Merry Christmas, everyone!
The new decade is almost upon us and it coincides with a new console generation. So for this year’s edition of my Top 5 games (some of which I didn’t get to review due to a pile-up of work as usual), one special game from this decade that still holds dear to my heart, will be featured right at the end.
So, let’s dive right into it.
Control
Jessie Faden’s descend into surrealism horror that is the Federal Bureau of Control is how you make a game with multiple universes blend together perfectly to make a narrative that captures the imagination.
Who knew a game where Max Payne and Alan Wake are your dead bosses while you traverse a fully realized SCP Containment Center could be the gem of 2019 but weirder things had happened. And I’m glad Control is getting the recognition that team at Remedy deserves.
Death Stranding
I’ll raise my hand up to say that at E3 this year (or maybe last year, I can’t recall), I was ready to write off Death Stranding as the game that possibly will crash and burn when it launches.
End of 2019 later, the “Anime Avatar-Man” switches side onto the folks who see DS as a game that’s flawed in some aspect but will have a good time playing it anyway.
Kojima-san’s latest magnum opus is perhaps something you would have seen at a Cannes movie festival but with the added notion of the quirks and features, you would expect from a KojiPro game.
But it’s basically Euro Truck Simulator and Norman Reedus is your favorite truck/man to ride along with while fighting off ghosts, goons, and Hannibal Lecter as you aim to reconnect the US on behest of Bionic Woman. Quite normal really.
WRC 8
If I were to pick a racing game that had my attention, did not have any predatory micro-transaction and didn’t have the handling of Mario Kart but littered with banana peels, then WRC 8 fits the bill.
It might be a game where you race against the clock (insert Persona 5 dungeon rush theme), but with butter-smooth handling, as you traverse treacherous roads that breaks your car tires every few stages. It’s a great rush just completing a stage as you and your automobile deteriorate while the stages get longer and faster, kinda like a Sekiro boss but the ground and weather is your enemy.
Give this one a go if you feel the alternative isn’t as good as it used to be (looking at you, DR 2.0).
Simulacra 2
If you want to get a horror game that will scare you till tomorrow, then look no further than our local scene. Case in point, Kaigan Game’s sequel to their hit horror mobile title,Simulacra 2.
In this title, you not only get two types of horror, the usual demon horror and the commentary on the horrors of Social Media influencers and their fakeness being part of their day to day life which drains them of empathy. Basically a life lesson of the horrors which befalls you when you become famous, which is Spooky stuff. Go find it at your local Apple Arcade of Play Store.
The Outer Worlds
Take the witty-ness of Fallout and shoot it out onto Space, the last bastion that hasn’t been corrupted by captials- oh it has. The Outer Worlds will have you enjoying a grand old time with this First Person RPG epic where your choices actually matter and its world-building lore makes you feel right at home with its quirks, fun companions and a storyline that diverges at your behest, intentional or not.
With DLC coming in next year, I expect it to be fondly remembered like it’s cousin, Fallout New Vegas, as well soon. Obsidian did better what Bethsdon’t anyway.
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Now for the final act. I shall do a sort of epilogue of a game that had launched in this decade which opened my eyes to the creativity that was needed to create such an experience. A game that has you shifting into other people’s bodies, get into car chases and have a storyline so crazy, it just works.
My game of the decade is…
Driver San Francisco
The Driver series has come a long way, from being the best wheelman rushing through the streets of New York to save the president to jumping the shark with the abomination that is Driv3r. The series’ swansong (for now) saw Ubisoft Reflection incorporating what is good from all main titles and placed them onto one of the best racing title ever.
From the smooth yet tail-happy handling to that infamous 2nd person mission where you control both you and yourself in a 2nd person to not break your cover. It was ideas that were unique towards this genre being realized thanks to the creative freedom that perhaps was bestow upon Reflections.
One aspect that I love so much of this game was during the mission where you help a bunch of Japanese college kids be the best racers of their entire short life, that ends with the character Ayumu breaking the fourth wall and asking your player character, John Tanner, to “Fight your own battles.”
I’m sad not many can experience this anymore due to the game being not available on sale anywhere but I cannot recommend it enough, you really have to play this game.
And with that, I close my books for this decade with hopes of a pessimistic optimist. The 9th Console Generations is about to be in motion and with games like Watch_Dogs Legion and Cyberpunk 2077 coming in hot, it’s set to be a fascinating 2020.
Until then, Sayonara everyone!