I played a good amount of games last year shockingly. Moreso, in the second half of the year is when my gaming really picked up. I played some really good stuff last year and also suffered through some rough stuff (mainly League). But I would say overall last year was a solid year for me in terms of gaming. This list only includes multiplayer games I put enough time into or single-player games that I finished.
#11. Dota 2
I tried Dota 2 for real last year cause I got tired of League and still wanted to play a Moba. Um, this was alright. I didn’t put too much time into it, but the gameplay was fun enough. My gripes have to be a lot of the roster feels so basic with the character design and UI was so confusing to a new player, especially the shop. I don’t think I’ll ever come back to this game and really play it seriously, but I had an okay enough time.
#10. League of Legends
My love hate relationship with this game came to a boiling point last year. After playing on and off since covid, I put my most hours in last year. I genuinely wanted to get better, climb the ranks, and have fun. I try not to be that person, but there is no fun to be had in this game at any level. If I’m having “fun” someone else is having the worst time ever and vice versa. The community and player base is so genuinely awful, it’s depressing. This is a depressing game that made me feel bad about myself when I lost and at the point when I started to feel bad after winning, I had to call it quits. And even with the new major update, I don’t think ill ever touch this game again. I pray I don’t.
#9. Mario Party Jamboree
This Mario Party is alright. Me and my gf got it on a whim when it first came out and I’m not mad about it. The mini games are really fun, the assist gimmick is a cool twist and I love the characters that are available but the selection of maps at launch is rough. Out of the handful of maps available, I really only liked one, maybe two, and I hated the rest. Which is a big thing when the game revolves around map play. But it’s still a fun time to play now and then.
#8. Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6 is a fun time. I’ve always wanted to get into this series and this is a great jumping in point for newcomers like me. The game plays amazing, the net code is great, the roster is super fun. The addition of modern controls is such a great thing for new players. I wish I was better at it, but eventually I’ll dedicate the time to get good. But the time I did spend with it last year I really enjoyed.
#7. Metro 2033 Redux
I really enjoyed my time with Metro 2033. Every once in a while I just need a good single player fps to sit down and play. This certainly scratched that itch. The setting is great. The story is really interesting, and the game play at least on m&k is solid enough. I’m excited to play through the rest of the series and i’m also interested in actually reading the source material.
#6. Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden Ring is one of my favorite games ever. The release month was a highlight of my life. I believe that game is as close to perfect as you can get. The issues I did have with the base game, mainly boss design, have been extrapolated to the max in this dlc. In terms of how Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1-3 play, Elden Ring pushed that gameplay style to its max. To the point where the cheap stuff started to become so apparent. The combo length and annoying delayed attacks drove me crazy. This dlc is the worst parts of all the main games boss design. Which makes it more frustrating to play than fun or engaging. There’s only one boss that I like in this dlc and that’s Mesmer. He’s one of my favorite from Bosses ever. The rest? Mostly annoying and forgettable. The final boss is one of the worst in the series. Boss design aside, everything else in this dlc is great though. The environments, the story that’s actually being told more than ever. It’s all amazing. So while the gameplay brings this dlc down, it’s still a good enough time.
#5. Marvel Rivals
I had an Overwatch phase as a teenager, like everyone else. Marvel will always hold a special place in my heart. This combination was a match made in heaven. This is a really fun game that I hope lasts a long time. It’s not as fluent or doesn’t feel as good as Overwatch to play, but it feels solid enough and the character design and roster is peak and is only getting better.
#4. Phasmophobia
After years of thinking, this game was cool looking and never playing it and a year of playing it on and off and being absolutely terrified of it. Last year me and my gf played a lot of Phasmophobia and it’s not without its faults or frustrations, but it is a really fun game that’s still to this day super unique. There aren’t a lot of multiplayer deduction games, let alone ones with a ghost hunter coat of paint (that are good). This game tickles that itch and I love the intrinsic progression of learning how each of the ghost behave and becoming less scared and then getting too complacent and getting absolutely horrified and eventually being able to identify some ghost purely off of behaviors. This game is really fun and last year especially I had a great time.
#3. Tekken 8
My first time really playing Tekken. I’ve always thought Tekken was cool. I played Tekken 6 with my friend back on the Xbox 360 and we always had a blast. So it was fun to hop into a brand new live active game. No matter what state it’s in now, or what I have had to say about it or how much I play it now. There’s no denying that I had so much fun not just playing but learning Tekken.
#3. Fire emblem Awakening
This was my first traditional jrpg and full foray into the Fire Emblem universe and I loved it. I’m glad this was the one I decided to start and stick through it. Franchises with this many entries have a varying level of story and game quality, but I absolutely loved the ever moving forward story of this game. I enjoyed the gameplay even more so. The sprites and animations are so good and the variety of gameplay is great. I recommend this game to anyone interested in the Fire Emblem series or jrpg genre as a whole.
#2. Minecraft
Minecraft is the forever game. For almost my entire life, this game has found a way to find me again and I always get some new type of enjoyment playing through it again, especially with mods. It’s just fun. There’s so many experiences to have with even just the base game and that doesn’t even include all of the mods available. I had a blast playing through multiple modded Minecraft worlds last year and I’m sure I will again next year or whenever this game finds me again.
#1. Disco Elysium
Windows macOS PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 Stadia Nintendo Switch Xbox One Xbox Series X/S – Genre(s) Role-playing – Mode(s): Single-player – Released: 2019
What a work of art this was. This game oozes creativity and vision. It is truly a thought-provoking piece of art. I loved pretty much every second I played. The ending that I got almost brought me to tears, it really moved me. Which I think is this game’s biggest achievement. The role playing is so vast and allows for so much choice it really engrosses you into this world that is itself a masterfully crafted commentary on the real world. I did a whole write up on this later last year and still all these months later I think about this game. It’s one of my favorites ever and my favorite game I played last year.
