In 2018, at expos across the world – from San Francisco to Melbourne, Montreal to Seattle, London to Tokyo – the first overt signs of an organized game developer pushback emerged from the shadows.

You could see it in the protest badges strewn across indie game booths at PAX. Developers handing out pamphlets in crowded hallways at GDC. Stickers with slogans like "Press X to form union" and "Fight bosses not devs" scattered across convention centers the world over. It's small but growing, tentative but tangible, a whisper bursting to scream.

At the heart of it all stands Game Workers Unite (GWU), a collective of largely anonymous activists that coordinate on platforms like Discord and Facebook. Comprised of both indie and triple-A developers, the GWU operates under a horizontal, democratic structure – everyone I speak to is reluctant to claim the mantle of "leader."

The time has come, they say, to form a trade union, to wrestle power back from exploitative bosses and owners and place it into the hands of the people who actually make the games we play: the developers.

"Game developers have such poor working conditions and pay compared to the rest of the tech industry, we're just here because we love it," says Emma Kinema (not her real name – more on that later), a key organizer in the United States and co-founder of the GWU.

"We're passionate about games; we're passionate about the things we make. And frankly, people shouldn't have to go bankrupt or bust because of their passion. People should be able to have consistent stable employment, safe working conditions, and fair union representation. That's why it's so important. That's why we're doing the work we're doing."

At this point it's no great revelation that developers are made to suffer for their craft. In the lead up to Red Dead Redemption II's launch, Rockstar Games vice president and lead writer Dan Houser boasted that employees had been working "100 hour weeks" to finish the game. Before going bankrupt, Telltale Games fired its entire staff without providing any form of severance support – all after months of making developers work extended hours without overtime pay.

Although these high-profile examples make the headlines, the problem runs far deeper. It's systemic. It's cultural. The 2015 International Game Developers’ Association (IGDA) survey found that 62-percent of developers experience crunch at work, a figure likely on the conservative side. As I wrote in our lengthy investigation earlier this year: crunch is the rule, not the exception.

Thus far attempts to improve working conditions and pay within the existing frameworks have yielded insignificant (and often temporary) results. Asking for change hasn't worked – The GWU believes it's time to start demanding it.

A GWU pamphlet handed out to game developers at expos across the world

Who Are They?

I first spoke with Kinema after the Game Developers' Conference (GDC) in March 2018. San Francisco's annual gathering is usually a hub for discussions on development tools, design ideas, and monetizing games. The industry celebrates its successes and dissects its failures together. This year was different.

Following a poorly received panel on the pros and cons of unionization – which the overwhelmingly pro-union crowd felt far too heavily stressed the cons – the development Twittershphere erupted with calls for a developers' union. The backlash towards the panel, which was chaired by IGDA executive director Jen MacLean, raised the GWU's profile dramatically.

The GWU, essentially half-a-dozen people up to this point, morphed into something formidable. A few weeks after GDC Kinema tells me GWU membership had grown to around 300 people. In late November, when I ask for an update, she puts that figure closer to 600. The GWU's Twitter account has ballooned as well, now with 13,400 followers.

"Our membership is extremely diverse," she says. "We have folks in triple-A and larger studio contacts, but we also have folks from smaller mid-size mobile game studios, people from indie studios, small five-people teams... all wanting to come together to form a proper coalition to actually get unionization underway in our industry."

The ultimate goal, she says, is one big union for every developer, large and small, uniting coders and artists, designers and producers: "One umbrella game or software worker union, and then, if necessary, caucuses or guilds that represent the different disciplines. One type of workforce, triple-A or indie or what have you, doesn't exist independently of the others. And so we're all very committed to working together, regardless of the size of your studio or project."

As the games industry is a global beast, so too is the GWU. Tim Colwill, a former games journalist and current union representative in an unrelated industry, is helping the GWU set up in Australia. Though the smaller size of the Australian industry will necessitate structural differences (for example GWU Australia is looking to include all workers in the sector, from esports pros to marketing staff, not just developers), the philosophy remains the same. Colwill believes history shows that studio managers and owners will never improve working conditions unless their hand is forced.

"If your deadline is so unrealistic that you are destroying people's careers to make it happen, you need to morally reconsider how you operate. Because you have done something wrong," he says. "I know it sounds trite and everyone's got bills to pay and they've got bosses they've got to answer to, but the reality is if you unionize all the way up the chain you get results.

"We cannot wait for the boss to be better with hiring and firing. We cannot wait for the boss to make realistic deadlines. We cannot wait for the boss to come around, because if you wait for your employer to give you something, they will just take it away again when it's convenient for them. They'll always do that. You have to fight and win your own victories."

What's Next?

As the GWU attempts to evolve from an activist group into a legally recognized trade union, a considerable hurdle lies ahead: to be effective its members will need to step beyond the veil of anonymity.

As mentioned earlier, Emma Kinema is not her real name. It's an alias that allows her to continue advocating while being employed as a developer. In the United States, where she works, labor laws known as "at-will employment" mean that anyone can be fired for just about anything, as long as it's not for legally discriminatory grounds like race or gender. Although unionizing is legally protected, at-will laws make it easy for employers to concoct other reasons to lay off rabble-rousers.

"There's no doubt in my mind that my employment is at risk because of the work I do," she says. "I've taken pretty extreme lengths to separate all my engagement with the organization from any of my actual work, whether it's through my accounts or my personal websites, or my Twitter.

"In the United States, where I live, union organizing can be an extremely risky thing to be a part of. It's incredibly common for people to have their employers make repercussions against them, depending on their organizing work. Often people get fired if they are caught talking about things like unionizing and improving working conditions.

"We're very keen on making sure people are aware of the risks involved with labor organizing and also encourage people to only involve themselves at an anonymous level, if they're concerned about that stuff."

A handful of high-profile developers have publicly thrown their support behind the GWU, notably Night in the Woods co-creator Scott Benson, who designed the group's logo. But nearly all of these people tend to be self-employed, and therefore not at great risk of retaliation.

Colwill says that before going public it's wise for a workplace to reach the point where enough members have agreed to join the union privately so that immediate action could be taken in the face of employer retribution.

"You want to get to the point where if someone picks up the ring-leader, enough people are also ready and willing to quit on the spot to make picking off the ring-leader too costly," he says.

"And that's hard, basically saying, 'Are you committed enough to this that you will resign if this happens?' And most people aren't. And I respect that. I totally empathize with that. Of course they aren't, they've got bills to pay, they've got kids, whatever, I respect it. But that's how it's done.

"It is being willing to put everything on the line and say, 'You sacked this person so all 20 of us in this team are going.' And that makes the bosses reconsider. That works. And if you all go through with that, you usually get what you want. Because the boss can afford to sack one person. They can't afford to lose 20 people in one go. That will stall the whole project. They have to just make nice with that."

In the UK, where labor protection laws are considerably stronger than in the US, the GWU has already made that transition into a legally recognized trade union. Game Workers Unite UK has become a branch of the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), a union that describes itself as "representing sections of the workforce which have traditionally been non-unionized and under-represented."

With that official recognition, unionized game developers in the UK now have the legal right to go on strike for the first time. 

Karn Bianco, the recently elected chair of the GWU UK, says the new union is comprised of "members from a broad range of studios" and that "all of them are connected by the feeling that they need to stand together with each other, regardless of employer, to ensure better working conditions."

Their first priority, he says, will be campaigning on four key pillars: "Ending the institutionalised practice of excessive/unpaid overtime. Improving diversity and inclusion at all levels. Informing workers of their rights and supporting those who are abused, harassed, or in need of representation. And securing a steady and fair wage for all."

At What Cost?

There are, of course, numerous people and organizations with concerns about what a unionized development sector could do to the games industry. At PAX Aus in late October, I asked Jen MacLean, the host of the aforementioned controversial panel, for further comment on her position on unionization. She maintains that the IGDA's position is one of neutrality on the issue, but did outline some concerns.

"To clarify, I didn't run that panel as an IGDA panel. UBM [the GDC organizers – ed.] asked me to run it [as an individual], so it was not meant to be an IGDA panel. That said, I look at unionization from the perspective of someone who leads a global organization, and it's a very complicated issue."

"If it's an imperfect [union] model in that it means that you need to have a third-party sign off on any hours worked above 40 a week and you have to get it done in advance, that's not how game development works.

"I'm glad we're having conversations about unionization because the more visibility we bring to the issues game developers face, the better. But I think that conversation also has to look at what unions can and can't fix, how they would be fixed, and also the unintended consequences. If you were running a major publisher and the cost of labor suddenly goes up 25-percent outside of San Francisco, where are you going to invest your money?"

Union members do typically get paid more than equivalent non-union counterparts. A 2018 report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that across all sectors, non-union workers earn on average 80-percent of what union workers earn – $829 per week versus $1,041.

This means that a unionized workforce would cost game publishers more. However, Colwill disputes the notion that any cost increase needs to be passed on to consumers or offset by outsourcing to non-union labor elsewhere. This is, after all, one of the most profitable industries in the world. GamesIndustry.biz recently reported that global industry revenue was $134.9 billion in 2018. There's enough money – the problem is how it is distributed.

"I've seen gamers themselves say, 'I don't want developers to unionize because the price of my games will go up.' That's garbage," Colwill says. "If developers' wages go up that does not have to be passed on to the consumer – in fact it could very easily be absorbed by the profit of the company or by the CEO reducing their wages. Very easily.

"Bobby Kotick [Activision Blizzard CEO] earns 300 times what the average Activision employee earns. That's their actual data from their SCC filings. He made $28.69 million. So you cannot tell me that if we raise the wages of workers by a little bit that Bobby Kotick could not take that hit personally and still be okay. He makes 28 million a year. He's going to be fine."

Hearts And Minds

Kinema admits all the gains made this year are but the first small steps of thousands. For any of this to yield concrete results, ultimately, winning gamers over to the GWU's cause is crucial. "I think we can win the support of the gamer community. And I think we absolutely have to," she says.

"We can get the support of consumers on our side because we're not just against exploitative labor practices, but also exploitative business practices. A lot of things that gamers are currently concerned about, things like exploitative DLC, things like gambling mechanics being implemented into the industry on a wide scale – I think we can find common ground with people who play games, not just those who make games."

Common ground on its own might not be enough, though. Shortly after Telltale Games fired its workforce and prior to declaring bankruptcy, the company revealed it was speaking to external "development partners" to finish The Walking Dead. The reaction from fans was generally positive; the reaction from developers was overwhelmingly negative. How could this be considered a continuation of the same series when people, not logos, make games, after all?

More than anything it served as a reminder that as gamers we tend to fall in love with characters, not their creators. As an audience we are loyal to products, not the people behind them. For Bianco, common ground isn't enough – a common sense of humanity is what's required.

"We want to make sure that gamers understand the realities of how games are made and the fact that they're made by real people, not faceless, amorphous corporate entities," he says.

"This misunderstanding is one of the things that allows companies to overwork or mistreat employees. If someone gets burnt out and leaves a company, they can often be replaced without gamers or the wider world even noticing, let alone caring. By showing gamers that developers are real people, with real lives inside and outside of our work, we hope to increase empathy and reduce toxicity aimed at them. That makes it harder for companies to mistreat them, too."

Colwill echoes this sentiment, and points out that the PR hype machine (and by extension the games press) has a role to play in this equation.

"We need to start humanizing our devs," he says. "And that means breaking out of the PR mold that they are forced to be in, because they're not allowed to talk about this stuff when they're going on interview tours. You could never, with a PR handler in the room, with all respect to PR handlers, have a dev go on record and say, 'Yes, working conditions are terrible.'

