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Best Games of the Generation SO Far

Mikeaveli

Mikeaveli

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Sep 25, 2013
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Edmonton, AB
Leaks have indicated that new consoles will be arriving in 2028, so we are just over halfway through the generation. What are your picks for the best games released since November 2020?

9.5/10:
Cyberpunk 2077
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

9/10:
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Forza Horizon 5
Psychonauts 2
Shadow Generations
Persona 3 Reload

8.5/10:
System Shock (could probably move up)
Silent Hill
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil Village
 
Baldur's Gate 3, TotK, Elden Ring, Hades, Cyberpunk 2077, Metroid Dread, Tunic have been my standouts.

However, there are many games I haven't played.

Also, too bad we cant add 2019, three of my all time favorites are from the previous year: Sekiro, Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. Three genuine 10/10s and masterclasses of game design.
 
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Andrei79 said:
Baldur's Gate 3, TotK, Elden Ring, Hades, Cyberpunk 2077, Metroid Dread, Tunic have been my standouts.

However, there are many games I haven't played.

Also, too bad we cant add 2019, three of my all time favorites are from the previous year: Sekiro, Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. Three genuine 10/10s and masterclasses of game design.
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BG3, Elden Ring, and Hades were all such huge leaps forward for their respective genres, so much so they’re basically new standards. Hades all but killed other roguelikes for me, same with BG3 and CRPGs.

Elden Ring kind of stands on its own for me. I’ve been a long time Soulslike fan. I think they’re the best kind of video games out there. And the fact ER was able to transcend its own genre and bring Soulslikes mainstream is such an achievement.
 
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Since 2019, I've been keeping a spreadsheet with every game I've beaten and rating /10. Only two in that time have a 10 rating from me: Half-Life: Alyx and Baldur's Gate 3

That being said, I do have several 9.5 ratings:

Black Mesa
Desperados III
Divinity: Original Sin
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Katana Zero
Metro Exodus
Mini Motorways
Neon White
Opus Magnum
Return of the Obra Dinn
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
System Shock
System Shock 2
Thronebreaker
UnMetal
Wasteland 3
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
 
Cheating a bit by counting updated versions and remakes, but going with this:

5.0 (Unreserved Favorite)
1. Disco Elysium: Final Cut (2021) [I think the addition of world class voice acting is significant enough to include it, personally]
2. Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition (2020)
3. Tactics Ogre Reborn (2022)
4. Into the Breach: Advanced Edition (2022)

4.5 (Masterful)
5. Tunic (2022)

4.0 (Immaculate)
6. Balatro (2024)
7. Animal Well (2024)

3.5 (Great)
8. Black Myth: Wukong (2024)
9. Elden Ring (2022) [could rise, but I haven't taken that big of a bite of it yet]

3.0 (Very Good)
10. Metroid Dread (2021)
11. Street Fighter VI (2023)
12. Sifu (2022)
13. Cyber Shadow (2021)

2.5 (Good)
14. Hades (2021)
15. Silent Hill 2 Remake (2024)
 
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Andrei79 said:
Also, too bad we cant add 2019, three of my all time favorites are from the previous year: Sekiro, Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds. Three genuine 10/10s and masterclasses of game design.
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I don't think a year exists where three more beautifully conceived games were released at the same time, personally. Absolutely insane.
 
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SettlementRichie10 said:
Sharee, with your love of Sekiro and Metroidvanias, you gotta play Nine Sols. My personal GOTY 2024.
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I'm familiar with it, but haven't played it. I'll try to keep your impression in mind, but to be perfectly candid, I haven't been too interested because:

a) Aesthetic/art style is an important factor that I'm very particular about, and I actively dislike the way it visually looks, how badly/amateurishly I feel that it's drawn, and how awkward and stiff the animations feel-- I keep hearing its animation praised, but I really don't get that from seeing it in action. The whole thing has a very fan-made feel to me in a bad way.

b) Me "loving" Metroidvanias can be a bit misleading. My general attitude about them is that I feel that 99% of Metroidvanias do it wrong and don't understand what makes the genre great (only a handful "get it", IMO). To give an idea, I weirdly love Hollow Knight DESPITE actually feeling that it's a pretty poor Metroidvania. I've heard Nine Sols described as "A Metroidvania that changes the mind of people who don't like Metroidvanias" and took that as a bad sign, personally (this is also what I heard about Prince of Persia The Lost Crown this year, which I did play and ended up disliking).

c) While it's been well received, it hasn't been SO well received that it's forcing me to give it a shot. I've watched some videos on it and didn't come away too impressed.

