The year is coming to a close and I wanted to share my thoughts on games I've played through. I also wanted to make use of the blog here. Didn't play through all of them, heck I still need to start playing Stray, Signalis, and Card Shark soon. So I'll focus my time on what I spent enough time on. So without further ado, here's what I played.

Ballfrog

When I found out that one of the devs of OG Binding of Isaac worked on this game, I had interest. I actually was in the same collaboration with him (the NG Half Life collab,) so I was inclined to support him and his small crew. The game was a lot like Bennet Foddy's Getting Over It, but with more movement, floaty physics and cutscenes. The game is much easier than GOI, yet manages to be its own thing. I thought the game was really cute and had a decent time with it, even though I had some annoying moments.

GetsuFumaDen Undying Moon

It's interesting that Konami is trying to take notes from Sega and EA with letting smaller independent companies that a shot at their own IPs, so it's fair to say that GetsuFumaDen is fine. It's literally just a slower version of Dead Cells. Worth playing if you like that game and have patience. Although I may stick to Dead Cells, especially when the Castlevania dlc comes out.

Aperture Desk Job

I think it took everyone by surprise when Valve announced the newest entry to Half Life after over a decade later. This game isn't the new Portal, but it's a fun little tech demo that showed off the Steam Deck. Wish I had a Deck now. The game has Eric Wolpaw as lead writer and JK Simmons reprise his role as Cave Johnson, so that's all I needed.

TMNT Shredder's Revenge

I once thought to myself "if the people that made Scott Pilgrim vs the World game can't rerelease it, they may as well may a spiritual successor." Not only did a remaster happen, but Tribute Games managed to have a shot at the beat em up genre once more. Not only that, but the game even feels more fluid than Scott. Combat is cathartic and the music has me pumping. It feels like the arcade games, but manages to be more fluid with combos, movesets and more. This game is up there with Sonic Mania in regards to how you do a revival after so long.

Return to Monkey Island

I honestly thought they'd never make another Monkey Island game, let alone let Ron Gilbert make it. So I was excited for this game. The artstyle had everyone mixed, even I felt a little off, but you get used to it after seeing it in motion and upclose. It won't satisfy everyone though. The original LucasArts composers came back, and while the music was good, didn't really stick with me outside of series standouts like the theme song or Scumm Bar theme. The series is known for callbacks, so it wouldn't a nostalgia cashgrab with this game like everyone feared, but there were some jokes about previous gags and jokes here and there. Some that felt too blatant or boring compared to previous games and ones I was tempted to find. I did find myself laughing though. And yes, it tries to recreate the anti-climatic ending of LeChuck's Revenge and will disappoint some players depending on how you view. I honestly thought it was suppose to be a reflection of the devs and them reminiscing on the old days and the fact they finally have one more chance. Which I respected.

Shovel Knight Dig

I was a big fan of the original Shovel Knight game and probably bought the game more than enough, so I had to give this game a shot especially since I was going crazy with the rougelike games. A good litmus test on how solid a roguelite is is if I can beat the game (Binding of Isaac not included.) I beaten the game under five hours and it's surprisingly lacking in content. Shoveling is familiar, but lacks that cathartic treasure hunting. The game works and is fun and all, but lacks way too many perks that make it stand out from other roguelites other than the fact that it's a rougelite Shovel Knight. Downwell itself was simple, but at least that was the point. That literally change my perspective on mobile gaming, while Dig is much bigger. It doesn't make you feel godlike, which is ironic. I'm hopeful they'll expand this like most roguelites, either through DLC or an update patch.

Sonic Frontiers

Meh, I'm mixed. It's weird to be a Sonic fan when mediocrity is expected. Unlike Forces where I knew it'd be bad, I was cautiously optimistic for this. And it was perfectly okay. It wasn't Sonic Adventure, but it felt like it took blueprints from Lost World and improved on what worked and took out what didn't. So I'm grateful that wasn't scrapped entirely. Cyberspace zones absolutely sucked though. The difference between boosting in the open zone and cyberzone is night and day. The boost is literally a run button like in Lost World and it feel great sometimes in the open zone. It does have this "Sega, hire this man" vibe, unfortunately. What made Sonic Adventure special and Unleashed carry that atmosphere was the ability to explore land and see locals. Here, you just have grass and maybe some sand. No one to talk to even outside some friends for missions. The level design is mostly connected together by grind rails. The collectathon aspect also got me dreading this game by the end that I just grinded for everything in the fishing mini game. Combat was fun though and kept my blood boiling at moments, until it got repetitive. Two positives for sure are the characterization and writing and the ost. Didn't care for the overworld music, but the boss themes are outstanding. Like Lost World, I don't want Sega to scrap this concept altogether, but I want them to forward and keep what works and rework what didn't. And as a Sonic fan, please, PLEASE, PLEASE keep Ian Flynn as head writer.

