Thoughts From The Mind of a Madman

When murmurs of Microsoft shuttering studios came out a few weeks back I feared the worst. Today, while not the worst case scenario, much of that became a reality. Truthfully I've never been a huge Xbox fan. But in 2014, when Microsoft partnered with Insomniac Games for Sunset Overdrive, I finally decided to buy my first Xbox console with the Xbox One. As a lover of colorful, cartoonish, creative games, those years started to finally look promising, providing an alternative to the semi-annual Halos, Gears-es, and Forzas. Games like Ori, ReCore, and Cuphead justified the purchase. In the years after that, Microsoft and Sony scooped up a few of my favorite independent studios. Sony acquired Insomniac and Housemarque, while Microsoft got Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and the promising Compulsion Games. In 2020, with plenty of time due to the pandemic, I subscribed to Game Pass. For the eleven months that I was unemployed, I played through a bunch of amazing games, many of which I probably would have never bought. I loved the service! I started spending more time with my Xbox than my PlayStation. In it's infancy, Game Pass was an insane deal, especially considering you could often find ways to get a year of service for around $100-120. Eventually I stocked up on a few years, anticipating countless games like Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Psychonauts 2, South of Midnight, Keeper, and I loved every one of them! With the release of South of Midnight, I even opted to upgrade to the Digital Series X ($449.99 at that time) instead of continuing to use the streaming feature. I also enjoyed many third party titles like Cocoon, Carrion, Hades II, BALL x PIT, High on Life, Nobody Saves the World, FAR: Changing Tides, Tinykin, and Hi-Fi RUSH - an amazing game from Tango Gameworks who Microsoft surprisingly shuttered a few years back despite the widespread praise of that game. And I found all kinds of games that surprised me like Moonlighter, Tunic, Balatro, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Dead Cells, and the Plague's Tale series. The value was immense. And the financials never made any sense to me. I was easily playing hundreds of dollars worth of games each year, many of which I had planned to spend money on. And I was playing them on Day 1. It was the exact opposite of the longtime standard business model in gaming: spend money multiple times a year to get the only the games you want. Others times, I got to try games worry free. It seemed like a deal way too good to be true. Perhaps it was... My subscription ran out in May, and I had yet to renew it. There are a few games I was anticipating, but it also got harder to find ways to save on the membership which just kept increasing. (I've also let my PS+ lapse.)

There are a few games I'm really looking forward to. The Eternal Life of Goldman is pretty high on my most anticipated list. And Clockwork Revolution shows promise. A month ago, I was excited to add a few newly revealed games to that list: Senua and Magicians: The Devil’s Deal. Then, EIGHT FUCKING DAYS after revealing Senua, rumors of the studio's closure leaked. What an extremely shitty move from Microsoft - who later tried to spin that decision to say they wanted to allow Ninja Theory to show off their work in an attempt to help the studio find potential buyers. That's when I firmly put the Game Pass renewal idea on hold. Today we get the bad news. Microsoft is selling off studios and laying off 3200 people. Double Fine and Compulsion will go back to being independent. I hope they thrive. Ninja Theory (among others) are being sold to different management. I think I might be done with Xbox... That promise of more creative games on Xbox One never really panned out, and now they've just sounded the death knell on Series X. You can't prop your entire platform up on two aging shooters, a racing game, and maybe a new Fable game from a franchise that's been in development hell for fifteen years. You can't constantly move the goalpost on how you measure success or productivity. You can't bring in quality independent studios, task them with making games, then mismanage them with absurd, unrealistic expectations. You can't raise the price of your hardware, twice, when you have no compelling software. The positive side is that if I want to just sell my Series X, which would be the first time I've ever opted to not keep a console, I could get most of my money back since my $449 system will start to sell for $749 in a few weeks. I'm not sure which is more absurd: the company abandoning my three favorite studios, or them increasing the prices of consoles by $200.

Saw this going around, and it made for a fun but challenging exercise. In writing this, I revised the list thrice.

Favorite Game and Best Story: The first two games here are probably interchangeable as my favorite game, along with The Last of Us Part II. But there are a lot of other small indies that could put up a fight for the first spot too. It's tough to compare a 20-60 hour AAA game with a 45 minute game like 140, or an arcade game like Velocity 2X.

Favorite Art Style: Reducing this to one is impossible. There are so many unique looking games: All the hand drawn stuff like Cuphead and Rayman. Cell shaded stuff like Sly Cooper. Pixar-like games like Ratchet & Clank, Kena, Puppeteer, Tearaway, Psychonauts, LittleBigPlanet, and ASTRO BOT. Vivid indies like Velocity 2X, OCTAHEDRON, Viewfinder, Guacamelee! and Trine. Unique fever dreams like THUMPER. Minimalist styles like 140, Sound Shapes, The Unfinished Swan, Shape of the World, and Soft Body. All the stuff from Matt Nava from Journey onward. Or even more realistic stuff with one foot rooted in realism and the other in the surreal, like Alan Wake II, could even go here. Or games featuring claymation like the recent The Midnight Walk. This is the main reason I play games: to witness this variety or art styles and the creativity that goes along with them. So reducing this to Cuphead, despite Cuphead being a worthy answer, still just feels so wild. I could easily pick 20 games all about art style and still face the dilemma of only choosing the Top 20.

Biggest Personal Impact: The original Ratchet & Clank is the game that revitalize my interest in gaming. I've been playing games probably since around the age of 4 or 5, but by high school I'd just started playing a few franchises. Then, during my freshman year of college, I discovered the first R&C thanks to a demo disc from The Official Playstation Magazine. I still remember playing through the demo over and over that day. I became a massive fan of the franchise, and it totally revolutionized my gaming habits. It alone took me from a guy who was just playing GTA, Tony Hawk, and maybe a few other games, to a guy who sought out more colorful, cartoony games. Since finding it, I've met the developers, gained notoriety from them for my fandom, and accumulated all kinds of Ratchet & Clank and Insomniac memorabilia from purchases or my pilfering of stuff from my days working at GameStop. The only other game I thought of putting here was more for emotional impact, Papo & Yo, which was the first game to reduce me to tears.

Best Combat: This is a tough one for me, because combat and gameplay are not necessarily synonymous. I can think of a lot of great arcade style games with amazing gameplay, but I wouldn't call it combat. So if this were simply called Best Gameplay, the choice would probably be different. Velocity 2X, THUMPER, Nex Machina, and OCTAHEDRON all come to mind there, but I wouldn't call them combat-focused games. But when it does comes to a combat system, there is one clear winner. And it's one of the games I'm most passionate about: Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. It has always been absurd to me that nothing has surpassed the 2004 cult classic. I love that game so much! Twenty-two years and counting, and no one has been able to create a shooter that gives the player as much freedom as it did in terms of psychic powers. Some have tired, like Bioshock and Infamous to name a few, but they're still never as astounding as Psi-Ops was. It's the biggest "What If?.." in gaming for me. What if it would have sold better and been continued?... Outside of it, other shooters with innovative mechanics stand out to me here like Dead Space - which I originally had in this spot - and Alan Wake. But it only felt right to give the nod to Psi-Ops, which was initially in my Criminally Overlooked spot. Sadly, the twenty-two years have not been kind to Psi-Ops. Back during the pandemic I played a pirated version on PC. As an pretty early third person shooter, the aiming mechanics feel outdated at this point. But no amount of jank can detract from just how incredible it was in terms of the menagerie of mental moves and mind mechanics that it featured. I've also listed it under the Needs a Remake category for that reason, and in the hopes that another release could give me the continuation I've so wanted for too long. I can only imagine what a game like that could be in 2026. But sadly, I feel like that mental picture is all I'll ever have...

The next three games all approached the shooter genre at different angles.

Overhated: The Order: 1886 was a game I hyped up. Then pre-release reviews came out and they did not look good. A bunch of people abandoned ship and cancelled preorders. Still, I put my faith in it and my intuition that I would like it. And while the vast majority of people were disappointed by it, I thought it was one of the best new franchises of that generation. There were valid criticisms. But many were too harsh. I always had an issue with the $60 is too much for a 6 hour game narrative. Today I feel like were still seeing the ripples of that mindset. But give me a creative, well build 6 hour game over a safe, derivative 30 hour game any day of the week. I simply don't think a game's worth should be determined by how long it is, or how many boxes it can check off of some list. My second choice here was for Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, which because of its departure from the series roots, got a lot of hate too. But I really enjoyed the breath of fresh air that it was, especially since I felt like I needed a break from the semi-annual franchise. I still also maintain that it has some of the most creative, artsy designs ever in the franchise.

Underrated: Another Insomniac franchise, Resistance, was simply the victim of an identity crisis. Fall of Man made me buy a PS3 at launch. Resistance 2's campaign was still pretty good, but it made some uncharacteristically questionable design choices for an Insomniac title, mainly removing the weapon wheel. Then Resistance 3 came out in a weird spot, and despite massive critical praise, did not sell all that well. It's a shame because it was easily the best entry in the franchise. The weapon wheel was back and the campaign ranks among the best campaigns in the history of the FPS genre. But the timing wasn't ideal and the previous game had probably alienated a lot of fans. I wanted so much more from that franchise, so it was really sad to see it fade out like that.

Overrated: To this day, I still have proudly never played a Call of Duty game. It's gaming's juggernaut. It feels like the exact opposite of Resistance. And sadly some of the transgressions with Resistance 2 were probably due to the popularity of this franchise. These games may have come a long way since the early realistic war days, but I vastly prefer a shooter not grounded in reality, with sci-fi weapons, enemies, and settings. And a game's known more for leading the way in multiplayer simply isn't what I'm looking for. I'd rather play 52 games a year mediocrely than just master a single game and brag online about my kill to death ratio.

Overlooked: Puppeteer is one of the most creative games I've ever played. The art style, level design, and bosses were unbelievable. It reviewed well and sold horribly, releasing at a busy time, and the end of the life cycle of the PS3. I often wonder how it would have done had it been swapped with Knack and been the game that introduced us to the PS4, more akin to what ASTRO BOT did for the PS VR and then the PS5.

Favorite Protagonist and Antagonist: These two are kind of unimportant categories to me. I play games less for stories, and more for gameplay and art styles. I originally had Ratchet and Clank in both spots for Ratchet and Dr Nefarious since I love them both and they are humous, but The Last of Us feels more appropriate. They could be Joel. They could be Ellie. They could be Abby. I kind of just want to leave it unexplained... But I won't. In my mind each category is Ellie. I think that is what is really cool about the franchise. There really are no heroes or villains - it's just a world of people trying to figure out how to survive in a harsh world, making choices that they think are best for themselves and the ones they love. TLOU1 follows the story of a good girl being helped by a guy with good intentions who hasn't always necessarily been a good guy. And TLOU2 only gets muddier. You follow the same girl, who now is often painted as a rage-filled villain more than the innocent girl she was before, and you meet her counterpart who also seems to sway between the worlds of the virtuous and the villainous. The people you thought were good, may not be good. And the people who at first seemed evil, may not be half bad. That's some really great writing, especially in an industry for so long it was just you played the good guy and tried to defeat the obviously bad guy.

Best Soundtrack: This could go a few ways. I loved Rayman Origins. It was one of the first games where I actually realized how good a great soundtrack added to the experience. I really love how it incorporated nontraditional instruments like the kazoo and mouth harp. Tearaway did this well too, combining reedy woodwinds with dubstep, which feels like a sentence that shouldn't even be able to exist. Really, that's kind of how I look at all music. Some of my favorite rock bands feature violins, keytars, tubular bells, or old world string instruments like the oud. I'll take a quirky, unique soundtrack any day over the typical orchestral score. This could have also been a previous game from Rayman's composer, Christophe Heral, Beyond Good & Evil, but his work on Rayman Origins eclipses it thanks to all the quirkiness.

Best Multiplayer: Here's another category I don't care much about. I very, very, very, very rarely play completive multiplayer these days. But there was a time in my life were I did. Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros 64 and GoldenEye all remind me of fun split screen times with friends. But these days, I'd rather play something cooperative. It took me a while to get to It Takes Two, but it was the first thing on my list when my longtime bestie came to town. I'm waiting for the opportunity to do the same with Split Fiction...

Not Usually My Thing But...: This is the perfect ad for Xbox Game Pass. I probably never would have paid for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Almost every time I've tried to get into a traditional turn-based RPG over the years - outside of just Kingdom Hearts I guess - I've abandoned the game quickly. But Clair Obscur interested me from its initial trailer, and when I came out I kept hearing good things. Being able to try it with no financial risk was great. There have been so many Game Pass games like this, especially in the indie space. It's a large part of why I continue to subscribe.

Turn My Brain Off This is another odd category, because most of the games I like require focus: frenetic arcade games, platformers, shooters, puzzle games. There are all those "cozy" and "chill" games these days, like all the simulation games, but those absolutely bore me. 140 isn't mindless by any stretch of the imagination. It's a rhythm platformer that requires focus. But the way it favors a simple art style and merges its sound design with the level design is hypnotic. I originally had another game in the slot that I'd consider the predecessor to 140, Sound Shapes. They're both synesthetic masterpieces. But I think I have to give the edge to 140 just because of how minimalist it is with it simplicity, and how tight of an experience it is, requiring under an hour to complete.

Best With Friends: What are these things you call... "friends?"... I do not understand this human concept. Again, most of my time was spent with Rock Band alone, searching for percussive perfection. But playing it with friends, family, or co-workers in the Circuit City break room was always a fun time.

Best Retro Game and Nostalgic Childhood Game I could go a lot of ways here. I loved both of my choices. The Genesis had a bunch of great games: Sonic, Battletoads/Double Dragon, Earthworm Jim, Boogerman, I loved Mario, the original Legend of Zelda - which I still maintain is the best entry in the franchise- as well as the TMNT brawlers on NES. And I have fond memories of early Atari games like Dig Dug, as well as a bunch that were probably not great games. But I remember being so obsessed with Streets of Rage 2 that I actually wrote a short story about it in elementary school in which me and my childhood friend, Ryan, were sucked into the game and had to make our way through it. In the case of Kid Chameleon, I don't think I ever owned it. I probably just rented it a bunch. But that formula of a character getting upgrades based on hats, which felt like the Mario formula on steroids, is something that clearly stuck with me if you look at some of the other games I've mentioned like Puppeteer and ASTRO BOT.

Game Everyone Should Play: This is another toughie. Gaming is so varied these days that there is easily something for everyone to enjoy. I think every game on my list should be played by everyone. But I do think there are a few that are extremely unique that are more worth mentioning here, largely because they aren't household names. Snake Pass absolutely blew me away. Another "sub-genre" that I like is "Platformer Where the Character Can't Jump or Has No Legs." Platformers are still my favorite, and I crave unique traversal mechanics. Bomb Chicken comes to mind in that vein. But Snake Pass was really something else. It took a bit of time to grasp, but once things clicked, it worked so well. I often call it the greatest platformer ever made, which I realize seems absurd given the history of the genre, but the way it deconstructed what a traditional platformer is to create a unique character and moveset around that character simply can't be overlooked. Only a madman would attempt to create a platformer with a snake as the character. And only a genius would find a way to make it work so well. Interestingly enough, that man, Seb Liese, actually got his start in the game's industry from the notoriety he got by building levels in LittleBigPlanet, going on to work for Sumo Digital on LBP3 and creating Snake Pass on the side.

Now with all those discussed, I'd like to mention a few other games that just didn't make the cut in a category, or didn't have a dedicated category. So here are two other categories that I do find equally as important that rectify that:

Best Frenetic Arcade Game: The Velocity franchise is one of my favorites, and Velocity 2X was sublime. I really love these types of games. That franchise, the Housemarque games, OCTAHEDRON, THUMPER, shoot em ups like Ikaruga, bullet hell games. That lightning quick, precise, arcade style gameplay really appeals to me. I can't wait for SAROS at the end of this month!

Best Puzzles: I love a good puzzle game - one that feels not too challenging or obtuse, but tough enough for one to have a few occasions where I hit walls of rage-inducing confusion. Filament, The Witness, Portal, Talos Principle, last year's Öoo. I'm constantly amazed by a well designed puzzle game. I remember a few puzzle in Filament, The Witness, and Talos Principle tripping me up for sometimes a few hours. But they were all so satisfying to finally figure out. But perhaps my favorite was Toodee and Topdee since it combined both platforming and puzzle in such a unique way. Mixing a 2D character, and a top down character was such a great idea, and the execution was flawless. Maybe I could have put this in the Game Everyone Should Play too, but it feels unique enough to deserve its own limelight.

I've always considered myself a pretty big fan of the Muppets and Jim Henson. Early on in life, I remember reruns of The Muppet Show on Nickelodeon, and Muppet Babies. I can recall watching the short lived Jim Henson Hour and being fascinated by it, seeing glimpses of Muppets Tonight, and enjoying Waldo in Muppet*Vision 3D. Later in life, I got around to watching The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. The Muppets movie in 2011 was fantastic. And somewhere scattered in there were also various Christmas projects, The Muppets Christmas Carol, Letters to Santa, and my personal favorite, A Muppet Family Christmas. Then, in August of 2016, after years of training, I got to flex my Muppets muscle when I corrected Conan.

