POLL is YOU: Thirteenth Coint and Plick results (best games of 2019)

UGG?

― Hackers (1995) (Will M.)

honk

oh right haha

can u plz add systems?

i was the vote for katana zero. it's short but great at what it does, the limited slow motion allowing you to pull off the precise execution required works fantastically

oof i already set everything up without consoles. i'll see what i can do

ok here we go, pulled all of these from quick google searches so i didn't pay attention to what actually came out on what in 2019

https://i.imgur.com/wOPqmKM.png
69 - Card of Darkness - 4 points / 1 Vote
Apple Arcade

i wanted to like this more than i did mostly bc of pendleton wards involvement but the game mechanics themselves are sorta simplistic and there's not really much of a story so you're really getting an okay-good puzzle game w/ a nice aesthetic but there just isn't much there there sadly.

https://i.imgur.com/xHXp1Wz.png
69 - Cat Quest 2 - 4 points / 1 Vote
Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Macintosh operating systems, tvOS

another game i played on apple arcade. my daughter thought it was v cute. also felt pretty slight for my tastes with generic rpg elements.

https://i.imgur.com/FzAK4De.png
59 - Trials Rising - 5 points / 1 Vote
Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows

also i have no idea what i did to the order of these tied games. they used to be alphabetical but i moved them around so many times there's no sense to it whatsoever. i guess that makes it more fun? you don't know if your fave will be tied or not!

i think this trials had incredible level design, best in series, but hated the ubisoft progression bullshit layer

when you're actually playing its goty material but it really tries its hardest to keep you from playing the game how you want

loading times and stupidly slow drip of content made that the first trials i walked away from after a single play

https://i.imgur.com/eMVMi3i.png
59 - Pilgrims - 5 points / 1 Vote
iOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Macintosh operating systems

Card of Darkness and Cat Quest look cute.

i should go rogue and give out a bunch of 6's and 11's next year instead of 5's and 10's

otoh this is an apple arcade game that i liked very much enough to vote for. sorta a card-driven adventure game with enough alternative solutions to unlock that it has some good replay-ability but even one playthrough is worthwhile. charming + unique aesthetic + story, memorable characters

worth noting iirc totally dialogue-less but still vivid + memorable storytelling

Oh gosh, just looking at some images from Pilgrims and it looks very much up my alley. I see it was the same makers as Machinarium and Samorost too, so it's gotta be good. This one I might actually seek out.

yes i actually immediately thought i'd recommend this one to you

https://i.imgur.com/dSCx7lM.png
59 - SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions - 5 points / 1 Vote
PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Vita

this one is slightly less obtuse than older saga games and has my favorite turn-based jrpg combat of the past while, which is good because there's not much to these games other than wandering around a world map and fighting. story stuff happens but it's never clear exactly what you did to trigger it. very unknowable.

also the text is microscopic on switch

this looks so bad to me i'm taking a hard pass

may appeal to ppl who like octopath

lol yeah saga games are definitely only for the most broke-brained jrpg fans. octopath is much much more accessible than this

https://i.imgur.com/3eQVbse.png
59 - Samurai Shodown - 5 points / 1 Vote
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, Microsoft Windows, Arcade

good iteration/revival of samsho, like all modern jp fighting games though its strictly a multiplayer game with some minimum effort single player modes tacked on. i never play single player in fighting games even when it exists so that doesn't bother me but i know its a dealbreaker for most

ciderpress I started playing SGSGA and man it's kinda hard! and I don't know if I'm advancing my equipment enough for the stage of the game I'm in.

yeah i'm not sure either, i haven't beaten my first character's campaign still. i think most enemies in saga games scale to your current power level but it's very obfuscated and there's stuff you can do to make the game harder without realizing it

the "hard" combat encounters definitely take me multiple tries a lot. you usually have to focus on trying to get a United Attack or whatever its called since thats the only way you can get ahead momentum-wise

yeah it might not be a good thoughtless bedtime game in that regard. I also am not sure if it's a good idea or not to try to train characters on nondefault weapons.

https://i.imgur.com/L3lUlWe.png
59 - Wattam - 5 points / 1 Vote
PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

(sorry for the delay, lunch break)

are those katamari princes? (I am v bad at following gaming news)

catching up. card of darkness was fun! enjoyed animations and progression of complexity. oddly i hit a wall the first time i played this and then completed it fairly easily when i went back to it. not really a stayer but it did the job v well as an iphone filler game.

probably the place to bemoan the lack of a serious michael brough contender this year. pretty much any of his games would have been GotY any year they got released.

wattam is the katamari guy's new game yes

it is not a katamari game though

https://i.imgur.com/8XtvkKR.png
59 - Sugarlawn - 5 points / 1 Vote
Interactive Fiction readers

emil.y, tell us of the IF!

