Now that our games lists episode for 2019 is out, I thought for this year I’d provide an accompanying article. First is simply my own lists in order at a glance for easy reference. Following that, I keep a sort of stream-of-consciousness, lightly edited log of my impressions while playing each title or upon completion (including some I didn’t mention on air) which I’ve laid bare for perusal if any are so inclined. With that said, here we go:

2019 Lists (Common theme/thread this year=largescale worldbuilding for most)

Top 5

1 Outer Worlds

2 RE2

3 GreedFall (A24 of games)

4 Plague Tale (A24 of games)

5 Control

Honorable

1 Borderlands 3

2 Metro Exodus

3 DMC 5

4 Death Stranding- For a bit DS’s status was a little hard to pin down, but ended up giving it an honor mention for its attempts to try something risky and unique, from a dev who is known for out-there ideas/mechanics.

5 Sinking City- perhaps ironically threatened to sink under the weight of its ambitions, but that’s also what’s laudable in a sense, it attempted to do something cool with Lovecraft and the devs’ previous specialty with detective-centric mechanics. While it didn’t always get there and certainly room for improvement if they do another, it did contain some interesting enough ideas and setpieces throughout. Not as quality as GreedFall or Plague Tale, but does rest more or less in the same sphere as those. (Almost an A24 of games)

Mid-Tier. (Ala films, perhaps calls for new category henceforth. All were generally well done titles that lie between honor and weak, smaller and/or more niche at times, but generally worth it within their respective categories.)

1 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

2 Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order/I might put Resistance here, or at least can make a case [call it best licensed property title] 

3 Outer Wilds

4 Shakedown Hawaii Great retro styled game for the year consumable in small chunks [best retro]

5 Layers of Fear 2/Observation- similar enough to tie. Observation slight edge, but LoF2 worthy sequel too. Give credit to smaller, tighter walk-sim horror indie titles even if not as genre advancing as could have been/was claimed. [call it indie horror/walk sim]

Shit’s Weak

1 Wolfenstein Youngblood -see New Dawn below, but nowhere near as egregious mtx stuff, just narratively shallow/not as impactful as the other modern gen WS. Most damning thing is it’s by far the weakest of the new gen WS, the most forgettable of this list and didn’t really need to be made in the first place.

2 FC New Dawn- should on principle be bc of slimy mtx in a 1-player game and it wasn’t as much of a fun spin off as Blood Dragon, although that’s almost impossible feat at this point, it was unto itself largely uninspired vs the rest of the field overall. Still mechanically fun but forgettable too and lacking any engaging furthering of the story on from 5.

3 Blair Witch- This is the studio’s weakest/least interesting game, way blander vs their other stuff in spite of attempts to introduce some new gameplay elements. LoF2 which was earlier in the year was easily better and tangentially was odd they released both in the span of a few months.

4 Blasphemous- On the surface a decent retro style 2D Souls-shadow (new term coined) the most appealing aspect is the admittedly striking pixel/cutscene and overall art design plus work put into its lore. Gameplay however it comes up a little short and shallow. A few of the ostensibly core mechanics don’t click right or mesh well (the magic spells, the items) or just generally not fleshed/thought out enough. Not all bad but there’s certainly better out there.

5 Days Gone- Had some nice moments of story that occasionally subverted expected tropes, but not enough overall to make it standout. Everything else: the world, combat, quest, travel etc was all mostly fine, but just…mostly fine. The Miller Lite of 2019 games.

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2019 Games: Raw Thoughts/Impressions/Ramblings  

RE2 Remaster- fucking good as hell! familiar yet fresh, it’s 20 years on so I didn’t recall every plot and/or layout detail but the overall atmosphere/mood + enemy design/combat all combine to recreate the nail biting feel that’s true to my memory’s in the best way, it’s still intense as a motherf’er. Balancing near perfect pacing of plot and puzzle solving with harrowing enemy encounters throughout, that always keeps player on their toes. There are certainly changeups/streamlined segments vs the original though so it’s not a 1:1 ratio, which is a good design decision. Updated interface, HUD/map etc bring quality of life improvements but also keeps core elements like inventory management which always lends itself as another layer of nerve wracking in a good way. The graphics/new gen style is very slick and visceral, both visually and in audio, the whole package sets a likely new bar for remake/remasters, and perhaps surpasses the original for just being a top notch horror game. All in all, between 7 and this, RE is on an upward trend and this release is a true service to both longtime fans and a great entry for anyone who didn’t play the original RE2. [wrote article about it] One of the best horror games ever made, period. This remaster proves and solidifies that, 100% holds up and as mentioned is better than ever with modern improvements/capability. Platinum’ed it. Free DLC Ghost Survivors released a few weeks after. Was overall fine, but more of the gauntlet rush/time challenge mini sections than actual expanded story. 100% this too, though was def a bitch and a half.  GOTY list easily early on, stayed strong through most of the year but was finally upstaged by Outer Worlds. Still a very fine entry though, #2 or 3 on top.  

