Age of Mythology: Retold. By far. It only came out in September and already it’s my 7th most-played Steam game of all time.
It was never in contention for the goty, by frankly I’m disappointed that it didn’t win its own category at least, because it is just so good. It delivers so perfectly on what it promised. It’s a remake that feels like how your nostalgia remembers the OG game, adding in excellent modern polish and exciting gameplay while keeping the core of what made the 2002 game so great.
UNI finally gets rollback, which means I finally gave the series a shot. The GRD system is a very unique concept that adds an additional layer of trying to win the advantage state, then pressing the advantage when you have it or respecting the opponent’s advantage when they do. And Vatista is just a very fun character to play, I’m having a blast with her.
I’ve played many different RPGs during my life, but Disco really is like nothing I’ve played before. Maybe, just maybe a little like Planescape Torment, but other than that? Nothing comes to mind. Which is unbelievable in this age, where most developers play it safe with basically sequels of successful games and new ones you barely can tell apart…
While Disco Elysium is like no other CRPOG I’ve played, I have to disagree with your other point, because Indies exist with tons of innovative stuff in there.
I got hooked, but I was like “what if I chose this option now?” all the time. So I started completely different character right after I finished. Got couple hours in, but… 1) it’s too fresh experience and I should probably give it a bit more time and 2) I wanted the new character to be this fascist, racist, egoist, alcohol and drug abuser, but damn. It’s so tough to play against some basic human principles.
Twin-stick shooter against various bugs and robots with some ARPG gearing, and the action here is fantastically tight with probably three key factors:
Enemies target you but hit each other, so you manage their attacks to help your fighting instead of just staying out of trouble.
“Frenzy” orb pickups, which act a bit like combo meter fuel except instead of chaining hits you make frequent choices about whether an orb drop is worth chasing, keeping you close to danger.
Instant gun switching with overheating instead of reloading, so you fight hard and switch constantly between your three guns to keep any one from overheating while getting the best out of their specific properties.
I play a lot of twin-stick and top-down shooters, and this does a great job mixing the arcade twin-stick feel of high intensity fending off a swarm with tactical top-down dungeon crawling elements, and it’s just really special feeling to play. The core action feels not just well designed but like it was made just for me, and I’m genuinely glad someone made it (or is making it, since it’s early access). Plus, it’s extraction style instead of being a roguelite, so you’re always right at the best action while still getting procedural levels, so each run is a little different.
Rather advanced gameplay, extremely fast-paced and chaotic, quite heavy to run, even with most of it running on servers.
But damn when it was first released a year ago, I instantly got hooked from the vibes and then stayed for the breath of fresh air in the FPS genre. The description above also happens to match really well with my ADHD tendencies.
There’s a reason why it took 47% of my entire play time this year.
I played every beta of the Finals that I could get accepted into. It felt like what I wanted a new Battlefield game to be. The destructible floors and bridges made it so much fun to set up traps in ways no other game made it possible.
Weirdly enough I have yet to install it since its full release. Still looks like the same amount of fun!
Powershift (tug-of-war meets convoy on a moving platform)
Terminal Attack (Search & Destroy, but it’s hacking terminals instead)
Sys$Horizon, new map, “unfinished/leaked” 80s style
Hacking-themed gadgets such as the dematerializer and the gateway
Weapons ofc (I don’t remember which ones tho)
Season 3: Japan theme:
We don’t talk about ranked changes
New game-mode: World Tour (similar to unranked tournament, but 8 teams total, win points progression and end-of-season multibuck rewards)
Bow for light, dual blades for medium, winch claw for heavy
Map: Kyoto 1568
Season 4: Sponsorships
Reverted previous season’s ranked changes
New careers: sponsorships (choose which in-game sponsor to sign with, get prizes with their themes and compete on world tour to determine which sponsor wins the season) (yes, you can bet people started dissing each other for fun)
Dual eagles for heavy, dmr for medium, shotgun for light
Fortune Stadium: the best parts of previous maps, mashed into one and themed with the season sponsors’ colors
Season 5: Time for la fiesta, it’s the anniversary
New map: Bernal, Mexico
New gadgets: Black hole for lights, chain trap for heavy
Shak-50 for heavy, some incendiary shotgun for medium
Jukebox to relive all the OST from current and previous seasons
2 new sponsors, one returning
That’s only what I remember from the top of my head, they added so much. Not to mention the copious amount of high quality cosmetics and the very forgiving monetization
I’d been starting to get into it when the Android release dropped and then I was cooked. Now between Steam/Android I’ve always got a run going somewhere.
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Age of Mythology: Retold. By far. It only came out in September and already it’s my 7th most-played Steam game of all time.
It was never in contention for the goty, by frankly I’m disappointed that it didn’t win its own category at least, because it is just so good. It delivers so perfectly on what it promised. It’s a remake that feels like how your nostalgia remembers the OG game, adding in excellent modern polish and exciting gameplay while keeping the core of what made the 2002 game so great.
