What I'll Remember (2023)
I played a lot of games this year; a lot of games I liked, a lot of games I didn't, but worst of all is games that I won't remember in the slightest. Anyways, this list is for games that aren't those- even if I didn't like them. Ranking for best of the year? Kind of; I just wanna wrap up thoughts on games I didn't develop short-term memory loss for. Expect lengthy unfocused rambling.
EDIT: It's literally Christmas Eve and I have made the call I'll continue to add some stuff 'till December is over, because I'm still grinding out games this year!
EDIT: It's literally Christmas Eve and I have made the call I'll continue to add some stuff 'till December is over, because I'm still grinding out games this year!
52 Games
Pretty much the best game I played this year with ease, I already reviewed it but in short this game is everything my pretentious self wants narrative-driven games to be. You could fully enjoy Pathologic just for the gameplay, but the gameplay and narrative are so interwoven it's hard to describe what that'd entail; so it's a good thing they put all the effort into making the narrative something that respects the audiences intelligence without shoving text-wall lasagna down your throat to explain every theme. It all just flows so naturally and left me gleeful to rush in a panic to become a looter, which probably isn't normal. It left me thinking, but it also left me feeling. Mostly stress, and horror, and every other negative emotion. 10/10.
Well, remember how I said it's hard to draw a line between Pathologic's narrative and gameplay, yet it's enjoyable on its own in a hypothetical non-existent variant? Resident Evil is that variant of gameplay given existence... kinda. It sort of leads me to conclude Pathologic 2 is just an unholy blend of Resident Evil and Fallout in some ways and maybe my love for it was a mile away in hindsight. Either way, Resident Evil itself. What is there to say? Everyone knows it's great and basically perfect, it's really incredible how they clearly used the bizarro control-scheme Alone in the Dark probably adopted less intentionally to sort of mimic that sense of horror movie tension. Slowly walking around the monsters indicates that stress classic horror film tries to give the player and... I didn't find it scary, but I respect the effort damnit! It's a wonderful little adventure game with great resource-management and basically no flaws, even if it's not scary to me; it's doing everything it can be to be your ideal classic horror movie in game form. 10/10... in an ideal universe, but maybe if they removed the door animations when re-entering a room, made the voice acting even more stilted and made the cover art a little less tacky, it'd be a perfect 10 for me. Dead serious.
This game kicks so much fucking ass. I was suspicious of Treasure after Gunstar Heroes, it didn't really hit the notes of the best run 'n' guns I'd played minus some really cool individual mechanics and stages, but the general fact it just fell into aimlessly going right and firing didn't click for me, I sort of prefer a more methodical element to these games. Anyways, Alien Soldier is pretty much everything I could dream for from a run 'n' gun that ditches the platforming, mostly because it completely focuses on what matters: MAKING SHOOTING INTERESTING. There's so many little variables here it's unreal with the amount of weapons, ammo system, mobility options, arena design, variation in bosses... everything. The fact it was released on a half-finished state kind of shows to me over time though, with the simultaneously huge yet incomplete feeling boss roster and sort of unrefined looking pixel art, but it also lends the game a charm so... VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! SYSTEMSHOCK!
I'm gonna be the contrarian and say this game is a train-wreck, and I shouldn't forgive it for basically being a blatantly less well-constructed twin to Ocarina of Time where time travel mechanics only interestingly impact half of the game while dungeons go spared from any time travel fun and you rely on a stupid, contrived, pace-killing gimmick to solve everything via stopping to put masks on, but I'd be lying to you if I said I cared about that. For everything it loses in polish it gains another point in being downright fucking entertaining in the most deranged way possible. The atmosphere of death and pain surrounding this game is unmatched, and I feel the intro is the epitome of it, where it casually lets you figure out that everyone is going to die without explaining anything, all while expecting you to solve puzzles. The masks are a pace-killer, but they're so thematically cool and the transformations kick so much ass that it's hard to hate them.
The time travel is a different story, I actually really dig the time limit and love time limit-based games, and Majora does the feeling of apocalypse like nothing else, but it seriously annoys me how weird its placement in the game is. Clock Town is packed to the brim with things to do with time travel, but most other places aren't. As mentioned earlier though, the worst offenders are dungeons. Zelda dungeons are usually laid out in a way where they're semi-linear until you get the item and can pass the item gates, so theoretically retreading the dungeon to use the item to cheese through the dungeon should be an extremely interesting race against time when managing it alongside side-quests; most of which are short barring two exceptions. Dungeons in Majora's Mask, once completed, just let you skip to the end the moment you step into them on retread. This doesn't really make sense for a time loop game to me, especially given Majora's dungeons look laid out to allow for cheesing, as if the devs wanted you to exploit item gates on retread, but alas there's no cool speedrunning element to the main game. Giant text wall there for just one element of the game, but I really feel it's indicative of the holes that punctuate Majora's Mask, it just doesn't add up all the time, and yet I still loved it probably more than Ocarina of Time.