Maybe I'll give it a shot at some point, but pretty low priority
 
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2020s that came out before new consoles
13 Sentinels, Genshin, Hades, Granblue Fantasy Versus

2021
Vampire Survivors, Disco Elysium, Inscryption

2022
Elden Ring, Pentiment, Citizen Sleeper, Signalis

2023
Alan Wake 2, Star Rail, Armored Core 6

2024
Balatro, 1000xResist, Kunitsu-gami, Nine Sols
 
Does TW3 remaster count because I’m floored with this game. It’s so big and so fun.
 
Shareefruck said:
I'm familiar with it, but haven't played it. I'll try to keep your impression in mind, but to be perfectly candid, I haven't been too interested because:

a) Aesthetic/art style is an important factor that I'm very particular about, and I actively dislike the way it visually looks, how badly/amateurishly I feel that it's drawn, and how awkward and stiff the animations feel-- I keep hearing its animation praised, but I really don't get that from seeing it in action. The whole thing has a very fan-made feel to me in a bad way.

b) Me "loving" Metroidvanias can be a bit misleading. My general attitude about them is that I feel that 99% of Metroidvanias do it wrong and don't understand what makes the genre great (only a handful "get it", IMO). To give an idea, I weirdly love Hollow Knight DESPITE actually feeling that it's a pretty poor Metroidvania. I've heard Nine Sols described as "A Metroidvania that changes the mind of people who don't like Metroidvanias" and took that as a bad sign, personally (this is also what I heard about Prince of Persia The Lost Crown this year, which I did play and ended up disliking).

c) While it's been well received, it hasn't been SO well received that it's forcing me to give it a shot. I've watched some videos on it and didn't come away too impressed.

Maybe I'll give it a shot at some point, but pretty low priority
Click to expand...

Your loss if you skip it!
 
Shareefruck said:
I'm familiar with it, but haven't played it. I'll try to keep your impression in mind, but to be perfectly candid, I haven't been too interested because:

a) Aesthetic/art style is an important factor that I'm very particular about, and I actively dislike the way it visually looks, how badly/amateurishly I feel that it's drawn, and how awkward and stiff the animations feel-- I keep hearing its animation praised, but I really don't get that from seeing it in action. The whole thing has a very fan-made feel to me in a bad way.

b) Me "loving" Metroidvanias can be a bit misleading. My general attitude about them is that I feel that 99% of Metroidvanias do it wrong and don't understand what makes the genre great (only a handful "get it", IMO). To give an idea, I weirdly love Hollow Knight DESPITE actually feeling that it's a pretty poor Metroidvania. I've heard Nine Sols described as "A Metroidvania that changes the mind of people who don't like Metroidvanias" and took that as a bad sign, personally (this is also what I heard about Prince of Persia The Lost Crown this year, which I did play and ended up disliking).

c) While it's been well received, it hasn't been SO well received that it's forcing me to give it a shot. I've watched some videos on it and didn't come away too impressed.

Maybe I'll give it a shot at some point, but pretty low priority
Click to expand...

If there’s one thing about Nine Sols that received universal acclaim, it was its unique “Tao punk” art direction.

Red Candle Games isn’t some massive AAA developer, but their previous two games were critically well received. Hans Chen (art director) and Pege Ho (lead artist) have worked professionally for many years. Nine Sols was also nominated for best visual design/art direction in multiple outlets.

