Fav 25 of 2023
Same deal as the year prior, these are my personal top 25 games I've played in da current annum. Will leave out replays for this one. For an annotated list of EVERYTHING I played this year, I put one together here if curious π
A little gutting to look at the bio of last year's list to see that things in my personal life haven't improved none. It's been tough going out there. 2023 in particular was such a vortex of despair, I rather desperately hope I can put it completely behind me as well. This was a year where my support network almost completely fizzled away and I had to thug it out through mental health flatline after mental health flatline without anyone in arm's reach. It's hard to claw myself into the position where I feel any of the effort is particularly worth it, or that things even have the capacity or chance to get better. I've come off of two separate A&E visits after unaliving attempts and it honestly has never felt like I've returned home from them. Ain't easy to do it on my own is all I'm saying. I appreciate the warm reception my selfish projects I post online appear to generate, it's nice to know that i can still be of some use - even when it's just me writing shite wetbrained reviews for the media I cling to for inspiration & emotional support. I hope 2024 is kind to everyone, expecially u, dear reader ππ«
A little gutting to look at the bio of last year's list to see that things in my personal life haven't improved none. It's been tough going out there. 2023 in particular was such a vortex of despair, I rather desperately hope I can put it completely behind me as well. This was a year where my support network almost completely fizzled away and I had to thug it out through mental health flatline after mental health flatline without anyone in arm's reach. It's hard to claw myself into the position where I feel any of the effort is particularly worth it, or that things even have the capacity or chance to get better. I've come off of two separate A&E visits after unaliving attempts and it honestly has never felt like I've returned home from them. Ain't easy to do it on my own is all I'm saying. I appreciate the warm reception my selfish projects I post online appear to generate, it's nice to know that i can still be of some use - even when it's just me writing shite wetbrained reviews for the media I cling to for inspiration & emotional support. I hope 2024 is kind to everyone, expecially u, dear reader ππ«
25 Games
(Full review)
Trust & believe in the sheer industrial might of Ubisoft Triple-A to cram a city builda to the gills with enough varied emergent content adorned wiv absolutely luscious presentation that I forget that I'm essentially doing admin. A blossoming orchard of production lines to soothe da soule. feel the breeze on ur skin, it gives u +50% employee morale. feel the grass on ur bare feet - it has a City Attractiveness Bonus π₯°
Trust & believe in the sheer industrial might of Ubisoft Triple-A to cram a city builda to the gills with enough varied emergent content adorned wiv absolutely luscious presentation that I forget that I'm essentially doing admin. A blossoming orchard of production lines to soothe da soule. feel the breeze on ur skin, it gives u +50% employee morale. feel the grass on ur bare feet - it has a City Attractiveness Bonus π₯°
2
(Full Review)
Left my shit cooked and crooked. An emotionally devastating arcade arena shooter that is exploding from the pores with care & attention in its craft of gameplay & story. Feelin my soul blossom from one of the most nutrient-rich character studies I've experienced from a game in syuch a long while -
Played on MAME
Left my shit cooked and crooked. An emotionally devastating arcade arena shooter that is exploding from the pores with care & attention in its craft of gameplay & story. Feelin my soul blossom from one of the most nutrient-rich character studies I've experienced from a game in syuch a long while -
Played on MAME
3
(Full Review)
Best played blind, which is probably hard to do at this point now that everyone and their youtuber has deconstructed & played thru & downplayed it. Anyway, inspiring project that ties metatextual odds and ends with dizzyingly smart Doom mapmaking trickery. Want to give the dev a big wet sloppy kiss for having the chutzpah to release a horror title without a fucking jumpscare.
Best played blind, which is probably hard to do at this point now that everyone and their youtuber has deconstructed & played thru & downplayed it. Anyway, inspiring project that ties metatextual odds and ends with dizzyingly smart Doom mapmaking trickery. Want to give the dev a big wet sloppy kiss for having the chutzpah to release a horror title without a fucking jumpscare.
(Full Review)
Another one lifted up by a completely blind playthrough. It's syo syad that you can't just slide .exes in front of people without them calling the cybercobs....!!