The time travel is a different story, I actually really dig the time limit and love time limit-based games, and Majora does the feeling of apocalypse like nothing else, but it seriously annoys me how weird its placement in the game is. Clock Town is packed to the brim with things to do with time travel, but most other places aren't. As mentioned earlier though, the worst offenders are dungeons. Zelda dungeons are usually laid out in a way where they're semi-linear until you get the item and can pass the item gates, so theoretically retreading the dungeon to use the item to cheese through the dungeon should be an extremely interesting race against time when managing it alongside side-quests; most of which are short barring two exceptions. Dungeons in Majora's Mask, once completed, just let you skip to the end the moment you step into them on retread. This doesn't really make sense for a time loop game to me, especially given Majora's dungeons look laid out to allow for cheesing, as if the devs wanted you to exploit item gates on retread, but alas there's no cool speedrunning element to the main game. Giant text wall there for just one element of the game, but I really feel it's indicative of the holes that punctuate Majora's Mask, it just doesn't add up all the time, and yet I still loved it probably more than Ocarina of Time.
A recurring theme in almost every review I do is how emergence strives from mechanics; not in the immersive sim, uh, simulation approach necessarily (though sometimes it's an example) but literally just how the formation of mechanics form into one whole.
Action games struggle with emergence often to me; as they've stepped away from arcadey tenants, we've generally seen a focus less on brutalistic action-packed insanity and more on involved systems to make replays more intricate. Think of it as an alternative to roguelite-style difficulty where the focus is merely on player growth and mastery of the mechanics rather than the game changing to throw off that mastery. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, it's a great idea in theory, but I feel a tinge of malaise circles the genre and traps it into, torture me for saying it, a space of boredom rather than intensity. There's a big focus on the player feeling self-reliable and pretty much all powerful with enough mastery, but I find these systems aren't designed with an emergent understanding in mind a lot. Devil May Cry may hand you extremely technically dense combat, but the arenas and enemies have the depth of a puddle to actually engage with that leaves the game feeling quite dry to me. Unlike arcade classics, the campaign itself is often described as merely a tutorial in the modern action game... for itself, but by the time you'll be at the next level you've already kicked its ass. This (in my humble opinion) creates a growing problem where the game can never wow you or get you amazed with the elements besides the actual technical depth itself, but if you're not into that then... why bother? It's fundamentally sort of botched the appeal by allowing for maximum accessibility, minimal actual action besides realizing the score-chasing people love into a more tangible form with expanded movesets, and this set a gold standard for modern action games.
Anyways, here's Jet Set Radio, a cult classic icon that could be argued to be SEGA's peak and embodied the best of the Dreamcast era. It's thoroughly stylish, deeply beloved and a good chunk of people who play it now call it quits due to how clumsy it's seen as being.
I don't share this sentiment at all. I think Jet Set Radio embodies a true evolution of arcade goodness into more nuanced mechanics and systems in a way you just, didn't see afterwards. There's a steep learning curve to the controls and almost every other element at play, which the game makes sure stretches across the whole duration of the campaign. There's a lot of elements it gradually ramps up, but the important part is how well they all play with each other. The controls are fundamentally intimidating to grapple with because they demand you take your time to learn them; Jet Set Radio has a timer in every level. The immediate first obstacle is figuring out both how to move and graffiti fast enough just to not die to the timer, and from then on it only ramps up. Graffiti patterns get more consistently intimidating, maps get slowly huge and demand constant mental routing to figure out the optimal ways to loop around and recollect graffiti cans while the timers at some point plateau and never get more forgiving. It's not close to being the hardest game I've played, but it's enough to get the ball rolling and make for an extremely interesting campaign solely because there is a learning curve and emergent element to these mechanics. It's fun to replay because it's fun to play, it demands something of the player just to engage to begin with, and I think there's value to that; especially once it becomes second nature and you're kicking the games ass, gradually beating your own scores/achievement hunting (depending on the version you play). Also, dystopian skating is badass.
