Best Shows of 2019

The ridiculous thing about TV right now is that there are a bunch of premium or streaming channels I don't have access to and there's still dozens more interesting shows available to me than I'll probably ever be able to watch. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Best of 2019

10. Broad City (Comedy Central)


Broad City has always taken place in a heightened reality, a somewhat idealized version of New York where a couple of youngish Jewish girls can have wacky adventures and harebrained schemes without ever having to truly worry about making rent or other real world issues. So I was a little surprised by how emotionally heavy the final episodes ended up being. Something that happens when you're youngish is you get opportunities, and sometimes those opportunities end up pulling you apart from people you love. The show was still funny as always, but it's clear Abbi and Ilana wanted to say something big about friendship with their final season, and they were totally successful.

9. The Mandalorian (Disney+)


I think we were all expecting a more standard peak TV prestige drama from The Mandalorian, so it was something of a pleasant surprise when it turned out to be kind of a classic episodic action/adventure show. Some of those episodes are better than others, but the fact that it actually has distinct episodes, and they didn't feel the need to bloat them all up with subplots to hit some expected minimum length, made it a lot more pleasurable to watch than some other franchise tie-in series I've seen. It looks nice for a TV series and has a solid mix of action and humor, and the whole cast is well selected and entertaining, although some actors felt like they were wasted a bit. I'm looking forward to more adventures of Not Boba Fett and Baby Yoda.

8. The Deuce (HBO)


At times the first couple seasons of The Deuce depicted prostitution and pornography as potentially enjoyable enterprises, but the third and final run dispelled that illusion by focusing more fully on the human costs of profiting from sex, especially on the young women who could be pressured or coerced into it. The show definitely still has an affection for a bygone period in New York's history, but it looks at everything through a more sober lens. Sometimes things come to an end for a reason. Shoving everything behind closed doors doesn't fix it, and a lot of these issues are still issues today. But it wouldn't be a David Simon show if it didn't show us the structural problems of the society we've created without sugarcoating them.

7. Steven Universe (Cartoon Network)


Something that I don't find difficult to admit is that cartoons made for children are a lot better than they were when I was a kid. Steven Universe is a science fiction comedy show that uses a story about a stalled alien invasion of earth to explain concepts like friendship, responsibility, legacy, and the complexity of gender and sexuality to people who might not totally understand it yet, without talking down or creating something that's unwatchable to an older audience. I wouldn't be surprised if more adults actually watch the show than kids, but I think it's great for either group. They wrapped up the main storyline this year, but the show lives on with an epilogue series that ages up the main character a bit and is continuing to address the psychological effects of everything he's gone through.

6. The Good Place (NBC)


As I've explained before, my 2019 list covers shows whose seasons ended in 2019. So while The Good Place's fourth and final season ends tonight, I'm talking about the third season right now. A good chunk of this season took place on Earth instead of in the afterlife, and while the writing is still sharp and funny, the show just feels less dynamic without access to all the weird tools and systems they've created for that setting. It's still good, but it gets better once the gang finds themselves back in the metaphysical plane. The stakes are raised dramatically at a certain point when the characters become responsible for much more than just their own fates. It's not quite the show at its best, but it's still pretty great to hang out with.

5. Barry (HBO)


Barry might seem like a comedy with its half hour running length and Bill Hader starring, but I didn't really get into it until I started seeing it as a drama with a really dark sense of humor. He plays a hitman who's tired of killing and decides to try his hand at acting. But of course, his old life as a killer keeps finding him again. I didn't think the second season was as strong overall as the first, but I have to give credit to the episode "ronny/lily", which is one of the best single episodes of a show in years. Just a sequence of comically tragic events and coincidences that you don't need to even have the full context for to enjoy. The supporting cast is very good, but Bill Hader deserves a ton of credit for his work in front of and behind the camera.

4. Mindhunter (Netflix)


This is me not being surprised that I really like a TV show about the FBI developing an understanding of and methodology for finding and stopping serial killers produced by and often directed by David Fincher. A lot of shows about law enforcement tend to lionize it despite its flaws, and Mindhunter isn't immune to that, but it does seem aware of the actual limitations of profiling, and the show is more about delving into the psychology of its main characters and the men they interview than the process itself. I thought the second season was better than the first because there was less set up and the story got the characters more personally involved in the subject they're pursuing. I'm torn about the show going on hiatus while Fincher tackles other projects, because I want more of it but I'm not sure how much I do if he becomes less involved.

