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Forums - Gaming - Discussion Thread – The 13th Annual Greatest Games Event

drbunnig said:

Probably the last clues for 17 and 18

#18
- At the file selection screen, if you slightly misspell a prominent feature of the game, it’ll net you something good.
- For the above, you'll only be using the letters of the buttons on your controller.
- If you want to find everything, you’ll have to opt for the worst possible prize at one point.
- As you conquer each world, the final boss’ stage draws ever closer.
- And the location of the final stage is the same sort of location that you start the following game in.
- A bonus stage hidden within a bonus stage? Pretty sneaky.
- The main overworld is shaped like the head of the character the game is named after.
- If you know where to go at the start of each stage, two levels can be all but skipped in the second world.
- If you find every bonus in a level, the game will let you know!

#17 (incorrect guess - Resident Evil 5)
- More action oriented to its predecessor, this sort of indicated where the franchise it took its cues from was going to head in the future.
- A more linear game, less focus on puzzles, and upgrading your arsenal via points accrued in combat are some other features that differentiate it from its predecessor.
- Features more outside areas than its predecessor - a more natural environment for the variety of enemies you face.
- Unlike its predecessor, it features two playable characters, who you switch back and forth between throughout the game. One of these characters was the playable character in the previous game.
- There’s a few instances of first person action, where you have to defend the vehicle you’re travelling on. It wouldn’t be the last time this franchise dipped its toe into the first person perspective - much like the franchise from the same developer that heavily influenced this series, there was a light gun spin off.
- Uses pre-rendered backdrops, whilst its predecessor utilised 3D environments.
- There hasn't been a new game in this franchise for almost 20 years. Fans hope the IP won't become a fossil of a bygone era.
- The in-game ‘currency’ you earn in combat is known as “extinction points”.

#10
- The two books you find caused a bit of confusion when this game was first released.
- If you fail to save your comrades, the shadow of the final boss will loom large after the credits
- To save one comrade, you must make the right decisions at certain times. To save the other, you need to find three of a certain item to access where they are.

My list so far

Ahh is 17 another Dino Crisis? Dino Crisis 2 I would guess?



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UnderwaterFunktown said:
drbunnig said:

#17 (incorrect guess - Resident Evil 5)
- More action oriented to its predecessor, this sort of indicated where the franchise it took its cues from was going to head in the future.
- A more linear game, less focus on puzzles, and upgrading your arsenal via points accrued in combat are some other features that differentiate it from its predecessor.
- Features more outside areas than its predecessor - a more natural environment for the variety of enemies you face.
- Unlike its predecessor, it features two playable characters, who you switch back and forth between throughout the game. One of these characters was the playable character in the previous game.
- There’s a few instances of first person action, where you have to defend the vehicle you’re travelling on. It wouldn’t be the last time this franchise dipped its toe into the first person perspective - much like the franchise from the same developer that heavily influenced this series, there was a light gun spin off.
- Uses pre-rendered backdrops, whilst its predecessor utilised 3D environments.
- There hasn't been a new game in this franchise for almost 20 years. Fans hope the IP won't become a fossil of a bygone era.
- The in-game ‘currency’ you earn in combat is known as “extinction points”.

My list so far

Ahh is 17 another Dino Crisis? Dino Crisis 2 I would guess?

Yep, correct. The other franchise I refer to there in the clues is Resident Evil. I've always felt that Resident Evil 4 mirrored Dino Crisis 2 in some ways - more action, less puzzles, more linear, upgrading weaponry via points / currency.



#10

YoY: NEW!         My Rating: 9.5/10

Breaking into the top ten now, Elden Ring is not only the best game of 2022 and the highest ranking new game on my list this year, but also the best open world game I've ever played by a fair margin. Initially upon hearing about the game, I wasn't entirely convinced that the soulsborne formula would translate well into an open world. The FromSoftware developed titles were, among other things, known for their intricately designed, interconnected locations that wrapped around each other in various clever ways that made exploration a joy in them. Taking a game like that and placing it into and open world setting admittedly felt a little odd at first. However, as it turns out, they still created those same wonderfully designed locations and simply made them part of the larger world in Elden Ring. Best of both worlds I suppose.

The thing that hit me first about the game once I found my way into the open world, was just how gorgeous it looked. There may be games with better graphics from a pure technological point of view, but no other game this year has looked this great in terms of art direction. The next thing that hit me was a lance hit from a miniboss riding a horse, followed by the first of many death screens. Like meeting an old friend. After a while I got into the right rhythm, taking my time exploring, finding cool places and enemies, and slowly mapping out the first area of the game. As the world began to open up more and I got used to game's intricacies and differences from previous FromSoftware titles, I realized just how well it all worked together. Putting the developer's style into an open world setting had done nothing to hamper the experience, and in a lot of ways it only enhanced it. This was an open world done right.

