We're reaching the end of this console cycle. In the next couple of months, we'll have our grubby hands on some new consoles, either the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X or be perfectly content with our gaming rigs or Nintendo Switches. It's hard to believe it's been seven years since PlayStation 4 and Xbox One released. In that time, we've played numerous games and have probably played some gems and some real stinkers. There's also probably some we've missed or have yet to play. For me, those are Horizon Zero Dawn and finishing God of War. I'll probably play those after I finish Ghost of Tsushima. So, let's see what our top 5 games of the generation are. I'm not going to count games I haven't finished (yet). So Ghost of Tsushima is out for me, as is God of War. 1. Red Dead Redemption II - At first I didn't care for this game. It was a little too realistic for my tastes, with inventory management, maintaining your horse, guns, appearance, etc. At first, Arthur Morgan was a poor substitute for John Marston. But, I kept playing. Now, when I think of Red Dead, Arthur comes to mind. I'm not an emotional person, but I was depressed when I finished this game. A true testament to the world Rockstar created and the characters they brought to life. 2. Days Gone - A lot of people poo-pooed this game. I did at first too. But underneath some repetitive game mechanics is a good story of a biker trying to survive in a hostile environment. There's also some really intense horde battles in this game. 3. Spider-Man - I had an absolute blast playing this game. On my 55" OLED and PS4 Pro, webslinging to the roof of the tallest buildings in New York and looking across the horizon was awe inspiring. The combat was also fun and the actors that brought the characters to life did an amazing job. 4. Super Mario Odyssey - The capture mechanic was cool as hell, as was having the ability to stomp around as a T Rex. The random 2D sections that popped up were cool as well. 5. Mad Max - Like Days Gone, a lot of people dismissed this game as very repetitive. I had fun. Fun vehicular combat and upgrade options, exploration and a cool sidekick in the form of Chumbucket. Like I said, this list is tentative for now, and will most likely change when I get done with Ghost of Tsushima. So, what say you? What are your top five games for the console generation (for now)?
1. Dying Light It’s my all time favorite contemporary game, and it still gets updates from time to time despite being “old” by now. Also, the developers tend to listen to the fans and are actively engaging the community. That’s how it’s done. Also, I love me a good zombie game, and this one is different from all the others because it combines zombies and parkour. And it works. Some people say the story is a bit thin and I agree, it’s nothing out of the ordinary, but I love the characters and the setting and the gameplay so much, it doesn’t really matter. 2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons It’s cute, it’s Nintendo, it’s addictive. I love it. Nuff said. Heh. 3. Horizon Zero Dawn I absolutely love this game, the graphics are stunning and the story is incredibly interesting. And the music is superb. I also love that they introduced a “story mode” after a while where the focus is more on the story and less on strict combat. I spent entire nights playing this game, it’s so good. 4. Watch Dogs I know, it wasn’t exactly the game the gameplay trailer had promised and fans were rightfully angry, but I have a soft spot for it because it was the first game I bought along with the PS4 itself. I’d been a Nintendo Only console guy until then and it just blew me away. 5. Red Dead Redemption II Single player = masterpiece. The story is amazing and I love Arthur and Dutch and Hosea (my fave) so much. I also love how so much of the game has become a meme by now. The game came out a week after my mother’s sudden death and I, despite being under shock and whatnot, went to the city to get it on release day and I’m so grateful that I did because it provided me with an escape from all the hell that had broken loose around me.
Top 5 in no particular order: Uncharted 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last Guardian Honorable mentions: The Last Of Us 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, Gravity Rush 2, Rise of the Tomb Raider, God of War
Overwatch - The only online competitive game that I've ever enjoyed, I've put hundreds of hours into it, and I'll probably be putting in hundreds more when Overwatch 2 comes out. What Remains of Edith Finch - A "Walking Simulator" that shows how powerful the genre can be. I've played it three times all the way through, and cried like a baby at the end all three times. Powerful, imaginative, fun, sad, if you even think you might be interesting in a "walking sim" type game, or just like great stories, this is a must play. Yakuza 0 - The game that got me into the Yakuza franchiuse is still my favorite one. A great story with amazing, memorable characters, fun gameplay and a lot of very fun, and frequently funny, side content. Super Mario Odyssey - The only Mario game I've gotten to the end of, its a colorful, fun to play delight, in my opinion its easily the best Mario game. Its music and visuals are instantly memorable, its gameplay gimmick is unique and fun, and overall its a great experience. Assassin's Creed Syndicate - This game got me into this franchise, and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved the London setting, the main characters are both great and the overall story and gameplay loop are very entertaining.
Super Mario Maker 2 - A blast to play Pokemon Shield - I respect the fact that they kind of went in a MMO like direction, online wise and love the overworld exploration Hollow Knight - Fun to play with an eerie atmosphere The Flame in the Flood - Loving this game so far, rather reminiscent of Oregon Trail Animal Crossing - Fun and relaxing to play Runner Up: What The Golf? - A nice, funny and fun golf game
If I had made a top six, Syndicate would be on it. I feel it's really underlooked an underrated due to how awful the launch of Unity was. I almost didn't play it. But, I loved the setting, the music, and Evie Frye is one of my favorite Assassins.