"Devs need to be humanizing themselves and saying, 'Look, we deserve a fair pay for a fair day's work.' And that's something everyone can get behind. Any gamer that has a job should be able to understand that they want to get paid fairly at that job, and it's no different. It's about bridging that gap. And it's going to be hard because it is counter to what everyone who buys games has been taught for decades.

"It is going to be a case of appealing to the human need for basic decency and putting a face on exploited workers rather than allowing publishers to dictate the terms... The reality is that organizing and unionizing is the only way. So the question is how long until we figure it out? It's not a question of if, it's a question of when. There are no other options."

This is a fight that has just begun.

2018 was a fantastic year for games and I don't think it's a controversial statement to say that that's entirely thanks to the people who make video games. Games don't suddenly appear from thin air, after all. To commemorate the video game year of 2018, we decided to reach out to those folks, the ones who make video games, and find out what sort of games they liked in 2018, specifically their five favorites, but the rules are fast and loose. A few snuck in bonus sixth entries and others wrote exactly why they picked the games they did, which we were happy to accept and share.

Check out the lists below to learn what the makers of games like God of War, Darksiders, Destiny, Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and plenty more were into this year.

David Adams is game director for Darksiders III at Gunfire Games.

1. God of War
2. Monster Hunter: World
3. Ashen
4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
5. Into the Breach

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Cory Barlog is the director of God of War at SIE Santa Monica Studio.

1. Spider-Man
2. Celeste
3. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
4. Red Dead Redemption II
5. Detroit: Become Human

Steve Cotton is the game director for Destiny 2: Forsaken at Bungie.

1. Destiny 2: Forsaken - I know I’m a little biased here, but the fact is that I completely love playing Forsaken at home and I am still finding things that surprise me about the game. No matter what other games I’m playing, I’m always drawn back into the game to make my character stronger, play Gambit, or go after a new exotic.
2. Tetris Effect - There’s something very Zen about Tetris to me and the latest version is such a complete experience with much more depth than I was expecting. Not to mention it’s one of the few games that I’m still better at than my kids, so it provides a nice confidence boost. I’ve spent way too many hours fitting blocks together in my life.
3. Fortnite – Confession: I’m terrible at Fortnite. I don’t play it a ton because it’s pretty overwhelming for me. But I am totally blown away by so many of the things that the game of Battle Royale does so well, and how perfectly Fortnite takes that game and adds building mechanics and a compelling progression model.
4. Red Dead Redemption II – This game is so well polished and the shear breadth of the playable space is truly awe inspiring. To me, it wins on shear production value and I find myself going back in only to remember the perfectly captured feel of being an outlaw.  Also, the bar scene alone with Lenny was one of the most enjoyable and creative experiences I’ve had in a video game in a long time.
5. God of War - This was the only game this year that made me want to replay entire sections of the game just to show it to someone else. This happened several times for me. I was uncontrollably grinning the entire time I played the massive fight scene between Kratos and Baldur. And the swing of the axe just felt so good.

Honorable Mention

• Meteorfall – I’m always looking for good casual games that I can play on the road. I love roguelikes. I also love card games. I was huge fan of Dream Quest and when Meteorfall came out earlier this year it managed to capture a similarly deep roguelike experience with the simplest of mechanics. Swipe left or swipe right. It’s brilliantly designed and captured my attention for awhile.

Forza Horizon 4

Rod Fergusson is the studio head of The Coalition which is currently working on Gears of War 5.

1. God of War
2. Monster Hunter: World
3. Forza Horizon 4
4. Red Dead Redemption II
5. Beat Saber

Ralph Fulton is the creative director at Playground Games, which released Forza Horizon 4 this year.

1. God of War
2. Dead Cells
3. Spider-man
4. Clash Royale
5. Sea of Thieves

Dead Cells

Mike Gamble is producer on Anthem for BioWare.

1. God of War
2. Forza Horizon 4
3. Dead Cells
4. Valkyria Chronicles 4
5. Beat Saber

Koji Igarashi is known for his work on the Castlevania series and is currently directing Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

1. Yo-kai Watch World
2. God of War
3. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner M∀RS
4. Detroit: Become Human
5. Identity V

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Kazunori Kadoi is the director of the Resident Evil 2 remake for Capcom.

1. Detroit: Become Human
2. Astro Bot Rescue Mission
3. Spider-Man
4. God of War
5. Red Dead Redemption II

Kris Piotrowski is creative director for Below and creative director for Capybara Games.

1. Museum of Symmetry
2. Gnog
3. Simmiland
4. The Haunted Island
5. The Static

Shelley Preston is a senior designer at Rare.

1. Dark Souls: Remastered
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
3. God of War
4. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
5. Shadow of the Tomb Raider

God of War

StudioMDHR, the developer behind 2017's Cuphead, offered up its top 5 as collective list from the studio as a whole.

1. Return of the Obra Dinn
2. Into the Breach
3. Celeste
4. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
5. Minit

Joseph Staten is the senior creative director for Microsoft Studios.

1. Return of the Obra Dinn
2. Forza Horizon 4
3. Red Dead Redemption II
4. Frostpunk
5. Moss

Red Dead Redemption II

Yuya Tokuda is the director for Monster Hunter: World for Capcom.

1. Red Dead Redemption II
2. Fortnite
3. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
4. Dead by Daylight
5. Hearthstone

Honorable mention

• God of War

Yosuke Tomizawa is producer for the Tales series and is also the general producer of the God Eater series for Bandai Namco.

1. Mega Man 11
2. Spider-Man
3. Detroit: Become Human
4. Crystar
5. Dragon Ball FighterZ

Monster Hunter: World

Ryozo Tsujimoto is the producer of Monster Hunter: World for Capcom.

1. Spider-Man
2. God of War
3. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
4. Dragon Ball FighterZ
5. Detroit: Become Human

Nathan Vella is the co-founder and president of Capybara Games, which released Below this year.

1. Donut County
2. Into The Breach
3. Celeste
4. Ashen
5. Midair

Jonathan Warner is game director on Anthem for BioWare.

1. God of War
2. Spider-Man
3. Dead Cells
4. Monster Hunter: World
5. Diablo III: Eternal Collection

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for Hitman 2 assassinations.

The latest release of Hitman really shows off IO Interactive's ability to make a creative murder playground, with Agent 57 pulling no punches in finding peculiar but effective ways to take down his targets.

Even using an unassuming item like a suitcase (that thanks to a bug acts like a homing missile) can pacify those in your way, and a toilet is the perfect deathtrap after making someone sick with poison. With tools like these, you can be an expert executioner without anyone knowing.

Paired with entertaining levels that take place at a high-octane race track, a suburban neighborhood filled with secrets, and more, Hitman 2 offers several extravagant ways to bring death to those around you. Here are some of the peculiar ones we loved.

Cemented To Death
One of the best ways to kill the cut-throat Andrea Martinez involves dressing as a shaman, who she is waiting to meet with so he can perform a ritual at the construction site. It's bizarre, but apparently, she believes in the shaman's abilities. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't realize she'll end her day in a pit with other human remains after the cement mixer is "accidentally" turned on.

An Invention Gone Awry
Sure, a lot of action is taking place at the race track in Hitman 2's early Miami mission, but one of the best ways to take care of one of your targets is in the nearby Kronstadt Center. Dressing up in a military disguise, you are granted access to a secret meeting with Robert Knox where he shows off his latest invention. Fortunately for you (and unfortunately for him), his killer robots can be tricked to turn against their creator. 

An Unfortunate Surprise
Associate editor Javy Gwaltney shared a hilarious way he killed the target's boyfriend in the first mission. He placed a suitcase containing a remote bomb inside the shower. Then he waited for the right moment, and set off the explosion that left the shower a bloody mess.

Hit By A Train Or Submarine
Getting smooshed by a giant vehicle is a pretty harsh way to go, and Hitman 2 gives you two particularly gruesome methods. You can kill a whole bunch of people along with your target by messing with the train tracks in Mumbai, or let a Submarine break out of its hold to brutally whack someone from behind and make them crash into the water. It's great.

Death By Hippo
This one is one of my favorites, because you interrupt a peaceful moment in a hilarious way. When you see your target feeding watermelon (why not?) to a hippo in a secluded spot, you can shove him in to give the animal an even better treat.

Body Art Gone Wrong
You can dress up as a famous tattoo artist to take over an appointment with your target, the head of a cartel. This gains you access to his heavily guarded mansion, and a fun way to kill him without raising too much suspicion. When it's just the two of you, you'll be able to give him some new body work that he didn't exactly ask for.

Pretty Much Any Murder While Wearing The Flamingo Suit
One of my favorite get-ups in Hitman 2 is the ridiculous Flamingo Suit that can be found in Miami. One mission specifically requires the suit to meet up with a target, but you can technically run around killing whoever in this gloriously dumb costume.

Master Manipulator
In Mumbai, you can overhear a conversation mentioning a tenant with bizarre behavior in an apartment complex. Upon investigation, you'll find out he's got a sniper rifle on a balcony with his sights set on your target. Play your cards right, and he can take care of both targets for you so you're only indirectly involved.

Blown Away
During a film set atop a ten story building, you can disguise yourself as one of the workers in charge of a fan that's strong enough to simulate hurricanes. During a cheesy romantic scene, you can disrupt the vibe and, well, everyone around you, by making the actors blow right off the building.

Stuck In A Torture Device
Arguably almost every kill you do in Hitman 2's final level is strange just because of the bizarre setting, but this one takes the cake. You can shove your target into an Iron Maiden when they least expect it.

House Tour
Taking on the appearance of a real estate agent, Agent 47 gives a hilariously stilted delivery when showing the target around the house. In his monotone voice, he'll bring up how easy it is to wipe blood off the floor or that the kitchen is the most dangerous part of the home. Upon convincing the target to buy the place, you can turn on some explosive security measures while he inspects a mysterious vault in the basement.

For more, be sure to check out our review of Hitman 2 by heading here.

During the ’90s, the internet slowly grew into a massive web of information that eventually reshaped entire industries. But access to that information was slow – it took nearly 10 minutes to download a single song – and web designers were in a constant battle to build splashy websites that didn’t cripple dial-up modems. To solve this problem, a group of engineers at FutureWave Software took a program, originally designed for drawing on tablet computers, and transformed it into a vector graphics animation tool that allowed animated images to swim through phone lines. FutureSplash Animator was eventually shortened to Flash, and it came to dominate the internet.

By the end of the decade, 99 percent of online computers ran Flash. In the early part of the new millennium, Flash became the backbone for nearly every major video player and website, including YouTube, Hulu, and BBC Online. Then something strange happened. Amateur programmers across the world took this software – initially built for graphic designers and started making games. Flash games became a billion-dollar business as sites like Newgrounds, Armor Games, and Kongregate attracted millions of users. Aspiring game developers created early versions of indie hits like Super Meat Boy, Bejeweled, VVVVVV, and Kingdom Rush. While no one was watching, Flash became one of the most important programing languages in the video game industry and sparked the indie game revolution.

And then it all came crashing down.

[Editor's note: This feature originally appeared in issue 308 of Game Informer Magazine.]

