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lunar detritus
May 6, 2009


Edited mine to add Synth Riders

lunar detritus posted:

6. Synth Riders (Quest 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW_CqECERIA
Compared to its competitors, it has better music than most (especially Beat Saber), its gameplay is closer to actual dancing and custom songs are dropped in a folder and they just work. I have played Synth Riders more frequently than every other game in this list, the only reason it's not higher is that still is just a rhythm game that I play five minutes at a time.

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Jon Irenicus
Apr 23, 2008


YO ASSHOLE

Real hurthling! posted:

Ai somnium files is a dang goat

it would be higher if I didn't find the opening curve impenetrable for some reason until it clicks

Ostentatious
Sep 29, 2010

My game of the years:

1. Fallout 76 - it’s a lot of fun and the only massively multiplayer game that grabbed me at all. It’s my favorite fallout of all time.
2. RuneScape
3. SMT5
4. Cruelty Squad - the best game of this year I just enjoyed fallout 76 more as a whole package and what it offered

Mintymenman
Mar 29, 2021
A good year for games, turn based RPGs in particular I played a lot of other games as well, but these are the ones that stand out.
7. Encased
Fallout but with a dirty seventies feel. Really versatile in playstyle, I've finished the game twice, but built something like 25 characters.
6. Streets of Rogue
Charming pixel art, (again)Varied playstyles, perfect for a quick 30 minute session or a 2 hour max difficulty run.
5. Battletech
Never been big into mechs, but given how good the Shadowrun games were, I gave it a shot and was pleasantly surprised. Career mode, as well as the ridiculous number and quality of mods put me at well over 300 hours.
4. Yoku's Island Express
I played this with my partner, who has just recently joined me in my obsession. This game was a huge part of it. Exceedingly approachable for someone who had never held a controller before, challenging enough that I found her grinding a section that had frustrated her, and not enough can be said about how goddamn charming this game is. Lovely art and character design, sound design that makes the pinball feel surprisingly weighty. Play this game.
3. Endless Sky
Open source Escape Velocity, way easier than unpacking my old Performa.
2. Gunfire Reborn
Roguelike Borderlands, great gunfeel and again tons of different builds that play completely differently. Great in multiplayer, even more varied builds at higher difficulties. Perfect 30-45 minute fps.
1. Solasta: Crown of the Magister
The story is blah, with some interesting ideas on character personality, but it clearly shows the limited budget and small team size. The combat, however, is the best tactical D&D game I've ever encountered. MThe first time I realized that I could actually center the sphere of a fireball high enough in the air to just hit one enemy while avoiding friendly fire locked this game in as my favorite tactical game thus far. Full mod support has already led to at least three really solid user created campaigns that really take advantage of the combat engine. Incredibly tunable difficulty that you can change on the fly based on your mood. I can't say enough good things about this game. If you like XCOM combat, but want to fling fireballs, spiderclimb, or cover the entire battlefield with a giant cube of stinging insects, buy this game.

cheetah7071
Oct 20, 2010

honk honk
College Slice

Ostentatious posted:

My game of the years:

1. Fallout 76 - it’s a lot of fun and the only massively multiplayer game that grabbed me at all. It’s my favorite fallout of all time.
2. RuneScape
3. SMT5
4. Cruelty Squad - the best game of this year I just enjoyed fallout 76 more as a whole package and what it offered

your list isn't gonna be counted unless it has at least 5 games and you say something about all of them

Ostentatious
Sep 29, 2010

cheetah7071 posted:

your list isn't gonna be counted unless it has at least 5 games and you say something about all of them




1. Fallout 76 - it’s a lot of fun and the only massively multiplayer game that grabbed me at all. It’s my favorite fallout of all time.
2. RuneScape - it’s a nostalgia trip to back when I really enjoyed mmorpgs.
3. SMT5 - nothing wrong with getting more shin megami tensei it’s like waiting for a from soft game except I enjoy the games
4. Cruelty Squad - the best game of this year I just enjoyed fallout 76 more as a whole package and what it offered
5. Due Process - proc gen rainbow six siege so you cant get people who just know all the maps and being stonewalled because of that bullshit

Linnaeus
Jan 2, 2013


5. Samurai Warriors 4 - great musou battles


4. Nioh - Stuck on the first boss for a bit, but a lot of fun once i got the hang of the flow


3. Touhou Luna Nights - really cool action game, with an excellent shop theme


2. Dirt Rally 2.0 - Loved the first one, and I like the changes they made for this one


1. Grandia - finally got around to playing this, and it's now up there with my all-time favorites. It's cool that Saturn emulation is decent now. The soundtrack is so good

Elephant Parade
Jan 20, 2018

1. Deltarune: Chapter Two

2-3 hours of incredible fun. Like Undertale, its content is so continuously fresh that the underlying gameplay never becomes even momentarily stale. The ideal short game.

