#don’t even get me started on deltarune mechanics i’ll go on for hours

[elizakai]

gahdamn being in a fandom for close to ten years makes a bitch forget vital canon information

[sodapaladin]

Top 10 Games of 2021

As usual, here are my favorite games that I played over the year, not necessarily ones that came out in 2021.

I’ve decided not to include Deltarune chapter 2, because it’s technically part of the same game I already awarded last time, but know that it’s incredible. Now, the annual list!

10. Mario Party Superstars

After half a dozen disappointing Mario Parties, we finally got what fans have been begging for. While there are still some glaring issues, such as the completely busted coin economy and some puzzling minigame choices, I’ve been having a blast with my friends.

9. New Pokemon Snap

At last, a fantastic sequel to the original fun novelty. It’s so charming to see Pokemon living their normal lives in the world. From many of my favorites to some surprising, often forgotten pokes, I enjoyed discovering the many secrets in this relaxing game.

8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

While BDSP disappointed many with its faithfulness taken to a fault, the Mystery Dungeon remake had the perfect mix of new and old. While it stuck to the original three generations of Pokemon like the original game did, it also added all evolutions of those Pokemon that appeared later, such as Mamoswine and Sylveon. As a result, the roster felt totally natural. The QoL additions are much appreciated, and there’s so much content to explore. I loved the music, too; the remixed medley of songs from Gates to Infinity is absolutely lovely, even though I hadn’t played that one. I could easily see myself pouring dozens more hours into this.

7. GameCenter CX 2

AKA Retro Game Challenge 2. Such a shame the original was the only to get officially localized. The experience of playing games with your friend, looking up tips in magazines, and waiting for new game releases as a kid is done so well in this charming nostalgia trip. They could have easily made all of these simple minigames, but they’re all legitimately fun games in their own right. I haven’t even touched the RPG yet, but it’s apparently a full thing with legitimately interesting mechanics.

6. Yooka-Laylee

You heard me right! As a huge fan of Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie, I was looking forward to this, but then put it off for a long time in fear of disappointment. But despite hearing all the complaints, I gave it a fair shot at last, and you know what? I loved it. It’s exactly what I wanted it to be! I honestly don’t understand the hate it gets. If anything, I wish it had more levels. The space one was so cool, and I even loved the casino level. It’s a proper Banjo game in my books, and I’m bummed that the sequel wasn’t also a 3D platformer.

5. Pokemon Card GB2

Another game that tragically didn’t get an English release. The Pokemon TCG was already done well on GBC, and the sequel continues it by including the entire original game’s island, plus a whole new one. The addition of even a single new expansion adds a lot of variety to the game. And that soundtrack! Wow! The normal Team GR battle theme is one of the best Pokemon songs, forever trapped on a Japan-exclusive spinoff game. More people need to hear it.

4. A Short Hike

The definition of “charming.” True to its title, you can see just about everything in the game in an hour or two, but what a lovely hour or two you’ll have. What else to say other than it makes me feel warm inside?

3. Lisa: The Painful

The complete opposite of my last pick. Equal parts depressing and hilarious, this bizarre game gave me an unforgettable ride. On top of the dark humor, the game’s also a lot of fun, with many unique party members. I can’t get the Shenmue grunt sound effect song out of my head.

2. Final Fantasy XIV

Hoo boy. It was really difficult to decide between this and my #1 pick. I had never played an MMO before, and never thought it would appeal to me. But when a friend started the free trial over the summer, I figured eh, I’ll give it a shot. And boom, now it’s half a year later and I’m going to themed cafes with guildmates. My idea of MMOs had always been grinding to fight difficult bosses with minimal story. I didn’t expect to fall in love with a fascinating world. I’ve joined a wonderful free company (read: guild) and made many great friends through it. I’m having the time of my life, and I can’t wait to start Shadowbringers soon.

1. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

This is the kind of game you wish you could experience for the first time again. Not since 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors have I had my mind blown to such a degree. There are many mystery games that make less sense the more you think about them, but 13 Sentinels is a game that rewards you for connecting the dots. I love how many times I looked into the timeline and realized how everything fit together. Rather than just outright lying to the player, which makes mysteries feel cheap, the game gives you multiple perspectives. What seems like the obvious truth to one character then plays out entirely differently when you see it from another angle. All of this on top of a kaiju-fighting mecha RTS game that’s surprisingly fun once you get the hang of it, which has tons of postgame levels. If you’re not into visual novels, you may become bored from the tons and tons of story. It’s definitely a VN at heart. But if you’re into mysteries involving sci-fi tropes like giant robots and time travel, this love letter to them is an incredible experience.

[roseyturtles]

Frosted Glass Door Part 4: Walk

Hey y’all. This is the final part of the @brightlotusmoon inspired fic. It’s been a pretty wild ride from research to writing to posting date, and a ride I’ve missed. (I need to post fanfictions more often. Probably in either Undertale/Deltarune or Kingdom Hearts next.)

This doesn’t get as metaphysical as the last chapter, but again, don’t be afraid to let me know if I got something wrong.

I love y’all. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

Your eyes slowly peeked, then cracked open. You felt...refreshed? Like your brain had just taken a bath in clean, cool spring water after a long day of sweating in the sun.

Shamrock, cobalt, and chocolate eyes all looked at you with the same stunned expression. It only then occurred to you that Michelangelo had been in danger of his life not even ten minutes ago. You glanced over at the monitor---everything was stable. Heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen, everything. You looked, reluctantly, back at your boyfriend, and instantly fell back in love. The sickly greenish-blue pockets of mutagen had retreated, leaving only small black scabs in various places on his face and arms. Your peaceful mood flickered when you thought about the same being left behind in his organs, but shook it off: Mikey was right. Whatever life threw at him, he could roll with it. Other than those minute pieces of evidence left behind, he was a sleeping prince. You prevented yourself, just this once, from leaning down and kissing him, choosing to squeeze his hand instead.

    “Did...did he seriously pull you into the astral plane?” Leonardo finally chimed in.

You nodded, almost excited about it, but realized something.

    “Wait. So you guys know about his psionic powers?”

A few beats of silence passed. If you strained you could hear a pin drop over the beeping of machines. Then, IMMENSE, tension-shattering laughter, as if you had just told the funniest joke conceivable to man. You stared at the trio of brothers in disbelief---they had just asked you if he had pulled you into the astral plane! How could they not believe he...O-oh. Oh. Wait. Your face flushed. These were his brothers. They had grown up with Mikey. Of course they knew about it. Raphael walked around and threw an arm around your shoulder, looking---feeling?---a lot better than he had earlier.

    “You’re alright, (Y/N). You’re alright.”

It would be a few more hours until Mikey woke up. Donatello gave you a mess of medical terms as to why, but what you gathered was that his body still had to repair quite a bit of damage before he was ready for the energy expense of wakefulness, but he didn’t require any further attention. While you waited, you asked if your game could be moved into his room; Leo and Raph agreed and went off to move the TV. Donnie just went back to monitoring the radar he had shown you before, muttering something about electromagnetic disablers. You just stayed by Mikey’s side the entire time, holding his hand and whispering to him.

…

You weren’t sure, but...after being pulled into the astral plane quite completely, after having experienced another person use telempathy on you time and again...you could swear you could feel everything---everything---much brighter and better. If you focused hard enough, you could sense Donnie’s intense focus, his curiosity, his frustration, in the corner of your eye. There was also a slight bitterness, but also a peace, in the next room over. Raphael? Leonardo? Both? ...it didn’t matter right now. The fact that you could sense their emotions at all was exciting.

In the weeks to follow, Mikey took it easy while the scabs flushed out of his system (or, more specifically, his alveoli and the folds on his brain, as that was where they could do the most damage without close supervision.) Not only was that the perfect excuse to do rematch after rematch in Smash, but also the perfect excuse to start honing your psionic skills. Mikey would even combine the two activities, randomly asking,

    “Hey, (Y/N), how am I feeling right now?”

At first you were able to pick it out easily.

    “Excited,” you’d say. Or, “Proud,” or “Content,” or “Loving.”

You particularly liked that one, because he’d reward you with a few kisses on the cheek instead of the normal high-five. Over time he started keeping up a few of the layers that kept you from seeing his colors when passing him in the hall. At first you’d have to pause the game and concentrate to make your guess, but soon enough you were able to catch little flickers of the color-scent-sound shining through without so much effort.

