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one may argue that the games didn't really show up in 2021, but goons sure as hell did 
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Dec 31, 2021 23:55
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BeanpolePeckerwood posted:one may argue that the games didn't really show up in 2021, but goons sure as hell did This hasn’t been a terrible year for games. So many good games have come out this year. Honestly, even if it was a bad year, lockdown has pretty much given people opportunities to try out games they my haven’t had the time for or overlooked. I’d argue that for gaming in general, this has been a pretty good year. Games are good.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:03
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the only reason i dont nhave more 2021 releases is bcos i had too many 2020 releases to play and now i have a ton of 2021 games to start 2022 with
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Jan 1, 2022 00:04
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10. Uncharted 3 replayed in Nathan Drake Collection  Last year, I replayed UC 1 and 2 - the first two games I ever Platinum'd (and the only ones I had for many years until last year). This year, I rounded out the Nathan Drake collection by finishing UC 3. I can still remember when this originally came out, I took the day off work and beat the game in a single day. I don't really recommend doing that because I felt delirious by the end of it, but it was a wild ride. Replaying UC 3 this year brought back lots of fun memories of one of my favorite eras of gaming (PS3 is one of my favorite consoles of all time). I still can't remember most of the details of the story but none of that matters when you're running and gunning and having a great time with Drake and the gang. I'm thoroughly excited to play the UC 4 remaster and I happen to think the Uncharted movie is gonna be dumb fun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. Quake 1  There's a bit of a nostalgia theme to some of the entries on this list, and while I partially hate myself for succumbing to it, it's got an undeniable grip on us all. The Quake 1 Remaster getting announced and launched on the same day was a really fun surprise, and it gave a few buddies and me the perfect excuse to team up and play through the game co-op. Then, a few weeks (months?) later, they dropped Horde Mode and it gave my buddies and I another excuse to jump in. The two best parts about replaying Quake 1 in 2021 was getting online with some buddies and the fact that I could still remember all the little secret passageways that I haven't thought about in over a decade. It reminded me of playing the shareware disc I probably got in a GamePro or EGM magazine on my lovely old PC because it was all I could afford. Those were good times and Quake is a legendary game that paved the way for a lot of the cool poo poo I would come to like throughout the rest of my life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. Hades  There's almost nothing I can say about Hades that hasn't been said before. I was antagonistic about it for the longest time because I couldn't understand the hype. It was only available on PC, which I don't have access to, and a console that is one of the most disappointing I've ever owned, so I swore a rivalry with the game. Then, in 2021, it dropped on PS5 and I begrudgingly gave it another try. Turns out I was way wrong about it. I don't care much for the melodramatic characters or "storyline" or whatever, but I did lose my mother in the last few years and the emotional aspect of that part of the story did resonate with me pretty heavily. Primarily, I enjoyed Hades because it didn't ask me to sit through a bunch of unskippable bullshit before letting me jump into a lot of really cool kinetic gameplay. I thank Doom Eternal and another game on this list Returnal for warming me up to appreciate a game like this, and I'm really glad I played it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Ghost of Tsushima  Another game that I initially dismissed for perhaps a silly reason (a lot of gamers put it on a pedestal and championed it over TLOU2 bc of "politics" or whatever). The primary reason I got back into it was because it was getting a lot of love from the developers and they were being really generous to PS5 owners with updates. Even after giving it an honest try when the PS5 remastered version came out, it was hard for me to get past the usual open world hangups. The game still suffers from a lot of aimless running around checking off an enormous list of busy poo poo to do, BUT the game has two things really going for it: 1 - Legends mode is a ton of fun with a buddy or two because it focuses on the best aspect of the game (combat) and adds a supernatural element which saves it from having one of the most boring campaign stories of all time 2 - The game has undeniably beautiful art direction and I've spent more time in Photo Mode in this game than in any other After pumping a bunch of hours into Legends mode, I wound up appreciating the campaign a bit more. It's still got an insufferably boring blank canvas of a story and not enough variety in its fetching, but it's a beautiful game to look at and the more time you invest in leveling your character up, it enhances the ability to engage in cool combat which really is the game's saving grace. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. A Short Hike  The dialogue in this game alone makes it worth a high spot on anyone's list, but the gameplay and simple but whimsical story make it one of the coolest little indie games I've ever played in my life. I love the old school graphics, I love the charm and wit of the characters, and I love how magnificent it feels to soar around and discover new things on the island. I don't have as much to say about this game as some of the ones that ranked lower on this list, but I just think the game says enough for itself and should be played by anyone who appreciates indie games and open world adventures that don't require you to do a ton of busywork in order to deliver a compelling experience and tell a worthwhile story. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Astro’s Playroom  This game is an absolute love letter to anyone who's been a PlayStation fan over the years. The only PlayStation I've never owned is a PS Vita, and this game makes me wish I bothered getting one. Being able to unlock and play with a lifelike virtual PSP Go brought back memories of sitting on the subway and missing my stop because I was so engrossed in God of War or Patapon during a time in my life where I cared more about video games than any other. I know a lot of people had a hard time (and are still having a hard time) getting a PlayStation 5, but the fact that I was able to snag one and experience this wonderful pack-in that turned out to be a nostalgia bomb for games, systems, and accessories that littered the previous decade+ of my life as well as being an actually fun and polished platformer felt like something special. I know a handful of friends IRL who wound up getting PS5s and it simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me that they either never heard of this game or completely dismissed it and never bothered to try it until I mentioned how great it is. One of my buddies was gushing about how cool the DualSense controller is while playing Assassin's Creed or some bullshit game, and when I mentioned Astro's Playroom he scoffed and brushed it off. I want to kill him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. It Takes Two  I wound up taking a chance on A Way Out which I only heard of because that game developer guy was so whacky at The Game Awards and I needed an excuse to play something with a buddy of mine back home. That game was pretty lackluster and cringe, but it wound up achieving something that I hadn't experienced in a long time: a true co-op experience unlike anything I had bothered with in a long time. When It Takes Two dropped, I thought it was going to be silly and dumb but worth checking out. As it turns out, it was silly and dumb, but it was also whimsical and fantastic. I played with a friend of mine who wound up buying it, and we turned it into a weekly game night that turned into one of the highlights of my week. Every time we fired up the game, we were in awe of how well the game devs constructed a world that had co-op totally at the forefront of every encounter. Each new world and new co-op game mechanic gimmick was a unique and dazzling breath of fresh air. So much of the game is simple and straightforward but it all just works so well and does such a good job at making you want to roam around and explore all that's available to you. I literally can't even tell you any of the story beats or how it ended, but again none of that matters. All that matters is this game should usher in a cavalcade of copycats hoping to catch the same magic this game has because the world deserves more of these awesome "couch" co-op experiences. The saddest/worst thing about this game is that it requires two players and not everyone has someone to play games with. I was definitely in that position for a few years where I wouldn't have been able to convince anyone to play this with me, and I might have brushed this off as a dumb kiddie game anyway. If you like playing games with others and don't have an aversion against platformers or things that are primarily geared toward a younger audience, you owe it to yourself to play this game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Returnal  I was apprehensive to spend seventy bucks on a roguelike just because it was supposed to have cool graphics, but I really wanted to make my PS5 purchase "worth it" and invest in first party games. Plus, I really loved Resogun by Housemarque. I'm really glad that I took a chance on Returnal because it wound up being the perfect gateway into roguelikes which I had previously ignored (see Hades above). The graphics and atmosphere are incredible, the sound design and music are excellent. The world building and macabre narrative are really expertly crafted without being too in your face; I tried reading all the little codec entries for every item or enemy but quickly gave up because I just wanted to get back in the action, and I was still able to grasp what the game was trying to convey even without burying myself heads deep into the lore. This game is a visually and mechanical treat, and if you own a PS5 you really owe it to yourself to play this. This is the last game on my list that was launched in 2021 and definitely my 2021 GOTY. