Category: Games

The Hitman formula of performing stealthy and innovative kills has been nigh perfect in what’s probably my favorite Hitman game so far.

Once, this was quite a momentous game, but at this point it’s so outdated it’s barely playable. I felt like I spent more time fighting awkward mechanics than enemies.

Finally, a sandbox game with an actually carefully designed world for a change.

I liked the unique take on the combat which made you focus on exploiting various weaknesses of your machine enemies instead of just mashing buttons to beat them, and the setting came off as really interesting initially too, but… the story and characters just felt so generic and lacked any sort of tension it was really difficult to get invested in the narrative and see the whole thing through.

How come I didn’t hear of this series back when it just came out? It would’ve satisfied my craving for more Crash Bandicoot a lot better than Ratchet & Clank.

The year 2017 was incredibly good for games regardless of what genre you were into.

For JRPGs we got Persona 5, NieR: Automata, Ys VIII, Xenoblade Chronicles II, and Tales of Berseria which could’ve become a JRPG of the year at any other given year. I couldn’t even bring myself to play them all right away as I’m not expecting later years to be as bountiful for JRPG fans. …I can’t wait to see if Persona 5 will be the first JRPG to break into my favorites since 2008.

Meanwhile, for traditional computer RPGs we got Divinity: Original Sin II which seems to have delivered what most genre enthusiasts were waiting for decades, and Torment: Tides of Numenera, which while a bit underwhelming compared to its predecessor, still offers a very interesting story in an imaginative world. And I haven’t checked it yet, but Pyre also seems to be an extremely interesting hybrid of traditional RPG and… sports.

For more modern action oriented RPGs we got Horizon: Zero Dawn which I thought was pretty nice despite overly generic narrative and some weird design decisions, and Nioh which I’m also keeping for a special occasion since I’ve heard it was a lot like Dark Souls. …And I should probably mention The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild somewhere around here though I could never get into those games.

Assassin’s Creed: Origins looks like one of the more interesting addition to the series, while I’m always up for more Dishonored with the Death of the Outsider. And then Uncharted also received a spin-off which looks as cinematic as the main games. Middle-earth: Shadow of War looks pretty nice, but my hype has been kind of drained by the microtransaction nonsense it got itself into. I had high hopes for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, but unfortunately it ended up kind of boring and the game-play was awful. Oh yeah, and while I never really got into those series, Yakuza 0 too was released to critical acclaim in 2017.

For shooters there was Wolfenstein II which didn’t disappoint and the usual release of Call of Duty: WWII which actually focused on the story in campaign a bit more than most games in these series. …Shooters is one genre that didn’t get many memorable releases this year.

Super Mario Odyssey obviously was the biggest platformer to come out this year, but I was personally more interested in Cuphead, which turned out absolutely amazing, and Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, which I still have to play, but definitely will.

Even the dying horror genre was resurrected with a surprise release of Resident Evil 7 which plays nothing like Resident Evil games, but is probably the most enjoyable addition to the series since Resident Evil 4. And while I’ve year to play it, this little foreign horror game called Detention looks extremely interesting.

Finally, for adventure games we got Danganronpa V3 which is the second game I was most hyped for in 2017 after Persona 5. I already know it’s going to be great, the only question is whether it will be better than 2. Meanwhile, What Remains of Edith Finch is definitely one of the best walking simulators made so far, though it didn’t really beat Gone Home for me. Besides that, the release of Thimbleweed Park from the guy responsible for the original Monkey Island was a very welcome surprise, even though its ending disappointed me. There’s also this weird looking adventure game Night in the Woods which I’m definitely checking out sometime soon.

All in all, 2017 was one of the best years for gaming that I can remember. It ended up adding over a thousand hours worth of gaming to my backlog.

A game with an extremely interesting premise that doesn’t quite utilize it that well with investigating someone’s consciousness consisting of wading through countless arbitrary and tedious mazes instead of experiencing something actually interesting.

