I had time, but I didn't have the means or financial resources to have access to all games, here's hoping 2023 changes that. I want to talk about now, in regard to all the other games I've played last year, for my top 10 list.
More so, I really wish there were more AAA contenders here. Not many of them or even good ones released this year, and yet the year was loaded with so many indie goodies. Highly regarded titles that pushed a lot of envelopes for the standards of modern games. The kind even the most expensive would be ashamed of.
A lot of people struggled to pay for this hobby, due to the excruciating nature of the economic crisis ongoing from March. COVID-19 is pretty much over, but we still live to rue how much of our time has gone to waste, toiling with these issues. But enough talk, I want to talk about games now. Disclaimer: The list has no ranking whatsoever.
10 - Strangers Of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins
What can I say about this game, that doesn't come off tacky or outrageous? It's about a chad protagonist for a prequel to the very first Final Fantasy game. Outside the campy, off-put character writing, and somewhat forced premise, the gameplay is extraordinary and heart-pumping.
Melee is fast-paced, requiring you to learn, set, and memorize combos. Constantly switching classes once in a while, as well as playing them to master and unlock everything, while enjoying mashing enemies down with such repertoire. Enemies are so tough, making the need to adapt important. Amazing release, thank you Team Ninja.
9 - Stray
Who's the puuurty kitty who's stuck in a post-apocalyptic underground city filled with robots and some biological plague? This little guy is. This game isn't made to feature the best gameplay ever, but in terms of being linear narrative, with open-world exploration bits. Surprisingly enough, it holds up a lot.
A lot of charm here, how it presents itself, the visual art style, open-world level design, and such, it's a brilliantly immersive game. Like, I could tell the developers put so much love and care into it. A few small downsides, but nothing that took me out of the experience.
Would I play this again? No, I got my fill, but this was quite something enough to make me remember it for years.
8 - Sifu
3rd 'S' title in a row, no worries, the joke ends here. But there's a lot I want to talk about regarding one of the most badass brawler titles I've ever played. Sifu's biggest selling point is you becoming the best Pak Mei fighter, while taking revenge on those who killed your father.
There are multiple things to tackle with, the fighting mechanics, enemy surrounding, crowd controlling, mastering moves, and making sure you take less damage as possible throughout the span of the campaign. Because if the MC gets knocked out, he ages, till he dies. Which means restarting it from the entire beginning.
I was miffed that this was an Epic release, I wanted to play this game badly on Steam, but I've decided to accept that being the case, because I so wanted to keep coming back, and master all of it. It's a tricky game to learn, but it's so rewarding to learn it all. No kind of Roguelikes can capture something as phenomenal as what Sifu brings.
7 - Citizen Sleeper
It's a tough job not to make a game like this become too dense inadvertently, because the intention was to create a nice, calming atmosphere in a dystopic space cyberpunk work of art, that tackles with so many different themes, with distinct tones. And the best part is, they all work out.
Sleeper is stuck close to my heartstrings, the world-building, the character backstories, the writing, music, the ship itself, and the overall experience of learning what existential crisis really is like. Especially for a droid that is sentient. The gameplay isn't much to go writing home about, but it is a great extension of the game's entire storytelling. I am glad I got to play this, another day a Cyberpunk game has to be this good.
6 - Neon White
Cheesy anime characters? Check. Slick presentation? Check. Dude jokes? Yeah, pretty much. It's a super campy game, but the charm works. What else does? The gameplay, meet the most solid speed run game ever made. It is technically a timelapse FPS, where you eliminate all the demons in a level before getting to the checkpoint fast as possible. Super filled with frills and thrills.
I like a game that does make you rush to become the best sharpshooter/platformer out there, in such stylistic ways. The challenges come from doing everything with time efficiency, while also looking for the fastest route possible. It stands out a lot, as an overall package. I really dig this one.
5 - PowerWash Simulator
This is a weird choice, but there's something calming about doing chores in a game, that just sounds and feels soothing entirely. ASMR clean-up duty basically. Every time I played this, I strapped my headphones in, and started washing stuff with my trusted water gun.
Earning currency allowed me to upgrade the parts of the gun, like the nozzle, drum, etc. So much accessibility for so much cleaning, and the best part is, it has co-op. And other various game modes for challenge purposes. It takes something you know that is strenuous and makes it relaxing. Cleaning things never felt this serene before.
4 - Vampire Survivors
Reverse bullet-hell games weren't a thing till this came along, now all the Vtubers are hogging in all the attention(I kid, they're alright). And the formula it created works so well. The creators themselves have even updated the game continuously from its launch. A brilliant game I think that shapes how survival games should be played. Starting weak to growing stronger every kill, pick-ups and level increase, becoming a god-like being of vampire decimation as the gameplay evolves to be challenging in a myriad of ways.
3 - Elden Ring
I didn't play this long enough to fully relish the game, but just from playing it in the opening hours, it opened so much to me. The scope of its world knew no bounds, and I felt goosebumps entirely just flow through me. Elden Ring's world has so many stories to share, most of it dark, but to such large scale that it makes their prior games seem small in comparison.
I played a lot of FromSoft, and Souls-like games over the years, just the familiarity and fascination made me start to see how much they've progressed as a developer. Elden Ring stands as a monument to what games can achieve these days, and I hope the developers continues proving to do so with their own foreseeable projects.
2 - Slime Rancher 2
I stopped playing the first Slime Rancher game, maybe because I failed to understand what kind of game it was years ago. This year, I went full ahead, playing its sequel continuously, just farming slimes, and exploring areas that are entirely different worlds. Of course, this is a management sim played as an FPS, working alongside as an exploration title as well.
This is an easily approachable game for anyone, including kids. It's colorful, charming, a bit whimsical, and completely holistic. I think I refer my nephew to play this in the later years. The bubbly charm, if anyone becomes invested in it, can be a therapeautic remedy for all the bad news this year.
1 - Signalis
A lot of games that starts with 'S' letter. This is an interesting trend. So, what does that mean for Signalis? Well, that's for you figure out. The reason why I put Signalis for last, and it is because it left a profound effect on me. It has left me in a great state of ennui this year. I had all kinds of personal problems, issues with people that were hard to resolve or didn't have any windows for doing so.
This game is a masterpiece of suspense, horror, and dread. It starts to just being a homage, but deeper and further I went, the more obscured and terrifying everything became. There's a special kind of poignancy you can't find anywhere else. And yeah, it's not a 10/10 game, but for me, it had added so much meaning.
The Lovecraftian atmosphere, juxtaposed with Lynchian mystery type storytelling. Dealing with themes of the human condition in a more darker, pronounced way. Signalis isn't for those with a faint of heart, and it might also have some dampening effect on those dealing with psychological issues. But I think if you can manage all that, this game is worth sipping into, as well as playing a very noteworthy survival that stays true to the genre itself.
The links I've added for the images will take you to posts I've written about them before, if you're curious to know that is.