Here are the 5 games (yes, only 5) I played in 2018 that were actually released this year and not from either 1998 or 2016.
Emma Kidwell (@Emmakidwell) is a contributing editor at Gamasutra and sometimes makes content for the web.
I hardly played any video games released in 2018. With the exception of Detroit: Become Human (its first and only mention in my GOTY), I missed most all the new hits.
I’m not sure if it’s because 2018 felt like an eternity and drained my desire to do anything (yikes), but I think I was just too busy. Not busy doing anything productive, but finding myself going back to play older games like Overwatch, Dr. Mario, or Jeopardy! instead with my friends or partner.
I gravitated toward games with a social aspect this past year since it was my first full year working remotely for Gamasutra. Adjusting to a different schedule than your peers is difficult at first, but socializing through games helped a lot.
I was also reminded a few days ago that I can write off video game purchases during tax season, so here’s to 2019! In no particular order, here are my top five games released this year.
Florence is a game I’ve thought about often since playing it toward the beginning of the year. Before diving into why it’s a unique experience, I want to applaud the developers for making a game that’s the perfect length of time. Clocking in at around two hours, Florence tells a story about love at a great pace.
The game takes the generic formula of a traditional relationship (meeting, falling in love, falling out of love) but tells it in such a compelling way through its effective use of simple mechanics, powerful score, and unique art style.
Games without lots of dialogue or text need to go the extra mile to convey an engaging and emotional story effectively, and Florence absolutely nails it.
I’m not going to give away any story spoilers because I encourage you to take the time to play it yourself, I’ll say that Florence is made for mobile and other short, narrative games would find themselves a great home on the platform. Mobile is confined to a very small subset of mechanics: Tapping, swiping, or holding an icon on your screen.
