Game of the Year 2018: Graham's Personal Picks

The annual Push Square Towers tradition is back, as we sit down our scribes and pester them once more for their five favourite PlayStation games of the year. With such a strong assortment of software in 2018, it’s always tough deciding upon the cream of the crop. We told Graham we'd burn his cassette collection if he didn't send us his list.

Fifth Choice: Moss

Very few PSVR titles have thus far been able to engage me emotionally. Most of the attempts at storytelling (until the back half of 2018 anyways) seem to fall flat. Sure the gameplay is frequently engaging, but I want to feel too. Enter Polyarc’s Moss, an absolutely precious platformer that I pretty much instantly fell in love with. Amazing music, fun gameplay, and a genuine connection to the adorable Quill, your mouse companion, hooked me in immediately, and never let go. If there are more VR experiences like this in store down the road, the future is bright indeed.

Fourth Choice: Tetris Effect

I honestly can’t believe that in 2018, one of my favorite games I played through the entire year was a variation of Tetris. Tetris, which has been around since the 80s? How is that even possible? But Tetris Effect represents, in my opinion, the most varied, and simply, the best iteration of the incredibly addictive puzzle game that we’ve all come to know and love. An impressive array of modes, almost all of which are fun in some capacity, wildly varied themes, incredible music. You name it, this game has it. And that’s to say nothing of the VR mode!

Third Choice: Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus may not technically be new. It’s very much the same experience it was thirteen years ago. But the new coat of paint that Bluepoint Games gave the title turned something that was already magical into something even more magical. The sense of scale and wonderment that the game offered more fully realized than ever before. And all of this is done without compromising the original intentions of the game, keeping the sombre, and heart achingly mournful tone of the game intact. Once a piece of art, always a piece of art.

Second Choice: Gorogoa

Gorogoa is the second game Annapurna released on a Sony system, and the second time a game they distributed has appeared on my list. Talk about the golden touch. Between this and Edith Finch, that’s quite the track record. Gorogoa, to put it simply, is the most game-changing and unique puzzle game I’ve played since Portal. The hand-drawn panels are gorgeous, the music is wonderful, and the puzzle solutions are sheer brilliance. It’s been ages since a puzzle game so frequently had me audibly exclaiming just how brilliant the solutions were, even when no one was around to hear me.

First Choice: God of War

While I never disliked them, I was never really excited by Santa Monica’s games about a vengeful Spartan, having only played God of War III mere months before this title released. But the newest adventure excited me from the first reveal, and that never ebbed. The final product exceeded my expectations, crafting an intricate, nuanced tale that floored me. Add to that a laser-focused art direction, some of the best visuals of the generation, and great gameplay and God of War is far and away the game that most fully hooked me and never let go from the entire year.

A good mix of big and small, VR and non-VR in Graham's eclectic list. But do you share any of his picks? Let us know in the comments section below.