Outer Wilds + DLC. Not just one of the best games I’ve played this year, but one of the best games I have ever played.
Honorable mentions:
- Cruelty Squad
- Life is Strange: True Colors (really wish it were longer)
- Budget Cuts 1 and 2 (VR only)
What's your favorite game you played this year? (Doesn't have to be released this year )
Submitted 9 months ago by echoplex21@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
dinckelman@lemmy.world 9 months ago
sunred@discuss.tchncs.de 9 months ago
Outer Wilds and its DLC is my absolute favorite game of all time and the best I might have ever played. Full stop. There is just so much to it that one doesn’t expect from the surface. It was an experience I still think back to every now and then.
Currently playing Cruelty Squad and enjoying it quite, too.
Crystal_Shards64@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Outer wilds is definitely one of my favorites too. I went in blind which was awesome. Completely caught me off guard right after the tutorial. I didn’t expect such intricate mechanics
Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
LOVED Cruelty Squad
Hate LiS Colours—loved the first game.
Need to try budget cuts.
dinckelman@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Out of curiosity, why did you dislike True Colors? I really loved 1/BtS, but really disliked 2. True Colors felt like a proper spiritual successor to 1
ChildEater@iusearchlinux.fyi 9 months ago
Based Cruelty Squad Enjoyer.
Dexx1s@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Dishonored. I’ve had it for ages and only ever played the very escape mission. It actually got me to buy Dishonored 2 and start that.
Let’s hope for BioShock in 2024.
FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 9 months ago
You should also play the Knife of Dunwald and Brigmore Witches DLCs.
Dexx1s@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Oh yeah, I did get to those. I got the edition with all the DLC from the EGS giveaway.
qualifier982@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Hey, I just finished the Dishonored DLC this year! This game never comes to mind when I think of my favorite games, but when I actually think about it I love so much about it.
Mechanics are satisfying and smooth, art direction has a nice oil-painting style to it, world is simultaneously bleak and beautiful. I wish the story was more interesting but the gameplay more than makes up for it.
Dishonored 2 has been gorgeous so far. I don’t know if you’ve gotten to the mansion level yet, but oh man that environment is a trip. Has to be one of the coolest maps I’ve ever seen in a game.
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Man you’ll absolutely love BioShock. Still in my top games of all time. I’m not sure why I just can’t get into Dishonered. I just enjoy “so anyways I went blasting” and I feel so punished whenever I do .
Hylactor@sopuli.xyz 9 months ago
Dishonored 2 took me hours upon hours to get to run properly due to some sort of processor, gfx card, driver, directx, zodiac sign, poltergeist , whirlpool of death that I couldn’t ever seem to conquer. After absolutely decimating my computer, reinstalling every, and I mean EVERYTHING, windows, drivers, firmwares, replacing ram, sacrificing goats, it fiiiiiinally ran. The trouble shooting portion essentially ruined a week or two of my life, but once it was running I had a great time. That game is the bomb.
Lojcs@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Me too. I wasn’t too impressed while playing it for some reason but ever since I beat it it’s been growing on me.
Mun_Walker@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Cyberpunk has gotten so good I can’t put it down. This might be the only game I rarely even think about modding.
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I think next year I’ll finally get to this. Was hearing so much about the issues I decided to be in the wait and see until people started really recommending it.
qualifier982@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Well the best overall for me has to be Disco Elysium. Game is just astounding. Tears at my heart. Pentiment is a close second. But my god was that one a bit more miserable. Recommend for anyone that enjoys a good story.
From purely a fun standpoint, Rollerdrome and Hi-Fi Rush were absolutely killer. Incredibly tight gameplay. Super satisfying to “get good” at. Rollerdrome was the first game I was motivated enough to 100%, it was that fun.
It’s kind of crazy looking back at how many games I got through in a year. Could’ve sworn I had played these years ago. What is time, even? 🫠
ShroOmeric@lemmy.world 9 months ago
RDR2. Yeah I’m late to the party. Still great IMHO.
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Yeah I started it a while back and just returned to it. The tutorial levels are such a slog it’s hard to keep my attention.
ShroOmeric@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Just wait to be free to go roaming around alone, this is where the game shines. Totallly worthy.
avater@lemmy.world 9 months ago
same for me started it three days ago, it’s good so far
TheFriar@lemm.ee 9 months ago
Same. I played the fuck out of RDR2 this year. I’m, like…actuall replaying it again. Best campaign ever.
