Art I've enjoyed this year Pt. 3: Games!

   Hello again!

   For the majority of the year, the lack of  in person events made being social synonymous with "playing games" so I found myself spending a lot of time at my computer. Often, even the single player games felt social as I'd sit in Discord and stream for friends as they played something else. Let's have it for games! Woo games! 

   As always, feel free to discuss what you thought of any of these particular games in the comments. I'd love to hear what your favorite games were or how your experience was with any of these particular games. 

   Below this list, I'll also include my "Favorite Games I played in 2021" as well. 2021 was the first year I wrote down what I loved and why I loved it and it also was a particularly good game for games. Kentucky Route Zero, Outer Wilds, and Disco Elysium remain all time favorites.

  Oath

   Oath is such a unique experience; it’s not just a strategy game, it’s not a legacy game, and it’s not a roleplaying game but it somehow is a bit of all of these things. However, expecting any one of these parts and playing to it could potentially obfuscate what makes Oath so interesting. A victory in Oath does not often feel correlated to playing in a particular style, building an engine, and executing the plan like in other games. A victory often feels like it comes from scheming and knowing when to execute upon that scheme or knowing when to cash in on another player's over-extension. The state of the game can change so much in any round that it’s often how a plan can go sideways that creates the most interesting moments. Your plan will often fail, or only succeed for a round, and so much of the state of the game will have changed because of it. There often feels like there is a bit of “kingmaking” involved in every game of Oath but it’s the fact that every card and interaction has so much flavor that means what you’re taking part in when playing, by losing or winning, is a story about vying for power and not one where victory is the goal. Each loss adds to the history of the group you’re playing with and informs future alliances or goals. With such striking art and interesting cards a shared world emerges from the board and, from that board, a story and characters. Granted, I’ve not played a ton of it - maybe 3 or 4 full games but I absolutely cannot wait to play more. Even if it ends up losing its lustre with a few more plays, Oath is an easily a highlight of the year.

   Netrunner

   I love card games but am unwilling to engage with any “collecting”. In my teens I sunk way too much money into Magic and it still always felt like the person with the more expensive deck would probably win. Netrunner is the perfect game for me. It’s mechanics feel complicated at first but it’s so strongly themed that it’s easy enough to remember. Every action on your turn is so important that victories and losses often feel earned by one click. I don’t feel particularly good at it yet but I feel like I learn something from every game I play. Oh boy, what a satisfying game. I cannot wait to play more of it.

   Disco Elysium

   The release of the “Final Cut” was just the excuse I was looking for to replay Disco Elysium. It remains an all time favorite and the added content only strengthens it. The game's characters and themes coalesce in such strong and poignant scenes; the final chapter of the new “communist” storyline being among my favorites.

   On this play through, I aimed to play against “type” in terms of my own roleplaying. While only mildly successful, the games writing is strong enough that it didn’t matter that I could see the edges of gameplay, or was experiencing the same events from only a slightly different perspective, which as an effect reduced the once vast feeling game to something knowable. In the end, It’s an incredible game that I wholly recommend to anyone who has the vaguest interest in it. There’s nothing else like it.

    Sable

   Everything about Sable clicked with me. It’s plain to see that Sable is aesthetically beautiful but I was not expecting such great storytelling. There’s a warmth and aimlessness to Sable that I’ve not experienced in other games. It marries it’s narrative themes with gameplay so perfectly and that gave license to my predilection to explore every nook and cranny and try to complete everything I could in aid of helping Sable on her journey.

   Death Stranding

   I often feel the pull to boot up this game and deliver some packages. That basic loop was so satisfying that I ended up leveling up a lot of my relationships to 5 stars in the first area. While it definitely has a lot of “Kojima-ism’s” it’s so strangely earnest that I kinda forgive all of the more eye roll inducing writing. It’s such a bizarre but surprisingly coherent product. Who woulda thought trudging up a mountain in waist deep snow to deliver a package would be so fun?

   Inscyption

   Inscyption is consistently shocking. I refuse to say too much about it. It’s a “roguelike deck builder” like no other. The card game itself is incredibly satisfying but the narrative that emerges through play is the unexpected hook. Just a ton of fun with a fantastic vibe.

   FFXIV

   For a few months, a handful of friends and I plunged ourselves into FFXIV. Though the Main Story Quest was mind numbingly dull, progressing through dungeons and the general “hangout” vibe was the perfect anecdote for my covid malaise. Grinding through some “Extreme” difficulty bosses with friends is going to forever be an all time gaming experience. All that said, based on what I’ve played, it’s hard to see what all the fuss is about storywise. It’s meandering and horribly paced. The plot deals with some interesting subject matter but they mostly felt like set dressing that was often ignored.

