The OTHER top games of 2022; The okays and the bads

[BrawlMan]

SoR4, at least in the main game, doesn't have enemies that can simultaneously block all your attacks perfectly and can't be thrown either

You must be referring to the Triceratons or Stone Soldiers. Their blocks can be broken easily; especially if you either dash, use a super, or both. I rarely had any trouble with them. I know a lot of the non-Foot soldiers can't be thrown, but that is nothing new for the franchise.

Maybe it's just me (or maybe I just haven't gotten that far into Survival before, my best is wave 18 or so), but I never had that kind of experience with any of the regular enemies in SoR4.

By the time you get to stage 25+, the game becomes a unfun nightmare. By the time you get to stage 30 or higher, enemies can kill you in 2-4 hits (with the dark red shadow variants capable of killing you in 2), enemies with ranged attacks can and will hit off-screen without making a sound, and getting into the 30s or further relies on the player(s) spamming their star attacks or best blitz and special attack (here's hoping you have the flame, lightning, and toxic elementals to most of your attacks) ad nauseum. It becomes less skilled based and more, spam and luck based. The furthest I've gotten is Level 38 in Survival Mode. I've done that Blaze, Shiva, Cherry, and Max. Also, too many enemies or their stronger variants get super armor. It's gets annoying when it's 4-10+ enemies who get them or their gold/red Donovans. Don't even get me started on this asshole when he gets a naginata/spear/knife and there is more than two.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

You must be referring to the Triceratons or Stone Soldiers. Their blocks can be broken easily; especially if you either dash, use a super, or both. I rarely had any trouble with them. I know a lot of the non-Foot soldiers can't be thrown, but that is nothing new for the franchise.

Pretty sure Black Foot Soldiers and a couple of others like White have that going on as well. You can grab them, but they always break out before you can throw them, and when you hit them they block and do a counter move. So I'm really not sure what the consistent strategy for them is supposed to be. Which I guess is accurate to the 90s arcade experience. YMMV though. Anyway, the Triceratons and Stone Soldiers didn't bother me nearly as much as the Black and White Foot Soldiers.

By the time you get to stage 25+, the game becomes a unfun nightmare.

Yeah, this is probably the biggest difference between our views of things. I definitely never got to the point where it felt like absolute luck was the only thing that killed me in Survival.

 

[BrawlMan]

Pretty sure Black Foot Soldiers and a couple of others like White have that going on as well. You can grab them, but they always break out before you can throw them, and when you hit them they block and do a counter move. So I'm really not sure what the consistent strategy for them is supposed to be.

The white ones you can actually grab, but you got a softer them up first. The same applies to most of the other foot soldier pallets. The easier foot soldiers or lower ranking ones can be grabbed easily without much combos. While the tough for variance or special types need to be softened up first before they are grabbed. Certain foot soldiers you just can't grab immediately, otherwise it would be too easy. That's said, the black foot soldiers are the most inconsistent about this. Plus, the black foot soldiers are hard to get a proper juggle on anyway. I usually just use a super on them so they can die immediately. Also, if you want a good game breaker, taunting always helps. You get a full meter back so fast. You still have to be careful when you taunt, but the strategy still works. With it, I usually have two or maxed out super bar in story mode. Arcade mode only gives you the one super bar, but you'll have all the alternative supers a unlocked from the start. The only thing with arcade mode is that you don't get the install super. The one that boost your speed and strength for a few seconds. That one only appears in story mode.

 

[Dalisclock]

Other games I played this year:

Return to Monkey Island: I enjoyed it but it's not perfect and there's some stuff in there that doesn't seem to go anywhere(Terror Island feels like there should be a story there but isn't). The ending is fine but in a way feels like an anti-climax.

Expedition: Viking: A fun tactical RPG that felt like it worked where it should work and I did not expect to enjoy it so much. Not GTOY level but still a surprise hit for me.

Expedition: Rome: It has a lot of the stuff I liked about Viking but the addition of the Risk Style Map made it feel bloated and at least 10 hours longer than it really needed to be. Also the Color coded loot kind of irked me a bit. The "Sieges" were a lot of fun though, especially having to split up your team to properly accomplish objectives in many different areas per a battle plan.

