Although it’s a sentiment that can be applied to just about any year, 2018 was without a doubt a great one for games. So much so that coming up with 10 titles for our Top 10 Best Games of 2018 was no easy feat. The hard part came when it was time to decide which games wouldn’t make the cut, and from there realising that once we narrowed the list down to 20 - the sheer calibre of titles that missed out meant that a follow-up, or Honourable Mentions list, was inevitable.

Like with anything of this nature, this list represents the personal opinion and tastes of AusGamers’ editorial team. So without further ado, let’s get to it. Here are AusGamers Best Games of 2018 - Honourable Mentions.

Dead Cells - PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Motion Twin | Our Review


The difficult roguelike, where death means restarting and perhaps getting just that little bit further. Thanks to both the experience that comes from learning how enemies and weapons and levels behave as well as getting to keep new abilities or bonuses into the next life. Although Dead Cells can be described in these terms, or even slotted into the ever-growing Metroidvania genre, it’s the sort of experience that is at once inviting, familiar, and wholly original. From the wonderful art, animation, and combat flow - to the variety in plays styles and genuine pick-up-and-play setup.

DUSK - PC
David Szymanski | Our Review


For the many first-person shooters that were released post-id Software’s seminal Doom for the PC in the 1990s, many were to referred to a Doom-clones. Even the ones that stood out and were outstanding in their own right. So then, what do you call a first-person shooter that hearkens back to this era? Where the visual look conjures up memories of Doom, Quake, and even Half-Life. A retro shooter? Perhaps. But like several key so-called Doom-clones, DUSK is an amazing game in its own right. An intoxicating and tense mix of horror and action.

Far Cry 5 - PC, PS4, Xbox One
Ubisoft | Our Review


Arguably darker in tone due to the current state of the US and, largely, the rest of the world, Far Cry 5 delivered on its story beats and gave us the terrifying personality that is Joseph Seed. However, as with most entries in the series, a cast of insane support characters helped offset his scariness while the usual open-world dynamic unpredictable gameplay permeated throughout. Always engaging, massive and full of explosions and character. One of the best entries in the series.

Mario + Rabbids: Donkey Kong Adventure - Switch
Ubisoft | Our Review


A standalone follow up to the brilliant Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, Donkey Kong Adventure naturally stars the titular character while Cranky Kong and Peach are both once again represented by Rabbids who also deliver the comedy gold in spades. Charming and seamless in its presentation, Donkey Kong Adventure gave an even greater challenge over the base game while also resurrecting one of the best villains a Nintendo release has ever seen (which is saying a lot): Rabbid Kong. While not as long as Kingdom Battle, Donkey Kong Adventure is worth every banana out of your wallet.

Moonlighter - PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Digital Sun | Our Review


The top down action-RPG. That experience where swords and dungeons and ranged weaponry meet in both a homage and extension of the classic and seminal 16-bit Super Nintendo release The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Moonlighter, at its core, provides a fun and varied dungeon crawler with great and detailed pixel-art. But, where it excels is the setup. Instead of glory you’re merely delving deeper into strange locations to find inventory. Which you can then sell for small or huge profit during the day. And when you use profits and income to buy better gear to find better inventory, and improve the town, it’s a loop that’s hard to put down.

Return of the Obra Dinn - PC
Lucas Pope


From the creator behind the incredible and confronting Papers, Please, Return of the Obra Dinn continues Lucas Pope’s indelible mark on the games industry as a creative, driven and accomplished developer who is capable of pulling such feats as his two commercial releases practically on his own. Obra Dinn is an investigation game that takes place in the first-person where a lost East India Company ship has been discovered with all its crew dead. You play as an insurance investigator attempting to piece together clues about what happened, and subsequently why. Presented with an award-winning visual presentation and featuring a deductive reasoning gameplay mechanic, Return of the Obra Dinn is a critically acclaimed Indie that only enhances Pope’s standing as a developer.

Sea of Thieves - PC, Xbox One
Rare | Our Review


For all of its faults and perceived missteps at launch, namely of the final game feeling empty and without much to actually do, Rare’s Sea of Thieves presented a truly fantastic world to explore. Free of intrusive HUD elements and on-screen prompts. This pirate sim of sorts also offered up the best simulated water effects ever seen in videogame form. Playing with friends as part of a small crew in Sea of Thieves felt special and different, at a time when open worlds and multiplayer titles were all headed in a similar direction. Since it’s debut, things have only improved thanks to a steady stream of updates and new bits of content. Where now Sea of Thieves is something we’ll gladly keep going back to.

Subnautica - PC, PS4, Xbox One
Unknown Worlds | Our Review


One of the best, most complete open-world survival experiences ever released in the Indie realm, Unknown Worlds’ Subnautica takes players on a challenging journey as they attempt to survive, and eventually escape, Planet 4546B -- a planet almost entirely covered in water. Featuring unique and ever-scary biomes that will thrust the player deeper into the planet’s depths, and towards its core, Subnautica also carries with it an alien mystery as well as a human one that draws you in on a dynamic narrative level. Modular base-building, resource gathering and management, alongside character survival, form the gameplay loop that keeps Subnautica both fresh, engaging and rewarding from an agency, exploration and discovery perspective. New arctic-themed content is now being worked on in what we hope becomes a long-staying franchise.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales - PC, PS4, Xbox One
CD Projekt RED | Our Review


Taking the surprisingly robust game-within-a-game GWENT from The Witcher III and turning it into its own game was an exciting decision on the part of CD Projekt RED. A competitive card game set in a fascinating universe unlike any other, and one that’s fun to play alone or against others. Where Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales delights is how it takes GWENT and goes the other way. This time taking the card game we’ve come to adore and instead using that to create an epic single-player RPG along the lines of The Witcher III. With GWENT mechanics. The fact that it succeed at all, let alone telling one of the best Witcher stories ever put into digital bits and bytes, is a miracle.

Warhammer: Vermintide II - PC, Xbox One
Fatshark | Our Review


It’s been a while since Valve released the one-two zombie-slaying co-op punch that was Left 4 Dead and its sequel Left 4 Dead 2. An experience that in one fell swoop created and perfected the co-op shooter template that could be played and replayed time and time again. Warhammer: Vermintide borrows quite liberally from the Left 4 Dead playbook, from the structure of stages as mini-campaigns to the overall types of enemies that attack. There are of course differences, and Vermintide’s blend of melee and ranged combat is probably the best we’ve ever seen. Warhammer: Vermintide II dials everything to 11 with brilliant and varied level design, engaging combat, exceptional art, animation, and sound. And best of all, co-op that can sit alongside Valve’s Left 4 Dead.