Flaco's 2023 Top 50
The cream of the crop of every new-to-me game I played in 2023. If you're curious about the full list of what I played, it's way way longer and right over here. The ordering here is extremely loose so don't sweat it!
Technically, I've actually already played a few of these, but I'm including them anyway because in revisiting them I had a totally different or transformative experience with them, so I'm counting them as in some sense "new to me."
Technically, I've actually already played a few of these, but I'm including them anyway because in revisiting them I had a totally different or transformative experience with them, so I'm counting them as in some sense "new to me."
48 Games
The very first game I played this year, and after around 300 challengers over 12 months, it's still the best.
It's eerie, hypnotic, forward thinking, and my experience playing it was really special to me.
I wrote all about it here, please check out my full thoughts!
It's eerie, hypnotic, forward thinking, and my experience playing it was really special to me.
I wrote all about it here, please check out my full thoughts!
1
I had already played RE4 long ago, but until this year... I didn't think particularly highly of it. This year a combination of time-granted perspective, scientific spreadsheet making, and long looks in the mirror exposed to me a fundamental truth: I had been wack about Resident Evil 4.
This game absolutely shreds, it's tight and deliberate and an absolute fireworks show of game design.
It had been many years since I'd last played it so I'll cut my younger self some slack, but man, what's not to love here. The crowd-control based combat scenarios are incredibly compelling and still to this day are a particular flavor of action you just won't be finding elsewhere.
This game absolutely shreds, it's tight and deliberate and an absolute fireworks show of game design.
It had been many years since I'd last played it so I'll cut my younger self some slack, but man, what's not to love here. The crowd-control based combat scenarios are incredibly compelling and still to this day are a particular flavor of action you just won't be finding elsewhere.
2
I've played my share of shooters in the last 2 years, and ZeroRanger stands easily as one of the very best.
At once a meditation on, love letter to, and instruction manual for its chosen genre, ZeroRanger instantly sets itself out as a rare treat. It pushes its concepts far, and like many classics, it makes you think about how much further things could go.
When I've got time in the new year, I'll definitely get a full piece out there with my full thoughts on this fantastic game.
At once a meditation on, love letter to, and instruction manual for its chosen genre, ZeroRanger instantly sets itself out as a rare treat. It pushes its concepts far, and like many classics, it makes you think about how much further things could go.
When I've got time in the new year, I'll definitely get a full piece out there with my full thoughts on this fantastic game.
3
There will be a lot of Armored Core on this list, because I played all of them this year and that series is fantastic. I don't think it's recency bias talking though when I say that ACVI is my favorite one. I'm pretty sure I've thought about the way this game feels to control, the smooth slides of heavy acceleration and bursts of speed that go into piloting an AC, every day since I first played it.
I wrote about why this is one of the best action games ever made, and about every single other Armored Core, in a separate piece right here. I'll drop the link in the blurb for every AC game on this list so its easy to find my thoughts on any of the games. Please check it out, I'm real happy with how that project turned out!
I wrote about why this is one of the best action games ever made, and about every single other Armored Core, in a separate piece right here. I'll drop the link in the blurb for every AC game on this list so its easy to find my thoughts on any of the games. Please check it out, I'm real happy with how that project turned out!
4
Here we see the dictionary definition of "banger videogame" bought to life, just a gorgeously realized piece of interactive entertainment. It's honestly wild that From ever matched and even topped it with ACVI.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
5
I played some AoE2 with a friend in college who was really into it, and while I thought it was pretty cool I never really jumped into the deep end.
That changed this year when a group of buddies and I all grabbed the Definitive Edition and quickly got addicted to throwing down in this game multiple nights a week. AoE2 is stressful as all hell from moment one, and the better you get the more pressure you feel. Gotta execute cleanly in Dark Age to get up and running quickly, while multitasking a scout to get a grip on your opponent's position and base structure, and every sixty seconds after that the game blossoms out again in a web of possibilities for you to track and navigate a line through. It's an exhilarating all-time classic and I'm really glad I got to go wild on it with good friends.
That changed this year when a group of buddies and I all grabbed the Definitive Edition and quickly got addicted to throwing down in this game multiple nights a week. AoE2 is stressful as all hell from moment one, and the better you get the more pressure you feel. Gotta execute cleanly in Dark Age to get up and running quickly, while multitasking a scout to get a grip on your opponent's position and base structure, and every sixty seconds after that the game blossoms out again in a web of possibilities for you to track and navigate a line through. It's an exhilarating all-time classic and I'm really glad I got to go wild on it with good friends.
6
My god this game is visually and spiritually gorgeous. Barlow must have cashed in all his chips on this damn thing, a game with this drive for uniqueness combined with this level of talent and resources comes around... almost never? We should cherish the games we get that treat interactive art with as much love and serious craft as Immortality does. The Candy Says moment is a 6-minute lightning bolt.
7
Something like the perfect, crystalline form of a great STG. A powerful and satisfying main attack, memorable enemy encounters, a powerup system with a great strategic twist, and absolutely banging tunes.
Out of all those elements I really want to shout out the enemy waves though. Enemy waves in Cho Ren Sha have a tendency to be symmetrical, where after one group of enemies slides onto screen, another group shows up a moment latter in a mirrored formation on the opposite side. It's a 1-2 punch type of pacing that forms the backbone of the whole game, and it gives Cho Ren Sha some of the most charismatic stage layouts in the whole genre. When a later shooter is taking influence from this game's level designs, you feel it immediately.
