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destiny-smasher · 4 months

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Stuff From 2023!

List of things of note I experienced in 2023! A few things didn't technically release in 2023, I'm sure, but yea. Will contain my 'Top 10 Games I Played in 2023' as well.

Firstly, something I played a lot of this year in bursts but doesn't quite crack my Top 10 is Vampire Survivors. Very addicting, did some very fun goofy shit that had me laughing and engaged in a lizard brain way. Appreciated the many Castlevania references and jokes, too.

A couple of games I played every weekend for a few hours across many weeks this year were Project Zomboid and Roots of Pacha, both in a group 4. We had lots of fun with those two, and I think they're both great co-op time-sink games. Zomboid is a zombie survival sim that has way more attention to detail than its graphics may imply. It's still in early access but the depth to its is honestly pretty dang impressive. Pacha iterates on the Stardew Valley formula in a ton of small but deliberate, thoughtful ways that make for a nice twist on that Harvest Moon style game.

REMAKES

There were so many great remakes this year, on top of just amazing games in general, I can't fit them all into my Top 10. So here's a segment dedicated to most of the remakes I loved this year.

The remake of Super Mario RPG was such a surprise, and turned out very damn well. That game, turns out, is very near and dear to my heart and I did not fully appreciate that until this remake was revealed. It comes just shy of cracking my Top 10 list and that's honestly only because I finished Mother 3 finally right at the tail end of the year. This game manages to still feel weirdly fresh even today just due to how fucking strange it is, and the remake speeds up the pacing a bit while also adding in some new mechanics and a chunk of new post-game content. Everything was handled so well. This is like the new gold standard of complete one-to-one remakes of sprite-based games imo. I will admit the artstyle is a bit 'off' in some ways but I think it's very clean looking and captures that 90's CGI spirit really well, all things considered. And the music, OOF, so damn good.

The remake of Dead Space I don't have much to talk about, but it's very well produced. It's remade so well, in fact, that it felt like my memories of the original, even though I know it's not an exact recreation. Very well done and still holds up as a great horror action game with these improvements.

The remaster of Metroid Prime is so impressive it feels like a remake, even if the game is identical to the original aside from presentation and some control changes. It's an iconic classic, and yet I have no patience to do the Chozo Artifact stuff, so I actually did not roll credits on this version BUT still thoroughly enjoyed reliving the game with a very nice new coat of paint. It makes me excited to see what Prime 4 will look like on, I expect, more powerful hardware.

SHOWS/MOVIES

The year started strong with a TV adaptation of The Last of Us. While I've come to have conflicted feelings with the franchise at large, mainly due to its leading boss man, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this series. Very well done adaptation that picked and chose what to keep and what to change and honestly makes for a better story as a whole if you ask me, while not really replacing the game's tactile interactive tensions. Cannot wait to see what they do with Part 2 tbqh. I loved that game more than the original but also felt it was worse as an overall game/experience/narrative. But a fresh take on that same plot could potentially address a lot of the issues I had with Part 2, while simultaneously not really 'replacing' it, either.

The Bear. If you haven't seen it, it's just. Very good television. Two seasons in and it's sitting up there chasing Mr. Robot and Better Call Saul as one of the best live action series I've ever seen. Season 2 did such a great job of giving us deeper dives on the various characters and building toward an organic and rewarding conclusion that still leaves room for another season to theoretically wrap things up. Nothing too crazy with this show, it's super down to earth, and it owns that very well with editing and pacing that varies per episode, kind of in line with the different character perspectives.

Super Mario Bros.: The Movie had me worried for a while, mainly due to the animation studio and casting. And while I'm still not 100% sold on this celebrity casting, I will admit it didn't weight the experience down -- even if it's still the second weakest element by far. The weakest element is the writing. It's not, like, offense -- it's loyal to the source material and works, it functions. But it's not doing anything beyond pushing us from set piece to set piece. If anything, the movie is a bit too short for all of the stuff it's cramming in. But on the upside, there is a lot of amazingly rendered visuals and music to take in. A real treat for fans of the franchise, and the most loyal gaming adaptation in movie form, I would say.

Across the Spiderverse is in essence the first half of a two part film. That makes it kind of difficult to talk about, especially when it's also a sequel, and the production sounds like it was marred with bad management and crunch. But the results they came up with actually met my hopes and expectations for a sequel, and that is saying something, as I had very high expectations. I completely adore this film's stupendous sense of style, editing, framing, writing, and the way it's making meta-commentary on multiple levels on top of just being an effective narrative on its own. This is animated storytelling running at full capacity in my opinion, and in general just film doing all of the kinds of things film can do. So it's no wonder that there's still a rub -- this is the first half of the story they planned. The editing, animation, framing, effects, acting, action sequences, music, writing, theming, just Farore's sake, this is SUCH a damn banger of a film and one of the best movies I've ever seen, which, again, is kind of insane given the circumstances. I can only hope they don't fuck up the conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was quite the surprise announcement, and as it turns out, quite the surprise adaptation. I won't spoil much but I will say that by the end of the first episode, it becomes very apparent that this series is no mere by-the-books adaptation, and does something unique and edifying, even if it still maintains a certain surface-level depth I wish the franchise would push beyond. Either way, I enjoyed it way more than I expected to going in, and I think it makes for a great companion to the rest of the series. The animation style was super fun, as well, with some great action sequences.

But Blue Eye Samurai sucker-punched me, having released before I'd even known about it. This show is something else, something unlike any other animated show I've seen besides Arcane. And it's not like it's mimicking Arcane, it's just the closest I can think to compare it to: a quality, thoughtfully framed, thoughtfully written, made-for-adults animated series. It tows the line between fantasy and realism in a refreshing way, its protagonist is great, its cast is compelling, its plot goes to some neat places, and things just feel very well thought-out and well-executed. Slap this in second place behind Arcane as the TV series I am the most excited to see more of in the future, just ahead of The Bear.

Something I did near the end of the year was watch The Hunger Games movies, back to back over the course of like, a week. Have not read the books but man, watching these sure made me interested in doing so at some point. I totally get why people were so enamored with this franchise, and honestly, I think its themes and messages are more relevant now than they were when this franchise was at the peak of its popularity. The films certainly have glaring issues for my tastes but yea, I managed to really enjoy them as a whole despite my lack of mainstream sensibilities. Looking forward to reading the books eventually.

Another thing my wife shared with me was 花ざかりの君たちへ (often called 'Hana-Kimi' for short). Specifically, the 2007 version, as, uh, apparently there are multiple adaptations of this. It was a live action Japanese drama about a high schooler who was born female but transfers into an all-boys school, identifying as a boy while she is there. There's more to it than that, and I won't say it handles everything the best (it's from the mid 2000's) or concludes things in quite the way I'd have preferred. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing many tropes I'm used to seeing in anime rendered by physical, real actors. BUT it was overall a really sweet, adorable, funny, heartfelt, and reached for pro-queer expression in a time and place when that wasn't mainstream yet (and honestly kinda still isn't depending on who you ask).

Good Omens Season 3 also dropped this year. I actually don't have much to say partly because I think a big element of it is just not knowing what to expect going into it! But it was also very good, very fun, pretty damn gay, I really enjoyed it and am crossing my fingers hard they get to wrap it up the way they want.

All right! Onto my personal top 10 GOTYs.

TOP 11 GAMES

(I played and finished in 2023)

11) Mother 3

The one entry on this list that did not actually come out this year -- in fact, it's never technically released outside of Japan. Originally release in 2007 on the Game Boy Advance, this quirky RPG has developed quite the reputation. I started playing the fan translation back in like 2020, and only got around to finally finishing it this year. While that likely did tarnish the experience a bit for me, so does the final third or so -- it kind of drags on a bit, and any old school format RPG that requires grinding to progress can become a bit of a chore.

Thankfully, Mother 3 did earn its hallowed reputation in my eyes now that I have experienced it. I totally get the passion for this game now, and I am a convert. It makes me want to finally finish Mother 2, aka Earthbound. But here's the biggest thing about Mother 3 I weirdly did not expect going in, yet smashed my face in like a hammer by the time I finished it:

without Mother 3, there is no way Undertale/deltarune would exist.

The DNA for Toby Fox's works is achingly obvious in its relation to this game, specifically. I won't spoil anything and I won't go into my long list of evidence like an Ace Attorney case, but trust me, there is ample evidence to make this claim.

And that also means that Mother 3 stands on its own merits as doing things that RPGs just plain were not doing in 2007, and in some ways still aren't today. Aside from some pacing issues further in, the characters in your party aren't as developed as much as I'd like. BUT the overall narrative it tells, especially in those opening chapters, have a rare kind of earnest, human magic to them that most games just don't let themselves fall into. And it concludes in ways I did not expect and yet offered clarity as to why it is so beloved, and how Toby Fox was so inspired to put his own mark on the gaming landscape.

I owe a great deal to Undertale, personally, and as such, I also owe a great deal to Mother 3. You don't need to have played others in the series to enjoy it, you'll just be missing some referential stuff here and there. It's quite playable and unique by today's standards and I strongly recommend it if you want an RPG that is heartfelt, funny, fun mechanically, and has some simple but hard-hitting things to say about the world we live in, and what we are doing to ourselves and that world.

10) Super Mario Bros. Wonder

What can be said that hasn't been said already? Nintendo knocked it out the park with this one. This was everything I've wanted in a 2D Mario for like 15 years. The only thing 'missing' from it is playable Rosalina, but hey, we finally got Daisy in a mainline Mario game, so I'll take it. After a decade or so of dragging their feet with low-effort but enjoyable 2D games, Super Mario Wonder finally, at long last, captures what makes Nintendo games great and with their best foot forward. They haven't done 2D Mario this well since World on the SNES in 1991. And they have never put this level of production into a 2D game since... ever?

This is one of the all-time best 2D platformers out there, and for once it finally feels like 2D Mario is running on all cylinders as a big budget passion project kind of game. You love to see it.

