Game of the Year Thread 2022: Game of the Year Thread 2018 Remake Edition

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AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

All right, I can get in on the ground floor for a change.

10: Deathloop (2022): I will be honest, I was initially quite disappointed with this game. However it eventually just clicked for me. The key thing about Deathloop is that this is not Hitman. The game literally tells you there is only one possible "perfect loop". The best way to approach this game is as a regular immersive sim that just happens to have a time gimmick. And it succeeds very well in that regard. You get a bunch of fun powers, no karma meter arbitrarily restraining how you "should" use them, a gorgeously designed environment, a genuinely funny main character that doesn't fall into MCU Syndrome, the works. A good entry into the genre.

9: Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters (2022): "Hey, wouldn't it be amazing if there were an XCOM game where your soldiers could actually loving shoot straight?" I am sure other games like that exist but this one is a great one of those. Your Warhams already start out super sturdy and capable of actually hitting things and from there evolve into teleporting chain murder machines, snipers capable of psychically nuking an area, supports that pump up the previous two with AP and armor points, etc. Just try not to get bummed out by the plot involving an interstellar pandemic that you constantly have to argue with your boss about it being something to be taken seriously.

8: Hardspace Shipbreaker (2022): People think I am out of my mind when I claim I play this game to relax. Granted, I do always play on Open Shift meaning the dreaded clock is never hanging over my head but it's the way I like it. Whether I listen to the space western OST or pop in a podcast, there is something zen about slowly disassembling a craft, even when the hazards start piling up. And having quite possibly the single most pro-union message I have ever seen in fiction, let alone a game is definitely a bonus.

7: Twilight Struggle (2016): I guess I must be truly dead inside to also find enjoyment in what is essentially a simulation of how Vladimir Putin still sees the world. One of the things I love about board game adaptations is that they can make even the most complex games accessible (I don't think I will EVER have a good enough memory to play physical Magic: The Gathering without someone constantly telling me what phase it is and what I can actually play) and Twilight Struggle does so brilliantly. After a super gentle tutorial you are thrust into a super deep game of mind fuckery and constantly shifting goals. It's also super enjoyable to just go to their website and learn about what each card represents.

6: Opus Magnum (2017): While I did get quite a bit into Last Call BBS this year, this is the Zachtronics game I keep coming back to. The concepts are easy enough to understand that you don't need an external manual to explain it and the results are always beautiful regardless of efficiency. There is elegance even in the "inelegant" solutions which compels you to increase elegance. An amazing intersection of art and mechanics.

5: Immortality (2022): Sam Barlow gives us yet another FMV archive mystery that doubles as both a celebration of film as an art and a condemnation of film as an industry. The mystery might seem obtuse at first but once you hit the key revelations, you will be stunned. Looking forward to see what Manon Gage does in the future.

4: Powerwash Simulator (2022): Pure relaxation. Pop a podcast, wash, chill. Need I say more?

3: Marvel's Midnight Suns (2022): This is a game that at first glance seems to be red flag after red flag: it's yet another Marvel game in an already saturated cultural landscape, the card system and even the graphics look straight out of a cheap cash-grab mobile game, there are a ton of different currencies and mechanics that make you wonder if someone ripped out monetization at the last minute, the dialogue is once again filled with Whedon-MCU disease...and yet it all just WORKS. IMHO this is tied with Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Freedom Force as the best implementation of being in command of a team of superheroes. The heroes' various decks all make them feel unique gameplay-wise and true to their powersets and even personalities (I still chuckle at the fact that Tony Stark is such an egocentric dick that not only does he have the unique ability to guarantee redraws of Iron Man cards, but he can also become more powerful the more Iron Man cards you have in your hand). The abilities, enemies and environments are all perfectly tuned to each encounter feel like an epic superhero battle. And you get to make friends and hangout with everyone between battles. I came for the promise of a Blade Book club and stayed for joining the cast's main magic users forming a club with the acronym EMO KIDS while Doctor Strange is cheerfully oblivious to the meaning of the name.

2: Vampire Survivors (2022): Or as I like to call it "The Best 5 Bucks You Will Spend In Your Life". A deceptively simple concept that turns into a pure addiction. There is literal zero excuse not to play this game since it's so cheap. For the cost of your average phone game, You have something that is engaging enough to be addictive and requires little enough input that you can easily listen to a podcast while playing. And with an ENORMOUS amount of content to boot. Get it.

1: Elden Ring (2022): Yup. I mean, what else can I say? A game people had thought had fallen to the depths of Development Hell came out and it was glorious. FromSoft's first foray into open world showed everyone else how it's REALLY done: by creating a world full of genuine wonder and that you are eager to explore. Even all the Bethesda-esque "cookie cutter" dungeons have at least one unique thing about them. If you are going to reuse assets, this is how it's done. And all this is combined with mechanics comprised of the very best of FromSoftware's prior outings. If god forbid this were their last game, it would be a fitting capstone and magnum opus.