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Demon’s Souls  More nostalgia. When this game first launched, I picked it up from a Gamestop in my hometown and the guy behind the counter plus some other dude hanging around bullshitting with him were both like "are you sure you want to play this?" because of how hard it was. I felt up for the challenge, but wound up returning it a few days later. I could tell I was probably missing out on something special (maybe that's just hindsight talking?) but it definitely felt like something I wasn't ready for and not willing to devote energy to. Fast forward to 2020 when the PS5 launched and this game was remade from the ground up, and me having played Bloodborne, I was finally ready to dive back into the game that kicked off this whole craze. Looking back at my PS3 era trophies, I apparently beat Phalanx demon when I first had this game. I really have almost no memory of that, but I can recollect playing in world 2 with those mining monsters and that's about when I gave up. I'm almost glad that I waited to experience this game for the first time on PS5 because of how beautiful it looks. Hard to tell if I would have appreciated it more having gone through the original and being able to compare it or if I am better off having gone in blind and seeing some of the rich atmosphere for the first time with upgraded graphics. Either way, this game is a visual treat even in performance mode. I appreciate how much it made me unlearn what I had learned from Bloodborne. It reminded me that Bloodborne is something of an outlier in the series of Souls games and that each one, while similar, has its own unique aspects that you need to respect. I don't think I'll ever forget how cool it was to go from the last boss to the true "last" boss in that area below The Nexus. I love that this game took so many chances and wound up spawning a whole legacy of Souls games to follow. Which brings me to... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Dark Souls  This is the third and most recent Souls game I've played, and while I think Bloodborne is overall better and Demon's Souls (remake) is way WAY prettier to look at, not to mention the fact that Dark Souls borrows heavily from elements first introduced in DeS; the simple fact is that this game has a stamp on a place in time for gaming. Everyone has heard of Dark Souls. Everyone has their own take on how this game had an impact on them, for better or worse. Finally playing through Dark Souls felt like a rite of passage in a way that Bloodborne didn't feel like and DeS only felt like to a smaller degree. Suddenly, lots of references and memes I had seen and would continue to see would make sense. Rumblings of accounts of players going through Anor Londo and Sen's Fortress and the dreaded Blighttown were stories I could add my own memories to. I had heard that the world design was top notch, but you can only really appreciate it when you experience it for yourself. I'm almost glad that I decided to tackle The Catacombs, Valley of Giants, New Londo Ruins, Demon Ruins, etc all before even bothering to get through Blighttown. Each golden fog gate I fought to get to before being able to warp meant a whole world of tough enemies I had to fight my way back through to get back on the right path. It was frustrating as hell, and I got plenty pissed off while doing it, but it made me a better player. When I finally saw those golden fog gates shatter in the cut scene, I knew exactly where to go, and I knew I was even better equipped to get to them. It was incredibly immersive and rewarding. Getting through the game and most of its nooks and crannies (I foolishly bypassed all of the DLC stuff, but wound up doing a heck of a lot of stuff on my first playthrough) and reaching the final boss was an achievement I haven't really felt in most games I've played in my whole life. This could just be recency bias, but I know that Dark Souls will go down as one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Not only did I play this game for a good chunk of hours, but I also spent countless hours consuming YouTube content dedicated to dissecting the games interconnected world design, lore, and place in gaming history. It's a game that continues to deliver atmosphere and enjoyment even when I'm not playing it. I'm equally excited and terrified to play through 2 and 3. Excited to continue uncovering what the series has to offer, but terrified because for any QoL improvements that were introduced, I don't think either will live up to what it was like to play something so legendary, even with its flaws and wrinkles.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:05
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Games fit into four buckets for me this year: 1. Multiplayer games that I played with my two brothers and my 12/13 year old son. This year we started playing games together as a way to connect during the never ending pandemic. We started early in the year with Doom multiplayer wads. Lots of deathmatches, either team or (mostly) FFA. When we got bored of those we started to range out, finding either coop games or competitive shooters. I’ve also included any games here that I played with just my son, or with any combination of son and/or brother. List: Outriders, Splitgate, Doom, Titan Quest, Age of Empires 4, Terraria, XCOM Multiplayer, Deep Rock Galactic, Hellpoint, Heroes of Hammerwatch, Wilmot's Warehouse, Tesla Force, Doomkickers Action Squad 2. Multiplayer games that I played with family members other than just my son or my brothers. This list ranges from our weekly Among Us game that included my mom and one of my aunts, to local coop games that my son and my SO played with me, to FMV games that my SO and I played by ourselves. List: Among Us, Stardew Valley, Aoelis Tournament, Late Shift, Golf with your friends, House flipper, Frog Detective 1 3. Games that I obsessed over. I am an obsessive individual. When I get into something I usually go really hard at it. It’s what helped me finally get a degree in my 30s, it’s the way I managed to finally lose weight, it’s what got me to run ultra marathons. But it’s also the reason I spent my teens playing hundreds of hours playing Civilization 2 and probably 5000 hours playing Infantry Online when I was in my late teens / early twenties. These days I try to restrict my obsession around video games, but sometimes it slips through. These games are ones that I just couldn’t put down, the ones I watched hours of videos about on YouTube, the ones I thought about before falling asleep or while I was at work. List: XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, XCOM Long War Rebalance, Battle Brothers, Monster Sanctuary, NHL 20, Genshin Impact, Siralim Ultimate, Legend of Grimrock Master Quest, Might and Magic I 4. Games I just… played I play a lot of games that are just a good way to spend some time. Some of them are even in my top 10. These are the ones I'm most likely to have actually finished. List: Steamworld Dig 2, Yakuza Like a Dragon, Minit, Ghosts of Tsushima, Bloodborne, Inscryption, Mortal Glory, Hades, Loop Hero, shapez.io, Death Stranding, Elex, Regency Solitaire, Tower of Time, Darksiders Warmastered Edition, Heroes of the Kingdom 3, Bad North, Endless Fables 2, Wildfire, Hero of the Kingdom Lost Tales 1, Sable, Monster Train, Roguebook, Control I play a lot of games, I finish almost none of them. There are two reasons I don't finish that many games: the first is that I get distracted easily and that once I put a game down I struggle to come back to it, the second is that I don't care if I finish a game. I can enjoy my time with it even if that time only gets me 50% of the way through, when I stop enjoying, I stop playing. I replay games, or parts of games, a lot too. As far as I'm concerned anything I play this year is fair game for my top 11. Legend of Grimrock Master Quest In the summer something rekindled my love of drawing maps, so I dove into the CRPG Addict's blog back catalogue and then when I was bored of reading someone else's stories, I went off and played a dozen hours of my own in the original Legend of Grimrock. While I had never beaten the first game, I'd come close and I had some memory of the various puzzles the dungeon would have for me. So instead of replaying the original, I downloaded the excellent Master Quest mod and got stuck into that. As I was a good ways into my playthrough my second child was born, and the playthrough kind of stopped there. But before it ended, I got to experience that love of map making again, and just some good old fashioned Dungeon Master style combat. If you enjoyed LoG or LoG2 and wish there was more like it out there, you'd be remiss to skip this just because it's a mod. 10. Siralim Ultimate This one is in tenth only because I only got it three days ago. I've put a dozen hours into it already. It's Siralim 1,2,3 with... more. Much more. Super simplistic exploration, capturing monsters, exploiting turn based combat systems to build parties that OTK your enemies. What more could you want? (I wish it was on iPad, but oh well. It runs ok on a laptop.) 