30 in 2023: How It Started, Where I Went
87 reviews, 269 games played (most of which I'll cover in the next Mountains of MAMEness list), and nearly 11k games in my backlog to haunt me for the rest of my days. 2023! I've been gone for more than half the year, but it's never too late to recap and hit the highlights. If you're looking for opinions on games from 2023, though, I'd check elsewhere (unless you're here for the LEGO Rock Raiders remake). I'll try and play more New New Stuff going into 2024, though I always prefer to play the oldies. Rather than 23 or 25 games of note, I've settled on 30 that I either didn't review or think are significant to revisit now.
As for why I left Backloggd back around May...well, let's just blame it on work and depression. I came to Backloggd as a Twitter refugee, only to learn that Twitter wasn't actually gonna die this year (maybe the next, who knows). And since I've basically built a web presence off of covering older Japanese/Korean/Chinese PC games via Twitter and now here, that feeling of precarity simply got me down. Like, would this all be worth it in the end? Obviously I enjoy playing and writing about these games, the people who made them, and their surrounding historic context, but it currently doesn't put food on my plate in a world where that's becoming harder no matter my skill/experience level. And I've been cagey about trying to monetize anything I do in these hobbyist spaces vs. getting a steady career going, but now the IT industry doesn't want to hire Regular Fucking People and I'm stuck again.
From May to the start of December, I basically disappeared to play some big-time stuff like Diablo II, the PS2-era GTA games, and a shit-ton of online vintage racing in Assetto Corsa (which I'll have to juggle time for now). I've put off promises I really should keep, though, and so I'm going to really try and get the momentum going with my J-PC projects and planned video essays. While I still feel out for jobs and start a Ko-fi or something, 2024 should be my time to jump into learning Japanese, something that's impeded my progress for too long now. We'll see how things go; feel free to nag me if you like.
As for why I left Backloggd back around May...well, let's just blame it on work and depression. I came to Backloggd as a Twitter refugee, only to learn that Twitter wasn't actually gonna die this year (maybe the next, who knows). And since I've basically built a web presence off of covering older Japanese/Korean/Chinese PC games via Twitter and now here, that feeling of precarity simply got me down. Like, would this all be worth it in the end? Obviously I enjoy playing and writing about these games, the people who made them, and their surrounding historic context, but it currently doesn't put food on my plate in a world where that's becoming harder no matter my skill/experience level. And I've been cagey about trying to monetize anything I do in these hobbyist spaces vs. getting a steady career going, but now the IT industry doesn't want to hire Regular Fucking People and I'm stuck again.
From May to the start of December, I basically disappeared to play some big-time stuff like Diablo II, the PS2-era GTA games, and a shit-ton of online vintage racing in Assetto Corsa (which I'll have to juggle time for now). I've put off promises I really should keep, though, and so I'm going to really try and get the momentum going with my J-PC projects and planned video essays. While I still feel out for jobs and start a Ko-fi or something, 2024 should be my time to jump into learning Japanese, something that's impeded my progress for too long now. We'll see how things go; feel free to nag me if you like.
30 Games
The Beginning of the Madness
My Twitter refugee arc brought me here, expecting to see at least a few people talking about J-PC games. Predictably, Thunder Force had more reviews than average, none of them getting into the game's release context and what it set out to do at the turn of '84. OG Thunder Force turns 40 in a few hours (from what I know of its launch timing), and what a way to start off writing on this site. I've only gotten more thorough with reviews since.
My Twitter refugee arc brought me here, expecting to see at least a few people talking about J-PC games. Predictably, Thunder Force had more reviews than average, none of them getting into the game's release context and what it set out to do at the turn of '84. OG Thunder Force turns 40 in a few hours (from what I know of its launch timing), and what a way to start off writing on this site. I've only gotten more thorough with reviews since.
Best 4X Playthrough
'Nuff said. It's on the fringe end of the 4X spectrum, but valid enough in my mind to count. There's just hundreds of hours of rich character building and combat to enjoy in HoMM 3, and the original campaign sells the premise so well. I still need to play through Armageddon's Blade and the various one-off maps, not that I think I'll prioritize this going into the new year.
