Games of 2023

[Prpl_Mage]

2023 has been a great year for gaming I think. Or at least that's the impression I get. I mean, let's be honest, it seems like most teenagers only play phone games these days and treat Fortnite seasons like an Olympics but I donno.

But we've seen the release of some hyped games like Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, Baldur's Gate 3, Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy XVI, Diablo IV and Rogue Trader. Did you get any of these? Would you recommend them? Or was there another game in 2023 that really caught your attention?

It was also the end of an era as Nintendo closed down the digital store for all consoles aside from the Switch, and I assume all other online related services on those old consoles as well? I haven't really checked it out to be honest. But I did rush to download a bunch of games I never got around of actually buying and been meaning to get second hand.

But as is tradition, it's time to talk about the games we played in 2023.

2022
http://www.charas-project.net/forum/index.php?topic=29655.0

PC

Samurai Gunn
A nice little couch coop game, nah rather competitive game, like Nidhog and Towerfall Ascension. Start a match and kill each other, get high enough score and you win the game. Your moveset is basically: jumping, wall-jumping, slashing and shooting a 3 bullet gun. Nice for a session in the same way as the other two games mentioned. The game feels smooth but there's not much else to it than that.

Regions of Ruins
It's a mix of different genres that worked for me personally, the game mechanically is a platformer divided across small instances/maps. You enter those places, find some quests, kill some enemies and gather stuff. Use said stuff to build buildings and upgrade the settlement to unlock new options, bonuses and the such that will make your platforming killing easier. You also have a leveling up system and a skill tree. So yeah, it's a mix. But like most of these games that are very open, sooner or later you're climbing through the levels, and the simple gathering quests or killing quests are just a speed bump for your exploration. Once you get tired of visiting every area and finish the last quest, it's over.

Call of Chtulu Prisoner of Ice
There are classic adventure games that has aged well and there are classic adventure games that haven't. Using a more realistic style and finding some inspiration from Lovecraft the game plays out across some different chapters/scenes in which you find items, talk to people and solve a few puzzles. Like most of these kinds of games, you usually get stuck on things and get frustrated. In this one it was because of silly things mostly that made me sigh a bit. I believe pixelhunting is the term used for some of the most common problems. I mean, it's a working game and all, but overall the main character isn't very interesting and the rest of the cast likewise. And as such, following the story unfold isn't that rewarding especially as it jumps from one big disaster to the next and ending with a weird plot twist.

Flockers
A lemlings type of game by Team 17 with their classic Sheep from Worms. It's a nice take on a genre that more or less died out without much reason aside from some of its concepts being incorporated into a lot of platforming games. Each level uses different "upgrades" for your sheep as well as level hazards that you need to overcome to get as many sheep as possible to the goal. Add a 3 star rating system, a "Golden Fleece" to collect in each level and some secret levels and you got a solid game. My main gripe with the game is that all the different upgrades and actions are introduced quite early in the game and no new ones appear. Instead most of the future maps just involve more multitasking and/or figuring out what piece of the map is affected by what button. There are however quite a few levels in which you need to do things in a very certain way with a very certain timing. I got about half way before I got tired of it though, stopped playing one day and just didn't find any motivation to play it for a couple of weeks straight and moved on to other things instead. I believe there are 60 levels in total + secret levels which gives you plenty of fun if you're into these kinds of games. And as always, trial and error is usually the key!

Blood Rage. Digital Edition
Asmodee games has made a business out of digitalizing boardgames, and people may have some feelings about that. I do as well, but mostly I like when a complex game is taken care of by an AI for those times when you don't have 4 hours to spare. Or when you want a larger game for balance but missing people, AI players aren't great, but they exist. Much like the Terraforming Mars adaption, or Scythe, Blood Rage is simply much faster this way, and it cuts down on calculation and mistakes made when keeping track of stats and cards and bonuses etc. Most of all, it's way easier to introduce new players to the genre than teaching them rules and concepts that they are likely to forget. The physical game is great but since the game goes through different ages with areas being removed and the glory points from battle and cards being returned and all that - I think this is a good port! I also own the Blood Rage DLC for Tabletop Simulator, which in turn is more accessible since not everyone needs to make a purchase, but there's just something with having all your work cut out for you, and being able to add AI, and turning it more into a turn based game.

Diablo IV
As expected it feels very much like a "Diablo-like" if that's even the term. Was it scummy that they offered people to pay twice the cost to get some digital goodies and access to the game 4 days earlier than everyone else? Yeah, but that's just the industry right now... Right? Speaking of what other people do, aside from the prologue and dungeons you share the world with other players on your server like in live service games such as Destiny. There is now character customization and a whole bunch of cutscenes where your character is taking part. Gameplay-wise the game feels more Diablo 3 than diablo 2, which is fine because D2 was like 25 years ago or something, skill trees are back but still kinda controlled like in D3 in where you need a certain level to unlock new things. So you have choices, but you don't really have freedom. Skills are divided into basic skills, strong skills, defensive skills etc which represents the "tiers" (also no D2 synergy bonuses) and are unlocked as you level up to make it more bearable at the start and getting more complex as you go. After lvl 50 you get access to the Paragon board which is more freedom, but it's all just passive abilities. So all in all, you've seen all the skills your class has to offer by lvl 30 probably. The world feels more Game of Thrones than DnD, especially all the sidequests. Some areas have a minimum level cap while most of the areas will scale with your level to ensure that you can participate in events and such for rewards that are relevant, but this also makes it so that you are never overpowered which can be a bit of an issue. I did play the first and second season that they released one month into the game and then again in October. The first season was a bit meh while the second came along with a better niche and a bunch of QoL changes that made the overall game experience more enjoyable. At the end of the day you really play to level up, get new gear and kill a bunch of enemies with bigger numbers. It's a solid entry, but it didn't pull me in as much as D3, so I ended up being distracted by other games when the people I played with started dropping off for both seasons.

