Games of 2024

[Prpl_Mage]

The tradition continues even though not much else is happening on the boards now that we have the Discord channel for casual conversations and such.

I know I'm not the person who plays the most games or the most hardcore grinder anymore. But I still enjoy games and intend to continue doing so. This year ended up being a bit more varied, I'm still a sucker for pick up and play kind of games rather than the long sitting kind since life. So I own all of these interesting and cool JRPGs etc that I really should play but then I pick something that is just straight up easier to get into and complete.

2024: http://www.charas-project.net/forum/index.php?topic=29669.0

Posting my usual list of games played and such below. Feel free to post your own as well!

PS, according to the Steam Wrapped thingy I spent the most time in Steamworld Build, Palworld and Terraria.

Palworld (PC)
Yeah I jumped the shark. I mean, the game looked like ARK survival evolved but with anime animals instead of dinosaurs. It's just the kind of game me and my brother plays (see all previous entries about 7 Days to Die etc). Does it have crafting? Yes. Does it have base building? Yes. Does it have progress locked behind grinding and/or leveling? Yes. So your typical crafting game. There are some survival mechanics in the game but they mainly boil down to getting the right gear or pals for hot/cold environment and keeping some sort of food in your inventory. Pals? Oh yeah, those are the things you're supposed to capture and assign to work in your base. There was a lot of (rightly so) critique about some of the character design and their borrowing of Pokémon's style. But I mean, that's mainly because Pokémon designs have devolved into being an anime style animal with a flower on their heads right? Tales of Symphonia 2 did this, that one Dragon Quest game did this, KH Dream drop distance did this, Monster Hunter Stories etc - there have been a lot of games where you collect beasts before, but they have also had a distinct style. This is more of an open world exploration game with pals running around, there is no intro cutscene, no professors, no towns or gyms no "gotta catch 'em all" or "Become the champ". This game pushes you to collect a lot of the same pals though, since you can merge them together to increase the ability it has. You even get a tutorial about capturing a lot of them, and a bonus exp up to 12 captures of the same. The pals also have certain perks that lets them help out with your base stuff such as keeping your forge running, crafting items, mining, powering your generator. Where other games have upgrades using electricity to make things automated this one simply asks you to assign your captured pals to the base (however, electrical things were added later as well.) It's still early access and a lot of areas are empty, there isn't a lot of design details put into the game world either and your character and progress is tied to a single world. So we'll see if this takes off or if it gets forgotten as other games are released this year. Also worth noting is that since you have so much freedom and gear, you don't really need other players to play the game which is a bit of a con for me, I mean, the thing about coop survival crafting games is that you need to work together to solve the stupid situations you put yourselves in.


Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch)
With World and Rise come and gone since this game's release it's clear that those two games have made a lot of quality of life changes that both make the game more forgiving for new players as well as streamlining speed like so many other games these days (meaning that games, missions etc are supposed to be rushed). I mean MHGU has a lot of jankiness going on here and it's easy to forget that you had to stand still to use items, that every action had an exaggerated animation and how grindy the game could be for certain items or materials that were needed. Getting poisoned? You better clear that **** or you'll die, it's hard to just tank through it. Visiting the tundra? You better bring hot drinks or your stamina will go bye bye. Oh, you missed those crucial items? Well you better abandon the quest and start over then, no swapping mid quest or refilling unless you find the materials. With that said, there is a lot more than just nostalgia to this game which is a port / addition to the 2016 3DS game. The game has a lot of charm and different cool systems going on with hunting styles and hunter arts, now also focused on buffs for multiplayer. There is also additions to the palicos/prowler mode which let's you play as a palico which didn't make later installments, the additions make it all less random. But the thing I like most of all is that there are a lot of different monsters to fight (93 in total) and locations to play in. Just in low rank you do missions on 5 different maps before 3 star quests - Rise had 5 areas in total throughout the entire game (7 with the expansion). So it's a huge game with variety and nods to previous games in the series.


Voidigo (PC)
I saw a review from one of my Steam friends about this game and checked it out. Certainly an interesting look but I had some other games to play at the moment. But lo and behold, said Steam contact gifted me the game so I just had to play it I guess. And I wasn't sorry. This is your typical top view roguelike bullet hell game but the artwork is splendid and I like that there are different ways to interact with the world. Most things can be destroyed with the right weapon and weapons can interact differently with hazards etc such as poison gas or electrified water. You play, you die, you get some currency to unlock more options such as characters, starting weapons and passive bonuses. There is an end game boss and a new game plus, but just like other games such as these that I've played - I'm just not that good at keeping focus for a prolonged amount of time to avoid dying. I mean, I like save points for a reason. But, I would recommend this because the gameplay is smooth, the weapons and passives different and interesting and enemies well telegraphed and there is multiplayer. And if that doesn't excite you then maybe the style, the music and sound etc will.


