Welcome to my NOT Your Game of the Year List! Unlike your usual “Game of the Year List,” everything is made up and the points don’t matter, this list does not feature your typical gaming categories. The winners may not have actually released in the year mentioned either. Kudos to my homie Charles aka Profex for coming up with this idea. Without further ado, I present to you my 2019 NOT Your Game of the Year list.

I WISH MORE OF YOU PLAYED THIS – GAME OF THE YEAR |

CONTROL

Control came out to solid reviews, but a lot of people did not pay it much attention… including myself. I honestly did not pick this up until December of last year, immediately following The Game Awards, and I’m glad I did. The story is interesting, the atmosphere is eerie and the art direction is captivating. This is a supernatural adventure that is worth experiencing.

GAME I REALLY ENJOYED BUT COULD NOT STICK WITH – GAME OF THE YEAR | MONSTER HUNTER WORLD

Monster Hunter is a series I have always had an interest in since the franchise first began on the PS2 in 2004. I never made it around to playing the very first game, but I have dabbled in others. A few on the PSP, a couple on 3DS, and MH: Tri on the Wii. Even after Tri, the series primarily became a portable game series. I had always wished the series would return to home consoles. Enter 2018’s Monster Hunter World.

The 2017 E3 reveal of this game had me ecstatic. I could not wait to hunt monsters with my friends. I got the game at launch, but life got in the way and I did not get to play much. Early 2019, I finally had some time to experience it and fell in love with it. Even though I was behind my friends, I was still really enjoying the grind. Eventually the grind got a little bit too much and I stopped playing.

At this point, I personally have kicked all games as a service to the curb so I can focus on more single player experiences, my backlog and fighting games occasionally. I may return one day, but I’m in no hurry to do so.

LATE TO THE PARTY GAME OF THE YEAR | STARDEW VALLEY

In a time, before Animal Crossing: New Horizons was officially announced, I just really needed something chill to play. The farming simulator, Stardew Valley, successfully accomplished that. It’s an incredibly chill time sink and the Switch release was perfect as it allowed me to play from the comfort of my bed.

CAN’T STOP PLAYING THIS – GAME OF THE YEAR | APEX LEGENDS & TEKKEN 7

We got a tie here. Starting with Apex, I was actually a bit late to the party. When it initially released in early 2019, it did not click with me. I was feeling kind of burnt out on Battle Royale games at the time. Later in the year, I gave it another chance and got hooked. It’s great with friends, but running solo and not having to actually talk to anybody is also a huge plus. The ping system is incredible and all multiplayer games should have a resembling feature going forward.

Myself and many others have been waiting a long time for Cyberpunk 2077. Given CD Projekt Red’s recent track record with the Witcher series, this one should not disappoint.

GAME OF THE YEAR |

FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES

Despite most of the games mentioned on this list not coming out in 2019, my actual game of the year did release last year. Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the most anticipated title for me and it did not disappoint. I’ve been a fan since FE: Awakening, (yes I know other FE games existed before that one), and I haven’t looked back since. FE:TH looked to advance the formula by adding a calendar system and also a classroom setting, similar to the Persona games. I personally thought it worked really well especially with such a great cast of characters. I’ve only played through it once so far, fourth route in Edelgard’s play through, but definitely plan to return for a Golden Deer play through soon. Ever since Awakening, the FE series has become an all time favorite series of mine. I wish the older games were more accessible, but until that happens, I will be patiently waiting to see where Intelligent Systems takes the series next.