Best Games of 2018

FromThe Besties

Start listening View podcast show

Best Games of 2018

FromThe Besties

ratings:

Length:

181 minutes

Released:

Dec 25, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Wondering what the best games of 2018 were? Join Justin McElroy, Griffin McElory, Chris Plante and Russ Frushtick as they venture forth and discuss the cream of the crop. Will it be the last Besties episode ever? Yes! Maybe! I don't know! We just hope you enjoy it.

Released:

Dec 25, 2018

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the best of game be chosen by the best of friends?

Skip carousel

The Besties Podcast XXI by The Besties
40 min listen
The Besties Podcast VIII by The Besties
33 min listen
The Besties Podcast 52 - Life choices by The Besties
55 min listen
The Besties Podcast — II by The Besties
38 min listen
The Besties Podcast - V by The Besties
35 min listen
The Besties Podcast XIII by The Besties
46 min listen
The Besties Podcast XV by The Besties
53 min listen
The Besties Podcast III (Live from GDC 2012): If the audio sounds weird it's because we recorded this, the third ever Besties episode, in a hotel room in San Francisco. by The Besties
35 min listen
The Besties Podcast - VI by The Besties
42 min listen
The Besties Podcast XXIX (archive): Special thanks to Salivation Army for recovering this episode from the archive! by The Besties
57 min listen
The Besties Podcast III (from the archive): This episode of The Besties was recorded in a hotel room in San Francisco (hence the garbage audio). But hey, that's what happens when we all (except for Griffin) have to travel for GDC 2012! by The Besties
35 min listen
The Besties Podcast XIV by The Besties
46 min listen
The Besties Podcast XVII by The Besties
51 min listen
The Besties Podcast XVI by The Besties
47 min listen
The Besties Podcast XXII (archive): Special thanks to Salivation Army for recovering this episode from the archives! by The Besties
36 min listen
The Besties Podcast XXV (archive): Special thanks to Salivation Army for recovering this episode from the archive! by The Besties
41 min listen
The Besties Podcast 43 - Temple Run 2 and DMC: Devil May Cry by The Besties
51 min listen
The Besties 40 - End of 2012 Special Part 1 by The Besties
50 min listen
The Besties Podcast X by The Besties
39 min listen
The Besties pick the best games of August 2017 by The Besties
86 min listen
The Besties 70 - The avuncular episode by The Besties
39 min listen
The Besties Podcast XXIII by The Besties
43 min listen
The Besties Podcast 36 by The Besties
63 min listen
The Besties Podcast XXIV by The Besties
39 min listen
The Best Video Game Kings + Shovel Knight: King of Cards: In this episode of The Besties, the boys debate which are the very best video game kings of all time. They'll also dive in to the latest addition to the Shovel Knight franchise, King of Cards. by The Besties
37 min listen
Game of the Year Part 2: Time to decide the best video game of 2019. We've tabulated our votes, and we're even including a surprise bracket, as voted on by the fans. Here we go, folks. It's all led to this. The full list of contenders in this year's GOTY special include: Round 1 - A Short Hike What the Golf Hypnospace Outlaw Outer Wilds (Part 1 winner) Round 2 - Outer Worlds Luigi's Mansion (Part 1 winner) Astral Chain Pokémon Sword and Shield Round 3 - Control Baba is You Sekiro Disco Elysium by The Besties
69 min listen
The Besties 68 - Down in a hole by The Besties
50 min listen
The Besties Podcast XXVII by The Besties
46 min listen
The Besties Podcast 45 - Fire Emblem: Awakening and Dead Space 3 by The Besties
53 min listen
The Besties 74 - GD Ritzy's by The Besties
48 min listen

