by durandir
What a year! Some absolute bangers on the release side, and an absolute shitshow on the business side. So weird.
As usual, 1-10 is my personal top ten of the year, 11-onwards are honorable mentions. Some games I fell off in such a way that I don't feel they "deserve" a spot on the honorable mentions list. These are usually games I come back to years down the line. They are still on my "games I played this year" list, if anyone (most likely future me) is curious.
Showing 1-10 of 23 items
I have yet to beat this and I have played it for roughly 100 hours. I am very far along with one character, and have a myriad of others at the start of the game. And I almost wish I had no other games to play, no films or series to watch or books to read so I could just play this all the time. But it is so good that I am slowly playing it, parceling out an hour here and there. BG3 will go down as one of the all time greats, and for me it tops the list even in a stacked year as this.
Scary games is difficult for me, as I get the "too paralyzed to move forward" thing. I'm really bad at them. But I had to experience Remedy again after the excellent Control. So I watched a recap video, and headed in. I am so glad I did. Remedy is doing things in the space no one else is. I am all aboard whatever they do from here. And let's be honest, the "We Sing" chapter alone would have put this on my top ten.
It's the sequel to Breath of the Wild, which should be enough. But the way they expanded on so much, and basically added a full other map under the existing map is just wild. I have seen credits, but I don't feel I have beaten it. Will probably head in now and then to explore more, find more stuff and help more people. The one thing I want to expand on is how different the feeling in this game is in relation to BotW. There I felt the weight of the impending apocalypse, which the world had been slowly inching towards for a thousand years. There where people, but few and far between. And all of them simply survived under the cloud of Calamity. In TotK there is this optimism and sense of progress that makes it feel completely different. Everyone is doing something interesting, going somewhere, exploring, living their life. It really feels like a world where everyone thought they would be among the last generations alive, but now they suddenly have all of the future in front of them. I needed that this year.
One of the bigger surprises for me this year, and this years "Obra Dinn"-like. I hope we get more than one a year in the future, but at least one is needed! I love this game and how smart it makes you feel. The mechanic of figuring out languages is great, and I would love a sequel or something. Or just another, just as inventive, game from this studio.
I am really bad with scary games, but some are so intriguing and sound good enough for me to power through. This was one of two I jumped into this year. I never played the original System Shock, despite being huge fan of Bioshock, Deus Ex and the like. I can see now why System Shock is so highly regarded, and I can't wait for the enhanced edition of SS2.
Almost the most mind-bending game on the list this year. Good enough for me to play it twice to get some of the collectables I missed the first time, before realizing I could have just jumped to the exact chapter instead. Oh well, it was fun both times!
One of the very few games that brought me to tears this year. I really like the climbing mechanic, and the mystery of the spire is great. Chill, in a weird way. Also chilling in its depiction of a world where all the water has receded and only sand is left.
What a game. The puzzles are really good, and the world is gorgeous. I also love the tone and story of the game, these kinds of philosophical stories is my jam.
I am so close to beating this, but as with the first game I fell of near the end. Will pick it up again someday to beat it, but what I have played so far was great. Setting the language to spanish from the get go helped a lot, as that is what made me appreciate the first game even more. The atmosphere is top notch, love the gameplay and the music is perfect. One of those game series I wish more people knew about.
Despite the issues still in the game (should probably have been in early access for a while instead of releasing as it did) I am having a blast with this sequel. Really looking forward to seeing what they and modders will add in the future.
