Game of the Year

Kristian’s Top Played Games of 2022!

Kristian Richmond Game Impressions , , , , , , , , ,

Would you like this blog post to be more of an audiovisual experience? Then look no further!

The time has come to once again look over the year’s smattering of interactive visual entertainment products and arbitrarily place some above others and forego mentioning others entirely. Just a reminder or a note for those new here, though, this list is all about games I played this year, and isn’t strictly limited to this year’s releases, though that does remain the focus this time around.

First, I want to acknowledge the many Game Pass titles this year that left a great first impression but I only gave one or two play sessions to. Call them… the Best First Impressions I Never Returned To Awards. They go to Chained Echoes, Phantom Abyss, Metal: Hellsinger, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, Bugsnax, Tunic, Archvale, Hitman 3, and Nobody Saves The World.

Next up are the I Will Absolutely Continue This Long RPG For Real awards. They go to Persona 5 Royal, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Tales of Arise, and Final Fantasy XV. These all have the potential to join a future year’s list, but I can’t rightly judge them based on the amount of time I’ve played so far.

Next up, I want to mention some games which you might expect to see here, but won’t:

Pokémon Violet – Well, as of writing, it’s in the post, and I won’t have enough time to play it before evaluating it for this year. All the same, I’m disinclined to praise it based on the incredibly poor optimisation and lack of quality assurance, no matter how good it turns out to be.

The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle – Despite pre-ordering this expansion, it’s omittance from this list comes purely from the fact that I haven’t played it. I got one quest in before realising I really wasn’t in an ESO mood!

Assassin’s Creed Origins – In early drafts, this was on the list, but it turns out… I included this as my #5 spot back in 2018. Still, this year I actually played through the thing start to finish on Xbox, and it was wonderful.

Saints Row – Despite reviews, I still believe I’d enjoy this game if given the chance. Due to said reviews, though, it went down a few places in my priorities.

World of Warcraft: Dragonflight (10.0) – I thought long and hard about including this one, because it deserves it so far. But then I look back on my glowing praise of Shadowlands two years ago, and how I fell off playing this expansion shortly after reaching endgame… and my objective side says to hold off. Maybe next year.

But enough preamble… let’s get on to the main event!

Disney Dreamlight Valley

Until Dreamlight Valley, I don’t think I’d ever played an Animal Crossing style game that had come close to grabbing me as much as the original. But Dreamlight Valley certainly did come close! Not only that, but it had major MySims vibes, a forgotten game from EA’s past which also sees you bringing a forgotten village to life and getting residents to move back in. In fact, Dreamlight Valley has so much in common with MySims that I’d argue it was a direct inspiration for the game.

I’m not much of a Disney guy, but the village-inhabiting versions of Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Merlin and friends made me realise why people love those characters so much. It’s easy to rib on the game for being so pure-hearted, but sometimes all you really need in life is an afternoon wrapped up in an imaginary little village, tending to the needs of your virtual friends and decorating your home and garden. This game delivers that with all the prerequisite charm, and plenty of unique ideas to boot.

Astroneer

Survival crafting games can, in my opinion, get pretty tedious pretty quickly these days, but I do remain a sucker for the space-faring ones. Here’s an excerpt of my original impressions of the game:

Astroneer combines the colourful outer-space aesthetic of No Man’s Sky (ala lo-fi polygons) with the technical progression of Minecraft mods like Galacticraft to create a well-polished, space-faring exploration experience. The basic gameplay may boil down to searching for materials that you can refine into upgrades, but the tangible nature of those resources and the way in which you gather and transport them lends an immersion to the entire experience. For instance, gather enough compound and you’ll have a little brick of the stuff you can slot into your backpack, literally represented on the back of your body. You can pass it between friends or leave it lying around near your base for future use. Similarly, creating new machines such as smelters and centrifuges is done with a 3D printer which literally prints them in real time.

Of course, the real fun came from the time me and my friend spent in the game. From working things out together and progressing to new planets, to befriending space-snails, to just plain goofing off, this game will forever be remembered as one of our favourite co-op experiences.

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of a Forgotten Past (3DS)

I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I’m something of an untapped Dragon Quest fan, so back in February when I heard that the 3DS eShop was closing I decided to pick up the physical editions of both DQVII and DQVIII before they shot up in price. (Here in the UK they’re still available for £40 new, so I was perhaps a little hasty. And no, I’ve not played DQVIII yet.)

I’m only three islands in to Dragon Quest VII, but I wanted to include it in my top 10 list this year because I thoroughly enjoyed my time with what I’ve played of it so far. Like all Dragon Quest games, it’s thoroughly charming, and I maintain that there’s a certain type of handheld JRPG that you can just curl up in bed with which is a cosy gaming experience all its own. It’s almost like reading a favourite old book, especially as this entry doesn’t deviate from the familiar expectations of a turn-based combat system, and a magical adventure with a small but growing cast of characters. I actually really enjoy the premise of this game’s plot, wherein you live on what is apparently the only island in the entire world, though as you progress you discover that this is not necessarily the case.

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy (Xbox Series S)

Naruto was the second anime I’d ever watched growing up, and as the story progressed and began to drive home its messages about hatred and peace and love, it became quite a formative narrative experience for me. It’s a story I hold close to my heart, and as such, I’ve always been interested in reliving it through the highly regarded Ultimate Ninja Storm series. There was just one problem: I don’t really play fighting games! I’ve tried before, with this series and others, but I lacked the patience to learn the combos, or even the basic moves. I never got past the first act in the first game.

Determined not to make the same mistake twice, I pushed past my typical point of exhaustion this time around and, despite some initial frustrations, got the hang of combat. It turns out, fighting games can be really fun! Or at least, whatever this subgenre of fighting game is. A friend of mine called it a “character action game”? All I know is they fight, pow pow.

I really enjoyed the use of quick time events for executing signature moves. It’s a simple enough concept, but it fits this genre particularly well. Plus, as I’d hoped for, this series was a brilliant vehicle for re-experiencing the story of Naruto, although the first game lags behind on that front and the third game veered off into filler territory as the campaign reached its end long before the arc it took place in. Still, I had a fantastic time and learned some new videogame skills to boot.