Out of all those elements I really want to shout out the enemy waves though. Enemy waves in Cho Ren Sha have a tendency to be symmetrical, where after one group of enemies slides onto screen, another group shows up a moment latter in a mirrored formation on the opposite side. It's a 1-2 punch type of pacing that forms the backbone of the whole game, and it gives Cho Ren Sha some of the most charismatic stage layouts in the whole genre. When a later shooter is taking influence from this game's level designs, you feel it immediately.
8
Tezuka's last ride as director on this series, and in beautiful color! This game is as adventurous, creative, and clever as its console counterparts on either side of its release date, and I got to play it while traveling which was the absolute best way to play.
I really like the way the items and puzzles work, where there are several combinations of items that work together for a unique and useful effect, and the puzzles sometimes ask the player to use their items in ways that aren't immediately obvious. On occasion Link's Awakening makes the player stretch enough to genuinely feel a bit clever which is kinda uncommon in Zelda, and it's so great here.
Of course the real genius at the heart of this game is its meditation on memory. Link's Awakening is so assured of its own excellence that it makes the central setup and payoff of the whole thing be the idea that you will cherish your own memories of playing it. I finished this game in a foreign city, looking out an overcast street and thinking about all the new memories from the last few weeks, the whole last year, that I'll never forget. Like Koholint island, any experience that you love will eventually fade away into the past. That time and that place is now gone from you, but it will live in your memory for as long as you choose to keep it.
I really like the way the items and puzzles work, where there are several combinations of items that work together for a unique and useful effect, and the puzzles sometimes ask the player to use their items in ways that aren't immediately obvious. On occasion Link's Awakening makes the player stretch enough to genuinely feel a bit clever which is kinda uncommon in Zelda, and it's so great here.
Of course the real genius at the heart of this game is its meditation on memory. Link's Awakening is so assured of its own excellence that it makes the central setup and payoff of the whole thing be the idea that you will cherish your own memories of playing it. I finished this game in a foreign city, looking out an overcast street and thinking about all the new memories from the last few weeks, the whole last year, that I'll never forget. Like Koholint island, any experience that you love will eventually fade away into the past. That time and that place is now gone from you, but it will live in your memory for as long as you choose to keep it.
9
I was a Marvel 3 enjoyer before this, but in light of UMVC3's selection as a headlining game at EVO 2023, I decided to get properly deep into this game as a player this year.
The joy at the heart of a VS game is the wild energy and chaos to it all, the feeling that the game is only just barely keeping from falling apart completely; it's flying so impossibly close to the sun but somehow the wings don't melt. You know, the Hype. UMVC3 is a machine that outputs Hype.
If this game only included the single-player training mode, it'd still go down in history as a legendarily fun fighter and it'd still be near the top of this list.
I had an absolute blast building a team to stick with (Nova/Vergil/Strider) and jamming multiple Best of 100s with a good friend. Fighting Games, baby.
The joy at the heart of a VS game is the wild energy and chaos to it all, the feeling that the game is only just barely keeping from falling apart completely; it's flying so impossibly close to the sun but somehow the wings don't melt. You know, the Hype. UMVC3 is a machine that outputs Hype.
If this game only included the single-player training mode, it'd still go down in history as a legendarily fun fighter and it'd still be near the top of this list.
I had an absolute blast building a team to stick with (Nova/Vergil/Strider) and jamming multiple Best of 100s with a good friend. Fighting Games, baby.
10
Alan Wake II makes better use of all its budget and resources than the vast majority of games its size. It's an ambitious, focused showcase of every little trick Remedy could think up, and in terms of narrative presentation, audio and visual direction, and tone-juggling it's a total triumph. Yes, the musical level is amazing and rivals Control's Ashtray Maze. But just as worth celebrating are the Koskela's live action commercials, Saga's time in the Dark Place as told through her case board tormenting her using her own detective mechanics, the excellent performance capture and facial animation bringing Casey's grump to life, even just the way the wind passes through the trees and makes the forest shadows sway. Seriously this game has insane shadow, fog, and wind.
The overall gameplay might be only just engaging enough to connect the moments that really shine, but who cares when those moments are so incredible.
In a landscape of safe and uninteresting large-budget games, I really hope the coming years have big games with even half of Alan Wake II's intrigue.
The overall gameplay might be only just engaging enough to connect the moments that really shine, but who cares when those moments are so incredible.
In a landscape of safe and uninteresting large-budget games, I really hope the coming years have big games with even half of Alan Wake II's intrigue.
11
Solidifies and doubles down on the System Erasure house style elements of having layers of mystery and being a big stew of sleeve-worn influences. It doesn't marry its thematics to its gameplay or overall genre as successfully as ZeroRanger did, but in other ways this game is taking even bigger creative swings. ZeroRanger may have two loops, but Void Stranger is an entire rabbit hole pocket dimension in four acts. The experience of diving deeper and deeper into its mechanical mysteries and meta-puzzles is massively satisfying, so grab a pen and a pad and get to it!
