I didnt play/finish a handful of games that I wanted to from last year and still havent had time, so ill probably amend this if/when I eventually get to them. Otherwise, I enjoyed everything on this list so im happy with whats here. Not the strongest year by any means, but still had plenty of good and interesting stuff I got to play
Most cheerful game I've played maybe ever, about saving a cold depressed world by singing, being supportive/friendly, and being unrelentingly positive. The story is great, especially effective as I played most of this game while pretty sad/depressed, the characters are all fun and meaningful, and the extra ending is really touching. Easily my favorite game from last year.
Finished in one sitting, awesome experience all around. Unbelievable feel and atmosphere for a tetris game. Music is incredible.
More hitman, just as good. Paris is still my favorite map, but I like most of these maps as much as anything after Paris. Generally speaking, the maps in 2 feel more purposeful and well thought out than the later ones in 1, both in terms of practicality/implementation and being fun to play. The two expansion maps are great, I love the Bank.
Best wwe wrestling game in a long time, easily the best since 2k took over. I'm part of the minority who enjoys the more deliberate way these 2k games have played, but the issue was always how sluggish and slow everything felt. In contrast, this game finally feels fluid and fast, while also retaining that same deliberate, methodical feel i liked about, like, 2k16. Especially now that 2k20 is back to being a flaming dumpster fire, its awesome to finally have a good, new wrestling game (in addition to firepro) while the rest of them continue to be dumpster fires
An appropriately ultimate package, which they are still adding to. I have no interest playing online or competitively, but even with just single player content theres a ton of game there.
I enjoyed how stupidly grounded this game is, even at the cost of gameplay. I was kind of asking for the exact game they made from the beginning of last year, so I enjoyed a lot what I played of it. And honestly, how it looks really did have an affect on my experience. One of my main complaints about RDR was how muddy it looked sometimes on ps3, where I had a hard time seeing animals and small critters at any time of the day. Having sharper visuals and much better draw distance means I can actually see deer and small animals in the dark, which made hunting a super fun and relaxing thing to do.
Certainly not the best yakuza game, but Kiwami 2 is an immense yakuza package and a much better implementation of the new engine than 6. Compared to 6, the combat and movement feel much better, less sluggish. Cabaret being back is awesome. Im not a fan of the story, at least the second half.
Really cool, short experience. Feels like a more puzzley journey to me, just as artistically impressive.
Satisfying 3-4hr puzzle game. Its super relaxing, put me in a zen-like mode the entire time I played.
The mechanics are so basic and simple, but playing and fixing a house is always incredibly satisfying. It's a relaxing game with not much in terms of difficulty or complexity, and the actual process of fixing is laborious like youre actually doing work, but completing and looking at your finished work is such a great feeling that it makes the hours of hard work all feel worthwhile.
