Lurker > HaRRicH

Appreciate it! Just trying to get some last-minute attention on good games for the new contest.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Final bump. New contest!

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Ginso Tree is one of the decade's highlights in gaming.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Friendly bump. Thanks for following along peeps.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

MMX is gonna make someone really happy as soon as he starts this.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Nelson_Mandela posted...

Super Meat Boy is a quality #1 pick. Not only is it a fantastic game, but it single-handedly revolutionized how "hard" platformers are designed. Deaths are no longer punishments, they're learning experiences. I can't emphasize enough how good it feels to die but not have to replay an entire 5 minute level because of some unforeseen obstacle.

It rewards the learning experience too with its replay-system showcasing so many runs at once. Once you're good at a level, I don't know that any level requires more than a minute to beat other than boss fights.

I think in general each world for SMB is shorter than Celeste's equivalent too...pros and cons with that, but I prefer SMB's pacing.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

TomNook posted...

I could never really get into Binding of Isaac. I just don't think I like rouge-like as a genre. It always feels like a non-game to me, but I can't explain why.

It's the only one that really passes the mark for me. I wouldn't call the others non-games, but what-ev.

banananor posted...

Hotline Miami 2 is worth playing. I wouldn't say that it misses the point, it's just different.

The main thing is that the difficulty starts right where 1 leaves off and only goes up from there.

This sounds like it lines up with what I heard that HM2 is more accuracy-based.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Not even stressed Dels, I could have been clearer.

Mega Mana posted...

Wait

Duke Nukem Forever

Came out

IN 2011???

Yeah, I wondered when I thought of it, but it sure was.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

I noted spoilers for every game at the top of the topic, though I'll recognize your point in that my past write-ups seemed to follow different philosophies in how to handle spoilers.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Up.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

10: The Witness
9: Life is Strange: Season 1
8: The Stanley Parable
7: Spec Ops: the Line
6.1: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
6: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
5: The Legend of Zelda: a Link Between Worlds
4: Portal 2
3: Undertale
2: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
1: Super Meat Boy

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<spoiler>nominate Sheik</spoiler>

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

NOW IN 2020: Edmund McMillan and Danny Baronowsky both hold the top two spots on my list for very different games. Edmund also worked on The End is Nigh (which most of ya'll haven't played -- try it!), so they clearly made an impact on my decade.

Quite a few games this decade get quality shout-outs for being platformers (The End is Nigh, Celeste, Super Mario Maker 2, VVVVVV, Rayman Origins) as well as action-platformers (Cuphead, Speedrunner HD, Bleed, Mega Man 11), 3D platformers (Super Mario Odyssey), and Metroidvanias (AM2R, Ori and the Blind Forest, Outland). I also had other games I've liked but didn't include on any of my lists like Cloudberry Kingdom.

I love running and jumping. Super Meat Boy has that.

Now, I will admit in recent years other hard platformers have revealed how floaty our meaty friend feels, but at the time that level of control was borderline-revolutionary and I still generally prefer that floatiness to others. My bigger issue with its controls is how SOOOMETIIIMES you'll slide straight up a wall on a walljump you intended. Like...I kinda figured it out, but really it's still beyond me. Still, the way he climbs up walls and leaps off them? Yeah, that's without parallel.

Quick thoughts-time! Best levels are Dark 2-12 Grey Matter and Light 6-2 Schism. Worst levels are Dark 7-19 XOXO and that whole warpzone from Dark 6-1 The Witness Best world is Hell. Worst world is Rapture Half the bosses suck and this whole genre could take a note from Reflection in Celeste. Best cameo is Headcrab. I don't respect speedruns using Naija. Super Meat Boy Forever looks like a move-forward-only kind of mobile game and I don't expect to buy it. Shout-outs to that poor squirrel. Best shirt is my shirt:

http://imgur.com/a/PYXPDI8

Let's finish this.

Super Meat Boy is about jumping at your problems and dying your way to victory.

It's not just any game -- Super Meat Boy became a mentality, and for that it is my game of the decade.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#1: Super Meat Boy
Released on 10/20/2010
Steam</b>
(written in 2011)

I guess I never really played a hard fast-paced platformer until I played SMB2: Lost Levels last year, which was great; not only was it hard, but you could see where you could often let the level guide your way if you would just go as fast as you can and allow yourself to die a lot...and it was GREAT when you beat a hard level that fast.

Lost Levels had something like forty levels. Super Meat Boy has 310, plus twelve warp-zones that each have three stages and five minus-levels...plus times to beat in each level...plus wall-jumping...plus replays (which featured many of your runs simultaneously)...plus a great sense of style with its art and music...plus a baby in a suit that would flip you off and beat your girlfriend up. This game is pretty fantastic with how simple it is and how much it brings of its simplicity.

Honestly, this game should be significantly higher, but the developers did a lazy job with play-testing. At first, my game just didn't work at all...then occasionally...then it consistently worked, but my controller would be off-and-on...then the planet Hell proved to me that it wasn't just my computer's fault with all the times I'd fall through floors and die inconsistently in tight areas...then I got stuck on a level until I realized that changing the resolution of my game's window affected the speed of the enemies in the levels without affecting me or my time (directly)...really, it's just unpolished in a lot of ways. I still play the hell out of it though, so I don't know how much of a grudge I should hold. I think #25's plenty good enough to demonstrate I think highly of it while keeping it far from other games I find more deserving of higher ranking. A good patch would boost this a lot, and when its developers finally add the level-editor...oh man, it's on.

I'll also take a moment to say I haven't really TRIED to be great at a game in a long time, until this came out...and now to brag for a second: all levels have A-ranks, all bandages/characters are gotten, Forest's light/dark worlds and Hospital's light world have been beaten without dying before, I'm two deaths away from getting the similar Achievement in Hospital's dark world, and I'm just shy of the top four hundred players without having tried to trim any times down from Hell onward -- there is a LOT of time to cut in the second half of this game, too. What a great tough mostly-fair-when-it's-not-glitchy game.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>BEST GAMES FROM BEFORE THIS DECADE I FINALLY FIRST BEAT THIS DECADE:</b>

HM: Elite Beat Agents
10: The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask 3D
9: Resident Evil 4
8: Batman: Arkham Asylum
7: Mario VS Donkey Kong
6: Chrono Trigger DS
5: Bioshock
4: Mirrors Edge
3.1: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
3: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
2.1: Phoenix Wright: Justice for All
2: Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
1: Final Fantasy X

<b>GAMES OF THE DECADE:</b>

Worst purchase: Duke Nukem Forever
Best core concept: Untitled Goose Game
Most exciting comeback: Mega Man 11
Best multiplayer platformer:. Rayman Origins

HM: Papers, Please
HM: Mini Metro
HM: You Don't Know Jack
HM: Outland
HM: Bleed

25: Speedrunners HD
24: Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
23: VVVVVV
22: AM2R: Another Metroid 2 Remake
21: Bastion
20: Super Mario Oddysey
19: Super Mario Maker 2
18: Catherine
17: Celeste
16: Hotline Miami
15: Rocket League
14: The End is Nigh
13: Night in the Woods
12: LISA the Painful
11: Cuphead
10: The Witness
9: Life is Strange: Season 1
8: The Stanley Parable
7: Spec Ops: the Line
6.1: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
6: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
5: The Legend of Zelda: a Link Between Worlds
4: Portal 2
3: Undertale
2: The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Amazing soundtrack and it uses its soundtrack well, agreed.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#2: The Binding of Isaac
Released on 9/28/2011
Steam</b>
(written in 2013)

I did not like this game at first. The story was disturbing, the gameplay was quickly difficult, everything changed each time I played it, and controllers weren't supported (it even recommended JoyToKey, which crashes my computer).

