Games of the Year 2019 - Biggest Surprise

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Nick: Wreckfest

The definition of fun, Wreckfest caught a lot of people by surprise - myself included. The carnage is impressive and the physics just make the chaos that much more interesting. I had few to no expectations for this title coming in, so my unadulterated enjoyment easily made this my biggest surprise of the 2019.

Pierre-Yves: Fade to Silence

Sleeping hit? Maybe? It's not the only entry into my 2019 Games of the Year that is far from perfect, but, it was fun to play and I appreciate what it went for. End of the world. Check. Crazy assed demons that came out of nowhere? Check. You're all alone? Not quite as you start off with your daughter at the base but can find others to bring back in order to help out. Balancing a rogue like survival where you really have to work hard to carry something over to your next life and pushing forward to be able to build new items and structures, it was rough, but it was like a diamond in the rough.

Robert: Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order

Let's be real here a minute, even though Respawn was behind Fallen Order we all had our concerns with EA at the helm. After the letdown that was Star Wars: Battlefront and the absolute affront to gaming, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, I went into Fallen Order with a lot of trepidation. While it is not as good as many say (to be frank, even our very own head cheese, Nick, was far, far too nice to it), Fallen Order was a huge surprise because it was actually good. Shallow, linear, dull gameplay, horrible camera angels, a fake progression tree, and the absolute worst gameplay element that I have seen in gaming (those damned slides) aside, Fallen Order was largely adequate. Why is "adequate" a surprise? Because EA was at the helm and their history of hating consumers combined with an incredibly notorious stance of disrespect for all things Star Wars and well 'nough said. Still, for all of its shortcomings, Fallen Order is a fun 13-15 hours of lightsaber stabby goodness.

Susan N.: Islanders

Alright I have to say that I ended up getting a cute little game called Islanders during 2019.  It looks like it's a simple game but it can get complicated in its own way. Players start on a large island. They can choose a path for their citizens to take like the lumber pack or the farming pack. Which ever path you take will give you access to buildings related to the pack. And your objective is to hit the total score with those buildings. Each building will award more points when close to certain buildings where others require a more solitary location. As you build up the island, it get progressively harder to acquire points. If you do manage to reach the point threshold, then you have the option to move to another island. Get the idea? The casual strategy thrown into this cute little game surprised me, and I absolutely love playing it. It's actually a neat game to stream because you can have viewers vote on which pack you open. Honestly, it is awesome!

Richard : World End Syndrome

Whenever I get a visual novel style game to review, my first thought is generally "oh boy, what's this one gonna be?". World end syndrome totally threw me for a loop with its engaging story and characters, the aura system, the beautiful "live 2D" scenery, and the fact that the illustrators actually made side and back portraits for the characters. I was honestly expecting something rather bland and cliche, but I ended up with something I didn't want to put down.

Natasha: River City Girls

Omg... I loved this game. I'm usually one to shy away from beat em' ups, but this takes the cake, adds a bucket load of extra cream, sugar and spice, then throws it in your face. Wow... that's one hell of a cake. The style, characters and music are to die for and this is one game I'll gladly play with a friend.

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Games of the Year 2019 – 2nd Runner Up

Continuing on from our 1st Runner Up, we come to the category of 2nd Runner Up. Check out our 2019 entries to our games of the year.

Estimated reading time:  5 minutes

Nick: Mortal Kombat 11

The story is just as ridiculously zany as ever, but the cast of characters and the continually rotating collection of towers with oodles of unlockable content has this game in my regular rotation still today. New characters, rare golden vaults and new gear / skins keep things relatively fresh as well. I only just recently unlocked the last part of the Krypt, which is a mini-game all unto itself and one of the best things to hit Mortal Kombat in a long time.

Susan N: Satisfactory

My second runner up for game of the year is a game that is still being improved, but it's by Coffee Stain Studios, and it is called Satisfactory. Simply put, it's a factory builder that allows friends to join (up to 3 other players) for some crazy shenanigans. In the world that players start in, there are creatures that can either be hostile or not, but it's up to you to discover which. I've spent a ton of time between my single player game and a couple multiplayer games in Satisfactory and I absolutely love it. When I started playing it to review the game, I was rather impressed with its graphics and development. When it was launched to the general public, players were able to join up with some of their friends, but the devs allowed us access to everything they had. After looking at the roadmap, Satisfactory will have a full story to go with the game, and I'm excited for it! I can't wait for more features and items to be added. It may be one of the very few open world games I will ever play, but it is worth it. Definitely check this title out! 

