Game of the Year 2018: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

2018 was touted by many as the year of the ‘most ambitious crossover events in history’ – from Infinity War to Ready Player One to Supernatural, you couldn’t move for franchises crossing over and established characters meeting up. You’d be hard pushed, though, to find a better crossover than one of the most anticipated games this year and the undoubted game of the year, Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

The latest installment boasts every fighter and most of the stages from all of the previous games, plus a whole load of new content (fan favourite King K. Rool, Castlevania’s Simon Belmont and the Inkling from Splatoon, my new fighter of choice, are just three) – it’s a game that seems to always have something new to discover. I’ve been playing for the best part of a month now, and I’m still unlocking and finding things. The fighting mechanic in itself is great fun and something that I think we’ll come back to for years to come, by yourself or with friends, and the single-player Adventure mode World of Light is set on a giant map, full of challenges, which’ll keep you occupied for loads of time if you want to 100%-complete it. Throw in the challenges the game sets and the Spirit collection task, and you’re certainly getting value for money.

Any amount of content would be useful if the game itself weren’t any fun, but Ultimate really delivers on that front. It’s simple enough to pick up, but difficult to master – it’s accessible for all levels of player, striking about a perfect balance, and it’s a true treasure trove of Nintendo history. There’s a real joy in unlocking a new character or Spirit, and looking up who they are and how they feature into their respective games. I’m not going to call it the perfect game, but you’d struggle to find a game so well-crafted and enjoyable as Super Smash Bros Ultimate – it is truly the best game of 2018.