VideoGame_Discussion

(These ignore games I've already played in the past)

Favorite Games I Played This Year:
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - Loved conquering this game and getting excellent at it through many playthroughs.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - Was so addicted I couldn't put it down until my 3DS started flashing red!
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Loved exploring the Forgotten Land and was thoroughly refreshed by the new direction.

Biggest Surprises (Positive):
Rhythm Heaven Fever - Was quickly endeared by the amusing characters and catchy tunes. "Buh-bum-bum-bum, two, three, four!"
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - Heard this was a bad game, and it absolutely was not! Was remarkably creative and charming, with great music and characters.
Wild Guns Reloaded - Expected to like this one, but I was surprised how many times I wanted to jump back in and play through the whole thing.

Worst Games I Played This Year:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD - Expected to like this game, but found it longer than needed and often irritating. Too much water to traverse, that's for sure.
Castlevania 64 - Wanted a diamond in the rough, got a clunky slog that was too eager to kill me and send me back really far.
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly - We all know how bad this one is. I put it low because I exploited glitches to skip 99% of the awful game.

Biggest Surprises (Negative):
Picdun 2 - I've never felt more repulsed playing an E10+-rated game. It's a dungeon-crawler where you enter a dungeon to find love, and then preteen girls who pose provocatively guide you through, occasionally saying you're a perv. Felt too uncomfortable to continue past stage 1.
Hollow Knight - Was strongly urged by my cousin to play this, and found it beyond frustrating to beat. Had no idea what the story was since the characters speak in such flowery language that nothing registers, got killed by bosses constantly, and at the very moment I considered giving up, the game did everything in its power to make me. But I stuck to it, got the first three endings, and will never play it again.

Hardest Games I Beat this Year:
Hollow Knight - I've never played a melee-focused Metroidvania before, and now I appreciate Samus' blaster so much more. Getting up close to damage massive enemies spells trouble and requires nimble reflexes--too much for me. The third ending requires you to brave a Super Meat Boy-esque gauntlet of saw blades... thanks for that, game.
Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course - Awesome DLC for an awesomely tough game. I laughed out loud when the fakeout ending killed me in Bootlegger Boogie! Every boss is a tough customer, with the final boss being the toughest cookie of them all!
The Mysterious Murasame Castle - A brutal Famicom action game that demands practice, level memorization, and fast reflexes. Ended up liking it, despite how daunting it was to beat all ten stages.
Honorable mentions: Pushmo and Stretchmo, for being head-scratching puzzlers

That’s nice to hear about Skyward Sword. That one’s in my backlog.

SupremeSarna wrote:

... pulls up my document tracking my 2022 games...
Favorite Games of '22:
Tunic - loved the charm, loved the secrets, beautiful, fantastic game, is my GotY
Midnight Fight Express - just a blast to kick some butt and a pretty over the top story, excellent soundtrack
Horizon 5 - Put a TON of hours into this, have done just about everything, way better than 4, 3's still maybe my overall fav

Biggest Positive Surprises:
Psychonauts - Knew forever that this was touted as a solid game, but after finally getting to play it, it was a gem, I still think about the Milkman, looking forward to playing the sequel in '23
Guardians of the Galaxy - I'm not into the MCU movies so didn't know a ton about this, but the soundtrack was 80's bliss and the banter and overall game was just fun
Prodeus - Vintage Doom done right
Firewatch - Great story and enjoyable journey
Unpacking - Wonderful game to relax to

Worst Games Played in '22:
FAR-Changing Tides - dumb and boring
Crusi'n Exotica - not much was redeeming about this
Nerf N-Strike - The Wiimote as a light-gun, mixed with crummy Nerf dart physics, sprinkled with a teen/pre-teen focus all equaled eye-rollingly bad dialog and at times frustrating gameplay.