'Nuff said. It's on the fringe end of the 4X spectrum, but valid enough in my mind to count. There's just hundreds of hours of rich character building and combat to enjoy in HoMM 3, and the original campaign sells the premise so well. I still need to play through Armageddon's Blade and the various one-off maps, not that I think I'll prioritize this going into the new year.
Best Palate Cleanser
My plan after playing this was to review the game for its 30th anniversary this past summer. So much for that! I'll settle for 30 years since my own parents first played it in '94, back when they were some of the few people in the Southern US regularly using PowerMacs. What a great lil' adventure this was, all this time later. I have some choice thoughts to share on it, eventually.
My plan after playing this was to review the game for its 30th anniversary this past summer. So much for that! I'll settle for 30 years since my own parents first played it in '94, back when they were some of the few people in the Southern US regularly using PowerMacs. What a great lil' adventure this was, all this time later. I have some choice thoughts to share on it, eventually.
Entering the Amigaverse
So far I've only completed Banshee, but this action platformer should suffice for 2024 if I can make time. Germans doing Rygar sounds like a recipe for mediocrity, but the bits of this I've already played defy those expectations!
So far I've only completed Banshee, but this action platformer should suffice for 2024 if I can make time. Germans doing Rygar sounds like a recipe for mediocrity, but the bits of this I've already played defy those expectations!
Best "Why Not?" Adventure
Skeuomorphic UI, enigmatic BBS lurkers, and a cyberpunk-ish story of AIs going rampant across ARPANET—this one packs a lot into its small size. I'm intrigued by the descriptions of later Christine Love adventures, and this made for a good starter vs. her earlier fiction works.
Skeuomorphic UI, enigmatic BBS lurkers, and a cyberpunk-ish story of AIs going rampant across ARPANET—this one packs a lot into its small size. I'm intrigued by the descriptions of later Christine Love adventures, and this made for a good starter vs. her earlier fiction works.
Best Arcade Compilation
Kinda cheating here if you consider Crazy Taxi 2 + 3 as just console games despite their arcade roots, but what do I care? The janky PC port took some fixing at first, but it's now become my new Plan B game to throw on when I just need a rush of excitement. Chasing high scores and comically large jumps never gets old. I only wish there was a viable modding scene for this one; now that SEGA's announced a new CT, maybe we'll get something.
Kinda cheating here if you consider Crazy Taxi 2 + 3 as just console games despite their arcade roots, but what do I care? The janky PC port took some fixing at first, but it's now become my new Plan B game to throw on when I just need a rush of excitement. Chasing high scores and comically large jumps never gets old. I only wish there was a viable modding scene for this one; now that SEGA's announced a new CT, maybe we'll get something.
Bedroom Coded Weirdness
Utterly deranged, crusty Thatcher-era arcade platforming for sickos like me. This isn't even counting all the mods, clones, and fangames made for Manic Miner. I wouldn't recommend this one to most, but it ended up surprisingly fun for me, at least once I realized how much this shares with a good kaizo hack. Some of the stage names and props are worth a laugh.
Utterly deranged, crusty Thatcher-era arcade platforming for sickos like me. This isn't even counting all the mods, clones, and fangames made for Manic Miner. I wouldn't recommend this one to most, but it ended up surprisingly fun for me, at least once I realized how much this shares with a good kaizo hack. Some of the stage names and props are worth a laugh.
Best Japanese Windows 95 Game
I played way fewer Win9x oddities from East Asia than I'd hoped, so this February surprise fills the gap. After finally making a proper CD-ROM dump of the game on Internet Archive (and adding this to IGDB), I'd finally put my words into action by preserving a worthy J-PC game and its context for the rest of the world. Even the game's lead developer was impressed to see a Westerner trying it out, lamenting how obscure Little Shaker's become in years since. Soon it'll be time to complete way more of the story and maybe make an article/video about the whole thing.
I played way fewer Win9x oddities from East Asia than I'd hoped, so this February surprise fills the gap. After finally making a proper CD-ROM dump of the game on Internet Archive (and adding this to IGDB), I'd finally put my words into action by preserving a worthy J-PC game and its context for the rest of the world. Even the game's lead developer was impressed to see a Westerner trying it out, lamenting how obscure Little Shaker's become in years since. Soon it'll be time to complete way more of the story and maybe make an article/video about the whole thing.