More Episodes from The Besties

Skip carousel

Walking Into the Thousand-Year Door: This week’s special guest is Mario! Or as some people say, Merry-O. The most popular plumber on our podcast returns with a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. This might shock you, but Griffin is in love. What about the rest of the crew? In the back half, the Besties share their best guesses for Summer Game Fest. by The Besties
64 min listen
The Great Indie Game Flood of 2024 Continues: Here’s a short list of indie games released in May: Crow Country, Animal Well, Arctic Eggs, 1000xResist, Skald, Hades 2, Indika, and the list goes on. We’ve already discussed some of those games. We'll discuss more in the future. Today, the game we’ve fished from the Great Indie Game Flood of 2024 is Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, the latest puzzling adventure from Simogo. Bring your notepad! It’s time to crack the case! by The Besties
43 min listen
Into the Aether of Hell with Hades 2: The Besties went through HELL to record this episode. With Griffin and Justin out, Frushtick and Plante prepared to record with a special guest. But after Plante spilled water all over his recording set up, Frushtick was left to talk about Hades 2 as the sole Besty. Fortunately, he had back up. Into the Aether's Brendon Bigley joined the show for the podcast crossover event of the year! by The Besties
57 min listen
Going down Animal Well's Rabbit Hole: The gang has a spoiler-free discussion of one of the most intriguing games of the year, Animal Well. Will Griffin's life ever be the same? Probably not! We also dive into some of the horrendous studio closures happening this week. by The Besties
62 min listen
There's No Rest for the Wicked Nuns: What if you combined Dark Souls and Diablo, then added a pinch of city-building mechanics and survivor elements? You’d get No Rest for the Wicked from Moon Studios, the team best known for the Ori games. It’s ambitious and bound to inspire conversations — even in its Early Access stage. In the back half, Plante updates the team on 2024’s best nun simulator: Indika! by The Besties
48 min listen
A Souls-like for Fans of N64-era Mascot Games: Special guest Lucy James (GameSpot, Giant Bomb, Frames Per Second Podcast) joins Frushtick and Plante to discuss Another Crab’s Treasure. Have you ever wondered what it would have looked like had Rare made a Souls-like in the early ‘00s? Now you have an answer! Plus, the crew shares updates on other games they’ve been playing, from Stellar Blade to TopSpin 2K25. by The Besties
54 min listen
Falling in to the Fallout TV Show: Duck and cover! This week, The Besties discuss the first two episodes of the excellent Fallout TV series. Then, they talk through the ways the Fallout approach could alter the trajectory of video game adaptations. Plus: a bunch of great listener recommendations! by The Besties
59 min listen
Chicken Soup for the Gamers' Soul: This week, The Besties share their favorite “rainy day” games! These are the games we dig out when we’re feeling blue and need something that provides a quick dose of comfort. Turns out our list is quite long! In the back half, we do the rare Besties spoilercast with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — a.k.a. one of 2024’s best games. by The Besties
67 min listen
Pepper Grinder and Princess Peach, Together at Last: This week we've got a game inspired by the SNES era and a game that probably shouldn't have come out at all. We'll also find out just what Justin thinks about Dragon's Dogma 2, and what's going on with the Stardew Valley 1.6 update. by The Besties
66 min listen
Arise with Dragon's Dogma 2: Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the best game of the year? Or is it the buggiest? It might be the most divisive! This week, The Besties talk about the wildly ambitious (and difficult to run on most hardware) fantasy RPG from Capcom. Plus, we take a deep dive into the reader mail pool. Did we mention we keep all the letters in a pool, Scrooge McDuck-style? Because we do. by The Besties
50 min listen
Rise of the Ronin is Assassin's Creed with Killer Combat: Team Ninja has been busy! In the past five years, the studio released Dead or Alive 6, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Nioh 2, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Their latest game, Rise of the Ronin, compiles everything they learned into their most ambitious project: a sprawling open-world samurai adventure set in a recreation of mid-19th century Japan. Rise of the Ronin takes the “something for everyone” approach, blending the exploration and loot systems of recent Assassin’s Creed games with the quick-reflex sword fighting of the studio’s Nioh series. This video game smoothie is quite delicious — if you can stomach the occasional funky chunk of game mechanics. In the back half, we talk about our favorite under-appreciated open-world games. by The Besties
54 min listen