It turns out all of those factors are now what I like about the game (except the controller). While the idea of killing your mother who's trying to kill you in the name of God is an immoral scenario, Isaac's fears along the way are fully realized by his enemies and items. Not being able to count on finding top-tier items every time keeps each game you play exciting, plus it felt so good once you get a wave of powerful items after you become skilled enough to know what to do with them. Nothing comes easy in the game, so even the early levels retain some challenge once you keep playing...and if you're like me, you will until <spoiler>you get killed by your mom, then play again until you kill your mom, then play again until you go inside her to kill her heart, then play again until you get your random chance to get wrecked by Satan, then play again until you get your random chance again and kill Satan</spoiler>...then you'll play some more.

I've dabbled with its Wrath of the Lamb-DLC, which was also solid. I ranged from getting rocked by spiders to <spoiler>killing myself in a cathedral.</spoiler>. I'm sure there are more social taboos this game will make me face as I play it more. When that time comes, I just hope the blood machines will give me their HP-increasing Blood Bags more often; I lose more lives (yet make more money) that way than probably anything else.....

<b>The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Released on 11/4/2014
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

This update could have only added controller support and it would have been enough. Instead, it continued to add lots of new enemies, items, room types, and even room sizes. I have only reached Mega Satan once and did not defeat him, which sucks because Ive put his key together lots of times and cant seem to get the games randomized chances to let me have another shot. Its killing me, yet its hard to complain too much because the games so good that I enjoy going back to it again and again anyway.

NOW IN 2020: I beat Mega Satan once...hard battle with lots of pressure! So maybe I never unlocked the Golden God achievement, but man that game is difficult to consistently do that well.

Rebirth is just too good. I've dabbled with a few other rouge-games this decade -- Risk of Rain being the next-most played one, but also games like Spelunky and Dead Cells -- and they don't compare. I think BoI has the best movement of them, plus the powers and general tone of the game has a certain audaciousness to it that helps it pop. Also though...while I think BoI leans a little too hard into its random gambling odds, there is something to feeling like you can overcome a tough run with the right gamble. Scale it back a bit in the arcade rooms, but otherwise it works pretty well here.

I'll probably play this for the rest of my life.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Tag.

Untitled Goose Game has zero amounts of innocent geese. It only has one Weapon of Mass Destrhonktion.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Nekos, where ya at bruh?

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#3: Undertale
Released on 9/15/2015
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

Behold, the best game ever according to Tumblr. Sorry GameFAQs -- geeettttttt dunked on!!!

Some of you were in my playthrough topic when I beat Undertale over a year ago, and Im still reeling from selling my soul on Halloween night. Ill share some lingering thoughts since then.

Flowey > Sans > Undyne > Papyrus > Toriel >= Asgore > Muffet = Mettaton > the turtle when he says he wouldnt buy your chitzy garbage at knifepoint >> Alphys

Games that accuse their players of being murderers are becoming more common, but the brilliant thing Toby Fox did was give you the option NOT to kill. There is no Pacifist option in LISA the Painful, Hotline Miami, Spec Ops: The Line...as great as they are, they are also prepared to condemn you no matter how you want to play. Other games that offer some freedom not to kill like Metal Gear Solid still often feel limited and less enjoyable from a gameplay perspective, plus you still have those pesky bosses that need to be physically taken down somehow.

In Undertale, there is no false guilt -- you literally chose to kill for reasons other than just reaching the ending. The game even advertises itself as a game where you dont have to kill, just hoping you won't actually hurt these characters. Undertale wants you to befriend the creatures of this world; the cast is super-charming and its easy to argue over whos the best from the game.

Its also more enjoyable thematically and mechanically to be kind in Undertale (with the exception of two awesome Genocide fights). Games dont always need a nice moral lesson and some deliver a lesson well enough, but Undertale gives you lessons from both sides of the moral coin. Not only that, the game absolutely nails its endings either way the coin lands. Toby Fox knows how to tell a story with great characterization of both its cast and you.

Mechanically, I think a smart choice made here was that the foundation of every fight is based on defense instead of offense. Your choices are split between the actions of hurting and helping, and you can only do one per turn as you try to survive and make your next choice. Attacking was tempting a whole bunch of times, and you could get away with some attacks in self defense...but if you never wanted to kill, you knew to draw a line and work it out.

The game remembering actions I didnt save is such a great idea. Flowey caught me off-guard early; I accidentally killed Toriel when she leaned into my punch, so I restarted and tried to keep her alive. When the game accused me of looking at her like a ghost -- wondering if I should tell her I watched her die -- that set up the rest of the game in such a fascinating perspective for me. Whether its Flowey deleting your save to repeatedly kill you or Frisk becoming soulless in future playthroughs, the game plays with your expectations of its awareness.

How about that OST? Megalovania steals the show, but I find myself still humming along to its soundtrack and enjoying how the songs tie back into each other sometimes. I heard Toby Fox was a music composer before this, and it shows.

Undertale has heart. It doesnt just want you to be the protagonist or be the hero -- it wants you to be good and well-meaning. To do this in such an exciting and touching way deserves nothing less than #1 on my list.

Undertale: the best game Ive played in the past two years.

NOW IN 2020: few games will ever land that emotional impact of Undertale. Brilliant characters and smart decision-based path-planning with an incredible musical score makes it unforgettable; I hummed and whistled this game's soundtrack all the way through making and preparing this topic. The WarioWare-like defense system is an exciting new system for RPGs that keeps the game constantly engaging, too.

If I could make one change to my character rankings above, I'd put the turtle when he says he wouldnt buy your chitzy garbage at knifepoint higher.

I hope Deltarune can hit these highs or even exceed them...I dunno, time will tell. I didn't love its first episode per say, but I thought it was pretty solid and Toby Fox has my faith. I'll be staying tuned for Deltarune like I was throughout Undertale and like I bet I will for its eventual anagram'd sequel Adelnertu.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Taggage.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#4: Portal 2
Released on 4/18/2011
Steam</b>
(written in 2013)

The only disappointing thing about this game was that its ARG-event didn't manage to get the game released sooner. As soon as it came out, I played this twice in a row before playing the co-op mode...then I played the single-player mode a third time.

Thinking with portals is already fun just to screw around, but Valve fine-tuned the concept to create some innovative puzzles. It took what the original Portal started and added lasers, light-bridges, hover-beams, gels, and co-op. It sometimes became a issue of "Where's Waldo?" where you had to find a very specific place for your portals, but that also allowed you to perform awesome stunts like flying across Aperture Science.

