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This year I “only” completed 20 games, which is down from my peak of 37 in 2021 but up from 18 in 2022. Not that I try to focus on quantity, as it’s usually other non-game Real Life factors that have the biggest impact on how many games I can get through. This year was certainly another year, with some personal challenges and an extremely high-maintenance elderly cat taxing my quality of life, but overall I can’t complain. I’m thankful for my family and friends and everything. My self-imposed rules: I personally rate every game I finish on a scale of 1-10, despite hating review scores on principle (not gonna get into that rant here). Because I tend to play and finish games that I like, my personal scores this year all skewed very high. No surprises there. I think I rated everything on my top 10 list either an 8 or a 9. No 10s this year but I’m very selective with giving those out. “Finish” for me generally means seeing the ending and credits, though I typically try to go for the “best” ending or even multiple endings if that is possible. I don’t usually engage in NG+ cycles though there are some exceptions this year. Because of this, my list of top 10 games this year is heavily skewed towards certain types of games and even a specific series. I’ve been playing catch-up on this series the last couple years so that’s just what ended up happening and the reason why the list is 40% made up of those games. I feel a little funny about that but also this series rules and is easily one of my favorites of all time so I’m not fussed about it. iykyk As you might be able to tell from my picks, I tend to value gameplay and especially good combat mechanics, but also good cinematic storytelling and writing and performances. 10. Inscryption My introduction to the Daniel Mullins universe. I really enjoyed the whole experience and the meta narrative through it, but not enough to grind out everything after getting to the game ending, so I YouTubed the rest. Trying not to get into specifics since a lot of the experience is probably spoiler territory, but suffice it to say I am now a fan and will try to go back to his past games when I can, and I anticipate whatever he makes in the future. 9. Final Fantasy XVI I don’t have a lot of experience with the Final Fantasy series as a whole. I beat FF6 way back in the day, and after that the only other one I’ve beaten is FF7R, which I loved. I quite liked Final Fantasy XVI/16 and enjoyed the story and the combat, which both end up being a bit shallower than the first act would have you believe. Not necessarily a negative point for me, just that it gives the impression of being maybe like a grand Game of Thrones political epic and instead turns into something more traditional for the genre and series (as I understand it). As for the gameplay, I thought it was a fine take on the Japanese action-RPG genre, one of my favorite genres, and also a surprisingly good primer on the basics of character action combat. One interesting side effect of playing through this game is making me curious to play games like Devil May Cry 5 and Bayonetta again, to see how I can apply what I learned here. 8. Judgment Here we are, the first of four appearances of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon/Judgment extended universe on this list. I enjoy the comparatively grounded take on the Yakuza universe in the Judgment games, and Takayuki Yagami is a good protagonist if a little more muted compared to other leads in the other games. I really appreciated that this game and its sequel try to have a pretty serious conversation about power structures and corruption in policing, the legal system, politics, business, and the interactions between all of those. I didn’t love everything, like the Mortal Wounds mechanic that I was happy to see gone in the sequel, and the endgame plot point swerve with the pharmaceutical drug was a little goofy but also consistent with the tone of the overall series. The improvements to the Dragon Engine and the combat refinements overall are excellent and it has been such a joy to see the growth of the dev studio across the decades. (I was one of the rare few who bought the original Yakuza 1 and 2 on PS2 on their launch days, so I’ve been there since day 1 and have been an evangelist and long-suffering diehard fan through the drought years in the west.) 7. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Movement in this game is pure joy. I also have to give it props for allowing you to make web tightropes pretty much anywhere you want, because stealth takedowns are one of my favorite things in games and this gives you a lot of freedom in how you approach those encounters. The models, acting, and performances are top-tier as expected from Sony’s AAA first-party studios, and this game also has some of the best setpieces of the year. Thematically, I loved that this game has a heavy focus on criminal reform and redemption, and the opportunity to turn your life around no matter your history and circumstances. Excited for whatever Insomniac makes, especially if the leaked lineup is true. 6. God of War Ragnarok + Valhalla God of War Ragnarok and its free DLC Valhalla are a meditation on self-improvement. As a fan of the original PS2 and PS3 games back in the day, I was a bit embarrassed by their content even back then as an edgy teenage