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BeachThunder

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GOTY 2021

Oh, hello there.

I guess you're here to read my thoughts on games from this year. Well, you're in luck. First off: let's start off with the runners up:

* Binding of Isaac Repentance - Only not in my top ten because it's 'just' DLC. But it's a fantastic piece of DLC that does justice to both the Antibirth mod (where a large portion of the content comes from) and the base game itself. There's never been a better time to play Isaac.

* Kid A Mnesia: Exhibition - I don't know what this so-called "radio head" thing is, but I still enjoyed this a bunch.

* Strangeland - A point and click adventure game with a wonderfully unsettling and disturbing atmosphere.

* Humankind - It's very one-more-turney like the best 4X games are, but it also has a ton of issues.

* Get Your Ducks in a Row - Hey, look, if I'm not going to plug my game, then who will?? 🦆 But, really, I'm proud of this little thing I made. Maybe check it out :)

List items

  • It's quirky, it's funny, it's poignant, and most importantly - it's actually enjoyable to play.

    This is everything I could have hoped for (and much more!) from a follow-up to Psychonauts. The basic structure and core gameplay are still largely intact from the original, but every aspect feels vastly improved upon.

    Psychonauts 2 is just an all-around marvelous experience.

  • It's hard to explain exactly what Loop Hero is. But all you really need to know is that it's a cool-ass video game. Everything about it just feels fresh and super clever.

    Visually, the game is stunning. Deceiver's beautiful pixel art makes this game an absolute delight to look at. Loop Hero is almost certainly in the top 10 best-looking pixel art games I've played...but that's a different list for a different time.

    The soundtrack is also wonderful. That moment when you unlock the ability to fight the boss and the music kicks in. Holy shit. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnxWqYzF1E]

  • You can just *feel* the amount of play-testing that must have gone into this game. It's so tightly crafted and there's a perfect balance between nudging you in the right direction & giving you free agency to explore and experiment.

    The core gameplay feels great in the same way that Dishonored feels great. In fact, for all intensive porpoises, Deathloop may as well just be a cool total-conversion mod for Dishonored. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing...

    Also, I just wanna say, the voice acting for the two main characters is a real standout. Both of them give fantastic performances.

  • There's so much stuff that could be said about this game; some good, some bad, mostly good though. I'm not even going to try to delve into it all. Ultimately, I'm just going to say I really loved traipsing around not-Cuba and intermittently being harangued by Giancarlo Esposito.

  • The gameplay is novel, and occasionally even fun!

    But, anyway, enough about the gameplay - let's talk about the actual star of the show: the mesmerisingly surreal world it presents - and all the delightfully weird creatures that inhabit it.

    I felt myself constantly being in awe of the designs of the flora, fauna, and...miscellaneous.

    This is the kind of game I just want to soak up and luxuriate in its freaky atmosphere and world-building.

  • Not quite as good or as scary as Resident Evil 7 - but having said that, I did end up playing through this twice (and I considered more playthroughs). For context, RE7 was a one-and-done game for me. So, make of that what you will.

    There's something about this game that's just very moreish...

  • Okay, so, imagine a combination of snooker and Peggle as a combat mechanic; it works surprisingly well. Okay, well, I guess it's not that surprising now that I'm thinking about it. But, anyway, the point is that it's a cool mechanic and this game pulls it off with aplomb.

    Beast Breaker is such a pleasant and wholesome experience, it's a real shame that it was on so few people's radars.

  • I think this is actually the exact kinda thing I want from a time loop game - a tiny scenario that you can poke & prod at to see how your interactions cascade into different outcomes.

    It can get a little silly, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Twelve Minutes.

  • Basically, exactly what you'd want from a modernised, non-copyright-infringing, spiritual successor to DRL (aka DoomRL; aka, Doom, the Roguelike; aka please don't sue us Zenimax 🙁 pls.)

  • Just a solid, enjoyable puzzle-platformer. I played through all of it in one day and had a great time.
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