BEST OF 2023

Runners Up:
Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
YOMI Hustle

Ever since Guilty Gear -STRIVE- we've been in a beautiful fighting game renaissance and Street Fighter 6 has been one of the greatest highlights of it. An absolute joy to play and still lots of fun to watch. I can't believe they made a version of F.A.N.G that I like

WORST OF 2023

Runner Up:
Everybody 1-2 Switch!

GARTEN OF BANBANNNN!!!!! BAN BAN!!

BEST OF 2022

Runners up:
Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined
Kirby & The Forgotten Land

How could I not. Literally how couldn't I. In the end I am just I am just another FromSoftware shill. Expect a lot more of their games on here.

WORST OF 2022

Runner Up:
DNF Duel
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
The performance issues have utterly dominated the criticism behind this game, and it should be talked about, but it's led a lot of people to think that if the performance issues weren't there then it would be a much better game. I don't really think so!! The "open world" this game has is utterly boring and lifeless, every Pokemon you find walking around feels very carelessly dropped to walk around, waiting for you to catch, and everything is still so gated that you just end up following the same route you did every other Pokemon game in the past. This game made me envy what Legends: Arceus had.

BEST OF 2021

Runners Up:
Guilty Gear -Strive-
New Pokemon Snap
Shin Megami Tensei V
UNBEATABLE [white label]

If I played this game earlier in my life Kaine would've been my trans awakening

WORST OF 2021

I'm sad about Toree 2. The original Toree was a cute, nice little game, but now it feels like it has expanded out in all the wrong ways and has completely confused what it wants to be.

BEST OF 2020

Runners Up:
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
World of Horror

This game would be so much better if it wasn't for the more game-y aspects of it. Simply existing in this drab place steeped in a deep hatred of capitalist ideals and the reality they manifest, simply having to get by through a simple job of taking pictures and documenting it. It's environments speak to so much without saying anything at all, and asks you to closely inspect the space through it's main hook. If only it wasn't for the timer looming over your head.

WORST OF 2020

Runner Up:
DOOM Eternal

Sacrifices everything that Animal Crossing was made to set out to do for the sake of a pointless grind towards making an utterly lifeless diorama of a town.

BEST OF 2019

Runners Up:
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Katana Zero
Devil May Cry 5

Sekiro fucking rules. It carries a lot of FromSoftware's soulslike qualities, but it feels like they wanted to narrow down a single style of play that they could build a game around. Luckily, it's a style of play I really love, and it feels like a dream going through this game.

WORST OF 2019

Runners Up:
Code Vein
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Cube World
Astral Chain

Says nothing, does nothing, just wants to be a Paper Mario but utterly misses what made those games special. It's like simply by being like something people like it deserves praise but it has no meaningful identity or voice of it's own.

BEST OF 2018

Runners Up:
Katamari Damacy REROLL
Lethal League: Blaze
Dragon Quest Builders 2

Everything I'd want to say about this game is entrenched in the muddy history of my mental illness and identity and I don't want to get into that. It's Damn Good.

WORST OF 2018

Runners Up:
Marvel's Spider-Man
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country

Why yes, David Cage, I would love nothing more than to hear your thoughts on systemic racism

BEST OF 2017

Runners Up:
Cuphead
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2
NieR: Automata

yyyeaaaaahhh babyyy yeah yeah yeah yeah woooooo lets go lets go

WORST OF 2017

Runners Up:
A Hat in Time
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Doki Doki Literature Club

I hate this game so much. Fuck Xenoblade 2. Taking a game I got so much from and turning into one of the most substanceless, disgusting, creepy and outwardly misogynistic pieces of trash I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing. I feel like I'm insane hearing how much praise this game receives to this day.

BEST OF 2016

Runner Up:
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

2016 already didn't have much in terms of good games I played, but even if it did I wouldn't doubt Dark Souls III would stand head and shoulders above the rest. While I understand the gripes with the fan service-y nature of this game, the way it links to the first game feels deeply thematic to the nature of how these games evolved and the state of the world it involve in a way that goes beyond simple referencing. Some of the most gorgeous imagery and stunning boss fights I've had the pleasure of playing through.

