Top Ten Games of 2019

2019 really didn't do a whole lot for me personally in video games. Normally I gravitate towards narrative experiences, but there weren't too many great ones to latch onto this year. While there were a bunch of games that were great not many of them were "Manny" games. Despite that I still had a rough time cutting my list down to ten, but as always I managed in the end.

As always I will list my top ten games of the year in descending order. These are my opinions based on games I beat in 2019.

10. Kingdom Hearts 3

I feel that most people were disappointed by Kingdom Hearts 3 as the conclusion to the plot arc set up over the course of numerous games, but I wasn't. This game ended the arc as well as I thought it would and delivered compelling enough gameplay to pull me through.

Sure it could have been better, but I'm a firm believer that this was the best outcome we were going to get. I enjoyed it.

9. Concrete Genie

Sony did a bad job marketing this game, so not many people even knew it came out. It's a bummer, because Concrete Genie is a magical experience. You play as the bullied Ash who finds a magic paintbrush he can use to revitalize the dilapidated town of this childhood.

Neon colors and interesting painting mechanics carry this colorful adventure for its roughly 6 hour run time. Just enough time to leave me wanting more, but not so much that it burned me out.

8. Yo-kai Watch 3

Every year I think I won't play another 3DS game, but this year I truly think I mean it. Yo-Kai Watch 3 takes the system to its limits and shows that level-5 has truly mastered the hardware.

It's the Yo-Kai monster collecting I have come to love, but built out to an insane degree. The battle system became a bit more tactical and it has more content that anyone can handle.

7. Control

Control is the game I feel like Remedy has always been trying to make forever. They found their thing that allows them to finally have fun gameplay while exploring a story with the tone they're known for.

You play as Jesse Faden in what is the equivalent of the Men in Black for paranormal things. She shoots things with a magical transforming gun and throws stuff with telekinetic powers. It has amazing world building, but the overarching story falters a bit near the end.

6. Devil May Cry 5

Capcom decided to un-reboot the Devil May Cry franchise and didn't totally mess it up. Nero and Dante return as they were in Devil May Cry 4 and somehow it works.

As usual the stylish action feels good and is a ton of fun. The story isn't anything special, but it's exactly what I expected.

5. Katana Zero

Katana Zero is an action puzzle game where you play as a Samurai in a bizarre future. He can slow down time allowing him to deflect bullets and cut down enemies before they even realize he's there.

The story is like a Quentin Tarantino fever dream and I hope that more gets made in this universe. It's almost like a 2D SUPERHOT and that's awesome.

4. Fire Emblem: 3 Houses

I hated Fire Emblem: Fates so much that I had to take a break from the franchise. Three Houses brought me back in and I liked it a lot. It dumps some of the waifu stuff that Fates doubled down on and got back to the tactical combat I love. The social elements are still present, but they are now closer to Persona school life than a bad dating sim.

Instead of making three games they crammed three stories into one, so there's a LOT here if you want to play through it a few times.

3. Judgment

Once Kiryu's story was over in Yakuza the team decided to try something new with Judgment. The main bummer is that it's not that different from Yakuza. The combat system is very similar and it takes place in the same city.

The compelling part of Judgment for me was that it's a courtroom drama mixed with the insane high octane action of a Yakuza game. New characters elevate this story to new heights.

2. Sekiro: Shadow's Die Twice

In Dark Souls I played as a slow tank-like character, which Bloodborne did not allow me to do despite giving me the illusion that I could build a character to my liking. Sekiro removes the illusion of Bloodborne and lets you know that you are a specific character you're going to play a specific way.

In my opinion the game design here is superb. Areas leading up to a boss will teach you lessons to help later in the game. I loved it.

1. Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds wasn't even on my radar, but I fell deep into it immediately. You play as an astronaut of a new space faring race. The setup is very loose and then you're launched into space to explore the world for 22 minutes before everything resets. After each run you only retain the knowledge of your previous run. The ultimate goal is to end the loop.

I can't go too deep into detail, but the world building in this game is incredible. You need to have the personal drive to continue in the game, because the story unfolds as you find it. It's not for everyone, but it was certainly for me!

Podcast Episode 71 - GOTY 2019

As always I am going to issue a rough audio warning. This one is better than previous years, but we're four people using a single mic. More often than not Scott and I are louder while Noukeo and Matt are quieter. Since it's all one track I can't properly adjust anything individually. Someday we'll be able to use multiple mics and it'll be magical.

This is the same as every GOTY podcast. We count down our favorite games of the year from 10 to 1. So buckle up for three and a half hours of non-stop action!
 

Podcast Episode 70 - Game of the Year Categories 2019

There was absolutely no news for the past two weeks that we cared about, so we move right into talking about the four games we played before getting into our Game of the Year Categories!

News - There isn't any
What We Played - 4:06 to 29:05
GOTY Categories - 29:06 to 2:32:18

Specific Game Time Stamps
Control - 4:06 to 11:23
Wreckfest - 11:24 to 15:16
Sayonara WIld Hearts - 15:17 to 24:41
Resident Evil 2 Remake - 24:42 to 29:05
 

Podcast Episode 69 - Ghost of the Game Awards

This week is action packed as we start off looking at Porn Hub's year in review to see what video games people were searching for the most. It's a wild ride. In terms of actual news we chat about In the Valley of the Gods being put on hold and 2Ks newest studio.

The games we played goes fairly quick and then we transition into talking about The 2019 Game Awards, which also gets pretty wild.

News - 15:27 to 37:08
What We Played - 37:09 to to 58:52
The Game Awards - 58:53 to 2:20:06

Specific Game Time Stamps
Shenmue 3 -37:18 to 38:32
Romancing Saga 3 - 38:33 to 43:19
Need for Speed: Heat - 43:20 to 48:04
Control - 48:05 to 55:34
My Friend Pedro - 55:35 to 58:52
 

Podcast Episode 68 - Star Wars Fallen Strand

The length of the podcast this week gets away from us, but we discuss quite a bit. We begin by discussing the nominations for the 2019 Game Awards, and then transition into what we've been playing. Pokemon and Death Stranding take up a lot of time, but at least we won't really have to talk about them much now that they're done! The final portion is about Fallen Order. Matt did not like it very much, while I did.

