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Hell yeah it’s good thread time (big) mutha truckers (2)
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Dec 4, 2023 00:17
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I’m sorry but if you don’t order your list 10-1 you are literally a cop Some great lists so far! Jerusalem you know I always look forward to yours and this did not loving disappoint, it made me want to go and write mine immediately even though I still have some things I want to finish. morally is a great example of an excellent, fun to read list from someone with frequently total opposite tastes to mine (although I do wanna play Goodbye Volcano High at some point). Can’t wait to see more 
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Dec 4, 2023 08:10
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Tears of the Kingdom is there, actually
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Dec 4, 2023 10:07
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Shard posted:If 5 is the minimum here is mine. My dude have you considered properly reading the OP
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Dec 4, 2023 14:51
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BP like “I just moved fridge….with my freaking posts!”
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Dec 4, 2023 15:32
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DMCrimson posted:The following was posted in the last GOTY thread as a reply to my list and I cherish it and also do you even know what you unleashed:  Funnily enough, I actually ended up not being super into Pizza Tower and not finishing it. Not because of anything wrong with the game, you understand! - it’s a work of art with an utterly incredible style and amazing visuals and music - but the focus on speed and combos ended up not being what I was looking for, and I was really struggling, especially with the bosses. Still, very happy I put it on your radar and it could make it onto your great list!!
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Dec 4, 2023 19:01
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ShakeZula posted:On this point, I did the same thing (replaying the entirety of Cyberpunk and doing the expansion). If I want to maximize the effect of my vote, would I be screwing Phantom Liberty by listing just Cyberpunk? Feels weird to have to split the vote. Personally, because I replayed Cyberpunk and only played Phantom Liberty for the first time this year, I’m gonna list the expansion. If I had played both for the first time this year, I would list the main game. So list PL with me and let’s get dem points up
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Dec 4, 2023 19:25
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I bought Perfect Tides after I saw it at the top of a list last year but never got around to it. How does it play on Steam Deck?
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Dec 5, 2023 00:04
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Mr Hootington posted:I didn't play many games this year, but I do have 5. This bit stopped being funny a long time ago, but I must admit I cracked a smile at this post
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Dec 5, 2023 04:11
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Dual gatlings and songbirds may have been cheap but it also fuckin ruled
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Dec 7, 2023 11:02
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Mr. Crow posted:Should update the rules if its a requirement, but sure edited it Wasn’t it, like, completely obvious
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Dec 7, 2023 20:55
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Bugblatter posted:Whenever someone posts a descending list, I scroll to the bottom and read it backwards. This has to be a troll
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Dec 10, 2023 00:54
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Kaiser Cortez posted:10. Final Fantasy XIII You have to add little blurbs for this - even just a single sentence - if you want it to be counted in the overall results. loving screaming internally
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Dec 11, 2023 20:04
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jesus christ read the loving OP
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Dec 11, 2023 23:11
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Sakurazuka posted:People who don't give a poo poo and just want to drop a list should be left in peace Plz these are the first people who would be like “I voted for this and my vote wasn’t counted!!!!”
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Dec 12, 2023 00:05
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Jerusalem posted:I may be misremembering or misunderstanding, as both of the following are in caves, but isn't the Construct that upgrades your battery sitting directly across from a shrine that you can fast travel to? Or if it is the mining guys inside the sky island cave who sell the charges you can use to upgrade, you can set up your portable teleport so you can always jump straight to them rather than having to jump to the shrine up above and then glide down to get to the cave entrance Yes there’s one right outside the first hub area you come to
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Dec 12, 2023 00:42
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Lmao that ending loving ruled
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Dec 22, 2023 04:56
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Bugblatter posted:I’m glad that at least one person thinks I’m seriously objecting a breach in the rules. That’ll happen when you say something in a totally straightforward way on the internet, I guess
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Dec 22, 2023 12:35
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Sally posted:
Because he failed the “365 gots in a year” challenge the first game he’s streaming next year is Gollum
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Dec 29, 2023 01:03
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noooo at least let VG play good games.
