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Media Videogame Thread
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I played about the same amount of Hades, and I ended up having a similar feeling. I loved Hades's non-roguelike predecessor, Transistor, and although Hades improves upon it in many aspects, it didn't come close to capturing my heart in the same way. The pacing is definitely hindered by having to deliver the same story to someone who'll clear the game in their first ten tries and someone who'll be stuck in the first area for over twenty runs. In my case, I did most of my runs before they released the actual ending, and I still haven't gotten around to completing the 10 I need to unlock it (and at this point, enough time has passed that the gravitas is kind of missing, and I probably should just replay the game completely). Funnily enough, I had the opposite issue as you gameplay-wise: my preferred playstyle was the rail, and there's nothing stopping you from using the rail in every run, so what boons I received didn't matter at all. It reduced the process of boon selection to a question of whether or not I received something like Divine Dash or a rocket hammer in a run; everything else didn't fundamentally change the way I played the game. It's related to a bit of a larger issue I had with both Hades and One Step From Eden (which I enjoyed and would likewise recommend, granted): the impact of player mechanics outweighs that of build decisions by enough that builds feel like an afterthought and runs can tend to lack their own identity. Maybe that's a bit self-evident and a commonality among mechanical roguelikes, but coming off Slay the Spire, where deckbuilding almost exclusively defines each run, I had some different expectations. OSFE further compounds this issue by giving every character the same pool of cards, and it's hard to justify not just picking your preferred character over and over again after you've unlocked everything. In fairness, the game does give you the option to filter which types of cards you'll receive in a run, so there's always the option to self-impose whatever diversity you want; I'm just the type of player who dislikes having to make those types of house rules (+ self-banning certain broken cards/strategies). Overall, I enjoyed the time I had with both Hades and OSFE, but I didn't end up tapping into the full replayability promised by all the possible weapon/character selections and scaling difficulty levels like I did with StS.
I’m pretty hard stuck on boss cell 4 on Dead Cells rn after getting back into over the summer. I don’t really enjoy how the difficulty increase for this tier is just “the bosses have like 4x the health, bozo” because before then it was ramping up quite nicely and naturally. Still would recommend the game, it has a great flow.
as for hades yeah i agree it’s a great game but a pretty mediocre roguelike experience
as for hades yeah i agree it’s a great game but a pretty mediocre roguelike experience
I wanted to share my brief thoughts on Ghost of Tsushima (PS5) and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 since these were two games I enjoyed. I would also love to hear everyone else's opinion on these games.
Ghost of Tsushima
Before recently, I had not had a Playstation since the PS2, so once I got a PS5 many friends recommended Ghost of Tsushima. The visuals on this game are great, and the ability to have the voice actors in Japanese is appreciated as it made me feel like I was a samurai. The combat is smooth and intuitive compared to other similar games I've played, such as AC Odyssey and Ryse Son of Rome. The ability to wield a bow, sword, kunai, smoke bombs and sticky bombs always gave me a new way to fight, which I liked. The side missions were always great Yuna's, Masako, Ishikawa, and Norio, as they gave me other things to do besides exploring. However, the other side content, such as Fox Dens, Hot Springs, Bamboo Strikes, and Shrines, can be repetitive if you aim to complete everything I did. However, in a casual playthrough, I wouldn't have noticed this issue as you are meant to find these areas on a whim rather than hunting for them like I was. The historical setting of 1200s Japan and the samurai and how Jin learns he needs to adapt and sometimes not follow the samurai honor code was sympathetic and interesting. Ghost of Tsushima is the game that made me like having a PS5 despite my unfamiliarity with the Dualshock controller.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
I was first introduced to the Xenoblade Saga thanks to Chuggaconroy with his Let's Play of Xenoblade Chronicles 1, which piqued my interest as I was impressed that such a visually stunning game and a story-driven game on the Wii at the time I thought the Wii primarily had shovelware outside of a few titles. Chugga's Let's Play encouraged me to buy XC2, a game I loved and have played every entry ever since. With XC3, it honestly delivered as it looks stunning, showing that the Switch can produce beautiful-looking games given the right tools. The gameplay is a hybrid between the combat systems of XC1 and XC2, taking the simplicity of XC1's combat system and fusing it with the immense choice that came with XC2. It's hard to describe, but XC3 feels like Xenoblade but still feels different. I love the hero mechanic and the hero quests, as it allows every hero to get their little spotlight in a compelling story. I also love that you can install a Japanese voice pack as the English voice actors; while good can be distracting sometimes, the choice is great. The environments are some of the best I have seen on the Switch, and makes me think if Xenoblade could be on a more powerful console, what could the developers pull off? In terms of characters, I find all six main characters to be excellent, as each plays a different role on the team. While some of the characters are cliches, such as Noah and Lanz, there are some characters, such as Sena and Mio, who are different from your usual main team characters. What I think the Xenoblade franchise does best is keep the player on their toes as the twists and turns in the story are exciting. I highly recommend the Xenoblade franchise to anyone who loves JRPGs, as all three of the Xenoblade Chronicles games are available on the Nintendo Switch.
I also wanted to share a few games I am working on or planning to play once I find some time, so any opinions on whether these games are worth playing are appreciated!
- The Last of Us Part 1 and 2: Currently, I have The Last of Us Part 1 (PS4) version, but I have heard there are visual upgrades to the PS5 version at $50; I think I am going to either play the PS4 version or wait for until the PS5 version reaches a price point of $20. I would love an opinion on whether it is even worth waiting.
- Bayonetta 3: I am halfway done with this, but I like the combat and environments. I wish the Switch were more powerful, as this game would benefit from better hardware. Platinum Games could take this game further with new and better ideas if the Switch did not limit them.
- Soul Hackers 2: Currently, I have this on my shelf (Xbox Series X) as I like JRPGs not sure if I should play it
Ghost of Tsushima
Before recently, I had not had a Playstation since the PS2, so once I got a PS5 many friends recommended Ghost of Tsushima. The visuals on this game are great, and the ability to have the voice actors in Japanese is appreciated as it made me feel like I was a samurai. The combat is smooth and intuitive compared to other similar games I've played, such as AC Odyssey and Ryse Son of Rome. The ability to wield a bow, sword, kunai, smoke bombs and sticky bombs always gave me a new way to fight, which I liked. The side missions were always great Yuna's, Masako, Ishikawa, and Norio, as they gave me other things to do besides exploring. However, the other side content, such as Fox Dens, Hot Springs, Bamboo Strikes, and Shrines, can be repetitive if you aim to complete everything I did. However, in a casual playthrough, I wouldn't have noticed this issue as you are meant to find these areas on a whim rather than hunting for them like I was. The historical setting of 1200s Japan and the samurai and how Jin learns he needs to adapt and sometimes not follow the samurai honor code was sympathetic and interesting. Ghost of Tsushima is the game that made me like having a PS5 despite my unfamiliarity with the Dualshock controller.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
I was first introduced to the Xenoblade Saga thanks to Chuggaconroy with his Let's Play of Xenoblade Chronicles 1, which piqued my interest as I was impressed that such a visually stunning game and a story-driven game on the Wii at the time I thought the Wii primarily had shovelware outside of a few titles. Chugga's Let's Play encouraged me to buy XC2, a game I loved and have played every entry ever since. With XC3, it honestly delivered as it looks stunning, showing that the Switch can produce beautiful-looking games given the right tools. The gameplay is a hybrid between the combat systems of XC1 and XC2, taking the simplicity of XC1's combat system and fusing it with the immense choice that came with XC2. It's hard to describe, but XC3 feels like Xenoblade but still feels different. I love the hero mechanic and the hero quests, as it allows every hero to get their little spotlight in a compelling story. I also love that you can install a Japanese voice pack as the English voice actors; while good can be distracting sometimes, the choice is great. The environments are some of the best I have seen on the Switch, and makes me think if Xenoblade could be on a more powerful console, what could the developers pull off? In terms of characters, I find all six main characters to be excellent, as each plays a different role on the team. While some of the characters are cliches, such as Noah and Lanz, there are some characters, such as Sena and Mio, who are different from your usual main team characters. What I think the Xenoblade franchise does best is keep the player on their toes as the twists and turns in the story are exciting. I highly recommend the Xenoblade franchise to anyone who loves JRPGs, as all three of the Xenoblade Chronicles games are available on the Nintendo Switch.
I also wanted to share a few games I am working on or planning to play once I find some time, so any opinions on whether these games are worth playing are appreciated!
- The Last of Us Part 1 and 2: Currently, I have The Last of Us Part 1 (PS4) version, but I have heard there are visual upgrades to the PS5 version at $50; I think I am going to either play the PS4 version or wait for until the PS5 version reaches a price point of $20. I would love an opinion on whether it is even worth waiting.
- Bayonetta 3: I am halfway done with this, but I like the combat and environments. I wish the Switch were more powerful, as this game would benefit from better hardware. Platinum Games could take this game further with new and better ideas if the Switch did not limit them.
- Soul Hackers 2: Currently, I have this on my shelf (Xbox Series X) as I like JRPGs not sure if I should play it
There's something that's been on my mind with respect to Xenoblade 3, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on it.
I really didn't like the City, and it may have put a damper on my enjoyment of the rest of the story.