   Slay the Spire

   After playing Inscrpytion, I had the itch to play another card game. Despite putting a dozen or so hours into it, Slay the Spire was, for me, a testament to how important the aesthetics and theming of a game are to my personal enjoyment. Everything about the aesthetic experience of the game is bland. My victories felt hollow because the journey lacked any narrative or sense of climax. I sunk maybe ten hours or so into this but the whole experience filled the same space as a cellphone game. I’d put on a podcast and just do a few runs. The mechanics were satisfying and easy to grasp but I often felt like my successes were due to just sticking to a deck type; there was less of a thrill to discovering interesting combos as in Inscyption. My winning decks were often so overpowered that I never felt I was effectively executing on a strategy; more that I lucked into choosing specific cards.

  Animal Crossing

  Last year I said I was done with this game. With the release of the final DLC pack, I decided to dip my toes back in, which ended up with me playing daily for over a month and redesigning my whole island in the process. I’ve still barely touched the paid DLC but I wouldn’t be surprised if I jumped back in a few months.

   Destiny

   Destiny’s gameplay just feels so good. The weapons feel distinct and playing through content with friends was a blast. Predictably, I fell off due to not being the type of player who cares about stats or loot.

   Apex

   Well, I played a lot less Apex than previous years but I still played enough to warrant putting it on this list. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of winning a match through outmanoeuvring other teams. This year, I finally felt like I was “good” at the game; I learned how to snipe and felt like I knew each map like the back of my hand. With the release of the latest season, I fell off for reasons unknown but I still dip back in for a few rounds every now and then.

   Eastward

   I’d been looking forward to playing Eastward for two or three years. For each thing I admired about Eastward, there’s some greater annoyance that kept me from being totally wrapped up in the experience. It’s a game that made me examine what it was I was bouncing off of as everything, on paper, was something I’d come to a game for. As a result, I put about 22 hours into the game. I loved the aesthetics. The gameplay itself was fine and the characters were charming. It undeniably has heart and care put into it. However, it felt like a game that took all the wrong parts from Earthbound as it’s all quirk with no coherent narrative or theme tying it all together. That, unto itself, isn’t a deal breaker to me - I love an incoherent and meandering narrative centered on strong characters but there’s simply too much here; it’s a game that very often gets in its own way. Each time the story felt like it was about to fall into a rhythm and build any narrative momentum it would yank the rug out from under me. There’s an interesting game here about living your daily life at the brink of apocalypse but it’s something I felt I had to really squint to see. Narratively, the first chapter is the games best. From there, it’s a meandering onslaught of writing; it’s a game where it’s clear the creators enjoyed making it and ended up with a bloated finished product. Eastward is a testament to the importance of editors. In some ways, I stuck with this game for so long because there’s a lot to love but the game never falls into place. It’s rare I sink 20 hours into a game I am unsure on though so it’s worth including.

   Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

   It was interesting to revisit this trilogy after the disappointment that was Andromeda (that I   still sunk 70 hours into). Playing through the first game, for the first time, was a lot of fun but I found it harder to relate to Shepherd and the crew because their politics were often at odds with my own. The game is undeniably great and I am meaning to continue playing.

  Favorite Games of 2021:

1. Disco Elysium

Disco is the precise roleplaying game I've longed for. It's challenging, off putting, and dense but its roleplaying is all the more rewarding for it. Disco's character stats being almost exclusively focussed on the characters interiority is a brilliant way of loading every interaction with meaning. It mirrors how I approach a TTRPG; asking why your character makes a decision and not "what do the stats tell me I should do". Though the game can come across as abrasive there is an undercurrent of tenderness and empathy which culminates in its absolutely brilliant final act. It's a game that, though very much slopping through the mud of moral ambiguity and politics, dares to state that there could be, or maybe even inevitably will be, something else; something better, more whole and magic, and worth slogging through the malaise for, even if we can’t envision what it’ll be. The world vibrates with mystery, magic, and character and I cannot wait to revisit it. I don't wanna talk about it too much as there's so much worth experiencing on your own. Kim Katsuragi - that's all.