Pierre-Yves: Phoenix Point

This literally came down to the wire and I'm more than happy to have played Phoenix Point as it's everything that I've ever wanted in a squad based strategy RPG. You can split your forces to go to multiple locations, you can blow up walls and ceilings or floors to drop your foes, your forces JUMP OVER THE DAMN BARRIER instead of having to walk ALL THE WAY AROUND. Finally, the systems that support all of this for combat and exploration are extremely intuitive with both keyboard and mouse as well as a controller. I feel like it'll take a long time before anything de-thrones this one for me.

Robert: World War Z

Many of you might go "Huh?" when you see this but please, hear me out. World War Z is a 4-player cooperative zombie horde game not unlike the zombie juggernaut series, Left 4 Dead. Sure there's no story (a shame, too, given the fact that the novel of the same name is a must-read) and character progression is really weird, but the action is where it really wins out. From the poisonous hazmat zombies to the hulking brutes to the run-of-the-mill zombies, every aspect in game is meticulously designed and extraordinarily well-crafted. Add to it that World War Z is one of the few cooperative multiplayer games out there and you have a bubbling kettle of goodness.

Richard: River City Girls

I'll admit I wasn't initially interested in picking this game up, but JaydaNyx got me to play it, and I immediately rethought that stance. It's a great beat em up with a retro feel that doesn't replicate the old school poor design choices, the pixelated graphics are super nostalgia inducing, the characters are hilarious (kyouko is the best), and you get a dab as an attack. Nuff said.

Natasha: Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I was happy to finally play an FE game on a home console again. Since the Wii version was my last experience on a bigger engine it left a bad taste in my mouth. But, lo and behold, Nintendo has spit out a very beautiful and fun game, that wasn't on a handheld. If only I was able to marry everyone off like in previous titles... it would have made number 1 for sure.

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River City Girls - Switch Review

A new challenger wishes to fight you...

Continue?

No       Yes

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Welcome all to the exciting world of beat em' ups. A genre I tend to shy away from, but a little birdie told me to give this brawling adventure a go! So, make sure that school uniform is on tight because these two daring heroines from River City aren't messing around.

River City Girls is a spin-off to a classic series known as Kunio-kun, which was originally released back on the NES in 1986. The game is a collaboration between Arc System Works and Wayforward, the same company that helped bring us games like the Shantae series, DuckTales: remastered and many tv/movie adaptations. Together they were able to give us this pixelated kick ass game on PC and home consoles.

Diving into the story we meet our two classic side characters, Misako and Kyoko, wasting away in detention when suddenly Kyoko gets a text message with a picture of hers and Misako's boyfriend, Kunio-kun and Riki. Furious the girls bust through school and different parts of the city to find their beloved partners. But it won't be easy as the entire populous is out to fight back and stand in their way.

Gameplay

Think Scott Prilgrim meets Double Dragon. That's the vibe I got from the trailer, but boy, oh boy is playing the game a different experience.

At the start of the game you get to choose between our two lovely ladies (I personally decided to kick butt with Misako). When the game begins you are given a basic tutorial on how to use the controls and practice your basic combo moves on teenagers that have nothing better to do than to get in your way. Along the way you will gain EXP by bashing adolescents against the walls to level up. As you level your stats will increase and/or you'll be given a new move. Some moves can only be unlocked at the local dojo, which is located somewhere in the city.

The game gives you is tons of usable items. See a trash can in the corner? Pick it up and take out the trash. Chains? Make sure to whip em' good. Bats and balls? Better score a home run. The game will even allow you to grab enemies and use them to smack down other baddies. Don't tell me that your aren't itching to try it?

To keep track of everything you have access to your cellphone, which holds your character stats, settings, maps and recruits. Speaking of recruits, you have the option to persuade your enemy to join your side. If they are the last man (or woman) standing there's a chance that they'll beg for their life. Accepting their help will allow you to use their ability, but they are still vulnerable to attacks and will run away if they take too much damage.

One of the most anticipated parts of the game would have to be the boss battles. At first I thought they were pretty standard, with having to block some of their moves and dodge a couple of powerful blows, but the deeper you get into the story the more unique each fight gets. You could be thrown into an unexpected bullet hell mayhem or dodging a riff of music notes from a crazed guitar hero styled villain. It's mind blowing and exciting not knowing what's gonna be thrown at you next.

