Odium

As an Xbox first gamer, I’m excited for this. While I’ll still get the games on Xbox, there’s a lot of great games that gamers on other consoles can experience. Hi-Fi Rush for instance was one of my top games last year. While I didn’t love Starfield I did enjoy it for what it was. Of course, there’s Gears and Halo which are both phenomenal.

Granblue Fantasy Relink on PS5, it’s my first Granblue game but I’m loving what I played so far. Also, I’m nearing the end of Sea of Stars on Steam Deck.

@JaBrony123 something we can all relate to

Am I the only one that thinks the piano in this is WAY too close to the music in Child of Light?

This reminds me so much of Nier Automata, my all-time favorite game, I’m so excited for this.

I know I’m in the minority here, but this looks like a game I’ve played twenty times over already. It looks fun, but doesn’t look like it brings anything new and intriguing to the table, for me. Plus, if it ends up being a Soulslike, which it likely will be, it’ll be a hard pass for me, I’m burnt out on those style games.

@JaBrony123 I thought the original looked boring and ridiculous but for whatever reason decided to grab it on sale and try it out, I fell in love very early on. I dint think it takes ten hours at all. I’ve never played anything like it. Maybe grab it on sale if you’re interested in it, I think you’ll be surprised.

@Jireland92 I’ve been saying the same thing about Kojima for years, I understand that weirdness is his thing, but I’d love to see what he could do with something by leaving a bunch of that out. I’ve never been the biggest Kojima fan because it all feels so disjointed to me because of the blend of weird and serious. Now that said, I gave the first one a shot and I loved it, so I’ll likely try this one out too, but man, I could absolutely do with out the hand scarf, talking doll, baby ship, guitar weapon, and I’m sure I’m missing plenty of other things.

This looks absolutely incredible.

@Nepp67 there isn’t now but there was a good amount when it was first revealed

I got to be honest, I never understood any of the hype for this game. I never thought it looked that good and everything that’s coming out just proved it wasn’t for me.

I have it an 8, it’s an absolutely fantastic game, but every now and then there’s a part that just leaves me frustrated instead of having fun.

Prince of Persia The Lost Crown on Xbox and still going along in Sea of Stars on Steam Deck

@danzoEX at least I’m not alone in my pain😅

I saw “Lunar” and got so excited that they were rereleasing the RPGs, then I continued reading and was immediately let down.

Still playing through Sea of Stars and loving it. Also, some Mario Golf on the Switch with my family. I also squeezed in the phenomenal Prince of Persia The Lost Crown demo, it’s Ori good when it comes to platforming, which is the pinnacle of platforming, in my opinion.

This game looks so charming, I can’t wait for it.

I adored that episode, it was absolutely perfect, making another or a spin-off series would just undermine it. Please leave it alone.

Well deserved. I had a blast with it, so much so that it made its way into my top five last year. I’m even considering grabbing it again for Steam Deck.

For me, Sea of Stars on Steam Deck and Immortals of Aveum on Series X. Sorry, PlayStation you’re most likely going to be left out of the party until Rebirth.

The only two I’m truly excited about are The Plucky Squire and No Rest for the Wicked. With that said, this is a fantastic list and I’m sure I’ll play more than just those.

FFVII Rebirth is the only definite for me. Prince of Persia, Dark Forces, and Unicorn Overlord are all maybes.

I wasn’t at all excited for this after the first trailer, but I’ll admit it has definitely gained my interest. Hell, I’ll buy it just to support Ubi in showing them we want more than just the same rehashed open world games over and over. Child of Light was one of my favorite games last generation but now they rarely do anything different these days.

I’m really excited for this one. I love the concept of it, so I really hope it delivers.

@Gremio108 Control is a ton of fun, just be prepared for an atrocious to use map.

“It's not hard to understand why, either.”

I couldn’t disagree more with this line. I didn’t even think this game was as good as the original or Miles Morales, and I wouldn’t put either of those near AW2, BG3, or FFXVI.

Respectfully, Spider-Man 2 isn’t even in the same league as BG3. I don’t agree with it being above Alan Wake 2 but I can understand why others would feel it is, while Alan Wake 2 is my personal game of the year, BG3 is easily the biggest accomplishment in games this year, from story, to voice acting, to score, to game play, literally every aspect of it is far above anything Spider-Man 2 does. I liked Spider-Man 2 but I didn’t even think it was as good as the first one, let alone being above Alan Wake 2 or BG3.