2. HATSUNE MIKU: COLORFUL STAGE! / COLORFUL STAGE: HATSUNE MIKU! (seriously, which is it)

A mobage that puts together a great rhythm game, a strong story, and a bizarrely bland and aimless RPG. The first two sides are enough for me to tolerate the third. Also, it got me back into vocaloid music, which is epic (select uk english subtitles if you watch this)

3. Doom 2

Still producing excellent fanmods almost three decades later. Amazing fun when you aren't circlestrafing a baron with the super shotgun

4. Killing Floor 1

I enjoy this co-op survival shooter for the control it gives players over their own map movement, an aspect missing from most of its competitors (tragically, this includes its own sequel)

5. Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy

The Wizardry formula is so powerful that even its most mediocre incarnations are never less than playable. Sadly, the world has largely forsaken it in favor of the faster-paced and even more RNG-laden Diablolike subgenre

Shinji2015
Aug 31, 2007
Keen on the hygiene and on the mission like a super technician.
Didn't mean to wait so long to post mine, but I was so distracted by a new game I got for Xmas that I had to put it on my list.

If I had to sum up my 2021 gaming year, I would say it was a star-studded year. Got to play a bunch of games I've been missing out on for a while, along with games that I've been waiting on for quite some time. A lot of my top ten would have been #1 contenders in previous years, and it's almost unfair to pit them against each other, but this is the year I played them in, so it is what it is.

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about my picks: a lot has been said about them already in this thread, in previous years, and in much better ways than I can articulate, so I'll keep it brief.

So, let's start off with:

The Games I Tried, But Bounced Off Of

-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
-Subnautica (2014)
-The Last of Us: Remastered (2014)
-The Witness (2016)
-Stranded Deep (2015)

Witcher 3 and Subnautica are SA darlings, but neither really did much to grab my interest in the first hour or so of playing. I have been trying to play TLoU for years now, but I think I'm just going to have to give up on it. SD and the Witness entertained me for a few hours, but at the end I just didn't care.

These are all games I'll probably come back to eventually, but as long as something else has my interest they'll all be on my backburner.

Now, onto:

The Games I Haven't Stopped Playing Since 2020

-Genshin Impact
-Tricky Towers
-Fall Guys

GI has its problems, but it's free, there's waifus and husbandos for me to choose from, and combat at higher levels can be pretty fun. TT is a fun spin on Tetris with lots of variety, and FG is always good for some goofy entertainment.

So, now for the actual list. Games released this year will be marked in bold. So we'll start with the:

Honorable Mentions

These games were good, but just couldn't crack my top ten.

-13. Knockout City (2021) - the first EA release in ages that I've enjoyed, the concept of futuristic dodgeball with a Jet Set Radio vibe is a fantastic idea. The biggest problem I have with it is the same I have with Fall Guys; it's fun to play in short bursts, but it's not a game I want to invest a lot of time in. If anything, this game probably should have been F2P.

-12. Rayman Legends (2013) - I tried it when it first came out, but bounced off of it. It took a combination of boredom and seeing a lot of Rayman Uno on the UpUpDownDown YouTube channel (RIP Uno Wednesdays) to get me to come back to it. A tight platformer with some great runner sequences and music, it's not challenging at all, but it's a fantastic introduction to 2D platforming games that I would gladly recommend to anyone looking for a family game.

-11. Dark Souls: Remastered (2018) - It's Dark Souls, I love Dark Souls, and it fixes a lot of the performance issues of the original. The only reason it's not in my top three is because the PS4 version doesn't allow you to stream music while playing it, and since the only time I listen to my podcasts is when I'm gaming, this was a huuuuuuge turn-off for me. This was a big annoyance for me, and it cost this version a lot of points for me. But it's still Dark Souls, it's still great.

The Top Ten

-10. Mortal Shell (2020) - A fun indie Soulslike with great audio and visual design. There's some interesting choices made that I think didn't pan out, and the healing system kinda sucks, but I think if you can get past some of the jank, it's a promising start to a potential new franchise. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this company.