I have an entire thread dedicated to the next few so if you want my thoughts in FAR MORE DETAIL then go check that out.

Dragon Age Origins: It's a classic for good reason but it's also clunky in interface, the difficulty in the front end is pretty fucking rough even if you know what to do, there's a fair bit of repeated content in the main game and DLC(Maps in particular) but also a lot of the quests are fetch/collection quests and it can be smothering to try to clear most of them. Also the Fade and Deep Roads can get fucking Tedious. The game was made during the "Everything needs to be brown" period of video games and man has that not aged well.

The writing does a lot to save this game plus the fact certain choices can offer or close off solutions later on.
There's also the coolness of playing a character where stopping the blight is ALL that matters so any horrible things you do in service of that are worth it and not just doing it to be a jerk. I mean, you're still an asshole for playing that route bit feels more justifiable.

Dragon Age 2: The characters and writing are generally pretty fun and there are some good story beats, whereas the combat is quicker and more fun(though sadly a lot more of it). The downside is a lot of repeated maps and most of the sidequests are kinda pointless in the long run. It's better than I thought it would be but it's still quite flawed. It also suffers from both sides of the big conflict being total jerks but you have to pick one of them because the games says so.

Dragon Age Inquisition: I'm somewhere in the mid-game but I've seen enough to say I am enjoying it, despite it's SP MMO format . Environments are beautiful and there's a lot more unique maps. It also has Skyhold, a castle player base which feels fucking wonderful to just wander around in. The main missions are pretty good, but there's a lot of fluff side content too. The biggest issue is that it still feels kind of unfinished(Skyhold is presumably finished but there's still notable repairs not done), there's a bunch of storylines but none of them get much in depth coverage. Humans and Elves get a decent amount of race related content, Dwarves and Qunari not so much. So it feels like 2 steps forward and 1-2 steps back.

Imposter Factory: Another game from the studio that did "To the Moon" and it hits almost as hard. You do get a hell of a lot more out of it if you've played the previous games but still a really good entry in the series.

Far: Changing Tides: It's basically Far: Lone Sails but with more mechanics(the boat can also be a submarine) and more complex puzzles. The big downside for me is that the game feels like it's over and then it keeps going for another few hours and that was pretty jarring. Like I was ready to go to bed and figured "Oh, it looks like I can finish this tonight. this feels like the end" and then....3 hours later it's still going.

Triangle Strategy: I haven't played more then 1.5 hours which means I'm not even really out of the prologue yet. What I saw I liked but I've been busy with other projects so this has been on the backburner. I do enjoy the crazy medieval politics shit that's being set up, particularly since the game is super frontloaded on the world, story and character building here(with a grand total of one battle in the first 90 minutes of game time). I do want to get more into this soon.

13 sentinels: Aegis Rim: It's a VN interspersed with EVA inspired Tower Defense Mecha battles and I dug it. To be fair, a lot of this game's charm lies in it's story and mysteries, and man it gets SO FUCKING ANIME(Yes I realize it's Japanese) but for what it's worth I enjoyed the ride while I lasted. Not sure I'd ever play it again though.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger: A Wild West Arcade Style FPS recounting the (supposed) bounty hunting adventures of an old gunslinger. Not particularly long but it is a good time while it lasts and the fact Silas is clearly bullshitting parts of the story(and getting called out on it) adds a lot to the charm. Sure, it's stupid and kinda unbelievable but the game makes that part of the narrative and that's where it stands out.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Did Tiny Tina's Wonderlands come out this year? That was alright.

 

[Worgen]

Did Tiny Tina's Wonderlands come out this year? That was alright.

My SO who loves the borderlands games didn't like it at all.

 

[CriticalGaming]

My SO who loves the borderlands games didn't like it at all.

I think that game was for people who are familiar with D&D, because it was very much a love letter on tabletop gaming more than it was trying to be a BL game.

 

[Worgen]

I think that game was for people who are familiar with D&D, because it was very much a love letter on tabletop gaming more than it was trying to be a BL game.

