GameSpace’s Best of 2018 Awards

2018 is so last year, my people. But that doesn’t mean we can be done talking about it yet! There are still meaninglessly fun awards to hand out! This year’s picks were voted on by our staff with a one vote per category. In the event of the tie, we just all drank whiskey until we figured it out. And so, without further ado… the GameSpace.com Best of 2018 Awards!

RPG OF THE YEAR: Pillars of Eternity 2

Review HERE: Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire has taken Obsidian’s formula of success and brought it to the new heights. Complex and life-like fully narrated companions, wonderfully deep systems, epic story involving gods and mortals and the atmospheric soundtracks will swipe you off your feet right into the world of Eora. The developers have also already shared their plans for the post-launch content that will include three major story-driven DLCs, ensuring that you will not run out of things to do in PoE2 for a long time to come.

ACTION GAME OF THE YEAR: Spider-Man

Review HERE: Insomniac has created a living, breathing Spiderverse that both fans and newcomers alike can appreciate. The fluidity of combat and world traversal makes it hands down the best Super Hero game in years, but it isn’t without some pitfalls. The main story itself is generally believed to take about 20 hours to complete, but for players that focus primarily on the main story, it could take less. Side missions will keep players busy, but without additional content, dedicated players may find they have run out of content well before the DLC hits in October. Despite the low hours for story completion, Insomniac has created the must-have hero game this year.

SHOOTER OF THE YEAR: Destiny 2 – Forsaken

Review HERE: Forsaken is by far the best expansion Bungie has released to date. It offers some great storytelling, fun new subclasses, and weapons, reworks some existing systems to make content more accessible and has even progressed in making the whole experience fun. Despite still trying to find the sweet spot with endgame grinding, Destiny 2 Forsaken is worth the purchase price and offers fans of the series a satisfying experience from start to finish.

PERSISTENT GAME OF THE YEAR: Elder Scrolls Online

Summerset Review HERE: Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset is an exciting new chapter for the MMO. It offers an engaging narrative that kept this progression driven gamer distracted which is saying a lot. Although the expansion didn’t offer a new class we were introduced to a pretty fun new skill tree and despite the grind to unlock it, it offers some great new approaches to combat. With a beautiful new zone, intriguing story and only a few minor grievances, I highly recommend picking up Summerset.

MOBILE GAME OF THE YEAR: Final Fantasy XV – Pocket Edition

Review HERE: Overall Final Fantasy Pocket Edition is a great game and is ideal for anyone who doesn’t have time for the larger console (and upcoming PC) versions of the game or if most of your available playtime is mobile. I very highly recommend it.

INDIE GAME OF THE YEAR: Subnautica

Review HERE: You could think of every survival game available currently, consider every game you have ever fallen in love with because of its water – which is massively important to many gamers including me, but nothing compares to Subnautica. The only flaw I could truly find was that already mentioned component to exist on this earth called “time,” keeps running out.  Unknown Worlds Entertainment has delivered everything they said they were going to plus so much more with more updates on the launch horizon and for these reasons they can easily be forgiven for taking this long. It was worth the wait.

STRATEGY GAME OF THE YEAR: Mutant Year Zero

Preview HERE: I have to give it up to Mutant for creating an interesting world. The setting was this odd mixture of post-apoc dreary and slightly charming, with moments like the team members worrying that a boom box was actually a bomb and a poker visor being referred to in the item description as “military grade.”

RACING GAME OF THE YEAR: Forza Horizon 4

Review HERE: It would be hyperbolic of me to claim that the addition of seasons is akin to having four completely different versions of Forza Horizon 4. It’s much more accurate to say that these seasons do affect your gameplay and the world around you. In my opinion, it’s a welcome addition.

FIGHTING GAME OF THE YEAR: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Game Hub HERE: Legendary game worlds and fighters collide in the ultimate showdown—a new entry in the Super Smash Bros. series for the Nintendo Switch system! New fighters, like Inkling from the Splatoon series and Ridley from the Metroid series, make their Super Smash Bros. series debut alongside every Super Smash Bros. fighter in the series…EVER! Faster combat, new items, new attacks, new defensive options, and more will keep the battle raging whether you’re at home or on the go.

SPORTS GAME OF THE YEAR: NBA 2K19

NBA 2K19 features improvements and additions to all aspects of the game, ranging from a more immersive MyCAREER, to a redesigned MyTEAM, to an increasingly dynamic Neighborhood, all of which are tied together by a soundtrack produced by one of the most talked about musical artists, Travis Scott. NBA 2K19 promises to be developer Visual Concepts’ most ambitious product to date, with the key aim to provide the most well-rounded basketball simulation experience possible.

GAME OF THE YEAR: Red Dead Redemption II

Red Dead Redemption 2 is likely to go down as the best game of the generation. Rockstar has outdone themselves, delivering one of the biggest, richest, most engrossing open world games ever made. Whether you’re an action fan, RPG fan, open world fan, or just want a great story, RDR2 has something for everyone.