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StarTopic The 2022 Games Completed Thread |ST|

Forgot about this thread for a moment there.

October 6th - NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa edition (10/10)
Already beat the OG version earlier, but didn’t speak much about it, so might as well list this one here. Automata is a game essential to me, it’s a game that both means a lot to me, and a game that I think is just incredible in its own right. Its story is just so evocative and striking that I always feel so affected by it whenever I play it from start to finish, it hits the feels unlike anything else, and in my opinion it’s just so incredibly well executed, despite being fairly straightforward. I think most of it hinges on it playing to the strengths of the medium when it comes to executing its story, it uses its mechanics and genre premises to deliver beats and nuances, rather than an over-reliance of taking control away from the player. This bleeds into the gameplay as well, which is fast-paced and varied, and maybe not the focus of the game, but engaging nevertheless. It’s just a wholly unique game that deservers praise, if only for what it brings to gaming in terms of examples of how to tell a great game story that is first and foremost a game story.

October 25th - Tunic (10/10)
An absolute treat of a game. Super polished and smooth, and just a joy to play, one of those indie games that is the caliber of Hollow Knight, Hades and Celeste, and it really deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as those games. It starts off slowly, and in a breeze, but evolves into something truly spectacular that really floored me. The places this game goes, and the means that it executes to get to those places makes for something extraordinairy.

November 1st - We Are OFK (5/10)
Absolutely adore the soundtrack of this game, it’s the best of the year for me. And I do really appreciate the ambition here, the earnest effort, and the diverse cast. But the rest? Mediocre, unfocused story and script, shallow characters, a complete lack of plot that makes the whole experience feel meandering and hollow and an artstyle that wasn’t all that appealing to me.

Games played 2022:

First time:
1. January 3rd - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild randomizer (10/10)
2. January 16th - Tales of Xillia, First time finishing it (8/10)
3. February 3rd - Final Fantasy VIII, First time finishing it (8/10)
4. March 8th - Tales of Arise (8/10)
5. March 12th - Unpacking (8/10)
6. March 31st - Kirby and the Forgotten Land (9/10)
7. May 3rd - OPUS: Echo of Starsong (10/10)
8. May 10th - Piano (Nintendo Labo Variety Kit) (10/10)
9. June 26th - AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative (10/10)
10. July 18th - Portal (9/10)
11. August 4th - Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (10/10)
12. September 23rd - As Dusk Falls (7/10)
13. October 25th - Tunic (10/10)
14. November 1st - We Are OFK (5/10)

Replays:
1. January 6th - NieR: Automata, Ending E (10/10)
2. January 8th - NieR: Replicant, Ending A (8.5/10)
3. January 22nd - Xenoblade Chronicles X (9.5/10)
4. January 29th - Final Fantasy IX (10/10)
5. February 6th - Final Fantasy VII (9/10)
6. March 22nd - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (10/10)
7. March 26th - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (10/10)
8. April 17th - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Switch port) (10/10)
9. May 17th - Super Mario World (NSO) (10/10)
10. May 20th - The Legend of Zelda (NSO) (10/10)
11. September 3rd - Mirror's Edge (8/10)
12. October 6th - NieR:Automata (The End of YoRHa Edition) (10/10)
 
I think my currently completed games of 2022 are:

Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Bayonetta 2
Axiom Verge 2
 
Last big game I finished was Trails of Cold Steel 3, which was great!

I got the PC Gamepass today, and finished Coffee Talk which was pretty short and chill.
Next up will be Opus!
 
38. Ristar (Sega Genesis Classics/Switch)
39. Knights of San Francisco (Mobile)
40. Ticket to Earth (Mobile)
41. Shadow Dancer (Sega Genesis Classics/Switch)

I finished these a while ago but never got around to posting about them. Ristar is an appealingly weird, late Sega Genesis platformer from Sonic Team. Shadow Dancer is the second game in the Shinobi series and is most notable in that you can command your canine companion to do the killing for you. It’s fun at first but doesn’t last long and has an overly tedious final level where each room is full of a ton of one type of enemy, with a room for every enemy in the game. It’s just annoying and lazy game design.

Knights of San Francisco is an interesting interactive fiction post-apocalyptic RPG adventure where you ascend a Sears Tower overrun with monsters and other surprises. The writing is immersive, and it’s easy to envision its world. I wanted it to be longer, but it took one developer 8 years, so I’m happy that it’s out and this person can get some rest.

Ticket to Earth is another mobile game I finished. Recommended for any tactics fans. They use the word “fleck” as a cuss substitute to the point of distraction but I have no other critiques. It has an art style that reminds me of something you may find on Webtoon.

I’m getting close to Disc 4 in Final Fantasy 8, so it’s looking like that’ll be my next update.

Scores and Full 2022 Games Completed List

1. Unavowed (4/5)
2. Lo-fi Ping Pong (3/5)
3. Final Fantasy X (4/5)
4. Magical Drop II (3/5)
5. Stilstand (2.5/5)
6. Phantasy Star IV (5/5)
7. The Last Survey (1.5/5)
8. Balloon Fight (3/5)
9. Gain Ground (3.5/5)
10. Night in the Woods (2/5)
11. Cross the Moon (4/5)
12. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4/5)
13. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (4.5/5)
14. Conduct Together (5/5)
15. About an Elf (4/5)
16. Doom 2016 (5/5)
17. Alien Storm (3/5)
18. Bio-Hazard Battle (3/5)
19. Severed (4/5)
20. Glass Masquerade Origins (2/5)
21. Vampire Night Shift (2/5)
22. Earthbound (5/5)
23. Another Eden: A Cat Beyond Time and Space (3.5/5)
24. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1.5/5)
25. Disco Elysium : The Final Cut (5/5)
26. Landlord of the Woods (3.5/5)
27. Speed Dating for Ghosts (3/5)
28. Promesa (2/5)
29. Fuzz Dungeon (3.5/5)
30. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (3.5/5)
31. Chrono Trigger (5/5)
32. Cosmic Star Heroine (4.5/5)
33. Crystal Warrior Ke$ha (3/5)
34. Crystalis (4.5/5)
35. Sugoi Hebereke (2.5/5)
36. Umihara Kawase (3/5)
37. De Tres al Cuarto (2.5/5)
38. Ristar (4/5)
39. Knights of San Francisco (3/5)
40. Ticket to Earth (4/5)
41. Shadow Dancer (2/5)
 
0
Had a free afternoon, hit up the arcade and after perhaps spending more than was necessary, finished a run of the light gun The Walking Dead game. I'm not sure if the crossbows were supposed to be a little unwieldy, or is it specifically the machine I was playing at that needed some tuning up.
 
I took last week for vacation as I had to take care of my father because of a surgery (nothing serious thankfully) and since I was pretty much in the house managed to tackle more games:

33. Bayonetta 3: Way better combat than Bayo 2. Also I know a lot of people mentioned it looked worst but for me it looked better than 2, all the locales are very unique (loved the chinese one).

