Board 8 > azuarc ranks 66 games played in 2020 [predix] [prize] [vgm]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Kenri posted...

Lenna's Inception is definitely a game that needs more love.

I had to upload the soundtrack myself.

---

azuarc posted...

I was only referencing the last three.

you mean "Trails"

---

Duh.

7. DanganRonpa V3: Killing Harmony
Genre Point & Click Mystery

Gameplay: 5
Rest of Game: 8
Engagement: 10
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 33/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNWw4Z9pB04

Danganronpa 1 & 2 were two of the last games I played last year before the period for this list began. They wouldnt have scored as well as 3, anyway. DR3 (and screw anyone who tells me thats the anime) takes the best parts of 1 and 2, brings them together, and then adds even more punch. It has the strongest overall cast, the best protagonist, the best antagonist student (sorry Nagito), and two of the three best cases in the series.

Lemme back up.

Danganronpa is the story of sixteen teenagers trapped in an environment together, with the imperative that none of them can leave unless they kill another student. However, once that murder takes place, the entire group convenes in Among Us fashion to discuss and consider who the perpetrator is. If they guess correctly, the blackened is executed. If they fail to identify the right person, the entire rest of the group is slaughtered and that one person goes free. The half-black-and-white bear mascot, Monokuma, represents the establishment enforcing this situation, and while each game has different reasons canonically for why and how Monokumas handlers have placed these kids here, the ultimate goal in each is to weather a number of class trials until reaching a point where they can turn the tables and confront their circumstances.

Danganronpa games are slow, dialogue heavy, and drive themselves based on character interactions, drama, and the novelty of the mystery in each case. For obvious reasons, theyre compared to Ace Attorney, however there's a number of ways the two diverge. AA, while trying to maintain a facade of realism, has absurd characters, outlandish obstacles, and obvious culprits. The goal isnt to decide whos at fault, so much as simply gather enough evidence to prove it. Rather than grilling witnesses, and returning to the scene of the crime midway, Danganronpa sticks to a group of amateurs all throwing accusations at each other in the vein of a ridiculous murder mystery party. (They also have silly minigames in the middle of the trial to break up the action.) Overall, my preference lies with Danganronpa, but maybe thats just because its what I played first. I recently bought the Zero Escape games, so Ill be giving those a try before too much longer. (Ed: 999 was okay. I bailed quickly on VLR.)

As much as Id love to get into why, specifically, I love the cases and the cast of DR3 more than its predecessors or extol its virtues for any newcomers to the series, unfortunately, wed get into spoiler territory very quickly, as even the first case manages to blow a giant hole in our expectations from the first two games. While DR1&2 are nominally about the theme of hope vs despair, we generally only see this through the lens of the characters. In DR3, the writers throw sucker punch upon sucker punch, making us feel despair. And that is an amazing accomplishment, on par with what Trials and Tribulations does, not once, but repeatedly.

Should you play it?: Puhuhu, I couldnt bear it if you dont.

Next: A game thats all about getting upgrades

---

Gave Lenna's Inception a proper try, I like the idea and the story it's got going on. I don't know if I was missing something though, but the game just seemed so slow that I couldn't stick with it. The main character takes forever to get anywhere and the bosses I saw were a whole lot of waiting. I plodded along at the speed of turtle until I reached the second boss, and it took so long to land hits on him that I just called it a day.

No idea which game is next based on the hint, but I'll say Borderlands.

---

Weird. It's certainly not any slower than the Zelda games it's based on. The developers have made it pretty clear that Link's Awakening was their paradigm.

The only part of the game that I could see arguing feels slow is traversing the dungeons. Since they're generated procedurally, they don't always have lay-outs as friendly or thought-provoking as their Zelda counterparts, so they sometimes feel like you're crossing blank screens. The bosses certainly shouldn't feel long, although the bomb boss does have a pretty long cycle if you don't know how to cheat it.

---

6. Borderlands 3
Genre FPS Diablo clone, aka looter shooter

Gameplay: 9
Rest of Game: 6
Engagement: 8
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 33/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdClSNDqCCg

Borderlands came out at a time when I was starting to fully transition away from consoles. I owned a 360, and lived with two other guys who also had one. They bought Borderlands along with a third friend, and I decided, eh, maybe I should look into this thing so as not to be left out. Its basically a sci-fi Diablo with FPS gameplay. Im not a hardcore shooter fan, but I think I can take this.

Oh, I took it. And Borderlands 2. And the Pre-Sequel. And Tales From the Borderlands. And all the DLC. Although the later installments are better games from a technical perspective, none of them quite captured the magic for me of the original, which Gearbox kinda ruined the first time they raised the level cap.

Gearbox also ruined my initial opportunity to play Borderlands 3 when they released it as an Epic Store exclusive. I have no problem with anyone who wants to play PC games on a service that isnt Steam, but personally I want all my games in one place and I resent another platform coming along and essentially creating a softcore version of the console wars on home computing. And so I had to wait six months for the game to come out.

