Well since I never beat 10 games from the same year I'll do what I do every year and talk about the top 10 games I beat this year.
1. Donkey Kong Country Returns - I've been meaning to try this game out forever but I wanted to make sure I had beaten the OG trilogy before doing so, Id say its the most pure fun I've had with a game all year and is probably the best DKC ive played, its levels are diverse and creative, the challenge is there and the music is stellar. What surprised me most is that I love almost all the Wiimote implementation, the way the roll felt and the banging on the ground was seamless, it felt unique while not getting in the way of things, if there was one complaint about them it was the Blow mechanic was pretty unnecessary and didnt add any value to the game. The only negatives I have are that the art design is pretty bland for the new enemies and alot of the levels (really miss the Kremlings) and the rewards for collecting puzzle pieces is weak but on the whole I couldnt put this one down till it was finished, makes me really stoked for Tropical Freeze since I've heard its even better.
9.5 - Great
2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Surprisingly for me this was favorite game that I beat that actually came out this year, it was very surprising because Im not an insanely huge fan of BOTW and this is very much a BOTW+ in alot of ways, turns out that + really helped alot of my problems with the original. Weapon Breaking, way less annoying, boring rewards, they had more meaningful reward variety, and the mid combat becomes more skippable/quickly dealt with the further you get into the game with your partners, dungeons have slightly more intrigue, the unfun stamina bar doesnt matter etc. so alot of my bigger negatives had band aid's put on them so, not to mention I had time to accept that this game is not like traditional zelda going in so my expectations were more in check so I could just enjoy the game more for what it is. Even though its still mostly about exploration and shrine hunting all of its base mechanics are more interesting than BOTW and even though it screws up the pacing being able to just constantly flip from the 3 tiers of exploration at the drop of a hat for hours on my dopamine hunt was very enjoyable. Yes the puzzles still dont push things nearly enough, and its still severely lacking in the areas traditional 3d zelda's are strong at but I really enjoyed the insane amount of good finger food offerings it had. Unlike BOTW I tried to do almost every side quest that I thought was worth doing because I wanted to keep playing with the fun game mechanics and I wont deny that its the best time I had with a game that came out this year even if I dont respect it necessarily as much as other games on my list (since it is just BOTW+ and its still missing the intricate dungeon design) I just couldnt not acknowledge its relaxing almost 3d platformer esk smooth content momentum like appeal.
9.5 - Great
3. Undertale - Well I sure turned around on this one. When I first went through Undertale on its pacifist run I definitely thought it had incredible charm but I mostly couldnt connect with alot of the characters because of its more modern style of humor and it was trying to connect with a more modern younger demographic and I am old/jaded. I acknowledged the music was incredible and its creativity was high but its gameplay wasnt exactly my favorite. I emotionally started to turn towards liking it alot more near the end of the original run when it reveals some things and you are forced to fight certain characters, doing pacifist perfectly by finding certain character started to win me over more but it was ultimately the genocide run that completely won me over. Man I was dying laughing at how evil the game lets you be, its great, it does an amazing job at making you just the most evil person, the extremely tough mid boss was incredible and fighting the final boss of this run was something I'll never forget, it might be the hardest boss I've ever fought in a video game but I did it dammit. Yeah this one might be higher for me later on but only time will tell as I still think certain parts of the gameplay are not as incredible as the other parts but its impact is lasting so idk.
9.5 - Great
4. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon - Cmon From Soft doesnt miss. It's one of the best pure Action games ive ever played, never felt so cool in mech combat (assault boost with double melee with kicks is so fun). Beat all the missions, did New Game ++ to get the full picture of a really cool story, the music was sick and it was super fun tinkering stats to build my ultimate melee mech. Baltieus pre nerf is easily one of the best bosses I've ever fought in video games, such a cool fight. I was sure this would probably be my GOTY that came out this year at least but I cant say it was only for a few reasons, first off even though its great it is my least favorite Fromsoft game I've played, the particular type of mech atmosphere aesthetic/vibe they were going for limited how cool the enemy designs could be while staying true to that, the exploration was limited due to its linear design which from tends to be incredible at so that wasnt really there, even though I know they wanted you to counterpick with parts for different scenario's I just didnt wanna do that so I had to beat my head through a few bottlenecks with my build and there is just less variety in the combat since its a pure action game verses an action rpg even if the combat was stellar. For those reasons while close it didnt end up being my favorite game that came out that year but that being said its damn impressive how From took this franchise I didnt care about at all and made it one of my favorite Action games of all time, I hope their quality streak continues.
9.5 Great
5. Monster Train - Well this game is just built for me, I love Card Games and am very good at them, this is just a better Slay the Spire with more variety, personality, and slightly better music, its very addictive. God these type of games are super unhealthy for me when Im in them, hours melt, I think I put 160 hours in this in 2 months, after I beat the final boss with every Clan combination and beat max covenant with each Clan I forced myself to take a break from it for a good while like Slay, there's too much I need to play and experience. With that being said it is slightly derivative because it definitely takes a ton from Slay and while its better in its production value's it still could be better in area's that would make it appeal to more than just easily addicted Card Game heads like myself, hence where it is for now on this list.
