Game of the Month: November 2019

We’re in the thick of it now. There may be a handful of noteworthy games clogged in the pipeline until December, though it’s likely most of us have had our end-of-year fill. Or at least our wallets will have.

November 2019 had a little bit of everything, including the long (in some case long, long, long) return of favourite franchises with one or two pleasant surprises. Last year, it was a similarly busy period with some of 2018’s best games dropping, such as The Tetris Effect for PlayStation VR, as well as Hitman 2, Pokemon Let’s Go, and Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Fallout 76 also made a somewhat… memorable debut.

Those who follow the site will already have a beat on which game took the top prize for our monthly award. Right up until launch, many of us were clueless as to whether Death Stranding would actually deliver or if Kojima’s pricey fever dream would turn out to be a complete trainwreck. Although review scores were fairly scattered, the game picked up a masterful 10/10 when Tuffcub gave his verdict, lauding Death Stranding as one of the best games this console generation has to offer.

It was somewhat of a runaway victory, though November offered plenty for those not too keen on Kojima’s literal walking sim. Nintendo fans got yet another exclusive with the launch of Pokemon Sword and Shield which scored a comfortable 7/10 – a good entry in the series though Switch players were ultimately left wanting more.

After a bit of a roller coaster year, EA seems to have finished strong with a pair of 8s in the form of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Need for Speed Heat, and after almost two decades, November also saw the return of Shenmue.

For our full reviews coverage from November 2019, you can find them here:

• Death Stranding – PS4 – 10/10
• Need for Speed Heat  – PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
• Pokémon Sword and Shield – Switch – 7/10
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
• Shenmue – PS4, PC – No score
• Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout – PS4, Switch, PC – 9/10
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
• Cat Quest II – PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
• Jet Kave Adventure – Switch – 7/10
• Gun Gun Pixies – Switch, PC – 5/10
• Valfaris – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch – 8/10
• New Super Lucky’s Tale – Switch – 8/10
• Afterparty – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch – 7/10
• Gioteck WX-4 Wireless Switch Controller – Hardware – 7/10
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – Switch – 5/10
• AeternoBlade II – PS4, XBO, Switch – 4/10
• Mutazione – PS4, PC, iOS – 7/10
• NBA 2K20 – Switch – 8/10
• Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventures – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch  – 5/10
• Doctor Who: The Edge of Time – PSVR, Oculus, VIVE – 4/10
• Red Dead Redemption 2 – PC release
• Deemo Reborn – PS4, PSVR – 9/10
• Planet Zoo – PC – 9/10
• Narcos: Rise of the Cartels – PS4, XBO, Switch, PC – 7/10
• Skybolt Zack – Switch, PC – 7/10
• Yaga – PS4, XBO, Switch, PC – 6/10
• Terminator: Resistance – PS4, XBO, PC – 4/10
• VR Ping Pong Pro – PSVR, Vive, Rift – 4/10
• Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy – Deluxe Edition – Switch – 7/10
• Black Future ’88 Review – Switch, PC – 7/10
• Battlewake PSVR Review – PSVR, Rift, VIVE – 5/10
• Mary Skelter 2 – Switch – 5/10
• Dusk Diver Review – PS4, Switch, PC – 5/10
• Blacksad: Under the Skin Review – PS4, XBO, PC, Switch – 3/10
• Song of Horror Episode 1  – PS4, XBO, PC – No Score

(Reviewed platform in bold)

And then the hardware reviews:

• Google Stadia – Hardware – 6/10
• Noblechair Hero  – Gaming Chair – 9/10
• HyperX Cloud Mix Rose Gold Edition Headset – Hardware – 8/10
• Victrix Pro AF 2019 Headset – Hardware – 8/10
• Roccat Noz Headset Review – 8/10
• Sennheiser GSP 370 Wireless Headset Review – 8/10
• Speedlink Orios RGB Gaming Mouse Review – 8/10
• Sennheiser GSP 670 Wireless Headset – Hardware – 8/10

Make sure you come back at the end of this month for our top games of December. It’s likely to be a shorter list, but it will come wedged between our annual Game of the Year awards. In the meantime, let us know if you had any top picks from in the comments below.