2018 was a very strong year for gaming; after plenty of fallout from the scandals of loot boxes and in-game monetisation last year, the past twelve months saw a major resurgence in both classic rereleases and major AAA games that prided themselves on offering standout single-player experiences; companies that led the way in these trends had some of their best performances in years, while others faltered due to disappointing progress or backlash from players. Here are my personal picks and awards…
Game that came and went with low impact
3rd: Detroit Become Human: David Cage’s pretentious, often ham-fisted storytelling continued in Detroit: Become Human, which while offering strong player choice, rarely transcended the limitations of its director.
2nd Starlink: Battle for Atlas: The toys-to-life craze had clearly died down by the time Ubisoft released Starlink, which made use of various ship parts that interacted with the game; not even a cameo by Nintendo’s Starfox could rescue this title from mixed to mediocre critical reception.
1st: Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The final game of the rebooted Tomb Raider trilogy fell short on critics; while not necessarily a bad game, it lacked anything impactful when compared to its predecessors. The story was a massive turn-off for most.
Biggest gaming casualty
3rd: Boss Key Productions
Having solidified a capable resume in the industry thanks to Gears of War, game director Cliff Blezinski was ready to strike out on his own with a new studio. Boss Key Productions put out Lawbreakers, an online shooter with gravity-bending mechanics. The game drew a strong hardcore following, but this did not transfer into its 2017 release. Player counts reached record lows and with so many popular shooters already on the market, Lawbreakers couldn’t find an audience. Easily one of the biggest commercial failures in recent years, in the end, it was Cliff Blezinski’s contentious attitude and the saturated FPS market that killed Boss Key; Lawbreakers had all the elements it needed to be a standout addition to the multiplayer shooter genre but because it arrived too late, this was not to be, and the company was severely punished. One battle-royale cash-in later with Radical Heights and the studio eventually closed in May 2018.
2nd: TellTale Games
While it may have once been the saviour of the point-and-click adventure game, TellTale Games couldn’t last. Having built itself on digital distribution and acquiring the rights to as many popular properties as possible their releases went from universal acclaim in 2012 to mostly middling critical reception in 2017. A collection of diminishing returns came thick and fast as the leading minds at the company stubbornly refused to progress the developer forward. There was simply no innovation to be found as each and every episodic series put out used the same graphics engine, gameplay mechanics and basic structure. By burning themselves out making the same game over and over again, TellTale Games, once a champion of the adventure genre, was no longer fit for purpose and crashed out of the industry. It was probably the most disappointing closure of the year but with the direction the company was going, this had to be expected.
1st: The Fallout franchise
Many franchises slowly degenerate from their past glory into something lacklustre and anticlimactic and in 2018, it was Fallout’s turn to take the plunge. Fallout 4 had already diluted the franchise’s strong RPG routes into a rather ho-hum action game, but Fallout 76 really drove the series through the mud. While a survival-based online Fallout game had potential, it was clear that little to no effort was put into the title when it released in November this year. When a franchise stoops this low, there’s very little reason to support it anymore; Bethesda will no longer have the luxury of the hype train to sell new Fallout titles and considering how Obsidian Entertainment (and their upcoming release The Outer Worlds) is outclassing them in every way, the once venerable series may not ever return to its classic routes, not unless another experienced developer has a go. But Bethesda seems arrogantly possessive of the franchise now, unwilling to pass the reins to another studio for fear of looking bad.
Most disappointing game
3rd: Battlefield V
Right from the get-go, DICE’s Battlefield V had a hard time pleasing fans and making an impression. Beginning with a deeply contentious reveal trailer that appeared to ditch historical accuracy, both the developer and Electronic Arts ended up ruining the game’s chances of success with a litany of egregious communications with players. The blunt phrase: “Don’t like the game? Don’t buy it” was arguably the worst offence; turns out fans of the franchise did exactly that, as Battlefield V went down as a very poor-selling title. It didn’t help that many features in the base release were half-finished or missing entirely. Some have speculated that costs were cut by holding content back and that as a developer, DICE is currently at the mercy of EA, a publisher cracking the whip and making them put out one major release every year, alternating between Battlefield and the new version of Star Wars: Battlefront.
2nd: State of Decay 2
State of Decay became a cult favourite when it released in 2013; with its emphasis on multi-management and the gradual gathering of multiple communities amid a zombie apocalypse, it proved a strong success on the Xbox 360. Shortly after this, Microsoft signed a deal to publish multiple games from the studio exclusively on the Xbox platform, which would eventually lead to Undead being acquired in June this year. Naturally, the company moved forward on the production of a follow-up and with the backing of a major publisher, Undead Labs surely would have pulled out all the stops to make a better game. From top to bottom, State of Decay 2 felt lazy and unfinished, squandering any potential the series may have had. Riddled with bugs and an almost complete lack of major innovations, Undead Labs certainly didn’t make the most of the development time or the additional support from their publisher. Players may not be nearly as enthused about their next title.
