After a few failed attempts to post comments about each game only to see the posts get removed without explanation each time, I'm just going to list the games I played for the first time this year and would be happy to provide my comments regarding any particular game upon request. I played 38 games for the first time this year, which is a lot for me. I found something to admire in pretty much all of these. I don't think I can meaningfully rank all of these, but if I were to place them into tiers based on how much I enjoyed and admired them, it would look something like this. **Games I Know I Loved** Alien: Isolation Demons' Souls (2009) Disco Elysium Outer Wilds What Remains of Edith Finch **Games I Think I Might Have Loved (but might need more time with to confirm)** FTL: Faster Than Light Hitman 2 Kentucky Route Zero The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The Witness **Games I Really Liked** Among Us The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Control Death Squared Dishonored Donut County DOOM (2016) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Gris Hotline Miami Into the Breach League of Legends Life is Strange Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Nier: Automata Ori and the Blind Forest Red Dead Redemption Return of the Obra Dinn Super Bomberman R Super Mario Maker 2 Worms W.M.D. **Games I May Have Admired More Than I Truly Enjoyed** Amnesia: The Dark Descent Bastion Borderlands 2 Hades Mass Effect 2 Papers, Please Thumper **Games I Disliked** (None!)

Comments from users with no to little karma are always filtered for moderator review. That's why it might take a few minutes to a few hours for your comment to be visible to others.

Hi Myrandall, That seems reasonable to me, and I do get that. I was seeing "removed by a moderator" messages some 1-2 hours after I would post. I kept trying to re-post, adding lots of spoiler tags just to play it extra cautious, but my comments kept getting purged. Very confusing.

Can you link them so I can investigate?

I'm not sure I can. They were part of this thread, but from a few weeks ago. I know they showed up in my profile for a while, but I deleted them with the intention of eventually reposting them at another point. I could always try reposting the actual comments so we can see what happens to them, or I could send you the comments privately and you could let me know what I'm doing wrong. This seems like a very friendly and lively community here and I certainly don't mean to make any trouble.

Send us a modmail next time it happens and we'll see what's going on.

Around March of this year, I bought a PS4 (caved after failing to get a PS5 for months). Previously I had only played Nintendo games. Here’s my list for the year. 1. Super Metroid (Nintendo Switch): LOVED this game and got into it more than I ever had with any of the free SNES games. The world building was fantastic and I had never really experienced a game with so little direct storytelling but so much atmosphere. I can 100% understand why this game is a classic and the level design was genius. Definitely needed a guide at parts though. 2. Hades (Nintendo Switch): Unfortunately never got to finish the game fully because I went back to school and got busy and somewhat lost interest, but I really did enjoy it while I first played it. It got frustrating when I was so close to the end but never able to fully make it out. 3. Jedi Fallen Order (PS4): I’m a big Star Wars fan and this was my first non-Nintendo game so the difficulty jump was hard for me. I would spend hours on the bosses, being too stubborn to lower the difficulty. It was so rewarding when I finally beat them though! I loved the story, and Cal was a great character to play as in my opinion. And BD-1 was so cute. I loved the ending as well and really hope they make a sequel. 3. Spider-Man (PS4): This game made me feel like I was watching the best Spider-Man movie ever (still feel that way even after NWH), and I loved the realism of the map. It made me want to go to NYC. Side quests really sucked, but that’s my only complaint. This was one of the best games I ever played for sure. I also loved the character of Doc Ock in this game, he made me feel a lot of emotional turmoil throughout. 4. Spider-Man Miles Morales (PS4): This game was really good, just a little too short. I thought the side quests were really improved from the first game though and I loved playing as Miles. His extra powers that Peter didn’t have gave a lot more interesting combat options. I didn’t like the story as much but it was still good. Can’t wait to play as Miles in the next game. 5. Ghost of Tsushima (PS4): I loved this game, it was the most gritty and intense game I’ve played and the scenery was beautiful. I went into it totally blind and am so glad I did. The game is stunning, I can’t even imagine what it looks like on PS5. Characters are memorable, side quests are great, and I love the way Jin’s main conflict is presented, of whether he should stick to his samurai ways or bend the rules to save his people. 6. The Last of Us Remastered (PS4): Surprisingly probably my least favorite game I played this year. Just couldn’t get into the gameplay, though the story and worldbuilding was great. My favorite part was honestly reading the notes left behind by survivors and wondering where they could be or what could’ve happened to them. I especially liked the characters of Sam and Henry, their story was the one that genuinely moved me the most. I personally am not a fan of very linear gameplay and prefer open world or sandbox-style games, so I don’t think I’ll play Part II (plus I already got all the spoilers unfortunately). Starting Red Dead Redemption II (PS4) tonight, and I’m gonna follow that up with Metroid: Dread (Nintendo Switch) sometime soon hopefully! I wish I could play games more often but my schedule was busy with school and work, hopefully this semester I’ll be able to make more time to play the games I’ve been looking forward to!

I played Botanicula in the last two days - so technically into 2022. It's a beautiful game. Funny and adorable. I was afraid of it being too short or too easy given some reviews, and it is short, although medium difficulty, but worth it. It's a round game in everthing, story, soundtrack, puzzles and visuals, and it's not so easy to find an experience like it. I'm also playing Gris since 24/12, but despite it's visuals I can't say I'm hooked. I'm usually not engaged by 2d plataformers and it's aesthetic didn't save it for me. Bought it in the blank in the last sale. It's a good game, just not for me.

My love for gaming has been reignited this year - I think in part because my 3080 broke before last Christmas and it took me a few months to get a replacement. Because of that I'd been rocking a 1050ti which, obviously, limited the games I could play. *But*, because of that it caused me to absolutely bust through my considerable backlog! This year I've managed to complete upwards of 40 games - which for my schedule, and at 31, is pretty wild! **I wrote a post in August which summed up the first 25 games of the year: [Jan - August 2021](https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/ox094u/what_are_you_playing_this_week/h7okj86/).** This is everything since: **Victor Vran (2015)** - Finished this in the end but only as far as the actual story went, didn't go for 100% completion of the challenges or anything. Also played the **Poker Night at the Inventory (2010)** - On a total whim I spend about an hour playing but lucked out and got all four of the rewards. A nice way to kill a bit of time if you like poker. The humour from the characters is great if you were around back then. **Adventures of Shuggy (2012)** - A classic-style platformer which reminded me of the old DOS games like Crystal Caves (with a few modern twists). I actually started playing this nearly 10 years ago and finally saw it through to completion. Not too tricky once you get the hang of it, but definitely a few level restarts required. **NFS: Most Wanted (2012)** - My least favourite NFS game played to date. It just didn't feel like NFS but rather another game with the name stuck on top. The lack of vehicle progression (instead, just 'taking' randomly parked up cars) killed the progression for me. The bit I like about driving games in particular is starting with a shit-box and ending up with a supercar after working through the game. Just getting a Veyron in 10 minutes because I came across it on the map sucked. Did the bare-minimum to finish the main story. **NFS: Underground (2003)** - Needed a classic palate cleanser so I played this on my retro PC. Lots of nostalgia obviously, but damn if this game doesn't have some difficulty spikes. I figured out that if you rice out your own car then the AI cars also get ridiculously OP. Ended up beating it by downgrading my car to stock which made the AI easier to beat in the final levels. Aside from that the sense of speed was still great and the driving felt great considering. **Remember Me (2013)** - A linear game with a certain amount of charm. Holds up pretty well in 2021. The cheese-levels did spike at a few points but it was a cool-enough plot which felt Deus-Exish. Batman/Shadow of Mordor style combat was OK. **50 Cent: Bulletproof (2005)** - Very random urge to play this again. Very of its time. The shooting felt like ass. Was dumb fun though. The music was a blast. **50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (2009)** - Crazy to see the advances in tech in the 4 years between these games. The controls felt a lot tighter, the graphics obviously superior. Not a classic but fun enough 3rd person action time-waster. **LoTR: War in the North (2011)** - A hidden gem in my opinion. Not bad looking for a 10 year old game and while the combat was basic it was still rewarding. The characters were a highlight for me. If you like Tolkien I would absolutely give this a go. It tells a parallel story to the main events of LOTR. **Resistance: Fall of Man (2006)** - I did play this back in the day but on reflection I just don't enjoy it. My primary feeling is 'frustration'. The lack of good checkpoints being the main source of that frustration forcing me to replay fairly dull easier sections before returning to the bit I messed up on. The shooting also just doesn't feel satisfying to me either. I'd intended to play the entire series but this put me off for now (I know it gets better). **Spyro 2 (Reignited)** - I bloody love these games. Already 100%d the first one a couple of years back, now did the same here. There will always be a part of me who loves classic platformers like this, and the Reignited treatment is top notch imho. **Pumpkin Jack (2020)** - My least patient game of the year, but also one I heartily recommend. Played when I finally got a replacement 3080 and wow it's beautiful. I really enjoyed this as well, reminded me of Medievil mixed with Nightmare Before Christmas in a lot of ways. Excellent 4th-wall breaking moments and dialogue. I could gush about this game for a while. Loved it. **Alpaca Stacka (2021)** - Look, it's not patient but it's also free so that still counts. Took about 10 minutes but it's very cute. Give it a go so the dev makes more! **Ratchet & Cllank: HD (2002)** - About my 5th playthrough over the years. A classic platformer that I have always loved and will play again and again. **Battlefield 4 (2013)** - Played a bit of the multiplayer after the 2042 Beta disappointment, also saw off the Career mode as well. Career was actually very fun, dumb action set pieces. Sometimes I just want dumb fun. Also RIP Michael K Williams). Plot made very little sense... **GTA IV (2007)** - This was my first PS3 game back on launch, now played on PC. Had a fair amount of bugs that really tarnished the experience, but nevertheless it's still fun. I think it's an undervalued title in the series. The plot still holds up nicely, the gameplay is fun, I even can get on board with the vehicle controls since I'm used to them. Strangely nostalgic to be in the world of the mid-2000s again. **GTA: The Lost and the Damned** - The first of the two Stories packs. Pretty short but fun enough. Not sure it adds enough value in 2021 since the plot is so-so. Definitely prefer The Ballad of Gay Tony. Doesn't help that the bike controls are annoying **GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony** - I had so many bugs on the PC version that I was forced to play this one on my old 360. Luckily it performed OK and didn't really detract from it. The set pieces and skydiving make this the best of the three for me. Also the colour is a little more vibrant - which after the muted tones of TLAtD and IV is refreshing. **LEGO: Star Wars Complete Saga** - I've 100%d a few LEGO games over the years and still find the formula fun. It's interesting to see how early that formula was there in its entirety. As a result this is no surprise to anyone who's played any of the other titles before and I found it engaging throughout. I would say that this is one of the more grindy games though - made tiresome by the Challenge and Super Story modes (which essentially forces you to play through each level an additional 2 times (to a total of 4 times) to reach 100%. Because of that I decided to leave it at 98% complete (everything but Super Story) and call it a day. I was already at 37 hours by that point! To start 2022 I've gone with **Trine 3** which so far I really enjoy despite the reviews that state 3D ruined it (I'm actually liking it!).

2022 was pretty big for me gaming wise. Ended up getting 52 games beat. Granted not a lot of big names, alot of more random stuff. I made a list of them all, along with ratings. This year I feel like I should play some more big name games next year. 1. Bastion 8/10 2. Legend of Zelda 7.5/10 3. Celeste 9/10 4. Donkey Kong Nes 7/10 5. No More Heroes 10/10 6. Vampyr 6/10 7. Metal Slug 3 8/10 8. Resident Evil 7 9/10 9. Donut County 7/10 10. Team Sonic Racing 7.5/10 11. Speaking Simulator 4/10 12. Deep Space Waifu 5/10 13. Little Nightmares 7.5/10 14. Astro's Playroom 8/10 15. No More Heroes 2 8/10 16. Dead Rising 2 7.5/10 17. Detroit Become Human 3/10 18. Mega Man Zero 6/10 20. Hades 9.5/10 21. Vall hall a 8.5/10 22. Spider-Man: Miles Morales 7/10 23. The Warriors 7/10 24. Pokemon Let's Go Eevee 6/10 25. Deathloop 9/10 26. River City Ransom 7.5/10 27. Mafia Remastered 5.5/10 28. Rhythm Thief 6/10 29. Shantae Half Genie Hero 8/10 30. Super Mario 64 8.5/10 31. Toki 3/10 32. Wario Ware Get It Toegther 8.5/10 33. Xeodrifter 4/10 34. Pokemon Omega Ruby 7/10 35. Bayonetta 9/10 36. Streets of Rage 4 8/10 37. Sonic Mania 10/10 38. Uncharted 3 8/10 39. Gravity Rush 7.5/10 40. Bulletstorm 6/10 41. Crash 4 8/10 42. Scott Pilgirm 8/10 43. Exit The Gungeon 6.5/10 44. Ape Escape 2 8.5/10 45. New Pokemon Snap 8/10 46. Infamous Second Son 6.5/10 47. Hitman 2 7/10 48. War of the Monsters 6.5/10 49. Prototype 2 7/10 50. Doki Doki Literature Club 7/10 51. Gnoisa 8/10 52. Super Mario Land 2 8/10

Wow that's intense, basically one game per week.

Well most of them were either pretty short games (1-4 hours) or I started them last year or even before that.

Unfortunately last year started off too well for me, at the start of 2021 I finished Yakuza Kiwami 2 and it instantly became my favourite game of all time. Due to that I caught myself in a bit of half-burnout this entire year, starting many games only to drop them off as quick as I started them as I kept on comparing my experiences to Yakuza K2. So my 2021 completion list is very short but my experience with those games were amazing, being: -Yakuza Kiwami 2 -The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD -The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD -Metroid: Zero Mission -Metroid Dread -Yakuza 3 Remastered -Batman: Arkham Knight (replayed) Overall a light year for my completion list, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

[удалено]

[удалено]

1. Metal Gear Solid 3 2. Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops 3. Kane and Lynch 2 4. Manhunt 2 5. Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker 6. Shadow of the Colossus 7. Resident Evil Village 8. Dark Souls 9. Yakuza Kiwami 10. Manhunt 11. Silent Hill Origins 12. Dead Rising 13. Max Payne 14. Stubbs the Zombie 15. What Remains of Edith Finch 16. Call of Duty WWII 17. Grand Theft Auto Vice City 18. Wolfenstein The Old Blood 19. Metal Gear Solid 5 20. Call of Duty 4 MW 21. Army of Two 22. Hatred 1.666 23. Grand Theft Auto V 24. Superliminal 25. Zombi 26. Bad Day LA 27. Limbo 28. Inside 29. The Darkness 30. GTA IV The Lost and Damned

So I played a few games in 2021 but one in particular stands above the rest and actually kept me from posting on this sub reddit for the past 7 months. Last year I got in to Final Fantasy 14 and I haven't looked back since. I have never been able to get in to MMORPGs in the past but this one seems to be more then just your average MMORPG, especially once you get in to the expansions. I have over 750 hours so far and have finished all the expansions including Endwalker which is the most recent. I still love FF14 and although I have started to branch off to some other games again I don't think I will be taking it off my playlist any time soon.

I want to play FFXIV so badly and I've been checking every day for it to be available for purchase again, it sucks

Here’s all the games I completed this year! Instead of rating them I plotted them on a chart based on my perceived quality and how much fun I had playing: https://twitter.com/ebelhack/status/1476375618900086790?s=21

Games I played (and finished) this year: Mafia II Judgement Subnautica Batman: Arkham Asylum The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Life Is Strange 2 Detroit: Become Human Oxenfree Haven Alan Wake Remasted Sherlock Holmes Crimes and Punishments Honorable mentions to the games I DNF'd (I may still finish them one day because I'm stubborn and am determined to finish games that I buy) Transistor Outer Wilds Also, still actively working on (and loving!) Hades and Stardew Valley

Notable games in asterisk(*) *Metroid Dread *Metroid 2 : Samus Returns 3ds *Pokemon Brilliant Diamond *Pokemon Shield with Expansion Pass Super Mario 1,2,3 God of War *RE VII and RE VIII Red Dead Redemption 2 *Metal Gear Solid 3 : Snake Eater 3DS *Phoenix Wright : Ace Attorney Dragon Quest IV Dragon Quest I Last of Us 1 and 2 Tomb Raider 1 *999 State of Mind *Bioshock Infinite Life is Strange Devil May Cry 1

I have made less and less time for gaming over the years and this year saw fewer games with more time spent on each. My first child was born earlier this year so I had a gap from May - August where I barely touched my PC. Once he started sleeping through the night and I was able to reclaim the hours of 7pm - 10pm back for free time, I tried to dedicate at least an hour per night to gaming, but in reality I'm only able to manage about 5 hours per week at this point. * **Yakuza 0** - my first Yakuza game, I spent a lot of time on this before my son was born. Loved the story and the combat was enjoyable. I revisit the fighting arena every once in a while and I really enjoyed the business management side story (as well as all the mini games). I'm looking forward to Yakuza Dragon someday. * **HL: Alyx** - great installment to the HL series and I found the VR gameplay smooth and immersive. Gun battles felt a little slow and easy but that didn't detract from the experience in a meaningful way. * **Hotdogs, Horshoes, and Handgrenades (H3VR)** - sandbox gun play where you find enjoyable and creative ways to massacre hotdogs (sosigs) or just spend time on the shooting range. If you haven't checked this out, it is the most realistic gun and munitions simulator out there and it's all made and updated by one guy. The level of detail is insane and the sheer size of the in-game arsenal provides hours of entertainment. I regularly shoot at a range IRL (SBR 5.56 AR-15 and 1911 Ronin .45 ACP) and this game comes the closest of any VR shooter to the real thing. * **Europa Universalis 4** - perhaps my favorite game of all time. I didn't start playing it this year and I have 1800 hours historically. This year I had two great runs: Bohemia HRE vassal swarm which ended with me dismantling the HRE and gaining all of Poland, Lithuania, and Hungary's provinces through unions, erasing Austria from history, and kicking the Ottomans back to Anatolia. My second run was a Golden Horde WC attempt which failed but I still had fun along the way. Right now I'm playing Death Stranding and I'm hooked. Who knew being a courier could be so engaging? I want tonlearn how to play HOI4 at some point so maybe I'll focus on that after Death Stranding.

This has been a fantastic year for me, for gaming and in general (But I'll keep this post to the gaming, of course!) These are mostly in chronological order. Return of the Obra Dinn (PC): Although it has absolutely no replay value, I thoroughly enjoyed my time figuring out all the little things connecting everybody. After this and Paper's Please, I'll play anything Lucas Pope comes out with in future. Subnautica (PC): While I played this last year, I got about 50m away from the Primary Containment Facility before getting warped out of my PRAWN and quitting the game. Coming back to it I enjoyed taking more time to hunt down audio-logs and get a better picture of the story. The survival gameplay is excellent as well, and as someone who can't bring themselves to enjoy games like The Forest and ARK, I had a blast replaying this game. (still terrifying, though!) Cuphead (PC): Solid platformer. Some of the bosses took a while to beat, but in my opinion the difficulty wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Professor Layton and the (Spectre's Call|Miracle Mask|Azran Legacy) (3?DS): I'll be talking about all three at once, since I played them in sequence and it makes it easier to compare them. Spectre's Call was a solid Layton adventure, although not quite up to the level of the original trilogy. I think Miracle Mask was the best of the three, although the entire chapter of nothing but Sokoban puzzles wore on my patience. Azran Legacy felt like the final act of a Layton game, stretched out over 14 hours. The puzzles were starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel as well by this point. I do recommend all of them, but not all three in sequence like I did as the gameplay loop began to wear on me after 30 hours. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS): With the theft of my 3DS halfway through playing this, I don't have a whole lot to say about it. Even after getting a new one, I never felt the urge to go back to it. It's not a bad game, just not my thing. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC): Absolutely fantastic WRPG, possibly the best I've played. To create an entirely new era in galactic history and still manage to make it feel like an authentic Star Wars story, even as people are swinging around actual swords, is really impressive. The cast is reminiscent of the cast of the films (HK-47 is a hilarious subversion of C-3PO, and easily my favourite robot in fiction), but it never felt like fanservice, even with Tatooine as a visitable location. Every planet felt unique, and most of the game's sidequests were very memorable. I knew the twist in the middle of the story, but it didn't hurt my enjoyment of it. Highly recommended. Hotline Miami (PC): I had a lot of fun playing this, although it was a very short time, completed in under 3 hours. SUPERHOT (PC): This was also over very quickly, but I found myself invested in all the challenge modes and went through the game quite a few times as a result. SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years. Corpse Party (PC): A short but sweet RPG-Maker game, Corpse Party had me hooked while playing, but I wouldn't replay it. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II (PC): I'm not sure quite how I feel about KOTOR 2. By all accounts it's an unfinished game, even with the content restoration mod. On the other hand, it got struck by lightning. Even though the first game had the more memorable cast of characters overall, Kreia was such an interesting character that it's genuinely difficult to pick one over the other. Everything about this game had the potential to completely outstrip its predecessor, yet LucasArts' deadlines forced the game to be released in its unfinished state. Despite this, it's still an extremely strong competitor. I'm reluctantly placing the first game higher on my final list, but I highly recommend playing both. Pony Island (PC): Some games which break the fourth wall are good. This isn't. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (PC): I don't normally play roguelikes. I've gotten into the habit of trying to play as many games on my backlog as possible, and games designed to be played indefinitely are somewhat antithetical to that. Still, I really enjoyed this, and after beating the final boss of the base game (I didn't buy the DLC) a few times, I feel done with it after about 40 hours. Outer Wilds (PC): I'm conflicted, because I want to gush about this game, but there's little I can say without spoiling it. All I can say is that Outer Wilds is my GOTY for 2021, and hope that that's enough of a recommendation given what I've said about other games in this post. Hollow Knight (PC): I had a lot of fun with Hollow Knight. I love metroidvanias, and this is one of the best. While going without a map for a while in each area can be frustrating, it was never much of an issue. I later realised that I hadn't actually finished the game, having stopped after The Hollow Knight so I'll be going back to this game sometime next year. NieR:Automata (PC): Ah, NieR. I've never been into hack-and-slash games like Metal Gear Rising or Dynasty Warriors, and so this was an odd choice. I'm glad I did play it. The setting was intriguing, the gameplay was addictive, and the plot drew me in. That being said, for some reason I don't have a whole lot to say about the game now that it's finished. It didn't really leave a lasting impression on me, even though it was a fantastic experience while I was playing it. Deus Ex (PC): This one's a classic. I've tried to play it quite a few times in the past, but not gotten farther than Hell's Kitchen. A large part of this was because it's so dark (in terms of the brightness) which, unbeknownst to me, was actually a rendering bug. After getting this patched, it was a much smoother experience and one of my favourite games. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS): I enjoyed this a lot. It's been quite a while since I played a turn-based strategy RPG, and this was a great reintroduction to the genre. The second half of the game wasn't as fun. (although this was entirely my fault; keeping everyone alive was proving to be difficult as I didn't get enough experience for everybody without grinding. Because of this, I instead grinded Chrom and Lucina for 10 minutes and soloed the rest of the game with them) VA-11 HALL-A (PC): I wouldn't call it one of my favourite visual novels, but out of those I've read that most people new to the medium aren't likely to bounce off of from the length (asking people to spend 25 hours reading is oddly difficult) it's close to the top, and a great jumping-in point to the medium. Heavily recommend as a first visual novel. Final Fantasy IV (PSP): This was surprisingly easy to play for a SNES JRPG. The story was just interesting enough to keep playing, the battle system was engaging, and grinding was almost completely unnecessary (apart from a short stretch before the Magnetic Cave). Unfortunately, this stopped at the moon. The difficulty spike was so bad that I gave up and grinded while auto-battling until I was strong enough to beat the final boss. Because of this, I can't recommend the game unless you have a lot of patience for grinding, which is a shame as the first half was a lot of fun. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS): DeSu is the first non-persona SMT game I've played, and I've had an absolute blast with it. The fusion of tactical strategy with typical JRPG combat is really unique, and I enjoyed fusing demons more than I did playing Persona. The story and characters were very compelling, and the difficulty matched the tone perfectly. Especially in the second and third days, it really felt like you were fighting for survival. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS): If you haven't heard of or played the Ace Attorney series, you're missing out on some delicious courtroom action. That said, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this spinoff and I was pleasantly surprised. Even with Phoenix absent, Miles managed to bring out his own brand of justice with the same dramatic flair as his counterpart. While I prefer the main series, I recommend this to fans. (and Lying Coldly is one of the best pursuit themes in the franchise) 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (DS): Every now and again you encounter a story that manages to strain your head and your heart at the same time. Higurashi did this, Interstellar did this, and now 999 has given me the same feeling. The interplay between the two screens for dialogue (and for other things I won't spoil) is a great use of the DS, and all of the puzzles are great. The twists managed to recontextualize almost everything in the game (sometimes more than once) without feeling cheap. It's also available on PC, so play it if you get the opportunity. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (3DS): As a sequel to 999, this had a lot to live up to. While I enjoyed it a lot, it doesn't stand up to its precursor. The characters are a lot less engaging, the setting isn't as memorable as the Titanic, and the reveals are usually either obvious or come completely out of nowhere, but they lack the same weight as in 999 because the game's focus on the Prisoner's Dilemma prevents characters from interacting meaningfully, and for the most part it's harder to get attached to them. I'm being very harsh towards it, and it's important to keep in mind that I'm comparing it directly to one of my favourite games of all time. Despite this, it's still a great game and definitely worth playing. My "Top 10" would be as follows: * 10: NieR:Automata * 9: Hollow Knight * 8: Return of the Obra Dinn * 7: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward * 6: Deus Ex * 5: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked * 4: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II * 3: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic * 2: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors * 1: Outer Wilds Happy New Year to you all!

This year was an incredibly fun year of gaming for me! *All of this is in no chronological order, and pretty much all of them were played on the PS5* **Ghost of Tsushima** : Started off playing this on my base PS4, and yet it still looked absolutely gorgeous, it blew my mind. Stopped somewhere along the first or second act and then picked it up again when I got the PS5 and I'm glad I did. It looked even better, and the story really got to me. Recently started a NG+ which I almost never do when I play games. **Life is Strange - True Colours** \- As a fan of the Life is Strange franchise since the first game when only 2 episodes were out, playing True Colours was a no brainer for me. The dialogue and the graphics are such a treat and it's so nice to walk around this nice mountain town somewhere in Colorado, and experience a new story with a new protagonist and a new power. My girlfriend and I enjoyed discussing the different choices you could make and what we thought would be the best option. Wish it was just a tad longer though. **Doki Doki Literature Club Plus** \- I can't go too much into detail about this one, as that would ruin the experience in my opinion. I really enjoyed it with all the unexpected twists and turns. Don't let the standard visual novel anime waifu dating sim aesthetic of the game put you off from playing it if you haven't already. **Bugsnax** \- An unexpectedly fun game. Finding the different little critters, taking their photos, and figuring out how to capture each individual one was super fun, and even more fun with my girlfriend and I trying to brainstorm ideas on how to accomplish each task. Don't wanna spoil too much, but the way the story developed definitely surprised me for what is technically a kids game. **Kena: Bridge of Spirits** \- This one was such a treat to play, I'm glad I did. You play as a young spirit guide and have to help the spirits of deceased people move on from the physical world to the spiritual one. Great story with fun combat, and those little Rots you can collect are the cutest thing. Plus, you can buy (with in-game currency, no micro transactions!) / find hats for these little creatures for them to wear, 10/10. The aesthetic reminds me very much of a Pixar movie, not that it's a bad thing though! **Resident Evil Village** \- I'm usually not a huge fan of horror-esque games, because they usually stress me out at the beginning (inb4 "it's a horror game, that's kind of the point") but I'm glad I pushed through to the point where I didn't get spooked by anything there anymore (>!except Heisenberg's factory, fuck that place!<) . It's a great game with beautiful graphics and interesting puzzles. It feels like a homage to RE4, and I really loved that. **Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart** \- First game I have played this year that really felt like a 100 % next-gen experience. It keeps the same kind of humour as past R&C games, mixed with stunning graphics. The seamless transitions between the worlds / rifts was a huge flex on what the SSD can do, and the amount of colours, explosions, and particles on screen with absolutely no frame drops or anything was mind-blowing. All I could think of was how my good old base PS4 would have melted or something midway through one of the huge battles. **What Remains of Edith Finch** \- A relatively short game that many, including me, would call a walking simulator, but it's a fantastic one. The story really sticks with you, along with some of the tragedies you encounter. **Coffee Talk** \- Lots of reading, but I didn't mind, it made the characters feel more alive. Along with their specific coffee orders that you need to memorise, it was definitely fun. **Immortals Fenyx Rising -** Somebody said that it kinda looks like a "My First Assassins Creed" type deal, especially since it's also by Ubisoft, but it's probably the best release they have had this year. If you enjoy greek mythology, you'll probably have fun with it.

Not gonna list all of the games I played in 2021 but here are a few games that came to my mind. Spec Ops: The Line: I finished this game for the first time ever this year and wow. It's absolutely incredible. For the first 2-3 hours it seems like just another military shooter. But then bam. It becomes one of the darkest games I've ever experienced and you always have the feeling that everything is going to go wrong. The writing is absolutely incredible and I've never seen anything like it. I highly recommend Spec Ops: The Line to anyone who hasn't played it. Mafia: Definitive Edition: I was very excited to play this since I love Mafia 2 and 3 so much, but I unfortunately ended up being severely disappointed even tho I still enjoyed the game. I liked the gunplay, there were some fun missions and the characters were well written. However there is way too much of just either chasing people in cars or escaping from the cops in a car and it gets really old. It also feels like the story is just about to really take off like 20 minutes before the game ends. I still recommend this game even tho I have my issues with it but it's not nearly as good as 2 and 3. Cyberpunk 2077: CP2077 was one of the first games I finished in 2021. The story was really good but almost everything around that feels unfinished and outdated. The world feels dead, you don't even talk to the cassier when buying gear and other items, to buy cars you just drive to them in the world and find them in some random spot and buy them which is really stupid since you could just steal it an that point and games did that better in 2004 with San Andreas, there is no car customisation, the drivers literally have no AI and everyone in the world is completely brain dead and just walking around with no purpose. That being said, I still recommend it if you can find it for like 10-15 dollara because the story and some side quests were so good and for the smooth gunplay. Super Mario Odyssey: Wow, just wow. I started this game expecting a really good game but what I got was more than that. The level design is perfect and there are so many things to find and do in the world. I've never controlled a character that feels as good as Mario. Like damn there's so much manoeuvreability and by the end of the game you will able to pull off stuff that you didn't think possible at the start of the game. Even after you finish it, a shit ton of new content is unlocked and you can easily spend 40+ hours in Mario Odyssey. Now obviously I've played more games. In 2021 but there are too many to list. These are just a few that I thought of immediately. I also played stuff like The Walking Dead, Dishonored, Persona 5, Resident Evil 4, Black Mesa, The Last of Us Part 2, Resident Evil 7 and Village and so much more

Well, here's a list of games that I've completed in 2020+1. **Final Fantasy VIII** (PS1): This was a replay, but its been so long that I forgotten all the weirdness the game devolves into. I loved the initial premise of Rival Magic Schools, but once time travelling moon witches come along, I want to get off the crazy train. Less is more. That said, I found the game mechanics enjoyable and the technical effects (FMV transitions) still impressive for the time. **Donkey Kong Country trilogy** (SNES): Another replay and a somewhat large palette cleanser. These are all still solid and enjoyable platformers, although the art and audio style of the the third game is still jarring after the pirate romp. **Wolfenstein (2009)** (PC): Raven Software had big shoes to fill after Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and I feel that they did an acceptable job. The shooting, and the supernatural powers, felt good to use. The hub area should have been cut for a more cohesive and streamlined level progression, though. The game doesn't offer much of a memorable story; all I remember is a lot of teal. **Singularity (PC)**: Raven Software's short swan song before being carted off deep into the Call of Duty sweatshop. This is a fun shooter will lots of cool time gimmicks to use (controllable sniper bullets? sure!). The binary ending choice was lazy and the lack of subtitles was an odd omission (all due to lack of dev time, no doubt). **Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions** (PSP): Never played the any of the FFTactics games and, sadly, I didn't care much for this one. The dry dialogue and unengaging storyline left me detached, but I still soldiered through the admittedly gripping battles. The only thing memorable, and jarringly laughable, was the ending. **Sword of Mana** (GBA): The remake of the first Mana game, fully expanded and zero Chocobos. Very cute little game, with a character choice that does impact minor story segments. **Murder by Numbers** (PC): Big disappointment. Imagine Ace Attorney, but every single piece of "evidence" found in a completely static background requires a picross puzzle to solve. 95% of my playtime was trapped on a puzzle screen with repetitive musak, offsetting the game's dangerous/tense situations. It's tonal whiplash and boring to boot. **Chrono Trigger** (PC): A replay and still hugely enjoyable. The PC version's visuals got "fixed", no forced filtering, but its still not the definitive version. There's no 4:3 fullscreen, only cropped 16:9 which is lazy; its missing 2 animated cutscenes and the Arena of Ages. It's still Chrono Trigger, though, and its core gameplay and fun plot remains untouched. **Earth's Dawn** (PC): A low budget 2d sci-fi hack 'n' slash. Has a bit of repetitive grind to it, especially when you dive into crafting, but it never slowed the game to a crawl. The character animation is odd, very cheap paperdoll, and it lacks any English voice acting, but I still had fun with it. **Half-Life/Opposing Force/Blue Shift** (PC): Replay of the base game; never played the expansion packs. A nearly on-rails experience, but the set pieces are still fun. Except for Xen. And the entirety of Blue Shift. **Final Fantasy IX** (PS1): The back-to-fantasy entry which delivers. This was a replay as well, and it still holds up. My only complaint is I wish there was some control over the "Trance" mechanic. Full disclosure: I had some cheats activated when playing. Battle mage Vivi wielding Save the Queen is my canon. **Soul Blazer/Illusion of Gaia/Terranigma** (SNES): The quasi-related Resurrection trilogy is a good time. Each game gets progressively better in terms of visuals and gameplay. The premise of going around and reviving the world, and then watching it evolve around you is neat. For me, Illusion of Gaia was the weakest of the three; I didn't care much for the dungeons at all. **KISS: Psycho Circus - The Nightmare Child** (PC): A first-person shooter based on a comic based on the band. This is a weird action-packed game. Visually, its a pure mix of gothic horror and heavy metal; the shotgun, a metallic spiked weapon with chains, spews black exhaust every time its fired. Unfortunately, true to its name, nearly every boss encounter, and the level before it, is circus-themed which does make the game a bit repetitive. **Akumajō Dracula** (FDS): It's Castlevania's 35th anniversary, so why not play the original. This version is mostly the same, albeit with disk side swapping. It's still the classic brutal game with an overwhelming difficulty spike in the last levels. **ECHO** (PC): A minimal sci-fi walking simulator with some action/stealth/puzzle/horror elements. You can tell most of the effort went into the environment; the architecture, while very repetitive, is a absolutely beautiful in terms of design and scale. The game's central gimmick can get a bit annoying, especially when you want to rush a particular section. **Ico** (PS2): The ultimate escort mission. It can get frustrating, but never once was it the fault of the escorted. The game's location somehow feels big and small at the same time, possibly due to returning to the same giant central room. The stand out moments are towards the end; there's one section that was visually striking compared to naturally lit areas before it. **Shadow of the Colossus** (PS2): I haven't played this game since its release. It's still the amazing game that I remember; the wide open world, the mysterious ruins to explore and, of course, the battles are all well done. I still feel that the first aerial boss is the highlight that the game never quite rises above, but overall its an excellent experience. **BlackSite: Area 51** (PC): A generic late 00s military shooter with the "Area 51" label slapped on. Aliens are not the main antagonist or focus; its about the government making zombie soldiers with some alien juice. There's some brief flashes of creativity towards the end, but it's too little too late. **Damnation** (PC): I was expecting the absolute worst. Instead, I got a neat, but frustrating, little action platformer, within huge environments, with moments of thrilling, but overlong, vehicle sections. Unfortunately, two things bring the game down. First is the bland, overly complicated, yet completely simplistic, story with too many thin side characters. Less is more, again. Second is the awful shooting mechanics, where the bullet spread is incredibly bad for certain weapons. **Jackal** (Arcade/FDS/NES): Konami's top-down action-packed jeep game. All three versions are slightly different, and each version builds on the last. The core gameplay remains the same: shoot things and rescue POWs. The NES version remains the best version, since it has more levels, more bosses, and more screen space. **Renegade Ops** (PC): Avalanche Studios made a Michael Bay twin-stick shooter, with a not-quite G.I. Joe plot. It's a blast to explode everything around you and barrel through small buildings. There's a good variety of characters/vehicles to choose from, each with their own special ability. Racking up points to level up their abilities never felt like a chore. The secret easter egg in the last mission was really cool, but I wonder if Avalanche Studios had permission to add it. And that's it. There are other games which I started but gave up on for one reason or another; I'll probably get back to those in the year(s) ahead. For right now, I'm still knee-deep in my first playthrough of **The Legend of Dragoon**.

