The Games we played in 2019

[Prpl_Mage]

So another year has passed us by. Personally I'm finding less and less time to really invest time into games these days. The coupe d grace was getting a kid who continues to alter my way of life. So less games have been played this time than ever!

Previous years:

2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018


PS3
Still have some unfinished PS3 games laying around. Also Dark Souls 2, Dead Space 2, 3.

Tales of Xillia 2
The sequel to earlier released Tales of Xillia (also on PS3) makes a better job than the Tales of Symphonia 2 sequel(Wii) to keep fidelity to the original work. The problem? Well, Tales of Xillia was cool but also a bit meh. Its biggest thing was choice of who's perspective the story should follow. For anyone into any kind of movie or books you know that narration changes a lot of things regarding how you experience things. ToX2 does not have this, instead you get a boring silent protagonist without any voice over worth mentioning.. Another selling point was the ability to link with a party member which unfortunately (or thankfully?) made the game's coop mode optimal for 2 people and that is back and well. But what about everything else? The linearity? The corridor dungeons? Well they made it back, almost entirely the same as the previous games. Sometimes even worse since the puzzle part is gone and only the area remains. This is the same problem I had with previous rpgs I've played on the PS4 (FFXV, Star Ocean Faith and Faithlessness) where the game turns into an uninspiring slog of enemy waves instead of using all those new things a good run in a puzzle environment, or at least something challenging. The  game isn't bad and the whole parallel universe thing sometimes(rarely) spice things up, but it's just more of the same thing (duh?) instead of an improvement.


PS4
I also downloaded Dark Cloud 1, 2 and Star Ocean till the End of Times. But I've already played those, and didn't actually play them... It was more like "My son will be able to play these... 8 years from now.

Kingdom Hearts 3
15 years after kingdom hearts 2 and 7 years afte Dream Drop Distance the third game in the main series dropped. But it's like the 8th game or 12th depending on how you count it. Now, this may seem harsh but they waited far too long with this. I loved the games when they were released, like all of them. BBS was interesting because they did a prequel to the game and introduced new characters while DDD spoke to the nostalgia of the original games. But I'm almost 30 now and maybe that's the reason why I have a harder time loving this. The game is solid but goes back to the systems of the two PS2 games instead of building on all those new systems tried in the handheld games. This makes combat clunky, especially so since we've had other games released since 2002 that have done action rpg/ hack and slash hybrids better and with a higher pace. So combat is a bit slow and unresponsive, you still unlock skills that you can activate with AP and you need to learn spells again. New this time is that each keyblade has its own forme thingy instead of just being stats and a passive ability. Also thankfully you may equip up to 3 keyblades and can switch between them in combat. Where the combat fails for me is mostly the disney ride and team combo moves. A lot of times it feels like you only hit enemies to build up those gauges so you can activate one super move that kills everything.
Storywise the game is doing its best to tie together all those games in the series. A big problem for me personally is that a lot of the worlds are based on movies I haven't seen. Tangled, Frost, Monsters Inc., Big Hero etc. Most of the pixar movies came out a bit too late for me. Regardless some plothole remains and there are a few too many instances where the villains are helping you out (same as FFXV) instead of being villains. How can you still underestimate Sora after all those games?


PC
Started cleaning up my Steam library a bit, but still got loads of games to go.

Steamworld heist
I played Steamworld Dig and found it a neat game, I think Archem recommended Heist as well as some others so decided to grab it (It's really cheap on the 3DS sale at the moment btw). As pointed out by reviews on steam this game combines mission based gameplay with the strategy of X-com games and the mechanics of a Worms game. Games that I enjoy! You have different classes of characters you can use, each one got a few things that makes them unique and they unlock more abilities as they level up.
The game is divided into 3 sections with each one bringing new and more challenging enemy types and stage hazards than the last. It's a solid game that I enjoyed playing, the fact that the missions are slightly randomized when it comes to room position, enemy placement and objects and such made it more appealing, although randomizers may just as well screw you over. Also that you have a ranking system upon clearing a mission that motivates you to play better to earn more stars instead of just breezing through the missions was a good call, because the game isn't awfully long (but there are some seriously difficult difficulties).


God eater 3
So I played the first one last year and enjoyed it, but all the time I kept thinking "This would probably be more fun as coop. So I tried to convince my friend to get the first one to play with me but we ended up getting the latest game on Steam instead. The game has made some great progress since the PSP game but a lot also remains the same. Classic things and enemies return, even some areas. The sytems have improved to allow even more customization to your fighting style and how you can min/max your damage while enemies have gained a Burst mode or something which is scary. But some of the problems with the original (repeated enemy types with colour swaps) remain and you end up fighting the same large monsters over and over on several different difficulties instead of fleshing out the game more.

Cortex command
What would happen if you were an AI master mind who could produce and order around robots to mine planets or fight wars? It seemed like a great idea when I bought this some years ago but this game is a big mess. I assume that this game is really rewarding for those who made it and everyone who decided to learn everything about it. But for someone picking it up it's just confusing and the text is small and your AI is making bad decisions and at the end of the day you lose because of some mistake and that's it. You need to start over but you didn't really learn much from it because you losing wasn't (entirelly) your fault.


Wargroove
This is Chucklefish's loveletter to Advance Wars which we saw released way back on the GBA and DS. But to avoid any infringements it's played out in a fantasy setting instead of the WW era. The game is solid and a real nice piece of work. The story mode has different types of stages and sidestages you can challenge yourself with, there's an arcade mode of sorts, free play and multiplayer. All of the parts work real well and if you loved the play style of Advance wars over Fire Emblem then I would really recommend it. Sure having your hero on the field is different from AW but still. I also personally enjoy the graphics which both pay homage to the original AW games as well as inheriting some of StarBound's charm.


Helldivers
An amazing satire inspired by Starship Troopers (I assume), it's a twin stick shooter with online play where you take the role of a space trooper (helldiver) who takes on missions, gets dropped onto planets and complete the mission and then return back to the hub. Other players may join your lobby or join mid-mission to help you out (or completely wreck your attempt). It's an amazing game with a lot of love put into it with customization of weapons and such, but as always with online games the chance is rather high that some end game chap drops in and clears the mission for you and it's hard to find people who actually communicate and not just doing their own thing and sometimes failing. One of the problems (or fun part?) is that explosives and many other things have friendly fire, meaning that your actions will sometmes (mostly?) cause annoyance with your party members. Calling in ammo might seem harmless but when it appears with a container dropped from the sky it's a completely different matter. Still, I would recommend it but find some friends to play with just in case. These things tend to be better with people you can trust.

