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My 2021 in Review

Games Beaten in 2021

  1. Cyberpunk 2077 [2020]
  2. Manifold Garden [2020]
  3. Superliminal [2019]
  4. Lightmatter [2020]
  5. Ghostrunner [2020]
  6. The Legendary Axe [1989]
  7. The Legendary Axe II [1990]
  8. Bomberman [1991]
  9. Bomberman ’93 [1993]
  10. Mega Bomberman [1994]
  11. Bonk’s Adventure [1990]
  12. Bonk’s Revenge [1991]
  13. Air Zonk [1992]
  14. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate [2018]
  15. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars [1996]
  16. Paper Mario [2001]
  17. Ori and the Will of the Wisps [2020]
  18. Kentucky Route Zero [2020]
  19. Paradise Killer [2020] (End of January)
  20. Cyber Shadow [2021]
  21. Skul: The Hero Slayer [2021]
  22. Disjunction [2021] (End of February)
  23. Loop Hero [2021]
  24. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door [2004] (End of March) 1000 Games Rated
  25. Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories [2002]
  26. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses [2003]
  27. Star Wars: Episode I - Jedi Power Battles [2000]
  28. Disney’s The Jungle Book [1994]
  29. The Lion King [1994]
  30. Disney’s Aladdin [1993]
  31. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos [1997]
  32. Dynasty Warriors [1997]
  33. Bushido Blade [1997]
  34. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver [1999]
  35. Jumping Flash! [1995]
  36. Tomb Raider [1996]
  37. Ridge Racer [1993]
  38. Vib-Ribbon [2014]
  39. Gex [1995]
  40. King’s Field II [1996]
  41. Grand Theft Auto [1998]
  42. Final Fantasy VII [1997] (End of April)
  43. Resident Evil: Village [2021]
  44. Darkest Dungeon [2016]
  45. GetsuFumaDen [2021]
  46. Touhou Luna Nights [2018]
  47. Record of Lodoss War-Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth [2021]
  48. Primal Light [2020]
  49. Huntdown [2020]
  50. Savage Halloween [2020]
  51. Ape Out [2019]
  52. Donut County [2018]
  53. Super Monkey Ball [2001]
  54. A Short Hike [2019]
  55. The Evil Within [2014]
  56. Kid Dracula [2019]
  57. Outriders [2021] (End of May)
  58. Griftlands [2021]
  59. Star Fox Adventures [2002]
  60. Star Fox: Assault [2005]
  61. Star Wars [1983]
  62. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back [1985]
  63. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III – Rebel Strike [2003]
  64. Timesplitters: Future Perfect [2005]
  65. Unreal Championship [2002]
  66. Deathrow [2002]
  67. Medal of Honor: Rising Sun [2003]
  68. SNKRX [2021]
  69. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings [1999]
  70. Homeworld 2 [2003] (End of June)
  71. RimWorld [2018]
  72. Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak [2016]
  73. BlackChain [2021]
  74. Age of Empires [1997]
  75. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War [2004]
  76. Dark Reign: The Future of War [1997]
  77. Total War: Warhammer [2016]
  78. Stronghold [2001]
  79. The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth [2004]
  80. Myth: The Fallen Lords [1997] (End of July)
  81. Death’s Door [2021]
  82. Eldest Souls [2021]
  83. Marble It Up! [2018]
  84. In Other Waters [2020]
  85. Call of the Sea [2020]
  86. Myth II: Soulblighter [1998]
  87. Ground Control [2000]
  88. Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines [1998]
  89. World in Conflict [2007]
  90. Star Wars: Empire at War [2006]
  91. Grey Goo [2015] (End of August)
  92. Zelda II: Link’s Adventure [1988]
  93. Pilotwings [1991]
  94. Psychonauts 2 [2021]
  95. Cruelty Squad [2021]
  96. Deathloop [2021]
  97. Twelve Minutes [2021]
  98. Metroid II: Return of Samus [1991]
  99. Ninja Five-O [2003]
  100. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty [1992] (End of September)
  101. Dune 2000 [1998]
  102. Desert Child [2018]
  103. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars [2007]
  104. Dead Space 3 [2013]
  105. Metroid Dread [2021]
  106. Strider [1989]
  107. Kabuki: Quantum Fighter [1991]
  108. Power Blade [1991]
  109. Shatterhand [1991]
  110. Kick Master [1992]
  111. Batman: The Video Game [1990]
  112. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1989]
  113. Little Samson [1992]
  114. S.C.A.T.: Special Cybernetic Attack Team [1991]
  115. Metal Storm [1991]
  116. Metal Warriors [1995]
  117. Ranger X [1993]
  118. Okinawa Rush [2021]
  119. They Always Run [2021]
  120. Inscryption [2021]
  121. Silent Hill 2 [2001] (End of October)
  122. The Evil Within 2 [2017]
  123. Earthworm Jim [1994]
  124. Cool Spot [1993]
  125. Dynamite Headdy [1994]
  126. Ristar [1995]
  127. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse [1990]
  128. QuackShot Starring Donald Duck [1991]
  129. Pulseman [1995]
  130. Vectorman [1995]
  131. Vectorman 2 [1996]
  132. Rocket Knight Adventures [1993]
  133. Toejam & Earl [1991]
  134. PaRappa the Rapper [1997]
  135. Nightmare Creatures [1997]
  136. Spider-Man 2 – Enter: Electro [2001]
  137. Spider-Man [2002]
  138. Spider-Man 2 [2004]
  139. MechAssault [2002]
  140. Luigi’s Mansion [2001]
  141. Wave Race: Blue Storm [2001]
  142. Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force [2000] (End of November)
  143. Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix [2002]
  144. The Pathless [2020]
  145. Flower [2009]
  146. Florence [2018]
  147. Panzer Paladin [2020]
  148. Steel Assault [2021]
  149. Chrono Trigger [1995]
  150. Ecco: The Tides of Time [1994]
  151. Ecco Jr. [1995]
  152. Praey for the Gods [2021]
  153. Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon [2021]
  154. The Forgotten City [2021]
  155. Maquette [2021]
  156. Night Trap [1992]
  157. BattleTanx [1998]
  158. Beetle Adventure Racing! [1999]
  159. Terminator: Resistance [2019]
  160. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project [1992]
  161. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist [1992]
  162. Halo: Infinite [2021]
  163. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 [2008] * 1000 Games Beaten
  164. Alpha Protocol [2010]
  165. Bio-Hazard Battle [1992]
  166. Thunder Force II [1989]
  167. Thunder Force III [1990]
  168. Thunder Force IV [1993]
  169. Gaiares [1990]
  170. M.U.S.H.A. [1991]
  171. Armored Warriors [1994]
  172. Little Nightmares [2017]
  173. Amnesia: Rebirth [2020] (End of December)

Where to even begin... 2021 was by far my most "productive" year in the war I wage with my backlog. I suppose I owe that to work from home and being done (hopefully) with Dota 2 for good.

173 is an interesting number, and I didn't initially set out to beat so many games, until October when I mused that this strange number was in reach. I started recording the new games I beat in a word doc and a spreadsheet on New Year's Eve 2010 upon playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I also began at that time, setting "unrealistic" goals for myself to beat lots of games. It began with 53, or one a week rounded up for the half week. I beat 52 in 2011. 48 in 2012. Then I shattered that goal with 86 in 2013. I followed that year up with some down years as I began playing Dota 2. 24 Games beat in 2014, 41 in 2015, and 44 in 2016. I was trying to get back to that 53 mark, but I set the new unrealistic goal of 100 for 2017, and I would go on to meet that goal, beating 100 games in 2017. That became the new goal going forward. I would go on to hit 72 in 2018, 95 in 2019 and in 2020 I set a new record with 102. That brings us to 2021 and I began this year like the past few, trying to beat 100 games.

So what does make 173 so interesting? When I hit 100 games entering October I got to thinking, "We're way ahead of schedule." My first thought was 150, then maybe 183 for an average of a game every other day. Then I noticed why 173 would be so interesting. It turns out I had beaten 172 games the 20 years before I ever started my record of the games I beat, so to beat one more than that would be a chef's kiss personal achievement. But now with the goal in mind I had to beat 73 games in 3 months. I was surprisingly confident about my ability to get it done and I guess the old cliché you can do anything you put your mind to can be true. And because I'm poetic like that, the game I decided to beat to celebrate the occasion was non other than Amnesia: Rebirth, sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

I also hit another couple of milestones this year. I celebrated my 1000th rated game with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and my 1000th beaten game with Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. What's the difference? I guess it's rather arbitrary, but I rate all games I've ever played on my spreadsheet and that spreadsheet also features multiplayer games (Dota 2) or other unbeatable games (Pac-Man) and games I've sunk a lot of time into but haven't yet beaten (such as bad games like Spider-Man and X-Men in Arcade's Revenge). I do count some multiplayer focused games if they have some kind of singleplayer, tutorial or story mode that can be completed (Like say the first Titanfall or Dota 2 if I had gotten to it before they stripped out the tutorial)

I chose Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for obvious reasons, the 1000 in the title. I chose Red Alert because the first two games in the series are very near and dear to my heart, so this felt like the right time to finally play the third.

Anyway, I suppose preamble is fun and all, but what were the highlights of these 173 games?

I think I most enjoyed my time playing through RTS games again. It had been a long time since I played around in the genre in any meaningful way. I grew up playing a ton of Age of Empires II and I finally finished it. Finally getting my hands on the first game was also fun, and satisfied a lifelong curiosity about it. I also really enjoyed Stronghold and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth. Though I'm pretty certain they aren't canon, the Dune games also got me quite interested in that universe. Bungie's Myth series also stood out to me as quite the good time. Hearing Marty's pre-Halo music was a treat. World in Conflict was also a long time curiosity for me and still remains quite visually pleasing despite being 15 years old. Dark Reign is little known, but I found it to be quite a frenetic and fun classic RTS. I was struck by how much I enjoyed Star Wars: Empire at War, but not for the RTS element, but more its macro element. Command & Conquer 3 and Red Alert 3 were both fun to get into too, though I would say I liked Red Alert a fair bit more than Tiberium Wars. Though it did make me prevent Tim Curry from going to space...

I played a little bit of Commandos 2: Men of Courage growing up, but never got far. I figured it was time to try again, but start from the beginning with Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines and it's definitely a cool tactics game. I'm looking forward to sitting down with other games in the genre like its sequel as well as Shadow Tactics and Desperados.

I corrected some glitches in my matrix by beating some games I never really pursued or was never able to beat as a kid this year. Lion King, Jungle Book, Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories and Duelists of the Roses, Vectorman 2, Earthworm Jim, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, Paper Mario, Luigi's Mansion. Some of these were good, and some were not so good.

The NES was before my time, so it was good to play a bunch more games from that system, though I've already played most of the important ones. That said, I did still play Zelda II and it is actually quite a bit better than I expected. Kick Master, Batman and Strider were also pretty good.

I enjoyed my time playing a ton of Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-16. I had a Nomad growing up, but not too many games for it. It's been great to see what made the console so competitive up against the SNES. Ristar, Pulseman and Rocket Knight Adventures were the highlights of the bunch I played. The TG-16 was also the subject of my curiosity for a long time and to finally have had a glimpse into was fun as well. The Legendary Axe in particular was a fun "classicvania" style game, and the Bonk games were pretty fun too.