Every new Muppets project is anticipated. Haunted Mansion was pretty good. Muppets Mayhem was sublime. And a little over a year ago, I finally got around to watching the Jim Henson Idea Man documentary. It really relit a fire in me to explore all the Muppet things that I missed - and there was a lot! I burned through The Jim Henson Hour, The Storyteller, Muppets Tonight, the entire run of The Muppet Show, pilots included, and all the major movies. Right around that time I also found out that the historic Jim Henson Company lot was being sold, so I knew I needed to go see Brian's show, Puppet Up! It was a blast!

Not long after that, I caught wind of the production of this new The Muppet Show special, and the fact that it was being created as a pilot in hopes of a revival.

The day finally came and I was teary eyed from the start! I love that it felt like it picked up right where the original Muppet Show left off. The format remained the same: thirty minutes of a true variety show, with some jokes, some songs, and a bunch of lunacy. They hit the ground running and didn't miss a stride! With the viewing of The original series still fresh in my mind, it's easy to compare. We got a Gonzo horn gag, plus an extra Zoot gag at the end. It was great seeing the return of so many characters. They really packed them in! I expected to see the core group: Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie and Rowlf, Scooter... I hoped we'd get a lot of the supporting cast, and we did! Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Sam, the Swedish Chef, Animal and The Electric Mayhem, Rizzo, Pepe, Beau, Crazy Harry, Sweetums, Thog... I could go on and on. Robin got a line, as did one of my other favorites, Bobo the Bear. So many other great characters were hanging around backstage: Lew Zealand, Uncle Deadly, Bean, Dr. Strangepork, Link Hogthrob, Mahna Mahna, Johnny Fiama and Sal Minella, The Newsman, Big Mean Carl, various chickens and frackles, and another favorite, Gaffer. But probably most fascinating was how they even brought back many of the more obscure classic characters like Pops, Wayne and Wanda, Hilda, Mildred, George the Janitor, Nigel, Miss Mousey, and the Flying Zucchini Brothers. Within the first few minutes, Marvin Suggs walked by, and I loved it. I believe nearly all of the Muppets were remade, maybe save for The Electric Mayhem, so that makes it even more impressive. Because I highly doubt an original, useable Marvin Suggs is just laying around Muppet Studios.

I really don't care about Sabrina Carpenter, so the first song did nothing for me, but as the show went on, I liked her more and more.

Gonzo is my favorite, so his bits will always get my approval no matter how silly. I loved how him naming supporting actresses interrupted periodically throughout the whole show. WHOOPIE GOLDBERG! And while I've shared my gripes about certain voices - mainly Kermit and Jim's other characters - failing to live up to my expectations, I really appreciate Davd Goelz continued work. Bill Barretta too.

We've already established that I really don't care for pop music -TILDA SWINTON! - but Rizzo singing "Blinding Lights" was a great choice. Afterall, it is often noted to be the most streamed song of all time, so you can't go wrong with that.

Muppet Labs was nice to see again - MARY STEENBURGEN! - though I'd probably preferred a some Doctor Bob jokes.

Debatably the best musical moment came with "Islands in the Stream," which I didn't recognize until we hit the "Ghetto Superstar" melody. The set decorating evoked classic Muppets vibes, and the singing flora and fauna only elevated it even more. - ANNA PAQUIN!

And from there Kermit pulled on my heartstrings again - OLYMPIA DUKAKIS! - seemingly breaking the fourth wall by questioning how to wrap up a thirty minute show in a way that would sum up and pay respect to Jim Henson's greatest creations. "Don't Stop Me Now" literally felt like a cry from the cast and crew to not let this project end here.

But probably my favorite moment - MO'NIQUE! - came at the end with Seth Rogen and his animosity against the "Armadillo in the Tutu" not being cannon, because for most of the show I was like, "Do I not remember that guy?" "Where was he from?" "Did I miss him?"

I've said it for a while now: - YOUN YUH-JUNG! - The world could use the Muppets right now. We could use a wholesome, family friendly variety show reminiscent of the past. For me personally, late night TV hasn't been the same since Conan left. So I really hope all the praise this is getting, and the obvious love and care that went in to making it is rewarded. Muppet Studios and the Henson family deserve every dollar that Disney could give them. I also combed through the credits and noticed that a few of the puppeteers that I saw at Puppet Up! were part of the project. It's really hard to complain about anything. Some of the Muppets did seem a bit off. I feel like Gonzo felt a bit different. His puppeteering, or just his mouth's movement, in the beginning of his act felt off. And I'm not a fan of the major changes to Gaffer, who I really liked as the bedraggled, eye-patched cat . And sure, I'd have loved to have also seen Clifford, and Digit, and Bill the Bubble Guy, Dr. Phil Van Neuter, Mulch, Clueless, Seymour, - HATTIE MCDANIEL! - and Andy and Randy Pig... But with hundreds of characters over the years, it would be impossible to include them all in a pilot. Here's to hoping we see them soon.

I've seen nothing but good reactions to it online. I saw one person - ETHEL BARRYMORE! - who's probably a similar age to me say it's odd that they were born at a time when they were too young to know the guest stars from the orginal series, and too old to know Sabrina Carpenter. I mirror that sentiment. In watching the original series, I often had to Google the stars. Classic movie stars, British comedians, tap dancers, and artist from before my time were common. Whatever Mummenschanz was... - RITA MORENO! CLORIS LEACHMAN! - (those are twofers!) Multifaceted people who were impressively vaudevillian in nature. And that's exactly what The Muppet Show should be, a platform for talented, often weird, artist to let their freak flags fly. Lady Gaga working with the Muppets is a perfect example. But there have been so many Lady Gagas... Ladies Gaga... over the years that have never got to work with the Muppets. Hopefully that ends now. And with that, here are my 42-year-old-white-man demands of who I'd like to see guest star:

The Vaudevillians: 1) Conan O'Brien - He's probably one of the most vaudevillian people on this earth. He's hilarious. He's offbeat. Plus he can play the guitar and sing. I'm not sure there's ever been a single person on this Earth that feels more Muppet-ish than him. He can bring Triumph along too. 2) Steve Martin (again) - jokes, acting, magic, banjo... 3) Penn & Teller - magic, patter in the form of jokes and lunacy, the silent comedian...

The Musicians: 4) Linkin Park - Acts like Alice Cooper, Elton John, and Debbie Harry were great in the original run. I'd love to see more rock. representation. 5) STARSET - ditto. To me they're the less successful Linkin Park 2.0 6) Voyager - An international band from Australia, who play poppy metal music, with clean 80's inspired vocals, and some keytar. What could be more gonzo than that?! They found success on Eurovision a few years back, and Danny's battle with cancer is allowing him to occasionally tour again. I'd book them in an instant. 7) NF - clean rap, with a message 8) Eminem - not clean rap, but a juggernaut in the industry

The SNLers: 9) Will Ferrell 10) Kristen Wiig 11) Adam Sandler +guitar 12) Will Forte 13) Fred Armisen +drums 14) Kate McKinnon 15) Tim Robinson 16) Sarah Sherman 17) Ashley Padilla 18) Tracy Morgan

The Stand-Ups: 19) Jim Gaffigan 20) Bill Burr 21) Brian Regan 22) Ismo 23) Kumail Nanjiani 24) Steven Wright 25) Zach Galifianakis 26) Dave Chappelle

I’m not sure I like the state of the games industry these days. A few generations ago it felt like there were way too many games to play and too little time. The PS3 era was amazing! AAA games came out at regular intervals, with sequels arriving after about two years of development. And a wide variety of indie games complemented them with artsy games, arcade games, and unique games in other niche genres. But for the past few generations, development times have ballooned to absurd levels. Games take way, way too long to make. Increased budgets have stifled creativity. And most of the AAA games just feel like padded, over-bloated chores, more concerned with providing an insane amount of content to justify their often $70 price tag simply to appease a checklist of features imposed by corporate overlords instead of actually being fun, creative, unique experiences. Nothing is more apparent than this with the game I’m playing now: Borderlands 4, a game I got on sale for Black Friday. I’m probably like 30-40 hours in, and I feel like I’m just wasting my time exploring a big world, with too many side quests, and very little payoff with its gameplay, world, bosses, or guns. I felt this way with Borderlands 3 as well, which is why I didn’t buy 4 at launch. But it’s really not an issue that’s exclusive to Borderlands. Most years, I can easily put together a Top 10 list. This year, I’m not so sure. While I probably put in about the same amount of time gaming, I feel like I played less. Many of the games required dozens of hours. And many of them felt fun and justified. But others didn’t. That being said, there are still diamonds in the rough that keep me playing. And there are promising games on the horizon – some near, others far. So here nine games from this year that I enjoyed, a few from past years that I finally got around to playing, and the stuff that excites me for the next few years:

1. Öoo - 10/10

It’s no surprise that giving my feelings on the industry, Öoo, a four hour, 8-bit looking, minimalist puzzle platformer from Japanese game developer NamaTakahashi takes my top spot. His last game ElecHead impressed, and Öoo built on that success. It takes a simple platforming mechanic and iterates on it in unimaginable ways throughout the tight experience. Puzzles often introduce a new way to use what on the surface seem like really simple mechanics. And as quick as your learn them, they’re abandoned for another interesting application of the mechanics. The overall Metroidvania nature of the world made exploration fun. And there were aha moments that literally put a smile on my face. In a world dominated by 60 hour games, a tight, polished, perfectly designed small project easily takes my top spot.

2. The Midnight Walk - 10/10

While The Midnight Walk may be the first game from MoonHood, I’ve followed the work of the creators for years. It all started with Stick it to The Man! way back in 2013. With Zoink! Games, Klaus and Olov had their hands in creating some really quirky, unique games. And over the last decade plus I’ve really enjoyed them. Zombie Vikings, Flipping Death, Fe, Lost in Random, Ghost Giant – all really visually fascinating games with a style that feels distinctly theirs. At some point, a partnership was reached between Zoink and another studio that resulted in a new developer and publisher, Thunderful. But after some time leading that venture, Klaus realized that he was more in the weeds with running a company instead of creating games. So he left, rekindled some old relationships and formed MoonHood. Around the same time this year, the remnants of the former Zoink! put out a sequel to Lost in Random. But you won’t find it on this list. It wasn’t bad. I finished it. But it seemed like a hollow cash in trying to ride the coattails of the roguelike genre. MoonHood went the opposite route, creating something truly unique, unlike anything I’ve ever played. The result was this really creepy, macabre, charming, quirky world. The clay art style game the world a very tactile feel. You could tell a lot of love was put into designing the characters and physical clay models. In a dark, dreary world, the fire effects were executed perfectly. And as a lifelong fan of that creative team, it was wonderful to have the smoothly hypnotic voice of Ty Konzak return to narrate. If this Top 10 list were a list of the games that I though were the most amazing stylistically, it would rank completely different. And The Midnight Walk would probably rank #1. I loved the world. I love it’s message. And I really loved Potboy – so much so that the second I finished the game, I knew who I was carving as a pumpkin this year. I do think this is one of those games that may be somewhat divisive though. Not everyone will be a fan of the “walking simulator”-esque gameplay and light puzzle design. Some sections may feel a bit slow paced. But I was absolutely enamored with soaking up the sites and sounds of the world, and exploring every inch of it. The message behind the concept of “the midnight walk” was also very charming. Fortunately, I’m at a really good place in life right now. But I could easily see myself coming back to this game in times of strife, and finding even more to love about it. I really liked Zoink! But I love MoonHood. It really only solidified to be that Klaus, Olov, and every member of that team are to be cherished.

3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 10/10

I don’t like JRPGs or turn-based RPGs in general - or I guess in this case French RPGs. Had this game not been on Game Pass, I’d probably have never given it a look, despite being interested in the announcement trailer. So this is another one of those times that I’m going to praise Game Pass. It allowed me to try the game with zero risk. And what I found was a phenomenal game. I was entrenched. I explored everything. I collected everything. I reached max level. I replayed on New Game Plus to take down Simon – thanks to some strategy help from the internet since he was too tough on my first play through. The world and characters were really cool. And the story, while still a bit confusing, kept me on the edge of my seat. Spoiler Alert: The overall idea that the world was just a painting done by a kid felt like it kind of undermined the world for me. But it’s hard to knock it when after over 100 hours I had so much fun with a genre that I’ve never really enjoyed. In fact, that may be one of the longest times I’ve ever spent with any game. Not too shabby, FRGP!

4. BALL x PIT - 10/10

Devolver Digital always knows how to promote games. When they showed off BALL x PIT, I was interested in its weird blend of a brick breaker, bullet hell, and the roguelike genre. It’s another game I quickly became obsessed with, unlocking all the ball and ability combos, building out my town, and beating the game with every character. It was such a satisfying experience that excelled at dangling multiple carrots in front of you to keep you moving forward. By the end, I’d put in 40+ hours in this one. But with runs being completed in chunks of around 20-30 minutes, it never felt lengthy.

5. Sword of the Sea - 10/10

This is easily Matt Nava’s best work since Journey. And from the second it was revealed, it was one of my most anticipated games. Just the idea of surfing across the desert on a sword sold me alone. And it was very satisfying. The style here was amazing. Really the only complaint I have is that it felt a bit similar to the studios past games, mixing elements of Journey and ABZÛ. It was a pretty short experience, which I usually prefer over the opposite, but it did leave me wanting more, so I'm going to contradict myself and say it should have been longer.

6. South of Midnight - 9/10

I was fascinated with the trailer for South of Midnight. I loved the atmosphere. And I’ve always been fascinated by the Cajun accent. The Louisiana bayou setting felt unique. And characters like Catfish looked fantastic. One thing I was worried about was that it was such a big step forward for Compulsion Games, who I really only knew for a disappoint side scrolling puzzle game, Contrast, many years ago. Still, I put my faith in the concept and finally decided that instead of streaming Xbox Series X games through my Xbox One, I’d finally upgrade to the Series X. Is South of Midnight a perfect game? No. Is it even a good game? That’s debatable as well. The gameplay itself, particularly the combat sections, were serviceable at best. And boss battles felt unpolished. But much like the other game with “Midnight” in its title, The Midnight Walk, the vast majority of my love for this game comes from its creative elements. No other game has ever transported me to that part of the world, or incorporated so much of the fantastic lore that felt authentic to the culture. The stop motion animation style was really cool. The opening cinematic really impressed. Hazel was a really fun character. The way the folksy music intermixed with the world was charming even if it’s delivery wasn’t always the most subtle. The world was lively, filled with all kinds of native fauna. Sure, they may have not nailed every single aspect of the game, but it felt really cohesive when considering the style they were aiming for. Quite often I praise a game by saying it felt like a great PS2 game. And this is definitely the case here. If I have only one other complaint, its that not enough was explained about the world and characters, like why do Catfish and Roux have similar eyes? At the end of the day, South of Midnight is not going to complete with something like GTA VI or a massive Bethesda RPG. But it did something really unique, and I love it for that. And I’d vastly prefer more of that, the $40-$50 B-tier game, over the $70 appeal-to-the-masses blockbuster.

7. Ghost of Yōtei - 9/10

Ghost of Tsushima was amazing. I’ve never been big on the lore of samurai, but I loved exploring its beautiful world. I also really loved just galloping about looking for cool Photo Mode spots. But Ghost of Yōtei kind of encompasses all the issues I have with AAA gaming. It was mostly more of the same. There were a few things that felt like evolutions, like wolf companions in battle and the new weapon types. And there were other things that felt like steps backwards. Despite some really cool masks, the armor sets were less appealing. But after about 65 hours exploring everything, and taking plenty of pictures along the way, it just felt like it wasn’t that much different. In generations past, I’d have expected a sequel in two years. This one took five. And I’m not sure the extra time has netted us anything other than much longer, slightly prettier looking games. Not to mention, after five years, I’m not even sure I can properly compare the two since Tsushima is no longer fresh in my mind.

8. Hollow Knight: Silksong – 9/10 I never understood the praise of the original Hollow Knight. To me it was okay at best. So the rabid anticipation most people had for Silksong was lost on me. Still, I wanted to give the franchise another chance, and did thanks to Game Pass. Team Cherry really doubled down on the difficulty, often to frustrating levels. The game is often tough and unforgiving. One boss in particular about half way through almost made me just throw in the towel. But ultimately I did mostly enjoy the exploration, especially after that point, and enjoyed the constant addition of mechanics and abilities. I know there’s a whole third act that I never got to, but after beating the main game, I really found myself fatigued by its approach. So all that other cool stuff will just be lost on me.