Beware of spoilers for Fallen Order. I marked them in the timestamps.

News - 00:35 to 59:40
What We Played - 59:41 to 2:08:42
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - 2:08:43 to 2:52:34
     Spoilers start at 2:38:51

Specific Game Time Stamps
Shenmue 3 - 59:41 to 1:14:38
Pokemon Sword/Shield - 1:14:39 to 1:34:35
Death Stranding - 1:34:36 to 1:50:05
Forager - 1:50:06 to 1:54:11
Bug Fables - 1:54:12 to 2:02:21
Sparklite - 2:02:22 to 2:05:32
Luigi's Mansion 3 - 2:05:33 to 2:08:42
 

Podcast Episode 67 - Tony Hawk's Game Freak Out

Two of the most highly anticipated games of the year have finally arrived. Death Stranding and Pokemon Sword/Shield. You'll never guess which one I yell more about on the podcast!

To start we go over some news about PlayStation employees leaving, and Xbox Inside 2019. It leads to some conversations about what the two will be doing in the next few years.

The what we've been playing segment gets heated as we discuss a myriad of new releases and then transition to talking about Tony Hawk Pro Skater where I get heated, but in a good way.

News - 00:39 to 40:14
What We Played - 40:15 to 2:13:59
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - 2:14:00 to 2:38:11

Specific Game Time Stamps
Zelda 2 - 40:15 to 46:03
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair - 46:04 to 46:54
Pokemon Shield - 46:55 to 1:18:04
Luigi's Mansion 3 - 1:18:05 to 1:29:17
After Party - 1:29:18 to 1:32:38
Call of Duty Modern Warfare - 1:32:39 to 1:35:28
Death Stranding - 1:35:29 to 2:13:59
 

Game Time - September 2019

Game: Borderlands 3
Developer: Gearbox
Platform: PS4

I felt myself in the minority when I didn't want Borderlands 3 to just be more Borderlands 2. Sadly, the game we got out of Gearbox almost 8 years later is essentially Borderlands 2 with a new coat of paint. The humor I found to be grating in 2 is somehow even worse in 3. I enjoyed my playthrough of it, but I don't know how much I will come back to it. The post game content isn't as plentiful as I would have liked, and I am not generally the type to come back months later when new content is added.

The main praise I can give Borderlands 3 is that the actual act of shooting is vastly improved from its predecessor. Guns feel like they have actual weight now and are actually fun to shoot. The addition of mantling over obstacles and sliding on the ground add some much needed mobility to the action as well.

Borderlands 3 is fun enough, but I still can't believe it didn't change up the formula more. People often say don't fix what isn't broken, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been improved upon even more. The sluggish menus and small inventory make picking up new guns a chore, which shouldn't be the case in a game about looting guns. I'll check out the game again when the first piece of DLC releases. Hopefully it can do something to hook me back in.


Game: Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Developer: Capcom
Platform: PS4

I have well documented my love for Monster Hunter on this page, so it's pretty clear that I was going to like Iceborne. Despite that I still wasn't ready to like this expansion as much as I do. Tons of monsters have been added with a few new ones and a ton of old favorites. My all time favorite sabre tooth tiger boy the Barioth has finally come back to me and I couldn't be happier.

I expected the new story content to be over withing 20-30 hours, but right now I'm 90 hours in and still going. Granted, I haven't been main lining the story and doing all the side missions, but I'm only 40 hours off from how much I played the base game. Nights have been completely melting away and I couldn't be happier about it.

The expansion introduces master rank, which is the equivalent of G rank from previous games. This means that all monsters from the base game have been updated with new moves as well. This gives new flavor to old content, which is awesome. The biggest change to the core gameplay is the clutch claw, which is essentially a grappling hook you can use to get up on monsters constantly. I could go on about how great this expansion is, but I'll cut it off here. Iceborne is great.


Game: Kind Words
Developer: Popcannibal
Platform: PC

The world has seemed a lot more awful in the past few years, so it's nice to see that there is a safe place for people to go and talk about their problems. Kind Words isn't necessarily a game, but it is sold on Steam. Upon launching the game a deer who also happens to be a mailman lets you know that they are new to the job and need your help writing letters.

Your entire job in Kind Words is to try and help other people with kind messages. You can start simple by writing a nice quote and sending it out into the world as a paper airplane for others to see. The meat of the experience comes from answering other people's requests. In case it isn't clear these are requests written by real people. Everyone has tough times, so people write up letters asking others for help and advice. You can look through recent requests and answer them. I try to stick with advice I know I am qualified to give, but I'm sure all responses are welcome.

I put up a few requests and have gotten an overwhelming amount of responses. I actually feel a lot better about the problems I was having. which is pretty cool. My problems aren't too serious, but many I have seen are. The game knows to take mental health issues seriously and often surfaces phone numbers people can call if they need immediate help. While it may not exactly be a game, I have found myself going back to a lot just to restore my faith in humanity.

Podcast Episode 64 - Colonel Sanders Awakening

It's business as usual this week as we chat about a bunch of Sony related news and some cool Pokemon stuff. Make sure you listen to the what we've been playing to hear all about the not so great KFC visual novel and out feelings on Zelda 2...

We finish off with a whole bunch of Link's Awakening talk. If you're sensitive to spoilers about the ending you can find the time stamp of when we talk about that below!

News - 1:18 to 1:14:00
What We Played - 1:14:01 to 1:54:18
Link's Awakening - 1:54:19 to 2:39:42
     Ending spoilers - 2:16:41 to 2:27:15

Specific Game Time Stamps
Shenmue 2 - 1:14:01 to 1:18:20
What Remains of Edith Finch - 1:18:21 to 1:21:43
Abzu - 1:21:44 to 1:23:10
Zelda 2 - 1:23:11 to 1:27:09
Riverbond - 1:27:10 to 1:30:12
Assassin’s Creed Origins - 1:30:13 to 1:36:48
I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator - 1:36:39 to 1:49:58
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne - 1:49:59 to 1:54:18
 

Podcast Episode 63 - Monster Energy

This week we focus a bunch on the various news stories of TGS, especially all the Death Stranding gameplay. Some other random stuff gets thrown in as well before we move on to the games we have been playing.

