2018 in gaming so far....

[CritialGaming]

It's been quite a disappointing year if I say so myself. I'm noticing a trend in the games industry in that we have these cycles of off and on years. 2017 was fantastic, midway through the year we already had titles like RE7, Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza 0, Nioh, Breath of the Wild, Nier Automata, a number of great indies, Prey, Fire Emblem, and on and on and on.

But in 2018 we've had what? God of War and a Monster Hunter? With what on the horizon?

Of course every year is going to have a stand out title. 2016 sucked imo but that was the year we got Doom which was easily that year's stand out.

Overall I feel like everything in 2018 has just fallen short, even God of War which is probably the best game so far fell short in regards to its combat. Other games like Ni No Kumi 2, Crew 2, Far Cry 5, Sea of Thieves, A Way Out, Outlast 2, all have been utterly lacking. The other stand out was Dragonball FighterZ, but I don't consider fighting games to have any possible lasting appeal as 99% of them flair out quickly shortly after release with few exceptions (anybody still invested in Tekken 7?)

Looking at the rest of 2018 we have a Spider-man, which I'm skeptical of being any good, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider as the only two games upcoming that I have any remote interest in.

So the question for ya'll is this, how do you feel about 2018 so far? What games have stood out to you? What have been utter disappointments? What are you looking forward too this year still to come?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I played the only game I was interested in, Far Cry 5, and I'm soured on it. Loved the gameplay and story, but the ending is such bullshit and there's not post-ending playground I've lost all enthusiasm for the it.

Everything else is just needless melodrama or battle royale.

 

[ShoobieDoobie]

Dynasty Warriors 9 sucked so bad it actually demoralized me

 

[Elijin]

I played the only game I was interested in, Far Cry 5, and I'm soured on it. Loved the gameplay and story, but the ending is such bullshit and there's not post-ending playground I've lost all enthusiasm for the it.

Everything else is just needless melodrama or battle royale.

Outpost Master? Arcade Maps (the non-pvp kind)?

 

[Avnger]

I played the only game I was interested in, Far Cry 5, and I'm soured on it. Loved the gameplay and story, but the ending is such bullshit and there's not post-ending playground I've lost all enthusiasm for the it.

This was evidently a bug and has been fixed.

 

[Catfood220]

Its not been a great year yet. I haven't played Far Cry 5 or God of War yet as I'm waiting for a price cut so can't comment on them. But its not been bad, I enjoyed Ni no Kuni 2, though it seems like I might be the only one. Yoku's Island Express has been my surprise of the year so far, a fun little indie game from Team 17. Plus there was the de Blob 2 re released at the start of the year.

The rest of the year looks more promising, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Spider-Man, Valkyria Chronicles 4, Life is Strange 2 and RDR 2 are all out in the second part of the year. So the last few months of this year could be as good as the first few month last year. For the meantime, Persona 5 is still awesome.

 

[CaitSeith]

I'm really far behind in my to-play list; so I haven't really noticed (also I usually buy the games one year after release, so it's all patched up by then). I have also seen a lot of ports and remakes released this year (specially for the Switch).

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I played the only game I was interested in, Far Cry 5, and I'm soured on it. Loved the gameplay and story, but the ending is such bullshit and there's not post-ending playground I've lost all enthusiasm for the it.

This was evidently a bug and has been fixed.

Really? What exactly is the post-ending playground? Last time I was in the game it was just the pre-ending game world for the player to clean up.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Of course every year is going to have a stand out title. 2016 sucked imo but that was the year we got INSIDE which was easily that year's stand out.

There; I fixed that for ya?!

 

[CritialGaming]

It's been quite a disappointing year if I say so myself. I'm noticing a trend in the games industry in that we have these cycles of off and on years. 2017 was fantastic, midway through the year we already had titles like RE7, Persona 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza 0, Nioh, Breath of the Wild, Nier Automata, a number of great indies, Prey, Fire Emblem, and on and on and on.

But in 2018 we've had what? God of War and a Monster Hunter? With what on the horizon?

Of course every year is going to have a stand out title. 2016 sucked imo but that was the year we got Doom which was easily that year's stand out.

Overall I feel like everything in 2018 has just fallen short, even God of War which is probably the best game so far fell short in regards to its combat. Other games like Ni No Kumi 2, Crew 2, Far Cry 5, Sea of Thieves, A Way Out, Outlast 2, all have been utterly lacking. The other stand out was Dragonball FighterZ, but I don't consider fighting games to have any possible lasting appeal as 99% of them flair out quickly shortly after release with few exceptions (anybody still invested in Tekken 7?)

Looking at the rest of 2018 we have a Spider-man, which I'm skeptical of being any good, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider as the only two games upcoming that I have any remote interest in.