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BP thank you for that beautiful list
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Dec 29, 2023 10:09
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It’s already been said over and over that 2023 was a ridiculously good year for video games, and with good reason: it was a ridiculously good year for video games! Not only were there a huge amount of high-quality releases, but the breadth and variety of these was wildly impressive - you want horror? Adventure? Indie vibes? Large open worlds? High-octane action? RPGs from Japan? Platforming? Puzzles? Exploration? Strategy? Musical levels? Attaching several adorable forest monsters to each other and torturing them by hanging them off the back of your horse? No matter what kind of gamer you are, 2023 had at least two or three things that could easily be considered top-tier within your wheelhouse. Not only did I have an amazing time with so many great games from this year, but I also played some all-time classics from previous years, completing more games in a year than ever before and having a fantastic time with so many of them (I also put over 100 hours into a Steam Deck replay of Elden Ring, lmao). Compared to my previous year’s lists, anything in my top 20 could have been in a top 10, anything in my top 10 could have been in a top 3, and the top 5? Stone cold classics, every single one. It’s just been one of those years that makes your heart soar for the future of the medium as a whole, even while so many studios were being hit by crushing layoffs or shuttering altogether and some well-known developers made some impressively poor decisions (RIP Factions 2, bite me Neil Druckmann). The games industry will continue to survive and thrive, and passionate, talented creators will continue to make amazing games. Here are the 31 games I completed this year, all of which were at least somewhat worthwhile: The ones which I didn’t love but that still had redeemable qualities: 31. Lifeline (2015) Stranded astronaut texts you in real time about the antics she’s getting into. Had some effective moments but not super memorable. 30. Dorfromantik (2022) Put tiles down to make towns and woodland and stuff! This is very good and relaxing, just not my type of thing. Probably deserves to be higher but nm! 29. Ghostwire: Tokyo (2022) Suffers from a lot of map game issues, especially too many collectibles, poor writing, and mediocre side activities. Didn’t love the combat either. But the map is great and flying around Tokyo sucking up spirit dudes was really enjoyable for me! 28. Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk… (2020) A powerful depiction of anxiety and the struggles it causes in everyday life, but I kinda forgot about it and forgot to play the second one. I’m sorry Stux!!! 27. Viewfinder (2023) Once you get over one of the most annoying narrators of all time, this is a very clever and unique puzzle game. I do wish the storytelling had been more affecting, though. 26. NORCO (2022) Kentucky Route Zero is one of my top five games of all time, so I should have adored this, but it didn’t totally hit. While it has some great art and thematic work, I didn’t really get into the characters and found it overwritten - at least in KRZ most of it is optional. 25. Final Fantasy XVI (2023) The hottest take on this list? The titan battles are very good. Ben Starr and Ralph Ineson are very good. I found most of the rest extremely tepid, and the things I enjoyed at first - like the combat and the gradual FFisation of an initially GoT-esque plot - eventually went on for so long that I got tired of it all. Give all games Active Time Lore! 24. Grapple Dog (2022) Saw this high up on someone else’s list last year and was very intrigued. Essentially the best 2004 GBA platformer never made, it has a great retro aesthetic and central mechanic. I didn’t find it super funny and it eventually got a little repetitive, but I enjoyed my time with it. 23. No Longer Home (2021) An evocative depiction of some students’ final months at university, presented in an isometric point-and-click style. Some powerful imagery and great writing, but didn’t stick around in my mind for too long afterwards. 22. The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022) I got this back when it came out and played a bit, but didn’t properly tumble down the rabbit hole. Now I have and it’s nuts how much they added and how funny and meta it gets. A hell of a lot of fun. 21. Final Fantasy IV (1991) I played some old RPGs from Japan this year, what the gently caress is up! This is a real good game but more dated than the others I played - as the game that introduced the ATB system it is still pretty rough around the edges, while the story feels like it’s in super fast motion with how swiftly it gets through stuff. The ones that were very good: 20. Jusant (2023) “It’s Death Stranding but for climbing!!!” - People. “Yeah that’s pretty accurate!!!!” - Me. Great central mechanics, excellent environmental storytelling and it manages to stay interesting throughout. Not sure why it has so many crappy text logs when the scenery already tells the story well enough though 19. Unpacking (2021) What if Habbo Hotel made your heart hurt? A game about putting things in areas that manages to tell a heartfelt and resonant story about the stages of someone’s early adulthood. Genuinely remarkable how powerful that one moment where you can’t fit a certain thing anywhere is. 18. Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores (2023) Aloy kisses a lady!!! While this DLC still suffers from the issues I had with the main game - more frustrating combat, a little more jank - it also has an excellent and gorgeous new area, an effectively douchey new villain, and a cool new companion for Aloy to potentially do a kiss on if you want. 17. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023) Cal Kestis is just an inherently funny name, right? Imagine being worried that Cal Kestis is going to become a baddie. Bad name aside, this is a massive step up from the first game, with excellent intricate maps and a lot of fun mechanics, as well as a neat hub area with a bunch of bloody loonies like “literally Raz from Psychonauts” and “a tiny Scottish alien who’s obsessed with fish”. Maybe I shouldn’t be writing this entry after drinking but whatever! It’s a good game! The fish thing is so loving Scottish! 16. Deathbulge: Battle of the Bands (2023) Wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the only person who puts this on their list, so may I recommend people please check it out!! It’s a heavily 90s-inspired turn-based RPG by the creator of a webcomic that sometimes goes viral, but with a musical twist on the classic ATB system where each side has a four-bar section at the bottom of the screen that can have various positive and negative effects added to it, which makes for a really intriguing spin on the typical turn-based style. Add to that a lot of gorgeous art, hilarious comedy, and interesting characters, and you got a prime candidate for most underrated game of the year! “Play it today!” - Me. 15. Cocoon (2023) As soon as I learned this game was from the lead designer of Limbo and Inside I got right on that poo poo, and best believe I wasn’t disappointed. The puzzle design is simply ingenious, frequently making me laugh with glee when I figured something out, while it also had an intriguing enigmatic aesthetic and some surprisingly satisfying boss battles. One of the big Game Pass winners of the year. 14. A Hat In Time (2017) I didn’t play this for a very long time because it has JonTron in it! Ok, that’s not totally true, but it was a good excuse to avoid adding another thing to my backlog. Finally played it once it hit PS Plus, and it really lived up to the hype - a superb 3D platformer with great mechanics and vibrant worlds, mixed with some funny and interesting mission design. Shame JonTron is still in it, though. 13. Final Fantasy VI (1994) Not hard to see why so many consider this the peak of the series to date - it has a plethora of excellent characters with great arcs, some really fantastic set-pieces, and is super well-paced and structured. Plus, because the Pixel Remaster console improvements had come out in between me playing IV and this one, I had a much less frustrating time with it. Kefka was such an amazing villain lmao, what a goof. After seeing the original illustrations I’d really like to see a remake in that style - them shits is gorgeous! and ok fine after reading fridge’s entry I will play V next year 12. Spider-Man 2 (2023) I understand why people can get frustrated with the state of AAA storytelling these days, especially the penchant for very safe and typical plots. Thankfully, this game is fun and exciting enough to make up for any of that! I didn’t love the combat in the first game, but the changes to controls made a huge difference with keeping it fluid and enjoyable (no more constantly going into radial menus!), and the traversal remained, well, literally the most fun movement any open-world game has ever had! Plus some shockingly beautiful graphics that set a new benchmark for fidelity. Now I have all the Insomniac employee’s home addresses I can go and thank them in person for this great game!!!!…….sorry 11. Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) Not surprising anyone by saying that the 2D Mario games had been stagnating for a long time, but this was a wonderful upheaval that brought the joy and fun back to the Mario family’s side-scrolling adventures. The graphics and animations are so full of life and energy, while the level design is as great as ever and the new powers and Wonder Flowers were fantastic additions. Only a few reasons this didn’t make my top 10: partly it’s that 2D Marios aren’t really my bag (I played as Yoshi for a lot of this), but it’s also because I wanted the game I put at #10 to get more attention. So without further ado may I please present…… THE TOP TEN: 10. Tchia (2023)  This game was not on my radar at all until it released and I realised it was a day one PS Plus thing, so I grabbed it with no real expectations besides, hey, free game! What I discovered was a charming and delightful experience that is easily my favourite hidden gem of the year. A breezy action-adventure game with a setting inspired by the Pacific nation of New Caledonia, Tchia is a joy to explore, with several funny (and sometimes surprisingly dark!) moments and fantastic traversal, not just because of the BotW-style glider but the game’s “spirit jump” ability, which allows Tchia to possess the body of any animal and several inanimate objects in the game world. You can fly through the skies as a bird, bound around as a deer, or hurl your burning log self through the air at paper enemies to gently caress them up. This was clearly a true labour of love for the devs, and their passion shows through in the beautifully-realised world and super fun mechanics, as well as a variety of customisation options and some cute musical sequences. 