Steamworld Build (PC)
This Steamworld game is a city builder that combines an overworld where you manage space, happiness and placement. And a mine where you manage an entire different system to unearth resources, build extractors and reveal further areas of the mine. At the start of the game you pick a destination to play the game on, completing the entire game in a destination will also unlock a bonus for future playthroughs. There are different difficulty settings and such to spice things up. Each playthrough will be kinda the same though as you need to progress to the next milestone by fulfilling certain criteria, usually having enough happy civilians of a certain type - and this doesn't change in different destinations, which is a bit of a bummer. At the start of the game it isn't very complex but as you get further you have a lot of things to keep track of. Luckily there are also plenty of QoL mechanics, such as being able to freely move buildings in your city without any penalty for when you need to squeeze something in or when a specific building isn't as useful anymore. Now to be blunt, I mostly replayed it to complete the achievements and to unlock the rewards for all the destinations - but the game loop works with a classic "just a little more" touch the first time you play it. I do wish there were additional gamemodes aside from the story to spice things up. Also, the thing I really need to highlight here is that the game is being so damn clear about everything. The UI is great: hazards and specific buildings are all clearly communicated to the player that you rarely feel lost or the need to look things up.
I also grabbed the DLC because I heard great things about it and I like what it added to the game. It's mostly an expansion for the mining portion of the game, but it added more player agency which I like and the added abilities and objects that revamped the mining area made it feel more like a great design choice instead of a random area that you just need to clear. 


Super Smash bros Ultimate (Switch)
I mean, it's Super Smash. I got this way late though. I mean it was released back in 2018. I just haven't had the urge to play it since it felt like it was basically the Wii U game but more characters. (I also played that one way too much, which could be the main reason). It also didn't help that once I got a Switch and looked it up the game was like 70€ and the DLC fighter packs an additional 70€ or so in total. I mean, I get it since those packs were released some time after the initial release, so for people who played the game since launch those new characters added variety and such. But being late to the party kinda makes it a bit sour. I mainly played the World of Light single player mode to unlock characters and such, and also online multiplayer. Both are fine, but the game shines the most when you sit next to each other and have fun. But I mean, if you want a competitive platforming brawler then this is the best game out there.


Pokémon TCG Live (Mobile)
This is a phone game / browser - and it works. I mean, I never got into the deck building hobby - like ever, because I've never liked the randomness of buying a pack of cards and hoping that you'll actually get cards that fit your deck. Well, this kinda solves that. It's the pokemon trading card game, you get a bunch of decks for free when you start and with each major update. You can also spend in-game currency to just up and buy specific cards from a list. Currency is gained by doing daily quests that eventually increases your ranks and nets you rewards. The rewards are also other kinds of currencies for cosmetics etc. and card packs. It's a pretty solid and clear deckbuilder ruleset and the theorycrafting is real fun, which is a pleasant pastime to just go about and build a deck out of the cards you have and challenge friends or randos online (no CPU matches).


Pokémon Pocket (Mobile)
Yeah no. The artwork of the cards are cool and you can turn the cards and make your own scrapbook etc. But no, there's too much microtransactions going on and every predatory tactic ever used in phone games. We have a million different currencies, we have constant reminders that you can spend money to get more of said currencies, you have timed and limited seasons complete with sidequests to get X of a specific card which you must rely on random chance to get because card drawing. Also, the battles aren't as fun as the game above. This is the child friendly version of the game. Your deck is 20 cards instead of 60. You have a total of 4 pokémon instead of 6. you can bring a total of 2 copies of the same card instead of 4. You win when you have taken 3 prizes instead of 6 etc. So that combined with all the microtransactions, and the fact that I enjoy the game above more (and it doesn't have any microtransactions btw), meant that I uninstalled this a week later.


Risk of Rain Returns (PC)
This is the 2023 remake of the 2013 game now that the IP is owned by a new studio/developer / whatever. Why did I get this? Because the multiplayer works. That's it. Why did I keep playing it? Because it had more characters to play, more items to unlock, some new game modes - and oh, yeah multiplayer that works. You start a run and try to get as far as possible without dying since this is a hardcore / roguelike game. They also added "Trials of providence" which are short minigame/ event matches kind of thing that break the pace of just playing the main game, in an alternative game mode from the menu of course. Loved a lot of these but others were very frustrating. But overall, a great game and the additional skill options and other changes give it just enough freshness to play again.


Hired Gun: Necromunda (PS4)
This could've been a great game but it ends up being a good game. We're back in the Warhammer 40k universe, this time on Necromunda, a planetwide cityscape with gang rivalries and a grimpunk aesthetic. There is a lot of potential for a great story here, but instead we're given a FPS about a semi- silent protagonist who is simply "the player". There are a lot of great things about the game mechanically - you are mobile, just like in the Doom remake and such your advantage over the horde of enemies is your ability to navigate the map in ways your enemies can't. You're also rewarded for being aggressive since you can heal back up if you shoot an enemy during the seconds that follow you taking damage yourself. Then we also have wallrunning, walljumping, double jumping, sliding, air dashes, grappling hook and a whole arsenal of things you can do to survive. But your main source of damage is guns, and guns consists of different parts that together with an item rarity system affects the stats of the weapons. Throw in a mastiff that you can call on with a squeaky rat toy, an upgrade system that affects both passive skills and active skills  (and also upgrade your dog with cyber augments to make it a killing machine) and you have a solid basis for the game. But as mentioned, not a great game. The plot and character motivation is vague (because: silent protagonist), the most story you get is in the first mission and then for the final mission when they want to "unravel" the plot. There are 13 main missions and you can take on randomized "bounties" in previous maps for extra money and loot. So like a lot of 40k game it ends up being a murderfest that plays well but not necessarily scratch the itch of a grimdark story to match the amazing grimdark aesthetics. Likewise, another issue is that the game tends to crash. So far only in these randomized bounties, not the main campaign itself. But it's a bit worrying that the game still haven't managed to patch that out.


