Every year, I feel I’m slowly drifting further and further away from gaming’s EPIC titles. I absolutely appreciate the artistry and craft behind games like Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Far Cry 5, but I find myself having no trouble passing them over (though I’ll eventually get around to Spider-Man).
I still found a lot of fun new titles to love in 2018, and you can see what they are after the “Continue Reading” link.
Alphabear 2
I don’t have any desire to play epic-length games on my phone, instead gravitating towards bite-sized puzzle and word games. So Alphabear, a puzzler from Spry Fox that combined the two in an absolutely adorable way, became a huge part of my gaming day back in 2015. Not surprisingly, the sequel blew me away last Fall. Alphabear 2 offers players a ton of new ways to build words one letter at a time with strategic new scoring opportunities, an enjoyable Story Mode that riffs on Back to the Future, and even more adorable bears. I’ve put dozens of hours into it so far, and it doesn’t look like that’ll change anytime soon.
Celeste
Celeste is a hardcore platformer from Matt Thorson, and its emphasis on precision airborne theatrics will bring to mind Super Meat Boy, N++, and other giants of the genre. It’d still be a fantastic game if that’s all it had going for it, but it’s also got an amazing story and even a slightly strategic edge. You could fling yourself into the void and hope for the best, but Celeste asks more from its players and that’s why it’s really something special.
Just Shapes & Beats
You don’t do any shooting in Just Shapes & Beats, but it might one of the best twin-stick shooters I’ve played in years. Instead of shooting back, the only goal in Just Shapes & Beats is to survive the onslaught of enemies and explosions until the end of the song. Dashing and dodging for up to four players makes the action even more exciting, and the chiptune soundtrack is absolutely excellent.
Katamari Damacy Reroll
Games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Halo 2, and ESPN NFL 2K5 may have populated the best-sellers list in 2004, but follicly-challenged space marines, ethically-challenged criminals, and ultra-realistic sports sims would soon have to share the spotlight with crazy creations like The King of All Cosmos. Back then, Keita Takahashi’s roll-em-up poked at your funny bone with it’s colorful characters and cheery musical selections, which made it a perfect candidate for a re-release. Collecting Lego-like junk as The Prince is still great fun in Katamari Damacy Reroll, and for an entire generation of gamers who have never experienced a Katamari game, the franchise’s charms were never as powerful as they were in the original.
Mega Man 11
There’s been no shortage of new games that paid homage to the Mega Man franchise over the past few years. But finally… FINALLY… Capcom has seen fit to release a Mega Man sequel for the first time in almost a decade. And it was great! The Blue Bomber’s graphical style was even updated for 2018, making this the prettiest new Mega Man game in a very long time.
Tetris Effect
Tetris may be one of the greatest games of all time, but it’s fair to say that it hasn’t been “relevant” for a while. Puzzle fans know it’s out there, and The Tetris Company will always make sure a new version of the game is available on every platform, but George H.W. Bush was President the last time anyone was excited about Tetris. That all changed with Tetris Effect.
Handing the reins over to Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator of Lumines and Rez, Tetris Effect’s wild visuals and constantly shifting full-cover palette made Tetris feel exciting again. And with full VR support thanks to the PlayStation VR headset, it also gave fans an entirely new way to play Tetris. Tetris Effect might not have strayed too far from the Tetris formula (and the lack of multiplayer is a bummer), but it also made Tetris feel fresh for the first time in a long time, and I love it.