What Games Are You Playing?

[Dai]

The Last of Us Part I
I've replayed the original about once per year since it came out a decade ago, so I was hesitant to pay full price for this remake. Fortunately, the Black Friday sales took the sting out of the price tag.

This is a meticulous recreation of one of the best games of all time, and the fact that it's every bit as good as the original is no small achievement. There's better facial animation in cutscenes that adds subtlety to a lot of the performances, not to mention that all cutscenes render in real-time now. It doesn't bring anything new to the table aside from the improved graphics though, so if you're already burnt out on the original then there's nothing new here. The gameplay tweaks are so tiny as to be barely noticeable. Reviews mentioned improved pathfinding for NPCs and improved enemy AI, but I saw little to no evidence of that.

The remake is a bit glitchier than I recall the original being. There's nothing major and there weren't any gameplay bugs, but the graphics had some weird pop-in problems in a few places and there was one moment where the game world vanished altogether (granted, that happened a bit off the beaten track). It was a polished experience aside from that though, especially by 2022 standards.

Overall, this felt almost exactly like playing the original. It just looks better.

 

[Spark_Heal]

I started Gungrave G.O.R.E (Gunslinger Of Resurrection) because I got it as a Christmas Present.
For those who don't know Gungrave was a short lived Japanese action game series famous for having character designs and story by mangaka Yasuhiro Nightow. The last full game was released in 2004. G.O.R.E is a sequel created by a South Korean developer who had previously released a VR game in the franchise. This game was revealed in 2018 but delayed with the developers officially claiming they wanted to make it a "cooler game".

At the start of a level a big sign swings down with the instruction "Kick their ass" and you proceed to do that for 8 minutes. There's no hidden paths or collectables . You are here to shoot literally everything and everyone in haze of explosions and gunfire. So far everything game rewards you with is a new way to blow people up and new ways to rack up points to unlock new ways to blow people up. 5 missions in and I'm having fun with it. It's the exact type of simple fun I use to relax between longer games. I only have 3 main problems: you cannot grab enemies with your chain if they at a different height so you cannot use it to pull enemies up a stairwell or rip a sniper out of their perch. You cannot remap controls so you just have to get used to the somewhat bizarre control scheme. And the sound design is lacking in areas. Playing as this slow moving brute blasting his way through metal hallways would be cooler if he had any type of footfall or stomping noises. But besides that it has just been the game I was expecting and hoping for.

 

[João Gomes]

Oh hey, thanks for the meaning of that acronym, I was curious about it.

Having loved and played the hell out of Overdose, I've had this one on my radar ever since I found out about it but I'll be waiting for a considerable sale - it looks like a solid 6 at most.

Hope it has a few extravagant characters besides all the shootbang!

 

[Aeon]

Been playing God of War Ragnarok and Hades (got them both for Christmas); very nearly beat the latter on something between 10 to 20 runs, not sure exactly, I think it was my first run when Meg gets replaced as well, I so nearly beat Hades only for him to literally have a second phase while my health gauge was super low.

God of War Ragnarok is so far really good; it's one of those games that make me wake up the next day and think to myself, I'm going to play this game, first thing in the morning before doing anything else, that is the sign of a great game.

 

[João Gomes]

Alright alright alright.

Shall we get to our top games of the year or what?

1. Elden Ring

Normally, open worlds are either huge but void of interesting activity for the player (see Ubisoft or really, most open worlds) or small-is but packed with detail (Arkham City, Arkham Knight).

From somehow managed to make a huge-a$$ world packed with stuff in every corner. It suffers from repeated enemies and dungeon layouts but that's where the satisfying gameplay comes into the picture to make it still fun to experience, despite the repetition. Controls have been adjusted to perfection for this kind of gameplay. (Sekiro feels even better but that's a different beast.)

Main dungeons are intricate and finding a new boss or dungeon hidden in a corner of the map is wonderful in the truest sense of the word. There are many memorable bosses and areas along the way. I have vivid recollection of most of the game and I only played it once when it came out.

World class art direction across the board and deep lore root you in the world of the game like not many other games can.