Biggest Negative Surprises:
Spider-Man - It's far from a bad game, but after loving the Arkham series, Spidey feels too similar, but worse in key areas for me: Playing as Peter/MJ/Miles felt blah, combat was too fast/erratic for me, city felt less enjoyable vs. Arkham City, later on traversal got annoying with constant gunfire from rooftops
The Medium - Just expected more from this, again wasn't horrible, but was barely memorable/notable.
Outriders - It was clearly inspired by The Division and Destiny and it just failed to be all that good, especially when it felt like it was just out of reach from being really good.

Hardest Games Played in '22:
Kaze & the Wild Masks - Wasn't super difficult, but I wasn't the best with it and I pushed myself to do everything which was a challenge, especially as I played via Stadia, so input lag was likely
Disk Room - Simple premise, addicting as F, beating so many room and certain challenges was tough
Hollow Knight - I started this years ago and lost access to play it (was a shared Steam title from a friend) - relearning things, plus the nature and length of this epic game was challenging, but totally rewarding/worth it.

Favorite Games I Played This Year:
Elden Ring
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 4

Biggest Surprises (Positive):
Zombie Nation Had never heard of this game before trading for it on here. Made by KAZe (a dev I like) and kicks ass.
Code of Princess another impulse acquisition. Ended up clearing all stages with every character. Game had some lag/slowdown but it did not detract from the fun for me.

Didn't really play anything that I disliked or was a surprise in a negative way. Nice year in that regard.

Favorite Games I Played This Year:
Horizon: Forbidden West - I actually finished all the story missions a few days ago and intended to take a break and return in a month or two to finish the side quests. That didn't happen. I took a break for like a day and have already returned to continue the side missions. I just can't put this game down for very long. I am curious to see if Sony would give this the movie/TV series treatment like GoW, Uncharted and TLoU are getting, but I hope they leave out all the pointless dialogue that the games have. You can skip that in the games but wouldn't be able to in other media.

Portal and Portal 2 - These were games I played through at the start of the year (Portal 2 was used as a make up for Frank's GotM club and I figured if I'm gonna revisit that I might as well revisit the first game too). These are those rare type of games that you just simply don't get tired of playing.

Chernobylite - I'll toss in a mention for this as well. It's certainly not GotY material, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I experienced way too many game crashes in my playthrough, but overall I enjoyed it enough that I went back for the platinum trophy, and I usually don't care enough to do that for most games.

It Takes Two - It ranks up there as one of my favorite 3D platformers of all-time and also one of my favorite co-op games of all-time.


Biggest Surprises (Positive):
Horizon: Forbidden West - Mostly surprised just in how impressive the graphics are. I wasn't surprised at all that Digital Foundry crowned this the best graphics of 2022, and you know how they nitpick every little thing about a game's graphics (it's their job).

Crysis - Another one where the graphics really surprised me. I played this for the game club and chose to play the original 2007 release instead of the recent remaster and I was still blown away by how good this looked.

Worst Games I Played This Year:
Too many to name. There's a couple of indie games I regret buying on PS5, but the rest are all from the eShop where the garbage reigns supreme and Nintendo doesn't care.

Biggest Surprises (Negative):
Super Mario World - This might earn me a special place in hell for saying this (or at least some dirty looks by other Nintendo fans), but I started a playthrough of this for Frank's game club and this is why I usually try to avoid most retro games even if I enjoyed them as a kid. Sure, 10 year old me might've enjoyed this a lot back in the day, but I'm pretty much forcing myself to continue this playthrough now to where I can only play it a few levels at a time. Super Mario Maker's controls are pretty much perfect and I no longer like the way these old games feel in comparison. If I could play this with the controls/physics of SMM, I might feel differently about it. I still plan to finish it, it's not that I dislike the game and I'm not saying it's a bad game, I know the issue is more with me than the game itself.

Nintendo - Just in general, I feel like they were pretty forgettable this year. Just off the top of my head, the only 1st party games I can recall buying this year was Splatoon 3 (which I've kinda lost interest in and haven't played in two months) and Nintendo Switch Sports, which quite frankly it just wasn't that good. Then in January and again last month, two new Pokemon games released with awful performance. I know technically Nintendo doesn't own Pokemon or develop those games themselves, but people will always associate Pokemon with Nintendo, so you'd think they might tell GameFreak that we don't need a Pokemon game every year if they keep releasing them in the state that they do. Offering refunds because of people were not satisfied with those games at release is very un-Nintendo-like.

