>>989782
I'll try to go over a few stand out games to me that I've played this year. I'm not gonna go super in-depth or whatever since I have things I need to do, but I feel like recommending some games to anons who're interesting in hearing what I have to say, Oh, and thank you Acid/Codexx for raising the character limit for posts.
>Slave Zero X
Pretty solid 2D action game with a actually well written gay subplot. I know some anons are gonna be super autistic about it since some of the devs are faggots despite one of the lead devs being an oldfag /agdg/ dev who worked on Devil Engine and went pro. Still, I had a lot of fun with this one despite its issues with super armor and how the second to lass boss was just super armor on steroids. That being said I wish the game had more moves to experiment with since you only have your single sword, and I can understand why as it's not an AAA game with a large multi-million dollar budget. Still, I'd like to see the game get some more love.
>Tekken 8
As a newcomer to the series I had a lot of fun with it, although shit like the season pass and the Tekken shop really turned me off from the game. I stopped playing it since my friends who were playing it at the time stopped, and I can't find anyone on /v/, but I enjoyed the time I had with it.
>Helldivers 2
Really solid MP version of MGSV, I would recommend it, but the game is dying due to some bad community management/Sony moves.
>Dragons Dogma 2
I know this one is extremely controversial since it's technically a downgrade in some areas of the game, and doesn't have enough meat as the previous game. Although I highly enjoyed my first play through of the game that being said performance is 100% an issue, and I have to Switch to Windows in order to get decent performance. I would highly recommend it if you have a
BEEFY RIG or something that can use Frame Generation on the Nvidia side of things,
>Devil Blade Reboot
Probably the best SHMUP of the year. It's not ball bustingly difficult but it's also not piss easy. As someone who's new to SHMUPs I highly recommend it, and it probably my GOTY along side DD2 so far. It's REALLY fun if you're going for score and value a high quality arcade shooting experience. I know I'm a babby for playing on normal mode, but I've been enjoying the game regardless and I know the SHMUP autists are calling it a masterpiece, so give it a go if you like these types of top down SHMUPS.
>Penny's Big Breakaway
Pretty solid Mario 64 clone, it doesn't really do anything new in the genre and Penny's sonic spindash move goes a bit slow for my taste, although I understand why they did it. I understand why some anons might avoid this one as it chooses to be politically correct when it comes to pronoun usage. That being said if you can overlook the PC autism, you'll end up with a highly enjoyable game.
>Vividlope
Really fun indie Puzzle game. I only played about 40 minutes of it since I got it around DD2 and haven't really put much tme into it. Although it feels like a fun quirky SEGA dreamcast like puzzle game that you can play in short bursts and just have some classic fun with.
>Ghost Trick
Really well designed game, I know it was technically released years ago on the NDS, but this is the first time I'm playing it and I really enjoyed it. It's a really well polished puzzle game with some clever mechanics and well written story telling. That being said I kinda wish its launch wasn't hit with the bullshit enigma controversy since I don't know if the game sold well, and I would like to see an expansion on its gameplay concept someday, although at the same time the same could probably be said for a lot of capcom games like God Hand and Power Stone.
>Bat Boy
Really fun Megaman clone, although get it in a bundle or on sale as its published by DANGAN who are basically nicalis tier and fuck over developers. Highly recommended as a pirate. I had a lot of fun with it and I really like the waifus, although the fact is that the publisher is really, REALLY bad news. That being said, I got the game in a bundle offer, and I don't regret it since I think the game was really well done and had some really fun moves where your character would progressively get new moves as the game went on. There's even a new game plus mode where you can play with all the moves unlocked and can just have fun with the game.
>Touhou Artifical Dream in Arcadia
I just picked this one up on a Steam sale, if you like old school SMT, do NOT skip this one out. It's really well designed and the game is a ton of fun. The game is still being updated with the dev going on to make a dungeon editor, and hopefully will continue to add some more content to the game afterwards, although I think it's more likely a Hotline Miami 2 situation where the dev will focus on making other games, I'd say this is my GOTY of this year, but it released towards the end of 2023. Still, it's most likely the best traditional RPG you can get this year and is highly recommended for fans of SMT.
>Sanabi
This is a 2D story focused platformer with a solid gameplay loop and a solid story. I really liked this one and also highly recommend it if you have the money to purchase it. Just keep in mind that this is NOT an indie, but rather a low budget experimental title from Neowiz. Still this game was really good and the true ending made me feel a feeling. Really solid game if you like grappling hook mechanics in video games
>Onirism
I have no idea what the fuck I'm supposed to do, but it's a really fun FPS/TPS action game where you play as a little french girl who's actually really fun to play as. Another thing I like is that you unlock most of your weapons in the first act of the game, so experimentation is great for those who like exploring the game world and fucking around with things. Dev hates cunny posting sadly, so don't expect the typical cute and funny lolicon shit from the game.