12
I'm such a sucker for CAVE, out of every game of theirs I've played, they've never missed. Naturally, Mushihimesama is another gem from one of the masters of the scrolling shooter genre. Looks great, sounds great, the scoring system feels fun, what's not to adore? The multitude of difficulties and arranged modes means that this game is a whole buffet of brilliance. I still have to properly dive deep on Mushihimesama sometime, but for now I know for a fact that CAVE done went and did it again.
13
Not just the first really good Street Fighter in 20+ years, it's downright great, and it's great on launch. What a world.
Rare indeed is the fighting game that rolls up on the scene and immediately just makes this much sense. The Drive system gives the whole cast effective and satisfying options and turns the game into a really engaging resource war. Basically every character feels good or great to play and fight against and the cast feels tightly balanced overall which is some nice icing on the cake. This game feels Designed. Within an inch of its life. We don't talk about the music though.
Rare indeed is the fighting game that rolls up on the scene and immediately just makes this much sense. The Drive system gives the whole cast effective and satisfying options and turns the game into a really engaging resource war. Basically every character feels good or great to play and fight against and the cast feels tightly balanced overall which is some nice icing on the cake. This game feels Designed. Within an inch of its life. We don't talk about the music though.
14
In what should be a surprise to absolutely no one who knows what's good, Human Entertainment comes through with another unique and delectable game.
This thing goes nuts. It triangulates traditional fighters and traditional beat-em-ups by way of a serious simulation of Taekwon-Do as a martial sport.
It's got a traversible Z-axis and your kicks reach into it in one direction based on your switchable leading leg, it's got dashes and guard cancels and hidden stamina and balance stats; it's brimming with exciting design.
The commitment to being not just a fighter but an authentic Taekwon-Do game means there are 3 different win conditions to balance and pursue (win by points, knockdowns, or outright KO), and the enemy AI does the ideal thing for a fighter where each opponent favors a certain strategy letting you strategize against them and exploit their weaknesses.
The single player tournament mode lets you build a fighter, customize their moveset, and level up their attributes as you make your way through a short series of tournaments culminating in a final boss for the ages.
Seriously, this game has probably one of the best Final Boss moments in all of videogames and it flawlessly executes a storytelling moment through gameplay in a way you'll never forget. You can just watch the fight on youtube but the tournament mode takes like an hour to play and the game's a banger so please play through it and enjoy.
This thing goes nuts. It triangulates traditional fighters and traditional beat-em-ups by way of a serious simulation of Taekwon-Do as a martial sport.
It's got a traversible Z-axis and your kicks reach into it in one direction based on your switchable leading leg, it's got dashes and guard cancels and hidden stamina and balance stats; it's brimming with exciting design.
The commitment to being not just a fighter but an authentic Taekwon-Do game means there are 3 different win conditions to balance and pursue (win by points, knockdowns, or outright KO), and the enemy AI does the ideal thing for a fighter where each opponent favors a certain strategy letting you strategize against them and exploit their weaknesses.
The single player tournament mode lets you build a fighter, customize their moveset, and level up their attributes as you make your way through a short series of tournaments culminating in a final boss for the ages.
Seriously, this game has probably one of the best Final Boss moments in all of videogames and it flawlessly executes a storytelling moment through gameplay in a way you'll never forget. You can just watch the fight on youtube but the tournament mode takes like an hour to play and the game's a banger so please play through it and enjoy.
15
I really love where this game took Armored Core, adding scale and speed to the franchise while keeping true to the fundamentals.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
16
A personal favorite of mine in the series, it preserves the core of the original game while massively beefing up the mission design and narrative presentation, all with that incredible Playstation vibe.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
17
Human Entertainment man... this is technically a revisit but this year I decided to really pick apart how this game works and appreciate it more deeply.
It's so rad. The snowy atmosphere is great and I love the Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet vibes (though the game does make the grave error of not having a Dale and making you play as the James of the story). In terms of design it's bleeding edge with its open world and real time clock with fully scheduled NPCs.
The ambition in the design of the systems comes at the cost of those systems being extremely brittle and opaque. You can fail to solve the mystery at dozens of points and not find out til the end of the game, and the game can even break itself due to no fault of the player when story events activate at the same time. Honestly though, I don't really mind these problems, the game itself is just so enthralling and mysterious that the rough elements fade away in my memory.
It's one of Human's best and a real trailblazer. The process of actually solving the murder-mystery and getting the good ending may be ridiculously daunting, but the thing about Mizzurna Falls is that it's not just a mystery to solve, its really a mystery to be submerged in and absorbed by.
It's so rad. The snowy atmosphere is great and I love the Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet vibes (though the game does make the grave error of not having a Dale and making you play as the James of the story). In terms of design it's bleeding edge with its open world and real time clock with fully scheduled NPCs.
The ambition in the design of the systems comes at the cost of those systems being extremely brittle and opaque. You can fail to solve the mystery at dozens of points and not find out til the end of the game, and the game can even break itself due to no fault of the player when story events activate at the same time. Honestly though, I don't really mind these problems, the game itself is just so enthralling and mysterious that the rough elements fade away in my memory.
It's one of Human's best and a real trailblazer. The process of actually solving the murder-mystery and getting the good ending may be ridiculously daunting, but the thing about Mizzurna Falls is that it's not just a mystery to solve, its really a mystery to be submerged in and absorbed by.
