Top 10 Best Video Games You Should Play 2019
Top 10 Best Video Games You Should Play 2019
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It’s hard
to replicate a year like 2019 in video games, they’re here to
inspire, comfort, and inform. These are our picks for the best video games of 2019.
We'll be updating regularly all year long, so check back frequently.
Apex Legends
Apex
Legends
Release
date: February 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The balls-to-the-wall gunplay in Apex Legends is second to none. It’s an argument that could be diffused with a round of Overwatch, but Respawn’s elevated approach to the battle royale takes the best of Titanfall, CS:GO, PUBG, and Rainbow Six Siege, and fastballs those mechanics into a John Wick-style video game. Skirmishes can erupt into non-stop bullet storms, and its use of 3v3s, ping systems, character powers, verticality, and top-shelf weapon design amplify it to new heights. It’s a rock’em, sock’em shooter, and while it’s still finding its legs, Apex isn’t wasting any time in becoming a contender for top battle royale game on the market. And loot boxes be damned -- it’s free to play.
The balls-to-the-wall gunplay in Apex Legends is second to none. It’s an argument that could be diffused with a round of Overwatch, but Respawn’s elevated approach to the battle royale takes the best of Titanfall, CS:GO, PUBG, and Rainbow Six Siege, and fastballs those mechanics into a John Wick-style video game. Skirmishes can erupt into non-stop bullet storms, and its use of 3v3s, ping systems, character powers, verticality, and top-shelf weapon design amplify it to new heights. It’s a rock’em, sock’em shooter, and while it’s still finding its legs, Apex isn’t wasting any time in becoming a contender for top battle royale game on the market. And loot boxes be damned -- it’s free to play.
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| A Plague Tale: Innocence |
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Release
date: May
14 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Innocence tells the story of two orphans, Amicia and Hugo, who are on the run from the Inquisition and the Black Death terrorizing 14th century France. It's a grim narrative that's full of ominous sequences and gnarled out rat infestations that swarm around as a main puzzle mechanic, and it uses the emotional pull of every environment and set piece to trace the ups and downs of a teenager who is left to care for her 5-year-old brother. Its linearity makes it more of a stealth affair than an action-adventure soap opera, but by choice. Every maze, backdrop, companion, and smattering of alchemy is used to let the world unfold around you -- analyzing the links between innocence and resilience, and how hope will find a way to blossom in the horrors of tragedy. It's a feat that is held back by predictability, but it's one that will forever earmark A Plague Tale as a gorgeous rarity in emotive storytelling.
Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale: Innocence tells the story of two orphans, Amicia and Hugo, who are on the run from the Inquisition and the Black Death terrorizing 14th century France. It's a grim narrative that's full of ominous sequences and gnarled out rat infestations that swarm around as a main puzzle mechanic, and it uses the emotional pull of every environment and set piece to trace the ups and downs of a teenager who is left to care for her 5-year-old brother. Its linearity makes it more of a stealth affair than an action-adventure soap opera, but by choice. Every maze, backdrop, companion, and smattering of alchemy is used to let the world unfold around you -- analyzing the links between innocence and resilience, and how hope will find a way to blossom in the horrors of tragedy. It's a feat that is held back by predictability, but it's one that will forever earmark A Plague Tale as a gorgeous rarity in emotive storytelling.
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| Baba Is You |
Baba Is You
Release
date: March
13 (PC, Switch)
Arvi “Hempuli” Teikari’s new 2D puzzler follows four simple rules: Baba Is You, Flag Is Win, Wall Is Stop, and Rock Is Push. As the baba -- an adorable bunny-like creature -- the objective is to push aside rocks and touch the flag to complete a level. That is, until you realize every word on the screen is a movable tile and you can modify each of the cardinal rules to complete a puzzle in an entirely different way. It’s a mechanic that can become brutally difficult in mere seconds, but the ability to modify and remix larger X and Y statements is what makes Baba Is You an addictive timesink. It’s a puzzle game within a puzzle game and one that will gut-check your preconceptions about the genre.
