Just another day of being awesome…
Well everyone it is that time of year again, it is time for our top 5 lists. As Rob mentioned in his post these are the top 5 games that we played this year, which really could cover anything from retro to modern, because we are rarely on the bleeding edge of gaming. So lets get to it!!!!
Number 5
Uncharted 1,2,3,4 – PS4
Alright so I know I am going to cause some controversy right out the gate, but here is my defense. I played these games all in a row so it was like one long gaming experience… you buying it? I hope so because I have four more to go and I would not eat my list up with the four of these.
So as I have stated many times before I really didn’t become a console gamer until 2 years ago, frankly before then I had a pretty snobbish attitude about them. But now that I am in, I am really enjoying it. So talking with people they repeatedly referred to the Uncharted games as being a must play on the Playstation, and from videos I had seen I was interested. The only other game that I had been told to play as much is Witcher 3, but more on that later.
Playing through a series like this was an awesome experience, you get to see the game grow and evolve into something amazing. The first Uncharted, Drake’s Fortune was a little rough to get into. The remaster looks pretty good, but even with the touched up graphics, the game play felt old. The physics a little off, the platforming a little off as well. But these shortcomings (and really its a 12 year old game remastered for the PS4) were easily overlooked once you get into the story, the characters and set pieces that make up an Uncharted game.
The progressions of game play, graphics and over the top set pieces are very evident in the next 2 entries Among thieves and Drakes Deception, just increasing the overall joyous experience of playing them.
Then we get to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and wowza what a leap in game play, graphics and story telling. You can really see how Naughty Dog matured story telling wise in the years since the first Uncharted, and man did I eat it up. I do feel better having played all the previous titles before getting to the 4th one, but it really isn’t necessary to enjoy the 4th entry, Playing A Thief’s End I was in constant awe of the size and scope of all the things involved with this title, the amazing set pieces, the realistic feeling story, and of course spot on game play. But almost above all this… This game looks AMAZING, for a 3 year old game it has graphics that stuff coming out this year haven’t beat yet.
Its for all these reasons across all 4 of the titles that I choose my Uncharted experience as my number 5 game of 2019.
Number 4
The Outer Worlds – Xbox One
What else can I say about The Outer Worlds than I fell for the hype, and don’t regret it all. For those who haven’t tried it yet, The Outer Worlds is an first person sci-fi action adventure from the makers of games like Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II.
The first hour into this game (after spending way to long in the character creator) I was in love with the whole sci-fi / Firefly (Joss Whedon’s show) aesthetic and just the entire anti-corporate theme that runs through this game. Then we get to the visuals, wow just wow. The graphics aren’t photo realistic, but the love and detail that has gone into them is just over whelming. There is always something to look at where ever you go, and no matter where you go everything feels lived in. There are lots of people around (NPC’s) doing things you would imagine these people that live there would do. The voice acting of all the characters is pretty awesome too, not robotic or choppy at all, the conversations always feel organic and topical to your missions.
But the thing that has won me over the most is the humor, oh my goodness I am actually laughing out loud constantly at their jabs at corporate culture, or the stupidity of criminals, and even at the people who are blissfully oblivious to their corporate overlords.
The love and detail that has gone into this game is the reason it made my top 5 this year, and had I had longer to play it, it may of even placed higher. But for now it will rest at number 4.
Number 3
Ape Out – Nintendo Switch
This game was a real rarity for me because it was a blind buy. It came out right at a time when I was looking for something new to play on my Switch, and I had seen some reviews singing its praises, so I took the chance. The chance paid off big time.
Ape out is beat em up with randomly generated levels to work your way through. The premise is simple, you are an ape and you are trying to escape some sort of facility. The game plays top down and does not shy away on the violence. That alone probably doesn’t sell you on this game, what really sells this game is its music. The game has a jazz style soundtrack, that you contribute to as you are working your way through the levels. Basically every time you break something or engage in combat it adds percussion to the already peppy soundtrack, helping you run along to your escape point at the end of the level. Ever level is basically winding hallways, with some of the later levels adding some puzzle elements you need to complete in your escape.