9. Steamworld Dig 2 I picked this game up over the Christmas holidays and beat it in a couple nights. Steamworld Dig was a really simply metroidvania that had tight controls and a compelling gameplay loop, and this is just a larger world version of that. I'd love a sequel. 8. Aoelis Tournament This one is kind of a standin for all the local multiplayer games I play in the rec room with my kid. It's the latest, and the most fun, kind of a top down party melee thing. There are eight different game types and a couple related modes, and we just kind of rotate between them. I'd love to play this with the full complement of eight human players, but we're enjoying it right now just the two (or three when my SO joins) of us. 7. House Flipper Similarly, this is a bit of a stand-in for any gaming solo with my SO. She isn't much of a games player, but we had some fun nights parked on the couch together fixing up a fake house while we dreamed of buying a real one. We did also buy a house this year, so that was cool. The game itself was just fine, very "do work while you're not at work", but gaming with a loved one always hits different. 6. Monster Sanctuary This was a tail end of 2020, start of 2021 game for me. I started it on gamepass last year I believe, and then bought it for the switch when I decided to commit. I love me some monster capturing turn based combat games, especially when they've got a light metroidvania flavour mixed in. I enjoyed the difficulty, but tailed off right before the last boss. I should go back and finish it at some point (I won't). 5. XCOM Long War Rebalance Yooooo. I've played a lot of Long War before, but this just absolutely hit the spot. Long War is a notorious mod, meant to take the normal XCOM gameplay and stretch it out into a monster of a game. And it does, and it's fun, for a given definition of fun. But the problem with Long War is that it encourages this slow and plodding style of play that just isn't that fun. After playing XCOM 2 WoTC and experiencing super soldiers who rip around the map, I wasn't ready to go back to overwatch crawling. That's where the Rebalance mod comes in. It attempts to do the following things: 1) Eliminate the reverse difficulty curve 2) Make easier difficulties easier 3) Discourage abusive and tedious strategies (e.g. shadow device stacking, first turn kills, pulling enemies, etc.) 4) Encourage engaging choices (air combat stances, equipment slots, base construction, etc.) 5) Improve choices on the perk trees (so more perks/builds are reasonable and competitive) 6) Improve underused or underpowered items 7) Make parts of the game less frustrating (e.g. psi training, arcthrower capturing) while still preserving difficulty 8) Make cover and cover-based strategies more valuable in the mid-late game 9) Remove the feeling of needing to play around pod mechanics And it honestly succeeds. One simple change is a huge part of why - you can no longer overwatch when the enemy isn't in sight. This changes everything. This is the best way to play Long War, and I think it's also the most fun way to play XCOM. 4. Among Us This game sucks actually. But we're still in a pandemic and I miss my family, and so we played this once a week for a couple months, and have started to do so again as the virus surges up here in Canada. Loses points because the game itself is more frustrating than fun, but nothing beats shanking my cousin and convincing my mom that it was actually her grandson who did the deed. 3. Yahoo Fantasy Hockey This could also be NHL '20, but as I was writing that entry I decided my fantasy league is way more fun than the hundred hours I spent in front of the PS4. Is it a video game? I set my lineup on the computer and to make trades I email guys using my laptop or phone. It counts to me. I've been in this keeper league for a decade, and have watched guys in the league grow into and past their middle ages. People have had kids, they've divorced, they gotten married. Guys have come and gone. But the league, and some of the guys, have always been there, ready to get a drink come season start as we do yet another draft (the draft this summer was the first time I had been in a room with that many people without a mask in like a year and a half). I've only won money once or twice, but for the first time in years I took it seriously again, and am absolutely dominating the scoring races. I'm still only in third because of atrocious goaltending (harder to model, I think), but I'm having a ton of fun. I hope the lockdowns don't bring the season to an end. Every morning I look at my team, I drag the waiver wire, I read dobber... it brings me back to a time when I had a lot less going on in my life. I don't know if I'll keep up with the league past this year, or if I'll go back to donating my entrance fee every year, but right now I am loving it. 2. Splitgate Playing with people you care about makes games more fun. This was the super obsession for me and my brothers and my son. Basically you mix Halo and Portal and you get this absolutely magical multiplayer shooter that probably deserves a better fate than to languish in obscurity like it has already started to go back to doing. Ultimately what sunk it for us (we haven't played it in months) was game modes that they didn't enjoy and a feeling of emptiness / staleness that started to come over it as we sunk dozens of hours into it. But we did sink dozens of hours into it. It's second on the list though, because I'm terrible at it. 1. Doom II: A Random Assortment of Vanilla Multi-player Maps I'm also terrible at Doom. I'm just significantly less terrible at it than I am in a game where I need to free aim. I love this game. The winter and spring months of 2021 were spent on a weekly game with my brothers and son, playing through years of custom doom deathmatch maps. By the end of it the brothers were getting bored, so we moved on, but I can't wait to break it out again when they forget that feeling. Doom is the best game ever made, you don't need me to tell you that or to tell you why. Also I played it a lot single player, but I'm not including that. Next year I'm going to try to do what I do every year - finish a handful of games and just play stuff I like. Probably game more with my kid. The list in full: 11. Legend of Grimrock Master Quest 10. Siralim Ultimate 9. Steamworld Dig 2 8. Aoelis Tournament 7. House Flipper 6. Monster Sanctuary 5. XCOM Long War Rebalance 4. Among Us 3. Yahoo Fantasy Hockey 2. Splitgate 1. Doom II: A Random Assortment of Vanilla Multi-player Maps Jordan7hm fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 00:10
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This was a strange year for games cause the ps5 has none lol I got a huge 77" TV and spent most of my time watching 4k movies and building up a physical media collection. Would really like to see some 120 fps games next year so I can take advantage of this OLED though. 10. Final Fantasy X Remaster Perfect game to play on the Switch after moving and all your poo poo is still in boxes. Bounced off after getting to Sin and still didn't start X2. 9. Returnal This game feels so good to play but then it's just a bad rougelike for reasons? I haven't beaten it and I might be bouncing off. I do log on for the daily challenges those are fun if only I could get similar builds going during a regular run. 8. Gran Turismo Sport I've played since release but I still log on to do time trials frequently. It's a ton of fun and I'm getting real hype for GT7 7. Ace Combat 7 Who doesn't love blowing poo poo up in loving jets? 6. Resident Evil 8 The first half of this game loving slaps. I actually beat this one instead of bouncing off after beating the first two bosses in RE7. Lots of fun 5. FF7R: Intergrade A really good DLC and that's the only reason it's not ranked higher. loving soundtrack slaps. Playing as Yuffie is as good as playing as Tifa. Seriously just loved more FF7R content. 4. Ghost of Tsushima + DLC I haven't beat an open world game or actually finished an open world game DLC in ages. I beat GoT and Iki Island and loved the duels and minigames so drat much. The story is kinda dumb and I don't think they did enough research on samurai movie structure in that regard but, game good. 3. Doki Doki Literature Club cw: suicide I played this a week before my cousin committed suicide. The words the MC says after Sayori's suicide helped me immensely at that time. It's something along the lines of you can't dwell on what you could have done because you can never know what someone else is thinking or control their actions and all you can do is remember the good times. They really helped me as I went through lots of feelings questioning myself and what I could have done, and looked back on our conversations. It's not often that a game actually gives me some insight on life, but I greatly appreciated this one having it for me. 2. Metroid Dread I spent 8 hours straight playing this until I got to the final boss and then got womped until a sleep break sorted my fingers. Felt like I hadn't gamed like that in ages. 1. Blasphemous I had a ton of fun playing this metroidvania with a little soulslike twist. Oozes character and charisma with an art style that I don't think I've ever seen in a game. Play with the original Spanish language track. Also as someone raise Catholic this game had a lot of fun imagery.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:24
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Good, detailed list from The 7th Guest with many things I had not heard of or just plain forgot about that I will need to try. Still no mention of the smash bullethell GAMER slayer hit Archvale in this thread yet, unless it Solid Snaked its way by. With less than 24 hours to go, will this game end up on a list?!