@Gremio108 I would definitely recommend the original and Control before jumping into AW2, there’s a lot of crossover and setup between the three games.

I just beat this last night, it’s easily my game of the year. I haven’t played a game that unique since Nier Automata.

Alan Wake 2 easily wins this award for me. I love BG3 and FFXVI but AW2’s story is incredible.

@Ichiban it was good, not great. Much like God of War Ragnarok, I liked the original more. The combat was better than the first one but it felt more bloated and the story was no where near as good.

@GamingFan4Lyf that’s good to know, I’ll definitely check it out.

@Ravix that line nails it! I love a game that knows exactly what it is and leans into it. Like when a satire game just goes all out. Alan Wake definitely is self aware and it thrives on that, whether it’s the meta of it all or the pretentiousness of it. It just does it 100% right.

@GamingFan4Lyf objective fact

@Flippygruffle I could be wrong but that’s how I interpret it. My friend is the same way, he enjoys Alan’s story but he’s said he’s enjoyed Saga’s settings far more. I’m the opposite, I loved how you get to alter the world around you in Alan’s story. Though with that said, I do love Saga’s as well. Alan’s does feel like you’re just in one big area that all feels similar, where Saga’s has more unique and memorable locations, but I feel like they balance that by being able to shift the world around with Alan.

@Flippygruffle I can definitely see your complaint about the combat, I’ve said all along that it’s the weakest part of the game and that I could play it without a single fight and I’d be completely ok with it. I don’t hate the combat and have certainly played worse, but I definitely get how someone could not like it. For me, Alan’s story feels pretentious, but intentionally so. I feel like it’s meant to have that air of superiority to it because it compliments his writing style. Personally, I couldn’t get enough of his story, I played it until it finally booted me back to Saga. I’m a bit more than halfway through her story but I agree, the Mind Palace is great, it’s such a fun and unique way of story telling.

@Flippygruffle I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a comment on this site I disagree with more, to each their own though.

I’ve been gaming for over thirty years and not once have I experienced anything like Alan Wake 2. It’s easily my game of the year and one of my favorite games of all time. I haven’t finished it yet but I can’t wait to see how this all wraps up.

Spider-Man 2 was a really good game, but sorry, it doesn’t even air it into y top five this year.

Alan Wake 2 is easily my game of the year, and probably the best game I’ve played since Nier Automata. It’s a truly special game.

@Cherip-the-Ripper they’ve made far more games that aren’t Soulslike than are, so I’m not surprised but I was hopeful they’d mix it up some again.

I was all for this until I saw Souls influence. I used to love Souls games but that genre has mostly run its course with me.

Nearing the end of Alan Wake 2 and maybe a bit of Tears of the Kingdom, which is finally holding my attention.

My buddy is coming over today so we might play some Animal Party while kicked back with some drinks too or we’ll be playing The Reckoners board game.

@Mrlebowski no problem I’m happy to help. It’s not the most combat heavy game but they built such an incredibly unique game that I don’t mind the slower pace.

This is easily my GotY, I can get over how unique and incredible it is. Thirteen years was well worth the wait because I’ve never played a game that does its story like this. I love how the world changes with certain things that happen right on the spot. The combat is the weakest part of it, but even that I enjoy. I’ll gladly take more games in the world and I think it’ll slowly build traction over time. If I remember right the first game was a cult classic as well.

@Mrlebowski you have to use a focus beam with your flashlight to destroy the shadows around enemies, once that’s gone you can shoot your enemies. The charges on the flashlight are limit and they don’t give a ton of ammo, but more often than not you have enough of each. You can shoulder check enemies and dodge, there’s also flares, flash-bangs, and flare guns that you can use as well. The combat is fairly simple but fun enough. In all honesty, the story, characters, and world of this game are so phenomenal that I could play this game without a single piece of combat and this game would still be incredible.

I don’t need to see much more, I’m sold on this one.

I got most of them right

That was a whole lot of nos for me this year

I know I’m probably alone on this one, but outside of the game looking beautiful, this trailer did absolutely nothing for me. Admittedly I’m not a massive GTA fan, though I have played most of the, it’s more of a series I play for a little while, get bored, then never touch again.

I’ve never been a fan of level scaling, I like being able to grind if I get stuck.