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

You may recognise this game from such highly anticipated release lists such as “Games I’m Looking Forward To In 2022,” “Games I’m Looking Forward To In 2021” and my personal favourite, “Games I’m Looking Forward To In 2020”!

All jokes aside, this game is massive. This is not your typical run-of-the-mill LEGO game. TT Games knew that fans held a lot of love for their original LEGO Star Wars games, and they delivered what I would argue is a dream sequel. I’ve had issues with the level design of other LEGO titles, varying wildly in quality. For instance, and for reasons I can never quite put my finger on, I find LEGO Marvel’s Superheroes to be an enjoyable game whilst LEGO Marvel’s Avengers drives me away after just a few levels. So whilst I was excited about the legacy that the Skywalker Saga had to live up to, I was also dubious. I’m very pleased to report, however, that the level design struck the right chords with me, and that whilst the game may not quite reach the status of becoming a classic, it’s certainly a memorable, fun experience.

But this isn’t just your run-of-the-mill level to level platforming game! No, The Skywalker Saga is completely open world, featuring a staggering number of planetary locations as well as the ability to travel between them via competently designed space exploration. The amount of side content available is daunting for completionists, from gold bricks to collect, to characters to unlock, with plenty of secrets besides. I’ve barely scratched the surface myself, and I’m happy knowing that whenever the mood strikes me, there’s still plenty of Skywalker Saga content for me to tackle in the name of achievements. And that’s not even to mention the improvements to combat, the class system, the return of level replayability via Free Play, and the humour – it’s a legitimately funny game!

Vampire Survivors

Not all brilliant videogames come packaged with gorgeous graphics or a unique art style. I don’t think that even the creator of Vampire Survivors would attempt to praise the game’s visuals; it looks like something that could have been released twenty years prior, to minimal fanfare at that. And yet, the gameplay fosters a loop of dopamine hits lucrative enough to make a monetisation expert weep. You don’t even get to aim in this game, but simply moving through the battlefield – at a blisteringly mundane pace, might I add – between enemies to reach powerups to grow stronger is somehow addictive enough to make the President of Xbox himself damn near 100% complete the game. And trust me, I follow that guy, he’s an average 5%er at most.

Vampire Survivors reminds me of the golden era of Flash games, where you’d lose yourself for hours in a creation that a hobbyist made in their free time. Sure, you had the latest Call of Duty to play, but why do that when you could be chasing highscores or site-wide achievements (hello, Kongregate) in a game made with a millionth of the budget for the low low price of… free? Well, Vampire Survivors isn’t free (unless you count a monthly Game Pass subscription), but it is cheaper than a meal deal at your local food withholding establishment. You’ll probably think you’ve been had when you load the game up and all you can do is whip forwards every few seconds, but play your cards right and half an hour later you’ll be an unstoppable god mowing down hordes of enemies by shooting out a myriad of constant attacks from your face. And it will be glorious.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Speaking of ugly games, Pokémon Legends: Arceus narrowly avoided being the ugliest game of the year since Game Freak published their next title, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, within the same year. Phew, that was a close one. (And before anyone argues with me that the character models look nicer or the aesthetic is worthy of praise, I count distance-based framerate drops, a complete lack of aliasing, and fade-in objects from five metres away to count towards a reputation of being ugly as sin.)

So if it’s so appalling on the eyes, what’s it doing here? Well, I’ve always been of the opinion that graphical fidelity ain’t everything in a game, and that was… sorely tested with this title. But beneath the layers of repeating cliff textures so rough that my eyes felt like they were actually scratching against the scenery, there was a truly innovative Pokémon title. For the first time ever, your character actually felt like part of the game world, as they could be damaged by Pokémon or… gravity. Plus, the fantasy of actually catching Pokémon was fully realised by the gameplay mechanics such as, you know, actually being able to aim and throw a Pokéball. The story wasn’t half bad either, despite an extraordinarily lengthy introduction pre-gameplay with what’s becoming a trademark lack of voice acting. I also loved the way they handled the Pokédex, actually encouraging you to go out and collect these little critters for reasons beyond just making them hit each other.

I adored my time in Hisui. Pokémon Diamond was one of my first (and favourite) Pokémon games, so the fact that it received such a love letter in the form of this psuedo-prequel spinoff means the world to me. I haven’t yet completed the Pokédex, partially so I know there’s always more game ahead of me. But partially because, well, you saw the awards at the top of this post. Doesn’t matter how much I love a thing, my attention span suuuuucks.

Overwatch 2

Are we still handing out side-awards? Okay, good, then Overwatch 2 wins the Trojan Horse Award.

First and foremost – it’s not a complete game. The entire PvE mode that Overwatch 2 was advertised with isn’t coming for a few more months yet. It was originally supposed to release alongside the multiplayer mode, and without it, Overwatch 2 as-is feels less like a sequel and more like Blizzard pulled the game developers out of stasis and allowed them to finally continue updating Overwatch 1. It probably doesn’t deserve to be on this list, but if you couldn’t already tell, 2022 was a fairly scant year for my tastes, so I’ll overlook the fact that it’s just the original in a trenchcoat and glasses.

Here’s the thing: Overwatch 1 was my GOTY in 2017 for a reason, and the updates they’ve made with… the sequel… have only further solidified my love of the game (sans the microtransactions). The main changes they’ve made can be summarised as follows: The game is now 5v5, tanks are more brawly than protective, there are less barriers, less stuns and less overall crowd control moves. A few heroes have been overhauled – for instance, they added fun to Bastion – three have been added, and a new mode exists in which you get to hear the cast make delightful conversation with a poor, overworked robot.

As for those microtransactions… well, all I’ll say is I didn’t think it was possible to miss loot boxes. You get far less for free, the first battle pass’ offerings were meagre at best, and the skins in the store were seemingly priced by one of those right winged politicians who never seem to know just how much it is for a loaf of bread when you ask them. But they say there’ll be changes in season three, so… roll on season three…

Fortnite

Zero Build.