-9. Resident Evil 3 Remake (2020) - I missed out on the original RE3, so I was glad to get to play the remake. I've always liked Jill, and I have to say that this is easily my favorite version of the character. It's definitely a lesser version of RE2 Remake, but it's still RE, and I had a great time with it.

-8. Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (2021) - This game is worth the inclusion alone that its success probably helped ensure VF6 after all these years. VF is somehow a hidden gem of the fighting game world despite its legacy, and it's great that Sega is finally willing to revisit it again. A gorgeous looking remaster on top of some of the best combat around.

(put in rollback netcode for VF6 Sega)

-7. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019) - Finally, a new Castlevania game. Koji Igarashi's touch has been missed from gaming for years now, and while it doesn't do anything new or revolutionary, it feels great to play, and there's a lot of replay value. More please.

-6. Ender Lillies: Quietus of the Knights (2021) - The game that delayed my list, this is a fantastic Metroidvania. Incredible music and art design, a properly depressing Souls-like story, great gameplay... I really loved this game. If my top five wasn't as stacked as it was, this would have been a true contender for the #1 spot.

-5. Celeste (2018) - The first of two games on this list that made me cry, Celeste is an incredible platformer. A wonderful, compelling story, and tough challenging gameplay that makes completing a room feels truly rewarding, you really do take on the role of the main character and the journey she undergoes. A wonderful game that everyone needs to try.

-4. Guilty Gear: Strive (2021) - The best fighting game of 2021, there's so much to enjoy about Strive. Incredible, accessible combat, fantastic graphics, rollback netcode, and the best soundtrack of 2021. Nago is best boi.

-3. Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) - The second game that made me cry, this game reminded me so much about what I loved about the original FFVII. I remembered why I loved these characters, and why it affected me so much as a kid. I'm really looking forward to 7-2 with equal amounts hope and dread, hoping that they nail the landing they've set up.

-2. Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017) - I completely missed this when it first came out. I was going through some stuff, and didn't even bat an eye at this game. I am so glad Sony decided to make it free earlier this year, because I decided to give it a shot on a whim, and instantly fell in love with it. At first blush, it reminded me of the Tomb Raider trilogy, but with much more compelling gameplay and a deeply interesting world to explore. I nearly 100 percented the game my first playthrough, and I am absolutely looking forward to Forbidden West next year.

-1. Enter the Gungeon (2016) - If you had told me that this would be my most played game of 2021 going into the year, I would have laughed at you, but this game just absolutely clicked for me. I've put hundreds of hours into the game; it's such a smart, well-designed rogue-like, with a whimsical art style, great music, and tons of variety to it. Hades is definitely a game I'll be playing in the future, but it's got a lot to live up to.

Overall, I had a really great gaming year (the only good part of my year, tbh!). 2022 has a lot to live up to.

And finally, as to the future:

Games I'll Be Playing Soon

-Yakuza 0
-Code Vein
-Blasphemous
-Halo: Infinite

New Games in 2022 I'm Excited For

-Horizon: Forbidden West
-Elden Ring
-DNF Duel
-King of Fighters 15

Alxprit
Feb 7, 2015

<click> <click> What is it with this dancing?! Bouncing around like fools... I would have thought my own kind at least would understand the seriousness of our Adventurer's Guild!

Shoutout to the person that included Webbed. I haven't gotten to it yet but as the resident Bug-Obsessed Gamer it's definitely on my shortlist for next summer of indie streams.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Alxprit posted:

Shoutout to the person that included Webbed. I haven't gotten to it yet but as the resident Bug-Obsessed Gamer it's definitely on my shortlist for next summer of indie streams.


:shittypop:
this explains so much

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
There are less than 4 hours left to get your votes in! As things stands 191 goons have submitted entries which means this is the biggest GOTY vote we've ever had! And let me tell you folks, this top 10 is loving wild, yo. There's still so much time for things to change!

Real hurthling!
Sep 11, 2001




All i want is the goon taste affinity chart

Barudak
May 7, 2007

Real hurthling! posted:

All i want is the goon taste affinity chart

Officially: Goons love final fantasy xiv
The secret truth: Goons love love final fantasy xiv

Oxxidation
Jul 22, 2007

Barudak posted:

Officially: Goons love final fantasy xiv
The secret truth: Goons love love final fantasy xiv

I mean, have you seen the catboys

Regy Rusty
Apr 26, 2010

Barudak posted:

Officially: Goons love final fantasy xiv
The secret truth: Goons love love final fantasy xiv

Secret?