Arvi “Hempuli” Teikari’s new 2D puzzler follows four simple rules: Baba Is You, Flag Is Win, Wall Is Stop, and Rock Is Push. As the baba -- an adorable bunny-like creature -- the objective is to push aside rocks and touch the flag to complete a level. That is, until you realize every word on the screen is a movable tile and you can modify each of the cardinal rules to complete a puzzle in an entirely different way. It’s a mechanic that can become brutally difficult in mere seconds, but the ability to modify and remix larger X and Y statements is what makes Baba Is You an addictive timesink. It’s a puzzle game within a puzzle game and one that will gut-check your preconceptions about the genre.
Devil May Cry 5
Devil May Cry 5
Release
date: March
8 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Hideaki Itsuno’s Devil May Cry 5 is ridiculously cool, stylish, sexy, and full-on cheesy, and as much as its narrative is about Nero’s path to becoming more than just dead weight, it’s a sequel that ties some loose ends together by being the action romp it deserves. One second, you will find yourself lost in a plot that is equal parts Hot Topic, Fury Road, and Showdown In Little Tokyo, and by the next, you’ll find yourself headbanging the night away as you hack and slash enemies with motorcycle swords. Dante is still Dante and the demons are still demons (for the most part), but DMC5slays at upending the traditional norms and stigmas of today by making a badass arcade gem feel like a theatrical masterpiece.
Hideaki Itsuno’s Devil May Cry 5 is ridiculously cool, stylish, sexy, and full-on cheesy, and as much as its narrative is about Nero’s path to becoming more than just dead weight, it’s a sequel that ties some loose ends together by being the action romp it deserves. One second, you will find yourself lost in a plot that is equal parts Hot Topic, Fury Road, and Showdown In Little Tokyo, and by the next, you’ll find yourself headbanging the night away as you hack and slash enemies with motorcycle swords. Dante is still Dante and the demons are still demons (for the most part), but DMC5slays at upending the traditional norms and stigmas of today by making a badass arcade gem feel like a theatrical masterpiece.
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| The Division 2 |
The Division 2
Release date: March
15 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The Division 2 is the year’s best loot shooter. It’s a bit of a paradox, considering Ubisoft’s flair for turning darker, political narratives into episodes of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, but their take on a post-apocalyptic Washington, DC is a captivating technical achievement that’s rewarding from the get-go. It ties refined cover shooter mechanics to a new drop-in matchmaking system and smarter enemy AI that make action sequences more tactical than predictable, and with an endgame that lives by classes, raids, strongholds, and customization, there’s a lot of stuff that just needs doing. It piles on to create a gameplay loop that never stops looping -- making it a compelling, thrills and skills RPG that sets the bar for the shared world shooter genre.
The Division 2 is the year’s best loot shooter. It’s a bit of a paradox, considering Ubisoft’s flair for turning darker, political narratives into episodes of Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, but their take on a post-apocalyptic Washington, DC is a captivating technical achievement that’s rewarding from the get-go. It ties refined cover shooter mechanics to a new drop-in matchmaking system and smarter enemy AI that make action sequences more tactical than predictable, and with an endgame that lives by classes, raids, strongholds, and customization, there’s a lot of stuff that just needs doing. It piles on to create a gameplay loop that never stops looping -- making it a compelling, thrills and skills RPG that sets the bar for the shared world shooter genre.
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| Life Is Strange 2 |
Life Is Strange 2
Release date: January
24 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Life Is Strange 2 starts off on a ordinary afternoon, with two adolescent brothers who attempt to keep up with the minutiae of everyday life in Seattle, until a quick search for party supplies triggers a devastating series of events. That split second transition throws the brothers into a totally unexpected direction and the different "Roads" and "Rules" that follow show that Dontnod are committed to using human behavior and American politics to emphasize themes that flicker beyond Arcadia Bay. Keeping spoilers to a minimum, the first two (and a half) episodes stand by their strengths -- stitching a beautiful narrative to your heart in hopes of hitting you where it hurts the most -- and with an updated engine and a flawless indie soundtrack that pulls from the likes of Whitney, First Aid Kit, and Sufjan Stevens, it’s clear that there’s no point in turning back.
