GOTY 2019 - Jack Simpson's Best Games of 2019

2019 has been the year that encompassed remakes, remasters and titles that have kept us all busy and intrigued. However, there are four games this year which stood out to me. They were a cut above the rest. Games that shined in narrative, gameplay or by combining both aspects together in glorious fashion. With that being said, I think there is a certain strand that needs to be discussed.

DEATH STRANDING

That umbrella looks useless and I want it anyway.

Death Stranding is one of the weirdest games I have ever played. I mean, I am literally playing as Norman Reedus playing an American Postman Pat while chugging Monster Energy Drinks. Memes aside, while Death Stranding’s gameplay can come across a bit dull, I found it surprisingly engaging. Making sure I placed certain bits of gold cargo at the bottom of my heap to keep it from getting damaged, navigating through snowy mountains and the timefall rain mechanic and ever-lurking BT’s, kept Death Stranding’s gameplay feeling fresh and exciting. Especially when new gear gets introduced, shout out to the grapple gun.

The game’s story does take some time to get going in the beginning. But I found myself hooked and wanting to know what was next for Sam Porter Bridges. Even when a certain line of dialogue was possibly the most cringe-inducing and hilarious sentence I have ever had the pleasure of listening to in a game. If you have played it, or heard about it, you know what I mean.

The subtle but fantastic online features, however, were my favourite part. I had planned to build all the roads in the game in order to make my future escapades easier, but when I saw that other porters’ roads can also appear in my game, it was a great moment. My first trip to Mountain Knot City was aided by a wonderful player who built all of the roads leading to my destination so my poor Norman Reedus could get there safely with his cargo intact.

Death Stranding is something that I knew nothing about. Like many others, every trailer confused me even more than the last and despite this, actually sitting down and playing the game is something that I loved. I couldn’t get enough of delivering packages, loading up my truck, bike or hoverboard in order to continue on with the great story. With this game completed, I am interested to see what Hideo Kojima and his team do next.

FORAGER

I think when you ask people, why do you grind, the answer is they want to keep chipping away at improving their gear stats or you are met with either a blank response. For me playing World of Warcraft since Burning Crusade, it was a social experience, to grind was to talk to guild mates, listen to music or otherwise keep my hands and eyes busy while I was focusing on something else. There is something special about seeing numbers go up in a game though, unlocking new skills and otherwise getting new gear.

The windmills of production keep turning.

Forager is a fantastic game created by indie developer HopFrog, which for me encapsulated that feeling of the infamous “grind” in the best way. By mixing elements from games such as Stardew Valley, Terraria and of course The Legend of Zelda, you will want to keep coming back. It is on the shorter side, if you play it over a weekend you will probably see most of what it has to offer, but that doesn’t change the quality of the experience. In recent updates Forager has received improvements to the combat system, new game modes and mod support have given the game a wealth of new content to explore. With a gameplay loop this well refined, I loved every second of it and if you want another game to add to your ever-growing backlog, check it out, it’s a great time.

BABA IS YOU

Puzzle games, besides the Portal series, don’t do much for me. It’s not necessarily the quality of the gameplay that doesn’t interest me, but it’s a genre that has never really caught my attention. However, when seeing the standing ovations Baba Is You received from outlets and players alike, it had me intrigued. Especially when from its appearance, Baby is You seems to be yet another simple puzzler. In this case, however, I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

Baba Is You is simply put, one of, if not the best puzzle game I have played. Its simplistic and yet cosy art style hides the games brutal and brain teaser logic puzzle design. It had myself and many members of a Discord channel I am a part of, discussing potential answers for puzzles and solutions for weeks on end. The puzzles themselves reminded me a great deal of the shrines of Breath of the Wild but obviously much more complex. Figuring out how to cross a river, get through a wall or even just unlocking a door made me physically get out my notepad and attempt to figure out solutions to see what would finally work.

This isn’t even mentioning the copious amounts of extra levels which solo indie developer, Hempuli Oy, has added to the game months after launch. Keeping even the most switched on puzzler solvers amongst the community hooked on completing everything there is to see. At the end of the day, puzzle games are still a genre that I have yet to explore fully. But if you want a great jumping in point or even just another fantastic puzzler to keep you coming back, Baba Is You is nothing but incredible. 

Oh, I see, they’re going to move it so ‘wall’ is no longer ‘stop’, then pass straight thr- Nevermind.

SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE

What more can I say about Sekiro? I mean really, it’s a game that I think for a lot of people will be their singular game of the year due to its fantastic combat, narrative and world in which encompasses a mysterious feudal Japan. Every area is beautiful in its own unique way.  From the flashback sections in the Hirata Estate, dripping with the atmosphere of an ongoing war, to the beautiful Fountainhead Palace, encompassing the lake that the Great Coloured Carp inhabits. This gorgeous scenery will keep you panning your PC monitor or television across this world for hours just to take in its beauty. 

This isn’t of course what Sekiro is about. As everyone knows when it comes to From Software games, it’s about the combat and damn. It delivers. Where Demon Souls and the Dark Souls games were more about taking your time in areas and being extremely careful about your attacks, Bloodborne evolved that formula by wanting you to engage in combat more actively while still being cautious. Sekiro pushes all of that away for full-on aggression. The game actively wants to you learn the moves of your foes, deflect where possible and then dominate your opponent. You are a shinobi, after all, your enemy should fear you, you are at the height of your art.

I heard you were looking for some extra hitboxes? Sekiro has you covered.

When playing, it feels like a dance, a performance between myself and the enemy. Deflecting and parrying soon became an artform, with the game rewarding you for getting good. If you masterfully deflecting every attack, you do more damage to enemies posture. Get your dodging perfect, you get more time to recover and then get back into the fight. You do really have to play it to see it and while I understand “the From Software game” isn’t for everyone, with enough time and effort you too can feel like a master shinobi.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has a combat system that will stand the test of time. An art style that will keep it living on for years to come. A story in which showcases the beauty but also despair in which encompasses this mystical feudal Japan and the world surrounding it. It’s a fantastic experience and one that will be in my memory for a long time to come.

GREAT COLOURED CARP. DO, DO, DO.

This has nothing to do with this image but I got in stuck in my head and now you must suffer this fate too.

CONCLUSION AND COMMENTS.

Well, another year has ended. There were a lot of games that I wanted to play this year but unfortunately, like many things, time gets away from me and has to be managed accordingly. Hence the reason for something like Disco Elysium being absent on this list despite it being called the “Return of the Obra Dinn” of 2019.

As you may have noticed, this list didn’t have a singular “Game of The Year” and that is of course intentional.

There is not a single game within the span of the year that is above the rest. So many titles do something unique within their own genre, with their mechanics or narrative or even within their own world that I think deserves people’s attention. Being a subjective topic, of course, there are so many games to recommend but having a singular game of the year, in my view at least, demeans other great titles. But nevertheless, that’s my opinion on that matter and, I’d imagine, for you reading this, you also have your own.

I hoped you enjoyed taking a dive into a little bit of what I played this year. There are some games that I didn’t get time to check out and if you are interested there is a list below if you want to see what I missed. Thanks, and have a good day.

GAMES FROM 2019 THAT I STILL WANT TO PLAY:

| Control | John Wick Hex | Disco Elysium | The Outer Worlds | Outer Wilds | My Friend Pedro | Katana Zero |