Seasons Greetings, dear readers! Or as we say in Kentucky, “Y’all got your tree up yet?”, as well as something horse-related.
Anyway, our annual holiday gift guide has arrived just in time to entertain the shit out of you, as well as inform you about cool/ridiculous products that are out there on the market for you to snag. Before we get into that holler, let’s go straight into the “Best Games of the Year – In Our Opinion, Which May Not Be Your Opinion, But That’s Okay Because Everyone Has An Opinion”.
Best Games of the Year – In Our Opinion, Which May Not Be Your Opinion, But That’s Okay Because Everyone Has An Opinion
Best Surprise Game of the Year – Sayonara Wildhearts
It’s a game on rails. It’s an emotional subway surfer. Quite frankly, I can’t get enough of it. I may have replayed it three times over the Thanksgiving break. I may have downloaded the album and tortured my wife/children as we drove through West Virginia, forcing one child to yell, “You’re a weeb, dad!”…which I cannot understand because I don’t speak their jibber-jabber. Moving on from a generational gap, Sayonara Wildhearts is one of the better experiences I have had in 2019. It has engaging music, it has gorgeous animation that may cause seizures, and it is one of the most creative games I’ve seen in the last 5-10 years. It mixes and matches different gameplay design genres while keeping the gamer firmly going forward the entire time, as there really isn’t a spot for gamers to slow down. Simogo deserves some praise for bringing this beauty to the market, as it does everything right. It’s a perfect game in my humble opinion.
Best Game Action Game of the Year — Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
I wrangled with this game a bit. I felt like it was a definite step up from DICE’s Star Wars contributions with Battlefront, as well as showing EA progression with trying not to make Star Wars titles a money grab. By letting Respawn do their thing with level design and keeping a healthy amount of puzzle/action in place without loot boxes driving the experience (or multiplayer for that matter), Jedi: Fallen Order is one of the more entertaining Star Wars experiences this generation, if not THE most entertaining SW experience in this generation (sorry Zen Pinball). Does it move slowly at times? Yeah, but not Last Jedi slow. It’s fun swinging a light saber and killing enemies over and over again in a Sith…err…Jedi-like fashion. Jedi can kill people, right? Oh, they’re not Batman. Never mind. Great game.
Best Sports Simulator Game of the Year — Football Manager 2020
I don’t get it. I don’t understand the fascination with this game. Apparently, it’s damn good. Our guy from Australia (Pete) eats Football Manager up every year and comes out smiling. Well, he, Australia, and Europe love this game endlessly. They tried this format in America once with a Bill Cowher-led game called NFL Head Coach, but that confused us Americans so much because we thought it was a special edition Madden NFL title. It was not. They stopped making it soon after.
I’m glad Football Manager 2020 exists, though, and I’m thrilled it’s still making people happy.
Best Sports Game of the Year — Tied — NBA 2K20 and Madden NFL 20
Yes, I know FIFA 20 (You already got your props, Europe!), and NHL20 were ‘…really great games’ , but I found some real joy in NBA 2K20 and Madden this year. For NBA, it felt like the game was starting to turn a corner a bit and has begun to feel less stiff. 2K still needs to do work on it, but they’re making the experience bigger and better, as well as expanding into the WNBA. I can dig that completely. For Madden NFL 20, having a more balanced game to irritate the pros makes it worthy of my appreciation. Plus, the Browns are actually good in Madden. I mean, when is the last time that happened? Somewhere on a PC in the 80s.
Best First-Person Shooter of the Year — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Well, welcome back to the fold, CoD! To be quite honest, I could not for the life of me understand why last year’s game gave up the campaign for Battle Royale, but I hope/pray that the franchise will never go that route again. It was painful. It was like playing a serious Fortnite, but with 10-year-olds still cussing you out. Modern Warfare returns the series back to where it belongs. It has a really fun and intense campaign, as well as some solid MP (something for everyone). It’s a good game.
Best Goose Game of the Year — Untitled Goose Game
So good. You play a goose. You annoy people. It’s truly a Goose Simulator.
Best Accessories of the Year — Turtle Beach Atlas Aero Wireless Headset, and ROCCAT’s Vulcan Keyboard and Kain Mouse
These were fine additions to the PC/PS4/XBOX One experiences this year. The TB Atlas Aero Wireless, while not bluetooth, was probably the most comfortable headsets I have worn in a while. They deliver a solid sound, cancel out my outside noises (I do have a lot of kids to cancel out), and they’re comfortable. The latter being the most important. Some of the best elite headsets from Turtle Beach.
ROCCAT Vulcan (Keyboard) and Kain (Mouse) were big surprises for me this year. I’m a huge fan of mechanical keyboards, as well as those that light up pretty colors (I’m easily amused). The ROCCAT was one of the more accurately comfortable keyboards I have used in a long time, and for me, keyboard comfort is key when trying to type or do some gaming related. It also helps when you’re typing up reviews, holiday gift guides, or adjusting Alex Tudor’s titles on YouTube from ‘Alex’s Hot Takes’ to ‘Alex’s Hot Cakes’, which he hasn’t noticed yet. If he reads this HGG, he’ll find out. I’m betting he won’t, though. Anyway, the Vulcan was up there with some of the more expensive Razer boards, as well as rivaling my DasKeyBoard keyboard. The keys certainly aren’t quiet, which makes them delightful, and the typing experience (and gaming) is out of this world comfortable.
