Wozzer
Member
1. Bloodborne ; There’s no avoiding comparisons with the Souls series given the core design of Bloodborne closely resembles it, with areas of refinement and exclusion. The atmosphere is eerily fantastic, enemy design varied and exceptionally horrific and the combat is vastly refined and well executed. However it’s a far shallower and less explorative affair with fewer items to discover, character builds to experiment with or combat variety to master. Bloodborne is the best game FROM have made, but it’s not their best RPG and for this reason it’s not my favourite of theirs either. Still bloody fantastic and easily the best game on offer from this generation so far.
2. Super Mario Maker ; Your thoughts on Game 2.
3. Witcher 3 ; Your thoughts on Game 3.
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; What a thrill. The Phantom Pain can best be classified as a beautiful mess, being both a contended for both my best game and biggest disappointment of the year. It’s painfully clear throughout that the very public development hell has impacted the game's vision resulting in continual cut corners, pacing issues and an abyssal piecemeal script. That said the breadth of game systems, sublime stealth gameplay and oozing potential is hard to overlook. It’s a polar opposite of typical Metal Gear expectations, and I can’t help but consider what could have been.
5. Fallout 4 ; Your thoughts on Game 5.
6. Pillars of Eternity ; Absolute nostalgic CRPG bliss. Everything from the handcrafted world to the presentation of the UI has an attention to detail that feels to have been built with unbridled passion from Obsidian. Growing up on the likes of Baldur’s Gate there’s a continual sense of nostalgia and frequent referencing to aspect that made such RPGs memorable. The scale of the world, engaging personalities of cast of party members, level of character progression and real-time strategic gameplay kept me engaged from beginning to end like no other RPG has for a very long time. That said it’s not a flawless victory as the story, arguably the most important aspect of a game in this genre, is lackluster and waits far too long (an hour before the end) before revealing its overly teased twist reveal. The story in itself is solid, as is the dialogue that carries it, it’s just unfortunate that it’s kept from the user until it's too late, ending abruptly before you’ve even had chance to wet your appetite.
7. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; A lengthy more refined and varied sequel to the fantastic first installment. Ultimately it falls a little short in level design that often makes the encounters and overall pacing inconsistent but the sum of its parts still makes for a fantastic package. Without a doubt the music alone represents the best score I've encountered in a video game. There is even an attempt at a storyline with a wealth of characters from different backgrounds and even periods in time, and whilst I'm positive there's some logic to be drawn I have absolutely no idea what it is. Fantastic game highly recommended to all.
8. Broken Age ; With expectations low I was taken by surprise on how charmingly presented and cleverly intertwined the multiple protagonist story was implemented. As promised it's a classic point and click adventure game by Tim Schafer, and with that comes the requirement for dialogue that oozes wit and charm along with clunky puzzle design. The first half is a little easy but worth it for the concluding story twist that is just enough to carry the second half, which is twice the length, to its satisfying conclusion. Not quite enough to sit alongside the masterpiece of Grim Fandango but a worthwhile trip down memory lane.
9. Rocket League ; You’re a car, with rockets, that is locked in an arena and needs to push a big ball into a big hole… what’s not to love? In a trophy lusting haze I played the game extensively, grinding away balls into goals like a superstar football car-thing. It’s campaign is overly simplified but I don’t know quite what else you’d expect from a game of its nature; though the lack of dialogue wheels and plot twists are a shame. All around good fun!
10. Life is Strange ; Your thoughts on Game 10.
2. Super Mario Maker ; Your thoughts on Game 2.
3. Witcher 3 ; Your thoughts on Game 3.
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ; What a thrill. The Phantom Pain can best be classified as a beautiful mess, being both a contended for both my best game and biggest disappointment of the year. It’s painfully clear throughout that the very public development hell has impacted the game's vision resulting in continual cut corners, pacing issues and an abyssal piecemeal script. That said the breadth of game systems, sublime stealth gameplay and oozing potential is hard to overlook. It’s a polar opposite of typical Metal Gear expectations, and I can’t help but consider what could have been.
5. Fallout 4 ; Your thoughts on Game 5.
6. Pillars of Eternity ; Absolute nostalgic CRPG bliss. Everything from the handcrafted world to the presentation of the UI has an attention to detail that feels to have been built with unbridled passion from Obsidian. Growing up on the likes of Baldur’s Gate there’s a continual sense of nostalgia and frequent referencing to aspect that made such RPGs memorable. The scale of the world, engaging personalities of cast of party members, level of character progression and real-time strategic gameplay kept me engaged from beginning to end like no other RPG has for a very long time. That said it’s not a flawless victory as the story, arguably the most important aspect of a game in this genre, is lackluster and waits far too long (an hour before the end) before revealing its overly teased twist reveal. The story in itself is solid, as is the dialogue that carries it, it’s just unfortunate that it’s kept from the user until it's too late, ending abruptly before you’ve even had chance to wet your appetite.
7. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ; A lengthy more refined and varied sequel to the fantastic first installment. Ultimately it falls a little short in level design that often makes the encounters and overall pacing inconsistent but the sum of its parts still makes for a fantastic package. Without a doubt the music alone represents the best score I've encountered in a video game. There is even an attempt at a storyline with a wealth of characters from different backgrounds and even periods in time, and whilst I'm positive there's some logic to be drawn I have absolutely no idea what it is. Fantastic game highly recommended to all.
8. Broken Age ; With expectations low I was taken by surprise on how charmingly presented and cleverly intertwined the multiple protagonist story was implemented. As promised it's a classic point and click adventure game by Tim Schafer, and with that comes the requirement for dialogue that oozes wit and charm along with clunky puzzle design. The first half is a little easy but worth it for the concluding story twist that is just enough to carry the second half, which is twice the length, to its satisfying conclusion. Not quite enough to sit alongside the masterpiece of Grim Fandango but a worthwhile trip down memory lane.
9. Rocket League ; You’re a car, with rockets, that is locked in an arena and needs to push a big ball into a big hole… what’s not to love? In a trophy lusting haze I played the game extensively, grinding away balls into goals like a superstar football car-thing. It’s campaign is overly simplified but I don’t know quite what else you’d expect from a game of its nature; though the lack of dialogue wheels and plot twists are a shame. All around good fun!
10. Life is Strange ; Your thoughts on Game 10.