Sanctum 2
A tower defense kind of game, with the twist that you the player also controls a character in a fps shooter style. So each stage is divided into different waves and inbetween you can place down wall sections and towers to aid you during the coming waves. Prevent the enemies from breaking your core by tactically placing your defenses and run around to deal with threats.  Clear the level to gain exp points to rank up and unlock more options of towers etc you can bring to a stage. There are 4 different characters to choose from, you can equip 1 extra weapon, up to 6 towers and 3 perks with passive bonuses. All in all an enjoyable experience, the game introduces enemies with special mechanics early which prevents the game from getting stale at the start, several stages are pretty tricky and you need to consider how to reroute the conga line of enemies. Is it long? Not really, the campaign isn't that long and each stage takes around 30-60min to beat. 16 stages in total but then after there is survival mode etc for those who wants more to do or feats of strengths which gives enemies buffs. Ps I didn't have any of the DLC that adds even more maps, another character, more towers, weapons and perks.

Strangeland
The game is from the same team that made Primordia, both are point and click adventures. Just like the previous game this one has great art and ambience going on that really sets the scene. It's a bit on the shorter end around 3-4 hours of playtime but I felt like it was a good amount of time to finish what they were building up. It got a bit of an unusual vibe going on and it's clear from the start that the setting isn't to be trusted. Likewise it is ambiguous in many regards with symbolism left and right while foreshadowing or dropping info that you won't get until you've progressed the game and learnt more. A part of me wishes we learnt more by the end of the game of course, but maybe it's for the best that some things are left to interpretation.

Forced Showdown
Created back in the era of pseudo deck builder games, this is a top down-ish moba styled arena survival game. Or maybe that's a bad description... See, if you played Forced the top down-ish co-op puzzle solver and action rpg thing before then you are familiar with a lot of the mechanics here. But only now they changed it to a single player game in which you set out on a campaign to complete X battles to win. Each battle consists of 8 randomized arenas (maps) in which you need to kill all enemies to progress to the next arena. At the start of each arena you have the deckbuilding part because just like in Hearthstone you start of with 1 mana before the first arena, 2 for the second and so on. You have a deck of 30 cards, some character specific, others shared and need to spend mana to activate the cards bonus. The cards and mana etc things could just as easily have been a random upgrade system or whatever. The thing is, cards played only last that battle so when you return to the hub and attempt a new battle in the campaign your cards and mana are reset. But inbetween battles you get points that gives you boons (level ups) with more randomized passive bonuses in that campaign. So yeah, rinse and repeat with different ways to increase the challenge and difficulty, unlock the other 3 characters, more variety in battle pets and use in game currency to buy random cards that you can use to tailor your deck. Give it a go for the campaign in that roguelike fasion and try to clear it, or die trying. The team later left the game to make Minion Masters btw which is a competative deckbuilder tower defense thing, so yeah.

Against the Storm
What happens when you take a RTS game like Settlers or Population but then remove the enemy? What you have left is basically a town building game where production and increased efficiency is the key. I realize that this isn't a new concept but this is the first time the game has enough of a premise to interest me. Each level is set in a biome which affects what you are likely to find. There is also a Hearth at the centre of your town around which you must build your housing for the villagers. However, each level is timed. Or rather there is a value of how fast a bar fills up, based on how well you do that bar can increase faster or slower. On the other hand to win the level you need to gain reputation, which can be earned in a few different ways, but the most common one is to complete orders which are "drawn" at certain intervals of time. This can be an order to deliver certain resources or items, to have a certain amount of villagers and other things. And top it off, your choices of blueprints, the orders you get, the resources you find  etc are randomized based on the biome. The game reminds me a lot of the old Settlers games in which you need certain buildings to gather certain resources, then you need another building to turn those resources into items or new resources. The items have practical uses (that mostly increases' your villagers' resolve to stay around) or are used for orders and events. Events are revealed when you cut away enough trees to reveal a new glade and gives you a choice what you want to spend and what that will get you. Then you have the whole deal of managing where your villagers go, what task they are assigned to, different races of villagers have different bonuses etc. Also, inbetween levels you can level up which gives more variety (like races and blueprints) as well as spending your score to gain passive bonuses and unlock permanent blueprints. So roguelite elements?


3DS

Liberty Maiden
One of these games that were revealed in a nintendo direct some 15 years past that I added to my wishlist. The game plays kinda like the 3DS Kid Icarus with you controlling with the pad and aiming and shooting with the stylus. It's okay, the game only has 5 stages and each stage except the last works pretty much the same. Fly across the map heading to the indicated location, shoot enemies in a  mech shooting combat, defeat enough and a "conduit spike" appears, destroy it and the other two in different locations and the big boss of the stage appears. All the stage bosses has similar mechanics but different movesets so it all works really. However, there isn't much to do other than clearing the game in the 3 different difficulties. It's probably just me but I would've loved more variation in enemies and my own weapons. You have lock-on missiles and a laser to shoot and that's it. So if the game was any longer than 5 stages I probably would've gotten bored with it. So any sort of upgrade system or whatever would be great.

