Monthly Archives: December 2019
The Best Ongoing Game of 2019
Despite a heaping helping of new releases in 2019, many online games released in previous years are still going strong with constant updates and thriving communities.
Best Ongoing Game of 2019: Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy 14 Game Director Yoshi-P and his team at Square Enix not only dropped one of their best expansions yet with Shadowbringers this year, but they were able to introduce a slew of big quality of life updates that improve the experiences for new and old players. Jobs were changed significantly to make combat easier and features like the Trust System are geared towards players who like a single-player experience. Aside from the typical patches you see with every MMO, Final Fantasy 14 was able to add in a new unique job, a Final Fantasy 15 crossover event, and new postgame content in collaboration with Nier Automata this year.
IGN’s 2019 Game of the Year Award Winners
2019 has been an oddly eclectic year for video games. From the zombie-infested streets of Resident Evil 2 to the colorful battles of Pokemon Sword & Shield, it’s seen a massively diverse lineup of games from developers across the globe.
We saw unexpected hits like Control and Disco Elysium, stellar remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Link’s Awakening, excellent additions to classic series’ like Fire Emblem and Luigi’s Mansion, and bold first steps for new franchises like The Outer Worlds and Jedi: Fallen Order.
Here you’ll find all of IGN’s picks for the best that gaming had to offer in 2019.
The Best VR Game of 2019
Virtual reality can amplify the escapism we often seek in video games, it can craft unique experiences that can't be replicated outside of a headset, and deliver the potential for true immersion. That's the idea, anyway, and 2019 was no stranger to groundbreaking, medium-defining games that made the most of it.
Best VR Game of 2019: Beat Saber
Beat Saber is nothing short of medium-defining, brilliant in its simplicity despite its odd elevator pitch — what if you wielded two lightsabers and struck down blocks flying at you to some sick beats. But that odd combination is something Beat Studio perfected from the go, with a fantastic beat-matching mechanic that makes its VR tunnel of lights and floating blocks enthralling to lose yourself in.
The Best Mobile Game of 2019
While great games have always been on mobile, Apple Arcade did wonders for increasing the visibility of mobile games while giving us easy access to a curated collection of some of the best experiences the platform had to offer.
Best Mobile Game of 2019: What the Golf?
What The Golf is officially described as “the golf game for people who hate golf,” and it couldn’t be more apt. This isn’t your typical golf game — one that just ramps up difficulty in distance, angles, and obstacles between golfer and hole — and you catch onto that fairly quickly when you’re swinging your club and it’s the club that goes flying towards the hole. Or when you’re knocking cats towards goals over golf balls. Circumventing the gravitational pull of planets or dodging angry cars as they drive into you are also real levels in this game.
The Best Action-Adventure Game of 2019
From eerie halls of government buildings to the colorful sands of mysterious islands, 2019 has had some exceptional games that require both skill to survive and a sense of adventure to explore to their fullest.
Best Action-Adventure Game of 2019: Control
Respawn Entertainment may have delivered the best single-player Star Wars game in years with Jedi: Fallen Order, but in many ways Remedy beat them to the Force-pushed punch a few months earlier with the excellent telekinesis-fuelled action of Control.
The Best Action Game of 2019
2019 was a great year for games full heart-pounding, tense combat and lightning-fast tests of reflex, whether you were playing as a ninja, a cyber cop, or even a big angry ape.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
FromSoftware’s new twist on its established Soulsborne formula elevates Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice into something both immediately familiar and mechanically distinct. Its mystical and moody world set in Japanese historical fiction and mythology offers an excellent catalyst for new skill-based systems and exploration.
State of Play Teases Ghost of Tsushima for The Game Awards
In today's State of Play, Sony showed off a short teaser trailer for Ghost of Tsushima, the highly-anticipated PS4 exclusive from Sucker Punch.
After the teaser, Sony announced that the full trailer will debut at The Game Awards 2019, which takes place this Thursday, December 12. In addition to Ghost of Tsushima, host Geoff Keighley said we can expect around 10 new game reveals at the show.
Ghost of Tsushima was the final game shown at PlayStation's State of Play, with Sony using the "one more thing" tactic that Nintendo often closes its Nintendo Directs with.
Nintendo Highlights 16 Games Coming to Nintendo Switch
Nintendo held another Indie World Showcase to wrap-up the year, its Nintendo Direct-style spotlight on upcoming, indepedent games for the Nintendo Switch.
Among the reveals included two sequels to beloved indie titles on modern Nintendo consoles, plus plenty other highlights. So let’s jump into every game included in the Dec. 10 Indie World showcase.
Golf Story 2 is called Sports Story
Developer Sidebar Games announced a sequel to early Nintendo Switch indie hit Golf Story called Sports Story. Rather just following on a single sport, Sports Story will include, based on the footage, golfing, tennis, volleyball, dungeon crawling, espionage, minigames, and much more.
Axiom Verge 2 Announced
Indie hit Axiom Verge is officially getting a sequel, developer Tom Happ announced Tuesday as part of Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase.
The follow-up to the 2015 Metroid-inspired platformer is simply named Axiom Verge 2, and Happ said he’s been quietly working on it for the past four years. The sequel is set to launch in Fall of 2020.
From the looks of its reveal trailer, Axiom Verge 2 will generally follow a similar 2D Metroidvania formula to the original, though its pixel art graphics are potentially a slightly higher resolution and certainly a bit brighter in parts compared to the original. The words “you are not in control, you are not yourself, you belong to us now” could also be seen on screen, hinting at the plot it may follow.
Resident Evil 3 Remake Confirmed With Release Date
The long-rumoured Resident Evil 3 remake was officially announced during Sony's State of Play livestream.
Capcom announced its remake of Resident Evil 3 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam with a reveal trailer during Sony's State of Play today. It will be available on April 3, 2020.
While this remake isn't a surprise, the fact that it's actually the campaign portion of the previously announced asymmetrical multiplayer take on the series, Project Resistance, wasn't expected.
Pre-orders for Resident Evil 3 start today and all of them come with a Classic Costume Pack for Jill and Carlos. You can get just the game itself in the Standard Edition, or exclusive to North America is the Collector's Edition which you can pre-order with GameStop. It comes with a Jill Valentine statue, digital soundtrack, art book, and reversible poster with a map of Raccoon City, all of it packaged in an item box straight out of the game.