Over the festive break we’ll be running through our top 20 picks of the year’s best games, leading up to the reveal of Eurogamer’s game of the year on New Year’s Eve. You can find all the pieces published to date here – and thanks for joining us throughout the year!
Following up on a hunch is the most satisfying thing, isn’t it? Someone asks for something in a game, and chances are you won’t have it. Often, what they want is a complete mystery. You continue playing and almost forget about it. And then! It falls into your lap, almost by accident. Even if you don’t remember where exactly it’s supposed to go, or what it’s for, you probably have a feeling in your gut, enough to drop everything and see if the pieces fit. And when they do, that feeling of getting it right is like nothing else.
Adventure and exploration games do this best, and whereas most have these moments humming along in the background – the trading sequence quest in one of the year’s best remakes, Zelda: Link’s Awakening, is a brilliant example – A Short Hike is all about these mini revelations.
Source: Eurogamer Games of the Year 2019: A Short Hike is a love letter to one of the most satisfying things in games