It’s time for the 2018 Quarterlies! Vote for Quarter to Three’s Best Game of 2018

  1. Monster Hunter World
    I love the missions are bite-sized chunks, I love how the creatures interact - giant monsters fighting is awesome. I love how enormous all the levels are. It really makes it feel like a “living world” and I hope they lean into it even harder in the future! I’m still near the beginning but the idea of playing it makes me excited - every weapon looks amazing and so far they all play pretty differently, and so far the monsters feel pretty distinct as well - they stretch the “dragon/lizard” aesthetic to also include bird-chicken and furry-fox and bats and salamanders.
  2. Synthetik
    Roguelike shooter where the guns sound and look so incredibly chunky. I’m terrible at managing the ejecting and reloading - I’m literally the guy fumbling around dropping the ammo cartridge - but every single shot and every reload feels like it has such impact. The RNG can be stingy about handing out guns, but every pickup is exciting when it happens.
  3. Hitman 2
    I’m also a Hitman 1 2016 masquerading as Hitman 2, since I picked that one up but am playing it in the new engine. I love how you can do anything you want, but that there’s also fun mini-stories you can follow if you want a little hand-holding or just want to see the sights.
  4. Into The Breach
    Maybe a little too stripped down - I love how compact and efficient everything is, but it’s more a stressful brain-burner - it loves to throw tricky situations where you have to carefully try to do five things with three units. I love the idea but I often feel too stressed to do a run.

I just bought Battletech so sadly that didn’t get a chance but I suspect I’ll enjoy it given how much I loved Battletch in my youth.

  1. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

It’s another one of those years that I’m otherwise playing games from the previous years, with Deadfire being the only 2018 release that I played enough (it’s now fourth on my Steam list of most played games, still climbing) and is worthy of the title.

Couldn’t a lot of the EA debate be solved by just having an “Best EA game of 2018” category of its own?

In any case, no EA titles in my top 5. I’ll list my top 3 EA titles below.

  1. Red Dead Redemption 2
  2. Into the Breach
  3. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
  4. Rimworld
  5. Farming Simulator 19

Ok no surprises in 1 - 4. #5 was a surprise to me too. I’m not a farmer, nor did I ever want to be one. A good friend of mine convinced me to try it, and it’s been pure addiction since. No it’s not a great game, and I’m told earlier iterations (17, 15) were better. I’ve played them all, and see this as becoming my most played game/series ever. Can’t explain the attraction to it, and no I don’t recommend it for others.

  1. Northgard
  2. Detroit: Become Human
  3. Farcry 5
  4. Subnautica
  5. Two Point Hospital

Top EA titles of 2018:
EA1. Raft
EA2. Breathedge
EA3. Slay the Spire

  1. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
  2. Into the Breach
  3. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
  4. GRIS
  5. Yakuza Kiwami 2

One thing that surprised me about this year was the advancement in story telling and how involved I got into the characters. I know lots of people can get absorbed into game stories and such but as an avid reader most of the time the best a game could get out of me was an ‘eh, not bad’. That changed this year.

  1. Red Dead Redemption 2 - Still have to go through the last two acts but the story and acting set a new bar for every one else. It’s good enough to be compared to movies and books without blushing.

  2. Pathfinder: Kingmaker - So broken, so buggy once you get going into the 3rd act (at release). The first 2 acts I found very tight and well done but it starts falling apart faster and faster the further you get. The kingdom building part was a disappointing mess and best left disabled. Even with all these complaints it’s the game I think about the most and can’t wait to get back to.

  3. Subnautica - Forgot this was 2018 but it was super engrossing and enjoyable to explore. A bit janky and hard to progress at points without looking things up but the rewards for exploration more than made up for it. Excellent job recreating the feeling of being lost for real.

  4. EXAPUNKS - First Zachtronics game I beat! Either because it’s slightly easier than the rest or because I ordered the deluxe version and really wanted to open the last envelope. I don’t optimize my results much like some, I just like to solve the puzzles.

  5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Another game I haven’t finished but still can’t stop thinking about. The acting and story was another surprise - not RDR2 surprising but much better than everything else. I ended up caring very much about the characters and story and the rest of the game is a very solid eastern European fiddly rpg.

  6. CrossCode - Still playing, total surprise to me how good it is. It feels weird applying the triple A title to what looks like an 16 bit game but that’s how I feel. Continuing the theme of 2018 the story is considerably more interesting than I expected.

  7. Pillars of Eternity 2 - I finished this and loved it and can’t wait to get back to it with expansions, I bought the season pass. But now of course I have to wait to see how the whole turn base thing plays out.

  8. Dragon Quest XI - Need to finish as well, probably 90% through. I could actually follow the story in this one as well and the game play is classic Dragon Quest. Something I seem to enjoy in spite of itself.

I haven’t played many 2018 releases, and of the ones I’ve played I only played a few enough to give a full evaluation. Here are the ones I really liked:

  1. Warhammer 40,000 Gladius - Relics of War — What a great combination of 4X with the WH40K world. I’ve had a huge amount of fun with this one and am looking forward to future expansions.