Crimson Shroud
Another 3DS download that I got before it was too late so to speak. This one presents the game itself as a tabletop rpg, the most famous one being D&D of course. However, unlike those, no character creation - Instead the 3 characters and the enemies are figurines and you can use dice to give a boost to your actions in combat (akin to the bardic inspiration kinda). Like a lot of turn based rpgs this one relies on boosting your stats in different ways and debuffing your enemies. Just using strong attacks won't cut it as you progress. It's a neat game that plays out with you choosing rooms on a couple of different map then resolving the events and combats that will happen there. Add a pretty dark setting with intrigue and you got a solid, although kinda short, game with 4 different maps that consists of like 3-5 rooms each. Also there is a new game + for a secret ending, I didn't go for that though.


Wii U

NES Remix 1 & 2
Gonna squeeze these two games together because they are in general the exact same thing. The Wii U store closed so I got these games because I remember playing them at a friend's house one day and enjoying the nostalgia. And let's face it, the NES Remix game is very much about nostalgia. The game is generally divided into 2 parts. On one hand we have the Remixes, a couple of levels to play where some sort of twist is thrown into a classic game. Such as playing Super Mario World but continiously moving right, or playing classic Donkey Kong with limited vision. On the other hand we have "challenges" for each of the games present in the game. So a couple of challenges for Ballon Fight, some for Donkey Kong, some for Dr.Mario etc. The thing is, it's not like you play the actual game and do a challenge. Or well, some challenges are "beat the high score" or "get to the end" etc, but others are "defeat two birds" or "get up the ledge" where you just practice a skill needed to play the game. So as an adult, and an adult who played a bunch of games like these growing up, it's not exactly hard to get a 3 star rating for the challenge. Oh, you collect stars to unlock more challenges and remixes, and also eventually more games to do challenges for / to get remixes for. I just kinda wish the full games were included as well, I mean, I get why they aren't but they could probably have included them as well for the full experience because the only thing these games did was making me want to play the originals. But probably a great introduction if you have kids today who want to learn these classics.

Flight of light
An impulsive buy for the Wii U, it's kind of a music beat game where you travel along a railed path and needs to angle your ship so that you hit the "notes" and try to get as good timing as possible. It's not a very hard, it's not very varied and honestly the music is kinda bland. The thing that kinda kills the game for me though is that even if you miss the things you're trying to hit there's no effect on the music. Like, there are no sound effects in the game, there's control and a soundtrack and a heads up with your score. If you have kids who need to learn timing, I mean this probably does the trick. But another issue is that most stages are like 3-4 minutes, if it was an actual song and not just repeated beats I would get it, but it's too easy to get bored.

Nano Assault Neo
A twin stick shooter kind of thing from the people who made Fast Racing Neo, where you play on revolving worlds, kinda like in Mario Galaxy. However, you're a ship in nano scale defeating enemies on cells. Each cell (stage) is about surviving / defeating enemies until the exit appears and you head there. You get a score and everything, a chance to buy upgrades, then move on to the next cell. The game is divided into 4 of these "clusters" consisting of 3 stages and a then lastly a boss. So each one is like its own little game with no progression being passed to the next cluster just like an arcade. So all in all, the game has 4 different runs, with a total of 12 maps and 4 bosses. Once you complete single player you can also try survival mode, which is a nice touch as it just keeps going instead of ending after 4 stages.

Art of Balance
Another Wii U download that I got, since I really like Fast Racing Neo I figured that I'd get all of the games from that company. Now, this one is a lot different from the racing and shooting game. It's a game in which you attempt different stages in which your task is to pick up and rotate shapes and objects to place them onto a designated area without the entire thing falling apart. I realize that this doesn't sound that interesting but it's a neat idea that works surprisingly smoothly, and future levels introduce more mechanics. Also the entire mood here is chill with some very zen vibes.


PS4

Soulcalibur VI
I didn't get this upon release because I didn't get why the roster was so small and that in general, most of the new characters from 5 were missing. The game consists of 20(+1) fighters, and another 8 are DLC characters. Compared to previous games only 5 are new characters, Groh, Azwel, Geralt, 2b and a second katana guy and only those first three are in the base game. And here's the thing with fighting games, it's about fighting, and once you learn all the enemies there isn't much more fun to the game. SC2 had all these crazy weapon effects that you could toy around with, in SC4 they added stats and equippable skills based on thresholds. SC5 did away with that but still had a refreshed and varied cast (except for Elysium, Edge Master and Kilik all being mimic characters). Another gripe is that the game mostly focuses on the events of SC1-2 instead of building upon what SC5 left off. Does that make the game bad though? No, the game is still solid. It looks good and plays good. The character customization works like it did in the previous 2 games (and even uses the same items as previous games aside from the main cast outfits.) The story mode is divided into two parts, main story and the Libra of Souls. The first one is more classic while Libra of Souls is the more innovative one. So in short, I got what I set out to get, nothing more, nothing less really. Another entry into a series more or less.  I didn't really feel like I had been missing out on anything important all these years.


