Tetris Effect
Where Can I Play it?: PS VR
COGconnected Review: 95/100
Over 30 years later, Tetris is still going strong and remains arguably the best puzzle game ever made. With Tetris Effect, the same popular tile-matching gameplay is amplified with PlayStation VR. It’s a stunning achievement, showcasing a mind-blowing VR experience thanks to its amazing visuals and new Zone mechanic. If for whatever reason you’ve been waiting for the series to evolve, Tetris Effect is exactly that. The difficulty should keep Tetris purists coming back for quite a while. But more than that, it’s also a great way to introduce VR to someone who hasn’t tried it yet. If you have a PSVR, you owe it to pick up Tetris Effect.
Dead Cells
Where Can I Play it?: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
COGconnected Review: 91/100
Dead Cells is exactly what one should expect from a game coming out of Early Access. Not only is it a damn good rogue-lite, but it’s also wonderfully charming, stylish, and polished up the wazoo. Thanks to its eye-catching visuals and smooth souls-like combat, Dead Cells is easy to start but brutally hard to master. While some gamers may find roguelikes to be a repetitive affair, Dead Cells circumvents this with smart and adaptive combat and a compelling mystery to tie it all together. No matter where you play it (we recommend it on the Switch), Dead Cells is a total blast to play and one of the best surprises of the year.
Celeste
Where Can I Play it?: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
COGconnected Review: 93/100
If you skipped Celeste because it looks like an everyday generic 2D pixel platformer, then you’re, without question, missing out on one of the best, challenging, and rewarding games of 2018. It’s a remarkably designed indie game that is as addictive as it is challenging. Featuring a relatable main character and a surprisingly emotional and deep storyline, Celeste is a perfect mix of old and new gameplay mechanics ingeniously entwined in some of the best level design seen in years. For a game that launched all the way back in January, it has absolutely engrained itself in our minds even amongst this years’ heavy hitting titles. In the end, Celeste is our biggest surprise of the year simply for that fact. Do yourself a favour and play it. We guarantee you won’t regret it. Oh, and the music kicks ass, too!
What do you think about the list? Do you agree with our selections? What were some of your favourite surprises of the year? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.