…okay, I should probably elaborate. Ahem: The day Epic added Zero Build as a fully-fledged alternative to the default battle royale mode, they likely gained a massive influx of players, me being chief amongst them. I’d played the original season 4, but quickly grew tired of Buckingham Palace springing up around someone after my sniper shot inevitably curved around their skull. It seems I was far from alone in this opinion, for when Fortnite was at its least relevant, Epic broke-glass-in-case-of-emergency and finally admitted that people weren’t in it for the quirky Save The World multiplayer mode. They were in it for the battle royale, the best-in-genre battle pass progression and cosmetic rewards, the endless tie-in skins and events, the ever-evolving landscape and sandbox updates, the Peely lore.

Fortnite has a reputation for being a Zoomer game, and there are certainly moments when I feel old playing it. But some of the most fun I’ve had this year has been running Trios with my friends. We’ve won around fifty games this year (with some help from those early bot games), and usually perform best when we switch off from the shooty shooty and spent 80% of the match dicking around with those stasis rocks they stole from Breath of the Wild, or those grapple ball things, or just setting fire to shit and giggling with glee as we watch it spread. And that’s to say nothing of the endless custom game modes you can lose yourself in (with no expense to XP gained, crucially).

Sod the reputation. Be a kid. Do a dance. Play Fortnite.

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

No spoilers, but paragraphs 2 and 3 will probably shape your expectations.

How do I… talk about this game in a manner that sounds objective enough to be feasibly convincing to someone who doesn’t play it? Oh sod it, I’ll just gush.

It’s beginning to feel like people don’t know how to write endings any more. So why is it, that in an MMO space – a genre of games to which the idea of an ending is almost antithetical – you can find one of the most satisfying endings in… all of media? I don’t know how they pulled this off behind the scenes, but they managed to wrap up literally hundreds of hours of story in an extremely satisfying bow. Not only that, but the story they told – perhaps due to its length – was so capable in its ability to touch people on an emotional level that crying throughout the final quests is practically expected of you. I’m not a crier! I don’t cry at things! But I teared up multiple times when playing through Endwalker. In fact, it resonated with me on such a deep level that all I have to do is think about certain story beats and suddenly my eyes are mistier than a frigid northern valley in deep winter!

All jokes aside, I hail Endwalker as the greatest story I’ve ever experienced because it has the ability to resonate with your darkest moments, and in doing so, earn your trust as a narrative which takes themes of darkness and hopelessness seriously. And so, when it takes those feelings and runs with them, you’re running alongside them and feeling everything this narrative has to say about living with them. It is deeply, deeply moving, and every day I have to restrain myself from begging all my friends to play it so they can experience it too.

Story aside, though, because it’s not just a story experience… how’s the gameplay? Well, a lot of what I said last year about the combat in comparison to WoW still holds true. I still think that FFXIV’s single-build multi-class gameplay lends itself to tighter and more intricate rotations, and boss fights remain far more interesting in terms of mechanics and reaction times. So far I’ve only got two classes to 90 – Dragoon and Reaper – but I honestly can’t pick a favourite from the two, with them feeling very different to play despite both being Melee DPS.

It’s not all about combat and raiding, though. Final Fantasy XIV is flushed with things to do, and after over 300 hours of gameplay I’m still learning about new (well, old) systems. What are Retainer Vocations? Hell if I know! I spent the last few weeks maxing my Botanist – somehow they made even gathering professions really fun and full of story – and unlocking the Ishgardian Firmament, a place for crafters to contribute their craft to rebuilding a war-torn city. I don’t typically spend too long interfacing with the crafting in an MMO, but FFXIV has made it a side-gig worth my attention.

It also helps that I’ve recently joined a brilliant FC that has really enlivened endgame for me. Last night I was up until 1am just taking Christmas pictures with them in our extremely cosy FC House. They’ve been answering my questions and providing much laughter, and I really feel like I’m part of a community. It’s lovely.

So… in summary… play Final Fantasy XIV! Did you know that the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV has a free trial, and includes the entirety of A Realm Reborn AND the award-winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 with no restrictions on playtime? Play it today!

2023

More years, more games! I’ve spent the last month or so of this year revisiting a bunch of games from my childhood, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to new titles. In fact, over half of my most anticipated list from last year can (perhaps depressingly) be straight up pasted to the top of this year’s:

  • Starfield, providing it doesn’t get delayed.
  • Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake hasn’t been given a release date yet, but… that?
  • Dragon Quest X Offline if by some miracle they decide to localise it.
  • Overwatch 2’s PvE
  • Diablo IV
  • Assassin’s Creed Mirage
  • Forza Motorsport
  • Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Again, I don’t own a PS5, else Spider-Man 2 and Final Fantasy XVI would be at the top of this (unordered) list. In the meantime, I may have time to pick up and play some of these 2022 titles which I wasn’t able to make time or budget for this year (I promise this is the final list):

  • Pac-Man World Re-Pac
  • Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
  • Saints Row
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Rune Factory 4: Special

And… that’s a wrap! I think I’m all listed out. If anyone ever asks me how much I love videogames, I’ll point them here. Look at this! These are all games which bounce around my brain for various reasons.

Anyway, see you next year!

Kritigri’s Top 10 Played Games of 2019!

Kristian Richmond Game Impressions , , , , , ,

Wow it’s that time of year again already! As always, it’s about what I played this year, not just what was released this year, because I’m not made of money and can’t afford to buy every release that interests me for full price. Also, DLC counts if it’s an expansion or a similar level of content release to a pre-existing game.

In fact, let’s acknowledge what I was interested in this year but never got the chance to play:

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Devil May Cry 5

Planet Zoo

Borderlands 3

Control

Rage 2

Onto what I actually did play, then. I’d say this year’s been pretty good, but every year’s good when you’re looking at your top ten. Games are a lot of fun!

Honorable Mention: The Outer Worlds

This game gets my yearly “I’m sorry I abandoned you” award.

The Outer Worlds was good. GOTY material. I thought that, in my head, as I was playing it. I finished the entire first planet, including a few sidequests, and I was really enjoying my time. But on the way to the next planet I realised that I’d reached a good stopping point, and another release pulled me away.

