Another year has passed and it’s time yet again to for our year-end lists. There is a bit of December left, but I think many people are closing out the last games they will play for 2024. And I think people are starting to get the itch to share their lists, so I think it’s time to kick things off. I’ll keep updating my personal list right up until the 31st. However, with only just over two weeks to the Holidays, I think I’m comfortable in the sense that I won’t visit too many additional games before year-end.
As with every previous year, the list is largely in reverse chronological order to the best of my knowledge. There are occasions where I forget to record my end date for some games, so I do my very best to insert those games in what I think is the right spot.
2024 was a bit lighter on gaming for me than 2023, as life went haywire at the second half of the year. But thankfully I’ve still had time to get plenty of older games in despite not being able to play some 2024 games that I wanted to check out, such as Dragon’s Dogma II, Ultros, Animal Well, Astro Bot and Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Games I played to completion/played a lot of:
Stardew Valley (Finally completed the community center for the first time this year)
Super Mario RPG (Switch remake)
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Link: The Faces of Evil
Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
BS The Legend of Zelda (MottZilla Patch)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch remake)
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Bayonetta
Fire Emblem Engage
Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
Paper Mario
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch remake)
Kirby’s Dream Land 2
World of Warcraft: The War Within (Completed the campaign and some light dungeoning, but no raiding)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
Overwatch 2 (Unfortunately got addicted again after they finally fixed the competitive mode earlier this year)
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Animal Well
Games I played a lot of but dropped:
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS Remake)
Palia
Palworld
Princess Peach Showtime!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Started a new island and played a lot for like a 3-4 week spurt)
Silent Hill
Final Fantasy IV
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Games I’m currently still chipping away at in some form:
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (Been hard to find time to sit with my PS5 to play it)
Wolfenstein: The New Order
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (Been playing it in Japanese sporadically for many months)
Zelda’s Adventure (I keep bouncing off of this… Understandably, it’s terrible. But I refuse to give up on completing every Zelda spinoff )
Are you playing the original Zeldas adventure? If i can find it there was a “remake” of sorts in the same style as the gbc games thats actually pretty decent. Also wheres Links Crossbow Training hmmm?
Pretty sure I finished more last year, but I also fell short on Halloween which is usually reliably at least 30 games. I only hit like 22 this year. Last year Im pretty sure I broke 100 total
Played And Finished
Assasin’s Creed 1 (All Achievements)
Anarcute
Citizen Sleeper
Dargon Blarg Z: Kakarot + DLC
What Remains of Edith Finch
Clubhouse Games
Part Time UFO
Mafia Definitive Edition
The Wolf Among Us
Kids Next Door Operation S.O.D.A
Mafia 2 Definitive Edition
Call of Duty 2
Days Gone
E.T. (Atari)
Balan Wonderworld
Evil West
A Hat In Time
Duke Nukem Forever
Fallout 76
Inscryption
SSX
GRID 2019
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
MLB The Show 14
Need For Speed Most Wanted 2012
Mortal Kombat 11 + DLC
Cold Fear
Splatterhouse 2010
Night Slashers (OG Arcade)
Slenderman
Typing of the Dead
Pinball of the Dead
Destroy All Humans Remastered
Dredge
Dead of the Brain
Silent Hill
Haunted House (Tandy TRS-80, 1979)
3D Monster Maze
Halloween (Atari)
Ghost House
War of the Dead
Maniac Mansion
Splatterhouse Arcade
Castlevania the Adventure
It Came From The Desert
Midnight Mutants
Magician Lord
Silent Debuggers
Dracula the Undead
Devilish
Night Trap
Alien 3 (Atari Jaguar)
Darkstalkers
System Shock (OG)
Alone in the Dark (OG)
Dead Island 2 + DLC
House of the Dead Remake
Resident Evil HD
Intertial Drift
Walking Dead TaleTell Season One
Magician Lord (Arcade)
Played, Probably wont Finish this year
Fatal Frame 5
Killer Is Dead
Dirt 2.0
Drive Club
Hotline Miami
Generation Zero
Saints Row The Third
Deathloop
Yakuza 0
Currently Playing, Or will Finish by Year End
WRC FIA 4
Robocop Rogue City
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
Detroit Become Human
Pizza Tower
Ultros
Pistolwhip
Also I’ll probably play Echos of Wisdom either in the next couple weeks or my first game for next year.
