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Every so often I come across a game that completely enraptures me, I become engrossed in ever facet of the game and want to wring every last drop of enjoyment from it. This year Deep Rock Galactic was that game. This is a complete package, an absolutely fantastic game loop, solid mechanics all paired with an amazing aesthetic. Its mixture of chaos with moments of calm makes for a frantic but balanced experience that constantly had . It also seems to have amazing support with regular updates and a clear roadmap for future content clearly communicated.
For a game to really hook me it needs to have great mechanics and a solid game loop and to me this game both of those in spades. Its structure is mission based and you have a variety of mission types to decide from depending on what your goals currently are. The missions themselves are really fun and range from simple mining expeditions and egg hunts to my personal favorites on-site refining and point extractions. Each mission rewards you a variety of materials and you can buy new weapons, modifications, cosmetic items and beer at the hub world bar. Later in the game you also gain access to matrix cores which give your weapons even more customizability.
There are four unique classes, Gunner, Driller, Engineer and Scout and each one is enjoyable to play and brings its own skill set to an operation. My two favorites were the Driller and Engineer, I absolutely loved tunneling with the Driller and the Engineer's platforms and gun turret were extremely useful to me. The Scout provides lighting and can easily access the hard to reach places for resources and collectibles and the Gunner supplies plenty of fire power. All classes play very well and are useful in their own ways and when you have one of each you can see the natural synergy a complete team provides.
Deep Rock galactic has a charming and humorous aesthetic that I really never grew tired of. The hub world is well crafted and is fun to explore with little things to do and view all strewn about. You can visit the trophy hall displaying your various accomplishments, play a barrel exploding mini game or just drink beers and listen to music at the bar. It also has a great look, the characters all look unique and are fun to customize, you can make some really cool looking characters. I also found the various biomes enjoyable to explore and they all had their own unique looks and some even had mechanics of their own. Sound design and music selection are also stop on and provide fuel to most moments. I love when a swarm is in bound, a rocking track comes on and gets you amped up for the action and its so nice to finally hear that mission complete music when you finally get back out.
Deep Rock Galactic stole away a large chunk of my time in 2020 and I know that I will continue on to play more and more as the game expands. It seems like it will have the support to be a long lasting figure in the cooperative video game space. It already has enough meat on its bones to keep someone busy for a long time and I suspect Ghost Ship will only strengthen that offering over time. Rock and stone.
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Death is something that everyone eventually has to grapple with, its a major aspect of life and often very difficult to deal with. It can be equally hard to discuss, talk about and move on from because of how personal and visceral the experiences often are. I know personally I have had trouble dealing with the death of my brother-in-law that passed at 29, whom I was also best friends with, it was the darkest time of my life. Spiritfarer dives right into the experience of loss and letting go but does so in a way that is very uplifting.
Its a gorgeous looking game, everything is serene and pleasant to look at. I especially enjoyed the character art, I was excited every time I had a new member join up just to see what animal represented them. I also thought all of the food art was good looking, I wouldn't mind trying some of the different dishes you create throughout the game. I also found most of the islands pleasant to explore and different enough to not get bored during your travels. What ties the whole aesthetic together is the fantastic sound track, multiple times during my visits to the Everdoor I was overcome with emotion, mostly due to the music.
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I've always wanted to participate on a Wipeout or Most Extreme Elimination Challenge / Takeshi's Castle type show. The obstacle courses look fun and challenging to run through, and I'd love a chance to try them out for the day with a group of friends. Fall Guys seems to have the same appreciation for such shows. It takes those shows format and melds them with the Battle Royale formula to create something that's pretty novel and held my attention for half a year.
Most of the game modes are very well thought out and fun to play, though there are a couple stinkers in my opinion. Some stand outs include Slime Climb, Dizzy Heights, Block Party, and Fall Ball. I think the games that require grabbing usually felt rough around the edges but still managed to be fun at times, though admittedly a bit frustrating. Some of my most intense moments of the year were playing Hex-A-Gone or Jump Showdown in the finale, and my first win was a truly great feeling.
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Two things I've grown to be a sucker for is the Call of Duty franchise and Battle Royale games so its clear this game would be right up my alley. My love of COD centralizes around the tight gunplay, they always seem to feel good no matter the iteration. Additionally you can expect a well supported game with a robust community, at this rate it seems to go without saying. It was also one of the biggest games with my group of friends, due to it being free and a realistic shooter. I found myself migrating to Warzone from Apex just because a large group of my friends were playing not that I minded the change of scenery.
Verdansk is an interesting map and I found exploring it was enjoyable itself, well crafted with plenty of buildings and areas to explore. Though its also pretty bland due to its realistic qualities the art and environments are nice to look at. The same can be said about the weapons and gear, its nothing new if you have played a modern era shooter but everything looks great.
I will give credit where it is due and Warzone pushed some new ideas for the Battle Royale genre that I thought were nice additions if not just novel mechanics. The Gulag was particularly interesting to me and allowed for a second chance you had a say in that no other game had previously done. I also thought the in game buying system was very interesting, buying weapon crates and your buddies back into the game was a pivotal mechanic for winning, it added multiple strategic layers to how you would get ready for the next circle. Bounties were another nice addition and gave you other ways to earn money for in game purchases and kept you active as you moved throughout the map.
I cant say that Warzone does anything too special or treads to far away from what you might expect but its a great game that deserves recognition. Its innovative and solidly built, though a times it may feel unfair but it certainly doesn't come across as poorly made. I think I will settle back into Apex for the long haul but I can certainly see myself checking in on Warzone throughout its lifespan.
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If it weren't for a free weekend I may have never given Rocket Arena a try this year. During that time I gave it a solid shot and found out I had quite the soft spot for it. It's a relatively simple concept that gained its depth from a large cast of characters with varying abilities and powers.
As you may be able to tell from the title, the game is basically an arena that you fire rockets at the opponents in hopes of achieving certain objectives. The objectives range from team death match, point captures to a treasure hunt mode that tasks your team with collecting the most coins around the map. Its a frantic mess most of the time and those with quick reactions and decisions usually come out on top. Escaping is also critical to success as it uses a similar health system as Smash Brothers and the more damage you take causes you to launch further and further away when hit. Most characters seem viable, at least at the level I play the game.
I found the aesthetic charming and the characters are a fun cast to play around with. The artwork is a bit generic in my opinion, not bad looking but sort of uninspired, I found some of the costumes for characters to be fun. Levels look good, they are all bright and
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If it weren’t for Xbox Game Pass there are a lot of games I would probably never give a chance to. Journey to the Savage Planet is certainly one of those games and I am glad I gave it a go. What I discovered was a colorful journey exploring a mysterious planet filled with flora and fauna to catalogue, upgrading your equipment and abilities as you go along. As you progress you open new areas to explore that were previously inaccessible.
Journey has an intense colorful look to it with outlandish creature design,
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