2019 is quite the year. A bit slow at the start, but it’s full steam ahead as we reach the twilight of this current console generation.
Aside from sinking hundreds of hours on all of the new looter-shooters this year, I also played a bunch of great games. Here’s the top 5 that has been the hallmark of my gaming experience in 2019. Don’t worry, there’s only one looter-shooter on the list.
5: Days Gone
Say what you will about the game, I enjoyed my time with Days Gone. It tries really hard to hit all of the notes a AAA game should, but barely reaches it, sure. But there’s a sense of genuineness to the whole open-world zombie game.
Deacon as a protagonist is an asshole with layers, with the emotional struggles of parting way with his loved one portrayed emphatically. The horde of freakers is a technical marvel. The bike is one of the best part of the game, cruising thorough the post-apocalypse only to run out of fuel is not a nuisance for me.
Is it a walking cliche of past open-world games? Sure. But as someone who doesn’t play open-world action games that much, Days Gone was the one that clicked for me. It’s a game that tries to punch above its weight, delivered with a passion.
Check out my review, one of the probably 10 or so positive reviews out there.
4: Need For Speed Heat
I have no expectations that a new Need For Speed this year would be a decent game for the fans, let alone the mainstream players. The late reveal was worrying. But each new information Ghost Games communicated showed that the team now understands what’s wrong with the past two games and how they are going to fix it.
I did not expect Need For Speed Heat to be this good. It’s not the most innovative or the most appealing of the Need For Speeds, but from a long-time fan that has a historically love-hate relationship with the franchise, Ghost Games have redeemed themselves. And all they need to do was to fix the handling and make the roads flow better.
In other words: Cars go vroom vroom good.
We have a glowing review of this one.
3: Borderlands 3
More Borderlands is not a bad thing, considering it’s been years since we got one. The OG looter-shooter is still the best around. Don’t ask about the writing and story, ask about how good it is to farm for that legendary Flakker shotgun and how good it was to shoot it. So good that Gearbox had to nerf it a ton. And it’s still really good.
You want depth in your builds and gratifying mess in your shots? Borderlands 3 is still the king. The best looter-shooter in 2019, hands down.
2: Control
Remedy sells its latest game on a budget price on the Epic Games Store, which leads to some expectations. And those expectations are immediately blown away.
Never have I been so enarmoured on a shooter with horror elements. Well, not gore horror, but more of.. fear of the unknown. Control made people talk about SCP foundation and Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy in 2019, that alone is a significant feat that wins a lot of brownie points from me.
It also helped that Control is an all-around great game. It’s Gamer Malaya and Gamer Matters’ Game Of The Year for 2019.
1:The Outer Worlds
The creators of Fallout 1 and 2 teamed up with the developers of Fallout New Vegas to make sort-of-Fallout in Space. The Outer Worlds is a charming little RPG that may be rough around the edges, but still worth experiencing. The world-building is second to none. The writing makes the grey morality of life to be murkier than ever.
Whether you are a staunch supporter of capitalism or always reminding people that corporations are never your friends, The Outer Worlds have something to make you think. And laugh at.
And The Outer Worlds totally sold me on the value of Xbox Game Pass. I paid RM40 for two months of subscription just to play Outer Worlds, and that’s such a steal of a deal it almost feels like pirating. But I paid good money for. And I got more than The Outer Worlds. Which kind of skews this game to the top of the list.
2020 is upon us. Time to close my year of the looter-shooters and usher in my year of covering the immersive sims.