Bottled Fuchsiacast

The Fuchsia crew use their sinister left hands to play some games. Nanners and Kay plunge back into Minecraft. Conman checks out part-RTS/part-TTB game Age of Wonders: Planetfall, admires the voice acting for John Cena in WWE 2K19, then drags Brady into some Counterstrike after rage-uninstalling Apex Legends. Brady investigates some supernatural weirdness in Unavowed. Kitty continues makin’ Marios, Aaron plays through procedurally-generated metroidvania Chasm, and Kay takes time out of her spaghetti trail around Minecraft to ride elevators with Conman in Wolfenstein: Youngblood.

This one was (kind of obviously) recorded some time ago, but two months in the Audacity oven couldn’t improve the audio quality of some of the voice tracks. Sorry for it sounding a little rough!

It’s back to business as usual for Fuchsia. Nanners plays hot new titles GTA V and Borderlands 2. Kitty serves as Aaron’s guide through the nine circles of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. Brady switches between building zombie survival colonies in They Are Billions to building a kingdom full of job opportunities in order to collect love points in Dragon Quest Builders 2. Jon wrestles with the pacing and final boss of Bloodstained. And there’s just a brief discussion of Super Mario Maker 2 that only takes up roughly half of this episode.

Seriously, could no one hear us this entire time? Jon, Aaron, and Brady recap the games they’ve been playing since February. We talk Destiny 2 raids, Russian survival simulators, and old women shouting “Kill those murderers dead!” over and over again.

We did it. We made a list. Listen to it and agree, or don’t. That was 2018 games, we are on to these 2019 games now, so it doesn’t matter!

10. Destiny 2: Forsaken

9. Tetris Effect

8. Overcooked 2

7. Red Dead Redemption II

6. Celeste

5. Into the Breach

4. Monster Hunter: World

3. Dead Cells

2. Marvel‘s Spider-Man

1. God of War

Time to really make some cuts and have some fights. We trim the list down to our ten and get ready to do some ordering. More Malört is drank.

In 2018 I made the statement “Well, at least making a list is easy since not many good games are out yet this year.” At the time I was half joking, hoping that we’d have a light year and that making this list would be less difficult. That didn’t even up being the case and we got a strong line up of good games. Here are a bunch of games that I really enjoyed this year.

*Just a quick note, some of my games are missing screenshots due to an incident with my PS4 eating a USB stick. This will be rectified eventually.

Let’s start by talking about my categories.

Most feels: Return of the Obra Dinn

This is a hard one to write since I can’t fully express how this game made me feel. The graphics gave me a real sense of nostalgia for the early 90s edutainment games I played as a kid. The sound design and voice acting gave me goose bumps at times. This game felt more real in many ways than any other this year just do to the atmosphere it could create.

Biggest disappointment:  Sea of Thieves

So I want to start by saying, what is their isn’t inherently bad. This game is just very thin. The sailing, the weather, the water, and the instruments all lead to the best sailing game I’ve ever played. The fighting, the mission design, and the game play loops just don’t cut it. If they add enough to this game it could be great. Until then it’s just not worth my time.

Funniest: CHUCHEL

I don’t know with this game. It just made me chuckle a lot and it’s fun.

Prettiest: God Of War

The sparing use of color, the creative environment, the excellent enemy and ally design. It just looks great.

Most addicting: Far Cry 5

Let me start by saying; the story telling is bad, the plot is dumb, and the characters are often terrible. The game play, for me at least, is fun, and I enjoy playing this a lot. After beating the story I started a new game plus run through and played a good deal of the user created content with Brady.

Best early access game: Deep Rock Galactic

I really like this game. The missions, even though you only have 4-5 types feel different enough due to the perceptually generated level structures. The classes work well together, and the weapon handling is good. This is an excellent 4 person coop game.

The one that got Away: Hitman 2

I did it again. Another excellent looking Hitman game came out, and I just missed it. I’ll try to do better in the future.

