Author: Trafficblast

2018 was a fantastic year for video games, a non-stop hit parade of amazing titles all over the scene–AAA blockbusters, indies, and everything in between. If you’ve got a Windows machine with the right hardware, you’re already in a good position to experience the overwhelming majority of it. The PC has continued to be an outstanding place to play video games in 2018, and with some companies making interesting technological headway this year, it’s also the place where the first steps to the next generation of games are already taking place.

The Walls Between Console And PC Continue To Fall

If you only have a PC, you might find yourself feeling left out when a major console release rolls around. That’s certainly still the case with Sony and Nintendo, but Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative, introduced in 2017, continued to see a small handful of Xbox One releases come to Windows 10 as well. The critical consensus was mixed on Sea Of Thieves and State of Decay 2, though both have seen continual content updates since launch. Forza Horizon continued to be a welcome asset though, so we’re looking forward to seeing what Microsoft Game Studios has in store for 2019, especially with its current focus on acquiring major developers.

Meanwhile, Japanese third-party publishers like Capcom and Sega continued to recognize the value of their PC audiences, and we saw more traditionally console-only franchises make the transition to Steam. Ports and remasters of existing games like Yakuza 0, Devil May Cry, Shenmue I & II, and Katamari Damacy appeared, but we also got significant new releases like Valkyria Chronicles 4, and the mammoth Monster Hunter: World, and we also have Devil May Cry 5 and Resident Evil 2 Remake to look forward to. With the higher potential power of gaming PCs, multiplatform titles overall continue to perform better, too, and there were few instances of dodgy PC ports this year. At least, not to the extent of Nier: Automata in 2017.

There was one incredibly notable third-party game that didn’t make its way to PC, however. Red Dead Redemption 2 released to near-universal acclaim in October, but Rockstar hasn’t made any comments about the potential for a PC version just yet. The PC version of Rockstar’s previous game, Grand Theft Auto V, was announced roughly a year after its initial release.

The Battle Royale For Battle Royale Intensifies

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds dominated PC gaming talk in 2017, capturing a lot of attention and spawning many imitators. But while PUBG hit its absolute peak popularity on PC in January of 2018, its player base diminished drastically throughout the year.

The obvious reason is likely Fortnite, which dominated the talk of 2018 to a much larger and more unprecedented scale than PUBG ever did–it’s become a mainstream cultural phenomenon. But PUBG itself is also to blame. The game had numerous bugs, technical issues, matchmaking problems, and a general jankiness that never really went away.

PUBG’s raw, early-access feel was endearing at first. When the concept felt new and exciting, it was easier to overlook its problems. But the charm started to wear off through 2018, especially since its competition was a more polished alternative. PUBG developer Bluehole eventually acknowledged that the game had numerous issues, launched Fix PUBG, a development roadmap that let everyone know that it is listening, they are working on it, and they want to be transparent about it. But that hasn’t stopped its player base from shrinking.

On the plus side, if battle royale is your jam, the PC is the best place to get access to all the up-and-coming competitors trying to make waves with their own unique takes on the popular format. Fortnite and Call of Duty’s Blackout aside, PC players also have access to SCUM, Ring of Elysium, H1Z1, Battlerite Royale, Fear The Wolves, Fractured Lands, Realm Royale, Cuisine Royale, Darwin Project, Maelstrom, and Radical Heights (R.I.P.), to name a few. How many will make it in the end? Probably just one, really.

Strategy Is Still Strongest On PC

Sure, the major consoles have their exclusive titles. But there’s one genre that you absolutely need a PC to experience the best of: strategy and management games. Statistics, spreadsheets, intricate battle commands, economies, sewerage systems–these games keep you obsessing over the smallest decisions and keep you up all night.

2018 saw the release of some exceptional new strategy titles, like the phenomenal Into The Breach, the slow and deliberate Battletech, the perilously stressful Frostpunk and the frantic They Are BIllions. These games brought engaging new ideas to the already stalwart genre roster available on PC. We also got great new releases from familiar series–Thrones of Britannia represented a successful, smaller-scale experiment for the Total War series, Football Manager 2019 once again did its thing, and Two Point Hospital was a pitch-perfect spiritual successor to Bullfrog’s classic Theme Hospital.

Meanwhile, the existing strategy heavyweights all saw strong expansions–Civilization VI received Rise and Fall, which added an interesting new dynamic to the ever-popular 4X game, and Paradox continued to roll out multiple expansions for its enduring roster, including Stellaris, Europa Universalis IV, Hearts of Iron IV, Crusader Kings II, and Cities: Skylines.

Valve Finally Releases A New Game

The company behind Steam, Half-Life, and Dota 2 among other things released its first new game in years during 2018, the trading-card game Artifact, based on the Dota 2 universe. It was designed by the legendary creator Richard Garfield (the person responsible for Magic: The Gathering and Netrunner), but its release was surrounded by heated discussion over its unique monetization model. While the base game costs $20USD, the only way to get new cards is to either buy more 12-card packs at $2USD each, or purchase them individually from other users on the Steam marketplace. This model mimics the real-world collectible card game market, but i seemed to irk players who are used to the more generous free-to-play model of its competitors. However, Artifact’s defenders tout that the relative cost of achieving a full set of cards compared to other games is comparable, and in cases better given the ability to resell on the Steam marketplace.