Barreft
Jul 21, 2014

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! Edited

Alxprit
Feb 7, 2015

<click> <click> What is it with this dancing?! Bouncing around like fools... I would have thought my own kind at least would understand the seriousness of our Adventurer's Guild!

Runa posted:

:shittypop:
this explains so much

Glad you like it, it took a lot of compression

Tulip
Jun 3, 2008

yeah thats pretty good


5. Haven - just a cute, sweet game. I'm a huge fan of romances but I'm also very picky. I was sold on these two being really in love and that's pretty rare so gotta give it marks. Soundtrack is sick as hell too.
4. Delta Rune - What more can be said about Deltarune? Goons have beaten this one to death, but it keeps on trucking.
3. Outer Wilds - I kind of like Forgotten City more for the same purposes but goddamn the music of Outer Wilds. Goddamn. My best part of the year was getting high while listening to Outer Wilds. I love the archaeology aspect a lot.
2. EXAPUNKS - Nothing feels more big-brained than solving a Zachtronics level. This is the hardest one I've made any progress on (I'm fairly good at Opus Magnum but Shenzhen I/O just murders me) so it feels great. Also has some cool voice acting, they got the lady from Eliza back in it! Crappy solitaire though.
1. Kentucky Route Zero - Good lord this game hits hard. I had to stop playing it for weeks at a stretch because it was so overwhelmingly good I didn't feel worthy of its grace.

Real hurthling!
Sep 11, 2001




Barudak posted:

Officially: Goons love final fantasy xiv
The secret truth: Goons love love final fantasy xiv

But who will be my (edf world) brother?

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK



oh man less than 2 hours to go imagine the look on some of these faces when they realize they missed the deadline

CAR CRASH CRACKERS
Jan 13, 2008

commemorative spoons and tiny personalized license plates: the regalia of tourism
Let me just sliiiiiide this in here....
  • Honorable(?) Mention:

    Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020)

    This game is deeply mediocre in so many ways I could never in good conscience put it on my GOTY list, but holyshit do I love playing as a big butch gravely voiced viking lady in full-rear end armor.
    In addition, it looks nice on the PS5 (when the framerate isn't being wonky), I found the stone stacking minigame particularily fun/relaxing, and contrary to every other opinion I've read I really liked the mythological sections of the game.
    I'd also say it has good dressup, but Ubisoft pulled a real dick move by gating transmog behind resource expenditure. Not cool Ubisoft!

  • Special Award:

    Last of Us Factions (2013)

    Special shout out to Factions for being a multiplayer/co-op/pvp game I actually enjoy, and the tluesday goon crew for making it possible.
    Highly recommend becoming competent with the bow, silently ganking tourists with 1000+ hours more experience than you, and savoring their lamentations over shared groupchat.

  • The Game That Would Be On This List:

    Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

    I have a self imposed arbitrary rule that I can only list games I have completed, and I have not finished it.
    See you next year!

  • Top Ten:

    10. Wasteland 3 (2020)

    Isometric turnbased rpg where your tiny hitsquad of Arizona rangers get an offer they can't refuse to help the authoritarian dictator of Colorado wrangle his lovely kids... or maybe not.
    Huge improvement over Wasteland 2: the writing is better, they ditched most of the lovely throwback mechanics (lock picking and safe cracking being separate skills.... why???), added a perk system, major NPCs have fallout1/2 close ups during key conversations, and weapons have more unique abilities during combat. Oh, and you get an all terrain murder van. Also has a cool-rear end soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTJcoy6M1QU
    Fun detail: there're some unique reactions if you roll with an all lady crew.

    09. What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)

    A nice(depressing) two hour walking sim narrative exploring a family tree whose branches tend to die way too young. I must be getting old because a game I can finish in one sitting is super appealing to me these days.

    08. Expeditions: Viking (2017)

    Another isometric turnbased rpg. In this one you play a young jarl whose terrible neighbors force them on a trip to go a'viking in England to amass wealth, allies, or perhaps just conquer the poo poo out of everyone in order to gain the influence necessary to prevent their home from being annexed. Has camping mechanics, minor base building, dateable companions with stories and quests, turnbased combat that can wreck your poo poo if you don't know what you're doing, and optional but you'll probably want to do it crafting.
    The writing is surprisingly fun(maybe even good?); the reactions of the two childhood friend companions to my jarl being gay and banging the witch companion stand out in particular. Also, the scene in the screenshot got a good laugh out of me.
    There are two hard time limits in game that result in game overs if you don't achieve your objectives in time. They're more than long enough to do everything you want/need to, but I know some people hate that sort of thing so I thought I should mention it.