34. Little Witch Nobeta: It turned out I had money in my HK account (was going to buy SRW30 from there, but this time only the japanese store was the one with english) so decided to get it. Was surprised about the mix of first/third person shooter and Souls combination, where every magic represents a weapon (arcane is normal gun, ice is machine gun, fire is a shotgun and thunder is sniper rifle) and once it clicked it became better. I tried to play it like a normal souls game but your melee attack is shit, it only helps to recover mana. The only thing you have to get used is to the roll as it looks like it has a lot of range but in reality you have the same iframes of a souls fat roll. Overall it was decent and definitely gonna replay it in a harder difficulty. Also with this I managed to finish more games than 2021!

35. Needy Streamer Overload: I was expecting something more light, but the story is really serious (as in depression, drugs, sex and even suicide). You play as the "producer" of Ame and her online persona KAngel, and you have control of her actions, stream topics, deleting troll comments and selecting super chats, and what you do modify stress, relationship and mental darkness levels. There are a lot of endings depending on what topics you do, the levels mentioned before and the number of followers at the end of 30 days and most of them are messed up, and the game expects you to mess Ame up as the "normal ending" (getting 1 million followers without getting stressed, crazy and with a decent relationship) is a bad ending. Also the music is very good and really some of the streams, specially the sponsored ones are very funny



1. Atelier Sophie
2. Dragon Quest 2
3. Castlevania
4. Cogen
5. Luminous Avenger IX 2
6. RCG Zero
7. Infernax
8. Voice of Cards Forsaken Maiden
9. Atelier Sophie 2
10. Grapple Dog
11. Kirby and the Forgotten land
12. Lego Star Wars Skywalker Saga
13. Castlevania AoS
14. Kirby's Dreamland
15. Stanley Parable Deluxe
16. Chrono Cross
17. Tasomachi
18. Seven Pirates H
19. Touken Ranbu Warriors
20. Resident Evil 4
21. TMT SR
22. Overlord
23. FEWTH
24. Hunter X
25. Gunvolt 3
26. Xenoblade 3
27. TMNT Arcade Turtles in time
28. TMNT 3 Radical Rescue
29. Portal
30. Shovel Knight Dig
31. Bloodstained curse of the moon (replay)
32. Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris
 
83. Beeny (Nintendo Switch) [7.5/10]

Good relaxing vibes that didn't overstay its welcome. End of the game being a teaser for a different game kind of soiled me a tiny bit but it's still solid.

84. Bayonetta 3 (Nintendo Switch) [6.5/10]

Played the original Bayo on 360 a few days before this came out to refresh, and was immediately struck by how low energy the new game is. The final few chapters of the game really leave a sour taste in your mouth for more than a few reasons, and the monster mechanics make me somewhat understand why Scalebound may have been axed. Unlocking new weapons and seeing new transformations is cool tho, and I like Cheshire's design.
 
0
25. BoxBoy+BoxGirl

Picked this up on sale recently, as I had enjoyed the previous games in the series, but just never got around to picking it up. I really enjoyed how each world had a different theme to it, as that helped keep things fresh. I'm still working on some of the other scenarios, but finished the first single player one.
 
1) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Switch)
2) Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Xbox Series S)
3) Psychonauts 2 (Xbox Series S)
4) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (NSO)
5) Dungeon Encounters (Switch)
6) No More Heroes 3 (Switch)
7) Triangle Strategy (Switch)
8) Kirby & the Forgotten Land (Switch)
9) Pokemon Legends Arceus (Switch)
10) Metroid Dread (Switch)
11) Triangle Strategy (Switch)
12) Mass Effect 1 [Legendary Edition] (Xbox Series S)
13) Mass Effect 2 [Legendary Edition]
(Xbox Series S)
14) Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (Switch)
15) Live A Live (Switch)
16) Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (Switch)
17) Mass Effect 3 [Legendary Edition] Xbox Series S
18) Splatoon 3 (Switch)
19) Bayonetta 3 (Switch) [actually completed on Thursday November 3rd but only just posting]
This is a slightly odd one because, on the one hand, I'm disappointed with how messy it is - technical issues, a fussy camera, and sections with other playable characters that fall slightly flat for me - but then I loved the superb combat mechanics for Bayonetta herself, most of the crazy set pieces, and some real super hype gameplay. It's one I really hope I find the time to return to.
 
61. Bayonetta 3 [ Switch ] - Like a 9, high 9 probably, idk.

Platinum still has it in there, it has been a while for me when it comes to this studio, I haven't finished Astral Chain, Nier is kind of boring, Babylon Fall was also meh from what I got through in the demo, still want to play Sol Cresta tho. So is truly exhilarating to get another game from them that I got actual engagement from.

Most of my reactions across this game were of "Kamiya didn't directed this?", is the most mechanically rich and varied gameplay from them since the Wonderful 101, and anything that reminds me of that game is cool, since is my absolute favorite action game of all time.

Overall best gameplay from the series, love both Bayo's crazy arsenal, and Viola's more limited but still satisfying kit, got a story that needed some more development in its key emotional points, best soundtrack from the series, tons of great set pieces, camera can get janky due to the scope of fights.

The level design, traversal options, and exploration makes this the world's most expensive pitch of Platinum asking Nintendo to let them make a Mario game.

Good game.
 
November 3rd - Pony Island (7/10)
Absolutely bonkers game, where nothing is quite what it seems, and what you think you're getting - a cute little pony game - is the farthest from what this game actually is. You can really tell that the mind behind Inscryption has made this, it's in the very same vein of meta-contextualisation that is half brilliant, half mad. Truly happy I played through it, even if parts of it was frustrating to me.

November 9th - Bowser's Fury (9.5/10)
Decided to spontaneously blast through this one today, and it certainly holds up, a lovely and exhilarating platforming playground to get lost in and thoroughly enjoy. I would be over the moon if this was the template for the next Mario game - this is a phenomenal Mario game that stands on its own, where the level design is both vast and open but yet concentrated and precise, with every sub-level being unique yet the experience of going from them one by one feeling like one coherent journey. I really love this game.

Games played 2022:

First time:
1. January 3rd - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild randomizer (10/10)
2. January 16th - Tales of Xillia, First time finishing it (8/10)
3. February 3rd - Final Fantasy VIII, First time finishing it (8/10)
4. March 8th - Tales of Arise (8/10)
5. March 12th - Unpacking (8/10)
6. March 31st - Kirby and the Forgotten Land (9/10)
7. May 3rd - OPUS: Echo of Starsong (10/10)
8. May 10th - Piano (Nintendo Labo Variety Kit) (10/10)
9. June 26th - AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative (10/10)
10. July 18th - Portal (9/10)
11. August 4th - Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (10/10)
12. September 23rd - As Dusk Falls (7/10)
13. October 25th - Tunic (10/10)
14. November 1st - We Are OFK (5/10)
15. November 3rd - Pony Island (7/10)

Replays:
1. January 6th - NieR: Automata, Ending E (10/10)
2. January 8th - NieR: Replicant, Ending A (8.5/10)
3. January 22nd - Xenoblade Chronicles X (9.5/10)
4. January 29th - Final Fantasy IX (10/10)
5. February 6th - Final Fantasy VII (9/10)
6. March 22nd - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (10/10)
7. March 26th - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (10/10)
8. April 17th - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Switch port) (10/10)
9. May 17th - Super Mario World (NSO) (10/10)
10. May 20th - The Legend of Zelda (NSO) (10/10)
11. September 3rd - Mirror's Edge (8/10)
12. October 6th - NieR:Automata (The End of YoRHa Edition) (10/10)
13. November 9th - Bowser's Fury (9.5/10)
 
62. Potionomics [ PC ]

Freedom Planet 2, Sparks of Hope, Bayonetta, and Potionomics back to back, waited for a while, but got my peaks from this year of games.