or twenty-something. It’s been clear since the 2018 God of War reboot that the folks who made those games also grew up and wanted to reevaluate the past. The reformation of Kratos from the God of Misanthropy and Masculine Angst into the God of Regret and Personal Growth has been incredible to witness and so well executed, pun intended. The new games don’t shy away from the reality of Kratos’s history, but instead use all of that context to give weight to genuine conversations about loss, regret, hatred, forgiveness, legacy and the impact you have on the next generations, and how to grow as a person. Stellar stuff. Oh yeah, and the combat is super fun and one of the best of the generation too. I beat Ragnarok at the beginning of this year, and finished the Valhalla DLC at the end of this year for a nice bookend to 2023. 5. Lost Judgment + The Kaito Files My second adventure with Yagami and crew, and I liked it even better than the first. A lot of that probably has to do with the refinements to the combat system, but I also enjoyed the extensive school story side content and the mystery and drama of the main story and villain in this one. There’s much to say about how strongly or coherently Lost Judgment makes its thesis statements about bullying and retribution, but as with other great mysteries, sometimes the questions it raises are more interesting than the answers it provides. 4. Yakuza (7): Like a Dragon The reboot entry in the long-running Yakuza series, reimagining the games as a traditional JRPG through the eyes of its fantastic protagonist and heir apparent to the Like a Dragon legacy, Ichiban Kasuga. The combat isn’t super deep and maybe turns into a bit of a slog in the last third of the game, but the main story and the relationships between the party members and supporting cast are so good, so sincere, and so heartfelt that I couldn’t help but love it all the way through. Did you love EarthBound as a kid in the 90s and want to experience a JRPG about the travails and tribulations of midlife adulthood? This one is unmissable. 3. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name The final Yakuza game on my list, and the freshest on my mind. It feels so good to inhabit original series protagonist Kiryu Kazuma again after his hiatus, and this is about as good of a swan song as one of gaming’s most undersung protagonists could ask for. A concentrated package of the Yakuza experience, this one is still generous with the side content and distractions. Though you could summarize the bulk of the content in this game as filler, I was happy to lap it all up and earn the reasonable platinum trophy, relishing every last moment we may get with Kiryu before whatever happens next in January’s Like a Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth. I’m finally caught up, and I can’t wait. 2. Lies of P A big surprise for basically everyone, and one of the best almost-debut titles from a studio I’ve ever seen. This is by far the best true Souls-like that’s not from FromSoftware, and honestly rivals and perhaps bests some of their entries. Fantastic character and world design, an interesting and engaging story told with much more straightforward methods (something I appreciated), and the superb and meaty combat I love in action RPGs. A game that from every pore exudes confidence and a deep understanding of the mechanics that drive engaging combat encounters and boss fights. I replayed it immediately and cleared NG+ to get the platinum trophy. I’m always happy to see a new studio succeed so strongly, and especially happy to see a big success from a South Korean studio. I’m so excited for whatever they make next. 1. Resident Evil 4 Remake Maybe not the most exciting pick for my favorite game of the year, but it is the game that probably engaged me the most, absorbing me for maybe more than 100 hours as I played and replayed and replayed to unlock everything and get the platinum trophy. It’s also easily the hardest challenge I conquered in a video game this year, as those Professional rank runs are no joke. I’m not one for horror in general, but like the original RE4 before it, it hooked me for the entire rollercoaster ride and I loved every minute, even when I struggled against some of the game’s hardest content. An excessively generous and polished package from start to finish. And for some additional fun, here are some shouts from my picks and other games I played this year.
Notable games I played in 2023 but didn’t finish, either due to lack of time or interest, in no particular order:
Notable games that released in 2023 that I didn’t get to play but really want to:
Top 10 again: 10. Inscryption 9. Final Fantasy XVI 8. Judgment 7. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 6. God of War Ragnarok + Valhalla 5. Lost Judgment + The Kaito Files 4. Yakuza (7): Like a Dragon 3. Like a Dragon Garden: The Man Who Erased His Name 2. Lies of P 1. Resident Evil 4 Remake
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Dec 31, 2023 22:45
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 02:22 |
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nice
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Jan 18, 2024 01:21
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Epic fail
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Jan 18, 2024 04:49
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