Due to not wanting the podcast to be 3 hours long we opted not to do a third part this week.

News - 00:59 to 1:16:47
What We Played - 1:16:48 to 2:24:15

Specific Game Time Stamps
Borderlands 3 - 1:16:48 to 1:40:07
Shenmue 2 - 1:40:08 to 1:49:03
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne - 1:49:04 to 2:01:28
Gears 5 - 2:01:29 to 2:14:30
Kind Words - 2:14:31 to 2:21:54
Plague Tale: Innocence - 2:21:55 to 2:24:15
 

Podcast Episode 62 - Nintendo's Dream Factory

As usual we talk about a plethora of news stories such as the The return of Telltale, the #MeToo movement of the video game industry, Yakuza becoming an RPG, and the World's hottest Nintendo Direct.

After we talk at length about the games we've been playing we have just enough time to pull a topic from the snowman's head, so we chat a bit about Kid Icarus Uprising.

News - 1:40 to 1:20:39
What We Played - 1:20:40 to 2:13:46
Kid Icarus: Uprising -  2:13:47 to 2:37:58

Specific Game Time Stamps
39 Days to Mars - 1:20:40 to 1:22:54
Shenmue 2 - 1:22:55 to 1:28:09
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - 1:28:10 to 1:30:38
Pokemon Masters - 1:30:39 to 1:38:02
Assassins Creed Origins - 1:38:03 to 1:40:50
Knights and Bikes - 1:40:51 to 1:46:24
Control - 1:46:25 to 1:57:58
Astral Chain - 1:57:59 to 2:08:03
Plague Tale Innocence - 2:08:04 to 2:13:46
 

Podcast Episode 61 - Pee Mushrooms at Gamescom

After over a month we finally hit my ideal target for podcast length again. We're in the midst of a summer lull, so Matt played a bunch of random stuff and I didn't really play anything. Despite the fact that new releases haven't been popping off, Gamescom has gifted us all sorts of news, so we talk about that a bunch!

News - 3:59 to 54: 39
What We Played - 54: 40 to 1:29:09
Gamescom - 1:29:10 to 2:28:23

Specific Game Time Stamps
The Witcher 3 - 54:40 to 57:38
Monster Hunter Generations: Ultimate - 57:39 to 58:49
Super Mario Maker 2 - 1:03:24 to 1:07:54
Enter the Gungeon - 1:07:55 to 1:10:48
Slay the Spire - 1:10:49 to 1:18:27
Battle Chasers: Nightwar - 1:18:28 to 1:19:07
Gears Pop! - 1:19:08 to 1:29:09

Podcast Episode 60 - The New Blood

In this episode of our fine podcast we chat it up about Ninja leaving Twitch, hot Evo announcements, an ESA leak, and all the Pokemon you can handle.

There is no third part, because we went way too long on the news and what we were playing. Matt played a ton, while I only played a single game.

Join us on this riveting adventure as we discover the actual name of the new Wolfenstein game.

News - 00:32 to 1:45:49
What We Played - 1:45:50

Specific Game Time Stamps
Warhammer: Chaosbane - 1:46:15 to 1:49:04
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood - 1:49:05 to 1:51:50
Wolfenstein: Youngblood - 1:51:51 to 1:59:07
Mortal Kombat 11 - 1:59:08 to 2:03:10
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - 2:03:11 to 2:30:48
Super Mario Maker 2 - 2:30:49 to 2:45:40
 

Podcast Episode 59 - We're Spoiling Judgment

I found out seconds ago that I have been spelling Judgment wrong my entire life, but that's okay! In this episode as always we chat it up about the news, and the comically small amount of video games we have been playing. To top off the podcast we talk all about the plot of Judgment and spoil it in the most roundabout and convoluted fashion ever.

News - 1:52 to 1:27:30
What We Played - 1:27:30 to 2:04:32
Judgment - 2:04:33 to 2:41:11

Specific Game Time Stamps
Shenmue - 1:27:37 to 1:36:09
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 - 1:36:10 to 1:49:58
Teppen - 1:49:59 to 1:57:21
Apex Legends -1:57:22 to 2:04:32
 

Podcast Episode 58 - Street Fighter IV Makes Me Feel Old

This week we only discuss the hottest news, specifically big Pokemon and Gamer Girl Bath water and then transition into what we've been playing (as usual).

For the third segment we've really been dropping the ball on picking topics, so Matt put a bunch of topics in a snow man's head. We will draw from that when we need a topic.  For the inaugural Snowman head pick we got Street Fighter IV and we get VERY nostalgic and start to feel VERY old.

News - 00:30 to 1:03:07
What We Played - 1:03:08 to 1:53:52
Street Fighter IV - 1:53:53 to 2:26:15

Specific Game Time Stamps
Shenmue - 1:03:33 to 1:13:30
Judgement - 1:13:31 to 1:30:44
Devil May Cry 5 - 1:30:45 to 1:38:54
Super Mario Maker 2 - 1:38:55 to 1:46:17
Operencia: The Stolen Sun - 1:46:18 to 1:49:07
Dr. Mario World - 1:49:08 to 1:53:52
 

Game Time - June 2019

Game: Outer Wilds
Developer: Mobius Digital
Platform: Xbox One

There's something about space exploration that draws me in, but I need some type of objective. The entire reason No Man's Sky didn't hit for me is because there was no real goal, and since everything was randomly generated the chances of happening upon a cool sight was very low. Outer Wilds is almost exactly what I had hoped No Man's Sky would be. Outer Wilds is a space adventure contained in a single hand crafted solar system. You play as the newest spacefarer from a species that recently started a space program.