AceOfFlames fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Dec 12, 2022

# ¿ Dec 11, 2022 15:25

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 18:22

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

fridge corn posted:

This thread is a bigger deal than Geoff Keighley Presents: The Bill Clinton Awards brought to you by Funny Child, 10 Minute Kratos and Flute Guy

# ¿ Dec 12, 2022 19:27

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Escobarbarian posted:

What the gently caress NORCO sounds amazing and you gave the best possible reference points to ensure I play it as soon as humanly possible

I keep hearing Norco spoken in the same breath as Disco Elysium and Kentucky Route Zero. Still haven't played it though.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2022 11:25

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Thread over, this is the true GOTY

# ¿ Dec 19, 2022 12:24

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Waffleman_ posted:

I'm probably the only person who hasn't played Elden Ring yet

It's 30% off on Steam rn

# ¿ Dec 22, 2022 20:41

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Item Getter posted:

Not to mention of course the whole thing is optional since you can take the elevator instead of going through that area. Though that's another thing about Elden Ring, how much of its amazing content is optional and not required to finish the game.

But the keys to the elevator are hidden in two side areas with only the vaguest of hints as to where they are (one of the areas can be found if you run into a certain NPC who tells you to go there for a different reason and if you have one key, then its item description says where the other is). So basically both paths rely on the player doing quite a bit of exploring with no handholding. And yet it doesn't feel cheap, it's part of the wonder of the place and its willingness to let you have an adventure.

# ¿ Dec 23, 2022 19:45

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Wittgen posted:

1. Rogue Legacy 2
I love metroidvanias and I love rogue-lites. I really should have loved the first Rogue Legacy, but I hated it. The controls were floaty. I always felt weak, and the scaling costs of the metaprogression left me feeling like I was in a death spiral. I dropped the game before I beat it even once, and good riddance.

Rogue Legacy 2 delivers on all the promise of the first game�s premise. It is brilliantly designed. The controls are tight and make playing a joy. The graphics are polished and charming. I 100% completed this game and I so rarely do that.

Rogue Legacy 2 uses metaprogression to take the place of a more normal metroidvania�s leveling system or inventory. Like, in Order of Ecclesia, you gain xp when killing enemies that will ultimately level you up and increase your stats. You�ll also find items that increase your max hp/mp, equipment that can modify your stats further, and souls that you can use to customize your attack options. It�s a fun system. It lets you gain a sense of power over time. It adds some variety, and it interacts with exploration of the map in a synergistic, rewarding way. Rogue Legacy 2�s metaprogression does all of these things, and it does them so much better.

Variety especially is so much better incentivized in Rogue Legacy 2. Each run, you�ll be a different class. The classes play so much differently than each other that it�s wild, but they�re all fun. In a castlevania type metroidvania, I think there�s a tendency to find something strong and effective, and then stick with it. Here, the game basically requires you to try different classes. It doesn�t take long to unlock the ability to lock down one of your three randomly generated class options, but even then the game takes pains to incentivize experimentation. Each class gains XP and levels up. Each level provides a bonus that all classes benefit from. The bonuses are nothing make or break, but they do make life easier and they do add up.

Really, the game handles incentive structures so well. There are a few layers of short term vs long term risk/reward. Every run, you will run into such choices for the run level. For example, a tree that has two fruits. One heals you. One hurts you but increases your max hp, which is extremely useful for bosses, assuming you have a way to regain that hp. Assuming the next room doesn�t kill you. Then there is the longer term run to run trade offs. You can lock down the castle to practice any given boss fight, but then you�re forfeiting all the rewards (like the fruit) that don�t respawn if the castle is locked. The exploration in the castle and the metaprogression back at your base have all kinds of neat and well thought out interplay and I love it.

The writing is not as good as the studio�s previous wonderful effort, Full Metal Furies. It is not bad by any means, but it is mostly just there. This is honestly the most negative thing I can say about Rogue Legacy 2. This game rules and it is easily my game of the year.

Thank you so much for this write-up since I just got Rogue Legacy 2 and I am LOVING it. And I HATED the original. This is what the original should have been. Too late to add it to my current list but it will most likely be in my 2023 list.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2022 15:54

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Phenotype posted:

Is it worth getting on Switch? I want to play it on the big OLED from the couch, but I dunno if the low resolution would bother me too much. I've been eyeing it for a while but I wish they'd do a PS5 port already.

I'm playing on the PC. Don't think the low resolution will be a problem, especially since they ditched the pixel art in favor of a more conventional cartoon style.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2022 18:32

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Cruiserweight posted:

1. Marvel's Midnight Suns

Midnight Suns shocked me. I wrote the game off when it was revealed to be a deckbuilder - one of my least favorite genres of games. I just wanted a new, AAA superhero game. Give me Ultimate Alliance 4 but with a budget this time, or a Marvel (maybe vs. DC) fighting game. A superhero deckbuilder was a monkey’s paw for me, and I paid zero attention to Midnight Suns until November 2022. Some previews for the game started coming out, and I decided to watch some gameplay to see how it came along, and I could not believe how much pure fun the card-based combat looked like. It looked so smooth, fine-tuned, and crafted with care. I went from subzero interest to preordering the Ultimate Edition within like, 72 hours.

