VIDEO GAMES
Honorable Mentions
Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate: Daemon Hunters
I bought this game when it came out in 2022 because I love the 40k IP and I love XCOM-like games but sometimes I just have to be in-the-mood for a game for me to play it ya know? Well, this was Chaos Gate’s year for me.
It is the kind of game that never lets the pressure off in the meta game so every decision feels weighty and every battle is essential. Couple that with the relentless grim-dark setting of 40k and you have game that holds no punches.
It’s battle system is surprisingly, mechanically deep and nuanced. Where I usually treat my XCOM soldiers like precious little guys, moving slowly, prioritizing cover and positioning to ensure my efficiency of attacks; The Grey Knights are meant to be in the thick of battle. I am constantly using abilities and teleporting around the battlefield bringing the Emperor’s Light™ to the daemon plague.
If you like XCOM games and 40k, you will like this game.
Second Front
I only just recently found out about this game so I have not been able to play enough to put it on my official 2023 list. It’s lack of coverage in the tactical games scene is shocking considering how it scratches all my itches when it comes to tactical games.
Second Front looks like a table top miniature WWII war game Dads would play in their wood-paneled den in 1978. And it basically plays like that too, but with cool animations and automatic stat tracking so you don’t need bring out the rulers and T-squares.
I definitely plan on playing more in the months to come and hopefully it will pick up some hype in 2024.
Tarkov SPT
Single Player Tarkov is a single player mod for the OG extraction hardcore shooter Escape from Tarkov.
I spoke about my frustrations and love of Tarkov in a previous Metal Monday post so I wont rehash here.
I, without a doubt, have spent the majority of my gaming time this year with SPT. It completely changed how I engage with Tarkov and it’s deep mechanics. I became better at mouse and keyboard FPS because of SPT and I have a great appreciation for it’s single-minded mission driven development community. Tarkov is one of those games that I come back to every few months, put in hundreds of hours and then step away. SPT makes that loop much more enjoyable when I am not waiting for players to connect for 10minutes loading into a map, battling desync issues or constantly dying to cheaters.
If you are interested in Tarkov but don’t want to deal the aforementioned bull-shittery or you fell off because of all of it’s issues, please give SPT a try. If a PC luddite like myself can get the mod running so can you.
Terra Invicta
Aliens with superior technology have been discovered at the edge of the solar system, how to the people of earth respond? How do the elite and powerful take advantage of the ensuing chaos?
Terra Invicta is basically cold war sim but you play as a shadow government manipulating the world powers, backchanneling under-table deals to usurp other factions. What are the factions goals? Some want to befriend the aliens, others want to destroy them no matter the cost (even human life) and some just want to leave the solar system entirely.
Whatever faction you choose, get ready for layers on layers of mechanics, the level of simulation happening in this game is astonishing. No other game makes my computer stutter like this game when I press “end turn”.
My favorite playthrough -and also my most successful- was when I chose the DESTROY ALL XENOS faction and roleplayed as the Cerberus group from Mass Effect. The stories that arrise as the result of all these mechanics is what makes this game very special.
Terra Invicta is still in early access so maybe by the time it gets a full release I’ll have a computer that won’t overheat after every turn.
PotatoMcWhiskey has a really great introduction playlist that I highly recommend as a semi-tutorial.
Games of 2023
Sea of Stars
Cute, light and deceptively addictive gameplay makes this game one of my most surprising additions to this list.
Despite my usual aversion to long-form JRPG style games, all I can say is that Sea of Stars caught me at the right moment with the right mixture of charm, simplicity and pace. I put hours into this game without realizing how much time was passing. (It was also free on PS5)
Diablo 4
Diablo 2 is one of those games that everyone played; DnD nerds to the football team captain. If you you had a PC anywhere between 2000 and 2010 you probably played Diablo 2. Diablo 4 has captured the dark vibes of D2 and snared me in it’s gameplay loop.
I dunno what else to say, it’s Diablo.
WarTales
I spoke about this game in a former Metal Monday post:
Some games were made for me specifically and Wartales is definitely one of those games. On the meta scale it has XCOM: EU turn-based battles and on the macro it has Battle Brothers-esq dudes management, resource collecting, map exploring and quest completing. Wartales has less a reliance on outrageous RNG as the other titles: The battles have more a feel of rock-paper-scissors than managing wildly varying hit percentages.
It’s very relaxing and I see this becoming one of my go-to cozy games.
Remnant 2
The original Remnant was good, so good in fact that it was basically the only “souls-like” I was able to play and finish in a long while. It was definitely a fresh take on the genre but it also suffered from the inexperience of a freshman outing. It had very frustrating segments that felt more balanced for co-op and most environments were same-y unity asset mirrors.
Remnant 2 saw the flaws and handled it, deftly. The level design is vastly improved and gameplay -while tough- never feels unfair. Just the sheer amount class mobility is a boon to the often strict min-max builds required of other souls-likes.
Also, I have to say that it is refreshing to have a new IP gain traction in this era of game franchises.
Notes for 2024
2023 was a great year for gaming. And I enjoyed games more this year because I stopped looking up guides.
Over the past few years I developed a bad habit of: Deciding I want a game; Looking up guides and build orders for said game; Playing said game; Becoming frustrated when recreating the min-max builds is just not fun; Stop playing game.
I went into Diablo 4 blind. Had a blast. Remnant 2 was a great game because I did not know what to expect around every corner. Building characters on skills I thought were fun not any that would give me the best outcome 40 hours down the line.
It may seem like a “no shit” idea that you’ve heard before if you find yourself struggling to enjoy games, just go in blind in 2024.