Hardest Games I Beat this Year:
Serious Sam 2 - I remember struggling with some parts of Serious Sam 2, just being swarmed by enemies and low on ammo for the guns I really needed in those situations.

Super Mario Maker 2 - Ok, so I know this probably doesn't count, but I often aim to beat levels that nobody else has completed yet, so that will more often than not wind up being troll levels and I feel like that's gotta count for something, I mean there's a reason the people who played the levels before me gave up on them.

I can't think of anything else though. If a game is difficult and I'm not enjoying it, I'll just stop playing it. If it's difficult but I am enjoying it, I'll just lower the difficulty if given the option. Backlog is too big to waste time on that type of nonsense.

I find myself tinkering more with old consoles than playing these days. So I will just shout out the game I never get bored with when I have an hour or two to burn.

Advance Wars Dual Strike -DS War Room solo still fun after all these years.

And any random shmup as that happens to be on the pile. There was only two this year.

Sengoku Ace Episode II -Saturn port
Radiant Silvergun -Saturn port

Favorite Games Played This Year:
Astro's Playroom - Got a PS5 early in the year and figured I would check out the pack-in game. Great use of haptics and other features of the controller. Excellent tech demo, loved the built-in PlayStation museum aspect. Quick, simple and effective in so many ways. What an unexpected treat.
Guardians of the Galaxy - I'm burned out on Marvel/superhero content so I wasn't looking forward to this. Got it in a trade and figured I would give it a go. Really enjoyed the whole ride. Really fun 80's vibes with some good banter/character interaction. I've heard criticisms for the battle system which is warranted but it didn't bother me.
Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion - Honorable mention as I am currently playing and enjoying it. Never had a PSP in the past so I always felt like I missed out. Was pleased when I heard this was being released. I'm surprised with the way Zack Fair's character is painted but I'm only a few chapters in. The additional backstory and new scenes with Sephiroth are great so far.


Biggest Surprises Positive:
Bugsnax - Exploring and finding new Bugsnax and characters was great. The steady barrage of quick yet simple tasks made it so easy and satisfying to just keep playing. I figured I would spend a few hours on this game and move on. Ended up with the platinum and couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it.
Ghost Runner - I don't think I heard anything about this game before it hit PlayStation Plus. Really unique take on a parkour / puzzle runner. Loved the cyberpunk setting. Challenging at times, but so satisfying when you get a clean run and clear an area. Not sure why this was such a blindspot but I was pleasantly surprised.
Superhot - A fresh take on a first person game. Really enjoyed the quick puzzles and unique physics. The menu style presentation was a little weird but whatever. Recommended for anyone who wants to run through a 3-5 hour experience.


Worst Game I Played This Year
Life Is Strange - This game kept popping up on lists and coming up in conversations from people who enjoyed it. Figured I would give it a try since I enjoyed some of the Telltale games and Until Dawn. Was intrigued at first but the novelty very quickly wore off. I just could not get into any aspect of it. I disliked all of the characters and found most of the decisions ridiculous and frustrating. Started it early in the year and recently had to force myself to finish the last couple chapters so I could uninstall and be done with it. I imagine there is an audience/demographic for this game but I am absolutely not it.

Biggest Surprises Negative:
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time - Played the originals back in the day and a few years ago went through the N.Sane Trilogy and enjoyed them all again. I was looking forward to Crash 4 but after getting through the first few levels I got burned out. It's weird saying it but I think they made the game too hard? Finishing a level was more relieving than satisfying. Even after multiple runs often I couldn't get all of the boxes/gems or complete any of the challenges. I keep telling myself I'll get back to this at some point but I just keep scrolling past it when looking for a game to play.
Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep - Fantasy setting was nice but the novelty wore off and it felt like a grind by the end of it. It's a fine entry into Borderlands I just don't have the time to sink hours into a game like this anymore with a 1-year old at home.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin - I'm not sure what to say about this game. Nothing about it felt like Final Fantasy. I didn't connect with any characters or anything with the storyline. It's not a bad game, I'm just not sure what to think.