First off, it's portrayed as a bastion of normal life within the rest of the crazy world. But I expressly didn't get this game for normalcy, I came here for alien landscapes and overcomplicated combat systems. It felt absolutely masterful that a few hours in you can already tell a group has unknown motivations because they use guns with bullets and not life-draining energy swords, and it feels somewhat like that effort was wasted if the late-game is going to give the spotlight to the most regular group anyway.
Where it really fell off for me however is the decision to only have humans and Nopon, and none of the other races. This is in contrast to any of the colonies, which are all mixed-raced within their respective nation. It meant that all the scenes about how life should be came off less as actual truths and more as a single ethnic group saying that something is objectively correct because that's how they do it (after all, the previous games showed us that the original life cycle for over half the main party is different). Combined with the sentiment of "the player should intuitively accept this because it's normal," it starts having uncomfortable implications. Is that what you really think about your players, Monolith? That casual racism is a relatable part of normal life? This impression that the City is wrong isn't helped by the note about attempts to bury the dead: the part of me that played Xenoblade 1 still sees "life returning to the earth is the correct natural order of things" as a pretty big red flag.
First off, it's portrayed as a bastion of normal life within the rest of the crazy world. But I expressly didn't get this game for normalcy, I came here for alien landscapes and overcomplicated combat systems. It felt absolutely masterful that a few hours in you can already tell a group has unknown motivations because they use guns with bullets and not life-draining energy swords, and it feels somewhat like that effort was wasted if the late-game is going to give the spotlight to the most regular group anyway.
Where it really fell off for me however is the decision to only have humans and Nopon, and none of the other races. This is in contrast to any of the colonies, which are all mixed-raced within their respective nation. It meant that all the scenes about how life should be came off less as actual truths and more as a single ethnic group saying that something is objectively correct because that's how they do it (after all, the previous games showed us that the original life cycle for over half the main party is different). Combined with the sentiment of "the player should intuitively accept this because it's normal," it starts having uncomfortable implications. Is that what you really think about your players, Monolith? That casual racism is a relatable part of normal life? This impression that the City is wrong isn't helped by the note about attempts to bury the dead: the part of me that played Xenoblade 1 still sees "life returning to the earth is the correct natural order of things" as a pretty big red flag.
Really interesting points that I did consider when I played the game.
Regarding the city, I felt Monolith made lots of holes in the story and the founding as they want to make a DLC about when N and M found the city to fight against Z, which is similar to questions I had in XC2 about Jin and Malos. So I cannot fully judge it as I'm assuming we will get more content in the near future, which I honestly feel should have been included with the game, but that's another story. Disclaimer aside, I did find it strange how there were no other races in the city which is strange since M is not a Homs and M is one of the founders of the city (From what I understand, M and N as Moebius, we see in the game are not the founders, but an early version of Noah and Mio founded the city many generations before.) Logically the city would be a mix of many different races, such as Melia in XC1 being a Homs High Entia mix which would have been cool to see the designs of these new hybrid races and how Monolith would tackle it. (Another question is, the High Entia in XC3 do not have long wings. I'm assuming this is because of the 10-year age, or are all High Entia hybrids? I find the former to be the most logical while the latter to be more farfetched) For me, it seems like a design oversight or plot hole that they will likely have to deal with later; why are there no other races in the city? Is it because hybrid creatures became more and more like Homs over the generations? Is it because no other races were present for the city's founding? Is it because of an internal conflict in the city that resulted in the execution of these other races? I don't know but this is something that Monolith will want to tackle in a prequel story to make the city more appealing. Was it a dealbreaker in terms of my enjoyment no, but did it make the city not as exciting as I thought it would be yes. (However, I did find a lot of side Hero Content in the city to be enjoyable) I question whether Monolith did this to make the city seem flawed and justify N's decision in a prequel DLC story, which I think is very likely as N has the memories of his past reincarnations, so this would check out. I look forward to how the DLC will or will not tackle this problem, as the seven statues perfectly set up a prequel story similar to Torna in XC2 with Jin. Overall, I had similar concerns with the city. I think it could have been handled better by either making it a small settlement because of the fighting or a settlement with hybrid humanoid creatures. Whether this was intentional or an oversight, I find it interesting and something that still makes me question why?
Also if a DLC comes on a cartridge as Torna did, it is definitely worth buying as typically the value of side-story Xenoblade cartridges goes up as retailers do not carry side-story games for very long
Also if a DLC comes on a cartridge as Torna did, it is definitely worth buying as typically the value of side-story Xenoblade cartridges goes up as retailers do not carry side-story games for very long
Funnily I like it a good deal for those exact same reasons; it's true that it's not exceptional in any single area but it's rare that you see everything done as competently as Hades does it, and it does a good job fitting the pieces together. I wouldn't say it's a 10/10 game for me but it was a very fun, well-balanced experience. I particularly liked the way that dying and restarting is an actual integral part of the story and not just a gameplay mechanic like it is in 90% of roguelikes.
Battle Network Legacy Collection is coming out April 14. Also, online battling, chip trading, and the release of 15 chips that were either impossible or super hard to get before due to being tied to the e-Reader. This notably includes the Cyber Beast chips that were deleted from the international release of 6 due to cartridge space issues.
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Ranking all the games I played in 2022 because I am a sucker for waxing nostalgic every New Year's Day. Note that, since I typically tend to replay games often, these rankings are mostly based on how much I enjoyed playing the game this year specifically. In some games are ranked lower (or higher) than they would otherwise due to the circumstances of how much I enjoyed them this year. Feel free to yell at me and say I have shit, terrible, awful taste!
F TIER
34) Super Monkey Ball 2
Look, I love love looooove the first Super Monkey Ball game. My current avatar on discord is from Monkey Ball. Used to be super obsessed with it back in the day. I finally got around to expanding my Monkey Ball horizons by playing the second one this year. And, unfortunately, this was a massive disappointment for me. The levels in SMB 1 feel like they were constructed by developers who really understood what SMB is and what makes it fun; I mean, you're balancing a goshdang monkey in a little ball for banana's sake. With SMB 2, it feels like they locked an intern in a closet and said "you have 1 day to make 100 levels for our next game or you're fired!!!!"
So many dumb gimmicks. I cringed every time there was a level that was just "some weird object that's spinning really fast!" Someone mentioned to me once that SMB was more of a puzzle game, and that really tracks. I mean, there's a level where you just have to keep pressing random buttons until you land on the one that opens the gate forward. This is not what I really look for in a Super Monkey Ball game. Frustrating and thoroughly boring, SMB 2 was a 0/10 for me. Then again I didn't play any of the multiplayer minigames, so maybe there is something there I am missing.
D TIER
33) Auto Modellista
Playing Auto Modellista is painful, phsyically; its the gameplay evuivalent of trying to pull your own teeth out with a wrench. While I am a huge Kart Racer fan, I haven't played too many traditonal racing games, so I don't know how it stacks it up to like Need For Speed or Forza, but... yeah. It's.... rough. The only reason it isn't in F Tier is because the visuals are sooooooooo fucking beautiful. This is one of the best looking games of all time, in my opinion, and if it only the gameplay was a little smoother, it would be a 10/10.
32) Pokemon Leafgreen (with a randomizer)
I played Leafgreen after having a blast with my Emerald nuzlocke, but tried this time with a randomizer. I went FULL ON RANDOMNESS, but I really didn't end up enjoying it all that much. I stopped playing around Celadon City. Maybe I'll give it another go at some point, but a full random nuzlocke might just not be for me.
31) Pico Park
This puzzle game supports up to 8 player, and I am sure, with that many people, the chaos that ensues would be quite funny. I only played it with my girlfriend, so maybe I missed out on the full experience. Otherwise, the puzzles were mostly pretty easy and boring, and overall just kind of uninspired. And even with 8 players, it seems the fun would mostly come from everyone fucking with each other, which would kind of get old really quick I think. Plus, who the fuck can ever get 8 people to all buy the same game and play it at the same time??? That is so unrealistic. If I could do that I'd probably end up preferring a different game anyway.
30) Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Ok, this might be the hottest take here since I know how beloved this game is. But this year marks one of several years where I have tried really really hard to get into VtMB, but I just... can't. VtMB seems to fall into a category of games that just feel.... gameplay-less. Like Rockstar's Bully. You kinda just run around doing tasks, but while there is lots of variety- none of it feels as tight as it would if the game were just designed around a certain aspect. Like, early in the game there is a quest where you sneak around a haunted hotel, but the sneak mechanics are thin so it feels more like a haunted house dark ride in Disneyland- just moving between set-pieces. Then there's a part where you sneak into this warehouse and its a combat-heavy area, but the combat isn't that particularly good? Like, as an action game or FPS it just doesn't hold up for me. I also found the writing to be mid? In the aforementioned haunted hotel, you find diary excepts from a woman who was murdered, but she's writing in her diary as she is being murdered, like, bitch, put down the diary and run!!! I will try my best to get deeper into the game, but for all my attempts I barely can make it very far before I get bored and move on. I like the worldbuilding, though.
C TIER
29) Sonic Battle
My mom bought me Sonic Battle for the GBA when I wanted Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the Gamecube. Tragic as that may be, Sonic Battle is a very OK button masher that I stopped playing not that far in. I feel like there is something cool here, though, and would like to see these ideas come back in a more fully-fledged fighting game some day.