I finished Pilgrims last weekend. Pretty solid. It's about two hours from start to finish. If you liked other Amanita games like Machinarium it's in that same vein.

Lonely Mountains Downhill >>>>> Trials 6

https://i.imgur.com/KU8XAHo.png
59 - Feather - 5 points / 1 Vote
Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Macintosh operating systems

i think that was my vote for trials rising. i found it incredibly addictive, but it was my first trials game so i had nothing to compare it to re: the complaints upthread. if lonely mountains downhill has the satisfying tactile physics of trials with a better aesthetic and no loot boxes i'd be all about that

xp

https://i.imgur.com/OnqAHYf.png
59 - Horace - 5 points / 1 Vote
Microsoft Windows

this one looked insufferable to me, maybe that's the joke but i'm not gonna find out

https://i.imgur.com/xUsl0J3.png
59 - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - 5 points / 1 Vote
Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Oh, I voted for Wattam and Sugarlawn! I might have given Wattam a few more points if I'd played it for longer, but only did a few hours immersing myself in the weird weird world. It's very twee, but then you can hold hands and dance with toilets and turn things into poop and... I don't know, it's strange. Definitely worth playing, but as I say, I'm not yet sure if there's more to it than just its odd charm.

Sugarlawn is a good IF treasure hunt. I play a lot of IF and almost never map or write physical notes, but with this one I actually did those things. It's a timed scavenger hunt framed as a TV show in an old mansion, and you have to try to maximise your winnings. I usually like a really deep immersive world in my IF and this is relatively shallow, but it's fun and there's loads of replay value.

every few years I try to get into IF for a little while, play something recommended by someone, usually peter out pretty quickly because it's just not in my nature to really stick to these things. As much as I'd like to! Similar experience as I have w/ (genuine) roguelikes (i.e. nethack, brogue, DCSS)

https://i.imgur.com/uYZUud1.png
59 - The Stillness of the Wind - 5 points / 1 Vote
Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, iOS

Can you post mine, Will? I'm fairly sure I can remember it but didn't save it and don't want to make a mistake.

sure!

emil.y's ballot:

30 untitled Goose game
20 Sayonara Wild Hearts
15 Zozzled
10 The Fog Knows Your Name
10 Unheard
5 Wattam
5 Sugarlawn
5 Death Stranding

want me to post it km?

that's be great, thanks!

i am too dumb for baba is you but it's definitely a cool game

The ballot of one Karl Malone:

15 Dicey Dungeons
10 Death Stranding
10 Blasphemous
10 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
10 Tetris 99
10 The Outer Wilds
10 untitled Goose game
5 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
4 Super Mario Maker 2
4 Ring Fit Adventure
4 Cat Quest 2
4 Card of Darkness
4 Grindstone

Why did I give blasphemous 10 points, wtf

25 Antimatter Dimensions
20 Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
15 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
10 Supraland
10 Super Mario Maker 2
5 untitled Goose game
5 Dicey Dungeons
5 Baba Is You
5 Resident Evil 2

disappointment: Crackdown 3
Non-2019: Donut County

Control /// 30
Wargroove /// 23
The Outer Wilds /// 15
Baba Is You /// 22
untitled Goose game /// 1
Gris /// 9

Thanks, Will. I got Dicey Dungeons because of this poll and it rules. I threw all my points at Mutazione so I’ll try to sell it: as soothing as AC but character-driven and melancholy (and funny), music is good and plays a big role (there’s an exTREMEly subtle shout out to Boards of Canada), nice paper cutout art, not too long not too short, just hanging out in a chill village community with some friendly weirdos and their various dramas. OK back to Persona 5 Royal.

Just catching up, but I think I voted for:

-Sekiro, because I'm a From stan, recommended if you're interested in incredibly tight combat mechanics and boss fights.

-Super Mario Maker 2, my game of 2019 & 2020 that I haven't played, but watching daily Ryukahr videos is an important part of my self-care regimen

-Goose Game, the first game I've been able to play with my wife since Inside, although we still need to do the last section

I've maybe watched 50 hours of people playing Sekiro. I can't get enough of it, but it's too hard for me to play.

It's not that bad, but you do need to meet the game on its terms and get some muscle memory going. I loved it but have no desire to play it again (although I can say the same for the single player modes of the other From games, it's the multiplayer that keeps me playing for years on end).

