I spent less than 150€ on games in 2018. The most expensive single title I bought was Fallout 4 GOTY at 14.50€ -- no full price purchases for me this year. Excluding the freebies I played and titles that came as extras in bundles (and which I have no intention to play), on average I paid 8€ for a game with median being 6.80€.
I think I could've been even more patient with some games. While 2€ alone doesn't matter much, multiplying it with 5 already adds up to another good game's worth.
In 2018 my wishlist finally started emptying from games published by Bethesda. It was largely thanks to GameBillet and Gamesplanet who offered deeper than 50% discounts unlike Humble and Steam. I don't know how they can do that but so far the two sites have seemed legit. There are more, even cheaper sites but I try to not go completely bonkers on the number of places I throw my money at.
Great
Dishonored 2 [post]
First person action/stealth game. Builds upon its predecessor but maybe isn't as special. Wonky engine performance might ruin one's enjoyment. (Try the demo before buying.)
DOOM (2016) [post]
First person shooter. An immensely enjoyable demon killing experience for one thorough playthrough.
Planescape: Torment - Enhanced Edition [post]
Isometric fantasy roleplaying game. One of the big classics. This is also the one Beamdog remaster that is truly worth it. Fixes interface issues of the original in a manner modders were never able to.
Prey (2017) [post]
First person scifi shooter of the immersive sim kind. A spiritual successor to System Shock 2. Possible issues with game saves but otherwise a great game.
Fine
Baldur's Gate EE: Siege of Dragonspear [post]
Isometric fantasy RPG. The Enhanced Edition alone is not worth much and even has some questionable additions. The expansion is... all right. Helps if you're a fan of the old Infinity Engine Dungeons & Dragons games.
Batman: Arkham Knight [post]
Third person action adventure. Could've been even better than Arkham City but the repetitive open world stuff hurts the game.
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition [post]
First person shooter. Cinematic action with hit or miss humor.
Styx: Shards of Darkness [post]
Third person stealth game. Very similar to the previous game in the series, Styx: Master of Shadows.
Torment: Tides of Numenera [post]
Isometric roleplaying game. Had big boots to fill as a thematic successor to Planescape: Torment. Doesn't succeed at it but has some good moments nonetheless.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus [post]
First person shooter. More story-heavy shooting action in a world where Germany won the second World War.
Mediocre
Batman: Arkham Origins [post]
Third person action adventure. Cash grab title of the series from a different development studio. A weaker version of Arkham City.
Divinity: Original Sin EE [post]
Isometric roleplaying game. Tense turn-based combat but the setting is too whimsical for my liking.
Mad Max [post]
Third person action adventure/driving. Falls to the repetition task trap like many other open world titles. Visually rather pretty for a game set in a wasteland.
Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut [post]
First person puzzle game. Of the easier titles in the genre. The Director's Cut adds an implausible story.
Q.U.B.E. 2 [post]
First person puzzle game. Same as above but with more impressive visuals.
Sword Coast Legends [post]
Isometric roleplaying game. Not bad but not good either. A waste of the D&D and Forgotten Realms licenses. You can't even buy the game anymore.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood [post]
First person shooter. A somewhat lazy standalone addition to Wolfenstein: The New Order.
Bad
Gone Home [post]
Walking simulator in a mundane yet slightly spooky empty house. That's about it.
>observer_ [post]
Walking simulator in a cyberpunk apartment complex. A touch of scary but doesn't deliver with its story.
Outlast [post]
First person horror game. Lacks interesting game mechanics and intrigue in general. Scariness is gone after the first encounter with a hostile individual.
Project: Snowblind [post]
First person scifi shooter. A meant-to-be multiplayer-focused Deus Ex: Invisible War successor but then just a shooter of its own IP.
Tacoma [post]
Walking simulator on an empty space station. Basically Prey without aliens, NPCs, and a game.
On what comes to the games actually released in 2018, I feel the year wasn't that great for PC gaming. While there were again a handful of games I'm interested in, none of them met an overwhelmingly positive reception overall. I'm not sure if console exclusives would add much for me either. God of War I would really like to play, though.
Of the games on PC I looked forward to (and still am): Darksiders III seems so-so, Shadow of the Tomb Raider has too much puzzle content instead of action, Pillars of Eternity 2 came out okayish, and Vampyr appears to be mostly a talking simulator with combat on the side.
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey might be cool though I predict it suffers from the generic Ubisoft open world formula. Pathfinder: Kingmaker was too huge for its developer, Owlcat Games, but they might be eventually able to patch up the game into a playable state. Finally an RPG with the D&D ruleset again! Well, D&Dish since it's Pathfinder but it's practically the same thing. The Council too was another surprise I would like to check out.