Im neither going to say it was worth the wait or that I was ultimately all that upset at the delay. Borderlands 3 is to Borderlands 2/TPS what Borderlands 2 was to Borderlands 1. Which is to say, more guns, more levels, more characters, more everything...except that their lead writer left the studio and it shows. While very few villains could ever hope to match the amazingness of Handsome Jack, the Calypso Twins looked like they werent up for the task. Then they became more interesting later into the game, before Gearbox cut everything off at the knees and squandered the potential they had. If youre going to play this game, dont do it for the story. Its not abysmal; its just...disappointing. And the center of that disappointment swirls around the chick I mained in the first game, and her failure to do any of the things someone in her position really ought to have, up until the ending when stuff happens. (Ill write a spoiler-laden post if anyone really wants to hear my thoughts.)

But for all things that arent the story, BL3 is exactly what youve come to expect from BL and beyond. That alone is worth it right there. I completed the game, started a playthrough on TVHM, and will undoubtedly return when I can get all the DLC at once for cheap. So far Im up to 63 hours played, and I ultimately garnered 120 on BL2. (Probably more on BL1, but who knows, since that wasnt on Steam.)

Should you play it?: You get to beat up Penn and Teller. Tell me thats not worth it.

Next: A game about an MC that has to leave their home

---

Borderlands has always been one of those series that's just been there. I appreciate it, but I don't really want to play it.

Guessing it's A Plague Tale next, which is the only game in the top 10 I hadn't heard about before this so I'm interested to see what the deal is.

---

That hint could literally describe any of the remaining games, actually.

A Plague Tale - The de Rune manor is burned down by inquisitors
Dishonored 2 - Delilah usurps Emily's throne and forces her (or her dad) to flee
Genshin Impact - the traveler is literally from another world before being magicked to Teyvat somehow
Hades - Zagreus learns of his mother and decides that he can no longer remain in the House of Hades
Hollow Knight - the vessel has to leave the ancient basin, and ultimately departs Hallownest prior to the game

---

5. A Plague Tale: Innocence
Genre Action with stealth elements

Gameplay: 6
Rest of Game: 10
Engagement: 6
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 32/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTKeRNXJudk

A Plague Tale was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year for me. Like Disco Elysium, it represented a rare purchase based on review scores and positive feedback, rather than directly catching my interest or by referral. And as I started to play, I began to quickly realize this wasnt the sort of game I normally enjoy. I hit the end of a level just shy of the two-hour mark and seriously thought about returning it.

But not because it doesnt start strong. The graphics in APT are fantastic, coupled with voice acting and character animations that made me feel like I was playing a movie. For a product coming from a non-AAA studio, the technical quality here is incredible. Im just not usually into stealth-based games, which is what this one initially felt like, but the games strengths gave me the sense this wasnt one to put down. It wasnt.

In APT, you play as 14-year-old Amicia de Rune, the daughter of a noble house in Black Plague-era France. Inquisitors arrive at your home and confront your father outside, who refuses to turn over your little brother Hugo to them. Hugo has some kind of condition, and your mother, who happens to be one of the foremost alchemists of her time, is always trying to form concoctions to help him. Amicia, seemingly, doesnt get to see her little bro too much, but when the inquisitors lay waste to your manor, killing both your parents and sending you on the run with only the slightest clue from your mother how to get Hugo to a man outside town, the game becomes one of fleeing and escaping the inquisitors at every turn. In a frenzy of segregating those with the plague, the first town you reach alerts them and forces you to retreat again until you find yourself in catacombsfilled with rats.

Rats prove to be the singular most disturbing and unnerving part of the game. I wouldnt go so far as to call APT survival-horror, but it certainly feels like it when thousands of demonic, possessed rats are champing at the edge of your torch circle, attempting to find a secure path to feast upon you, or on Hugo clutching to your side. The first moment you encounter rats in the game brought me back to when I first encountered the Flood in Halo.

Between the rats, the inquisitors, bandits, and an invading English army, theres plenty of adversaries throughout APT, and your only defense is your trusty sling which initially is better for creating a distraction than actually defeating the obstacles in your path. Gradually, youll gain access to alchemical blends that give you more options, able to light torches from afar or force guards to remove their helmets for a temple strike. And youll need every one, as Hugo clings to your jerkin, depending on your ingenuity and bravery for his survival.

The story maybe jumps the rails a bit toward the end, as the source of the plague and Hugos importance to it becomes a pinch supernatural, but everything else about Plague Tale beyond maybe a little bit of frustration with the controls is amazing. The level design is thoughtful, combining realistic locations, a heightened sense of reward for exploration, and strong gameplay. The puzzles usually arent gimmicky, although occasionally they are janky. The action moments can be intense, and sometimes require replaying, but arent anything I look back on and shake my fist. Charlotte McBurneys performance as Amicia covers an incredibly vast range for a girl who is stretched between the harrowing frenzy of her situation, her concern, compassion and occasional frustration with Hugo, and her determination to keep going regardless of what awful circumstances life throws at them. This and Dishonored 2 were the two early-in-the-year games that set the standard which everything that followed had to measure against. As you can see from its placement, not many were up to the task.

