Saturday Morning Gaming: The Year In Review
What a crazy year, huh?
I tried to remember what games I’ve played this year and only made it back to October before drawing a complete blank and so I checked the archives and HOLY COW THIS WAS A GREAT YEAR FOR GAMES! (Sure, some of the games I played the most technically came out in 2020, but that’s not a big deal. As such, this’ll be about the last year and three months or so.) Some of them came out of early access and some of them came out of nowhere.
We’ve also had a handful of dogs. Remember the Avengers game? Man, that was supposed to be awesome. It was a dud. There was a Werewolf the Apocalypse game! And it was mediocre. Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries! And it clanked hard.
Cyberpunk 2077? Hoo boy. I’m not saying that I expected an expansion by now, but I expected *SOMETHING*. They should just give the dev kit to the community at this point.
Who wants to get hung up on the ones that stunk, though? I mean, how many of those did you even remember? Well, other than Cyberpunk. Let’s focus on the AMAZING games.
If Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t turn you off of cyberpunk for good, you should check out The Ascent. It’s a top-down shooter that takes place in a Cyberpunk universe that will have you asking “this was made by a small team?!?” A cross between Cyberpunk 2077 and Diablo II. Get quests, get side quests, customize your character, boggle at the backgrounds. (Here’s the review from August.)
Speaking of Diablo II, Diablo II Resurrected came out. I don’t want to say that it’s as good as you remember because, hey, I played it for a month and then put it down in the middle of it having oh-so-many connection problems (when, back in the day, I played it for *YEARS*.) But it’ll make you remember back when you played it for years and those were pleasant memories for me.
The Pedestrian is one of the best puzzle platformers I’ve ever played. Absolutely delightful and a treat from start to finish. (Here’s the full review from February.)
We got the demo for Terra Nil and, well, we still haven’t gotten the game (or even a release window) but the demo still holds up and it’s exceptionally restful to just sit and play. And it’s free! You can’t beat relaxing for free. (Here’s the review of the demo from June.)
If you want a fun ARPG with a great soundtrack, Yaga takes place in Baba Yaga’s continuity and I found the game absolutely charming. (Here’s the review from May.)
Roll For The Galaxy is a tabletop boardgame that got successfully ported to computer. I love playing it with friends at the table but I like the game enough to want to play a game here or there even when it’s Wednesday. The game is good and the AI is surprisingly strong (or, maybe, I just suck at it). When I play against easy AI, I can win the game 3 times out of 4. When I play against medium AI, I can win maybe 1 game out of 5. When I play against hard AI, I have never won a game. Not even once. It’s fun and the AI is no pushover. What more could you want in a board game port? (Check out the review from November.)
If you like deck-builders, we had not one BUT TWO good ones come out this year. Griftlands and Fights in Tight Spaces. I’d say that Griftlands is a reimagining of Slay the Spire while Fights in Tight Spaces is its own beast. Both are well worth your time if you’re a fan of the deck builder. (Read the review of Griftlands here and the review of Fights in Tight Spaces here.)
Control came out last summer but I only got around to it this year. If you like the SCP foundation, The Matrix, and dream logic, you need to pick this one up. It’s an over the shoulder ARPG and it handles like a dream they ease you into new powers gradually enough and you’ll be flying and doing telekinesis like a champ in no time. (Check out the review from September here.)
If you want a game for the kiddies, Pierre the Maze Detective is family-friendly game based off the book of the same name. It’s not going to be a challenge for the grown-ups but the kiddos will find it charming. (Check out the review here.)
Last but not least, Gloomhaven is an absolutely amazing boardgame and the computer port of it makes it one that is playable by more than merely crazy RPG afficionados (seriously, I’ve done dozens and dozens of maps in this game and I can’t imagine playing this with buds in a basement anymore.) This is a game that makes Descent’s Road To Legends expansion look puny in comparison. The only thing keeping me from yelling “this is my game of the year!” right now is that the game is exceptionally confusing and the tutorials only get you about halfway to understanding the rules. But if you can overcome a rough first few hours/maps, you’ll be amazed by this puppy. (Read the review here and watch the stream here.)
Given that Gloomhaven isn’t my game of the year, what would be? I’d have to say it’s the little puzzle platformer The Pedestrian. Seriously, that game came out of nowhere and I can’t believe how big my smile was when I was playing it. You absolutely need to check that one out.
So… what have you been playing?
(Featured image is “The trophies and medals” by ktgeek and is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
I fired up Stardew Valley again last night based on the praise of a mutual friend of ours and hoo boy! That opening is a real gut-punch. I didn’t understand this game when it came out five years ago, but it speaks to me now.
Fights in Tight Spaces, I think, is nearly a reskinning of Slay the Spire. Where it surpasses Slay the Spire, though, is that there is more than one build for success. Griftlands just didn’t do it for me but FiTS is every bit as captivating as Slay the Spire and FTL.
The Gloomhaven port is fantastic. I, like you, can’t imagine opening that box and deploying the game in meatspace again, but I’d sure like to give multiplayer a go. The Roll For The Galaxy port, however, is much less satisfying. After playing it for a bit, it turns out much of my enjoyment for that game derives from being at the table interacting with friends.
And even four years later, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen continues to take up gaming time.Report
It’s the positioning in FiTS that changes the game significantly. That makes it something closer to Into The Breach.Report
I’m over halfway through Jaws of the Lion. I got Gloomhaven from Amazon on Cyber Monday, and I look forward to trying it out. I’m mostly a solo player for this type of game, and I have a table where I can leave things set up.
I finished up Myst VR this weekend, and I decided to give Riven a shot. I got it back when it was released, but I did not make much progress.Report
The video game people haven’t even acknowledged Jaws of the Lion. They’re probably still passed out after launch. I am hoping to hear one of the devs say “yeah, our virtual space does have a virtual whiteboard and somebody did write “Jaws of the Lion” on it.”Report
Oh! I forgot to mention! Many of the games above are on serious sale as part of the Steam Holiday Sale.
Ascent is 33% off, The Pedestrian is 50% off, Yaga is 60% off, Roll for the Galaxy is 30% off, Griftlands is 33% off, Control is 70% off(!), Pierre the Maze detective is 25% off, and Gloomhaven is 20% off.
Fights in Tight Spaces is not on sale but, hey, it’s a good game.Report
Oh jeez. Control is Free at the Epic Game store for the next two hours.
Well, hour and fifty-five minutes.
I am sorry that I only noticed this just now.Report
One I am playing now is Between The Stars. It’s capital ship combat, like Rebel Galaxy should have been, had they not limited it to a 2D space. It’s not perfect (story and voice acting could be a lot better), but it’s fun to fly around and blast the snot out of pirates and enemies.Report