by durandir
Been a weird year for me when it comes to games. I have played a bunch of new games, but I have finished less of them than normal. Some I have only played for a few hours. Instead I have played a handful of "eternal" games, like the Star Wars: Old Republic MMO on and off. I have also, once again, neglected my Switch. I think one of my issues is that I notice sub 60 frames a lot more, making playing games that are sub 60 frames worse for me. I am also mostly sitting in front of my PC, while my semi-wife occupies the couch and the PS5, so playing on the PC is just more convenient.
Anyway, I will try to write something for each of the games, but I am not a writer. I am old enough to understand that now, so I will try and refrain from waxing on too much. 1-10 is my "official list", while 11 and onwards are unranked honorable mentions.
EDIT: Also forgotten several games I had played on Gamepass, of course, so this will most likely change a bit...
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I am a Souls fan, evident from lists from previous years. The only two I have not played are Playstation exlusives, Demon Souls and Bloodbourne. I still think I put Sekiro just a hair above Elden Ring, but man... Elden Ring is something unique. For a game to have so many "Holy shit" moments should almost be impossible. Constant surprises, unparalleled gameplay and a great less-subtle-than-previous-games story. I just want more, despite beating it three times.
When God of War (2016) came out I eventually bought it on PS4. Played a small chunk then left it. Framerate bothered me enough to stop me. But then it came to PC. I did not regret double dipping, played and beat it completely. All Steam Achievements get. I thought to myself "man, this was great. Can't wait for Ragnarök to come to PC in a few years". Then we managed to get a PS5. So a week before launch, seeing all the chatter from games press, I caved in and ordered it. Another decision I do not regret. I beat this yesterday as I am writing this, and I can't wait to be done writing this list so I can go back in and mop up all the things I have left to do. It's just great. The combat is excellent, the visuals are stunning and the story is great. The performances really deserves all the praise they get. I am very interested in seeing where this will go in the next game, if there is one.
Being new to Sam Barlow I went into this game knowing four things. It looked interesting, it was "free" on Game Pass, Natalie Watson of Waypoint and A More Civilized Age fame worked on it and Jess hates everything to do with Sam Barlow. The first three things ensured that I would try it at least, and the last made me think I would hate it. I respect Jess' opinion on games, as we seem to have a similar taste (Majora's Mask yay!), so I was surprised when I ended up loving this. Yes, I can see where she is coming from, but I still got sucked into this game. The fact that this is one of the very few things I have played and/or watched that have given me Twin Peaks vibes helps a lot. This is a low-key horror game.
Monkey Island 3 was my favorite Monkey Island game, so I played through 1 and 2 remakes before playing this. I feel that is needed, because it builds so heavily on those two stories. It is both funny and heartwarming. A must for any Monkey Island fan.
The only bad thing about this game is that it is the last game from Zachtronics!
Still haven't unlocked everything, and I just started unlocking things from the DLC, but this is just stupid, mindless fun. Great way to spend 45 minutes here and there. It is also way too cheap for what it is.
Earlier this year I was in the mood for a specific kind of game. I wanted the "boomer shooter" style, paired with loot and rogue lite progression. I knew exactly what I wanted, but was difficult to find the exact match. Until I found someone asking for exactly the same thing I was on Reddit, and the reply from several people was "Nightmare Reaper". And boy did it deliver! It is a retro-style shooter with a lot of wacky semi-randomized color-quality weapons. Everything from a simple revolver to a ship cannon. What about a gun that shoots random junk? Or a cube that captures enemies that you can throw out like they where Pokémon? If you want you can go full melee, with swords, axes and super boots. It's run based in the sense that if you die on a mission you have to start the entire mission over again. You earn currency that you can use on various mini-games to unlock bonuses. And it has a kick-ass soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvRpSbtwlgk). It's really good!
I love this series! If you played Two Point Hospital you know fairly well what you are getting here, but I felt this had a lot more content and variety. Still haven't beaten all the levels, as I need to be in the right mood to play these kinds of games, but I am looking forward to heading in and doing everything eventually.
