DJ’s Top Ten Favorite Games of 2018: 10 – 6
There were some really good, fantastic games this year, and trying to figure out the ten I liked the most took some doing. Even when I got to the list I was mostly comfortable with, trying to get them in order was significantly more thoughtful then last year, when it was basically a given which would end up on top. Not a bad problem to have at all, when they all jockey for position because I just liked or enjoyed them enough that it took some thinking to figure it out. Even if a game has some serious issues, if it affected me enough to think of it, as we’ll see here at the bottom, I felt comfortable enough that I’m down with this list.
10. Vampyr (Playstation 4/X-Box One/PC)
First and foremost, this game has got some serious issues. Combat is straight up bad – I thought it was an exaggeration when I heard and read it described as being like the first Witcher (and I can already hear just enough people out there audibly become displeased from reading that comparison), but nope, it’s not that much of a hyperbole. The game looks fine, but is nothing to write home about, and a lot of it is kinda janky, from random glitches to things just not necessarily coming together the right way. What got me in this game, however, is the writing and how well the world connects with not just each other, but your character’s actions. Dontnod of course makes the Life is Strange games, and much like that series, it really is the interactions with the various characters that makes Vampyr so memorable.
The thrust of the game is that it’s Victorian London, and you are a doctor who has been turned into a vampire vampyr, and of course, you gotta feed. What’s interesting is that whom you feed on and how well you keep your bloodlust in check greatly affects the world, with ramifications that continue hours and hours into the game. Even if you go in as a crazed, blood frenzied undead, just feeding on people won’t give you the greatest bang for your buck, so to speak. You should in fact speak to NPC’s, and here is where the game shines. As you get to know more about each of the individual unique characters in the game, their blood becomes of a higher quality and restores you further as well as grants for EXP for leveling up and abilities. People are all connected in a web of relationships as well, as anyone in a society would be, so it is in your best interest to socialize and give people a hand in sidequests and sometimes just hit them up for a chat. Therein lies the issue – now that you know all these people, do you really want to feed on them now? Even if you have a heart and resolve to only feed on criminals, hey, that criminal’s one singular soft spot is giving a lonely old woman a hand around her home, and his disappearance leads to the woman passing away. Then that woman happens to be the cousin of another character you know and like, and they fall into despair and everything tumbles down into the abyss for a whole branch of people in your social circle. It’s surprisingly complex and interesting balancing out your need to not die with your relationships with the wide cast of characters, and ultimately makes what is otherwise a mediocre game so much stronger then it should be. That’s not even touching upon how your actions affect the rest of the world – being a helpful, good doctor gives everybody just a little bit of hope in a dreary, post war time, while going about as a menace naturally leads to people panicking and the world being out hunting for creatures of the night. Problem is, if you don’t feed, then you don’t get EXP, and the already awful combat becomes even more frustrating. The push and pull of balancing all this is so my thing, and it’s enough that I’ll put it here on the bottom of my list. The game is certainly not for everyone, or even most people, but it was good enough for me.
9. Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Playstation 4/PC)
Let me just get to it – this game starts with you as the President of the United States of America, in his motorcade, driving into Manhattan for a meeting at the United Nations, only for there to be a nuclear attack on New York City, at which point you wake up in the bedroom of a young Catboy Prince being menaced by a Rat People uprising, who just murdered said Catboy’s Cat King Father. Also, you straight up just have a .9mm and waste fools when the President first pulls it out. I liked the original game well enough, but holy crap man. Despite losing the Studio Ghibli connection, Ni No Kuni II is just as charming and enticing as the first, and still looks as amazing. Everything is now in-game, with no more traditional animated cutscenes, but the in-engine graphics already look pretty damn close to being animated anyway. The story is interesting enough that despite being way too easy it’s worth it to keep playing instead of falling off like last time. The Catboy, Evan, is on a quest to not only reclaim his stolen kingdom, but to unite the world in doing so, and it’s up to you, Roland, to use your experiences as President and serve as an advisor to the well meaning but a little naïve boy King. I keep using the word charming, but that’s the best way to describe it, and it’s what keeps me going through it. The town building aspect of recruiting NPC’s and pouring money into improving your kingdom is also pretty solid, albeit far too easy to exploit and thus break the already easy game. Fortunately, the hard mode that was patched in later helps alleviate this, but frankly, the game’s a blast despite being low on the challenge scale. Visually gorgeous and with music from a returning Joe Hisashi, it’s just an amazing package to experience.