Another one lifted up by a completely blind playthrough. It's syo syad that you can't just slide .exes in front of people without them calling the cybercobs....!!
the ultimate me & who. something unplaceable about this arcade minigame anthology is pure bliss to me.
(Full Review)
Played when I was w/out human interaction for a few weeks and it kind of broke me down in a way I did not expect. Warmest game I've played probly.
Played when I was w/out human interaction for a few weeks and it kind of broke me down in a way I did not expect. Warmest game I've played probly.
(Full Review)
Completely captures the feeling of a fantranslated PS2 adaptation of a forgotten 90's shoujo manga. Almost dizzyingly textured & artisanal in its devotion to presenting this kind of rose-thorny traditional German folktale. Feels so genuine, inspired, fully realised in a way I desperately needed as a palette cleanser.
Completely captures the feeling of a fantranslated PS2 adaptation of a forgotten 90's shoujo manga. Almost dizzyingly textured & artisanal in its devotion to presenting this kind of rose-thorny traditional German folktale. Feels so genuine, inspired, fully realised in a way I desperately needed as a palette cleanser.
(Full Review)
Itβs all just nice, the visual direction is utterly astounding, and is the most blown away Iβve been by sheer artistry in a videogame in a very long time, the shader programmers were spinning in their chairs like the tasmanian devil on this one.
Itβs all just nice, the visual direction is utterly astounding, and is the most blown away Iβve been by sheer artistry in a videogame in a very long time, the shader programmers were spinning in their chairs like the tasmanian devil on this one.
Such a radiant dedication to capturing the essence of the Simpsons Throwaway Gag I couldn't help but beam a big smile thru-out the tenminute runtime :) Really kind of incredibly well-thought, trenchant game dezign!!!!
10
Surprisingly cutting at points, you really don't expect to be emotionally challenged by a Buzzfeed quiz.
(Full Review)
Game's a beaut! With courteous thanks to how easy it is to fall into builds that turn enemies into drywall it kind of eliminated all concerns I had about spending more time diagnosing my mech in the equipment menu than actually playing the game. Moreover, the straight-from-the-tap gameplay delivery system of a farcking mission select screen, itβs so lean and mean in a way I had long since given up on the idea of FromSoft ever going for. This is sincerely the happiest I've been about a From offering since Dark 1.
Game's a beaut! With courteous thanks to how easy it is to fall into builds that turn enemies into drywall it kind of eliminated all concerns I had about spending more time diagnosing my mech in the equipment menu than actually playing the game. Moreover, the straight-from-the-tap gameplay delivery system of a farcking mission select screen, itβs so lean and mean in a way I had long since given up on the idea of FromSoft ever going for. This is sincerely the happiest I've been about a From offering since Dark 1.
Had the opportunity to have played this in a vc with a pal who knew the script and could translate the play by play for me, and it was a wonderful experience. Easy new all timer ps1 game, I seriously hope it gets fantranslation treatment eventually.
13
(Full Review)
A full game of the bit in Half Life 1 before you get the gun. Finnish Excellence.
A full game of the bit in Half Life 1 before you get the gun. Finnish Excellence.
14
Chai as the white blood cells rushing in to aid the rusty nail I stepped in (Viola from Bayo 3). A musical game where I don't like any of the music, tragique!!!! I'm awash by the production quality here in every sense, that synced-to-da-beat action combat we've all dreamed of, crazy good art design & character animation that hits those Sly Cooper notes, and legitimately funny writing that felt so 90's Dreamworks or something. Fun & intoxicatingly energetic but the gas wasn't in it for me, not sure what music I even like any more these days. Greentea Peng rhythm action?
(Full Review)
Does some Intelligent Sequel Shit I've never seen before, albeit the foundation isn't quite as strong as the original. The children yearn for the sea.
Does some Intelligent Sequel Shit I've never seen before, albeit the foundation isn't quite as strong as the original. The children yearn for the sea.
16
(Full Review)
Imperf but all about the texture of terrain that feels great to navigate. 1 for da perverts who blush at the Google Image Search: βAbandoned Crab Traps stacked rly highβ.
Imperf but all about the texture of terrain that feels great to navigate. 1 for da perverts who blush at the Google Image Search: βAbandoned Crab Traps stacked rly highβ.