9) Scarlet Hollow

This game isn't technically finished yet, as it is episodic, and its developers wanted to release Slay the Princess in the interim, but that doesn't stop its quality from being good enough to make my list. This game is doing the kinds of things visual novels should be doing, the kinds of things I wish to do in a sense with my own visual novel development.

It's a horror themed experience but balances the high tension with actual real stakes very well against mostly down-to-earth conversations, with lots of great tricks and touches of presentation you don't typically see in indie visual novels, along with a fantastic art style, charming characters (my favorite character has turned out to be the one I immediately disliked at first, and that's rare for me), and meaningful choices.

I can't wait to see how this one wraps up but even as it stands it's one of the best things I experienced in 2023.

8) Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed

I will admit I skipped Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after giving it an honest go in like, 2019 or so. A few hours in and i couldn't stomach it, the tonal whiplash from Xenoblade 1 (one of the best RPGs I've ever played) was too much for me. But then Xenoblade 3 came out last year, and is also one of the best RPGs I've ever played, even better than the original for my tastes.

But I wasn't prepared for the DLC to drop a whole ass side-game on us, a self-contained prequel to 3 that serves as narrative cohesion to tie the whole trilogy together with a bow on top, complete with perfectly tuned fanservice (and not the sexy kind, although grown-up Rex and Shulk, well, yes) that really respects its fanbase for investing hundreds of hours in this franchise.

Matthew is easily one of my all-time fav RPG main characters, probably the favorite RPG main character when I think of it (as main characters specifically go, anyway), and his game is a fraction of the length of many RPGs out there. But as usual, the entire cast had their charms, the story was nicely paced, the gameplay and overall length was just about damn perfect for what I could want from the genre.

As an expansion to a pre-existing game, this is one of the top 3 best expansions/DLCs I've ever played. When taken as a side story to an overarching trilogy, I'm not even 100% in on the lore and I still enjoyed the hell out of it, it's just the kind of thing that hits a tone of 'damn, video games are a fucking unique medium that we can do specific narrative things with across years of telling a story.'

I don't know where Monolith Soft is going next, though the ending certainly offers some intriguing teasing, but I suspect I will be there day one to see it, and am looking forward to it.

7) Pikmin 4

Given the long wait (10 years!) one might understand fan concern over the state of Pikmin 4. Turns out, that extra time was spent making this game fucking good. It's not the largest, most impressive, most complex, most inspiring, most 'anything' game I played this year, and yet I can't help saying that this is a damned good video game. It really nailed what it set out to do as a sequel, incorporating just the right ideas to spice up the formula while bringing things back to how Pikmin 2 was, and improving on the series in basically every way -- including stuff to do!

This is easily the most Pikmin game... in a Pikmin game. I still haven't 100%'d it. Without giving away any details, I'll just say that when a game rolls credits and you're only like, halfway through its content, and it just keeps going, that's just kind of wild. It would've felt like a great game even then, but the breadth and depth it ends up going to in order to keep giving you ways to engage with its wonderfully detailed world and addictive mechanics, I love it.

I just want more of it. Give me DLC with more Dandori content, the formula and feel just works so well at this point.

6) Sea of Stars

How the hell I forgot to include this one on my list initially is boggling. Easily one of the best indie games I've ever experienced. The writing is nothing to, well, write home about, but it's not bad. And in fact the story has a lot of great things going on, from an interesting world to a very potent arc with the leading support character (who, let's face it, is kind of more the main character than your two main characters).

The game's art and music are phenomenal, capturing the essence of 90's era RPGs but clearly doing things not capable back then. Made even sweeter, the game is a prequel to the studio's prior work, The Messenger, which I also played and adored in tandem, kind of going back and forth between the two once I was partway into Sea of Stars. The way this RPG repurposes songs from Messenger as well as all kinds of seemingly superfluous elements but makes it feel cohesive is pretty great.

The game also trims a lot of the fat you'd find in older RPGs, as well as lets you customize your experience in a modern way using collectibles you can toggle on and off to grant all kinds of effects, like increasing or decreasing the difficulty in various ways.

The homage paid to classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG is clear but it's not at all copy-cat-ing, instead wearing those inspirations proudly on its sleeves and forging its own path with its own ideas. A fantastic collection of party members, a wonderful world, amazing presentation, and environments and pacing that help it stand apart from the genre that inspired it. I wish we got to know the leads better, there is a lack of character growth in many ways, but that's me grasping at straws to critique, it's just a fantastic experience and the studio should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

5) Hi-Fi Rush

This is gonna be a running trend from here on out, but on any other year, Hi-Fi Rush would've been my GOTY, easy. From this point on, we're talking measures of inches rather than miles in terms of my love for these games.

Hi-Fi Rush finally delivered on something I have waited like 20 years for: a rhythm action adventure where playing the game in sync with the music felt fucking cool and gave me emotional resonance in a way only this medium can. The humor was charmng. The visual aesthetic is almost peak 'my taste.' The music was groovy with a few tracks I did not see coming but loved seeing how they were incorporated. The story was surprisingly fun! The characters were fantastic, I loved the entire main crew in a way I rarely ever do and would jump at the chance to spend more time with (and hey, there's a whole bunch of post-game I have yet to do, so I intend to in 2024).

The only real thing I could reasonably ask for from this game is a way to play as those other party members in post-game content or new-game plus or something. And who knows, maybe we get that some day. Even if we don't, what they came up with here is the next best thing besides. And what we got is one the most video-gamey video games I have ever played, a real classic and one I think will go down as one of my all-time favs. A passion project given meaningful time, budget, and creatives to bring it to life.

Had this game offered multiple playable characters, a bit more development in its story, and maybe a stronger climax, it'd be higher. I still love it to death and want more games like it regardless.

Hi-Fi Rush is exactly what kind of game we could have gotten more of if the Internet hadn't pushed gaming into a 'live service' direction. It is literally the spirit of a PS2/GameCube game given modern form. And either way, we did get it, at least, in that form, and it fucking rocks.

4) Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

This year was big for remakes and remasters, but one stands tall above the rest, if you ask me. The original RE4 has stood as my fav in the franchise, the one that got me into the franchise, the one that got me into M-rated games in the first place. Lots of nostalgia, but it's held up surprisingly well over the years despite some limitations of the time (mainly the controls) and some older-fashioned sensibilities ("with ballistics, too~").

But Capcom fucking nailed it with this reimagining. Like Final Fantasy VII: Remake, this game is not a remaster, or a one-to-one recreation. It is a brand new game, built from the ground up, reimagining the original entirely, complete with new mechanics and story. But unlike with FF7, this is also shockingly authentic and loyal to the original at the same time. It remixes elements from the original game, maintains most of the original's map design, adds in new stuff, removes some of the more goofy shit -- and even 90% of what feels 'removed' is revealed to be repurposed for the Ada side story DLC.

It looks great, it sounds great, the adjustments to characters and story are improvements across the board, (except for Hunnigan, RIP) the gameplay is improved in intensity and feel and action and replayability. And yet despite all of this, it balances that campy tone of the original just enough to still evoke what I loved about the original's tone. And it doesn't outright replace the original game, either. The two are now like different recipes of the same sandwich or something. There's reasons to revisit the original, though for me this has now replaced the remake of RE2 as my fav in the franchise.

I really don't know where they go from here but I will look forward to it, and regardless, they fucking nailed this one.

3) Street Fighter 6

Two Capcom games, back-to-back? They had a fucking good year in my eyes. The interesting thing about this particular entry is that unlike the others on this list, I will be continuing to play this one for hours and hours into 2024, especially with more fighters still planned. And in another year, this would've easily been my GOTY.

After all, Street Fighter 6 is the single-best traditional fighting game I think I've ever played. And while fighting games are my overall personal favorite genre, I'm more of a Smash player who also loves the hell out of Street Fighter and then dabbles in Tekken and whatever else releases. Street Fighter has always been one of my go-to top multiplayer games since I got into the franchise with SF4 in 2010. While I did enjoy SF5 well enough, it just didn't keep me hungry to come back for more like 4 did. SF6 has fixed that problem by way of a multitude of changes.

It has easily the most fun single player mode I've seen any fighting game have. Like, yea, The Subspace Emmisary (and even then, I don't love that mode like other folks do, I kinda think it's... fine?) but tbqh World Tour is just better in most every way. You get to build your own fighter, earn and mix and match different costumes and individual character special moves with each fighter's fight style. You get to just hang out with the SF characters, get to know them as people, their hobbies, their fears, their insecurities, their passions besides just beating the shit out of each other. On top of this, the realistic art style shift (a by-product of the RE Engine) seals the deal on what Street Fighter 6 is aiming to do: humanize its cast.

Is it still wacky as fuck? Is it still comical and weird and goofy? Hell yes, it is. Is the story mode deep in its narrative? Not in the slightest. But it's still stepping confidently in a direction fighting games should be trying to, not being too self-serious, but also being earnest.

And I haven't even touched on the mechanics! The Drive System alone is a brilliant addition that adds a sort of 'stamina' system that works so well to add an extra layer of decision making and tension. The game's not perfectly balance imo but for how much is here it is surprisingly damn well balanced, especially given they have insisted on not pushing out a single balance patch since it launched in June. For most any other competitive game, that would be like suicide for the scene, but the game seems to be thriving and selling extremely well for the franchise. And it's earned it.

I will absolutely be continuing my warrior's journey into 2024 and I can't wait to see what else Capcom has in store for this game.

2) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Out of every game I played in 2023, Tears of the Kingdom is easily the most technically impressive. From a design standpoint, from a 'how in the hell is the Switch doing all of this without exploding' standpoint. From a 'holy hell how is there this much stuff in a single player game' standpoint. From a 'oh my goddesses that stupid batshit idea I had 100% worked because it actually did make sense' standpoint.

