Board 8 > Mac Ranks 72 Games Played in 2022

(+) Yeah! (+)

Blue Reflection: Second Light huh

19. Blue Reflection: Second Light (2021)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/8/1/AABKTfAAEFfp.jpg

Good game start to finish! This was a Gust RPG, and definitely felt like one. The premise is that a bunch of girls are stuck in a mysterious school in a world where nothing else exists, and have lost a bunch of their memories. The game is basically about traveling through worlds made up of their memories to figure out who they are and what's going on. The main plot is solid, with interesting developments, but it's not really the main attraction/focus. Character development/interaction is what really matters here, and there's a ton of it. You walk around and are suddenly hit by a cutscene. You talk to another girl and go on a date with her. You build a new addition to the school, like a spaceship launch pad, and get another cutscene, which leads to other cutscenes about the launch pad. It's basically constant cutscenes. Dates are kinda like social links in the Persona games - you hang out with a girl, make a few choices, and become closer. I kinda wish that some of them were more based around a single story, since they end up blending together a bit, but they're generally quite enjoyable. The other characters have good relationships too, including a pair of girls who actually end up dating! Pretty unusual for a Japanese game to have actual lesbians, and definitely scored the game some bonus points from me. The MC flirts with girls on the dates a bunch too (and they flirt back), but those don't end up as actual relationships, alas, though some are quite intimate.

The gameplay is a bit more perfunctory. The battle system is kinda ATB-like, and it requires you to pay a good deal of attention to what's going on for optimal results. I dunno if I'd say it's better than the turn-based systems I've seen in other Gust games. There's some crafting here too, but on a lesser scale than other Gust games, and I basically only did it when required to for side quests. The side quests basically always had some cutscenes attached to them, which was nice. Exploration is solid too. What wasn't solid is the sneaking missions. Normally you can sneak around to get back attacks, but some side quests force you not to get caught or you have to redo them. These are okay when they're easy ones with lots of checkpoints, but a couple are long and difficult, and basically just exercises in frustration. Devs need to be better about adding stealth to non-stealth games...

The graphics were a bit mediocre too. I wasn't a fan of most of the character designs (Gust's other games have better character designs IMO, including the ones with the same character designer). Everyone wearing uniforms is lame and they're mostly pretty busty. Even the magical girl outfits they get aren't very interesting. Part of that is the in-game art style - I like the original designs a bit better, like on the game's cover. Overall though, the flaws are fairly minor, and the focus of the game is on the story. I enjoyed the story stuff basically the whole time!

Next game hint: who knew that crossing a beat 'em up with Diablo is what it takes to make the genre truly good? (2013)

dang too late to have guessed br2

Great game. Yuki the best. Also Hinako. I too was surprised (and impressed) they had an actual lesbian relationship instead of just a bunch of teasing and hinting. I mean there is still a bunch of teasing concerning Ao (the MC) but props to having two of the characters actually end up confessing and dating.

Loved BR2 even with some flaws that you mention.

18. Dragon's Crown (2013)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/1/5/0/AABKTfAAEFgu.jpg

I finished several beat 'em ups in short succession in summer, and unlike other games I've mentioned, Dragon's Crown feels like an evolution of the genre, rather than just a classic beat 'em up with some modern QoL. It adds a lot of RPG elements, basically giving us a beat 'em up crossed with Diablo, where you level up and get loot every level. Rather than simply having abilities you can use at any point, DC has Skills that you learn and level up with points you get from leveling and completing quests. This is the sort of thing that can help with engagement in the long term, which is vital for the genre - playing beat 'em ups over and over is fun, especially with friends, but having something to work towards and meaningful progress each session is much more of a motivator. I put a lot more hours into DC than Shredder's Revenge and Streets of Rage 4 combined, but it never really got old.

The game works by giving you a series of levels, each of which has both an A and B path, where the B path is generally much harder (and more rewarding). Each level has pretty good design, especially the bosses, which are all unique and interesting. It has a system where the more levels you play in a row without returning to town the better your rewards, and it also has (repairable) equipment degeneration, so there's a risk/reward system from doing as many levels as possible at once, and you might want to do A paths later just to keep it going.

By far the biggest flaw of the game (to me) is that you have to beat all the levels once in order to play multiplayer. I'd get it if you had to do that to play with randoms, but it sucks having to do that to play with friends online. I stopped for months in the middle of my first playthrough, since I don't enjoy beat 'em ups a ton alone. The game does have a somewhat enjoyable story, but it's fairly sparse, and it's presented with a narrator giving all the dialogue, which works for the style but doesn't result in amazing characters. The playable characters are all pretty well designed gameplay-wise, and have totally unique sets of abilities, which can give the game a ton of replay value, though I mostly stuck with the Elf. I'm not a huge fan of the characters designs - the art is good, but boob monsters aren't really my thing. It took me quite a while to get used to the gameplay too: it's somewhat difficult for me to tell when enemies are in my line of sight or not here, and even after playing through multiple times I still missed some big attacks, to my dismay. One thing that was a little disappointing is that equipment wasn't generally totally game-changing: Diablo has equipment and sets that totally change your playstyle, but DC never went that far. Still, it was a lot of fun to play co-op, and I'd love to see more beat 'em ups copy its RPG elements. I'm a little shocked they haven't, but I guess it'd be a lot of effort.

Next game hint: taking the concept of Pikmin and putting it in a genre that's actually fun to play (2022)

Tinykin I'm guessing

btw I am the mystery player who played Dragon's Crown with Mac

17. Tinykin (2022)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/8/7/AABKTfAAEFi3.jpg

Sometimes a good game makes a really terrible first (and second) impression. Tinykin's a key example of that. It opens with an animated cutscene in an artstyle I don't like, with a main character who has awful voice acting. Thankfully, the game has barely any voice acting and animated cutscenes, so that's not a major strike against it. But then when I get control of my character, I discover that this game's jump sucks. Tinykin's a 3D platformer, so having a bad jump would normally be pretty dire (the issue here is that you basically sink like a stone when you jump). Fortunately, this isn't a platformer focused on precision platforming, and you get some awesome alternatives to jumping as well as upgrades to your jump that make this not much of a problem. And other than these flaws, Tinykin shines.

