We’re back with another year of games and life under the belt, for better or for worse. I’ve played what could be considered a decent amount of games this year, and now I get to rank them! My list is, of course, the end all be all of games of the year lists. I will say, the games that I put as my top 4 could easily be GOTY. They’re all that damn good. So let’s get started with this GOTY train!1Also, be sure to check out Jared’s list here, and the SAC OVA podcast here.
First, let’s do some supplementary awards.
Best remaster two decades in the making–Final Fantasy VIII: Remastered
Y’all know me by now and definitely should’ve seen this coming. I didn’t feel comfortable putting this in an actual GOTY slot since it’s not actually any different except the character models and some cheats. However, Squall is officially the best looking guy in the room, and we should all be proud of him. Play Final Fantasy VIII!!!!!
Best rerelease–Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2
Again, y’all know me by now. These PS4 rereleases are fantastic with hyper speed mode and outfits. Hands down the best way to experience the first two games in this rad series. Play Trails of Cold Steel 1 & 2!!!!!
Best bop of the year and opening sequence– “Devil Trigger” from Devil May Cry 5 & Devil May Cry 5 opening
Just watch the damn video. You won’t regret it.
Best Moment–Finale AI: The Somnium Files
Fair warning, huge huge spoilers here for the ending of the game. That said, this moment is phenomenal, and I cannot say I expected it at all. It made this awful song into a great one. This scene is legit genius.
Best anime of the year– JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (Dub)
Yo, I realize that this actually started in 2018, but it finished up in 2019 and thus counts. I asked Jared. :p While the best episode of any JoJo ever actually aired in 2018, the entirety of DiU is a masterpiece. It’s become my favorite JoJo so far, and I didn’t think it was possible to top Stardust. With a great story that sometimes reads more as a slice-of-life anime than an action one, great cast with some of the best boys in the series in it (including Josuke), and so many amazing pastels, it’s really hard for me not to love this arc. Also, thanks for making me remember that Savage Garden is actually really good.
Game I can’t believe I am somehow still playing, but here we are— Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice
I even joined the discord so I can get item codes. Plz send help.
Without further ado…
AL’s Games of the Year
10.) The Outer Worlds
So, I wasn’t actually going to play this game. However, after getting some Xbox Game Pass for like, $3, it seemed like a good game to try out. 2While I am utter garbage at any type of shooter, this game was definitely worth playing for me due to the humor and story behind it. This game felt like a Fallout game, before Fallout got multiplayer and well, not really Fallout. The Outer Worlds had likable characters, interesting worlds, and you don’t actually have to fight all that much if you dump all your points into talking stats. That said, that final boss WAS someone I had to fight, and he sucked.
9.) Untitled Goose Game
Who woulda think that a game where you play as a mean little goose would be one of the best games of the year? It’s charming, it’s fun, it is clever, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The art is also really nice. A lot of the puzzles are a lot of fun and satisfying when you figure them out, but really sometimes it’s just more fun to run around and cause chaos.
8.) Super Mario Maker 2
This game is definitely good, and it made my list for one reason primarily–it was really fun to play multiplayer with Jared once that launched. People can be creative (and brutal) with their levels, but it also leads to some delightful ones such as the music-based ones that I had a blast playing. While I don’t ever actually make anything in SMM2, the fact that I can play the works of others–and also with my best friend–makes it land on my list.
7.) Code Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~
Honestly, who is surprised here? The second fan disc for Code Realize dropped on Valentine’s Day this year, and so I finally had a date for the holiday. While this is definitely the weakest in the series, that does not make it a bad game. It was also one of the last physical games released for the PS Vita. 3 There is an interesting story involving a mysterious opera singer with an eyepatch named Cantarella. It’s a fun addition that takes place during Guardian of Rebirth. You also get some post-Future Blessings stories with Finis and Sholmes. 4 Finally, there are individual scenes with the guys, and the addition of triangle dates…which are exactly like they sound. More time with my ultimate otome love, Victor Frankenstein, is time well spent. 5
6.) Luigi’s Mansion 3
It’s the year of Luigi…and Gooigi. Really though, I was very excited for this game after loving the first one (and liking the second). Luigi’s Mansion 3 doesn’t actually take place in a mansion at all, but the new hotel is a fantastic venue for us to vacuum up some ghosts with our weird gooey doppelgänger.6 The game is charming, fun, and amazingly beautiful. Don’t let Ted drive a bus anymore though. I think that’s a recipe for disaster.