I really like time management, is why I used to like Atelier, part of my love for Majora's Mask, Pikmin 1 and 3, etc. What this feature allows for the most part is create a tight sense of pacing, makes one try to make the most out of an in-game day or whatever parameter of time the game uses, push self improvement and efficiency as most as possible, it can also elevate a pretty simple game mechanically to something far more compelling and addictive, much like what that used to do for Atelier, which is also the case for Potionomics.

Potionomics is a bunch of different gameplay elements mashed together, crafting potions, manage relationships, manage expeditions for materials, and deckbuilding for haggling to sell your potions at the best price possible, all of these aren't particularly complex or super deep, crafting is doing some math across your different materials, the expeditions and relationships are all managed through a menu, the deck is 20 cards max, where is mostly putting thought into which combination of cards have better synergy for a good haggling, but all of this is elevated by the time limit, not the most strict out there, but it does mean you have to efficiently manage all of these elements, game is 50 days long, with a competition/boss fight every 10 days, failing the competition means game over, and you have to manage all of the above across those 10 days, spending time with the characters nets you more cards, successful expeditions better and more materials, and a good haggling means you have more money to continue improving your store and pay your adventurers for the expeditions, plus other things like expanding your store, get better cauldrons for your potions, and marketing boons. All of this wrapped up in a incredibly charming game, with great animations, a surprisingly beautiful soundtrack, a fun cast, and a pretty entertaining story.
 
Jan - Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Feb - Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Apr - Disco Elysium
Jun - Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Crimson Flower route)
Jul - Kentucky Route Zero
Aug - Doki Doki Literature Club Plus
Aug - Death's Door
Oct - Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
Nov - Dicey Dungeons
Nov - Eastward

There's only so much days left before Pokemon Scarlet/Violet drops so I figured that I'll try to power through Eastward.

Thankfully, the story picks up from Chapter 3 (New Dam City) onwards. Feels like much of the story revolves around picking oneself up and holding on to hope after tragedy. I think the story as a whole can use some finetuning.

The gameplay as well. The puzzles from earlier chapters were a drag compared to the later ones. It gets better but... how much are you willing to wait before just putting the game down for real? The game also crashed on the Switch a couple of times; and at dramatic moments too. So that's a bummer.

The pixel animation was great though. It's amazing how much expression and heart they put into those pixel animation. The best part of the entire game. I want that artbook. Where can I get an Eastward artbook?
 
Well I finished Opus: Echo of Starsongs, but I didn't really enjoy it all that much sadly.

Afterwards I jumped straight to Life is Strange: True Colors, and that one I really did enjoy! I think I probably made the wrong decisions, but whatever I still stand by them. 🧐
Now I got to watch the other outcomes haha.

Next up will probably be Omori.. I'm really trying to get the most out of the Game Pass in my limited time LOL.
 
32nd game finished: Part-Time UFO! I actually got this game from the Famiboards Kirby event. It’s a super charming physics puzzler about stacking things in increasingly funny scenarios. Very satisfying when you create a pile that should topple over from the slightest breeze, and it doesn’t.
 
33rd game I’m counting as finished is Splasher. I say “counting” because I had already finished the last level, and I would have gotten 100% completion… and then I got hit with a software error just as I was about to capture the boss. WTF!

Anyway… this was a real smooth platformer that could get absolutely brutal in the later levels, which demand near pixel perfect platforming and tight timing in order to clear. The controls start feeling a little too slippery when small nudges of the control stick will have you whiff platforms. Still, though, when you hit that perfect groove, you’re gonna feel like a bouncing, parkour-ing badass as you zip through the levels.
 
Finished my 9th and 10th games of the year back to back- Death’s Door and Ender Lilies. I put some thoughts on the latter in the eshop and rpg threads yesterday, but I think they both had a couple of things in common. Both had excellent art direction and main characters that stood out well from their worlds, and stellar soundtracks. Both felt incredibly elegant in terms of a really clear idea of the themes, concept and mechanics they wanted to play with.

I think I enjoyed Deaths Door more as the difficulty curve of EL was a bit more random in terms of boss fights, and there were sections where I wasn’t sure what I could or couldn’t stand on when pretty much everything bar the protagonist is subdued. The last section of DD and it’s final boss had me thinking it was excellent game design, testing everything you’d learned up to that point. But the last section of EL felt like a slog in comparison, and the final boss of

Generic giant demon lord is generic, big hands, projectiles, hit it in the heart

was nothing I hadn’t seen before.

That’s just down to how the final section of a game often remains the most vivid memory though, on balance I think I’d score DD at 9/10 and EL at 8/10- I really enjoyed them both, but struggled to think of anything I didn’t like about DD.
 
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34th game finished is Rune Factory 5! Yes, I'm serious about clearing a huge chunk of my backlog before Pokemon hits.

Anyhow, RF5 certainly is a bit of a technical mess, which does compromise the buttery smooth QoL features the Rune Factory series is known for. A lot of the characters are fairly normal or archetypical, which is a step down from the previous games.

That said, the addictive juggling of gameplay loops is well and intact. And I'm willing to forgive the dev team for the lack of polish, since we weren't even sure if Rune Factory could still live on when Neverland went under. RF5 was a sales success, so hopefully RF6 will kick a ton more butt.
 
Bumpity bump!

12th game of the year completed, and it's Dicey Dungeons. I've ploughed more time into this game than any other this year (even Ys VIII 😅). So so addictive. I've done all episodes and taken down Lady Luck (who is one of the most badass villains of any game I've played) and seen the end credits.

Still to do if I want (and I do) to completely complete this game: beat the bonus rounds on hard mode, do the Halloween special and Reunion bonus content, and earn a few wacky achievements.

At the start of the year I set out to beat 25 games. I've got a lot of titles sat at around 2/3 completion so if I motivate myself to go back to some abandoned games I might start to get closer to that target.
 
35th game finished is Mark of the Ninja, which will also be the last game I complete before Pokemon Scarlet drops. I initially got interested in this because of the high praise given to its stealth mechanics, and now I can understand why. While I prefer the playground boogeyman approach of games like the Batman Arkham games and Hitman, Mark of the Ninja gets a lot off points for its visual feedback. You always have the information you need to determine exactly how hidden you are, which makes it less frustrating to figure out the best way through ghost through the levels.