I finally played Final Fantasy VII (the original not remake), and Chrono Trigger. I've typically shied away from JRPGs, but I'm glad to finally be able to count myself among the ranks of those who have played those great games. Super Mario RPG and the Paper Mario games were great too.

I didn't have a PS1 growing up, so I'm happy to have now played a bunch more of those games. I was particularly struck by just how much I enjoyed the proto-souls game, King's Field. Tomb Raider, Soul Reaver and Nightmare Creatures also tickled my fancy. Despite having no real nostalgia for it, I find PS1 visuals oddly pleasing, so indie devs moving in that direction pleases me.

I'm glad to have also sated a lifelong curiosity about Battletanx that has been with me since I was in Sunday School. It wasn't good though. I am also happy to have sated a more recent curiosity about Beetle Adventure Racing! which actually was quite good. I tend to enjoy the more offbeat and arcadey racers, and Wave Race: Blue Storm was another fun game I played through this year. Another longtime curiosity sated was Star Fox Adventures, and to a lesser extent Assault. Neither particularly good, but interesting games from the GameCube era. Rogue Squadron III was another game I'd always been curious about, imagining it to be the best parts of Super Star Wars as well as Rogue Squadron, sadly it was just a middling version of the latter and what I thought would be like the former was just kind of bad.

It doesn't really fit anywhere, but I also feel like I should draw attention to Ninja Five-O, it being a really solid ninja platformer. And another game that doesn't really fit anywhere, Night Trap was good old fashioned FMV fun.

I started with Soma last year, but I'm glad I've been able to finally get back to playing horror games after Amnesia: The Dark Descent ruined me that fateful New Year's Eve. Rebirth is certainly spooky as well, but I think the Frictional schtick, while still effective, could use some innovation. Finally being able to get through Silent Hill 2 is a relief, and I now have an idea of what the fuss was about. The Evil Within games were good too, leaving me curious to how Ghostwire: Tokyo will end up.

Special shout out to some the of the recent but not last year indie and indie adjacent games I enjoyed the most. Primal Light was another cool linear action platformer. The puzzlers Manifold Garden, Superliminal and Lightmatter all brought their own flavors to the table. Paradise Killer was an intriguing mystery game. Kentucky Route Zero is good, if a bit more somber side. A Short Hike is an incredibly charming platformer. Terminator: Resistance doesn't feel like it should be good, but it is. Ghostrunner is as white knuckle as a game can be. Darkest Dungeon and RimWorld were both quite maddening yet addicting in much the same way. Ori and the Will of the Wisps is the top notch metroidvania it's reputed to be. The Pathless is a free flowing journey well worth taking. And Marble it Up! is a fun 3D marble platformer that brought back memories of playing Marble Blast Ultra in the early Xbox Live Arcade days.

I suppose I should mention Cyberpunk 2077, because I am rather positive on it. There's a sea of negativity around it, but I suppose the reasons I'm not swimming in that sea are twofold. I didn't pay much attention to it leading up to release other than seeing headlines, so I didn't let the hype get to me. Secondly, somehow my aging rig was able to handle it just fine. I maybe had to load once or twice throughout the entire game. It's still not a perfect game, but my experience with it appears to been so drastically different from the vast majority of people, I thought it would be worth mentioning I think it's a pretty good game.

And lastly the game I just cannot stop thinking about is Alpha Protocol. It's bad in many of the ways you'd expect if you've ever read up on it, but it's oh so good in the ways that matter most to me and I can't help but want some sort of successor. I love spy stuff, and playing this game was a mistake, because I fear I will now have an itch that won't ever be scratched again.

I probably neglected to mention something, because there's a lot of games I could talk about. I'll save the stuff actually from 2021 for another time. A link to a list of all the games I've ever beaten is below.

Link to HowLongToBeat Profile

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Top 100 Souls Boss Battles

Demon's Souls is inarguably one of the most impactful games over the past 15 years. I'd even argue it's the greatest game of all time. Sure, its successor Dark Souls got a lot more attention, even spawning a unrelenting wave of poor of game critique, "Game X is the Dark Souls of Genre X." But that really serves to show how great the series has been and continues to be. It all began with Demon's Souls in 2009, and I've been with the series since that beginning, and it was love at first play.

To me the series represents the gold standard of the boss battle. There are so many horrifying designs, cool characters, interesting mechanics, neat tricks and gimmicky gimmicks that keep the longstanding video game tradition as relevant as ever.

Even with more and more imitators cropping up, there still isn't anything quite like the games From Software have been putting out since Hidetaki Miyazaki took the helm. The Demon's Souls remake may be being handled by another development team in Bluepoint Studios, but I'm optimistic it will deliver the cult classic that started it all to the many new fans the series has garnered over the past 11 years. So let's celebrate its release with a list of the Top 100 Boss Battles from Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls II, Dark Souls III, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and their respective DLCs.

If a boss you liked didn’t make the cut, feel free to let me know and I’ll try my best to justify why it’s the 101st best boss battle of the series.

Here is some of the science behind the choices as well

  • · Name/Lore/Character/Themes
  • · Music
  • · Aesthetic/Spectacle
  • · Arena/Environment
  • · Mechanics/Novelty
  • · Precedence
  • · Challenge
  • · Fun

Beware of Spoilers below.

100. King Allant - Demon's Souls (2009)

I’m not sure there’s a worse boss battle that can result in the best ending to any game in the series. The audacity to put out a game that is difficult in ways games stopped being difficult, and to end it with writhing slug that can barely defend itself. Brilliant.

99. Asylum Demon - Dark Souls (2011)

For many it’s probably their first taste of what the series has to offer. You enter the arena without a weapon and are forced to flee, only to return with a triumphant plunge of your weapon into its skull. It’s a great introductory fight, but it loses some points for being a copycat of the Vanguard. It also isn’t helped that the Stray Demon and Firesage Demon are also just bigger copies. The Dark Souls III incarnation isn’t a boss, but it does add some welcome firepower to this now staple creature of the series.

98. Dirty Colossus - Demon's Souls (2009)

I still like the Dirty Colossus fight in the context of Demon’s Souls, but after five more games it became the base model of too many enemies and bosses to come. Thus it barely made the cut on the merit of being the boiler template.

97. Dragon God - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Dragon God is one of the most interesting anomalies of the series. If you manage to beat the tutorial boss, he will punch you in the face killing you instantly. The actual boss fight is a sort of stealth encounter where you have to trigger some ballistae to incapacitate it. It’s still breathing, and its breath is hot enough to burn you to a crisp. You then having the privilege of putting down this dragon as it still slowly breathes is an almost surreal experience. At the time, it was a tense encounter, and not all that weird considering Demon’s Souls was the first game in the series.

96. Watch Dog of the Old LordsBloodborne (2015)

Hidden in the chalice dungeons is this boss with a cool name. It’s a pretty good fight too. There’s almost a rhythm to fighting the Watch Dog. Perhaps it’s weird to say about a game that is all about a series that is all about this, but its moveset feels more readable and telegraphed, so you have time to plan rather than rely on instinct and reaction time.

95. Skeleton Lords - Dark Souls II (2014)

It’s not especially difficult by the time you’re likely to reach it, but that works in the Skeleton Lords’ favor. What might’ve been an annoying mob fight is just pretty fun. Three giant skeletons to fight at once, and whenever you slay one, a bunch of new skeleton enemies rise from the grave to assist the remaining lords.

94. Throne Defender & Throne Watcher - Dark Souls II (2014)

The Defender and Watcher are an interesting duo, because if you kill one too quickly, the other one will revive them and you’ll be back at square one, so you need to whittle them both down at the same time. Each is a fearsome foe in their own right, but together they are tandem not to be trifled with.

93. Smelter Demon - Dark Souls II (2014)

Smelter Demon is a pretty vanilla boss fight, except for one thing. Its insides are burning up so hot that you will burn if you get too close. This presents a problem, as the boss’s moveset invites you to attach yourself at its hip, but if you stay too long, you’re toast.

92. Burnt Ivory King - Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King (2014)

For being the last boss of all the Dark Souls II DLC, the Ivory King is certainly challenging enough. It’s both interesting and tedious as a result of the preamble battle that takes place before the King arrives, you might be joined by allies if you found and freed them in the world before this battle. Enemies will jump through portals to join the fray and you’ll have to battle them for a while before the King shows up. Having to redo the closing of the summoning gates every time can be annoying. As tedious as it can be watching him walk through the fiery portal to join the battle is a grand entrance and the straight up fight with him is quite good.

91. Demon of Song - Dark Souls II (2014)

This one makes it almost purely on aesthetic. It’s gross, I don’t like it… It’s a gargantuan frog with a human skull face and human arms… The fight is pretty good, I guess, but it’s mostly hard to think about, because it just makes me uncomfortable. From, give your art guys a raise, jeez.

90. Cleric BeastBloodborne (2015)

Bloodborne’s first boss fight does a great job setting the stage. The Cleric beast can be aggressive, but it strikes a good balance between challenge and fun as the first boss. When you’re greeted with the “Prey Slaughtered” screen you’re reminded you’re the Hunter and beasts like this are indeed your Prey.

89. High Lord Wolnir - Dark Souls III (2016)

It’s a big spooky scary skeleton that has a bunch of spooky scary skeleton bros. Wolnir is more of a spectacle fight, a type of fight each game in the series has that I appreciate. These fights break up the pacing and feature some interesting ideas. The arena is an endless cave with a creeping fog/breath that is an instant kill if you’re not careful. It’s not nearly the most challenging fight, and some might say that smoke Wolnir breathes is cheap or that the golden weak spots are stupid and obvious, but I think the execution along with the mechanics present elevate it enough to make the cut.

88. Dragonslayer Armour - Dark Souls III (2016)

Dragonslayer Armour is like many other fights with armored knights an odd twist. There’s some weird skeletal dragons in the distance breathing fire and raining down weird acid balls. When the armour falls, the dragons fall with it.

87. Blood-Starved BeastBloodborne (2015)

This boss is aggressive and leaves you little time to waste, because it is happy to poison you if you stick around. The frustration of poison makes it all the more rewarding to slaughter.

86. Sir Alonne - Dark Souls II: Crown of the Old Iron King (2015)

This is the great samurai duel of the series. Atop his ivory tower Sir Alonne waits for his challenger. It’s in the same mold of many end game fights. Sir Alonne keeps his guard up and striking quickly and precisely, leaving little room for error. He can also sustain himself with his Life-draining attack.

85. Folding Screen Monkeys - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

A unique fight in the series, defeating the Monkeys tests your understanding of each monkey and how you might be able to reach and assassinate them. And after you slay each one, their ghosts will then start to chase you around as you try to figure out how to kill the next. It’s more of a puzzle than most fights in the series, and I really appreciate that even after six games they are still coming up with fresh ideas.

84. Iron Golem - Dark Souls (2011)

Part of this boss is a bit of a retread on the other half of the Tower Knight fight of Demon’s Souls, in that you can bring it to its knees by slashing at its feet, but fighting on a narrow bridge at the feet of a giant axe-wielding tin can be quite a stress test. For kicks you can try to lure the golem into the abyss below, and if you want to keep your distance the golem is also happy to send gusts of wind at you with its axe. It’s a well-rounded fight.

83. Vicar AmeliaBloodborne (2015)

Vicar Amelia largely made the cut because, as has already been discussed, Bloodborne’s gameplay elevates boss battles by itself, and because her relentless screaming feels desperate in a way that makes you uncomfortable. Also, while it’s not unique, it is rare for bosses to be able to heal in the Souls series, and she is one of the few that can sustain herself if you don’t keep up the pressure.

