Game Completion List 2022

Alright, here it is. The reason I decided to move over to the blog. 2022's game list. I did a better job at making notes after finishing a game. Usual rules apply. Credit roll is enough to go on the list, but just because I rolled credits doesn't necessarily mean I stopped playing. I usually go for "Full Completion". I wanna see multiple endings if it doesn't require a new full replay. I wanna do all the side quests that have story content. I wouldn't say I aim to 100% and I never pay attention to achievements if a game has them. I usually just aim to see all the content a game has to offer.

If I didn't beat a level in under 30 seconds to get the gold star, and I didn't collect every single sword, I'm probably fine with that. I also usually play on normal mode, unless it requires a harder mode to see the true ending or whatever. Which I have a problem with. But more on that later. 

If I had a screenshot that I took easily accessible, I added it. If I failed to take a screenshot or couldn't find it in a quick pass, I didn't include it.

Listed in order of completion:

Death's Gambit: Afterlife

• Genre: Side scrolling Action/Platforming
• Why I played: Metroidvania with cool art and a lizardman
• Recommend to Others: Yes... IF the game has received significant patches.

Besides some issues I had with this game having a corrupt save file and having to replay parts, I enjoyed the game. I thought it was great, if not flawed. I think some of the flaws come from the fact it was completely overhauled after 3 years into this Afterlife version and I think remnants of the old version makes some of the progression awkward. Otherwise it's mechanically sound, aesthetically pleasing, and I loved the world building. Music was great. It would be a big recommend if not for some of the jankyness, but maybe they have patched it since then?

Hyper Light Drifter

• Genre: Top-down Action Adventure
• Why I played: Because it looks amazing, and I backed the kickstarter.
• Recommend to Others: Definitely.

Despite having kickstarted it, I only now finally played through it. I had previously started it on multiple occasions. It's a great game and I feel like little needs to be said. My biggest complaint is thee is just waaaay to much hidden stuff. It's gorgeous and I loved taking in the scenery, so the fact I had to hug the walls and keep my eyes out for the tiniest out of place pixel detracts from being able to absorb the landscape.

I do feel like it might have been a bit more fun if you got generally more powerful or more health or something, but it's definitely a game you improve in as you play. It's just certain enemies can be frustrating no matter how many times you fight them.

Kirby Fighters 2

• Genre: Melee Fighting
• Partners: Alice for story mode.
• Why I played: Cause it's Kirby-Smash Bos.
• Recommend to Others: Maybe, only if you really like both Kirby and Smash Bros.

Alice and I went through all the story mode together to unlock everything. Its simple and fun. Smash Bros Lite at best but it's cute and fun.

Saga Frontier

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: I have always meant to play Saga Frontier and just never got around to it. I have the second one and many other Saga games.
• Recommend to Others: I enjoyed it, but not really.

It's a fun game and I think it would have been more fun of a game to have as a kid to play through all the different kinds of way, but even with the improved remastered version, it's kinda janky, even for it's time. Though there is something charming about it's simplicity in some aspects and it's randomness in others. It's kinda all over the place, but I appreciate that about it.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: Because I wanted something new in Pokemon.
• Recommend To Others: Absolutely. Especially if you feel Pokemon has grown stale. I enjoyed it even more than Scarlet and Violet.

This is what I've been wanting from Pokemon forever. This is the direction I want to see the game proceed. This was an amazing Pokemon experience. There is just so much I loved. It wasn't perfect, there were little nitpicks all over the place. But as a whole the game was a ton of fun and did so many things right. It was the right step forward I had hoped to see more things pulled from this into Scarlet/Violet, but they weren't bad either.

Chorus

• Genre: 3D Space Shooter/Sim
• Why I played: I saw some random videos and it looked really cool.
• Recommend to Others: Only if you already like these types of games.

This is a great space shooter if you hate the way space shooters play mechanically. The combat/navigation is more like airspace than space... space. Or some kind of mixture. It's it's own thing and it was kind of disorienting for me who has played a lot of both flight combat and space combat games. Generally flight and space games handle things differently, and sometimes they handle things incorrectly, but I'm not sure I can name a game off the top of my head that handles just like Chorus.

