The 2019 Completed Games List

Mattcraft

Archlion Saga (Switch / Mobile)

It's short, but pretty good. Recommend it on mobile over Switch however.

Ombres

on what console did you finish it? Both?

Mattcraft

On mobile. I honestly don't recommend it on Switch, unless it goes on sale for 50-75% off.

It's short, linear, and really good. Get it on your phone and play through it in a couple sittings. They're charging $5 for a free phone game with no added value on the Switch,

redwing42

Donut County (Switch)- I did pay the Switch tax for this one, but it was well worth it. Very clever and was just the right length. I need to play more shorter games like this.

Mattcraft

I gotta agree with Redwing : Donut County is an AWESOME GAME. I'm planning on eventually getting it on the Switch, I got it on my iPhone when I was using it.

Ombres

Mecho Tales (switch)

I am glad I pay almost nothing for that game, because that what it worth!

Ombres

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon(switch)

This is a so much better game than the last one I finish, it is a really nice throw back to the good old game Castlevania 3 on the NES.
I will need to play again to see the other end!

redwing42

Inside (XBONE) - Another fairly short game. Not entirely sure how I feel about this one. Some of the puzzles were fun, and the aesthetic was neat, but somehow felt kind of hollow. There didn't seem to be any real purpose for anything, and I just kept progressing in the game because that's how it was designed, not because I felt like there was any direction to the action. Not that this was a bad game or a waste of time, but it just didn't grab me like some other games. Also, maybe I'm a bit bitter as I bought the game on sale just a couple weeks before it was announced as a Games with Gold choice.

7thCircle

Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) is an impressive game technically, and I feel for all the time and effort put into making it, but the UI is absolute garbage and I can see why none of my friends who played it in 2018 made it very far before quitting.

I suppose I mostly saw it through to the end for the story, and because as an RPG fan I don't mind monotonous games when I'm in the right mood, but the plot had 2 major problems for me. Buying Dutch as a great, charismatic leader required me to see him in that role at some point, not just hear about it from characters' vague references to a time prior to the game's story. Without that, I had trouble accepting some characters' actions when things went sour. Second, the mysterious events of the failed Blackwater job hung over the story from literally the 1st moment through to the finale. I assumed Arthur's story would end in Blackwater and explain what happened, but it didn't. The game never explains what happened in that, the most important, frequently-referenced driver of the entire plot. So stupid and disappointing.

I found RDR2's gameplay boring and frustrating more often than not, but I liked the characters and writing. No clue what type of gamer I would consider recommending this to. I think most people would hate it.

7thCircle

My brother wanted to replay Borderlands 2 (PS4) co-op before the new one comes out. This is at least my 4th time playing it, and this run was the least fun for me. I didn't enjoy Mecromancer as much as the other characters I've used, and my brother insisted on playing couch co-op. I missed having my own screen to myself. He also wants to play Borderlands 3 couch co-op, so.... yay.... Still a great game, of course.

Ryan McCarthy

finished Tales from the Borderlands (PS4) - liked it a lot, good characters, some legitimately chuckle-worthy moments, and some shockingly well-executed pathos

Cassandra Ramos

I finally beat Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (3DS), specifically the Bonds/Peace ending.
This game is rather optimistic for a MegaTen game. Also, it's everything the original Shin Megami Tensei IV should have been.

Sam Wachter

Judgment (PS4) - AMAZING.

redwing42

Valkyria Chronicles (PS4) - This is the remastered(?) version. I'm on record as saying that Skies of Arcadia is the pinnacle of old school JRPGs. It is not perfect, but the small flaws it has (mostly regarding the combat system) are easily overlooked because of how great everything else is. I am also a very big fan of strategy games. That means that, on paper, this should be my favorite game of all time. Well, it doesn't quite meet that mark, but it was a very enjoyable trip through fake WWII. The characters maybe fall a notch below SoA overall, but the tone of that game definitely carries through. I do think that the combat system is a bit fiddly at times, with precise positioning being difficult, but there were only a few times I had to check a guide because I couldn't quite grasp what the game was looking for. A couple of those were during the challenge missions as well, so I don't feel too bad about that.

Overall, I'm glad I finally got to play this (I never had a PS3, and I really struggle with playing console games on PC), and I'm certainly looking forward to playing VC4 at some point. I wish the other two were available, but I also know that they are lesser installments.

