5: Quake Champions

Platforms: PC

Summary: The king is dead, long live the king.

It might be hard to remember at this point, somewhere between the billions of dollars amassed by the cartoonish violence of “Fortnite” or consequence free displays of military might in “Call of Duty,” that shooter games were once considered violent, rebellious, and possibly dangerous.

Taking the center stage of the 1990s controversy was game developer id Software and their trio of franchises: “Doom,” “Wolfenstein 3D,” and “Quake.”

Now, id is trying to revive the long-languishing “Quake” franchise through contractor “Saber Interactive” and, for the most part, they’ve pulled it off.

Using a combination of characters from id’s prior titles as well as some new creations, players once again find themselves trapped in an endless deathmatch among others somewhere far east of Eden.

“Quake Champions” pulls no punches with its action, requiring players to remember and master control of their chosen warriors primarily through trail, error, and constant defeat.

Where other games are happy to drip feed progress to players despite their fumbling, the denizens of “Quake Champions” offer no such quarter and pull no punches. Victory must be achieved by you alone and improvements to your personal skill is an incredibly slow, difficult climb akin to that of a professional athlete.

It’s challenging, and seemingly impossible to wound your opposition at times, but a refreshing reminder that excellence is always earned, never gained.

Simultaneously, Saber deserves an incredible amount of kudos for bringing back the gothic horror aesthetic into their sumptuously detailed landscapes into parts unknown.

Candelabras stretch shadows into long dark spaces, moist limbs of a creature you cannot see pulse and extend across the catacomb halls, while stone jetties are finely etched into each hallway of the arena- seemingly to collect what remains of you following a firefight for rituals best forgotten.

“Quake Champions” is a fantastic reminder of the shooter games roots and heavy metal inspirations alongside a best-in-class competitive action game. Considering it’s free-to-play, there’s no reason not to forgo your morality and plunge into the fight. - Tim

4: God of War

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Summary: You're not my real deity, dad!

Kratos’ back. That’s what you’ll be seeing a lot of in this year’s reworking of the epic slash-em-up God of War series. The altered camera perspective isn’t the only tweak to the million-selling formula, as the myth-massacring Spartan takes on a new weapon, a young son, and a fresh pantheon to pulverize.

Luckily what hasn’t changed is the fundamentals: deep, rewarding combat, and plenty of it. Obvious care went into the game’s sparkling visuals and generally well-written dialogue. Opinions may vary on how well its other elements come together. But the action made sitting through the innumerable cutscenes worthwhile, and kept us coming back to the lengthy main campaign and smorgasbord of side quests.

Kratos starts out strong and powers up considerably from there, gaining skills and abilities through both leveling up and finding or forging new equipment. The progression system is deep enough to be satisfying and customizable, but not so complicated as to be overwhelming. Unlocking new skills and immediately testing them out in the next skirmish can lead to shifting playstyles, as attacks join the repertoire or fall out of flavor.

Less satisfying was the story, which played more like the first part of a new trilogy than a standalone entry in an existing franchise. If sequels weren’t a given, why take as the main villains in a world of Norse mythology not Odin, Thor, or Loki, but the lower-profile Baldur, and his even-lesser-known nephews Modi and Magni?

Thor will no doubt be sore over the fate of his brother and sons, but you’ll have to wait till next time to hear about that. Pencil Odin in for a cameo in that one, then full main boss status in Part III. Based on this year’s God of War, those inevitable future iterations should be worth coming back for. - Conor

3: The Forest

Platforms: PC / PlayStation 4

Summary: Into the woods, to find my son - you’re certain of your way?- the way isn’t clear, the light is dim, I have nothing but fear, as anyone should.

Pioneered by "Minecraft," survival games started as yet another genre gold-rush before heading off to greener, more financially beneficial pastures.

"The Forest" has many of the expected staples, including involved base building and personal upkeep mechanics, but has found a way to combine the tension of films such as Lar Von Trier's "Antichrist" and Eli Roth's the "The Green Inferno" into a mix far stronger than any of its inspirations.