Almost the whole game was slightly disorienting for me. That said, it's a lot of fun. The progression is a little off. Sometimes it feels a little slow, and the end feels a little rushed. Maybe it's my fault for doing all the side-quests as soon as they popped up, rather than waiting to do them later or just as I happened to pass by them, which is probably more like the game intended, rather than have you hunt them out before proceeding to any main quest. Still, I feel like the game as a whole should have been shorter, but at the same time the main story quest should have been a little more fleshed out toward the end. I still recommend it for people who like space shooters.

Stay Cool Kobayashi-san

• Genre: Beat 'em up
• Partners: Alice
• Why I played: Looking to recapture the River City Girls magic.
• Recommend to Others: no.

To be honest it's janky as hell and I'd recommend most River City/Kunio-kun games over it. We played it thinking it would fill us with a similar joy to River City Girls. It did not. It's hard to believe this is a game made in 2019 by more than one person. It was just so broken and janky. There is a level up system we didn't even know about until tirelessly fighting the final boss. You have to exit the game and level up from the settings menu on the title screen. What the fuck is that nonsense. I'm barely touching on the jank that is this game. There is like 4 enemy types with one of them having like 5 palette swaps. Progression is based on number of specific enemies fought and encounters are kinda random. Enemies, especially bosses can very easily stun lock you and you have almost no recovery options. NPC's randomly show up constantly and just have endless meaningless dialog.

Elden Ring

• Genre: Action RPG
• Why I played: Because of FOMO.
• Recommend to Others: Yeah, if you liked any actual Souls game, this is pretty much the quintessential experience. Otherwise, no, it's not going to change your mind.

I don't think there is anything I can say about this game that hasn't already been said. I didn't follow it at all leading up to it's release and in my pettiness I was hoping it would be bad. On release day I saw so much about the game I ended up going out and buy it the next day. It would then be pretty much the only game I played for over month. I played nearly 200 hours and did pretty much everything possible. 

That said, while I did enjoy the game a lot, I wouldn't call it one f my favorites. It was a great experience and there ae a lot of things to do, but it's all kinda standard fare in a huge melting pot. There isn't a single thing I thought it did so much better than anything else, it's just kind of an experience that captures a lot of good already existing elements. It was good though. I do think it would have been improved by just like... giving you a bit more HP or making enemies attacks less damaging. I am all about tough games but I just feel like the damage isn't scaled the best and if enemies just did a little less, the game could have been a ton more fun to just romp around in. Boss battles could have been more about endurance rather than just happening to die from 1 mistake that does 89% of health damage and since you weren't specifically topped off... well. Thems the breaks.

I had nearly 200 hours in the game and finished with a 150+ level character but was still susceptible to 1 hit or near 1 hit kills and there were times it just felt like more of an annoyance than a challenge. I kept hearing people refer to Elden Ring(and other Souls games) as "tough but fair", and honestly, sometimes this game just isn't fair. More annoying than challenging and could have been a bit better in that regard, for what ended up being GOTY on so many platforms. Still, I played a ton and liked it. It just didn't blow my mind.

Superhot VR

• Genre: First Person Shooter
• Why I played: I like Superhot... not VR.
• Recommend to Others: Definitely... but maybe on sale just because it's so short.

Not much to say, it was tons of fun and an obvious adaption of Superhot. Maybe I was just having fun but it seemed pretty short. No complaints other than I wish there were more. Definitely worthy of a spot in the Top-10 VR games.

Vengeful Heart

• Genre: Visual Novel
• Why I played: The A.E.S.T.H.E.T.I.C.
• Recommend to Others: If you want more of a story than a game, sure, it's pretty good.

Pretty good story, more of a kinetic novel than a visual novel. There is very little actual interaction, but it has cool art that looks like an old PC-98 game and the music isn't bad either.

Full Metal Furies

• Genre: Top-Down Action
• Partners: Alice, Paul, Shonte
• Why I played: Seemed like a really good co-op game.
• Recommend to Others: Only if you are really looking for a local co-op game. It can be frustrating at times.