Far Cry New Dawn: more FC never really a bad thing for me, still one of the most rock solid FPS series, and fun at the core. Introduces a few new mechanics and tweaks to the previous loops, more RPG-lite additions etc but no major shakeups. The take on post FC5 nuclear destruction with a lush regrown world is decent, and the reskins of the weapons to be more cobbled together looking kinda like Bioshock 2/Fallout a nice touch. The over the top action and humor ala old man Hurk and especially Nana etc is more fitting for the framework and actually laugh out loud worthy at times. It was quicker but enjoyable overall, a nice extra helping of FC, but I understand mileage may vary on that. It was also pushy in a slimy way about buying extra resources, but I did it fine without paying a dime. Low honorable if that.

Metro Exodus: credit on its quality overall, although sometimes needlessly difficult/frustrating the way you move quite slow and enemies can swarm/spawn en masse when just trying to explore coupled with longish loading times upon death. Briefly turned the diff level up/down before settling on normal. I understand it’s supposed to feel methodical, realistic and oppressive/slow paced but sometimes again that equals annoying slogs vs immersion and enjoyment. But other than that, a nice expansion/progression from where the series started and I think the best yet. Atmosphere remains appropriately post apoc-surv- horror in Russia, while levels/maps are a little more open, room to breathe and build the world a bit more than just the warrens and tunnels previously. Writing/characters/development and attention to detail deeper and better than average, if you take the time to absorb them (ala train hub interactions/banter between missions–similar in feel to the Wolfensteins.) Some light morality elements, like whether or not you kill/subdue, go stealth or combat etc changes some of the dialogue/NPC reactions and thus ending. Solidly honorable, in a less strong year would’ve made low GOTY list. Bought pass for 2 DLC eps on sale. 1^st was a solid throwback to the first two games of more claustrophobic tunnels/linear levels. 2^nd was more openish like Exodus itself in a new map with a very nicely done story and a few small but cool tweaks to the combat mechanics.

Telltale’s Walking Dead final season – 4 eps total all okish, but definitely not a resounding last hurrah from them. Has decent ep1 set up and new storyline but it’s been a while since I recalled every action etc I took as Clem and every char/situation. Still, prolly is the best they could’ve done given the circumstances of its creation, kinda nice in fact to just leisurely play a TT game, be it the swansong it is. Formula remains solidly same as it ever was, but that means no real innovation. Not sure how deeply to humorously vs seriously explore the fact that the last ep opens/is framed with a literal sinking ship to escape from and then immediately a horde of walkers beyond, while the story moments and themes seem to me to possibly mirror what may very well be the developers’ mindset at/around the time. Made an article of it, over thinking or not.

AC Odyssey DLC Fate of Atlantis – greek version of Origin’s afterlife setting. Cool enough overall, nice items/new abilities and enemy types that were pretty hardcore. Ep 2 Grecian underworld time, it’s almost compulsory for this, so given that, it does a decent enough job of depicting it in context of why/how it ties in overall. Looks cool at the very least. Good boss fights to open/close the chapter framed around a quintessentially Greek journey in a video game-y way that was kinda clever. Ep 3 finale also keeps up the solid quality, well done characters and writing. Plot ties more into the Isu lore and Templar/Assassin politics/conflict etc as set up throughout the entire series while mechanically still a nice constant feed of loot and new/altered abilities.

Days Gone-  the descrip of it being AAA videogame: the game is somewhat apt, in the vein of Horizon ZD, it’s a take on a familiar formula in a fresher setting (pacific NW) and does some very decent things with it, solid and smooth gameplay, quite high production value, animation/voice acting all top notch. Along with better than average character depth, story takes some both predictably cliché turns but also some I didn’t 100% see coming so credit there. Surfacely resembles an Ubi map, although many activities actually connect back to overarching storylines in a circuitous kind of way. Playtime-value is rather high, with a lengthy campaign but see below re: fatigue a bit. Alt logline: Red Dead ReZombies mostly due to the motorcycle mechanic. Overall a commendable but not jaw dropping job. On the flip side, ran into a few odd hiccups here and there, nothing egregious but still annoying. Finally because it’s so familiar and open-world game fatigue kinda set in for another cycle, didn’t quite adhere to the same meticulous doing every side activity etc. due to fact that a few other, more interesting games released around same time. Verdict is a solid effort in the field, but maybe arrived too little too late to make a truly impactful mark.