3. Xenoblade 3

I had completely forgotten this was a 2022 game wow. I'm dumb. Anyway, this is a Xenoblade game through and through, a mostly great cast of characters in a huge, gorgeous world, a great story with heavy emotional beats and a combat system that is fun to a level I never expect but always enjoy. Takahashi has his plot beats that he enjoys using and it somehow always works. Monolith Soft are one of my favorite studios out there. I hope their next game is Xeno X for the switch!

4. God of War

I loved the way they toyed with Norse myths and how they came to pass. Still a game a$$ game with a lot of substance, I'm happy they wrapped it up in two games. Better bosses, lots of level variety, some great characters. Writing could stand to be more appropriate for the supposed time but as dip$hit Atreus would say: whatever.

tl;dr:
1. Elden Ring
2. Sifu
3. Xenoblade 3
4. God of War Ragnarok
5. Bayonetta 3
6. Signalis
7. Inscryption
8. Plague Tale Requiem

I'm going through Neon White and I could see that making my list. Norco too, but I just bought it, as well as Citizen Sleeper.

Sifu would've totally made the list from what I've seen of it, but I'm waiting for a sale. Cheated and added it to the list since I played it beginning of January

Last of Us Part 1 isn't a 2022 game as far as I'm concerned, even with a new coat of paint.

Immediate HYPE for 2023:

Final Fantasy XVI
Resident Evil 4
Dead Space
Yakuza Ishin
FF Pixel Remasters
Wo Long
Zelda

Edit : I'd forgotten Xenoblade 3 was a 2022 game, so that's actually my number 3.

 

[Dai]

2022 has been a weird year for games. Very few AAA games were released, while many of the ones that did come out were either in franchises that don't interest me (Elden Ring, GoW Ragnarok) or had major problems that led to me not buying them yet (Gran Turismo 7, Saints Row, Pokemon Scarlet/Violet). Meanwhile AA and indie games had a good year, though reviews indicated that many fall into the 'pretty good' category rather than great.

I ended up not buying a lot of 2022 releases, partly for the reasons above and partly because I was playing some older JRPGs that sucked up most of my available gaming time. From the few I did play, my GotY list looks like this:

1. Atelier Sophie 2. While I haven't played every Atelier game yet (there are a lot of them), this is the new high water mark for the ones I have played. The story, characters, locations, music, battle and alchemy systems are all top-notch.

2. Metal: Hellsinger. Proving that size isn't everything, this short but compulsively replayable metal-themed rhythm FPS is the best shooter I've played in years.

3. Horizon: Forbidden West. An excellent sequel that only missed out on the No. 2 spot because of how much it recycles from its predecessor.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. The brawler renaissance continues with this nostalgia-fuelled love letter to the 80s cartoon and arcade games. It's the best TMNT game to date, and is almost as good as Streets of Rage 4.

I played a few other 2022 releases, such as Stray and Ghostwire: Tokyo, but none of them were really GotY material.

 

[Aeon]

I didn't really finish many games this year, much less so one's that came out this year, as I've been starting to make a game of my own (it's literally still in the planning stages of development so I have a loooong way to go) and have spent the better part of this year considering how it will work; I've generally thought out the story, now I just need to think of how the gameplay will work as well; next year is gonna be super busy so I will probably not be able to make much time for playing games so this coming month might be a bit of a last chance for me to clear as much of my backlog as I can.

The only games I beat that came out in 2022 I can remember were Elden Ring and Stray, I have given Elden Ring a full review in the rate the last game thread I created and I honestly cannot try to be original and give something else GOTY, not when Elden Ring is so ahead of the competition; with that said I am currently playing God of War Ragnarok and that will probably get a very good spot as well.

 

[DragoStark]

I don't think I actually finished any games that were released in 2022. I'm playing through Stray at the moment but that was gifted to me for xmas. I don't usually play games when they are released. I have such a huge backlog, I can never justify myself getting newer, more expensive games when I still have so many old ones to get through. I think there will be some exceptions, for example I will probably get Mass Effect 4 whenever that comes out but for this year, nothing compelled me. Elden Ring was close but I'm so bad at the souls games. I'll give it a go in a few years probably ha.
I completed quite a few games this year though. I played through Unchartered 1, 2 & 3, finished Nier Automata, The Outer Worlds, Mass Effect Trilogy (bro what a series), Ghostrunner, DBZ: Kakarot, Yakuza 3 & 4 (playing through 5 atm), Judgement, The Last of Us Remastered, Shining Resonance Refrain, Sonic Maina & God of War (2005). I played a few small indie games as well, as well as blowing plenty of time on never ending games like Apex Legends, Overwatch, Sea of Thieves etc.
The mission to get through more of my backlog continues, as well play some older classics (I really need to get through the Metal Gear Solid series)

 

[awadama]

I think the only new games I played in 2022 were Stray and Sonic Frontiers.