BattleBlock Theater (PC)
Now this game sure is quirky. In a good way. I got this for the multiplayer a couple of years back when me and my friends would actually meet up and sit around a computer to play, but other games made a bigger splash and this one just kinda stayed forgotten. So eventually I just bit the bullet and played it myself. There is a pretty solid solo player campaign in this crazy platformer. Which, like a lot of these, consist of a level with things to find (gems) and you need 3 out of the 6/7 in the stage to clear the stage. There are also some other collectibles and different blocks and objects that spice things up in the stages. The later levels start hiding the gems better (either literary hiding them or just putting them behind more complex platforming sections or puzzles). It's a solid platformer that is more about navigating a maze than going from left to right, and while I only played a few of the user created stages I can see this being real fun for a night of coop. Like a crazy mario maker. (there is also an arena mode for more ways to play more competitive with friends)


Deep dungeons of doom (PC)
I got this because I liked the spritework which is lovely. There's a 16 bit (?) pixelated style going on and some nudges towards old era video games. You mostly pick and choose from a map to start a "dungeon" instead of moving around(there are 10 in total). In the dungeon you move between floors by pressing up and down and resolve what's in them, which is usually combat, npcs or shrines. Combat kinda reminds me a bit of Momeka's "Crypt of the Fungal Lord" in which you have an attack button and a guard button. Attack the enemy but watch your cooldown, because when the enemy attacks you will need to guard to reduce damage taken and also timing when you press attack will reduce the cooldown. Earn gold to improve your character with a skill tree and finding equipment and it's a solid gameplay loop. The best part is that it doesn't overstay its welcome, the game can be completed pretty fast and some of the strongest weapons in the game are just locked behind playing the right stage with the right character (of which there are 3). I stayed for the achievements and wanting to rip all the enemy sprites and equipment icons which meant more grinding than I intended.


The Talos Principle (PC)
In a sense this scratches the same kind of itch as Portal. You know, aside from the portals. The game is laid out for you with different levels with different puzzles that reward you with a macguffin that you need to unlock more "tools" which allows you to tackle more puzzles. The tools are all part of the puzzle and nothing that gives you an edge, it's simply the game's way of introducing new mechanics as you get better. Puzzles comes in 4 forms. Green, that mostly just wants you to learn a certain tool or action. Yellow that have more steps that needs to be tied together, and red that are more complex and require you to master those steps from the previous tiers. And then finally there are stars, that don't come with their own puzzle room but are instead hidden and require you to think outside the box. Unlike portal however, there are sometimes very specific ways to solve the puzzles. There's also a story to the game, mostly loredumping with a terminal and putting things together to get what this world is and what this test is all about. You know, the usual: left audio logs, messages to read, and the occasional encouragement from the omniscient voice in the sky.


Ever Oasis (3DS)
This is the game that I wish I had gotten back during the primetime of the 3DS era. It has a little bit of everything but balanced in a way that it feels well thought through. It's a little like the town sims such as Rune Factory, Story of Seasons and such. But it's not a dating sim in disguise but rather a RPG, with dungeons and puzzles, of which several are pretty nifty. But at the same time it's not a heavy RPG with complex choices and skill trees. Just the basics such as levels and stats and gear and such, but you also have around 50 (at the end of the game) different companions to bring when you leave the town with different combinations of weapon types, passive abilities and adventure skills. There are also a lot of quality of life features here that just makes the game fun to play. Sidequest show what area you need to visit (with a map), all materials in the crafting station or when giving to your villagers show where they can be found, you can use a town portal to return to town to heal and change your party when a puzzle requires a specific adventure skill without the need for backtracking, the warp points menu hints which adventure skills you are likely to need etc. In the end it's a bit like Fantasy Life, a bit like Crystal Chronicles, a bit like Rune Factory etc. And it all just works.


