From the squelching sounds of soggy corpses to the recognizable sounds of a galaxy far, far away, sound design is the art of creating a believable sonic world.
These are our nominees for the best sound design in games of 2019.
Click through the gallery above or scroll down the page for the full list!
Sometimes a movie’s cast is the real star, and there were certainly many cases like this in 2019, where no one actor was as important to the proceedings as the entire ensemble. With this category, we seek to recognize the many over the one.
These are our nominees for the Best Movie Ensemble in 2019.
Click through the gallery above or scroll down the page for the full list!
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Ah, yes. The personal computer. Always at the cutting edge of whatever’s happening in the world of video games. Pushing the boundaries with new technology, while almost always being the best place to play multiplatform games.
2019 was definitely an interesting year for PC gaming. You might assume that the space is largely detached from what the console folks are doing, and in some respects, especially on the technological side, you’re right. PC games have access to big new leaps almost as soon as they happen.
But if we just consider the PC as a platform where you play the latest video games, the landscape had a ton of similarities to that of the consoles in 2019. All of this is to say that, as I looked back on the big PC milestones for the year, it felt very transitional without any earth-shattering moments.
We weren’t biding our time for new hardware, but we did see a lot of distribution platforms and games publishers sorting out their arsenal, a hit new genre get birthed, and a bunch of new VR hardware come to market. Hopefully, when 2020 gets underway, all of this stuff will hit full speed, and only then, when all the good ideas take hold and the chaff falls away, will we be able to see how the next generation is defined. But for now, let’s reminisce.
You might have opinions on Epic Games getting into the digital distribution market and taking on Steam. They’re taking games away from Steam! It’s just a big ruse to get people to play Fortnite! Something about China, maybe! But Tim Sweeney does not care what you think, and 2019 saw the Epic Store obtain exclusivity to a number of big-budget and independent games, keeping them away from Steam–a move Valve called “unfair” to consumers in regards to games that were already marketed on their platform). This includes stuff like Metro: Exodus, The Outer Wilds, The Outer Worlds, The Division 2 (in fact, all of Ubisoft’s games in 2019 became exclusive to the Epic and Ubisoft Store), Control, Shenmue III, among many, many others.
It’s caused a lot of commotion in a frustrated, vocal portion of the PC gaming community. And it’s put independent developers in a dilemma about how to best make what they do viable. Some consumers see the acquisitions as a hostile action, but with Epic’s ongoing offer to provide users with free games twice a month, and their notable transparency when it comes to revenue sharing and the development of their platform (they have a public development roadmap), the company is seemingly continuing to position themselves as the good-guy underdogs next to Steam. How that shakes out in 2020 is something we’ll be watching with great interest.
Not to be outdone by all of the big acquisitions of the Epic Store, Steam also picked up some significant partners in 2019. Once Bungie broke up with Activision, Destiny 2 made the jump from Blizzard’s Battle.net to Steam. Microsoft loosened their grip on their biggest first-party franchises in a move that helped increase their presence on PC–all the Halo games were made available on Steam, Gear 5 launched on the platform too, and State of Decay 2 is coming next year.
In a similarly surprising move, Electronic Arts also loosened its grip on a number of PC games, meaning many titles that were previously only available on their Origin storefront were brought to Steam, including their latest release, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order–which also made its way to the Epic Game Store.
Of course, some might say the moves made by Microsoft and EA were only made to draw attention to the value that their new subscription services provided. Microsoft’s increasingly popular Xbox Game Pass for PC launched during E3 2019 and has continued to provide access to over a hundred games for a relatively low subscription fee–$5 USD as of writing. Xbox Game Pass for PC includes new releases like The Outer Worlds and Gears 5, as well as a number of PC-exclusive titles like Hearts of Iron IV and Imperator: Rome from Paradox Interactive.
EA already had Origin Access on PC of course, but in 2019, it doubled-down with its Premier tier for the launch of Anthem and Apex Legends earlier in the year, as well as Jedi Fallen Order last month. Not to be left out, Ubisoft also launched Ubisoft+, which gives you access to the entire publisher’s catalogue, including DLC and expansion packs. There is an increasing number of ways for PC owners to consume games–almost too many–but it’s great to see so much competition and choice.
