2018 has been a speed demon of a year for the gaming industry! The year has been full of brand new releases, records being broken and shattered, complete out of the blue surprises and more controversies than anyone can count. Yet, as the year comes to a close, gaming and the industry along with its fans look forward to the future and what 2019 brings on its horizon but, before we all envelope ourselves in the future let’s take some time to reflect on the releases of this year. We here at Lords of Gaming have gone through the staff and determined everyone’s personal choices for their Game of the Year, so allow us to take you on a small tour of 2018 gaming memory lane as we list and discuss the games that were chosen. We will list who nominated each game on this list and even add some quotes as to why along with pointing out the success the games have had. To be clear and perfectly transparent, the games that will be listed are just personal choices, chosen between November 2017 through October 2018 and the list is in NO WAY an indication of where we feel like every game stands in relation to another. With all that being said, what better way to start off the Game of the Year list than with the biggest game to have released in 2018?
Red Dead Redemption 2 Released October 26th, 2018
Nominated by: Lord Sovereign and iDizzy81
Rockstars Red Dead Redemption 2 released this year after much anticipation from the fans of the original game. It had big shoes to fill as it came after the very highly successful GTAV and had the weight of the first game on its back. Red Dead saddled itself up and yee-haw’d its way to having the biggest opening weekend in all entertainment releases, smashing multiple records for PlayStation Network and opening week across the board. The game’s success is a triumphant reminder that single player games aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and a good story by a developer people respect can push itself as well as any game as a service product.
Red Dead Redemption 2 reveal trailer.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Released September 7th, 2018
Nominated by: Lord King and Bobby “biggiejerseys”
Insomniac’s action game of Marvel’s Spider-Man came out of the gates web-slingin’ itself to a record 3.3 million copies sold in its first three days toppling the record held by Sony’s newly released God of War. The game itself wasn’t the only thing selling fast however, there was also a limited time bundle that came with a custom Spider-Man themed PS4 Pro and controller that did very well for itself. Sales success aside, the game was also a hit in ratings both critically and by players, many citing it as their favorite Spider-Man game to date as well as their personal Game of the Year choice.
Spider-man reveal trailer
State of Decay 2 Released May 22, 2018
Nominated by: Lord Swat
Undead Lab’s State of Decay 2 came out not only as an Xbox one exclusive but also as part of Xbox game pass and made itself the best-selling title in the US, even edging out tough competition such as Sony’s Detroit: Become Human. The game released with performance and technical issues but much of the games community didn’t seem to mind or have their fun mired by such concerns. State of Decay went on to do much better than its predecessor and drew in a few million players quite rapidly and in time, the success seemingly persuaded Microsoft into acquiring Undead Labs themselves.
State of Decay 2 Reveal Trailer
God of War Released April 20th, 2018
Nominated by: Lord Cognito and Lord Addict
Sony’s Santa Monica Studio released a fresh take on God of War, keeping the character of Kratos, the team decided to take the game away from its usual Greek Mythology roots and went with Norse Mythology along with slower, more impactful gameplay. This decision paid off for the game as it left the fan base feeling very much satisfied with the title while simultaneously refreshing what they had come to know and love from before. God of War received incredibly good reviews across the board for everything from its story to its art direction, proving that in an industry where risk taking is rarely done, if done right it can be the smartest thing to do for a long running franchise. God of Wars sales success is nearly as legendary as Kratos himself, selling 5 million copies in its release month as well as 2 million copies digitally, making it the best-selling of the franchise entirely and one of Play Stations best-selling games of all time.
Lord Cognitos Reason for nomination: ” Graphical fidelity, unique story telling. Father/son dynamic. Fearless Reimagining of an iconic one-dimensional character to give depth & fantastic controls.”