BannanaLama@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Finally decided to play Outer Wilds.
Wonderful game! Changed my view of the world and outlook on the purpose of life for the better
duffman@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Fantastic game. So we’ll written, designed, and artistically styled.
good_girl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 months ago
It really does have the strength to do that to so many people that play it. It’s stuck with me for years and not a week goes by that I don’t think about it.
Remmock@kbin.social 9 months ago
Star Wars: Racer
It was a return to nostalgia for me. My wife bought this for me for Christmas. I was worried that I would lug into a very dated game, however:
The gameplay is so exquisite and the track design so carefully thought out that it’s really an exhilarating game. The tracks never get boring because they sprinkle in just enough variation and style to keep them engaging. The tricks you can pull in a podracer do not break suspension of disbelief the way normal car games do when pulling amazing stunts. The flow is smooth and fluid even now.
Between the minimap, rearview, braking, air breaking to sustain airtime and cushion landings, self-determined boosting (rather than relying on external powerups or boost zones), and repair management you’re never not adjusting to something. The game keeps you busy while you’re flying along the track.
To boot, the obstacles and shortcuts are carefully distributed and used, playing into the themes of the tracks. Most are small influences, but useful or interesting. One track will force you to reconsider your playstyle for it, however. Despite that it’s not so jarring that you want to stop playing.
You also get a bevy of racers to choose from and the ability to buy and juggle upgrades and pit droids keeps your gameplay evolving. You can even be rewarded for being a skilled player by adjusting the finish placement payouts.
Unfortunately due to careful planning and purchasing, as well as a better sense of how to play as an adult, the game has some shortcomings. Instead of being neck and neck, I was regularly 7-12 seconds ahead of the second place racer, regularly unable to see them in my rearview. A complete lack of a story mode and a low difficulty bar meant I was done in three days even with limited play time and inconsistent access. While this could have been saved with an Online mode added, I still had fun completing Tournament mode and would gladly give this to anyone who wants high-velocity adrenaline with more complex mechanics than your average racing game.
GuerillaGorillas@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Tunic, such a great combination of classic Zelda with puzzles and mechanics that keep evolving in crazy ways, felt similar to FEZ by the end for the true ending. The manual mechanic is one of my favorite ones in a long time.
morphballganon@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Tears of the Kingdom
It’s not perfect, but still excellent
thorbot@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I enjoyed the hell out of it but quit playing at the final boss fight. I fucking hate that corrupted Lionel that’s in the way of the last boss and I can’t get around it without getting murdered. I know I just need to go darn a bazillion sunflowers for the anti gloom potions but I can’t be bothered
morphballganon@lemmy.world 9 months ago
If you got stuck on a lionel on the way to the final boss, that tells me you were going for the final boss too early. Did you 100% the side quests? Upgrade your armor a bunch?
krakenx@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Super Mario Wonder is the best 2D Mario since Super Mario World. There is so much attention to detail and the polish on every aspect from the gameplay to the way enemies act and react.
Super Mario RPG is the ultimate remake. It kept absolutely everything about the original while adding a few minor gameplay enhancements. Best of all, the graphics look like the original CG readers from the 90s but with perfect modern sharpness.
Deathbulge Battle of the Bands was an unexpected favourite. It’s a light-hearted turned based RPG with Earthbound and Undertale vibes, an amazing soundtrack and interesting and humorous characters.
bravesirrbn@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Deathbulge Battle of the Bands
Ah, I see you’re a person of culture as well
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Going to go with highly modded Fallout 4. I’ve got bunch of immersive mods like darker nights, better flashlights, and minimal HUD. Mods that make the game world scarier like radiative storms, working gasmasks, more ghouls, and more enemies in general. Rebalanced damage, added a lot of weapons, quests, and expanded existing locations. Settlements feel much more important as places of security, and are ringed in concrete walls and patrolled by uniformed Minutemen.
Going out into the world actually feels scary and harrowing. The settlements feel like actual breathers from a truly strange and dangerous world.
While I have a lot to say about the faults of Fallout 4, no other game provides such an amazing foundation for an open world experience, and the modding community is top notch.
sbexpert@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Have you heard about the London mod coming out sometime next year? It’s massive and looks awesome! Can’t wait to try that!