This game hooked me from the jump. The heroes here are effectively amalgamations of their most popular or common renditions, and outside of combat, you can straight up hangout with anyone at the home base, the Abbey, giving Firaxis the ability to explore the people behind the superhero persona, instead of rehashing origin stories or going through unnecessary arcs. For example, Peter Parker doesn’t struggle with ‘with great powers comes great responsibility’, he’s struggling to fit in with a big group of superheroes when he’s spent years by himself, and you not only can choose to help him through that, but also help him decide if being a Midnight Sun is more than just a temporary label, or the more contemporary Avengers would benefit him and the people he loves more.

In terms of writing, every single character - not just playable heroes, but also the villains, are, at worst, perfectly serviceable, and at best, absolutely fantastic. I truly think the weakest characters here are probably Crossbones, Ghost Rider, and, depending on how much you like lore dumps and old women, Agatha and Caretaker. Nico, Blade, Magik, Iron Man, are top tier here, and hell, even Yuri Lowenthal doing a worse, but still nicely written incarnation of Spider-Man still does a great job. Speaking of, it’s so cool to see legacy actors return here, like Steve Blum as Wolverine and Michael Jai White as Blade. It's wild to look at the voice cast and realize the vast majority of them have voiced their respective character at some point in the past, whether that be in an animation or video game. I’ll say it a million times but it’s true every time: it really brings home that feeling that the developers genuinely cared about what they were doing here.

The combat is as fun as it looks, probably even more so. Each hero has a different combat role and therefore deck to build from, and while admittedly some heroes are worse than others (Ghost Rider doesn’t become worthwhile until late game, and Captain Marvel is really good early game but falls off massively and is effectively replaced by Captain America by mid/late game) each hero feels completely unique and pretty well designed. Even the player character, The Hunter, has a wide range of cards that allow the player to hyperfocus on a specific build or be a generalist, and truthfully The Hunter never feels weak at any point in the game, and arguably might be the straight up best hero in the game due to this flexibility.

I said this game shocked me, and I also meant that in a different way. I am surprised that, when taking the individual aspects of this game, and combining it, it actually makes a coherent product, let alone my favorite game of the year. How can a turn-based strategy deckbuilder, with models and animations that look straight out of a late 7th gen game, with a major focus on social bonding and 18th century fantasy magic, centered around a cast of some of the most popular superheroes ever created being led by a resurrected zombie who was raised by a lesbian witch couple, be greenlit by one of the biggest video game publishers in the world?

I dunno, but I’m happy as gently caress it did. Everything here in Midnight Suns just works so well. It’s fun, addictive, engaging, well written, well realized, and I desperately hope this game gets more post-launch content than what is announced, if not an outright sequel, because I need it. Very rarely do I ever buy a game, hell, pre-order a game, and it not only exceed my expectations, but make me excited for its future.

So glad to see this game getting so much love. It's currently glitchy as gently caress (as heavily mentioned the game's thread) but it really is something special. I really hope it's successful enough to get a sequel.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2022 13:58

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Aipsh posted:

drat wish I played Neon white before doing my top ten

Felt this way about Rogue Legacy 2. Welp, there's always next year!

# ¿ Jan 5, 2023 15:45

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Rarity posted:

How do their feet reach the pedals?

Sticks.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 17:37

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Rarity posted:

Silksong when???

Silksong is the new "Elden Ring pre-Summer Games Fest trailer".

Hell, someone should make the equivalent of this YouTube channel for Silksong.

AceOfFlames fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Jan 7, 2023

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 17:41

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

fridge corn posted:

Starting to wonder if all the misspellings on the oskirbs is a set up for an elaborate joke...

All the mispelled letters form a hidden message. It says "GOTY DEEZ NUTS"

Fake Edit: LMAO never noticed your av now has Malenia in the fridge.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 17:50

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

VideoGames posted:

I will have you know I disowned Wakka for the majority of the game. Intentionally. Kimhari on the other hand...unintentionally. Too much Yuna, Tidus, Auron, Rikku and Lulu symbiosis. Such a powerful gang!

I too disowned Wakka for the majority of the game because I didn't want to play freaking Blitzball to upgrade his Overdrives.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 19:31

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

I'm quite surprised neither Deathloop nor Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters cracked the Top 75.

EDIT: Now that I went over the Honorable Mentions list, I guess I didn't realize Deathloop was 2021. Daemonhunters is 2022 though and it's not bolded BTW.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 19:41

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Rarity posted:

I didn't bold every 2022 release just the notable ones

I guess I remember Daemonhunters being more covered than it actually was. Sorry.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 19:44

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Infinitum posted:

I will likely never play Stranger of Paradise, but I do appreciate the hell out of how dumb it is as a concept
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkj-uvg2sRU

I loving love that they somehow managed to get a band that isn't yet sounds EXACTLY like Limp Bizkit for this.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 20:33

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

I'm genuinely surprised I'm being quoted this much. My OP was super off the cuff.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2023 20:45

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 18:22

AceOfFlames: Oct 9, 2012

Jay Rust posted:

Guessing the thread�s gonna get closed when it reaches p. 69 (a sex number)? Anyone have anything cool to say before then?

GOTY deez nuts

# ¿ Jan 8, 2023 21:02

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