#1: Last of Us Part II: The first one blew me away, and this one did the same. It was already very high on the list, but then I hit the twist at the halfway point, and that solidified it's place. It took balls the size of the Rock of Gibralter to do what Naughty Dog did, and it worked. The rest in no particular order: Assassin's Creed Syndicate/Origins: I didn't want to have more than one game from the same series, so these two are tied. Both games have great settings, and some of the series best characters. Horizon Zero Dawn: One of the best new IPs in a while. A fascinating world, with an interesting backstory, great characters, and really fun gameplay. Spider-Man: One of my absolute favorite superhero games, they nailed the character both in terms of gameplay and personality. It also has a great story, which does some very interesting things some of Spidey's core characters. Ratchet & Clank: One of the best games in one of my favorite series.
Fire Emblem 3 Houses The best grid based Tactical RPG since Final Fantasy Tactics. With the recruiting mechanics and tweaks to the battle system. And having four completely different stories based on which house you choose to represent. Trails of Cold Steel 2 I’ve been getting deep into the Trails series and have only played five of the nine games out there. The way they worldbuild over multiple arcs in different countries in the same universe, just amazing. Celeste Maybe the best platformer in years. The crisp mechanics and challenge that builds on itself, and then the simple story of a girl tying to climb a mountain and having to embrace her inner demons. Hollow Knight Possibly the best Metroidvania since Super Metroid. Creating challenge that’s hard but fair, but making you learn the game to get through instead of gaining levels. Also the simple minimalistic story you discover by exploring the world. Valkyria Chronicles 4 Another great strategy RPG taking place at the same time as the original game with different approaches to storytelling. If there was a version of Super Mario Odyssey where you could only do the fun moons and not the 500 boring repetitive chore ones like goomba stacking and trace walking it might make the list. Such good mechanics in a game that forces you to spend so much time on boring nonsense.
Does not having been advertised with a million dollar campaign make it so they're not good games? I'm more into RPGs and platformers than the big budget games with hyperrealistic graphics, fantastic cinematography and bland fetch quest driven gameplay. If you're into those genres you should check those games out.
Oh no, I didn't mean they aren't good, I was just surprised because most of the others games people are bringing up have been AAA titles.
Ahh, my mistake, a lot of people do associate popularity directly with quality. I have trouble getting the into AAA games. You start them out and the first hour is incredible, with the movie like production quality. Then you get into the meat of the gameplay and it’s usually not all that fun. They’re designed more around the principle of progression through attrition of quest completion, usually things like collecting bounties, killing monsters, collecting item drops, etc. I play games for emotional character driven stories and skill and strategy driven gameplay. And no AAA games have given me that since I got into Mass Effect and Arkham City. They usually seem so designed around ‘Completion gaming’ and open ended story progression you usually neither get the problem driven challenge of old school games nor the attachment to the story and characters of JRPGs.
Have you played the Last of Us games? They're linear stories, with some of the absolute best character work I've ever come across in video games.
I think this generation has amazing narrative powerhouses. I think I'd call this the narrative generation. Technology and writing have come together in a way to create real narrative-driven experiences and I'm sure it will only get better via the next. My Top games this generation would be, in no particular order: God of War: I seriously didn't expect to like it this much given I hadn't played the other games in the series, but the story really grabbed me. It was compelling from the get-go, and had some fun gameplay elements that it also made fun of to a certain extent. Spiderman: First of all, I'm not all that into comic books or superheros, so my knowledge of Spiderman, his friends and villains, were completely new to me. Not only was this a great game, it was actually a great compelling story. I had a few problems with some gameplay elements and design, and the way the camera acted at times during boss battles, but it was otherwise really solid. Horizon Zero Dawn: I was mostly in it for the story. I had difficulty with some of the combat, particularly at the end even on its lowest difficulty setting. But the story was pretty great with an interesting world. I only hope the next one spends more time delving into the world's details. I know one part of the game was finding viewpoints and information caches for iconic areas, and I'd like to them feel more special. More of that world's history would be interesting. It's amazing to me at the first three on my list are first-party exclusives. Red Dead Redemption 2: This game absolutely floored me. Narratively speaking, I think it's Rockstar's strongest most compelling game to date. I know it's a little slow for some people, but given some chance, this game can easily sink its hooks and become quite immersive. This game has so much detail in its world, even down to the smallest things you wouldn't think of, like each animals decomposing with individual bones being rendered. Assassin's Creed Origins: I haven't played Odyssey yet, but it would likely be an even better contender for me. But this one was my first PS4 game. I really liked the game overall, including the new direction they gave the series in terms of gameplay. Plus it was really fun just exploring Egypt. Honourable mention goes to Uncharted 4: Maybe it was because I played it later, but while I had a lot of fun with it, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I would have wanted to, and by the time it ended, I was ready for it to end.
Still so many games I need to play from this generation but I would put Uncharted 4 and The Outer Worlds in the list.
I'm a little shocked to see Uncharted 4 on so many lists. I loved it, and it very narrowly missed a place on my list, but I thought I remembered most people's reactions to it being kind of mixed.