The game's apparently similar to Pikmin (which I haven't really played) in that you go through various levels (which are all rooms of a house), collecting Tinykin, who all have various abilities, like building tall pillars to jump from, or exploding when thrown at things. The process of collecting them and expanding your repertoire of abilities always feels great. Rather than platforming, the game focuses on exploration and solving various objectives. You explore all around the room, completing various tasks for characters who make requests of you. The design of the rooms is probably the key element that makes the game so good. Everything is incredibly tightly laid out, letting you create ziplines and rope ladders as you explore, making backtracking and traveling in general a speedy breeze. The game moves incredibly fast for something of it's nature, and it just feels good. It's not that long (it has six or seven levels, most of which take a bit under an hour), so it doesn't outstay its welcome, and each level is full of fun things to do. The missions you're given are generally pretty silly, like finding a laser pointer and positioning it to shine on a disco ball for a party, which makes the game even more charming. 3D platformers aren't really a dime a dozen nowadays, so anyone who's hankering for a good new entry in the genre should check this one out.

Next game hint: who would win in a fight, an astronaut or a robot dinosaur?

16. Horizon Forbidden West (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/6/AABKTfAAEFlq.jpg

It's hard to say whether this is better or worse than the first Horizon. There's a lot of basic improvements that make the game smoother and better, like fixing up the inventory system and such. There's some nice new abilities as well, like an excellent glider that makes descending from anywhere way more fun, and a final movement ability that makes exploring awesome and creates some fabulously cinematic gameplay moments. It's prettier, of course, and there's a much bigger variety of everything - more animals to hunt, more enemy machine types to fight, etc. The present-day story is so much better that there's no comparison, and the way the game gives you a recurring cast of characters allows for way more character development and lets you feel more of a connection between them.

On top of that, the music's actually good! I feel like Western AAA games typically have totally mediocre soundtracks (Japanese non-RPG AAA games sometimes do too, of course), but here, I actually enjoyed a few of the songs. Certain types of machines have their own theme song, sometimes with variations. Two of them stood out: an underwater boss called the Tideripper has a great heroic theme that makes fighting it a blast, and a Stegosaurus-type machine does something really unique. It has an attack that slowly charges up, and basically the whole song changes as it does so, getting louder and more ominous as it goes, until the attack's finally unleashed with a breaking crescendo. It's one of the coolest things in the game.

On the other hand, it doesn't feel like it's learned much from other games in the five year gap between the two games. It mostly plays the same, and exploring can be frustratingly limited. Sometimes you'll try to platform with an alternate ability than what you're "supposed" to use and instantly die because the game won't let you do that. Sometimes you'll try to jump through a big open window for a shortcut, and the air will stop you because you're not entering the area the right way. Area design is based on guidance markers: it's difficult to find the way to go without them, because areas don't have clear sightlines. Areas are made to be "realistic" so you can't just see where to go without markers, like you can in a game like BotW or Elden Ring. There's a ton of status effects, and your options for inflicting them feel a bit random sometimes with the weapons you get. And while the main story is much better than HZD, it's not as great as the past storyline was in that game.

I will say that the game got better as it went on and gave you more options. There are some mind-blowing moments, and while stuff like the swimming sucks early on, it's fairly fun once you get a certain upgrade for it. I like that almost all the side quests feel at least somewhat meaningful, though I skipped a bunch of the random side activities. I enjoyed myself most of the time. It's a fun world to explore, and the combat's fun too. I just wish they'd improve a lot of the flawed aspects, and don't have much optimism that they will in the third game because of how similar this is to the first game in general.

Next game hint: please don't make spinoffs have the same acronym as the game they're spun off from devs

15. Fire Emblem: Three Hopes (2022)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/2/5/AABKTfAAEFoJ.jpg

Wow, I sure played this for a long time! Started it way back in like, July or August I think? And only finished it late December, playing it co-op all that time, and we did all three routes, so it took almost a hundred hours. And only barely finished it before the end of the year. Thankfully, it was a good experience! This game adds a ton of RPG elements on top of the basic musou layer, so it feels a lot like a regular Fire Emblem game in many ways. Building up my camp and upgrading weapons and stuff was always enjoyable. The combat's pretty simple, but that's okay for a co-op game. I think the map designs were pretty good, though they were reused a little much - there's not a ton of variety in maps between the three routes (probably close to zero variety, honestly, or maybe actually zero). I'm not really sure playing all three routes was a good idea, considering how similar they are, but oh well.

The supports were fun as I've come to expect from FE games. It's a bit of a shame they have no romance, but whatever, cutting back on that is fine too. The story was also enjoyable for how well it fits as a companion piece with Three Houses. Once again, the stories were a bit too similar between the routes, particularly Golden Deer and Black Eagles, but that's a symptom of the low budget I guess. Having playable Monica was fun at least. The biggest improvement of this game over Three Houses was having a protagonist who talks. They even made Byleth talk here! Both Shez and the new Byleth are wayyy better than the original Byleth because of this. The other big improvement is that the intro phase is only a couple chapters, so there's barely anything to replay when doing NG+ for new routes. As far as Nintendo Warriors games go, this one's much better than Hyrule or AoC IMO (didn't play the original FEW). Like with P5S, Warriors games are at their best when they try to stick close to their original franchises.