Warhammer Vermintide 2
I honestly didn't play the first one but this one is cool. It's kind of a mission based coop first person action rpg of some sort. There are different characters to play and they can be customized with passives, weapons and "class paths" to give them a more specific usage. Only one player in a game can be a certain character and some of them are more popular than others, just sayin. Game starts out slow but throw you into more advanced mechanics and enemies, each stage usually has hordes of weak minions charging you and a large monster/boss with a matching large health bar. While moving along the mission map there will also be specialist monsters spawning to complicate things and increase the randomness. Sometimes there's an invisible assassin coming your way from behind, or a flamethrower carrying skaven spawns with a horde of smaller rats making their way towards you. If you want more reward (loot chests) and therefore challenge you can collect some items as a party that decreases your health bars, or replaces the slot for the potion and such. All in all it's great fun, but as I mentioned above about multiplayer in Helldiver this is also the problem with Vermintide as sometimes you have complete trash( like myself) joining you, and sometime some rank 3000 guy joins and runs ahead and finish the mission for you.

3DS
I only got a few cheap e store games this year. Seem like everything is dropping on the Switch and the 3DS is left behind. Maybe it's time to get a Switch?

Fairune
Fairune is a short zelda 1 inspired game with a simple combat system that can be completed in under 1 hour, there's even an achievement of sorts you earn by doing that. Basically what you do is finding items and using them in the right place to progress to other areas to find items to use them in the right places to progress. The map consists of an overworld, an underground, a lava zone, a tower with 1 5 rooms, a skyworld and a final dungeon. It's an enjoyable experience although I got stuck a few times along the way. Wasn't a big fan of the final boss battle (bullet hell space shooter thingy) but it was a nice touch nevertheless.

Witch and Hero 3
Another cheap game with pixel graphic, this time a mission based tower defense of sorts. You are a knight protecting a witch who is petrified. If the enemies kill your witch the game is over, enemies spawn from all across the screen edges and your witch is planted neatly in the middle. By killing enemies the drop exp, gold and blood. Take the blood to the witch to activate her magic for neat damage spells. All in all, it's quite simple. The first 10 stages are quite boring, then you unlock little knight who you control with a different input (Knight is on D pad while little knight is on XYAB) which is a nice touch, and from that point onwards the monster density increases madly. Too much in fact tha sometimes you get frame drop. Anyway, Around stage 20 you also encounter some stage effects such as quicksand and ice(godamn it) and the final stage is a 3 step final boss (of course). How do you play the game? Well you control the knight and bump into the enemies to damage them and take damage in turn, hitting them from behind apparently delth more damage. But as you hit things a "Sacred sword" ability charges up that can be used to make you invulnerable and activate the Witch without blood. Also there is a Link thingy after getting the little knight which creates a field inbetween the 3 characters and bumps away enemies. As you earn exp you level up, you get money that can be used to upgrade your stats and that's about it. I would've like to see some upgrades or customization that allowed you to do things more differently, but who knows, maybe for the next one?


Quest of dungeons
One of those roguelike games where you pick a class and are flinged into a randomized dungeon where you kill stuff, find gear and open chests and in general hopes for the best. As with most of these it's a game of chance, there is little story to care about and most progress is random. So in the end you reach a point where you've been killed by some cheap enemy one too many times and just quit. It would be great if your progress actually unlocked something when you died? Or maybe it does but I'm just too bad at it? I only played as the Shaman as he can paralyze enemies, the other classes were "meh". Fun in small doses but cost me like 2$.

[Prpl_Mage]

Board Games
This is where I've spend most of my time, with less time to meet friends we've come to value each others' physical company a bit more and spends time looking at each other rather than on a screen. Kinda. So just listing some goodies we've played this year.

Schythe
An amazing game that manages to mix several different things without being too much of any of those. You have randomized things, you have different factions with abilities. You have resource management, goal fulfillment rather than command and conquer. All in all a good balanced game that doesn't take an awful long time to finish.

Twilight Imperium
The opposite of the above. This tries to do everything at the same time which usually means it ends up being too much and some balance being lost. Don't get me wrong, I love these kinds of games but they take forever to finish because people will always want to debate something or the other.

Throw throw Burrito
It's a card shuffling game that involves throwing foam burritos at each other to score points. Nuff said.

Gloomhaven
Only has one game under my belt but it's an enjoyable game that is kinda Dungeons and Dragons if you would make it more combat focused, less talky, remove the GM and give it some randomized control (as well as a huge scenario book). This is a Legacy game however which means you need to find a team of nice chaps who can invest time, space and patience to play it. We decided to get this because DnD seemed like too much of a stretch for some people in our group, however it seems like Gloomhaven is as well...

Ascension
A deck building game mostly played 1 vs 1 where you have a shared "buy pool" in the middle of the table. You both start with the same cards and from there buy cards in the middle to expand your deck. Draw five cards, play up to five cards, discard all remaining cards and resources at the end of your turn. Cards can give victory points, deal damage or gain you gold to spend on cards. Unlike similar games like Star Realms/Hero Realms the goal here isn't to kill your opponent but rather to kill monsters which earn your victory points.


Warhammer 40k Addiction

And last year I started off a small WH40k army, bought a Start Collecting Chaos Space Marines. Then a Defiler, Raptors and Khorne Berzerkers during the black friday sale. That was 2018. Then things escalated quickly. Got a Know no Fear and Dark Imperium box I shared with a friend I dragged into this. Decided to buy a Maulerfiend and a Heldrake because they kinda grew on me from being "ugh, demon engines!" to "demon engines are way cooler than boring tanks!". Then we got 2 Shadowspear boxes when it came out, followed by me buying a goddamn Chaos Knight (the titan-ish one) even though I have no good way to field it. And lastly I decided I needed some demons and got a Wrath and Rapture box...And in between all those big releases I've bought numerous models and old collections second hand that I've pimped up to suit my needs.

All in all, now I have 1500p of Death Guard, 6000p of Chaos Space Marines and some 2000p of Chaos Demons (and 400p Chaos Knight). So yeah, that went far. This is also the reason why I barely bought any new games and why I still haven't decided to buy a Switch yet...


Anyway. What games have you played? Which was your favorite? Anything you can recommend?

What game releases next year are you looking forward to? Do you already have some game you're planning on finally playing?

And what game would you suggest me speed running? Right now I'm thinking games that are at least 10 years old (which I sadly realize is rather easy since I'm getting old.)

[Fisherson]

Mostly the same. I did try a few new ones though:

Minecraft: Yes that Minecraft. I originally was just going to look at a world I role play in that had been halfway re-produced by somebody but you had to have the game to do it so...Yeah I ended up jumping into it. It's weird as I spent so long hating this game because a friend would play it while we were supposed to be talking. >.<; Well I ended up playing survival as I couldn't well return it since you have to buy the game to play custom maps. <.< Annoying but 9.99$ was well worth it! XD It's weirdly fun! It terrified me the first day surviving but in turn that offered me a challenge that I came to find fascinating.

Ylands: Basically aiming to be a weirder looking Minecraft while incorporating this 'revolutionary' feature of having other modes than survival and sandbox. Mostly fails there but it's crating system is actually even more subtle than Minecraft so I'll give it points there but you shouldn't have to pay 14.99$ to unlock everything that's fun. Though they are brand new give them time to learn says I.

