#i DID get perfection on one stardew valley farm after 8 years of playing the damn game

[tuna-keyboard]

oh yeah, you know me, i'm a chronic gamer. notorious game player. buddy i've played so many games you don't even know. Finishing? you're confused, i said i play games, i never said i finish them

[chronicallycosy]

Stardew Valley; My Beloved

A special interest of mine since its release! My first chronically cosy blog is about Stardew Valley. It is mostly a love letter to this game. How much it means to me. The happiness and cosiness it brings. SDV has gotten me through so much. 

This game may have been released over 8 years ago back in Feb 2016. However, over the years, developer Concerned Ape has brought us quite a few free updates. Bringing more quality of life, more end-game content and more. A low purchase cost and free updates? Concerned Ape massively sets the standard for the games industry. I will forever love indie games. 

Did you even play Stardew Valley if you didn't put the shorts in the soup?

After being over 200 hours on switch and 700 hours on steam, I like to consider myself quite the seasoned SDV player. As it has become one of my biggest autistic special interests, my mind has become a walking wiki. I recently dived into Stardew Valley Expanded mod which was super exciting to play. I definitely recommend checking that out if you are a SDV lover and play on PC/Steam Deck! 

I recently put to bed my beach farm which ended up being a perfection run of which I married Emily. Ahh, I love her. She has a golden heart. 

I haven’t started the new chicken starter farm though! I am patiently waiting for switch update release so I can enjoy the new update there. Unless someone wants to get me a steam deck, please steam, hit me up. I desperately need a steam deck in my life. Also, my next run, I will be marrying Sam. He doesn’t get the love and appreciation he deserves and he is an angel. 

Speaking of the recent update, hello?? XP books, book buffs, the mastery levels?! The upgraded furnace?? AHHH. There was so much welcomed quality of life and boosts to end game content. The racoon family is SO CUTE. I love the festival in Calico Desert too. The new furniture tables, the trinkets, dehydrator, fish smoker, extra house space, just so many cool new features that enhances the game. Hot tip, turn your quarry into a tapper and moss combi farm! 

I could speak about this game all day, I just love it so much. Relaxing winter days re-arranging the farm ready for the start of a new year. Trying to get that community centre done in year one. Creating the craziest ancient fruit wine farm on Ginger Island. Getting to 100 in Skullcavern with no stairs. The Marnie and Lewis scandals. The excitement of waking up to a giant crop, or multiple! The game is just full of so many satisfying, wholesome and funny moments that never get old, at least for me anyway! 

However, the game is absolutely not immune to critism. Nothing is perfect and things can always improve! As a non-binary person one of my biggest wishes is for a pronoun update. I would also love to see some more new characters with more diversity. I also wish we could give Marlon gifts and get friendship with him! I would also really love to see Marnie and Lewis actually marry, and be open about their relationship further into the game when you learn of their secrets. More roommate options similar to Krobus would be cool too! I also wish for a special item or book that allows to see daily luck without tuning into the TV. I really hope Concerned Ape continues to bring us updates, no matter the wait, it is always worth waiting for. 

What are your favourite Stardew Valley memories? What do you love about the game? What do you hope for the future of Stardew Valley? I would love to hear your thoughts! 

Oooo also, have you been to the concert or are you planning to go? I’m going in June and I’m so excited as I absolutely love the soundtrack and orchestra! 

Chronically Cosy, aka Georgia :) 

[nbstevonnie]

final bingo card of the year... much less filled in than last years, but I rather expected that given the two sets of exams I had to take this year. frankly, I'm surprised it's as filled as it is.

for zany: yakuza kiwami

my first tiny cheat in filling this card out is previously i've only marked something off when i consider it "done". in yakuza's case, i am literally *this* close to 100% that i would really quite like to do it, but it also requires a LOT of grinding (and i hate grinding). but. i'm not sure i consider it "done", as i normally might. i have finished the story though, so this cheat isn't too dire.

i really enjoyed this game - it was good to see where the characters ended up after i saw them in yakuza 0, although my understanding is that a lot of stuff is only in kiwami (i.e., was not in the original game and was only put in after yakuza 0, so they would "marry up"). my one comment would be that, in many ways, it felt like a slightly less full yakuza 0 - there was more to do in yakuza 0, and i liked being able to play both kiryu and majima. i also liked that money was easier to come by in 0, even if only for getting to 100% completion 😔 this is all not exactly yakuza kiwami's fault, and i think i "got" the combat system more in kiwami than 0 (in 0, i understood that i was supposed to feel superpowered by the end -- and i saw people showing off how well you could game the system -- but it never seemed that way to me; in kiwami, i 1000% could knock back small enemies like the flies they were in seconds by the end). nevertheless, kiwami does by its nature beg for comparison to 0. i'm curious to see how kiwami 2 stacks up next.

overall, 8/10. good game, looking forward to kiwami 2.

for 2020s: crash bandicoot 4

i generally avoid letting my opinions on a video game be coloured by other people's opinions, so i went into this game with an open mind and i think i came out with some affection for it, albeit by re-assessing how i would normally play the game. to wit, i am generally a completionist, but that stops the minute completing something becomes more chore than challenge, and this game would undoubtedly have it as a chore.

as a casual to slightly challenge-seeking game, the game is enjoyable. it has its flaws (i complained about the long levels in 2 and 3 -- this game spits on the 2 and 3 level lengths) but i did enjoy some of its challenges. i think i would -- in contrast to how i normally play games -- dip in and out to tidy up and get closer to 100% completion, but i won't go nuts with it.

my one slight disappointment is i LOVE the video tape levels, but you can only get them all by not dying to increasingly further points on increasingly harder levels. i think i've scooped up all the tapes reasonably doable, and will have to think about the rest as and when i return to the game. incidentally, i think one of the things i like about the tape levels is because they remind me more of the things that i liked about the original crash games than the rest of the game: tight platforming, challenging but ultimately not requiring perfection from you for long, and instantly replayable.

overall, 7/10 i think -- under the proviso of playing essentially casually. if it were a completionist thing (as i had done for the other games), it would dip much lower.

for uplifting: stardew valley

my other slight cheat game - i haven't "completed" it, but i've put 150 hours in over the last year (hey, maybe that's why i haven't completed bingo this year, not the exams -- two huge time sink games!), so i think maybe i can be forgiven.

i really love this game - it's very calming for me to play when i have nothing else to do, and i've also got a farm with my friend, so we can play together. i don't have much more to say bc i think everyone knows why this game is great and i really look forward to getting those last few things i need to complete everything :)

for black: the cat lady

yet ANOTHER slightly cheat game -- albeit in a different way. i have generally made a point of not including games i've played before, and i haven't played this game before -- but i had watched a let's play. it was many years ago now and i no longer watch the let's player for reasons, and i wanted to show this game some love, since i used to really enjoy the let's player's playthrough. so again, i hope my slight cheat can be forgiven! especially since i had been hoping that this might fill in my bittersweet box to get me bingo, but i ended up with the "golden" ending, so while the game itself may have been overall, i didn't quite feel i could tick off bittersweet, since the ending was so positive.

the game really makes a great atmosphere with its visuals and it really nails the horror -- chapter 2 (i think it is) is particularly good for this -- i genuinely felt creeped out. it's also interesting how the horror parts are often the parts that are the most colourful in the game. the game really does make you think a lot with very little.

8/10

[hidge-resource]

submitted by remadra!

Hidge and Stardew Valley (1 of 2)

She had glanced up and down the hall before shutting herself away in her room. No one had seen her. There was no one there. It was clear.