Remember how the MOBA genre spawned from a user-made custom map in Warcraft III, and then went on to be one of the most popular video game genres worldwide? Well, what if I told you that in Valve’s Dota 2 (the standalone game born out of the original Warcraft III DotA map) there was *another* user-made custom map that got so popular it spawned *another* hugely-popular genre and subsequent standalone games?
Say hello to the Auto Battler genre, conceived in January 2019 from the Dota Auto Chess mod by Drodo Studio. Its three major standalone competitors are Dota Underlords from Valve, Teamfight Tactics from Riot Games, and Auto Chess from Drodo themselves–games born from a mod for a game that was also born from a mod.
The concept is built around drafting units and positioning them on a battlefield, where they’ll fight the units from other players automatically until a victor emerges. There’s a depth of strategy in drafting, positioning, unit synergies, the metagame… it’s a whole thing that I don’t have the space to get into right now. But it’s compulsive, it’s massively popular, and like the MOBA and battle royale genres before it, it’s already spawned a ton of imitators. Good job, PC gaming!
But hey, the PC doesn’t just have games from a brand new genre to flaunt–plenty of 2019’s fantastic PC exclusives came from old, boring genres too! We’re talking about things like the transcendent RPG Disco Elysium (though it’s coming to consoles in 2020); the greatest Total War yet, Three Kingdoms; and World of Warcraft: Classic, which seemed to surprise a lot of people.
That’s not to mention the countless gems still in Early Access–some of my favourites include Supergiant’s Hades, Risk of Rain 2, Subnautica: Below Zero, and Totally Accurate Battle Simulator. And there’s still more to come! At the time of publishing, Phoenix Point, the tactical strategy game from X-COM creator Julian Gollop, has just released, and Mechwarrior 5 will be out the following week.
PC gamers also leave 2019 with a few big names to look forward to in the future. Diablo IV, the next iteration of Overwatch and Cyberpunk 2077, are all on the top of the list, despite being multiplatform titles. And finally, a new entry in the highly-regarded and elusive Half-Life series, Half-Life: Alyx, was announced for a March 2020 release. There’s a catch with that one, though.
Next year’s Half-Life: Alyx will be a VR-only title, which has at least some folks thinking about obtaining themselves a VR headset. Well hey, guess what? 2019 was a particularly busy year for new VR hardware from the three major players in the space–Oculus, HTC, and Valve themselves.
Oculus released their new PC-powered headset, the Rift S, with room-scale tracking that doesn’t need external sensors (inside-out tracking) and new versions of the Oculus Touch gesture controllers. They also released the Oculus Quest, a completely wireless and standalone VR headset that can run games without the need to be connected to a PC by also utilizing inside-out tracking, and now also gives you the option to connect to a computer by using the recently-released Oculus Link beta.
HTC released the successor to the high-end Vive, called Cosmos, which also features inside-out tracking, new motion controllers, and a flip-up goggle design. Meanwhile, Valve launched its own VR headset, the Valve Index. This high-end headset boasts superior visual quality and gesture controllers (which track each individual finger), but oddly forgoes inside-out tracking in favour of using additional cameras to track positioning like the previous version of the Vive.
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Half Life Alyx – Official Gameplay Announcement Trailer
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A variety of new, quality headsets to choose from is exciting, but the real question is: does VR have the compelling software to support it yet? For most people, the answer is still no. If you’re already deeply invested in the space, there are a lot of exciting experiences to keep you occupied–No Man’s Sky: Beyond, Pistol Whip, and Falcon Age were some of our highlights for this year. But is there a game you just have to run out and buy a headset for? Valve is probably hoping for Half-Life Alyx to be just that.
As is tradition, Valve’s annual Dota 2 tournament, The International, once again broke the record of the largest prize pool in esports history, despite the Fortnite World Cup setting a new record the month prior. The final prize pool total for The International 2019 was $34,300,000–almost $10 Million more than The International 2018.
