The big one. As it says, the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year 2018 award. The game we collectively believe to best released this year
This is it! There’s many great games released in 2018 and now we have to select the game we collectively believe to be the best of this year.
GM’s Game Of The Year 2018.
Battletech, the XCOM-style strategy tactics got a big shout. Not only is it satisfying to have big giant mechs stomping on tanks or other mechs, but the whole metagame where you need pay your bills to keep your crew running is also engaging. Hitman 2 managed to get in the list thanks to its well-realised sandbox levels filled to the brim with creative ways to kill. God Of War’s a masterclass of a game, a well-polished reinvention of an established character.
Red Dead Redemption II has such an amazing game that requires you sink your teeth into it. And it is one of the most mesmerising long tales of redemption seen in a video game. Monster Prom is the little indie game that could this year. The competitive visual novel/digital board game captured our hearts so much it was a few votes away from taking GOTY.
But as you have guessed from reading this, the GM GOTY Award goes to another reinvention of a franchise. A franchise that finally got its mainstream due. Monster Hunter: World.
With Monster Hunter: World, Capcom finally gave the series a big budget to be released in a AAA scale for current consoles and PC. The appeal of the gameplay loop of prepare, hunt, collect loot and repeat may not be that unique these days, but it has been fined tuned to be satisfying for years now it is as tight as you want it to be. Sure, it has its quirks and some parts of it are still obtuse, but it has made strides to streamline the experience.
Not only seeing this game going as big as it was, it is also doing the whole games-as-a-service/live game thing the best. Limited-time events, collaborations with other games with free updates keeps it alive well after its early year release. This should be the poster child of how to do live games.
And so, congratulations!
Gamer Malaya And Gamer Matters’ Game Of The Year 2018
Winner: Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
Honorable Mentions: Monster Prom (Beautiful Glitch, These Awesome Guys), Red Dead Redemption II (Rockstar Games), God Of War (Sony Santa Monica, Sony Interactive Entertainment), Hitman 2 (IO Interactive, WB Games), Battletech (Harebrained Schemes, Paradox Interactive)
Choice quotes from the deliberations:
“I think RDR II is the best open world game in this generation.”– Daniel, resident cowpoke
“God Of War of course. Best Father!” – Irham
“Monster Hunter: World accidentally became the best MMO this year, despite not being one.” -Wam
“[Monster Hunter] is relatively niche and now they are bringing it to [PC].” -Anan
“Destiny 2, maybe Anthem, please take note. This should be the poster child of any other live games out there.”– Meck
“Congratulations to the entire team that worked on [Monster Hunter: World ].That’s a **** amazing game. Please, please add Brachydios in the game, Capcom. Please, please we’ve given you our award. Please put my explodey dinosaur boy in the game.” -Wam, number 1 Monster Hunter fan
There you go! That’s a wrap for awards season this year. Remember, the GM GOTY Awards reflects the choices of the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters crew and is all subjective.
Check here for the full results of the Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters Game Of The Year Awards 2018.