Speaking of which, the atmosphere was so much more alive here. It was impressive to see the building had near-limitless capabilities around its damaged areas. It was shown at its very best and very worst, in areas test-subjects both should and shouldn't see (Ratman comes to mind). The small cast trapped in its walls were wonderfully lively compared to the sense of isolation you often felt. Wheatley was stellar through-out each twist and turn of the story, Cave Johnson provided a fun history of his company, and GLaDOS again proves why she's one of the best new characters this generation. Even the defective turrets were filled with one-liners. There were multiple times in the game where I'd set the controller aside just to listen to the dialogue.

For a game that doesn't incorporate much music on the surface, it also has a tremendous (and free!) soundtrack with several hours of carefully-placed music. Really, the <i>placement</i> of the music is among the game's finest details. My favorite example is <spoiler>the fully-functioning test-room where you had to redirect three lasers through one portal; each correctly placed laser would cue another sound of the music to break the silence</spoiler>. You could also find other details like a song that would only play on one of the hidden radios in the game. Audio was so important to this game.

Portal 2 was nothing short of an admirable sequel, still throwing you new curveballs and items to solve puzzles at every chance. It also opened up some great potential for its eventual sequel: <spoiler>going outside, visiting the moon, time-travel...!</spoiler> I don't know that it is a better game pound-for-pound compared to the original, but there is so much extra content with plenty of attention paid to its details that it's still worthy of being the best game I've played in the past two years.

NOW IN 2020: Portal 1 is a tighter package than Portal 2, but this an an outstanding example of a sequel and they deserve equal footing despite their differences in size and puzzle philosophies. Give us Portal 3 -- there are just so many exciting opportunities to pursue!

Portal 2: best AAA title of the decade.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

transcience posted...

I would contribute to an HRRH Xenogears patreon. lets do this.

I got bills, don't tempt me.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#5: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Released on 11/22/2013
3DS</b>
(written in 2015)

Top-down LoZ is back. I have wanted a new Zelda-experience for the 3DS for a long time, but I've had to go retro for them. Link's Awakening was pretty disappointing after so much time had passed, and I barely gave Minish Cap a chance when it controlled similarly. Ocarina of Time 3D was legit, but I previously played it before and it's just not the same as top-down gameplay.

I picked Link Between Worlds up on a sale and was hooked. The only Zelda games I have beaten more than once were the original and OoT (because of the remake), yet I went on to beat this and its Master Quest back-to-back.

The freedom to mostly choose your items is most excellent. Linearity usually isn't a problem in the series, but newfound freedoms were exciting when they were also throwbacks to how the series used to be. The item rentals kept the game to some sense of structure while allowing you to discover weapons quickly too. Knowing which dungeons needed which items to enter helped maintain focus through-out the dungeons, too.

Turning into painting-Link was nifty for finding secrets and warp-points between worlds. It looks a little goofy at first, but it became integral to the game and worked well until the final fight.

Octorok baseball was a little dumb and Yuga was a cheap Ganon, but it's hard to nitpick much here. It feels good to move, attack in any direction, use your weapons, go onto the wall...controls are great. The music hits hard with nostalgia and it's neat to see an old game world revitalized graphically. Finding all 100 Maiamais are fun since you get a map with a nice pin-feature. Maiamais also upgrade your weapons for every ten you find.

I didn't grow up with Link to the Past, but I played it six or seven years ago and I enjoyed it a lot then. LBW has done it enough justice to where I want to play LttP again. Everything about this game reminded me of what I missed from the series. The 3D-games are great, but this was a fantastic modern take on their original formula.

Bravo, game of the past two years.

NOW IN 2020: I still need to play Breath of the Wild to see if this was even the best LoZ-game of the decade, but I am not crazy about WRPGs and it seems to have some elements from that genre so I don't know if it's for me yet. The remake for Link's Awakening could scratch my top-down itch, but also I didn't like the original's controls or puzzles much when playing it around ~2011. Still, this series is a powerhouse and commands attention with every release with good reason.

As is, LoZ:LBW has my vote for best Nintendo game of the decade.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>WORST PURCHASE OF THE DECADE:
Duke Nukem Forever
Released on 6/10/2011
Steam</b>
(written in 2020)

Ever have a game so bad it changed your purchasing patterns?

Speedrunners HD updates were sometimes bad enough to say I'll never give them another dollar, but I think I got my copy of it for free and also I still have love for the game. Donkey Kong Returns 3D was disappointing, but that was purchased with Nintendo coins and it was easy to go back to just not playing DKC games. I played most of the $1 tier of itch.io's "A Good Bundle," and while lots of it was trash there were a few gems and it only cost a buck.

But I pre-ordered Duke Nukem Forever at full price, and I think I've only pre-ordered two games since then: The End is Nigh and Super Mario Maker 2...three if you count Kickstarting Shovel Knight. At least those games had perks for preordering..

DNF was trash and in hindsight I should have known. I didn't know how immediately bad it was going to be, but I should have known it wouldn't be good. I think in reality what I wanted most was the box as a token of the moment, but I bought the game on Steam and didn't even get that box. I just got three more words grayed out in my game library.

Is it ever fun? No, no it's not.

Okay, maybe it is somewhere past the beginning, but I didn't play long enough to see when it elevated above cringe. You start the game off peeing and you can pick up poop to throw against the wall before you shoot a gun. The physics with markerboards and pool tables were poorly constructed. I think I laughed at one joke (though his different portraits of himself are pretty funny) and the gameplay felt like dated versions of the games it was trying to parody. I tried a few levels and decided during one of its extra-long loading screens I just did not have time for this.

It's a shame! Duke Nukem 3D/64 took many hours of my childhood and there's still room for Duke to come back with a clean slate. Let the team behind Borderlands hook him up with a new game from scratch, or maybe just feature him as DLC in that series sometime. Alternatively, let the team behind Spec Ops: the Line get their hands on this IP -- I bet they"d have some things to say about Duke's idea of masculinity in video games.

Ultimately, I bought in too much on the hope of an underdog story. DNF survived developer hell, technically, but that didn't need my $60 to support it upon release. If it's gonna take that long for a sequel, I can wait a little longer for reviews.

I won't be preordering Half-Life: Alyx, either. I've been hurt.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Taking predictions if you got 'em.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Hope to finish this tomorrow...might be Saturday. In the meanwhile:

GAMES OF THE DECADE:
Worst purchase: ???
Best core concept: Untitled Goose Game
Most exciting comeback: Mega Man 11
Best multiplayer platformer:. Rayman Origins
HM: Papers, Please
HM: Mini Metro
HM: You Don't Know Jack
HM: Outland
HM: Bleed
25: Speedrunners HD
24: Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
23: VVVVVV
22: AM2R: Another Metroid 2 Remake
21: Bastion
20: Super Mario Oddysey
19: Super Mario Maker 2
18: Catherine
17: Celeste
16: Hotline Miami
15: Rocket League
14: The End is Nigh
13: Night in the Woods
12: LISA the Painful
11: Cuphead
10: The Witness
9: Life is Strange: Season 1
8: The Stanley Parable
7: Spec Ops: the Line
6.1: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
6: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
5: ???
4: ???
3: ???
2: ???
1: ???

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

NOW IN 2020: SSBU should have been my 2017-2018 #1 game -- just hadn't played it enough at the time I first wrote about it.

