#but neither console version of sims 1 or 2??? so weird...

[skeletalheartattack]

hey wormdoll what video game songs have you been listening to lately?

don't think ive ever been called a wormdoll before, that's a new one!

to answer your question, the last video game ost i listened to was the Sims 2, though specifically the console (ps2, xbox, gamecube) version's ost. it's primarily the pc's ost just extremely condensed down, but i have a lot of nostalgia from specifically the console version of Sims 2 since that was my favourite sims game when i was younger

[crystalnet]

Top 10 Games of the Year

1. Breath of the Wild

It’s not a remotely close contest as far as my top pick goes. This game is simply the finest example of an adventure game that I can imagine, and seems as though it were an example of Plato's Archetypes, as in it is the perfectly crystallized realization of what an "adventure" game should be (read "adventure" as actually meaning lite action RPG). 

I've written about it a lot elsewhere on this blog and will continue to given that substantial DLC is dropping for it soon so to be brief and not over-repeat myself, I believe there is a sacred zen quality to this game by which all systems, emergent and physics-based ones-- as well as culinary, arsenal-building, combat and item collecting systems-- are all all excellently interwoven in an organic and emotionally moving way, in which wandering through a never-before explored glade or glen is as life-affirming as a very good scenic hike might be, for example. Indeed, I believe this game is just the breath of fresh air that gaming needed~

2. Nier Automata

Violently eviscerating hordes of robots with a blade-wielding android has never been paired with Hegelian philosophy so well. Indeed this game is as fun to play as it is to think about... or at least it's fun until you consider the implications of what your actually doing in the game much of the time. Alas, most games don't make you question the ethics and morality of the things you do in-game, such as massacre robot hordes, but this game makes you look directly at ethical quandaries like it's your job, and that's kind of amazing.  I'm not even a big story buff when it comes to gaming, but this one is something special, and reminds me of the PS1 era of gritty, spunky JRPGs like Xenogears or Vagrant Story.

It's also just a blast to play, and tweaking your individualized load-out which includes weapons combinations, abilities and deep stat-tweaking, is really satisfying. And the cherry on top here is the gorgeous design concepts and music. Especially the music. The OST is certainly my favorite game music of the year.

3. Persona 5

I haven't beat it so I'm technically kind of a poser but I mean I spent over 50 hours on it which is the 3rd highest playtime this year for me after BotW and FFXV so I think it counts. Sure I won't know the ultimate fate of the Phantom Thieves for another couple months probably, since I've been savouring this and going slow with it, but I've certainly played enough to know that this is a shining example of what a modern JPRG can be. A shit ton of deep, interwoven non-linear systems? Check. Quirky Japanese stuff out the wazoo like dating sim stuff and a talking cat? Check. Great combat and grindy, ass kicking dungeons? Double check. Insane acid jazz OST? Checkkkkkk, you get the point It's really good. In some ways it's sitll not quite my type of game in the way it is neither high-fantasy or cyberpunk, but the gameplay itself shines through. Idk,  I don't like it as much as some people do but like I feel a kinship with the people who worship it. And I've def gotten more out of it than the other games listed below, if only for the serious depth of combat/gameplay and sheer length. The length.... (help)

4. Sonic Mania/ Forces

Yeah that's right, Mania AND Forces. Mania is well-loved but Forces is well-derided, but I'm here to say I probably prefer  Forces. Yeah that's right. Write me off now if you want, all 3 of you who ever see this. I think it's a damn solid Sonic game, and I can count the number of good 3D Sonic games on a single hand (Adventure 1, some of A2, Generations, Colors and Lost World). So like idk why Sanic fans get it so twisted and love the complain-train so much, and as far as 3D entries go, I think it's a very solid, if not altogether good Sonic game. Yeah the levels are short compared to Adventure levels, and even Generations, but there's a ton of them, and there's depth in the Avatar levels, and speed-running is really fun in this, and the design is great, and and and, I get to be best friends with Sonic!!!! Also yeah Mania is great and functions as a solid summation of Sonic 1-3. Now bring on the Sonic Advance homage!

