LavenderGooms

Oh also Handsome Jack. Nothing is worse than the villain constantly talking to you over the radio, it makes them seem like they have nothing better to do than personally annoy you and it deflates any sense of threat from them. (See also Diablo 3.) I just ended up wanting to beat the game to make him shut up than I did stopping his reign of villainy or anything else. Then the rest of the series went all-in on him, focusing every story around his unfunny garbage. That's when I gave up on Borderlands.

Yennefer in The Witcher 3 is one of the worst people i've ever seen in a video game. Exacerbated by the fact that you're supposed to think that Geralt fell in love with this miserable hypocritical sociopath.

I spent 116 hours doing nearly everything I could before I felt like I was done, enjoying myself every moment. I could easily see myself jumping in for another 20 hours for this stuff, even if the stored xp I have instantly takes me up to the new level cap. I love how the game feels, I love just wandering around in it, and I love love love love love Kassandra.

I've kind of grown to love writing up game of the year lists, entirely due to this site and the discussions they have. It makes me think about the games I play in more detail after i've finished them, and to look at them critically. It's also nice to feel like i'm getting better at writing over time.

My List

I ended up writing way too much text in my list, more than I had expected. Won't inline it because of this, but it's here if anyone wants to read it.

It was a good year for gaming. At least it was a good year for something.

I'd have to say no, at this point. For a long while Dark Souls 1 was my favorite game ever, and that continued to be the case after I initially beat Dark Souls 2, and even through the couple replays I did of that game. Then Scholar of the First Sin came out, and it was incredible. The DLC areas in it are fantastic, the changes they made to enemy placement worked well to make the game flow better, and the entire thing revolving around Vendrick's Blessing changed up the setting so much that it blew my mind.

Dark Souls 1 has a lot of bad areas in it. After you finish Anor Londo most of what you have left to do is not that great. It's a testament to how absolutely incredible the first half of that game is that it overshadows the weaker second half. By contrast, Dark Souls 2 is a lot more steady throughout. Yes it doesn't have the interconnectedness that the first game had with its areas, but the hub structure it has works well in its own regard. You go down one path and get frustrated, just go back to Majula and try another direction to change things up. I even like Majula more than Firelink Shrine at this point.

I'd say the final complete versions of each game are essentially equal in my mind now. I can also replay Dark Souls 2 more easily than Dark Souls 1 because of the mechanics improvements the sequel made.

I still get a 500 error when I try to submit it. Would it matter what the games i'm inputting are or that i'm only filling out six slots? @edgework

I keep getting a 500 error when I try to submit it.

Incredibly excited about this. Once it comes out it'll be up there with Dark Souls in the short list (2 total once I get it) of games I have purchased three times.

This was a good read, thank you Austin.