In more positive and less contentious Valve news, the company this year acquired Campo Santo, the independent studio behind Firewatch and the upcoming In The Valley Of Gods, so expect to see another Valve published game in 2019.

Discovering Indies And Early Access Games Is Still Best On PC

Though Xbox began experimenting with early access games in 2017, the PC is still the best place to try out a large variety of the freshest new game ideas. Wading into the early access pool naturally has its own perils (we’re talking about unfinished games, after all), but there are always games whose concepts are so enticing and executed so well that they demand your attention even before they’re finished.

Significant early access darlings that gained popularity this year included the widely celebrated Dead Cells, which finally came out of early access in August, the deck-building roguelike Slay The Spire, space survival game Astroneer, the aforementioned RTS They Are Billions, Crytek’s competitive western game Hunt: Showdown, among many others.

Elsewhere, Star Citizen is still in development, seven years later. The ever-growing spiritual successor to Wing Commander reached over $200 million dollars in crowdsourced funding in November of this year, and its scope continues to be almost incomprehensible. The 2013 phenomenon DayZ also reached its fifth year of Early Access, though we’re not sure if anyone is still playing that.

On the indie front, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have all been getting better in bringing indie games to their respective platforms, and other publishers like Devolver Digital are making sure their titles get released in as many places as possible. But, if you’re interested in the independent scene, the PC is still the place to be. Certain high-profile 2018 titles are PC only, like the exceptional Return To Obra Dinn, and others, like Into The Breach, released on PC long before getting announced for any other platform. Additionally, PC-exclusive services like Itch.io are still the best place to check out smaller-scale experimental titles.

New Technology Is Here. The Future Is Here.

2018 was the year that GPU manufacturer Nvidia took its next big step and revealed the Geforce RTX 20 series of graphics cards at Gamescom, which can very comfortably run modern games at their highest detail levels in 4K resolutions and at 60fps. But even though the raw jump in performance might not seem that drastic on paper, and the cards themselves are expensive, the 20 series pushes GPU tech forward with the introduction of a couple of notable technologies that look to the future of graphics rendering.

The 20 series boasted a major advancement in the form of real-time ray tracing, essentially a superior and realistic-looking way to render lighting, shadows, and reflections, though only a limited number of games are currently able to actually utilize this technology (Battlefield V is the only one at the time of writing). The 20 series also uses a new form of antialiasing, called Deep Learning Super-Sampling (DLSS), which uses a form of artificial intelligence to perform better polygon rendering without the huge computational strain that it typically requires.

Elsewhere, Google unveiled a limited test of its cloud streaming service, Project Stream in October. The company teamed up with Ubisoft to let a selection of users play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey through the service, which streams game through the Google Chrome browser, and by GameSpot’s own accounts, this actually runs pretty damn well.

With rumors of new consoles on the horizon, these two disparate advancements in both local and remote computational technology give us some good ideas of what to expect. We know a number of major games companies are looking towards cloud streaming as an option (if they don’t already have an active service), and we know that there’s always been a bit of a hardware arms race between Sony and Microsoft concerning who gets to boast about having the better graphical quality. So, to see functioning examples of both kinds of advanced technologies this year on PC feels like we’re already getting a taste of the next few years of gaming.

Other Matters, In Brief

Verdict

It’s unsurprising that the versatility and open nature of the Windows PC platform continues to make it the best place to play a large variety of games. Third party publishers are continuing to support their PC audiences, and it’s the platform with the biggest variety of independent and early access games. Big console exclusives from Sony and Nintendo will continue the elude PC audiences, but Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative continues to be a positive idea that will hopefully pay off with their recent studio acquisitions. Additionally, the PC still sees its fair share of platform exclusive games, especially in the strategy genre.

2018 was a great year for games, and because you can play the overwhelming majority of them on your computer, it was a great year for PC gaming.

The Good	The Bad
An increasing number of traditionally console-exclusive games make the transition	Some disappointing revivals of classic PC games
A strong year for PC-centric strategy games	Red Dead Redemption 2 hasn’t been announced, yet
Variety of indies and early access games is still largest on PC
Nvidia paves the way for Ray Tracing support in the future

This year was an interesting one for WWE. In many ways, it was a year of rebuilding, as for the first time since his debut, John Cena was largely absent. His schedule has been shrinking in recent years, but he was more of an afterthought than ever in 2018.

In his absence, though, so many have stepped up to potentially become the new face of WWE. The world of professional wrestling is different now than when Cena rose to stardom–just as his arrival was different than when “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was announced as the top star–and what fans expect from the king–or queen–of the hill has changed. It’s not just character that matters nor is it simply technical wrestling ability.

