Avatar

Games+ for me of 2017 (Off-Topic)

by Harmanimus @, Friday, December 29, 2017, 20:05 (2281 days ago) @ cheapLEY

A handful of notable things I played through the year. Starting with things that I am just now getting to (in spite of my backlog) and going through re-released games and then fresh for 2k17. I haven't completed all of them, but these are ones that stand out for at least feeling somewhat accomplished in them.

Titanfall 2 (XBO) - This one has been discussed here a lot. I think it is definitely what I clocked the most time in for most of the Year. Well supported, very solid game. Ups and downs with balancing (Volt didn't need the second nerf it got and could have used a bigger buff when they tried to fix it) but overall a very lively experience. The movement is the best, bar none. Especially when you get practiced with air strafing and slide hopping. (In contrast to above, however, I don't think the shooting feels better than Des2ny, only the movement) I am looking forward to see where Respawn goes from there.

Warframe (PC) - I had tried this game back in 2013-14 time frame. I didn't like it. I still have major issues with it, but I play it because I have a friend who is really into it who I enjoy playing with. The art style is one of the worst things in the industry today. Movement is fun. Combat isn't super satisfying outside of powers. But there is a lot to do, and the time-oriented growth and investment structure is quite interesting, and I think something a lot of games could learn from.

Submerged (PC) - There is no combat. It's pure exploration. The setting is interesting and in line with my preferred flavor of post apocalypse (more on that later) and at times both beautiful and unsettling. I missed it back in '15 when it was released, but Steam sales do wonders for growing my back catalog. Definitely worth it for the chill atmosphere and interesting story telling if you have the time.

Primordia (PC) - An older point-and-click adventure which reminded me a lot of Machinarium. But it is much more elaborate, though still holds the frustrations of trying to solve the puzzles. Most of them are rational, but it still suffers a lot of trial and error.

Layers of Fear (XBO) - Walking simulator. But a really enjoyable and engrossing one. I guy I know runs weekly and event LANs through the largest bar in town, and the dark real-world atmosphere really helped the feeling of the game when I played through it. Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys a bit of Gothic horror in their life. I am looking forward to playing Observer when I get around to it.

Ziggurat (PC) - A very mid-90's inspired shooter with Rogue (the original 1982 Rogue is still in my top 3 games of all time list) elements? Sign me up. It reminds me a lot of Heretic/Hexen in style, but much more toward Unreal or Quake for the overall gameplay. It scratches and itch I didn't know I had. Though, some of the bosses are cheap as all get out.

D16M (Switch) - Happily this game is still amazing and it running on a Switch is impressive. Sadly it doesn't play as well in handheld mode simply due to the way Nintendo made the Joycons. But it makes for a very satisfying periodic diversion.

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ (Switch) - I got flak from some folk I know because I have clocked way more time into this game on my Switch than BotW. But I refused to buy a Switch for a single game at the time and this pushed it over anyway. I've been playing various iterations of this game for a long time now, and it's still probably my very favorite time waster. The combination of Legend of Zelda inspired rooms with a Rogue-like structure brings me great joy. Not for the faint of heart. Probably not for the deeply religious. But oh-so satisfying to beat Mega Satan with only one heart for the last 2 phases of the fight. So intense.

Breath of the Wild (Switch) - I think you summed it up pretty well for me with "feels empty and hollow" and while there is definitely more to it that is a succinct way to put it. From a technical standpoint and the chosen art direction for the game they were making is great. The game is fun, though I feel that the grind for stamina and the durability systems are a little heavy handed in a bad way. The more RPG elements are nice, and I actually enjoy the cooking mechanic. A little tighter experience with some aspects of the game and I would likely regard it much higher. I don't think it is up there with the more focused Zelda games, but it definitely is a very enjoyable world to be in if nothing else.