There was a sense of wonder and mystery that remained with me throughout the over 130 hours I spent playing Elden Ring on my first playthrough. I never got tired of discovering new locations, dungeons, bosses, secrets, and details about the world. It felt like there was something new and exciting to be found no matter where I went and how long I played. Even now, after finishing the game and spending so much time with it, I've seen other players find things I never encountered in the game. The game is so full of stuff, and unlike in so many other open world games, it's all engaging and interesting. No pointless fetch quests or worthless collectibles that mean nothing. While there are some minor faults to be found, I have never enjoyed an open world as much as I did The Lands Between. Elden Ring is easily my GotY, and the first new game to enter my top 10 favourite games in well over five years.



Last hint for #9, I'll post 10 through 8 tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, more hints for the others and I'll add #5.

10 - When you finally get every collectible, you get a reward that very much drives home that doing so was pretty pointless and not necessarily meant to be done. Guessed by Darashiva - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

9 - This game for some reason, has a lot to do about llama's.
Hint 2: In this one, there's even a cheat that turns your advisors into llama's.
Hint 3: Llama's also roam the countryside, or alongside the highway.
Hint 4: There's also a vehicle driving mission where there's a big emergency because someone slipped on "llama dung".

8 - This looks like a 3D game, which it mostly is, but the characters are actually 2D cardboard cutouts. This is especially visible in the victory ceremony where the perspective seems off. Guessed by Veknoid_Outcast - Mario Kart 64

7 - When you start your town, you, the player, only gets a warehouse and a quay, while the AI also gets four tiles of nice paving next to it while that actually should still take quite a while before that is unlocked. I was also quite jealous of that.
Hint 2: They also have a bigger boat which should actually take even longer to unlock. Two of them anyway, but that's not necessarily an advantage because they are much slower.

6 - In the original, building "buildings" could only be done by raising land and painting the sides wood or brick, but in this game you can finally build actual walls and roofs. A real game-changer.
Hint 2: Hold shift to raise them or place them on top of each other to create some height, and also press control to keep a new piece at the last placed piece's elevation.

5 - The only game to feature parts in the main perspective of the second game in this series, while all others feature a different perspective. Guessed by Veknoid_Outcast - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Last edited by S.Peelman - on 23 December 2022

S.Peelman said:

Last hint for #9, I'll post 10 through 8 tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, more hints for the others and I'll add #5.

9 - This game for some reason, has a lot to do about llama's.

Hint 2: In this one, there's even a cheat that turns your advisors into llama's.
Hint 3: Llama's also roam the countryside, or alongside the highway.
Hint 4: There's also a vehicle driving mission where there's a big emergency because someone slipped on "llama dung".

I'll take a guess and say some sort of Zoo Tycoon game?



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S.Peelman said:

Last hint for #9, I'll post 10 through 8 tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, more hints for the others and I'll add #5.

10 - When you finally get every collectible, you get a reward that very much drives home that doing so was pretty pointless and not necessarily meant to be done. Guessed by Darashiva - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

9 - This game for some reason, has a lot to do about llama's.
Hint 2: In this one, there's even a cheat that turns your advisors into llama's.
Hint 3: Llama's also roam the countryside, or alongside the highway.
Hint 4: There's also a vehicle driving mission where there's a big emergency because someone slipped on "llama dung".

8 - This looks like a 3D game, which it mostly is, but the characters are actually 2D cardboard cutouts. This is especially visible in the victory ceremony where the perspective seems off. Guessed by Veknoid_Outcast - Mario Kart 64

7 - When you start your town, you, the player, only gets a warehouse and a quay, while the AI also gets four tiles of nice paving next to it while that actually should still take quite a while before that is unlocked. I was also quite jealous of that.
Hint 2: They also have a bigger boat which should actually take even longer to unlock. Two of them anyway, but that's not necessarily an advantage because they are much slower.

6 - In the original, building "buildings" could only be done by raising land and painting the sides wood or brick, but in this game you can finally build actual walls and roofs. A real game-changer.
Hint 2: Hold shift to raise them or place them on top of each other to create some height, and also press control to keep a new piece at the last placed piece's elevation.

5 - The only game to feature parts in the main perspective of the second game in this series, while all others feature a different perspective.

Aha! #5 is Link's Awakening, isn't it? Those 2D side-scrolling sections in the style of Zelda II.



TruckOSaurus said:

#20: Hollow Knight

This one is for @Veknoid_Outcast .

If there's one recent Metroidvania you have to play to be able to call yourself a true Metroidvania fan, it's definitely this one. It features deceptively simple controls, it can be unforgiving at times with its Souls-like characteristics but it's an adventure worth embarking on. The desolate world you explore is filled with deep lore, the game's boss fights are some of the best I've ever encountered, the game is lengthy, the powers and spells you unlock are well thought out being useful in moving through the environment and in handling your enemies. Oh and the music is excellent as well (another one yes!).