9. Keeper – 8.5/10

Double Fine is one of those studios that I absolute adore for their creative vision. In fact, I’d argue that the reason that The Midnight Walk is on this list is because it feels like something Double Fine could have put out. The same could possibly be true of a few of the other games. When the Keeper trailer debuted, I put it at #1 on my Most Anticipated games list. I had no clue what it was, or how it was going to play, but it looked so unique. Now that it’s come and gone, I have a better idea. My main complaint here is that a large portion of the game – the part that is shown off in trailers – gets a bit long in the tooth. The gameplay is a bit slow and doesn’t evolve much. I actually remember nodding off while trying to get into it. But once the game switches things up on you, it gets pretty cool. Without spoiling things, the last few sections make up for a lot of the meandering of its first half. It kinda reminds me of INSIDE, where the twist at the end is really cool, but the stuff leading up to that moment is just kinda mediocre. Regardless, I’m really happy that Microsoft let Double Fine and Lee bring this weird little project to life.

Honorable Mentions from Previous Years: Balatro (2024) – 10/10 This is another game I spent way too much time with, but in the best possible way. It’s so simple, yet so addictive. I ended up growing obsessed with unlocking every joker, and beating every deck. After 96 hours, I got there. I can’t imagine trying to get all the seals for every joker. I know people put in hundreds and hundreds of hours to do that. But I get it. What was built here was super addictive.

Laika: Aged Through Blood (2023) 10/10

I played the demo for Laika a long time ago, and really liked it. But for whatever reason I just never got around to buying it. But during a lull, when I didn’t have any new AAA game to buy, or anything to play on Game Pass, I finally decided to pick it up during a sale. If you play the demo, and like it, you’ll like the game. It’s got beautiful art and lovely music, yet a very tone to the game filled with death and suffering. When I played the demo, it started with a bit of frustration. The main mechanic takes some getting used to. But once you get a grasp of it, there’s a world full of fun challenges and tough bosses.

Slider (2024) * 10/10

I forget who brought this game to my attention. I think it was some indie developer that I follow on Twitter. It’s a really cool puzzle game based on slider puzzles. After making my way through the first section over the course of a few hours, nearing what seemed like the end, I though, “What a lovely little puzzle game that was!”… And then the world opened up to reveal it was much, much bigger. Nineteen hours later, I was dumbfounded. Not bad for a game that’s free.

Games I still need to play: Split Fiction, Hades II, Little Nightmares III

Most Anticipated:

This year in music felt a bit mixed for me. Overall it felt like a bit of a drought. Albums I anticipated underdelivered. Revivals, like Rise Against, felt amiss. And one of my favorite vocalists, AJ Channer, broke up with his band. So a lot of my listening was to albums from the last few years, or many years in the past. But one album in particular, that I didn't really expect, blew me away:

Album of the Year: Alienation by Three Days Grace Song of the Year: "Kill Me Fast" by Three Days Grace

As of a few weeks ago, Album of the Year was up for debate between the next two artists I'll mention next... Then I listened to Alienation. I used to love Three Days Grace. But when Adam Gontier left the group, things took a turn for the worst for all involved. Three Days Grace put out three albums that I didn't care about, finding only a bit of love for "The Mountain." Matt Walst's vocals didn't impress me like Adam's always did. And on top of that, Adam's new project, Saint Asonia, never really pulled me in. I couldn't even begin to tell you a single song of theirs. But when I heard that Adam was rejoining Three Days Grace, and splitting vocal duties with Matt, I was intrigued. And the singles impressed. Somehow though, the album release passed me by. So it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I started listening to it. And - expectations go to hell! - it's undoubtedly the best work from all involved parties since Three Days Grace fractured. I'd say it's the best since Transit of Venus, although I'm not sure that's high praise since I feel like that album isn't one their really known for. To me though, it was perhaps their best work thanks to tracks like "Chalk Outline," "Anonymous," "Misery Loves Company," "Give Me A Reason," and "Broken Glass." It had a great mix of high intensity, motivational, anthemic tracks, and emotional grit even in the more intimate moments. Still, I think it would just be easier to say, Alienation is the band's best work, period. The ebb and flow between the vocalists works really well. Both Adam and Matt have distinct vocal styles, yet also blend beautifully. That blending really blurs the lines between exactly who is singing, so it almost feels as if there are more than two voices throughout many of the tracks. It's really hard for me to rank the tracks, because almost every one of them have little details that really let them shine. "Dominate" leads the way as a hype builder, with a nasty bass line in the verses. "Apologies" slows things down, and the verses really make me wonder if I'd improperly written off Matt. "Mayday" amps up the intensity again, and the trading off of each vocal line in the verses really justifies their decision to go with two vocalists. The chorus and mayday theme really work well here, giving the song a distinct feel, and it's not the only time on the album that I'm impressed with the distinct lyricism. Gun to my head, if I'm picking a favorite song, it's "Kill Me Fast." I enjoyed it pre-release, and love it more and more every single time I listen. I'm normally not one to favor a relationship based song, but it really strikes a chord with me from past experience, and the chorus just sounds so damn good and is so fun to sing along to. Plus it might evolve a bit as a spiritual beacon as I put in place another plan to try to approach my next relationship. "In Waves" again paint's a nice, distinct picture with its water themes. And here's where we get into my favorite stretch of the album. That weird bell synth melody that opens the title track may be my favorite small moment on the album. I love how it pervades the verses too. And the lyric "I'm the one who put the I in isolation" and the overall outsider messaging really hits home, reminiscent of "Anonymous" and Three Day's Grace's past. Second gun to my head, "Never Ordinary" is maybe the second best song. Collaborating with Lindsey Stirling adds beautiful dimensions through both her vocals and the string accompaniment. And again we're back to messaging that really appeals to me. "But why would you wanna blend in, when you are drenched in gold?" may be the standout line from the album. Powerful! Motivational! Inspiring! And it's just one of many lines here about being unique and letting that uniqueness shine, which compound up to a great bridge. It's really one of those songs where if you took all the details apart and examined them one by one, you'd lose some of the magic. Because everything just combines to amplify every other detail of the entire song... Uh oh, maybe this is actually the Song of the Year...

But on to "Deathwish," with another well written chorus, some nice work on the cymbals, and a guitar solo?... Those three tracks back to back are absolutely astounding! From there, we'll skip "Don't Wanna Go Home Tonight," the downtempo relationshippy ballad, and really the only track that doesn't do much for me. It would have been hard to keep up that three track high. But thankfully "In Cold Blood" comes right back as another track to contend for the albums best. Great writing and instrumentation, a powerful delivery, and some vivid, macabre imagery. Next, despite my hatred for simple sounding songs at a pedestrian tempo in 4/4, "The Power" does the simple structure some justice. Gun to my head, it's not in the running for a favorite, but it's enjoyable. Then we close with "Another Relapse," a nice closer with more great trade offs between vocalists. Overall, I'm left incredibly impressed with how well the two vocalists worked together, so much so that maybe I need to give the albums with Matt a solid chance. The album ends with a nearly minute long fade, letting you know the album has run its course. And normally with most albums, at that time I'm thinking, "What am I listening to next?" But here, I'm just ready for it to repeat. This is gonna be on repeat for quite some time.

2) SILOS by STARSET

I've already written about STARSET's SILOS when it came out. You can check that post out for more detail on how I was feeling then. But the main thing I was wondering then has been answered: It is actually a good album. Not great, but good. At first I wasn't really sure seeing at all as how it was basically just a compilation of singles that have trickled out over the last year or so, with some interstitial instrumentals to flesh things out. And a release that barely featured any new material left me disappointed at release. I'm still not particularly fond of the approach that was taken with the release, but I feel like there's got be a story about the record label not wanting to make an LP. I do know there's a story about Dustin caving to the pressure of fans and expanding what was originally planned to be an EP. And i think the project suffered because of that. I'm a massive fan of Dustin and STARSET. Until now, I thought they could do no wrong. They're debatably my favorite current band, so expectation levels are always stratospheric. I still would have rather had an LP, even if it took longer. And I'm still not a huge fan of the two covers or the instrumental stuff between the real meat and potatoes. But damn is that meat and potatoes great! Song's like "DEGENERATE" and "TOKSIK" feel like classic STARSET with modern flourishes. It's impossible not to growl along to "Down, down, down, down, down, it's a race to the bottom!" And while I was initially unsure, all of the new dimensions to Dustin's growl, like the extended section in "SILOS," are really great. Undoubtedly, the album features some of the best songs the band has ever made, and it takes the band in really cool new directions despite the projects overall oddness. My Top 5 songs on Spotify were all from SILOS, with the beautiful "DARK THINGS" leading the way. Now I did have it on repeat a lot when it came out, so that might be accurate despite most of my listening happening on my iPod. I think it, "DEGENERATE," or "TOKSIK" actually get the most play. "DYSTOPIA" made up ground too. But I'll praise "DARK THINGS" for the way it feels like it combines multiple ideas from throughout STARSET's career: earthy and otherworldly sci-fi imagery, common words from early tracks like "mayday," and "demon," the randomly whispered words reminiscent the end of "DIVING BELL," a killer synth solo akin to "It Has Begun," the electronic-y undervocals that I can never get sick of... It encompasses so much of what I love about STARSET on an intimate level without even being anything remotely close to the typical loud, high energy, harsh vocal favoring tracks. One of the new tracks, "AD ASTRA" does that well too. Sure, overall the approach feels like a misstep, and I'm still not sure explicit language needed to be introduced into the STARSET universe, even if it kills in the DYSTOPIA chorus, but I will still happily be listening to this album a lot in the near future, even if it's really only in anticipation of the band's next project.

3) FEAR by NF

I really don't listen to much rap anymore. I was a massive fan before turning to rock, and I still pay attention to guys like Eminem. But NF is truly the only artist in the genre who I still rabidly anticipate. The FEAR EP mirrors my thoughts on STARSET. It's pretty short, and it has flashes of greatness, but it's not always consistent in terms of the energy levels I look for, and it's over before I want it to be. The opening track "FEAR" is a stand out. I love the take on schizophrenia, with the little details like the door noises and sporadic whispers of "hello" and "desperate." I've never tuned into NF for his beats, but the acoustic guitar and piano here are really great. And it toys with dynamics beautifully, reminding me of Nine Inch Nails' best work. The second half where it favors a quiet approach with the added harsh synth and last hurried "desperate!" is so good! And it reminds me a lot of my favorite from HOPE, "GONE." "WHO I WAS" packs five pounds of emotion in a four pound bag. More acoustic goodness, a modulated chorus typical of NF, and a verse by mgk that's so raw it would impress even his harshest critics. Dare I say he steals the show, throwing down the best verse on the entire album? It's a song that easily makes me tear up, that's feel like its best listened to in complete silence, in the dark, where it can command the listeners full attention. When it's on, I don't want to move a muscle. I just want to let it wash over me. "GIVE ME A REASON" is a classic NF hype song with great sprinkler cymbals. Any fan of NF will enjoy it. And "WASHED UP" meanders back into the emotional NF territory. The man is such an interesting mix of raw emotion, bravado, joy, and pain. A tortured soul with a chip on his shoulder who's unafraid to display all of his fears and insecurities. His honesty and vulnerability in a genre that isn't really know for that refreshing. And I appreciate him and respect the hell out him for it. I really wouldn't consider myself a fan of rap anymore. But I'm a fan of NF. What he does really should be it's own genre.

4) The new tracks from Linkin Park's From Zero Deluxe Edition.

From Zero was my Album of the Year last year, and the race wasn't even close. It's a brilliant album that I've listened to hundreds of times by now. All three tracks that were added only further solidfied its greatness. "Up From the Bottom" might have the best LP bridge of all time, beating out last years standout track, "Good Things Go." "Unshatter" drifts back into that dull 4/4 territory, but ranks above some of the stuff on the initial release. And "Let You Fade" might be LPs most emotional song, beating out... also "Good Things Go." I can't wait to see how they follow this album up!

That's really the only new music that blew me away this year. Outside of that I did a deep dive on Breaking Benjamin so I'm now very familiar with all their stuff. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm still playing plenty of my perennial favorite Fair to Midland, as well as longtime favorites like Voyager, 10 Years, and HURT. I will leave you with one more track that shows promise of the future:

"FUKT," the debut track from CHNNR, AJ Channer's solo[-ish] new project. I'm not as fond of it on the whole compared to Fire from the Gods, mainly because my skin color doesn't let me sing all the words, but it does still showcase his intensity and uniqueness, has a great chorus section, and it really blends genres well. And I love that the first words of his return were "back with a soliloquy."

And Greywind literally just released another song, "The Scarecrow," from their upcoming album while I was typing this. But so far, "Swerve" is my favorite.

STARSET is easily one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite active band. I paid some attention to their debut, Transmissions, and anticipated Vessels a bit, but I really wasn’t completely impressed until being blown out of the water by DIVISIONS in 2019. Then, in 2021, the brilliant follow-up, HORIZONS, cemented the band as juggernauts, turning me into a rabid fan. Last April, I saw them in concert, between album releases. Dustin acted like they’d been having trouble with their label in regards to the direction of the next album. About a week after that night, they shadow dropped a new single, “BRAVE NEW WORLD.” Slowly, over the next year and a half, they trickled out tracks. “DEGENERATE,” the second single, impressed immediately. It may be one of my all-time favorites due to Dustin’s new, low, throaty growl and the anti-AI messaging. Then, we got “TOKSIK” (typset as “TokSik” back then) with more high energy and anti-social media themes. Then “DYSTOPIA,” which took a second to win me over, but may have the most powerful chorus of all the singles. Next, “DARK THINGS” (stylized then as “dark things”) was unfurled, showing a new, beautiful, softer, muted dimension of a band that I had though had already played all their cards, rivaling “DEGENERATE” as a favorite, much in thanks to its stellar synths and the way its lyrics seem to reference the band’s entire catalogue.

At that point, now six months ago and about a year after “BRAVE NEW WORLD”, we were four singles in, and I was ready for an album...

...Then we got a sixth song, “HEAD OVER HEELS,” a Tears for Fears cover, followed by “SILOS,” the sixth original track (I’m still warming up to the longer harsh vocal section) and then the eighth song, and second cover, “SHATTERED DREAMS.” Well, today the album SILOS is finally out, but I can’t help but feeling like the build up killed a lot of the enthusiasm for the full release. It’s got those eight songs, two unheard full-length tracks, and six interludes. (Interesting fact: both of the new songs feature involvement from the great, long-time collaborator Sahaj Ticotin of Ra – I’m not sure if that was by happenstance or logistics.) Overall though, the interstitial interludes feel like filler, so it feels as if we really only got two new songs to listen to today, “SWAY” and “AD ASTRA.”

With almost any band, I think the greatest part of an album release is anticipating all the stuff we haven’t got to hear yet. With the Linkin Park revival last year, we got the perfect amount of tracks to wet our appetite and aid in promotion, and then plenty of surprises when the album released. Three to four singles feels perfect. Eight here feels superfluous and borderline insane.

As I understand it from things I’ve pieced together from Dustin, as well as others online, at one point the plan was to release an EP, or possibly two. And today, Dustin replied to a guy on Instagram with the same criticism as me confirming it was originally an EP, but people complained so he put together three more songs fairly quickly (I’d assume the two of the three were the covers, or perhaps Sahaj's tracks) and added the six interludes to flesh it into a full conceptual album. Even then, it’s essentially a full album with only 10 full-length tracks, two of which are covers, and that is less than any previous effort from them. So now he's got complaints from me. It's truly a "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. I really don’t know what went on with them and their label. I assume that has a lot to do with the departure from the norm. STARSET has always been a baffling case for me for many reasons. Once Linkin Park stopped impressing me post-Minutes to Midnight I hopped between many favorite bands (NIN, Stabbing Westward, Red...) but finally settled on STARSET. I think they’re criminally underrated and underrepresented in the world of modern rock. With better marketing, they could easily be just as big as Linkin Park, or all the pervasive metalcore stuff that seems to be all the rage these days. Dustin is brilliant (he’s one of those weirdos who’s got an Engineering degree that he’s not using). And you can sense his intellect from his writing. Over the years he’s crafted some really cool, unique songs, with quite a wide variety of styles. There are sci-fi themes aplenty. Songs about the stars and moon and cosmonauts. Songs that tie the human condition to the laws of physics, the supernatural, and the occult. Songs that take us above the clouds, out of the atmosphere, to distant worlds, and even the deepest depths of the ocean. A tragedy about a Dr. Frankenstein failing to put together his monster, but being too attached to let the abomination go. A song about being digested by carnivorous, scavenging birds. A twist on the cautionary tale of Icarus in which he’s weighed down by being a failing, underachieving runner-up-type. Weird-ass-creepy interludes with carnival barkers. Years ago, he taught people the word braggadocio. (Not me, because I’m smart and shit!) And this time around I’m sure others will learn about the Dunning-Kruger effect from this release. (Because they may or may not be as smart and shit, but may or may not think that!) The band’s work up-to-date has been immaculate. All the tracks here are no different. Looking back with today's eyes, if I had one criticism of HORIZONS, it’s that it did share many similarities with DIVISIONS stylistically. But I still think those two albums are some of the best albums ever in rock. And it if ain’t broke, don’t fix it. With SILOS, we broke stuff. Some for the better. Some for the worse. That really deep digital undertone vocal thing going that they relied heavily on that I really, really loved (see “TOKSIK”) isn’t as prevalent throughout. But it feels like the true deep vocals here are an evolution of that, and I’ll never tire of growling along to “Down, down, down, down it’s a race to the bottom!” And the variety is certainly even more astounding than past albums. Dustin even kinda “raps.” And we skipped over the Bush league cuss words to go straight from completely clean to f-bombs – which I’m still conflicted about just as I was when Linkin Park took that step. But overall, the individual tracks on SILOS are very impressive. And the visual accompaniments, whether they be the official videos or visualizers continue to elevate the tracks.