82. Rom, the Vacuous SpiderBloodborne (2015)

Rom’s arena is like an inverse of the Abyss from Dark Souls. It’s infinite white. It’s odd how such simplicity in design can be so awe-inspiring. The bulk of the fight is avoiding and picking off Rom’s spider minions from behind. You can go straight for Rom, but he likes to teleport around and unleashes some devastating magic, so the spiders might complicate things. It’d probably be a better fight without the extra spiders, but it’s still a good one regardless.

81. Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower - Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (2015)

There are more than a few bosses that fit into the same mold of Lady Maria. She loses some points for being a later incarnation of that mold. Make no mistake Lady Maria is no joke, and even though much of her moveset is familiar, Bloodborne is a much different game than other Souls games, so relying on that knowledge will only get you so far.

80. Elana, Squalid Queen - Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King (2014)

This is one of the most difficult fights in the entire series, and that’s where it receives most of its points. Elana’s summons can really through a wrench into your plans especially considering some of those summons can be a smaller version of Velstadt, the Royal Aegis (another boss). This fight is all about managing the crowd and finding openings, or getting lucky with Elana summoning a couple of harmless critters instead of mean monsters.

79. Aldia, Scholar of the First Sin - Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (2015)

The revised ending of Dark Souls II brought us Aldia, who is a welcome addition to the boss pantheon, but probably the weakest final boss fight in the series, save Allant which was going for a whole different thing. But that should tell you more about those other fights than the sin scholar. Like Nashandra before him he is more of a caster than a brawler. As such, the fight lacks the intimacy of many of the other end game fights, but the fire of Aldia is well worth fighting with.

78. Yhorm the Giant - Dark Souls III (2016)

The return of the Stormruler is a neat nostalgia trip. Launching wind into the void of a face the Giant has is both a spectacle and fun.

77. Flexile Sentry - Dark Souls II (2014)

Swords in the front, clubs in the back. This is another interesting attempt to lock players out of the attaching themselves at the boss’s hip, because it has no backside, only sides. Not only that the arena in which you’re fighting is slowly filling up with water, so if you don’t finish the sentry quickly, you’re only going to get more slowed down by deepening water.

76. Phalanx - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Phalanx isn’t not insurmountable by any means, but it remains one of the most uniquely designed encounters of the series. It being on the easy side so early on also creates the faulty impression that you might know what you’re doing. Devious.

75. Aava, The King's Pet - Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King (2014)

Aava is a pretty good fight, but is made more interesting by the fact that if you don’t do some things elsewhere in the castle beforehand, they are going to be completely invisible when you fight. Like some a couple of other bosses, this presents you with an interesting optional challenge. Do you want to fight blind? It’s possible to prevail this way, but you’ll probably want to save yourself the hassle and complete the stage first.

74. Living Failures - Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (2015)

Bloodborne is full of tragic and gross things. The Living Failures is another example of both in ugly harmony. These failed experiments are unsettling and wield the power of the cosmos, making them an intense mob to fight.

73. Leechmonger - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Leechmonger is gross and it flails about in a way that makes it so you don’t want to get close. The problem is, it’s constantly regenerating, so if you don’t kill it quickly, you might not kill it at all.

72. AmygdalaBloodborne (2015)

The Amygdala is the fear center of the brain, so it’s not hard to see how this gigantic brain-headed spider like creature of nightmares got its name. It presents one of the more difficult fights in the game, as it’s so massive it’s hard to balance seeing what it’s doing and being close enough to strike. It also shoots lasers and that’s pretty cool.

71. Lady Butterfly - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

Lady Butterfly is the first battle of Sekiro that really trains you in on how you’re “supposed” to play. It’s a raw battle of rhythmic timing, and once you get it down it’s deeply satisfying.

70. Covetous Demon - Dark Souls II (2014)

You’d be forgiven if you didn’t even remember this boss battle from Dark Souls II. All it practically does is roll over and die, which is unfortunate, because there is a great mechanic lost in this fight if you do slip up. This demon has a move that gobbles you up and spits you back out naked and unarmed. Talk about being good with your tongue.

69. Ajudicator - Demon's Souls (2009)

Speaking of tongues, The Adjudicator is also pretty good with one. The first time I played Demon’s Souls I was very Bow and Arrow oriented player, so I fought this boss taking pot shots from above, because I was too afraid to face it head on and it licked me a lot of times because of my fear. Little did I know that this boss is much easier to fight on the ground, and it even teaches you all about the series staple, attaching yourself at the hip with its glaring weakspot.

68. Seath the Scaleless - Dark Souls (2011)

Finally getting a chance to slay Seath after he kills and imprisons you makes his defeat quite satisfying. It doesn’t come easy though, because you have to start the fight by breaking a crystal the essentially makes him immortal. He’s also capable of cursing, instantly killing you and taking away half of your maximum health.

67. Spear of the Church - Dark Souls III: The Ringed City (2017)

This covenant based boss allows you to be a boss fight. It gets quite hectic with lots of summons, so you’re fighting several players at once, and if you’re not summoning friends of your own, because you want to beat all the bosses without summons, as I have it feels like luck of the draw is one of the more significant determining factors to prevailing over the Spear of the Church. Still, it’s a cool name for a boss and how many other games allow you to be a boss battle?

66. Abyss Watchers - Dark Souls III (2016)

The Abyss Watchers are interesting in that it’s almost a team fight. The Abyss watchers are locked in an eternal battle amongst themselves and you showing up doesn’t faze them one bit. Once the second phase kicks in it becomes the more traditional duel we’ve come to expect from the series, and it’s a pretty good one.

65. The Witch of HemwickBloodborne (2015)

The Witch of Hemwick is probably the easiest fight in Bloodborne, but it’s still one of the more interesting. First off, there are actually two witches and each will summon a nigh-indestructible minion that slowly chases you around the arena while she shrouds herself in some sort of cloak that only wears off when you get close enough. It’s a game of cat and mouse, lest ye forget, you bear the hunter’s mark.

64. Royal Rat Vanguard - Dark Souls II (2014)

I don’t know why I like this boss battle as much as I do. Something about the name and absurdity of having a boss that is just a bunch of rats shambling out from all sides. It’s just a fun encounter.

63. Sanctuary Guardian - Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss (2012)

You might think you’ll get to warm up when you get reach the DLC area of Dark Souls, but you’ll instead find you are immediately greeted with an exciting boss battle with an aggressive lightning infused manticore. That’s one hell of a warmup. It’s also one of many bosses that hides a weapon drop in its tail, so you’ll have to prioritize and cut it off if you want the goods.

62. Owl (Father) - Sekiro Shadows Die Twice (2019)

In the Great Shinobi fight, Owl seems to be fighting out of desperation to reach his goal. Owl (Father) is the second time you face the bulky ninja, and this is more a duel of honor. This time Owl seems to have misplaced his bag of ninja tricks, but he's replaced them with new techniques and is going to show you why he's called "Owl." Apart from his second phase, which grants him the especially cool ability to phase in and out of existence, this is as pure a clash as any in Sekiro.

61. Champion Gundyr - Dark Souls III (2016)

Gundyr is the ultimate realization of the first Red Eyed Knight who steamrolled me on that fateful bridge in Demon’s Souls. I’ll never forget that Knight, and thus Gundyr gets a lot of points for reminding me of him. It doesn’t hurt that it’s an all-around solid fight too.

60. Gwyn, Lord of Cinder - Dark Souls (2011)

The final showdown of Dark Souls is a fiery one. The piano injects a somber tone, and juxtaposed to Gwyn’s relentless aggression and forceful grunts, you can feel his desperation. It’s quite the duel to end on.

59. Gravelord Nito - Dark Souls (2011)

The lord of the dead certainly lives up to his title. Battling him by himself would be simple, but we should know by now, it’s never that simple. In addition to wielding powerful dark magic, Nito also commands a legion of undying skeletons that will endlessly rise again after you dispatch them. It’s the kind of fight that can get away from you if you let it, and very fitting following the descent through the Catacombs and Tomb of the Giants.

58. Demon Prince - Dark Souls III: The Ringed City (2017)

The Demon Prince is almost too much. It tests your endurance like no other fight in the series. Fighting two giant demons at once and then after you’ve defeated both of them one rises from the grave becoming a super demon. It’s Ornstein & Smough on steroids. It’s one of a few fights in the entire series against fantastical monsters that they really nailed how the monster should fight. It’s also one of the most visually spectacular fights in the entire series, and unlike most of the spectacle fights, isn’t relying on any gimmicks.

57. Guardian Dragon - Dark Souls II (2014)

The Guardian Dragon is the first proper dragon fight of the series. It’s usually exciting to fight a dragon, but to have it executed properly takes it to another level. Are you locked in the giant bird cage with a dragon, or is it locked in there with you?

56. Nashandra - Dark Souls II (2014)

Nashandra evokes the Grim Reaper and provides a thrilling end game fight. Unlike most of the end game fights, Nashandra is more of a sorceress. So instead of the classical duel, we get a fresh battle with a witch. A traditional end game fight wouldn’t have had the same punch in the context of the rest of Dark Souls II, as there were plenty of those already, so the end game fight we got turned out to be a great choice. Curse also worked a little differently in Dark Souls II, so Nashandra’s curses can whittle down your maximum health bar little by little throughout the fight, and it’s not a mechanic we’ve seen before or since in a Souls’ Boss arena.

55. Shadows of YharnamBloodborne (2015)

When snakes start coming out of their tits, you know it’s gonna be a bad time. Evoking the Nazgul of The Lord of the Rings, the Shadows of Yharnam can feel like a hopeless fight. It’s 3v1 and they all behave a little differently and get mad once you pick one of them off.

54. Genichiro Ashina - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

Genichiro is the man who takes off your arm in beginning of Sekiro. He’s your rival, and he will stop at nothing to achieve ultimate power. Your duel will be a lot of cling and clang, and his last phase is your introduction to the electric Way of Tomoe. It’s one of the series’ most satisfying duels.

53. Great Shinobi Owl - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

The first time you face the Great Shinobi Owl he has the bag of tricks you’d expect from a ninja warrior. Smoke bombs, poison mist and shurikens, but he’s also no slouch with his giant katana. He can also prevent you from healing if you get by one of his bombs, which can create a lot of tension. Also interesting is that Great Shinobi Owl uses no moves in which you're able to counter. Kind of neat such a big tool for the player as Sekiro gets taken away by dad. It feels like a deliberate choice, as even though Owl believes you to be in the wrong enough to fight to the death, when you defeat him, he's proud of the shinobi warrior you've become.

52. Armor Spider - Demon's Souls (2009)

One of the things I most appreciate about Demon’s Souls bosses is the number of ways you can tackle bosses. The Armor Spider is one such boss, and one of the more unique bosses in that it’s completely stationary. The fight takes place in a tunnel that opens up where the spider sits. The long tunnel makes the idea of a ranged battle exciting. Not only does this spider spit webs, but also lots of fire. It’s also well positioned to take on players in melee with its blade-like legs. Its versatile moveset caters to all playstyles. Also spiders are scary so, I’m glad I can have a good fight where I don’t need to confront my fears head on.

51. Crossbreed Priscilla - Dark Souls (2011)

Crossbreed Priscilla will allow you to walkout of the painted world without a fight, so it feels wrong to attack the giant catwoman. If you attack her she’ll turn invisible and the best way to track her is to look for her footprints in the snow, either that or wait to be struck out of thin air.