Haha this was great as ever, thanks Will. And while in many ways I regret not voting this year (and will be back next year i promise), in one key way I'm glad I didn't, because I would've broken the tie for the top and I prefer it as it is.

i didn't save my ballot but i think this was the order:

Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Baba is You
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Disco Elysium
Supraland
Death Stranding
Katana Zero

i really wanted to like The Outer Wilds more but found it to be a bit too frustrating and gave up eventually having done approx 2/3 of the game. the spaceship & jetpack are both pretty difficult to control and when screwing up a jump, for example, can completely ruin an entire loop it's pretty frustrating how punishing it is. also the ghost matter puzzles were a terrible mechanic, especially on the comet. there was certainly a lot to love about it though, so maybe i'll come back to it eventually and hope it doesn't frustrate me as much.

i guess i played less than i thought this year but was more tuned into 'games media' given that the list of things i didn't play here is longer than the ones I did:

WOULD LIKE TO HAVE PLAYED SO I COULD VOTE FOR

71 - Katana Zero - 3 points / 1 Vote
33 - The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa - 20 points / 2 Votes
25 - Void Bastards - 25 points / 1 First-place vote / 1 Vote
23 - Sayonara Wild Hearts - 29 points / 2 Votes
16 - Return of the Obra Dinn - 32 points / 2 Votes
14 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - 35 points / 2 Votes
13 - A Short Hike - 35 points / 3 Votes
12 - Hypnospace Outlaw - 35 points / 1.33 First-place votes / 2 Votes
7 - Death Stranding - 81 points / 1 First-place vote / 6 Votes
6 - Fire Emblem: Three Houses - 82 points / 1.5 First-place votes / 6 Votes
5 - Control - 85 points / 2 First-place votes / 4 Votes
2 - Baba Is You - 109 points / 1 First-place vote / 7 Votes

and Astral Chain, I guess, I just bought that, on sale on the Europe Switch shop rn fyi --

WOULD HAVE VOTED FOR
43 - Ape Out - 10 points / 1 Vote
such a good game: seems to apply an older-generational ethos to modern control standards, which I liked a lot; it depends on dual analogue and shoulder triggers, but it has a narrower list of verbs than some 8-bit games. if you prefer the NES version of ‘Vampire Killer’ to any done on a computer with a better sound chip then you should play this

40 - Disco Elysium - 12 points / 2 Votes
this slaps but it’s just barely a videogame. probably the most fun I had reading an RPG setting book this year, though

21 - Tetris 99 - 30 points / 4 Votes
I played this for an hour at a friend’s apartment the day it came out and then I went home and cancelled my Nintendo Switch Online membership and put my Switch in a box underneath a lot of other things

17 - Dicey Dungeons - 30 points / 1 First-place vote / 3 Votes
masterclass in how to do kitchen-sink design—rock solid core mechanic and then every breakable version of it implemented on top.

WOULD NOT HAVE VOTED FOR

10 - Slay the Spire - 39 points / 5 Votes
kind of the opposite of what i just said about Dicey Dungeons

1 - Untitled Goose Game - 109 points / 1.33 First-place votes / 9 Votes
never before has the experience of playing a game been so close to the experience of watching its trailer

39 - Resident Evil 2 - 14 points / 2 Votes
a layer of ugly modern triple-A gloss on the skeleton of a bad game, all its period charm destroyed. also the environments have foot high barriers you have to walk around which is surely unforgivable in 2020

11 - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 39 points / 3 Votes
a layer of ugly modern double-A gloss on what was previously the best Nintendo game

69 - Cat Quest 2 - 4 points / 1 Vote
get out

always enjoy your writeups, thomp!

oh i voted for slay the spire too i think quite high up. some of the best turn-based rpg combat there is, combined with roguelike mechanics and deckbuilding.

link's awakening remake was unfortunately not much of an improvement on the original game which i didn't rate very highly either but it'd been ages since i'd played it so i figured i'd give it another try. it had a lot of quality of life changes for the better but the combat in 2D zeldas is still very awkward and the puzzles were rarely very interesting.

bloodstained was ok but underwhelming, kinda castlevania-by-numbers rather than castlevania at its best and certainly didn't live up to symphony of the night. it was much more linear, played even more awkwardly, ugly graphical style etc.

particularly enjoyed thomp's tetris 99 review. Ape Out looks great as well.

My votes, in no particular order:
Sekiro: I loved this. i mean really it is *just* a very well done combat mechanic. i think there's always been part of me, ever since i was little, that while i enjoyed computer games, felt the gap between the necessary formal abstraction between game combat, say, and the principles that you know would have to govern any real world activities: that is to say, a sense of equivalence between your reflexes and ability to respond immediately contextually to an equally matched, or more powerful opponent. maybe 'real world' here is wrong, maybe i mean 'in films' and the 'play associated with films' (particularly action films). Necessarily in a game of course these are always matters of managing a formal set of responses. I now think games that are aware of and play on the formal abstraction of the world's constraints in different and obvious ways are better and ultimately more enjoyable (Michael Brough <3) , but there's still an arcade bit of me that loves when these mechanics are subsumed into 'film' type scenarios.

