by chummy8
This is the tenth version of this list. I started doing these lists to keep me focused on reducing my backlog of games. I never thought that I'd keep this up for so long. In the past 9 years of lists, I have played 305 games total. The most games I've played in a year was 42, which was last year. And I only hit 42 games played because of the Steam Deck making gaming more convenient for me. Playing retro games that I could play and finish while waiting for my kids in the car didn't hurt either. Last year, I wondered if I would play more classic games than more recent releases. In the end, it was about even with 22 out of 42 games.
2022 was the year of the handheld for me. My Anbernic rg503 opened my world to emulation on the go. And while I've been tinkering with Emulation for a couple of years now, this is the first time I took it on as a hobby. My Steam Deck allowed me to play my considerable Steam library on the go (it's perfect for business trips) and also play all those retro games I've been enjoying. The downside is that buying the Steam Deck has caused an orgy of game buying causing me to feel completely overwhelmed and guilty. I don't think I have ever bought so many games in such a short period ever before in my life.
In 2023, I'm going to focus on my Steam backlog while also chugging along on the classics. I'm finally working on my goals of playing the Final Fantasy games in order and I only have a few more Yakuza games to play. Finishing the SNES version of Final Fantasy 6 means that I am finally moving into the Playstation era. So, in between my series goals, I would like to try some other classic PSX RPGs, like Grandia, Wild Arms, Star Ocean, or Suikoden. I hope I will be able to find the time.
I'm going to try my hardest to NOT BUY anymore games in 2023. This might be the most ambitious New Year Resolution I have ever attempted. I wish I was joking. It will be interesting to see if I could keep to this resolution and if I do, what this list would look like in December.
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Started February 2022 - Won't Finish One of my favorite games of all time. Just infinite replayability. I put over 400 hours into this game in 2022 alone. Let's see how much more I can play this game in 2023.
Started Dec 26 - Won't Finish To put it simply, this is a 4x game very similar to Endless Legend. I loved Endless Legend and this game definitely scratches that same itch. And since this is Warhammer 40k, and there is only war, there is no diplomacy options in this game. Therefore, this game plays very much like a cross between Civilization and Dawn of War 1. You build your territory and send your armies out to bring death to your enemies. It's great.
Started Dec 27 - Finished Feb 6 Final Fantasy 7 is one of the better games of the franchise. If you're looking for a JRPG, this game has everything you could want - great story, setting, characters, and music. There is nothing I can say about this game that hasn't been already said since this is one of the most popular games of all time. So, I'll focus on picking nits and explain why I don't think this game is as good as Final Fantasy 6. The story, while great, can be missed. There is a big plot hole that is only filled when you go back to an optional part of the game on the final disc. I'm referring to how Cloud and Tifa made it to Midgar after the events 5 years prior to the game. 7 also introduced unnecessary minigames which to me, felt like padding. The characters, which are great, didn't resonate as much with me as the characters in 6. And while you could recruit many different members, I only used 4 the entire game. Final Fantasy 7 is one of the greatest games of all time. It is a masterpiece of a game that I feel needs to be played by everyone. The themes and style it introduced have gone on to inspire countless games made since and set the course for the entire Final Fantasy series going forward. However, I didn't like it as much as I liked Final Fantasy 6. Current Final Fantasy ranking: 6, 7, 5, 4.
Started Jan 5 - Finished Jan 14 Thankfully I got this game on a huge discount. Otherwise I'd feel more guilty about putting this one aside. I just don't like zombie games or games that deliberately give you scarce resources and are forced to run from encounters. Days Gone simply wasn't the game for me.
Started Jan 5 - Can't finish Playing Gladius gave me that Civ itch. I had to play this game again.
Started Jan 14 - Finished Jan 15. This is a game that I have played off an on for years now. Having a long plane ride and a steam deck made this game a perfect time sink. I put it aside about half way through the campaign out of difficulty and boredom. The game got to be a little too difficult with too little reward. I wish the game had more of a story to keep me invested all the way through. But it was fun while it lasted and the soundtrack is KILLER.
Started Jan 15 - Finished Jan 17 Blasphemous has fantastic art, music, and style. But it is too hard to be enjoyable. It makes me wish for a game with Castlevania gameplay and this art style.
Started Jan 20 - Finished March 31 Going back to the classics. This time on the PC (emulator). It's a fun game, but I eventually just stopped playing it. Maybe I'll come back to it someday.
Started February 7 - Finished March 3 I'm playing the new freelancer mode. It's a rogueish type of mode where you go on campaigns which are missions that get increasingly more difficult. Your targets in these missions can be any random NPC in the maps. I found the entire thing very interesting because the maps are filled with traps and opportunities that are wasted in story missions. Why would you collapse that chandelier when the story target doesn't ever go under it? Now your random NPC target could walk under it. I really like how they are using these old maps in new ways. However, I don't usually like these rogue type games because when you fail a campaign, you lose your progress completely. We'll see how long I last. At least it was free. I finally finished the freelancer campaign on March 3. I'm not interested in unlocking cosmetics for the safehouse and decided there was nothing left in the game for me.
Started February 9 - Finished October 21 Played entirely on the Steam Deck. Medium settings, 40fps, and the Steam Deck Quality of Life mod list on the workshop to increase the size of the UI. Mechwarrior 5 is a solid 7/10 game. I recommend it because it is a fun stompy-shooty experience. However, what makes it a 7/10 are faults in the repetitive campaign/mission structure and the AI teammates. I have only played this game 10 hours or so and I feel that I have seen enough of this game to write a review. The game itself only has a few mission types and you will play them very often. Add that to a boring campaign and I found myself looking for reasons to keep playing. You can only do so many of the same missions repeatedly before it gets stale. The missions are the only way to earn credits, mechs, and increase your reputation. Credits do nothing more than buy and maintain your mechs or pay your pilots. There's no external strategy layer in the game like upgrading your ship. The AI teammate system in this game is flawed. Other reviewers have mentioned that the AI is bad. From my experience, that isn't true or it has been fixed. The problem lies in the multiple mission structure and the way the game forces you to play 2 or 3 missions in a row without time to fix your mechs. When you play these missions you have little agency over how competent your AI pilots are. You just simply pair a mech pilot to a mech and hope for the best. In the other Battletech game on steam, you control your entire lance and can protect weaker mechs. If you are interested in the game, buy it. But be sure to do so at a discount if you wish you get value out of your purchase.