Another great thing about this game is that I can easily find myself replaying it, given all the other builds and gadgets I didn't adopt during my playthrough. Definitely considering a no-kills run, or as close to it as possible.

I've got a lot of titles sat at around 2/3 completion
Click to expand...
You can do it! I was in the same boat and now I polished off four in the past week haha.
 
Pac-man World Repac
One of my faves growing up despite never beating it and this remake is almost perfect with lots of great polish and twists…. Only real complaint is the removal of area specific item boxes. Also love the new ending tho the first ending has some amusing implications. Got all the fam but have a few mazes lefts to unlock and 3 levels I didn’t get gold on. Don’t know when I’ll get back to it tho
 
*Disney Dreamlight Valley - PC - Obviously the game is not done yet, but I have done all the main story and realm quests available at the moment so, just going to type something here for it. Give it an 8/10 so far.

I wasn't expecting to like this so much, like I'm a Disney fan, but that doesn't necessarily will translate very well for videogames, with exceptions like the Capcom games that are pretty solid, so much so with something like Ducktales that transcends that medium and is lovely represented in the reboot series with the Moon theme. Epic Mickey is also a good game, taking elements from the company in a way that gives it a pretty melancholic vibe and could have gone even further I feel, but still, the resulting product and its atmosphere is still really unique. There is also a pretty popular game series with key blades that features a lot of Disney worlds and characters, but the treatment of that legacy is honestly garbage to me in almost every front so is not something I can look at fondly, both as a video game and its Disney elements.

Dreamlight Valley at a glance it may not seem particularly good, but what I got was a pretty solid farming sim? animal crossing? kind of mix that I want more of. First of all, someone actually bothered to write a plot for this thing, and as such, I'm now obligated to follow this through to the end, because is actually kind of nice, and it tries to have some interesting set pieces within this style of game, reminds me in a way to Epic Mickey, there is the Forgetting which caused the disney characters to forget memories, forced others to flee to kingdoms representing their movies, others trapped in between worlds, is pretty simple but pretty Disney in the stuff that I get to do in the game, neat shit like breaking a curse in the Village by making a contract with Ursula, that involves making Kristoph give up his memories and love for Anna to make her spell work, that kind of stuff. I like that one of the quests in Maui story is actually getting to bury an eel and get coconuts in the village from it, I clapped.

The most important thing here for me is getting that Disney aspect right, really is probably the only reason why one might play this over other farming/AC style games, and is honestly pretty important to have some attachments to these brands to begin with, in some ways it kind of might feel like the minimum a game like this has to do with the company's brands, but there is nothing else currently that does more than Dreamlight Valley so it gets the gold star. Every characters has loops of animation from their source materials and voice clips, the colors and general style works, even if I think it could have been more stylized, they do their job. The most instantly memorable part to me about Disney is the music, and in that sense it does put a smile on my face, various arrangements will play out in the village, you can hear Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast motifs spaced across original music that fits Disney, every character has arrangements from popular themes from their movies and plenty of them as well, get a house theme, realm theme, following you around theme, and another thrown in depending if they have another location. Listening to the Ratatouille theme whenever I go to the restaurant is just joy to my memories, Frozen has both Let it Go and Into the Unknown arrangements, Scar gets a cool Be Prepared one, when I get to Ursula's Lair I don't hear Under the Sea, I hear the actual theme of Ursula's Lair, god damn mad lads. There are also some cool environment details, every cave and architecture so far are from the Atlantis film, and every journal note I find is typed in the Atlantis alphabet. Also is just neat that every character's own story quest is interconnected between series, a Mickey Mouse quest can involve Remy, or Ursula, Merlin, etc. they all know each other and interact with each other in some level, again, the mad lads, it all ends up feeling heartwarming and cozy in pandering to my childhood, teenage years, and current adulthood. Pretty good Disney game overall so far, hopefully they don't fuck it up when it goes free to play.
 
Abzeronow said:
25. Dracula X. Got the best ending, save states really helped with the second half of the game. Death wound up being more difficult to beat than Dracula for me. Next Castlevania for this month for me is Circle of the Moon.
Click to expand...
26. Dragon Quest XI S. I sank over 120 hours in this game, and I loved this game. Finished all three acts, could have grinded for the super bosses in Tickington. I'll get around to playing Dragon Quest III next year.
 
2022
1. TMNT Shredder's Revenge
2. Huntdown
3. Knights of the Round // Capcom Beat Em Up Collection
4. Armored Warriors // Capcom Beat Em Up Collection
5. Elden Ring
6. TMNT Turtles in Time (US SNES) from the Cowabunga Collection
7. TMNT Hyperstone Heist (US GENESIS) from the Cowabunga Collection
8. Katamari Damacy REROLL
Click to expand...

9. Diablo 2: Resurrected
When they announced new content for Diablo 2 to roll out with a new season, I had to return to the digital crack cocaine of my youth once more to see what was new with some coworkers... And the game is still stupid fucking fun! Man. The hours just sink away when you jump into this, characters always feel fun and satisfying to play- and I absolutely love all of the changes and balance adjustments and additions the latest season brought to the game, very much appreciate them making it easier to level, and the drop tables have been preeeeetty fucking sweet to experience in real time.

Plus, the ability to jump between my desktop and the Switch for playing with coworkers was really a thing of dreams for me. What an experience, still after all these years.

iu
 
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83. Metroid II: The Return of Samus (GameBoy) [10/10]

Second time I beat this game and it is so much better than I remember. The first time you play the main takeaway is the game's crushing atmosphere-- the small screen, large sprites, and huge cave really make you feel lost and vulnerable at times as you continue to go deeper and deeper. Now that I'm replaying I can really appreciate the level design. Unlike Metroid which is almost Druaga-like in how much it relies upon secrets you would never know without for mandatory progression and tricking the player with traps, Metroid II goes to great lengths to instruct the player on where they can go to proceed and find items, assuming they are staying calm enough to look. And it does all this without needing to resort to a white dot on a map screen like Super would a few years later. Add in an incredible and unique soundtrack, tense boss fights, and the best power ups this side of the screw attack (looking at you Space Jump) and you've got a worthy and ambitious follow-up to one of the NES's greatest games within two years of the Game Boy's launch. Absolutely deserves to sit up with games like Donkey Kong and Wario Land II as one of best on the Game Boy.
 
Sadist said:
7. Ghost of Tsushima

About 50 hours after starting my journey with Jin Sakai I platinumed it. It was a beautiful ride. Its one of the more gorgeous looking games on PS4 and the setting is fantastic. Gameplay loop got a bit repetitive and I was getting Days Gone vibes, but the setting and and the far more interesting characters helped a lot.