Pidge pulled out her laptop, curling up on her bed and sliding on the headphones to hear a jaunty tune. Finally, she had finished modding the game to have… well… her friends, albeit in a quieter, digital form.

Stardew Valley offered her to pick her new farm. She picked the forest, ready to relax with easy foraging. Pidge happily picked out hair and glasses to match her own, going for overalls and a green shirt with a smile. Cat person. She wanted to name it Green, just like her lion. Bebe was already in the game anyways. Green gave a soft purr of endearment, and her heart swelled. Even with Green in the hangar and Pidge all the way in her room, the girl often talked out loud to her lion when she was alone.

"Green, did you think I'd forget about you? I thought you were the smartest lion."

She skipped the intro, getting right to greeting the townsfolk. to see if her mod was working as well as she hoped.

One of the first people to greet her was in-game Keith, with a stiff 'hey' in front of Pierre's shop. Unknowingly, her friends had provided the information she needed to assess, place, and type responses for her game. The more she got to know Keith, the friendlier and more open he became. His counterpart would start a little rude, pushing others away, but he was set to come out of his shell by autumn if she kept talking to him.

Next was Shiro, who was always a few steps behind his brother when Keith was making friends. A normal big brother would probably embarrass his little sibling, but then again, Shiro and Matt were two very different squares on the alignment chart.

Speaking of Matt, she found her brother in the Stardrop Saloon, greeting her "cousin" and being invited over to his house to meet his dog. She found Lance at the arcade games, complaining about Keith beating his high score again, and spun through the rest of the greeting spiels of the game's base NPCs. Finally, she turned home to rest before little Pidge sprite passed out.

Green rumbled.

“No, I’m not going to see him yet. This game isn’t just about the progress. There’s things to do besides quests. It’s like a little ideal simple life sim. There’s a storyline and everything.”

*

After the scheduled earthquake, Pidge had her sprite run to the bathhouse and greet Allura and Coran. The in-game Alteans told her all about their friend just outside of town, who didn't come out often but was really a great cook.

His favorites were mostly artisan goods like coffee and the home cooked meals Pidge could make. The only downside to her mod was that it took longer to build up hearts with the characters she programmed in, and therefore it would take longer to become his friend. Allura handed her a package with the request to please deliver it to her friend, and Pidge felt her heart skip.

Ugh.

It's just a game.

Nevertheless, she sped back to her farm, skipping through to the lake, where she had added a little house in her mod. Finally, a message popped up, different than the previous 'nobody seems to be home'.

"Hello?"

Pidge jumped as the door slid open, slamming her laptop shut and spinning around.

"Hey, Hunk! What's up? I thought you were making cookies?"

He laughed, deep and full and relaxed.

"They've been done for hours. You missed dinner, so I thought I'd bring you something."

Even though her stomach grumbled, Pidge pulled a face. "Yay, food goo. Always a good meal to be had. Tasteless but nutritious."

That laugh again.

"No, it's actually a sandwich. I figured you'd had enough of the goo, with all the missed meal times and late nights in the lab. Are you getting enough sleep, Pidge? You look kind of tired." Hunk tilted his head, brows drawing together.

Her breath caught. He noticed? That meant that he might force her to go to bed now, but she was so close to her first real milestone in the game.

"Thanks, Hunk. You don't need to worry, I'm fine. I'll take a nap after I eat, okay?"

"Okay. See you later, Pidge."

He set the food down and stepped out with a wave.

That was close.

Shut up, Green.

*

Pidge was playing Stardew Valley. Hunk could recognize that melody anywhere. As soon as she left for the lab to check on her equipment after her nap, he guiltily snuck in to peek at her laptop, bringing his own. There had to be a reason she wasn't sleeping, and lately it had to do with the mods she made.

Yes, he could ask Pidge for the game, but the last time he did that, he spent three days debugging and optimizing both her Subnautica and Minecraft mods.

All because she gave him the puppy eyes.

An adapter, a cable, a few clicks, and Hunk copied the game over to his laptop.

Mission accomplished.

He'd solve this, and Pidge could get some real sleep.

*

Something was definitely off about the game. Maybe it was meeting his real life friends in a 32 bit world. Maybe it was the confusion on why Pidge didn't add him. He couldn't think of anything he did to upset her and be excluded. Was it a bug? Was this what she had been working on all night? He could fix that for her. Computers might be her forte, but a fresh set of eyes could help.

Hunk opened the game files, beginning to take notes on her crazy ideas and perfect scripting.

*

Hunk stared at his notepad.

He checked it at least three times.

The mod indeed had a character named Hunk.

He could only meet his in-game self, Allura, and Coran after the earthquake opened the bathhouse path.

All of Team Voltron was in the mod, even Pidge's brother. Keith and Lance had an on-going feud about the arcade games. Shiro always volunteered to help at events. Matt had his own farm with a dog. Coran and Allura owned the bathhouse. Pidge was obviously meant to be the new farmer who moved into town.

Hunk lived by the lake south of the player farm, running a small bakery where the player could buy all sorts of dishes.

He was romanceable.

No other added character had the option.

Maybe it was to keep the game steady. Maybe she tried to add him as a regular character, but she ran into a bug and this was the best fix for now. Maybe he read it wrong again. Maybe he read it wrong for the fifth time.

Nope.

It was completely intentional. There wasn't even a residual REM statement from where she might have backtracked. He was written as romanceable for Pidge.

That was... new.

*

Pidge dropped in front of her laptop, leg bouncing. She made it to year three with steady progress, Keith was her gamesprite's best friend, and Hunk was at 8 out of 10 hearts.

Stardew Valley loaded up happily and-

The screen turned black.

She froze, panicking.

It had been working so well, what could have-

The Hunk sprite walked on screen. The text box opened up once he reached the middle.

'Hi Pidge!'

She didn't program this.

'I know you mod games for fun. But you've been staying up really late and looked frustrated. I wanted to see if I could help you if you had a problem with the code. You don't. It's perfect, as always. I noticed you were frustrated because you couldn't find any topaz. You lowered the spawn rate of cave drops to keep the game running efficiently. I raised it and made cuts elsewhere that won't mess with your experience.'

Pidge squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that this was just a nightmare. Hunk read her coding. He knew what this mod was for. This was him letting her down gently.

The computer chimed and she automatically looked to read.

'I have a problem. Maybe you can help me. There's someone I really like, but it's hard to tell how she feels about me. I've been really confused. I found out last night while I was working on her code that she might like me too. I really hope I'm not wrong, or this is going to be awkward.'

Someone knocked on her door and it slid open.

Pidge turned around, eyes wide.

Hunk stood, a tray of six cookies with frosting decorating each one, cheeks ruddy with a blush and not quite meeting her eyes.

Will

You

Be

My

Girl

Friend?

She got up quickly, stepping over to the other paladin, picking up a cookie and smearing frosting with a grin, turning it around to face him.

Yes.

"Oh thank god! I thought you might turn me down? I'm not sure why, I mean, I like you and I'm pretty sure you like me after seeing the script and I guess it's just anxiety really but there was a chance you really like me back and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't waste my chance and at least try to-"

Pidge pulled his collar to make him lean down, planting a kiss on his cheek. Hunk's mouth snapped shut and his ears turned red to match his cheeks. Cookies fell to the floor as frosting turned crumbs to a thick paste. The pan clanged as it met the ground soon after.

"Hey, Hunk?"

"Yeah, Pidge?"

"I think your confession with cookies was really sweet, but there's frosting in my socks and I want to get them off before I kiss you for real."

[aphroditeurl]

If I'm doing all the asks then so are you.

