Game of the Year: Push Square Readers' Top 10 PS4 Games of 2019

Days Gone might be one of the more underrated games this gen IMO.

Erm it was pretty good, probably the weakest Sony exclusive for a few years and I wouldn't put it in my top 5 this year and no offense but Resident Evil 2 is just a lot better. I've not played Control and that is one I am curious about so I might pick it up soon

I like Days Gone but don't think it's anywhere near as good as games like Resident Evil 2 remake, Star Wars, Control, Judgment, Death Stranding or even Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I'm happy the game sold well though and that Bend will get a chance to make another game whether it's a sequel or something else and now that it has experience with home consoles again there hopefully won't be as many bugs to iron out as there were this time.

I recently finished Days Gone and I really enjoyed it.

I was on the road to Platinum (I only have like 40 collectibles to find and have to kill another 35ish enemies with a crafted weapon to get it), but Death Stranding and Shenmue III are now in the way.

There is something about the story that I find...just...great. I wouldn't even say it's clichéd since it combines a lot of unlikely genres into one delightful package. Plus, the gameplay loop never left me bored.

I loved Days Gone. And double enjoyed it in NG+.
For me though, God of War has to be the GOY for the previous and next year!

Honestly, I think a lot of people’s number 3 made it look like number 1. It really doesn’t deserve that spot to be honest. And I mean, you guys kinda had to do it, but the write-up feels like it’s looking for reasons knowing it shouldn’t really be there lol.

"Days Gone is quite an interesting case when you step back and take a look at the bigger picture. The game doesn't do a whole lot to set itself apart from most other open world titles — you could even argue that it's pretty uninspired."

And if you made that argument, I would vehemently argue against that. The game is flawed, but it is anything but uninspired.

'it's pretty uninspired"
Come on PushSquare. Be classy. Critics =/= gamers opinion , is what it is

That's a weird one. I personally thought it wasn't bad, but more average to decent. I rarely see people talking about Days Gone. Where are all the people that love the game?

@LegendOfStewart
🙌

DS, RE 2, Fallen Order, Control are full of personality and each of them has their loyal fans and detractors. Days Gone is... a good zombie game.
Ask people to vote the best 2 drinks choosing between wine, beer, whiskey, amaro liqueur and schnapps: beer will surely win.

@Octane I've not seen much anywhere else either about Days Gone, Control though I've seen a lot of positive comments regarding GOTY polls which is slightly surprising as it reviewed decently and didn't sell particularly well by all accounts but people seem to love it. Days Gone has some good ideas but you can see where the choices were removed as Deacon just kind of pauses in cutscenes before the game just plays the choice that remains, that and the horde mechanics which are very good never seem to reach there full potential for me, it didn't help that I've seen them magically teleport into existence on many occasions which kind of breaks the illusion

'Control didn't even make it into our staff-voted top 10, '
🤔🤔🤔

I still need to play the Top 3 😅

I never did vote due to having to vote for 3 games and that a number of games were not on the list.

@LegendOfStewart What is Days Gone doing that is new?

@LiamCroft it could snow at any time for no apparent reason

Yeah, I can see that. I've not played it yet, but it looks like fun. Motorbikes + zombies sounds like a winner to me.

Days gonevwill be remembered as a classic word up son now give me syphon filter bend studio.word up son again.😁.

@Gremio108 Then you should play RE 5!

@carlos82 Haven't noticed the pauses, but it's been a while since I played it and I kinda gave up on it.

Control is a weird one too, but I like it quite a lot. It also helps that I got into the themes and lore really fast. I love that weird paranormal/fantasy magic stuff. Didn't finish it though, I remember getting stuck at a boss and then Death Stranding appeared in my mail box

@playstation1995 I'll take Syphon filter all day long, hopefully PS5 is backwards compatible so I can pop my old disc in

@andreoni79 Ha, I forgot about this! Yep, I enjoyed Resi 5, played it through in co-op with my mate, we had a blast

@Octane I think it was because I saw quite a bit of the making of it so I'd seen a few of the scenes before the choices were removed so couldn't unsee the slight pauses when playing through them.

From what I gather about Control is that a lot of the optional content was better than the main stuff, that and the combat looks a lot of fun. Yeah Death Stranding was awesome and one of the few games I stuck around to Platinum too

Not surprised but in my opinion Days Gone was very average. It could be from all the open world fatigue though

@LiamCroft Oh, idk, maybe the horde mechanic that was one of the major selling points? But my point wasn't about the game doing something new, it was about the claim that [edit: the] game is uninspired.

I am so proud of us. Control and Star wars are my favorites, but i kind of miss Metro exodus.

The problem with a public poll is most have not played all 10 of the games listed. I only own Death Stranding and Days Gone from that list. Think I voted Kingdom Hearts 3 another game I own.
1.Death Stranding
2.Days Gone
3.Kingdom Hearts 3

@LegendOfStewart Uninspired = lacking in inspiration or originality.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uninspired

Days Gone is a good game, but it's hardly doing anything new for the open world genre.