Where Breath of the Wild opened our minds as to what an open world game could be -- fully designed like one giant interconnected 'level' -- Tears of the Kingdom replied in much the way I expected: it pulled a Super Mario Galaxy 2. What I mean by that is that this is a direct sequel, building directly off the foundation of the original. You know. Like video game sequels almost always used to. And which many very successful ones still absolutely do.

But Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to wow me all over again by adding to that open world's verticality in insane ways -- the Depths alone are probably my favorite 'mechanic' from any Zelda game ever besides the time loop of Majora's Mask (and what that did for the story and gameplay). But beyond the scale of the world basically doubling and then some (floating islands and caves on top of Depths), I was curious how this game could stand tall after Elden Ring, which is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time at this point. Elden Ring was Fromsoft's reply to BOTW. And yet Tears of the Kingdom still managed to have something new to say in spite of that very strong reply.

Tears of the Kingdom opened the door to let players essentially create their own mechanics. By removing the abilities Link had to engage with the world before, and replacing them with a brand new toolset that includes abilities you just... don't see games give you, because they'd be 'overpowered,' TOTK designs its massive world in ways that invite you to use those 'overpowered' abilities however you see fit.

Being able to interact with the world and objects in this way, being able to fuse them together to create all kinds of effects, or new methods of transportation, even interacting with things not just spacially but in respect to time, it's nuts and fun and I've already poured like 130 hours with still so much I haven't done. And that's the thing: this game wasn't designed to be 100%'d. It was designed to just... be experienced, as much or as little as you want. And games on this level of scale/budget just do not have the guts to let so, so much 'content' be missed out on. And this game does.

It's a technical achievement and while I had my doubts with how strangely little Nintendo had to show, I am very glad that the experience itself manages to breathe new life into one of my all-time favorite games while improving on it in so many ways. It won't convert you if you didn't love the original -- this is a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style sequel, after all. But it's essentially replaced the original in ways I didn't think would be possible.

The story? Oof. Uh, not so much the story, let's ignore that part. That's what Nintendo wants you to usually do, anyway. But everything else, just. Din-damn.

It expands upon the first game's already fairly open-ended nature in an exponential way that I suspect developers will spend years to come trying to pin down, much like how they've spend the past 6 or 7 years trying to replicate BOTW's open world design.

For much of this year, I thought this was personal GOTY. And for many it will be, because it's just an extremely impressive video game.

Number 1...?

Going into this list, I kept telling myself, 'man, on any other year, this would be my GOTY. And if you know me personally you likely have already figured out what my GOTY is by omission. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how close these top 5 games are, it really is like centimeters instead of inches, and they each -- well, every game I've mentioned here, beyond the Top 10, as well -- offered something edifying that I was very satisfied with.

And no, it's not Baldur's Gate 3. While I have spent hours playing it in co-op and a little bit solo, that game's just not really for me, exactly. Like, I can enjoy it, and I have massive respect for the dev team and what they accomplished with it. But I don't much care for D&D, and the game just didn't do very much for me personally, I lack the motivation to finish it. Remove Karlach from the game and I have next to nothing to really attach myself to, personally. I definitely get why it's many people's favorite game of 2023, though, and I do think it's a bit of a wakeup call for what can be accomplished by just making a GAME instead of struggling to contort it into a service etc.

Street Fighter 6 is fucking fantastic but it could still use some more actual fighters and incentives to keep playing besides monetizing its players in weird ways. I love it, and it will be the game from 2023 I end up playing the most (it already is, I think). But if it ended as it is, I would be very satisfied.

Hi-Fi Rush is oozing with originality and style and I adore it to death, and when I finished it, I was very satisfied.

Resident Evil 4 kept me addicted for over 100 hours, had an amazing DLC expansion, oozes replaybility in the specific ways I like for a single player action game (rogue-likes besides). I am extremely satisfied by it.

Tears of the Kingdom is so massive and fun to just explore that I know I will continue to play more in the months to come. Will I ever revisit it entirely? I'm actually not sure! That massive length does lend some repetition, even if it's the kind I find therapeutic and satisfying.

And that's what made me realize something. My personal GOTY did not just satisfy me. It made me hungry. It filled me up in a way I didn't think was possible and yet I still hunger for more, because I enjoyed it that fucking much. I played through it twice and still hunger for more. I know I will play it a third time eventually, but mainly I just have not been to remove from my brain the particular ways it made me feel, ways that only a video game can. Nothing about it felt like it needed to be overlooked.

SF6 and RE4 had dubious monetization, TOTK had a story I found to be like 90% boring and it still maintains many of the flaws of the original. And Hi-Fi Rush, while amazing, just didn't scratch the particular itch this game did for me.

1) Lies of P

If you told me that Lies of P was a game developed by some sub-division of FromSoft, I'd believe you. Which is to say I would also believe that it was made by people who wanted to break free from some of the shackles of the now infamous 'soulslike' genre.

A narrative that actually makes sense by the end? Opening up options for the player without requiring specific stat levels? Encounters and boss fights that feel ravenously challenging without just feeling like cheap bullshit? Music that crosses borders beyond 'angry chorus, angrier orchestra'?

Lies of P doesn't quite eclipse Elden Ring, but that's an absolutely unfair comparison given the utter scope and scale and variety that game packs. But Lies of P improves at the FromSoft formula in specific ways, while making concessions in others, and as a result it's just an experience that seeped into my brain like no other game this year, not even Tears of the Kingdom, despite that I put half the hours into this one.

I love all of the games I have mentioned here, you could honestly swap around the order of this top 5 and I could mentally meander a way to justify why, no, actually, this one was my favorite game of 2023. In a year so awful for the people who make games, yet so amazing for games themselves, Lies of P is exactly the kind of game I needed. I needed someone to show me that you can make something directly inspired by someone else's work, yet fine tune it in all the right ways to make it stand just as tall in terms of quality and design. Lies of P made me feel things in ways only a handful of games ever do -- and I would actually count Hi-Fi Rush among those in a regard.

But Lies of P also told a story I found compelling. It had mystery, tension, buildup, it started off seeming like it would do the vague FromSoft schtick only to 100% come together, make sense, be rewarding, and offer a 'true ending' that I got on the first playthrough, organically, without looking things up, because it just... felt right. Not only is the game adapting FromSoft's formula into something its own, it's also doing that with the story of Pinocchio. The gameplay and the story congeal together not in the 'perfect' way that it does with games like Celeste or Undertale, but rather in a more... messy way, like a puppet aching to become a real boy.

The game is full of loss, in its world and for you as the player, who will die many times. But unlike much of FromSoft's catalogue, I never once felt like I died because of bullshit. Was I trolled? Sure, the game definitely 'trolls' you in classic FromSoft fashion, lulling you into a sense of security only to sweep you off your feet. But unlike how FromSoft does it, these circumstances can always be avoided if you're cautious. And if you're not? Hey, 'We got you! We gooottt youuu, haha' and you lose a couple minutes of progress, rather than like fifteen minutes and also an entire level's worth of souls because oh right, this section you just got through is kind of bullshit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Souls. But the thing is, Lies of P takes the parts I love about Dark Souls, admits it can't pull off quite the intricate web of level design, but then throws away everything I do not like about Dark Souls, improves on the things I already liked, and then pushes me to meet it on its level.

The satisfaction of being a boss you spend an hour, two hours on, cannot be understated. It's a feeling unlike any other, and one only this medium can provide. And Lies of P kept me motivated, like Sekiro before it, to keep improving, keep growing, keep trying. And unlike Sekiro, it gave me so many more tools to play with, to learn, to balance in an arsenal with intent. Enemies have elemental weaknesses if I so choose to exploit them, the moveset of one weapon's handle can be applied to a completely different blade, my robotic arm can leverage things in a pinch, or be the backbone to dealing with a boss. Mastery is rewarded with practice. A vicious boss that annihilates you in five seconds can be defeated without a single scratch if you practice enough. Mastery, creativity, quick thinking, and reacting are all rewarded here.

I am more than the hands pulling the strings, I am more than a puppet, I am human. And games like this can only be made by humans, who get that specific itch that only video games that challenge us can scratch. It's not an itch everyone has, but that's why it's my GOTY and not yours, innit?

With its unique setting, its wonderful music, its cozy hub area, its narrative that offers just enough to make me care, but not so much that I am bored or feel misled, its amazing boss designs, and its wonderfully tactile and engaging combat, Lies of P is a game I just can't stop feeling something about whenever I am reminded of it.

It epitomizes so much -- not all, but much -- of what I love about what video games can do, what adaptations can do, and much like how Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, what people can do when they are inspired by someone else's work.

As far as I can tell, this is developer Round8's debut game, and just. Holy hell, what a way to come out swinging. I haven't seen a debut game hit this hard since, I don't know, Bastion.

Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right.

I did, and I do, and given what you teased at the end of this game, I have extremely high hopes of what you come up with next. And in a landscape where things feel more difficult to get excited for with each passing year, much less new IP, it's so damn refreshing to have both Hi-Fi Rush and this game standing out as signals that, hey, some folks are still willing to invest bigger budgets into new games, new ideas.

Again, a battle of centimeters here and at this point I should wrap this up and go to bed.

But yea, Lies of P reminded me of what makes me, specifically, human, in a very particular way that only it has. And I honestly think out of all of single player games of 2023, I think it will actively stand out in my heart the most in the years to come.

#GOTY 2023 #goty #video games #gaming #Mother 3 #scarlet hollow #super mario wonder #future redeemed #Pikmin 4 #Hi-Fi Rush #re4 remake #TOTK #LOZ TOTK #Tears of the Kingdom #Lies of P #long post #Sea of Stars

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splashink-games · 16 days

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A Note On... Risking it in the Rain (2)

Risk of Rain 2 is a co-op roguelike by Hopoo Games! Loot chests, kill bosses, and charge up that teleporter!

I feel like I have a love/hate relationship with this game. But that's because I'm playing it with the same crew as I did with Deep Rock Galactic and the mechanics feel more punishing.

