Favorite Games of 2019?

danielmann861

danielmann861

Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Location
Sydney Australia
Favourite title
Shenmue II
Currently playing
Tekken 7 (always Tekken 7)
PSN
danmann861
Steam
danielmann861
That time of the year again as we edge closer and closer to the end of year. So...what were some of your favorite games of 2019?

I'll kick us off


Tekken 7 -- Not a 2019 release; I am more than well aware, but I think I spent more time playing Tekken 7 online than any other game this year. According to my Steam page, I clocked 500 hours into this game this year alone. I never really played online before on account of I was never good enough at the game to play. But after my sojourn in Tokyo in April literally studying followed by 3 to 4 hour stretches of playing Tekken 7 at a Japanese arcade, I kind of got hooked and decided I really wanted to try and learn the game. I'm still far from great and I'm still hovering between Yellow and Orange ranks, but I do feel I have a better grasp on the game than I've ever had before. And I've really enjoyed my time with it...even with the countless frustrations of ranked mode. I've had a good time learning Tekken this year.

Judgment -- A fine spin off from the Yakuza franchise if not only a little too derivative at times. But still, even if there was a bit of fatigue setting in, I still really enjoyed my time with Judgment and the deeper its plot went, the better it got. I found Yagami incredibly likable as a protag and liked the ragtag group he had assisting him. Also, the game play still remains as solid as it ever has been.

Shenmue III -- I know the reactions here have been somewhat all over the place, but I will stand by Shenmue III warts and all. Was it the grand slam we all hoped it would be? No, not quite. It had its issues. But that all aside, I very much enjoyed the 40 hours I spent with it. Honestly, it's a bit of miracle this thing even exists in the first place and I'll celebrate it all the way. It's just damn good to have Shenmue alive and kicking in 2019 again. Now let's hope we can get to IV.

Catherine Full Body -- Still as entirely original and unique as it was the first time I played it when it first came out last gen. The story of a hapless slacker-type stuck between two girls. The girl of his dreams (literally) and the girl willing to put up with his shit (even though she wants him to grow up)...Add a perky new girl (?) to the mix and things only get weirder from here. The puzzle game at its core is still as challenging and addictive as it ever was and the branching story is still incredibly unique in the landscape of gaming. Loved it then. Love it even more now.

Days Gone -- While the story itself wasn't much to write home about (it was fine for what it was but kind of went off the rails towards the end) it was actually the open world that compelled me the most about it. Just riding on a chopper clearing out infected zones was kind of fun to me. Oh and fighting the hordes was pretty damn awesome as well. Wish the game had given more hordes to fight....intense as all hell and really fun.

Jade Empire -- This was recommended to me many years ago but I only just now finally got a chance to play it...how did I miss out on this? It's fucking fantastic and dare I say an overlooked gem. It's totally right up my alley with its heavy focus on Chinese mythology. Loved it!

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order -- The OTHER (kinda) big surprise of 2019. I had no real expectations for this other than I like Respawn Interactive and was semi curious to see what they could do with a Star Wars game. Well, the answer is they made something that is a cross between Uncharted and Dark Souls...and it works....rather well. Having an absolute blast with it.

Resident Evil 2: REmake -- It was my favorite game of 2019 at the beginning of the year and it stayed on top all year. Fan-fuckin-tastic game from beginning to end. THIS is the shining example of how you do a remake. That's all! Bring on that all but confirmed Resident Evil 3 REmake next!

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare -- I actually haven't played a Call of Duty single player campaign in quite a number of years, but when they said they were rebooting Modern Warfare, well I had to give it a look. Colour me surprised, it one of the more compelling single player narratives I played this year. Didn't waste time. Got in, told its compelling story and got out. And it was pretty damn good at that...especially those closed corridor Night Vision sequences

Final Fantasy VIII Remastered -- Played on my Switch Lite. Despite some issues I have with the port, it still remains my personal favorite of the series. I loved it as a kid...I still love it to this day.

The Outer Worlds -- Still haven't finished it...but I've quite liked what I've played of it more than I expected so far more.

Sekiro -- Despite my issues with the stealth in this game (it sucks), I do quite enjoy the lore, mood, atmosphere and general combat of the game. I just wish the stealth in it was better....could have been so much more.

Mortal Kombat 11 -- The story is typically off the walls gonzo (in the best way possible) and the fighting is pretty damn tight. Had a great time with it and still find myself going back to its online mode.

Crash Team Racing -- Hard as nails, but damn rewarding once you get the hang of it.

That's all I got for 2019....what say you?
 
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danielmann861 said:
….what say you?
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Will you spar, or fight one of the monks ? :LOL:

Anyway. As far as new releases go there were the only two that really mattered:

Resident Evil 2
Shenmue 3

I put a ton of hours into Apex Legends for about a month, then just dropped it completely.

I got Astro Bot for Christmas last year on PSVR and that is a truly wonderful game. So many great touches and impossible to play without smiling, the potential of VR is so exciting.

We got a puppy in Febuary and due to this I barely touched the VR since as she needed watching like a hawk. I played more Dreamcast and Sega Saturn than anything else this year as she would sleep next to me in the spare room while I played. I think that's why I embraced Shenmue III so much - coming to it from the back of AM2's 1990's output I feel right at home. I'm about 60 hours in, in Bailu on my second run through now? I can't remember the last time a game really gripped me like that. I am proper enamoured with it.
 
'mue III.

Judge Eyes is a 2018 release, so I can't count it here :(.