Heroes of Might and Magic II was quite an achievement when it just came out, but since then it had been made completely obsolete by the Heroes of Might and Magic III which is the game you should be playing if you’re interested in the series.

It’s been a while since I’ve been so torn about something as Nier: Automata. It offers a fantastic thought-provoking setting that is a joy to explore, but the characters, plot, and even the story feel like they’re insignificant and not even all that interesting compared to what you can infer from the game’s lore and details spread across the world design and even side-quests.

I loved the narrative experience in Nier: Automata, but the best parts of it were various revelations about artificial intelligence and human condition that came about from simply observing the world than actually following the plot, so I’m not sure how to even judge it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The game-play, too, is actually pretty nicely crafted, but the overpowered healing items either make it a complete cakewalk or a nightmare if you play on a difficulty where you get one-shotted all the time.

I feel like there were multiple issues with design of this game, but the overall concept was just so good, it still turned out pretty amazing. It’s definitely a diamond in the rough, but it should be experienced by anyone interested in novel and unique concepts.

Call of Duty: WWII delivers the same Call of Duty experience that pretty much all the other games in the series did. You’ll enjoy it as long as you’re not looking for something new.

You can get it on steam or amazon.

An old-school adventure game in the same vein as Monkey Island that kind of shoots itself in the foot with an overly meta ending.

An atmospheric platformer through a surreal, creepy world that, despite a curious narrative, can sometimes be more tedious than fun to play.

A fantastic homage to old school 8bit platformers and beat-’em-ups that actually surpasses them in pretty much every conceivable way. It does Megaman better than it ever did itself.

You can grab the game on steam or gog.

Dark Souls III expansions are a must play for any souls player, just as every single game and dlc in this series.

It seems to finally put a period to the series’ lore by pitting you against the last boss at the very end of the world. And the timing couldn’t be better as, after playing Bloodborne, I couldn’t help but feel that Dark Souls formula was starting to get a bit stale and repetitive.

It was one hell of a journey and most likely my favorite series of all time, but now I’m rather looking forward to what new concept FROM Software will develop instead.

You can grab the game on steam or amazon.

Coming from the same company that produced Pillars of Eternity, I had extremely high expectations for Tyranny, especially since it seemed to concentrate on darker themes I like.

Unfortunately, while it’s a competent computer role-playing game in the vein of Baldur’s Gate, it fails to deliver a real sense of adventure with small dungeons, little traveling, an underwhelming, unfinished story, and boring companions. And it’s a real shame, too, since the world of the game is both quite interesting and feels well thought out.

Even the role-playing aspect doesn’t really kick in until the very end, as regardless of your choices or attitude, you always end up feeling like an errand boy for the higher powers.

That said, I still really appreciate that someone’s making this kind of games. I definitely had loads of fun with it, even if it could have been better.

You can get the game on steam or gog.

A satisfying old-school shooter that’s light on story, but heavy on grisly fun.

—You can get the game on gog or steam.

It captures the atmosphere of the classic to the extent it feels you’re pretty much playing the same game, just a lot easier. I can’t say that’s exactly what I’m looking for when I pick up a “new” game.

You can grab the game on amazon anytime if you still want it.

A fascinating addition to the Phoenix Wright series, though unlike the popular opinion, I didn’t feel it quite surpassed the original, especially the NDS version.

You can grab the game on amazon anytime.

Well… I wasn’t hoping A New Frontier to beat the prequels, but I certainly didn’t expect this.

It’s still The Walking Dead with a few cool moral choices here and there, but most characters and the plot just feel uninspired and bland. The prequels kept me on the edge of my seat. This game just kept me wondering when the fun stuff’s supposed to be coming.

The sequel to The Evil Within drops all pretense and tells you that everything is happening in virtual reality right off the bat, so you know there are no rules or sense to all the random crap happening. It’s a somewhat competent horror game as far as game-play is concerned, but the premise just completely sabotages any chance of it having any tension or interesting narrative.

The game offers a very-well polished sandbox experience, but the narrative that ties it together is so dull you are pretty much forced to go out of your way to entertain yourself.