What are your Favorite New Releases from 2019

With the year coming to a close, I thought it'd be fun to see what your favorite games released in 2019 are.

I will leave this stickied up till the end of year to be fair for new releases still coming.

Ana

My favourite new release is probably still pining away on my un-played stack.

I am so far behind

But I'm sure you'll get plenty of more sensible replies, BrownEyedTigre !!

My favorites for 2019 are:

Detective Di
Carol Reed 14: The Fall of April

I don't know if there will be anything this year from Jon Boakes and Matt Clark or not.
If they do release something this month (December 2019) that's another possibility.

What were your favorites, Ana?

While I have played almost 100 games this year (including casuals), the only game I played that came out this year is Carol Reed 14: The Fall of April.

Thank you Jenny and Oldbroad. The disadvantage of releasing games in January is that you're sometimes forgotten when people are about to summarize the games of the year.

I haven't played many games from this year either, mostly since I usually catch up with games from the previous year in January - March, when I don't work on any game myself. But my favorite from this year was Draugen. It's not The Longest Journey, but Ragnar Tornquist is still going strong. My favorite catch up-game from last year is without a doubt We Happy Few. It's an action-adventure, but I wouldn't really consider it darkside, since the adventure elements are totally dominating. This game is a masterpiece, and I'm still debating with myself it it's actually the best game I've ever played.

Wow Mikael. I've looked at We Happy Few several times because I think it looks interesting and different but wasn't sure about buying it. I guess I may have to put it on my wish list.

And speaking of your games coming out in January, any info you want to leak to us?

Yes. I'm slightly later this year, but the game is longer than any previous game. The game is finished except for the recording of some dialogue and maybe 60 percent of the hint system. I will have the beta ready before Christmas, but due to Madonna touring I won't be able to release it until the first half of February.

Sounds good! Thanks Mikael!

Thanks, Mikael!
I have to confess that 2019 was not a memorable adventure year for me...
Still, my votes are for 'The Fall of April' and for 'Pilgrims'!

Haven't played many new releases but for sure "The Fall of April" .

I did look at "Happy Few" after reading Mikael's post but $60.00 is a little more than I want to pay......

I must apologise to Mikael !! Because, of course, I, too, thoroughly enjoyed his Carol Reed game "The Fall of April".

That is one new release I DID play - and should have said so in my earlier post

Apology accepted Mad! I was seriously considering reporting you to admin for this blatant omission.


$60.00? That's steep. I don't remember it being that expensive, but maybe it was cheaper when I bought it.

And rightly so, Mikael !! I consider myself fully rebuked

In my opinion the adventure games genre is in a poor state here in 2019. The tag adventure is now on almost any new game, bur if you look closer they are very often platform or action games, at least partly. I guess the developers use the word adventure to sell better, who does not want to experience an adventure ?

Good old fashioned, inventory-based adventure games without fighting or other QTE´s are indeed very hard to find anymore. So what do an old-school gamer like myself choose to play these days ? Well, I look for walking simulators with great graphics and at least some things to do. I would not call them challenging, but there are enough to do to make them interesting.

So two highlights in 2019 for me was Eastshade and Argonus and the Gods of Stone with very few, if any, puzzles, but beautiful surroundings and a lot of exploring. I recommend them to all players in this forum.

Thanks to those that responded with their favs! Much appreciated. I was hoping more would chime in, but it's not looking good.

Sorry, BrownEyedTigre

I play a lot of "oldies tweaked for modern machines" and obviously they don't count as new releases.

However, one new one I forgot to mention that I did play and enjoy was Arkhangel The House of the Seven Stars.
[I think that was this year ??]

And I played most of Quern : Undying Thoughts. [If that also was this year ??]

I liked Silent Footsteps too. [But was that released last year ??]

And I very much Hero U Rogue to Redemption [But that might be classed as a Darksider ??]

So still not a very good list !!

Thanks, Mad! There is a listing of games (certainly, I didn't capture all releases but I did my best) here on the bottom half, by month if it helps!

Thanks for that link, BrownEyedTigre. Although I should have thought to look there myself !!

I've only bought a very few from this year's offerings and they are still on my "unplayed" stack.

Evidently I am getting hard to please in my old age

I bought a number of the new releases and thought I would be playing a couple of them right away but never did get to them.

I, too, wish more people would "chime in".

Going by the release dates at Steam and PAGODA...

Arkhangel was 2018
Quern was 2016
Silent Footsteps was 2017
Hero-U was 2018

so you still only have "Carol Reed: The Fall of April" from 2019.

(I have to look up dates for everything because I can never remember.)

There are games like Gibbous, Heaven's Vault, Guard Duty, etc. that are from 2019 and which I will probably get around to playing eventually and may turn out to be favorites. But so far I've only played the two I listed earlier that were from 2019 (Carol Reed: The Fall of April and Detective Di). Everything else I played was from previous years.