09. Metroid Prime Remastered (2023)  I had never played a Metroid Prime game before this year, and I decided this would be the year I finally tried it out. So I installed PrimeHack on the Deck, did a whole bunch of fuckery to get the controls working….and then Nintendo surprise dropped a gorgeous remaster of the first game with fixed controls for a good price so I played that instead. Simply put, it lived up to every expectation. It’s such a good adaptation of the genre-defining Metroidvania formula to a 3D space, while the aesthetic and music and general vibes are so great. Certainly some parts are dated - having to switch beam types to open doors after the first time is tiresome - but the overall feel of getting new powers, discovering new areas, and learning more about the dastardly schemes happening on Tallon IV remained an absolute blast throughout. Plus it was the game that finally encouraged me to buy a grip for when I’m playing my Switch handheld, which was an excellent decision! 08. Alan Wake II (2023)  Nothing speaks more to the quality of this year than this only being in eighth place. Remedy are some of the most interesting and idiosyncratic developers out there, and while I never played the first Alan Wake, I knew after Control that I was going to be interested in any of their future output. But even that fantastic and bizarre game could not prepare me for what Sam Lake and co accomplished here. Arguably Alan Wake II is not just a game but a full-on interactive multimedia experience, with several live-action sequences and a whole-rear end short film at one point, and the storytelling is just superlative throughout. The wonderfully creepy, heavily meta, extremely funny dual storylines of Saga and Alan represented a new high for Remedy’s output, with so many audacious set-pieces and hilariously annoying jump scares (at one point Saga and I said “oh, come on!” at the exact same time) and incredible pieces of music. While I ranked it a little lower because some of the core gameplay wasn’t much fun for me - I’m not much of a survival horror fan anyway, tbh - I absolutely think this is one of the biggest artistic achievements of 2023 in any medium, and I was overjoyed that it won as many Game Awards as it did. 07. Armoured Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (2023)  I am one of the many who got into FromSoft games through their last decade of output, and so I did approach this with some trepidation. I’ve never really been into the mech genre, and a lot of what I heard about the franchise didn’t fill me with much confidence, but From have become one of those devs who I’ll buy anything by now, and plus, the trailers made it look cool as hell. So I bought it day one and……well, you’ve seen all the lists it’s made it onto so far. Game fuckin rules. Where to even begin with this one? The combat is fast, fluid, and intense, with the Sekiro team taking everything that works about that game’s battles and translating it perfectly to big-rear end robots. The customisation is a robot nerd’s wet dream, both with regards to the gob-smacking amount of aesthetic options and the fantastic variety in the weapons and parts meaning spending time building your perfect AC is a blast. The missions are extremely well-designed (outside of a few irritating exceptions), mixing destruction, exploration, and spectacle very nicely. And finally - perhaps most surprisingly - the storytelling is just superb, with so many well-realised characters we grow to love (and love to hate) despite literally never seeing their faces, and some really intriguing shifting dynamics over the course of getting all three endings. From really did an amazing job of bringing over all the skills they’ve learned from developing the best action games ever to an older franchise of theirs, and it’s paid off in spades. Plus, it really is cool as hell. 06. Citizen Sleeper (2022)  Before I played this I didn’t know much about it besides it being a narrative-based game that was sci-fi and had some kind of dice-rolling mechanic, but it made it onto enough best of 2022 lists that I was very interested, so when it hit Game Pass I played it immediately. Slowly I got absorbed in the goings-on happening aboard the Eye, and fell in love with the cast of characters struggling along with me. It’s hard to talk about this one without spoilers, which I am not going to reveal, but as I went on I made so many decisions involving helping others over myself, which made me very emotional, and then the final decision I made had me in absolute floods of tears. Like, I think the most I’ve ever cried at a video game, and aside from maybe the movie Past Lives, the most I cried at any piece of media in 2023. The initial concept - you’re a robot who has escaped indentured servitude and is hiding out on a space station, taking on odd jobs to get by and not break down quite so quickly, while only being able to do a few things a day, all of which have a chance of failure and you wasting that time - is very strong and a great metaphor for the gig economy, but it’s really those connections you form with fellow blue-collar workers, scavengers, loving fathers, botanists, bounty hunters, and many more that lead to this being so high up on my list. That it manages to stir so many emotions with such a minimal UI just makes it even more impressive. 05. Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023)  I’m not really into this style of game. I don’t care too much about D&D, or fantasy settings, or turn-based combat. I had no previous experience with the franchise, or with Larian’s previous games. Basically what I’m saying is that I would never have picked this up if not for all the ridiculous, absurd, absolutely hyperbolic acclaim from every corner of the dang internet. But here’s something you all already know…..it deserves it. Every bit of it! Baldur’s Gate 3 is an absolutely stunning achievement that is easily the pinnacle of its genre and will be delighting RPG fans for years to come. The core of this game is, of course, the companions, who are some of the most well-written and loveable characters in any game, and have moving, poignant, and powerful arcs. From Borat voice my wife Shadowheart’s struggle with her beliefs, to Astarion’s reckoning with his past, to Lae’zel’s…..well, also struggle with her beliefs but in a different way, to Literally Everything Karlach Does Or Says Ever, they’re all so memorable and phenomenally fleshed-out, so much fun to have in your camp. But wait, hang on, actually maybe the core of this game is how well it lets you be exactly the kind of character you want to me, with amazing customisation and a host of fantastic dialogue options (especially if you play as a Bard with Speak to Animals, iykyk) that let you really be your character and have them feel as real as any of the NPCs that surround you. But wait! Because maybe the core of this game is the vibrant, sprawling world, with so many interesting locations and factions. Or maybe it’s the main storyline, which has strong stakes and a bunch of intriguing twists and turns. Or maybe it’s the combat, which allows you to tackle encounters in so many different ways, with almost any crazy idea you could have for using your powers working out. Whatever the case may be, the truth is that the real magic of this game is how all these things work alongside each other to create maybe the most satisfying role-playing experience the medium of video games has ever seen. And yet I still put four games ahead of it! What a year, seriously. 04. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (2023)  Quick note that I’m including the 2.0 update as part of this ranking. Honestly, I loved this game even when it was a broken mess. I got a PS5 on launch more because I knew this wouldn’t play well on a PS4 than for any of the actual PS5 games, and I loved it, even though it crashed Over One Hundred Times, and UI elements would be stuck on my screen for hours, and there was basically no enemy AI, and it removed my hair every time I looked in the mirror. I was happy to hear that the many patches they released had led to performance improvements, and when they announced that the Phantom Liberty DLC - exciting enough in itself - was not all they had in store, but that a free update to version 2.0 would revamp many features, I knew a full replay was imminent. So I put around 125 hours into this game again over just under a month in September and October, I took and uploaded over 150 screenshots (only picking one for the image above was a loving nightmare), and I explored every inch of Night City - and the new DLC area, Dogtown - all over again. Simply put, I’m just so so happy the work was put in to help this amazing game reach its full potential. First of all, Night City is, to me, just about the most well-realised open world in any game. This time around I walked almost everywhere, simply because I loved taking in the world, especially the aesthetic and architecture. Each area having its own unique look while still being a unified whole is so impressive, and no other open world makes me just want to exist in it, without any particular objective, as much as this one. The story remains absolutely excellent and imo even better than Witcher 3’s, with so many realistically human characters who I feel true affection for, especially mother fuckin Keanu, with the relationship between him and V being one of the most well-written in any game, The gunplay is visceral and weighty and extremely fun - not exactly DOOM or anything, but super satisfying. I also chose to go the hacking route this time around, and while it is a bit surface-level, it’s still a lot of fun to completely wreck enemies’ poo poo in about two seconds with a couple quickhacks to the dome. Basically I just love playing this game, I love exploring in this game, I love interacting with the characters in this game, I love driving and shooting and all the other things you do in this game, I love it I love it I love it!! And that’s before we even get to the 2.0 upgrades and DLC. The revamps to things like the skill tree are so welcome, actually making it feel like you’re building a character and the upgrades you pick matter, and I also love the more recent additions like the dates and transit system (given what I said before, you best believe I booted this game up and rode the subway for multiple hours in the background while doing other stuff when it released). And Phantom Liberty joins the ranks of Witcher Blood and Wine and Bloodborne The Old Hunters as one of the best packs of DLC ever released, from the enticing spy thriller