3. Watchmen (HBO)


Watchmen does a great job of honoring the story and legacy of the original Watchmen comic while also recontextualizing the whole thing through the lens of America's ugly racial history. It's a sequel that takes place in the modern day, as a costumed police force in Tulsa responds to the thread from a masked militia group. The show does a smart job of creating a world that could exist after the world of the comic, finds good ways to bring back old characters and integrate new ones, and does all kinds of weird science fiction nonsense that I loved. It seems like this could be the only season we get, but it tells a full, satisfying story and we were lucky to watch it.

2. Succession (HBO)


Succession is a show about rich assholes all trying to fuck each other over so they can be the biggest rich asshole around. It's fantastic. The focus is mainly on Logan Roy, the founder and CEO of a massive entertainment company (think if Disney owned Fox News) whose health is failing, and his four ambitious children, who hop between supporting him and trying to stab him in the back as the constantly shifting situation calls for. The show is frequently laugh out loud funny while also being quietly devastating as you learn how one man's single minded drive and lack of empathy instilled the same traits in everyone who looks up to him. You always understand why they do what they do, even as you hate to see them do it. It's a microcosm of the capitalist system we live in that incentivizes personal gain regardless of the cost to others. Also, the entire cast is wonderful. I can't wait for season three.

1. Chernobyl (HBO)


Chernobyl is a show about multiple horrors. It's about the immediate horror of an unexpected disaster. It's also about the unseen horror of a disease that can spread without warning. It's also about the banal horror of a problem being made worse by human error and bureaucratic ineptitude. It's also about the quiet heroism about people who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect others from something that wasn't their fault. It's about the whole of human experience, our failures, our successes, and everything else that comes with a major event like this. It's not a fully accurate accounting of the Chernobyl meltdown and aftermath, but it's one of the best artistic depictions of a real event I've seen.

Delayed Entry

This is the best show that didn't air in 2019 but I didn't watch until then.

Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)

Adventure Time walked so Steven Universe could run. It actually took me a few years to get through the whole series, watching chunks of it in between other things. I love the goofy but cohesive art style, the dynamic between the two main characters, the way the story matures as they do, its silly sense of humor, the way it bounces between D&D inspired adventuring, developing its characters, exploring its long and sad history, and the moments where it gets truly surreal. I love the music, too. I'm jealous of kids who got to watch it growing up.

Best Albums of 2019

I listened to 77 new albums last year, which is a personal high for me. Believe it or not, narrowing that down to ten is hard! I think what I put together is a good representation of the kind of stuff that gets to me these days.

Best of 2019

10. Thom Yorke - ANIMA


I've been a fan of Radiohead for years but never listened to Thom's solo work. ANIMA is great, and I probably like it more than the band's last couple albums. It's really not too different from what you'd expect, but his weird little songs always have something that makes them unique.

9. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors


None of Angel's albums seem to sound too similar to each other, yet they all seem like parts of her, and they're all really good. On All Mirrors she goes in more of an art pop direction, and it's a shift that works as well as anything else she's done.

8. Tyler, the Creator - Igor


Tyler's career progression has been fascinating. He started with basically the hip-hop equivalent of shitposting and now he's doing like synthy funky soul pop stuff. A really fun album to listen to.

7. (Sandy) Alex G - House of Sugar


Sometimes I like music that just worms its way inside your head and pulls you into a trance while you're listening to it. Alex G does a great job of doing just that.

6. FKA Twigs - Magdalene


I thought this album had more dynamically entertaining songs than her first, without damaging the fragile beauty that seems to define her. Not to sound corny but she is a true artist.

5. Little Simz - Grey Area


Simz is one of my favorite new hip-hop artists in a few years. Normally I'm not into UK hip-hop, but she's incredibly talented and there are so many songs here that hit really hard.

4. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell!


I had never actually really hard what Lana Del Rey sounded like before this, and it turns out I think I really like it a lot. She covers a Sublime song and it totally fits into the album's sound. But the album's sound is still this bigger and grander thing that stretches beyond what most artists seem to strive for. Great stuff.

3. CHAI - Punk


This is a Japanese power pop all-girl band and they kick all kinds of ass. Sometimes they mix some English into their lyrics, but you really don't need to understand what they're saying to love these songs.

