Well hi, hello and how do you do? There’s just one last festive tradition to tick off the list before we resume work for the new year, and it’s the finest tradition of them all – the Eurogamer reader’s top 50 games of the year! 2018 was a fascinating, diverse year for new games, and your list beautifully reflects that – as do your comments. Thank you so much for taking part, and see you all again soon!
What we said: “Mania takes everything that was memorable about Sega’s pioneering 2D platformers – that joy in momentum always teetering on the brink of disaster, the deranged magnificence of those levels, the mournful bassnote as poor, faithful Tails stampedes into all the traps you’ve just triggered in passing – and rejuvenates it, to the point where you can only put down the pad in astonishment. Sonic the Hedgehog happened, everybody.
“He’s supposed to be all washed up – gaming’s Birdman, a balding, leather-jacketed C-lister they wheel on whenever some Mario crossover finds itself short on backing characters. How the hell is this possible? It’s possible because for a small group of dedicated aficionados, the blue blur’s halcyon period never ended. What’s old has become new, and Sonic is once again the star he was supposed to be.”
“It’s a wayback machine with a touch of futurism,” writes leonardomuniz. “It is everything I remember and also everything I wished this game could be on my long gone Mega Drive.”
“More Sonic Mania took the bad taste of Forces away,” says Xeall. “That should always always be commended.” Amen to that.
And finally, pjemptage has a message of festive cheer for all those at Sega. “Don’t let Sega be in charge of making Sonic games anymore.” Well, they have a point.
What we said: “There’s little quarter given to the player here – the action is relentless – but that’s WipEout, and I’m not sure I’d want it any other way. There are ways and means to enjoy a less frenetic experience – non-combat races and zone runs aren’t quite as much of a sensory assault, but the game is what it is: a zero compromise, enhanced VR port of one of the very best remasters available for PlayStation 4.