Breaking New Ground

When he was only 13-years-old, Tom Fulp started a fanzine for the ill-fated Neo Geo console. Fulp called his little magazine New Ground, which was a literal translation of the console’s Latin name. As Fulp explored programming as a hobbyist, he moved his fanzine online and eventually created a series of websites. However, when Fulp went to register the domain NewGround.com, he discovered that the name had already been taken, so he simply added an “S” and hit submit. Fulp had no idea at the time, but his simple collection of message boards would eventually grow into one of the largest wells of free online games.

Through Newgrounds.com, Fulp met like-minded gamers who weren’t content merely absorbing the latest gaming blockbusters – they were eager to make their own games. Using HTML and Javascript, Fulp did just that. The young programmer achieved a small amount of internet notoriety with two early hits: Club A Seal, which let players click on pictures of seals to club them, and Assassin, which allowed users to assassinate popular celebrities. Then one day, a friend told Fulp about Flash.

“Flash was the first software that did what I'd always been dreaming of growing up,” Fulp says. “Originally, I would do animation on an Amiga with Deluxe Paint and then move it over to a PC to program with Pascal, but I always thought, ‘Why can’t I connect my animations to my code?’ There was never an easy way to do that. You’d have to get into all this crazy graphics programming stuff. When Flash came along, I was able to animate a character walking and it was immediately in the game. There was really nothing like it. It just made everything so easy.”

Through the Newgrounds community, Fulp met another artist named Dan Paladin. The duo created a Flash game called Alien Hominid, a side-scrolling shooter starring a cutesy alien who blasted through wave after wave of secret government agents. Alien Hominid was such a hit that Fulp and Paladin teamed up with a few other friends to found their own company, The Behemoth, which went on to release successful indie titles like Castle Crashers, BattleBlock Theater, and Pit People. However, The Behemoth’s early successes, Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers, would not have been possible without Flash.

Flash was the first software that did what I'd always been dreaming of growing up

The Behemoth wasn’t the only team of indie game makers who cut their teeth on Flash. Back in 1998, when Newgrounds was a simple collection of chat rooms and message boards, Fulp introduced a feature to the site called the Portal. This Portal was intended to allow experimental game makers to share their work with others.

“There wasn’t really a dedicated Flash game site,” Fulp says. “The Portal was originally something I was manually updating because there were people who made Flash games but had nowhere to showcase them, so they would email me their files and I would stick them in. It wasn’t even an important part of the site, it was just a place for unfinished projects – but then more and more people were emailing me and it was becoming a real chore to constantly update.”

To solve this headache, in 2000, Fulp automated the entire process. Now, when users submitted their Flash creations to Newgrounds, they would instantly upload to the site. This simple feature came to define Newgrounds and helped transform Fulp’s fansite into one of the most visited gaming destinations on the internet. And as Newgrounds’ collection of free games ballooned, many realized they could make money on Flash games. A lot of money.

Hot Flash

By the mid-2000s, Flash games were booming. Flash’s ease of use attracted gamers who wanted to experiment with making games but weren’t sure where to start. Flash was easy to use, and users could prototype projects at breakneck speed. For example, the original Meat Boy only took three weeks to make, and other creators we talked with said they heard of people turning games around in one or two days.

“It was so accessible,” says Emily Greer, co-founder and CEO of the Flash games site Kongregate. “You started with art rather than with code, so a lot of people who wouldn’t have sat down and written object-oriented code could sort of baby step their way into very serious programming through Flash. It was a rapid-fire learning tool.”

“The thing that made it most appealing was the fact that you could make something in a very short amount of time and you could make something pretty impressive visually,” says Edmund McMillen, co-creator of indie hits Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac. “So you could instantly make something that was very accessible and exciting and then instantly upload it and have hundreds of thousands of people playing your game.”

For many online gamers, this glut of Flash games was an incredible boon. Of course, these quirky browser-based games lacked the graphical fidelity of big-budget console releases like Gears of War and BioShock, and Flash games could be janky. But that jank didn’t matter, because Flash games were free and they didn’t involve a long install process. Users didn’t have to worry about system configurations or their PC’s specs. Flash games just worked. And there were millions of them.

“The way that Flash ran in a browser was probably the biggest piece to its popularity,” says Raigan Burns, co-creator of the Flash-based series N+. “Even if you were already making free games, getting people to just download your game was hard, because they’d have to click and save it and then open the zip file and then who knows what else. Flash was super easy to use from both a user and creator standpoint. I know there were other game making-tools, like Klik & Play, that made making games easy, but they weren’t as integrated with the tools you used to make the graphics and animation.”

While most Flash games were free for the user, people found ways to squeeze cash out of Flash’s online ecosystem. In 2005 and 2006, other popular websites like Kongregate and Armor Games joined Newgrounds and began sponsoring creators for exclusive rights to host their games. Some sites offered achievement-like challenges and other social systems to help retain their userbase. In turn, hosting sites made money by running ads before, and sometimes during, gameplay. A few companies tried collecting thousands of Flash games onto discs with the aim of releasing them at retail. Meanwhile, Target even tested bundling popular Flash games, like Triachnid, with printed tees that featured characters from the game.

“I got contacted by a s---load of seed investors and these crazy money people who were like, ‘Hey, we’re hearing about you, and we think that indie games are going to be the next big thing.’” McMillen says. “And they were right, because two years later, indie was huge. In the boom of the sponsorships you could make up to 12 or even 20 grand a game depending on your reputation and that was just for sponsorship, so you didn’t have to sell the IP.”

However, by the end of the decade, the gold rush was over and the sponsorships dried up. Flash’s online relevance dwindled as the mobile and free-to-play markets cut into its popularity. Its days were numbered.

 

Birth Of Indie Nation

In January of 2007, Steve Jobs took the stage at the Macworld convention in San Francisco to introduce the world to the iPhone. This seemingly magical device was poised to completely transform social networking, mobile gaming, and a host of other daily activities. It put the internet in our pockets and gave us access to a growing list of revolutionary applications. The one thing it didn’t do, however, was support Flash.

Apple shunned Flash because of its proprietary nature, its negative effect on battery life, and the fact that it was easy to hack. This was the first nail in Flash’s coffin. Over the years, other companies followed Apple’s lead. Today, most web browsers don’t natively support Flash. Adobe has even announced it plans to stop supporting the software by 2020.

But the impact of Flash on the video game market – particularly the indie scene – is undeniable. When Flash games hit their stride in the mid-2000s, indie games weren’t even on the industry’s radar. Braid and World of Goo are often considered “early” indie hits, but those titles didn’t release until 2008. Minecraft’s first public release was in May of 2009. Journey and Fez released in 2012. Flash games predate them all.

“Flash is the original indie scene,” Greer says. “The rapid prototyping. The wild creativity. The direct distribution to players. All those come from the Flash scene. It was the first time that amateurs were jumping in to make games and have them be played not just by millions but billions of people.”

Flash’s influence on the modern video game landscape is hard to quantify. Flash creators practically invented the tower defense genre, and many draw a line from those early Flash strategy game to the explosive success of Supercell’s Clash of Clans. Another mobile juggernaut, Angry Birds, was unashamedly inspired by a Flash game called Crush the Castle. Game developers who grew up using Flash have gone on to create indie gems like Ridiculous Fishing, Frog Fractions, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, and Celeste. In 2012, a group of Flash animators met on Newgrounds and formed Studio Yotta, a successful freelance animation studio that has worked on games like Skullgirls as well as the Cartoon Network show OK K.O.

If Flash didn’t exist, I definitely wouldn’t be making video games.

Even after Adobe puts Flash to bed, the program could remain an important tool for indie developers. A number of designers we spoke with admitted they still use Flash for rapid prototyping and laying the framework for new games. In spite of the wealth of cheap, modern game development tools like Unreal Engine, Unity, and GameMaker Studio, some developers prefer Flash for its ease of use.

“I’d like to say that Flash is pretty f---ing important, but I’m probably saying that because it's so important to me,” McMillen says. “It’s probably one of the most important things in my career. If Flash didn’t exist, I definitely wouldn’t be making video games. Growing up, I thought that if you wanted to make video games, you had to work with 50 other people. I figured no one would listen to my weird ideas. ‘Yes! The crying child who cries on s---. That’s the idea we should bank on!’ But Flash made it so that you only needed one or two people to make a game. Your voice could be heard.”

For decades, the video game industry was filled with big publishers and other gatekeepers who dictated the release calendar. But today, it is easier than ever to create a game and see it published. Flash was one of the first tools that opened the market and allowed gamers to hear from a new host of creative voices. Flash formed the foundation for the modern indie scene, and we’re better off for it.

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for Red Dead Redemption II are in this article. If you haven't completed the campaign, tread carefully.

“You have no idea, Arthur,” Dutch says, his determined and defensive voice echoing off the cave walls in front of him. “I will do whatever it takes for us to survive.”

The threads holding the gang together are loosening, as the once-strong Van der Linde gang finds themselves stranded on a Caribbean island after being stowaways on a ship. Arthur and Dutch scale a cliff and then head into an ominous cave to continue their unpredictable journey. With only the flicker of torchlights to guide them, the darkness feels appropriate; how could Arthur possibly know what lies ahead?

Arthur shakes his head, but not in disbelief – he knows Dutch means every word. “I guess that’s what I’m afraid of,” he admits.

This scene from Red Dead Redemption II speaks volumes about Rockstar’s approach to storytelling in its wildly successful open-world Western. With well-placed dialogue and subtlety, it shows even Dutch’s right-hand man casting doubt on the leader, and how Dutch is losing sight of what’s right. It foreshadows chaos without the need for unrealistic, jaw-dropping shock value – a cheap tactic that developer Rockstar has employed frequently in franchises like Bully and Grand Theft Auto.

Red Dead Redemption II leaves Rockstar’s signature shock value behind, trading it for a fantastic slow-paced narrative and characters that appropriately reflect their grim world. It’s noticeable in Red Dead’s approach to humor, too. While Grand Theft Auto makes satire out of the outrageous, Red Dead Redemption II is sarcastic and cynical. It’s a welcome shift, showing that grounded humor and sophisticated storytelling in games doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, it can make the experience all that more immersive when characters align believably with the setting.

Red Dead Redemption II's excellent narrative pacing is one of the best things about it.

“As long as we get paid or you get shot, I’m happy,” Arthur retorts to fellow gang member Bill Williamson before they head out on another job. It’s a line that suggests resentment toward Bill, but more so, it’s reflective of how bleak the outlaw rut can be.

And boy, it can be bleak – and not always as action-packed as you might think. Red Dead Redemption II is the slowest-paced Rockstar game out there,but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The intro is quiet, gradually establishing relationships in the gang and displaying how beholden Arthur and the rest of the crew are to Dutch’s promises. Missions aren’t finished in quick succession, either – they’re sandwiched between long, contemplative rides on your horse. It’s a different approach to the bombastic action most Rockstar games are filled with, but I believe it serves the story well to have moments of respite. These elements show Rockstar’s true potential as a sophisticated storyteller without relying on juvenile themes.

For example, “outrageous” and “chaotic” are synonymous with Grand Theft Auto V. While some plot points effectively make for interesting social commentary or entertaining gameplay, others feel egregious, such as the infamous scene of Trevor inflicting torture that does little to foster the story.

The same can be said for moments in the original Red Dead Redemption. While it continued Rockstar’s tonal shift that mostly began with Grand Theft Auto IV, many missions were still riddled with juvenile humor. John Marston’s fight to abandon his criminal past while his family is in the grasp of the law is a beautifully-woven tale, though many elements distract from it. Characters like Seth, a grave robber and suspected necrophiliac, and Irish, whose jarring traits reflect some of the worst stereotypes of his nationality, bring little insight to themselves, others, or to their world. Their ridiculous quirks may bring laughs, but they aren’t what makes Red Dead Redemption memorable.