story (and suitably moody/excellent music), to the dense new location that adds a more chaotic element to the city, to the amazingly well-realised new characters and heart-rending potential endings, it’s an incredible addition to an unbelievably great game that is finally, finally getting the acclaim it deserves. Death to the corporats who pushed this out the door too soon! Hooray for the devs who put the years in to fix it! 03. Chrono Trigger (1995)  It’s not really a secret if you know me on these forums - or hell, if you’ve seen the placements of the older FF games in this list - that RPGs from Japan, especially turn-based ones, are not really my bag. I’m not a fan of doing combat via selecting things in a menu, and the things that the genre tends to focus on with regards to storytelling are not exactly the things I value in a good story. But gently caress, sometimes a game just nails everything it’s doing so well and has such a perfect alchemy that it cannot help but bypass these issues and burrow its way directly into my heart. Last year, it was Dragon Quest XI, but this year it was something older and even better, a bonafide classic that in my opinion outshines its peers in so many ways that it leaves even something as beloved as FFVI in the dust. Ladies and gentlemen and other assorted humans, it’s mother fuckin Chrono Trigger!!!!!!!!! What’s good!!!!!!! Above all I think this has just the greatest set of characters I’ve ever seen in a JRPG, and I love them all unconditionally. Lucca is a loveable genius! Ayla is hilarious! Marle is a badass with an amazing jumping animation! Robo (or Robbo, if you’re veeg) is wonderful! Frog is a frog, but also has a heart-rending arc! All these characters are a joy to interact with, especially when there’s no weird pervy poo poo like certain kings in certain other games I played this year hitting on an eight year old. The central concept of time travel means the game is able to visit so many different eras all with their own gorgeous visual identities, and the story is absorbing and fun, especially when you get to wrap up all the character arcs at the end. The combat is very fun, too - the multi-character techs are an excellent addition, and it’s basically the exact level of difficulty I prefer in this kind of game, not boring but not too frustrating. And the music, the music!!!!! Even in a genre well-known for world-class scores, this might be the best I’ve ever heard, with so so many fantastic pieces that elevate the rest of the game to amazing new heights. It’s almost bizarre to me how much more I love this game than any other RPG from Japan I can think of. It just accomplishes so much while being so beautiful to look at and listen to and being so well-paced and nailing everything it’s going for, and deserves its reputation as a classic as much as any other game I’ve played. Just a superb, affecting, sumptuous, hilarious, fun video game. 02. Disco Elysium (2019)  There was a recent discussion in the PS5 thread about how people can be extremely annoying when they talk about this game, heaping hyperbolic praise on it in a way that comes across as irritating to some. Well, bad news, mother fuckers, because I’m about to do the same thing!!!!! I finally, finally played this game this year, after trying to start it twice before but always stopping due to it just being generally a bad time for it or something like that (one time I got all the way to the third day and then got overwhelmed by the new area), and good lord was it just everything I wanted, needed, and hoped for. This is very possibly the most well-written game ever made, the most emotionally resonant game ever made, the funniest game ever made, and one of the best mixtures of the heartfelt and strongly political in any piece of media I’ve ever consumed. I’m doing it, aren’t I? Well, get over it! This game is genuinely that good. Disco Elysium is set in a world that creator Robert Kurvitz and his team had been developing for almost twenty years beforehand, fleshed out via tabletop campaigns and containing thousands of years of history, and despite only being set in one district of one city of one country in the world, the weight of all that history is behind every line, building, and character, and so much of it plays into the story in extremely important ways - it’s easily one of the best settings I’ve ever seen in a game. The story itself - a murder mystery being investigated by you, a bender-induced amnesiac detective - is incredibly satisfying and captivating, and all the plethora of characters you meet throughout the course of the investigation, many of whom have their own angles and secrets, are among the most well-drawn characters in the history of the medium. But the best character - yes, even better than Cuno or Kim - is you, and the sheer amount of options available to you to ensure you can make your detective whoever you want - a psychic drug-addled lunatic? A fascist lunatic? An actual good detective, but still a lunatic, and probably a communist? - is almost mind-boggling. The oil painting-inspired art style is absolutely beautiful, and the score is extremely evocative. And the humour…..I mean jfc, this game is so funny in so many ways it can make your head spin, both in the dialogue and the sheer amount of ridiculous poo poo you can get your character to do. It provokes belly laughs on a level almost unparalleled. That paragraph there only