It wouldn't be a top 50 games event if I wasn't reminded of my huge failure to play this game  



Have no fear, the Top 10 is here! I knew I would be writing a bit more about my top games, but some of these turned out pretty hefty, probably not a bad thing though it took a while. Two games went unguessed this time, namely 10 and 8 which were The Stanley Parable and Black Mesa. Also, this'll probably be my last activity on this side of Christmas, so... Merry Christmas!

Placement/

Last Year

Write-up

(Box) Art

#10

#17

The Stanley Parable (Ultra Deluxe)

Skyrocketing its way into the Top 10 we have one of the most unique and entertaining games ever created. This year the long awaited ULTRA DELUXE version launched which turned out to be as much of a sequel as a remaster (and technically it’s a remake, complicated stuff) with easily more than double the content of the original, and while this was most certainly what made me reevaluate the game’s placement, retrospectively I think this always belonged up here. It's brilliant, it’s hilarious, it’s Skyrim (#18), it’s Persona 3 (#30), the Stanley Parable is a gift that keeps on giving with too many quotable and memorable bits. Simply too many. And while not all the game’s now nearly 50 endings are created equally (The Broom Closet ending is of course in a league of its own and my personal favorite), there’s bafflingly many clever, creative and hilarious ones in the mix. And despite it being a short game that I have spent less time on over multiple playthroughs than some games take to beat once, I feel a special connection to it, like it’s a nostalgic game I played as a child except it isn’t. If nothing else I’m pretty sure it’s a piece of media that has had a hand in shaping my sense of humor, for better or worse (better, definitely better).

#9

#9

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Oh look, it’s the winner of this year’s cumulative list! (Sorry if I spoiled that for anyone). Widely beloved doesn’t begin to describe Breath of the Wild and there’s a very good reason for that. Nintendo’s first venture into full on open-world was a resounding success and I’m not sure I’ve played any other game that made simply exploring the world as compelling as it is here. Seeing a Sheikah Tower or Shrine in the distant immediately compels you to want to go there and movement options like gliding with your leaf or surfing on your shield can make the simple act of moving around the world highly enjoyable. And while the game might have lost the dungeons that the series is known for, puzzles are more prevalent than ever both in Shrines, Divine Beasts or the world itself with some extremely creative ones in there. The gameplay in general as good as it’s ever been, the combat is solid, Rune powers are cool, gathering materials to cook and craft and prepare yourself for extreme temperatures, there’s just a lot to love in this incarnation of Hyrule.

I was a bit out of the loop when I played the game so I was surprised to later learn that people hated the durability system, which to me was one of the game’s great assets. It added variation to the gameplay by forcing you to switch between different weapons on the fly and it added an element of strategic “weapon management”. Do you want to bust out your finest weapons right away or save them for that special occasion? Sure, it would have been welcome if the late game weapons had a bit more durability or even if there had been some method of repairing equipment, but regardless it was an element that I really liked about the game. Breath of the Wild is a massive game with tons of elements to it and I think few would deny that there are flaws to be found in some of those, but it’s the fact that the game is so damn enthralling despite that which shows just how good it is, and of course how much potential there is going forward. Tears of the Kingdom is less than 6 months away and that’s… Pretty exciting.

#8

#8

Black Mesa

Black Mesa is proof that fan-made games can be just as good as the real deal, even when the real deal is a legendary series like Half-Life. Black Mesa is a remake of the first game and yea pretty much all the praise I had for Half-Life 2 (#12) applies here as well. They manage to make a linear adventure through a science facility feel absolutely epic with variety, unique weapons and some damn good music in certain sections. And despite most of the game being a fairly faithful recreation of a game from 1998 there are many small touches that make it feel like a modern-day Half-Life game, and a major overhaul of the final part of the game which is excellent and very unique. With all this in mind Black Mesa is quite frankly the best FPS experience that I’ve had and a huge recommendation both to existing Half-Life fans and any who have considered giving the franchise a go.

#7

#7

Doki Doki Literature Club!

Yeaaa, I can’t really talk about this one without spoilers. To the uninitiated all I will say is that this game gets a big recommendation to all but the faint of heart.

 

Spoiler!

Doki Doki Literature Club is HORROR with a capital everything and if being a semi-traumatic experience isn’t worthy of a Top 10 spot, I don’t know what is. Its outward appearance hides an altogether different game once you get to the second half and even though I didn’t go into the game blind to that fact (which would probably have been the purest experience), nothing could have prepared me for what was in store. As a horror game DDLC is the most disturbing and unsettling one I’ve ever played, but it’s also just as much a mind-bending experience. While other games might poke holes in the fourth wall here and there, Doki Doki Literature Club smashes it with a sledgehammer and in a way the game’s awareness of its own status as a game makes it feel more real, which in turn makes it more disturbing.

