{"id":3166,"date":"2019-01-12T10:12:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-12T10:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/?p=3166"},"modified":"2020-12-09T22:12:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T22:12:55","slug":"game-ive-played-goty-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/archives\/3166","title":{"rendered":"Game I&#8217;ve Played \/ GotY 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goty-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goty-1-1024x256.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"113\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goty-1-1024x256.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goty-1-300x75.jpg 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goty-1-768x192.jpg 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/goty-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUsually I split this into two postings, but alas! it&#8217;s already 2019.  Today&#8217;s update will include the games I&#8217;ve played over the last year as well as the easy choice as to which was the best.  The latter will be detailed on my main <a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/?page_id=2466\">Games Of The Year page<\/a>.  I&#8217;ll separate all this into individual sections.  First &#8211; Platinums!  <b>Bold<\/b> words indicate a 2018 title.<\/p>\n<h2>Platinums 2018<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Bloodborne\n<li>Burly Men At Sea\n<li><b>Castlevania: Requiem<\/b>\n<li><b>God Of War<\/b>\n<li><b>Guacamelee! 2<\/b>\n<li>Lara Croft Go\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two of the PS4&#8217;s greatest exclusive games were conquered this past year.  <b>Bloodborne<\/b> stays with me and I now consider it one of the greatest games ever made.  That&#8217;s a different list I&#8217;ve been mulling over.  I&#8217;ve written about some of the rest of these already.  Moving on&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Bloodborne&#x2122;_20180315122930.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Bloodborne&#x2122;_20180315122930-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3175\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Older Titles Played in 2018<\/h2>\n<p>These will fall into three categories:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>First-time plays (not completed)\n<li><b>First-time played\/beaten<\/b>\n<li><u>Beaten again<\/u>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Here we have a mix.  Some are simple PS+ games, others are purchases I never cared to complete, etc.  A key for easy reference is listed above.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assassin&#8217;s Creed Origins\n<li><b>Bloodborne<\/b>\n<li><b>Burly Men At Sea<\/b>\n<li>Call Of Duty: WWII\n<li>Dark Souls III\n<li>Fe\n<li>Firewatch\n<li><b>God Of War: Chains Of Olympus<\/b>\n<li><b>God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta<\/b>\n<li>God Of War: Ascension\n<li><b>Grand Theft Auto V<\/b>\n<li>Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational\n<li><b>Lara Croft Go<\/b>\n<li>Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2\n<li>Matterfall\n<li><u>Metal Gear Solid 2<\/u>\n<li>Nioh\n<li>Rayman Legends\n<li><u>Resident Evil 4<\/u>\n<li>Sherlock Holmes: The Devil&#8217;s Daughter\n<li><b>Sky Force Anniversary<\/b>\n<li>Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of Dana\n<\/ul>\n<p>Due to Gothenburg&#8217;s wonderful library system, I got to borrow some pretty cool titles this past year.  I quite enjoyed <b>AC:O<\/b> &#8211; would like to return to it and would also love to try its sequel.  Similarly, <b>Nioh<\/b> seemed cool and I&#8217;m still chugging through <b>Sherlock Holmes<\/b> though it didn&#8217;t really inspire me like its predecessor.<\/p>\n<p>Many others I tried and never really felt inspired enough to finish.  <b>Dark Souls III<\/b> was fucking difficult (I later tried <b>DS Remastered<\/b\/> and fared better).  <b>Matterfall<\/b> was a huge disappointment, particularly after <b>Nex Machina<\/b>.  After beating the PS3 remasters of the two PSP <b>God Of War<\/b> games, I figured I&#8217;d try out <b>Ascension<\/b> again.  And again I lost interest.  <b>Firewatch<\/b>, <b>Fe<\/b>, <b>Rayman Legends<\/b> &#8211; all just hit the &#8216;meh&#8217; button and never beckoned me to return.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, a few older titles were memorable.  The aforementioned <b>Bloodborne<\/b>, those two <b>GOW<\/b> games and finally beating <b>GTAV<\/b> were some of the highlights of the year.  Toss on <i>yet another<\/i> replay of <b>RE4<\/b> and my second playthrough of the underwhelming <b>MGS2<\/b> and old titles impressed in 2018.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Grand-Theft-Auto-V_20180807120107.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Grand-Theft-Auto-V_20180807120107-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2883\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Grand-Theft-Auto-V_20180807120107-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Grand-Theft-Auto-V_20180807120107-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Grand-Theft-Auto-V_20180807120107-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Grand-Theft-Auto-V_20180807120107.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Assassins-Creed\u00ae-Origins_20181010072138.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Assassins-Creed\u00ae-Origins_20181010072138-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Assassins-Creed\u00ae-Origins_20181010072138-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Assassins-Creed\u00ae-Origins_20181010072138-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Assassins-Creed\u00ae-Origins_20181010072138-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Assassins-Creed\u00ae-Origins_20181010072138.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>2018 Titles<\/h2>\n<p>Once again we have categories: played, <b>beaten<\/b> and <u>platinumed<\/u>, despite the redundancy of that last item.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon\n<li>Burnout Paradise Remastered\n<li><u>Castlevania: Requiem<\/u>\n<li>Chasm\n<li>Dark Souls Remastered\n<li><u>God Of War<\/u>\n<li><u>Guacamelee! 2<\/u>\n<li>Hollow Knight\n<li><b>Ikaruga<\/b>\n<li>Iconoclasts\n<li>Just Cause 4\n<li>Onrush\n<li><b>Overcooked 2<\/b>\n<li>Red Dead Redemption 2\n<li>Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (Started in 2019)\n<li>Spider-Man\n<li><u>Spyro The Dragon: Reignited<\/u> (2019 plat!)\n<li>Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection\n<li>Yoku&#8217;s Island Express (2019 plat!)\n<\/ul>\n<p>I haven&#8217;t been nearly as interested in some of these titles as I had hoped I would.  I sold back <b>RDR2<\/b> b\/c I simply has zero interest in playing it.  <b>Spider-Man<\/b> was probably a great game, but I didn&#8217;t feel the itch to play that either.  I never beat <b>Bloodstained<\/b> and found <b>Hollow Knight<\/b> to be far less enjoyable than all the praise suggested.  <b>Just Cause 4<\/b> looks better than 3, but in so many other ways it felt like a step backwards.  I&#8217;m not even listing some titles like PS+ games that I played and deleted here.<\/p>\n<p><b>Burnout Paradise<\/b> drew me back in just as it did a decade ago, <b>Guacamelee! 2<\/b> was a fun and challenging romp but was marred by a few incredibly-difficult parts and I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;d ever go back to play it again.  The first on the other hand&#8230;I would.  And did!  <b>Overcooked 2<\/b> was great, but my wife and I devoured it and never touched it again.  I&#8217;ve just started <b>Yoku&#8217;s Island Express<\/b> and will be finishing up <b>JC4<\/b> in the coming weeks\/months.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Guacamelee-2_20180830075802.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Guacamelee-2_20180830075802-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Guacamelee-2_20180830075802-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Guacamelee-2_20180830075802-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Guacamelee-2_20180830075802-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Guacamelee-2_20180830075802.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Just-Cause-4_20181228124401.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Just-Cause-4_20181228124401-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Just-Cause-4_20181228124401-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Just-Cause-4_20181228124401-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Just-Cause-4_20181228124401-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Just-Cause-4_20181228124401.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So, what we&#8217;re left with is the clear and easy victor.  While I thought <b>RDR2<\/b> might challenge the mighty Kratos, it didn&#8217;t even come close.  <b>God Of War&#8217;s<\/b> story, gameplay, visual luster, deep and engaging lore and simple fun factor was leagues beyond anything else I played in the year (Well, <b>Bloodborne<\/b> may have the edge, I don&#8217;t know).  I still haven&#8217;t a clue how Sony Santa Monica pulled it off.  They took this beloved series, reinvented so much of it and made us all care about this one-dimensional killing machine.  Being a father while playing it surely helped.  This game is fucking legendary already and I look forward to diving in again when things slow down a bit.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/God-of-War_20180425003456.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/God-of-War_20180425003456-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/God-of-War_20180425003456-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/God-of-War_20180425003456-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/God-of-War_20180425003456-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/God-of-War_20180425003456.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/God-of-War_20180420123816.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/God-of-War_20180420123816-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/God-of-War_20180420123816-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/God-of-War_20180420123816-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/God-of-War_20180420123816-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/God-of-War_20180420123816.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Game Of The Year 2018<\/b> is an easy choice.  <b>God Of War<\/b>.  Now, my New IP GOTY?  I don&#8217;t know that yet.  Based on the limited titles I&#8217;ve played, <b>Yoku&#8217;s Island Express<\/b> wins, but that&#8217;s temporary.  I feel <b>Dead Cells<\/b> or <b>Celeste<\/b> might take that crown, however, I haven&#8217;t had the opportunity to try them out yet.  Let&#8217;s see what I missed below.<\/p>\n<h2>2018 Titles I Haven&#8217;t\/Want To Play<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A Way Out\n<li>Assassin&#8217;s Creed: Odyssey\n<li>Celeste\n<li>Darksiders III\n<li>Dead Cells\n<li>Detroit: Become Human\n<li>Divinity: Original Sin 2\n<li>Far Cry 5\n<li>Mega Man 11\n<li>Shadow Of The Colossus\n<li>Tetris Effect\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are a few games I genuinely want to try out here.  Unlike music, it&#8217;s not so easy to just try out everything you like and are interested in.  <b>A Way Out<\/b> would be great&#8230;with a friend.  <b>Odyssey<\/b> will require many hours, but I bet it&#8217;s a blast and quite the quick-and-easy opposite of something like <b>Red Dead<\/b>.  Others on this list are a &#8216;kinda want to try&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>But the ones I must one day play: <b>Dead Cells<\/b> and <b>Celeste<\/b>.  Both seem right up my alley and I think I&#8217;d just love them.  They could be that coveted New IP GOTY.  But&#8230;they&#8217;re a bit expensive for indie titles and I&#8217;ve been awaiting a sale to dip my toes in.  Can&#8217;t wait to try them though!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/70.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/70-300x155.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"155\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/70-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/70.jpg 760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/celeste.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/celeste-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/celeste-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/celeste-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/celeste-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/celeste.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Usually I split this into two postings, but alas! it&#8217;s already 2019. Today&#8217;s update will include the games I&#8217;ve played over the last year as well as the easy choice as to which was the best. The latter will be detailed on my main Games Of The Year page. I&#8217;ll separate all this into individual [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,15,139,145,4,42,82,83,135],"tags":[152],"class_list":["post-3166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-worst","category-blog","category-bloodborne","category-castlevania","category-games","category-lists","category-metal-gear-solid","category-resident-evil","category-screenshots","tag-annual-game-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3166"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3195,"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166\/revisions\/3195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slateman.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}