Switch

LoZ: Breath of the Wild
So yeah, it's 2023 and I finally got around to play BotW. I can name my issues with the game on a single hand unlike a lot of other open world games. There seems to be so much thought put into the game that you don't need to feel lost or that things are aimless or a waste of time. And at the same time there isn't too many different enemies nor items and crafting materials etc that you feel overwhelmed. Even if there isn't a tutorial for the game all the concepts are presented in a classic natural way by actually doing things. Sure, there are a lot of repeated assets, but I feel like it builds into the concept of making it easy to navigate the world. The towers for example reveal the map but there are no symbols marked on it from the start, instead it makes it easy to spot and pin areas you want to explore and then just do it. Other open world games tend to hide the world with fog or other line of sight blocking mechanics to isolate you from the openess of the world. So the world isn't just open, it feels open and plays into the openess aspect. The different tools and weapons at your disposal also makes it fun to interact with the world, and even though I get that people didn't like how weapons break or how your inventory starts out limited, it actually made me try new things instead of just saving them for later. Sure, most sidequests could have given you a more interesting rewards than money, and maybe the final battle could've leaned into the game's mechanics more, but hey it's a solid game. And now I'm ready to try Tears of the Kingdom that pretty much everyone has said is like BotW but like 3 times as good.

Astral Chain
This is a Platinum Games title and damn it feels like one. Just like with MGRR and Bayonetta it plays well in combat and feels smooth. This is set on an ark in future Japan in which the place is being invaded by metaphysical apperations. The game is played out in episodes which is typical of Platinum Games and each episode gives you a certain state of the world before going into enemy infested areas finished off with a boss. After the boss you get a score by the end of it. You can then use your rewards to upgrade your gear and unlock skills in a skill tree etc. and of course the next piece of the story. As you play you unlock some new weapon styles that you can switch between in combat and such which also adds to the variety even if you press the same buttons. The big sell point here is that you are synergized with a "legion" which means that you can use that minion in combat to execute cool combos, steer it to circle and chain enemies etc. Disclaimer, I haven't finish this one yet.

Super Mario Wonder
I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed at this entry. New Super Mario Bros (Wii) was a blast because you played coop with friends across levels, collected Shine Sprites and made it to the end of the levels with some checkpoints in between. But you could also toadstool each other in mid air, pick others up, bounce them higher, steal their hats, bump into them etc. All of these interactions added some chaos energy of course but it made them fun to play. In Wonder however, there is no interaction betwen the player characters (aside from one person choosing to play Yoshi). This is probably because the game now has online coop instead of just local. But it's a change I dislike especially since that one 3DS game took the New super mario bros formula, threw in a money race and gave players scores at the end (or did I dream this?). I mean, it's a good platforming game and finding some of the purple coin thingies can be challening, and the "badge" system that assigns a certain mechanic to your playing experience also spice things up.

Rune Factory 4 Special
So this is a 3DS that received a Switch update with some extra content and all that. Anyway, some people online talked about this like a Harvest Moon or Sundew Valley with combat and fantasy elements so that sounded like a good time. You choose your character's gender (but not their appearance) and get thrown into the story that revolves around a small town with a couple of named NPCs with preset activities and routes based day and time. You are introduced to the farming aspect of the game and are told to do requests for the people in the town to increase your points so that you can unlock more things. However, at the start of the game there are a lot of things that feels limited. In fact, most of the game is kinda gated behind a linear progress at the start. You need to do requests to unlock additional aspects of the game such as getting the axe and hammer to gain more resources of that kind. But those requests come once a day, for the rest of the day you are expected to chat NPCs up or go to the "danger zone" to do some combat before ending the day. Later on you unlock the ability to take more than one request, and also licenses to use crafting stations to craft items with your resources etc. Then you can upgrade your farm to plant more things there, additional farms in areas with a set season. You can also tame monsters and as allies (great idea) and so on. There are some different weapon styles that works differently, top down zelda in a sense, and it's mostly dashing and attacking, charging attack or attacking but it still feels different. Throw in some magic and skills and you got a solid variety. And you know what? It works well, lots of different aspects crammed into one with some relationship building activities in the mix. The story is divided into 3 separate parts each with their own credit scene and you can really grind things out for money and prince points if you want ALL the upgrades. But let's be fair, the last story arc was trash, just a big grindfest. And I don't personally see me playing through this ever again, I mean I could try the other romance options, but other than that I've pretty much done everything I could/wanted.



Returning games:

40k Darktide
The Left 4 dead styled coop game received an update and the game is still fun to play with friends. I still play this for the sake of picking up a game, killing a bunch of enemies and give each other a high five for a job well done. A lot of the on-release issues with grinding and randomness has been fixed/balanced but others are still in there. I'm glad to see that they are still working on this game though since the soundtrack is amazing, the setting sets the tone well and gameplay is a good balance between challenging and fun.

Borderlands 3
I didn't really finish everything in Borderlands 3 the last time around and got together with a frined to play through it. All the talking and scenes still annoy me but getting to the end of the game still felt like a rewarding thing. It's still a fun game with great mechanics. It's just that the main story wasn't that much fun. I tried one of the DLC stories that came with the first season pass before getting sidetracked again.