Minecraft, Bedrock? (Wii U)
I never played Minecraft, if was one of those in between things and used to require its own launcher and stuff. So I stayed with Steam where I had Terraria and other build/craft/explore games. But I got this for the Wii U back when I became a dad since it had couch coop, which sounded nice. But I also promised that I wouldn't try to get my kid interested in video games until their 6th birthday. And that day finally arrived. Aside from N64 Mario Kart and some mobile games like nonograms/picross and those bejeweled thingies this is the first "video game" video game that we've played. It's a bit wonky to learn how to play a first person game I realized but the game works regardless. Although I wonder why the couch coop isn't using the Wii pad for one player and the tv screen for the other, seems like a wasted opportunity. Instead it's a split screen situation where the screen is split horizontally, I would much rather have it split vertically now that the world of monitors and displays have gone wide. We haven't really made any progress. We've explored, made friends with some wolves and built some things that looks like crap. I've gotten frustrated at the crafting system that requires some getting used to. Still, I get why this became popular and why other games have copied several of the ideas. We'll see if this sticks or if other kinds of games are more interesting to play for us.


Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (PC)
So this is the Borderlands spin-off based on the BL2 DLC Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep. Short and simple, that was a fantasy-inspired side story that was explained as the characters playing a Bunkers and Badasses (DnD) game. Your ordinary shooty enemies are replaced with mostly melee mooks, and the desolate scifi setting of BL2 was replaced with forests, castles and dwarven mines. That DLC was back in 2014, then BL3 was released 2020, and this came out 2022. It's a stand alone game, with its own set of character classes and weapons. The same gun types as the main games appear here but with a crossbowy, magicy or steampunky look. Most of the weapons are still guns. But it leans more into the fantasy element since melee weapons are now a thing (although it still just affects the "press V to melee" and some class abilities). There is also a character creator, an overworld where you move between the different areas (complete with random encounters), collectibles that boost things and other systems, like multiclassing, that allow you to make your character into a bonafide badass vault hu- fatemaker. The story is okay, it's what you can expect based on the BL2 DLC, Tiny Tina is the BM and her erratic behaviour and spontanous solutions guides the story forward. This while two "advisors", two other characters "at the table" guide you along with banter. Then there is also the character you created, with the voice you chose, who actually participates in the story itself and interact with NPCs. So it's what you can expect storywise. Still, the combat feels smooth with the spells replacing classic grenades for some cooler effects. Also the class skills refreshes faster than the other games and are less "final smash" and more part of the arsenal to play the game.


Space Marine 2 (PC)
Another 40k game. This time with our good friends the Space Marines. We have super soldiers fighting off a xenos invasion and you get to partake in utter slaughtering of smaller enemies while parrying the world against the larger ones. The combat is pretty straight forward with light and heavy melee attacks, special attacks that can be done when an enemy is staggered, executions and counters that restore your shields etc. You also have a gun, and that's fun but sooner or later the enemies will overwhelm you and you need to draw your melee weapon to clean up the horde. The campaign is pretty good, following our good friend Titus as he becomes wrapped up with the Ultramarines once more and need to prove himself worthy of the colour blue in a series of 15 missions. There is also operations: multiplayer scenarios with 6 different missions where you pick between the game's 6 archetypes (classes) with different skills and loadouts than the main game. Also there is a PvP mode, but it is as expected in a third person shooter. Speaking of third person shooters, this reminds me a bit of Gears of War, only no one decides to take cover. The game looks great, the visual team did a great job and the animations are superb.


Tormented Souls (PC)
Imagine that you're back at the end of the 1990s and you're playing a survival horror game on your PS1. You start playing it and bump into puzzles that you need to solve to progress. The voice acting isn't great, the enemies' AI are a bit limited and the tank controls and camera angles screw you over from time to time. That's what this game is aiming to be. A neat mix between Resident Evil and Silent Hill, but operating mostly like a puzzle game with occasional combat rather than being some sort of action horror survivor game. Like the era it's trying to replicate we have items laying around that can be spun around and interacted with, we have limited ammo, we have limited healing and limited saving (the last point being the reason for nearly all the negative reviews, I guess people didn't want that). You will backtrack a lot, so you have to decide if it's worth using ammo and/or healing to defeat enemies in a room or if it's better to just run for it. Some great puzzles, some easy ones, some frustrating. Overall, if you liked the old school games, you will probably get some sense of nostalgia from this at least.
PS, I also played through it another two times to get the no heal, and no save achievements. I usually don't bother, but since this is mostly a puzzle game and I knew the answers and had the layout memorized I went for it.


Mind over Magnet (PC)
This is the game from Gamemaker's Toolkit, the youtube channel that's been breaking down game design for a while now and also hosts a couple of game jams on itch.io. The game itself is a puzzle game, and while it was fun to follow the video diary dev log things as he worked on the game the finished product is unfortunately not that impressive. I mean for a team of 1- and a few, it looks great with the vector graphics, the backgrounds and music. The puzzles are fine. But the game just doesn't take off. You load a map and you solve the puzzle which is getting to the exit of said map. There is a transition and then you're on the next map to solve the next puzzle. Then there are about 6 story scenes in total sprinkled around at intervals. So the game just feels like a series of puzzles (which these games usually are). Sometimes you need to collect keys in in a level to unlock the exit which adds an extra step. But that's about it. So yeah, I beat the game and it took me about 2 hours in total. Then you unlock a dev commentary that shows up in the different levels if you play it again. But that's it.