@LiamCroft You're focusing on the originality aspect of the definition. When I hear the word "uninspired," it immediately connotes the lacking in inspiration (or what I consider lacking "heart") aspect of the definition, and it's pretty clear to anyone who put a solid amount of time into the game that, though the game is flawed, it does not lack inspiration.

@LegendOfStewart Yeah, the game is clearly inspired by multiple other open world titles, but that's not what Rob's description of Days Gone is referring to. He is suggesting that the game doesn't do enough to differentiate itself.

@LiamCroft And to that end, I, as well as 1,508 other people on this site will agree to disagree.

I couldn't vote due to the utterly ridiculous requirement to choose 3 games and Days Gone being the only one I'd played, but I'd have voted for Days Gone if I could,

The right game won. 👍😁

@carlos82. Syphon filter is my favorite ps1 games ever.so a ps5 syphon filter.the graphics will look amazing.word up son

@LiamCroft thing is you could say the same for many games. Spider-Man hardly does anything new or original either but look how great that is...

@LiamCroft you seem to have a problem with people liking a game that you obviously don’t. Wasn’t this top 10 a public vote? The horde mechanic was very impressive and the first time I took down a horde was the most memorial moment for me in any game I’ve played this year. It wasn’t in my top 3 choices but still enjoyed it playing the game and all it’s flaws. Control was my game of the year followed by death stranding then resident evil 2 ( which didn’t do a lot new but was very well polished, and probably played the best of all games )

No Monster Hunter World Iceborne in the top 10? Invalid list. Best game of this generation/decade. It's an expansion, sure, but still. Surprised to see Days Gone up there too.. I went in with no expectations and was still let down.

Days Gone? Wtf xD it's a good game but compared to almost every single one of the other entries it's actually a bit worse...but ok!
Good list anyway

Nice to see CONTROL got some love. It had my favorite video game bit in it since a moment with a certain book in Witcher 3's Blood and Wine.

The maze. A wonderfully done bit.

Glad to see the people, the gamers know what a great game is and that is Days Gone, game of the year.
Shout out to the Days Gone haters, keep shedding those tears.

Wow, so many crybabies in here, the people voted and they love Days Gone which is deserved, got over it.

Just got the plat of Days Gone 2 days ago and it was fun getting it, even more fun then Spider-man plat. Such a good game, has a few bugs here and there but you can hardly ever notice them. A must buy game for sure.

Also, did not see that ending coming.

Great to see we're all happy with the results of a poll that we all voted in!

Personally, Days Gone was the game in 2019 that I poured the most time into and couldn't put down. I was really surprised by how much I liked it as I didn't think I would find the characters relatable but within 3 or 4 hours I was utterly invested.

I do recognise that open world games are far and away my fave genre so I just assumed I was out of step with the critical reception due to my personal preferences, but it quickly became apparent that the game was gaining traction within the community. I am not surprised at this result in the slightest.

A well deserved winner, brilliant game!

@Constable_What You got really bad taste mate, like really bad... Just kidding, I liked the story a lot but maybe because I just love the concept of a good biker game, not like the bad ones we had in the past.
I didn't really like the crafting much because the little triangles to show you where there at went away far too quick.
The gun play to me was solid even more so with end game guns but once they got up in you face it was a little hard to aim unless you rolled or sprint a bit.
The bike was so fun to ride but I'll always end up hitting the lonely tree in the middle of nowhere xD
All in all, we must now fight to the death with bananas as weapons since we have different view points and the internet can't have that so get ready punk. <--- This is a joke, don't rage.

It's so true, Days Gone wasn't a particularly unique open world, but I absolutely loved it. I think for me it was the the setting of Oregon, and driving around on the motorcycle was a lot of fun. I also liked story of Deacon and Sarah, and felt there was more to Deacon than the gruff male label that was slapped on him.

Do we really think there will be a sequel though? I don't remember Sony parading around sales numbers for this one.

@JohnKarnes that's the problem with any and all games goty lists. Ive played around 240 games across the the whole gen on all systems.

According to the Wikipedia page there have been 2425 games released on PS4 alone. Goty with games just doesn't work when you play such a low percentage, mainly the most marketed games.

It always amazes me the type of games most panelists and gamers go for as well. Almost always action games with RPG mechanics. Looking at the games awards winners and seeing - Dragon age Inquisition, the Witcher 3, overwatch, BOTW, god of war and now Sekiro.

All of them take an age to play / finish and enjoy and arguably offer nothing new. That's a year's worth of games right there if they all released at the same time.

i remember people saying days gone was bland, boring, looked like something they had played plenty of before and was not interested in this game.. and here we are today, it gets a goty, strange days.

@Fuzzymonkeyfunk https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2019/12/game_of_the_year_liams_top_5_ps4_games_of_2019

It came fifth in my GOTY personal list mate.

@LiamCroft yeah was about 5th for me too. Haven’t got round to playing sekiro or Jedi fallen order yet so might of been lower

@Arugula As for not offering anything new, being uninspired or unoriginal? That's largely a critics argument. They play a lot more games than the average person so something truly new and original gets taken notice of. There's always going to be a disconnect.