50. Vanguard - Demon's Souls (2009)

It’s the first Souls boss. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s a supposed to lose fight. If that doesn’t set the tone I don’t know what will. And even if you do beat him, you’re just going to get punched in the face. Also it’s essentially the first incarnation of the Asylum Demon.

49. Scorpioness Najka - Dark Souls II (2014)

This is a much better version of the Quelaag fight. Instead of a Spider Arachne though, this one is as the name implies, a Scorpion Arachne. Instead of lava spitting Najka uses more traditional soul arrow magic, but the most exciting part of this boss fight is that she can burrow underground and strike from beneath.

48. Pinwheel - Dark Souls (2011)

If Pinwheel wasn’t so easy, it might be a top 10 fight. No, seriously. Generally, your first actual foray into the catacombs comes after you’ve rung a couple bells and exhausted the path the Undead Burgh has led you down. Then you fight Pinwheel and it dies in like two, maybe three hits? Like, you probably killed it before it even attacked. Wow, what a fight. But braving the catacombs first, before going to the Undead Burg will give you a much more thrilling second boss encounter than the Taurus Demon. I bet you didn’t even know Pinwheel can duplicate itself, and then duplicate itself again.

47. Gyobu Masataka Oniwa - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

He is Gyobu Masataka Oniwa, and while he doesn’t present a significant challenge, he does offer a fun fight against a man on horseback. This battle is no doubt as fun as it is, because it allows you to make use of all of the tools available to you as Sekiro, the grappling hook chief among them.

46. Mytha, the Baneful Queen - Dark Souls II (2014)

Mytha is a good standard boss fight. She’s a fierce Medusa like monster with an aggressive moveset. Interestingly though, it’s pretty easy to miss a crucial part of making this boss fight much more approachable. If miss the fact that you’re supposed to burn down the windmill you’re probably not going to make it past Mytha unless you can deal a lot of damage real fast. Mytha’s arena is covered with poison, a Souls staple. So not only will you take damage quickly, your movement is also restricted. Setting fire to the windmills gets rid of most of the poison, and makes the fight a lot more manageable. It presents an interesting optional challenge to see if you can indeed get past her without ditching the poison, and setting the stage before a boss fight is a cool idea that’s been with the series since Demon’s Souls, but Dark Souls II remains the only game in the series to take a deep dive into that idea since.

45. Divine Dragon - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

This spectacle fight is maybe the most visually spectacular of them all. Sekiro’s lightning riposte is one of the most satisfying things to pull off and this boss fight really trains you in on that mechanic. The fact you’re fighting a gorgeous and gigantic dragon just adds to the enjoyment.

44. Moon PresenceBloodborne (2015)

The true final boss of Bloodborne is as pretty aggressive and it has a move that it likes to use that instantly puts you at one hit point. Somehow, even with that cheat code, it doesn’t ever feel as tough as the boss you fought just prior.

43. Manus, the Father of the Abyss - Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss (2012)

The finale of Dark Souls’ only DLC is one of the most appropriately dark encounters in the series. Manus is a powerful bruiser with powerful dark magic. He’s aggressive and has a ton of health. It’s an endurance test above all and he likes to make sure you will have as little time to breathe as possible throughout the entire fight.

42. Orphan of Kos - Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (2015)

Some say Kos. When you enter the arena, it looks like the orphan has just now been born, and judging by the coming fight, he’s not happy about his mother’s demise. The orphan is an attacker, and loves to beat you down relentlessly with his weird utero appendage, and when he does pause from clubbing you, it’s only to pull some egg bombs out of it and huck them at you. He spreads his wings and somehow becomes even more aggressive when you get him down to about half of his health. To many this is the hardest fight in Bloodborne. I’m not going to say it’s not difficult, but I scrapped by with a pretty quick victory over the orphan, and it was almost certainly a lucky one given how many times I was set to one health.

41. Gehrman, the First HunterBloodborne (2015)

It’s only natural that the person guiding your path, would be at the end of it. Don’t be fooled by his wheelchair, because he is a spry old man. Many of the final bosses in series are a classic duel, but because of how Bloodborne plays and the tools at your disposal, the duel with Gehrman is the one that feels most like a mirror match.

40. Micolash, Host of the NightmareBloodborne (2015)

Some Say Kosm. Ultimately Micolash is just fight with NPC, but the way it’s presented makes the fight so much more enjoyable. The way cackles and howls as he flees. It truly feels like he’s toying with you, and the result is a boss battle is unlike any other in the series.

39. Bell Gargoyles - Dark Souls (2011)

The Bell Gargoyles are might be the most iconic moment in the original Dark Souls. Ringing the first bell of awakening upon their defeat is the grand initiation your new favorite game series. The fight starts off with one Gargoyle, but if you don’t dispatch it quickly, another will join that likes to breathe more fire is happy to join the fray to complicate matters. It’s also one of the game’s first instances of hiding loot in a tail. If you want a neat weapon, that’s just one more thing to keep in mind if keeping track of two bosses wasn’t already enough.

38. Lothric, Younger Prince & Lorian, Elder Prince - Dark Souls III (2016)

It’s a battle against two brothers, and not only can you see their connection, but feel it. The younger prince will not will not allow the elder to die, and likewise the elder fights to protect the younger. If you kill the Lothric, the younger will just resurrect him, so Lorian is your main target. The battle is rife with bright magic and with Lorian resting on the shoulders of his elder brother, it’s hard to find openings to pick him off. It all makes for a thrill of a fight.

37. Pontiff Sulyvahn - Dark Souls III (2016)

Pontiff Sulyvahn is a fairly traditional fight until his shadow arrives, and that shadow is what makes the fight so great. His shadow follows up copying his every move. The result is a tense showdown, where you have to manage two bosses instead of one, but as the new addition may disrupt your timing, you can do the same to the pair and create a fight that is much more manageable.

36. The Duke's Dear Freja - Dark Souls II (2014)

I’m not going to lie, I really like the name of the boss, like way too much. It starts off pretty annoying with a cheap cluster of spiders crowding you upon your entrance, but the rest of the fight is excellent. This massive magical spider will shoot lasers if you stray too far and stomp you into the ground if you get too close. It’s without a doubt the best cure for archniphobia

35. Tower Knight - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Tower Knight is a good fight and is a prime example of what Demon’s Souls excels at with its boss battles. It gives you options, you can exploit the knight’s Achilles heels, or take your time and whittle him down when opportunities present themselves, but the last impact of The Tower Knight is this… Demon’s Souls at first seems like it’s on the straight and narrow. There’s some fantasy with dragons and magic, but you’re largely squaring off against soldiers and knights. After you’ve successfully braved the burning bridges and open the next set of gates, it really sets in how hopeless Demon’s Souls wants you to feel. You’re surrounded by archers and greeted by this towering knight. “The True Demon’s Souls Starts Here.”

34. Old Hero - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Old Hero of Demon’s Souls when aggravated goes on quite the offensive, but as you might figure out from his blindfold, he is blind. So if you don’t make too much noise you can a few shots in before he reacts, and when he tries to return the favor you can lose him and do it all over again. It’s a neat idea, and executed well enough to create a tense encounter where you can play a version of cat and mouse where the mouse fights back.

33. Slave Knight Gael - Dark Souls III: The Ringed City (2017)

The final sendoff to the Dark Souls franchise is an excellent showdown between you and the unassuming angel of death, Gael. Gael is the one who sends you to the painted world and Ringed City to save humanity, seemingly knowing he is going to go mad and you will need to finish his quest. He certainly goes mad and will put you to the test with a suffocating barrage of magic and melee in a thunderstorm. It’s as a good a sendoff to the landmark series as any.

32. Demon of Hatred - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

What’s a Dark Souls boss doing in Sekiro? The massive demon will put up one hell of a fight, and in the context of Sekiro, he is one of a kind. In Sekiro, you’re generally fighting things approximating natural proportions and the Demon of Hatred is a chance to fight something much less so. His scorched earth moveset will tempt you to throw out all you’ve learned, but that’s part of this fight’s charm.

31. Grey Great Wolf, Sif - Dark Souls (2011)

Sif is a frightening foe. Artorias’s loyal pup puts up quite the fight wielding its giant sword. It’s one of very few boss battles that actually gets weaker as you get closer to victory, the way Sif struggles and limps is almost enough to make you stop fighting the fight because you don’t know if it’s good anymore.

30. Soul of Cinder - Dark Souls III (2016)

Dark Souls III goes out with a bang with the Soul of Cinder. Seeming to be your character from the first game, it takes on several fighting styles and will use them all interchangeably. The myriad of ways this boss will take you on treats you to a nostalgia trip, and is a fitting way to roll the credits for such a fine series.

29. Father GascoigneBloodborne (2015)

Your first real test in Bloodborne is appears to be duel between hunters, that is, until one hunter goes rabid. Gascoigne is one of the best two phase fights in the series. His first phase is cold and calculated, but his second ferocious and wild.

28. Aldrich, Devourer of Gods - Dark Souls III (2016)

The return of Gwyndolin as a corrupted mess is an intriguing one, and in an almost complete turnaround, he presents one of the series’ most difficult fights instead of one of its easiest. Aldrich, has plenty of attacks at his disposal and will make use of all of them. He still likes to use his bow, and this time it’s a lot more difficult to dodge, because of all the other magic he wields. It’s one of Dark Souls III’s most well rounded and finest encounters.

27. Black Dragon Kalameet - Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss

Kalameet is the first straight up dragon fight of the series, and it’s an excellent encounter. While it makes for a great fight, Kalameet doesn’t quite make use of the space in all the ways you’d think a dragon would. Fortunately, the black dragon makes up for that with its menacing glare and varied moveset.

26. Penetrator - Demon's Souls (2009)

Stealing the kill on the clown man is unfortunate, but it is still a good deed that ought to be rewarded with a high ranking. The fight is great regardless, and if you helped a certain NPC you might even get some assistance in the battle. Penetrator is one of the most menacing foes you’ll face Demon’s Souls, and he definitely has the best entrance. “That’s Penetrator’s music!!!”

25. Dragonslayer Ornstein & Executioner Smough - Dark Souls (2011)

Yeah, yeah, yours and everyone else’s number one is my number twenty five. Ornstein and Smough are a dynamic duo, and when you manage to kill one the other gets superpowered and angry. It’s an excellent encounter, one of the best the original Dark Souls has to offer, but there’s no shortage of “unfair” encounters in the series, and I think it has been done better before and since these bros stomped so many players into submission.

24. Storm King - Demon's Souls (2009)

Manta Rays are cool. They’re slightly less cool when they’re launching spears into you from the skies, but still pretty cool. Storm King is one awe-inspiring Manta Ray. The sheer size dwarfs all other bosses in the series. It’s not exactly challenging, once you know what you’re doing, but this is one of the best spectacle fights the series has to offer. The Storm ruler came back for Yhorm the Giant in Dark Souls III, but this is where players were first given a chance to wield the devastating weapon. It’s a shame that it only works in boss arenas, because launching the wind at baddies while you can sure is fun.

23. Executioner's Chariot - Dark Souls II (2014)

The Chariot is probably viewed as a bit of a mixed bag, but I think it’s one of the most fun boss fights in the series. It starts off a bit gimmicky with a run to a lever, but it culminates in fighting a couple of beasts that knows they’re on the backfoot, and you can tell how much they’re fighting not to kill you, but for their survival.