Monster Hunter Rise
The game got the last free content updates and my time with this game has been great. And for the first half of the year this was basically the only thing my coop time was spent on on the evenings. A great entry, It'll be fun to see what the new game will offer.

Tabletop Sim
Good ol' tabletop simulator for when you want something less stressful. It still runs well and I've done some new prototypes to let my friends testplay. But just as often we play Quacks of Quiddleburg or Smash Up.

7 Days to die
This game just celebrated its 10 year anniversary on Steam. And it's still an early access game. There was another update (to Alpha 21) so we gave it a go. It was fun, it was slightly different than previous versions. But just like all other times before. You play the game for a while, get cool gear, unlock skills and recipes and then there's nothing more to the game until the next update.

[Apex]

Oh yeah! Like last year I set a goal of trying to beat 50 games I had never beaten before, but I got through that a lot faster than I thought I would, and realized by early November that I was actually pretty close to 100. So that became the new goal, and I was able to meet it with about a half a month to spare. Here is my list:
Star Ocean - SNES
Crash Bandicoot 4 - PC
Koudelka - PSX
Castlevania 3 - NES
GEX - 3DO
Shadow Hearts - PS2
Dr Hauzer - 3DO
Panzer Dragoon Mini - GG
Shadow Hearts 2 - PS2
Pizza Tower - PC
D's Diner - 3DO
Shadow Hearts 3 - PS2
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World - SMS
Resident Evil 4 Remake/Separate Ways - PC
Spell Caster - SMS
Beautiful Katamari - 360
Vampire Master of Darkness - SMS
Neutopia II - PCE
Crusader of Centy - GEN
Pikmin 2 - GCN
D2 - DC
Donkey Kong 94 - GB
Stranger of Paradise FF Origins - PC
The Evil Within - PC
Final Fantasy Theaterythm Final Bar Line - Switch
Evil Within 2 - PC
Spongebob Cosmic Shake - PC
King of Fighers R-2 - NGP
Mario Kart Double Dash - GC
Gimmick - NES
Mugen Senshi Valis - PCE
Valis II - PCE
Quest 64 - N64
Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex - XBX
Valis III - PCE
Contra Hardcorps - GEN
House of the Dead 2 - WII
Metroid Other M - Wii
Danganronpa - Vita
Diablo IV - PC
Crash Bandicoot Huge Adventure - GBA
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Switch
Land Stalker - GEN
Outrun 2 - XBX
Blue Stinger - DC
Danganronpa 2 - Vita
Ghostwire Tokyo - PC
Outer Worlds - PC
Phantasy Star - SMS
Phantasy Star II - GEN
Famicon Remix - Wii U
Phantasy Star III - GEN
Jet Set Radio - DC
Phantasy Star IV - GEN
Astal - SAT
Gokujyou Parodius - SAT
Jikyou Oshaberi Parodious - SAT
Sexy Parodious - SAT
Castle of Illusion - GEN
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror - GBA
Suikoden - PSX
Densetsu no Starfy - GBA
Suikoden II - PSX
Mario 64 B3313 (rom hack) - PC/N64
Sonic Origins Plus - PC
Wonderlands - PC
Sonic Megamix (rom hack) - GEN
Shadow the Hedgehog - GCN
Kirby Planet Robobot - 3DS
Danganronpa V3 - Vita
YS III - PCE
Sonic Superstars - PC
Metroid 2 remake - 3DS
Final Fantasy VI T-Edition (rom hack) - SNES
Pikmin 4 - Switch
Super Mario Wonder - Switch
Star Ocean 2 R - PC
3D Dot Game Heroes - PS3
Hardcorps: Uprising - 360
Contra 3 Alien Wars - SNES
Blazing Chrome - PC
Rouge Legacy 2 - PC
Bloodstained COTM 2 - PC
Freedom Planet 2 - PC
Gal Guardian - PC
Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - PC
TMNT Shredders Revenge - PC
Axiom Verge 2 - PC
Mummy Demastered - PC
Vampior Survivors - PC
Shante Half Genie Hero - PC
Hi-Fi Rush - PC
Nickalodeon All Star Brawl 2 - PC
Devil May Cry - PC
Devil May Cry 2 - PC
Devil May Cry 3 - PC

Whew.

I'd be here all day if I went into a detailed review or even a glancing review of all of these, so I'm just gonna say which ones I really liked:
Shadow Hearts 2 was amazing, it felt comfortable like a game I would have enjoyed and played a million times in my teenage years. It's enhanced by having played Koudelka and Shadow Hearts 1 before it, but it was easily the best out of the quadrilogy. It's got great atmosphere, likable characters, good combat, and fun sidequests. It's probably my game of the year, but it's hard to say for sure.

Hi-Fi Rush was really fun, not much more to say other than it's short and sweet and doesn't have a second of downtime. Every boss fight was super fun and I had a big goofy grin on my face the whole game.

Star Ocean 2 R was a pleasant surprise for me. I absolutely love the original, and it's one of my favorite RPGs on the PSX, which is impressive considering it's an RPG powerhouse. This remake did everything right.

Danganronpa 1 - V3 was a really fun visual novel mystery series. It's best going in blind on this one, but expect great characters, and a lot of great reveals. It's a bit on the brutal side as far as violence goes though, so if you're squeamish, it might not be for you.