>Wanted Dead
I liked this game, but I'm currently stuck in a mission where one of the mini-bosses is extremely unfun to kill since he has a ton of super armor and bullets barely do any damage in this game. Perfectly acceptable if you want a solid game to fuck around with for a few hours and then fuck off to play something better. Just don't go in expecting NInja Gaiden levels of quality when it comes to combat
>Ghost of Tsushima
Pretty solid, I don't really have the drive to really give it an in-depth look since despite being competently made, I find it has a lot of the same tropes as SSS budget level games, which to me aren't really that appealing, but at least it does a few things interesting with the core gameplay. Probably the best experience you're gonna get if you want a Japanese Assassins Creed game since Ubisoft can't make games worth a damn anymore
>Megaton Musashi W
Solid mecha shooting game, just don't go in expecting a mecha masterpiece with Armored Core/Daemon X Machina levels of freedom when it comes to movement since the Mecha's basically feel like normal people but with special moves that you can combo into, but don't really have an incentive to switch up your playstyle. Get this one on a sale if you already own most of the games I mentioned, or are looking for a fun mecha customization game. I would recommend waiting for the new Gundam game that comes out next month since if it's better than New Breaker then it'll eat this games lunch money. Then again I've never played the Gundam Breaker games since 3 wasn't on PC for some reason.
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>XDefiant
It's basically CoD but F2P and has skills that you can use as a way to mix up the gameplay. If you want a popcorn shooter but don't want to pay 60 dollars for the new Call of Duty game nor do you want to get a gamepass sub, then this is a game I'd recommend for short bursts. Just don't expect to unlock any weapons for a while since they're hidden behind challenges and shit instead of the traditional level system.
>Ninja Gaiden Black
I just got into this game recently, and while I was doing well for a while. Chapter six really kicked my ass with the exploding knives shit. I was able to beat it by countering the ninjas when they did their combos, although don't go into this game expecting Nioh on steroids, this is a completely different beast to Dork Souls and any of those games. If Normalfags think Elden meme and souls games are hard then they should play Ninja Gaiden as that game eats Soulsfags lunch.
>Mr Domino
NO ONE CAN STOP HIM
>Ace Combat 3 JPN
Really fun game, I'm currently in my first play-through of this game, the SMT Touhou game I mentioned and Resident Evil 4, and I'm heavily enjoying all three of them. That being said I'm surprised how well AC3 is made mechanically speaking since my first AC game was Ace Combat 4 and I was basically taught how to play the game by the tutorial in the games menu. From there I went AC4 > AC5 > AC:0 Merc > AC 7 > Project Wingman. I want to do another play-through of AC:0 after I'm done with this fan translation of AC3, although It probably won't happen for a while since I also have EDF6 coming on the horizon, and I'll probably be focused on that as the game comes out really soon.
>Resident Evil 4
I'm really enjoying this one as well. It's my first play-though and I really like the game. That being said it doesn't drive me in like DMC3 did after the first Vergil fight, but I've been really enjoying the game when I've been playing it and reinstalled the HD mod in order to have a better experience when it comes to graphics. I also like how Leon stops and shoots which gives it a more realistic feel despite being a really campy game. I feel it has a nice mix of realism and campy action goodness. I'm at the part where I just reunited with Ada and seeing her in game for the first time, so I've been looking forward to see what comes next with the game.
>Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
I'm also having quite a bit of fun with this game although while I would recommend it by itself. I don't know how it compares to JSR by itself since I haven't played that game yet. Still I've had quite a bit of fun progressing through the story and spamming the right stick to make some cool graffiti on the walls of the city. You can tell the devs really were going all in with the JSR influence and have a pretty solid soundtrack to go with it.
>Robocop: Rogue City
I know this is technically cheating since I started it in 2023 but finished it in January of 2024, but I cannot recommend this game enough. It's a really solid game where it makes you really feel like you're playing as Robocop. Honestly, I'd like to see the devs of this game make a mecha FPS since there's a lot in Robocop they could use for a really cool mecha FPS. I know they're rumored to be working on another licensed movie game, although I really hope they make a mecha game as an original IP one of these days as Robocop is a great game where you play as a slow moving wall of destruction, where it feels more like a light gun game than a traditional FPS. It's just a really well done game with a LOT of respect to the source material.
>Batman Arkham Asylum
I know this is a really old action stealth game, but I haven't played the first one in years, and while I assume most anons have already beat the trilogy, I haven't even finished the first game. That being said I understand why people love this game since it's a love letter to TAS Batman and the characters surrounding it, even if it's not a TAS related project. Still I probably won't finish this one for a while since I have other games I want to finish like Resident Evil 4 and Ace Combat 3 in addition to newer games coming out like Akiimbot and Earth Defense Force 6, although I'd recommend anyone who hasn't already played the game to give it a good look.
There's probably some other games like Sparl and KinnikuNeko that I've missed, but I'm about to hit the character limit, so that's all I ha