Ryan McCarthy

finished my first playthrough of Nocked! True Tales of Robin Hood (PC) and intend to do another one before writing my review

Krull

Just knocked off my JRPGJuly choice, which was Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC on PSP. Really liked it. Took me 53 hours, mostly without a guide - a couple of hidden things I just had to look up, not realising that the reason I couldn’t find them was because the game hadn’t opened up certain areas to me yet.

Apart from that, I struggle to come up with any complaints. The story was decent, with that old-school linearity familiar from 16-bit JRPGs, but what really lifted it were the vivid characters and a very decent tactical battle system. Got to be worth at least a 4, possibly a 4.5. Cliffhanger ending too - love it! Will definitely do Second Chapter at some point.

Ombres

Destiny 2 (PC)

That was a fun FPS that I play with a friend! I don't know if I would have enjoy it as much alone!

Ombres

Dragon Quest Builders(Switch)

this game I been on my backlog for a while, the fact that the second just came out, give me the boost to complete it :) I really love that game, even if I don't like Minecraft at all, in this one you are not left to yourself to build, there a story and that what I like about it!

Ryan McCarthy

Dragon's Crown Pro (PS4)

I really enjoyed this. While playing it solo made the repetition more obvious, the beat 'em up action RPG gameplay was compelling and I intend to go back to it eventually. While this isn't a game to play for the story, I did like artwork and accompanying flavor text you get for completing quests.

Sam Wachter

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch) -- My fave game of the year so far. Still give months of the year left though, Married Dorothea!

ChickenGod

Persona Q2 (3DS) - Finally finished the first of very many games that I put significant time into but yet to complete. Oh man, PQ2, where to begin? Its main purpose for me ended up being a nice way to relax after eating or just filling time in between other things. Unfortunately, compared to the very positive receptions I've read online, Q2 just didn't end up being as fantastic for me as it seems to be for others, and I think I honestly liked Q1 more. I don't want to be too negative here, but a few of the things that bothered me was characters taking too long to unlock, them feeling too samey in combat, the sidequests only being taken one by one making them a time sink, and other little nitpicks like certain boss fights being more puzzle like in nature. Even though I don't come away with a glowing opinion of the game I still had a lot of fun with it, and it managed to deliver 60 solid hours dungeon crawling goodness, so it was definitely worth the playthrough.

Ryan McCarthy

Oninaki (PS4) -- gonna have to wait for the review for my spicy takes on it

ChickenGod

Dies Irae ~Amantes Amentes~ (PC) - This incredibly lengthy, epic tale concluded for me tonight. My goodness, it was such a long game. Dies Irae seems like one of those titles that tried to capitalize on the success of Fate/Stay Night, and normally, it should have been right up my alley. And honestly, it was a great game, but even after taking so long to finish it I still came away exhausted. One of the bigger detractors for me was the protagonist, and how he and the lens of the story when its being told through him is almost insufferably annoying to read, especially when juxtaposed against the absolutely fantastic view points of the rest of the cast. Dies excels mightily when it comes to giving the player "behind the scenes" scheming and intrigue being built between the fantastic and otherworldly beings that make up the bulk of this title. They don't waste a lot of time on needless slice of life segments and are constantly pushing the narrative forward, making the story very easy to read compared to other VNs. I personally really enjoyed how strange and mystifying the villains were of the game, so much so that they were essentially the protagonists while I was reading. The routes are different enough that they are all worth a playthrough, though admittedly its a bit monotonous because certain events have to be addressed each and every time, leading to a little burn out, even though the writing does its best to get you past these things as painlessly as possible. Its a really odd title, because while I feel the game did so much right, it also dropped the ball a little bit here and there, enough to where I can't really conclude how I feel about my experience with it.

Cassandra Ramos

Finally beat another game! This time it's Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii.

I really enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. I didn't expect the story to be as touchy-feelie and bittersweet like that. It's got plenty of goofy moments, too, being a Mario RPGs. I still love Francis's dating sim spoof. XD The platforming is simple, but I don't have the patience for platformers these days, so I rather liked that, actually.

It's surprisingly short, too. The only reason it took me a few months if because I could only play a few hours every week, but it took a little over 30 hours to complete.

