PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Switch: Which Had the Best Exclusives in Q4 2018?

PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Switch: Best Exclusives in Q4 2018

PS4

Despite undoubtedly having a sensational 2018, Sony’s fourth quarter of the year was pretty quiet. Although that’s hardly unusual for the publisher, which has for years now opted to lean on third-party support of its console during this busy launch schedule.

It’s been a strategy that has worked well for them, so far. A combination of the marketing mindshare that PS4 holds over its rival, Xbox One, and a host of lucrative exclusive content and timed exclusivity deals that Sony has been able to secure with franchises like Call of Duty has mitigated any need to release their major AAA exclusive games in the same window.

So what exactly did launch exclusively on the PS4 in Q4? Well, surprisingly, perhaps for the first time since the peripheral launched back in 2016, it’s two genuinely brilliant PSVR titles that propped up the catalog.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission has caused a huge stir since its launch, earning critical acclaim for its excellent platforming gameplay, which translates to a sublime VR experience. This new layer of immersion has brought new innovation to a genre as old as the hills.

Tetris Effect, too, is another example of an ancient video game genre made fresh through VR. You wouldn’t have thought this iconic but rudimentary puzzle game from the 1980s would necessarily work as a VR experience, but it’s absolutely brilliant.

It’s a truly masterful reimagination, which in VR, oscillates between feeling like some sort of magical place of zen to an intense, chaotic, and at times, infuriatingly difficult.

Other Q4 highlights for Sony include Persona 5: Dancing All Night, the quirky rhythm game based on the popular Atlus series, which was every bit as well received as its predecessor’s own dance spin-off.

Elsewhere, Sony bolstered the collection of Japanese titles and remasters, only available on PS4 hardware.

Notable Q4 PS4 Exclusives:

• Astro Bot Rescue Mission
• Tetris Effect
• Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
• The Last Remnant: Remastered
• Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight and Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight

PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Switch: Best Exclusives in Q4 2018

Xbox One

The Xbox One has endured a bit of a tough twelve months when it comes to software. While the reputation of the brand has continued to improve thanks to a host of excellent quality of life features, like backward compatibility and Game Pass, the lack of exclusive games remains a problem.

In particular, Q4 has not been its finest hour. Running one’s eyes down a list of exclusive games by platform is painful reading for the Xbox One, which has precious little — and I do mean precious little. As in, one notable game.

Thankfully, that one notable game turned out to be a good one for those that enjoy Souls-like experiences.

At first glance, Ashen is nothing more than a stylized clone of a Souls game that we’ve seen many times over. But to overlook Ashen as just another cookie-cutter title would be a mistake, because it’s actually in the areas that it doesn’t try to imitate FromSoftware’s iconic series that it shines brightest.

In its inventive co-op gameplay, character interactions, and the addition of base-building to the sort of safe zones you’ll be familiar with from Souls games, Ashen does put an interesting spin on the formula.

The overall experience is enjoyable, although Ashen does like the proverbial jack of all trades, master of none, which we explained in more detail in our review.

Notable Xbox One Q4 Exclusives:

• Ashen

PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Switch: Best Exclusives in Q4 2018

Switch

After the lightning hot start to its lifecycle, Nintendo was always going to struggle to follow-up on Switch’s brilliant year-one. The line-up over those twelve months, which included critically acclaimed Zelda and Mario games, will go down in history as one of the best in the publisher’s history.

But if 2018 has been a case of “second-year syndrome” for the Nintendo Switch, it’s hardly been very severe.

While the year started off slow, the console’s Q4 has been absolutely brilliant, with three terrific exclusives further bolstering a catalog of games, which, remarkably, support a console less than two years old.

The big highlights, of course, were Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Both of which mark the return of two Nintendo/Nintendo-affiliated properties that have long been among the most popular franchises the publishers’ modern era.

Pokemon Let’s Go is a wonderful reimagination of a game that many will have grown up playing, now enhanced with gorgeous graphics and new mechanics that tie-in to the popular mobile Go series.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is quite simply the best Smash Bros. game ever made, with an absurdly massive roster of characters and streamlined gameplay that draws on elements of the series’ most beloved entries. Save for the slightly dicey online play, it’s been a massive hit among critics and fans alike.

Notable Switch Q4 Exclusives:

• Super Mario Party
• Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Switch: Best Exclusives in Q4 2018

Who Wins?

As nice as it is to see Sony’s PSVR finally supported with two must-play titles, there’s just no way we can overlook the Switch’s strong end to the year. The double-whammy of Pokemon and Smash Bros. in quick succession closed the book on 2018 in the perfect way, and so it easily rises to the top of the pile for Q4.

We can’t imagine there will be too many out there willing to disagree with that take, and if the Switch’s 2019 comes to fruition in the way we think it might, its rival consoles might have to get used to playing second fiddle for a while.

Nintendo’s hardware is really finding its stride, just as PS4 and Xbox One begin to wind down for the generation.

Still, whether titles like the mainline Pokemon title and upcoming Metroid 4 Prime actually launch in 2019 remains to be seen. Certainly, if they do, and sit beside other strong games in the confirmed line-up, such as Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem, and Yoshi’s World games, Switch is going to be a real force to be reckoned with.