So in many ways SILOS represents some of the band’s best work. Witnessing “AD ASTRA” today was a joy. It may become a favorite.

I started watching SNL around 1995, just as after an upheaval of the cast had taken out greats like Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and Kevin Nealon. People at that time that I knew nothing about. With Season 21, a few other up-and-comers like Norm Macdonald and Tim Meadows were spared, but much of the cast was new. Will Ferrell was an unknown, and a whole new supporting cast featuring Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, and Cheri Oteri, And over the next few years they'd add Tracy Morgan, Ana Gasteyer, Chris Parnell, Rachel Dratch, and Horatio Sanz. As they moved on new stars were born in Kristen Wiig and Will Forte. I believe slightly prior to my discovery of SNL, I was watching All That on Nickelodeon, but this was my first real introduction to adult-driven sketch comedy. And I was fascinated. Over the next decade or so I was obsessed. I watched reruns of many of the episodes from the early 90s when they aired on Comedy Central or E!. I watched the first five years when they came to DVD. I college, I even had a capture card hooked up to my PC so that I could record episodes and save any sketches that featured my favorites like Will Ferrell. Later, that turned into downloading full episodes thanks to the torrenting community. I found what my arguably be my favorite film of all time, or at least one that heavily shaped who I am, in Billy Madison. And I was on a quest to watch many of the other great comedies I'd missed that featured now established actors like Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and Bill Murray. So SNL - as well as finding Conan at that time - had a huge impact on me. They built the man that I am today, showing me that people like me could be funny and weird, and celebrated for it. There are going to be a lot of lists that talk about the Best SNL sketches. And I think with most of those lists, you'll probably find they skew towards the cast someone first witness. Mine will. People older than me will include things like Wayne's World and Church Lady, which have never done much for me. And people who watched in those odd years in the 80s when Lorne left - the years I've never seen - will praise Eddie Murphy. Millennials will have Stefon and Kate McKinnon sketches. My interest waned in some of the more recent years, so there are a few gaps in my encyclopedia knowledge of SNL. But I have picked back up watching in the past few years once it started airing on the West Coast at 8:30. Overall, assembling a Top 10 list of moments feels impossible. There's probably some great stuff I missed. And there's probably some great stuff I forgot. But I'm gonna try anyway. So here are perhaps my Top 10 sketches, in somewhat particular order:

1.) Roundball Rock - 2013

Not many people will probably mention this sketch, but I think it is without a doubt the best ever. The premise is great. Tim and Jason commit to the bit. They throw you a few curveballs. And, most impressive, the joke density is astounding. By the time Tim and Jason appear, practically every line is a joke. "It started out as one of David's poems." "Uhh, my gut is nooo..." "It's a lyrics first song." "Well the lyrics are a little repetitive. Basketball is a little repetitive." "Well, without the lyrics, how will people know its about basketball? Well, we'll be playing it over clips of basketball. That's not an answer." Chaos ensues, Dave and John destroy the room, and Vince Vaughn delivers the great meta line, "Then why did you bring little hammers and a can of gasoline?" And I haven't even mentioned the Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh Basketball! lyrics yet. Brilliant! It's one of those things that I question whether it was hastily written and nailed on the first draft, or meticulously crafted to be so incredibly stupid. I also love that a skit like this could have been written anytime after the release of "Roundball Rock" in 1990, but wasn't fully realized until 23 years later. Knowing what we know now about Tim Robinson's absurdism and commitment to overdoing a bit thanks to I Think You Should Leave. I'd have loved to have more of his stuff on SNL. I'd love to see something top this one day, but I'm not sure anything can. It just pierces my comedy soul. The only blemish here is the abrupt and awkward ending, but writing ending for sketches is notoriously difficult, so were gonna just call this one as close to perfect as it can get.

2) More Cowbell - 2000

I fully expect this skit to top a lot of list. It's iconic at this point. You can't listen to "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" without thinking about this sketch. Will's physical comedy, commitment to the bit, and that tight shirt really elevate it. And the eccentricities of Christopher Walken and the lines he delivers just bring it to stratospheric levels, despite Jimmy Fallon's attempt to ruin it by breaking like he did all to often. (You'll notice he wasn't mentioned anywhere prior, and won't be mentioned in a positive light anywhere within because I never thought he was a strong performer. I think he's the poster boy for failing upwards. But enough about him.) Walken is so good here. I'm not sure the skit would work as well with a different host. SNL was definitely responsible for me liking him. His role in Joe Dirt is worthy of a mention here as well. R.I.P. Gene

3) Short Shorts for the USA - 2001

It's 2001. 9/11 just happened. Lorne and the then respected Mayor Giuliani have that great exchange on the first show after SNL returned to the air the week prior. "Can we be funny?" Why start now." A week later, a mere twenty-five days after tragedy, this comes on. Again, Will's commitment to doing whatever it takes just makes this outstanding. He's got on a crop top, with his hairy, flabby midsection on full display, as well as the entirety of his ass cheeks sticking out of the smallest pair of American flag shorts you've ever seen. His retort to "Why are those shorts so short?": "Why are long pants long? Why are bushes bushy?" is one of my favorite lines in the history of the show, and I quote it any time the opportunity presents itself. Like whose neural network comes up with "Why are bushes bushy?" Horatio encouraging him throughout adds an extra layer. And then we top it of with the "The angle of my dangle is inversely proportional to the heat of my meat" line. It's also just great to watch the distress and discomfort that Rachel and Amy portray.

4) Dick in a Box - 2006

While Lazy Sunday started the digital short craze, Dick in a Box was the result of Lonely Island hitting their stride. The production, the wardrobe, the mood, the cheesy, pseudo-sexual appeal of the characters. They knocked it out of the park. There have been other great digital shorts, but they've really just been chasing this one.

5) Chippendales Audition - 1990

Before Ferrell committed to putting his body out there for laughs, Farley did. Over the years, this skit has become more controversial. Even people close to Chris have said maybe it wasn't the best idea for his mental well-being. But Chris was a terrific physical comedian! You can look at this and say it was making a joke about his weight. Or you could look at it as him showing that despite his weight, he was a very agile, energetic performer. It's quite impressive. Akin to football taking ballet classes. Yes, in hindsight, the ending, which pokes fun at his fat, flabby body maybe isn't the greatest. But for better or worse, it's one of SNLs most memorable moments. Still, I'd trade it all in an instant to have him still be here.

6) Matt Foley: Living in a Van Down by the River - 1993

Here's another classic Farley moment. It blows my mind that his was actually the first iteration of that sketch. Having the foresight to have Christina Applegate say that she'd like to live in a van down by the river when it's not like it was even a known catchphrase at that point is genius. They had to know they had something great on their hands. Again, Farley is a physical force. And him tugging on his pants never gets old.

7) "The Hannukah Song" - 1994

Sandler really killed at the Weekend Update desk unlike any cast member before or since. He'd be downright silly, offering up hastily thought of Halloween costumes, or just sing great songs whether they were spoofs like Opera Man, or originals like "The Hannukah Song" and "Red Hooded Sweatshirt." The standalone "Lunch Lady Land" also deserves praise. This merging of music and comedy is sublime. And the silliness of his rhymes when it came to rattling off obscure Jewish people, like the owner of the Seattle Supersonic-ah is peak Adam. I really wanted to include his more recent appearance in the skit Romano Tours when he hosted in 2019, which I think had a brilliant premise that he just bludgeoned beautifully into people about how if you're not happy at home, you won't magically be happy on vacation. But there are just too many good skits! I owned all the early Adam Sandler comedy CDs. "Ode to My Car" blew my mind. More recently, "Phone, Wallet, Keys" became an earworm. Musical moments like these are where the Sandman is at his best.

8) NPR's Delicious Dish: Schweddy Balls - 1998

Over the history of the show, sophomoric puns like this have often been the focus of a sketch. The later Colonel Angus and Cork Soakers come to mind, evolving the concept. But it feels like it all started with Schweddy Balls. Framing it as a laid back, straight laced NPR show really juxtaposes the crudeness of all of the balls jokes. Often times, when a skit does well, they try to replicate it. We saw this more recently with Ego Nwodim's Lisa from Temecula sketch about cutting steak where it killed the first time but couldn't catch lightning in a bottle when they tried it a second time. And the same happened here with Schweddy Wiener and Betty White's Dusty Muffins. Hell, you can't even find the Schweddy Weiner skit on the net.

9) Celebrity Jeopardy!: French Stewart, Burt Reynolds, & Sean Connery - 1999

Sometimes recurring skits do evolve for the better. Celebrity Jeopardy! had multiple airing by this point, but here it was firing on all cylinders. And Norm's role in this one gives it the nod as the best of the series. Turd Ferguson, the funny hat, Ape Tit, Threeve, sucK it Trebek.

10) Debbie Downer: Disney World - 2004 It's hard to believe that the term Debbie Downer actually came from this since it feels like its been around forever. Once again, Fallon can't keep it together, but the fact that everyone else also breaks, including Rachel, is a testament to how good this sketch is. Rachel's deadpan look, the sad horn sound effects, Horatio wiping away tears with a waffle. They just can't keep it together. Yet they somehow Rachel plugs along as best she can, they persevere, and they somehow preserve the idea behind the sketch.

Okay, so I've reached the end of this, and I already hate it. I'm not even sure I can be happy with it from about the 7th spot onwards because there are so many great other sketches for completely different reasons. A list of 100 might not even encompass 50 years of greatness. I haven't even touched on: Countless other sketches featuring Will Ferrell When he was paired with the women for Bobbi and Marty Culp or The Spartan Cheerleaders The Night at the Roxbury guys Practically any Will Ferrell bit where he raised his voice (I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!!!, GET OFF THE SHED!!!) The Lovers with Rachel Dratch Dr. Beaman The Jeffrey's manager Bill Brasky's buddies Harry Caray Jacob Silg... The Big Three from Tracy Morgan: Brian Fellow, Astronaut Jones, and Woodrow. (I originally had Brian Fellow at number 10. I love those recurring bits growing up. Particularly the one from when The Rock hosted. Unfortunately it isn't readily available online, nor are the Astronaut Jones or Woodrow sketches, which is pretty sad, and a large part of the reason I am okay with torrenting TV shows in the sake of preservation.) Danny Aykroyd's Bass-O-Matic and Consumer Probe with Irwin Mainway

The infamous Penis sketch Andy Kaufman's Mighty Mouse

This year I finished 49 games, 46 of which were first time playthroughs. Here are my favorite 10, along with a few that slipped through the cracks previous years:

1) ASTRO BOT 10/10

ASTRO BOT was my most anticipated AAA game since the day it was announced. I loved the character when he was introduced via PlayStation VR demos. The full VR game, ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission, was my GOTY back when it released. And ASTRO’s Playroom was one of my favorites from 2020.

One of my favorite plaformers of all time was the underappreciated Puppeteer that released late in the PS3 cycle. It was one of the last great games to come from Japan Studio. While I knew based on its abysmal commercial success that it would probably never get a sequel, I’d always hoped Sony would give that team another shot. Instead, they shuttered the bulk of Japan Studio, leaving only Team Asobi after they’d shown promise with the ASTRO BOT products. Team Asobi did absorb some of the former talent from Japan Studio. And I’d like to believe some of the creatives who worked on Puppeteer found work on ASTRO BOT. It shares a lot of the same design elements, and has the same amount of heart. Both were terrifically whimsical games that stood out due to incredible level design, boss designs, level themes and unique mechanics. In ASTRO BOT’s case, the power ups really stand out. They all felt really unique, carefully crafted, and dictated level designs that played to their strengths. It’s wild that the mouse power up was created and used in just one level. That’s a lot of hard work for one level, and I really appreciate when a developer devotes resources into perfecting something that may not even get that much screen time. They really gave the game a great amount of variety. ASTRO BOT also doubled down on referencing franchises from the past, and continued to incorporate PlayStation’s hardware and history right into its story. Hunting down every single bot was a joy, especially when they were the one’s I loved the most like Ratchet, Sly, or Kutaro. Although with the cases of Sly or Kutaro, or the absence of a Chimera from Resistance, there is a bittersweet feeling knowing those IPs are pretty much dead. Other third party representation were an unexpected surprise. When I found Amaterasu my jaw dropped. The highlights had to be the levels themed around Sony’s other IPs, like the God of War, Uncharted and Horizon levels. Prior to release I had just reupped on PlayStation Plus, and I finally went with the top tier, opening up a bunch of PlayStation classics that I’d never played. One of the franchises I played was LocoRoco, so playing that themed level with the games fresh in my mind made it so much better. Afterwards, I decided to play Ape Escape. I still log back in every time they update the game with a new level. And I will as long as they do. I really haven’t played a Nintendo game that I’ve enjoyed in a very long time. But when Puppeteer came out, I praised it as the most Nintendo-y game not on a Nintendo. ASTRO BOT is no different. I also applaud it for being a budget title with a 10-15 hour playtime. While the blockbuster games like The Last of Us Part II and massive open world RPGs are great, I really miss when AAA games were smaller and could come out every two years instead of three to four times the wait time.

The Game Awards was pretty great all around in terms of recognition and announcements. I'm really glad ASTRO BOT got the love it deserved with the GOTY win and multiple other awards. We need more games like this!

2) Pepper Grinder 10/10

Pepper Grinder was my most anticipated indie. I’d been following it for what felt like forever after seeing it on Twitter. For a time, during the pandemic, I thought it might never see the light of day, as the developer took some personal time off. It was a joy. As expected, the traversal mechanic was brilliant as drilling was just so satisfying. The level designs were great, and the attention to detail with the pixel art and animation really brought the world to life. The evolution of mechanics and the way that hazards upped the stakes made for a really well crafted experience. My only complaint was that the game was short. It was definitely quality over quantity. But I’d rather that be the case than the opposite. And considering it came from a small indie developer over the course of what will perhaps (hopefully) be the strangest years of our lives, I’m just happy it exists.

3) Minishoot’ Adventures 9/10

At one point this year, I had a lull in my gaming. I don’t often turn to my Steam wishlist, but I’d heard good things about this release, and I did enjoy the demo when I tried it a few years back. So I picked this one up. This game was comfortably familiar, with a layout like the original Legend of Zelda – still my favorite entry in the series – and a great mix of metroidvania exploration, twin stick SHMUP mechanics, and some bullet hell. It also had a great sense of progression thanks to the consistent upgrades. I wouldn’t necessarily say it did anything unique or mindblowing, but it took all those elements, wrapped them up in a nice package, and resulting in something that was very enjoyable to play, even when it teetered away from the relaxing exploration and toward the tense, bullet hell bosses.

4) Sheepy: A Short Adventure 9/10

This was another indie I found thanks to Twitter. And it was completely free. But when it released, by PC just got stuck on a blank screen. No solution was ever found. But the hard drive on my ten year old PC gave up the ghost in late October. And once I got my new PC up and running, Sheepy was the first game I turned to. It was a charming little hour long experience. The pixel art, the sound, the atmosphere – all great. I’m curious to see if something more comes from it. If so, I’ll probably throw some money its way.

5) Seuna’s Saga: Hellblade II 9/10

I’ve loved Ninja Theory for quite some time. I’ve played most of their games, but think that love really started after Enslaved. Back when the original Hellblade released, I even made the official topic on NeoGAF. It was great. So great that I really didn’t want a sequel. The story about mental health felt like it didn’t need to continue. Senua’s character arc was complete. But once the sequel was announce, I knew I’d play it regardless. All the same strengths are here: excellent binaural audio, really clever puzzle mechanics that mirror mental health disorders, industry leading motion capture, and another terrific performance from Melina Juergens – whose Cinderella story of being a lowly Ninja Theory employee with no acting experience who was asked to stand in as Senua after an actress dropped out to becoming a multi-award winning, respected actress is really inspirational. I’m still not sure we needed a sequel, but it was great, and blazed a different trail than the original. The giants were downright creepy. The boss battles merged audio and visuals in some cool ways. And the water sections did an excellent job of creating anxiety, which mirrored the game and character’s moods well. I stream all games from the current Xbox generation via the cloud on my Xbox One. I assume the visuals are probably taking a hit. But even through streaming, the games look gorgeous. Watching the time lapse shots where the camera would pan was always majestically beautiful. For me the most standout moment happened after the game ended, as the credits rolled, and I was introduced to the lovely, haunting beautiful, cathartic song “Animal Soul” from AURORA. Ever since last year’s GOTY, Alan Wake II, released, with its beautifully haunting melodies, I’ve craved more of this weird, electro-pop-ish stuff. And this was right in that same vein.