Should you play it?: Unless you are super skittish, or cant stand games that require light stealth, I would say yes, absolutely.

Next: A game with aggressive flies

---

Aww, nobody for Cicins or Primal Aspids?

.

4. Dishonored 2
Genre Stealth

Gameplay: 8
Rest of Game: 8
Engagement: 8
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 34/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glCTVkTwfdE

Dishonored 2 released in 2016, around the same time that Doom did. If you recall, at the time, Bethesda was on a no-early-press-release kick for some silly reason. Doom succeeded in spite of this, but it cost several other games dearly. Dishonored 2 was heavily overlooked by the media simply because they couldnt access it before release day, and flew heavily under the radar. So although I saw plenty of advertising for it on Steam over the last three years, I never really had a sense of what it was, and in the meanwhile apparently it was selling terribly. Which is a shame, because its vastly superior to the original.

Dishonored is the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard and consort to the Empress of Dunwall. When a coup is staged by an assassin, who manages to shift the blame onto Corvo, he has to escape prison and go rogue, committing guerilla acts with the added bonus of some new superpowers in order to clear his name and avenge his lover. Dishonored 2 takes place over a decade later, when his daughter, Emily Kaldwin, is now the ruling empress. While he stands at her side, and secretly trains her to run in the shadows, Emily only turns to her father for advice now, able to handle political matters herself...until the sorceress Delilah Copperspoon appears. Delilah arrives with the help of a distant duke, and they upstage Emily in her own throne room. You choose whether to play the game as Emily or Corvo, and the other becomes encased in stone, while your character is knocked out, forced to flee the castle in disgrace, and left to figure out who this usurper is and how to undermine her power base.

Although I discovered that I had a lot to learn about playing as a stealth assassin, seeing as Hitman games arent really in my wheelhouse, the gameplay of Dishonored is fantastic and the level design supports it fantastically. Im always impressed when designers create a real world level, and Arkane Studios hired civil engineering consultants to ensure their stages had a plausibility factor to them rather than simply serving the needs of puzzling the player. Since this is really Emilys story, and since I typically play as female characters whenever offered a chance, I got to see the world through her eyes -- which as I understand it, changes very little from playing as her father besides some dialogue.

After the first stage, Emily meets with The Outsider, the mysterious entity who granted Corvo his skills in the original, and from that point forward I was blinking between lampposts and balconies, transforming into shadow monsters, and creating links between enemies so if I knocked out one it would KO the other(s). Exploring the distant land of Serkonos, Emily travels on long, extended missions that comprise multiple levels as she seeks out Delilahs four lieutenants, who you can either assassinate in Kill Bill fashion or ruin forever by some non-lethal means. In fact, you can proceed through the entire game with no blood on your hands, preferring techniques that render your opponents unconscious. If you do hack your way through, though, the swarms of bloodflies that populate Serkonos -- which feed on carrion -- gradually become more menacing until they threaten to consume the city. Theres very real incentive to try not to kill anyone, especially when these people are technically your subjects. Theres also the possibility to play the game without accepting The Outsiders mark and play as an ordinary human, though I have to imagine doing so is incredibly challenging.

Everything about Dishonored feels fluid, natural, well-designed, and engaging. My sense of curiosity or the adrenaline of (maybe) being caught fueled my eagerness to pound through the stages. I was very taken with the entire game-osphere that Arkane Studios created. One of the levels, in particular, sees Emilys skills replaced with a shattered timepiece that allows her to slip between a present-day manor in total disrepair and an important date in the past when the halls were filled with guards and servants. Although one could say it functions something like the mirror in Zelda, you get to see both versions at once, knowing precisely how to avoid guard patrols or the monsters that lurk in the present, manipulating small things to create a path for you to continue past broken walls and through obstacles. A few other levels have alternate routes that let you bypass them almost entirely or very involved secondary objectives that make replay feel rewarding.

To say that I was impressed by Dishonored 2 back in December was an understatement, and it set the bar very high for everything that followed.

Should you play it?: Please do. Maybe well convince Bethesda to let Arkane make a third one.