Best PC vs. Console Upset of 1986
The ROM, the myth, the kusoge...or not, in the PC-88 version's case. I'd hear stories about Pony Canyon's separate PC take on Super Pitfall well exceeding its Famicom relative, and they proved true. The only other platformer this solid on PC-88 has to be Bouken Roman, and both play way better than they have any right to on this platform. Still a little rough around the edges, but that's forgivable when so much else Just Works.
The ROM, the myth, the kusoge...or not, in the PC-88 version's case. I'd hear stories about Pony Canyon's separate PC take on Super Pitfall well exceeding its Famicom relative, and they proved true. The only other platformer this solid on PC-88 has to be Bouken Roman, and both play way better than they have any right to on this platform. Still a little rough around the edges, but that's forgivable when so much else Just Works.
Least Expected Gem of '23
My RL friends only knew Floigan Bros. because of WayneRadioTV's streams lambasting the poor thing (funny as they are), so this made me curious to give this Dreamcast swan song its due. It's far from a great game, but genuinely overhated too. Few titles play this kind of Laurel & Hardy humor and cartoony style so earnest and without irony. Nor is this one lacking the crucial vibes department, thanks to well-aged visuals and big band jazz tunes. It's a shame how few resources and staff Visual Concepts had to finish up what was then a very delayed title, but it could have turned out much worse.
My RL friends only knew Floigan Bros. because of WayneRadioTV's streams lambasting the poor thing (funny as they are), so this made me curious to give this Dreamcast swan song its due. It's far from a great game, but genuinely overhated too. Few titles play this kind of Laurel & Hardy humor and cartoony style so earnest and without irony. Nor is this one lacking the crucial vibes department, thanks to well-aged visuals and big band jazz tunes. It's a shame how few resources and staff Visual Concepts had to finish up what was then a very delayed title, but it could have turned out much worse.
Most Oddly Unfinished Playthrough
Speaking of Dreamcast plays, I left this to the side back in winter, never picking it up despite getting near the end. I'd enjoyed most of the game, so either this last bit I played had annoyed me or simply would taken too much time to play for a review that weekend. Anyway, time to finish the job and give Ms. Pac-Man her rightful due...none of this Pac-Mom nonsense, y'hear?
Speaking of Dreamcast plays, I left this to the side back in winter, never picking it up despite getting near the end. I'd enjoyed most of the game, so either this last bit I played had annoyed me or simply would taken too much time to play for a review that weekend. Anyway, time to finish the job and give Ms. Pac-Man her rightful due...none of this Pac-Mom nonsense, y'hear?
The Apple II Mines
Ah yes, ancient PC emulation. I can do it offline if I really want, but this post-Hamurabi sim worked just fine via the Internet Archive's web player. There's a lot of neat development history behind Santa Paravia which I'll need to read up on again before writing about the game. I fondly remember gaining one royal title after another in pursuit of larger granaries and palace annexes, only for shit to hit the fan and end my run.
Ah yes, ancient PC emulation. I can do it offline if I really want, but this post-Hamurabi sim worked just fine via the Internet Archive's web player. There's a lot of neat development history behind Santa Paravia which I'll need to read up on again before writing about the game. I fondly remember gaining one royal title after another in pursuit of larger granaries and palace annexes, only for shit to hit the fan and end my run.
Stellaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
On the flipside, completing this took way less effort than I'd feared, and what a ride the original Adventure was. Robinett pared down the essentials of the earliest text adventures so brilliantly here—some of the cleverest programming of the '70s required just to cram it all onto a VCS cartridge. Maybe I'll give this another go and review it in '24.
On the flipside, completing this took way less effort than I'd feared, and what a ride the original Adventure was. Robinett pared down the essentials of the earliest text adventures so brilliantly here—some of the cleverest programming of the '70s required just to cram it all onto a VCS cartridge. Maybe I'll give this another go and review it in '24.
