What game surprised you this year?

Doesn't have to be a game that came out this year. For me it was Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle. I started it last year, but have been playing it recently, and I love it. I'm a XCOM fan, and this game does a great job of infusing the XCOM formula into the Mario world. It's charming, simple, and fun. What about you, SW? What game surprised you this year?

God of war. I didn't expect it to be that emotional nor that amazing. I thought it would be fun to play and good overall but it was so much more.

A hat in time. Seemed like a decent game but it turned out to be the most fun I had with a platformer this gen.

Mad Max. Didn't expect to finish the game but i got addicted to it.

Also Good Of War. I kept hearing how it's a movie game but it's far from it. Fanbois will really downplay anything these days.

Valkyria Chronicles 4. I knew that I'd like it, but not to the extent that I have, and even more so than VC1. I also have enjoyed playing God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Spider-Man, and I wasn't a fan of any of their developers' prior work.

Fallout 76 surprised in the sense that it turned out to be a giant waste of time and money, although Bethesda was kind enough to refund me in full. What a dismal game, pity.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Starlink. And unlike other toys-to-life games you can go through the whole game with just the starter pack. No having whole sections of the game walled off unless you buy a specific toy/DLC pack which was surprising.

I sunk over 40 hours into it and finished it.

Marvel's Spider-Man game really took me by surprise how far a comic book superhero game can take you and not only that, Marvel's Spider-Man was done by a good developer this time around. The second game took my by surprise is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, who would've thought a good Call of Duty game can turn out to be lots of fun!

@davillain-: didn't know you were into COD. Black Ops 4 was a nice surprise indeed

I’ve been surprised in a good way by a very unexpected game. The Last Remnant: Remastered. The game had some very bad reviews and I whent in expecting the worst, but am somehow having more fun with this game than many others I’ve tried. ??❤️

Smash Ultimate, didn't expect the game itself to be so good but the online to be even worse than Smash 4's

God of War. I expect it to be good but didnt expect it to be great. One of the best SP experience i had.

Into the Breach. This game is so damn good. And feels right at home on the Switch.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 has also been awesome

Subnautica

I've never been a fan of survival/crafting type games and the early gameplay I saw when it was in early access didn't grab me. I ended up getting it on a whim when it came out of EA and ended up loving it, just a really well realized game with some great horror elements.

otherwise:

Kingdom Come Deliverance

this game was semi on my radar but I had no real expectations. it'd be one of my favorite games this year if it weren't so goddamn buggy when I played it at launch. the story and characters were surprisingly compelling, and it just felt so damn unique.

Capitan Toad. Wasn't expecting much. Got a wuvely game.

Why weren't pc games this good?

Honestly? Vampyr. I thought this game was hugely underrated. 71 Metascore for a really engaging story and a bloodsouls/bioshock lite combat system.

@Shmiity: yeah Vampyr was great, ever since I finished it I've been thinking of a second playthrough

Im really impressed with Diablo 3 Eternal Collection... excellent port and a perfect portable game.

Also really liking the SNK collection. Playing local co-op ikari warriors is as fun as when I was a kid in the arcade.

I didn't expect to love Nier Automata as much as I did... it is one of the best games I've played this gen.

Also RDR2. I knew I'd enjoy it, but it was incredible.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

I wasn't really interested in the Bloodstained kickstarter because I heard that it was going to be in the Metroidvania style which I don't care for, but then out of nowhere I see that this Curse of the Moon companion to the game gets released which plays like the old-school NES Classic Castlevania style games that I love and it ends up being better than any Castlevania game in nearly 25 years.

RDR 2.

I was expecting it to be good, but not incredible.

Tekken 7, bought it day one,last year and played the treasure mode on and off until recently I got to the games highest ranking in that mode. Finally decided to play the story mode and take it online. Wow, the online play is silky smooth, almost zero lag. Been addicted to online since.

The Messenger

Dead Cells

A Night in the Woods

Octopath Traveler

I expected to like these games but ended up all out obsessed with them this year.

Actually GoW and MHW both surprised me.

I bought GoW bc of the good reviews thinking I was going to be the black sheep but it was actually that good.

I tried the MHW demo or beta whatever it was and hated it. But I heard so many good things about it that I gave it a chance.

Both are GotY contenders. Had over 400 hours in MHW.

MHW. I have been playing since PSP (actually, probably ps2 with pirated copy), MHW surprised me just how good, smooth the mechanics are. They streamlined the inventory system and now there is only 3 or 4 gathering mission as compared to thousands in earlier MH game. most importantly the gameplay so good each time I tried to go back to 4u or the Switch one I remembers just how clunky it is compared to world.

Also SOS >>>>> rooms

Evolve. I know it’s trendy to hate on this game, but actually playing it is a different story. The gameplay is tight and fun, the AI teammates are effective and not dumb, and I challenge you to find a better sounding game this gen. If you have a decent audio setup, this game is a treat for the ears.

Dragon quest 11, after being s little sick of jprg lately and with the recent disappointment of Ni No Kuni 2( was ok, but a long way from the first one) fresh in my mind I went in with pretty low expectations, but ended up loving it! Easily my GOTY!

Qu-tros https://youtu.be/hJXWR8PIrns

FH4 the game is magnificent. So much fun to play online against equally skilled friends. Was up until 2am last night racing. Not done that in years.

Also Doom 2016.

Insurgency Sandstorm:

First in a negative way, then in a positive way.

It also showed me that indie games can reach the quality of AAA games (sans all the dirty tactics)

Hehe nice. Playing an enjoyable game MP with friends is the bees knees.

I was surprised by Monster Hunter World and how much they improved the series' gameplay. Going back now to the older ones just doesn't work. Was thinking about getting MHGenU for Switch, but after playing the demo of it, it scared me away. Really bad visuals and for some reason only running in 30 fps despite looking like crap. Tanky controls. No thank you, not after playing smooth-ass MHW.

Was also surprised by Hollow Knight. I knew the game was good, but I didn't know it was total awesomesauce.

Definitely one of the most original games of the year.

I got absolutely 'sucked' in, hehe

Astro Bot. It went from 'looks cool, lets try it', to 'best 3d platformer i have ever played'.