by kaos_cracker
For a year where game releases seemed to just keep going for a bit, this has been a very strong year of games. This is also the first year I decided to also try MMOs ever in my 32 years of life, though I won't count those since they didn't release this year. However, both World of Warcraft and Star Wars The Old Republic took up many hours this year that I should at least mention it up front.
In order for me to count it towards my list, it had to have released this year or come to a system this year in which I didn't play the original version in the past. Also I had to have finished the game. Since there isn't any upcoming releases that I plan on playing between now and the end of the year, figured now would be a good time. Anyways, here is my top 10 list of games. I did play just about every major release this year, so this was challenging.
Most Dissapointing Game
Call of Duty Black Ops 7
I have been playing this series since the original and have always boguht them, yes I'm part of the problem. But this years release has made it so I likely won't buy this series again unless there is a drastic change to the campaign or Co-Op mode that makes me remember how it was back in the original Xbox 360 days when I got home from school to play.
Honorable Mentions
The Outer Worlds 2
I really enjoyed playing through The Outer Worlds 2 WAY more than the first one, however when I got to the part where Faction Quests unlocked, I basically got burnt out, so eventually I will go back. The radio stations are very catchy too.
Melta Gear Solid Delta
I love this game, however I needed to mod it to make it not run poorly on PC so that experience may vary for others. It has some issues, but I'm glad to have played it again since it had it's PS3 port way back when.
Mario Kart World
This was my first Mario Kart game ever, and it was a blast. Playing all the maps and experiencing the multiplayer was fantastic, and I still do a few races here and there since finsihing the core races just for fun. They released a great entry with this, however I can't compare it to the previous entries.
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This game may be the perfect game to me. From the art, soundtrack, turn based combat and even characters, it is one the few games that I couldn't stop playing from start to finish. I needed to know where the story was going and felt an emotional journey all the way through. I don't know if it's a game I can get the same experience with twice, but the soundtrack alone is making a new playthrough worth it. If you aren't great with turn based combat, put it on Story mode like I did and you'll have a blast.
If Clair Obscur didn't come out this year, this would be my number one game of the year. So much so that I been trying to decide for months which one I enjoyed more. I played Death Stranding two weeks before this came out and needed to know where they could possibly take it, and I was thoroughly impressed. I don't understand how Kojima always pulls it off, but this story and everything inbetween was incredible.
I have been playing Battlefield games since the original. I also am someone who mostly enjoyed Battlefield 2042 when I just wanted to relax and shoot fools, but this game is on another level for the franchise. Outside of the average campagin, the multiplayer kept me going for well over 70 hours and still playing some every few days or so. Here's hoping they keep it up with more maps.
This is the first Monster Hunter that I have ever taken serious. I really enjoyed the "story" part of the game, essentially going through all the major monsters and understanding the game, and even trying to get my level up to do additional monsters. I eventually stopped playing since this is the game that acctually fried my PC at the time, and still nervous to go back, but man was it a great time going through.
It could just be that playing a game Co-Op can do a lot to a game, but it made this one of the most memorable experiences of the year. Seeing all the worlds and how they collide and sharing it with a friend makes it that much more fun. Even as a technical showpiece, I am genuinely impressed on how they pulled off the final parts of this game.
There is very few horror games that can pull off making me nervous when playing, and Cronos: The New Dawn did so perfectly. It is essentialyl a new take on Dead Space but more strange. I hope this studio keeps it going since I am really curious if they can make another one in this or keep the horror coming in a new IP.
You can't go a year without multiple Dark Souls inspired games, but Wuchang is easily one of the best in recent memory. It took quite a bit to get through and even parts needing to go back to try and find optional bosses since I feel you gotta fight them all to really "beat" these kinds of games. Though at times this was a bit too difficult that I modded it to make it a little bit smoother, however I still died plently of times.
I have always been a fan of Assassin's Creed, so much so that the only one in the franchise that I am not a fan of is Assassin's Creed 3. However, part of the issue this time around is playing as Yasuke as he doesn't fit in this type of game. As a character, he is interesting, but I absolutely didn't like playing as him at all. If they released him as a separate DLC character or something, they may have been better off.
I am counting this because it came out on PS5 this year and I spent countless hours exploring the world, getting all the cars, doing races with friends, even exploring the LEGO world and the off-road expansions they released. This may have been one of the most enjoyable racing experiences I have ever played. This is also the first one I played since Forza Horizon 2 so I can't compare it with the previous releases.
Even with finding parts of the story underwhelming and straight up annoying, the world and side stories made this worthwhile to see through. So much so that I even got the Platinum Trophy in the game when I didn't do that in Ghost of Tsushima. Even with coming out the same year as the very similar Assassin's Creed Shadows, it was worth to see.