Next game hint: i am the game you are all just the players

Devil May Cry

14. AI: The Somnium Files - NirvanA Initiative (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/2/7/AABKTfAAEFrT.jpg

I couldn't stop thinking about it since finishing it, in a good way. The post-credits part is some of the coolest content in a VN. It reminds me of a certain other game, which I won't spoil here, but delivered in a much more effective/less convoluted fashion. Truly incredible stuff. And that's all AFTER giving us a super cool twist earlier that recontextualizes the whole game and made me immediately want to replay it. Said twist is on the level of the best Zero Escape twists, I think, and the only flaw is that it's delivered in a strangely flat way - in contrast, 999's twist doesn't really change that much, but the way it's delivered is insanely effective/emotional. It's way beyond the twists that Somnium 1 gave us though, so that's okay.

Of course, twists can't save a game, but the rest of the game is better than the first as well. I was initially disappointed when I realized the game had two protagonists - I was excited to have a game set in the future where I played as Mizuki, so having to play as some new guy for the first half sounded pretty bad, but I actually enjoyed Ryuki as a protagonist more than her. His problems make some scenes incredibly interesting, and were some of the most compelling parts of the game. Mizuki's still solid, but much more well-adjusted as an individual, despite her own baggage. The rest of the cast is a bit better overall than the first's, I think. Nobody's as bad as Ota, and while he's still around, he doesn't get that much screentime. We get two AIs, and both of them are always entertaining. The villains are a massive improvement too. Not all of them are amazing, but they're used effectively. They feel scary at times, and one in particular has an incredible plan and a great sense of presence.

I liked the somniums in the first game despite their flaws, and they're better here. Having an easier difficulty makes it much easier to screw around/pick the wrong options, and I was never even tempted to use a guide, unlike in the first game. Two of them are particularly good, though there are several standouts. There were some puzzles during investigations that I got stuck on, though... Investigating areas was fun too, though maybe not as funny as in the first game, due to neither of the protagonists being as intensely silly as Date could be (they're still pretty silly sometimes, thankfully). It all comes together into a very good experience.

Next game hint: beating the system down, one demon at a time. (2022)

I dont like the twist of AI2 at all, doesnt affect the characters or story in a meaningful way and made the murder mystery extremely straightforward.

Hmm, I suppose it doesn't that much, but it fits in with Ryuki being who he is, and still feels like it'd add to a replay.

13. Metal Hellsinger (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/1/AABKTfAAEFtt.jpg

Fun. I could just leave it at that, since that's what the game is, but I suppose I'll expand a little. The game's a rhythm-FPS, based on Doom 2016's style. You get bonus damage and other perks from shooting on the beat as you kill demons, working your way through hell. The system works pretty great, and I had a blast basically the whole way through. The game design is mostly simplified, since players will be focusing on the rhythm rather than other things while playing, and levels are linear so that you're always running into new demons to keep the beat. It's to the game's benefit, I think. The game's not super long (8 levels, plus 24 challenges that give perks, of which I did around half), and it never gets old. The music isn't exactly my style - I'm a big metal fan, but I don't like screaming/growling, which most of the songs contained, though some of the songs also had a non-screaming singer (usually a woman), and a couple had no screaming. Despite that, it fit the game perfectly, and I enjoyed its accompaniment quite a bit.

Probably the main weakness of the game is the weapons. You only get 6 of them, and while most of them are solid, particularly the double pistols which fit the rhythm perfectly when firing and reloading, a couple (the shotgun and the crossbow) felt super weird to use rhythmically. Also, reloading uses the keyboard, and I had a bit of trouble with timing the reloads right. Kinda wish they'd figured out a way to do that and the game's glory kill equivalent with the mouse. The boss variety is kinda non-existent too - 7 of the game's 8 bosses have the same design, and while they aren't exactly the same fight, some of their patterns are similar. The game looks fantastic otherwise, so it's a bit of a shame we didn't get more variety there. It didn't hurt the game much though, and I still had fun all the way through. Makes me interested in trying something like BPM...

Next game hint: a roguelike sequel that's better than the original in every way, but I still didn't like it as much (2022)

MacArrowny posted...

Next game hint: a roguelike sequel that's better than the original in every way, but I still didn't like it as much (2022)

a 2022 roguelike sequel that is definitively better than original basically has to be rogue legacy 2 though i'm surprised someone would like it less

12. Rogue Legacy 2 (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/7/7/AABKTfAAEFvN.jpg

On the one hand, RL2's a step up from the first in almost every way. There are more classes, more interesting castle design, much better graphics, more enemy design, etc. The variety's tremendous. I think the coolest thing they did was to turn it into more of a Metroidvania/linear experience. There aren't a ton of upgrades, but the ones you do get are permanent, pretty cool, and give you benefits when exploring. It's still a roguelike, but it also feels like you're making progress towards your goal all the time. They add some cool platforming segments that are pretty fun as well, along with a great fast travel system. There are all sorts of neat optional combat/puzzle/platforming segments you can do, and they're generally pretty fun! The bosses are much more interesting than the first game too, with complex but learnable patterns and great designs. There's much more of a story, with a town full of people you can talk to who develop relationships between each other, and lore to discover throughout the castle that explains how it came to this. It's all quite interesting.

Unfortunately, I've played a lot more roguelikes at this point (I think the original flash-based Binding of Isaac, which I didn't like, is the only one I played before RL1), so the novelty's not as strong. There's not as much variation between runs as there could be. Most of the variation is decided before the run, with the class and magic spell you're assigned at the start, along with the traits your character has. These classes are cool, but I never really enjoyed any of the ranged classes (some people love them, so your mileage'll probably vary here). You eventually get an upgrade that allows you to make certain classes appear every time, which is cool, but it does lessen the variety. The other part of what makes runs unique is the relics you get during runs, but I didn't usually find those to be huge gamechangers (though some were fun), and you usually don't get too many of them.