I swore to come back, but I never did.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

#10 – Beat Saber (PSVR)

Whenever you see clips of people doing amazing things in Beat Saber, just know that they are literal gods who walk among us. The level of satisfaction you get from just watching them work is easily achieved by accomplishing much smaller feats in your own play sessions. The game does exactly what it promises to do in its visuals – it makes you feel like a damn Jedi. When you get it right, anyway. And when you don’t end up punching your bookshelf… I don’t have a lot of movement space in my room.

My only complaint is that there’s no Spotify or Youtube integration, with an algorithm for generating your own levels. Choice of level is sparse, with music that’s personally only enjoyable because of the accompanying gameplay. I’d be way more interested in playing Beat Saber to the tunes of heavy metal, just to see how insane that could get, but it seems like the creators are opting for a DLC method, netting them more money but us far less options in genre. Ah well.

#9 – Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (PS4)

Of all the late discoveries in my GOTY lists, this one must be the latest. Despite the original game having not even been released this decade, the PS4 remaster holds up. Whilst the fact that it’s a PS3 game shines through in some of the flat platform ledges and basic, albeit touched-up faces, the gameplay didn’t feel clunky at all.

I really didn’t know what to expect going into Uncharted. It’s a genre I never cared about as a teenager – I actually sold Uncharted 3 which came with my PS3 – to the extent that I’ve never even gone out of my way to watch gameplay of the series. I was surprised by the amount of cover shooting the game had, though not unpleasantly so. I was even more surprised by the turn the story takes towards the end, into the supernatural. I took my time with the game, playing through a few chapters over the course of weeks, but I had a great time.

If you’re wondering why I chose the first game, which everyone tells me is rough compared to its sequels, here’s the answer: I’m not doing playing Among Thieves yet.

#8 – Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch)

One of my most anticipated games of the year. The original’s existence was my one regret for not owning a Wii U, having already been deeply invested in making my own Mario levels years before on a fan-made version called Super Mario Flash.

I love that it’s just always there, on my Switch, millions of levels ready to go. This time around Nintendo also included 100 levels of their own in a cute little story mode, where you can rebuild Peach’s castle and earn some new level parts along the way. I’m also a big fan of the huge variety of themes across all games, with night levels including some fun modifiers. It truly feels like there are limitless possibilities.

I made a couple of levels, and was decently surprised to see them get played and rated nicely. However, my idea of recreating Crash Bandicoot levels in Mario Maker form didn’t exactly pan out, and it kinda crushed my motivation to make levels from there on out. Plus, the issue of the level pool being flooded with low quality content stops Super Mario Maker 2 from being higher up in the list; a flaw of its own nature.

#7 – Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (PS4)

I’m going to level with you here – I haven’t played this game in months, so I don’t have any sort of fresh take to give you. But from what I remember, it’s my favourite Assassin’s Creed game since AC2. Kassandra is a genuinely likable assassin with a story that I actually give a damn about, and having agency over basic choices in the story makes a world of difference. Plus, the world of Ancient Greece is superbly crafted. And it’s HUGE. I’m still awestruck and bewildered as to how they made such a huge and detailed environment.

It’s a long ol’ game, and it’s one I’ve pledged to return to at some point. I think that point may be coming up sooner rather than later.

#6 – Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr (PC)

Back at the start of the year I played through the preceding Summerset chapter, and considered it to be a gorgeous and well-crafted island with a somewhat dull story riddled with ambiguously magical plot points. Then, in the summer, I began the Elsweyr chapter when it came out, but the story just didn’t grab me, and I ultimately fell off of playing it, not even thinking about it again for months.

Then, last week, I got the urge to resume my travels and discovered that the second half of the Elsweyr story is when shit got interesting. And just when I’d grown attached to the characters, the story ended, and I continued onwards to Southern Elsweyr in the accompanying DLC released this fall to wrap up the year-long storyline. As far as ESO stories go, it was pretty grand! Zapped some dragons, helped some cats, did the hero stuff. I haven’t actually tried any of the side-stories yet, though. I’ve spent my last few play sessions levelling an alt through the Daggerfall Covenant questlines, which I’ve scarcely touched.

This year is the first time I’ve given into temptation and opted into the optional ESO Plus subscription instead of just buying the smaller DLC packs outright. I’ve gotta say, the freedom of being able to loot everything without worrying about the crafting materials eating up all your bag space does make questing that little bit more enjoyable.

#5 – Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (PS4)

CTR:NF is the most generous game when it comes to free content that I’ve ever seen, with one huge caveat: Despite initially promising that the game would have zero microtransactions, season two saw the introduction of the ability to buy Wumpa Coins alongside earning them through play. I’ve kept a close eye on the valuation of store items, though, and nothing’s been tweaked to be more of a grind that I can see.

Anyways, this game is more than just a faithful remake of the original PS1 title. It goes above and beyond, including every track from the PS2 successor Crash Nitro Kart, as well as the aforementioned seasonal content, each bringing with it a free new track that’s unlocked for everyone. It is incredibly generous. Not only that, but I personally find the gameplay more fun that Mario Kart 8’s, and I love Mario Kart 8 (though I am now AWFUL at it).

I’m currently a bit burnt out, having successfully completed my Champion Kart grind in the Halloween season, but it’s definitely a game I’ll be returning to often.

#4 – Pokémon Sword (Switch)

I almost didn’t buy this game.

The last mainline Pokémon game I really loved was Pokémon Diamond. I’ve always been more of a fan of the remakes and spinoffs, like Pokémon Leaf Green, Pokémon SoulSilver and Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee Edition. It’s only because I bought the two-game-pass thing months ago that I decided to pick up Sword; I was initially going to go for Dragon Quest XIS, but I fell off playing the demo. (It seems like a really good game, my attention span just betrays me.)

I’m so glad I changed my mind! This has legitimately been the most fun I’ve had in a Pokémon game for years. I love the setting, I love the Galar region Pokémon, I love the story (yes, even Hop), and I love the spectacle of gym battles. When you look at a clip of a Pokémon dynamaxing it looks stupid, but when you’re immersed in the game’s story and challenge, it genuinely feels awesome when you dynamax for the first time.

