The Game Awards is coming soon, and with it, the crown for Game of the Year of 2019 is going to get a new master. There are a lot of great games this year, and in this list, we would list out some of the biggest candidates for the best game of 2019. This is not a ranked list.
10 – Resident Evil 2
To a lot of people, the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 is pretty much perfect. The game combined Resident Evil 2’s amazing story, the classic survival horror gameplay and modern controls and bring them to next-gen graphics. The game is more than a remaster or a remake, it’s a “reimagining”, which lies between a remake and a completely new game.
In Resident Evil 2 Remake, you would play as two different characters, each with their own unique intertwining stories. College student Claire Redfield and rookie cop Leon Kennedy would have to work together to find their way out of the zombie-infested Racoon City.
The remastered control and third-person perspective action really cleared the series’ only weakness: bad camera and controls.
9 – Devil May Cry 5
After the failure of the semi-remake, Capcom has decided to come back to the original series. Devil May Cry 5 was better than expected, providing gamers with yet another round of the series’ fast-paced hack and slash action.
Play as three different characters in Devil May Cry 5, each with their own unique skills and abilities. First, we have Nero, the protagonist of the previous game, whose devil trigger hand has been replaced with a piece of machinery prosthetic. The second returning character is Dante with his Royal Guard that could no-sell pretty much everything. V, the newest addition to the cast of DMC, has the power to summon different animals to fight in the melee so that he can blast ranged attacks from afar.
The next-gen graphics and highly optimized control scheme have made Devil May Cry 5 more or less the best Devil May Cry to date, and maybe amongst the best game in its genre.
8 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Another masterpiece made by FromSoftware, making use of the usual Dark Souls formula with a few new iterations. Sekiro takes place in an alternate version of Sengoku Era Japan. In this game, players will step inside the shoes of a shinobi in his quest to reclaim his lost honor and take revenge against his betrayers.
The game is rather challenging, as it utilizes a variant of a combat system that focuses on parry instead of dodge. Because of that, Dark Souls players would find the game rather unfamiliar at first. Overall, while not being the best game that FromSoftware ever made, Sekiro can still be a big contender for the top spot in any GOTY contest.
7 – Fire Emblem: Three Houses
2019 was a pretty good year for Nintendo. Amongst its releases, Fire Emblem: Three Houses might be the best of them all. The best part of that game might actually be the amount of content it has: to get the full experience of the story, players have to get through all three different routes. There are a lot of incentives to do so, as you can never get bored with the game’s addictive formula of social sim relationships, the tactical strategy combat, and engaging story. The visual aesthetic is beautiful as well.
6 – Slay the Spire
The deckbuilding genre has probably stopped being a niche, as more and more gamers are getting interested in it. Amongst all the games in that genre, Slay the Spire is probably a tad better than the rest. The game contains a unique blend of familiar features and roguelike elements, which resulted in endless replayability.
In this game, you will craft your decks while trying to make your way to the top of the spire, dealing with strange creatures and powerful relics on the process. Choose from a big pool that includes hundred of cards to build your custom deck, as the path you have to take would change in every playthrough.
5 – Apex Legends
One of the newest Battle Royale on the market with a good twist to the formula, Apex managed to attract more than 50 million players just on its first month. While the hype has finally died down at the end of the year, the game is still very popular.
The main reason behind the success of the game is its gameplay. Apex has managed to combine some of the best aspects of the Hero Shooter genre into the Battle Royale format – without making it boring.
4 – Total War: Three Kingdoms
Total War: Three Kingdoms was the first campaign ever of the franchise to be set in China – and because of that, there is a lot of anticipation for it. The developers have played the usual Total War formula on this new setting perfectly, with historically accurate empire-building and war in turn-based strategy mode combined with real-time battles. While the genre has been on a decline in recent years, Total War: Three Kingdoms is still going strong. The visual aspect is stunning as well, with graphics upgraded to 2019’s standard.
3 – The Outer Worlds
Another masterpiece made by the creators of Fallout New Vegas, Obsidian. It is an RPG set in a space setting, which is actually pretty unique compared to the usual RPGs out there. It is rather similar to New Vegas, as you can customize your character so extensively, with as many options as a D&D character sheet.
The questlines in this game would affect the world in unexpected ways, as they could branch into a lot of options. That, in turn, leads to a massive increase in replayability.
2 – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
This game is more or less the largest Nintendo releases this year, with over 16 million copies sold to date. All the best aspects of the previous Smash games were brought back, with an expanded roster that contains over 80 characters, each with their own unique sets of skills.
The replayability is pretty much unreal, as there are just so many stages that you could choose. While the game was released back in December 2018, it is still eligible for 2019’s Game of the Year, as games released on November/December are not usually considered for the same year’s awards.
1 – Death Stranding
Death Stranding is probably the most anticipated game this year, with the infamous Hideo Kojima at the helm, along with a lineup of famous celebrities and actors. Death Stranding is more or less a “walking simulator” in which you have to deliver items and connect regions of a post-apocalypse world of America on foot.
Opinions are divided on this game, with a lot of praising and bashing thrown around randomly. However, it can’t be denied that this game has made a big impact on the world of gaming.
Interested in more of our Top 10 lists? Please check out this post for the longest RPG games.
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