Action games struggle with emergence often to me; as they've stepped away from arcadey tenants, we've generally seen a focus less on brutalistic action-packed insanity and more on involved systems to make replays more intricate. Think of it as an alternative to roguelite-style difficulty where the focus is merely on player growth and mastery of the mechanics rather than the game changing to throw off that mastery. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, it's a great idea in theory, but I feel a tinge of malaise circles the genre and traps it into, torture me for saying it, a space of boredom rather than intensity. There's a big focus on the player feeling self-reliable and pretty much all powerful with enough mastery, but I find these systems aren't designed with an emergent understanding in mind a lot. Devil May Cry may hand you extremely technically dense combat, but the arenas and enemies have the depth of a puddle to actually engage with that leaves the game feeling quite dry to me. Unlike arcade classics, the campaign itself is often described as merely a tutorial in the modern action game... for itself, but by the time you'll be at the next level you've already kicked its ass. This (in my humble opinion) creates a growing problem where the game can never wow you or get you amazed with the elements besides the actual technical depth itself, but if you're not into that then... why bother? It's fundamentally sort of botched the appeal by allowing for maximum accessibility, minimal actual action besides realizing the score-chasing people love into a more tangible form with expanded movesets, and this set a gold standard for modern action games.
Anyways, here's Jet Set Radio, a cult classic icon that could be argued to be SEGA's peak and embodied the best of the Dreamcast era. It's thoroughly stylish, deeply beloved and a good chunk of people who play it now call it quits due to how clumsy it's seen as being.
I don't share this sentiment at all. I think Jet Set Radio embodies a true evolution of arcade goodness into more nuanced mechanics and systems in a way you just, didn't see afterwards. There's a steep learning curve to the controls and almost every other element at play, which the game makes sure stretches across the whole duration of the campaign. There's a lot of elements it gradually ramps up, but the important part is how well they all play with each other. The controls are fundamentally intimidating to grapple with because they demand you take your time to learn them; Jet Set Radio has a timer in every level. The immediate first obstacle is figuring out both how to move and graffiti fast enough just to not die to the timer, and from then on it only ramps up. Graffiti patterns get more consistently intimidating, maps get slowly huge and demand constant mental routing to figure out the optimal ways to loop around and recollect graffiti cans while the timers at some point plateau and never get more forgiving. It's not close to being the hardest game I've played, but it's enough to get the ball rolling and make for an extremely interesting campaign solely because there is a learning curve and emergent element to these mechanics. It's fun to replay because it's fun to play, it demands something of the player just to engage to begin with, and I think there's value to that; especially once it becomes second nature and you're kicking the games ass, gradually beating your own scores/achievement hunting (depending on the version you play). Also, dystopian skating is badass.
Original review that's more focused here. I feel burned by the RPG genre a lot; JRPG's come in with their more focused storytelling, yet give into animeisms a lot, and I don't really dig anime. WRPG's should in theory be the more interesting games, given they focus more on choice and complex thought a lot, but often I find this turns into the dreaded text-wall lasagna I described in my ramble about Pathologic. It's not really interesting talking to an NPC even if they're spouting interesting concepts when their dialogue and delivery is coming hot straight outta Large Language Model Productions.
Anyways, Fallout itself bypasses these problems and has really fun gameplay. It's a very holistic approach to storytelling; the themes are there, but not overtly said, yet they're so overarching it works, and they're probably so overarching because the game follows the same few arcs stretched across every side-quest while making it an ambigious fog in the player's mind as to what actually is the main quest. The result is that every action feels interesting to partake in and it almost always pays off in a way that feels narratively satisfying. The catch is that on top of this is that half the shit you do will go wrong because the game is really committed to implementing stats, and I like that! I'm not usually a sucker for stat systems and often find them pretty archaic for role-playing implementation given how little they impact choice a lot, so having them be truly this impactful is something I dig! Plus, if there's anything I've learned, apparently I'm a masochist when it comes to video games. Let me do the right thing and fail more!
Anyways, Fallout itself bypasses these problems and has really fun gameplay. It's a very holistic approach to storytelling; the themes are there, but not overtly said, yet they're so overarching it works, and they're probably so overarching because the game follows the same few arcs stretched across every side-quest while making it an ambigious fog in the player's mind as to what actually is the main quest. The result is that every action feels interesting to partake in and it almost always pays off in a way that feels narratively satisfying. The catch is that on top of this is that half the shit you do will go wrong because the game is really committed to implementing stats, and I like that! I'm not usually a sucker for stat systems and often find them pretty archaic for role-playing implementation given how little they impact choice a lot, so having them be truly this impactful is something I dig! Plus, if there's anything I've learned, apparently I'm a masochist when it comes to video games. Let me do the right thing and fail more!