The Kain mouse is also quite a surprise. Usually, I go the Logitech route. Logitech has always made fine mice over the years and they haven’t detoured from that in my lifetime. The ROCCAT Kain has made me rethink mouse comfort and functionality. It is smooth, bright, and a good choice when doing some gaming — or when playing a goose game. It really is light in movement, but solid in delivery.
Best Game I Haven’t Played, But Editors Won’t Stop Crowing About It — Control
I haven’t played this game, but apparently it’s the bee’s knees (super sweet). I plan on ‘Remedy’-ing that this year, so I can find some additional Entertainment. It looks like the devs certainly put their heart and soul into the game and have made it a worthy contender for game of the year towards the end of this endless HGG insanity. It certainly puts up a good argument for being GOTY.
Best Game to Tackle Mental Heath Issues — Sea of Solitude
The gaming industry is catching on these days with regard to mental health. There have been a handful of games coming out lately that tackle that, one, in particular, came out for the Switch in the spring called Hellblade (like you’ve never heard of it). For me this year, Sea of Solitude was a fantastic journey into someone fighting their inner self and trying to conquer the darkness that lies within. When you’re going through depression and the world seems like it’s collapsing around you, and you become your own worst enemy, it’s tough to fight your way through it and out of it. This game helps quite a bit or at least gives you the experience of what that is like. For that, it’s a worthy mention in this gift guide.
Best Game Featuring a Plague — A Plague Tale: Innocence
Ben Sheene, who is one of the best writers on the site, loves this game. He saw it in early development at E3 years ago and was happy to review it when it finally made its way to consoles. It’s emotional, it’s brutal, and it’s one of the better games to come out of 2019. It’s everything you would hope for in an indie game and, according to Sheene, deserves the praise it has gotten. I trust that man and his opinions, though someone out there will bring up Ghost Recon…just don’t.
And on that note…here comes the big one…are you ready?
Best Game of the Year — Death Stranding
No, we didn’t get paid by Sony. No, we’re not doing this for Kojima. Yes, we truly think that delivering packages across a barren land while fighting souls that just won’t die (and are stuck) is entertaining as shit. The story built for Death Stranding is a deep one that is filled full of tragedy and despair. If you can make it to Mama in the game, then you’re guaranteed to be hooked (or should be). The story doesn’t pull punches, nor does it give you a giant hug and tell you everything is going to be okay. While there is some hope in the bleak picture painted by Kojima, the fact that reality is what you have to deal with is what makes it the best game out there this year. By the end, you’ll feel something, and I guarantee you it won’t be anger over losing $59.99 in the purchase.
It’s one of the best journeys I’ve been through in a game and it deserves GOTY in my opinion.
Those are our recommendations, so let’s move to some items of interest. Not that those weren’t fun. Whatever, just keep reading.
Neat Stuff for Stocking Stuffers
LAMO Ninja (AR Vinyl)
I might actually like the idea of Ninja more because of this item. The LAMO Ninja AR Vinyl character is an interesting piece. It captures the goofiness of his persona while adding some real-world AR aspects that remind you he is human. This item is cute, it’s collectible, and eventually will be involved with some sort of game. For now, it’s like a cousin to a Funko. Still neat, though, and it comes in a variety of streamer personalities.
Genki: Bluetooth Adapter
This is an interesting item. This item can plug directly into your Nintendo Switch and make Bluetooth audio completely compatible. Nintendo is dragging its feet on devices and Bluetooth, so it’s nice to see another company step up and do it. This is akin to having a Bluetooth adapter in the back of a computer, ya know when you don’t feel like having to open up the PC and put one inside of it. Lord, that’s no fun. It’s pretty freaking cool. It makes the Switch a bit more fun to play. Oh, forgot to mention, it will connect two headphones up at a time. Yeah, you read that right. Super damn cool.
PowerA Controller Fusion Series line-up
We tried out a professional Xbox controller and a plate-changeable Switch controller that was made by PowerA. All solid controllers, some better than others, but the cost vs. quality can’t be beat. I’ve been a fan of PowerA since playing with one of their controllers during the PS3 days, and they make good stuff. Is it perfect? Nah, but it’s good.
Ring Fit Adventure
I’m putting this on the list because I firmly believe this makes up for the awful Wii Fit Board, which was a total piece of shite. The Ring Fit actually looks like it works. When I see the trailers, my arms hurt. If you can play a game and get somewhat fit, then score.
Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Complete Series
Good lord, need I say more?
Alright, I’ve bled your eyes enough with all this text. Happy Holidays, ya filthy animals.