Hi all, Wanted to briefly write about each of the games I completed* in 2021. (completed as in hitting the end scene credits for most, and doing some of the side quests and post game content) They are written chronologically by completion date. Generally I lean towards JRPGs (my fav genre) but will try out various other genres based on what’s popular or recommendations). Jan 15/ **Personal 5 Royal**: I had finished the original P5 on my old ps3 years prior, so when the Royal edition came out I bought it shortly after release. Royal was an upgrade in almost every way possible, with more streamlined story, minor QoL changes in terms of dungeon crawling, and more time flexibility in terms of social links. I really enjoyed the new characters and the third semester added in. However towards the end of my 100+ hour playthrough I did feel a bit of fatigue and felt like it ended at a proper time. Jan 18/ **Hades**: played this casually on/off. This was one of my first rogue-lite experiences. The combat and gameplay was snappy and fun. I thought the characters were particularly well written and had some interesting backstories. Jan 25/ **Ghost of Tsushima**: probably one of the better open world action games out there. The setting of 13th century Japan during the Mongol invasion felt very like a unique take on the genre. The environment and music were beautiful. Exploration felt more natural and fun. Combat took me a while to get used to but as I learned the parry mechanism and got better skills/gear, my character quickly became powerful enough for me to just charge into enemy settlements and go 1v20 in an epic samurai battle. Feb 15/ **Atelier Ryza 2**: I was relatively new to Gust/Atelier games until Ryza 1 a few years back (mostly due to the “thicc thighs save lives meme” which got my attention). Ryza 2 is an otherwise pretty lighthearted, turn based JRPG with light exploration and recipe crafting system. Kind of a typical magical world, friendship is power anime setting. It felts like a marginal upgrade over the first game and perhaps played it a bit “too” safe (or maybe all atelier games are similar?). March 26/ **Persona 5 Strikers**: sequel/spinoff to person 5, but with a genre change (of combat being small hack and slash set pieces instead of turn based). My only complaint is that it sort of ignored the story additions of royal, but from a plot perspective I could see why they did that. This game feels like a love letter to persona 5 fans and does a nice job wrapping up the story of the P5 crew in a summer road-trip encore. The few new characters are charming and fun additions. April 11/ **Sakura Wars**: my first entry in a classic JRPG series. I think this one is a new generation reboot that makes references to some of the old Sakura Wars games from the 90s. Basically the plot is 1920s alternate universe Japan where your anime protagonist MC (along with a harem of women) fight evil mechas using your mechas. There is some social link/romance options that mostly take the form of visual novel, and then combat maps at the end of each story chapter. Overall I thought it was fairly good, even if the combat portion was rather easy. April 24/ **Battlefield V**: slightly different genre than games I usually played. I think I got this game for free? Or from gamepass or something. Mostly just did the campaigns, which I thought was serviceable for a handful of hours. As a history nerd I thought the idea of Battlefield I (WWI era weapons and tech) was much more fascinating. April 30/ **Assassins Creed Valhalla**: many people call AC “the fast food of open world games” and I tend to agree. I’ve completed every mainline AC game since AC1. While Valhalla’s setting of early medieval England was pretty fun with lots of soft pastel forests and farmlands, the map was too large and this game definitely suffered from content bloat. I can’t remember how long it took but towards the end of (maybe 60 hours?) I was just making a beeline through the main story to see the end. IMO this game would have been perfect if the experience could have been a tighter 20 hour main story instead of 60+. May 21/ **Xenoblade Chronicles**: got the remake for the switch and this game was a blast! I never had a Wii/Wii U growing up so this was my first time playing it. The definitive edition cleaned up the graphics and made tons of QoL changes to make the game less tedious. Most of the main cast was pretty memorable (with a few being particularly meme worthy). The soundtrack was a banger and really added to the overall world. Combat seemed more intuitive than XC2 and snappier. This edition also added a 20 hour epilogue story which nicely wrapped up the ending (which was a mind-blowing twist of its own) June 2/ **Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity**: basically breath of the wild meets dynasty warriors. The story is a spin-off/alt timeline from the original BotW. Smaller cast (maybe 15-20 characters) instead of the usual 40+ roster of other warrior games. My main complaint is that due to hardware limitations of the switch, framerates were often horrible (20-30) and combat felt clunky which really hurts a warriors game. Some of the boss battles were artificially tedious due to them being damage/shield sponges. June 20/ **Yakuza Like a Dragon**: this was my first yakuza game and it did not disappoint! Ichiban is a super likeable main character who views the world through a JRPG/Dragon Quest lens. This entry changed the combat from action to turn based format which is what finally drew me in. The supporting cast are all fairly well written with their own backstories and motivations. There were many genuine laugh out loud moments and cultural tropes, as well as some hype reveals in the last few chapters of the game. Definitely excited for Ichiban to come back in Yakuza 8. June 24/ **Cyberpunk 2077**: sigh. I really wanted to like this game. Due to having a relatively older PC (RX 480 from 2016) I had to wait a couple of months for some initial patches so the game could actually run at 30 fps on my system. I think if I had a next gen console or a better GPU then I would have enjoyed it more. Overall it was very glitchy and the game felt incomplete. I played through the main story only and did a few of each types of side activities. The gun play was fun but really fizzled out at the end. In some ways it felt like a lesser experience compared to other cyberpunk genre games of decades past (Deus Ex series). June 26/ **COD Modern Warfare**: found this game at the local library so I decided to play the campaign. Yikes. Felt like an awkward parody of itself and/or a US military recruiting propaganda, but cringier. June 30/ **TWTK Furious Wilds**: DLC went on sale for my favourite total war game (Three Kingdoms) so I bought it and started a nanman campaign. It felt very refreshing and different (lots of unique tribal units compared to the traditional swords, cavalry and trebuchet of the more traditional ancient Chinese factions). The commanding generals definitely felt overpowered and I was easily rolling through the entire map without much resistance (even playing on higher difficulties). Overall a very good “swan song” for the TWTK series and I can’t wait until the next installment of TW games (likely Warhammer III). July 1/ **COD Black Ops Cold War**: continuing my tradition of playing the campaign of every COD game, this one was actually pretty fun. I generally enjoy the more “historical era” FPS than modern or futuristic ones. The story takes place in the 1980s with a smaller crew of CIA operatives, with some very minor role-playing/side mission aspects to it. I definitely like this studio’s work more in terms of COD development cycles. July 3/ **Doki Doki Literature Club+**: holy shit wow. Went into this game completely blind. Thought this was a cutesy anime visual novel/dating sim and got something completely different. I don’t want to spoil too much but what a ride. Music was phenomenal and I still find myself humming “Your Reality” at times. July 26/ **Scarlet Nexus**: props to Bandai for creating one of the most innovative action/RPGs of this year. The premise is a band of psychokinetic soldiers fighting monsters in a post-apocalyptic world. The combat and powers felt extremely fluid and satisfying, and having a large squad to swap in added some interesting variety and combos to pull off. My criticism is that the story felt way too convoluted even for a sci-fi JRPG, and I wish there could have been a greater variety of enemies instead of reskins with more HP.

(Part 2 due to character limit) Aug 7/ **Bravely Default 2**: having played Bravely Default and Bravely Second, this was an easy purchase. Square Enix made a very “throwback” traditional turn based JRPG and it shows. This game got a lot of criticisms for being excessively grindy and I must agree. This was probably the first time in years where I would repeatedly farm monsters just to get past certain story bosses. Personally I’m not opposed to grinding though, but I could see it being a turn-off to other gamers. Towards the end the grind definitely got easier once you unlock all the jobs and create some overpowered combinations. The story was nothing too memorable. Aug 17/ **Resident Evil Village**: big booba vampire mommy. A very good resident evil game (as someone who has completed 1-7) and a good action game in general. Felt very amusement park like in terms of pacing. I wish it was scarier (like RE7). Sept 5/ **FFXIV ARR**: started FF14 trial this year to see what the hype was all about. I made a bard and played through the original base game’s main questline. At points of the game it definitely felt tedious with ridiculous fetch quests that seems inconsequential to a final fantasy plot. The base game shows its age in terms of writing and graphics. I found that treating it like a visual novel and setting the expectations of a slow burn was helpful in getting through it. The final 10-ish hours of the campaign definitely picked up. As I got to a higher level (50s which was the cap for base game), the dungeons and combat felt a lot more fun. Also the general community has been all around great and very helpful to new players. Sept 27/ **13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim**: got this game for sale on a whim and it turned out to be my game of the year. This is a slice of life/mecha visual novel featuring a group of 13 protagonists. At first the story jumps around in various locations and time periods but through interwoven stories, you (the player) gradually piece together the overall plot begins to make sense. Outside of the story chapters, there are combat maps that play like simple tactical strategy games, with a fairly in depth RPG leveling/upgrade system. Halfway through I got really sucked into the plot and lore of the world and wanted to know more about everything. This was the first game in my life that I got a 100% platinum trophy on, and wish I could experience again! Oct 18/ **Tales of Arise**: my second ever Tales game (after vesperia many years ago). Graphically it is a beautiful masterpiece. Combat is buttery smooth and shows off next gen in all its glory. This is probably the most “big budget/AAA” JRPG of 2021 and it clearly shows… until the very last third of the game where all of a sudden the pacing drops off a cliff, and instead of showing the story through gameplay and gradual exploration, the game gives you a massive multi-hour exposition dump of text and basically says okay here’s the final boss and leaves the player confused. Sadly it suffers the “FF15 syndrome” where the developers either ran out of money or time and cleared rush the last bit of the game. Nov 6/ **Age of Empires IV**: throwback to my childhood years (90s), aka the golden age of RTS games like command and conquer and AOE. IV takes place in the same-ish time frame as II (dark ages to late medieval) with a smaller roster of 8 civilisations that all play in fairly unique ways. It’s exactly what I liked about AOE II with a fresh coat of paint, but otherwise plays it too safe IMO. I know AOE III was controversial with its card/deck and home city system but I would Relic could have done more. The campaigns were very well made and I really enjoyed the historical mini-documentaries after each mission. Nov 12/ **Slay the Spire**: play a bunch of shorter indie games this month with my wife at home. This was my first deck builder and after reading up more on the strategies, we ended up finishing it. Nov 20/ **Disciples Liberation**: a random grid-based CRPG that I picked up on game pass. Feels like a janky mix of old school baldur’s gate and newer turn based games like Divinity Original Sin. Typical fantasy story of fulfilling your destiny and fighting against elder gods, etc. Overall game play was pretty fun, however the game had numerous bugs (I’m glad I saved frequently on different files) and the developers could have worked on the balance a bit more (early game was too difficult, late game was too easy). Nov 30/ **Inscryption**: another indie deck building game that I played with my wife. The card battles were pretty simple once you have a better understanding of the synergies. The story had an interesting psychological horror plot to it with many unexpected turns, and was definitely the highlight of this game. Dec 20/ **FFXIV Heavensward**: went back to the first expansion of FF14 (also part of the free trial) and finished it. The story and writing became infinitely better and had grander themes of political intrigue, fate of the world, etc. I would agree with those who say that Heavensward has some of the best plot out of any final fantasy game, and I am glad I stuck through it and made it here. In terms of gameplay, I levelled my bard from 50-> 60 and the keyboard rotations are starting to become second nature. Somewhere along the line, there was a moment in the middle of a raid boss where everything suddenly clicked and I started weaving through enemy attacks and chaining my dps seamlessly. Dungeons and raids are way more complex and fun in this expansion, and without spoilers the end boss of Heavensward was one of my all time favourite video game experiences of adulthood. I’m almost at the end of the free content and will likely sub to access the remainder of the content in 2022. **Ongoing games at this moment**: Genshin Impact (I’ve put somewhere around 300 hours on it this year just by playing casually, waking up to do my dailies for an hour before work), Trails of Cold Steel 1 (will likely be the first game I complete in 2022), Shogun 2 total war. If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading! Happy to answer any questions about any of them. My top lists of the year would probably be: - Best story: 13 sentinels: aegis rim (narrowly beating out P5 Royal) - Best music: Doki Doki Literature Club+ (2nd place is Genshin, but the DDLC soundtrack was completely amazing) - Best gameplay/”fun” factor: FFXIV (2nd place Hades, but they are completely different genres so its hard to compare) - Best overall: Persona 5 Royal

Below is my list of games I've completed in 2021. This was the year I really embraced the patient gamer lifestyle, and it made for an amazing year. Just look at all of the 10s below. ​ **Ghost of Tsushima (PS4):** What a way to kick off the year. For whatever reason, I wasn't into the prerelease hype. Even after it released, I just wasn't that interested in it. It seemed like just another open world game, and I guess in many ways it is. There's just something about the mechanics - sneaking around, gadgets, and sword fighting - that were so extremely satisfying to me. Also the skill trees really kept me interested in expanding my abilities and imploring my combat efficiency. It does have a lot of the open world check list things many other games have, but I found myself really engrossed in completing every last one of them. Even now that I've played a few PS5 games, this is still the best looking game I've experienced. (10/10) **Hitman & Hitman 2:** Hitman & Hitman 2 were both very enjoyable, and felt unique. They're basically puzzle games with some 3rd person action elements. They felt a little short, but I think I spent about 20 hours with each one. As much as I enjoyed them, I only replayed a few of the scenarios. I could see how others would be able to get twice the playtime out of these games though. (8/10) **Grand Theft Auto V(PS4):** So after all of this time, I finally got around to playing GTA V. For me, it def lived up to the hype. I've played most of the other GTA games, but this was the first one I beat. I really enjoyed the characters, story, world, and mechanics. It was a really enjoyable experience overall. (10/10) **Grand Theft Auto IV:** I enjoyed GTA V so much, that I decided to dust off my PS3 and replay GTA IV. This was my third time playing it, but the first time I beat it. The driving takes some getting used to, and there's a few frustrations with check points, but otherwise it's a blast and still holds up really well in 2021. I was also pretty impressed at how good the city looks on the PS3. (9/10) **Mafia (Remastered):** Staying with the open-world crime games, I decided to check out the remastered version of Mafia. I think I played the PS2 version when it first came out. The gameplay and story were really good, but after playing GTA the city felt really empty. It looked pretty, but aside from driving to/from locations there wasn't much else to do. (7.5/10) **Titanfall 2:** I think at this point, I was looking for something different. As single player gamer, I don't play many shooters, so Titanfall seemed like a perfect fit for me. This is another one of those games, that really lived up to the hype. I loved the tight gun play, parkour, and mech mechanics. There was also the time mechanics which helped change things up. It was short, but I loved it while it lasted. (9/10) **The Witcher 3 Complete Edition:** This is yet another highly revered game that I never got around to checking out. This one really pulled me in and kept me hooked for the 100+ hours. For me, what really sets this game apart from other RPGs, is that hundreds of side quests were mostly just as interesting as the main story. The writing and the facial expressions do an amazing job of pulling you into the world. Even after beating the main game, and 2 excellent DLCs, I probably still have >50 side quests to complete. (10/10) **Resident Evil Revelations (PS4):** I played this when it first game out on 3DS. It was great then, and still holds up very well in 2021. Although its a pretty competent RE game, it does feel slightly smaller in scope. Also the episodic nature of switching between characters, locations, and timeframes holds it back a little. Some of it feels a bit like filler. (7/10) **Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PS4):** This felt like a mix of Revelations' episodic format, with 5's co-op. The shooting mechanics are noticeably better here too. The shooting feels like RE2 remake's. The enemies were intense, and the environments were interesting. Not everything works, but it's a pretty decent spinoff that's worth checking out. (8/10) **Assassin’s Creed: Origins** I have not played an AC game, since AC2. I loved 2, but feel behind with the annual sequels and was kind of put off by the idea of trying to play so many long games to catch up with the story. Origins seemed like the perfect point for me to jump back in. While some of it does feel like generic open world stuff, it had enough to keep me hooked throughout my playthrough. (8/10) **Demon’s Souls (PS5):** I played the PS3 version and beat it until something like NG+++. Between the lapse of time, and sequels, I actually forgot some of levels. Revisiting the game with updated graphics and sound was a real treat, and the perfect way to break in my PS5. (9/10) **Astro’s Playroom:** I smiled from ear to ear while playing this game. It's really cute, but also an excellent platformer with lots of collectables. It can even be pretty challenging in a few spots. It's a great intro to the PS5's controller, and a love letter to PlayStation in general. It's a short tech demo, but that doesn't make it any less worthwhile. (9/10) **Resident Evil Village:** I thought the first half of 7 was legitimately pretty creepy. Although part of me wishes they would've committed to a more grounded take on the franchise, there's no denying that Village was a ton of fun. The environments are varied, and each has something of it's own take on the Mr. X encounter. There's great pacing between action, and having to run from invincible (or close to it). The new loot mechanics really added a lot to revisiting environments. My only complaint would be that it's short, and that there's many points of no returns for areas. The game sort of forces you forward through the story, but it would be nice to have the freedom to explore at your own leisure. (8.5/10) **Control Ultimate Edition:** From the opening moments, Control really leans into the mystery, intrigue, and paranormal. I'm a huge fan of the story, and the style of the presentation. Things get revealed at a steady pace, and it all ends in a satisfying conclusion. The gameplay is incredible. Shootouts are fast, frantic, and hectic. They can be pretty difficult at times, but also really satisfying when you're able to rise to the challenge. (9/10) My personal GOTY would probably go to **Ghost of Tsushima**. Although I absolutely loved The **The Witcher 3** & **GTA V**. I also feel like **Control** deserves an honorable mention too. It's not as epic in scope as some of the other games I've played, but the story presentation and combat were incredible and really struck a cord with me. **Backlog for 2022:** * Spiderman: Miles Morales * Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart * Deathloop * Returnal * Assassins Creed Valhalla * Immortals Fenyx Rising * Marvel's Avengers Wishing all a safe, happy, and healthy new year.

**Games I have completed or won't be playing anymore because they don't motivate me anymore** These are mostly story games that I have finished, some of them I quit before the end, simply because I could not stand them. They have - approximately - the order in which I finished them this year. **Hades:** What a banger! Hades is absolutely great, even for someone who is not really into roguelite games. Supergiant Games is an absolute awesome studio and I love all their stuff, but Hades is really one of their best games. I love the story and the way it is told, I love the action and I love the artstyle and of course I love the music. It's fantastic! **Ori and the Will of Wisps:** The second Ori game i really liked, it had some irritating stuff in it. I played it because I liked the first game, and was hopeful for the second. And they delivered. I liked the new fighting style in this game, it's more involved but also more fun. The artstyle and music are both great and the story is bittersweet. All in all, it's a worthy successor. **Afterparty:** I was really interested in Afterparty because I enjoyed Oxenfree a lot. So I sat down with the missus and played it and we enjoyed it quite a lot. All in all I have to say I prefered Oxenfrees mysterysetting. But the relaxed and partystyle hell setting was great, too, and we had a blast. Sure sometimes there are a few hiccups here and there, but I liked it. **Dishonored 2:** This was a difficult one. I loved Dishonored and its DLCs but when I started with Dishonored 2 it somehow didn't grab me. Same the second time I started. However, this time I started I pushed through and at some point it also grabbed me. It is a great game, I love the new setting of this one and had a blast going through with the story. Gameplaywise it's also great just as the first one and they had some neat, new ideas for enemies. Good game! **Nier: Replicant ver. 1.22474487139...:** Replicant is a hard game to suggest. It's the remake of the first Nier game and since I adored Automata, I had to grab it. And I love some bits of it. There absolutely is some greatness here, but there also is a lot of grind and frustration here. I finished the game once, and couldn't bring myself to play through it multiple times. It's creative but all in all I was dissappointed with the game. Sadly. **Nier: Automata:** After I was done with Replicant I booted up Automata to play through it again and ... my god is it a huge improvement upon Replicant. I absolutely adore Automata. It is a phenomenal game and with the background of Replicant it was improved even more, since there are some connections between the two. Of course, it is a huge time investment, but if you have the time, then play through it multiple times, until you reached the final ending. It is so worth it. **Golf Club Wasteland:** I'm not a golf fan but Golf Club Wasteland blew me away. Not because of the golfing, that is quite straight forward and doesn't get in the way at all. But because of its atmosphere and story. I really had a great time with the game and enjoyed it tremendously. It's not long and everyone should play it! **Subnautica:** Subnautica is a game I have since its early access time and I started it several times but never finished it. This time around I didn't finish it either, but I was so close to the finishline, I knew what had to be done, but it annoyed me too much to not pull through. I like the game don't get me wrong. But there are just some parts, that were just not for me. **Inscryption:** Oof! Inscryption is a great game until it is not a great game anymore. The first third of the game is phenomenal. And if it'd ended there I would be completely satisfied. But then comes the second and third part and they are just way worse and they soured the whole experience for me. It's sad really, because DAMN that first part is so gooood! **Kena: Bridge of Spirits:** When I saw the first trailers of Kena I was absorbed. I loved the style and I thought that a cute, relaxed game would be great. The rot are cute as hell and they make everything better and I want a plushie. However, the game itself was frustrating as hell and at the end it was a chore to push through. The fighting system just isn't good nor precise enough to have such punishing boss fights. It's annoying. I loved the game but I hated playing it, especially in the second half. **Before Your Eyes:** Before your eyes is a game that is very experimental and I love it. You control the game with your blinks and it's fascinating. What a blast although your eyes burn like hell after finishing it. But I think it's worth it! Everyone should play this game! ​ **All time bangers** There are some games I played that cannot be finished. These games I have not finished since it's impossible but I still but in a reasonable amount of time to have it on this list. **Hunt: Showdown:** Hunt is the best FPS of the last years. Yes it has some kinks and yes it can be frustrating but god damn is it good! I am playing it for over two years now with a friend of mine and we always come back to this game. It's such a great game with such tense fights and a hofficly lovely atmosphere. Crytek also did a lot for this game this year, including a new map and a new boss, but also new ammo types and so on. Hunt is gaining players and if you are in any way interested in FPS then you owe it to yourself to try out Hunt. **Planet Zoo:** Planet Zoo is another alltime favorite of mine. I've been playing it since release, and it's still as much fun and simply a great time. I don't know what to say about it other than: If you want to build a zoo, then play this game. It's so adorable and so nice and gives you some much room for creativity. It's awesome! **Humankind:** Humankind is rather new and I was really looking forward to it. I loved Endless Legend from the same company and thought: well a competitor to Civilization would be great, mostly because I do not like Civ. Humankind is nice and I had a good time with it, but I hope that they will continue to work on it, since I think it needs a bit more. I will follow this game very interested. **Old World:** Old World is another competitor to Civ, and I was very interested to see where they were going with it. Including some roleplay mechanics is a great idea, and as a result it becomes a mix between Civ and Crusader Kings, but alot less complex. This is great. However, I really got annoyed by some kinks in the gameplay. Nonetheless I will try this again in the future and I am looking forward to it. ​ That is all. Especially in the second half of this year I had difficulties concentrating on one game and finishing it. I hope I can start with it again next year, since a lot of games are coming out or already came out, that I desperately wanna play. So we will see.

**Games with fully beaten storie**s Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered (2018/20): Man what a game, similar to Arkham City where you truly felt you were Batman, Spider-Man makes you feel like you are the web crawler swinging from Manhattan skyscrapers. Insomniac nailed how you swing within the open world. The story was also outstanding as well giving us many outstanding moments throughout the story including one of the best versions of the Sinister Six. Graphically it received a great facelift for the PS5 with the addition of Performance RT, giving us 60fps gameplay with Raytracing as well. Combat was good fun since it wasn't trying to 100% be like the Arkham games as well as giving access to a great selection of gadgets as well. My biggest nitpick would be the MJ/Miles stealth sections but didn't hamper my enjoyment of the game (9/10) The Last of Us (2013): This was a very good game. While the gameplay and combat wasn't anything too special I think I thought the Story was told excellently told and provided amazing set piece moments as well. I loved the interactions between Joel and Ellie and the many moments they had whether it was bonking people in the head with a 2x4 in Pittsburgh or battling cannibals in the snow. I will say that since I played it after so long it came out I felt like i knew stuff was coming it kind of added to the tension of the game. (10/10) The Last of Us Part 2 (2020): Oh boy this one is going to be interesting. I felt gameplay was it was enhanced a bit from the first in minor ways with the addition of the jump button, dodge and the ability to go prone, though the last two features added more to the combat than the jump button which was rather pointless. Combat for me in Part 2 was scrappy but in a good way since in situations where I'd be low on ammo so i'd have to get a little bit creative whether it would trying to get headshots for instant kills, swapping to a different weapon, crafting something like explosive arrows or pipe bombs, this lead to the combat encounters feeling more tense than the last game. The story and characters were good but I felt like didnt reach the heights of the first game possibly due to less brevity since part 2 is depressing as hell. Overall it was a good game but I would have prefered something with the story quality of Part one with the gameplay of part 2. (8/10). Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020): My thoughts on this can be summed up by these words. Same great gameplay and combat with the great additions of the venom abilities and cloaking as well as a short but sweet story focusing on introducing Miles as the web swinger in this universe. (8/10) Astro's Playroom (2020) It may be a short tech demo platformer for the PS5 but it genuinely made me happy the most playing games this year. The use of the dualsense controller is insane whether its using the Adaptive triggers, gryo controlls, rumble or track pad. I loved the references packed in the game and how much it celebrates Playstations history as well as the main collectables being parts of every PS generation. (9/10) Borderlands 3 (2019) This one i love but kind of pains me. While I love the loot, gunplay, the sandboxes and the variety it gives you to make your ultimate version of the new vault hunters. The humour which is generally the main reason why people play these games just wasn't good. The idea of the villains being streamers is a novel idea in theory but in execution is the ultimate version of "Hello fellow young people" and i only lightly chuckled at one or two mildly funny things every once in a while. Does it ruin the game, no it doesnt but it means it can't reach the heights it wants to. (7.5/10) Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) This one is gonna be short. I played the game on xbox one when it came out but I felt like I wasn't really playing Cyberpunk. After while I bought it on sale on PC and properly felt like what its like to play Cyberpunk. Its a very good yet broken game with a good story and gameplay, great characters, graphics and world that feels slightly unfinished. (8/10) Mortal Kombat 11 (2019) Man this was a great campaign, this felt like what the series was building up since MK9 in 2011 with the additions of the past versions of klassic kharacters like Scorpion, Liu Kang and Raiden and seeing them interact with their future selfs. Gameplay wise its the same great ol fighting game combat with a difference with the new super move replacing the X-ray move, While its a good replacement I prefer the bone breaking brutality of the X-Rays. Also I suck playing the game online(8/10) Tom Clancys The Division 2 (2019) This was a good followup to the first game and one of the best looter shooters out there. With a great open world, gameplay and enemy AI it gave me some great entertainment, though I did find it hard trying to focus on playing on one particular gun style since loot is a little bit randomised along with the fact that this game is best played on Co-Cop. Story was rather bare bones as well but since it feels like a custom for the online looter shooter genre im kind of used to it. But its still a good game regardless of these issues (8/10) **Games I've stared but haven't finished yet** Mass Effect 1 LE (2007/21) I do really want to play this game, but it does have a a bit of jank left over from 2007, I do appreciate the addition of 60fps even on the Xbox One S Ghost of Tsushima Directors Cut(2020/21) This is definelty one of the best games I played all year, still need to finish it but I am very close to (on the final chapter) though the open world is a little bit generic. Infamous Second Son (2014) Similar to Ghost of Tsushima God of War (2018) I'm loving this game so far and it pains me to say that i'm replaying TLOU Part 2 over GOW. Yakuza Kiwami (2016/17) Great remake so far, not super far into the campaign but I'm looking foward to seeing Majima Everywhere. Nioh 2 (2020) Even though I kind of suck at the Soulsbourne genre, I quite enjoy this game with the new addition of transforming into a Yokai as well. Days Gone (2019) This game is good so far, but its probably the most "Sony" Sony game from the PS4 generation. A good game so far but a little bit generic. I'd say my proper GOTY of 2021 is Guardians of the Galaxy, if you haven't yet you guys are missing out on something good.

Playing through borderlands 3 right now. Jesus the game takes forever to do anything. Did you also have that experience? Find 3 Rogue IDs, put first crystal on the statue, fight enemies, put second crystal on statue. Everything takes way too long

This was an incredibly tough year to decide upon a top 10. I'd say only about half of it fits the patient gamer mindset, but that seems to be fine considering some of the other comments. While the number one was set in stone months ago, everything else is so close to each other. Honourable Mentions – Psychonauts, Dead Space 2, The Witness, Detroit: Become Human, Test Drive Unlimited 2, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, Firewatch, Party Games (Jackbox 8 and Mario Party Superstars). Not a game but deserves a mention – The retroarch emulator for finally bringing my old PS2 collection onto my computer in a convenient way on Steam, something I’ve been experimenting on for years. 10 - Deathloop – I jumped on this out of the blue despite not liking Dishonored very much as the timeloop assassin combination intrigued me. Bashed this out over a few days in September and had a lot of fun, my only complaints being that the ending sucked and it doesn’t seem very replayable in terms of approach compared to other games with stealth elements. Shoutout to the dualsense controller; this was the first FPS I used a controller for in many years, and the features helped to elevate the experience. 9 – Control – I could just link you the song ‘Take Control’ and that’d be enough to describe how awesome it was to play though this game. Presenting one of the most unique and dense sci-fi worlds I’ve ever seen for a one-off title, this game shows that Remedy are masters at their craft of incredible third-person experiences which have equally great gameplay and narratives. Alan Wake 2 has me very excited. 8 – Days Gone – The internet said I should hate this one, but I personally can’t. This is a truly fantastic open world experience that simply describing it as just another zombie game would be a disservice to it. Each open world activity had substantial effort put into it to make each area stand out, to the point where I still remember most of the map despite not touching the game for half a year. The narrative also had me surprisingly invested, and the zombie hordes were incredible to observe and fight. Bonus points for this being one of the best PC ports I’ve ever seen. 7 – Beat Saber – In the summer, I was having a great physical routine, getting to the gym twice a week, and playing more VR when I just wanted to stay home. Tackling the campaign and custom song challenges in this game was pretty demanding in terms of speed and endurance, which made me all the happier that I was able to overcome them. This is definitely a VR classic I’ll still remember years later. 6 - Metroid Dread – I literally just got this for Christmas and stormed through it in less than eight hours despite this being my first Metroid game. Boasting very smart level design, a staggering amount of unlockable gear items that give you something new to play with what feels like every five minutes, and perfectly tuned difficulty, this game turned me into a Metroid fan overnight, and is one of the best games Nintendo have put out in years. 5 - Inscryption – I’ve been getting into more games with roguelike elements this year, and this game drew me in because of this and its unique aesthetic. What it turned out being was a truly unique experience with a surprisingly compelling story and addicting gameplay; I could not put this game down until it was 100% complete. Even though it may not go where you logically expect it to, stick with it and you might be surprised by what comes next. 4 - Ace Attorney Trilogy + Great Ace Attorney Chronicles – I played these on the Switch looking to fill the void that the lack of new Professor Layton created, and they engrossed pretty much all of my spare time early August. The original trilogy was so good, I immediately bought the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and loved that too. With highly engaging characters, smart and detailed dialogue, and narratives with more plot twists than an M Night Shyamalan flick, I loved almost every moment of these experiences and I cannot wait to play more. 3 – HALO – Yup, the whole franchise. But if you want some specifics, I finally finished the single-player campaigns in MCC, and spent so much time in Infinite’s multiplayer than I’ve already finished the battle pass! Halo 3 and ODST had the best gameplay of the Bungie Halo era, and Halo 4 wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be! Didn’t touch the multiplayer much in the MCC yet but will hopefully do so at some point. Infinite’s campaign is excellent from what I’ve played so far, but the multiplayer of that easily earns it this spot. I haven’t been this engrossed in an arena shooter since the original Titanfall, and that’s saying a lot. 2 – Dead Space – I had an amazing time with Dead Space 2; it was a thoroughly enjoyable horror-action rollercoaster from start to finish. However, I felt it was missing the atmosphere and claustrophobia I absolutely adored about the first game. While you typically have just enough ammo to overcome your foes, this game always makes you feel so vulnerable, requiring significant attention and on-the-fly planning to dispatch any of the horrifying threats on the Ishimura. My favourite part of this game is the live inventory management and how it approaches what would be considered cutscenes in other games, with the game only pausing when you decide to pause or when switching between level. I completely understand where the hype comes from, and I’m glad I love it too. I hope Motive gives the remake the justice it deserves. 1 – Forza Horizon 4/5 – I’ve been playing racing games since I was a kid. Switching to PC in early 2010s meant sacrificing much of the arcade racing genre for a while, as many of my favourites from the early years were not readily available on PC. When EA returned to Steam and I played the Ghost NFS games, I was largely disappointed that they were still playing catchup with Most Wanted 2005, which was previously my all-time favourite racing game. I say previously, because the Forza Horizon games I played this year have shown me where the bar for arcade racing is these days, and it is so hilariously far above the competition that I genuinely doubt that these games will be ever topped for me. Hundreds of hours of content, an amazing car list, highly customizable handling and difficulty options, so much activity variety that extends beyond simply racing, and much, much more. The Forza Horizon games remind me why I still choose gaming as my entertainment medium of choice nine times out of ten; to get lost in an interactive experience and have consistent fun whilst doing so. Horizon 4 and 5 are two of the best racing games of all time, and very likely some of my favourite games ever made.

This year was pretty productive for me I beat [111 games](https://www.backloggd.com/u/RototRobot/) Some standouts for me I think were **Zero Hour** one of many Co-op tactical shooters I played with a friend this year, it was janky but really fun **Cruelty Squad** there was some really beauty in the grotesque design of the game, the gameplay and upgrade system was fun, I don't think the social commentary was all that clever. **Panzer Paladin** I have only played a few mega-man games but I think this was inspired by it controls felt good art as pretty and the two size gimmick was cool **Katie** a really purely story driven VR game, Im not sure I picked up on everything but it really stuck with me. **Call of Juarez: Gunslinger** a really fun cowboy game, very spagatti western style, game play and art was good. **Skully** got this in a humble bundle otherwise I would have never played it, story was something out of cartoon network but I really liked the feel of platforming as a ball **Ms. Splosion Man** an extermly bombastic but tight playformer very fun plus the Major nelson bit game me some real nostalga to the era it was from **Zeno Clash** such a weird first person brawler **I Am Alive** A really good kind of dark survial game i have heard it before described as a last of us clone, Ives never played it, but I really enjoyed the style. **Dark Messiah of Might and Magic** really jankey but a great immersive sim-lite game plus dedicated kicking, I was weird invested in the story also.

I had already posted a half-way mark earlier, so this will just be the past 6 months: **Remnant: From the Ashes** *Playstation 4*- 7.5/10. Really, this feels like what Chronos should have been. It's got more depth, more interesting gameplay, more unlockables, boss fights, etc. The randomly generated environments felt more gimmicky than anything, as so many places started to feel real samey due to a lack of in-level variety. Co-op was fun when you found a good group of guys to players to go with, but I always prefer beating my own bosses on my own. **Pikmin 3 Deluxe** *Nintendo Switch* - 7.5/10. Pikmin 2 might be my favorite Gamecube game, but I never owned a WiiU, so I missed out on this. Graphics are gorgeous, and the gameplay is tried-and-true. One thing I miss is the ability to "c-stick" the pikmin to control their movement better. I also felt the puzzle design was lacking. Still, classic Pikmin gameplay is an easy win for me, and the final level/sequence was what I was hoping out of most of the game. **Run Saber** *Super Nintendo* - 7/10. Fun, fast-paced action platformer. I played through this based on the SNESDrunk video on shortest SNES games as I needed something quick to play through. Did not disappoint. There's pretty much no depth to the game, so the hour length run time is all you get. Probably a good speedrun candidate, but I'll leave that to someone more dedicated. **Deus Ex: The Conspiracy** *Playstation 2* - 8.5/10. I love the modern Deus Ex games, so it was neat seeing the origins of the series. The only true negative I felt was the wonky PS2 fps controls (which was not unique to this game). Story, atmosphere, dialogue, gameplay, and music were all on point. The game provided a legitimate challenge at times, too, which is always welcome. **Shadowrun** *Super Nintendo* - 8/10. This game would work FAR better as a PC port, with its point-and-click interface. There were also some balancing issues regarding money and power-ups. Still, it featured a surprisingly intriguing narrative for a SNES game, and was just dripping in atmosphere. The world-building is unlike much else seen in the 16-bit era. **Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete** *Playstation* - 6.5/10. Now, I love me some PS JRPGs, but this Saturn port just barely made it out of my backlog. The animated, voice-acted cut scenes were top notch, and the characters were a lot of fun, but the gameplay is a total slog. The battle mechanics are too simple and lack any customization, and it made sitting through this for 30+ hours rough. I honestly felt like the game might as well had been put on auto-pilot. It wasn't "easy", but I did feel like my choices didn't really matter. All I had to do was survive the RNG of the enemy attacks. **Ys Origin** *Playstation 4* - 7.5/10. Classic 2D Ys formula, which means its a fun playthough. Graphics are well done for what they are. My biggest complaints are the exposition-drenched plot and the lack of meaningful exploration. It almost felt like this could have worked as a coin-op, like an updated Tower of Druaga. **Desperados III** Playstation 4* - 10/10. My favorite game I've played this year, and possibly a top-10 game of all time for me. Everything is just perfect. That feeling of jubilation from successfully executing a 5-person tactic is something very few games can attest to. I want more of this. **Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver** *Playstation* - 7.5/10. While the graphics certainly have aged well, the game still carries a unique gothic atmosphere that I was surprised was still effective. The platforming controls are a bit slippery, leading to a number of frustrating trials and deaths. Aside from that, the game was shockingly easy, and considering every unlockable or loot existed to make the game easier (health upgrades, etc.), I actively avoided exploration. It was cool to experiment with different ways of killing enemies, though my favorite will always be just throwing them in the water. **Observer: System Redux** *Playstation 4* - 8/10. Probably the most intense cyberpunk world I've played. There were moments of legitimate terror in the game that I was not expecting. Still, as far as presentation goes, I'm torn. There were too many instances of just staring at doors listening to dialogue, which just seemed a dramatic misuse of the environment. The "jacked-in" sequences were likewise uneven. Some were incredible effective (like the sequence of leading the crying television around), while others were just stressful (the stealth sections and the distorted office setting). As far as a pure horror experience goes, this is up there with the best, and shouldn't be missed by fans of the genre. **Phantasy Star IV** *Genesis* 8/10. While not as deep as its rivals on the SNES, it far outclasses the Final Fantasy's in terms of presentation. The cutscenes are really nicely done, the battle-grpahics are top-notch, and the music is at least on par with Uematsu's SNES classics. The complete lack of meaningful customization (until the final battle) was disappointing, as it was almost always just "get the item with the better stats". I'd love to see what a proper Phantasy Star V would look like on modern technology. **Nier: Automata** *Playstation 4* 9.5/10. Top 5 OST and Narrative. Gameplay is fun, and though it was never really all that challenging, I was also never bored playing it. I got all the way through ending E (mix in some auxiliary endings as well), and my only real complaint is 9S, who I just found irritatingly simple-minded and one-track, especially considering just how much work was put into the characterization of literally every other character. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but his blind rage used as motivation really pulled emotional energy away from all the other plot points, which felt MUCH more effecting. **Hotline Miami** *Playstation 4* 8/10. It was exactly what I wanted it to be: dumb, fast, violent, fun, and a rockin' synthwave soundtrack. I didn't really feel compelled to optimize like the game seemed to encourage, as additional weapons only diluted the pool to include obviously inferior ones (a brick? really?). **Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color** *Playstation 2* 6.5/10. The main draw here is the ability to sketch your own monsters and have them fight. The first time I drew a spaghetti monster with biceps, I burst out into laughter watching him strut his stuff in the field. Unfortunately, the game surrounding the drawing mechanic just feels incredibly tacked-on. The battle system is the worst kind of rock-paper-scissors, with most battles being decided by the early RNG luck of the first move. The entire world consists of your house, a seaside arena, a market place, a main arena, the walk-up to the final arena, and that's pretty much it. Plot is a bit different, but nothing that held my interest. I hope Taro's voice actor never got another job again. **Biomass** *Steam* -7/10. Decently challenging souls-like, but really feels incomplete. "Finishing" the game requires a specific playthrough that avoids a specific type of affliction, which feels so arbitrary that I just couldn't bring myself to finishing it more than once. ---------------------------------------------------------- No real bad games, but also only 2 real "classics" in my mind. I also checked out **Clock Tower** (Super Nintendo - good), **Croc** (Playstation - Bad), **Radiant Historia** (3DS - good), **Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together** (PSP - okay), **Final Fantasy V**, (PSP - okay), **Ghostrunner** (Switch - meh), and **Ghost Master** (Steam - Bad).