9.4 Very Good (9.5 if you love Card Games)
6. Hades - Been hearing people praise this game for awhile and finally got to check it out, I can easily say its the best Supermassive game I've played. It's gameplay loop is super fun and I really enjoyed getting to know all about the Olympian characters, the artwork was awesome and it has a great stream of unlockable's (especially around the midpoint is where this picked up alot for me). This game is very addictive tho so watch out lol, just like monster train it burns time, I used it to unhealthily cope with a surprise layoff instead of hunting for another job for a couple weeks earlier this year haha.. Anywho the only reason it isnt higher for me probably on this list is even though I know its Supermassive's thing I just dont like the Isometric view, it might be my least camera/viewpoint position in video games, even though the game is great and works well that will always hold a game back some for me unless the gameplay isnt very important (ala Disco Elysium, it gets a pass).
9.5 Great
7. Astrobot: Rescue Mission - My first real VR game that I used my PSVR headset for, the setup was tedious and the worst part is easily constant adjusting my headset and taking it off every so often to give my eyes a rest otherwise this would be way higher since I love good 3d platformers, that said this game is really awesome. It's probably the best new 3D platformer IP ive played since Sly and I think its up there with my favorite PS platformer franchises like Spyro/Crash. While some of the Asset/Enemy variety may be lacking the VR implementation and creativity isnt, the core moveset/mechanics dont reinvent the wheel but they are wisely chosen without any fluff, the boss battles are incredible to boot with alot of personality, I also really enjoyed the challenge levels as well. One of my favorite little things this game does mechanically is finding the invisible Iguana's is very simple but super fun and lets you kind of explore with your headset by looking around even if the levels are very linear. It's an absolute must for VR and I cant wait to see the IP get more love. Like I said it would be higher but god did the VR headset negatives get in the way of alot of my enjoyment, made it hard to just relax and play, here's hoping that gets alot better in the future.
9.5 Great
8. Braid - This was a tough mind boggler, it often took me quite a bit to understand the logic of the game to figure out what it wanted from me and sometimes it was a bit horseshit (that first puzzle piece is unfortunately terrible, conceptually very cool but nothing in the game teaches you this and is a one off, very anti people trying to collect all of them). That being said it has some of the best puzzle design's Ive seen in video games, some of the logic it teaches you is so cool and its soundtrack of "real" music pieces is very fitting/relaxing. I would give it a higher score but its pretty short and its story is kinda a pretentious nothingburger but I cant lie I wish more games were willing to push people's logical framework like this game does (looking at you Zelda).
9.3 Good
9. Metroid Prime 3 - This is just a good fun video gamey game and is my second favorite Metroid Prime game. The game has interesting levels with great music and atmosphere, my favorite being the Chozo Sky place and the Pirate planet, I really like alot of the bosses and appreciated them trying to give Heath Tanks more utility even if I think there's probably a more interesting way than thier current suit solution. I like how they tried to push some mechanics in new ways with the whole wii mote stuff, I think it succesful for the most part, however I cant say its the best way going forward as the best motion controls in my experience tend to be the least invasive and are used in quick bursts never overstaying thier welcome in the moment, MP3 having the player constantly aim with remote is less fun and a bit tiring compared to its standard controller counterpart, the constant physically of aiming just takes you out of the game I find. The other things that hold it back from reaching the incredible highs of MP1 mostly have to do with how its levels are segmented in very linear feeling layouts instead of have a huge cohesive world to build atmosphere off of as well as the continuous mistake of the franchise so far to give you Items you've earned in multiple games and treat them as if they mean something, getting Spider Ball late in the game sucked. Anywho still really fun, hope when MP4 finally comes out it can push the series forward and reach even greater heights than MP1.
9.3 Good
10. Pentiment - As a game this barely good but as an experience I quite enjoy it. It's mostly just a narrative type game with so mediocre detective and choice mechanics but those are not the main draw. The main things that make this game so cool are its incredibly unique aesthetic and time period, the art and the way people talk is so incredibly interesting, really enjoy the very realistic vibe of the story from a time period you barely hear anything about. The mystery of the story is very interesting and how it unfold in realistic fashions I found very interesting as well, game mechanic wise its messy (especially in the non existent Act 3) but it doesnt detract too much its just annoying inconsistent. I also really love your logbook that keeps up with all the people you meet in the town and their various relationships with others, its just a really cool experience I recommend if you just wanna absorb an interesting time piece with cool art.
9.0 Worth Playing (9.3 as an Experience)
Honorable Mentions that I really wanted to put up on the list (played alot of really good games this year)
The Legend of Zelda - Incredible Open World for the time, crazy how they did that back then, would have blew my mind 9.2 Pretty Good
Outer Wilds Echoe of the Eye DLC - Finally wrapped up the base game this year but the DLC is really what hit me hard, lots of good surprises, the mechanics are very cool (If it were just DLC it probably would be on my list, base game I enjoy but didnt vibe as hard). 9.0 Worth Playing (DLC 9.3 Good)
The Case of the Golden Idol - The only deserving effective detective game Ive ever played, (beat today and am working on the DLC) so cool how they feed you the logic you need to solve the mysteries, very impressive. 9.2 Pretty Good
JP in Street Fighter 6 - JP is a really cool character and SF6 has an incredible mechanical system, played until I got JP to master and dipped, still need to beat the Single Player.
Its been a great year of games for me, Ive beaten 34 games in total, cant wait to tackle more next year.