I'll be real with you; there isn't much I can about Ocarina of Time on its own I didn't detail in my review, so instead I'll talk about a Link to the Past. More specifically, how it pains me that I didn't enjoy a Link to the Past more than Ocarina of Time. All the signs were there with the more thoroughly detailed exploration, open-dungeon design and interconnected map that a Link to the Past would've been the one for me, but our relationship didn't work out cause she was a liar. I might make myself look like an idiot, but I really appreciated how straight-forward Ocarina of Time was compared to a Link to the Past - which gave specific instructions to go to one part of the map, and then it turns out I had to go into the Dark World in the opposite corner of the map to get there. I guess marking the dungeons out doesn't explicitly tell you not to do other things first, but I sort of wish it was more organic after the opening three dungeons because it got me in the wrong state of mind every time the game told me "GO HERE, NOW!!!". Maybe I'll click better on replay without that frustration in mind, though Ocarina (feeling basically like a semi-remake of that game to me) already does so much right it'd be hard to see any Zelda easily surpassing its pretty much perfected dungeon design and pacing.
I think I detailed absolutely everything I could've said in my review, I guess I'd like to follow it up either way by saying there must be something in my brain that functions differently to other people because I can't get enough of Souls combat (even in spite of its simplicity) when I hate beat-em-ups. There's definitely an element of personal preference in enjoying this one so much, which I'm not judging myself for so much as I'm questioning why this is, and I think it's mostly that Souls combat just feels a lot more thoughtful to me. I like having to think about my stamina constantly on top of reflexes; usually my favorite video game challenges strain the mind in multiple ways, that's what Souls games are all about and what Demon's Souls especially prioritizes in almost every facet of the design, only making me realize I fucked up the boss fight far too late to fix things and making the game ten times harder via World Tendency. Wonderful game.
Review here. All I have to say is I wanted my VR remake guys, it'd translate the game better than traditional shooter mechanics damnit! You could've sold me on VR finally! Also, I really need to replay the sequel, I remember it being pretty good but I didn't like how the stats were used in that game; yeah it mixes up playthroughs, but I thought immersive sims were meant to be dynamically simulated differences rather than rigid RPG systems usually, which more so came from the inventory management and survival horror elements. Maybe Prey needs another playthrough too but fuck me if I can never seem to finish it when I replay, guess I'll figure out why with time.
Am I weird for finding this supposed stress simulator extremely fun? Eh, I guess the masochism comment in regards to games holds up. I took down my review for this game because Chump already did it perfectly. It's super smart, it knows how to pit the players empathy against their need to go on and it simulates the struggle of economically crumbling slavic countri-wait... Fuck. Undeniably the more creative implementation of the same few concepts, so which you prefer is your choice. I love both, but I'm a pretentious asshole too so Pathologic wins out.
DAMN, THOSE ALIEN BASTARDS ARE GONNA PAY FOR SHOOTING UP MY RIDE. Duke himself being obviously satirical aside, his ego feels matched with the games confidence. It's almost impressive how close they got to id Software tier quality with this game. The levels might be more varied, consistent and explorative in Doom, but Duke 3D says "I don't need that, I'll just make every level have awesome set-pieces and interactable things, usually prompting giant explosions". Doom has the more balanced weapon and enemy roster, but Duke says "every enemy is going to be a hit-scanning rat bastard, so you'll need to instantly kill them and waste ammo constantly anyways with the most weird weapons possible". Is it better than Doom? Probably not, but it's KICKING ASS either way.
Review and shit, yada yada. I've reached apotheosis because I now find this game extremely theraputic, and it's also great for speedrunning. It's one of the most core sentiments of game design (punishment for failure) taken to logical extreme, yet it's actually extremely masterable even though it'll take you forever on your first playthrough. Some will argue it's a meme game, but I still think it's genius design for what it's trying to do. Imitators be damned, you need that fucked up mouse control scheme for it to really work as well as it does. Nothing beats a panicked input to save yourself flinging yourself all the way back to the start.
THE BEST CLASSICVANIA... Maybe. These games are decently consistent in quality so judging the best is hard, and I'll commentate more on moment-to-moment gameplay with the others, but what I can say is Rondo has got to be a contender for the best pixel art ever. Every scene of this game paints a gorgeous view of classical gothic horror given a sleek video game-y edge, and the music? The fucking music? Give me a version of Bloodlines that's identical to the Rondo version but with the SNES bassline and you might've made the best song yet conceived for video games. Only gameplay things I'll touch on in this ramble are more structural; you like walking through flat planes? This game has a few too many. How about a relaxed difficulty compared to the rest until a sudden gauntlet comes from nowhere? Yup. I can't complain too much, this game still kicks ass in a slightly less Duke Nukem-adjacent way.