The original. I know the fan remake you’re talking about, but it’s not really the “true” Zelda’s Adventure, and I’m deadset on subjecting myself to the real thing for completion’s sake. And don’t worry, Link’s Crossbow Training is on my list, I’m gonna dig out my Wii for that one!
I will end up squeezing a few small games in before the year is up but as of today, my stats for the year include 30 games completed, 5 demos played, and 8 games dropped. Curiously I didn’t end up beating any games in April. My guess would be I was working on Star Ocean and FFVII Rebirth during that time. The following write-ups are only for the games I’ve completed.
January
Snipperclips: Cut It Out, Together!
Finished on Jan. 21st. My friend and I played through this together. At times, it had us in tears laughing and screaming at each other while solving puzzles in the most ludicrous way possible. Some of the levels were frustrating and suffered slightly from repetitive level design. Otherwise I was quite happy to experience one of the Switch’s launch titles. Seemed like a good way to celebrate it while awaiting for Nintendo’s next console.
February
The Letter
Finished Feb. 3rd. This VN took forever to finish, and it didn’t play the best on Steam Deck, and the ending I received was abrupt and dissatisfying, but it was pretty fun. If you enjoy spooky chain letter murder scenarios with a diverse cast of characters, might be worth a read.
March
A Little to the Left
Finished base game on Mar. 10th. Fuck this game. I’m determined to finish the DLC still but this is the game that spurred me to play every one of my Steam purchases before I miss the refund window.
Countess in Crimson
Finished Mar. 27th. I really liked this game. I’m excited for the next update, regardless whether it’s free or not. I wish it was easier to track routes for the different endings but I really only have minor criticisms for this game.
A Year of Springs
Finished Mar. 28th. I still need to go back and complete the different endings but I enjoyed this cute VN, especially since the story centers around the trans experience.
Little Nightmares II
Finished Mar. 31st. After the initial prologue, I wasn’t super interested in the setting and the controls were frustrating as hell and I thought the story felt like a repeat of the first game. Will probably still play the third one when it releases.
May
Rain On Your Parade
Finished May 21st. This was equally fun and dumb. I still have yet to complete the DLC. There were a ton of media references that were fun to spot.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Finished May 22nd. This game made me miss the PNW. Probably cause I played it near by birthday. The little vignettes were fun and I’m a sucker for walking sims. The story didn’t impact me as much as others but it wasn’t bad. Definitely weird.
June
The Sims
Finished Jun. 1st. I played the console version for GameCube. It was fun to finally beat. I miss the Sims. I hate where the franchise is currently. This was definitely a flawed game that holds a lot of nostalgia for me but still plenty better than TS4.
Zodiacats
Finished Jun. 16th. The puzzles got repetitive since most of the artwork follows the same design so it’s easy to cheese through them. The artwork itself is really cute though. The opening animation needs a lot of work.
Toem
Finished Jun. 21st. Easily my GOTY. I had so much lighthearted fun with this game and I am so excited they announced a sequel during the Wholesome Snack. Please give this one a try even if you are turned off by the monochrome. I initially was too but it ended up being one of my favorite games.
July
Lovebirb
Finished Jul. 3rd. This game marks the beginning of going through all the free Steam games I have in my library. I didn’t care for the rhythm aspect too much though. Just didn’t feel like I could get the correct rhythm. It felt “off”.
//TODO: today
Finished Jul. 4th. A free VN that has quite a bit of content with differing routes. Lots of gay rep in the character customization. Might replay it one day but enjoyed the route I received.
Fujiwara Bittersweet
Finished Jul. 6th. While you are given choice, there is a recommended route order, which is kinda frustrating when you play through the game, feel like you’re missing something, and then finding out the choice is kind of an illusion if you’re supposed to play it in a certain order. It was still fun though. Just wish I had known that information before I started playing.