This will get me some hate from Epic Games flamers out there but I tried Dauntless. Oh, you thought it was gonna be Fortnite didn't you? Ha! Nope. Not that open minded. Though enough meming here's what a I think of Dauntless: money-grubbing but shockingly you can do alot on it for free and it has a wonderfully smooth action battle system that uses a PROPPER stamina re-charge, not energy, system. It's weapons are diverse but two are locked unless you pay I guess? I'm only playing now and then as it requires online access. ^^; But it does have a original 'floating island' story and has charmign graphics if a little cheap on the shadows. One thing I have to mention is I saw no scrolling bar of swears and blasphemies. ^_^ Have to give it bonus points for that as that's my biggest irritation after P2A content.

Got FableAniversary from a pal on Discord as a Christmas present so I've been re-learning it. Still love that combat system and the sheer amount of choices but I really would love for them to stop remaking the first game and publish a collectors set of all three we don't have on the PC anymore......Seriously.

Oddly for me this is the first time I've only played more mainstream games than indie games. =O I mean other than Fragile Hearts, finally complete and downloaded a week or two ago and need to try finishing that and Red's awesome stuff I actually played very little indie games this year.  But that's it I think.

[Archem]

Oh boy! 2020! Time to talk about all the games I managed to finish in 2019! And yeah, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Steamworld: Heist. What a fun game.

January

Dusk (PC) is a throwback shooter, and a damn good one. Visually, it takes a lot of influence from Quake. The models are low poly, the colors are initially pretty dark and grimy, and it feels like a game trapped in the mid-90s. Thematically, it feels like it has more in common with Blood, as it features cultists, dark gods, and a twisted sense of humor, not to mention a neat cameo from Caleb's voice actor. The game really nails the feel of its guns, and it does what all the best shooters do by making each one have a perfect role to fill with few weapons that don't have a special sweet spot of effectiveness. I don't want to talk too much about the levels because they're too cool to spoil, but it gets wild in the later chapters. The bosses might be the weakest part of the game, though. They're perfectly fine, but they're not much more than standard bullet sponges. I don't mean that as a serious knock against the game, because it's still fun to shoot them. It's just that you're likely to be much more excited for the next level to do something unexpected than to shoot at the next boss for a few minutes. If you miss the golden era of FPSes like I do, then you owe it to yourself to play Dusk. It's destined to be a classic.

Celeste (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC) is a delightful precision platformer, similar to Super Meat Boy, but more relaxed. Where SMB had a thumping soundtrack and a stressful presentation, Celeste has a smooth and upbeat soundtrack with a visually pleasing appearance. The story is inspiring, the characters are sweet, and the resolution is satisfying. Instead of going through level by level, the game plays out in chapters with a bunch of levels that connect together in a (mostly) linear fashion. Each chapter has some sort of new mechanic that it introduces, such as blocks that you can dash through, or strong winds that impact your movements, and they play around with the concepts until you reach the point of mastery. In fact, that's what the game does so well: It makes you master these advanced movement mechanics. Now, if you don't have the skill to play through, there is a mode that lets you pick what rules you want to play with, and that's great. The game can be hard, but it does everything it can to be approachable as well. Speaking of hard, it really does get there. While the standard levels aren't too terrible, each chapter has a collection of secret items to find. Strawberries are scattered in optional rooms and have no impact other than as a reward for finishing these bonus rooms. B-Side tapes activate a remixed chapter based on the one you find the tape in, but with the difficulty ramped up quite a bit, and Crystal Hearts are really well hidden and (if you find them all) give you access to an extra chapter that gives you more story. If you prove yourself by finding and beating all the B-Sides, you can play through the C-Sides, which are brutally difficult but mercifully short (only about 4 screens each), and will certainly be a source of hundreds of deaths. Not long ago, a free DLC was added that added a new chapter. I'll break that one down in September.

Donut County (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC, iOS) is a quirky indie game that has a lot in common with Katamari Damacy. In it, you control a hole that is gradually swallowing up Donut County, a small-town place populated primarily by animal-folk. The hole is certainly a nuisance to the residents, but it's a relaxing game with light puzzle elements and funny situations. It's not too long, but it's charming and fun. I'd recommend checking it out.

March

New Super Mario Bros. U (Deluxe) (Switch, Wii U) is another 2D Mario title. It's part of the fun-but-generic "New" series of Mario Bros. games, and it doesn't do too much to really break the mold. It's a good game, though. The Switch port (Deluxe) includes New Super Luigi U, which is a remix of the original title that released as its own separate game on the Wii U. It has remixed versions of the levels featured in the base game, but with new physics to compliment playing as Luigi (more slippery, higher jumps), as well as every level being shorter and having a more limited timer. It's basically challenge mode. There are also a whole host of challenges available that are fun and interesting ways to test out your skills. While this isn't the most exciting platformer you'll ever play, it's a great time nonetheless.

April

Blood (PC) is one of the "Holy Trinity" of Build Engine FPS games released in the mid-to-late 90s. Along with Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D, it's highly celebrated for being the cream of the crop for shooters of that era, despite the dated tech it was using. Blood is a fast, violent, and difficult shooter that doesn't mind throwing you into the meat grinder from time to time. It has a dark sense of humor and some incredibly moody levels that are a blast to explore. The game is iconic in the world of 90s shooters, but is somewhat forgotten today, and that's a crime. Set in what I think is the 1940s, you play as Caleb, a servant of the dark god Tchernobog who was betrayed by his master. He doesn't take well to being killed, and promptly rises from his grave to start kicking ass and taking names. The game's guns are pretty standard FPS weapons, but they're also some of the finest examples of these weapons in any shooter. The shotgun has a nasty kick that tears enemies to shreds, the machine gun is stellar for tackling groups of foes, and the napalm launcher is just a fire-y take on a rocket launcher. What does make the guns more interesting is the inclusion of secondary fire modes that take a simple flare gun and turns it into a pistol that shoots a wall of fire at enemies, or a magic staff that you can drop and use like an auto turret. The bosses are a bit easy if you come prepared, but some of them show up later as regular enemies with way too much HP. But flaws aside, it's just a blast to play the game even today, and with the newly released Blood: Fresh Supply (which had some issues at launch but seems to be better now), there's never been a better time to play this classic. The expansions are really cool, too, but they have a less consistent difficulty curve that sometimes makes them just feel cruel. Still fun though.

The Messenger (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC) is another retro-inspired game, this time based on action platformers from the 8-bit days. You play as a ninja who must deliver a scroll given to him by a warrior from another land. I don't want to spoil it too much, so I'll just skip to the gameplay. It's great. The game feels pretty tight, and there are numerous upgrades to find/buy that might make it possible to progress, or just make it easier to face new foes. The bosses are hard but fair, and are pretty fun to fight. I can't talk about much else because there's so much more to the game than what I've said, but it's reaaaally spoiler-heavy. Strongly recommend playing it.