Stray was OK, but way overhyped. I wouldn't have paid for it, but it was nice as a "free" game.

I only got Frontiers a few days ago - I'm really enjoying it so far, but I have a feeling it might get a bit repetitive!

 

[Ian Wolf]

I think the only new games I played in 2022 were Stray and Sonic Frontiers.

Stray was OK, but way overhyped. I wouldn't have paid for it, but it was nice as a "free" game.

I only got Frontiers a few days ago - I'm really enjoying it so far, but I have a feeling it might get a bit repetitive!

I got Frontiers for Christmas. I’ve been enjoying so far, but I see where you are coming from.

 

[Aeon]

Just before the year is up I decided to get in a cheeky bit of Elden Ring, to make it my last game I play this year, only to discover an entirely new area that I had never been to before; just in case I needed another reason to put this as my game of the year.

 

[Lordhippos]

What games do people like in the JRPG genre?

I've tried a couple of VN's but I think mostly I don't want to just do a lot of reading, so prefer games where there is something for me to do elsewhere between cut-scenes or story elements. OK with sort of hybrid VN style a bit like 13 Sentinels where the kaiju battles break up the story stuff.

For example I've played/enjoyed the following over the last couple of years:

• Persona 4 Golden
• Persona 5 Royal
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• Triangle Strategy
• Octopath Traveller
• AI: Somnium Files (and the follow on nirvanA)
• Nier Automata
• Ys VIII - Lacrimosa of DANA (playing at the moment!)

With electric prices being high and the weather being generally more cold/dark I find that these kinds of games work well at this time of year, less power consumption than your AAA games and generally pretty long playtimes.

On my to-do list after Ys VIII:

• Ys IX
• Bravely Default 2
• Nier Replicant
• Yakuza Like a Dragon (I decided to avoid the original Yakuza games for now, there are too many of them will consider coming back to the rest much later).
• Dragon Quest XI

Anything else I should consider adding? I like modern quality stuff ideally so nothing too clunky or grindy. I prefer PS5 or PC but Switch is possible I just have to borrow one for some games like FE Three Houses which was switch exclusive. I have access to game pass on the PC and PS Extra on the PS5 so bonus points if the games are on those, but not necessary.

Extra bonus points if there is some romance options like in P5R or FE Three Houses, but secondary to actual gameplay.

 

[HWR]

I’m giving High on Life a go at the moment.

 

[João Gomes]

What games do people like in the JRPG genre?

I've tried a couple of VN's but I think mostly I don't want to just do a lot of reading, so prefer games where there is something for me to do elsewhere between cut-scenes or story elements. OK with sort of hybrid VN style a bit like 13 Sentinels where the kaiju battles break up the story stuff.

For example I've played/enjoyed the following over the last couple of years:

• Persona 4 Golden
• Persona 5 Royal
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• Triangle Strategy
• Octopath Traveller
• AI: Somnium Files (and the follow on nirvanA)
• Nier Automata
• Ys VIII - Lacrimosa of DANA (playing at the moment!)

With electric prices being high and the weather being generally more cold/dark I find that these kinds of games work well at this time of year, less power consumption than your AAA games and generally pretty long playtimes.

On my to-do list after Ys VIII:

• Ys IX
• Bravely Default 2
• Nier Replicant
• Yakuza Like a Dragon (I decided to avoid the original Yakuza games for now, there are too many of them will consider coming back to the rest much later).

Anything else I should consider adding? I like modern quality stuff ideally so nothing too clunky or grindy. I prefer PS5 or PC but Switch is possible I just have to borrow one for some games like FE Three Houses which was switch exclusive. I have access to game pass on the PC and PS Extra on the PS5 so bonus points if the games are on those, but not necessary.