Contra Hardcorps is the best in the series by quite a bit, fight me.

Final Fantasy VI T-Edition is an amazing way to experience a game you've probably already beaten a million times. It adds a million new things and ramps up the challenge significantly. I found myself having to really abuse some strategies to get through this one, and the final boss was absurdly hard. This is what the game needs though if you've played it a million times like me. It made it feel like I was playing a masterpiece for the first time again.

Lots of other games were pretty amazing, but these ones stood out when looking back at the year. I am just gonna aim for 50 again next year though, 100 was a bit much and I felt like I wasn't allowed to slow down and enjoy some of these because of it.

Here's my hot-take for the year: Baulder's Gate 3 was a turd. I ran into several game breaking bugs that sent me back to saves from hours before, the story was as bland as they come, the characters were mostly unlikable/uninteresting, and I couldn't make it past Act 2. I had 100x more fun sitting through the grind fest of Phantasy Star 1 - 4 than the 25 hours I wasted on this steaming pile before giving up out of frustration of bugs and boredom. I legit am baffled at how this game got any praise, let alone as much as it did.

[Moosetroop11]

On top of my usual playing of Dwarf Fortress, Caves of Qud and Minecraft, I played:

Secret of Mana - I got to, I think, the final dungeon? I need to get back and finish it. I love the visuals and the music, and I played it on a SNES which gives it a lovely feel. The combat does feel really clunky, especially with the monsters' invincibility frames meaning that when one of my NPCs attacks, my subsequent attack does nothing. Charging up to the cool attacks takes quite a while and isn't worth it very often, especially since bosses quite often jump or fly up into the air midway or do a big attack and interrupt you. But overall the game's very cool, obviously it's a classic and very close to a lot of people's hearts.

Phantasy Star II - Funny to see this on Apex's list as well. I used to have it on the GBA but I bought it on steam and loved it this year. I didn't quite finish it yet (this is a theme). I still find the dungeons painful and confusing but not nearly as much as I did back when I played it as a kid.

KOTOR - I love this game, figured it was time I played it again. Sadly my laptop has started playing up which has taken the joy out of it a bit so I need to get it fixed then finish it off. KOTOR is an amazing star wars game and the music (by Jeremy Soule of elder scrolls fame) really makes it feel like it's part of the film series. It's pretty dated at points but loveably so (I think). I've had quite a few issues with it on steam though, the cutscenes often minimise to my desktop and I have to open them multiple times until they finally work, which is a real pain flying from planet to planet.

[Apex]

Phantasy Star II - Funny to see this on Apex's list as well. I used to have it on the GBA but I bought it on steam and loved it this year. I didn't quite finish it yet (this is a theme). I still find the dungeons painful and confusing but not nearly as much as I did back when I played it as a kid.

Yeah, dungeons weren't fun to navigate, I practically had a map open the whole time for most of the series. 3 and 4 were a bit better in that regard though, and way less grindy as well. Really 4 was the best in the series, I know that's not an original answer, but it's darn true. I'd give 4 a shot if nothing else.

[Fisherson]

Games of 2023:

Baldur's Gate 3. Honestly, need I do more? I wanted to play very few for a price tag of 39.99$ on sale and Bladur's Gate earned Game of the Year earnestly in how much insane work went into the whole shebang.

[Moosetroop11]

Yeah, dungeons weren't fun to navigate, I practically had a map open the whole time for most of the series. 3 and 4 were a bit better in that regard though, and way less grindy as well. Really 4 was the best in the series, I know that's not an original answer, but it's darn true. I'd give 4 a shot if nothing else.

Yeah I heard good things, bought it and started it but didn't get very far, it actually gave me rpgmaker vibes with how the dialogue was - I think I might prefer 2 from what I saw just because it 2 more of a super retro feel (but that might be nostalgia from playing it as a kid) but I'll need to get back into it at some point. At points I actually navigated the P S 2 dungeons by taking screenshots and building my own maps : p

[Momeka]

PC:
Valheim - It's fun building bases.
theHunter: Call of the Wild - Hunting simulator, pretty fun in multiplayer. Just hike around a virtual forest and talk **** with friends.
Factorio - Played through it again for like the 3rd or 4th time.
Metal Gear Solid 2 - Replayed it, still pretty fun.
Metal Gear Solid V - Tried to replay this too, but gave up about half way through.
System Shock 1 (The remake) - It was fun, I really like what they did with the art style. Gave up about 75% way through
Boltgun - Was fun, but bounced of it pretty quick.
Psychonauts 2- I enjoyed it, was pretty close to the end when I stopped playing it. Should probably go back and try to finish it.
The making of Karateka - Not sure I would call this a "video game". It's more like an interactive documentary where you sometimes play games. But I really enjoyed it, hope this becomes a thing.
Rad - Action roguelike, played it for a few hours. It was fun, would play again... maybe
Void Stranger - Block pushing puzzle game with cool art. Should go back and finish it someday.
Legends of Amberland 2 - Grindy first person dungeon crawler. I enjoy it, perfect podcast game. One of the few games I finished.
Fates of Ort - Mostly played it to see how they did their 2D isometric stuff. Was fun at the start, but got pretty repetitive quickly.
Starship Trooper Extermination - Played it with Drace a couple of times. Was fun for just mindless shooting for an evening.
The Sargosian Abyss - Group tactics roguelike game. It's was a bit too difficult for my taste.
Rusted Moss - Cool metroidvania. Will probably go back and finish it someday.
The Citadel - Weird anime weebo doom-like fps. Looks cool but did not finish.
Prodeus - Modern classic doom clone, finished it. Was okay.
Squirrel Stapler - Meme fps game. Finished it.
Chop Goblins - Another meme fps game, more content than Squirrel Stapler. Finished it.
ZeroRanger - Shoot em up. Hardly play this type of games. But I really enjoyed it.
The End of Dyeus - Open world first person rpg. Was pretty fun, did not finish.
Barotrauma - Currently playing with friend group. Really fun to mess around with friends, probably not as fun alone.
Path of Achra - Cool roguelike, is in early access. Will probably go back when more content has been added.
Diablo 4 - Played through the campaign and had fun. Did zero post campaign stuff. I'm happy with what I got.
Hunters - Was pretty fun for the ~15 min it took to finish. The companions are a bit too stupid sometimes, but it's also a gamejam game so I'll give that a pass.