Next: A game with a side character who sings

---

Quick recap:
66. fugue
65. Hand of Fate 2
64. Furries, Scalies, and Bears, Oh My!
63. God Eater Resurrection
62. shapez.io
61. A Day in the Woods
60. dorfromantik
59. Dishonored
58. Goblins, Inc.
57. Supermash
56. DuckTales Remastered
55. Ys: The Oath in Felghana
54. Globesweeper
53. Minit
52. OneShot
51. Fallout 4
50. Civilization VI
49. Streets of Rogue
48. Renowned Explorers: International Society
47. Slay the Spire
46. Epic Battle Fantasy III
45. Endless Legend
44. The Purring Quest
43. Sayonara Wild Hearts
42. Evoland Evolutionary Edition
41. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
40. Trine 3
39. Pyre
38. Super Win the Game
37. Rogue Legacy
36. Celeste
35. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
34. Disco Elysium
33. Stardew Valley
32. Gemcraft - Chasing Shadows
31. Monster Hunter: World
30. Monster Train
29. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
28. A Short Hike
27. Super Mario 64 (randomizer)
26. Night in the Woods
25. The Metronomicon
24. Muse Dash
23. Kingdom Rush: Frontiers
22. 20XX
21. The Jackbox Party Pack (1-6)
20. Cat Quest
19. Hearthstone
18. Ori and the Blind Forest
17. Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption
16. Z3R (A Link to the Past randomizer)
15. A Hat in Time
14. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
13. Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice Justice For All
12. Soda Dungeon 2
11. Super Mario Odyssey
10. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations
9. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
8. Lenna's Inception
7. DanganRonpa V3: Killing Harmony
6. Borderlands 3
5. A Plague Tale: Innocence
4. Dishonored 2

On the prediction board, Shonen_Bat has a 3 point lead over ArkOfTurus. Ark still has Hollow Knight and Hades alive, but he's going to need Hades to be exactly #2 to force a tie. If HK is 3rd, he gets 2 points and Shonen gets 1. If HK is 1st, he gets 1 and Shonen gets none. Either way, he makes up 3 points. Guess I better start thinking about what to do if there's a tie on the leaderboard.

---

Guessing Hollow Knight is next, I hope it's #1 though. And not just for the prediction, it's my favorite game on the list.

---

I guess I'm rooting for a game I've never played to finish ahead of two of my favorite games, now?

(Assuming Hades doesn't go out next. Hades might go out next.)

---

I like that all the recent hints have applied to every remaining game. Hollow Knight is the only game I've played here since T&T went out, hope it goes all the way but hey if not I'll have another reason to pick up Hades or continue to ignore Genshin Impact.

---

Oh, the suspense!

HM. Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Genre Puzzle

Gameplay: 3
Rest of Game: 6
Engagement: 6
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 4

Total score: 24/40

Last weekend, I stumbled and staggered through 999. Definitely an interesting premise, and I was just thinking to myself before that, I wonder if a good setting for Danganronpa would be a big boat, kinda like DR2s on an island. And then we get Saw-on-a-cruise-ship.

999 tells the story of a boy, Junpei, who wakes on a dilapidated old ship and has to find his way out of the room (which is flooding!) without a clue how he got there. Outside, hes greeted by eight others, all of whom are wearing a wristwatch like his that only has a single number on it from 1 to 9. They have to travel together through doors, in teams of 3 to 5, to total specific values, modulo 9, which limits who can go where. And, of course, none of them know why or how theyre there, either, so theres some inherent tension between the participants. Especially when, they reason, the person who put them there is probably one of them. At stake is that the ship will sink in nine hours, and in order to escape, they must find a door with a 9 on it.

Each time you have the option to pick a door, the game diverges, and it basically takes a guide (or really good guessing) to discover that only one of the sequences will lead to the okay ending, whereupon youll actually learn a bit about the nature of the game, the person who put them there (known as Zero), or have the slightest implication that you kinda sorta won. Even then, I wouldnt call it a good ending. However, the big picture starts to come together at that point.

But down each passage, with your handful of teammates, youll need to navigate escape rooms. The point-and-click nature of the puzzles often leads to a ton of trial and error, as you have no idea whats clickable. Most of the puzzles are either really obvious, require you to figure out the magic things to click on or combine in your inventory, or occasionally theyre so absurdly obtuse I have no idea how you even solve them. So the puzzles are simultaneously engaging and frustrating. Between each room, and often during, youll get a story chunk where you learn something about your peers or theyll tell you some esoteric story about, say, an Egyptian mummy who was frozen for thousands of years until she sank with the Titanic. The breadth of what people know is often a little funky, and constantly leaves you fumbling for the connection why are all these specific people here? Is there a reason? Are they connected? It certainly doesnt seem that way. There's something under the surface, but you need to go down basically every branch of the story to be able to see all the pieces and put them together.

Should you play it?: It was interesting for two nights, and certainly wasnt what I expectedespecially when people tend to mention the Zero Escape games in the same breath as Ace Attorney and Danganronpabut I suppose I was entertained when I wasnt annoyed.

Next: <unchanged>

---

TheArkOfTurus posted...

(Assuming Hades doesn't go out next. Hades might go out next.)

Sorry, Ark.