Deltarune Chapter 1 (Switch, PS4, PC) is the sequel(?) to Undertale. While it features a bunch of characters from Undertale, they don't seem to be a part of the same world anymore. Kind of like an alternate universe or something. It still feels charming and wonderful, the characters are instantly lovable, and the music is great. The combat switched from being kind of a shmup to being a more traditional turn-based RPG (with some twists), and the story is just as fun, if not quite as engrossing as Undertale. I was kind of afraid of what I'd find with the game. Undertale is a masterpiece, and I genuinely cannot believe how good it is. I was afraid to play this game at first because I didn't know if it was possible to recapture that magic. What if it was too much of the same? What it it was too different and just fell flat? What if, even if they do everything right, it's just not as fun or interesting? Well, I think they got it right so far. It's not too long, but it's free, and given how it ends, it really feels like a teaser for what is yet to come. The suspense is killing me, please hurry up with Chapter 2.

May

Duke Nukem 3D (PC, Basically Everything) is another of the Build Engine "Holy Trinity". Now, I've played this a ton over the years, but I've never finished it until now. It took ages, but it's finally happened, and after playing Blood, I'm honestly a little let down. Duke is still great, it holds up well, and it's a master class in 90s FPS glory, but Blood just does all of that better. I mean, it came out two years later, so that makes sense, but still. There's probably not much to say about Duke 3D these days. You probably know it, or at least know its reputation. A parody of the over-the-top action movie stars of the 80s in a pop culture-fuelled shooter. It's great fun, it's just hard to go back to it after finally experiencing the best game the Build Engine had to offer.

June

Hollow Knight (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC) is a metroidvania that takes a few pages from Dark Souls. It has a beautiful, melancholy-laced world with an eerie sense of tension and foreboding at every step. The combat is fierce and unforgiving, but upgrades and charms can make significant changes to how you fair against the denizens of the dark halls you explore. It has a story, but it's kind of obscured by the game refusing to give you too much information about what's going on (not unlike Dark Souls), and death has a penalty of losing all your money (again, similar to Dark Souls) and severely limiting your ability energy until you recover your shade. The game has a pretty massive following because of how well it handles most things. I think it's a great game, too. I just like it a little bit less than others. But it's definitely a must-play if you like the genre.

Super Hot VR (PC, PS4) is Super Hot, but in VR. If you're not familiar, Super Hot is a shooter where Time Only Moves When You Move™. But in VR. It's absolutely perfect for VR, and I love it. Similar to Super Hot, it can be beaten in an afternoon, but it's so much fun that you'll likely keep replaying it for quite some time. For funsies, you can play the original gamejam prototype for Super Hot in you browser HERE.

Gato Roboto (Switch, PC) is a short and simple Metroid-styled game where you play as a cat that controls a mech. It's a bit silly, it's not too hard, and it's a fun game that only really takes a couple of hours to beat. I like it.

Timespinner (Switch, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, PC) is another metroidvania, this time based heavily on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The music, art style, and gameplay feel like they were ripped directly from SOTN, and it's incredible how good it all is. The game is quite fun, and its orb system is pretty unique, but levelling up each orb means that you're likely to just stick to a couple that you like instead of experimenting with them. The world also feels like it's keeping you from progressing, locking you in the same area for ages as you struggle to find something that lets you progress until it finally happens, but the world ultimately feels like it's always just about to open up for you but barely ever does. The end result is a disappointingly small world map. The game also features a very LGBTQ+ cast. When I first saw user reviews for the game, I saw people criticizing the game's handling of this and thought that they were being too closed-minded, but after playing the game, I think I agree. Of every named character in the game (and there are plenty), all but maybe three are some form of queer, and it feels like the creators went overboard in their effort to provide representation. The only characters who are straight are the cartoonishly evil villain, the main character's mom, and a childhood rival (though perhaps not those last two, as the entire tribe is confirmed to be openly pansexual). It didn't bother me when the first few characters came out as gay or trans or whatever, but it got irritating when every time I met a new character, I just had to spin the wheel and find out what their sexuality was. It's a bit unnecessary. It's mostly tied to side-quests, but progress in the game is also tied to those side quests, so it feels a bit forced down your throat in an annoying way. I'm sorry, I just don't care for how this game handles gender politics, or rather how it over-handles them. The gameplay's fun, though.

Guacamelee 2 (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC) is another metroidvania (hey, I was on a kick). It has a bright and colorful art style and a strong sense of humor (lots of meme humor, too). You play as a Mexican luchador who goes around suplexing bad guys into oblivion, and it has a great combo-styled combat system, not unlike action games such as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, but in 2D. It's a ton of fun, and I was excited to play this game after how much I enjoyed the first one. If you want to body slam some skeletons with a friend or family member, it even has co-op. Tons of fun, can't recommend it enough.

Iconoclast (Switch, PS4, PS Vita, PC) is a rhythm-based climbing game whe- No, wait, it's another metroidvania. Bet you didn't see that coming. Anyway, it's a pretty game with a weird story that has villains with weird morals and ethics that you almost feel are justifiable but then things get a bit weird and you're like "No, they're just Nazis mixed with some kind of cult", and you stop caring about them. It's shockingly dark for how cutesy the presentation is. The game looks wonderful, and the music is really fun to listen to. I especially love the character animations. What I don't really like is the combat. Everything has some kind of overheating mechanic that makes combat feel slow and frustrating because the weapons you want to use can only be used once a century, and the weapons you can use without too many restrictions are weak. You also have to clumsily switch between the guns, do slow charge shots to use alternate fire modes, and can only use certain skills (some of which are vital for progression) by not taking hits. That last one's weird, too. You can equip extra skills and upgrades into slots, but you can only have three, and you fill up energy tanks for each one. They only activate when the energy tanks are full, but getting hit drains them, and they stop working the instant you're not at 100% capacity. They also stop working sequentially, so the order you have the equipped determines which one's you'll lose first. It has potential to be interesting, but it practice, it's just a mess. It's a bit of a shame, because bad combat makes a lot of fights a struggle, and boss fights can be a real pain. The story also kind of peters out at the end, and it doesn't have the most satisfying resolution. It's not bad, but it's also not amazing either. It's just kind of wasted potential.

Katana Zero (Switch, PC) isn't a metroidvania. Katana Zero is kind of like a sidecrolling Hotline Miami. You play as a samurai who goes from place to place brutally murdering everyone as a weird sci-fi/noir story unfolds. Like Hotline Miami, the combat is quick, lethal, and flow-based. Really fun stuff, and the wrong move can end you instantly. I'm not sure what to make of the ending, and I'm pretty sure it has multiple endings, but I haven't bothered to look deeper. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the game, just that I wanted to play some other ones. Katana Zero is really good, you should check it out. The soundtrack is great, too.