    “Stressed. You wanna call quits?” “Tired. Let’s go chill in your room, I’m feeling a cuddle session coming on.” “I’m calling in a pizza, you’re hungry out of your mind.”

That, too, eventually melded into learning how to soothe the negatives manually. Between all those there were lessons on keeping yourself protected, on balancing the outside struggle with the inside, on forming shields, on attacks, on healing, on countless other self-defense mechanisms, practiced so often over the course of those few weeks and beyond you could probably take on a wraith in your sleep (though Mikey was a bit sardonic at that particular thought.) Nonetheless, you were much more skilled by the time Donnie said it was okay for your love to be back on the field. So skilled that sometimes you caught yourself answering the emotions of the others.

    “Leo, dude, you want some tea? Might help those nerves.” “It’s alright, Raph. That was disrespectful of them. You’ve got every right to be mad.” “Donnie. Seriously. It’s time for bed. Now. Right now.”

You were more weirded out by it than they were, to be honest. Apparently they had all been on this wavelength the entire time, and you were just the newest member. In turn they started making it more obvious when they were reading you.

    “Need help with that paper, (Y/N)?” “C’mon, let’s go punch out some of that stress in the dojo.” “Oh---you and Mike need---okay, I’ll warn the others.”

It felt like you were living in an entirely different world than before this whole thing started. Like there had been figures behind frosted glass before, and you had just opened the door and walked through.

You felt this the strongest six months afterwards when all five of you were in the living room playing Smash Bros Ultimate. You and Mikey were in your normal beanbag, positioned out of the way of the other three, who were on the couch. Again you were playing as Meta Knight, faced off against not only Kirby, but Link, Little Mac, and Samus as well. Despite being able to guess quite accurately all four of the others’ plans and moves, you still found yourself toe-to-toe with each of them, finally being blasted off the screen by Kirby, the announcer loudly stating “GAME!”

All four of the brothers cheered and high-fived Mikey, who got up and did a victory dance in front of you. You groaned and fell back, but barely, barely caught his eye---

There was that sparkle, his “I love you,” once an enigma, now plain as day. You relished in it, thinking back to the thousand times you shared that love before, and looking forwards to the thousand times you would again.

[rubberduckyrye]

2 things; choices don’t matter, soul ends up in a literal cage. dont talk about game for 24 hours, today is a smash bros announcement on a Nintendo stream and detlarune made a reference to smash bros. coincidence? I THINK NOT!!!! sans confirmed for smash bros ( i will shit if my friends shitpost becomes real )

SPOILERS FOR DELTARUNE, SCROLL PAST IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS. I'm on mobile rn but I'll tag this in a bit as "Deltarune spoilers"

Honestly like........ On a serious note, sorry that it's not a full 24 hours yet but good damn it Toby I just can't take it anymore

The fact that choice so clearly doesn't matter in Deltarune is really unsettling to me

Because Undertale's main gimmick was CHOICE. That's why people were interested. That's why people got all hyped. That's why it did so well.

Toby deliberately abolishing a very important mechanic to the franchise is super unsettling. It makes me think that the first chapter of Deltarune is going to be like the first Chapter of V3. Like, we're not meant to play as Kris. I think that maybe we play as "the red soul" rather than the actual character. This might very well apply to Undertale as well--we're not controlling Frisk. We're controlling the red soul.

Then that means, "Chara" might not be an actual person. Maybe Chara is a programmed "player." Like us, they can take control over the protagonists. Maybe Deltarune is the story of how we lose control to "Chara" and have to get control back, but at the cost of fracturing the timeline and creating the world of Undertale from the world of Deltarune.

Deltarune and Undertale as it stands cannot be in the same universe. Undyne and Alphys have no idea who the other is. Catty and Bratty are rivals/enemies/don't like each other. Asriel is old enough to be in college. Sans just moved into town and doesn't know anyone except Alphys and Toriel, whom had visited his grocery store. Mettaton doesn't have his robotic body and thinks he's nothing special. Toriel and Asgore broke up for a reason not disclosed.