Hardest Game I Beat This Year:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES / Cowabunga Collection) - Even with gratuitous use of the rewind feature it was a struggle. I know this game is notorious for its difficulty with the water/dam level being known as one of the most ridiculous segments in gaming. I legitimately don't know how someone would have finished this game on original hardware.

Only going with games released this year...

My two most played games this year were Splatoon 3 and Elden Ring.

My biggest disappointment is I still don't have a PS5, so I haven't played Horizon Forbidden West or GoW Ragnorak yet. Those were and still are two of my most anticipated games. I don't want to play them on PS4. I want to enjoy them as they were meant to be played.

My other disappointment is Nintendo in general. No new Zelda, Mario, or Metroid. Also, I know it's just a remake, but I was really looking forward to playing Advance Wars again (stupid Russia).

My biggest surprise and my MVP this year has been Game Pass and my Series S. I have always been someone that jumps around from game to game. I play lots of different games and different genres. I found tons of gems today I would have never even tried if it wasn't for Game Pass. Power Wash Simulator, Hades, Infernax, Vampire Survivors, Tunic, Nobody Saves the World, and so many other great games. Quick Resume is the best feature ever for me. I can switch back and forth from game to game so quickly. It's amazing.

I'm with you @bonham2 on the lack of a PS5. I loved HZD and really want to play HFW and Returnal and Ratchet and Ragnarok, eventually. At this point I'm hoping for the announcement of a Pro model.

I also hear you on GP. I only played 2 of the titles you mentioned (Tunic - my GotY and Infernax - also solid), but played a bunch more that I really enjoyed. Quick Resume is fantastic! I've recently been playing my X1X more, with my wife using the main TV and the XSX is on there. No Quick Resume on the X1X , plus other slow aspects, royally stink. I'm looking into connecting up an external SSD to try and speed it up.

I haven't played much this year.

Finally completed the mass effect trilogy, that took over half the year.

Currently about half way through yakuza 0

Both games were great.

I haven't gamed a lot this year. Made a little more progress in AC Origins, and platinumed Burly Men At Sea (PS Vita).

@Bleed_DukeBlue I bought Raji, it has been freely upgraded to the Enhanced Edition (this happened a few months ago), so maybe that has addressed some of the things you disliked about it. I haven't started playing it yet, though. I hope it isn't a purchase I regret!

@Alaisiagae I played Raji via GP before the free update and I liked the title. It wasn't amazing or anything, but it was just fine for me and I actually recommended folks give it a shot before it left GP. For the price I paid it was worth my time, could see it being worth $10-15, especially if you like the genre overall. I liked the Indian/Hindu aspects as well, nice to play something from a different culture than I normally play.

I was trying to fix something on my oldest son's Xbox One, and I waa shocked at how much slower it is. The Series S/X just runs so smoothly, and like I said, Quick Resume is an absolute game changer. I love my Series S. I definitely need a bigger hard drive though.

Slickriven wrote:
Oh, that's a relief to hear it isn't a total flop! Yes, action-adventure with light RPG elements (like weapon trees) is a genre I enjoy. I watched a few gameplay videos but held off buying it when I heard there was an enhanced edition in the works - I know some companies would release it as a separate title just to make the player pay again. I didn't want that scenario, so I waited until the EE (which was delayed) came out - and it was a pleasant surprise that the developers/publishers released it as a free upgrade and simultaneously ran a sale on it. I think I paid around $10 or $12.

For sure, there has been a dearth of titles in that corner of the world and with Indian culture. That is part of what I find appealing about Raji, the ability to have fun and also learn some stuff. I have a coworker in India, I get the impression she is Hindi - the game Raji might help me understand a little more about her religion so that I'm not a complete ignoramous. We chatted during a meeting the other day, and she mentioned the names of a few festivals and I was desperate for some live captioning so I could see the spelling of the name of the god she referred to (in general, even for English language words, I can have a little trouble getting 100% of them unless the speaker is enunciating perfectly and there's no background noise. Add in accents, foreign language words, background noise, etc. and I often mishear words).