July

Red Faction (PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, N-Gage) is a semi-classic FPS from the early 2000s. You play as an oppressed miner on a corporate-run mining colony on Mars. The story starts with a miner rebellion breaking out against Ultor, the corporation that owns the mining colony, and you blast your way through their heavily-armed security forces. And I mean blast. The game used Geo Mod technology, which meant that any explosions could deform terrain, which was incredible for 2001 (hell, it's incredible for today). I remember the game being very fun, but I could never beat it as a kid. Replaying it, I'm not so happy with it. Weapons aren't very accurate, but enemies can shoot you accurately from miles away. Trying to line up a shot might as well be luck-based, because bullets rarely go where you hope they will. To make matters worse, enemies never stop moving, constantly running back and forth, zig-zagging all over the place. In theory, it's good AI refusing to be an easy target. In practice, it's a frustrating mess, and a lesson about how games sometimes need to give the player an unfair advantage to make a game playable. The game's a bit glitchy, too. Some things refuse to spawn correctly, or missions won't load the way they should. Bosses suck to fight as well, because they pretty much all have one-hit kill attacks and rely on you just avoiding them until you do the correct action. Really, they're the worst. There are also some stealth sections, but those are awful too. The enemies have really inconsistent detection of you, as you simply wear a disguise and walk through areas you're not allowed in. You also lose all of your guns, so if you get caught, you just die. Horrible stuff. The last thing you do in the game is defuse a bomb in a brand new timed minigame with no room for error, so even after suffering through one last terrible boss battle, you can still die from not being perfect at a brand new minigame puzzle. While I may always have some nostalgia for the game, revisiting Red Faction has made it clear to me that it's just not a good game, and that it could only be saved if someone did a proper remake and fixed all those glaring problems. But that'll never happen.

September

Machinarium (Switch, PS4, PS Vita, PC, basically any phone's store) is a point-and-click adventure that tells its story visually with no written or spoken dialogue. You play as a small robot trying to escape the city. There are other robot thugs who bully you and commit crimes, including kidnapping your friend. It's charming, lovely, and relaxing, with no real way to die (this isn't a Sierra game, after all), and it's a good time for fans of the genre. Check it out.

Spyro The Dragon: Reignited (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC) is a beautiful remake of the classic Playstation platformer. The game looks lovely, and it feels almost identical to the original (for better or worse). The music is quite faithful to the original, but the game includes the original Stewart Copeland soundtrack should you prefer it. It's really fun, and a great way to experience the game for the first time. It's part of a three game collection of all the Playstation titles (the good Spyro games), and the fact that the trilogy MSRP is $40, it's a great bargain.

Celeste: The Farewell (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC) is the final chapter in this masterpiece. After months of teasing, the full 100-level last chapter finally arrived, and it was great. Unlike previous chapters that had strawberries, B-Sides, C-Sides, and Crystal Hearts, this was just one massive final challenge. When it was being teased, the developers said it was made up of the hardest levels they'd ever made, so I finally finished all of the C-Sides before starting it. Let me tell you, they weren't kidding. They went all-out with these stages, and even implemented some movement tech that was never properly introduced in the original story line (though it did exist if you knew how to do it). Some of the screens just stretch on and on for ages, and it sometimes feels like you'll never be able to do it, but the game keeps pushing you to keep going, and it's an incredible experience when you finally finish it. I've beaten it three times already (I was playing it simultaneously on Switch and PC the first time through, and went through once more afterwards to see how much I improved), and it's remarkable how well the game trains you to do all these wild tricks. Watch a speedrun of the game, and be amazed at how it looks like magic. Then play this game for 100 hours. Then watch it again, and marvel at how it all makes perfect sense. You see it, and you know that you can do that, but they're just doing it flawlessly. That's what Celeste is. To wrap this game up, all I can say is that it's my favorite 2D platformer ever, and I keep getting the craving to go play it again. It is so good.

December

Luigi's Mansion (Gamecube, 3DS) is what happens when Nintendo wants to make a Resident Evil game with the Ghostbusters license, but then decides to put Luigi in there instead. It's a classic, and it needs no introduction. I remember how unpopular it was when it came out. Everyone wanted a new Mario game, and having one at launch seemed critical. Instead, we got a Luigi game, and not even a platformer. People weren't happy, and seemed to dismiss it instantly. The game would eventually develop a cult following, and when Luigi's Mansion 3 came out in October, it was hailed as a must-play Switch title. Funny how time puts things into perspective. I remember playing the game when my family got a Gamecube one Xmas. I always preferred Luigi to Mario, so I was pretty excited. I remember the game being a bit too much for my pre-teen brain to really grasp, so it went only half-played for ages, but I remember marveling at the realistic, life-like graphics whenever Luigi went to open a door for the first time. It was truly seeing the future of games graphics. It's not as impressive now, but that was nearly two decades ago. I recently decided to play through Luigi's Mansion and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon before playing Luigi's Mansion 3 (I'm almost done with Dark Moon, and I was hoping to finish it in time for this thread. Better luck in 2020), so I downloaded it to my 3DS and had at it. It's aged decently well, but the controls are a bit awkward. Having to rotate using the right stick (or d-pad on the 3DS version, if you don't have a New 3DS or the add-on with a right stick) is really wonky with a fixed camera, and the game doesn't give you much assistance or aim correction. They really improved the control a lot in the sequel, but it's still rough here. Other than that, I don't have much to complain about. It looks great even today, the puzzles aren't too hard, but they're still fun to figure out, the characters are kooky and fun, and exploring the mansion is great. I feel that the final boss is a bit annoying to fight, since with the controls being how they are, I never was able to land a hit without taking damage in response. It's too bad that they didn't do something to improve those controls for the port; it would have been a real game-changer. But I'm happy to have finally finished Luigi's Mansion. It's a great game, and it's wild to think that it's been a spin-off series for this long and hasn't completely faded into obscurity yet.


Game of the Year time! It's Celeste So you might have figured this out by the fact that I mentioned it twice and even called it my favorite of its respective genre, but it needs to be said definitively that Celeste is simply that one-in-a-million game that's so good that I can't stop talking about it, even months after I've beaten it. Go play the game.

[Moosetroop11]

Nice to see shout outs for Guacamelee 2 and Scythe : ) Scythe is an awesome board game.

I mostly played older games and favourites this year... I completed Megaman 2 for the first time, started new playthroughs of ff7, ff12 and morrowind, and played through most of ocarina of time. Toward the end of the year I got a switch and played Pokemon Shield which was pretty good, I hope they expand on the wild area thing in future. Some of the new pokemon and alternate forms were pretty great. At the very end of the year I got Breath of the Wild and I've been playing that, it's even better than people said it was 0_0 As usual I've still been playing minecraft on and off - my girlfriend and her kids are really into it at the moment too.

Board game wise I played Scythe, Root (which I wholeheartedly recommend, it's this awesome game where every race you can play works completely differently and you have to get used to what your opponent's goals are in order to beat them) and Twilight Imperium, which I didn't play quite enough to get a good read on but I don't think I found it quite as cumbersome as prpl did (though it definitely takes a long time to play).

[Prpl_Mage]

Twilight Imperium, which I didn't play quite enough to get a good read on but I don't think I found it quite as cumbersome as prpl did (though it definitely takes a long time to play).

Well, I personally find it okay but some others tend to overheat their brains because of all the options, being sore losers and argue over every single thing that is vague or can be debated in any way. We had a 40min argument among two people who couldn't decide if PDS counted as Troop Upgrades or not. So it's great but it takes a lot of time to play with those who try too hard to win.

Root (which I wholeheartedly recommend, it's this awesome game where every race you can play works completely differently and you have to get used to what your opponent's goals are in order to beat them)

I'll have to check it out.

