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These are the games that defined my 2022;
Bomberman '94 (PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16)
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This Japan-only PC Engine game is the most re-released title in the Bomberman series, and for good reason - it perfectly encapsulates what it's all about, and it has fantastic presentation and music, to boot! It was also released in very-slightly-downgraded form in English for the Mega Drive as Mega Bomberman, but whichever version you prefer, it's a must-play maze-chase title for fans of the 16-bit era of gaming.
Ex-Zodiac
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A 3D rail-shooter game primarily in the style of Nintendo's seemingly-now-abandoned Star Fox series, Ex-Zodiac knows its inspirations, but it has its own universe (rather than attempting to simply be an "expy"), and some fun new ideas that are all its own. It's currently in Early Access and isn't yet finished, but what's there is already fantastic, and if you're a fan of the games that this one pays tribute to, it's a must-have.
Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation)
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A classic of the 32-bit era, and deservedly so, Metal Gear Solid has aged well, and still lives up to its "Tactical Espionage Action" tag-line. It is VERY cutscene-heavy, but the gameplay that's there is also very good, and it's all weaved together very competently into something that's unlike a lot of other games. It does devolve into backtracking towards the end, but one of those segments is clever and fun, and the whole thing is absolutely worthwhile.
New Super Lucky's Tale (PC)
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An incredibly charming 3D-platformer, and one that I feel is better than the oft-named classics of that particular variety of platform-game, New Super Lucky's Tale is a finely-crafted title that is its own thing, rather than trying to mimic the games that inspired it to a fault. It plays fantastically, and its ever-optimistic protagonist, Lucky Swiftail, is a refreshing change from what has become the gaming norm in this day and age. Definitely one to check out if you like the genre.
Pocky & Rocky (SNES)
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Drawing on Japanese mythology and monsters, this is a cute top-down shooter whose looks belie its absolutely brutal difficulty. Shrine-maiden Pocky and her tanuki friend Rocky head out to stop the local youkai who've suddenly gone berserk, and attempt to defeat a shadowy villain who's pulling the strings - the mysterious Black Mantle. It's a lot of fun, and there's even optional co-op play to boot!
Star Fox EX (SNES)
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ROM-hacks of the "fan-made sequel" variety tend to be my favourites in that field, and Star Fox EX is one of those. Based on the original Star Fox for the SNES, it presents players with all of the content of the original game and a new fourth path for that title, plus its own all-new story-mode and soundtrack, humourously based around the idea of characters from the more-popular Nintendo franchises trying to destroy the much-neglected Star Fox series. There are also various tools for exploring the game, its models, and so on. A lot of love went into Star Fox EX, and it shows.
Super Bomberman R Online (PC)
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A follow-up/side-game to Super Bomberman R, Super Bomberman R Online was a very short-lived free-to-play title that was ultimately revealed to have been a feature-test for upcoming paid sequel, Super Bomberman R 2. Its main feature was "Battle 64" - a 64-player battle-royale version of Bomberman which was finely-tuned, well-presented, and always a joy to play. I played it almost every day this year until its closure on December 1st, and I loved every minute of it. Battle 64 will be rolled into the aforementioned sequel along with plenty of new content, so I won't have to miss it for very long! Super Bomberman R Online was easily my game of the year.
Sunlit's Star Fox Minihack (SNES)
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Released shortly after Star Fox EX, Sunlit's Star Fox Minihack is a much shorter one-path experience, but it too is a new mini-sequel all its own. Short but sweet, and a lot of fun if you want more of the SNES Star Fox experience.
Vampire Survivors (PC)
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Good for both quick breaks and longer play-sessions, Vampire Survivors only concerns the player with movement and making the best of the weapons and items that come their way. It's all wrapped up in a Castlevania-style aesthetic, complete with lots of fun little references. It's simple but effective fun, and surprisingly addictive!
Yume Nikki (PC)
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A quirky and thoroughly weird indie RPG Maker game about exploring the protagonist's strange dreams and nightmares and interacting with things using various abilities, this game is more about seeing what you can see and thinking about it, than it is about reaching the ending. This isn't the sort of game that I would normally play, and I was very pleasantly surprised by it.
