Hello again!
Work and my kiddos have kept me busy over the last year, but I was able to sneak in some game time. Most importantly, I was able to do a lot more game playing with my older son. He’s developing his own interests and tastes in games. It’s amazing to see him work through challenges and light up when something clicks. That said, here are the games we* played this year, that made the biggest impact on us.
*I tried to get some descriptions for Charlie's list, but he wasn't too interested in providing them.
Mike's Honorable Mentions
Charlie's Honorable Mentions
Showing 1-10 of 10 items
Mike's #1 I picked this back up this year on a lark even before the hype for Ragnarok starting ramping up. I was looking for a story-driven game I could keep with since I was burnt out on open-worlds. The story is compelling. The combat, even in the most tense encounters, feels (mostly) fair. And the music has the right bombast, gravitas, subtlety, etc when it matters. I can’t wait to eventually play Ragnarok.
Mike's #2 It’s a rogue-like with dice! It reminds me a lot of the Suffering Game arc from The Adventure Zone. And it runs great on mobile, and was so easy to jump in and out of. A great way to kill time while putting my youngest down for a nap. Also, the music slaps. 10/10.
Mike's #3 The first card game in a long time they didn’t make me feel like I was too dumb be good at it. There is no meta-game or way to buy your way to the top (yet). It’s very straightforward: whoever has the highest number in the most lanes wins. It’s really fun collecting different variants because they all have great art. Most importantly, the matches are five minutes max.
Mike's #4 Come for the rogue-like combat arenas and town building mechanics. Stay for the juxtaposition of cute woodland creatures committing evil and questionable acts in the name of shadowy deity. The town building stuff was a little bit intense especially when I forgot to pick up some poop from my followers. But the overall package is worth your time.
Mike's #5 It’s a nostalgia play, I know. But they improved so many things from the original game. The beat’em up action is as tight as it ever was on the SNES. There are unique challenges in each level that bump up the replay value. Tee Lopes’s take on the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, full of callbacks to the original. It’s just fun to play a good TMNT game again.
Charlie's #1
Charlie's #2
Charlie's #3
Charlie's #4
Charlie's #5