Best Overlooked FPS Mod
It's been a big year for Half-Life thanks to Valve fixing up the GoldSrc classic and touting its 25th anniversary. What I haven't seen enough of are retrospectives on classic mods dating back to that time. Sweet Half-Life was an oddity among many, developed by a Japanese modder skilled both at level design and creating a more structured story, even making whole new assets like Greys and their alien UFOs to clamber aboard. I can't say I'm as enamored with his Half-Life 2 work Mistake of Pythagoras, but this early partial conversion has stood the test of time.
It's been a big year for Half-Life thanks to Valve fixing up the GoldSrc classic and touting its 25th anniversary. What I haven't seen enough of are retrospectives on classic mods dating back to that time. Sweet Half-Life was an oddity among many, developed by a Japanese modder skilled both at level design and creating a more structured story, even making whole new assets like Greys and their alien UFOs to clamber aboard. I can't say I'm as enamored with his Half-Life 2 work Mistake of Pythagoras, but this early partial conversion has stood the test of time.
Most Overdue 16-Bit Game
Getting started with Quintet's lineup took much too long. I'm glad that ActRaiser lived up to expectations, providing me with some thought-provoking themes and analysis to boot. It's rare to play such a well-rounded action RPG/kingdom sim from so far in the past. I suppose Hashimoto, Miyazaki, Koshiro, and the rest were excited to achieve what they couldn't at Falcom, nor on the more limited 8-bit PCs they were used to. Let's see how much momentum they carried into Soul Blazer...
Getting started with Quintet's lineup took much too long. I'm glad that ActRaiser lived up to expectations, providing me with some thought-provoking themes and analysis to boot. It's rare to play such a well-rounded action RPG/kingdom sim from so far in the past. I suppose Hashimoto, Miyazaki, Koshiro, and the rest were excited to achieve what they couldn't at Falcom, nor on the more limited 8-bit PCs they were used to. Let's see how much momentum they carried into Soul Blazer...
Oddest Game I've Stalled On
I'd reached St. Francis Folly when I decided to play something else for the time being, eventually losing track of this in the interim. Things were going smoothly, though, thanks to Tomb1Main's added features and control options; it'll be easy to get back on track. The Mayan ruins were already damn fun and challenging, so to hear the Folly's even better only encourages me.
I'd reached St. Francis Folly when I decided to play something else for the time being, eventually losing track of this in the interim. Things were going smoothly, though, thanks to Tomb1Main's added features and control options; it'll be easy to get back on track. The Mayan ruins were already damn fun and challenging, so to hear the Folly's even better only encourages me.
Most Fun Yet Vexing 1CC Project
After so much learning, I still haven't reached the end of Flying Shark, which baffles me given how similar *Banshee is. How can I complete a similarly austere, difficult STG for Amiga but not its inspiration via MAME? Anyway, I respect the delicate balance and action economy of this title enough to acclimate to it once more. Other Toaplan STGs of this age seem either too anodyne or oppressive by contrast.
After so much learning, I still haven't reached the end of Flying Shark, which baffles me given how similar *Banshee is. How can I complete a similarly austere, difficult STG for Amiga but not its inspiration via MAME? Anyway, I respect the delicate balance and action economy of this title enough to acclimate to it once more. Other Toaplan STGs of this age seem either too anodyne or oppressive by contrast.
Best Arcade Racer In My MAME Rotation
No big surprise, as I haven't been playing SEGA racers lately. It's still very fun and gratifying to play one of the less accessible Namco classics after so many years of waiting, thinking that System 22 emulation was years off when, in fact, it isn't. The soundtrack still absolutely slaps, showcasing Sampling Masters at their most confident and memorable. And the car handling and track design compete handsomely as well. Definitely gotta master this one.
No big surprise, as I haven't been playing SEGA racers lately. It's still very fun and gratifying to play one of the less accessible Namco classics after so many years of waiting, thinking that System 22 emulation was years off when, in fact, it isn't. The soundtrack still absolutely slaps, showcasing Sampling Masters at their most confident and memorable. And the car handling and track design compete handsomely as well. Definitely gotta master this one.
Favorite Early FM-Synth Soundtrack This Year
By contrast, I've spent less time with Dragon Spirit than the last two games, but really adore the soundscapes Shinji Hosoe created here. The game itself shows lots of polish and tender loving care, so it's hardly surprising how well it sticks with me. Now, since it's such a ball-busting STG to 1CC, I doubt I'll return until after Hishousame, but that doesn't diminish it in my mind that much.