Grimm’s Hollow
Finished Jul. 6th. A short RPG. Very purple. DIdn’t get the true ending so need to watch that on Youtube but it was fun trying to max out my stats before the game ended. I liked the morbid yet cozy vibes offered.
August
Sheepy: a Short Adventure
Finished Aug. 3rd. A free platformer from Mr. SuicideSheep. I was expecting awesome music but it wasn’t very memorable. Still, it ended up being pretty fun.
OnlyCans: Thirst Date
Finished Aug. 4th. A free horny game about opening cans of soda. I streamed this with no context to my friends to great amusement and cringe.
Rock Life: the Rock Simulator
Finished Aug. 11th. Playing this right after OnlyCans was surreal.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - Grouvee Game Club
Finished Aug. 14th. The first Grouvee Game Club game! It was alright. Probably would’ve been funner if I played it with a buddy but it wasn’t a bad first choice for the club.
Moose Lost in the Woods
Finished Aug. 17th. A teeny tiny free cozy game that was fun but will probably be best enjoyed by teeny tiny kiddos.
September
Our Life: Beginnings & Always
Finished Sept. 9th. A peaceful cozy visual novel that covers the course of your life from childhood to adulthood. Base game is free while additional content and routes are paid DLC. Really enjoyed this one and look forward to the sequel.
The Monster Inside
Finished Sept. 14th. Microscopic free game. Very little substance here.
Silent Hill
Finished Sept. 21 Very proud of myself for finally playing this game.
October
Silent Hill 2 - Grouvee Game Club
Finished Oct. 1st. Extremely proud of myself for playing this game. I remember dropping it out of fear in high school.
Hidden Cats in Spooky Town
Finished Oct. 2nd. Had a lot of fun streaming this to my friends and finding all the kitties.
Beacon Pines - Grouvee Game Club
Finished Oct. 24th. The art style, specifically the character portraits and designs, is fantastic. The rest of the game is pretty good too.
Magic Archery
Finished Oct. 26th. Very short idle game but made my brain go brrr.
November
Venba - Grouvee Game Club
Finished Nov. 13th. Played for the food but stayed for the story. Loved the addition of a real cookbook after you beat the game.
Life After Magic
Finished Nov. 14th. A magical girl VN with Y2k aesthetics. The vibes were immaculate.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Finished Nov. 29th. Starts out exciting and breathtaking then slowly evolves into a chore to complete. A game with great moments but not overall a great game.
I do love the continuity of these lists from year to year…
Syberia, PC Traditional Adventure Game - I really don’t recall having a good time with this one and in 2023 I think I said as much. The game is… unfair in a few really subtle ways that sort of make it a chore to chew through and the writing is reminiscent of an old novel you find at your parent’s house but can’t get through a few pages of.
Dragon Warrior, NES JRPG - Needs no introductions. I had previously enjoyed DQ3 and FF1 so I didn’t have a lot of doubts about having fun with this one, but I still was surprised. I stand by my review that it’s not a ‘must play’ because you have already played in in hundreds of other forms, but man… it wouldn’t be bad to do so anyway.
The Final Fantasy Legend, Gameboy JRPG - I really love the microgenre of ‘the universe are floors in the same building’, which also appears in one of my favorite comics, Tower of God. That said, this is completely missable. There are tons of mechanics for an og gameboy rpg, but there’s no chunks of fun hidden inside, just specks and a whole lot of menu’ing and button mashing. If I recall, this is SAGA in disguise, so I’m onboard to play the second one, but that’s all I have planned.
Undertale Yellow, RPG - Truly a masterpiece example of a fangame which improves on the playability and spirit of Undertale in a few ways, but is a bit more chunky to replay through. It under utilizes Undertale’s ‘Determination’ theme and is not really in the same genre of storytelling as the original, though it makes the same mistake of trying to reinforce some fairly harmful life lessons. Great thought material for adults, makes me worried about young uns basing their worldview around uninhibited self sacrifice.
