# Best, worst, blandest video games of 2018 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 3, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160 "2019-01-03T17:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/1 "2019-01-03T17:58:22Z")
[Zero Punctuation](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/2019/01/02/2018s-best-worst-and-blandest/) has his video out detailing his best, worst and blandest from 2018 (link is video with frequent profanity) He has his ideas, but what are yours? I’ve played the hell out of the new Dragon Quest, and whilst the gameplay would probably count as bland for his list, the stories and quests have actually been surprisingly well written, with actual unexpected twists and turns. I couldn’t get on with Monster Hunter World. I recognise it’s a good game, but i didn’t have the patience to do what it needed me to do, so I let it drop and moved on - I may well still go back. It’s a similar story for the Jurassic Park Evolution game - I just bounced off it. I don’t think I’ve played any other brand new games this year! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/2 "2019-01-03T18:29:52Z")
Subnautica was released in early beta a long time ago bu the offiical full release was 2018. It’s just a staggering work of genius - I thought it was pretty good when I started playing it, but then realized I was wrong, that it was great. And then I realized I was still wrong; it is going to be remembered as a titanic achievement. I’m totally hooked. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![sohvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/3 "2019-01-03T18:52:05Z")
I’m still working through a lot of games that came out in previous years, so I haven’t had a chance to try out a lot of games from 2018 yet. Out of the ones I’ve played, my favourite games that came out this year are **Celeste** and **Magic the Gathering Arena**. Celeste is a platforming game with a surprisingly good story, and it’s one of my favourite games to come out in recent years. It is quite hard, but you can adjust the difficulty in various ways if you find it too difficult, though I’d recommend playing with the default settings. I’d recommend it to everyone even if you don’t normally play games like it. I played Magic 20 years ago, and stopped due to it being too expensive and not having people to play with. Magic the Gathering Arena is the online client this game deserves, and it’s reignited my interest in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/4 "2019-01-03T20:20:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Subnautica was released in early beta a long time ago bu the offiical full release was 2018. > > It’s just a staggering work of genius - I thought it was pretty good when I started playing it, but then realized I was wrong, that it was great. And then I realized I was still wrong; it is going to be remembered as a titanic achievement. I’m totally hooked. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. I think you might be underplaying how good Subnautica is. I’ve played through it several times and only regret that I can’t do a Men in Black neuralyzer thing between playthroughs. Have you played The Long Dark? (2017, so doesn’t qualify for the thread) It’s a survival game as unlike Subnautica as is possible to be, except for also being utterly amazing. For some reason I lump them together, even though Subnautica has bright and cheery graphics, a fascinating story to discover, and complicated base-building while The Long Dark is a grey and dreary watercolour painting that’s trying to kill you, has no story to speak of (there’s a story mode, but sandbox is way more compelling), and no base-building at all. And waaaay too many wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/5 "2019-01-03T22:42:05Z")
> [@sohvan](#): > > Celeste is a platforming game with a surprisingly good story, and it’s one of my favourite games to come out in recent years. It is quite hard, but you can adjust the difficulty in various ways if you find it too difficult, though I’d recommend playing with the default settings. I’d recommend it to everyone even if you don’t normally play games like it. I did play Celeste! I agree, it’s a great game, and unusual among tough platformers (and it is one) in that it respects the player. It wants you to get through, even if it is just the story and not the extras, and it’s entirely possible even for people like me, who generally suck at such games, to complete the story. And if you’re good, it had some challenges for you. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/6 "2019-01-05T04:20:56Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Have you played The Long Dark? (2017, so doesn’t qualify for the thread) It’s a survival game as unlike Subnautica as is possible to be, except for also being utterly amazing. For some reason I lump them together, even though Subnautica has bright and cheery graphics, a fascinating story to discover, and complicated base-building while The Long Dark is a grey and dreary watercolour painting that’s trying to kill you, has no story to speak of (there’s a story mode, but sandbox is way more compelling), and no base-building at all. And waaaay too many wolves. The Long Dark is the game that I suck at that I return to again and again. It is an amazing game, even if I’ve never managed to survive more than a handful of days. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/7 "2019-01-05T05:06:19Z")
> [@sohvan](#): > > I’m still working through a lot of games that came out in previous years, so I haven’t had a chance to try out a lot of games from 2018 yet. Out of the ones I’ve played, my favourite games that came out this year are **Celeste** and **Magic the Gathering Arena**. > > Celeste is a platforming game with a surprisingly good story, and it’s one of my favourite games to come out in recent years. It is quite hard, but you can adjust the difficulty in various ways if you find it too difficult, though I’d recommend playing with the default settings. I’d recommend it to everyone even if you don’t normally play games like it. > > I played Magic 20 years ago, and stopped due to it being too expensive and not having people to play with. Magic the Gathering Arena is the online client this game deserves, and it’s reignited my interest in the game. Hello, are you me? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/8 "2019-01-05T05:07:40Z")
Just saw today that Celeste is free to Xbox Live Gold members for Xbox One. I downloaded it, haven’t had a chance to play yet but it sounds like I’m in for a treat. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/9 "2019-01-05T19:46:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The Long Dark is the game that I suck at that I return to again and again. It is an amazing game, even if I’ve never managed to survive more than a handful of days. I just got it started yesterday. It could use a better tutorial - it took me forever to figure out how you start a fire, as there was never even a hint that was accessed through the space bar, a very odd way of doing it. Cool so far though. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/10 "2019-01-06T05:15:57Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The Long Dark is the game that I suck at that I return to again and again. It is an amazing game, even if I’ve never managed to survive more than a handful of days. The first couple days in survival mode are by far the hardest. You have to zoom across the map from building to building trying to accumulate enough clothing and gear to not be constantly freezing while avoiding losing too much condition to hypothermia and starvation. How easy it is to accomplish this is almost entirely down to how well you know the maps so that you can minimize time outdoors getting between locations with possible equipment spawns, and knowing where you might find things and where you’ll be safe to spend a night. Story mode practically throws enough resources at you to survive, so it’s much less difficult to get started. And playing story mode will get you familiar with a couple regions, so once you’ve played through story mode setting up a survival game in one of those locations should be much more manageable. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/11 "2019-01-07T03:00:20Z")
Rimworld. Technically it has been out in early access for ages but it officially released this year. Like Dwarf Fortress but much more approachable as a game. On the surface seems there is not much too it but the depth is amazing. Say goodbye to your free time. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/12 "2019-01-07T16:55:12Z")
I have gotten more into Board and card games this year so my video game experience is limited but I will also say MTG Arena. I have payed the Arena beta since day one so it is almost two years old for me but its open Beta release was this year so I guess it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-worst-blandest-video-games-of-2018/827160/13 "2019-01-09T17:24:12Z")
My two big squee moments of the year have been Subnautica and Oxygen Not Included. Subnautica really is all that and a bag of chips, and Oxygen Not Included manages to be the best game about plumbing since Super Mario Brothers. They’re both brilliant.