Top 10 Games of 2019
It’s a somewhat polarising year for games. There doesn’t seem to be one particular golden child picking up wins around the globe. Our pick for Best Game of 2019 is one that’s loved by many and disliked by others — a game that likely won’t appear on many Top 10 radars. But that’s great! There may not be a golden child this year, yet there were plenty of great games and more than enough variety in our list.
The following Top 10 list was compiled by Dylan Blight, Ashley Hobley, Ciaran Marchant, and Nicholas Prior.
10) IL-2: Battle of Bodenplatte
Developer/Publisher: 777 Studios • Platform: PC
Battle of Bodenplatte is the latest entry in the Great Battles series for IL-2. This instalment focuses on Operation Bodenplatte, launched on 1 January 1945 in an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries. It was the last large-scale strategic offensive mounted by the Luftwaffe during the war.
What’s significant about the Bodenplatte entry is its first departure from the Eastern Theatre of war, shifting to the Western Front. It adds the USAAF and the RAF as playable factions and long-awaited planes such as the Me 262, P-51D, Spitfire IX, Hawker Tempest, FW-190 D-9, P-38J, and P-47D, plus a new map covering Belgium, the Netherlands, and Western Germany. Substantial graphical and technical upgrades have reinvigorated the multiplayer scene and drawn back players who were tired of Eastern Front plane sets.
As always, 1CGS has produced a phenomenal simulation and continues to lead the pack in consumer-friendly, accessible combat sims. I’m eagerly awaiting their next project, IL-2: Battle of Normandy.
— Nicholas Prior
9) Teamfight Tactics
Developer/Publisher: Riot Games • Platform: PC
I didn’t expect the auto battler genre to capture me like it did this year, even though all the signs were there. A fun combination of strategy and card-game elements that’s just passive enough that I can keep watching the obscene amount of content I consume daily and still play successfully? Perfect.
With its collection of champions I was passingly familiar with from League of Legends, the drafting rounds, and your adorable Little Legend avatar you move to collect items and coins, Teamfight Tactics sits at the top of the auto battler genre in my opinion. It doesn’t hurt that matches tend to be quicker than others in the space. This game may have even gotten me to play a couple of rounds of LoL… (editor’s note: we will hold him to that)
— Ashley Hobley
8) Apex Legends
Developer: Respawn Entertainment • Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Following a year dominated by battle-royale behemoths PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, no one expected Respawn to drop a BR that would impact the genre this much. Featuring a cast that would make Overwatch proud, Apex Legends brought the strategy of a hero shooter to the battle-royale landscape.
With forced three-person squads, Respawn implemented an intuitive one-button ping system that let players communicate without a mic. That system quickly became a staple across the genre. Apex Legends hasn’t always held momentum throughout the year, but Respawn continues to support its fan base and push the envelope with new Legends and map updates.
— Ciaran Marchant
7) Kingdom Hearts III
Developer/Publisher: Square Enix • Platform: PS4
Kingdom Hearts II released in 2005; in late 2008 I bought my PS3 after convincing myself Kingdom Hearts III would arrive on it “soon.” Over ten years later, on a completely new generation of PlayStation, I finally got to play the game I bought that PS3 for. It was never going to live up to my wildest ambitions, but it was still as special to me as any of the previous entries.
Visiting Disney worlds has never felt as magical as it does here, thanks to visuals that at times rival the films you’re visiting — the Tangled and Frozen worlds especially shine. Combat steps up, and the ride-based attacks create a wonderfully hectic spectacle with Heartless exploding among spells and glittering effects.
The heart of the game is its final third, where Sora, Donald, Goofy, and friends face their foes for the last battle — the culmination of 13 games and nearly 15 years of storytelling — making Kingdom Hearts III the Avengers: Endgame of video games this year.
— Dylan Blight
6) Concrete Genie
Developer: Pixelopus • Platform: PS4
I gave one game a 10/10 all year — Concrete Genie — and it was well deserved. Pixelopus created a beautiful game that’s stunning inside and out. The game radiates warmth; it feels like a cuddle that says everything will be okay.
In my review I wrote:
Sometimes you just play a game that hits all the right notes and Concrete Genie did that for me. I love this game, its characters, charm, and the beautiful world that let me not just feel like an artist but become one. The story and themes don’t feel forced or cheap but real and honest. It’s one of the year’s best games and a special gem every PS4 owner should play.
