With a lot of games out there in the wild, I often don't get the chance to play these games until years after the release.
Games listed here aren't limited to games that came out this year, but essentially games that I have played this year, that has made an impression on me to mention, let it be good or bad.
Showing 1-10 of 79 items
For a person that's not a big fan of rogue-likes and souls type, this game blended enough mix of interesting narrative around a game structure with very tight game design that gives you one of the tightest and satisfying moment to moment gameplay. Someone said it pretty nicely where the game mixes in great blend of Metroid Prime, Castlevania, Rogue-like and Souls-like mechanics. Suffice to say I didn't have high expectation for this game as there were few visual elements that didn't click with me, however despite that, it's given me quite a bit of addiction to try better my luck risking and learning more.
Having only played the III earlier in this year - and getting pretty hooked on it, I was surprised to find quite a linkage to the third game here which made it even more immersive for me - perhaps this is the reason why they decided to release the remaster before the release of V. While technical performance isn't great on the Switch, game possesses great mechanisms of demon collecting, fusion, elemental affiliation battle design that gives much more depth and hardcore aspects JRPG fans can sink their teeth into. Overall narrative is an interesting one which in my younger years would not have enjoyed, however find it quite intriguing on what it's trying to present - ultimately making you to make choices on what the game's conclusion will be. There's a lot of content here, being one of the longer RPGs where my first playthrough was 60+ hours - and considering I've stuck with it till the end is a testament that this game will stay in special space in my memory.
Game felt very tightly designed with little to no filler, as by in large game discretely guides you constantly to making progress unless you go out your way to explore and experiment. For a game that is currently pitted to conclude the 2D Metroid saga, games story presentation and pay off does indeed leave a bit to desire for. What the game does accel at is the sheer finesse and polish in a tried and true genre it helped to define. Here's hoping this game helps to garner more interest in the franchise as a whole to Nintendo to possibly consider either remaking or remastering previous titles in more coherent collection.
+ Bowser's Fury Slight change to the main 3D World game makes the game far more fun and challenging at the same time. More easier way to enjoy multiplayer is a definite plus. Bowser's Fury component while shows familiar trope to Mario Odyssey it still has a unique take of its own which I hope Nintendo decides to explore more with the future iterations.
HD Version Having to play it and finish it once when it first came out on Wii (leaving an impression enough for it to stay as top Zelda game I've played), I was surprised how much of the game I have actually forgotten. This actually worked out for the better for me as other than the introduction parts and couple of key moments of the game, rest of the game came as a fresh surprise as if I was playing it again for the first time. Considering this was the Zelda game I've played since putting in a lot of hours in Breath of the Wild, Skyward Sword's focussed narrative structure that almost feels like playing Metroid somewhat - that majority is critiquing it as linear structure and repetitive use of levels - was certainly what I missed most while playing Breath of the Wild. It is clear my preference is to games that gets you to experience a crafted narrative rather than create one yourself within an open world. Nintendo time and time again shows game design and presentation that outlasts test of time - and Skyward Sword is no different. The HD visuals let's players better appreciate a deliberate dreamy and water-colour presentation aesthetics combined with orchestral soundtrack that manages to craft cinematic moments without the heavy usage of cinematics and voice acting. This time around I have decided to dedicate the play using button and tick controls.. and while the controls work, as well as making some elements much easier, I feel the additional immersion is lost playing it in this way. While it is good to have this alternative scheme, if you able to, playing it with motion controls is the way to go - considering it does work a lot better with Switch. Zelda is a remarkable franchise that I tend to deliberately only play once to finish. Having to revisit this in HD matched up to my nostalgia as well as a great retrospective on why I still regard this as one of the best Zelda games I'll remember having experienced - although it seems to be a minority opinion.
Had the game for a while, but for some reason only have decided to touch it recently while moving from few series of lengthy games. And oh boy what a good decision that was. This game is full of charm, drawing just enough inspiration from recognisable games while infusing it with it's own character and charm to create its own thing. Story starts simple, and it's really up to the player to discover and go through the journey looking for meaning in themselves. Minimal yet signature visuals and audio wraps together what is one of the most memory experience you get a rush for in a seating or two, and likely chances are, you won't complain that the game is too short, nor too long because the end experience it provides gives you a satisfying book-end to the journey you've been together.
While the core game mechanics haven’t changed much, refinement and maturity over many years and iterations over the series gives very well rounded & paced game that uses the new gen tech to give you a great blend of cinematic visuals and story that takes hold of you from start to finish. When you take away the visual flare, you might be disappointed slightly, but as a whole package, this gives you one of the most beautifully crafted comfort food of 3D action platform adventures.
This outing while feeling a bit more scaled back in terms of story scope and complexity, it comes off more personal and character driven, making it the most engaging entry in the LiS series. Main character Alex and other cast of cast of characters certainly leave you with a relatable story beats getting you pretty engaged from the start. Relatively easy, calm and relaxing setting of Haven Springs certainly eases you into the game. One key detractor from story point of view has to be rather quick turn in character emotions and behavior from episodes to episodes.... to an extent it can make the twist and turns relatively cheap and unearned.... however this may be the core downfall of having to play the game start to finish in two seating - this is both good and bad, as the game was so engaging making me want to play it quickly, but the overall story structure almost expected you not to binge through he whole season in short succession.
PS5 Inc Intermission While the PS5 re-issue gives you the feeling "this is the game it should've been" with exception of enhancements made possible thanks to the hardware, the package still gives you the chills and thrills "expanding" the meta that is Final Fantasy VII universe. Intermission DLC to an extent feels rather inconsequential depending on your investment in the game and your entry point - e.g. you played original VII, or you only started from VII Remake - but it does give you a rather interesting combat mechanics enabled by a new character.
It's hard to believe this is 1. an indie dev game, and 2. it's their first title as a studio. Game's overall polish, level design and presentation felt really good and while not outstanding in any metric, as a whole package it gives you a pretty good paced adventure much like what Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart did. Game holds little to no fluff, telling a story from start to finish with enough loose ends leaving you intrigued or hoping for a sequel / prequel to build out the universe.