I think it was more that some of the improvements she expected from it that were in BL3 were missing and that annoyed her a lot.

 

[BrawlMan]

I changed my mind on Gungrave GORE. It goes on the bad list now.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I changed my mind on Gungrave GORE. It goes on the bad list now.

LOL. What happened?

 

[BrawlMan]

LOL. What happened?

Forced platforming. Jumping sucks. Switch to a character that is not fun to play is basically a brawler character in a third person shooter. She has even more platforming and falling insta-kills you. I'm stuck on her stage and not even worth the frustration. I will trade in a game for something else later this evening. Game gets repetitive and there are about 20 something stages. Would have been better off as a shorter game like the original.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Forced platforming. Jumping sucks. Switch to a character that is not fun to play is basically a brawler character in a third person shooter. She has even more platforming and falling insta-kills you. I'm stuck on her stage and not even with the frustration. I will trade in a game for something else later this evening. Game gets repetitive and there are about 20 something stages. Would have been better off as a shorter game like the original.

I hear that new horror game is go....nevermind. That Need For Speed game that came out randomly is actually getting reported as being good fun like old school Underground games.

 

[meiam]

I hear that new horror game is go....nevermind. That Need For Speed game that came out randomly is actually getting reported as being good fun like old school Underground games.

Since it came out of nowhere, it'd be interesting if EA might have realize that instead of spending millions on marketing that money would be better spent on polishing the game.

 

[BrawlMan]

I hear that new horror game is go....nevermind.

@Dalisclock, @CriticalGaming, and @FakeSympathy, real talk right now. I find it funny and ironic that certain reviewers complained about the original Dead Space being "too linear/hand holding" from certain critics back then, but CP is even more linear than any of the Dead Space games. Linear itself isn't bad, but for a horror game like this, you would expect a map and more off-road paths. Instead of getting a System Shock style of 3rd person shooter, we got the equivalent fancy version of Shadows of the Damned. SoD has similar problems: linear gameplay with little to no exploration (though apparently SoD has more than CP), no NG+, limited weapon loadout (this is not exactly bad thing as Garcia's three guns constantly change the further you get), enemy variety (SoD still has more with or without comparison), and melee. Garcia can charge his melee strikes (no new moves and can only upgrade the damage) and has a dodge roll with huge invincibility frames. Shadows always sold itself as more of an action game with some horror trappings, then full on survival horror. That game had a complicated development history, so it's more of a grey area and not a 1-to-1 comparison. Back on point, when will these developers and publishers learn?! This game got announced back in 2018! What the hell were they thinking?!

hat Need For Speed game that came out randomly is actually getting reported as being good fun like old school Underground games.

Looks fun and my only gripe is the inconsistent art style. If you're gonna go full Animesque, then go for it. Don't do this weird in-between anime style characters, but the cars and environments are photorealistic. It creates this weird uncanny valley.

 

[CriticalGaming]

@Dalisclock, @CriticalGaming, and @FakeSympathy, real talk right now. I find it funny and ironic that certain reviewers complained about the original Dead Space being "too linear/hand holding" from certain critics back then, but CP is even more linear than any of the Dead Space games. Linear itself isn't bad, but for a horror game like this, you would expect a map and more off-road paths. Instead of getting a System Shock style of 3rd person shooter, we got the equivalent fancy version of Shadows of the Damned. SoD has similar problems: linear gameplay with little to no exploration (though apparently SoD has more than CP), no NG+, limited weapon loadout (this is not exactly bad thing as Garcia's three guns constantly change the further you get), enemy variety (SoD still has more with or without comparison), and melee. Garcia can charge his melee strikes (no new moves and can only upgrade the damage) and has a dodge roll with huge invincibility frames. Shadows always sold itself as more of an action game with some horror trappings, then full on survival horror. That game had a complicated development history, so it's more of a grey area and not a 1-to-1 comparison. Back on point, when will these developers and publishers learn?! This game got announced back in 2018! What the hell were they thinking?!

