2022
It is becoming an annual tradition that I write reviews for each game I played throughout a calendar year, and 2022 is no exception. Over the last 12 months I have finished 61 different games on a variety of systems. Each of them I put into a general tier, and wrote a small blurb about. Note that these rankings are completely subjective; there are some genres I tend to really enjoy, and there are some that, while perhaps popular and well made, are personally not interesting to me. The different tiers are more to give a general idea of how I felt about each game. There are likely some games that would've received a different ranking if I had played them in a previous year.
D Tier
Dis-honorable Mention: Mighty No. 9 (PS3)
Officially, this game does not count towards my total since I was unable to finish the game. I was unable to finish the game because it softlocks on level 5 out of 8. Even if that wasn't the case, this game was pretty dreadful. I was curious to see how it actually turned out, given all the drama about it, and I can see why people were upset. Ugly graphics, stiff movement, and a game that learned no lessons from its predecessors. Maybe someday I'll actually be able to beat it (maybe it was my PS3 emulator and not the game... maybe) but until then, I wanted to make special note of the worst game that almost was.
Koumajou Remilia: Scarlet Symphony (PC)
This game was dreadful. If you go on Steam, this game advertises itself as a Symphony of the Night homage (you'll be seeing more of those on this list), but this is a lie. This game is not a Metroidvania, it's just a crappy linear platformer with level design taken from SotN (and in some cases, I think some sprites were literally taken from it). The controls are very floaty and imprecise, the plot is basically non-existent, and the game is super short; I beat the whole thing in an hour. Some of the Steam reviews talk about how they were enjoying the voice acting, and those people must have gone deaf. I'm not an anime connoisseur, but these actresses are the most grating, high pitched voices I've ever heard. I don't understand how anyone could even stand listening to them. There's not much here to like at all.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (PC)
The only things I knew about Dear Esther going in was that it was supposed to be a well-liked artsy title, and it was made by the people who made the second Amnesia game, which I didn't like. Well I like this game even less. It's basically just a walking simulator. You wander around an island while some voice actor occasionally reads vague letters to you. Nothing really happens, it's incredibly cryptic, and even the one section of the game I did like had a bug where I fell through the world and I had to redo the whole thing. Maybe I'm a simpleton who can't appreciate the finer things, but I didn't find this engaging in the slightest; it's a glorified demo. I will say it's pretty though, they did a good job with the sky.
Pixplode (PC)
"What if Fez was a block puzzle game?" is the main concept behind Pixplode, and the best thing I can say about it is that they were able to implement the Fez perspective shift pretty well. You rotate your 2D viewpoint into a 3D space, and click exploding blocks to try and throw your target into the objective. The concept is simple, but this game fails for me because it's impossible to predict what's going to happen. The game is physics based, so the only way to tell what will happen when you detonate certain blocks is to just do it. You play this game by completely guessing, and if you fail to get it in the first few attempts, you're likely to be stuck trying every single possibility. I also noticed that repeating the exact same actions can sometimes lead to slightly different results, which adds to the frustration. It's a kinda neat idea for a game, but it doesn't work out well in practice. Also, this game gives you an achievement for every single level you complete, which really wasn't necessary.
D+ Tier
Far From Noise (PC)
Now, I honestly do feel bad ragging on indie titles. It's one thing to criticize a game by a big publisher who just wants your cash, but these are dreams crafted by a small group of people passionate about their project. That being said, I really didn't like this game. I got it as part of one of those huge indie relief sales on Itch, and it had gotten enough praise to catch my eye. You play as an unnamed and unseen character in a car teetering over the edge of a cliff as they ponder their existence alongside a talking elk. You heard me. As a positive, it is very well done visually. The game has a sort of low-poly aesthetic similar to Grow Home. The game spends 90% of the time displaying the same view, but occasionally cuts away to display a different angle or show a different environmental effect. It would make a good background for a lo-fi hip hop Youtube stream. The biggest downside is the dialogue, which I found to be really horrible. The game is basically a visual novel where you occasionally get to steer the direction with a few options. The elk character is very philosophical and asks engaging questions about the meaning of life and your place in it. He's not too bad. The player character however is a "lol so random" type who is constantly distracted by passing turtles and how they're secret ninja assassins who wounded them as a young child, causing years of mistrust, among other things. It's meant to be endearing, but if I was the elk, I would've pushed the fucker over the cliff and saved us the trouble.
Sonic Generations (3DS)
As a self-proclaimed Sonic fan, I've been a fan of the HD version of Sonic Generations since it released, but I've never sat down and played the "other" version of the game. It turns out this is for good reason as the game is a pale imitation of its twin. I will say that I did like how it chose a different selection of classic levels to include than the other version, some of which I think are the more logical choices. The main thing setting the game back is the gameplay itself. The camera is way too close to Sonic, the level design is very bland, and it falls into the same nonsense patterns that many of the handheld Sonic games were into at the time, where the stage is littered with death pits or other difficult to avoid obstacles. It's something they were relying heavily upon at the time, and it's just as egregious here.
Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me (PS4)
The sixth horror game from Supermassive, and the fourth entry in the Dark Pictures series, really shows the flaws with the series. This is probably the buggiest game I played all year, from audio bugs, constant pop in of textures, and once where we had to restart the game since the flashlight wouldn't function. I could excuse all that, but the plot in this one is just really tired. The setting sounds good on paper but doesn't live up to its potential, the villain is an invincible Halloween/Friday the 13th style monster who lumbers around, and they have again used the same tired characters at each others throats. I was fairly interested in this title when they first showed the preview, but within a few minutes I found myself not caring for the setting. They've announced that there will be a break between this one and future "season 2" entries into the series, and I hope they take the time to fix the bugs and the gameplay loop. Once again, the preview for their next title has me intrigued, but we'll see. This game could've been a lot better with some Resident Evil style puzzles and exploration.
C- Tier
Spark the Electric Jester 2 (PC)
I played the first Spark game last year, and found it incredibly average. The sequel on the other hand has greater highs... and lower lows. Where the first game is a 2D platformer cross between Mega Man X and Sonic, this game is much more inspired by Sonic Adventure, although with some elements of later Sonic games; I was reminded of Sonic and the Black Knight at times. The biggest problem is the translation of the mechanics to the new dimension. The first game had a good mix of Sonic-like platforming with more melee combat. Attacking enemies meshed well with the movement. This game has the same sensibilities except you're in 3D space, which raises a huge problem. Any time you're faced with an enemy you can just... jump over them. This game is incredibly floaty and the enemies have too much health and are too numerous to really be interesting to fight, so I think pretty much every player is going to simply run past everything after the first few levels. This is the big flaw in this game; so much time was spent on enemy combat which is more fun to just skip. The platforming itself is decent, although it can be a bit difficult to control at times, and some aspects (any loops for example) will often lead to your death. Finally, there's the plot. This plot is incomprehensible. Spark the Electric Jester isn't even in it, you play as a sort of Metal Sonic/Shadow clone who just bumps into various Sonic series stereotypes that all hate you for some unexplained reason. I really can't put into words how terrible the plot is; the first game's plot was confusing, but this could've been in Greek for how much sense it made.