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I do have some UK themed stuff, I think it’s a teaser by the people making the London mod. What I have is some British people in the remains of a crashed airplane who will sell me UK themed items.
Hylactor@sopuli.xyz 9 months ago
I wish that I could get it to run in ultra wide in some convenient way. I remember liking the game straight up, and was always a little perplexed by the fan base beef. Mods seem like it could really kick it up a notch though.
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Strangely, I am one of those people with a beef.
Modded out, the game is a great open world sandbox.
But judging the vanilla game as an RPG and as a Fallout game, I have many problems with it.
The main plot is essentially garbled nonsense being the biggest one. The reduced dialog, the railroading of motivation and backstory, the dilution of the setting by both leaning too far into Fallout’s setting being so 1950s kitsch but also at the same time making Terminator style highly dexterous endoskeleton robots part of the setting, and making the Blade Runner style replicants front and center (yes I know the idea of Replicants was introduced in Fallout 3, but there is a gap between a single one off side quest and a whole game when it comes to tone). There were numerous questionable elements of the background events in Boston, and with game pacing.
So, uh. Yeah. I loved modded Fallout 4, but really because it builds away from following what’s going on in the base game.
sunred@discuss.tchncs.de 9 months ago
ramsgrl909@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Inscryption!
Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
PLEASE play Pony Island and then The Hex. I didn’t think I’d like a Mullins game more than Inscryption but I rate The Hex a point higher. Don’t look into anything and don’t let the graphics fool you. It makes sense an hour or less in.
FrostyPolicy@suppo.fi 9 months ago
Metro Exodus (PC Enhanced Edition).
Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
LOVE that it works with the Dualsense triggers and haptics.
Arthur_Leywin@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Team Fortress 2. It’s partially because of the amazing gameplay and partially because of the community.
Kinakuta@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I had so much fun playing it back in the day, maybe I should pick it up again…
APassenger@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Dyson Sphere Program Cities Skylines 2
Both because I like systems and I like to build.
kromem@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m surprised I don’t see Alan Wake 2 as its own entry in the list so far.
I don’t like horror games, and I didn’t care that much for the first game, or even necessarily Control, but Alan Wake 2 was really impressive. Showcased the power of the format of video games for cinematic narrative in a way that raised the bar even higher than it’d been before, similar to how BG3 and TotK raised the bar in player choice and open ended game design.
And just such a visually striking game too.
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m honestly just waiting for it to go on sale (<$25 cause I’m stingy and my backlog is huuuge) for Xbox. Looking at sales numbers it’ll probably be soon Z
MrPoopbutt@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’m waiting for it to be on steam.
pricklypearbear@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Dead space. The remake was just as good as the original but with updated graphics and mechanics.
Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Final Fantasy XVI. I’m just happy that the quality was up to par after the train wreck of XV.
AWizard_ATrueStar@kbin.social 9 months ago
I really enjoyed XVI. It is not without its problems but overall is a good addition to the series IMHO. I replayed XV as well after not caring for it on my first playthrough. I ended up really liking it the second time around. The story isn’t the best but the game shines in the personal interactions between the characters while you are wandering around and stuff. A lot of the story is really told indirectly through that and I came to appreciate it. Just my thoughts.
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 9 months ago
I have a real fondness for XV despite everything (maybe I just love the fishing minigame), but man does the game have flaws.
Not only are there pacing issues in the story, but a huge problem was trying to go too big and spreading the story too thin, which really diminishes the strength of XV itself as a standalone product. The story really needs all the supplementary products (some of which never got made, like the Lunafreya DLC), and even then the official DLCs aren’t even seamlessly integrated into the base game! You have to take breaks from the main story to play the DLCs at the appropriate time, and that’s not even getting into the tie-in movie and graphic novel and I forget what else. It’s a bit of a mess.
Still, I agree with you, there are some lovely personal interactions between the gang, and I did end up really just enjoying travelling around with them (even despite the open world quests themselves being mostly dull as dirt).
Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 9 months ago
XV on its own isn’t even my least favorite from the series. The game is a lot of fun. It just has so much lost potential. I’d they could have fixed the pacing, given actual time with Lunafreya, given some setup or fallout for Prompto, etc the game could have been amazing. So much of the plot beats are great on paper and the game just kinda skims past most of it.