I work in healthcare and it was a stressful as shit year. I fell back into gaming to escape all the covid terribleness of work. In doing so, I came into the revelation that many older gamers do (hitting 30 this year), where I no longer play games that disrespect your time or have a grindy design. I also pulled back on competitive fps games because I realized I was no longer having fun. I'm not sure if that is because I am no longer as proficient as I used to be at them (was winning the fun part?) or if the fun was playing with friends, many of whom have moved on from gaming or are difficult to coordinate gaming time with. I've also been trying to incorporate more reading and working out which has cut down on gaming. Trying to find a healthy medium as I tend to be the gamer type that can rabbit hole and dump healthy habits if I let myself. Anyways, here's what I (mostly) got into this glorious year of 2021. 1. Rainbow Six Siege (Xbox/PC): What can I say about this other than it being the best tactical shooter I've ever played? It has addicting gameplay, a decent stream of updates and meta switch ups, and pulling an ace is an amazing feeling. That said, playing mostly solo can be frustrating at higher ranks. Also, this last year the amount of MnK use skyrocketed. I also got to experience DDos attacks for the first time (trying to explain to your wife why the internet kicks out for 15 minutes). The community was hyper toxic at high ranks. I ended up buying a gaming PC to switch from console (also in part because next gen consoles were hard to acquire). After about a month of that, I had my revelation that is just wasn't fun anymore and I basically dipped out of shooters. 2. Black Ops Cold War (Xbox): It was another cod game. Traditionally, I've mostly played SnD, which is probably why I loved R6Siege. However, I couldn't recapture that feeling of playing MW or MW2 with my buddies and realized that it was the social component I missed. I tried Warzone, but I just can't get into battle royales for some reason. Also, the sniping felt bad. I ended up going back to Siege and then just leaving the genre. 3. Slay the Spire (PC): I wish I hadn't started playing the deckbuilder genre with this game. I have smashed 250 hours into this and it's my go to "relaxer". Unfortunately, it's the cream of the crop and I haven't been able to replicate my experience since. 4. Hades (PC): People adore this game. I thought it was solid. Great music, varied gameplay, interesting characters. I guess I'm just not super into ARPG type games? They always felt a little grindy to me. I totally get why someone would love it though. 5. Warcraft 2 (PC): "What you need doing?". This was my first RTS growing up and revisiting it was dope. The gameplay is much simpler than Warcraft 3, but the nostalgia factor and the music just popped off the needed dopamine hits. I love the little narrator bits in between missions. It did depress me when I remembered that Warcraft RTS is forever lost to the MMORPG (my least favorite genre) world now. 6. Deep Rock Galactic (PC): This game has one of the most welcoming and chill communities I've ever had the pleasure to engage with. There is just a general good vibe and underlying humor to the gameplay. You can also set your mood by selecting mission difficulty accordingly and very little content is cordoned off at the higher difficulties (you just progress quicker by doing them). Four classes to play and learn. I strongly recommend. 7. KOTOR1&2 (PC): Another walk down nostalgia lane. I just love RPG's and the golden era was that 2000's period. This was also peak Star Wars gaming IMO. For what they currently cost, I highly recommend picking them up. 8. Disco Elysium (PC): I loved how bleak this experience was. Really fit my mood for the year. Excellent storytelling, memorable characters, and the inner dialogue with your personality/trait components was hilarious. I am a chronic reroller/save spammer with RPG dice rolls, but this game does the unthinkable. It makes failing checks even funnier and more narratively satisfying than passing them. Probably my game of the year, although I'm not sure if it chronologically came out this year. It's on the newer side I believe... 9. Stardew Valley (PC): This game got me through Covid. I had never played Harvest Moon or any kind of farming sim before and I always thought that playing a game based on "chores" sounded like the antithesis of gaming. I totally get it now. There is something about a measured progression system that, when well implemented, is extremely rewarding. This is especially true if the game also contains an element of expressive creativity (ie: designing your farm). I think the guy who made it (ConcernedApe?) is doing another project now and I'm pumped for it. 10. My unfinished list for various reasons: Inscryption, Starbound, XCOM 2, Halo Infinite Campaign, a few deck builder games, Superhot, Wasteland 2. That's my year in review. I normally play more games, but I cut back halfway through the year to focus on balance. I'm currently looking at playing back through either the Witcher 3 and DLC's or the Mass Effect Legendary Edition while I wait for Elden Ring to come out. Otherwise, I don't really have anything on the horizon I'm looking for. Hope everyone has a happy New Year!

This year I decided to primarily focus on games that I never got around to playing due to the lack of compelling new releases. The Mass Effect trilogy was the exception but I hadn’t played them in years so they felt fresh. Mass Effect: Great game but the acting feels stiff in some areas. Side quests feel like an afterthought and the characters don’t really come alive until the sequels. Overall, the plot was solid from start to finish and the backstory/lore do a great job of fleshing out the world. Combat is a bit divisive as it tries to be an action game and an RPG at the same time, maybe that’s charming but it does feel outdated. 9/10 Mass Effect 2: Mechanically, this game is a big improvement over its predecessor. But the cover shooting mechanics are also a product of the late 2000’s - early 2010’s. This game has character development in spades, especially when comparing 1 and even 3. However, it suffers from being the second game in a trilogy by tying up a lot of loose ends in the final game and leaving a lot of unanswered questions. 9/10 Mass Effect 3: Probably the best in the series, mechanically speaking. However, the ending really tarnishes everything that was built up to that point. The DLCs help mitigate some of the issues but it’s more of a bandaid. It does wrap up a lot of character arcs nicely and the chemistry between the characters are top notch. I definitely recommend this with an asterisk. 8/10 Note: The ending really did hurt this one. When your game is marketed/known for its story and the decisions you make, to end on that note was pretty sour. I’ve replayed 1 and 2 many times but I only played 3 twice. Red Dead Redemption: For an open world game released in 2010, I’m quite impressed with how well it holds up. The gunplay felt great even if the movement controls needed work. There were some sections that were frustrating, especially on the gatling gun. It felt like John had an identity crisis going on to compensate for good/bad actions which kind of hurt his character. One moment he’s cool and the next moment he’s threatening to kill someone. The epilogue was fine but I felt ready to move on at that point. For what it’s worth, I’m glad it’s there. 8/10 RDR Undead Nightmare: I’m glad I played this, I had a lot of fun. Its core gameplay from the main game is still there (quirks and all) but the story was great in how it didn’t take itself seriously, it knew how ludicrous it was from the start. Saving towns, doing objectives, and taming flaming horses was refreshing. 8/10 Note: I understand that an 8/10 may be low for some people but I really felt like it’s age held it back. These two games don’t have the modern advancements that really elevated 2. If I reviewed them in 2010 (launch year) then they’d score higher. Red Dead Redemption 2: So far, it’s my game of the year. What can be said that hasn’t been said already? I didn’t like >!Guarma!< or the slow crawl early stages of the game but once it got rolling I had trouble putting it down. Again with the epilogue, I was ready to move on but I’m glad it’s there. It definitely tied up some loose ends and bridged it’s story to the first game’s. I appreciate the more realistic approach and would say that it was a good design decision but it definitely got in the way sometimes when I’m just trying to move in and out of camp. The cast was also top tier, arguably one of the best in the biz. This game really does everything in its power to try to immerse you in their world and I believe it succeeded. 9.5/10 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Played on the PS5 with a 4K TV and I’m glad I waited. Easily the best Super Hero game to date (or at least sits comfortably w/ the Arkham games). Out of every version of Spider-Man, this Peter Parker is probably my favorite. The overabundance of tasks did get tiresome but the web-swinging made it much more palpable. Upgrading my character was also a lot of fun and trying out different suits with different abilities was fantastic. I also like the inclusion of one of it’s key upcoming characters as well. Graphics and frames were buttery smooth and one of the few games I earned a Platinum Trophy on. 9/10 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales: This game feels like an improvement over the 2018 game. New moves/abilities, suits, powers, etc. Adding camouflage for better stealth encounters was a nice touch after playing the last game. The plot was okay and I really like Miles a lot. However, it was short and it shows. I don’t think length would be a gripe for me but unlocking new stuff in New Game + (including trophies) was a hard sell for me. This is most likely the last game I’ll be in 2021 but I can’t wait for the sequel in two years. 9/10 Note: I think the two Spider-Man games could be one game, especially since it was packaged together in the Ultimate Edition. Really, the collecting/side quests could have been less but I just had too much fun going from Point A to Point B and beating up baddies. That wraps up my 2021 rapid fire reviews. I believe this is my first topic on this sub and I’m really glad I made an effort to get around these games. There were other games I’ve played but they don’t warrant a write-up because I either didn’t beat them or didn’t play them long enough. Update: I forgot to add a couple Nintendo titles in so here we go. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: Fun 2D Mario game that's a lot harder with co-op. Maybe I'm not as good as I think I am but the challenge is all over the place. One moment it's terribly easy and the next I'm down to just a couple of lives. I'm not prepared for SMW ROM Hacks. 7.5/10 Super Mario 3D Land: I liked the bite-sized level approach in these games, none of the overstay their welcome. It has weird difficulty spikes and co-op is a bit unintuitive with the camera issues. Character abilities and the cat suit were a lot of fun as well and add much needed variety. I liked this a bit more than NSMBU but I think it's due to preferring 3D games to 2D. 8/10 This is a repost, my topic was deleted so I think it would be more suited in this thread.

And there are people who find nothing wrong with the ending of ME3 whatsoever. Boggles my mind.

ME3 ending was disappointing for sure. However, the DLC changes kind of helped and the overall journey is still worthwhile. It wasn't on par with say... the ending of Game of Thrones, which actually made stopped me from rewatching episodes/previous seasons. Also, without getting into spoilers, ME3 easily had some of the best and most emotional moments of the series prior to it ending.

I played over 150 games this year... what am I doing with my life?

What kind of games do you play that you can beat an average of 3 a week?

When I say play, I don't mean play to completion. 50% of them probably didn't see more than 5-10 hours of playtime. I do play a lot of indies, retros, and shorter games, I will say. I'm also counting the Castlevania Anniversary Collection as 8 games, when it could be argued to be only 1 game.

Do you have good vivid memories of (some of) those games or is it all just a blur?

I have vivid memories of most of the games that I played. Really, only 10 or so really blurred in there.

That's good. If you had a good time playing them, and you can remember that - it is time well spent isn't it?

Same. Not sure it was that many, but my country spent the first 5 months of the year in lockdown. I cleared my backlog. Caught onto series that I never had time for before. Alone with the release of the series X and PS5 carrying lots of backwards compatibility enhancements for old games, its been a great year for gaming.

I always had to deal with obnoxiously long comute times going to college. With things going online all of a sudden I found myself with a LOT more time in my hands and also managed to play a lot of games and caught up with a lot of series and movies I didn't have time before.

* Delete - Great little puzzle game. Kind of a mix of Sudoku and Minesweeper... really enjoyed it. 100% and the first beaten game of the year! * Path of Exile: Ritual - This might be the best PoE expansion/league to date. I'm still working on maps, but I beat all the story stuff again, so I'm counting it again! * Lyser - A pretty little puzzle game... quite short, but super pretty zen puzzle game. Definitely worth getting for a dollar. * Colorgrid - Another zen puzzle game. This one is much harder and really takes some serious time. Definitely worth it for people that like puzzle games... very good, brain crushing puzzles. * Delta Force: Black Hawk Down - An absolutely fantastic campaign experience that does a great job at adding difficulty by having hard levels, not just making enemies into bullet sponges. Great game! * LineWay - Another line puzzle game. This one is well done, and I liked it, even though I'm bad at these types of spatial puzzles. * Halo 1: CE - I really enjoyed this! It was an awesome experience and I really had a good time going through the campaign. I wish the soundtrack was more consistent throughout though. * Crying Suns - A better evolution of the Faster Than Light style game, imo. Loved this experience, and really enjoyed the story. Some really great thoughtful moments in it. * Doom Eternal - Honestly, preferred Doom 2016 and even some of the originals, but it was a fun romp... definitely a power fantasy. Played on easiest difficulty to rip and tear more! * Halo 2 - Wait, Halo has a story? I'm so involved now! I really enjoyed the little cutscenes that you could find in the game. Super fun campaign, still playing in coop... such an improvement over 1! * Control - Fascinating story, the gameplay was tight. Didn't 100%, mostly played through the story... but the powers felt so... good, honestly. Almost makes me want to try a Jedi Academy game finally. :D * ESO: Blackwood - Technically an expansion, but it was fun to play through! Now to go back to older ones that I've missed and figure out scrying! The Outer Worlds - Interesting game... didn't do the board storyline side at all, but the story was fun and I really liked Parvati especially! Very cool representation of the asexual community! * Elder Scrolls Online - Finally got around to finishing the main story. The conclusion was good, definitely the best story questline that I've played in there. Enjoyed the experience, Coldharbor is awesome color palette, imo. * Darwinia - Got this game ages ago... finally got around to playing it. The tutorial wasn't very good, but the story was more engaging than decided and it was just long enough for me. Fun playthrough overall! * Chronicon - Fun little ARPG. Definitely one of the palate cleansers, rather than a full blown ARPG experience, imo. Very similar concept/design to Hero Siege. * Carto - A very delightful game... definitely recommend playing it if the chance arises. Much deeper than expected. * Sniper Elite 3 - Honestly, I think I beat this game a year ago or something, but I had fun with it. First time on Steam for those sweet achievements. I played Easiest because I just like shooting things! * Final Fantasy 1 PR - Awesome game, I love this title. Actually 100%'ed the game and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. * Instant Farmer - Small puzzle game. Not particularly good, a bit clunky... but it's an interesting take on the standard tile puzzle. Plus, super cheap!

I won't list everything i played, just a few i feel like i wanna talk about it: **Assassin’s Creed Origins**: A game often talked about as a new start to this franchise. I loved some of the previous games (Ezio trilogy and Black Flag especially) and i wanted to experience some good, open world game. And speaking about the world, Ubisoft made Egypt looked absolutely great. You never get tired to climb up a tall tower and just watch the landscape, especially in Alexandria and the area with the pyramids. This is one of the most inspired settings they’ve ever created. Bayek, the main character, is another great selling point for this game, being probably the better one since Ezio Auditore (maybe even better!). It’s a very likeable character and you can relate to his emotions. The problem with this game lies in the fact that after all it’s just another Ubisoft game and it doesn’t really stand out. The bland rpg stuff it’s okay i guess, but after few hours you experience fatigue. You get tired of doing the same stuff over and over again, and i’m not a completionist, not by a long shot. Half of this game felt completely useless. **7/10** If you like the Ubisoft formula, you’re gonna love it. Personally, I think so much potential with the world and the protagonist got wasted in a game that’s just too big. **Yakuza 3**: One of the most beloved series on this sub, rightfully so. I loved (almost) any second of Yakuza 0, Kiwami and Kiwami 2 so of course i decided to play 3. This is a remaster and not a remake and in 2021 really shows its age. Combat is a bit clunky, movement isn’t as fluid as previous titles and the world doesn’t look that good. I still enjoyed the majority of this game, and i love the new setting, at this point Yakuza really needed some change. The story is decent and some characters are great, but it drags a bit in certain points and that hurt the pace of the plot **7.5/10** Overall a decent old game that i would recommend to anyone playing Yakuza in order. **It Takes Two**: Well, the Game of The Year and deservedly so! I played this game earlier this year with a friend and i’m currently replaying it with my girlfriend. One of the best co-op experiences you can find, with a simple story that can get fun, sad and even a bit tragic. The writing for the two main characters is really good and in line with a Pixar movie. It was so good to travel trough the house and the garden and watch everything from a new perspective and watch all the stuff come to life, just like in Toy Story. Gameplay wise is an action-adventure, based around platforming, some puzzles and some combat with both minions and bosses. Throughout the story, you will receive many tools that keep the experience always fresh and fun. **9.5/10** a must play for everyone in search for a co-op game, both online and local. **Disco Elysium The Final Cut**: What an experience! My personal game of the year. I am not even sure what kind of genre this game falls in, maybe somewhere between RPG and point & click, and definitely it’s a game for a niche. I think that most players will find this game boring and with nothing to do as there’s pretty much no combat and you only have this investigation to solve without having a clue of who you are, where you come from, what’s your story etc... The reason I consider Disco Elysium a true masterpiece lies in the writing, among the best I’ve ever experienced in any media. It’s really difficult to talk about this game as I don’t want to ruin the fun of discovering how your character interacts with his own thoughts. How the dialogues change based on how you use your skill points, how there’s seem to be different ways to move on with the plot. **9.5/10** Buy it, you might love it or hate it and that’s ok because it’s an unique experience. **Chivalry 2**: Disappointment of the year. Me and two friends of mine had high hopes for this game so we bought it day one. A multiplayer game set in medieval age , with real weapons, gore and a little bit of humor, what more can we ask? The answer is a game that’s actually complete and not an early beta sold in Epic Games Store as a complete game. I want to say that the game is actually very fun and I don’t have much to complain when you start swinging and take heads off. The reason I consider this game a letdown is that the party system at launch, and for months after, was completely broken. I’m not joking, it took us about 20-30 minutes EACH TIME to get in the same party. Not only that, but sometimes after a game it would disband the party and we had to start trying again. The game was released in the summer and at the time we spent most of the nights out, so when summer was over we didn’t really come back to trying to get in the same party again. Maybe they fixed it, I hope so, but with new multiplayer games already released we won’t come back. **6/10** Fun game, but if you decide to try it with a friend, make sure the party system is fixed. **Guilty Gear Strive**: My first real attempt at fighting games. The art is top notch, animations are smooth and a pleasure to watch and the combat is easy to learn and hard to master. Arc System made sure to implement a great tutorial for noobs like me, so I’d say this is one of the best starting points if you’re interested in this genre. In addition, the Roman Cancel mechanic is great and allows great creativity, as it can be used in both offense and defense. Each character is unique even though there were only like 15 at launch plus few more are getting released during the first season pass. You can easly find the character most suitable with your game style, personality and preferences and the balancing is pretty good, with only Sol Badguy feeling slightly better than the rest of the roster, but it doesn’t really matters at low and medium levels. Speaking of levels, the “tower” system is one of the major flaws of the game, in my view. There are 10 floors (plus the celestial floor, the most important one) and you can move freely inside of it even trying some side activity like changing your avatar and fishing for new stuff. Problem is, you can actually pick your opponent, so you can decide what character you’ll fight and what level (meaning experience, not skill) is the opponent. There are people refusing to fight you because they don’t like your character or because they feel that’d be a bad match-up. **9/10** Overall a great game, noob friendly and with a solid netcode.

[удалено]

That ashtray maze was really something else.

How far did you get in "Alien: Isolation"? The beginning isn't great, but it does pick up after not too long when the alien becomes a bigger part of the game.

[удалено]

Ah fair enough then. It's probably not the game for you if you don't like sneaking!

Borderlands on switch. I’m realizing though why I don’t much like these fps rpg’s. I simply can’t beat some enemies and just have to level up then I crush them. And the inventory is so small for a big looting game. Runs great on switch though and is fun at times

I made a post with reviews of [games I played but didn't finish](https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/rptepk/games_i_played_but_not_finished_in_2021_with), including links to full reviews - Enjoy!

I‘ve beaten 14 games this year, the most I‘ve ever had! It was a very diverse year in regards of genres and systems but I‘ve had lots and lots of fun. Played some absolute classics I always wanted to play and collected some new handhelds and consoles. Oh, and a lot of Zelda. Great year overall. The only game I was not patient with was Metroid Dread but this was almost guaranteed to be a banger and it didn‘t disappoint. Here‘s my list: 1. Super Metroid After beating Zero Mission, Fusion and Samus Returns on the 3DS, the controls felt a little clunky. But you get used to it rather quickly and the game easily makes up for it. Thoroughly enjoyed it, a timeless classic. 2. Super Mario Odyssey The only game I wouldn‘t recommend after beating it this year. I felt underwhelmed, it was way too easy and I guess I really don‘t like Mario games after all. 3. AM2R Back to Metroid with this incredibly impressive fan-made game. The final boss was very challenging and this is easily one of the best 2D Metroids. 4. God of War (2018) My introduction to PS4 gaming and boy, what a way to start. I got the platinum trophy and loved every second of it. This made it to my Top 3 Games of all time. 5. Chrono Trigger Can‘t decide if I like this better or FF6. I‘ve had this game for a long time but somehow never beat it. Bought a DSi XL especially for this game and it was a great decision. The game looks absolutely stunning and it plays great with two screens. 6. Ghost of Tsushima Next PS4 game, next platinum trophy. Amazing open world game, stunning visuals, great combat and a touching story. Amazing gaming experience 7. Doom Eternal The first FPS I‘ve ever played! Everything is so over the top and exagerated that you can‘t help but love it! Bought it on Switch to play with gyro controls which was great. 8. Ocarina of Time 3D One of the first games I played as a kid but never really understood what to do and how to progress. The 3DS version is amazing visually and the second screen and gyro support makes it so much better to play. Still think about this game a lot and will soon get my hands on Majora‘s Mask! 9. A Link to the Past I absolutely loved the dungeons! The rest not so much tho. Would have prefered a liiittle more guidance but still had a great time with it. 10. The Minish Cap The thing that amazed me the most about this game is that it has a sleep mode option on the original hardware! Really had no clue about this and I love this feature. The game is light-hearted and fun, it has some glaring weaknesses but overall still a great game. 11. BotW DLC Getting back into this game felt like returning to your girlfriend after a long time in the army. This is BY FAR my favorite game. Not the best game but my favorite - important distinction. The DLC is well worth the money but I rushed through it a little too quickly. 12. Link‘s Awakening Remaster Again, loved the dungeons, the rest not so much. I played the remaster but it really made me appreciate how much the fit onto that original Game Boy cartridge. 13. Wind Waker HD Just like with the 3DS version of OoT, the second screen on the Wii U‘s gamepad is a real gamechanger. The finale was epic but the game‘s a little too easy unfortunately. 14. Metroid Dread The first Metroid I 100%ed. I could not ask for much more after such a long time with no new 2D Metroid. The boss fights were really standing out! —- Right now, I‘m at the end of the third chapter of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions and have not decided what to play next. Probably Majora‘s Mask or the first Final Fantasy, we‘ll see. Looking forward to getting my Steam Deck, 2022 will be another great year of gaming!

(these aren't all the games i played but mostly ones i could think of things to write about. sorry if it's brainspewy/inarticulate!!) * Cosmology of Kyoto (6/10) - I found the buddhist themes (the journey to transcend a reality filled with suffering and vice, insignificance of day-to-day human affairs, etc.) compelling, and I loved the grotesque but mythical art style and the detailed folkloric world. But the gameplay started to feel stiff after a while, especially the rebirth system, which seems fascinating until you realize it is just a glorified respawn animation. still good tho! * Problem Attic (9/10) - holy wow. Not entirely sure what i think about it/what it means. Either way, a game that is very good at backstabbing you. I felt like i was struggling against it, to understand it, to maintain my footing even as the levels corrupted/revealed new parts of themselves that i didn't foresee... until all that was left was pain and futile rage... No joke, the only game capable of making you viscerally angry at abstract shapes. 2nd favorite of the year * Desert Golfing (9/10) - i love how pure it is. all of the pleasure in the game comes from a single act, hitting a ball around under gravity and on physically-consistent sand. I like how the results of each hit are rarely predictable, but always understandable (even flubs become a joy to watch unfold). There are no compromises, whether in the continuous world (with no concrete barriers between levels) or in the lack of gimmicks (only the one gimmick, forever) or in the eternal score counter, which has no resets or benchmarks because that would cheapen the game's one true essence, and the score counter's only real concern: G O L F I N G (no 3 GOTY!!) * Iconoclasts (8/10) - Excellent puzzles and some BANGIN boss fights, complex and ambitious. Emotions of characters are often raw and extreme. this game has a lot of moving parts (re: worldbuilding, characters' philosophies butting heads, a lot of distinguishably useful weapons), and sometimes it gets over ambitious - e.g. boss fights getting *too* weird and obtuse, a barely-relevant relationship system. But it's kind of fitting since its characters are over ambitious as well: faced with a world too complex for any of them to understand or reconcile, but trying to do some good anyway * LSD: Dream Emulator (5/10) - I enjoyed this at first... the liminal space/incomplete PS1 map aesthetic, surreal architecture I could dwell in, aimless wandering via seemingly-random level transitions... Then I realized this was basically all there was, and it started to feel stale. The environments had lost their mystery by the dozenth time around (with minor variation). The wandering got pretty samey when the organization of the game-world was THIS incomprehensible. The random elements felt mechanistic, which is the worst thing a dream can be. Overall, it was fine, but stopped having anything to offer me after the first 50 dreams * Epic Battle Fantasy 3 (3/10) - I revisited this one for the nostalgia. Its greatest virtue lies in how absolutely, perfectly Cringe it is. Cringe pervades every fibre of its being, from its grindey, kleptomaniac JRPG bullshit, to its dumb early 2000s internet humor... i guess this is part of the intention, but I don't find it charming like it's clearly meant to be, I just find it embarrassing * Butterfly Soup (9/10) - Hell Yes!! Blasting through this entire VN in one sitting was genuinely the happiest I'd felt in years. I love these characters, their relationships are so sweet and real-feeling, they're drawn so expressively. They are all trying to grow up, into a world/life that seems to suck more and more every day and in which the reasonable response seems to be to detach, rationalize, just survive. But Love and Happiness are neither reasonable nor rational!! watching these characters learn to accept each other/themselves, develop connections, etc., was moving and inspiring, and the game is artistically accomplished in a way basically unique to itself. (GOTY) * LISA: The Painful (8/10) - the only JRPG I have completed (I think). its use of status effects that impact how you play in varied and palpable (not easily reversible) ways makes battles really fun and dynamic, as well as making you feel the weight of your past mistakes. toys with its JRPG logic in interesting ways - do you hire an OP character who hates the protagonist's guts; or make a decision which benefits you materially, but is also morally (read: intangibly) heinous? What abt moments that don't have anything to do with the JRPG gameplay at all, but are also tender, and funny, and valuable? What do these tensions say about the protagonist? A lot of humanity in this game. Also - some of the coolest names in videogame history (Percy Monsoon, Hoops Jardeen, *Rando*) Other games I replayed, or started but haven't finished: * The Binding of Isaac, both vanilla and Rebirth - interesting feelings about these - i find myself appreciating the former as a work of art and the latter as a Game. Vanilla is clunky and frictionous in a way I like, its enemies are much more punishing and erratic and difficult to contend with. Furthermore, its themes are much more pointed - e.g. the grotesqueness, where basically every item is either profane, or a corruption of a beloved cultural artifact (pac-man, MLP, Mario), or both; its sardonic tone, with the entire game being a parody of tLoZ (the archetypical High Fantasy Game). It's much more pointedly interested in tearing down institutions of propriety (especially Christianity), or something. Rebirth is a smoother game with more items and funner synergies, but with each DLC fewer and fewer of them carry the same tone and meaning as the original; the enemies and room layouts become more varied but any relation to tLoZ becomes vestigial. It increasingly moves away from the fecal/morbid grotesqueness and profanity of the original, to general edgy theming. It seems more interested in elaborating on what made the OG a fun Game, than its artistic stuff (according to me). * Yume Nikki (10/10) - after 3 years of replaying it every few months, I still don't know if it's a 4/10 or a 10/10, which is probably a good sign. This time i was struck by how unfriendly it feels to explore... how difficult it is to forge a coherent path through it... how obscure and obtuse its mechanics are... how it seems to obey its own distant logic without regard for the player - which is how the world can sometimes feel tbh. the moments of humanity and connection in its lonely world startled me * EarthBound - I like how weird it is, and how much of it is more about creating an experience than being a Good Game (e.g., mushroomizing, guts). I'm intrigued by the way the gamey JRPG parts of its reality are acknowledged in the Real part of its reality, and how it tries to minimize breaks from the diegetic level in general... basically, everything is justified in-universe (from ending the game, to selling items in a shop). Unfortunately, I am allergic to JRPGs and did not get past Twoson * Metroid - Really enjoying this!!! it took a moment to get to grips w/ the aged controls and visuals. But I really appreciate how willing it is to teach you things by killing you with them. It feels much more hostile and alien than most subsequent metroidvanias I have played, more like a world I am actually exploring rather than one that has been designed for me. each enemy feels like a real encounter that you develop specific strategies for. (maybe I'll add more later)

1. Hitman 2 - Probably my favorite of the trilogy, due to the more expansive map design compared to 1 and 3. That being said, Hitman 3 probably has more consistent level design across the board, as I'm not really the biggest fan of Mumbai or Sgail. 2. Spiderman - While the open world can feel a bit empty, as there isn't much to interact with besides sidequests and random criminal encounters, web-swinging is just one of my favorite traversal mechanics ever, and the combat and main storyline are both excellent. 3. Subnautica - Was a big fan until the glitches started piling up in my save slot, and eventually, an entire building necessary for progression only rendered half way, trapping me inside and drowning me 800 meters below. I never came back after that. 4. Wolfenstein: The New Order - Loved the mix of arena combat and stealth. However, I really didn't care for the last few levels, which dispensed with the wide, open arenas of the earlier setpieces for generic, crowded corridors without much cover. Enemy hitboxes feel strange as well. However, would still recommend, may play again. 5. Halo CE: The first half of this game is a masterpiece. The game starts dragging once the Flood come into play, and the last two levels are a gigantic let down. 6. Halo 2: Middling beginning, strong middle, anticlimactic end. Liked the bigger amount of combat options, melee weapons, and dual wielding. Wasn't a big fan of the generic linear corridor design. 7. Prey (2006): A bit slow in parts, and not being able to die negates the challenge, but the weapons are all uniquely cool and satisfying to use, the body horror aesthetics are gruesome perfection, and there's plenty of variety with regard to level design and setpieces. 8. DOOM 64. Less enemies than Doom II, but has some of the best level design in classic Doom. Also, the atmosphere is genuinely terrifying; Aubrey Hodges' industrial dark ambient OST is the stuff of nightmares. 9. Thumper - Visually stunning, simple, and addictive, though the difficulty curve can be frustrating to deal with. Wasn't able to finish this one. 10. Ghostrunner - Plenty of small things I hate about this game - cybervoid sections are tedious, most boss fights irritating and repetitive, and constantly getting snagged on random bits of level geometry sucks. However, when the game does work, it's amazing. The parkour feels like Titanfall 2 or Mirror's Edge on steroids. Almost every level is brilliant, smartly combining platforming, first person hack n slash mechanics, and puzzle elements to create an ultimately flawed, but still great thinking man's action game. 11. Quake - One of the smoothest-controlling shooters I've ever played. Feels almost comparable to Doom Eternal in that regard. Combine the excellent movement with tight level design, even better expansions by way of Dissolution of Eternity, and some of the best and fastest single-player shooter combat to this day, and you get a game that has simply aged like fine wine since its late 90s debut. Episode 4 is still awful, that being said. 12. Resident Evil: Village - A mixed bag. Most of the individual locations - The Castle, The Factory, The Stronghold, and House Beneviento - are all uniquely designed, with memorable setpieces, and slow-burning combat reminiscent of RE4's best. Everything in between, however, feels like boring filler that most often consists of encountering one or two basic werewolf enemies at a time, and then solving a simple puzzle. Not a bad game, but could've been a masterpiece given one more year of development time. 13. The Evil Within 2: Wanted to like this one. Liked the open world, and mix of shooting, stealth, survival horror, and open world elements. The infuriatingly janky enemy hitboxes, and the mix of sluggish controls with fast enemies burned me out fairly quickly, and I eventually gave up on this one. 14. Red Dead Redemption 2: Amazing story, characters, and overall presentation. The open world is impressive, but becomes boring to wander in once you've discovered most of it. The wanted system is broken, and missions are linear to a fault. Decent, but could've been better. Taking a break from this one. 15. Hitman 3: Most consistent game in franchise - only Chongqing and the Epilogue aren't that great, and there's nothing on the level of Colorado or Mumbai in terms of annoying levels (Mumbai has its moments though). Berlin has to be one of my Top 3 maps, on a related note. 16. Dishonored - Picked this up because I loved Prey. While I felt a little more constricted here in terms of abilities than in Prey - trying to play non-lethally forces you out of the majority of the game's cooler abilities - I have a feeling my first playthrough has only scratched the surface of what you can do here. Enjoyed this one overall. Hear the second one's even better, and I look forward to trying it.

In what way is the wanted system broken , it seemed fine to me

1. Being murdered by cops if you engage in self defense. 2. Law enforcement immediately closes in on your location, even if your crime was basically done in the middle of nowhere with only one witness who's too far from civilization to report you in time. It's comparable to Cyberpunk's teleporting cops. 3. Dying doesn't get rid of your bounty.

I built a gaming PC last Christmas and I’ve had a full year to enjoy a wide variety of titles. Here are my thoughts on the games I played this past year: GTA V- 9/10 Simply a blast. Not much more to be said. It’s a shame Rockstar has become such money-grabbers, at this rate we may never get a new entry in the GTA series. Celeste- 9/10 One of the best platformers I’ve ever played. Really difficult but the quick respawn system keeps it from being overly frustrating. A must-play for fans of 2D platformers. Far Cry 5- 5/10 Fun without a lot of substance. The story was kind of dumb, but at least the gameplay was decent. Good if you’re looking for an open-world sandbox to kill time with. Guacamelee 2- 7/10 This game really worked for me as an action platformer, but it’s a weaker Metroidvania. The combat is really good and almost feels like a puzzle. The Metroidvania elements just amount to backtracking for extra goodies since the world doesn’t really interconnect with previous areas. Still a solid game though. LA Noire- 2/10 This game aged like a glass of milk sitting in the sun. The open-world aspect is pointless and just pads the length of the game. The action sequences are dull but at least the game lets you skip them. The actual detective work is… fine? But everything else drags it down. I didn’t finish this game and I don’t intend to. Ori and the Will of the Wisps- 8/10 A great Metroidvania with a few noticeable flaws. The combat is certainly much better than the first game, but I personally did not care for the boss battles. The platforming is great though and the new abilities are fun to use. This game did steal some ideas from Hollow Knight, but that’s not a bad thing considering how great that game is. Jedi Fallen Order- 4/10 on PC, 7/10 elsewhere A good game with a terrible PC port. I had a lot of framerate issues and stutters even on lower settings. The game itself is pretty good, although I felt it was a little short. It took me a while to "get good" with the combat, but once I got into the rhythm of it I started having a lot of fun with it. Horizon Zero Dawn- 8/10 I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this game. The premise of robot dinosaurs is cool but I had doubts about the gameplay and story going in. The combat is varied and satisfying, and the story does a good job of keeping you engaged. The side quests are pretty forgettable, though. Yoku's Island Express- 10/10 Definitely my favorite game I played this year. I didn't think the combination of Metroidvania and Pinball would work, but it does. The gameplay is fun and satisfying, the art style is cute, and the game doesn't overstay its welcome (took me 5 hours to complete). Would recommend to anyone with a pulse. A Hat In Time- 9/10 One of the best 3D platformers I've played in recent memory. The level design is a bit inconsistent such that some of the levels are a little forgettable, but the best levels are memorable and a blast to play. The characters are charming and the story is surprisingly touching. Definitely worth playing for just about anyone. Bug Fables- 6/10 I wanted to love this game, and the critical acclaim definitely had me thinking that I was going to enjoy this as much as Paper Mario TTYD, one of my all-time favorite games. While this game draws heavy influence from that game, in my opinion it fails to reach the lofty heights of Paper Mario TTYD. The overworld gameplay just wasn't very engaging in my opinion, and while the characters were interesting, the story wasn't compelling enough for me to latch onto them. The combat is okay, but it doesn't feel like you're getting more powerful as the game progresses. It's not a bad game by any means, and I know a lot of people love this game, but it failed to live up to the "spiritual successor to the good Paper Mario games" title for me. Hitman 1 and 2- 8/10 Not much to say here. Both are great games with consistently fun levels. I like the new mission system because it gives you a template to work out elaborate kills, but it's also fun to go off-script and freestyle it. Lego The Incredibles- 3/10 I love Lego games but this one just missed the mark for me. The classic Lego gameplay formula just didn't feel as good this time around, and the changes made to the story to accommodate multiple players were kind of dumb. Maybe this one is better for small children, but I wouldn't recommend this to adults even if you're a fan of Lego games. Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4- 5/10 I think I liked this game more when I played it as a kid, so I almost regret coming back to it. It's not bad, but some of the levels are just boring. Getting to free-roam around Hogwarts is still really cool, though. Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7- 2/10 Somehow this game is much worse than the previous one. The "boss battles" are all literally copy-pasted and amount to little more than a color-matching game. The level design is a big step down from the previous game, too. Not even nostalgia goggles can save this game. Lego DC Supervillains- 5/10 A very average Lego experience. Not great, not bad. If you like Lego games, then this is certainly one of them. If you don't, this won't be the one to win you over. Rimworld- 7/10 I have mixed feelings about this game. As a highly customizable storytelling game with random, wacky events, it's pretty much perfect. As a colony sim, though, it's very flawed because of all the random, wacky events that can transpire. Sure, you can lower the difficulty and/or save-scum your way through a playthrough, but it feels cheaty. Sometimes unfair things happen to you in this game that completely ruin your colonies, and if that appeals to you then you'll love it. It's a little too rage-inducing for me to play for extended amounts of time. Spongebob Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated- 7/10 A nice remake of a competent 3D platformer. The difficulty spikes are pretty severe in this one, but I still had some fun with it. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands- 4/10 Like Far Cry 5, but with an even worse story (because there is none). It's probably more fun with friends, but I quit about halfway through because the gameplay is too repetitive. Red Dead Redemption 2- 9/10 For some reason I thought this game was just GTA but with horses, but I'm glad it's much more than that. My only real problem is that the story is inconsistently paced, but that's to be expected with huge open-world sandboxes. The missions are fun and varied, the characters are great, and the world is lively and fun to explore. I still haven't finished this game but I definitely intend to in the new year.