At first there is no real goal other than to go to space, but it quickly becomes apparent that much more is going on. Your first space outing might be uneventful with nothing happening at all, or you could happen upon ancient writings speaking of a long lost race. Regardless of how it goes you'll either be killed by your own naivety on a new world, or twenty two minutes will pass and a comet will plunge into the sun ending all life. The good news is that your character can never truly die. In the beginning they communed with a statue that in essence saves your memories. Every time you die you start right back at the point before blasting off to space, but you remember everything that happened.

This time loop allows you to gather information and explore areas, but the twenty two minute clock is always ticking down. Objectives are never made explicitly clear, but you will gather rumors to investigate and things you learn about each one will be logged on the ship. Outer Wilds gave me a sense of mystery that most modern games just don't have anymore. Most games are developed with the idea that the player needs to see everything they can, so games end up being a guided tour filled with hand holding. Outer Wilds isn't afraid to leave things unexplained, which certainly won't be for everyone.


Game: Cadence of Hyrule
Developer: Brace Yourself Games
Platform: Switch

It's a well known fact that I like rhythm games, so it was a no brainer for me to pick up Cadence of Hyrule. Nintendo has been loosening their grip on their IP over the past few years and with the success of Mario and Rabbids hopefully the trend continues. This time the developers of Crypt of the Necrodancer got to take a shot at making a rhythm based Zelda game, and the result is quite entertaining.

I desperately wanted to like Crypt of the Necrodancer, but my lack of patience never let me get very far. Thankfully Cadence of Hyrule plays very similarly to Necrodancer, but is much more forgiving. Like classic Zelda games of yore the map is broken up into a grid and you travel across different screens. Each screen is filled with enemies, which you need to move to the beat to vanquish. When everything is clear you are free to move around as quickly as you want in that block. The cool thing is that enemies are repeated frequently, so you can easily learn their pattern. Unlike Necrodancer, Cadence of Hyrule isn't a rogue-lite. When you die you won't lose all of your progress, just a few items that are easily obtained again within seconds of re-spawning.

What makes Cadence so special is that it flawlessly blends the rhythmic gameplay of Necrodancer with the classic enemies, world, and music of the Zelda franchise. The level of quality seen here is that of a main line Zelda game, which is excellent to see.


Game: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Developer: ArtPlay
Platform: PS4

Most people consider Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to be one of the greatest video games of all time. When the mastermind behind the Castlevania games everyone holds so dear, Koji Igarashi left Konami he started a Kickstarter for a spiritual successor. In 2015 the campaign earned over 5 million dollars, and now over halfway through 2019 we finally received the finished product. For the past few years the quality of the game was a bit concerning. Trade show demos and backer previews suggested that the game was sluggish and looked awful graphically. Luckily the team at ArtPlay took the criticisms to heart and delayed the game a few times to make sure they got it right. What we ended up getting in the end is a high quality Symphony of the Night-like game.

Thankfully Bloodstained doesn't ape Symphony of the Night whole cloth and introduces some elements from the later games like Aria of Sorrow that Igarashi worked on. It's still the same old castle exploration with RPG elements you know and love, but now there is crafting and enemy power collection as well. It's chock full of content, and overall feels very good to play. There are over 100 spells to collect that are all upgradable, and there are over a dozen weapon types that all feel vastly different.

Despite all the praise I'm giving the game it is certainly not without issues. Patches have caused game breaking bugs and caused horrendous slowdown. It's odd because neither of those things existed in the base game. The team seems like they are working on fixes as well as a bunch of DLC, but it does take a bit of the wind out of the games sales for me. While it may not be the exact same Symphony of the Night experience everyone was longing for it definitely manages to capture a similar feeling and even expand on the formula in some ways. I'm looking forward to seeing the game improve with fixes and content over time and what the inevitable sequel will have to offer.

Podcast Episode 57 - All the Games

Last episode we only talked about E3 news. To make up for that we forgo any real topic and just chat about the news and the games we've been playing for the past month. Somehow it ends up being longer than the E3 podcast, but we have a lot of feelings.

News - 00:34 to 1:14:47
What We Played - 1:14:48 to 2:57:13

Specific Game Time Stamps
Shenmue - 1:14:48 to 1:27:00
Forza Horizon 4: Lego Champions - 1:27:01 to 1:32:57
Cadence of Hyrule - 1:32:58 to 1:43:28
Trials Rising - 1:43:29 to 1:46:30
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - 1:46:31 to 1:58:10
Outer Wilds - 1:58:11 to 2:08:39
Yoshi's Crafted World - 2:08:40 to 2:12:42
Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled - 2:12:43 to 2:19:21
Rage 2 - 2:19:22 to 2:28:38
Samurai Shodown - 2:28:39 to 2:34:06
Super Mario Maker 2 - 2:34:07 to 2:39:34
Judgment - 2:39:35 to 2:57:13
 

Podcast Episode 56 - E3 2019 Hype Train

E3 2019 has come and gone so it's time for us to talk about it. Get ready for us to talk about each press conference at length.

I apologize for yelling.

Game Time - May 2019

Game: Dauntless
Developer: Phoenix Labs
Platform: PC, PS4, and Xbox One

I would describe Dauntless as a more simple version of Monster Hunter. It is to Monster Hunter what Fornite is to Player Unknown's Battlegrounds. To further that metaphor Dauntless is free and shares a very similar art style to Fortnite. Dauntless launched a few weeks ago while I was away for Memorial Day Weekend. The queues were three or four hours long and people were digging it. After seeing that I decided to see what it was all about. My initial thoughts of it being a more simple version of Monster Hunter was spot on. While you hunt monsters in a large area there are much fewer weapons with less complex movesets. After killing a monster you get some of its pieces in order to craft more armor, but there are less kinds of monster parts.

It's a cool thing, because the fact that its free makes it available to a much wider audience. I also think that it will work as a springboard for people to eventually get into Monster Hunter. Since Dauntless is free it has a lot of free to play elements. There is a battlepass that levels up as you play, much like many first person shooters on the market. You can pay for better prizes and higher experience gain in the "Hunter's Pass" as well as buying consumable items and things of that nature. The few hours I played for I had a good time, but felt it was too simple as someone who plays Monster Hunter quite a bit. Some of my friends who played hit a wall, that made it so they would have to grind a ton to move on. This is something that happens in every game, but is often exacerbated in free to play games.