A Plague Tale: Innocence – a damn sweet sleeper hit. Great art design and well-acted for a AA mid-tier production. Stealth-sneaking-ambush + crafting gameplay is fine although not changing much on the base template for the genre, however the introduction of the rat hordes in addition to some other basic puzzle elements adds a bit, plus the art/atmosphere and baroque soundtrack go a long way to adding tension. Biased on the setting of course, which allows it to veer into some darker territory almost from the opening onward. Relationship dynamic between the two main characters, as well as the supporting cast, as it unfolds is somewhat reminiscent of GoW which is obv a good thing, peppered with excellent little moments and interactions that add a lot to depth. Some reviewer described it as something like the Goonies in medieval Europe which is funny and mostly accurate. Earned the praise it has and pretty fuckin cool overall, good to see solid single player experiences are still being made at this level. Played through select sections of chapters again to Platinum for collectibles etc. Convenient touch to be able to without replaying them entirely. Def GOTY list material, deserves to be recognized for what it achieved in the game space it inhabits, and hitting 90% of the sights it shoots for. Garnered enough sales/attention that a sequel was announced late 2019, good signs and fuckin a.

Darkwood- bought on small sale, started briefly. It seems cool on paper as a top down retro graphic surv crafting game with a surreal setting and possible story, but this may be the last time I try one of these since it is so fucking unforgiving in terms of diff, almost roguelike with a DS death loss of item/recovery mechanic and less helpful in general about how/what to do as well as having a bit of a mess of an interface. Kinda like The Forest which was almost the exact same case in general. Perhaps at this point I realize I don’t quite enjoy games like this, although they seem appealing on the surface, in my interaction with their execution something is lost in translation. So, not completed at all, but it just didn’t grab me very well. Was going to do a little more to give it a bit more of a chance, but switched to Observation and LoF2 which are more in line with what I’m looking for in terms of horror/creepy atmospheric flavored titles at this point, so I did them instead.

Observation- Channels the 2001 vibe in a positive way. Neat to play as the AI with the human char as supporting NPC in such a scenario. Voice acting standout, combined w/ sharp and crisp aesthetics, solid droning/suspenseful sound design. Pretty enjoyable, slower burn, no cheap jumpscares, but underlined with a sense of mystery and dread at various plot beats, though some pathfinding and puzzle progression can be a bit obtuse. Not the most jaw dropping sci fi “trapped in space” plot ever, but it has a lot of personality otherwise to make it notable. Short and thus tight running time is a positive too at this point personally. Double feature-back to back w LoF2. Mid honorable, split with LOF2, but would prolly put this slightly above it if forced to pick just one.

Layers of Fear 2- mixed to somewhat positive reviews, some claiming it reaches a height of horror, majority of others that it’s decent enough with good moments but as a sum not all that impressive. Still checked it out based on the first and that it was said to be at least as good or better in most areas. Double feature with Observation. Has a rock solid aesthetic/atmosphere as expected and appropriately sinisterly vague actor-losing-themselves setup. Voice acting for the nameless and faceless director is notable, Tony Todd. Up to the usual tricks with shifting layouts and geometry, but nothing mind blowing or particularly standout so the latter desc above mostly holds, although some cool nods to both classic and modern films as again per the framework. Gave it a few goes to plat and similar to Observation, was short enough. A funny ZP-like logline might be: Peter Seller’s Psychedelic Nightmare directed by Werner Herzog. Not that it was ‘forgettable’ but instead undersold its potential while being overshadowed by better all-around titles. Sneaks into mid tier/decent.

Borderlands 2 Commander Lilith DLC tie in to BL3- Classic BL, with a good balance of their trademark humor and in universe seriousness with the characters and situation to bridge the gap between 2 and 3. Quite fun to get back into the world, shooting and looting with a nice touch on them for letting players roll up a level appropriate character to start and jump straight to the new area/ questline.

The Sinking City- Got okish to middle reviews. Personally think it’s fairly solid really, noticed a bit of minor jankiness/graphical infidelity, lack of enemy variety on top of which combat can certainly be cheap both ways, but nothing too major in the end. Devs being clear fans of the source material leads to a decent connection to an assumed bit of pre knowledge on the player’s part of overall Lovecraft lore. Mind palace/research investigation mechanic pretty good too. Pins the atmosphere nicely and respectable writing/acting. Better than Call of Cthulu easily, of the recent Lovecraft inspired games. Enjoyed it more as it went on, unlocking specific costumes was oddly compelling and the cases became more nebulous with some cool set pieces and appropriate odd characters as well. Bought the DLC for extra 3 cases which were mildly cool. Sneaked into the honorable cutoff for its ambition vs practical execution.   

Ghost of a Tale- wanted to check it for a while, got ported to PS in March 2019, snagged on sale in summer. A shorter indie with lauded art and decent writing. It’s neat enough, definitely unique style and has a sense of itself, cutesy for sure but without being too overbearing and some clever characters/interactions. Quest design is a little rudimentary and eventually became repetitive. Some annoying obfuscation of directions coupled with extensive backtracking made it lose some of its charm later on and didn’t quite finish it, but still a nicely designed original piece that is impressive for a single-dev game.