3. Hades
Genre Rogue-like

Gameplay: 10
Rest of Game: 9
Engagement: 7
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 36/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oll7pr4JVTQ

I have an interesting relationship with Supergiant Games. I think what they do, conceptually, is fascinating, but I never see their work through to the end. I played about half of Bastion, took very little interest in Transistor, and endured a couple hours of Pyre before moving on.

I also have an interesting relationship with rogue-likes. Typically, as games with a very high skill ceiling, I find them daunting and unwelcoming unless they have some form of progression. Rogue-lites, like Rogue Legacy, are intriguing when done well, but even then there becomes a sense that the game still either bars progress until you git gud (and perhaps lucky) or lets you grind like an RPG until you can simply bulldoze past whatever stands in your path.

In both of those regards, Hades is something very different. Couched within the mythos of Greek legends, Hades tells the tale of Zagreus, the son of Hades and Persephone. In this rendition, Persephone has fled the underworld long before Zagreus would ever come to know his mother, and instead believes that he was birthed and raised by Nyx. When he learns that his world is a lie, and also recognizing that he has no real place in his fathers realm, Zagreus vows to escape to the surface. Thus begins one of the most epic prison breaks in history, as Zagreus fights his way through several underworld realms, past the heroes of Elysium, and ultimately to the surface guarded by Cerberus.

To aid him on his journey, Zagreus acquires boons from the various Olympic gods, bonuses that grant him stronger attacks, more potent dashing for evasion, or status effects to inflict upon hells minions. Eventually, he will fail, emerging in the Pool of Styx within his fathers house, to lick his wounds and psyche himself up to go again.

And therein lies the charm of Hades. You acquire a few currencies along the way that can aid you in your progression, as well as several pieces of equipment you can choose between to influence the style of your next attempt. There are also six different weapons to select, ultimately with several augmentations, that help make every escape attempt different.

The other incredibly impressive part of Hades that helps make it feel unique is the writing. During each visit back to the House of Hades, a half dozen characters engage in new dialogue with you. The Olympic gods muse over your progress when you reach their boons. Several legendary figures like Sisyphus can be encountered during each flight, accompanied by new exchanges. If there is one thing that Supergiant Games can be counted on, it is their audio quality, as Darren Korb not only puts together an incredibly soundtrack, but also voices Zagreus himself. All exchanges between characters have full (and pretty decent) voice recording.

Of course, none of that would matter if the gameplay sucked. However, in spite of all the superlatives and extras Ive heaped upon Hades thus far, its the controls, handling, and combat that ranks supreme. Zagreuss movements are tight, fluid, natural, and easy to find at least one weapon you feel very comfortable playing. Zagreus clears through each room, rewarded with a boon, currency for Charons shop, or some other extra that will aid him on the path to reach first Megaera, and then each of the other bosses that stand in your path.

And the game doesnt even end with victory. There are so many unique bonuses and so many interesting ways to experience the game, coupled with the potential to crank the difficulty with heat settings that you can continue to challenge yourself well after youve escaped your fathers clutches for the first time. Im going to bet that Hades tops a lot of game of the year lists, and Id probably still be playing it if I hadnt gotten waylaid by Genshin Impact. Do not sleep on this one.

Should you play it?: Even if your gaming skills suck, yes. Watching it does not do it justice.

Next: A game where your opponents wear masks

---

TheArkOfTurus finishes with 11 prediction points.
Shonen_Bat finishes with 13 or 14, depending on the order of the final two.

Congratulations to @Shonen_Bat for clinching the win in the prediction contest. Let me know if any of the games I've played this year in particular interest you.

---

I wonder which one he is. (If any.) What's the significance of your name, out of curiosity?

---

azuarc posted...

I wonder which one he is. (If any.) What's the significance of your name, out of curiosity?

https://paranoiaagent.fandom.com/wiki/Golden_Bat

---

All right, I guess we're doing this. Fatui, I say!

2. Genshin Impact
Genre Open-world RPG

Gameplay: 7
Rest of Game: 8
Engagement: 12
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 37/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX2E1ly0na0

This will be probably the longest write-up in the top 10 because its simultaneously the game I have the most to say about, and the game (except for Lennas Inception) that I imagine the fewest people here have played. And boy have I played it. The only game Ive played more of this year is Hearthstone -- I assume, I dont actually have a tally on either game -- and thats only because Hearthstone had a nine-month head start. I gave Genshin a twelve for engagement. It literally broke the scale. Thats how infectious this game is.

Genshin Impact is a gacha game. Lets get that into the open. Its free to play, but encourages people to spend money to acquire more in-game assets, and is actively designed to encourage routine, devoted commitment in order to encourage transactions. Thats reason enough for some people to click away from this review outright, but for the rest of you, hear me out. Thats just the business model, and isnt that nefarious.