Dutch's spiral into lunacy is believable, with his persuasive speeches slowly transforming into what sounds more like drunken rambles.

Red Dead Redemption II proves that Rockstar doesn’t need crude humor to make a worthwhile story. The moments that are less mature make sense in context, such as the women in camp singing profanity-filled songs around the fire while drunk. Red Dead Redemption II’s violence is similar, with the bloodshed always serving a bigger purpose. Leaving Valentine in ruin gives insight to Micah’s unpredictability and, later on, Dutch feeding crime boss Angelo Bortelli to bayou gators is one of the striking signs of his increased instability, moving the story forward to his failure as a leader.

Certain violent scenes that you would expect to be glorified, like when Hosea and Lenny are shot dead, are portrayed as quick moments overshadowed by the surrounding turmoil instead of built into an emotional cutscene. Others that are glorified, like Kieran’s headless body riding into camp, are impactful and come at a precise moment: it signifies a dark turning point. Despite rescuing Jack and a recent successful ship heist, things unravel quickly after Kieran's death. Every narrative piece in Red Dead Redemption II feels carefully placed and thoughtful, instead of action or lewd jokes shoehorned in (like Seth commenting on a horse’s testicles in the first Red Dead).

The first Red Dead Redemption already showcased Rockstar’s ability to weave a sophisticated narrative, but this second entry is miles ahead, with very little of those previous distractions. It’s not that satire or obscenity is unwarranted or completely removed – it’s the Wild West after all – but those moments are best suited with believable characters. With Red Dead Redemption II, Rockstar’s approach to realism and sophistication make its characters and world come to life in spectacular ways.

It’s been nearly a month since Artifact released, and it feels like it’s just getting started. Unlike Dota 2, which went through a couple of years of public beta testing before “properly” releasing, Artifact had only a few months of a closed beta and one week of a limited beta for PAX attendees. And although I’m hooked by the way it adds meaningful layers of strategic depth to the digital card game realm, it’s hard not to look at Artifact in its current state and see lots of room for improvement.

Valve has announced it’s committed to the game for the long haul, as it works to improve the game with new features such as in-game chat, colorblind options, expanded gauntlet options, and a recently-added progression system that lets players earn a limited number of card packs and event tickets. After playing the game on and off for about a month, we have some suggestions of our own for what we’d like to see added down the road as Artifact continues to grow.

Trading

Valve recently added chatting to matches, which makes Artifact feel a bit more lively (though you can disable chat if you’d rather just play in silence). Socialization is a huge part of physical card games, as chatting with a friend makes matches more fun (and occasionally buys you some time as you contemplate a tough decision). Another social aspect Artifact is missing, however, is having a friend help get you started by having them give you some of their unwanted cards.

While Valve hasn’t officially stated the feature is coming, they hinted at it during our interview with them back in April, but it’s a feature that would make Artifact less intimidating for new players. While you can already “lend” someone a deck you’ve built for a couple of matches, this prevents new players from seeing the fun of being creative and building their own decks. Trading would also give current players another outlet for extra cards, one that would come with the bonus of introducing a new player to the game. 

Spectating

One of Dota 2’s best features is its spectator client, which not only lets you watch any match your friends or high-level players are currently in, but captures replay data you can pour over to improve.

While Artifact’s more random nature makes it a bit harder to improve using other matches, seeing how and when a better player handles the overall flow of the game, makes key hero deployment and item shopping decisions, and abandons lanes that aren’t going their way would go a long way towards helping others improve.

It could also have the side benefit of further deepening investment in the game. With Dota, I often find myself in the mood to see some Dota play out, but not always in the mood to play it. Casually watching a match gives me something to hold my attention while I’m doing other things, and occasionally puts me in the mood to play a match later on. I can also see this being the case with Artifact, though right now I’m forced to find outside sources for live matches or replays.

Proxies

When I used to play physical card games, proxies were lifesavers. After seeing what the latest set for Yu-Gi-Oh or UFS (a card game based on fighting game properties like Street Fighter and Soulcalibur) had to offer online, I’d quickly get ideas for new decks based on hunches and theorycrafting. It was hard, however, to get quick access to those cards and put those hunches to the test without spending big. Enter proxies: Cut up pieces of paper on which you write all the pertinent stats and text of the card you want in your deck but don’t have then throw in a card sleeve with some throwaway common, letting you try out new cards without buying them.

Artifact faces similar restrictions with experimentation, since you literally cannot put a card in a constructed deck unless you own it. This makes deckbuilding less playful and loose in Artifact than it might otherwise be, as you might think a card ties an entire deck together, test it a couple of times, and realize it (or perhaps your whole strategy) doesn’t work out, and pay the difference between a card’s buy and sell price for your efforts.

In-game proxies, which would let you build a deck out of cards you don’t have and test them out (against bots, and maybe friends but not online against real opponents, perhaps), you could effectively try cards before you bought them, eliminating some the risk of playing the market.

Free-to-play Phantom Drafts & Practice

The suggestion that Artifact should go free-to-play isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind, but assuming Valve isn’t going to let players earn cards by playing the game indefinitely, there are still ways new players could potentially try the game out for free.

Artifact’s casual phantom draft mode is a perfect fit. The mode requires no up-front investment from players and doesn’t alter the card economy, since players make their decks out of cards they can only use in that mode, and only for that gauntlet run against other opponents. It’s carefree Artifact at its best, and emphasizes the layered fusion of acquiring cards, building a deck out of them, and learning to use that deck with the game’s strategic gameplay in a single microcosm. In short, it’s the perfect way for new players to try the game out.

Of course, new players could also try their hand against AI opponents using pre-built decks, similar to how you earn two free starter decks when you buy the game. These cards (or the new leveling system) wouldn’t be available outside of the free trial, so players would be free to learn the game by battling against bots.

Artifact feels like a game catered toward the free-to-play crowd with a price tag attached, which might be why it isn’t as popular as some might have expected. Having a way for newcomers to try the game out for free is vital, and could help grow the game long-term.

More Rule-Breaking Gauntlets

The first gauntlet for Artifact, Call to Arms, features six pre-built decks that experimented with the different strategies the first set allowed. It was a quick and easy way to hop into a match of constructed play where you didn’t feel intimidated by how much more your opponent might have spent than you, but this first gauntlet felt like part of an introduction to the game than its own mode.

With the format of pre-constructed decks partially built and balanced around each other, future gauntlets could stand to do with more variety – and could even move outside the boundaries of the current card set. Because gauntlets exist outside of the collection aspect (similar to phantom draft), Valve should feel free to experiment with one-off ideas, whether that means changing up the core rules of Artifact or introducing new cards that wouldn’t have to balanced with the current card set. Gauntlet decks could be balanced around each other, leading to new ways of playing Artifact that could keep the game fresh.

Cosmetics

Although a good match is its own reward, the increasing prominence of progression hooks and ranked leaderboards in multiplayer games has made it difficult for games without those system to feel as satisfying. Thankfully, Valve recently implemented a progression system that awards a limited number of card packs and event tickets, which is good. That said, Valve could also use when it comes to implementing cosmetics.

In their initial reveal of Artifact, Valve mentioned cosmetics may come at some point, with outside creators making items for Artifact the way they already do for Dota 2. While Artifact doesn’t have as many avenues for customization, there are already a few things cosmetic items could alter: The artwork for different cards, the animations that play for certain card effects, the look of the board, the imps that help make matches look more fun – all of these are ripe for visual changes, and could all tie into the progression system which lets you earn them by playing matches. 

Bonus: Techies

The lack of a Techies hero card and signature card did not go unnoticed, Valve. Sure, other heroes also didn’t get their chance in the spotlight for the first set, but I’m personally upset about this one in particular, so it’s important that you add the hero ASAP. To help expedite the process of adding him to the game and make everyone happy, I’ve taken the liberty of designing his hero and signature card for you. I haven't playtested at all, but I'm sure it's a good card. Thank me later.

Techies
3 Attack, 0 Armor, 9 Health Black Hero
Proximity Mine - Active Ability - 1-turn cooldown - Summon a Proximity Mine.

Proximity Mine
0 attack, 2 health creep
Detonate - reactive ability - at the of this round, deal 2 damage to all of Proximity Mine’s neighbors and condemn Proximity Mine. If Proximity Mine is unblocked, deal 4 damage to the enemy tower.

Signature card: Blast Off!
4 Mana Black Spell
Move an allied black hero to any empty spot in this lane. Deal 4 piercing damage to that hero any unit blocking it.

For more Artifact coverage, check out our review.

Ever wonder what are the best trees in gaming? No? Look it’s the holidays and we’re strapped for stories. Let’s just run with this and see what happens.

#1 Deku Tree – Why does the Deku tree outrank every other tree in gaming? Because it’s from The Legend of Zelda, and The Legend of Zelda is like the coolest thing ever. Haven’t you heard? Everything Zelda related should be ranked number one. That’s how journalism works. Also, the Deku Tree has a mustache. Double win.

#2 Teldrassil – The old world tree from World Of Warcraft is home to the Night Elves. Of course, the Night Elves suck because they are part of the Alliance, so we weren’t going to include Teldrassil. However, then we heard that sometimes stupid Night Elf noobs fall off the tree and die, so we moved this tree up to number two. (This isn’t in a Zelda game after all.)

#3 Sunwood or Sudowoodoo or Sunwoody – Whatever that tree thingy from Pokémon is called. This tree placed third because it’s a tree in a video game, so it qualified for the list.

...

Boy, this is embarrassing. You see, we had planned to do this big elaborate story about the top trees in gaming, but it turns out that there really aren’t many gaming trees worth writing about. I know, we’re upset too. We were planning on making award stickers and everything.

Well, we sort of blew our wad there. Our mistake. Don’t bother scrolling down any further. This story is over. We already cancelled the caterer.

...

What? Why do you keep scrolling down? Is that a mistake? We told you, this story is over.

Do you still want more gaming tree related content? Are you crazy? There really aren’t that many cool gaming trees out there.

Seriously, that super happy tree from Yoshi’s Story and that tree from Kirby’s Dreamland that blows trash at you can go jump into a forest fire for all we care. Go check your email or something. That would be more interesting than this article.

...

Okay, come on dude! Why do you have to be like this? Stop scrolling.

You keep moving down the page, so now we feel like we have to give you more content. Now we have to come up with a fourth best tree in all of gaming, so...

#4 Diablo’s Skill Tree – What! You think that doesn’t count? It’s a tree. It’s in a game. You pressed us! We had to do something. Now stop scrolling down, this story is over.

...

Wow, we didn’t think you’d make it this far. We really had no idea people loved trees to this extreme. Fine, we’ll give you one more piece of tree related content, but then we’re cutting you off. It can’t be healthy to think about trees this much.

Secondary Award: The worst Tree in Gaming

Any tree that has fallen to block your path in a way where you can clearly see where you need to go, but that damn tree is in your way and you can’t jump over it even though it’s only like three feet high and your character should easily be able to jump over the thing, so instead you have to traipse through the forest for another 20 minutes before you emerge on the other side of the path. Screw that tree.

That’s it. This list is over. Now go draw, climb, or plant a tree, you crazy tree-loving nut.

Yasuhiro Wada has been in the industry for over twenty years, which more than qualifies him as a veteran of video game development. As the creator of Harvest Moon, Wada has always held a "mechanics first" ideology that inevitably ends up oozing charm all the same. He took the mantle of president at Marvelous in 2005, then eventually retired from the company in 2011 and founded Toybox Inc. out of a desire to get back to the indie mentality of game development.