After Valve’s Steam Link hardware was discontinued and run out at trivial prices during Black Friday 2018, Valve has now discontinued the Steam Controller, running out the remaining stock during Black Friday 2019
Red Dead Redemption 2 finally got a PC release
With the introduction of Nvidia’s RTX 20-series line of graphics cards last year, real-time ray tracing is slowly introduced into a few big-name titles–Control, Metro Exodus, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood were the notable examples, though they tech still requires demanding hardware specifications to utilise it.
| The Good | The Bad |
|---|---|
| + Microsoft and EA bring their games back to Steam | – VR continues to be a niche experience for only the most enthusiastic users. |
| + A variety of worthwhile subscription services | |
| + Lots of great PC-exclusive games | |
| + Hey these Auto Chess games are real addictive huh | |
| + Red Dead Redemption 2 finally came to PC | |
| + Lots of fresh VR hardware |
In July, Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft scooped up the French studio Green Panda Games by acquiring 70 percent of the “hyper-casual” company’s outstanding shares to give it majority ownership. Green Panda, which has 30 employees, created and published mobile game like Sushi Bar, Terrarium, Emoji Craft, and Golf Inc. Tycoon. The company says its games have reached 85 million people worldwide, and that is no doubt part of the reason why Ubisoft wanted to bring it on board. This was just the latest move from Ubisoft to invest further into mobile games. In 2016, the company acquired mobile/social game studio Ketchapp, while Ubisoft also operates an internal mobile game business; one of its biggest and best-known franchises is Hungry Shark.
You can get a NES-style controller for Nintendo Switch now at a significantly reduced price. Nintendo is selling its “Nintendo Entertainment System Controllers” for $30, half-off its usual price of $60. The offer is available to Nintendo Switch Online members, so you’ll have to sign in to the store page to see the reduced price.
The pack includes two wireless NES controllers with rechargeable batteries, modeled after the original blocky NES controllers. They’re meant for the NES games available through Nintendo Switch Online, which is likely why they’re a member exclusive.
Nintendo Switch NES Controllers
The release of new NES games has slowed lately, as Nintendo announced it would no longer be announcing monthly games upon the release of the Super NES library. Just recently, though, the company did announce a new set of games for both Super NES and NES libraries. On December 12, the NES library on Switch will add Crystalis and Journey to Silius. Those join Star Fox 2, Super Punch Out!!, Kirby Super Star, and Breath of Fire II on the SNES library. Nintendo offers a Super NES controller too, but it’s out of stock.
For more on how Nintendo’s handheld-console hybrid performed over the last 12 months, read our Nintendo 2019 Report Card.
It appears as though Untitled Goose Game is waddling over to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 just in time for Christmas. Originally released on Nintendo Switch and PC back in September, the quirky puzzle game puts you in the webbed feet of a troublesome goose and is reportedly coming to Microsoft and Sony’s consoles on December 17, 2019.
Achievements for Untitled Goose Game on Xbox One have been obtained from Microsoft’s servers by TrueAchievements, with the equivalent PlayStation 4 Trophies turning up thanks to Exophase. Release information points to the December launch date and also mentions an Xbox One X Enhanced option for all of those 4K goose visuals.
Predictably, Untitled Goose Game has been fodder for all kinds of memes and mods since its release–including one that plops the titular bird into Resident Evil 2. It’s a good game in its own right, though. James O’Conner awarded it an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review, saying, “The important thing is that Untitled Goose Game is a hoot. It’s a comedy game that focuses on making the act of playing it funny, rather than simply being a game that features jokes. Wishing that it was longer speaks to how much fun I had with it. There’s nothing else quite like Untitled Goose Game; it’s charming and cute despite being mean, and both very silly and very clever. It’s also probably the best non-racing game ever to feature a dedicated ‘honk’ button.”
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GameStop’s Deal of the Day focuses on Christmas sweaters–the extremely ugly variety. The ugly Christmas sweater has become a thing over the years, and this trio of sweaters certainly have the undeniable eye-sore look. Normally sold for the ridiculous price of $35, you can pick up these Super Mario, Star Wars, and PlayStation ugly sweaters for $15.
Each of these sweaters is awful in their own way. If you have an ugly sweater party coming up or just want to wear a more hideous sweater than your uncle at the family Christmas party, any of the three will work quite well. GameStop’s Deal of the Day on ugly sweaters ends at 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET.
Super Mario Bros. Holiday Sweater — $15
I wouldn’t describe the 8-bit-style Mario in the center of the wreath as ugly. The surrounding nonsense is what makes this sweater decidedly ugly. The designers of this sweater decided to cram practically every object and item from early Super Mario games onto this sweater. This fact really comes into focus when you look at the hideous backside. “Merry Mario,” I guess.
PlayStation Holiday Sweater — $15
This PlayStation-themed sweater is ugly in a different way. I actually think the many symbols representing controller buttons work, especially on the sleeves. The worst part of this sweater is the giant PlayStation logo and baffling blank space surrounding it.