Unicorn Overlord and a God of War-like You Never Heard Of: This week, the squad puts on their armor, grabs their swords, and mounts their gallant steads to charge into Unicorn Overlord. The tactics RPG is the latest game from Vanillaware, the developer of niche masterpieces like Odin Sphere and 13 Sentinels. In the back half, Justin introduce the team to Banishers, a game that blends Witcher and God of War. How did we not hear about this one until now? And how often does a game depict a healthy marriage like this one?! by The Besties
54 min listen
The Future of Video Games (In Demos): The Besties take a trip into the not-so-distant future of video games, digging into a batch of awesome demos from Steam Next Fest. Whether you want to live the life of anime-style Duke Nukem or an alternate reality 19th century nun, you will be satisfied! by The Besties
60 min listen
We Really (Rogue)Like Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Balatro: This week, we're evangelizing for two indie games that have completely consumed every moment of our free time: The rock and stone-fueled auto-shooter Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and the poker deckbuilder Balatro! We're going to go back to playing those, now. Enjoy the episode. Also discussed: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers 2, Riders of Justice, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Elden Ring by The Besties
64 min listen
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Helldivers 2 are Battling for Our Time: The streak of hot new releases for 2024 continues! This week, we're talking about the opening hours of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and the many hours we've spent squishing bugs 'n' bots in Helldivers 2. Good hours, all! Also discussed: The Devil's Plan, Clubhouse Games, Deep Rock Survivor, The Floor by The Besties
56 min listen
Persona 3 Reload, Lysfanga, and Some Big Besties News: This week's episode is all about two games: Persona 3 Reload, the from-the-ground remake of Atlus' groundbreaking RPG, and Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior, a clever arena action game with a time-turning twist. Also, some big news about the future of The Besties! (No, we're not ending the show. Again.) Also discussed: The Connector, Zoey Ashe Trilogy, Helldivers 2, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor by The Besties
67 min listen
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is Kinda the Pits: Maybe this won't come as the biggest shock in the world to you, but Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is not a very good video game. How did we get here? Genuinely: We do not know. But we're not having, like, the best time. Also discussed: Enshrouded, The Void Rains Upon Her Heart, Casey Neistat's Apple Vision Pro commercial, Lysfanga, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Orion and the Dark by The Besties
59 min listen
Anomaly Agent and the future of the Resties!: It's a big episode of the Resties! We're about to make some changes to the show, so we make time to share the results of our listener poll and reveal some behind-the-scenes info. But first, we have a cool video game to discuss! Anomaly Agent's creators have blended pixel art, anime design, 1990s arcade brawlers, and films like Inception and Paprika to create something delightful. And it's only $10 on Steam -- and a little more on Switch and Xbox. We love to hear your feedback, so be sure to subscribe to besties.fan. by The Besties
49 min listen
The Grab Bag is Full and it is Only February: We're pivoting a bit this week, discussing a half dozen sweet, lesser-known new releases that we've been enjoying during what's been an otherwise action-packed first month of the year! Join us, why don't you? Discussed: Tiny Rogues, Tekken 8, Home Safety Hotline, Enshrouded, Lunistice, Lil Guardsman, Devil's Plan, Fargo, Taskmaster, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Chain Gang All-Stars, Piranesi by The Besties
65 min listen
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is Infinite Fun: Yakuza's back for like the eighth time, and it's never looked better! Join us as we discuss Ichiban and Kiryu's tropical vacation, and also the finer points of goose breeding. Also discussed: Tingus Goose: Weird Idle Game, Taskmaster, Cobalt Core, Football, Only Weird Games, Super Mario Odyssey, The Traitors by The Besties
52 min listen
How we got from Batman to Suicide Squad [Resties]: When Rocksteady published its entire Batman trilogy within seven years, it became one of the most promising (and prolific) video game studios in the world. But now, seven years since its last major release, Rocksteady has lost its two founders and, seemingly, its creative identity. With its new game Suicide Squad weeks from release, we explain how this developer went from creating the best superhero games of its generation to producing a living game looter shooter. In the back half, Russ shares his thoughts on Cobalt Core. And we have a special survey for listeners at Besties.fan! by The Besties
52 min listen
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Starts the Year Out Strong: We're only a couple weeks into 2024, and already, we think we've got a bonafide GOTY contender on our hands: Ubisoft's new Metroidvania reimagining of the Prince of Persia franchise! Also, we're not calling them Metroidvanias anymore. Also discussed: The Rest of the Prince of Persia series, Fleishman is in Trouble, Traitors, Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Threads by The Besties