5. Super Mario Odyssey

It's really freakin good, 'nuff basically said. Like it was a blast to play through initially and there's still an insane amount of Moons I need to get so the good times keeping rolling with this one. The visual style is a thrill. The platform-y stuff is super fun and well-designed (as are the levels in general). Everything comes together and it easily supplants my other favorite Mario game (Galaxy, sorry!). And yeah that's right, I choose Sonic over Mario, any day. Sonic 4 life. 6. Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age + FFXV DLC/Comrades

One of these is a re-master of a 10 year old game, and the other is a slew of DLC that Square has churned out for a 1 year old game, so I think together they count for a super solid entry. XII is one of my favorites and this fresh coat of paint and job system does wonders for the game. Like seriously, it's an amazing remaster. And the FFXV DLC has proven to be slightly uneven but pretty fantastic at its best (Episode Prompto, Comrades specifically). And a game changing patch next week makes it seem like this game is still very much alive over a year later, and it has Square's full support. Meanwhile, they get all out money because we are slaves to the mighty Enix. I don't mind though (help).

7. Fire Emblem Warriors

Really solid Warriors/Emblem spin-off! I'm not even previously a fan of Musou games really, but the thought of having a game like this on the go seemed to make a lot of sense. Plus they add in a little more lite-RTS style strategic play so it's not just hack-n-slash. The presentation is the x-factor for me though, which this cel-shaded style growing on me more and more. I also don't even have experience with FE outside of maining as Robin on Smash but honestly I feel like this works as an interesting intro to the series. I'll get into it in time for the new proper entry on the Switch, but in the meantime, this is a super satisfying strategic action game with really nice RPG systems underlying everything. And it looks and plays like a dream on the Switch.

8. Resident Evil 7

So I totally still don't know how to feel about this game as far as what it does for the series as a whole and what it means for the franchise, but I think it's clearly a more positive, or at very least more interesting, step for the franchise than RE6 was. I played through the whole thing in 2 days which warranted its status as a rental and not a buy for me, but I certainly enjoyed it! Like I may have just slightly enjoyed the demo more somehow, but the game was pretty fun, and just thinking about it makes me want to revisit it now... I may have to buy the new version with all DLC and stuff eventually, even though I'm still not sure RE should be first-person, or if it's okay to ransack a never-released property like P.T. in the way this game does, but I think this game still deserves a spot.

9. Snipperclips

Super fun, super cheap. Surprisingly fun at that, and it's a multiplayer/party game, which I always need more of. The Switch is still missing that  Wii Sports type of game that can get the whole family involved at holiday gatherings in that there's nothing that showcases the gyro/rumble stuff in a easy-going multiplayer context, and no I can't count 1-2-Switch because that game looks like a weird mess of a game that only hipsters or 30-somethings would try to play, busting out at a party like once and then tossing it? Honestly though I have no idea who that game is for. But it doesn't matter though, because Snipperclips comes closest to this on the Switch. It doesn't utilize any gyro stuff, but it's still a really good, pick-up-and play multiplayer game, which any console can always use more of.

10. Xenoblade Chronicles 2?

Haven't gotten this yet, but I inevitably will.... I think. I'm chomping at the bit for a full-scale JRPG on Switch, and this looks really solid, and yet I'm slightly hesitant because it has that super kid-friendly Nintendo sheen which doesn't always mesh super organically with JRPGs. Like Takahashi used to do games like Xenosaga/Xenogears so I'm just curious how he comes to work with Nintendo (I say this as a virtual Xenoblade noob, I know people love the first game a lot). But yeah this will probably be a great into to the series when I finally do cave and soon I'll be hitting up the first one and the Wii U one...If I like this enough it could likely replace Persona 5, as both of them seem to both be excellent JRPG goodness. 

In short, t's been a super solid year y'all. Wow. Now can I stop pretending to care this much about video games because our country is undergoing a Nazi takeover and this level of escapism is actually the priority of my life right now? No? Still no? Okay...