Generally speaking, it is a great co-op game. Each character feels like their own so everyone's role feels important. There ae some aspects that feel a little unpolished. Certain challenges were clearly meant for only one person to pass through and become more frustrating with multiple people. The difficulty scale also feels off. Every time you level up it feels like it's in the effort to continue barely surviving. Instead of an ebb and flow where you feel strong for a bit and then things get tougher and then you upgrade to feel strong again - it feels like upgrading is just this horizonal line f barely surviving the next trials. The game also scales enemies as your progress and throws more at you for multiplayer. You could argue it's just "extremely balanced" but I think accounting for every variable and increasing the difficulty for it makes things too difficult for people who don't want to optimize or play perfectly. Which is fine for a single player game, not as fine for co-op.

All that said, the balance isn't nearly as annoying as some of the hidden stuff to get the tue ending. It's pretty ridiculous what they expect you to be able to figure out. We had to look up a ton, and even when we gave it 100% attention, there were things that still didn't make sense. It almost felt like it was trying to be this encrypted augmented reality game instead of just being... a game. I enjoyed it, but I probably won't ever revisit it.

Wolfstride

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: Cool mech battles that oozes style.
• Recommend to Others: I'm very not sure. I enjoyed it a lot, but it wastes a lot of time. If you're someone who will just proceed to the next point without being prompted and don't want to make sure you see eveything by exploring the town everyday, then yes.

This game has style in abundance, mechs, entertaining use of tropes, and plenty of pop culture references. It does those things great. What it doesn't do great is it's overall story presentation. Definitely style over substance, and definitely overly wordy at times. What this game really needed was an editor to cut out the fat. There were many occasions where they would go into long tangents about a something they've already gone on about. The same characters have the same issues over and over again, even until the very end one of the main characters is still complaining about the stuff he was twenty hours earlier in the game. Things changed and evolved and you don't have to take 15 minutes to say it. I couldn't help but feel like maybe the writers or creators were trying to project and make their story known or just sound deeper than they're capable of.

It also didn't need it's day-to-day system. Maybe they felt they needed it to build tension and create clear points of "something is about to happen", but there are 63 days and I'd be surprised if even a third of them are eventful. It led to most of my time spent in the game wandering around the whole game's environment to make sure I didn't miss anything, when maybe is was necessary around... 10 times. I guess they still could have used the day-to-day thing, and just cut out all the "nothing days", but I suppose they wanted it to seem like the characters spent more than just 20 days with each other. I feel like they could have done this better ways that weren't a waste of time.

The mech battles were fun, but I was hoping for a little bit more in variety. They did some cool stuff here and there, like forcing you to use different or specific loadouts at certain points, but it would have been more fun to see combat to expand in more ways later in the game.

Vampire Survivor

• Genre: ??? Roguelike Bullet Hell Auto SHMUP?
• Why I played: I saw all the references to games I liked, mostly Castlevania, of course.
• Recommend to Others: Yeah, if you want something that is mostly just an addictive time killer.

At least when I stopped playing I had done everything there was to do in the game. I think they have since updated the game. It's an addictive positive feedback loop of unlocking more stuff so you can play better so you unlock more stuff so you can play better. It's a simple game where all you do is move around while powers you pick up go off and enemies constantly bombard you. It kind sounds dumb by description, and I suppose it is, but it's a lot of fun for 3 bucks.

Eiyuuden Chronicles Rising

• Genre: Side Scrolling Action Platforming RPG
• Why I played: Looking forward to Eiyuuden Chronicles 100 Heroes.
• Recommend to Others: Yes.

In anticipation for Hundred Heroes, they made an action platforming RPG. While the main game is going to be more like Suikoden, this is more like Valkyrie Profile if it weren't turned based. The game doesn't do anything too special, but the way it handles it's character switching is what I would envision a non-turned based Valkyrie Profile to be. It's just about the right length, though most people probably won't do as many of the side quests as I did. But if you like the grind, despite it's relative simplicity, it doesn't get old. I would love to see this kind of gameplay in more games.

Infernax

• Genre: Side Scrolling Action Platforming
• Why I played: Classic Castlevania like game
• Recommend to Others: Yes.