By contrast, I've spent less time with Dragon Spirit than the last two games, but really adore the soundscapes Shinji Hosoe created here. The game itself shows lots of polish and tender loving care, so it's hardly surprising how well it sticks with me. Now, since it's such a ball-busting STG to 1CC, I doubt I'll return until after Hishousame, but that doesn't diminish it in my mind that much.
Machina Big Mistake
Heading into spring, I started to lose my groove of playing all new games, instead heading back into comfort zones like turn-of-the-2000s immersive sims. After dabbling around with a new run of System Shock 2, I ended up going through not just all of Deus Ex, but the Zodiac mod as well. At least it's easy to form a thorough opinion about the game: it's my favorite PC title from 2000 and that's unlikely to change. Even with some jank here and there, it accomplishes all of its design and thematic goals on a level so few competitors had or would reach for some time.
Heading into spring, I started to lose my groove of playing all new games, instead heading back into comfort zones like turn-of-the-2000s immersive sims. After dabbling around with a new run of System Shock 2, I ended up going through not just all of Deus Ex, but the Zodiac mod as well. At least it's easy to form a thorough opinion about the game: it's my favorite PC title from 2000 and that's unlikely to change. Even with some jank here and there, it accomplishes all of its design and thematic goals on a level so few competitors had or would reach for some time.
Best Art Game
Testing the English fan patch of Kumdor, seeing the touch-typing grind and mystery all the way to the end, felt like the peak of my J-PC fandom this year. Check out my review for more thoughts and context on this behemoth of a JRPG hybrid. It's getting the feature treatment in a video I've got planned, I can tell you that.
Testing the English fan patch of Kumdor, seeing the touch-typing grind and mystery all the way to the end, felt like the peak of my J-PC fandom this year. Check out my review for more thoughts and context on this behemoth of a JRPG hybrid. It's getting the feature treatment in a video I've got planned, I can tell you that.
The Other Best Art-Game
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand here's where the fall-off really set in. With other reviewers in the Backloggd Game of the Week Club inspiring me to write so many long, detailed reviews with multiple sources, I'd worried about reaching a roadblock at some point, and so came this title. It's less that I had nothing to say about Deus Ex Machina, that weird and wonderful mash-up of styles and aesthetics defying the British micro-computer trends of the time. Rather, I bit off more than I could chew with my 1st draft, missed the review window, and ended up taking what I thought would be a short break from actively playing and writing for my feed. As we know, this became quite a bit longer than a week or so, more like several months!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand here's where the fall-off really set in. With other reviewers in the Backloggd Game of the Week Club inspiring me to write so many long, detailed reviews with multiple sources, I'd worried about reaching a roadblock at some point, and so came this title. It's less that I had nothing to say about Deus Ex Machina, that weird and wonderful mash-up of styles and aesthetics defying the British micro-computer trends of the time. Rather, I bit off more than I could chew with my 1st draft, missed the review window, and ended up taking what I thought would be a short break from actively playing and writing for my feed. As we know, this became quite a bit longer than a week or so, more like several months!
Coziest Playthrough of the Year
While convalescing, I ended up getting sucked into my first run of my first real loot crawler, using Project Diablo II and some other mods to rebalance the game and add things like thousands more stash pages. Games heavily based on procedural generation get a bit more side-eye from me vs. fully handmade ones, but so much went right with this oldie. It's an impressive jump forward from the original Diablo and has remained damn relevant, even now that it's got a remake better than any other Blizzard release of the last decade.
While convalescing, I ended up getting sucked into my first run of my first real loot crawler, using Project Diablo II and some other mods to rebalance the game and add things like thousands more stash pages. Games heavily based on procedural generation get a bit more side-eye from me vs. fully handmade ones, but so much went right with this oldie. It's an impressive jump forward from the original Diablo and has remained damn relevant, even now that it's got a remake better than any other Blizzard release of the last decade.