Treasure does it again. Earlier this year, I played Wild Guns... and it's not going on the list, because I don't find it memorable. It's well-made and charming, but it's a one-trick pony. You get into the thrill of strafing and gunning, but by the end it's pretty clear there's not much more to take in.
Sin and Punishment has to be the best of its kind, there's no way it isn't. It never loses steam on redefining and reimplementing its own gameplay concepts in new and exciting ways. You'll be gallery shooting, then twin-stick shooting, then running and gunning, and the switch-ups are never abrupt, it's all perfectly harmonious with the gameplay model. The sword is un-fucking-believably fun to use, the music is incredible and the set-pieces blow you away, and I half-understand the storyline, which I'm pretty sure is ripping off Evangelion even though I haven't seen 90% of it to judge! It's the closest an action game has felt to the inventiveness with simple concepts since Furi for me, and for that alone it deserves a heavy recommendation; even if you're not big into action, because I'm not either. Lordg goes into more depth than I do.
Sin and Punishment has to be the best of its kind, there's no way it isn't. It never loses steam on redefining and reimplementing its own gameplay concepts in new and exciting ways. You'll be gallery shooting, then twin-stick shooting, then running and gunning, and the switch-ups are never abrupt, it's all perfectly harmonious with the gameplay model. The sword is un-fucking-believably fun to use, the music is incredible and the set-pieces blow you away, and I half-understand the storyline, which I'm pretty sure is ripping off Evangelion even though I haven't seen 90% of it to judge! It's the closest an action game has felt to the inventiveness with simple concepts since Furi for me, and for that alone it deserves a heavy recommendation; even if you're not big into action, because I'm not either. Lordg goes into more depth than I do.
Everything about Team Ico's work deeply appeals to me, and everything conceptually about Ico deeply appeals to me, but I don't like it's mentality towards realizing the ideas at play. Run around, drag Yorda then have her stand around and maybe point something out once in a blue moon while you go off doing other stuff, while the game reminds you to love Yorda via spamming the same enemies. It's got some rough edges, and I can't really say I felt attached to Yorda, but I also can't say I didn't thoroughly enjoy it and feel blown back by the atmosphere anyways. Ueda knows what he's doing; even when he doesn't. It's not a four star game in a logical world, but I'm an illogical man, so I give it that anyways. Can't wait to finally play the Last Guardian when I steal a PS4 successfully.
Review. Guys... I've gotta admit... I forgot to finish my campaign. Soon. Terror from the Deep and all the other sequels too, and probably mods. This game will suck my soul out.
I beat Tyson. That's all.
So, Myst is pretty flawed, and it's easily the least elegant interpretation of the whole exploratory structural puzzle thing, but it also taps into a very specific niche for me I've always wanted filled: "trying to solve puzzles with alien machinery". Alright, it's not outright sci-fi... but that's probably even better! It's super unique, the puzzles are fun with creative ideas for each and the whole thing of fucking with machinery that makes no sense is still a huge draw for me! Riven better be as good as people say.
Review here. Not many thoughts here that aren't in the review, that might be the case for a few games coming up, but Prince of Persia deserves a mention because I will most definitely remember it. Great game.
I really do like this game, it had to take time but it grew on me playing it on the side versus the gauntlet of nightmares I engaged with during October (Resident Evil, Majora's Mask and Pathologic 2) yet I still can't say I completely love it like others? It's just not the epitome of fun to me like it is to some, I get tired of it pretty fast, but it's still a good time all in all and deeply inspired in a way most games aren't.
A dream come true. An actual, genuinely committed sci-fi horror simulator that does everything it can to immerse you, and locks you in a painful cycle of managing poor economic conditions, just like two other higher games on this list! Everyone is playing it, everyone knows how good it is, so here's my list of demands for a future update/Lethal Company 2:
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More actual stalkers. I love Brackens but I want to be fucked with across entire rounds rather than just moment-to-moment encounters; it'd keep the tension up.
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Infighting amongst enemies is a big desire for me. I'm biased because I've been fascinated by that mechanic ever since I first played Doom, but it'd inherently drive the AI to more insane, interesting and scary behavior across the map each time you play.
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More rooms, and to be more specific, give me Resident Evil and Myst! I want puzzle rooms, trap rooms, stuff that really makes it feel like a risk to engage but you know you might need it, for the company.
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Mimics. As in, from Prey. Just straight up add them.
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Mimics. As in, the ones in the game right now. Remove their masks and make them imitate voices, and stand around more.
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Enemies that directly cloak themselves like chameleons. Anyone who's played Rain World or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can attest to why this would work.
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Walkie-talkies when activated should pick up everything, for horror factor and for actual communicative purposes, it's a little awkward hearing only one side of a conversation.