Instead, it’s a hybrid of the two being found under the exact right circumstances that finds viewers flocking to certain superstars. Becky Lynch’s character is on fire, even with a broken face, but if she couldn’t deliver “The Man” in the ring, would anyone care? AJ Styles may consider himself “the face that runs the place” on SmackDown Live, but if he wasn’t able to deliver intense and compelling promos, in addition to his stellar in-ring work, that show could wind up faceless.

So who had the best 2018? Luckily for you, GameSpot’s intrepid wrestling nerds–Mat Elfring, Chris E. Hayner, and Kevin Wong–have watched far more WWE than you’ll ever need to and have figured out exactly who won the year. Take a look at our 10 best WWE wrestlers of 2018 and sound off in the comments with who you think should take top honors this year.

There’s nothing scary about the familiar. Whether it’s being lurched at by the shuffling zombies, set upon by mutated alligators, or stalked by skinless Lickers, in each subsequent play of Resident Evil 2 its frights are just a little less effective. This makes the challenge Capcom faces in remaking the game all the more tricky.

Resident Evil 2 is a beloved survival horror title and, if you’re anything like us, you’ll have walked the halls of Racoon City’s Police Department enough times to call it home–albeit one overrun with gruesome creatures and an abundance of coloured herbs. Capcom is clearly mindful of this and, in reimagining the game for a modern audience, has made numerous smart changes that will keep returning veterans on their toes.

As a baseline, there is a level of familiarity in the broader layout of the environment that will stoke nostalgia from fans. But Capcom has also remixed item locations, enemy placement, and–most importantly–how it feels to be in RPD. We recently went hands-on with the game and found that there was a pervading sense of tension throughout. Zombies felt like they took more ammo to bring down, so the resource management that’s so vital to Resident Evil was even more critical. Lickers seemed to wait in the shadows for opportune moments to strike, ensuring we never really felt at ease, and the close-up camera seemed to smother us, creating a sense of claustrophobia that we couldn’t shake.

However, undoubtedly the most unnerving part of Resident Evil 2 Remake was the presence of the Tyrant, a seemingly unstoppable force of nature. This towering menace was always bearing down on us, following us throughout the police department in an attempt to corner and crush Claire Redfield. Even when we tried to put some space between us and the Tyrant, the distant stomp of his footsteps served as an ever present reminder that we were never really safe. In all honesty, it was quite overwhelming, and that’s exactly what fans of Resident Evil and survival horror as a genre want from this remake.

In the video above, GameSpot’s Resident Evil superfans Adam Mason and Tamoor Hussain talk through their experiences with the remake, discussing both the similarities to the original title and what Capcom has done to reinvent it. Our demo included sections where we were also able to play as Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong, in addition to Claire Redfield, and we discuss some of the differences in gameplay their sections provide.

Resident Evil 2 Remake is set for release on January 25 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Obsidian Entertainment, hot off the heels of being acquired by Microsoft, has announced when we’ll see the first glimpse of its next project. The studio’s homepage now shows a series of teaser images counting down to Thursday’s Game Awards.

The images show retro-style advertisements from two fake sponsors: Spacer’s Choice and Auntie Cleo’s. Spacer’s Choice attaches to a retro-futuristic gun, while Auntie Cleo’s attaches to a collection of ointments and creams. The images don’t tell us much about the project, but they do set a particular tone.

Each of the fake ads teases more news at The Game Awards, the awards event coming this Thursday hosted by Geoff Keighley. The show has been teasing ten new game announcements along with updates for existing games. And of course, it will offer lots of celebrity guests and presenters, and the awards themselves.

Whatever announcement is coming, it will probably be exclusive to Xbox One and PC. Microsoft bought Obsidian as part of a larger ongoing effort to shore up its first-party production, so whatever it produces will now be owned by Microsoft. The studio has long specialized in RPGs–having made Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Pillars of Eternity–so whatever this retro-futurist space theme is, it’s likely to fit into that genre.

Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, has announced its own marketplace to compete directly with Steam. The Epic Games Store will roll out soon for PC and Mac, with plans to expand to open platforms and Android in 2019. It’s already detailing some developer-friendly moves.

The most significant part, for devs, is that they’ll earn 88% of their revenue. According to the announcement there are no tiers to the profit-sharing: it’s just an 88/12 split between developers and Epic for listing on their marketplace. This is the most striking challenge to Steam, which now takes 20-30% based on a tiered earning structure. If a developer is using the Unreal engine, Epic will cover the 5% engine royalty out of its own 12% cut. Though Epic is encouraging use of its own Unreal engine with profit incentives, it says games developed on any engine are welcome.

Purchasing a game on the Epic store will automatically subscribe players to the game’s newsfeed for easy communication, and developers are in charge of their own game page on the news feed. It promises no store ads or cross-marketing on a game page, and no paid ads in the search results.

Epic is also encouraging developers to work with streamers and bloggers, letting them set a revenue share for referrals. Epic says it will cover the first 5% of creator revenue sharing for the first 24 months to help get the ball rolling.

The company promises more details to come at The Game Awards on Thursday.