In 2019 Obsidian's Outer Worlds stands out to me as the most interesting title at the moment. BioWare's Anthem is a question mark. I'm not sure about the Destiny-like setup but those flying suits sure look awesome.
Then there are whole three (3) first person shooters from Bethesda coming out: Rage 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and Doom Eternal. I wonder if they will all be Bethesda launcher exclusives on PC. That would meet opposition without a doubt.
Updated 2019-02-08: Fixed a typo.
Isometric fantasy roleplaying game. One of the big classics. This is also the one Beamdog remaster that is truly worth it. Fixes interface issues of the original in a manner modders were never able to.
Prey (2017) [post]
First person scifi shooter of the immersive sim kind. A spiritual successor to System Shock 2. Possible issues with game saves but otherwise a great game.
Fine
Baldur's Gate EE: Siege of Dragonspear [post]
Isometric fantasy RPG. The Enhanced Edition alone is not worth much and even has some questionable additions. The expansion is... all right. Helps if you're a fan of the old Infinity Engine Dungeons & Dragons games.
Batman: Arkham Knight [post]
Third person action adventure. Could've been even better than Arkham City but the repetitive open world stuff hurts the game.
Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition [post]
First person shooter. Cinematic action with hit or miss humor.
Styx: Shards of Darkness [post]
Third person stealth game. Very similar to the previous game in the series, Styx: Master of Shadows.
Torment: Tides of Numenera [post]
Isometric roleplaying game. Had big boots to fill as a thematic successor to Planescape: Torment. Doesn't succeed at it but has some good moments nonetheless.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus [post]
First person shooter. More story-heavy shooting action in a world where Germany won the second World War.
Mediocre
Batman: Arkham Origins [post]
Third person action adventure. Cash grab title of the series from a different development studio. A weaker version of Arkham City.
Divinity: Original Sin EE [post]
Isometric roleplaying game. Tense turn-based combat but the setting is too whimsical for my liking.
Mad Max [post]
Third person action adventure/driving. Falls to the repetition task trap like many other open world titles. Visually rather pretty for a game set in a wasteland.
Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut [post]
First person puzzle game. Of the easier titles in the genre. The Director's Cut adds an implausible story.
Q.U.B.E. 2 [post]
First person puzzle game. Same as above but with more impressive visuals.
Sword Coast Legends [post]
Isometric roleplaying game. Not bad but not good either. A waste of the D&D and Forgotten Realms licenses. You can't even buy the game anymore.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood [post]
First person shooter. A somewhat lazy standalone addition to Wolfenstein: The New Order.
Bad
Gone Home [post]
Walking simulator in a mundane yet slightly spooky empty house. That's about it.
>observer_ [post]
Walking simulator in a cyberpunk apartment complex. A touch of scary but doesn't deliver with its story.
Outlast [post]
First person horror game. Lacks interesting game mechanics and intrigue in general. Scariness is gone after the first encounter with a hostile individual.
Project: Snowblind [post]
First person scifi shooter. A meant-to-be multiplayer-focused Deus Ex: Invisible War successor but then just a shooter of its own IP.
Tacoma [post]
Walking simulator on an empty space station. Basically Prey without aliens, NPCs, and a game.
On what comes to the games actually released in 2018, I feel the year wasn't that great for PC gaming. While there were again a handful of games I'm interested in, none of them met an overwhelmingly positive reception overall. I'm not sure if console exclusives would add much for me either. God of War I would really like to play, though.
Of the games on PC I looked forward to (and still am): Darksiders III seems so-so, Shadow of the Tomb Raider has too much puzzle content instead of action, Pillars of Eternity 2 came out okayish, and Vampyr appears to be mostly a talking simulator with combat on the side.
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey might be cool though I predict it suffers from the generic Ubisoft open world formula. Pathfinder: Kingmaker was too huge for its developer, Owlcat Games, but they might be eventually able to patch up the game into a playable state. Finally an RPG with the D&D ruleset again! Well, D&Dish since it's Pathfinder but it's practically the same thing. The Council too was another surprise I would like to check out.
In 2019 Obsidian's Outer Worlds stands out to me as the most interesting title at the moment. BioWare's Anthem is a question mark. I'm not sure about the Destiny-like setup but those flying suits sure look awesome.
Then there are whole three (3) first person shooters from Bethesda coming out: Rage 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and Doom Eternal. I wonder if they will all be Bethesda launcher exclusives on PC. That would meet opposition without a doubt.
Updated 2019-02-08: Fixed a typo.
Updated 2023-12-31: Added Planescape: Torment - Enhanced Edition to the list of finished games. Had for some reason skipped over it.
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