List of Games You've Beaten 2023

[Darashiva]

Seems like I've gone over three months without updating my list, so here's four new games to my list (17-20).

Finished Games:

1. Monster Hunter World (+Iceborne) (PS4) My rating: 9/10
   • I spent roughly 150 hours playing through MHW, and I never once got tired of hunting monsters and trying to find more materials to craft new weapons and armor. I'm not sure what else I can say. Very few games can hold my interest for such a long time. An excellent game, and without question the best game in the series I've played.
2. Superhot (PS4) My rating: 8/10
   • A fun puzzle game with a unique gimmick and a clever twist to its story. 
3. Control (PS4) My rating: 9 / 10
   • Remedy's best game so far. I love the setting, story, characters, and gameplay. The developer has created a world that is wonderfully twisted in various small ways, leading to a constant sense of unease as nothing feels completely right, from the way characters act to the Oldest House itself. With two very good DLC releases as well, Control turned out to be one of the better games I've played in a while. In terms of complaints, the Hiss end up becoming slightly dull as enemies by the end of the game, and the upgrade and mod systems don't feel as impactful as I'd like. Regardless, this is an excellent game.
4. Katamari Damacy REROLL (Switch) My rating: 8.5 / 10
   • A wonderful game to just lean back and relax for a while. Something delightfully cathartic to just roll everything in sight into a giant rolling ball of destruction. It's an utterly silly game, but the only other option would be sheer horror, so it's perfect.
5. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PC) My rating: 8.5 / 10
   • Been on a really good roll when it comes to video games lately, and Senua's Sacrifice was another great game to add to the list. Ninja Theory have long been one of my favourite developers, but I didn't get around to this game until now for whatever reason. Still, I'm glad I finally did because it's great. The story is well-told and intriguing, but the true star here is Senua herself and her characterization as a person losing her grip on reality and suffering from psychosis. Melina Juergens does an exceptional job in the lead role. It's genuinely one of the best performances I've ever seen in a video game. I also love how the environment adds to this sense of lost control, as it shifts around Senua and makes her see things that might not actually be there. The puzzles where the player has to find patterns in the environment or align certain parts of it are also fitting considering Senua as a character. The weakest aspect of the game is definitely the combat, which while fun in small doses, gets really repetitive after a while, and fighting more than one enemy at a time can be exceptionally frustrating. That's the one aspect I hope the sequel improves upon.
6. Cadence of Hyrule (Switch) My Rating: 8 / 10
   • A fun, rhythm action game with a few shortcomings that keep if from true greatness. The Hyrule setting is great, and the gameplay is a lot of fun once you get accustomed to it. I played the game through with my wife in co-op, and for the most part it's a great for that. There are a few battles that feel a bit unfair in co-op, but otherwise no issues with the game.
7. Cosmic Star Heroine (PC) My Rating: 7.5 / 10
   • Basically a tribute to classic SNES era JRPGs with some modern concessions. The battle system is fast-paced and fun, the story moves at a very brisk pace, and the characters are instantly identifiable as separate people. However, the pace of the story is bit too fast, as very few moments get time to breathe, and as a result end up lacking in impact. It also leaves many of the characters woefully underdeveloped. The game could have taken a little more time to let the story develop. Now, even after doing most of the sidequests, I finished the game in little over 10 hours. It could have used just a few more hours for its story. Still, this is a fun game that definitely doesn't overstay its welcome.
8. Super Mario RPG (SNES) My Rating: 7.5 / 10
   • I had never actually finished Super Mario RPG before. I had played the very beginning a long time ago on an emulator, but I figured that since I have the SNES classic I should finally get around to playing it properly. I did, and it's good. It's a simple, lighthearted, RPG with a nice, quirky sense of humour and an enjoyable battle system. Not among the console's (or Square's) finest RPGs, but a thoroughly fun time regardless.
9. Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (PS4) My Rating: 8 / 10
   • The first game in the Atelier-series I've actually played, though I've had my eyes on it for a long time. A relaxing, relatively easy RPG with a decent storyline, good cast, surprisingly varied battle system, and an item creation system that actually becomes very deep as the game progresses. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this one, and I'll probably come back for the sequels too at some point.
10. The Legend of Dragoon (PS4) My Rating: 10 /10
    • I've talked about this one enough already. One of my favourite games ever. I do wish they would have done a little more with this rerelease, even if it was just an updated translation, because the English language script is just awful, and is easily the worst part of the game. The voice acting is the one other notable shortcoming, though that's more a sign of the era it was released in than anything else.
11. Pinstripe (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
    • A 2D platformer with a cool art style and responsive gameplay. Not very challenging either. The story is quite good, with a few nice twists thrown in near the end. It is, however, very short, my one playthrough clocking in at barely 2.5 hours. There are two endings, so you can get more out of the game if you want. Nothing groundbreaking or exceptional, but a solid title nonetheless.
12. AER: Memories of Old (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
    • A relaxing open world game where the focus is heavily on just flying around the world solving simple puzzles and listening to the story unfold. A nice little game to just wind down and experience once. The idea of a character being able to just turn into a bird at will and fly around the world freely is something I'd like to see explored more in games.
13. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS3) My Rating: 9/10
    • The third time I've played through DS2. Still the weakest in the series, still great, though I have to admit the game's flaws become more and more apparent as time passes and new games show how things can be done better. Will probably fall down a bit in my year end top 50.
14. Astro's Playroom (PS5) My Rating: 8/10
    • Finally bought a PS5 for myself, and it felt fitting to play Astro's Playroom first. A genuinely fun, nostalgia-filled journey through the history of PlayStation. An easy game to play, but it's a perfect showcase for the controller, and I had a smile on my face through most of the game as I came across all the little nods, references and Easter eggs to past games and consoles found everywhere. 
15. Horizon Forbidden West + Burning Shores (PS5) My Rating: 9/10
    