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Jan 1, 2022 00:29
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ATTN: Rarity, VG: I have edited my list! e; Oh yeah I finished Dark Souls for the first time ever this year and forgot to even put it on the list lmao  Try harder next time From Software
Ms Adequate fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 00:30
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Hi, I'm a filthy lurker that has gotten a ton of recs from these threads over the years and decided I should at least try and contribute. Honourable Mentions Furi Difficult and intense bullet-hell boss rush. Good game to pick up and play for a quick session now and then. Haven't played a full run in years but I still fire it up for a practice round every so often. 'The Line', 'The Edge', 'The Beat' and if I am feeling like pain, 'The Burst' are my favorites. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice This would likely have made the list proper (maybe even the top spot) if I had played it earlier in the year, but I'm only 5 hours in. Very optimistic from what I've seen so far, though. Satisfying combat and probably the first stealth gameplay ever that doesn't feel like it's just wasting my time. Update: I'm a little further in since writing this and yep, this is definitely a top spot contender Baba Is You My brain is far too soft and mushy for this game but it's excellent. The myriad weird mechanical interactions would be a breakdown in any other game, in Baba is You, it's the intended solution. It's easily a top 10 contender game but I only played a little this year, picking it up again after a long break and chipping away a little more progress. The List 10. Rocket League 5 or 6 years in now, still can't put it down. Still can't shoot to save myself either. Great for quick gaming sessions of 15-30 minutes. I grew up in the golden age of Quake/Half-Life multiplayer and this is the only game I've found that gives that same rush. 9. Hades I didn't like Bastion and have avoided Supergiant since, but checked out Hades because of the rave reviews and it deserves the praise. It's a fun roguelite, polished to a mirror shine. There's always something new happening and it helps give it staying power where other roguelites start feeling stale quickly. 8. Return of the Obra Dinn Really cool deductive puzzle story game. Atmospheric and engrossing, I initially shied away from it because of the monochrome aesthetic, but I'm glad I got over it. I even ended up liking the aesthetic, screenshots don't do it justice. The puzzling is pretty light by comparison to something like 'Baba Is You', it's more about the experience. 7. Deltarune I feel like the only person that Undertale didn't land for. So I slept on Deltarune until seeing the reception it got here and decided to give it a shot. It's good! Don't make the same mistake I did! 6. Tell Me Why Someone mentioned this one in the Life is Strange thread so I had to give it a go. A sleepier story taking place in the aftermath of dramatic events, it's not quite Life is Strange but still good and scratches that same itch. I really enjoyed the small town Alaska setting. 5. Life is Strange: Before the Storm (replay) After playing True Colors I wanted more so decided to replay the series. I think they have held up really well, though I have a hard time articulating why I like this kind of game. I guess you're just along for the ride. 4. Life is Strange: True Colors I had no idea this was coming so it was a pleasant surprise. The motion capture in particular adds a lot to this kind of character-focused game, Alex is expressive and lifelike in a way that makes Chloe and Max feel like dolls by comparison. Has an unfortunate feeling of unrealized potential but still a worthy addition to the series. 3. Dark Souls 2 (replay) This was originally my first souls game but I lost my save years ago before completing the final DLC. I kinda dreaded having to start over and put it off, but once I started it immediately hooked me all over again and I proceeded to binge playthrough twice. I still think that DS2 has the better setting, levels (especially the DLC ones) and tone. I prefer the melancholic/bleak feel to DS3's apocalypse, and 'Brume Tower' is probably my all-time-favorite souls level. 2. Life is Strange (replay) I expected to find that it wasn't as good as I remembered, instead I think I enjoyed it even more than the first time through. There's something special about this one. it's hella good 1. Dark Souls 3 Hungry for more souls, I dived in right after my DS2 re-binge. At first it wasn't really grabbing me and I was beginning to wonder if I just liked DS2 (which seems to be an odd one out that has a relatively poor reception among souls fans) but shortly after Undead Settlement it finally got its hooks in and I binged two characters, again. In the end, it's my new favorite. The combat and boss fights in particular are great. The levels on the whole aren't as good, but 'Painted World of Ariandel' is one of my favorites.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:35
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Mostly played the Switch this year: 0. Dusk Incredible to play on the Switch, just so smooth and a great boomer shooter. 9. Quake Remake Same as above, but it's Quake. 8. Monster Hunter Rise I don't like Monster Hunter games and I got over 50 hours without even realizing it. Very fun and easy to get into compared to World. 7. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade FF7R rules, this on PC was even better. 6. Bowser's Fury everything's already been said. 5. Psychonauts 2 Never expected it to live up to the hype in my head after the first one, but welp 4. Disco Elysium: Final Cut Game of all time. 3. SMTV Just a great demon Pokemon game, I love that the random encounters are gone. 2. Metroid Dread This game is loving incredible, I've played it 3 times, it's just so fun, fast and smooth. And the EMMIs and bosses still mess me up, I love it. Would be my GOTY but, 1. FFXIV Endwalker Everyone's said what's needed to be said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcMgKBXxnE0 Barreft fucked around with this message at 05:59 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 00:37
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I forgot to include SMTV and I guess that kinda says enough.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:38
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KidDynamite posted:
bit rude making me cry while browsing the GOTY thread imo
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Jan 1, 2022 00:40
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KidDynamite posted:I forgot to include SMTV and I guess that kinda says enough. wrong
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Jan 1, 2022 00:40
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this is a thread for positivity
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Jan 1, 2022 00:42
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I edited my list to put Psychonauts 2 on it.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:46
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Barreft posted:Mostly played the Switch this year: Julias posted:Guess I'll contribute too. You both need to write a sentence or two about your games to be counted. And Julias you need a fifth game. Hurry there's only a few hours left!