I don't know that I'll go back to Dauntless, but it is a really cool game. Everything you do leads to progress, so even if you're going back to fight weak monsters with friends you're still making progress. The absolute best part is that it has full crossplay. PC, PS4, and Xbox one users can all play together at the same time. In the future the game is coming to Switch and they'll be in the hopper as well. It's an awesome thing that gives me hope for crossplay in the future. The issue for me is that once I played real Monster Hunter everything trying to ape its style feels like a pale imitation to me.

Game: Cytus Alpha
Developer: Rayark
Platform: Switch

A few months ago I started playing a mobile rhythm game called Cytus 2. In addition to be a unique and interesting rhythm game it also had a very cool story. The original came to Switch with all the DLC and I just had to pick it up to see what led to the awesome game I had been playing. What I got was essentially the same gameplay (which is great), but with an interesting story portrayed in a boring way. While Cytus 2 has you leveling up characters, figuring out codes, and reading in world messages Cytus Alpha dumps text on you in paragraphs with no real context.

In the world of Cytus Alpha a disease has crippled humans and their plan to survive is to freeze everyone while robots rebuild the world. Things don't quite go as planned and some of the robots become sentient. It's interesting, but just reading large paragraphs of text between playing songs doesn't make it compelling. I never looked forward to completing 8 songs to read this story, whereas in Cytus 2 I constantly want to see the next story beat.

The good thing as that as a rhythm game it's great. For the Switch they added a button mode that is functional, but doesn't feel great. When playing handheld you can use the touch screen, which works surprisingly well on Switch. I prefer the touch control, because it's what the game was designed for and it feels cool to tap around the screen like a pianist. The way the game plays is a horizontal bar bounces up and down the screen. Circles will appear, and when the bar coincides with them you have to tap their center. It starts off simple, but with the addition of hold and slide notes things get hectic pretty fast. Cytus Alpha is a great collection of everything the original Cytus had to offer at a much cheaper price than buying all the DLC in the mobile game.

Game: Ace Attorney Investigations 2
Developer: Capcom
Platform: DS

In May the fan translation patch for the Great Ace Attorney finally finished. In a state of excitement I ordered the Japanese cartridge and learned that I would need to get custom firmware on my 3DS in order to tun the translation. I added custom firmware to my old 3DS, because if I messed it up it wouldn't matter too much. Thankfully all the tutorials online are almost foolproof and go into super in depth explanation about every aspect of the process. Being high on the success of getting custom firmware I then went on to add DS emulation to that 3DS. I've had a cartridge for Ace Attorney Investigations 2 for a while, but the translation for that game only runs on a dumped ROM in an emulator. Personally playing DS games in an emulator really bothers me, so I got the real thing running on my 3DS!

Much to my dismay I remembered that I had never beat the original Ace Attorney Investigations, so I started that over and ended up completing it over the course of a few weeks. It was an enjoyable experience, but man is the second game much better. The first case drew me right in, but then I fell off the game in the second case. It was so poorly paced that when I got to the third case I had to put the game down and take an extended break. I'll eventually get back to it and complete it and move on to the Great Ace Attorney.

Investigations differs from traditional Ace Attorney games because you play as a prosecutor. Everyone loves Miles Edgeworth, but now you get to play as him. Regular games in the franchise see you navigating areas through a series of menus, but with Investigations you move Edgeworth around manually to investigate crime scenes. The original Investigations introduced a mechanic called "logic" that sees you combining two pieces of information to come to a new conclusion. Investigations 2 layers another mechanic called "logic chess" on top of that. Edgeworth enters into 1 on 1 conversations with people. Throughout the conversation you look for tells (similar to newer games in the franchise) and attack statements that may be false in order to gain more information. It's an interesting mechanic that mixes things up further from the traditional Ace Attorney games.

Podcast Episode 55 - Half Off 2019

In this episode we chat a lot about the leaks and rumors leading up to E3, while throwing in some spicy announcements people threw out over the past few weeks.

After talking about the games we've been playing we take a look back at the past 6 months and see how good 2019 has been for games so far. It's like a 6 month review.

News - 00:32 to 1:23:50
What We Played - 1:23:51 to 1:47:28
6 Month Review - 1:47:29 to 2:22:21

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect - 1:23:51 to 1:29:22
Sunset Overdrive - 1:29:23 to 1:34:10
Halo 5 - 1:34:11 to 1:38:34
Dauntless - 1:38:35 to 1:47:28
 

Podcast Episode 54 - Raising Documentaries

In this fine episode of the podcast we take a look at the hottest news and talk a bit about how maybe the games industry hasn't been doing great with controversy recently.

After chatting a bit about the games we played these past few weeks we transition into a conversation about the documentary Raising Kratos, which is about the development of the new God of War.

News - 3:01 to 1:22:11
What We Played - 1:22:12 to 1:53:54
Raising Kratos - 1:53:55 to 1:36:48

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect 3 - 1:22:35 to 1:29:25
Ace Attorney Investigations 2 - 1:29:26 to 1:35:51
Steam World Quest - 1:35:52 to 1:39:25
Darksiders 2 - 1:39:27 to 1:49:17
Cytus Alpha - 1:49:18 to 1:53:54
 

Podcast Episode 53 - MK11 is the Endgame of Video Games

For the news this week we cover Borderlands 3, the cool new Persona 5 games, the Xbox SAD and more!

If you're in it for the video games we hit Mass Effect 3 and Wolfenstien again while adding in Mortal Kombat 11 and SteamWorld Quest.

We round everything off by listing off our five favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

News - 1:17 to 1:17:35
What We Played - 1:17:36 to 1:46:16
MCU Top 5 - 1:46:19 to 2:28:19

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect 3 - 1:17:47 to 1:19:32
Mortal Kombat 11 - 1:19:33 to 1:38:15
Wolfenstien: The New Order - 1:38:16 to 1:40:07
SteamWorld Quest -1:40:08 to 1:46:18
 

Game Time - April 2019

I normally don't do intro paragraphs for these anymore, but since I haven't done one of these since December I feel like I have to. When I reformatted the text version of game time to be shorter and more concise I was and still am happy with it. The issue ended up being that now Matt and I do a bi-weekly podcast, so I felt far less motivated to write a monthly thing about the games I was playing. I had originally planned to retroactively go back and write something for all the months I had missed, but now I have come too far to do that.

