Bryan Intihar is the creative director at Insomniac Games, the studio responsible for 2018's superhero hit Marvel's Spider-Man. He's @bryanintihar on Twitter.

As you can probably imagine, I didn’t have a ton of time to play games other than Spider-Man most of the year. So this “Games of 2018” list is going to a bit different than others. Here are a group of games I can’t wait to finally start playing during my holiday break, others I’ve just scratched the surface, and two games I really sunk my teeth into since the release of Spider-Man.

OK, let’s do this…

LET’S GET STARTED

Fortnite

I think I may be one of the only people in the world that hasn’t played Epic’s cultural phenomenon. So, I plan to finally give it a go during my holiday break… and probably lose… a lot.

Far Cry 5

I’ve always admired Far Cry’s ability to establish rich worlds with a very strong tone to them, and this one seems to be one of the most interesting backdrops.

Dead Cells

From the Metroidvania structure to the awesome art style, Dead Cells is one of the games I keep hearing Insomniacs talk about around the office. I’m really looking forward to giving it a try.

Madden NFL 19

Sadly, I was born and raised a Cleveland Browns fan. And believe it or not, they aren’t completely terrible this year, so I’m itching to see how they hold up in the latest Madden.

CAN’T WAIT TO PLAY MORE

I’m only about five hours into this one and I’m already in awe of its scale and scope. It truly does feel like a living, breathing world, and I’ve just scratched the surface. Plus, from the amazing weather effects to the stunning lighting, this game is overflowing with atmosphere; it’s truly breathtaking. And to think Rockstar also delivered a multiplayer mode. Wow!

Again, I haven’t spent a lot of time with this latest Assassin’s Creed, but I’m already enjoying the new Ancient Greece setting and the greater emphasis on role-playing elements.

This latest wave of Tomb Raider games has been spectacular, and even though my time with Shadow has been limited, it looks to be just the kind of rollercoaster I want to play in between the many open-world game on my list.

LOVED EVERY MINUTE

It took every ounce of self-control to not play through God of War when it first came out this spring, but was it ever worth the wait. Sony Santa Monica really hit a home run here. For me, it all starts with the story. The relationship between Kratos and his son Atreus was done to perfection, and it really helped me understand God of War’s longtime hero more than ever before (the writing was also outstanding). When it came to gameplay, the combat system felt like a magnificent mix between everything I loved about the franchise, and what I didn’t know I wanted until it appeared in this installment.

But hands-down, the biggest surprise to me was the overall world structure and how, through Kratos’ axe and Atreus’ various skills, it put a greater emphasis on exploration and discovery. The execution here was flawless.

Of all the games released in 2018, Tetris Effect surprised me the most; you see, I don’t really play many puzzle games. But after completing the first stage and hearing that awesome music track, I was hooked. And because each stage--from its visual backdrop to music selection--was so different, I couldn’t help but continually say to myself, “OK, just one more level” in order to experience what was next. It didn’t take long to realize that the creative minds behind Rez and Lumines were the perfect team to work on this legendary franchise. Now I gotta see what Tetris Effect is like in VR!