Previous years:
2014 // 52 games |||
2015 // 16 games
Life is Strange January 6th
Really impactful game. Story goes places and I love the dynamic between Max and Chloe. This game came out of nowhere and it was a pleasure to see the story develop over the episodes. Gameplay isn't anything to write home about but it works. I think they could have done a lot more with time travel puzzles than they did. Yet I enjoyed the story so much that I wasn't really bothered by the lackluster gameplay. Can't wait to see what Life is Strange 2 will be like.
Metroid Prime March 28th
Finally got around to playing this trilogy everyone raves about. Also it is my first entry into the series! First of all it needs to be said that what Retro Studios managed to achieve with GameCube hardware is simply put amazing. Considering that they had to reimagine what Metroid means when bringing it to 3D and having it come together this well is just nothing short of a miracle. There really is no weak parts. The atmosphere, gameplay, music and environments all come together perfectly. Finally I understand what it is about this game that people love so.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes June 4th
Jumped straight to MP2 after finishing the first game. It's very much more of the same. The praises for MP1 mostly apply here as well. Especially the music. Oh god the music is so good. That said I didn't like it as much as I liked the first game. Most notably some bosses are duds and the pacing could have been improved.
80 Days June 30th
Ventured around the world in co-op with someone. Nothing quite like this out there. I really liked the concept of being able to choose your own route around the globe and found out that it also works rather well in co-op. Presentation is very minimalistic and it's hard to recommend this game if you are afraid of text. During the longer trips the game tells you mini stories that we found out are often not relevant at all and feel like a chore. The overarching story on the other hand felt a lot more solid very largely thanks to the original novel I think. The steampunk twist was interesting from time to time but it didn't add overly much it felt like. Extra mention for being one of the only games in existence where you can visit Finland!
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D July 4th
A game that took me over a year to complete. Also the last 3D Zelda game I hadn't played! Not your average Nintendo game. It felt like developers gained unrestricted freedom to take-off from usual conventions and put whatever crazy ideas they had into the game. The story itself is a lot darker than what I have come to expect from Zelda games. It was so refreshing to play a Nintendo game like this. I wish one day we can have another bigger budget title from Nintendo with a similiar darker atmosphere.
Especially with the remake the actual game holds up well being over 15 years old with some exceptions. I think Nintendo didn't quite have the budget to spare to make Majora's Mask a full game and compensated the lack of lenght with designing the game in a way that encourages replaying content. Can't say I'm a fan of that at all. Also the much talked about side quests were somewhat of a disappointed. I'm sure at the time they were revolutionary but they felt hopelessly outdated by today's standards.
Overwatch July 7th
Something I'll be playing long into the future if Blizzard's post-launch support is even half of what I've heard. Of course the game itself feels heavily inspired by Team Fortress 2 among other titles but the level of polish here is just on another level. Heroes all feel fun to play on their own ways and are very varied. Visual and sound design are also on a level I'm only used to finding in Nintendo games. Certainly it's not a game that's perfectly realized how it is now but the potential is big. At its best with a good group it's one of my favorite multiplayer games ever.
Grand Theft Auto V July 15th
It's easy to see why GTA V is one of the most expensive games made to date. The scale in this game is quite spectacular. That said there's a lot of content that I didn't really feel like doing even if it was there. Lots of different kind of collectables apparently to act as filler. It's kind of a shame since while I wanted to experience all the stories I didn't want it enough to go on a massive collectable hunt. They also make you drive a lot apparently mostly to add in artificial length to the story mode. I liked the writing even if dialling it back just a bit would have helped give the game some variability.
I really like what they did with 3 main characters. It makes a lot of sense for a game like this. I hope other developers take lessons. They also managed to make all 3 of them distinct and interesting. No complaints as far as graphics and soundtrack is concerned. Good stuff all around. It was also my pleasure to find out that after the turd that was GTA IV on PC the port was a lot more solid this time around.
BOXBOY! July 16th
Nintendo games don't get much more simplistic from this. It has its charm but I found the actual gameplay lacking. Now I'm not the biggest puzzle game fan in the world so I might be biased. In my personal experience like 3/4th of the puzzles in the game were no-brainers and the rest didn't test your wits in an interesting way. The game encourages trial & error in a way that doesn't feel rewarding. Presentation was mediocre. Nothing offensively bad but nothing good either. Kind of rushed it towards the end just to finish it and that usually tells everything you need to know about the experience you had. Not going to play the sequel.
SUPERHOT July 17th
When I played the demo of this game I fell love in love with the concept. The final product is a good game no doubt about that but not a great one. The core gameplay is so compelling but in my experience it has two faults. First of all it's hard to keep track of your surroundings and as a result many of your attempts end at getting shot in the back which I don't think is very fun. Additionally connecting shots can be hard due to the lack of movement because you don't know how fast the enemy is moving exactly. So many good things to talk about too. The overall atmosphere and story makes the game so unnerving in the best possible way. Some Steam reviews had an issue with the lenght but to be honest I was done before the game ended. Actually I lost progress at the final level so I decided to stop there. Might return when I get my first VR headset though. The game seems perfect for that.