Lust for Darkness (PC)
This is a SEX GAME about SEX. SEX WITH MONSTERS. At least that's what the Steam page would have you believe. I'm not sure how I ended up with this game in my Steam library, but this is the game I own with the lowest Metacritic score, so I decided to try it out. It's fine. The reason the score is so low is because the page implies this is an orgy filled affair, when really there's like two sections of a few nude models gently clipping through each other. Not exactly erotic. I think the marketing was supposed to be "oh, look at this hot and sexy game, I'm sure no Lovecraftian horrors will show up", mimicking the plot, acting like it's a big surprise. Turns out, the audience wanted their hot orgies and didn't get it, leading to poor ratings. The actual game is like a Lovecraftian Amnesia. It has some well done visual design, but the puzzles aren't very interesting, it's kinda repetitive, and the ending was really stupid. So while it's pretty low on my personal ratings for the year, it's not as bad as the reviews would lead you to believe.
Half-Life: Blue Shift (PC)
Gordon Freeman is back and.. oh we don't play as Freeman in this game. checks notes Barney Calhoun is back and better than ever in this expansion for the original Half-Life which doesn't really expand upon the original in any way. It's interesting seeing the events of the game through the eyes of another person, but I'm not sure why Freeman got all the credit for saving the day, when Barney was going through just as much stuff. It's been a while since I played the first Half-Life, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't this buggy. Characters spaz out while moving, I clipped through the floor going up an elevator, and the platforming, ugh. I'll admit to you that on two separate occasions I turned on noclip mode to get past some platforming puzzles that, despite watching videos on how to do them, I'm not convinced are even possible. My jump height seemed lower than it should be. Black Mesa is a fun setting, but this game didn't really offer anything, and by trying to get out of Freeman's way, avoids some of the more interesting elements.
C Tier
Halo 2: Anniversary (PC)
This one is going to get some people rather upset. While I did think this was a step up over the first Halo game (especially in the level design department), it really didn't do anything special for me. I am on record for not really liking most FPS games, and I again found the gameplay more tedious than fun. Master Chief moves fine, I like the weapon variety; maybe it's the enemies that I find repetitive, I'm not sure. I actually did find the plot somewhat interesting, but this game has one of the least satisfying endings I've ever seen. It's one thing to end on a cliffhanger, it's another when I thought the game crashed because I was so surprised there wasn't an additional final level.
Bytepath (PC)
What if you took the original Asteroids game, spiced it up a bit, and added a skill tree? This is the question that Bytepath attempts to answer. Now, I did not pick this up for the game itself. Instead, the developer of the game has written a detailed tutorial about how this game was developed, down to the source code and design decisions. It's a very well-written guide, and even though the game is open source, it's available for a small fee on Steam, so in appreciation I decided to throw him a few bucks. The game itself is alright, you play as a spaceship with very limited controls; you can only steer left or right, with a limited boost or brake system ala Star Fox. You need to survive X number of enemy rounds to win, and the longer you play the more points you get to unlock new ship designs or progress in the skill tree, which is very similar to the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. This is a game that starts out pretty mediocre, but as you upgrade more and more it becomes gradually more fun. One annoying thing though, is that once you beat the game, they hint that maybe there's an even better ending... then proceed to delete your save file. That was enough for me.
Disney's Aladdin (Genesis)
One of the more iconic Genesis games that I had never gotten around to beating. This game famously had Disney animators assist with the spritework and it shows, as for the time it would have been the closest thing to actually playing the movie at home. It's something that honestly is somewhat lost on me, as I take seeing movie-esque graphics for granted, but it really was a step forward. The gameplay is simple enough, and the first half of the game is pretty enjoyable. Towards the end though, the level design, and in particular the platforming, really make this game a bit of a frustrating slog. It still is probably among the easier Genesis games, but that says more about the rest of the competition.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Spyro the Dragon (PC)
Just the remake of the first game here - I've never played much Spyro before, and I was surprised to find it to be a much more open world experience than the Super Mario 64/Banjo-Kazooie-esque level design I was expecting. It still plays in a similar manner and has you collecting items in similar way, but it's much less constrained to segmented levels. That being said, I found this game to be very average. It's very easy, I didn't find any of the levels all that memorable, and the bosses are only bosses in the loosest sense of the word. It just felt very underwhelming overall, although it does a does seem to be a solid remake. Perhaps the sequels are more enjoyable, but for such an iconic game, I was honestly expecting more.
This Way Madness Lies (PC)
This is a checks notes Shakespearean-themed magical girl turn-based RPG from the makers of Cosmic Star Heroine, which I played last year. They market this game as a more bite-sized RPG, clocking in between 5 and 10 hours for most people, with a much lower price point to match. It's an alright game. They use a lot of the same mechanics from Cosmic Star Heroine, and combined with the shorter time frame means you're constantly getting new abilities and moves, which is nice. The graphics are pretty well done, and there's a good diversity between party members. As for the plot it's... kinda dumb. I think if you're a big fan of Shakespeare you'd enjoy yourself, but I can't say that describes me. There's some funny moments, but events just blow past without much impact. You only actually control the characters in the various "dungeons", otherwise you just watch cutscenes play. I don't regret getting it, but it's an average entry.
C+ Tier
Cinderella Phenomenon (PC)
Now this is a type of game I'd never thought I'd play. It's an Otome, a visual novel where you get to pick which hunky boy you want to romance. In this case you play as a bratty princess who is cursed so no one remembers who she is, with the exception of other cursed victims. All of the characters are based off of a classic fairy tale character, in a Once Upon a Time sort of way. In all there are five different men you can make out with, but some of the options are... not great. Your initial choices are the cringy Casanova type, a holier-than-thou narcissist, or your step-brother; and your step-brother is honestly the best of the three. The story is actually pretty fleshed out, especially for the two unlockable characters, but you do end up playing it start to finish five different times, once for each dude, which can get repetitive. Given that the romance is the big draw to this game, it's unfortunate that I just don't believe she'd ever fall for some of these suitors, however this game is pretty well done, and most importantly free, so I would recommend giving it a look.
