by csl316
Heck of a year. Shout outs to some awesome collections with Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, Castlevania: Dominus Collection, and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2!
Showing 1-10 of 11 items
This game feels impossible, there's so much in here at such a high level. It took over my entire March for 74 hours, and I didn't come close to getting 100%. But spending a day with the story, then another day with side quests, then another in combat arenas or mini games... I never got tired of any of it and I can't wait to see how they close this out! The combat system was already super fun in Remake, but they expanded it in some clever ways that really put a focus on the power of friendship. One of the best soundtracks of all time, too. Some perfect new renditions of classics, especially that quiet Cosmo Canyon Observatory theme. Went to the FF7: Rebirth orchestra in Chicago and man, that Stamp theme got me to tear up and Queen's Blood was incredible live.
I did everything possible in this one, which I didn't expect for a strategy RPG. Love Vanillaware, as the games look and sound great but also have really well thought out game mechanics. I enjoyed putting together my little squads and giving them all little backstories, so it felt like this was MY personal army. When you're on a giant map, fighting on multiple fronts as each squad does its part, it's all so satisfying. Another game where I put in 60 hours and loved every minute. You could skip battle animations, but why on earth would you do that? Now, about that Muramasa: Rebirth rerelease...
Everything I love in games is here. Stylish action, plenty of variety, great art, and an unbelievable soundtrack. I got halfway through and put it down for 6 months (waited for a Pro patch). When I came back, I did everything and immediately started a NG+ hard playthrough. It's a perfect mix of DMC and Bayonetta and Soulslikes, and I was surprised how technical those final fights get. The side stuff wasn't too deep, but it just gave me more excuses to run around as Eve. Lots of valid comparisons to Nier: Automata, sure, but while that game has a more ambitious narrative, this knocks it out of the park with the gameplay on every front. Stellar Blade 2 is suddenly one of my most anticipated games.
Never played a Dragon Age, but loved Mass Effect. And boy, this brought back the best ME memories. Great characters, fun combat, an engaging world, and mission design that brought it all together. I was surprised how addictive this was, and how I could spend an hour running around chatting or and having more fun than a combat mission. Shame it didn't seem to hit because I'd love to play more. It was funny to see people load it up on PS+ a few months later, saw so many "wait, this game kind of rules?" posts. <3 Bellara
Oh man. I heard Sekiro Metroidvania and it got my attention. It didn't take long for this to become one of my favorites in the genre since like... Ori 2? The combat delivered, but I was surprised by how much the story hit. When running around a world like this, you need it to feel good, have nice places to visit, with music that fits the mood . It had that in spades, and some of these boss battles are sequences I'll never forget. I didn't want this game to end. It's incredible.
Been playing Tekken casually since 2, and somehow the series impresses me every time. I liked the focus on offense, and Reina was a really fun character to learn. But boy, that campaign mode was PERFECT. When you're fighting Devil Jin and the camera spins and you're fighting AS Devil Jin? When you start Tekken Forcing out of nowhere? When the music switches in the final battle and it feels like that final fight in MGS 4? It's great. I spent more time watching Tekken than playing it this year, and even did a few guitar covers and jams. I'm glad this game rules since I'll be watching its tournaments for years.
The trailer seemed neat, but I had no idea what the game would play like. And man, there's nothing like it. A really neat mix of tower defense and real time action with a ton of options for progressing your army and skills. I was surprised by how much variety they got out of the core premise, and each new challenge was fun to figure out. And can't go wrong with all the Okami references! Brad Shoemaker has some fine taste.
The best 3D platformer since like... Crash 4 or Kirby? I wasn't too big on the last game since it depended on controller gimmicks, but this was just rock solid platforming with so much variety to spice things up. Great art and music, the cameos were fun, and I had a lot of fun finding all its little secrets. There's always room in my life for this sort of game, especially when it's executed at such an elite level. This entire playthrough was joyful.
I was gonna put Shadow of the Erdtree here, which I liked more than the main game, but it wouldn't let me! But that's ok since Indy fits right in. First person seemed like a weird choice for a game dependent on an iconic character, but I trusted MachineGames, They didn't disappoint. The open world stuff was ok to break up the pace, but I sort of wish it was all linear. Running around tombs, then exploding into some truly impressive action sequences, if the pace was a bit tighter it'd be right up there with the best of Uncharted. Although I say that despite the side missions all being kind of great. I always enjoyed Indiana Jones but I'm not a superfan (mainly because I don't want to deal with snakes). This really grabbed me, though, and made me a bigger fan. Despite that big fucking snake.
SteamWorld, as a rule, means you're getting a fantastic game. These games do a great job getting me into genres I never really tried, like Heist 1 with tactics and Quest with deck builders. I was really excited to see them return to Heist since that was probably their best game behind Dig 2. This one got a big too expansive, so I prefer the focus of the first, but it still rules. Another one of those games that I never got tired of. Excellent combat and character progression, with a cool job system that takes awhile to really understand, and this time with a big overworld to explore. There are times where you feel unstoppable, and other times where you're surviving by the skin of your teeth. Moving from space pirates to regular ass pirates was an unexpected move, but whenever I think of this game I think of a big blue ocean with a loveable crew. I'm always ready for more SteamWorld.
