Hey everyone,
A crazy busy year is winding down here on the good ship Thunder Lotus! But we wouldn’t dream of leaving this year behind without shining a spotlight on our 2019 Games of the Year!
Yiss – In what’s become an annual tradition, we share a list at the end of each year of the games that were special to the individual members of the growing Thunder Lotus family. Though one of the dark secrets of game dev is that you don’t end up playing nearly as many games in your quote-spare time-unquote as you imagine, Team TLG did still find the time to fall in love with a wide variety of games this year – and we hope you find some of your own favorites on the list too!
Do please read on! (And we’d love to hear about your own 2019 games of the year on Facebook and Twitter!)
“While some games this year were offering the standard fare, House House’s Untitled Goose Game had me having the time of my life. I was this out of control, belligerent goose that would not go away. Havoc was raised and small children were forever traumatized… I wouldn’t change a thing.”
– Maxime M., Level Design
“Well executed and hilarious game! Great to see developers taking risks with… unconventional ideas.”
– Luke, Programming
“A Civil Disobedience Simulator where you happen to be a goose. Delightful from beginning to end.”
– MC, 2D Art
“Simple, fun, unexpected, sadistic… What’s not to love!”
– Nico, Creative Direction
“HONK.”
– Rodrigue, Marketing
Untitled Goose Game
House House (Developer), Panic (Publisher)
Switch | PS4 | Xbox One | Epic Games Store
“I think it’s a single player adventure collectible card game made right! I’m impressed by its good card balancing and addictive “one more run” appeal!”
– Stef L., Game Design
“As an eternal fanboy of MTG, I had no chance against the quick and addicting deckbuilding game loops of Slay the Spire.”
– Will, El Presidenting
“HONK. Er- I mean, yeah. I picked this up on Xbox Game Pass just to try it, but it thoroughly sucked me in – absolutely recommend!”
– Rodrigue, Marketing
Slay the Spire
MegaCrit Games (Developer/Publisher)
Switch | PS4 | Xbox One | Steam
“The butterfly lady took me hours to beat, had to make zero mistakes over a long fight. Was so hard and yet so satisfying. The stealth was really fun too.”
– Aurélie, Programming
“Loved the Dark Souls series, I love hard games where you die over and over again, but then you get progressively better and better each time.”
– JD, Programming
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
From Software (Developer), Activision, From Software (Publishers)
PS4 | Xbox One | Steam
“One of the most creative puzzle games I have played in recent years.”
– Alex M., Programming
Baba Is You
Hempuli Oy (Developer and Publisher)
Steam | Humble | Switch
“I spent many hours obsessing over this game and trying to save my city from the constant threat of war. Unfortunately I’m pretty bad at city-building games so everything I build gets destroyed pretty quickly. Amazing details though. I loved zooming in to see what my people were up to.”
– Esmé, Programming
“The obsessive gamer’s choice.”
– Jérémie, Programming
Anno 1800
Blue Byte (Developer), Ubisoft (Publisher)
Ubisoft Store | Epic Games Store
“A playful twist on the old 2D Beat ‘Em Up Brawler, with a strong art direction and a soundtrack that will get you ready to punch a nerd in the face. But like. In a cute way. Perfect for a couch co-op night.”
– MC, 2D Art
River City Girls
WayForward (Developer), Arc System Works (Publisher)
Steam | Switch | PS4 | PS4
“Awesome simulation game by Coffee Stain studios. You have to wander around in a beautiful open world, collect resources and build big factories. You can drive vehicles, tame the magnificent Lizard DoggoTM and power everything with Nuclear energy. I played 40 hours during the first 2 weeks after the Early Access release, and i’ll surely play a 100 more when the full game is out!”
– Jonathan, Programming
Satisfactory
Coffee Stain studios (Developer & Publisher)
Epic Games Store
“Great comeback from Luigi’s mansion 2. More true to the feel of the original, fun new mechanics, and a real nail-biter!”
– Luke, Programming
Luigi’s Mansion 3
Next Level Games (Developer), Nintendo (Publisher)
Nintendo Switch
“Okay, so the base game is two years old but the DLC released this year. This game is an awesome combination of satisfying combat, incredibly in-depth mechanics, and amazing co-op. Whenever free updates drop I still find myself cancelling all plans and hitting up my squad to go slay monsters. Plus Palicos are so cute!”
– Stef T., Art Direction
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Capcom (Developer and Publisher)
PS4 | Xbox One | Humble | Steam
“A uniquely weird (in the best way) CRPG that will scratch that DnD itch while letting you be the goodest (or baddest) cop you wanna be!”
– Eline, Art
Disco Elysium
ZA/UM (Developer & Publisher)
Steam | GOG
“Fire Emblem Three Houses is a fresh new take on the series’ format by using a more narrative approach full of plot twists and intrigue.”
– Med, Community Management
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Koei Tecmo, Intelligent Systems (Developers), Nintendo (Publisher)
Switch
“This game is still one of my favorite shooters ever, the movement, the gun play and the diversity of abilities made the game high skilled. The intensity of battle royals is also very present. Despite multiple movement mechanic and gameplay changes that i highly disagree with. I will always hoop back on for a game or 2.”
– Max D., Quality Assurance
Apex Legends
Respawn Entertainment (Developers), Electronic Arts (Publisher)
Origin | PS4 | Xbox One
“This game is a perfect mix of Portal, Zelda and Metroid. Puzzles are awesome, the level-design is perfect, and all the tools are thrown at you at perfect time. Seriously, I just have kind words for that game. And one big surprise I had: This game was made by a single person! :O I finished it with 100%… I loved it.”
– Fern, Level Design
Supraland
Supra Games(Developer & Publisher)
Steam
“Wow classic exposed me to is the idea of truly being part of a group vs the world. Most MMO’s nowadays give the player a power fantasy, the 1 v All idea. In wow, you need to cooperate to have any success. Also the fact that you can get smashed by a basic mob is refreshing.”
– Max D., Quality Assurance
World of Warcraft Classic
Blizzard Entertainment (Developer & Publisher)
Battle.net
“A stellar exemple on how video game narrative exploration should work.”
– Nico, Creative Direction
Outer Wilds
Mobius Digital (Developer) Annapurna Interactive (Publisher)
Steam | PS4 | Xbox One | Epic Games Store
That’s all she wrote, folks! Thanks for reading – we’d love to hear about your 2019 favorites on Facebook and Twitter too!
– Rodrigue and the Thunder Lotus Team