Nino Kuni Wrath of the White Witch - PS4 JRPG, War God’s Axe. I made a mistake by not writing a review for this one when I played it, because it left me so so so tired, but I did leave a status of ‘War God’s Axe’ which manages to bring that feelings back completely fresh. Beautiful game, glad it exists, but jesus christ gatekeeping content behind grinding low drops is a painful place to leave a game and I have no desire to ever touch it or the series again.
Wario Ware, Mega Party Games, Gamecube Party Game - Nintendo’s Party Games, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Warioware (cough Smash), the Sports titles have a sort of original sin to them, that being that Nintendo just simply will not improve through iteration with any of them and will always try to reinvent the wheel. This works a lot for the, but it also means that the Gamecube and GBA have some of the ‘perfected’ simple concepts for some of these series that are difficult to improve on. Warioware MPG belongs in that realm, it’s all it needs to be and nothing more, with an incredibly grindy but still engaging single player experience.
Super Mario Sunshine, Gamecube Platformer - Sunshine spits in the face of what I just wrote. You really come out of this game having picked a side in a great and endless debate and for me… I just don’t think it’s good. It’s not made right and it pulled its own concept and systems so tight and thin that they’re just not that fun, starting with the controls and extending on to the lategame blue coin hunt. There should have been an adult in the room when this game was going through QA checks.
Baldur’s Gate 3, PC CRPG - I’m definitely one of those people that started and stopped several saves before committing to playing this fully through a year in. Really wonderful production quality, but I have the emergent and open world elements to be the biggest hindrance, particularly with the stealth and physics system. These huge projects really need to settle their heart and look to create classic, tighter experiences, I can’t imagine how many man hours and counts of months of release delays were wasted introducing these incredibly complex mechanics that altogether hurt the experience.
Also, I don’t care what anyone says, it ends on a cliffhanger and they were obviously teasing DLC.
Venba, PC Storytelling/Minigame - Nice little narrative experience I played for the Grouvee Game Club. It reminded me of some of the better early iphone games that really attempted to be whole experiences, but I really just wanted more from it, more gameplay, more puzzles or riddles, more explainations and backstory and really more time with the characters in general. It really feels like its missing a chapter talking about the parents meeting and a truly difficult recipe or two.
Mario Kart Double Dash, Gamecube Racing - Mario Kart is such a thoroughly simple and well explored formula, but Double Dash has definitely got some character to it. It feels like it’s missing just one more set of tracks and was more of a prototype for the DS’s systems, but I had a lot of fun. It did make me realize I may be getting a bit… old for the stresses of some games. Mario Kart’s not difficult, but the all cups challenges and chaos of some of the tracks… started to really fry some of my nerves.
Otherwise, I am still playing through BG3 with my family in a separate playthrough and that should clear up soon. I also spent a substantial amount of time playing Minecraft with my wife, Old School Runescape, and reading through Umineko finally after waiting about 15 years to do so. DO NOT put things off guys, really, you have to kick that bucket list like you are trying to kill with every blow. Super Auto Pets is also genuinely a good time, but I don’t know what they’re smoking with those DLC prices.
There was also TCG Card Shop Simulator, Company of Heroes, Dave the Diver, Tube Slider, Path of Exile, PlateUp!, and Barotrauma. I am currently most of the way (but those who have done it know that ‘most’ means 'barely started) through 100%'ing Super Smash Bros Melee. I also hosted a LAN Party where we played things like Star Wars Battlefront 2, WC3 The Frozen Throne, Quake 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, Starcraft Broodwar, and Heroes and Might and Magic 3.
Til next year y’all. Yada yada ‘Don’t play on Easy’. Happy New Year.
I already gave my little ranking of what I played for the year but since we’re on the cusp, here are all of the games I ‘completed’ in 2024 (completed here could mean got as far as I’m gonna go and uninstalled it and moved on or it means I beat the final boss) ranked by the date I completed them.
Welp, this may be a long one again. I played a lot less OSRS, until Fall when I started an Ironman account >.< Oh me and that game. Well and over summer, trying to get Best in Slot gear by killing a profitable boss a lot. I almost forgot that I was still streaming up until June too, but most of the games are part of the Chronology Project backlog.