Smash continues to be the consistently highest-quality series in gaming. Banjo-Kazooie and Terry Bogard being added were excellent touches, and I'm sticking with my prediction that the fifth character to be announced in the DLC-pack will be Ryu Hayabusa.

Sheik rankings: SSB4 > SSBM >= SSBU >> SSBB

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#6: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Released on 12/7/2018
Switch</b>
(written in 2019)

Behold, the reason I got a Switch. Its great, it feels initially flawless, and Ill be putting many more hours into it. This probably would have been #1 on the list if I had more time, but I can't just assume this to be the presumptive winner of the past two years when I still havent:

*Beaten the new single player campaign.
*Played more than half of the characters in Classic Mode.
*Fought online once.

So even though Ive had nearly every Smash game at launch and consider this the most consistently high-quality series I deal with, it was either putting this game ahead of the next three games or behind the next three. SSBU has plenty of time for my Best Game of the Decade list next year, so I'm playing it cool with SSBU's placement here.

So for now, based off what I played, here are cool things worth bragging on.

It feels like Smash! That's enough for GotY-consideration most years.

As soon as I turned it on my first time, my random spirit given to me was Metal Man and immediately I wondered how my brand new system knew me so well.

Good lord, there's a lot of content here. I've put in twenty-four hours and I'm still working on the World of Light. Between this and their Classic Mode revamping, Ultimate becomes the best single-player Smash experience by no small margin.

That running mini-game in Classic Mode is okay I guess, but everybody plays it about the same way if capable to. Bring back Board the Platforms!

Sheik still feels great to play as, though I'm struggling with her Bouncing Fish more here. My other past mains are doing okay too -- Ness will mess you up with PK Fire more than seemingly ever before now, and Snake's comeback was worth celebrating too. Ridley is my favorite newcomer so far, though I still have more to play as too -- I only just recently unlocked everybody. I got the Fighter Pass while we're at it so maaaaaybe I'll have played as everybody before that releases!

Even when items are turned on Low, I still feel like they come kinda often. WASSUPWITDAT

I like that you can save rule sets now. Excellent addition. The stages morphing is still weird to adjust to, but I like it.

I'll put more time into this game than any other I'll list here, almost certainly, but I'm not ready to let my hype fill in this many blanks for the #1 spot here. It's got to wait its turn and see if it really does live up to that for me, and right now I just haven't had enough time with it to say.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#6.1: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
Released on 10/3/2014
3DS</b>
(written in 2015)

I figure this has the highest playrate for Board 8 on my list. Smash may be my choice for the most consistently excellent series, so the hype was strong here. I played the Wii U-demo once and lost to my girlfriend, so I automatically prefer the 3DS-version.

SHEIK IS BACK! Sheik never left technically, but she was ruined in Brawl. This is the first time I get to return to a previous main in the series (Ness, Sheik, Solid Snake, Sheik again) and she has been sorely missed. Of course, Snake didn't get a chance to retain his title, but he would have had a tough time competing against a Zelda-less Sheik who absorbed Snake's grenade attack. I also love Little Mac and Mario here. Epona is missing from the cast, of course -- she would make for a good clone of Little Mac.....

Tripping is gone and that is wonderful...now as a Brawl-defender, can we fix the next biggest problem Brawl added? I'm talking about jumping off of your opponent's heads. I have died in mid-recovery too many times from this non-attack, or whiffed edge-guarding attacks because my head is suddenly a trampoline. It's kind of funny to see how high characters can bounce in comparison to their regular jumps, but that is it for its value. Cut it out!

Smash just can't quite nail a good single-player adventure mode. Melee's was nice albeit lacking, Brawl's was ambitious but repetitive, and Smash Run here just gets too cluttered with enemies. I enjoy the variation and wish I could focus on one or two of these baddies at a time...not the whole army. The stat-battles afterward are okay. Aside from Smash Run though, they got the Hands and new Master-forms down -- great additions all around. The swords are so tough!

Break the Targets is worse than ever here. Come on. Give us individual stages again, not an Angry Birds-like version of Home Run Contest.

It's overall a very fun game that fixed some of its mistakes, feels true to the series, and has the added plus of portability. I got this game digitally because I think I will always be ready to play a round at any given time, and so far no regrets.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#7: Spec Ops: The Line
Released on 6/26/2012
Steam</b>
(written in 2015)

The first thing I appreciate is how well optimized the game is. My laptop barely runs older games anymore, but this ran smoothly. Lucky me, because this was the wildest game of the bunch.

I spoiled myself on it by watching an episode of Extra Credits about it, but it still captivated me. What an interesting focus to put on a shooter: what if you are facing targets you do not want to fight? What if you considered your opponents to be fellow Americans? Or civilians, just plain ole' humans? Would you still play a game that forces you to fight people so unethically? I did, and it was easy to feel dirty for doing it...which was exactly their intention.

Seeing yourself go down the pits of hell to continue playing has some weird satisfaction. I don't think I'll ever forget the flashing room where the enemy keeps moving. Feeling so stuck at the decision to use white phosphorus is brutal, especially to be antagonized about how this game won't give you the choice of NOT using it. You can still avoid some awful sins sometimes -- like the crowd-moment where you are expected to shoot them but can shoot the air instead -- but ultimately it is too late and you are still going to morally feel crushed with shell shock. Captain Walker getting more outrageous with his melee attacks and ammo refills was a nice subtle touch too. It's like a horror game where you are the monster and the tension is when you will stop...but you can't, because "you wanted to be something you're not: a hero."

"This is all your fault."

The writer in me appreciates the way they did not pander to their audience outside of the set-up. It looks like nearly any other game in the genre, from the box art to the first two hours to the game's general mechanics. They then wreck your world and treat you like the fool the game tricked you into becoming. Is it this game's fault for making you see your mindless violence so clearly, or the industry's for not pointing it out sooner? The game will talk directly to YOU by the end of it all, and it's compelling with a ton of little details.

It's been easy to hate on shooters in recent years...but after games like Portal, Half-Life 2, Bioshock, and now Spec Ops: The Line, I think single player is my preferred focus so these more unique stories can be crafted. Multi-player shooters just don't compare to larger experiences like these.

NOW IN 2020: we see the trend of games that insist you are the bad guy grow in recent years -- Bioshock, LISA the Painful, to an optional degree Undertale, etc. -- but it's hard to understate the amount of damage you bring with your experience in Spec Ops: the Line and it's phenomenal at representing the mental damage that comes with it. I really look forward to replaying this soon -- what a fascinating study of PTSD and ego.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#8: The Stanley Parable
Released on 10/17/2013
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

Two years ago, I included The Stanley Parable on my list as the winner of a special category for Best how-do-I-describe game. Im putting it in my true list this time because I barely played it before. I bought it as a birthday gift for a roommate and had watched him play through it at that time...but now Ive gotten all of its endings (besides that four-hour baby game), so Im including it here to say this:

The Stanley Parable is a perfect game. You can say what you want about the walking simulator-genre, but this game nails everything it sets out to do and its far beyond anything else Ive seen from the genre. I feel comfortable introducing this game to hardcore gamers and novice gamers alike. Its witty at every turn and it puts you in the position of being both incredibly important and not important at all. It came sooner than many other games that commented on the relationship between games and gamers, and few games are in its league for trying this. It also recognizes it does not need to be a long game to serve its purpose; it hits the high notes and lets you figure out when youre done with it.