GuerillaGorillas@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Man, when FFXVI is good it’s so damn good, it’s just a shame the side content felt so low budget in comparison. Really enjoyed my time regardless and curious how it shapes up once the major DLC expansion releases.
Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I liked a lot of the storylines that came from the side content. The fetch quests never seemed too bad because ultimately it’s another excuse to kill more enemies.
CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 9 months ago
BG3 was for me (in 2023). I did 3 full runs. There’s never been a game where I completed it and immediately started another campaign. There’s been games I’ve considered it and pondered it but never did it.
StupydHors@lemmy.world 9 months ago
How is noone screaming about Lethal Company? I have never had more fun that playing that game last few weeks. True its “short” even with mods but sooo worth it.
Ketram@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 months ago
Absolutely Hi-Fi Rush. I loved many games this year, but Hi-Fi Rush was so fun, so wholesome, so loveable that the music it used carried me through some insanely hard times. It is very obviously a passion project made by incredible creators, and I legitimately cannot find a single issue with it (which I can’t say of any other game this year).
I still feel swells of emotion listening to the music from that game. Absolutely incredible.
leave_it_blank@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Days Gone, since it just released on gog and I wanted to give a triple a title another shot. It turned out to be pretty good, fun driving and gameplay, and the hordes were terrifying.
Also I was amazed how well this game was running, 4k 144hz butter smooth on a 4070. Kudos to the developers!
UNY0N@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Dwarf fortress with DFhack. Now with graphics!
andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 9 months ago
Quake I, now remastered. I reinstall it frequently and it was one of the first games I tried on Linux, and it works flawlessly even though it came from a Microsoft-owned Bethesda-published Id. There’s something hypnotyzing in how responsive it feels so I don’t get bored nor with originar, nor with pretty new levels. Even boomer shooters don’t scratch it just like this game does.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Final Fantasy 5 and 6 are fantastic 16 bit JRPGs.
FF6 (Final Fantasy 3 in the US) gets a ton of acclaim, but I highly recommend finding a translated ROM of FF5.
I usually get bored when RPGs require too much level grinding, but they are paced nicely.
Mago6246@lemmy.world 9 months ago
My most played game this year is definitely my favorite, loved it from start to end.
okmko@lemmy.world 9 months ago
This but with Cyberpunk for me.
I’ve tried W3 so many times but I just can’t get into it.
thorbot@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Try again and stick with it. I had to do it three or four times and now I’m hooked. Just about to finally beat the game which is rare for me. And it took a year, but it’s one I always want to come back to
Psychodelic@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Y’all gotta play The Finals. It’s so much fuckin fun. I’d honestly been pretty bored with games until recently when it was released
BurtSamson@lemmy.zip 9 months ago
The environmental destruction is what makes this game so amazing. There are so many ways to approach the enemy. The bank it mode is super fast paced and exciting to run in, grab the coins, and run away. Im enjoying creating different builds/classes and finding their effectiveness on the team. My friend group never plays FPS games but we are addicted to this one!
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Personally for me :
Xbox: Hi-Fi Rush , I love rhythm games and hack and slashes and this was the perfect combo. A lot of heart was poured into this game with the devs and I wish it had a bit more recognition .
PS5: GoW Ragnarok, great follow up to my favorite game last generation with a very satisfying conclusion. Was a close one between this and Spiderman 2 where both games were more of a refinement of the original but this had way more content.
PC: Spec Ops: The Line - Great story, decent mechanics for a fairly old game and the performance was wonderful playing on max settings at 144 fps on my handheld.
ShroOmeric@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’ve also played Spec Ops this year, after having it in the library for god knows how long. I was pretty surprised, it’s pretty damn good.
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I tried to go into it blind but just from so many people telling me that I know there was some bad twist to expect. It was still absolutely great regardless. Game play a little dated but enjoyable.
cozy_chameleon@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Hi-Fi Rush was hands down my favorite game of last year. Such a beautiful and joyful game! I even made a cosplay of Chai
lemmy.world/post/7359297
echoplex21@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Haha that’s awesome. I love that this fan base is so loud and proud. I can’t believe a shadow dropped game from Microsoft of all people turned out to be one of my favorites of the year.
qualifier982@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Spec Ops is so damn good. I’ve been itching to replay it and see if it’s as good as I remember. It’s been so long.