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Jan 1, 2022 00:48
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Ms Adequate posted:ATTN: Rarity, VG: I have edited my list! I edited my list a second time gomenasorry
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Jan 1, 2022 00:49
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Regy Rusty posted:You both need to write a sentence or two about your games to be counted. And Julias you need a fifth game. Hurry there's only a few hours left! e. i'm in a group in FF14, thats the best i can do atm :/
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Jan 1, 2022 00:52
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Anybody else love judgment but not care too much for lost judgment? The side stuff is good but the main story was like the lamest they've ever done idk.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:07
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1) Deltarune Chapter 2- Game had me smiling throughout the whole playthrough, the characters are incredibly endearing and the music is so good. Looking forward to the rest of the game. 2) Monster Hunter Rise- Monster Hunter that went to other extreme of the more stiffer and deliberate character movement of the older games by giving you a bunch of fun movement options. Looking forward to Sunbreak 3) Great Ace Attorney Chronicles- Something I've been waiting to get an official release overseas since it's first announcement years ago. Great animation, great stories and mysteries that the series is known for. 4) Animal Crossing New Horizons 2.0+Happy Home Paradise- Decorating houses for the villagers is a ton of fun since they clearly can't do it right themselves. Also the storyline in HHP is real cute. 5) Final Fantasy 14- They were right this is the most Final Fantasy game ever and it rules. A mix of a bunch of sly and open references to past games, but using them in ways that fill out the world so it doesn't come off as cheap.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:08
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Regy Rusty posted:You both need to write a sentence or two about your games to be counted. And Julias you need a fifth game. Hurry there's only a few hours left! Thanks for the heads up.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:18
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BabyRyoga posted:Good, detailed list from The 7th Guest with many things I had not heard of or just plain forgot about that I will need to try. Like I said before though, Humble Games crushed it this year. Can’t wait for Chinatown Detective Agency!
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Jan 1, 2022 01:32
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Didn’t play a whole lot of games this year due to number one taking up my time but did catch up on a lot I missed 10. Monster Hunter: World My first and only journey into the MH franchise and I can see why people love it. Not much to add that hasn’t been said about it, good gameplay loop,absolutely charming world. Good fun. 9. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus good old DDLC playable on console and with some new goodies. Nothing groundbreaking but a good update to one of my favorite Indy games 8. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim Didn’t care much for the fighting part of the game but loved it’s weird plot structure and characters. Glad goons wouldn’t shut up about it or I would have missed this. 7. Code Vein Dark Souls anime waifu edition. Listen it isn’t an instant classic like the From Soft titles, but it’s good Dark Souls game-lay with some neat mechanics. Not going to lie I enjoyed then hell out of this weird edgelord game. 6. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin Part 2d action adventure, part farming sim, all with a charming cast and great voice acting. 5. Final Fantasy 7: Remake The original release didn’t capture me like everyone else back in the 90s but I loved this version. Absolutely nailed the humor that Final Fantasy has as a whole, made this an absolute joy to play. 4. Horizon: Zero Dawn gently caress Ted Faro 3. Nier Replicant: ver 1.whatever one of the best soundtracks ever created for a video, memorable cast, and Yoko Taro weirdness. 2. Control It still kills me that this game takes place in the building my dad worked in. He got a good laugh at that. 1. Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker not much to add that hasn’t been said. Tried playing this years ago and quite in the post ARR slog. Picked it up in July and haven’t played anything else since. I’m still early in EW, just beat the level 81 duty today, and I’m already hooked. If it wasn’t New Years Eve I’d be playing right now, absolutely hooked.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:36
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ahhh slappin it together at the last min, heres my goty list!! (this time, with Pics) honorable mentions: aa2 & aa3 i played both of these in the aa trilogy on the switch and they're both pretty good! i probably would have put 3 over 1 but i haven't actually finished case 3-5 yet so 1 it is (and the circus case of 2 is, bad... tho 2-4 is pretty poggles!!) pokemon unite i played a little of this before falling off but it was pretty cool megaman zx this was nice (and the collection of the zero games+zxs on the switch is a great way to play these!!) but i dropped it when doing a really obnoxious sidequest about delivering letters and it made me have to backtrack lots instead of just letting you warp, why are there 2 kinds of save stations with one kind that doesn't warp, just have one that always warps!!! ff9 i played like 2 hours of this before dropping it, it seemed nice but didn't really "click" ff3 pr i've only played some of this but it was cool smt1 i've played like 20 mins of this (via the gba patch that puts in the defunct ios vers tl), its neato fe6 project ember this romhack is pretty cool but i haven't finished it and i kind of regret putting it on hard mode... megaman legacy collection a friend gifted me this on steam and i played some of it, it was neat but p tricky also i haven't gotten to play it yet but im excited for smtv!! ranking:  10. fire emblem thracia 776 i've only gone like 15 maps in but this is very cool (tho i've been copiously using savestates cause phew this games tricky)!! i've been playing this with "lil manster", a translation patch that also adds in some handy QoL and recently there was a big update so i should probably dl that soon huh…  9. megaman zero 3 (collection) since i can't put down the whole switch zero collection i might as well just put down z3!! it was probably the best zero game imo, 1 has a frustrating grinding system and difficulty, 2 is a marked improvement (and also has a great first stage), and 4 is cool but felt a bit lesser than 3 (but has a great ending), i'd say 3 is the most well balanced out of the 4 zero games  8. super smash bros ultimate im not super good at these kinds of games but it's fun to bonk people with kirby! also the world of light is v cute and i got this on sale   7. kirby star allies this game is relatively easy and short but Boy is soul melter ex hard!!! i was finally able to beat that and was able to also obtain 100% completion. friendship owns, yall  6. phoenix wright ace attorney 1 (switch collection) the switch trilogy collection was the first time i was able to play ace attorneys 1 and 2 (only had 3 on the ds used a few years ago) and while they're both pretty cool, 1 is easily better than 2  5. new pokemon snap i never played og pokesnap but this game ruled, i had to use a guide for some of the reqs but i loved this game so much i did all of the reqs!!! pokemon!! aaaaaa  4. animal crossing new horizons the 2.0 update ruled but also its just a chill time! also the HH dlc is very relaxing  3. stardew valley stardew is still good and the new endgame content is very nice to chip through!!  2. final fantasy vii ff7 is a classic for a reason! last jan i finally finished 7 for the first time and that final battle+fmvs (that you can't take any pics of) is  https://i.imgur.com/d2LHKgo.mp4 1. shin megami tensei iii: nocturne hd remaster i wasn't able to obtain the freedom ending as well in time for the new year but i was able to get the tde!!! this game is very cool but theres deffo a big issue of Way too many random encs near the end, also the final dungeon kinda drags on a bit too long heres the plain list!!: 10. fire emblem thracia 776 9. megaman zero 3 8. super smash bros ultimate 7. kirby star allies 6. phoenix wright ace attorney 1 5. new pokemon snap 4. animal crossing new horizons 3. stardew valley 2. final fantasy vii 1. smtiii nocturne hd remaster Booky fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 01:37
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Julias posted:Thanks for the heads up. You'd think a mod would read the entire OP before posting.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:40