  2. Pathfinder: Kingmaker — It was buggy, but I had great fun with this. Most enjoyable RPG I’ve played in a long time.

I also played AC: Odyssey and have around 8 hours in. I liked the time I spent with it, but I think I’ve barely touched the surface on it. So I don’t think I’ve gotten far enough to give it a vote.

I’ve played a bunch of WH40K Inquisitor Martyr which I enjoyed. But I’m waiting for the “full campaign coop” integration that they’ve promised us for later this year before playing more. I will say that it has the most enjoyable flamethrower I can ever recall using in a video game. I don’t think it’s really the optimum weapon choice, but burning Nurgle demons with a heavy flamer was truly satisfying.

I’ve played a huge amount of Total War: Warhammer II, but not specifically focused on the new expansions released this year. Steam says I’m up to 325 hours . Plus another 147 hours on Total War: Warhammer 1 😐. Hmm, maybe I should try playing other games.

I played Cultist Simulator (in fact Steam says I’ve got 14 hours into it), but I’m missing something fundamental. I finished one of the careers (I think the inspector), but I’ve never figured out, for example, how to carry out rituals. I think there’s a massive amount of the game that I haven’t gotten to and have no idea how to access.

  1. Subnautica
    The best exploration and sense of discovery I have ever experienced in a game. It made me feel like I did as a child when I went exploring the forest behind my house. Each new area you explore makes you feel both wary and excited, and you gradually become comfortable as you learn its geography and ecology. I love how you stay vulnerable through the whole game and never become the apex predator.
  2. Into the Breach
    A bite-sized tactics game that makes you feel clever like a chess grandmaster. I love how staring at the screen for a few minute goes something like: I’m screwed! -> Maybe this move would reduce my losses somewhat -> This one moves eliminates three vekks at once and wins the battle!
  3. Football, Tactics & Glory
    A great condensed version of what I like about sports management games; watching your players grow and making difficult choices about when to part ways with players after getting attached to them. The team management and tactical play feed into each other wonderfully. It can be a bit too grindy in some phases – mostly right after getting promoted to a higher tier league – but the ability to sim games helps out.
  4. Battletech
    One of the best tactical strategy game I have ever played. The main thing that I really like is the slow pace of combat. The durability of the mechs, compared to that of the units in most tactics games, really gives the battles a feeling that I’m not used to.
  5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
    A great world to explore and experience. Its fun to be a somewhat secondary character in the overall story rather than the Chosen One. The only reason it’s not higher in my list is that I put it aside midway through due to a lack of time.

Alright, since this thread has calmed down significantly and it looks like it’ll be slow and quiet like until the deadline, can a couple of you proof this alphabetical list of games voted for and let me know if any two (or more) of them actually refer to the same game? If that’s the case I can add it to my list of game synonyms and get it counted up correctly.

The easy stuff to miss isn’t a spelling error like “Assasin’s Creed: Odyssey” (already got that one covered) but rather when the game is like “Astro Bot: Rescue Misson” but someone just calls it “Rescue Mission”*, since that will put the matching game name wayyyyy down the list.

* Not a real example.

Summary

ADIOS Amigos: A Space Physics Odyssey
Aggressors: Ancient Rome
Arkham Horror 3E
Artifact
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Banner Saga 3
Bard’s Tale IV
Battle Chasers: Nightwar
Battlefield V
Battletech
Beat Saber
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Bomber Crew: U.S.A.A.F. DLC
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
Celeste
Chuchel
Conan Exiles
Crosscode
Cultist Simulator
Cytus II
DCS: F/A-18C Hornet
Dead Cells
Decrypto
Deity Empires
Destiny 2: Forsaken
Detroit: Become Human
Diablo 3 Eternal Collection
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
Donut County
Dragon Quest Builders
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Dusk
Earth Defense Force 5
EXAPUNKS
Fallout 76
Far Cry 5
Farming Simulator 19
FIFA 19
Final Fantasy XV
Fire Pro Wrestling World
Florence
Football, Tactics & Glory
For the King
Forza Horizon 4
Frostpunk
God of War
Grapple Force Rena
Gris
Helium Rain
Hitman 2
Hollow Knight
Infinite Adventures
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Into the Breach
Invisible, Inc.
Kenshi
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Two Crowns
Labyrinth of Refrain
Madden 19
Magic: The Gathering Arena
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Megaquarium
MLB 18 The Show
Monster Hunter World
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
My Brother Rabbit
Neir: Automata
New Star Manager
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
No Man’s Sky NEXT
Northgard
Octopath Traveler
One Deck Dungeon
OnRush
OOTP 19
Overcooked 2
Overload
Parkitect
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Phantom Doctrine
Pillars of Eternity 2
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Prey: Mooncrash
Radical Heights
Radiis
Railway Empire
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Rimworld
Rogue Legacy
Scavenger SV-4
Sea of Thieves
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
Six Ages
Slay the Spire
Soul Calibur VI
Space Tyrant
Star Traders: Frontiers
Stardew Valley
State of Decay 2
Stonehearth
Subnautica
Sunset Overdrive
Super Mega Baseball 2
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Synthetik
Tetris Effect
The Colonists
The Messenger
Thronebreaker
Through the Ages
Tower of Time
Two Point Hospital
Unavowed
Unforeseen Incidents
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Vampyr
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Wars of Succession
West of Loathing
XCOM 2 War of the Chosen Tactical Legacy Pack
Yakuza 0
Yakuza 6
Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yoku’s Island Express

Also feel free to ask me to send you what you voted on if you’re worried it didn’t get counted, I can reply with what got registered. Bruce and I are trying to keep a look out for formatting issues though so I’m pretty confident we’re good.