Wolfenstein Young Blood- not all that highly reviewed, mediocre at best was the thread. Although I thought it was decent enough overall, but I see the issues with it, they just didn’t bother me as much. Shorter than a full game but price reflects that so about even on that front. Core mechanics still work fine, addition of leveling system and upgrades etc also kinda there. Perhaps biggest issue is narratively it wasn’t nearly as strong as both modern Wolfensteins and the level/mission design could’ve been better given the pedigree of devs. Did all the missions but it did start to feel lazy/repetitive at the end. So while not terrible the whole way, it does fit in the weak list purely because of its lesser quality vs the other two previous games as well as how it measures against the current field. Not 100% shit per se, was fun enough while it lasted but then The Just Cause 4 Effect applies- coin a new term.

DMC5- received praise for being quite cool and a good return to form for the series that newcomers can also jump into ala RE2, which I agree is largely accurate. Bought deluxe edition on sale late summer 2019. It’s solidly done DMC for the most part, with Capcom knowing exactly what they’re making (A self-aware latter day B horror movie with demons) and making it work in the established style of the series. It’s like Evil Dead: it’s not going to be the best shit ever, but it’s never taking itself too seriously and definitely has a sense of anarchic glee in reveling in its silliness which elevates it somewhat above parody. Capcom has generally been pretty excellent in 2019 so wanted to support them anyway and have some fun with the new DMC along the way. Switching between characters for various chapters was a cool new idea, mostly works, and get to play as Dante exactly when you’re itching to do so, solid pacing. Good boss design/fights (GoW or FromSoftware-like, but it could be argued DMC was there along with them back in the day. But the enemies still feel unique/true to its core identity) Somewhat less impressive if not level design, then choice of art/setting for the levels themselves. Not the cool, huge gothic (and more open metroidvania feel if I recall) church/castles that 1 and 2 used well, but instead fairly bog standard urban city/buildings and demonic caverns that tend to blend blandly into the many kinds of it seen before. Wish the initial difficulty options were more than two, felt that it was sometimes a bit easier than it should’ve been, however time-saving it may be. In the end, a real enjoyable romp in its genre and series, well worth the price of admission.

Control- Some very fine work. Where Alan Wake was Twin peaks, this is more X-files/Warehouse 13. Even had in-universe lore connecting the two, nice touch. Has a lot of the hallmarks of Remedy/Sam Lake’s signature writing and art style which usually is up my alley. As well as always some collectibles being worldbuilding creepy and/or funny and/or both TV and Radio shows to find. Good sense of place/setting with some offbeat humor thrown in to match the suspense/supernatural tale. Mechanics solid as hell, good idea with one weapon easily morphing into the usual assortment and ties into its own lore. Almost like playing as Jean Grey- flying and TK throwing shit with the desctruco-physics looks cool and feels satisfying. Negatives: map is fairly unhelpful, especially telling what levels of each area you’re on vertically in a metroidvania situation. Weapon etc mods aren’t all that interesting, standard stuff done better elsewhere, and wish were able to carry or unlock more forms of the gun vs only two types at a time. Some combat scenarios can also seem overwhelming and the last bonus boss is an absolute bitch but still mostly doable with decent skill and use of abilities. Great use of a slowroll fakeout ending to cap the story off and set up followups, see ala DLC. Intriguing premise from a studio known for specializing in this kind of game/genre, largely well pulled off and I wanted to play more each time, eventually platinumed easily enough. Earned buying the DLC, on sale= 3 missions/levels total. First one was really the pre order deluxe bonus, two more to come. Control was neat and creatively unique/mechanically sound enough to sneak 5 spot on GOTY.

Greedfall- an old school bioware style RPG, from a dev wishing to fill the void left by the current BW, with lower fantasy 16^th century colonial setting. Flew a bit under the radar but got quite excited for it near release. As a package overall it’s well done on many fronts, given the smaller studio’s nature/pedigree. Some visual and low grade jankiness makes it seem like a later PS3 game, but it has a lot of ambition and clear vision in its attempt to tackle the specific RPG style in a nonstandard, fairly unique setting. Combat plus range of items/skills/armor etc invokes a blend of DA:I, W3, Skyrim without being overbearing, fun and diverse set of tools. Writing and voice acting subtly downplayed which lends a bit of an air of gravitas to the interactions and factions and distinguishes it somewhat apart from the standard fare. It is utilizing a tested framework to explore a lesser done setting/atmosphere/historical era, with a touch of fantasy thrown in. Attempts more intricate/interesting quest chains and while not reinventing the wheel, it does a lot to flesh out the world and characters without feeling like old fetch/kill quests even if they can sometimes (but not always) boil down to it. You play a diplomat, so many of them are strings of convos, negotiations and investigations, all w/ nice lore building and at times surprising and well pulled off plot twists, some even tied into optional side ones that round out the layers of intrigue and politics at play at large. Even the romance options require paying more attention and choosing the right response in context, and not just blindly clicking the dialogue tree with heart icon every time. Pretty impressively done again given its natural limitations combined with the unmistakable care that went into it. Definitely scratches the niche itch that it clearly and proudly designs to reside in. Give much credit to the AA devs putting out titles like this, along w/ Plague Tale, unsung hero work being done and deserves highlighting. Would’ve liked to see DLC/more in this world, perhaps sequel.