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More intense gore and a slight delay in player deaths. Horror relies a lot on "WHAT WAS THAT?!" I wanna stumble upon someone horribly mangled and go "Oh, fuck."
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Water planet, maybe? Please? My thalassophobia isn't quenched in this game yet.
Do any of these and it gets a four star rating from me, I haven't enjoyed multiplayer this much since Space Station 13. Honk.
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More actual stalkers. I love Brackens but I want to be fucked with across entire rounds rather than just moment-to-moment encounters; it'd keep the tension up.
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Infighting amongst enemies is a big desire for me. I'm biased because I've been fascinated by that mechanic ever since I first played Doom, but it'd inherently drive the AI to more insane, interesting and scary behavior across the map each time you play.
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More rooms, and to be more specific, give me Resident Evil and Myst! I want puzzle rooms, trap rooms, stuff that really makes it feel like a risk to engage but you know you might need it, for the company.
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Mimics. As in, from Prey. Just straight up add them.
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Mimics. As in, the ones in the game right now. Remove their masks and make them imitate voices, and stand around more.
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Enemies that directly cloak themselves like chameleons. Anyone who's played Rain World or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. can attest to why this would work.
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Walkie-talkies when activated should pick up everything, for horror factor and for actual communicative purposes, it's a little awkward hearing only one side of a conversation.
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More intense gore and a slight delay in player deaths. Horror relies a lot on "WHAT WAS THAT?!" I wanna stumble upon someone horribly mangled and go "Oh, fuck."
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Water planet, maybe? Please? My thalassophobia isn't quenched in this game yet.
Do any of these and it gets a four star rating from me, I haven't enjoyed multiplayer this much since Space Station 13. Honk.
Best level design in the series? Check.
Immaculate atmosphere? Check.
An extremely complete feeling game on the whole? Yup.
I'm not a fan of switching characters though, since I feel it breaks balance. That alone puts the others ahead a little for me, but not by much. Notion may be and will be subject to change, I love all these games.
Immaculate atmosphere? Check.
An extremely complete feeling game on the whole? Yup.
I'm not a fan of switching characters though, since I feel it breaks balance. That alone puts the others ahead a little for me, but not by much. Notion may be and will be subject to change, I love all these games.
So, so, so fun. Basic resource management and working around player limitation really does breed some of the most fun gameplay around, it's just so thoroughly engaging jumping back and forth, carefully planning out every maneuver while being thrown off your guard by the barrage of enemies assaulting you. It's still the most consistent in the series in terms of level design and pacing too, as it never loses the feeling you're crossing through a giant castle, which the others don't replicate nearly as well.
VISUALSHOCK! SPEEDSHOCK! SOUNDSHOCK! Wrong game, and it still fits. Pure fucking action and adrenaline. If Castlevania wants you to reason out every situation and slow down a lot, Ninja Gaiden punishes thought. You need to act purely on reflex and just move right. It's a lot like Flywrench, actually. Make more of these cruel games!
Precision platformers in the modern era are losing me. I enjoyed Super Meat Boy a lot, but I can't extend that courtesy to games like Celeste. It feels like they're trying to recontextualize the precision platformer genre away from just pure trial-and-error death gauntlets into more streamlined experiences, and I don't really like that! The genre lives and dies on the fact that it can do unfair sudden bullshit with the level design, given that respawn times are so minimal and levels are short enough that you'll never feel like you're wasting too much time banging your head against the wall.
Anyways, Flywrench is an actual evolution of the concepts established by N++ and Super Meat Boy. The focus on air time was always a major player in the precision platformer, but Flywrench takes it the next logical step by forcing air time. Hitting a wall is death and you need to use multiple button combinations to interact with the obstacles you'll see all while managing velocity and momentum, it sounds horribly overwhelming, and it feels that way at first, but it's extremely naturalistic. This is level design only the format of a precision platformer could allow for, or whatever the fuck genre this falls under. I'm still qualifying it.
Anyways, Flywrench is an actual evolution of the concepts established by N++ and Super Meat Boy. The focus on air time was always a major player in the precision platformer, but Flywrench takes it the next logical step by forcing air time. Hitting a wall is death and you need to use multiple button combinations to interact with the obstacles you'll see all while managing velocity and momentum, it sounds horribly overwhelming, and it feels that way at first, but it's extremely naturalistic. This is level design only the format of a precision platformer could allow for, or whatever the fuck genre this falls under. I'm still qualifying it.
They did it. They made more. Epilepsy warning for anyone who wants to play this game, seriously.