Of Course, I’ll Rebuy that!: System Shock: Enhanced Editon

System Shock was the first first-person shooter I ever played. I played it in 97 or 98 while in middle school after finding a copy at Sam’s Club for 98 cents in a bargain bin. I have always enjoyed that game, and I really wanted to go back since a full remake is in the works. It’s still fun, and I plan on beating it.

Shame: PubG

I already said a lot about PubG last year, so I’ll keep it short. I had to uninstall this game, just so I’d get to other games.

That Beat Tho’: Tetris Effect

If you like Tetris, buy this. The music always gets me pumped, and makes me want to play more.

Best MultitaskGame: Destiny 2

So, I gave this to Destiny, since it’s just so lite. This year I hit more high level play and Warframe, so I needed something lighter to play while watching youtube videos.

The Future is Bright: Wattam

Some day this might come out, right?

Best Ongoing Game: Warframe

Woof. What can I even say? I think I put another 50-60 hours into this game this year, and I’m sure I’ll put even more in, in 2019. This game just keeps growing and getting better ever day.

And now on to the list:

10. Red Strings Club

I like this game a lot. It’s a cyberpunk, adventure, bar tending game where you are trying to uncover a conspiracy but serving drinks and asking questions. I highly recommend checking it out.

9. Shooty Fruity

VR shooting galleries? Tons of those. One where you need to check out groceries, your guns break and fly apart when they run out of ammo, and you are attacked by giant angry fruit? Just one that I know of, and it’s fantastic.

8. Far Cry 5

I talked about this a bit in my categories. So just to recap, it’s a bad story, it tells the story poorly, it shoe horns the player down very narrow paths, and out of game play to force it forward. The game, especially with a co-op buddy is so fun that I’m willing to forgive many of it’s faults for now. Game play wise this is the best far cry ever, but they seriously need to deal with the bullshit stories, and the terrible characters.

7. Warhammer: Vermintide 2

This game is really just more Vermintide but with a slightly better progression system. This game is a lot of fun, and it’s just more of the last game. This would have been higher if it were able to better distinguish itself from it’s predecessor.

6. Spider-Man

So number 6 seems low for how good this game is, but it’s only due to how great other games this year were. The only reason I have it this low was due to some of the mission design. Swinging at the perfect height between a series of barriers isn’t fun.

5. Frost Punk

A dark steam punk city management and resource collection game? Why sure that sounds great. I really like this game, it’s a lot of fun, and I never ever win. If you like city management games and don’t mind the dark tones, go play this.

4. Return of the Obra Dinn

I love the way this game feels. If I was better able to figure out what I’m supposed to do sometimes it would be number one. That said I do have a book of notes in addition to the excellent note / record system in the game, and I will hopefully beat it soon.

3. Tetris Effect

This game is pretty much perfect. It’s a really excellent Tetris game, that helps me zone out and just focus on the game. I think had I spent more time with it, it could have been my number one game, but I got this late in the year and didn’t get to spend that much time with it.

2. Dead Cells

I’ve been playing Dead Cells off and on for the past 2 years or so. I played it on PC in Early Access, recent my progress when it released, and then restarted it on Switch. I love this game. It reminds me of my favorite parts of castlevania games, and of rogue legacy without the parts of those games I didn’t like. The only knock I’d have it that I find I can only do a few runs at a time before I need to put it down. I think that has more to do with me, but there it is.

1. God of War

So, it’s 2018, and I put a God of War game as number one on my game of the year list. That’s not something I ever expected to happen. I’ve played some of past God of War games, and none grabbed me. The longest I had stuck with any was the PSP game but that was mostly due to it being one of the few PSP games I ever bothered to buy. The game looks great, the design is incredible, and the gameplay is amazing. The axe snaps back to your hand and it feels like it has weight to it. The stories from Mimir stop when you get close to a dock and resume when you get back in. The combat isn’t just you mashing buttons, but thinking about the situations and using the tools at your disposal. I don’t know if I’ve liked a third person action game this much since The Witcher.