This isn't a sequel for sure. The Dreemurr family provides too many inconsistencies for it to be a prequel... But it might be a prequel, if this is an idea where the world gets a time fracture or something (maybe Kris, Susie, and Ralsei are erased from existence, thus allowing the dark kingdom to overthrow the light? This in turn causes humans to distrust monsters and start a war?) but Toby's gonna have to explain what the fuck is going on with these inconsistencies.

Though even with that prequel theory, that would still make these two different worlds and timelines.

But also think about this: why does Toby care about people posting Deltarune spoilers? Why does this matter? Why the 24 hours?

I think it's because there's a chance he's going to release the full game very soon. Like, possibly later today soon. I'm not 100% on this but the whole "Tomorrow, tomorrow" thing from yesterday is driving me up a wall. Toby doesn't normally just do that kind of crap for shits and giggles. This man is a mad genius I do not trust him.

[a-shrieking-cloud-of-bats]

anyway let’s do a top howevermany video games of 2018 (that’s “that I played in 2018″, and not “released in 2018″) before the year rings out (I got three hours) no particular order in here by the way, and the readmore’s after the first entry so don’t worry too much about this here post length (at least on the dash) Games in this here post: Lobotomy Corp, Pyre, Cultist Simulator, Deltarune, Hollow Knight, and while I didn’t write about it because I hven’t played enough of it yet, I want everyone to know that HEARTBEAT is delightful Lobotomy Corp I... sort’ve have complex feelings about this game. Because it does a lot of weird stuff and I don’t necessarily agree with every single thing it does. I think it’s even bad in places, sometimes, but overall it’s a game that tried to make something mechanically complex out of an SCP-like setting, and that’s a niche that I think has been empty for a very long time, given how convoluted some of those containment procedures get, and while I dunno if they hit it dead on, they certainly did a good job of it. It’s basically a little manager game where you’re managing an SCP-like facility, you start out knowing nothing about the abnormalities and as you interact with them you get more “points” which can be spent on unlocking info that help you deal with the abnormality safely in the future! This gets pretty interesting at best and pretty russian roulette-ey at worst, I distinctly have a memory of botching my first interaction attempt on one only for the thing to immediately break out, fly into the center of the facility, and murder everyone in an extravagant fashion. Like a lot of my beefs with the game, though, this happens exceedingly rarely, so it’s okay (and I could’ve retried that day if I wanted to). To boot, the game sort’ve creates stories in and of itself, not unlike dwarf fortress or something, where someone botches something in the facility and it has widespread consequences and you’re suddenly running on all cylinders to find out what buttons that thing pushed and how to get them unpushed, and it’s super awesome when you manage it. I had one time where a beehive abnormality managed to infect a few employees with spores, and it turned into a whole ass situation (that you can read about here, it’s long by the way) that IIRC took down like, half the employees in the facility. I should’ve reset, but I didn’t, because I Won. And any game that gives you that vibe can’t be all bad. On top of all this, the game does have a plot, I don’t think everyone ever is going to love it, but it’s not bad, and honestly some of the plot related challenges later in the game are some of my favorite thematic set pieces in a good long time. If you like resource management games, visual novels (a little bit, the plot is there, it’s in visual novel format, and it’s pretty good), and don’t mind a bit of anime plot (or even prefer it, maybe!), consider this one.

Pyre Pyre is a game about a person (you) that falls into a sectioned off part of the world called The Downside. The game starts with you, unconscious, and being rescued by a group of people, where you learn that you were exiled from The Commonwealth, to The Downside for the crime of literacy, and that literacy is extremely valuable in the downside because a literate person is required to perform The Rites of Flame which are sort’ve soccer ball games where you try to get your team to throw a crystal ball thing into the opposing fire. These rites eventually free a single person from the downside, using a tournament format. Over time you learn about your fellow team members, why they were exiled, among other things, you learn about the history of the world, and find out exactly how bad The Commonwealth actually is in some ways, and you, eventually, do something about it. The plot is legitimately fantastic and despite this there are at least  2 “overall endings”, and at least two endings for not only all of your team members, but also for the members of opposing teams, as you can lose to them on purpose to let them escape instead of your own dudes. All those tie into the over-arcing plot, which is to send people back to the corrupt other side to resolve the conflict going on there in secret. So you may not want to let some people go back because they won’t be much help, or they might actively hurt things. Some characters might even be better suited to life in the downside as a whole. It’s also neat to see your liaison on the other side that’s helping you perform the rites steadily reacts to how the overall situation is developing on the other side. The soundtrack is also fantastic, seriously top notch. If you like narratively driven games, games with good characterization, games with a just sort’ve full bodied plot in general, and don’t mind a bit of sportsball, you might take a look at this.