I ended up beating the game twice - once on normal, and a second time on new game +1 (which raises the difficulty). It was still fun on NG+, but I was definitely a bit tired of it by that point. Other than that though, it was a very good experience (other than level 5, which I was not a fan of, and apparently got patched to be much easier around the same time I finished with the game, lol). I think most people who liked RL1 will like this much better, and those that weren't fans of RL1 will find a lot more to like here. I've seen roguelike fans beat it dozens of times and get some crazy relic combinations that you can pull of more easily on later NG+s, so it feels like it has potential for those who get really into it. Good game, would recommend!

Next game hint: it's a roll of the dice whether people find this hype or zzz

I predict Citizen Sleeper again

11. Citizen Sleeper (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/2/7/AABKTfAAEFzH.jpg

Citizen Sleeper made a terrible first impression on me. The game soft-locked in the tutorial due to opening a certain menu, a repeatable bug that was known to the dev at the time I played it. The writing's awfully artsy-fartsy at first, and the gameplay systems are confusing/difficult. It felt like no matter what I did, nothing really worked out. But as it went on, it really clicked, and became a very good experience. It's mostly a visual novel style game, where you go around talking to people, finishing quests for them, and building relationships. The way the gameplay works is that you have a set of dice, and you can use a die to perform a task of some sort. One of the early tasks is simply unloading ships - a bad roll will have you hurt yourself while unloading, while a good roll will get you a cash bonus. It's less random than it might seem at first, and as you play you get all sorts of bonuses to practically guarantee good results. The system kinda reminded me of Disco Elysium, where you can still get by with bad results, though you may suffer from them in some ways. It felt pretty good accomplishing stuff this way.

Of course, the game's mostly text, so it's story quality that matters, and all the characters/stories were pretty good IMO. There's some nice sci-fi stuff (you're a robot and the game takes place on a gigantic city-sized spaceship) about transcending consciousness and such, but the game's mostly about forming emotional connections. Many characters have dark backstories, but almost all the relationships you form with them are extremely positive. The game's about how you make each other's lives better, and it feels great to do so. My favorite was probably the quest where you make friends with a man and his daughter. It's really nice how you slowly become close to them, and it's adorable how hyped up the girl gets that you're a robot. All the quests feel good!

It's also interesting how the feel of the gameplay works together with the progression of the story. At first, the game's pretty difficult and a struggle to survive, reflecting how you're struggling to stay alive in the story and can't find anywhere to get the resources you need. But as you connect with more people, the gameplay gets much easier as well, and survival becomes simple. It's neat when devs manage to tie gameplay and story like that. Very satisfying experience.

Only the top 10 remains! Games ranked so far:

72. Monster Hunter World (2018)
71. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2019)
70. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (2012)
69. Rollerdrome (2022)
68. As Dusk Falls (2022)
67. Lumines (2004)
66. Halo (2001)
65. Tunic (2022)
64. Return to Monkey Island (2022)
63. Norco (2022)
62. Kirby Star Allies (2018)
61. Live a Live (2022)
60. Final Fantasy (1987)
59. Ghost Song (2022)
58. Cult of the Lamb (2022)
57. Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon 2 (2020)
56. Splatoon 3 (2022)
55. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002)
54. Valkyrie Elysium (2022)
53. Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
52. Until Dawn (2015)
51. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (1997)
50. Triangle Strategy (2022)
49. Resident Evil 8 (2021)
48. Soul Hackers 2 (2022)
47. Steamworld Dig 2 (2017)
46. Streets of Rage 4 (2020)
45. AI: The Somnium Files (2019)
44. Wolfenstein: The New Colossus (2017)
43. Ys 1 & 2 Chronicles+ (2013)
42. Pentiment (2022)
41. Rance 01 (2013)
40. N++ (2015)
39. Donkey Kong 94 (1994)
38. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil (2001)
37. A Short Hike (2019)
36. A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019)
35. Star Ocean: The Divine Force (2022)
34. Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers (2013)
33. Returnal (2020)
32. Islets (2022)
31. Pokemon Legends: Arceus (2022)
30. Overwatch 2 (2022)
29. Xenoblade: Future Connected (2020)
28. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022)
27. Stray (2022)
26. Vampire Survivors (2022)
25. Contra: Hard Corps (1994)
24. Before Your Eyes (2021)
23. Ys Origin (2006)
22. Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)
21. A Plague Tale: Requiem (2022)
20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (2022)
19. Blue Reflection: Second Light (2021)
18. Dragon's Crown (2013)
17. Tinykin (2022)
16. Horizon Forbidden West (2022)
15. Fire Emblem: Three Hopes (2022)
14. AI: The Somnium Files - NirvanA Initiative (2022)
13. Metal Hellsinger (2022)
12. Rogue Legacy 2 (2022)
11. Citizen Sleeper (2022)

And for the top 10, I will give all the hints at once! Open for guesses all at once, what fun!

10 - The Metroidvania that will make you cry (2021)
9 - Modernized Contra at its finest (2012)
8 - It's amazing how you can take a series 3D and have it play exactly the same as when it was 2D (2022)
7 - Seeing a console game from this company finally come west was a dream come true
6 - Who watches the watchers? (2022)
5 - Anime actually is bad, sometimes (2022)
4 - So epic it hurts (2022)
3 - It's incredible that getting a new protagonist can make a good series even better (2020)
2 - Fun to see a Japanese game getting in on 2022's biggest movie trend (2022)
1 - The game of games (2022)

...Ender Lilies? I haven't played this yet so I don't know how emotional it gets but that's my best guess for #10

1 - The game of games (2022)

xenoblade 3 ofc

10. Astalon: Tears of the Earth (2021)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/9/7/AABKTfAAEF0N.jpg

(the hint was a cheeky reference to "tear" being in the title :p) (also I played Ender Lilies last year) (also this is better than Ender Lilies)

Easily the greatest Metroidvania I played last year. It has some fun twists that make it feel different from typical examples of the genre, primarily playing as three different characters, all of whom have unique combat and movement abilities. It's pretty cool how they're useful at various unique situations - Kyuli is long-ranged and can wall jump, Algus is medium range and shoots through walls, while Arias is short ranged and can destroy obstacles, plus he attacks the fastest. You can only switch between them at save points, which leads to some interesting puzzles where you have to figure out how to get somewhere with a specific character.

