Anthony Thomas is an Epic Games hacker dork who cannot seem to give your child free V-Bucks, but he did teach Bakalar everything he knows about fixing pinball machines. Even more impressive, he is regularly one of team Giant Bomb's top independent Extra Life fundraisers, clearing nearly $35k in just the last two years alone.
Games I wish I had more time for:
- Birdcage
- I’m a sucker for shmups! Cave, Treasure, just hook them to my veins.
- Sektori (see previous statement)
- Hades 2
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
- I started playing this yesterday, and two hours in, I already suspect it would have made my list had I put more time into it
- Dispatch
- Kingdoms of the Dump
On to the show…
10. Doom: The Dark Ages
I’m a sucker for gratuitous violence and gore, which Doom has been delivering in spades for over 30 years now. I know there’s a story, but I sure couldn’t tell you anything about it. Sometimes all I want to do is mindlessly bash on demons (some of which are 200 feet tall), and that’s when I turn to Doom.
It’s hard to disregard a game that gives you a chainsaw shield.
9. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
- “New”
If there’s an opportunity to talk about MvC2 and X-Men vs. Street Fighter, you can bet your ass I’m going to do it. As a weirdo who loves fighting games, collects arcade games, and has setups dedicated to these two games; I’m overjoyed to finally be able to play them on modern hardware. The Arcade Classics collection brought us new versions of some of the best fighting games ever made, and I absolutely love it.
8. Schedule I
- Do you guys like my sick golden skateboard?
Schedule 1 may not have the most compelling plot or blow you away with mechanics, but it is certainly one of the games that brought me the most laughs. I spent dozens of hours with friends building our drug empire, skating around the streets of Hyland Point, avoiding police, and combining the most absurd ingredients possible to fuel the addictions of our clientele. Schedule 1 easily makes this list for me and gets extra points for having a strain named “Purple Assblaster.”
7. Lies of P: Overture
In 2023, Lies of P managed to cement its place as one of my favorite Souls-likes, and possibly my favorite, full-stop (it's coming for you, Dark Souls). Overture takes everything Lies of P accomplished and manages to improve on it. Thematically, it was interesting to go from a world infested with corrupted puppets to a snowy world where giant red kangaroos kicked my face in. The increased challenge and new weapon experimentation of Overture reminded me of what I love about this game. It's an incredibly polished and lovingly crafted experience that I think every fan of Souls-likes should try.
6. Öoo
Clocking in at right around two hours, Öoo isn't exactly the longest game, but man, did I enjoy my time with it.
Öoo is a puzzle game starring a caterpillar with a bomb for a butt. The only unlock in this game is a second exploding butt. You then use your butt to solve a variety of puzzles throughout a small interconnected map. While it may not sound like much on the surface, I felt the presentation truly left an impression. Every level introduces new mechanics, the majority of which are not held back by the second bomb; they instead place you in precarious situations that force you to piece together the solutions using your existing abilities. The game manages to seamlessly teach you these mechanics without ever explicitly showing you, so you get to feel like the smartest person in the world every time you solve a new puzzle. I wish I could erase my memories of this game to experience it again.
5. Skin Deep
Skin Deep is the funniest game I have played since Jazzpunk. While the humor may not be the central aspect of this game, it is what made it stick for me. You play as Nina Pasadena, an “insurance commando”, who has been tasked with rescuing space-faring cats from pirates. You spend your time sneaking around ships, crafting explosives out of soap, and popping pirate heads off (and subsequently flushing them down the toilet). The absurd narrative crafted around Skin Deep pulled me in and easily made it one of my favorite games this year. Plus, the cats are pretty cool.
4. ARC Raiders
Historically, I have not been a fan of extraction shooters, but for some reason, Arc Raiders seems to be bucking this trend with a lot of people, myself included. Embark has put a lot of care into the design of Arc Raiders, and it certainly shows. They’ve managed to craft an extraction game where losing doesn't feel like losing. No matter what, you never leave a game empty-handed, whether it takes the form of something you shoved in your “pocket” or loot delivered to you by your faithful chicken. This does a lot to make the game feel like less of a grind where you constantly start from zero.
The community aspect of Arc Raiders has also been fascinating. More often than not, I find myself working with other raiders rather than being shot by them; hell, I've even had another raider come in and save me from a hostile. It's a fascinating experience compared to most shooters. The quests keep me coming back, and the PVE continues to be interesting and terrifying. Embark has crafted something special here that I'm sure I'll be playing for quite a while.
3. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indy came out quite late last year, so I think it's fair to consider it this year. The Great Circle (and the DLC!) was easily one of my favorite games this year. I was initially expecting something very Uncharted-esque, which is not at all what I got. The Great Circle feels like playing through a classic Indiana Jones movie in the best way possible. The game even opens with the classic Indy boulder scene! The plot flows naturally, the puzzles are all fun and interesting, and they don’t throw the solutions out in front of you if you take three seconds too long, like some games tend to do. There is also a fantastic mixture of stealth and combat in the game. I think if you really wanted to, you could play this like a Dishonored game and go through without killing anyone (outside of bosses). Personally, as much as I love stealth in a game, the allure of bludgeoning Nazis to death with a shovel was just too compelling. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, as well as the Order of the Giants DLC, make for a fantastic experience for both Indy veterans and neophytes alike.
2. The Outer Worlds 2
- You can wear a bucket on your head. What more could you want?
I’ve never been much for these types of RPGs (Fallout, Elder Scrolls, etc.), but something about The Outer Worlds 2 hits different. The writing and some of the more absurd game mechanics are doing a lot of heavy lifting to make this game hit home with me. The political propaganda, which is central to the story, feels heavily influenced by Starship Troopers and works well without being too tongue-in-cheek. Obsidian has made this one of the more interesting RPGs I’ve played in years. The Flaw system in particular stands out as incredibly unique:
“Hey man, we noticed you crouch a lot. How would you like it if you moved 50% faster while you were crouched? By the way, every time you crouch, your knees crack so loudly that everyone within a 10m radius hears you. Sound good? Cool!”
Aside from the silly mechanics, the game is simply fun to play and has an interesting story full of exciting ways to casually poison entire towns in exchange for cool hats. I hope more people take the time to play it.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- Swimsuit gang
Expedition 33 is easily one of the best games I’ve played this decade, and from start to finish, I found it to be practically flawless. I had never even heard of this game before I started it, I simply saw it on Game Pass and figured I’d give it a shot. Typically, I don’t like turn-based RPGs, but there’s something captivating about Expedition 33, and I couldn't put it down. If you know nothing about this game or this story, then stop reading reviews and go play it now. The story and characters are too good to risk spoiling.
Expedition 33’s storyline is thrilling and pulled me in from the start. The intro cinematic, slowly leading up to the reveal of the Gommage, is one of the best pieces of video game storytelling I’ve seen in years. I found myself questioning why this group of expeditioners would be so willing to march out to their deaths until the reveal of The Paintress put it all into color (heh). The gameplay mechanics are beautifully executed and contribute heavily to why I love this game so much. I’m a sucker for both Souls-likes and rhythm games, which this game touches on with the perfect timing and execution of parrying and dodging mechanics. I was hooked by the gradual addition of game mechanics, adding complexity as the game carries on.
The exquisite storytelling, innovative mechanics, and abundant baguettes make Expedition 33 one of the best games I have ever played.