This. I haven't played Days Gone, but really felt it got an unfair drubbing by critics. Watching everyone pile on for no apparent reason other than it wasn't original or inspiring enough, I felt was really bad form and made me feel slightly uncomfortable, almost like I was watching a studio get bullied?? Lol Not every game has to be AMAZINg and forge new paths in gameplay and invent a new genre. What's wrong with a game being fun, enjoyable and solid. I'm glad it's getting mentioned in GOTY disscussions around the net. I'm also happy to see the criminally overlooked Control getting some love. Sometimes, games are just games.

@LaJettatura salty

Close to what I would list for sure. Nice.

Glad to see Judgment make the top ten at least. Highly underrated game. Just make sure to play it in Japanese to get the authentic experience. The dub is just blasphemy.

lol I see alot of what did Days do new. Yet DS did alot new and some of those same people said oh God it's terrible.....games are pretty much just about beyond new gameplay. It's all about the journey and how you feel when you get there now.

@LiamCroft
Hi man.
Sorry to reply a bit late to your points about Days Gone.
'Days Gone is a good game, but it's hardly doing anything new for the open world genre. '
Thing is I dont think people really care about 'new' but care more about whatever make them have a good time, and it's more up to you to find out why than them try to explain. 'Inspiring' is more about feeling than technical for most people I believe. However to get to your point I would like to know all these other games that, apparently exist, where you enjoy the open world on your bike in a third person shooter mechanics with hordes and baddys and such a nice story. I might be interested.
Cheers!!!

@kiki3400 - It didn't get that much of a drubbing, did it? Iirc, the general consensus was that it was a 7/10 game and that it was kinda like Sleeping Dogs; a jack-of-all-trades that does a lot of stuff generally well, but doesn't really do any of those things exceptionally well.

On Topic, I must've missed the "Days Gone is a fan favourite" thing, because I always got the impression it wasn't that well received by both ; certainly not enough to have it placed at the top of a GOTY poll (especially with games like Resi Evil 2, Death Stranding, DMC V and Sekiro also in the running).

Never rated Days Gone, just found it drab and uninspiring. I get that people enjoyed it though. I think it appeals to a wide demographic of players and also the casual market. And zombies are always a guaranteed hit. The game was stable in terms of bugs and playability, so there's that.

I dunno, I guess overall I'm really just a whole lot of indifferent and "meh" about the game.

For me this is the final "evidence" that shows us how bad 2019 was in terms of gaming.
Not that Days Gone is a bad game, because it's not, but in a really good year, a game like this would be in the top 10, maybe in the top 5 but not number one.
And it also proves that players although appreciate new ideas, if they are boring, meh (Death Stranding).

@JJ2 I get where @LiamCroft is going. Days Gone is not entirely new. If you hadded Zombies (not new) to a Far Cry game, sharaaaan, you have Days Gone (technically).
But I'm with you 100% on the rest: People don't want to play boring games. And it doesn't need to be something new. If it's well made and the story is good (because most of the times, it isn't), it's what people want.
Even Red Dead Redemption 2 is kind of an example of this. It isn't something new. It's the same thing as before but improved.(improved a lot, but that's it. Although I still prefer the first one by miles).

Has anyone played days gone recently? They have released a load of patches for it, have they fixed the awful cut scene transitions? I understand that they took out all the dialogue options late in the day as I’m guessing it just wasn’t working. The 30 second black screen transitions from cutscene to cutscene was unforgivable.

@LiamCroft I'm think that your vision, and most of the reviewers, is different from most of the players.
You play games everyday. So do I, most of the days, but for an hour or so. I imagine you play much more.
I think that when you get something really new like Death Stranding, it's like a breeze of fresh air. I think that that's the main difference.
And that way of looking to games also changes your perception of it. I'm not saying that anyone is right or wrong, I'm just saying that reviewers tend to search different "feelings" or experiences from a game than other players. Or maybe I'm completly wrong, but those are just my thoughts on the matter.

@LowTech

'If you hadded Zombies (not new) to a Far Cry game, sharaaaan, you have Days Gone (technically).'
Not really though.. not at all actually.
Unless you mistake TPS for FPS and miss the main point of the whole game (hint: 🏍)
Also hordes 》》》random 'not new' zombies

@LowTech
Its exactly my feeling.

_ I was elaborating about reviews, facts and opinions but it's not the sort of things reviewers want to hear and maybe offended so I gave up _

@kiki3400 "Not every game has to be amazing and forge new paths in gameplay and invent a new genre. What's wrong with a game being fun, enjoyable and solid."

Best comment on this entire thread, my friend. At the end of the day, I play games to have fun. I played probably 40-50 games this year and, despite its flaws, the most fun I had all year was playing Days Gone. I don't need developers to constantly reinvent the wheel; I just need a game to be fun, and Days Gone delivered for me.

@Gamer83 just be happy a zombie type game won and quit complaining

@Jaz007 aww to bad it did

@kiki3400 That's kind of the problem I have with it. I found it boring cause it didn't do anything interesting or new in the zombie genre except for the horde mechanic.