Archive for the 'Gaming' Category

It’s time again for my annual gaming year in review, where I briefly review the games I played in 2020! I’m happy to say that I’ve been trying to revive my gaming hobby, so I managed to play a bit more than the past couple of years. Let’s start with my favorites, which may or may not have been released in 2020.

Favorite Single Player: Detroit Become Human

This was definitely my type of game, especially since I loved Heavy Rain, which is in a similar style. I really enjoyed the storytelling, characters, and the idea of androids questioning their purpose and striving for equality. I became really invested in the fate of these characters and how my story would go with each one. The game was kind of stressful though, so I was very glad to move onto Animal Crossing afterwards!

Favorite Multiplayer: Unravel 2

I loved the first Unravel, and Unravel 2 was just as beautiful with clever uses of yarn. The second character was a great addition that opened up more possibilities in the gameplay. The story felt more muddled this time, but the levels were fun, challenging, and really made us think about how to solve them with the two characters. A very solid co-op game, though you can play it single player too.

Favorite Indie: Children of Morta

Morta is a beautiful game about a family working together against a Corruption across the land. The pixel graphics are wonderful, and the gameplay was a mix of roguelike and action RPG. The dungeons and items were randomly generated, but you could keep progress and level up your characters between runs. I especially liked the focus on family, such that one character leveling up benefits every character in a unique way, which motivates you to try all of them.

Honorable Mention: Animal Crossing New Horizons

This game came at such a great time. Being able to escape to my own deserted island filled with cute animal neighbors was a perfect way to spend lockdown. I haven’t played an Animal Crossing game since the DS version, but I enjoyed the additions such as decorating outdoors, terraforming, and being able to move buildings. It’s been a great way to still visit and connect with friends when we couldn’t meet in person.

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2018 was a year where I spent less time on most of my hobbies, and gaming took a hit as well. Though I didn’t play that many games, I still wanted to put together my annual year in review! This is where I briefly review the games that I played throughout the year that are “new” to me (i.e. I haven’t played before, are remakes, or have new content – no replays).

First, let’s reveal the favorites! As usual, this is picked from games I played in 2018, which may or may not have released that year.

Favorite Single Player: Super Mario Odyssey
Mario Odyssey felt like a combination of two things I love: Mario 64 and open world games. I loved being able to explore each area and figure out where the moons were. It had the whimsical fun that you’d expect from Nintendo games, especially using Cappy to take control of your enemies. There’s been several Mario 64 clones, and this one exceeded my expectations.

Favorite Multiplayer and Favorite Indie/Download: Full Metal Furies
I normally pick a different game for each category, but since I didn’t play that many in 2018, I decided to award both favorite multiplayer and indie to Full Metal Furies. Done by the creators of Rogue Legacy, this is a co-op game featuring 4 women of different weapons and play types. Even with each character, the play style changes depending on the abilities you chose for each skill, and you could mix and match to fit what you need. The game has fun dialog and was an enjoyable challenge that really made you work together to get through hard battles.

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