2. Big Thief - U.F.O.F.


Big Thief actually had two very good albums this year, but I liked this one a little more. The singer's voice instantly etches itself inside your brain, and this is some of the best folk rock guitar work I can remember hearing.

1. Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow


This album is fantastic. Sharon is a truly talented singer and songwriter, and this album has an amazing mix of indie rock and synth pop sounds along with her beautiful voice and heartfelt lyrics.

Delayed Entry

This is the best album that wasn't released in 2019 but I didn't hear until then.

Fishmans - Long Season

I could chill with this album all day long. A Japanese dream pop album with sparse but beautiful vocals, a pleasant vibe, and a recurring riff that will never leave your head.

Best Movies of 2019

Unlike last year, I managed to see a few movies in theaters this year that weren't about Star Wars or superheroes. This is partly because I was willing to go to movies by myself for a change. You should try going to movies by yourself! The movies aren't any different and nobody else cares that you're alone.

Best of 2019

10. 1917


The thing about movies with obviously impressive technical filmmaking behind them is the filmmaking itself can become a distraction. You're thinking about how a shot was achieved as much as what the content of the shot actually does for the story. So when I learned 1917 was shot and edited to appear as a single unbroken take for the entire film, I was a little worried it would be a huge gimmick. While I did find myself sometimes looking for the transitions where cuts to new shots were hidden, overall I was still invested in the story of two British soldiers racing across no man's land in World War I to save a division of their countrymen from annihilation. The decision to make it one take has a purpose, allowing you to take in how incredibly exhausting their journey is, both physically and emotionally. It's a movie that doesn't glamorize war, but does try to honor the men who fight and die in it.

9. Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach generally does comedies about contemporary adult life, but he's been known to veer into drama at times, and Marriage Story is probably his most dramatic work. A lot of divorce stories show a marriage falling apart, but Marriage Story skips to the part where it's clearly over, and covers the messiness of the legal side of the separation. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson play the central couple, both with their charms and still having feelings for each other, but unable to go on sharing a life. It's clear that their characters are at least loosely based on Baumbach and his ex-wife, and it's interesting to look at how they're balanced in the story. Johansson's character is the one who initiated the divorce, feeling like she had no control of her life, and doesn't have as many clear flaws as Driver's does. But the story still seems to tend towards Driver's perspective, especially once he feels blindsided by his wife moving to Los Angeles and bringing their son with her. It's heartbreaking watching the relationship get more contentious as the realities of two adults separating their lives, especially with a child involved, complicate what seemed like it could have been less painful. There are a few comedic moments that keep the movie from being a slog, and the performances of the whole cast deserve the accolades they're getting.

8. Avengers: Endgame


The Marvel Cinematic Universe is still going, but I wouldn't blame anyone who felt like hopping off the ride after Endgame. It's the culmination of 12 years and 22 movies worth of successful mass market storytelling. The fact that it not only isn't an incoherent mess but pays off in all the ways people hoped it would is a miracle. I'm not sure we'll ever see anything like the first "saga" of the MCU again. The opening section of the film is successful at selling the drama and horror of a world that has lost so much. The second act is both a fun tribute to the history of the series and a screwball time travel adventure, with some pathos thrown in. And the final battle is just a smorgasbord of dramatic conclusions to character arcs and entertaining fan service moments. It's not high cinema, but there's a reason it's the highest grossing movie ever made.

7. Us


Us is a lot messier than Jordan Peele's first movie as a director. It has a really big concept behind it, one that seems to make less sense the more you think about it. But I think I may have liked it more than Get Out anyway. It has a lot on its mind, big ideas about America and freedom and class, and it's also more successful as a horror film. Get Out had creepy moments, but Us comes closer to being truly terrifying at moments, and the imagery of it will stick in your mind long afterward. Really, the whole movie stuck with me, which is probably more important than making total logical sense. There's a lot going on in Us, and it certainly would reward watching it more than once. Not too many horror movies can say that.