So the question for ya'll is this, how do you feel about 2018 so far? What games have stood out to you? What have been utter disappointments? What are you looking forward too this year still to come?

I?ve only played *edit* Kingdom Come: Deliverance (general impression in below post) */edit* and God of War in terms of 2018 releases. I?m also digging its combat more than ever now. I think I wasn?t mixing my attacks up enough or something and under utilizing Atreus, because within the span of Level 5 I?ve gone from most enemies feeling spongy (Challenge difficulty) to breezing through even the trolls. The last one I fought in the cage after the dragon I didn?t even get hit. Just unleashed on him and he went down in about half a minute if that.

I think part of it is down to actually paying attention to my armor perks properly too. Before I was just going for the best raw stats, but after socketing a lower valued set with the best perks I?m fighting far more efficiently. I also have most of my skill tree unlocked except for the bottom row on the blades, so that plus upgrading my runes has greatly improved my damage output.

Having said that, I?ve only done a couple Valkyrie fights so far, so my next there will be a real test. Idk what the max level is in this game, but everything else I?ve encountered has become completely manageable 1:1, but still keeps me on my toes in larger groups. I?ve also taken some time to do more exploring, which is in a way more fun than the main story. Going to go look for some treasure whenever I get back into it.

 

[stroopwafel]

Indeed it's a pretty disappointing year. Big standout ofcourse is God of War which I enjoyed a lot. My favorite game of the year so far is probably Vampyr. Just love the atmosphere and setting. Other than that there has been some really great re-releases. It's awesome to finally have Dark Souls 1 and Shadow of the Colossus on PS4. SotC in particular being a phenomenal remake/remaster. I also really enjoy Street Fighter and Megaman X collections. Also really looking forward to Yakuza Kiwami 2. Another remaster of an old game but atleast one I never played.

Atleast next year will start with a bang with RE2 Remake releasing in january *drool*.

I've only played God of War in terms of 2018 releases. I'm also digging its combat more than ever now.

Didn't you also play Kingdom Come? Btw what is your final opinion on the game?

edit: forgot Monster Hunter. It's a fun game that I occasionally play and it's really well made but idk, just doesn't really make an impression. I also feel sad for the poor lizards you have to kill.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

this years been pretty bad. i agree.

 

[CritialGaming]

Of course every year is going to have a stand out title. 2016 sucked imo but that was the year we got INSIDE which was easily that year's stand out.

There; I fixed that for ya?!

Oh right....uh thanks. Actually I never played INSIDE because I have typically very little interest in game's like that, thus why I said DOOM.

Additionally I will say I have been playing Octopath Traveler and that game has held my attention for far longer than any other game on the Switch to date. I'm about 8 hours into the game and can honestly say, it isn't great. It's interesting, but it isn't a great game.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

2018 has been pretty poor. I guess that's to be expected after 2017. The only game I've played this year that I'd rate 7/10 or better would be Monster Hunter World and the endgame is ruined by grinding. For console gamers, we do have Divinity Original Sin 2 coming in August. I definitely think Spiderman is going to nail the gameplay but will the missions be well-designed along with a quality story, that will determine if it's just fun or something amazing. I really couldn't care less about RDR2 or Fallout or the BFs/CODs. Shadow of Tomb Raider will probably be at best a fun romp like the previous 2 games. Hitman 2 will probably be pretty solid, but its a known formula basically, you either like them or you don't at this point and it ain't going to do anything you haven't seen.

Of course every year is going to have a stand out title. 2016 sucked imo but that was the year we got INSIDE, DISHONORED 2, and THE LAST GUARDIAN which was easily that year's stand outs.

There; I fixed that for ya?!

Fixed your fix haha

within the span of Level 5 of level 5 I?ve gone from most enemies feeling spongy (Challenge difficulty) to breezing through even the trolls.

That's mainly due to how shitty the difficulty is balanced caused due to the needless RPG level mechanics. Things get piss easy towards the last third of the game or whatever. I had fights on Hard where all I did was spam BOY arrows and follow that up with executions on every enemy in the encounter. Then, if you do side shit, you can still come across like purple wolves that will one-shot you.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I played the only game I was interested in, Far Cry 5, and I'm soured on it. Loved the gameplay and story, but the ending is such bullshit and there's not post-ending playground I've lost all enthusiasm for the it.

This was evidently a bug and has been fixed.

Wait the ending was a bug? That makes sense since it was god awful, but how did they fix it?

 

[CritialGaming]

snip

The Last Guardian? Seriously? I've heard nothing but crap from that game.

 

[stroopwafel]

snip

The Last Guardian? Seriously? I've heard nothing but crap from that game.

