The charismatic half-demon from 2008, the Haruspeak from 2005 and the cop newcomer from 1998 are with us again.
About nomination
2019 was rich in the return of classic hits. Some series received the long-awaited sequels, some games – well-deserved remakes. In this nomination, we noted the return – of those that had to wait 10 years or more – which turned out to be the most striking.
Third Place – Pathologic 2
“Pestilence. Utopia” (
Pathologic in the western market), the main game of the studio
Ice pick pick, released in 2005. And the tiny Russian team did not just get a weird budget item – it was a saying that could not be found in the Russian industry, perhaps, either before or after. And how the game “Utopia” draws a maximum of three with a minus: its entertainment even then could be called to the same extent as the films of Bergman or Tarkovsky, and even today – even more so. Assessing the brainchild of Nikolai Dybovsky as an intellectual study or philosophical parable, you risk simply drowning in emotions: such sincere experiences, such a deep catharsis are rare in any kind of art, not only in computer games. With exit
Pathologic 2 nothing, in fact, has changed.
Before us is the same City, suspended somewhere outside of time and space, as cozy as an etsih with nails. All the same old play about a sand ulcer and puppet people. All the same balanced diet of coffee in half with morphine. All the same running around the gates in an effort to defeat the disease with expired antibiotics and not die at the same time from starvation or lack of sleep …
Everywhere still do not have time. All the same, do not save. Time flies ahead. You need to think fast. If you see one, you will definitely miss the other. What exactly, you can find out only with repeated passage – or not. You can think about life and death, duty and destiny, personality and society, fathers and children – or just survive. You can win back a vagabond philosopher, rational scientist, maniac, or provincial community therapist during an influenza epidemic. Or you can just get drunk on Tvirin, go for a walk along the night streets and buy a predictor bull.
Real classics: smart, angry, ruthless and full of anachronisms. Seize the moment: they don’t do that today.
Second Place – Devil May Cry 5
Released in 2013
DmC: Devil May Cry tried to restart the series, which caused discontent of many. Departure towards youthful dystopia and a change in Dante’s design did not appeal to those who fell in love with the rambling Gothic tales of a handsome blonde in a red coat. Capcom took into account the wishes – and in 2019, the legendary franchise returned in a familiar snappy tone, continuing the story, which stalled more than ten years ago.
A lot of water flowed from the exit
Devil May Cry 4 in 2008, and in the game world too. However, an older (or mature?) Dante shreds demons with the same enthusiasm: for sure, “old, but not worthless!” His charming companions, and the young Nero, and Virgil returned so that the brothers could continue the endless family showdown. New characters are in no way inferior to old ones: impudent Nico and Byronic V conquer male and girl hearts no worse than the old inhabitants of the universe.
V means … no, not “vendetta” at all, but “style”
The fifth part worthily continues the traditions of the predecessors, but in no case parasitizes on them. Familiar elements tickling fan nostalgia have been refined and improved here: Dante’s demonic form has become even cooler, you can now admire the use of a motorcycle instead of a chainsaw not only in cut scenes, and Nero’s famous hand has been replaced with multi-functional combat prostheses. Innovations sometimes impress even more familiar mechanics: where else in the middle of the battle will you have to open a volume of poems by William Blake and expressively read to support the demon’s henchmen, which at that time will muddle the enemies? We add here the fact that the plot of Devil May Cry 5 answers the questions that hung at the end of the fourth game – and we get an excellent replenishment of the legendary series. A rare case when you can only rejoice that the final shots leave a reserve for continuation.
Deserve a mention
Closer to the top 3
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – a full-fledged license plate part of the famous Japanese series about air battles: its fans had to wait already since 2007 (the only outlet was the large Assault Horizon spin-off, released in 2011). The AC7 did not produce any revolution, but on the other hand, it again presented us with many hours of breathtaking flights and a fascinating story.
In the 2000s, the Anno series was the king of historical economic strategies, but in the 2010s it turned into a futuristic channel – in order to finally return to its roots in 2019 Anno 1800dedicated to the industrial revolution.
Over the past decade, many successful “metro-titles” have come out – representatives of the genre owing half its name
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. But
Bloodstained: ritual of the night – a special case: the creator of “Symphony”
Koji Igarashi left
Konami and he raised money on Kickstarter for the spiritual heir of his magnum opus … And, unlike Keiji Inafune (Mighty No. 9) and Yu Suzuki (Shenmue 3), who were burnt in the same way, he released exactly what was needed: absolutely authentic “Calling “, Which is convenient and interesting to play even in 2019.
Finally, this year came out
Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark – the first worthy follower
Final fantasy tactics, the legendary Japanese TRPG, built on combinations of hundreds of skills and dozens of classes. Fell Seal took the remarkable FFT role and combat systems and developed them, adding a quality scenario and many well-balanced trials.
First Place – Resident Evil 2 Remake
Favorite childhood games often do not pass the test of time and turn out to be far less awesome than they seemed 20 years ago.
Resident evil 2 – a good example of this: in ’98, it was one of the main releases of the year, but now it is already difficult to play it with pleasure: the scenario is terrible, the battles are uncomfortable, tank control has long gone out of fashion. But what if warm feelings for her still remain? Only a complete remake will help! And new
Resident evil 2 – An ideal example of how to revive the classics.
All elements of the original remained in place – but at the same time each was redesigned, changed for the better. Zombies for the first time in history
Resident evil became a threat; even corpses have to be feared. The tyrant is no longer a script “screamer”, but an implacable, non-descent stalker, now arising from nowhere, now marking his appearance ominously with heavy steps. Searching for important loot in numerous rooms is now convenient, and puzzles are perfectly balanced.
Visually, the game looks so beautiful that screenshots of completely three-dimensional locations can compete in quality with prerendered backs from the original. The script has also improved markedly. Despite the fact that all the characters and the plot as a whole remained the same, the actions of the characters gained logic, and the dialogs – much more naturalness.
Finally, Resident Evil 2 Remake significantly expanded, supplemented the original, and did so with the understanding that fans who know RE2 by heart will play it. Somewhere, he accurately reproduces the bright moments of the original source, and somewhere – he deceives our expectations, increasing the tension even more. A brilliant decision!
2020 will also not be left without the return of classic hits. Following the second “Resident”, the third will also receive a remake – we hope that in quality it will not yield to its predecessor! The first part of the remake will also be released.
Final Fantasy VII, also pretty much changed over the past 23 years since the release of the original. More Square Enix will release a remaster
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, a cooperative action RPG with GameCube, and
Trials of mana – remake
Seiken Densetsu 3, one of the most beautiful games with SNES.
