tldr Game of the Year
The official tldr.games Game of the Year: where gamedev excellence meets concise recognition. Every year I celebrate the best in the industry - the games that either left an indelible mark on the gaming landscape itself, or just overwhelmingly appealed to my personal sensibilities.
I was ready to bounce off, intimidated by its depth and pacing, but this game is truly something else. Great writing, VA, world design and more than anything, an obscene level of player agency.
So masterfully crafted, creative, confident and bold that it immediately makes the rest of the openworld genre feel dated and uninspired. A landmark achievement and a very special game. Masterpiece.
Deckbuilding roguelite escape room ARG. An inspiring masterpiece & wonderfully executed ode to card/videogames. If youβre into that kind of thing, itβs a must play. So, so impressive. Mullins is nuts.
Harrowing and emotionally challenging, a game has never left me feeling the way I did as I stared through tears at the credits of The Last of Us Part II. This is a masterpiece I love so much, but may never play again.
Incredible writing, unique approach to RPG elements with hilarious and dank, nihilist atmosphere. Truly an extraordinary game. Absolutely a must play.
From the maker (one person) of Papers, Please comes this brilliant shortish deduction whodunnit with terrific music, great voice acting and uniquely cool art direction. An awesome understated gem of 2018.
I have no idea how Nintendo did this. It takes mechanics and gamedesign inspiration from all over the industry, and improves on basically all of them. Constantly impressive and gratifying - one of the best games ever made.
All of the learnings from DS through BB are here, and as a final instalment to the franchise is a remarkably rounded love letter to its fans. Almost certainly the most accessible Souls game.
Takes all the best foundations from Souls and dials up the speed & aggression. Absolutely inspired and masterfully pulled off. Incredible setting, world design, story and of course combat. Masterpiece, close to perfection.
A good game, but not a great Souls game. While there are some mechanical improvements, Dark Souls II is the buffet to itβs predecessors fine dining: lots of content, but none of it very good.
An intriguing, nihilistic, funny and depressing paperwork simulator. A simple concept thoughtfully & creatively explored.
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A fresh, visceral and addictive hyperactive trip of ultraviolence, strategy and style. Finds its rhythm immediately and sticks the landing. Hell of a soundtrack too.
A project handed to a junior employee, who then crafted it into an uncompromising lesson in perseverance that rewards exploration and subverts expectations. Bleak, brutal and beautiful. Pretty much perfect - Dark Souls legacy & impact cannot be overstated.
An enormous world, wonderfully fleshed out with great writing, characters and tonnes to do. Incredible production, varied gameplay and fun as hell. Manages to explore the setting and tropes without being tacky.