Game of the Year 2019

[pkmin3033]

By now you've no doubt seen the various Game of the Year articles floating around on the internet on various news sites, and have either been nodding your head in agreement, shaking it in dismay, or closing the page in disinterest...or some combination of the three. It's a very popular topic, after all.

What is your Game of the Year for 2019, and why? Feel free to break your answer down into categories if you've played many games, include games from previous years if those are what you've been playing more than anything else, or just pick a single game and roll with that; whatever works for you. What stood out for you this year, if anything?

 

[Hands]

R6: Siege remains the best FPS experience on consoles and continues to release great new content so that's my personal goty

 

[Fleurdelis]

Need for Speed: Heat is my personal GotY of this year, out of every game released this year.

I was originally going with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, but thats a remaster from a game released in 1999 and already had an graphical update in 2013 so I won't include that, otherwise it would have been AoE II due to how well it has been made while staying true to the original.

I haven't played a lot of games released in this year so that's why Heat is my pick. Need for Speed has gone on a downwards spiral for years now and 2015 was it's biggest low. Payback in 2017 was mediocre but I never ended up buying it since it felt so microtransaction heavy that I was not interested.

Enter Heat, the game that made me feel like NFS has still got it (even if I await the eventual EA messup). Even though it's plagued by the common "very short story" trend, it's the first racing game I truly enjoyed since Midnight Club: Los Angeles. It feels fun to play, fun to watch and a step in the right direction unlike previous installments. Customization imo could have been a bit better, but maybe in a future title. It's not perfect, but it's the best game I played that got released this year. Maybe that says something about how many games I was interested in this year :x

If we were to include games released in previous years due to me having played them a LOT this year, I'd say Stellaris.

Stellaris has an insane ammount of replay ability and I essentially got into it this year due to friends wanting to play it a lot. Space domination never gets old, but being a complete master of the galactic economy, being a criminal syndicate or even pacifist technological powerhouse tributes to so many ways to play this game. In this year alone I made over 200 different empires and over 1000 memes came out of it in online sessions. Online play is surprisingly smooth en it lags barely unless someone else's internet shits the bed. You can make alliances, give those alliances names (god forbid I'm the alliance leader in any session), insult people, get insulted by people and much more.

and if the base game isn't enough there is even Steam Workshop support which gives EVEN MORE replayability.

All in all my 2019 in gaming: barely played anything released this year, old games are still addicting as hell.

 

[Sydian]

i didn't play a lot of stuff that actually came out this year tbh, the only ones i played that fit that bill are tales of vesperia definitive (which STILL i can't really count bc...it's a remaster), kingdom hearts III, fire emblem: three houses, and pokemon sword. i bought persona Q2 and just. haven't played it lol i wasn't in the mood for persona when it came out and then fe3h sucked out my soul. i have like 245+ hours on it and still have to finish verdant wind and crimson flower so i'm just gonna get MORE hours so naturally fe3h wins my game of the year.

 

[Pyrax]

Judgment by virtue of being the only game I've played this year that came out in 2019 >>
It's a good game, but it's dragged down by a few things. For example, tailing is clunky at best, and imo RGG played it too safe by setting it in Kamurocho again. It's not even trying to get out of Yakuza's shadow imo. Still, I had fun - the final boss fight was one of the best I've ever played. I'd definitely play a sequel.

 

[pkmin3033]

My GOTY 2019 that was not released on other consoles previously years ago (hello, Witcher III) is easily Dragon Quest Builders 2. I spent about 90 hours on it and I loved nearly every second of it, which is rare for me. Thinking about it actually makes me want to go back and complete the Oracle of Ages/Seasons overworld maps that I was building. It was just a bigger, better version of the original game - which I had also played earlier in the year, haha - which is exactly what I wanted and needed. I appreciated the wider variety of objectives, the ability to get infinite supplies of key building materials through surprisingly fun scavenger hunts on surrounding islands, the building tools that made life significantly easier, and the cute little narratives that were on each island. About all I did not appreciate was the hunger mechanic.

 

[The Mega Champion]

Here are my Top 3 games that I played this year in 2019. I go by what I play in the year, so, when they actually came out is irrelevant.

3. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remastered (PS4). Reinvigorated my love of these games and I accomplished A LOT of things I never did before. Oh... and I did them legitimately too. (most notably completing Via Infinito, beating Trema, and getting Perfect Ending 100% on one playthrough in X-2 HD)

2. Detective Pikachu (3DS). Everyone who says this game is bad are idiots. It's AMAZING. It really is. It's pretty much literally video game fusion between Pokemon & Ace Attorney filled with LOTS of 'Ace Attorney' like moments. I just really loved ALL OF IT and always looked forward to playing more of it. Go play this. Seriously.

Game of the Year 2019 (for me)... goes to...

Digimon Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory.

YES. THAT'S RIGHT. A DIGIMON GAME WON GOTY 2019 FOR ME. U MAD POKEMON?

ALL OF IT. JUST ALL OF IT.

Just as good and sometimes better than the first Cyber Sleuth game. Music is AMAZING, story is AMAZING, and just everything else in it. No english dub? WHO CARES?! I DON'T. Everything else made up for it IN STRIDES.

I can't recommend this and the first Cyber Sleuth game enough. I seriously can't. Best Digimon games I've EVER played. This one even won GOTY 2019 for me. What else is there to say? Exactly.

Whoops. Time to leave.

BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*runs from angry mob of Pokemon fans*

 

[Megan]

I played a lot of good stuff and find it hard to compare them...
Treasure of the Rudras
Radiant Historia Remake
Xenogears
Xenoblade 2

Those are pretty much the games I liked the most. Runner ups include FE3H and the first Ganbare Goemon Gaiden game.

Just as good and sometimes better than the first Cyber Sleuth game. Music is AMAZING, story is AMAZING, and just everything else in it. No english dub? WHO CARES?! I DON'T. Everything else made up for it IN STRIDES.

Played it this year as well. It was alright. What annoyed me was the "do these generic sidequests before you can continue with the story" part.

 

[gimmepie]

Might be a bit cliche but honestly Sword was the game of the year for me xD
It's just really damn good haha

 

[Sheep]

I've barely played any games this year but three houses was 👌

 

[Dusk]

I've barely played any games this year but three houses was 👌

This is literally me too hahaha. I struggle to think of what else I played that debuted this year... Untitled Goose I guess? Cute but not much in comparison. Pokemon Sword was ok.

 

[Kitty]

Wow i don't really remember much games I've played (it wasn't a lot) but I do have to say my game of the year is Disco Elysium.

The characters, the world, the story, and how you play it is just amazing. You can literally play so many different copetypes and. Kim. Kim. <3 The narrative is amazing too but I'm just repeating myself now.

For some reason no other games came close to it this year, so Disco's got my vote. :')

 

[Hermione Granger]

All games I buy and play I consider my goty, I play no favorites. Though a highlight for this year has to be Greedfall, it is so much fun and worth the money.