With that said, the game is pretty dang good! It's full of action and exploration. Getting the right build is usually a challenge (unless you've got Artifact of Command on and can just choose your items!). You can get severely overpowered when getting the right items and it's real fun.

My issues with this game start with opening it. Incredibly long load time for whatever reason. But that's only a slight issue, no real effect.

I think that the game is really, really unbalanced. Some survivors are effective, but most aren't. Or, they take a specific build and playstyle to make them effective. And the point I'm making is that characters aren't effective. I simply won't play Commando or Engineer or Captain or Acrid because Bandit and Artificer (in my opinion and with my playstyle) are more usable and more consistent than the others. The difficulty spikes because their abilities can be pretty situational, or offer a different style of play.

Take Engineer, for example. He's really defensive, with his turrets and shield. But since I play with loot goblins who I call friends, I can't feasibly use him.

In another facet, many survivors are really immobile. This can make things tough in later stages when surviving (and honestly, traversing through the stages themselves) requires an increased ability to move. Requires as in, it'd be real difficult if you, for instance, didn't have a dash or the double jump item.

For all it's worth, I think this game is pretty fun. There are some good times to be had, but I recommend playing with friends!

Risk of Rain 2 is a solid entry for those interested in co-op roguelikes, especially when you've got friends to play with!

As always,

Enjoy gaming!

#video games #gaming #game review #Risk of Rain 2 #RoR2 #ink reviews #a note on...

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miloscat · 11 months

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[Review] Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova (PS5)

I love to see budget licenced games still being made.

Prodigy is one of my favourites of the (many) new Star Trek shows. It’s got some Star Wars vibes, not just from the The Clone Wars-esque art style, but also the story of a band of misfits coming together to survive in a crapsack galaxy. Now that I’ve caught up with part 2 of season 1 (which was split in half for some reason) I thought I’d check out this companion game.

Like the show, the game could be classified as “for kids”. It’s not dissimilar to the Lego games which I always enjoy: a semi-isometric perspective, puzzles and simple combat, objects to bash and collectibles to find. The two main gameplay modes of puzzle-solving (via block-pushing and logic gates) and robot-battling (via bashing and pew-pewing variations on the show’s Watcher drone) are fairly well-developed if lacking in variety, while the rest of the experience is rough around the edges. These two modes are also very discrete, with rooms basically alternating between the two.

The game is wired for co-op but is technically playable solo by swapping between the two characters. Dal has more ranged options with different kinds of phasers, and for puzzles can lift heavy boxes and “camouflage” past security cameras. Gwyn is more melee with her “fretwork” heirloom morphing between sword, fists, and spear, and can also use it as a bridge or shield against certain lasers. Rescuing the rest of the crew is the main initial objective and once found, they can open certain themed doors and periodically activate a combat effect.

While the game is set in the mid-season gap, there’s a few plot details that are more impactful coming from the show’s second part as opposed to their insertion here. For example, the antagonist is a third Drednok from the Vau N’Akat Order who has enslaved the three-world system that is Supernova’s setting. It works well as an interquel adventure, and the show’s actors all reprise their roles nicely (although the two leads only having two oft-repeated attack and dash grunts gets grating).

The lead game designer and co-creative director Pere Suau Massanet of the upstart Spanish dev studio Tessera is credited with the original story, while actual writing fell to freelance Brit Martin Korda, many of whose most recent credits centre around the Fifa games’ story modes. Some questionable tendencies seem to have snuck their way into the game script, such as Janeway at one point cloaking the ship (something the Protostar is not supposed to be able to do!) using “Bajoran magic” (???), or out of nowhere giving Dal the character trait “constantly making shallow and nonsensical references to Star Trek stuff”, along the lines of “it’s hotter than a Cardassian fire pit” or “it’s colder than a Betazoid freezer”. On the other hand, there is some fun to be had such as with the collectibles, one being a toy version of Voyager’s Salamander Janeway, and I enjoyed the running gag of the crew picking up the expression “check it” from Dal as a part of their official communications.

After rolling credits, I considered replaying levels to find more relics for the captain’s quarters or to unlock more concept art, but having to redo the busywork of puzzles I’d solved before and undertake yet more repetitive combat was a prospect that lacked appeal. But I had a decent time playing through it once. I just wish there were more than two of those attractive, stylised motion comic-style cutscenes that bookend the game. Not that the in-game graphics don’t look good and match the show (except for Dal who looks a bit weird).

Two final notes. I called this a “budget” game because it has a budget feel on the development side, but on the consumer side it’s actually quite expensive at the A$70 mark. Try to get it on sale. And I loved seeing some casual nonbinary rep in this game from Lorn’ess, one of the two oppressed natives you meet. This is in addition to the main cast’s Zero of course, who joined the ranks in new Trek alongside Discovery’s Adira and Strange New Worlds’ Captain Angel. Pride!

#star trek #star trek prodigy supernova #star trek prodigy #tessera studios #review #ps5

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mrwolfhare · 6 months

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Honestly, I loved the original premise of Fallout76, before the NPC's were added, but I get what the problem was, people wanted a multiplayer F76 game where they didn't want to play with other players and just interact with NPC's while other players would run around in clown outfits with over powered guns.

But the original premise, of wandering the wasteland, finding clues on what happened, reading notes people left for eachother, discovering how these people tried to survive in a post apocalyptic environment, the tragic stories of families broken apart, groups that tried to restore some sort of civility and failed due to not being able to adapt, the cults that started to explain the weirdness... it was so eerie and interesting.

That game would have been perfect as a single player game, or a co-op game, not as a multiplayer game.

#fallout #f76 #fallout76

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rawrienstein · 1 year

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Cool Games of 2022 that I liked

This guy launched with a pretty rough beta and honestly still isn't complete, but it's probably the most enjoyable co-op level based shooter that I've ever played. I've heard Fatshark is pretty good at creating additional content for their games, but you really shouldn't buy a game based on what might be coming. The moment to moment gameplay is just good. It's just really good. Also it's visually incredible...if your graphics card can handle it. (on a 3070ti with DLSS on quality and sometimes I drop to below 60fps at 1440p)

Pkmn LetLet def needed more time in development, but honestly this is probably the most interesting pkmn game overall. I personally only experienced one crash during my play time and performance has been fine. Like, I expect a switch to crumple under the weird expectations this game has, they should've designed those parts better, but even then. It's still a very compelling game. I like the openness, I liked exploring (even if it rarely hit 30 fps), I liked catching new funny little dudes, I liked the characters for once because they don't feel so one dimensional. Competitive is wild right now, lots of interesting teams and weird new stuff. I do hope they continue modifying the pkmn formula, I really want more for co-op. Anyway, I do hope they just slow down with pkmn and the devs can get their shit together properly.

I highly recommend if you're a fan of PS1 horror games. A dystopian sci-fi setting with Lovecraft themes and RE1~esq controls and puzzles and excellently executed anime art style. Everything about this game just works.

PLEASE NOTE THIS GAME DOES HAVE A LOT OF FLASHING IMAGERY AND DOES NOT HAVE A WAY TO TURN IT OFF.

A DOOM-like that takes being called that as a compliment. If you like fast-paced old school shooters, you'll love it. It's got dudes to shoot and you have bullets to feed them. Pretty excellent level design, some bits that make it just a little more engaging than point gun and dude, but not enough to disrupt flow. I really had a good time with it.

I kickstarter'd this game and I'm glad I did. It's a great puzzle platformer with a funny gun that is also a frog. I really love ps1 aesthetics and low poly art and this game does a great job with it. It's also fun to replay and speedrun levels. The frogun's sticky tongue latching on to walls to move around quickly is fun.

Absolutely excellent sprite work with gameplay improvements to an already good beat'em up base. If you need a beat'em up to play with friends, this one is my go to.

It sure does like to say capitalism sucks a lot, and that's a pretty good feature. Enjoyed the story and the characters, the beginning is really tense, but it loses that about a quarter of the way in (which I kinda miss). Still, you'll mostly enjoy following character stories and trying to do the best you can looking for your preferred ending with a funny dice system

Finally, a voxel based game that isn't terrible and actually takes advantage of being voxel based. Tons of creative solutions and interesting challenges. Unfortunately does need a pretty good rig to enjoy a lot of the visuals, but it does looks really good too.

I really liked Shadow Tower and King's Field. There's something really appealing about first person dungeon crawlers. The world here is interesting and full of secrets. Exploration is fun, but sometimes really tense (in a good way). Also, of course, I like ps1 aesthetics and this one really nails its look within that visual style while still feeling like it's own.

It's still in Early Access, but the content that's there is honestly worth it.

Yeah, it's good. Play it. I wrote a bunch of stuff about it before that felt negative overall, but it's still a great game (and better than the majority of other over inflated budget games).

Good job FromSoftware, now stop overworking your employees and please just take care of Armored Core 6. PLEASE REMEMBER THE ANTI-CAPITALISTIC THEMES OF ARMORED CORE. PLEASE REMEMBER THEM. PLEASE DON'T WATER DOWN HOW MEGA CORPORATIONS RUINED THE WORLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. I WON'T FORGIVE YOU IF YOU DO. I'LL MAKE MY OWN STUPID MECH GAME GOD DAMN IT.

QUICK LIST OF GAMES THAT I'M PROBABLY GOING TO RECOMMEND BUT I HAVEN'T COMPLETED

Super Lesbian Animal RPG Lunistice Goodbye World Gloomwood UraGun Scorn

#rawri makes a funny video games list

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subukunojess · 1 year

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Sackboy: A Big Adventure Dreamers AU Notes

Hey folks! Time once again for “Jess is hyperfixating on an underrated piece of media and decides to make an AU about it for fanfiction”! I already got a fanfic in mind for Bad Things Happen Bingo, but I decided to possibly make a series? I’ll just brainstorm some notes here and let it soak. I don’t know the lore of Little Big Planet or how the Sackfolk play into the Imagisphere but I got something:

There are some sacklings that are created by the Dreamers called Dreamlings. It’s basically a sack person but inside them is dream energy and they are inspired by their creator’s hopes, interests, fears, etc.