It’s that time where we sit down with a large list of games and slowly whittle it down. Join us as we make some early cuts in part one of creating our group top ten list.

Aaron returns to us with talk of Destiny and pins. Kitty talks about what games can be with Florence. Conman finds a Battle Royale he doesn’t hate. Kay wonders why she’s playing Monster Hunter and Nanners Plays every game. We also talk about Anthem and how it seems fine.

The year was 2018. Video games released. Some were good. Humans attempted to sort them by order of greatness. This is such an attempt.

10. Gris

Gris is a beautiful 2D platformer exploration game. There is no dialogue and yet it manages to tell an emotional story through puzzles, discovery, and color. It takes about 4 hours to play through the entire game so there is no reason to skip this gem.

9. Octopath Traveler

Finding the right attacks to break enemy defenses made sure combat in Octopath Traveler was always interesting. Experimenting with the dual class system introduced some fun combinations. Sadly every chapter for each character was an isolated story with the same structure so it was lacking some of the traditional JRPG character bonding I look for.

8. Red Dead Redemption 2

Despite the tedious systems and overly structured story missions I enjoyed my time with RDR 2. The game is very pretty, has excellent voice acting, and it’s always fun to do cowboy stuff. I liked finding out what’s next for the gang and it definitely filled in bits of story from the first game which was a nice touch. Exploring the games vast systems like hunting and bounties were some of the more interesting parts for me.

7. Ni No Kuni II

Ni No Kuni II is a charming JRPG that also manages to combine elements of strategy games and world building. The story is interesting while also being a little off beat. The real time combat is a bit simple but still fun and engaging. The graphics are gorgeous. All around it’s a game that tries to do a lot and somehow manages to accomplish most of it very well. I recommend increasing the difficulty as it can be way too easy otherwise. Plus the harder difficulty rewards you with even better loot.

6. Subnautica

Subnautica quickly became one of my favorite crafting survival games. It does such a great job managing the exploration, risk, and reward loop. The joy of exploration keeps you going and as soon as you craft that next impressive thing something bigger shows up and puts you back in your place. For a survival game it actually has an impressive story with plenty of mouth drop moments.

5. Far Cry 5

Far Cry 5 was not without its share of issues. However I had a huge amount of fun playing through the campaign, both solo and co-op. The setting felt unique and made for a crazy but still interesting story. The gun play feels great and you can get into some real shenanigans with all the vehicles. The aggressive animals never ceased to make me laugh each time they came out of nowhere to maul some poor civilian. The game even has a built in level editor and a lobby system to play through user generated content which was like a cherry on top of a delicious sundae.

4. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

I’m a sucker for Assassin’s Creed games even with the trend of the newer ones going heavy on the RPG elements. The Ancient Greek setting was interesting and it was fun to do quests for historical figures like Socrates and Aspasia. The mercenaries system felt like a cross between the wanted system in GTA games and Shadow of War’s nemesis system. I also enjoyed hunting down cultists by first unlocking clues about them. Overall I think Origins is a more cohesive game but Odyssey was still a blast to play.

3. Dead Cells

Dead Cells was a perfect blend of roguelike and metroidvania. It’s hard to explain why the game is so good without playing it yourself. Movement and combat feel amazing and it’s a joy to control the character. It was never the games fault if I took damage or died. There was always some queue I missed or some way I could have handled the situation better. So every death just felt like a lesson that I was excited to learn. The “one more run” urge was really strong with this game and the persistent item unlocks helped keep me coming back for more.

2. God of War

I went into God of War assuming it would be a decent action game where you mash buttons and kill stuff. It did manage to have the visceral battles from the previous games with an intelligent and emotionally deep story. Hearing tales of Norse mythology while traveling around the world was a great way to get backstory and keep things interesting between fights. Even when fast traveling you get to hear interesting dialogue which was a nice touch. The voice acting, characters, story, combat… every part of this game was flawless.