Borderlands 3- it’s more BL, for better or worse. The core loop remains engaging and the world is a fun playground, even if it sometimes tries too hard on humor/thinks it’s cleverer than actuality, but did get some decent and unexpected chuckles throughout. The design still works after all this time, art style is slicker and more polished than ever while moment to moment gunplay is tight and satisfying, with the promised staggering amount of weapons to mess around with. Solid enemies make all the firefights entertaining if not challenging at the very least. Solo’ing using Beastmaster and ala the PSQL, a fun class to play as and can elicit some amusing emergent gameplay. A few cool but minor changeups to the tried formula, but it inexplicably and almost stubbornly keeps some of the annoying archaic ones. Still, for doing the template it pretty much codified, and for having some decent narrative beats that both expands and ties into the established lore, definitely worth it for one more time at least. It might be more over the top Michael Bay mindless violence (or a B movie version of GOTG) compared to say, GreedFall, but it knows that, embraces it in fact, and wraps everything around fine story and high production value (hate to have to mention this, but it was not scummy about mtx et al. so good on it there, but shouldn’t be a standout thing, yet sadly is) and is generally a blast to….blast through. A few nitpicks mostly due to the aforementioned outdated mechanics and in an effort to bolster endgame content, what could be considered padding for a few missions, as well as extra/hidden dungeons and survival challenge missions that are just for the sake of it usually. Post launch had various free bonus events i.e. Bloody Harvest Halloween special, was cool, with more planned throughout, a nice service to fans and not exploitative, credit there too. Bought paid pass on sale $40. 1 of 4 Handsome Jackpot was fun play in a Jack-themed overrun casino, same tight gameplay wrapped around a clever enough story framework.

Shakedown: Hawaii: Finally caught on sale for $15. Played as a breather after BL3 and before Outer Worlds which worked out really well in terms of a relaxing smaller game from the devs of Retro City Rampage, though I didn’t play that. For the most part quite fun complimented by a great outrun-style synth soundtrack, vibrant pixel art, and simple but pleasant gameplay that can be done in short bursts. A sendup of both late 80s and current conventions of capitalism through a GTA-lite-and-like framework married to a kind of simplified sim city acquisition and management mechanic. The end goal is to literally shakedown all of the properties in order to buy/own the entire island, which is pretty amusing and satisfying to do, broken up by decent story beats containing occasionally funny exchanges. 70% through though, my playstyle meant I was vastly ahead of the money curve/investment which meant I had no trouble buying whatever was required, and then some, removed a bit of the challenge, but a minor complaint. Every now and again some jokey and even mean spirited mini games are tossed in, ostensibly as commentary, and not that I dislike the nasty nature of them, but they can be kind of left curve vs the general more parodic playful tone otherwise. In summary, SH nicely scratches the retro arcade-y style itch with panache in a year that didn’t seem to offer much else like it. “Plat” it, technically wasn’t one, but did do all trophies and got about 15 hrs out of it.

Outer Worlds- rightly praised as return to form, with Obsidian filling in and continuing great work in the area where Bethesda, Bioware and others dropped the ball for old school single player story focused RPG/FPS. Logline: New Vegas in space! with a Firefly meets The Expanse commentary on corporatocracy run amok in the frontier of the stars western setting, but filtered with trademark charm, dark humor and oddball characters with a unique enough touch that it’s all very enjoyable and while wearing influences clearly on its sleeve, avoids being too derivative of any one particular property. Mechanically has all the hallmarks of what would be expected for the genre/format and doesn’t disappoint; robust assortment of skills, perks, and items all of which feed into the system at large, and have a use in some form, nothing wasted or included only as an afterthought. Solid gunplay, enemy array and design work all around. Zero bugs/glitches…it was Bethesda all along! Familiar in form maybe, but optimized to a high degree with a modern satirical pulpy sci-fi capitalism gone awry aesthetic tale. Takes high class writing sprinkled with myriad excellent small touches/careful details to explore and utilize all the above in. Basically the game I was waiting for all year, I threw myself into it, and it rewarded by hitting all my personal marks for its type. RE2 came out strong to start the year, and although OW doesn’t really revolutionize anything, it does both recapture and revitalize the essence of what made New Vegas et al. so good, for this gen, streamlining many elements all while putting an amusing but thoughtful spin on issues of modern corporate culture and even resource management in a retro zeerust styled alt future adventure. Even the length and pacing was near-perfect, with a significant but not overbearing ~ 30-35 hours. Maybe not as huge as others, but densely packed combined with the new IP, shows Obsidian nailing it with what they can do with true creative freedom (almost meta-ly ala the theme of the game itself) away from big pub influence/meddling.