Chump beat me to it again. It's a thoroughly pleasing, enjoyable experience, but it doesn't stimulate the brain in the way you'd like for this sort of game. There's clues everywhere, but brute-forcing is large enough a possibility in this game that it shuts off much need for engagement. I guess the real issue at hand is that it's too internally consistent with what you're doing. Ticking off set things rather than doing elaborate thought experiments in your head ala Outer Wilds really bogs it down for me. I had fun, but I can't say I extend the same level of forgiveness I had for Ico to Obra Dinn, even if it's still definitely worth a play.
Barebones review here. I still find it hard to say any run 'n' gun barring Alien Soldier has come close to topping the original here. It's really simple actually; you just platform more. Positioning matters, movement matters, it doesn't feel like a slideshow of things to shoot at mindlessly so much as it feels like dancing around bullets, and I love dancing around bullets.
R-R-R-R-REVIEW. I have a little secret. If were going to put Treasure's best to the side, I think Terraria has the best active 2D combat ever devised. It actively challenges multiple parts of the players ability at once consistently, and a big part of this comes from micromanaging momentum-driven flight, aiming and dodging dozens of bullets/melee attacks. This is, probably, the most fun combat model to me. It demands so much attention in almost every area to engage with that it's unbelievably enjoyable, and this Bangai-O is the closest I've found to a realization of this combat as the core premise of a game, rather than just an additional element (not as a blow against Terraria, it's fucking masterfully juggling 50 elements at once). If anyone is wondering why the score keeps fluctuating, it's because I'm dumb as shit and grinded out the game so fast from the sheer adrenaline rush of the main gimmick that I still don't know how I feel. That remains to be seen, but this game kicks ass.
Huh, also probably the best of its genre barring far off-shoots. It's actually got a lot of problems, but I find the lack of a dash mechanic and interesting enemy design carries it above the others which put heavy emphasis on the player shooting above the player avoiding. It's a perfect balance here, just like Contra. You're dancing around enemies, you're also shooting them, it's harmonious and flows gracefully.
Gorgeous game that is the exact kind of grungey extreme style you'd want for Contra going forwards. Also, the gunplay is way less consistently enjoyable than the original to me, as it falls into shooting gallery syndrome far more. Still, the bosses are pretty good!
Remind me to play more. This will be on a list next year, probably. I love it so far.
I don't like beat 'em ups, but this is the best one. Take my word. I just find the act of punching so much gets really tiring when these games don't really prioritize quiet time or sections where you do anything else. It's better when it's focused on interesting crowd control at least, but it still gets pretty tiring to me.
Nothing to say here besides the obvious, Lemmings is Lemmings.
Yeah, I think I just don't fully get it. It was getting there during the later parts of the village, I was starting to understand the appeal as endless armies of Europeans targeted me, a fate more horrifying than that of prior Resident Evil installments. Unfortunately, right as you get to the castle I just find that building enjoyment completely dies out. Perfect opening, not much else I can give it I feel in regards to how it evolves from then on.
Questionable DLC for my favorite game, I'll link my review per usual, but check out this one too by Drax and this one by BeachEpisode for more.
Atmospheric, beautiful, spooky and whimsical, and exceptionally boring. It hurts to be too harsh; this game has a lot of personality and heart where it matters, and they didn't slack on letting you bear witness to some souped up Rondo of Blood visuals and extremely memorable tunes, but it just isn't Super Metroid. Repeating level design, bland environments, pretty uninteresting structure and forced RPG elements permeate what could be Metroid's first true competitor and bog it down. I'll give the follow-ups a try one day, but I question how worth it they'll be without the atmosphere that saves this one. Give Poyfuh's review a read for some more nuanced discussion of the game.
Prior thoughts. Lots of flaws, it's a souped up browser game. Still, it sits in my head from time to time for its implementation of emergent storytelling; it's really done in a way here unlike anything else, and I hope some aspiring RPG developer cuts back on stats and goes for something more like this from here on out.
Easily the most fun JRPG I've played that bothers being a JRPG, but it has the tenacity to spread that across way too much gameplay. You start noticing holes, like the fact the critical hit system is extremely easy to exploit, and that you're just upgrading monsters in the same repetitive manner the whole game. I might bump it up for sheer fun factor later on, but expect a full review when I finish it regardless.
Creative platformer! That's about all I feel I can say, but it'll stick out in my memory as one of the earliest cases of a developer hating the player thoroughly.
