Phaseknox's Top 5 Games of 2019

[Phaseknox]

The following are the top 5 games that I played and finished in 2019:

5. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
Taking place in 1800s London England, you play as twins Jacob and Evie Frye during the industrial revolution. I liked the story, characters and setting. It's less stealth and more action compared to previous AC games. It actually feels like a brawler a lot of the time, and both Jacob and Evie have great melee combat skills. You also have a grappling hook similar to Batman in the Arkham games. The story missions are varied, and it's just the right length with a satisfying ending. I really enjoyed the core gameplay, and there was good variety to the environments. I think that it's one of the more underrated AC games as it's one of my favorites.

4. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
This is the best JRPG that I've played so far this gen, it has a colorful anime aesthetic with a good story and cast of characters. It's a little archaic in design with the classic JRPG formula of traversing somewhat linear outdoor areas to reach cities/towns/villages, interacting with lots of NPCs then going through a dungeon and fighting a boss. Lather, rinse and repeat throughout the 80+ hour journey. It offers classic turn-based combat, but doesn't really present a challenge until about halfway through the game. Everything about it seems like it was aimed at a younger audience, but it definitely offers a lot of appeal, charm and humor that make it entertaining the entire time.

3. Ghost Recon: Wildlands
If I was basing my favorite game of the year on gameplay alone this would be it, because the core gameplay is an absolute blast. This is a non-scripted third person open world military action game where you approach each mission objective how you choose which often result in exciting and even sometimes humorous outcomes. You can be stealthy, or go in guns blazing. You can play as a lone wolf, or have three AI controlled teammates join you. I played as a lone wolf when I first started, but later on I needed the assistance of my teammates. Both the story and characterization are paper thin making the gameplay and gameplay alone the reason to play. There was enough incentive given to do the missions, but the story and characters were definitely not the draw. While gameplay is the most important aspect of a game for me, story and characters are also important aspects as well.

2. Days Gone
This is a third person open world zombie apocalypse action adventure game that is the complete package of story, characters and gameplay. Yes it's another zombie apocalypse game, but the story, characters and especially location (Oregon mountains/wilderness) give it a somewhat different vibe compared to other zombie games. The cinematic story and interesting cast of characters drive it, but the core gameplay is what makes it fun to play. It's a great mix of action and stealth with solid melee, and shooting combat. The environments and weather effects are extremely detailed and realistic looking, and there's a good amount of variety to where you go despite it primarily taking place in mountainous and wilderness areas. Your primary mode of transportation is your motorcycle, and it's so fun to ride that I rarely fast travelled. While some of the side content can be repetitive, the story missions are varied. Some performance/technical issues made it feel more like a multiplatform game than a Sony PS4 exclusive which usually have a higher level of polish, but they were fairly minor and didn't hinder the overall experience too much.

1. Mass Effect: Andromeda
The Mass Effect games are some of my favorites, and this is the best one IMO. While it received a lot of hate when it first came out due to bugs and performance/technical issues, I played it with its latest update which fixed a lot of its problems. It's a third person sci-fi action RPG where you take on missions and go to several different open world type planets each with their own distinct looks and layouts. The story, characters and gameplay are all great. It has solid shooting mechanics, and a good upgrade system. It's like a mix of Dragon Age: Inquisition and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic which are a couple of my favorite games. It's a big game packed with content, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

[isthatallyougot]

You're early!

I have way more than 10, so deal!

Nice to read your impressions.

[Phaseknox]

You're early!

I'm still playing post game stuff in Dragon Quest XI, and it's doubtful that I'll finish anything else before the end of the year.

Nice to read your impressions.

Thanks.

Maybe it would be better for us to post our own GOTY lists as separate threads, so I made this one mine.

[argyle]

I just realized I never commented on your list this year Phase.

The only game I've played from your list this time is Days Gone, although Dragon Quest XI, AC Syndicate and Wildlands are all in my backlog. I was actually waiting for the Switch version of DQ XI to play it, and since I recently picked it up in a GS sale I'll probably play it soon.

Glad to see you really enjoyed Days Gone as well, it seems like it was a pretty overlooked game last year. Just goes to show how many good games Sony puts out when something as good as Days Gone can fly under the radar or just be underappreciated. A good friend of mine had the Medievil remake in his top list for last year, that's another one that went unnoticed. I've also heard great things about Concrete Genie.

[jfissel]

Hopefully, I'll be able to get to Days Gone in 2020...glad to hear the positive thoughts on that game as well as AC: Syndicate and DQ XI.