ERROR

Hey, you caught the obvious one! I just fixed that*.

Now can someone let me know if Deadfire is a subtitle for the main game or DLC?

i.e. Should POE2 be counted the same as POE2: Deadfire?

* in the main counting sheet, not above

Yes they are the same game.

Fixed! Thanks!

I’m going to head up to the list above to update it there just to keep things simple.

Every game in it (in one second) should be a unique game that was voted on (one or more times). If that’s wrong, let me know.

And if someone wants to tell the guy who voted for “Neir: Automata” that it’s “Nier: Automata”, that would be great.

cough cough @kerzain cough cough

Hey, this is fun, here’s a list of games that someone voted for as their #1 game of 2018:

Forum favorites 2018

Aggressors: Ancient Rome
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Battletech
Celeste
Cytus II
DCS: F/A-18C Hornet
Dead Cells
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
EXAPUNKS
Florence
For the King
Forza Horizon 4
Helium Rain
Hitman 2
Insurgency: Sandstorm
Into the Breach
Invisible, Inc.
Kenshi
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Madden 19
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Monster Hunter World
OOTP 19
Overload
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Pillars of Eternity 2
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Rimworld
Scavenger SV-4
Slay the Spire
Star Traders: Frontiers
Subnautica
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Unavowed
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War
Yakuza 0
Yakuza Kiwami 2

Also, there are 21 games tied for 80th favorite game of the year. So that’s… neat. I guess.

Fixed. Dumb words, all hard and stuff.

Ok, after trying Subnautica this weekend, I’m going to put that into my Top 5. Sorry Yoku’s Island Express.

I’m still not sure of the order of my Top 5 though. I’m still playing all 5 games actively, so depending on the day of the week, I want to make any one of them Number 1.

You name it, I probably didn’t play it, but I did play and love these:

  1. Subnautica
    It’s the game that comes closest to the feeling I had when playing the overlooked but excellent Miasmata; that sense of the unknown and constantly pushing at the edges of your comfort zone. Unknown Worlds got so much right with this and what a surprise after Natural Selection 2. As terrifying as it is beautiful. And snap @roguefrog!
  2. Regular Human Basketball
    Ballers in a Dangerous Space Jam. One of my favourite multiplayer games this year, both online and local. Control a giant metal baller by flipping switches inside to move the thing around. Hijack your opponents’. Score hoops and win. Bring up to 9 friends to co-op and compete with. Also home to one of the best trailers of the year.
  3. Basingstoke
    If Puppygames raised the infernal spawn of The World’s End, Teleglitch and Sir, You Are Being Hunted you’d get something like Basingstoke. Sorely overlooked.
  4. Sea of Thieves
    It was between this and Vermintide 2 but I think the fresh salty air of Sea of Thieves wins me over. No XP, no character leveling or loot, just player-fuelled piratin’ and some incredible visuals and sound design. It’s a game I’ve enjoyed just sailing around in with friends and trying for bigger bounties against other crews. The core of the game is the tension of transporting and turning in your treasure, not the treasure itself.
  5. Overcooked 2
    It’s a testament to the original design that ‘more of the same’ is just as fun. This time it has online multiplayer, more dynamic stages, better visuals and the ability to throw stuff to – or at – your buddies. We’ve laughed a lot playing this, and got very angry with each other, but what happens in the kitchen stays in the kitchen.

I wish I’d been able to jump into Frozen Synapse 2 on launch but the bugs held me back.

@tylertoo that was awesome.

@Nightgaunt I love your list. I’ve only just started playing Yoku’s Island Express so can’t really include it here (yet, maybe). I loved the enthusiasm and giddy zaniness of Chuchel and wholeheartedly agree that there isn’t nearly enough of that kind of slapstick humour in games. Chuchel cracked me and my girlfriend up constantly, as did the effervescent soundtrack (one for the Thunderdome perhaps!). I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as Amanita’s more textural and calmly absurd Samorost 3 but it was definitely a highlight of the year… Hmm, I may edit this list yet!

Now you’ve mentioned it, I’ve realised that all the game’s mentioned in this post are peppered with humour, which is comforting! Thanks for the extended list too, some of those I’ve not heard of.

Okay, I need to read more of this thread. Only 250+ to go…

What in the what. Downloaded.

I am on level 57, its hard!

  1. Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Forza Horizon 3’s Hot Wheels was the last game to make me smile so much, and that was only for the first half hour or so. Rescue kept one on my face the whole time. :)

  1. State of Decay 2
  2. Forza Horizon 4
  3. Warioware Gold
  4. Hungry Cat Picross

Trying to make life hard for the duplicate detector, I see.