-Spoilers- stick around after the credits to read my true top ten...
9. Metroid Dread Powerless to powerful; a classic loop for video games. Metroid Dread doles out an indestructible foe after foe to harry you on your journey through an evolving labyrinth. Sometimes changes came to quickly which lead to trust issues for me and ultimately dissuaded me from rounding back to explore more of the map. The cycle repeats as you explore, power up, and dispatch the undispatchable. Don't get me wrong, it still feels great to get revenge on the E.M.M.I. that's has been dogging you whether its the first or last of the lot. MercurySteam improves upon the Metroid formula with player friendly enhancements, refined controls, and the incorporation of a Soulslike challenge and reward structure. |
7. Psychonauts 2 Honestly, this game is on my list because it is Psychonauts 2. Odds defying, years in production, quality pedigree, and sequel to a game I enjoyed immensely, Psychonauts 2 is impossible to divorce from its history. When I try to lay out what it did well, I find myself focusing on minor flaws that detract from what could have been a better experience. In fact, I don't think that there is some ethereal factor at play that I can point to that elevated this game for me. But it's here. On my list in a location I think is fitting. Psychonauts 2 is a labor of love and so was playing it. |
6. Guilty Gear -Strive- I don't know where the game differs from it's predecessor, but I didn't play Guilty Gear Xrd so it doesn't matter. It was easy enough to pick up Sol and Chip from what I could recall from playing Guilty Gear X in high school but I require more practice to grasp the advanced techniques. Fortunately, this doesn't stand in the way of playing some quick matches as this entry rewards aggressive pressure and looks damn good while the action is going down. The story mode is a four hour long in engine anime with no gameplay. It also doesn't make any sense and a perfect fighting game in my book. |
5. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury I got my fill of 3D World on the Wii U so all I touched was the content in Bowser's Fury. Bowser's Fury was concentrated quality. Nimble and engaging platforming with just enough changes of pace to keep things feeling fresh all the time. More short Mario games with dynamic mechanics. It's okay to reuse assets, Nintendo. |
4. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart A meat and potatoes action platformer showing off the power of PS5. The controls are as sleek as the seamless loading. Particles pop, voices acting booms, and the fur enchants; nothing new for Ratchet and Clank. This technical marvel kept me engaged the whole way through and proved moderns consoles are a significant and worthy upgrade. |
3. Unpacking Chore game with an art style and a metanarrative is collection of words describing a game I did not expect to enjoy. Unpacking got bonus points for hitting at just the right time in my life and being included in Game Pass. This Mega Man Battle Network looking game stole me away and dropped me into a life of someone I now could now describe in great detail. I often find myself thinking of the new locations and what the distribution of the contents told me; almost always it prompted an exploration of my personal biases. Unpacking made one thing irrefutably clear: the number of hangers one owns and uses directly correlates to one's happiness. |
2. Inscryption Play the first part of Inscryption. The game has flaws and pacing issues, but this is one of those rare games that comes out of nowhere and provides an experience that only video games can deliver. It's required reading in the company of Portal, Bioshock, and MGS. Then ending of Inscryption delivers and reprises the quality and impact brought in the first portion. |
1. Deathloop By the time it comes to talk about the best game of the year, I often feel winded. Just read everything before this and combine it and make it a little better and you have the number one game. Well that's not true, but Deathloop did something very important for me. It brought me to a genre I had distaste for and showed me why people regard it so well. And if popular consensus disagrees because Deathloop is too far removed from immersive sim, then so be it. A new genre is born and I hope to see it more frequently. I also appreciate a game that respects the player. I don't have infinite hours. Save scumming does not appeal. Sometimes I can only play for a short stint and then I'm away from it for a bit. Deathloop makes jumping in and out easy and even a short, botched run provides value. Is this game for everyone? No, but it worked for me perfectly. |
Griff's Top Ten Genshin Impacts 10. Quality of life improvements - Small updates go a long way 9. Real time delay between quest segments - When the players can't pace themselves, the game will 8. Tsurumi Island - Year of the time loop, baby 7. Hangout system - More story time focused on the little moments 6. Zhongli rework - Become the Geo Zaddy as he was meant to be 5. Inazuma landmass variety 4. Shadows Amidst Snowstorms - Albedo and Susbedo 3. La Signora's ending - Quite the surprise and a cool shift to turn a big bad into a weekly boss 2. Archipelago rollout of 1.6 - A good sign that templated a new content delivery model 1. Azdaha quest and weekly boss fight - Depth, surprise, challenge, design all of a high quality setting the tone for much of the content to come |