Critical Miss: Top Five Games of 2012 #1

[Blood Brain Barrier]

This was a pleasant surprise. I'm sick of TWD getting all the accolades, and Thomas Was Alone was more emotional and a better game than TWD. Well done Critical Miss!

I disagree about the ending. It rounded off the ideas about artificial intelligence and computers - that the game was constantly toying with - quite nicely.

 

[Bvenged]

Something tells me the honourable mentions are a lol.

I might pick up Thomas was Alone. I'm not a fan of platformers and for some reason I don't gel well with indie titles unless they're absolutely superb, but I will certainly give it a shot when I can. TB's WTF is... seemed to compliment it in ways that tick with me, and your blurb of it does the same thing but literately.

Pie.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Soooooo, is Thomas Was Alone basically 2012's Braid?

Either way, I think I'll give this one a miss. It's probably fun, but your description really puts me off due to the above comparison. The text sections in Braid were pretty hilarious to start with (especially reading them out loud to my boyfriend) but got tiresome really quickly. I enjoyed the actual game more once I stopped reading them.

Okay, knowing how this webcomic typically is, so is Thomas was Alone really like that?

It has a metascore of 77 (whatever that means to you) and appears to be a narrative-driven platformer. So yeah, this comic is probably not ironic.

 

[bandit0802]

Something no one else seems to be considering (as far as I can tell) is he may be talking about ME3's EXTENDED ending, which still has me tearing up every time I see it (finished it again a few days ago). Of course, for all I know he is speaking genuinely about the original version, or he is trolling.

Can't fault him in any case. Even the original ending had me choked up until I realized how excruciatingly short it was.

 

[PhoxHound]

Critical Miss: Top Five Games of 2012 #1

Five days. Five of 2012's best games.

Read Full Article

Wait, so you didn't cry or tear up at "To The Moon"? You people really are heartless banshies! (j/k)

I never played Thomas Was Alone so I won't disagree with your assessment. But if you love games with a powerful and emotional narrative, I have to agree with El Capitano here and say that you would probably love To The Moon. It is light on gameplay but it tells an incredibly powerful story unlike anything I played this year.

 

[UniversalRonin]

So, I was going to disagree, and then I saw that X-Com EU got a honourable mention. Good enough for me.

 

[V8 Ninja]

...That was unexpected.

I would love to comment on how wrong/right this entry is, but I have yet to play Thomas Was Alone and thus have no opinion on it.

 

[redknightalex]

Trying not to judge Thomas Was Alone based solely on the description of the game, and a quick look at you YouTube walkthrough, because I just haven't played it. However, I know the Game Journalism Industry seems to have a real liking for indie games, at least for the past few months, but I'm starting to get annoyed by it. I'm glad to know of the games that release without the spectacle of AAA games, but, um, blocks?

May give it a try, may not. Agreed with your other suggestions but this one is a tad much.

And those honorable mentions? It is your own opinion, after all, so who am I to judge? I think this is why I hate awards of any kind. Just creates Drama.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

What? I haven't even heard of this game.

 

[blalien]

Okay, knowing how this webcomic typically is, so is Thomas was Alone really like that?

Yeah, their description of that game is accurate. I personally found the gameplay very tedious and quit halfway through, but the narrative is pretty good. There's a demo online if you're interested.

 

[Calcium]

Consdiering I have neither played, nor even seen any gameplay I really can't comment. I haven't even seen it on anyone elses top 5, though that's not really a criticism consdiering my own GoTY didn't make it either.

And that would be Crusader Kings 2. Each time I just start playing it and suddenly 4 hours have passed. o_o

 

[Zhukov]

I... I think I might have to hate you for all eternity on account of that second "myeeeh".

 

[yunabomb]

I'd probably be likely to disagree with the honourable mentions, 'cause I'm not sure how Skullgirls got there.
Sure it's a indie good game, also being the fighting game I've enjoyed playing the most, but that Final Boss doesn't feel like it was designed right; Bosses should be an equal challenge for every and all characters you can play, but as it stands some characters have it as a cake walk (like Peacock) and for others it can a nightmare due to limitations (Cerebella can't use throws against her, has no ranged attack, and her lvl 3 'blockbuster' does equal to chip damage when it should hit like a truck).

Playing Skullgirls for the single player is like playing Spec Ops: The Line for the multiplayer.

The real problem with Skullgirls is that it was unfinished by the commercial release. The new patch fixes that, though.

 

[Full]

You know what makes me feel like an idiot? I didn't see the big yellow and white bold-texted spoiler warning sign the first time I read the comic. I played all of those games, though, so I'm not upset.

Also, I quite enjoy your honorable mentions.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Oh wow, I really should have been able to call that. I played all the way through it in practically one sitting and loved it, although I agree with you on the fact that the third act feels a bit tacked on and superfluous.

Soooooo, is Thomas Was Alone basically 2012's Braid?

I think Thomas Was Alone is better than Braid even, for the very reasons you describe. Thomas Was Alone tells a really neat little story with interesting techniques, and it never feels the need to stare up it's own arse like Braid did. The writing is far more tight and never gets anywhere close to the level of pointless ambiguousness that Braid had, which is added to by the pretty friendly narration that will make you feel nostalgic and fuzzy inside.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

nothing released in 2012 (or 2011, or 2010, for that matter) comes close to matching Thomas Was Alone's narrative punch

Wait, so you didn't cry or tear up at "To The Moon"? You people really are heartless banshies! (j/k)

I never played Thomas Was Alone so I won't disagree with your assessment. But if you love games with a powerful and emotional narrative, I have to agree with El Capitano here and say that you would probably love To The Moon. It is light on gameplay but it tells an incredibly powerful story unlike anything I played this year.

I actually came in here to say To the Moon as well. Not ashamed to say I cried like a baby on finishing that game (well, pretty much for the entire last chapter) and still mist up on listening to the sound track.

Beautiful story underscored by beautiful music, game play is a little scarce as poster above said but the story...

I had just finished Walking Dead a day or two before To the Moon and that hadn't even caused a slight tear but when finishing To the Moon? Those weren't even manly tears I was shedding.

I can't say much about it without spoiling it so I'll link a trailer:


You might look at that and think "Oh, it's clearly going to play off the fact he's dying to get the audience to empathise" but nope, that's not how it goes down.

Edit: Whoops, forgot my On topic.

Ot: I loved these five comics and have to say that the handwork necessary to get these written and drawn for a 5 day period? Totally worth it.

 

[Garfy]

I recognise that shot of Thomas was Alone, I did that sequence in exactly the same way*.

*excuse me I think I have something in my eye.

 

[Piecewise]

Honorable mention list:

XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Skullgirls
Dust: An Elysian Tail
Primordia
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Spelunky
Gravity Rush
Mass Effect 3's Excellent Ending
The War Z

Not sure how much of this is a joke and how much is real...because xcom is there but so is The War Z and ME 3.

 

[hentropy]

I haven't played To the Moon but I'm always fairly wary of games/movies/albums that everyone proclaims is so good and emotional and tearjerking. It says to me "this game is less subtle than a Japanese eroge." Not saying that's what the game is, just saying I'm hesitant and/or unlikely to buy it so long as people proclaim it to be so sad and "touching."