A lot of has been made of the way fromsoftware projects' combat has progressed: dark souls: shield up, hit box, roll, retreat, shield up. bloodborne trying to get round that, by allowing you to recoup health by attacking within a short time frame of being hit, to sekiro's conversion of stamina into a defensive capacity visibly shared and depleted both by you and your opponents. this leads to incredibly intense and reflexive combat, a combination of attack and defence, considerably favoured to defence. The precision with which this is all accomplished is exceptional, which was really brought home to me when I tried to play Fallen Order

i mean, really it's pretty much the same, in its closest analogy, with getting into the zone in games like Defender, or Gridzone (Geoff Minter's finest). The fact that it's associated with exciting sword clashing sounds, a wider feudal japan setting, and some very good boss fights (yes the Guardian Ape fight is hilarious and justifiably well known, but the first Genichiro Ashina fight - well I guess the second - at the top of the fortress was just fantastic). I mean, in some senses, it's fairly limited like all fromsoftware games, and lacks the more cryptic mythology, that does so much for Bloodborne (a better game imo). But the sense of achievement from advancement, and the fact that the balance between just getting better at it, and griding/collecting things to get you OP, is a lot more geared to the first than the second, produces a sense of overcoming the game as much through skill as through repetition.

The Outer Wilds: someone mentioned upthread that the control mechanism was pretty disorientating, which was my first response, but i think led this being my favourite game. it feels very *manual*, getting up to space, and finding where you need to go. a continual and quite charming sense of discovery, where death is both frustrating and doesn't matter. omg the planet with the f'ing tornados on it though give me a break. Through Sekiro, this game and to Death Stranding, it's interesting how much representations of *tactility* and 'realistic' control in environments, have mattered to me in these games.

The Outer Worlds: so i also really liked this? for reasons that don't seem entirely obvious to me now, it was the closest I'd felt to playing in an episode of, say, the first season of Altered Carbon (that is *not* to say this is a traditional noir cyberpunk environment - OW is quite lurid and bright - but because of a sense of detection and continually new encounters you're not sure how to manage). I think the game's strength is in its distinctive characters and ambiguous/ambivalent decision trees. after initially feeling that, say, compared to the open world of Fallout 3, it was too constrained, that structure ended up providing a good framework for the actions and fighting that takes place within the game.

Death Stranding: Amazingly tactile walking, batshit Hideo Kojima OTT storylines and acting, and never got bored of the moments where you work out where you've got to go, look up at the distant horizon, and see the long black strands and grey clouds of time fall in the distance, before you hitch your backpack up on your back again, check you've got the equipment you think you'll need, and start clambering and slipping over the landscape towards it. Didn't expect to enjoy it at *all*, was expecting it to suck. It was ace.

Sorry, I've been really laboured here. i'm not really used to writing about computer games, but i have enjoyed some this year. Outside of this Obra Dinn, and always Cinco Paus, were probably my most played. Oh also i spent a load of time playing sonic racing on my iPhone, which totally sucked.

Fizzles, since you will appreciate it, I want to brag for my partner: she has the 12th highest score in cinco paus (2239 em 50 jogos) and plays it all of the time. I voted for it as non-2019 game of the year just because of the degree it dominates our lives

holy mother of god. that’s a score.

yeah, it's insane. it's strange to say, but when i think back about this time of my life, cinco paus is going to be there. it's going to be hilarious if i end up on a deathbed trying to explain cinco paus to my confused family and friends of whatever year it is. "...and....there was a brough-like...cinco paus...those treasure-stealing frogs...they were the bane of her existence...auuuugh...but that's a roguelike for you....uuuugggh....that's a broughlike...aaghh" death

i really need to give outer wilds some more time. i explored only a planet or two before death stranding came along and interrupted my progress.

gratified to note im still in the top 50 on Cinco Paus. I was top ten in 868 hack back in the day and I have achieved nothing since.

i need to get a job again so i can buy a ps4 and play death stranding and sekiro but once i have a job again i won't have free time to play death stranding and sekiro

the eternal adult gaming struggle

that's why i just cracked open my copy of Asura's Wrath from 2012, no joke

same here thomp except all I want is P5 The Royal

oh, that one too, shit

i just played through a short hike and yes, i would have absolutely voted for it

Another one

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Coint & Plick VOTING thread - best games of 2020 (also campaign here) DEADLINE: MARCH 13