So here we are, in 2021 and I haven’t even posted my list of games from 2019. It’s a funny story because I wrote this post back at the start of 2020 and then never posted it. Why? I have no idea. So while I work on this new list for 2020, here is the list from what basically feels like two years ago.

There were a lot of great games in 2019. Any games that I completed, I will mark them with an exciting ***. Some games you can’t really complete, but if I feel like I beat it, I will still mark it as such. At the bottom is the honourable mentions section, where I talk about games that don’t really and truly qualify for this list, but I wanted to talk about them anyway.

Slay the Spire - This game officially came out this year. It’s a fun game that would be perfect for mobile. It is not on mobile. (Update: It is now on mobile, the port is bad)

Resident Evil 2 (2019) - This is an incredibly graphic remake of a game that scared me like crazy back in 1998. There’s a scene where a man’s face is chopped through like a melon. Cool!

Apex Legends - This was a big surprise entry into the Battle Royale genre. I really like it compared to Fornite, but unfortunately I am not great at it. ***

Tetris 99 - This is a Battle Royale Tetris game where you play against 98 other players to see who is better at placing blocks. I always thought I was good at Tetris, this game proves it. FLEX. ***

Anthem - Oh boy. I thought flying around like Iron Man in a science fiction Destiny-like would be fun. Somehow, I was wrong. Brutal game. One can only hope that Bioware can somehow make this game fun.

Baba Is You - You are Baba, or a rock, or a flag, or a pool of water. You push blocks together to form simple phrases that alter the nature of the game world. It’s just as weird as it sounds. Outstanding game.

MLB The Show 19 - I like baseball. This game lets me live out the unrealistic dream of going on a 55 game hitting streak and having a batting average of .456. Despite this, I still got pulled at the all-star game. What the hell?

Islanders - You take buildings and plonk them down on islands. If you do a good job, you can do this again on another island, and then another and another. A calming but shallow and repetitive game.

Katana Zero - Finally, I get to live my dream of being a ninja that can slow time and deflect bullets out of mid air. I had some fun with this one.***

Days Gone - This is a huge game where you drive a motorcycle and kill zombies. Critically derided, but a commercial success. It’s better than the critics said, but also kind of boring and the story aims higher than it delivers.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite - If this is what Harry Potter is like, I’m glad I didn’t read the books or watch the movies. A boring waste of time and battery life.

Samurai Showdown - This is probably a great fighting game. It’s not for me. The girl who has a hawk attack people is pretty cool though.

Final Fantasy 14: Shadowbringers - I don’t really understand this game, but my character looks great. Typical MMO where you’re super powerful and everyone wants you to kill rats for them.

Dr. Mario World - This is what happens when you take a good game, and make it bad.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 - Minecraft and JRPGs blend together to make for one of the most pleasant games of the year.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - I really like Fire Emblem, and I’m glad this entry has done so well. This is not my favourite entry and the new combat mechanics feel like a half step back. Generally speaking, everyone else loves it though.

Oxygen Not Included - I played this game a lot when it was in pre-release. It’s a fun goofy game and I’m terrible at it. It’s the sort of game I aspire to be good at. You can turn human poop into fertilizer!

Control - I desperately want to play more of this game. A game that uses brutalist architecture to tell a Lynchian science fiction horror story is too good to pass up. ***

Sayonara Wild Hearts - A neon bath of good vibes and pop music. Ride a motorcycle and swing a giant sword at things. An amazing game that can easily be completed in one sitting. ***

Cadence of Hyrule - A rhythm game set in the Zelda universe where you defeat beasts to the remixed beats of iconic Zelda music. Great game.

Mario Kart Tour - Visually it looks like Mario Kart, and it sort of plays like Mario Kart… but it’s also exactly the sort of game that makes mobile look bad.

Dragon Quest 11 S - A “best of” edition of the highly regarded JRPG. I haven’t been able to click with a new JRPG in a long time, but this is doing the trick. 30 something hours in and still going. Slimes are cool.

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep - Starting to get back into Destiny 2. It’s a fun game, but rolling without a consistent party is hard. The story still makes no sense to me.

What The Golf - What if when you went golfing you shot a tree into a cat? Or the ball stuck the roof? Or you hit yourself into the hole? This is that game.

Death Stranding - A haunting and beautiful looking game where you slowly rebuild a broken country. Also there are ghosts sort of and you make weapons out of your own excrement. This is the sort of game where I’m always on the edge of “the good part”. I want to like it, but so far, I don’t.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - A game that kind of borrows from everything and yet still works. It’s a very fun game and I get to double wield lightsabers. Honestly, it’s fantasy fulfillment. ***

Shovel Knight: King of Cards - I kind of missed the boat on Shovel Knight when it first came out, but I’ve been slowly playing through the collection. A great game that reminds me of NES classics.

Kingdom Hearts 3 - This game is a turd. I love the graphics, but the gameplay is mindless and the story is brutal. If you like it, you’ll like it.

Observation - A really cool game where you play as a robot helping a scientist on a failed space mission. Very cinematic. You’re basically HAL, which is fun in a dark way. Controlled a little poorly and sometimes it was unclear what exactly you needed to do next.

Outer Wilds - The less you know about this bizarre space sim adventure game the better. What I will say is that it defied my expectations to a wonderful degree. Charming, exciting and contemplative.

Dauntless - I’ve been told this is like Monster Hunter. This game is about as entertaining as punching myself in the head. Hard pass.

Builder’s Journey - A lego spin on Monument Valley, sort of. It’s a cute, sweet game you can complete in about an hour. Defied my expectations. ***

Super Impossible Road - A game where you roll a marble down a hill. I prefer Marble Madness.

Guildlings - A fun game where you form a magical team to do stuff teens do. Fun!

Marble It Up - A marble game that harkens to Monkey Ball. Fun! Marbles! Rolling around!

Minecraft Earth - An AR version of Minecraft that pulls from the Pokemon Go formula. Somehow it makes Minecraft boring.

Manifold Garden - A game where you explore the concept of infinity while moving blocks around. Just like scientists do in real life! A genuinely fun puzzle game.

Mini Motorways - Have you ever wanted to build a mini version of a motorway? Now you can. Charming graphics and perfect for short sessions. ***

Grindstone - A matching puzzle game where you’re a buff man that smashes monsters to make enough money to pay for his family to go on a vacation. Great game with a wonderful aesthetic.

- Honourable Mentions -

Hearthstone Battlegrounds - This is the first time in years that I’ve had fun with Hearthstone. It embraces the randomness and Hearthstone and frees itself from the agony of collecting cards.

Overwatch - A big comeback for me this year. Overwatch can kind of lost its hold on me, but some of that magic came back. OWL proved to be way more fun than expected and the game remains a polished gem.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey - Last year I didn’t really have time to play this and this year I did. This is the best this series has had to offer in a long time. Maybe the best game in the series? ***