Welcome to Fextralife’s yearly GOTY awards! The Fexy Awards feature our favorite games of the last 12 months, but with a different twist than most sites: We focus on the games our community loves! These are the winners of this year’s game awards.
Fexy Awards: The Best Games of 2018
Red Dead Redemption 2was the blockbuster gamers expected, and we certainly enjoyed it as you can see in ourRDR2 Review. Whilst the game starts out slow and has some drawbacks, we felt truly transported to a Wild West story, where both allies and enemies had convincing motivations delivered through exceptional voice acting. A compelling music score only adds to a60 hour buildupto a magnificent finale that will not disappoint.
Dead Cellshad been inearly access for quite a while, but we reserved final judgement until the full game was out, and we are so glad we did. In a year featuring remasters, relaunches and sequels, this indie title managed to outdo AAA studios in the gameplay factor by delivering an undeniably fun experience that extended beyond the player to be shared in streaming. The excellent Twitch integration of the title meant that streamers and their audience could join in to battle with and against each other, complimenting the dynamic gameplay of this roguelike. Whether you were streaming, participating in an audience, or simply playing by yourself, Dead Cells issimply gameplay fun.
Best Visual & Audio: God of War
WhilstRed Dead Redemption 2has a fantastic score and great voice acting, we feel that it wasGod of Warthat pushed the boundaries of what audiovisuals can do. Delivering a fantastic rendering of norse mythology with a unique stylistic approach, Sony Santa Monica surpassed our expectations even as we prepare for moreLast of Us 2. Theworld of Kratosis detailed, mystical and interesting, with exceptional performance at 4k, which is integral to an action-adventure title. The voice acting gave a superb delivery, convincingly refocusing the game’s mythos, and the excellent music score delivered a fantastic background forour explorations.
Best Multiplayer: Dark Souls Remastered
Fextralife users were thrilled to hear thatDark Souls Remasteredwould introducerevamped multiplayer features, and it was the most MP fun we had all year. Whilst other titles may do multiplayer features more extensively or impressively, the allure of a good Coop / PVP sessions of souls is simply too much for us to pass up andloved the nostalgia trip. Whether you’re looking for help with a difficultBoss, or simply want to participate inForest Covenant griefing, Souls players from all incarnations of Lordran converged to make it happen via pvp events, tournaments and jolly cooperation.
Best Value: Monster Hunter World
Monster Hunter Worldtakes our Best Value award by virtue of its commitment to a stream of wonderful, freeDLCandEvents. The game clocks in over 50 hours of basic story mode, which unlocks at least another 50 hours ofadvanced hunting, and is then buffed up by weekly event quests, seasonal Festivals, and the introduction of new specialmonstersand harder versions of previously known monsters - all for free. In a world plagued with microtransactions and cut content, the Capcom team kept true to its “Play to Win” word and we have gotten hundreds of hours from our launch-day 60 USD. The game is due itsfirst paid expansion Fall next year, at which point you might even be able to get this bundled for an ever better value pack!
Best Soulslike: Death’s Gambit
Souls has become its own sub-genre of action-RPG, and this year the game that we felt gave us the most original yet close experience wasDeath’s Gambit. Bringing pixel art execution to the souls formula is not as easy as one might think, but the intricate systems of Death’s Gambit and the slow but engaging introduction of itsstory and charactersrang all the right bells. Whilst the game didn’t deliver on all of our expectations, the developers have announced an incomingfree DLCthat will address player concerns and adds content such as new bosses, weapons, and main world improvements. We really enjoyed this title so we’re looking forward to it!
Best DLC: Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset
Elder Scrolls Onlinelaunched a gorgeous expansion this year, giving players access to theAltmerisland ofSummerset. Besides providing a truly gorgeous backdrop with an interesting story, the expansion brought the long-awaitedJewelry Crafting. Other changes to the game that affect all players (for free) included the introduction of Jewelry Traits, Daily Login Rewards, Two-Handed weapons started counting as2 set pieces, PvP improvements and the ability to gift Crown Store items. To top it all off, the ESO team has since deployedseveral eventsthat reward free mounts and and evenan amazing housefor players who participate in them.