The other gimmick I was less of a fan of. When you die, you start back at the beginning of the tower, and you can spend the resources you get when fighting to buy upgrades. It feels a bit like a progression roguelike, though without randomly generated environments. There's lots of shortcuts, and some fast travel, so that helps, but it was still boring/annoying sometimes. The most interesting thing about this mechanic was how it encouraged backtracking. Since I went back to the start of the tower so often, it felt more natural to explore old areas if I died after getting a new power. So I'd say it worked, but it probably made me like the game somewhat less.

The game's powers/upgrades are all pretty thoughtful, and feel at least somewhat unique. I always enjoyed getting new ones, and the resource progression makes you ridiculously strong as you go along. I struggled with the first boss, but every boss after that was a piece of cake, and by the end of the game I was an unkillable god. I think the game felt pretty good early on too, so this isn't one of those Metroidvanias that suck until you get the right upgrades. I don't have much to say about the non-gameplay elements: the music is mediocre, the visuals are nice in a NES-style way with good portraits for the character designs, and the story is pretty fun for what's there, though most of it is concentrated fairly early in the game. There's an epilogue you can get for doing everything in the game (I got 100% completion, but I didn't do the bonus modes that unlock after beating the game, so I just checked it out on Youtube) that hints about a sequel, so it'll be cool to see what the dev does next.

My copy of Astalon from LRG is finally supposed to be delivered soon (today, in fact, but that didn't happen lmao), can't wait to finally see what the hype is about

Awesome! It's fun

9. Bleed (2012)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/2/8/AABKTfAAEF30.jpg

I don't have much experience with what they call 'twin stick shooters' (I've played Hotline Miami and Binding of Isaac if those count), and this is a different variety than the ones I'm familiar with. Rather than an isometric view, Bleed's a sidescrolling action-platformer, kinda like Contra, though with an even greater focus on the action. It actually reminded me a lot of Severed Steel, a parkour FPS I played last year. The coolest thing about it is that after jumping, you can air dash three times in any direction, so your mobility is through the roof. You also get a generous time slow ability, allowing you to actually use said mobility well in the heat of combat. Dodging enemy attacks and constantly shooting the enemy is super satisfying, and aiming feels generous since you use the right stick to aim and can hit the enemies basically anywhere. The levels were solid, but the numerous bosses were the highlight, since they were a good opportunity to go all out. The best levels were probably the ones where you had to race forward quickly, which made good use of the rapid air dashing.

The game's pretty breezy, with only a few levels that aren't super long - it took me around an hour to beat the whole thing. For some reason, I was expecting it to be an ultra hard game, but it really wasn't? The checkpoints are extremely generous, so while I died a fair amount, I don't feel like I ever really struggled, and I never died more than a couple times on bosses. It feels like it's built for replayability with a score system on the levels, higher difficulties, and more unlockable weapons/characters, but I was satisfied with the experience I had. The only real negative of the game was that the controls are a bit awkward (it uses R2 for jump/dash because your thumb's always going to be on the right stick, though this is remappable), but they're probably as good as it gets for this type of game. Lots of fun, and playing it made me want to play the sequel, too. Why I haven't yet despite playing this 9 months ago is beyond me (I bought it, just haven't touched it)...

8. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/8/7/AABKTfAAEF4v.jpg

Easily one of the greatest Kirby games of all time. This is a massive improvement over the recent stuff I've played, and the most fun I've had with a Kirby game outside of Super Star (which has nostalgia going for it; I played it a ton as a kid). It feels like they're trying so much harder. Levels have way more interesting designs, powers regularly open secrets, and the secrets themselves are actually moderately challenging to find rather than being directly in the player's path. Each level also has a list of challenges to complete, and while some of them are irritatingly unpredictable (beat this enemy using this power!), they do add replay value to the stages and keep things more interesting. The transition from 2D to 3D is basically flawless - it feels exactly the same, but unlocks a lot more potential. Mouthful Mode is more interesting than the power-up gimmicks of some recent games too, since you're able to freely move around in most forms rather than just using them for an auto-scrolling area.

Maybe the one weakness is the lack of variety in mini-bosses? There are only four, and you fight them a lot, which gets pretty noticeable in the post-game levels. The post-game levels themselves are pretty well executed - they're basically remixes of the earlier stages, but there are new secrets, and they do a good job compressing each world down to a single stage. I've seen people complain about the graphics, and while it does do that lame thing where distant enemies have reduced FPS, that's not really a problem - the game generally looks pretty good and the FPS issues don't hurt the gameplay. It's just an all-around great experience, and leaves me looking forward to the next Kirby game. I'm guessing the next one will be mostly more of the same, but it'd be cool if they can come up with some refreshing ideas to keep it interesting, and maybe give a little more boss variety.

Next game hint: Seeing a console game from this company finally come west was a dream come true (2022)

Bleed 2 is even better imo. Focuses more on bosses and feels a bit smoother to play. Forgotten Land definitely the best Kirby, and that's more impressive given how consistently good the franchise typically is.

No clue on next... diofield?

witch on the holy night is the next one

Yeah, sounds like Witch on the Holy Night.

