Antichamber requires a lot of time and effort to make any progress. For a game that does a lot of smart things, one of it’s most respectable is that it never holds your hand, and it doesn’t want to. Antichamber throws you right into a puzzle box and expects you to either find your way out, or go play something else. (more…)
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Game of the Year 2013: #03 – Antichamber
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Game of the Year 2013: #04 – Kentucky Route Zero
It’s unfinished, and not even halfway done, but Kentucky Route Zero has had such a strong start it would be a travesty to push it off because of a technicality. Yes, it still has a few episodes to come out in 2014, and I’ll have to figure out how it’ll end up on that end of year list when the time comes. But when I think of the games I played in 2013, I think of Kentucky Route Zero.
More than the art-school project it might look like at first glance, Kentucky Route Zero is essentially a five act play in which you play the role of Conway, a truck driver who ended up driving down the back roads of Kentucky. The whole game has a very prevalent Twink Peaks-ish air of mystery and strangeness to it, and has left more of an impact on me than almost anything else I’ve played all year long. The dialogue choices, while they don’t change the way things play out, allow you to build the characters and the world more than almost any other game I’ve ever played.
There are so many instances that had me staring at my screen in awe, sometimes just because of a few lines of text I had read. While a game like Save the Date had a pretty big impact on me with its philosophy on game design, Kentucky Route Zero aims for a much broader scope and nails almost every tiny detail. If I compiled a list of my favorite moments in 2013, several of them would come from the events of KRZ, and just thinking about them now makes me want to boot it up yet again.
If the remainder of Kentucky Route Zero even comes close to the first two episodes and interludes, we’ll be seeing something really special. In a world where all five episodes had come out, all of this quality, this would have been my Game of the Year. As for now, Kentucky Route Zero is an episodic masterpiece, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
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Game of the Year 2013: #05 – The Last of Us
The Last of Us isn’t perfect, but it’s one of the best ways we could have sent out the last generation of consoles. While they may not be down and out just yet, Naughty Dog’s latest is not only their finest offering to date, but is a showpiece of nearly everything this last generation has been capable of. (more…)
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Game of the Year 2013: #06 – MegaMan Unlimited
The real Game of the Year list starts here. Almost everything below this point has been in a state of flux. I’d had Anodyne, BADLAND, Gone Home and others in the 07-10 spots, but 06-01 have been a sure thing since the list was in its early stages. From #06-#01, I’m splitting hairs at this point by trying to put them in any order, but I’ll try to do it anyway. Just know that anything from here to #01 could have been my Game of the Year, and I’d have been just fine with that. Let’s start talking about the best of the best of 2013 with MegaMan Unlimited.
MegaMan Unlimited feels like a revival of one of gaming’s most treasured heroes, and one that Mega Man deserved. Capcom may not want to capitalize on how good Mega Man games can be, but that doesn’t stop fans from trying to reach the heights of the Blue Bomber’s glory days. (more…)
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Game of the Year 2013: #07 – Pokemon X and Y
Say what you will about nostalgia for the first few iterations, but Pokemon X and Y are among the best games Game Freak has ever produced.With over 700(!!!!) Pokemon now, there’s never a shortage of things to do in Pokemon X and Y. Although, disappointingly, there are several that can’t be found here, the number that are available keeps the game fresh for dozens of hours. I’m still finding Pokemon than I’ve never seen before and changing up my team, and I’m over 65 hours into the game.
The Pokemon have never felt more alive than they do here. In one of the most astounding graphical upgrades to a series I’ve ever seen, every Pokemon is fully rendered beautifully in 3D. They don’t feel like pictures anymore, they feel alive. It’s the most visually impressive Pokemon game ever produced, as long as you leave the special 3D effect switched off to save framerate.
It’s easier than ever to play with friends and strangers, as the online functionality has been rebuilt. A constant list of online players is kept on the bottom screen, and trading or battling is only a tap away. This one may play the same as ever, but it’s never looked or felt so good to do it.
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Game of the Year 2013: #08 – Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Apparently, 2013 was the right time and place for a new Animal Crossing.If you were on Twitter during the initial release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you’d think it was the only game to ever exist. There was a zeitgeist around the game, and luckily, it only served to make it better for everyone.
Animal Crossing has always wanted to be a social game, but never quite had the means to reach its full potential. The newest entry, designed for the 3DS, is the best game the series has seen. With relatively easy access to a robust online component, it’s easy to jump into friend’s towns, meet new villagers, find new fruit, find new items to collect, and more. The StreetPass features go even further, placing a model of anyone’s house you pass in real life into your game, and even adds all of their furniture and decorations to buy.
I played Animal Crossing: New Leaf more than any other game this year. My current playtime is at over 70 hours, far above (almost) any other game released this year. I, as a grown-ass man, even set alarms to wake myself up in the morning to visit the shops, and to see what new items my friendly neighborhood raccoons had for sale. It became a lifestyle for a couple months, and one that rarely develops in any kind of game. Everyone I knew was playing, everyone on Twitter was playing, and it all felt like a really fun social experiment to be a part of.
Sadly, as we all do, I left Animal Crossing as other games came out, and I felt like my work in my town was finished. Clunky inventory systems and other archaic design choices limit how much fun one could have with the game, and kept me from enjoying myself as much as I feel I could have. For every hour I spent meeting new villagers or discovering new items or games, I had to manage my inventory, or make another run to the shop to sell some of the junk I had stored in my locker.It isn’t a perfect game, but it’s a charming one, and one of the most rewarding experiences I had all year long. I’d probably ready to do it again if they released another one tomorrow.
hippochippies 