    07. Inscryption (2021)

    You like card game mechanics? This game's got'em! Also has some cool art direction and an interesting narrative. Best played as blindly as possible methinks.

    06. Control (2019)

    Control nails the style and atmosphere it's going for, it's like the Stephen King/David Lynch mashup game of my dreams.
    I love the extra effort spent on destructible environments; trashing an office with telekinetic powers has never looked so good.
    Favorite section of the game was finding out what happened to Jesse and her brother as children and the giant mockup/diagram of their home town. So spooky!
    Gets bonus points for being a PS+ game I was actually planning to buy.

    05. Demon's Souls (2020)

    This is the first soulsborne game I didn't bounce off of, and I think it is an excellent gateway to the genre.
    It's beautiful and plays at a stable 60fps, has great sound design, and the hub system makes it easy to continually make progress by bouncing between areas when one gets annoying.
    You also always know where you're supposed to go and what you're supposed to be doing!
    The bosses are 'easy' relative to other fromsoft games, perfect for gaining confidence to play the later(earlier?) games.
    I've seen fromsoft veterans criticize the combat as slow, but I prefer to think of it as deliberately paced and accessible.
    Hot tip: the soldier class starts with either a kettle helm or a sallet, the two coolest helmets available.

    04. The Last of Us (2013)

    I managed to play this 8 year old game blind and was flummoxed by how good it is. Maybe it's partly because I'd never played a Naughty Dog game before, but I was absolutely razzle-dazzled by: the environmental detail and level design, character animation/graphics(this was a ps3 game???), acting, and weighty visceral combat that manages to be brutal and unpleasant instead of sick-nasty.
    The story is simple but rock solid with great character writing and actors selling the poo poo out of it.
    I love the pacing in this game, with the constant rotation of exploration and combat and the ever present threat of quiet moments suddenly turning into violence.
    Even the part of the game that feels dated, the frequent boosting/ladder/plank/dumpster 'puzzles', managed to change things up enough throughout to not become tedious. In fact, my favorite moment is when, near the end of the game, Joel calls Ellie over to boost her up (something you've done a million times before) and she doesn't come. Great moment.
    The combat pulls this neat trick where I always feel like I'm overwhelmed and outgunned, and makes everything I, as Joel, accomplish seem completely insane. The gritty groundedness of it makes Joel feel like he really is a crazy murderman, as opposed to an overpowered videogame protagonist.
    Anyway, game lives up to the hype. Glad I played it when I did instead of eight years ago and inevitably having my experience with the sequel tainted by internet nonsense.
    Oh yeah, and special props to Troy Baker for giving Joel an authentic Texas accent.

    03. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (2021)

    It's the successor to Baldur's Gate 2 I've always wanted. An enormous game with an overwhelming number of character build options and obscured/unintuitive/bugged out mechanics that I just want to roll around in like a dog in stink.
    This game's got: an interesting, epic, and constantly escalating main story, fun companions with their own questlines and bullshit you can stick your nose in, à la carte difficulty settings to let you fine tune how hard/annoying you want the game to be, combat that can be switched on the fly between realtime with pause and turnbased, a mythic path system that drastically changes how the game plays out based on your choice, and an overworld Heroes of Might and Magic-esque army simulator that I feel like everyone but me hated.
    Highly recommended for people who know they like these kinds of games and somehow haven't played it already.
    Things to remember: the best companions are evil, turn off auto-leveling, and always bet on spider-cat to be a spider-cat.