I think the game was a bit longer than it needed to be, but overall a very enjoyable game. Solid 8 out of 10.
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Super bad, but I haven’t updated this at all! Time to work on this;

8. Control

I liked Alan Wake, but I think I like Control better. From the weirdness of it all (the Hiss, what the fudge) to the brilliance of the janitor (Perkele!) and the amazing Ashtray Maze… it was one hell of a ride. One of the cooler new IP’s.

9. Xenoblade 3

A fantastic journey; another wacky journey in a world unknown, but somewhat familiar; a cool cast (Team Eunie all day long), the villains are a bit okayish, but discovering the world was another joy. I think I like it better over XB 2. Still like the original the best. Still my favourite release this year.

10. Shenmue

It took me a looooooong while before I got into this one. It’s the proto Yakuza, but very interesting. Its an old game, but I like how several aspects return in the Yakuza games. The story and VA are very ‘90’s. Forklift race was amazing.

11. Disco Elysium: The Directors Cut

Horrifying Necktie: YES BRATAN, just use the drugs, it’s the best choice!

12. Spider-Man Miles Morales

At times feels like a really big DLC episode, on the other hand Miles power set, the end of year setting and Miles origin are very well done. And who cares, swinging through New York still is fun.

13. Tales of Arise

Completed it today! Got the platinum just now. The game started pretty bombastic with its pretty presentation, but in the end it’s a very Tales game. Especially during the end I’m like “sure, why not. Dunno if would have chosen this story direction.”

Still had a blast with the cast (some heavy tropes) but overall sixty hours well spent.
 
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42. Death and Taxes (PC)
43. Final Fantasy VIII (Switch)
44. Fatum Betula (PC)
45. Kirby’s Adventure (NES Online, Switch)

Death and Taxes was solid and made me want to replay to get different endings and scenarios. The drudgery of waiting to go up and down the elevators hurts the pace of an otherwise snappy and engaging game.

I replayed Final Fantasy VIII and once again loved it. The surreal unpredictability and unwieldiness of the first playthrough (qualities I appreciated) had vanished, and were replaced with even more appreciation of its characters, writing and art design. What was like seeing an old friend after a long time and finding totally new things to appreciate about them. Equal parts bold and comfortable, this is still my favorite Final Fantasy and one of my favorite video games.

I didn’t like Fatum Betula.

Kirby’s Adventure was really, really good! It was much more in line with my memories of the Game Boy games and way better than Kirby’s Dream Land 3.

Scores and Full 2022 Games Completed List

1. Unavowed (4/5)
2. Lo-fi Ping Pong (3/5)
3. Final Fantasy X (4/5)
4. Magical Drop II (3/5)
5. Stilstand (2.5/5)
6. Phantasy Star IV (5/5)
7. The Last Survey (1.5/5)
8. Balloon Fight (3/5)
9. Gain Ground (3.5/5)
10. Night in the Woods (2/5)
11. Cross the Moon (4/5)
12. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4/5)
13. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (4.5/5)
14. Conduct Together (5/5)
15. About an Elf (4/5)
16. Doom 2016 (5/5)
17. Alien Storm (3/5)
18. Bio-Hazard Battle (3/5)
19. Severed (4/5)
20. Glass Masquerade Origins (2/5)
21. Vampire Night Shift (2/5)
22. Earthbound (5/5)
23. Another Eden: A Cat Beyond Time and Space (3.5/5)
24. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1.5/5)
25. Disco Elysium : The Final Cut (5/5)
26. Landlord of the Woods (3.5/5)
27. Speed Dating for Ghosts (3/5)
28. Promesa (2/5)
29. Fuzz Dungeon (3.5/5)
30. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (3.5/5)
31. Chrono Trigger (5/5)
32. Cosmic Star Heroine (4.5/5)
33. Crystal Warrior Ke$ha (3/5)
34. Crystalis (4.5/5)
35. Sugoi Hebereke (2.5/5)
36. Umihara Kawase (3/5)
37. De Tres al Cuarto (2.5/5)
38. Ristar (4/5)
39. Knights of San Francisco (3/5)
40. Ticket to Earth (4/5)
41. Shadow Dancer (2/5)
42. Death and Taxes (3.5/5)
43. Final Fantasy VIII (5/5)
44. Fatum Betula (1.5/5)
45. Kirby’s Adventure (4.5/5)
 
0
63. Lunistice [ Switch ] - 9.5

This is one of those games that offend me in how cheap they are. Really great 3D platformer with a cute DS esque aesthetic, It has a pretty neat little story, every stage have distinct enough mechanic that build up like a 3D Mario, plus all of them are introduced as they would be in Mario, with a pretty safe set up before the game starts punishing you for failing them, good soundtrack, the last stage of the game is excellent, plus can revisit stages for S ranks and you can play as multiple characters. My only real criticism towards the game is that the camera isn't perfect, it doesn't track alongside your character so you have to spin it pretty often for most jumps, horizontally it can be mitigated somewhat if you enable the extra options where the bumpers act as the camera control, but vertically you still have to use the stick, which means that a lot of jumping is a back and forth between your finger in the button and the control stick back and forth. Also the controls are almost perfect, butter smooth and intuitive, just needs a bit more polishing in some jumping arcs, otherwise pretty spot on, definitely beats a lot of other platformers on that front, makes it seem effortless.

64. Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk ( Replay ) [ Switch ]
65. Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk [ Switch ] - Done 1 ending so far.

Just going to say they are pretty great and to go in as blind as possible. Played the first one on PC, so gave it a replay on Switch.

66. Drainus [ PC ]

I loved Touhou Luna Nights, didn't like Record of Lodoss War, can say that the latest game of Team Ladybug is really excellent, I also think that if anyone wants to get into a shoot em up, this is a really good entry point I feel, given the amount of options and upgrades one can get and the generally forgiving nature of it, still has more difficulty options for more experimented players, has a surprisingly cute story, amazing pixel art and music, the drain mechanic is really fun, Team Ladybug will remain in my radar as another great indie dev, as long as they don't look at Symphony of the Night for ideas.
 
84. Metroid Prime (Gamecube) [8.5/10]

I've played this game countless times since it came out and still have my original copy. Played the Gamecube version on Dolphin. In 2002 this game blew my mind with how good it looked. The art design and world design are very strong and capture your imagination. Now that I'm older I don't think quite as highly of it, but it still excels in those aspects and it's incredible Retro put this out on their first try. The weaknesses in the game are how much it expects you to read and how the emphasis is placed on 100% item collection. Doing this much reading and seeking doesn't really fit Samus imo who should always be aiming to finish the mission as quickly as possible rather than solving little puzzles and having fun. There are a few bad backtracking moments including one particularly egregious one that seems to send you in the wrong direction on purpose.
It isn't that bad in Prime 1 yet, but I also don't find the core gameplay loop of matching colors and turning on construction equipment very satisfying. But despite these flaws it's still a great game to play through every few years, the atmosphere really is that strong.

Having played multiple versions I can only say the original release is definitive. The game is definitely built for the gamecube controller and things like clicking to switch between lock on targets and changing visors/beams is much more satisfying with the controller it was made for. Elements exclusive to the Gamecube like better menus, better effects, and Metroid on NES really elevate the experience as well.

