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1. Psychonauts 2 The sequel to one of my favorite games ever that may have actually surpassed the original. Absolutely beautiful game in all aspects, from the art to the level concepts and design to the writing and the attention to detail. It's also a triumph in how to make a good sequel. Understands everything that people loved about the first, delivers more of that without forcing any reinventions, but improves on what needed improvement at the same time. It's a joy to play and experience from start to finish. 2. Dark Souls I played through the Souls trilogy for the first time this year. It's difficult to rank them, I think. You could argue for any of the three being the best in the series depending on which aspect of the games you value most. I have to choose, though, and I choose DS1 first because the inexperience with the series made the first-time playthrough riveting. Undead Burg remains one of my favorite areas in games, and when I landed there I instantly 'got' the hype of Dark Souls. Everything I'd heard about the game over the years proved true. The sense of mystery, the unknown dangers, the frustration of bonfires and losing souls (until you learn to let go...), the confusing lore, the interconnected world design. It is magical. A wonderful game. I shared much of the experience in the Steam thread as I played through the series so shout out to those posters for tagging along, too. 3. Dark Souls 3 This one I just can't stop thinking about and of the three it's the only one I've done a second playthrough of so far (though I'll go back to the others too soon enough). It has by far the best boss fights in the series - some of my favorites in any game - and I had a lot of fun planting my summon sign to help people with bosses just to experience the fights again, and this despite being a strict singleplayer-only kind of person. I also think it has the best individual level design in the series, though the world being more linear is a little bit of a bummer. 4. Prey Talos I might be one of the most wonderfully crafted locations in games, with superb atmosphere and attention to detail and a great arsenal of toys to mess around with. Really enjoyable gameplay and a fun story. A game that certainly invites multiple playthroughs and I'm already looking forward to the next one. I originally had this at number five but decided that the Mooncrash DLC being so goddamn good elevates it one spot. Mooncrash might actually deserve a separate spot on the list, being standalone and so different to the main game, but no matter. It felt great to nail the perfect run, relying on your knowledge and experience to plot a course through the map and whatever curveballs the game throws at you to successfully escape with all five characters. 5. Dark Souls 2 All roads lead to Majula.  The strange, dreamy quality of it sets the tone for the rest of the game where you're mostly out in the country in bumfuck nowhere where weirdo poo poo happens. There's a peculiarity to this game that makes it fantastically compelling, and I find it the most melancholy and loneliest of the three. It unfortunately does suffer from some infuriating encounter design and mostly forgettable bosses. loving Iron Passage, goddamn. gently caress off.6. Embracelet A supremely chill, good-natured coming-of-age story set on a remote Norwegian island. I had the loveliest time exploring the little town, uncovering some mysteries and getting to know the characters. A very cozy little adventure. 7. Wandersong A supremely chill, good-natured... wait, I just did this. But Wandersong really is genuine and heartfelt in a way few games are. It wants to give you a big hug and if you let it you will feel better. I want to write more about it but I don't know what else to say – it's just a joyous and colorful and fun game. Also the gag with the achievements made me laugh a lot. 8. Analogue: A Hate Story Bought this on the strength of a post in the EffortPost thread. It's fascinating but difficult, and there's a palpable sense of dread underpinning it as you uncover the story bit by bit, though the writing is well-paced and deftly tempers the unease with the occasional lightheartedness when appropriate. A powerful and memorable experience. 9. Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 I wasn't sure what to expect of this one and I'm not sure what to write about it either. Surrealism can sometimes feel a bit forced, but it isn't here. For all its weirdness the corner of July Avenue and Yam Street feels oddly natural. It makes sense, which is a testament to how well it's put together. The game is well-written and entertaining, and often really funny too. Good insights for pizza aficionados. 10. The Big Con I often struggle with actually playing any games (or doing anything at all) because of a bunch of mental health issues. I can sit at the computer and look at all the great games in my library that I'd like to play, but translating the desire to play them into actually installing any is impossible. I just can't do it. There's some kind of missing link, an inability to translate desire into action; it's a bad case of avolition. It's incredibly frustrating and in practice means I play far less games than I'd like to (and have a far emptier life in general than I'd like to). There are probably a few games better than The Big Con that could've had this spot, but The Big Con was the first game I played after two months of playing literally nothing at all. It's a very cute and charming game, and journeying along with the well-meaning and rad junior delinquent Ali to, well, rob and swindle people, I was constantly reminded that, yes, games are so good. And that precipitated a period of a couple of weeks in which I was finally able to un-paralyze myself and play some other games, too. So thank you, The Big Con, you get the tenth spot. Sway Grunt fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Dec 14, 2021 |
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Dec 14, 2021 20:04
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 21:18 |
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