Lorazx
A game has never made me feel more old.
2022
Increasingly complex Escape Rooms with fun and cheesy set dressing makes this a mast play for enthusiasts and a must try for puzzle lovers. Give it a look if you have Gamepass.
One of the most interesting entires in the long running Shin Megami Tensei series. This kind of Y2K-era examination into the intersection of technology and occultism just couldn't be made today, and the neo-noir mood brings it all together. The 3DS version sands off some of the crummier edges of the original Saturn version, but retains that versions chunky early 3d art and brilliant Kaneko art.
If you're willing to look past some of the gameplay jank, this is easily one of the best 90's JRPG'S ever made.
If you're willing to look past some of the gameplay jank, this is easily one of the best 90's JRPG'S ever made.
2022
The newest Pokemon games are difficult to talk about. They are, on one hand, one of the buggiest and ugliest looking games Nintendo has put out, due to a mixture of Game Freak's unnecessarily small teams and Nintendo's hardware. On the other hand, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the most inventive and unique Pokemon experiences made in the last few generations.
The story and characters aren't mind blowing, but there's enough emotional weight to carry three separate plots, and have them all come together in ways that make them feel equally satisfying and weighty, even if the Team Star story line isn't the most engaging.
Notably, there is far less customization than in Sword and Shield, which while thematically relevant makes having a trainer that feels unique to each player basically an impossibility; you will wear the shorts and you're gonna like it.
This is another interesting step forward for Pokemon as a game series, it just needed a few more months in development (or a bigger team) to pull it all together.
The story and characters aren't mind blowing, but there's enough emotional weight to carry three separate plots, and have them all come together in ways that make them feel equally satisfying and weighty, even if the Team Star story line isn't the most engaging.
Notably, there is far less customization than in Sword and Shield, which while thematically relevant makes having a trainer that feels unique to each player basically an impossibility; you will wear the shorts and you're gonna like it.
This is another interesting step forward for Pokemon as a game series, it just needed a few more months in development (or a bigger team) to pull it all together.
2022
This is a crime pretending to be a video game.
2021
Psychonauts 2 is a fantastic sequel to the beloved XBox cult classic. Mixing comedy and perfect plafforming to make one of the most enjoyable platformers of recent memory. Forgettable combat is the games biggest downside, but brilliant accessibility features makes it so that no player finds themselves getting stuck too much.
A cozy artstyle and fun music mostly cover for a trio of short, mystery-less mystery games. Te dialogue is occasionally charming, but seems more fit for Twitter screenshots then actual writing, and an over reliance on one joke can make the main gameplay loop, running between people and talking to them, get tiring fast.
The greatest game ever made. A gigantic achievement in both gaming and art as a whole. Every similar game made in Disco's wake will fall behind it in some aspect, because it may genuinely be impossible to recapture this energy. Fuck the suits who ruined ZAUM, and I hope that the amazing team behind this masterpiece gets to try again someday.
2021
Did the original Stanley Parable need a bonus pack style re-release? Not really, but Ultra Deluxe is acutely aware of the fact. Extremely self-aware of it's own reputation, this re-release of the post-modern comedy classic doubles down on its most interesting ideas, and once again creates some truly poignant (and hilarious) comments on the nature of games, reality and buckets.
2022
A weak last 25% aside, FromSoft have made the pinnacle of their specific brand of ultra-difficult gaming, and have also revolutionized the open world fantasy game in doing so. Bosses are awe-inspiring, builds are varied and equally valid, and the plot and characters are easily some of the most fun (and coherent) they've ever been. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend it.
Probably one of the best action rpg's of the past decade, and definitely one of the best Final Fantasy's released in years. Meme catastrophe this is not, as I found myself so genuinely engaged with the story and characters that I scrounged for as much info on them as possible, and the gameplay was so addicting that I replayed the game on each subsequent difficulty purely to get more time with it. DLC being locked behind said difficulty and a janky equipment system is the only real mark on one of my top games of the year.
2021
Not exactly the most engaging gameplay-wise, this musical adventure shines best when the electric guitar kicks in and you get to shred through some amazing psychedelic landscapes. A strong story about finding an identity, both creative and otherwise, grounds the whole game.