Extra bonus points if there is some romance options like in P5R or FE Three Houses, but secondary to actual gameplay.

I'm ignoring your directive of the games being on PS Extra/Gamepass because I don't know what is or isn't there.

Looking at my games list on PS.... I have the main 3 Utawarerumono games which are VNs with SRPG battles sprinkled in-between, the story is apparently very good. Being truthful, I've played a handful of minutes of the first game so far, maybe others can advise on those.

The re-releases of Final Fantasy games are JRPG classics and have quality of life improvements such as 2x/4x speed, infinite health, etc. They will never not be worth it. I'm talking about VII, VIII and IX, but X and XII are also great (I think these actually are on PS extra?).

Ni no Kuni games seem like they could please you, although there's no romance elements.

Valkyria Chronicles is an SRPG masterpiece. That and 4 are maybe worth looking into.

Chained Echoes is getting lots of acclaim - a new JRPG style game made by a single dude that excels in just about every department and I'm getting that soon myself.

On Switch, you've got the whole of Xenoblade which are stunning games. 3 was my #2 GOTY this year. Live a Live is also great (of what I've played).

For safer bets you can always fall onto Tales of and Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest XI is massive, and I'm enjoying Tales of Arise. You've otherwise got Vesperia and Berseria for instance.

If you want an action JRPG, Scarlet Nexus is surprisingly great with a cool story.

 

[Lordhippos]

I'm ignoring your directive of the games being on PS Extra/Gamepass because I don't know what is or isn't there.

Yep that's fine, it's more of a bonus if I can just play it without having to pick it up separately, but not a requirement at all

The re-releases of Final Fantasy games are JRPG classics and have quality of life improvements such as 2x/4x speed, infinite health, etc. They will never not be worth it. I'm talking about VII, VIII and IX, but X and XII are also great (I think these actually are on PS extra?).

Yep that's a big series as well, I have played the FF7 Remake but I don't think I've ever completed the original, I think I mainly grew up on strategy and FPS games so a lot of the classic RPG games passed me by, that and the fact I didn't have a Playstation when I was younger, just a SNES/N64.

Ni no Kuni games seem like they could please you, although there's no romance elements.

Valkyria Chronicles is an SRPG masterpiece. That and 4 are maybe worth looking into.

Sometimes these games are stand-alone and sometimes they are part of a wider story, I guess with Valkyria Chronicles you don't actually need to play them in any order?

I've heard of but never played Ni No Kuni games.

Chained Echoes is getting lots of acclaim - a new JRPG style game made by a single dude that excels in just about every department and I'm getting that soon myself.

I checked it out before but actually the art didn't do much for me personally speaking, looks good though if that isn't a requirement.

On Switch, you've got the whole of Xenoblade which are stunning games. 3 was my #2 GOTY this year. Live a Live is also great (of what I've played).

Same question again are these meant to be played in order, or is there a different setting in each one?

For safer bets you can always fall onto Tales of and Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest XI is massive, and I'm enjoying Tales of Arise. You've otherwise got Vesperia and Berseria for instance.

I totally forgot to include Dragon Quest even though it's on my radar, I have it on the PS Extra sub so it's sat there waiting for me to get around to it. The Tales series I haven't really dug into yet.

If you want an action JRPG, Scarlet Nexus is surprisingly great with a cool story.

Not heard of this one will check it out.

 

[Aeon]

What games do people like in the JRPG genre?

Honestly for me it depends on how I'm feeling as well as the length of the game; more often than not, JRPG's are too long for their own good though some get around this either by being a much more reasonable length of around 20 hours (Star Ocean First Encounter, Chrono Trigger, etc) while some others are so good that they manage to keep me engaged for most of their gargantuan length (Dragon Quest 11, Shadow Hearts Covenant, etc), one thing I almost always like doing though is finding the one way to cheese the game; case in point, I remember there was a certain move with a certain buff I used in Rogue Galaxy that made the rest of the game a cakewalk and that game is known for being really hard.