Keeper's Toll (PC)
So this genre is apparently now being called "bullet heavens" at the moment, I have no idea if the name sticks but it kinda delivers the mechanics of the game better than "vampire survivor-like". See, in a bullet hell there are bosses and enemies pooping out more projectiles than a firework show on the 4th of July, but in a bullet heaven the idea is that you are the one doing the projectile flinging. There is a map and enemies spawn outside your screen and walks towards you, there are elite enemies with a special purple border that have actual attack animations, lounges, ranged attacks etc. But the rest of the enemies are more or less just a walking animation trying to bump into you. I mean, it doesn't sound that interesting in those terms. However, what the game delivers is big piles of dopamine, we have big numbers, yellow numbers, a level up screen, picking up gold, getting artifacts and so on. It's every lesson ever learned from ARPGs like Diablo. You know, the dopamine lessons, not the rest. You have a cast of 6 different classes and can spend your rewards to unlock more passive talents for them. The game has 4 different stages which spawns specific bosses after a set amount of time. Once the final boss of a stage is defeated to can quit out to earn your rewards or continue with "curses" being added as well as the monster intensity. Curses are challenges btw, such as swords flying in your direction or you gliding before coming to a full stop.


Hades (Switch)
Another roguelike, also slightly top down and all about getting as far as possible and earning stuff along the way to unlock more options and also some permanent upgrades for your character. There's some heavy Greek themes to this game and one of the things randomized when you play is which gods that will give you boons, and which kind (usually 4 per run). You have control over what weapon you pick for the run and also which passive abilities you'll start with. With most other passive bonuses gained being limited to X encounters (encounters being rooms). The game is divided into 4 worlds/parts, with each part having a boss for you to fight before moving on. Each world presents increasingly difficult and complex enemies that challenges you, and if you die - well then at least you got some stuff to invest in upgrades, or a new carpet for the main hub. The thing I like about it though, is that there's a story that plays out. In between runs you can chat up the NPCs in the main hub, and also give them nectar which unlocks more dialogue options as they trust you more. Also the boons from the gods give you different messages depending on progress, and what other boons you have etc. And like most roguelikes, I haven't been able to beat it except for one time when my crossbow that fires mortars gained a 300% damage increase (but it could also hurt me) and then some other lucky rolls made that thing deal about 900 damage per click while I was faaaar away from danger and could just focus on dodging the final boss's attacks.


Voidtrain
So this is yet another early access crafting survival kind of game. You're on a train going through the void along a track. You can swim in the void to pick up items and such. But an hour or so in you'll get a grappling gun that allows you to just shoot the items and don't need to leave the train aside from getting a better angle at items or to clear leeches. You run your train through your rail, reach a gate at the end and get transported to a depot where you can upgrade your train and defeat the soldiers guarding the place. Then you set out for another run through the void repeating the process. And this is the issue I have with the game really. Most games like these have some sort of exploration element, but this one literaly railroads you from the first moment you start playing it until you get bored with it. It works at the start as you use collect and make progress. With your resources you'll unlock more building and crafting blueprints and build crafting stations, gear and train upgrades etc to survive better and make life easier.


Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen North (PS4)
Last time I wrote a review about HZD I wasn't completely done with it and hadn't tried the DLC yet which was included in the edition I bought. Now I did, since the new game was released and all (I still don't have a PS5 however) and a LEGO version was announced. Taking some time off and returning again made the gameplay fresh once more, I suppose it's easy to get fatigue with these kinds of open world games. I was back in the game finishing up collections of things, a few upgrades, collectibles, hunting grounds (timed trials with objectives) and the DLC of course. I spent special ammo like crazy because why should I stock up on another 500 Blaze canisters? It just felt a bit liberating, I guess it is partly thanks to BotW that I played in-between and where I was forced to deal with the fact that items and resources are meant to be spent. Now, what about that DLC? Well, a few new enemy types, some of which have entirely new movesets and skeletons which made things fresh, also some new weapons even if they were a bit niche. Also, a short story for the DLC with some more collectibles. In the area there is also another bandit camp, another tallneck, another hunting ground like the basegame. It's your typical expansion pack really, more content but nothing revolutionary.


Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void & Seekers of the Storm (PC)
Playing Risk of Rain 1 of course made me want to try the second one again, 4 years later. There had been a DLC drop with content and another recently released so I decided to see if this third person roguelike stuck better with me now after playing the remake of the first one. I think I still prefer the platformer 2D style over this more open 3D third person shooter. It's easier to get lost or feel like things are aimless since you simply can't find what you're looking for as easily. In the original you can see the chests and the things you're looking for at a distance, complete with costs hovering above etc. Now things are above you, or under, or on the other side of this wall etc. Each DLC adds one more character from the get go and then another one to unlock. Each also offers an alternative way to end the runs which is nice. And then of course a bunch of new enemies, bosses, stages(variants) and items. The items are the important part. Gotta love getting weird combinations and see how far you can get. Just like before, the game gets harder the longer you play, and as you complete challenges you expand the possible items you can get, your skill choices for the characters etc.