Hell, I’m even planning on checking out the anime for Pokémon Sword when it comes out. And I never watch the anime! That’s how much I love the Galar region.

#3 – Halo: Reach (PC)

It feels like I’ve been waiting to play a Halo game for my entire life, and I am so, so happy that I finally have the chance to do so.

That being said, Halo: Reach’s campaign didn’t really grab me until halfway through. The somewhat blunt gun-feel took a little bit of getting used to after years of Destiny 2, and the setting of the first few missions isn’t quite the fantastical sci-fi romp that I’ve known Halo to be from afar. It does get there eventually though, and when you’ve spent some time with the weapons they do feel effective in their own way. By the fifth mission I’d fallen fully in love with Halo: Reach.

The multiplayer is hugely refreshing, hailing from an era before ultimates and gameplay tailored to try and give every player their hero moment. There’s obviously still a fair amount of one-shot kills, such as sniper rifles, rocket launchers and energy swords, but these are weapons which you have to fight over to obtain, rather than being a bar which charges up over a set amount of time. I love the Crucible in Destiny 2, and I do enjoy the ultimate based gameplay, but it does lead to more moments of frustration. In comparsion, Halo feels like a breath of fresh air.

I can’t wait for the rest of the collection to come to PC.

#2 – Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Choosing between this and Halo for #2 was a difficult choice. I have friends who would object one way or the other. But when it really comes down to it, to what I spent the most amount of time in getting the most amount of enjoyment out of, it has to be Shadowkeep, purely by way of design.

As far as the story goes, I made an excellent decision in brushing up on the lore of Destiny before this expansion dropped. (Chapters, DLC, I don’t care what the devs call these things, they’re expansions.) The “oh shit” moment near the start of the campaign was really an “OH SHIT” moment for me. The over-arcing narrative of events on the moon was really fun to explore. To be honest, though, the seasonal story felt tacked-on, and the Vex Offensive event for season 8 had absolutely no replayability. Season 9 has just kicked off but I’m still a little burnt out from reaching the end of season 8’s loot pass, and it’s a little weird adjusting back from Halo.

Nevertheless though, I’ve spent literally 100 hours in the game since Shadowkeep launched and while I may have gotten frustrated with it towards the end there, the majority of time was well spent.

#1 – Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4)

I beat this right at the start of the year in January, so my memory might be a little vague, but this remains the best game I’ve played on PS4. One of my favourite fictional worlds from one of my favourite game developers turned out to be an amazing (hah) combination. I immediately fell in love with the story and bought all the DLC, playing to 100% completion. This is legitimately one of my favourite versions of Spider-Man across all forms of media, up there with the Spider-Verse movie and the Ultimate Spider-Man comic line.

I’ve honestly been keeping myself from doing another run through the game until my memory of it is distant. And hey, it is now… and to grab that platinum trophy I need to beat the game on its hardest difficulty. So there’s a good excuse.

Most Anticipated 2020 Titles

And that’s a wrap on 2019!

This list could have looked very different without a few delays, however. Where would Animal Crossing and DOOM Eternal have landed on this list? What if the other Halo games had also launched this year? Let’s take a sneak peak at what the next year holds in store. My most anticipated titles, not ordered because I honestly can’t choose, are:

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

Elder Scrolls Online: Untitled Skyrim Chapter

DOOM Eternal

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Halo 1-4

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

And probably a bunch of stuff I’m forgetting right now. Looks to be a good year!

Kritigri’s Top Games Played During 2018

Kristian Richmond Game Impressions , , , , , , , ,

Welcome back to Kritigri’s Top 10 Games Played, this time during the 2018th year since some kid was born in a barn or something. Once again I would like to reiterate that since I don’t always play the most recent games, this list is not restricted to games released this year (although to be honest most of them were this time around). I’d also like to clarify that a game previously featured can be featured again if there’s been a major DLC or expansion release, or some other transformative update that has changed the game significantly. Also, I bought a PS4 about a month ago, so that marks three years in a row where I’ve introduced a new console (or PC) to my gaming arsenal.

Let’s begin with not one, but three honorable mentions.

Honorable Mention – Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4)

A-HA! Caught RED-HANDED, FRATERNISING with CRIMINALS!

The only reason that this isn’t on the list is because, well, I’ve only just started playing it. I’m about five hours in, but I’m already gushing about what a bloody masterpiece it is, and how proud I am of Insomniac for creating yet another brilliant game that’s rocketed to the top of my favourites. The world feels lived-in and vibrant, and the game keeps throwing things to do at you as you progress throughout the campaign (I watched 60% of a playthrough when it released). The unlockable suits and powers are excellently crafted, but most beautifully of all, this game has a story which is every bit as captivating and authentic as any Spider-Man comic or movie I have ever read or watched. Just… bravo, Insomniac. Bravo.

Honorable Mention – Fortnite (PC)

Well I say PC, but my best played game was on the Switch. Go figure.

I played a lot of Fortnite during season 4 with a friend, as I was interested in the Battle Royale experience but not quite willing to shell out money at the time. Plus, I preferred the look of Fortnite’s cartoony aesthetic compared to the gritty military visuals of, say, PUBG. I played a lot of Fortnite when I was invested, and had an unashamedly fantastic time doing so, but the way the Battle Pass system works eventually made the game feel like a bit of a chore for me, as I was determined to unlock the full Omega skin but had a long road ahead of me and little time to accomplish it. Plus, I found myself altering how I played games in the hopes of completing challenges, as opposed to playing it for the enjoyment of it. After unlocking the full Omega skin shortly before the end of season 4 I ultimately felt burnt out, and have only rarely returned to the game since. Still, I can see why the kids love it. Stop mocking them. Let them dance. But remember, this game is more than just memes. Epic have built something really unique here within the Battle Royale subgenre.