I'm curious on what the rumored remake could do to make the game better if it actually exists. The visuals are already part of the game that stand the test of time the most, so I'm not sure if a remake will improve that or take that away.
 
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TheWolvesDen said:
Beaten 2022

1) Earthbound
2) Pokemon Legends Arceus
3) Kirby Dream Land 3

I gotta few games I could knock out if I dedicated a week to it, thinking it I could try to do act 3 of Tshushima or I just will continue at Triangle Strategy
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4) Ghost of Tsushima
5) Sin and Punishment 2
6) Abzu
7) Kirby Super Star
8) TMNT Shredders Revenge

Thats been my year thus far
 
26. Pokémon Violet

Despite performance issues (mostly slowdown, one game crash), I have really enjoyed my time with this, and liked it much more than I did Shield. Having played this and Arceus this year, it's been a nice time to be a Pokémon fan.
 
Abzeronow said:
26. Dragon Quest XI S. I sank over 120 hours in this game, and I loved this game. Finished all three acts, could have grinded for the super bosses in Tickington. I'll get around to playing Dragon Quest III next year.
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27. Crystalis. All in all, a good NES action RPG. I'm definitely thankful for save states and rewind when I played this on the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection which also allows button remapping.
 
46. Metroid (NES Online, Switch)
47. Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis Classics, Switch)
48. Gradius (NES Online, Switch)

An interesting trio of games to play in a row… Metroid was my favorite of the three, and I think part of that may be that it is not only a foundation for its series but also has something special that gets lost just a little bit in later iterations. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, other than the atmosphere of cosmic isolation and adventure being the strongest element of the game. When thinking of the influence of Metroid, I wish more games tapped into having a very precise vision with sparse elements rather than its maze-like structure, which will probably never be particularly fun to me. It’s a special game, for sure.

On the other hand, I think Gradius was improved upon in its sequel Life Force, whose elements of cosmic horror left a big impression when I played it as a kid. Gradius is hella hard, kind of unfair. The only way to beat it really is the rewind feature, which reveals that it’s only about an hour long if you’re not dying all the time.

Lastly, Sonic Spinball definitely has that 90’s tude and flavor fully present. Pinball video games are tricky because I think they’re inherently fun due to the novelty factor, and they usually involve fun takes on beloved properties, but nothing beats a real pinball machine. This game was inspired by Pinball Dreams - I really liked that one on Game Boy, as well as Kirby’s Pinball Land, back in the day. One odd thing is that you can move Sonic left or right just a little bit to change directions. Like most Sonic games, I wish it involved a little less precision and a little more speed. It’s fun though. I did see that there is a fast mode. I should try that and see if I enjoy it more.


Scores and Full 2022 Games Completed List

1. Unavowed (4/5)
2. Lo-fi Ping Pong (3/5)
3. Final Fantasy X (4/5)
4. Magical Drop II (3/5)
5. Stilstand (2.5/5)
6. Phantasy Star IV (5/5)
7. The Last Survey (1.5/5)
8. Balloon Fight (3/5)
9. Gain Ground (3.5/5)
10. Night in the Woods (2/5)
11. Cross the Moon (4/5)
12. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4/5)
13. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (4.5/5)
14. Conduct Together (5/5)
15. About an Elf (4/5)
16. Doom 2016 (5/5)
17. Alien Storm (3/5)
18. Bio-Hazard Battle (3/5)
19. Severed (4/5)
20. Glass Masquerade Origins (2/5)
21. Vampire Night Shift (2/5)
22. Earthbound (5/5)
23. Another Eden: A Cat Beyond Time and Space (3.5/5)
24. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1.5/5)
25. Disco Elysium : The Final Cut (5/5)
26. Landlord of the Woods (3.5/5)
27. Speed Dating for Ghosts (3/5)
28. Promesa (2/5)
29. Fuzz Dungeon (3.5/5)
30. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (3.5/5)
31. Chrono Trigger (5/5)
32. Cosmic Star Heroine (4.5/5)
33. Crystal Warrior Ke$ha (3/5)
34. Crystalis (4.5/5)
35. Sugoi Hebereke (2.5/5)
36. Umihara Kawase (3/5)
37. De Tres al Cuarto (2.5/5)
38. Ristar (4/5)
39. Knights of San Francisco (3/5)
40. Ticket to Earth (4/5)
41. Shadow Dancer (2/5)
42. Death and Taxes (3.5/5)
43. Final Fantasy VIII (5/5)
44. Fatum Betula (1.5/5)
45. Kirby’s Adventure (4.5/5)
46. Metroid (4/5)
47. Sonic Spinball (3/5)
48. Gradius (3/5)
 
#13 Letter Quest Remastered [Switch]
Score: 4/5

Technically I finished the "story" months ago but I wanted to earn all stars and crystal stars before considering the game "done". The game counter is bugged but otherwise this is a pretty polished budget indie game for those who like Scrabble and Bananagrams. It's a good game to relax to but still keep your mind active. More variety in the enemy design and music (very repetitive) would be welcomed but this title is great value (I paid just £2.15 for it).
 
I'm shooting for 50 games completed this year. Two more to go!
 
0
#20. Super Auto Pets

I'm not sure if there's a genre for this type of game, but on each playthrough what you do is build a team of pets that battle against other people's pets. On each turn you're given some resources and then can buy pets or fruit, that act as equippables or upgrades. To win a playthrough you need to win 10 matches before losing all your hearts (which usually takes 4 losses). It's actually pretty tough.

Anyway, you can't really complete games like this but I've played a fair amount of times and managed to win at least once so I can consider it "completed". It's a fun time waster to have on your phone for queues and stuff like that, but not much more.
 
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smoothies said:
interesting trio of games to play in a row… Metroid was my favorite of the three, and I think part of that may be that it is not only a foundation for its series but also has something special that gets lost just a little bit in later iterations. I don’t know how to describe it exactly, other than the atmosphere of cosmic isolation and adventure being the strongest element of the game. When thinking of the influence of Metroid, I wish more games tapped into having a very precise vision with sparse elements rather than its maze-like structure, which will probably never be particularly fun to me. It’s a special game, for sure.
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Yes!! I love Super Metroid but the game is definitely different when it's designed around a map vs the NES original. Have you played Metroid II on Game Boy? It's obviously more linear but I get similar feelings.
 
Brock Reiher said:
Yes!! I love Super Metroid but the game is definitely different when it's designed around a map vs the NES original. Have you played Metroid II on Game Boy? It's obviously more linear but I get similar feelings.
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Yeah, I played Metroid II on Game Boy when I was a kid and remember similar vibes!
 
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67. Pokemon Scarlet [ Switch ] - Maybe Gen 10 will click with me more.

