CHENNAI : Red Dead Redemption 2
The only reason that God of War wouldn’t be my Game of the Year is Red Dead Redemption 2. This might be the best game I’ve played in a few years, actually. Rockstar Games has created a stunningly ambitious masterpiece that doesn’t always succeed in its ambitions, but still gets a lot closer to the stars than anything in recent times. This is a game for the ages, and one that should be held up as a benchmark for what a game world can be in the years to come.
Into the Breach
FTL was an incredibly hard act to follow, but Subset Games pulled it off with Into the Breach. ‘Pacific Rim meets chess’ is perhaps the most succinct way to sum up this game and lord, does it work. And the best part is that, like FTL, this game only gets better after the first time you beat it — you’ll unlock new squads, with radically different abilities and powers, with which to go through the campaign again. Each matchup feels like a distinct game in itself, and that’s why Into the Breach just might have the most legs of all the games on this list.
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Spider-Man could be on this list purely for how good it makes movement feel. Open-world games are a dime a dozen these days (there’s 3 of them on this list!) but I don’t think I’ve ever played a game where getting around the world was as much fun as the missions or quests or actual game stuff. Spider-Man’s brilliant webslinging deserves all the hype that’s come its way, and thankfully it’s allied with a very solid game. It’s by no means perfect, but it is a wonderful superhero simulation.
God of War
In most years, God of War would be a worthy GOTY without breaking a sweat. It’s a triumph of gameplay and storytelling, and it managed to reinvent a series that many thought (myself included) had painted itself into a corner with nowhere to go. It’s epic, it’s moving, it’s a delight for fans of Norse mythology and it’s hopefully the seed of a whole new series because it’s just straight up excellent. Seriously, if you haven’t already, play this game.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey picks up where the excellent Origins left off, and shifts the action back to Ancient Greece — further back in history than the series has ever gone before. For the most part, Odyssey went with evolution rather than revolution and chooses to refine what Origins brought to the table last year, and that was a wise choice. However, the real star of the show is the staggeringly beautiful and ridiculously massive playground you get to wander around in this time — Greek isles might just be the best world Assassin’s Creed has let us visit till date.
What’s New?
DayZ
DayZ was one of the most popular multiplayer mods ever created, and it served as the inspiration for a whole bunch of other games including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Finally, after five years of development, it’s now a standalone game; albeit into a slightly more crowded field than before!
Below
Below was one of the most hyped games at E3 2013 before it went through five years of development hell. Released this week, it looks absolutely fantastic - if you’re a fan of indie survival roguelike games, you’ll want to check this out.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
After more than a year in open beta, Gwent has received an official release this month. CD Projekt have simultanously released a standalone single-player campaign mode called Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, which has gotten some good reviews so far.