Star Wars Holiday Sweater — $15
Though ugly, this sweater also has a fairly funny joke on it: The Death Star at the top of the tree. Get it? I laughed when I noticed it, at least.
A new month is underway, which means there’s a new batch of Field Research tasks in Pokemon Go for December 2019. Unlike Special Research quests, which are assigned by Professor Willow, Field Research tasks are distributed through PokeStops. You’ll receive Field Research by spinning Photo Discs, and each mission you complete will net you rewards like XP, items, and even Pokemon encounters.
Field Research tasks typically run the gamut from making a certain number of Great throws to catching specific types of Pokemon. There is no daily limit to how many Field Research tasks you can complete, but only the first one you clear each day will reward you with a stamp. If you can amass seven stamps, you’ll achieve a Research Breakthrough, which will net you even more rewards, as well as an encounter with a rare Pokemon.
Like last month, every Research Breakthrough you achieve in December will result in an encounter with a Legendary Pokemon, namely either Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Groudon, or Kyogre. Even if you already have these Legendaries in your collection, you’ll want to achieve as many Research Breakthroughs as you can this month, as you’ll also have a chance to encounter their Shiny forms.
You can see the updated list of Pokemon Go’s Field Research tasks below. This isn’t the only new content available in Pokemon Go this month, however. The game’s first evolution event runs from December 5-12, giving you a chance to get more evolutionary items like the Sinnoh Stone, while December’s Community Day weekend takes place on December 14 and 15 and brings back all previous featured Pokemon.
| Field Research Task | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Catch 5 Pokemon with Weather boost | Poliwag or Vulpix encounter; 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, or 5 Poke Balls |
| Catch 10 Pokemon with Weather boost | 500 Stardust, 6 Razz Berries, 2 Pinap Berries, or 5 Great Balls |
| Catch 10 Pokemon | Magikarp encounter |
| Catch 5 Fairy Pokemon | Marill encounter |
| Catch 5 Normal Pokemon | Zigzagoon encounter |
| Catch 3 Fire, Water, or Electric Pokemon | Doduo encounter |
| Catch 4 Grass or Ice Pokemon | Seel encounter |
| Catch 15 Pokemon | Sandshrew encounter |
| Catch 3 different species of Dark Pokemon | Poochyena enounter |
| Catch 3 different species of Psychic Pokemon | Drowzee encounter |
| Use 5 Berries to help catch Pokemon | Snorunt encounter; 500 Stardust, 6 Razz Berries, 2 Pinap Berries, or 5 Great Balls |
| Use 5 Razz Berries to help catch Pokemon | Swinub encounter |
| Use 10 Nanab Berries while catching Pokemon | Scyther encounter |
| Catch a Dragon Pokemon | Dratini encounter; 1,500 Stardust, 3 Rare Candies, 2 Gold Razz Berries, or 10 Ultra Balls |
| Catch a Ditto | 1,500 Stardust, 3 Rare Candies, 2 Gold Razz Berries, or 10 Ultra Balls |
| Field Research Tasks | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Battle in a Raid | Spoink encounter; 200 Stardust, 5 Nanab Berries, 5 Potions, or 2 Revives |
| Battle in a Gym | Mankey or Makuhita encounter; 200 Stardust, 5 Nanab Berries, 5 Potions, or 2 Revives |
| Battle another trainer | Electrike encounter |
| Battle a team leader 2 times | Natu encounter |
| Win a Gym battle | Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle encounter; 500 Stardust, 10 Nanab Berries, 3 Super Potions, or 4 Revives |
| Battle in a Gym 5 times | Machop encounter; 500 Stardust, 10 Nanab Berries, 3 Super Potions, or 4 Revives |
| Use a super-effective Charged Attack in 7 Gym battles | Electabuzz encounter; 1,000 Stardust, 1 Rare Candy, 3 Hyper Potions, 6 Revives, or 1 Max Revive |
| Win 5 Raids | Aerodactyl encounter |
| Win a level 3 or higher Raid | Kabuto or Omanyte encounter; 1,000 Stardust, 1 Rare Candy, 3 Hyper Potions, 6 Revives, or 1 Max Revive |
| Win 3 Gym battles | Jynx encounter; 1,000 Stardust, 1 Rare Candy, 3 Hyper Potions, 6 Revives, or 1 Max Revive |
| Use a super-effective Charged Attack in a Gym battle | 500 Stardust, 10 Nanab Berries, 3 Super Potions, or 4 Revives |