This game represents a battle of developer versus player, and there is no clear winner. Should your choices in the game be more important than the developers intentions?

I do silly things developers probably dont intend for me to do, like walk into bonfires to see if it will hurt me. Walking into fire is usually a bad idea, but how will I know if the game planned for it to hurt me if I dont walk into it? I like to see what games allow me to do outside of their intended experience, and the ending where you kill yourself instead of staying with the beautiful colors around you addresses this dynamic. You want your freedom to be outside of the reach of the developers desires, and youll look for any way to get it -- your gameplay choices to even get to this area lines up with this mentality. The game then punishes you for ignoring the developers intentions by making the narrator watch you die. Keep in mind this lesson is only here because the developer created this opportunity, so it took your impulse and set you up to fail. The game then restarts you, wishing you would listen to its directions more in your next run.

I also generally play games to get intended endings though, so thats why the true freedom ending was one of my first ones to get. By allowing the game to dictate your every move, you go through the developers ironic story about turning off the brainwashing machine. The game rewards you with the ending it thinks you think will make you happy: freedom. You were a good player to the developer, but were you a good player to yourself? The game then restarts you, inviting you to find your freedom in your next run.

Last year, The Beginners Guide was released by the same team and it didnt catch on with me in the same way. It was clever and it offers some interesting insight about how the success of The Stanley Parable may have affected them personally, but I cant say I understand the purpose of that game in the same way I understand The Stanley Parable. Its alright though -- they have my faith as artists.

The Stanley Parable is a piece of art to be studied for years. Play it, then introduce it to a friend.

NOW IN 2020: This is still king of the walking simulators. Having never made more than a Twine game, I declare this game to be required playing to understand the struggle between developer VS player. About once a year I blitz through and get all these endings again (best one's the colorful starry sky with the stairway). When the opportunity arises, nothing's better than watching a new player try the game.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#9: Life is Strange: Season 1
Released on 1/30/2015
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

I've begun calling these types of games guilt-simulators. This -- specifically, this first season -- is the best of them.

LiS takes a few minutes to get into, but once Max puts her earbuds in at school it earned my trust until the very end. I didn't play this until every episode was out, but even at the end of each episode I was anxious to play the next one. That final episode seems divisive, but I was all about it and I loved the snowglobe-moment toward the very end.

For the record: Max > Chloe, and I <spoiler>chose to save Arcadia Bay but couldn't save Kate.</spoiler>

This is a weird game though. It makes sitting down feel new and exciting. It rewards you for watering your plant and punishes you for over-watering it. You build a bomb inside a school and are offered the chance to steal money from handicapped kids. You make can-puns, and you might see a parent slap their child. The result is super -- there's a lot going on here and it sure ain't flawless, but it's larger than the sum of its parts.

I also played the prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, but I think I stand out from other LiS-fans here in that I dont consider them close in quality. What LiS:BtS, LiS2s first episode, and everything from Telltale Games (RIP) all miss about the brilliance of LiS1 is its rewinding mechanic.

Rewinding time is a total game-changer...and I know it must seem hard to have a convincing way to bring back that gimmick of rewinding time, but I say find a way because right now while LiS2s first episode is cool I really dont see a need to keep playing the series without the ability to better see what each choice immediately leads to before moving forward. I'm just not that attached to these games without it -- having that mechanic in most of the game makes the whole game better, especially in the rare moments when you can no longer actually rewind.

Also, stop rushing me on choices in the name of realism. That talkback-feature for Chloe in LiS:BtS was really just scan your choices quickly for related words before you understand what you're saying, and that ain't fun either. LiS1 allowed you to take your time on urgent situations and was uniquely brilliant for it.

NOW IN 2020: I need to get back on Season 2 after its first episode...computer went kaput and I set it down awhile. Without the rewind mechanic, I'm probably done with the series when I finish it...but we'll see. They're fun and I did like LiS2:E1, but I don't necessarily need the genre like that. Rewind is everything.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Played a demo of SM3DW at Nintendo World...fun, but also played it alone.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#10: The Witness
Released on 1/26/2016
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

Talk about a linear game...oh ho ho, line jokes!

I hold Braid in great admiration and my laptop wasnt strong enough to play The Witness for more than a few minutes at a time, so I bought a new desktop computer in preparation for Jonathan Blows next game. Was it worth it? Oh yeah, but also I had to accept this game did not intend to hit every note Braid hit.

Blow is a master of a-ha moments. The concept of drawing lines to their proper conclusion is simple enough for a puzzle-game, yet there are just so many different rules hes found to make you do this along the way. They start off simple enough -- theyre basically simple mazes on some flat pads. The game cleverly teaches you without speaking how the rules work, and as you explore this island you see how many different ways these flat pads will demand your understanding of these rules. Knowledge becomes a power-up, where suddenly you can take on previously blocked-off paths because you figured out some rules elsewhere. Its almost a Metroidvania based on intelligence instead of items.

This is a much larger game than I expected -- were talking hundreds and hundreds of puzzles with increasing difficulty -- so know it will get complicated in fair but hard ways. I found myself taking tiny gasps of excitement when I figured out some of its most clever puzzles.

The puzzles slowly creep off the flat pads, from just on-pad puzzles to puzzles affected by what you see elsewhere in the distance to puzzles guided by your worlds shadows, lighting, sounds, filters, personal paths you took to reach the puzzles...and when you finally notice your first line in the environment, you feel like a god with powers you dont fully understand. Its a fantastic feeling when all you did was trace a line with your eyes.

The island is like a love letter to Myst fans. It is gigantic, beautiful, vibrant, interconnected, mysterious, and captivating despite almost no music to be found. I loved the choice of having one dark cloud in an otherwise-gorgeous sky over the island -- it held my imagination for what all that might mean. Your location also contains a lot of tiny secrets along the way. Many of the secrets are just visual -- oh hey, look at those two statues that now look like theyre holding hands -- while other secrets are audio clips of philosophy quotes. Theyre rewarding in the moment since I think many of the quotes are interesting.

However, I looked to these quotes as part of a larger story. As far as the larger picture of The Witness goes, I didnt quite get the same satisfaction I expected after playing Braid. I kept looking for how all these clues and my mastery of the puzzles tied into how this world would become a more interesting place. Blow even left some videos in the game to watch that I expected to further deepen my appreciation of the world, and it did in a way...but then something funny happened.

I started seeing these lines in my own life -- not just in the game, but in random places of my apartment or in drawings. I found that the games secret ending clarified what I was recognizing in myself: this is a mental game of his that Blow is now teaching the world. The Witness was less a game about deeply exploring its world and more a game of better exploring my own world. Its a unique layer to a game I didnt know could be intended; Ive had visions of Meat Boy jumping across picture frames on my wall and dreams of Guitar Hero lines with its incoming notes...but those were accidents. This was the plan Blow had all along.

