The Forgotten City
If there’s one genre that I saw a lot of in the early months of 2022, it was time loop mysteries. I was tempted to actually give the Skyrim mod a try, but after seeing a few videos of it, I think the stand alone original game is the better option. It’s got a great pace, and the quest journal does a good job of making sure you’ve always got at least one lead to pursue. I know others have felt that games more action oriented sessions seemed out of place, and while I half agree with that, I do think they present a nice change of style, even if they do drag on a little longer than I’d like. My only other major annoyance was how I had to retry the ending at least four times.
9/10
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Someone, somewhere, told me that this game had a lot in similar with Obra Dinn. This was a lie. There’s nothing I hate more in ‘Walking Simulators’ than deciding to go explore some area off the beaten path, only to discover nothing interesting, and then having to slowly make my way back. The puzzles were uninteresting, and the actual plot was completely forgettable. At least it sure looked pretty.
3/10
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise
I really wanted this to be better than it actually was. I love that it has all the kitsch filled charm of the original, but it feels like it’s been stripped down feature-wise. The fact that you never get to drive a car and have to get around by skateboard seems like a major oversight, especially when the game forces you to visit a mansion in the middle of nowhere and you have to get there on your skateboard.
6.5/10
Planescape: Torment
This was my first full play-through of PST. I never even really got very far in the past, but I actually stuck with it. After playing through Disco Elysium last year, I’m really interested in the idea of an Infinity Engine style game forgoing combat altogether and just focusing on exploration and conversations, which is what the middle act of PST does extremely well. It almost seems like a completely different game from the first and third acts, which have a much stronger emphasis on combat.
9.5/10
Twelve Minutes
Time Loop Mystery number two! I loved the general concept, and it does start out pretty strong, but it’s hard to not look up a guide after a few loops where you don’t discover anything new. I do wish the twist at the end was a little more original though.
6/10
The Wonderful 101
It’s always nice to see a WiiU exclusive get released to a wider audience. That said, I feel like this is one of Platinums lesser titles, as it feels like the combat doesn’t quite have the same level of grace or finesse that I get from Bayonetta. Maybe it has more to do with the locked isometric camera.
7/10
Gnosia
Time Loop Mystery number three, and probably the best of the bunch. I’m surprised this game hasn’t gotten more attention, especially since it can be described as ‘What if Among Us was a Visual Novel?’ The premise is that you and a bunch of other weirdos are on a space ship, and the on-board computer has determined that a small number of you have been infected with an alien mind virus (the titular Gnosia). In order to prevent the ship from auto-murdering everyone on board, you have to get all of the infected into cryo-stasis, and you pick who gets to take an ice nap by group vote. So, Werewolf, but in space.
The added rub is that the player is in a time loop, and the roles get changed every cycle. One round you’re just a normal human with nothing but the words of other players to rely on, while other times you might get a role that let’s you investigate characters between rounds. The player might even end up being infected themselves. There’s a broader story at hand which is slowly revealed as you play through loop after loop, having pieces of the other characters backstories be revealed as they’re put into specific circumstances.
The result is an incredibly addictive gameplay loop of 15 minute long werewolf sessions that slowly chip away at a larger narrative. There’s a leveling system in place that lets you power up your persuasive and deductive abilities and learn special skills, so even when you ‘lose’, you’re still making progress.
9.5/10
Daemon X Machina
All I can remember about this game was how I didn’t really care about the plot and I was constantly running out of ammo. I tend to buy games like these because I like the idea of being able to customize mechs, but I always regret it in the long term over how frustrating they can get near the end of the game.
6/10
Torment: Tides of Numenera
This was actually the first game I ever backed on Kickstarter, all the way back in 2013. I had held off on actually playing it because it felt wrong to do so BEFORE finishing Planescape: Torment. I love how you can play through the entire game without having to engage in any actual combat, especially since I found the combat to be the worst part of the game.