8. Octopath Traveler (Switch)
In contrast with that last RPG, Octopath Traveler is about 8 completely separate characters on their own individual, personal quests who supposedly are a party but barely ever acknowledge one another. That is the single biggest bummer for this game, and may even be a deal breaker for some, but in a way, it was what I wanted. I rather enjoyed how this was very much not a game where you end up saving the world or the fate of all reality hangs in the balance. Certainly, you uncover some conspiracies and unearth something far bigger then anyone can imagine, but ultimately, it’s 8 different stories that really only matter to that character’s own personal quest and goals. That’s not to say it’s all inconsequential and light hearted, the goals range from the Merchant Tressa on a happy-go-lucky quest to see the world and educate herself for personal growth, to blood-soaked fist-in-the-sky-swearing for vengeance by the Dancer Primrose, and everywhere in-between. All the same, they are personal, small scale goals, and it’s refreshing to see a game where it doesn’t end up being the key to save the universe, just that character’s own personal arc. Each character shines, and all feel like honest full personalities, despite being borne from some obvious archetypes and tropes. It IS, however, still a total bummer, that no one ever acknowledges one another even though they are all supposedly traveling around the world together. What stings most, is that there are oh-so very rare instances where they, do, in fact speak and interact with one another, in little optional dialogue scenes not unlike the Tales Series’ Skits, and those few crumbs of interaction are so good and exactly what I would want, especially since I got to like these characters. I guess I understand the idea of preserving the personal storylines would mean keeping interaction to a minimum, but the dev team behind this game made the Bravely Default games, not to mention the completely underrated Final Fantasy: The 4 Warriors of Life, and surely are talented enough to pull it off. Still, the game is what it is, and while disappointing, I thoroughly enjoy what’s there.
The visuals are unique and stand out, being a mix of 2-D pixels on a rendered, 3-D background of polygons, and can be absolutely stunning at times. The music is, as expected from this team, amazing, and probably one of the best soundtracks from this whole year, with big, grand, sweeping orchestral scores mixing with more folksy, exotic instruments for its various characters and themes. I have to give it credit for having great battle music that, unlike a lot of other modern JRPG battle tracks that tend to get a little overboard with their shredding, have a great mix of orchestra and electric guitars without losing track of the melody and turning into a wall of sound. I certainly enjoy and bang my head to, say, the Xenoblade series’ wailing guitars and drums, but the even-keeled but still blood pumping sounds of the boss battle themes in Octopath are notable. It’s a small thing, but I also really enjoy how well they transition between the various themes of walking in the overworld or in serious events and go straight into the battle music without the typical “woosh” effect to mask the change. It’s simple, but effective. It plays well with a simple but deep combat system, and each character has a specific skill they can use on unsuspecting NPC’s in the world to various effects, the sort of thing one expects from these developers. If you’re okay with the game not coming together into one big grand arc besides a little bonus post-game, then I still highly recommend this game for anyone who’s a fan of old JRPG’s.
7. Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Playstation 4)
Following up on last year’s Yakuza Kiwami being remade using the engine from Yakuza 0, Kiwami 2 comes to us based on the more recent Yakuza 6 engine and has all the bells and whistles associated, attached to what might be the best game in the series. Whereas the first remake was still at a point where the series was still finding its footing, the second one is where it really began to come into its own and is a stronger game as a result. The continuing tale of Kiryu Kazama as he unwillingly enters a story full of twists and turns and brimming with equal parts melodrama and wacky hi-jinx is where the series truly finds its form for 4 more games in the series, and it’s solid. Like I said last year, this series is exactly what it sets out to be, and so long as you go in knowing that, it’s a blast and well worth the ride and time investment. Being stuck in an avalanche of intrigue and twists one moment, and immediately following it up by relaxing at the batting cages or beating up a bunch of buff guys dressed as giant babies is just par for the course. In another year where we had two Yakuza games released here in the west, it’s been a delight seeing these games get accepted, and not only that, but deserve to be with how solid they truly have been. The worst thing I can say about Kiwami 2 is that anyone who wants to play the other games in the series that aren’t 0, Kiwami, or 6 might have a rough time stepping back into 3, 4, and 5 being considerably less polished then these recent games, though those aren’t nearly as bad as the original versions of 1 and 2 on the PS2. Still, I had a great time and look forward to going on with the series, whether it be on the PS3 or in the hopefully westward bound remasters of those other three games.
6.. Tetris Effect (Playstation 4/X-Box One)
Named after the phenomenon of continuing to see Tetrominos falling in your mind’s eye after playing Tetris for so long, this is that game through the eyes of the guy who made Rez, Lumines, and Meteos. We all know Tetris, so this is that, except cooler. There have been a surprisingly large amount of straight up bad Tetris games despite it being seemingly so simplistic to make, so having this be a good one on top of the amazing visuals and music was a happy treat. I have never been great at Tetris, but it’s one of those games that I don’t think about too much until I play it, then suddenly I remember, oh wait, this might be a legitimate contender for best game of all time. Taking the solid foundation with all the various adjustments made by the actually very serious Tetris Company made over the years, and layering in the presentation of all the lights and sounds and animations of the individual sages is truly breathtaking. The Journey mode is a surprisingly emotional journey, with a pleasantly positive and, not naïve, but idealistic vision of being connected and together as one world is shockingly earnest and effective. Seeing all the space whales and camels and dolphins is a little corny, but it works so well, I can only imagine what the game is like in a PSVR headset. Without it, it’s still a treat, and all the care put into the game just makes me feel good, something rare these days. It’s an experience in every sense of the word, and a damn good Tetris game on top of that.