WORST OF 2016

Runners Up:
Overwatch

Hashino-era Persona games have always slicked right off of me, but Persona 5 is especially awful. Nearly every aspect of this game I find either outwardly terrible or feel completely numbed by. But it has good UI and music so it must be good

BEST OF 2015

Runners Up:
Undertale
Splatoon
Xenoblade Chronicles X

kid saying blood ( so funny )

WORST OF 2015

Dragon Quest nearly got me to play a gacha game. Thank god it really sucked!!

BEST OF 2014

Runners Up:
Shovel Knight
Bayonetta 2

I have a deep appreciation for Pixel's work. Everything he creates has this distinct charm that only he can provide, through it's gorgeous pixel artwork, bumping music and tightly designed levels. Cave Story holds a very special place in my heart, but I believe that Kero Blaster surpasses it in most every way it can.

WORST OF 2014

Runners Up:
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Sunset Overdrive
Far Cry 4
Double Action: Boogaloo

The world would be a better place if this game never existed. Fuck you Scott Cawthon

BEST OF 2013

Runners Up:
Papers, Please
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

It was a toss-up between this game and Papers, Please. While Shin Megami Tensei IV has problems I can't possibly overlook, it's left with me with some of the best moments I've experienced in a game, and Papers, Please's hollow communist state imagery leaves a bit too sour a taste in my mouth nowadays.

WORST OF 2013

Runners Up:
Grand Theft Auto V
Pokemon X

reddit ass game

BEST OF 2012

Thank God I played a good game this year. They should bring Robo-Ky back

WORST OF 2012

Runners Up:
Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Imagine playing such a lifeless looter shooter while also having a running podcast of the most annoying people you've ever heard in your life

BEST OF 2011

Runners Up:
Portal 2
Minecraft
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Everything I could have ever wanted to say has been said dozens of times more eloquently by other people online. I'm sorry I was so late to the liking Dark Souls bus!

WORST OF 2011

Runners Up:
Terraria
Jetpack Joyride

I hate this game less for what it is and more what it represents. Dead Rising is a game I really enjoy, and what I enjoyed about it was ripped out for the sake of having a bigger playground and more wacky ways to kill zombies. Maybe that's what I liked about Dead Rising when I was 10, but it makes me feel nothing today.

BEST OF 2010

Runners Up:
Alan Wake

I've become rapidly more jaded on Xenoblade Chronicles, but I still can't deny what a great experience it gave me the first time I played it. Despite it all this world, this story and these characters are things I'll never forget. If only this game didn't get any sequels...

WORST OF 2010

This game is so funny but it still blows ass. It can't even be the most pristine equivalent of a so bad it's good movie, because Alan Wake did it better.

BEST OF 2009

Runners Up:
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Pokemon HeartGold
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

While I prefer Bayonetta 2 over it's predecessor, I can't deny this game is a lot more oozing in a distinct "Art Deco meets Gothic European" aesthetic that I love to eat up.

WORST OF 2009

Runner Up:
Borderlands

starts wretching and looking like im about to puke all over the floor

BEST OF 2008:

Runner Up:
Mirror's Edge

I don't care if this is a remake I played the DS version first and it's the one I enjoy the most so it gets to be here!!

WORST OF 2008

A bizarre time capsule of what internet and specifically Newgrounds culture was like back in the late 2000's. Also just a pretty bland beat-em-up.

BEST OF 2007

Runner Up:
No More Heroes
Super Paper Mario

I mean get real. It's Portal. We all know Portal.

WORST OF 2007

Runner Up:
Persona 3 FES

I wish I disliked this game for more interesting reasons, but it really is what most other people say about it. Touch controls are weird and unnecessary, lame dungeon design, Temple of the Ocean King bad, Spirit Tracks is just preferred in most aspects for me

BEST OF 2006

Runners Up:
Dead Rising
Bullet Witch
Ys Origin

I ended up playing this game in a very dark and melancholy point in my life, and what it made me feel is stronger than any other game I've played and probably going to be stronger than any game I will play. I would enjoy the game even more whenever I come to replay it, but I'm so grateful to have had it during the time I did.

BEST OF 2005

Runners Up:
Devil May Cry 3
Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time

This game did unspeakable things to me as a kid

BEST OF 2004

Runners Up:
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Pikmin 2
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

As I said before with Kero Blaster, Cave Story holds a very special place in my heart. It was probably the first indie game I've ever played, and I was stunned at how a game so rich in it's art and gameplay and narrative could've been made by one guy. It's a game that still inspires me to create today.

