As more and more video games come out, I continue to play less. This year, MSMS has taught me to take naps over playing new games. Nevertheless, I have played a few games this year — not all recently released — which I would consider to be great ones. 

Palworld

This game was released as a buggy, controversial mess, but it was pretty fun! Palworld is a Pokémon-esque creature collecting game with a heavy emphasis on survival mechanics. These two elements directly contrast, contributing to the game’s viral nature. Being able to violently attack a cute lil’ guy was a highlight of the gameplay.

I really enjoyed how vast the world felt; it seemed like I could never explore it all. Perhaps this was because the transportation often felt painfully slow in this game, making any advancements in mobility feel like a huge accomplishment. The “tech tree” of progression was an enticing way to keep me going toward better efficiency. The focus on making your base as efficient as possible was reminiscent of management games like Satisfactory, which surprised me. I adored the gameplay loop of catching new creatures and deciding if they should be used for battle or resource management. I also loved the multiplayer feature, even if it lacked a lot of features for players to interact with each other.

Lethal League Blaze

Lethal League Blaze has so much STYLE and FLARE. Just one listen to this game’s signature song, “AIN’T NOTHIN’ LIKE A FUNKY BEAT,” will tell you the whole story. With compositions from Hideki Naganuma, who also composed for the old Dreamcast game Jet Set Radio, the game’s music adds to the retro vibes.

This is a fighting game, and it’s blazingly fast. It centers around two players and one baseball, and all they can do is hit the baseball into each other. The ball progressively gets faster, and the characters can use various moves to alter the ball’s movement and mix it up. When the ball gets extremely fast, time begins to freeze to allow for a parry window. This was satisfying and incredibly stylish; the way the colors begin to melt and shift just makes it all so dramatic. When a character finally gets hit, there’s a clean zoom-in to show their defeat.

There’s not too much else to this game’s fundamental mechanics; it’s just a super fun, surprisingly polished experience. The movement is clean and responsive, and the characters all have unique abilities to utilize to find new combos and strings. I loved fighting my friends over and over in this game, even if it can get a bit stale after a long play session.

Omori

The fanbase of Omori annoyed me enough to never want to play it. I do not mess with the sense of humor of these children. However, my roommate convinced me the experience was probably worthwhile. He was right, and it’s become one of my favorite story RPGs out there.

This game’s soundtrack is catchy, as I’ve caught myself humming some of its tunes including “By Your Side.” This music enhances the turn-based RPG gameplay to be something special. The combat of this game is dynamic, revolving around the way each team member interacts with the other. Interaction-based mechanics like this remind me of combat from the Mario and Luigi series, which is a great thing. I feel like there’s a giant pool of untapped potential in these systems of working with each member, and it makes me feel great about strategizing to beat bosses. This game’s combat is quite deep while still being accessible to anyone, which is a difficult feat.

Because of spoilers, I can’t say much about the story, but it was amazing. The story has so many mysterious elements which each get unraveled in creepy and shocking ways. I did not expect the ending, even though I probably should have. I was too focused on not getting jump scared, as the game has a few. The overall lack of sudden scares honestly made them significantly more startling. I was on the edge of my seat for everything in this game, including even the standard RPG fights.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Even though I already reviewed this game, I’ll always gush about it. The world is beautiful, and it’s even bigger than before. With three layers of exploration, it feels like I could never get enough of this game. The main questline still feels like it can be sidelined for anything you want to do (one of the most satisfying aspects of its predecessor).

The building mechanics of this game are so deep, and they’re also useful. With just a few parts, you can easily make an air bike which can move through the skies with ease. This has become an infamous way of traveling, even though it was never officially advertised or promoted. The fact this game’s mechanics can outpace its own intended routes is so revealing. Players are encouraged to have fun and just experiment with everything on their journey, and that’s the best part. Being able to do a sick skateboard spin into some enemies after stunning them with an arrow to the face is truly amazing.

Even though the story is nothing to write home about, it really gets outshined by the sheer fun of the gameplay. The possibilities are endless, and the game’s puzzles, side quests and enemies are just egging you on to find new ways to do everything. 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

While it hasn’t received any major updates in about three years, I have spent too much time with this game to not acknowledge it. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a platform fighter between tons of characters from various franchises. During its peak, the game garnered notoriety for shocking roster additions like Steve from Minecraft and Joker from Persona 5. 

Sitting around and playing this game with friends is the best part. It has competitive depth but a real focus on accessibility for anybody. This is a very refreshing take on the fighting game formula, which typically revolves around complicated button inputs and extensive memorization. Being able to play this game with anybody is so fun, and it will have everybody screaming to play one more every time.

I’d describe the central mechanic of this game to be potential. Every character has the potential to do something impressive, and every fight has the potential to have something absolutely drastic happen. With powerful moves and combos that can take your lives quickly, a comeback is always possible. And, with a giant roster of more than 80 characters, there is always the potential to find something new and refreshing to utilize in your gameplay.

Each character has so much depth; I could play for hundreds of hours on each one. Even five and a half years after release, I’m still finding out about new niche details of this game. It’s just a gift that keeps on giving, and I can’t wait for the next installment.