Well, I was going to do all the games I played, but I think I will stick with just 3+ star games. And then go through the 1 star list for my list of shame lol. Cuz uh, listing them all would be… a lot
I sure did give a lot of 5 stars ( ones), but I suppose when you get rid of the 2 stars, that narrows down the list quite a bit. And this was the era I was so excited for, NES and on. Plus, it included a lot of favorites I replayed, some of which disappointed (FF2, namely), but many of which were reaffirmed.
Deadly Towers, 1986, NES
Wing of Madoola, 1986, NES
Alien Syndrome, 1987, Arcade
Eamon, 1980, Apple II
Major Title, 1990, Arcade
Big Trouble In Little China, 1987, ZX Spectrum
Adventures of Alice Who Went Through The Looking Glass And Came Back Through Not Much Changed, 1986, PC
Darius, 1987, Arcade
Arazok’s Tomb, 1987, Amiga
Golvellius: Valley of Doom, 1987, MSX
Shinobi, 1987, Arcade
Super QIX, 1987, Arcade
Plump Pop, 1987, Arcade
The Karate Kid, 1987, NES
Xybots, 1987, Arcade
Great Giana Sisters, 1987, C64
King Kong 2: Yomigaeru Densetsu, 1986, MSX
Ewoks and the Dandelion Warriors, 1987, MSX
Psychic 5, 1987, Arcade
Rainbow Islands, 1987, Arcade
Hi no Tori: Gaou no Bouken, 1987, NES
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, 1987, NES
Contra, 1987, Arcade
Mickey Mousecapade, 1987, NES
Subnautica, 2018, PC
Double Dragon, 1987, Arcade
Rygar, 1987, NES
Black Panther, 1987, Arcade
Wonder Boy In Monster Land, 1987, Arcade
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, 1987, Apple II
Final Fantasy X, 2001, PS2
Metal Gear, 1987, MSX
Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic, 1987, NES
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, 1987, NES
Punch-Out!!, 1987, NES
The Goonies II, 1987, NES
Maniac Mansion, 1987, C64
Faxanadu, 1987, NES
JJ & Jeff, 1987, Turbografx
Outlanders, 1987, NES
Mega Man, 1987, NES
Final Fantasy, 1987, NES
Phantasy Star, 1987, Master System
GeGeGe no Kitarou 2: Youkai Gundan no Chousen, 1987, NES
The Twilight Zone, 1988, PC
Duck Hunt, 1984, NES
Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu, 1986, NES
Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage, 1988, NES
The Guardian Legend, 1988, NES
Battle of Olympus, 1988, NES
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, 1988, NES
The New Zealand Story, 1988, Arcade
EarthBound, 1994, SNES
Dragon Ball: Daimaou Fukkatsu, 1988, NES
Alien Crush, 1988, Turbografx
Super Maro Bros 2, 1988, NES
Splatterhouse, 1988, Arcade
Super Mario Bros 3, 1988, NES
Ninja Gaiden, 1988, NES
Final Fantasy II, 1988, NES
Akira, 1988, NES
Mega Man 2, 1988, NES
Strider, 1989, Arcade
Chip’s Challenge, 1989, PC & Lynx
Midnight Resistance, 1989, Arcade
Legend of Valkyrie, 1989, Arcade
Pipe Dream, 1989, Amiga
Project Firestart, 1989, C64
Caper in the Castro, 1989, Mac
Ganbare Goemon 2, 1989, NES
Phantasy Star II, 1989, Genesis
Legend of Hero Tonma, 1989, Arcade
Willow, 1989, Arcade
Fist of the North Star, 1989, NES
Super Mario Land, 1989, Gameboy
River City Ransom, 1989, NES
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 1989, NES
X Multiply, 1989, Arcade
Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, 1989, NES
Mother, 1989, NES
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair, 1988, Arcade
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, 1989, Master System
Crime City, 1989, Arcade
DuckTales, 1989, NES
Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero, 1989, PC
Willow, 1989, NES
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 1989, Arcade
Cratermaze, 1989, Turbografx
SimCity, 1989, Mac
Mr. Heli, 1987, Arcade
The Revenge of Shinobi, 1989, Genesis
Final Fight, 1989, Arcade
Bonk’s Adventure, 1989, Turbografx
Sweet Home, 1989, NES
Bad News Baseball, 1989, NES
Ys: Book I & II, 1989, Turbografx
Astyanax, 1989, Arcade
Batman: The Video Game, 1989/90, NES & Gameboy & Genesis (yes I reviewed every version lol)
Mappy Kids, 1989, NES
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, 1989, NES
James Bond: The Stealth Affair, 1990, PC