This is a must-play PlayStation 4 colouring book you can finish in an afternoon and feel better about life afterwards.
— Dylan Blight
5) Life is Strange 2
Developer: Dontnod • Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Set in the same universe and timeline as the original, Life is Strange 2 puts you in control of a brand-new character — this time without powers. After their father is shot by a police officer on his own lawn, the trauma triggers a power inside ten-year-old Daniel. His older brother Sean takes them on the run, fearing what will happen to Daniel.
Instead of controlling Daniel’s growing powers, you’re simply the older brother — choosing how to guide his morals and humanity in a world that keeps kicking them down. Life is Strange 2 isn’t subtle with its themes, focusing heavily on prejudice in America — but maybe it isn’t a time for subtlety. In a medium where many developers avoid social commentary, Dontnod proudly has something to say, and the game is stronger for it.
— Dylan Blight
4) The Outer Worlds
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment • Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
How can something that almost feels nostalgic feel so fresh? Obsidian took us back to the golden age of action RPGs with The Outer Worlds. A new setting of corporate overlords, larger-than-life characters, and consequential decisions empowers you to carve your own path through the Halcyon system.
Classic RPG systems like lockpicking, hacking, and dialogue trees are tuned to keep the pace up so your skill choices feel meaningful. In a world of 40+ hour epics, The Outer Worlds delivers a memorable 20-hour adventure that doesn’t overstay its welcome — and leaves you excited for the next trip into Halcyon.
— Ciaran Marchant
3) Disco Elysium
Developer/Publisher: ZA/UM • Platform: PC
Disco Elysium is possibly one of the greatest and most special games I’ve played. It’s an isometric RPG like the classics, but almost everything is done through dialogue — so the entire experience rides on the writing. And it’s phenomenal.
You’re a detective who wakes up with one of the worst hangovers in recorded history, with no idea who you are or what you were doing. The sheer variety of characters you can role-play is astounding, and each “skill” has its own personality — acting as a pseudo-NPC in your head.
The game tackles the political spectrum, social inequality, racism, and mental health, among much more. The unique art is beautiful, and the soundtrack is to die for. The world is so richly detailed that I just wanted to keep exploring and learning its history.
For me, it stands head and shoulders above every game this year and is in serious contention for one of the best I’ve ever experienced. ZA/UM absolutely hit it out of the park in their first outing. They’ve earned a supporter for life, and I eagerly await what’s next.
— Nicholas Prior
2) Control
Developer: Remedy Entertainment • Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
When it came to feeling like a superhero or a Jedi, Control’s telekinetic abilities made me feel more like either than any other 2019 game. Floating across gaps and blasting enemies from above; ripping chunks of concrete to hurl at foes before dropping to shotgun them with your supernatural Service Weapon — it’s unrivalled combat this year that makes you feel badass.
Control is also a wild trip into a world of monsters and sci-fi horrors. In my review I wrote:
Like all good episodes of The X-Files or The Twilight Zone, there’s a fantastic mystery at the centre of Control. Remedy are fans of serials (see Quantum Break) and horror (Alan Wake), and here they combine those inspirations into a deep, intriguing, mysterious world.
Since then I’ve sold friends on it with those same comparisons — but what Remedy creates with Control is ultimately an original world with the year’s most stunning art direction and a story that rewards players the more they dig.
— Dylan Blight
1) Death Stranding
Developer: Kojima Productions • Platform: PS4
No game stuck with me in 2019 like Death Stranding.
In my review I said:
Death Stranding is a unique, weird, unprecedented game I can’t get out of my head. It’s a testament to new ideas and the rare freedom Kojima Productions was granted by Sony. I hope they keep supporting bold swings, no matter how wild “a game about delivering packages” sounds on paper.
That “can’t get it out of my head” line is still true months later. Death Stranding hit me hardest in 2019; I loved playing it, experiencing it, and reading others’ experiences. It tells a very sci-fi story with a heart that hit me hard by the end, and it gave me the multiplayer feeling many talked about with Journey. I was emotionally invested in helping fellow players rebuild the world — and felt real joy in giving.
No game in 2019 was as unique, wonderfully weird, and special as Death Stranding. If it’s a sign of things to come from Kojima Productions, it’s a great one.
— Dylan Blight
