Tatty's Two Thousand and Eighteen GOTY of the year list!

Tough one.

Playing RDR 2 has made me think seriously about why I loved the first game which, looking at dispassionately, is inferior in every way apart from the fact that you can fast travel in the old game and they've removed the option for 2, barring some more animation-heavy coach and train journeys. I love Westerns, and I loved John as a character - RDR 2 is an even more impressive Western and Arthur is a much more rounded, likeable person compared to John, who's depicted in this game as being a bit of a buffoon as a younger man.

There'll always be big budget, cinematic games but outside of the likes of Rockstar, Ubisoft and a few of the other big hitters, they're becoming rarer. One of my favourite open world games of last gen was Sleeping Dogs, which was most definitely a mid-tier game and one which you really couldn't see getting made today. In fact, the Sleeping Dogs sequel was quietly canned.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

This is comforting. I'm still very hesitant to start RDR2 after my experience with Batman: Arkham City feeling both too much and underwhelming at the same time compared to Arkham Asylum. I've been super cranky lately too so I keep pushing it off as I'm worried my mood will affect my perception of it. Like, "Dammit! Where Is John!? DAMMIT!! I have to add these particulars to my game play?!?! DAMMIT!!!!!!1!! MY CONTROLLER NEEDS CHARGING!!!11!1111!!!!!!"

;P

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"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear

SD had it's far share of jankiness, but man it was good.

Would it have been as good if it had its original title, True Crime: Streets of Hong Kong? Yep, it was initially going to be one of the True Crime games. Great game, with a sense of fun that's missing in Rockstar's recent output.

4: Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Playstation 4)



Two Yakuza games on my top 10 list?

Well, only two got released this year.

Kiwami is the name Sega is giving the remakes of earlier Yakuza games, and this one is of the second PS2 title. As with Kiwami 1, it's a ground-upwards remake, not a remaster, and it's made with the brand new Yakuza 6 engine and not the previous, last-gen friendly one that spawned Yakuza 0. It looks sharper, has better combat, but is sadly locked at 30fps, not the 60 of the old engine. Something had to give in order to have the shiny stuff, I guess, but action games at 30fps aren't my favourite things to control.

Anyway, Kiwami 1 suffered in that it stuck faithfully to the original Yakuza's story structure, which was from a time when the team were only dipping their toe in the water as far as the famed Yakuza wackiness went. Yakuza 2 was where the series really got into its stride, and the remake doesn't disappoint.

Why is it higher on my list than the brand new Yakuza 6? sentimentality.

3: State of Decay 2 (Xbox, PC)



State of Decay 2 is not a perfect game, far from it. Performance on the base Xbox is poor, the UI is awful and combat is functional at best.

However, it was the only game I seriously played for about 2 months at the turn of the year.

The game's procedurally generated set of characters is the key here, with a myriad selection of perks, buffs, debuffs and traits meaning that every survivor feels unique and real. You're a former teenage runaway? You'll not take up a bed space in camp, then, because you're used to sleeping rough. You're naturally a neat person? +4 Morale to camp because you can't help tidying. You're noisy? You annoy anyone in camp marked 'irritable' and the zombies can hear you easier. etc etc

I had a great time just rolling random trios of survivors at the start and seeing how their various personalities complimented each other. Sometimes I'd refine things and randomise until I found, say, three gamers or three out of work actors.

The trick is not to think of it as an action/survival game at all. When you play SoD2 as a Zombie SIMS Roguelike, it's brilliant!

I loved the first State of Decay, even though it badly needed refinement and an expansion on its ideas. The sequel delivers enough for it to be an all-round improvement to the formula and, with the studio's recent acquisition by Microsoft, I'm expecting SoD3 to be an even greater leap forward.

I’ve been on the fence about SOD2 for a while, but this has pushed me further in its direction. It just looks like I’ve got to pick a lenient week.

I’ve also added Shapeshifting Detective to my queue. Hope to try it soon. Thanks!

If you've got a spare Xbox game pass free trial going, or even fancy taking out a month subscription, State of Decay 2 is on there - That's how I first played it, and the Pass works on PC too, although the game selection is a lot more limited, SoD is still on there.

Might try SOD2. Had the game pass for free last month but never tried it.

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Game Pass is great if you're starting from scratch - All the Microsoft stuff is there plus a good selection of other games.

2: Forza Horizon 4 (PC, Xbox)



We've seen two great arcade racers this year, and another brave one. Burnout Paradise Remastered is an update of one of my favourite games of last generation and still plays wonderfully, but I could only allow myself room for one remaster on my list (shoutout also to Dark Souls Remastered) and decided that Lumines needed some love.

