Well, this is my first blog post after being a member of this site since 2011. Figured it's about time I do a thing. I played a few games this year, very few of them FROM this year, in fact. Reason is that I have a launch PS4 that doesn't run the newer games well, a Switch and until recently, a PC I built in 2012 that couldn't even run Gal Gun 2.*gasp* Hopefully, with my new PC and 3080, that'll change and I can play games that aren't exclusively 2D indie games.

Here's my list of 10 games I enjoyed this year. I guess I'll rank em in reverse order to keep it in the spirit of GOTY lists.

1. Hunie Pop 2
   I'm totally playing it for the puzzles! Ahh who am I kidding? I like the girls too. The sequel is pretty much like the first game, addictive puzzles, plenty of items to keep things interesting and unlockables too. Very much a "Just one more round" type of game.
2. Portal
   The first one. I fired this one up for my kids to introduce a new type of game to them. We had a blast for a few days before their bedtime going through the different areas. I would ask them what I should do to clear the room and they were able to keep up in the beginning but as things got harder I was able to blow their minds with the various tricks you'd be able to pull off.
3. TMNT Shredder's Revenge
   Another "Game I Played with my Kids". They're not really familiar with the Turtles aside from playing Turtles in Time with me on the Super Famicom so when this came out I had to get this one day 1. It really does hit that nostalgia feel and has a lot of references to the cartoon that I had totally forgotten about, i.e. those space teens from space. Wished it had more contect after you beat the story mode. Kids were so focused on getting Casey Jones but when all you had after unlocking him was playing the same game over again, it didn't last long with us.

4. Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle to Daifugou no Inbou DX+
   The spin-off series to the Professor Layton games. This follows Professor Layton's daughter, Katrielle, as she opens up her own detective agency and solves mysteries and also sate her sweet tooth. Unlike the previous games, this one is episodic and you will solve the mystery and move on to the next episode. This method of storytelling is much like watching a TV show but I prefer my Layton's to be more revolving around a grand central plot. Maybe there is one in this and I will one day get to see it. Love me some puzzles though. Playing the DX+ version allows you to replace the original celebrity voice acting with the cast from the anime which I honestly prefer.

5. Gyakuten Saiban 1 and 2 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
   I bought the 1-3 bundle on my Switch a couple years back and stopped midway through the first game. I decided to finish it off and man, what a good, funny game. Finding clues, catching murderers in their lies. The best. The rivalry/friendship between Naruhodo and Mitsurugi is one where you can see that while they're on separate sides of the courtroom, their golas are the same and when they realize they're on the same team, ain't nothing gonna stop them.
   The tone of the second really changed in the second one. Whereas the first was very straightforward as far as Killer = Evil, the second one had areas of grey where 'Someone is hurting inside and concocts to murder someone against their better judgement and the outcome is that a completely innocent third party dies because of it.' Are they evil? No, but someone did die and they must take responsibility for their actions and live with it.
   I am also aware that there is a popular Wright/Edgeworth shipping thing on the internet but I am totally Team Naruhodo/Mayoi. Sorry, The Internet.

6. Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course
   Man I love Cuphead. I unlocked all the achievements in the first game and couldn't wait to get at the DLC. It doesn't miss a beat. The bosses are tough but fair and the new weapons are fun to tinker with and Miss Chalice is a fun twist of the game. I stuck with Cuphead and Mugman for the majority of my playthrough though. My muscle memory just wouldn't allow me to dash into projectiles to parry or double jump. It was just so foreign! Will get back to it someday so I can finish it.
7. Rocksmith 2014
   Started taking guitar lessons during the pandemic and this helped with trying to practice songs. Still not like taking actual lessons from a teacher though but that hasn't stopepd me from buying a ton of DLC and jamming in the Session Mode for hours.
8. Hades
   Never got around to it when it was on everyone's GOTY list. Glad I got into it late than never. I can't really say much that hasn't already been said so I'll just leave it at this: The hype was right.
   Oh, and hell yeah Hades 2!
9. Vampire Survivors
   I love the OG Castlevania and this games look and music really captures the essence of that world. I started this up on a whim and went through a time warp and it was an hour later somehow. Game is good. The feeling when you breakthrough and are just pushing left and never stopping cuz everything is disappearing before your onslaught of whips, holy water, pigeon lasers, axes, bullets and garlic. Unlockable characters brings a new strategy to the game and being able to see how to unlock everything from a list really helps me focus on experimenting with other characters instead of sticking to just the one guy. Oh, and extra bonus, I can play this on PC while holding my 1.5 month old child. 9.5/10, would survive again.
10. Fortnite - Zero Build Mode
    I blame Dan Ryckert for this. I played this two years ago and dropped off fast because I could not wrap my head around the building part of this game and when the GB crew started playing this I decided to reinstall this game and I haven't looked back. It is so much fun now that I don't have to build anything and the people at Fortnite HQ know exactly how to take my money with their skins from the movies of my youth. Being able to play as Indiana Jones and dance to BTS's Dynamite will never get old for me. I find myself thinking about Fornite alot and hopefully it'll get out of my system so I can get around to playing other video games on my new PC. until then, gotta unlock Doom Slayer on my battle pass so I can strap R2-D2 to his back while he glides down on Indy's inflatible raft.

Honorable Mention:

The Witness

Started this one up to see if my old computer would still run it. I played this back when it was new and the talk of the Giant Bomb crew and I wasn't able to get very far and fell off. Since I was trying to expose my kids to other types of games that weren't just Minecraft and Pokemon I picked one that I figured they'd be able to help with since dialogue isn't an issue. Highlight of my game: Watching my older son fiddle around with a puzzle and getting his "ah ha!: moment.