[Momeka]

Fairune

Nice, the Fairune games are some of my favorite games. I played through them all again in the Fairune Collection on pc this year. I like how simplistic and hyper focus they are on their mechanics.

I hardly remember what I've been playing this year... Maybe I should start making lists or something. But I do remember the roleplaying games:

EON
Swedish fantasy game, they got a thing about trying to be "realistic" but for me it just feels like they are overcomplicating things. Specially battles which became a constant looking up rules and rolling on tables. Overall I didn't really enjoy it that much, but the adventure we played wasn't too fun either. The first half of the adventure was just constant rolls to check how well we traversed the jungle, then roll for setting up a camp, then roll to keep watch, and repeat. It wasn't until the end that it became interesting as we got kidnapped by a Spider Cult, one of the party members got torture and ended up in a coma. So we had to carry him out as we blew up their temple behind us. After that we got robbed and lost the treasure we were hired to find ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

D&D 5E
We played through the Curse of Strahd adventure. It was really fun! I really enjoyed playing my character as well. I started out as a half orc (because of an inside joke all orcs were pig-men) fighter dreaming of being an adventurer like the ones from the stories. In the end I struck a deal with a demon inhabiting a magic axe I found (multiclassed into a warlock), flew around in the skull of a fire giant that I took from a witch, and turned into a complete megalomaniac.
At the end he (permanently) died in Strahds castle but struck a new deal with the demon; In exchange for his soul he would be returned to life for 24 hours. He ended up striking the final blow to Strahd but faded away shortly after.
While the rest of the party left the cursed realm my character woke up in a cage in hell surrounded by imps laughing at him.

Call of Cthulhu
We only played a couple of one shots of this, but I had fun with it. Not really a big Lovecraft buff and don't know much about the lore and stuff but I did enjoy the adventures non the less. They all followed the pretty similar formula of getting a case, digging up information about it, and then finally tackling it and trying to solve it without going insane. My only real complain about is that it was a bit too focused on combat. Whenever a monster showed up it just turned into dnd. The monsters felt less scary when you just blasted them down in droves with a shotgun.

Svenil
Weird small Swedish roleplaying game based on stereotypes from the 80s and 90s. We played a short one shot adventure based around a heist. We had broken into grandmas house to clean it up for her, but in reality each player had a hidden agenda they wanted to achieve in the house. So you ended trying to figure out what the other players wanted and sabotaging for them while sneakily trying to achieve your own goals. And each character had two hidden rules as well, like: "you always has to do what this character tells you" and "you always trust what this character tells you". So each character had ties to another character. It turned into complete chaos pretty quickly, and some of the most fun I had in a roleplaying game.

[Donut]

So I finished a lot of games I guess. In December I made my first gaming PC so yay, looking forward to play old games such as LBA 1&2, Disco Elysium, etc.


12-20-19
 Beat: Dragon Quest XI S  (Switch)
I was looking forward to playing DQXI, having no PC for gaming (I have now, present to myself from myself for Christmas) and no PS4. I was highly disappointed. Of the 3 acts, the 2nd one is OK, although the added parts (especially the one of Sylvando - what horror) is quite good. The first act is long, useless, and follows the same scheme for each new companion/ciy visited for 20h, and character development is just bad. Act 3 is Bravely Default reimaginated: you go to the past and revisit the same dungeons and go through 90% of the same dialogues again. Thank god we can skip. Otherwise it's a rather solid DraQue, the battle system is as usual, with added customisation via a spere/license board system taken from FF10-12. In the end I had the feeling of playing for more than 100h when I 100%ed the game (except the 2D only quests) in 45h. Yeah. Definitely not the best DraQue. And please NEVER make a haracter like Sylvando again, one of the worst I've ever seen alongside Tingle.

12-18-19
 Beat: Epic Mickey II  (360)
I heard Epic Mickey was great, and the second as well. It really isn't. There's litteraly nothing to make this game look even remotely good.

12-13-19
 Beat: Bulletstorm  (360)
 Beat: Dishonored  (360)
Disappointed by Dishonored, a game which is about being an assassin, but actually punishes you if you play it as an assassin. In the end it becomes like any Ubisoft game (i know this one is not made by Ubisoft) with boring useless sidequests, unnteresting story, and no tactic at all involved. Like seriously?
Bulletstorm was rather fun in my opinion. Even though it is yet another FPS looking like any others, the fun ways to kill the enemys using the environment or just slowing, shooting at their asses and all. The game really rewards you to try the most stupid ways of killing enemies. It was fun.

11-28-19
 Beat: Bioshock Infinite  (360)
For me, Infinite was the best Bioshock plotwise - even though it contradicts itself quite a lot - but in terms of playing, it was really a pain. The story DLC was kinda good, although the end of the first part is rushed and comes out of nowhere; and the second part tries to make a stealth game when the engine it was obviously not designed for it and made it kinda worse playing-wise.

11-08-19
 Completed: Bioshock 2  (360)
Bioshock 2 was great and is, overall, the best Bioshock in my opinion. The story might not be as good as the third one, but the combat was definitely the best of the three. It is based on the first one but expands it and makes it less rigged. The oppression is still there and the phases of defense during the harvest made it even more oppressive.

10-08-19
 Completed: The Legend of Zelda : Link's Awakening Remake  (Switch)
My favourite Zelda beign remade! I played so many times the GB version, and I was really looking forward to this edition. Very few additions outside more shells and some puzzle challenges instead of the photograph. I loved it, the graphics really helped too. BUT, because there is a but, the music was worse. It is funny at the end of the credits to see the new versions alongside the old one, when it is so obvious that the original score was so much better.

10-05-19
 Beat: Astral Chain  (Switch)
I was suspicious at first (I despise Platinum Game's games, they're way too messy), but was nicely surprised. The scenario is a classic anime story and very predictable. But the fighting system is very good, even though most of the legions are very useless except outside of battles to gather some ressources. The game doesn't do everything right though: there are still camera issues, the investigations are really useless, and most of the side stuff is really boring. But running such a game on the Switch, wow. Well done. 

09-29-19
 Beat: Super Metroid  (SNES)
Did I ever mention being really bad at platformers and not really liking Metroidvania games? SM is no exception. I don't really know why, I just didn't have any fun playing it. I think I should just give up on the genre xD

09-24-19
 Beat: The Legend Of Zelda - A Link to the Past  (SNES)
ALTTP used to be one of my reference in terms of Zelda-like game. Perhaps because I've played it three times already, or just because many other games do what it does better: I found this run of ALTTP to be laborious, boring, and some of the dungeons just some of the worst in the series. This run was really a pain.

09-21-19
 Completed: Torchlight 2  (Switch)
Was waiting for having a PC to play this, but then it came to Switch before I got a new PC. I LOVED Torhlight (and still love it despite a few issues), and was really looking forward to it since Diablo 3. Well, Diablo 3 is clearly better. It's a shame because the gameplay in itself is better for managing the character and creating it as we want, something D3 fails at. But they really need to make an effort in the story and how they tell it because its just a succession of scenes with almost no transition and cohesion. The perfect H&S would mix both D3 and Torchlight. Let's see How D4 turns out (even though how they pan it doesn't sound very good to me). 

