Red Dead Redemption 2 is a dissertation on art direction. Release date: October 26 ( PS4, Xbox One) We may never see a Mass Effect FPS that looks like Cyberpunk 2077 or a Dead Space reboot that scares like P.T., but we are totally here for Cory Barlog and his team if they ever decide to do Wonder Woman justice. Its level of immersion detracts from God of War’s minor flaws and even goes on to question why some developers refuse to reinvent their intellectual properties. One minute, you're fully into a Man Of Steel-esque fight scene with a stranger and the next, you’re taking on a Valkyrie with your adoptive son. Its storytelling, action sequences, art direction, and highly detailed approach to world-building draws up one of the greatest anti-hero stories ever told and delivers a sense of scale and scope that would throw George Miller into a tizzy. God of War is pinned somewhere between a hyper-realistic Norse mythology simulator and a satisfying 30-hour beat-'em-up that turns an axe into freaking Mjolnir (y'know, Thor's hammer?). The world we currently live in isn’t pretty but the video games sure are, so here are our picks for the best of 2018. Every developer, composer, and voice actor on this list implored us to dissect the relationships that make us whole by engaging with themes that created escapes for every person who picked up a controller. It teased the future of gaming (see: Cyberpunk 2077, The Last Of Us Part II) and leveled us with indies and AAAs that had their own story to tell. The year in games birthed Shirtless Spider-Man, made us care about Luigi’s butt cheeks, and if it wasn’t turning Tumblr into space for all-things Sexy Bowsette (at least before it got rid of the porn), it reminded us, many times over, that Hideo Kojima is still working on Death Stranding. Where 2017 year floored us with Breath Of The Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn, 2018 ate a Super Mushroom and barreled through our libraries like the goddamn Kool-Aid Man. The past 12 months have been wild for video games.

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