We’ve started up our end-of-year coverage on GameRevolution, breaking down the most disappointing games of 2018 today in the run-up to our eventual, extra special top 50 best games list. We’ve played a lot of video games this year, and more than a few didn’t quite receive the reception we believed they deserved to from both players and critics alike. As such, the GameRevolution team sat down and pointed out the most underrated games of 2018.
As always, share your own opinion in the comments section below. We’ll feature our favorite responses in tomorrow’s Tell GR.
Paul Tamburro, executive editor: Laser League. It’s incredibly difficult for a unique multiplayer game to make a mark these days, and Roll7’s futuristic sports title failed to find an audience. However, those who played it this year know just how addictive it is, and it really deserved a much wider community than it received. It’s better than Rocket League and should have been recognized as such, but a muted response from players means that private lobbies are the only way you’re getting consistent playtime out of this hidden gem.
Jason Faulkner, senior editor: Return of the Obra Dinn flew right under my radar when it was released in October, and I’m glad I noticed it was a nominee for The Game Awards and decided to check it out. It’s basically like a giant single-player clue where you have to find out the fate of the 60 members of the crew and company of a ship named the Obra Dinn. It really gets you thinking as you have to deduce what each person’s identity is and how they died. Its main mechanic has you traveling back in time to the moment of a person’s death and you have to carefully observe the scene and listen to their last moments to figure stuff out. I’m streaming it on our Twitch right now, and it’s gotten me hooked like few other indie games have before. It also emulates early 1980s computer graphics with a mono-color palette and has a very unique art style that adds to the mystique of the story. The developer of Papers Please made it, and I think he definitely trumped his previous work.
Mack Ashworth, lead editor: Unravel Two sailed under the radar for many, I feel. I absolutely love the co-op experience in this game. Despite the cute appearance of Yarny and his co-op buddy, the puzzles can get pretty challenging, making for a satisfying conclusion. It’s just a gorgeous looking title that makes improvements on everything that the first game did so well.
Bradley Russell, news editor: “Moonlighter. I think it helped that A) I haven’t played a whole bunch of indie titles this year and B) I’ve played Binding of Isaac for all of 5 mins, but there was something so instantly engaging about the dungeon crawling/shopkeeper loop that Moonlighter brought to the table in 2018. It was simple and stripped-back, but it didn’t need to be hyper-complex to pull you in. You’re out there nearly dying, trying to survive, and having to battle anything and everything that stands in your way just to scrape a living. That’s a Big Mood, as the kids might say.”
Michael Leri, features editor: The Gardens Between came and went without getting the fanfare it rightfully deserved. Its clever time manipulation puzzles were well designed and supplemented the adorable, wordless narrative quite well. Spending $20 on a two-hour game might be a big ask for a lot of people but few games are as lean, satisfying, and charming as The Gardens Between.
Yesterday’s Best Comment
Question: Should Games Be More Political?
Longo_2_Guns: “God no. Gamers can’t even handle Nazi soldiers being portrayed as bad without freaking out about it.”