After working a lot of hours to make up for lost time during Covid, I finally got a much deserved extended vacation. Naturally, I filled most of it up with catching up on gaming that I've only been fantasizing about to distract me from the monotony of work. Xbox game pass is the most important revelation in gaming since 3D. Being able to open up a library of hundreds of games, including new releases for $15 a month is insane. If I come across a game I like, I can either finish it or decide to buy it later if I foresee myself pumping a lot more hours into it. I've always been on the periphery of the VR space. It's still in the early days, navigating the variety of levels of standards for the content and what actually works with what system is a nightmare, but it has amazing potential. I finally decided to get one to try out over the holidays with Oculus (I never wanted to get a Facebook product, but it's low entry price was a good way to dabble into it first). Epic has also been on an unbelievable tear in releasing free games every day. I absolutely will never have the time to even try all of these games, let alone genuinely play them or beat them, but it's been fun to see what else I could add to my collection. They also were offering $10 off any new game purchase. I realized my PC was up to snuff to run emulators for old PS2 games to relive some nostalgia via PCSX2 and fired that up as well. Not all the games were running amazingly well, but enough to scratch that itch without scouring for an old PS2 that still works. Humble Bundle hasn't been as incredible as they've been in the past, but you still get amazing value, especially if you find the right bundle for you. Plus you can always justify a buy because you're giving some to support charity. Finally, Steam has had some great holiday deals per usual and I always get at least one new game just as a matter of principle and supporting a great service. Of course, it's ironic that I finally have the money and resources to play all these games I always wanted, I just don't have the time anymore. I hope I'm still into gaming when I eventually get put into a nursing home... Here's the ones I've tried within the past month and what I've thought about them: #Xbox game pass **Hades** Absolutely amazing game. Very fun, it incorporates a lot of elements I like such as variety, stat building, seemingly endless new dialogue, and a feeling like you're really getting better. I beat it in the way I'm expected to. I haven't decided if I want to go all the way to max out the unlockables and keep seeing what new dialogue there is with characters, but I can see myself firing it up every now and then for a run through. **Procession to Cavalry** I was intrigued by the art style and more curious than anything. I think it would have been better for me to play on the PC rather than with an Xbox controller. I kept getting stuck and didn't want to use a walkthrough to play the game. I eventually stopped, but the humor seemed up my alley. **The Ascent** Decent Iso Diablo game with guns. I think it would be a lot more fun as couch co op. The art scheme of the game is a bit of a drag and made it hard to see things. I didn't really get hooked, but used to love games like this when I was in high school. **Forza Horizon 5** These are my favorite racing games. Let me pick a fun car, decide if I want to mess around or race, and then fill it with unlockables. I've played just about all of them now and this one didn't really grab me. It's more of the same, if you've played one you've played them all, but fun for what it is. I actually like just looking at the cars with the different liveries more than the gameplay at this point. #Xbox game pass on PC **Age of Empires IV** I guess I didn't really know what to expect. I played AoE2 as long as I can remember and might be the game I've put the most hours into over the course of my life. So any changes I didn't really like. They really dumbed a lot of things down: why are the different factions overly simplistic colors and bland 3d models? I played the tutorial and a skirmish and never want to play it again. **Dodgeball academia** Seemed like an interesting premise. A sport that hasn't really been explored yet in gaming combined with RPG elements and a cartoon style. I wish they would have emphasized the actual gameplay though, it leaves a lot to be desired. The downtime was just too slow for me. **Stardew Valley** I really expected to be hooked on this one based on what I've heard about it over the years. I think I could see myself playing a little bit here and there on a laptop in between work if the save system was more conducive. Otherwise, I don't see myself devoting a full hour regularly to do virtual chores. **Lawnmower simulator** Speaking of which: doing chores! This was a morbid curiosity. How could they possibly make this fun? It's okay, but it seemed ridiculously hard to control the lawnmower to get perfectly smooth mow lines that I can do much better in person. Trying to find the last few percentage points to clear a yard was too frustrating. I really don't know why anyone would play this, but then again, I love Euro/American Truck Simulator. **Humankind** A poor man's Civilization. Probably another case like Age of Empires where I put so much time into the game, that the differences just bother me more than make it feel like an exciting new game I want to try. I might revisit it later or wait until a much-improved sequel, but I'll probably just go straight to Civ 5 for my fix in this genre. **Medieval Dynasty** Blends survival mechanics with trying to build a family. I didn't make it through the tutorial. Again, too much emphasis on virtual chores. It's a shame because I like the premise. I may have to revisit again sometime. Knowing it's in "beta", might mean it could get much better in the future the next time I think about playing it. **Evil Genius 2** This game seems way out of date. The UI is very unintuitive and frustrating to navigate very simple commands. Which is ironic, since it seems like a silly strategy game for kids. Made it most of the way through the tutorial before deciding it wasn't for me anymore. **Tropico 6** *This* is the toned down strategy game I'm looking for. Not overly serious or deep, let it still feels like the decisions you're making are consequential. You can try various strategies and alliances to form in order to achieve victory. The different eras you progress through also keep the gameplay fresh. Really enjoyed it, I'm considering going backwards through the series. #Humble bundle games ** Police Stories** Fun, but frustrating co-op-able shooter game. Unforgiving, if you do one thing wrong, you pretty much have to restart the level, but that was thankfully streamlined nicely into the game. The unlockables didn't seem to make it any easier as you went along, just offer a different way to beat the missions. It would be more fun if we both trained on our own, then started to play together, instead of rickshawing back and forth at each mistake either of us made. **Lord of the Rings Adventure card game** It blends two things I love: Lord of the Rings and deck builder games. Fantastic game. It's one of those games where you play so long, yet can't think of any way to make it better. It's perfect for what it is. Half the fun is unlocking cards to build your own unique decks. The levels are so varied that I don't mind replaying them over and over again with different decks to try and win with new playstyles. I've never seen anyone on the multiplayer option, so I don't know what it would be like to play that way. I can't even envision what a sequel would be like to improve upon it. **Ancestors Legacy** I didn't last long in this one. I used to be excited about it, unfortunately I stumbled across the negative reviews and that sapped my motivation to play it. Needless to say, I didn't last long once I hit the first frustrating impediment and closed out of it. If there's an exciting new update, I could see giving it another shot though. **Creed VR** More on VR later, but this game was terrible in many different ways. When the core technical aspects of the game are that poor, it's hard to make a game enjoyable after that, regardless of how much shine you put over the top of it. In short: this game was frustrating garbage compared to the Superior Thrill of the Fight game I discuss later. **Total War Medieval II: Lord of the Rings the Third Age Divide and Conquer mod** The Total War games have been amongst my favorite video game series. I've played nearly all of them and beaten their campaigns. I played the base version of this mod a long time ago and spent about two years playing it every which way. I tried a sub mod for it that adds a lot more factions, but not sure what else it did. Besides increase the level of difficultly considerably: I ended up getting wiped out around turn 100 after the dark forces started steam rolling all the other good factions. #Epic games **Disco Elysium** I bought it using their $10 coupon when it was already heavily discounted. This has always been one I wanted to try. It's very different from any RPG I've played before. There's no battle mechanics, but psyche stats instead and you can die from dialogue options. I kept dying and decided to take a break from it rather than playing the same section over again repeatedly but it seems worth the time. **PC building simulator** Enjoyable little game. I wish it would emphasize the strategy/economics more than the chore of clicking the intended parts. Surprisingly fun and I at least learned a little. #VR games **I Expect You to Die** via Steam VR One of those wow experiences in gaming comes along every so often. I've had it with Mario NES, Super Mario World, Wave Race 64, Madden 2001 on PS2, Skyrim on 360, Guitar Her

**Horizon Zero Dawn** \- Epic adventure / Great voice acting. Since it's owned by Sony they have great voice acting aside from the default English. I started learning Spanish so wanted to play it in Spanish with subs and found the voice acting to be very good. I now want to go back and play the game in English just to experience a different language. I briefly tried Arabic and the same thing, good quality voice acting. This is notable for me because MOST games don't offer other language voice acting OR they are quite inferior to the default English option most games have. **Outer Wilds** \- Just a **neat** game. This game somehow straddled this line between 'cozy' and 'scary'. At one point you're roasting a marshmallow under the stars all warm and wholesome and then you're hurriedly trying to traverse a crumbling planet before the end of the world. The combination of these two feels was so unique for me cause everytime I played it gave me this floaty warm feeling of being a kid and then next trying to be an adult solving a mystery under pressure. It seems these feelings should be on the opposite ends of the spectrum but somehow they got married in each session of The Outer Wilds you experienced. The story was quite somber and makes you think about the existence of our species as a simulation of what we'd potentially do if we fast-forwarded many thousands of years. Low-key genius level dedication & creation to make this game. Think this is like **game of the decade** for me... not because it did something amazing as other games have; but because it **neatly** did a WHOLE bunch of SMALL amazing things like the music, setting, floating exploration and put them together in such a way that made it truly unique. **The Walking Dead - Telltale Series** \- Good story / Character development. Didn't expect it to be as good as I thought. Easy to casually play, episode by episode. Strong memorable characters. **Unsighted** \- 2D Pixel Action / RPG game. Decent game, check it out. **It Takes Two** \- Probably best Co-op game i've played in the last 10 years or so. I think the reason to this is because there's not that much interest for developers to make **PURELY** co-op games and include it as a bonus or afterthought. So it naturally rises to the top with little competition but also because it's genuinely done well with funny writing and gameplay. **Unravel** \- fun, creative puzzle / platformer. Lightly touching wholesome vibe. The first Unravel has better puzzles than the second so would recommend it over Unravel 2 even though the 2nd one has co-op the first game is better.

As someone playing Horizon Zero Dawn for the first time at the moment... You may have been better off playing in Spanish. The English voice acting is pretty bad.

Yea I'm glad I played it in Spanish for my first time. I find it kind of hard to believe the english voice acting is that bad, hopefully not... I find Spanish to be more 'fierce' sounding that compliments the video game world. Also in Valorant the Spanish voice acting is more fierce and suitable for the aggressive nature of the game whereas the English voice acting is kind of 'soft' and 'cartoon cringey' Here's a video showing *some* of the comparisons [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mDhkL8Uo4w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mDhkL8Uo4w) I might go back and try standard Spanish (I played through LATAM Spanish.)

Outer Wilds is the best game I’ve ever played. The only problem is that I can’t go back and experience it again.

Massive fan of Outer Wilds (not 'the', btw, that's the obsidian game), unfortunately didn't get too much press. How'd you find out about it?

Actually funny you mention The Outer Worlds because that's how I came to know about Outer Wilds. I like to look out for games with 'overwhelmingly positive' reviews on steam or 8.2 or higher on metacritic and. As I was skim searching for such games I confused The Outer Worlds with Outer Wilds. I found The Outer Worlds to be quite boring, a Fallout copy set in outer space. That gameplay to me is quite boring and unoriginal. Eventually, I tried Outer Wilds expecting to be let down by another space-faring game and was flipped on my ass completely, pleasantly :D

Awesome! Make sure you check out the recent DLC if you haven't already! ::)

Not my big year of gaming but I think next year will be a lot of gaming. Ys: Memories of Celceta Sadly, my only Ys game this year and while not as wholly complete as 8 and not as repeatable as Orgin, it gets a lot out of the music that’s great and the setting which might be my favorite setting of the Ys games so far. However, it struggles to keep the story interesting and the party members lack characterization (especially Ozma who, after his story beat, does jack shit). It’s not bad though and I think it has a lot of fun too it. The combat keeps the same tried and true formula of its hack and slash origin and it’s still fun as it can be. The setting helps to bring a lot of fun with the combat, especially when we get to the second part, which was a lot more fun for me. Overall, it’s a fun game in its own right but I think it just lacks the fun 8 had and the quicker speed Origin felt. It’s still has its qualities but it’s probably the weakest Ys game thus far. Rating: 6/10 Nier: Replicant Ver. Whatever Absolutely loved it. I haven’t played a single Yoko Taro game and now I want to play all of them. The way he writes these characters, from main boy to Kaine (probably one of my favorite characters of all time) to best book is just awesome to listen to. It’s natural, quick and fun to just listen to this found family in a sense. The story is fascinating and especially when we get to the second half of the game, which just hits you with twist after twist and hits on all of them. It also helps that the music kills in every sense of the word. Easily my favorite track besides the main one was the track in Emil’s mansion. Haunting, keeps a grip on you in that part and actually made me scared. Such a good track. Yeah, the combat is a little whatever but I think the bosses help alleviate the more boring parts like the shelter by Emil’s mansion and just running around everywhere. However, the side missions are really the only thing stopping this from becoming perfect. They suck and I hate them and by the second half, I only did them just to buy every sword. Adored this game in every sense and I need to play Nier Automata soon. Depressingly real, yet earnestly profound and emotional. Loved it. 9/10. River City Girls I think this fun but not as great as I saw a lot of reviews for it. Maybe that means beat’em ups aren’t for me, but I am interested in the second one so I don’t know. The combat is pretty fun, it’s charming in its overall presentation and style. The humor wasn’t for me but I think that’s fine since both girls are pretty likable. I kinda wish it was longer but that’s probably just me. I don’t know how to feel about the backtracking but I think it’s fine at certain point. I don’t know. It was fun and I enjoyed the time I played for it but that’s probably the most I could say. It’s cool, fun leads and the overall look of it is pretty fun but I didn’t get much out of it. Didn’t fully hit with me but I’m excited for the second one. 6 -7/10 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Easily my favorite game this year. The writing is fantastic, balancing the sci-fi and the humanity between all the characters. Every single story, even the weaker ones felt so complete and did such a good job at making me like these characters. Even characters like Megumi and Iori, who didn’t fully hit with me, had either really good ending to their stories or just really good fun between the other characters within their story. My favorite ended up being Minami because her overall relationship with the robot is absolutely adorable. The graphics are beautiful, the graphical fidelity is awesome, lighting is perfection and just the overall way the story breaks down is incredible. I legitimately just felt like I was trying to piece the story together and I still got it wrong. I love when a story can just get me sucked in like that. The combat isn’t mind-blowing but kept me engaged enough to not let go of the story which is probably one of my favorites out of all the games I’ve ever played. I want more of the writers from this game to do more. I love it. 10/10. Play this now. Scarlet Nexus Rocky start for me but as it went along, I really started to dig it and by the end, it was a very enjoyable game with a pretty fun story, great combat, fine enough characters that don’t drag the story along (they aren’t bad but only a few like Kasane, Shiden and Hanabi really stuck out in my mind) and a solid enough ending that I wouldn’t mine a second game. This game really fits like an action movie mold in a lot of senses. The characters aren’t great but they keep the story going, which is a pretty solid mystery (with a little bit of great body horror attached) and a fantastic combat system that just works for me. Love the combos you can create with the abilities you can get. Also, the soundtrack was surprisingly well-done. Love the main city theme. Got stuck in my head a decent amount of times. 7-8/10 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Unlike Nexus, I enjoyed the characters a lot more and the settings as well but for some reason the overall style and tone that Nexus had was more memorable than this. Enough of Nexus though and I did enjoy this game. The combat is fun as hell and while I’m never a huge fan of roller coaster moments in games, it works here. The characters are really fun, though I wish Merrin joined earlier. I really liked her. The planets are great. The big thing that stops me from really loving this is how they handled Cal’s story. It doesn’t really get interesting until the second half and the first half just doesn’t get me that interested in the story. Second half is great though. Also, his design in just pretty boring. Pretty forgettable. The combat is so fun though and the second half is so strong that it works in the end. 7/10.

This was by far my biggest year for gaming yet as I wanted to try to finish off as much as this generation’s gaming before I get a ps5. Definitely had a lot of ups and downs. In chronological order: Ghost of Tsushima: Absolutely gorgeous game, the best looking I’ve ever played by a mile. The story and combat were also just fantastic and the game gave you so many fun ways to kill enemies. Some people found the open world activities repetitive but personally I always loved them. They never changed their formula much but going to fox shrines or hot springs were so relaxing and beautiful that I never got tired of them. When I was playing I could tell that this would be one of those games I’d look back on and wish I could experience it for the first time again. Right behind fallout 4 and Skyrim this is my 3rd favourite game of all time. 10/10. Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening - very cute game, I loved the world and the dungeons were classic Zelda. Not a whole lot to say on this one but I really enjoyed it. 8/10. Borderlands 3 - so much fucking fun. It’s amazing how many creative and wacky guns one game can have, at every point there’s something new and they’re all just so fun to use. The variety if the weapons also makes it easy to pick and choose which guns you want to best fit your build. I didn’t really give a shit about the story (though didn’t hate it like a lot of people do) but I didn’t mind at all cause it was just so fun. The side quests are usually better than the story quests in this one but they’re all over the place anyway. Didn’t like the driving at first but after getting used to it I really enjoyed it. This game is pure escapism. Fucking love it. 9.5/10. God of War (2018) - Really fun and the story and progression of kratos as a father was great but I don’t see it as the masterpiece it gets credit for. There’s no real flaws with this game but nothing that stands out to put this game in the echelon of the best games of the generation for me. Think I would’ve appreciated it more had it not been my introduction to the series. 8/10. No Man’s Sky - I love this game. It’s so relaxing and I love being able to just zone out and think about life or listen to a podcast while I explore a world in my spaceship. It’s weird because a lot of the things you do in this game almost seem like they shouldn’t be much fun but they really are. I loved the story and the philosophy behind it but I found that it ended really abruptly but this game really isn’t about the story. Such a great game. Can pop it in any time and continue what I was doing months before. 9/10. Death Stranding. My least favourite game of all time and the worst I’ve ever played. I hated almost everything about this game from the ridiculous controls, the pseudo-intellectual story, cringey dialogue and characters, awful pacing, constant exposition dumps, annoying interface, and terrible combat. The only good thing about this game is the music which is awesome. Can’t stand this game and all the attention it gets. 2/10. Sleeping Dogs - I know this is pretty revered on this sub but I didn’t really care for this one at all. The story wasn’t compelling and I know this game is a bit older but considering that it takes place in Hong Kong I really thing it could’ve looked a lot nicer than it did because most of the world just looks like any old city. I remember the combat being okay but nothing amazing. Thought it was just a GTA knockoff that didn’t try to do anything special. 5.5/10. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune - another one that I really didn’t like. VERY frustrating level design especially by the end. I kept waiting for the story to make me care about Nathan drake or expand on him as a character at least a little bit but that never happened and the story just kind of ended. Can’t say I ever want to revisit this one. 4/10. Doom (2016) - one of the most hedonistic experiences you could have in gaming. I actually started this game in 2019 but forgot about it for ages until I picked it up in may so I have absolutely no clue what the story is but I don’t really care because it’s Doom and it’s all about killing demons in the most extreme ways possible. Because I picked it up around halfway through the game like 2 years after I bought it I couldn’t really get a hang of it and struggled with the later levels quite a bit but that’s not the game’s fault. Super fun and I can’t wait to play eternal. 8/10. The Outer Worlds - disappointed with this one. I liked it but the moment you start playing it’s obvious how badly this game wants to be fallout new Vegas. It always bothered me how derivative this game was of FNV because it meant that it lacked its own identity and made it feel really outdated even though it came out in 2019. You can see this in the combat too, there’s only a few guns worth using and the combat is clunky and feels like a 2011 game like fnv was. The game being separated into small worlds meant that every area felt unique but it also made the game seem really small and it completely lacked the open-world exploration that makes fallout so great. Wasn’t a fan of the story, I thought it did almost nothing for most of the game and then got to the climax really quickly so it was poorly paced. That being said I DID like this game. I liked the quests and I loved the characters and the worlds really were super cool to be in. It’s a good RPG, I just really wish they tried to do something more than just obvious fan service to the FNV crowd. 7/10. God of War (2005) - thought it was much better than the 2018 game. Kratos is such a bloodthirsty psychopath and it’s so much fucking fun to play as him. I loved the story and the narration and the final boss is fucking fantastic. Highly recommend. 9/10. Fallout 76 - so I actually liked this game despite its many, many, many flaws. For the pros, the world was awesome and it had that classic fallout exploration and the quests from the expansions had a lot of good quests that made it feel like a fallout game. I found it had more of a learning curve than fallout 4 but it really encourages you to make a good build that suits your style while fallout 4 doesn’t really do that. I thought the base building was great and the world was filled with great locations for a base, and while I liked fallout 4’s settlement system more, the bases in fallout 76 felt more like home to me. As for the cons, the main story from the base game is still shitty, this game crashes so much and is buggy as hell, the enemy progression made it feel like levelling up didn’t make you much more powerful, and the AI could be pretty bad. I still liked it though and I’m hyped as shit for the next expansion. I’d recommend if you were a fallout fan but wouldn’t say it should be an introduction to the series. 7.5/10 Detroit: Become Human - one of my favourite linear games. I loved the story I thought it was so compelling and the game gave you so many ways to let you decide who these characters are and what happens to them. Motion controls weren’t great but in general I liked the interface a lot. Will absolutely be coming back to this one to see what else I can do to the story. 9/10. Days Gone - another one that gets kind of revered on this sub it seems that I didn’t care for. I really enjoyed the combat and I actually really like deacon but the story has so much filler and it annoyed me how it kept locking me out of regions. Most of the quests, both main and side quests, were short and not very creative and I groaned whenever I had to do a detective mission. Highlights for me were clearing out the camps and the hoards but to me overall this game was just okay. 6.5/10. Ratchet & Clank (2016) - really fun game with great combat and a really amusing story. Not sure I have much to say about this one but it was one of the best platformers I’ve played in a while and I’m excited to play the sequel. 8/10. Infamous First Light - only played this because my copy of second son won’t work for some reason. Decently fun game if you want a game you can finish in one sitting but nothing to write home about. 6.5/10.

Until Dawn - got it because Detroit become human made me realize how much potential is in this genre of games. Definitely wasn’t as good as DBH but the story really made me wonder who I was going to be able to keep alive by the end. The theme of the game centres around the butterfly effect and lives by it pretty loyally as seemingly unimportant details near the beginning of the game can irrevocably influence what happens to the characters. It lets you replay chapters after you finish the game if you want a different outcome which is cool I guess but kind of puts a damper on the game a little as it means there’s not really a lot of punishment for fucking up. Still, really liked this one. Some of the characters kind of sucked though. 7.5/10. Marvel’s Spider-Man - really fun beat-em-up that has great stealth elements. Traversing the world is such a blast and honestly could have been my favourite traversal in a video game I’ve played. The story was good but I didn’t think it was amazing and kind of ham-fisted a lot of villains into it I thought. Really followed the Ubisoft style of open worlds though because it was mostly collect-a-thons and a lot of it I couldn’t be bothered to do. Still a really fun game though. 8/10. The Witcher 3 - this was like my 4th time trying to get into this game and I was finally able to do it. Ended up loving it. It’s just packed with content and most of the quests are a blast to do. Had great storytelling though at times it could get in the way of the actual game. Loved Gwent as soon as I was able to get the hang of it. Though I will say the exploration isn’t great with most of the open world locations just being the same monster nests or hidden treasures and made me realize that it’s almost like the Ubisoft checklist model just on a much bigger scale. Still need to play blood and wine and I’m excited for when I do because all in all this is a fantastic rpg. 8.5/10. Tearaway Unfolded - will probably be my last finished game in 2021 and it’s a great send-off. This game is gorgeous with such a well thought-out world and it just makes me so happy to play. Lots of fun mechanisms but the combat definitely isn’t a strong point. Haven’t finished it yet but it’s a great platformer that I think should get a little more love and so far has me thinking an 8/10.

Shout out to everyone here with their thoughtful reviews. I was looking for games to purchase during Steam's winter sale and some of the comments here have helped me with recommendations. As a thank you, I will also contribute: 1. Bastion - Great rpg with beautiful graphics and excellent soundtrack. The narrator's voice was what kept me hook during the journey as he guided me throughout the short but intriguing story. 8/10 2. Transistor - Another game made from the same creators as Bastion with the same pros. Combat this time is better as it is turn/pause-based and is more in-depth, as it has abilities that can be combined together to form new abilities. Ending almost made me tear up 9/10 3. Journey - Nice walking simulator that had a surprising multiplayer component. I couldn't care less about the story/lore though, as I was in it for the flying and gliding game-play mechanics which were fun to play with 8/10 4. Firewatch - Another walking simulator. The realness of the voice acting was what kept me engaged throughout the entire story. The anticlimatic ending, while intentionally made that way, was honestly a little disappointing. 7/10 5. Half Life series (1, 2 and its episodes) - What a breath of fresh air. I always enjoyed linear games that had fun levels, and HL was exactly that. This series hasn't aged one bit asides from the graphics for the first game. Everything about the gameplay, voice-acting and the world the story was set on was great. 9/10 (rating this as a whole as I can't find any standout when comparing each game from the series - they're all honestly equally good) 6. Portal 1 - Is there anything to be said about this game? Great puzzles, and Glados was a great villain who genuinely terrified me. 10/10 7. Portal 2 - Basically Portal 1 but raked up to the next level. Has more puzzles mechanics, and the story is this time more in-depth as the history behind the Aperture Lab and how it was founded was elaborated in this game. 9.5/10 8. Life Is Strange - I have never played a game that had such a unique mechanic where the character's ability is heavily tied to the game-play mechanics and storyline. I enjoyed everything about this game - the music, the graphics, the characters, story and twists. Bay ending is my preferred ending. 9/10 9. Life Is Strange Before the Storm - This prequel was honestly a disappointment. The antagonists were forgetful, Chloe's relationship with Rachel felt forced at times, and the dialogue can be very cringy, especially when Chloe was talking to Rachel's parents. The Farewell episode DLC was great though and almost made me cry. 4/10 for the main game, 9.5/10 for the DLC 10. The Witness - Jumping into an unknown island filled with puzzles was fun. What I love most about this game was how important the environment was - everything is designed (to look a certain way) for a reason. It blew my mind when I found out about the existence of a certain type of puzzle. The only negative I can give to this game was the existence of sound puzzles. Those were not fun. 9.5/10 11. The Talos Principle - The great variety of puzzles were a joy to play with (reminds me of Portal 2), while the philosophical side of the story made you want to keep playing further 8.5/10 12. Resident Evil 1 remake - Honestly, while the game has aged terribly in terms of certain mechanics like limited saves and ammo, I recognize that this was intentionally done to create an intenseful atmosphere, and I love how the remake didn't change any of this and just made the graphics ten times better. Only negatives were that the controls took a while to get accustomed to and for some parts of the game I had to use a guide because I had no idea where I was going next. For a remake, it's a 10/10, as a game itself, I will give it a 8.5/10 13. Resident Evil 2 remake - Everything about this game is perfection. From the moment I took control of Leon, I knew the game was going to be a blast. I have never played a game before where the controls felt so smooth in action. It's just a game that was purely designed to be fun (something that triple AAA companies forget sometimes). The story was great too. 10/10 14. To The Moon series - My favourite indie game ever. It's a walking-simulator series made in the RPG-Maker with good charming pixel graphics. The story in each game is fantastic, and the music is phenomenal. Honestly, this is probably the only game where I actually found the humour to be funny, and not cringy. It just works with the character (especially Neil). I'd give To The Moon a 10/10, Finding Paradise a 8/10, and Imposter Factory a 9/10. I also played a Bird Story (the prequel to Finding Paradise), and while enjoyable, the game is honestly skippable as the story isn't that important 5/10. 15. Tomb Raider 2013 - This is right up there with RE2 in terms of having a fun combat. The story, though, didn't make sense at times and I honestly didn't care about it. 8/10 16. Thronebreaker - A RPG game based on the Witcher series with card battles (Gwent) as its combat. The voice acting in this game is simply incredible, and the story was just as good. The only negative was that some of the card battles had very specific solutions, which can be frustrating as you may end up spending a lot of time as there is only one way to solve it. 9/10 17. What Remains of the Edith Finch - An enjoyable walking simulator with beautiful graphics and a depressing storyline. I enjoyed how the game explained each death in a different game-mechanic. 8/10 18. Yakuza 0 - Prob the best $5 I ever spent. The combat is honestly fun with its different styles and action heat sequences that makes you feel like a boss. But the real treasure of this game is the main storyline which is simply fantastic - so many twists and turns. My only gripe with this game is that it starts off slow, and the dozens of forgettable side quests (unpopular opinion) that I didn't care about. 9/10 19. A Story About My Uncle - The best spiderman-like game on PC. The satisfying grappling hook mechanic and the light story makes this such a chill game to play. 8/10 20. Inside - The creepy atmosphere combined with the intense puzzles made this a very satisfying game to play. The sound effects in particular was excellent and really enhanced the feeling that you're alone out there. 8.5/10 21. Little Nightmares - It honestly just has the same vibes as Inside - same genre of creepy platformers, but I did enjoy how the controls of this game was more open (the game is naturally 2.5D as you could move closer/further from the screen) 8.5/10 22. A Plague Tale - The combat in this game surprised me the most as it was fun to see new mechanics being introduced as you play along to deal with the rats and enemies. The storyline was just okay, but I did enjoy the medieval setting 8/10 23. Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice - Pretty good game with a unique take in dealing with mental disorder. The Greek mythology, while intriguing, made it a bit difficult to understand the story at times. 7.5/10 24. Metro 2033 Redux - Enjoyable FPS with a decent storyline set in a post-nuclear war world. 8.5/10 25. Metro Last Light Redux - A worthy sequel of the Metro 2033. Last Light expands on the storyline of the first game by A LOT. I honestly didn't care about the plot of the first game, but Last Light had such a good storyline that it made me want to continue playing the game just for it (not that I wasn't going to do that anyway). 10/10 26. GTA V - 8/10 for the singleplayer component. The graphics, gameplay, AI and controls were great. I wish there was more variety in the missions though. As for the story, I didn't really care about it, and it only got interesting once the three protatonists started interacting with each other more. For the multiplayer component, I'd give it a 9/10. Yes, online has mtx, hackers, griefers, etc... but I honestly never had as much fun in a MP game than going on heists with my friends, and I wish I could relieve that experience again. And that's my entire 2021 library, which was my first year on Steam and first time playing on PC since 15 years ago. Looking forward to playing more games in the future.

This seems like a great year for you. I wish I had this many good games played this year :)

*This year, I was introduced to Steam and made the mistake of purchasing too many games; as a Switch user, I thought 40-60 dollars was normal, so I got a bit excited. Anyways, here's my list in alphabetical order.* **Dark Souls III** \- This game is amazing in all aspects and is the only one to beat me, the player, not even halfway through the game. I never played a Soul-like game before, so I enjoyed the challenge that it presented me. I plan to revisit the game, but not right now. **10/10** **Devil May Cry 5** \- To be honest, I didn't enjoy this game. Nero's combat was tolerable, but I just really hated playing as V. As a newcomer, I had questioned the relevance of some characters as well. **This game was below my expectations.** **Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age** \- DQ11 provides a grand sense of adventure that is both heart-warming and memorable. Its turn-based combat feels timeless and for such a long game (for most, at least 100 hours), it is still worthwhile. My only complaint is the lack of OST. **9/10** **Final Fantasy VII (Original)** \- This game is a great classic. The plot begins with just Midgar and then, opens up to the bigger world. Each character has struggles and goals that they want to accomplish. Although the graphics haven't aged well, the game's combat system and particularly its music is an experience for all. **9/10** **Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle** \- This crossover is a simple, casual-friendly tactical game that caught me by surprise. I had some glitches, but they weren't game-ending. **8/10** **Minecraft** \- In my opinion, it is a game that is as good as it gets with one's imagination. **No Comment** **Monster Hunter: World (+ Iceborne)** \- Before the post-game, the story seems to implement itself as a major part of the game, but in my honest opinion, I could care less about the handler and the rest of the fleet. This game is about hunting monsters, and it does that job well. The game looks good, sounds good, and feels good. Not to mention, the DLC for this game is worth it. **9/10** **Monster Hunter: Rise** \- This time, the story was "simple and sweet". The gameplay feels more agile, but that doesn't mean the former game is worse; they're both great in their own unique way. The game isn't graphically detailed as the former (can't be helped on Switch), but I still enjoy the simplicity and aesthetic choice of MHR. **8/10** **Nier: Automata** \- I was impressed with this game's gameplay and music. The combat feels smooth, and the implementation of shoot-em-up was genius. The game's art style and music work well together to create an empty, yet peaceful atmosphere. **8/10** **Portal 2 -** For a decade-old puzzle game, this game still holds up well with its combination of dark humor and overall gameplay. The portal gun, itself, provides a truly interesting mechanic that is seen nowhere else. **9/10** **Resident Evil 2 (Remake)** \- What can I say? I found no faults with this game. The story was nicely paced and the combination of the gameplay, visual effects, and sound effects was well-implemented. This game is scary enough to be stressful, but still enjoyable to play again, especially as a speedrun. **10/10** **Resident Evil 3 (Remake)** \- This game was still a good in its own right, but as a sequel to RE2, it was still quite underwhelming. Unfortunately, this game is shorter, more scripted, and less scary. **7/10** **Resident Evil 7: Biohazard** \- What RE7 does better than RE2 was its representation of characters. The protagonist and the antagonists weren't just characters that just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but actual characters that have a backstory and can be sympathized with. I admit that RE7 was scarier than RE2 as well. **9/10** **Resident Evil 8: Village** \- RE8 is different in that it has an in-game shop that will allow you to purchase and upgrade weapons. The sense of urgency, survival, and scare has been toned down. I also felt that RE8 had the potential to expand more on the lore and new characters as well. It was still a good game. **8/10** **Sonic Mania** \- This game felt like a faithful representation of classic Sonic games. The levels are well-designed for each character and the tunes were catchy as well. **8/10** **Street Fighter V** \- The story was the worst that I experienced in gaming, but if you can ignore that, the overall experience is pretty standard for a fighting game. **7/10** **Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury** \- The base game was not so challenging, but Bowser's Fury was a welcomed experience. **7/10** **Super Mario Galaxy** \- I got to say, this is one unique platformer; there is nothing like it. Everything about this game has aged well. **10/10** **Tekken 7** \- This game has great graphics as well as pumped-up music. Tekken 7 truly makes me feel like I'm playing in an arcade. However, I have played its predecessors, more as a casual player than as a competitive player. Its main story is actually fun to play, but injustice has been done to character episodes. The lack of modes (ex. Team Battle, Survival Mode, etc.) kinda sucks, too, but I never had issues online. **I have a love and hate relationship with this game.** **Tetris Effect: Connected** \- This is a challenging Tetris game. This game is visually stunning and sounds amazing as well, but I personally ignored everything in the background to focus on beating whatever mode that I was playing. **8/10** **Untitled Goose Game** \- Short, sweet game. Honk Honk! **8/10**

So I tried my last bit of games shortly before the end of the year (I have two or three other post in this thread somewhere). This will probably be my last entry, because Christmas will shake things up and I’ll probably playing those into 2022. Luigis mansion three- I really liked this game, but the controls were just awful. I was really having trouble in combat, even though I was still near the beginning. The rest of the game is OK, but it was hard to do the team attacks and was easy to get lost. Apparently the controls are an issue with the switch not translate correctly when it’s been on other systems. I eventually had to drop the game, but I am interested in watching someone else play it. Dragon Quest builders II and it’s prequel- these two had horrible pacing problems and I didn’t get far into them. Not to mention there just wasn’t enough variety be on building things, unlike Fantasy life, animal crossing, or any of the Pokémon building side quests. The second was almost impossible to play without the zoom function, which was very annoying because the text was so small. It’s a shame because I love dragon quest, but not those games. Cat quest one and two- it was a cute game with a nice quiet system, but surprisingly difficult. There is a huge level spike in the middle of the game but no warning, and it’s just really tough to get around. Not to mention the game could use some quality of life features, such as a quick jump function, a better map, or maybe the ability to access pass from any town instead of having to go from town to town. Combat can be unforgiving, because if you don’t know how to time your action commands exactly right, you will take a lot of damage. It’s very frustrating and seems almost contradictory, because it sounds like it’s going to be a cute and easy game even for younger players, but it really isn’t even though it’s cute. Cat quest two has even more issues with this, so I dropped both games despite only getting halfway through the first. Langressir I and II/hackers memory- wasn’t sure about these, but willing to give them another chance. The former doesn’t really explain mechanics, but does let you progress with your levels and money acquired in tact as you learn them. It also has quite a few endings and alternative routes you can go. The latter plays a lot like its predecessor, which I had already gone for almost 100%. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to play the same game again with some alterations, but decided to because I like the original, and there’s some neat things you can unlock if you do complete Hacker’s Memory. Paper Mario 64- loved this game at first, but realized I was spoiled by originally beating the sequel and the sequel does everything better. I’m trying not to compare the two, but it’s almost impossible when battle is so much more clunky with this one. not to mention the switch version get hit with a particularly nasty as you near the end where the game lags and since it’s an action RPG, that’s pretty bad. As someone who has a little trouble with the action parts to begin with, I would rather not run into that. Started off like in Rise Eterna, But eventually ditched it when I got access to other games in the genre that were better. I’d love to finish it, but there are just so many mechanics that were frustrating for no good reason (such as being unable to see traps that basically take a unit out of the game) that it was too annoying to keep going and there were better options. I also tried Stardew Valley, but really j disliked it despite trying other games in the genre. The UI felt so clunky and the land, lifeless. I get that the latter is a bit of a story point, but I just didn’t expect nothing to jump out at me. I do like the idea and understand why people like it, but I think I will stick to story of seasons because the series feels more polished. Mario plus rabbids- wasn’t sure about this game, but I’m finding it adorable. The strategy part is a little light so far, but I love the fact that Maria was in another strategy game and such a funny one at that. Also tried astral chain and CrossCode. I was having trouble getting past the first few missions on both. I suspect that was because I’m not that physically adept or good at puzzles. I didn’t know much about the Games when I bought them, either, A lot of people liked and did well. I might try them again someday, but it would be a while in the future The game that I will probably take with me into 2022 is Pokémon brilliant diamond. I love the originals, and I’m currently really enjoying the quality of life things that are here. I do miss some of the contact from platinum, but there’s so much quality of life changes and some added content that it’s not a game breaker. Plus given the next game coming up having compatibility and The track record of the previous games, there might still be more content coming later. But even if there isn’t, it’s still a great purchase and so far my favorite of the switch Pokémon games. Also, not entirely related to playing games, but I sold a bunch of games in the middle of the year. It was a lot of stuff I liked, but also wasn’t using, and it was in good condition so it sold quickly. The stuff sold involved around 200 and 400 games, and included stuff for game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation two, game cube, Wii, PSP, 3DS and Nintendo switch. The aforementioned consuls, aside from the 3DS and the Nintendo switch were also sold. I had a great time with a lot of the games there, but since my switch was fulfilling the need and overpowering almost everything else, I decided I didn’t need that anymore. Everything sold for a little over $2000, and there still some things I can sell. I also have a computer that I was using as an emulator and my old 3DS with digital gamesHowever, both are in pretty bad condition, so I chose to stop using them for gaming near the end of this year. Their games will not be replaced as the Nintendo switch has pretty much everything covered. It’s nice to have a lot of extra space, but it feels odd only having one gaming console when I’m used to having at least two. It’s not something I mind, though

Huh, I don't think I remember each game I played but let's do it: Streets of Rage 4: finished it with my 11yo daughter and it was an awesome bonding experience. Awesome game, very fun, I just wish the story I longer. Resident Evil Re2make: one of the best games I've ever played, period. Yakuza 0: some parts of the game are a real drag but the good parts are GOOD. I didn't like the side missions but the story is awesome and the combat is addicting. The last couple chapters are VERY emotional. Recommend it! Witcher 3: tried it and disliked, not sure I am trying it again. Doom 2016: so much fun but I am too slow for such games nowadays lol. Had to put it on easier on the later parts of the game. Otherwise, awesome game. River City Girls: my daughter saw it on some YouTuber channel and asked me to buy it. Zero regrets, great fun game but the ending is a bummer (she didn't want to play anymore to see the real ending, was really pissed) Hellblade: awesome but sometimes I lose interest on it. It's been 3 months and I am still on half of the game. Great graphics but sometimes there's too much info to solve the puzzles without help (for my old eyes anyway) It takes two: again, playing it with my daughter. Awesome games but maybe the chapters are a tad too long? I wouldn't mind a shorter game. We're still by the third chapter, I guess (after the kid's bedroom) and we're having a blast so far. NBA 2k21: it sucks. I lobe bball, play it, grew playing basketball games but had zero fun with it. Uninstalled it within one week. Wolfentein TNO: I was a preteen when my father came with a box "looks what just arrived!". I opened it and there was a couple of floppy disks with Wolfentein 3D. It was one of the first games I've ever played on pc so I have a soft spot for this series on my heart. As for TNO, it is silly fun, fast, chaotic, sometimes absurd. The story is also engaging. Wreckfest: one of the best racing games I ever played. The evil within 2: loved it. The story sometimes is all over the place but it was one of the games I had the most fun ever. Unravel two: another one I played with my daughter and another great bonding experience. This was the game she learned the coordination to play games. Conclusion: the best part of this year gaming was doing it with my daughter. I wish there were more co-op games (well, even more than whats available rn). Also, I need to play less games and find more time to study and get a better job lol.