58 min listen
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and the Art of Jackfruit Lock-picking (feat. Jordan Morris): This week, we're discussing two EXTREMELY different open-world adventures: Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, which features a lot of tall blue people, and Lil Gator Game, which features a lot of short green people. Which delighted us (and returning guest Jordan Morris) more? Find out inside! Also discussed: Taskmaster, Dragon Age Dreadwolf, Haunted Chocolatier, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Rise of the Golden Idol, Sanabi, Baldur's Gate 3, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Little Inferno, Mortal Kombat 1, Street Fighter 6 by The Besties
60 min listen
Our big video game predictions 2024 [Resties]: It's that special time of year when the Resties make bold prophecies about the future of video games. Sometimes they come true! Other times... not so much. In this week's episode, Frushtick and Plante revisit their 2023 predictions and declare a winner of their annual bet. And in the back half, they make fresh predictions for 2024 -- with a big twist! See a list of all of the Resties predictions at besties.fan! by The Besties
55 min listen
What's Coming in 2024?: We're back after a brief holiday hiatus to discuss the biggest, Bestiest video game releases of the coming year. Spoiler alert: It gets real JRPG-heavy, real quick. Games discussed: Dragon's Dogma 2, Unicorn Overlord, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Baby Steps, Animal Well, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Alone in the Dark, Persona 3 Reload, Light No Fire, Hades 2, Prince of Persia, Brothers, Paper Mario: The 1000 Year Door, Skin Deep, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Visions of Mana, Death Must Die, Halls of Torment, Godzilla Minus One, Lair of the White Worm, Undertale, The Gnorp Apologue, Binding of Isaac by The Besties
52 min listen
Besties 2023 GOTY Spectacular - Part Two: Once more, our watch has ended. We've put 2023 to bed, deciding on the definitive list of the top four games of the year. Catch y'all in 2024! Have good holidays! LYLAS! by The Besties
73 min listen
Besties 2023 GOTY Spectacular - Part One: IT BEGINNETH ANEW. Join us for the first half of our annual Game of the Year determination, in which sixteen of the year's top titles (including four listener picks!) square off to see who moves on to the finals! There's at least one decision in here that we're sure to catch flak for, so, hey! Let's get this over with. Games discussed: Baldur's Gate 3, Chants of Sennaar, Alan Wake 2, Armored Core 6, Dredge, Dave the Diver, Blasphemous 2, Sea of Stars, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Spider-Man 2, Connections, Cocoon, Lies of P, Super Mario Wonder, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty by The Besties
94 min listen
The Resties Required Reading List is complete! [Resties]: Find the full Resties Required Reading List at Besties.fan! We have finalized the Resties Required Reading List and we can’t wait to share the results! Our goal was to collect a list of 25 games — from Pac-Man to modern day, 1980 to 2020 — that will help our listeners better appreciate this wonderful medium. We believe these are the games that everyone who wants to have a fundamental appreciation of video games should play or watch. They’re the games that will, in ways big and small, give you a richer connection with every other game you play. Think of it like a syllabus for Video Games 101. Or as the 25 games we’d built a museum around. Or just as a guide on how to spend some of your holiday break! This episode is sponsored by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh.com/restiesfree and use code restiesfree for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while the subscription is active. That’s free breakfast for life at HelloF by The Besties
66 min listen
A Look Back at 2023 with the TGAs (and the GTAs): Join us for a look back at this year's biggest games through the lens of the annual The Game Awards show, and as we make some pretty out-there predictions about the announcements we'll see therein. Also, there's a new Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer! That's pretty wild, isn't it? Also discussed: Lunacid, Teardown, Baldur's Gate 3, The Steam Deck OLED, PlayStation Portal, Bottoms, Lil Gator Game by The Besties
66 min listen
2023 Indies You Might Have Missed: On this extra special episode of The Besties, the gang brings forth some truly excellent games from smaller devs that may have passed you by. Games discussed: Kingdom Eighties, Jusant, Lunacid, Backpack Hero, among others. We've also got some great suggestions from the readers! For the full list, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan. Subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan! by The Besties
63 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

