InReview is pleased to continue its first annual Revvie site awards, with the best 2019 had to offer in terms of gaming.
Please note that while some games on this list initially came out beforehand, all winners initially published in other years received significant updates and expansions in 2019.
Without further ado, here is the best of 2019 in gaming, selected by InReview’s writers and editors:
Best Console Game
Nominees:
- Detroit: Become Human
- Astral Chain
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Super Mario Maker 2
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
And the Revvie goes to …
Detroit: Become Human
It was a real mash-up between this and “Astral Chain.” Video Game Writer Darnell Henriquez wanted to vote Astral Chain since it was the one actually released in 2019, and actually is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch rather than being also playable for the Windows Store, as well as having overall being the better gameplay. However, Gaming Editor Andrew Baillargeon suggested that “Detroit: Become Human” get the honors due to have a more unique experience in comparison to the other console games that came out this year.
___ ___ ___
Best PC Game
Nominees:
- Dead Frontier 2
- Disco Elysium
- Sunless Skies
- Phoenix Point
- Total War: Three Kingdoms
And the Revvie goes to …
Disco Elysium
“Disco Elysium” takes the premise of being a drug riddled dysfunctional detective solving a murder case and delivers on a game that is truly weird and quarky, with some melancholy in terms of presentation and gameplay. Much of said gameplay is you choosing options dictated by your stats and skills, which dictate your play style, as you navigate the game’s world of politics and crime. “Disco Elysium” is one of the finest games that has come out in 2019, and is easily the best game to come out on PC.
___ ___ ___
Best Mobile Game
Nominees:
- Call of Duty: Mobile
- Gwent
- The Lion King
- Marvel: Future Fight
- Horus Heresy: Legions
- RAID: Shadow Legends
And the Revvie goes to …
Gwent
While “Gwent” has existed since 2016, its mobile version was released in 2019, and one has to admire the seamless quality of the port. Not only is it nearly Identical to the PC version, but the screen controls fit with the design of the game and we’ve grown more addicted playing it on mobile than through PC and the PS4. “Gwent” has grown a lot since its alpha release shortly after “The Witcher 3” and I would say it’s one of the best mobile card games in the market, beating out top competitors like Hearthstone and MTG.
___ ___ ___
Best Video Game Soundtrack
Nominees:
- Persona 5 (Base and Royal Edition)
- Devil May Cry 5
- Death Stranding
- Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2
- Katana Zero
And the Revvie goes to …
Persona 5 (Base and Royal Edition)
All the contenders had great soundtracks, but the reward went to Persona 5 for its diversity in music genres and overall sound quality. “Devil May Cry 5” and “Battle Fleet Gothic” may not be that impressive if you don’t like heavy rock/metal or orchestrate naval battle music, however, Persona 5 has something for everyone.
Best Art Direction
Nominees:
- Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
- Concrete Genie
- Katana Zero
- The Outer Worlds
- Resident Evil 2 remake
And the Revvie goes to …
Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
“Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan” could have been a genuinely mediocre game, but it was saved entirely by its art scheme and sheer commitment to refined and amazing graphical content. Ever little detail, right down to the sun’s reflection in the ocean’s waves, has been given tirelessly realistic features which make the game seem real. The graphics and general art design carried this game very hard, and make it worth playing.
Best Indie Game
Nominees:
- Erica
- Untitled Goose Game
- Children of Morta
- My Friend Pedro
- Slay the Spire
And the Revvie goes to …
Slay the Spire
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62830482/ss_25ed2537de5d4fa71c6d6d5632f21ac21fe4b3bf.0.jpg)
“Slay the Spire” takes the concept of a rogue-like game mixed with deck building for an experience that draws on luck as much as it does skill. The constant updates to this even after launch that add new cards, enemies, potions and even new playable characters demonstrates the devotion that Mega Crit has for its first title
Best Fighting Game
Nominees:
- Super Smash Bros.