>.> fineeee

1. If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

Play video games, I’m not gonna lie about that. 

2. What’s your favourite piece of clothing you own/owned?

I have a black dress I bought for myself a couple years ago that makes me look like a badass Bond villain. And I look sexy as all hell in it. 

3. What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?

I want to make custom dolls idk

4. What would your perfect room look like?

PINK i’m a fucking girly girl

5. How often do you play sports?

Never...I am not into sports. Watching others though is fun

6. What fictional place would you most like to go?

Diagon Alley

7. What job would you be terrible at?

Anything involving math. So I would make an awful accountant.

8. If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance at winning medal for?

Being sick apparently...nah I’m pretty good at graphic design I think

9. When was the last time you climbed a tree?

I am afraid of heights so never

10. What is the most annoying habit other people have?

loud chewing, I will want to murder you I Promise

11. What job do you think you’d be good at?

Anything with animals, I have a passion for them

12. What skill would you like to master?

A different language. Being bi-lingual would be cool. I hate English. 

13. What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?

Oh fuck I want to travel. Even to places considered “dangerous”. I want to go everywhere, I have A NEED. I’m a sucker for those exploration videos on youtube. 

14. If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house look like?

Firstly it would be a beach house because I love water and beaches. Secondly, it’d have at least four bedrooms, maybe six. And a full sized basement. I want it to look Magical As Fuck. For reasons. There will be an aquarium in it.

15. What’s your favourite drink?

Coke. The drink.

16. What state or country do you never want to go back to?

I miss Michigan a lot. I loved it there. 

17. What songs have you completely memorized?

A lot?? too vague

18. What game or movie universe would you most like to live in?

STARDEW VALLEY. Sustainable farming is sexy. 

19. What do you consider to be your best friend?

@sedris-the-meme-king

20. Are you usually early or late?

Early. Like twenty minutes early. Anxiety fuels me.

21. What pets did you have while you were growing up?

A lot of cats, a few dogs, hamsters, and a couple bunnies. I love animals.

22. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

Relationship advice

23. What takes up too much of your time?

Depression 

24. What do you wish you knew more about?

Space law. Which is weird. The concept of space really scares me but it’s also a little fascinating. 

25. What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for 100 years?

“is my cat ok?”

26. What are some small things that make your day better? 

Getting random texts from ppl. 

27. Who’s your go to band or artist when you cannot decide on something to listen to?

Rihanna or Halsey 

28. What’s the best way to start the day?

By sleeping in a little longer

29. What shows are you into?

Anything that’s paranormal, pretty much anything on TLC, Gordon Ramsey is Good

30. Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?

@floating-in-the-dark for being a good bean 

31. What age do you wish you could permanently be?

18. That was a fun age dude. 

32. What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?

13 Reasons Why, Game of Thrones, I’m petty 

33. What would be your ideal way to spent the weekend?

Video games, ice cream, kissing, things of that nature, maybe going to the movies, exploring a haunted abandoned hospital, casual things you know

34. What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?

My phone

35. What’s your claim to fame?

Idk what this means???

36. What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?

Dating. I’m sort of a cliche geek ok. 

37. What’s your favourite genre of book or movie?

Horror for movie and fantasy for books

38. What have you only recently formed an opinion about?

God phoning. Non-pagans won’t get this. 

39. What’s the best single day on the calendar?

The first of every month because it feels sorta refreshing

40. What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?

Sexual education 

that’s a joke but I am also serious

41. How do you relax after a hard day of work?

I watch youtube videos and play some games, or RP

42. What was the best book or series that you’ve ever read?

The Maze Runner. Sorta corny but it was enjoyable. 

43. What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?

California. 10/10 would go back. 

44. What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?

“I would blink” out of context this makes no sense but it meant a lot to me in context 

45. What is the most annoying question people ask you?

“Are you SURE you’re __ age?” I am small, I sound 12, but yes I promise I AM TWENTY

46. What could you give a 30-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?

Harry Potter at any given moment. Esp Draco Malfoy. 

47. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?

Tbh??? Move away to a completely new place that you have no connections in. That sounds crazy stupid but really, it was the best choice I ever made. 

48. Would you rather go hang gliding or whitewater rafting?

Whitewater rafting

49. What’s your dream car?

1967 Thunderbird bitches 

50. What’s worth spending more on to get the best?

Make-up, and bath stuff 

51. What is something that a ton of people are obsessed with but you just don’t get the point of?

Game of Thrones lmao

52. What are you most looking forward to in the next 10 years?

School. I can’t wait to start college in the fall. 

53. Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?

UP Michigan 

54. What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t gotten around to it?

There are lot of ways to answer this. 

I want to try a ghost pepper lmao

55. What’s the best thing that happened to you last week?

I started talking to someone really sweet

56. What piece of entertainment do you wish you could erase from your mind so that you could experience for the first time again?

Undertale tbh

57. If all jobs had the same pay and hours, what job would you like to have?

I’d work at a graveyard no joke

58. What amazing thing did you do that no one was around to see?

Absolutely nothing my dudes

59. How different was your life one year ago?

Extremely different and I sorta miss it

60. What quirks do you have?

I wiggle my mouth from side to side when I am in thought, I tend to rub my nose randomly, I walk on the balls of my feet

61. What would you rate 10/10?

@funkypanda

62. What fad or trend do you hope comes back?

I!! Want!! 90s!! Fashion!! Back!!

63. What’s the most interesting piece of art you’ve seen?

anything @floating-in-the-dark has done

64. What kind of art do you enjoy most?

See above answer

65. What do you hope never changes?

Most of my friendships

66. What city would you most like to live in?

Londonnnnn 

67. What movie title best describes your life?

The Boss Baby 

68. What did you decide to do the work you are doing now?

Huh????

69. What’s the best way a person can spend their time?

Being kind to others

70. If you suddenly became a master at woodworking, what would you make?

Some really weird shit dude 

71. Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been?

UP Michigan lol

72. What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you?

Meeting my best friend 

73. Where would you rather be from?

Canada 

74. What are some things you’ve had to unlearn?

My temper, some bad habits that were formed from anxiety

75. What are you looking forward to in the coming months?

School, getting a puppy, summer

76. What website do you usually go on when you have time off?

Tumblrr

77. Where would you spend all your time if you could?

Japannnnn or South Korea

78. What is special about the place you grew up?

Everyone was a community. We all supported each other. 

79. What age do you want to live to?

100+ cause I fear death a lot

80. What are you most likely to become famous for?

The Biggest Baby Award

81. What are you absolutely determined to do?

Finish school and become a zoologist cause that’s the dream

82. What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?

I can code and shit????? idk

83. What do you wish you knew more about?

Space law

84. What question would you most like to know the answer to?

“will I ever be successful at anything” 

[atomicshakespeare]

Rambling Speed Run Notes From Latest Attempt, written part stream-of-consciousness and part summary of notes

GLITCHLESS MARRIAGE% - ELLIOT - STARDEW VALLEY

There's a reason that nobody's done this run yet. 

For some reason, all the favorite things are too hard to acquire, and the time running back and forth to the beach to give items that aren't his favorite aren't really worth the time put into it.

[KEEP READING TO READ THE ACTUAL RAMBLING, TANGENTIAL THINKING, STRATEGY PROCESSING, AND IN-TEXT CURSING TO SOOTHE MY ACHING SOUL]

So, the easiest thing to get him are Pomegranates. However, it's a 6,000 dollar tree, and there's a chance of that a lighting strike could destroy the tree. Or maybe it doesn't destroy it, but we haven't gotten that far yet.

