We here at Culture of Gaming have played many role-playing games over the course of 2018. Some were good, some were great, and others were absolutely fabulous. But only a handful could make it into our GOTY selections, and after careful deliberation, we have chosen our top three RPGs of 2018!
Ni no Kuni II
Ni no Kuni II is pure magic. While there was originally hesitation in whether Studio Ghibli’s absence this time around would be felt, thankfully, those fears were wrong. This game is every bit as magical as the first one, with some gameplay refinements making it even more engaging to play.
Square Enix is the undisputed king of RPGs (or JRPGS at the very least), so expectations were high for Octopath Traveler. Thankfully, the team delivered, making Octopath Traveler the latest in a long-line of beloved RPGs from the publisher. While on the surface it looks like a tribute to the iconic 16-bit RPGs of the 90s, it does much more than that. Just look at the art style. While featuring 16-bit character sprites (or, at the very least, highly-detailed recreations of them), they live in a high-definition world.
The juxtaposition of the spirtes and the modern-day lighting and particle effects immediately make Octopath Traveler an absolute visual treat. But that’s not the only way it attempts to modernize the 16-bit RPG. The battle system is set up in a way where every monster has weaknesses to certain weapons and elements. Break down its defences enough, and it’s stunning. It’s designed so that every party member, and every piece of equipment, can make-or-break a battle.
No, that staff probably won’t bring down a boss, but if it breaks its defences, it can turn the tide, for sure. It definitely creates a new layer of strategy to one of the most strategy-heavy genres out there, but doesn’t make it overwhelming. What Square Enix attempted to do with Octopath Traveler was ambitious, and in some ways, it makes good on that promise. Sure, there are definite narrative problems, but Octopath Traveler has eight well-crafted narratives. It would’ve been nice to have them overlap in some way, but on their own, the character development and story beats are fantastic. With Octopath Traveler being a huge success both critically and commercially, hopefully, we see more games in this vein. Just please remove random encounters.
Written By Aidan Simmonds
So there you have it: Culture of Gaming’s top three RPGs of 2018! What were your top picks for RPG of 2018? Do you agree with our choices? Follow us here at CoG for more content like this, for more GOTY content is on the way!