Hollow Knight People call things Dark Souls Inspired a lot, and that unfortunately is rarely a good thing, as dark souls difficulty when done poorly is a huge frustrating mess and it’s a testament to how well FROM did things in that game that it’s as fun to play as it is. And of course a lot of games just aren’t dark souls inspired at all and it’s used as a tagline, but with all that said I will say Hollow Knight is absolutely Dark Souls Inspired in the best way. You’re a little fella and you mysteriously arrive to a town called Hallownest, no knowledge of why you’re there or what you’re doing, and you set out to romp around in the caverns beneath the town. For most of the game you just sorta listen to NPCs talk about things and you slowly piece together the plot (maybe, it’s certainly not required and it’s certainly not guaranteed), unlocking upgrades and such along the way. Basically a metroidvania, with attrition based combat based around knowing your limits and when to go back and rest, along with more traditionally difficult boss fights. It all culminates in a big fight with the big bad and if you did everything right, you get to figure out what the hell was actually going on (sorta). It’s a beautiful game, the character looks like exactly the sort’ve character to never talk, partially because he doesn’t have a mouth, admittedly, the combat feels great, and the NPCs are a delight, I really can’t think of anything bad about this game, unless you just don’t like platformers, or prefer easier games, or something. If you like metroidvanias, a bit of a meloncholic tone, inferred plot from dialogue and item description clues, and don’t mind having to wrestle the game a little bit, I’d say give this a shot. Deltarune Like everyone else, I played Deltarune the day it came out, and had no idea what to expect, probably because we got 24 hours of warning and no tell that it was a new game at all, and ultimately I found out that it was a marked improvement over Undertale (which isn’t to say Undertale is bad, of course). Party based combat was a blast, the game just sort’ve in general warmed my heart (after scaring me briefly right at the beginning), and honestly I’m very very happy that the focus on pacifism was taken out because it was great the first time, but I feel like it’d just be more of the same to functionally “quote” Undertale, so I’m super happy with that decision, and really as a companion piece to Undertale I think it makes a load of sense as a bit more “grounded” take on the whole “combat in video games as a means to an end” thing, that (mostly) manages to not lose the good vibes. I don’t think I could’ve been happier with it, really. If you love to be happy, I highly reccomend deltarune (and it’s free anyway so whynot right) To be real, if you like top down shooters, games that don’t take themselves entirely seriously, or games with just sorta positive vibes in general, take a look. Cultist Simulator I’m gonna be honest with You, The Reader, and say that I do not like reading a whole lot, in general. This is important because Cultist Simulator is a game with a lot of reading in it, and honestly, I loved it regardless. It paints a fantastic picture of a world with Actual Occult Business of some description in it, and it manages to have a unique UI that didn’t make me throw my hands in the air out of frustration and quit. I’d say that this UI, would be a fantastic way to do adventure games in the future, in general, in fact. It is that good. The game itself revolves around you, a person that, up until just recently, was working at a hospital as a ferrier (so someone that wheels around wheelchairs with people in them). One of the patients you wheeled around leaves you a package, you open it, and find an address to a bookstore, a person, and a load of money. You move on from that in a very free-form fashion and Things Happen, I legitimately can’t tell you anything more the game is all about learning how to do things. To go on about the UI more, you have cards, initially you have a reason, health, and passion card. You use these cards in slots to cause certain effects, so putting health into the work slot gives you money and vitality after 60 seconds have passed. You can put the vitality in the dream slot to get a prompt to get more vitality, so you work with health again (after it’s cooldown has expired), get another vitality, put them both in, you got a “hardened physique” skill card and another health card. This is basically how the game flows and how you get access to everything in the game, there’s obviously more to it then hard labor, but again I can’t talk about it too much or I’ll ruin it. And while I’m here, it’s really nice that they didn’t just base it on the Cthulhu Mythos and call it done, it’s a unique, original setting and it’s great. Got no hate for the Cthulhu Mythos but I feel like I’ve seen or heard it A Million Times. If you love adventure games, resource management games, reading, narratively driven games (kind’ve, the plot and characterization is mostly on the side, but it is there in a way), or just really want to see an occult game that isn’t based off Cthulhu, check this one out I say.