Dreamlings are a little uncommon but they are accepted as friends in the village of Loom.

When Vex appears in Loom, there were three Dreamlings around Sackboy at the time and two of them follow Sackboy into the rocket ship. One of them flies into the dark corners of the village and gets left behind, injured.

Vex finds the injured Dreamling while the Dreamling despite being in pain shows bravery, claiming that fear can be good and Vex doesn’t need to build the Topsy Turver. Instead of killing the Dreamling, Vex make a bet with her by sewing her back up with thread made from Uproar, challenging her to use the Uproar for good. Then he sends her to where the rocket ship lands in the Soaring Summit.

Ultimately, it’s a 4 Player CO-OP AU with Sackboy and 3 Dreamlings becoming Knitted Knights who plan to stop Vex with their guide Scarlet.

While Sackboy is the main protagonist, each of the Dreamlings takes a world as their theme and takes the lead.

Amber (She/Her) is an adventurous Dreamling who likes to explore and observe nature. Loud and Proud. She teases, but she loves her friends so much. She gets a major role in the Colossal Canopy surviving the jungle and meeting different creatures. Her color is green, she has button eyes, and she has this Little Red Riding Hood motif going for her.

Psyche aka Psy (They/Them) is the logical one of the group. They wear glasses and love to read. They keep to themselves, but the journey lets them open up a little. In the Kingdom of Crablantis, they develop an interest in finding treasure and studying marine life. Their color is purple and due to their inspiration, they have butterfly wings. They also have golden feline eyes.

And then there’s Faith (She/Her) who is kind of like a self-insert inspired OC. Faith is originally the creative one of the group who loves to write and dream about far-off places. In the beginning, she looked like a normal Sackling with an orange picnic blanket pattern skin. When Vex came to kidnap and enslave the Sacklings, she ended up injured, and Vex (with a hidden agenda) sews her back up. When the game starts, her bottom half and legs have glowing green stitching on them and one of her eyes is blue while the other is green to represent dreams and nightmares. Due to the Dreamer energy and Uproar, Faith can transform and grow into different forms when she has strong emotions. She uses her size and powers to lift her friends to high places, sneak past enemies, and fight. But as the group progresses, she begins to change drastically. Her world is the Interstellar Junction because I wanted parallels between Faith and N.A.O.M.I. when Vex goes into their lives. But I could definitely see Faith getting interested in science fiction.

When the climax happens, Faith corrupts into a giant monster similar to Vex, joining him at the Center of Craftworld. In the final world, there would be a boss fight with Sackboy, Amber, and Psy fighting Faith to get her back and stop Vex.

Overall, it’s just four friends on their quest to become Knitted Knights.

If anyone has thoughts, ideas, or questions, please let me know!

#sackboy a big adventure #Dreamer AU #notes #alternate universe #fanfiction #OC #OC: Amber #OC: Psy #oc: faith #sackboy #Scarlet #Vex #I'm sorry but I have ideas #and I like the trope of something slowly corrupting the protag so they become the antagonist

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ophionswill · 1 year

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I think my absolute favorite kind of game has to be class-based co-op horde shooters. Games where you, preferably in a party of friends, mow down waves of enemies, but specifically where you've picked a particular class, so you have abilities or gadgets that others do not.

A great example of this is Deep Rock Galactic, or DRG, where the gadgets of each class compliment and work with others. For example, the Engineer has a platform gun, which can be placed on cave walls, so that the Scout, with the grappling hook, can get those previously unaccessible resources.

Another example is the Borderlands franchise, though the classes less "work together" and more "have different ways of slaughtering as many enemies as possible." In Borderlands 3, one character has helpful pets that draw attention away from the player, with skills that focus on critical hits, survivability, or upgrading your pet. Meanwhile, another character has a large, tanky mech suit, with skills that focus on high damage output, explosion damage/radius, or becoming a glass cannon.

However, as much as I love these types of games, to a certain degree, you are locked in. You choose the class which you enjoy playing the most, and are locked into that in your party for the extent of either the full story or that particular round/mission, only helping in the ways your class can.

So I have an idea. I want a fantasy, class-based, co-op, PvE game that allows you to have multiple classes.

Let's say you the maximum party size is the four, as is common in these kinds of games. Before you jump in, you each get to pick three specialties or proficiencies out of a long list, perhaps 20-30 or so. Each "class" is simple, having a few small perks, but you're free to build your character however you want. Progression works by playing with that class equipped, and your abilities in that class slowly grow stronger as you play with it and they level up.

Some classes would also naturally compliment one another, but you could mix it up for variety in case you want to do multiple things. For example, you could dedicate yourself fully to support, picking three classes which specialize in 1. party-wide healing, 2. single-target healing, and 3. offensive buffs. OR, you could mix it up, picking 1. single-target healing but also 2. bulkiness (for health and armor) and 3. self-buffing defense, to become a benevolent healing tank.

Parties could customize the skills they want to take in a particular session, working together to make something overpowered with every person playing what they want to play, without being limited by whatever the class' intended limits are, instead deciding for themselves what pros and cons they want to live with. The classes would be locked in, but there would be opportunities to swap them out at regular intervals so you weren't fully stuck. Customize, make the fantasy character of your dreams with all the features you want!

(Side note: this could also apply to a sci-fi setting as well, but I personally like the idea of a fantasy setting more).

#game idea #pve #co op games #rambles #its too early in the morning for this #but i dont care shut up

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2dkapsddr · 5 months

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November 27th, 2023 - SDVX EG, PIU PHOENIX, IIDX 31, DDR A3

I'M BAAAAAACK

yesterday was a sort of test day to try out PIU PHOENIX unseriously, but today is the REAL DEAL!!! got my gamer dance shoes that carried me through perfecting my first pool at MOTL5, my water bottle from the garage that's been 40F for the past month or two, and made my way to round 1 via the bus to KILL IT!!!

but first, it's important to have a good warm up!! and i decided the perfect warmup game would be... sdvx!!! (it's a good idea trust me)

my first few sets weren't really anything to write home about, but i picked it up and got a sightread 15 S as well as... A NEW 17 CLEAR!!! AND ALMOST AAA AT THAT!!!! this is maybe, like, my 7th one...? 8th...? honestly don't even know... but it's a damn good one to get tbh like this shit is HARD

and then, of course, it was time to play the one true game i was here for. which is, of course, DANCE DANCE RE-oh wait no i mean PUMP IT UP PHOENIX!!!! oh how i missed you over the 16 hours that we were apart... and how i love that i can ACTUALLY HIT YOUR NOTES NOW

there's a lot here since i was mostly just excited to play phoenix for the first real time (MOTL5 and yesterday don't count L), but highlights include the following:

BATTLE NO.1 S20 Sightread AAA clear!!! (rough game lol)

VECTOR D20 upscore to 963k!! S doable if i don't mess up some hold stairs...

STORM D19 CLEAR AFTER LIKE 3 ATTEMPTS!!!! THE BEST SCORE OF THIS SESSION BECAUSE IT'S IN SUCH A BANGER CHART OUGHHHHHHHH IF YOU CAN BE BIGA DOEEO NAERYEOOOO

first time playing co-op on phoenix and getting owned!!

quite the fun session, ain't that right kaeps? it sure is, and now we turn to our reporter kapie by the iidx cabs to give us the rundown on the other scores there!

why yes, thank you, it appears this man got his ass kicked after all that pump gaming and decided to cool down from eating something by playing some iidx, where he ended up... actually doing quite well!!! a sightread AA on a 9, a sightread almost AA on a different 9, B4U remix moment, and ultra close to AAA on cinderella SPH-8!!!

okay okay, i got rid of the random news reporters now and can finally talk in first person again... so since i was already at the iidx cabs and still hadn't passed down what i ate, i said "fuck it might as well" and went back to the empty valk cab to play one more set of sdvx... where i got both an unremarkable score and a 981k on Absurd Gaff EXH-16!!

and last but definitely least... ddr jumpscare (survival at the end of the universe AAA finally!!! woohoo!!! i am so happy about this information)

#2dkaps 2023 #2dkaps sdvx #2dkaps piu #2dkaps iidx #2dkaps ddr #2dkaps sdvx eg #2dkaps piu phoenix #2dkaps iidx 31 #2dkaps ddr a3

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tacticalhimbo · 11 months

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SUMMER GAMES FEST 2023 THOUGHTS

lots of notes. lots of betrayal.

i am so 😐 at the fact phantom liberty had no news and they're keeping it behind one of their small sgf play days. we were hyped for a main event reveal. i literally sat through the event JUST FOR THIS.

thoughts below the cut and very much unformatted idc

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

- Loved the mixed trailer; Gameplay! more companies need to do this

- Not really into 2D BUT I would play that

- actually available on xbox one! yes this is a note im making on entries

Mortal Kombat 1

- Reboot! new timeline. inchresting.

- This year?? wow. WOW. good secret.

- I played some of the og Xbox games... dunno much lore but 👁 curious

- Story seems kinda cool tho with the modern take and retelling of some of the lore; subzero and scorpion are brothers??? okayyyyy 💅 cain and abel 2 electric boogaloo!

- kameo fighters... allies!

Path of Exile 2

- uhmm... idk shit about this! congrats to the fan girlies

- is it supposed to be like LoL and WarCraft? looks like it.

Street Fighter

- looks cool! more of a mortal kombat gay myself

- aritifical intelligence companion? robotic ryu?

- why is everyone a robot- ohhh... idk what exoprimal is but okay!

NICK CAGE DBD I'M STILL PISSING OVER THIS

- NICK CAGE INTERVIEW IMMMM

- the suit is nice. it's a good shade of green

- "horror is my fave genre and it's a museum of horror that's good enough for me"; also aww family inspo. probably one of his kids if he has those.

