Controller Crusade Game Of The Year Awards
2018 was a monumental year for gaming, which saw a ton of excellent AAA titles across all consoles and PC, plenty of surprising Indie gems, and a major boost in solid VR games that made the PSVR a must-have accessory for the Playstation 4. As 2018 comes to a close, here are our winners for the Controller Crusade Game of the Year Awards.
Indie of the Year
Josh’s Pick: The Messenger
While it may have been just narrowly edged out for my personal pick of Game of the Year, The Messenger was hands down the best Indie I had the chance to play in 2018. The Messenger‘s soundtrack (both 8-bit and 16-bit versions) became embedded into my brain, and the Ninja Gaiden nostalgia kept me coming back for more. The game also featured hilarious writing, mainly with the banter between the titular character and the shopkeeper, and absolutely tight platforming controls. If you have yet to play The Messenger in 2018, stop everything you’re doing and get to your Switch or PC and get your hands on this game.
Honorable Mentions: Overcooked 2, Into The Breach
Justin’s Pick: The Messenger
There’s not much I can add that Josh hasn’t said above. The Messenger is classic platforming taken straight from the 8-bit era with those modern improvements we can’t live without. It’s challenging, it’s hilarious, and it’s surprisingly meaty. The Messenger keeps throwing new surprises at you right up until the end, and I enjoyed every single minute of it.
Honorable Mentions: Celeste, Overcooked 2, Return of the Obra Dinn
VR Game of the Year
Josh’s Pick: Tetris Effect
Playing Tetris Effect for the first time felt like I was transported back 25 years to when I had the chance to experience Tetris for the first time – if my 5 year-old self was heavily under the influence of LSD. Tetris Effect is not only the addicting puzzle game we’ve grown to love since 1984, but it’s also a visual and audible spectacle that’s enhanced ten-fold when playing on the Playstation VR. It was an absolutely incredible year for Virtual Reality with a ton of excellent titles to choose from, however Tetris Effect stood head and shoulders above the rest of the pack for me in 2018.
Honorable Mentions: Moss, Astrobot Rescue Mission, Beat Saber
Justin’s Pick: Beat Saber
Listen to music. Swing lightsabers. Slice blocks. It’s a simple concept, but when you bring it all together it works well. In Beat Saber, you have to slice blocks and dodge walls to the beat of the music. It’s easy to find yourself fully immersed, VR freeing you from all distractions so you can focus on the pumping soundtrack and neon graphics, playing song after song until you collapse in a sweaty trance.
Honorable Mentions: Tetris Effect, Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Surprise Game of the Year
Josh’s Pick: Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
Having missed out on the Wonder Boy series back in Sega’s heyday, as well as the HD remake that was released in July of last year, I’ll admit that Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom was not on my radar in 2018. It wasn’t until I happened to see some screenshots and snippets of footage shortly after its release earlier this month that I knew this game would be right up my alley. A wonderful little sidescrolling RPG with absolutely stunning visuals and animations, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom completely sucked me into its world, and I had a smile on my face during every second of it.
Justin’s Pick: Spyro Reignited Trilogy
“Hey” I hear you saying. “It’s just another remaster! What gives?” is your next sentence (probably). Spyro Reignited Trilogy is my biggest surprise precisely because it’s not just another remaster. Toys for Bob took 3 of the best games from the Playstation era and translated them perfectly to the modern age. They didn’t just remake the 3 games the way they actually were, but the way you remember them. Playing any of the 3 classic Spyro games is like travelling back in time 20 years, sitting on the floor in your pyjamas on a Saturday morning, collecting gems and rescuing as many dragons as you can before you parents get up.
Not to mention, Spyro was always better than Crash. I said it.
Disappointment Game of the Year
Josh’s Pick: Overkill’s The Walking Dead
Almost a year ago the hype for Overkill’s The Walking Dead began, with the first of many cinematic character introduction trailers being released. These trailers were remarkably well done, which we can’t say the same for the game unfortunately. Instead of a gritty survival game based on Robert Kirkman’s zombie universe, fans were simply given a half-baked Payday title with a TWD facelift. Unfortunately for Starbreeze Studios, Overkill’s The Walking Dead was a commercial flop, with the game still yet to be released on consoles until February of next year.
Justin’s Pick: Secret of Mana
Let’s take a legendary game from Squaresoft’s golden age, spice it up a bit, add some 3D graphics, and release it on the Playstation 4 and Steam. What could go wrong? A lot, as it turns out. Secret of Mana is a remake of Square’s action RPG on the SNES, and unlike the Spyro trilogy from above, this one gets it all wrong. The game is dumbed down, there’s loads of weird bugs, and the once classic art style has been turned into generic polygons that completely loses the charm of the original. Worst of all, Secret of Mana just isn’t nearly as fun to play as the original, filled with little annoyances that weren’t there 25 years ago.
Turns out the Secret is that that they shouldn’t have bothered.
Game of the Year
Josh’s Pick: Marvel’s Spider-Man
There was a monumental amount of pressure on Insomniac Studios to produce not only the best Spider-Man game ever made, but to also kickstart a potential Marvel Universe in the gaming space. When playing Marvel’s Spider-Man, it doesn’t take long to feel how much love and care went into making the game, weaving their own storyline that would rival any current Spider-Man comic run. Yuri Lowenthal knocked it out of the park as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and Mary Jane, Aunt May, and the rest of the supporting cast were tied into the story perfectly.
The web swinging was extremely satisfying, making swinging around New York City fun for hours on end, and the combat was essentially Arkham on steroids. The more you progress through the story the more powerful you feel, with a wide array of spidey gadgets at your disposal to toy with your enemies like flies caught in a web.
2018 had a massive amount of titles that could easily contend for a Game of the Year spot, but as a massive Spider-Man fan, Marvel’s Spider-Man was everything I wanted from a game in 2018 and more.
Honorable Mentions: God of War, Octopath Traveler, The Messenger
Justin’s Pick: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
“Oh great, another Smash game” was my first thought upon seeing the announcement. “Of course the Switch is going to get a Smash game”. Maybe it was just gaming fatigue setting in, but I wasn’t nearly as excited about Nintendo’s crossover franchise as I was in the past.
That all changed when I played it. The amount of love that went into each and every aspect of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is staggering. Not only does it play and feel better than any other game in the franchise (yes, that means Melee, too) it is absolutely packed full of love for gaming. 70+ characters, over 100 stages, 1000+ music tracks, and over 1000 spirits that provide some incredibly deep cuts into Nintendo’s storied history.
If any game has ever deserved the name Ultimate, it’s this one.
Honorable Mentions: Forza Horizon 4, God of War, Soul Calibur VI
So there you have it, our winners for 2018. What AAA titles blew you away this year? Which Indie games were diamonds in the rough for you? Which games failed to live up to your expectations in 2018? Let us know in the comments below!
