I don’t think I played any truly bad games, but I do have a list of games that I bounced off of for one reason or another. Maybe I ran out of steam to play them, maybe life got in the way and I couldn’t come back to it, or I just didn’t want to “git gud” with the limited time I have. I basically deemed them not worth my time when I did manage to sink a ton of hours into Spider-Man, Cyberpunk, and Talos Principle.

So that abandoned graveyard consists of…

• Tunic - I hit a wall at one of the bosses and just couldn’t progress. Ran out of juice unfortunately.
• Mr. Sun’s Hatbox - Such a weird quirky game. Didn’t get close to beating it but I got enough out of it and called it quits.
• Hunt: Showdown - This one was a bummer. It’s been on my “need to try” list. I tried it, solo, and died right away. I could tell it was one of those games that needed a time investment to make it work and I just don’t have it in me.
• Cult of the Lamb - Something about the roguelike aspect of it didn’t mesh with me, which is weird because I feel like that’s really become a genre I like.
• Overwatch 2 - I played poorly as Lifeweaver, was griefed in chat, and quit :)

I personally really disliked the latest Far cry. Graphics where nice, story was ok-ish but the outlandish aspects of the gameplay (supremo’s… pets…) made it a snoozefest without any challenge. Setting the enemies to bulletsponge made it even more unbearable. I’ll be waiting for the bargain bin for the next installment.

The only one that really sticks out is Starfield. Most other games I played I knew what I was getting into. For some reason Starfield surprised me, probably because it was on Gamepass (so effectively free) and because I trusted Bethesda. Oh well.

Considering the number of great games this year, that’s not too bad.

I had a really solid year, all things considered:

• ⭐ Hi-Fi Rush – Love it, hands down. This game’s like if Jet Set Radio, Scott Pilgrim, and DMC got into a fist fight and then that fist fight had a baby with Jack Black
• ⭐ Pentiment – I’m still playing through this one but I can already tell it’s a new favorite. Major Return of the Obra Dinn vibes
• ⭕ Against the Storm – This game innovates on the citybuilder genre so hard and I can’t get enough of it. If you love a challenge and hate the late-game, this is THE ONE
• ⭕ Psychonauts 2 – Fun and bursting with creativity… but I had to set it down after a certain point because I stopped enjoying the gameplay loop. Can’t put my finger on why…
• ⭕ Peglin – Yes, Peglin. The Peggle Roguelite. I like it and you would too if you gave it a chance. It’s not a forever roguelite, but I guarantee you’ll have a blast with it for 5-10 hours
• ❌ Deep Rock Galactic – I bounced off of this one. The game has so much charm… but I just couldn’t click with it. I think co-op games just may not be for me

Honorable Mention: TF2 – Definitely not a “new” game to me, I own TF2, I bought it with money! Even so… this year marked my return after a looong hiatus. Coming back was a total revelation – I thought I’d grown to hate FPS games – as it turns out, what I’d actually grown to hate was the modern antisocial MMR grindset. Game developers: I beseech thee… abandon matchmaking and return to 2007. Return the slab or suffer my curse