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Chummy8

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2023 Games Played

This is the tenth version of this list. I started doing these lists to keep me focused on reducing my backlog of games. I never thought that I'd keep this up for so long. In the past 9 years of lists, I have played 305 games total. The most games I've played in a year was 42, which was last year. And I only hit 42 games played because of the Steam Deck making gaming more convenient for me. Playing retro games that I could play and finish while waiting for my kids in the car didn't hurt either. Last year, I wondered if I would play more classic games than more recent releases. In the end, it was about even with 22 out of 42 games.

2022 was the year of the handheld for me. My Anbernic rg503 opened my world to emulation on the go. And while I've been tinkering with Emulation for a couple of years now, this is the first time I took it on as a hobby. My Steam Deck allowed me to play my considerable Steam library on the go (it's perfect for business trips) and also play all those retro games I've been enjoying. The downside is that buying the Steam Deck has caused an orgy of game buying causing me to feel completely overwhelmed and guilty. I don't think I have ever bought so many games in such a short period ever before in my life.

In 2023, I'm going to focus on my Steam backlog while also chugging along on the classics. I'm finally working on my goals of playing the Final Fantasy games in order and I only have a few more Yakuza games to play. Finishing the SNES version of Final Fantasy 6 means that I am finally moving into the Playstation era. So, in between my series goals, I would like to try some other classic PSX RPGs, like Grandia, Wild Arms, Star Ocean, or Suikoden. I hope I will be able to find the time.

I'm going to try my hardest to NOT BUY anymore games in 2023. This might be the most ambitious New Year Resolution I have ever attempted. I wish I was joking. It will be interesting to see if I could keep to this resolution and if I do, what this list would look like in December.

List items

  • Started February 2022 - Won't Finish

    One of my favorite games of all time. Just infinite replayability. I put over 400 hours into this game in 2022 alone. Let's see how much more I can play this game in 2023.

  • Started Dec 26 - Won't Finish

    To put it simply, this is a 4x game very similar to Endless Legend. I loved Endless Legend and this game definitely scratches that same itch. And since this is Warhammer 40k, and there is only war, there is no diplomacy options in this game. Therefore, this game plays very much like a cross between Civilization and Dawn of War 1. You build your territory and send your armies out to bring death to your enemies. It's great.

  • Started Dec 27 - Finished Feb 6

    Final Fantasy 7 is one of the better games of the franchise. If you're looking for a JRPG, this game has everything you could want - great story, setting, characters, and music. There is nothing I can say about this game that hasn't been already said since this is one of the most popular games of all time.

    So, I'll focus on picking nicks and explain why I don't think this game is as good as Final Fantasy 6. The story, while great, can be missed. There is a big plot hole that is only filled when you go back to an optional part of the game on the final disc. I'm referring to how Cloud and Tifa made it to Midgar after the events 5 years prior to the game. 7 also introduced unnecessary minigames which to me, felt like padding. The characters, which are great, didn't resonate as much with me as the characters in 6. And while you could recruit many different members, I only used 4 the entire game.

    Final Fantasy 7 is one of the greatest games of all time. It is a masterpiece of a game that I feel needs to be played by everyone. The themes and style it introduced have gone on to inspire countless games made since and set the course for the entire Final Fantasy series going forward.

    However, I didn't like it as much as I liked Final Fantasy 6.

    Current Final Fantasy ranking: 6, 7, 5, 4.

  • Started Jan 5 - Finished Jan 14

    Thankfully I got this game on a huge discount. Otherwise I'd feel more guilty about putting this one aside. I just don't like zombie games or games that deliberately give you scarce resources and are forced to run from encounters. Days Gone simply wasn't the game for me.

  • Started Jan 5 - Can't finish

    Playing Gladius gave me that Civ itch. I had to play this game again.

  • Started Jan 14 - Finished Jan 15.

    This is a game that I have played off an on for years now. Having a long plane ride and a steam deck made this game a perfect time sink. I put it aside about half way through the campaign out of difficulty and boredom. The game got to be a little too difficult with too little reward. I wish the game had more of a story to keep me invested all the way through. But it was fun while it lasted and the soundtrack is KILLER.

  • Started Jan 15 - Finished Jan 17

    Blasphemous has fantastic art, music, and style. But it is too hard to be enjoyable. It makes me wish for a game with Castlevania gameplay and this art style.