Its genius, but my expectations for Braid made me want something that had a more satisfying IN-GAME narrative than this. So...I still think Braid is the better game, but The Witness counts as another masterpiece by Blow and I got like seventy more hours of legitimate content out of this than Braid so there is no shame to be had here.

Its the best game Ive played from 2016, even if it has a bottle of pee hidden away.

NOW IN 2020: This is puzzle gaming at its purest. I've dabbled with other recent puzzle games that were supposed to be puzzle game legends of our time -- I'm thinking of Baba is You and Steven's Sausage Rolls -- and they're neat games I wish I could keep playing, but I don't think they get the difficulty curve right for me. The Witness does for the most part...could have used a few more introductory puzzles to the tetris pieces, but otherwise they nailed this.

Also, the game earns its largely-silent ambience, but one day when I replay this I'm having background music.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>BEST MULTIPLAYER PLATFORMER OF THE DECADE:
Rayman Origins
Released on 11/15/2011
Steam</b>
(written in 2015)

This is my first Rayman-game, and whoa. I always heard good things about the series but never felt compelled to play one until now, so this was a treat. Platforming bliss here.

The music stands out the most to me; that happy-sounding music when you want to collect the most fairies is infectious. The art design complimented the score for a vibrant world. Chasing the chests were difficult but fun every time. I played a few levels by myself but mostly teamed up with someone...I appreciated that we couldn't mess each other up too bad unless we were attacking each other. Secrets were all over the place, so it was fun to look around. We were unfortunately terrible at time trials -- were they absurdly hard, or was it just us?

I enjoyed the demo for Legends and expect to play that one day. In the meanwhile, are the older Rayman-games worth looking back for? Think there was one on the Nintendo 64 I missed growing up.

NOW IN 2020: Everyone keeps telling me Legends > Origins, and, I mean, maybe...but I played through Legends alone whereas I had a friend for Origins, so in a way Legends ensured Origins gets remembered better by me. They're just different experiences. Either way you go, however, good multiplayer platformers are hard to come by so enjoy one of the best by bringing a friend along and having fun.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

TomNook posted...

King Dice's fight had to have been one of the most overwhelming fights the first time when you realize exactly what is going on. Felt so helpless. But damn, once you finally beat it, so satisfying.

Yeah, he's a fun surprise-random-gauntlet. His fight atill ain't nothing compared to the quality of his song though.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

On NitW: I like your temporary VS point angle. The line's blurred a bit too much on what it was trying to do there for me to just give it a pass based off that explanation, and to their credit you can see signs they tried to leave leading up to it...I just don't think they stuck the landing for making that connection. This is me still stuck in the point-of-the-game perspective though.

Not bad, just awkward -- game's still amazing.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

I'll never play Xenogears at this point, but that game was a huge deal once upon a time and I ought to watch a stream of it sometime to better see what others witnessed.

Nice topic! What gaming trends are you looking forward to seeing the '20s explore?

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#11: Cuphead
Released on 9/29/2017
Steam</b>
(written in 2019)

As previously mentioned, these top three are basically a tie. Here is what survived over a year of personal deliberations.

I wrote this game off for awhile as a concept-piece just focusing on great 1950s-style animation...turns out, they focused on FANTASTIC animation as well as so much more.

Cuphead is an action platformer with a focus on transforming boss-fights. A few of these fights are shmup-based in the air and are fine while a few levels are side-scrollers without bosses and are only okay...but really, most of the game is just a collection of great ground-based boss-fights (think Shadow of the Colossus) and you can do this single-player or with a friend.

This game is beaming with a combination of creativity and throwbacks. Cuphead reminds me of Mickey Mouse, the mermaid Cala Maria is basically a mean Betty Boop, the frogs Ribby and Croak have Street Fighter references all over them, Mega Man gets cred with both the green dragon Grim Matchstick and the mad scientist Dr. Kahl...the list goes on. Your mechanics are familiar too -- you move and attack like you're basically in a Contra game, with the additions of parries and air-dashes. Meanwhile, this game proves old can be new again and throws you zany additions to these comfortable concepts. It's like how Rolling Stone once described Kanye West: respect the old school and change the game.

Best boss is the rat-machine Werner Werman, by the way. Worst boss is probably the queen bee in the hive, Rumor Honeybottoms. I've beaten them all on Expert, and outside of the cupcake boss Baroness Von Bon Bon and the run-and-gun level Funfair Fever, I've got A-ranks and S-ranks on the rest.

The music is such a classic throwback too. These big brass band-songs blare while you take on these bosses, and they'll mix up the order of their song sections sometimes so it doesn't get too repetitive in levels where you die a lot. It's often hectic and insane-sounding in the moment, with three smooth distinct exceptions: the a Capella stylings of the opening menu song, the cartoonier-than-most songs in the overworld, and of course IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'M MISTER KING DICE. They did a great job here.

Okay so all of this is great, but let me pick at the game a minute now. The game was glitchy for while after it came out -- there was an attack from the Devil's minions on the side of the screen that would hit you when it shouldn't, and it wasn't until recently that they fixed one of the run-and-gun stages where you could actually get the S-rank in it. Also, while I like their ranking system and I like how the bosses have some variation and randomization each fight, combining this system and randomization's a total pain in the S-rank scene. This could be improved by allowing more opportunities to parry -- that was usually my #2 reason to restart (#1 being hit) since part of your ranking would require three parries before you beat it and you won't always get three opportunities to parry if you're going as fast as you can.

I hear Cuphead has new DLC coming later this year, and I'll be on that. It's a super example of what games can be, and one of the studio interviews said they'd emphasize this kind of hand-drawn art style in future games too so this contribution to gaming isn't going anywhere either. Good job everybody.

Cuphead: I had more fun here than any other game in the past two years.

NOW IN 2020: more games should focus on being a fine collection of boss fights like this and SotC. Imagine a LoZ-take on this concept, for example. I can't wait to see what the Cuphead team does next.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#12: LISA the Painful
Released on 12/15/2014
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

Somebody get Austin Jorgensen a bigger studio and a therapist. Theres a ton to unpack from this status-based 2D RPG straight out of RPG Maker.

Ill pick on its flaws first because theyre what I noticed first. If you want to play with an Xbox-controller like I did, its controls need you to set them up right away with a poor menu that requires some guesswork. The graphics do not keep up with its art design. Soon after you get control of Brad, you realize you might die accidentally at any edge of a cliff where you need to go up or down, and this problem gets worse when you realize save points are limited...so if you die after playing awhile without saving because you accidentally moved one tile too far, its frustrating. The game lacks polish.

This lack of polish also allows it some of the greatest successes. Those issues I mentioned above, while I think theyre largely unintentional, do at least fit into this unforgiving world that unfolds before you. Its an apocalyptic world where only men now live, plus the baby girl Brad found before she was taken away from him.

Because the game feels so personal and not too playtested, LISA goes two bold directions at once. One direction was how LISA got to delve deeeeeeeep into issues of drug addiction, child molestation, choices with no good answers, and sacrifice in this already-depressing context. There were literally times where I feared Austin Jorgensen could be suicidal, and as a gamer I dont know what to do about that feeling.