Super Solvers: Challenge of the Ancient Empires!, 1990, PC
Loom, 1990, PC
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, 1990, PC
Dragon Breed, 1989, Arcade
Hammerin’ Harry, 1990, Arcade
The Ninja Kids, 1990, Arcade
Super Solvers: Treasure Mountain!, 1990, PC
Ganbare Goemon Gaiden: Kieta Ougon Kiseru, 1990, NES
Smash TV, 1990, Arcade
Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers, 1990, NES
Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei II, 1990, NES
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, 1990, NES
Crystalis, 1990, NES
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, 1990, Genesis
Parodius, 1990, Arcade
Magician Lord, 1990, Arcade
Final Fantasy III, 1990, NES
SD Snatcher, 1990, MSX
Jajamaru Ninpou Chou, 1989, NES
Jajamaru Gekimaden: Maboroshi no Kinmajo, 1990, NES
Mickey’s 123’s The Big Surprise Party, 1990, PC
Liquid Kids, 1990, Arcade
Adventures of Gilligan’s Island, 1990, NES
Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker, 1990, Arcade
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, 1990, MSX
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan, 1990, Gameboy
Doraemon: Giga Zombie no Gyakushuu, 1990, NES
Tazz-Mania, 1982, Arcade
Final Fantasy Legend, 1989, Gameboy
A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1990, NES
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, 1990, Genesis
Minesweeper, 1990, PC
Balloon Kid, 1990, Gameboy
Batman, 1990, Turbografx
Snoopy’s Magic Show, 1990, Gameboy
Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun!, 1990, NES
The Secret of Monkey Island, 1990, PC
Silver Surfer, 1990, NES
King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder, 1990, PC
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, 1990, Genesis
F-Zero, 1990, SNES
Super Mario World, 1990, SNES
Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu, 1990, NES
ActRaiser, 1990, SNES
StarTropics, 1990, NES
Gaiares, 1990, Genesis
G.I. Joe, 1991, NES
Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion, 1991, PC
Commander Keen: Keen Dreams, 1991, PC
Aunt Velma Is Coming To Tea, 1991, ZX Spectrum
Adventures of Willy Beamish, 1991, PC
Jones in the Fast Lane, 1991, PC
Big Nose the Caveman, 1991, NES
Final Fantasy Legend II, 1990, Gameboy
Lemmings, 1991, Amiga
Adventure Island II, 1991, NES
Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III, 1991, Turbografx
Simpsons Arcade Game, 1991, Arcade
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, 1991, Arcade
Shining in the Darkness, 1991, Genesis
Silent Debuggers, 1991, Turbografx
Spider-Man, 1991, Arcade
Mickey’s Dangerous Chase, 1991, Gameboy
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle II, 1991, Gameboy
Metal Max, 1991, NES
Sonic the Hedgehog, 1991, Genesis
Jumpman Lives!, 1991, PC
Cosmic Cop, 1991, Arcade
Road Rash, 1991, Genesis
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, 1991, Gameboy
Final Fantasy IV, 1991, SNES
The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, 1991, SNES
Bonk’s Revenge, 1991, Turbografx
Hunter, 1991, Amiga
Gun-Nac, 1990, NES
Captain Planet and the Planeteers, 1991, NES
Sunset Riders, 1991, Arcade
Rent A Hero, 1991, Genesis
The Lucky Dime Caper Starring Donald Duck, 1991, Game Gear
Catacomb 3-D, 1991, PC
The Addams Family, 1991, Turbografx
Commander Keen 6: Aliens Ate My Babysitter!, 1991, PC
ToeJam & Earl, 1991, Genesis
I am just about done with Metroid II for the Gameboy and am loving it even more than the first Metroid! Despite the meh music/sound. But I will include that on next year’s list since I will likely be finishing it today (Jan 1, 2025). Sorry for the long post! <3
Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana - Proper adventure that keeps throwing story beats and curve balls at you. The cast are also very well fleshed out and all have their own stories and roles to play instead of just being filler. The setting is vast and lush and soundtrack is full of bangers. Gameplay and battling is fine, although it is a bit of a mash attack to win game. I was sad to see this one end.