  • Started Jan 20 - Finished March 31

    Going back to the classics. This time on the PC (emulator).

    It's a fun game, but I eventually just stopped playing it. Maybe I'll come back to it someday.

  • Started February 7 - Finished March 3

    I'm playing the new freelancer mode. It's a rogueish type of mode where you go on campaigns which are missions that get increasingly more difficult. Your targets in these missions can be any random NPC in the maps. I found the entire thing very interesting because the maps are filled with traps and opportunities that are wasted in story missions. Why would you collapse that chandelier when the story target doesn't ever go under it? Now your random NPC target could walk under it. I really like how they are using these old maps in new ways.

    However, I don't usually like these rogue type games because when you fail a campaign, you lose your progress completely. We'll see how long I last. At least it was free.

    I finally finished the freelancer campaign on March 3. I'm not interested in unlocking cosmetics for the safehouse and decided there was nothing left in the game for me.

  • Started February 9 - Finished October 21

    Played entirely on the Steam Deck. Medium settings, 40fps, and the Steam Deck Quality of Life mod list on the workshop to increase the size of the UI.

    Mechwarrior 5 is a solid 7/10 game. I recommend it because it is a fun stompy-shooty experience. However, what makes it a 7/10 are faults in the repetitive campaign/mission structure and the AI teammates.

    I have only played this game 10 hours or so and I feel that I have seen enough of this game to write a review. The game itself only has a few mission types and you will play them very often. Add that to a boring campaign and I found myself looking for reasons to keep playing. You can only do so many of the same missions repeatedly before it gets stale. The missions are the only way to earn credits, mechs, and increase your reputation. Credits do nothing more than buy and maintain your mechs or pay your pilots. There's no external strategy layer in the game like upgrading your ship.

    The AI teammate system in this game is flawed. Other reviewers have mentioned that the AI is bad. From my experience, that isn't true or it has been fixed. The problem lies in the multiple mission structure and the way the game forces you to play 2 or 3 missions in a row without time to fix your mechs. When you play these missions you have little agency over how competent your AI pilots are. You just simply pair a mech pilot to a mech and hope for the best. In the other Battletech game on steam, you control your entire lance and can protect weaker mechs.

    If you are interested in the game, buy it. But be sure to do so at a discount if you wish you get value out of your purchase.

  • Started Feb 19 - Finished March 5

    Seems like an entertaining action/adventure game. Love the dialog and the party mechanics so far. Will definitely see this one through to the end.

    This was a very linear action/adventure game. I enjoyed the voice acting and the soundtrack but the combat was a little boring after a while.

  • Started March 10 - Finished March 22

    Got the Legendary Edition. I used to consider the first game to be the best in the series and I have never even played 3. It's time to revisit this series and see if it holds up. This time, on the Steam Deck.

    Mass Effect 1, with the Legendary edition update, definitely holds up today. I loved exploring the uncharted worlds with the Mako and finding side missions Star Trek style. It is a shame that mechanic wasn't included in the following games. But I tore through this game and I'll get to ME 2 eventually.

  • Started March 23 - Finished April 15

    Played on the Steam Deck with no issues. Default settings - 60fps.

    Darksiders 2 picks up where the first game ended both in story and in gameplay. It is a classic action adventure game featuring an overworld with multiple dungeons you can explore. In each major dungeon, you can get items or abilities that allow you to backtrack if you want and explore the optional dungeons. The combat and the art style really make this game stand out and I think it is worth your time.

    However, I would have liked this game to be a bit shorter.

  • Started March 29 - Finished Can't finish

    In the aftermath of my Forza Horizon 5 disappointment, I was looking for another racing game to play. Burnout 3 is a very fun racing game.

  • Started March 30 - Finished April 5

    I decided to try some Final Fantasy side games before continuing on to Final Fantasy 8. Since I have never played a classic tactics game like this before, it's time to give it a try and see what all the hype is about.

    I bounced off this game super quick. I bounced so hard off this game, that I don't think I want to play any more of these old school tactics games. I was surprised that I didn't like this game considering that I enjoy turn based tactics games like Battletech, Shadowrun, X-Com. I guess this game was too needlessly complicated.

    Either way, I gave it an honest shot and I'm glad I played it a little at least.