1. Marvel’s Spider-Man

Finally the Spider-Man game I’ve always wanted! Insomniac nailed the movement and feel of web slinging. Zipping around New York never got old and it even made collection quests like chasing pigeons super satisfying. It really felt like you were playing as Spider-Man to the point where I stopped to rescue every citizen locked in a truck or getting robbed. End game really ramped up the action and introduced more villains to get me really excited for the next game.

With the seriousness of “the list” out of the way let’s talk awards.

Feels: Florence

It’s impressive how much emotion a simple mobile game is able to achieve. They were able to do a lot with very little and packed a lot of feels into a 1 hour game.

Disappointment: Sea of Thieves

This game had so much potential. It seemed like the bare bones of something great but never then it was never fully realized. I kept waiting for more content but it was too little too late. I had some fun playing with friends but ultimately was left disappointed.

Funniest: Far Cry 5

So much over the top silly stuff happened in this game. Some of it was scripted and some was pure random. Like rescuing an npc just to watch them get mauled by a cougar seconds later. Co-op campaign and endless user generated content only added to the hilarity.

Prettiest: Gris

Gris is an incredibly beautiful game and easily makes the argument for games as art. The watercolor painting style and manipulation of color made the game very easy on the eyes.

Most addicting: Spider-Man

For some reason I couldn’t put this game down. Even the simple act of traveling somewhere as Spider-Man was super enjoyable. They really nailed the web swinging, general movement, and fighting of the friendly neighborhood hero.

Early access: Slay the Spire

Slay the Spire is the poster child for how early access games should work. They set realistic goals, listened to feedback from the community, and put out weekly updates. The game was already fantastic at the start of early access and it keeps getting better.

One that got away: Return of the Obra Dinn

I’ve seen so many great things about Return of the Obra Dinn and I was excited to play it. Sadly after about an hour in I got rather motion sick and never ended up going back to give it another try.

Rebuy: Katamari Damacy Reroll

I loved Katamari Damacy on the Playstation 2 so picking up the fancy HD remake was an easy decision for me. It feels right at home playing it on the Switch.

Shame: We Happy Few

I really wanted to like We Happy Few. The aesthetic, plot, and atmosphere were great but every other aspect of the game was mediocre at best. I played it a lot longer than it deserved while waiting for something that never came.

Music: Guacamelee 2

Touted as a Mexivania, Guacamelee! 2 had some amazing music. The unique blend of Mexican and 8 bit video game music made for some great tunes.

Multitask: Into the Breach

The turn based setup of Into the Breach made it well suited for multitasking. It was easy to half pay attention to a TV show or podcast while blasting away the Vek.

Best Ongoing: Path of Exile

I’ve been playing Path of Exile on and off for almost 7 years and I still get excited for each new league. The developers GGG are amazing and consistently introduce new and innovative content. A perfect example of what free to play should be.

Future: Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus was the game I was most looking forward to last year. Now will the release date so close it’s still the one I’m looking forward to with a healthy dose of skeptical optimism. I might be telling myself the game was delayed another year until it’s eventual release on Steam…

Night in the Woods

After the group’s rave reviews of Night in the Woods, I decided to give it a try. I was expecting a walking simulator at best with some cute graphics and what we have come to call “feels”. I was pleasantly surprised to find a game rich in humor, relatable characters, and a world I still want to go back to. Casual gamers can skip the fluff and complete the main story in about 8 hours, but I highly recommend enjoying the journey- stop and smell the Pastabilities. Every recurring character is worth having daily conversations with. The world of NITW also has its own slang and mythology. I’ve spent a large amount of time in Schuylkill County, PA, and watching the changing faces and places in (town) was the perfect familiar, Coal Country-town elegy for me to escape to during the garbage fire that was 2018. Writing this has made me want to play it again.

