🎮 2023

♥Starfield

Lost myself into this game for a few months. Loved: exploring, hoarding, the story, the main missions for the 2 factions I completed. Did not love: the blandness. Highly recommended. I feel like I barely scratched the surface of this beautiful game.

Dead Space

I abandoned the original (I think I played it on the Wii), but I'm happy to note this is a flawless remake. The atmosphere is a class apart: the mining ship, the engineer's weapons, the zero gravity levels..

Cocoon

A brief diversion from my Starfield obsession. A lovely little puzzle game. Worlds within worlds within worlds. Thoroughly satisfying when everything clicks together.

Venba

Another little gem from Game Pass. I was able to relate to it even more, being a Tamilian who loves the local cuisine. Lovely art style and music.

A Short Hike

A short and sweet journey, thanks to Game Pass. Feels good to explore the lovely little world.

♥ Marvel's Midnight Suns

An absolute beauty of a game. Insanely addictive card-based gameplay, coupled with social aspects to interact with all the characters. Reminded me a bit of Persona with the day/night loop alternating between social and battle aspects.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

My first Switch Lite completion! Picked it on sale, bundled with Dying Light, and was happy to see that this was a well made, humorous game in a lovely Western setting. I maxed out the Rifle's abilities and had a blast sniping at enemies from afar.

Pentiment

Pretty much like a visual novel. Lovely atmosphere. The first half kept me quite engrossed. There was less agency in the second. I like to think this was meant to be savoured as a single play through, mistakes and all.

Bramble

Finished in pretty much a single sitting. The first couple of hours reminded me of another old favourite of mine: //Brothers, a Tale of Two Sons//. The atmosphere is creepy and beautiful. Each chapter is based around a dark fairy tale story, and the boss fights are pretty unique. Very recommended.

The Callisto Protocol

Got this on a whim (bad week at work), and quite enjoyed it. Finished it over the weekend, so it was just the right length for me. /Very/ pretty to look at. I'm not usually a fan of survival horror but I fortunately did not have to spend most of the game scrounging for ammo. Money is sparse though, so I never got the joy of fully upgrading my weapons to be overpowered. The linear paths were a refreshing change from the current trend of open world games.

Planet of Lana

I finished this over the weekend. A short and sweet game with lovely visuals and simple puzzles. Bonus points for having a cute pet that helps out in the puzzles, and an interesting story that the player figures out without any cutscenes or exposition.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

I went in blind without seeing any trailers or reviews and was quite happy with this game. The side quests are pretty well made and there is always something right around the corner that keeps you playing on.

While the combat was nice, especially the bow, I did not really use most of the powers I unlocked. The bindings to use them did not really click with me.

♥Doom (2016)

I've played this a couple of times in the last few years and hated how fast-paced it was. It did not suit my playing style at all. This time, I changed things up a bit and it finally clicked. I did not try to conserve my ammo, and did not try to keep a distance from the enemy. In Doom you need to be aggresive and fast.

This game is pure, unadulterated fun. Waves of enemies keep the pressure up and the weapons are immensely satisfying to use. The music fits the pace perfectly. Highly recommended.

Prodeus

An affectionate tribute to early FPSs like Doom. Very pretty to look at and a blast to play. Each level is about 5 minutes long so it is perfect for quick pick-up-and-play sessions. I stuck with the super shotgun for most of the game. The easy mode is generous and it is great fun to clear a room with a few rockets and leave a blood-splattered mess.

South Park: The Stick of Truth

Highly recommended if you already like South Park. The animation is spot on and the gameplay is really polished. I picked the Thief class for my character and stuck with Butters as my side-kick for most of the game.

♥AC Odyssey: Legacy of the First Blade and The Fate of Atlantis

For some reason I expected the DLCs to be a few hours long and to contain a few extra missions. These turned out to be huge. I liked the first for its story and the second for its worlds. As with any ubisoft game, open world fatigue eventually set in and I was happy when it finally ended. But I had a lot of fun for most of it: I spent a lot more time customizing my gear, adding engravings and fine tuning.

Towards the last third, I got things just the way I like it: an assassin built using the Pirate gear, with adrenaline recharges, 40% savings on Shadow of Nyx and some pretty good boosts on all assassin skills. So I had quite a lot of fun raiding forts invisibly and 1-hit killing pretty much every one in the game.

I've spent ~150 hours on AC Odyssey now and think I am done with it. Considering how much I jump between games and prefer shorter experiences, it is nice to have one exception that I have gone back to so many times in the last few years.