Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
Another amazing year in video games is coming to a close, which means it is time for Shacknews to count down our Top 10 Games of the Year 2019. Each staff member submitted their top ten games and we are including the collective list from our Chatty community as another ballot in our vote. These votes were made outside of all of our other awards this year. This was a year full of all sorts of games that appealed to players, and our vote definitely reflected that. A lot of video games were nominated across all of the votes, but we have narrowed it down to the Shacknews Top 10 Games of the Year 2019. Please take a look at our video, or read along underneath the video embed.
Want to read the list? Hit next page to see our text version of the Shacknews Top 10 Games of 2019.
We kick off our top ten games of 2019 with Remnant: From the Ashes. Developed by Gunfire Games, this third-person action adventure puts its own stamp on the looter/shooter. Team up with two others or travel alone in an ever changing world filled with a variety of enemies, locations, and weapons.
Gunfire Games nails the use of procedural generation. Each play through feels new and unique, without all of the sloppiness that usually plagues games that try to do the same. For a more in-depth look at Shacknews' number ten game of 2019, check out Samuel Chandler's full review of Remnant: From the Ashes.
-Donovan Erskine, Intern
Geese are generally known as the giant, aggressive jerks of the bird world, so it makes perfect sense that a game in which you play as a goose would involve being a huge dick. You run around, steal things from folks, honk at children and scare them, and just generally cause chaos. It was a simple, yet unique concept that not only endeared these anti-social honkers to gamers, but to the general populous as well. Untitled Goose Game struck a chord with the online cultural zeitgeist and went viral with memes popping up everywhere. Flat-out, this game just has universal appeal. I’ve witnessed it keeping an entire room full of people whose ages ranged from 5-50 enthralled and bawling with laughter for hours on end. Untitled Goose Game is our Shacknews Indie Game of the Year and it's the Goat Simulator of 2019 and you’re only doing yourself a disservice if you don’t give it a try. HONK!
-Blake Morse, Reviews Editor
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening takes one of the best classic Zelda games and transforms it into a modern masterpiece fit to show off Link’s tale for an entirely new generation. Available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening features a unique art style that fits perfectly with the world that it brings to life.
Unlike other remakes that have released over the years, Nintendo focused solely on bringing Link’s Awakening to a new generation. You won’t find any big changes here, or new characters persay. The puzzles, dungeons, and story are exactly what they were in 1993, but the revamps that have been made to the world and the graphics really help bring everything to life in a smooth and modern way. There’s a lot to like about Link’s Awakening. The puzzles are never too complicated, and the game really captures that early 90s Nintendo feel, which is definitely something that fans of older games will appreciate.
While Link’s Awakening didn’t really do anything to revolutionize the original formula, it’s still one of the best games that released this year. You can learn more about it in our Link’s Awakening review, where Ozzie Mejia shares his thoughts on the remake and everything that it brings to the table.
-Josh Hawkins, Doer of Things
Control is a game that may simply be a bit ahead of its time. The astonishing graphical presentation puts it into cross-generational territory where the current consoles are not up to the task of presenting the game at its best, much like we saw from the 360/PS3 versions of Shadow of Mordor. Control offers a welcome change from the much of the current-generations crop of AAA titles thanks it its striking brutalist aesthetic and intriguing sci-fi story. It proudly flaunts its DNA for all to see, but delivers on the best overall experience that developer Remedy has ever produced. If you can afford the hardware to push it to the max on PC, Control gives us a glimpse at the future of game graphics and presentation.
-Chris Jarrard, Contributing Tech Editor
After the world falls victim to a devastating event known as the Death Stranding, Sam Porter Bridges becomes a man tasked with reconnecting a fractured nation. Hideo Kojima's PlayStation 4 masterpiece introduced players to a wealth of new concepts and thematic elements, completely redefining what many of us look for in a game. It's a somber, moving, occasionally humorous experience that brings together some of the greatest star power Hollywood has to offer to weave a tale you won't soon forget. Punctuated by bombastic musical moments and layers upon layers of gameplay mechanics that work effortlessly together, it's a masterclass in storytelling that isn't quite for everyone, but for those willing to put aside their prejudices and get over their juvenile quips about "Norman Reedus and his fetus" will find a beautifully-crafted game that will be talked about for years to come.
