Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Game
of the Year – BattleTech
It is my GOTY for a large variety of
reasons starting with the vast universe. The BattleTech world is one that many
people grew up loving, which is quite evident when listening to those initial
streams by the game creators. There’s a reason why I immediately put my name
down for this game. As I explained in my review, this game spawned from an epic
series of books that became a popular tabletop RPG. (In fact, I loved playing
Heavy Gear which was another RPG that was created as a result of BattleTech.)
Later, BattleTech inspired video games like Mechwarrior and Mech Commander. But
what I love about BattleTech is the two levels of strategy used in playing the
game. I absolutely adore the music and the story told between the warring human
factions. It’s graphically beautiful and it includes bits of the character’s
backstory in dialogue options. In other words, BattleTech gives me all the
things I look for in a video game which are: challenging strategies, beautiful
presentation, story, customization, and amazing musical accompaniment.
Honestly, this game is at the top of my list for a whole host of reasons.
(Also, PPC’s are godly weapons. That is all.)
First
Runner Up – Vampyr
It should be no surprise that I am a
vampire fan. For the better part of a year, when I discovered that SquareEnix
was to release this game (right after I had finished Life is Strange – another
game I absolutely love), I was immediately in need of it. Once I had the
opportunity to play the game, I loved many aspects of it like the attention to
detail with NPC backstories, the moral choices players have to make, and the
ability to customize combat without being needlessly complicated. Not only did
I appreciate the depth of this game, but I loved that it forced players to make
tough choices regarding the life of the people. Part of the reason I needed to
play Vampyr is that I needed to know which aspect of vampire lore they used as
the game’s foundation because people have certain ideas about the mythos
without consideration for others. While the developers stuck with the notion
that vampires cannot go into sunlight, Dr. Johnathan Reid operates out of a
hospital in London. At the time of the Spanish Flu outbreak, most of London
followed Christianity in some form. Vampyr portrays this fact through one NPC
that holds up a cross to keep the vampire at bay. In short, their portrayal of
the commonly known vampire mythos was handled properly. It is gritty and dark
and I absolutely fell in love with it right from the beginning, which is why
it’s the first runner up for GOTY.
Second
Runner Up – Shadow of the Tomb Raider
I know that many people did not like
Shadow of the Tomb Raider, especially after hearing that a different ending was
patched out before most people could play it, leaving behind a lesser story
option in its place. But the fact remains that I will always love Tomb Raider
for a number of reasons. It offers players the ability to be stealthy or
aggressive in combat situations. Lara Croft is not a stupid character and it is
one of the main reasons that I absolutely love this series. Lara is quite
clever and knowledgeable, strong-willed and tough as nails, except for the
first game where she was quite wimpy to the point of annoyance. Tomb Raider
offers environmental puzzles in the tombs she explores and this helps to
showcase how adaptable Lara Croft is as a character. What I also love about
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the newly released DLC, “The Forge”, where players
are given replayability through the time trials and co-op tomb completion.
While Shadow of the Tomb Raider might have fallen short for many gamers, I still
hold Tomb Raider in a special place because of the characters, combat and
stealth elements, and artifact discoveries. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the
last installment in this reboot and while it might not hold a candle to the
other two, I have the series on a high pedestal. Therefore, it makes the second
runner up. (You can hate me all you want.)
Biggest
Surprise – The Gardens Between
This game had been on my radar for
over a year and I was immediately intrigued by what I saw, which was mostly its
art style. I knew that I would love The Gardens Between for its look but also
because of the fact that it is an abstract puzzle game. After playing through
the game, I found myself enjoying it much more than I anticipated because the
story is cleverly told through the levels. So, this game makes a lot more sense
as you progress through the levels (Although, there was a streamer that figured
it out in the first level which took away from the enjoyment, in my opinion).
By the end of the story, I discovered what the game was about and I found
myself relating to the two characters. The reason this game surprised me the
most is that normally puzzle games aren’t meant to have players relate to the
characters. I felt sad at the end of The Gardens Between, and that is never a
reaction I’ve had as a result of a pure puzzle game. It is a charming little
tale that I loved as a result of the developer’s unique vision and presentation
of the story they wanted to tell.
Guilty
Pleasure – Maple Story 2
I had never played the first Maple
Story, so when a streamer was part of a major event that promoted this
free-to-play MMO, I became interested. Maple Story 2 is the game that I call
‘cuteness overwhelming’ because it quite literally exemplifies that
description. And while it is not the most epic MMO on the planet, it is
adorable as hell. Maple Story 2 has a fairly easy leveling progression, making
it more favorable to me than other MMOs because I despise games that are too
grindy. (Usually, that is due to poor storytelling or pointless fetch quests.
MMOs that do this tend to bug me.) Traveling in this game has a ton of variety
like ground/flying mounts, a taxi service, and a helicopter, making it easy to
complete quests. This adds a ton of bonus points in my book. In short, I love cuteness
overwhelming because it is accessible to a broad range, is free to play, and it
simply makes me smile. It wouldn’t be a guilty pleasure if not for that, right?
Article by: Susan N.
