2019 is nearly done, and to put a ribbon on it all we present to you the Eurogamer reader’s top 50 games of the year. Thank you all for your contributions, and for proving once again you’ve all got better taste in gaming than us. Although I’m not quite sure about your take on Fallen Order… Enjoy!
What we said: “A simple no-frills game that’s more Destruction Derby than Flatout, evoking a different era for the racing genre with its no-nonsense approach. Unassuming it may be, but it’s also absolutely wonderful, a knockabout racer that sticks to what Bugbear does best; this is all about cars lunching one another in a variety of events that are tuned towards maximum carnage, and as ever there’s a cathartic joy to be found in seeing fields of pre-loved machinery crumble at your fingertips.”
“Best racing game in years,” writes merf. “More fun than Forza and Gran Turismo and makes every everything Codemasters turn out look pish. Looks amazing, handles like a dream, excellent AI opponents, great post release support, a tuning system that makes sense and a physics system that feels like it needed next generation power to make possible.” Which is all well and good, but they go on to diss Fast & Furious and I’M NOT HAVING THAT.
“One of the best racers of the generation,” says kalel-ofkrypton, “and reminiscent of the favoured racers of previous gens.”
What we said: “GreedFall has more than its fair share of faults, and its curious mix of the sweet and the sour is far from a roleplaying revelation. But the elements that matter have been imbued with such love and care – so much so that I quickly forgave this ambitious RPG its shortcomings.”
“Spiders best yet,” says jbumi in what may be damnation with faint praise. “I was thrilled that I was able to get the ending I was aiming for.””
nicfaz keeps it nice and simple, meanwhile. “Need more like this pls.”
What we said: “In its desperation to be edgy and in-your-face, this sequel sometimes falls just as flat as its predecessor, the copious neon pink daubings incapable of concealing its bland, repetitive wasteland and elevate this open-world shooter above its siblings of a similar ilk. But in its quieter moments – usually away from the Goon Squad scrum – you might find glimmers of surprisingly sophisticated storytelling, perhaps hidden in the lines of a datapad, or conveyed by a nameless NPC.”
“The guns are amazing,” says robozot, which says all that needs to be said really.
formulaic had more to say, though: “For the gunplay and the vibrant neon painted world this might be my game of the year, but it got tiring driving round a desert world that largely didn\’t live up to the set pieces and enclosed areas within it.”
“A wholly enjoyable slice of post apocalyptic shooty mayhem in a Day-Glo world,” says FortySixerUK. “Hyper violent and fun.” And what more could you really ask for?
What we said: “Sayonara Wild Hearts is such a simple thing but also such a complex thing, such a heartfelt thing. And so dense! Its exuberance is precision, its chaos is sheer choreography. It can reference Panzer Dragoon, Jet Set Radio, Dyad and Thumper while remaining entirely coherent, entirely itself.”
“Sayonara Wild Hearts is 2019’s best pop album game,” writes Dogatella_Verpoochie, and I entirely agree. “It’s a blast to play and listen to.”
A belated PC release, topped off with the addition of Reach late in the year which Digital Foundry got stuck into: “it really needs to be better – the legacy of Halo, the quality of Reach itself and the potential from a remaster practically demands it. Preserving games for the future – especially on PC – means replicating them as they were in all the places where it matters, while improving them at the same time based on the scalability of today’s hardware and beyond. Perhaps this may sound overly harsh in some respects, but this is the Halo remaster that will persist for years or even decades to come – and while the foundation is solid overall, there are clearly issues here that need attention.”
“A return to the glory days of gaming when you and your mates actually had time to waste,” says GuiltySpark.
“I hadn’t played a Halo since Reach way back when, so I was curious to see if I would still love them as much as I did,” says Spiderland. “And I did! Particularly Reach, which for one reason or another, I had forgotten everthing about. I feel Reach was the product of a team who had really honed their craft, which makes me ponder all the more as to what Bungie’s Halo 4 would have been like.”
What we said: “Cadence is better than great. It’s an authentic banger, frankly – a Zelda game to be savoured. It’s surprising and strange and funny and sad and thrilling. And when it’s over, the game that lives on in your memory really feels like Zelda.”