Honorable Mention – Runescape (PC)

Wouldn’t be Runescape without a yak in the picture

This game doesn’t qualify for the list as it’s one I’ve been playing on and off for almost half of my life, and it hasn’t had any kind of expansion or game-changing update to warrant inclusion as something new that I’ve played this year. And yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if I sunk the most hours into Runescape in 2018 than any other year. This year I finally achieved my first level 99 in Woodcutting (it was an auspicious moment), and then followed it up with 99s in Firemaking, Divination and Fletching, in that order. I also unlocked the endgame city of Prifdinnas, which requires effort enough to be considered a 99 in itself, in my opinion. Crucially, I achieved a high level (70+) in almost every skill, which has opened up so much more of the game for me. Runescape doesn’t attract too many new players these days, but it keeps the ones it has, and therefore most of the updates that are made for it are skewed towards the higher levels so as to be appetising to its active player-base. While you certainly don’t start in a barren wasteland at level 3, it does create this interesting situation where the game just gets bigger and bigger, the higher level you are.

Another important reason for my increased time in Gielinor is my clan. Hi, clan! The game is so much better when you have people to talk to, let alone awesome people such as yourselves.

#10 – Celeste (Switch)

Down I go…

Celeste is a difficult platformer with a heart of gold. I’ve not finished it (or admittedly picked it up in a while), but it nails the level of difficulty required for stubborn players like me who want to bash their heads against a level for a good half an hour if necessary until completion, when the sense of satisfaction becomes palpable. Plus it is not shy about throwing new mechanics at you and moving on, without milking each mechanic for as long as they probably could. The game also lets you know how many times you died on each level, which is always a fun statistic. The Switch’s easy sharing functionalities have made for some fun moments on my Nintigri Twitter feed, too. I’ll be coming back to this one.

#9 – Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Switch)

Have you ever accidentally thrown your key to escape into an endless void? Toad has.

Bloody hell does this game make me smile. I’m not a huge puzzle game kinda guy, but I bought this on a whim during a sale and at the recommendation of a streamer, and boy am I glad I did. The game is bursting with charm, although its bright exterior belies some truly perilous situations in later levels. The level design philosophy seems to be all about packing as much stuff into as small a level as possible and it truly is impressive how successful they were in this endeavour; what at first seems like a simple chunk of world is often home to many nooks and crannies that you’ll need to access if you want to complete every objective. Plus, bonus objectives add replayability post-completion, and the level count is nothing to be sniffed at.

And so it comes to pass that perhaps my favourite puzzle platformer is one that features characters who can’t even jump. (Their backpacks are simply too heavy!)

#8 – Pokemon Let’s Go: Eevee Edition (Switch)

He RIDES on your HEAD

I feel ashamed. I’ve only beaten the first three gyms, and then I got distracted by the PS4 I purchased. But make no mistake, my time in Kanto is far from over. Because holy heck have I had a fantastic time rediscovering all my favourite first generation Pokemon and interacting with a familiar world in new ways. I’ve always favoured the remakes over new games (my favourite Pokemon games peak with Pokemon Soul Silver and Pokemon Leaf Green), because they’ve always felt like a perfection on old ideas, and the Let’s Go games take it one step further by reinventing the nature of capturing and levelling up Pokemon. It’s honestly refreshing, although I’m glad it’s a spin-off and not the prevailing philosophy for the core series.

One gripe I do have is that the game feels somewhat too easy, as the focus is on collecting and levelling rather than battling trainers, but I’m still fairly early in the game and I have noticed a bit more variety being introduced to trainer battles, so maybe that’s not a problem later on.

#7 – World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth (PC)

“To find him, drown yourself in a circle of stars.”

Seeing as I expected this to be at the top of this list pre-launch, expect most of this entry to be me exploring why it isn’t. Firstly, though, it is here because the continents of Kul Tiras and Zandalar are beautifully realised, new expansionary features such as Allied Races and the War Campaign were welcome additions, and because ultimately it’s still new content for World of Warcraft, which is ever contesting with the real world for possession of my soul.

To start with, the levelling experience didn’t grip me as much as I’d expected. I feel like this is in part because the story was building up to a war between the Horde and Alliance but focused instead on local issues, in part because Blizzard have jumped the narrative shark of dealing with the Legion, and in part because when stretched across three zones, the pacing of questing felt elongated and never-ending. Stormsong Valley is beautiful, vast, and bloody endless. This isn’t helped by the fact that zones were designed with side-quests in mind, but there was no indication that what you were doing was vital to the story or not until you’d spent half an hour killing quillboars only to check your story progression and find it hadn’t moved an inch. Hence, after cleaning out Tiragarde Sound and Stormsong Valley of every yellow exclamation mark I could find, I only made it a few quests in to the hauntingly atmospheric Drustvar before hitting level 100, and being required to finish the zone to continue the over-arcing narrative without getting any further relevant rewards became a frustrating grind despite the fantastic setting.

At end-game, everything became time-gated. You needed to reach certain levels of reputation with certain factions in order to progress, which was an issue when the only method of earning said reputation was to grind World Quests. Island Expeditions, while delivering on promises of exotic landmasses and a new style of gameplay, actually gave little reward and amounted to little more than a stressful combat rush which didn’t let you stop and take in the setting or provide any sort of narrative. And Warfronts were so impressively time-gated that I actually gave up on waiting.

8.1 may have fixed a lot of these issues, but I’ve not yet returned to have a look, and don’t think I will until I have much more time available to me. There’s no doubt that the expansion is fun and gave me hours of entertainment, but when ranked up against Legion it just doesn’t yet compare.

#6 – Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind (PC)

Who needs Star Wars Droids to project a messenger? Just possess an elf!

Right, so I did include ESO in my 2016 list, but this is about an expansion sorry, chapter, that was released in 2017. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway, I wasn’t expecting too much outside of the ordinary ambling around Tamriel I do in my occasional bouts of playing the game (I’m almost level 50 now, you know), but to my surprise Vvardenfell hooked me in. Before that, I’d spent some time in Coldharbour completing the main quest line, so it helped that I was already immersed in the game, but questing in Vvardenfell was so interesting and fun that it almost reminded me of some of my deepest dives into Skyrim. Not that you should ever compare ESO to Skyrim. They’re different genres, okay? STOP GIVING IT NEGATIVE REVIEWS FOR NOT BEING MULTIPLAYER SKYRIM i’m fine.

Maybe I’ll play Summerset in 2019!

