2023 - The Year Gone by
A majority of my time sunk into gaming coincided with the colder months, you'll see that less games were played in the middle of the year.
These are not limited to 2023 releases as I'm always replaying or catching up on older titles that have been forgotten.
I decided to not waste time on games I knew didn't hold my interest so I did not force myself to play anything unless I really wanted to which does tend
to lessen as the years go on. None the less here is my list of games that I enjoyed this year in the order of when I played them (jan-current)
Not as much games as last year but I'm satisfied with what I did play this year
These are not limited to 2023 releases as I'm always replaying or catching up on older titles that have been forgotten.
I decided to not waste time on games I knew didn't hold my interest so I did not force myself to play anything unless I really wanted to which does tend
to lessen as the years go on. None the less here is my list of games that I enjoyed this year in the order of when I played them (jan-current)
Not as much games as last year but I'm satisfied with what I did play this year
21 Games
An all time classic and a personal favourite game from my childhood. I decided to revist it on the PS1 as I had picked it up for my collection which has slowly been rebuilding since it was given away to a neighbour who was less fortunate at the time.
Holds up well but there is a ton of repeition in level design with some levels such as the wizard level appearing 3 times. The water levels aren't great either and the sky levels bring down the pacing in an otherwise perfect platformer.
It's the blueprint for the wrath of cortex which is universally disliked but was a game I have nostalgia for, albeit a small amount.
The time trials are where this game shines
Holds up well but there is a ton of repeition in level design with some levels such as the wizard level appearing 3 times. The water levels aren't great either and the sky levels bring down the pacing in an otherwise perfect platformer.
It's the blueprint for the wrath of cortex which is universally disliked but was a game I have nostalgia for, albeit a small amount.
The time trials are where this game shines
I hadn't played the original resident evil 2 but owned it for many years on the ps3 (psn) digital release. The 2019 remake is one of my favourite games so I had to experience the original after being gifted it at christmas. The interlinking campaigns is done so well that it's a shame that there isn't as much crossover between your plathroughs in the remake in the same way this game does it.
I played leons campaign then claires and realised I had took extra weapons for leon that meant the claire scenario would be much harder due to not having those weapons acessible.
For all the complaints about the sewer section akin to the same given to the remakes sewer, I had no issue with the level design.
The birkin boss wasn't as exciting as the remake but the overall game still is worth your time if you enjoyed the remake
I played leons campaign then claires and realised I had took extra weapons for leon that meant the claire scenario would be much harder due to not having those weapons acessible.
For all the complaints about the sewer section akin to the same given to the remakes sewer, I had no issue with the level design.
The birkin boss wasn't as exciting as the remake but the overall game still is worth your time if you enjoyed the remake
100%'d the game on PS5, didn't take too long to get both campaigns under 3 hours each.
The zombie near the flamethrower posed much more of a threat than anything else in the hardcore runs of this game
The zombie near the flamethrower posed much more of a threat than anything else in the hardcore runs of this game
Platinumed the game on the hd collection.
Got it at launch and took my time playing it into June. Really stellar remake of an all time classic that everyone praises so much that it's deafening and annoying to hear in the same vain as ocarina of time but well deserved.
Yellow paint, bad rain effects and not as good quips as the original aside it is a modernised interpretation of shinji mikamis masterpiece (imo).
Toned down Leon's overall character sadly for a more mopey and plain protagonist this time around so going forward I hope if capcom remake resident evil 5 that they lean into the goofy and corny fun that these characters used to have
Yellow paint, bad rain effects and not as good quips as the original aside it is a modernised interpretation of shinji mikamis masterpiece (imo).
Toned down Leon's overall character sadly for a more mopey and plain protagonist this time around so going forward I hope if capcom remake resident evil 5 that they lean into the goofy and corny fun that these characters used to have
One of my highly antcipated games of 2023 since the 1st trailer. It is pretty much what I expected and loved playing it from start to finish. I will say that I felt fatigued after doing every sidequest by the end that the final encounters felt like a slog.
Sokens soundtrack defines this title and Ben Starrs performance as clive was amazing.
The same critiques levied here could be remedied by dlc which they have interest in pursuing. My only hope is that going forward they don't lean to heavily on solo protagonist play as it isn't as fun to control only 1 character in a FF title.
Sokens soundtrack defines this title and Ben Starrs performance as clive was amazing.
The same critiques levied here could be remedied by dlc which they have interest in pursuing. My only hope is that going forward they don't lean to heavily on solo protagonist play as it isn't as fun to control only 1 character in a FF title.
Installed the PC release and decided to give it another go since I hadn't played it since I finished it back in 2018.
Still have yet to return to it
Still have yet to return to it
2009's MW2 campaign is something I'm nostalgic for. The action setpieces never slow down and are a timecapsule for the era gaming was at that point in time. It's a shame that cod has fallen massively since it's heigh days as a reigning champion as the definitive fps. MW3 brining back all the maps from this game tell you all you need to know about the dire straits they have found themselves in.