7. Witch on the Holy Night (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/7/2/AABKTfAAEF6E.jpg

Nice to be getting the Type-Moon VNs on the Switch, and with hefty upgrades. I read some of this a long time back, but the lack of voice acting made it kinda dull. Going through this new version was a much better experience. Like with Tsukihime Remake, the production values are awesome. This is an extremely pretty VN, with tons of bespoke art for scenes you wouldn't normally expect to have it. The music is quite nice too, and the voice cast has some good stars (finally KanaHana in another VN!). Atmosphere is always peak. The VN as a whole has a lot of ups and downs, though. The majority of it is more slice of lifey character interaction than anything. This mostly works, but the stuff after the first big action scene dragged on a bit long. The three main characters are all well developed and likable. The writing does a particularly good job at keeping them as flawed individuals throughout the entire story. Aoko and Alice are the heroes, but they're not particularly good people. Aoko makes for a great protagonist in general, and I highly enjoyed pretty much everything that was from her perspective. Sojuro is a fun foil for her and Alice, and I enjoyed him as a character too, but the slice of life stuff from his perspective wasn't as interesting.

The action scenes, as in Tsukihime and F/SN are a big highlight. The first big one has some absolutely incredible sequences, and the final one is super impressive too. Seeing the techniques used in F/SN in a more modern VN with an even higher budget was great. I wonder if Nasu will ever fulfill his promise to make this into a trilogy. I'd love to see more Aoko, and reading VNs of this caliber is a real treat.

Next game hint: Who watches the watchers? (2022)

6. Immortality (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/6/3/AABKTfAAEF7f.jpg

What do I even say about this "game"? There's nothing else like it. Basically, you watch clips from three movies, and while you're watching, you select objects in those clips (like people's faces or clocks or whatever), which sends you to other clips that have the same/similar objects in them. While you're at it, you have to uncover certain secrets, and discover things like why a certain actor died or why a certain character disappeared. The answers are all incredibly interesting and satisfying. The three movies are all pretty compelling (they were all made just for this game) in and of themselves, maybe moreso because you see them out of order, so you see certain twists early which change how you perceive the more normal parts of movies. You don't just get the final versions of scenes from movies, either: some scenes will just be the actors doing a script read, others are rehearsals, and still others are them actually filming the scene, so you see both the movie and the actors. Learning about the actors is generally the more interesting part, of course.

The way everything comes together in the end is excellent, though I ended up having to read an analysis to understand all of it. Unfortunately, it can get kinda repetitive trying to unlock every scene (I got most of them, then looked up the rest once I felt like I'd had enough), and you'll end up going through the same scene more than once a good number of times. Would be nice if there was some sorta way to prevent that, but I get why there isn't. The controls could be a bit finicky sometimes too, though apparently there's a trick to them that can guarantee getting what you want that I didn't discover until after I was done. All in all, this is an incredible accomplishment. It's not very game-y, but it's a story that would only work in video games. Some of the twists remind me of certain others that take advantage of the medium. The acting is all quite good too, or at least it felt that way to me. I didn't enjoy Her Story, an earlier game from the developer, very much, but this was way better, and frequently had me enthralled. The high points are incredible. I think a lot of people wouldn't click with it, but it's certainly worth trying out.

Next game hint: Anime actually is bad, sometimes (2022)

5. Neon White (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/9/6/AABKTfAAEF9k.jpg

Speedrunning 3D platformers are such a great genre! While this wasn't quite as good as Cloudbuilt to me, that's probably just because I played Cloudbuilt first. This game is incredibly well made, with a ton of content (over 100 levels) and perfectly refined mechanics. The central gimmick is that you get weapons, which you can both shoot at enemies and discard for a movement ability - you can throw away a pistol for an extra jump, for example, or the rifle for a dash. This mechanic is executed perfectly. Levels are constantly throwing weapons at you, so you always have decisions to make with them. The best part is how the levels are constructed: the game wants you to feel good, so it gives you weapons at the time you'd want to use them, and directs you onto paths where you can keep going at full speed. It's not that the game is particularly easy (some of the later levels are difficult to even beat, though the majority of the difficulty comes from getting medals for better times), but it's made in such a way that it prioritizes having fun at all times.

It's also impressive how the game keeps throwing new mechanics at you. There are 9 full 'worlds' of levels, and you encounter new weapons/mechanics until the very end. The last one you get feels like a game-breaking mechanic that most games would only let you have for one level, but you get to use it for around a dozen levels in Neon White, some of which do make you feel broken, while others come up with creative challenges to necessitate using other abilities as well. Playing the game always feels incredibly tight. I used mouse and keyboard for this one (it's first person), and it feels like it'd be tough to do with a controller, considering how important shaving seconds off your time is.

On the negative side, I feel like levels got a bit too long later in the game. I happily replayed all the levels in the first 8 or 9 worlds to get Ace Medals (the highest tier which requires the fastest times), but then there was a level that took ~4 minutes and took me several tries to even beat, so I had zero desire to go back to it. That level's an exception, but the levels in general grow longer - Ace times in earlier levels are frequently under 20 seconds, which is no longer the case later in the game. Also, I don't think the story was the best. The story itself is okay, but the dialogue is often weak, and the voice acting sucks. The unvoiced sections usually come across a little better due to that. The game has a social link system where you find gifts in levels and give them to characters to become closer. The system's pretty cool, since exploring the levels in different ways to find the gifts is interesting, the conversations can be fun, and you unlock additional bonus levels this way too with unique gimmicks. Some of those levels are pretty great, even. However, the interface for giving the gifts is bizarrely slow and clunky. Feels at odds with the way you instantly go from one level to another in the main game.

Those are mostly minor complaints though. Neon White is a blast of pure fun. Would be neat to see it get a sequel.