Death Stranding: Definitely a not for everyone title, depending on player’s willingness to go along with Kojima’s vision of gameplay and his distinctive storytelling style. Did find it an intriguing premise/set up if again not ridic in the way of his previous joints. Clearly by design, it’s supposed to feel like a trudging haul early on before more convenient/better methods and gear upgrades are unlocked, but all throughout mechanics heavily lean toward the overdone realism ala RDR2, i.e. excessively finicky and meticulous sometimes seemingly for indulgence’s sake. The casting and general production value/quality is sky high, quality (and obviously numerous) cutscenes. Most interesting aspect is the semi interactive online component, where structures built/items left by myself can be used by other players and vice versa combined with the obvious social commentary/like system. Was genuinely relieving at points that I could use a bridge etc that wasn’t previously there once enough regions were ‘connected’ via the story missions and even eventually an entire paved roadway. A neat idea that adds onto the themes etc that the story focuses on (if at times comically/heavy handed) while also feeding into gameplay and does somewhat bring a sense of comradery and gratitude for others (even if some light trolling ala Gwent specifically via the signs is possible, and impossible to avoid in most situations like this) to the otherwise desolate and empty, though pretty, game world. I felt incentivized to do some of my share, contributing supplies and access routes while thumbs-uping everyone’s shit, almost no matter what it was since it was easy enough to do so. However the core loop doesn’t really evolve or involve enough to do the same for the in game side deliveries, and even hours in missions could still feel like boring slogs. If nothing else I can respect Kojima’s auteur vision, even if as a traditional “game” it may flounder in some areas. Overall I liked but didn’t love it, and by the end was ready to move onto something less demanding ala SW. Not sure where to place it, honor roll maybe, or some kind of special mention, but not GOTY at all. Maybe a special mention that isn’t quite honor but is similar. Artistic achievement or something pretentious like that.

Star Wars: Jedi Fall Order- Picked up to check out based on decent to pos reviews, gave it a run through then to Louie for his bday. It’s mostly decent, noble effort to mix the clear influences of Dark Souls-lite combat, Uncharted/Tomb Radier, even some GoW setpiece/navigation and M-V/Zelda-like exploration in the SW universe with a new story/char, even if it’s basically a bog standard SW adventure with obligatory nods and cameos etc and a foregone conclusion given its placement in the timeline.  Even so, dug it especially as a follow up to Death Stranding, more light hearted action/spectacle, but knows that, embraces it all for exactly what it is. Could surely use a little more polish though, graphically/visually it’s a little last gen, at least on my setup and had some weird, sometimes favorable, sometimes not, glitches and hiccups. Voice acting and casting is quality though, so it’s mostly the graphical fidelity questionable. Also, perhaps it’s my lack of as much expertise in Souls-likes, but sometimes the combat doesn’t feel responsive enough given the tactical dueling mechanics it’s aping. As a continued theme/common element it seems this year, the worldbuilding is finely attended to given the source material of having to use the most recognized and often polarizing pop culture IP on the planet. Apparently it sold like hotcakes, so that prolly reflects the state of the industry in relation to this property as a whole. All in all Respawn delivers a quality enough product given the various pedigrees involved and is basically a fun, if a safely by the book, ride. Mid tier, could also just barely slip into weak for the technical reasons.

Blasphemous –touted as a well done “Souls-vania” with a cool grotesquely morbid pixel art style of religious iconography and story. Grabbed it $20 on sale to at least check out if not finish. It is indeed very slick and well directed visuals, some of the crispest/sharpest, filtered through a heavy dose of unrelentingly but gorgeously realized macabre Spanish inquisitional atmosphere and setting, with a perfectly matched auditory ambiance and decent writing to support its fairly deep lore. Reminiscent of Hyper Light Drifter in the sense of how it utilizes a core of retro style mentality and gameplay alongside a modern take on FromSoftware precision in combat and platforming/level exploration mechanics to create a cool unique feeling world. However as always with games of this nature, the flip side is that same precision required to repeatedly go through grueling gauntlets and trying tough battles multiple times to advance can be annoyingly grating and/or finding the proper progress path time consuming. Wanted to support more indies though and this one is a well done title overall with what it set out to do. But it ended up on lower weak list for limitations beyond the above, expanded upon there.  