There were some things I wish I’d played in 2022. I bought Golden Sun: The Lost Age for almost $60 (came with the manual and a poster of the continent) and Final Fantasy VI in the summer, but I could never get around to it, thanks to the long Zelda games I challenged myself to play. I’ve got tons of 3DS games that I haven’t booted up, and that’s because some of them don’t work with my brief breaks at work—can’t exactly play many long stages when I have 20 minutes at a time. I’ll get to those in 2023.

I had some great fortune getting games at garage sales this year, though I’ve somehow found a rival who tries to obstruct that goal. When I asked a seller about her Atari Lynx, he was quick to slide into the comments and tell her how expensive they are on the secondhand market, in an obvious attempt to muscle me out of a deal while not buying it himself. The dude is obnoxious and takes a sick pleasure in making my garage-saling harder. Hope that guy grows up someday. On the bright side, I get a real ‘no car, no job’ vibe from him; I doubt he has the means to actually drive to the sales I’m interested in and buy games before I get there.

My goal next year is to play all three (not five!) Pikmin games. Pikmin 4’s very late announcement has me excited!

I went a bit import heavy this year. With the 3DS eshop closing down in March of next year, I got both a Japanese and a European 3DS to take advantage of those regions' eshops and also some physical games.

It's been fun exploring the different 3DS (and DS) libraries across the globe this year.

Obviously for the stuff that got no release here like the Inazuma Eleven sequels, some of the Sega 3D Archives games, the "Flips" series, those NRL and AFL Mascot games from Australia, two DS Bomberman games, and games with peripherals like Slide Adventure Magkid and Pokemon Typing Adventure (and I guess also the Daigasso Band Brothers expansion pak).

Also enjoying reacquiring some games I used to own, but buying the much cheaper overseas versions when the US prices are stupid (Giana Sisters, Flower Sun and Rain, Draglade, etc.).

On the eshop I picked up several Japan exclusive virtual console games like Balloon Fight GB and Pri Pri, and some games on the European shop that don't have US releases like Pocket Football Club and Mysterious Cities of Gold.

I also managed to get a copy of Totally Spies 4! Sadly missing the manual so I guess my quest is not over yet.

The Evercade also keeps getting better, and it's fun to have a system for which I can collect a full set of games without breaking the bank.

I helped with providing stuff in the video game rooms at 3 different conventions in three different states this year, which was also a lot of fun (and a lot of work!) It is disappointing when you have hundreds of games available and 90% of folks just want to play Smash or Mario Kart though. But it was worth it for the guy who specifically asked us to bring out Pen Pen TriIcelon to play against his friend.

Goals for next year? Slow way down on the buying.

I overbought this year to fill in some gaps for convention games, and I don't need to do nearly as much for next year (though I am sure I can always find more if I look).

I also bought a ton of stuff for me, much of which hasn't really even been played to any significant extent. The Beat a Game 2022 thread had me beating games left and right, but my backlog grew even faster.

It's a hard habit to break

@benstylus Did you ever get around to playing Slide Adventure MAGKID? I beat my copy (thanks again) and thought it made brilliant use of the peripheral, but was a bit too long for its own good. The novelty wears thin after a few hours, so it’s more of a one-and-done experience.

Favorite Games I Played This Year

Mass Effect 2 - It has one of the greatest introductions in modern gaming, and it succeeds with a horizontal, linear structure that so many so-called "open ended" games struggle with. What reservations I had about the game's differences compared to the original dissipated quickly once the campaign really got going.

Stray - The game has a great narrative and a beautiful world to explore, but it's at its most charming when the game essentially becomes "Untitled Cat Game."

Freedom Planet - A content-rich, beautiful tribute to Sonic the Hedgehog with cool characters, excellent level design, and surprisingly competent cutscenes.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered - Glorious, beautiful, and full of content. As somebody else in Frank's thread said, Sony's Spider-Man is one of the best games on the PlayStation 4, and it's still underrated.