6. Midsommar


The negative reactions I have seen to Midsommar are interesting. I've seen complaints that the characters are unlikable, it's not very scary, and it's not very unpredictable. None of those things are false, but none of them seemed like flaws to me, because it doesn't seem like it was trying to be scary or unpredictable or have likable characters. There's a sense of inevitability to the movie, as people start disappearing and the others just continue on as if in a daze. It's a movie about trauma and mental health and drugs and shitty friends, and the way the central character gets pulled into the world she's entered is more disturbing than any simple attempts to shock or frighten the viewer. Not that it totally avoids being a horror movie, there are a few moments of gore that should unsettle pretty much anybody. It's a horror movie that takes place almost entirely in daylight, and that idea of everything being right in front of you and it still working is not just an aesthetic choice but the whole point of the movie.

5. Knives Out


Rian Johnson hops off the franchise train for a bit and returns to what he's known for - taking a genre that hasn't gotten much attention and doing it as well as any of the classics you can name. This time it's murder mysteries, with the patriarch of a wealth family seemingly killing himself and an oddball detective taking it upon himself to sniff out what he suspects was really foul play. Every member of the family has a reason they may have wanted the old man dead, but which one of them actually did it? The film quickly diverts from this story in unexpected ways, but it never stops being a thrilling and funny romp. It also does a great job of skewering upper class white people, who can be perfectly friendly and open minded until things stop going their way. Johnson has discussed doing sequels with Daniel Craig's absurdly accented detective character, and I'd love to see them.

4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


It's indulgent as hell, but what do you expect from late-career Quentin Tarantino? Hollywood is his love letter to his youth and the movies and celebrities he adored growing up. It's also an opportunity to play around a bit with genre from scene to scene. When an actor played by Leonardo DiCaprio and his bodyguard/stunt double played by Brad Pitt are hanging out, it's a nice, loose buddy comedy. When DiCaprio is doing an acting job just to get a paycheck, he returns to the Western setting he's explored in his last couple movies. When Pitt visits the famous Spahn Ranch after learning about the weird group that's staying there, it feels like a tense horror or thriller flick. And of course it ends in a Tarantinian explosion of brutal yet somehow satisfying violence. You probably know if you like his style or not and this isn't likely to change your mind. It's maybe a bit aimless in comparison, but I still had a really good time.

3. The Irishman

Excepting a TV pilot, this is Martin Scorsese's first work in the gangster genre in over a decade. He's decidedly an old man at this point, and we find him reflecting on what a life of violence is really worth. A lot of talk has been about the movie's immense length and the de-aging computer effects, and those can be talked about, but they're not really what interests me. I don't think I've ever seen a violent mob movie that so thoroughly repudiates mob violence. The first couple hours are a solid exploration of the genre, but then after the masterfully tense and regretful climax, we have the long denouement, as the characters tally up their successes and losses and realize how little it was all worth in the end. It has one of the best final shots and final lines I've seen in a movie. It's another masterpiece in a career of them.

2. The Lighthouse


The Lighthouse isn't the easiest movie to categorize. Largely I'd say it's a psychological horror movie, but if so, it's an odd one. It focuses on the complicated relationship of the master of a lighthouse on a remote island and his new assistant. The master can be friendly when he wants, and seems casual about the official rules when it suits him, but he is also a pain to be around and vindictive when he perceives shortcomings in his employee. The assistant struggles to adapt to the situation in a graceful way, which is understandable, but it seems as though he was driven to the post through something in his past he'd rather not speak of, and it's hard to pin down just how sympathetic he should really be. He is haunted by strange visions, nightmares, and a desire to make a connection, and you start to feel the loss connection of reality that he is clearly experiencing himself. It's a weird, funny, frightening movie that pushes a lot of buttons that I like to see get pushed. And the two performances by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson are great. I'll gladly watch anything Robert Eggers decides to make.

1. Parasite


A lot has been said about the message of Parasite, and rightly so. It's critical of the class divide in South Korea, but it's a divide that has proven resonant for people all over the planet. There's a justifiable rage against the ultra wealthy living well at the expense of the less fortunate everywhere, and the fact that so many of those ultra wealthy are claiming Parasite as a movie they loved just proves its point that they have no idea what world they are living in. But all of that kind of elides that the movie itself is just brilliantly crafted from start to finish. Bong Joon-ho is one of my favorites of current Korean directors, and Parasite could be his best work. Every single shot seems fully thought out and expertly designed to further the story he's telling. In addition, the whole cast is great, from Song Kang-ho, who he's been working with for over a decade, to newcomers like Park So-dam. It gets darker than you might expect at first, but Parasite is still the best time I had with a new movie in 2019.