    02. Bloodborne (2015)

    A game I had to bounce off twice before it stuck; I'm so glad I got cyber bullied into attempting to play it again.
    So many great moments, like when I finally defeated my nemesis The Blood Starved Beast, scrambling like crazy and getting the Shadows of Yharnam on my first try and only having to navigate that awful snake forest once(snakes in the grass, snakes in the trees, snakes in your head... why's it gotta be snakes???), trouncing Ludwig the horseyman after complaining about him to goons(a tried and true method to get past a boss), and somehow, someway, killing the Orphan of Kos on my first attempt.
    Finished the game 12 days ago and got a little post great game depression after beating it, but I'm on to Sekiro now so it's all cleared up!
    Another game that 100% lives up to the hype. :hai:

    01. The Last of Us 2 (2020)

    I'm not going to do this game or my experience playing it justice. One day I'll make a true effort post about my playthrough and the circumstances surrounding it, but I'm running out of time before the new year so I gotta be brief!
    Over a 12 day period I played it blind, back to back with TLOU and Left Behind(also first time playthroughs). Take everything I wrote about TLOU and crank it up to 11; 2LOU is a sequel that took every element from the first game and elevated it through the roof.
    The violence and story is absolutely harrowing, and real world affected me like no game form of media has ever done before. It tricked my brain into feeling true anxiety and worry over the characters and what was happening to them. It made me uncomfortable and paranoid even when I wasn't playing. I thought about it nonstop. After finishing the game I was totally drained and just stopped playing video games for several weeks because I knew anything I tried would feel like garbage in comparison.
    It was incredible and I can't imagine a game having that kind of impact on me ever again

CAR CRASH CRACKERS fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Jan 1, 2022

Regy Rusty
Apr 26, 2010

BeanpolePeckerwood posted:

oh man less than 2 hours to go imagine the look on some of these faces when they realize they missed the deadline

By my count we had 6 missed deadline posts last year. Think we can beat the record?

ShoogaSlim
May 22, 2001

YOU ARE THE DUMBEST MEATHEAD IDIOT ON THE PLANET, STOP FUCKING POSTING



CAR CRASH CRACKERS posted:

Let me just sliiiiiide this in here....

i had the same number 2 and number 1 games last year. good taste! i've heard good things about control and its inclusion on your list is helping to nudge it closer to my short list.

Weird Sandwich
Dec 28, 2011

FIRE FIRE FIRE hehehehe!
Didn't play many games this year so the list is short. I don't have time right now to do fancy write-ups for these, so I'll edit the post later on.

6. Hypnospace Outlaw
5. Death Wish (Mod for Blood, played on the Fresh Supply remaster)
4. Return of the Obra Dinn
3. Nioh 2 + DLC
2. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
1. Ancient Aliens (Doom 2 wad)

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

The final half hour...

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~
It's the last chance... :f5:

Jay Rust
Sep 27, 2011

I can’t remember, how long does it generally take to tally up the votes?

Owl Inspector
Sep 14, 2011

not to be too provocative, but the games? they're good, folks.

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~

Jay Rust posted:

I can’t remember, how long does it generally take to tally up the votes?

I already have all the votes tallied. I'll let everyone know when to expect the results after I've spoken to Veeg

imhotep
Nov 16, 2009

REDBAR INTENSIFIES
1.



Disco Elysium was my goty last year, and I might feel bad about including it in my list two years in a row.. at number 1, no less, but it truly deserves this spot, especially because of all of the improvements The Final Cut added. Having voice acting for every character basically makes it perfect, in my opinion. Not only do I get to hear more of my favorite video game character of all time, Kim Kitsuragi, but I also get to hear more of Measurehead's fascinating theory about haplogroups and the phrenology of the ham sandwich race. Plus the new political vision quests they added are some of the funniest and best written quests in the game, and I've only seen 2 of them, or not even 2, more like 1.8.
It's not simply the addition of voice acting that makes it better because I didn't like reading the text or anything, but some of the new voice actors make some scenes, especially the climax of the game (the second climax, I mean, after sad fm, with your buddy the fire man), that makes those scenes just utterly devastating, and as gripping as any high stakes, triple A action game with incredible cutscenes.
Like everyone else has said, I can't really add anything that hasn't already been said repeatedly, but there's a very good reason for that. No game comes anywhere close, in terms of quality of writing, or the sheer amount of writing, which is all interwoven, and .... yeah it's just mind blowing.

2.