09-14-19
 Beat: Tales of Zestiria  (PS3)
A good Tales Of, I really digged the whole Arthurian settings. But for a PS3 game (and PS4 too technically), and a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the series, it's really ugly, the soundtrack is poor, and overall it's missing a little bit of magic there and there. It's such a shame because the story is engaging (even tho sometimes a bit too much) and so much different to what the other Tales Of offer.

09-08-19
 Beat: The Last Remnant Remastered  (Switch)
I had started that on the 360, but then something better always came up and I never got past the first hill thingy (Dilmoor I think). The ideas in this game are superb, and showed that Square had still some ideas then (not anymore). BUT the basics of the battle system are killing the battle against high-level monster, in particular the mega boss (Déchu in French). Because the actions are somewhat random since you only provide a general order. THis resulted in me being able to have overkill attacks for easy mobs, but NEVER NEVER for the mega optional boss even tough I could have easily killed him otherwise. If it's not too much of a problem for the main campaign, it becomes really limited and highly frustrating for optional quests and shows its limits. A very good game though, despite the weak story.

08-06-19
 Beat: Super Neptunia RPG  (Switch)
Just no. I mean no. And no. It's an insult to have a game like this in 2019.

07-05-19
 Completed: Cadence of Hyrule  (Switch)
Fun but repetitive. I really liked it but after a few hours it was becoming a bit boring. That being said, I was sometimes so into it that I almost missed my train stops! I recommend. I should play the free extension.

07-03-19
 Beat: For the King  (Switch)
A very solid mix of board-game, rogue-like, and JRPG. I think everyone should play that.

06-22-19
 Beat: White Knight Chronicles 1  (PS3)
Just boring from start to finish.

06-08-19
 Completed: Shadow of Adam  (Switch)
It was in my list of games to get when I get a PC; once again it arrived on Switch before I get one so ... This game looks lush, but that's about it. Most of the story is just scenes put next to each other without transition, there are a **** ton of bugs, and the battles become a pain since many mobs/bosses are only vulnerable to magic but your spellcaster for black and white magic is the same and you'd be mostly using her for healing because the monsters hit hard. Such a waste.

05-26-19
 Completed: Mindjack  (360)
A boring FPS, the initial idea is not so bad though, as it implies hacking into minds of your enemies. But it's just a bad game overall.

05-25-19
 Beat: Dragon Age II  (360)
SO SO SO SO MUCH BETTER than Origins! Origins was the classic boring WRPG. DA2 makes it way better by perfectionning the battle system and making the action happen only in one city, enabling characters to be better developed and to have real stakes in play. Some stuff are simplified (such as the equipment for your allies) but overall it just works much better.

05-16-19
 Beat: Fable II  (360)
Meh. The exact same lies as for Fable 1, but less good, highly simplified and come on, how we kill the bad guy, this is just RIDICULOUS!

05-11-19
 Beat: Infinite Undiscovery  (360)
As for any tri-Ace game: gameplay interesting but becomes very boring and unilateral; bad story, boring design, bad music.

05-10-19
 Completed: Bioshock  (360)
Managed to run past my fear and I LOVED it. Still I prefered the second one but it was so rewarding. THe ambiance is so good. I don't usually like FPS games, but this is definitely the best I've ever played.

05-08-19
 Beat: El Shaddai - Ascension of the Metatron  (360)
Meh. Once again, most of the story is very incoherent and just a succession of things happening randomly. I think it's one of those games where there are more artisty weird implications thing (like Ico, which I hated btw), you either like it or not.

05-05-19
 Beat: Portal II  (360)
Well who doesn't know Portal 2? As far as I remember this one was easier than the first one. But a very solid game.

05-01-19
 Beat: Tales of Vesperia  (360)
One of the best Tales Of alongside Legendia and Rebirth. Finally some grey areas with the characters, not just bad or good for all of them. The rest doesn't change much, and Tales oF games aren't really great JRPGs anyway, but it was a good time overall.

04-14-19
 Beat: Gears of War III  (360)
Nothing really new here, same old stuff.

03-30-19
 Beat: Battlechaser Nightwars  (Switch)
A very interesting game. I picked it up because of the art style. I enjoyed almost all of it. THe battle system makes the conditions actually USEFUL (and eneded to beat the final boss otherwise you'll have no chance of success at all) and primordial to win most battles. THe annoying thing is that you have to redo each dungeon 3 times in the 3 difficulty levels before going to the next one, which makes it a bit tedious at some point. And don't think you can skip doing it. After the 3rd dungeon, the difficulty peak is so high that it will force you to do it anyways, so you better just do it from the start.

03-15-19
 Beat: Alan Wake  (360)
Bof. I really didn't get into it.

03-12-19
 Beat: Sleeping Dogs  (360)
I was bored of GTA-like games then came Sleeping Dogs. An interesting story (finally!), a great battle system based on martial-arts, and some very cool missions. I cannot not recommend it.

03-01-19
 Beat: Dragon Age Origins + Awakening  (360)
As I said, DAO is a boring W-RPG with no ambitions, boring sidequests and just annoying characters in general. Apparetly you're supposed to be able to influence greatly ost of the events of the game: spoiler, you can't.

02-21-19
 Beat: Trine II  (360)
It was OK. Not great. OK. Basically the first Trine.

02-16-19
 Beat: Yonder  (Switch)
A cute game, but not really interesting.

02-14-19
 Beat: Too Human  (360)
 Beat: Earthlock  (Switch)
Too Human had a great potential but just deflated after the first dungeon. Eartlock was an OK JRPG like game, but nothing was really interesting in it and the end of the game just came out of nowhere.

02-13-19
 Beat: Lara Croft and the Guardian Of Light  (360)
A fun game for coop play. Not much otherwise I think.

02-10-19
 Beat: Ni No Kuni  (PS3)
Despite the clunky battle-system (OMG the buttons arrangement what an horror), I had a great time with NinoKuni. A great dubbing as well - loved the Welsh accent and expressions from the fairies - and a very old school solid JRPG. It's pretty, it's fun to play, it has great music. I think it is really a must-have for people enjoying JRPGs.

02-09-19
 Beat: Heavy Rain  (PS3)
 Beat: Beyond two Souls  (PS3)
Meh. Definitely not as great as what people say. I got frankly bored at Heavy Rain, and the way Beyond is told is just too messy for me to have actually managed to get into it.

01-24-19
 Beat: Dream Daddy  (PC)
A dating sim in which you play a single dad, dating other dads. It's a really cute game. I got the ginger daddy (*cough* nothing related to my actual preferences *coughs*). It's a VN, so it basically comes to its writing which I found well done, with a lot of dad jokes (I love those jokes). A very niche game, but it should please the people that are into that type.

01-14-19
 Beat: Ocean Horn  (Switch)
An old iOS Zelda-like game. It's an OK game, but nothing great, I don't remember much of it to be fair.

