Valkyrie Elysium. I thought you asked how it was lol

1) Cyberpunk 2077 - PS5
2) Medium - PS5
3) Ghostwire Tokyo - PS5
4) Jedi Fallen Order - PS5
5) Forspoken - PS5
6) Shadow Warrior 2 - PS4
7) Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
8) Scarlet Nexus - PS5
9) Oninaki - PS5
10) The Pedestrian - PS4
11) The Forgotten City - PS5
12) Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
13) Far Cry New Dawn - PS4

'Twas me, but thanks. Kinda as I expected. I may pass. Valkyrie Profile 2 gameplay was great but the story is what really pulled me in once I got past the crux of the game. If it's another generic hack and slash from SquEnix, I don't see the point.

1) Cyberpunk 2077 - PS5
2) Medium - PS5
3) Ghostwire Tokyo - PS5
4) Jedi Fallen Order - PS5
5) Forspoken - PS5
6) Shadow Warrior 2 - PS4
7) Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
8) Scarlet Nexus - PS5
9) Oninaki - PS5
10) The Pedestrian - PS4
11) The Forgotten City - PS5
12) Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
13) Far Cry New Dawn - PS4
14) HFW: Burning shores - PS5

Right, maybe I should update my list as well, have three new games to add after all.

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: 9/1
    • 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. 

Actively Playing:

• Horizon Forbidden West (PS5)
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (PC)

Games in Queue:

• Persona 5 Royal
• The Witcher-trilogy
• Nier: Replicant
• Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
• Tales of Vesperia
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Kingdom Hearts III
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero
• Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir 
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• Xenoblade Chronicles Remastered
• God of War: Ragnarök
• ...and too many others to list

I've skipped on this thread in previous years but what the hell might as well give it a shot. Played several seriously good games so far this year.

• God of War: Ragnarök (PS4) - 9/10
• Started on it last year but finished it in 2023. As the score shows I loved it though honestly maybe not as much as I expected. I have to say I prefer the 2018’s more concentrated story and the character development in that one, but this was still an excellent title.

• Bioshock Infinite (replay) (PC) - 8.5/10
• Infinite was somehow both better and worse than I remembered it. Some really weird limitations like no manual save and the ending goes down best if you don't think about too hard, but the gameplay is leagues above its predecessors and the characters are still very compelling.

• Persona 4 Golden (NS) - 9/10
• I think I can officially say at this point Persona is one of my top 4 favorite game series (along with Tales of, Zelda and Smash). The biggest compliment I can give Persona 4 is to call it a slightly worse version of Persona 5 (no seriously that’s high praise).

• Hi-Fi Rush (PC) - 7/10
• I wrote my thoughs on this game as a comment to the VgChartz review. In short it was a fun time but I did have some issues with it.

• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (PC) - 9/10
• Going into this game I expected to like it about as much as the first (which I would probably give an 8) but my god, they really went above and beyond for this sequel. They basically changed the combat completely, which was the one thing holding back the original imo, and the ending is also just incredible.

• Pikmin 2 (Wii) - 7/10
• Basicly the Dark Souls II of Pikmin. Or I guess Dark Souls II is the Pikmin 2 of Dark Souls, since Pikmin came first. It’s brutal and can honestly feel BS at times, but it still had me coming back for more even after I’d beaten the main story.

• Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (PC) - 8.5/10
• mZuzek wasn’t kidding, this is a seriously good game with some grade A writing. I wouldn’t place it that far behind Marvel’s Spider-Man and that’s in my top 50 of all-time.

• OMORI (PC) - 9/10
• Not at all what I expected but incredible. Who knew that Earthbound and horror would mix so well? I’m giving it 9 as a whole, but honestly the last 3 or 4 hours of it are pretty much a 10. Might have to write a full review on it at some point.

• Psychonauts 2 (PC) - 7.5/10
• It’s been about 10 years since I played the original, but it was great to get another taste of the world of Psychonauts. The combat and some elements of the story do leave a bit to be desired imo, but still a very charming and fun game.

• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (PC) – 6.5/10
• Essentially what dragged this game down significantly for me was one little detail: the formations. Not being able to turn off formations when just wanting to move a group of varied units from A to B makes the game feel like it has terrible pathing even though that probably isn’t really the case.

• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) - 7/10
• Actually, Corruption was the first Prime game I experienced, but I got stuck pretty early back in the day so this is my first time beating it. And, well, I’d have to say it’s my least favorite of the trilogy (though not by a huge margin, controversially I’d probably give the first two a 7.5). I did love some elements like the nunchuck whip and how fast you can traverse to different sections of the game (different planets in this case) thanks to your ship.

• Luigi's Mansion 3 - 7.5/10
• A big step up from 2, but still doesn’t quite capture the charm of the original even if it's mechanics are a lot more fleshed out. It’s a super creative game though with many fun surprising little elements.

Hogwarts Legacy - Steam Deck

1) Cyberpunk 2077 - PS5
2) Medium - PS5
3) Ghostwire Tokyo - PS5
4) Jedi Fallen Order - PS5
5) Forspoken - PS5
6) Shadow Warrior 2 - PS4
7) Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
8) Scarlet Nexus - PS5
9) Oninaki - PS5
10) The Pedestrian - PS4
11) The Forgotten City - PS5
12) Valkyrie Elysium - PS5
13) Far Cry New Dawn - PS4
14) HFW: Burning shores - PS5
15) Erica - PS4

Just Finished: Grand Theft Auto V (PS5)

Yeah I'm one of those people keeping GTA V at the top of the sales charts even after so many years. Somehow this is the first GTA game that I have ever completed by myself. Back in the day my brother would switch off on games like Liberty City Stories on PSP, and i've started previous games but never finished. I bought the PS5 version when it was on sale digitally last summer. For a 10 year old game, it still leaves an impression even if the visuals are starting to show their age. The load times are kept minimal thanks to the PS5's SSD and playing in 60 FPS performance mode is a real treat once you get used to how gamey it looks. I sunk about 35 hours into the game mostly sticking to the story with a few side missions and exploration thrown in. There is easily hundreds of hours of content her to dive into and I haven't even touched GTA Online yet. The writing and acting are top notch. The storyline is a bit all over the place but not as outlandish as GTA San Andreas. I think the 3 character focus is a nice evolution for the series. Michael was my favorite as he was the most developed character and his family man dynamics were a hoot. Franklin is the most down to earth and realistic but he can be a bit boring and passive at times. Trevor is a complete psychopath and is probably the most realistic representation of what a GTA protagonist would have to be in order to do all the horrible stuff the game tasks you with doing. Trevor is really disturbing and some of the tasks the game makes you do are offputting and uncomfortable. The game is funny and satirical though even if its criticism of capitalism ring hollow and hypocritical. The game is well refined. The shooting and driving are satisfying. Flying still sucks. The customization options are deep without going overboard or forcing you to do crap like bowl with you cousin. Sometimes a game is successful because it really is that good. I don't think GTA V is the best game ever but it is so breezy and engrossing to play that I understand why people keep coming back for more.

Score: 9/10

Full Completed 2023 List:

• Super Mario World (NSO)
• Star Fox (NSO)
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (PS5)
• Donkey Kong Country (NSO)
• The Legend of Zelda (NSO)
• Gran Turismo 7 (PS5)
• Grand Theft Auto V (PS5)