Rettifichi o confermi la top 10?

I guess that, almost 8 full months into the 2023, I could finally write the 2022 top ten... ehm ehm...
So, here it is:

1) Pikmin
Honestly, Pikmin 1 is almost perfection. Yeah, Pikmins here are dumb, the timer is intimidating, the game has weird difficulty spikes, but it has that "early 2000" Nintendo's energy that, coupled with a brand new imagery and gameplay ideas, are so charming, especially 20 years later. The gameplay loop is really addicting and the level design is super tight.

2) Pokémon Legends Arceus
It's the first (and only) Pokémon game that I've really liked after the first 4 gens, the one that felt less compromized and afraid of trying new stuff. During all these years, from Black/White onward, I simply thought that maybe Pokémon, as a brand, wasn't for me anymore. But this game showed me that it wasn't true. I could still fell in love with a Pokémon game, and that is a beautiful sensation.

3) Elden Ring
I have a lot to say about it, both good and bad things. No space to do that, though. Long story short: I loved (LOVED) its world, art style and lore, but I'm becoming more and more ambivalent torward From's difficulty. Here, in particular, bosses and enemies always felt absurd. Malenia and the fucking Rune Bears are the worst (best) example of what I'm saying.

4) Downtown Nekketsu Story (River City Ransom for the American friends)
Basically, this is Yakuza-lite on the NES. How could someone NOT love it? It felt fantastic to play (and fair; which, by NES standards, is a big compliment)

5) Monster Hunter: World
Incredibly modernization of the series, and the breakout in the market that it deserved. I'm a bit mixed on the more grounded monster designs, I prefer more weird and inventive concepts, but that's my only complaint (that, and some clunky controls here and there)

6) Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing
It was so fun to play, a beautiful love letter to Sega's past. I'd loved more series' representation tho.

7) Death Stranding
Kojima loves to smell his farts, but I should give that: this game was a breath of fresh air to play

8) Bloodstained - Ritual of the Night.
Symphony of the Night 1.5. After all these years without a new mainline Castlevania, this was a godsend (the artstyle could have been better tho)

9) U-four-ia
Super charming and goofy, even if the platforming is a bit wonky.

10) INSIDE
I hated Limbo with all my heart. Inside, however, is super good shit. Amazing atmosphere and art direction. It felt what Limbo should have been.

If you ever do go back to Koudelka, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. As you said, that JRPG and horror mix is refreshing and you don't see many of them, (if at all) anymore. I think you'll like it! I can't remember how long it took me to complete the game, but it definitely wasn't 90+ hours. I'd say somewhere around the 15-30 hour mark, depending on how much you do. There's some cool little optional things, here and there.

As for save points... it's been a while, but iirc there's the regular save points you get from defeating bosses, and then there's temporary save points you find scattered around. Pretty sure there's quite a few of them, so it's never too big an issue to save. You might have to backtrack to the main saves from time to time, though.

I haven't forgotten about From the New World! Haha, I keep meaning to get back on my PS2 for that game. I've been getting sidetracked with other games like Yakuza 5 and everything else I'm playing lately. Part of me also kinda wants to start up the Xenosaga series, but there goes my tendency to play too many JRPGs at the same time...

I hope you're liking NieR Replicant, by the way. That game is something else.

Ehi, grazie del commento, come vedi anche io non sono proprio celerissimo con le risposte ahah. Neanche a farlo apposta, oggi che ti rispondo esce il dlc finale di Xeno 3! Sono curioso di vedere dove andranno a parare con questi nuovi personaggi e come ricollegheranno il tutto ai primi due Xeno (ammesso che lo facciano) però mi ritengo abbastanza fiducioso, visti gli standard delle espansioni precedenti.

Riguardo agli altri Xeno da te citati (Xenogears e Chronicles X), purtroppo mi mancano Soprattutto Xeno X mi pento tantissimo di non averlo preso all'epoca su Wii U, anche se confido che Nintendo faccia il port su Switch prima o poi.

Sempre restando in tema jrpg, per caso hai giocato octopath traveller II? Il primo mi aveva lasciato piuttosto indifferente, ma da quello che ho sentito il secondo è spanne avanti. Sarei curioso di giocarlo.

Hi there! Just briefly got back to playing games (finally got burned with watching tv series I guess, needed change). House of Fata Morgana is a solid 8 out of 10 overall but for me 3rd Door was the weakest story (althought it still has one "OH SHI-" moment and was fairly emotional). After that, it's sorta rollercoaster of emotions that I won't spoil to ya The only thing I can tell, you will be swimming in the sea of misery.
As for Paranormasight, it started really strong with creepy j-horror vibes with occult themes and legends, then sorta just slowly eased into mystery with slight thriller on the side. A bit different that what the opening sequence would led you to believe but still story was gripping, characters were very likeable and dialogue just flew by - there were times I just couldn't wait to play again, to move the story forward . It also helped that the game had a flowchart, so you could jump easily between stories and puzzles/point and click segments weren't that hard.
All in all, a solid effort from SE.

