I don’t have time to play a hundred different video games in one year so this list is inevitably incomplete, but based on the video games I have played, the walkthroughs I have watched on YouTube, and the countless reviews I have read in 2019, I created what I believe is an accurate consensus of the most loved games of the year. The reason I make these lists is because they might help some people discover some gems they might have missed. At the end I will reveal my favorite video game of 2019.

January

Kingdom Hearts III

Slay the Spire

Sunless Skies

February

Apex Legends

Wargroove

Metro Exodus

Ape Out

Tetris 99

March

Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove

Devil May Cry 5

The Division 2

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Yoshi’s Crafted World

April

Ghost Giants

Anno 1800

Mortal Kombat 11

Steamworld Quest: Hands of Gilgamesh

Katana Zero

Boxboy! + Boxgirl!

Photographs

Dreams

Mordhau

May

Total War: Three Kingdoms

Observation

Dauntless

Trover Saves the Universe

Void Basterds

Outer Wilds

Blood & Truth

Shakedown: Hawaii

June

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

Cadence of Hyrule

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Samurai Shodown

Judgment

Super Mario Maker 2

July

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Dragon Quest Builders 2

Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Sky: Children of the Light

Dr. Mario World

August

Age of Wonders: Planetfall

Rad

Remnant: From the Ashes

Knights and Bikes

Control

Astral Chain

Telling Lies

Ion Fury

September

River City Girls

Gears 5

Creature in the Well

Borderlands 3

A.I.: The Somnium Files

Untitled Goose Game

Sayonara Wild Hearts

The Surge 2

October

Concrete Genie

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Indivisible

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince

Asgard’s Wrath

Disco Elysium

Ring Fit Adventure

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

The Outer Worlds

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Afterparty

Luigi’s Mansion 3

November

Death Stranding

Pokémon Sword & Shield

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

December

Arise: A Simple Story

Shovel Knight: King of Cards

Mosaic

Best Remakes

Resident Evil 2

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Final Fantasy VIII

Eli’s Favorite Video Game of 2019

Kingdom Hearts III

The fact that the first Kingdom Hearts game came out in 2002 and I have been following the story across PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS and other consoles for 15 years until the saga’s finale in 2019 always meant that Kingdom Hearts III was going to be a special experience, but it absolutely delivered with another challenging action-packed RPG with plenty of Disney magic and a satisfying story that wrapped up many of the threads from previous games in the series (and the DLC that comes out in 2020 looks like it will wrap things up further). Is this choice really a surprise given my affinity for both Final Fantasy and Disney?

In my next blog I will list my favorite shows of 2019.