Top 5 Games of 2019

    Because I was gone on my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ until August of 2019, I played most of the games that came out that year much later on. That said, I think 2019 is quite an underrated year for games. It was a year in which we saw a lot of games simply improving on what had come before rather than trying anything particularly new. My top 5 games from 2019 are all big budget, big team games. That is for good reason though, all these games were made by big teams that clearly cared about the games that they were making.

5. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Respawn)

    This game (and probably its sequels) are the closest that I will ever get to completing a souls-borne game. That is because this game is far more forgiving and features more than just constant punishment. In fact, beyond its 3D hack and slash combat and campfire system this game feels more like a 3D metroidvania than a souls-borne game. The graphics and Star Wars setting are also quite remarkable. It is also cool because if feels like it fits right in with the modern Star Wars cannon. There were some frustrating platforming moments in this game that almost made me uninstall and quit playing, but all around it is a great game.

4. GreedFall (Spiders)

    Pretty much any review for this game will state that it is basically a modern take on a 2000s Bioware game. Perhaps that is why I love it so much. One of the major things that stands out to me with this game is that despite having 4 major factions, there isn't really a clear bad guy. They player can even work to have good relationships with all of them. It is a nice change from the black and white we see all too common in other RPGs. The gameplay is fun, and the characters are interesting. One last mind blowing thing is the budget that this game was made on. I've read online that it was somewhere around $6 million. Pure insanity for a game that feels AAA.

3. The Outer Worlds (Obsidian)

    Firefly is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Before this game had come out I was waiting for a game that would allow me to finally live out my Malcom Reynolds/Han Solo space fantasy. Thankfully this game delivered. The humor is great and the role playing is some of the best. While the combat can be quite simple at times, and there isn't much variety in the enemies fought in this game, what it is good at is perhaps the best we've seen in gaming. If nothing else, this game is the Fallout New Vegas sequel that we never got.

2. Metro Exodus (4A Games)

    One of my favorite things to do in games is explore. Through its different open world hubs Metro scratched my exact exploration itch. The gunplay is tight and the art is top notch. I'm also a sucker for playing as a stealth sniper because I must have some kind of power complex. This game also does a great job of adding to it's predecessors sci-fi roots. One last thing is that the "good" ending was a lot easier to achieve in this game. Perhaps I wish it had just one more semi-open world hub that I could explore just because I loved the first two so much.

1. Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)

    For the longest time I swore I would never play a horror game. Fear was not something I would purposely subject myself to. Yet for some reason I bought this game. I saw that the reviews were incredible and that it was on sale, so I figured why not? When it finally came time to play this game, I was completely blown away. Not only was I scared for the entire experience, but I had an incredible amount of fun. The puzzles, exploration, and even the cheesy dialogue kept a very large, terrified smile on my face the entire time I was playing it. I've since played RE7 and RE3 and found both games to be quite enjoyable as well. Honestly, I can't think of anything particularly flawed with this game. I might even go as far to say it is perfect.