6) Animal Well 9/10

PlayStation Plus sometimes hands out a great free game. This was the one this year. The pixel art really created a great atmosphere. The world and the enemies felt tense and oppressive. The metroidvania-like world was a lot of fun to explore. And each unconventional unlockable abilities and mechanics made traversal and puzzles really unique interesting. This reminded me a lot of Fez or Tunic in the way it presents a fairly straight-forward game in the beginning, but you somewhat quickly figure out there’s so much more mystery in the world. I resorted to the internet to help me platinum it to sort out some of the more obscure paths and puzzles along the way, and there were still things I didn’t complete 100%. But I went into this one with almost zero expectations and left very impressed.

7) Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 9/10

I loved Ubisoft Montpellier – but mainly when they were led by Michel Ancel and released the great Rayman games and Beyond Good & Evil. And I loved the original Prince of Persia trilogy, along with the often criticized 2010 entry, The Forgotten Sands. This isn’t the first Prince of Persia reboot. The 2008 entry did nothing for me, mainly because it got rid of the iconic time rewinding mechanic to avoid death. While this game was much better than that one, I still miss the time rewinding mechanic as a means to get through puzzle challenges. This game was pretty paint by the numbers in terms of designing a metroidvania. As the large world opened up, and new abilities were gained, there were a lot of great challenges on the way toward unlocking the platinum here as well. But overall it didn’t really do anything super unique or move the genre forward in any way. Still, if there’s a mainstream metroidvania to experience this year, this is easily the one. Kinda wish it was a 3rd Rayman UbiArt game though, or what should be the real Beyond God & Evil sequel instead of that abomination that’s stuck in development hell and will probably never see the light of day – just as I expected the second it was announced.

8) Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 8.5/10

MachineGames really love Nazis. We’ve fought them time and time again in Wolfenstein. And now we fight them as Indy. I’ve actually never seen any of the Indiana Jones movies. But they’re so ingrained in pop culture that I know a bit about them. Because of that I probably wouldn’t have given this game a look. But it was free for Game Pass members, so why not?! It does remind me a lot of Uncharted, which is a bit like the mythical ouroboros, since without Indy, Uncharted would have never been made. Naughty Dog clearly looked to Indy when they designed Uncharted. And MachineGames and every other developer, has looked to Naughty Dog’s games when they’ve designed games since Uncharted and The Last of Us’ successes. With cloud streaming I do very occasionally get some odd refreshing/screen tearing things that show up. But for the most part, games feel great to play through the cloud. There were some uncanny valley moments here with characters and animations that made it feel inferior to something like the latest and greatest Naughty Dog game. And the boat controls were sometimes frustrating. But the real hero here was the world. I particularly liked the Egypt level, as it’s one of the only places on this earth that really fascinates me. There were some big set pieces, and action packed moments. But I really loved when I could let the game breath and just explore the world to hunt down the upgrade books, and medicine bottles, and artifacts. I think they nailed a good balance between main quests and side quests. I think my playthrough took around 40 hours – however the last 2-3 were spent stubbornly trying to sort out the last, complex relic puzzle, which unbeknownst to me couldn’t be completed before the endgame since I was missing one relic. Much like Indy grabbing his hat, I just got this one in before the door slams shut on 2024, beating it last night, on the eve of my trip back home. Maybe I’ll go back to collect all the notes for 100% completion next year. Or maybe I’ll give the movies a look...

9) Neva 8/10

In anticipation of Neva, I went back and played the studios last game, Gris. I remember enjoy it even though at the time I was working two jobs and often tired when gaming. It still held up. It was beautiful. Neva really never matched that for me. It was a pleasant sidescroller with a hand painted art style and a lovely story. But it neva... neva really did much in terms of gameplay. And I kind of prefer the clean, distinct visual style of Gris compared to the more fuzzy paint daubs.

10) Flock 8/10

Flock was the indie Game Pass surprise for me. Developer Richard Hogg has been on my radar since sometime before 2014 thank to anticipating the weird, artsy Hohokum. He’s got a distinct style, and it’s a lot of Hohokum is present in Flock. The world was bright and full of vivid colors. The creatures and world were all outlandishly alien. It was really a refreshing, relaxing experience that I enjoyed even when it got a big grindy to hunt down the few final achievements. Correctly guessing which group each creature belonged to was a bit of a gamble, but there wasn’t any penalty for wrong guesses. I was more interested in just tracking them all down, then adding them to my flock as we cruised across the world as a colorful streak.

Honorable Mentions (that originally released in previous years):

Looper 10/10 – a cool, free, little minimalist indie on itch.io that explores a screen wrap mechanic

Dave the Diver 9/10 – it got a bit long in the tooth by the end, but the pixel art presentation was superb and funn, and it really nailed the juxtaposition between the beauty of the sea, and the terrors that lurk within it

Cult of the Lamb 9/10 – an enjoyable roguelike with a lot to upgrade, many animals to collect, and a fun mix of the silly occult stuff and general silliness

The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo 9/10 - I've never seen anything hand animated to this level of quality. The game was short, and the old-school point and click nature led to some frustration in one instance. But the animation was just so damn good!

Alan Wake II DLC 8/10 – I wanted and hoped for so much more, but I’ll never have enough from Remedy!

Quantum Break 10/10 - When it came out, I thought it was pretty average. But in the post-Alan Wake II universe, where more threads have been connected to the Remedy Connected Universe, I found myself fascinated by it this time. Is Tim Jack? Will he reunite with his redhead love? Is Hatch Door? Where is the Alan/Zane counterpart? Give me answers, Sam! No give me more stuff that only makes me ask more questions, Sam. I kinda like that more.

Unplayed with potential:

Black Myth: Wukong

Lego Horizon Adventures

Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure

Slider (a cool looking, free, little indie I found a few days ago on someone else’s GOTY list)

And probably some other indie surprises...

Most Anticipated:

1) Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet – It’s Naughty Dog. Nothing more needs to be said. But more will be. From the second the trailer started, I was like, “Is this Naughty Dog… it looks like the quality of Naught Dog...ooooh a Sony branded jukebox. This is Naughty Dog right?! Boom, Naughty Dog. I’m not particularly a fan of the outer space, sci-fi settings that we see in so many games. But the 80’s vibes here are pretty cool. And the small glimpse of gameplay looks promising. And the cherry on top: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are scoring it! I haven’t followed Trent as much these days, since there hasn’t been much NIN content. But this, and new NIN content both have me re-interested.

2) South of Midnight – I still kinda want to keep this at number 1. Let’s call it 1B. I’ve been seeing more clips of it on Twitter, and it looks amazing. I can’t wait to explore this Cajun world.

3) THRASHER – THUMPER was my jam. I haven’t looked into how this has been received on VR, but I can’t wait for a console release.

4) Screenbound – All four of these games could be #1. This looks really unique. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever played, somewhat akin to Toodee & Topdee, or Velocity 2X in the way it mixes 2D and 3D. The Plucky Squire disappointed in that realm this year. Here’s to hoping Screenbound can join the ranks of the GOTY quality 2D and 3D games.

5) Sword of the Sea – The atmosphere of Journey, with the fluid traversal of Tony Hawk. I really want to see more of this one!

6) Ghost of Yotei – It’s more Ghost from Sucker Punch. I expect an insanely gorgeous world that I want to explore every nook and cranny of.

7) Marvel’s Wolverine – When will we see more on this one? I love the X-Men far more than Spider-Man, so I’m curious to see what Insomniac does with this one.

8) REANIMA – Let’s all be honest. This is the real Little Nightmares III.

9) Split Fiction – Josef Fares is insane. It Takes Two did some really cool stuff when it came to asynchronous gameplay. I expect no less here.

10) Project Robot from Fumito Ueda – I know barely anything, but I’m still super hyped. Shadow of the Colossus is a generational great. The Last Guardian was enjoyable enough. Let’s hope for another generational great. The atmosphere is clearly there.

11) Control 2 – MORE REMEDY NOW!!! AND GIVE ME SOME ALAN WAKE LORE!!!

12) Hades II – I tend to favor new IPs over sequels, and Supergiant has a rich history of creating beautiful IPs, but Hades was so good, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

13) Öooo – this could easily be my small, indie gem of the year. ElecHead was really enjoyable, so I trust NamaTakahashi. And I love platformers where the character has to find ways to traverse without the ability to jump.

14) FBC: Firebreak – SEE MY COMMENT ON CONTROL 2!!!

15) Judas – Who knows what’s happening with a new Bioshock. But this could easily tide us over.

16) Little Nightmares III – I’m still going to give this one a look based on the IP alone, but handing it to a different developer doesn’t bode well.

17) The Midnight Walk – I’ve loved Zoink! Games since their start. And this one is coming from the same people who worked on many of their games, as if it wasn’t immediately apparent based on the twisted, macabre style.

18) The Eternal Life of Goldman – This looks like a great sidescroller with some quality art and beautiful animation. It looks like a Disney cartoon or Cuphead or Hollow Knight. And I’m always looking for the latest and greatest game with that cartoon-y art style.

19) UVSU – I’ve already mentioned Toodee & Topdee. This is the next game from that developer. It’s a simple concept where you have to complete the level, then stop your replay from completing the level, then find another way to complete the level while avoiding the you who just stopped the last you. The demo was great, and I’m curious to see how much they can iterate on the concept.

Spotify Wrapped is here, but mine is only a small glimpse of what I listen to, and how I listen to it. Sure, as singles release, I do usually turn to Spotify, or YouTube, to listen. But once an album is out, the vast majority of my listening happens via the iPod connect to my car stereo on my 25-60+ minute commutes to and from work (depending on how early I wrap up my day - no pun intended). And on PC I still prefer Winamp. I only tolerate iTunes because having every song I've ever loved, stored locally, on a simple device that interfaces with my car stereo has never been trumped.

So here's a small sampling of what Spotify and iTunes say I listened to most.

Note: at a certain point this year, iTunes scrubbed my complete history of play counts (I bought a new PC and probably loaded a different backup of the files from a different drive, plus iTunes always gives me a fight when synching my modded iPod.) Otherwise, there would still be a lot of plays from Fair to Midland, Lions at the Gate, Fire from the Gods, Voyager, and some of the other early albums from the year or late last year.

First off, as favorites go, it was a sweep this year:

Artist of the Year: Linkin Park

Album of the Year: From Zero

Song of the Year: "Good Things Go" (debatable with many of the other From Zero songs)

"IGYEIH" by Linkin Park:

I talked about "Good Things Go" elsewhere before, as well as iTunes' most played song, "Stained" so here's "IGYEIH." If I have one criticism of it, it is that I wish Colin would have leaned even more into the bass drum with a barrage of sixteenth note kicks as the phrases end ("wishful thinking, drowning, sinking, left with nothing left, I give you everything I have!")

"I Don't Know How We Got Here" by VOLA:

My second favorite song (excluding LP songs) is up for debate. But let's give it to VOLA with "I Don't Know How We Got Here." It's a hauntingly smooth, catchy track with some interesting imagery. And Adam Janzi is one of the smoothest guys behind a drumset, effortlessly working around his kit with perfect precision on a song that somehow both feels somewhat simple yet percussively complex. So here he is playing through the track.

VOLA's full album is another latecomer to 2024 which is why their iTunes play count is still lacking. I loved all the singles, but I'm still forming an opinion on the complete album, and it doesn't get as much love with LP on constant repeat.

"Last dAntz" by Alien Ant Farm:

Alien Ant Farm came back! That wasn't on my bingo card. A lot of people call them a one hit wonder, and really only know them for a cover song. I was a huge fan of their first two albums. "Movies," "Attitude," "Wish," "Summer," "Goodbye," and "1000 Days" are all worthy of your time. Later, "Homage" was a beautiful song honoring music. Their new album is just as eccentric as their older albums, sometimes to its detriment, but one song stands out as possibly their best song ever: "Last dAntz." It reminds me a lot of the heart of "Homage." Dryden's vocals and phrasing are still really cool. And the chorus kills! I really didn't latch on to the album, and I gravitate towards groups with albums that I enjoy from start to finish, but every time I turn on this song, I'm really, really impressed.

"Your Last Breath" by Overhead, The Albatross:

If you'd have asked me last year, "What's your favorite song of all time?" I'd have blurted out "Big River Man by Overhead, The Albatross!" I found them in 2016, deep in my quest to explore post-rock. And I've been hooked ever since. No one composes like them. Describing them as post-rock almost feels silly. They exist on a different plane. They'll make 10 minute songs that never overstay their welcome. They've got the elements of a typical rock band. And some great synths and programming. But they'll also bring in sax players. Choral singers. Do some spoken word stuff. And hell, they'll even bang on the rungs of ladders. Sometimes you'll find a driving motivation in their work, yet other times you'll hypnotically zone out in the atypically metered polyrhythms. You'll find moments of sadness and joy in equal measure. They're a one of one. You simply won't find anything quite like them. They went silent for a while through the pandemic. But thankfully they're back. And they also put out a new album last month. And now when you ask me my favorite song I'm no longer sure. It might still be "Big River Man" but it just might be "Your Last Breath."

Putting them this far down this list feels criminal. And even in typing this, maybe this should even be my Song of the Year. Let's call it my "Indie Song of the Year."

However, I've sang this one's praises before. I've posted this song on two occasions: on it's release as a single, and the day the album came out.

I know they're off the beaten path. And I know some people are offput by a 9:07 song that isn't driven by lyrics. But the fact that this video has been on YouTube for 8 months and has only amassed 3500 views feels like music's biggest travesty.

If there are two things I'm ecstatic about in music this year, it's the return of Linkin Park and Overhead, The Albatross. They're both back in my list of favorite artists.

"Antihero" by We Are The Catalyst:

I've followed We Are The Catalyst since 2014 when I stumbled upon their debut LP. I've praised them many times over the years as well. Now, five LPs deep, after releasing a steady stream of singles, they've compiled them all for Friction. They've long been a Linkin Park-esque stand-in for me. Created by the Swedish sweethearts, Cat and Kenny, they share a lot of similar elements to LP. And they've come a long way from the early days of utilizing programmed drums. Through it all they've held on to Cat's great vocals, Kenny's growls and screams, and a whole lot of synths. But I'm always most impressed with the fact that Kenny produces everything himself, in-house. "Antihero" is easily the standout from Friction, but it's got a lot of good stuff.

"STARCHILD" by COSMODROME:

COSMODROME is actually somewhat similar to We Are The Catalyst, but they were a new discovery for me via Spotify's recommendations. I'm always looking for more band like STARSET, which basically became a favorite after craving more bands like Linkin Park. COSMODROME is basically German STARSET. Much like We Are The Catalyst, you can tell English isn't their primary language. And there's something really interesting about that. These guys only have singles, so I do actually use Spotify to listen to them, which is why the appear in the Top 5 list. They aren't on my iPod yet, but the day they release an album, they will be.

"DEGENERATE" by STARSET:

Speaking of STARSET, they're putting out singles. They've all been great at adding new layers to Dustin's vocals. "TokSik" has a fun message, and an equally as fun rap-ish section. "Brave New World" introduced us to STARSET dropping f-bombs, which I'm still kind of mixed on. But the track I've liked most so far is "DEGENERATE," largely for it's anti-AI messaging, but mainly because its got that new, low, throaty vocal from Dustin (Down, down, down, down, down, It's a race to the bottom.") You'll see Downplay, Dustin's former band, listed as a top artist, because I was listening to them a lot early in the year to familiarize myself with his past work. Prior to my iTunes, reboot, you'd have seen a lot of STARSET too. I can't wait for what's next!

"Animal Soul" by AURORA:

Last year, the music from Alan Wake II consumed me. This year, the song from gaming that did that was AURORA's "Animal Soul" which closed out Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. I really want to find more stuff like this and the haunting Alan Wake electro-pop-ish stuff, but I don't know how to find it or where to look. As far as this song goes, from what I understand this was a song AURORA never really recorded a studio version for. Then Ninja Theory commissioned her to record it for Hellblade. It's simply beautiful. I assume with its almost exactly 3 minute length - that feels as if it ends way too soon - it was perhaps written for Eurovision. I'm so thankful for these two worlds coming together. Otherwise I'd probably never have heard this gem.

Honorable Mentions, many of which I've posted before:

Young Lion - Non-Believer (an old find through Spotify)

Greywind - Here's Your Deathwish (and their entire EP)

Abandon Pools - Amazing Days

"I Don't Need Anyone" and almost the entire Hell Side of Sum 41's last album

Linkin Park leaked, and this is the most interested I've been for an album since the disappointing M2M. If you’ve read my music posts, my love/hate relationship with LP is well documented. They used to be my undisputed favorite band. But their reign was fairly short lived, lasting just from the release of Hybrid Theory, through Meteora, and up until the day that M2M leaked. The high of discovering them on MTV one day and the low of hearing M2M after the promising live version of “QWERTY” created the deepest chasm. From then onward, I found myself more and more disappointed with their direction, finding only glimpses of glory from a few, select tracks. Many other bands flickered in and out of my favorite spot, many of which had elements that reminded me of LP (NIN, Stabbing Westward, STARSET, various post-rock groups...). Then Chester died, and I really didn't want to listen to LP at all.