Deathsmiles (PC)
While I hadn't heard of it until recently, this game has a reputation as a good entry point into the bullet hell genre. I'm not really a huge shmup fan, but I found this game to be an enjoyable experience. You play as one of four witches who move from left to right shooting everything in their paths with their familiars. The girls play mostly the same, with their bullet patterns being the main difference. The levels are very interesting visually, with the bosses in particular having some really great sprite work. I would agree that it is a good entry bullet hell game, not only are you given quite a few lives and infinite continues, but there really isn't a penalty for dying; when you use a continue it respawns you immediately right where you were. This means the game is actually really easy, if you just play it for long enough, you'll eventually reach the end, even if you die 100 times. The game itself is also pretty short, there's only about seven levels (plus a handful of completely optional ones). As for downsides, the game has a large amount of different modes... and zero description about what they do. They have names like "arcade mode", "version 1.1", "black mode", but there's no details about what they do, and I wasn't able to really figure it out myself. This game also runs at a very weird resolution. The gameplay is surrounded by a thick border, meaning the game isn't rendering at full screen. If you saw screenshots, you would probably guess this was a PS1 or Saturn game, but no, it was released in 2009 for the Xbox 360. I have no idea why the game isn't full HD and instead runs this way, it's very odd.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PC)
I've always seen this game listed on "best of" lists, so I was interested in trying it out. As you can see by the rating, I did not agree with this assessment. It's not necessarily bad in any areas, but I found it rather repetitive and at times frustrating. The plot is vaguely interesting but loses steam as the game goes on, the parkour sections are fun, but eventually fall into simply pattern matching which move goes with which type of terrain, and the combat can be real annoying at times, especially when you get to do combat and an escort mission together! Yippee! Between this and Beyond Good & Evil I'm frankly not terribly invested in the Ubisoft games of this era. I do hear the sequels are better, if I ever get around to playing those.
On a side note. I also watched the film after playing this game. The film is dramatically worse.
The Quarry (PS4)
Supermassive Games takes a break from its Dark Pictures series to make a game with an actual budget again. While not called a Dark Pictures game (or a sequel to Until Dawn) it still plays very similarly to those titles. A group of camp counselors are enjoying their last night together until, uh oh, spooooky shit starts happening. I liked this game more than the Dark Picture titles, but it still suffers from mediocre writing. My biggest pet peeve with the whole story is that these kids are supposed to have worked together for an entire summer, yet consistently have the friendships of people who have known each other for two or three weeks. I know it's a silly thing, but it honestly really threw me off when trying to get into the story. The local townsfolk are also complete morons, and exasperate the situation at literally every turn by doing things that no human being would decide to do, for dramatic effect.
Peggle Deluxe (PC)
Hey man, Peggle is fun. It's the ultimate "office PC game". You shoot a pinball and try and hit all the orange pegs. Yeah, some of the levels can be a bit bullshit, and some of the abilities are definitely better than others, but it's still as fun as it was back in its heyday, and still worth checking out.
Trace Memory (DS)
A mystery point-and-click game from the developers of Hotel Dusk, which I played a few years back. This game features a teenage girl who has arrived on a spooky island in search of her long lost father. I liked the visuals of the game, even if they're a bit basic, and while I was invested in the story, it's pretty simplistic. The puzzles aren't as good as other DS point-and-click games, and while I honestly thought Hotel Dusk went on for too long, this game is much too short. The mysteries, while set up well enough, aren't all that satisfying in the end. I think if I had played this back in the day, and gotten it on sale for like $4, I would've liked it, but there's much better similar fare on the DS.
B- Tier
The Simpsons: Hit & Run (GC)
Another game from my childhood that I was never able to finish, this is the Simpsons' take on Grand Theft Auto, which was all the rage at the time. You get to drive vehicles around three different areas of Springfield as five different characters (Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, and... Apu for some reason), uncovering a sinister threat to the town. The plot is simple, but funny enough, there are lots of in-jokes to the show, and the vehicles are fun to control with lots of variety. This game works best as a sandbox game where you explore the world of Springfield, which is actually really expansive. The biggest downside is the main plot missions, which get really repetitive. All of the missions are basically split between fetch quests, races, and attempting to destroy another vehicle. It gets so bad that (minor spoilers) the game ends using the exact same mission four times in a row, just with stricter and stricter time limits.
Devil May Cry V (PC)
Another entry that some people might find too low. This is actually the first Devil May Cry game I've played, even though I was vaguely familiar with who was who. You play as one of three different characters as they battle their way through the forces of hell. This game reminded me a lot of Bayonetta (understandably) and honestly I wasn't crazy about Bayonetta for similar reasons. At the end of the day I found this game a bit repetitive. It's a lot of fighting a selection of two dozen different enemies in hallways. I actually enjoyed playing as V the most, even though he's the one with the most unusual mechanics. The plot is fine, if honestly a bit predictable. The game drops you in at the midpoint of events, which does help get things up to speed faster. I know this game got a lot of praise for its mechanics and fluidity, and while it does play well, I was never really enamored by it, but I can definitely see why someone would be.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PC)
Now, I've gone on record saying that as the Metal Gear series has gone on, I've found it to migrate more from "quirky, yet interesting" into just "stupid" territory, with Metal Gear Solid 4 being the worst offender. This game is a sequel/spin-off of that title, and while it definitely continues in that direction, this game ends up being into "so bad it's good". The combat definitely feels like this is Platinum's first attempt at what eventually would become NieR: Automata and it works fairly well for the most part. It continues the Metal Gear tradition of having interesting political observations bogged down by a bunch of junk pseudo-psychology that I had zero interest in. Raiden is a fun character to play as, but I found his plot to be completely pointless. I always hate it when games do the whole "but, who am I really" schtick, and this game has it in spades.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PS4)
It's been over a decade since I played Assassin's Creed II, but why not jump back into Ezio's story to see how he progresses. My main criticism about this game is that, particularly story-wise, this feels less like its own game and more like Assassin's Creed II: The Rome DLC. The map is adequately large, and there's enough story length, but I never got very invested in it. Ezio himself does not evolve as a character at all past the introductory sequence. He ends the game the same person as he started it. The assassins also (aside from the beginning) suffer literally no setbacks. You start with nothing but build up your strength without too much fuss until you basically run Rome yourself. It really feels like a DLC, lots of new areas and missions, but the plot is more of a side story than part of the main character arc. This game also has not one, but two of the worst endings I've ever seen (spoilers from here on out). I know people hate Desmond's, but his was honestly the least egregious. Ezio's story comes to a complete halt when he gets the Apple, for the simple reason that Casare Borgia was a real historical figure who can't die for a few more years. So the game jumps forward in time, has you kill a town square full of random people, then it jumps again a few more years. It's super jarring, makes Ezio look like a mass murderer, and really does nothing to add to the story except wrap up a villain who honestly had already fallen from grace and didn't have much to offer by this point.