Earlier this year, we were able to sit down with Wada for a brief interview about the themes in his games and where he thinks the Japanese industry has been and is going. Wada was being translated by Aksys founder and CEO Akibo Shieh.

So let's backtrack a bit to start with Harvest Moon if you don't mind.

No problem.

One thing I noticed with Little Dragon Cafe and Harvest Moon is that usually those games are precipitated to something happening and the protagonist getting responsibility hoisted upon them. Is there a reason that's a theme for your games?

In the past, before Little Dragon Cafe, the way I would create games is to make the system first and then adding on the meat of the game afterward. In talking with the artists from the original Harvest Moon series, I hadn't worked with him for over a decade, about fifteen years. We both discussed that we wanted to work together and, for Little Dragon Cafe, we started working on the story and the characters and the artstyle first, which is backwards to what I'm used to.

I felt awkward doing it that way [laughs]. I just realized that right now when you asked me that.

The reason I ask that is because in Harvest Moon, usually those games start with your uncle or grandfather passing away and you inherit the farm. In Little Dragon Cafe, your mother gets sick and you inherit a cafe. There's a lot of children taking on responsibility that they're too young for and they kind of grow through that path. Was that a theme in your life?

I don't have any personal events like that! So that's how you interpret that, interesting. If that were me, personally, if my grandfather died and I were to inherit a farm, I'd be happy about that! The farm's not in good order, but I'd still be happy.The reason I do that is I don't want the players to be skewed into interpreting the mechanics a different way and I want to keep things fairly neutral.

I understand that people feel there are more fantasy elements in Little Dragon Cafe, like creatures and elves and oafs and of course dragons, that coexist with human characters. I didn't intentionally make it very dramatic or fantasy-heavy. The motif that I had this time was the Cantina from Star Wars. Sort of inspiration from the Cantina where you have different species of creatures commingling and coexisting, so regardless of race or origin, everyone has the same kind of struggles and life takes you strange places.

You've been a longtime veteran of video game development. You've seen every trend there has been since the SNES era. I was curious, in the last ten years, Japanese development kind of fell out and then came back. Why do you think that happened and why do you think it's coming back?

So right around when the Wii launched, around 2007 and 2008, the Japanese market was trending toward making games that were very clearly for the otaku market. The Wii had absorbed all the casual game players, so the remaining developers focused on what would make them money. As a business, many companies leaned toward using tools that were easy to sell; for example, famous voice actors, guest character designers, things like that. So after a few years, once that Wii market has died, those Wii users basically decided not to play any more games. Overall the game market has shrunk as a result. There should have a second tier market, a gamer's market, where people who simply enjoy games would buy titles, but those people have basically faded away with the Wii market. All that was really left was the very hardcore otaku market, so those semi-casual players left the market as well.

After that trend, the trend was mobile games. These very simple mobile games were playable on, not-smartphones but old style cellphones, those became popular and people just walked away from console games. So you have these really hardcore gamers and the super-light users, and in-between there should have been a market for casual gamers, and those gamers actually went to mobile. When smartphones became popular, that middle-tier market went to smartphone free-to-play games.

The Japanese mobile game market is a little bit different than the rest of the world, where free-to-play is free-to-play, but Japan places emphasis on the gacha system, which is sort of like a roulette or gambling-like system. People who got addicted to the gacha system, they would spend tens of dollars, hundreds of dollars, even thousands sometimes. On other platforms, if you paid $50 or $60, you'd be able to play the same amount of content. There's no way that this type of business model would last a long time, though. It expanded very rapidly and then there was a point of no more expansion. That middle-tier market realized that their smartphone games, the free-to-play were basically just monetizing machines.

When those users realized that they were being monetized, the timing was correct in that the Switch came out. The PlayStation 4 was able to keep or sustain those gamers that have played console games all through the years, but those people who moved over to mobile and then realized that they're throwing away money into gacha, they realized "Hey, this is not a game." So they wanted to play video games and that's why I believe they have returned to consoles. That's all just my opinion, of course.

Little Dragon Cafe is currently available on PlayStation 4 and Switch. You can read our review of the game here.

Supercell, the company behind Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, has a new title on the mobile stage just in time for holiday travel. It’s call Brawl Stars, and it’s a lot different than their previous titles, and draws on all new characters and style. Playing as brawlers (which have different rarities, abilities, can be upgraded, and need to be unlocked) you participate in various challenges and game modes solo, with friends, or on randomly assigned teams. 

A few games in and you only have access to some core “classes” and one game mode. You can play as a standard shooter (This is top down, not FPS) or a bear-summoner early on, each with different attacks and “ultimates” that need to be charged up through combat. After a few rounds, you start to unlock more characters to explore and work up. I unlocked the tanky El Primo early on through a crate, and have been using him as my “main”. Primo does tons of damage at close range and has a giant HP pool, and as I’ve been playing strictly with random people I don’t know, this allows me to take control of an important role in the match.

The first mode you can play is 3v3 gem collection. Gems pop out of the center of the map and teams battle over collecting them. Dying comes with just a short respawn as the penalty, but you do also drop any gems you are holding. The first team to 10 gems starts a countdown, and if they still have 10 gems at the end of that countdown, they win! It’s a simple mode, and one that I enjoy playing defensively as El Primo in - pick up all the gems, walk around, punch when necessary, but essentially leverage my high hit point pool to create a stronghold for the team’s gems. This is probably my favorite mode right now, even after playing others.

Shortly after you begin and get a few games under your belt, you unlock the “battle royale” mode, which can be played in solo or duo and has 10 player matches. Last team surviving wins, but high placement still gives decent rewards. Unlike many other BR’s, there’s not a whole lot to find and collect outside of a single kind of power up that makes you stronger, with a giant stash of these near the central point of the map - making it a hot spot for ambitious players that want early action and an edge if they survive. The map closes in as green poison gas restricts the playspace, and matches are over quickly. I don’t like this as much as the more team-oriented fare, but for BR lovers it’s something to latch onto.

The third mode I’ve unlocked is a sort of destroy-the-flag variant where both teams have giant safes in their territory that can be destroyed. It’s up to you and you team to figure out how to allocate offensive and defensive skirmishes to try and do as much damage as possible or destroy the enemy safe, while keeping your own as undamaged as possible. This team-based mode has fast respawn and can lead to some exciting finishes as the clock winds down and both teams scramble to do just a few extra points of damage.

Mobile games are easy to dive into initially but I find myself bouncing off of as progression systems, monetization, or just repetitive gameplay become part of the equation. I haven’t played Brawl Stars long enough to make any kind of long-term analysis, but I’m enjoying it as a quick bite of action during the hustle and bustle of wintry travel. It’s free-to-play and very different in look and feel than their other base-building/card games, so the best way to see if you enjoy it is to give it a try.
 

Game Informer's forthcoming February issue contains list after list of Game of the Year awards. Along with our recommendation of 50 games you should not miss, one of those lists rounds up the top gaming moments of the year. Our discussion for this category focuses heavily on story, progression, victory, and sometimes the nuts and bolts that make up a game. But that list doesn't say account for what makes this medium unique: its ability to create emergent stories. Sometimes a game's world delivers an experience that is unique to a player, other times it's the people you are playing with that become the focus.

I asked each Game Informer staffer to give me their favorite moment of the year. I wanted it to be that memory that jumped out; whether it was a plot twist in a game, an interview they conducted with a developer, a conference they attended, or a shared moment with friends. In other words, it could be anything. We all play games, and we know the power they contain. We turn to them for stories, community, competition, and above all else to be entertained. The list below offers a glimpse into all of these entry points. It's one of my favorite lists I've assembled, as it gives you a great snapshot of how video games touched us in 2018.

Enjoy the list and please share your favorite moment in the comments section below.

Andrew Reiner
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – Silence
When my kid falls asleep and my wife can no longer tolerate me, I slink away to my game room for hours of online multiplayer with friends. I've played with the same crew almost every night for two years. Our game of choice is Overwatch, but we've lately been smitten with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The only mode we've touched is Blackout, Call of Duty's version of battle royale. We don't compete at a high level, but do place fairly well when we are focused. Therein is the problem: we struggle with focus.

We find we're at our best when we hunker down and wait for the enemy to come to us. This means minutes will go by with no action. We grow antsy in those moments, and, well, all hell usually breaks loose, but not in a way the game is designed to be played. Whether we're lying in wait in tall grass or are huddled together in a small house with our guns aimed at the door, we become distracted by every little thing. Silence is our worst enemy. Someone will eventually lay down a spray or emote, and then everyone is doing it. Our conversations never really have a pause in them either, meaning we often miss the sound of footsteps heading our way. I can't begin to tell you how many times we've been ambushed while doing something stupid. When this happens, we roar with laughter, sometimes so loud I wake up my wife. I know this is a personal story, but when I look back on the year, that's what I think of: mayhem with friends. Sure, I could pick a moment from Red Dead Redemption II or God of War, but I think it's important to highlight how games bring us together and can create friendships. I never would have met these great people if not for Overwatch's multiplayer. I now consider them some of my dearest friends. Kyle, Karrington, Phil, and the rest of the people in the group, thanks for all of the fun!

Javy Gwaltney
Red Dead Redemption II – The Walk Up To The Manor
In the wake of Red Dead Redemption II's critical acclaim, it has proven to be a divisive game. Count me among the people who adore it. My favorite gaming moment in 2018 comes from a mission near the halfway point in the game called “Blood Feuds, Ancient And Modern.” It’s a powerful, action-packed sequence backed by chilling music and unforgettable scenes. Easily my favorite segment in a game since Mass Effect 2’s infamous suicide mission. But the best part of it comes before all the violence kicks off, as the gang walks up to a spooky manor in the moonlight Wild Bunch style, their bloody intentions growing more pronounced with every step. It’s an amazing visual that looks like a tragic painting and one that will stick out in my memory whenever I think about this fantastic adventure into the west. If you want my full spoilery write-up for why I love it so much, head here.

Ben Reeves
Return of the Obra Dinn – Understanding the Breadth of the Mystery
I had traveled into the middle of the ocean to investigate the disappearance of one of the East India Company’s transport vessels. The ship’s entire crew had gone missing and were presumed dead. As a shipping company investigator, it was my job to get to the bottom of this strange incident, but I was really much more than an insurance adjustor – I was a detective. And Return of the Obra Dinn challenged my investigative skills in ways no game has done before.
 
Early on, it became clear that the Obra Dinn’s crew had gotten into some kind of kerfuffle that lead to mutiny, but it didn’t take long before I realized that something far more bizarre, and supernatural, had happened on these dark waters. I first spied the giant spiders through cracks in the shipboards, and their hairy, angular bodies sent my brain spinning. In that moment, I realized that whatever had happened on the Obra Dinn was much worse than a common mutiny … and it was my mission to get to the bottom of that story.

Elise Favis
Spider-Man – The Infectious Optimism of Peter Parker
The most memorable video game moment I had this year was playing through Spider-Man. This summer, I had barely touched games while going through a tough mental health crisis. Spider-Man released at the perfect time for me — I was starting to get better, and it was the first game I had played in months. Upon booting it up and seeing Peter Parker swing right out of his bedroom window into the city, I felt both hope and excitement. I enjoyed the game so much I finished it in the span of a couple days, glued to my TV the entire time. Between Peter’s dorky but lovable jokes and the gorgeous open world of NYC, I felt an unrelenting optimism that no other game this year could match.