Slowly, with the anniversary releases, and the unreleased content that came with them, I found a renewed interest, and I found myself enjoying their early work more again. And then we got the news that they were back. And the timing felt right.

"The Emptiness Machine" was a great first single. And "Heavy is the Crown," which I tuned into live when it debuted on YouTube, increased my hype level exponentially... But then the ballad-y "Over Each Other" brought me back down to earth, not doing much for me. As accepting as I was of Emily, with no Mike, it just felt like it could have been a Dead Sara song. So would there be enough Hybrid Theory with this release for me? Or would it ultimately disappoint?

I'll have to spend much more time with From Zero, but my early opinion after the first few listens is that it's a tale of two halves.

The first half, outside of the singles, feels pretty safe and underwhelming. There are some tracks that feel like they bank on sounds that favor nostalgia. "Cut the Bridge" feels like "Bleed it Out" version 2.0, relying heavily on the downbeats, but that's no necessarily a good thing for me. I've rarely gravitate toward a four-on-the-floor song or anything with such a simple backbeat. "Casualty" reminds me more of the experimental albums, feeling like it'd be more comfortable coming up in the garage of a punk band or the early industrial scene. And that's just not the sound I'm looking for from LP. I guess the one positive there is that its unrefined sound does kind of feel like something they could have put out in their early days, and this is supposed to be a fresh start for them, much like a reboot to the days of Xero. But overall, the nostalgia and feel of things up to this point falls mostly flat for me...

But then, things slowly begin to shift...

“Overflow” feels like a nice reboot of the album, like the beginning of Side B. It’s got a calming funk to it that feels fresh. Then, from its close, everything really picks up steam. It also marks the return of the 3+ minute tracks, which - aside from "Heavy is the Crown" - feels like the sweet spot for length.

"Two Faced" might just be the heavy track I was looking for to follow "Heavy is the Crown." It definitely feels like Hybrid Theory, or even Xero. It starts with a great guitar riff, and a vicious verse from Mike that feels like an instant classic reminiscent of something like “In the End.” Emily throws down a great chorus. And Joe adds in some stellar scratching in the bridge. I thought it might be my favorite, but from here the album just keeps building momentum. I'll put it in the Top 3 for now. At this point if feels like things are chugging along. Maybe that's just a sign of how good "Two Faced" is, or maybe things just shifted more in my favor. (Side note: The leak I’m listening to is a web rip and the audio quality felt like it took a hit starting with this track, but somehow that almost amplifies this song’s strength, giving it a raw, unrefined, gritty feeling.)

“Stained” follows a similar format, with a slightly mellower approach. Where "Two Faced" is a scream, "Stained” is a relaxing breath. Mike and Emily compliment each other well, and Emily’s combo of predominantly more clean vocals with some harshness peppered in sounds so good. Her melodies really lift this one up.

“IGYEIH” turns back towards the heavier side. It’s one of those tracks that I could easily see existing in the universe where Chester were still here. In a few instances with certain songs, even in Mike's solo work, I've felt as if I could almost still hear Chester in the mix, and I definitely feel him here. That's probably because it feels so much like Linkin Park. It sounds like Linkin Park. And it encompasses all the aggression and angst and energy that is Linkin Park. It feels comforting, yet evolutionary and modern.

I'm still bummed that E3 is no more. I moved out to LA shortly before its demise and thought I'd have plenty of time to attend the event. Yet here we are, in this post-E3 world, with glimpses of the joys of the past like that with Xbox Showcase, and plenty of lulls, like with practically everything else. I think the world of gaming is in a weird place. Development costs are unsustainable. I've said time and time again that the “bigger is better” trend has be ruining games and stifling creativity for over a decade now. Games take way to long to make these day, and the risk is not often worth the reward. Indie games have rebelled against that trend, but all the unique, fun B tier games that used to occupy the space in between are either dead, dying, or under duress. Still, gaming is one of my biggest hobbies, and I can't help but be excited about what is to come the next few years, even if those experiences feel fewer and farther between.

Best Announcement: Alan Wake II: Night Springs DLC

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of Alan Wake. Don't believe me - look at my last post. So the events started on a high note with Remedy's studio lead, Sam Lake, making another trip from Finland to LA to announce the Night Springs DLC. Seeing him dance his way out on stage put a smile on my face. I was giddy. And then announcing that the DLC would be out the next day came as a surprise. I just finished up the last game I was playing yesterday, and I'm so excited to hop back into the warped, insanely creative world of Alan Wake. I can't get enough of it. I want to see what vision Sam and the team have for where the franchise goes next. And I want to continue to try to string together my own theories about Alan, his story, and how he intertwines with the Remedy Connected Universe. As much as I could easily fall back into my psychosis and make this post about how that announcement was the “Game of the Show” for me, I want to shine some light on the little guys.

Best Indie: Screenbound

The second announcement to blow me away was the indie game Screenbound. It's such a cool concept! And the art style looks so great. I love puzzle-y platforming games, and it looks to mix both genres well. It reminds me a lot of one of my favorites from last year, Viewfinder, which was also love at first sight. And before that there was Toodee and Topdee, which merged 2D and top down game play perfectly. In each of these game's cases, they immediately stood out as games that were looking to take me on experiences that I'd never been on before. Viewfinder and Toodee and Topdee were two of my most anticipated games, and in the end they were my Indie GOTYs the years for those years. Lets hope Screenbound follows in their footsteps.

Best of Show: South of Midnight

I remember looking forward to Contrast from Compulsion Games. We Happy Few was lost on me. But when they showed off their teaser trailer for South of Midnight at last year's Xbox Showcase, I was interested thanks to the rich atmosphere. Now we got a better look at it, with a fleshed out world, some interesting characters, and some game play, and it shot up my Most Anticipated list. I've always been fascinated by the Cajun accent. In almost every case, a heavy accent is a distraction for me. I've always joked that if someone has a noticeable accent, I assume they're dumb. Southern, New Yorkers and New Jersey-ers, all those weird Chicago/Mid-west/Wisconsin/Minnesota accents – all a bunch of dummies. But that Cajun and Creole accent rises above the rest. And here, it is on full display as a love letter to Louisiana. The second that massive catfish showed up, I was sold. He looks cool. He talks cool. He's just cool. This trailer had a lot to take in. A massive gator. Cool looking traversal options. That really cool, stop motion-like animation style. I'm so on board for this one! Apparently it's been drawing a lot of comparisons to Kena: Bridge of Spirits, both good and bad, but I loved that game to death as well, so bring on all the comparisons! I'm always a bit scared when a developer gets acquired by Microsoft. We've seen the ugly side of that with the closure of Tango Gameworks, fresh off their best game Hi-Fi RUSH. And while I applaud Microsoft for their approach with Game Pass, bringing all of their games to the platform on Day 1, I question how profitable that is, and how they decide what is a success and what isn't. And I find it absurd that I can still stream everything via my outdated Xbox One without the pressure to upgrade to a Series X. (Although I recently found my first sacrifice: In Senua's Saga: Hellblade II I couldn't use photo mode since Cloud users stream the PC version which doesn't have a dedicated in-game button for screenshots. But that seems like a small sacrifice to make considering I that by working some gift card deals I just gave them like $150 to play everything they release for the next 3 years.)

Outside of the Xbox Conference, and the initial Summer Game Fest salvo with Geoff, there wasn't much to be excited about. And while Sony did have a show a little while ago – that would have been abysmal if not for Astro Bot – I'd have liked to see more this weekend. I've been critical of Xbox for quite some time now, but they really knocked it out of the park this weekend, at least in terms of putting on a good show. I just renewed my PS+ yesterday, but I feel like I get far more value from Game Pass.

Honorable Mentions:

Doom: The Dark Ages – I loved Doom (2016). Eternal lost me a bit, largely in part due to that one pain in the ass enemy type that felt like it didn't mesh with the series' core ideas of fast, action-packed, brutal game play. Going to the Dark Ages is a really cool twist, and the shield looks like it will be a ton of fun!

Indiana Jones: The Great Circle – I've never seen any of the films. But this feels like a first person, spiritual successor to Uncharted, which I know is a bit odd since the former inspired the latter. And more Uncharted-likes with giant, dynamic set pieces are fine by me.

Deer & Boy – I love cinematic sidescrollers. This one looked so gorgeous and cute. Nothing more needs to be shown for me to add it to the heap of cinematic sidescrollers I'm anticipating. Some join the Pantheon of Greats among the Playdead games, Little Nightmares, and a few others. Others fly too close to the sun. Let us hope this one can keep up with the gods.

Atomfall – Fallout 76 got some new content or something. But I'm over it. Move on. Give me Fallout 5. Atomfall could fill that gap much like Atomic Heart tried to. Let's just hope it strays closer to Fallout in game play than it does to Atomic Heart in namesakes since it was a pretty big letdown when I played it at launch.

1) Alan Wake II (10/10)

Thirteen years! That's how long some fans had to wait for the follow up to the original Alan Wake. Thirteen years of uncertainty about whether we'd ever see a sequel. Thirteen years full of glimmers of hope. Thirteen years full of periods of despair. Thirteen years of Alan Wake II prototypes being passed on. Thirteen years of those projects turning into other IPs. Thirteen years of clever little nods and Easter eggs in games like Quantum Break and Control. I was a bit more fortunate. Having never owned a 360, and only finally getting to experience the original Alan Wake on PC in March of 2014, the wait was closer to a decade for me.

But from the moment I finally played the original Alan Wake, it quickly became one of my all-time favorite games. So the wait was still excruciating. Slowly, all the signs began to point toward a sequel actually existing. Remedy bought the right to the IP from Microsoft. The Control AWE expansion heavily featured Alan and hinted that we may soon be returning to Cauldron Lake. And then, it was official: Alan Wake II would finally be coming out! Even though I was far more certain by that point, it still felt surreal.

I tried to stay away from details pre-release. I wanted to go in knowing nothing. I pretty much did. Over thirteen years, so much has changed with gaming. Playing the remaster of the original shows that. Performance capture back then was in its infancy. Holding even the remaster up to today's light shows its rough edges. The atmosphere is still phenomenal. The Pacific Northwest is fully realized. But other areas have lost their luster. Animations, particularly when it comes to the characters and their facial animations feel dated in 2023. The audio is often a bit jarring. But the charm and intriguing nature of the game is still there in full effect. There were a few things I knew about the sequel. There would be two protagonists, with Saga serving as a bridge for new players. And the game would shift to more of a survival horror genre compared to the more action-focused original. That detail created a bit of fear.

Then I got to play Alan Wake II, and any fears were quelled. I can say that every, single, little decision that was made for Alan Wake II was perfect. Switching protagonists was great. Creating more tension by making enemies and encounters fewer and far between was great. Rewarding characters for exploring by hiding weapons and various upgrades off the beaten path was great. Abandoning collecting 100 damn thermoses was great! Taking the cinematic ideas from Quantum Break multiple steps forward was great. Linking all the breadcrumbs from the Remedy Connected Universe, which really seemed to come into its own in Control, was great. The visuals, great. The effects, particularly in overlaps and with jump scares, were great. The story, which answers a few key questions while creating many, many more, was great. The subtle inclusion of humor was great, especially within such a dark and serious game. On an artistic level as a whole, it was great. The interstitial songs between chapters were great in the first game. Here they were phenomenal! They command your attention. They provide their own details about the narrative. And they all absolutely slap! It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite because they're all so varied and amazing for different reasons. The graffiti in The Dark Place was great. Coffee World was great. That one moment, that was almost cut, that feels unlike anything that has ever been in a game was simply magical!

No one does music like Remedy. Their partnership with Poets of the Fall at this point is historied. All the artists they worked with on Alan Wake II were really impressive. The chapter songs from RAKEL, Poe, and ROOS + BERG feel like they occupy a eerie space somewhere between Billie Eilish and Nine Inch Nails. Mougleta and Jaimes threw down some catchier, poppy tracks. And the Paleface song packs a punch on its own just as much as it did in game. Even more impressive, Poe really hadn't really done anything in ten years, but re-collaborated with Remedy once more. Then there's Ahti, portrayed by Finnish actor and singer Martti Suosalo, who sings the beautiful Yötön Yö in Finnish.

The game really is a love letter to Finland. There's so much Finnish charm in the characters, locations, and humor, particularly with the Koskela brothers. I've always been fascinated with the Nordic region. The beauty of the area. They're unique cultures. The music coming out of that Sweden from We Are The Catalyst and Katatonia. Comedian Ismo. Or maybe it originally stemmed from watching Conan take his show there in 2006. Regardless, Alan Wake II definitely makes me want to visit Finland. It makes me want to live there. And it makes me want to learn the language just so Ahti can't sneak any secrets by me. Perkele!

I could break down nearly any of the other qualities that make the game great, and write plenty about the finer details that make them great. I could talk about practically every single character, their actions and motives, and the theories I have about them. Since release I've been absorbed with just that. I've been reading other people's interpretations and theories. I've watch many a youtube video dissecting the entire Alan Wake universe as well as the Remedy Connected Universe. I want to go back and replay Quantum Break, and Control, and the original, and even Max Payne – having never played the originals. I'd almost rather just further explore the Alan Wake rabbit hole than play other games. That has never happened before with a game. I've played a ton of amazing games over my approximately 35 years of gaming. Both entries of The Last of Us gave me slightly similar feelings, but that was more about just exploring the themes about the somewhat concrete narratives. Here, there is so much nebulousness to the narrative. We have no clue who Thomas Zane really is. We have no clue who Ahti really is. We have no clue who Alex Casey really is. Mr Door... Tim Breaker... The Bookers... Odin and Tor... the list goes on and on. We have no clue what Alice has actually been up to. We have no clue about the resolution to Saga's story, or what she's actually capable of. We really don't comprehend the mysteries of Cauldron Lake, The Clicker, parautilitarians, and so much more. And I love the game for that. For every thing I learn, or think I know, there's an ocean of things I don't know. And they mystery has its hooks in me deep.

Every little thing feels like it has a purpose. Every detail meticulously crafted. It almost doesn't feel like a game. As the game industry has evolved, and budgets reached stratospheric level, games have become safe, predictable. In the average AAA game, you can expect missions, a bunch of side missions that may be important or may just be there to pad out the game play time. You'll hunt for collectibles that often have little-to-no purpose.

Alan Wake boldly goes in a different direction. Sure, there's still a common thread that urges you to continue, and plenty of things to seek out and collect. But none of it ever feels forced or fake. It all feels like it adds to the narrative. I could even talk about the lunchboxes or nursery rhymes for quite a bit, and the way they transcend simply being collectible and puzzles to expand on the lore as well.

I feel like I could play the game a thousand times, and find new details that lead me to new theories.

Director, Sam Lake, has gone on record saying that he was happy that the game did take thirteen years to release. And as painful as the wait was, I have to agree with him. I don't think we would have got this version of Alan Wake ten years ago, or even five years ago. It feels as if it was created at the perfect point in time as a culmination of everything that Remedy has learned since the original.

Very few games have brought me to tears. The Last of Us is really the only other AAA game to do so. But after finishing Alan Wake II, and listening to the beautiful chapter songs, I found myself tearing up. Not because of the story itself, but because I'm just so damn grateful that it exists. And so damn happy that Remedy did such an excellent job and following up and exceeding my nearly insurmountable expectations.

I could talk about this game until I ran out of air. I've tried not to delve into the story to much, or mention any spoilers. But I could easily go on about all of that stuff for days. But I wouldn't want to spoil the experience for anyone. If you have any interest in the game, or just enjoy the spectacle of gaming in general, you really should play Alan Wake II. It's a once-in-a-generation game. Perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime game. I'm so happy it was recognized and rewarded at this year's Game Awards, taking home awards for Best Narrative, Art Direction and Game Direction. I thought it should have easily won for Best Music and Score considering how unique Remedy's approach is to incorporating music, and I figure it had an outside shot a GOTY, but it's hard to know feel so happy and proud of the team for all they accomplished.

When Geoff was asking on Twitter what the musical act should be, I, and many others, emphatically chimed in with “The Old Gods of Asgard!” Not allowing Poets of the Fall to let it rip live was a travesty, but I know that's often the case for live performances. It was still a wonderful moment. My worry was that they wouldn't be able to coordinate everything to give the performance the love it deserved. So it was great to see everyone show up: David Harewood, Ilkka Villi, Matthew Porretta, and Sam joining in at the end, living his best life in pure elation. The smile on his face as he danced along will live rent free in my head until the day I die. I love that man, his enthusiasm, and his reckless ambition so damn much! I also enjoyed seeing people who didn't play the game react to it, utterly confused by its weirdness. Best moment in the shows history! On Monday, the Final Draft patch comes out for Alan Wake II, which promises new content, new videos, new manuscript pages, and a different ending. It's the perfect excuse to play through the game again, which I'll plan to do after the holidays.