Playstation 4:
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - The longest single player game I finished last year. Half sorta visual novel and half mech tactics game. The visual novel part was the best part.

Switch:
Dragon Quest Treasures - It was fun. I should go back to it someday.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder - It was fun seeing all the gimmicks at the start. But got kinda of bored and never finished it.

DS:
Dragon Quest VIII - I got stuck on a boss

I am really bad at finishing games.

[Archem]

I forgot to do this until just now. I had a very busy year, so I didn't finish as many games. I certainly still played a decent number, but most of my time went to games that don't really have an end goal, like Mario Kart or Jackbox with friends.

January

Supraland: Crash (PC)

This was a really meaty DLC for the original Supraland. It could have existed stand-alone due to how much content was in here, as well as how it's totally isolated from the original game. It's more of the same, but that's definitely not a bad thing, and I won't waste anyone's time by re-writing everything I said about the first game. I still haven't played Supraland: Six Inches Under (the sequel game), but I really need to.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Switch, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)

Again, just read the mini-review I put at the end of last year's writeup. I feel the same now as I did then.

Blackthorne (PC, SNES, Sega 32X, GBA, Switch, PS4, Xbox One)

Blackthorne is a classic cinematic platformer from Blizzard back in their glory days. If you don't know/remember cinematic platformers, they were often pretty clunky, usually focused on puzzle solving, and looked very pretty. Examples would be games like Another World/Out of This World, Oddworld, Heart of Darkness, and the original Prince of Persia games. Blackthorne does have its fair share of puzzle solving, but it's much more an action game. You play as a prince sent to Earth by a wizard many years ago when your home world was attacked by orc-like bad guys who take over the kingdom. Then you get magically transported back as an adult to fight back against them. Also, you brought a shotgun with you. The setting is very medieval fantasy inspired, but with sci-fi technology peppered in, so while you're raiding dungeons, you'll also be deactivating generators powering energy shields and things like that. The combat is pretty simple, and is basically peek-a-boo most of the time. Some enemies have strategies to them, but the man orc-like bad guys eventually just turn into either pure timing or pure luck guessing when they'll pop out of cover and shoot and how long they'll stay exposed. The game is somewhat flexible in this regard, as it gives you an inventory to use which includes your usual keys, but also healing potions, grenades, remote control drones, and elevating platforms that can be used at any time. The trick is that sometimes, you need these things for specific puzzles, and you might waste them if you use them at the wrong times. The game is pretty strict about what you should do, and when. If you get it wrong, you'll likely wind up seriously injured or possibly killed instantly. While this is standard procedure for most cinematic platformers, I would argue that Blackthorne is a bit more forgiving than most. Ultimately, it's a pretty fun game, but you definitely need to have the patience to deal with such a rigid game in the modern era.

Handshakes (PC)

Ok, technically this is a demo for a yet-to-be-released puzzle game, but I'm counting it anyway. This is a block pushing puzzle game mixed with Snake. You control two little dudes who are trying to shake hands with each other, and while they don't move, their arms can stretch infinitely. The goal is to make the hands overlap on the grid, but their arms can't overlap (à la Snake). It's short, fun, and free on Steam. I love these kinds of games, so I'll be patiently awaiting the full release, Handshakes: Hands On.

March

Vampire Survivors (PC, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)

By now, I expect most people know about this game. Massive waves of gothic horror-themed monsters (obviously inspired by Castlevania) swarm at you while your character automatically attacks at fixed intervals and you move around in an attempt to avoid their onslaught, collecting experience gems and items to improve your offensive/defensive capabilities. I ignored it for a long time, convinced that it was too shallow and unlikely to actually be much fun. Then I found out it was free on phones, so I figured "hey, for free, I'll give it a shot" and wound up addicted to it for a while. It's really fun, and has a surprising amount of depth due to the deep rabbit hole of secrets hidden in the game and levels. I bought the game on PC, as well as its DLC, because even at full price for everything, it still only cost around $10. It has multiplayer now, so that means it works as a fun party game, too.