Least Expected Doujin Favorite
I still managed to find some time for J-PC experimenting on the side, this time with a freeware release from the developers behind modern Corpse Story. Tetra Bash mixes puzzle platforming and side-scrolling action quite nicely, all in a very Gurumin-like visual style. Many graphics, sounds, and level designs get recycled throughout, but I never felt this got too repetitive either. 2024's as good a time as any to finish this one.
I still managed to find some time for J-PC experimenting on the side, this time with a freeware release from the developers behind modern Corpse Story. Tetra Bash mixes puzzle platforming and side-scrolling action quite nicely, all in a very Gurumin-like visual style. Many graphics, sounds, and level designs get recycled throughout, but I never felt this got too repetitive either. 2024's as good a time as any to finish this one.
Most Nihilistic Experience of '23
Let's be real: the world in the original GTA III was still too aloof, cartoony, and bereft of socio-historical context to say much of anything. I consider that a strength vs. the slavish Scarface tribute Vice City performs, often feeling like South Park writers had joined Rockstar North and couldn't restrain themselves from making Tommy neither relatable nor especially interesting. While III has that backrooms appeal and San Andreas does a decent job of grounding the protagonist in more adversarial conditions, VC just feels too keen to sacrifice its world for the player's morbid amusement. Few if any characters are likable or appreciable, and the '80s American homage threatens to get in the way of one's immersion into Miami. I still greatly enjoyed the missions, open world, and mechanical improvements here, but it's not the huge jump I was hoping for.
Let's be real: the world in the original GTA III was still too aloof, cartoony, and bereft of socio-historical context to say much of anything. I consider that a strength vs. the slavish Scarface tribute Vice City performs, often feeling like South Park writers had joined Rockstar North and couldn't restrain themselves from making Tommy neither relatable nor especially interesting. While III has that backrooms appeal and San Andreas does a decent job of grounding the protagonist in more adversarial conditions, VC just feels too keen to sacrifice its world for the player's morbid amusement. Few if any characters are likable or appreciable, and the '80s American homage threatens to get in the way of one's immersion into Miami. I still greatly enjoyed the missions, open world, and mechanical improvements here, but it's not the huge jump I was hoping for.
Best Open-World Game Leaving My Backlog
On the other hand, San Andreas delivers on just about every expectation built up for me over the years. Yes, its story also doesn't aim that high or achieve much beyond a mix of Stanley Kramer and exploitation mashups, but CJ and co. are just much more fun to hang out with. The map's enormous yet teeming with cool things to do (not just for cash or cheevos), the mod scene's improved this so much over time, and I can easily return to this knowing how to speed through missions and pull off crazy 5-star runs. What a sandbox.
On the other hand, San Andreas delivers on just about every expectation built up for me over the years. Yes, its story also doesn't aim that high or achieve much beyond a mix of Stanley Kramer and exploitation mashups, but CJ and co. are just much more fun to hang out with. The map's enormous yet teeming with cool things to do (not just for cash or cheevos), the mod scene's improved this so much over time, and I can easily return to this knowing how to speed through missions and pull off crazy 5-star runs. What a sandbox.
The Game That Stole Me
And now we jump from summer, to fall, and now the start of winter. I'd already been playing Assetto Corsa on and off since the end of last year, having gotten a T150 wheel and pedal set to play the Evoluzione career mod in lieu of a better Gran Turismo (7 looks mid even with its recent updates). Then, as I started job searching in the latter half of 2023, I ended up making this my main game, thinking this was just a phase. Nope! Trying to compete in vintage racing leagues takes a lot of practice, and even the AI's seen some improvements thanks to new Custom Shader Patch features. So I've gotten damn good at using a variety of cars (and soon bikes—AC modders go hard, y'all), and this has easily become a desert island experience. Maybe the sequel will supplant this if it allows relatively seamless mod importing and flexibility, but for now, I can't think of a better all-in-one driving and racing simulator on the market. ACC and iRacing are too laser-focused on certain race specs, AMS2 lacks the edge in content (but wins out with AI and polish), and both GT and Forza have massively dropped the ball these past years. Now that my main community, Historic Sim Studios, has got this absurd lineup of classic racers and tracks to compete with, I'm gonna have to manage my time even better now.