For one on PS Plus Extra, I would recommend giving Dragon Quest 11 a go, it's kind of old school but it does have a ton of quality of life improvements compared to old JRPG's that make it work for the modern age, it's also one of my best JRPG's, also I think the first Star Ocean game is on PS Plus and that one is a pretty decent one which has a good length to it that doesn't overstay it's welcome.

My personal favourite JRPG is Shadow Hearts Covenant, though this one is on PS2 and therefore is out of print, it's not the hardest PS2 game to find but it isn't cheap either; I recall the copy I got on Ebay was around 30 to 40 quid and that was a while back.

On top of that, some other JRPG's I liked include:
Lost Odyssey for Xbox 360; last I checked it's pretty cheap but an Xbox is needed.
Tales of Arise was pretty good for the first 15 hours or so, though I would recommend waiting until is comes to PS Plus as it does lose it's steam afterwards.

 

[João Gomes]

Yep that's a big series as well, I have played the FF7 Remake but I don't think I've ever completed the original, I think I mainly grew up on strategy and FPS games so a lot of the classic RPG games passed me by, that and the fact I didn't have a Playstation when I was younger, just a SNES/N64.

Oh, if you've started the VII Remake "project", then you should eventually try Crisis Core Reunion - but wait for a price drop or PS extra inclusion, I love FF so it's worth it to me, but it's a PSP game through and through. Even if they did wonders with the combat and graphics.

Sometimes these games are stand-alone and sometimes they are part of a wider story, I guess with Valkyria Chronicles you don't actually need to play them in any order?

You can just pick up and play, no problem. Each game is its own thing, as I understand it.

Same question again are these meant to be played in order, or is there a different setting in each one?

You can play the first two in the order you want, really. 2's DLC is a prequel to 2. 3 has elements of 1 and 2 in the foundation of its world, but you can still enjoy it on its own, you'll miss out on a couple of characters and tidbits. But it's a new cast.

Other suggestions would be SMT III and Legend of Heroes (which has like a ton of games and subseries)

 

[Lordhippos]

Thanks for the suggestions @João Gomes and @Aeon got me some options to chew on. Might take me a while to get through the stuff I had listed but I can just refer back to this when I'm after new stuff!

For upcoming stuff I'm quite looking forward to the new Harry Potter (I hope I can join Slytherin and become a dark wizard), with Diablo 4 launching mid-year so sort of hopeful that will be good as well.

 

[João Gomes]

Yeah, Hogwarts looks crazy in scope, wonder if there's a catch or if it's just gonna be that good.

I'm all in on Final Fantasy XVI hype and in more immediate terms, Dead Space 🤤 Wanted Dead looks like it could be a solid 6 game or a catastrophic 2 - need to wait on reviews but I feel like playing a game of the sort!

I'm also thinking of getting Relayer off of PSN, looks like a cool mecha game!

 

[Spark_Heal]

Oh hey, thanks for the meaning of that acronym, I was curious about it.

Having loved and played the hell out of Overdose, I've had this one on my radar ever since I found out about it but I'll be waiting for a considerable sale - it looks like a solid 6 at most.

Hope it has a few extravagant characters besides all the shootbang!

It feels like there will be more characters later but the focus is on Grave for the early parts. Waiting for a sale is the right move. It's fun but probably not worth an incredible amount. Especially as the developer have been patching and updating things since launch. They even added a Cell-Shading filter recently.

I've finished God of War Ragnarok. There's still post-game content to go through but the ending was satisfying enough that I don't feel the need to explore it. Besides the one section in the middle that is a real drag it was a really rewarding experience. It has a different tone and scoop than God of War (2018) so I can understand why people would prefer the previous game instead of the more spiralling and messy sequel. But at the same time they found a way to improve basically every aspect of the core gameplay, form combat to puzzles to exploration. It even made some of the characters I was indifferent to pervious into my favourites. The mot impressive thing to me is that the side-quests were insanely detailed. There are giant set pieces with full cutscenes and meaningful character moments that would be in the main plot of any other game but are totally optional here. As somebody who doesn't really connect with open-world games, Ragnarok is probably as big as you can get before losing me because they made most of the content feeling meaningful and I'm impressed they threaded the needle so well. Interested to see what Santa Monica Studio's next game is, what this director does next and what's next for God of War.