You know the deal. These are the games I played, and probably beat, and liked this year. Limiting my list to five since those are the games I liked enough to have more than a simple phrase about them.
Game that I enjoyed very much but didn't have much to say about them and just missed out on this list are, in no particular order, The Gunk, Blaster Master Zero 3, Genesis Noir, Mundaun, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, The Eternal Cylinder
I don't normally care for card-based games, but this one just hit perfectly for me, the combination of run-based gameplay, one might say rogue-like, and the way the plot unfolds. The ending was just perfect in my opinion.
This was my number one for a good while, then it battled with the next game on the list and came out on top. Then Inscryption came out of nowhere and was just almost tailor-made for me. Anyway, this is about Sable, and I should talk about Sable. This is an absolutely, stunningly beautiful game. Not just in the visuals, but in the lonely journey the main character takes on a voyage of self-discovery. I did everything in this game (except find all the grubs, though I do intend to start a new game and follow a guide of where they all are so I can check them all off) because I just enjoyed existing in that world. It is very melancholy to discover the history of the world and why everyone wears masks.
They finally put out a 2-d Metroid game that isn't a remake and it was phenomenal. I got 100% of the items and map before going to fight the last boss. Behind puzzle games, this is my favorite style of game and I have been playing Metroid games since the very first one on NES. I think this has taken the top spot of my favorite Metroid game from Super Metroid.
This game may have come out in 2020, but I played this this year when I wanted something I could take my time with and didn't want to need to react quickly to. Like Sable, this is a game about a journey, this time it is not self-discovery, it is the hunt for a missing acquaintance/co-worker. During the game, the player is directly addressed as the player takes the part of an unknown AI. I won't say more as that would give away too much of the plot and the history of the world the game takes place on, but again, it is a rather melancholy game. Right up my alley apparently.
Something about the smaller games this year. On paper, this game shouldn't work for me, but it is almost an idle game, and it did allow me to have it on while I was working when I was just trying to gather resources. Also, the plot is right in line with my likes and interests. I don't know, I can't really explain it, but this game has just stuck with me.
Holy shit this is far better than I expected. The plot is touching at times and the characterization of the group and secondary characters is excellent. Eidos knocked it out of the park with this. A major underlying theme to this game is grief and how do deal with letting go.