I think many people who have played DDLC view it mostly as simply a game with a clever concept or gimmick, but to me it’s the execution of that concept that’s truly impressive. The writing is phenomenal and the poems are expertly crafted with subtle hints at deeper meanings, resulting in a feeling that something darker is lurking under the surface even in the first half, when the game is mostly sunshine and rainbows. Partially because of this the non-horror part that could have risked simply feeling like filler before you get to the real game becomes essential build-up and on subsequent playthroughs you will start to notice new elements in it once you know what is to come. There’s also a great attention to detail and lots of secrets beyond simply playing the game from start to finish (try messing with the character files before you start it, if you dare).

DDLC is a unique and incredible game, but it is of course also small one and the question is if a 5-hour game which will always stand strongest on your first playthrough can remain among my absolute favorites forever. And it is a good question; one which I cannot give a sure answer to, but what I can say for sure is that my first playthrough of DDLC was undeniably one of the most powerful experiences I’ve ever had with a game and that, I think, is unlikely to change.

#6

#6

Persona 5

So, the funny thing about Persona 5 is that I’ve played through this game 1.5 times, and that’s not because I stopped on purpose. I got Persona 5 on a bit of a whim back in 2017 because I’d heard good things about the Persona series in general and because it was releasing for the PS3 which I had, believe or not, gotten a year earlier (late adopter would be an understatement). And that turned out to be a damn good whim because I immediately loved this game and was pretty damn engrossed in it, however due to circumstances I ended up taking a break from the game when I was about 60 hours in. When I returned, I played it once and when I next booted up my PS3 the game wouldn’t start… in fact none of my games would. Yeah, according to PlayStation customer service my account had been hacked (not sure how that prevented me from playing physical games, but something was clearly wrong) and when I finally got it back and could play my games again my save file was gone (retrospectively I think I accidentally deleted it myself by doing a total reboot when trying to get the console to work…)

So, what did I do after spending an appropriate amount of time feeling devastated? I binged the game in less than two weeks (during vacation). I’m not usually one to binge games or any media really but with Persona 5 it just worked; I didn’t get tired of it, even the part I had played previously was fun to revisit. And so, after 160+ hours in total I finally reached the epic conclusion to this game of games. I don’t even know if it’s necessary to say that much about the game itself beyond that. Amazing story, several great characters, one of the best soundtracks ever and just an incredibly stylish game. I’ve stated previously that I’m not the biggest turn-based combat fan and I do think the combat is the game’s weakest link, but even that is pretty fun and the knock down and Persona catching mechanics put it quite high as turn-based systems go in my eyes. With it being such a long game and there being much else on my plate I haven’t had a chance to replay it since the first 1.5 time(s), but now that Royal is on Switch, I do plan to pick that up and give it another go on of these days. Just maybe not in less than two weeks this time.

Last edited by UnderwaterFunktown - on 23 December 2022

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#9

(=)

And now my all-time favorite party game, and my favorite in the Mario Party series. This was a bit before my childhood but even now I still think this stands above the rest of the series. The maps are all incredibly creative and fun, the minigames are great, the character roster is excellent, and most importantly it has the exact amount of insanity and unfairness that's only rivaled by the original game. A masterclass in party game chaos and one I have untold number of memories with.



UnderwaterFunktown said:

Have no fear, the Top 10 is here! I knew I would be writing a bit more about my top games, but some of these turned out pretty hefty, probably not a bad thing though it took a while. Two games went unguessed this time, namely 10 and 8 which were The Stanley Parable and Black Mesa. Also, this'll probably be my last activity on this side of Christmas, so... Merry Christmas!

#10

#17

The Stanley Parable (Ultra Deluxe)

Skyrocketing its way into the Top 10 we have one of the most unique and entertaining games ever created. This year the long awaited ULTRA DELUXE version launched which turned out to be as much of a sequel as a remaster (and technically it’s a remake, complicated stuff) with easily more than double the content of the original, and while this was most certainly what made me reevaluate the game’s placement, retrospectively I think this always belonged up here. It's brilliant, it’s hilarious, it’s Skyrim (#18), it’s Persona 3 (#30), the Stanley Parable is a gift that keeps on giving with too many quotable and memorable bits. Simply too many. And while not all the game’s now nearly 50 endings are created equally (The Broom Closet ending is of course in a league of its own and my personal favorite), there’s bafflingly many clever, creative and hilarious ones in the mix. And despite it being a short game that I have spent less time on over multiple playthroughs than some games take to beat once, I feel a special connection to it, like it’s a nostalgic game I played as a child except it isn’t. If nothing else I’m pretty sure it’s a piece of media that has had a hand in shaping my sense of humor, for better or worse (better, definitely better).

Yoooo twinning