Overcooked 2

My husband and I have put 60 hours into this silly little co-op game. To put that in perspective, I probably do about 1 1/2 hours of real cooking per weekday. I could have made, like, 40 *real* meals in the time we’ve spent on this. No regrets here- Overcooked 2 is more than a cash-grab sequel. It’s a genuine improvement with new controls, recipes, kitchens, and everything else you could want. It’s also had several rounds of free DLC. If you derive  any satisfaction from teamwork or time management, give it a go. 

Crawl

Finally, a game you can be bad at and still have fun! I picked up a controller to try Crawl during Extra Life because we needed a 4th player. 2 hours later, I didn’t want to give that controller up. 3-on-1 is a tough structure for a game, but Crawl feels balanced. It’s not impossible for the starting hero to win, and it’s equally feasible that someone else will possess the body at a critical moment to go to the final boss battle. If you’re good at rogue-lites, you’ll probably have a good time. If you’re not, you will likely have an even better time turning yourself into a chair, buzzsaw, or flamethrower.

 Super Mario Party

Everyone hates Mario Party. I get it. What started as a really fun, mostly skill-based franchise quickly devolved into “participation stars for everyone”. Every title after 3 got more bloated with items, candy, excessive dialog, and dynamics that made no sense (why would everyone want to be in one car??) Super Mario Party for the Switch is a return to form. It has multiple game modes, including a fun co-op adventure, but the basic game has been pared down to its original elements. It’s the game I’ve been waiting for since about 2005.

Stardew Valley

Once again, word of mouth got me to sit down with a game I didn’t expect to like. I’ve played several farming/ town simulators, including some of the best-loved (Animal Crossing, Rune Factory), and they just don’t hook me. I’m not a completionist, and I don’t like monotonous gameplay with minimal story. Luckily, Stardew Valley isn’t a game that demands the player take any specific approach. You can play for the story, or play until you have every in-game achievement to restore the community center. Or, you can be a weirdo like me and see how far you can get in the game without livestock, and only befriend the weird gamer girl and the crabby old man. The graphics are delightful, the music is soothing, and the farming was entertaining enough that I played for about 13 hours. 

Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness

Star Ocean 3: Til’ the End Of Time is one of the most underrated JRPGs out there. It has a strong story, a more active battle system (think Tales of Symphonia) than the standard JRPG turn-based, and it’s got a whimsical sarcasm that made it irresistible to me. Fast-forward to this year, when I finally started Star Ocean 5 (I skipped 4 after hearing from several friends that it was disappointing). It’s great to be back in the world of the Star Ocean games, and the environments are so much more beautiful and complex than I expected. About 15 hours in, I’m having a good time with it, but I can’t deny that the game is a little clunky. It’s difficult to walk up to people and talk to them without running into them, as you have to be at the exact right orientation and distance to initiate dialogue. The combat doesn’t seem as fun, but that could be because I’m not a newcomer to the system this time around. I find I don’t really even have to think about what buttons I’m mashing at all unless it’s a boss battle. The upgrades and skill trees are neat, but the loopy inventing system from previous franchise (which embraced the opportunity to make failure funny instead of just frustrating) has been replaced by recipe-based item creation, which seems so dull by comparison. Will I keep playing? Yes. Do I wish it was just more SOTOT? Also yes.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Preface: I played World of Warcraft until level 80 with an ex, but I don’t like MMOs. People are jerks, and I don’t like games that are lacking in story or demand too much of my schedule. I’m surprised at how much SWTOR has grown on me. I feel like my toon actually has a personality, thanks to the role-playing element. There’s a little bit of a learning curve with all the menus, but if you like Star Wars and MMOs at all, it’s a good time. 

Gabriel Knight (series)

Oh man, I don’t even know what else I can say about the highs and lows of the Gabriel Knight series. The games themselves range from pretty good to abysmal, but we had a great time with them. Playing all three in a year was a fun way to revisit the history of PC gaming technology in the nineties, as every game uses different graphics engines and movement mechanics. If you’re only going to play one and you want a good point-and-click experience, play the first one. If you’re curious about learning a slight bit of actual history,  or nostalgic for the brief lifespan of FMV, play the second. If you want to see what it would look like if Dan Brown and the animation team behind Food Fight did a lot of cocaine and thought they were brilliant, play the third.