Sorry for the delayed response. That's awesome! I completely adore the Koudelka / Shadow Hearts series. I own them all, and love them. I hope you enjoy Koudelka. It's a bit more dated than the Shadow Hearts games, but very much still worth playing. That RPG / horror genre mesh is something I wish more games had. (I think I might even like this game more than Parasite Eve) Plus, the voice acting was so ahead of its time. It's an overlooked game, for sure.

As for my favorite, I'd have to say Covenant! I think they're all equally amazing in their own right. From the New World is quite a different game in comparison to the others, but I'm still really enjoying it right now.

Guarda, parto proprio dalla fine del tuo commento, in cui peraltro mi ritrovo pienamente: questo gioco mi ha fatto rivalutare XB2, capitolo a cui ho voluto un gran bene ma che mi aveva deluso per certi aspetti e che tendevo (forse ingiustamente) a paragonare troppo al primo. Nonostante l'eccessiva hornyness generale, ho trovato la trama del 2 più coinvolgente (soprattutto nella parte finale) e i protagonisti generalmente più caratterizzati, cartooneschi, e meglio amalgamati al contesto generale, al netto di Rex che ho trovato un po' banale e delle situazioni cliché da anime shonen che, vabbé, fanno parte del genere.
Il 3 secondo me condivide molti dei difetti del 2, in primis il side content che è pieno zeppo di fetch quest e i dialoghi che spesse volte sembrano scritti da un'IA, ma con l'aggravante che qui il gioco va proprio a rotoli nei capitoli finali, diciamo dal 6 in poi. Da personaggi i cui archi narrativi vengono chiusi brutalmente e in maniera becera (Miyabi e Cammuravi, ma banalmente anche N), ad altri che non si aprono nemmeno (Melia, Nia, Settebello) a boss per cui nel capitolo finale non si sono manco sprecati di creare una cutscene tanto erano diventati irrilevanti (X, Y). I dialoghi abbondano ma sono solo un rumore sordo fatto di "futuro, futuro, futuro" ripetuto all'infinito da tutti i personaggi, condito da altre banalità che mi hanno fatto sentire terribilmente distaccato dagli eventi finali del gioco. E questa cosa mi ha fatto molto incazzare, perché a discapito di quanto ho scritto finora, ci sono dei momenti che reputo genuinamente belli e dei dialoghi che rendono veramente umani i personaggi (alcuni scambi tra Lanz e Sena, o tra Noah e Miyo per esempio), per non parlare della fine del capitolo 5 che ho trovato commovente.
E poi c'è la questione caratterizzazione. Allora, sono d'accordissimo con te per quanto riguarda la maggiore sobrietà dei personaggi, che trovo peraltro bellissimi sia da un punto di vista di design che di interpretazione (amo i doppiatori british), però i loro modi di fare e le loro dinamiche di gruppo non mi sembra abbiano nessuno sviluppo significativo nel corso della storia. Prendi per esempio sempre il capitolo 5: dopo il momento topico, tutti i personaggi, Noah e Miyo compresi, tornano a parlarsi quasi come se nulla fosse successo.
Potrei dilungarmi ancora a lungo ma sono finiti i caratteri e rischio di diventare pesante ahah.

Buona giornata e grazie per il commento! Fammi sapere cosa ne pensi

Hey! How was Dragon Quest Treasures? I bought it, played it for a couple hours, and then never really touched it again. I love DQ, so I figured I might give it another shot someday.

Hey, no worries about the late response haha, I was also gone for a good 3 months or so so I went a bit M.I.A. with everyone. Thank you for adding me again and thanks for the nice words, I appreciate it! I see that you're playing Zip Lash and wanted to ask, how is it? I adored the first chibi robo game and although I know this is nothing like that one and has a pretty bad reputation, I still want to know if I should pick it up and give it a try regardless. Thanks!

More gaming time is always a good thing!

I'm taking a slight break now, but I hope to jump right back in with Yakuzas 4, 5 and 6 soon enough. I keep getting that urge to play more Yakuza, so I feel like it'll be time once I'm done with Automata. So far, I've beaten 1 on PS2, Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1 and 2, and Yakuza 3. I'd say my most favorite is a cross between 0 and Kiwami 2, but 0 is the game I recommend to just about anyone. Definitely play that game if you need a game to draw you back in! It's an incredible game. I didn't play Yakuza 2 on PS2, even though I own it, but I can already say I love the story and characters, hehe. Ryuji was awesome, and I liked Kawara a lot, too.