- at least it was confirmed that he is, sadly, a survivor. killer nick cage would've been funny.

Witcher Season 3

- Very surprised Netflix is doing a season 3 of a show! Definitely a way to try and distract from the WGA strike bc why pay for writers when we can announce a beloved series and make people forget?

- Don't like Cavill for some things he's done but good for him to play a role he has passion for. I know he said he wasn't gonna be in season 4 bc of the writing direction so.

- It is what it is. Won't be watching regardless bc I wanna learn the game lore first.

Witchfire

- Epic can make good cames and honestly? Visually appealing.

- Not my cup of tea honestly

Crossfire Sierra Squad

- VR gunfire. That makes my head hurt!

- Looks kinda gun tho.

Remnant

- Looks interesting

- Co-op shooter souls game realness

- I wanna know the lore because it looks like a cool universe

Sonic Superstars

- OH!!!! cute

- the music still slaps i couldnt stop wiggling to pay proper attention

- multiplayer!

- xbox one!!! let's go!

Honkai StarRail

- i've been curious about this one; it's made by hoyoverse tho

- genshin wasn't my cup of tea and this probably wouldn't be either (minus the universe; i do kinda like the aesthetics)

Lies of P

- inspired by pinnochio??? that's quite the opening line

- resident evil energy lowkey... another interesting universe concept

- music is nice!

- like resident evil, final fantasy, and bioshock infinite had a weird little baby

- shark submarine!!!

- xbox one

Sand Land

- art style is interesting; made by the person who made dragonball

- looks cool but not my kinda play style

- ur telling me THATS not on xbox one???

Throne and Liberty

- oh god an amazon game

- noticing a trend of characters opening doors in trailers

- it looks okay honestly; i like that you can turn into creatures

Warhaven

- Free to play adventure thingy; Reminds me of For Honor

- You can turn into supernatural stuff? Looks aight

Party Animals

- another gang beasts clone

- i mean it's a good genre of game but i personally dislike it

- vague releases... xbox x only or all xbox? specify!

Dying Light Update

- Okay! I've been interested in this series

Crash Team Rumble

- online multiplayer... style is cute!

- forgot crash bandicoot still had things going for it

Alan Wake 2

- been interested in this series too honestly; know some moots will be excited

- what i have seen of the universe looks cool as fuck

- love me a good survival horror with interconnected timelines. i'm a sucker for transdimensional fuckery

- the creator seems very chill. his voice is nice.

- the gameplay looks good for being unedited and unfinal

- maybe i'll finally check this series out... not on xbox one tho 😔

Warhammer Space Marine 2

- co op campaign? aight. up to 3 players is ofdly specific but the squad does look like a predetermined trio

- space marines... looks abt right. style is cool

- gameplay and cinematics look intetesting too; reminds me a bit of gears of war

Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall

- OOH PIXELS!! i genuinely loge softer styles like this

- honestly would check out the story if anything

TOXIC COMMANDO

- oooh john carpenter made it

- the characters look cool, the monsters look cool too

- the bad singing,,, me and my friends fr!

- bit fast paced for me but i'd honestly give this one a shot

- no xbox one 😔

Baldur's Gate 3

- OOH more official news and release stuff

- idk shit about the franchise but i've seen so many cool looking ocs and i wouls check it out for the character creation alone

- it looks pretty !!

- i forgot wotc was involved with it tho... hate them ♡

Spider Man 2

- YESSSSS GOOD SHIT

- i watch my brother play these games and that last trailer they released at the playstation showcase had me 👁

- nice box art; nice conceptual art too! that venom art is fucking SICK. curious to see where that goes bc it's not eddie brock and idk any lore like that

- manhattan, queens, and brookyln holy shit. that's a huge map

- october 20th release date woagh!!!

PalWorld

- ope world survival crafting...

- pokemon... with guns??? this man has some interesting openers

- HUH?????? THE MINIGUN????? SHEEP WITH MINIGUNS?????

- what the actual fuck am i witnessing im-

- i didnt know i needed this but I NEED IT

- early access next year okay periodt

BLACK DESERT

- ooh souls combat style

- looks pretty

- i got so excited but it's black desert dlc

LOTR: Return to Moria

- NEW LOTR????

- DWARVES!@@@ O7GYYYYYY

- my face was just the poggers emote the whole time

- FOR ROCK AND STONE BABEYYYYT 💅✨️

- i hope this isnt bad like golem PLSSS

Final Fantasy: Ever Crisis(?) I couldn't read that font I'm sorry

- IOS/andoird?

- hey bitch where u at 🤳

- oh... okay.... that looks.... 😐

- hm. there are too many styles at once u got the chibi cutscenes the rendered battles and the anime portraits

Banishers Ghost of Eden

- oh hot character... oh no he looks like john seed that's why

- gameplay looks cool; i fw that mutated hound that showed

- TRANS-DIMENSIONAL LOVERS!!!!! devotion 100%

Like A Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name

- YAKUZA!!!!

- Codename Joryu 👀

- i didnt play like a dragon but i know bits of it and this looks just as cool

- OH NO THE BBE IS HOTTTT

- xbox one!

Under the Waves

- ooh underwater game; no thank u i get too scared.

- looks pretty!

- xbox one babey!

Call of Duty Season 4 MW2 Warzone

- medieval castle?? soccer stadium?? zoo???

- vondel is the name of the place

- looks cool! too bad i can't play it (or anybody for that matter since cheat menus are currently grabbing ips and force crashing)

- my xbox cant run warzone anyway even on lowest graphics

Porsche

- im not a car guy but congrats on however many years it was

- pretty xbox console

- waiting for someone to say it went woke

- not for sale?? it's a competition?? boy. y'all coulda made MONEY

Fae Farm

- cozy games my beloved

- the style looks like mysims

- omg wheelchair user!!!

- i'd probably play this it looks adorable

Marvel Snap

- ... okay ig

- imma be real i don't get card games; esp collectible ones

- this guy is. okay! good for him for being so enthusiastic. even tho he has that classic marvel personality (derogatory)

- PROZD????? i'd play his card game over that.

King Arthur Legends Rise

- mobile/pc fantasy squad rpg

- cullen rutherford is that you? KDJDKDJDJD

- why that dragon look like the lotr one?

- cinematics look okay, gameplay looks better than i thought tbh

Wayfinder

- the comic style of this is cute. so are cinematics

- love a resurrection arc

- playstation and steam only. huh.

Stellaris Nexus

- turn based space game

- ngl i havent played turn based stuff

- heard stellaris was cool tho

Space Trash Scavenger

- cute style! huge 3d platformer

Star Trek Infinite

- oooh star trek. a franchise i know fuck all about

- it looks cool tho!

Twisted Metal

- Peacock? I used that service once. It kinda sucked ngl

- big beefy clown,, i wanna [redacted] his [redacteds]

Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior

- duplicating oneself to multi task? aight

- OUGH THE STYLE I WANNA EAT IT

- fuck it's so pretty

- gameplay style is cute too!

- love the protag's design and voice ♡

- seems like a cool concept

Immortals Og Aveum

- fps magic shooter?? now that seems interesting

- interesting splash art

- the in game cinematics look good; so does the combat style

- very surprised to see ea behind it but i mean what arent they behind nowadays

- the gameplay looks decent tbh. it'd take me some time to learn bc it's minimal (which i do like minimal uis), but honestly? im curious

Fortnite C4S3

- i still cannot believe transformers are gonna be canon in the universe now too

- i probs wont get this battlepass but it looks cool.

- you can ride raptors. and ride vines!!

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

- hä? i thought this was supposed to be like. phantom liberty?? or like. something. kinda a let down for a finale (at least bc of the hype i've seen)

- good news for the final fantasy gays tho. y'all got fed today with some stuff.

- this is a franchise that makes me curious but i've heard it's so convoluted that i never got into it.

- ANDREW TATE LOOKING HEADASS????? LMAO

- like usual: looks great, combat is wild, good shit from someone who knows nothing

- ps5 exclusive looks like

CDPROJEKT WHYTYY 😭😭😭 i feel annoyed and betrayed wym it's on one of their play days!!!

#txt #shut up jason #<- idk if that was my liveblog tag but okay!#sgf23

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thetoxicgamer · 1 year

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Valheim Mistlands Delay to Fix Bugs “Has Been Worth It”

The Valheim Mistlands have finally arrived after a protracted delay in the Norse survival game, letting players loose on its terrifying monsters, a new race of humans to befriend or betray, and the possibility to use new magical items to help construct the Mistlands' ultimate fortress. It's taken a while, with Valheim Hearth & Home, a multiplayer Steam Early Access game, receiving its most recent significant update in September 2021. Iron Gate, the game's creator, explains to PCGamesN why prioritising the fixing of bugs in the game's core was its top concern. Speaking to PCGamesN during a developer tour of the Mistlands, lead artist Robin Eyre and senior developer Jonathan Smårs from Iron Gate talk about how the small development team chooses where to focus its efforts. Asked about how the game’s explosion in popularity following its launch on Steam Early Access affected development, Robin tells me that Iron Gate’s core ethos comes down from the top, courtesy of CEO and Valheim game director Richard Svensson. “The good thing about Richard is his mentality and how he thinks of things. It was so important for him that we actually ticked off all the bugs,” Robin explains. “Coming out on Early Access, just go for the bugs – two to three months, or even four months I think it was, just working on ironing out all the bugs so as many people as possible could just play the game, instead of making content on top of a broken game.” It’s certainly an admirable approach, given how often games will pump out shiny new content without addressing core issues that are already present. Oftentimes, it can be easy to get caught up in a roadmap – and there’s frequently a lot of pressure placed on developers to not delay already-announced content. As such, Iron Gate took the dramatic step of abandoning its initial approach of a published long-term roadmap in favour of a more singular focus on the next major update. Robin says it took him a while to come around to the idea. “At the beginning I was like, ‘Just make more content – let’s give the people what they want.’ Because I was definitely high on the feeling that everybody loved the game.” However, he credits Svensson for insisting upon ensuring that the current product available to players was up to scratch: “He could take a step back and just look at it, like, ‘No, we need to fix these things so people can enjoy the game we already have.’ Which I’m really, really thankful for – that he took that decision. It has been worth it, I feel.” If you fell off playing Valheim during the downtime between major updates, Mistlands may well be the time to come back. Robin notes, “This is the first time we’re progressing forward in the game , so I think a lot of people will come back and play it. But there’s still two more biomes that need to be done before the game is fully released,” referring to the endgame areas of Ashlands and the Deep North that still lie ahead. “I’m confident that it’ll turn out well in the end.” For those of you wondering how long it might be before we’re venturing into those particular zones, Jonathan has some good news. He adds, “I think one of the lessons that we learnt about this as well is that players really want the new biomes and the progression of that, and we had spent a lot of time on the other updates that we’ve made, so most likely it won’t be as long a wait for Ashlands as it has been for Mistlands from the initial release.” If you’ve yet to jump in, read our Valheim Mistlands preview to learn what it’s all about, and why it might be the most exciting Valheim update yet. Our Valheim progression guide is the perfect way to get yourself on track to explore the new biome, and our Valheim building tips should ensure you know how to get yourself a nice place going when you arrive there. We’ve also got more of the best co-op games on PC, if you’re looking for other great games to play with friends. Read the full article