22. Martyr LogariusBloodborne (2015)

Cainhurst Castle is quite the treat to run through, and Logarius is a fitting end. He’s is one of the most challenging fights in the series and features plenty of interesting moves and mechanics that ensure you mustn't lose focus even for a second.

21. The Looking Glass Knight - Dark Souls II (2014)

The lead up to this boss sets the stage for what you know will be an awesome fight. It’s pouring rain, lightning is flashing. You just have to get past the red-eyed stone satyr statues that come to life as you walk by. You are greeted with a sight you’re probably all too familiar with, a big dude in shiny armor, but this one has a curious mirror shield. And when he slams it down, and another player comes out, you know it’s on.

20. Darkeater Midir - Dark Souls III: The Ringed City (2017)

Slaying dragons will always be at least somewhat cool even if the fight stinks. Fortunately for us, Midir is both a dragon and an excellent fight. Challenging, fun, and rewarding for the hassle he put you through out of the boss arena. In the lead up to the encounter if felt almost as though you were on the hunt, backing him into a corner that is his lair.

19. Dark Sun Gwyndolin - Dark Souls (2011)

Dark Sun Gwyndolin is carried by the infinite hallway gimmick to be sure, but this is simply one of the more purely fun boss encounters of the original Dark Souls.

18. The Nameless King - Dark Souls III (2016)

We fought some dragonriders in Dark Souls II, but they weren’t actually riding dragons. The Nameless King duel is one of the series' best. To even reach the duel part you have to slay his dragon. And if that wasn’t cool enough, you fight him in the sky… on clouds.

17. Genichiro, Way of Tomoe & Isshin, The Sword Saint - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

The ultimate fight of Sekiro is perhaps the best in that class. Each of the three phases will test you on everything the game tried to teach you up to this point.

16. Fool's Idol - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Fool’s Idol is assembly of cool boss ideas all wrapped into one encounter, or two… or three… four? The fight itself features some stealth and misdirection and it feels unlike any other fight in the series since. And even when you defeat the doll, if you don’t find a puppeteer you might just have to do the whole fight over and over until you do.

15. Artorias the Abysswalker - Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss (2012)

One of the series’ finest duels features the Abysswalker. Artorias is one of several suffocators, and besting him and his relentless attack is justifies all the lore hyping him up and him being the namesake of the original Dark Souls DLC.

14. Darklurker - Dark Souls II (2014)

The best fight of Dark Souls II is unfortunately hidden behind the obscure questline for the hard to find covenant, Pilgrims of Dark. More fortunately that the Darklurker fight makes it worth all the digging around you’ll have to do to face them. The fight is with this angelic sorcerer is all anyone could ever ask for in a magic battle.

13. Flamelurker - Demon's Souls (2009)

This is the first suffocator. The Flamelurker is relentless in its attack and unrivaled in its fury. It’s hard to find an opening, but that makes it all the more satisfying when you finally triumph over the fiery beast.

12. Guardian Ape - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)

I don’t know what to say. This boss slings literal shit at you and farts poison clouds. It sounds goofy, but in the arena it is serious business. This fight is pure fun, and the twist at the end of it just elevates it that much higher.

11. Ebrietas, Daughter of the CosmosBloodborne (2015)

Ebrietas exemplifies all of the things I love about Bloodborne. She bridges the gap between fantastical Victorian dream world and the alien stars. Her design is off-putting and alluring at the same time, and she puts a fight worth remembering. Also, many bosses have a seemingly unavoidable “move.” Ebrietas has what I like to call “the move.” And every time I saw it coming and did nothing to stop it.

10. Maneater - Demon's Souls (2009)

The Gargoyles are certainly better known, but this was the first boss that makes you go “Wait a minute… Really?” Not only are you fighting this gross flying man-faced manticore, in the dark, on what might be the narrowest bridge of all time, where falling off means your doom, and it seems like the boss’s main gameplan is exploiting that, but also when he drops to half health, another one shows up. It’s hard to beat the satisfaction of finally besting something so fairly unfair.

9. Ludwig, the Accursed - Bloodborne: The Old Hunters (2015)

For my money, this is the hardest boss in the entirety of the series. This horse-man is merciless. He is broken up into two phases, and fortunately for us and our controllers the second phase is much more manageable.

8. Mergo's Wet NurseBloodborne (2015)

It’s probably not as difficult a fight as it could be given how late in the game you fight the Wet Nurse, but it’s one of the coolest designs in all of Bloodborne. Blades are coming from every which way and occasionally she will shroud the arena in thick purple fog to strike randomly from the shadows, and it makes for an always tense encounter.

7. Sister Friede - Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel (2016)

This fight might still rank this highly if it was just a one phase fight. It’s one of the few battles in the series that feels as much a battle of wits as skill. The second and third phases take it to another level of challenge and endurance. Her monstrous self-flagellating father enters the arena raising the encounter to what is perhaps the most suffocating in the entire series.

6. Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon - Dark Souls II: Crown of the Sunken King (2014)

Fighting dragons is cool. Without a doubt, the battle with Sinh feels the most like the romantic knight stories of old. Deep in his lair, Sinh, unlike other dragon fights, does everything you’d think a dragon would be capable of doing, so not only is he the most thrilling to fight, but also the most challenging.

5. Yharnam, the Pthumerian Queen Bloodborne (2015)

It’s almost certainly a hot take to rank this as the best Bloodborne fight, and it’s a shame that the best boss fight in Bloodborne just has to be hidden behind all those wretched chalice dungeons. This fight isn’t particularly difficult, but it’s one of the few that just doesn’t sit right from the second you traverse through the fog door.

4. Four Kings - Dark Souls (2011)

The Four Kings are sometimes the Five Kings funnily enough, and they are my highest rated boss in the original Dark Souls. While it owes a lot to the fighting in the blackly infinite arena that is the Abyss, the fight itself is also one of the game’s most challenging and thrilling.

3. Old King Allant - Demon's Souls (2009)

While you can tackle the bosses of Demon’s Souls in many different orders, this is truly ultimate fight of Demon’s Souls. The Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, Gerhman the First Hunter, Slave Knight Gael, Isshin, the Sword Saint. All of these boss battles are excellent ends to their respective games, and have surpassed the False King in terms of the challenge they present. What they don’t have however, is a move that will de-level your character. Savage.

2. Maiden Astraea - Demon's Souls (2009)

The music of Demon’s Souls to me, captures the feelings of the fights more than any other game in the series, and Maiden Astraea’s fight is the best illustration of that. This is the fight of the series that most makes you think about your role in all of this. Her protector Garl Vinland doesn’t want to fight, only protect. You are asked to leave. But what’s with the arena? The pool of blood filled with clawing babies? There are several paths to victory, and all of them will make you wonder about what is really going on and what you’re doing.

1. Old Monk - Demon's Souls (2009)

The most ingenious idea for a boss of all time, maybe ever. The Old Monk might just be a dude with homing soul mass and a wild robe hat, but you can be that dude and become the barrier to progress for other players. Brilliant.

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Celebrating 10 Years of the Indie Revolution

It might be hard to believe, but indie games 10 years ago were a rarity. Most of the indie scene wasn’t taken very seriously as they were largely “flash games” living on sites like Newgrounds. That all started to change around 2008 when Xbox Live Arcade put a spotlight on the scene with their Summer of Arcade program. Suddenly smaller games were getting more recognition, and it was plain to see that it lit a new fire under the indie scene’s belly. Given that Microsoft has reignited their program as the Winter of Arcade this week, featuring games like Ashen, Below and Mutant Year: Zero among others, it feels like a good time to look back on the industry’s indie scene and how it has blossomed over the past decade.

Console online integration was reaching adolescence in 2008 and when Microsoft introduced its Summer of Arcade program most of us didn’t quite know what to expect. Xbox Live Arcade largely featured classic arcade games like Pac-Man, Smash T.V. and Joust up until that point, so it was met with the idea that the games featured would be shorter, slighter and not much more than a fun diversion to last an afternoon or two. When the lineup was revealed to feature Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Galaga Legions and Geometry Wars 2, that idea seemed to ring true. The other two games however, were Castle Crashers and Braid, and both couldn’t be better examples to lead the charge into what the indie scene has become today.

Castle Crashers represents the retro direction a good portion of the scene lives in. It brought back the long dead sidescrolling beat ‘em up genre and features a distinct visual style and sense of humor. Today we have retro future games like it all over the place. There’s Cuphead, a highly stylized take on Contra. Shovel Knight is a pixeled hybrid of action platformers of yore, Mega Man and Castlevania. Super Mario Bros. got a gritty reboot in the form of Super Meat Boy. Hyper Light Drifter puts you right back in 1987 when you first played Zelda, throwing you into a textless world and leaving you to figure it out. Mark of the Ninja reinvigorated the stealth genre, bringing Thief into the sidescrolling space. The Messenger brings back Ninja Gaiden without all the infinitely respawning frustration. The Metroidvania has grown into a staple genre with games like Hollow Knight recreating the magic that Symphony of the Night made two decades ago.

Beat 'em up!
Beat 'em up!

Most interesting of all is the relentless surge of Rogue-like genre. Even ten years ago it’s unlikely anyone thought the 1980 game called Rogue would come back in such a big way. Roguelikes have been around for a long time, but it has infected every corner of the indie scene. In the right hands, procedural generation and permadeath can be powerful tools as many indie developers have shown. Spelunky is a pretty basic platformer, but remains the standard by which these games are judged. Rogue Legacy brought with it some more action and permanent progression leading to a Roguelike and Roguelite genre split. FTL: Faster Than Light and Into the Breach show these types of games be powerhouses in any genre. And the recent Dead Cells shows that the genre has legs.

Then there is the survival genre, which is in many ways a rogue-ish type of game, but has grown into something so massive thanks to Minecraft that it’s its own genre now. The genre has tried to move past its building blocks with games like Ark: Survival Evolved and Conan: Exiles featuring more fantastical places to survive and build a home. Don't Starve bridges the gap between retro enthusiasm and modern survival machinations. A now maligned DayZ began as a mod, and has only just now officially released, despite being one of the prominent early players in the genre. It probably had some impact on one of the most popular genres there is today, the Battle Royale. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has similar roots and might be approaching DayZ’s maligned status, but the impact of it and the ARMA mods before it are no doubt showcased by the biggest game in the world right now, Fortnite, which is built on the foundation the survival indie scene pushed.

Braid, on the other hand certainly references the past, but is more representative of games entering the arthouse. It’s a time bending puzzler with a wonderfully twisty ending. A few years later we got Limbo, another puzzle game with a contemplative resolution, but it brought with it more atmosphere, and the indie scene took notice. Walking simulators like What Remains of Edith Finch, Abzû and the unforgettable Journey have all shown the gaming medium to be capable of things others just aren’t. Jonathan Blow’s follow up to Braid, The Witness, mixes the walking sim and puzzler trying to bring something deeper to the gaming conversation. Antichamber also feels like the best of both worlds, with puzzles that flex the mind and exploration that fold it. Also in this category, is a game called Papers, Please. It really has no peer, but feels worth mentioning as it is indicative of how experiential games can be even when they are wrapped up in the dullest thing imaginable.