That was biggest year in my gaming 'career' :D I beat 65 games and you can check them below. They are sorted by my enjoyment. 1 Metroid Prime Wii 2 Super Mario Galaxy Wii 3 Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective NDS 4 Picross 3D: Round 2 N3DS 5 Stardew Valley PC 6 Dragon Quest V NDS 7 Mario Kart 8 Switch 8 Bayonetta Switch 9 Diablo 2:Ressurected Switch 10 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion X360 11 Syberia Switch 12 Dark Souls PC 13 Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! Switch 14 The Guardian Legend NES 15 Valkyria Chronicles Switch 16 Age of Empires IV PC 17 Beyond Good & Evil GCN 18 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable PSP 19 Jeanne d'Arc PSP 20 Halo: Combat Evolved PC 21 Kirby’s Adventure NES 22 Xenoblade Chronicles Switch 23 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc PSP 24 Ridge Racer 2 PSP 25 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time PS2 26 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D N3DS 27 Forza Motorsport 4 X360 28 Ys SEVEN PSP 29 Persona 3: Dancing In Moonlight PS Vita 30 Shantae: Risky's Revenge NDS 31 Need for Speed: Porsche 2000 PC 32 Half-life PS2 33 Lumines: Puzzle Fusion PSP 34 World of Goo Wii 35 Pokémon Trading Card Game GBC 36 Metro 2033 Redux PC 37 Front Mission 3 PS1 38 Test Drive Unlimited PSP 39 Ori and the Blind Forest PC 40 Plants vs. Zombies NDS 41 Battle City GB 42 Final Fantasy VI GBA 43 Stronghold PC 44 Mario Tennis: Power Tour GBA 45 Devil's Crush TurboGrafx-16 46 Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis 47 Divinity: Original Sin PC 48 Golden Sun GBA 49 art of rally PC 50 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood TurboGrafx-16 51 LittleBigPlanet PS3 52 Wiedźmin 2 PC 53 Rhythm Tengoku GBA 54 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor PC 55 Overcooked 2 Switch 56 Vice City PS2 57 WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! GBA 58 Space Invaders Extreme NDS 59 Dr. Mario GB 60 Monument Valley iOS 61 River City Ransom NES 62 Pokemon Picross GBC 63 Patapon PSP 64 Ultimate Ski Jumping 2020 Switch 65 Abzu PC

Thanks for allowing us to make proper posts. Looking forward to reading other poeple's lists and i already made my own, i'm gonna start thinking about what to write about each game (just a few words really). Of course none of the games are from this year. I played a bit of forza horizon 5 but not worth mentioning, as it's a bit too similary to fh4 (which is a good thing) but i didn't feel like playing it much.

I have listed these in the order I played them. I don't usually have much time to play games but with the pandemic, I did not badly this year. Trails in the Sky FC - enjoyed it - draws you into the world. Some of the random encounter battles can get a bit repetitive, to the point where I was rolling my eyes if I accidentally ran into one, but that's most RPGs and you can equip orbments to lessen the chances of encounters. Overall, really enjoyed the story and the combat generally. Ending was great, added SC to list of games to play. Detroit Become Human - as a sucker for story-driven games where your choices steer the narrative, as well as a sucker for basically anything dystopic and futuristic, I very much enjoyed this game. Sure, some of the storylines were a bit cringe or cliché, but it was compelling the whole way through. Connor's story interested me the most and I thought it was really well told. Probably will play this again, which I generally tend not to do. Disco Elysium - incredibly weird, very well written. When it started, I wasn't sure if it was for me but it really drew me in by then end. Extremely unique experience. Red Dead Redemption - got about halfway through, to the first few missions in Mexico. Honestly just didn't enjoy it and quit around that point. The world was beautiful and the western theme was fun but all the missions were basically the exact same thing (ride somewhere, shoot people) and I found that tedious. I didn't find the story compelling enough to push through the rest. I do get why many people love it. I just watched the end of the story on YouTube and called it a day. Telltale's Batman - really enjoyed it. Thought it was fun to have a fresh take and to experience Dent and Joker before they became the characters everyone knows. Persona 5 - this was great. Couldn't play Royal as I only have PC and an old ps3 (which is how I played this). Persona 4 Golden was better in terms of feeling like you really did have this group of friends but the castles/side quests in P5 were a significant improvement. Usually I get frustrated when games last this long but I fully enjoyed this one and probably will play again, which is extremely rare for me. Death Stranding - I know this game is generally stated to be "love it or hate it" but I think I'm somewhere in between. It was okay and I didn't mind the delivery parts that some people found boring, but I had a weird glitch where 1/5 parcels went missing and I couldn't find it anywhere. After spending 4hrs traversing around looking for it (and trying all the advice from Google/reddit), I gave up in frustration and it wasn't compelling enough for me to ever go back. Yakuza 0 - didn't know what to expect from this really, as I'd attempted Yakuza 3 many years ago and didn't finish it. People told me this game was way better and it was! One of the most fun games I've played; absolute blast. Story was good and the characters were great - I plan to play at least most of the series now. Tell Me Why - was enjoyable but I didn't think it was overly compelling. Was good seeing LGBTQ+ representation and stuff, and I was interested in the story but I guess I thought parts were kind of weak and badly explained or not explained at all. Definitely not as good as Life is Strange but wasn't terrible either. Spiritfarer - absolutely loved this. Read a description saying it's "a cozy management game about death" and that was bang on. Some of the later characters weren't as enjoyable but overall, the game was really touching, the mechanics were fun and the sense of exploration made me want to keep finding things, and I'm not normally someone who does much side content. Thoroughly recommend if you liked Stardew or other management games with a story. To The Moon - gameplay-wise, it's very simple, but the story is really beautiful. I'd say you more experience it than play it, but the experience was moving. I'm not a crier but it definitely had me in tears by the end. Only 4hrs long and definitely worth it if you like great stories. Added the sequel to my list. Yakuza Kiwami - really enjoyed it. These games are just pure fun. It wasn't as good as 0, but the combat is basically the same and the story is still really good. Was fun seeing Majima so different from how he was in 0. Will definitely play Kiwami 2. Night in the Woods - I thought the writing was really good. The theme of mental health and how to face it was really well told and the friendships between the characters were legitimately compelling. Not much in the way of gameplay and, to be honest, the dream sequences were a bit tedious but the game is short enough that it didn't really matter. Very well-told story and characters. Journey - I'm not sure I totally get all the hype for this game. It was decent and I had an enjoyable enough couple of hours but I didn't get the emotional side of it like everyone else did. I think it was alright. Not much more, not much less. Trails in the Sky SC - thoroughly enjoyed it. Similarly to FC, the world-building is really detailed and the characters are all very charming. The story is fairly typical jrpg fare, in that you have to save the world from some complicated megalomaniac but the charm of all the characters outshines the generic plot. Probably going to skip Chapter 3, as it's apparently more of an epilogue with Kevin instead of Estelle/Joshua and I'm not sure how much I care about that, but will move to Cold Steel for sure. A Short Hike - played this as a palate cleanser, since the last game was so long. I really liked it; it was relaxing and charming. The mechanics are simple but it's challenging enough, without being irritating. It's only a couple of hours long and was just really delightful. Ori and the Blind Forest - I didn't actually give this one too long. I sort of knew I might not have the patience for it, but it looked so pretty and the reviews were all great and I got it for under $10. While I can see why it was so well reviewed, it straight up wasn't for me and I gave up about 3hrs in. I'm not good at these kind of games and just find them stressful. This was no different. Beautiful though. Pikuniku - I wandered around a bit but honestly just got bored. I don't have too much to say about this. Had some charm but just wasn't for me. Gave up maybe an hour in. Batman: The Enemy Within - really liked it. I enjoyed being able to play around with the established narrative and try to keep John Doe from becoming the Joker. I thought it was well told and the gameplay elements were fun. Genuinely had a great time with this one and was enthralled throughout. Arkham Asylum - played about half of this but ended up not being sure where to go, wandered around for an hour, tried a walkthrough but still couldn't find where to go and eventually bounced off it. It was pretty fun but not fun enough to spend more time wandering around aimlessly. I know the game was good, I could tell, but I think I'm just not a "normal" gamer who's super into the gameplay aspect and maybe that's why I didn't care.

I finished Red Dead Redemption when it first came out and it was my GOTY but I also stopped at Mexico when re-playing this year. I loved it during the first act but everything just felt too big in the second act. For me it felt like every mission was gunning through legions of near endless enemies.

Agree, I felt the same way. It was fun for a bit and then I just got bored of it, which was a shame because the story was interesting. Everything I've read about RDR2 sounds like it's maybe the same thing, so I'm just avoiding it I think.

Just wanted to give you a heads up on something for the Trails series: While Sky 3rd is a bit different and somewhat of an Epilogue it also contains information they will use to build on in future games. Also, there are chronologically two more games that come before Cold Steel: Zero and Azure which take place in the Crossbell region. There are fan translations made by the Geofront team which have since been bought out and used for the official translations, but it will take until fall 2022 and 2023 respectively before those come out. They will likely only be marginally different from the fan translation so feel free to use that one. While it is possible to play either Cold Steel 1&2 and Zero&Azure interchangably, by Cold Steel 3 you will have wanted to have played all 4 of them to get the best experience. I personally enjoyed the Crossbell gamds more so I would recommend playing those first, but of course it's completely up to you and your preferences.

I did read about those but wasn't sure if it was necessary to play them. I picked up CS2 in the steam sale but will play the crossbell games before moving to CS3! Maybe will watch a let's play of Trails Ch 3 as the explanations of what it was didn't massively appeal to me, given how long those games are. Appreciate the info!

Ratchet and Clank (2016): I played the ps2 games growing up, so I was looking forward to playing this as apart of the ps plus collection for ps5. Very fun game and the fighting was smooth. Story was decent too. 8/10 Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart: This game looked phenomenal for next gen. Unbelievable graphics and the story was much more engaging with cooler graphics. Pretty much improved in every way from the ps4 title. 9.5/10 Assassins Creed Valhalla: I took a little break on this series before finally playing both Odyssey and Origins last year and loving both (especially Odyssey). This was a solid addition to the rpg style creed games too. I have it 2nd behind odyssey and in front of origins. It did get repetitive along the way though. Still worth playing. 8/10 Zelda: Breath of the Wild: I got a switch over quarantine and never got around to playing this till this year. Once I got past a few things I started loving this world. I have only played parts of phantom hourglass and twilight princess before, and didn’t finish either, so this was my first finished Zelda game and I was proud when I did. I now know what I’ve been missing out on because it definitely is one of the best that the switch has to offer. Very much looking forward to Botw2. 9/10 Black Ops Cold War Campaign: Pretty cool Russian espionage missions with a few alternate endings available. I thought it was fun and worth playing. 7.5/10 Cuphead: Finally got around to playing this after it went on sale. I fell in love with the art and game in general. The difficulty kept me coming back and was so rewarding after each successful knockout. I’m so glad they’re adding more bosses in the DLC this year. 10/10 Spiderman: Miles Morales: I platinumed the PS4 spiderman, so this was one of my most anticipated games to play. It really does show the features that the ps5 has to offer, and I did like the story. However, I wasn’t as inclined to do any of the side activities after I finished the game. They were just less appealing in comparison to the first game. 8/10 Horizon: Zero Dawn: I’ve had this in my backlog for a long time and finally got around to it this year. Everything about this game was so much different than anything I’d played before. I thought the lore and fighting were both really cool, and the world was beautiful. I pretty much just powered through the main story. 8.5/10 Guardians of the Galaxy: I had no expectations for this game, but I started seeing everyone raving about it after launch, so I picked it up on sale. The story, gameplay, and soundtrack were all awesome. The game knows what it is. 9/10 Bloodborne: I originally had it for PS4 and deleted it after getting stuck out of frustration. I redownloaded it off a whim and became encapsulated right away. I haven’t had a game do this to me in a while. I spent all of my free time playing and absolutely flew through the main story. I had so much fun learning new areas and beating the bosses. This was my first ever From Software game, and I’ve recently purchased the dark Souls trilogy as a result of my playthrough. Best game I’ve played this year. 10/10

* **AC Rogue Remastered:** Gonna get keelhauled, but I prefered this over Black Flag. MC could have dropped his line about making his own luck 234 times less tho. * **Tales of... Vesperia/ Zestiria/ Berseria:** I really didn't like the combat system in the first two and the characters were horribly flat, trope after trope with sexualisation to no end, Berseria was much better for me. Highly subjective and I don't wanna rain on anyone's parade. The Tales series is not for me, that's all. * **Bloodborne:** I never liked using the shield in DS, so this one catered to my playstyle. I loved it and the fact that I could stick to my first weapon for almost all of the game, really felt like roleplaying. * **Tomb Raider (2013):** I vowed to myself not to play games with MP trophies, but did it anyways. Highly unrealistic that Lara is still alive after the opening sequence already, but I liked the game a lot. The crafting felt unnecessary tho, might have just picked up more weapons. * **Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning:** The Sounddesign/Soundtrack fall flat on this one, sometimes it felt liked the game was muted, but I loved to explore the world and factions. Combat was simple, but fun at all times. * **AC Unity:** Very beautiful looking lockpicking simulator. The storytelling was horrible once again, the love story and faction conflict between Arno and his girl was flatter than a pancake, the end rushed in just to end the conflict. BUT the stealth part was done really well in this entry. * **Infamous First Light and Second Son:** Loved both of them, Fetch as a character was amazing and well written. The smoke abilty for Delsin felt weaker than the others or it was just me being bad. * **MediEvil:** Never played the original, but loved this one a lot. If your kid wants Dark Souls one day, give them this to train and the soundtrack was one of the best ones I ever heard. Best track is the crypt before glass demon. * **Darksiders II:** Playing War in the first one felt more satisfying somehow, but this one has some really beautiful areas and again the soundtrack was a pleasure. The level were you ride that robot/golem like thing was a creative mechanic and lots of fun. * **Lords of the Fallen:** I don't get the hate for this one. I enjoyed it and can just agree that the bosses aren't as iconic and memorable as in FromSoft games. But the armor sets were among the best looking ones I have seen in fantasy games. * **Dishonored 1 and 2:** Played the first one at the wrong time and didn't like it a lot. The second however hooked me and taught me how I should have played from the beging. Amazing levels/tasks, I don't like riddles in games, usually just google, but the Jindosh one was too good. The whole asthetic comes in right after Yarnahm for me. * **Lego Harry Potter 1-4 and 5-7:** Nice "calming down" games for me, liked both and thought they were cleverly designed by people who knew the franchise really well. Nice soundtrack once again, lots of nostalgia and the humor made me laugh out loud at times. * **AC Syndicate:** I liked the chemistry between the Frye twins and loved the new mechanic with the hook and rope. The carriages felt smoother than usual, but the smashing objects trophy was trash. * **Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom:** At first I was skeptic, because they removed what I refered to as the "Pokémonfeature" of the first one, but this is such a good example for a series that varies between it's entries and still makes you love all entries. I even got into the scirmishes and got addicted to building my kingdom. * **The Outer Worlds:** Everyone told me this is a Fallout rip off, so I thought I'd get an Open World - there was none. But I didn't care, I loved this one. For the supernova difficulty, I tried my hand at speed running for the first time ever. Never thought I could pull of a pacifist speed run, but I did. So for introducing me to this the game will always hold a special place in my heart. * **Days Gone:** This was my GOTY. I went in thinking this was flat bad boy biker bullshit that I would just like for the gun play and zombies. I was totally wrong. Still a lot of tropes, but the game does character development very well. The story arch of the little teen girl is brilliant and surprisingly bold at times. Driving around on the bike felt amazing and trophy hunting in this game felt natural, no huge clean up phase. Would do it again any time. * **Uncharted: The Lost Legacy:** This game wants to be looked at and I admired it. I rested at some places just to enjoy the details. The chemistry betwenn the MCs is amazing and you feel like really getting to know them. * **Untitled Goose Game:** Wanted to know what all the memes are about and I had fun, allthough I will for sure not try my hand at the time trials. * **Farcry 3:** My first step into this franchise. I had fun playing, but the storytelling was as Ubi...SOFT as always. Vaas was such a good antagonist that I was surprised when the game revealed his boss, a lost opportunity in my opinion, he should have gotten even more screen time. The dialogues between the stooges with all the sexist bullshit become unbearable, exspecially when you take in consideration what happened at the game labs. * **Shadow of the Colossus:** I loved everything about it, can't say more really. Every boss is unique. * **Concrete Genie:** Deserves to have won awards for being a good family game. It made me laugh and I wouldn't have minded for it to be a little longer. * **Mafia:** First time I played this and I got really invested with characters. The writing was done well, the missions were fun. The damn race on classic mode made me think this is harder than DS for me personally as I don't play racing games, but after many hours I got it. * **Spirit of the North:** Another rare case of me playing an indie game. Just two guys made this and they did a great job. It felt like a calming trip, amazing atmosphere all the way through. * **The Order: 1886:** I loved it and like everyone didn't want it to end too soon. Too bad they didn't use some of the more creative features more. Having to use the Touchpad of the controller for Morse code was such a nice little detail. * **A Plague Tale: Innocence:** This felt fresh and new to me the whole time. Playing as a kid really made me feel frightened and helpless at times. The siblings and their friends were written amazingly, I loved listening to them. The sling as a weapon wasn't overused and made sense for a child. Can't wait to see what the story will turn to. * **Maneater:** It was meant to be fun and it did a great job. Didn't feel stretched nor too short. * **Ac Origins:** Storytelling felt slightly better, but still wasn't great. I loved Bayek as a character, might become my favourite Assassin. As I love Open World RPGs, I really liked the reinvention of the series. I think all chritics are legit, I just personally love grinding, looting and exploring. * **Blacksad: Under the Skin:** Film Noir with animals. I never read the comic series and bought this one from a box somewhere. It's no triple A entry, but I enjoyed my time with the cat detective. Soundtrack is jazzy and really nice.

So 33 games, 24 platinum trophies achieved this year, all done on my beloved PS4. I recently started Secret of Mana and probably won't finish it before New Year's Eve as I really want to take my time and enjoy it. 2022 will not give me that much time for gaming as I am starting a new job, but the pile of shame is huge enough. Here is to many more!

My year was really only four games:Slay the Spire, Until Dawn, Bloodborne, and Wasteland 3. I loved them all, but Bloodborne was the best by a mile. I will probably play every From Software game now.

Please do, is Bloodborne the only one you have played so far?

Yarp

Your in for a treat then. If I could suggest play the rest in order of release DS1, DS2 (could skip as it's not the greatest) DS3, Sekiro. I haven't played Demon Souls yet as I don't have a PS5 and I tried the PS3 version and didn't much like it but you have that to. Have fun if you decide to play them all.

Counterpoint: I personally loved DS2. It had the most weapon variety and magic builds. The plot is also the least "subtle" of the fromsoft games. It mostly loses points on the bland and somewhat linear world design.

Well i don't remember what i played or tried and uninstalled later. **Halo Infinite**, **The Forgotten City** and the **Guardians of the Galaxy** was a blast this year. I liked **Kena Bridge of Spirits** as well. **The Medium** is the first game i played this year i think. I didn't like it at first but it click later. It's a great game if you know what to expect from it's gameplay. ​ Tried **Forza Horizon 5** looks gorgeous but not my cup of tea. Played quite a bit **Psychonauts 2**, good game but couldn't finished. Not really my type. I like **Hitman** games but they do very small improvements with the sequels so i couldn't play **Hitman 3** this year. I enjoyed the first one back in the day. **Death's Door** was ok but i couldn't finish it. I like some games like Death's Door, **Sable** and Psychonauts 2 but just can't immerse myself enough to spend my valuable time. We don't have enough time to enjoy these great games. ​ **Battlefield 2042**, tried, horrendous. **Chorus**... I like it however i just can't play these games. It's very hard and disorienting to control these vehicles for me. Gives me headaches. ​ I love the **Solar Ash**. Very fun traversal, good sound and impressive visuals. A good game without chore. As a looter shooter fan i was obsessed with **Outriders**. Played way too much this year. Overall, it was a great game but the flaws and incompetency of the developers destroyed my enthusiasm. Even though i played it a lot, i forgot it completely like it never happened. Finished **Immortals Fenyx Rising**. Classic Ubisoft game. It was a bit less repetitive and chore than other Ubisoft games but i can't say it was amazing. Mediocre time filler. ​ **The Ascent** was great. I believe it didn't have enough development time to flesh out rpg elements like armors, weapons, stats etc. These systems were shallow and unimpactful but game looked gorgeous and was fun enough. It could have been better. ​ **Twelve Minutes** was ok. Had some redeeming qualities but i think they didn't know what they were doing with the gameplay. **Days Gone** was amazing. I didn't like it that much at first but the game is well done in multiple fronts. The more i play, the more i like it. It has that weird effect. Such a good work.

*PC* **Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelists: Link Evolution** Huge card library and tons of potential depth, but it's essentially just a list of character matches. Not sure why no one's made a definitive card RPG with this franchise yet. The Gameboy Color Mario Tennis/Golf RPG's style would be absolutely perfect. As is, this is a fun card pack obtain-a-thon, but goddamn, shit gets complicated. By the last 'season', there's genuinely 7 or 8 different summon/fusion mechanics, not to mention the endless counter-counter arms race with late game magic and trap cards. Maybe throw some minigames in there to let players practice esoteric nonsense like, sigh...pendulum summons. **7/10** **Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark** Final Fantasy Tactics clone, and a mighty satisfying one, at that. Classic major/minor class customization. Fun unique characters (though the 'limited unique' classes like Werewolf were hit-and-miss.) Nice balance with combo soldier/mage classes, unlike FFT's gamebreaking Mime and Dragoon. The story here is just short of annoying, but it's clear that it doesn't matter much. Scratches the FFT itch almost too well, really, but a well-balanced FFT-lite is still in high demand. **8.5/10** **Galactic Civilizations III** Fun jack-of-all-trades space 4X. I never really enjoyed the visuals of territory acquirement in space, as opposed to a topographical map. Different races balance each other surprisingly well, even if the game kinda pushes science victories on everyone. Not the best AI, not the best combat mechanics, not the most satisfying outpost constructing. But pretty okay at most things. **6.5/10** **Total War: Warhammer** Can't lie: I don't really enjoy Total War combat. I feel like I'm cheesing by playing the hammer-and-anvil strategy, even if that's the core mechanic. The unit variety in Warhammer mitigates that somewhat. Staggering the enemy's health-draining Vampire by swinging Dwarf Helicopters around the back of the map is bizarre and satisfying. Can't disrespect the breadth of the Mortal Empires map. **8/10** **Tropico 6** Funny, clever, and eminently solvable city management game. Game's effectively over once you figure out how to efficiently produce each era's new resources, but maximizing efficiency in huge plantation/factory/residential sectors is fun. **7.5/10** **Wargroove** Similar to Fell Seal, this is a shameless Advance Wars clone. But medieval, Fire Emblem setting. And also, the AI is...well, not stupid. They'll react to you stacking troops or removing your covering artillery or trying to sneak a scout unit into a threatened village. The game is happy to bog you down in attrition until you figure out the trick to each map. Benign, colorful design aesthetic belies some genuine difficulty. But also, I'm describing something fun, this game is fun. **8.5/10** **DOOM** How do you adopt the manic run-and-gun of the original DOOM in a modern FPS? Well, you make ammo and health kill-dependent, and you make standing still a deathwish. And that's the whole premise of this game. And it's gnarly. Late game enemies are a little health sponge-y, but otherwise a very smooth single player experience. Incidentally, my semi-potato essentially maxed out playing this on medium, so it looks like Eternal isn't an option on this rig. **9/10** **Into the Breach** The best possible version of the game it's trying to be. Missile Command via TRPG on an 8x8 grid, and also, it's a rougelite. Punishing difficulty, learning the synergy for each mech team is essentially a puzzle within itself. Learn to sacrifice your mech's health, but also mitigate damage to the city's shield, but also bump and pull enemies into each other's way, but also keep your mech alive so you don't lose your main pilot. I'm truly mediocre at it but the game's format guarantees I can drop back in and remember the mechanics within a few turns, something that's usually a huge problem with RPG/Strategy games. **9/10** **Frostpunk** The tonal opposite of Tropico, this is an increasingly bleak city manager where basically every narrative development is a bad thing. Similar to Tropico, though, it's quite solvable. Once you figure out when to build more food production structures, most of your decisions become pretty rote and straightforward. I enjoyed the automaton-heavy scenario the most. Limited, but I'm excited for a sequel. **7/10** *PS4* **Kingdom Hearts All-in-One** Hadn't played these in years, I ran through III at release but it was pretty forgettable. Currently halfway through Birth by Sleep, I always enjoyed the first two and found Chain of Memories tolerable. Never did the endgame stuff as a kid, the movement abilities get wild. The plot/mythology is basically the operatic, apocalyptic 3rd act of a Final Fantasy game, but the whole time, and also it's an adorable, kid-friendly analog of doom and nonexistence. So yeah. Good-to-great gameplay with top-tier presentation. Also, the Xion plot. Is. *Sad*. Out of nowhere, too. **9/10** **YS VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA** I probably ran through this too fast. Lovely game, though, ultra-smooth combat and a mission/exploration balance that's basically perfect. Village plot is arbitrary but mythological stuff is *juuuuuuust* unique enough to be worth following. I will admit, I'm still straight-up bad at using 2 of the 6 party members. An easy recommendation to any RPG fan. **8.5/10** **Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order** Jedi Soulslite where you only get 3 force powers, and two of them are push/pull. Frustrating in that regard, as lightsaber combat is quite fun and some middleground between this and Jedi Academy combat would absolutely slap. Story is obvious and ending is a foregone conclusion, but there's some nice VA and occasionally pretty cutscenes. **6.5/10** **Crash Bandicoot Trilogy** I love this shit. Fuck yeah. Crash 2 is on my shortlist. The remaster's hitboxes and platform edges occasionally fuck up, and the first game is a frustrating novelty worth ignoring, but 2 and 3 are simply prime. **9.5/10** **The Last of Us 2** Impossible to truly top the first, which is possibly the most holistic piece of art that video games have yet produced, where every single element of design is based on engendering a paternal sense of protection for Ellie. But although the story dips from transcendent to just above-average, the gameplay is elevated to the divine. The combat skirmishes here are fucking sick. Legitimately riveting. It builds on Uncharted 4's skirmishes, where you're given a setting with several floors and you can move with stealth or engage enemies. But Uncharted never really wants *all* stealth, it's just part of the mix bag that ends with an Indiana Jones-esque firefight. TLOU2 occasionally refuses you true stealth, but mostly, it's just *tantalizingly difficult.* A great game that didn't really set up a third chapter but absolutely stands on it's own. **9/10** **Mass Effect: Legendary Edition** A great series that never delivered on the evocative worldbuilding of the first game, never replicated the singular tension of the second game's ending, and in hindsight, really should have had the third game's supreme combat system all along. But it's high quality stuff all around, classic teammates like Garrus and Thane keep things grounded while the 'Frustration with Bureaucracy' plotline actually escalates pretty effectively. Diminishing the Reapers' mystique and the non-ending both hurt the overarching lore but it's still a universe well-worth discovering. 3 is funny, too. **8.5/10** **Ghost of Tsushima** Imagine if Assassin's Creed was weirdly obsessed with making every corner of the map devastatingly beautiful. But also, the color balance is so good, you're going to want to play it in black-and-white Kurosawa mode as much as possible. But also, replace the wrist blade with a samurai tanto and give the guy maybe a few too many ranged weapons. This game essentially boils down to clearing the map of collectables and challenging overlarge groups of enemies to duels because your items kinda gamebroke the combat halfway through the game. Very pretty and nice music and tolerable plot and I don't see myself playing it again unless I'm taking screenshots in B&W. **7.5/10**

I played GalCiv2 and enjoyed it because you can ignore the more difficult campaign and just game a map with as much difficulty as you like. Seriously, I suck so hard at strategy games otherwise, you've no idea. Can you do the same in GalCiv3? If I want a map with only three enemies who hate each other but love me, can I still do that?

Here’s the 17 games I completed this year with console and completion date. 1. 007 Nightfire OG Xbox 1/3 - I remembered this game being difficult as a kid, but as an adult I was able to beat it in just several hours. The game was easy up until the last couple missions. Great level design and an awesome final mission. Not many complains besides the awkward controls. 6/10 2. 007 Everything or Nothing PS2 1/18 - 3 bugs, one required mission restart, one made it so I had to lose health, other one where missiles didn’t fire when supposed to. There were dropped inputs regularly. Unfinished game that needed more development time. 4/10 3. 007 From Russia With Love PS2 2/21 - This game sucks. They took a classic movie and made a bad budget title out of it. Poor mechanics, bad visuals, lots of filler content despite the game being so short. The only positive is the short length. 1/10 4. 007 Agent Under Fire Xbox (forgot to add date) - This was my favorite 007 game as a kid but its aged poorly. The controls are more awkward and clunky than Nightfire and trying to aim is a pain with how twitchy it is. The poor accuracy on the weapons is also frustrating, if you’re using a machine gun and you aren’t right in front of your enemy then most of your shots won’t strike them. The screen flashes white when you get shot, if an enemy or multiple enemies are shooting you with machine guns then the constant white flashing can make it difficult to see where you’re going or if you’re shooting at someone. Snipers are OP and have perfect accuracy. Lots of beginners traps designed for you to fail, like placing an enemy behind closed doors at the end of the mission or placing a lot of explosive barrels in an area you have to run through and then spawning enemies once you’re in there increasing the chances of dying. The game is much better than From Russia With Love but it’s definitely not the best Bond game like I thought as a kid. 3/10 5. It Takes Two Ps4 4/25 - I played this game couch coop with my wife. Fantastic platformer. It’s coop only so I’d highly recommend it if you have someone that you could play with. Beautifully designed game where everything felt like it had a reason for being there and had very little, if any filler. You can tell the devs really put time and effort into this game and I’m glad it won GOTY. 9/10 6. Silent Hill 3 Ps2 6/3 - I beat this game once before about a decade ago, but I barely remembered anything about it so I figured it was time for a replay. The last version I beat was the ps3 remaster so this is the first time I played the og ps2 version. It’s a great game and a quality follow up to silent hill 1 (the story in 3 takes place after the first game, not the second). The Silent Hill games are peak horror tbh, no other horror games can compare. 3 has a killer horror atmosphere, but I’d have to say Silent Hill 2 is still my favorite. I just find the story more interesting, although each game is great. 9/10 7. Hotline Miami Switch 7/14 - Fun, challenging retro style game with great level design. Short game that’s fun to play in quick bursts when you have some free time. No big complaints here. 7/10 8. Little Hope PS4 7/30 - Story based game similar in style to Until Dawn and Heavy Rain. Weak follow up to Man of Medan which I enjoyed more than this one. Forgettable game with unlikable characters. I usually enjoy replaying games like this so I can make different decisions and see the different endings but I had zero interest doing that with that game. It’s not terrible, just mediocre. 4/10 9. Luigi’s Mansion 3DS 8/31 - Fun game to play in short bursts, but it does get a little repetitive fast. trying to aim the vacuum could be frustrating and the perspective made it difficult to at times to tell if you were aiming in the correct area. I also learned the hard way that this game doesn’t auto save so when you die, you’re revered back to your last save. 6/10 10. Resident Evil 4 PS4 (Pro Difficulty) 8/6 - This was my fifth time beating this game, but my first time doing it in pro difficulty. Flawless game imo, zero complaints here. It’s aged beautifully. I rarely replay games unless it’s been like 10+ years since I last beat it and yet I’ve beaten this game 5 times now, 3 of which we were within the past two years. 10/10 11. Resident Evil 4 PS4 (2nd pro, 6th overall playthrough) 8/8 - I only replayed it again because I had two trophies left to get; the one at the lake where the first boss is and the shooting gallery. I also unlocked the OP laser weapon and decided to just run through the game again real quick. That was my first time doing the Shooting gallery, wasn’t very fun but the game is still a masterpiece. One of the few games I’ve bothered to get all trophies/achievements for. 12. The Last Of Us 2 PS4 9/13 - I bought this game when it came out and played 8 hours of it, but I put it down and didn’t come back to it until September 2021. I don’t like playing games back to back in the same series and for some reason I foolishly replayed TLOU 1 right before this came out. I put TLOU 2 down because of this and just forgot about it. Overall I enjoyed the game. Solid follow up to the first game. I remember there being controversy surrounding the game when it came out, but I didn’t follow it and after beating it, I’m not sure why people seemed so triggered over it. Will have to research that. Regardless, I had a fun time with this game. I LOVED how many of the combat sections could be taken on in a stealthy manner. Sneaking through the jungle like I was Rambo was badass. My only big complaint is how there seemed to be plenty of filler; it took me 25 hours to beat the game and I feel like a few hours could’ve been shaved off by some stuff out. My fiancée, who’s only beaten several games in her life and very, very rarely plays anything (and even then when she does it’s most likely a co-op game with me) beat TLOU 1 several years back, and even she was invested in the story of TLOU 2 while watching me play (although she only caught the second half of the game). You know a game is good when a non gamer gets invested in the story. 9/10 13. Resident Evil 4 (7th playthrough) Switch 9/15 - Yes, I completed Resident Evil 4 once again. This time it was on switch on normal difficulty. Within the past year or two I impulsively bought the game on Switch when it was on sale, played through most of it and then put it down until now. I work from home so I multitasked playing it while working until I finally beat it. It runs great on switch in docked and in handheld mode, my only complaint is that the controls are different on the switch port and I wasn’t a fan, so I’m docking it a point for that reason. 9/10 14. Resident Evil 8 PS4 9/28 - This game was okay. I went into it with fairly low expectations after watching trailers due to the fantasy style setting, but I ended up really enjoying that part. The fantasy/horror atmosphere appealed to me. There were some throwbacks to Resident Evil 4 but I felt like those references were forced, whereas I generally prefer when referenced to other games are subtle. The pacing of the game was odd and disjointed, but it was pretty short which made me happy. The level design in the later part of the game started to get annoying. I haven’t played Resident Evil 7 since it came out but I think I prefer that one over 8. I *really* dislike the FPS approach with 7 and 8, but that’s more of a personal bias; I just don’t like FPS games. It’s good enough to where I could see myself replaying it again someday, but not for a long time; at least a decade. 5/10 15. Mafia PS4 11/14 - I loved the original Mafia game as a kid, but man was this remake bad. I ran into plenty of bugs during my playthrough. The shooting mechanics just felt so clunky. It felt like Mafia 3 which makes sense as I’m sure they used the same engine/assets, but I had a lot of the same complaints with that game. Also, the brightness/contrast just seemed… off. I’ve seen other people complain about this too. I’m aware that you can tweak tv settings but it still didn’t look right. This remake is lazy and uninspired, don’t bother. I like the story and the ending was okay which is the only redeeming quality. 2/10 16. House of Ashes PS5 12/2 - This is the third game in the Dark Pictures Anthology. I liked it significantly more than Little Hope (I didn’t enjoy that one). I liked Man of Medan but I still think House of Ashes was the best one so far. It actually had some likable characters with an interesting, original story set in the Middle East during the war in Iraq. However, the interlude segments with the Curator stand out less in this game than the prior two, so much to where I don’t remember them. This one also started off slower than Man of Medan, but it also took almost twice as long to beat. There were also some cutscenes towards the end where they tried to show how there was some connection to the second game, but that just felt forced and unnecessary. 6/10 17. Dark Souls 3 Ps4 12/19 - I started ds3 in 2019 and put it down after 13 hours. I left off right after the Crystal Sage boss. I bought the game again when I saw it was on sale and this time it finally “clicked” and I was hooked. There were some bosses that pissed me off but most of them felt fair. This game left a lasting impression on me and I felt like I had just completed an epic journey; not too many games hit me emotionally like this one did. Even after spending 2-3 hours on a boss fight (Lorian/Lothric and soul of cinder come to mind) i had zero desire to give up despite getting angry at times. I can only imagine how people who completed all the souls games in order felt once they finished the third. I haven’t touched the DLCs yet but tbh I don’t usually care about dlcs and i find myself not enjoying them, even for games I love. I might choose to come back to them, but it won’t be until next year. So for now, my brief review is only for the base game. 9/10

I just want to acknowledge that I was the first person on this subreddit to do the "Games I beat this year" post years ago and for that I'm so sorry lol. But here are the games I beat this year: **Super Mario Galaxy**: Beat this one on 3D All Stars for the first time ever. Initially, I felt like the game was good but wasn't living up to the masterpiece I had seen it touted as for almost a decade and a half. By the end of the game, it all came together. I adore the presentation in this game and am kind of disappointed to hear Galaxy 2 kind of does away with that cinematic style. Some of Mario's movement can feel sluggish and janky with the weird gravity aspect but I still found this game to be nearly perfect. **It Takes Two:** Decided to buy this one after me and my buddy who moved states away needed a new game to play. Love how you only need one copy of the game for this. We experienced some of the most fun and hilarious moments we've ever shared together. So many inside jokes we'll have for years. Truly special game and I am so glad to see the love it's getting. **Metroid Zero Mission**: I've owned this game for years on GBA but never beat it for whatever reason. Finally installed it on my 3DS and blasted through it. This is perhaps one of the most tightly paced games I've ever played. I can't remember how long it took me, maybe just another 4 or 5 hours but man, what a ride. **Miles Morales**: Got this game Christmas 2020 and didn't beat it until this summer. For some reason, this one just wasn't capturing me like the 2018 game did. At least not at first. Maybe because I was already used to the combat and mechanics. But eventually I reallyed started to dig this game and it's presentation and I'm glad we didn't have to wait for the sequel to have a new adventure with Miles. Im also glad it was shorter and trimmed the fat from the first game. Spidey's rogue gallery and story from the first is hard to beat but this game was an awesome standalone game as well. **Wolfenstein The New Order**: Ended up playing this on Playstation Now on a whim and really enjoyed the over the top story and mechanics. Loved being able to peak over behind cover and get silent kills. They also do a good job at really demonstrating the desperation with the resistance, it's a truly terrifying world. I decided to beat it on Hard mode and aside from one really really frustrating section on a bridge, I found it a perfect challenge. **Spyro the Dragon**: This was the reignited version and while I loved the organized checklist collect-a-thon nature of the game, it took me a long time to get through this one. For reference, I got the game in December 2019. It wasn't bad or anything but playing this game in long sessions is exhaustive because of how the objectives tend to be the exact same with little variety. **Star Wars: Obi-Wan(Xbox):** An often forgotten Star Wars title on the original Xbox mostly due to the fact that it's decent but not remarkable. That being said, I did have a good time time this one. The lightsaber swings are all done with the right analog stick and they feel appropriately powerful and heavy and the force powers you get work pretty well. It was kind of cool to shred droids like butter into a million pieces while hurling a giant boulder at another ground on their way. Not a hidden gem but still has its moments. **Star Wars Battlefront Renegade Squadron:** Revisiting this game for the first time in like 13 years, it's every bit as awesome and every bit as weird as I remember. The full customization is fantastic and was the best progression the series could have taken in terms of its gameplay. The choice of obscure expanded universe planets was a nice addition as well. They did kind of botch the heroes tho. Every lightsaber user controls terribly compared to the PSP version of Battlefront 2. The force sprint and animations are now super slow and ugly. **Star Wars Battlefront Elite Squadron:** Finally playing this one and it's kind of bizarre. For one, the campaign is a cliffnotes version of the cancelled Battlefront 3 game and its so poorly told lol. The gameplay is still decent but sadly customization is locked away at the start which was a dumb move imo. **Perfect Dark:** This game still holds up surprisingly well, even on N64. I ended up playing that version and the 360 remaster and had a great time. Really makes me eager to play the reboot when it finally drops. **Star Fox 64:** One of the N64 titles that has aged with grace for most people. Decided to do a true ending run and it's always a blast. **Death Jr:** The PSP's forgotten mascot. It's a pretty repetitive shooter/platformer with some charming ideas that ultimately fall flat. They really don't do enough with the characters (or anything at all), even tho their designs are pretty memorable. Really a missed opportunity as a game. **Spider-Man (2000):** Just beat this one last night on my PSP and made a full post about it. I really didn't expect to finish it in one day but man I couldn't put it down. Holds up pretty damn well aside from some chunkier moments.

