We’ve seen the best of various genres this week. We explored the games that made racing feel alive, we delved into worlds with stunning art design and listened closely to those video games that managed to produce audio adventures. Which game is truly the best though? In 2018, there was no shortage of competitors, as the tail end of this console generation resulted in the cream truly rising to the top of a delicious brew of well designed games which captured our interest and our attention.

There are those games who use their visuals to tell more innovative narratives, games who twist and deconstruct familiar shapes and instead create a world that looks far more unique. Whether it was fan service, updated nostalgia or emotional splashes of paint, these were the games of 2018 that succeeded in creating distinctive works of art.

The future is here, and it’s virtually real! A couple of years ago, the idea of interfacing directly with a video game seemed like a stomach-churning idea that was far out of reach. These days? It’s still stomach-churning stuff, but the hardware has more than managed to close the gap on creating game worlds which are best experienced through your own eyes. Here’s a look at the Virtual Reality games which had us smiling and heaving with delight.

After a million Flappy Bird clones, it can be challenging to find the cream of the crop on iOS and Android devices. In 2018, that titular cream rose further to the top, as new and exciting experiences began using these mainstream platforms to stunning success, resulting in interactive journeys that could rival anything that PC and console gaming could throw their way in terms of addiction, dedication and quality.

If yesterday was a celebration of the games that look great, then today is a highlight of video games which tickle your ears with expert precision. This isn’t a redux of those games that have amazing soundtracks, but rather the 2018 releases which used all the parts of beefy audio buffalo to their full extent. Every sound, no mater how minor, plays a huge part in selling the escape from reality that a video game should be. Here’s a look at the games, that did it best.

This year, we wanted to find those ongoing games that always had something up their sleeves for the fans who kept coming back, the games that refuse to bask in previous triumphs and always offer something new to coincide with the change in seasons and fan attitudes. We think we found a couple of great nominees, as well as one heck of a winner.

In 2018, we wanted to find the best from Japan and beyond, the games where we swapped spreadsheets and printer jams for swords and sorcery. It was a journey that took us across the world (but mostly to Japan go figure), as we delved deep into dungeons and explored tombs of another era. Here’s a look at the treasures that we unearthed, as well as the best RPG that we could lay our hands on this year.

It may not be as massive today as was in its heyday, but the strategy game genre is far from dead. On the contrary, it’s a genre that feels better and more alive than ever before, thanks to new technology and ideas resulting in grander conflicts and better storytelling while still asking you to flex your brain muscles and work out strategies on the fly. So requisition some resources, set up your units and prepare to march, as we look back at the best strategy games of 2018.