-Brittany Vincent, Senior Editor
Let’s get this out of the way from the get-go. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not a Soulsborne game. Though it borrows some Souls elements like activatable checkpoints that restore health and respawn enemies, playing it the way you’d play a Soulsborne game is a bad idea that will end in your death far more than twice. It’s when you start to put Sekiro in its own place in the FromSoftware universe that it shines. You are a ninja. Stealth, information, and gadgets are the deadliest weapons at your disposal, far more than any particular armament or stat boost. And in these elements, Sekiro challenges you wholeheartedly to use your agility, reflexes, and the information it presents you to succeed in your battles or end them before they ever even begin.
It is between its slow roll-out of an extensive system of combat and travel that Sekiro’s tapestry of beautiful Japanese history and mythology unfold. Each grapple hook to a high ledge of terrain presents you with gorgeous snow-capped mountains, dilapidated fortresses, mystical temples, and the myriad of beings, human and otherwise that inhabit them. Even in a series known for grand and gorgeous visuals, Sekiro stands on par, if not occasionally outdoing even the best the Soulsborne games have to offer.
Of course, it still carries the lineage of hard-as-nails bosses, but even here Sekiro shines. If you’ve collected the right tools, paid attention to possible strategies, or learned from your previous encounters, the bosses in Sekiro serve up some of the most dramatic battles action games have to offer. The clash of defense and offense against deadly foes leading up to tremendous deathblows in Sekiro is an utter symphony of visuals and technique, ending in bloody and cathartic satsifaction.
Sekiro fails as a Souls game. It doesn’t bring the same amount of customization or multiplayer that gives an extra edge to the Soulsborne experience, but as a stealth-action game, it is one of the most visually and aurally gorgeous and technically sound experiences around.
-TJ Denzer, News Editor
Every now and then a game crosses my plate not because of hype or reviews, but simple word of mouth and people telling stories about their experiences. This was Disco Elysium for me. I kept hearing over and over just how great this indie RPG was. Although our own Sam Chandler did a fantastic job in his Disco Elysium review for Shacknews, it was the enthusiasm people showed for this experience that put it on my must-play list.
As I began playing Disco Elysium and creating my character, I opted to create something close to myself as much as possible. I’ve got a back injury, so I kept my mobility low. I’m persuasive and physically strong, so I leaned into that a bit. I wanted to see what it would be like to try and play myself, and did I ever get a glimpse into my own soul. I was not at all prepared for how emotionally taxing Disco Elysium would be on me. Due to my physical limitations in the game, there were certain things I just couldn’t do. They were right there. I knew what I needed to do, but my body wouldn’t budge. This was a very raw reality check for my current physical state and, although not always easy to come face to face with, I appreciated how connected I felt to the main character in certain ways.
Disco Elysium landed itself at #4 in our Shacknews Game of the Year 2019 voting, but I don’t think you’ll find a single staff member that wouldn’t recommend you give it a shot. If you’re looking for quality writing, acting, and a good mystery wrapped up in one of the best RPGs going, Disco Elysium has you covered.
-Bill Lavoy, Managing Editor
While Bethesda went in a different direction with the Fallout franchise, Obsidian and the original Fallout creators went in their own direction. It's one that shares more in common with their work on Fallout: New Vegas, creating a whole new series of worlds to explore. Obsidian thought to themselves, "Let's imagine a never-before-seen chunk of the galaxy, one that's totally and completely ruled by capitalism." The concept for The Outer Worlds is wacky, satirical, and surprisingly poignant for today's times. It's also a fantastic sci-fi adventure, one that lets you approach it the way that you want to. Want to go guns blazing? Want to talk your way out of situations? Want to go a more RTS route and leave the heavy lifting to your companions? You can do all of that! No two approaches are the same in The Outer Worlds and it's a game filled with characters and stories to tell. Let yourself fall down the rabbit hole of side quests and learn more about this wonderful universe that Obsidian has put together, because hopefully, there will be more tales in the years to come.