7 Days to Die (finally complete) (PC)
So it finally happened, 10 years later, 7 Days to Die left early access and released the 1.0 update. Which also hiked the price up, by the double... It's a bit meh in a way, because while in EA you could always expect the game to be improved upon y'know, that things would change the next time you started a world and so on. But now that it's finished, that's it. The final game is similar to the latest build in many aspects, but some systems have been simplified even further. What started out as a minecraft copy of crafting now uses less different materials but can instead be customized when placed, what used to be a quality based equipment system is now more streamlined into tiers. What used to be 10 armor slots is now 3. What used to be a performance based skill system is now skill trees with points you get from leveling up - And so on. It's the end of an era alright, and the survival genre lives on with more innovative ideas every year. But a lot of devs are doing the same thing as 7DtD, putting too many different ideas into the same game and ending up cutting them off as the game moves along. Still it's a good game if you like survival crafting games with coop focus, it's dangerous to go alone and every 7 in-game days have you survive a zombie horde which is always looming and preventing you from going overboard with other things.


Against the Storm (left EA) (PC)
Like the game above, this is a project that recently left early access. Although, it took a lot less time than the above game to finish. Like my previous post about the game it's a city builder combined with roguelike elements. The maps and resources on the maps are randomized within limits depending on the biome, your starting villagers and the boons/curses of the maps are randomized. The building blueprints that you get during the game are randomized etc. You still have choices to make between the different random elements (obviously the best design option to prevent people feeling cheated with being handed something worthless) and you can re-roll some of those. In between maps you spend your rewards on permanent upgrades, such as the mentioned blueprints, passive bonuses, more options, rerolls, more complex mechanics and so on. There was a slight balance change which makes the first or so map you embark upon a bit more difficult before you can unlock the first couple of permanent upgrades (a bit unnecessary if you ask me). But hey, the game is still a blast to play. You need to adapt with what you are given to earn enough reputation to beat the map, travel as far as you can on the worldmap before the cycle is ended and you get your big score screen and start over to reach all the seals. And that gameplay loop is damn solid. I also got the DLC during the winter sale but haven't tried it yet.



Returning games

Terraria - It's still a fun game to play and with the special seeds and difficulties from the last patch you can play the game differently. Another update is planned, but as always with these devs you never know when "soon" is.

Tabletop sim - Still a great tool. I got really into Neuroshima and a fan version of Pokémon Battle Trainer. And of course the usual Smash Up, Star Realms etc.

Darktide - Like last year, fun to play with friends. Although this was replaced with SM2 when that was released. Both are 40k games and appeal to the same crowd so to speak.

[Archem]

It feels like I just did this.

January

Uh, nothing. January was a busy month, so I didn't do much gaming.

February

20 Small Mazes (PC)

A free release that's exactly what it says it is. It's 20 small mazes, but there's a little more depth than that, as the mazes start to compound on one another and make more of an overarching super-puzzle. It's short, free, not to difficult, and a pretty great casual experience.

RYB (PC)

Another short puzzle game made by the same developer, but I didn't like this one as much. I'm just gonna copy/paste my Steam review.

After playing through the whole game, I still found the rules for some of the things to be confusing because of how poorly some of the mechanics are explained. While I'm sure there's more logical ways of solving puzzles, guessing and brute-forcing a solution seems to work better than figuring out how to actually play, which is a shame. I like the concept, and when things actually fall into place in a way that makes sense, it's fun, but too often it falls flat.

Go check out FLEB's other game, 20 Small Mazes. It's wonderful.

Bloody Hell (PC)

I guess I was on a bit of a free game kick in February. This game was great. It's a fun little twin-stick shooter, but with Zelda-like dungeon construction. You play as a bird, and everyone's birds, but also you're an angel sent to kill the devil. I think. I kind of forgot the story details. It's not terribly long, but it's a good time.

Meatgrinder (PC)

Okay, this game's still short, but I had to pay for it this time. Are you already familiar of the game Clustertruck? If not, it's a whacky first-person platformer where you're jumping from the backs of moving 18-wheelers on the highway with the goal of surviving and reaching the end of the stage. As the game progresses, the stages get more and more ridiculous, and the trucks often end up violently colliding just to make your task as difficult as possible. Anyway, this game is just that, but they give you a gun and some bad guys. It's pretty rad. Also, it looks like there's another game on Steam called Meatgrinder, but it's some sort of tank game? I don't know anything about it, but it looks less fun to me.

March

Sigils of Elohim (PC)

Oh boy, here we go. This is a sort of teaser/partner game for the first-person puzzle game The Talos Principle, but it focuses on a tetromino-based game where you have to fit all the pieces in a specific area. This puzzle type is in The Talos Principle, but it focuses more on Portal-style puzzles. Anyway, I didn't much care for this kind of puzzle, so the game was mostly just so I could get extra lore and secrets and whatnot. I otherwise didn't like it.