Tales from the Borderlands August 18th
I had such a blast playing this game. There's still a soft spot in my heart to some of the games Telltale puts out. Usual gripes regarding their games still apply but I don't think they need to be repeated. Where it matters this game shines - really funny and interesting story. Special mention goes to the soundtrack as well which they really nailed.
Firewatch August 30th
This game really spooked me! Somehow the isolation and the
got to me. Ending was different from what I expected but I don't really have strong feelings about it one way or another. I think it fits the game quite well. Really gorgeous game. Since Wind Waker HD I haven't been compelled to take pictures in the game but Firewatch's nature was too pretty to resist. Certainly one of the best walking simulators I have played.
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright September 12th
Being a big fan of Awakening I had big expectations for this game. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Awakening but I still had some jolly good time. Some gripes include uneven difficulty curve and dumb story. Yet Fire Emblem series will always have a special place in my heart and this game does nothing to change that. I might return to play the other campaigns later.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 September 16th
It's a Mario game alright. I liked Wii U's NSMB games more. This one lacks challenge. Yet it's very polished and I enjoyed my time with it. The coin gimmick wasn't integrated in any meaningful way.
Grow Home September 21st
This game took me by a surprise! At first I had no idea what to do but slowly I started to understand what was going on. Really surprised to play such a "lowkey" title from Ubisoft. Actual controls didn't always feel the best but I soon learned to play around them. Some parts of the game really gave me "Nintendo-vibes".
Yoshi's Woolly World November 2nd
Played this one in co-op. Such a cute game! One of the best artstyles in any games ever. Platforming is solid as you'd expect from a Nintendo game. Finding collectables was fun for most parts but you could notice they designed some of the collectables in a way that they're very hard to get in the first playthrough so longevity to the game. Not a fan of this kind of design but this is a very small gripe.
DOOM (2016) November 3rd
What a contrast to Yoshi. Just gore for the sake of gore. Feels like the kind of game that realized that sometimes making the best game means looking at the past. Doesn't try to be something it isn't but just offers fun FPS campaign. Multiplayer feels like a bad joke relative to how much attention it got pre-release. Definitely one of my favorite games of the year.
Hitman - Season 1 November 23rd
Tried getting into Hitman with Blood Month in the past but with no success. This game on the other hand made me a fan. The scale of the levels and the possibilities developers have put in make it a very exciting game to explore and play. Really enjoyed the variety of locale in the first season. Think my favorite was the last mission set in Hokkaido. Overall I liked the writing. Good balance between jokes and "serious" stuff. Will probably keep replaying missions and doing elusive targets leading towards Season 2 launch.
Kentucky Route Zero - Act IV November 23rd
One of those experiences that can't very well be explained with words. So instead I'll just say I liked what I played and I wholeheartedly recommend KRZ. Not bothered by the long wait times between episodes personally. Huge huge props for perfect 21:9 support.
Dishonored 2 December 7th
Finished a non-lethal (but not particularly stealthy) playthrough on Hard with Emily. Might be my favorite game of this year so far. Heard that port isn't particularly good and while that is true I'd say it was definitely playable for me. Although I guess my standards aren't very high in this regard or I might have found it more of an issue. Actual gameplay was just good. Nothing crazy and I felt like I limited myself going non-lethal. Where the real money is level design. Seriously the mid-point of the game has some of the greatest video game levels I have ever played. Although it's sad to see that towards the end some of the levels felt a bit uninspired in comparision. As you'd expect from Dishonored 1 the different ways you can tackle obstacles and targets is really interesting at its best.
Inside December 10th
For once the endless hype on this forum regarding a game was 100% justified. Inside doesn't try to do many things but what it does it does very well. I have to say on record I wasn't a fan of LIMBO. Yet Inside really struck a chord with me. Perfect controls, incredibly artstyle and sound design really make the experience for me. Don't want to spoil anything too much but it's the kind of "horror" I really like. Props for good achievement design too.
Ori and the Blind Forest December 16th
Another game I had heard high praises about. Absolutely justified once again. Even outside of the obvious that are gorgeous artstyle and beautiful soundtrack this game is such a well controlling platformer. I'm not going to lie there was a certain difficulty bump that made me quite frustrated and I think the save system is simply a poor design. Yet this game makes you want to forgive those faults for everything it gets right is plenty. Can't wait to see what Moon Studios will do next.
Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series December 19th
Already shelved this once but went back to finish the last two remaining episodes. It's quite the contrast from Tales from the Borderlands, a game which I dearly enjoyed. I wouldn't say it's a bad game but a tad uninspired at times. Feels like they at the same time weren't able to fully utilize GoT world and were chained by it. Putting in characters from the TV show to the game make for nice trailers and screenshots but didn't always make sense. Also they really need to figure out some technical aspects regarding their games. One guy doing animation is not enough for these kind of games. Some scenes turned to comical because of how janky it looked. Regardless I'd probably play a sequel to this game.
Overcooked December 24th
Finished in 2 player co-op! I really didn't expect to like the game as much as I did. Pretty much just binged it in a couple of sittings all of the DLC and achievements included. It feels very rewarding when you co-operate well to make efficient work flows. The style is charming and fits the game well. I think it could have been just a bit harder but then again for this kind of game it not being too hard works as well. Also really liked THE BEAST.
Shelved:
Broforce,
Reigns
).