#168. The Frozen Four is the Best College Sports Tourney, guest Pat Micheletti by Bardown Beauties
47 min listen
Interview with Tom McLoughlin: In this special bonus episode, Jason Lives: Friday the 13th, Part VI  writer and director Tommy McLoughlin joins the Halloweenies around the campfire for an all-time great chat. Together, they discuss how Capra was a mentor, being offered Scre... by Halloweenies: A Horror Franchise Podcast
106 min listen
S4 Ep30: 30th January 2016 - SIX NATIONS PREVIEW: the greatest show on turf! 6 Nations is back for 2017! Quite probably the keenest contested 6 Nations in years...possibly ever. We preview the tournament looking at each of the 6 teams. Who will their heroes and villains be? Who are the 'bolsters... by The EggChasers Rugby Podcast
91 min listen
1849 - Top 5 Legacy Villains by Comic Geek Speak Podcast - The Best Comic Book Podcast
138 min listen
There’s a Starfield... waiting in the sky by VGC: The Video Games Podcast
58 min listen
GXW - Episode 003 - "Ghostbusters": "Who ya gonna call?" by Generation X-Wing Podcast
58 min listen
Mario Golf (with Megan Sutton and Aidan Clements): We're hitting the greens once again, this time with a bunch of Nintendo characters as the Mario Sports franchise kicks off in earnest! Megan Sutton and Aidan Clements join us to talk arcade golf games, sort through the game's surprising number of modes, ... by Ultra 64 : Wii Universe
47 min listen
Introducing The Totally Football Show: The guys from the UK’s The Totally Football Show share with listeners their insights and predictions about the 2018 World Cup. by We Came to Win
57 min listen
304. The X-Quiz 2018: The X-Quiz 2018 It's the third annual X-Files Quiz, this time hosted by Russ Hugo. Ten rounds of questions devoted to each season The X-Files, from specifically Seasons 10 and 11, with three teams in competition - all featuring Patrons of the show... by The X-Cast: An X-Files Podcast
93 min listen
Super Mario RPG Review and the Suika Game Craze | TSBR 70 by Toadstool Boardroom
66 min listen
S8 Ep. 65 "The Pistons Hold the Key; Game 4 preview" (Guest: Omari Sankofa): On this episode, Keith and Jon discuss the Celtics win in Game 3, Draymond Green's antics, and preview Game 4. Then, Omari Sankofa (Pistons Pulse, Detroit Free Press) joins to discuss how the Pistons are a key player this offseason with massive cap... by Fastbreak Breakfast NBA Podcast
40 min listen
THE FEND EELS86 SPECIAL EDITION by THE FEND
35 min listen
100 points does not matter: Jamie and Thomas talk about the true value of Elias Pettersson's 100+ point season. Thomas goes on a Drancian rant about "winning culture". Justin Cuthbert of FAN 590 joins the show to discuss whether the Maple Leafs can get past their mental hurdles this year. This podcast is produced by Lina Setaghian and Dominic Sramaty. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate. by Canucks Talk
95 min listen
Ep. 15 - Like a drowned rat by Burnt Cook Book Party
60 min listen
Rangers beat Penguins 5-3 in Game 6, once again rallying out of two-goal hole to save their season!!!! by Locked On Rangers - Daily Podcast On The New York Rangers
38 min listen
Breakout Candidates (Ep. 349): The guys and our guest, Pat Fitzmaurice of TheFootballGirl.com, break down the players at each position they think have the best odds of breaking out in 2019. Justin Jackson (9:35) and Darrell Henderson (15:14) are potentially an injury away from high-lev by FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