scratches the surface of the level of love I have for this game. Once I was done, I was so desperate for more, I devoured the wiki and read the fan-translated version of Kurvitz’s 2013 novel Sacred and Terrible Air, the only other piece of media set in the world of Elysium to date (it’s really good btw!), and it depresses me to no end that the current bullshit with ZA/UM means the creator of the world no longer holds the rights to it and we may never see a “true” continuation or expansion of the universe. But no matter what we will always have this remarkable masterpiece, a work of art that transcends medium and genre to become one of the best stories I’ve ever consumed, and one I know I will be replaying for many years to come, trying out different character types to see what other options are available to me. And in the meantime, maybe it’ll come across as annoying to some, but they will simply have to deal. Hell, writing all this almost made me put it in my first place, but ultimately there was one game that’s just undeniable…… 01. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)  When it comes down to it, video games are things you play. That sounds incredibly obvious and stupid when you just say it like that, but it’s true! This interactivity is what defines the medium - even with visual novels you’re pressing a button to get to the next bit - and for me the best games will always be the ones that best emphasise that spirit of play, of doing something for pure enjoyment, unadulterated fun that leaves you feeling like you’re a child again, almost refreshed in a way. No game has ever, ever, ever brought out that feeling in me more than Tears of the Kingdom did. And that it didn’t just do once, but pretty much constantly, causing me to cackle with glee, smile, and feel like my playtime was being rewarded for almost every single second of the hours I put into this. Trust me, when I say hours I mean hours - when it leaked I put something like 80 hours into it on my laptop and 65 hours on my Deck, before it then released properly and I played another 170+ hours on my Switch. Naturally, this involved doing a loving ton of the game multiple times, but I had absolutely no problem with this, because it remained just as joyous an experience every single time. Breath of the Wild was already a phenomenal, GOAT-level game, but TotK took everything good about it and amplified it while improving on the things I was less enthused about. You thought the tools in BotW were fun and allowed for killer experimentation? Here is perhaps the greatest set of abilities ever collected in a video game, allowing you to exit caves with ease, send projectiles flying back in enemies’ faces, attach a mushroom to the end of a big stick, and most importantly create any manner of ridiculous contraptions via Ultrahand, an absolute miracle of coding that propels the already best-in-show physics engine to amazing new heights. No matter what you want to make there will likely be a way to get it to work, and if not it’ll probably be hilarious when it fails. Meanwhile, this version of Hyrule has been greatly expanded with the addition of the sky islands and depths, creating such amazing verticality and adding so much variety - the sky islands are a blast, while navigating the depths was frequently such an unnerving and tense experience (I’m very grateful I got all the lightroots before learning about the easy glider, as that would have cheapened the experience too much). But also the regular overworld is different enough to remain exciting, with the changes from the previous game being legitimately fascinating and an expanded focus on character stories that helps Hyrule feel like a living breathing world in a way the previous game didn’t manage. Plus the main story, while a little too similar to BotW structurally, is overall much improved, with some genuinely excellent reveals and exciting moments - and where BotW faltered in its climax, this one absolutely loving nails it, I mean jesus, it got me so hype. There really was no competition for the top spot this year. It’s unbelievable just how much joy this game gave me, how much fun it packs into every single moment, how much it encourages experimentation and play within an existing world in a way very very few other games ever have. Nintendo - who are famously extremely rigid in many ways - really made a game where the primary focus is seeing how you can break it over your knee, and in the process created maybe the most fun game of all time. A common reason I see for people not enjoying this as much as they wanted is because they’re not into building/crafting in games, and it really baffles me, because I am usually like that but this game just makes it so fun and easy it overcame every issue I had with it. I can’t think of any other game that has made me this consistently happy over such an extended period of time. In a banner year for gaming, this still managed to easily beat out every possible competitor and become, hell, very likely my new favourite video game of all time. Just when I thought From were beginning to overtake Nintendo in my “makes the best games in the world” rankings, Nintendo went and moved the goalposts. Wow. Thank you for reading. This is always such an amazing thread, and I love reading your lists and being able to contribute myself. I can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for us! Easier top 10 for rankings: 10. Tchia 09. Metroid Prime Remastered 08. Alan Wake II 07. Armoured Core VI: Fires of Rubicon 06. Citizen Sleeper 05. Baldur’s Gate 3 04. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty 03. Chrono Trigger 02. Disco Elysium 01. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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Dec 30, 2023 00:45
