Christopher
James
Manglos

I have a hard time with RPGs because many mistake lore and tasking for narrative. Knights of the Old Republic did not exhibit this problem. In that game, conversations with NPCs were nuanced & vital to the experience. The Outer Worlds looks great and plays well, but it is so over-encumbered with vapid conversations, that it really hurts the experience.

Disco Elysium was such a pleasant surprise to me this year. Video games with strong narratives and character development are still such a rare thing. The mechanics of the game are intertwined with the narrative in a way that makes both feel more essential. I can't wait to see and experience what developer ZA/UM creates next.

Demon's Souls on PS3 effectively started a new genre of video game. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I didn't get it. Games during that period were rarely difficult. The industry was broadening due to the success of games that broke through to the mainstream (e.g. Wii Sports, Call of Duty), and accessibility had to be part of your alchemy if you wanted to reach large audiences. Times have changed a little. Games aren't afraid to be hard. We owe Demon's Souls a lot of the credit for this. Demon's Souls came out of nowhere and dared you to turn it off, and even if you did, you still respected it. There was something so deliberate and fair in it's punishments that demanded respect. So, that's what I remember then, but Bluepoint has shown me something new about this game. I knew the moment to moment gameplay was fine-tuned, but I didn't realize how perfectly paced the level progression was. Every new section tests your abilities in a new way. Every new area requires you to scrape at the walls of your comfort with the game mechanics until you find a new path. And that's when the magic lives.

«Time-tested»

Elden Ring is undoubtedly an achievement, but it overstays its welcome. There is at least one exceptional game in here. There are many awesome moments, great enemy design, and the open world has plenty of secrets to uncover. Yet, by the end, I just felt exhausted. FromSoft games require more from their players: more patience and more skill. Elden Ring requires patience and skill, but it also requires a lot of time. It requires too much time, and while much of that time is rewarded, I think my time may have been better spent knocking out 10 indie games from my backlog.