The incredible expansion that you would expect from the incredible team who made Outer Wilds, and in many ways, I think it's even better than the main game, but in other ways, maybe due to personal preference, like being terrified of scary games, it's worse in other ways. But the highs of Echoes of the Eye are, imo,higher than anything in the base game. There were at least 5 times that I couldn't believe what had just happened, in most cases because of the visual spectacle and the mind bending implications of what had just happened, and while people always say they wish they could erase their memory of Outer WIlds in order to play it again, I'm not sure if I would do that, but I certainly would do that in a heartbeat if I had the chance to experience those few things in Echoes of the Eye for the first time again, the most notable example being the very first time you make your entrance to the DLC area.
I know it's an expansion technically, but really, they basically made a straight up sequel to Outer WIlds. You almost use none of the mechanics from the main game, it introduces a whole new set of rules, and [spoilers]you never use your ship in the DLC area, you simply fly there, then the loop starts over again etc. so you're always on foot.[/spoilers]
Also, similar to the main game the ending made me cry, and not in a like 'I don't know why I'm crying, it's incredibly abstract, but it's just so profoundly beautiful', but it made me cry for a much more tragic reason. And the music didn't help, when this song played, i'm tearing up a little:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_WrhBeFikw
then immediately after that, this song plays and i'm ugly crying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KArlFv2t4rs
Just an incredibly smart and creative, and overall beautiful expansion to what is probably my favorite game of all time.

3.


What an incredible game, and despite their previous games being well received, Returnal is the game that elevated HouseMarque to big boy status, and it's well deserved.
First of all, a third person shooter with incredibly fluid movement, a hook shot, that's a bullet hell shooter, and is also a rogue like... that's such a smart idea that I feel not many studios could pull off. and I assume based on their previous work, probably didn't have a super crazy budget, but regardless, they manage to give you a ton of replay value, despite the 6 biomes having relatively few randomly generated layouts, and not thaat much variety. Despite that, all of them have their own really sweet style, like a Lovecraft-style horror planet, with many tentacled monsters, that also looks like a Zdzislaw Beksinski painting.
Also I've been playing this constantly since it came out and I'm still kind of amazed by the sheer amount of art that was made for this game, as well as the incredibly dense story, there's so many logs, xenoglyphs, etc. to find and all of it is really well written and carefully thought out. The last thing I expected was for the story to be so loving robust and deep, like, this is a labyrinthian and dense narrative about grief, denial and acceptance, and I didn't expect it because your character runs at like 70 miles per hour and the enemies dazzle you with a light show of beautiful, deadly bullet hell patterns in every room which is exhilarating. But this character is also a like 55 year old mother, and I don't think I've ever played a game with a main character who fits this particular demographic of character before, and it honestly added a lot to the story for me, as I was trying to understand the events from Selene's perspective, and rarely do you play games with characters like this, i mean, who aren't just angry white guys, or simply young, irrational kids.
This game probably has some of the best just straight up vibration stuff on the PS5, none of it is particularly useful in combat, but the haptic feedback combined with the speaker on the Dualsense make certain weapons feel downright violent. If I get a repeating spitmaw blaster, I will always spend like 5 seconds unloading bullets at nothing, just because it feels so great. I'm not exaggerating when I say no game even comes close as far as making its guns actually feel powerful, I would even say that Returnal is the ONLY game that achieves this. Here's a good example of how insane the haptics are in dualsense (its time coded, but if that doesn't work, it's at 25 seconds): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Gl6lftCrA&t=25s

Oh and I just found out the score was done by The Haxan Cloak, who makes incredible dark ambient music under that name, but also did the score for Midsommar, and is known for his collaborations with Bjork and Goldfrapp, it adds so much to the 3d audio experience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLT-gjERie4

4.
It's Resi 4... in VR, and not just any old lovely VR game, this is one of the most precise and well made shooters I've played in VR. You can fuckin shoot spinels from the ceilings and catch them in your hand bitch! You get to compare your height to the merchant, you know, that merchant who says 'Got some rare things on sale, stranger!" and then physically lift your shotgun in the air and fire off a few shots to celebrate the fact that you're taller than this dickhead.
You might think that it's just RE4 with a quick VR makeover, and you might be correct, the game is pretty ugly when your face is like right next to all those textures, but really, with enemies you won't get the chance because you'll want to keep your distance. Because it's in VR, this means that the knife is no longer so cheesy, because you just won't want to get up that close to the zombies, and if they;re down, you gotta bend down every time you wanna slash em, and that also takes into account having to physically grab your knife from your belt.
oh yeah, you also have to load all of your guns manually, making the chainsaw ganados that much more intense. Really the loading mechanic makes every enemy more intense and every encounter is radically different, and you also notice how big the difference is between each gun, even the smaller handguns that you probably never buy because you've played the game so many times that you just know which one has better stats, so why choose the weaker one? Well, since the actual feel of the gun makes a difference, and stuff like iron sights ONLY makes a difference in the VR version, you'll find that each weapon is fun again, or that it's at least fun to try out all of the guns;

Also if you don't rescue the dogs from the bear traps in the VR version of RE4, you might literally be a serial killer.