Next game hint: So epic it hurts (2022)

Number 4 coming shortly

4. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/1/2/AABKTfAAEGEE.jpg

(I posted this writeup before, so you may have seen it already)
I'd count myself a fan of the Xenoblade series, though I don't love any of them other than X. All of them have some flaws that hold them back from real greatness. The first game has its terrible side quests, the second game has its lame story and many other issues, and now, XB3 has its bad story and ending. Still, all of them have great things about them too (especially the world design), making XB3 my favorite of the numbered games, and one of my favorite games of the year. Maybe the best thing about XB3 is that (for the most part) it doesn't have any big screw-ups. The main cast of 6 is incredibly solid with no misses, and Eunie in particular is awesome. None of them live up to the likability and development of the best characters from 1/2, but they have great chemistry together, and having the whole party of 6 with you at all times is a great decision for maximizing their development. 2 and X both had big supporting playable casts, and the Hero system here is probably the best implementation of that. You get to have a 7th party member at all times, and they feel like a bonus character, so it's okay that none of them are super developed or whatever. All of them have two quests, one where they join and one where they get more development, and these quests are the highlight of the game. The quests all include full scripted cutscenes, and generally are a lot of fun.

Side quests are a highlight in general, really. XB2's Blade quests were mostly great as well, but unlocking them was a grindy mess. Unlocking Hero quests generally just requires doing side quests and progressing the story, so it's basically just playing the game and having fun to get them. The non-Hero quests aren't all of the same quality, but I still enjoyed the vast majority of them. Almost all the quests are tied to the various colonies you go to, so you'll have a dozen quests developing each colony that involve the same characters in the same community. Tying the quests to a location and set of characters like this turns out great. It feels like you're helping people you care about rather than random nobodies, and the NPCs feel like people who matter. I don't think I've played many games that do this good a job with such a huge cast.

Sadly, the cast does have some weaknesses, in the form of the villains. This game's villains suck. Honestly, most XB villains suck, but these ones are probably the worst. Moebius is almost universally bad, with one or two exceptions (T and I) that I cared about. The rest of them basically all feel evil for the sake of being evil, and are totally uninteresting. Their philosophical motivations are stupid too, and are kind of even worse when you find out more about them. The final boss sucks. The Hero quests are more interesting in terms of villains, since you're fighting against real characters who you eventually recruit. I was happiest when I was fighting against ordinary people from the Colonies or monsters.

The story as a whole is mostly fine, with some pitfalls. I don't think it was as major a problem with X and XB1, but XB2's cutscenes where very awkwardly directed, with way too many pauses, especially with the English dub, and that issue continues here, though to a lesser extent. I feel like all the dialogue should be delivered like 25% faster. It's better with the Japanese voices, but still not perfect. The cutscenes are pretty good otherwise though - they feel high budget with lots of action, which you don't really see in JRPGs nowadays (Persona, SMT, DQ, etc. are all on a much lower level than this). For most of the game the story's fairly engaging. Playing as a bunch of child soldiers trying to discover why they're being forced to fight is pretty fun, other than dealing with the villains. Unfortunately, XB3 has one of the worst endings of all time, that completely contradicts the themes of the game, so that was a shame. Even made doing some of the post-game content less fun.

Gameplay-wise, this might be the best XB yet? They added a class system, and all the classes feel meaningfully different. Leveling them all up is fun and easy, and swapping between classes once they get maxed means that combat never gets old. Figuring out the optimal setups is great, too. You can also fuse together party members into a mech-like creature in battle, which adds a bit of a fun twist. While the game does kinda devolve into annihilating enemies with one big chain attack, doing so is generally entertaining in its own way. Exploring is great here too, with lots of fun environments. Unfortunately, I think I'd say it has the worst world design in the series, but it's still far above average for games in general. You get some fun traversal upgrades as you go along, and as you do quests in colonies, you get little perks (becoming stealthier, moving faster) that make doing those quests feel rewarding and the game gets better in general. The game also has at least one top tier location in the chapter 5 water area. Exploring it is awesome, with tons of fun little secrets to find.

I don't think the music is quite as strong as the other games either, though there are a couple highlights, particularly the Moebius battle theme. The graphics suffer a bit from being on the Switch too, as there are areas where it can't hold a solid 30FPS, and it looks muddy at times, but the vistas you discover can still be pretty magical. I love that when you fast travel to a location, you'll often be pointed in a direction that gives the most cinematic presentation possible. The game does a lot of little things well. The menus look great, and you can change how your characters are displayed there. All the QoL improvements over the previous games are quite nice.

In the end, the game has some serious story flaws, but I greatly enjoyed the majority of my 140+ hours with it. Hope the DLC they come out with is as cool as Torna.

Next game hint: It's incredible that getting a new protagonist can make a good series even better (2020)

Like a Lizard

3. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/1/2/AABKTfAAEGFo.jpg
Damn, this was a great game. Switching the gameplay to more of a turn-based JRPG style was a brilliant idea. The battles are much more engaging than in most Yakuza/Judgment games. There's a good variety of characters and jobs for each character (though I didn't do much job-switching, since leveling jobs takes a long time - that's maybe something they could work on for a sequel). Leveling up normally, along with getting better weapons/armor/accessories, makes progression feel much more rewarding than most Yakuza games, and the Persona-style personality stat system gives more meaning to completing the minigames too. Sometimes the gameplay isn't the most balanced, though. Some of the dungeons don't have any save points, which is stupid and bad design. Most of the game is very easy, so this doesn't matter that much, but there are a few much more challenging bosses near the end, including one that can give you a game over in one hit if you're not properly prepared (the game has a restart battle system if you lose, so it wasn't a complete disaster, but you lose money when you do that). I feel like the dungeon frequency isn't as balanced as it could be, either. The last few chapters don't have dungeons, followed by an extremely long dungeon at the end. Still, the act of actually playing the game was generally quite fun, with mostly good minigames (management and Dragon Kart good times).