Gundam Evolution

It's TF2, or Overwatch. Decent alternative if I don't want to play either and I won't play OW2.

Multiversus

It's Smash Bros, but with co op focus. Okay, okay, what else I'll say is that it's better than CN Punch Time Explosion.

Bayonetta 3

Platinum Games hasn't been doing too hot lately, with Babylon Fall closing servers not even a year after release and Astral Chain being underwhelming (imo.) Having played a little bit, Bayo 3 was fun and exhilarating. The ability to control the demons that are summons is a nice new addition and I wonder if that was inspired by Platinum's cancelled Scalebound. People said this game was the easiest game in the series, and while it feels more forgiving, I still find myself having a calmer time in Bayo 2.

Sifu

I just love free food, you look like Sifu. Yeah, the game's hard, the barage of combos is confusing, and yet I love it. The game is challenging in a Dark Souls way without being a hack and slasher. Combat is fluid through and through and keeps you on your toes. If I wasn't an idiot, I'd probably go through this no problem. The risk and reward feature is probably one of the most unique features in a game in recent years. You have a finite amount of continues and it's all dependant on your age before reaching 100.

Somerville

I keep saying it as Somberville. The game is actually really charming, suspensful and had me asking questions while I played. I never grew fond of Limbo or Inside, despite liking Inside, but this game gave me Another World vibes. This is especially true with the camera movement presents the tone of the game. I really felt like I was playing a movie, and in a good way. Only complaint is that puzzles are relatively easy. You're probably better off with playing Inside, even though the puzzles weren't that spectacular to begin with. Not sure I'd justify paying 25 bucks for this, but it's worth the Xbox Gamepass

Trek to Yomi

Weird to think that Flying Wild Hog released two Japanese inspired games, but Trek to Yomi was pleasant so far. I wouldn't say it's as involved as Ghost of Tsushima, as they forced sidescrolling for combat. Hard mode was challenging, but fun to figure out the combos and how to take down enemies, even if they're nice enough to take turns at you. The homage to old Japanese films is beautiful and the cinematics had me in awestruck too, this is how you combine cinematics with gameplay.

The Callisto Protocol

Now this game was a disappointment. Heard there were mixed reviews for the game and it scared me a little, and sadly, I didn't enjoy this. Positives to begin with, there is potential with the worldbuilding and the opening caught my attention. I was ready to play through this and get to know the other characters more. The game is even gory, one of the most graphic games I've played. That all ends there, because the game has a massive identity crisis. Initially, the game wants to be Punch Out where you dodge left or right in combat and swing your bat. It can work, but the way they did this was atrocious. I spent 20 times trying to get through revisiting the cells after getting the stun baton and I kept getting rammed by not one, not two, not three, but four monsters. I couldn't take one down at a time or have one wait, but I needed to pick one off one by one. This was so awful that I HAD to turn the difficulty down, even used the accessibility features to minigate the bad combat. Anyone can play in their own playstyle, easy or hard, and I'll try to go middleground or higher. But if your game is that bad, I'm turning that down. Fuck this shit. Game also has other moments where enemies overpower you if outnumbered. Made me want to use the guns they barely do anything with, and even then it's dull at best and worthless at worst. They give no minutes for breaks and refueling. They do, however, take time to show the same 30 second death scene a hundred times over. Stealth is also a joke. It's a pisspoor surivival horror game and a terrible beat em up.

So now that the worst and the rest are out of the way, my game of the year is

*drum roll*

Elden Ring

I have a weird relationship with the Soulsborne series. People say I need to play this or whatever and I always struggle to get into these games because of their intense difficulty and unforgiving mechanics. Doesn't help that I hate Skyrim and most open world games. But having played Elden Ring and had some friends push me in the right directions, I completely changed my views on the genre. I absolutely love it! The sense of openness and the whole figure it out aspect sparked my curiousity and engagement. The game honestly reminds me of PT and Death Stranding with the whole getting everyone together to understand the mystery and hidden world of Elden Ring. Combat is absolutely tight and keeps you on your toes, but you're encouraged to experiment with your playstyle. You're just dropped in this world and you're just told to figure things out. I had a hard time, but at least took the time exploring to grind, level up and get good loot. Everytime I got lost, I found a new area to explore. Dungeons are just fun to discover and beat, bosses are frustrating yet fun and rewarding, and summoning random strangers or friends make this game not only easier but a whole new experience. Characters are also memorable and felt so rewarding to fight by their side. Radahn will be the most memorable boss for me, ever. This is honestly the Souls game I spent the most time on and furthest in, outside of Bloodborne even though I'm still in the same level. I suck, I know, but friends are slowly getting me better and into these games. I've seen people compare Dark Souls as modern Zelda, but Elden Ring is THE Zelda game.