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05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)
05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid
23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
09/10 - Psychonauts 2
15/10 - Unsighted
17/10 - Sable
18/10 - Halo: Reach (Master Chief Collection)
23/10 - Split/Second
29/10 - Darq
11/11 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
14/11 - Darksiders II (Apocalyptic)
21/11 - Kid A Mnesia Exhibition
23/11 - Forza Horizon 5
27/11 - Exo One
29/11 - Omno
11/12 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64HD)
15/12 - Halo: Combat Evolved (Master Chief Collection)
19/12 - Halo Infinite
26/12 - Metal Gear Solid 3 HD
30/12 -
Halo 2 Anniversary (Master Chief Collection)
I wasn't totally sure I wanted to play through this one again. I've been half considering doing a Halo marathon lately, but also kind of not sure on the idea as I didn't want to burn myself out on it. But without anything else on my plate right now I decided to boot this one up and found it was a very swift and seamless playthrough. I've never paid much attention to exactly how long each of these games are before, but I have heard it said this one is the longest, yet it didn't feel like it at all.
I also wasn't sure whether I wanted to play with the original graphics or the remaster. I haven't played the original in ages, so I partially wanted to go back to that again to refresh my memory, and sort of repeat what I did with Halo 1 earlier in the month. But I ended up playing with the new graphics, only occasionally flipping back to the old to see how it compared in certain areas. They really did a fantastic job with this one. A much better and more faithful take than the first game, but improving it in almost every way. Although there are some areas where there are certain touches I prefer in the original, like the colour palette of the early city levels, or some atmospheric/weather effects that are missing in some of the later levels. But in general there's way more detail with much more natural lighting, and maintains the character of the aesthetic really well. It is generally brighter in most spots, but it's still not afraid to use darkness when necessary, and it doesn't ruin the mood.
I was rather surprised comparing the soundtrack and general sound design too. They did a great job remastering that as well, but there are certain quirks to it that give a slightly different personality. For one, the remaster actually has music much more prominent in the mix, which I wasn't expecting. At least that's how it seemed most of the time when I did switch back to compare. There was one point where the original had louder music than the remaster though, so maybe it would seem more even if I compared more. The newer compositions use more conventional and more acoustic instrumentation as well, which changes some things. It's pretty noticeable with the choir voices, as the presumably synthesised samples of the original made for a more artificial yet ethereal sound, with more clearly distinctive changes in notation. The original also has more obvious use of synth in general, although the remaster still isn't shy about using it. The remaster also uses slightly more brass. In a way I prefer the old soundtrack for those qualities, but the new music has a much richer and fleshed out composition, and is mastered much better to actually stand out and punctuate moments, it's hard to not prefer it in most situations.
Audio design outside the soundtrack is kind of a tricky one. On the one hand, the sounds of the weapons are mostly excellent. They are punchy and have impact, but still most of the time carry over the personality that they had in the original version. This is the kind of thing that I was disappointed Infinite couldn't do, which was making the Covenant weapons sound good and also actually memorable. The remastered weapon audio here is leagues above the original, it's no contest, with only a scant few exceptions. But when it comes to the background audioscape, the remaster is a little lacking. Most of the time if there's no gunfire or music, it's dead silent, and it feels a bit flat. While if you go back to the old graphics, there might be some ambient sound of some sort. It's not always the case, and again things might come off a bit different if I checked more thoroughly, but that was something I noticed.
As an actual game though, it's still a lot of fun. But that said, playing it after Infinite does highlight how improved the gameplay actually is now. Levels are pretty linear, even just comparing it to the first game. The arenas you do fight in are still good however, and it doesn't have the issue of level assets being reused too much. While the weapon variety is better than the first, it still feels rather limited compared to Infinite. I still really like it as an adventure through this world, and the story it tells too. Seeing deeper in to the Covenant society, the Arbiter's arc and how it relates to that are still really cool. Making your way through High Charity and marvelling at the scale of it, while watching the Covenant descend in to chaos as civil war breaks out, only for it to then fall to The Flood is a really cool sequence to see play out. The game has a lot of memorable moments that are some of the best in the series.
