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I really doubt Ghost of Yotei will be making my GOTY list (since I only do top 3), but that's more a testament to how many banger games we've had this year than it is a comment on Yotei, which I'm really enjoying. I did the same thing with Listen, and am also confused why it's not there from the start.

Ghost of Yotei (coming soon to a "GotY" thread near you!) Enjoying Atsu's story, love the switching between past and future (shoutout to how quick and seamless switching between past and present, and fast travel is - it's a technical marvel). I do sorta wish perfect dodge and perfect parry were unlocked from the start as I am very used to those mechanics. Also, no idea how long I have to play to unlock the "listen" ability... It's wild to me that it wasn't there from the start. I checked the controls, saw "listen" is "Hold R3", held R3 and, nothing. Assuming it is an ability unlock at some point, but given how crucial situational awareness is, I think it is mad not to have it unlocked in the early tutorial section.

I'm mostly keeping it in my back pocket in preparation for the day when Microsoft decides Windows computers can only install apps from the Windows store

I finished Wuchang Fallen Feathers. A game I completely bounced off twice before returning to about a month ago. I loved it. Yeah. I dunno. Sometimes I need to be in the right frame of mind to fully enjoy a game, and eventually I got to that point and I allowed this one into my heart. Is it the best Soulslike ever? No, but it's a very worthy entry into that pantheon and something I'd be tempted to revisit if I ever found myself with a few months of free time (I won't). Far more Souls than Sekiro, which I think will please a few of you here as well. The best part? I finished it just in time to cancel my Gamepass sub. Perfec'

I briefly considered it, but Linux doesn't have good RT performance, especially on Nvidia cards (not an issue on Steam Deck), and there are a few games I like to play that don't work on it, like ZZZ. If not for those two things though I'd seriously think about switching.

Man, the steam deck is cool. In fact, it's so cool that it's actually got me considering Linux now.

Those devs really seem to know how to take those old Genesis franchises and make them feel new again. They did great with Streets of Rage 4.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance This game is great. It's a beautiful side-scrolling action game that's not a metroidvania or a roguelike! Huzzah! I like both those genres but I get a little tired of every side-scrolling game having to be one or the other. I definitely recommend this game. The art is gorgeous, the combat is fun, every boss except the last one is great, it's a reasonable length, it has everything! There's even a demo so you can check it out for yourself. Grade: A (was going to be A+ except the last boss was bullshit)

That was exactly my thought too...

Fuck it we ball. Getting the 1 TB edition.

Fully expect this one to get cancelled, but if it does come out it could be fun. 10 Minute gameplay video, the car chase looks slow, and not a huge fan of all the QTEs but still looks fun.

Also

you missed the best one! March 20

February 6. January 30, sooner than I expected lol.

I've been keeping an eye on this and Neverness to Everness. Probably gonna end up sticking with whichever one comes out first unless there's a major quality difference between them.

Thought this game wasn't real lol, then they suddenly release this, still looks too good to be true, but

Hollow Knight Hey I know I'm like, seven years late on this but, yeah this game? It's pretty good. Solid A+, really. Tons and tons of content. Though, it wasn't always clear what was the main game, what was optional, and what was DLC... but everything is pretty rewarding, unless you wait too long to fight the Mantis Lords like I did.... There was some times, especially in my first 20ish hours, where I wanted to throw my Steam Deck out the window thanks to some boss fights. But the more you keep up with it, the more strategies you try, the better you get at the game. Not to mention unlocking upgrades... by the end it only took me two tries to beat the (default) final boss. Yeah, I did the default ending. Apparently there's another and I could do that but it would require a bunch of platforming so... I mean, maybe one day. 93% though, I feel pretty good with that. For now, I've gotten my full. I did buy Silk Song, to support the devs and to see what it's like but I don't think I'll actually play it yet... who knows though. As always, I reserve the right to change any of my non-Uncharted 3 opinions.

Wuthering Waves This one is really frustrating to me. I caught up on my other free to play stuff so I figured I'd give this one a try. It came to steam and its community glazes it constantly, talking about how it puts Genshin Impact to shame in every way. Well, the truth is they're not entirely wrong. In terms of gameplay and quality of life it does improve a lot of things. Exploration is a lot swifter with free sprinting outside of combat and lots of field gadgets. They even added a free glider that gives you the ability to straight up fly across the map. That's great. The combat is also more active and skill based. That's also great. The cutscenes have better animation than other gacha games. There are also some good puzzles and the devs even seem to listen to player feedback when they do their patches, which I commend. So what's the problem here? The story. Freaking. SUCKS. This is maybe the worst RPG story I've ever seen, or at least it has the worst presentation. As soon as you begin you're overwhelmed with lore terms like resonator and tacet discord and etheric sea and given almost no chance to process what any of it means. I played for weeks and I still have no idea how the hell this universe works. I heard while looking for info that at some point in the past the developers announced they had taken player feedback into account by rewriting NINETY PERCENT OF THE STORY. If this is the after then I'd really hate to see the before. The player base claims it gets better once you reach the second continent but man I just don't know that I have that kind of patience. Even if it does, there's no way it could get THAT much better. If that's not bad enough, these characters are boring and bland. All they do is infodump on you in the cutscenes and almost none of them feel like they have a personality or agency outside of supporting the protagonist. I don't like their designs either with the exception of Lumi, who has a cute design with a light bulb tail and hair curls that make her look like a mouse, but apparently she's the weakest fighter in the game so it's pointless to even use her. I'm the kind of guy who prioritizes gameplay over story but this is an open world RPG. Your story and characters have to grab me at least a little bit to keep me invested. Genshin Impact definitely has a lot of faults that put me off when I went back to it but the Fontaine characters and story arc ended up being extremely well-written and they kept me invested until I finished that region. There's just nothing like that going on here and I hate it because I can tell this game has a lot going for it in other respects. I want to like it. I really do. But I just don't care.

I'm so tempted but I have Ghost of Yotei on the 2nd...