The combat is super satisfying as you grab humans and throw them, causing them to pop satisfyingly against walls and other humans. Its really OK because they are being mean to this ape so they definitely deserve it lol. So the combination of the intense combat and interactive percussive soundtrack make it really easy to get into a rhythm of speed and destruction.
Finally the look of this game is simple, but gorgeous with its simple color pallet and minimalist art style, it just really suits the feel of this game.
So a blind buy that gave me hours of enjoyment is my number 3 game of the year.
Number 2
No Man’s Sky – PS4
This one will be no surprise to anyone who listens to our podcast and has heard me going on about this game for months now. So really it wasn’t a question of whether it was going to be in my top 5, it was just a question of where it was going to place.
I had heard about No Man’s sky for a long time and had been privy to the polarizing views of the game, The rocky launch, the broken promises, and the angry fans. But I caught wind of their 2.0 Beyond patch that was coming out and thought this seems like a good point to try it, they were also launching PSVR support with this update as well so it really seemed like the perfect time to jump in.
I started playing this game at a time when I was feeling burnt out of running around killing things and gathering things for quests, I really needed to try something new. This game immediately drew me in with its mysterious story and initially oppressive survival mechanics. Here was a game I didn’t have to worry about an NPC coming around a corner to kill me, I just had to focus on improving what I had. Repairing my ship to get off planet, upgrading my suit to better survive, gathering resources to do all these actions is all I had to worry about.
NMS (as the cool kids call it) has a decent enough story, but once you do the initial arc you really don’t have to pursue it (unless you want to), and I really have not been pursuing it. There is a decent progression system as well, where you don’t really get levels but as you explore more you acquire more pieces and modules that can be traded for plans that you can upgrade your vehicles and buildings. More time exploring means more resources to be able to do all your upgrading as well. I have heard NMS referred to as Minecraft for adults and I can totally see that reference.
The VR in this game is great, I threw a little temper tantrum when I first tried the game in VR because I thought the only way I could traverse around was by doing the teleport movement system which I loathe in VR games. I was so mad that this game I loved would use this to move around… turned out it was just a default setting and I was able to turn on smooth movement, and calmed my self down. I have spent hours in this games VR environment because it so immersive and easy to adjust to, and the flying and driving doesn’t seem to make me sick.
Playing this game has made me realize that I really like a game I can putz around in (If you check my play time on Breath of the Wild its 200+ hours). I mean I really spend all my time exploring and building little sub bases on the planets I find good resources on or have unique things I want to visit again. This simplicity pleases me, and I really love being in this world.
So as I write this article today I checked my play time according to my save file and I am over 130 hours played, and I can’t see myself quitting any time soon. So the change of pace and just general love of this game is the reason it is my number 2 game of the year.
Number 1
Tetris 99 – Nintendo Switch
2019 will be marked as a year when everyone got a battle royale… including Tetris. Now when you first heard about this you had one for two reactions, the eye roll or the fist pump. I was a fist pump,
The good news is, I don’t have to explain the game to people because there really aren’t too many people who have never tried Tetris in one form or another. The addition of the battle royale only made it more enticing for me. I have always enjoyed playing Tetris against people, from the early 2 player on the SNES, to the 4 player on the N64, then finally online for the Nintendo DS. That only covers a small portion of all the versions that have been out for this game.
When Tetris 99 first came out it had only one mode, the battle royale. This was enough for me, the thrill of playing against 98 other people and trying to be last man standing.
My personal best finish has been 3rd place a couple times, never the last one standing, but that doesn’t deter me, I play on because it is just so much darn fun.
In September they released a paid DLC pack that added a bunch of other modes, including single player, marathon, and 2 player entries into the battle royale from one Switch, They also introduced daily “quests” that you get points to buy player photos and game board backgrounds, so an actual reason to grind away on the game daily, instead of just constant battling.
I nearly missed adding this game to my list because it just seems like it has always been around, this game is almost a daily routine that I play a few battles before bed, or if I have 15 minutes to kill. But a few days before we were planning to start posting the top 5 list I was playing away and was wondering when did this game come out? Looked it up and it was February 13, 2019. So because this game is such a big part of my life now, and it came out this year, it is my number 1 game of 2019!!!
The Grumpy Old Gamers 
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