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night- A return to form/modern version of Symphony era Castlevania with excellent updated art style. $25 on sale, back to back M-Vs with Blasphemous. Support the auteurs as well. It’s 100% what it says on the tin, certainly delivered on its promise of being the spiritual successor to the beloved titles in the series. Completely classic Castlevania action with modern gen graphics, rendered in a sort of 2.5 D cartoon-anime aesthetic with smooth fluid combat system all of which is quite lovely to play/see, especially vs the brutalist (yet beautiful in its own right) pixel art and punishing precision of Blasphemous. The mechanic of stealing enemy special attacks to use as spells and buffs is from some other earlier CV too, but one I never really played so pretty neat to have that thrown in as well. Enjoyed it for the most part, it’s slightly more forgiving than Blasphemous. Went through it leisurely, ended up doing the best/most complex ending via the usual extra super specific shit. Afterwards beat most but not all of the bonus bosses, eventually felt I had seen/played enough and wanted to move on. It is quite worth it for fans of the genre, all very solidly produced, just with same annoying issues as in any M-V of being stuck/wasting time on a particular boss/section etc.

Blair Witch- thought it was MS exclusive, but seems was merely a ‘timed’ one. Grabbed it on sale. Bloober usually does decent enough horror style walking sims (did Layers 2 this year.) Wasn’t as impressive as some reviewers I respect made it out to be, but it’s serviceable enough fare from them. While cool they got to work with this IP, I don’t have that much affinity for it, so can’t say if it did it justice. It is however the 1000^th haunted creepy forest I’ve seen in a game which yes is usually good atmosphere and not that it isn’t so for this, it’s just that it’s such a worn out locale at this point and I’ve certainly seen it done better elsewhere. Having it be so dark at times, literally difficult to see, was also annoying when trying to navigate confusing areas/solve puzzles. Usually I’ll do multiple playthroughs on their stuff for trophies as they’re generally short enough, but passed on this. Blair does expand a bit beyond their standard mechanics and contains some fine ideas, yet I actually deem it their weakest work and prefer Observer and/or Layers, as both had a more unique/realized setting and use of their trademark space warping.

Where the Water Tastes like Wine-  ported this quietly under the radar it seems. PC from 2018, was really interested in it upon release. Bought w/ Obra Dinn as holiday gift for myself and again support indie cult devs on principle. It’s definitely a niche game being based on collecting and trading Gothic-Americana folk tales, a mix of both known and original material, that all in some way reflect/reference America’s turbulent history and social issues. Then growing and spreading those stories as you encounter more instances and chances to retell/hear embellished versions. To match, has great art style and visual design, a fantastically fitting soundtrack, and crucially– high quality writing/narration, since that’s basically the core of the experience that it lives/dies on, along with a few minor/token game mechanics attached. Simple but sleek controls, since there isn’t that much in true gameplay regard, but there is something genuinely compelling and relaxing about wandering through the stylized map of Dust Bowl/Depression era USA gathering new stories. It is satisfying when finding/picking the right ones via hints for the matching tone or ‘genre’ requested by the 16 specific, unique and well-realized characters that each sort of embody an aspect or historical period of America itself. As you do so, they also move across the map, with the goal of unlocking their complete stories by telling them enough of the kind they request. It’s along the lines of something like a cross between Valiant Hearts and a type of evolution of a Telltale-like that shows narrative-driven titles in the vein are still alive. The writing truly goes a long way, consistently capturing various moods and deep, meaningful themes, with the aforementioned embellishments actively adding to/altering previous stories in surprising and clever ways, essentially leveling them up, making them ‘worth more’ when choosing to tell at new junctures. At its heart is a great premise, though it certainly won’t appeal to everyone, it is my kind of title that I will happily support, as it can be thankless, based on sales reactions from the devs. I deem it an important title that would’ve made honorable easily in 2018 with a retroactively strong case for inclusion on GOTY even.

Return of the Obra-Dinn ported to ps4 Oct 19, bought with some Christmas money double indie bill w/ Water Wine. Support the auteurs, wanted to check out anyway as it was an indie favorite from 2018. Ian would probably love this one, for me it’s cool enough but I can see I might eventually get tired of it. It is a solid setup, solving the mystery of an 1800s ship with 60 specific crew dead via flashbacks from a magical pocketwatch of course, looking for vignettes and little environmental hints pieced together throughout, than you can revisit and learn new/more details as you explore/unlock more parts of the ship. Style is minimalist but effective, black and white almost graph paper-like art, although the fuzziness of some of it means occasionally particulars can be hard to pick out depending on angle and lighting etc. It achieves this feeling of playing through a Sherlock style pulp detective adventure novel or story without directly referencing or aping any of that material outright. That said, there’s a fairly strong possibility I won’t actually finish it, since I’m not as good as perhaps I think I might be at abstract-ish level logic/puzzle solving in this vein, but it is quite cool and fine again with supporting this kind of work.