Delayed Entry

This is the best movie that wasn't released in 2019 but I didn't see until then.

Mandy

Sometimes you just vibe with a movie, you know? I expected to like Mandy, but I didn't quite expect to fall in love with it so thoroughly. It felt like I was in an actual trance at times, which makes sense with how ethereal it feels and how the central characters are usually on some sort of drugs. Mandy is beautiful and ugly, funny and haunting, with a great soundtrack and a perfect performance from Nicolas Cage. It is sometimes both incredibly real and wonderfully unreal. I don't know, man. It's great.

Best Games of 2019

People who talk about games online sometimes like to talk about whether a given year was good or bad for games, and for a time 2019 seemed like it wasn't that great. There weren't a lot of big names in the fall and the few there were all seemed to get delayed. But by the end of the year, looking back, there were a lot of really good games that came out. The industry is as big as it's ever been. We'll see if anything from the new consoles makes my list next year.

Best of 2019

10. Ape Out (PC)


Ape Out's main story only lasts about an hour, but it's quite a delightful hour. Each section of the game is an "album", where you play a gorilla that breaks out of captivity and destroys the bodies of anyone who gets in its way as it runs for freedom while jazz drums go wild in the background. The music reacts to what's happening on screen, and that combined with the unique, bold visuals created a fantastic sense of style that is key to the whole game. The game is simple but fun as you mix and match a bit of strategic thinking with a healthy dose of aggression to get through each area. As the game stretches on it can get a little annoying when guys with flamethrowers and rockets are all out to get you, but like I said, you can finish it in an hour.

9. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)


Three Houses is the first console Fire Emblem game in 12 years, and Nintendo took the opportunity to expand the scope of the series. You're still commanding your small army on a tactical grid during the battles, but you're also spending time talking to the students you're teaching, choosing what they should study to improve as soldiers, and helping them develop their friendships with you and each other. It's also three or four games in once, since you can make multiple choices that determine which group of characters you spend the most time with and major directions the story can take. The story itself, about how a tenuous alliance between three major factions on the continent of Fódlan starts to crumble as their competing desires make the peace untenable, is probably the game's strongest asset, though there's plenty of tweaks to the combat to keep it different. The battles are fun, but it's really the characters that will keep you coming back to its lengthy campaign.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)


Link's Awakening is the kind of remake that feels like the exact same game, but it's actually creating the idealized version of the original that exists inside your head. Besides the obvious graphical upgrade, the Switch version of the Game Boy classic has numerous improvements that don't really change the way the game plays, but makes the act of doing so simpler and more convenient. You have dedicated buttons for swinging your sword, raising your shield, and dashing, you can make notes on your map, and some annoying interface problems are fixed. Some of the later dungeons in the game have the same problems you may have had before, but if you want is a prettier, easier to play version of the same game, this is it. There's graphical stuttering in the outdoor areas that can be annoying, but if you can look past it, this is all you could want from a faithful remake.

7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PC)


You can see Fallen Order as a synthesis of a lot of popular trends in modern action games. It has structural elements and the precise combat of a Souls game, modern traversal-style platforming, and Metroidvania exploration where your abilities are always expanding and unlocking previously blocked areas. Nothing about it is too surprising or innovative, but it's well put together and mostly fun to play. It also has an entertaining story, which explores the early period after the fall of the Republic which was shown in the prequels and does a decent job of fleshing out its handful of original characters. There are also some technical issues, but they also seem to be better than they were when the game launched a few months ago. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes video games and still has some affection for Star Wars.

6. The Outer Worlds (PC)


Obsidian returns to the first person shooter/role playing/immersive sim genre when The Outer Worlds, a relatively compact but deep game where you play a late arrival to a solar system-sized space colony that is going through a rough time. You can ally yourself with the mad scientist who freed you from stasis or the colonial government that has a bounty on his head, and you can focus on shooting your enemies, sneaking around them, or talking them into letting you in the door. The game is at its best when you have multiple ways to deal with a situation both politically and physically, and it's up to you which one seems the most interesting, or will cause the most or least pain for those involved, depending on your goals. It has pacing issues at times, and it leans a little heavily on the "you're the savior of the galaxy!" narrative, but I had a really good time flying around to different planets with my companions. It's like a video game version of Firefly.