ChickenGod

Stella Glow (3DS) - Tough game to find for a fair price. I finally found a physical copy, and started it up a few months ago before putting it down for other games. Even though I'd played it alot, surprisingly I was only a little over halfway finished, and there was a lot left to enjoy. Honestly, I really liked Stella Glow and think it may be one of the most underrated and least talked about 3DS RPGs. Something that really appeals to me are SRPGs that don't flood the player with a ridiculous number of systems or gimmicks, which is somewhat common for this genre, so I actually found the smaller number of deploys and fairly straightforward combat to be a breath of fresh air. The story in this game was also much better than expected, there are a number of interesting beats here and things can get pretty intense. The voice acting also helped a lot, I feel like many of the characters had their own unique feel thanks to this, and its for sure a stark contrast after playing PQ2. Just about the only thing I didn't enjoy here was the crappy Tuning Mission fights that pretty much offered nothing but filler time. The orbs system was just enough and the game gives you quite a few character choices to keep things fairly fresh throughout. Glad I didn't miss out on discovering Stella Glow.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) - I think this is only my 2nd Castlevania-like game I've played. Honestly, this one was pretty good, even though the reception seemed kind of mixed from kickstarter/patch issues. I played the game completely unpatched, and while there were a couple of little issues regarding glitches or frame rate, they were not enough to be a detractor. The combat and exploration was pretty fun, although the game didn't give quite enough guidance or was obtuse enough that there were a couple segments where I wasn't sure where to go or what to do. All the equipment and Shard variations were nice to experiment with, and I ended up settling on Rapiers and and Vertical Lightning Strike as my go-tos. My biggest complaint with Bloodstained is that they lock the difficulties behind playthroughs, which is something I can't stand. Normal was just not challenging enough regarding the boss fights. Many of them could have been a lot more fun if they had just a little more health or defense to force the player to learn their patterns. Overall though this was a fair priced romp and I'd gladly play a sequel if one ever gets made.

Krull

One more polished off! I have finally gotten through Let's Go Pikachu on Switch (obvs). I thought this was something I'd just be able to knock off, after spending five or six weeks on Trails, but found it surprisingly substantial for a kids' take on Pokémon. Substantial in a starchy, slightly flavourless way, like a large bowl of pasta with no sauce, but still moderately enjoyable. It actually took me 40 hours to complete the campaign and post-game and my Pokédex - or at least all I can without trading - but admittedly, I did get a bit carried away with chaining catches for candies.

I doubt I'll get through many more games before 2019 is through - I've just started Fire Emblem Three Houses...

Ryan McCarthy

Spyro: Year of the Dragon (Reignited Trilogy ver.) (PS4) - it's 'aight but it definitely suffers a case of being a bit on the bloated side with all the different character sections and what not. Also, I don't have the patience to try to get the 100% completion true ending or whatever

DON'T GIVE UP: A Cynical Tale (PC) - I was suppose to write an Early Access impression on this and actually did write a full draft but it came out of Early Access when it released this past week so there was no point in continuing to work on that. Which is a shame because I played it from start to finish and liked it quite a bit. Not going to go into too much detail just in case I end up writing about it for whatever reason.

Adriaan den Ouden

Managed to wrap up GreedFall (PC) today. Wow, what a game. Caught me completely off guard by how good it is. Highly recommended.

ChickenGod

AI: The Somnium Files (PS4) - Got the Digital Version since I wasn't keen on waiting for the delayed physical release. Its no secret that I love these kinds of games, and so of course I ate through it like a Chocolate Cake. There's a lot of interesting stuff going on here, good and bad. To get some of the negativity out of the way early, I really think this game had a little too much humor injected, especially when it came to some action scenes. Normally I go for more dirty minded jokes, but a lot of whats here borders on being childish and uncreative. Sadly I think this alone is going to be enough to get the game slammed by some reviewers, even though some of the jokes actually do a good job of counter balancing the serious and dark tone. Ultimately, I really liked how this story was structured and paced. Compared some of Uchikoshi's previous works, when you find a new piece of information or make a different decision, you see drastic changes with little chafe in between. The spreading of bread crumbs by the way you learn new information is extremely effective in this title, lending itself very nicely to keeping your mind focused on new developments in unexpected ways. The Somnium gameplay portions themselves are fairly interesting too, you get a lot of very creepy segments, but you also get some very strange and weird ones as well, which is really cool for something that is obviously a budget title. The voice acting was also pretty good, which helped compliment the flawed but interesting cast. The music doesn't quite stand up to previous Zero Escape games though IMO. I've come to realize that complimentary music is especially powerful in these types of games, so its a bit of a shame that its not excellent, but certainly still serviceable. Overall I enjoyed the game quite a bit, certainly more than the most recent Zero Time Dilemma. The Somnium Files isn't quite a world beater, but its tough to find a game that commands my attention almost completely for 35ish hours, and I'd really like to see more titles like this being made in the future.

WilliamHaslam

Thanks for your list