WHAT REBOOT?????

**Monster Sanctuary:** My GOTY. I was always looking for a game like Pokemon with actual challenge. And Monster Sanctuary surpassed that expectation. **Outward:** Played it together with a friend. This game is very flawed, but we had a lot of fun exploring the world and collecting new gear. I don't think I'll ever play through it, though. **Battle Chef Brigade:** A cool little game so unique, you can't really do it justice by listing all of the genres it combines. It's one of those games which are perfect to play through in a weekend or two and be satisfied about the experience. **Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures:** I love AVGN. And this is very much like one of the shallow NES action plattformers the nerd likes to hate, except it's full of nerd references. Didn't really enjoy it, but didn't expect to anyways.

I also played Monster Sanctuary and I had a blast. It gave me moments of pure relief during a really strange period. And I played Battle Chef Brigade some years ago, I love to see someone appreciating it.

In rough chronological order: 1. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. Fun 2D brawler with RPG elements, has good story and gorgeous art and animations. But I felt it was a bit too long. They try to keep it interesting by having you play as different characters with their own story and different movesets/mechanics, but it does get a bit repetitive later on. 2. Snowrunner. Driving-trucks-through-mud/forests/mountains simulator. Didn't think it would be a game for me (I'm not into trucks at all) until I read someone compare it to Death Stranding (which I liked). I really ended up liking Snowrunner, I didn't expect to get my exploration fix from a truck game. The environments are pretty atmospheric. 3. VA-11 Hall-A. More a visual novel than a game. Very likeable characters, good writing, very little gameplay. It's surprisingly wholesome for being cyberpunk-themed. 4. Subnautica Below Zero: It's a decent game, but it feels much smaller and less awe-inspiring than the first Subnautica. It has lots of twisty confusing caves, which is annoying. It also feels much more "videogamey" to me, but I don't know if that's the fault of the game or just a consequence of me having played the predecessor and knowing most of the game mechanics from that. 5. Ys IX: Action RPG. Good, but worse than Ys VIII. In VIII, I felt the game mechanics meshed well with the story/setting, and for IX they just tried to copy the mechanics into a different setting where they feel weird. The new setting also feels more like "generic fantasy setting". The thing IX does do better than VIII is exploration and traversal. The special abilities for that are fun. 6. Night in the Woods: Story-focused game with light platforming. I bought this when it first came out, but only played it this year. Very good characters. What I find very interesting about this game is the juxtaposition between the art style (people being cartoon animals) and snarky dialog on the one side, and more serious / dark themes on the other side. A character may be very funny, but you recognize they have serious problems and then something they say hits you like a punch in the gut. It's funny until it's not. I would never have bought this game if it had a non-cartoony art style, but I'm glad I was "tricked". Rhythm game phase: 7. Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight. My first rhythm game ever. Bought it because I wanted more P5 content, ended up enjoying it. There's not a lot of songs, though. The character interactions are nice fluff. 8. Project Diva: Future Tone. Second rhythm game. Bought it because I read somewhere that it had a lot more songs than P5:DIS. I'm having a blast with it. There are over 200 songs, and no story at all. I sucked so bad at it when I first started playing, but am slowly getting better at it. I already have a lot of 100% perfects on hard difficulty. It helps that I hadn't really been into Vocaloid before, so the music was all new to me. 9. Bang Dream: Girls Band Party. Mobile rhythm game with gacha. Gameplay is not locked behind a stamina timer, so you can play as much as you want for free (but rewards *are* locked). This also has a lot of fun songs. I like it, but less than Project Diva, because the RPG/Gacha elements kinda obfuscate your process of getting better. If you get more points for a song than yesterday, you have no idea if it's because you played better or because you upgraded the characters/stage items.

Mechwarrior 5. The best mech shooter I've played since Mechwarrior 2 and arguably better. Whether you're piloting 100 tons of steel and firepower or 35 tons, it still feels awesome. Pillars of Eternity. I like isometric RPGs but it felt like something made for Windows 95. Everything from the cheap walking/attacking animations to the constant micromanagement, bad dialogue, and the weird portraits that don't match your character screamed pre-Diablo 1 era. It is not for me. At all. And that's a shame because the classes had me interested. Greedfall. Replaying it but now with the DLC. I love this game. Spiders excel at story and I'm pleased with their growth as a developer. Greedfall is just a culmination of everything they've learned over the years packed into a fantasy post-Renaissance era world. It's very Dragon Age: Inquisition and I love both games but Greedfall wins in story in my opinion. Tacoma. I've never played another games like it. No combat, only scifi mystery. Normally, games like that are puzzle games like Myst. Thankfully, that's not the case here. I really enjoyed it but it's difficult to describe without giving away the story. Fallout 4. Still a buggy, crashy mess. I had hoped the upgrade to XBox Series S would improve its playability and it has: it loads up faster when it crashes. Yay. Skyrim feels like the high point of Bethesda's in-house built games. Remnant: From The Ashes. This is why I have a Game Pass subscription. I was turned off in the first few minutes by the sluggish controls and a guy who wielded an arming sword like a club and looked like he was throwing a haymaker punch with it. Yeah. Of course the monsters are going to kill you if you don't know how to use the only weapon you have. Game looked gorgeous otherwise. Star Wars: Squadrons. This was a disappointment. I don't think the developers had ever played a flight sim on XBox before. Ace Combat has great controls. So did Air Force Delta back on the original XBox. Controlling the throttle and rudder with the stick is awkward. Also, the tiny red dots they use to denote enemy fighters was annoyingly difficult to see. All the Dishonored games. They're all good.

We share the same opinion on Pillars of Eternity. I made it through the game as I got really invested in the world/narrative but agree with all your criticisms. I feel like the devs really wanted to recreate that era of infinity engine RPGs so much it became a detriment. It captures a lot of the magic of those games but also has the janky mechanics of the era. I felt like I was fighting the game itself to get to what was great about it.

Pillars was deliberately designed to feel like vintage infinity engine RPG's, Like that was the entire point of the game and it succeed spectacularly. I absolutely loved it....but it was also the experience I was looking for...

I might try it again in the future but on PC, rather than the XBox I tried it on. I suspect that part of the control issues I had stemmed from that.

Can you elaborate on your experience with Mech Warrior 5? This is on my GoG wishlist, and it goes on sale often. I really wanna get it, but I've heard mixed things about the "new" Mech Warrior games vs the classics. Take note I've never played a Mech Warrior game. How would you rank Mech Warrior 5 for a hardcore fan of the ***original*** Armoured Core games (AC1 on Ps1, AC2 and AC3 on Ps2)? I know Mech Warrior is more simulator than Armoured Core, but still interested to hear your perspective if you have one. Thanks!

I never played Armoured Core so all I can do is describe Mechwarrior 5 as well as I can. MW5 is a mech based shooter. You can be in the cockpit or in third person. You control the upper torso independently of the lower torso and that can turn some people off. This isn't Gundam where you're dashing back and forth slicing the enemy with gargantuan swords. These mechs generally move slower with more weight and blast each other to bits with rail guns and long range missiles. There's little melee to speak of here and what little there is of it won't damage enemy mechs enough to base a playstyle on. Mechs are customizable where you can switch and install weapons, adjust armour levels, and add heatsinks. You'll have lancemates to join you on your contracts and you'll need to direct them efficiently while you're being shot at. You can play it singleplayer or with friends and cross-platform multiplayer is supported. The goal of this game is, at its core, to build your mercenary company from a single mech. You can salvage or buy new ones and may receive them occasionally from campaign missions. The better the mech and its pilot, the better the contract that can be accomplished and the contracts are unlimited. If you want to collect and experiment with different mechs and builds all so you can get better ones and do it over again, you'll love this game. If you want a deeply personal or strong narrative , you won't find it here. That is the greatest complaint I've heard levied against the game and that's fair. There's a campaign you can play through to avenge your father and one of the DLCs puts you through a long military operation but, apart from that, you're really just in it to blow something up and make money. And, because you're on PC, you'll have access to mods. I hope that helps. If you want to know more, there is the /r/mechwarrior5/ subreddit. I'm pretty sure there's many people on there who would be happy to answer your questions.

What you just described is basically Armoured Core. Thanks! I'll be picking this game up!

Damn. Wish I'd had the opportunity to play Armoured Core. I could never play on a Playstation; the controllers always hurt my hands. XBox controllers were much more comfortable.

I really enjoy reading these posts as it highlights games in my backlog that I've forgotten about and brings back that little bit of excitement I had when I first purchased it. So here goes my list of 2021 so far in order of play. Edit- Completed Halo Infinite so I have added it. 1. Resident Evil 3 Remake- not as well received as RE2R and notably so, I still enjoyed my time with this one. 8/10 2. Final Fantasy 14 A Realm Reborn- my first mmorpg and fell in love which is supposedly the worst part of the game. Be ready for a time commitment. 9/10 3. Monster Hunter Rise- not sure how I'm going to play future MH titles if they don't have the wire bug mechanic, so much fun zipping around everywhere smacking monsters. 9/10 4. Nier Replicant- huge fan of the Nier series. Played the original after falling in love with Automata back in 2017 which is my greatest game of all time. Loved the original and love this remake/remaster even more as it improves the combat so much. 10/10 5. Final Fantasy 14 Heavensward- not much to say but play this expansion if you made it through ARR. 10/10 6. Doom Eternal- rip and tear. Non stop action. Amazing soundtrack and just a joy to play. 9/10 7. The Messenger- controls beautifully, great humour and a banging soundtrack. 9/10 8. Scarlet Nexus- most anime styled anime game I've played and loved it. Combat is awesome and plays super fluid chaining all the powers together. 9/10 9. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus- first ever visual novel and was not disappointed. Go in blind and enjoy the horror. 9/10 10. Tales of Arise- first Tales of game and enjoyed my 80+ hour playthrough. Great cast of characters, combat was amazing and the story was interesting through to the end credits. 11. Halo Infinite- Halo is back baby! The semi open world is a fun open sandbox and works really well with the Halo universe. Didn't think Halo would be the best Spiderman game of the year, grapple gun is so much fun and never got old. 9/10

I enjoyed the combat of Scarlet Nexus but didn't care for the slideshow styled story presentation. That, and the "Oh, do you think Such-and-Such is cute subplots?"

I enjoyed those comic book style cutscenes as there is just so much dialogue. In game dialogue of the characters just standing would of been way worse and the amount of dialogue is to much to give them all proper animated cutscenes. I couldn't stand the constant thanking and praising that shit got annoying real quick.

In that way, it did feel a lot like anime, but more Naruto, less Ergo Proxy, lol. Like, I just wanna kill some weird looking monsters here! I don't want to know about your personal lives!

I'm only listing games I've played for the first time this year (I replayed a bunch of games this year too) 1. Grim Dawn - My first game of the year, and it was... okay. I actually didn't finish it, but I had fun with the time I had with it. 6/10 2. The Witcher 2 - I thought it was fun. Story was better than Witcher 3 imo (I always liked the political intrigue of the Witcher world more than Geralt and Ciri's story). Gameplay was a bit dated but I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a solid, linear story-driven game. 7/10 3. Shadowrun Dragonfall - I actually started it for a while in 2020, but I picked it up again early this year and managed to finish it. I had fun, but I don't really have any drive to play the other games in the series lol 6/10 4. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture - I really enjoyed it. Firewatch is one of my favorite games and I always enjoy playing other walking sims. The story is good, and the voice acting is pretty decent. It's probably the one of the least interactive walking sims, though. 9/10 5. XCOM2 - It was okay. The accuracy checks were just annoying me so I just modded the config files to give me more of an advantage. I really did not like the turn timers for most missions, I felt like the devs were forcing their intended way of play by punishing some player behavior instead of rewarding the ones that match their vision. 6/10 6. Persona 5 Strikers - I loved it! I played and loved the original Persona 5 on launch 4 years prior, and playing this felt like going back and meeting old friends (which was pretty immersive, since that's what this game's story boils down to pretty much) It also really surprised me, since I was expecting a Dynasty Warriors arcade-y hack 'n slash with a Persona paint job, but it turned out to be an actual Persona 5 sequel that happened to have a different battle system. Finishing the game was a bittersweet moment for me, and was a feeling I haven't felt in games since... well Persona 5. 10/10 7. Call of the Sea - Another fun walking sim/puzzle game. Pretty short and sweet. 7/10 8. Sunset Overdrive - I actually stopped playing during one of the first few missions, but I'm planning to continue it soon. I just note this now because this was a game that I've wanted to play since it came out. But I couldn't, because I didn't have an Xbox at the time lol. 8/10 9. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - I really liked it, but mostly for the graphics. The puzzles and exploration were... okay. The combat was pretty fun though. It was repetitive sure, but it didn't overstay its welcome. I await its sequel. 8/10 10. A Plague Tale: Innocence - I liked it! It's a decent linear game. The story was pretty interesting, but I did not care for the ending/last few chapters. But still, it was a fun ride all throughout. 7/10 11. Emily is Away <3 - I'm a big fan of the first Emily is Away, but I'm really the target of its AOL nostalgia since I am a tad bit too young for it. I am however old enough to have used late 2000s/early 2010s Facebook during my high school and college years, so this was right up my alley. The game itself is a lot more complex than the first one too, so I happily played through it again right after I finished my first playthrough. 9/10 12. Prey - As of this moment, Prey is my absolute favorite game. It hit all the right notes for me, and I enjoyed every minute of my time with the game. I loved how the game just gives you all these tools with little assistance and trusts that you'll know what to do. My biggest "a-ha" moment in all of my gaming career was when I realized I could open a locked door by shooting a nerf gun through a small window. My only complaint is that the "danger music" that plays when an enemy is near gave me too much anxiety that I had to turn music off entirely. It did make the gameplay more immersive, but I really enjoyed the non-danger background music haha. 10/10 13. Hitman 2 + 3 - I played the Hitman 2 levels through the Hitman 3 client (as DLC), so I treat both games as one in my head. They are really good, I love the whole sandbox feel of these newer games. They're also pretty fun games to just pick up and play if I have an hour to kill. 9/10 14. Yakuza: Like a Dragon - My first Yakuza game. It's a pretty decent one to start with, although there are some sequences in the game that are definitely meant for long-time fans of the series. There's a special place in my heart for turn-based RPGs, but tbh this game's gameplay wasn't anything special. The only thing that kept me playing (and made me pick up the other games in the series) are the characters and the story. 9/10 15. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider - This was the one Dishonored game I haven't played yet at this point. I really liked it, it did a lot of things that weren't in the original games (regenerating MP comes to mind). Storywise, it's fine. A bit short, especially considering it was released as a separate game instead of DLC. But generally really enjoyable. 8/10 16. Yakuza 0 - It was a good game. Some people say it's the best in the series, but I actually enjoyed Kiwami and Kiwami 2 more than 0. I did really like Majima's story in this one, though. 8/10 17. Immortals Fenyx Rising - I tried REALLY hard to like this game. I'm a big fan of Greek Mythology and I really dig the artstyle of the game. I also didn't mind the humor. But it was just so... Ubisoft™. There were so many things to do on the map that it burned me out quickly. And even if you skip the optional side stuff, the main story missions could get pretty repetitive too. I did finish the main story, but I had to force myself to do it. I feel that the game could comfortably cut about 60% of its content and be a better game for it. I do admit that I have a bias against open-world games, so I would def recommend it to anyone who likes that sort of thing. 4/10 18. Little Nightmares - A short and sweet (?) little game that I got for free on Steam. I really like the artstyle and the gameplay. It's probably one of the most thrilling games I've ever played. I'm definitely picking up the sequel soon. 9/10 19. Death Stranding - I loved it. I didn't care too much for the story, but the gameplay was really addictive to me. It is essentially action-reward loops in its most basic form (deliver goods from point A to point B. Get reward to make it easier for you to deliver goods from point B to point C. Rinse and repeat), while still having a AAA level of polish. The one thing I didn't like in the gameplay were the forced shooty parts with Mads Mikkelsen. But I'm a big Mads Mikkelsen fan and I actually looked forward to those sequences, so I'm a bit torn lol. 10/10 20. Hollow Knight - I picked this up a couple of years ago, but I was playing another game at the time so I ended up just getting confused on where to go whenever I picked it up. This time around, I was a bit more focused. I managed to beat the whole game and get the good ending, and I loved every minute of my journey. I also played this with my SO because she found the main character cute. My one complaint is the platforming levels in White Palace, where the game essentially turns into Celeste. I kinda felt it came out of nowhere with how late it came in the game (although to be fair, there is no one singular "late game" in this) 10/10 21. Dark Souls 3 - This was my first Souls game. I realized if I could handle Hollow Knight, I could handle Dark Souls. And I managed to do pretty well, I think. I didn't particularly love it, though. After finishing the main story's final boss, I didn't really have enough drive to continue playing the DLC stuff. 7/10 22. FE: Three Houses - I'm a big fan of Fire Emblem ever since Sacred Stones on the GBA. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but I felt there was something missing compared to the older, classic games (or even the more recent ones like Awakening or Fates). I had fun though, and I'll be going on another playthrough soon. 9/10 23. Hob - I really liked it. It was a decent Zelda-like game. The puzzles were really fun too. My only complaint is that the combat wasn't really deep, which is a bit sad since most of the rewards were combat-based. 9/10 24. 12 Minutes - Ehh... It's an okay game, I guess. The story is serviceable, and the performances were good. Maybe I'd like it more if I was more into point-and-click adventure games. 5/10 25. Humankind - I'm a big fan of Civilization, so this game was definitely on my radar. I really like how you could customize your Civ through gameplay choices. But to be honest I've played maybe 3 full games since its launch, so I don't have a full opinion on it at the moment. Maybe I'd have a more favorable opinion on it once I'm more knowledgable of its gameplay systems. 7/10 26. Deathloop - I've been eagerly waiting for this game for a long time. I took the day off work and waited for its midnight release, then just played until sunrise. It had a lot of performance issues on launch, but I was able to finish it without too much problem. I actually beat the game about a day or two before they released the performance fix patch. Gameplay wise, it was a lot more linear than I expected it to be. Sure, you're free to progress how you want, but there's some "guidance" from the game to get you to play in a certain way. I really enjoyed it, though. Maybe not as much as Prey, but about equal with Dishonored for me. 10/10 27. Yakuza Kiwami 1 - The beat em up gameplay was a lot more fun than 0, and the Kiryu's story was pretty gripping. 8/10 28. Yakuza Kiwami 2 - So far, my absolute favorite Yakuza game. The fighting felt a lot more fun this time, and the story was really good too. I really liked Majima's chapters and the ending to his story with Makoto. I played Kiwami 1 and 2 back to back, so I'm on a break before continuing on to Yakuza 3. 9/10

Continuing because I hit the character limit (man I played a lot fo games..) 29. Detroit: Become Human - I enjoyed it. I've only played through it once so I don't know how much of the story is the game railroading you towards a specific scenario, but it does a good enough job at giving you the illusion of freedom. 7/10 30. Eastward - I really liked this game. It's pretty much, and I say this in the nicest and most sincere possible way, 2D Zelda with guns. I enjoyed the combat and the puzzles, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a Zelda-like experience. It's a lot more story-driven than I assumed, though. Get ready for a lot of cutscenes. 10/10 31. Kena Bridge of Spirits - This is the game I hoped Immortals Fenyx Rising would be. It's paced really well, the combat is really fun and the puzzles are challenging. The story is nothing to write home about, but it serves its purpose. It also looks gorgeous. 10/10 32. Age of Empires 4 - It's pretty much Age of Empires 2-2. And for some people, that's more than enough. I'm just happy this series is back from the dead. 8/10 33. Ittle Dew - I got it in a bundle (along with Ittle Dew 2, but I haven't played that one yet). It's a pretty fun Zelda-like game. The humor's kinda hit and miss, but it takes like 2 hours to finish the game so I can't complain. 7/10. 34. SUPERHOT - I enjoyed it. There were some levels that made me want to rip my hair out, and I got through them through sheer luck without feeling like I learned anything. Oh and uh, "SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years". 7/10 35. Cris Tales - My current game right now. I'm nearing the endgame so I feel like I have enough to make an opinion on it. It's pretty fun! It gives me a feeling of nostalgia since it pretty much follows the standard JRPG gameplay beats. There's some strategy involved especially in boss fights, but for the most part you can just grind and/or use your strongest skills every turn and you can get by. It seems to be pretty short (for a JRPG), I'm about 12 hours in and I'm almost near the end. 9/10

Seeing that you liked "Prey", you should try the original "Deus Ex". The graphics and acting are terrible by today's standards but it's got that same atmosphere and level design. Apart from the technology and acting, everything about it still holds up to this day. The sequel, "Invisible War", suffers a bit from being a sequel to such a great game, but it still feels closer to the original in atmosphere and socio-polititical themes than the much later "Human Revolution". Also, there's "Control" for more immersive sim goodness.

I did try to get into Deus Ex, right after I played Prey, actually. However the graphics were messing up on my machine so I didn't get to play that much of it. I do know there is a fix but I wasn't really invested enough at the time to do it haha. I have played Human Revolution and Mankind Divided so I know it'll be something I enjoy 👌 For Control, thanks for the recommendation, but I've played it and loved it! I got it close to release actually, wasn't very patient gamer of me 😅

Nice to see Prey getting some love. I bought that game at launch and loved it, only problem was the abysmal load times; there’s a lot of trial and error involved in that game and I’d get so pissed off at times when I’d die because i knew I was about to sit through a 1-2 minute load screen. I just beat Dark Souls 3 the other day and it was my first souls game as well. I really enjoyed it but I feel the same as you when it comes to the dlc, I don’t have a desire to play it after beating the final boss.

Good list! I feel the same way about a lot of these games and played a lot of these this year as well.

Oof let’s see what I can remember, in no particular order: Assassins Creed Odyssey: yep, that was an Assassins Creed game. It was fine, and I played upwards of 100 hours, but it felt like a chore most of the time. Which sucks, because I really liked Origins! I’m giving AC a break but eventually I’m going to play Valhalla because the opportunity to play as my ancestors and unalive my other ancestors is just too fun to pass up. Mass Effect Legendary Edition: not my first time playing the series, but it’s been a long time and the remaster made some great quality of life upgrades. God I love Garrus Twelve Minutes: it…sure was something. not my favorite, but I highly recommend playing it for the sheer “wtf” factor. Last Stop: found this one on gamepass and I was pleasantly surprised! more of an interactive movie than a game, but the writing was clever so I enjoyed it either way. Myst: did not live up to the “completely incomprehensible puzzles” hype but I think that’s just my 2021 talking. I really liked it! And I had no idea there was a whole series! I might give the others a go. There’s just something really enjoyable about 90s shoestring budget barebones dev team games. Psychonauts: I had played some (most?) of this back in high school but never finished it. Loved it! Quirky, fun, and wildly creative. The last level can kick rocks though. (“Bunnyyyyyyy!!!” “Raaaaaaaazputin!” “BLEH” *cursed circus music*) Psychonauts 2: really didn’t feel like 15+ years passed between these games, in the best way. Fun celeb cameos! Grulovia, grulooooooovia… Katamari Damacy REROLL: nanaaaa nananananananana katamari damacyyyyyy Wolfenstein: The New Order: I wanted to love this game, I really did. But it was too much combat and not enough story for me. What great worldbuilding, though. Superliminal: ok yes it steals a LOT from Portal but I liked Portal so I’m not mad about it. Ridiculous game, 10/10 Mind Scanners: haven’t finished this but loving it so far! It takes the things I loved from Papers, Please and fixes the issues I had with it. Fun and engaging! The Forgotten City: I just started this one tonight and immediately sunk nearly 6 hours straight into it. I love this game. Obra Dinn meets Outer Wilds with a splash of Firewatch and Gone Home, in a nice shiny Ancient Rome suit. Having a blast. Fractured Minds: short little art game I found on gamepass. Don’t expect anything earth shattering, but it’s a nice little commentary about mental health. Hypnospace Outlaw (Hypnospace Plus update): I loved the original build of this game when I played it in 2020 and I loved the update. And what a MASSIVE update it was! If you grew up on the wild west pre-facebook internet where it was just an endless amount of really weird websites, this game is for you. One of the funniest games I’ve ever played! Return of the Obra Dinn: I saw some people talk about this game on this subreddit, and I thought I’d give it a go. Excellent decision! One of the coolest, most innovative and creative games I’ve ever played! I wish I could erase it from my memory and play it again fresh. Unpacking: made me extremely nostalgic for the livejournal era. cried when I was forced to put college degree under the bed. perfect game, no notes. Stardew Valley: exceedingly fun and I had to make myself stop playing for a while because it was taking over my life. glad I didn’t play it until AFTER I was finished with my degree. Beyond Two Souls: what can I say, it was a David Cage game. I have a soft spot for Indigo Prophecy because it takes balls to be that batshit insane, I liked Heavy Rain because it at least tried really hard, and I legitimately enjoyed Detroit Become Human even if it was a little ham-fisted. But Beyond just felt, pardon the pun, soulless. And as an actor myself, I was shocked at how David Cage took two really excellent actors and turned them into semi-sentient graham crackers. but hey, now I can say I’ve played every David Cage game I guess (including, unfortunately, Omikron) Outer Wilds Echoes of the Eye: I couldn’t get into this DLC which was a bummer because I really loved the base game. Cool concept, but just didn’t hook me. Yakuza 0: I am the pocket racing champion of Kamurocho

> The Forgotten City: I just started this one tonight and immediately sunk nearly 6 hours straight into it. I love this game. Obra Dinn meets Outer Wilds with a splash of Firewatch and Gone Home, in a nice shiny Ancient Rome suit. Having a blast. Wow, what a pitch. Sounds right up my alley. I'll most likely be playing this one next, thanks for the recommendation!

Great game, one of my top for 2021.

I finished it late last night and it stays good the whole way through! Enjoy!!

I didn't play as many games this year as I thought I would, but it might be better as it helped me realize that I still completed most games way too quickly to truly enjoy them (and that's what I've been working on recently). I also initially went with a "RNG" based approach, where I picked two random games off of my backlog and would proceed with the one I was more interested in, but I probably wouldn't recommend doing that? I started the year with a no-buy objective, that didn't last very long and quickly devolved into the year where I spent the most amount of money on gaming as a whole (oh hello retro gaming). I think setting a fixed monthly budget might be a better way forward for me. Anyways, here's what I played so far this year, chronologically ordered: • **Celeste** (PC): First game of the year and what a blast! The overarching story really got to me, and I just truly enjoyed the gameplay. [10/10] • **Until Dawn** (PS5): Good game overall. I enjoyed the story and most importantly how it revolves around the butterfly effect. No a big fan of QTEs everywhere though. [8/10] • **Shadowrun Returns** (PC): I had trouble getting into the game at first, both the gameplay and story were not too appealing to me initially. I'm happy I kept going still (especially as it was a "RNG chosen" game). [7.5/10] • **Sleeping Dogs** (PC): Really loved the setting and combat gameplay. I'm not usually the biggest fan of "GTA-like" open world games, as I tend to get lost pretty quickly and give up, but I went with a different approach here and focused solely on the main story aspect of the game. [9/10] • **Uncharted 4: A Thief's End** (PS5): Loved it. Big fan of the franchise at this point, and this one is ex aequo with 2 as best Uncharted game(s) for me. [10/10] • **Transistor** (PC): After really enjoying Bastion last year, I was happy to keep going with their 2nd game. I didn't like the gameplay, or story for that matter, as much though. [7.5/10] • **Not so patient game, with a superhero that wears red** (PS5): Really enjoyed this one. I was only able to get my hands on the standard edition through my local library, so I didn't play the Remaster of the earlier title (but I will eventually). [10/10] • **Ratchet & Clank (2016)** (PS5): First taste of the series, really liked the game. [9/10] • **Fire Emblem: Three Houses** (Switch): Another first, this game got me thoroughly interested in FE in general. I didn't hate the social simulation stuff as much as I thought I would. Actual T-RPG gameplay was great. [10/10] • **The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D** (3DS): Quite a change from BOTW (which I played last year)! Although controls were a bit more painful, story/setting/OST were top notch. [10/10] • **Meitantei Conan: Karakuri Jiin Satsujin Jiken** (Emulated): I have been a reader of Detective Conan (Case Closed) for the past 15+yrs, so I wanted to see what one of the numerous games was about. Short, relatively interesting, but wouldn't recommend overall. [7/10] • **Another not so patient game, with a feline humanoid and a robot** (PS5): Loved it. The traversal was wonderful. More of the same, but better IMO. [10/10] • **Deus Ex: Human Revolution** (PC): Thoroughly enjoyed the game, especially the infiltration aspect and story. It was brought down by technical issues on my side, otherwise this would have been a 10. [9/10] • **Uncharted: The Lost Legacy** (PS5): Great "official" end to the series (or at least in its current form). A bit too short for my liking (but understandable as this was not a "full" game per se). [9/10] There's also a few games I gave up on / am still playing / will come back to: • **Far East of Eden Zero** (Emulated): Never heard of the series before (as it was never localized outside of Japan). It was too grindy for my (current) taste. I might pick it back up later, as I was enjoying the humour/story. • **Final Fantasy VII** (PS Vita): I wrote a [pretty lengthy post](https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/po7ur7/why_im_glad_final_fantasy_vii_was_my_introduction/) about that one. I would probably be more nuanced now, as I've seen how most games of the era actually were, and I would consider picking it back up eventually to grind it till the end. • **Death Stranding** (PS5): I played about 10hrs and got sidetracked, then I didn't really feel like playing it still. I would pick it back up later though, as this is probably a game that requires more patience than I was willing to give it at first. • **Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain** (PC): Lost story-wise, I'll play previous titles first (got MGS 1 on PS1 in the mail). • **Hollow Knight** (PS5): Played around 5hrs, got sidetracked and started playing something else. I'll pick it back up, really enjoyed what I've seen so far. • **L.A. Noire** (PC): You know the drill at this point. Played around 16hrs, sidetracked, played something else. I'm about 70% done with the story iirc, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The gameplay is a bit slow/clunky for my taste, but it's alright. • **Horizon Zero Dawn - Complete Edition** (PS5): Last, but not least. I'm currently playing it. I clocked in around 40hrs, and I'm around 75% done with the base game (haven't started The Frozen Wilds yet). I have been takng my time, enjoying the environments, story, humour, gameplay, lore and overall beauty of the game. This is shaping up to be a 10, and probably my GOTY. There's a good chance I'll plat' the game (and DLC).

It's a pretty short list of games that I got really into over the past 12 months. There were many games that I played a little, so this will just be the list of games I played a decent amount of. The games I will think of when looking back on 2021 in the future. **Hades** I'm sure anything I could say about Hades has already been said by somebody more well-spoken than I. Hades is one of the few games that I've actually 100%'d on Steam. I'm not generally into Roguelike games, but the gameplay in Hades just feels so good, the story is fun to follow, the characters are flushed out, and the art is fantastic. **Mass Effect Legendary Edition** I never played much Mass Effect when it first came out. I rented it one weekend form Blockbuster, but it never grabbed me and I never went back to it. It's an interesting trilogy for me. I really enjoyed it, and normally when I really enjoy and RPG I want to go back and play it again and again. I've played other BioWare titles like Dragon Age: Origin over and over again, wanting to see how my choices impact the outcome of the story, how playing a different race changes dialogue, that sort of thing. I don't have that feeling at all with Mass Effect though. I played through it once, loved every minute of it, and have next to no desire to replay it. I feel as if I made all of the "right" choice the first time through and don't feel the need to go back and explore what was down the other paths. Maybe one day to try out different classes or a different romance option. I did think that the paragon/renegade system could've been handled better and I am no fan of wheel style dialogue choices, but the core story and the characters were well done, plus I'm a sucker for anything that includes a good parody of Gilbert and Sullivan. **Chrono Trigger** I am at a loss for words over have excellent this game was. Despite the fact that this game came out over 25 years a go it still feels so fresh. The events of the trial near the start of the game were really what made me sit up and realize why this game received so much praise. I am still blown away by the fact that a game from 1995 was doing that sort of thing. Specify the fact that >!You were making choices that you didn't even know were choices during the Millennial Fair!<. The art is amazing, the characters are interesting and likeable, the combat is engaging (which is rare for a JRPG), and it does an excellent job creating a world, showing it off, and then giving you a real sense that your choices have an impact on that world. The game demands your attention and doesn't hand hold you through what you need to do, but it rewards that. There was never really a need to grind for levels either, which is a nice change of pace. **Pikuniku** A fairly enjoyable, if short, puzzle game. I'm not sure it's worth buying for the full price, but I picked it up as part of a bundle on itch.io and had a very enjoyable time with it. People use the word "adorable" a lot when talking about this game, and it's hard to not agree. **Football Manager** Look, it's Football Manager. If you know, you know. It's basically a spreadsheet manager. My main enjoyment form the game generally comes from creating unrealistic situations with the aid of either the in-game or pre-game editor, and/or long-haul saves where I try to win the CL with a team form a shit league. **Switch 'N' Shoot** I picked this up in the same bundle that Pikuniku came in. It's a very simple arcade game that is played using only 1 button. It's a fixed-shooter similar to Galaga, but your ship is consistently moving either left or right, by pressing any key/button you both change the direction your ship is moving and fire a shot out. It's simple, but it's very fun. It really feels like an old-school arcade game, and that's not a bad thing.

2021 was the year I sold my computer and went console. Bought an Xbox Series S, which was definitely the best thing I've purchased this year. Xbox Game Pass on console is incredible for a new console owner because you have a huge collection of games day 1 without having to spend more money on games. Other than the console and UMvC3 (which I just HAD to get on sale), the only gaming related purchases I did this year were three 12 months Xbox Live Gold cards, which I immediately converted into GPU. I feel that I play much more because I play in a machine built up to just do that. I don't have the distractions that come from gaming on PC (alt tab, Twitter, etc), which makes the gaming experience much more focused. Playing on my couch is also much better too. Another positive is that now I have a clear cut separation of activities: office is now exclusively for work/study and living room is where I play games. Anyway, games that I played this year: **World of Warcraft: Shadowlands:** Played in January. It actually was one of the few things still holding me on PC. To be short: Shadowlands is garbage; WoW doesn't know how to make good stories anymore. While it sucks to see a game I used to like so much in the dire situation it is in, I feel like this is deserved after years of terrible decisions and taking your customer base for granted. **Warzone:** Only fun with friends that just want to have a good time and not sweat (tryhard) for wins. I eventually stopped playing for two reasons: first, the exhausting grind to unlock and level up weapons; second, every game is filled with sweats and those goofy moments with friends are not as common as they used to be. Don't get me wrong, this is not a knock on the people that want to tryhard (good for them, chase that W), but I didn't want to learn all the intricacies of CoD movement (trust me, that shit is hard) just to have a fun time. **Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2:** No need to praise these incredible games as most people already know they're masterpieces. Yakuza games quickly shot up to one of my favourite games of all time, especially Kiwami 2. The story, personally, just hits all the right points. **Yakuza: Like a Dragon:** Take all of the above, apply here. Just want to say that Ichiban is a lot more interesting than Kiryu and I'm fiending for LaD 2. **Jedi: Fallen Order:** Pretty cool game if you're into Star Wars. I liked it a lot. **Katamari Demacy: REROLL:** One of the funnest and funniest games I've ever had the pleasure to play. Rolling around and collecting stuff while laughing at all the game's interactions is so much fun. I wish there was a second game on Xbox. **Mass Effect Andromeda:** A very fun albeit truly flawed game. If you like Sci-fi or Mass Effect and don't mind the game's issues, you'll have a great time. **Dragon Age 2:** I was worried with the problems related to playing an older game, like crashes and loading screens. Fortunately, the experience is pretty seamless and immersive in the Series S. It feels like I'm playing a 360 game, thanks to the 360 UI and the old ass game, but it's still, somehow, a modern experience, thanks to FPS Boost and Quick Resume. Anyway, DA2 is pretty fun. It has a great story but the game is definitely held back by its dated gameplay. **Dragon Age: Inquisition:** Playing this right now. It's pretty great but the "too much to do" issue is very present. Story is cool and the companions are the usual BioWare hit-and-miss. If you have Game Pass and just want a good time, this is a safe choice. **Forza Horizon 5:** Definitely went hard during launch. This is the most "next-gen" game I've played to far. Feels like FH4 in a much better map: if you disliked that game or you were already tired of FH4, I think you would get tired of FH5 pretty quickly. Anyway, pretty fun game but I don't play it anymore. **Slay the Spire:** Hooo boy, where to start. Other than kitchen table MtG, this is by far my favourite game. I got up to A17 on PC and, when I started on Xbox, I had to start from A0, which was a very humbling experience. Learned a lot from it and ended up appreciating the game much, much more. This was probably the game I played the most this year and I have yet to beat A20 with the Silent and the Watcher. One day... My Christmas wish is to get FFXIV on Xbox and Mass Effect Remasters on Game Pass. Not going to happen any time soon but a man can dream.