I am going to try my best to get back into writing. This is becoming a bummer, because it's something I tend to say every year. "Oh yeah, next year I'll do all kinds of stuff on my blog. New features and just a ton more quality writing." It never ends up happening, but I would like it to. So here it goes, from this moment on I'm going to try my best and do more writing, which will start here with the April 2019 edition of Game Time. Ready, GO!


Game: Mortal Kombat 11
Developer: NetherReal Studios
Platform: PS4

Every time a new NetherRealm Studio game comes out I buy it in the hopes that I will enjoy it. Ever since Mortal Kombat 9 they have made quality fighting games that are filled to the brim with single player content for people who aren't looking to become professional players. What isn't so great is that I just don't enjoy playing their games. For me the stiff animations and dial-a-combos with an emphasis on long juggles just doesn't feel right. I can never really get into a groove with NetherRealm games and Mortal Kombat 11 is no different.

This isn't to say that I think the game is bad or anything, but it certainly isn't for me. As usual the story mode is an amazing feat that no other studio has been able to replicate in a fighting game. This time the god of time Kronika (of course with a K) is unhappy that Raiden is ruining her vision for a perfectly balanced world. In an attempt to erase him from existence she opens a bunch of time portals and brings old versions of characters to the future. It's a really dumb premise that works in the Mortal Kombat universe and lets everyone know that they can do literally anything with the plot now.

The customization options the studio developed for Injustice 2 are still in play, so expect to be collecting nine million cosmetic bobbles for every character. This is arguably my favorite aspect of the game, but they goofed up the currency you use to unlock everything. Originally it was giving out super low amounts, but supposedly that was rectified today with a patch. I think that Mortal Kombat is a cool game with tons of content for casual fans, but it just doesn't give me the tingly feelings it gives everyone else.


Game: Katana Zero
Developer: Akiisoft
Platform: PC

I first saw a Katana Zero trailer while watching a fighting game tournament and immediately knew it would be my jam. It is a 2D sidescroller where you play as a samurai with a katana. Recently I've been trying to avoid describing games by saying the names of other games, but it's basically Hotline Miami mixed with Super Hot. Each stage is approached like a puzzle where enemies die in one hit, but so do you. The only tools you have are objects in the environment you can throw, your katana, and a time slow down power.

Katana Zero is hyper stylish and makes you feel like a badass whenever you beat a level. Slowing down time allows you to deflect bullets easier and act out a series of actions with more precision. When you clear an entire screen the game lets you watch a replay of your actions without the slowdown just like Super Hot.

The plot drew me in far more than I thought it would, but sadly it ends on a cliffhanger. The studio has started work on free DLC, so hopefully it expands the story. I can't say a lot about it without spoiling things, but it is reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino film. Even though it took me less than 5 hours to beat I had an absolute blast and would gladly play it all over again.


Game: SteamWorld Quest
Developer: Image & Form Games
Platform: Switch

Historically I do not really enjoy digital card games. The issue I run into is that I never end up wanting to change my deck, because the thought of remaking a large set of cards from scratch that need to have synergy overwhelms me. Despite my aversion to card based games, when I saw SteamWorld Quest it won me over and I picked it up day one.

Image & Form games have made several games of different genres. Personally I hadn't connected with any of them, but the charm of the characters in SteamWorld Quest combined with it being a turn based RPG I was immediately drawn in. What really drew me in to the game was the fact that you don't need to recreate huge decks. You take three characters into battle at a time who each only have a deck of 8 cards. With such a limited set of options it becomes very easy to swap things out and try different strategies.

The main thing that SteamWorld Quest does right is that it doesn't overwhelm you. It's a 10-15 hour experience that doles out new cards and upgrades at a steady pace. The story is a little thin, but the gameplay is definitely the main focus as you'll be card battling most of the time.

Podcast Episode 52 - Let's Go to the Movies

This week we discuss PSN Name changes, the PS5. Ubisoft rumors, and the newest Smash patch. For the final bit of the episode we talk about when movie video games were still coming out, but also slip into talking about sweet branded games as well.

News - 00:32 to 1:24:46
What We Played - 1:24:27 to 1:59:24
Movie Games - 1:59:25 to 2:32:52

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect - 1:24:50 to 1:26:45
Wolfenstien: The New Order - 1:26:46 to 1:30:13
Katana Zero - 1:31:14 to 1:40:02
Dreams Beta - 1:40:03 to 1:59:24
 

Podcast Episode 51 - Generational

This week we discuss only the hottest news and then I mostly talked about the games I played, since Matt has been watching a lot of hockey. So if you're down to hear me monologue about a bunch of weird shit this is the episode for you.

For the second half Matt and I discuss games that we believe defined console generations. Some people may disagree, but that's fine.

News - 1:16 to 54:53
What We Played - 54:54 to 1:51:04
Generation Defining Games - 1:51:09 to 2:36:03

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect 2 - 56:55 to 58:40
The Division 2 - 58:41 to 1:00:38
One Piece: World Seeker - 1:00:39 to 1:04:20
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid - 1:04:21 to 1:18:57
Sekiro: Shadow's Die Twice - 1:18:58 to 1:41:21
Hades - 1:41:22 to 1:51:04

Podcast Episode 50 - Golden Jubilee

It's crazy to imagine, but the podcast has reached 50 episodes. Normally I try something like this and let it fade into obscurity, but the podcast is still up and going strong.

We begin with the news and transition into talk about Devil May Cry 5, The Division 2, One Piece: World Seeker, and Sekiro. For the finale we give out some predictions of things to come, which we'll revisit in the future to see if they come to pass.