Torchlight 2 (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One)

A very well-made Diablo clone that originally released the same year as Diablo III and featured some of the same people that worked on Diablo and Diablo II, this game was set to be a big deal. It was, actually, and capitalized on Diablo III's less-than-stellar launch. It's a dungeon crawler action game that doesn't do anything too original, but what it does, it does very well. It's Diablo in all but name, as we expected.

Toree 3D (PC, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)

A fun, short, simple 3D platformer that looks like a bright and cheery late 90s game, but as is the style of the time, it hides sinister and creepy secrets. If you're familiar with the Hanuted PS1 indie collab stuff, then you may already have seen that this was a part of that. If not, the name alone will probably give you an idea of what to expect. I like it quite a bit, as well as its sequel Toree 2.

Toree 2 (PC, Switch)

More of the same! This developer has a thing for making cutesy, fun little faux-N64 games and charging a buck or two for the bite-sized experience. I'm all for this, because as mentioned previously, I've had a pretty busy year, and this quick shot of nostalgia is very pleasing. I'm waiting for the next entry in the series, Toree Saturn. It sure looks like more Toree, but with a Sega Saturn vibe this time.

April

Metroid Fusion (GBA, 3DS, Wii U, Switch)

Did I finally finish Fusion? I guess so, it's on my list. Well, for the uninitiated, Metroid Fusion is yet another entry in the Metroid series, this time featuring a more linear progression and horror theme as you control Samus Aran through a research station while being pursued by a seemingly indestructible doppelganger. There are a lot of people who consider this to be the best Metroid, but because of its linear nature and near total lack of sequence breaks (normally a series standard), none of those people happen to be speedrunners. I've played this game plenty of times in the past, but for one reason or another I never finished it. Honestly, I'm surprised to learn that I did finish it. Weird. Anyway, it's a lot of fun, and if you love Metroidvanias as much as I do and somehow haven't played this game, you owe it to yourself to play one of the best games in the series.

September

Zortch (PC)

Zortch, or Zortch Maxinum Against The Alien Brainsuckers! (sic), as it is referred to on the game's title screen, is a retro-inspired first-person shooter that manages to perfectly capture that late 90s era. Built on a custom engine, it manages to also be damn near able to run on a PC from the same era. This game perfectly captures the look and feel of those games, sitting somewhere between Unreal and Turok in terms of visuals. The levels (15 total) are massive and packed with secrets and wild encounters. The weapons are all really satisfying to use, and the enemy variety is just right. The game has an absurdist sense of humor to it and a weirdly balanced damage scale. Your HP and armor goes up to 200, but can blow way past that using powerups, but some of the enemies can do enormous amounts of damage on their own, so it kind of neutralizes out. A lot of the standard grunts can be easily killed in one headshot, but then there are the bigger guys who teleport and can take what feels like dozens of rockets. It works so well somehow. The game's awesome, and for $5, I feel like I'm getting away with something. I think it might have been my Game of the Year.

December

Corn Kids 64 (PC, Switch)

Or maybe I meant to say this game is my Game of the Year. I'm not sure. Anyway, we have yet another throwback-styled game, this time a 3D platformer that feels very inspired by Rare's classics like Banjo-Kazooie or Conker's Bad Fur Day, but with a visual style that draws inspiration from the works of Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac). You play as a little goat kid named Seve who it trapped in a dream where his nachos were stolen, but his friend Alexis is able to leave him silly sticky notes that sometimes offer help all over the world. Neither of them seems to be taking things too seriously in their own ways, with Seve being more interested in doing things for a reward (the nachos he was dreaming about), and Alexis just being generally scatterbrained. It's all very silly, and while the game is short in theory (there are only a couple of real worlds), they're so packed with content that it can take hours to get through everything. The levels are so smartly designed and the goals are somewhere between simple and straightforward and so obscurely buried that it feels like you were never meant to find them in the first place, and I mean that in a good way. The game has a great set of movement controls that feel like they give you enough control to go anywhere, and the animations are so fluid that they're a joy to look at every single time. I stood and watched some of the characters' idle animations when I first started the game just to admire how much life they had to them. This game is so good, and like all these other retro-styled games, is super cheap ($7 on Steam). The year's basically up, so I doubt there will be any more retro-themed GotY nominees on my list.

Cultic (PC)

Then again, what do I know? Cultic is a one-man project where you play a detective investigating an insidious cult and a number of disappearances tied to them. The game has more of that 90s retro shooter goodness that I'm so addicted to these days, and has a wonderful horror veneer that reminds me of Blood, Dusk, or Resident Evil 4. Everything feels somewhat grounded (well, at first), and the combat feels so brutal and threatening. I rarely felt safe while playing the game, and that tension was so refreshing. This game is incredible, and the story is enticing. There's a bonus chapter that explores what happens after the main game and acts as a teaser for the next chapter, and it introduces an interesting twist that makes the sinister nature of the cult all the more terrifying.

Qomp (PC)

You know Pong, right? Did you ever wonder what happens to the ball once it gets past the paddles? Well, the developer of this game did, and they made a wonderful... Puzzle game? I guess. You control the Pong ball through a series of mazes and obstacle courses where the mechanics are constantly being expanded upon. This game is short enough to be finished in one sitting, but it's excellently made, and is, once again, dirt cheap. A sequel just came out last week for $20, so I imagine it has a lot more to offer. I'm excited to pick it up and play it.