Another year, and so many wonderful titles. So much I wish I could've played, here are things I loved!
- Death Stranding - Disclaimer, I am only 40ish hours in, nowhere near the end and completely enthralled. To me, no game this year has the ambition and awe that Kojima and his team have provided in this title. Every little bit of terrain presents a challenge to navigate, every new system or mechanic introduced allows for creative engagement to utilize to carry and transport more items, every bit of a structure crafted with the help of others feels so mind blowing. I love the fearless direction the man went to create his delivery simulator. I'm not sure how much I love the bits of the narrative I've experienced rebuilding the UCA. The BT and combat encounters feel more frivolous with better unlocked tools, sometimes a bit cumbersome or tedious. But I think this development team challenges what we expect in an open world title - a true sense of arduous journey, just to fulfill simple fetch quests. I found myself burning out on trying to achieve Star ranks for each lifeless hologram - to what avail? When I simply let go, let myself wander, experience trepidation of whatever stumbling challenge presented itself, I felt something few games have ever managed to provide me with - peace. Peace in failing, peace in meandering, peace in rote resolute focus to make it to a new destination. No frivolous filler unless I wanted, just a simple desire to see more and more of lifeless world. Special credit must be give as always to the magical art direction, the insane reworking of the Decima engine and the insanity of all the finely detailed environmental detail during Timefall. I think "Asylums for the Feeling" stands out as one of my favorite gaming moments ever. No rush to finish, no rush to make it to the other side - just one step at a time. I feel grateful and fortunate to be able to experience such a project, full of oddities and absurdities, along with such fearless hope of a director willing to estrange every audience to make what he wished.
- Resident Evil 2 - My favorite Resident Evil game, remade to absolute perfection. The RPD is so gloriously rich in brilliant atmosphere, Mr. X's thunderous foot steps chasing you at every turn and making zombies terrifying again led to one of the best games of the year. Figuring out Claire's path first and then diving immediately into Leon's made me so happy - even the little bits of care regarding Sherry and Ada's sections were powerful. The third person shooting mechanics are flawless, the drive for another run gives the game so much replay value and prospect of getting the third title remade in the same fashion has me so hyped!
- Control - Remedy the absolute Gods! Nothing ever comes close to the frenetic combat and intensely creepy hallways of The Oldest House. Courtney Hope did such a stellar job as Jesse, and levitation transformed the navigation of combat into a wicked delight of utter destruction and controlled mayhem. Enough praise can not be expressed at how technically marvelous the game is - in movement, traversal, object physics, Ray Tracing, dynamic lighting. I could spend days analyzing how much effort was spent in achieving such a striking vision of truly unsettling environments and enemies. This is a game, like every other Remedy title, that will be replayed several times - it's that good. Bravo to their team, I adore them.
- Metro Exodus - The game is a technical showpiece in every regard. I love 4AD's commitment to more open hub areas to explore and the wonderful environmental variety that ushers the narrative along. The shooting and simple crafting kept me scouring every bit of the Volga, the Caspian was such a wild change of pace, and The Taiga is breathtaking. Every footstep taken, every flashlight recharge, every stealth encounter made the game feel absolutely ambitious, even with some of the clunkier mechanics. The shooting and upgrading of weapons was top notch, and Artyom's journey with his band of survivors felt way more personal and intriguing. I love exploration in the game completely.
- Judgment - Nagoshi and the RGG team continue to earn my respect as the greatest team. Yagami's charm and fighting style breath new life into an already stunning entry in the Dragon Engine saga. It's the subtlety of light-hearted humor and intense melodramatics that make their games my favorite series (Yakuza) of all time. I heartily enjoy the chase sequences and slower pace of the investigations as they allow for a new way to examine and inhabit the seedy underbelly of a city we know and love so well.
- Mortal Kombat 11 - One of the best uses of HDR and the best brutal fighting combat systems flawlessly executed. What a cast of incredible older and newer generations of killers, and great incentives to unlock weapons/skins/fatalities/everything. A ton of time was spent this year trying to piece together practical combos to take into online matches - and it's the prettiest fighting game I've ever seen. Jade foreva!
- Crash Team Racing - The hallmark title of my youth, I was so excited to check out the reimagining of some of the best and most creative kart racing tracks of all time. The amount of effort and love devoted to the Grand Prix updates have kept me returning throughout the entire year, and it's been such a fun game to play with my brother as he remembers how much agony the game caused us as kids. Crystal Cup will always be my favorite, and the boost mechanics have been finely tuned for greatness - one of my favorite games ever.
- Luigi's Mansion 3 - What a stunning first party endeavor for Nintendo, and such a whimsical journey through the haunted hotel halls. The graphics often gave me a true sense of satisfaction, Luigi's every animation felt so meticulously hand crafted and endearing. It was such a treat to play this on Halloween night, well into the morning - the perfect spooky delight for a wonderful Holiday.
- The Outer Worlds - Could Obsidian take the best aspects of a Western RPG into space? I think the answer is decidedly a yes, the tighter shooting mechanics and simplified looting systems gave a refreshing take on the genre since Fallout 4. I think the density and smaller scale of the explorable hubs lend to more creative dialogue interactions with great companions and a fun story. The premier Gamepass title for me, and a great one to revisit.
- Greedfall - I found myself truly appreciating the renewed focus of heftier combat and the wonderful dialogue options while wandering in Greedfall. It's got such a pleasant world to explore - and really rivals some of the better aspects of older Bioware titles. Still working through it to fully decide how much I love it, but every little bit of it has left me feeling like it's got a ton of promise and engaging combat set pieces.
Honorable Mentions
x. Dead Or Alive 6 - Shimbori and Team Ninja have got to decide what direction they want to take with this franchise, I love the game's new Rush combo system and I think it's their best effort yet. But either embrace the fan service angle or abandon it entirely - the game deserves more care, and I revisit it constantly. Diego was an awesome addition!
x. Days Gone - Although Bend took a lot of criticism for some of the more tedious failings of an open world, I heartily enjoyed upgrading my bike and riding away from hordes of zombies in an action packed survival adventure. I like Deacon and all his angry muttering to himself, the game really let's the player decide how to explore and combat the challenges of using resources to survive. It's a stunning game to watch and play and deserves more credit for its ambitious attempt at making a fun zombie open world romp.
x. Call of Duty Modern Warfare - I really love that Infinity Ward put so much heart into the game, it's my favorite probably since Treyarch's work on the first Black Ops title. Some fun multiplayer modes, great gun selections and upgrades and I love that they're working to include some of the best maps from COD4.
Games I Need to Play More Of!
x. Sekiro - I love my From titles, and I think GA was one of the best boss fight encounters ever. Went a solid 20, and I need to be in a very isolated and depressed hyper focused mindset to finish the game, like I always do with the wonders of Miyazaki and his incredible team. I think I played too much Nioh, and I hate to compare the two, but I'd like to try to finish Sekiro before Nioh 2 devours all my time like the first title did.
x. Shenmue III - I've always the loved the franchise, I was heavily involved in a 1+2 extended replay before committing fully to 3. Played a solid three hours and loved what I had experienced, a slow burn with the trappings of the earlier adventure titles. Can't wait to truly explore the world with Ryo one more time!
x. Dragon Quest XI (Switch) - Special credit must be given for the most glorious demo I've ever played - more than 15ish hours in, blown away. If I ever get finished with the demo, I'll be spending some long cozy nights reveling in the best DQ formula gets again!
What a year it was, and so many wonderful titles! Thanks to all the Game devs and our amazing Reset family!
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