by reddirect
So what can be said about this year's slate of interactive entertainment? To my mind, it is, frustratingly, a year dominated by disappointments more than successes. Plenty of big games came out, but a lot of them had frustrating flaws that kept them from fully delivering on their promises. A sparkling selection of smaller, indie games emerged to fill in their spaces. And hanging over all of it was this special, practically flawless experience that came out in February and was so demonstratively the best game of the year all year that it made any debate in these final weeks feel like a bit of a shoulder shrug. I liked a ton of games, but I'm not sure that I loved that many.
My free-time dwindled as I ventured back into graduate school. My focus on the games industry as a whole dipped significantly. I think part of me is sad that there's just so little to be truly excited for this year. Maybe it's the COVID dip, maybe it's just my own lessening engagement. There's certainly plenty in next year's list that excites me. But I've also grown a bit cautious that a big name or expectations don't always hold firm.
Here are the games I played and how I felt about them. Start at the bottom and work your way up.
Showing 1-10 of 20 items
How do you begin to talk about a game like Elden Ring? Not since Breath of the Wild has a game so instantaneously been hailed as the next landmark moment in the ongoing evolution of interactive digital media. It's for good reason. Elden Ring is a game that you can give to twenty different people, and each will find their own unique way through its sprawling campaign. The map is so big. The bosses are so hard. The landscapes are so gorgeous. The challenge is so immense. I have yet to clear the final boss, but Elden Ring stands a shoulder above even Dark Souls as From Software's crowning achievement. Look at the universal praise levied at this game and tell me otherwise. A titanic achievement that everyone must experience.
God of War Ragnarok has received a surprisingly milquetoast reception from some outlets, and I'm shocked. All those folks who loved 2018's masterpiece suddenly got sick of axe combat and sad dads? This is just as good as that last game, if not better. The story may not fully deliver on its ending, but the moment-to-moment beats are so outrageously well acted that I felt like I was watching and HBO drama, and I know that at this point it's cliche to say that about Sony's first-party content, but damn, this game was great. Atreus was great! I thought his combat was fun, and I'm stoked for him to probably get his own game. Haven't yet mopped up the other trophies yet, but I'm going to settle in for a nice January grind early next year. All these characters are just so fantastic. Kratos, Atreus, Mimir, Freya, Brok, Sindri, plus a bunch of new ones. I'm glad the saga "ended" here, but I'm disappointed I don't have more to look forward to. One of the most cinematic and polished games I've played yet.
Speaking of one more run, let's hear it for Vampire Survivors. Is this game a guilty pleasure? I felt bad about placing it so highly, but the more I played, the more I came to understand it just could not go any lower than this. It's a simple game with practically no narrative. You just have to move your character. I was reminded a lot of Cookie Clicker, in that the joy is simply seeing the numbers go up. It's immensely satisfying, but like Cookie Clicker, I often had to square my satisfaction with that foreboding sense of "Oh my god, what am I doing with my life?" If you can overcome those feelings, Vampire Survivors is probably the game of the decade. Pure, unadulterated video game drugs. It makes you feel good and that's it. Play it free on mobile today!
Neon White's story is certainly something. Normally the intense anime energy radiating off of this would turn me of, but the speed running stages are so addicting, that I couldn't knock it. Watching professionals run through levels is crazy, but then you realize that you can sort of do the exact same maneuvers. Discovering shortcuts and new approaches is always satisfying. Turns out, I never even finished the main story. Nonetheless, few games felt as fun to play as Neon White this year, the perfect game for just one more run.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a beautiful, noble attempt to strike out into new territory. It is the greatest reinvention of the Pokemon franchise ever. It fundamentally changes the way that you explore this world and interact with these creatures. It surprised me, and it frustrated me. But at its core, I think this is what I want more of compared with Scarlet and Violet. As I've gotten older, the intricacies of turn-based battles have grown to be too much to manage. I know plenty of folks who still need that, but I'll be disappointed if we never see another Legends game in the future. There's a great formula to build on here. I was terrified of encountering some Pokemon in the wild. I was passionately filling out my Pokedex again. I was enjoying the varied landscapes reminding me of Sinnoh. There's just a ton to like here, even in spite of the general jankiness. We got a Qwilfish AND a Stantler evolution!
I devoured Tinykin in two sittings. Ravenously stuffed it down my throat. Tinykin takes all of the fun of Pikmin, removes all of the stressful components, and emphasizes action, action, action. Sliding around on a bar of soap in a 1991 household has never felt so good. Building a ladder is amazing, blowing up various objects is delightful, collecting everything is fulfilling. The shame is the main game is really only about six hours. There's still lots to collect in the aftermath, though it does grow much more frustrating when you're scouring an entire map for three pieces of nectar. Tinykin has a ton of flavor in a small package. Any fan of Pikmin should pick this up as a tasty appetizer before the main course of Pikmin 4 hits next year.
I'm a sucker for a collectible card game, and when news broke that Ben Brode was cooking up something new, I was always going to be on board, even if it wasn't a complete celebration of all things Marvel. How is Snap able to differentiate itself from the competition? Let me count the ways: 1) Matches happen in a fraction of the time compared to Pokemon, Hearthstone, or Magic. 2) There's wagering involved in every game! Nothing feels better than going all in and hearing that "Oh SNAP!" 3) The card collections cannot be earned through monetary transactions - something that Legends of Runeterra got right years ago. 4) Super limited decks pace means that deck building is a breeze. There's not quite as much depth to this one as other card games, and the constant changing of the locations each match means sometimes you're just at the mercy of the randomizer. But Snap looks and plays sharp, the animations are great, and it's bursting at the seems with reverence for some classic characters. An easy recommendation for anyone who has enjoyed any mobile card game in the past ten years.
Nobody Saves the World succeeds by always tempting me to play five more minutes. If I hit three more enemies with my sword as the Knight, then I can upgrade that transformation to the next level, which will unlock a new form. I'll get new abilities, which I can eventually mix and match with my other forms. The combat is speedy, the dialogue is snappy, and the end result is a game which is a joy to smash through. It's a simple game, and it doesn't require much thought, but that compulsion to press on is an irresestible one.
Death's Door was my favorite game of last year. The return to classic isometric Zelda gameplay and charming writing was just a delight from start to finish. It was one of the rare games where I played it all the way through a second time immediately upon finishing it because I loved it so much. It makes sense that Tunic would be equally up my alley. Still inspired by classic Zelda, the combat is a little weightier a la Dark Souls, and nearly the entirety of the game is hidden behind a language that you can't decode. So while the combat takes center-stage, there's also a central mystery you're working to unravel by collecting these pages from a game manual. It's all so lovingly crafted that it feels like an obvious contender for Game of the Year in any slot this past decade. And yet Tunic is a game that I want to like a whole lot more than I actually do. The puzzle-solving becomes outrageously obtuse in the end- and post-game. I'm no genius, but I can't believe the developers expect players to figure out some of these codes and secrets on their own without looking up guides. The lack of overt dialogue also keeps the narrative at a bit of a distance, again similar to Dark Souls. There are a lot of people who celebrate what this game has accomplished, but I wish I was more in love with the finished product.
The Delicious Last Course is making an appearance on this top ten list because it's more of a sequel than Overwatch 2 is. Cuphead is a modern delight, a creation that will likely be sequel-ized more times over than Shovel Knight. The gameplay here is sharp and demanding as ever. The bosses' animations make the base game look simple in comparison. I blew through each of the stages in a little under a week. There's not a ton here, but the prospect of new Cuphead at all is cause for celebration.