-Ozzie Mejia, Senior Editor
In a sea of HD remasters (many of games that were already available in high-def), no developer does full-on remakes better than Capcom. Witness 2002's Resident Evil on GameCube, a reworking that remixed puzzles, redid familiar milieus in a jaw-dropping graphics engine, and added real estate that flowed from paths fans of the 1996 original new and loved.
Capcom became the standard bearer for the time and attention to detail that a proper remake warranted in 2002. In 2019, the publisher/developer has outdone itself with Resident Evil 2. The project was announced in the summer of 2015. Nearly three years of radio silence followed. Then, at E3 2018, Capcom pulled the bloody curtain back to reveal a game that looked at once familiar and fresh. Gone were static camera angles and tank controls, in were the behind-the-shoulder cam--that RE4 helped popularize in 2004--and true, 3D movement, knocking down the high barrier of entry that frustrated so many who may have otherwise enjoyed the classic RE games.
In January, I was ecstatic to discover that the game played as well as it looked. Like the remake of the original game, "RE2make" features new game systems, enemies, and events that meld seamlessly with familiar trails and plot points: the corruption and madness of Chief Irons, the tragic yet deserved downfall of William Birkin, the tense strategy of determing how to make your way down dimly lit corridors packed with zombies and lickers, which now hunt by sound.
The true star of Resident Evil 2's remake, hwoever, is Mr. X. Only able to appear in select areas back in 1998, X--who, rumor has it, will give it to ya--can follow you nearly anywhere. His sound design is exquisite. Relish the horror of cowering in a save room while his heavy bootfalls thud further and further away, spurring you to make a mad dash for your next objective or the puzzle you had to abandon when he appeared--only for those footfalls to pause before starting off again, this time growing louder as he closes in on your location.
Resident Evil 2 is not the 21-year-old game your remember. Shades of that classic still exist, but for this remake, Capcom did what it does best: Staying true to its roots while carefully curating new systems, visual styles, and aural soundscapes to modernize its veritable bottomless well of beloved titles. "RE2make" is not just the best Resident Evil game. It's one of the best games of 2019, and one of the best games ever.
-David Craddock, Long Reads Editor
There were a ton of great games that didn't make the cut for our Top 10 Games of the Year 2019 list, but we wanted to give them a proper shout out. Here's a list of our honorable mentions:
This was the closest Shacknews Game of the Year vote in years. The top spot in our countdown came down to two tiebreakers. Our top two games of the year 2019 both received two first place votes, so the deciding factor was second place votes. In a 5-3 vote tiebreaker victory, our #1 Game of the Year 2019 slipped by Resident Evil 2 to reach its rightful place in Shacknews history.
Super Mario Maker 2 benefitted from the closest battle for Game of the Year that I have witnessed in my time as Shacknews CEO. It speaks volumes to the quality of the game that five 2nd place votes put it over Resident Evil 2 in a second tiebreaker. Two amazing games. Two first place votes, two tiebreakers, Resident Evil 2 and Mario Maker 2 were separated by two votes.
Like many games this year, Super Mario Maker 2 is not for everyone, but at the same time it offers a vast array of gameplay experiences for players of all ages and skills. The addition of a robust Story Mode with Nintendo-made levels makes the game stand above its Wii U predecessor. Nintendo has also done a better job of curating the amount of courses being created, with the like and boo system.
While the game might not be perfect, only scoring a 9 out of 10 in my review at Shacknews, I believe that Super Mario Maker 2 is truly at its best when being used to torment your friends with a level you created or setting world records all day long in endless mode. Makers will be creating courses for years to come as the Nintendo Switch has introduced this infinite Mario experience to a new generation. The game continues to reinvent itself with free DLC patches like the Master Sword from The Legend of Zelda. From speedrunners creating kaizo levels with all sorts of crazy shell jumps, to parents and children creating a level together for the first time, Super Mario Maker 2 is a magical video game experience and the Shacknews Game of the Year 2019.
-Asif Khan, Editor-in-Chief
Check out our Shacknews Game of the Year 2019 - Super Mario Maker 2 article for more.
That's the Shacknews Top 10 Games of the Year 2019. Which games did you feel we left off or should have ranked higher? Let us know in the comments section. Be sure to check out all of The Shacknews Awards 2019. Congratulations to all of the games that made our list this year! Please understand.