As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.
Hello DualShockers! This is your resident new video boi writing for the first time for DualShockers for my top ten games of the year. Please take kindly because I don’t normally do this, my mind is best suited for video. With that said, here’s what I had to say year of great games.
Just as a note for my list: the first nine games are in no particular, with the last game as my overall Game of the Year.
Resident Evil 2
This game used to scare the piss out of me as a young boy. To imagine the remake still having the same effect on me nearly 21 years later is an understatement. The hallways I’m used to exploring felt new and fresh along with some great new surprises, making Resident Evil 2 among the best in the series right up there with Resident Evil 4.
This game looks incredible and is an example of this generation’s superb visual quality. The modern control enhancements are a dream and the reworked puzzles are exceptional. Its replayability with the inclusion of the additional side stories and missions makes this game worth every cent.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Resident Evil 2.
Devil May Cry 5
Dante and his merry band of misfits never before clicked with me with the few games of the series I have attempted to play throughout the years. But then high school happened, My Chemical Romance broke up, and my emo phase has never felt the same. However, that all changed in 2019 until this game.
This video game is a rocking emo metal love song with guns, spells, and robot arms. It’s The Fast and the Furious of video games. It has a fun inventive cast all-around with a story that makes no sense, but the action is non-stop fun. This game takes the RE engine and proves you can do so much more with it, and I’m excited for more that this series has to offer. I’m still looking for a good deal to play the rest of this series of games: it’s that damn good.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Devil May Cry 5.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Like DMC5, this strategy series has before never clicked with me. Awakening at the time did nothing for me, and I never picked these characters in Smash. But when you give me a Harry Potter-like school mixed with a Persona-style companion system (not sure if this is in the other games in the series, sorry) and you have my sword, or bow, or javelin.
This game hooked me deep. From falling in love with my chosen house and characters, to realizing that the gameplay is like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, it was the perfect entry in the series to pull me in.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Respawn going two-for-two for some of the best games I have played in 2019 is quite an achievement, given how different the games are. While Fallen Order certainly takes a lot of inspiration from other games, even mixing multiple genres, it’s the Star Wars layer on top that really holds it all together. The game’s Dark Souls-inspired combat was the only aspect that I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy, because normally it’s not my wheelhouse. But the Soulslike combat of Fallen Order really made me appreciate it, especially when you combine that with the story of rediscovering yourself as a Jedi.
This game’s greatest strength hands down was the story, because it follows through with Cal’s journey through his past, his crew, and what his future is to be in the Star Wars canon. This was one of the highlights of the year, and it’s a game I can’t wait to see a sequel for.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Control
Remedy has a formula of game design that just speaks directly to my sensibilities. The moment that I saw the first trailer for Control, I knew it was going to be one of my favorites from them. Whether it’s crime noir with Max Payne, science fiction drama with Quantum Break (which is an underrated gem this generation), and Control being a supernatural secret government organization game in the vein of The X-Files and Twin Peaks, oh boy is it speaking to me.
The game just looks beautiful, even in the most mundane areas to the most elaborate twisted puzzle box-like sections of the world. The gameplay is the power fantasy version of their previous games, and that formula still works with this game. This game makes me regret it more for skipping Alan Wake, so I’m happy to correct that mistake soon.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Control.
Katana Zero
There’s always a few indie games that really catch my eye each year, and for my list I really want to show my appreciation for this side-scrolling action platformer. As someone who is not the biggest fan of the gameplay of Hotline Miami, something about the perspective change to side-scrolling “don’t die” gameplay really captured me.
A lot of the heavy lifting that got me through the game were the story elements that were in between each of the levels, something I didn’t care for in the Hotline games. If you’re a fan of The Messenger and other amazing side-scrollers, this is not one to miss, and one I hope to get a sequel because there’s still some story left on the table that they could explore.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Katana Zero.
Apex Legends
Titanfall 2 from Respawn Entertainment really knocked my socks off when it came out, but with its launch coinciding with that of Battlefield 1, I was afraid that would have been the last of that world we would get to see. Thankfully, with a retooling of the genre, Apex Legends brings that action-adventure-style that I loved to the battle royale genre. With the mix of Titanfall gameplay with Overwatch-like heroes, this game kept bringing me back game-after-game long before a battle pass was ever introduced.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Apex Legends.
Gears 5
The fifth entry (technically sixth) in the ongoing Gears saga did something that the fourth one did not succeed in; it made me care about the franchise again. Taking DJ way from the spotlight and focusing on Kait and Del was the smartest move to make Gears unique again.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Gears 5.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
The original Modern Warfare picked up the torch that Halo 2 had in the previous generation and ran with it. With this new iteration, it goes back to its roots as a shooter and still retains the spark it had all those years ago, just now for 2019. Add multi-platform crossplay, and this shooter is a must-own.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
My Favorite Game of the Year: Death Stranding
Death Stranding is my Breath of the Wild for 2019. The story is loosely there, but the gameplay and the world you exist in kept me coming back hour-after-hour, and when I finished the game all I ever did was think about it. At work, in an Uber, while watching TV; all I wanted to do was walk that empty landscape alone and just deliver packages. I have never finished a Kojima game, but Death Stranding was the silly ambitious art project that I couldn’t help but admire and ultimately love. The story is silly. The themes are extremely on the noise. The performances are incredible.
Recently, I called this game the crazy version of The Wizard of Oz. The characters you meet along the way all bring their individual quirks that, to me, make the game special. The world around you is beautiful and sad. The score is beautiful and sometimes, when the Low Roar songs start to play perfectly to fit the mood of the moment, it’s wonderful.
The combat is not great, but to me it never was the focus. The connectivity of the world with strands from other players is as inventive as Journey was years before. I could go on and on about this game, but then there will be no room for the others on this list. This game may not be for everyone, but I dare you to try it for yourself.
Check out DualShockers‘ review for Death Stranding.
Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:
December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019
December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor
December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor
December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer
December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager // Kris Cornelisse, Staff Writer
December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer
December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor
December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor
January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer
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