Pretty bizarre nitpick but again, it’s your loss. I didn’t think Hollow Knight would ever be matched for me, but in many ways Nine Sols surpasses it, particularly in story and theme. Combat is not even a question. Nine Sols just flat out has a deeper and more engaging combat system. I’d still give HK an edge in exploration and overall world design, though.
 
SettlementRichie10 said:
If there’s one thing about Nine Sols that received universal acclaim, it was its unique “Tao punk” art direction.

Red Candle Games isn’t some massive AAA developer, but their previous two games were critically well received. Hans Chen (art director) and Pege Ho (lead artist) have worked professionally for many years. Nine Sols was also nominated for best visual design/art direction in multiple outlets.

Pretty bizarre nitpick but again, it’s your loss. I didn’t think Hollow Knight would ever be matched for me, but in many ways Nine Sols surpasses it, particularly in story and theme. Combat is not even a question. Nine Sols just flat out has a deeper and more engaging combat system. I’d still give HK an edge in exploration and overall world design, though.
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It's just a difference of opinion-- Appealing to majority opinion or authority via its accolades is unnecessary/irrelevant.

I wasn't really referring to its art direction or design, though, more just the way it's drawn and animated. If I saw these drawings on Deviant Art or something, I'd find it rough, personally. It's not really a nitpick, I just find it uglier than games I'm typically intrigued by (and art style is a huge chunk of what I like about games).

The idea that its visuals are praised is admittedly pretty dumb-founding to me, though.
 
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Looking at the games I've played, it's pretty amazing how many of them were from previous generations :laugh:

Elden Ring
Hades
Tunic
Returnal
 
I've been banging the "PS5 is just a PS4 Super Pro" for years and looking at the games I'm looking to get this year it still holds true. Pirate Yakuza, Suikoden 1 and 2, Lunar Remasters are all coming to PS4. The new Ghost game is PS5 only so that's good but come on.
 
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Jovavic said:
I've been banging the "PS5 is just a PS4 Super Pro" for years and looking at the games I'm looking to get this year it still holds true. Pirate Yakuza, Suikoden 1 and 2, Lunar Remasters are all coming to PS4. The new Ghost game is PS5 only so that's good but come on.
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I mean is there any reason those games shouldn't come out on PS4? They are remasters of 25+ year old JRPGs and a Yakuza game, which tend to have the technical makeup of a 360/PS3 title.

There are plenty of technically advanced games coming out that are current gen only now.
 
Jovavic said:
I've been banging the "PS5 is just a PS4 Super Pro" for years and looking at the games I'm looking to get this year it still holds true. Pirate Yakuza, Suikoden 1 and 2, Lunar Remasters are all coming to PS4. The new Ghost game is PS5 only so that's good but come on.
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Many of the games i buy on the PS5 are available on the PS4 and Switch. I just buy the PS5 version if i know that it will most likely struggle on the Switch.

The industry is also rethinking the strategy of focusing too many resources of graphics. It's becoming more and more of a fools errand when the costs keep increasing but the margins are getting lower.
 
Currently playing Resident Evil 4 remake, and have Warhammer on tap after that, but my king of this generation is Armored Core VI.

Non-narrative games I play consistently in rotation when in need of a break are sports games, KoF 15, and Insurgency Sandstorm.
 
Using 2020 as the start of this generation for the sake of simplicity.


10/10
Baldur's Gate 3
Elden Ring
Street Fighter 6
Balatro
Cyberpunk 2077
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Immortality
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Chants of Sennaar
Monster Train
Returnal
Inscription
Tunic
The Case of the Golden Idol


9.5/10
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Astrobot
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Alan Wake 2
Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
Mouthwashing
Psychonauts 2
Hi-Fi Rush
There is No Game
Halo Infinite
Sentiment
Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
The Forgotten City
Death's Door
1000xResist
The Rise of the Golden Idol


9.0/10
The Last of Us: Part II
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Animal Well
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
NORCO
Deathloop
Diablo 4
Humanity
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Nioh 2
Viewfinder[/u]
 
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