Superliminal (PC)
A puzzle game somewhat reminiscent of Portal or The Stanley Parable, this game's main gimmick is the ability to resize objects by changing their point of reference. You know how in movies when something in the foreground looks big? Well, in this game it actually becomes big. It's a really great technological feat, and lends itself to some cool puzzles. This game doesn't have much of a plot, but what there is is... not very interesting. You're in a dream therapy session, but go too deep and can't get out. They try a few things to keep it interesting, but honestly it didn't really catch my interest, especially when I was already thinking of Portal in the back of my mind. The ending of this game also goes on for way too long, there's some visually cool things, but they just drag it out for no reason.
Freedom Planet 2 (PC)
I was a big fan of the original Freedom Planet and I've been eagerly awaiting the sequel to finally come out; I think it was the game that sat in my Steam wishlist the longest. The day finally arrived, the sequel promised to be bigger and better and... I don't know, I didn't really like it. I've had a hard time putting my finger on it, but something about the level design and the gameplay just really didn't vibe with me. There were some fun levels, but I never got into the zone that I was able to get into with the first game. There's some other issues too, the bosses are much more convoluted than the first game, to the point where they aren't fun. The first game was often criticized for its awkward voice acting and plot, which I didn't mind so much, but the plot here just isn't engaging and feels much more disjointed. I ended up only playing through with a single character, I just didn't care enough to do it with anyone else (from what I understand, there's not much of a difference between them). It's gotten overwhelmingly positive reviews, so apparently it's just me, but I was kinda let down.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (PC)
I was a big fan of the original LEGO Star Wars games back in the day, and while I wasn't planning on picking this up, I heard enough good things that I grabbed it on sale. This is really a mixed bag. On the one hand, it's a great looking game. I know they're all supposed to be plastic, but I was really impressed with the visuals here. They also flesh out the combat and character abilities more, there are some RPG-esque upgrades you can get for each type of character. Where the game goes wrong is how they laid out the main campaign. In the originals, you had 5 or 6 levels that were like 15 minutes or so each that together recreated the events of the film. Here, they went for more of a sandbox, where they recreated well known Star Wars locations. This is neat, but this is the focus on the game. The levels themselves are (with some exceptions) very short and quick affairs, each lasting only a few rooms. It feels like they want the focus to be more on the open exploration, which is fine, except when I'm playing through the events of the films and you spend as much time just walking through these sandboxes, which typically don't have enemies, as playing the actual levels. Each movie is also pretty short, but I suppose that's a consequence when you have to fit nine into a single game; I thought the overall length was fair.
Monument Valley II (iOS)
I bought both Monument Valley games together, and only just now got around to playing the second one. It is incredibly similar to the first game. They're pretty easy puzzle-wise, but have really good aesthetics and mechanics. This one attempted a bit more of a story, although it's still pretty subtle. I think overall I enjoyed this game a bit more than the first, although it's still too short and easy for me to be that big of a fan.
Stray (PS4)
Playing as a cat is cute. Playing as a cat is fun. Playing as a cat in a dystopian future where only robots remain, living in isolated communities cut off from one another in a world that they don't fully understand, dreaming about seeing the sky for themselves... is an interesting choice. I enjoyed being a cat and doing dumb cat stuff, like knocking stuff off shelves and looking in nooks and crannies, but the overall world itself didn't really wow me. Seeing some of the robots live their lives is interesting, but I never felt too invested in them, and to be quite honest, I think the quest I assist with dramatically changes their lives, in a way that the majority probably doesn't want. Whoops. The level design, while probably accurate for a cat in a bustling city, is also rather confusing, and I spent a lot of time trying to relocate specific buildings that I couldn't tell the difference between. I do see the appeal of this game, but it never really meshed well with me, and I think without the novelty of being a cat, this world wouldn't have gotten as much praise as it did.
B Tier
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (PC)
I think this game officially has the longest title of any game I've ever beaten. This is a Metroidvania heavily inspired by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Let me stop and re-emphasize that. This game is almost a blatant rip off of SotN, to the point where I think Konami could take legal action. The character animations, level design, even the spritework and physics just screams SotN. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as SotN is a great game and it takes some of the best things from it. In addition to the traditional Metriodvania style, this game also has an Ikaruga-style immunity mechanic, where at the press of a button you can switch between fire and wind, which makes you invulnerable to that type of attack. The game is very fluid and controls very well. Where it loses points is the plot. I have honestly no idea what is going on in this game. None. Apparently this is part of some long running Japanese franchise which ranges into all sorts of media. The game just assumes you're familiar with all of that and drops you right into it. Frankly, from what I could make out this plot is not particularly complex; you're basically trapped in a dream running into various people the player character knows. All of the writing is basically the same, you entire a room, she goes "Oh my god \
Everhood (PC)
Everhood is a rhythm game made by a studio who are livid that they didn't come up with Undertale first. Every piece of media takes inspiration from something else, but in this case I think they went a little bit too far. The character designs, themes, and even the font are heavily influenced by Undertale. The main gameplay is rhythm sections where you dodge incoming projectiles on a Guitar Hero-style field by moving left/right or jumping. These can be frustrating at times, as the projectiles are in time with the music, but you need to dodge them; meaning you are always jumping or dodging off-beat, which can feel weird. While the art style is simplistic in the overworld, during combat they show off some really cool effects, and often have clever variations on the gameplay. I'm going to be honest, I wasn't terribly impressed with this game in the first half. It was full of quirky events and characters acting oddly while the game wanted you to take its philosophical themes seriously. However, at about the halfway point, there are a number of reveals towards what was going on, and I was surprised to see that I found them effective. Without spoiling too much, the reason all the characters act like they've gone mad is because they have gone mad, and the game does a good job explaining why this happened. You also get a new gameplay mechanic at this point that adds an extra level to the combat and addresses many of the issues I had.
Pokemon Trading Card Game 2 (GBC)
The sequel to one of my favorite games a kid, this game only ever got a release in Japan, necessitating the use of a fan translation for the rest of us to enjoy. Your enjoyment of this game is entirely dependent on how much you enjoy the Pokemon Card Game, as this is simply a video game-ified version of it. You live on an island of super nerds, where everyone structures their lives around their playing cards, until an evil island invades, taking not only everyone's cards but actually kidnapping people as well. You make your way across both islands, liberating cards and people as you go. This game reminds me of the Gen II Pokemon games, which not only include the original locations, but add whole new areas and greatly expand the scope. However, the biggest downside begins in the last third or so, as most battles force you to have some dumb condition to fight, such has having 4 of a specific card or only one type of energy. It gets to the point where you rarely get to play with a deck of your own choosing, you're doing so many conditional fights.