Jumpman Tim
Jumpman Tim

Then there are sort of hybrids of both of these retro and arthouse categories. The lines are a little more blurred, but games like Bastion, Transistor and Pyre, which all happen to be made by the same team, strike a good balance between retro catharsis and profundity. Hotline Miami offers that catharsis through its brutality, but it often feels like a fever dream in its downtime. One might put aforementioned games like Hollow Knight or Hyper Light Drifter here. These games tend to be minimalist and feel profound, blending their gameplay into their narratives, offering something to the kinds of gamers that like the experience and the gamers that like the gameplay, tending to really blow away those of us that enjoy both.

The indie scene is bustling, and bringing us all sorts of excellent stuff, both tried and true and experimental. This year I look at the best games I’ve played all year and three quarters of them are budget, indie games. Games like the latest God of War show the triple A scene isn’t without passion, but at this moment, it seems pretty clear that the fire seems to be burning much brighter under our beloved indie devs. It doesn’t appear that flame is going out anytime soon either, with many more awesome indie games on the horizon.

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7 Castletroids to look forward to that may or may not release this year

After the past two years being so jammed-packed with excellent releases, looking at the release calendar for this year is a little discouraging. So I’ve been digging around to see what I can find. One particular “Metroidvania” genre seems to be brimming with potential in lieu of not much else appearing to be all that exciting this year. That’s not to say there isn’t potential elsewhere, but I’ve found a number of games in the genre that might even give last year’s best and one of the best in years, Hollow Knight, a run for its money. Shall we begin?

The Siege and the Sandfox

This one is a “stealthvania,” as its developers put it. I’m not sure this one will make it out this year, but the concept is wrought with intrigue. It’s generally just assumed that a metroidvania is going to be something of an action-platformer, so the idea of another hook is refreshing. It’s been some years since Klei’s Mark of the Ninja now, and that was a level based affair. We’ll have to see if the folks at Cardboard Sword can deliver on their even more ambitious stealthvania promise. Early footage is looking mighty encouraging.

Ghost Song

I can’t be ascertain when this one will make it out the door, but I’m definitely deeply intrigued. It is by far the Metroid looking game on this list and while I’m not sure if the trailer succeeded in telling me it will be fun to play, it really succeeded in making me want to play it. Ghost Song seems to be capturing that haunting and desolate feel those early Metroid games really nailed. And that screen shake looks like it could dethrone Vlambeer.

Unworthy

This seems to be going for more minimalist aesthetic reminiscent of the original Gameboy and really doing it quite well. A lot of metroidvanias these days seem to be trying to cash in on that Dark Souls money, but this one seems to be going a bit further than the rest, not allowing players to jump. It’s looking like this one is going to be all about matching that more deliberate Souls combat in a 2D space with its stamina management and rolling around with i-frames. The sole developer seems to think it will be released sometime this summer, so we’ll have to wait until then to find out if this ones actually is worthy of its Dark Souls associations and influences.

Chasm

The metroidvania to end all metroidvanias is to be upon us this summer. Promising to be a game with infinite replayability through random map generation is an interesting goal for a game in this genre. Sundered last year did something somewhat similar with levels shifting between deaths, but Chasm seems to be aiming for recreating a whole new map every time you start a new save. As someone who doesn’t really replay games much, it might still be interesting to see how much changes between runs in this one.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Koji Igarashi who put the vania into metroidvania is at it again here. I have to say though, even as someone who has played and enjoyed every post-SOTN Castlevania, this one looks the least promising of the games on this list. While many of the other games on here seem to be pushing on the boundaries of the formula, Bloodstained seems pretty traditional and not all the exciting as a result. Judging by some of the footage I’ve seen I’m pretty relieved to see this one got pushed back into this year. With the extra time I hope Igarashi and his team can deliver something that lives up to his past work, while also pushing the genre forward, lest we might have another Might No. 9 on our hands. No one wants that.

Blasphemous

This game ran a much more successful Kickstarter campaign than a relatively unknown bunch of developers thought they could probably get away with, but for good reason. It wouldn’t surprise me if one look at the art would sell you on this game, and it’s almost upsetting that it looks as good as it does and it looks even better in motion. Its twisted biblical aesthetic is pixel art at its most disturbing. I can only hope it plays as well as it looks, because it looks damn good.

Death’s Gambit

This is perhaps the game I’ve most been looking forward to for what must be a few years now. It looks like it flows really well and seems to be taking the right pages from the Souls series’ book. It’s got a sense of scale that seems unrivaled in this genre, seeming to mix the traditional metroidvania stuffs with just a little bit of Shadow of the Colossus to hype inducing effect. I’d say this is far and away my most anticipated game on this list, but Blasphemous is right there with it and it’ll be interesting to see how they compare and compete, especially if they end up releasing around the same time.

Bonus: The Messenger

I don’t rightly know if this is a metroidvania, so I’m including it as a bonus, because it looks rad. It looks like someone saw in the retro-inspired wave of indie games like Shovel Knight and Axiom Verge and was like, “Enough’s enough! There are all these retro games and none of them think of Ninja Gaiden, I guess I have to do it.” It really looks like whoever this person or these people are, they are doing it. Plus that silly boss gag gets me every time.

So while I’m not sure how this year will measure up to the past two in terms of game releases, the Metroidvania genre seems to be thriving at the very least. There are even more out there like Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Heart Forth, Alicia and even more beyond those two. With how fruitful my dig for games was I’m starting to think it might not be just the Metroidvania genre that is booming though. That was just where I happened to look. It might be actually be the indie scene in general that’s flourishing. It’s reassuring to know that when there doesn’t seem to be a lot of those big company, monster budget, triple A titles coming out, the little guys have our back and are always coming out with cool stuff. And these days, little guy stuff is often cooler than what the man is trying to put out anyway.

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The Twelve Games of Christmas (December Progress Report)

We did it! Hi Mom! I beat 100 Games in one calendar year! Here are the final twelve.

89. Full Throttle [1995]

The old adventure game model isn’t what it used to be. This is a bit more serious than other Tim Schafer stuff. There’s still an enjoyable story being told here, but the humor is a bit more subdued. Mark Hamill plays a great bad guy in Ripburger. The only problem is, these adventure games just aren’t what they used to be.

90. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle [1993]

Another Tim Schafer joint. This one is a bit more up front with its humor than Full Throttle, but like it, the old adventure game model isn’t what it used to be. There’s a neat character swapping thing going on in this one, but apart from that it’s a pretty standard adventure game of that era with its weird puzzles and their sometimes weirder solutions. If I had to pick between the two, I think I’d rather play Full Throttle again.

Ready for Crimes!
Ready for Crimes!

91. Night in the Woods [2017]

This is a more modern adventure game. It’s pretty amusing throughout, but towards the end it really starts to drag on and on. It builds some good tension and the quality never really falters, but I feel like the point the game is making is made a good few hours before it ends.

92. NiGHTS into Dreams… [1996]

We definitely came out ahead having both DMC and RE4
We definitely came out ahead having both DMC and RE4

This game isn’t great, but maybe in 1995 it was cool I guess. It’s kind of bizarre really, like as the ending, for some reason my dude dunked on some other dude in the ending cutscene. That was alright.

93. Resident Evil 4 [2005]

I’m glad I finally went back and started going through the Resident Evil series. I really enjoyed 1 and 2 more than I thought I would, but 4’s updates to the formula really brought the action to another level. I was actually surprised to find out it still had tank controls, but it didn't end up mattering. It's so well paced and in regards to the action there's something to be said of the tension slowly turning around builds.

94. Another World [1991]

This game crashed constantly on me. It kind of plays like ass too. However, I think the look has its charm and there was something to its minimalist approach to everything. I enjoyed it.

95. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins [1992]

This was a fun Mario to examine after playing Super Mario Odyssey. As many of its roots that may be in Super Mario 64, I think the Mario Land series seems to feature a lot of the ideas present in Odyssey. It’s a pretty solid game in its own right too, and the introduction of a childhood favorite character of mine, Wario.

96. NieR: Automata [2017]

Sometimes I can only handle so much anime
Sometimes I can only handle so much anime

The way this game shifts focus seamlessly between shoot em up, 3D action and sidescrolling action is really something. I wish the combat was more engaging, especially coming from Platinum, but there are enough great moments tucked away here that made it treat to play through. The slow walking sequence and sudden change in save structure in route C almost killed it for me though, and then also again when it started to get really anime. Still I made it through to see Route E which was a nice way to see that this game was nothing if not a labor of love.

97. Tacoma [2017]

I really can’t decide how I feel about Tacoma. It’s largely uninteresting, which might be the point as I imagine Fullbright is trying to make its character’s feel real. To me it feels like they wasted a lot of potential on a good concept, and it is a good concept. At least the ending made me feel good.

98. Final Fantasy VI [1994]

It felt good having my SNES controller in my hands again
It felt good having my SNES controller in my hands again

I finally did it! I beat a Final Fantasy game. I was a lot further along than I remembered being when I left off at least two years ago. I had the thing where you stop playing an RPG for a long time and have no idea what's going on times about seven. Turns out, I was practically already at the final dungeon and somehow stopped. It was a bit difficult since I didn't remember a lot of the moves, but I made it through Ultimaing Kefka to death. Great cast and a great game. Now it might be time for me to step up and right some wrongs playing some more jRPGs.

99. Final Fight [1989]

It’s the game that solidified the beat ‘em up genre. And it’s still better than many of them. I mean, a dude rolls up in a wheelchair dumpin’ and you get to knock him out of it.

100. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 [2014]

Not only did I beat 100 games this year, but I with this I have officially played all of the Castlevania series. Other than some of the spinoffs anyway. Regarding Lords of Shadow 2, what an abysmal note for Konami to leave this series on. MercurySteam already wasn’t my favorite developer on the series, but they really outdid themselves on this one. It’s about as bad of a game as I’ve played this year. It makes nothing out of its modern day setting, the fiction they’ve built up nor the Castlevania name. It’s as generic a God of War clone as you can get, and if it weren’t for the occasional flash of something palatable, it might’ve been the actual worst game I played of these 100. Instead it’s just damn close.

101. Castlevania [1987] – The Victory Lap

We did it!
We did it!

Castlevania is one of my favorite series and I needed to get the taste out of my mouth with a little rendezvous with the progenitor. I might even call this my pilgrimage game. It’s a great way for me to kill an hour and some montsters.

There you have it. The 100(1) games I beat in 2017. We did it everyone, pack your bags, we're going home.

January Progress Report 19/100

February Progress Report 24/100

March Progress Report 26/100

April Progress Report 37/100

May Progress Report 46/100

June Progress Report 48/100

July Progress Report 52/100

August Progress Report 63/100

September Progress Report 73/100

October Progress Report 82/100

November Progress Report 88/100

December Progress Report 100/100 (viewing)

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Remember, Remember, the games of November (November Progress Report)

I played a fistful of styling metroidvanias, ruined some punks and some suits and survived some horror this month, bringing me ever so close to 100 games beat, in just 1 year. Let's go!

83. Guacamelee! [2013]

Do the Grim Fandango
Do the Grim Fandango

With the announcement of its sequel and looking back on all the glowing reviews I decided to tackle Guacamelee! I have to say I’m left kind of disappointed. We’ve no doubt been spoiled by great Metroidvania games over the past couple years, but the only thing I really cared much for in this one was its style. The platforming and beat ‘em up action did not do much for me.

84. Outland [2011]

This is another Metroidvania that received some glowing reviews some years back. Same thing as Guacamelee. Cool look, but the gameplay doesn’t live up to it. There is an Ikaragu style blue and red shoot em up element to this one, which is interesting for a spell, but it ends up being more annoying than engaging.