Zool - Ninja of the Nth Dimension (Mega Drive)
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Originally a highly-rated Commodore Amiga title, this brightly-coloured high-speed platformer starring interdimensional gremlin-ninja-warlock Zool was later ported to various other systems, including the SNES and Mega Drive, whose versions of the game each had entirely different level-designs; Of these two, the Mega Drive one is slightly better, and that's the one that I played. Though it doesn't break much new ground, it's well-made and fun - sometimes all that you want is another solid entry in a genre that was already perfected by other people, and Zool is exactly that. I had a good time with this one.
Zool Redimensioned (PC)
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A rebalanced remake (of sorts - it actually has a new ending), Zool Redimensioned is a modernised reimagining of the Mega Drive version of the original Zool. Three modes are available - Redimensioned (which removes the need to grab a set number of collectibles before finding the exit and provides Zool with a fun new double-jump move), Ultimate Ninja (which applies the original rules to the remake - you need to find items before you head for the exit, and there is no double-jump), and an emulated copy of the Mega Drive version of Zool for an additional challenge. I found this to be very polished and enjoyable, and noticed that it acknowledged both the earlier two games and the two novels that followed on from them - and it seemed to end with a hint at a Zool 3, too, which I would happily buy if it's in this style!
What are everybody else's top picks for this year?
Last edited by Pengling on 12 December 2022 at 1:09 am UTC
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All games listed in alphabetical order......
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Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994 Konami) - Sega Mega Drive - Platformer
This to me is the best Castlevania game..... Lots of great 2D action..... Super smooth animations and the graphics are really damn nice..... I much prefer this over Super Castlevania IV........ Fast paced and a ton of fun..... The two difference characters are very different from each other and offer a very different gameplay experiance from each other as well......
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Dynamite Cop (1999 Sega) - Sega Dreamcast - Beat 'em up
An excellent arcade style beat 'em up on the Sega Dreamcast..... The action is super fast and way over the top..... Pleny of weapons to use...... Tons of moves...... Lots of silly one liners...... And the graphics are really nice for the Dreamcast.... This is the sequel to Die Hard Arcade and it is better in every single way to that game......
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ESPN NFL 2K5 (2004 Sega) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Football)
This is the best simulation football game ever made..... It is so fantastic..... And it really uses that ESPN licence to great effect..... It really does feel like the real deal you would see on the ESPN TV channel.... The graphics are really excellent for the PS2 and the gameplay is top notch...... If you are looking for a true smimulation NFL game.... This is it....
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ESPN NHL 2k5 (2004 Sega) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Hockey)
You can take what I said about ESPN NFL 2K5 and say the exact same thing here for this amazing simulation hockey game...... There really is not much more to say about it...... Its just amazing.....
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Madden NFL 2003 (2002 EA Sports) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Football)
This is more of a mix between simulation and arcade..... Its no where near as realistic as NFL 2K5 but its great fun and one the best Madden NFL games ever made..... Its realistic enough so that it feels authentic but arcade enough that non fans can pick it up and still have fun...... The graphics are not as good as NFL 2K5 either...... Still a great game though in its own right.......
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NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995 Acclaim) - Sega Mega Drive - Sports (Basketball)
The best basketball game ever made.... NBA Jam Tournament Edition is a fantastic fast paced insane arcade game....... Superhuman dunks...... Unrealistic speed....... No fouls....... Setting the ball on fire...... And simple enough controls and rules that even someone who knows nothing about basketball can have fun with it....... Both the MD and SNES versions are great......
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NFL Blitz (1998 Midway) - Nintendo 64 - Sports (Football)
A full on simple arcade NFL game..... This is the Nintendo 64 port of the arcade game and it is the best home port...... It retains all the hard hitting fast paced action of the arcade..... Full of late hits and pro wrestling style tackles..... When Midway first showed the NFL the original arcade game the NFL rejected it for being to violent and even offered to refund Midway the money they had paid for the NFL licence...... Midway went back and toned down the game to keep the NFL licence....... Im surprised a tiny N64 cartridge can hold the awesomeness that is NFL Blitz!.....
