This post is so late, that by now is just proving a point. But is still a list of my favorite games, published last year and reviewed on the blog. This time they will not be even ordered. Just ten awesome games. Detailed reviews in the links of the game titles.
Torment - Tides of Numenera
Torment: Tides of Numenera is squad based RPG with turn based battles, but you will almost never be pressured to fight as there are numerous ways to resolve a crisis. Torment is a game focused on talking and learning about the world in which you have fallen(you literally fall from the sky). It is a game targeted at people who like long dialogues, hard choices, intriguing world and exploration. Oh and have a lot of free time. Torment: Tides of Numenera as most games of the genre is between 25 and 30+ hours of gameplay. But every hour invested is worth it, even if you do not finish it play it if not for another thing then for the rich palette of characters you will meet. Torment is like a how-to to anyone who is in the business of creating characters.
Battle Brothers
Battle Borthers is ok looking game. No flashy effects, no high detailed models, nothing visually impressive. But oh my how deep is this game! You will have to manage your company, be careful what brothers you hire, to have enough money, food and supplies. Which brothers you will take to battle, who will you hire, how will you arm them, what formation you will use. There is a ton of things, ridiculous amount of depth. The biggest downside for me was the lack of overarching story, but you can easily make your own. You will meet enough strong enemies, you will have more than enough epic battles to do so if you want to. You will even have the chance to get into a war between the royal families. Plenty of material to make your own story. Another nitpick which might turn people away is the low fantasy profile of the game. You will fight orcs, goblins and undead, but there is very little magic in the world of Battle Brothers.
If I have to compare Battle Brothers to another game it is definitely Mount and Blade with bigger focus on the fights and turn-based, but similar in many ways. Great, sadly niche game which will not get the attention it deserves. It is hard, it is far from casual and takes a lot of time to progress. But great, great game nonetheless.
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is an epic 2D action-adventure. You’ll explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and escape intricate traps, all to solve an ancient long-hidden mystery. In this review I have compared it to Dark Souls and I know a lot of you are thinking about Salt & Sanctuary, but this is a totally different game. Salt was an action platformer, but it was still centred around the hard fights and there was very little platforming or exploration. In Hollow Knight you will have your share of jumping puzzles and great amount of exploring the unique world in which you have descended. It's a healthy mix of Ori's jumping puzzles and Salt & Sanctuary's fight without taking any of those two to the extreme.
A must play for the fans of the genre.
Old Man's Journey
Old Man's Journey is amazing, charming, filled with bittersweet feelings small game which might make you think about life in different light. Give it a chance it is barely a two hours journey each minute of which is worth it.
Pyre
Pyre bears many of the Supergiant's typical characteristics. Great music, good atmosphere, interesting story (reminded me a bit of “Fahrenheit 451”), looks gorgeous and alive. At the same time it is not on par with Transistor or with Bastion. It felt a bit repetitive and on rails. True, the world opens up a little after certain point, bit it turns into a grind basically which is bearable only because more lore is revealed during this part. On another hand it is a short game with its 12-15 hours length.
The strangest part? I loved it. I did not like some things, but the more I played Pyre the more I liked it and I do not know why or how it happened. I guess Supergiant is Supergiant after all.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Any explanation will fall short. Divinity is a game which creates not just experiences which is the point of most games, but it creates stories, memories. It is a world so vibrant and full of treasure, mystery and miracle that you want to see every corner of it, speak to every man, woman and animal just to hear their story and learn more about what surrounds you...
If you the time and like massive RPGs just go and play it. You will not finish it probably, but even 20-30 hours are worth it. Divinity OS 2 is like that place everyone need to see for themselves.
And here I am not even talking about the modding which the game supports or the gamemaster mode where you create your own story campaign. Sadly I still have not tried neither of those...
Hob
Hob is not revolutionary game, but neither it was Torchlight. But Torchlight were well made games and Hob continues this trend showing that the people at Runic knew what they are doing.
Hob is beautiful and charming, bit at the same time cruel and dangerous of the unwary. It is not a long game with its 7 zones it will take you around 30 or so hours to finish but in this time you have the pleasure to wander in one unique world which will challenge your wits, patience and fighting prowess.
We can only wonder what other great worlds Runic could have made if the studio continued to exist.
Pit People
Pit People is weird silly game, by the giant Behemoth(you see what I did there?). At first the game may look a bit random and strange but you will realize that all those silly stuff click together really well. In other words the developers had not just poured random ideas in the game, they had clear idea what they wanted to make.
In it's core Pit People is fast paced RPG adventure game with turn-based battles where you will have to help the poor blueberry farmer Horatio to succeed in his revenge against the horrible space bear.
The game is still in early access, but its already quite polished and have its core mechanics in place. For now it lacks content and the story quest line will probably be the main thing(aside from the co-op and the 2v2 arena modes) which will make you play the game, but Behemoth have gotten the formula and now they only need to develop its full potential.
The game is not for everyone and its probably even target at very specific audience, but if you like your games a bit silly I recommend you to try Pit People when it is out.
And yes, I know I cheated with this one. Hehe...
Night in the Woods
Night in the Woods explore the problems of growing up, failing, parents expectations, clash of past and present and many more, it is a game which will have biggest impact on players which are around Mae's age and they themselves are having the same or similar problems. Other audience to which I recommend the game are people who have gone through this in the past. Another side of the game is the mystery and Mae's weird dreams, but most value from the game you will get if you play it because of the things I mentioned above as this is the main purpose of the game in my opinion. To touch these sensitive topics which few if any games does.
Gorogoa
If you are into puzzle games even just a little, go and play it its a game which need to be experienced and no amount of words will represent it fairly.
It's never too late @Willian Cross. About this proving of a point I was talking about. Be immortal, dear readers!