01-07-19
 Beat: Diablo 3 Eternal Collection  (Switch)
Still one of the (if not the) best H&S on the market.

D&D5
I managed to find a group to play D&D too!!! Woooo FINALLY!!
We started with the Lost Mines of Phandelver, me as a DM and 3 players: a Monk, a Warlock and a Ranger. We haven't finished the campaign but it was great fun. We also did a one-shot for NY, this time I played instead of DMing.

[zuhane]

These are some mighty lists! I've completed nowhere near that amount of titles myself

Games that really blew me away this year are:

Resident Evil 7:
Foreboding and genuinely terrifying atmosphere, excellent pacing and lack of ammunition have made this the most enjoyable single-player campaign I've played this year.

Resident Evil 2 Remake:
Never played the original. Yet again, the atmosphere and slow-paced and intricate game flow have made this one of the best I've played all year. It manages to also weave in Metroidvania elements.

Super Mario Maker 2:
Arguably the second-best overall gaming experience I've had all year. I'm a huge nerd for level editors and I love platformers. This seems to effortlessly combine the two in one of the most creative
and charming games I've ever played in my life.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild:
Flawless.

DOOM:
Such a fresh and invigorating arena shooter. It breaks the dusty and tarnished reputation of shooters and flips the whole genre on its head. It requires constant attention, weapon micro and lightning-fast reflexes throughout.

Dota 2:
Dota has seen some of the best updates of its entire life span this year. The changes have made it infinitely replayable and breathed new life into an already insanely addictive formula.

Cuphead:
Such a blast to play single or multiplayer. Art direction, music, game-play, etc, are all just fantastic.

Steamworld Heist:
Another hugely innovative title from the Steam.... world.... world. An absolute joy to play.

Antichamber:
An absolute face-melter of a game. The puzzles can feel too cryptic and unfair at times, but the enormous sense of joy from beating a seemingly impossible puzzle is unreal.

Hollow Knight:
I waited a long time to play this. I was not disappointed. Rarely does something create as beautiful an atmosphere and sense of immersion as this game.



Controversial opinions:

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt:
I found the world barren and empty. Took too long to travel places. Controls felt unresponsive and laggy. Dialogue did not entertain me and it took huge stretches of time to find meaningful content.

Red Dead Redemption 2:
Great voice acting, graphics, etc, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was just another open-world cover shooter underneath all the prettiness.

God of War:
Incredible graphics, animation, voice acting, etc. However, the gameplay fell flat for me after a few hours and it became a chore to play.

Destiny 2:
****ing tedious.

Devil May Cry 5:
I really wanted to love this, but I found the combat a bit too simple and the "epicness" of the fights started to irritate me after a few hours.

Diablo 3:
It's way too easy. Horribly easy. Disgustingly easy. I really wanted a challenge from this game. The sheer amount of content, lore, creatures and game length really got my hopes up. I played on the hardest difficulty and could Q U I T E  L I T E R A L L Y stand AFK with low/mid-tier equipment and unspent skill points whilst my minions would passively kill everything on-screen. A boss once removed a quarter of my HP because I stood still for 10 seconds. There was no challenge whatsoever, unfortunately. What made me sad was the sheer amount of love, detail and polish that went into everything was clearly demonstrated. Why would Blizzard not just test the difficulty in beta?

[Prpl_Mage]

Diablo 3:
It's way too easy. Horribly easy. Disgustingly easy. I really wanted a challenge from this game. The sheer amount of content, lore, creatures and game length really got my hopes up. I played on the hardest difficulty and could Q U I T E  L I T E R A L L Y stand AFK with low/mid-tier equipment and unspent skill points whilst my minions would passively kill everything on-screen. A boss once removed a quarter of my HP because I stood still for 10 seconds. There was no challenge whatsoever, unfortunately. What made me sad was the sheer amount of love, detail and polish that went into everything was clearly demonstrated. Why would Blizzard not just test the difficulty in beta?

The game's difficulty has been tweaked a lot these last 10 years or so. Not sure what difficulty you played on but back when there was an action house and all that, it was pretty much impossible to get past act 2 on the final difficulty.
When they released Reaper of Souls they tried to balance it more which worked for a while. Then all the new set items and legendary bonuses made it too easy again. So they made the Rifts, then they completely revamped the rifts. Then they added Torment levels and changed the paragon system. Then they added more torment levels and increased the damage bonuses from set items. And finally they realised that they needed to add more torment levels to make it even harder once more.

But yes, it's quite easy now. Mostly just go online when they release a new season and play through it with the class I like the most at the moment.

[Fisherson]

Donut you are brutal in your reviews and make me wonder how you can play our dinky little RPG maker games and enjoy them...^^;

[Moosetroop11]

I agree, that Dragon Age review hurt me : p

[zuhane]

The game's difficulty has been tweaked a lot these last 10 years or so. Not sure what difficulty you played on but back when there was an action house and all that, it was pretty much impossible to get past act 2 on the final difficulty.
When they released Reaper of Souls they tried to balance it more which worked for a while. Then all the new set items and legendary bonuses made it too easy again. So they made the Rifts, then they completely revamped the rifts. Then they added Torment levels and changed the paragon system. Then they added more torment levels and increased the damage bonuses from set items. And finally they realised that they needed to add more torment levels to make it even harder once more.

But yes, it's quite easy now. Mostly just go online when they release a new season and play through it with the class I like the most at the moment.

I heard that was the case when I googled to see if i could up the difficulty! Haven't given up on it quite yet. Hopefully some difficulty may be added in the future, but who knows?

[Donut]

Donut you are brutal in your reviews and make me wonder how you can play our dinky little RPG maker games and enjoy them...^^;

Ahah sorry! That being said, this year there were a lot more games I liked than usually. So there's hope ahah. Next year I plan to play on PC mainly and finish my 360 collection (15 games left!)

I agree, that Dragon Age review hurt me : p

I was mostly bored with DAO. Really, DA2 makes everything much better overall; even though there are less places to visit, but then they have more thorough background (places and characters alike). The problem with Open World and W-RPG in general is that they try to do too much. When I played Skyrim I was almost falling asleep because there's nothing interesting to do, the world is pretty empty, the sidequests are really bad, and the story is not interesting at all. DAO has this problem too; DA2 gives a better story to sidequests, and span some over the 3 years of the story. By being restricted areas, they also use the space much better as well. Overall it's a better thought game.

[Prpl_Mage]

I was mostly bored with DAO. Really, DA2 makes everything much better overall; even though there are less places to visit, but then they have more thorough background (places and characters alike). The problem with Open World and W-RPG in general is that they try to do too much. When I played Skyrim I was almost falling asleep because there's nothing interesting to do, the world is pretty empty, the sidequests are really bad, and the story is not interesting at all. DAO has this problem too; DA2 gives a better story to sidequests, and span some over the 3 years of the story. By being restricted areas, they also use the space much better as well. Overall it's a better thought game.

Gonna agree with this. Felt like the DLC for Origins and felt so much better than the original because of this. And 2 took me by surprise of how much you can do in limited space and made me reevaluate the hype for massive (and empty) worlds.