18
I've had some complicated feelings about this one over the course of the year. Not to entertain the "is it or is it not just BotW again" argument too much (my quick verdict? It's pretty dang different!), but it is true that a lot of the things this game does well I have to credit to its older brother. The visuals, the score, the fantastic design of the geography to encourage route-planning across big sight lines, these things are great in TotK, although yes, the first one is the game that actually had the creativity to figure them out. TotK even takes after its predecessor in ways it probably shouldn't have, like having a nonlinear story delivery again despite being much more plot focused and even having twists. I guess the question is, what does this game do on its own that makes me like it so much?
Really, it comes down to the new way it asks players to look at problems. The smorgasbord of combinable machine parts lets players treat physical space as far less of an unyielding wilderness and more of an enticing frontier. Stop climbing stuff and just make rockets to get where you need to go! Where BotW invites players to discovery, TotK invites them to ingenuity. I think that touches at the core of why some players were so repelled by this one despite liking the previous game: they really are two different sorts of a good time.
Really, it comes down to the new way it asks players to look at problems. The smorgasbord of combinable machine parts lets players treat physical space as far less of an unyielding wilderness and more of an enticing frontier. Stop climbing stuff and just make rockets to get where you need to go! Where BotW invites players to discovery, TotK invites them to ingenuity. I think that touches at the core of why some players were so repelled by this one despite liking the previous game: they really are two different sorts of a good time.
19
Superficially hews pretty close to its predecessor, but a series of decisions starting from the increased player mobility and cascading through the cranked up enemy aggression, new knife mechanics, much tighter ammo economy, and the loss of the deterministic enemy hit reactions, come together to make RE4R kinda a radically different experience from the original. This is a scramblier, feistier take on RE4, and I think it goes over really well! Sections like the island especially benefit from this more wild approach.
Also I dunno what it is about RE4 that sends folks racing to the armchair... I guess it's just a testament to the clarity and quality of RE4 that everybody just wants to keep thinking about these games
Also I dunno what it is about RE4 that sends folks racing to the armchair... I guess it's just a testament to the clarity and quality of RE4 that everybody just wants to keep thinking about these games
20
This one's a real expansion and perfection of the classic Armored Core formula. Silent Line nails everything it goes for, making it my favorite of the PS2 games, and one of my favorite AC games period.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
21
I got into pinball in a big way in the last year or two, and naturally I've poked around the digital pinball landscape a bit as well. This game is the pinball videogame we deserve.
The tables are nuts, with sprawling, connected layouts far eclipsing what would be possible in a more true-to-life pinball simulation. Flipnic goes big and pushes its ideas to really give you something to have a great time with rather than just making you think "Man I wish I was playing real pinball right now."
It gets a lot of mileage out of having a big list of achievements in each level, with many of them requiring you to complete prior prerequisite goals first in order to tackle them, and without losing all your credits either. It's basically applying the Tony Hawk goal structure to giant impossible-geometry pinball tables, while stacking objectives in an order that encourages you to get properly good at the game and complete a table's challenges on a single continue. It's brilliant and you should play this game.
The tables are nuts, with sprawling, connected layouts far eclipsing what would be possible in a more true-to-life pinball simulation. Flipnic goes big and pushes its ideas to really give you something to have a great time with rather than just making you think "Man I wish I was playing real pinball right now."
It gets a lot of mileage out of having a big list of achievements in each level, with many of them requiring you to complete prior prerequisite goals first in order to tackle them, and without losing all your credits either. It's basically applying the Tony Hawk goal structure to giant impossible-geometry pinball tables, while stacking objectives in an order that encourages you to get properly good at the game and complete a table's challenges on a single continue. It's brilliant and you should play this game.
22
Maybe my gold medal for overall presentation in a game this year, Dark Tales is just on another level. The live-action sequences actually, actually channel that stilted Lynch energy to a degree most other "Lynchian" pastiches don't come close to. The Master of Ceremonies guy in this game is an all-time great weirdo in my book.
The gameplay itself feels like a crazy, unexplored little corner at the intersection of adventure games, theater, and... shadow puppetry, maybe? The abstract nature of the visuals and the emphasis on sound design lend this game a dark, immersive mood that really lets my mind take part in the storytelling far more than any Telltale-stye adventure. Highly recommend you check this one out if you like games that are all about the narrative presentation.
The gameplay itself feels like a crazy, unexplored little corner at the intersection of adventure games, theater, and... shadow puppetry, maybe? The abstract nature of the visuals and the emphasis on sound design lend this game a dark, immersive mood that really lets my mind take part in the storytelling far more than any Telltale-stye adventure. Highly recommend you check this one out if you like games that are all about the narrative presentation.
23
I deeply love Tetris, but I'm no connoisseur or aficionado of different versions of the game. As a result, Tetris Effect Connected is maybe a bit less of a revelation to me than it is to more hardcore or knowledgeable players. That said though, this game rules! It looks and sounds wonderful and playing the multiplayer mode with some pals was a great way to spend an evening. If I had to guess, the specific version of Tetris that's really most for me is probably some nasty one like TGM or something.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi is seriously The Man, though.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi is seriously The Man, though.
24
The thing about fiddly, offbeat puzzlers that require you to sort of learn a new language in order to play them is... once you've broken in, you know a new language!