8.5/10
Front Mission (DS)
Here’s my soft spot for custom mech combat again! I think I was about halfway through this when the Front Mission 1 and 2 remakes got announced. Front Mission 3 has long been a personal favourite of mine, so I’ve always felt bad that I’ve never been able to give any of the other games in the series any love. The game has aged incredibly well, but it is a bit on the grindy side, and the AI has a nasty habit of exploiting any mistakes you make. Really looking forward to the remake of the second game.
8.5/10
DEATHLOOP
The fourth, and final, Time Loop game. I loved Dishonored and Prey (2017), so I was expecting a lot of the same magic here. And I guess it’s got some of it… It honestly feels closer to the Hitman games though, where it’s more about finding the most optimized way to complete your objectives by playing areas over and over and acquiring more toys, rather than the more full play-through expected in Dishonored.
8/10
Monark
Now here’s another case of me wanting to like a game, but just ending up being disappointed. I think the marketing line that convinced me to buy the game was ‘Former Persona Devs’, which really makes me wonder.
I actually really enjoyed the TRPG gameplay, but there’s so many design decisions outside of the combat that make the game really frustrating. The game is split into chapters, and each chapter will tend to focus on one of the games party members. However, while you’re going through that chapter, the other party members can’t be used in combat. Not only that, but you level up by unlocking skills with experience points that all come from a single shared pool. This means you can spend one chapter building up a character, only for them to bench themselves once you’re done with their part in the story, and they don’t come back until the second half of the game (where they will do it again).
5.5/10
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright
I love the Ace Attorney series, but I only ever played the first Layton game, and didn’t like enough to want to go after any of the sequels. The cost of physical copy kept me away from this game for a while, but I did manage to snag it from the 3DS eShop before Nintendo burned that thing to the ground. Sadly, I think the game spends more time being a Layton game than an Ace Attorney game, and the court sequences aren’t up to the bar set by the main series.
8/10
Haven
Here’s another fine example of a game I loved relaxing to… at least until it was time for combat. I seem to vaguely remember going out of my way to stockpile items that allowed me to quickly finish combat encounters just so they wouldn’t throw as big a wrench into my overall enjoyment.
8/10
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
I bought this for PSP in 2006, and never got around to finishing it. The announcement of Valkyrie Elysium did motivate me to give this another try. I even ordered a new PSP battery because the old one was bulging. I’ve always had a hard time enjoying games that give you an actual deadline to complete certain tasks (I think Persona 3/4/5 have been the only ones to do this well). I’m also confused as to why anyone would think weapons that have a 5% chance of breaking when used is a good idea, especially when said weapons can’t be bought in the shop, and are also highly effective against certain difficult enemy types. On top of all that, I’m not convinced that the PSP is the best way to play this game. The combat is still fun, save for encounters with particular enemies, and the story is top-notch. Maybe I’ll give it another go with the PS4/5 release.
5.5/10
Pokemon Sword
I ended up skipping on getting Sword when it came out in 2019, largely because of how the game was launching with an incomplete Pokedex. I eventually succumbed, and got the game, the DLC (if only so I could bring over some ringers from Moon), and even got the 3DS VC releases of Red and Crystal. The game actually feels like the most streamlined of the main series of games. Where the other games will have you crisscrossing across the entire map, Sword/Shield just keeps you moving northward the whole time. Outside of that, it’s a pretty standard Pokemon game. I can’t really blame them for wanting to play it safe on the new hardware, especially when compared to what they tried later with Scarlet and Violet.
8/10
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country
After buying and downloading it all the way back in 2018, I managed to put off even starting the Xenoblade 2 DLC. I have a really bad habit of buying a game, and then not getting around to playing it until after they announce the sequel. I certainly liked how it felt like a streamlined version of XC2, except for the parts where the games main plot decides you aren’t allowed to proceed further until you complete enough fetch quests for the local citizens. It’s just felt like filler to pad the game out past the 20 hour mark.
