Amanda (aka Pando) works in games PR and can often be found on her Twitch channel playing RPGs.
Wow, video games, huh? Despite playing a LOT of them, I still don’t think I’ve been able to play as many as I would like, especially this year (I really do want to check out Dispatch)! And there have been tons of great games coming out. My list isn’t particularly revolutionary (“Wow, Pando, the most lauded games of the year are your favourites? How…original.”) but what can I say, they are good games. And who knows? Maybe my take on them will be at least a little interesting or somehow convince you to try them! Additionally, some of my favourites I didn’t get to finish yet, but I wanted to talk about them anyway! So here we go:
8. Is this Seat Taken?
In Is This Seat Taken?, you help little shapes find a spot to sit, whether it’s in the park, at a cool club, or on the bus. These are choosy little shapes, and they can be sensitive to smells (no cologne or stinky shapes, please). Some just want to read in peace, and others want to listen to their music without headphones. Frankly: NEEDY. But fun! The game isn’t particularly difficult or too much of a mind-bending puzzler, but it’s cozy and cute, and that’s just what I’m looking for sometimes. When you get that perfect seating arrangement, it’s very satisfying and quite addictive!
7. Consume Me
A semi-autobiographical game by Jenny Jiao Hsia, Consume Me, is about navigating the awkward and confusing years of being a teen girl. A relatable story that resonated with me, as well as leaving me inspired; I love seeing how game creators use the medium to tell real and sometimes difficult stories. I haven’t had the chance to finish it yet, I want to play even more, and I’m desperate to get back to it!
6. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Alright, I have to admit something to you. I actually haven’t played Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles yet. What I did play was the original version of Final Fantasy Tactics earlier this year, and it was one of my favourite gaming experiences I had. It’s a really good game! And from what I understand, so is the remaster (remake?). It’s not very often that I can fail an encounter repeatedly and not get frustrated, but instead, just get excited to figure out the puzzle! Tactics gives me that feeling in SPADES. There’s never been a better time than now to play this All-Timer, so if you haven’t played it - do it!
5. Demonschool
You’re telling me, a Persona-obsessed FREAK, that a game heavily inspired by PSX-era Persona titles would pique my interest? Yeah, it’s true! I’d been following Demonschool’s development ever since Necrosoft revealed the game in 2022, and I was SO EXCITED to finally get my hands on it. The art is beautiful and stylish, the gameplay is like if Persona and Into The Breach were mushed together, and so far the story has been engaging and fun! It just came out a few weeks ago, so I haven’t had the chance to finish it, but it’s absolutely one of my favourite games this year!
4. Blue Prince
“‘Blue Prince’, like ‘blueprints’, haha, I get it,” I said out loud to nobody in particular. And then I lost an entire two weeks of my life in a heady mess of notebook pages, ink, and comparing it all to small images in-game, wondering if it all MEANT something. While I solved many mysteries and played for many hours after the first “ending”, I figured it was best for my sanity to step away and move on to something else. Still, it was some of the most fun I’ve had with any game this year.
3/2. Hollow Knight: Silksong / Hades II
I struggled with whether Hades II or Silksong was my 2nd or 3rd favourite game of the year. Honestly, it could be either one of them. They are both sequels to games I put in my top 3 favourite games of ALL TIME. They also came out weeks apart from one another, whether as a reward or a punishment for me in particular, I cannot say. Honestly, I don’t know what could be said about either of these games that probably hasn’t been said by someone more eloquent or better at this whole thing than me, so I will just say: dang. These were some really good games. Like, really good games. They might have been the tip of the top if it wasn’t for my #1 game having been released this year as well.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
When I, your humble JRPG superfan, first saw Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 announced at its first Xbox Showcase, I was intrigued but uncertain. When I saw it again, as Sandfall Interactive did a deeper dive on the game itself, I grew excited. Then, during that same presentation, game director Guillaume Broche said, “And yes, we have a World Map.” I knew that they understood the mission, and I trusted them completely.
Listen, I’m not here to tell you that Sandfall Interactive brought back the turn-based JRPG (I haven’t stopped playing them, they didn’t go anywhere, I know this), but for the first time, I felt like I was playing the modern evolution of the RPGs I was playing on the original PlayStation. As an elder millennial, this era and genre is what got me into gaming in the first place, and honestly, if it wasn’t for Final Fantasy VIII, I probably wouldn’t be here writing this list right now! Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is really just an incredible game in my favourite genre. It felt nostalgic, super fun to play, and with a story and characters that I just wanted to hang with forever. This game ended up being very important to me on multiple levels, and is 100% my game of the year!