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 68 items
Great game start, however loses steam towards second half and especially in the last stretch followed by a strong ending - making the game rather un-even. Personal ranking in series - 2 > 1 > 3 > Torna > Future Connected yet to play X
*Complete playthrough for the first time* + Mood, setting and overall story is memorable from start to finish(s) + Music amplifies the world of mystic, serene yet sadness of how the world is it is + Varied gameplay mechanic between playable characters keep things fresh + Optional side quest, while quite simple fetch quests, adds in narrative additions that gives depth to the whole "why" proposition - The way they have depicted the game could've been set differently to make sure more players play through all "playthroughs" (which works more like chapters in an end to end story) Wow... what an experience... Few years back I did finish the first playthrough of the game (2B story), but at the time with so many other games to play, and the story seemingly finishing with satisfying end to the threads, I was ok to let it go back on the shelf. After all these years though, having forgotten majority of "talks" about the games structure and story, I decided to do a full playthroughs and boy was it worth it. The depth to the characters, story it builds, universe it expands and grander theme to the story makes the first playthrough just a tip of the ice burg. I'm glad to have played it "properly" this time and for this game to make this much impression on me after all these years, is the testament to quality of the game direction and how it was all pulled together with the development house.
+ Visual design + Level design + Great flow + Intriguing setting that hooks you to explore to learn more not because you have to, but you want to if I played this game last year, it would've easily been in my top 10 games of the year. Even after hearing a lot of good things about it, from the moment I decided to play, it got me progressively hooked and finish the game in relatively length binge sessions. What would I do different? - like feedback on Eastward, while not for all dialogue, I think the game would've benefited for having few key scenes with voice acting to define more setting and character
+ Cute and charming characters and premise + Fun gameplay with enough challenge for those who wants to dig deeper + Perfect game for younger audiences to play with an adult + Overall presentation is a definite step up from previous Kirby games - Majority of the "main" game portion's lack of challenge may turn people off who are after more progressive challenge - Sound effects feel rather empty (especially in cinematics) Kirby had quite a variety of outings outside of its main 2D-centric design. While not many have stood out, this one definitely will for presenting accessible gameplay, breezy but engaging and fun design and just cute charming visuals. This game stands tall to become the third pillar of Nintendo platform / adventure games on the Nintendo switch that's good for the whole family - Mario Odyssey, Luigi's Mansion 3 and this.
+ Design that encourages exploration that gives nice balance of risk & reward + Wealth of items and unlockables you discover gives ongoing sense of joy + Story and characters are charming and fascinating that also helps boost your quest for glory - On switch, despite what looks to be a simplistic design presentation wise, still has performance issues, which is jarring - Considering all the different unlockables available, I find it puzzling the map system doesn't give you more to notate or mark some meaningful notes It's a game that I knew nothing about, gave it a whirl, and had pretty much non-stop play for 20 odd hours to 100% map & item on the first playthrough. Would love to see what this developer tackles as their next game.
+ Visual design + Tight but explorable world design that encourages exploration + World of secrets that gets you investigating - Combat
+ Game is technically beautiful even in 2022... but - Main game's (not the Frozen Wilds expansion as that has much better production on animation in general) stilted conversation character animation takes you right out of the experience + Overall story I found intriguing and had me wanting to see it play out - Quest loop structure is overly repetitive and old.. just adding to the busy work - Dated movement / traversal mechanics stick out from its peers (e.g. Assassin's Creeds, Shadow of Mordor, Breath of the wild) - Despite it being a big world.. which it is... the way how the landscape is designed and laid out make it feel very small.... Played it for the first time now that 2 was out. Main game while disappointing in number of parts had enough story hooks to get me through. I wasn't so interested in playing the DLC, but I've read comments that it improves on the main game quite a bit - almost making it feel like Horizon 1.5 - and they were right. DLC, while not carrying as much weight to the story, gave me much more anticipation to play the sequel as the presentation package were much better fleshed between the looks and animations.