Plague Road- bought on deep sale, $4. Mixed to low reviews heh, but it looks like a painterly cool art style, steampunk renaissance flavored in 2.5 world, so maybe even if it’s bad it might be worth seeing exactly how/why. Rogue-like levels with turn based strategy on a grid/board combat, which is a solid mix. It’s a bit underexplained as to what exactly the goal is and some of the mechanics, an early session with it doesn’t leave any particular bad impressions or noticeable suck. Jim Sterling is the narrator so that’s pretty neat. However further sessions shows it does get kinda repetitive and novelty wears thin. Visually appealing but mechanically shallow. Deleted it after few goes. Not enough to convince me to invest further.

Outer Wilds- not to be confused with Worlds of course. Picked up on winter sale $20. Gathered solid positive attention earlier in the year. Pub’ed by Annapurna’s division of ‘interactive entertainment.’  I dig the premise- Majora’s Mask-like groundhog day loop/mystery in space! with cartoony art/aesthetics. Clever set up and style, it’s a relaxing but intelligent title so far, great little soundtrack too. Gameplay consists of flying around space/exploring distinct and well-designed locations in FP, gathering more info each cycle, following clues and hints to and from the various planets/stellar bodies etc to uncover further pieces of the puzzle (very vaguely similar to Obra Dinn or a much less hardcore Witness, but I think I enjoy OW better vs both) before the Sun explodes and the loop restarts, but ostensibly each time a bit more closer to having all the facts/history of the story what’s happening and why. As a softer sci fi they can throw in QM and black holes here and there and when it all works together it can truly impart a feeling of discovery. Can see why it was praised. Downsides: it can be unclear what to do/what info is missing after a while, and the finicky controls/getting stuck via half clipping especially flying can make it aggravating unnecessarily. Played through a bunch but didn’t quite finish/do everything needed to end/see the final loop. Even so, it was engaging enough to make Solid list.

Trover Saves the Universe- bought for Steevo’s bday, lent to me to check out. Justin Roiland/Squanch Games, with the dialogue and style of meta-trope-y humor that implies matched to his cartoony aesthetics with solid chill out music. Sneaked it in mid Feb ‘20 ~6-8 hours. Gameplay is fine but mostly formulaic action/platformer, though the jokes do keep coming even if they can be hit or miss, it largely holds up. Does have a vague R+M vibe, but never reaches its highs. Gave out a free DLC level, which I did part of, but really was ready to move on by then.

Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire- PS4 port finally released in Jan 2020 w/ all extra content. Started up to do char gen and opening set up before blowing through Zombie Army 4. Allotted ~month to see and do as much as possible while at least completing main arc and most sides if not every piece of add-on. The third DLC added a possible choice that affected the ending in cool way. Noticeable graphical improvement and some scattered but welcome UI/quality of life tweaks. Loading times weren’t as egregious, although by the time I got going there were a few patches adding up to an extra ~10 gigs even with which still had some scattered glitches and crashes. Still, it is crisper and more refined. Expanded incorporation of elements like subclasses and the assorted skills/traits/reputations for convos/interactions, new ship exploration/battle/management mechanics, lots more quality voice acting (featuring the Crit Role cast.) While technically a direct sequel, it’s not strictly necessary to have played 1 and there’s a solid summary at the onset. Cool to see some returning characters, as well as expansion of the world-building on top of an already solid foundation. The setting shifts to a Greefall-like Age of Exploration angle (though in fairness Deadfire was first) of island nations occupied by a consortium of pirates, natives, and trading companies along with the obvious political intrigue to compliment the ‘hunt down a god’ main arc. Writing and overall presentation topnotch as Obsidian usually is, one of the best in the industry, will always support them. Has more to offer with extra polish vs. the first PoE and I recommend Deadfire over it + in general.

Terminator: Resistance- Released to little fanfare Dec. 2019. By March 2020 had big discount for $15, grabbed as bday present for myself with leftover PSN credit. Described as “surprisingly decent” if largely ignored. Is on par generally with the sense of good quick fun ala Zombie Army. ~15 hours, played on hard. Not the highest production value for sure, but a solid slice of AA FPS that happened (somehow) to work a big ticket license. Has the musical motif even and all the required references but knowingly so. Mechanically functions as a perfectly grounded shooter with light RPG, crafting and dialogue elements on mid-sized open-ish maps/levels. Nothing that hasn’t been seen or done before, but because the mechanics are in fact so reliable/applicable and nicely utilized, Resistance thus still mostly works and holds together pretty well for what it is. Games like this should also be respected when able to be done in a solid manner and that’s the case for this. 

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Whew, so there you are. A bit of an insight to my gaming madness with hopefully some helpful and/or amusing thoughts about most if not all titles I played during the course of 2019 and early 2020 leading up to the episode.

-Scott Thurlow