The final battle with stalker Nemona reminded me a lot of ORAS' final rival battle, it gives me the same feeling of "wait, was I supposed to grow attached to you?", also like that game you fight another friend character only twice and it manages to be peak emotion. Is also weird that besides very, very few exceptions, characters, gym leaders, Elite 4, etc. have noticeable worse animations than Sword and Shield, specially comparing Dynamax/Tera ones, where SS would showcase a great deal of personality in those few seconds of prepping the Pokemon, Leon throwing his hat after you beat him, and Hop being frustrated after the league battle still gets to me.

Arven is top 10 Pokemon character. Larry is great. Why did they get rid of the trainer cards for extra Pokelore.
 
0
36th game finished, and of course it's Pokemon Scarlet. Suffice to say I enjoyed it a lot, I've given my impressions in the OT enough times haha. Still gonna boot it up every now and then to play with friends or my nephew, but I'll be considering it completed.
 
85. Super Metroid (SNES) [10/10]

Arguably the SNES's best. Super Metroid is another impressive entry in the series that stands completely on its own. The game is very similar to the NES game, but takes the increased linearity and cinematic aspects of Metroid II into account equally. The game goes one step further by adding the map, which completely changes how the game is played. Super Metroid is definitely a must play, it created a genre that it is still clearly the best example of decades later. My favorite parts are how much love the developers clearly had for both of the previous entries and the respect for how even gross bug aliens can be cute.

I know a lot of people dislike the controls but I think they work perfectly for the game. To a certain extent I prefer the way missiles and the grapple beam are set up here compared to something like Dread, though obviously the speed of Dread makes this control scheme less feasible.
 
MisterSpo said:
1) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Switch)
2) Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Xbox Series S)
3) Psychonauts 2 (Xbox Series S)
4) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (NSO)
5) Dungeon Encounters (Switch)
6) No More Heroes 3 (Switch)
7) Triangle Strategy (Switch)
8) Kirby & the Forgotten Land (Switch)
9) Pokemon Legends Arceus (Switch)
10) Metroid Dread (Switch)
11) Triangle Strategy (Switch)
12) Mass Effect 1 [Legendary Edition] (Xbox Series S)
13) Mass Effect 2 [Legendary Edition]
(Xbox Series S)
14) Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (Switch)
15) Live A Live (Switch)
16) Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (Switch)
17) Mass Effect 3 [Legendary Edition] Xbox Series S
18) Splatoon 3 (Switch)
19) Bayonetta 3 (Switch)
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20) Super Kiwi 64 (Switch)

Did not expect this to be my next completion, but it was a super cheap, fun diversion. Mostly paid for with gold points, too, so it cost next to nothing. There were some really nice little touches in the level design that I enjoyed here. The ability to slam Kiwi into the wall by his beak and climb up surfaces that way reminded me of Super Mario Odyssey, and the fact it's a small crime we don't have a spin off puzzle platformer starring Pokio.
 
Abzeronow said:
27. Crystalis. All in all, a good NES action RPG. I'm definitely thankful for save states and rewind when I played this on the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection which also allows button remapping.
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28. Pokemon Sword. Hadn't played a Pokemon game before this one. Enjoyed building my team around Scorbunny and its evolutions.
 
With the release of brand new Pokémon games, it was time for another nuzlocke... of Pokémon Shield. I mostly did this because I had some rules in mind to try to make the game more challenging, but I also don't have S/V because I'm just not sure about them after feeling burned on BDSP and Legends: Arceus not being my cup of tea. With that, the rules:

  • Standard "Hardcore" nuzlocke rules (no items in battle, set mode, level caps of the next leader's ace)
  • No Dynamax
  • No Wild Area encounters, Gyarados banned
  • No set up/stat boosting moves, Encore or Substitute (full disclosure, I used Flame Charge which raises Speed)
  • Match the number of Pokémon the AI uses for boss battles
  • No trainer docs (for looking up AI movesets and team composition)

This run was a lot more challenging than I expected. Encounter variety is pretty limited without the Wild Area making it tougher to counter the various opposing Dynamax Pokémon, as well as making even some random route trainers tough to navigate. I wiped three times, which I never thought would happen playing an official game at this point. Got swept by Nessa's Dreadnaw attempt 1, Hop's Inteleon attempt 2, and... a trainer with a Sawk on attempt 3.

Attempt 4 ended up being the run with a total of four deaths. Doesn't sound bad, but it could have easily been more. My final team consisted of Drapion, Ludicolo, Coalossal, Hippowdon, Ninetales, and Corviknight. My plan for Leon went humorously awry, which made for a more compelling final battle than the stall plan I had come up with.

It was a decently fun run, but I did notice more that I don't like about SWSH in terms of the pacing and design after all the resets.
 
After seeing all your guys lists last year i had the plan to finish more games this year. But what should i say... that didnt work out lol. But anyways lets get to my list.

1) Doki Doki Literature Club:

This was my first Visual Novel ever and damn it was a ride. I must admit i did enjoy the peaceful beginning more than the crazy end. However it was definitly a special game and made me want to play more Visual Novels in the Future 8/10

2) Pokemon Arceus:

Kinda came out of nowhere for me. After the first trailers i had zero interest but after seeing all the positive reviews i ended up buying it and oh boy that was the right call. Even if the game has a lot of issues it did make me feel like a child again. Catching and Collecting Pokemon was never so much fun before! For me the best Pokemon Game in the past 15 Years. 9/10

3) Lost Ark:

Well you cant really finish an MMO but i did made it to max level and did a lot of grinding in the "end game" but overall lost ark left me dissapointed. The Gameplay itself was fun and i like the look and feel of the game. However leveling wasnt really enjoyable for me. The story was just weird and quest design felt just boring. Go there Kill 5 Mobs with one hit and go back. 07/10

4) Elden Ring:

The big boy and my game of the year. In my eyes Elden Ring did almost everything right. Amazing world to explore, many fun build options, really cool boss designs and many surprises to be found. The only negative i would say is that the game was almost to big for its own good. As someone who loves all souls games i really explored every corner of the map and that did burn me out at times. Still i played this game over 100 Hours in 5 weeks and i honestly dont know how i did this. No other game hooked me so much that i really spend every single free second on it. 10/10

5) Xenoblade Chronicles:

XC1 and i have a long back story. I always loved it but never finished it till now. I first played it when it released on the New 3ds. It looked terrible and in the end that made me stop playing it back then. But i always wanted to go back. Then i played it on PC with HD Mods but again didnt finish it. Now i played it on my Switch and fully completed it. I still loved XC2 more but still XC1 is just an epic amazing adventure and i cried a lot playing it. 10/10

6) Xenoblade Chronicles 3:

I think in most other years XC 3 would have been my Game of the Year. I loved the story, characters, gameplay and world. The game just does almost everything right. But it still didnt connected with me as deeply as XC1 and XC2 did. Would become a to long post to explain why but damn you all should play all 3 games! 10/10

7) Deaths Door:

This game was on my pile of shame for a long time and im glad i finally played it. Just overall a great Souls/Zelda like experience. Short enough to not get boring. 08/10

Honorable Mention Wartales:

This game i didnt finish as its still in early access but i still want to mention it here as i spend over 30hours on it. Wartales is just an amazing Tactical RPG with deep mechanics and a lot of freedom. It keeps on getting better with every update and i cant wait for the full release.

i also wanna mention 2 games that im still playing. For one Pokemon Violet. I really have fun with it so far and i still plan on finishing it this year. No clue if that will work out. So far it would be a 08/10 for me.
The other game i wanna mention is Persona 5 Royal. I did started to play 4 golden earlier in the year and after 5 amazing hours the game lost me completly. In 5 Royal im so far around 10-15 Hours and loving every second of it. I really think this will be the first Persona Game i ever finish. But it will be a long ride for me. Right now i only play it every few days for a bit and pokemon took over right now but i cant wait to dive in deep again when pokemon is done.