Suriel Vazquez
Destiny 2: Forsaken – Facing Shuro Chin, the Corrupted
The Last Wish raid has plenty of solid encounters, but the second encounter against Shuro Chi is the clear standout for me. While most raid fights involve a high degree of coordination between teammates, the fight against Shuro Chi requires your team be on the ball and on the move constantly, as you move from chokepoint to chokepoint eliminating enemies, coordinate to solve simple puzzles, and do a bit of quick platforming, all on a single, strict timer, which can make it easy for your mistakes to catch up with you, but still allows for clutch moves that lead to close calls. It feels less like a “boss fight” in the traditional sense and more like being part of a SWAT team raiding a criminal compound, and highlights what makes Destiny’s style of raiding so magical.

Imran Khan
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – The Boss Spirit Battle
It's always hard to choose between best moments every year and I could probably write up a list of 50 given enough time. I couldn't choose between these two, though, and had to include both.

In World of Light, Smash Bros. Ultimate’s adventure mode, a hidden path leads you a battle with The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3. Represented by Zero Suit Samus, The Boss fight tries to recreate the fight from the end of MGS3 with an incredibly aggressive AI who sees all your moves coming. After an hour of trying, I ended up using Snake’s C4 move in the air and fast-dropping onto it, sticking the C4 to his chest. With one more hit point than Zero Suit Samus had, I struggled with her and then detonated the C4 on Snake’s chest, defeating her and winning the match.

Imran Khan
Hitman 2 – Clearing two challenges at once
During one of Hitman 2’s early missions, I realized I was performing the assassination the way I had already done so in a pre-release demo. Feeling like it would be boring to simply kick the target down a storage shaft again, I opted to put a remote mine against the opposite wall and let the target approach it while I walked away from the scene. The remote mine ended up being so perfectly placed and hidden that it blasted the target into the storage shaft, anyway, clearing the opportunity and explosion challenges at the same time.

Brian Shea
E3 – A Crazy Week
While not necessarily my top moment of 2018, E3 this year was a particularly hectic and memorable one for me. I’ve attended the last several E3s and participated in the months of planning leading up to each one. It’s always a highlight of the year for me. However, I was set to be on the home team this year, staying in Minnesota to provide support to the GI crew on the ground. With one week remaining, schedules shifted unexpectedly and I was asked to go to the convention on a week’s notice. I was more than happy to do so, but that week leading up to my annual L.A. trip was wild. Getting my meeting list squared away with last-minute appointments was a massive task, but once I was in Los Angeles, surrounded by enthusiastic gamers, I immediately felt rejuvenated and ready for the whirlwind of a show.

Kyle Hilliard
Iconoclasts – The Ending
My biggest surprise of 2018 was an indie game from lone developer, Joakim Sandberg. Iconoclasts tells the story of Robin, an engineer who fights the evil religious authority, the One Concern. Early in the game they’re painted broadly as “the bad guys” but as you get deeper into the game, you learn more about the religion, and how it has affected the individual inhabitants of the world and the world itself in irreparable ways. All the evil that the One Concern performs is done in worship of a mysterious creature that periodically visits the planet on which Iconoclasts takes place. Through the course of the game, it’s never clear if this creature is real or if you will meet it, but you do while assisting one of the One Concern’s more sympathetic members, and it makes you re-examine everything you’ve learned about the One Concern up to that point. To explain exactly why it is such a shock would spoil the game, but it really made me think about faith and religion in a broader sense, which is something few video games have ever made me do. I enjoyed the game and its ending so much that it prompted me to reach out to Sandberg and discuss the story and its ending specifically, which you can read all about here.

Ben Hanson
E3 – Meeting Masahiro Sakurai

E3 is the most magical time of the year. This year was especially so as Nintendo went all-out in highlighting Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As part of the spotlight, they held a Smash tournament a ways away from the standard E3 convention center. This was my first chance to play Ultimate, not in the tournament but in a little side room. After playing as the new Breath of the Wild Link with a GameCube controller, I was making my way out of the building when I spotted a commotion. Somebody was slinking through the back of the stadium surrounded by several bodyguards, each one stronger than the last and each one over eight-feet tall. Between their broad shoulders I saw a familiar and youthful face. It was the creator of Super Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai. I realized this was my one shot at meeting one of my favorite game developers and went for it. I busted through the bodyguards like a football running back and offered a handshake, quickly thanking Mr. Sakurai for his hard work throughout the years. I lightly received a hesitant, half-strength handshake from Sakurai before his escorts pulled me away and shouted “no handshakes, no handshakes!” It was magical. I haven’t washed my hand since, much to the chagrin of my gunky GameCube controller.

Jeff Marchiafava
Unravel Two – Weaving A Memorable Co-op Adventure
2018 was full of amazing adventures, from web-swinging around NYC to booting Spartans off the cliffs of Greece. However, one of my favorite moments was decidedly less epic and a lot more personal instead. I reviewed the original Unravel back in 2016, and unlike all the Yarny haters out there, I enjoyed the experience. I was looking forward to playing Unravel Two, and talked my wife into filling in as Yarny’s little blue friend. The addition of co-op makes a huge difference to the string-centric puzzles, but more than anything, it was just great to share the experience with my wife. She doesn’t play many video games, but figuring out puzzles together and talking our way through the trickier platforming sequences was fun for both of us. Despite all of the massive and spectacular open-world games I lost myself in this year, I still look back fondly on our time playing Unravel Two.

The holiday season often brings friends and families together. If you're hoping to keep gaming while spending time with them, here are some great selections for you all to enjoy.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Platform Switch
Rating E10+

The new entry in the beloved crossover fighting franchise retains the series’ stellar local multiplayer. With more than 70 characters and 100 maps, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lives up to its name by delivering more content than any other entry in series history. With robust custom ruleset options, you can set up matches just the way you like them. However, if you want to show off the massive roster to your friends and family, you might want to play a lot beforehand; you only start with eight characters and unlocking the rest can take several hours. Even though World of Light is a fun single-player mode, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is best enjoyed with others.

Read our review

Overcooked 2

Platform PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC  
Rating E

The follow up to the surprise 2016 hit, Overcooked 2 refines the formula and adds new scenarios to make for a frantic multiplayer experience. Whether you're trying to make burgers on floating platforms high above the ground or assemble tacos across two rafts heading downriver, you should expect the unexpected when it comes to Overcooked 2's situations. Not only is this kitchen game funny and exciting, but the simple controls allow nearly anyone to understand how to play in less than the time it takes to cook a pizza. This sequel adds the ability to toss food across the kitchen alongside online play options to dive into once everyone else in the house is asleep.

Read our review

SNES Classic Edition

Publisher Nintendo  
Rating T

Whether you want to relive those childhood gaming memories with your parents or introduce your favorite games of all time to a younger sibling, Nintendo's SNES Classic Edition is one of the best and most convenient ways to experience some of the greatest video games from the '90s. From cooperative games like Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World to competitive titles like Street Fighter II and Super Mario Kart, there are plenty of awesome multiplayer gems to sift through. In addition, you can sort the menu to find which games have multiplayer, helping to speed up the process. We recommend picking up some SNES Classic-compatible wireless gamepads or cable extenders to alleviate the short cables of the pack-in controllers.

Read our review

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Platform PS4, Xbox One, PC  
Rating M

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is all about playing together. Not only does it get rid of the series' traditional single-player campaign, but its three main modes are about cooperation or competition. The tense and blazing hot Blackout mode is among the best battle royale experiences out there, while Treyarch's take on cooperative play in zombies continues to be the gold standard for that style of modes. Black Ops 4 also features the standard Call of Duty competitive multiplayer suite. While you can play all of these modes online through matchmaking, you can also head into war together through local splitscreen multiplayer.

Read our review

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Platform Switch
Rating E

Few franchises appeal to everyone quite like Mario Kart, and the latest entry is the best, as Nintendo took the terrific Wii U entry and improved upon it for Switch. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features all the characters, tracks, and DLC from the Wii U version, as well as the ability to hold two items at once, a revamped version of the fan-favorite Battle mode, and several new characters. This definitive version of the beloved game can host four players on one system, and the stable of recognizable characters makes it the perfect game to fire up at gatherings with family or friends.

Read our review

Until Dawn

Platform PS4  
Rating M

Turn off all the lights and get a group of horror-loving friends together for one of the best choice-driven narrative adventure games of the past few years. Starring recognizable faces like Hayden Panettiere and Rami Malek, Until Dawn fits perfectly into the teen slasher genre as a group of high school friends find themselves in the middle of a horrifying mystery in an isolated mountaintop cabin. Throughout the game, you make literal life-and-death choices that impact the story in ways you may not be able to predict. While Until Dawn is technically a single-player game, watching the events unfold and coaching the player on their decisions effortlessly transitions to a group setting.

Read our review

A Way Out

Platform PS4, Xbox One, PC  
Rating M

Telling the story of two men escaping from prison and living a life on the run, A Way Out is unique in that it must be played cooperatively; there is no single-player option. In a novel concept, the story tells the tale of these two characters simultaneously, with both players on screen at the same time, even if they aren't together. With plenty of action sequences and a compelling story to get immersed in, A Way Out is a fun adventure to experience together. In addition, it can easily be completed over a couple of play sessions, so you don't need to worry about heading back home with an incomplete story; even if you do, you can pick up where you left off through online play.

Read our review

Diablo III

Platform PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac  
Rating M

Dungeon crawling has never been better or more accessible than it is in Diablo III. The recent Eternal Collection not only features the Reaper of Souls and Rise of the Necromancer expansions, but brings it to the Nintendo Switch, making it the most portable version of Diablo III to date. Don't let any lingering negative thoughts from the game's rocky 2012 launch scare you away; this is one of the greatest dungeon-crawling games ever released. All these years later, fighting demons with friends in local co-op is still a blast.

Read our review

Cuphead

Platform Xbox One, PC, Mac  
Rating E10+

While some of the other games on this list are accessible games that anyone can join in and have fun with, Cuphead is the game you bring if you have another hardcore gamer in your presence. Anyone can appreciate the 1930s-inspired art style, but you need some serious skills to make any progress in this 2D action game from Studio MDHR. Even if your friends and family aren't quite up to your skill level, the controls are easy to understand and there's plenty of maddening fun awaiting you in the always-daunting and often-complex boss battles.

Read our review

Dragon Ball FighterZ

Platform PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC  
Rating T

The Dragon Ball series has seen its share of video game adaptations, but Dragon Ball FighterZ is the flashiest and most mechanically sound game the beloved anime has ever seen. In addition to a long single-player story, Dragon Ball FighterZ helps you settle any family differences by letting you go Super Saiyan and (digitally) beat the tar out of each other. Featuring a wide range of recognizable Dragon Ball characters, ranging from mainstays like Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo to deeper cuts like Captain Ginyu and Android 16, Dragon Ball FigherZ has something for die-hard and casual fans alike. Add to that the fact that it's one of the best fighters from the last few years and you have a sure bet for a good time.

Read our review

Rocket League

Platform PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Mac, Linux  
Rating E

"You're playing soccer with rocket cars" is perhaps an oversimplification of what Rocket League is and what makes it so great, but at the end of the day, you're playing soccer with rocket cars. Tearing around a big field, chasing a giant ball in cars that can boost, flip, and even drive up walls is fun from the opening horn. The pick-up-and-play controls make it a breeze for anyone to get up and running. Scoring a goal in the middle of the frantic action is another thing all together, but as they say, "practice makes perfect." It takes some work to become good at Rocket League, but once you're able to line up a shot and volley it in, it's one of the more rewarding and fun team multiplayer games out there.