28) Pokemon Stadium 2
Ok real talk, I LOOOOOVE Pokemon Stadium 2 and will defend it to my death. I am so glad I had this game as a kid because so much of my Pokemon nostalgia is rooted in this title. However, I barely remember my time playing it this year so I really can't justify ranking it that high. Plus, I will admit, my appreciation for this game does wane more and more every time I replay it- it is kind of fucking bullshit at times, and I wish more of the rental Pokemon were actually, like, useable.
27) Pokemon Scarlet
Pokemon's foray into the full-on open world just doesn't do it for me. The world is empty, the graphics are dull and the battles still so so so so painfully fucking slow. The Gen 9 dex is also the weakest one so far, in my opinion. I'd say it's disappointing but at this point this level of quality is exactly what I expect.
B TIER
26) Pokémon Crystal Clear
A better attempt at making Pokemon an open world experience than Scarlet & Violet, and while it's super impressive that for a fangame, the structure of the game just doesn't do it for me. It was fun for the first bit when I was assembling my team, but after that it almost feels like the game plays itself since you can just go do whatever you want in any order.
25) Fall Guys
Played a lot of Fall Guys but in reality it was moreso motivated for the funny costumes I wanted to earn. I wish that they'd make a game like Fall Guys but with better platforming mechanics. Imagine this game but with Mario 64 controls? That's like, my dream game.
24) OpenTTD
OpenTTD is the open-source simulator version of the game Transport Tycoon Deluxe. OpenTTD was fun while I was learning how it works, which I really forced myself to do using as few guides and walkthroughs as possible. The game really fell off for me once I felt like I Got It. Because, at the end of the day, it's just a game about transportation. For a certain type of gamer this may very well be heaven, but I don't think I am that type of gamer, even though I love the farts out of Rollercoaster Tycoon.
23) Kingdom Hearts
Another hot take, probably. I hated this game. LOL. That is an exaggeration. I loved the first couple hours, from the beginning of the game to when you first start exploring the 'worlds' is incredible. Destiny Islands may be one of the best "starting areas" ever made, and the music is top fucking notch. Something about the rest of the game, though, just did nothing for me. Combat was boring, the story is boring. The best thing about this game is Donald Fucking Duck. I got to the final area of the game one night and just quit out of frustration and boredom and button mashing.
But somehow overnight the game worked it's magic on me.
I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about it, and ended up powering through it. Beating that fucker final boss was a real challenge, and I am happy I overcame it. I don't know what drove me back into this game but I am content to assume it was just Kingdom Hearts magic. Maybe Sora snuck into my dream and unlocked my heart with his big ass key. I do think the game's got some real problems, though. I wont spoil it here but I found the ending to be really disappointing. The unskippable gummi ship parts where also just so fucking pluto-ass-dogshit. Fun concept, maybe I will replay it some day.
22) Coromon
A cute attempt at the Pokemon formula that ends up not really doing much of anything better than Pokemon itself. The monster designs are mostly hit or miss for me, but when they hit, they hit. Some of my favs:
The sprites aside, the game is stylistically less interesting to me than Pokemon. If Pokemon is Lego, then Coromon is Megablox. The game can feel a bit "all over the place"..... at one point you go to an afterlife realm filled with ghosts and spirits and also the main antoganists are... aliens? The game's finale is a bit underwhelming too. That said, I know the team is small and that the game is getting updates periodically, so some of the problems may be fixed. I may give it a go again later. I enjoyed it and actually finished it all the way through, which is honestly more of a praise then I can say for most games, to be quite honest.
21) Unrailed
Cute, frantic multiplayer game that is still fun by yourself. Starts slow but nevertheless quite fun. Really got me thinking about trains.
20) Hylics
I played Hylics on Halloween since I heard it could be beaten in only about an hour. It's a fine, RPG-maker esque game. The gameplay is your pretty standard RPG-maker gameplay. Fun at its core but lacking some depth. The real stand-out aspect of Hylics is it's beautiful, surreal art. For a weird loser like me, it's a gem. I was a little disappointed at the narrative (read: lack of narrative). Surrealism and weird shit is cool but I feel lit loses its momentum without some kind of interesting narrative to string the bizarre set-pieces together.
19) Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom
Fine platformer, but could use some more fluid movement options to make the gameplay more fun. I kept wishing that Spongebob had some kind of long-jump or something... they all just move too dang slow.
18) Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Much better than SV in nearly every way, in my opinion. I did, however, think that the gameplay loop got a bit boring after only a few hours. I think there were more interesting ways that they could have approached the general idea of a Pokemon game in the fall past that could have lended itself to more interesting gameplay and story beats. That said, it was really surreal seeing so many Pokemon elements being used in what actually, for the first time ever, felt like a modern experience. LA exsists outside of the spectrum of rankings that Pokemon occupies. Like, when I say a Pokemon game is "good" what I am really saying is "It's good for Pokemon." I don't feel like this is the case for LA.
A TIER
17) Super Mario World
Powered through this game all over the course of New Year's Eve so it's lower on here since it didn't really stick with me that much. Still my fav 2D Mario. Surprised with the amount of variety and it just feels so good to play.
16) Minecraft
Good ol' Minecraft. Normally, I'd say Minecraft is in my top 10 videogames of all time... but this year my playthrough was more... cynical. It started with having to transfer my Mojang account to Microsoft account and all that nonsense. And I just couldn't shake the feeling of being disappointed by the lack of meaningful updates this game has gotten over the years. I was replaying this game because of the new Deep Dark and Caves & Cliffs updates, but even then they feel.... shallow. There is still so much untapped potential to this game, so many things that it could be, and I am tired of relying on mods to get even close to that. I could go on and on about what I think Minecraft could do, but it's hard to not be cynical when they keep doing those dumbfuck mob votes. JUST PUT THEM ALL IN. It's a real slap in the face to have to dump away content that they could easily put in the game just to drum up artificial hype.
And then, all my complains with MC were renewed when I saw this:
WHAT!!!! A whole ass update with a full-on magic system with new animations??? Just for some Avatar the Last Airbender DLC???? For Bedrock only???? Now I know where all the developer's priorities lie! Meanwhile, we're still struggling over here with the same shitty, shallow enchantment system and the same 4 basic bitch mobs every night! AGH I'm getting frustrated all over again.
Minecraft has the potential to be the greatest adventure game of all time....... so close yet so far.
15) Luigi's Mansion
Fine. Idk. It's Luigi's Mansion. Hunting Boos was annoying. More and more I'm starting to realize that I want more games that are Luigi's Mansion length. Short, sweet, to the point. Xoxo.
14) Final Fantasy VIII
This was the first game I played this year and I told myself that I was DEFINITELY GOING TO FINISH IT. I did not. I got to like, the second disc. It's fun, don't get me wrong, it's just.... yknow. It's a JRPG on the playstation. It has a lot of mechanics that have become the stereotypes for outdated video games; random encounters, having to watch cutscenes again after you've died, etc etc. But the characters and the world are so charming and full of life. I will complete this game, I swear on it.
13) Mario Superstar Baseball
When I was like 12 my family went on a weekend vacation to the shore, but literally all I could think about was Mario Superstar Baseball. I swear, they've programmed crack into this game. I CAN NOT stop thinking about it. This is quite literally me every day:
Gameplay aint bad either. Pretty tough. My first couple games were literally 0-0 draws. The way I popped the fuck off when I got my first run. To be completely honest I'm not really a baseball guy. Did you know this game's got a pretty crazy competitive scene? You should check it out:
12) Sonic Mania
My issue with Sonic Mania is, despite the cool visuals and such, it really does feel like the game just kinda plays itself. Like, I hardly remember playing it because no matter what I felt like all I had to do was hold the stick to the right and Sonic will find his way to the end. So, it's not that memorable to me.
11) Sly Cooper and the Thievus Racconus
Ok maybe I'm a fucking idiot but I've always thought Sly Cooper was a fox? Like throughout my whole ass life? I mean, this was the first time I ever played a Sly Cooper game. But seriously he's not a fox???? Anyway, Sly Cooper is fun. I liked how the rewards for 100%ing a level are like, new abilities and shit. It actually made me want to collect all the collectibles, which is something I don't usually do in games since the rewards aren't usually worth it.
10) Pokemon Emerald Rogue
I told myself I wanted to play more Emerald Rogue after I beat my first run, but I never got around to it, and that's disappointing because this game is so dang cool. I want to see a full fledged game with this structure and it's absolutely so dang impressive that this is a fan hack of Pokemon Emerald. Cheers to the Emerald Rogue team because this might be the best Pokemon fangame that I've ever seen.
9) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Played this during my Dracula kick after reading the Bram Stoker novel and it did not disappoint. The level design is a bit uninspired at times, though. There is a level that is literally just a flat plane. In some ways it feels really outdated compared to platformers of its time; I mean look at Super Mario World, which came out 3 years prior. Richter feels so clunky and weak, he's like an antelope trying to play soccer. I tried my best to play most of it as Richter but really relied on Maria in the later levels. And, yes, the game is much easier as Maria, but- in my opinion- much more fun. With her double jump and ability to move while attacking, she just feels so much more fluid. The presentation of this game is fucking epic and awesome, though, and I will always love Castlevania for that.
8) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
I will always and forever be a massive fucking slut for this game, and pretty much everything Mario Kart. I haven't played it thaaaaat much this year, but the new DLC tracks are absolutely everything I could have asked for. I never would have expected them to suddenly start pumping out soooo many more tracks for this game and yet here they are! More more more more more give me more please!!!!!!!!
7) Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Something about the GBA Fire Emblems just sucks me in. They are so dang fun for no fucking reason. I think this game also had a legitimately interesting story, even if I think it fell off a bit towards the climax. It was a tad too easy in some parts thanks to them giving you one of the most broke ass units that series as a ever knew, but I still had quite a bit of fun with it.
6) Pokemon Emerald
I think this is up here solely because I had so much fun with the nuzlocke. It was the first time I ever completed a nuzlocke, and it did not disappoint. I think one strength of Pokemon is that it allows for so many self-imposed challenges and such; much more than any other game, just because of all customizable your party is. My only real complaint is that the amount of encounters you get really dips in the late game, but that is a part of a larger issue with this game specifically in terms of the wack ass Pokemon representation. I mean, all the Pokemon are programmed into the game with brand new sprites and such, would it have killed them to allow you to catch them...? I mean, is there really any serious justification for this:
Route 113.... a craggy moutainous valley so close to a volcano that ash perpetually falls from the sky, covering the forest in a blanket of dust. How many Pokemon can you find here? Only 3. Oh, ok.
It's further demoralizing when you realize that they probably did it only so they could resell Pokemon back to you via FR/LG and those dumbass E-Reader cards. This would continue to be a trend for virtually the series's entire life. Diamon and Pearl certainly didn't help it. Just let me catch them all, dangit!
S TIER
5) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
I want to eat the Pokemon in this game. Is that weird? Like the sprites look so tasty. I want to eat them like they are fruit snacks.
I mean look at this guy >>>>
4) Resident Evil 4
I love how simple and straightfoward this game is. No bullshit. Just follow the paths and shoot the evil baddies. Gets a bit repetitive and exhausting nearer the end of the game but still a lot of fun. Leon is clunky to control but, unlike Richter, Leon's clunkiness feels purposeful, like it adds to the horror experience. Too many dang QTEs though.
3) Thief 2: The Metal Age
This game does start to fall a part the more you play it and the more you encounter the way its limited by the tech of its time. Thief 2 is so close to being a perfect game for me, and I hope one day a game comes out that really builds upon what Thief 2 started. Enrapturing world, tight gameplay and an interesting narrative made for a genuinely fun experience. Highly recommend Thief 2.
2) A Short Hike
A Short Hike? More like A Short Video Game!!! Yes, this game is very very short. But that is OK. I am usually not easily sold by "walking simulator" type games, but I was drawn in my the Animal Crossing Wild World-esque visuals and A Short Hike stole my heart. I want more of this. I want so much more of this. The potential that this game's mechanics inspire is way too great! Imagine a Pokemon game in this engine. I'd kill for that. I'd play 1,000 more hours of Super Monkey Ball 2 for that. Charming, brilliantly innovating and imaginative... Awesome. I hope more games with more depth take after A Short Hike. It was hard to not make it my #1.
1) Inscryption
Inscryption is fucking dope. Play it. I knew this game would be my #1 for the year as soon as I finished it and I was right, just no other game I played after it was able to reach its level. Play it.
Jeez what a long post! Good thing I have no life. See you all in a year.
F TIER
34) Super Monkey Ball 2
Look, I love love looooove the first Super Monkey Ball game. My current avatar on discord is from Monkey Ball. Used to be super obsessed with it back in the day. I finally got around to expanding my Monkey Ball horizons by playing the second one this year. And, unfortunately, this was a massive disappointment for me. The levels in SMB 1 feel like they were constructed by developers who really understood what SMB is and what makes it fun; I mean, you're balancing a goshdang monkey in a little ball for banana's sake. With SMB 2, it feels like they locked an intern in a closet and said "you have 1 day to make 100 levels for our next game or you're fired!!!!"
So many dumb gimmicks. I cringed every time there was a level that was just "some weird object that's spinning really fast!" Someone mentioned to me once that SMB was more of a puzzle game, and that really tracks. I mean, there's a level where you just have to keep pressing random buttons until you land on the one that opens the gate forward. This is not what I really look for in a Super Monkey Ball game. Frustrating and thoroughly boring, SMB 2 was a 0/10 for me. Then again I didn't play any of the multiplayer minigames, so maybe there is something there I am missing.
D TIER
33) Auto Modellista
Playing Auto Modellista is painful, phsyically; its the gameplay evuivalent of trying to pull your own teeth out with a wrench. While I am a huge Kart Racer fan, I haven't played too many traditonal racing games, so I don't know how it stacks it up to like Need For Speed or Forza, but... yeah. It's.... rough. The only reason it isn't in F Tier is because the visuals are sooooooooo fucking beautiful. This is one of the best looking games of all time, in my opinion, and if it only the gameplay was a little smoother, it would be a 10/10.
32) Pokemon Leafgreen (with a randomizer)
I played Leafgreen after having a blast with my Emerald nuzlocke, but tried this time with a randomizer. I went FULL ON RANDOMNESS, but I really didn't end up enjoying it all that much. I stopped playing around Celadon City. Maybe I'll give it another go at some point, but a full random nuzlocke might just not be for me.
31) Pico Park
This puzzle game supports up to 8 player, and I am sure, with that many people, the chaos that ensues would be quite funny. I only played it with my girlfriend, so maybe I missed out on the full experience. Otherwise, the puzzles were mostly pretty easy and boring, and overall just kind of uninspired. And even with 8 players, it seems the fun would mostly come from everyone fucking with each other, which would kind of get old really quick I think. Plus, who the fuck can ever get 8 people to all buy the same game and play it at the same time??? That is so unrealistic. If I could do that I'd probably end up preferring a different game anyway.
30) Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Ok, this might be the hottest take here since I know how beloved this game is. But this year marks one of several years where I have tried really really hard to get into VtMB, but I just... can't. VtMB seems to fall into a category of games that just feel.... gameplay-less. Like Rockstar's Bully. You kinda just run around doing tasks, but while there is lots of variety- none of it feels as tight as it would if the game were just designed around a certain aspect. Like, early in the game there is a quest where you sneak around a haunted hotel, but the sneak mechanics are thin so it feels more like a haunted house dark ride in Disneyland- just moving between set-pieces. Then there's a part where you sneak into this warehouse and its a combat-heavy area, but the combat isn't that particularly good? Like, as an action game or FPS it just doesn't hold up for me. I also found the writing to be mid? In the aforementioned haunted hotel, you find diary excepts from a woman who was murdered, but she's writing in her diary as she is being murdered, like, bitch, put down the diary and run!!! I will try my best to get deeper into the game, but for all my attempts I barely can make it very far before I get bored and move on. I like the worldbuilding, though.
C TIER
29) Sonic Battle
My mom bought me Sonic Battle for the GBA when I wanted Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the Gamecube. Tragic as that may be, Sonic Battle is a very OK button masher that I stopped playing not that far in. I feel like there is something cool here, though, and would like to see these ideas come back in a more fully-fledged fighting game some day.
28) Pokemon Stadium 2
Ok real talk, I LOOOOOVE Pokemon Stadium 2 and will defend it to my death. I am so glad I had this game as a kid because so much of my Pokemon nostalgia is rooted in this title. However, I barely remember my time playing it this year so I really can't justify ranking it that high. Plus, I will admit, my appreciation for this game does wane more and more every time I replay it- it is kind of fucking bullshit at times, and I wish more of the rental Pokemon were actually, like, useable.
27) Pokemon Scarlet
Pokemon's foray into the full-on open world just doesn't do it for me. The world is empty, the graphics are dull and the battles still so so so so painfully fucking slow. The Gen 9 dex is also the weakest one so far, in my opinion. I'd say it's disappointing but at this point this level of quality is exactly what I expect.
B TIER
26) Pokémon Crystal Clear
A better attempt at making Pokemon an open world experience than Scarlet & Violet, and while it's super impressive that for a fangame, the structure of the game just doesn't do it for me. It was fun for the first bit when I was assembling my team, but after that it almost feels like the game plays itself since you can just go do whatever you want in any order.
25) Fall Guys
Played a lot of Fall Guys but in reality it was moreso motivated for the funny costumes I wanted to earn. I wish that they'd make a game like Fall Guys but with better platforming mechanics. Imagine this game but with Mario 64 controls? That's like, my dream game.
24) OpenTTD
OpenTTD is the open-source simulator version of the game Transport Tycoon Deluxe. OpenTTD was fun while I was learning how it works, which I really forced myself to do using as few guides and walkthroughs as possible. The game really fell off for me once I felt like I Got It. Because, at the end of the day, it's just a game about transportation. For a certain type of gamer this may very well be heaven, but I don't think I am that type of gamer, even though I love the farts out of Rollercoaster Tycoon.
23) Kingdom Hearts
Another hot take, probably. I hated this game. LOL. That is an exaggeration. I loved the first couple hours, from the beginning of the game to when you first start exploring the 'worlds' is incredible. Destiny Islands may be one of the best "starting areas" ever made, and the music is top fucking notch. Something about the rest of the game, though, just did nothing for me. Combat was boring, the story is boring. The best thing about this game is Donald Fucking Duck. I got to the final area of the game one night and just quit out of frustration and boredom and button mashing.