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 11
- Jump Force
- Mordhau
- Dead or Alive 5
And the Revvie goes to …
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
“Super Smash Bros Ultimate” won Fighting Game of the Year, and for good reason. As Masahiro Sakurai puts it, this game is a celebration of gaming as a whole, including representation for dozens of different popular video games from around the world in the ultimate crossover. It is an incredibly mechanically tedious game, but it also offers numerous features for the casual gamer. It has continued to expand on the work of previous iterations in the series, and was a no brained winner of this award.
___ ___ ___
Best Sports/Racing Game
Nominees:
- Madden NFL 20
- Need for Speed: Heat
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
- Grid
- What The Golf?
And the Revvie goes to …
Madden NFL 20
Madden NFL 20, like its predecessors, is a fantastic, customizable experience that can be enjoyed by fans of all kinds. There are numerous different ways for the meticulous, statistics driven fan, as well as for the casual gamer to enjoy the game. It distances itself from other sports games by way of sheer variety and quality online play.
Best Role-Playing Game
Nominees:
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- The Outer Worlds
- Greedfall
- Code Vein
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
And the Revvie goes to …
Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Greedfall
We opted to select “Fire Emblem: Three Houses” because it was the better overall game, but we named “Greedfall” as a co-award winner because it best embodied what it actually means to be a role-playing game. Both games are phenomenal experiences, both of which have won awards on the national scale, and are enjoyable games as a whole.
Best Horror Game
Nominees:
- Resident Evil 2 remake
- Layers of Fear 2
- Patholigic 2
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- GTFO
And the Revvie goes to …
Resident Evil 2 remake
This Year was amazing for Horror games and all the nominees are fine choices for being the best of 2019. The reason why we chose “Resident Evil 2” is due to the fact that Capcom’s excellent remaining of what was already a classic. “Resident Evil 2” manages to capture the premise of being stuck in a city full of monsters and having few resources to defend yourself and it is actually being horrifying, despite how old the game is.
“Resident Evil 2” demonstrates that you can teach an old dog new tricks and hopefully the feedback from this game will make the development of Resident Evil 3 (hopefully Code: Veronica) even better in 2020 and beyond.
Best Action Game
Nominees:
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Death Stranding
- Devil May Cry 5
- Control Apex Legends
And the Revvie goes to …
Death Stranding
Say what you want about Hideo Kojima and the game, they both know how to make an impact. Nevertheless, this Amazon-like delivery courier sim still has some of the best graphics and soundtrack coming from the late decade. This is the first game Kojima has made since he left Konami, and this is what he comes up with no filter or corporate oversight, and it;s glorious. While we think that DMC 5 has the better action-based gameplay and Apex Legends takes the engine from Titanfall 2 and improved on the Battle Royale genre set by Fortnite and PUBG, “Death Stranding” better defined 2019 in action.
Overall Game of the Year
Nominees:
- Call of Duty:
- Modern Warfare
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake
- Age of Wonders: Planetfall
And the Revvie goes to …
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Darnell has played every “Souls” game since the original “Dark Souls,” and according to him, “Sekiro” blows them all out of the water. We love the stealth mechanics, the fluid movement when you have to travel across rooftops like a Japanese Daredevil, or creep around to avoid enemies. The combat is a great middle ground between “Dark Souls”‘ slower pace and “Bloodborne”’s rapid hack and slash action. The story is much more centralized than typical Souls game, but there’s still a grand amount of mystery and speculation for you to uncover and the fact that your character has a name really helps bring in this narrative in ways a faceless, silent protagonist can’t.
“Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” came in a close behind, but Sekiro hot the nod because, while both games share many similarities, Sekiro is an original IP Based mainly within Japanese mythology and experimented with concepts that were relatively odd for a Souls-style game. “Fallen Order” did make a huge impact this year, but it’s cultural impact does not make up for its lack of polish. Overall we think that Sekiro is the best representation of the highest quality game from 2019 and we hope that the future titles awaiting us in 2020.
InReview: Reviews, Commentary and More 