PopHorror’s Favorite Mid-Year Games of 2018!

It’s July and 2018 is halfway over, and with it has come a myriad of great games. From intense action games to challenging platformers, 2018 has delivered some phenomenal games. We asked some of our writers what their mid-year game of the year was, and this is what they had to say!

Celeste

It’s only halfway through the year, and already, we have gotten a slew of amazing games for all platforms. For me, there is one game that truly stands out above the rest, and that game is Celeste. Celeste is an indie platformer from Matt Makes Games that released on January 25th. What makes this game so special is the fact that it has mastered the retro platformer genre and made it extremely challenging, but in a fun way that makes you want to come back to it again and again. Since releasing at the beginning of the year, I’ve already beaten it twice, and yet I still go back to it every so often to continue working on all the extra challenges. I can’t recommend Celeste enough, especially if you are a fan of challenging platformers! — Scott Crawford

Detroit: Become Human

Have you ever wanted to live in Westworld? Now you can… sort of. For this reason, the spectacular visual feast that is Detroit: Become Human is my mid-year game of the year. From Quantum Dream, the creators of Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human delivers an emotional, hard-hitting and immersive story that will make you question whether or not to push the button on your controller. The choices you make will determine the story of the game, and these decisions are almost always gut-wrenching. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably had many adventures in the worlds that books and your imagination can create. You may even have read a Choose Your Own Adventure book or two in your time. Detroit: Become Human is exactly like one of those, and yet so much more.

The motion capture team for Detroit: Become Human is second to none. The cast and voice acting is sublime. The score is breathtaking and often influences your decisions by the beat and mood it designs. If I had to fault the game for anything, it would be that it eventually ended. It’s been stated that because we live in a world of immediate gratification, our cognitive concentration has become somewhat shorter. In fact, if entertainers have not won their audiences over in the first 15 seconds, then they’re probably lost them entirely. Detroit: Become Human will grab you by the emotional throat in less than that, and not let go. These reasons are why this is my mid-year game of 2018, and I doubt anything coming in the second half of the year will be able to top it… well, maybe with the exception of one game. That’s right, I’m looking at you, Spidey! — Ruben Lee Shaw

Octopath Traveler

Before playing Octopath Traveler, I would have said Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was my current game of the year so far. No, I don’t care that it came out in 2017. It didn’t qualify for the 2017 GOTY discussion since it was released in December, so it was my original choice for this piece. And then I played Octopath Traveler (check out my full review of the game here). This game is everything I love about JRPGs and RPGs in general. It’s a vast story with lots of pieces, while completely paying homage to the greats of the RPG genre.

From the moment I played the demo until now, I knew that this game was going to be something special. SquareEnix doesn’t always get it right, but when they do, they knock it out of the park. Octopath Traveler combined a phenomenal cast of characters with fun, timeless gameplay and a phenomenal soundtrack to create one of the best RPGs I’ve played in a very long time. I don’t know if there will be anything that tops Octopath Traveler for me, but I’m looking forward to seeing what else 2018 has to offer! — Matt Stumpf

God of War

My pick for game of the year so far is God of War. I had only played the series briefly in the past, so this was my first real introduction to the series. The graphics are beautiful, the story is endearing, and the voice acting is on point. God of War has some of the most gorgeous environments I have seen in a game to date, the script for the dialogue is funny, sarcastic and even heartbreaking at times. While people tend to have a love/hate relationship with this installment, I think it is a wonderful addition and it opens up the door to so much more for Kratos and Atreus. Here’s hoping we get some more countries and a few new gods in the future. — D.D. Crowley

So, there you have it. These are the PopHorror gaming writers’ picks for mid-year game of 2018! What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? What is your favorite 2018 game so far? Let us know in the comments!