But somehow overnight the game worked it's magic on me.
I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about it, and ended up powering through it. Beating that fucker final boss was a real challenge, and I am happy I overcame it. I don't know what drove me back into this game but I am content to assume it was just Kingdom Hearts magic. Maybe Sora snuck into my dream and unlocked my heart with his big ass key. I do think the game's got some real problems, though. I wont spoil it here but I found the ending to be really disappointing. The unskippable gummi ship parts where also just so fucking pluto-ass-dogshit. Fun concept, maybe I will replay it some day.
22) Coromon
A cute attempt at the Pokemon formula that ends up not really doing much of anything better than Pokemon itself. The monster designs are mostly hit or miss for me, but when they hit, they hit. Some of my favs:
The sprites aside, the game is stylistically less interesting to me than Pokemon. If Pokemon is Lego, then Coromon is Megablox. The game can feel a bit "all over the place"..... at one point you go to an afterlife realm filled with ghosts and spirits and also the main antoganists are... aliens? The game's finale is a bit underwhelming too. That said, I know the team is small and that the game is getting updates periodically, so some of the problems may be fixed. I may give it a go again later. I enjoyed it and actually finished it all the way through, which is honestly more of a praise then I can say for most games, to be quite honest.
21) Unrailed
Cute, frantic multiplayer game that is still fun by yourself. Starts slow but nevertheless quite fun. Really got me thinking about trains.
20) Hylics
I played Hylics on Halloween since I heard it could be beaten in only about an hour. It's a fine, RPG-maker esque game. The gameplay is your pretty standard RPG-maker gameplay. Fun at its core but lacking some depth. The real stand-out aspect of Hylics is it's beautiful, surreal art. For a weird loser like me, it's a gem. I was a little disappointed at the narrative (read: lack of narrative). Surrealism and weird shit is cool but I feel lit loses its momentum without some kind of interesting narrative to string the bizarre set-pieces together.
19) Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom
Fine platformer, but could use some more fluid movement options to make the gameplay more fun. I kept wishing that Spongebob had some kind of long-jump or something... they all just move too dang slow.
18) Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Much better than SV in nearly every way, in my opinion. I did, however, think that the gameplay loop got a bit boring after only a few hours. I think there were more interesting ways that they could have approached the general idea of a Pokemon game in the fall past that could have lended itself to more interesting gameplay and story beats. That said, it was really surreal seeing so many Pokemon elements being used in what actually, for the first time ever, felt like a modern experience. LA exsists outside of the spectrum of rankings that Pokemon occupies. Like, when I say a Pokemon game is "good" what I am really saying is "It's good for Pokemon." I don't feel like this is the case for LA.
A TIER
17) Super Mario World
Powered through this game all over the course of New Year's Eve so it's lower on here since it didn't really stick with me that much. Still my fav 2D Mario. Surprised with the amount of variety and it just feels so good to play.
16) Minecraft
Good ol' Minecraft. Normally, I'd say Minecraft is in my top 10 videogames of all time... but this year my playthrough was more... cynical. It started with having to transfer my Mojang account to Microsoft account and all that nonsense. And I just couldn't shake the feeling of being disappointed by the lack of meaningful updates this game has gotten over the years. I was replaying this game because of the new Deep Dark and Caves & Cliffs updates, but even then they feel.... shallow. There is still so much untapped potential to this game, so many things that it could be, and I am tired of relying on mods to get even close to that. I could go on and on about what I think Minecraft could do, but it's hard to not be cynical when they keep doing those dumbfuck mob votes. JUST PUT THEM ALL IN. It's a real slap in the face to have to dump away content that they could easily put in the game just to drum up artificial hype.
And then, all my complains with MC were renewed when I saw this:
WHAT!!!! A whole ass update with a full-on magic system with new animations??? Just for some Avatar the Last Airbender DLC???? For Bedrock only???? Now I know where all the developer's priorities lie! Meanwhile, we're still struggling over here with the same shitty, shallow enchantment system and the same 4 basic bitch mobs every night! AGH I'm getting frustrated all over again.
Minecraft has the potential to be the greatest adventure game of all time....... so close yet so far.
15) Luigi's Mansion
Fine. Idk. It's Luigi's Mansion. Hunting Boos was annoying. More and more I'm starting to realize that I want more games that are Luigi's Mansion length. Short, sweet, to the point. Xoxo.
14) Final Fantasy VIII
This was the first game I played this year and I told myself that I was DEFINITELY GOING TO FINISH IT. I did not. I got to like, the second disc. It's fun, don't get me wrong, it's just.... yknow. It's a JRPG on the playstation. It has a lot of mechanics that have become the stereotypes for outdated video games; random encounters, having to watch cutscenes again after you've died, etc etc. But the characters and the world are so charming and full of life. I will complete this game, I swear on it.
13) Mario Superstar Baseball
When I was like 12 my family went on a weekend vacation to the shore, but literally all I could think about was Mario Superstar Baseball. I swear, they've programmed crack into this game. I CAN NOT stop thinking about it. This is quite literally me every day:
Gameplay aint bad either. Pretty tough. My first couple games were literally 0-0 draws. The way I popped the fuck off when I got my first run. To be completely honest I'm not really a baseball guy. Did you know this game's got a pretty crazy competitive scene? You should check it out:
12) Sonic Mania
My issue with Sonic Mania is, despite the cool visuals and such, it really does feel like the game just kinda plays itself. Like, I hardly remember playing it because no matter what I felt like all I had to do was hold the stick to the right and Sonic will find his way to the end. So, it's not that memorable to me.
11) Sly Cooper and the Thievus Racconus
Ok maybe I'm a fucking idiot but I've always thought Sly Cooper was a fox? Like throughout my whole ass life? I mean, this was the first time I ever played a Sly Cooper game. But seriously he's not a fox???? Anyway, Sly Cooper is fun. I liked how the rewards for 100%ing a level are like, new abilities and shit. It actually made me want to collect all the collectibles, which is something I don't usually do in games since the rewards aren't usually worth it.
10) Pokemon Emerald Rogue
I told myself I wanted to play more Emerald Rogue after I beat my first run, but I never got around to it, and that's disappointing because this game is so dang cool. I want to see a full fledged game with this structure and it's absolutely so dang impressive that this is a fan hack of Pokemon Emerald. Cheers to the Emerald Rogue team because this might be the best Pokemon fangame that I've ever seen.
9) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Played this during my Dracula kick after reading the Bram Stoker novel and it did not disappoint. The level design is a bit uninspired at times, though. There is a level that is literally just a flat plane. In some ways it feels really outdated compared to platformers of its time; I mean look at Super Mario World, which came out 3 years prior. Richter feels so clunky and weak, he's like an antelope trying to play soccer. I tried my best to play most of it as Richter but really relied on Maria in the later levels. And, yes, the game is much easier as Maria, but- in my opinion- much more fun. With her double jump and ability to move while attacking, she just feels so much more fluid. The presentation of this game is fucking epic and awesome, though, and I will always love Castlevania for that.
8) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
I will always and forever be a massive fucking slut for this game, and pretty much everything Mario Kart. I haven't played it thaaaaat much this year, but the new DLC tracks are absolutely everything I could have asked for. I never would have expected them to suddenly start pumping out soooo many more tracks for this game and yet here they are! More more more more more give me more please!!!!!!!!
7) Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Something about the GBA Fire Emblems just sucks me in. They are so dang fun for no fucking reason. I think this game also had a legitimately interesting story, even if I think it fell off a bit towards the climax. It was a tad too easy in some parts thanks to them giving you one of the most broke ass units that series as a ever knew, but I still had quite a bit of fun with it.
6) Pokemon Emerald
I think this is up here solely because I had so much fun with the nuzlocke. It was the first time I ever completed a nuzlocke, and it did not disappoint. I think one strength of Pokemon is that it allows for so many self-imposed challenges and such; much more than any other game, just because of all customizable your party is. My only real complaint is that the amount of encounters you get really dips in the late game, but that is a part of a larger issue with this game specifically in terms of the wack ass Pokemon representation. I mean, all the Pokemon are programmed into the game with brand new sprites and such, would it have killed them to allow you to catch them...? I mean, is there really any serious justification for this:
Route 113.... a craggy moutainous valley so close to a volcano that ash perpetually falls from the sky, covering the forest in a blanket of dust. How many Pokemon can you find here? Only 3. Oh, ok.
It's further demoralizing when you realize that they probably did it only so they could resell Pokemon back to you via FR/LG and those dumbass E-Reader cards. This would continue to be a trend for virtually the series's entire life. Diamon and Pearl certainly didn't help it. Just let me catch them all, dangit!
S TIER
5) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
I want to eat the Pokemon in this game. Is that weird? Like the sprites look so tasty. I want to eat them like they are fruit snacks.
I mean look at this guy >>>>
4) Resident Evil 4
I love how simple and straightfoward this game is. No bullshit. Just follow the paths and shoot the evil baddies. Gets a bit repetitive and exhausting nearer the end of the game but still a lot of fun. Leon is clunky to control but, unlike Richter, Leon's clunkiness feels purposeful, like it adds to the horror experience. Too many dang QTEs though.
