Alright, so maybe there’s significantly less stuff here than usual. Maybe it’s because 2019 was a, uh, challenging year. And maybe we’re gonna have to make 2020 better ourselves.

Expect more coverage than you’ve ever seen on the site in 2020. Things are coming! Hooray! And expect the Game of the Year 2019 post to be dropping very, VERY, soon!

Released in December 2019:

What I’ve played:

Wattam – PS4, Win

Released in November 2019

What I’ve played:

New Super Lucky’s Tale – Switch
The Legend of Bum-Bo – Win
Superliminal – Win
Pokemon Shield – Switch
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – PS4, XBO, Win

Released in October 2019

What I’ve played:

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win
Manifold Garden – PS4, Apple Arcade, Win, Mac, Linux
The Outer Worlds – PS4, XBO, Win
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – PS4, XBO, Win
Luigi’s Mansion 3 – Switch
Disco Elysium – Win
Leave House – HTML5
Lonely Mountains: Downhill – PS4, XBO, Win, Mac

Released in September 2019

What I’ve played:

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – PS4, XBO, Win
Celeste – Chapter 9: Farewell – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win, Mac, Linux
Blasphemous – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win, Mac, Linux
Borderlands 3 – PS4, XBO, Win
Exit the Gungeon – Apple Arcade
Sayonara Wild Hearts – Switch, PS4, Apple Arcade
WHAT THE GOLF? – Apple Arcade
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm – Apple Arcade
Bleak Sword – Apple Arcade
Overland – Switch, PS4, XBO, Apple Arcade, Win, Mac, Linux
Assemble with Care – Apple Arcade
AI: The Somnium Files – Switch, PS4, Win

Released in August 2019

What I’ve played:

Only One Minute Before Restart – Win, HTML5
Guardian Sphere – Win, Mac, Linux
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust – Win, Mac, Linux
Dicey Dungeons – Win, Mac, Linux
GOREBALL – Win, HTML5
Word of the Day – Win, Linux
Intercom – Win
Ion Fury – Switch, PS4, Win, Linux
ZIGZAG – Win
Witcheye – iOS, Android
Remnant: From the Ashes – PS4, XBO, Win
Telling Lies – Win, Mac
Control – PS4, XBO, Win
Astral Chain – Switch
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan – PS4, XBO, Win

Released in July 2019

What I’ve played:

Dr. Mario World – iOS, Android
Eagle Island – Switch, Win, Mac, Linux
Blazing Chrome – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win
Dragon Quest Builders 2 – Switch, PS4
The Messenger: Picnic Panic – Switch, PS4, Win
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order – Switch
Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Switch
Nugget & Penny’s Adventure Machine – Win, Mac
Wild Woods – Win, Mac

Released in June 2019

What I’ve played:

Cadence of Hyrule – Switch
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win
Judgment – PS4
Super Mario Maker 2 – Switch
QT – Win, Mac
Milk Run – HTML5
My Friend Pedro – Switch, Win
Amid Evil – Win
Reventure – Win

Released in May 2019

What I’ve played:

Wobble Jump – HTML5
Paralysis – HTML5
Genesis Noir (demo) – Win, Mac
Rage 2 – PS4, XBO, Win
Gato Roboto – Switch, Win
Void Bastards – XBO, Win, Mac
Outer Wilds – XBO, Win
Coin-Op Kid – HTML5
Adam – Lost Memories (Early Access) – Win
Crystal Crisis – Switch, PS4, Win
BirdGut – Win, Mac

Released in April 2019

What I’ve played:

Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit – Switch
Katana ZERO – Switch, Win, Mac
Forager – Win, Linux
fish fish – Win, Mac
Up-Nest – Flash
BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! – Switch
Talk to Strangers – Win, Mac, Linux
Mortal Kombat 11 – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win
safecrack – Win, HTML5
Dia – Win
Die Back – Win, Mac, Linux, HTML5
SACRIFIGHTS – Win, HTML5
Death Alley – Win, Mac, Linux, HTML5
Idle Idol – Win, HTML5
Bloodletter – Win, Linux
utsvulten – HTML5
This is your life now – Win, Mac, HTML5
Knock Knock Traveling soulsman – HTML5
Post Hello – Win, Mac, Linux
DEVOUR THE FLESH – Win, HTML5
Spooktective – Win
Supraland – Win, Linux
A Short Hike – Win, Mac, Linux

Released in March 2019

What I’ve played:

Devil May Cry V – PS4, XBO, Win
Baba Is You – Switch, Win, Mac, Linux
One Minute to Die – HTML5, Win
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – PS4, XBO, Win
Yoshi’s Crafted World – Switch
Espectro City – Win
Risk of Rain 2 (Early Access) – Win
Hypnospace Outlaw – Win, Mac, Linux

Released in February 2019

What I’ve played:

JUMPGRID – Win, Mac, Linux
Wargroove – Switch, XBO, Win
Apex Legends – PS4, XBO, Win
Tetris 99 – Switch
Eastshade – Win
Trials Rising (Open Beta) – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win
Nymphiad – HTML5, Win, Mac, Linux
PENUMBRA – Win, Mac, Linux
Trials Rising – Switch, PS4, XBO, Win
Mobius – Win
Moncage (demo) – Win
Forgiveness: Escape Room – Win, Mac, Linux
APE OUT – Switch, Win
Touhou Luna Nights – Win