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My time was mostly spent bouncing between FF14, Warframe, or one of a bunch of old fighting games because the era of rollback is finally upon us, so my list is short Honorable Mentions Eronoctosis - I think co-op horror is a neat mechanical concept and I'm always happy to see it explored more. I hope this evolves into a full game at some point, I think it'd be good. Maiden & Spell - I only just picked this up but I've had a fair bit more fun with it than some other fighting games I played this year. It's the Touhou 1v1 I wanted Antinomy of Common Flowers to be. 6. DUSK  I'm extremely loving late to this game but it's good as hell. The old Doom formula that first got me into FPSes is still the one I enjoy the most. I don't know that I can say anything about DUSK that hasn't already been said, but Run is my favorite track. 5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons  Another game I'm late to, but hey gently caress it it's Animal Crossing. You're never really late to Animal Crossing. Basically every change in this entry was a welcome one. I don't know that I'll be playing it very much going into 2022, but this was still one of my favorite games to relax with. My only real complaints are that infrastructure placement is still unwieldy and that I still can't just pay a small fee to easily move bridges/inclines. KK Bossa is still the best song in the series. 4. Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker  This is definitely the game I spent the most time with this year, picking it up around the start and making it through Shadowbringers about two months before Endwalker. I'm honestly surprised not just with the quality of the story, but how legitimately fun it is to play. The final boss of Endwalker was a real treat, even if healing for it was a pain in the rear end on my first run I still had a lot of fun. I'm used to really only enjoying the PvP side of MMOs, so finding PvE content a blast is a real surprise to me. It helps that you don't have to do a dozen stupid grinds to unlock raid content. It's pretty easy for a group of people to progress together. I'm also just personally surprised that I've enjoyed FF14 as much as I have. I gave it a brief shot way back in the day and loving hated it then. I'm glad they've gone all in on stripping away the standard MMO side quest grind so I can just enjoy their good rear end story and boss fights. Also glad they added Triple Triad because it was the entire reason I gave it a second chance. I'd link my favorite track from the game, but it's a big spoiler for the final boss so instead here's Equilibrium from Heavensward which was probably my favorite before this. 3. Paradise Killer  Paradise Killer does that one thing really good mystery games do - it doesn't tell you if you're right. Literally or morally. Not every mystery game has to do that but I really appreciate one that does, especially one that incorporates that into its own ideas about the nature of law and justice. You aren't just solving the game's central mystery, you're crafting a narrative that you present in the game's final court scene. With the threat of death hanging over every single suspect - and they're all just a bit guilty - you're probably going to start concealing elements of the truth here and there. That final presentation was a fun exercise in carefully editing the facts to protect the people who I didn't think deserved to die while exposing the rest. Is that corrupt? Oh gently caress yes, but the society in Paradise Killer nakedly sucks. It's very telling that the only really innocent person can't be saved. So if some one has to die, why not the people you think are the worst? Right? Maybe. It's one of the few times I've been presented with a moral problem in a game and gone back and forth on my answer. I like that! I like the uncertainty. Plus the game is extremely confident in its own aesthetic. The characters look great, the places are visually interesting, and the music is pretty good. Paradise (Stay Forever) was a great choice for the game's opening. 2. Disco Elysium  Finally played this when the final cut was released and that was definitely worth it. While I would have enjoyed the game without all the voice acting, it's hard to imagine Disco Elysium without it. It's hard to write a character who is a total gently caress up like the main character and keep him sympathetic and compelling, without just papering over his sins. I appreciate that the game explores his failings without painting him as either a monster or a saint, and that it takes this view to every other idea it examines. The dichotomy between Evrart Claire and Joyce Messier is a really good example of that. Evrart is nakedly corrupt and slimy, but not totally unlikeable as a person and working towards a better future - even if it just out of personal ambition. Joyce is pretty charismatic and even compassionate in her way, but she also has no problem working with some of the worst people in the world to perpetuate a system of global exploitation. They're complex and imperfect individuals. The only real monsters in the story are the mercenaries, and even with them we learn enough to see how they ended up the way they are. And I guess that one dude in the cargo container is some kind of eldritch horror. The game's full of charm, humanity, and a bittersweet sense of hope I can appreciate. Disco Inferno was a real loving good track in the run up to the finale. 1. Guilty Gear -Strive-  Fighting games are really good! GGX2 was the first fighting game I really played so I've always had a fondness for the series, and although the group I play with now coalesced around DBFZ last year Strive was also the first time in a while I felt a real desire to lab. It's a lot of fun to feel out a character yourself. Thanks to rollback my group could consistently play when we wanted instead of getting hosed by spotty connections. Playing against randos is fine, but I've always preferred just loving around with a group of friends. It's a lot more entertaining and I like showing off the stupid poo poo I've figured out to them. Plus I can go 0 and 10 against a friend or vice versa without any weird ego poo poo getting involved. It's the delightful purity of bashing your face into a wall without stupid assholes getting in the way. The game itself also feels good to play. I've always preferred my fighting games with high damage and short combos so Strive clicked real well with me. Coming off of months of DBFZ, it was great to get back into a fighting game where my combos didn't feel totally rote. I love my stupid fan dance boy even if he used to wear a jockstrap on his head. I actually have pretty mixed opinions on most of the game's soundtrack, but Love the Subhuman Self is great. TGLT fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Jan 1, 2022 |
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Jan 1, 2022 01:41
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Lol at all the people who were complaining about 2021 having no games with the past few pages consisting of mass lists of exclusively 2021 releases.Stux posted:the only reason i dont nhave more 2021 releases is bcos i had too many 2020 releases to play and now i have a ton of 2021 games to start 2022 with This is unfortunately what happens every year. Unlike TV where the average season is five hours, that is less than a third of the time the average video game takes to beat. Not to forget experiences like multiplayer games and near 100 hour RPGs. Plus games get deep discounts the longer you wait. And it's possible to not have the hardware yet to play said games.
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Jan 1, 2022 01:42
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Nothing fancy in the way of rightups unfortunately. 5) Divinity Original Sin 2 I was initially a little disappointed i couldn't make 2 characters like in the first, but that quickly disappeared after diving in and meeting the cast and i loved combining spell effects and the environment for maximum carnage all over again. Also, these games somehow bring out my desire to role play a little harder than i tend to. 4) Baba is You Somehow makes me feel quite clever and alarmingly dense at the same time. I'm glad it's on mobile now because being able to jump right back in when a solution floats to the top of my brain an hour after putting it down is very convenient. 3) Prey A second full playthrough of this and i told myself i would try new stuff this time around: different or no powers at all, be a jerk, don't save anyone, etc. Well instead that all went out the window and i just played it by feel yet again and probably made a bunch of the same choices and it still ruled. What a drat good game. 2) I haven't played a Tomb Raider game since like 5 minutes of the second on back on the original playstation. Loved the first, 2nd didn't grab me, never really looked in to it since then. I bought a new PC this year and after Cyberpunk (probably) turned out not to be something i'm interested in but wanting something that looks nice i decided to grab Shadow after i kept seeing various sites using it as a gpu benchmark, also it was on sale. Well, i liked it so much that i stopped playing so that i could play Rise instead. I hope that Shadow will be just or even more fun once i get back to it here in a bit. 1) FFXIV Endwalker After tentatively starting FFXIV back during it's re-launch i never figured i would stick with it for so long, much less for it to still be so drat enjoyable for me after all this time. And then to have a big finale for a 10 year long storyline actually pay off and still have me looking forward to seeing what comes next. Just fantastic.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:04