3) Thief 2: The Metal Age
This game does start to fall a part the more you play it and the more you encounter the way its limited by the tech of its time. Thief 2 is so close to being a perfect game for me, and I hope one day a game comes out that really builds upon what Thief 2 started. Enrapturing world, tight gameplay and an interesting narrative made for a genuinely fun experience. Highly recommend Thief 2.
2) A Short Hike
A Short Hike? More like A Short Video Game!!! Yes, this game is very very short. But that is OK. I am usually not easily sold by "walking simulator" type games, but I was drawn in my the Animal Crossing Wild World-esque visuals and A Short Hike stole my heart. I want more of this. I want so much more of this. The potential that this game's mechanics inspire is way too great! Imagine a Pokemon game in this engine. I'd kill for that. I'd play 1,000 more hours of Super Monkey Ball 2 for that. Charming, brilliantly innovating and imaginative... Awesome. I hope more games with more depth take after A Short Hike. It was hard to not make it my #1.
1) Inscryption
Inscryption is fucking dope. Play it. I knew this game would be my #1 for the year as soon as I finished it and I was right, just no other game I played after it was able to reach its level. Play it.
Jeez what a long post! Good thing I have no life. See you all in a year.
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Back in this thread after a full year (see my recaps for 2020 and 2021). 2022 was a year in which I betrayed my gamer ways and touched a lot of grass. Nevertheless I was able to play a handful of games:
Going Under is a very cute roguelike. I liked the humor enough, and it's just kinda fun to smash things around for a few hours. Fairly charming. Nothing too special, but nice vibes & had a fun time playing, if it looks like your kinda thing it probably is. Recommended, 7/10 sorta game
Genesis Noir is going straight into my "evidence that videogames are an art form" folder. Hard recommend to anyone who's (1) at least moderately into anything noir and/or jazzy and (2) willing to get a bit existential. Not all of it perfectly resonated with me but it's a wonderful, wonderful game. 9/10
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative has possibly Uchikoshi's best ever villains across all of his works and it's definitely worth playing if you're a fan of his even though IMO it falls a bit short compared to the first AI:TSF game overall. The cast doesn't quite have the same shine and character of the first game, the returning side characters feel like they've been reduced to gimmicked versions of themselves and the new ones just don't reach the same heights. But again, best villains I've ever seen from Uchikoshi's pen, worth playing just for that. Not as good as the first one imo, still very enjoyable, 8.5/10
The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass is a puzzle game disguised as a visual novel. But there's really very little visual noveling going on, the characters couldn't be any flatter if they tried and there is no interesting dialogue pretty much at all ever. You really need to buy into the game's "nothing matters except the mystery" approach and it's alright if you can do so, focusing on that and only that allows you to not notice the glaring flaws with everything else. I commend it on the basis of being an unique approach to mystery writing, and on the basis of it being a very intricate and well-built puzzle to solve, but I can't say I was having much fun playing through it, nor did I find the final payoff to be rewarding enough given the time and effort I put into the game. Some people swear by it being a crazy underrated gem, give it a shot if you're really really into mysteries and puzzles, but not for me. 6.5/10
Taiji is one for the hardcore puzzle enthusiasts. It's alright but the difficulty curve is all over the place and it would benefit from some quality of life upgrades a lot. Again, some people will swear by it being this crazy gem of a game and call it "2D The Witness"; more realistically it's just a fun way to spend a couple afternoons solving grid puzzles. 7.5/10
Persona 5 Royal is sort of what I wished for when I played Persona 4 Golden and thought "man, this would be really good if they improved a few things". The few things have been improved and the game is thoroughly enjoyable. More balanced combat systems, MUCH improved plot and overall theming, everything in this game works really well. The crazy thing is that for how good the game is, there's still noticeable space for improvement - a lot of characters are either bland or repetitive, there's still a good amount of player unfriendliness in places etc. The Persona format has potential to produce a timeless classic - but for the time being, P5R is "only" an excellent game. 9.5/10
Now I said in 2022 I betrayed my gamer ways and touched a lot of grass. I did however keep buying games that went on very decent sales whenever those popped up. One of my new year's resolutions for 2023 is to experience and enjoy the following games:
(already in my library)
Not For Broadcast
The Forgotten City
Before Your Eyes
Lost In Random
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
The Artful Escape
The Looker
How Fish Is Made
(not in my library, hopefully soon to be)
13 Sentinels
Critters for Sale
Methods: The Canada Files
TUNIC
BOOK OF HOURS
Neon White
Potionomics
IMMORTALITY
ALSO I am working on another game after The Divine Deception with the same team, which we hope to launch by March 2023? maybe?, and I also have a position lined up as a paid playtester for actual, real game built by actual, real developers Project S (placeholder title) which should get started soon hopefully. I was almost going to be on the QA team proper but they picked someone else over me. Ah well. Playtester is a start.
Excited about videogames in 2023! Lots of stuff to look forward to, and hopefully my post 1 year from now will be much meatier :)
Going Under is a very cute roguelike. I liked the humor enough, and it's just kinda fun to smash things around for a few hours. Fairly charming. Nothing too special, but nice vibes & had a fun time playing, if it looks like your kinda thing it probably is. Recommended, 7/10 sorta game
Genesis Noir is going straight into my "evidence that videogames are an art form" folder. Hard recommend to anyone who's (1) at least moderately into anything noir and/or jazzy and (2) willing to get a bit existential. Not all of it perfectly resonated with me but it's a wonderful, wonderful game. 9/10
AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative has possibly Uchikoshi's best ever villains across all of his works and it's definitely worth playing if you're a fan of his even though IMO it falls a bit short compared to the first AI:TSF game overall. The cast doesn't quite have the same shine and character of the first game, the returning side characters feel like they've been reduced to gimmicked versions of themselves and the new ones just don't reach the same heights. But again, best villains I've ever seen from Uchikoshi's pen, worth playing just for that. Not as good as the first one imo, still very enjoyable, 8.5/10
The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass is a puzzle game disguised as a visual novel. But there's really very little visual noveling going on, the characters couldn't be any flatter if they tried and there is no interesting dialogue pretty much at all ever. You really need to buy into the game's "nothing matters except the mystery" approach and it's alright if you can do so, focusing on that and only that allows you to not notice the glaring flaws with everything else. I commend it on the basis of being an unique approach to mystery writing, and on the basis of it being a very intricate and well-built puzzle to solve, but I can't say I was having much fun playing through it, nor did I find the final payoff to be rewarding enough given the time and effort I put into the game. Some people swear by it being a crazy underrated gem, give it a shot if you're really really into mysteries and puzzles, but not for me. 6.5/10
Taiji is one for the hardcore puzzle enthusiasts. It's alright but the difficulty curve is all over the place and it would benefit from some quality of life upgrades a lot. Again, some people will swear by it being this crazy gem of a game and call it "2D The Witness"; more realistically it's just a fun way to spend a couple afternoons solving grid puzzles. 7.5/10
Persona 5 Royal is sort of what I wished for when I played Persona 4 Golden and thought "man, this would be really good if they improved a few things". The few things have been improved and the game is thoroughly enjoyable. More balanced combat systems, MUCH improved plot and overall theming, everything in this game works really well. The crazy thing is that for how good the game is, there's still noticeable space for improvement - a lot of characters are either bland or repetitive, there's still a good amount of player unfriendliness in places etc. The Persona format has potential to produce a timeless classic - but for the time being, P5R is "only" an excellent game. 9.5/10
Now I said in 2022 I betrayed my gamer ways and touched a lot of grass. I did however keep buying games that went on very decent sales whenever those popped up. One of my new year's resolutions for 2023 is to experience and enjoy the following games:
(already in my library)
Not For Broadcast
The Forgotten City
Before Your Eyes
Lost In Random
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
The Artful Escape
The Looker
How Fish Is Made
(not in my library, hopefully soon to be)
13 Sentinels
Critters for Sale
Methods: The Canada Files
TUNIC
BOOK OF HOURS
Neon White
Potionomics
IMMORTALITY
ALSO I am working on another game after The Divine Deception with the same team, which we hope to launch by March 2023? maybe?, and I also have a position lined up as a paid playtester for actual, real game built by actual, real developers Project S (placeholder title) which should get started soon hopefully. I was almost going to be on the QA team proper but they picked someone else over me. Ah well. Playtester is a start.
Excited about videogames in 2023! Lots of stuff to look forward to, and hopefully my post 1 year from now will be much meatier :)
Insomnia is a bitch, time to talk about a couple games.
First, Terraria. While the "Minecraft but 2D" comparison is passé and kind of an oversimplification, it's not wholly inaccurate. You mine and craft in a sandbox with little direction and a lot of enemies. While the game has a number of advantages over its 3D counterpart (more fleshed-out combat and endgame goals, more item variety, way more QoL mechanics like inventory sorting), it has its own negatives (big ones are way too many enemy spawns and somehow managing to be more obtuse) and is not an outright replacement game. It's m something to play if you enjoy Minecraft but want a different flavor of it.