As far as everything else goes, how do I optimally cut wood for the house and the bridge, route in an additional 15, 200 for the house upgrade, bouquet, and mermaid's pendant?

So we take up SPRING 1 -- Here, we clear the land ASAP, plant the 15 parsnips, spend the 500 gold on 6 CALIFLOWER AND 2 PARSNIPS. Then, we clear the land some more for additional Mixed Seeds and put them down, possibly getting a chance of more Califlower or more potatoes as it goes. Run around until no energy.

SPRING 2 --FUCK UP BECAUSE I ACTUALLY DIDN’T BUY MY OTHER SEEDS UNTIL TODAY, WHEN I HAD THE 500 GOLD ON DAY 1 INSTEAD, THUS LOSING TIME RIGHT OFF RIP. Water shit. Fish all day until no energy. Ship. Sleep.

SPRING 3 - From fishing and random gathering, should have roughly enough for 10+ Potatoes and however many Parsnips to fill the gap. This run was 13 Potatoes and 1 Parsnip. Plant, and fish until no energy. Ship. Sleep.

SPRING 4 - Fish money bought 17 Potatoes and 1 Parsnip. Harvest the 'Snips from Day 1. Ship. Fish. I forgot to ship the fish.

SPRING 5 - Not sure what happened this day, ended up missing a day of productivity. I think it was a water, ship, sleep day.  

SPRING 6 - Fish money bought 22 Parsnips. Fish??

SPRING 7 - ACTUALLY DID THE 22 PARSNIPS ON THIS DAY. NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED. I RECORDED INCORRECTLY OR DIDN'T MAKE ENOUGH NOTES AS IT WAS GOING ON. OPPS.

Things started getting a bit wonky. At this point, I was straggling, trying to save up for strawberries. Did some more fishing, not sure which days I picked or if it was completely until energy was empty.

Fishing seems to be important supplementary income, and probably wouldn't be able to manage without it, as long as it takes.

And then there's also the debate on whether the Mixed Seeds give enough profit for how much work they take to actually acquire. All my attempts feature me trying to go for the Mixed Seed start up plan, and I end up with enough money to really go for it.

We ended up with 53 STRAWBERRIES ON THE DAY OF THE EGG FESTIVAL. 5,300 in Gold. The next day the Califlowers were ready from Day 2 because I missed planting them on Day 1 like a fuck, and ended up having spare cash regardless.

After Strawberries are planted, it's water and sleep.

Hit ~8,000 gold and it's time to buy that Pomegranate tree and get it planted early so it's guaranteed to grow and if there's problems I have enough time to ensure that nothing gets in its way.

Water and sleep until the end of spring, harvest and ship.

SUMMER OF YEAR 1 -  WE in it. Bought 45 Blueberries. Water and sleep. Water and sleep.

And then I got tired in real life and distracted by real life things and sleep in real life, and reset the timer.

By now, ALL OF THIS took 2 hours or so before I hit the reset on the livesplitter. Ew.

BUT - once the Blueberries start harvesting, we're watering, harvesting, sleeping, and shipping.

Summer is spent being a blueberry and then FALL WILL HAPPEN.

-x-

I hadn't actually played out Fall yet, but I assume it's going to be the loop of this -- COULD ALSO ROUTE IN COFFEE  AT THE END OF SUMMER BECAUSE WE HAVE EXTRA MONEY, BUT IT DEPENDS ON IF ITS GOOD - WE HAVE ABOUT EXTRA 12,000 IF THINGS WENT RIGHT:

UPGRADE HOUSE PURCHASE WOOD INSTEAD OF CHOPPING???

SAVE FOR PENDENT

SPEND EXCESS ON COFFEE

OTHERWISE THE GAMEPLAY LOOP IS:

WAKE UP COLLECT POMS CUT WOOD UNTIL ELLIOT WAKES UP WALK TO THE FUCKING BEACH GIVE ELLIOT HIS STUPID FUCKING POM WALK BACK TO THE BEACH Repeat twice a week Sleep all the other days of the week

Collect Poms all Fall. Pray. Take Fruit Cave as a back up and pray for RNG. Check the Cart for random chance of other things he likes. PRAY.

PRAY THAT WE DON'T END UP TAKING IT INTO FALL 2.

But here's the thing??? There's no way to get another Pom tree planted and grown in the first year without sacrificing Blueberry game or other gains. Fishing only does so much.

So FALL is Poms, gifting, running around. Winter is continued gifting, sleeping. Spring is continued gifting, sleeping. Pray that we've made enough progress to buy pendent in Spring 2. If not, gift and sleep. Gift and sleep. Also protect Pom tree in case of stupidity. Possibly plant a second one as a back-up, if things haven't progressed far enough by Summer 2.

MY ESTIMATE: SUMMER 2, the second or third time it fucking rains

Meaning: We ended up putting in another 4 hour run or so, and it took about the same amount of effort doing shit.

HOWEVER, I missed some days, and had sub-optimal movement. Cutting wood is not as fast as just buying it. We'll get it done. I'm gonna finish this save file at least and then develop further from there.

I have confidence that I can get this overall run down to 3 hours with optimal movement and solid strategy.

WHAT I NEED TO FIND OUT:

> Does the chance of Cauliflowers in the Mixed Seeds outweigh the time loss? Probably not worth the time loss.

> How much fishing? Am I doing too much or not enough? Probably fishing enough, it just takes forever. Every day until energy is low, until Strawberry Time. 

> Do I really need 45 Blueberries for Summer? Probably. That extra 12, 000 might become something else, either back-up gifts or coffee, but it would depend on how the run is going.

> Elliot's Schedule in Fall primarily, Winter, and then Spring to hopefully finish it up since it doesn't happen in Year 1

> Flower Dance might matter if we're behind on Affection Values on the deadline.

> Is the Fishing Farm the way to go? Yes, because you have the water nearby for watering without a fucking walk, and you have the water nearby for fishing because that's our seed income in the first fucking month of crazy bullshit.

> WHEN IS ELLIOT'S FUCKING BIRTHDAY HOLY FUCK DON'T FUCKING MISS IT YOU FICKIT (It's Fall 5th, by the way)

-x-

So it still fucking takes 5+ hours to do this Glitchless. Fuck.

FALL 1 was successful. Having a Gifting schedule of Fridays and Sundays allowed for me to check the cart and accidentally end up gifting him on his birthday because I forgot what fucking day it was again.

FALL 1 -- went perfectly. Took my wood that I cut down throughout the playthrough, went to Robin’s. 457, into 7. Bought 300. 307. Made my way to the beach, fixed bridge. Now 7 wood because I am a fuck up. Gifted Elliot his first Pom, went to Saloon at 12. Bought 27 Coffee. Drank Coffee and ran home. Day went perfect.

THINGS I’VE DISCOVERED: 

Outright buying wood is probably faster, but not cutting wood means a lot of standing around for nothing.

Routing in Coffee was easy, but is it worth taking the extra time to do it?

Running back and forth to the beach is almost as bad as waiting for the fucker to come out.

We got to 3 hearts pretty soon, and it meant we could go to his house at 10 AM. STILL TAKES A WHILE FOR HIM TO OPEN UP THOUGH WHEN YOU’RE WAITING ON HIM.

One Pom tree produces enough gifts in one month that we don’t need any back-up gifts. Going to the Cart just means an extra load screen/shop pause and it usually doesn’t have it, but the very first time we checked it we actually got a Tom Kha Soup, which is another one of Elliot’s Favorites. Ended up never giving it to him anyways.