Devil Dice is one of my new favorites in this little band of action-y puzzle games, learning to speak Dice was a really great time. You learn these atomic movements that manipulate a die, and those build outward into the macro strategy and before you know it you're still playing it when you close your eyes for bed.
Devil Dice is one of my new favorites in this little band of action-y puzzle games, learning to speak Dice was a really great time. You learn these atomic movements that manipulate a die, and those build outward into the macro strategy and before you know it you're still playing it when you close your eyes for bed.
25
I'm so appreciative of projects like this. I think the history of games is a fascinating and worthwhile subject and Atari is a very good developer to focus this sort of showcase on.
I don't know how many of these Digital Eclipse is gonna be able to do, but I'm going to cherish each one they put out and I hope they get weird with it in the future. Give me a collection as lovingly crafted as this about some truly weird corner of game history.
I don't know how many of these Digital Eclipse is gonna be able to do, but I'm going to cherish each one they put out and I hope they get weird with it in the future. Give me a collection as lovingly crafted as this about some truly weird corner of game history.
26
To call Virtual-On "ahead of its time" feels somehow inappropriate... this game feels ahead of its planet. It's hard to imagine the level of swag Sega's designers were operating with in 1996 being feasible on this planet Earth.
Yet here it is all the same, and I somehow got to play it on real cabinets multiple times this year with my partner (I got smoked). Talk about videogame memories you'll cherish.
Yet here it is all the same, and I somehow got to play it on real cabinets multiple times this year with my partner (I got smoked). Talk about videogame memories you'll cherish.
27
My history with Tekken has followed a trajectory that I think a lot of people can relate to, at least in part. Every time I was at a certain big movie theater complex, I'd spend a little time in the small arcade room they had set up off to the side of the lobby. I played a lot of The Ocean Hunter (I've got me a little thalasophobia but there's just something entrancing about that game), and I mashed on the Tekken cab. That became a bit of a ritual every time I was there.
It wasn't until years after my first taste that I got properly into Tekken and learned how to really play the game. Learning clean movement, poking, matchups, it all makes for a beautiful and deep game, but to this day I maintain that Tekken is the most fun game to mash in. Tekken turns mashers into players by dint of just making you want to spend more time with the game.
This year, I had the privilege of returning to T5 at an arcade, with a close friend of mine, whose Tekken-history is similar to my own, sitting at the opposite cabinet. Now both dyed-in-the-wool fighting game competitors, we'd leveled up a bit since our mashing days, but it doesn't really matter all that much. Tekken is just a fantastic game, at all levels.
It wasn't until years after my first taste that I got properly into Tekken and learned how to really play the game. Learning clean movement, poking, matchups, it all makes for a beautiful and deep game, but to this day I maintain that Tekken is the most fun game to mash in. Tekken turns mashers into players by dint of just making you want to spend more time with the game.
This year, I had the privilege of returning to T5 at an arcade, with a close friend of mine, whose Tekken-history is similar to my own, sitting at the opposite cabinet. Now both dyed-in-the-wool fighting game competitors, we'd leveled up a bit since our mashing days, but it doesn't really matter all that much. Tekken is just a fantastic game, at all levels.
28
Where many other games exemplify what you'd think of as classic "Arcade Action," through precise movement and a breakneck pace, Densha De Go shows off a whole other side of arcade action, one that's slow, deliberate, mundane, and razor-focused on tiny details. It completely owns. It's every bit as Arcade as anything, and a lot of the principles are even the same here as you'll find in your fighters and shooters and drillers, just delivered in a unique way.
Getting to play on the arcade hardware was a spectacular experience.
Getting to play on the arcade hardware was a spectacular experience.
29
The "oh, so it's like Journey" sub-genre isn't squeezed fully dry just yet! Saying that Jusant is a real good Journey-like is maybe a true assessment, but it's also one that sells the game a bit short I think. I'd rather look at Jusant as being in conversation with the seemingly ubiquitous (and tremendously shallow) climbing mechanics you see in your Assassin's Creeds, your Uncharteds, your Big Action Man games.
Jusant makes climbing a far more involved experience, and while it could have gone even further in its mechanics, the place it lands is a satisfying one. Looking for handholds and having to grab them one by one, while plotting out an overall route up or around a cliff-face has a deliberate, absorbing rhythm to it. In the end its a game that takes a pretty simple idea and elaborates on it well over a tight runtime, and that's exactly what I want out of a lot of games.
Jusant makes climbing a far more involved experience, and while it could have gone even further in its mechanics, the place it lands is a satisfying one. Looking for handholds and having to grab them one by one, while plotting out an overall route up or around a cliff-face has a deliberate, absorbing rhythm to it. In the end its a game that takes a pretty simple idea and elaborates on it well over a tight runtime, and that's exactly what I want out of a lot of games.
30
This one is hard to place since I've played plenty of different versions of it already, but oh well here's IIDX!
It's one of my favorite games and this year I went to the arcade and what do you know there was another updated version. It seems great as usual! The brilliance of IIDX is really the simple arithmetic of the game having 8 inputs and the player having 2 hands, with the controller's keys and turntable being far enough apart that it's hard to manage it all. Figuring out a basic hand position for playing at all is step one, and then begins the real journey of building flexibility away from and back to that default hand position, as you get better at reading the notes coming down the screen and climbing up the difficulty ladder. It's a game that really rewards incremental progress and mastery like few others I've played.
