Hard to believe this all happened in one month, right? March was a huge month for great games, and I’m still trying to work my way through all of them, even now in May. With the disgusting amount of time I keep putting into Bloodborne and now the remake of Dark Souls 2, while still trying to finish Axiom Verge, I’m not sure how long that’ll be. I really hope we end up with a month better than this one by the end of the year, because it’s already been an incredible year for games, and we’re barely four months in. Here’s to games, here’s to another few dozens hours of Bloodborne, and here’s to the rest of 2015. Good luck, other months.

Bloodborne

Whoa what’s this thing?

The more time I spend with it, the more I love it. After spending a dozen hours with it after “finishing” it, I realize there’s a lot to Bloodborne that I’ve yet to see. As I’ve said before, Miyazaki is my favorite guy working in the business, and Bloodborne doesn’t disappoint, even as fourth in a line of my favorite games ever.

Paperbound

It’s a new staple in my “let’s bust out some local multiplayer” collection, and I’m super happy that it exists. After rocky first ten minutes or so, I understood what Paperbound was aiming for. It’s a frantic game that makes you kill your friends as fast as possible, and doesn’t worry that it’s not as polished as Smash Bros. or Towerfall, it exists to be played for an hour and then remembered in time for the next party. There’s a huge variety of levels too, and playing through each of them in one sitting is a good way to keep the game feeling fresh. If you’re looking for your next Samurai Gunn or even co-op Binding of Isaac to bring out when you’re friends are over, Paperbound is an easy recommendation.

Axiom Verge

This one still hasn’t clicked with me 100%, but I can appreciate that it’s trying some very interesting things. A (sometimes) fun game to get lost in, Axiom Verge’s huge world has plenty of secrets to uncover. The world is so big, though, it’s easy to get lost and have to wander for a half-hour figuring out what’s next. You’ll almost certainly find a new area or item between you and your actual destination, but these feel like “things to make me slightly less frustrated” than actual rewards. I’m still enjoying it, but I’m always enjoying it with a podcast on in the background, keeping me slightly distracted from the aimless wandering that’s never too far away. The upgrades and bosses are super neat though, and I still think it’s worth chugging through some chaff to see the next great setpiece. I still think Castle in the Darkness is the better Metroidvania.

Honorable Mentions:

Life is Strange Episode 2: Out of Time:

Another great, great, great episode, but more of the same from the first. If you’re not playing this series, get on it immediately. It’s like a TellTale game with a couple extra doses of nostalgia and earnestness, and 100% fewer zombie related deaths.

Ori and the Blind Forest:

An incredibly beautiful and challenging Metroidvania, try this if you’re up for being blown away by style.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number:

More Hotline Miami is a good thing, but this is just that, a bunch more of a game you’ve already played. The soundtrack is unstoppable.

BOXBOY! might contain the most delight-per-minute of any game I’ve played this year. As I zoom through its myriad of stages, I’m always seeing something new, puzzling out new solutions to its minimalist puzzles, and smiling a lot. BOXBOY! really, really wants you to smile.

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If the original Hotline Miami is to be seen by the developers as a too-small first draft, Hotline Miami 2 is their second rewrite that overcompensates a bit too hard. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number wants to put more, more, MORE than the first game, and makes everything bigger in every way. There is an exponentially larger story with more characters, there are way more amazing tracks to jam to, and the levels themselves dwarf the originals by comparison. But how much of that did we need? (more…)