Apparently this was the year of fun platformers (despite my top 2 games not being in that genre)
Also putting 12 games on here cause its my list and i can
Showing 1-10 of 12 items
I thought Simogo's previous games (Year Walk, Sayonara Wild Hearts, etc.) were interesting but I never truly loved any of them. But boy, this game just ticks all my boxes - and I definitely was not expecting a developer to make a game in 2024 that reminded me of Flower, Sun, and Rain in a lot of ways. (although this is a much better execution across the board).
A stellar narrative experience that tackles a broad swath of subjects in a interesting way. And the soundtrack is fantastic, been listening to it a lot since I finished the game.
This feels like a thing that shouldn't exist, there are an ungodly amount of different games and ideas in here. Many of them could definitely stand on their own (like there's a full on 15-20 hour cowboy JRPG in here). I can't believe this only costs $25 as well, it should be multiple times that for how much game is packed in here. I tried all the games, and finished and enjoyed a majority of them after dozens of hours. And the overall concept/conceit that wraps everything together is executed masterfully. It really gives that feeling of scanning the shelves at the rental store and trying out random games based on their box art. This feels like an experience I'll be coming back to pretty continuously, there are definitely still games in this package I want to go deeper on. Play forever!
This game got its hooks into me in a way that hasn't happened in a long time (like accidentally losing an entire day because I couldn't stop playing).
This is such a good 3D platformer that I would love to see Team Asobi spread their wings and make their own game that isn't a warehouse for Playstation nostalgia. (I'll admit I'm a sucker for it though - I was pumping my fist at some of the deep cuts like boy from Boku no Natsuyasumi, Mr. Mosquito, dog from Tokyo Jungle, Taneo from Incredible Crisis, or the jester from Devil Dice/Bombastic.) But maybe all that Sony money lets them make a super high quality game like this. I was really impressed at how many different gameplay ideas they had, the game really does stay completely fresh from beginning to end. From the different abilities to every single level basically having an unique design and gimmick, they throw a ton of ideas at the wall, and they all work. I actually wish they would have reused some of the abilities more that I particularly enjoyed (like cute sponge Astro).
Excellent Metroidvania with super fun combat and traversal - sad that the team who worked on this got disbanded immediately afterwards, would have loved to see more stuff in this style. The story I found ho-hum, but everything about the gameplay is top notch. (Also, all games in this genre should steal the "memory"/screenshot map marker mechanic going forward.)
This was an unexpected surprise, didn't expect to get so wrapped up in a Soulslike, but it does a lot of unique things in the genre. Nice to see one of these games with a bright art style, and a lot of really fun platforming and traversal. The shell armor mechanic is a fun twist as well that leans into the theming of the game.
Another unexpected surprise here, I believe I came across this in one of the Steam demo fests. But there hasn't been much talk about this one. This game checks a lot of my boxes as a madcap platformer that looks like it was a Sega Saturn game. I initially thought the "no jump button" thing was going to be a dumb gimmick, but this game actually has a pretty high skill ceiling. You eventually figure out ways to jump and get airborne, but they are non-traditional; it feels like one of those games where you have all the tools at the start, but you just don't know it yet.
Great sequel, expands on the original in smart ways. The individual puzzles are more complicated, and this game leans hard into having the player figure out the overarching story arcs. I definitely had to backtrack and load up previous levels pretty often to observe clues or pieces of the scene that didn't seem relevant at this time, or make sure I had a truly iron-clad understanding of what was going on. I liked the original game's art style (which I know was not a unanimous opinion), and the reworked art style in this one is neat as well. It still reads "Golden Idol" to me, with the art being slightly unnerving and ugly. Looking forward to the future DLC being cooked up for this game, will be a nice excuse to come back to it in 2025.
Turns out "what if Zelda was a shoot em up?" is a great concept for a game. This is sorta in the same vein as Archvale from a couple years back, except you are a cute l'il ship that does a twirl when you level up.