1st: Sea of Thieves
Promised as the grand return of Rare and the next big game for the Xbox brand, Sea of Thieves seemed to be packing all the right ingredients for a wildly entertaining pirate adventure; one that you could experience with friends at your side. Piloting your ship with crewmates and exploring the high seas was ripe for a masterful cooperative sandbox. Having been in development for almost four years, you’d expect a great game. Sadly, Sea of Thieves launched in a woefully basic state with next to no content and a monotonous gameplay loop of performing the same fetch-quests repeatedly. While Rare has promised the game will get better with future content updates, it’s clear that this was an attempt by Microsoft to cash in on the infamous “live-services” model, one in which a game is put out at full price with the promise of further additions further down the line. It’s a huge let-down to see Rare fail to make a comeback.
Best and Worst Industry Trends
Best: Bringing back old favourites with great efforts
Nostalgia is a very profitable trend among gamers and over the last few years, the rise of the remaster has seen countless older titles given a new lease of life. We’ve had a few duds this year, most notably Shadow of the Colossus for PlayStation 4 and Dark Souls Remastered, both of which were only marginal upgrades from their original releases. But where these releases faltered, others flourished; Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, the Megaman Legacy Collection, the continuing improvements to the Half-Life remake: Black Mesa, Age of Empires Definitive Edition. These titles have all shown that re-releases, when done right, can fundamentally improve an old title for a new generation. The next major remaster will be Capcom’s Resident Evil 2; with fans having clamoured for a remake of that title for years, it will hopefully be a major success.
Worst: Lazy cash grab video games
With games apparently becoming too expensive to make, the onset of greedy practices and cutting costs to reduce costs can only become more enticing for developers and publishers. Generally, there’s always that one video game every year that disappoints and frustrates more than any other, but in 2018, there were three major titles that were seemingly designed solely to maximise profits; Metal Gear Survive, Sea of Thieves and Fallout 76. All of these titles are guilty of using basic or recycled assets, possessing horribly basic and shallow gameplay on launch and were put out on the market at full price. It speaks to the rotten attitude of “buy now in the hope it gets better later” that gives developers the excuse to be lazy and not release a complete product. In the cases of Metal Gear Survive and Fallout 76, franchises were ruined in the process, used to exploit their respective fanbases. The hype cycle needs to be tempered to avoid this becoming commonplace in the industry.
Strongest company performance
3rd: IO Interactive
As the developer of the Hitman franchise, IO Interactive was often at the mercy of its publisher Warner Bros; their last game Hitman Season One was a great game on many levels, but the business practice of releasing episodically was a poor decision that resulted in the game being fragmented and selling poorly on all platforms. Luckily, with the release of Hitman 2, these mistakes were corrected and then some. Not only was the title an excellent sequel that continued the gargantuan sandboxes the franchise is known for but it also worked to unify the new series of titles by remastering the first Hitman’s maps and objectives. After the middling reception of Hitman: Absolution in 2012 and the failure of Hitman in 2016, IO Interactive has easily made the strongest comeback as a developer this year. They deserve further success if they continue with this level of quality. Not bad for a twentieth anniversary...
2nd: Nintendo
Contrary to their failure with the Wii U from 2012 to 2016, Nintendo has made a fantastic comeback over the last couple of years. Their experiment to blend console and handheld systems together with the Nintendo Switch has paid off in spades and the company continued their wave of success in 2018. Of course, it was Super Smash Bros Ultimate, arguably the company’s biggest franchise that secured their achievement this year. Outside of this major release, Nintendo was quite modest this year, putting out titles like Kirby Star Allies to tide players over while securing some much needed third party ports from companies such as Bethesda and Ubisoft. Yet despite their renewed success, Nintendo has never wavered when it comes to their business practices; always offering fair and ethical approaches to downloadable content and never veering into corruption. For the future, they need to fix a sore point that has long dogged them as a company; the business of online multiplayer which hasn’t exactly had the best launch.
1st: Sony
While their attitude towards cross-play was rather petulant throughout much of 2018, in terms of amazing games Sony and the PlayStation 4 took the crown this year. The exclusive titles were highly successful and impactful, proving that the giant’s focus on cinematic gaming experiences continues to pay off in spades. The year kicked off with God of War, a powerful and resonant experience that reimagined the classic mythological franchise better than anyone expected. Then in September Marvel’s Spider-Man by Insomniac Games released and was widely regarded as one of the best superhero video games ever made. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and Detroit: Become Human also joined the 2018 line-up and while these weren’t quite as strong in terms of quality, they still affirmed Sony’s place at the top of the AAA console market. With such a massive domination of the industry over the last five years, the company shows no signs of slowing down with titles such as Death Stranding, The Last of Us: Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima set to close out a vastly successful console cycle in 2019. Through it all though, Sony needs to ensure it doesn’t become too short-sighted and cocky or they may end up back where they were with the poor announcement of the PlayStation 3 in 2006.