It's one of my favorite games and this year I went to the arcade and what do you know there was another updated version. It seems great as usual! The brilliance of IIDX is really the simple arithmetic of the game having 8 inputs and the player having 2 hands, with the controller's keys and turntable being far enough apart that it's hard to manage it all. Figuring out a basic hand position for playing at all is step one, and then begins the real journey of building flexibility away from and back to that default hand position, as you get better at reading the notes coming down the screen and climbing up the difficulty ladder. It's a game that really rewards incremental progress and mastery like few others I've played.
31
Mario Wonder feels almost like an admission that there's no beating the classics. Some people may be dissapointed that this game doesn't even really try to design levels as clean and deliberate as the ones seen in the first couple 2D Mario games, but for me where Wonder goes instead is super exciting. Rather than aping the old ways, it focuses super hard on making levels with unique twists. Sometimes the level geometry becomes a roller coaster to ride, sometimes Mario turns into something else with different mechanics, sometimes the level becomes top down, sometimes the level becomes half platformer, half rhythm game (or even a straight up musical). Its constantly fresh and delightful, and the bite-sized level gimmicks along with the Wonder Seed structure to stages make this game feel a bit like the Mario Odyssey formula applied to the 2D branch of the series. I'm a fan!
32
I'm a sucker for games with short term and/or longer term strategic choices that feel like they have narrative weight, and that's pretty much Fuga's whole deal.
There's a big web of interlocking systems encompassing resource gathering, character social-link building, party composition, risk/reward management, persistent base upgrades, and of course, the Soul Cannon mechanic that sits behind them all. It's really a buffet for players like me who love systems, love narrative, and love when they collide and blend most of all. You've got to juggle all these elements well or else be forced to use the Soul Cannon as a get-out-of-jail card at the permanent cost of a party member's life. Even though it wasn't super difficult to avoid ever using the cannon, I'm a fan of it as a motivator for considerate play, not to mention the way it ties into the stricter requirements for reaching the best ending! I dig just about everything the game goes for, and I'm looking forward to playing that sequel!
There's a big web of interlocking systems encompassing resource gathering, character social-link building, party composition, risk/reward management, persistent base upgrades, and of course, the Soul Cannon mechanic that sits behind them all. It's really a buffet for players like me who love systems, love narrative, and love when they collide and blend most of all. You've got to juggle all these elements well or else be forced to use the Soul Cannon as a get-out-of-jail card at the permanent cost of a party member's life. Even though it wasn't super difficult to avoid ever using the cannon, I'm a fan of it as a motivator for considerate play, not to mention the way it ties into the stricter requirements for reaching the best ending! I dig just about everything the game goes for, and I'm looking forward to playing that sequel!
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I haven't played a huge number of handheld STGs before, but I feel comfortable calling the shot here: this is the best one. Probably always will be.
The switch from having a half dozen or so large stages like many games in the genre to having over two dozen bite-sized stages makes perfect sense for the handheld experience. Each stage is its own little scenario with an interesting encounter that lasts just a few seconds, so it really feels like every individual shootout is meaningful and masterable. The progression of intensity is also excellent, with the early stages feeling downright friendly, as though the game is being mindful of the perceived limits of a handheld shooter. Of course, by the time you're in stage 30 Judgement Silversword has tipped its hand and is subjecting the player to proper white-knuckle bullet madness.
This game is also an important piece in a whole history of STG progression system design. Not only does the game have selectable difficulties from the start, it rewards the player with continues and extra features as they play. At the end of every run your score is added to a cumulative total, and as that total increases more things unlock. This sort of "every run is contributing something" system, as well as the slow unlocking of the continues mechanic, seen earlier in the console version of Radiant Silvergun, is a clean implementation of the sort of home-focused STG progression design that we'd also see in games like Eschatos and of course, ZeroRanger.
The switch from having a half dozen or so large stages like many games in the genre to having over two dozen bite-sized stages makes perfect sense for the handheld experience. Each stage is its own little scenario with an interesting encounter that lasts just a few seconds, so it really feels like every individual shootout is meaningful and masterable. The progression of intensity is also excellent, with the early stages feeling downright friendly, as though the game is being mindful of the perceived limits of a handheld shooter. Of course, by the time you're in stage 30 Judgement Silversword has tipped its hand and is subjecting the player to proper white-knuckle bullet madness.
This game is also an important piece in a whole history of STG progression system design. Not only does the game have selectable difficulties from the start, it rewards the player with continues and extra features as they play. At the end of every run your score is added to a cumulative total, and as that total increases more things unlock. This sort of "every run is contributing something" system, as well as the slow unlocking of the continues mechanic, seen earlier in the console version of Radiant Silvergun, is a clean implementation of the sort of home-focused STG progression design that we'd also see in games like Eschatos and of course, ZeroRanger.
34
I played Magical Drop II and III this year and thought they were wonderful, but Money Puzzle Exchanger is what takes that game-type over the top for me. It looks fabulous and the gameplay is an addictive, lightspeed sorting and matching problem. The way that different denominations of coins require different amounts of each other to combine gives the game a particular rhythm that is just so satisfying. Top-shelf arcade game right here.
