So I recently went back and looked at my top five list from 2017. It was a great group of games, and the honorable mentions are also solid. It was an easy list to make really. I can’t say the same for 2018. While it had a crazy amount of GOOD games, I had trouble deciding which of those would round out the top five. Oh my top three were easy. But after that, everything else felt about the same to me. Good but not amazing.

A couple updates: I bought a Switch, but it was right around Christmas so I’m just starting to try some games on that system. And boy do I like that crazy contraption for gaming on the go.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I bought, and therefore played, less games in 2018 than I did in 2017. A good chunk of the second half of the year involved my wife and I house hunting, and then of course that led to packing/moving, selling our old house, blah blah blah. But needless to say, it was all very time-consuming. Another small reason for the decrease in gaming activity was that I really wanted to dig into my gaming backlog and that meant not buying as many of the new releases that I usually do. What I can say is that there was not a clear favorite at the top of my list. I was incredibly split on determining the order of my top two.

As always, here’s a few Honorable Mentions that I enjoyed my time with but ultimately didn’t love them as much as others:

NBA 2K19 – I feel like the newest 2K game is always on this list but has trouble cracking my top five. Here’s why: the insane grinding for coin and the microtransactions bullshit plastering every single part of every single game mode is still present and really sours my experience overall. The on court gameplay is still super tight though. God I love basketball.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Haven’t gotten far enough into this game yet to rank it higher, but boy do I love it so far. I’ve played just about every single AC game, but I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve only gotten to the end of one of them (Syndicate). AC Origins is one I’m still working on, and that has halted my progression in Odyssey somewhat.

Dead Cells – I don’t typically get into games like Dead Cells. In fact I never would have considered checking it out if it wasn’t for all the praise it was getting online. So I grabbed it during a sale and I’m glad I did. It’s a neat little game. Unfortunately for me and my schedule, going back and replaying the same levels everytime you die is not something I have the time or patience for anymore.

Far Cry 5 – Playing this game on my powerful PC was a blast when I first jumped into it. But I’d say about 1/3 of the way through, it started to feel too silly. I mean how many baddies do I have to kill in this region before the population drops to zero? It seemed no matter how many I eliminated, they would just keep respawning on the roads literally seconds later. I wanted to keep going in this game but getting from point A to point B with less than 10 interruptions along the way was becoming almost impossible.

So without further ado, my top five of the year 2018

#5 – Octopath Traveler

This could be considered dumb. After all, I am not even halfway through this game yet, and I’m already ranking it up this high? Especially when I played about 40 other games throughout the year? Yes, and here’s why: turn-based rpg’s are usually a turnoff for me, I’d say about 90% of the time. A few notable exceptions have kept my interest over the years (FFX is a great example). However, Octopath Traveler, which was my second purchase after Rocket League on my new Switch, is a game that sold me on the clever premise and the unique visuals. Then I got a chance to experience the really cool battle system, and I was hooked.

Another thing about me is I actually don’t beat THAT many games. Last year I beat about five. But Octopath so far has shown me all the signs that I will likely make it to the end of it because of how much I’ve enjoyed my time with it so far.

#4 – Forza Horizon 4

The Horizon series has been one of my favorite racing games of all time. The gorgeous visuals, the exhilarating music, the great open-world layout. I’ve been hooked since Horizon 2, and it keeps delivering with each bi-annual installment.

#3 – They Are Billions

Yet another genre I normally stay far away from, this tactical tower-defense type of game appealed to me because of the zombie hordes you need to fend off. I know it’s in early access so the final build isn’t technically here yet, but this game sucked the second most hours out of me in 2018 (behind only Rocket League). It could be because I’m fairly new to this type of game so I’m likely not very good at it, but that means it’s quite challenging to me and I think that might be why I very much enjoy starting over from scratch right after the hordes destroy my base. I did complete three of the four original maps, and am still working on the fourth one.

#2 – Red Dead Redemption 2

This game is so difficult to describe when just about everything about it has been talked about so much already by everyone. And rightly so, it’s deserving of all the praise it’s received. However, one word I could perhaps use to describe it is cathartic. The slow, drawn-out animations for the most petty, basic actions should be annoying. But they’re not. This is a game that is going to take years for me to finish, and I’m okay with that.

#1 – God of War (4?)

This game and RDR2 could easily swap positions on this list, but I put GoW above it because I actually did make it to the end and can seriously say this is one of the best stories in a game I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my entire life. Now, I’m a dad and it’s possible that I might have more of a soft spot for it due to the father/son relationship that other gamers might not. But regardless, the surprise ending, the axe, the level system, all of it as a whole make this one of the funnest times I’ve had in the 4 years I’ve owned my PS4.