The Talos Principle (PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Android)

Okay, so I kind of already described what this game is, but whatever. This game is super good, the puzzles are clever, the secrets are really well-hidden, the lore is pretty cool, and the story is focused very heavily on the nature of what it means to be human, conscious, alive, and all sorts of other existential musings. I'm definitely late to the party here, but I'm glad to have finally played it. After finishing the game, I went ahead of played through the DLC, which basically takes the difficulty of the hardest puzzles from the base game (mostly the ones that are for secrets) and just makes a bunch of new puzzles on that level. Really tough, but really rewarding. I'm happy to say that I never had to resort to using a guide for any of the game's (or DLC's) puzzles.

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS)

Okay, so playing through a Tony Hawk game for the first time in 2024 would have been unexpected enough, but to pick out the DS version seems like the least expected choice. Anyway, it was good! I figured it would be, as it's built on the engine of the previous entry's DS version, American Skateland, and I loved that game. It's a pared down experience that does a good job making the game playable on the go, and it plays at a wonderfully smooth 60 frames per second. Given the size of some of the levels and general complexity of the time-tested gameplay, it doesn't feel like a particularly compromised game most of the time. If you have a DS, love the Tony Hawk franchise, and want a more traditional game than what they were doing towards the end of the series' lifespan, I definitely recommend this game.

April

Pseudoregalia (PC)

This game made a splash in the indie scene for having incredibly smooth movement controls that make Mario 64 look clumsy. I personally loved the soundtrack, as it has a sort of eerie jazz/synth thing going on that reminds me of certain PlayStation classics (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night comes to mind). The game's combat is kind of limited, but the game really focuses on its platforming and exploration more, so it's all pretty forgivable. Really good game.

Bzzzt (PC, Switch)

A 2D platformer, and a good one. It doesn't do too much that makes it unique, but it's a lot of fun, if a bit short. The story is a pretty silly Saturday morning cartoon-style one, with a villain and his goofy scheme going on. Nothing too crazy.

May

Vomitoreum (PC)

Back in 2020, I played a game called Shrine. It was an FPS built on the Doom engine that had an uncomfortably organic, eldritch art style. It was pretty good. Well, the developer made another game, but this time decided to basically make Metroid Prime in the same style. It's also pretty good. Enemies stay dead when killed, and the game seems to exist on a single, massive map, so there are no loading screens. I'm not sure what else to talk about, so I'll just say "check it out". I plan on checking out the rest of this dev's catalogue. They look to have tried a few other styles of games, but pretty much always use that same creepy art style.

June

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)

You know what Mario games are like. This is a 2D Mario game. But this is also an insanely creative game, and most levels are built around a completely unique new mechanic with only a handful of repeated mechanics. It's incredible how many new ideas they were able to squeeze out of a franchise this old. I love this game.

Hexcells (PC)

This is a casual puzzle game made up of a series of increasingly difficult stages with a growing number of new mechanics to focus on. The base gameplay is basically just Minesweeper, but with hexagons instead of squares. If you somehow don't know what Minesweeper is, it's a puzzle game played on a grid where every square is either a safe space or a mine, and you can either mark a space as a mine or as a safe spot, where safe spots reveal a number showing how many mines are present in adjacent spaces. Well, this is that. I enjoyed my time with it.

July

Hexcells Plus (PC)

It's more Hexcells. I think they added a new mechanic, but I don't really remember. Nothing too revolutionary here

Hexcells Infinite (PC)

Even more Hexcells. This one adds user-made level support and randomly generated puzzles. I've been addicted to playing these for months now. This is my go-to casual game now.

Squarecells (PC)

Made by the same person who made Hexcells, but instead of ripping off Minesweeper completely, this one does a different style of puzzle where numbers listed along the sides of the grid tell you how many squares are "safe" and how many are "mines", and you have to figure out which are which. It's fun, but I didn't find it as enjoyable as Hexcells.

October

Slash/Jump (PC)

A free (and very short) platformer that's very reminiscent of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. You can't move or jump, so you have to move around the level by slashing your sword in a direction and pushing yourself with the force of the impact. I liked it a lot, but I also finished it in about 15 minutes, so I was left wanting more. It would be cool if they made more of this, but I don't think there are any plans. What a shame.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Switch, PC)

This is it, my Game of the Year. This is a truly phenomenal metroidvania title that has everything you could ask for. It looks great, the combat is excellent, the platforming is tons of fun, the map is enormous, the powers are so cool, the puzzles are clever, it never feels too frustrating or obtuse, and it's just generally a great game. You play as Sargon, one of the Immortals, mighty warriors of Persia and servants to the royal family. But the prince is kidnapped by your mentor, and you're sent to Mount Qaf, a mystical and magical mountain, to track her down. Twists and turns keep the story interesting, and the game is always a delight. I can't recommend it strongly enough. I played it on the Switch, where it maintains a mostly stable 60 frames per second, only dropping during cutscenes or particularly busy scenes. Given how fast the combat is, this could have easily made the gameplay suffer, so it's good that they managed to really nail down the framerate during combat.

