The end of the year is finally here. We survived! In order to celebrate, the Fanbyte staff is going over all its favorite games — as well as things in games — from 2018. That’s right, it’s our Game of the Year 2018 coverage.
Our current category, as you can probably tell from the headline, is “Best Grind.” This award doesn’t necessarily go to the longest, the best, or the most emotionally effective game. It goes to the one that we just couldn’t stop playing. Some people kill time shooting hoops. Some enjoy trashy novels and game shows. But around here, we often like a game that just keeps our brains turned off and our endorphins high for hours on end as we unwind at the end of the day.
Runner-Up: Filling out the Fortnite Battle Pass
The weird thing about Fortnite is that the grind has little to do with the game itself. You can load into match after match and pay no attention to the systems built around it. But there’s something about the Battle Pass system that Epic has built which resonates with me all too well.
I played Fortnite for a few seasons this year before finally investing my time elsewhere. But not a patch goes by that I don’t look at the cosmetics available to unlock, the progressive skins which feature challenges of their own, and anything else Epic adds along the way. The strange thing is, I don’t want to play Fortnite. The game itself isn’t tempting anymore (at least not for me). It’s the potential grind of unlocking everything and that keeps tempting me back.
-Dillon Skiffington, Content Editor
Best Grind 2018: Hunting for Gear in Monster Hunter: World
Know what’s better than opening a loot box? Beating the ever living shit out of the loot box, then ripping off its limbs while pelting it with various concoctions and bullets. Doesn’t that sound fun? What if we threw in a customizable feline fashion show?
It’s hardly a surprise that Monster Hunter: World tops a lot of our Game of the Year lists. It’s light years ahead of its predecessors in terms of accessibility, but still manages to retain the ol’ Monster Hunter magic — huge behemoths that need to be taken out and crafted into stylish duds.
Monster Hunter: World is our best grind of 2018 because of one simple fact; it’s actually fun. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first or the 43rd time you take out Xeno’Jiva. You’re gonna have a great time and look fabulous with all that fancy armor you and your Palico get.
Monster Hunter: World consumed our office for a few months after release, on both PC and console. Folks regaled their deskmates with tales of every conquest. Not a lot of games can get our office abuzz like that. It’s even rarer that a game catches our collective attention for a good reason!
Each boss is dynamic enough and can be killed or captured in myriad ways that ultimately led to folks to forget they caught Anjanath in the vine trap a dozens of times over. Sure, it can become a slog at times (I’m lookin’ at you, gems), but damn if we didn’t enjoy every minute of it.
-Andrew Whitmore, Social & Community Manager