35
Why is this not a thriving micro-genre with inummerable entries to choose from? Twinkle Star Sprites takes the STG format and Puzzle-Fighter-ifies it so well, I wish that it had made split screen PvP shooters much more of a staple sort of game.
If this game has to be The One though, that's alright because it's so great. I knew I'd be a big fan of it when I got around to playing it, and unsurprisingly I am. Very fun to watch two competent players duke it out in this.
If this game has to be The One though, that's alright because it's so great. I knew I'd be a big fan of it when I got around to playing it, and unsurprisingly I am. Very fun to watch two competent players duke it out in this.
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It's got atmosphere, it's got high-octane gameplay, it's got fascinating systemic storytelling, AC1 had it all on the very first try. An utter classic you oughta play.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
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Pikmin 4 is a great game inside a good game, and what a fun surprise that is.
The first 2/3rds of the game are an extremely relaxed time; there's no timer, Oatchi trivializes the classic Pikmin challenges of corralling a horde of little dudes and coordinating them to attack effectively in combat. If this had been the tenor of the entire game, I'd have enjoyed it but probably not loved it.
It's that last 1/3rd that really does it for me though man. When Pikmin 4 introduces its last level, instead of winding down it ramps way way up. The final dungeon(s) are floor after floor of Pikmin-ing that demand much more thought and precision than the entire rest of the game. As a mechanical climax to the very pleasant but almost sleepy game that precedes it, the final act of Pikmin 4 rules.
If that weren't enough, perhaps the real star of the show is the optional mode Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, a mode that completely refactors the game into a direct mechanical sequel to Pikmin 1. The old time limit is back, the levels are tweaked to have more intense challenges, the whole thing is just a little meaner in the best way. This mode is easily my favorite thing about the game, and it was such a pleasant surprise to have it placed in my lap when the main game was already a very good time.
The first 2/3rds of the game are an extremely relaxed time; there's no timer, Oatchi trivializes the classic Pikmin challenges of corralling a horde of little dudes and coordinating them to attack effectively in combat. If this had been the tenor of the entire game, I'd have enjoyed it but probably not loved it.
It's that last 1/3rd that really does it for me though man. When Pikmin 4 introduces its last level, instead of winding down it ramps way way up. The final dungeon(s) are floor after floor of Pikmin-ing that demand much more thought and precision than the entire rest of the game. As a mechanical climax to the very pleasant but almost sleepy game that precedes it, the final act of Pikmin 4 rules.
If that weren't enough, perhaps the real star of the show is the optional mode Olimar's Shipwreck Tale, a mode that completely refactors the game into a direct mechanical sequel to Pikmin 1. The old time limit is back, the levels are tweaked to have more intense challenges, the whole thing is just a little meaner in the best way. This mode is easily my favorite thing about the game, and it was such a pleasant surprise to have it placed in my lap when the main game was already a very good time.
38
When I first played Radiant Silvergun (and Treasure's other iconic shooter Ikaruga), I like many people had precious little experience in the shooter genre. Coming back to Radiant Silvergun now having played many dozens of STGs and bringing to the game a mountain of perspective on the genre as a whole, only now do I realize just how strange it is!
The player ship's wealth of weapons, the 3 different weapon types which all need to be leveled up strategically, the way the game really has to be routed and played for chaining and scoring, it's almost jarring compared to the more straightforward appeal of many arcade-style shooters. In just booting up the arcade version of Radiant Silvergun and trying to have a decent time with it, I'm convinced it's one of the worst credit-feeds in the entire genre. You can't just put quarters in til the game is over and have a good time! An inexperienced player just isn't going to level their arsenal up enough to keep up with the damage curve the game's enemies expect, and the result is a credit-feed that takes well over an hour with an underpowered ship and interminable bosses.
Thank goodness the game is far more fun when approached correctly then. On the Saturn port, the console version of the game lets players keep their experience points between runs, steadily growing in power enough to best each stage. This progression system, with its unlockable continues (such a good feature, smartly lifted by a number of great shooters that followed), exposes the importance of the leveling system and provides a much more intuitive path through the game. Going for an arcade run and learning to properly route the game is a much more appealing challenge after taking the journey through console mode first.
It's a quirky game, one that asks slightly different things of a player than most STGs and one that can present an unfortunately impenetrable first impression. However, if what Radiant Silvergun is doing is to your taste, there's really nothing else quite in its league.
The player ship's wealth of weapons, the 3 different weapon types which all need to be leveled up strategically, the way the game really has to be routed and played for chaining and scoring, it's almost jarring compared to the more straightforward appeal of many arcade-style shooters. In just booting up the arcade version of Radiant Silvergun and trying to have a decent time with it, I'm convinced it's one of the worst credit-feeds in the entire genre. You can't just put quarters in til the game is over and have a good time! An inexperienced player just isn't going to level their arsenal up enough to keep up with the damage curve the game's enemies expect, and the result is a credit-feed that takes well over an hour with an underpowered ship and interminable bosses.
Thank goodness the game is far more fun when approached correctly then. On the Saturn port, the console version of the game lets players keep their experience points between runs, steadily growing in power enough to best each stage. This progression system, with its unlockable continues (such a good feature, smartly lifted by a number of great shooters that followed), exposes the importance of the leveling system and provides a much more intuitive path through the game. Going for an arcade run and learning to properly route the game is a much more appealing challenge after taking the journey through console mode first.