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logobosskingdom · 2 years

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Serious sam 2 xbox 360

Based on the original indie arcade shooter. Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter will be available worldwide for 1200 Microsoft Points (that’s US15 / 14.40 / £10.20 / CAN18.60 / AU19.80). NOTE: Letters (BC) next to a console name means that game Is Backwards Compatible on Xbox One and Newer Xbox Consoles. From today, at 9AM GMT (2AM PDT), you can play Croteam’s Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360.

This list also includes Xbox Console Exclusive Status, Metacritic Review Score, and How Long To Beat Game Data. Don't forget to port the original Xbox version to the Xbox One if you're going to do backwards compatibility Yeah but the 360 versions were better in every way and have acheivements. NEW! Team Modes - Compete against other teams in team matches including Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Last Team Standing.An updated list of all Xbox Serious Sam Games for Xbox Series, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the Original Xbox. Metacritic Game Reviews, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter for Xbox 360, The classic arcade FPS Serious Sam: The First Encounter is reborn in glorious high-definition for legions of long-time fans and a whole n. I would love to play xbox 360 versions of serious sam hd, second encounter hd, and serious sam 3 on xbox one. NEW! Versus Modes - Fight against your friends in more versus modes including Beast Hunt and My Burden. NEW! Co-Op Modes - Play even more along your friends in new co-op modes including Co-Op Survival. After really enjoying them, I decided that I wanted to purchase them on Xbox Live Arcade only to find out that they were no longer available. NEW! Survival Mode - Try to stay alive as long as you can against continued enemies’ attacks in specially designed survival maps! The Serious Sam HD demos on Xbox Live Arcade were my first experience with any of the Serious Sam games since I've never played any of the original games in the series. Team up through the campaign friends for frantic, old school, shooting action. Find co-op news, reviews, and more info about this game. It was developed by Croteam and was released on October 11. Use Power-Ups to additionally increase your fighting and agility skills.Ĭo-Op Mode - Plunge into chaos with up to 16 players in campaign cooperative mode.ĭeathmatch Mode - Watch all hell break loose in over 8 classic and brand new deathmatch maps with up to 16 players. Co-Op gameplay information about Serious Sam 3: BFE on Xbox 360. Serious Sam 2 is a first-person shooter video game released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. Too bad it will lead to the Earths destruction Now theres only one hope and his name is Sam 'Serious' Stone. Special Weapons and Power-Ups - Wreak havoc with a huge arsenal of weapons including 3 new toys: the Sniper Rifle, Flamethrower and Chainsaw. players as it has never been brought to xbox 360 whereas Serious Sam xbox was backwards compatible AND remastered it to HD. PC, PC, Xbox 360, PC, Linux Early in the 21st Century, mankind made an unbelievable discovery - one of enormous scientific and historical significance. Go head to head against 5 new enemies and 3 new Bosses. Unique Enemies and Bosses - Fight with 27 nightmarish warriors in Mental's army, including old favorites from The First Encounter like Beheaded Kamikaze, Syrian Werebull and Kleer Skeleton. Discover over 130 secrets including over 15 brand new ones hidden in the fray. Various Environments and Secrets - Unleash mayhem on 3 different spectacular worlds: South America, ancient Mesopotamia and medieval Europe.

The glorious high-definition (HD) chaos continues in Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, the highly anticipated arcade action FPS sequel to the Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter.ĭeveloped by Croteam and powered by the Serious Engine 3, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter combines spectacularly enhanced visuals, including more polygons, higher resolution textures and more special effects like hippy and kid’s mode, with trademark frantic gameplay for a non-stop action.įeaturing single-play, survival and cooperative play and mixed with brilliantly updated visuals, the game continues your battle against Mental’s army with the classic over-the-top action, crazy humor and horror from the golden age of first-person shooters.Ĭombined with intense versus and team modes for up to 16 players and in over 18 multiplayer maps, demo recording option, spectators and dedicated server support, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter is a worthy successor to the original masterpiece. The Serious Sam HD demos on Xbox Live Arcade were my first experience with any of the Serious Sam games since Ive never played any of the original games in the series.

#Serious sam 2 xbox 360

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stlascl · 2 years

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Cod bo2 online mod menu pc

Cod bo2 online mod menu pc code#

Cod bo2 online mod menu pc tv#

Cod bo2 online mod menu pc code#

Use one of the following values with the " /give " code in Zombies mode: Note: Some codes are available only in the pre-patched version of the game. At the main menu or while playing the game, press ~ to display the console window, then type one of the following codes and press to activate the corresponding cheat function. Save the file, then change its attributes to read-only. Change the value of the seta monkeytoy "1" line to seta monkeytoy "0". Use a text editor to edit the "config.cfg" file in the "players" directory in the game folder. Unlocking the mode is easy-simply find the four missing coins in the game's menus.Note: This procedure involves editing a game file create a backup copy of the file before proceeding. Lucky for you, not only will the weapons and perks you love from Call of Duty lie at your fingertips, you can join with up to 4 players via Wi-Fi to play mulitiplayer.Īs if that wasn't enough, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies also includes “Dead-Ops Arcade” mode, an arcade-style top-down shooter perfectly suited for mobile combat vets. Sure, earning Achievements and Point-Multipliers is nice, but to survive these Co-Op Maps, you'll need friends as much as you'll need firepower. Note: Your CoD points will be lost if the app is uninstalled from your device.Revives can also be bought with CoD points if you die without the revive perk, although the three revive limit still applies.ĜoD points can be spent on anything in the game such as reviving, opening doors, weapons, perks, and the mystery box but are only used when you do not have enough earned points.ěuy CoD points in the Main Menu to use when you run out of earned points in-game.Please note that CoD points are only applicable in single player. With six tiers of in-app purchasing options to choose from, Zombies fans will be able to take their experience to a whole new level by unlocking additional areas and securing better weapons in much less time. Players can also opt to enhance their experience and get out of a jam with the in-game CoD Point System.

Cod bo2 online mod menu pc tv#

“Dead Ops…a perfect fit for the mobile platform.” – G4 TV online."As far as the whole package is concerned, I adore the Dead Ops Arcade mode and feel it adds significant value to the $6.99 price tag" – Destructoid.“Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies is a must-have for any Call of Duty fan and for everyday gamers alike.” –.Play solo or join a team of up to 4 players via Wi-Fi as you mow down hordes of zombies using a variety of weapons and perks only available in the Call of Duty zombie experience.Īnd don't just take our word for it here is what critics think of the game: The Call of Duty: Zombies phenomenon has risen back to life.Īdapted from the best-selling console hit and built specifically for tablets and smartphones, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies delivers fan-favorite, heart-pounding maps: Kino Der Toten, Ascension, and Call of the Dead: Director's Cut, as well as “Dead-Ops Arcade,” a 50-level zombie gauntlet that provides the ultimate undead challenge for fans of Call of Duty's signature zombie warfare. We want to thank you for being valued fans and let you know that as of July 25, 2018, Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies will no longer be available to play in EU Countries.

#Cod bo2 online mod menu pc

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lewisibarra1512 · 2 years

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My thoughts on the latest Nintendo Direct (13 September 2022)

Well, okay. Had to calm myself down from the things I saw on the latest Nintendo Direct. Yeah, sure. I was dealt with Engage at the beginning, as well as Square Enix hogging up on the latest webisode (despite them committing you-know-what I refuse to say to the public), but there are major things that caught my interest. Here's the rundown after the jump!

It Takes Two - Remember back when Josef Fares officially won game of the year because of how amazing It Takes Two felt? I love the idea of the fact a struggling couple try to file a divorce on each other until, while being turned into anthropomorphic ragdolls, they get swepped up in an adventure while dealing with their relationship. So having it on Switch was the perfect way to either detach Joy-Cons by using them as a controller or just use Pro Controllers as a new feature to work together in co-op mode. If I can convince one of my relatives to play it, it'll be awesome! Hey. I'd be down for a physical release unless it's a priority! Also, I'm going to call it a Game Awards version because it already won last year. Kudos to Fares for making the Oscars look like a joke! *chef's kiss* Love you.

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse - Although it was considered a Japan exclusive, having it come to the Switch, alongside other platforms worldwide was a phenomenal move. Even if I... never knew about the lore of it whatsoever, let alone played it before, it's based on a series of survival horror games where in this installment alone, it follows Ruka Minazuki as she and the two surviving girls (the former of which suffered amnesia) must return to the fictional Rougetsu Island in hopes to uncover the truth of how she got captured and where she received amnesia in the first place without any harm. I've never played a Fatal Frame game honestly, but I'm certainly glad this iteration is coming stateside with a bunch of tweaks improved for numerous platforms. If we can get other Wii games ported over to better selling systems without the motion control gimmick, I'd be happy! So happy, I won't have to break anything valuable. Same can be applied for Return to Dream Land DELUXE, but I won't get into that.