A more classic take on the Castlevania forumla that mostly borrows from Simon's Quest. There are some fairly substantial choices to make in it's story, considering it's overall simplicity. I feel like most bosses wee a little too easy, but I'd rather feel that are too easy than be dawn out with super inflated HP like some games of the genre do. I got most of the endings available and even the most important one that truly shows how much they wanted this game to be a throwback, not to just Castlevania. It's pretty solid.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

• Genre: Beat 'em up
• Partners: Alice, Paul, Shonte, Rey, Annah
• Why I played: Because Turtles in Time was one of my favorite games as a kid and that is who this game was made for.
• Recommend to Others: Yes, if you played Turtles in Time as a kid.

This was pretty much just a nostalgia trip. A great ne though. If you liked anything TMNT there is something here for you I think, but most of all if you played the TMNT arcade games - or specifically Turtles in Time. Got to play 6 players all the way through in one sitting. It's roughly 3 hours with a couple small breaks.

Metal Max: Xeno Reborn

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: I like Metal Max. I had the original version.
• Recommend to Others: Maybe? If you like kinda weird liminal RPGs.

A weird game that was not quite a rerelease and not quite a remake, but kind of an overhaul. Think FFXIV style overhaul where they changed all the mechanics and story but it's also still kinda technically the same game.

Despite removing most of the story, I kinda loved it. It has this ethereal nostalgia to it that I can't really explain. Something I experience with games like Evergrace, Phantom Dust and Nier.

Also I love rpgs that have seamless combat and it nailed that, at the very least. You can blast enemies from afar and not even enter the combat sequence if you one shot them. Building weapons and tanks is great, I only wish there was more of it.

Phoenotopia

• Genre: Action Platforming Adventure
• Why I played: Because it was recommended and looked cute.
• Recommend to Others: Not, not at all. It's deceptively cute and fun at first s if you play a demo, that's the best of it.

I don't think a game has ever made me do such a 180 by time I got to the end. When I started out, I was like wowie kabowie. When I finished, I was like nowie kabowie. It just did so much that made it seem fresh and great to begin with. Combining elements of different games in all the right ways. As it went on, it did not continue this. It became so arduous to play. 

The stamina meter shouldn't have been in the game. Not with the type of gameplay it has and what it throws at you. Not combined with how you can get ragdolled and sometimes have to fight an onslaught f several enemies at once wave after wave. If they wanted a stamina meter, they should have tied it to blocking or dodging because that shit didn't even exists in this game. The stamina is tied to your main means of attack, and I do mean main, because even though your melee doesn't use stamina, it is still far more weaker than your spears or arrows and far more dangerous to use. You are also put in many situations where you can only used ranged attacks.

There is so much in this game that just does not need to be in it. It's at least twice the length it should be. There is so much backtracking and going back to old areas and redoing stuff after you get upgrades, it feels like such a slog. The platforming is generally not that fun and there isn't enough progression to your platforming abilities to make a considerable improvement. Also all the "platforming abilities" also use the same stamina bar that your ranged attacks and special abilities and basically everything does. The game also calls for a lot of pixel perfect platform which is super not fun for such an action heavy game.

I'm just really disappointed that I spent so much time with this game just to walk away with such a bitter taste in my mouth. Going in, I thought I was going to be recommending this game to everyone. Also the ending was extremely unsatisfying. The kind of ending that makes it feel like what you did was pointless, and then it shows your character going on to do cool stuff you didn't get to do in the game. Very annoying.

Relayer

• Genre: Tactical Strategy RPG
• Why I played: Cool mechs.
• Recommend to Others: Not really, unless you have already played all the other strategy mech games there are better options

Relayer is a painfully average game that I enjoyed quite a bit. Generally speaking, the type of strategy I like, art I like, mechs I like, and characters I like. Nothing quite excels and several things are just shy of being great. More unique elements could have saved it from being anything but average. There is a lack of diversity that is hard to not notice. A lot of plain upgrades and pallet swaps, a lot of resused assets and such. Core mechanics were solid. It just needed more so everything didn't feel too samey. 

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance

• Genre: Side Scrolling Action Platforming
• Why I played: Because I often lament(of innocence) how I wish there were more Castlevania games but haven't finished them all.
• Recommend to Others: Yeah, if you want more Castlevania games and haven't played this one.