Lawbreakers (PC) - My biggest disappointment of 2k17. Not because the game was bad. Far from it. From a "Competitive Shooter" standpoint it stands (or stood, I have heard patches after I gave up have ruined the overall balance) head and shoulders above everything else on the market (Yes, even TF2, D2, and OW) and the market just let it die. CliffyB hate or poor marketing or F2P/30$/Loot Box baggage or whatever. Combine that with a high skill floor and a daunting skill ceiling and it just wasn't meant to be I guess. RIP Lawbreakers.

Wolfenstein: The New Colossus (PS4) - GotY Runner up for me. It continues the story from The New Order in a very visceral way. Highly enjoyable. It is worth playing for that alone. I think the actual story (even including The Old Blood) of these games show what the medium is capable of even more than a lot of pure narrative games that are out there. It can be brutally punishing, but also provides a very good and punchy bit of combat. Transitioning from stealth kills to dual shotguns is probably one of the most giddifying things you can do this year in any game. Definitely some rough spots in encounter balance, but nothing that was impossible to work out. And I've only done one play through.

PUBG (PC) - I've played it periodically over the course of the year. I can't bring myself to invest crazy amounts of time into it. Maybe if I had a solid group of people with good communication. The core design is enjoyable, and the broader gaming community seems to have taken that to heart. I don't think it'll go away, but it will have competition. It can be tense in a really good way, though. It is frustrating at times that the style of game focuses so much on ambushes as the premiere strategy.

Destiny 2 (XBO/PC) - I already had a major rant about my feelings on PvP. I need to slim down my follow up rant regarding PvE and some minor PvP updates. I'm still playing it more than anything else at the moment. Though my group on the XBO has basically fallen off for the most part, to my disappointment. So it's mostly PC for me, which I have a much smaller install base on. Gonna have to find people to try to net those 25 competitive wins.

Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4) - 110% my GotY. Basically as close to my ideal post-apoc setting as I've seen anything hit. A story that is well constructed, quite human, and also kept me guessing at a few points, which is rare for most media anymore. While I acknowledge it somewhat lacks realism to replace that with content density, I'll concede that as the right decision. It is a world worth being in, exploring, and honing your skills in. I need to play The Frozen Wilds still. And I have been considering another play through. The last time it was to the point I was equipping armor for purely aesthetic purposes as I was so rarely taking any damage at all. The game allows for skilled and intellectual play in a very refreshing way. The fact that a lot of the feel of the game reminds me of Tomb Raider (13) and Rise of The Tomb Raider is a very positive things. Those were some of my favorite experiences of the last handful of years (I played TR13 in Winter of 2014 and RotTR when it released) and the parallels were endearing, but placed in an open experience in that setting? So good.

And two Pen and Paper games have taken up a reasonable amount of time. Even if I haven't actually sat down and had a group to play them with. Just random D&D pick up games.

Tales From the Loop - Anyone who plays tabletop and like the resurgence of Weird 80's could benefit from looking into this game. I backed it pretty substantially during the Kickstarter campaign. I am not disappointed with the end result. It is a very straight forward game mechanically, buy easily supports playing something reminiscent of Stranger Things, E.T., The Goonies, IT, Stand By Me or any number of other similar flavors of game. I just need to find a group to run a campaign with.

Genesys - The pet project. Genesys for those unfamiliar is a setting agnostic system by Fantasy Flight Games based off of their Star Wars line of Narrative-focused PnP games (Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebelion, Force and Destiny) focused primarily on their proprietary dice system. So, the project. I've been working on converting Destiny over to a Pen and Paper system for give or take 2 years or so. Some of it more obtusely than others. But with this as a basis, and sufficiently flavorful to support Destiny as a universe, I've restarted much of my progress. Finding the appropriate balance between attempting to retread a more gamist style for combat encounters while keeping the core as colabo-narrative has been an interesting process. I've only had the book itself for a short time to work off. But I figured it was novel enough to bring up here. I'll probably start a thread when I come up with a pre-alpha document.


Complete thread:

 RSS Feed of thread