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll Favorites 2018 Part Two: VIDEO GAMES!

Welcome back for Part Two of Crunchyroll Favorites 2018! Yesterday, we shared our favorite anime and manga of the past year, but this time, it's all about our favorite VIDEO GAMES!

  I always like to start these end-of-year lists by saying something like "2018 was no 1998 (or 2005, or 2017)," but y'know what? 2018 was a very good year for video games, and I don't feel right saying otherwise. Games about dads, games about the dead, people still playing Overwatch and Breath of the Wild with plenty of gas left in the tank, we got a new Call of Duty and a new Assassin's Creed as expected, and I told an ungodly amount of people to buy Stardew Valley for their Switches.

  The rules were simple: only games that were released (or received a re-release) in 2018, or had a major update or expansion. Now, let's get started!

  Nate Ming

Dragon Ball FighterZ- What a world we live in where the purest, meanest fighting game to come out in 2018 is also its most beautiful. FighterZ is exacting and ruthless when it comes to advanced play, but is still accessible enough to let new players have a total blast. And for once, it's a Dragon Ball game that not only plays excellently, but is filled to the brim with callbacks to the manga, TV anime, and movies--what absolute perfection.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life- The end of Kazuma Kiryu's long, violent road took us from the sleepy streets of a Hiroshima neighborhood back to the bustling Kamurocho. The Yakuza games are so perfect, and full of so much to do: recruiting for a gang, managing a baseball team, adopting kittens, lifting weights, babysitting, beating the crap out of people--this was the best way to say goodbye to the Dragon of Dojima, and a surprisingly thoughtful and emotionally smart look at masculinity, fatherhood, and legacy.

God of War- The other Dad Game this year was also a great ride, this time dealing with a regretful father who wants to make sure his child never ends up like him. This game really felt like a long holiday weekend with my own old man, making it equal parts endearing and infuriating.

Return of the Obra Dinn- A rich, multilayered mystery from the creator of the equally-slick Papers Please, there were no games in 2018 that took over my life like The Return of the Obra Dinn. I was taking notes, studying the ship's layout and crew's roles, and basically becoming the investigator character as I worked to find out what killed everyone aboard the H.M.S. Obra Dinn. What a ride.

Into the Breach- I'm kind of a perfectionist, which makes a game like Into the Breach so much more difficult for me to play. This is a game about either making hard turn-based giant mech-vs-kaiju choices and living with them, or constantly resetting the timeline to try and get things perfectly right this time around. Spoiler alert: you very rarely will.

Honorable Mentions: GRIS, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Mega Man 11

Cayla Coats

    Hollow Knight (NS)- I’m a big fan of so-called “Metroidvania” action/adventure/platformer games, and Hollow Knight is the best I’ve played in a long time. The game feels wonderful to control, the player character and attacks both having a real sense of weight to them. Wrap it all up in some beautiful 2D sprite and background artwork as well as an ethereal and haunting soundtrack and you’ve got one great game and one happy Cayla.

Soulcalibur VI- I honestly haven’t played a Soul game since Soulcalibur II, and just happened to play this entry after my roommate bought it. And I love it. Every character is a joy to use, and offers the seemingly impossible mixture of accessibility and complexity. Also Voldo is still… Voldo, and that’s worth something, right?

Night in the Woods (NS)- I missed out on this indie gem when it first launched in 2017, but thanks to the surprising indie game oasis that is the Switch, I got to enjoy it early this year! Equal parts Animal Crossing, Gone Home, and Twin Peaks, this cute-but-creepy coming-of-age tale makes the best of its midwestern setting.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I mean… it’s Smash. It still rules. There are approximately 3 billion really fun modes to try out and 9 billion characters to unlock. It’s just good. Go play it.

  Nicole Mejias

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- The amount of hype this game generated was one of an undying level. Was that hype warranted? Oh, hell YES! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is an insanely fun game with unending hours of mayhem for you and your buddies! And most importantly, EVERYONE is there!