One of the few exploratory Castlevania games I haven't finished until now. I started it several times, but I think it's just not quite as good as Circle of the Moon or Aria of Sorrow, which were both also released on GBA. It's magic system feels a bit tacked on, as it's not all that necessary to use fr the majority of the game and many of the spells aren't much better than just smacking things with your whip.

All that said, it's not bad game and it was refreshing playing a "new" Castlevania. This is a 20 year old GBA game and despite how I may have made it sound, it's a very solid title. It's trying a little too hard to be Symphony of the Night on GBA and has the most GBA-isms of the GBA Castlevania games, but otherwise it's a god game.

Playing it kind of made me more aware how many modern metroidvania games mistep. Maybe by trying t had and ignoring the basics. That said, there wasn't nearly as much competition for this specific genre at the time, so all it had to do was exist. Many modern metroidvanias are taxed with trying to be the best, do something that's never been done, or add elements of other games and genres. I guess they wouldn't see as much success if all they did was exist.

Anno: Mutationem

• Genre: Side Scrolling Action Platforming RPG
• Why I played: Gorgeous cyberpunk 3d pixel at game
• Recommend to Others: Yes, if you're not too picky on refined gameplay.

I enjoyed this so much. I loved the style of the game. The combat, while a little stiff, and a little jank, was at least fun and varied enough to be acceptable. I wish the game would have leaned a bit more into the cyberpunk elements though. I feel like the creators were watching Loki in the middle of making this game and were like "Oh, let's do that!" It just leaned too much into magic and other dimensional stuff and it didn't need it. I would have appreciated a more standard cyberpunk tank, but maybe that's just me. It wasn't perfect, but it was a lot of fun.

Live A Live

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: I was literally about to play the fan translated SNES version when they announced the Switch version. It was perfect timing, so I only had to put it off a few months.
• Recommend to Others: Yes. Very much yes. Especially if you like SNES style JRPGs.

I loved this game. I loved how it was presented in shorter chapters and each character was the hero of their own story. The way the game presents each one, fitting into its genre or niche. I wish this would have been released in the US back on SNES because I really feel like it could have been considered one of the great SNES rpgs among Chrono Trigger and FF6. Better late than never I suppose.

SD Gundam Battle Alliance

• Genre: 3rd Person Action
• Partners: Rey, Brooke
• Why I played: Gundams, mecha, and Rey. Played the demo after Rey expressed excitement, was pleasantly surprised.
• Recommend to Others: Yes, if you like Gundam stuff and have exactly two friends to play with.

I enjoyed this game a lot. It was really fun to play with people. It is a very flawed game though. It is definitely meant for 3 players to play together, and if you don't have that, well, it's not the most optimal experience.

The team AI is dumb and not aggressive, and if you only have 1 friend, it handicaps you by not providing another AI in the spot of another friend and it is definitely balanced for 3 players, regardless of whether or not the AI is dumb. There is a lot of focus on drawing aggro, and you're pretty much expected to get knocked out in harder fights. This means you need a person to draw aggro while another revives. It's a constant battle with that.

There could have also been a little more effort in the variety of how various Mobile Suits perform in the game. Some are far more unique than others, so its kind of a let down so many are just kinda meh and samey. Small changes could have meant big things for the game. That said, I still ended up playing like 70+ hours and well after actually beating it. It took a few weeks for it to leave my regular rotation.

Dragon Marked for Death

• Genre: Side Scrolling Action Platfoming
• Partners: Alice, Taylor, Brandon, Paul, Shonte, Nathan
• Why I played: Because it's made mostly by people who use to make Mega Man games
• Recommend to Others: Yes, specifically for those looking for co-op games.

Finally finished the game after having started it several years ago. Generally speaking, I love this game. Similar to my complaint with SD Gundam though, the game is just balanced for multiplayer and that's what it comes down to. I know it received a lot of patches since it first came out, when I played the majority of the game, but even so, playing alone or 2 player could at times be a struggle, where playing 4 players was largely just dunking on enemies.

Soul Hackers 2

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: The characters are adults. Also it's sweet cybepunk aesthetic.
• Recommend to Others: If you like JRPGs and specifically Megaten games, yeah.