It's a quirky game, one that asks slightly different things of a player than most STGs and one that can present an unfortunately impenetrable first impression. However, if what Radiant Silvergun is doing is to your taste, there's really nothing else quite in its league.
39
A game that screams Labor of Love to me. Its commitment to its old-school computer game aesthetic is extremely impressive, and its grotesque scenarios are a real good time. I found the balancing of the Doom mechanic to be very sharp; I was sweating my way through the lighthouse finale on each and every run that made it there. It feels appropriately full of mysteries and unique moments, especially in the investigations that take you to a new, bespoke location (shoutout to the Uncle's Funeral investigation, that one rules). Just a real treat of a game!
40
Underplayed and overmaligned, ACV is honestly a pretty sick take on the series' formula. It throws a bit more tactical and claustrophobic spice into the pot to great effect.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
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I already like Minecraft, so the typical pitch of "it's like Minecraft but with a goal to care about" wasn't really necessary to draw me in. What hooked me instead, naturally, was the Dragon Quest! This game has Dragon Quest charm pouring out its ears, and I think the scenario being tied to DQ2 and its antagonist is super fun.
And yeah, the twisting of the Minecraft gathering/building/crafting loop into a more social-feeling experience about cultivating a community and making lives better is brilliant. It's a fresh change from the more solitary experience you usually get in this sort of game.
And yeah, the twisting of the Minecraft gathering/building/crafting loop into a more social-feeling experience about cultivating a community and making lives better is brilliant. It's a fresh change from the more solitary experience you usually get in this sort of game.
42
CAVE is just... so good. I only got to play a little bit of this at the arcade, and even though it was a horizontal shooter (rare for these devs), once I put in my quarter it was like putting on a favorite pair of slippers. It's got the satisfying and precise movement, the tension between a busy screen and clear enemy encounters, the daunting set of systems. And the art, holy moly.
Looking forward to diving a lot deeper with Progear... someday.
Looking forward to diving a lot deeper with Progear... someday.
43
As a CAVE-lover myself, this game is speaking my language. It's got that late-CAVE bombast and excess, but more importantly it also nails the feel and mechanical depth that lets a manic shooter get properly manic. It's another in the big slate of shooters I only briefly got to play in the arcade this year, but I just know that when it comes time for me to devote myself to this game in the future, I'm gonna be having a blast.
44
Daayyy-TOONAAAAA.
Total classic, it's great, just throwing this here to commemorate that in 2023 I played it for the first time since I was a kid, and at the arcade to boot!
Total classic, it's great, just throwing this here to commemorate that in 2023 I played it for the first time since I was a kid, and at the arcade to boot!
45
A game that takes classic matching-game puzzle gameplay, fuses it with rhythm game mechanics, has fun vibes, and is from Arc System Works? More people should be shouting this game out all the time to be frank, its a banger competitive puzzler. I played this in the arcade with my partner, and now I definitely gotta check out the Vita release. This is one for the Puzzle Fighter, Twinkle Star Sprites, Puyo Puyo pantheon in my book.
46
The Sims has been a bit of a blind spot for me for a long time. No matter how many games you play, there's always gonna be more stuff that you really ought to check out!
The Sims 4 has an uneven reputation among fans, but for me, just jumping in and seeing what's up (with all that extra DLC in tow, thanks internet), it was a great time! I really enjoyed playing with my partner, and seeing in real-time the ways The Sims caters to totally different styles of play. Some folks are the fantasy-builders, making Sims to stand in for family and friends and spending hours on the interior design of their opulent homes, maybe cheating in some extra cash to pay for it all. Me? I'm in it for the way The Sims can be a seat-of-your-pants storytelling engine. I like generating some poor loser in a shack and watching which way the wind takes them, seeing how their little life evolves. It's a flexible system and I immediately understand why this series is such a phenomenon and a crucial touchstone in the history of games.
Also, if you like playing the way I do, enjoying the random joys and cruelties of Sim life, I definitely recommend The Sims 1, that game is properly mean.
The Sims 4 has an uneven reputation among fans, but for me, just jumping in and seeing what's up (with all that extra DLC in tow, thanks internet), it was a great time! I really enjoyed playing with my partner, and seeing in real-time the ways The Sims caters to totally different styles of play. Some folks are the fantasy-builders, making Sims to stand in for family and friends and spending hours on the interior design of their opulent homes, maybe cheating in some extra cash to pay for it all. Me? I'm in it for the way The Sims can be a seat-of-your-pants storytelling engine. I like generating some poor loser in a shack and watching which way the wind takes them, seeing how their little life evolves. It's a flexible system and I immediately understand why this series is such a phenomenon and a crucial touchstone in the history of games.
Also, if you like playing the way I do, enjoying the random joys and cruelties of Sim life, I definitely recommend The Sims 1, that game is properly mean.
47
This one has multiple claims to being the definitive Armored Core game. It was my first, and even though I first played it before 2023, I'm putting my replay here out of respect for my brand new perspective and appreciation towards this game having now played the entire series.
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
I wrote more about it (and every single other Armored Core) over here!
48