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10.) Dorfromantik Not a game I played too much of, due to other distractions at the time, but a game I will eventually likely return to from time to time in the future. Very similar to ISLANDERS from a couple years back, occupying that same little builder niche. 9.) Hitman 3 Until Hitman 3, I'd usually stumbled on the Hitman games a bit after they were released, then forgetting about them for a while before digging them back up and basically marathoning a bunch of play. This was the first time catching one as it was actually released! But also, I am often really dumb for these particular games, though I do have a hell of a fun time struggling through them, and it was neat getting to do that as other people actively did. 8.) Valheim Getting a good multiplayer server going with 5-10 folks for a couple months was a blast. The saga of trying to get a lovely little raft as far as possible then safely back without it getting destroyed through a long river trek over several hours with a few friends is one of my particular favorite gaming moments of the year. 7.) Gnosia Still on the ever eternal 'to complete' list, but as a lover of Mafia/Werewolf, the fact that this game exists as a single player experience is nothing short of fascinating. The art style is wonderful, and the overall plot has me interested, but holy poo poo am I really really bad at this game and I kind of stalled out on it pretty hard lmao. But one day! 6.) Loop Hero Both this and the next game are games that had one particular issue: interesting gameplay, mechanics and/or story, but just something missing. Loop Hero I think needed one more iteration - or dare I say, loop?  - to hit further greatness. Something more to break up the eventual status-quo of grinding a bit to make meta progression. That said, what is there is pretty drat solid.5.) Wildermyth I so desperately want to love Wildermyth even more than I already do. What exists with Wildermyth is fantastic. The combat and gameplay aspects are serviceable with some neat little flourishes thrown in (using the environment through the spellcasting never gets old, imo) - but it's the way the story and event systems interlock together where it really shines. Just... I want more, essentially. It took much less time than I would have liked to start seeing certain repeated things, causing the magic to fall apart a little. 4.) Great Ace Attorney Chronicles aa7 when capcom GAAC starts strong, fades a bit, then recovers and winds up on a glorious Ace Attorney ride all the way to the end. Some of the animation work is absolutely gorgeous, new mechanics that bring some interesting new life to the series, along with a cast of characters that grew on me quite a bit as the games went on. From my understanding, the second game almost didn't get made at all which a.) is absolutely crazy and b.) makes me wonder, if true, what the second game could have been even further with more time/resources. 3.) Deltarune Chapter 2 Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. Now's your chance. i'm pretty sure this will be the last thing bouncing around my skull before i die 2.) OMORI Love a good game that can have an emotional impact. Filled with charming art, a neat status effect system of sorts - the absolute roller coaster of experience that is OMORI is an incredible ride. 1.) Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker A lot of people have already put a lot of words towards Endwalker, and I agree with a lot of them. I'm going to take a slightly? different tack, here, I think. When people gripe about MMOs and looking for another one to play, in many places around here, FFXIV is quick to come up as a suggestion. And I don't think that's a mistake, mind you! There's a reason that it's my number one this year, and all! But I also think it's a very fair critique to say the game's greatest strength to many is also one of, if not its greatest weaknesses in a way. A lot of other MMOs, while of course having their main story and plotlines, will offer a lot of flexibility on the way there or leave a lot of the hard required storyline for unlocking things at endgame, and so on. With FFXIV, short of buying any story skips or whatnot, there is something around 800 Main Story Quests, from the very very beginning of the base game A Realm Reborn to the completion of the story in Endwalker. Yes, that's including base + four expansions + patch content, yes the quests are a variety of things from 'do x' to 'complete dungeon' to 'talk to person' but since the MSQ is an unbroken chain that is required... that's a lot to get through. A lot of excellent quests and writing and story, yes, but even as a fan of the game let's be honest a lot of not always quite as stellar stuff. (looking at you in particular, ARR patch content) And yeah it's easy to say 'hey, it gets better!' - and it does! - but when you're a new player staring down that wall, and particularly if it doesn't grab you at the start... well, I can't blame people for being apprehensive about the game a bit. But hey, there's a free trial up to and including Heavensward that isn't actually available right now! So at least that's nice as a way to try it and at least get past the generally agreed on worst spots near the start.All this to say: Endwalker, through it all, was an excellent trip. Nearly ten years of yes, occasionally meh lows and some wonderful highs, capped off in a truly extraordinary way that, at least in my opinion, brought it all home. There was a lot to get through to get to this point, but in the end: the journey was absolutely worth it.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:25
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Stux posted:the only reason i dont nhave more 2021 releases is bcos i had too many 2020 releases to play and now i have a ton of 2021 games to start 2022 with A pretty common situation by the looks of things
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Jan 1, 2022 02:31
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There are just TOO many games if you ask me. They should make fewer of them so the rest of us can catch up.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:34
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TGLT posted:There are just TOO many games if you ask me. They should make fewer of them so the rest of us can catch up. It's so good that you can just pick awesome games and that's all you play now
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Jan 1, 2022 02:38
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Life made gaming difficult this year but I can at least cobble together a top 5 list, mainly because I don’t think I’ve seen my top game on any list yet. Honorables: Yakuza Like a Dragon, Subnautica, Gnosia, Monster Hunter Rise 5. Doom Eternal - This is a hard and mentally exhausting game to play but the highs are higher than doom 2016. I haven’t felt as in the zone with a game since Furi. 4. Forgotten City - I’m not quite done with this yet but it’s really cool and I wouldn’t have known about it had it not been for this thread. I love me some time loops and this one knocks it out. 3. Ori and the will of the wisps - I didn’t like the first ori but holy poo poo they vastly improved on everything for the sequel. It’s one of the best metroidvanias ever made. Hot take: the controls are even better than dread 2. Metroid Dread - Enough words have been said on this game by now. I almost put Ori 2 in front of this but Metroid is still king. Lives up to all expectations. 1. Car mechanic simulator 2021 - This was unexpected, to say the least. I don't care about cars or simulators and yet this game consumed my brain for a solid month. I even watched videos of people playing this poo poo for background noise. It’s one of the most oddly relaxing and addicting games I’ve ever played.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:38
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Oof, I've been putting off doing this for like 2 weeks 10) Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous  Buggy and more than a little overstuffed, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a bit of a mess of a game. Its also incredibly fun to play and experiment with because they went whole hog into making sure you have approximately a billion different ways to develop your characters and scratches the itch for a fun party-based, turn-based dungeon crawler which are in shockingly short supply these days. 9) Spider-Man: Miles Morales  A Sequel/Expansion pack to 2018's Spider-Man, this game feels like they bolted an extra chapter onto it starring Miles instead of Peter. Despite that they've gone to quite a bit of effort to have the 2 Spider-Men play very differently despite starting with very similar movesets, and Miles is absolutely an incredibly fun evolution on the original game's style. Its filled with a lot of character and charm as well and my biggest pet peeve about the game is the best costume (pictured) is post-game exclusive. 8) Rimworld: Ideology  New year, new Rimworld expansion. Ideology adds a lot of new ways to make colonies and playthroughs unique by allowing you to set an over-arching ethos for your pawns to adhere to which can have drastic gameplay implications. It adds a lot to the standard Rimworld formula and lets you do things like set up a colony of mole-people who shun the sun and eat mushrooms, or a group of religious zealots who show their faith through voluntary blinding. 7) Monster Hunter Rise  What if Monster Hunter but you're Spider-Man with a dog? A question literally no one was asking but Capcom decided to answer anyways with Monster Hunter Rise. A great game that serves as a bit of a throwback to the pre-World games in terms of design while also incorporating many of the QOL and other features that brought new people into the series. Also you get a dog sidekick and you can ride them and they rule. 6) Wildermyth  An ambitious indie game, Wildermyth doesn't entirely succeed at its goal of being a procedural story generator but is a drat good time all the same. It features turn based combat, an overworld and a generational mechanic that will see your heroes age, marry, have kids, have their kids join your adventure and retire. It also lets you sort of 'reincarnate' those heroes into other campaigns so you can build up their legacy across many disparate myths. There's not a lot like it on the market and it was a lot of fun though the seams were showing a bit by the time I put it down. 5) Metroid: Dread  If I was better at Metroid this would probably be my GOTY. An excellent and long overdue new entry to the franchise, this game more than any other really captures a fluidity that makes it an absolute joy to play. Also includes a lot of narrative content that is fun and makes Samus feel like an absolute badass. 