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Hell yeah, haven't had much time to post lately but I've been looking forward to making a list. Probably need to get around to Alan Wake but I think otherwise I'm pretty set on my picks
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Dec 4, 2023 00:43
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 12:49 |
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12. Star Ocean Second Story R I definitely wouldn't call myself a fan of the series, but the second game's insane progression system is legendary. The remake loads it with so many QoL features that it almost feels more modern than actual modern rpgs. The increased tutorialization actually makes the various crafting systems digestible for the average rpg gamer, and for a returning player it did a great job of reminding me of all the various tricks for getting buff. It can often feel like you're playing Menus: The Game and yet it remains strangely compelling to engineer a web of crafting interactions where you enter the menu screen weak and poor and exit strong and rich. 11. Pizza Tower Sort of the Yin to Mario's Yang this year for me, the art and music are completely sick but the platforming itself takes a lot of getting used to. Its sloppy, chaotic and sometimes quite frustrating, but it definitely contributes to this fever dream experience that I would still wholeheartedly recommend. Its not the sort of game that I put a lot of time into getting good at but even a brute force casual playthrough still leaves you feeling like you saw and did a lot. 10. Resident Evil 4 Remake Capcom with another remake that expands and remixes the original to the point where it becomes its own whole new thing. For what its worth I appreciate that they took a lot of liberties with the structure and pacing, bringing it more in line with the current main releases while still retaining plenty of sly call backs. Sure the camp of the original is mostly lost but the story still manages to be playful despite now taking place in the hyper-realistic modern Capcom world. I can't get enough of how these recent RE games look and feel to play, so while I don't think it could ever truly surpass the original, I was still totally enthralled. Capcom please stop after CV though, thanks. 9. Risk of Rain Returns The Risk of Rain games are my favorite rogue-lites, the esoteric power scaling and overall vibes just really work for me. The original was in desperate need of a refresh though and Gearbox actually managed to go above and beyond with this one. The art is fantastic, hemming very close to the originals while still incorporating a ton of extra flair. The new content is actually quite fun imo, the trials are a nice diversion from the main game and the additional characters are very appreciated. Will probably not change your mind if you did not care for it back in the day but for fans of the original it feels like everything you could hope for. 8. Octopath Traveler 2 Honestly almost gave this game a pass based on how let down I was by Octo Path 1. The sequel though really does make good on the promises of the first game. Super comfy with some actually interesting character stories this time around. The battle system remains fun and punchy with the wonderful art and music wrapping the whole thing in a super polished package. An incredible refinement over the original though I do hope they reimagine the whole structure for their next game as I think they've done everything they can with it at this point. 7. Talos Principle 2 A wonderful meditative experience that I loved retreating to. Solving puzzles and musing about philosophy not only makes you feel smart, but hell its pretty fun too. Improves over the first game in a few subtle ways, mainly in how the pacing of puzzles feels. I never felt like I was out of my depth as the game does a great job of building up the complexity. It took a bit for me to warm up to the story and characters as the VO felt a bit amateurish at first, once I did though I really enjoyed having them around. 6. Super Mario Wonder Proabably the most consistently fun game on this list, just an absolute joy to play from start to finish. They nailed the new art style, the controls are tight and the level gimmicks are some of the best in the series. Kind of embodies everything that makes a great Mario game while also having a strong identity of its own. I especially appreciated that all the difficulty isn't totally backloaded and that they incorporate a mix of challenges throughout the whole game. 5. System Shock (2023) Actually my first experience with System Shock 1, despite being a big fan of the genre it had a hand in spawning, and its kind of blown me away. No doubt helped by the fantastic (even by their own standards) remake that Nightdive has created which blends the vintage elements into a sort of approximation of what it would look like had the immersive sim genre standards of today had been codified at the time. I can't speak to what exactly they've changed or kept the same but the whole experience still feels like it has the bite of a 90's niche release, with the navigation and puzzle solving being particularly tricky. Top notch atmosphere with a really satisfying gameplay loop of strategic combat, resource management and exploration, pretty much exactly what I'm looking for in an imm-sim. 4. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty They fixed the fuckin game alright. I thought CP2077 was pretty good before, it made it onto my '21 goty list, but this version of Cyberpunk feels so much more cohesive and fun. The Phantom Liberty content would just be the cherry on top, if it wasn't also some of the best stuff in the whole drat package. Totally essential expansion imo 3. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom So good it retroactively made me appreciate BotW in a new light. For whatever reason I just wasn't in the right headspace for BotW to really click with me back in 2017. I liked it, but I didn't love it. TotK did a better job justifying it's gameplay loop right off the bat to me. Durability makes more sense when you're fusing weapons, exploration feels more rewarding, constantly changing world layers in search of materials feels organic. This lead to me becoming a lot more invested than I ever was in BotW and finally "got" the high praise that this iteration of the Zelda formula has garnered. 2. Armored Core 6 This was a surprise hit for me, I did not expect a mech action game to get in my head as much as this did. The story has this understated bleak tone that immediately captivated me, and kept me hooked over the course of three playthroughs. It was interesting to see Fromsoft work with a different structure than I'm used to seeing with mission screens, checkpointing, loadouts etc. but it all comes together really cohesively. I especially liked how fast the missions were, as it gave a great excuse to continually cycle your builds. Trying out all the various things and picking the right tools for the job is one of my favorite parts of From games and this one makes it incredibly easy to do. Of course the sound design in this game is absolutely spectacular, "I won't miss" is the most hype moment of the year bar none. 1. Baldur's Gate 3 The sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, over two decades later, is also one of my favorite games of all time. Its so cool and funny that this is The Game right now in a way that not even the originals could have achieved. Lots of things to love but my favorite is probably the continuation of the fantastic environment design from the DOS games. The super intricately detailed maps were such a joy to explore from the very start of the game all the way to the end. Larian did an incredible job merging their own brand of crpg with the classic D&D fare that defined the original trilogy. Major criticisms with the ending, difficulty and performance were addressed before the year was even out so I really can't help but hand it to them here.
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Dec 18, 2023 21:57
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Metis of the Chat Thread posted:If you don’t know anything about Fire Emblem Fates, I’ll explain the unique circumstances that came together to create this possibility. Fates is, in actuality, three games: Birthright, Conquest and Revelation. Birthright and Conquest were sold as two separate versions for the 3DS, similar to different Pokemon versions, except that they are two entirely different campaigns, with different plots, characters and maps. After buying one version, you could buy the other as DLC from the eShop, as well as the third version, Revelation, essentially a golden route that provided a happy ending for all* the characters from both, which existed only as DLC and not as a physical standalone cart. 
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Dec 22, 2023 06:33
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Caught up on many pages of lists, shouts out to everyone playing Disco Elysium for the first time, shouts out to everyone keeping Pentiment in the running for another year and big shouts out to the poster who put Grim Dawn #2. Love that game, underappreciated even in the arpg space. It looks like I really should have gotten around to Alan Wake, and Against the Storm and Cocoon are also on my short list of games to get into in '24.
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Dec 31, 2023 22:45
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theblackw0lf posted:I wonder if Disco Elysium and BG3 came out the same year which would win? BG3 probably would because it’s more popular, but wonder which would win among those who played both. It'd be close but on this forum I think DE could edge it out even though BG obviously has wider appeal. Fwiw I liked DE even more when I replayed it like a year after it came out, I think I ranked it just under Outer Wilds for goty '19 even though now I feel that Disco has made a bigger impact on me.
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Jan 2, 2024 21:39
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 12:49 |
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very happy with that top 3. thanks for running the thread VG
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Jan 13, 2024 22:28
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