Played a lot of Hades which I covered in last year’s post. I dabbled in a few other games this year too.
Gone Home
PC
After traveling abroad, your character returns home to a mysteriously vacant, creepy house. No parents, no sister. As you go through the house you assemble clues as to the whereabouts of your family. Don’t worry, no jump scares or anything. This is a relatively short first-person perspective game; I got through it in around 2 hours. It’s not particularly challenging, but it’s not really supposed to be. It’s more of an immersive, interactive story with a compelling narrative. I enjoyed it.
Castle Crashers Remastered
Switch
I played this game over a decade ago, but now it’s remastered and on modern consoles. It’s a fun co-op beat-em-up slasher, kind of like old arcade games like X-Men or Ninja Turtles. It turns out the remastered version is still fun and a little easier on the eyes. The damsels-in-distress theme is badly dated and a little cringey at this point, but it doesn’t really impact the gameplay much. Still fun, go play with a friend!
Stephen's Sausage Roll
PC
Somehow, a game that involves solving puzzles by rolling and pushing sausages onto grill-like tiles so they’re evenly cooked on both sides manages to be very challenging and satisfying. I don’t particularly care for the visual style, but this is an excellent puzzler. It would make a fantastic Switch game, but I don’t think there are any plans to port it over.
Terraria
PC
I did not think I would enjoy this as much as I have been. Terraria is sort of like a 2D Minecraft. I’ve been regularly playing with friends who recently moved away as a way to keep in touch. I thought I’d be bored because there didn’t seem to be much direction. But, there’s a ton to discover, fun quests, fun item upgrades, and plenty of monsters. Not to mention, given all the materials that are in this world, there’s a lot of very fun artistic structures that can be made. This game has been challenging, funny, and delightful, and has been a lot of fun to play with friends. Not sure it would be as enjoyable single player.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Switch
This is a sequel to the excellent Ori and the Blind Forest which I played 5 years ago. Needless to say, the Will of the Wisps is a worthy successor. It’s just as beautiful (if not more so) and vibrant and fun as the original. There are a couple changes to how you upgrade Ori’s abilities, which to be honest I don’t really like, but in the end it’s a minor quibble for a fun and gorgeous game.
Cities Skylines
Switch
This game has been out for a few years, and is essentially the spiritual successor to SimCity. There’s a lot more to customize too; bike lanes, more parks, transit lines, public policies, almost everything you can think of. I’ve run into some weird simulation issues where a bunch of my citizens were sick and it wasn’t entirely clear why. I restarted from a save point, and strangely, it didn’t happen again. Also, the game is frustratingly dependent on cars. I can’t zone unless there’s an adjacent road, but worse, if I wanted a city center that was for pedestrians only, or a bike only city, I can’t do it. Gripes aside, this is a fun game to relax and fiddle with.