Weakest company performance
3rd EA
Much to the satisfaction of many gamers disgruntled with greedy practices in the industry, Electronic Arts took a serious hit in 2018. The fallout from Star Wars Battlefront II continued this year and the company’s stocks ended up taking a dive to a $21 billion forecast. The now-infamous corporation has taken third place because after all the horrendous policies they’ve hurled into the industry over the years, it was expected that there would eventually be a well-deserved comeuppance. Their biggest failure this year came with Battlefield 5; after a round of poor marketing and arrogant backbiting against fans, the title became the worst selling entry in the franchise. Notable for its lack of content, stripped gameplay and questionable pandering to a wider audience, the franchise is now in dire straits. Thanks to its poor business decisions, gamers are catching on to EA’s terrible reputation. Their next major release in 2019, Bioware’s Anthem, will be another major test for the company.
2nd Microsoft
Microsoft may not be actively angering consumers and ruining franchises, but their performance in 2018 was extremely disappointing on all fronts. Outside of Forza Horizon 4, which is hardly a new franchise, the Xbox really didn’t have much to show this year. It’s already well known that the American company lost this generation a long time ago, but it doesn’t excuse their sluggish strategy. The Xbox One X, which released last year, may be the most powerful console on the market right now but all that money and hardware has been wasted on failing exclusive games and a painfully slow return to form. The best Microsoft could do this year was reassure fans via the acquisition of several major game studios that they are working to get back on track; however, this couldn’t make up for underwhelming releases. Both Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2 stood as massive let-downs that failed to get people excited about the Xbox brand again. For all their talk and advertising of offering strong cooperative multiplayer titles, Microsoft still has a mountain to climb and 2018 will go down as a mostly wasted year for the corporation.
1st Bethesda
Other companies made their own critical mistakes this year, but nothing can compare to Bethesda Game Studios, who seemed hellbent on undoing all the achievements they have made. Notch by notch and scandal by scandal, any and all goodwill they had built up over the last decade was annihilated from July to December 2018. Of course, it all began with the launch of Fallout 76, a disastrously lazy and relentlessly awful title that has practically ruined the company’s reputation. From there it all unravelled as Bethesda’s true intentions for the game were revealed; from lying to customers about deluxe editions, forcing a microtransaction store in Fallout 76 and subtly altering the game behind the scenes to make it more grindy for players. Worse still, data miners believe that Bethesda plans to sneak loot boxes into 76 further down the road. The entire debacle has put the company on notice and their horrid attitude has been punished handsomely by players. It’s going to take a lot to get players back on-board in the future.
Worst games of the year
3rd Metal Gear Survive: A title that executes the Metal Gear franchise in the worst way possible, reusing assets from Metal Gear Solid 5 in a painfully frustrating and generic zombie game. Though let’s face it, most hardcore fans saw this coming from a mile away.
2nd The Quiet Man: Made with good intentions but failing miserably, The Quiet Man aimed to create a convincing neo-noir atmosphere placed against a multi-layered story told through full-motion video. In short, it will be remembered for its awful performances, hilariously bad beat-em-up gameplay and an overall lack of polish.
1st Fallout 76: A total disaster with very few redeeming qualities; not only is it the worst and laziest game Bethesda Game Studios has ever put out, but it is also a hotbed for some horrendous business policies from the Atom microtransaction store to the outright broken core design. With three dubious honours under its belt from me, it’s hugely embarrassing.
Best games of the year
3rd Super Smash Bros Ultimate: True to its name, the fifth Super Smash Bros title is gargantuan in both size and content while maintaining the franchise’s excellent core gameplay. If this is Sakurai’s last game in the series, he’s going with out with the biggest bang possible.
2nd Red Dead Redemption 2: Aside from a couple of control issues and somewhat dated mission design, Rockstar’s latest release has gone down as a smashing sequel and the most detailed rendition of the Wild West in any game to date.
1st God of War: A powerful and arresting experience in every way, one that brilliantly reinvents Kratos and the franchise for a new audience. Moreover, it proves beyond reasonable doubt that superb single-player games are here to stay. It was certainly well-deserving of the highest accolade at The Game Awards.
That’s a wrap on 2018; next year will see the released of several long awaited and highly anticipated titles including Resident Evil 2 Remake, Kingdom Hearts 3 and Shenmue 3 to name a few alongside plenty of new releases from all the main publishers.
Commentaires