List of Games You've Beaten 2023

[UnderwaterFunktown]

• Part 1
• Part 2

Time for a final update now that the year is drawing to a close. Played quite a few smaller titles in this last third of the year.

• Pokémon Legends Arceus - 7/10
  
  • I actually played this earlier in the year but forgot to include it in the earlier posts. Shortly put Arceus is two steps forward and two steps backward, I enjoyed it and I think the more open format has potential, but they really need to put more time and effort into these releases and make a design change or two for it to ever really live up to that.

• DOOM Eternal - 9/10
• Blends the already excellent shooting of DOOM (2016) with suprisingly solid platforming elements to give one of the most satisfying games to sit down and play. Some of the surrounding parts could have been better but the gameplay itself is near perfection.

• Mega Man X - 3.5/10
  
• I didn't expect to like this less than Mega Man 2 but here we are. Vital upgrades hidden in barely accessible locations (at least one of which you can lock yourself out of) is awful game design, particularly when the game still uses password saves in 1993. I played it on an SNES Classic so I could suspend save, but otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. Some things about the game are cool to be sure, but I have to conclude I'm just not masochist enough to like this series.

• Halo 1-3 (Master Chief Collection) - 7.5/10
• So, I've finally tried Halo and well, it's not bad. I've only played the single-player campaigns and they're pretty solid with good shooting and decent stories. Oh and the vehicles. They're fairly... AMAZING! God those are the best part by far, getting the different ones for the first time was easily the best part of the whole experience. I do have to point out that the first game had godawful checkpoints which forced me to restart a nearly completed mission at one point and at others just seemed not to activate, which dragged the game down for me, probably down to a 7, but I still mostly enjoyed the trilogy and definitely enjoyed the vehicles.

• Disco Elysium: The Final Cut - 8.5/10
  
• This game was a two month project for me that I slowly worked my way through in smaller sessions. An incredibly original game that relies entirely on writing, a lot of which is incredible and hilarious, but ironically the pure amount of writing might also be the game's biggest weakness. All the world-building and hundreds of interactions can't all be equally engaging and I probably did have to drag myself through a few parts, but overall it was still an excellent experience with some extremely memorable parts.

• The Talos Principle II - 8.5/10
  
• A worthy sequel to one of the greatest puzzle games of all-time. The Talos Principle II is in many ways even more ambitious with both storytelling and its plethora of creative puzzle mechanics and when it comes to gameplay it's probably tied with the first as the best puzzle games out there. Overall I still prefer the original a little bit due to its story and more mysterious feel, but regardless The Talos Principle II should definitely not be overlooked even in a year as packed as 2023.

• Sonic the Hedghehog 1-3 (& Knuckles) - 6/10
  
• I never really got into 2D Sonic before despite giving it a try, but this year I finally played them as part of the Mega Collection and well... can't say I got really into them this time either. Personally I don't think maze-like leves with secrets is a good match for a game where you blast past things at rapid speed. Then there's the ring system, lives, infuriating final bosses... There are things to like in these games but not enough for me to like them much overall.

• Sonic Mania - 7.5/10
  
• A definite step up in level design and a (mostly) very fun and enjoyable game. Being able to pick up rings easier after getting hit somewhat redeems a bad health system that's too iconic to get rid off. There were a few levels that were more annoying than fun, but overall I liked Mania a good margin more than the originals.

• Vanquish - 8/10
  
• An over the top game as one would expect from Platinum. Sliding is fun, the shooting is good. I probably have more to say but I'm running out of energy here... It's pretty great, that's for sure.

• Spyro Reignited Trilogy - 7/10 (still missing a bit of 3 but close enough)
  
• A bit more kiddie compared to other 90s platformers but still a nice chill game. I probably liked the first one best despite questionable level design in a few places.