Read our review

The Jackbox Party Pack 5

Platform PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Mac, Linux, iOS  
Rating T

The Jackbox games have been crowd pleasers ever since the first entry of You Don't Know Jack debuted in 2011. The fifth Jackbox Party Pack brings an all-new version of You Don't Know Jack, as well as four other riotously funny games. Whether you're competing in that signature trivia game or spitting verses back and forth in freestyle rap battles with Mad Verse City, you're all but guaranteed to have a smile on your face. Split The Room and Patently Stupid are also winners in this pack, as you try to come up with difficult decisions that will give you the most polarizing responses or create hilarious fill-in-the-blank scenarios. The best part about Jackbox Party Pack games is you don't need a bunch of controllers to get everyone involved; all you need is a smartphone and you're good to go.

Read our review

Super Mario Party

Platform Switch  
Rating E

With so many chance elements at play, Super Mario Party may not be the best showcase of skill, but that's kind of what helps make it such a great game for gamers of all ages and skill levels. With 80 all-new, mostly fun minigames, this is the perfect way to get everyone gaming. Super Mario Party gives you multiple ways to consume its centerpiece minigames, from the cooperative River Survival mode to the quick-hit, rhythm-based Sound Stage mode. When all else fails, jumping into a standard board-game Mario Party match is fun for anyone, or you can cut straight to the meat of the experience with several dedicated minigame modes.

Read our review

Lego DC Super-Villains

Platform PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Rating E10+

TT Games' Lego titles are usually entertaining to platform through with a friend, but the new Lego DC Super-Villains is one of the best games the series has ever seen. After creating your own villain, you explore the world alongside various iconic villains from DC Comics like Joker, Harley Quinn, and Lex Luthor. Full of cute, hilarious, and fun moments, Lego DC Super-Villains is a journey better experienced with a friend who will laugh along with you. Add to that the fact that this is TT Games' most refined and improved adventure in a long time and it's a safe bet you'll have fun in this entry.

Read our review

This article appears in the January 2019 issue of Game Informer. Matt Miller contributed to the "Together at the Table" sidebar of this feature. Minor updates have been made to reflect the latest information.

A lot of wastelands are defined by their greys and browns. We’re fascinated with post-apocalyptic worlds, but we’re tired of looking at them. Thankfully, in recent years, developers have begun to shift towards more colorful dystopias. Avalanche Studios has taken Rage’s desert environments and brightened them up for the sequel with a variety of forests and pink-streaked shanty towns. We take a deeper look at all the environments you trek through in Rage 2.

For more on Rage 2 be sure to check out our cover story hub by clicking on the banner below.

Today we take a playable tour through upcoming skateboarding title Skater XL from Easy Day Studios. A slice of the game is available via Steam Early Access, with more features such as character customization, more spots and gear, and video editing/exporting expected as the game continues to a hopeful late-2019 release.

We know the holidays are stressful. Heck, you're probably hiding in the corner of some distant relative's home right now with a mug of eggnog. But don't worry, we're here for you with a relaxing yule log gaming session with Kyle Hilliard. 

The fire crackles calmly while Kyle quietly plays some strange game no one's ever heard of, and he definitely doesn't judge you for forgetting your sister's Christmas present for the third year in a row. There might even be a furry visitor or two. Enjoy!

It can be hard to enjoy a game when you’re losing, and if you’re playing games with family and friends this holiday season, there will be losers. Here are the games to get the most out of those pleasant family evenings, and then subsequently kill all the warm feelings you ever felt for them.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros. is a fun, kinetic brawler that everyone can enjoy. With its colorful cast of Nintendo staples, the kid-friendly beat’em up is charming, and its simple controls make for an experience easy to pick up, yet difficult to master. In fact, this last point is exactly why some people will be throwing fits during play sessions this break, because some people are very good at this game and others not so much. Don’t be shocked if one of your family members rage quits because they’re constantly getting knocked out of the stadium. It’s not easy to watch your character cheer and clap for another character who keeps coming in first place.

Mario Kart series

It’s hard to beat Nintendo when it comes to games for the whole family, and Mario Kart is a prime example. The thrilling kart racer is probably the most accessible racing game of all time. Even if you’re in dead last, the game’s catch-up mechanics cater to novices with power ups that help you snag victory from the jaws of defeat in mere seconds. However, these mechanics can also lead to some very exasperated players. Among the most notorious examples is the spiky blue shell, a homing-bomb power up that strikes and explodes on whoever is in first place. If the next time you play, one of your family members starts cursing because a blue shell bumped them from first to seventh place, try to understand: That blue shell is the devil.    

NBA 2K series

Everybody enjoys a good, old-fashioned game of basketball, and with 2K you and your friends can enjoy an exciting, nail-biting session of hoops without ever having to step outside. From high-flying alley-oops to coordinated pick-and-rolls, the game is a riot with friends, but if you’re a newbie, you might get smoked. Players inexperienced with the game’s simple, but subtly nuanced controls will get slashed up and dunked on with abandon. Throw in the fact that these games can be quite tense (and the inevitability of some trash talk), and you’ve got a recipe for some heated exchanges.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Halo is one of those games that’s nearly timeless, and its couch co-op modes are a big part of that. In the Master Chief Collection, friends and family can once again step back into the boots of the iconic Spartan and kick some serious alien butt – but if you decide to ramp up the difficulty, you may be in for more than just casual grunt genocide. If you opt for legendary difficulty, don’t be surprised if your fun begins to curdle as you and your partner struggle for hours to get past a single checkpoint. Multiplayer is another viable option, but with the possibility of some screen-looking, and the temptation for some players to gang up on others, and alien warfare might turn into warfare on your patience.     

FIFA series

Soccer is the sport played around the world. This holiday season, why not bring the world of soccer to your living room with a quick game of FIFA? Accommodating up to four players, you and your friends can go head-to-head with the best clubs in the sport. Lining up that perfect header for your partner, or even passing the ball up the field is extremely satisfying, but if you don’t regularly play FIFA, or worse don’t play soccer, you’re probably going to botch a lot of easy goals. FIFA’s goal scoring requires a light touch, and if you’re new it’ll probably take some time to get used to it. Playing with a friend who’s experienced, while you’re just beginning, can lead to some aggravation – especially if you’re playing against two seasoned players. And if things aren’t going your way, well, you know how passionate soccer fans (and sports gamers) can get.    

Madden series

With Madden, you and up to three of your friends can lace passes through defenders and sack quarterbacks from the comfort of your sofa this winter break. Pushing the ball up the gridiron looks amazing with its stunning visuals and realistic animations, but for all its beauty, your play session can turn sour if you’re facing a savvy Madden veteran and don’t like to lose. Control schemes in Madden can be complicated for novices, and even more difficult to master if you’re not a football fan as defensive and offensive schemes will read more like braille. If you go up against a Madden maestro in the next couple of days, try not to get too angry if the game runs away from you at the speed of a pick-six.

Call of Duty series

With Call of Duty, (or at least the ones that include four-player co-op, which is most of them), you and your family can engage in some epic, fast-paced gun battles while hanging around the TV this happy time of year. With modes like Zombies, which has both ghoulish charm and the necessity for players to work together and frenetic free-for-all death matches, you’ll have barrels of fun unloading your shotgun on people you cherish. However, if twitch shooters aren’t really your family’s thing, or your loved ones don’t have the maps memorized like you do, there could be a few real-life outbursts. Watch out for controller-shrapnel.

Mario Party series

The family game to rule them all. Mario Party weaves a bunch of incredibly entertaining minigames into a virtual Monopoly-style board game for a smorgasbord of entertainment. However, with the ultimate goal being to earn the most stars, if you’ve got some competitive spirits in your family, things could get testy. As the game comes to a head and people are leaking out stars left and right, tempers might reach a boiling point. If you’ve got a good case for that controller make sure it’s on, because while a flipped Monopoly board is one thing, a broken controller is a different beast entirely.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for gaming. Time off from work and bad weather outside means plenty of time to boot up and lose yourself in a digital wonderland. If that’s not enough motivation, games are released in droves around this time, packing your schedule with game time merriment. Though there is plenty to choose from, not all will fill you with holiday cheer. Don’t miss out this season – make the most of your precious vacation and revel in these merriest of video game holidays.

The Dawning – Destiny 2

The Dawning draws Guardians from across the universe to the Tower to soak in the holiday spirit, celebrate the winter season, and experience the joy of giving. This year, the air is filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies as players craft the perfect Gjallardoodles or Chocolate Ship Cookies for quest givers that eventually reward them with the greatest gift of all – an exotic Sleigh to ride around in.

Feast of the Winter Star – Stardew Valley

Every year on the 25th day of Winter, guide your hard-working farmer to Pelican Town to join in on the Feast of the Winter Star. The feast is set in the snow-covered town square, decked out with festive décor and filled to the brim with scrumptious food. The festival packs in even more digital delights with a secret gift exchange which can jump-start a relationship with that special someone.

Feast of Winter Veil – World of Warcraft

Greatfather Winter is coming to town, bringing the season with him in his great flowing cloak. Though it started as a Dwarven festival celebrating the snow-bringing figure; humans have been increasingly joining in the Feast of Winter Veil. Now all throughout Azeroth, people are enjoying traditional treats like Graccu's mince meat fruitcake and hoping to earn the merrymaker title.

Starlight Celebration – Final Fantasy XIV

The true meaning of the Starlight Celebration is generosity and goodwill. It was established to remember the deeds of Ishgardian knights who sought to help the children orphaned in the land’s many wars. This year you can honor their compassionate deeds with some good old-fashioned choral music.

The New Life Festival – Elder Scrolls Online

On the 1st of Morning Star, Tamriel welcomes the new year with free-flowing ale and by watching the traditional Emperor’s New Life Address. When they’ve had enough of politics, the citizens flood their local taverns, and go on holiday-inspired quests. Just be sure to grab a New Life Festival scroll to if you want to join in the merriment.

Wintersday – Guild Wars 2

Hurry to the nearest portal, or make your way on foot, but don’t miss out on ringing in the Tyrian New Year in Guild Wars 2’s great city, Divinity’s Reach. Whether you’re into making sweet traditional music with fellow revelers or gifting that ugly sweater to orphans, there’s something for everyone to have a very merry Wintersday.

Can’t get enough of seasonal events? Overwatch, Fortnite, Rocket League, Gears of War, and more all have limited-time events that exude holiday cheer and offer seasonal-themed skins, gear, and activities.

Not all of our favorite video game moments in a given year are driven by well-acted cutscenes, amazing gameplay, or emergent sequences that convey the power of interactive entertainment. Sometimes we remember the glitches best – those beautiful messes where the algorithmic glue that normally holds these meticulously crafted games together betrays the artists' vision and gifts us with awkward, ridiculous, or downright creepy bloopers we can't wait to share with friends. 

Every year, Game Informer keeps a list of our favorite moments like these for the annual Glitichie Awards. This year, we had a packed field thanks to the abundance of open world games like Fallout 76, Far Cry 5, and Red Dead Redemption II. We could have included dozens of glitches that make us smile this year, but we narrowed the field to the top 10. Without further ado, we present our favorite glitches of 2018.

Warning: Game Informer is not responsible for content on YouTube links. Language may be unsuitable for minors.