2. Kentucky Route Zero

In discussing games, it's hard to do so without comparison. We are used to games that are a pastiche of elements from games prior, where the mechanics and interactions are arranged in almost new but compelling ways. Even Disco Elysium, a game that I feel is incredibly unique, gains a lot of what makes it special as being viewed in contrast with and in lineage from other rpg's.  For that reason, it's hard to criticize, let alone talk about, a game like Kentucky Route Zero. It's unlike any game I've ever played. It's not a walking simulator despite narrative and theme coming from it's environments and the interactions therein. It's not a text adventure despite text being your primary verb. It's too episodic to be an "art" game that you'd find in the corner of some gallery. When recommending this to friends, I've said it's closer to my favorite book or a stage play you're directing than any other game. Even then, that fails to capture what is so special about it. It so confidently is what it is that you either immediately get it or bounce off it for being boring or pretentious. It's not a game I'd suggest someone sticks with as if you aren't hooked by the ending of the first act it probably won't get more engaging as you play through.

KRZ has been one of my favorite games since 2013. It's pure poetry of game, character, and narrative. You act as puppeteer for KRZ's cast of misfits and it requires a narrative investment in order to get the most from. The dialogue choices rarely "matter" in a game sense but they matter because you are taking authorship of what the characters are feeling; the reason to choose any dialogue option is individual to yourself as the character is untouched by game mechanics (morality, stats, repercussions, roleplaying, etc.). I've replayed through the first three episodes at least 4 or 5 times and each time something new has stuck with me. With the games denouement finally being released this year, I again replayed through all five episodes and interludes. It so perfectly illustrates a world, much like ours, where people are displaced, misplaced, and fall through cracks under capitalism. These characters are on an endless search for meaning and community but are trapped and crippled by playing a part of a massive machinery they can scarcely control, or even wholly perceive. However, they can see this machines will exerted over their daily lives and the lands they inhabit. The whole last act cratered me emotionally. It's an utterly beautiful experience.

3. Outer Wilds

I had a lot of failures in Outer Wilds. There were numerous times where I ended up stranded, just floating through the vastness of space. These failures were due in equal parts to the flimsiness of the technology I was provided, their clumsy controls, and my own failures as a pilot. Unlike other games, I rarely quickly hit the reload in these failed states because I knew an inevitable reset was coming. Instead, I would just float, stewing in my failure, lost in the black of space, absorbing what I could of my surroundings. I'd consider how I can better approach or solve a puzzle on my next rebirth. I'd think of the ruins I'd encountered, the information gleaned, and what it meant for my journey. Most of all, I would wait. I would watch for the almost imperceptible shift in light as the star at the galaxy's center began to gradually fail. I'd wait, until eventually it expanded outward, swallowing first the planets nearest to its perimeter, then eventually, no matter where I was, myself.

Outer Wilds isn't necessarily a long game but it's a game where you feel the passage of time. Time is a rule. It lacks the urgency of other games that are on a similar countdown as there's no game over; you just immediately get in your ship and try again. Sometimes, you have to wait minutes to be allowed to solve a puzzle; you are forced to consider how time fits into your journey. Somehow, despite this loop, you know there must be an inevitable end to your journey, and presumably, even to this galaxy whose ending you witness ad nauseum. In some ways, Outer Wilds is an existential horror game but it's so perfectly balanced by a very human story that it never feels bleak or heavy. It's a game very much about different scales of loss. It's a science fiction tale that could only ever be told as a video game and, in any other year, could easily have taken a top spot.

4. Hades

Another game where failure is its own reward. I think we all know why Hades is great so it's easier for me to point out why it's personally not my favorite game of this year. Despite absolutely loving the grind and characters, I felt like the story wrapped up in an unsatisfying way. I also feel that the characters and gameplay are so good that it shouldn’t matter so much to me that the ending didn’t satisfy me. However, the reality is that the ending left me a lot cooler than I expected. In a year like 2020, I am absolutely primed and ready for escapism and feel good stories. However, Persephone's character, and the eventual happy ending fell absolutely flat with me. Her return, despite being earned from a gameplay grind sense, didn't resonate with me at all. Maybe it’s because, after my first Hades win, I found the subsequent 9 unchallenging? Regardless, her change of mind, between wanting to remain in the garden as opposed to return to the underworld, happened relatively quickly for a game that takes its time telling the rest of its stories (it’s what - 2 runs between her saying no to Zag and then deciding to return upon learning Hades still hangs a portrait of her).