Lethal Company + Return of the Obra Dinn on retrospect. Yeah, not very fun. Credit where credit is due, it's pretty scary on the first day, but they really slack on doing anything interesting with the ghost hunting schtick. I'm a bit of a fanatic for actual occultism, pseudoscience, conspiracies, you name it, and the extent people go to hunt the paranormal fascinate me, but usually it's that feeling of being tormented by the unknown that leads me coming back to that stuff, even if I'm not a strict believer. Phasmophobia is relatively dry in execution of the subject; there's a lot of attention to detail in the replication of the typical ghost hunting techniques, but Obra Dinn-ing it and making every ghost follow a set, observable nature with repetitive hunting rituals was a terrible, terrible choice. Pretty much every round can wind up being identical, and that scare factor quickly dies down. Uni is completely on the money here if you do intend to get anything from this game, to shout out his review.
I'd like to see someone give this whole concept another go, maybe not ghost hunting specifically, but the idea of "cooperative detective horror" is really invigorating to me, and Lethal Company doesn't really focus as hard on the detective/deduction element. I see lots of potential in capturing the real joy of the paranormal here, but it's not in Phasmophobia, to say the least.
I'd like to see someone give this whole concept another go, maybe not ghost hunting specifically, but the idea of "cooperative detective horror" is really invigorating to me, and Lethal Company doesn't really focus as hard on the detective/deduction element. I see lots of potential in capturing the real joy of the paranormal here, but it's not in Phasmophobia, to say the least.
Honestly, I can't reason out why I don't like this game more besides the fact I just feel like it's lacking that classic F-Zero feel. Mechanically it's super solid, but it feels a bit dry to me in tone. The presentation is technically incredible, but it doesn't really do much for me like the original. I can't really give a sound argument for why, it's just missing a charm to me. Still, unmatched sense of speed here.
Basically nothing more to add than this. I'll replay at some point and probably enjoy it more, I'm just uninterested for the time being.
I don't like character action, but this is the best one. Take my word as a bold hater.
Really cool ideas, really inconsistent execution. At some point I might bump this up a lot, it's still probably better than Hard Corps now I reevaluate things, but it's primordial Treasure. It's not as laser-focused as Alien Soldier or Sin and Punishment and you can see many different ideas sort of clashing here. Still worth a play for uniqueness.
Lots of potential here for more interesting gunplay but it drags out every idea it has. I think action games fundamentally wear themselves down a lot faster than slower-paced games, you just can't get the same high forever, so the best usually add in quiet times or make it a short ride. Serious Sam makes everything feel like it's taking forever with relatively bland map design, yet I'm also gonna give it credit for the insane degree of how many enemies it throws at you. It's worth playing just for the sheer thrill you get from the giant hordes the first time, but it's got a lot of holes in its execution.
Worst Castlevania level design, best Castlevania combat. A lot of the ideas here speak to a potential for more complex enemy interactions with both you and the environment, and I'm all for it. Castlevania already has fun snappy combat that blends well with the platforming, so this is the next logical step. Except the platforming is kind of barebones to me, that's all I guess.
I don't like these types of games as said, yet I'll say that Devil May Cry did grow on me a bit. It's not so much that I like it so much as I respect it retroactively when compared to the sequels; there's a lot more clear intent from the barebones Resident Evil total-conversion mod form it's basically existing through that speaks to more potential for character action than we saw afterwards. I'm not one for score chasing in general, so maybe these types of games were never for me, but for a split second I did find the atmosphere the tiniest bit enjoyable and got inspired to think "I can see where this would go in about two to three sequels if it completely ditched all the unfitting Resident Evil elements". That's enough to bump it up in rating for me, though, I don't think I'll ever like it.
Mindblowingly overrated to me, I'm going to remember it solely for the reputation rather than the game itself. I'll give the multiplayer a fair shot at some point, but I do stand by my review, thoroughly.
Pretty much does everything wrong as a sequel in my eyes, but again; I'm not a fan of score chasing. There was a lot to be done with Devil May Cry's basis: the game struggled with pretty weird pacing given the mission structure divides what's basically just one linear path you go back and forth on, so they could've figured out a more fitting model. The fixed camera is smart in theory because it gives way for the right analog stick to be used in more complex ways combat-wise. The Resident Evil puzzles feel a bit unfitting but with some tweaking they probably could've been fit in. Enemies are repetitive and basic to me, but I think with some tweaking it could've been possible to improve upon them and make them more satisfying to fight.
Anyways, here's DMC3, a sequel which does none of that. I'm going to sound like a moron, but I just don't see what others see as an improvement about it besides raw polish; even then it's not in the areas you'd think would get it. Maybe one day it'll click...
Anyways, here's DMC3, a sequel which does none of that. I'm going to sound like a moron, but I just don't see what others see as an improvement about it besides raw polish; even then it's not in the areas you'd think would get it. Maybe one day it'll click...