Madden NFL 19 – The Puntergeist

via @MrGoldenSports

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – InfiniteAssist

via @RaythalosM

Fallout 76 – The Thin Man

Far Cry 5 - Human Trafficking 

via kindheftyhartebeest

During our Rage 2 cover story trip to Avalanche Studios in Sweden, we got behind the wheel of a tricked-out hot rod then went toe-to-toe against a missile-spewing 18-wheeler in a deadly race across the wasteland. In short, Rage 2’s car combat is a thrill, but Javy Gwaltney, Leo Vader, and Ben Reeves are here to expand upon their impressions in this written discussion.

Ben: I found it interesting Avalanche chose to start our demo with a vehicle chase/battle. I think that means they found some fun in the car combat – or at least they think it’s an important pillar of the game. Personally, I thought that convoy battle was a cool set piece, but what were your initial impressions?

Leo: It’s obviously not what I’ll be coming to the game for, but it bodes well that the vehicle combat is getting a focus. A sizable portion of any open world game is spent moving from objective to objective, so the potential for car battles feeding into upgrades and progression for your ride makes those trips between waypoints seem more enticing and less tedious.

Javy: The vehicle segments were more entertaining than I thought they would be. My love for Rage 2 so far is primarily rooted in its first-person shooting, but I loved racing across the sand in my dune buggy of death, unleashing missiles and minigun fire on a convoy. It’s also nice that there’s a dedicated ramming button, so you can slam other cars off cliffs or into rocks, podracing style.

Ben: Yeah, I don’t want to oversell it, but I liked the feel of the cars. Or, I should say, car. I messed around with a couple of different vehicles, but I kept coming back to the Phoenix, which is your main starting car. Honestly, I don’t see a reason to really use much else, because that vehicle feels great. It’s fast, well-armored, and has a decent arsenal. The Phoenix feels like the Batmobile. Ever since playing Spy Hunter as a young boy I’ve loved shooting other cars with a mounted minigun, so I’m an easy sell here. Did you guys check out any other cars? What did you think of the racing minigames or open-world driving?

Leo: I hijacked a few random cars, some of which had their own weapons. One of them just seemed to explode when I hit the fire button, which was funny. I liked how there is a trader vehicle driving around the map who you can honk at to make him stop and sell you stuff. There was also a car you could honk at to trigger an impromptu race for cash. I thought those were really clever interactions for a game like this.

Javy: I also tried a bunch of other cars besides the Phoenix ... and I did not care for them. They felt super light and destructible. However, we also saw a massive monster truck players will be able to drive. It looked super impressive and I can’t wait to get my hands behind that steering wheel. However, I think the most impressive vehicle for me was the gyrocopter. That was super-fast and zippy and will let you hop from biome to biome quickly while avoiding enemy conflict. Do you guys have any concerns about the driving or vehicular combat? I’m hoping we get more weapons than just the minigun/missile combo.

Ben: I don’t think I have any huge concerns, but I do have a few question marks. I’m also curious about alternate weapons. The team talked about upgrading cars, but they didn’t show off that system. Maybe some more weapons are locked behind that. I’d also love to see more reasons to use your car outside of travel. Like, there weren’t a lot of big set piece moments that involved your car. A lot of the car action seems player-driven, so everyone’s mileage may vary. You can stop and challenge random NPCs to a race, which is neat, but I don’t think I’d be highly motivated to do that. The one dedicated race I played was pretty rough and floaty (to be fair, Avalanche said it is still tuning the race challenges). Outside of those dedicated races, I didn’t see any reason to use your car in missions. Hopefully, there are some more varied car-related missions.

Leo: There are definitely some unknowns about how much you will use your vehicle and if you’ll feel forced into it when you don’t want to be, but I absolutely love being able to eject thirty feet in the air from a vehicle at any time. That’s reason enough for me to get in a car. I’m a simple man.

Ben: As we all are. In conclusion, I guess what we’re trying to say is, “We highly wreck-a-mend Rage 2's car combat.”

Kyle: Hi, I didn’t play Rage 2 or was involved in the cover story in any way, but I don’t like that last sentence, Reeves. It’s bad.

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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate recently launched on Switch with 74 characters, more than 100 stages, and a soundtrack featuring more than 900 songs. Despite the massive scope of the series today, the franchise emerged from meager beginnings, starting as a passion project from a three-man team at Kirby and EarthBound developer HAL Laboratory.

Satoru Iwata and Masahiro Sakurai, the co-creators of the Kirby series, began development on a prototype fighting game in 1996. According to an Iwata Asks interview, Iwata handled all the programming for the prototype, while Sakurai worked on planning, design, modeling, and movement. One additional team member helped with the sound. The small team worked on the project alongside other development obligations.

At the time, Iwata was getting pulled to another project that took up most of his time. “I didn’t have any time during the week and had to program on the weekends,” he said. “I would assemble the data and specs, and the project slowly took shape as we sent changes back and forth.”

Sakurai said in that discussion that Iwata seemed to spring to life when he had time to work on the side project. “I felt something special about this title from the very first moment I started programming for it,” Iwata said in response to Sakurai’s observation.

The two wanted to build a four-player game that used the control stick on the Nintendo 64 while simultaneously offering a unique take on the 2D fighting game genre. Sakurai wrote “Four-player Battle Royal” on the cover of the planning document before the prototype even had a working title.

A image of the prototype that eventually became Super Smash Bros.

The two called the prototype Kakuto-Geemu Ryuoh, or Dragon King: The Fighting Game. The project didn’t use any Nintendo characters or locations, instead relying on generic, faceless characters with a photograph Sakurai took of Yamanashi Prefecture, the Japanese neighborhood of HAL Laboratory’s office, serving as the backdrop.

Sakurai knew the importance of incorporating recognizable characters for a home console release. “With a game for the arcade, it’s okay for character development to take a backseat since players are content with the fighting,” Sakurai said in the Iwata Asks interview. “With a fighting game for the home console, however, you have to set up the general image or the atmosphere of the gaming world right from the start or else the game suffers. That’s why I asked to use Nintendo characters.”

Use of Nintendo’s stable of all stars didn’t come easy. Not only did Iwata have reservations about the fan reaction to having Nintendo characters fight each other, but Nintendo also had concerns. Shigeru Miyamoto reportedly refused to let HAL use Nintendo characters. Despite this, Iwata instructed Sakurai to produce a working prototype using them anyways. Iwata took a prototype starring Mario, Donkey Kong, Samus, and Fox to Miyamoto. The demonstration impressed the famed creator and he gave the green light to HAL to use Nintendo characters for the project.

After Nintendo gave HAL the go ahead, Sakurai and Iwata set out to make a game that was accessible to a wider range of players than a typical fighting game. “I had created Smash Bros. to be my response to how hardcore-exclusive the fighting game genre had become over the years,” Sakurai wrote in a 2010 column for Famitsu. “If we want new people from this generation of gamers to come in, then we need it accessible, simple, and playable by anyone.”

With the idea that anyone could pick up the game and have as much fun as a longtime player within 10 minutes, the duo worked to craft a game that appealed to everyone. “We shouldn’t try and separate the casual gamers from the core gamers,” Iwata said in his discussion with Sakurai. “After all, everyone starts off as a casual gamer. Some of these casual gamers will end up falling in love with gaming. Despite this fact though, I think that people too often treat them as entities that are inherently different.”

Super Smash Bros. effectively bridged the gap between casual and hardcore players. Despite the cute graphics, basic controls, and roster of recognizable characters, learning the intricacies of each character and how to not only use their abilities and positioning, but the items and stages to your advantage takes untold hours.

The game shipped with 12 characters from popular franchises. At the start, players could choose from Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, and Pikachu. By completing special challenges, players could add Luigi, Captain Falcon, Ness, and Jigglypuff to the crossover battlefield.

Super Smash Bros. was a big success for Nintendo 64, only being outsold on the platform by Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007, and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The mission of Sakurai and Iwata of appealing to all gamers paid dividends and laid the foundation for one of Nintendo’s most successful and broadly appealing franchises.

While critics were mostly positive on the original game, the series has only strengthened since. Every console entry following the Nintendo 64 version has achieved higher than a 90 on Metacritic (the 3DS version sits at an 85 average). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate continued this tradition in December, garnering as much critical acclaim as the series has ever seen. In addition, the series served as Nintendo’s first esports hit, with dedicated communities centered around both Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U still going strong today.

Looking back, the small roster and feature suite of the Nintendo 64 game seem like nothing in contrast to the behemoth offerings that have come with subsequent games, but at the time, seeing those characters fight each other unlocked players’ imaginations. As Sakurai and his team launch the self-proclaimed ultimate version of Super Smash Bros. nearly two decades later, players can only speculate at how the series will grow and evolve from here. 

This article appears in the January 2019 issue of Game Informer. Minor updates have been made to reflect the latest information.

Assassin’s Creed has always been about truly becoming an assassin, scaling rooftops to enact stealthy kills. It’s taken us all over the world from Egypt to Colonial America, placing us right in the middle of some of the biggest moments in history, like the Renaissance. As more entries debuted, the open worlds have only expanded. This has required more depth in systems and exploration. Pivoting to an action/RPG was a smart move, as it serves both those purposes well. Origins was the first time we saw what this shift actually meant. It may have been rough around the edges but it showed potential, ringing in a new era of Assassin’s Creed. Odyssey capitalized on Origins’ promise, refining the RPG elements and fully committing to the genre shift. I can’t put it down. 

This move came at the right time. After a string of yearly installments with varying degrees of quality, reinvention was needed; the thrill wasn’t there anymore. A pretty world can only get you so far; you need to engage the player by offering new and exciting things. I know some scoffed at the franchise shifting away from its stealth roots, but its foray into the role-playing game genre has made me fall in love all over again.

Adding involved quest lines, deeper customization, and level-gated areas has enriched the journey. I actually want to stop and talk to all the people in the world. I feel rewarded when taking the time to do extra quests and explore, thanks to the experience and better gear. I feel a challenge like I didn’t before, and I love how leveling up my character and learning new skills makes me feel powerful. I’m constantly working toward something. Investing in new skills changes the way I approach combat, helping it feel exciting and ever-changing. I remember the thrill I felt the first time I kicked an enemy off a cliff, or when I obtained the ability to strip shields and chuck it enemies. The way you feel your strength grow is extremely satisfying, especially when you take down an enemy fort that you once couldn't step into without being annihilated. Stronger mercenaries are just waiting around for you to prove you’ve got the chops to best them. 
 
I haven’t felt this connection to Assassin’s Creed in some time. The RPG elements have bolstered it, and I can’t wait to see how this area continues to evolve (please, Ubisoft, make romances more meaningful!). Why does it work? Because it keeps intact the cool historical backdrops, while also not completely abandoning the stealth mechanics. It’s still satisfying to get the drop on a fortress filled with soldiers and slowly eliminate them one by one, expertly using the environment around you to your advantage. There are now simply more options for approaching things and interacting with the world. Overcoming a group with brute force makes you feel like the ultimate badass. Being a good samaritan and stopping to help others gives you a sense of virtue. Having some choice in how you explore and approach situations makes you feel like you’re embodying that character.

This is most the time I have spent invested in an Assassin’s Creed world. I’m stopping to discover every hidden treasure, scale the highest buildings for synchronizations, and picking up as many quests as possible. The Golden Age of Ancient Greece has its grip on me and won’t let go, and it feels good to be so enamored with Assassin’s Creed again. Change in any long-running series can have its ups and downs, but sometimes it’s the only way to make it better.