Video's game are good
I meant to write up some short thoughts on some games i played last year in, last year, but here they are now
Crosscode - The first game i played last year and one of my faves. Excellent mechanics that work both in making a tight arcadey fast-paced combat system & clever puzzle design and interactions. The dungeons are dense, the bosses are neat, the sidequests are significant and unique, the music is wonderfully nostalgic, & the story and characters are really nice.
To the Top - Cute VR platformer that doesn't really care about realism but more the aesthetic of movement, bounding from support to support with the release of the triggers. Good time that i thought worked p well within the limitations of vr.
Baba is You - Excellent moments of eureka, my fave sort of videogame puzzle where you examine all the tools at your disposal and kinda reverse engineer a solution.
Beat Saber - It's Like Aerobeat Plus but without the bottle
Supraland - Really cool and often unexpected escalation of powers in a 3d metroidvania, with a wild sense of freedom as you reach the end of the game.
Eastshade - Chill game where you hike/bike around and make paintings for people. It really nailed the feeling you get when you wander off the beaten track and stumble across something cool or interesting or just a vaguely nice piece of grass that you might not have seen otherwise.
Outer Wilds - I loved this for a lot of the same reasons i've loved Myst and Obduction. Just going around learning things and having lil eureka moments as you put the pieces together is always satisfying, as is the sense of physicality in how you can traverse and bump up against the world. The simulation in play never ceases to be impressive and is a great use of a time loop.
DQB2 - Great sequel to a great game! The simulation of the other villagers and their needs isn't super in depth but is very compelling at making you want to design and improve your villages. Like putting the main quest on hold for four hours because you need to install more public toilets and maybe a full bathhouse would be nice. Malroth is the best.
Pupy World - Excellent explorey platformer! The updig and throw mechanics add a really fun and playful level of improvisation and it was fun to try and untangle the knot of deliveries to make to plan a speedrun.
Your Turn to Die - I'm a sucker for this style of visnovs and the like... The 'trial' segments are some of my faves in the genre. Despite not being as directly connected to anything previous like e.g. a danganronpa trial, they still manage to naturally tie into the previous events of the chapter, and hold a lot of intrigue and surprises. I'm looking forward to part 3, where i feel I might regret some of my previous choices.
AI: The Somnium Files - Naturally being a sucker for the aforementioned style of visnov, I played and really enjoyed Uchikoshi's new game. Date and Aiba have a v dumb and fun dynamic, and the way the story pans out is just as I've come to know and love. Thank you for the delicious soup.
Raging Loop - kinda bought on a whim because I read it was the Werewolf party game but as a visnov and I really wanted to know how that would actually work in an interesting fashion. Turns out werewolf with pre-existing character relationships, longer passage of time and real stakes works really well! The main character is great and really sharp, the structure of the novel lends itself to some really fun moments, and I really dug the general mood and story. Would recommend! It has also made me want to go back and finish Umineko.