I'll be keeping an eye out on Death Stranding 2 for sure, but Overdose has the most of my attention. Ever since P.T., I've wanted to see what KojiPro can do with the horror genre. Hard to believe they'd have two games going through development at once, so I wonder which one is taking priority right now...

Oh, and no worries about the response time; I'm always slow with replies, too. Hope you're doing well, too! Always glad to hear from ya.

Don't worry, I'm notorious for taking absolutely forever to reply to comments on here.

I just beat Zwei a few days ago! I actually thought it was pretty good as far as old rail shooters go. The levels were all varied and memorable. I played PD Remake a couple years ago, but I honestly don't remember too much about it, whereas I think Zwei will stick in my mind for a lot longer. I'm pretty excited for the Zwei Remake to release, so I can see all those locations reimagined with fancy, shiny new graphics! The game has a very somber tone to it, which I wouldn't expect from this genre. I think it's great and helps it stand out from feeling like "Star Fox with Dragons" or something like that. As a huge JRPG fan, I'm very much looking forward to playing Saga. Can't wait to see how it melds the gameplay and tone of Panzer Dragoon with such a vastly different genre.
And next time I go on my Xbox, I'll be sure to grab Orta for ten bucks as well!

My replies tend to be slow, too, so it's all good. Congrats, though! I bet you're really glad to be out of there. You probably have a lot more time to play games now.

I definitely have to get back into Psychonauts. The part I'm at now is when I assume things get a lot more interesting. Might pick it back up soon. Right now, I'm currently hooked on the Yakuza games, so I'm considering Kiwami 2 after I'm finished with the first one.

Death Stranding was something else! It came out during kind of a weird time when I was in the middle of a move, so I've been considering replaying it on PC with the new Director's Cut. There's a lot that I don't remember, even though it's only been a few years now. It's such a strange and unique game. I can compare some elements to Kenji Eno's old games: some aspects remind me of D2, such as the overall weirdness of it, and the walking simulator part; and then, those invisible enemies and the way they work remind me of Enemy Zero a bit. That's about all the comparisons I can make. Now that Death Stranding 2 is supposedly in the works, (according to Norman Reedus) I hope to see the next game take a more horror approach. That'd be interesting. I can agree with you about the story, and that it's melodramatic; honestly, that's kind of standard with most Kojima games, but it was more noticeable here because DS is more story-focused than TPP was. I'm still really hyped for whatever KojiPro has in store for us next. I'm sure it'll be crazy, unlike anything else out there.

Hope you have a good day!

Thanks for the add! Panzer Dragoon, eh? I played the remake of the first game and have easy access to Zwei and Saga via emulation and Orta via Xbox download. Should I play them in order or does the story not matter? I don’t recall there being much story in the first game. How do the rest of the games compare to that one?

Hi! Thanks for adding me ! If you dont mind me asking, what made you want to add me?

I'm still in the middle of that level where I left off, but it's crazy all right. Everything in the game up to this point was pretty normal in comparison, haha. I'm loving the game so far.

I see you're also playing Death Stranding. I got another friend on here who's been playing it, too. What do you think of it so far?

Door 1 was really predictable for me (I mean, sister was obviously way to clingy to not notice that ) but still it went some places near the end. Door 2 started? Yesss, my fav! Story attached to that Door and all of it's characters is my favourite (possibly way more or at least at the same level as main story/characters). I too liked the character art, it was nice change from all cutesy moe blobs/typical anime but music was sometimes irritating me. There were some pieces that I liked (Tarantula, Fecha Me, Huaina) but most were ranging from "just sorta there" to an "irritating background noise" (Ephemera, oh my God) - and I'm aware it's really unpopular opinion

If you thought Door 1 was good then you're in for a treat, it's so highly rated because of reasons and it's quite hard to find any major flaws in this vn (not to say it's flawless but it's damn close)

You eat a 30-40h VN like you would eat an elephant: piece by piece
(and I think it's in high 30s low 40s only if you count everything, so Short Stories, Sequel and Prequel, I think both Preq. and Seq. are 10h tops)

Fata Morgana is really cool with it's themes (Door 2 and whole story to it is probably my favourite out of whole novel) but somewhere near the 1/3rd of the game I had to stop for a bit - first VN that actually tired me with it's.... I mean, Abandon hope all ye who enters here. I have some other bits that I could grumble on a little but I'll save it for when you are done, since spoilers Have fun!