Please, let's not wait another thirteen years for a continuation. I don't want to be 53 when Alan Wake III comes out, which thankfully no longer feels like an if, but a when. I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more Alan Wake, and more of the Remedy Connected Universe! So until that day, I'll consume myself with fan theories, and replaying their games, and maybe finally getting around to watching a large part of the inspiration for the franchise, Twin Peaks.

2) Viewfinder (10/10)

Viewfinder quickly climbed to the Number 2 spot on my most anticipated list, behind only Alan Wake II, and much like Alan Wake II it not only lived up to the hype, but blew me away. It's a once-in-a-generation puzzle game, going toe to toe with greats like The Unfinished Swan, Portal, or The Witness. There is no other way to explain the mechanic than it feeling like magic. I cannot comprehend how you would make a game with that much freedom to reshape the world. If there was one game that it reminded me of, it would be The Unfinished Swan. Both did such an excellent job of introducing you to a lovely world, evolving their mechanics, and varying up their art styles throughout the experience. The game got some bad publicity upon release due to some of the voice over work, which I found to be an absurd criticism. Not once was I distracted by it. What did distract me was my childlike desire to toy around with the main mechanic. Not once could I break the game. Playing it was like watching a grandiose magic act. Every time I placed a picture, I understood what I was doing, but I could never believe it actually worked.

3) Cocoon (10/10)

I think Jeppe Carlsen is one of the best developers in the industry, period. His work on Inside and Limo during his time at Playdead is well respected. But for me he really made a name for himself with his smaller project, 140. So anything that he makes will be on my radar. I really hoped Cocoon could finish in my top spot this year as well, but placing it at Number 3 isn't a slight by any means. I consider all three of the games mentioned so far to be perfect or near-perfect games (as well as the next one). The main reason that Cocoon finds its place behind the other two is because if felt somewhat safe when it came to the gameplay. The atmosphere was perhaps Jeppe's best work to date. The world was as mysterious and strange as it was beautiful. However I found the gameplay, bosses, and overall puzzle design to be a bit too simple and predictable. I really applaud the one button approach, and really appreciate Jeppe's dedication to minimalism and simplicity, but I think it may have undermined much of the Cocoon experience. As expected the puzzle mechanics did evolve nicely, and never overstayed their welcome, but I was kind of left wanting a bit more complexity. The later levels did some really cool things, but I never really found myself stumped. Again, it's hard to discredit the game because of that, because part of Jeppe's design philosophy seems to favor creating puzzle games that are extremely intuitive. While I might sound a bit more critical here, its really only because I hoped for more depth. There's another game you'll find on many peoples' Game of the Year List that is absent from mine: Super Mario Bros. Wonder – a game I actually bought after Jeppe tweeted that a mechanic from it looks oddly similar to something from 140. The reason you won’t find it on my list is similar. It just didn't have enough depth for me to find it anything other than average. Wonder just plays everything so safe, never really fully explores the clever mechanics in it, and just feels so sterile in every detail. It's the biggest, major criticism I have about practically every Nintendo title these day. Every game feels like it's weighed down by Nintendo's stubbornness to evolve. They make simple games, with simple gameplay, with simple art styles, with simple stories. Despite my desire to enjoy their output, they've become predictable and boring to me. I feel as if I've outgrown them. Thankfully I don't get that feeling from Cocoon. The only less-than-stellar thing I can say about it is that the gameplay just didn't wow me. The artistry of everything else is top-of-the-class. It feels fresh and new and unique. It's really what I'd like from Nintendo these days.

4) Worldless (10/10)

Worldless was on my radar mainly due to its look, but it wasn't until the summer when I played the Xbox demo that I decided it would be a Day 1 purchase. Due to it's somewhat turn-based combat, it's not the typical game I would play. But the presentation, platforming nature, and Metroidvania structure of it coaxed me into it. And I'm glad it did, as I had a lot of fun with it. Much like Cocoon, the world was very mysterious. The biomes looked great, and the sound design complemented the world well. The animations of the characters and enemies also really impressed. It's one of those games that is somehow tranquil in its presentation, but challenging with its gameplay. Figuring out each battle felt like a puzzle, especially when trying to efficiently battle entities so that instead of simply defeating them you could absorb them to gain upgrade abilities. There were a large variety of enemies, and every one of them felt unique. There were also a lot of mechanics. Perhaps too many for me. The controls between the two characters did take some getting used to, especially considering you had double the abilities to play with, and they felt as if they didn't always align within the control scheme, especially when it came to having specific buttons to block specific attacks, whether they were physical, magical, or star attacks. So I'm sure a lot of my struggles came from not fully understanding each ability and the benefits of all of them. Between basic attacks, heavy attacks, ranged attacks, elemental attacks, combos, blocks, parries, and buffs, there was a lot to try to comprehend. And you had to also be cognizant of the use of attacks that resulted in physical damage as opposed to filling the absorption meter. Still, I took down every foe except for the two most difficult. Even a few of the last challenging ones I took down took a lot of perseverance. I'm sure I was stuck on one or two for a few hours alone. There were a few mechanics I probably never explored enough. Sometimes a single boss would help me understand one I wasn't using. Clearly the two I faltered on just represent the blind spots I still have when it comes to the mechanics, but I didn't want to resort to help via the internet. So after hours of struggling with one – but I think getting close - and making it to the other ultimate boss who I instantly noped out on, I'll just accept that failure. As opposed to Cocoon, this game's biggest issue, at least for me, was it overcomplexity. So I'm probably sounding pretty wishy-washy right now. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Still its hard to fault the game for my own shortcomings and unfamiliarity with the depth of a good turn-based game. It rounds out the list of the game's I thought were near-perfect this year.

5) Dredge (9/10)

Dredge snuck up on me. I don't remember how I found it. I probably saw it on Twitter. But it looked like a really cool blend of tranquil gameplay and a weird, eerie, occult story. So I put my faith in it and bought it on release day. And it turned out to be precisely what I hoped it would be. The boat upgrades provided a nice sense of progression that kept me exploring the seas to hunt down every species of fish, crab, and the aberrations. The only thing I wanted more of was cutscenes that looked like the initial Animated Trailer. The recently released DLC is the next thing on my list to play. I don't think it will be a lot of content, but any excuse to sail those seas again is fine by me.

6) Tchia (9/10)

Tchia interested me when it was announced. But so many games catch my eye that it may never have got any playtime. Thankfully it was included with PlayStation Plus, so there was no excuse to not try it. The main reason it finds itself at Number 6 is because it didn't feel as unique as the previously mentioned games. You could feel its influences, the D.N.A. of other games. You had the charming ukelele parts that felt like a more cheerful The Last of Us. There was the exploration of Assassin's Creed. The climbing of the newer Zelda entries and boat travel similar to Wind Waker. That's not to discredit Tchia, because it borrowed great things from all those games, and presented them cohesively, with a fresh coat of paint, in a beautiful world. The one thing that did feel wholly unique was the traversal. Taking over animals and objects felt very satisfying. Soaring through the skies as a bird felt just as good as tumbling across terrain as a rock. It also really nailed the sense of adventure when it came to treasure hunting by incorporating the map and photos, favoring clues instead of the blatant and obvious objective marker laden experiences that so many games choose to go with these days. I had an absolute joy completing every single thing in it, and I'm glad PlayStation Plus gave me the chance to do witness its charm.

7) Humanity (9/10)

Here's another PlayStation Plus game that I played because it was a right place, right time game. I really didn't know much about it prior to release, but upon release I was reading a lot of good things online. I love a good puzzle game. It took the Lemmings concept a wrapped it up in a tranquil yet fun experience. Some of the puzzles were pretty tough, especially the one's required to reach 100% completion. In some cases, solutions took hours. One trophy in particular, due to its vague description took me way longer than it should have, stating that you had to beat a particular level “without using one of the branching commands.” I bashed my head against the wall trying to figure out how I could move platforms and everyone around to do a seemingly impossible task without using any branching commands. At one point, I finally got lucky, with so many humans walking around that they bled over into other tiles where I could manipulate their paths to the exits. Once I'd beat it, I went online to see if others struggled with it. Turns out, in that level you had TWO branching commands available. So you just needed to beat it with only using ONE, which was super simple by comparison. Thankfully I wasnt the only idiot who interpreted it wrong and brute forced the harder solution. Aside from the standard levels and challenges, the boss battles were really high points as well.

8) Hi-Fi RUSH (9/10)

Much like PlayStation Plus provided me with the last two great games, Xbox Game Pass drew plenty of my attention this year. In many cases, like with Atomic Heart, The Last Case of Benedict Fox, Ravenlok, Planet of Lana, Dordogne, Figment 2: Creed Valley, and Starfield, the experiences were middling or downright disappointing. Hi-Fi Rush was one of the exceptions. I think the best compliment I can give it is that it felt like a game from a previous generation, maybe around the PS2/XBOX or PS3/XB360 eras. It reminds me a lot of the colorful action platformers like Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, and Jak. It looked great, oozed creativity, and was a ton of fun to play. Most notable though: the music. The in-house music was great, but whoever picked the licensed stuff knew my wheelhouse. From the moment early on when “1,000,000” by Nine Inch Nails came on in a boss fight, I was invested. Then there was “The Perfect Drug” in another battle. And “Honestly” by Zwan to bookend the game. But perhaps the greatest sequence came during the final stage, with “Whirring” by The Formidable Joy. For a brief moment in time, in 2011, I was enamored with that song. But I really never got into The Formidable Joy, so I forgot about it completely. So when that invisible friend reappeared to say hello again here, I fell in love with the song all over again. The entire time it played I was in a state of bliss. And one of the first things I did then night, after I beat the game, as I laid down for bed, was listen to “Whirring” again. That rediscovery was the colorful bow atop an already brilliant package.

9) Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (9/10)

Insomniac is my favorite developer of all time, largely in part thanks to Ratchet & Clank. I've been playing games for around 35 years now, nearly my entire life, but I wasn't always as invested in the hobby. The Ratchet & Clank franchise revitalized my enthusiasm for much of gaming. And for that reason, I will play any game they release if I own the console. The reason I can play games on Game Pass is because I bought the Sunset Overdrive Xbox One Bundle. However, Spider-Man isn't a property I care all that much about. What you see here is what you get. Spider-Man 2 is the typical AAA game, a graphically impressive game full of action and blockbuster moments. It is a spectacle. But it's also weighed down by the design ideas of what a typical AAA game should be. It is a step forward compared to the original. Peter and Miles gain a lot of fun powers. The less agile, more hulking Venom was really fun to play as briefly. The combat system has a depth to it that is engaging and fun. The portal mission early on dials the Ratchet & Clank rift mechanic up to 11, making the power of the PS5 feel like a true step forward, but sadly the idea is only seen in that one sequence. Overall, much of the game feels like a chore, merely serving up obstacles that get in the way of the main story. Do this side mission. Collect these things. Decide how to use your upgrade points. Get Gold in the Mysterium challenges. A lot of things just feel like they get in the way of me seeing the myriad of cool villains. It's not the most tedious AAA game, but when compared to the likes of something like Alan Wake II – which I played prior to Spider-Man 2 despite it coming out a week later because I was more hyped for it – it just feels so gamesy, and less artsy. The one really praiseworthy improvement is the traversal. Swinging around is always fun in a Spider-Man game. Here, new ideas like the wing suit make zipping around the city effortless. That part never gets old. Its overall excellence does make me wish I knew more about the franchise. Perhaps I'd be more impressed in that case. But because I don't, and because the AAA development cycle has ballooned to somewhat unsustainable levels, not only was I in the dark about the character teased in the ending, but I'd completely forgotten the plot and characters from the first game. Also, the Cube Suit Spider-Man glitch hit at possibly the worst point possible, when a disembodied head of Peter was seen crying over his Aunt May on her deathbed. Followed by an intense action sequence where I should have looked like a total badass in the Negative Suit, but instead I whooped ass as a small white cube until the gameplay slowed down and I found a working skin amongst a sea of white cubes. Fortunately, Miles' top tier Bodega Cat suit was unaffected, so I still got to watch that kitty whoop ass. Yeah, Spider-Man 2 is still a good game. But it's just that: a game. I'll still play Spider-Man 3. But I'm glad it's out of the way because as an X-Men fan, I'm far more excited for their Wolverine game, and hopefully another Ratchet & Clank. And if it were up to me, I'd scrap Spider-Man completely in favor of more Ratchet & Clank.

10) Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores (9/10)

Spoiler Alert: Since Zero Dawn, I've wanted to see a Horus in action. Here we finally got that moment, and it was great. Nothing much more needs to be said. That alone is worth the price of admission. Sure, there are cool new machines and weapons, and I could visit my local buddy, the Hollywood Sign, but let me just fight more Horuses?.. Horusi?... or is it one of those things where the plural is the singular?... One thing is for certain. I'm certainly going to miss Lance Reddick as Sylens. He was well known in the world of TV, but also a bastion in gaming. There was still so much mystery surrounding his character. I'll be curious to see how Guerrilla approaches that. Maybe they should just got the same route as Remedy and hire David Harewood who filled a role that was clearly originally going to be Lance's so well.

Honorable Mentions:

Jusant (8.5/10) – A charming yet simple little game about climbing a large tower, with nice art and a fun climbing mechanic, that's include in Game Pass

Bramble: The Mountain King (8.5/10) – A weird, eerie, macabre little game based on Nordic fables, that uses photorealism well, and feels like the lovechild of Little Nightmares and Hellblade. Also on Game Pass.

Solar Ash (8.5/10) – Cool, fluid traversal, drenched in a lovely style, only marred by a few gripes about the controls and framerate

Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy (8.5/10) – More Trine. A beautiful fantasy world. Fun puzzle gameplay and mechanics led by Amadeus Amadeusing it up by making boxes and planks. In some cases so many abilities were added, I forgot what all I could do. As a fifth entry, its getting a bit long in the tooth, so I imagine its hard to come up with as memorable set pieces and bosses.

UVSU (9/10) – A short game jam project from Dietzribi, who made one of my favorite games of 2021, Toodee & Topdee. It's you (U) versus you (U) as you play as both the protagonist and antagonist, switching off to get to the goal, then preventing your past self from getting to the goal, then avoiding that past self then next time, and so on for multiple rounds. There's a lot that could be iterated on here, and a full game may materialize at some point in the future!

Mechstermination Force (2019) (9/10) – I found this one on Twitter. It's got some rough edges. But underneath a bit of jank is a fun little game with some really cool boss design, where you take down mechs by focusing on their weak points as they evolve through multiple phases. Creatively it reminded me a lot of one of my favorite platformers, Puppeteer. Retroactively it takes the Number 5 spot in my 2019 list, which seemed like a mediocre year overall.

The Quarry (2022) (9/10) – A campy horror choose-your-adventure game that's light on gameplay but a thrilling romp. The use of light and dark looked great and really heightened the atmosphere. It approaches uncanny valley in some instances, but overall the performances were great. My favorite game from Supermassive to date. Retroactively, it takes the Number 8 spot in my 2022 list.

Dead Space (Remake) (9/10) – If not for Alan Wake, Dead Space would be my favorite horror game. I'm not really a fan of the trend of remaking games that aren't really all that old, so I don't consider remakes for my GOTY lists. The original does rank among my Top 10 from the entire PS3 generation, and was probably a somewhere between my Number 1 and 3 game in 2008. It would probably still hold up. If I did want to check, I could simply plug the PS3 back in. If it ain’t broke, don't fix it. The original isn't fresh in my mind, so I didn't notice most of the changes. But quite a bit was changed. Weapons got new tweaks and fire modes, probably for the better. But a lot of other unneeded changes were made, like giving Isaac a voice, and padding the game out by adding side quests and a security clearance system that locked upgrades and resources away until a points in the story where you gained a level of clearance. Some people may have appreciated this stuff as it fleshed out the story, but I realized I never really cared much about the story with this one. I just wanted to slice limbs off Necromorphs, which is still so unique, and just as satisfying fifteen years later. Props again to Game Pass for letting me revisit this without spending $70 for it.

Most Anticipated:

[THERE WILL BE SPOILERS HERE. AND THEORIES SURROUNDING THE ENDING. IF YOU PLAN ON PLAYING ALAN WAKE II, DON'T READ THIS. GO PLAY IT!!!]

After trudging through every square inch of The Dark Place, credits have rolled on Alan Wake II, and the platinum trophy is mine! It's such a phenomenal game! It's got so many qualities and small details that make it such.

First off, after a decade of hoping for a sequel, I'm just so happy that it has finally come to fruition! And I'm so pleased that its... RETURN... was in such a superb manner. Director Sam Lake himself said that he's “happy” that this is the Alan Wake II we got. It wasn't Remedy's first draft. Both Quantum Break and Control spun off of Alan Wake failed sequel concepts. Over the last 13 years Remedy has honed their skills, and introduced and iterated on many concepts since the original Alan Wake. And the result here is a culmination of all those years of hard work.