Released in January 2019

What I’ve played:

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – Switch
Suite Snake – Win, HTML5
Pink Marmalade 2 – Win
Goodbye BURGER CITY – HTML5
Slay the Spire – Win, Mac, Linux
Resident Evil 2 – PS4, XBO, Win

I have a very vague recollection of playing the Spyro games back on PS1 in the late 90s. I remember, uhh… some wizard looking guy running around taunting me with an egg, a purple dragon, and well, that’s about it. I didn’t realize how much of a blind spot it was for me until I picked up the newly released trilogy for Switch and booted up the first game a couple days ago. After about an hour or so I was stricken with a revelation: “Whoa, is this actually super good?”

After having never played a Crash game and trying the Crash trilogy to less than steller results, I assumed Spyro would be more of the same. Nope! Turns out, Spyro is a huge hub and spoke 3D platformer (of which I’ve been on a kick of lately between Poi and Yooka-Laykee) with plenty of worlds, collectables, and charm. There’s a ton of hub worlds so far and each have a varied selection of small platforming courses to explore around in. Each even has its own unique set of enemies that could have easily been the same reused generic orcs or whatever, making it an absolute joy to hop through a portal never knowing what I’m going to encounter next. Even all of the many collectable dragons have unique, usually charming dialogue with our sweet little purple boy. I’d be super interested to see if this attention to detail was present in the original 1998 release, and might find myself booting up the old modded Playstation Classic to see for myself.

I’m well aware collectathons aren’t for everyone, but having been a huge fan of Banjo-Kazooie throughout most of my formative years, picking up a million bits to achieve a 100% “explored every nook and cranny” rate has been a love I’ve never lost. Enter Spyro with more nooks and more crannys than I can shake a handful of multi-colored gems at, and I’m absolutely on board. If only the aforementioned enemies and the not-yet-mentioned bottomless pits didn’t kill me and send me to a surprisingly long loading screen so often, I’d have very little to knock an unquestioned recommendation. As it stands, the first game at least is an extremely good time if you can put up with one or two questionable design decisions from twenty years ago.

After a cursory search on the series after falling hard for the first game, I’ve noticed that the second and third seem to hold and even higher reputation than this one. If Spyro 2 and 3 are somehow even better than this, I may find myself breaking some personal Game of the Year rules to have some games from the early 2000s on my best-of list this year. Here’s hoping!

2019 has already been pretty nuts, and with a slew of new releases just around the corner, it’s about to get even nutser. Man of Medan, Control, Astral Chain, and Minoria are this month!! Though I still have roughly a dozen games in my backlog from this year that seem like they’ll be incredible, I’ve spent enough time with the following handful of standouts to know that they’ll almost certainly end up on my end-of-year best-of. Yes, I should probably have finished Outer Wilds and Judgment by now to be able to toss them up here, too, but… Super Mario Maker 2 is out. Fire Emblem and Dragon Quest Builders 2 are out. I… I started replaying Dark Souls 2. I’m only human.

Bloodstained

After Hollow Knight, I wasn’t sure that a pseudo-sequel to Symphony of the Night was going to be enough to stand out in 2019. I won’t doubt Koji Igarashi again. A brilliant return to form for 2D Castlevanias after a couple of console generations without one, Bloodstained is everything I wanted and then a little extra love sprinkled on top. Bloodstained combines the best parts of the portable Sorrow games with the sprawling, dense castle of Symphony to make one of the most memorable Metroidvanias of the decade. Iga’s back.

Sekiro

Though Sekiro has plenty of issues (it’s much too punishing, there’s a surprising lack of variety in the environments and bosses) the highs are higher than many other FromSoft action RPGs. The combat is fluid and taking down mobs has never been more satisfying. The grappling hook and abilities to jump and swim drastically change the way any Soulslike has felt in the past. If only there was a bit more to see, and if the game actively didn’t try to stop you from seeing all of it, I’d have more praise to heap upon it. As it stands, it’s my least favorite FromSoft RPG. As I’ve said before, though, the worst FromSoft output still shines above most other games I have on my shelf. Maybe they’ll pull a Bloodborne and vastly improve the game with some incredible DLC. Here’s hoping.

Apex Legends

Apex feels like kind of a fad that’s already passed by this point, just as a handful of other battle royales have come and gone. But those first few months after Apex launched? The most satisfying multiplayer experience I’ve had in a long time. Taking the best parts of PUBG, Call of Duty’s Blackout, and tossing in a dash of hero shooter, Apex Legends is my favorite battle royale to date. Each character’s unique abilities along with the genre defining ping system

Super Mario Maker 2

Super Mario Maker 2 takes everything from some of the greatest video games of all time and just makes them a little better. After spending…gosh… maybe 500 hours with the original Super Mario Maker since its release four years ago, I was still somehow ready to hop back in for more. Turns out, having Mario Maker on a system that people actually own makes it even better! Whoa! With the myriad of additions that come with Mario Maker 2, like new enemies and items, new ways to structure levels, a new theme from Super Mario 3D World (the second best video game ever made) I’ve already put more hours into the game than I care to admit. And there will be many more on the way.