Well, this it. My final post of the year. 2019 has been a crazy year for me both personally and in my gaming career. I spill all details in my state of the union address, as it were, in this video. I also put together a gaming tribute to over fifty games that came out this year. You know, just for an added fun bonus. So enjoy those and hope to see you all next year!
Over the past few years, I’ve reached out to developers and publishers to get access to games I may have missed the first time around. That’s the basic premise of this video. It’s like my hidden gems piece, but one with a little more mystery for me. So let’s take a look at five more games in no particular order. Enjoy!
This is an excuse to highlight ten more of my favorite games from 2019. Unlike my top ten video, these are not ranked. In my eyes, they are all worthy of a second look. These ten games may have gotten a bad set of reviews, or perhaps they’re just smaller games most missed. Let’s see what gems I managed to dig up. Enjoy!
Here we are once again at the end of another great year in gaming. What were my ten favorites? Well, you’re about to find out. Each entry lightly touches on why I thought these games were worthy, but for a more in-depth analysis, most of these games have reviews, or other videos about them on my channel, which I linked in the video’s show notes. So without further ado, in order ranked from ten to number one, here are my top ten games of 2019. Enjoy!
Heroland is about the titular amusement park where people can go and pretend to be adventurers in the hopes of finding fame, or glory. Does this unique RPG have what it takes to stand out? Find out in my review. Enjoy!
Special Notes: I received a PS4 review code for Heroland.
Looking for a new game to play with your drinking buddies over the holidays? Maybe you’re even looking for a gift to get them to liven up future events. Like alcohol itself, Truth or Drink aims to be the solution to all your party troubles. In the wide world of card games, how does this stack up?
The rules are very simple. In this elegantly packaged boxset are four decks of cards. Each set is themed around a certain set of questions: On the Rocks, Extra Dirty, Happy Hour, and Last Call. You can choose to play with just one set, or multiple, shuffling questions together for a more diverse set of conversation topics. Extra Dirty, for example, is all about sex and relationship questions. One of my favorites that popped up asked who most likely in the room would star in porn and who would go on to direct one.
Anyway, unless the card says everyone can answer, whoever draws the card picks two people to test. Whatever response the judge, let’s call them, likes more, that card is then rewarded to that player. Whoever gets five cards wins the round, but this goal can obviously be shortened, or extended at your leisure.
When asked, players either have to answer truthfully or take a drink. Actually, there is another option. If a player so chooses they can draw a card from the deck I haven’t mentioned yet: With a Twist. Cards in this deck can be as simple as passing the question to the person next to them, or as complex as allowing that person to ask something new. Given the groups I played with, we were usually pretty open to any and all questions so these cards really didn’t suit us.
Nothing about it is revelatory for the card game market. It’s not the new Cards Against Humanity or anything like, but it is fun when you want to add something of a game to your drinking night. I will say that the normal price of $40 is crazy, but as of the time of this posting, it’s on sale for $30.
Prices aside, for the most part, we stuck to Extra Dirty as that’s where most nights take us anyway. Every deck has some good questions and overall I think the boxset does an admirable job of creating interesting topics of conversation. That’s pretty much what this game is: a conversation starter disguised as a card game. While you can play to win, it’s more fun just to pop open a deck, or two and let the night take you away to good times.
Score: 7/10
Special Notes: I received a review kit for Truth or Drink.
Zumba Burn It Up is another in a long line of video games vowing to get you in shape while being fun at the same time. Despite the brand’s legacy this is a weak offering on Switch. Find out more in my review. Enjoy!
Special Notes: I received a review code for Zumba Burn It Up.
Game Jurk 