  • Started March 31 - Finished April 4

    I was looking for a casual game I could play on my Steam Deck. Gungrave is as simple and casual as it comes. Only a few levels in, but I'm liking it so far.

    Simple and fun 3 hour game. Happy I didn't pay for it.

  • Started April 3 - Finished April 21

    Chose this game on a whim out of my PS2 library. I didn't know this was a Level 5 developed game, the same developers as Ni No Kuni. And that anime/rpg quality shines in this one right from the start. For a game released in 2005, I was very surprised by how modern this game feels. It has tutorials, dual joystick functionality and great graphics.

    In the end, I fell off this game. Simply lost interest in the story and the characters.

  • Started April 14 - Finished April 21

    Played entirely on the Steam Deck at the default settings with no issues. Playing this game on the deck was a very enjoyable experience.

    They Always Run is a linear action platformer with great style and combat. This a simple game compared to others out there, but it is very focused. The game knows what it is and what it is trying to do. It's not overly ambitious outside of the art style but it gets all the important stuff right. This was a fun game to play and not overly difficult.

    There isn't much exploration in this game and you can't decide which level to do next. But the game has a fantastic flow to it. It is very satisfying once you get going with the running, jumping, grappling, and shooting. The excellent combat and story kept me going until the end. If there is ever a sequel, I will happily purchase it.

  • Started April 23 - Finished April 25

    Top down, twin stick shooter. I didn't get very far into this. Guess I just don't like this kind of game.

  • Started April 26 - Finished May 4

    I bought the DLC for this game a while back. And since I've been looking for a big dumb open world game, this seemed perfect. I don't know if I will complete it but it's fun to mess around in for a while.

    I wanted to get back into this game and mess with the Nemesis system a bit. And that's exactly what I did. Time to move on.

  • Started April 27 - Finished April 30

    I remember renting this game as a kid and never getting past the first stage. Well time to do exactly that. This is a fun top down shooter. But the maze like levels and the repetition got to me. Happy I got further than I did as a kid, but on to the next game.

  • Started May 1 - Finished June 9

    Been looking forward to this game for a while.

  • Started May 2 - Finished May 3.

    Got this game for free years ago. The Steam Deck inspired me to go back and try this game out. I didn't expect this to be a 2d colony sim/tower defense game. Fun, but not enough to keep me interested for more than a night or 2.

  • Started May 3 - Finished May 3

    Gotta love the Steam Deck and the way it inspires me to play these random games. Breezy two hour game here, Funny and cute, I played it with my kids and we had a good time.

  • Started May 5 - Finished May 7

    Fun little action game that's basically a love letter to classic action movies. I enjoyed it, but it got repetitive quickly and the differences between good characters and bad characters were pretty extreme.

  • Started May 7 - Finished May 9

    Pretty much what I was looking for when I started Broforce. Fun little action game where you need to tactically clear buildings.

    Fun, but shallow. After a few hours, I felt like I was done with the game. Good thing I only spent $1 on this. But I definitely got my money's worth here.

  • Started May 9 - Finished June 24

    They definitely don't make games like this anymore.

  • Started May 11 - Finished May 16

    I didn't give this game a fair shot last year and it's time to see what the hype is about. So far, I'm really digging the mix between RTS and Baldur's Gate CRPG gameplay. Pretty much just a modern variation of Warcraft 3. I kinda liked it, but I wish I was playing a proper CRPG and not a RTS/CPRG hybrid.

  • Started May 12 - Finished May 12

    Just a solid beat em up for the SNES. Quick play through and not too difficult.

  • Started May 16 - Finished...

    Best $3 I spent all year

  • Started May 25 - Can't finish

    A seriously addictive game. I purchased the battle pass and feel compelled to play daily. But after this pass is done, I might ease back a little.

  • Started June 13 - Finished June 23

    I bought this years ago and it's finally time to play the collection. Beat em up games are perfect on the Steam Deck and in this version, you can even save your game so you can come back to it.

    Solid collection of games.

  • Started June 18 - Finished June 25

    They took the perfection of Doom (2016) and kept adding mechanics to it until it became bloated. After a few levels, I knew I didn't want to continue playing.

  • Started June 23 - Finished June 23

    I enjoyed this 2 game collection. Shadows was a better game than Tower of Doom. But they were really long for arcade beat em ups.