Diablo II Resurrected - Say what you will about Blizzard (or what's left of it), but this was a glorious benchmark for all remasters to come. The new cutscenes are magnificent, the graphics options are stellar, and the portable Switch version is impossible to put down. I'm looking forward to finding a way to play this on the Steam Deck.

Biggest Surprises (Positive)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist - How come nobody told me about this "remix" of Turtles in Time sooner? It's not an all-out replacement for the SNES classic, but it's damn entertaining in its own right.

Castlevania Chronicles - Symphony of the Night gets all the love, but I enjoyed this pseudo-16-bit Castlevania remaster better than the actual 16-bit Castlevania games.

Astro's Playroom - It's short, and its gameplay isn't exactly innovative, but damn, if this isn't one of the most satisfying nostagia bombs out there for someone who's been a PlayStation fan since 1996.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered - I went in expecting a mediocre, albeit polished, superhero game. What I got sucked me in with its excellent narrative, addicting mechanics, and some of the most satisfying world travel I've ever played. I'm still convinced I'll platinum this game at some point.

AVICII Invector - As a general fan of EDM and rhythm games, I was pleasantly surprised by this game's near-perfect soundtrack, tricky mechanics, and surprisingly moving storyline, which doubles as a tribute to the eponymous producer.

Worst Games I Played This Year

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus - The 2003 Konami beat-em-up was no prize either, but this sequel managed to be worse on every single level, as well as be twice as long. Not even the arcade pack-in could save this one, especially when the classic soundtrack is swapped out for forgettable nonsense.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack - The only thing this game this boring, janky brawler has in common with the classic, beloved arcade games is its undeserving desire to take your money.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Legends - I didn't actually "finish" this one, but good lord, did it finish me. Aside from Hearthstone, I haven't put much time, energy, or money into mobile titles, so the game's transition from "moderately interesting nostalgia bomb" to "soul- and wallet-sucking time sink" took me completely off guard. I made it a bit more than halfway through the game's campaign mode before nuking it from my phone.

E.T. the Extra-terrestrial - Believe the hype.

Biggest Surprises (Negative)

Lunar: Eternal Blue - No worries... I still have a lot of love for Lunar, but this Sega CD sequel's convoluted, bloated dungeons almost cancelled out the rest of the game's charms, which are all light years beyond the original game. Maybe I'll enjoy the PlayStation version more.

Mega Man 7 - Sluggish, punishing, and standing deep in the shadow of Mega Man X. A mediocre Mega Man game is still better than 90% of action platformers out there, but as a fan of the NES originals, this was not a satisfying evolution of the formula.

Super Castlevania IV - Speaking of mediocre 16-bit evolutions of classic franchises, this one drove me mad, and that's before considering how the game's instrumentation destroyed so many of the series' classic tunes.

Banjo-Kazooie - This game probably still deserves its classic status, but I spent so much of the game just trying to catch my bearings, thanks to the rusty camera and lack of a map.

Hardest Games I Beat this Year

Akumajō Densetsu - A lot of Castlevania games could probably occupy this slot, but Dracula certainly had his house in much better order (or disorder?) in this particular entry.

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos - Bottomless pits, flying monsters, and an impossible final boss? Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Alien Soldier - The game's beautiful sprite work and cool-as-heck weapons don't completely distract from the fact that you're outmatched in nearly every one of the game's inumerable boss fights.

Robo Aleste - Not even save states could save me with this one. Enemies seem to take less damage the more determined I am to destroy them.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts - Sorry, Arthur, but your princess friend just isn't worth all this punishment. Maybe make a Tinder profile and find someone a little more under the radar?

Favorite Games I Played This Year:
SteamWorld Dig 2
SteamWorld Heist
Metroid Dread
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

Biggest Surprises (Positive):
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (much better than I expected)
Banjo Kazooie (because it held up so well)

Worst Games I Played This Year:
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

Hardest Games I Beat this Year:
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Castlevania
Super Castlevania IV
Castlevania Bloodlines