Rise of the Third Power (PC)
From the developers of Ara Fell, another turn-based RPG I played a few years ago, comes Rise of the Third Power, a very Ara Fell-like game. I rather enjoyed Ara Fell; it was a solid experience, even though I would say it didn't do anything too revolutionary. This game is incredibly similar both in mechanics and graphics to that game. The gameplay is a pretty stock turn-based system without any "gimmicks" that many games experiment with, which can make the game seem basic at times, but all-in-all a good experience. I would say the plot is also better written than Ara Fell, although it sometimes jumps between serious and joking too often, creating an odd tone. The spritework is also really good, both the overworld and battle sprites. However, they use drawn art for the character portraits which, I must admit, are not very good and clashes pretty badly.
Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (PC)
The second expansion to FFXIV, and honestly a weaker experience than the first one (more on that in a moment). This expansion picks up right where Heavensward left off, with the beginning of the liberation of Ala Mhigo. Their plight has been an often mentioned and well developed element since the base game, and it feels like a natural progression of the story. However, within a short time the heroes decide to completely forgo the Ala Mhigo plot, and instead travel to the opposite side of the planet and assist in a second liberation of the Asian-inspired Doma. While I liked the neighboring Kugane and Ruby Sea, I found Doma to be... kinda boring. It definitely seems more like a backwater than the plot would have you believe. This expansion struggles with making the evil empire satisfyingly strong enough to conquer these regions for decades, while also weak enough to be defeated by the end of the expansion, not only in Doma, but back in Ala Mhigo, which also does get resolved by the end. By the end of the expansion, everyone is celebrating their great liberation but, at least for Doma, this feels more like the beginning of a war, not the final victory. I also found the villains to be less engaging than Heavensward, although I do like some of your new allies. I'm interested in some of the foreshadowing they've done for the next expansion (more on that in a moment), and although I found this one rather weak overall in the plot department, I would say it's probably more consistently written than A Realm Reborn.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PC)
I first played this game shortly after it released, and at the time I was really impressed at some of the interesting ideas it brought to the Kart racing genre, as opposed to some, let's admit it, fairly static series like Mario Kart. Playing it through again, I still think it has lessons to offer Mario Kart, but I don't think it's as cut and dry which is superior. I really enjoyed the mission-based single player mode, and it's the main thing I would like to see in a future Mario Kart. Yeah, Mario Kart DS had a mission mode, but it wasn't integrated into unlocking anything. This has a lot of variety in its missions and lets you unlock characters and stages. My biggest complaint with this game are the items. I would often use an item, only to have the opponent turn back up within a few seconds. The items are too weak to really impact other racers, but are powerful enough to be annoying when hit; a perfect sweet spot of annoyance.
Live A Live (Switch)
This was originally a Japanese-exclusive Square RPG for the SNES, remade for the Switch in the style of Octopath Traveler. To be honest, this was one of my most anticipated games of the year. I love plots that cover different eras of history, and this game features eight different stories set throughout time, both past and future. Each of the different time periods features a different protagonist, and each of them have a different play style, to a certain degree. While I did enjoy this game, I don't think I necessarily loved it. I did like the stories, but the gameplay got a bit repetitive, and some of the time periods are much more interesting than others. While the game as a whole is a good length, having eight different stories (which can be played in any order) means that individually, each ends up being a bit short. I still liked the visuals, and enjoyed my time with it, but it never quite reached greatness.
The Talos Principle (PC)
Another 3D puzzle game, you are a robot man in some sort of weird Garden of Eden simulation, where you have to solve puzzles because God wants you to, and frankly because there's not a whole lot else to do. The puzzles have a number of common elements, press buttons, redirect lasers, get past force fields, dodge turrets, etc. There are some clever puzzles, but where I think this game is lacking is the puzzles don't really build off each other. The later puzzles are harder sure, but they're just more convoluted, there's no "aha" moment in this game, unlike others. The end section is a good climax, but I honestly really didn't like the story. The writers of this game think a good philosophical idea is what makes the world goes round, but instead of having any, they'll just beat the same tired ones into you. You can communicate with terminals to talk to a mystery figure, who will ask you some multiple choice question, then say that your answers are too simple and unsatisfying. I found them so pointless and tedious, I gave up doing them after a while, even if they beep really loudly for you to come back and listen to them, because no one else would do them either if they didn't pester you.
Hacknet (PC)
This is a game where you pretend to hack computers over the web. I guess you would consider this a puzzle game, even though the game is the same four puzzles with the same solutions over and over again. It has some cool visual effects while giving the players a fake terminal to try and hack into some systems. While dramatized, the hacking actually has some basis in fact; you use some real Unix commands to do things, and the port exploits you use are real in name. There's not a lot of substance here, but it has a lot of style. I should say that I tried to beat this a few years ago, but ran into a game-breaking bug. This has apparently been fixed (or I managed to not do it again).
Sonic Frontiers (PC)
I have a lot to say about Sonic Frontiers, but the core take-away is that while somewhat inconsistent, I was pleasantly surprised with this game. I think they finally have something to build upon. I really enjoyed the open world section of the game, and I think that it's its strongest part. The world is a bit plain however, so they tried to compensate by putting lots of rails and springs and crap every five feet to keep things interesting. I think this was a mistake, and probably 80% of the geometry should've been removed and instead replaced with some interesting landmarks. I ended up avoiding most of it by the end, as it tended to just trap you in an annoying platforming section with little reward, and often throwing you the opposite way you wanted to go. The physics are interesting, you have a lot more freedom than in recent games, with the exception of jumping, which is probably the most stiff its ever been. It's like a fighting game, when you jump you are very locked into your arc. I eventually got used to this, but it makes some parts, particularly the more traditional cyber stages or anything in 2D, harder to control. Speaking of the cyber stages... I appreciate that they needed something to incentivize the player and break up the gameplay, and I think it does that well, but they seem very lazy. Reusing Generations assets again is tiresome, and makes these stages much worse than they could've been. The plot is very somber and shockingly acknowledges the previous games. SEGA loves reusing levels and assets from previous titles, but they have gone out of their way to not reference the events of the other games. No longer, as pretty much every single game gets at least some call out (except for poor, non-canon Sonic 06 lol). They may have gone a bit overboard, while also leaving some really obvious questions unanswered. However the new writers are leagues better than the dreadful hacks they've been using for the past decade or so. Like Unleashed to Colors, if they can recognize what really worked and didn't work in this game and optimize upon it for the next, I think this could really serve as a blueprint for the series going forward.