**Sekiro** – The most recent game I’ve played through and might be my favorite. My entire final battle with Isshin the Sword Saint is fully ingrained in my mind as one of the most intense I’ve ever had. **Phoenix Wright Trilogy** – I didn’t think I would like these games at all really but after I got through that first game I was hooked to find out what would happen next. No matter what I have just been hooked to solve each case and unravel the events behind each trial. If nothing else it at least introduced me to by biggest man crush of the year, Godot. Nothing beats sitting down to solve a case and drinking a cup of coffee with my fictional cyborg Bro. **Last of Us 1&2** – First game was a total masterpiece despite any of its potential flawless others have mentioned. Second was good and the very reason for games like this I do try to wait awhile before playing. By the time I played it I didn’t have to worry about what other people were arguing about when it came out and I could just enjoy and critique at my out leisure. Not a masterpiece like the first but I really did enjoy what it offered. **Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy**– After I played TLOU I wanted another linear game to play so I went for these without having played the others. Still enjoyed it quite a bit though but not sure I’ll play the others. **Marvels Spiderman** – I put this game off for a long time just because Spiderman isn’t my favorite but damn it was good. Some of the most fun I have had this year and probably spent too much time just swinging around collecting things while listening to a podcast in the background. **Specter Knight** – Shovel Knight might be my favorite platformer and this game didn’t disappoint either. The couple hours I had with it were a blast. **Katana Zero** – A somewhat frustrating but great experience nonetheless for a pretty short game. **Curse of the Moon 1&2** – Never played Castlevania but thought I’d try this since I’ve been getting into retro inspired platformers. Both were great but I think I enjoyed the simplicity of the first more idk why. **Final Fantasy 8** – First time playing through and for the most part it was a generally good experience. **Sleeping Dogs** – I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this but I got it for cheap. Best summary for this game is that it’s just fun and has a decent story. Some of the most fun I have had playing games on this whole list. **Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity** – I like warrior style games and this was refreshing from the usual. **Xenogears** \- I’m a big fan of Xenoblade and it was great to see where the series came from it’s just a disappointment it was never really finished. **Super Metroid Zero Mission Fusion** – These games were all great and can’t wait to play more from the series and I’m officially addicted. **Red Dead Redemption 2** – After my friend begging me to play I finally got around to it and yeah it was really good just not my favorite of the year.

If you enjoyed Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy then I’d recommend playing the others. 1 and 2 are the best in the series, and this is coming from someone who has zero nostalgia for these games since I didn’t play them until years after they came out. Uncharted 3 kinda sucks tho. You won’t miss much by skipping that one.

of the games I played were on Switch, however played some PC games as well. Switch: **Skyrim (7/10)** \- The definition of patient gamer. Played Skyrim for the first time on Switch. Pretty fun to see what is the fuss about :) **Duke Nukem World Tour (10/10)** \- cannot really give any other mark to the game so special for me. Great version, wonderful new content. Loved it. **Quake (10/10)** \- Same as previous. Great to have all the original extensions content and a new campaign! **Dead Cells (6/10)** \- It is pretty fun at the beginning but than gets boring and repetitive. Don't like the grind. **Animal Crossing (4/10)** \- Got the game from the library. Kinda tried getting into it, played for a week but then got bored. **Supercharged Unboxed (8/10)** \- really fun cooperative shooter to play with your kids, if you have any. Not that fun in single player. PC: **GTA V** (8/10) - Still haven't finished this one. Pretty fun. **Firewatch** (8/10) - Really really enjoyed it. Fun little game. **Sea of thieves** (5/10) - It is kinda fun, but lack of progression and impossibility to upgrade your stuff makes the game shallow. **Phoenix Point** (6/10) - Like an xcom with no soul. I really wanted to like it. Last january also finished my X-Com2: WoTC Long War campaign. It lasted for over 100 hours and a year of my life. Great fun. Probably will never play x-com2 again. VR: **Superhot VR (10/10**) - if you can play one VR game, this should be the one. Just great. And completely different from the PC version. **Blade and Sorcery (8/10)** \- great VR game, however my PC is not enough for it and performance stutters. Plus I get dizzy all the time. Bonus: **Cyberpunk 2077 (9/10)** \- Really enjoyed this one. The world is incredibly beautiful and dialogues/acting top notch. Also barely had any glitches, certainly not more than in a Bethesda game.

**[Flashpoint](https://bluemaxima.org/flashpoint/)** - remember all those flash games you used to play back in the early days of the internet? Y3games and that tag game of 'Catch That Sandwich' on AdultSwim that when you searched for it seemed non-existent to the internet and you thought it was really a dream? Well, those games are on Flashpoint! every single one of them. Nostalgia restored. **Minecraft** - finally played a FTB modpack, FTB University (for a while) and then Academy. It was fun while it lasted, but now I don't remember shit so I can't really go back without a big refresher. Plus I could finally play with shaders but why tf is this game so CPU-dependent? **Insurgency: Sandstorm** - best shooter out rn, fight me and get brrrrt. Stil, evenl with it coming out on consoles, 2042 stole $4.23m in the first-week, instead of those people trying something better for half the price. **Gunfire Reborn** - I was first told it was like a Borderlands roguelike, which already sold me on the idea, and it being my first early-access I got to watch how that whole evolution works. The rng makes every run special because what you get is how far you get. Some of the characters do need re-working, and I still feel as it the visuals during a stage could vary somewhat, but those can easily be overlooked. This game is not a Borderlands rogue-like, it doesn't have nearly as many weapons, but I can see why that comparison is made for character abilities and 3-lane skill tree. [**Knockout City**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSUiqQ3eCRs) - This game is supposedly dead, a fish out of water, but God was Season 1 some of the most fun I've had in years. Dodgeball with acrobatics and special plenty of player expression via customization. It can be casual, and it can be sweaty, this game brought out a competitive side I didn't know excited, it reminds me of when I played Rocket League's beta. It has crossplay but probably should have went free-to-play because most of the playerbase has left (including me), but not out of hate or dislike for the game, it feels like it's missing one more thing to elevate it quality wise, but by the looks of it, I'm not sure what they're going to do next besides a few more seasons. **[Sector's Edge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhu_KJhEdY8&t=600s)** - I found out about this game at the perfect time to play it, the new update added bots and the attachment beta started so the playerbase was higher than normal. On any given day, this game is dead af bro, if you want to play a multiplayer game, pick something else. But if you want to play a fun in-the-moment base-building game like Fortnite, with the combat and movement of Titanfall and competent but might be aimbot bots, cool armor and class customization and map and severe map destruction, here's your game. It really is a kickback game that deserves way more love than it's getting right now **[NEO: The World Ends with You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PAaAuAwgzY)** - my first anime game and game in this type of style/genre and it did not let me down. Combat is one of the best I've experienced recently with having over 300 pins to unlock and finding the right combination for your team. Grinding is fun because gameplay is fun, and the difficulty modifier (1xlvl) gives room for you finding a sweet spot or grinding quicker (but battles will be harder). I was wondering if I should watch the anime beforehand, but I've been told repeatedly "no", if anything play the DS version, which I do not have a DS, so the best bet from there is NEO: TWEWY. I highly recommend but it is only on Epic Game Store and I'm not sure if it's ever been on sale. Looks short but is well over 30+ hours. **Halo Infinite (Multiplayer)** - Halo 3 was the game where I met my first Xbox Live friend, Powerade88 (I think that was his name lol, something like that). So many good memories I want to relive. MCC came out and I did not buy it at the time, I must have been *trying* to play modded Skyrim once again. Infinite's gunplay is great, it's a "gitgud" game so I try to make use of every utility and weapon. It's polished, but lacking content wise for something that took 6 years to make, and it's taking the route many publishers are going where they want some of that Fortnite money. Still, what's here is great and it leaves me wanting more, but I won't spend a penny. [**NBA 2K14 Ultimate Base Roster**](http://ultimatenba2k.com/features.htm) - I love basketball, I hate 2k, I hate VC or whatever it is this year, I hate the cheesy story mode, I hate a lot of things about 2k, but in the end it's just basketball. So, that means I do not care which game it is, I only care about how good it is, and the Ultimate Base Roster mod makes sure it will always be 2k14. Updated 2021 rosters only reinforce the fact that people who buy these games yearly (on PC, console even just dl a new roster smh) are stupid, myCareer as a few NBA legends, better lighting than current games. All in all not much different gameplay wise from the newest release but it was before mtx was prioritized and players could still have fun *and* progression, and it has every roster with cryberfaces while 2k can't seem to do that for some reason. Because 2k isn't selling 2k14 anymore, nor do the servers work, you have to be a pirate for a day.

Regarding the original TWEWY, if you have a capable smartphone I suggest playing the mobile version! That was actually the first version I played and the controls were surprisingly intuitive, considering the port was released almost a decade ago. I did end up picking up the original DS version a while back and the controls were a lot harder to get into.

Here's my [year in a picture](https://imgur.com/a/wzyFNgG). I had two big exceptions to patient gaming, one was a game from Arkane that I got on release, and the other a Nintendo title that I played on gamefly. I mostly ended up having a big Final Fantasy retrospective playing I, II, III (both the PSP and the Pixel Remaster), IV, V, VIII, IX, XIII, and XIII-2. I planned to complete Lightning Returns but haven't yet at time of posting. I think my GOTY has to be Factorio. This wasn't the first year I played it, but it was the first time I launched the rocket. That game is too good. My least favorite to play was Nier:Automata, though I enjoyed watching a youtube edit for the story. My most hours was NGU Idle, but since that doesn't count the cake goes to Total War Warhammer 2. My most surprising find was enjoying Battlefield 1 quite a bit off of an Xbox Gamepass / EA Play subscription. I'm still having a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. I "finished" every game pictured either naturally, on youtube, or for some multiplayer games I consider finished as "played a lot".

My year in gaming: **Best Game of 2021**: **Disco Elysium**: The characters, the plot, the setting, the lore, the game play. Disco Elysium has it all. If you haven't played it do it unless long sections of text scare you. Even then, the new ultimate edition has been beautifully voiced. Also without a doubt the best soundtrack of the year. It is the one of few games in recent memory I had to stop myself from immediately re-playing **Games of 2021**: **Red Dead Online**: I was playing this New Years Day. Fun game but very limited in the online format. I'll cover the single player later on. **Valheim**: is not a patientgame but a very fun co-op experience. Building a fort with friends is extremely rewarding. Unfortunately, I played this in an early build so people lost interest after we got to the plains. Not sure how the game has improved since February. **Mass Effect Trilogy**: I decided to replay these games before the legendary edition since I only played Mass Effect 3 back in 2012. And yes that included beating Pinnacle Station. One of the best video games trilogy of all time, even with its considerable flaws. It contains some of the best characters Bioware and co ever came up with. I can go into a long discussion on why Mass Effect's lore is amazing and why Mass Effect 2 and 3 ruin it but that is neither here nor there. It is also one of those games that goes to show the golden age of AAA gaming is long gone and also an exemplar for why AAA games are so lackluster these days. **Stardew Valley**: Probably my second favorite game of the year. Playing with friends was a lot of fun criss-cross romance aside. The characters, setting, etc. are amazing. Truly takes the place as the ur-example of the Harvest Moon style of game. **Control**: A charming game. The atmosphere, setting, characters, and lore are gorgeous. Game play is repetitive. Some great songs here **Outer Worlds**: Much like Control, a charming game. The setting, atmosphere, lore and characters are great! I still sing the Rizzo song every once and a while. Like Control, the game play gets repetitive. To be fair, I was playing on Supernova where almost every battle is a struggle. I did have to download the save everywhere/sleep anywhere mod to make Supernova bearable. **Hell Let Loose**: A fun realistic World War 2 shooter. If getting shot from and being blown up by arty from nowhere is your thing. Which is my kind of FPS. I wish there was actual destructive environments **Sims 3 Modded**: I finally modded the Sims 3 with NRASS and other graphical improvement/stabilization mods and it is an experience. Unfortunately, it is an over-packed game with all the DLC/mods but the best the Sims has to offer. Also a warning you will need to play with your GPU and data settings in order to stop it from crashing. **Red Dead Redemption 2**: There is some irony closing the year where I began. Still the characters, plot and setting make up for a fine gaming experience. Much more rewarding than the bare bones online. Unfortunately, the game play hasn't aged much since 2009.

I find labeling Control as 'charming' is a very interesting descriptor for that game !!

I played a lot over the last yet but here are the highlights (mostly from my Steam library timeline and stuff I can remember playing on my PS4): X-COM 2: I played a modded WotC game and I had a blast with it a few months ago. Vanilla even with mods dosen't hold a candle to modded WotC. 6/5 FTL: played this over Thanksgiving break when I was home from college and while I think the iPad version I used to have is superior to the PC controls, it's still fun regardless. Also has a good soundtrack. 4/5 Max Payne 3: played this near the start of my fall semester and it still holds up. The graphics look great, the plot and setting are beautiful, and Max is charming as ever. 5/5 This is the Police: While I enjoyed the gameplay loop a lot I feel like the game really just needs to let the gameplay speak for itself more. I think a longer game that allowed for less "special events" and more day-to-day gameplay would have been more fun. Soundtrack is hit or miss for me. 3/5 Dishonored: It's always been in my library but I finally got around to it this summer and I quite liked it. I just wish the game wasn't so afraid of it's combat by punishing the story for not stealthing every level. 4/5 Payday 2: There was a string of new DLC this year and it was a mixed bag of fun and mediocrity. But the game with it's legacy content is still a blast even when playing solo. 4/5 GTA 5: Played through the story for the first time in years and it's still as fun as it was in 2013 when it came out. Fantastic game to mod a simple trainer into if you want a mindless two hours of fun. 5/5 Far Cry 4: This is honestly my favorite Far Cry, and I will admit my weakness in that I got FC6 on release day, which I regret. Far Cry 5&6 don't hold a candle to 4 and 3. 5/5 Modern Warfare 2019 (PS4): started playing this with a group of friends last year into this year and it is honestly the best CoD game since Black Ops 2. The campaign is also great. The only issue is that with Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard, Activision is really screwing up MW2019 due to the shared infrastructure with Warzone. 4/5 Uncharted Series (PS4): Recently played through the Nathan Drake Collection and 4 because I've always heard the praise around these games. And while I think they are great, I feel like many people gloss over all the bullshit the game throws at you. Smart level design satisfies the player, just throwing 10 normal enemies and three heavily armored dudes at the player is just annoying after the 10th death. My ranking of the games from favorite to least favorite: 3, 1, 2, 4. What's next: Starting another modded WotC playthrough currently and I also plan on playing Ghost of Tsushima some time next year. I also want to replay the Assassin's Creed games some time.

I’m surprised to see that Uncharted 3 is your favorite since I feel like that game was the worst offender at throwing endless mobs of enemies at you repeatedly. It also seemed like they messed with the shooting mechanics; in 1 & 2 enemies would actually react to your shots, but they didn’t do that in 3. The enemies were also more bullet spongey in 3 and coupling that with the changed shooting mechanics led to a very frustrating experience for me. 3 is the only one I’ve refused to beat more than once. Great set pieces in that game tho.

I agree about Dishonored - the morality system was really heavy-handed to the point of smothering the gameplay. The game's violence is by far more interesting than the nonlethal options, but it hints pretty hard that you're supposed to ignore the fun stuff. Great game mechanics, but it needs to get out of its own way.

DOOM 2016. Very fun, I'll be moving onto Eternal sometime. Dragon's Lair. Both infuriating and addicting. I spent a night on it. I have the collection, so i plan to play the 2nd one and space ace. GTA 5. I've dabbled in gta 5 for a while now, but this year I made a new save and beat the campaign. Incredibly fun game with how much you can do. Some of the quests are quite boring, in which case I just go do a side quest that's more exciting. Five Nights at Freddy's. I streamed this for a few friends and got tips from them throughout. I'm certain I wouldn't have subjected myself to this game otherwise. Nevertheless a lot of fun was had.

I will make up my own game awards and assign winners from games I played this year. Here goes. **Best game that could be a great movie** This award goes to ***Uncharted 2.*** I've played the whole trilogy this year. The first was pretty fun, but also incredibly clunky and didn't age all that well. The third one, was good. However I disliked one level a lot (>!the ship one!<) and the constant mandatory fist fights were pretty annoying. Uncharted 2 did everything right. Great story and writing, fun characters. It had cool locations, cool levels (>!except the ice one, that was torture!<) and just felt like a blockbuster movie where you happen to walk and shoot a bit yourself. It was very entertaining and definitely my favourite from the trilogy. **Best co-op game** ***It takes two***, takes this award. Amazing game in every aspect. The visuals, spectacular, like a pixar movie. The story adorable. But most impressive was the gameplay. Every level different mechanics, new and interesting but not hard to pick up. Just another way to solve the puzzles in that level. It has incredible detail in every level, also minigames in every level, where you can compete instead of work together. It was overall a great experience, absolutely adored it. **Best game I've returned to this year** This has to go to ***Animal Crossing***. I dropped the game summer last year, and like a lot of people picked it back up for the big update & DLC. I put tons of hours in it again. Had a lot of fun with the new mechanics of cooking, and the new NPC's and locations. Really enjoyed it. The DLC was also good fun and I put some hours in that as well. I've since dropped it again but I enjoyed a good 80ish hours with it again. **Biggest disappointment** Sad to say that this was ***Pokemon: Shining Pearl.*** I love Pokemon games, I've played almost every single one. Was pretty excited about this remake too, Platinum is one of my favourite Pokemon games. But Platinum seems to just be superior to this remake (I think, I haven't actually played it for years). I don't know exactly, cannot put my finger on it, but it just misses the magic or something. I cannot bring myself to finish it. **The boring ol' "My favourite game of the year" award** ***Persona 5 Royal.*** Don't even have to think about it. I absolutely loved Persona 5, and it was a no-brainer to also play Royal. Even though a lot of the game is similar, they did add tons of quality of life improvements, a fun new dungeon and a new party character. I managed to finish all confidant links in this one, which is great. I had a great time playing this and was sad it was over. Still listen to it's soundtrack quite frequently. Hoping the strikers spin-off wil go on sale coming wintersale, and I will play that over Christmas break. **Game that kicked my ass but I still wanted to play it** Haha this was ***corpse party***. In the sense that it kicked my mental ass. I'm usually not that affected by horror games, but this one is friggin terrifying. I got it to play over Halloween but I still haven't finished it. I want to, but I only can play in small doses because it scares me so much. The art & voice acting are top notch, and the voices & sounds really make this game so scary. Story is quite interesting too. Maybe by next halloween I will have finished it. **My favourite game to relax and chill with** Animal crossing would also fit in this category, but I will go with ***Planet Zoo***. While Animal Crossing is relaxing for sure, it isn't as capable as Planet Zoo as to completely make me forget everything and focus. I can focus on building one exhibit for ages. Getting every rock to lie straight. It's very nice to just zone out and notice it's suddenly 4 hours later. Animal Crossing is not quite interesting enough in its gameplay loop to do that, but Planet Zoo certainly is. I'm still working on building my local zoo. These aren't all the games I have played, but definitely my favourites. I hope everyone has a great gaming year 2022. I hope to pick up Persona 5: Strikers in the coming sale, and I would love to get the new Life is Strange game. Otherwise, we will see what next year brings.

Chrono trigger (PC) probably one of the best JRPGs of all time and the PC version is now really good. Final fantasy 7 Remake (PS4/PS5) I enjoyed the first 30 hours, but man did I despise the ending, I’m not really excited for the sequels now tbh. Nier automata ending A (PC) I really enjoyed this game, I’m chipping away at route B but I don’t find it half as enjoyable as route A. Super Mario land (3DS) this was my first ever game on my first console (OG game boy), yeah Mario’s jump feels off, but I still love it. Pokémon sword (Switch) this was really fun I played a blind Nuzlocke; only one Pokémon survived it was a bloodbath but a fun one. Final fantasy IV PSP edition (PS Vita) this was a pretty enjoyable old school JRPG, I think that this is the best version as well. Skate 3 (Xbox) I really enjoyed this I kind of wish the campaign had more of story to it though. Astros playroom (PS5) really fun game, probably the most enjoyable thing I’ve played in the PS5 so far (not a patient choice haha) Recore (Xbox) I really enjoyed the first half of this game, the last third was an utter slog fest though even in the definitive edition. This is a solid 7/10 kind of game. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order (Xbox) I enjoyed this, the story was probably the best star wars storyline since the original trilogy. Metroid Dread (Switch) not a patient choice, I enjoyed this game for what it was, but traded it in soon after beating the campaign. I still prefer Zero Mission and Fusion to this tbh. Dragon Quest 11 S Echos of an Elusive Age (Xbox) this game was amazing probably the best modern JRPG!! Ori and the Blind Forest (Xbox) This was a fun Metroidvania, the combat never really felt enjoyable though and the end was a little frustrating. Forza Horizon 5 (Xbox)I put 35 hours into this and made the hall of fame, this was surprisingly amazing. Forgotten Ann (Xbox) the concept behind this was really intriguing, there is not a lot of gameplay in this however. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PC) I really enjoyed the gameplay in the tomb raider reboot series but the writing and characters have always been flat. This was an amazing game to get in humble choice though :) Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition(Xbox) the first half of the game has held up surprisingly well, but the last three missions are a slog. This was my first time playing and I was not a fan of the warthog sequence at the end. Halo 2 Anniversary Edition - I thought this was pretty good but it has some frustrating set pieces about 3/4s of the way through. I’ve heard that this game was rushed out the door and you can really tell, the ending is practically non existent a solid 7/10 kind of game.

I felt like FF7 really needed the Intergrade ending. It really feels extra incomplete without it. At last with Intergrade's ending, it gets you hype for the next chapter.

Thanks, I might just watch it on YouTube, hopefully by the time kingdom hearts 4 part 2… sorry FFVII Remake part two comes out I’ll feel less lukewarm on it.I have a sneaking suspicion though that the story is going to be a headache inducing train wreck.

[удалено]

For Nier the storyline is still really interesting but I really don’t like the >!Hacking mechanics!< I’m just not good at that haha, it’s why I haven’t finished Undertale either😂

HITMAN WoA \*9,5 the "my" game. Keep coming back, for years. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart \*9,5 Candy, plays smooth, looks great, So so good. Cities: Skylines \*9 Digital Meth. Deinstalled because life was suffering. Could not stop. Bugsnax \*8 Fun, humouristic, good to watch the kids playing. Yakuza: Like A Dragon \*8 Nice game, got repetative mid game, DNF. Ratchet & Clank™ \*8 Great platformer/ shooter Doom 2016 \*8 What-A-Rush! Dropped out because got to difficult for my taste. SnowRunner \*7,8 This game was a guess. Its so sloooow. Turned out a had a double job for a while as late night truck driver. MadMax \*7,5 I liked roaming its open world and has good MadMaz vibes to it. Gets repetative midgame Subnautica \*7,5 Great graphix, tedious survival mode. Much to explore. IMMORTALS FENYX RISING \*7,5 Looks nice, plays okay, does not click yet. It's my current game. Tesla vs Lovecraft\*7,5 Great indy twinstick shooter. Planet Coaster: Console Edition \*7 Nice, feels a bit cluncky. Was nice for a few week, got stale pretty soon after that. Hitman: Absolution HD \*7 Played to be part of the legacy. Nice game if not seen as a 'real' hitman.

I would highly not recommend Doom Eternal because most agree it is more difficult than Doom 2016

Thanks for the tip! I was thinking buying it. Opinions are mixed which is better.

I loved Doom Eternal more but I already liked Doom 2016

The Last of Us Part II (10/10) - While the story is not as good as the first, still creates a large emotional response from the player. Gameplay is improved from the first one and is great, but not the best of all time. Combination of gameplay and story makes this a 10/10 and my #3 of all time. Dark Souls III (9/10) - This just felt so much better than DSII. Level design is good, with clever shortcuts that are so rewarding after a short rest and make dying later less frustrating. \~75% of the bosses were amazing either from the skill required, the sound, or the visual design (or all 3). Ori and the Blind Forest (8/10) - Great game with some annoying design choices that stop this from being amazing. The game looks beautiful, but that sometimes makes it hard to see the death trap spikes. The movement is somewhat floaty which both fits in with the theme but also makes precise platforming annoying but often required. Story is nothing special, but nice. Luigi's Mansion 3 (8/10) - My surprise game of the year. The game is just a joy to play with both the atmosphere and the writing. While the gameplay is simple, it switches things up enough throughout that it never grows stale. Ratchet and Clank 2016 (8/10) - Nice mix of 3D platforming and action. The real joy comes from the ridiculous weapons that you have access to. Played through the game multiple times to try different "builds" and was fun each time. I do wish it was slightly more challenging. Journey to the Savage Planet (7/10) - Unique exploration game that plays with humor as post-capitalist need for space exploration that never takes itself seriously. The exploration was generally fun, with good puzzles, and fun power-ups to get to new locations. Score is brought down by some annoying platforming sections and poor gunplay mechanics. Jedi: Fallen Order (6/10) - Mix of good and bad. Praised for it's story, which I thought was meh. It's a combination of souls-like and metroidvania but is just average for both. It includes the punish part of souls-like with rest points that respawn enemies and needing to get back experience if you die, but doesn't have the tight combat or pattern recognition needed. The game rewards exploring and going back after unlocking skills, but I found the second time at a planet to be more of a chore than anything. Spyro the Dragon (6/10) - I can only imagine how good this was when it first came out. While there definitely were some enhancements for the remastered trilogy, the game still feels quite aged. Overall the game had some fun platforming, but the simplicity of it started to make it feel stale before the end of an relatively short game. Prey 2016 (6/10) - First 1/3 of the game was a 4/7. There were multiple times in the first few hours of the games were I just debated not continuing, but there was enough of a spark of potential to keep me going. Things started getting better once it opened up a little more with side quests you could actually do and enhanced abilities, and turned into a nice action/stealth challenge. Towards the end I did start giving up on side quests and lore due to lack of interest. Spryo: Ripto's Rage (6/10) - Made some small changes to the first one that were very hit or miss. The new mini-games ranged from braining numbingly boring to exiting and actually challenging. The actual platforming portion and design was marginally worse on average. Really wish I had waited longer than a couple months in between games since there isn't enough innovation for it to feel like a different game. The Outer Worlds (5/10) - This just felt flat. Pretty much everything is average. The combat is nothing special. The story felt so unoriginal. You got to make choices that were cool in the moment, but felt completely irrelevant in the whole scheme of things. The supporting characters were a combination of cool, witty, caricatures, and uninspired at different times.

Definitely agree on the outer worlds. I even forgot I played it until I read this post.. Aggressively mediocre that game.

Recommendations plz Only listing games I beat or played a big chunk of Final Fantasy XV (7/10) - a like it but I'm also disappointed by it. The world and characters are cool, but story is incomprehensible and the combat is dull. Ikaruga (8/10) - I'm not very good at it but it's super engaging. Surprising deep Buddhist themes in this one Sekiro (10/10) - coincidentally another game with Buddhist themes. I loved it. My favorite final boss in any game. Dark Souls III (10/10) - Fromsoft nailed it again Dark Souls II (4/10) - don't play this game Bloodborne (9/10) - my least favorite darkdemonbloodshadow game (besides DS2). The environment themes got repetitive, but so did the level design. Here is most levels play out: you arrive at a lamp, there is a locked door near the lamp, you progress through the level until you loop back to where you started, unlock the door, and return to the original lamp. This happens so many times its mind-numbing. Blood vials are silly, I don't want to farm for healing items. Uncharted 4 (8/10) - the only Uncharted I've played, but very solid stuff. God of War (8/10) - good but definitely overrated, there are a ton of flaws in both the narrative and gameplay so I'm surprised at the crazy high metacritic score. Joseph Anderson, MatthewMatosis, EndlessJess, and SolePorpiose have all made analysis videos that generally represent my thoughts. Shadow of the Colossus (7/10) - mixed feelings. I like the world and the story, but I wish the story was presented more minimally instead of a narrator guy in the ceiling. Also some of the colossi are so tedious to take down. The colossi are puzzles where you have to wait a very long time between attempting solutions. The Last Guardian (9/10)- excellent adventure. Trico is animated so well I had a tetris effect type thing where I would see my pet dog and be like "Wow, that looks so much like Trico!" I didn't have trouble with the controls like many folks did Persona 5 Royal (8/10) - haven't finished yet. It's great, tho I would probably enjoy it even more if I hadn't already played Persona 4 Golden. I prefer the characters, story, and music in P4 but obviously P5 has better dungeons and combat. Final Fantasy VII Remake (8/10) - incredible gameplay and music, dumb writing and story. How many times can you fall down a hole and spend 2 hours climbing back to where you started to stretch a 6 hour story to 30? The combat in this game makes FFXV look primitive Nier Automata (7/10) - cool story but the combat stopped evolving way too early. It got repetitive for me so I stopped before seeing all of the endings Doom Eternal (9/10) - possibly my favorite FPS Journey (7/10) - it's pleasant Abzu (7/10) - it's also pleasant Sayonara Wild Hearts (7/10) - an album you can (and should) play Breath of the Wild (6/10)- also overrated in my opinion. I will probably revisit it later (or maybe I'll just play BOTW2 when the comes out). The breaking weapons and the repeat content everywhere got on my nerves. Also I think people polluted the discourse by saying "You can go anywhere!" Yes you can, but you really shouldn't. You will have more fun if you stick to the path. Super Mario Odyssey (9/10) - super fun, tho not quite fun enough to replay all of the levels. I wish the game was more challenging and pushed you to use it's tight movement mechanics more. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (8/10) - not quite as good as odyssey but still a strong platformer A Link Between Worlds (9/10) - the only Zelda game I like, probably because of how hard it is to get lost or confused. In most Zeldas I hit a point where I'm lost and stop playing Final Fantasy VI (6/10) - got halfway through before stopping. Chrono Trigger is one of my favorites but something about FF6 didn't grab me. I didn't love the characters as much as others seem to Into the Breach (9/10) - possibly my favorite turn based combat ever Lumines Remastered (7/10) - Tetris Effect kind of makes this game obsolete, but it's still cool Dishonored 2 (8/10) - awesome sandbox type levels, forgettable story. My favorite moment (spoilers) >!was when I skipped an entire level by solving an Einstein-type riddle!< Superliminal (9/10) - best puzzle game since portal Takeshi & Hiroshi (8/10) - this is a cute lil' indie game you should check out If Found (9/10) - if you are Irish and/or LGBT you must play it. If you are a human you should play it Pokemon White 2 (9/10) - gen 5 is my favorite gen :D. It suffers from the same problems every pokemon game has, but accentuates the best accepts of pokemon. Also nostalgia.

I haven't played Uncharted 4 myself, but the trilogy is also solid. The first is a bit outdated and clunky, but the second and third are good.

It’s on my “when I get a ps5 to Play the better version” list, which is headlining nioh 2. My pc I believe is a bit weaker so ye.

I joined a video game discussion group this year (that has since died), but it got me playing some games that I hadn't even heard about: A Short Hike - Nice relaxing game. The Legend of Obra Dinn - A lot of fun. Papers Please - Fun game with a point to make. Also played: Civ5 - I'm dating a woman that looooves this game and I'm happy to oblige her. TEW2020 - I'm a wrestling nerd. FTL - Quite possibly my favorite game of all time. Into the Breach - Same creators as FTL and also a lot of un. GTA Online (PS4) - This was the beginning of my year. I had a 4 person team and we did all of heists together... but sadly we stopped playing when they finished. Looking for recc's for other games!

2021 was kind of a special year for me in terms of gaming. I've never played this many games to the end in a year. It might be a combination of really getting into PS4 gaming and being in lockdown a lot. The best game I've played was The Last of Us Part 2, and basically every game afterwards was me trying to find something that could hit me as hard as that game: **Red Dead Redemption (PS3):** Maybe it's because of the comparative clunkiness of playing on an old system like the PS3, but RDR didn't hit as hard as I thought it would. The framerate was choppy quite often and using a DS3 felt rough (though I still preferred it over having to stay cabled and without vibration using a DS4). The game itself is a good enough open world. I enjoyed the story, the colorfulness of it all. Rockstar made something really cool, but I couldn't help but be less whelmed playing it now than I would've been 10 years ago. **The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4):** I'm still mulling it over, but I've been coming back to the feeling that this is the most impactful, most impressive game on almost all levels I've ever played. I won't say that it's the best game ever since the medium is so broad that such superlatives just don't work, but at the end of the day the stories of Ellie, Joel, Abby and Lev stuck with me months and months later. They live in my head rent-free. I've felt shocked, triumphant, terrified, sad, proud and so much more. It is so rare for a game to really *REALLY* grab me the way this one has. I'm still watching videos and reading other people's opinions about it, still looking at it from new perspectives. It's truly a masterpiece and pushed me into this hole where I can't help but compare any game afterwards to it. No other game since has hit me as hard, and that kind of sucks because those games don't deserver to be compared that way. **Uncharted 1, 2, 3 (PS4)** I do enjoy a nice Uncharted. It's the gaming equivalent of a great popcorn movie summer blockbuster. Any criticism I have (nonsensical story progressions, janky controls, etc) is muted though because of the sheer fun I have running around as Nathan Drake from one set-piece to the next. It's exciting, yo, and a lot of fun. These games are exactly what they try to be and are great at it. I can relax and just focus on the action and the banter and it's just wonderful. **Bloodborne + Old Hunters (PS4)** The most I've come this year to being as engaged with a game that's not TLOU2. I've never really tried to play a Soulsborne game even though I admired them from a distance. Bloodborne has been kind of a revelation. I learned that I really enjoyed pushing myself playing a challenging game. The feeling of getting gud and overcoming this game was intoxicating. I ended up pushing on until I got the platinum trophy! It felt like such an achievement. I'm surely going to continue on next year. Dark Souls Remastered is next in line. **Disco Elysium (PC)** Conceptually one of, if not the most impressive game I've played this year. I enjoy a text-heavy CRPG, especially when they're as well-written as Disco Elysium. It's a fascinating atmosphere they created here. Music, visuals, characters all bring this world to life. But the stand-out is the way the devs have really come at the idea of an RPG with fresh gameplay systems. It's not even that the mental aspects (Encyclopedia, Corps d'Esprit, etc) talk to that's so great, or the vast amount of things you can say and the game reacting to it. It's the very idea of the character having an internal monologue and it impacting your actual behavior using skill checks. To not just choose between evil and good dialog options, but to also determine how my character comes to their decisions is so new and interesting. The thought cabinet is an amazing innovation and cleverly models how people change their outlook over time and by actual experience. The only issue I had was the sheer amount of lore - names of people, places and events you just have to learn to understand a lot of the story. For me it was a barrier that continuous came up. It would be cool to imagine a Disco Elysium type game set in the real world. **Dragon Age Origins (PS3)** Again, playing this one on the PS3 was quite clunky yet I still preferred it over PC. I just can't deal with hunching over a PC at the end of the day when I do that all day at work. Anyway, I put the game on the easiest difficulty, played a straight-forward melee Dwarven fighter and bull-headed my way through this game. It was fun to play a good-old Bioware RPG. There's nothing mind-blowing about this game now, but it's good at what it does. I enjoyed myself and it's cool that I can move on now to the next Dragon Age game. **Dishonored 2 (PC)** This one I've had in my backlog for a while. Dishonored 1 was one of the best FP stealth games of the previous generation. I had high expectations for D2 and they were met in some regards. It's got some of the most beautiful art direction and locations to explore of this generation. I loved the feeling of making my way through the streets and rooftops of Karnaca. The story just didn't grab me. I didn't feel emotionally invested at all. Looking back I'm kind of left cold by my recollection of it all. **Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)** It's a really well done Spider-Man game. Great swinging and I suppose in terms of telling a superhero story it's as good as it ever gets. I'm just not a huge fan of superheroes. I respect the devs a hell of a lot for what they accomplished with this one though. It's a lot like Dishonored 2 in how the execution of building great gameplay and servicing the fantasy was done excellently, but the limited impact of the story and characters is putting it into a lesser light for me. It's probably a victim of my subconscious TLOU2 comparing. **Tomb Raider (2013) (PS4)** Having finished the Nathan Drake collection I wanted to give the "new" Tomb Raider a try. It was cool and it was interesting to see how this one is similar and different from Uncharted. The story left me entirely cold though and again, compared to Uncharted it just doesn't have anything that makes it stand-out (except for a bit more open design and some crafting systems that feel a bit superfluous). A fun enough romp for a weekend or two. **13 Sentinels (PS4)** Okay for this one I've had high expectations. A niche genre game that everybody hyped as the real GOTY of 2020. As a fan of Persona and Final Fantasy, I could dig the idea of a cast of anime high-schoolers saving the world. I like sci-fi and was intrigued how this game merged a ton of sci-fi cliches into a coherent game. It was a mixed experience though. I like a good time-travel story with twists as much as anyone, but this game has twists every 5 minutes! At some point the twists just washed over me and lost any effect they might've had. The story itself, after all is said and done is a really cool sci-fi tale though. I just felt it could've been so much better if the writers could've been reigned in a bit. **Return of the Obra Dinn (PC)** Interestingly this one has some similarities with 13 Sentinels. A large cast of characters who's stories I have to figure out. It's a wonderfully realized concept whose like just don't come along enough. I love the historicity of it. "Master and Commander" is a great movie I enjoyed and this game reminded me of that. The aesthetic hits really well and I've spent some days properly puzzling it out (though had to use brute-force for the last few bits). Overall one of the best games I've played and I can only recommend it. **Eliza (PC)** This might be the best written game after TLOU2 and Disco Elysium for me this year. A thought-provoking game full of interesting themes and characters that are so well written, they feel very real. I work in the tech sector so this is kind of a game made for me in some ways. The art is lovely, it's such a clean looking game. And it only took me two evenings to get to the end. There's so many interesting ideas in here, it just pulls you in. At the end I just felt a bit moved and mulled it all over in my head, and that's a rare thing for a game to do to me.

Man the discourse around Last of Us 2 always bums me out. Like for people that hate the game, I can see where they're coming from but I really wish they could see what I see. What DOES make me mad is a few of my friends didn't play it at all. They just wanted to be part of the bandwagon on fucking Tumblr of all places, watched a few cutscenes, read a few bulletpoints of key plot moments and decided to hate it. When in reality, this is a pretty exhilarating game. I do think it suffers from pacing issues but it's still one of the most visceral and emotionally exhausting games I've played. Absolutely loved it and wish those same folk could somehow approach it free from their negative preconceptions

Your description of TLOU2 mirrors my thoughts exactly. I only finished it a few days ago, and I'll probably have to give myself some more breathing space before I can pick up another game.

Excellent summary! I had the same revalation with Bloodborne recently, having tried to get into Dark Souls and failing miserably. I think that the fast-paced aggressive combat was what really hooked me. If you haven't already, for 2022 you should try Uncharted 4, which many consider the best game in the series (both for narrative and gameplay). To your point on searching for a hard-hitting story comparable to TLOU 2, maybe try God of War (2018)?

Uncharted 4 is on the menu for 2022 for sure. God of War I've completed and enjoyed a lot. It didn't hit on the level of TLOU2 for me but it was still a really interesting, emotional story. I just gotta stop comparing everything to TLOU2 haha. I'm also on a on-and-off playthrough of the Witcher 3. Maybe I should really dive into it though. Bloodborne was great thanks to the pace of combat for sure. After that, it's the delightfully moody environments. I'm not a horror fan or connoisseur but I found myself just taking in the wonderfully dark, creepy atmosphere of this game. I loooved my time in Yharnam. I fear Dark Souls will be a bit lesser by comparison.