Sight Seeing

The city is huge and can take time to hustle your way through. Luckily there are bus stops placed throughout the areas which will work as your fast travel. Shopping is also available and can be very beneficial. Good thing you mug everyone you fight because most store owners wouldn't give you the time of day if you have no money. Depending on what the store has to sell most of your purchases will heal your character, but don't overlook these items as  just HP guzzlers. Each time you buy a new item for the first time it will not only heal you, but increase your stats... permenantly.

Remember how I mentioned the dojo earlier? Whelp, if you have the cash the dojo master can teach you some new moves. Depending on your current level only certain moves are available to learn. It's highly recommend that you save up your allowance since these are the moves that'll give you extra hits for your combo's, powerful one-shot moves to knock back angry mobsters and a super special secret move that'll blow the pants off of any jobless hobo who tries to shank you.

2 is better then 1

I had the joy of playing this game with my good pal Solaris, who came along for the ride and boy, is it a game changer. For starters I had less GAME OVER'S playing with a friend. I kept K.O.-ing near the start of the game and losing a good chunk of change in the process, but with a bit of grinding I managed to push through on my own. Having a second player definitely helps smooth things over, not to mention that if either of us fell unconscious your teammate gets to beat your dead corpse back to life. I know what you're thinking, she's joking right? I assure you I'm not. The game allows you a small window of opportunity to raise from the dead as long as your girlfriend takes the time to slap your soul back into your body. Metal, right?

Another difference I noticed is that Misako and Kyoko have completely different move sets. While I tend to control Misako in my solo playthrough, head-butting my way through waves of hoodlums, Kyoko will dab, I repeat DAB! Her enemies eyes out. Total opposites, yet completely unique fighting skills which adds flavour to the gameplay. This is a great way to make any gamer excited to replay the game a second time knowing that they'll experience a new way of fighting.

Good music to help drive the fighting spirit

If there was ever a soundtrack that keeps me going after a GAME OVER... It's this one. Megan McDuffee was the composer for this beat 'em up. An award-winning artist that specializes in orchestral and electronic music. She mainly focuses on horror, sci-if, cyberpunk and anything with a retro 80's vibe. Alongside the talents of NateWantsToBattle and Christina Vee, together they rocked it. Not only does it embody the 18-bit era, it throws in some mad guitar and vocal performances.

*Incoming message from Solaris*

"It took me a week and a half to get the soundtrack to stop repeating in my brain."

Fresh performances from familiar faces

The voice acting is also on par with the rest of this game, but what really surprises me is the fact that half the cast are famous YouTubers. Dan Avidan, Arin Hanson and Ross O'Donovan from Game Grumps, Nathan Sharp from NateWantsToBattle, Anna Brisbin (Brizzy Voices) and Sean McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye). It's a nice change to see our generation dipping their toes into something they've always loved. Whether it be music, acting or gaming.

A Visual Delight

Let's talk about the looks of this game... *insert satisfying clap here* Not only does it give us a classic arcade style from the good old days, it throws in a few modern upgrades. The sprites movements are smooth and fluid, giving you no delay on the graphics. Boss' have their own animated cutscene anytime they are revealed and the avatar portraits at the top of the screen like to have a full on animated conversation out of their picture boxes, talking and pointing down at the screen below. They even went as far as simulating a manga for different parts of the story. Throwing you into a book with narration to follow the visual gag. It's these small little details that they thought of that stick out the most to me. Plus... The opening is a great song to head-bang, too.

*Incoming message from Saloris*

"This song won't get out of my brain!"

You've heard it from him...

Conclusion

There ain't much about this game that I don't like. Other than the fight button being the same as the location button (which is the one that allows you to jump from one area to the other). It can be really frustrating when I'm giving some punk a knuckle sandwich to the face and then suddenly finding myself back on Main Street because I was too close to the area divider. Overall, River City Girls was a great surprise from the visuals, to the soundtrack and engaging gameplay. I would highly recommend this game to any and all my friends so they can enjoy this pixelated masterpiece. I'm giving this game a score of 9.5 out of 10.

------

Finish him?

No       Yes

GAME OVER...

Game Information

Platform:
Nintendo Switch
Developer(s):
Wayforward
Publisher(s):
Wayforward
Genre(s):
Action, Brawler, Beat 'Em Up
Mode(s):
Single Player, Coop
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One, PC

Source:
Purchased

Article by Natasha

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