Triangle Strategy - Another very well fleshed out game. I wish I had more time to play the other endings. The gameplay is where this one excels, full of tactical thought and jeopardy, with deep mechanics.
Radical Dreamers - While short, I was engrossed, sucked into the world and its characters. It was eerie, foreboding and tense throughout. I wanted so much more by the time the credits rolled.
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag - Amazed at how well this aged. I wasn’t sure how I would feel playing “classic” AC after playing Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla, but Black Flag was still great fun, without too many frustrating bits. The setting looks amazing and most of the gameplay is just plain fun.
Child of Light - Whimsical, dream-like, like playing through some kind of zen imagination.
Balatro - I was addicted for a time, like everyone else. I got a bit frustrated at not being able to “beat” the game, perhaps I was missing something, but I still had a great time.
Freedom Planet 2 - Maybe I’m in the minority of thinking this doesn’t feel like a “Sonic fan-made game”. Apart from running around at the speed of sound anyway. But they’ve clearly put tons of work into all the assets of this game and made something their own and full of life. The mechanics might be a bit wonky at times, but this was good fun throughout.
Dredge - Some great environmental story-telling and tension building. The combination of calm, relaxing fishing and creepy horror is jarring. “I’m fishing but there’s SOMETHING WRONG” was my thought process throughout most of Dredge.
Ori and the Blind Forest - When I think about the trials Ori goes through, it’s a miracle something so small can survive. But you do, and it feels good to master every challenge.
Thank Goodness you’re here - I laughed at this game the most this year. As a brit, though not a northerner, it tickled me.
I don’t know how I typed all this up with all the distractions and, quite frankly, being made to feel bad for spending some time on it… but that’s life. Time Poor Inc will play on when he can but I’ll never be a serious video game hobbiest anymore. I’ve not come to terms with that yet. It also makes me wonder if it’s for the best if I don’t hang out on Grouvee anymore. It just reminds me of what I’m missing all the time… FOMO is a childish trait though right? I should get over myself.
That will definitely do it… are you able to look for used copies of games? Or maybe play via emulation? Or focus on your older backlog? Older games tend to be shorter and if playing on ROMs, very accessible.
Romanizer - short free to play game inspired by ancient history - it was made during a game jam and I like that kind of simple, a bit unpolished gameplay.
INSIDE - what was that about for God’s sake??? 5/5 for weird atmosphere, 4/5 puzzles
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments - six cases based on original stories. Could be more challenging but I loved that the studio was faithful to the spirit of the books.
while True: learn() - puzzle game about machine learning, great at the beginning, a bit repetitive later. But I feel a bit more educated now.
Doors: Paradox - casual, “escape-room style” puzzle game, it’s clear it was made for phones but I really liked the whimsical dioramas.
I tried to complete Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous I started in 2023. After 131 hours I have about 90% game completed. I played oldschool RPGs before but that one is comically hard. Without previous knowledge of Pathfinder rules I spent hours trying to build the team properly instead of playing haha.
And of course I’m addicted to Arknights, mobile tower defense with gacha system. Usually gacha (lottery) is a dangerous thing. And there are players that spent more than 20 000$ to have all rare “operators” and to max them. It’s insane. But I’m FTP player and can complete all content.
)
ones), but I suppose when you get rid of the 2 stars, that narrows down the list quite a bit. And this was the era I was so excited for, NES and on. Plus, it included a lot of favorites I replayed, some of which disappointed (FF2, namely), but many of which were reaffirmed.