So, Cart doesn’t matter. Fruit Cave doesn’t seem to matter either, but it’s good for an early fruit if we need it, but we usually won’t. It is additional income instead of fishing, at least there’s that.

Need to figure out how to Death Warp for speed sake. Killing myself with Energy might do it, but the Mobile version has limitations. Sooo, fishing myself to death probably?? If we can Warp, we don’t need to route in Coffee. Subsitute Fishing for Hoeing or Axing instead on PC.

WINTER 1 was Gifting, running back and forth, sleeping. Went exactly as planned, but it was not fast because of waiting on him til 10 and still having to walk back. The walk to the Beach doesn’t matter because you still have to wait on him to open the door, but getting home faster is where the major time losses are.

WHAT IS THE FASTEST ROUTE HOME? DOES IT REALLY NOT MATTER? IS THE DEATH WARP ACTUALLY FASTER THAN WALKING BACK? Probably, even if you’re waiting on animations.

SPRING 2 -- Accidentally lost a Heart due to me reverting a save because I wasted time, but we had 8 hearts and gave him the Bouquet by this point. Just more gifting and running, but we’ll probably need to route in Deaths because of money from revival. Will have him by Flower Festival most likely, but probably not before first rain. Might have him before the beginning of Summer 2.

-x-

Married by Spring 19, pendent bought on second day it rained. Warping seems faster and is a good use of time/energy while waiting on Elliot, but the actual warping might be faster on PC because the tool limitations on the Beach don’t matter in PC version. Fishing pole is good enough on mobile, but doesn’t finish you off and you have to switch to Hoe, which has its own problems.

But, all in all, run finished in roughly 5 and a half hours, which is faster than my first timed attempt at 6:27.11 using the Lobster method. 

RESULTS: Poms are faster and no RNG involved. Hard money grind to buy tree before Fall 1. Fall is when the romance happens. Spring 2 is the wrap-up. PROBABLY NOT GONNA EVER GET A SUB 5 HOURS.

There’s an absolute reason why nobody does this run AND I HAVE TASTED IT AND NOW I ACCEPT THE TRUE CHALLENGE OF GRINDING THIS OUT AND POSTING A TIME EVENTUALLY.

This run is a fucking meme. 

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Ben’s Top 10

December 29, 2019 4:00 PM EST

From games like Apex Legends to The Outer Worlds, 2019 proved to me that there were a huge variety of games to enjoy across all genres.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

I’m not really sure where to begin with 2019. It’s a year I’ve certainly grown a hated for, and the gaming landscape has been incredibly volatile at times. We’ve seen the Sekiro discourse send a barrage of abuse towards both disabled gamers and journalists. We’ve seen a well-known publisher hold an AMA on 4Chan. We’ve seen E3 doxx nearly every journalist that has attended the event.

However, amongst the dark days we’ve had some great games come out in 2019, and I’ve been enjoying a handful of games I never would have experienced if it wasn’t for Xbox Game Pass. I’ve also been front and center in helping to direct change to how video games are made more accessible for players, but more on that at a later date.

So, here’s my top 10 list of games that I’ve been enjoying in 2019.

10. The Outer Worlds 

Originally this title from Obsidian Interactive was going to be higher up on my list, but after pondering on it I realized that it doesn’t entirely deserve to go too high. I enjoyed it, I completed it, I gushed about it for numerous weeks, and I found Parvati, a video game character I adored. But while I really enjoyed the game, it started to become a chore even thinking about picking it back up and trying to go through it all again. The combat felt groggy, the side-quests were a bit naff, and it wasn’t much of a broad open-world as I initially expected.

Saying that though, I did find the writing between the companions and the main storyline characters incredibly engaging and enjoyable to sit through. I liked how the acting reflected wonderfully on dialogue options I chose, and as a result, I found myself heavily engrossed in the story right up until the end where it told me the fate of those on my team that I may have neglected somewhat. The brilliant writing was enough for The Outer Worlds to have left an incredibly positive impression on me.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for The Outer Worlds.

9.  The Orange Box

I’m going to cheat a bit here. Earlier in 2019, I went through Portal for the hell of it; another journey through Valve’s puzzler with portals and an evil robot that sings about cake. I’ve played it God knows how many times and it still never gets old. I also jumped on Team Fortress 2 when news sparked up about the game no longer being supported by Valve for the time being. Hearing the news sent me down a nostalgic trip from my many hours spent with it. Returning to it was somewhat heart-warming to be back in the world, but at the same time heart-breaking that it seems riddled with hackers now. Despite that, it was still brilliant to go back.

With Half-Life: Alyx being revealed, I wanted to spark up my memories of the Half-Life world again. So I booted up Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and then managed to get through Half-Life 2: Episode Two before becoming busy with this journalism lark. Safe to say, The Orange Box is by far my favorite collection of games that will always remain fun to play no matter how many years have passed, even now in 2019.

8. Ape Out

Devolver Digital’s crazy ooh-ah-ah game was one I enjoyed for hours, and still find myself picking it up every now and again. The gameplay was challenging at best, and had a soundtrack that reacted to the combat which kept me wanting to keep the fight going at all costs, even if it meant bleeding out everywhere. The sounds of the punches, gunfire, and limbs splattering were all of high-quality and kept Ape Out feeling more like a large-scale action flick rather than a small indie title.

The art style was also something I found to be the most memorable; it had a clash of gritty textures that seemed to blend in well with the vibrant orange ape. The harder modes for a bigger challenge were also incredibly frustrating but were always tempting for that “one more go” mentality. The one that stood out the most to me was the mode in which you have to break back into the place from which you escaped, but you’ve only got one life. The Metroidvania twist here left me with hours of extra fun trying to beat it.

Check out DualShockers review for Ape Out.

7. Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a game that I’ve always wanted to play, but one I never got round to until I got the Switch. Stardew Valley is one of those games that seems perfect for portability; I’ve always enjoyed relaxing games in which you can do simple things such as farming, but the pixel art style adds to the aesthetic that I found myself being drawn towards. I particularly enjoy the music combined with the gentle sounds of nature flittering through the world. Eventually, I found myself putting it down for a good few months, and it’s always sat there beckoning me to play it again.

It wasn’t until recently when I heard there was a new update for it that I picked it back up and jumped into an entirely new game, deleting my old farm. Upon doing so, I’ve rejuvenated my love for it and I’m glad I’m back on the scene for it. My only question is, will I continue enjoying it when Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes out, or will I abandon it for a town of overly happy animals? Time will tell.

6. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Thank you Xbox Game Pass; if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have finally tried Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Originally, I never picked the game up because I didn’t think I’d enjoy it. There was no reason, in particular, it just didn’t draw me in. However, all the talk of how it represents mental health and how the graphics are stunning was enough for me to download it and try it out. I was blown away. The binaural sound design is really quite something to behold, especially with a good set of headphones. The character animations are lovely and the combat felt heavy and impactful.

I wasn’t a fan of the Metroidvania-theme that lingers throughout the game, but it certainly adds to the tension of trying to stay alive just so you don’t have to go through it all again. It’s certainly a game I’ve had a great time with, and am still enjoying playing it now as we wait for the sequel to arrive with the Xbox Series X.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

5. Tetris 99

I’ve always been a fan of Tetris, the old version and any modern-at-the-time iterations. When Tetris 99 was announced, I won’t lie, I groaned: “Ugh, another Battle Royale attempt.” Little did I know that I grew to love it almost instantly. The matches can be quick, some can be lengthy and challenging. Some can be frustrating and some can leave me cocky and proud. I had started to grow fed up of it being constantly online though, and while I don’t agree that the single-player mode is locked behind a paywall, I paid for it.