  • Started June 27 - Finished July 6

    Didn't expect this game to be this much fun. I had a blast with this game. Simply a fantastic video game.

  • Started June 27 - Finished July 21

    Secret of Mana will forever hold a special place in my heart. When this game came out, my Mom, brother, and I rented this game every week (along with the multitap) and played this game until we beat it. Since it has 3 player co-op, it was a perfect after dinner activity. Playing Secret of Mana back in 1993 has always been one of my favorite gaming memories. And because of this fond memory, I have always considered Secret of Mana to be among my favorite games of all time and one of the best RPGs on the SNES.

    However, while this game is still great and worth playing, I no longer feel it should be placed in the upper tier of SNES RPGs where Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger are placed.

    Secret of Mana has excellent music and graphics, some of the best on the entire console. The action role playing combat system has some wonky hit detection. And switching between characters when they were stuck or to cast a spell was a minor annoyance. The story and characters are what separate SOM from the truly great RPGs on the console. The story had no complexity and the characters felt shallow. I enjoyed replaying the game in 2023 and I would still recommend this game to anyone looking for a retro action rpg experience.

  • Started July 11 - Finished July 12

    Satisfying combat tarnished by a convoluted story and questionable game design. There are better beat em ups out there.

  • Started July 14 - Finished July 15

    Simply the best TMNT beat em up. The game is only about 2 hours long so I managed to finish it quickly. However I will continue to mess around with the game in multiplayer for some time.

  • Started July 19 - Finished Aug 12

    Mass Effect 2 is a fantastic game with memorable characters and great pacing. Clocking in at a little under 30 hours, it is a game that needs to be replayed. I played this game at launch and I remember having a mediocre to negative attitude about it. Replaying it now, I have a much more positive impression of the game. I assumed I didn't like Mass Effect 2 at launch because of how much I loved (and replayed) the first game. But now I am replaying the game, I admire the game for breaking free from the Space Opera and giving the players a more action movie type experience.

  • Started July 30 - Finished Aug 1

    Playable on Steam Deck. Mix of Medium settings and 30fps made this game run near flawlessly on the Deck.

    There are some tropes you expect from games like this. You expect to control a small squad size of characters grinding against difficult odds while getting stronger. You would also expect that some missions will have hidden objectives, enemy reinforcements, or some increase in difficulty. Mitigating damage and injury are essential to games like this since losing a character you spent hours building up can be heartbreaking. Chaos Gate gets most of this right. In the end, the difficulty and playing the same 2-3 mission types over and over again wore me out.

  • Started Aug 3 - Finished Aug 3

    Short game, so I was able to finish this in a few hours. Excellent story and characters, it made me care about their outcomes. Very story heavy and light on the gameplay, but it's worth it.

  • Started August 25 - Finished Sep 16

    Played nearly entirely on the Steam Deck with minimal tweaks. I set the fps to 30 and turned off FSR. I was able to get 2-3 hours on full charge.

    I did not completely know what kind of game Midnight Suns was when I purchased it. I expected a Marvel themed X-Com. What I got was a great mashup of X-Men Legends, X-Com, and Persona.

  • Started (again) September 21 - Finished Oct 9

    Patch 2.0 and the Phantom Liberty DLC brought me back after finishing the game back in 2021. An already outstanding game made even better by the patch and DLC. There isn't more to say about the game. But the personal spaces in between the major story beats are very touching.

    Phantom Liberty is worth the full price and offers a fitting end to V's story if you choose.

  • Started October 28 - Finished Nov 24

    There's not much more to say about this game that hasn't already been said. This is a game with unmatched charm, graphics, and music. The setting carries this game for better and for worse. This is maybe the fifth time I've tried to play through the story over the years. And after getting about a quarter of the way through the story again, I just can't bring myself to play this game anymore. The furthest I have ever gotten in the game was at release when I rented it.

    The story is too slow and the combat is boring, especially compared to other SNES rpgs. The setting however is second to none, but I feel that is all that Earthbound has.

  • Started October 28 - Finished November 11

    Playing this so I can finally stop avoiding spoilers for the ending. 20 years after release and controversy, the ending was fine. I don't understand what the outrage was about.

  • Started Nov 24 - Finished Dec 25

    A modern take on a classic franchise. I'm only in Act 1 at the moment but so far I really like this game.

  • Started Dec 25 - Finished Dec 30
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