Aside from our beloved creator's opus being continued, I played nothing new.

AAMOF, I believe this is the year I have gamed the LEAST, since I was 3-4 years old;

- Started the year playing Judge Eyes, finished in February.
- Replayed Yakuza 5 to get a few trophies (though still not a platinum).
- Played a good 3 weeks worth of Sega Marine Fishing to get me in the mood for my Mexico trip.
- Played World Series Baseball 2K2 for a few weeks, to feed my baseball fix (normally it would be Tommy Lasorda on the Genesis, but I still don't have a CRT).
- Played Project Justice for 2 weeks and I've still got it :D.
- 'mue beginning in November.

Of the 50 weeks that have elapsed throughout the year, I believe I have gamed in... 12 of them. That is by far the least I've played in my life :(
 
Shenmue 3 is definitely one, despite some nitpicks here and there. Unfortunately I have yet to finish Judgement but I get the feeling it’s pretty good. Same for DMCV but I got maybe half way through before other stuff came up, thought it was great. Sekiro, I think I got to the first Owl fight and while I’m undecided if I should keep trying, I have no complaints about the rest of the game except maybe the one purple douche in the well with the bad camera.

Outer Worlds was great. In fact I completed it twice - one more or less normal run, and subsequently one where I murdered pretty much every NPC I could. Pretty impressive the game allowed me to, but was disappointed that the ending barely changed to reflect that. I do plan on doing a completely pacifist run but that disappointment has made it not so exciting.

A game with almost exactly the same name, Outer Wilds, well...I didn’t actually play it. Instead I watched one of my favorite youtubers play it. I was intrigued but undecided on it so I kept watching...and then it was over. And because of the way it’s set up there’s no real point in me playing it now, and I think if I had played it blind I would have been too scared of things like the stormy planet or the giant bramble creatures to play. So I’ll just say I enjoyed it as a secondhand experience.

Technically a port but Deadly Premonition was nice to see on Switch. It couldn’t escape problems at launch just like the rest but after some patches it seems to run best overall compared to the others. The only thing is, personally, I simply prefer tank controls, since I don’t have to manually turn the character and the camera for a game not initially built for it.

I’m sure there were others I’m totally forgetting, but my main thing coming into this year was Travis Strikes Again. I was kind of disappointed it was actually No More Heroes 3, but I was far from some people who were using some hyperbole to try and say Suda was “holding 3 hostage” with this game, when it’s kind of clear as day it was a matter of not being able to fund a 3rd project the way they thought it should without testing for interest first.

So I started with expectations a little lower, but still excited anything NMH related would ever happen again...and was almost blown away by a lot of stuff. On the surface it’s your average hack n slash with some gimmicks, perhaps even a little repetitive, but for those really delving into the story and who are fans of many of Grasshoppers other games, I think there’s way more to enjoy than it lets on. It might not have a huge budget or anything, and maybe I’m just biased, but it was my overall favorite this year, and I bothered to even get the platinum when it rereleased on PS4.
 
Shenmue 3
Disco Elysium
DMC V (was just fun)

I'd like to play judgement and Yakuza but my ps4 got fried in a storm
 
ShenSun said:
If you like shenmue, you MUST play Jade Empire. Fantastic game sharing alot of similarities
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I remember giving up on Jade Empire on the Xbox I think pretty close to the end :/ I was really hyped for it since I was starved of RPGs with real-time combat, but it never scratched the same itch that Shenmue did. That said, I've been meaning to replay it since it ended up in my Origin library for free.

shredingskin said:
Bladerunner finally arrived to GOG, so that's something.
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Bought this yesterday, waiting for next update of ScummVM on Play Store so I can play it on my Android phone.
 
Amir said:
Bought this yesterday, waiting for next update of ScummVM on Play Store so I can play it on my Android phone.
Click to expand...
Remember this version also supports subtitles (thank god) and they restored some content.
You have to download the subs from the scummvm page.
 
I wish Shenmue 4 takes inspiration from some quests of Jade Empire: the school of Black Jeopardy, the tournament in the capital.

The only drawback was that the game felt too short to beat considering the story epic.
 
I have hardly played any games that were released this year. The only games that I have completed that were released this year are Shenmue III, Mortal Kombat 11 and Life is Strange 2. In terms of my favourite, I really enjoyed Shenmue III and Mortal Kombat I am still playing so they will go on my list.

Anthem had an impressive debut but then started to look very lacklustre. The Beta confirmed to me that it was not a game I would be getting. Ghost Recon, again, had a somewhat impressive trailer then the Beta comes out and the game plays and looks like crap. Death Stranding. I do not plan on buying but my brother does so I will be able to download it when he finally buys it. So a lot of games with a lot of hype I have skipped this year.

Any 2019 games you reckon I definitely need to play?
 
1. Judgment
2. Catherine Full Body
3. Lost Ember
4. Death Stranding
5. Shenmue 3

These are my top 5 for this year. A pretty weak year for PS4 players overall, imho.

Had S3 even been anywhere remotely as good as S1 (let alone S2) it would have easily taken the first place, as it should have, considering how much of a rabid Shenmue fanboy I still am.
 
I). Shenmue III
II). Devil May Cry V
III). Biohazard II: Remake
IV). Ace Combat VII: Skies Unknown
V). Dragon Quest XI S
VI). Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
VII). Astral Chain
VIII). Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
IX). Samurai Spirits
X). Monster Hunter: Iceborne
XI). Daemon x Machina
XII). Oninaki

Any games that people are looking forward to in 2020?
 
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