Nine Sols. Really underrated metroidvania that flew under the radar for many people.
I saw it was classified as a souls-like. Did you find the combat to be hard?
It’s a fairly difficult game, yeah. The combat is more akin to Sekiro where you need to time your blocks.
Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
UNI finally gets rollback, which means I finally gave the series a shot. The GRD system is a very unique concept that adds an additional layer of trying to win the advantage state, then pressing the advantage when you have it or respecting the opponent’s advantage when they do. And Vatista is just a very fun character to play, I’m having a blast with her.
@BmeBenji
Star Wars Outlaws.
I had so much fun while playing and Kay is such a sweetie😍
This was a surprisingly awesome game. The Sabacc mini-game alone is worth the price of admission.
Disco Elysium
I know it did not release this yer, but I got to it now, so it is GOTY for me.
I’m re-playing it right now, and it’s great.
I’ve played many different RPGs during my life, but Disco really is like nothing I’ve played before. Maybe, just maybe a little like Planescape Torment, but other than that? Nothing comes to mind. Which is unbelievable in this age, where most developers play it safe with basically sequels of successful games and new ones you barely can tell apart…
While Disco Elysium is like no other CRPOG I’ve played, I have to disagree with your other point, because Indies exist with tons of innovative stuff in there.
True, but majority of non-entirely-indie devs do exactly what I said. Sadly some indie too.
I also finally completed the full story finally this year. I had always gone about 3 days in and started over trying completely different options lol
I got hooked, but I was like “what if I chose this option now?” all the time. So I started completely different character right after I finished. Got couple hours in, but… 1) it’s too fresh experience and I should probably give it a bit more time and 2) I wanted the new character to be this fascist, racist, egoist, alcohol and drug abuser, but damn. It’s so tough to play against some basic human principles.
Factorio. And Cities: Skylines 2 if I’m playing it on Windows.
Factorio just makes hours disappear, it’s an amazing game! Have you played the expansion?
Yes, I did.
played? Past tense? You must be joking
Damn, you got me!
I… I played a lot of guild wars 2. It’s a good game!
But about 40 games total. I don’t want to be a mono-gamer so that’s nice.
Vampire Survivor: It’s fun, easy to pickup, the sessions are short (less than 20 minutes), and lots to unlock.
… Plus, (if you’ve been living in a cave and didn’t know) it’s free on Epic Games for the next few hours.
For me Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, my fav game - so much stuff to do , and I love Zelda
I am so tired that came out last year
Zelda wisdom was cute , I started switch dark souls 1 this year and it’s been my fav
Maybe balatro
Combat Complex
Twin-stick shooter against various bugs and robots with some ARPG gearing, and the action here is fantastically tight with probably three key factors:
I play a lot of twin-stick and top-down shooters, and this does a great job mixing the arcade twin-stick feel of high intensity fending off a swarm with tactical top-down dungeon crawling elements, and it’s just really special feeling to play. The core action feels not just well designed but like it was made just for me, and I’m genuinely glad someone made it (or is making it, since it’s early access). Plus, it’s extraction style instead of being a roguelite, so you’re always right at the best action while still getting procedural levels, so each run is a little different.
That sounds really cool. Thanks for sharing; I hadn’t heard about this one previously.
THE FINALS
Rather advanced gameplay, extremely fast-paced and chaotic, quite heavy to run, even with most of it running on servers.
But damn when it was first released a year ago, I instantly got hooked from the vibes and then stayed for the breath of fresh air in the FPS genre. The description above also happens to match really well with my ADHD tendencies.
There’s a reason why it took 47% of my entire play time this year.
I played every beta of the Finals that I could get accepted into. It felt like what I wanted a new Battlefield game to be. The destructible floors and bridges made it so much fun to set up traps in ways no other game made it possible.
Weirdly enough I have yet to install it since its full release. Still looks like the same amount of fun!
The fun is still very much here, give it a try!
Good game. I played during/after the beta, I felt like it needed a bit more variety in guns and maps. Have they been adding stuff since?
You bet they did:
Season 2 CNS/ “The Finals Hacked” theme:
Season 3: Japan theme:
Season 4: Sponsorships
Season 5: Time for la fiesta, it’s the anniversary
That’s only what I remember from the top of my head, they added so much. Not to mention the copious amount of high quality cosmetics and the very forgiving monetization
Sekiro. Played it a few months ago and I still think about it all the time. Amazing.
Helldivers II, baby!
Im a simple man. I see bugs or bots, I spread managed democracy onto them.
Of games that released this year it is Astro Bot, Balatro, Animal Well and Thank Goodness You’re Here.
Balatro
Its not even a contest. The time I spent playing a rogue like poker is higher than most other games combined.
Send HELP!
If you realise the RNG is really ridiculous at higher difficulties than you can stop
just a new round buddy, you know you want it.
Same.
I’d been starting to get into it when the Android release dropped and then I was cooked. Now between Steam/Android I’ve always got a run going somewhere.
I also bought it twice to play it everywhere! The dev deserves the support!