GI is often jokingly referred to as Breath of the Waifus. While thats a tremendously undeserved nickname, its not hard to see why. The vibrant, cel-shaded graphics and sprawling open world are reminiscent of BotW, complete with climb-anywhere mechanics. However, the game draws from a cast heavily represented by anime girls. I wouldnt call them sexualized, although the outfits do sometimes trend that way when one is dressed something like a french maid and another has Tharja leggings. They mix in a number of dudes and lolis, though, so I certainly wouldnt say this is the game for horny ogling.

Okay, got those bits out of the way? Great. Lets actually talk about the game.

Genshin is the story of the traveler, your character who arrives in the world of Teyvat without a clear understanding of how they arrived. Many people in this world possess Visions which let them manipulate elemental energies. You have no Vision, yet can apparently do the same. Your traveling companion, Paimon, serves a Navi-like role, and typically acts as your voice in cutscenes. However, soon after beginning your journey, youll encounter your first party member, Amber, and from there the game begins to take shape.

Youll hop between exploring the world, completing quests, and crawling through microdungeons as you see fit, but what drives the game is forming a party of four and switching between them vigorously. You might, for instance, hit an enemy with Ambers fire arrows, and then use the Travelers air attacks to create an elemental reaction known as swirl that amplifies the burning damage. A strong party is generally one that can make use of all four teammates in tandem, particularly through elemental reactions. There are over 25 available characters, but only 4 are literally handed to you. The rest are earned through the gacha mechanics. Fortunately the game does give you a slow trickle of the currency needed to pull for new characters, so F2P accounts are absolutely possible.

One of the interesting quirks of Genshin is that killing enemies awards only a token amount of XP. If you want to level your characters, you have to use items you pick up, which means you can choose how to develop your team. Once you hit level 20, though, youre capped until you can complete an ascension, which requires you to collect certain specific resources. Ive ascended some of my characters five times now. The same is also true of your weapons, which have their own brand of experience items, and are also important to raise for ensuring your partys success. In so doing, some of the late game activity is basically devoted into farming these materials.

However, thats simply because the game itself isnt truly complete yet. Teyvat promises to be a world with seven nations. Right now, we only have two, Mondstadt and Liyue. However, simply the act of exploring and discovering all the corners of Mondstadt alone, finding all the bonus chests and performing all the little puzzles out in the field, will take you a couple dozen hours. Liyue is even larger.

Genshin Impact is at its most fun when you can just run around the countryside discovering things, and the developers have taken pains to create reasons for you to come back to the field later. At the time of this writing, theres an in-game event that has you perform encounters at a bunch of locations scattered throughout the map. Ive found at least half a dozen chests and secrets I missed previously as I reached the event prompts. (And I consider myself a pretty good explorer.)

While exploration might be the initial driving force, your in-game accomplishments begin to take over later. Your account has its own experience level, your characters have levels, your weapons have levels, your other equipment levels, you have a battle pass that tracks how many things youve accomplished this month, the game tallies your exploration progress on the map, and all of that is notwithstanding your own internal goals. Oh, and theres an achievement system, too.

But all of that is telling you what Genshin is. Very little of it describes if the game is any good. And my answer to you is yes. The combat is fluid. The art is great to look at for long stretches. The music, despite getting constantly interrupted by the battle theme, is fantastic. Discovery in the game is thrilling and rewarding. Difficulty is generally low, but spikes at key moments when it needs to challenge you or to encourage you to develop your skills further. The only real negatives are baked into the gacha mechanics such as having an energy system that limits you from farming all day or having the way the game deals out your characters be determined by the RNG gods. Beyond that, though, and given that the game is free, I strongly recommend giving this a try.

Should you play it?: Only reason not to play, IMO, is if you have gambling issues. Its a beautiful game that will mesmerize you for at least the first ten hours until it sucks you in. However, a caveat -- at launch, there was discussion about the executable for Genshin installing a rootkit. The developers scaled that back heavily, to the point that unless youre quixotically paranoid about a Chinese companys product suddenly taking over your system or stealing your info, its not something Id be concerned about, but its still there as part of their DRM. Even if thats an issue, you could still play it on PS4, PS5, or mobile.

Next: The perfect vessel

---

The two things stopping me from trying Genshin are Gacha and Waifu****. I played Fire Emblem Heroes for a while but those aspects eventually put me off the series altogether. I did get 'addicted' in a sense I guess, I've never spent any money on a F2P but I get hooked in with the freebies and feeling I have to do dailies etc so in the end use up lots of a much more valuable resource- time. Same thing happened for me with Pokemon Shuffle and Fortnite. Like I stopped enjoying FEH months before I quit playing but I was still logging in every day and doing quests to get my silly little orbs until I forced myself to quit cold turkey. It'd take an awful lot to get me to try a gacha again, and anime waifu stuff just has me roll my eyes ('it has lolis too' is not helping sell it either lol).

A shame cos you've sold the game well but idk gacha is a massive hurdle for me to try and cross again. On the other hand, yaaay Hollow Knight! Woo!