Best Traditional RPG: Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Fextralife is all about RPGs, and this year we really enjoyed getting to playPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. With the second installment in a franchise of what many players consider the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate, Pillars of Eternity 2 surpassed our expectations. Obsidian built upon the success of the first title, and added a depth ofcharacter customizationnever before seen in gaming. With endless possible combinations ofClassesand Subclasses, the replay value ofPoE 2is nearly endless, and Obsidian keeps on cranking out the content. With 11 newSubclassesadded just a few weeks ago, it is likely that no one player will ever be able to experience all of the possible combinations.
Best Surprise: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odysseywas not a title we were expecting to get hooked on, but we arecertainly very glad we did. Whilst we enjoyed the original installment of the AC series, we felt things had gone downhill with yearly production, and we are extremely happy to see a change in direction towards RPG elements and immersion. AC: Odyssey surprised us by delivering a compelling rendition of Ancient Greece wrapped up in excellent gameplay, fantastic graphics and considerable scale. We cannot wait to see whatDragon Age’s boss Mike Laidlaw brings as he joins the AC: Odyssey ubisoft studio. A world like Odyssey for a fully immersive, decision-based and customization-friendly RPG would be the dream.
Game of the Year: Monster Hunter World
Capcom finally brought its unique hunting title to the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, and PC. Many feared that the game might not translate well to a more mainstream audience, or that it would over-simplify and do away with the complexity that has kept fans glued to the series for years. These fears turned out to not have been necessary, as the game delivered a precise mix of oldschool and new mechanics that are enticing to vets and mainstream alike.
Monster Hunter Worldis the perfect installment to introduce newcomers to the Monster Hunter universe, providing 4k resolution, excellent performance, and a constant stream of fresh content so that you might not even think about having done it all. Doing away with lengthy explanations that presented a barrier to entry, Monster Hunter World instead provideslayers of complexitythat players can discover and master at their own leisure. As we played, we discovered new and interesting aspects andmechanics, tried newtechniques, and overall enjoyed the social and gameplay aspects of the game.Large, Powerful and Impressive, Monster Hunter World takes on favorites such as RDR 2 and GOW and comes ahead simply by virtue of its uniqueness and commitment to delivery.
2018 Fexy Community Awards
Forum / Discord Member: MotherEternity
OurForumsandDiscordboast 75k and 25k members, so picking a member of the year is always a challenge. This year, however, we must highlight the consistant and wonderful contributions of community volunteer moderator MotherEternity. Juggling kids, family life and a full time job, ME still finds the time to help those in need in several games, respond to forum threads, and keep our site spam free.
Wiki Contributor: Xsanf
As always, this is a very difficult choice as there are thousands of editors constantly contributing to our 100+ wikis.Xsanfwins the year for his dedicated contributions to the Pillars of Eternity 2 Wiki, where he has not only found and fixed mistakes, but sourced and placed images, created pages, and contributed to the overall well-being of this wonderful title. Special mentions to DKS3 wiki contributorsConjuri12and MHW contributorBlueWhiteNexus, who have been adding useful notes, updating events, and fixing typos consistently all year.
Blog Author: PrimeraEspada91 &Xaphalys
Community member and chat moderatorPrimeraEspada91wins this section two years in a row!. HisMonster Hunter World Guideshave helped us on countless occasions, but his dedication to the Fextra community goes far deeper, providing Video Footage forDark Souls RemasteredandDeath’s Gambit Walkthroughs, and detailed guides forRed Dead Redemption 2and many other games. Thank you Primera!
Also please thankXaphalysthe dedicated and talented for her work to translateFextralife articles into French!. Her translations have made it possible for our French-speaking users to get some content in their preferred language. Thank you Xaphalys!
It’s been a great year for gamers that featured a Souls Remaster, a God of War Re-Focusing, several awesome sequels and some amazing indies. You can checkthis list of 2019 games that we are excited about! You might also want to check out2017’s winners.
Thoughts on our picks for this year’s awards? What were your favorite games of 2018? Do you thinkSekirowill take all the awards next year? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
Visit theFextralife Wikis Hub