The Big Blocks DLC is actually great, allowing me to play it with friends on the same system without needing to worry about 97 other players battling against us. The marathon mode is also addictive, with me racking up over 500 lines in one match. The fact that the game is still sporting a good deal of players online is also fantastic because whenever I want to jump online and play it, there’s always players there to fill 99 slots.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Tetris 99.

4. Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is still my all-time pirate game, even in 2019. I still get a lot of satisfaction from it, especially when it comes to just hanging out and having fun with friends or family. There’s always something to find, quests to do, and enemy ships to battle, but not only that, the game is continually being supported with more and more updates. These updates bring small changes and some big changes, such as the addition of fire which I find devastatingly good fun. I can’t get enough of the game, and while sailing alone can be boring, it’s still somewhat relaxing and a lovely escape from life.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for Sea of Thieves.

3. Rocket League

Okay, the new Blueprints update has kind of angered the community, and I myself am annoyed that all the items I was planning to trade are now suddenly not tradable. But it goes without saying, Rocket League is still one of my favourite titles, specifically on the Switch. I used to play it on PC, then I switched to Xbox, but I’ve found myself more comfortable with it on the Switch due to the portability and being able to lounge around while knocking my balls around (you know what I mean).

What I most enjoy about the game though is the full cross-platform play that allows me to enjoy it with friends and family on different platforms. It’s an absolute godsend and keeps the game thriving with players.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I just can’t not have a year where I don’t pick this game up. Now it’s getting even harder to ignore despite being several years old because it’s being re-released on everything. It landed on the Nintendo Switch and sparked up the whole hype surrounding it again, then just as the chatter dies down, it heads over to Xbox Game Pass too. In addition to that, the Netflix series went live this month, making 2019 a pretty big year for The Witcher fans.

I still love jumping into the game, whether it’s to carry on with my quests I still haven’t completed, or to wander the expansive world for no reason but exploration, or to just take photos with Nividia Ansel. I’ve also found myself starting the game from scratch earlier this year because I forgot where I was, but this meant I got to experience the brilliant missions towards the start of the game, especially those with the Bloody Baron. It’s a game I don’t think I’ll ever tire of.

Check out DualShockers‘ review for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

1. Apex Legends

A surprise favorite of mine. I tried getting into other Battle Royale games such as PUBG, Fortnite, Battlefield V‘s Firestorm mode, etc, but none have stuck with me. It wasn’t until Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends hooked me. I love nearly everything about it; the art is lovely, the way it feels to play is fluid, and the Ping system is revolutionary with me not even needing to use a headset to communicate.

The game has done well for itself since launch. While lately it has been slow on updating the game with new content, eventually the developers caught up and started introducing quality content over quantity. It’s a game I keep wanting to play, a game I continually enjoy despite dying so many times I fear my team despises me, and a game that I hope continues to be supported and inspires more multiplayer games to incorporate a Ping system.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor  December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager // Kris Cornelisse, Staff Writer December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 29, 2019 4:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-bens-top-10/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dualshockers-favorite-games-of-2019-bens-top-10

[yeahbrothergaming-blog]

OOPS It's Almost February but Here's My GOTY Lists!