Life Is Strange 2 starts off on a ordinary afternoon, with two adolescent brothers who attempt to keep up with the minutiae of everyday life in Seattle, until a quick search for party supplies triggers a devastating series of events. That split second transition throws the brothers into a totally unexpected direction and the different "Roads" and "Rules" that follow show that Dontnod are committed to using human behavior and American politics to emphasize themes that flicker beyond Arcadia Bay. Keeping spoilers to a minimum, the first two (and a half) episodes stand by their strengths -- stitching a beautiful narrative to your heart in hopes of hitting you where it hurts the most -- and with an updated engine and a flawless indie soundtrack that pulls from the likes of Whitney, First Aid Kit, and Sufjan Stevens, it’s clear that there’s no point in turning back.
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| Mortal Kombat 11 |
Mortal Kombat 11
Release date: April
23 (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch)
Mortal Kombat 11 is in a league of its own because the decades-spanning team at NetherRealm is absolutely nuts. Their fixation with design and performance remains, but MK11 is more of a nostalgia-inducing romp than a modern classic. Story mode is an earth-shattering John Woo soap opera; the fatalities are absurd and eye poppingly gorgeous; and its lessons on attacks, cancels, frame data, zoning, and character movesets help to create one of the best fighting game tutorial that gaming has ever seen. It's attached to the loot grind, but with old faces (Liu Kang, Kitana), cult favorites (Frost, Noob Saibot), and customization that digs into modular loadouts and 30 different pairs of specs for Johnny Cage, boredom in MK11 isn’t an option. It sets the bar for fighters and sequels with a budget, and it's a stunning thesis on how a studio can bring together tweens, veteran gamers, and SonicFoxes to shadow kick you in the neck.
Mortal Kombat 11 is in a league of its own because the decades-spanning team at NetherRealm is absolutely nuts. Their fixation with design and performance remains, but MK11 is more of a nostalgia-inducing romp than a modern classic. Story mode is an earth-shattering John Woo soap opera; the fatalities are absurd and eye poppingly gorgeous; and its lessons on attacks, cancels, frame data, zoning, and character movesets help to create one of the best fighting game tutorial that gaming has ever seen. It's attached to the loot grind, but with old faces (Liu Kang, Kitana), cult favorites (Frost, Noob Saibot), and customization that digs into modular loadouts and 30 different pairs of specs for Johnny Cage, boredom in MK11 isn’t an option. It sets the bar for fighters and sequels with a budget, and it's a stunning thesis on how a studio can bring together tweens, veteran gamers, and SonicFoxes to shadow kick you in the neck.
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| Observation |
Observation
Release date: May
21 (PS4, PC)
No Code's Observation is a Kubrickian science fiction thriller that augments the innovative leaps of Stories Untold and Alien: Isolation to whisper sweet nothings to your psyche. In it, you play through the lens of an artificial intelligence system, known as S.A.M, that is tasked to aid a medical officer who must repair an isolated space station to locate survivors and coordinate a rescue mission. It's a point-and-click narrative that uses drone navigation and puzzle mechanics to keep your attention until a mystery practically crawls out of your ear, but the way No Code uses every retro scan line and hyper intricate exhibit of space architecture to emulate a TED Talk on machine intelligence and self awareness is what makes it an anomaly.
No Code's Observation is a Kubrickian science fiction thriller that augments the innovative leaps of Stories Untold and Alien: Isolation to whisper sweet nothings to your psyche. In it, you play through the lens of an artificial intelligence system, known as S.A.M, that is tasked to aid a medical officer who must repair an isolated space station to locate survivors and coordinate a rescue mission. It's a point-and-click narrative that uses drone navigation and puzzle mechanics to keep your attention until a mystery practically crawls out of your ear, but the way No Code uses every retro scan line and hyper intricate exhibit of space architecture to emulate a TED Talk on machine intelligence and self awareness is what makes it an anomaly.
