#4
Dark Souls
Previous Year: #4

It took me a fairly long time to actually truly grasp what made Dark Souls great when I first tried to play it. In fact, I stopped playing the game after a while because I simply couldn't get into it no matter how hard I tried. Then, maybe about two years later I decided to give it one more chance, as I wanted to understand why so many people absolutely loved the game, and then something happened. The game clicked and opened up to me. Things I hadn't grasped during my first attempt suddenly made sense, and the difficulties with the gameplay were no longer insurmountable as they had been before. 

Within a game I had dismissed just a few years earlier I now found one of the most interesting and intricate worlds and stories I had ever experienced. The gameplay had a depth to it I had completely missed before, and the challenge no longer felt unfair once I realized that everything in the game happened for a reason. Dark Souls is to me quite possibly the most important game I've played in the last 10 years, and the best game in the second best game series of all time.

Hint for #3:

The best space-combat simulator ever made. Takes place 32 years after the first game, and depicts the return of an alien race that almost drove humans and their allies to extinction all those years ago.

Almost. Not all Pikmim games have the same plot.

That's because it has nothing to do with Starfox.

That is correct!

Is this X-Com: Enemy Unknown?

P.S.  Dark Souls is awesome!  It made #12 on my list.

Not quite. It takes place entirely in space and you control various small fighter and bomber ships in battle. Honestly, I'm not really expecting anyone to actually guess the game since it's not a very well known title. However, I did write an article on it fairly recently, so that might help. And yes, Dark Souls is indeed awesome.

Sins of a Solar Empire?

Still no. The game I'm talking about is about nine years older than Sins of a Solar Empire.

#1 Super Mario Odyssey / Switch

Super Mario is my favorite series, it has been with me since I was a kid and I keep growing alongside this ex plumber that could be or not a human. Odyssey since its reveal, I have been just impressed left and right, by its weird yet totally at home bizarre settings, the second trailer that gave me my favorite song of all time and the last one in a direct that brought me to tears by how far my beloved childhood hero came along.

Then Odyssey finally came out on October 27^th and my god, it delivered on everything I expected and surpassed all my expectations throughout the game, from beginning to end and to the post-game, it was the most magical, charming, epic, endearing and fun time I could ever had, cementing once again why I love this series so much and why I love gaming.

First its perfect controls, moving Mario around is so satisfying and fun in its own, bringing an arsenal of movement options that makes hunting for collectibles so good, its camera too, just the whole flow is great, then there is Cappy, which works as an insane extra movement option, a good weapon and an opportunity for the most creative adventure ever with its capture mechanic, probably the best power up of Mario to date, which gives him so many more gameplay possibilities across various objects and enemies, that never feel tacked on but rather an extension of Mario’s abilities. Collecting power moons through the overworlds or the more linear challenges across the game, all is great fun thanks to how satisfying the controls are, despite how repetitive the objectives can be at times, it never really bothers me due to the amount of fun I have just jumping around.

From the places you go to, to the people you meet, it rightfully deserves the Odyssey in the title, all the different kingdoms filled with their own things to capture, the diversity of ambience and atmosphere that every place has, from Bonneton to New Donk City, brought to life by its soundtrack, which is pure bliss and its beautiful art direction.

And the story, the best retelling of the usual Bowser kidnaps Peach, now with a wedding theme, which every kingdom ties in, everything you do in the main story is in pursuit of Bowser and the man has an actual plan and he is smart and always a step ahead of you, the cut scenes are well done as well, pretty short but sweet, with tons of surprising moments and some that completely floored me. New Donk City features one of the most uplifting and charming moments in videogame history.  And the whole ending, from its final world, to the final battle to everything after, is simply a statement of all the love and passion that went into this game and how much Mario has come along as a franchise. And that fucking post-game, if my inner child wasn’t already floored by the main adventure, that extra just made me cry out of happiness.

Overall Super Mario Odyssey is a love letter to the series while being an entirely new thing and just like Breath of the Wild, is a game which its mechanics barely scratch the surface of what is capable of and unlike Galaxy, I think this game totally needs a follow up. Odyssey takes it as my #1 game.

So we've arrived at the Top 3. The podium so to speak. Let me list a few games that didn't make it this year, but are still great nonetheless;

The Honourable Mentions

3

Super Mario 64

• Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS
• 1997
• 3D Platformer
• Nintendo EAD

The first game on the podium is 'Super Mario 64'. A game which needs no introduction as it is one of the most well known and important games ever made. Even today, this game is just as amazing as it ever was, but back in the day, it was lightyears in front of anything we had seen up until then. Just the title screen alone, where you could mold Mario's face by tugging and pulling it. Mindblowing, and good for an hour of fun.

Of course, it didn't stop there. Each level was a revelation of gaming, there was freedom in this game that was unprecedented. The game includes 15 courses, each with six Stars to find, along with a bonus-Star when the player collects at least 100 coins in a level. Aside from these, there's the 'Castle Stars' which are found in secret levels or by completing some small task in the hub-world. It's essentially an open world game, where the player has every freedom to choose what course or what Star to tackle next. The only obstacle that blocks your progress are the Star Doors, which require a certain amount of Stars to open. Behind these, there's the Bowser level, which gets you a key to open the door to the next floor in the castle.

The game got a remake on the DS handheld, which added extra levels, new Stars to collect, mini-games and extra playable characters. The remake renovated the art direction of the game to fit with more modern Mario games, and added touch-screen control in place of the monumental analogue stick controls. The remake's controls scheme couldn't match the original's though and even in other games, new ones, I often find myself thinking developers should have taken a better look at 'Super Mario 64', when it every so often still does things better.

There's nothing to fault in this game, and for all intents and purposes, it's a perfect game. Polished and innovative to what you never thought was possible. One would have thought Nintendo couldn't possibly outdo the achievement of 'Super Mario 64', but only a little later, we already knew better. The Nintendo 64 is truly the greatest video-game system ever released.