Welcome, one and all, to the first annual DGAs™️
I’m so honored to premiere the Dylan Game Awards to each and every one of you. On this, gaming’s dyllest night, I’ll run down the best games of the year, from least-goodest to best of all, giving an appropriate award to each. The list culminates in one exciting award: The Biggest Dyl in Gaming for 2019, the game that made the biggest impact on Dyl. It’s all quite a big deal honestly.
Without further ado, here’s the deal with 2019:
Zelda of the Year – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
If I’m being honest, Link’s Awakening is a game that wouldn’t win any awards most years. For starters, it’s a pure remake of a game I’ve already played. But then again, it’s a really good remake of a really good game. It also dropped in a time when I really needed to zone out and solve some top-down puzzles. The framerate issues and overly familiar environments don’t pose any particular problem for me, even though both were often at the forefront of my mind.
I let myself get lost in the idyllic, bite-sized world of Link’s Awakening yet again, in a year where I couldn’t get lost in much. That speaks volumes to the careful beauty with which Koholint Island is laid out. Link’s Awakening serves as an adventure you can play for minutes or for hours, on couch or in car, with full intent or half-heartedly. Sometimes those games are the best to play.
First Battle Royale I’m Even Moderately Good At – Apex Legends
I could simply list Apex Legends and its award, then leave it there. But it’s more nuanced than that. There’s something magical about the way that I could get into another battle royale in this, the year of our lord 2019. That’s mainly because Apex did a lot of fun, creative experiments with the genre.
The ping system helps all manner of players, especially those who are bad at giving directions in a panic (me). The small amount of parkour, sliding, and character abilities help level the playing field toward players who aren’t inherently good at aiming or building (me). The inclusion of support characters in a team-based royale is INGENIOUS, and provides opportunities for even the worst players to contribute to the team (me). All details combine to create satisfying wins for players that sucked terribly at PUBG, Black Ops, and Fortnite.
It’s pretty fair to say it. Apex Legends is the first battle royale that I’m even moderately good at.
Exactly What I Expected and Good Because of It – Super Mario Maker 2
I’d been eagerly awaiting a new Mario Maker since the Switch was announced, and now that it’s here, I’m hurt to announce it’s not higher on my list. Frankly, it’s because I suck at Mario Maker. I love playing the harebrained community levels. I adore butting heads against the challenges my friends place in my way. And I foam at the mouth thinking of new designs to toss into the world. The game just seems determined to highlight how horrid I am with Mario’s platforming physics, and how mediocre my creation skills are.
Despite that, Mario Maker is still a treat to play every few weeks. I pop in for a half hour, see what’s new, then continue on my way, unperturbed by the knowledge that I’m a failure. I do, however, get to live vicariously through the coolest stages of all time, including kaizos, 20 second speedruns, and “the Arby’s level.”
Pokemon of the Year – Pokemon Sword
Even removed from the internet drama leading to its release, Pokemon Sword meets or slightly falls short of every expectation I had set for it. Some of the new monster designs are cool, some are atrocious. Some of the outfits are cute, but there aren’t enough. The story quickened, but still isn’t good. Half the Pokedex is gone, Sobble exists. The Wild Area is a cool concept. The Wild Area is executed so badly it’s not funny (in my opinion).
Sword exists as a sort of comfort food. I want more from the franchise, but don’t have a ton of room to complain, seeing as I bought the entry on release and plopped 120 hours into it so far. The second to second feel of playing it is satisfying; I can see myself returning every few weeks to hatch shiny Pokemon, start new run throughs, or play competitively. But honestly, compared to most previous versions, there’s not enough to do. I miss having new areas to explore with my fully-evolved, newly-championed team. I miss the Battle Frontier. Hell, I even miss having eight Legendaries to hunt down. But until I get all of it back, I can make do with Sword for a little while longer. I hope.
Best Combat, but I’m the Worst at It – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
I’m only halfway through Sekiro, and am still confident enough in this choice to give it an award. It’s that satisfying to play. The combat is so fast and fluid—it doesn’t rely on slow, clunky movements like Dark Souls, or ill-timed dodges like Bloodborne. Though you’ll find some upgrades throughout the game, the biggest upgrade you’ll find in Sekiro is literally your own game sense.
I was skeptical on that point when I began my journey into FromSoftware’s Shengoku-inspired Ashina. Countering attacks and overpowering enemies have never been my strongest suits. And while Sekiro relies heavily on those facets, it also asks you to outsmart and outmaneuver your opponents with some tactical thinking. It feels familiar to From’s other experiences, yet completely sets itself apart. I love it for that; as someone left behind by Dark Souls, I’m thrilled that they’re still willing to experiment with their award-winning formula.
Most Thrilling Alternative Media – Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sayonara Wild Hearts is practically a playable album in my mind, not necessarily a game. At the same time, it deserves so much more recognition than a half-hearted “best soundtrack” award. It’s an experience using your concentration, hand-eye coordination, hearing, and sight all at once.
While Sayonara doesn’t exceed expectations as a rhythm game, it succeed as the aforementioned experience. It’s so satisfying to become entranced in its visual and auditory slipstream. As I lose myself to its blissful synthetic tracks, Sayonara Wild Hearts is the very definition of “vibing.”