5. Disco Elysium (PC)


Despite the simple gameplay and small size of the world you can explore, Disco is a big game with lots to dig into. You play a cop in a run down part of a city that was the site of a failed communist revolution decades earlier, with no memory of your life prior to waking up in the morning with a hangover and a murder you're supposed to solve. You proceed through the rest of the game principally by talking, asking people questions and responding to their responses. You have 24 different skills you can improve, half of which are entirely mental, and during conversations your skills have the chance of popping in and "talking" to you, giving you additional options which may or may not be useful. You can also "internalize" thoughts, which could give you benefits or penalties once you finish thinking about them. It's a game about small personal interactions as well as big political ideas, as you can get invested in the characters, the murder mystery, or the whole strange fictional world as you see fit. It's the kind of game where you want to play it again just to see how differently it can play out if you act like a different person.

4. Outer Wilds (PC)


Outer Wilds is a game about an explorer of a solar system, reliving the same cycle over and over again as they try to save their home from being wiped out by the sun going supernova. You have only a few tools with you as you drift around in your tiny spaceship, exploring strange and mysterious planets littered with odd natural phenomena as well as the ruins and writings of a civilization that came before you. You might want to know why you wake up where you started after dying, or what happened to that old civilization, or what you can do to break the cycle. At times the game is exciting, lonely, frustrating, terrifying, and awe inspiring. It's a unique game I would recommend to anyone who likes the feeling of being lost, of not being sure what to do, of finally finding an answer you weren't sure would ever be there.

3. Control (XBO)


Control is a third person shooter with psychic powers. That description ignores what makes the game special, which is its sense of style and densely entertaining story. It takes place entirely inside the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control, a mysterious government agency that locates and contains supernatural objects, objects which can cause events that disrupt a society that tries to pretend that nothing really weird ever happens. The headquarters building itself is as mysterious as any object inside, having existed long before the FBC was created and being invisible to anyone who doesn't know to look for it. If any of this sounds cool to you, you should check it out. The brutalist architecture and visual design of the building is cool, the shooting and powers are solidly fun, but the most fun I had with Control was just digging into the strange, funny, creepy history of the FBC.

2. Resident Evil 2 (PC)


Resident Evil 2 is the kind of remake that captures the feeling of playing a beloved old game without being slavish to the outdated design it may have been built on. It has a great balance between the obscure puzzles and atmospheric horror of the older games with the tense action of some of the later ones. It looks amazing, feels good to play, and features Mr. X, a relentless pursuer who will track you all over the place, his heavy footsteps finding your ear rooms or even a whole floor away, to the point that finding a way to defeat him, even temporarily, always brings a huge sense of relief. The story is still silly as shit, but would we really want anything else from Resident Evil? My one real complaint is that while the "A" and "B" scenarios that let you play both main characters are solid fun, they don't actually fit together on a story level, failing to create a cohesive final experience.

1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PC)


Sekiro has the bones of a Souls game, but the team at From Software have shifted from making RPGs with strong action elements to action games with RPG elements that at this point are only typical for the genre. That's not a knock, it's just funny how intertwined the two genres are at this point. What makes Sekiro different than other action games is that its action is just impeccably great. The stealth bits are fine, using your grappling hook to jump out of harm or cross dangerous gaps is fun, but the core of the game is you and your sword against the enemy. While it's common in games like this to avoid harm until you see a small opening to strike and then repeat the process, Sekiro is all about wearing down your foe's defenses until they're at your mercy. It's hard to describe but when you have learned enough about the enemy to dispatch them without ever backing off or relenting, it feels sublime. It looks pretty, it's interesting to play a From game with a real active story, but Sekiro is my game of the year because the combat is just that damn good.

Delayed Entry

This is the best game that wasn't released in 2019 but I didn't play until then.

Return of the Obra Dinn (PC)

I knew I would like this before I played it, and I did. It's a game of deduction, where you have the ability to touch a corpse and see and hear the final moment of the person it used to be. If that moment itself contains a corpse, you can touch that and go farther down the rabbit hole. You use this ability to... determine the cause of death of the crew of a ship for tax purposes. You must use what you can see and hear along with the ship's manifest to reason out who each person is through logic and elimination. What someone sounds like, what they're wearing, and even the label on their hammock can help you figure out who they are. It's the kind of game that could easily become a series if the creator were less interested in being innovative every time they make something new. It also has a cool visual style and a wonderful soundtrack.