If my 2018 was the year of anything, it was surely the year of knowing your place. The games I’ve picked out in hindsight are united by the idea of understanding how you fit into a complex world – appreciating the intricacy of the variables and relationships that surround every given moment, whether your overall aim be to subdue them or just survive them. That and a fondness for long words and creative sci-fantasy concepts, anyway. Read on, adventurer, for much talk of gods, spiders and spaceships.

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I m going to be honest here. I was incredibly apprehensive about Bridge Constructor Portal. I didn t even play it for the first 8 months after it came out. I am a huge Portal fan and I think I was a bit offended by this game when I first heard of it. Kids these days get offended by anything, the snowflakes.

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There’s a dire force abroad in the open world of Subnautica, an irresistible entity hell-bent on warping or destroying everything that world contains, and just for once, it isn’t the fucking player.

(Beware: moderate plot spoilers follow.)

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Every year RPS goes into hibernation for Christmas and New Year. It’s cosy for us, but harsh for you, scavenging for scant nutrition on the permafrost. So here are the RPS Christmas crackers. Every day you get a joke, until we wake up on January 3rd, sluggish and grouchy. If you love us and want to leave a present (or just want to unlock more articles) consider joining the RPS supporter program. Have a good holiday. Now: the cracker!>

Q: How did the cave diver mess up his dad s brother s Christmas card?

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My 2018 in games had me dealing with failure in multiple ways. Designed to move further and further away from the fantasy of the all-powerful player ever looking for an appropriate challenge, these games teach to forgive and accept forgiving someone a past hurt, accepting the lack of a perfect solution to a problem. From the satisfyingly familiar to a type of game I would usually avoid, 2018 had it all. (more…)

FMV games were a largely antiquated genre for the longest time, relegated to niche games that only a few people fully embraced. However, YouTube and the popularity of horror games have allowed for games like Her Story and more recent mind-bending efforts like Simulacra to gain an audience. However the one that wrapped its tentacles around me was The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, helped by an intriguing story and some spectacular performances.

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We ask the tough questions here at RPS. We re like Jeremy Paxman but in a very long bear costume. We once asked 15 developers what they d do if they were stuck in a room with a clone of themselves. This is important stuff.

Today, we ask another question: What would you gift the games industry for the holidays? We put this query to a bunch of game artists, writers and designers to see how charitable they were feeling. Today, you get to open these presents. Happy holidays!

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Every year RPS goes into hibernation for Christmas and New Year. It’s cosy for us, but harsh for you, scavenging for scant nutrition on the permafrost. So here are the RPS Christmas crackers. Every day you get a joke, until we wake up on January 3rd, sluggish and grouchy. If you love us and want to leave a present (or just want to unlock more articles) consider joining the RPS supporter program. Have a good holiday. Now: the cracker!>

Q. Why did the hacker dump her boyfriend?

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I ve spent 2018 particularly distracted, flitting between games and feeling guilty that I haven t quite finished them or spent the time they deserved. Maybe it s because there have been so many good games? Or maybe I m just awful. Either way, I resolve to take better care next year.

Now I look back, I realise that I ve particularly enjoyed a series of games which gave me space to explore them on my own terms. Whether on the scale of giant monsters or the confined scale of the decks of a ship, they ve all felt expansive and generous, and respectful of me as a player.

Also, it s always hard to figure out a five, so shoutouts to Forza Horizon 4, Donut County, Far: Lone Sails and Total War: Warhammer 2 s pirate vampires.

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More games should be set in hotels. We’ve seen plenty of home and mansion interiors over the years, as well as countless space stations and industrial warehouses, but the humble hotel is its own special beast, especially when you’re dealing with the mad fever dream that is Cosmo D’s The Norwood Suite.

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