5.) Resident Evil 2 Remake
“AL, a spooky game??? Really??” But it’s Resident Evil, my dudes. With Rookie Cop Leon S. Kennedy!! (And Claire Redfield). Capcom remade RE2, and with it came redesigns of all the major characters, similar controls to the newer games, and lots of Mr. X memes. The game is fantastic. It has some plot holes, but the overall experience is a really fun and spooky ride. I will say that it is absolutely terrifying to hide in a safe room and hear the stomping of Mr. X outside looking for you. I don’t think I will ever get used to that. I was able to dampen the fear of certain zombies who were trying to scare me by coming in windows by naming them. 7Also, Leon, your Jeep!!
4.) AI: The Somnium Files
Uchikoshi does it again. I love love love love the Zero Escape series. I think they’re genius. I honestly think if this game had come out last year, it would have easily been my GOTY. It still is fantastic and deserves that title, but I can’t do a four-way tie for it. This is easily Uchikoshi’s best game to date, and the crafting of the narrative, the characters, the dialogue of Aiba and Date, the music8, and the twists make for a fantastic game that I was extremely happy to play. Yes, it’s gory, and yes, there is a lot of bizarre humor and absurdity. The thing is, nothing feels out of place or gratuitous, even if it easily could have gone that way. It also had the best moment of the year for me, so there is that too.
3.) Life is Strange 2
This game blew me away. I was laughing, I was crying, and it was also really poignant and powerful in the current political climate. I genuinely cared what happened with Sean and Daniel, and seeing their struggles through more than one really terrible situation while learning how best to navigate their new lives and their relationship with each other. There is always an argument regarding games as art, and I think that this one 100% qualifies. I can easily say I like this one better than LiS, and it’s a beautiful game. As always, there are multiple endings, but I think I am happiest with the one that I got. It’s bittersweet, but it felt like the proper one for the Diaz brothers.
2.) Devil May Cry 5
If you had told me January 1, 2019 that my game of the year for the majority of 2019 would have been Devil May Cry 5, I would have probably laughed. I really enjoy DMC for what it is, but I haven’t ever considered them to be top tier video games with gameplay/story/music–until now. Devil May Cry 5 is a near perfect action game. The gameplay is incredibly fun and the controls work very well, all of the characters are fantastic9, and the writing is a great mix of over the top insanity and some interesting conflicts. Nico is one of the coolest characters of 2019, and if you haven’t watched that opening I posted above, you are missing out in life. 10 Bottom line, this game is fun as heck, and sometimes that’s really all you need.
1.) Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3
Ah, who is really surprised that this made it here? I played this game for 180 hours on two playthroughs–one immediately after the other–and I continuously found things to like about this game. I LOVE ToCS 1 +2, and the third entry in the series does not disappoint.11 Now that our favorite dorky Ashen Chevalier has graduated, he has now taken up the tireless profession of being an instructor for the branch campus of Thors Military Academy’s Special Operations Class (aka New Class VII). While a lot has changed in the year and a half since we last saw our crew in ToCS2, Rean is still trying to have some level of normalcy for himself and his class in a world that is actively fighting against that idea. The new characters in Rean’s class–Juna, Kurt, Ash, and Musse–are mostly fantastic,12and seeing the growth of these students and the returning Altina in the New Class VII makes for awesome character arcs that I was glad to see from the new kids. I genuinely care about them and look forward to seeing where they do in IV.13 The twists and turns that the game takes to get to the ultimate of cliffhangers make ToCS3 an engaging beginning to the second half of the Erebonia arc, and I for one cannot flippin’ wait to see where this goes.
And that’s it from me! I had a really hard time ranking some of these games, and I will say that it was a fantastic year for gaming if you’re into the types of games that I am. These top 4 on my list all deserve the award, but since I had to rank them, this is what we ended up with. Next year, we have new consoles to (maybe) look forward to (depending on what games launch with them), and hopefully we can have another great year in gaming in 2020. We all deserve it.
- I have finally broken my Top 7 GOTY rules. I just couldn’t cut some of these out, so I have the traditional 10. That said, I kept 7 supplementary awards so I can keep some semblance of AL GOTY lists.
- especially after Jared told me that I get to take down capitalism!
- Vita never die…RIP
- and find out that Nemo apparently invented cardboard and now lives in a box.
- even if he can be an adorable dumbass
- Jared and I have noted that this hotel is definitely designed by the architect who designed Dracula’s castle in Symphony of the Night.
- hi, Steve.
- except the solo version of “Invincible Rainbow Arrow.” That blows.
- I mean, where else will you get a guy who reads William Blake to you in a video game??
- Nero is also a cutie pants
- This is easily one of my favorite RPG series now
- looking at you, Musse. You are too thirsty for your own good, and I do not trust you.
- Behold the Vander Style!