72 min listen
MayaCast Episode 327: Faction Top Fives: O-12: In Episode 327 of MayaCast, Tom and Kip start out a new idea where they each select their 5 favorite profiles from a given faction and talk about why they think they are great. Hopefully they won't overlap, and come up with a top ten of sorts! The... by MayaCast
62 min listen
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Is Complete | TSBR 68 by Toadstool Boardroom
55 min listen
#21. All Too Well by Swifties Anonymous
71 min listen
Clips Fall to 1-2 in Summer League Play: Shap, Justin (@laclippersfilm), & Jamal (@JamCristopher) discuss another Clippers loss to the Nuggets 80-75 in a game that did not even feel as close as the final score. The team could not score efficiently, but more importantly, the guys take some... by 213Hoops: The Lob, The Jam, The Podcast
47 min listen
Spring Training Overreactions: Craig Elsten, Chris Reed, and Raphie Cantor come to you after the Padres have dropped four of their five first meaningless games in Spring Training - let's overreact! Jackson Merrill! Jakob Marsee/Jose Azocar! Joe Musgrove! Michael King! These are... by Padres Hot Tub
79 min listen
Episode 322 - Astros Evan Gattis Talks Cheating, Are the Dodgers Bad? Move James Outman Up in the Lineup?: Former Astro Evan Gattis spoke out about the 2017 World Series cheating scandal! He made some comments about knowing Clayton Kershaw's pitches and other speculations that surrounded the situation in 2017. We then dive into the Dodgers struggles in their last 6 games. We discuss the bullpen heavily as we talk about their recent struggles. Can they fix it? Is it the biggest concern the Dodgers have? We then talk about optimizing the lineup and where Max Muncy can succeed in this lineup. We finish out by giving our predictions for the week and what we think will play out as the Dodgers play the Giants & Cubs. by Dodgers Nation Podcast Network
65 min listen
MN 0314 Secrets of the Lost Station by Meeple Nation Board Game Podcast
33 min listen
224 - Watkins Glen: Balls to the Wall by Door Bumper Clear
94 min listen
Game of Thrones Season 8 Prologue by Streaming Things - a TV/Film Podcast
56 min listen
2018 is shaping up to be an all-time year for golf: Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas have already notched wins in 2018. Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson have ended droughts and done the same. Tiger Woods is back, not just to completing full w by The First Cut Golf
39 min listen
46 - Essential Ten Part 2: This is the epic conclusion to Retro Encounter's deliberation on what games deserve to be on the first ever Essential Ten. What games will make the illustrious final list? by RPGFan's Retro Encounter
100 min listen
Chris McDermott Game 1: This week, we're wrapping up season 7 of 4Play with Chris McDermott. Listen in and play along! 4Play will be back in about a month! Here are today’s clues: 1. Button, Island, Legend, Minor. 2. Knack, Pry, Bleed, Tackle. 3. Single, Square,... by FourPlay - A Game of Connections
14 min listen
The Besties pick the best games of January 2017 by The Besties
77 min listen
"Mexico Is The Worst Round On The Calendar" - Hot Takes Wednesday by WTF1 Podcast
58 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

Best Games of 2018

Best Games of 2018

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from The Besties

Related podcast episodes