WORST OF 2004

Some days I wish I could've played this game with friends, but even if I did it still wouldn't have been that good. I can't believe the price of entry for more than one person to play this damn thing is so high

BEST OF 2003

Runner Up:
Kirby Air Ride

A lot of games invoke being dreamlike in two ways. Either being very soft and light, using imagery to remind someone of gently dozing off during the late night, or a horror game that uses being in a nightmare for it's scares. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne would fall more on the latter end of that scale, but it's a much more quiet nightmare. It doesn't scare as much as it unnerves. Placing you in places either familiar yet twisted, or long halls with doors that feel unceasing. It's the kind of nightmare I've had before, but have never seen really captured outside of Nocturne.

WORST OF 2003

Runner Up:
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg

I played this game and felt nothing, and remembered nothing from it. Completely uninspired and horribly boring.

BEST OF 2002

It's hard to separate my feelings on this game from it's nostalgic value, but it's still a very nice little time. The dungeons get pretty lame, but doing quests and exploring the wide open sea always ends up feeling good to return to.

WORST OF 2002

I've been starting to see a new wave hipster movement that states this game is great actually, and people who don't like it just don't get it. But don't worry bros; this game still sucks.

BEST OF 2001

Runners Up:
Animal Crossing
Luigi's Mansion
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

We can work it out.

BEST OF 2000

Runners Up:
Final Fantasy IX
Sin and Punishment
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Now, I KNOW Final Fantasy IX is better, but I can't understate how influential Pokemon Crystal was to me growing up. No matter what I play, it will always be something really special to me.

BEST OF 1999

Runner Up:
Space Channel 5

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF STREET FIGHTER III

PREPARE FOR BATTLE

WORST OF 1999

No reason to return to this game unless you're doing combo challenges. Feels like molasses.

BEST OF 1998

Runners Up:
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Vampire Savior - Darkstalkers 3

Karin is just like me fr

BEST OF 1997

King of Fighters '97 is a great showcase of SNK at it's A-game. Super strong tag team fighting gameplay in an era where it still wasn't too common, with gorgeous visuals and a fantastic presentation behind it.

WORST OF 1997

Thank god they eventually made this the best fighting game ever because if animation this good was stuck in a game that sucked, I would've sulked about it for the rest of my life.

BEST OF 1996

Runners Up:
Super Mario 64
Red Earth
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

Kirby Super Star still stands as the best Kirby game in my eyes. It's just such a treat to my eyes and my ears and my little fingers on the controller.

WORST OF 1996

One of the best examples of "I can respect this game for the legacy it started but oh my god is it a chore to play now".

BEST OF 1995

Runner Up:
Panel De Pon

the fuck did you expect

BEST OF 1994

Runners Up:
Earthbound
Live A Live
Super Metroid
Shin Megami Tensei if...
Windjammers
Wild Guns

Making me choose between this and Earthbound is like asking which of my best friends I have to kill. I love them both dearly, but Final Fantasy's stunning presentation and beautifully eloquent writing throughout ends up having to get the edge.

WORST OF 1994

I'm so sorry to have done this but I have accidentally told a fib. The Piccolo Vortex is not in this game. It's in Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden 2. They basically look the damn same anyways so who cares

BEST OF 1993

Runner's Up:
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
DOOM
Kirby's Adventure

Maybe it's hyperbole, but I feel like I came out of this game as a different person than I went in. Such a simple yet beautifully flowing and personal experience. I will yell from the mountaintops that everyone needs to experience this game once in their life.

BEST OF 1992

Runner's Up
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
Pocky & Rocky

While by no means a great game today, what it does and how it shows itself in contrast to other RPG's of the day shines brightly in my mind. It's a game that isn't afraid to be boldly and starkly different from it's contemporaries (particularly in a way I really super fuck with) and for the most part greatly succeeds in what it does.

WORST OF 1992

Capcom was right to make Dan Hibiki as an open mockery of this game.

BEST OF 1991

Runners Up:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Valis IV

Was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this game. Fantastic characters that grow both through the story and gameplay, leaving me with moments of growth and loss that made me feel a lot more than I would have ever expected for an early SNES game. Golbez hand is goofy af though

BEST OF 1990

Runners Up:
Dragon Warrior IV
Valis III
Mega Man 3

This game is easily better than Super Mario Bros. 3 and I refuse to come down from this hill