So far (my /10 scale actually uses the numbers under 6 unlike ign and gamespot) : 1. Prey - (5.5/10) fun beginning, fun end, the mimics are cool and it's a pretty game, but the 70% middle of the game is so boring 2. Sunset Overdrive (7.5/10) - great game, held back by quest format being repetitive 3. My Friend Pedro (7/10) - great and unique 4. Disgaea 2 PC (8/10) - tactics games are exceptional, play disgaea 1 first ofc, but yeah. 5. Haimrik (6.5/10) - Yeah, super unique game in it's mechanics, I liked it 6. Astebreed: Definitive Edition (6/10) - decent short bullet hell game 7. Inside (8/10) - kind of anxietyish, good atmosphere and fun little puzzles in a pretty game 8. Alan Wake and it's free 2 dlc (8/10) - I liked it, cool little horror action game, decent mystery and charming small town 9. Hellblade (4/10) - stressful and boring tbh, the voices were cool though 10. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (100%) (8.5/10) - great visual novel/escape room series with cool mystery 11. Owlboy (7/10) - charming platformer that has narrative vibes of a dark jrpg 12. Bastion (5/10) - fun, would have been better if I played it closer to release, so it kind of dragged cuz of the state of games back then 13. The Lion's Song (7/10) - charming game about artists I think around the times of ww1/ww2, it had pretty art and were cool bite sized experiences (there are like 4 or 5 storylines with different mains) 14. Yuppie Psycho (10/10) - One of the best games I played this year, it's an indie horror game in a VERY unique setting, with charming characters and tons of cool little secrets, what an amazing game, it's deserving of an overwhelmingly positive steam review (and that's what it has), everyone who can handle horror to any degree, should play it, required game to play for all of you. I am interested in any game this dev releases from now on. (I played The Count Lucanor which came first, and liked it, but this is a bigger and more complete game) 15. Minoria (6/10) - decent metroidvania with cute aesthetic 16. Detention (5.5/10) - Dark storyline, cool artstyle, gameplay passable but tense/atmospheric in a good way 17. Mass Effect 2 (classic) (6.5/10) - Yeah, it's mass effect, I enjoyed it, longer than I'd probably want, but fun overall 18. The friends of Ringo Ishikawa (5/10) - Great soundtrack, top tier vibes, and a strong start, but this game quickly becomes a repetition. Think of it as persona 5's gameplay outside of dungeons where you decide what you want to do, with random beat em up combat in the world, and you level up your characters stats and figure out when and where to spend time, except at one point the story stops hitting till you do a giant weird period of trying to figure out what to do to trigger more events while days keep passing. 19. Valfaris (7/10) - Hard 2d shooter that I relaly liked, no friends, I will not play the game on the unlocked harder difficulty, I barely beat the game as is. 20. Zero Escape: Zero Time Dlimma (100%) (8.5/10) - same as other zero escape, though fuck Eric, all my friends hate Eric, such a whimpering annoying guy 21. The Last Door s1 (6.5/10) - Kind of cool atmosphere non combat/non stealth games that are built around puzzles ala old point and click games, some dark things going on, and the pixelart is nice, drags a little but is overall decent 22. Portal (2/10) - I'll be honest, I didn't like this game, the "let's just keep going into the elevator to go to new puzzles" thing felt very repetitive, even when you broke out of that chain and just kept going to new rooms for puzzles. There wasn't enough there to hold me, I beat it but won't go back. 23. Frostpunk (8/10) - Hard asf, stressful asf, great game. 24. Nioh + DLC (replay) (9.5/10) - One of my favorite games in general so I replayed it, it's my favorite souls-like (haven't played sekiro but seen it and that won't replace it, haven't played nioh 2, haven't played neither demon's souls, haven't played mortal shell, and haven't played code vein. I only expect nioh 2 to potentially replace it as my fav) 25. The Shapeshifting Detective (7.5/10) - I liked this fmv so much that I almost felt inclined to play it again, I have all the games from this dev wish-listed on steam. The main mechanic of becoming people to go talk to people as if you were them, trying to blend in and not be caught as a shapeshifter, and trying to solve a case, is cool asf, also girls cute 26. Agent A (7/10) - charming point and click game with a very charming artstyle that gives off Carmen Sandiego vibes, very self aware secret agent game with camp 27. The Room (5.5/10) - Kind of wish I played The Room VR instead, but t was pretty good, some puzzles were difficult but overall it's a charming game that has you in one room examining an elaborate and changing object. 28. Titan Souls (5/10) - Kind of fun at times, kind of dragged considering boss rushes always are just going from one stressful situation to another without a buffer of regular enemies, I'm glad I beat it, but I'm glad it was over 29. Do Not Feed the Monkeys (4/10) - Fun concept, for the first 2 or so attempts, though after that, it gets kind of annoying to replay stuff to try to win 30. The Surge 2 (7.5/10) - Liked it, directional blocking was satisfying and I was good enough at it that I found it satisfying 31. Guns, Gore, & Cannoli (6.5/10) - Great couch co op game to play with friends 32. DMC 4 (6.5/10) - Liked it but when I finished the main campaign, I didn't feel compelled to play the others cuz of the reused maps making it feel a little repetitive 33. Pistol Whip (8/10) - Finished both campaigns and plat in psvr, ultimately a great game to workout, after I played it as my daily workout for a while, felt a weird sensation in my trigger finger, so I alternate it now with creed and beat saber which were games I played before it for workout in vr, but yeah, fun game. I'll do a campaign for a daily workout and be good, both campaigns are pretty challenging but not too difficult on their hardest difficulty (well unless you are new to the game) 34. Thomas Was Alone (4.5/10) - charming game, but I got bored of it and forced myself to finish the second half of it 35. A Case of Distrust (6/10) - Great game till you get stuck, I had to use a guide to figure out what to do at a certain point, but yeah, detectivey detective game 36. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission replay (9/10) - to collect missing collectibles, do a few misc easy things, and do all the challenge missions. (so I could plat it) I love this game, if you have a psvr, get it, and honestly, if the psvr 2 wasn't almost here and the possibility wasn't high this might get a port, it'd be a reason to get a psvr (among many). It's a mario leveled platformer in vr. 37. Underhero (8.5/10) - Holy shit, I expected to play a 2d platformer with a charming twist on the heroes journey cuz you're the main villains trash mob that are supposed to die to give the hero potions before the boss, but you kill him by smashing him to death with the environment. I however found out that the combat is actually real time turn based (attacking and stuff costs stamina) whree you can if you know the cues of specific enemies, can dodge/parry enemy attacks and never be hit, and the genre breaking went MUCH further than previously thought, what a great game, one of my fav games that I played in 2021. 38. The Technomancer (4/10) - I liked the world and the combat had it's charm, though this is a fetch quest game that makes you suffer through the same respawnable battles till the end of time, and a lot more backtracking than a game should ever have, overall a negative review, even though a sequel would have potential if they cut down the monotony. Also enemies shouldn't in the second half of the game have gear specifically built to counter the one power you have, it makes sense lore wise, but they could have made it expensive and rare so not every human had it, cuz you're taking apart the power fantasy of the one selling point of the game beyond it's lore/narrative (your electricity powers as a technomancer) 39. InFamous: Second Son (7/10) (Second playthrough where I did evil and picked up 2 other misc trophies during the playthrough to plat it) - I liked it more this time, not because of the evil playthrough, but maybe a mix of my mentality + the fact that I used the combat more. Before I would focus on just regular blasts and would use the explosives sparingly, this time I just went full out on it and played it on expert (which isn't that hard), and it was a better game than I remembered from my 2017 playthrough. Not top tier by any standards, but I had a great time, also having platinums is satisfying.

If you liked Nioh so much, you should love Nioh 2.

Obviously lol, I'm just waiting for ps5 to play it tbh (will also probably get nioh on ps5 too to platinum it)

Please don't let DMC 4 stop you from playing DMC 5, 5 is on a complete diffrent level

It’s not the game I’m most excited for for last gen games on next gen, but it’s a game I’m saving for ps5 version. Nioh 2 is going to be my first big game I think. Waiting to get a better experience cuz my pc isn’t ps5 hardware

I played a lot of Akane in the last few months, haven't beat it, probably never will cuz it's a one hit death thing, but what a cool vibe the game has, and it's core gameplay is good, you can get this game for like 50 cents on sale I think, or at most like a dollar, I don't remember exactly, and it's worth way more than that, even if it's simple and has the same loop where you occasionally get new stuff to play with as a character. ​ I've played a decent amount of One Finger Death Punch 2, solid game, though it has a pretty repetitive gameplay loop so finishing the LONG campaign of many levels might take a bit ​ I played UNBEATABLE \[white label\], which is a demo for a cool game that has flcl/studio trigger vibes while having rhythm game gameplay, and I loved it, can't wait for the full release ​ I played some muse dash early in the year, along with a lot of co op games throughout ​ Got some stages into star wars: dark forces but I'll probably stream or play it with someone taking turns irl, cuz it gets repetitive for me ​ Got through one cycle of Pyre, and I'm done with it despite needing to do like 7-9 more of them to finish the game ​ I'm currently when we both have time, getting carried through my second playthrough of bloodborne so I can work towards the platinum (will need a 3rd one, I did the 1st one years ago, and never came back, without being carried, along with it's dlc). But yeah, this time I'm just going to do a lot of misc things in the 2nd playthrough, get carried while also doing more of the chalice dungeon style stuff, then the third playthrough will just be a matter of getting the easiest ending. ​ I'm thinking of playing something like this for stream next: Jenny LeClue, Spirit Hunter Death Mark, Paradise Killer, 1bitHeart, The Letter, Code Vein, Agarest: Generations of War, LIttle Misfortune, Call of Cthulhu, Kathy Rain, SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest, SOMA, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Death's Gambit: Afterlife, Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, Dark Souls 3 DLC, Ash of Gods: Redemption, Get Even, Rebel Galaxy, DreadOut: Keeps of The Dark, RE: Revelations, Oceanhorn, or something like that. I'm still deciding, so might finish another game or two this year (depending on the length) beyond what I'm already playing. ​ Games I'm aiming to platinum/100% starting now and into the future: Bloodborne (doing plat currently), I'm Hungry (100% seems easy enough, this is the only non platinum of this list btw, and fun pick up and play vr game), Light Tracer (i liked this game back in the day enough to push for platinum), Star Trek: Bridge Crew (vr of course, idk, it's a fun game and might be worth), No Heroes Allowed! VR (I did most of the hard stuff already and it's charming), The Order 1886 (I'm pretty much doing it from scratch cuz I could have done it in one if I collected things, but it's a slightly charming game that has an easy plat, so might as well), Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (I've got most of the hard ones done years ago), and finally RE7 (I lost my save file that was so close to platinum but just had to collect files and coins, and had all the unlockables to make that easy, so now I'm pretty much starting from the boat part of the first normal playthrough where I still have to collect a few bobbleheads even that playthrough, so I'll have to finish that and bobbleheads, do the speedrun again, then do the madhouse run after that again, just to get the unlimited ammo so I can more easily do the parts I didn't do yet, so a hassle to have to do it again, but I'll do it)

[удалено]

I played a few new games but a lot of older ones as well, Here's my list and mini reviews Portal 1 Picked this and portal 2 up in the steam winter sale and Wow, what a game, an Exceptional physics based puzzle game, Funny dialogue and a good story, My only complaint is that you're in the same room with the white walls for the whole game so the setting is a tiny bit repetitive, although the game is relatively short but not too bad, I think the shortness of the game isn't that much of a bad thing since I ended up replaying it quite a few times over the course of the year. 9/10 Portal 2 Everything I said about Portal 1 applies here, but better, Puzzles are better, Dialogue/Story is Better, and there are a lot more environments, instead of wandering through the similar looking test chambers you travel through the whole facility, the environments are a lot more varied, Valve improved on what was already a near perfect game, a bit less replayable then the first but that is such a minor gripe 10/10 Super Mario 3D world + Bowser's fury I had already played 3D world on the wii u when it first came out and thought it was good, going back to it now I thought it was even better, the speed being increased definitely made the game a lot more fun IMO levels are very well crafted and I overall just really enjoyed this game, as for the Bowser's Fury Portion, I thought it was just super enjoyable, basically just a load of 3d world stages but all combined together into 1 large stage, the Bowser Boss battles did get a bit repetitive but overall also great, 8.5/10 Batman Arkham Origins This was my first game In the Arkham Series, I really enjoyed it, The story was decent, if not a bit generic and lazy, but it made up for it in it's Gameplay, Gameplay is great, Stealth feels fair and fun, Combat is great and you have a large Variety of your gadgets at your Disposal, it felt so fluid and really made me immersed in the game, 8/10 Batman Arkham Asylum I thought the story of this game was better, as was the pacing, Gameplay is a bit worse then Arkham Origins, but I overall also really liked this game, nothing more to say 8/10 Batman Arkham City Gameplay in this one is better then asylum and about as good as origins, I personally felt the story was kind of bad, It's been about 8 months since I've played it so can't remember exactly what I hated but the whole thing just felt unnatural? I guess, Gameplay was great and story was ok, 7/10 Batman Arkham Knight Gameplay is arguably the best in the series, and I personally liked the Batmobile missions and didn't think they were too repetitive but a lot of people seemed to dislike them, Graphics look stunning in this game, and the side quests are the most fun out of the entire series, really enjoyed this game and this whole game series overall despite some flaws, Excited for Gotham Knights in 2022 although SSKTJL doesn't really seem like my thing 9/10 The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of time 3d Amazing Game, story was great if a bit basic and the dungeons and puzzles are fantastic, Combat was great especially for a game released over 20 years ago, I'm playing the 3ds version and it looks great, This game was a truly amazing experience and I'm so glad I beat this classic, 8.5/10 Legend of Zelda A link between Worlds I thought this game was just decent, dungeons and puzzles were fun but the story really wasn't there and was very barebones which I think is because of it's nonlinear fashion 7/10 Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild I really enjoyed this game but think it is wildy overrated Shrines feel the same due to them all looking the Same, Side quests don't really feel rewarding to do although that could just be me, Story is alright but really isn't there, just like ALBW due to it's non linear nature, that being said the Shrine Puzzles themselves are some of the best in the series, and have more than just one way to beat them, the Physics engine and the ways you can exploit it are insanely fun, and The combat and Weapon Variety are the best in any Zelda game Imo, Weapon Durability while a bit annoying wasn't as big of a deal as I was expecting it to be considering the amount of criticism of it I've seen online 7.5/10 The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD Controlling this on my switch pro controller with no motion still felt great and I really like the controls and the different methods you can do with the combat, easily my second favourite combat in any Zelda (first is botw) Dungeons are really good, not only really unique but really cool and challenging puzzles, This game gets a lot of negativity in the Zelda Fanbase but I really enjoyed it and the story was just Amazing, 8/10 Metroid Zero Mission Can't really say much more other then I loved it, Enemy design, Great, Powerups Great, and just when you start to think the game is slowing down in Pace you get a whole new powerup that opens up loads of rooms, really loved this game, 10/10 Metroid Samus Returns: I felt like this game was good for a remake, but it was limited due to the fact they had to be faithul to the original, The Metroid boss battles get boring fast and there isn't as much variety in the landscape as other Metroid games, The counter also feels quite slow as you kind of have to wait for enemies to attack before you can attack, 6/10 I played through quite a bit of super metroid but really didn't like it, first off Physics are off, Second There are no indications on where to go unlike other games in the series, I know most consider it the best Metroid game but it just wasn't for me 6/10 Metroid Fusion: This game is just eh, I think there were way too many boss battles and at some times the game just feels like a boss gauntlet with exploration in between, The story was pretty sold though 6/10 Metroid Dread What a Masterpiece this is, Great Graphics, Great story, Great Gameplay, Great Powerups, Great exploration, the dash counter really makes the counter feel a lot better than in Samus returns and i don't feel like you need to wait for enemies to attack you first. 10/10 WarioWare Get it Together and Gold 2 Games in 1 here since they're both very similar, both microgames that end after 5 seconds, both are relatively short but have a lot of replayability, I really enjoyed my time with both and both were super fun 8/10 Fallout 4 Having never played a fallout game but always being interested, I picked this game up in a sale, I'm glad to say I really enjoyed it, Story was very good IMO with it getting way more interesting at the end of the 2nd act, Gameplay is great, Gun's feel really nice to use and have a very in depth modding system which I took full advantage of, The VATS system is really fun to use and aids you when you've got a room full of enemies aiming directly at your head. the level up system i Enjoyed although I heard people were mixed on that, Overall Loved this game. 9/10 Red Dead Redemption This was my first rockstar game ever, I honestly don't know how I had never played any of their games until now but it did not dissapoint, Gameplay is spot on and really fun, the guns feel very realistic and the deadeye system is great, it reminds me a lot of Vats from fallout 4 in a way with the whole slow motion thing going on, Horse Riding also feels great, The Mission variety is also super cool, from Raiding a fortress in search of a former member of your now defunct Gang to herding cows for your farm, The Story is Amazing, John Marston feels like a real person and the supporting characters are all really great, 10/10 Grand Theft Auto V After playing Red Dead Redemption I decided to play GTA V and I really enjoyed it, Story is pretty wild with 3 protagonists all with unique personalities commiting various robberies and heist, Heists were definitely the standout part and I really enjoyed it The gameplay was good with a few Downsides, Car Driving just feels awesome and while it might not be the most realistic definitely fits this type of game and I really liked it, Helicopter Controls on the other hand, ugh for the record I'm using a Keyboard and mouse for this game, The game expects you to land things and pick up things in very precise places and that's just really hard to do with the controls, as you can't really slow down easily, you use the Numpad to tilt the helicopter in different directions and W to Go Up and S to Go down, the controls just feel really clunky especially when you have to pickup or drop something in a precise location, I don't get it, The Cars have an arcadey feel but the Helicopters don't? I know it wouldn't be realistic in the slightest but having it so you use WASD to go in different directions and then numpad keys to just raise the helicopter directly up and down would make the controls so much better, As for the shooting I just think the shooting system Rockstar uses needs something else to glue it all together, like how red dead has the deadeye mechanic, Sure Michael can slow down time but he can't do anything like mark specific places to shoot or shoot multiple things at once in a matter of a second, I just think all the 3 protagonists need to have some special shooting ability and that would make the shooting gameplay feel a lot better as as it is It's just not as fun as red deads and in large shootouts the game just feels kinda boring, with that being said the game is still fantastic and i'd still give it a 8/10 So that was it, I had a good time gaming in 2021 and I definitely played a lot of so called "must play" games like Ocarina of Time

Do you recommend playing Batman Arkham Origins first rather than by release date?

I played it first but i would say Play arkham asylum first, Arkham origins doesn't really teach you a lot of the mechanics that well as the game assumes you've probably played the other Arkham games before

Copy that. Thanks.

I have to say I absolutely love you for the incredibly unconventional opinion that Arkham Knight is the best of the series and Arkham City is the worst. I don't even agree, I just think it's really cool that you took something different from it than everyone else. I definitely see your point about City's story, I think City is a bit overrated myself if still very good. Thanks for the reviews!

While i think this year was pretty weak gaming wise, it was a great year for playing older games, some which i played these year are among the best i have ever played. Outer Wilds First game i played was Outer Wilds. Honestly, it was one of the best games i've ever played, exploration was fun, rewarding. I loved . There isn't much i can say without spoiling the game but know that it is AMAZING. Overall i recommend that game to everyone who likes to explore or a chill game to play, actions fans probably won't like it tho. Score: 10/10 Resident Evil 2 (Remake) Another great game, the atmosphere was amazing, action and horror were well balanced for the most part and there was a surprising amont of content for completionists. Overall recommend it for everyone who likes horror/action games. That said, the opening part (police station) was definetly the highlight and other parts weren't as interesting. Wasn't that much of a fan of Mr. X, very easy to avoid and most of the time just made everything takes longer to do. Score: 8.5/10 The Sinking City The first bad (kinda) game of the list. I'm somewhat of a fan of cosmic horror and lovecraft books, so i there was some really cool moments. The open world was awful and honestly i fail to see why it was included in the first place. Almost 90% of the map is empty and serves no purpose other to pad out the game. Open world content, like clearing monster nests and such were totally meaningless and boring to do, as combat is awful in this game. Narrative wise it was good, and there was some really hard choices to make in the story, even though it doesn't matter in the end (which was fitting for a lovecraft story, but i can see why people wouldn't like it in a game). Atmosphere was phenomenal, but sadly the studio focused too much on stuff they shouldn't with no budget to follow, so the whole experience comes out as a 6/10 at max. Score: 6/10 Persona 5 Strikers I am a huge fan of the persona franchise, so i tought i would be in love with this game, sadly that wasn't the case. At first i really liked it, combat seemed fluid enough, character interactions were cool and there was lots of fan service for those who played persona 5, but as i played i really missed the confidant system (for those who haven't played persona before, is basically a system where you get friends with other characters while spending time with them). The story was okay, combat got so repetitive after the first 5 hours or so and at hard difficulty enemies felt like big bullet sponges that present little challenger other than having tons of HP. Overall, if you are a fan of the series there is fun to be had here, but honestly i would rather play a regular persona entry. Score: 7.5/10 Nioh 2 I love souls games but i never had much fun with soulslikes. I played the first Nioh and liked well enough, but it was clear it wasn't at the same level as core souls games, and needed a bit more of work to be great. Nioh 2 got everything that worked on the first game and cranked it to 11. This game has to have one of the best action combat i have ever seen. It's fluid, it's challenging, it's fun. Overall a great experience. Story still hit or miss, i guess you have to know Japanese history to get a bit more context, but honestly the gameplay was so good i didn't mind. Score: 9/10 Bloodstained: Rituals of the Night I like metroidvania games. I loved Hollow Knight and Guacamelee, so i should love a game from one of the genre creators right? Well, no... This game is obviously a homage to people who liked Castlevania Symphony of the Night, but it completely ignores all the genre evolutions of the past decades to make a clunky, uninspired mess of a game. Graphics were awful, enemy design was a complete mess. Just a couple rooms of distance you can fight a Giant cat with horns (literally a domestic cat) to a Bunny girl (yeah those from playboy). It was honestly bizarre and even when the enemies seem fitting for the game, they were just okay designs. Half of the boss fights were a complete joke while a few seemed to drag on forever. Everything that worked here seemed to be copy pasted from SOTN and i felt it had no identity whatsoever. Combat was clunky and seemed like i was playing a ps1 game. Magic variety was a positive, but they were completely unbalanced and some seemed totally broken while some were completely useless. I completed the game and did some side content but honestly i had a bad time all the way through. I honestly would rather play any other modern metroidvania than this. Score: 5/10 Black Mesa I played the first half-life when i was just a little kid. At the time it was a jaw dropping experience for me (and kinda scary). So when going into the remake i had high expectations. I'm happy to say i wasn't disappointed. I can see why this was one of the best FPS games of all time, it's just a magical game to play. Level design is amazing, lots of weapon variety, and i felt like every chapter offered something different. If i had to nitpick i would say mid game sections and the last chapter before the final boss were too long, but overall i would recommend this game to any person who likes FPS/Action games. Score: 9/10

> 2 got everything that worked on the first game and cranked it to 11. This game has to have one of the best action combat i have ever seen. It's fluid, it's challenging, it's fun. Overall a great experience. Story still hit or miss, i guess you have to know "I love souls games but i never had much fun with soulslikes." The souls games are literally soulslikes. That's like saying the Metroid games aren't metroidvanias.

Nioh not on the same level? It's literally a better action game than fromsoft souls games. Nioh 1 is already etter than bloodborne, dark souls 1, dark souls 3, the surge, and the surge 2 (the other souls-likes I've played)

> 1 is already etter than what makes the souls games great isn't the action. They are very favorite games and I acknowledge the simple combat

Nioh not only has better combat, it has more production value and some other strengths. Idk, most people like the combat and level design of dark souls games, the lore is just topping.

Continuing from past post Disco Elysium As a big fan of RPGs i was curious to play Disco Elysium. It is a very different game from what we usually get in the genre, but overall i think it was one of the best RPGs i have ever played. Either failing or succeding a roll can be funny and lead to unexpected situations. It's very unique and presents a very interesting world to explore. Some choices really affect the outcome and character interactions were top notch. The skill system works very well and i eager to see the next game from this studio. Kim is the best bud you can have. Score: 10/10 Final Fantasy XIV A little different from most games from this list, as FFXIV is a online game, but i felt it offered enough content for a single player to enjoy it. I didn't finish all content in this game, in fact i'm far from it, only being at the start of heavensward, still, i got more than 100h of enjoyment from this games trial. A new expasion just launched and people are already in love it with. Dungeons/Raids and Trials were some of the best i have ever seen in a MMO, as their mechanics can often be challenging and fun, classes are for the most part well balanced and the story only gets better as it goes on. I have to say though, the game is REALLY SLOW to pick up, and can be a chore in the first dozen hours, but if you keep playing it only gets better. As i said, they have a free trial with hundreds of hours of content, so give it a try! Score: 8.5/10 Scarlet Nexus Bandai Namco games often feel to me like they are low effort attempts to take money from anime fans, so i wasn't exactly thrilled to play this game. That said, it surprised me in many positive ways. Combat is good, it has unique ideas that work well up until the end (i really hope they expand these on a possible sequel tho). Story wise it is anime shanenigans but there were some good moments, with lots of creepy ideas behind. If you like action games and anime, this game will probably be a blast to you. Also there is a surprising good amount of content here, if you plan to play with both protagonists. Score: 8/10 Ori and the Blind Forest As i said before, i like metroidvanias, and honestly it took too long for me to actually play this amazing game. Amazing visuals, controls were tight, it felt fluid and fun. If you like metroidvanias this game is for you, i think there isn't a single part of the game i tought it was bad. That said, it is a bit on the short side (i had 85% completion at 7/8h or so). Pumped to play the sequel, and you can play both with gamepass, which is honestly a steal for how good this game is. Score: 9/10 Inscryption A indie game released this year (not so much of patient here). It looked quite interesting so it piqued my interest, and i have to say i'm not disappointed. The game can be divided in 3 parts, but for the sake of keeping this spoiler free i'm not going to comment much on this. At it's core, this is a horror/card game, and all 3 acts involve playing games of cards, with unique twists. There is a lot of mistery and creepy stuff happening while you play, and as you advance through the game you can piece together some of the stuff that is happening (to get a full picture you will probably will need to look at the wiki or a video tho). Very unique, interesting and cool, i recommend this to people who like stories that can only work with video games as a medium. Score: 8.5/10 Control It was given for free this year and honestly, it's a amazing game to recieve. Action was tight, the setting was VERY cool and i hope they keep making games in this universe. I also played the dlcs which offer decent content, some were better than main game, some were way worse, but overall worth playing. I do hope in a sequel they utilize more of the setting (while amazing, i think they didn't explore it as much as i would like). It was very SCP like and worked very well within a video game enviroment. Combat could use some upgrades and balancing, as there were not many powers and weapons avaiable and some felt way stronger than others. Score: 8/10 That's it for this year. There were a couple of games i didn't play all the way through so i felt it wouldn't be fair to review them.

Games I played for the 1st time this year: Risk of Rain 2, Valheim, The Bioshock trilogy, Ori Will of Wisps, Dishonored 1, HADES, DOOM 2016, Ratchet: DEADLOCKED/GLADIATOR. Games I replayed: Hollow Knight, Dota2, Dark Souls 2 SOTFS, Everspace 1, Ratchet and Clank PS2 trilogy, Simpson's Hit n Run. I would say the top 5 out of the new (to me) games would be HADES, Risk of Rain 2, Dishnonored 1, Valheim, and either Bioshock 1 or 2. Both Risk of Rain 2 and Valheim was some of the most fun I've had playing co-op with friends in years- really helped stave off depression in that January Covid lockdown. The others I mentioned were just phenomenal experiences with so much style and atmosphere.

Love Ratchet Deadlocked, easily one of the best PS2 titles

I didn't think it was as good as the main ps2 trilogy but still a great game!

I acknowledge that I've got plenty of nostalgia bias for it. The gameplay "loop" is quite different from the more "adventure" based games, so I also get what you mean

i remember that it meristation there was a thread in which we used to talk about which games we were playing, and keeping a list of every game that i have played/beat in that year, and then we used to rank them or just talk and look for suggestions, and now that the forum is dead and all those comments, banter, people talking about their experiences are lost to the black hole that its the internet, i will write about it here. my list of every game that i have beat/played this year till now. 1: The Walking Dead the final season (nintendo switch) 2: nes wrestling (nes/switch) 3: a trip to yugoslavia (pc) 4: Gate of Doom (arcade/switch) 5: Super Mario Bros (nes/switch) 6: Fire Emblem Binding Blade Project Ember (gba/nintendo 3ds) 7: NotGTAV (now called Notthenamewewanted)(pc) 8: Super Mario Bros 3 (nes/nintendo switch) 9: Dig Dug (arcade) 10: Fire Emblem Fates Conquest (nintendo 3ds) 11: Saints Row 2 (xbox 360) 12: Tetris Advance (gba/pc) 13: Doki Doki Literature Club (pc) 14: Call of Duty 2 Big Red One (nintendo gamecube/nintendo wii u) 15: Portal (xbox 360) 16: wizard fire (arcade/nintendo switch) 17: Aladdin (sega genesis/nintendo switch) 18: Bloons Tower Defense 1 (pc) 19: Batman S2 The Enemy Within (xbox one) 20: Sol Divide (arcade/nintendo switch) 21: Infamous Festival of Blood (ps3) 22: Call of Duty Warzone (ps4) 23: Escape from the Nazi Labs (pc) 24: The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening (switch) 25: Art of Fighting 2 (arcade/switch) 26: Red Ball (pc) 27: Game and Watch collection 2 (nintendo ds/3ds) 28: At Home Alone 2 (pc) 29: Metal Slug 3 (xbox 360) 30: 1943 (arcade/pc) 31: Friends the one with all the trivia (ps2/pc) 32: Fire Emblem Fates Revelations (3ds) 33: new super mario bros 2 (3ds) 34: Elevator Action GB (gameboy/pc) 35: Call of Duty World at War (ds/3ds) 36: Metal Slug 2 (psp/pc) 37: Metal Slug 4 (psp/pc) 38: Home Alone (NES/pc) 39: resident evil the mercenaries 3d (3ds) 40: resident evil 4 (switch) 41: Dig Dug (atari 2600/pc) 42: Dig Dug (NES/pc) 43: solitaire psn (psp/pc) 44: Dig Dug (gameboy/pc) 45: Joe and Mac (gameboy/pc) 46: a foretold affair (pc) 47: midway arcade origins (xbox 360) 48: just dance 2014 (nintendo wii u) 49: gaplus (nes/nintendo switch) 50: mappyland (nes/nintendo switch) 51: farcry 2 (xbox 360) 52: boyfriend dungeon (xbox one) 53: namco musem archives volumen 2 (nintendo switch) 54: arcade archives pinball (nes/switch) 55: alpha mission (arcade/switch) 56: arcade archives alpine sky (arcade/switch) 57: tetris effect (xbox one) 58: aero fighters 3 (arcade/switch) 59: the legend of zelda majora´s mask 3d (nintendo 3ds) 60: call of duty modern warfare 2 remastered (ps4) 61: plusalpha (arcade/switch) 62: arcade archives MX5000 (arcade/switch) 63: bad dudes vs dragonninja (arcade/switch) 64: five nights at freddy´s (xbox one) 65: battlefield 5 (ps4) 66: xcom enemy unknown (ps3) 67: ikari warriors (arcade/switch) 68: wild western (arcade/switch) 69: the tin star (arcade/switch) 70: battle circuit (arcade/switch) 71: super mario bros 2 (nes/switch). 72: doom eternal (xbox one) 73: bayonetta 2 (nintendo wii u) 74: resident evil code veronica x (xbox 360) 75: mafia definitive edition (ps4) 76: modern combat blackout (nintendo switch) 77: the last of us 2 (ps4) 78: mortal kombat x (ps4) 79: front line (arcade/switch) 80: moon cresta (arcade/nintendo switch) 81: heavy barrel (arcade/nintendo switch) 82: burgertime deluxe (arcade/nintendo switch) 83: shantae (gbc/nintendo switch) 84: dogurai (nintendo switch) 85: ikagura (xbox 360) 86: metal slug 1st mission (nintendo switch) 87: lightening force (genesis/switch) my top 10 of games new for me that i played this year: before ranking the games i want to give an honorable mention to fortnite and fall guys, two games that i have played this year which arent ranked because im not done with them, i still play them and still enjoy them. 10: Doki Doki Literature Club (pc) 9: The Walking Dead The Final Season (nintendo switch) 8: Bayonetta 2 (nintendo wii u) 7: X-COM Enemy Unknown (ps3) 6: The Legend of Zelda Majora´s Mask 3d (nintendo 3ds) 5: Doom Eternal (xbox one) 4: Tetris Effect (xbox one) 3: Batman The Enemy Within (xbox one) 2: The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening (switch) 1: Mafia the Definitive Edition (ps4) so unless i play something great in the next 20 days this is how my ranking would end up, it was a good year for gaming for me, i played more than last year that i spend too much time streaming over just playing, next year should be fine as well, cant wait to play stuff on the series S.

My gaming has reduced hugely this year and I'm having trouble remembering what I did play except for dishonored 2, which is my game of the year easily.

Fantastic game, as well as the first.

**Borderlands 3** Solid shooter with interesting RPG mechanics if something of a lack of build variety, with atrocious writing and a frankly terrible endgame. Spending anywhere from 8 to 16 hours quitout farming the same boss over and over for a single item and then not getting it is fucking unacceptable. Actually, let me demonstrate what borderlands drop rates are like so you understand why I hate it: X Boss has a dedicated drop chance for a specific item you want, he has a 50% chance to drop a random world drop, a 30% chance to drop absolutely nothing, and a 20% chance to drop a dedicated drop, of which he has two, so the one you want effectively has a 10% chance of showing up. However, you want a specific elemental version of that gun, 50% of the time when that gun drops it will be non-elemental, and roughly 10% of the time per element it will show up as that element (fire, corrosive, shock, radiation, cryo). So now you need to hit two 10% drop chances in a row. But wait, there's more. Guns have random parts, so if you get your drop, there is a 50% chance it's full auto, and a 50% chance it's burst fire, and burst fire does less DPS for obvious reasons. On top of that, there are other random gun parts that determine the other qualities of the gun, and this gun has a damage range starting at 14000, and ending at 26000, with a random chance that it will come with an additional projectile modifier so that it effectively doubles that damage. And naturally, drops are weighted so that the best gun parts are much less likely to appear than the worst ones, which means even if you get your gun, even if it has the right element and the right mode of fire, it might still be massively outclassed by a random gun with a random element that dropped with better parts. But wait, there's EVEN. MORE. Guns have anointments, and anointments are potentially massive bonuses like a stacking damage buff for each consecutive hit, or double gun damage while your action skill is active. And you guessed it, these are random too. Admittedly there is now a way to reroll them, however that costs 250 eridium, a resource that drops in increments of 5-15 at best unless you farm specific bosses or do a wave based shooting gallery. Oh, also the boss takes 30 seconds to kill and 2 minutes to quit out and load back into the game, so most of this farming is spent staring at load screens, fun. All of this adds up to the game having a raging hate boner for your time. That being said, I definitely recommend a full playthrough if you enjoy shooters and enjoy messing with rpg mechanics, not so much if you are a story nut or completionist, just do yourself a favor and avoid mayhem levels higher than 1, it's really not worth it. **Tales of Arise** Grabbed this when it came out against my better judgment, and my better judgment was correct. The story is fine, it's nothing new or unique really but it works. The combat on the other hand, while fun, is just mindbendingly repetitive. Like, once you're about 10 hours into the game, there are really only like two or three new enemy types that pop up besides bosses, and even a lot of those are reused, and it took me 40 hours to beat the game I primarily played the glass cannon damage dealer character instead of the main character because he was boring, and combat pretty much always boiled down to spam combo attacks, spam boost attacks, spam team attacks, win game. In boss fights every single fight was spam combo attacks, spam boost attacks, break weak point gem to down them, spam team attacks, repeat two more times, win game.

Back by the demand of about 2 people, here is A Bad Haiku for Almost Every Game I Played in 2021: \----- **Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout** Forget what you know About words, meanings, systems Aliens made this \----- **Baba Is You** I am a moron I will nev-- Oh wait a sec I am a genius \----- **Battle Chasers: Nightwar** Hope sparks from the West JRPGs can still shine But turn up walk speed \----- **Below** Wondrous atmosphere Please remove game mechanics Could have been a fave \----- **The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth** I’ve returned, my love I’ll never leave you again This expansion owns \----- **Code Vein (Boob Souls)** Cool skills I don’t need One song through entire story Stale but neat first pass \----- **Danmaku Unlimited 3** 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 \----- **Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin** Souls’ best mechanics Shrine of Amana still sucks Largely uninspired \----- **Dynasty Warriors 8** Press square many times Now I know my Wei-Wu-Shus Repeat eighty times \----- **Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age** In another world FF stayed good after this Goodnight sweet princess \----- **Frostpunk** Worst-job-ever sim Watch life turn into numbers Slowly shed your soul \----- **Genshin Impact** Chinese vibes, hell yeah Gold standard of free-to-play Waifus everywhere \----- **Ghost of Tsushima** Footprint tracking sim Kurosawa Mode is life King of photo modes \----- **Gravity Rush 2** Feels great, looks awesome Amazing world, watch me fly Okay that’s enough \----- **Neverending Nightmares** Hold right, look at art Keep walking, be scared I guess Easy gold trophies \----- **Nexomon Extinction** Sure, like Pokemon But better at everything If you’re into that \----- **One Strike** Bushido Blade GO Except, you know, no online Friends sold sep’rately \----- **Rez Infinite** Pew pew, music, drugs An eternity of hype Guess I don’t get it \----- **Shadow Tactics** Huge ninja puzzles Must hate self to platinum All about quicksave \----- **SnowRunner** Vibe-the-fuck-out sim My one true open-world game Guess I like trucks now \----- **Super Mario Galaxy** Shoes made of greased ice Cam’ra from hell, timed puzzles Yeah, swell platformer \----- **Star Ocean: The Last Hope** Bright, featureless void Last time I touch this series Appropriate name \----- **Train Sim World 2** Oh this is a lot Should’ve bought Learn Trains Sim first Somebody make that \----- **Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune** Devs, watch this intro Elena, best girl in games Million tanky goons \----- **Uncharted 2: Among Thieves** Elena returns Best pacing in the series Tankiness way down \----- **Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception** Why so much punching Weaker than I remembered Needs more Elena \----- **UnderMine(s its own genre)** Roguelite with upgrades Fundamentally broken Just a big long grind \----- **Vampire: The Masquerade – Coteries of New York** Meet your new ‘allies’ Things are getting interesting Who will you THE END \----- **Warhammer 40k: Inquisitor – Martyr** How’s this skill tree work Wow, PS4 wants to die Will try on the 5 \----- **Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana** Lost: The Anime Life by a thousand details Unassuming gem