    • Still a bit unsure about the score I would give the game, but to put it simply, if Elden Ring wasn't a thing, Forbidden West would be my new all-time favourite open world game ever. Now its "only" second best. I spent almost 90 hours in this game over the last few weeks, and I never once got bored of playing it. I loved the expanded gameplay options from the first game, the increased focus on character development, the continuation of the story to some really unexpected directions, and the setting in general. While the first game felt like Aloy's journey to discover the history of the world as well as her own past, FW was much more about her learning to trust others and forging closer relationships with people, while obviously also fighting to save the world. In addition, Burning Shores is a frontrunner for the best DLC of the year thus far. 
16. Valkyria Chronicles (PS4) My Rating: 9.5/10
    • This was my third time playing through Valkyria Chronicles after I realized that it had been almost ten years since I last played it. Still remains one of my all-time favourite games, with a great story, excellent characters, beautiful visuals, a satisfying battle system, and one of Hitoshi Sakimoto's best scores, which is saying a lot. 
17. The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero (PS4) My Rating: 8.5/10
    • The 8th game in The Legend of Heroes-series I've finished, and I have to say it's one of the weaker ones as a whole. Admittedly, the bar for me is quite high when it comes to this series, and even a game this good isn't among the best in it. Basically, this is still an excellent game in just about every aspect, but the characters, storyline, and music just don't quite reach the heights of the Trails in the Sky or Trails of Cold Steel subseries.
18. Gravity Rush (PS4) My Rating: 8/10
    • Another replay I decided to do when I realized it'd been almost six years since I played Gravity Rush. Still a thoroughly enjoyable game, with unique gameplay revolving around the use of gravity, a fascinating world, and an interesting set of main characters. Need to replay the sequel at some point as well.
19. Stray (PS5) My Rating: 8/10
    • Another game with a wonderfully realized world, a beautiful visual style, and certainly a unique perspective from which the player experiences it. Stray may not be a masterpiece, but it certainly warranted the hype it received from being "the cat game". A fun journey that lasts just long enough, and doesn't overstay its welcome. Perhaps a continuation at some point gives us a look at the wider world that was largely just hinted at here.
20. FAR: Lone Sails (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
    • A simple, quite intentionally straightforward game that lets the players' imagination fill in the finer details of the game's world and story. A short experience as well, as my first time playthrough was done in well under three hours. While I most likely will never go back to it, the time I spent with FAR: Lone Sails was enjoyable, and I'm glad I played it. Very much a game where the journey matters more than the destination.

Actively Playing:

• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (PC)
• Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch) (main game finished, just the extra story left to complete)

Games in Queue:

• Persona 5 Royal
• The Witcher-trilogy
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Octopath Traveller II
• Demon's Souls
• Nier: Replicant
• Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
• Tales of Vesperia
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Kingdom Hearts III
• Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir 
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• God of War: Ragnarök
• ...and too many others to list