Lil Gator Game (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Switch, PC)

A delightful little casual romp through the woods as a cute little gator trying to get their big sis to join them in an extremely elaborate game of make-believe with all your friends. It has mildly Zelda-like progression where you do side quests to help other kids (and some adults) throughout the park. You get rewards in the form of new items, outfits, and scraps of paper that you can use to buy things. There's "combat" throughout the game world in the form of cardboard cutouts with monsters crudely drawn on them that you destroy for more scraps of paper. They're more like collectibles than enemies, as they don't move or hurt you in any way. Given how many there are, they also act as just a thing to find as you wander around the island. This game is very relaxing, and the story is a cute, if a bit bittersweet story about you and your sister's relationship and the strain growing up has had on it. I definitely recommend this one.

Yellow Taxi Goes Vrrom (PC)

A bright and colorful platformer with a unique movement system based on car driving. About half of the levels build on the classic Crazy Taxi system of driving patrons around the city to earn more time and money, but it's far more forgiving with the time limit so that you can actually explore the world and accomplish goals. This game has a very silly, somewhat immature sense of humor with less-than-subtle parodies and references to memes and such, and while I personally wasn't bothered by it, I can imagine some people feeling that it gets old fast. But the music is killer, and once you get used to the unique controls, it feels amazing moving around the world. Again, I would highly recommend this if you like platformers.

En Garde! (PC)

A light-hearted adventure based on sword fights and flashy combat. It was pretty clearly influenced by swashbuckling pirates, old Zorro adventures, and anything featuring a suave, roguish swordsman. The art direction is pleasant, with lots of vibrant colors and beautiful environments. The villain is a goofy and straightforward as any kids cartoon villain ever would be, and the bad guys continue to have silly lines after being defeated. I really like that touch, as it manages to avoid the cognitive dissonance so many games have where you kill entire armies but have weird hang-ups about killing in the cutscenes. This basically confirms that nobody dies in combat, they just get beat up and surrender. The game is pretty fun most of the time, but the game's auto-target system is occasionally a real nuisance, and a good chunk of my deaths were the direct result of fighting with it in the middle of a big brawl. It's a shame, because the idea is very solid, but it's hard to enjoy the game when the gameplay becomes so frustrating. It's also pretty short, which is actually kind of a relief since the game is almost exclusively going from fight to fight with very little gameplay variety. It's a game that has enough charm to make me want to recommend it despite the gameplay making me want to avoid it. Maybe a sequel that addresses some of the issues could really make for something special.

November

Superliminal (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Switch, PC, Android)

One part Inception, one part Portal, and one part The Stanley Parable, this game exists to defy your expectations every step of the way. The main gimmick is that forced perspective of object sizes translates directly into their actual size, and the rules work like they would in a dream. It's very cool how it keeps changing the world around you without you noticing until after it happened. This is a cool game.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)

It's kind of incredible that it took until now for Nintendo to make a fully 3D Kirby game, and it's kind of incredible that it feels like they've been doing it for years. This is such a smooth and natural-feeling experience. Like all Kirby games, it has a wonderfully cutesy atmosphere and adorable enemies accompanied by a cheery and catchy soundtrack. The gameplay feels great, and the abilities are some of the best in the series. You can upgrade abilities as the game goes on, and there are all sorts of challenge areas for you to test your skills. It also has two-player co-op where one player plays as spear Waddle Dee, and it's pretty dang fun. Good game.

December

qomp 2 (PC)

Remember last year how I said I was excited to check out the sequel to qomp? Well, one year later, I did. And it's very much more of the same with some new ideas and a new charge-up boost mechanic. But unfortunately, there's a bit of a problem. This game wasn't made by the same team, and you can tell sometimes. Some of the stages are downright frustrating in their design, and the gameplay is much slower overall. The game is a fair bit longer and makes for a more complete experience, but it's not quite up to the quality standard of the first game.

Turok 3 (N64, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X, Switch, PC)

Nightdive, the studio behind so many stellar remasters of 90s (and some early 2000s) games like Turok and Turok 2 are back with Turok 3. While the first two games were easier ports because they had a PC version to base the remaster on, Turok 3 was only released on the Nintendo 64, so they had to do a lot of extra work to get it made. The end result is great, though. This game has a reputation for being a bit underwhelming coming off of the success of Turok 2, as it's much shorter and more linear than that game, but I find it to be a very enjoyable result. It evokes a bit more of a Half-Life feel, which makes sense since that game totally changed the landscape of FPSes almost overnight when it launched in 1998. This game has multiple characters to choose from, each with different level paths to follow, weapon upgrades, and even special abilities. They tried to make the story matter more, but it's also kind of nonsensical if you aren't invested in the Turok lore, so I mostly just ignored it and shot up anything that moves. While the game is short, I consider it a blessing. I don't have a million hours to dedicate to every game anymore, and this felt like the perfect length for me to enjoy it, and even replay it as other characters. I feel that this game's super weapon that you spend the whole campaign finding parts for is kind of ridiculous. You shoot out a black hole that sucks everything into it. And when I say everything, I mean it. Light warps around the black hole, stretching out how things look on screen, and even the level geometry gets stretched out and distorted, snapping back into place with a sort of rubbery bounce after the black hole dissipates. It's such a cool effect, and I wish more games had done this sort of thing.