7.5/10
A Hand With Many Fingers
I love a good mystery game that can wrap itself up in under two hours. The premise is that it’s just you, a cork board with an endless supply of string, and a basement full of government records. You’ve got a bunch of index cards that tell you which boxes have records about what a specific person was up to in a specific region in a specific year, and you’ve got to try and figure out what lead to an Australian Lawyer suicide. You do this figuring out what Name/Region/Date combo you want to look up, getting a box number, then going to the basement to grab it and bring it back to you office. It’s all based off of a true story too. I just wish it was longer, and had an ending that lived up to the tension that the game builds along the way.
7.5/10
AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative
I loved the first game, and the entire Zero Escape series, so this was automatic. I will say that the big narrative twist near the end was completely unexpected, but also kind of silly. After the reveal, one of the minor characters goes on to explain it directly to the player, and that does somewhat concede that even the developers thought it would be a hard pill to swallow. Also, the quick time event sequence at the end just felt completely unnecessary.
8/10
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
It’s just about everything I loved about Xenoblade 2, AND they got rid of the Gacha Game mechanics! The world is vast, yet still brimming with detail. The combat is fast and incredibly complicated, but can still be muscled through. There’s systems layered on top of systems designed to help you grow and customize your party. I haven’t revisited the game since finishing it, so I’ll probably be coming back to when more of the DLC gets released.
9.5/10
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell
I originally had the Saints Row reboot on this list, but when that game was released to a critical thud, I decided to hold off and just give this a try instead. I don’t know what happened here. I remember SR4 being one of my favourite games of 2013, but this just felt like a completely empty experience. It feels more like it should have just been DLC. Understandable, since it was primarily developed as an extra for the PS4/XBONE remasters of SR4.
5.5/10
Ghostwire: Tokyo
You had me at Tokyo! Even it’s mostly just Shibuya! This was one of those Open World games where I find myself having so much fun trying to track down every little collectable that I get within 100 meters of. It helps that just getting around Shibuya is so easy, especially once you unlock the skills that let you glide and grapple from rooftop to rooftop.
8.5/10
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
I bought the WiiU version of this back in 2015, and still haven’t taken it out of the wrapping. And then I bought the Switch version, because why not? It’s Shin Megami Tensei Lite with a lot of Fire Emblem aesthetics. The combat is fast and flashy, and the pacing is pretty strong, even if some of the dungeons in the later half start to evoke the frustrations I remember from other non-Persona SMTs.
8/10
GreedFall
Oh look, it’s that weird colonialist themed WRPG from 2019. It seemed like such an interesting idea on the surface, but it really just feels like a thematic reskin of the original Mass Effect Trilogy. Just follow the objective marker to the next plot point while building up the right skills and relationships. It’s really just the setting that feels like it’s taking risks; everything else is playing it safe and sticking with the familiar.
7/10
Aragami
Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a stealthy assassin game, and since I haven’t touched any Assassin’s Creeds or Dishonoreds in a while, this seemed like a quick bite. The core gameplay is simple enough to understand, but definitely invites additional replays by challenging you to get through levels without being seen or killing any enemies. I might have to try the sequel next year.
7/10
Impostor Factory
I’m at the point where I’m automatically buying anything put out by FreeBird Games. This one definitely breaks the expectations I had coming out of To the Moon and Finding Paradise though. It’s still a heartfelt story of emotional highs and lows, and the kinds of surprises at the end that I’ve come to expect. Still not as good as To The Moon though.
9/10
WORLD END ECONOMiCA
I got the original volume all the way back in 2014. Steam had just introduced jewels into their inventory system, and had a holiday promotion where you could bid those jewels in auctions for games. Ipicked up the other two volumes some time later, but decided I was going to play them after reading through the Spice & Wolf light novels (all 17 volumes). I think the game suffers from the same problem I had with the novels in that it keeps explaining certain economic concepts over and over again, but never really does a good job of it. This can make it a little hard to follow along with the plot or the actions of the characters.
