These are the 10 best games of 2019

Rory Cashin

It has been a pretty great 12 months for gamers.

As we head into 2020, and the apparent arrival of two new consoles, this is most likely to be one of the last times we’ll have games from the PS4 and Xbox One on these lists.

Since they both arrived in 2013, they have served us well, and served us some of the best games of all time. Whether or not the games from 2019 will be added to those “Best Of All Time” lists, only time will tell, but for now, these were the ten games we enjoyed the most this past year.

CONTROL (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

A spooky third-person action-shooter, telling the story of a supernaturally-powered young woman who finds herself trapped in what is essentially the X-Files department of the FBI, which has been overtaken by an evil power. A bit of a mind-bender of a plot will keep you intrigued, but it is the power to absolutely BLAT folk with big chunks of flying concrete that keeps you coming back for me.

DEATH STRANDING (PS4)

If Control is mildly bewildering, then a word does not yet exist to fully explain the confusion that will be caused by playing Death Stranding. An all-star, Hollywood cast star in Metal Gear Solid’s creator’s newest venture, which is basically a walking simulator, except you’re walking in the post-apocalypse, and the Earth is ravaged by inter-dimensional creatures. There has never been anything like it, and it seems unlikely there will ever be anything like it ever again. Whether or not that is a good thing is entirely up to you.

DEVIL MAY CRY 5 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

By containing one of the greatest combat systems ever created, and pairing it with three different playable characters with three hugely different play-styles, DMC5 managed to liven up the franchise simply by doing what it does best – letting you destroy entire legions of baddies with swords bigger than most cars – and making it the best possible version that they possibly could.

GEARS 5 (Xbox One, PC)

A stellar example of “If it isn’t broke…”, the latest (and, actually, sixth) Gears game manages to maintain the high-standard of cover-based shooting and all-out action thanks to some ingenuity with the story it is telling, and slight tweaks to format that keep it as the Gears we know, but without repeating the formula so much that it is basically just playing 4 again, with slightly better graphics.

LUIGI’S MANSION 3 (Switch)

Despite the fact that the game is set in a hotel, this threequel sees Mario’s more worry-prone brother in a very funny Ghostbusters-esque plot, and winds up being one of the most-fun games ever to grace the Switch. It also introduces us to Goo-igi, which is basically Luigi made of goo.

MORTAL KOMBAT 11 (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, Stadia)

What else can be done with Mortal Kombat? Not a whole lot, truth be told. But this is the most refined version of the game to date, thanks to finessed fighting system, a great mix of characters, the addition of “crushing blows” (which are exactly what they sound like), and the always important fatalities, which are as fun to perform as they are to watch.

RESIDENT EVIL 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Ah, the RE series. Outside of 4 and 7, they’ve all been kind of a mess recently. So for the RE:make of the second one, which is essentially two games for the price of one (as you get to go through the Raccoon City horrors as two different characters), it is a decent reminder of how good they were back in the day. Sure, some of original 1998’s gameplay issues remain, well, an issue (those damned camera angles!), but still, the horror is as strong as anything else on modern systems.

SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The single most difficult game of 2019 definitely won’t be for everyone, but for those who are already in love with the ball-busting nature of Dark Souls and Bloodborne will fall head-over-heels for this shinobi take on precision combat, nightmarish monsters, and difficulty so high that it could be named a form of BDSM.

TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia)

Improving on some of the issues of the first game, especially the bullet sponge bad-guys, and moving the action from New York to the more geographically interesting Washington D.C., there is a HUGE amount to keep you interested across the dozens and dozens of hours of gameplay to be found here.