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okay
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Dec 30, 2023 20:37
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nobody: Microline: struggeled
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Dec 30, 2023 20:43
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This is the best thread in the world All your lists are amazing and I am so glad I gifted Gollum to veeg and then made sure his wife forced him to accept it so it will be his first streamed game of 2024 when you fall for 365 deez nuts jokes in a year, despite knowing this competition is happening the entire time, you really loving deserve it
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Dec 30, 2023 23:09
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I appreciate you all very much
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Dec 30, 2023 23:40
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Kerrzhe posted:wait no don't do this Yeah!! 101% it. 100 is pointless.
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Dec 31, 2023 00:37
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Aipsh posted:It simply wouldn’t be a proper GOTY thread without Don’t forget this clip https://clips.twitch.tv/SpeedyGoldenHamburger4Head-gXCvW3OzRps9nc3C
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Dec 31, 2023 02:26
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Hollow Knight is really fuckin amazing, huh
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Dec 31, 2023 02:37
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“Entering closed”
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Jan 1, 2024 10:31
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Urinary retention Rusty: “I won’t piss”
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Jan 1, 2024 18:12
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I’ll show myself out
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Jan 1, 2024 18:13
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I bought (played on game pass) Pentiment based on last year’s thread and completed it in enough time for it to make my top 5 that year!! Such a brilliant game, god drat. Also yes Perfect Dark is still so good. I used to waste hours even just in the base area.
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Jan 5, 2024 16:28
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For my special list I present Top 10 Things VideoGames Said While Streaming In 2023. We only started compiling a spreadsheet of his quotes towards the end of the year, but even in that short space of time there were some real classics: 10. “You can’t be on the phone if you’re dead.” 09. “Wait, are the Yiga Clan friends with Ganon?” 08. “Am I stuck? No, I just couldn’t move.” 07. “It’s not the journey, but, uh, the, um, off-ramp.” 06. “I like the word ‘question mark’. Actually it’s two words. I like the two words ‘question marks’.” 05. “I hit him with lightning, and then I do attacks on him, and then he discharges all over me.” 04. “22 is more than 20, isn’t it? Let me think. 20…..plus 1, plus 2, is 22.” 03. “I don’t wanna be gimp bones!” 02. “Y’s not a vowel! A, O, U, I…….and something.” 01. “You can’t hurt hot with hot. Spikes no to plasma.” Thank you to veeg for running the thread solo this year and also for his streams being a consistent highlight of my week for over three years now. Also hey why not check out the veeg stream highlight videos I made here and here!
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Jan 6, 2024 12:03
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I read every list and I’m still pretty sure TotK will be #2. If it isn’t that will be a huge but also fun surprise!
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Jan 13, 2024 01:25
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Outer Wilds absolutely a goat contender
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Jan 13, 2024 14:35
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I adore Hollow Knight. Maybe I should play it again…..dammit, this backlog is never getting done
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Jan 13, 2024 14:53
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Subscribing to Regy’s “what game should people play next” newsletter
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Jan 13, 2024 14:55
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livin a live, livin a live ah, ah, ah, ah
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Jan 13, 2024 14:58
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Citizen Sleeper is such a drat good game jesus veeg hasn’t used any of my quotes yet. what a bully!!!!!!
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Jan 13, 2024 15:20
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Quite surprised Gaiden didn’t rank higher. What other surprises do we have to come!!!!!
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Jan 13, 2024 15:33
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