85. Salt and Sanctuary [2016]

The last game in this month’s Metroidvania block. Probably the best of the bunch, but my reception towards this one is about as middling. I played most of this game earlier this year, but set it down for a long time, and in coming back I discovered that even though I had only the vaguest idea of where to go, I was better at it than I ever was. I apparently only had a handful of bosses left when I stopped and I breezed through the remainder of the game. This game has the reputation of being a 2D Dark Souls. And it basically is just that, but there’s something special about the souls series that this game lacks. And while it’s bearable, I really don’t care much for the dishwasher aesthetic.

86. Ruiner [2017]

I guess perfect is synonymous with red
I guess perfect is synonymous with red

Of all the stylish games I played this month, this one takes home the most stylish prize. The cyber technopunk thing its got going on really carries the experience and that coupled with the gameplay evokes Crusader: No Remorse. It’s a solid twin-stick shooter that pulls a lot of good ideas from many other games we’ve seen over the years. The best idea being that you can swap out your set of perks willy-nilly.

Sad to say they ditched the terrible FMV in the sequel
Sad to say they ditched the terrible FMV in the sequel

87. Resident Evil [1996]

One of my gaming sins has been righted. I had never played a Resident Evil game before this one, the birth of survival horror. It’s not too spooky these days, but I had a great time anyway. There is something about playing important games I missed that aren’t supposed to hold up very well that I find very enjoyable. Even if it wasn’t that, the shotgun and zombie decapitations hold up. And no, I didn't play the REmake. I played the original ass original, because I'm a purist.

88. Resident Evil 2 [1998]

YEAH! POLYGONS! AND FIXED CAMERAS!
YEAH! POLYGONS! AND FIXED CAMERAS!

I enjoyed the first game so much that I played the second as well. I did Leon A and Claire B for what that’s worth. It’s a neat concept to play through parallel stories, but it doesn’t come into play as often as you might like. It’s got the same fun action regardless, and I had a good time. But while I enjoyed it, I think I'm going to take a break from the fixed camera and PS1 controls and skip Nemesis and move straight to the lauded “4” unless someone tells me otherwise.

There you have it! 6 more games added to the tally. 88/100. 12 games remain. Can I do it? I guess we'll find out in a month together. See you then!

January Progress Report 19/100

February Progress Report 24/100

March Progress Report 26/100

April Progress Report 37/100

May Progress Report 46/100

June Progress Report 48/100

July Progress Report 52/100

August Progress Report 63/100

September Progress Report 73/100

October Progress Report 82/100

November Progress Report 88/100 (viewing)

December Progress Report ???/100

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I'm getting Spooky close to 100 games in 1 year (October Progress Report)

I planned to play more spooky games this month, but I'm still broken from playing Amnesia the several years ago that that game came out. I did still play games though. 9 of them to be precise. Bringing my total to 82/100.

74. Destiny 2 [2017]

Lance Reddick is still a baller though
Lance Reddick is still a baller though

Something about Destiny 2 doesn’t quite measure up to the first game. It could be the “lack of content,” but I don’t think that’s it. I think it largely has to do with the writing. It’s somehow a better told story and more coherent, but it’s also less interesting and comes off as generic sci-fi. A more personal gripe with Destiny 2 I have is the way you take damage. The first game operated very similarly to Halo, in that running away was almost always effective, enemies sucked at shooting you when you weren’t looking at them, but in Destiny 2 it’s a crapshoot and death comes a lot easier. Apart from that stuff it’s still a solid game, but man, the story stuff is a real letdown.

75. Divine Divinity [2002]

With Original Sin being all the rage these days I figured I’d go back to the series’ roots first. I played this game just about non-stop for about a week. I just got way into it. It grabbed me in a similar way that Diablo did earlier this year for me. I played that game in one day. This game is a bit longer, but I’d basically wake up and play it until I fell asleep or when I got home from work I’d play it from the moment I got home until I fell asleep. Part of the reason I committed so hard to it wasn’t necessarily because it’s that good, but because I knew if I stopped I probably wouldn’t come back with all these hot new releases coming out. I also had to do a gaming career first, a bit of save editing with an outside program because one of the NPC’s bugged out on my save and I couldn’t to talk to them. I’d put 30+ hours into this game already and was determined to not let anything stop me. Pretty good game if you like that old Diablo style action, but also want a sort of open world structure to it.

76. Samurai Shodown [1993]

This game is not as good as its sequel. I typically try to avoid playing games out of order, but this game’s sequel is so much more readily available that I just went ahead and played it first, and my reception to this game is probably diminished because of it. It’s a solid weapon fighter, but the refinements of the second really showed, even if a lot of the stages and characters were all for the most part reused.

77. Splatterhouse [1989]

This game is kind of garbage, but it controls just well enough so that it’s not complete garbage. And it was kind of funny to see what passed for hardcore gore back then, because I could see this game passing with an E rating from ESRB today.

When the town just ain't big enough
When the town just ain't big enough

78. Kirby’s Adventure [1993]

I haven’t spent the most time with Kirby games, but the ones that I’ve tried have generally been pretty good. Kirby’s Adventure follows that tradition, but it should’ve been moved to the SNES. It probably would’ve been awesome. There is a great and cool game here, but the framerate just can’t keep up on the NES hardware.

79. Super Mario Odyssey [2017]

If this isn't enough to sell you on Odyssey, I don't know what is.
If this isn't enough to sell you on Odyssey, I don't know what is.

I wasn’t even 6 years old when Super Mario 64 was released. I thought that game was kind of whatever back then and multiple revisits over the years never persuaded me it wasn’t much more than an important game that generally was just okay, and I’d certainly rather just pop in any 2D Mario if I’d ever had a Mario itch. Super Mario Galaxy woke me up to the possibilities of Mario in 3D, but Mario Galaxy 2, 3D Land and 3D World didn’t ever live up to the promise of that first Galaxy. I’d skipped Sunshine until a couple months ago, even with low expectations that game is a disappointment. I loved what I saw at E3 and in pre-release coverage and nothing was going to prevent me from playing it, but my expectations were a bit tempered by my experience with Mario in a 3D space. “Surely there is no way Odyssey lives up to how I feel about the first Galaxy.” Let’s talk about the festival though, or Cappy, or the ending, or any of it. What a wonderful time to be wrong, and what a wonderful game.

80. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus [2017]

I can’t get enough of the Starbreeze brand of shooter. The Darkness, Syndicate, Butcher Bay. I’m pleased to know that Machine Games is continuing that tradition with Wolfenstein. The New Order is great and so is The New Colossus and it goes some places. You should see those places for yourself. I’ll just leave it at I really want to see the end of Wolfenstein: The New Reich or whatever they end up calling it.

81. Middle-earth: Shadow of War [2017]

The nemesis system is just as impressive as it was a few years ago, and it still feels wasted on Middle-earth. Despite all the controversy I had no need for lootboxes, nor any desire to acquire them. The real problem with the end game is that you’re doing the same mission over and over and there’s not much variety to it. I for the most part enjoyed the main story, and the Arkham combat was serviceable enough to get enjoyment out of the nemesis system, but I really hope Monolith gets the chance to try something else next, because while going to Mordor has been pretty fun these past two trips, I’m not sure a third would be. *cough* NOLF 3 *cough*

82. Haunted Castle [1988]

Dracula's got a big head
Dracula's got a big head

This was my Halloween game. I love Castlevania. I’d played all mainline Castlevanias except for this one I considered for the longest time that I only had one Castlevania game left to beat, looking past this one, because it seemed bad. But it fit the Halloween theme best for me, because Amnesia broke me. I have to say, it’s not as bad as I’d have thought. It’s certainly not a very good Castlevania game, but it’s okay considering the time. It also introduced some great tunes to the series. Now the only Castlevania that remains for me to play is Lords of Shadow 2, which if I make it that far, will be the 100th game I play this year. I do not expect to like it much.

So there you have it. 9 more added to the tally. Can I do 18 more games this year? I'm honestly not sure, because I'm starting to run out of ideas as to what to I should play.

January Progress Report 19/100

February Progress Report 24/100

March Progress Report 26/100

April Progress Report 37/100

May Progress Report 46/100

June Progress Report 48/100

July Progress Report 52/100

August Progress Report 63/100

September Progress Report 73/100

October Progress Report 82/100 (viewing)

November Progress Report 88/100

December Progress Report ???/100

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Staying Strong and Steady in September (September Progress Report)

With this also belated September update on my progress towards beating 100 games this year, I will be officially caught up on the blogging front. Exciting. I played a good mix of good and middling with 10 more to talk about bringing my total to 73/100. Let's get into it.

64. Assassin’s Creed III

Even though Revelations was terrible and this one was supposedly the same way, I’ve still wanted to wrap up the core trilogy of Assassin’s Creed for some time. This game isn’t very good, suffering from the all the quintessential faults of Assassin’s Creed and then some. Turns out 18th century Boston isn’t all that fun to explore. Turns out a character with an interesting story on paper can fall flat. This game just felt botched.

65. SteamWorld Heist [2015]

You like hats, it's got hats, lots of lovely hats
You like hats, it's got hats, lots of lovely hats

Image & Form might be the best sleeper developer around. SteamWorld Dig was a delight and I was actually kind of disappointed that they didn’t make Dig 2 when I heard about Heist. I figured Dig was such a brief and chill, relaxing game and Heist seemed long and possibly stressful, so I passed on it for some time. This was a mistake. SteamWorld Heist is so good. So good! Like now I’m sad they made SteamWorld Dig 2 instead of Heist 2.

66. Mega Man X3 [1996]

Mega Man X is one of my favorite SNES games. Somehow Mega Man X2 and now X3 aren’t all that impressive to me. I’d much rather have just played through the first one again. X3 does some things to shake up the game, but none of it really felt well realized to me. It’s just odd to me that the mechanics of this game that I love are there, but something isn’t clicking. But if I had to put my finger on the main issue I’ve had with X2 and X3, it’s that the music doesn’t come close to the first X.

67. Super Mario Sunshine [2002]

Dan is wrong. It’d be funny to leave it at that, but I don’t think this is a horrible game for 2002. It’s not a great one though, probably not even a good one. The camera is a nightmare and them being inverted only makes it that much more unbearable. The worst part about it might be that it auto rotates when you’re jetpacking, so even if you think you have the camera in a workable spot, it’s likely to make itself unworkable at any second. It’s also weirdly buggy for a Nintendo game, I glitched through stuff more than just about any other Nintendo game I’ve played. Overall, it’s not awful, but it’s not good.

68. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [2017]

What a cool guy.
What a cool guy.

I played most of this a few months ago and figured it was time to get back to it, get the Master Sword and wrap it up. This is a very well made good game, but probably not the game its core fanbase makes it out to be. It’s a big direction change for Zelda, but it’s not much different from most open world games out there these days. It’s kind of a shame to me personally, I didn’t find the few dungeons or many shrines to live up to one of the series’ key strengths. Dungeons. I found the weapon durability to be a bit annoying too. It was worse than System Shock 2 and at least in that game it created a panic because of the horror elements. Despite these problems, I still enjoyed this game quite a bit, and it definitely scratched most of my Zelda itches.

69. Jazzpunk [2014]

I think I’m dead inside. The funniest thing about this game to me is that I played it as my 69th game this year, and that’s hardly that funny. I “got” a lot of the bits and jokes, but they never amounted to so much as a smile in me. Maybe I was just in the wrong state of mind to play this game.

