I held back last year. I know! It surprised me too. Rather than doing what I had planned, I took the original idea and whittled it down to a top 5/bottom 5. This year though it’s back to how it should be. We’ve made it through 2018 and it’s time to celebrate. Sure there is still cold horrible Brexit on the table, Trump is not in jail yet and we’ve not had a ‘new’ Switch but that’s what 2019 is for. With hopes held high for the future let take a moment just jump into some main moments of 2018.
The most surprisingly polished update of 2018
Street Fighter V Arcade Edition PS4
What went from the biggest disappointment on launch ended up the biggest surprise of 2018 when Arcade Edition dropped. All of a sudden Street Fighter 5 got a new lease of life and the addition of Sakura to the roster helped boost some new nostalgia vibes into the series. It was so surprising to have a ton of new content for single players, more systems for unlocking event costumes and even some welcome balancing. Well all this was good that is until the recent ad fiasco killed any interest in the game but Arcade Edition was still a moment of positivity.
Runner up – BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle
God damn I’m loving BBTAG. I knew the DLC was going to be coming in batches but I didn’t expect such a balanced approach to it. The first fighting game I’ve willingly bought a Season Pass for. If you want to see why check out my review of the game here.
The game my wife found the most annoying for 2018
Dragonball FighterZ
I think this boiled down to mostly her not liking DragonballZ. When I got a copy to review I was plugging some serious hours into the story mode to try and get to the juicy cut scenes but my word is it grindy. The arcade mode is where I find most of the fun but sadly my lovely wife was fed up of KAHMEHAMEHA but this could be due to me shouting all the time and posing with the controller.
Runner up – Detroit: Become Human
This was mainly because it was a huge disappointment for both of us. I can understand people liking David Cage games (we’ve had all of them at one point even Omikron) Not even the separate 3 part story system could help this one not failing to deliver a decent ending. Elouise played the game from start to finish and said it was best described as, “disappointed sigh”
My biggest disappointment for 2018
Dynasty Warriors 9
Where to begin with this one. I was all ready for a new Dynasty Warriors when this launched and had already had a brief go at MCM previously but nothing could have prepared me for how dire the game is. It’s been heavily patched since which is nice for those that still try to play it but that’s not going to fix the score for me (check out the review here). I think there’s a very obvious reason Dynasty Warriors 8 is being ported to Switch instead and it’s not just hardware limitations.
Runner up – Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
The Beta for Dissidia was rough and came up against Dragonball FighterZ and lost (I even tried to compare the two). It didn’t exactly help itself by being a complicated mess of a fighter from a niche Arcade origins that’s pretty hard to get into from the go. The fact it has more microtransaction loot crate mess than you’d ever want near your FF makes it just a no go at the moment.
The absolute worst game of 2018
Metal Gear Survive
Just go read the review here. I’m never playing Metal Gear Survive ever again. Even if it comes out in free to play form (which is inevitable) Even if you take all emotion out of the review and even if you look at it from a purely objective standpoint, the game is dross. The beta was a moment of fun with CaptainSpafff but the fact I wrote more about other games I’d rather be playing at the time pretty much summed it up for me and even looking through the list of low review scores this for me was just the worst.
Runner up – Sega Heroes
I’ve recently seen a Looney Toons mobile game that is like-for-like Sega Heroes. Instead of classic SEGA video game characters it shows Bugs Bunny shards being collected to level him up. It somehow makes Sega Heroes even more disappointing. If you’re naive like me and feel like giving it a go maybe read about it first before the gambling hooks dig in and you find yourself wasting money on a soulless endeavour.
The most “that was this year?” game of 2018
Attack on Titan 2
The amazing Season 3 of the Attack on Titan anime is having a mid-season break at the moment and I think we’ve been spoilt by episodes airing shortly after release rather than waiting a year for the DVD. AOT2 is based on the second season of the series with a closer focus on your own original character in a ‘Sonic Forces’ kinda way. The game slows down combat from AOT1 and becomes a lot more menacing as a result. It maybe incredibly enjoyable but it definitely feels like it came out years ago at this point through no fault of its own. Still we can all hope for an AOT3 in future!
Runner up – Fallout Shelter
Given that technically Fallout Shelter was launched on iOS/Android a long time ago this is a little close to disqualification but this year we saw it ported to PS4 and NS and given how much has changed and how it feels like an entirely different game with a controller we can clearly allow this. My 2nd most played game on PSLife I’m still shocked I’ve only started playing in 2018 as it feels like it’s years of quickly managing my Vault.
The game I finished and still wanted more in 2018
Donut County
I can’t think of another game I’ve finished in 2018 like this. To see the end credits, take a breath and fired up the game again to complete every trophy and secret I could get my hands on just to feel like I’ve seen everything in it. Wonderful, short and super sweet, it’s so close a GOTY award (runner-up didn’t do it justice) but it was just over a little sooner than I’d like. It’s still a phenomenal game and highly worth picking up. It’s definitely the easiest review I’ve written all year and you can check it out here.
Runner up – Disgaea 1 Complete
Disgaea1 is still one of my favourite games (which shocks nobody that knows me) Given that Complete is a HD brush up of the original it’s a shame that there hasn’t really been that much more added. There are more tweaking options in Disgaea1 PC but without the shiny visuals. It’s a great game and worth every hour of your time, it just seems a bit like it could have used more in it.
The ElderlyGoose GOTY for 2018
Iconoclasts
It’s rare that I come across a game that I don’t want to finish because I’m enjoying it so much. The story, the visuals, the gameplay and the audio are just perfectly crafted into wondrous majesty. It’s even ported on Switch and on PS Plus so you’ve no excuse!
Check here for the review!
ElderlyGoose 
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