Goodest Place to Find Some Ingredients – Kingdom Hearts III
The award name is a play on Kingdom Hearts III’s now infamous quote, but it holds a special meaning here. KHIII is not a perfect game—that’s been discussed more eloquently in better places by better people. But it holds the right ingredients to deliver a satisfying and heartwarming end to a chapter that began when most of us were children.
That long standing attachment makes it easy for me to wish KHIII were different in a plethora of ways. But the core gameplay is still so familiar, comfortable, and somewhat fresh that I can’t help but love it. It intertwines gracefully with the clumsy-yet-nostalgic story I’ve known for a decade, and I love it, all quirks included.
Game is Unforgiving – Baba is You
Baba is You may be the toughest game I’ve played all year, even when considering Sekiro and the frustrating ending of Outer Wilds. I’m not here to talk about how the game goes from making me “feel dumb” to “making me out to be a genius.” For most, the joy behind Baba is You stems from the moment you shift from “idiot” to “intellectual,” that little dopamine hit when you’ve done a good job (see this year’s Biggest Dyl for more on that).
But personally, I don’t feel stupid or smart from Baba is You. I feel an overarching sense of challenge and wonder, like an unsolved book of sudoku or a fresh save of Picross. I love being stumped, and don’t feel any less smart for it. I like working through a problem, going over scenarios in my head, and putting my overthinking to use in a productive way. Frankly, I like to feel like I’m not insane. Some days, I wonder if maybe I can’t think for myself; that perhaps I glide through life on the work of others. And while that could be true and I’m just ignoring it, Baba is You at least proves that I can think creatively some of the time. It gives me a clear problem with a set solution, and lets me have my way with it.
Getting Suggested to Everyone I Know – A Short Hike
In a Game of the Decade retrospective for Into the Spine, I discussed how Breath of the Wild changed the way I consume video games. A Short Hike is one of the games that I believe wholeheartedly excels within this new lens. It’s content to let you take your time, explore at your own will, provide worthy surprises and rewards for your curiosity, and let you do your own thing.
More importantly, I’m in love with the A Short Hike’s aesthetic and length. 3D-modelled and passed through a pixel filter, it feels like a somewhat clouded mind on a good day. With optimistic, whimsical music floating through the background, you begin your meditative hike through an Animal-Crossing-esque world. Although A Short Hike begins as a quest to find cell service and connect, it ends as a reminder to take your time, be kind, and live in the real world when you can. It’s cheap, cute, short, a joy to control, and a treat to look at; you need to play it.
Harem of the Year – Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem is always cool. It’s not always my thing. The story, characters, and designs are all top-notch—the fighting can be a little overwhelming at times, and overshadow the other aspects of the franchise. That’s what stands out about Fire Emblem: Three Houses; it provides more tools for you to curate the experience to your liking.
If you’re interested in dating students and cooking meals, you’re able to spend most of your time doing so. If you hunger for blood, you can rush through the teaching aspects then slay some evil. More importantly, both halves of the game provide great benefits for their counterparts, meaning you’re rewarded for spending at least a little time doing what you don’t like. Seeing as Three Houses is full of rules and tactical thinking, it’s so freeing to adjust playstyles like this.
2019’s Biggest Dyl in Gaming – Outer Wilds
*cough* throwback to when I compared games to Breath of the Wild *cough cough*
Outer Wilds does not give one single s*!t about you, and that’s why I love it. From minute one, you’re set forth in this pocket-sized solar system in which everything is predetermined, completely set into motion, and (for the most part) is entirely doomed no matter what you do. You can take your time exploring and finding all the lore about ancient aliens all you want because, 22 minutes after your journey begins, everything blows up and nothing matters.
Worlds crumble, islands are shot into space, ruins are unearthed, and texts lay unread. This much is assured on every single run of Outer Wilds. But it’s so fascinating to wander through it all, discover how things work, why they work, what they even are, and whether or not you can do anything to change it all. It turns things as simple as planet climate, gravity, and stability into time-based puzzles, hiding info in every nook and cranny of every heavenly body.
And it’s fun. It’s just so, so fun to be left alone for a while, in the quietness of space, distracting yourself from the stress of everyday life. For 25 hours, I didn’t care about what was happening at work, or tomorrow, or even presently in my own living room. Outer Wilds provided an interesting place to explore and the tools with which to explore it. The reasons and rewards for doing so were entirely in my own mind: I was fueled by curiosity, and rewarded with epiphanies and dopamine hits. That’s the kind of free-thinking design I adore and hope to see more of as we move into the 20s. Seeing as an indie studio could pull this off in such a constrained space, I’m confident other developers can too.
Best Games to Finish in 2020 – Death Stranding, Resident Evil 2, Judgment, Control, Life is Strange 2, Superliminal, Dragon Quest XI S, Disco Elysium. Sorry y’all, 2019 was a mess for me. Sounds like there were some great games, and a handful probably could have won an award here. I’ll have to pull these out of my backlog in 2020.
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