You're right, there is nothing wrong with linear games, most 2d mario games are linear. But you have to plan your game around that design from the beginning. Usually a bad linear game comes from them forgetting to plan around linear level design and only too late in development realize that the environments and story can't handle a more open game and then the experience suffers for it.

This seems like they got sooo caught up with copying Dead Space and making the game amazing to look at, that level design was never really considering. That's why the game has no puzzles in it, because that would require planning in the level design department that they just never dealt with.

 

[BrawlMan]

This seems like they got sooo caught up with copying Dead Space and making the game amazing to look at, that level design was never really considering. That's why the game has no puzzles in it, because that would require planning in the level design department that they just never dealt with.

The puzzles I can actually live without, but your point and the same one others pointed out still stands. Another problem I heard about this game is that Jacob is by far the slowest character in a 3rd person over-the-shoulder horror game. He's slower than Isaac Clarke. The latter wears much heavier gear. He's slower than Sebastian. Sebastian is a former smoker who barely quit and was drunk at the start of Evil Within 2. He's slower than Leon or Claire from RE2 Remake. How do you mess that up? They need add more than the NG+ update. They need to add skippable cut-scenes, more auto-checkpoints or refresh (manual saves mostly takes care of this, but not everyone is going to advantage of it). If they do all of that, I might consider picking the game up when the price goes down to $24.99-$30.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Another problem I heard about this game is that Jacob is by far the slowest character in a 3rd person over-the-shoulder horror game

I think that is because he is just an untrained dude. Just a fucking guy. At least that is how they'll sell it. The speed isnt an issue if you are trying for an opressive atmosphere and that approach works.

I have to play it with a friend tomorrow. Ill post an impressions so you guys can get a real feel for it.

Maybe the speed wont be an issue. Maybe it will suck a bag of dick. Who knows.

 

[BrawlMan]

I think that is because he is just an untrained dude.

So was Issaac (aside from his engineering), Leon (rookie cop goes into zombie apocalypse on his first day), and Claire. Yeah, Claire had some firearms training from Chris, but she wasn't a full-on action superhero yet.

At least that is how they'll sell it. The speed isnt an issue if you are trying for an opressive atmosphere and that approach works.

The problem is that Issaac moves faster than Jacob, and the former has on a heavier suit by comparison. Jacob doesn't even start in a suit. The suit he does eventually get looks more flexible than what Issaac got or upgraded in Dead Space 1. Granted, not everybody complained about speed, but Sphere made a big note of it, and told everyone to increase the sensitivity movement speed to max setting. GGman complained about how crouching is way too slow, and it cannot be upgraded, unlike in Evil Within or LoUs.

I have to play it with a friend tomorrow. Ill post an impressions so you guys can get a real feel for it.

You can spill the details whenever the time is right for you. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Catfood220]

I didn't play any bad games this year, but the most mediocre one that springs to mind is Valkyrie Elysium. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun hack and slash game that does get better the more you play. But it's like the developers forgot to put the plot in right up until the last week of making the game. Most of the game is going to a place, beating up some guys and then coming back and then being told to go somewhere else to beat some guys up. It doesn't get going until about the 6th chapter when Fenrir turns up to tell us that we're being lied to by Odin.

It's not a bad game, I did have fun with it, it's just not a great one that I wouldn't buy at full price. The only reason I did was because my brother got it for me.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I didn't play any bad games this year, but the most mediocre one that springs to mind is Valkyrie Elysium. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun hack and slash game that does get better the more you play. But it's like the developers forgot to put the plot in right up until the last week of making the game. Most of the game is going to a place, beating up some guys and then coming back and then being told to go somewhere else to beat some guys up. It doesn't get going until about the 6th chapter when Fenrir turns up to tell us that we're being lied to by Odin.

It's not a bad game, I did have fun with it, it's just not a great one that I wouldn't buy at full price. The only reason I did was because my brother got it for me.

Yeah I got really mad at that game because I beat the game on Hard, and it didn't give me credit for also beating it on easy. So instead of a platinum trophy i had to play the game on an easier difficulty all over again. I got so mad I didn't waste my time.