The story of Zagreus and player in tandem, beating their head against a wall, over and over, to try and change the unchangeable, seemed much better positioned to tackle the idea of living with and repairing what is in front of you rather than trying to ostensibly beat the world to your submission. Afterall, you keep trying and failing but the narrative moves forward; the whole game is built around failure opening the door to progress. I thought the game was much stronger when it was about damaged characters longing to repair themselves and their families. I love that Zag essentially goes around trying to right every relationship outside of himself and it’d of been an interesting turn for him to learn that there are, in fact, times when he cannot pull the strings to make this happen. Maybe this comes from my position as someone who has had a rocky relationship with my parents in the past but there’s more truth to the idea that we cannot change those we love and only love them on their terms; hoping they meet us halfway rather than expecting them to change to our desires. Again, this is all personal expectations rubbing up against the story the developers wanted to tell and I in no way think Hades is a bad game because it didn’t tell the story I thought it was going to tell me. I love a happy ending and I don't think I actually take issue with the plot itself, more in how it was told. It could also be an issue of difficulty; the game got a lot easier as I got used to it so the narrative progressed at different paces.  Anyways,  I put anywhere from 50-70 hours into this and love this game and its characters. Persephone, for me, is just a surprisingly weak character in a game absolutely bursting with great characters.

5. Minecraft

Holy shit Minecraft is a great game!

6. Star Wars: Fallen Order

Between Covid-fatigue and some heavy deadlines, this game was exactly what I was wanting to play. It's short and sweet by today's standards and felt like a game from the ps2 era. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed exploring a game space, platforming, and finding random chests until I realized that I was still going back to planets I'd already visited despite the loot being utter shite. The writing is a mixed bag but the plot and characters are overall great.

7. Crusader Kings 3

Man, despite putting 20 hours into this shit, I have no idea how to play this fucking game. Each time I dip my toes into a different kingdom other than the tutorial I am overwhelmed in a few hours and dip out to try another. Despite that, I keep coming back. I keep meaning to queue up a few hours worth of youtube tutorials and just dig in. I know I've barely scratched the surface of this game. It's intimidating but the highs are extremely worth it.

8. Animal Crossing

What a simple time this was! We all hunkered down with our copies of Animal Crossing for, what we thought or hoped, would only be a month of isolation. It was a real joy taking part in the cultural zeitgeist of Animal Crossing; visiting friends and internet acquaintances islands, sharing items, discovering new islanders. I had some surprisingly emotional moments playing this too. Just a great time while it lasted. Despite putting 150 hours into it, I've found it almost impossible to revisit it. The slow pace of the game, which contributed to its charm early on, has become an annoyance and there are a lot of QOL things I wish Nintendo would implement (that they undoubtedly won't). All that said, it was great while it lasted.

9. Into the Breach

Gaming wise, 2020 has been strange for me as I've played a lot of games I'd written off as "not for me". Into The Breach was probably the first game this year that piqued my interest from outside of what I normally play. It's so satisfying and replayable. I still suck at it but that doesn't stop me from playing a loop or two every now and then.

10. Control

I was really hot on Control right after beating it but, after spending time away from it, I actually think it's strength was in its world and its unique vibe as opposed to its narrative or lead character. I wish Jesse was less guarded as I think the narrative moves forward based on her knowing things the player doesn't so its mystery didn't necessarily land for me. The combat feels fantastic and I loved finding its numerous collectibles/lore.

11. A Short Hike

So charming! So fun to play! I want MORE. I'd play the shit out of a scaled up version of this. I really look forward to whatever the developer does next.

12. Gravity Rush 2

I wanted to love this goddamn game so much. Kat's gravity powers feel amazing, the soundtrack absolutely slaps, the cityscapes are gorgeous to explore, and the overall vibe of the story is uniquely positive. All that said, the game is frustratingly built around archaic mission design and a control scheme and camera that actively work against the games missions. This game has my least favorite mission types in spades; on-rails chase missions, time attack races, and terribly ridgid stealth sequences. A true bummer!

13.Wide Ocean Big Jacket/Little Party

I love the aesthetic of these games. Fun characters and some great moments.

14. Eliza

Whenever a game gives the opportunity to make decisions, I find myself making choices that are somewhat boring narratively but are morally in-line with my own values. A lot of the time, I feel like I end up with the canonically "good" or, in a game like Eliza, the least challenging and narratively exciting ending. Obviously, this is my own fault. Eliza has a well told story with good characters. It's not groundbreaking but I definitely think it's worth playing if you're interested.

15. Apex

I've never sunk so much time into a FPS. It's an addictive gameplay loop that never ceases to create exciting moments, that, despite having sunk 200 plus hours into it, always feel unique and emergent.