Oof, it looks like I never got around to making my notes for Soul Hackers 2, so... I think this is the right spot for it? Also this is completely off the cuff, because... no notes.

Well I know partially it's my fault, because I needed some time to absorb the game after playing so I didn't wanna jot everything down immediately. I liked the game a lot, and what I really appreciated were the characters. They were all great, I loved them all, and they were all adults. I'm not saying this was the best SMT game of all time, but I personally enjoyed it more than Persona 5. It also has a great soundtrack, maybe that isn't quite as good as Persona 5's. Not many vocal tracks. But it's up there.

My biggest complaint is the dungeon crawling. Just a lot of samey-corridors that could have been unique area. They mix it up the most at the end of the game, which I appreciate, but it's a too little too late scenario.

Inscryption

• Genre: Card Game
• Why I played: Because everyone youtuber I watch videos from was going off about this game.
• Recommend to Others: Definitely. This is probably the game I played this year I MOST recommend.

This is one of those games that talking about too much spoils it. On the base level it's a TCG Videogame with some rogue-lite elements such as starting from scratch with your cards each run, getting rid of cards to buff other cards, but also obtaining semi-permanent upgrades. As far as the other stuff is concerned, the things it does that I like, it does well and kept me coming back for more.

Pokemon Scarlet

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Partners: Alice, Produce, Paul, Matt, Barb, Aaron, Pernell... maybe some others I played in game some with?
• Why I played: Pokemon.
• Recommend to Others: Yeah, I mean the mainline Pokemon games aren't something you generally recommend to people, but it was good.

Despite some technical issues I think this is a pretty great Pokemon game and overall a pretty decent RPG. I really liked the more narrative approach toward the end and even prior to that it had more substance and realization of the characters and world then we have seen in some recent Pokemon games. Sure, almost the whole game I saw things I wished were in it, but it wasn't truly lacking. Far better overall experience than Sword and Shield.

Light Faiytale 1 & 2

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: Because they looked cute from screenshots.
• Recommend to Others: Hard maybe. Soft no.

Short little RPG's that I think are just great. They're very much playing up the nostalgia draw with these games. They do specifically call out drawing inspiration from "90's" rpg's, but let's be real, that's 90% Final Fantasy 7. I think the storytelling is good, the characters and situations are interesting, it's told in episodes so unfortunately I'm only roughly halfway through and we don't exactly know when the other two are coming out. So there is a lot I don't know about it yet. Gameplay wise it's mostly solid, but I do wish there would have been just a little bit more diversity. If they're so inspired by 90's rpgs, they should let me have 3 party members. They have essentially a materia system with their "orbs" but you can only equip a couple at a time, and with only 2 characters in your party, it really limits your options. I enjoy it and will definitely play the next ones when they hopefully get released, but I can't help but feel like it only needs just a LITTLE more to make it a GREAT game. My hope is that once all 4 chapters are released, they do like a definitive edition that adds some of what was missing and compiles them together for the whole experience.

Voice of Cards: The Forsaken Maiden

• Genre: Turn Based RPG
• Why I played: I liked the first Voice of Cards a lot.
• Recommend to Others: Yeah, though with the warning it can get a bit tedious.

This had a different structure to it's story than the first one. One that I'm not sure was for the better. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game a lot, even if the constant battles started to feel really tedious.

Instead of generally following a single party, your team of 2 1/2  meet up with several other teams of two. You basically get 4 little stories with them which tell their personal tales. This is fine, and there is a lot to like, but both games have bit of focus on customizing your character builds to keep combat interesting. You can't customize the guest characters, so the whole game you can only customize your main two and you're more or less forced to have the other two have specific set ups and no progression. I'm not sure that was for the best. I still loved the game, but these didn't really improve the experience from the previous. Also it just felt so grindy. I don't feel like I had to battle quite so much in the previous. I swear. You can't really make 5 steps without an encounter and that's too much.

Bayonetta 3

• Genre: 3rd Person Character Action
• Why I played: Because I love the first two Bayonetta games.
• Recommend to Others: Only if you played and liked the first two.

