Slow start (A lot of partially completed RPGS)

MARCH-
-Dark souls(replay) +DLC(first time)

Was totally expecting the Sekiro and RE2 1-2 punch both totally derserve the love, though i don't play horror games(hence no mention from me for RE2).

Even with Sekiro as my #3 it was honestly a bit of a let down personally as a Fromsoft fan, while it was still very good the typical great world and level design i have issues with the progression and and kinda just got bored of the combat by the end, it felt very samey to me (similar to how Maximilian Dood felt) also the story was fine enough but similar to Ian Hinck i really love world lore style of story telling in the other souls-borne games. (SSI is still one of the best boss fights ever alongside DMC5's final)

ultimatly i am just much more of an RPG style guy and i want that variety and choice.(from the rumours Elden Ring "OH Elden Ring" sounds like it will be exactly my style)

My 2019 GOTY list:
1.Fire Emblem
2.DMC5
3.Sekiro
4.the outer worlds

Mentions:
Disco elysium(didn't play but my style)
AI:the sominium files (watched a playthrough and loved would likely be my number 2 If i had played it myself)
Apex:legends
oh and pokemon sword(love/hate)

Biggest Misses
Astral Chain- seeing the love on this list espically with DMC5 as my personal #2 will 100% play
Ace Combat 7- Honestly haven't played anything like this since HAWX which i liked but was not a great game very much in the mood for this also RIP JPEG Dog Salute

P.S. Very likely gonna give RE3 a shot i might be scared but it being more action oriented like 5(the only one i've played aside from REMAKE 1) might save me

@paulmci27
same loved it though also stopped after 10-15 hours, honnestly the introduction of the MkII weapons kinda took some of the wind out of my sails for some reason.

three houses was my first Fire Emblem and really loved it (like others the switch is not perfect for me since it's docked 98% of the time but it gets some really solid games)

I don't play many tactics games(recently) but i am a massive RPG guy and honestly the combat is not all that difference from games like Divinity:OS2 anyway. i did really enjoy the combat but the characters, Vibe and Story are what i really love about 3 houses.

the main plot does the typical JRPG thing and just throws everything at you, so even though parts can be predictable there is just so many reveals and secrets that i still don't know (currently at 160hours having done black eagles and about 1/2 through Golden deer route) as that play time might tell you i enjoy trying to maximise the numbers game and also just like talking to all the students.

the students and Vibe were my favourite aspects of the game while at first i thought they might just be very one note characters, which they are to a degree eg. i'm the strong one, i'm the shut-in and i sleep(and am the only male gay romance option).
they are well written and most are well developed and have reasons for the way they are, they also do a great job of drawing parallels or differences between characters during their support conversations.

overall the Vibe was great since almost everyone felt so driven to achieve their goals and strive for the future even if some of those goals might be a little "evil" or if some character had terrible stuff happen to them.(alot of political assassinations)

but yeah really loved it in any other year it would not be my number 1 since it has some obvious flaws especially with graphics(switch and game size) and some weird class progression quirks but easily beat out this years competition for me (i know what the top 2 left are but for the life of me i can't think of the third)

P.S.
Petra#1
hubert gets more hate than he deserves.
caspar deserves all the hate he gets.
curious to see if lorenz is ever not a shithead.

the difference in votes between Jedi and Astral Chain are interesting, with one getting alot of top picks by fewer people, while jedi seems to be good enough to make it on peoples list but not be anyone's favourite (obviously it was also played by more people)

DMC5 was a surprise to me, the only previous one I played was the reboot(which was pretty good)but I really loved this.
I had fun with the story(I watched a playthrough of 3 and 4 beforehand) and loved the dork and Charm 5 had.
If I had stopped on my first playthrough it likely would have been a honerable mention but the replay on son of sparda really sold the game to me.

with all the unlocks it really felt like the base game is almost an intro where you learn the weapons, get the unlocks and understand the basics (especially since late game they pile so many new weapons and moves on you that it can be overwhelming)

by the end I made it my goal to beat the "final" boss without using any of the gold orbs/revives etc and was a great send off for the game for me(also being the night before sekiros release. )

But ultimately this was a game that I was surprised how much I enjoyed despite its flaws(level design, V combat) and exceeded my expectations with wonderful combat one of the best final boss's and just a general level of fun and accepting it's a game (Doom 2016 gives me similar vibes) where as sekiro kinda ended up the opposite... I'll get to that later.

Edit: also excellent music and graphics

yeah metro is on my backlog, i even have it installed through game pass but who knows if i will ever get to it...

in terms of my votes, it's very likely my top 4 are still coming(except one possible exception) only game that i voted on (HM)that didn't make the cut(most likely) was Ai:The Sominium Files, i couldnt give it more than 1 vote since i didn't play it. instead just watched a livestream, even so i loved it.

Days gone is something I pretty much will never play.
I've heard redeeming things about the story(a streamer I watch almost quit it after 2 streams but ended up loving it by the end) but it just rings of the things that annoy me about modern open world games.(bloat, pacing and just busy work)

For reference I also dropped off BOTW(20hrs honestly mostly the weapon durability and very piecemeal story) and

horizon:zero dawn((10hrs)story bogged down after the opening and I found it frustrating to navigate the world lots of stopping to pick flowers too heal)

Maybe it's just because I'm just such an rpg fan that I need those deepper mechanic's or story to keep me engaged.

Yeah had good fun with apex at launch though went hard for around 2 weeks, not much of a competitive person nowadays(2 years of LOL is enough to last a lifetime).
so most only last so long but apex deserves the love for being a good quality free surprise that ran well.

The Last of Us Part II 93
Ghost of Tsushima 89
Ori and the Will of the Wisps 90
Final Fantasy VII Remake 89
Animal Crossing: New Horizons 82
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 84
Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated 78
System Shock 77
Trials of Mana 78
Cyberpunk 2077 92
Marvel's Avengers 80
Dying Light 2 86
Wasteland 3 83
Phantasy Star Online 2 80
Halo Infinite 86
Psychonauts 2 78
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 78
No More Heroes 3 DELAY
Tales of Arise 86
Skull and Bones 75
Yakuza: Like a Dragon 85
Nioh 2 84
Doom Eternal 87
Half Life: Alyx 88
Resident Evil 3 Remake 90
Fast and Furious: Crossroads 60
Bravely Default 2 DELAY
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise 70
Godfall 83
Streets of Rage 4 75
Super Meat Boy Forever 70
Gears Tactics 80
Microsoft Flight Simulator 87
Predator Hunting Grounds 69
Sable 82

everyyear i seem to be too kind and i think i still am haha.