Maybe oneday we'll see a mp as fun as this one had but the campaign will suffice for now
Maybe oneday we'll see a mp as fun as this one had but the campaign will suffice for now
Nintendo really kept hush hush about this game until it released. Every trailer was as vague as the next until the demo on the sky plateau was shown. This game is often described as Breath of the wild meets garrys mod but it sadly isn't as free and entertaining as those. The depths were not an aspect anyone was aware of until the game released and you'll spend more time lighting the depths and searching for armour reminding you that zelda games used to have personality than the sky that was heavily marketed.
Any contraption you build is limited to a defined time limit until it busts mid air and you're left with a steering stick and lose parts that you'll cobble together the exact same efficient flying machine as you've lost motivation to do anything creative due to the afformentioned limitations.
Player creativity is stiffled by these limits and in conjunction with every weapon needing to be fused, what was going to be a fun mechanic has become a chore.
Creativity can't exist in a game that requires those mechanics to be utilized at every given moment. Player choice should dictate that, not the game constraints.
MGSV does creativity better and that released in 2015
Any contraption you build is limited to a defined time limit until it busts mid air and you're left with a steering stick and lose parts that you'll cobble together the exact same efficient flying machine as you've lost motivation to do anything creative due to the afformentioned limitations.
Player creativity is stiffled by these limits and in conjunction with every weapon needing to be fused, what was going to be a fun mechanic has become a chore.
Creativity can't exist in a game that requires those mechanics to be utilized at every given moment. Player choice should dictate that, not the game constraints.
MGSV does creativity better and that released in 2015
Really fun co-op beat-em up with a clean visual style
Revisitng Cyberpunk after news that this update overhauled the whole game was a bittersweet moment. I originally had no desire to play cyberpunk 2077 until watching a video about what the game could of been and was intriqued by the vision cd project red had for the game that I ended up playing the game due to how cheap it was.
It's a shame that the gameplay has improved vastly as I have already beaten the game start to finish and know the general beats of the story that I have no compulsion to revisit it atm.
The DLC phantom liberty I heard was good but I have no interest at the moment to look into it. I also tried watching the anime by studio trigger which is a studio I enjoy but it just didn't hook me.
It's a shame that the gameplay has improved vastly as I have already beaten the game start to finish and know the general beats of the story that I have no compulsion to revisit it atm.
The DLC phantom liberty I heard was good but I have no interest at the moment to look into it. I also tried watching the anime by studio trigger which is a studio I enjoy but it just didn't hook me.
News about crusty aliens circulating again and supposed testimonies from several ex US militairy vets sparked interest in finishing a dlc for a game I was obsessed with as a child.
The abominations are as terrifying as I remember them being.
The dlc still has one of the most over powered guns in the game which I missed somehow but it was nice to revisit
The abominations are as terrifying as I remember them being.
The dlc still has one of the most over powered guns in the game which I missed somehow but it was nice to revisit
Pajama sam if he ate a noam chompsky book. You could spend an eternity examining and playing this. Sadly I don't live forever and either do you so don't dwell on it for too long.
Dance
Dance
I enjoy souls likes and this ones up there as one of the best. Played the first 2 hours but I wouldn't be opposed to going back and playing more
Becka and Billy fight giant scorpions, centipedes, leechs and slime men.
Not a great story but has unique mehcanics that diverge from the norm set out by the original formula that derails much like the train in the game.
I enjoy it for what it is but not a gripping game by any means
Not a great story but has unique mehcanics that diverge from the norm set out by the original formula that derails much like the train in the game.
I enjoy it for what it is but not a gripping game by any means
Had not played the DLC or The remaster so gave it a shot.
It was alright but a bit of variety could of did wonders for the subsequent episodes.
Preferred the goons in this to the main games
It was alright but a bit of variety could of did wonders for the subsequent episodes.
Preferred the goons in this to the main games
Played chris' campaign for the first time as I had already played jill's albeit on the remake version.
Really rewarding to play as chris but I did end up with a lot of ammo by the end.
Really rewarding to play as chris but I did end up with a lot of ammo by the end.
Never played the original N64 version until November of this year. The remake I had gotten close to finishing but sadly the save no longer exists so I had to go from the start on it.
The many issues reported about 3d are true but there exists a fan patch to fix those but as I was already enjoying the n64 version I decided to continue with it.
Incredible game
The many issues reported about 3d are true but there exists a fan patch to fix those but as I was already enjoying the n64 version I decided to continue with it.
Incredible game
Have yet to sink enough time into it but I can tell I'll really enjoy it.
It's not a lake... it's an ocean. An oceans worth of alan wake cinematic universe material. Beat the signal and the writer then onto control
Really well made physics based action game that has some interesting story elements. The pacing could be better and it seems like it's drawn out a tad but overall a good game