The other direction somehow balances this out with some of the greatest humor possible. Some of it is spot-on commentary with our world of men today, like how some of these men who havent had a woman in their world for years are still hung up on ranking their looks on a scale of one to ten. Other examples are completely irreverent -- this game features enemies who quote Bone Thugs And Harmony as they die, NPCs who pray into fast food drive-through machines, and mountains that only exist to flip you off after you climb them. How bad can depression be if you dont know what laughter is? I dont know if thats a fair question for real life, but my point is that LISA goes in opposite directions with its tone and it works so well.

The plot through-out this gets told in broken pieces as well, with flashbacks and out-of-order sequences. It reminds me of Pulp Fiction -- theres probably a better movie reference to be made here, but just know the games not afraid to toss your expectation of story structure around.

And its got the dopest goddamn soundtrack. Its musics moods are divided like the other moods of this game; there are songs here that seem like they intentionally alternate tones in the middle of them. One example is my favorite song, Mens Hair Club. Its one part techno battle-music and one part funeral organ. They blend together as poorly as water and motor oil, yet it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fA8OeBltZw

The gameplays fine -- nothing revolutionary. Youll find some attacks and combos you like for most circumstances, but since this RPG is status-based youll learned that not every enemy burns from a fireball or gets dazed from a sliding headbutt. Youll want to maximize whatever deals the most damage and prevents your enemies from attacking you the most, because some of the end-game enemies will perma-kill your party with one hit. Speaking of party members, you get a big fun cast to find and choose from. Just...good luck keeping your favorites.

The DLC called LISA the Joyful is okay, but LISA the Painful is the real draw here. I dont know another game like this. If you can get past the problems and want a story like no other, get LISA the Painful. Just know your heart will hurt.

NOW IN 2020: this remains one of the most jarring experience in gaming. I dropped it a bit due to not being as polished as most games on this list, but that doesn't mean skip this. You would be missing out on a fascinating game that will inspire others.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

Mac Arrowny posted...

You messed up your spoiler tags

Thanks, yeah, I'm not used to GameFAQs not counting my HTML tags but I'm leaving my past ones in. Reposted.

Also, I warned everyone at the top of the topic there would be spoilers for everything. Still, trying to do right by people!

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#13: Night in the Woods
Released on 1/10/2017
Steam</b>
(written in 2019)

Real talk: Mae Borowski is my spirit animal. I love this trash mammal.

Like Lost Constellation and Longest Night, Night in the Woods crushes it with dialogue. Sometimes its the simplicity of the lines, like when Gregg has cups on his ears and says I have cups on my ears. Sometimes its the adult content you dont expect from a cel-shaded 2D adventure game, like when Maes computer is overrun with pornographic spyware. Sometimes its the shock of personal revelations, like when you realize Mae doesnt remember Beas mom passed away years ago. Sometimes its the heavy-hitting nostalgia, like when Mae finds Mallard P. Bloomingro and shares her childhood memories in this newly-discovered tomb. Sometimes its a silly line in a song about wanting to die anywhere else than here, and sometimes its just the joy of seeing a poetry club be told poems without rhymes is the dumbest thing ever. I have no better way to describe the dialogue than bratty, and it is charming despite its recognition of its own immaturity. This is some of my favorite writing in all of video games.

EEEEEEEELS, people. EEEEEEEELS.

NitW also gets a weird accolade: I dont know that Ive ever seen a game represent the type of small town I grew up in so well. People are worried about jobs as they go to church and put together little holiday festivals. Businesses come and go. Maes insecure about returning to her hometown after failing out of college -- shes stuck seeing her ex at campfires and seeing her friends evolve in their lives since she first left town. Its rural in nature at Possum Springs as it explores themes about life changing and moving on without you. I dont know that my town ever found a severed arm just laying around, but this checks a lot of marks for where I once lived.

And then the game <spoiler>suddenly changes into a ghost story kinda?

The game has some major whiplash about two-thirds into it. It has clues set up to explain the whiplash, but they don't feel like they explain it enough in hindsight or like those clues are relevant when the whiplash comes. Its neat, but less so and in a totally different way. I like the side of NitW where you have a knife-fight just to reminisce over old times with a friend more than what the end of the game had you doing.</spoiler>

The nightmare scenes are odd and sometimes I think they took a little too long, but at least the discovery of music and the unusual metaphors made them worthwhile.

NitW is personal. Its about a cat dropping out and returning home to jump on powerlines when she knows she should get a job, but the game means more than that too.

Play it. If it ever hooks you a little bit, then it probably hooks you a lot. If nothing else, Demon Towers pretty dope for a minigame.

And Gregg rulz ok.

NOW IN 2020: I understand one of the main creators of NitW died young recently, Alec Holowka...hate to see talent like this go. Maybe someone else will take up the mantle of clever dialogue like this going forward. I haven't done deep research on him, but it sounded like he had some personal controversies before he passed...I'll let somebody who knows them better speak about them, but in the meanwhile this game mattered and I appreciate this contribution.

[ @MetalmindStats here's your game.]

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#13: Night in the Woods
Released on 1/10/2017
Steam</b>
(written in 2019)

Real talk: Mae Borowski is my spirit animal. I love this trash mammal.

Like Lost Constellation and Longest Night, Night in the Woods crushes it with dialogue. Sometimes its the simplicity of the lines, like when Gregg has cups on his ears and says I have cups on my ears. Sometimes its the adult content you dont expect from a cel-shaded 2D adventure game, like when Maes computer is overrun with pornographic spyware. Sometimes its the shock of personal revelations, like when you realize Mae doesnt remember Beas mom passed away years ago. Sometimes its the heavy-hitting nostalgia, like when Mae finds Mallard P. Bloomingro and shares her childhood memories in this newly-discovered tomb. Sometimes its a silly line in a song about wanting to die anywhere else than here, and sometimes its just the joy of seeing a poetry club be told poems without rhymes is the dumbest thing ever. I have no better way to describe the dialogue than bratty, and it is charming despite its recognition of its own immaturity. This is some of my favorite writing in all of video games.

EEEEEEEELS, people. EEEEEEEELS.

NitW also gets a weird accolade: I dont know that Ive ever seen a game represent the type of small town I grew up in so well. People are worried about jobs as they go to church and put together little holiday festivals. Businesses come and go. Maes insecure about returning to her hometown after failing out of college -- shes stuck seeing her ex at campfires and seeing her friends evolve in their lives since she first left town. Its rural in nature at Possum Springs as it explores themes about life changing and moving on without you. I dont know that my town ever found a severed arm just laying around, but this checks a lot of marks for where I once lived.

And then the game <spoiler>suddenly changes into a ghost story kinda?

The game has some major whiplash about two-thirds into it. It has clues set up to explain the whiplash, but they don't feel like they explain it enough in hindsight or like those clues are relevant when the whiplash comes. Its neat, but less so and in a totally different way. I like the side of NitW where you have a knife-fight just to reminisce over old times with a friend more than what the end of the game had you doing.</spoiler>

The nightmare scenes are odd and sometimes I think they took a little too long, but at least the discovery of music and the unusual metaphors made them worthwhile.

NitW is personal. Its about a cat dropping out and returning home to jump on powerlines when she knows she should get a job, but the game means more than that too.

