The 2019 Game Surprises
I’m a few days late on it, but like last year, I’d like to shout out a few games I first played in 2019 that really really pleasantly surprised me. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are made in 2019, since I’m sometimes a bit late. Oh and its really Switch heavy this year 😮😮
1. Wargroove
If its not broken, don’t fix it. And if Nintendo just refuses to give me another Advance Wars, Let Chucklefish just carbon copy the design! This might sound negative, but its really really good and it oozes its own charm. A really cool strategy title. ⚔
2. Horizon Chase Turbo
Horizon Chase already was an incredible surprise for me when it was on mobile, but playing it with buttons is just such a blast that it became my go to racing game to just play a few rounds. I wish there were more fun arcade racing games like this!
3. Dragon Quest Builder 2
DQB2 does everything better than DQB1, to a point that the first one might as well not exist anymore. Its funny, charming, catchy and most of all, so much fun. This might actually be “The better Minecraft” if they continue to improve like this.
4. Hollow Knight
By no means a 2019 game, but WOW is this thing tight! Going from HK to Bloodstained was eye opening. Suddenly I could feel the decades between Symphony of the Night and Hollow Knight. I might have NEVER had a game that controlled this well before!
5. Indivisible
Leave it to a fighting game developer to boldly break genre conventions. Indivisible is the Fighting Game/JRPG/Plattformer hybrid I never knew I wanted and it is one of the most charming games I’v played in forever. A Kickstarter story that delivered in spades!
6. Zelda: Link’s Awakening
I was not prepared for the people loving this title this much. I always dismissed my first Zelda as “cute, but not a real Zelda, compared to Link to the Past”. This thought me otherwise. I’m sorry old gameboy Zelda, I was a fool. You are a masterpiece.
7. Everspace
I never knew I wanted a "Space Sim Rogue Like". Then again, I’d be happy for any Space Sim at this point. Still Everyspace kept me coming back, again and again through the year. It “shows”, what FTL just “told”. I should really check out that sequel…
8. The Outer Worlds
This hardly needs a shout out, Obsidian Entertainment’s take on creating a new Fallout has been hugely successful. But I’m still amazed how fresh, different and new it felt, even though it is “just” Fallout with more charming characters and an unused setting. If this doesn't become the next stale franchise in 10 years, I’d be surprised.
9. AI: The Somnium Files
I’m a huge fan of the Zero Escape trilogy. This new setting doesn't disappoint, but for almost the whole game I was feeling let down. I kept telling myself “This story will never add up” for hours. and then: boom, it all fit together so neatly and tight in the end, that it was once again a masterpiece. 🤯 Love it!
10. River City Girls
The last one might be cheating because I just played it today, but MY GOD is this Way Forward at its unbelievable best! River City Ransom might be my favourite beat’em up of all time… But River City Girls might actually be better. I’m speechless...