Stranded on a peninsula somewhere in the Pacific northwest, you awaken as the apparent sole survivor of an airliner crash. As you begin a search for your missing son and to secure your own survival before a surely inevitable rescue, you discover something far more sinister awaits on the ground and in the caverns deep below.

A technological tour de force, especially for a two man team, "The Forest" is best experienced with as little knowledge as possible and a willingness to grin and bear some significant bugs.

2: Super Smash Brothers Ultimate

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Summary: The six degrees of Waluigi

Even after 19 years and five iterations, the thrill of punching Yoshi right in his big green nose has yet to wear off.

All-star Nintendo slugfest Super Smash Bros. returned this year with its biggest roster yet, adding fighters like Simon Belmont, King K. Rool, and Ridley, and bringing back every last character from Smashes past, even the dumb ones. A few new stages, items, and game modes join the mix as well, offering plenty of novelty within a framework that hasn’t changed much over two decades.

The core concept is the same, but the gameplay has gotten a shot or two of adrenaline, making this the twitchiest, hardest-hitting, generally most dangerous-feeling Smash to date. Dodging and shielding are less effective than in past entries, tilting the balance to the offensive in one-on-one battles, instead of favoring the sit-back-and-wait-to-grab style prevalent last time around.

For those of us who prefer four-, six-, or eight-fighter combat, and like our items too, Ultimate delivers a new level of chaos. And to take full advantage of the portability of the Switch, there’s lots to do in the single-player sphere.

A fighting game for people who don’t particularly like fighting games, Smash may walk the line between accessibility and depth better than any other franchise in the industry. Half an hour at a party can convince a novice he’s got it all figured out—until he goes up against somebody who’s spent the last six months mastering Bowser Jr.

Ultimate carries that torch, a game that’s both fun out of the box and rewarding 100 hours in. And with five DLC packs planned for 2019, players will get to continue trying out new characters, and, more importantly, arguing about who should be introduced next. When obviously the answer is Waluigi. - Conor

1: Tetris Effect

Platforms: PlayStation 4

Summary: The game you’ve always played, but never dreamed.

There exists only the empty well, a void almost calming in its austerity.

Then come the blocks. You form lines with them and they disappear. A score counter to your left ticks up.

You’re familiar with the loop of “Tetris.” You’ve played “Tetris” hundreds of times across decades at this point. Some of you may have done so on the monochromatic Nintendo Game Boy while others likely wasted time with it on their work computer inside an office cubicle.

You know this game, everyone does.

Somehow striking a balance among a “Pure Moods” compilation CD, the action of a musical rhythm game such as “Guitar Hero,” and some of the most impressive visual presentations ever rendered, “Tetris Effect” which accomplishes the impossible - makes “Tetris’” tired gameplay fresh and exciting more than 30 years after its inception.

Plenty of Tetris games, official or otherwise, have flooded the market on a variety of devices from student calculators to former Soviet mainframes. Yet, what makes Tetris memorable for so many people combines not only its almost platonic ideal for a video game- but some tertiary impacts like the tinny rendition of a Russian folk song or the sense memory of specific locations you played the game.

With “Tetris Effect,” almost everyone will find a oddly personal connection at some point in the game- be it hearing the rain as you arrange your lotus petal pieces on a quiet pond, the jazzy cymbal ride as you traverse the New York subway, or perhaps the tactile crunch of hammer and wood while you assemble floating windmills in the sky.

The more than two dozen songs and associated visual treatments, along with simply the best-in-class controls ever seen for the franchise, make this Tetris the definite version of the puzzle game and, perhaps, the gold standard of sister-genres such as rhythm games.

Game developers Monstars Inc. and Resonair along with publisher Enhance Inc., which include talent from cult classic music game such as “Rez” and “Lumines” have outdone themselves with “Tetris Effect.” It make have taken the teams six years to bring the game to market, but every moment was worth it.

There is no end in sight for the simple brilliance of “Tetris Effect.” It’s our game of the year. - Tim