#40

Grand Theft Auto V

8.9/10

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with this game. The year it came out it was one of the games I played the most on my PS3. I thought the story was very thrilling with lots of cool set pieces and an interesting plot. Although sometimes it came across as immature, it was very enjoyable overall. Also the driving in this game is the most fun I've had with driving in any game because you can pull off some crazy stunts and pretty much fly across the map.

I had lots of fun with friends in the early days of gta online. The activities like bounty hunts, races, gang attacks or just general open world shenanigans were lots of fun with other players. And I liked the level customization that was there compared to Rockstar's previous attempts at online multiplayer. But the thing that's disappointing is that it feels they excluded a lot from the single-player portion just to get people to play online. There are certain features and content that is accessible online that should be easily in the single-player as well. Which Is annoying to say the least, it kind of makes the Story mode feel bare when you compare them both. I also feel like there weren't enough ways to interact with the world outside missions. Something that Red Dead Redemption 2 improved on. But even so I have a lot of fond memories playing this game and it provided many hours of entertainment for me.

#39

Hi-Fi Rush

9/10

Now we're getting to the really good stuff

This game was a real pleasant surprise. It was shadow dropped in early 2023. It caught my attention because of the art-direction and rhythm based gameplay. It had positive reviews on steam so I thought why not give it a go? Oh am I glad I did.

The combat is super fun and engaging. With the player being rewarded for timing their attacks with the beat of the music. This just allows you to do more damage as opposed to being a requirement to succeed. You also have a dash and parry ability which also benefit from timing as well as several special attacks. the gameplay reminds me of the Patapon games from the psp which is another rhythm game action game.

Everything and everyone in this game is just bursting with personality. From the main character's idle animation to the environments that move to the beat of the music. It also has a great sense of humor along with some fun references other games. I think the reason this game resonated with me is because it reminds me of the time when big name game developers were able to make creative and wacky titles that stood out from the rest. It feels like a game from the PS2 era but more modern. These days You mostly see this kind of creativity coming from the indie scene. I hope tango gameworks definitely makes a sequel. Because i'm in love with what they've done here.

Dang, I forgot to post again, sorry! On to the top 15.

15. My favorite JRPG from 2022. It features an expansive world like most games in this series and fun mobile gameplay. Right away, at the start of the game you have to make a decision which character will be the protagonist, and the story will be slightly different based on this choice.

14. During part of the story, your party is labeled as criminals of the realm and relentlessly hunted down by 2 top knights and their minions.

13. Originally stuck on an island world, the main character wishes to leave it and is immediately embroiled in an adventure across many different kinds of worlds.

12. This is the 5th game in a tactical JRPG series. The rampaging army of a surpreme overlord is destorying netherworlds one by one.

11. Similar game to #12. Unlike that game however the main character has a big weakness to sexy girls, a feature that an enemy took advantage of, flat chested girls on the other hand have no effect.

14) Dragon Quest XI maybe?

13) Kingdom Hearts

12) Possibly Disgaea 5

More hints.

#5

-A small neutral nation rich in natural resources must defend itself from an invasion by an imperial alliance

-After repelling an attack on their home town, three characters join the militia to defend their homeland

-Set in an alternate history Europe during its version of the second World War

#4 Dark Souls

-Will you end the age, or perpetuate the cycle for a little longer?

-The world was once a stagnant, still place covered in fog. Then, came fire.

#3

-32 years have passed since contact with Earth was lost

-Those that were stranded in space as a result came to be known as 'the lost generation'

-The developer of this game is these days better known for a series of open world games that began as a GTA clone, but soon leaned much more into absurd humor and silliness to find its own identity

#2

-Count 108 years...

-...and when the moon that never sets glows red...

-...the moon child descends to the earth to fill the world with holy bliss.

#1 Final Fantasy IX

-The play at the start is just a ruse

-For a group of thieves, they can pull of a pretty decent stage play

I never heard of that game before, but it seems like a unique and interesting idea. I wish game devs were more often in experimental mood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hatsworth_in_the_Puzzling_Adventure

I always think good art direction is recognizable in the way, that a game can be recognized by a random screenshot, possibly you can even recognize which region of the game you're in. I think Elden Ring surely fits that, as it's art style is unique and each of the areas has their own colors and styles.

And about that moment leaving the dungeon: this is the part Hidetaka Miyazaki got inspired from by Breath of the Wild. Everyone else took climbing everywhere and the glider - but Miyazaki instead choose that moment you leave an underground location in the beginning with a forst look at the open world and instantly showing you your goal for the game - no quest marker, no NPC, no cutscene is needed to tell you where to go, I just took a look at the Erdtree and knew I *wanted* to go there. I didn't even know it was my penultimative goal in the game, but with it's beauty and gloriousness it instantly drew me in. That is masterful visual design. And this is not the only moment that works that way. The moment I stepped out onto the cliff to get my first look on Liurnia, I couldn't do anything but stop and marvel about this mysterious land below me. And again the Academy of Raya Lucaria stands out as not only beatiful, but also mysterious. It drew my interest and I knew I couldn't go on without first visiting there. Same as I took an elevator ride down, expecting a dungeon, but this elevator got deeper and deeper and I started wondering - and then a breathtaking view opens up. Elden Ring is masterful design. A lot of game devs are good at checking boxes for supposedly good games wit tech and graphics and gameplay tweaks and interface, but crafting these breathtaking moments, this is real artistry.

Valkyria Chronicles? And FreeSpace 2.

Yes, correct on both.

Correct on all.