And now we jump from summer, to fall, and now the start of winter. I'd already been playing Assetto Corsa on and off since the end of last year, having gotten a T150 wheel and pedal set to play the Evoluzione career mod in lieu of a better Gran Turismo (7 looks mid even with its recent updates). Then, as I started job searching in the latter half of 2023, I ended up making this my main game, thinking this was just a phase. Nope! Trying to compete in vintage racing leagues takes a lot of practice, and even the AI's seen some improvements thanks to new Custom Shader Patch features. So I've gotten damn good at using a variety of cars (and soon bikes—AC modders go hard, y'all), and this has easily become a desert island experience. Maybe the sequel will supplant this if it allows relatively seamless mod importing and flexibility, but for now, I can't think of a better all-in-one driving and racing simulator on the market. ACC and iRacing are too laser-focused on certain race specs, AMS2 lacks the edge in content (but wins out with AI and polish), and both GT and Forza have massively dropped the ball these past years. Now that my main community, Historic Sim Studios, has got this absurd lineup of classic racers and tracks to compete with, I'm gonna have to manage my time even better now.
Best Community Survival Effort
However, I had arguably another main game this fall: Cortex Command Community Project (CCCP!), a proper revival of a once ailing indie wunderkind. Having grown up playing Worms clones on Flash games sites throughout my childhood, this modern take on real-time side-scrolling tactics just doesn't age for me. It's got way more variety of modes, factions, and sheer chaos than ever. Blasting and rappeling through bunkers, sniping endless waves of dropships from the skies, leading zombie legions to overrun the galaxy's best mercenaries...there's just so much that justifies the game's remaining quirks and sour notes. Void Wanderers alone is the best roguelite I've played all year (not that I've tried many), a mix of FTL's random space events and the best skirmish action from the game's campaign and user-made levels.
However, I had arguably another main game this fall: Cortex Command Community Project (CCCP!), a proper revival of a once ailing indie wunderkind. Having grown up playing Worms clones on Flash games sites throughout my childhood, this modern take on real-time side-scrolling tactics just doesn't age for me. It's got way more variety of modes, factions, and sheer chaos than ever. Blasting and rappeling through bunkers, sniping endless waves of dropships from the skies, leading zombie legions to overrun the galaxy's best mercenaries...there's just so much that justifies the game's remaining quirks and sour notes. Void Wanderers alone is the best roguelite I've played all year (not that I've tried many), a mix of FTL's random space events and the best skirmish action from the game's campaign and user-made levels.
Best Remake
Very little awed me this year like this nearly one-man refurbishment of the sorely ignored LEGO Rock Raiders RTS from 1999. It's a free, comprehensive Unreal Engine 5 remake which actually delivers on the "Nintendo hire this man" meme. The original aesthetic's preserved, just in greater detail and shading, as are all the missions, systems, and weird touches from Data Design's original. All-new campaigns, minifigure customization, and greatly improved interface should make this a great casual RTS for anyone who misses the golden age of LEGO software. Seriously, massive props to Baraklava and everyone else who contributed to the project.
Very little awed me this year like this nearly one-man refurbishment of the sorely ignored LEGO Rock Raiders RTS from 1999. It's a free, comprehensive Unreal Engine 5 remake which actually delivers on the "Nintendo hire this man" meme. The original aesthetic's preserved, just in greater detail and shading, as are all the missions, systems, and weird touches from Data Design's original. All-new campaigns, minifigure customization, and greatly improved interface should make this a great casual RTS for anyone who misses the golden age of LEGO software. Seriously, massive props to Baraklava and everyone else who contributed to the project.
The Return of the Madness
And so I'm back now, finally done with the bulk of my Assetto Corsa honeymoon and ready to do something about Backloggd, Twitter/Discord, and my other social media dalliances. RoTK VII was a good transition point, being easy to emulate via PCSX2 while also getting me used to modern Koei sims before tackling the less intuitive ones. Let's hope I don't stumble into any impasse again!
And so I'm back now, finally done with the bulk of my Assetto Corsa honeymoon and ready to do something about Backloggd, Twitter/Discord, and my other social media dalliances. RoTK VII was a good transition point, being easy to emulate via PCSX2 while also getting me used to modern Koei sims before tackling the less intuitive ones. Let's hope I don't stumble into any impasse again!