Play it. If it ever hooks you a little bit, then it probably hooks you a lot. If nothing else, Demon Towers pretty dope for a minigame.

And Gregg rulz ok.

NOW IN 2020: I understand one of the main creators of NitW died young recently, Alec Holowka...hate to see talent like this go. Maybe someone else will take up the mantle of clever dialogue like this going forward. I haven't done deep research on him, but it sounded like he had some personal controversies before he passed...I'll let somebody who knows them better speak about them, but in the meanwhile this game mattered and I appreciate this contribution.

[@MetalmindStats here's your game.]

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

But seriously, I wanted to get into Dark Souls but it's too scary-tense and I will not stand for a game that will not pause while I manage my menus.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

That booty is an eight-legged freak my dude.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#14: The End is Nigh
Released on 7/12/2017
Steam</b>
(written in 2019)

These next three games are basically ties and theyre all flawed differently in ways thats hard to really rank them against each other, but eff that -- we like definitive rankings here, so #3 is The End is Nigh.

I love love loooooved Super Meat Boy when it first came out, and when you look at TEiN it's really easy to see this is a similar game from the same developer. Even if you play TEiN after not playing SMB in years, you'll feel like this is very familiar territory.

However, take some time to play them side-by-side and you'll be caught off-guard by the differences you'll feel. SMB is floatier and more momentum-based while TEiN is more precisely as you command and incorporates a few little powers you always have but don't know about until later when the game teaches you. SMB deals with wall-jumps while TEiN deals with jumps from ledges. We also see SMB is stage-based while TEiN connects a world together. Point is, SMB and TEiN feel almost exactly the same until you load them up side-by-side with a controller in your hand.

The crowning achievement is the music. They not only made rock-orchestra versions of classical music for its soundtrack, they then made chiptune-versions of those songs too. I'm not sure there's a better song on this whole list than two variations of the same song -- The Future and The Tower:

https://youtu.be/NEZ3x317jvE

https://youtu.be/nh9uFAxsGQs

Okay though, it has a legitimate flaw in ethical difficulty and I say this as somebody who 100%'d both this and SMB. I'm making eye-contact with +Acceptance for this rant.

TEiN is varied and interesting in how it used its lives system. You have infinite lives in the main world and the hardest carts, you have as many lives in the dark world as you have tumors saved from the main world, most carts give you ten lives, and four carts give you one life.

+Acceptance combines all four of those difficult one-life carts together, then adds a brand new cart at the very end and still expects you to do it all in one life...and that crosses a line for me. That is BS difficulty to waste players times in a major way, not being able to even practice that last cart until you ACE all the rest in a row and then only get one shot at it.

I mean, I did it, butcome on, that's BS.

Also, their cutscenes after the intro were bad and hopping on those flying creatures while you're in that cliff-world was malarkey.

All and all though, SMB fans don't have an excuse not to play TEiN. I'll probably lean SMB > TEiN, but what a great pair of games.

NOW IN 2020: I maintain +Acceptance was unethical. I also wouldn't want to beat any retro cart without dying (which isn't necessary anyway, but, you know...achievements). Otherwise though, it felt good beating the heck out of this game and any fans of Super Meat Boy need to give it a shot.

Since we had a do-save-states-mean-you-beat-it conversation from another topic here, I'll share this: I beat the game fair and square, plus I got the achievements of dying less than 20(?) times and beating the game in under 2(?) hours with a little cheesing. I took a save file and started thrashing a world until I could ace it consistently, then I went to a second save file to beat it cleanly with that practice. I then went back to my practice file and destroyed the next world before switching to my clean file for a single clean run. Rinse and repeat. I beat the crap of that game and still had to cheese it a bit for those achievements...but I stand by it counting. If it's throwing +Acceptance at me, I'm throwing practice between save files at it.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>#15: Rocket League
Released on 7/7/2015
Steam</b>
(written in 2017)

Monster Truck Madness meets soccer and jetpacks. This is Rocket League.

It doesnt matter if its your first match or youre nailing alley-ooped aerials: every touch on the ball feels like a big deal. I find myself constantly leaning in all sorts of directions in the same way I used to play games as a kid. You just really look forward to making the impact.

I also liked that you can go from 1vs1 to 4vs4 matches, even though 3vs3 is the default. It all depends on the level of chaos you want in your multi-player action. 1vs1 is good for learning ball control on the ground and understanding one opponent at a time. The more people you involve in the game, the more you realize aerial shots are valuable to get above the vehicular melee on the field. You also see people shift into certain responsibilities: goalie, goalie destroyer, mid-field opportunist, who goes for the ball first after each score...lots of little positions get spread between teammates.

Online matchmaking gets some credit too -- it felt like they usually paired me up with people of equal skill. When I was just learning how to dribble the ball, so were other opponents (outside of the occasional all-star who probably just made their first Steam account or something). As I was getting better with my cars jumps, they were too. Im figuring out aerials as other people are taking to the sky, and the list goes on. Not to say that blow-outs couldnt happen, but I didnt often feel like I was outclassed or outclassing the other players.

The soundtracks great too! Underwater.....

NOW IN 2020: I find that bringing this game up among strangers is a good way to make enemies for five minutes and make friends afterward. It feels so good -- even when you're bad, it feels good.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

<b>EXCITING COMEBACK OF THE DECADE: Mega Man 11
Released in 9/6/2018
Steam</b>
(written in 2019)

First of all: MM9 >= MM4 > MM2 > MM5 >= MM11 > MM10 >> MM3 > MM6 >= MM1

So I played MM10 first and then a few months later I played MM11 -- an interesting formula-breaker that still stays true to the series.

MM11 finally figured out how to make 3D graphics work for Mega Man because this still looks and feels like a Mega Man game. The power-gear mechanic was okay, but the time-gear is what really made this game unique -- a lot of the game is designed to kick your robot boy's teeth in unless you slow things down at key moments. I loved how Robot Masters changed their patterns on you in this game too once you hurt them a certain amount -- that gave a certain level of freshness to every RM. Dr. Wily's final move in slow motion was well-played as well.

It's really hard to go wrong with classic Mega Man in my book, but what both of these games missed that MM9 nailed so much better than the rest of the series is how every power can be made relevant and important to the gameplay. That was a change I was hoping modern Mega Man games figured out...and look, those powers are still okay and have their uses, but MM9 stands alone in that aspect.

Side-note: after playing these two games, it reminded me that Mighty No. 9 came out inbetween these two games...and man, I only played a little bit of MN9 about a year ago, but after all the associations they tried to draw for Mega Man-fans I'm glad to see that thing tossed away. It is the present year is a terrible opening line and it never won me back with the two or three levels I tried afterward. MN9 was a bad trick -- stick to the classic series.

NOW IN 2020: it took eight and a half years to go from MM10 to MM11. This series is an all-time legend of game series and it's a tired subject to talk about how neglected it is in recent years. The good news is this is a solid modern model to reinvigorate the series, if they decide to. Work on that weapon synergy and improve that soundtrack again (come on, Capcom can afford Danny Baronowsky) -- they have the rest in a solid place they can continue building on.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png

When you're here, you're family.

And Gregg rulz ok.

---

O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/ssb/images/0/0d/Sheik-Victory3-SSB4.png