7/10
Bayonetta 3
The plot is silly, the cutscenes are bonkers, and the . But at least the game-play is razor sharp, and that’s all I ever wanted. Seeing alternate versions of Bayonetta was nice, but I do feel that all the extra playable characters tends to take the focus away. I hated the Viola levels, and really hated the Jeanne levels. I’d rather go back to Bayonetta 2 for a more pure experience.
8.5/10
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds
I had spent about a year having a browser tab sitting on Best Buys product page for the PS5, refreshing every so often, hoping that at some point my local outlet would get some in stock. It seems there was a wave of restocks in the middle of October, and I managed to reserve one for pick-up later in the day. After getting it home, setting up (including about an hour to transfer my stuff over from the PS4), and playing through Astro’s Playroom (7.5/10), I decided to download the HZD DLC I had ignored for the past four years, especially since I plan on getting to Forbidden West at some point.
Honestly, this just felt like more of what I didn’t like in the base game; bullet-spongy enemies, prop hunting door locks, and Calderon climbing puzzles. Maybe I’ll avoid Forbidden West for bit…
7/10
Hitman 3
I’m not going to say I didn’t like it, but it definitely feels like the weakest of the trilogy. I think a major part of that has to do with how much they let the story bleed into the actual missions. Hitman is at it’s best when your mission has as little interference from the story as possible. The final level is just a linear train that feels like it would have been a better fit as a tutorial. It even has flashback cutscenes.
I haven’t actually had the time to give any of the missions a serious second play-through yet, so maybe levels like Dubai and Berlin are a little more enjoyable once I get to experiment with different load-outs.
8.5/10
Lost Judgment
I bought the PS5 version of this when it came out, believing that I would EVENTUALLY get the console. One year later, Lost Judgment received the honor of being the first PS5 game I actually got to play.
It was a great experience too. It had been nearly two years since I finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and I hadn’t played a ‘traditional’ Yakuza game since the remaster of Yakuza 3, so it felt so good to finally get back to dishing out brutal heat attacks in Kamurocho. I also loved the plot. It’s a mystery that’s a lot more grounded and relatable than the more Yakuza-centric betrayal heavy plots of the core series, but still has you questioning the morals and motivations of everyone involved.
8.5/10
Omori
As much as I loved Earthbound, I’ve seen enough bad RPG Maker games that claim inspiration from it to make me eternally cautious of games trying to evoke it’s image. It’s like they try to be too much like Earthbound while also completely missing what gave Earthbound it’s soul and failing to have any a unique identity. Omori certainly breaks this trend though. The combat is simple on the surface, but using emotions to craft strategies as just enough depth, the emotional highs and lows are perfectly paced as the plot points are slowly dropped, and the art style hits that sweet spot between nostalgic and low-tech. I especially loved the story, even if some of the plot twists could be seen coming. The final quarter of the is also loaded with filler, and too many quasi-scripted battles. Still, it’s an absolutely solid love letter to the 16-bit JRPG.
9/10
Cruelty Squad
I’m fairly certain that this game is intended to be frustrating to play. If it wasn’t so visually gaudy, or so oblique about it’s more unusual mechanics, or the interface so intentionally counter intuitive, I’d be motivated to replay it more, but it would also lose a lot of it’s unique identity.
6/10
Pokemon Scarlet
They did it! They actually made an open world Pokemon game! And it’s about as rough around the edges I would expect! I started playing it after they rolled out the 1.1 patch, so I probably missed a lot of the more notable launch bugs. The technical issues are still there, like how the frame rate tends to take a dip in certain areas. You can definitely tell the developers were more concerned with seeing if they could do it, rather than seeing if they could do it well.
8.5/10
Stray
A short and simple exploration game with great environmental story telling and perfect pacing. I could do without some of the old-school adventure game style fetch quests. Still, nothing in this game is more complicated than it really need to be.
9/10