The brave game is Onrush (free on PS+ and Xbox Game Pass), a fantastic idea for a team-focused arcade game which takes its lead from a number of multiplayer shooter ideas. You're not so much crossing the finish line in first place (there is no finish line ) but are playing a role in your team. If only it drove a bit better...

Which brings me to Horizon 4 - It drives beautifully.

The Horizon offshoot has provided my perfect antidote to the increasingly dry presentation of the regular Forza Motorsport series. It's bright, positive, multi-coloured and fun to hop in and out of. I've not really seen anything like the vibe it gives off since Outrun.

Even though the game is running on the Forza Motorsport engine, they've definitely tuned the handling towards a more predictable arcade style, although they've provided multiple assist settings which you can turn on and off at will, depending on how 'real' you wanna be. I started on default and left it there.

Horizon 4 differs in two major ways from its predecessors - The online component now sees other players in your world in real time, instead of the AI 'drivatars' of the past, and something I've not seen since the ill-fated test Drive Unlimited 2. It's well implemented and you can choose to engage with other players or leave them alone to no ill effect.

The second difference is the seasons mechanic. Originally, I'd figured that the changing seasons was a pretty gimmick but it adds to the game fundamentally. Spring has wet, more slippery roads and winter has snow and ice, all of which directly affect the handling of your cars. A lot of people find one car they like and stick to it for the majority of the game - That's something which isn't possible here as you'll find yourself having to race in low sports cars and bouncy 4x4s whenever the need arises. Seasons change once a week and each one brings unique events and prizes, so there's an incentive to log back in regularly.

Forza is now one of those 'games as a service' things.

In addition to playing brilliantly, Horizon 4 is one of the best looking games this generation. Its depiction of a truncated Scotland/Northern England is stunningly realised. Heck, it even has sheep. Sheep you can't run over no matter how hard you try.

It's a feelgood game in a year that didn't contain a lot for us to feel good about.

Waiting with bated breath for that number ONE!

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1: Tetris Effect (Playstation 4)



It wasn't even close.

I never owned a Gameboy, nor any Nintendo hardware until the DS. I was never a big proponent of puzzle games in general apart from the occasional time-passer and Lumines. Then I bought Puyo Puyo Tetris on PS4 a few years ago and things started to change...

Tetris began to make sense.

When lists of greatest/most influential games of all time are made, Tetris is always ranked high, along with the Pac Mens and the Zeldae, and that's what it was for me for decades - A revered game on a list, not one to be played but one to be admired.

Puyo Puyo Tetris, it was said, played a darned good game of Tetris. Not having much to personally base this on, I threw myself in, eventually buying the game again on the Switch.

Tetris was fun, demanding, addictive .... and I was totally awful at it.

Then I heard that the guy behind Rez and Lumines was making a Tetris game. I was now beginning to notice Tetris .... until the price was announced. £30 for Tetris? TETRIS? I'll wait for a sale.

Then I heard what people were saying about Tetris Effect. I bought it at full price and, y'know what? £30 is a bargain.

I'm sure everyone has seen the videos by now, the music, the cool graphics, the Tetris. Aurally and visually, it's very pretty but you really need to sit down with the game for half an hour in order to understand just how everything knits together. It's that word again - synesthesia. My definition of synesthesia: Colours and sounds making you emotional, simple as that.

Some of the songs on offer can appear a bit trite in isolation, but when married to the rest of the game they make total sense.

I don't think I've felt such euphoria playing a game since the end of Journey on the PS3, and Journey is probably my game of that particular generation. The way the sound and visuals respond to each move you make, and how quickly or gently you make that move can only really be explained by a controller in your hand. The VR aspect of the game is incredibly neat but not essential in the slightest, in fact I'd rather experience the game in all its full resolution, sharp glory than the slight fuzziness of PSVR.

Tetris Effect is joyous, it's uplifting, it's life affirming. And it plays a darned good game of Tetris (apparently).

I'm still bad at Tetris.

Wow. I haven’t really played Tetris with any regularity since I was a kid. It’s always been a sporadic and relaxing game for me since, but not something I put a ton of time into. Maybe that’ll change now. I’ll definitely try this one. It looks gorgeous.

Awesome list! And great choice. It's been really great reading about how enamored people are with Tetris Effect. I like that it takes the concept and just builds an entire homage of a game around it. Score one for competence and simplicity.

Great list and thread, thanks.

Damn that looks hypnotic as ****. Almost wish I was someone who takes mind altering drugs so I could play high.

Great read. Great list.