#5 – Assassin’s Creed Origins (PC)

Every game needs a photo mode.

Origins, not Odyssey. I’m a bit behind. But Assassin’s Creed Origins marks the first RPG(ish) that I’ve fallen off of, and successfully returned to six months later without needing to restart the game and subsequently fail at progressing. I’ve still not finished it and I have put it down again for the time being, but I have faith that when I return to Egypt once more it’ll be the game’s refined stealth and combat systems that keep me entertained, while exploring Ptolemaic Egypt will keep me immersed far better than Bayek’s decent-but-meagre personal plot. This game feels like a deep dive into ancient history and my favourite parts are always the things I learn about the contextual world that genuinely fascinate me.

Shooting bandits in the back of the head without alerting the rest of the camp is a close second, of course.

#4 – Spyro Re-Ignited Trilogy (PS4)

I love how the PS4 takes screencaps upon earning trophies. Also, game’s bloody pretty innit.

This game is what caused me to finally buckle and buy a PS4. I have no doubt that it’ll be announced for Switch and PC eventually, but I have no regrets. Reliving my childhood was a complete blast, and the games look absolutely gorgeous in their new rendition by Toys For Bob. I spared no time in getting a Platinum trophy in all three games, and even streamed my playthrough of Year of the Dragon, the game I was most familiar with. The only gripe I have is the Sgt Byrd was a goddamn disgrace to control, but that may have been the case in the original, too, I don’t remember.

I was excited for this game for a long time and after completing all three, I’m still itching to play more Spyro. I could honestly replay the whole trilogy right now, if I didn’t have so much else I wanted to play!

#3 – Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy (PC)

Crash symbolises life. The bear symbolises me.

I just had to choose between Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon and I do not want to talk about how difficult it was to put one above the other. When it comes down to it, though, I love difficult platformers, and while Crash may not have been designed to be difficult for its time it’s certainly aged that way. I’ve gotten every crystal and gem in the first two games, and am very slowly working my way through the relics (speedruns, for the uninitiated). In Warped, it seems that you need to get relics first to unlock every level, so that one is slightly more complex. Regardless, I intend to fully complete them all if I can. I’ve certainly made the most of my many many failures within my playthroughs.

#2 – Ratchet and Clank (PS4)

This legitimately took my breath away.

You didn’t think I was just going to let Naughty Dog beat Insomniac, did you?

Ratchet and Clank was my original reason for wanting a PS4, and the strongest, and holy shit I finally got to play it and it was amazing and Insomniac please marry me. This game was not only a recreation of the original but an improvement upon it, with new areas and a new story, which was incidentally based off the animated film that was also based off the original game! (It was okay). Not only that, but this game feels like an amalgamation of the best parts of the entire series, including favourite guns from previous games such as the Groovitron and Mr Zurkon. Not only that, but Insomniac cooked up some new guns too, such as the brilliantly inventive Pixelizer and the Proton Drum. The game added a set of collectables in the form of Holo-Cards, cards which showcased some of the series’ other guns and characters as well as providing some fun lore about them.

The game is beautiful. The first time I saw Novalis I nearly cried, and I wish I could tell you I’m exaggerating. Seeing something you’re intimately familiar with and have a plethora of childhood memories attached to recreated with such care and skill is an experience that cannot really be summed up in words.

As it stands, I’ve beaten the game’s campaign and its challenge mode, and only have four trophies left: fully upgrade every weapon, fully mod every weapon, fully upgrade Ratchet’s health, and witness the Groovitron animation for every enemy. That last trophy is so easily missable that I legitimately had a bad dream about forgetting to do it last night. If you miss an enemy, you have to redo an entire playthrough. Not cool.

#1 – Destiny 2: Forsaken

I have been ironing some banners recently

I BET THEY DIDN’T EXPECT THAT! – Lord Shaxx

Yes, Destiny 2. I shunned it a little in 2017, but hello, 2018 called and it wants its GOTY back. I’m attributing this to the Forsaken DLC as it is for all intents and purposes a major expansion, but if I’m being honest I started to get back into the game when my friend convinced to give the Warmind DLC a go. Unlike Curse of Osiris it actually had content, and Mars is still my favourite location to this day.

Forsaken, though, added an enthralling campaign, two new locations, a new type of enemy, wove a compelling narrative, redesigned the way gun slots work, and most importantly, added Triumphs and Collections, essentially adding achievements into the game as well as a way to see what gear you’ve earned (and potentially re-acquire it) with ease. These simple features have made the game immediately more quantifiable in scope, and have allowed players to set themselves goals and drive themselves to replay content they otherwise wouldn’t. By players, of course, I mean me.

The bounty system is also a welcome return, as I feel I’m never short on things to do, especially with the release of the Black Forge and its daunting Power Level requirements. (I’m still in the 570s.) Many of the issues that plagued the game in Year 1 have gone, and while Bungie still makes some questionable design decisions, I find that I experience two moments of satisfaction for every one moment of bafflement.

I’m yet to determine whether DLC of the Black Forge variety is particularly lucrative or worth the money, but here’s hoping for more expansions like Forsaken in the future.

It’s Almost That Time Again

Kristian Richmond About Blog , , ,

Last year I did a personal top 5 games that I had played during 2016 – whether they’d been released during that year or any year prior. Putting the list together and writing out the rationale was quite a fun experience, so I suppose I’m announcing 2017’s Top 5 list. Except I bought a Switch this year so I’d better bump it up to a Top 10.

The list is already written, with the order to be finalised and the entire thing being held back in case anything drops into my lap to grip me during the last month of the year. I’m not including any games from the previous year’s list (so no WoW or Skyrim, although they were played plenty more) and despite my psuedo-promise at the end of last year’s list, I regret to say that Kingdoms of Amalur will not be making it for 2017 either. Maybe 2018, eh?

