I played a lot of older games this year. Call me Internet Explorer with how lagged behind I am. But I have been catching up with a lot of gems that I missed. Obviously, nothing can compare to CHAOS, but I tried to judge each game on its own merits.
Inscryption
I saw this game on gamepass and it looked fun. It starts out as if Slay the Spire became a creepypasta. I wasn’t expecting it to be such a fantastic game. The story is great, and it has added replayability. I highly recommend checking it out.
10 Ben Drowneds/10 You Shouldn’t Have Done Thats
Baldur’s Gate 3
I’m a little late to the game on this, but I spent a lot of time on BG3 this year. There are so many ways to play that it feels like a new game each run. Also, I’m no stranger to romancing bears. But romancing a mindflayer was a brand new experience.
10/10 Fantasy Junks
D&D 2024
I tried to play D&D in the late 90s, but it was people I didn’t really want to be playing with. BG3 inspired me to check out D&D and how much it has changed since then. Now I’m DMing 2 games and a player in one. My timing was weird with D&D. I bought all the 2014 books just before the 2024 ones were released. So I got to see all of the changes with the old rules still very fresh in my mind. The 2024 rules have made it easier for new players to start, and for older players to feel more powerful with brand new characters. I bought the Starter Set and the Essentials set, which aren’t updated yet, but they are great ways to be introduced to D&D as a player or a DM.
D20/10 Critical Roles
Castlevania Dominus Collection
While this is multiple games in one, I spent a lot of time with this collection. I hadn’t played through the DS games fully before, because emulation had problems. Quick save and rewind makes them much more accessible. I was able to enjoy the games much more being able to play on a console.
10/10 Dual Crushes
Monster Sanctuary
This 2019 game is fantastic.It’s like if Pokemon met a metroidvania. The world is small enough that it’s fun to go back and explore, but big enough to keep it feeling fresh. I like making massive powerhouse teams, and it was easy to make a team for any fight pretty easily.
10/10 Poison is OPs
Wildfrost
This deck building game is fun. It’s short, but there’s a lot of different ways to play through. You can upgrade and customize lots of cards, and it’s never the same game twice. I find myself going back to play at least a few games every week.
10/10 Naked Gnomes
[Editor’s Note: Authors were told to approach their game of the year lists however they wanted, including listing their favorite games they personally played this year regardless of release year.]