Yakuza Kiwami 2- I’ve been playing through every single Yakuza game available, and it’s been one gaming journey that I’m glad I took! The series really has it all: hot-blooded action, romance, heart-wrenching drama, and even comedy, which wasn’t something I was expecting at all. Some of the fights in this game had me on the edge of my seat and made me fall completely in love with the series. If you haven’t checked out the series yet, now’s the perfect time!

Battle Chef Brigade (NS)- Ever since I heard about this game, I’ve been itching to play it. A challenging puzzle game with some beat ‘em up elements? I’m ALL IN! Battle Chef Brigade did not disappoint; it’s such a charming game with a lively cast of characters and intriguing Iron Chef-like story! My only complaint is that it was over way too soon and it left me hungry for more.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee- Pokémon is pretty important to me; playing Pokémon Red as a kid helped me grasp the English language when I was still living in Puerto Rico. Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee is a passionate love letter to Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow, and experiencing all the battles and events from those past games in this brand-new one was a delight! A must for Pokémon fans for sure!

Deltarune- Deltarune is probably one of the biggest surprises in 2018, with Toby Fox giving us the most delightful of treats on Halloween! It didn’t take long for me to be smitten with this new world with some familiar faces we all know and love. This time around, your choices don’t matter, but what will that mean for the next chapter? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Daniel Dockery

Dragon Ball FighterZ- Finally, Dragon Ball gets a fighting game that lives up to the franchise’s immense legacy. Not only is it fun, but it’s a huge “LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THIS IS!” love letter to the series as a whole.

Monster Hunter World- I’ve been playing Monster Hunter since 3, and I must say that while I deeply enjoy the 3DS entries, it was nice to really feel the scale of these gargantuan beasties that I’m tracking down. Switch Axe 4 Lyfe.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee- Didn’t expect to like this game. Ended up loving this game. Tattoo Pikachu on my eyeballs, for I need to see nothing else.

That One Mission From Red Dead Redemption 2 You Know The One I’m Talking About- Walking up to a mansion with your crew to rescue a boy, fighting your way through it, and then burning the whole thing to the ground is a high moment in a game that could go from satisfying to “JUST EQUIP THE RIGHT GUN, ARTHUR, COME ON” in a heartbeat.

Luigi’s Mansion 3DS- My favorite Mario-related game that isn’t Kart or Smash Bros. came out on the 3DS. Clear the mansion of its ghosts for the sixth time in my life? Gladly, Professor E. Gadd.

Peter Fobian

God of War- An awesome reimagining of an old franchise, and one of my greatest hopes for ambitious narrative single player titles in the AAA industry. It absolutely deserved every award it got in the Game Awards. The story, characters, and world were all top-notch. The cinematics were fantastic and brutal. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Monster Hunter World- My first dip into the Monster Hunter franchise, this game probably had the biggest skill curve I’ve ever seen in cooperative gameplay, with mechanics stacked on mechanics that seemed to have no bottom. I got a lot of frustrating and satisfying hours out of this game, and I’m still not sure if I’ve discovered even half the things you can do in it.

Hitman 2- There were a lot of questions about the future of Hitman that were riding on this release, and I’m very happy to report that the newest title in the franchise is extremely good. This one got particularly creative, with some of the mission set-ups and conditions and each new map was excellent, even making American suburbia into an interesting mission area.

GRIS- I’m glad I was able to find time to play this final addition before years end because it definitely deserves a spot. Although I can’t really say GRIS is unique in being a atmospheric platformer focusing on depression/loss, it might be the best. The visuals and soundtrack were amazing, especially together. The environments and use of camera were also excellent. Also go play The Missing.

Dead Cells- I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of indie roguelike platformers and Dead Cells, as above with GRIS, may be one of the best of its genre. It’s got a cool aesthetic, some wicked gallows humor, and an unlocking system of items and powers that can result in the player having to formulate some absolutely ridiculous strategies from life to life.

Joseph Luster

Celeste- Playing Celeste reminded me of all the fun I had when Super Meat Boy first came out, but this time I actually cared about the characters and the journey. The narrative is woven into the action, as it should be in a video game, and it actually has something interesting to say. The way Celeste treats difficulty and accessibility will no doubt prove influential, as well. At its core, though, it’s simply an unbelievably tight platformer that provides ample challenges for players of all skill levels.