The Cosmic Shake - This one's a no brainer. It's a 3D platforming open world adventure where it revolves around Spongebob and Patrick (who unfortunately gotten turned into a floating balloon just for the latter alone) traverse from one Wishworld to another in hopes of figuring out what's going on. I'm not a fan of Nickelodeon, but the idea of bringing Spongebob back into the 3D platforming genre could sparkle an interesting inspiration. I'm gonna have to retort to start making my own with an alien character next time using Game Builder Garage!

OddBallers - Here's something brand new from Ubisoft: OddBallers! It's a hilarious four player party game inspired by dodgeball where instead of a normal game of it, it's all about bombs, tractors, piping hot boomerangs, a non-brakeable car and a giant wrecking ball. Perfect for those who want a laugh! Or not...

Tunic - I've already seen Tunic get announced as an XBOX timed exclusive before it was ported over to PlayStation 4 PRO and PlayStation 5. So having it on Switch made perfect sense! I don't really understand the language surrounding the manual, but unless I have the time of checking it out, I'm taking notes. The game itself? Overall, it looks beautiful and gorgeous. It's basically the Legend of Zelda, but you play as a fox in an isometric point of view.

Story of Seasons and Faefarm - Why did I compile both games together? Because I wanted to remind myself I'm not a huge fan of life simulation games and farm simulators, since they eat up a lot of free time. I apologize in advance if this upsets those who love them, so I'm not going to get into detail...

Sparks of Hope - Oh, boy. This was an experience. When I first heard of Sparks of Hope becoming a spiritual successor to Kingdom Battle, I was honestly excited for it. Until 15 months in prior to the game's release in October, I got kicked in the nads after realizing Rayman's return as a playable DLC character. And surely, I'll never forget the moment where he started committing slap happy crimes around the Glade of Dreams, I backed out and almost screamed in embarrassment. I'm not trying to be funny here; who's idea was it to put a slapping mechanic on a 2D platformer like Origins? Sure, there are three DLC's being developed for the game alone, so I'm pretty sure there might be new characters that are from above and beyond Super Mario. Right? I'm going to get gutted down by everyone, am I?

GoldenEye 007 - While I am patiently waiting for a new Donkey Kong installment (especially Donkey Kong 64 if I ever have the chance of playing it without the silly borders in the way), GoldenEye 007 was the one I missed out. It's based on the 1995 film in which I enjoy doing an impression of James Bond. It's inspired by DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D, but with only James Bond in the middle. Instead of killing Nazis and demons that are out to get you first, you shoot down enemy guards who are protecting every facility from 1986 to 1995 prior to the game's release. It was no surprise to see a game like GoldenEye 007 would achieve 96 on Metacritic and proved to be a worthwhile hit. This was released months after Turok: Dinosaur Hunter got its shot of being released on the N64, despite having major slowdowns caused by multiple enemies appearing onscreen and occasionally awkward controls. Unless DK64 is included, I'll be giving it a shot. Either way, I'll let players enjoy it. Oh, and to those wanting this game on PS4 PRO / PS5 / PC, hate to burst your bubble but you're certainly out of luck. Unless you own a Nintendo Switch or an XBOX Series X, that is!

Mario Strikers: Battle League Football's new update - We've seen Mayor Pauline shine on in Super Mario Odyssey by turning New Donk City into a powerhouse hub world. We've seen her and Diddy Kong become a dynamic duo in Mario Tennis Aces. Pauline next makes her way in to Mario Golf Super Rush regardless of receiving 70 on Metacritic. Both the mayor and the doctor have reached a new high in Mario Kart Tour together, and now... we've come full circle. Diddy Kong and Pauline are now appearing in Battle League Football's next new update. Have I ever told you that both her and him are quickly becoming the next Nova and Maurice? Now you have. ;)

Pikmin 4 - I wasn't really big into Pikmin, but if I have to guess what my favorite alien colours are, it has to be Yellow, White and Pink. And when Pikmin 4 was revealed by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, it was a victor for all alien lovers. While Pikmin 3 was safely ported over to the Switch as another reminder why the Wii branding was oversaturated with shovelware nonsense, the development of the game lasted about eight years. Well, that's bull! Why don't we all make motion controls illegal and say it lasted two years? That'll show Data Design Interactive of what they get. Yeah, everyone's excited for this to happen, but I'll just sit here, relax and say "What a wild ride."

Bayonetta 3 - Here's something I've never dipped myself into: Bayonetta 3. While the second installment was funded by Nintendo in 2018 (not bringing that up again), and the first installment being shown off to SEGA successfully on PS3 and XBOX 360 alone, the game picks up where the events left off. The third installment follows the titular 500 year old witch as she's on a mission of her own to do battle against the Homonculi a series of mysterious man-made threats while travelling to the island of Thule, in order to prevent the destruction of various worlds by an evil entity known as the Singularity. However, she's not going to do this alone, as she's bringing in old and new faces, especially a witch-in-training named Viola and her giant companion, to eradicate them all and save their world from total obliteration. It's like a combined blend of Independence Day, Terminator and Hocus Pocus into one, and it's shockingly good for Halloween!

Sifu - What happens when you combine Yie Ar Kung Fu, Mystery Dungeon and Final Fight altogether and turn it into a Bruce Lee inspired action flick based in the 70's? You get Sifu, an action roguelike beat 'em up game where it follows a young child turned master who seeks revenge on those responsible for their father's death. However, there's a catch: For every player's death, there's an age counter that goes up once. But when they die permanently, they're sent back to the beginning unless they're skilled enough to beat the game without taking damage, aging up or die trying. Released on PS4 PRO, PS5 and EGS for Mac, it was a commercial success for French studio Sloclap. Upon being praised for its combat, environments and story, it was later announced the Switch version would be getting the same release treatment. Though it is only for the eShop alone, maybe Limited Run or iam8bit could fill in the role?

Radiant Silvergun - While my friends at TREASURE are currently hard at work developing a new game in time for the 30th anniversary (Game Awards, hint-hint), Radiant Silvergun was the one that should keep shmup players busy before they unveil it later this year. Now, as you may not know, I'm a sucker for shmups. No matter if it's from Toaplan, Cave, Raizing, MOSS or the insanity that is PSIKYO, any shmup can always be enjoyable. Whether it's vertical or horizontal, it can be anyone's guess! And as for Radiant Silvergun, it acts as a prequel to Ikaruga where in the year 2520, three human pilots, one human captain and an anthropomorphic robot venture beyond a giant crystal occupied planet Earth as discovered by scientists, in which they set an explosion on. Allowing the pilots to see what's going on, they discover the Stone Like, a giant sentient being who's purpose was to eradicate humanity as a whole. The two remaining pilots and a struggling robot, the latter of who is nicknamed as the Creator, is sent back 100,000 years to prevent the situation from happening and recreate humanity anew. Just like the majority of every TREASURE game to date, it's full of explosions and batshit insane boss battles, as opposed to ever Michael Bay film. Even if I'm not a fan of his movies whatsoever, making fun of him is easy to do! Likewise, if you're a sucker for shmups like I am, give Radiant Silvergun a try. And if you want to know its successor IKARUGA, pick it up now for Nintendo Switch and PS4 PRO!

Endless Dungeon - Aliens and robots in a roguelike futuristic dungeon? What can I say? Endless Dungeon is a top notch, isometric roguelike adventure that involves protecting a crystal bot while it automatically moves towards a bulkhead door of each level. They'll need to find food, science, industry and Dust Shard in order to survive the perils of an abandoned space station filled with deadly mutants and other dangerous threats. When they die, they're respawned at a saloon bar, asking for upgrades or just talk to NPC's should they resume the journey ahead of them. The game is currently in development by Amplitude Studios under the ownership of SEGA, so seeing the designs of the characters look a lot pleasing!

Disney Speedstorm - If you thought Cruis'n Blast was way better than Mario Kart for Nintendo Switch, you're in for another whopper. Not the Whopper from Burger King, but the actual one: Disney Speedstorm. Developed and published by Gameloft, it's a kart racing game with a darker tone that's marketed as a teenage version of Fast and Furious but with numerous Disney characters. And one notable aspect is that it takes the monumental concept of blur with authentic colours and insane power ups that players can use to win the race. So with Mike being on board, I'm willing to bet Oogie, Rabbit, King Louie and Pleakley can jump in and race with them anytime! Because who doesn't love those sweethearts?

Tears of the Kingdom - Wrapping it up with one last announcement I saw was the long awaited sequel to Breath of the Wild, known as Tears of the Kingdom. I remember playing Breath of the Wild when it was first launched on Switch and got met with critical acclaim. Considering it was inspired by Red Dead Redemption alone, it being taken place on land and in the sky does make sense. It's just an open world, action adventure, hack and slash survival game that follows Link and Zelda on a mystery to see what really happened to the corpse of Ganon. Unlike its predecessor, I promise I won't make the silly mistake of spoiling it again. Since... um, I'm not really a Nintendo fanboy to be honest.

------

Well, that seems about it.

Overall, despite the massive influx of Square Enix games and the majority of anime based projects (in which I fully renounced he-who-must-never-be-spoken in 2015), the Direct was... actually good? My only complaint is that Nintendo should at least implement subtitles while live streaming the web show. Just as how Apple Computers handled their events and the WWDC properly while caring so much about animation and the animators. Yes, I will be getting some games that'll buy me time before a new Donkey Kong title is released. We might see more details of Tears of the Kingdom around the Game Awards, so who knows?

Okay. I'm gonna go to sleep before I get back to work. L8R!

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