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NHL Hitz 2003 (2002 Midway) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Hockey)
This is the hockey version of the NFL Blitz....... With the same hard hitting fast paced arcade action..... And again its simple enough that anyone can pick it up and play...... Great party game with some mates...... If you have any mates that is.....
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Night Slashers (1994 Data East) - Arcade - Beat 'em up
A really nice aracde beat 'em up with an excellent horror theme..... Tons of moves..... Really good enemy variety...... The bosses are well desgined....... And it has lots of gore..... The graphics are really nice for the time as also..... Gameplay is pretty stanard walk left and beat the crap out everyhing..... But for a 40 minute arcade game it doesnt have to be too deep..... The enemy variety and well desgined bosses will keep you entertained......
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Ninja Baseball Bat Man (1993 Irem) - Arcade - Beat 'em up
My all time favourite arcade game..... This game is so much awesome much...... Its so wacky and zany.... The enemy design and variety is excellent..... The bosses are from an acid trip....... Its so sad the aracde machine did not sell well cause the game is awesome fun and everyone should give it a go...... And they knew what they were doing when they named the game Ninja Baseball Bat Man.......
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Splatterhouse (1988 Namco) - Arcade - Beat 'em up
Another fantastic horror themed aracde game..... Play as "I Can't Believe Its Not Jason Voorhees" to save your girlfriend from the evil forces within the mansion..... Lots of great gore in this game and the game play is not bad either..... While not amazing its been very finely polished to a high sheen.... The whole game just oozes quality..... This was not a game thrown toegther in a weekend thats for sure.......
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Streets of Rage 2 (1992 Sega) - Sega Mega Drive - Beat 'em up
This is probably the best ever beat 'em up on a console..... Tons of moves...... Co-op...... Great enemy variety........ Interesting bosses...... The also has really good lengh and pacing..... Long enough to be great...... But not to long that it outstays its welcome...... Any Final Fight game could only wish to be this good......
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Tecmo Super Bowl 2023 (2022 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football)
Yes a Nintendo Entertainment System sports game from 1991 is still getting yearly roster updates.... That alone should be a testament to just how great this game is...... The really simple pick and play arcade style of the game also really helps..... But you can also get really deep into this game too....... To put it simply..... To me this is the best NFL game ever made.......
And that is my unlucky 13 best games I played on Linux this year.......
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Red Dead Redemption 2
Last Epoch
League of Legends
Starcom:unknown space
IXION
Starcraft 2 (since release)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTNnicCT-8k
Though I might be a bit intoxicated at the moment, and avoiding steam for the same reason as to avoid talking too much
With that said, a few did make my list of good games this year:
Forza Horizon 5
This game had a lot of good racing elements to it and did provide a lot of fun! My only criticism was that the main mode is automatically online - this isn't a problem if you like that sort of thing. But it wasn't immediately clear. Though, despite that I did have fun with it!
Cyberpunk 2077
Now, I know this game gets a lot of hate! But the devs have really fixed this one up well. Ignoring the anime (which I did not watch, nor inspired to play this game by), this game offers a lot of unique game play!
I have to admit, if your PC can handle it then this game is a must play! The city itself is very detailed and I was honestly shocked at just how much detail was included!
Planet Zoo
This one was good "while it lasted". It played very well and gave me some good flashbacks from the Zoo Tycoon days. But sadly it crapped itself and is now unable to load the save of my main zoo, which made me stop playing it basically.
Bomberman R Online
So this isn't the type of game I'd normally play. But I was somewhat dragged into.
Though, I was glad I was, it was actually quite fun!
Crash Bandicoot Remasters
These run great on my steam deck! They bring back many memories (I'm a big CB fan) and overall just a great remaster and game!
Spyro Remasters
Much the same as the above!
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SOMA
It's very good. Don't spoil yourself by reading up on it. It's in the world of other walking Sims, with stealth elements. More unsettling than scary. It hits on some more adult themes: death, suicide and philosophical musings about transhuman existence.
Metro series
I played Last Light and 2033. They were recommended as I enjoyed the STALKER series (also great). These are more linear and feature the open secret of a hidden morality system. It's a great juxtaposition as a FPS. Do you play it like a game? Or do you play it like a person in the gameworld?
