Games I played in 2019.

This was a good year for games and I enjoyed my time with them immensely. I played across PC, Switch, PS4, and 3DS with adventure/rpg being my most common genre.

Here is my list of games that I played in 2019 divided up by whether or not I finished them.

Games I finished

Horizon Zero Dawn

After much badgering from my sister, I dove into Horizon Zero Dawn. Typically in the past, I would only play 1 or 2 AAA games a year. It took a good 5–10 hours to get acclimated to this game’s style and then an additional 10 hours to really get a hold on combat. After that, I had a blast running through this game. By far one of the most beautiful and realistic games on consoles.

Stories Untold

Great twist on the classic “text adventure” genre of games. I dug the style and art direction and I definitely jumped a few times. Solid little game to tear through in an evening or two. Save it for Halloween season!

Link’s Awakening (Switch release)

A remake of the game that got me into the Zelda franchise? Totally a day one purchase. Everything was just as I remembered it except rendered in a cute, miniature art style. It was great to visit this small island once again and hear that familiar story from an old friend.

Firewatch

Wonderful scenery and art direction right here. Also — the vibe of the story was a bit more spooky than I anticipated which was a nice added bonus. This game is also a testament to how crucial and impactful voice-acting can be.

To the Moon

This one has been sitting in my library for years and I’ve always heard how good it was. And it is! A great story told in just a few hours. Great game to explore how to properly tell a good narrative with just a few set pieces and a few hours.

Death Stranding

I had been riding the hype train on this one for the past two years. After the third weird and confusing trailer, I was hooked. Ultimately I feel that DS is a game I respected more than I enjoyed. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I really liked what it was aiming to do. In the end, to me, it was an alright game.

Wandersong

Oh, Wandersong. You adorable and endearing adventure. I loved every moment of this game and was surprised by how long of an adventure it was. This game also nails “moments” that a lot of narrative games sometimes stumble around. Dialogue is absolutely charming too.

Faith

A super lo-res horror game that came through my Twitter feed one day. I saw one of the rotoscoped animations from the game and was enthralled. Regardless of its very rudimentary graphics, this game is unsettling. Faith opts out of jumpscares and gore and instead leans on unsettling imagery and simply making the player uncomfortable to get the narrative across. One of the better horror games I’ve played.

Control

Quite the technical marvel, right here. Levitating through an impossibly twisted and brutalist building while using telekinesis to launch parts of said building at enemies was a highlight of this year. There is a reason this game is atop many GotY lists: it’s very good. My one gripe with this game was a combination of three things that led to many frustrating moments: tough boss fights, long treks to said boss fights, and long load times every time you die. You only get to pick two of those, Remedy. That said, don’t let this dissuade you from playing this. Not one to miss.

Games I didn’t finish

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

I had wanted to play this game since it came out on the Wii and it did not disappoint. Matter of fact, I don’t even know why I stopped playing it. It was a ton of fun, had plenty of exploration, and the voice acting had just the right amount of cheese to it. I’m definitely going to pick it up again and maybe this time use a walkthrough just to streamline my experience.

Kentucky Route Zero

You know, KRZ is one of those games where I’m like, “Oh, this is why people like this game.” KRZ is a good game and has beautiful design and art, but in the end, it’s just not for me.

Metroid: Samus Returns

Something I strive to do is never say that a specific game is “bad”. I believe that’s way too dismissive and unfortunately, something gaming culture encourages. Instead, I take the view that often a game that I don’t enjoy simply isn’t for me, something I had misled expectations about, or it simply turned out to be something other than what I thought it was. Samus Returns was a bit of all of these. I was a huge fan of the original for Game Boy and was expecting something similar to what we got in the Link’s Awakening remake. However, the addition of the melee/enemy dive mechanic ruined the entire game for me. It swung the feel of the game in an entirely new direction and simply wasn’t for me. Again, not a bad game but just not what I was hoping for.

Blasphemous

Well dang this game was dark. Blasphemous is a good game and I made it to the half-way point, but I think it’s a game that I’d be better off watching someone do a playthrough of. I was more interested in the story and visuals than the actual gameplay. The gameplay itself was punishing and spot on though. Great entry into modern-day metroidvanias.

Rocksmith

I played a ton of Rocksmith this year. As a guitar player, it’s a wonderful tool to learn new songs, chords, and theory. Really, really fun game to play a few songs to every now and then.

Sea of Thieves

With constant updates and new content, SoT has provided me with a great way to hang with friends and generally goof around on the ocean. Currently gearing up to do the last Tall Tale. Wish us luck!

Blaster Master Zero 2

Yet another entry into one of my favorite franchises. I was hauling through this game until Death Stranding came out. Simply said, it’s a wonderful follow-up to the 2017 entry and I will undoubtedly pick it up again and finish it.

No Man’s Sky

What a comeback story for this game. 2.0 was released this year and I hopped right back in. Along the lines of Skyrim and Minecraft, this is a world I’ll pop back in every year or two and spend a few weeks with.

Dragon’s Dogma

Often viewed as a hidden gem, I jumped at the chance to play this game with its release on the Switch. A solid open-world RPG with some interesting mechanics (climb giant bosses!), I liked a lot of it but the main meat of the game didn’t really grab me.

Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Having not played the original since high school, I thought it was time to revisit this peculiar entry into the LoZ world. I enjoyed it and got what I was looking for and thus stashed it away for now. There were definitely some parts that were better left to memory and nostalgia but all in all, it’s a fun game that holds up.

SOMA

I tried to one-shot this for Extra Life and it made me realize one thing: I am shit at these types of horror games. I didn’t finish it and instead watched someone on YouTube finish the game. That said, it’s a solid entry for horror games and a great take.