The other game is Ultrakill, and indie retro shooter that's very fast-paced and uses a style point system not unlike something in Devil May Cry. I've only touched a bit of the free demo, but it's a fun game that's decently difficult and makes you feel like a badass when you pull off cool stuff like parrying. The game isn't resource intensive and the demo is a super small file size (less than 500MB I think?), so I highly recommend you try if you're even only slightly interested.
I'd also recommend checking out part of this review by Rata (if you play Yu-Gi-Oh! you might recognize him). Spoilers obviously, so dip out after he finishes covering the tutorial.
First, Terraria. While the "Minecraft but 2D" comparison is passé and kind of an oversimplification, it's not wholly inaccurate. You mine and craft in a sandbox with little direction and a lot of enemies. While the game has a number of advantages over its 3D counterpart (more fleshed-out combat and endgame goals, more item variety, way more QoL mechanics like inventory sorting), it has its own negatives (big ones are way too many enemy spawns and somehow managing to be more obtuse) and is not an outright replacement game. It's m something to play if you enjoy Minecraft but want a different flavor of it.
The other game is Ultrakill, and indie retro shooter that's very fast-paced and uses a style point system not unlike something in Devil May Cry. I've only touched a bit of the free demo, but it's a fun game that's decently difficult and makes you feel like a badass when you pull off cool stuff like parrying. The game isn't resource intensive and the demo is a super small file size (less than 500MB I think?), so I highly recommend you try if you're even only slightly interested.
I'd also recommend checking out part of this review by Rata (if you play Yu-Gi-Oh! you might recognize him). Spoilers obviously, so dip out after he finishes covering the tutorial.
Good day. Of all the games you listed above, I really like Rayman Legends. I played it on the PS4 platform with my girlfriend in pairs mode. Cool arcade that really addictive.I had an absolutely huge year playing video games this year, which is really saying something since I've been playing games during all of my free time since I was like 8. I've also talked a little bit about most of these earlier in the thread, but I figured I'd compile everything in one place for myself. Anyway, games I played this year, rated:
Ori and the Will o Wisps (Switch): 10/10
Easily the best Metroidvania I've played thus far. It's difficult without going overboard, the atmosphere is intoxicating and beautiful, and the gameplay is sharp, reactive, and an absolute blast. Cannot wait for another entry or to go back and play this again
Hollow Knight (PS4): 9.5/10
A fantastic game and Metroidvania, was a little hard to get into because it has like zero direction from the start, but other than and some other gripes I detailed earlier in this thread, it's a very, very good game, would play again.
Mario + Rabbids: 9.5/10
I played this a couple years ago and just recently redownloaded and played it again to gear up for its sequel coming out soon. It's amazing, and if you've ever played and enjoyed a Tactics-style game, this is a must-play. The puzzles and gameplay are insanely addicting, the humor is great, and the difficulty curve is probably the best out of any game ever, period. I will gush about this one endlessly and I hate anyone that judges this book by its cover. I would say the only downsides to the game are that the overworld push-block puzzles are a little tedious and you're hard-locked into using Mario, but these are minor and don't take away from the game at all.
Donky Kong Country Tropical Freeze (Wii U): 9/10
Full disclosure, this is my first DKC game ever, and I really liked it. This is easily one of the best sidescrollers I've played. The game is overall pretty forgiving, giving you checkpoints directly after most difficult platforming sections and allowing for the purchase of life-saving tools, etc. It's a bit of a collectathon, which as a completionist is generally right up my alley, but getting everything is hard, and I'm not a fan of most of the secret exit locations, which either require prior knowledge or literally spending hours jumping against every wall hoping it's a fake one that leads to the exit. The boss fights are also a bit too long, being 3 phases with 3 hits each and resetting you from the start if you die, which compared to the rest of the game is a little frustrating. Other than that the game is just difficult enough that completing levels feels great and rewarding, and is an easy recommendation to 2D platformer fans.
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Rayman Legends Definitive Edition (Switch): 8.5/10
A fantastic sidescroller and another easy recommend for those that like Mario but want something a bit different. There's a ton to do here, tons of levels and a lot of collectibles. The game is very forgiving; you only get two hits but deaths reset you directly in the section where you died, which while there's a few blind jumps, it's not a big deal since you can just retry right there, and not have to replay up to that section.
Wingspan (Switch): 8.5/10
The game I have the second-most hours put into overall on the Switch this year. It's a videogame adaptation of the board game, and that's all it really is, which is why I'm not giving it a perfect score, but it's still an amazingly addictive game. It plays like a strategy engine-building Yahtzee, which if you have a gambling addiction this game should probably be avoided lol. It's so good. Every game makes you want to replay and try again because the cards didn't really fall into line that last game, and oh I probably misplayed on that turn I know now not to do that, etc.
Super Mario 3D World (Wii U): 8.5/10
I ended up playing this right before Bowser's Fury was announced, so I have yet to play that, and I can't just download the Bowser's Fury portion because I had this on the Wii U. So. Ya. Anyway, the game is a great Mario experience and the Cat powerup is neat. Overall, I felt this entry is a bit easy for Mario (except of course Champion's Road or whatever), but you can breeze through this one in a couple nights.
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Metroid Dread: 8/10
I really liked this one. I had my problems with it, but the OG is back and I'm really excited to see if we'll get more from the studio behind this one. Some of the sections just felt unfair, rather than just difficult, which is why I cut down its rating a bit, but overall the gameplay feels slick and rewarding.
Tales of Arise: 8/10
To start: I am a gigantic Tales of fan. It's easily my favorite series, ever. Overall, the game felt a bit linear. That said, the combat is still the best part of the game, and that's all that really matters in the end. I have a more detailed review in my Tales of thread so if you're interested go read that.
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Skyward Sword HD (Switch): 8/10
Easily the worst Zelda game I've played, but it's still a Zelda game so I still enjoyed the heck out of it. The combat is more chess/fencing like, which was my largest gripe with the game, even with the removal of the motion controls it still felt clumsy and sometimes doing certain actions like taking out and throwing a bomb felt like a 10 step process. Also, the overworld riding on the bird is ridiculously empty and tedious. Still, the puzzles are good, the maps and levels are great, and it's overall fun. Just not an immediate recommendation for Zelda fans.
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Pokemon Brilliant Diamond: 7.5/10
It's really just a revamp/remaster rather than a remake of Diamond and Pearl. It looks beautiful and there's some new things, like the Underground. But, overall, it really did feel like a 1:1 of the original so I don't have a ton to say.
New Pokemon Snap: 7/10
Couldn't really get into this one because of the repetitiveness and my frustration with it not counting meeting the special mission requirements. Having said that, there's a ton of cute Pokemon doing cute shit in here which means I didn't dislike playing. It's just not something I would go out of my way to recommend to others.
Mario Party Superstars: 7/10
I've never been huge on the Mario Party series, but this was a blast from the past and a lot of fun to play with friends. It's still mario party so there's still a ton of BS and stuff, but with the right group it's still funny and fun to play. Also, they really did pick out all of the best minigames, so that easily jacks up its score quite a bit.
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion 6.5/10
Spent an entire dollar on this and it was worth every penny; knowing what I know now I would have easily dropped $10. The pixel art style is well done and enchanting. The humor is 10/10 strong if you like Adventure Time, which I love so this was an absolute banger. It's chock full of internet meme jokes and every convo with the npcs is fantastic. Actual gameplay takes a bit of a backseat but was still enjoyable, mostly just puzzles and a couple boss fights, of which only one gave me some issues otherwise I breezed through the game in about 5 hours. Strong recommend if you like Adventure Time, soft recommend if you just want something memey and chill for a few hours.
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Kirby Super Star Allies: 5.5/10
It's classic Kirby, but a bit too easy. It's still kinda fun cuz the powerups have so many different moves you can use. Unfortunately, you don't need like any of the work the developers put into that aspect since every enemy still just dies to 1 or 2 basic attack hits and your allies will more often than not just play the game for you.
Kirby Triple Deluxe: 5.5/10
See the above, only minus the allies.
Spongebob Battle for Bikini Bottom (PS4): 5/10
With the remake being made with unreal engine the game looks great, but it still suffers a bit from janky platforming, glitches, and poor voice acting. The fact they couldn't get Clancy Brown to do Mr Krabs or someone that actually remotely sounds like Mermaid Man really lowers the experience of having the voice overs. I still enjoyed it enough to 100% and Platinum it, but this is an easy skip unless you're a diehard Spongebob fan.
Yooka-Laylee (Switch): 5/10
Disappointing, to say the least. Haven't even finished it yet, but I don't know if I want to. It's not terrible, the overall game play is actually decent and Spyro-like. It just doesn't have the charm, the music is gratingly-bombastic, and the game lacks a bit of direction which would have actually helped this one out quite a bit I think. If this came out 20 years ago it would have been a classic, but playing it now is just, meh.
Other games I've played, or am still playing/replaying from previous years:
Pokemon X&Y: 6/10
Pokemon B&W2: 8/10
Yugioh Legacy of the Duelist: 7/10
Super Smash Bros Ultimate: 10/10
Mario Kart 8: 10/10
Animal Crossing NH: 7/10
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX: 7/10
Overwatch: 9/10
Games I'm currently in the middle of playing and/or on the docket to play soon:
Okami (2nd playthrough, 1st was easy 10/10)
YoKai Watch (2nd playthrough, 1st was a 9/10)
Hyrule Warriors AoC
Crash Bandicoot 4
Octopath Traveler
Ni No Kuni
Also, I still play counter-strike, so I like to open cases on the platform https://skin.club/en/cases/free-case to get cool skins.