B+ Tier
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (PC)
While I've certainly been familiar with the Phoenix Wright franchise and had a vague knowledge of its characters, I had never actually sat down and played through any of the games until now. The game is half visual novel/point-and-click gameplay, and half intense courtroom drama where you must use logic and deduction to identify fallacies in the witness statements. I really enjoyed the gameplay, in particular the courtroom stuff, which I wasn't sure if I would actually like. The cast of characters are all likeable and, while quirky, never got on my nerves. Some of the cases are definitely better than others, in particular I really enjoyed the final two the most, as they raised the stakes in an interesting way, and actually had some interesting twists. I do wish the mysteries were a bit more solvable by an astute player and less hand-wavy, but I suppose it's safer to keep things hidden from the player for maximum effect rather than them figuring everything out too early and becoming bored.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GC)
Another game from my childhood where I played the majority of the game before dropping it for, in this case, decades. I'm a big fan of the original Metroid Prime, having played it through several times, but I never actually finished the other two in the trilogy. I remember being rather frustrated with this game, but as an adult I found it a lot more manageable than I did as a teenager. That being said, the main mechanic of the game is the light world/dark world split which, while not as bad as I remember, still isn't great. It ends up feeling like you have to play through each area twice; there isn't enough variety between the two to really make them that interesting, and it ends up making backtracking or remembering future points of interest much more tedious. This game also introduced limited ammunition for Samus which was a big point of contention when I was younger, but I actually didn't find it too hard to manage, although I would argue it may not have really been necessary.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
I honestly had zero interest in playing this when it was announced. I did think the idea of a more open Pokemon to be an interesting concept, but I have lost basically any interest with the Pokemon franchise. However, after release I kept seeing scenes from the game on social media, and it eventually incentivized me to pick up the game. I honestly really liked it; this game plays like how Pokemon was presented to us in the TV show or in our imaginations. While there are the traditional Pokemon battles, they take a back seat to a more open exploration where you are able to run freely around tossing Pokeballs yourself. With a mix of stealth and open world gameplay, you can catch Pokemon without ever needing to start a battle, and it is very refreshing. The game is set in a more rural setting than most Pokemon games, and while the plot is nothing to write home about, I still found the characters and events interesting. I do wish there was more than the single town to visit however, and if I'm being honest the game does last slightly too long, but all in all I was pleasantly surprised. I initially thought that, like most Pokemon spinoffs, we would get maybe one or two side games in this style before it vanished into the Nintendo Vault, but Scarlet and Violet seem to moving in this direction as well. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for another game of this style so soon, but I'm more interested in Pokemon now than I have been in years.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (PC)
There were a number of high profile indie games coming out this year, and while this wasn't one that I was particularly looking forward to, it ended up being one of my favorites. I enjoy a good beat 'em up as much as the next guy, and TMNT is a very solid game. The levels are fun and colorful, there are a plethora of characters with their own unique styles, and the game does a good job balancing the levels in difficulty and length. There are a few stumbles here and there (the online multiplayer is fun, but rather buggy), but overall an enjoyable experience where I wasn't really expecting one.
Yakuza 0 (PC)
All I knew about Yakuza were the various memes, so I was expecting this to have a Devil May Cry-type tone. This is not the case; the game plays everything completely straight, even during the occasional light hearted segments. I don't know too much about Japanese life, but I really liked seeing the 1980s portrayal of a Japanese city, and the shady things that go on there. I liked both protagonists and the combat system is pretty enjoyable (I particularly liked the break dancing style). My biggest issue with the game is some of the tonal shifts. They want this to be a serious story with consequences, but Kiryu is basically a God, he takes down armies of men that come to attack him. I know that's somewhat the point, and this is a video game, but it starts to take me out of it when the bosses (cough Kuze) keep talking about how Kiryu is a huge wimp while lying on the ground after being beaten for the fourth time in a row.
Resident Evil 2 (PS1)
Despite being a big fan of the Resident Evil series, I've never actually beaten any of the entires on the PS1, I've only played their remakes. I have now remedied this by playing the original RE2. I really liked RE2 Remake a few years ago, and I will say it's a faithful adaptation. It's definitely one of the best looking PS1 games, and does a great job setting a horror atmosphere. Playing the remake first does take away some of the enjoyment however, as it pretty does everything bigger and better than here. There were a number of areas or set pieces that were fleshed out in the remake that I was surprised at how small or short they were. It's a little rough around the edges, but I would still say this game is fun and playable.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS4)
I enjoyed the first Spider-Man game enough to get the platinum achievement, and decided to pick this up from my local library. In a nutshell, it's very much the same as the first game, except clocking in at roughly half the runtime, which was perfectly fine with me. They do change the mechanics around a bit; different gadgets, different ability tree, and perhaps most notably, Miles has electric and invisibility powers (I personally haven't run into any electric spiders in real life, but if they're invisible that would explain it). Playing as Spider-Man is fun, and the game is really good looking, especially the vistas of New York. Where it drags a bit for me is the plot. Firstly, the dialogue is pretty cheesy at times. I couldn't help roll my eyes every time someone hacked a computer; every computer system is very insecure and everyone you meet is a genius hacker. My main complaint is the main villain who, spoilers from here on out, I found to be incredibly unrealistic and unbelievable. The villain is revealed early on to be your estranged childhood friend who, despite being a teenager, is able to design and develop super weapons on her own, lead and equip the largest gang in the city, and then also out class Spider-Man despite having no powers. She exclusively makes the wrong decision at every move; deciding that domestic terrorism and leading a gang is better than just going public with the concrete proof the evil organization is killing/killed her brother. They really want to establish her as a sympathetic character you feel bad for, but I didn't feel any remorse towards her at all.
Gravity Rush: Remastered (PS4)
The darling game of the PS Vita re-released for PS4, Gravity Rush features Kat, a young woman who can redirect gravity's pull on her via a magic cat. I really liked a lot of what this game had to offer. While the story can be a bit all over the place, the character portrayals, particularly of the main character, are really good. She's a really fun and likable character and I grew really fond of her by the end of the game. The world aesthetic is also really strong; it's a steampunky city-in-the-clouds that you can explore and fly around. The cutscenes are told in a comic book style that lends itself well to the story, although sometimes they use close-ups of the models which... don't look super great. It would've been fine on the Vita, but on the PS4, these models look can look very flat. The biggest downside to this game is the combat; since this is a game where you aim gravity, the combat is mainly aiming yourself at an enemy and rapidly flying towards them with your leg kicked out. There's some upgradable moves and some alternate attacks, but the combat never got to be fun, and often I'd find myself flying miles past an enemy I narrowly missed. It's a short game, and I don't think they adequately tapped into the potential of this world or its characters, but I really enjoyed my time.