Lord Addicts Reason for nomination: “Just a better game to me”
God of War Story Trailer
FarCry 5 Released March 27th, 2018
Nominated by: Frodo1511
FarCry 5, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Toronto, released to positive acclaim among critics even though it faced a small bit of controversy for having some political elements within the game. FarCry 5 received much praise for its visual take of the world and the accompanying soundtrack adding to the games overall enjoyment. The game, despite its controversy, managed to become the best-selling FarCry of the series, making over 300 million in its first week of sales.
FarCry 5 Reveal Trailer
Monster Hunter World Released January 26th, 2018
Nominated by: Lord Zero
Monster Hunter World had a lot to prove to gamers as it took, not only a big step into the console scene but a huge risk coming into the western market, having been mostly tied to mobile platforms and enjoyed across seas. Gamers eagerly picked up their great swords and readied their palicos as they journeyed through the New World, making Monster Hunter World sell 5 million copies in its first three days and solidifying its name in the western market. This made the game Capcoms best-selling game in history as it offered gamers a great starting point for newcomers to the series while still challenging the hardened veterans.
Lord Zeros reason for nomination: “Monster Hunter World brings one of my most beloved series to prominence in a huge way. Everything from its graphical impressiveness, to the environmental detail and the untouched liveliness of the monsters in it makes the game feel like a real and true grand adventure. I’ve always said since the game came out and I stand by it, Monster hunter World is a game that’s so good, that it will change its genre and genres like it for years to come.”
Monster Hunter World Launch Trailer
DLC HONORABLE MENTIONS FROM THE STAFF
Destiny 2’s Forsaken Expansion Released September 4th, 2018
Nominated by: Lord Cognito, Lord Sov, Frodo1511
Destiny 2 released to a lot of positivity out of the gate but eventually fell back into the same problems as it’s predecessor. With concerns of Bungie’s intentions for the game and controversies arising in the community, the team doubled down and came up with Forsaken. The expansion took much-needed risks such as killing off a beloved character in Cayde-6 and making the tone of the story much more mysterious and dark. The expansion was a success and managed to draw in worn out vets of the game and new players alike while giving the content itself a much-needed refresh in gameplay loops and things to strive and work towards.
Ark Survival Evolved: Aberration Released December 12th, 2017
Nominated by: iDizzy81
Aberration is a unique take on the usual Ark experience, the atmosphere of the Ark has leaked away resulting in a rise of intense radiation and one of a kind environments underground. These issues with the stability of the Ark itself throw a new and refreshing kind of challenge to the survivors that choose to face the peril. With brand new creatures, hazards, flora and more to discover Aberration offers a lot for a game already packed with content.
For Honor: Marching Fire Expansion Released October 16th, 2018
Nominated by: Lord Zero
Ubisoft’s For Honor has a very similar story to that of the aforementioned Destiny 2, in that it released too much positivity and praise but slowly ran into issues that plague community intensive games. The story of For Honor and its troubles is an article for another day but, the team at Ubisoft backed their product through its problems and drew the community back. With this resurgence came the release of the expansion Marching Fire which added the first brand new faction, the Wu-Lin, to the existing roster of Knight, Viking and Samurai. Along with that came a change to gear stats into gear perks and an all-new arcade mode which offers a never-ending PvE game mode where the player is challenged to face random quests with unique modifiers.
2018 has yet to draw to a close so it’s always possible that some things may release that top these suggestions but as of now, these are the staff’s personal picks for Game of the Year. 2018 has a strong diverse lineup of games going for it, with things from hardcore action to time consuming RPGs, the year has offered something for every gamer around and hopefully, 2019 will carry that momentum. We here at LordsofGaming.net would love to hear your thoughts on our list or if we haven’t included your personal Game of the Year, so feel free to leave a comment down below. As always you never have to sign-up for the website or anything to do so and we welcome everyone engaging with each other. Thank you again for reading, keep it tuned to the LordsofGaming.net site or Lords of Gaming Twitter handle to get your gaming news from real gamers, have a wonderful day.
While there are plenty of games that have released this year, these are the ones the resonate from November 2017 to October 2018. Do you have anything similar, or different? Let us know in the comment section below! Be sure to join us on our Discord and follow our social media!
