7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
SEVENTY characters. Besides that, this is probably the best playing Smash game yet that’s still easy to pick up and play, but challenging to master. Especially if you’re the kind of maniac that wants to play as Jigglypuff.
Characters aside, we agreed that this would probably be higher up the list if we’d had more time to play it before building the list earlier this month. Smash has always had a way of bringing people together on a couch, and this one has more of everything baked into it. The World of Light mode is something our reviewer hated, but has heaps of fan service in the form of spirits and weird battles to engage in. It’s far and away the best Switch exclusive this year, and well deserving of our 7th spot.
6. Far Cry 5
There was only room for one Ubisoft sandbox on this top ten list, and we universally had more fun with Far Cry 5 than the other options. The storyline feels nerfed from the original intention, but we felt it still did a good job of portraying the insanity of humanity in the context of mythical middle America. Sure, it’s crazy, but there’s so much potential for that crazy in Hope County.
The shooting mechanics are very solid, Cheeseburger the bear is easily the best bear sidekick in a game, and – we believe – it has better fishing mechanics than Red Dead 2. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot, but it’s a great sandbox to play around in and takes number 6.
5. Hitman 2
Agent 47 lands in our top 5 once again with his shenanigans and deadpan delivery. Hitman 2 manages to take an open world full of possibilities and somehow make each of those options feel well developed and worthy of your time. Part of that brilliance is because of immaculate level design and expert craftsmanship, but the other piece of the puzzle is awareness.
Hitman 2 knows how ridiculous it is. It embraces it. Of course, there’s no way a huge bald dude could pass as a hippie carrying a truck made of cocaine. We know this. IO Interactive knows this too. The beauty of the situation is that the game then pretends to be serious in hilarious fashion, like James Bond taken to an insane, illogical extreme.
Hitman 2 is the kind of game that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves, but thanks to top-notch construction, potential for things to go wrong, and a magnificent ongoing content pipeline, we’re recognizing Hitman 2 as the 5th best game of 2018.
4. Celeste
Completely unexpected, ridiculously addictive, maddeningly challenging, 100% charming and heartfelt. The temptation might be there to write off Celeste as another Super Meat Boy clone, but this is a far different beast.
Storytelling, for one, is something Celeste holds in spades. It’s a beautiful example of how to write characters that don’t need Oscar worthy voice acting, or motion capture, or realistic graphics. It’s written subtly, designed to let the player uncover the mysteries at their own pace.
The gameplay itself is fantastically satisfying thanks to construction that always feels fair. Sure, it’s tough in spots, but climbing a literal and psychological mountain like Madeline is should be tough. Approachability is well addressed with Celeste’s assist modes, and there’s ample internal motivation to go after collectibles just because you can.
Celeste is a fantastic achievement, and one you’ll definitely find yourself thinking about weeks and months after completing it. It’s definitely the 4th best game of 2018.
If you’ve come this far, you probably know what our top 3 is. Right? Aha! But what order did we put them in? Read on to find out. Also, listen here to find out how we arrived at this conclusion.
Head to PAGE 3 for the top 3…