Oh who am I kidding, I’ll be too busy playing WoW…

Kritigri’s Top 5 Games Played During 2016

Kristian Richmond About Blog, Game Impressions , , , , ,

So it’s around this time of year that every starts making their top 10 games of 2016 lists, but as somebody who only got a decent gaming in August and was subsequently too busy playing all their older games in glorious 60fps at ultra settings, I’ve not exactly played much of this year’s games. So instead, I’ve created a list of the top five games that I’ve either started playing, or played the majority of in this year. So, without further ado:

5: The Elder Scrolls: Online

This game has a bad reputation for launching with a subscription fee, with many features of Elder Scrolls games missing, and apparently most inexcusably, for not being multiplayer Skyrim. Since launch, however, the mandatory subscription fee has been waived, a plethora of updates have polished the game and brought it up to standard, and whenever the game goes on sale, a rush of excited new players give negative reviews of the game for it not being multiplayer Skyrim.

ESO is a great MMO in its own right, and it might have been higher up on my list had I not only scratched the surface of it. While it’s true that I have 75 hours logged in the game, you can pretty much divide that number by 10 in regards to how much experience that’d give a gamer in a typical RPG. My character is yet to hit level 30, but I’ve very much enjoyed working my way through the quests in Stonefalls, Deshaan (both provinces of Morrowind), Shadowfen (part of Black Marsh) and have recently arrived in Windhelm (part of Skyrim, though the not the entirety of Skyrim is in ESO… for now.) I find the storytelling to be unique and interesting, and the fact that every quest and NPC in the game is fully voice acted is an achievement not to be sneered at, considering the sheer size of ESO’s Tamriel. The quest objectives themselves may be somewhat copy/pasted, but this is a problem – a trope, even – that many (if not all) MMO’s are doomed to follow.

So far, the only downside to ESO, for me, is that I mostly play alone. When I joined WoW some years ago, I was able to find a social guild that I could talk to before I’d even hit level 30; in ESO, most of the ‘social’ guilds I’ve joined say almost nothing to each other except for when they need somebody to join them for a dungeon. Perhaps it’s simply bad luck. More likely, it’s me missing my WoW guild. But this is a personal downside; ESO is actually a very solo friendly game.

4: Assassin’s Creed 2

Okay, so I’ve played AC2 before. What I really mean with this listing is the entirety of the Ezio trilogy. But I chose AC2 specifically because I believe it had the perfect amount of collectables and side-missions to complete, and was the most fulfilling experience of the three games.

The Ezio trilogy is a masterpiece of storytelling, and this is coming from someone who appreciates both the past and the present aspects of the story. Ezio himself is a truly likeable character, and the fact that we stay with him from his birth to his elderly life and watch him mature only increases my connection to the character. I also loved uncovering all of the templar conspiracies in the format of Subject 16’s scraps of code, and getting a sense for the wider narrative of Assassin’s Creed. I recently wrote a full blog post on the games here.

3: Grand Theft Auto V

More specifically, GTA Online. More specifically still, the PC version. More specifically still, the Cunning Stunts DLC. Because there’s a reason why the people of GTA: San Andreas Online went through the hassle of modding in silly midair stunt ramps, and Rockstar recognised this and capitalised on it wonderfully. It may help that I’m a longtime fan of the Trackmania series, but this is the first update to GTA: Online to really grip me. There’s a decent selection of tracks (plus you can make and share your own), and I’ve always loved the way cars handle in GTA V. Plus, it’s yet another wonderful way of making in-game money and numbing the microtransaction-enforced grind to get the things you want.

I’ve written more about the game here.

2: World of Warcraft: Legion

What, not number 1?

Anyway, if you’ve been reading this gaming blog over the last 5 or so months, you probably got a little sick of hearing me talk about WoW. Namely, I discussed it here, here, and here. And yes, I went on to play many hours of the expansion, partaking in dungeons and guild raids (for the first time) and world quests and all of the amazing things that Legion has to offer. In fact, I pretty much tunnel-visioned the game for 4 months straight. And Legion has so much content, you could never keep on top of it all. Blizzard more than made up for the barren of dead content that was their previous expansion.

But I burned myself out on it. I have no doubt that within a few months I’ll be back at it again, but I’m currently taking a break. For once, this was not because I’d log in and wonder what I could possibly do with my time, but instead, because I’d log in and be hit with a wave of indecision with so much choice. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but when you burn out on a game, you burn out all the same, whether it’s because of there being not enough content or just because you’ve played the damn thing for 4 months and ended up dreaming that the next raid tier was released early and got a little embarrassed and decided to focus on other things.

But that’s not why this game is in second place. Legion would be number 1 were it not for a game that actually trumped it.

1: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

At the beginning of the year, I was getting a little fed up about how bad my attention span was. For instance, I recognised that I had started up maybe four different saves of Skyrim over the last few years, always getting to Whiterun and then failing to continue, even though I was having fun. So, as part of my New Year’s resolution, I decided that I was going to 100% complete Skyrim. As in, get all 75 achievements, which include hitting certain levels, completing multitudes of quest lines, doing crafting, doing DLC, doing damn near everything there is to do besides clearing every single dungeon in the game.

And I did it.

I don’t think any game has held onto me the way that Skyrim has. I love the sassy NPCs and the physics bugs and the skill trees and the combat system and I love that I know the game inside-out enough to start a second playthrough with the Special Edition and know every nook and cranny but still not be bored. I love that after 170 hours I can still find a random encounter that I’ve never seen or play a fully unique quest that I never knew existed, that I can replay the civil war as a filthy Stormcloak instead of a faithless Imperial, that I can build a house again, that I can learn archery and sneaking and blind bloody murder and that I can look away from my screen and realise that 8 hours have gone by and that the real world still exists. I love that I still have so much to learn about the incredibly expansive, unique and hard to wrap your hard around lore, and that I can do this by deciding to go book collecting for my own library.

I’ve always said that my favourite game of all time was Ratchet and Clank 2 but I think we have a very strong contender here.

I’ve not even tried mods yet.

Honorable Mention

I feel like I owe Kingdoms of Amalur an apology. It should have been on this list. I bought it in February and played 9 hours of it and absolutely loved it, but for whatever reason, I stopped right there. And I always meant to get back to it, and I didn’t. But I feel like it’s another big, open-world RPG that I might just go ahead and 100%, because it is a rich, colourful, unique world that deserves attention.

Maybe 2017, eh?