South Park Pinball

I’m not a pinball wizard by any means, but I love to see the mechanical and artistic effort that goes into each machine. Some are surprisingly fun given their subject matter (AC-DC Pinball). Others have a great ambience, but don’t play very well (Addams Family Pinball). South Park Pinball is surprisingly good. I say “surprising” because so many pinball machines for popular TV shows are cranked out without much regard for gameplay, but this one has love in it. It also has a flushing toilet with Mr. Hanky, several ways to kill Kenny, and multiple missions and ramps to keep the actual play engaging. The audio clips sound great- remember when Chef was still around? The whole thing gave me hope that someone out there cares enough to make pinball that isn’t shovelware. Well done.

Most Feels: Night in the Woods

We sometimes romanticize the ideas of “going home” and “simpler times”. Night in the Woods does an excellent job of showing the pros and cons of arrested development (maybe even regression) as well as growth. Real talk, 2018 wasn’t my favorite year. Following the stories of Mae and her friends’ coming to terms with the disappointments of failure in adulthood made me feel like I was in good company. And, seeing them find a way to pick up the pieces and take some uneasy steps forward gave me a little hope.

Biggest Disappointment: Jeopardy! for the PS4

No Alex, minimal animations, and two CPU names I can’t seem to change. I love trivia, but this is testing the limits of my love. I’d take Trivia Murder Party or You Don’t Know Jack over this game. Actually, let’s just watch an episode of Jeopardy! and play along at home, like we always have.

Funniest: Gabriel Knight series

The writers of Gabriel Knight think they’re funnier than they are. At times, this series is like a video game version of The Room. Throw in some highly entertaining bugs and nonsensical puzzles, and you’ve got an enjoyable recipe for “so-bad-it’s-good” fun. Save yourself the pain of playing through the third game, though. To quote a favorite film, “It’s so bad it went past good and went back around to bad again”.

Prettiest: Tetris Effect

I didn’t know I needed jellyfish and a ring of fire-people bowing while I played Tetris, but apparently I do. I only played about a half hour of this game, but it was mesmerizing. It was actually a little hard to concentrate on making rows because I just wanted to watch the animation.

Shame: Jeopardy! Mobile

After about two months of “Just one more game! Oh, wait, it’s Mythology theme week… OK, I guess I’ll play this week, too… but I can quit whenever I want,” I finally did quit Jeopardy! Mobile. It was too much of a time-suck and I got bored with it, but at least it actually had Alex!

That Beat, Tho’: Night in the Woods

I probably listen to this soundtrack at least once a week at work, sometimes more. It varies in tempo and emotion, but it’s cohesive. The soundtrack for the in-game game, Demon Tower, is also included. I’ve played it as background music when friends and family are visiting, and everyone seems to enjoy it, gamers and non-gamers alike.

Best Multitasking Game: DuoLingo

When I’m cooking, putting on my makeup, or just waiting in line at the store, I fire up DuoLingo. Each lesson takes about 5 minutes, and there are club activities (such as captioning a picture) that take even less time. It’s been a great way for me to learn on the go. I’m counting this as a game- it has a health bar and levels. That’s my justification, and I’m sticking to it.

The Future is Bright: Valkyria Chronicles 4, Kingdom Hearts 3

Hey, wouldn’t it be neat if the latest games in an established universe fixed what wasn’t good about the previous ones, did some new and exciting things, and kept true to the spirit of the previous games? We’ll see if that actually happens. Given my usual timeline for playing games, I’ll probably report back in 2023.

The Game That Keeps on Giving: Overcooked 2

I’ve played a lot already, and DLC and new game modes just keep getting added. If only there was ever anyone on the online matchmaking versus mode. Aaron and I might be the only two people playing this game. We have no way of knowing for sure.