4) New Pokemon Snap  I have been waiting like 20 years for a sequel to the original and this game did not disappoint. Its cutesy exterior also belies some actual bullshit hard puzzles which were a lot of fun to try to work out and it has a great feedback system and reward loop for completing courses. Also includes a bunch of my new favorite Pokemon and seeing them run around was cute as heck. 3) Monster Hunter Stories 2  Monster Hunter crossed with Pokemon, this game builds off the first entry and improves the gameplay massively while retaining the charm and fun. Riding around on your Monsters is incredibly fun and the game has a decently deep endgame for anyone who wants to explore it or do any PVP. I love the whole monster-taming genre and my biggest complaint with Monster Hunter is usually that I have to play as the boring hunter instead of the Monsters so this is basically surgically aimed directly at me. 2) Super Robot Wars 30  I am still in a bit of shock that we got this series officially released on Steam in English in the west. While not the best game in the series, 30 is a hugely experimental one that attempts some wild stuff like a radically open structure and serves as a love letter to the franchise as a whole. If you have even a passing interest in giant robots beating each other up you should definitely get this game to see an absolutely glorious clusterfuck as it slams 15 different mecha series together and has them sort of make sense. 1) Geneforge: Mutagen  Geneforge is one of my favorite video game series of all time. Created by the long-running indie developer Spiderweb Software, Geneforge has a unique and incredibly imaginative world that is ruled by 'Shapers', people with advanced magi-genetics who create and shape creatures to fill most of their needs. You have lockpicks which are bio-engineered worms, computer-equivalents that are weird pig-creatures unable to move out of their specialized holders and a massive variety of horrifying monstrosities they use to keep the population in line. Its a fun game with great writing and this remake of the first game helps to update the mechanics so they aren't as punishing for new players. An incredible game where you can run around with your bioengineered army of horrible psychic squids, fire-breathing velociraptors, giant scorpions and more while trying desperately to unravel the secrets of one of the Shaper's abandoned islands and claim its power for your own.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:38
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I played shockingly few games this year, and some of them were not played to completion and I wouldn't feel comfortable giving a partial ranking. A truncated list for this year. #6: AI: Somnium Files This game is loving weird. Absolutely bizarre from start to finish. I hesitate even recommending this to people because it is 1) basically a Visual Novel and 2) Anime as gently caress. I played the first fiveish hours months ago and went "...is this what the game is about" followed by "is THIS what the game is about?!" before putting it down and returning a little later. Eventually, the characters will grow on you and the plot will unfold in batshit directions - the absurdity will give way to an interesting narrative that also happens to be absurd. #5: Disco Elysium (New Patch) Disco Elysium is back on the list a third year in a row; I played again with the new patch. You've probably heard a lot about this from others - it was my GOTY the year it came out and it remains on the list for me for a pretty simple reason: I keep thinking about it. Moments in this game stand out to me and still hit years later - talking to Cuno the first time, delivering a death notice, trudging around the abandoned building, singing karaoke. They sound trite typing them out, but the writing and performances make the story come alive. GOTY of all years. #4: Tales of Arise Controversial among Tales fans, but I think they successfully stick the landing in bringing Tales to the modern audience. Not the best story or characters in the mainline Tales series, but pretty excellent systems and polish on the combat. This should be a standout - the combat was so good I enjoyed grinding in an RPG. #3: Escape From Tarkov A punishing, pretty hardcore FPS that I lost myself in. If you like a punishing experience, you're in luck. The new wipe started strong but poo poo the bed during the holiday season - wait a few weeks imo. #2: Minecraft I've said it before in this very ranking - if you've got a disparate friend group and want to keep up, getting a Realm subscription and a persistent world to hang out in is a pretty great investment. Our Realm has been going for years - shooting the poo poo in Discord, exploring together with the new updates, collaborative building, just hanging out with your friends. #1: Psychonauts 2 They made a sequel to Psychonauts. And it was great. GOTY. This isn't meant to be pithy - it's stunning that they managed to stick the landing after all these years and deliver a sequel to a beloved game.
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Jan 1, 2022 02:55
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Ai somnium files is a dang goat
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Jan 1, 2022 02:57
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ShallNoiseUpon posted:You'd think a mod would read the entire OP before posting. Never
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Jan 1, 2022 03:06
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5. Guilty Gear -Strive- I’d probably rate this higher if I could ever get good at fighting games, but no matter how much I try I am absolutely awful. I still play 2d fighters though because I just love the aesthetic and I still have a blast mashing buttons and looking at the pretty colors, and I clap like the dumb seal I am when I accidentally make the crazy doctor with the bag on his head do something cool. 4. Arknights Probably the only mobile game I’ve tried that I actually enjoy, the tower defense style gameplay is super addictive and finally clearing a stage I’ve been bashing my head against feels extremely rewarding. I spend a lot of time away from home working on stuff, so I was pretty desperate to find a phone game that didn't destroy my battery and Arknights turned out to be genuinely fun. I also love the Tacticool Catgirl aesthetic, I can’t lie. 3. Soma Had a few false starts with this game over the years because I had always heard good things but I rarely found myself in the mood for a horror game. To my surprise, while it is still a horror game, the parts that hooked me is this weirdly chill vibe in between horror sections where you are just picking through this unique post extinction environment piecing together how it all went down. The story feels almost listless, but in a good way: you can't help any of these people, the horrible thing has already happened and all you can do is just look around. The horror sequences were still pretty well done, but they almost ended up being a distraction and something I had to put up with to get to the next place to poke around in. The voice acting is really top notch too. 2. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night As with Soma, I had a false start with this when it came out and finally came back around to give it a real go and loved it. Sufficiently scratched the old Castlevania itch. My only complaint is I feel like the movement isn’t quite where I want it, where some of the key things for getting around are shards that have to be equipped and not just things you learn and can just do. 1. Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker The joke goes that the best Final Fantasy game is the one you played when you were 11 years old, and the worst Final Fantasy games are all the ones you played after which didn’t make you feel like you were 11 years old again. Well, the later FF14 expansions make me feel like a kid again when I play them, it has the same hooks in me that I felt back then and pretty much has smashed through all my nostalgia to become my favorite Final Fantasy game ever. Hanging on to the story, getting swept up in the music, marveling at the set pieces, getting absolutely hyped for the next boss, the game just does it for me like no game in recent memory. Since it was the capstone of a massive decade long story I can’t go into particulars other than to say that it explores extremely dark themes with such earnest compassion and heart that it completely disarms me. It's not a naive story, it never downplays the horror and suffering that people have to go through, but it never revels in it, and posits that it is equally blind to deny that compassion and kindness can be just as transformative in people's lives. Probably one of only 4 pieces of entertainment that I've experienced in my life that actively makes me try to be a better person, which feels so dumb to say about an mmo but there it is.
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Jan 1, 2022 03:08
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ParliamentOfDogs posted:1. Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker 
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Jan 1, 2022 03:18
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| # ? May 20, 2024 14:55 |
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Shakespeare has tons of dick jokes. All stories are kind of stupid because they're written by people, who are just dumb as loving bricks. The delivery mechanism of the ideas doesn't matter too much.
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Jan 1, 2022 03:23
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