Terraria, in my opinion, is infinitely superior to Minecraft for several reasons, but one is bigger than the rest - it makes an actual effort in fabricating a storyline. Minecraft is pretty much "Welcome to this infinite world, now go find some diamonds for armor and a sword and prepare to fight a dragon" and the Ender Dragon isn't even a difficult battle. The Wither was far and away the more difficult boss for me, but it had no importance in the story. Terraria, however, has several different characters that you can actually VERBALLY interact with (so not handing them emeralds), boss fights with some type of lore and importance for each, and loads more enemies and mechanics.
Anyways, right now I'm playing Animal Crossing: Wild World. My favorite villager as of right now is Amelia, but Dotty and Punchy come close.
Do any other Rocket League players here feel kinda jaded with the game right now? They're banning the AI cheat bots that popped up on the ladder (finally), but they also are taking forever to fix some other longstanding problems with the game (hit detection issues, timer exploits, etc.).
Didn't see the usual smogoff thread for it, so I figured I might as well put my thoughts on today's Direct here.
I find it hard to get excited for JRPGs with this style of presentation. I feel like I need to know several pages of info about the combat and progression systems. A few have demos, but I'm still wary after how much I found Octopath's lategame fell off.
I feel like there's questions about only remaking Metroid Prime 1 when they had a collection release previously. Is Retro majorly struggling with Prime 4 or something?
Xenoblade will have a better Battle Facility than Pokemon at this rate. Though I guess that already happened when SV dropped it entirely.
Still on the fence about the Kirby remake. I don't usually get remakes for games I've obtained elsewhere, but it's definitely a good game and the new content looks interesting enough.
I find it funny how much the GBA carried the Direct for me. I'm moderately interested in the MMBN collection (though it was previously known), glad to see Advance Wars finally has a release date, and of course the peak was the start of the GBA catalog being available through the online service.
Really starting to get frustrated with Link's design for Tears. It would have been a perfect opportunity to fix BotW Link's lack of left-handedness but everything seems to be showing off his new right arm.
I find it hard to get excited for JRPGs with this style of presentation. I feel like I need to know several pages of info about the combat and progression systems. A few have demos, but I'm still wary after how much I found Octopath's lategame fell off.
I feel like there's questions about only remaking Metroid Prime 1 when they had a collection release previously. Is Retro majorly struggling with Prime 4 or something?
Xenoblade will have a better Battle Facility than Pokemon at this rate. Though I guess that already happened when SV dropped it entirely.
Still on the fence about the Kirby remake. I don't usually get remakes for games I've obtained elsewhere, but it's definitely a good game and the new content looks interesting enough.
I find it funny how much the GBA carried the Direct for me. I'm moderately interested in the MMBN collection (though it was previously known), glad to see Advance Wars finally has a release date, and of course the peak was the start of the GBA catalog being available through the online service.
Really starting to get frustrated with Link's design for Tears. It would have been a perfect opportunity to fix BotW Link's lack of left-handedness but everything seems to be showing off his new right arm.
First of all, PLAY GHOST TRICK
Secondly, I'm pretty excited for the Baten Kaitos and Etrian Odyssey ports, as well as a release date for Advance Wars, will probably pick them all up
. Been getting into Layton lately so that should be cool as well
I don't like spending money on Switch online so the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance stuff is kinda eh. The Game Boy is honestly pretty weak library-wise so I'm not expecting it to get too too many games. Buuuuuuuuuuuut it seems like unlike the NES/SNES/N64, a lot of Game Boy/GBC/GBA games haven't gotten ported or rerelased recently, namely the Game Boy Mega Man games, Tales of Phantasia, the Final Fantasy Legend games, Sword of Mana, and a looot of Atlus-published stuff (Riviera, Yggdra Union, Summon Night, some weird SMT spinoffs), so the Switch Online for those consoles will hopefully be more robust
Secondly, I'm pretty excited for the Baten Kaitos and Etrian Odyssey ports, as well as a release date for Advance Wars, will probably pick them all up
. Been getting into Layton lately so that should be cool as wellI don't like spending money on Switch online so the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance stuff is kinda eh. The Game Boy is honestly pretty weak library-wise so I'm not expecting it to get too too many games. Buuuuuuuuuuuut it seems like unlike the NES/SNES/N64, a lot of Game Boy/GBC/GBA games haven't gotten ported or rerelased recently, namely the Game Boy Mega Man games, Tales of Phantasia, the Final Fantasy Legend games, Sword of Mana, and a looot of Atlus-published stuff (Riviera, Yggdra Union, Summon Night, some weird SMT spinoffs), so the Switch Online for those consoles will hopefully be more robust
This Direct was amazing. Oh my god. Highlights:
- One of my best friends is a big Xeno series nerd and she thinks the 3 DLC will have ties to Xenogears due to what appears to be that game's protagonist showing up in the trailer.
- I've never played Ghost Trick but have heard so many good things about it -- I remember reading about it in Nintendo Power all those years ago. Surprised but glad Capcom randomly decided to port it.
- Game Boy and Game Boy Advance on NSO is hype and the collection of starting games is pretty superb. Mario Land 2, Link's Awakening DX, Gargoyle's Quest, Minish Cap, Superstar Saga, Super Mario Advanced 4 (with e-Reader content), among others. Also, the future game lineup looks promising with stuff like the GBA Metroid and Fire Emblem titles. (Technically only Fusion and FE6/FE7 are confirmed right now but I expect Zero Mission and and Sacred Stones to come eventually.) Can't wait for online co-op Amazing Mirror.
- The rumors were true, and Metroid Prime Remaster does exist. Not only that, Nintendo decided to fucking shadow drop the thing. I want to wait until the physical version is out later this month but am super tempted to buy it right now.
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did anyone else get hyped for the first Power Pros game in English in over a decade? i played the one released in 2008 for the PS2 and really enjoyed it as a fun little hybrid between a traditional sports game and something more arcade-like. it looks like this one is following the trajectory of most traditional sports games and centering itself around online play, which is a bummer considering part of what made Power Pros 2008 so special was the amount of features and modes, but i'm still probably gonna check it out.
The fact we know PS1 and 2 are coming without transfer pack compatibility and there’s a gameboy emulator on the switch now has me unreasonably miffed. The PJ64 plug in I downloaded in 2009 got this working, why can’t you ninty 
Also Pikmin 4 looks amazing I can’t wait.
Also Pikmin 4 looks amazing I can’t wait.
At this rate, considering how weird Nintendo has been about re-releasing old mainline Pokémon (only handed out Gens I and II super late in the 3DS's life and no Gen III on Wii U), we'd be lucky to even get the Game Boy and GBA games on NSO. They're not even confirmed yet lol.The fact we know PS1 and 2 are coming without transfer pack compatibility and there’s a gameboy emulator on the switch now has me unreasonably miffed. The PJ64 plug in I downloaded in 2009 got this working, why can’t you ninty
Also Pikmin 4 looks amazing I can’t wait.
Might be a Pokémon Day reveal?
If you're moderately familiar with Mega Man Battle Network, you might have heard of Battle Network 4.5. It's a game that was only released in Japan that let you play as Net Navis other than MegaMan... except it sucked for various reasons.
The Battle Network competitive community recently hosted their first ever tournament of the game using an extensive balance patch. If you have two hours and are moderately interested I'd give it a watch.
The Battle Network competitive community recently hosted their first ever tournament of the game using an extensive balance patch. If you have two hours and are moderately interested I'd give it a watch.
One of my favorite games on Steam, Tower Unite, just added in-game retro emulation as part of the newest update. So now you can play everything from Gameboy to PS2 games in your condo provided you have the ROMs (there are like 30 total consoles emulated, even MS-DOS PC emulation is possible)
I had no idea the update was coming (most of us didn't) and it's really cool
I had no idea the update was coming (most of us didn't) and it's really cool
I have to quickly talk about How Fish Is Made. Fair warning, this is less of a traditional videogame and more of an interactive art piece.
I've always had some odd fascination for surreal representations of the viscerally uncomfortable. Fleshy bloody repulsive things have some kind of poetic charm for me. Things that are suggestive enough to make you uncomfortable, and surreal enough to not actually provoke any kind of physical reaction. This is quite possibly the first piece of media I've ran across that is a clear and unapologetic appeal to that charm.
It's an extremely short game, in under 20 minutes this game offers so much suggestive material and it will certainly leave you thinking about things way beyond fish. Deeply existential and touching experience. Very creatively inspiring for me, even. Strongly recommended if it sounds like it might be your thing
I've always had some odd fascination for surreal representations of the viscerally uncomfortable. Fleshy bloody repulsive things have some kind of poetic charm for me. Things that are suggestive enough to make you uncomfortable, and surreal enough to not actually provoke any kind of physical reaction. This is quite possibly the first piece of media I've ran across that is a clear and unapologetic appeal to that charm.
It's an extremely short game, in under 20 minutes this game offers so much suggestive material and it will certainly leave you thinking about things way beyond fish. Deeply existential and touching experience. Very creatively inspiring for me, even. Strongly recommended if it sounds like it might be your thing