Ni no Kuni II- The sequel to Ni no Kuni isn’t actually all that much like Ni no Kuni. The battle system is completely different, the Pokémon-esque monster collecting is gone, and the story has been boiled down to the bare essence of Japanese RPG motivation. It’s almost embarrassingly earnest, but it’s also gorgeous, and combat is a joy for the full 30-hour run. There’s plenty to play around with after the credits roll, too, but I was mostly just proud of myself for actually having fun with and completing an RPG in 2018.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon- The award for “Game I Actually Bothered to Beat Multiple Times in 2018” definitely goes to this unassuming bite-sized prequel to Koji Igarashi’s upcoming Bloodstained. It’s so much more than just a downloadable “extra,” and in many ways it out-Castlevania IIIs the original Castlevania III. Play this game immediately if you haven’t, and take the time to get every ending for maximum satisfaction.

Dragon Ball FighterZ- I don’t really play fighting games anymore. I haven’t in years, despite trying to pick them back up seriously when Street Fighter V first came out. Not living with roommates anymore has a lot to do with it, but that enthusiasm roared back to life when Dragon Ball FighterZ arrived in jaw-dropping style. This is the essential anime fighter, and nothing made me and my friends cheer and shout at the screen more in 2018.

Iconoclasts- Like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Iconoclasts came early in the year and started 2018 out on a really strong note. This is probably the “smallest” a list has ever been for me in terms of the sheer scale of the games themselves, but titles like Iconoclasts just fired up my imagination more than the big AAA beasts. From the lush sprite-based visuals to the soundtrack and the excellent pacing, this one is going to stick in my mind for years to come.

Nick Creamer

Hollow Knight/Dead Cells- Though both of these were technically 2017 releases, their continuing developer support and my own delayed play schedule means I’m celebrating them now anyway. And they’re great! If you enjoy games like Metroid or Castlevania, you absolutely must pick up the richly atmospheric and remarkably vast Hollow Knight. If you want an experience like that in a more arcadey, roguelike package, Dead Cells cannot be missed. It’s nice to live in a golden age of challenging indie action games!

Celeste- Speaking of great indie titles, this year’s Celeste likely needs no introduction. Though it theoretically falls in the same punishing platformer space as something like Super Meat Boy, Celeste’s charming storytelling, neatly partitioned challenges, and robust assist features mean it’s a platforming experience that basically anyone could enjoy. Thoughtfully written and brilliantly designed, Celeste shouldn’t be missed by any platforming enthusiasts.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I am perfectly comfortable admitting I’m one of those Smash fans who up until now, basically just stuck to Melee. The combat in Brawl and Smash 4 always just felt far too floaty for me, with both my character jumps and the impact of my hits making me feel like I was constantly wearing a big balloon suit. Ultimate counters that complaint with crisp, speedy combat harkening back to Melee’s rapid-fire exchanges, along with the most luxurious suite of characters and secondary modes Smash has ever seen. This truly feels like the definitive Smash experience.

Monster Hunter World- MHW was my first experience with the Monster Hunter franchise, and it was glorious. Well, it was eventually glorious--the first fifteen or so hours were an interminable learning process, while I figured out the game’s inscrutable controls and systems, ponderous movement, and extremely vague directions. But after that, hoo boy! Monster Hunter is essentially “Boss Rush: The Videogame,” complete with dozens of intimidating creatures who all demand their own hunting strategy. As an insatiable gobbler of challenging RPG-adjacent action games, I had great times hunting deadly beasts all through last winter.

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And that's a wrap for Part Two! Be sure to join us at the same time tomorrow for our third and final installment, focusing on the EVERYTHING ELSE of 2018--movies, TV, books, comics, food, life experiences, and more! If you're in the mood for more CR Favorites, here are the links to past years' features:

  Crunchyroll Favorites 2017 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2016 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One | Part Two

What were your favorite video games of 2018? Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST-OF list, so there are no wrong answers--sound off in the comments and share your favorites!

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Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. His comic, Shaw City Strikers, launches January 15, 2019.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com