News - 2:44 to 1:19:25
What We Played - 1:19:26 to 2:05:49
Predictions - 2:05:50 to 2:47:40

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect 2 - 1:19:26 to 1:23:12
Devil May Cry 5 - 1:23:13 to 1:35:42
The Division 2 - 1:35:43 to 1:48:53
One Piece: World Seeker - 1:48:54 to 2:00:06
Sekiro: Shadow's Die Twice - 2:00:07 to 2:05:49
 

Podcast Episode 49 - The Anthem of Mediocrity

This week's episode is a bit light on news, but some of it is bananas. The new Pokemon game was announced, Nintendo is making VR, and THQ destroyed their entire brand in a single afternoon. Outside of the games we've been playing we discuss how much of a shitshow Anthem is at length!

News - 0:30 - 45:48
What We Played - 45:49 to 1:19:55
Anthem - 1:19:55 to 2:01:08

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect 2 - 45:54 to 49:07
Far Cry New Dawn -49:08 to 54:22
Overwatch and Smash - 54:22 to 1:04:54
Titanfall 2 - 1:04:55 to 1:10:58
Devil May Cry 5 - 1:10:59 to 1:19:55
 

Podcast Episode 48 - #1 Crackdown 3 Fan

This episode is a wild ride. Tons of news happened that we were interested in and this time we didn't accidentally leave out a topic. There's a lot going on at Nintendo, Activision is laying people off, and Crackdown 3 came out...

News - 8:47 to 1:30:52
What We Played - 1:30:53 to 1:54:03
Crackdown 3 - 1:54:04 to 2:24:46

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect - 1:30:53 to 1:35:18
Steam World Dig 2 - 1:35:20 to 1:38:19
Yo-Kai Watch 3! - 1:38:20 to 1:54:03
 

Podcast Episode 47 - Kingdom Hearts is Fast and Furious

In this episode we start off talking about the Fast and Furious spin-off, because I am obsessed with the franchise. We eventually transition into the news before getting to the games we played like Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Anthem beta.

News - 8:50 to 1:02:18
What We Played - 1:02:18 to
Kingdom Hearts 3 - 1:59:25 to 2:27:40

Specific Game Time Stamps
Mass Effect - 1:02:18 to 1:10:57
Wargroove - 1:11:02 to 1:22:43
Anthem beta - 1:22:44 to 1:39:59
Cytus 2 - 1:40:01 to 1:47:01
Halo 4 - 1:47:03 to 1:52:33
Ori and the Blind Forest -1:52:34 to 1:59:22
 

Podcast Episode 46 - EA is More Convoluted Than Kingdom Hearts

In this weeks episode we lead off with a ton of news. We chat about our year in review according to PlayStation, EA's cancelled Star Wars Game, and Metroid Prime 4's troubled development to name a few stories.

We briefly skim over the few games we've been playing as well before moving on to have me monologue about Kingdom Hearts as a franchise since the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 is a few short days away.

News - 00:28 to 1:16:29
What We Played - 1:16:31 to 1:46:16
Kingdom Hearts - 1:46:17 to 2:09:40

Specific Game Time Stamps
Darksiders 3 - 1:16:33 to 1:26:06
Tales of Vesperia - 1:26:07 to 1:32:05
Mass Effect - 1:32:07 to 1:34:00
Cuphead - 1:34:01 to 1:38:03
Wizard of Legend -1:38:04 to 1:46:16
 

Project Top 10 - Episode 6

In this episode of Project Top 10 I change things up a little. Instead of doing discussing another top ten video games of all time list I chat with Noukeo about his top ten favorite games of 2018.

He used to be on my regular game of the year podcast, but this past summer he moved away. In order to continue our yearly tradition we recorded this podcast!
 

Podcast Episode 45 - Looking Ahead in 2019

We begin by chatting about our 2019 gaming goals before transitioning into news. Some exciting things happened like Bungie Splitting from Activision and more games coming to the Epic store.

Neither of us played much, but you can expect to hear about Detroit, Unravel 2, Kingdom Hearts 2, and Gears 4.

For the second half we decide to look forward into 2019 and see what games are headed out way!

News - 4:31 to 34:48
What We Played - 34:49 to 58:56
2019 Releases - 58:57 to 2:42:58

Specific Game Time Stamps
Detroit - 34:49 to 39:42
Unravel 2 - 39:43 to 44:29
Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix - 44:30 to 51:29
Gears 4 - 51:30 - 58:56

Game Time - December 2018

Game: Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight/ Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
Developer: P-Studio
Platform: PS4

A few years ago a Persona 4 spinoff titled Persona 4: Dancing All Night came out exclusively for the Vita. It was a rhythm game featuring the characters of Persona 4 who would dance in the background of every song. It was an interesting concept that has now been copied almost exactly into dancing games for Persona 3 and Persona 5. The gameplay of these three games is exactly the same. Stars fly from the center of the screen and you need to push the corresponding button when the star overlaps it. It starts off simple, but obviously ramps up on higher difficulties.

The key difference between these two new games and the previous title is that they drop the visual novel-esque story mode and replace it with smaller bite size visual novel scenes. Now you don't need to sit through hours and hours of middling dialogue if you don't want to. It's entirely possible to stick to the actual rhythm gameplay, which I greatly appreciate.

Sadly there isn't a lot to these games. They each have around 30 songs in them from their respective games. I got the platinum trophy in Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight the first night I got the game in under 12 hours. I'm still working my way through Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, but the music and remixes are less appealing to me, and I need to complete the exact same challenges. While the games are fun enough on their own I don't know that they should have been split into two full priced games.


Game: Detroit: Become Human
Developer: Quantic Dream
Platform: PS4

David Cage games usually aren't my jam. I tried Indigo Prophecy and didn't really like it. In college I played through Heavy Rain, which I thought was okay aside from the totally unearned plot twist that came at the end. Something about the writing in these games never sat right with me and that feeling transitions over to the newest Quantic Dream game as well.

If you've seen a science fiction movie in the last few decades then you're familiar with the concept of androids developing emotions. Too many works to count have tackled this subject, but it's presented in Detroit as if it is some new and amazing. I'd give it a pass if it had any new ideas or amazing presentation, but it doesn't have either of those things. It's a story about racism, except it forgets that real racism exists.