It's alright if you play it like a game they forgot to release 10 years ago. Camera and controls are somehow worse than the original Shadow of the Colossus released in 2005. Some beautiful atmosphere and art direction though. Game is very unique and one of a kind though I can't say I enjoyed playing it that much.

 

[Casual Shinji]

snip

The Last Guardian? Seriously? I've heard nothing but crap from that game.

It's an aquired taste, i.e. if you love the Ueda-verse.


OT: I've been so busy playing and loving the shit out of God of War that I haven't really noticed the lack of other quality games. Now that you mention it, yeah, there hasn't been too much. There was Yakuza 6, but I only played that for an hour at best, since I still need to finish 0, and start Kiwami. And freaking Kiwami 2 is releasing in august. *sigh*.. I've also been enjoying Octopath Traveler.


Anyway, we still got Spider-Man coming which looks great, and I'm very much anticipating the Spyro remaster.


So yeah, it's been slim, but God of War alone made this year phenomenal. And not every year can be 2017.

 

[CritialGaming]

Indeed it's a pretty disappointing year. Big standout ofcourse is God of War which I enjoyed a lot. My favorite game of the year so far is probably Vampyr. Just love the atmosphere and setting. Other than that there has been some really great re-releases. It's awesome to finally have Dark Souls 1 and Shadow of the Colossus on PS4. SotC in particular being a phenomenal remake/remaster. I also really enjoy Street Fighter and Megaman X collections. Also really looking forward to Yakuza Kiwami 2. Another remaster of an old game but atleast one I never played.

Atleast next year will start with a bang with RE2 Remake releasing in january *drool*.

I've only played God of War in terms of 2018 releases. I'm also digging its combat more than ever now.

Didn't you also play Kingdom Come? Btw what is your final opinion on the game?

edit: forgot Monster Hunter. It's a fun game that I occasionally play and it's really well made but idk, just doesn't really make an impression. I also feel sad for the poor lizards you have to kill.

Gah...didn?t even think of that! I must?ve pushed it far enough out of mind after a particularly tedious side quest.

But yeah, overall when you allow yourself time to be immersed in it the game is actually more fun than The Witcher to me, in nearly every way besides the narrative, which isn?t terrible in itself either. Everything about it is soaked in detail, from the combat to the glossary to the mini games that have you brewing potions from scratch; recipes and all. As much as a game can do so it makes the illusion of being a part of the time period well-realized. Traversing the Bohemian countryside on an armored horse feels as authentic as a game can, right down to the inertia felt when you jump a fence. It?s fun to just go exploring in this one as well, because you discover the map naturally as you go.

What made me take a break though is getting to a point where a certain quest had me literally picking dozens of weeds out of some dude?s garden, and the way you do that involves watching the same ?picking? animation over and over, complete with its own camera angle. I basically said time to take a break and went back to God of War lol. But someday I?ll return to finish picking those weeds and hopefully that?ll be the most tedious quest encountered. The rest of the game progression has felt pretty natural and pleasant though, and it?s just a very authentic feeling world to get lost in.

 

[stroopwafel]

Gah...didn?t even think of that! I must?ve pushed it far enough out of mind after a particularly tedious side quest.

But yeah, overall when you allow yourself time to be immersed in it the game is actually more fun than The Witcher to me, in nearly every way besides the narrative, which isn?t terrible in itself either. Everything about it is soaked in detail, from the combat to the glossary to the mini games that have you brewing potions from scratch; recipes and all. As much as a game can do so it makes the illusion of being a part of the time period well-realized. Traversing the Bohemian countryside on an armored horse feels as authentic as a game can, right down to the inertia felt when you jump a fence. It?s fun to just go exploring in this one as well, because you discover the map naturally as you go.

What made me take a break though is getting to a point where a certain quest had me literally picking dozens of weeds out of some dude?s garden, and the way you do that involves watching the same ?picking? animation over and over, complete with its own camera angle. I basically said time to take a break and went back to God of War lol. But someday I?ll return to finish picking those weeds and hopefully that?ll be the most tedious quest encountered. The rest of the game progression has felt pretty natural and pleasant though, and it?s just a very authentic feeling world to get lost in.lections. Also really looking forward to Yakuza Kiwami 2. Another remaster of an old game but atleast one I never played.

Atleast next year will start with a bang with RE2 Remake releasing in january *drool*.

Yeah, those who love the game and those who hate it also seem pretty evenly divided. Looks interesting for sure but I'm not really that big into deep and complex RPG's and this seem to be as deep and complex as RPG's can get. I do really like RPG mechanics like for example in Souls games or RPG's that can be played by everybody like Witcher 3 but RPG's with a steep learning curve and too much minutiae I tend to not really enjoy.