A- Tier
Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PC)
My MMO obsession continues in the first expansion, and I personally felt that this was a step up in most areas over the base game. Keep in mind that MMOs are constantly evolving, so I can only review the game as it is now, not how Heavensward was at release. The plot is the main focus here, and a big step up over the first part of the game; I personally found the dynamic between the uber-religious Ishgard and their war with the dragons to be really interesting and engaging. The expansion also adds a number of great locations; of which Zenith, Idyllshire, and Ishgard itself stood out the most to me. I have noticed a pattern where I didn't feel the plot was terribly wrapped up by the end of the expansion proper, but the episodic post-release quests did a good job mopping up most of my complaints, and doing a good job at setting up events for the next expansion. I have two complaints that stop this from earning an A however. I know that political intrigue can be a bit over done lately, but I do wish we got a bit more on the relationship between the Great Houses of Ishgard. As it stands, it feels like there's really only four houses of about 5 people each running this entire country. We spend so much time talking about the political dynamics of the country, I would've liked to see them on screen better. I also felt that the big cliffhanger at the end of A Realm Reborn was resolved rather easily. Yes, you're in exile, but the problems in Ul'dah are mostly ignored before being resolved after rather little effort. The very end of the expansion sets up some of those characters in a better place, but it did feel like they wanted to focus on Ishgard first and foremost.
The Last of Us: Remastered (PS4)
This is another game where, while it may not be my personal favorite thing, is so well done that I can't help give it a great review. Not too much can be said about this that hasn't been before; you play as Joel, a man who frankly should've died 20 years prior to the game, as he leads teenage Ellie across the country in a post-apocalyptic zombie wasteland. Their take on zombies is interesting, and in a genre that was horribly over-saturated even when this game was new, does a good job of setting itself apart. You feel a connection to the characters while also understanding that they are not good people at all. There are some low points in the game however, some areas overstay their welcome a bit too much, and I honestly found the final area more frustrating than anything. However, the world is extremely well thought out, the writing and voice acting is excellent, and I can see why this game got all the praise it did. I will say however, that in these post-Covid times we live in, hearing CDC news reports about the mysterious illness ravishing the country under martial law is a lot less fun than it used to be.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
I was a big fan of the classic Kirby games, but honestly none of the titles released in the last 15 years or so have really caught my eye. Kirby was always easy, but the original titles were still fleshed out and expansive, which turned into simple linear platformers in recent years. To my surprise, they have finally released a proper 3D Kirby game and I was thoroughly impressed with what they have done. The worlds, while perhaps a little cliche, were full of interesting secrets and fun level design. I really liked the way they handle abilities; in some Kirby games you end up with 30 abilities, most of which you never see or use. Here, there's only about 10 abilities, but you can upgrade them to different variations of each other. It's well done and incentivizes you towards exploring and collecting items. My only disappointment was the post-game world, which is really just a bunch of reused levels. However, since it's technically optional content, I don't really hold it against it.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Switch)
My secret favorite "genre" are games that span across multiple time periods, allowing you to see how the world evolves over time. 13 Sentinels is a game that does this... sort of. It is 90%-ish a visual novel and 10% RTS style combat. You play as a fuckton of Japanese teenagers mainly living in the mid-1980s as they uncover a bunch of conspiracies about their lives. It's odd, I would actually say that this game doesn't really have any new sci-fi concepts, but instead includes ideas from every sci-fi movie you can think of. Terminator. The Matrix. E.T. Westworld. Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Groundhog Day. Alien. War of the Worlds (this one they actually call out by name, thanks public domain!). Each character has their own different bizarre events going on which, together, allows the player to understand the overall plot. Each character's story is broken up into chapters, which does lead to some odd transitions between chapters. For example, there are times where a character has uncovered a huge truth about the world they live in, shattering their perception of life. Then when we pick them up in the next chapter... they're just back at school. There are a number of cases where this happens, and it almost lead me to think there was another big mystery going on, but no, it's just weird storytelling. The game does also rely heavily on non-sequential events to hide important facts from the player, but it actually works well with the systems they provide to you.
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch)
Xenoblade was one of those titles I really wanted to play back in the Wii days, but it was always difficult to get a copy of, so I never had the chance. I did pick up Xenoblade Chronicles X a few years later... and ended up selling it as I found it lacking in many regards. Shocking then, that I found myself enjoying Xenoblade so much... eventually. I will say that Xenoblade starts off to a rocky start, not with the story, which is actually well paced throughout, but with the combat, which remained my biggest gripe throughout. The gameplay is vaguely MMO in style, which leads to the game feeling annoyingly hands off in the beginning as you don't have enough abilities to really do anything other than watch your characters fight, win or lose. However, as you get more party members to try and abilities to use, the game really does pick up and I found that I was enjoying myself. The setting is very unique and interesting, and the voice acting is shockingly good. Not just "good for a video game", which is honestly the case for the majority of things I play, but actually well acted.
Final Fantasy V (PC)
Despite being obsessed with FFXIV, I did manage to squeeze in an older single player Final Fantasy game - the Final Fantasy V pixel remaster. I had actually started this game years ago but didn't get too far into it, instead moving on to FFVI and FFVII. I've always been a little intimidated by games with a job system, there are so many possible jobs you can do that it can be overwhelming deciding which to stick with. I actually really enjoyed the system here, and I think the gameplay is definitely this game's strongest point. There's 20-odd jobs to pick from, as well as a dual-classing system, that really made it fun to mix and match to create combos for your party. The spritework on this remaster looks great, although I have noticed that the colors are a bit washed out from this original (this is an issue with all the pixel remaster titles). The main reason why this isn't an A is the story. It's... kinda bland. I really do like the characters, and they're fleshed out well enough, but the main villain is super forgettable. He is evil bad guy from the evil bad guy dimension. He wants to take over the world because he's evil. That's it. Compare this to the games that were coming out around this one, like FFVI, and this story pales in comparison.
Signalis (PC)
Signalis is a game with the gameplay of Resident Evil Remake, the horror sensibilities of Silent Hill, and the android trauma of NieR: Automata. You play as Elster, an android looking for her human crewmate following a crash landing. You stumble into an android mining colony where everything has gone to complete shit. The game uses a low-poly PS1-esque art style, but is mostly a top-down RE-style survival horror game. I found the beginning of the game to be good, but not great, primarily because the environments were a little too similar; a lot of Soviet-esque Brutalism architecture. However, towards the end, the plot makes a number of turns that really engaged me, and I found myself continuing to think about this game and its ending for several days after I finished it. The plot is intentionally very obtuse, and I still don't think I understood who very many of the characters were, but it was a really engaging game, and one of the best horror games I've played in a while.
Honorable Mention: Zachtronics Solitaire Collection (PC)
Since I'm not sure I can count a solitaire game as "beaten", this excellent game gets an honorable mention. I love Zachtronics' games and in each one they include a unique solitaire game. Now that their time in game development is done, they've gone and bundled a number of them together. They really are fun and unique, with the tarot and Opus Magnum entries as my favorites. Speaking of Zachtronics though...
