There's so much more in Forza Horizon 4 that I didn't have space to touch on such as player housing, #Forzathon, discoverable beauty points, character customization, plans for Route Creator, and more. It's hard to imagine an arcade racer this generation playing and looking much better than Forza Horizon 4.
It's wacky, pretty, incredibly fun, and should be supported well by Blizzard for years to come. At launch, there's already so many things going so right, and Blizzard will only add to it.
The features we touched on above are just some of the game-changing and quality of life improvements that Civilization VI has brought to the table. We could go on and on with praise, but really all you need to know is this: Civilization VI is still the supreme deity of historical turn-based strategy games.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has certainly benefited from Rockstar allocating almost a whole generation's worth of development time to perfect what they wanted to accomplish. The result is a game that is easily one of the best games this year, and this console generation, but that's not all. It should eventually go down as one of the greatest games ever made.
Sonic 3 & Knuckles left the 2D series at such a high point, that it would be difficult to find a way to top it. Yet Whitehead and PagodaWest Games, found a way to do it.
Trying to top some of the legendary 3D Mario games of years ago is a nearly impossible task. I wouldn't go as far as to say this is the grandest and best Mario adventure to date.
Put simply, Gathering Storm checks all the boxes of what a great expansion should be and is a must own for hardcore Civilization VI fans looking for a reason to spice things up in an incredibly positive way or get back into the game if they've been dormant.
With Shadowbringers, the development team has proven that they have perfected everything that Final Fantasy XIV is known for and does well.
Doki Doki Literature Club is among the most memorable, creative, and iconic horror games of the last decade and should be experienced by anyone who is able to safely stomach it. The Plus version of the game effectively adds even more valuable story content to the mix. The writing team was able to show off their skill in these side stories, and the result is a heartwarming experience that makes the Dokis somehow even more lovable than they already were.
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a deeper and more polished version of its predecessor. It offers similar action-adventure thrills as its competition such as Uncharted but goes beyond that as well. Its open and explorable hub areas that are filled with optional tombs and hunting and gathering crafting options, give it more depth than other games in its genre.
Despite some minor hiccups, I Am Setsuna is still an incredibly enjoyable experience. Will I Am Setsuna change the JRPG landscape forever? Certainly not.
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is the most polished version of the game to date.
Last year, I said that Madden NFL 17 was refined, yet was lacking something. Something that could shake the series up. Well, this year they took a gamble with Longshot and it paid off.
We're starting to run long here, and that's because Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is such a huge game that one review that wants to remain reasonably sized in terms of word length is going to have a hard time getting to everything. So let me leave you with this: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire rises well above the typical role-playing fair, and will provide an unforgettable experience for those that are willing to put the time to fully embrace what it is offering.
Overall, Madden 19 once again is an incredibly complete package and is among the best sport sims you can play currently. Longshot surprises with a solid (although a bit unbalanced) second effort, MUT, Franchise and gameplay as a whole all received worthwhile additions, changes, and improvements, and together it makes Madden 19 worthy of a buy regardless of what you play it for.
If you were a big fan of Destiny 1, were disappointed by vanilla Destiny 2, but have it in you to give the series one last shot by trying Forsaken, I believe that you'll walk away being happy you did. It surpasses even the high bar that The Taken King set for great Destiny expansions.
In the more likely event that you missed it the first time around, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a must-play for 2D Mario fans and is the best in the 2D line of games since Super Mario World.
Whether you just plan on stopping by for the story and messing around with friends locally every once in a while, or plan on going hardcore into online play, you’ll have plenty to do, and you’ll have plenty of fun doing it until whenever the next Mortal Kombat game comes out some time in the next generation.
Because of all these positive changes, I feel quite confident in saying MLB The Show 19 is the freshest and most polished iteration of the series we've seen in years.
MLB The Show 20 charters a different more sustainable path of focusing on the things that needed more love, rather piling more onto the game modes that regularly get more attention.