| Win a Raid | 500 Stardust, 10 Nanab Berries, 3 Super Potions, or 4 Revives |
| Win 3 Raids | 1,500 Stardust, 3 Max Potions, 8 Revives, or 3 Max Revives |
| Field Research Task | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Make 3 Great throws | Gastly, Buneary, Anorith, or Lileep encounter; 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, or 5 Poke Balls |
| Make 5 Nice throws | Voltorb encounter; 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, or 5 Poke Balls |
| Make 3 Nice throws in a row | 500 Stardust, 2 Pinap Berries, 5 Great Balls, or 2 Ultra Balls |
| Make 3 Great throws in a row | Onix encounter; 1,000 Stardust, 1 Rare Candy, 9 Razz Berries, 3 Pinap Berries, 10 Poke Balls, or 5 Ultra Balls |
| Make 3 Great curveball throws in a row | 1,500 Stardust, 1 Rare Candy, 9 Razz Berries, 3 Pinap Berries, 10 Poke Balls, or 5 Ultra Balls |
| Make 5 Great curveball throws in a row | Spinda encounter |
| Make an Excellent throw | 500 Stardust, 2 Pinap Berries, 5 Great Balls, or 2 Ultra Balls |
| Make 3 Excellent throws in a row | Larvitar encounter |
| Make 5 curveball throws in a row | 500 Stardust, 6 Razz Berries, 2 Pinap Berries, or 5 Great Balls |
| Make 2 Nice curveball throws in a row | 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, or 5 Poke Balls |
| Field Research Task | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Hatch an Egg | Exeggcute or Hoppip encounter; 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, or 5 Poke Balls |
| Hatch 3 Eggs | Magmar encounter; 1,000 Stardust, 1 Rare Candy, 9 Razz Berries, 3 Pinap Berries, 10 Poke Balls, or 5 Ultra Balls |
| Hatch 5 Eggs | Chansey encounter; 3 Rare Candies |
| Field Research Task | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Transfer 3 Pokemon | Sableye encounter |
| Trade a Pokemon | Bronzor encounter |
| Evolve a Pokemon | Cubone or Eevee encounter |
| Earn 3 Candies walking with your Buddy | Ponyta encounter |
| Take 5 snapshots of Eevee | Gulpin encounter |
| Power up Pokemon 5 times | Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle encounter |
| Send 10 Gifts to friends | Sneasel encounter |
| Spin 10 PokeStops or Gyms | 200 Stardust, 3 Razz Berries, 1 Pinap Berry, 5 Silver Pinap Berries, or 5 Poke Balls |
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While there’s plenty of excitement about the various Marvel shows in development for Disney+, things aren’t quite as healthy for some of the other Marvel series made elsewhere. Following the cancellation of Cloak and Dagger and the news that the live-action Ghost Rider show won’t be happening, it’s been reported that the animated Tigra & Dazzler Show has run into problems.
According to Variety, Tigra & Dazzler Show showrunner Erica Rivinoja has left the series, along with the entire writing staff. Rivinoja and her team reportedly differed from Marvel on the creative direction of the series, and the studio is now looking for a new showrunner to take the project in a different direction. Variety notes that the writers could return, depending on who Rivinoja’s replacement is.
Tigra & Dazzler Show was one of four new animated Marvel series that are being developed at Hulu. The others are M.O.D.O.K, which will be co-written by comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, Hit-Monkey, from Blade of Glory directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck, and Howard The Duck, from filmmaker and comic book icon Kevin Smith. When the shows were first announced in February, it was reported that the plan was for all four sets of heroes to come together for a Hulu special titled The Offenders.
Ghost Rider was also being developed for Hulu, with Gabriel Luna set to reprise his role as Robbie Reyes from Agents of SHIELD. However, in September, the whole show was cancelled due to “a creative impasse” that “could not be resolved.’ Another supernatural-themed Marvel series, titled Helstrom, is still happening at Hulu however.
As for Marvel shows on Disney+, Falcon and Winter Soldier recently started production. Other upcoming series include Loki, WandaVision, Hawkeye, and She-Hulk. For more check out GameSpot’s guide to every Marvel movie and show to watch right now on Disney+.