Replay: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GC)
I originally played this game a number of years ago, and decided to play it with my girlfriend for Halloween 2022. You play as roughly a dozen different figures throughout history, with the connection between them being an encounter with a Lovecraftian force, ranging from the Roman era to the year 2000. I love games that cover large spans of time, and being able to see the effects that the earlier characters have on the later figures is very fascinating. Some are corrupted and become thralls of the dark God, some begin to oppose it, and others are merely innocent bystanders doomed to die. The combat is interesting, but rather rough. You are able to learn and cast spells in addition to traditional attacks, and the game even allows for the targeting of different body parts. It's a simple system, but can be a bit frustrating in the heat of the moment. The game is most famous for its sanity effects, where the lower the player's sanity is, the more fourth wall breaking effects can happen, such as pretending the game has been muted, or suddenly killing your character on screen, only to flash back. I didn't get too many of these in this playthrough, and while they are very shocking at first, they can become a bit annoying when you get a repeat. Overall, it's a little rough around the edges, but it's a very unique game, and one of the great hidden gems on the GameCube.
A Tier
EXAPUNKS (PC)
This game certainly isn't for everyone, but I love everything about it. This is a programming game where you control tiny robots and move them around different areas to complete tasks, usually of the sort like "hack a radio station", "rob a bank", and "send neural signals from your brain to your arm so you can have motor control". Now when I say this is a programming game, I mean this is a programming game. You control the robots by programming them in a custom assembly language, complete with manuals (included PDFs) that teach you how it all works. The whole world is set with 1980s sensibilities but with futuristic capabilities, it's really neat. Unlike the other Zachtronics games I've played, this one actually has a plot, and it's not half bad. The music is also phenomenal, I've been listening to it regularly on my own. I will say the technical specifications of the EXAs are pretty limited, as (warning: nerd stuff) you only have one general purpose register, a shared general purpose/test register, an intra-machine global register which you can't guarantee the receiver, and a file pointer. It's pretty limited, but yet some people have managed to make entire video games in it.
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate (PC)
Finally, Chess 2. This is a game where you play as the chess Black King piece, after all of his fellow pieces have defected to the white side for better health benefits. Armed with your trusty shotgun, you decide to enact revenge. This game was recommended to me out of the blue by a friend, but I was surprised to see that it was developed by a well-known Pico-8 developer, so I decided to give it a try. This is a strategy rogue-like game, where you dodge the opposing pieces while attacking via a 360 degree ranged attack. It combines Chess with a 2D strategy game surprisingly well, and even though I'm typically not a huge fan of rogue-likes, this game does a great job balancing it. Each round you are given not only a buff for yourself, but also a buff for the opposing side, so it is a constant battle between trade-offs. It is a rather short game, I was able to finish it in an hour, but it's fun enough that I was happy to keep playing even after I was done. If you're looking for a quick and easy rogue-like, I highly recommend this.
It Takes Two (PS4)
I only knew this game as it seemed to be mentioned a lot during "GotY" season last year, but I honestly wasn't really expecting much. I thought it would be a pretty simple coop platformer game that wasn't anything to write home about. I was very mistaken. The real strength of the game is how well it is able to keep things fresh with different mechanics and settings. It's always a platformer in a Honey I Shrunk the Kids-type world, but they twist on that concept and give the players additional mechanics that spice things up. At one point it takes on RPG elements, it's briefly a fighting game, I was constantly surprised with how engaged I was. The story itself was fine, although it does have some notable highlights. I can definitely understand why it got such praise.
Sonic Triple Trouble 16-bit (PC)
I've played a few Sonic fan games in my day, and to be perfectly honest with you, I tend to find them all just okay. There are some made by some talented people, but they all typically pale in comparison to the actual Sega Genesis games. This is a fan remake of Sonic Triple Trouble originally for the Sega Game Gear, remade in the style of the more famous Genesis entries. This game is phenomenal. It could've been made at the time, or even released today by Sega. I have never been so impressed by any fan game as much as this. The music is remixed in a fantastic style, the physics are all accurate, the level design is very well done (I kept bracing myself for some of the bullshit Sonic has pulled in recent years, but it never happened). I'm going to even go so far as to say that it might even be a better game than Sonic Mania, or at the very least on par with it. I cannot recommend this game enough (can't beat free), and as far as I'm concerned, it's now up there with the original Sonic entries and Mania as canon 2D games.
What Remains of Edith Finch (PC)
Another game I had heard good things of, but knew nothing about; this game follows the 17 year old Edith Finch returning to her family home and recounting the tragic deaths of its family members. I was really enamored by this game. It's not terribly long, but it's rare for me to become so engrossed in a game that I can't put it down until the end. You learn about the final days of each family member via a different gameplay style, and all are very unique and interesting. Seeing all of the family member's tragic ends, and hearing Edith's commentary on them, was a great narrative style, and one that I found myself very engaged in. My least favorite one actually was probably the very first family member (the game softlocked), which it stumble a little for me, but everything got better and better from there.
Outer Wilds (PC)
Not to be confused with Outer Worlds which I haven't played so I'm not sure why you'd be confused, Outer Wilds is a game where you play as an alien fellah as he dies repeatedly attempting to solve the secrets of a long lost civilization. Think of this game as Kerbal Space Program, but you take away all those silly orbital mechanics and actually put interesting secrets to find on the planets. This is definitely a game where it's ideal to go in with as little knowledge as possible, as the mysteries the game presents are really engaging, and both diverse but collectively builds towards a greater plot. It's a very well done game. It is a bit intimidating at first, as it's not entirely clear how the mechanics work or what you're supposed to be doing, but it's a game that rewards players for being curious and putting together the pieces of the greater whole.
A+ Tier
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (PC)
I've clearly enjoyed FFXIV up until now, given how I've given the various expansions good reviews and I've played hundreds of hours of this game. However, when I first started looking into playing this game, I kept hearing about how it was one of the best games ever made, one of the best Final Fantasy stories, and so on. And to be honest, the plots up until now have been fine. Good even, but not a grand example of impeccable storytelling. I hadn't particularly cared for the previous expansion (see above), so I was expecting more of the same. This expansion blew me away. It is a level higher than anything they had done so far. The new setting is incredibly engaging, the over-arcing plot is really well done, even the shitty villain who has twiddled his moustache in the shadows for three expansions has turned out to have a legitimate interesting backstory and motives. I really liked the new areas (for the most part, there are some that are a bit lackluster), and while I do wish we got to see more prominent new characters, the ones we got are all really well done. It only took 18 months and hundreds of hours, but I finally see what all the fuss was about.