On top of that, the story is more consistent (and better) than any previous Yakuza game. We get a full party of likable characters, so there's always a lot of interesting people around keeping dialogue compelling. Having that big cast means we don't spend as much time focusing on lame villains, which is nice. Not that the villains here are particularly lame. Some of them are pretty good, and while I wasn't always sure I liked the final villain, his final cutscene in the game was outstanding. The ending was also excellent, which is a first for a mainline Yakuza game, and possibly even better than Judgment's ending - I cried, though part of that was due to the amazing credits music. The story goes through lots of phases, starting with small scale stuff (Ichiban trying to find a job and a place to live) and ending up on a much bigger scale. All those phases are great, and while I think Yakuza would benefit from having a game with a small scale story from start to finish, even that part was done well here. The glue holding it all together is the protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga. Kiryu could be great, don't get me wrong, but Ichiban contributes way more to the story than he does. Having someone so heroic as a Yakuza protagonist is a great change of pace and works perfectly. This is by far my favorite Yakuza game, and it seems like the studio is going in a good direction in general lately (their three last games are all among their four best). Very much looking forward to Yakuza 8. Ishin's an old game, so that might not be on the same level, but it also seems to be a change of pace from the other games, so it might still be great!

Next game hint: Fun to see a Japanese game getting in on 2022's biggest movie trend (2022)

MacArrowny posted...

Next game hint: Fun to see a Japanese game getting in on 2022's biggest movie trend (2022)

My Neighbor Morbius-kun

Edit: In hindsight this would have been funnier as Pokemon Legends: Morbius. whoops.

I've been curious about the Yakuza game but I've never played the series and I'm not interested in action gameplay. Is this playable without previous knowledge...? I've heard mixed opinions, sort of like "Yes you can" but also "Oh but there's a million returning characters and you won't have context for any of it" which I think is sort of the line between "playable" and "technically playable but you wouldn't really be getting the proper experience"

Obviously you can't take my word for it since I played all the other Yakuzas first, but I feel like Like a Dragon can certainly be played without playing the others. Three major characters return, but none of them have very much screentime, and the game gives you enough context that you should be fine. They're not that central to the story, IMO. They're mostly glorified cameos (and the game would've been better without them).

Kenri posted...

My Neighbor Morbius-kun

Edit: In hindsight this would have been funnier as Pokemon Legends: Morbius. whoops.

Morbius: Scarlet and Violet.

Because Morbius has to decide between drinking red and purple blood in the movie. Come on, EVERYONE knows that.

MacArrowny posted...

They're mostly glorified cameos (and the game would've been better without them).

this seems true of most games that "reboot" themselves but then bring back characters anyway "because its what the fans want" and give them either irrelevant small roles, or make them so important they overshadow the new characters.

I know top 2 but not Order and that hint doesn't help me

I knew XB3 wouldn't actually be #1 (tho it should imhotbqh) but like every 2022 hint from 6 on felt to me like it could somehow maybe apply lol

Lol you're actually right about that nice.

Dels posted...

this seems true of most games that "reboot" themselves but then bring back characters anyway "because its what the fans want" and give them either irrelevant small roles, or make them so important they overshadow the new characters.

Yeah it's always painful when they take half-measures. Same goes for a lot of movie reboots. Bill Murray's appearance in Ghostbusters Afterlife was a little weird...

This topic makes me realize I absolutely need to keep a list of games played in 2023. I never do that.

_Blur_ posted...

This topic makes me realize I absolutely need to keep a list of games played in 2023. I never do that.

I have an excel doc with all the games I played and ratings for each of them that I keep updated, along with when I finished them.

tazzyboyishere posted...

I know top 2 but not Order and that hint doesn't help me

he spoiled it on discord the other day

2. Bayonetta 3 (2022)
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/1/0/AABKTfAAEGKS.jpg

Wow, now THIS is an action game! Ever since I played it around 10 years ago, Bayonetta's been my favorite character action game, and now it's been surpassed. I really loved the huge enemies, great flow, and pure spectacle. Bayo 3 takes that to the extreme. The combat feels awesome, with an extreme amount of variety. You get a ton of different weapons, along with various demons you can summon in combat, so it never gets old. Summoning demons to control in combat is a great new addition in general, and makes for a lot of new strategies you can use. The demons all look damn cool, too. Almost every stage is full of cool things, and exploring them feels better than in the previous Bayonettas due to all the transformations you can use to make traversal smoother. There's a huge number of enemies/bosses, reminding me of Astral Chain, but Bayo 3 is just more fun to play than that game was.

There's a bunch of alternate forms of gameplay too. Viola and Jeanne each have 3 or 4 stages of their own. Viola's fairly similar to Bayonetta, with a unique combat style that isn't quite as fun, but it's fine for a change of pace and there is some neat gameplay with her. Jeanne's are weird stealth stages, but they're ultra short and you can just fight if you get caught, so they were a fun breather too. Several of Bayonetta's stages have awesome set pieces where you play as the demons for a whole section, and while not all of them are hits (the rock/paper/scissors battles with Gomorrah sucked imo), most of them were a blast. The cutscenes of Bayo 3 are a ton of fun in general, mostly being used as a vehicle for over the top action. There's a lot less exposition than the previous games had, so I didn't mind the story as much. The ending was a bit weird and kinda makes me hope we don't get a Bayo 4, but that wasn't really a big deal, and the last boss was excellent. I've seen complaints about the performance, and while it doesn't look the best, I didn't have a problem with it, personally.

All in all this is just one of the best examples of pure fun that I've seen, and it really feels like a game that the devs spent years making as good as possible, considering the myriad variety it presents. Really a triumphant example of what video games can be, and the advantages AAA games can offer over smaller budget experiences.

Next game hint: The game of games (2022)

Babylon's Fall

Bugsnax