---

A good choice for #1. Also a good choice for #3 even if I wish you didn't.

Probably a good choice for #2, but it's more the time I think I'd lose than the money preventing me from trying that.

---

andylt posted...

A shame cos you've sold the game well but idk gacha is a massive hurdle for me to try and cross again.

TheArkOfTurus posted...

Probably a good choice for #2, but it's more the time I think I'd lose than the money preventing me from trying that.

Perfectly fair. I understand why it won't be a game for everyone.

---

Well, I guess I won't leave you all in suspense.

1. Hollow Knight
Genre Metroidvania

Gameplay: 10
Rest of Game: 9
Engagement: 8
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 37/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtCCfHYNiM

When I started this project, I had it in my mind that Hollow Knight would be a very good game to set at precisely the #2 spot on the list. Im not really sure why. I just had it in my mind that this was #2, and I was going to have you listen to Sealed Vessel as the song selection, and it would be incredibly dramatic as the prelude for the ultimate winner.

And then I couldnt decide on a game that surpassed it. I love Lennas Inception, but it simply doesnt have the production quality. Hades was incredible, but its not really my kind of game and its a testament to its quality that its even hanging around up here. Genshin Impact was one of the last inclusions, and in fairness, I had to re-rate it given that Ive played a good 2 hours of it literally every single day for 2 months now, but picking a gacha to sit atop the list leaves a weird taste and it feels like cheating for a game with a 12/10 to win.

As the challengers fell, I finally realized the obvious. Hollow Knight wasnt the set-up for the champion. It simply was the champion.

You wouldnt have known it if you came to me earlier in the year. Although I was very smitten with the games atmosphere, its sharp controls, its seamless animations and absorbing world, I walked away from it after getting lost somewhere in Greenpath. It seemed destined to be just another one of those broken, battered disappointments you saw on the way up the list. The Celestes, the Oris, the Oneshots. Trine, Night in the Woods and Slay the Spire were all games I wanted to spend more time with. Not just the indies, either. I walked from Monster Hunter, from Lara Croft, from mother fucking Breath of the Wild. This, too, would have been the fate of Team Cherrys masterpiece.

But I decided to go back. I had to go back. Too many people love this game. I knew I was missing out.

I started a new game, swiftly reached the point where I stopped before, laughed at how absurd I was at not noticing the exit on one screen, and continued on to Hornet. It would take me a couple weeks of playing a bit here and a bit there, but I kept moving forward. Past the lush gardens of Greenpath into the rotten spores of the Fungal Wastes. I grabbed the Mantis Claw and located a path into the front half of the City of Tears. From that point, I got massively stuck, until I unlocked and bumbled around in the Sewers for a bit, defeating two bosses including the hilarious Dung Defender, but not noticing anywhere else to go. Lamp in hand, I pulled back and instead trekked through the Crystal Mines. And despite being a tiny bit pent-up about not seeing a clear path to anywhere else I could go, I realized that I was absolutely fascinated by this game.

Everything about Hollow Knights design is masterful. Everything. The art, the aesthetics, the world design, the controls, the combat, the music, the sense of exploration, the organic way in which the player gradually discovers Hallownests secrets and feels a thrill each time they uncover a new screen, pick up a new charm, locate a new bench or stag station. Hollow Knight does everything that Super Metroid does, and does it better.

I eventually found a way from the Sewers to the Resting Grounds via the back side of the City. And when I did, I realized that up until now, Id been wandering aimlessly, just hoping that the game would simply lay a boss in my path, Id beat it, and advance on to the next one. The lore of the world meant nothing to me, like some kind of mystery where you arent given all the clues. But eventually (and maybe with the aid of some YouTube videos) I came to understand the full depth of the story. It isnt spoon-fed to you. You have to put it together yourself. But its there, and its thorough, and its no less compelling that the other games on this list that dont hinge on their writing.

After picking up enough upgrades, and following Hornets advice -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpbOLslQJt4 -- I defeated the Watcher Knights and broke the first seal on the black temple. Was I doing the right thing? Should I continue?

I had to explore everywhere to find a path to proceed. I finally discovered the route through Deepnest and encountered the second dreamer. Only one remained, and still, I wasnt comfortable with my actions. Was this right? Do I proceed in letting loose this madness?

More upgrades, more unique challenges, more world to explore. Yet, I was still missing the pivotal item to breach the black barrier in the Fog Canyon. I uncovered what I had assumed was every square inch of the game, and then I found more. And more. And more. There was no shortage of new things I missed. New mysteries to unravel, like the room that required 15 mask shards to open. Side goals, like freeing the last grubs. And at last, I located not one but two pick-ups that could have enabled me to reach the area I was blocked from. I killed a giant Metroid boss, rued the corruption of the Forgotten Crossroads, and stared nervously at the Temple of the Black Egg.

And then I fought.

