As we near the three year mark since 2019‘s game releases, I wanted to highlight 10 titles that stand the test of time and remain eminently replayable today.
Before diving in, let‘s establish where the industry sat during this monumental period.
The State of Play in 2019: A Banner Year as a Console Generation Winds Down
The mid-to-late 2010s marked a high point for gaming pushing the technical limits of aging PlayStation 4 and Xbox One hardware. Franchises that had gone dormant for years returned in spectacular fashion while even established annualized series reached new heights.
Across the industry, 2019 revenue totaled a whopping $120.1 billion – a 4% increase over 2018‘s figures according to Wijman.
The stage was perfectly set for developers to release definitive entries in beloved series before passing the baton to next generation consoles. Let‘s examine the 10 games from 2019 delivering endless hours of entertainment with their masterful replay value.
10. Super Mario Maker 2
Developer: Nintendo
Platforms: Switch
Total Sales: Over 10 million
Giving fans the keys to build and share an infinite number of side-scrolling Mario levels was sheer brilliance in 2015‘s Super Mario Maker. This superior sequel adds a wealth of new course parts, enemies, settings and a world map builder.
With an ever-growing bank of player made stages accessible online spanning every skill level, you can keep playing forever while admiring the creativity of the community.
9. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Metacritic Score: 81 on PS4
Respawn delighted Star Wars fans by finally delivering the quintessential Jedi fantasy adventure. The soulslike gameplay emphasizes measured timing in combat, parrying and smart force power use to topple iconic foes across stunning setpieces.
With collectibles hidden cleverly across planets encouraging re-traversal, rich worldbuilding to uncover and two skill trees offering dramatically different fighting styles to master, this merits repeat visits to a galaxy far, far away.
8. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Developer: Beenox
Platforms: PlayStation 4 Xbox One, Switch
Total Sales: Over 5 million
While kart racing is owned by Mario, nostalgic PS1 mascot Crash got his best game yet with this content packed remake. All Bandicoot universe fan favorites blaze around visually resplendent tracks with perfectly tuned drifting physics.
With special challenge modes and online leaderboards driving competition, unlocking new karts and skins earns incentives to keep perfecting laps for just one more race…then another.
7. Borderlands 3
Developer: Gearbox Software
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Total Sales: Over 18 million
Gearbox‘s seminal "looter shooter" franchise struck FPS gold in 2009, fusing Diablo style randomized gear hunts to open world mayhem. This bombastic sequel sendsvault hunting heroes through dynamic alien environments filled with psychos to blast and bazillions of guns to collect thanks to sophisticated generation algorithms.
The engaging campaign expands with substantial season pass content drops like new planets, vault hunter skill trees and missions while 4 player online co-op intensifies the comedy and carnage.
| Platform | Copies Sold |
| PC | 8 million |
| PlayStation 4 | 6 million |
| Xbox One | 4 million |
(As of March 2022)
6. The Outer Worlds
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Metacritic Score: 86 on PC
From original Fallout creator Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky comes this brilliant single player RPG satire allowinging unprecedented creative freedom. Your choices in dialog, faction alignments and playstyle dramatically reshape outcomes within a hilarious sci-fi universe.
Sporting different character builds, morality bending quest lines and branching narratives riddled with reactivity, repeat runs bring new revelations on the ascension from frozen colonist to rising galactic antihero.
5. Death Stranding
Developer: Kojima Productions
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Total Sales: Over 5 million
Even critics who found Hideo Kojima‘s ceremonial post-apocalyptic trek tedious on launch have come to appreciate details emerging through new game plus runs. As deliveryman Sam Bridges rebuilds connections between America‘s fractured cities on foot, careful preparation and smart inventory management remains compelling.
With expanded areas, missions, gear and 4K 60FPS upgrades adding to an already hypnotic zen state walking sim, its messages resonate more deeply years later.
4. Mortal Kombat 11
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Platforms: PlayStation 4 Xbox One, Switch, PC
Total Sales: Over 12 million
By retaining perfectly tuned fighting from MKX (2015) and pushing hardware to the limit with wince inducing fidelity fatalities, MK11 brings iconic tournament gore to grotesque new heights. Expanding the classic roster with slick 3D era callbacks and dynamic new additions, deep customization and ever evolving meta through new DLC combatants keeps matches interesting years on.
With continued skin drops and the league focused sequel Mortal Kombat 11: Ultimate on the horizon, heads will keep violently rolling.
3. Kingdom Hearts III
Developer: Square Enix
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Total Sales: Over 13 million
Over a decade following Kingdom Hearts II, auteur Tetsuya Nomura finally delivered the epic and dazzling finale fans deserved. Continuing enigmatic hero Sora‘s Disney crossover saga hunting the dark seeking Organization XIII leads through cheer inducing Pixar worlds as you dive into heartfelt bonds between beloved characters.
Spectacle leaps off the screen battling iconic foes atop collapsing skyscrapers. Some late game battles satisfactorily test reflexes you‘ve honed across 100+ hours, meaning its magic sustains through future replays.
2. Pokémon Sword and Shield
Developer: Game Freak
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Total Sales: Over 25 million
While trading monsters remains the historic core, Sword and Shield realized creature catching dreams by introducing roaming Wild Areas where visible Pokémon dynamically populate landscapes alongide new camping bonding mechanics.
With smart quality of life upgrades, a solid mix of new and classic species to battle and breed across the charming Galar region – plus ever expanding postgame DLC zones in The Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra – coaches can set up camp permanently.
1. Apex Legends
Developer: Respawn Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 4 Xbox One, PC
Total Players: Over 200 million
Not even Titanfall studio Respawn predicted how this slick battle royale three person shooter mashup would excel by combining hero shooter strategy with fast paced gunplay. Yet underneath brilliance allowing combat creativity lies a welcoming community strengthened through constant content updates and transparency since 2019.
Limited time modes, evolving meta shifts and diverse locker cosmetics provide fresh motivation to drop in regularly years on. Console upgrades and new tropical map Broken Moon will keep Legends thriving into the future.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Racing against the clock before hardware took generational leaps to PS5 and Series X|S, studios maximized established engines while incorporating Service games lessons to sustain titles long term through updates.
Titles like Sekiro certainly deliver extraordinary one-off solo quests. Yet our evergreen shortlist illustrates tenets that enable perpetual delights worthy of replay years later. They allow deep personal playstyle expression through vast toolsets and systems that facilitate community collaboration in Apex or Mario Maker‘s canvas.
Compelling worlds stuffed with lore tidbits encourage return visits to recontextualize Outer Worlds intrigue or Fallen Order‘s Jedi trials. Expanding post-launch support continues demonstrating games as evolving services rather than static products. And Pokemon eternally revolves around catch ‘em all hooks that withstand the test of time.
Their enduring greatness stems not just from technical mastery, but maximizing the most crucial resource – player engagement through challenge, creativity and sheer fun factor. With increasingly accessible backwards compatibility options, these 2019 gems should shine on whatever platform the future holds.
So three years later, what titles do you still reliably revisit? Did any instant classics get overlooked that capture that elusive replay spark? Let me know in the comments!