At no point did I genuinely care for any of the characters in this game aside from a dog named Sumo. For the first two thirds of the game it feels like a random series of events revolving around the three playable characters rather than a cohesive story. Like previous Quantic Dream games Detroit is mostly a game about walking around and doing various quick time events for mundane actions. Previously I've been able to poke fun at the story of these games, but this time it was less comical. While it looked nice I don't know that it presented its ideas in the best way possible.


Game: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Developer: Bandai Namco/Sora Ltd.
Platform: Switch

Smash Bros. has been a part of my life since its inception. I have vivid memories of playing the original for the first time at a friends birthday party. It has always been a fun game to mess around with, but over the course of the past few years I had the fun of Super Smash Bros. sucked right out of me. A few of my friends got hyper competitive in it and somehow that drained all the fun out of the series for me. Instead of trying to improve for fun, I was trying to improve so I wouldn't be judged harshly for my lackluster play. That's no way to play a game that's supposed to act as a love letter to everything Nintendo.

I told myself that I would reclaim the fun of Smash Bros. with Ultimate and so far I have been very successful. I've played the game for over 80 hours now and have been having a blast. I was able to unlock all 73 characters during the first two days of its release. Since then I have played hundreds of matches and completed the single player mode.

This truly is the ultimate Smash Bros. game. It has an almost comical amount of content and caters to the casual player and people who want to play competitively. While it is largely the same as Smash 4 it brings meaningful mechanical changes to the gameplay. I won't get into all of them here, but I will say that the action has been sped up quite a bit, which is always a plus for me. It's more Smash Bros. and that's something I'm always down for.

Podcast Episode 44 - GOTY 2018

As with every year the GOTY podcast id the way we end the year,

This time Matt, Scott, and I are the ones to share our top ten games of the year in descending order!

Top Ten Games of 2018

While 2018 may not have reached the highs of 2017 in video games it was still pretty awesome. New and interesting games are only becoming more common.

As always I will list my top ten games of the year in descending order. These are my opinions based on games I personally completed in 2018.

10. Red Dead Redemption 2

I didn't like the original Red Dead at all. I tried my best to get through it and it could never quite hold my interest. I told myself that I was going to see this one through to the end, and I did. If you've listened to me talk about it at all you know I universally disliked the gameplay.

Despite that the story and characters held me through to the end for what may be one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. It's just a shame that the video game part put me off so much.

9. Celeste

Celeste is a game about climbing a mountain as a metaphor for mental health issues. As someone who has battled with mental health issues it hit me pretty hard. The main character Madeline is deeply relatable and the whole thing never becomes too overbearing.

On top of that the fast paced platforming is top notch. Everything controls super tightly, so the high level of difficulty never feels insurmountable. Which I guess is another metaphor.

8. Donut County

Ben Esposito toiled away for many years to bring us the charming world of Donut County. You play as a cheeky Raccoon named BK as he controls a literal hole and swallows up most of the town he lives in. Each thing that falls in the hole makes it bigger.

It's almost like reverse Katamari Damacy. The music, dialogue, and art style remind me of Katamari as well. It's a fun game that takes up a few hours. It says a lot that I wish the game had a bit more content, because I wanted to stay in the world.

7. Forza Horizon 4

I hadn't played a racing game in a long time, so I was craving a new one. My issue is that I love the arcade style of Burnout, but don't want the intense simulation of Forza Motorsport. Forza Horizon comes in somewhere in between those two other games making it just what I was looking for.

The world is fun to race around in and is jam packed with so much content it's almost impossible to complete it all.

6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

I love Super Smash has a franchise, but over the course of the last few releases I became bogged down by the hyper-competitive nature of high-level play. This time I told myself I would play Smash for fun only and I have been loving my time with Ultimate.

It's very similar to Smash 4, but the mechanical changes do just enough to make it feel much different and in my opinion better. It has an almost comically large amount of content and works as an amazing Nintendo museum piece.

5. Spider-Man

As someone who loves Spider-Man it was hard to see game after game come to market and be totally awful. The last time I remember enjoying a game representing the franchise was Spider-Man 2. Thankfully Insomniac as able to finally bring Spider-Man back to video games in a big way.

The web-slinging feels amazing, and It's just fun to travel around the open world. On top of that they tell a great story in a well-tread universe. Spider-man is back and I couldn't be happier.

4. God of War

The previous God of War games didn't do anything for me. In fact, I'd say I actively disliked them. Sony Santa Monica was able to resurrect a dormant franchise and give it new and exciting life. It makes the transition to Norse mythology and completely re-invents the character of Kratos.

It's wild that I now enjoy the combat in God of War, but it's even more crazy to say that it had one of the most compelling stories of the year. Kratos went from being angry to struggling as a father.

3. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

It's no secret that I love JRPGs, so the fact that a Dragon Quest game is so high on my list isn't very surprising. However, I think that Dragon Quest XI is special. It doesn't do a whole lot new for the genre, but it takes something that has already been done before and does it as best as it can be done. Sometimes there is something to be said about something that knows what it is and it's good.

I don't have a lot to say about it other than it's a great JRPG. I loved it.

2. Monster Hunter World

As someone who came to Monster Hunter at its most obtuse it was amazing to see the franchise come to the western market and totally explode. It is now Capcom's highest selling game of all time, which is a testament to the core elements of the franchise. Capcom took a huge risk that could have alienated the core fans of their unbelievably popular franchise in order to elevate it to new heights.

This is the best Monster Hunter game by a country mile! It keeps the best parts of hunting while making it more accessible.

1. DJMax Respect

Rhythm games rarely make their way to the U.S. and if they do they're not very well supported. With DJMax Respect NeoWiz knocked it out of the park. New patches and DLC come to the game every few months to keep interest in the game up.

It's a deeply hard rhythm game, but getting better at it makes me feel awesome. Something about the gameplay and the wide variety of music keeps me coming back for more. I will keep coming back to it well into 2019.