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And with that I think that's the last of the games I'll be completing this year. Much like last year, I didn't play much new stuff, and instead spent time on older games, be that replaying stuff or trying out stuff I never got around to before. So I don't think I've really played enough new stuff to pick out what I think my "games of the year" are, but there were still a good number of games that stood out that stuck with me.
The
Drakengard games were a trip. I really enjoyed playing through them. Actually, I'm not sure "enjoy" is the right word... They were extremely compelling in a strange way that I've never had before, even as someone who has been a fan of Nier for a long time. They were strange, obtuse, and tedious, but at the same time oddly cathartic, repeatedly surprising, and did some clever things with games as a medium that is similar to some of the things Nier does, but in a unique way. They are in many ways awful by a lot of conventional standards, but in a way that I found somehow made them intensely engaging and interesting. I've taken to saying that the first game in particular is good
because it's bad. It feels like these games have done something to my brain that can't be un-done.
On the topic of
Nier, the remake/remaster that came out this year was also another big highlight. An excellent version of the game that hugely improves on basically everything while still keeping the core of what made the original great fully intact. A great entry point for new people to come in and see this game in the best possible light, as well as being a good reason to replay the game given the changes and the sizable additions too.
I also had a great time replaying
Final Fantasy XV as well. I already liked that game quite a lot, but going back through again with the Royal Edition DLC was very much worth it. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the game and its combat systems, thanks to the tweaks made there, and the revamped final chapter also helped make the conclusion of the game much more satisfying. The bits added to the final dungeon sequence were a lot of fun, and even helped strengthen the story's themes as well. This game may still be rather awkward thanks to its rough development, but it has so much heart that I can't help but appreciate it. The new bits here do a good amount to bring it closer to being what it was always trying to be.
Scarlet Nexus was probably my most pleasant surprise this year. Going in I was expecting it would be maybe a good action game, but not anything special. Something that might scratch the same itch as Astral Chain, even if it didn't really hold up to that standard. But I got really drawn in to this game and played the hell out of it, to the point of exhausting it of all content. I still wouldn't put it in the same bracket as Platinum's best, but I found it actually had a really fun combat system that had more going on than it first seemed on the surface. I really dug the aesthetic of it as well, and the story was a fun rollercoaster of wacky nonsense, that while I wouldn't say was particularly great, was definitely entertaining.
I had a lot of fun with
No More Heroes III as well. It was great to finally see that series come back with a full sequel, after so long in limbo. It's encouraging as the start of a new era for Grasshopper too, in going back to making unconventional, wild, "punk" games, and escaping the struggling position they have been in for so long. The game may not have been everything I was hoping it would be, but those were high standards to live up to. But even in light of that, I had a fun time with it, and there was a lot I did appreciate about it. And it seems appropriate for this new era of Grasshopper to start off by closing the books on this series too. It makes the possibilities of where things can go from here look encouraging.
My ongoing journey with the
Metal Gear Solid games has also been another standout. Games I've always heard so much about over the years, occasionally wondered about trying for myself, but have always been on my periphery. Not the kind of thing I would usually try of my own volition, and wouldn't expect to enjoy. But I've actually really been liking this little exploration of these games. Even if I struggle to get on with the gameplay, these games are certainly worthy of the praise they've been getting over the years. It has an intriguing pseudo-novelty to me as well, being something that is very well established in the medium, but still pretty alien to me in a lot of ways.
Psychonauts 2 was also great. I'm not a huge fan of platformers in general, and don't play that many, but I was pretty impressed with playing the original some years back. This sequel builds on this in some very smart ways, and is an excellent follow-up that is one of the most original and imaginative games I've played in a long time. It could have very well been the case that in the years between each entry Double Fine could've lost their touch, or been unable to get back on the bike. Instead not only did they not skip a beat, they managed to improve on the original very convincingly too. A very fun game, with loads of fun ideas, fantastic writing, and a wonderful aesthetic.
Finishing off with a couple of honourable mentions,
CrossCode: A New Home was a fantastic capstone to a game that I have been following ever since early development. It had some of the best moments in the game, and brought some nice closure to some of the lingering questions from the main game. Returning to
Zelda: Majora's Mask was a good time, in what was effectively an impressive remastered form. I'm a little hesitant to mention it because it might just be recency bias, but
Halo Infinite was impressive in that it was better than I expected it would be, and an interesting turning point in the turbulent path of this series.