The list could use a shmup, but I wimped out on Mushihimesama on Switch (which I already own on PC) after I realized how much time I’d be spending on Ninja Gaiden.
It is, and that’s understandable (though I love them). But that one is really special, imo, for the way it conveys such a rich setting (it does some cool things mechanically as well, but many games do). Please do give it a look before the end of the year.
you can skip that one
Feels like the day is coming soon where Tom Chick will have a Visual Novel in his top 10
Especially when it’s as smartly designed as Slipways, a game as sleek, clean, and accessible as Logistical is sprawling, messy, and inscrutable (Logistical always struck me as more of a bad interface than an actual game).
3 of My top 5 Steam games based on hours played are Logistical games, and a 4th is in top 10.
#2 Logistical Earth - 1,158 hours.
#4 Logistical: Russia - 615 hours
#5 Logistical (original) - 591 hours
#9 Logistical 2 - 370 hours
After 2,734 hours, I believe I can state with certainty that it is more of a game than a bad interface.
That said, I’ve not even heard of Slipways, but I will definitely try it now.
I’m surprised you’re so eager to get a PS5. With Sony’s purchase of that PC port developer, I expect at least one of PS5’s exclusives to make its way to PS4 or PC in the next year or two (my money is on Returnal). I’d tell you to wait for ports, but they’ll probably happen before the PS5 becomes widely available, so there’s no need.
Anyway. The new Ratchet and Clank is good! Gorgeous graphics, smooth controls, improved writing, and the weapon upgrades seem more substantial than I remember them being in the last one. Also, the open world level adds variety to the last one by sending the player into linear challenges branching out from the main area.
I don’t think Returnal is for you. It’s as insistent on “git gud” as any soulsbourne game. I really liked what I played, but I put it down after failing to beat the first boss a dozen times. I am eager to return.
Have you tried Monster Hunter Rise? It’s the MH that finally works for me, and my favorite game of 2021 so far. My weapon of choice is the heavy bow gun, which, along with the new grappling hook, takes me back to firing massive guns and zipping around in Lost Planet 2. Rise has a more forgiving start and gradual difficulty progression than any of the previous Monster Hunters, and little need for going out of your way to collect items until much later in the game. Another reason to use the heavy (or light) bowgun: no memorizing combos!
Poor Griftlands :( i never tired of the card game roguelike genre because I was never that into it to begin with. I didn’t care for anything other than Dicey Dungeons and Monster Slayers. Early on at least, Griftlands is promising. The card gaming is fine, but the choice-and-consequence RPG framework elevates it. I wonder if the compressed story and sense of ownership I feel over Griftland’s story is similar to what everyone is getting from Wildermyth.
I started Transport Tycoon 2 while I wait for A-train to arrive. It’s hard to justify buying digital when I can turn around and sell a physical game as soon as I’m done with it.
His review of Doki Doki Literature Club is in my top 10 of his reviews.
More games for the backlog! Thanks, buddy!
Talking about backlog. My favs of 2021 (that I played 2021)
Gods Will Fall (perfect little game)
Doom (2016) + Eternal
Resident Evil 4 (normal and pro mode)
Northgard (need to go back, but is so exhausting to play).
Bloodborne (last boss, still not done, Hunters DLC ready)
Jaws of the Lion (Gloomhaven)
Fenyx Rising (working on my backlog here)
Chess
My top 5 list for the first half of 2021 has two of the games in your list, Tom, but there’s other stuff there:
- Nioh 2 PC
- Wildermyth
- Nier Replicant ver. sqrt(1.5)
- Slipways
- Guilty Gear Strive
Lots of nice games in the second half of 2021 though (some of which I’m playing, just like you), so that top 5 will certainly change. ;)
I must be missing something but why is old world not on your list?
It came out on July 1st, and the list is only for the first semester (up to June 30th) of 2021. He hints at that at the very intro.
Same here. It’s frustrating in all the right ways, and it’s soooooo refreshing to finally get an AAA game so uncompromising on what it wants to be.
It’s definitely not for everybody, but that makes it special.
God, I love all the attention that Wildermyth is getting. I spent the whole pandemic recommending it to friends whose gaming groups had been sundered, saying it was the perfect “long-running pen-and-paper campaign” simulator, and then having them blankly ask me how that was any different from Baldur’s Gate or Dragon Age.
" there is never a good reason to put something on a 3D globe"
thank god I’m not the only one who hates this crap…wtf are designers thinking…I swear
Planets are not flat!
Trust me, the original Huniepop was better in every possible way: art, writing, voice acting, puzzle gameplay, inventory management.
Frankly, cutting Audrey alone would have given it a thumbs down. The fact that they brought back her voice actor to do the worst character in Huniepop 2 was just a slap to the face.
In fact, “trolling the player with everything they didn’t want” seems to be their guiding philosophy with all their efforts since Huniepop 1. It’s like Suda 51 all over again, following up Killer 7 with nothing but No More Heroes sequels.
Also the Silver Case sequel, Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked (much better than you’d think), some Blood+ licensed game, Shadows of the Damned, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, and Killer is Dead, among other projects I can’t guarantee he had as much influence over. But, who’s counting?
More it felt like he was following up with nothing but No More Heroes stuff. It was painful seeing NMH (his worst game that I’ve played, focusing entirely on trolling the player) getting tons of sequels while the captivating Killer 7 got nothing (though Killer is Dead came close).
No More Heroes was the last game I played that seemed as intentionally dedicated to giving the middle finger to the player as Huniepop 2 was.
I’d take seven more No More Heroes over Killer is Dead. That game was such a waste of my time. (And I’m not that hot on NMH.)