Its easy to assume, at the start of the game, that the title refers to you. You are the hollow knight, right? But, no. The Hollow Knight was the vessel that was sealed away in the temple, with all the disease and corruption funneled into him. Except he was unable to contain it. Chained in place within the temple, he thanks you for freeing him by attacking...or does he? Deal enough damage and he stops and begins to stab himself. What is happening? Then another phase begins, and another. And finally, the corruption begins to distort his body. Pustules form, bulging in every direction. He no longer resembles the proud fighter of a moment ago, and you realize the simple truth: He wants you to kill him. He wants an end to this torment. He cant not fight you, but he prays to everything that you win. Then, finally...peace.

As I watched the ending sequence play, I thought it was over. I thought I was done. Maybe Id play again to see everything once more, but Id found it all, right?

HA! YOU STUPID IDIOT!

No. I wasnt even close. I found the noobs ending. I found the baby ending. There was more to do, more to learn, more places to find, more vaults to breach. Id never maxed out the dream nail. Id never seen the key story sequences that explained where the Hollow Knight came from...where your character came from. Id ignored the pleas from Hornet that there might be another way. And Id completely overlooked all the bonus content theyd packed into four add-ons to the game. Hollow Knight just kept coming, and I did not grow weary of any of it. For some other game, Id feel a sense of disappointment, a grim acceptance that I still had more to do, like it was my gamer's duty to finish. Here, it was only eagerness, and gratitude that there was still more to do. More new encounters. More charms. More gameplay to master. I still dont think Im very good at the game, but I muddled through it all somehow.

Finally, I could say it was done.

Its over.

I won.

Until Silksong comes out.

---

Wonderful write-up (and topic!). God I love Hollow Knight.

If you haven't played Hollow Knight pls do so and don't read azuarc's writeup or the rest of this post!

Hollow Knight does everything that Super Metroid does, and does it better.

I took a pause at this sentence, but you know what, I don't think I necessarily disagree with you.

Perfect song choice too, there's like a dozen all-timers on the OST imo but Sealed Vessel is the perfect encapsulation of this game. Some people think the game drags on too long, but I love that there's just more and more and more to discover. Every time you think you've got the game down it throws something entirely new at you. I didn't find The Hive until well over 30 hours playing! I still haven't done all the pantheons and fought Absolute Radiance (gonna be honest, no plans to do that one.) The piecemealing of the lore, making you have to go out and figure it for yourself, actually beginning to understand the magnitude of some of the events you witness and take part in, I just love it. And yeah, slowly figuring out that you aren't actually the Hollow Knight was a great touch.

It probably helped the experience that I knew next to nothing about the game beforehand other than it being a Metroidvania and everybody raving about it. A very worthy #1.

---

FYI, Shonen selected Hades, which is an excellent choice. Especially when he's already played my #1, and #2 is a F2P gacha game.

---

So, I guess that's it. That's the list. Thank you everyone who tuned in. This was a bigger project than I anticipated it being, and maybe if I do this again next year, I'll have a higher completion percentage to report back. (Actually, that's almost guaranteed unless there's another itch.io bundle.)

You're all welcome to tell me what I need to go out and play now, while there's a few hours left on the current Steam sale. Assuming you aren't going to yell at me to go back to Celeste or Ori or something, at which point you can keep doing that tomorrow and onward, too.

---

Now I need to get you more games, huh? :D

*links to wishlist*

Everything's on sale for like 15 more hours, too!

---

Pleasantly surprised that Hollow Knight tops out your list. It's easily one of my favorite games and I'd agree that everything about it is masterful.

---

More than deserving winner. I had the same experience you did looking for Hornet the first time, haha.

You gave Genshin Impact a great sell, but honestly even if gacha and ftp mechanics like energy aren't forcing me to pay up just having them there takes away from the experience a bit for me.


---

I mean, I'll be happy to stream it if there's anyone who wants to see what it's like.

---

Write-ups for the top 3 were a wonderful read - I haven't played any of them myself, but man is my one friend group obsessed with Genshin right now.

---

If you missed the Steam sales, you can still get 20XX for 75% off right now.

---

So how's Hades, @Shonen_Bat ? Try it yet?

---

it kicks ass, barely put it down

I reached the Hades fight and got floored, but I don't even mind

---

bumping once in case secret santa wants to use this for ideas

---

In my e-mail today:


Huh. I think the last thing I was expecting was to get a random e-mail from itch.io about "the furry game."

Come to think of it, maybe I should spend these last few days of the year looking back on some of those games I never finished.

---

Wow, Shonen's up to 45.2 hours played in Hades. Guess that ended up being a pretty good pick. Glad you're enjoying it!

---

For sure, easy game of the year. Finished the main storyline today. Thought it was weird that there wasn't a final boss, makes me think there's a fair bit of game left. Which I'm more than fine with.

---

I might have bought it for my Secret Santa, except that I was worried they already had it. (I also had another option that I was perfectly happy choosing.)

---