlike Tetris, to clear lines and rack up points, before the blocks build up and hit the ceiling. It’s soothing, challenging and refreshing all at once. The fact that it’s out on the Switch also means you can once again take the game with you and enjoy on the go.
9. Fortnite, Windows, MacOS, Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Even if you’re not a gamer, chances are you’ve heard of this one. It’s so popular school teachers are having issues keeping their students from playing it in class. I know because I’m married to a teacher.
It’s reached a level of popularity that no game before it, at least to my memory, has ever achieved. And there’s a good reason for that. It is ridiculously fun.
I haven’t sunk a huge number of hours into the game like some, but what I have played illustrates why Fortnite has become such a worldwide phenomenon. The concept is so simple: 100 players are dropped onto a map with the goal of being the last one standing. They have to scavenge for weapons and supplies all the while a ‘storm’ is slowly pushing players closer together. Players can also build their own structures or ‘forts’ to provide some much-needed cover. And now that it’s playable on virtually every platform, it’s almost hard not to find yourself on your fourth round, scrambling to find a decent shotgun in Tilted Towers.
8. The Jackbox Party Pack series, Windows, MacOS, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Although the Jackbox games have been around for a while, I only started playing them at a friend’s house this year and I quickly realized how they’ve become such a huge success.
Part of the genius of the series is that players don’t need to have their own controller to get in on the action. All you need is a smartphone, which most people have. After a quick log-in to the game server, you’re off. Soon you’ll be laughing like crazy as you write and read some of the ridiculous things your friends have come up with in Quiplash or you’ll be scratching your head trying to come up with decent rhymes in Mad Verse City, featuring rapping robots. It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a ‘party game’ — the more the merrier.
7. Donut County, iOS, MacOS, PlayStation 4, Windows
Donut County has done something truly rare for a video game, it made me genuinely laugh out loud.
The writing in this clever little single-player indie game is so brilliantly suited to modern times. I chuckle every time I see the loading screen between levels, which reads ‘have a garbage day!’
It’s so difficult for a video game to nail that irreverent, ironic humour that Donut County does, but it just works so well. It’s authentic, which is why the laughs it generates don’t feel cheap. The gameplay itself is also fun and satisfying —moving a hole around the screen to suck in objects of gradually larger size. My only complaint is that it’s over a little too quickly, but it’s a wonderful way to kill a few minutes on your iPhone while waiting for coffee.
6. Civilization VI, Windows, MacOS, iOS, Switch
It’s probably cliché to write this about Civilization (or Civ) games now, but I will anyway, just for one more turn.
Originally released in 2016, a recent add-on Rise and Fall has added a whole new layer of depth to the already intensely satisfying and addictive turn-based strategy game. The biggest change, at least for me personally, with Rise and Fall was the added emphasis on eras. Each Civilization now needs to hit a certain number of milestones or otherwise risk falling into a dark age. Go above and beyond during the renaissance? You get a golden age. It’s an added feature that keeps the game interesting throughout, even during sections that can sometimes be a bit long in the tooth.
5. Cities: Skylines, Windows, MacOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch
Covering municipal politics can sometimes be, well, frustrating. You see the roadblocks, the things that get in the way of development, etc. But what if you could just ignore all that and build the city of your dreams without having to worry about things like a planning advisory committee or the Municipal Government Act? Enter, Cities: Skylines, the best city-building game I can remember since Sim City 2000.
Now available across all modern consoles, you no longer need a beefy gaming PC to play. There’s something so satisfying about watching your digital city grow, seeing your simulated citizens coo over a newly built school, or connecting your industry to cargo hubs and watching their products head to market with peak efficiency. But it’s not all tranquil — you’ll have to deal with traffic congestion, a budget that can flip into deficit if you spend too much on services and with a recent expansion, disasters like tornadoes and pesky meteors.
4. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch
Although yes, this wonderful game came out originally in late 2017, and I played it then on PS4, it re-released on the Nintendo Switch earlier this year and it was so nice I bought it twice.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus tells the story of William ‘B.J.’ Blazkowicz and his band of resistors to the Nazis, who, after winning the Second World War have taken over the United States. What shines here is the surprisingly touching story, packed with unbelievable moments that, well, just have to be seen. The action and shooting are also top-notch. I was more than happy to come back and fight the fascists all over again.
3. Assassin’s Creed Origins, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Despite starting this game in late 2017, I played the majority of this sweeping epic in 2018.
Set in ancient Egypt, Origins is dripping with history and is probably my favourite game in the series since Assassin’s Creed II. The story and the characters are compelling despite some repetitive mission design (you raid a lot of bandit camps). But the world of Origins and the art style of the Egyptian landscape in transition is really what shines here as Greeks and Romans, Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIII fight for dominion of Egypt. Bayek, the protagonist and Medjay, along with his wife Aya fight for the people and establish the beginnings of the Assassin’s Brotherhood in the process.
2. Into The Breach, Windows, MacOS, Switch
Into the Breach is both one of my favourite strategy games and favourite puzzle games all in one.
This brilliant game from the creator of FTL: Faster Than Light (another gem) can easily be played in a quick session, or you can lose all sense of time and play for hours and hours. The world has been invaded by bizarre timetravelling giant bugs, and it’s up to teams of mechs to fly-in and save planet earth. But, you only have a few turns and a few weapons/ items at your disposal to do so — also, don’t let too many buildings get destroyed. It’s intense and challenging (try it on easy first to get the hang of things) but also so satisfying when everything goes right and those bugs get fried.
1. Marvel’s Spider-Man, PlayStation 4
Both a throwback to a bygone era and a fully-realized modern classic, the web-slinger is back and better than ever on a video game console.
Many people my age have fond memories of playing Spider-Man 2 back in the PS2, GameCube, Xbox days and how perfect the web-slinging felt. 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man recaptures that feeling of pure freedom, swinging through Manhattan with abandon while tracking down Spidey’s arch-nemesis. Well-written, fun action and hard to put down, Marvel’s Spider-Man was, somewhat surprisingly, my favourite game of the year.