With a lot of games out there in the wild, I often don't get the chance to play these games until years after the release.
Games listed here aren't limited to games that came out this year, but essentially games that I have played mostly for the first time ever, that has made an impression on me that I would recommend to others.
Demonstrates refinement to Naughty Dog's craft to venture more deeper into a narrative construct supported by familiar yet proven gameplay conceits.
Having loved what they have started with Part I, Part II certainly took the characters into areas that I never thought conventional studios would take it to. First few hours have helped reset expectations to be taken on the new journey they have crafted.
It certainly have delivered an experience that had me think about it longer than any other games listed here so far this year.
After the impressive Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, I was in the mood to give this game a try again. It was certainly a journey worth the hours I have ended up playing.
Once again a grand story with even more memorable and charming characters engage you from the start to an emotional ending. While consistency of tone may be troublesome in places, it isn't something that is out of norm for a JRPG.
It's only rated lower than the first one from the fact that there are some mechanics I felt was a step back from the first rather than refinement.
Technical shortcomings are a disappointment, however the overall structure, gameplay and additional narrative with compelling characters help overcome these shortcomings to make the overall journey well worth your time.
Having this game along side the original VII almost adds more value to the universe as there are enough meta you can dig deep into.
Music is an absolute standout.
I owned this game on Wii and 3DS but have not had a chance to play it until the definitive edition came out.
While Definitive edition shows age in some aspects, grand story supported by memorable characters and unique world setting crafts one the best RPGs to come out in relatively recent years.
This game has certainly kindled my affection for the series to jump in to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 in 2020 - another game in series I've owned but haven't not given it a try yet because I haven't played the first one yet.
I aspired to like Animal Crossing games in the past however the franchise never really clicked with me.
New Horizons happened to be the game that came at a time where I may have needed it most during the challenging times in 2020 and it delivered the feeling of serenity and calm the year failed to deliver.
If I was to take apart the game "mechanics" the game wouldn't normally hold up that well, but the package overall delivers what it intents to deliver to the audience it wants to deliver it to.
So happens that I became the target audience this year for me to give it a fair shake, to be invested in it and to find value within.
I'm not a fan of Animal Crossing enough to be giving previous games more decent play.
While the combat mechanics can alienate more faithful fans of the series, I personally found it to be refreshing and complemented what is an excellent story and memorable cast of characters that is witty and gives you emotional investment to hit you when it needs to. Absolutely enjoyed the music in this game too.
While Nintendo's efforts aren't anything to congratulate them one, I didn't mind how the game was packaged as it provided faithful compilation of games as how they were when they were released - with minor changes to the mechanics to adapt it to the current console.
It certainly gave me a great nostalgia trip back to my first ever console game (Mario 64), and fun I had playing Sunshine and evolution Galaxy brought.
Here's hoping other missing side/spin-off entries gets similar releases / compilations - namely New Super Mario series, Galaxy 2, Mario Vs Donkey Kong.
Best series of side games to play with you want to keep it simple. Range of games presented are excellent and well represented with typical Nintendo polish.
Multiplayer interestingly is where the package falls short as significant amount of games cannot be played in 2, 3, 4 player modes.
Personally the overall style and art direction clicked with me instantly. Each hits gave you a satisfaction feedback and wealth of unlockables gives this game more bang for the buck in the midst of lengthy open world games, RPGs. Definitely came at the right time cashing in on the nostalgia and also setting up viable path for its own helping to justify there's space for beat'em ups to continue in today's age.
Technically the game in very underwhelming at best and it does leave a lot to be desired if you were to just watch someone play it from distance. However what Koei/Tecmo have been able to pull off with Nintendo playing on Breath of the Wild universe is something refreshing and gave it a lot more depth than other musou games that tends to be a throwaway spinoff stories where you don't really invest in the story.
It'll be interesting to see Nintendo decides to build on what's been established here, or let it simply be it's own spin off with a possibility of having it's own series arc - as the story could be interpreted either way.
World certainly presented with beautiful structure that really nails the period and nature that we've never experienced. While there are some solid gameplay mechanics, felt it wasn't as rewarding as you play mainly due to the lack of difficulty moderation.
Overall story didn't do much to give emotional investment to the beautiful world it is set in either. Unbalanced depth to characters also left a lot to be desired in my view where the main protagonist was least interesting out of all the colourful side characters you get to interact with.
Last gripe I have with the game is having an oversight to allow for Japanese VO (which is great and complements the game well) but the lack of lip synching to Japanese VO leaves a lot to be desired in overall presentation.
Gameplay mechanics are more expanded and refined to make playing the fun, however game loses overall engagement in the universe with lack of story and/or character narrative to wrap it all in a neat package.
Overall I still find Watch Dogs 2 to be the best in the series - it's not full on dystopian future, overall satire of the universe, characters and plot felt hit more relevant and fun in today's world.
Coming off the original Spider-Man, this game felt too much like the DLC. Granted there are additional story from the new Spider-man Miles' point of view, but overall activity, tasks and gameplay were too familiar for it to rightfully earn it's own stand-alone value.
"New" version - which has significant updates to the original XB1 game
Entertaining game, but PS5 version was riddled with progression and stability bugs which really impacted the overall enjoyment.