Wow, looking at my notes, I have so much to say about this game. Far more than any other even though some can get quite wordy. I'll have to see if I can sum it up a bit more simply.

Bayonetta, the character is a amazing. Everything we've come to love about her in previous games carried to this one. There is style, there is pizazz, there is more than ever before, thee are minigames, chase sequences, shmups, rhythm sections, sneaking missions, motocycle riding, you can control monsters, transform, have kaiju battles, get pop culture references and best of all, you get a mech.

Then there is Viola. Viola drags the game down in every way possible. She's an annoying tagalong who... is kinda the central figure of the plot... except her presence is totally unnecessary. It feels so forced and shoed in they could have easily had the whole game without her. The "important story reason" she is thee could have easily been just about anything else. She's not even around all that much when real story things are happening. You are forced to play her for several missions and they are unbearable. It's not just her characterization but her gameplay mechanics are terrible too. This is what so many of my notes are on, just describing how bad she is to play and how it doesn't fit or even match the rest of the game. She's obnoxious and not fun to play and I'm just gonna leave it at that.

That said, because of the parts where I had to play as her, I ended up taking a few weeks break at some point, but I am glad I didn't give the game up because when it's back to Bayonetta, the game is at it's peak and it's amazing scene-to-scene.

Also you play as Jeanne sometimes and it's fine to mix it up but her sequences are a little clunky and unrefined.

Sonic Frontiers

• Genre: 3rd Person and Sidescrolling Platforming
• Why I played: Because Sonic is cool, and I'm tired of pretending he's not. Also ThorHighHeels.
• Recommend to Others: Yes! I definitely recommend this Sonic game!

This was actually a good Sonic game, and maybe not just good, but great? It far exceeded my expectation. I was not impressed by it's announcement. Obviously Sonic doesn't have the best track record when it comes to quality games, but just seeing Frontiers, the style of the world didn't seem to match the characters, it seemed barren with stuff just awkwardly floating around. It did not look like it would be put together well. Even the clips put together in the video that convinced me to give it a shot did not really convince me otherwise, but something just said it was worth a shot.

Sonic Frontiers is the most fun I have had playing a Sonic game since Sonic Adventure, and it's probably a better game than that was even in it's time. It is truly fun to explore the islands, it has standard Sonic levels as well, in both 3d and 2d perspectives, and just a couple gimmicky levels. Though the gimmicky ones were my favorites so I wish it had more.

There ae also a lot of puzzles and mini games, it does a lot to keep the game from getting stale. That said, the difficulty is all over the place. Some things are surprisingly difficult, but others are just baby easy. 

Since I made the comparison to Sonic Adventure though, I will say, the ending was pretty lackluster, it didn't have a big climactic finish like those games did. Also you only get the full battle if you're on Hard difficulty before entering it which I wish it told me. It's super cool, but it could have been adjusted so it was also on normal.

Cosmic Star Heroine

• Genre: Turn based RPG
• Why I played: Because it seemed reminiscent of Chrono Trigger
• Recommend to Others: If you really need an SNES inspired rpg to play.

A fun little snes style rpg. It's pretty well balanced in a way that prevents the necessity of grinding or feeling of being over leveled.

It also has a pretty unique combat system, that said, so many rpgs where they have very unique combat systems, want you to experience it to the full and thus just have... So many battles. That or it just feels more tedious because there are so few quick battles. Each one makes full use of all the mechanics which takes time. So it feels grindy without being grindy. Not necessarily a good thing.

That said it was a fun romp but pretty basic overall. It's not gonna beat out any old rpgs in any top 10 or anything.

Pony Island

• Genre: PC Adventure/Auto Runner
• Why I played: Because I loved Inscryption so much I wanted to play more Daniel Mullins Games
• Recommend to Others: Ehh, I liked it enough, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

I had actually had Pony Island on my to play list for awhile. I think it's one of those games that gets compared to Frog Fractions or Glittermitten Grove, which I enjoyed quite a bit. I guess I just like meta games. My one gripes with Pony Island is that some things are very hard to find in it. You really have to go out of your way for some of the hidden secrets.

Grimm's Hollow

• Genre: Turn based RPG
• Why I played: I think I saw it in a youtube video for hidden gem indie games.
• Recommend to Others: Yeah, it's free, so it doesn't cost anything to try.