5.


This game would probably be on my list simply because of how long i've been waiting for it, and how incredible and utterly unique this game looks. The gameplay wasn't what I was expecting at all, though, but I wasn't disappointed by this at all, maybe because of the feel of the visuals lines up really well with the sense of childlike wonder that the game fully embraces. There's no weapons, or combat, or urgent, dramatic story. You're a kid named Sable and the game is about your life, growing up in a small village community of people who care for you (the writing is really excellent btw), and really, it's a story about leaving home for the first time and the anxieties and excitement that comes with going out on your own. Sable is an open world game that doesn't have any of the tropes that open world games have. I guess it has the climbing of Breath of the Wild, plus the glider, and you have a bike, from uh, Days Gone or Death Stranding I guess, but you simply explore the beautiful landscape that literally looks like a bunch of Jean Giraud paintings grew another dimension. It isn't the most polished game, there's quite a few weird camera and movement glitches, and other janky stuff, but it hardly matters, because it's not like you're in a rush to go save the world or anything. I might be downplaying it too much, because the exploration does reward you with some interesting discoveries, but basically, for me it's all about the unbelievable visuals and the really beautiful vibes.

6.

I just finished this game, it's a game where blinking is a mechanic that's used incredibly well. It deserves a higher spot on my list, but holy poo poo, this game was moving to say the least, the only reason it isn't higher on the list is because I'm still kind of taking the game in, and I need time to actually chill out and think about the game when I'm not still getting emotional just from thinking of certain scenes in the game, that made me cry. I highly recommend this game, if anything because it's incredibly unique because it uses a webcam to track your blinking, incredibly cheap, and the voice acting is excellent, as is the story and the visuals. I don't want to say any more, because I think you should just play it yourself! Please do!



Good Honorable Mentions:
Hitman 3 (drat i shoulda put this on my list, but I wouldn't know what to say about it, and I suck at it, but I do appreciate what it does a whole lot)
The Forgotten City
Psychonauts 2
FF7 Remake Intergrade (or just the Yuffie DLC, since FF7Remake was on my list last year)
Solar Ash (drat I would've put this on my list lol, but it's not a big deal)
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2
Nier: Replicant

mid high honorable mentions:
Deathloop

bad:
RE8 (only game i bought for full price this year that i really regret)

imhotep fucked around with this message at 09:01 on Jan 1, 2022

BeanpolePeckerwood
May 4, 2004

I MAY LOOK LIKE SHIT BUT IM ALSO DUMB AS FUCK




goddamn megaCCC, truly a list after my own heart

imhotep
Nov 16, 2009

REDBAR INTENSIFIES

Rarity posted:

I already have all the votes tallied. I'll let everyone know when to expect the results after I've spoken to Veeg

oh lol did i miss the deadline? i thought it was midnight pst, as it was the last two years

Rarity
Oct 21, 2010

~*4 LIFE*~

bop bop perano posted:

oh lol did i miss the deadline? i thought it was midnight pst, as it was the last two years

You're good, you squeaked in just in time! :D

CharlieFoxtrot
Mar 27, 2007

organize digital employees



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yw5jkAHgME

imhotep
Nov 16, 2009

REDBAR INTENSIFIES

Rarity posted:

You're good, you squeaked in just in time! :D

Blame the game "before your eyes".. I had to finish it because it was so affecting and *felt* like a goty, it had that smell. otherwise, my list has been done since like november! (but thank you, you rule)


last year i entered my list in at 12:01, a minute late, and i lied to veeg and said that my dog got bit by a bird, and my internet was messed up, and then.. and then... then i started crying, and he felt so bad that he accepted my entry.

imhotep fucked around with this message at 08:49 on Jan 1, 2022

Jay Rust
Sep 27, 2011

Rarity posted:

I already have all the votes tallied. I'll let everyone know when to expect the results after I've spoken to Veeg

I’m super looking forward to it!!

Social Studies 3rd Period
Oct 31, 2012

THUNDERDOME LOSER



:choco:

Jerusalem
May 20, 2004

Would you be my new best friends?



But Doomguy is chanting,"I understand this is going to take a great deal of time and I appreciate all the hard work!" the entire time.

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Runa
Feb 13, 2011

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