I like to play video games, but I'm not very consistent with it. Usually I binge an IP I like (Atelier, Persona, Fire Emblem, Etrian Odyssey, Professor Layton, etc) when it's released and rarely branch out. This year I did enjoy some good games, though I now realize I played a lot of visual novels. I started a lot of games, so I figured I just talk about the ones I completed. Some I didn't finish and should get to are Inside, Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To, Fantasy Life 2, and Cassette Beasts. I always play Picross, Tetris, and Sodoku, but they're def more pick up and play type of games for me and I never think of them as done haha. I might just declare this year the year I fell in love with Spike Chunsoft.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy [275 hrs]
I went into this one blind in May, and enjoyed it more than I expected! I ended up working on unlocking all of the 100 endings. I sometimes questioned my decision making while going through the flowchart but I'm glad I stuck with it. I appreciated the art style, the pacing, the mystery. I appreciated how playful the writers were about playing with genre and the sheer amount of crazy ideas they ran with. The combat was hella fun too, I do wish there had been a bigger range of it, but it was cool to see see how much damage I could do in one turn by building the action points.
Atelier Resleriana Red Alchemist and White Guardian [80 hrs]
I enjoyed Atelier Sophie a lot and was disappointed when I played Ryza because I liked the story for both, but I prefer turn-based combat a million times more than action RPG so I was leery when I heard of this new Atelier. But it was sold as a back to old school entry and I loved the combat so was able to finish it. Atelier is kinda comfort fluffy gaming for me so it's wasn't the type of game that required deep thought, but it was very cozy and I adored the aesthetics of it. The atelier looked like a magical girl dream world haha.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code [40 hrs]
I had a hard time getting into this one. The mystery was enticing and I liked the art style, but I felt the Mystery Labyrinths were bland. I think I got spoiled with Persona haha. And the fans service was a bit... it was a lot and felt gratuitous, but I ignored it and honestly the story was very much worth it. I like the detectives, the premise of the story was thought-provoking, and the twist was nicely done. I cried buckets by the epilogue and really hope they make a sequel.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim [35 hrs]
My absolute fave game this year!!! I also was leery at the start with the long forced prologues, anime tropes and what felt like gratuitous fan service, but I am humbled and admit that this game is elegant. The intricate way that everything was woven makes sense. I am shocked at how little passed through the cracks with all that was going on. I liked the art style and it did take some time for me to get used to the RTS combat, but I ended up craving going back to do a round of one. Being able to fairly freely move around made the game fly by. When I was bored with combat, I'd binge story and so on and it made it so much fun that I regretted when I added the last 1% to Analysis. I feel using the video game as the medium was the perfect choice of this story. I felt more invested because I was guiding the characters through the narrative. I REALLY recommend this game for people that love sci-fi in general because the sheer amount of references to other works is bonkers.
AI: The Somnium Files + AI The Somnium Files - Nirvana Initiative [40 hrs total]
These were SO GOOD I binged them back to back. The overarching premise was enticing. It's like as if The Cell was a video game. It was a... learning curve to do the somnium segments because they are just so opaque and illogical, but for most of both games, I didn't feel they were unfair or unbalanced. The stories were top notch. I will say that I felt the first story was more impactful for me because they tried really hard in the second to not spoil the previous game or its own plot twist. The second one did a solid job on improving the pain points and refining the mechanics of the game so if they make a follow up (the third entry is between games 1 and 2), I hope they can keep the refinements and up the story a bit. But both mysteries had me chomping at the bit to understand what the heck was going on haha. The was some cringey stuff, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. The writing had this magical ability for making every character endearing, no matter how small their role seemed. Definitely a fan of Kaniza :p