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| Resident Evil 2 |
Resident Evil 2
Release date: January
25 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
1998's Resident Evil 2 was a cultural phenomenon; 2019's Resident Evil 2 is Capcom’s attempt at hitting everyone with a noise complaint for yelling about some trenchcoat-wearing bogeyman who views race walking as an American pastime. The remake is still centered around Raccoon City and why it’s pretty much Portland but for zombies, but it ditches tank controls for an over-the-shoulder perspective that would make any RE fan’s head pop. Claire is still a leather-clad badass; Leon still looks like he belongs on the cover of Bop Magazine; and in between all the awkward flirting and cheesy one-liners is a renewed passion for collectibles, sound design, and survival horror that uses perfectly detailed environments to scare you senseless. It’s a candid love letter to Shinji Mikami and the Resident Evil series as a whole, and it’s one that will push you to invest in no health and no item box runs just to see if you can make it out alive.
1998's Resident Evil 2 was a cultural phenomenon; 2019's Resident Evil 2 is Capcom’s attempt at hitting everyone with a noise complaint for yelling about some trenchcoat-wearing bogeyman who views race walking as an American pastime. The remake is still centered around Raccoon City and why it’s pretty much Portland but for zombies, but it ditches tank controls for an over-the-shoulder perspective that would make any RE fan’s head pop. Claire is still a leather-clad badass; Leon still looks like he belongs on the cover of Bop Magazine; and in between all the awkward flirting and cheesy one-liners is a renewed passion for collectibles, sound design, and survival horror that uses perfectly detailed environments to scare you senseless. It’s a candid love letter to Shinji Mikami and the Resident Evil series as a whole, and it’s one that will push you to invest in no health and no item box runs just to see if you can make it out alive.
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| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice |
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Release date: March
22 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Sekiro isn’t for the faint of heart. In its 30-plus hours, you'll take on the role of a loyal shinobi who is left for dead in the late 1500s Sengoku-era of Japan. What follows is a lonesome revenge tale in a visually breathtaking world that invites curiosity, exploration, and lore-mongering. But being a FromSoftware game, it severs itself from the "Soulsborne" genre to subject you to a different kind of heartless that emphasizes patience and precision. That invitation is what makes Shadows Die Twice one of the most compelling video games of this past decade. Its white-knuckled combat forgoes stat builds and arms you with a single katana, a grappling hook, and a modular prosthetic arm, forcing you to study the ins and outs of parrying and how all three tools correlate with timing, spacing, and movement. When that finally clicks, Sekirowastes no time in rewarding you with some dope anime-esque ninja shit. It’s a weird, unforgiving, and downright harrowing game, but it’s an example of how a director and a studio can challenge their own values and principles to compose a complete work of art.
Sekiro isn’t for the faint of heart. In its 30-plus hours, you'll take on the role of a loyal shinobi who is left for dead in the late 1500s Sengoku-era of Japan. What follows is a lonesome revenge tale in a visually breathtaking world that invites curiosity, exploration, and lore-mongering. But being a FromSoftware game, it severs itself from the "Soulsborne" genre to subject you to a different kind of heartless that emphasizes patience and precision. That invitation is what makes Shadows Die Twice one of the most compelling video games of this past decade. Its white-knuckled combat forgoes stat builds and arms you with a single katana, a grappling hook, and a modular prosthetic arm, forcing you to study the ins and outs of parrying and how all three tools correlate with timing, spacing, and movement. When that finally clicks, Sekirowastes no time in rewarding you with some dope anime-esque ninja shit. It’s a weird, unforgiving, and downright harrowing game, but it’s an example of how a director and a studio can challenge their own values and principles to compose a complete work of art.
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