70. Heat Signature [2017]

This game is really cool, but it just doesn’t have legs. After a certain point it’s just going through the motions and either that point comes too quickly or the game is way too long.

71. Destiny [2014]

Anyone want to run through the raids with me? (PS4)
Anyone want to run through the raids with me? (PS4)

I really ought to have not slept on Destiny. I wrote it off after thinking not much of the beta and the lukewarm reception on release. I got straight abducted by this game. It’s supposed to be a coop game after a certain point, but I the bulk of the content by myself. I played every strike and would do the raids by myself if they were possible.

72. Cuphead [2017]

Sadly, it seems sacrifices were made, this boss didn't make the cut, unless I missed something
Sadly, it seems sacrifices were made, this boss didn't make the cut, unless I missed something

While I was hoping for the opposite, the long development and iffy game footage led me to believe this game would nothing more than an art show. I’m thrilled that I turned out to be wrong. I mean it’s mostly an art show, but what I underestimated was how the art and animation being this good could make the gameplay that much more fun. It feels like nothing was sacrificed in their vision. Every boss is overflowing with imagination; it’s impossible to absorb all the little touches in one or even a handful of fight attempts. People say this game is hard, and I guess it is, but I was enjoying the art show too much to care about dying repeatedly. Snap fire them business guns!

73. SteamWorld Dig 2 [2017]

I’m not actually sad they made Dig 2 instead of Heist 2 and I don’t know if I can call Image & Form a sleeper developer anymore. I need more SteamWorld games in my life. I like the art, aesthetic, music and the sense humor. This one matches its relaxing predecessor and improves upon it in all of the logical ways and I had a grand old time with it. Get diggin' and bring on SteamWorld [Insert Verb Here].

There you have it, my September output. With Holiday season now upon us, I hope I can find enough games to play to fill out the remaining 27 in time. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my October update.

January Progress Report 19/100

February Progress Report 24/100

March Progress Report 26/100

April Progress Report 37/100

May Progress Report 46/100

June Progress Report 48/100

July Progress Report 52/100

August Progress Report 63/100

September Progress Report 73/100 (viewing)

October Progress Report 82/100

November Progress Report 88/100

December Progress Report ???/100

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The Sega Genesis Rejuvenation (August Progress Report)

About midway through August I had an epiphany. I realized I needed to beat 48 more games in the next 5 months and if I didn't get past my general malaise beating some games this month, I'd have to beat more than 10 a month to reach 100 beaten games in a year. I mean, I still have to essential do that, but my productivity has surged and I'm feeling confident about reaching my goal. Sonic Mania seems to be to thank as it influenced my decision to play Sonic & Knuckles which led to a Genesis rabbit hole. I've got 11 games to talk about, bringing my total games to 63/100.

53. Sundered [2017]

From the makers of Jotun comes Sundered. Jotun felt a bit desolate and perhaps barebones and this one feels a bit more fleshed out. It’s got a bit of that older animation art style like Jotun, and true to that game, this game has some of that awesome art and animation. Sundered is another a slew of Metroidvania games that seem to be all the rage this year. It’s a pretty good one too, but not really to the standards Hollow Knight already set for this year. Lastly, I just want to mention, the final boss was a bit absurd in its moveset, so much so that it had me laughing and the amount of stuff it eventually throws at you.

54. Pyre [2017]

Resplendent!
Resplendent!

Can Supergiant do any wrong? I don’t think so. This is perhaps their weakest game, but it might also be their most imaginative one yet. The artwork and writing are as strong as ever and while the gameplay doesn’t quite measure up to their past work it’s a bit different than everything else out there. It really put me through the ringer with some of the choice stuff too, and I enjoyed that a major influencer seemed to be Oregon Trail of all games. I already can't wait to see what's next from these folks, a recurring theme from playing their stuff.

55. Sonic & Knuckles [1994]

This is where my Sega Genesis rabbit hole begins. After seeing the glowing reception for Sonic Mania, I decided I should prepare my body by playing the one mainline Sonic game on the Genesis I hadn’t yet. I must say I enjoyed it more than I thought I would after the sour taste Sonic the Hedgehog 3 left in my mouth years ago. I did not care for 3 in the slightest, but Sonic & Knuckles is pretty alright. Fun fact, this game and 3 were supposed/meant to be combined into one game.

56. Comix Zone [1995]

Fighting from panel to panel is pretty neat
Fighting from panel to panel is pretty neat

This game feels like something someone would try to make today in the indie scene. It goes for a style and executes on it pretty well. From a gameplay perspective, this is a weird game. A sort of beat ‘em up sidescrolling action game hybrid. It plays mostly fine, but feels pretty constricted by its comic book style.

57. Alien Storm [1991]

I meant to boot up Alien Soldier and quickly realized this was not that game, but that I could also pad my stats with it. Beat ‘em ups are generally pretty short games and the same goes for this one. It’s pretty mediocre by the genre’s standards and considering that beat ‘em ups haven’t aged well on the whole, suffice it to say this is not a very recommendable game. It’s also got some weird light gun style stages for some reason.

58. Alien Soldier [1995]

Sega Channel Exclusive!
Sega Channel Exclusive!

This is the game I thought might have been called Alien Storm, but it was actually Alien Soldier and it's a much better game. It’s essentially a boss rush game with some brief stages inbetween. It’s also got all the Gunstar Heroes sensibilities and I really enjoyed it.

59. The Revenge of Shinobi [1989]

In the version I played it was a Ungodzilla
In the version I played it was a Ungodzilla

Shinobi games are like the Genesis version of Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania. They’re not quite as difficult, but about as fun. I think Return of the Ninja Master remains my favorite, but I quite enjoyed the 2 hours I spent ninja fighting copyright threatened versions of Batman, Spiderman, Godzilla, The Terminator and other such pop culture figures.

60. Ecco the Dolphin [1992]

Is this where the “art game” comes from? I think that a case could be made, but don’t let that sentiment fool you, this game gets pretty needlessly difficult towards the end. For the most part it’s a pretty chill underwater experience being a dolphin, and I appreciated what the game was going for. It can be a little cryptic, but I think that matches the tone they set up pretty early on.

61. Rez [2002]

Floating through cyberspace just dumpin'
Floating through cyberspace just dumpin'

Rez released on the PC, so I finally got to play this game that always seems to find itself a part of the gaming discussion. I’ve come away from it with some appreciation, but not as much as I’d have hoped. It’s a cool rhythm shooter and pretty relaxing in its own way. Although by the end my wrist was starting to hurt from jamming on the shoot button so much.

62. RiME [2017]

This is one of those “art games” I was talking about. It’s got that sort of Journey look to it that’s so pleasant on the eyes and the music matches the sort of tones it goes for as it was done in Journey. This doesn’t quite leave the same impact, but it’s an imaginative look at life and death.

63. Sonic Mania [2017]

Not a lot of new zones, but the ones that are, are great
Not a lot of new zones, but the ones that are, are great

This is the best Sonic game. It owes a lot to Sonic games of the past, but it feels more like a culmination of everything good about those past games without any of the bad, although losing your momentum still feels kind that way. Besides that this is an excellent platformer with some awesome boss fights.

I went off road for a couple months there, but I'm back on track. Stay tuned for September which will mean I'll finally be on track with the blog as well.

January Progress Report 19/100

February Progress Report 24/100

March Progress Report 26/100

April Progress Report 37/100

May Progress Report 46/100

June Progress Report 48/100

July Progress Report 52/100

August Progress Report 63/100 (viewing)

September Progress Report 73/100

October Progress Report 82/100

November Progress Report 88/100

December Progress Report ???/100

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The Slightly More Productive Month (July Progress Report)

I must confess that I did not fair too much better in July than I did in June, but I did double my output. And I brought my total past the half-way mark. 52 games would still be one game a week were I to stop tallying, which ain't too shabby. I've said it as many words and math as possible, but in raw numbers, I got four games to talk about in this belated July edition of my progress towards beating 100 games in one year. 4.

49. Ratchet & Clank [2002]

Maybe I should rethink my playing the original version strategy
Maybe I should rethink my playing the original version strategy

I’ve finally gotten around to starting one of the more celebrated Playstation 2 franchises. In fact I beat the original trilogy this month, playing them all back to back to back. These games hold up reasonably well. I’m definitely glad I didn’t work backwards, because some quality of life improvements with each game really helped mitigate some of this one’s dated qualities. The characters have that Insomniac, silly with attitude charm. The beginning of Insomniac’s goofy gun fetish dates back to this one, though I don’t know enough about Disruptor to say that with 100% confidence. This particular game strikes me as a good foundation for a series, but I wasn’t overly impressed considering where how big the series got. The remake probably fixed a lot of my issues with it, but I tend to be down for the raw experience and I enjoyed myself enough to keep space truckin' on through the next two games.

50. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando [2003]

Continuing on Going Commando improves upon the first game in some logical ways, like a better camera, more fluid movement and more silly guns. It retains the charm of the first game, but is perhaps slightly less so. I feel like a weird trend for animal starring games/cartoons was to have a love interest of the same species pop up in the second game, and then disappear from the series later, which seems to happen here, but I could’ve gone crazy at some point and conjured up this trend on the basis of this game alone, because no other examples come to mind. Interestingly enough saves from the first game carry over and you get to get some of your favorite guns from the first game back in this one. On the whole, Going Commando is a logical follow-up with about as many improvements as you could expect in a year.

51. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal [2004]

I just now realized how Up Your Arsenal fits into the series' dirty title canon... I feel a little bit dumb.
I just now realized how Up Your Arsenal fits into the series' dirty title canon... I feel a little bit dumb.

Commonly touted as the best of the bunch, and after playing the trilogy back to back to back, I’m inclined to agree. The quality of life and control improvements aren’t up to modern standards, but Up Your Arsenal is still noticeably better than its predecessors. The writing stayed consistent with previous games, but I feel it never grew or evolved in a meaningful way throughout the series. This culminated in Dr. Nefarious who is a bit too over the top for my tastes, but I enjoyed his butler, and Captain Qwark remained an enjoyable character. His 2-D levels were a neat diversion too. I think they were enough to push this one to the top for me. However, because I played all of this trilogy in fairly quick succession they all kind of blend together a bit, all being solid action platformers.

52. Batman: The Telltale Series [2016]

No dead Russian diplomats here
No dead Russian diplomats here

Batman and the universe he lives in is brimming with stories to be told. There seems to be no shortage of ideas and takes on the character. This one takes more after the animated series and previous Arkham Asylum series than it does the not even that recent anymore Nolan series of movies. The writing gets a little iffy with some characters in spots, but I quite liked the look unique look they gave the Penguin. Technically speaking its scene transitions can be jumpy at times and it could’ve used a bit more polish. I’m thinking Telltale games definitely don’t hold the same appeal they did a few years ago, but their take on the bat man is enjoyable enough.

Is August the month I get my shit together? Find out next week on Dragonball Z... my blog I mean.

January Progress Report 19/100

February Progress Report 24/100

March Progress Report 26/100

April Progress Report 37/100

May Progress Report 46/100

June Progress Report 48/100

July Progress Report 52/100 (viewing)

August Progress Report 63/100

September Progress Report 73/100

October Progress Report 82/100

November Progress Report 88/100

December Progress Report ???/100

Start the Conversation
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