Here's PAGODA's list of adventures released this year, though I see they haven't added that Nancy Drew release yet and may also be missing some other very recent releases.
https://alofmethbin.com/pagoda/year.php?year=2019

Compare to other years' releases here
https://alofmethbin.com/pagoda/years.php


I don't think that's the problem.
When someone like you or me enjoys replaying older games, and their collections date back to the late 1980's or early 1990's, they're going to have trouble keeping caught up with the latest releases as their collections grow. In fact, as time goes on, they get more and more snowed under by past purchases and some games never get any attention unless someone happens to post something special about them.

Oh, dear !! So only ONE of the games I have mentioned is eligible

I do always read about the new releases as they are publicised here at Gameboomers.
However so many of them simply don't appeal to me.
I think MY idea of a good Adventure game is not necessarily what is being produced in great numbers these days - which is why I described myself as being "picky".
And as I have so many games in my collection that I CAN still play (and enjoy) on one or more of my computers, I certainly won't spend money on new games that are not to my taste

BrownEyedTigre, your link to 2019 games helped jog my memory (thanks!)...games from this year that I played include:

Fall of April:
I always play and enjoy the latest Carol Reed game when it comes out; I very much enjoyed this game and am looking forward to the next one.

Draugen:
How can anyone pass up a Red Thread adventure game? Very atmospheric and intriguing; it allows you to explore a wide area while still making steady progress.

Truberbrook:
I had been waiting for this release and I was not disappointed. The stop-motion type animation and crafted sets were unique and were a fun part of the game. My computer doesn't have a graphics card, so it was a little under-powered for the game, but in the end I found settings that allowed me to play the game and laugh through many parts. Without spoiling anything, my favorite part involved a suit of armor. When I eventually upgrade my computer I plan on replaying this game first. An upcoming game to be released in 2020 that takes a similar approach is Harold Halibut...looking forward to that one.

Yoomurjak's Ring
I was worried that the re-release of Yoomurjak's Ring might lose the Hungarian audio track in favor of dubbing, but it was just like the original, which I haven't been able to play on a PC for a long while. A classic FMV game that was well acted and well produced.

Like others, a number of the games I played this year that I liked the most weren't released this year.
Of those that were, and for the reasons explained in my review, Jenny LeClue stands out. Detctive Di ws another, and both Layers of Fear 2 and Moons of Madness ticked a number of my personal boxes.
Am downloading We happy Few as I type - its on special. Contrast by the same makers was rather good, so looking forward to this.

Aha !! I've found more that I bought - that show on the Gameboomer list of releases for this year

Detective Di: The Silk Rose Murders
Gibbous : A Cthulhu Adventure
The 13th Doll
Mage's Initiation: Reign of the Elements

So I feel slightly redeemed now

Did you play those already Mad?

No. They are all still languishing on my un-played stack. Disgraceful, huh ??

Not disgraceful to me. I know that you know, how far behind I am in even my first play through of games and now that I have started replaying some games...

This year I devoted a lot of time to playing but barely made a dent AND I really didn't do much of anything else ever. Even being out of work, there just isn't enough time for it all!!

But as long as you are enjoying yourself, what does it matter ??

Even if I am disgraceful (by my own standards) I'm not in any hurry to attempt a reformation

It's better to enjoy replaying your older games and never get caught up with the new ones than to only enjoy new games you've never played before and run out of games to play.

I like that piece of wisdom Jenny

Already posted this so I've rubbed out this repeat !!

For those interested I just received an email from Steam that 'We Happy Few' is on sale until January 2nd.

Robert

Thanks, Robert. It's on sale on GOG as well.

I've now started playing the re-mastered Blade Runner. And it is GOOD

[ This is probably in the wrong thread ??]

Here is my games list. Not that many, and not all new releases. And all played on my IPad, so I don’t know if they are available on PC. A few could be classified as casual games, such as Myths of the World and Final Cut. I would highly recommend Alleys, Panmorphia, Meridian 57 and 157 Prologue.
Games played 2019
Rime - good
Alleys - great
Trapmaker and Cursed Crown
Panmorphia enchanted
Legacy the Lost Pyramid
Legacy 2 Hidden Curse
Trapmaker 2 and 3
Pirate’s Treasure
Paradise Mystery
157 Prologue- excellent
Meridian 57 - excellent
The Lost Ship expansion version
Myths of the World Whispering Marsh CE
Dark Ruins - replay
Murder Inn - replay
Christmas Killer - replay
Escape mystery Space - replay
Final Cut Fame Fatale CE

Looking forward to House of DaVinci 2 next.

Don't recognise any of those games colpet.

My list for 2019 was:

Through the Woods
Never Again (gave up)
Man of Medan
Draugen
Silver Chains
Albino Lullaby (gave up)
Lust for Darkness
Death of Erin Myers
State of Mind
Walking Dead (Final Season)
Gray Dawn
Sherlock Holmes – Devils Daughter
Broken Sword 5
Painscreek Killing
Fall of April

I loved the Walking Dead, Sherlock Holmes and Fall of April games especially. Through the Woods was also fun.

I enjoyed all the others apart from the couple I gave up on.

Whispers of a Machine gets my vote for game of the year!