A short and sweet little RPG that someone could probably wrap up in an evening. It's free, and more than worth the price. Very cute and sweet. Worth making sure to finish with an incomplete spirit board and then replaying the last bit with a complete spirit board for the different endings.

Spark the Electric Jester

• Genre: 2d Platforming
• Why I played: After playing Sonic, I wanted something else Sonic-like.
• Recommend to Others: Eh, play Freedom Planet first.

I've heard this mentioned a few times in regards to good Sonic-esque games, or Sonic games better than Sonic. This was a decent game, but it's definitely not without it's flaws. there are sections that have some serious issues and tedium and some question designs choices and some obvious bugs. For instance, the pause menu, it's like some overlay? So on one level it directs to an incorrect file location and I'm pretty sure it's the build location on the devs PC.

Another level, the pause menu is super skinny. Some areas are just super tedious to not get stuck on unless you have specific power ups. And power ups are only temporary in this game. Still, for better and for worse I did enjoy this game. It's no Freedom Planet, which I think is the actual best 2D Sonic game, but it definitely scratches an itch and certainly isn't bad.

River City Girls 2

• Genre: Beat 'em up
• Partners: Alice, Rey, Nathan
• Why I played: I loved the first River City Girls
• Recommend to Others: If you played the first one and liked it. Play the first first.
  

I was really looking forward to this one and while there is a lot to love, I feel like it's missing something the first game had. Maybe just because it's more of the same - and not in the best way. It's still good, and I still enjoyed it a lot. I just found it tedious from time to time and wasn't always fully enjoying the combat. Rey and Nathan helped Alice and I get it started, but we wrapped it up on our own. That said, it helps there is different dialog for different characters - to may be worth the New Game Plus to play with some friends some more.

Little Noah: Scion of Paradise

• Genre: Sidescrolling Action Rogue-lite
• Why I played: It looked cute.
• Recommend to Others: Kinda, it's cute

Cute little action roguelike. Not something that takes forever but doesn't wear out it's welcome either. The combat is fun and you get tons of little attack options that come out and attack for you, not to dissimilar Ender Lilies, but you set up a chain essentially with your little monsters you gained. It's definitely a game that wants you to play more after you beat it, just for fun, and introduces new modes and stuff. Which, I guess if you're really addicted to it is nice, but there is no story or progression after that other than unlocking more accessories and other random buffs and such.

Spark the Electric Jester 2

• Genre: 3d Platforming
• Why I played: Still on a Sonic-like kick.
• Recommend to Others: If you want a specifically 3d style sonic game that does not have any 2d Sonic levels.

Moving to 3D to imitate 3d Sonic games, or at least early ones. It does this very well and honestly Sonic games could take some notes. The level design is pretty great but there are definitely some design decisions that make me ask why? That or maybe just the result of a small team and indie game. But it's still pretty good. Also the music was great and it even had vocal tracks extremely reminiscent of late 90's, early 00's Sonic. That's probably what I appreciated the most.

Closing thoughts

I didn't push to have a higher goal like last year (50), so I "only" beat 39, but I think that's a pretty good number. Unfortunately I did start up a good handful of games that I didn't finish, and I don't mean like played an hour and stopped. I have a few games I sunk several, maybe even 10+ hour into and dropped. So I need t make to revisit those.

This year I kinda intended to get some games out of the backbacklog. Games that were 5+ years old, and while I got a few(4 on technicalities), not as many as I would have liked, but after playing some older rpg's and really enjoying them, I think I'm gonna aim to finish some I never quite finished - some I even consider among my favorite games. Continue to make an effort to play older games I always intended to finish. Starting off with Crisis Core. On a technicality.

Overall, decent game year, but not too many contenders for favorite games ever.

GOTY? Since nothing sticks out too far beyond the rest, it's pretty tough. But I'd go with Live A Live.

Honorable Mentions/Runners up would include Sonic Frontiers(refreshingly good Sonic game), SD Gundam Battle Alliance(probably the game I played the most/longest this year after Elden Ring), and Inscryption(the game I would most recommend to other people).