Anyway, looking back, I realize this thread is about ongoing WiP in 2018, not WiP created that year. So I’ll take the opportunity for a more in-depth list.
First, I’ll reiterate. Fallen Hero 2: Retribution by @malinryden is shaping up to be excellent, and I’m saying that as someone who’s somewhat bored with the superhero genre in CoG. This series has an incredibly complex and engaging protagonist, and a great take on how to write a (somewhat, maybe redeemable in the end?) villainous protagonist who’s nonetheless relatable, if deeply flawed. What I really like about the first game (and it seems the WiP of the second is following the same trend) is that it puts relationships (romantic or otherwise) between the characters at the heart of the story, making every character pretty memorable in the process. On a more simplistic note, Argent is shaping up to be a blast. Romance between Blood Knights FTW!
Second, as I said before, A Hag Called Fate and Rokusuppo by @Hex - I mean, some random lazy bum. Hag puts you once again on the side of the devils, as the co-dragon (“dragon” might even be literal) for a sorry excuse of a Big Bad. As a big afficionado for RPGs of all sorts, that type of game who’s basically “the daily life of a boss-fight character” is really engaging. Also, the opening scene putting you in a hopeless boss fight - where YOU are the boss - while still being on the receiving end of your standard protagonist party powering up out of nowhere in the middle of the fight made for one heck of an introduction. All in all, I can’t wait to see more of this. Rokusuppo is more basic, but for me is more akin to a guilty pleasure - except not that guilty. It’s simply a game where people get to beat the shit out of each others, and that very simplicity makes it wondrous. There are times where I want to play deeply complex intrigues with deep characters… and times where I just want to mindlessly hit stuff.
Now on to older stuff. I really like @Interestedparty 's writing, but I’m especially eager to see Through Broken Lenses come to completion. Life as a child-soldier thrust into the mundane life of high school has a potential for comedy and tragedy alike that is simply too good to pass on. And the WiP has so many variables it can make each playthrough really different, while still keeping this tone where one moment you can’t help but smile at the MC’s antics while being hit by how deeply they’re messed up the next instant. Blood Hunters is shaping up to be pretty good too (congrats on - almost fixing - that ghost-murder bug, by the way!)
Then we have The Wight King by @bl00dragon where you get to play an undead abomination coming back to life to the horror of all that is good and pure, with a MC struggling to come to terms with its very nature, or completely embracing it instead - yet apparently the players are more concerned about romance options. Priorities! Nonetheless, the WiP has an amazing intro, with a great fight scene to start things off with a bang.
Diaspora from @Jaybirdy is also shaping up to be pretty good, what with its culture clash theme, where you lead a viking-like tribe in the lands of not!Roman Empire. I really like the theme of struggling to adapt to a changing environment, and how much can be discarded, or instead protected at all costs. How much should people change when faced with potential extinction? What part should you preserve despite a totally new cultural environment? All in all, I really like that these questions seem to be at the center of the plot.
Keeper of the Sun and Moon, by @daydreamsincolor is basically Magic High School done right. A pretty intriguing world, rather memorable characters (Serafina best girl. Fite me), and I’m also a sucker for the stat-raising aspect. Plus, I had a lot of fun replaying the demo trying to unlock the secret, sometimes pretty well-hidden routes - even if it went against my basic instinct of making the same choices over and over and over again.
Guenevere by @jeantown probably needs no introduction. It’s been a while since there hasn’t been news of it, as far as I know, though.
War Games by @Aviator467 comes in to fill the criminally under-represented Giant Mecha genre - basically there’s only Mecha Ace. Once again, I like having the possibility to play with stats a lot, and I can’t wait for the demo to give us a better glimpse of the meat of the story.
And last but certainly not least, Freak: Amidst the Neon Lights by @Snoe. A mute superpowered test subject suddenly set free in a world they were not prepared for? Sign me in! (that game and Through Broken Lenses always make me think of each other, since it’s different takes on a somewhat similar theme). I especially like the way you customize the MC’s personality, who despite not talking is one with the most meorable persona around the various CoG projects.
I know I’m forgetting a couple other projects I really liked too, but still, that’s a pretty long list already, so I think I’ll stop now. Something I notice, by the way: I tend to be attracted to the games where the MC isn’t a blank slate, but its own character. Not to say you don’t have a say in how their personality will shape up, but I can’t help but have trouble to really enjoy games where the main character is just a stand-in for whatever the player thinks they should be. I get writing pre-set personalities is riskier, but the payoff make them far more memorable in my opinion.
I’m also finding myself enjoying the (somewhat) villainous protagonist projects a lot, which actually comes as a little surprise to me, because in my long life of playing RPGs, be it tabletop or video games, I usually really dislike going the villain route; I had to go through a dozen of Baldur’s Gate II playthrough before daring to try an evil-aligned character (and even then, ended up with a somewhat high-ish reputation and Imoen in the party, because what kind of monster wouldn’t not take her), I have mild disdain for full Renegade!Shepard, ect, ect.
And finally, any game which allow shaping up the MC as somewhat of a blood knight gets automatically a favourable first impression on my part. Call it personal bias. Even better if there’s a similar type on the other side. 