!!! Adorable wtf! Incredibly inventive and expressive little social puzzler. Cutest sprites ive ever seen in one .rom
Upgraded my fish's wisdom and travelled to the depths of the ocean to find God. Very funny very beautiful very inventive ππ¦πββοΈπΎ
19
Found it hard to rly fall in love with Liza P because it wields its concept and reference stack way too comfortably. Sure it does well in tackling QoL potholes in the real Souls outings but it follows the broad strokes so dogmatically... Feels like the pair of Dark Souls jeans u'd find at TK Maxx.
20
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I get a lot of well-deserved flak for being a miseryguts w/rt the quality of the NES library, so whenever i hit up a title that is as bustlin with mojo as splattahouse wanpaku graffiti i lose my nut. really charmin, and with some actual slapstick comedy chops!!!
(Full Review)
Some of my favourite things HL1 has to offer, in an adowable bitesized little demo. I always yearn for this gigafacility built out of meringues and drywall. Even as a Valve Oldhead I'm still amazed by how much oldass legacy content I've never heard of can still find ways to bubble to the surface.
Some of my favourite things HL1 has to offer, in an adowable bitesized little demo. I always yearn for this gigafacility built out of meringues and drywall. Even as a Valve Oldhead I'm still amazed by how much oldass legacy content I've never heard of can still find ways to bubble to the surface.
(Full Review)
It's good!!! Honest and true!!! Nice to see what felt like notes of 3D World in here with the little rosary bead structure and rhythm of each level having their own little wonder flower acting as an F5 button, refreshing the level's objective into a unique blink-and-you'll-miss-it sleight of hand trick. It keeps u guessing but only so much. It's still Mario, it's still the charisma of a cereal box free toy, but credit where it's due - the soundtrack is nice and they did a great job in shuffling the artstyle up into representing illustrative 3D.
It's good!!! Honest and true!!! Nice to see what felt like notes of 3D World in here with the little rosary bead structure and rhythm of each level having their own little wonder flower acting as an F5 button, refreshing the level's objective into a unique blink-and-you'll-miss-it sleight of hand trick. It keeps u guessing but only so much. It's still Mario, it's still the charisma of a cereal box free toy, but credit where it's due - the soundtrack is nice and they did a great job in shuffling the artstyle up into representing illustrative 3D.
24
A little unfulfilling in how it doesn't feel as though it fully realises its scope, Viewfinder is at its best when you're uncovering recursive secrets within secrets.
(Full Review)
RayForce ended up being my favourite in this lil trilogy. For as much as the latter two entries gorge themselves on the L8 90's wireframe & jungle aesthetiq I typically love, I was utterly spellbound by the mastery in the pin puppetry carried out in a continuous cruise through RayForce's parallaxed spritework. It's always so genuinely uplifting to me to see artistry completely show up technological advancement. never need to see a polygon again.
RayForce ended up being my favourite in this lil trilogy. For as much as the latter two entries gorge themselves on the L8 90's wireframe & jungle aesthetiq I typically love, I was utterly spellbound by the mastery in the pin puppetry carried out in a continuous cruise through RayForce's parallaxed spritework. It's always so genuinely uplifting to me to see artistry completely show up technological advancement. never need to see a polygon again.
4 Comments
Thank you, Your words mean a lot to me, and I'm genuinely touched by your encouragement. It's heartwarming to hear that my work has been inspiring and enjoyable for you.
π«
Deemon already said it but I genuinely treasure your presence, both on this site and the contact we've had elsewhere. The way you describe the things you love hasn't just changed the way I draft my own reviews but has also pushed me to appreciate things more deeply when I'm on my own. In that way you've made my own world a little brighter, and I'm thankful for it.
(I'm deadly serious by the way, I think about your Anno 1800 review in some capacity like... once a week.)
I appreciate you Beach, please be kind to yourself - I hope 2024 is kind to you as well.
(I'm deadly serious by the way, I think about your Anno 1800 review in some capacity like... once a week.)
I appreciate you Beach, please be kind to yourself - I hope 2024 is kind to you as well.
DeemonAndGames
3 months ago