Part 2:

6) No More Heroes III
While I’m one of the biggest Suda fan on the Earth, I do not love NMH as much as other games directed by him (well, aside TSA and, in a sense, the underlying meaning/concept of the first NMH). NMH III completely and shamelessly goes into the “complete batshit crazy”-territory. It’s often just absurd and cannot be taken seriously. Also, the amount of references sometimes is off putting and also gratuitous. Its biggest fault, however, is being too ambitious despite its modest budget. This is apparent due to some abrupt developments of the story beats. It feels that something (scenes, cutscenes, fights and, especially, writings quantity and quality) is missing. Despite this, it’s still an amazing game. The battle system and enemy design are the best the series ever had. Now, Suda, please: new game ASAP.

7) South Park: The Stick of Truth
Sometimes it’s just “too much”, but that’s simply the nature of South Park. Most of the time it’s just brilliant and genuinely fun, though. Great, great writings and also parody of the whole rpg genre.

8) The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
Amazing graphics and absolutely competent top-down Zelda game. Ezlo/Egeyo is the best sidekick of the series. I really liked the kinstone fusions, too.

9) El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
I hated it at first, but sticking with the game, in the end, was a good idea. It’s like the REZ of action games. Sure, the platforming sections kinda suck and the game’s battle system becomes a chore after a while, but the locations, the music, the amazing art style and the really interesting (and often unusual) take on the biblical story (ok, ok, Enoch’s book is one of the apocrypha) make up for it.
I was so disappointed reading that the “sequel” is a generic animu-weebu dungeon crawler.

10) Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir
You can tell me what you want, but the game has a brilliant premise. The basic concept is just genius and the game has a lot of great moments. It’s a shame that the piece of crap that is the 3DS hardware was the biggest and most dreadful enemy that I had to encounter, tho.

Dis-honorable mention for SMT V: the level design is amazing (maze-like, but in open spaces), the battle system, the demonic fusions and the skill management are the best the series ever had (perfect balance between accessibility/qol and challange), but the characters, the story and the writings, man... they feel non-existent or, even worse, amateurish. Disappointed.

Almost 4 months into 2022, I guess it's finally time for the 2021 top ten. I'd say...

1) Kirby's Epic Yarn
I've never been a Kirby fan, nor I have ever particularly liked any of the games that I have played. Epic Yarn, however, is pure joy. I always played it with a big smile on my face. Well, except for some of the trials needed for the 100%. Some of that stuff was frustrating. Don't judge me.

2) Rez
I love smartly designed 3D shooters on rail, and Rez is definitely one of them. I love its otherwordly and cyber atmosphere. Also, I can’t praise enough the audiovisual experience that this game is. Area X, too. Pure senses bombardment. It’s a shame that I couldn’t try it with a VR visor tho.

3) Resident Evil 2 Remake
I was never that close to shitting my pants in real life than I was while playing this game. Some moments are simply terrifying. The scarcity of resources and the ferocity and perseverance of the enemies, combined with the amazing atmosphere, the anticipation of all this stuff (the “oh no, I have to go there again?”) thanks to the backtracking created many, many memorable moments. I never felt so hopeless in a horror game before, especially because the game loves to play with your expectations. Like, sometimes I couldn’t proceed, the anxiety was too much, especially in the beginning. I really liked the latter sections, too. There’s a change of pace, but while different, it doesn’t drop too much in quality.

4) Metroid Dread
Amazing, from start to finish. I've never been in love with Metroid, not even with the Prime games, but Dread, with the step up in production value, its outstanding controls, boss battles, interesting additions and even some neat twists, really shines. Only true downside: weak OST.

5) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
I fucking love this “grounded” take of the Zelda imagery. It’s basically Zelda + sword and sorcery stuff (in fact, the original artworks remind me a lot of Conan the Barbarian and I find them to be SO suggestive). It’s a grand adventure, permeated with a sense of danger and magic. Also, even if the game has a lot of the NES-era bullshits, it still has a lot of wonderful qualities, like: ultra tight controls and hit detection, interesting blend of rpg mechanics, action-platforming and item-based progression (which would become a staple of the Zelda series). Played with save states, of course…

No worries! Real life tends to need a lot more of my focus this time of year, and I'm really hoping things wind down soon because I'm so burnt out.

There was a great video I watched that explored how Metroid Dread moved you around the map in a way that you still needed to figure things out, but you would rarely get so totally lost that you'd be stuck [Link]

That's awful about the environment at the studio, it seems harder to and harder to find a studio that's not just dreadful to its employees, and I think with the massive scandal at Blizzard, smaller ones like these don't seem to get as much attention.

Would be beyond frustrating to have an employers making working from home so difficult, and even more frustrating to know they're playing games with who they like best, and then to work so hard and have your name omitted from the credits.. that's just painful.

Thank you! I always feel really lucky to have met to many lovely friends on this site!