To finish this off my 2 "long term games".

1) Genshin Impact:

At this point playing Genshin Impact always feels like coming home. I play it for 2-3 Months, get tired of the grind and stop playing if for half a year. But when i return i again feel this magic. Its just relaxing to play and i love the characters and world.

2) Marvel Snap:

This one i didnt saw coming. I love digital Card Games. But lately i had none that i really enjoyed after quiting Legends of Runeterra after 2 years. But right now Marvel Snap is my daily game. Matches are fast but still fun and deep enough. So far i play it for 2 months and at least for now i dont see myself quiting anytime soon.

So i think overall that wraps up my gaming year 2022. Overall a fun year with an even more growing backlog. There were many more games like Triangle Strategy for example. But i sadly didnt play them enough to really write down an opinion about them. As last year i hope to finish more games next year but we will see.
 
15.) Resident Evil 3 (2020) - This was a pretty divisive game at launch due to its length and design decisions, but for $5? No complaints here! It's a nice companion piece for REmake 2; the same, great engine with a lot more ammunition so you get a more action-packed experience.

16.) Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (Remake) - I grew up with the sequel and only played this as a demo. This was a treat! 2.5D feels like a forgotten genre, and after playing this I wish that it wasn't. Creative level design, decent visuals, and a fantastic OST should merit this game more discussion than it currently receives.

17.) Splatoon 3 - They learned all the right lessons from the Octo Expansion here; short, focused levels > longer, more sporadic stages. I finished the Splatoon 2 campaign out of obligation but found myself coming back to this one instinctively when I was in need of a good, short burst of entertainment. I think I prefer Octo Expansion overall because of difficulty, though that might just depend on the mood I'm in at any given time.

18.) Super Kiwi 64 - A shotgun blast of nostalgia. And it is well made, to boot! The environments lack the charm of its inspiration, but the movement is better than a lot of its more modern contemporaries.
 
Sadist said:
Super bad, but I haven’t updated this at all! Time to work on this;

8. Control

I liked Alan Wake, but I think I like Control better. From the weirdness of it all (the Hiss, what the fudge) to the brilliance of the janitor (Perkele!) and the amazing Ashtray Maze… it was one hell of a ride. One of the cooler new IP’s.

9. Xenoblade 3

A fantastic journey; another wacky journey in a world unknown, but somewhat familiar; a cool cast (Team Eunie all day long), the villains are a bit okayish, but discovering the world was another joy. I think I like it better over XB 2. Still like the original the best. Still my favourite release this year.

10. Shenmue

It took me a looooooong while before I got into this one. It’s the proto Yakuza, but very interesting. Its an old game, but I like how several aspects return in the Yakuza games. The story and VA are very ‘90’s. Forklift race was amazing.

11. Disco Elysium: The Directors Cut

Horrifying Necktie: YES BRATAN, just use the drugs, it’s the best choice!

12. Spider-Man Miles Morales

At times feels like a really big DLC episode, on the other hand Miles power set, the end of year setting and Miles origin are very well done. And who cares, swinging through New York still is fun.

13. Tales of Arise

Completed it today! Got the platinum just now. The game started pretty bombastic with its pretty presentation, but in the end it’s a very Tales game. Especially during the end I’m like “sure, why not. Dunno if would have chosen this story direction.”

Still had a blast with the cast (some heavy tropes) but overall sixty hours well spent.
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14. Resident Evil VII: Biohazard Gold Edition

Its been a while since I played the game and I never played the Gold Edition content. So I started off with the main title and I forgot how fun it was. Its not my favourite Resident Evil game ever, but it has some fantastic highlights. The first person camera works in its favour, but the moments with the Baker family is fantastic stuff. Jack, Marguerite and Lucas are absolutely insane and it has some fantastic moments.

The molded are the most basic enemies since the ooze back in Revelations. Makes enemy encounters somewhat boring. Game does end in a great way.

I won’t play the Banned Footage, but I did complete both End of Zoe and Not a Hero. The former is a first person brawler, sure why not? Was a fun little romp. Not a Hero was not bad either. Better than Chris his campaign in 6.
 
Jan - Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Feb - Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Apr - Disco Elysium
Jun - Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Crimson Flower route)
Jul - Kentucky Route Zero
Aug - Doki Doki Literature Club Plus
Aug - Death's Door
Oct - Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
Nov - Dicey Dungeons
Nov - Eastward
Nov - Famicon Detective Club: The Missing Heir
Dec - Pokemon Violet
Dec - Famicon Detective Club: The Girl who stands behind

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Famicon Detective Club: The Missing Heir was one of those VNs that I bought a long time ago and only got around to reading through it recently. It's a nice story and I like the Japanese voice acting. I kinda figured out the identity of the murderer and missing heir before the ultimate reveal. As a whole, there's a lot of loose ends to the story. It can really use an epilogue. VN lacks the charm of the Ace Attorney series but then again, it is supposed to be a bit more realistic. I'll get around to reading the other Famicon Detective Club story eventually.

I love Pokemon Violet. For all its bugs, glitches, performance issues, the game is great (for me). I've hit credit roll and now is in the post-game bit of trying to complete the Pokedex. The game deserves better and I hope that Gamefreak/Nintendo/Pokemon Co will performance patch the game to the standard it really deserves.

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Look at my good boi team. They are all very good bois even if Ground/Water match-ups demolish them.

There were many challenging battles along the way but the one that gave me the most trouble had to be Champion Nemona's one. Given my good bois problem with ground & water type match-ups, her Aqua-stepping Quaquaval swept all my remaining 'mons. Didn't really want to grind for levels so I had to rely on strategy.

My final strategy against Quaquaval was to
  • Change my Houndoom terra type to Dragon
  • Set up sunny day during the penultimate Pokemon (Dundunsparce)
  • Survive and defeat Dundunsparce with Dragon-terra-ed Houndoom
  • Get to Solar Beam Quaquaval once before falling to a super effective ice attack
  • But hey! Without Aqua-step speed boost, the water birb gets out-speed by my Arcanine.
  • Wild charge to finish off the last bit of health
  • Win?!

Using fire doggos to defeat the water birb is very satisfying.

One month left to 2022. I think I'll just be fooling around Paldea mostly. And maybe take a detour to read Famicon Detective Club: The Girl who stands behind.
 
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