Game of the Year: 10. Forza Horizon 3 I typically don't play racing games any more. For me, the genre peaked at Burnout 3: Takedown, and unless we are talking about Mario Kart 64, most racing games don't occupy a big piece of my gaming heart. Then, E3 2015 happened, and I was immediately mesmerized by Forza Horizon 3. I had only played Forza Motorsport 6, and neither of the other Horizon games, but the presentation given for FH3 immediately jumped out at me. I was intrigued by the diverse racing areas in Australia, and then I was hooked when I saw the race against the helicopter. What I saw was some of the insanity I loved about Burnout 3, along with the graphical prowess of more modern racers. Thankfully, FH3 is everything I loved about its E3 presentation: incredible graphics and the diverse landscape of Australian beaches, cities, jungles, and desert lands, driving that is the perfect balance of arcadey-fun and sim-realism, a great sense of speed, and an attitude that doesn't take itself too seriously. It is the first racing game in a long time that I would say is one of my favorite games of the year, and I also believe it is one of the ten best games of the year. Also -- the soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks in any game in a long time, which was another fun surprise about this wonderful game. 9. Doom The original Doom was the first video game I have any memory of in my life. I was hanging out with my dad at the local college activities center, and I remember catching someone play it on a demo-computer that was set up in one of the breezeway areas in the building. I was not yet at the age where I could play video games, but the memory of watching this dude with crazy guns kill crazy monsters has stuck with me. Through the years since, I have kept up with Doom as a series, even though Doom 3 is the only Doom game I have put any significant time into before Doom 2016. From what I can understand, Doom 2016 recaptures the feeling of playing OG Doom back in the day -- over-the-top insane action at a pace that never lets up from the get-go. From the very first seconds of Doom 2016, you are charged with killing everything that gets in your way, often as fast as you can. This is clearly not a new gaming concept, but D16 makes it as much fun as it can be. There are a lot of great shooters out this year, but (of those I played), none come close to matching the intensity and balls-to-the-wall feel of D16. This is your favorite shooter's favorite shooter, and is some of the best Video Game™ fun to be had in 2016 and beyond. 8. Inside Inside is quite a thing. The follow up to Playdead's Limbo (2010), it takes a lot of what made Limbo unique and fun and improves on it. Mechanically, Inside takes the time-tested gameplay of Running To The Right and makes it dangerous and exciting in a way few games do well. You are not quite sure what you are running to (or from?) for most of the game, but the world-building - usually in the background - keeps you interested from start to finish. The puzzles are mostly challenging, but I never got stuck, which helped the game keep a steady momentum throughout. It is a very dark game, both graphically and in subject matter, but Inside uses color in bursts to help punctuate certain moments. I am not super sure what really "happened" in Inside, but the story is ambiguous enough to allow for multiple interpretations, which I like, as well as a hidden ending if you are into that kind of thing. The last section of the game is not one I want to spoil, but is without quarter one of the most insane sections of a game I played all year, and is one of the best watercooler gaming moments in 2016. 7. Overcooked Overcooked is a game I watched a lot of in 2016, and then finally got my hands on in the waning days of the year. I've never had so much fun messing up in a game maybe ever as I do in Overcooked, but I feel equally as satisfied when everything goes off without a hitch. The basic premise of Overcooked is hilarious: the apocalypse happens, and The Beast arrives to destroy everything. The only way to stop the apocalypse from happening is to cook well enough to appease The Beast. Naturally, you fail, and you are sent back in time to work on your skills of "cooking and co-operation" in order to be better when The Beast comes back. The premise alone is worthy of any top-10 list, but the gameplay cements it. There are always two to three too many jobs per player - you'll need to grab ingredients, chop ingredients, use a fryer, cook in a pot or an oven, clean dirty dishes, place clean plates, and turn in completed orders in time, all while avoiding obstacles, moving portions of stages, certain death by lava, or by setting the arena on fire due to literal over-cooking. I say "arena" instead of kitchen, because even though you start in kitchens, the stages progress to pirate ships, moving vehicles, icy platforms, haunted houses, and space stations. You rarely do the same thing twice in Overcooked, and the stages are short enough that each play session is guaranteed to be varied, fast, and furious. The only downside I found is that it does not have online play -- Overcooked is the kind of game where it is certainly best with local play, but I wish I still had the option. That being said, Overcooked is a riot, and some of the best multiplayer of the year. 6. Batman: The Telltale Series Batman: The Animated Series is the first superhero-related property I remember in my life. I would watch this show every day, and I have memories of this classic cartoon before I have memories of most other things in my life. I've been a Batman fan ever since - so any new Batman game is going to certainly have my attention. Telltale's interpretations on The Walking Dead and Fables (via The Wolf Among Us) were interesting and compelling enough that I found myself eagerly awaiting each chapter, and Telltale's Batman is no exception. Traditional elements of the Batman narrative are flipped on their head, making this version of Batman a unique and risky vision of the Batman universe. Character origins are modified, and some characters end up being completely different from other, more standard portrayals, but Telltale pulls off each of these tweaks in a way that I found satisfying. I do wish that Telltale would revamp their engine, as I experienced some pretty wonky graphical glitches, and the frame rate never seems to be too interested in staying smooth, but this was a fun ride through a bold new telling of the Batman story - one that I will be excited to continue in future installments. 5. Stardew Valley Stardew Valley is a game that came out of nowhere earlier this year. Developed by one person, it took the PC gamingsphere by storm. Since I don't play on PC, I had to wait until December to finally play it on PS4 - and I'm glad I did. The game is a farming and relationship sim, mixed with light dungeon crawling and resource gathering. At the start of the game, your character receives a letter from your grandfather with the deed to the family farm. After toiling away at a boring desk job at a big corporation, the character decides to finally move into the family farm and start a new life. The game is split into days, months, and seasons, with a myriad of gameplay options each day. Some days you might spend clearing space in your farm, others you might spend tending to your crops, and others you might spend in the local town, getting to know each townperson. The relationship-development in the game is fairly shallow, but each character has a distinct personality, and it is fun getting to know them. You can go fishing, learn recipes for cooking, or try to reach a new level in the mine. The only combat options in the game are within the mine, but it is never super challenging. This is part of the appeal of Stardew Valley for me -- it is never traditionally "challenging," and is instead quite laid back. I didn't know I needed a game that is built for the player to take it at their own pace. I found myself continually drawn to play through "just one more day," while also feeling super relaxed. Aesthetically, Stardew Valley evokes old 16-bit era games, but with the best lighting I've ever seen in a 2D game. Stardew Valley is the positive game I needed in 2016, and I can't wait to continue my new life as a farmer-fisher-Casanova-dungeon master in the days to come. 4. Dark Souls III Back in 2009, I picked up a little game called Demon's Souls, and it changed my gaming life. I had never been challenged in an action-RPG in quite that fashion, and it had some of the best combat I had ever played in any game. Two Dark Souls games (and a Bloodborne) later, Dark Souls III finally dropped, and it is the Souls game of my dreams. The basic idea of the game is the same - traverse through an extremely dangerous world battling the toughest enemies and the meanest bosses, all the while upgrading your gear and skills to become the strongest warrior in the world. Bloodborne (the Lovecraftian cousin of the Souls series) sped up the game in a major way, and DS3 has injected a bit of that speed into its traditionally slower-paced combat. The co-op mechanic has also simplified from previous games (another lift from Bloodborne), and is how I experienced most of the game. Some of the most satisfying moments in gaming this year for me were battling bosses alongside my friend and having some serious skin-of-our-teeth victories. I am not as on top of the Souls lore as I would like to be, but I did recognize a lot of neat throwbacks to previous games in the series. According to Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of Dark Souls & DS3, this will be the last game in the series. If this is indeed true, then the series has gone out on a high note with one of the best action-RPGs ever made. 3. Uncharted 4 Some of my favorite movies growing up were the Indiana Jones movies. I always wanted a good video game version of those movies (emphasis on good), and the Uncharted series has been that for me for the last few years. I loved the first Uncharted, and then was blown away by Uncharted 2. Uncharted 3 was still awesome, but it didn't quite live up to the charms of UC2. While I thought the end of 3 was certainly good, I didn't feel like it was as conclusive of an ending as it could have been. I was not surprised when they announced 4, as I felt like they left a little bit of room for more after 3. After announcing that this would indeed be the final Uncharted game, I didn't know how to feel - while there have been hundreds of action-adventure games, this series in particular really hit the beats that the Indiana Jones movies gave me, and I am sad that this series is going away. I'm sure that Naughty Dog felt the pressure to deliver a game worthy of being the final in this spectacular series, and they absolutely nailed it. The Uncharted series has always been on the bleeding edge of graphics technology and art direction, and UC4 is the crown jewel. This is undoubtedly the best looking video game I've ever played, and it's not really all that close. Sprawling island vistas, colorful and crowded towns, and incredibly realistic animations (even for this series) left me consistently in awe of what I was seeing. How good this game looks even this early in the console cycle adds to the impressive visual fidelity, and it deserves any and all awards for graphics this year. Beyond the graphics, the gunplay is the most finely tuned in the series, and the set pieces are the biggest and boldest since Uncharted 2's train sequence. There is a particular sequence involving a jeep, a grappling hook (another mechanic added to this game to great effect), and a motorcycle chase that is equal parts classic Uncharted and modern excellence in game design. The story does a great job of validating the existence of another Uncharted game, as well as including nods to older games in neat ways. The epilogue in particular will stay with me for some time as a long-time fan of the franchise. Nate, Sully, and Elena are all back, and it remains fun to see them in action (or not, as represented by a chapter early in the game). The inclusion of Sam as Nate's brother is something I was initially concerned about, wondering how the game would make me care about a brand new character this late in the overall story, but they did a great job of making him another worthy character in a series filled with fun characters. There is not much I can say