Honorable mentions
Dying Light: It's really good. Really really good. But long. And repetitive. By the time I got to the last section of the city, I was mostly going through the motions to finish the story. I beat the game and for part way through the DLC, before I got too bored to continue.
Cities: Skylines: I loved SimCity and later SimCity 4 (the best one). And Cities does all of that, if you buy the DLC. I owned a few of the DLC and it was fun. I even imported my home region as terrain, that was cool. I just didn't get a feeling compelling me to play. There wasn't a "just another turn", or "let's finish this one little thing" vibe I got from the originals and other modern titles like RimWorld and Factorio.
I played a lot of FACTORIO this year as well, building my first "mega factory", but like Kerbal Space Program, I've played it for years. MONSTER SANCTUARY (my only purchase this year), was also very good. It was a little repetitive for me, but I'm not the target audience (never played Pokemon or anything). I think my kids would like it a lot. I also enjoyed DISHONORED, it's a very good theif clone. Short, but fun!
Orion Trail - 2015 - itch.io
The First Tree - 2017 - GOG
my go to games that have always been hits are
Garou: Mark of the Wolves - 1999 - Dreamcast/Redream/Fightcade
The King of Fighters 2002 - 2002 - Fightcade
Tekken 3 - 1997 - Dreamcast/Redream
Last edited by Mezron on 18 December 2022 at 2:38 am UTC
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Garou: Mark of the Wolves is an amazing game...... Tizoc for the win!!!...... This game did not make it on my list cause I played it earlier in the year when I was still on Windows........ Otherwise it would have been on my list for sure..... Its my favourite Neo Geo fighting game by far.....
The King of Fighters 2002..... I have to ask why this version??? not that there is anything wrong with it I just always have to ask why people have a favourite KOF game
Tekken 3 - 1997 - Dreamcast/Redream...... Was Tekken 3 released on the Dreamcast???? I thought it was arcade and PS1 only.......
Garou has been in my rotaton since it came out. I took a break from emulation as a whole but it's a game that I can still play at the local spots on the original cabs along with my family friends having it in some form at home.
KOF2k2 is still one of the most amazing games out from SNK, IMO. 98 is a close 2nd. 2K2 brings in Max cancels that are still being discovered. It's still very popular where I am and still has active locals and tournaments.
Bleem was away to play PS1 games on Dreamcast. There are bleemed ROMs out there allow you to play it on the original Dreamcast and on ReDream
Released in 2022
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade: Some of you might already have seen it in my Steam Replay showcase, it's the game I dedicated the most time to. Revisiting the old classic's story and characters, the original is one of my all-time favourites, but with renewed graphics and gameplay, it was a blast. Mind you, the game is not exempt of issues, some boring parts and very arguably weird plot changes. I still haven't finished the Intergrade part, somehow I found the quality of the expansion to be lower than the overall game.
Pentiment: Like most Obsidian games, a true narrative delight. It is also a different game from they have us accustomed, perhaps being bought by Microsoft gave them access to budget to explore other things like also shown in Grounded. It is a murder mystery located in a small village in the 16th century German Alps. The writing is fantastic, the visual design, and the attention to detail in things like calligraphy, or the vast decision branches, with brutal repercussions, are some of the things that have me totally hooked to the game.
MASSIVE EDIT
I feel stupid, because I forgot to mention the game that hit all the right strings this year. I played it with a smile all the time, and my heart sang with joy the during the full gameplay. A game that is a sequel to the games that got me hooked to video games many years ago. Not other than RETURN TO MONKEY ISLAND.
Not released in 2022
Disco Elysium: Everything, and more, has been said about the game. It is my GOTY of the year and has gone straight up to the top 10 games. The only reason it is not in top 3 is that the game has SO MUCH text, and so dense, that one needs to approach it with a very particular state of mind, and being rested to read the text on the screen. What an absolute journey. Harry du Bois, the only cop that will ever get into my heart.
A Plague Tale: Innocence: Another fantastic stealth/action/adventure game. The story of Amicia and Hugo shows, through their eyes, what the church and Inquisition can do to achieve their goals. The game is brutal in showing you some hard things,
Spoiler, click me
Last edited by Arehandoro on 31 December 2022 at 7:43 pm UTC