Moving on from our disappointments for
2021 we now move into a category that is always an interesting one as while we
do tend to cover a lot, sometimes there are titles that just make us keep
wanting to go back for more. Welcome to our guilty pleasure category for the
year!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Pierre-Yves: Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
I mean come on, do I even have to say why
for this one? The latest entry was not only a pleasure, and a guilty pleasure
at that, to sit down to in order to cover but it was just an overall pleasure
between the smooth farming simulation and the adorable graphics as you got to
raise your moomoos. Yes. Moomoos.
Check out our full review of Story of
Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town by developer Marvelous
Interactive Inc. and publishers XSEED Games, Marvelous for the Nintendo Switch.
Pierre-Yves (Bonus):
Resident Evil Village
Ok I realize that this is cheating a bit
but I did put everything together so that's my excuse to add another guilty
pleasure as looking at my list I was thinking to myself, something's missing.
It's not that my entire list is just about Indie based titles for this year,
but there was one title that just blew me away in a fun and guilty fashion.
That title would be the latest in the Resident Evil series that I was ecstatic
to cover even if it meant plowing through Resident Evil 7: Biohazard which scared the
living hell out of me.
So with that, I'm also adding in the
wicked well paced and designed Resident Evil Village as my second guilty
pleasure which once again stars Ethan Winters as he hunts down those that
supernaturally split his daughter into multiple pieces. Also staring long time
veteran Chris Redfield, things go everywhere from the depths of a a mad genius'
lair to the soaring heights of the internet's favorite super tall lady that
will shred you in two if she catches up to you.
Check out our full review of Resident
Evil Village by developer and publisher Capcom
for the Sony PlayStation 5.
Richard: Neptunia Virtual Stars
It's a Neptunia game featuring some of my
favorite VTubers. Yes, I'm a kaigainikki. Yes, I support my Hololive and Indie
VTuber scene. Shut up, go away. I mean, it also helps that the gameplay was a
pretty fun 3rd person shooter style with some cool mechanics, and was pretty
much ragging on egotistical social media users. Actually though, while not the
best in gameplay or presentation, it was legitimately really fun, and it was
great seeing some of my favorite VTubers getting more traction here in the West.
Check out our full review of Neptunia
Virtual Stars by developer Compile Heart and publisher Idea Factory International Inc. for the Sony PlayStation 4.
I’m all for colony management simulators,
especially against games like Banished (a challenging game even for the
seasoned veteran in the genre). Add Canada’s national animals to the mix, and
I’m immediately sold on it. After watching some of the gameplay of a prominent
YouTuber, I decided I wanted a bite at the game. Once I streamed the game a few
times, I found that Timberborn is a game I enjoy playing both on stream and
off. I have a save for both instances, yet somehow I managed to survive through
the second drought - but only barely! I had two beavers left and needed to
recolonize. It was a long process, but somehow I managed to save my colony of
beavers. Now, if that doesn’t tell you how difficult Timberborn can be when
players fail spectacularly, I don’t know what does. Needless to say, I really
enjoy this game way more than other management sim games - even the coveted
Cities: Skylines. Am I guilty for enjoying chomping down trees without a care
in the world? Absolutely. It’s something I can sink my teeth into!
Nick: NBA 2K22
I almost could have put Genshin Impact in
here as well. Sure, it released last year, but I didn’t get my review for it
written until this year ( https://chalgyr.com/2021/03/review-ps4-genshinimpact.html
), and it’s a large, ‘living game’ that is still seeing major content updates
and probably will for years. That being said, NBA 2K22 gets the slight nod from
me this year, as it and Genshin are both games I log into pretty much daily. I
have ground out all but a few of the trophies in NBA 2K22, still hop online to
compete against others (or with online friends) and alternate between my
3-and-D point guard and athletic, bruising center just depending on my mood
that day. NBA 2K still has plenty of room to improve on the new console
generation, but despite its flaws – I keep coming back for more.
Check out our full review of NBA 2K22 by developer Visual Concepts
and publisher 2K
for the Sony PlayStation 5.
Robert: Star Citizen
Few games can sell a dream and really
nail it- some, like No Man’s Sky can start way too big for it’s britches, only
to then grow into a fine game, to others like The Ascent or Tales of Arise just
hit the ground running and nail it out of the park from the get-go.
My 2021 Guilty Pleasure is something of a
juggernaut in the independent game development world, with upwards of 500
employees and a massive project
underway, Cloud Imperium Games’ Star Citizen managed to do both- be too big for
its britches while nailing it right out of the park. Few games can give the
sense of scale and awe that Star Citizen brings to the forefront- stunning
visuals, interesting locations, a supportive and impassioned community, and on
top of it all … pure, unadulterated joy.
From the moment you first step out of
your hab (your apartment/bedroom), Star Citizen is shown in excruciating
detail- from working lighting modes for your hab to beautiful vistas
overlooking the frost-covered domes of New Babbage on Microtech, to a cave
system deep within Daymar’s crust, Star Citizen is brimming with detail, and in
turn, with life. I have spent more
time (and money) on Star Citizen than I have in many, many years- the closest
likely being World of Warcraft back from about 2004 to 2007, and I still have not experienced all that this
supposed “tech demo” has to offer.
My advice? Take a minute to hop into the
game during one of its regular Free Fly events (where you don’t even have to
pay for the game in order to experience 100% of what’s currently offered), or
if you’re an old backer that’s not been around in a while? Spend a couple hours
one night and dig into the Verse- it’s surprisingly vibrant, rich in character,
and an absolute bounty in detail.