negatively about this game -- any other year, UC4 is a shoe-in for my number 1 game of the year. Sitting at number 3 on this list does not mean that this game isn't good - it is truly great, especially for those who have kept up with the series so far. 2. Hitman When I was a kid, my usual answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up" was always "James Bond." As I've grown older I have come to appreciate more and more that I am not James Bond, but I still love it when movies or games make me feel like a super cool secret agent. This year's installment in the Hitman franchise is exactly that - the world's best secret agent simulator! Well...maybe not exactly that but I've not had more fun playing a stealth-action game in years than I have with Hitman. The episodic nature of this game's release meant that each level required some serious heft, and IO Interactive pulled through in a major way in each of the game's sprawling levels. Whether you are in a mansion in Paris during a fashion show, walking around a gorgeous Mediterranean coastal town that hides a cavernous science lab, or a volatile marketplace in Marrakesh, each level is alive with detail, and expertly designed for creative solutions for each mission. Depending on how you want to play, the game can show you exactly where and how to perform some of the sillier ways to accomplish your mission, or you can go through blind, figuring out exactly how you would want to successfully find and take out the targets. Part of the success of Hitman 2016 is that it doesn't take itself too seriously - the AI is good enough to make things difficult if you are sloppy, but not hawkish enough to avoid being exploited. NPC dialogue can be funny as well, and while you certainly can play the game straight and use traditional weapons to carry out the hits, the game offers so many different bonkers ways to take out your targets, it's hard not to play through each mission without cracking a smile at least once. Hitman is also gorgeous - the Sapienza map in particular is stunning, but each map has a distinct aesthetic, each with superb lighting and colors to suit the setting. The music also takes cues from spy movies, giving the situation a curious vibe as you are sneaking around, and escalating if needed to go along with the action on the screen. I wish the load times were faster (playing on an Xbox One), and there are occasional janky glitches (like throwing a battle axe at a target through a wall), but neither of those take away from the immense amount of fun to be had in the gameplay (also, one could argue throwing a battle axe through a wall is actually hilarious and awesome). Where some stealth-action games take themselves too seriously and become save-scumming nightmares, Hitman hits the spot, nailing a goofy sense of fun to a well-worn concept. Bonus points - this game is also so entertaining to watch - I was sold on this game by watching Giant Bomb's video coverage of the game through the year. 1. Overwatch This list was pretty difficult to make this year, and ordering was even more difficult. That being said - there was always a clear number one, and that game is Overwatch. I have joked that this might be my Game of the Every Year, and depending on when you ask me, I may not actually be joking. I was beyond skeptical of this game when it was coming out - I had fallen away from the competitive multiplayer shooter scene somewhere around Halo 3 and Modern Warfare 2. I scoffed at the game not even trying to offer anything for single-player players like me. I knew that I enjoyed the objective-based gameplay of Team Fortress 2 back in the day, but it was never the type of game I was especially drawn towards. But, every game podcast I listened to, every review I read, and just about everyone in games journalism I follow on Twitter could not stop talking about how much fun this game was. So, on a whim, I got the game at GameStop, thinking that I could just trade it in if I didn't like it. I texted one of my friends to let him know I got it, and it turns out he also got it. We played for a couple of hours that first night and right then I knew - I had stumbled backwards into something special. I immediately fell in love with the bright, positive aesthetic, the heroic-sounding music in the main menu, and the enticing possibilities of how different the game could feel depending on which character you use. I was hooked by the pace of each match - not too short and not too long, leaving you perfectly ready for "just one more match." Each character feels great, and I found out quickly that the game was balanced extraordinarily well already out of the gate. That first session lead into more the next day, and the next day, and every day for a week, two weeks, a month...and so on. What started as just my one friend and I playing turned into a steady group of six or seven of us ready to play most days of the week! Part of this is due to the evangelism of my friend and I, bugging our friends to buy the game at an almost daily pace, but an even bigger reason is that Overwatch is accessible while remaining a deep gameplay experience. Multiple characters are perfect for just starting in, whether you have played other multiplayer-FPS games, or whether you are still figuring out how to move with the left stick and turn the camera with the right - there is a character for everybody. The diversity of the cast of characters is also a highlight, as many different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and personalities are not something that is typical for video games. Overwatch also does a great job at making the player feel positive reinforcement - there is no K/D list constantly in the face of the player, and post-match screens are always a celebration of what players did well in a match rather than highlighting who did the best and who did the worst. As Blizzard is known to do with their other games, they showed that they are fully capable of supporting Overwatch via regular content updates and gameplay balance patches, which paves the way for the game to continue to be great in the years to come. The promise of free DLC forever is another great way they are sticking it to their competitors, and continued proof that Blizzard cares about the people who play their games. Sure - do I wish that duplicate items in loot boxes gave out more in-game currency? Of course - but that is also literally the only negative thing I can think of to say about this game. I have logged in more hours into this game than any other game I've ever played (except for maybe Mario Kart 64, which I started playing almost twenty years ago), and I continue to add hours every week. This game has made me new friends, and kept me close with old friends, and has been a valuable portion of my week nearly every week since its release. There was never any other option for my number one game of the year this year, and it deserves any and all praise and awards possible from now until the end of time. PS - please please please get on the point. Thanks! Barely Missed the List: -Firewatch - this is a gorgeous game with an understated, sad, and ultimately genuine and human narrative that hooked me from beginning to end. I'm not sure I'll ever revisit it, but it was a compelling look into the consequences of failing to communicate effectively, as well as speaking to how we tend to go to great lengths to avoid tough situations at times. -Gears of War 4 - This is a solid re-entry into the Gears universe, one which I was a huge fan of in Gears 1-3. Gears 4 is definitely more Gears, although it didn't quite have the same magic for me as the first 3. That being said, I'll be ready for Gears 5 - and this one would have made the list in a lot of other years that weren't as jam packed as this year. -Final Fantasy XV - This was tough to omit from the list. I was really enjoying my time with this game until they announced that they were going to add in story scenes to the game at some unspecified time down the road. As someone who wants to experience a game the best way possible the first time through, I have yet to continue the game since they made this announcement. Despite all of that, I'm thrilled that Final Fantasy is back, and I think that the overall presentation and battle system make for a fun game to play. I'll be excited to get back into this game...once they finish it. Haven't Played but Wish I Had: -Hyperlight Drifter -The Last Guardian -Superhot Games I Want to Play More: -Darkest Dungeon - I love the aesthetic of this game, and I can always fall deep into a good rogue-like -FFXV - reasons above -The Witness - this game makes me feel so smart, but can also be so frustrating. -SFV/Guilty Gear - I want to be better at fighting games, and I love how both of these games look. SFV definitely has more players, but GG feels like the better game. Most Disappointing Game -Tom Clancy's The Division - I wanted to love this game. I was so ready for it after the initial E3 presentation. The promise of another game like Destiny where I could group up with friends, take down enemies, and find better loot is something that I can always get behind. But then, I played The Division. The empty open world was boring, the netcode was a struggle, and the constant cheaters in the Dark Zone bounced me off of this game in a way I wasn't ready for. The loot and customization failed to impress me, and the bullet spongy enemies got old real fast. I haven't felt this disappointed in a game in a long time. Runners Up: -Rez: Infinite - this is not a bad game, and I enjoyed my time with it in VR, but based off of what I heard about this game, it should have brought me closer to God. Needless to say I don't believe it was as transcendent as the conversation around the game would lead me to believe, and that's the only reason it is on the Disappointing Games list for me this year. -No Man's Sky - Or, Game that Makes Me Sad of 2016. The promise of this game based off of the (potentially maliciously) misleading marketing of this game is such a huge disservice to what this game actually is. Thankfully, I did hear enough impressions from some who played it at preview events so that I realized a little more that NMS would be closer to a survival game than the end-all-be-all Sci-Fi epic that was advertised, but even that couldn't help me from eventually falling off of this game. I still really love the aesthetic of the game, and it has some great music. The addition of the Foundation update gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, NMS will one day resemble its initial, ambitious vision, but until that day comes, NMS will ultimately remain disappointing. VR Lineup: VR is finally here! So far I have only experienced VR through the PSVR, and I feel hopeful for the potential VR can bring to gaming. Here are my top 5 PSVR experiences of the year: Job Simulator Batman: Arkham VR Here They Lie RIGS Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Best Game for On The Go: Batman: The Telltale Series (iPad) World of Final Fantasy (Vita) Super Mario Run (iPhone) Game of the (Not This) Year -The Witcher 3 - I've continued to progress forward in The Witcher 3, and I still haven't beaten the main game or touched either DLC pack. This game is so full of great content, it is almost overwhelming. Every time I play TW3, I am more and more convinced that this is one of the best games of the generation, and absolutely one of the best open-world games of all time. Runners Up: -Persona 4: Dancing All Night - I haven't been this into a rhythm game since Rock Band 3! It has been fun coming back to the Persona 4 universe, and jamming along to some of the best video game music in years. This is also a great way to continue the excitement for Persona 5, coming out later this year. -Life is Strange - This is a charming adventure game that I picked up on sale for $5, and I haven't regretted the decision. I haven't yet beaten the story, but I appreciate the indie-movie nature of the game's story, cinematography, and music. The time-rewinding mechanic has been used in many other different games, but the usage of this mechanic in Life is Strange takes pressure off of making decisions, allowing me to see more of the story as I go along. Best Looking Game Uncharted 4 Overwatch Ratchet and Clank Best Music Overwatch (shoutout to Numbani theme!) Uncharted 4 Stardew Valley Overcooked Hitman Best Story Batman: The Telltale Series Uncharted 4 Firewatch