Ya ha ha! (or, the video games thread)

[Sonic Johnny]

This year I played:

Absolver: A
Neat little open-world brawler with a *really* nice combat system, learning curve was extremely steep but once I got the hang of it I was completely hooked. Very bare bones, but in an age of games stuffed full of collectibles and side missions, it was kinda nice to have a game that just focused on one core mechanic that clearly had a lot of love and work put into it. Highly recommend.

Horizon Zero Dawn: B-
Combat and design alone was worth the price of admission but once i'd levelled up my skill tree a bit I found myself getting bored with story missions and just fanging around the place fighting giant robot dinosaurs. This eventually got boring too, but that took a good number of hours. Didn't finish it but it was fun.

Assassins Creed Origins: A-
Always held a flame for this series even though each game has been pretty broken in its own ways. This is probably the first one that isn't broken. Big overhaul was mostly a win, combat is a million times better and the levelling system does a lot to make play rewarding. Nice to see a big name series do some soul searching and make a better game for it.

Injustice 2: D+
Yeah the customisation is good and the ultimate move animations are OTT joy, but when the core combat isn't fun, what's the point?

Shadow Of War: B+
Pretty muddled in its delivery, but carries enough of its predecessors' DNA that it doesn't matter. Recruiting an army and spending hours preparing for a big siege is lots of fun and really gratifying, but I gotta say the big battles could do a little more to play as epically as they're presented.

Stardew Valley: AA++
Probably my favourite video game ever made.