Connected universes and multiverses are hip right now. This has been a concept in video games for quite some time, with people suggesting that merely an Easter egg like a newspaper mentioning a “deadly virus” in Uncharted 3 means that The Last of Us and Uncharted coexist. Some people even go as far as to say that because there's also a Precursor Orb collectible in Uncharted, Jak & Daxter also reside in that universe. At a certain point, it becomes a bit absurd. But Remedy has really found unique and interesting ways to tackle the concept of a shared universe that always feels organic and never forced.

Remedy doesn't own all of its IP, particularly Max Payne or Quantum Break. Yet they've found creative ways to incorporate characters and ideas from both of those franchises. And it feels as if these plans have been in place since their Alan Wake's inception, if not earlier. I never played their Max Payne games (only Max Payne 3) but I'm hoping the talks of them remaking them changes that. Because I'm really excited to see not only what they were about, but how they'll almost uncertainly tie even more things to their connected universe.

Alex Casey is certainly a nod to Max Payne. They share many similarities, even down to the Sam Lake likeness. Yet within Alan Wake, he's also just the lead character of Alan's past novels. Does he even really exist? Was he simply birthed into the world by Alan's writing? Multiple times, events contradict themselves so that were never really sure what the truth is. And I think that's one of the most fascinating things about the Alan Wake franchise, and their other works by extension. Every single character in the world is a walking contradiction, an enigma. Alan Wake, Thomas Zane, Alex Casey, Saga Anderson, The Anderson brothers, Tim Breaker... every character intertwines like a chaotic ball of yarn.

I think this is never more clear than with Thomas Zane. At face value, he's an auteur, a muti-hyphenate, who became trapped in the Dark Place after his own events at Cauldron Lake. In the original game, he acts as Alan's guiding force, often a deus ex machina. Who or what exactly he is or was was one of my biggest questions entering the sequel. I'm still not sure. Oddly, he looks just like Alan. Ahti, an eccentric character we'll talk about later, even refers to Alan as Tom. And much of Tom's work is credited to Alan Wake, either through their Americanized names, or Finnish names. It wouldn't be crazy to say that Tom doesn’t even exist, and is merely a plot device, a character created by Alan himself to deal with his own situation. Yet somehow the inverse could also be completely true. Maybe Tom created Alan to deal with his own trials of being trapped in the Dark Place. Maybe he wants Alan to replace him in The Dark Place...? Then there's the Clicker, a switch that apparently was cut off of a lamp that Tom had, that Alan also had a kid to help him combat his own fears of the dark. It's also known as an OOP – an object of power – thanks to Control's Federal Bureau of Control, postulated to somehow act as the key to making written art come true. The ambiguity and overlapping with everything is both intriguing and maddening. And that nebulousness is exactly why I love Alan Wake and Remedy so much.

The same questioning could be applied to every other character. Has everything just been created by Alan to deal with his situation? Is that situation even real, or all in Alan's head? How do you tell the truth from the lies? At the end of the original game, The Dark Presence, manifested as Barbara Jagger, tries to convince Alan that his entire world is a delusion, a ruse created by him so that he doesn't have to deal with the fact that he was actually the one responsible for the death of his wife. It's a short interaction, and it's brushed off by Alan as an attempt by her to stop him from defeating her, but who's to say that it's not the truth? Maybe everything we're playing is merely a dream. Maybe Alan's bad temper or addictions either drove her away or got her killed...

Alan Wake II really doesn't answer a lot of questions. It more-so just doubles down on this approach of contradictions and confusion. I'm really no more certain who Alan, Tom, and Alice are, or whether or not they even all exist. And now we've just added more characters and more questions.

I tried to go in blind. I really only knew that Alan was in The Dark Place and there was a second playable character, Saga Anderson. I feel like I put a few details together early in the game as to who we were interacting with. I knew we'd be running into Tom. Yet despite knowing Saga's name, her lineage reveal took me by complete surprise! I think the differences in race from the Anderson brothers made me never even consider that. However, because of it, I do have a theory on one of the game's biggest unanswered questions: Who is Saga's father?

Mr. Door, Warlin, is a wild card. We really don't know anything about how he operates or what his motives are. But I have some theories! Some of which I came to. Others which I agree with after falling down the rabbit hole of internet debates. Warlin is Saga's father. There's really not much to go on. Tor and Door himself say a few things that seem to suggest it. Then there's the man researching Door, Tim Breaker, played by Shawn Ashmore – who also gave his likeness to the lead in Quantum Break, Jack Joyce. I don't remember a lot about Quantum Break, but his use of white boards can't be coincidence. Nor can his name which is one character shy of “time breaker.” This has to be another situation of skirting IP. Tim does have family in the world of Alan Wake via the Breaker family in the Bright Falls Sheriff Office. Are these two characters one in the same, mirror images in opposing universes? I'm curious to finding out more about this as well, and what role Tim plays in everything.

The internet also helped with with a few theories as well. Early on, Tim mentions a “redhead.” I assumed it was a reference to Jesse Faden, the protagonist from Control. But it would also reference Beth Wilder from Quantum Break. In these situations, both characters share character models, which isn't unheard of for multiple project from video game studios. But here it just feels like it has to mean more. Could they also be multidimensional counterparts? Clearly as is the case with Casey and Breaker, names don't have to be the same. Yet the person essentially is.

Then on the flip side of things, you have characters who don't look alike, but feel like they're counterparts as well. Mr. Door and Quantum Break's Mr. Hatch share some interesting similarities. Door... Hatch...synonymous...? The unfortunate thing here is that I'd assume Mr. Door was originally intended for Lance Reddick, the actor who played Mr. Martin Hatch, before his untimely death. (Lance is mentioned in the credits.) But a recast was required. Again Martin... Warlin... all to similar as well...?

One thing is for sure: I need to play Quantum Break again.

Details like that also make me consider some other absurd theories. Are Alan and Tom counterparts from differing dimensions? Perhaps either Alan or Tom doesn't truly belong in the dimension we're witnessing. Maybe that crossing of universes is responsible for so much of the chaos, similar to the show Fringe... which also featured multiple dimensions and Lance Reddick. Let's make it canon!

Ahti probably knows, and he's perhaps the most interesting character at this point. Appearing first in Control, as a janitor, he seems to be omnipresent and all knowing. He reminds me a lot of Tom from the original game. The janitor trope has come up many times before: Neil Flynn in Scrubs, Mop Girl in Disenchantment, Ahti... what's that about? Now, finding his way into the world of Alan Wake, he just creates more questions, straddling the line between eccentric old Finnish man and god. Him singing was great. Actor Martti Suosalo who portrays him won a BAFTA for his role in Control, and deserves so much praise here as well. I just watched a podcast with Sam Lake talking about how talented he is as an actor and singer in Finland.

Maybe I need to replay Control as well... There's also so much lore here about Altered World Events, Objects of Power, and parautilitarians to further explore. As well as plenty of direct references to Alan Wake that may now be a bit more enlightening. But back to the the all knowing and the omnipresent.

The Old Gods of Asgard occupied that role in the original game, and still do somewhat. Here we learn that they're immune to the effects of Alan's writing, and by extension so is Saga. While her mother, Freya, is dead in this time line, she would certainly be as well, should she or one of her doubles appear.

I love The Old Gods of Asgard so much, as characters. I'm curious to see what's in store for them considering the conclusion of the game. But I mainly like them for the musical contributions that come from the real life band Poets of the Fall! Remedy has done a terrific job commissioning music throughout the franchise. The songs that served as transitions between chapters in the first game were great. Here, they're even better! Not only is the Old Gods stuff amazing, but the other collection of artists really impressed even though they're outside of my typical genre of choice: rock. I'm not even sure what genre to put a lot of the stuff in. Many of the tracks feel kind of industrially, like a female version of Nine Inch Nails, or maybe Billie Eilish. And their excellence makes me want to explore more artist in that vein.

I talked about this last time when I wrote about Alan Wake. More games need to commission musicians to create unique songs for them. Everything here feels custom crafted for Alan Wake. Similarly, one of my other favorite games, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - which I'm still hoping somehow gets a sequel after nearly 20 years - also commissioned a band, Cold, to write the song "In My Mind," and it was also perfectly executed.

I think Remedy's dedication to partnering the project with excellent music is also indicative of another of the strengths of Alan Wake II. It's a story about an artist, that values artist. The overall art direction is beautiful despite it dire and macabre tone. It's intermingled with beauty. I just read today on twitter about how all of the graffiti scattered throughout The Dark Place was created in collaboration with graffiti artist, Irwin Suimuri. So many times, the art and artists in games do not get the credit they deserve, so it's lovely to see people appreciating some of the finer details in this large project.

This reliance on art and sound really comes to a head at the point that many are calling the game's best moment: it's musical section. Apparently it was almost cut because it was hard to execute, but Sam stubbornly stuck to his guns and made sure it shined. I had a grin on my face the entire time, especially watching both Alan and Sam dance. (Was it Casey or Sam himself since he's also appeared in the world?)

The first game had glimpses of humor, mainly through the comic relief that Alan's agent, Barry, provided. Because of that, he's one of my favorite comic characters in all of gaming. One of my only disappointments with Alan Wake II is that he never appears. Yet somehow the game is even funnier. It's also far darker and more gruesome. So that dichotomy is even more impressive.

There were also the Koskela Brothers, who made some genuinely gut bustingly funny videos. Jaakko's fumbling of the pronunciation of quinceañera was probably the most hilarious moment in the game. Their inclusion was much appreciated. And there's the whole other rabbit hole to go down about their parallel to the Huotari Well incident which makes one wonder who or what is exactly real in the world. Plus, the town of Watery and Coffee World were great additions as well. There's nothing better than a decrepit theme park. Pat Maine had some fun, odd radio shows as well, obsessing over Wendy Davis and her Family Beef Jerky. Hickory teriyaki! It could be that he's losing it, or maybe like the Anderson family, he's immune to the changes in the story and remembering the past.

Another common praise that I see coming up time and time again is how the game seems to project a love for Finland, and feel Finnish. The platinum trophy itself is labeled "Sisu," which is defined by Wikipedia as "a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness... to express their national character. It is generally considered not to have a literal equivalent in English. In contemporary psychology, sisu is shown to have both beneficial and harmful sides which can be measured using a designated scale."

The Koskela Brothers, Ahti often slipping into Finnish and singing "Yötön Yö," Wake and Zane sometimes being referred to as Seine and Viekko. It all makes me want to move to Finland, or at the very least, learn the language just to see if they've tried or try to slip anything past us English speakers.

Another thing I did know was that the game was going to stray from its original design quite a bit, which was a concern for me going in. There was a lot more emphasis on exploration (and thankfully less collectibles). Combat wasn't as center stage as the original either, with encounters feeling fewer and farther between, in favor of new, unique investigating and writing mechanics. Overall it didn't feel anywhere near as action driven, and because of that combat seemed a bit more one dimensional. While there were probably just as many weapons, and more choices for explosives, it didn't feel as if the game was encouraging you to experiment with the combat mechanics as much. So I mainly relied of my favorite guns, and the occasional flare. Wolves, which were a scrapped enemy type from the first game were present, but with their middling execution, I think I'd have preferred keeping the uniqueness of the various possessed objects the original had, whether they were beams or barrels, or a menacing tractor or train. One feature that I'm glad got axed though was the driving mechanics, which were very unrefined in the original. I did really enjoy the inclusion of audiovisual “jump scares.” On more than one occasion I got spooked. And the atmosphere, particularly in the Overlaps, where worlds felt as if they were blending together was a really cool touch. I do think I'd have still been okay with a form more similar to the original, but I do know some criticized it. The changes did really encourage me to really take my time with everything. I tried to explore every nook and cranny over my leisurely 31 hour play though. Letting the game breathe more gave it a nice ebb and flow. I often didn't want to put it down, staying up way past my bedtime, exchanging my enjoyment within it for the tiredness I'd face the next day at work. I managed to find nearly every collectible, solve every rhyme, and close out most of Saga's cases. There were a few things I used the internet to track down, I missed petting one deer, and a few cases weren't closed. But I enjoyed every second of it! I also really enjoyed Alan's portrayal in this installment. In the first game, he was unwavering and pretty clear headed. But 13 years in The Dark Place and with The Dark Presence - regardless of how long it has felt to him - really started driving him mad. We started to see cracks. I assume even the smallest details are crafted by Sam Lake. I felt like the Alan Wake is and has always been Scratch twist was brilliant. There's this back and forth about who is who, and who is writing Return, and even Initiation. And early on to me it felt like Alan's flowery prose was swapped for clunkier lines of thought and sentence fragments. I thought, "Boy, Scratch is such a shit writer." Turns out, it's probably just Alan going crazy, or his mind being invaded by The Dark Presence. At some point it's also mentioned that no one has ever returned from Cauldron Lake unaffected, which should have been some foreshadowing that the real Alan was never going to return completely as himself. Yet up until seconds before Scratch escaped from his jail cell, I assumed an unaffected Alan. Then later, there's the ultimate payoff that the two are one-in-the-same when it's revealed that the thing tormenting Alice is actually not Alan's doppelganger who made it to her reality, but just Alan bleeding into that dimension.

It's not very often that I finish a game and question what the hell I'm going to do next. I've got Super Mario Bros. Wonder ready to go. Jusant is ready on Game Pass. And Spider-Man 2 - which despite being from my all-time favorite developer - which got put on the back burner because I wanted to prioritize Alan Wake II, should be on the way since I picked it up a few days ago thanks to Wario64 mentioning a sale online. But I really don't want to play anything right now. Its a odd phenomenon that happens every so often after a truly great game. I saw someone else online say this as well. The only other time I can think of this happening in recent memory is with The Last of Us, a series I regard as the best ever. I'm kind of sad Alan Wake has now come and gone. In listening to the soundtrack afterwards, I began to weep seconds into RAKEL's "Follow You into the Dark." It's nearly an alien feeling for me. But the finality of finishing up the game and being so grateful for it existence really got to me. And I think those companion music pieces probably exemplify best what makes the game so damn great. Whereas most games feel like games comprised of various works of art, broken down into chunks like art design, sound design, visual effects, etc., Alan Wake II feels like the inverse. It's a collection of beautiful works of art, like custom songs, and custom graffiti, and all of those other more mundane components that go into making a game, that somehow work together to form this amazing game with a riveting story.

I'm sure I'll pick up one of those other games soon. With Mario I expect a series of levels of varing degrees of difficulty. It's a tried and true formula that we've seen in gaming for 30+ years, with a fresh coat of paint. With Spider-Man 2 I expect the modern AAA game: fancy graphics and effects, a large open world, and plenty of side missions to keep me busy and extend play time. It will be Spider-Man 1 with a few more bells and whistles. In both cases, those experiences will probably be fairly "game-y." By contrast, Alan Wake II was created with such a bold vision, reckless ambition, and an overall love that made it feel completely unique, transcendental of video games, and more like an experience than a cliche video game.

Right now all I want to do is talk about Alan Wake II, and go down the rabbit hole of reading about others' experiences with it and their own theories.

It's such a treasure. It definitely wouldn't exist in its current state had it come out around 2013. The wait was horrendous. But like Sam, I'm so happy it exists in 2023. The thirteen years it took felt like an eternity. But during that eternity Remedy continued to toil away at quietly adding more to the Alan Wake lore even when they were busy with other projects, not working directly on the franchise. Alan Wake II feels like a great sequel that builds upon the strengths of a great game. But it also feels like it contains great elements from the projects that they've held us over with since the original. The seamless blend of live action videos feels like the evolution of ideas in Quantum Break. And the connected universe idea pulls heavily from Control. Without those games, Alan Wake II may just not have been quite as special as it turned out to be.

That being said, I hope it performs well commercially, enough to justify a sequel within a much shorter time period. Because I'm so obsessed with the world, and Remedy's grand schemes. I'd like to know who Mr. Door, Tim Breaker, and Ahti actually are. I'd like to get a better idea of what their motives are, as well as those of Tom. I'd like to see what the crazy old Old Gods are up to. I'd like to know if Logan is okay. I'd like to see if Alan and Alice can triumph and return to a normal life. I'd like to know if the Bookers, the latest artists to visit Bright Falls, will play a larger role. I'd like to learn more about all the cool little details and ways that Alan Wake, Control, Quantum Break, and Max Payne intersect. I don't expect much of that to actually be answered, because a lot of the fun of the franchise is pondering the unknowns and unknowables. So maybe I'm really just looking forward to another riveting story, more great music and art, and even more questions that make me wonder what the hell is really going on.

I took a break from my 90s album discovery tour for a bit, but hoped back on the horse.

A few days back, I listened to Third Eye Blind's self titled album from 97, and Blue from 99. They've got some iconic tracks, but I didn't find much more here that really took me by suprise. A lot of their stuff feels too similar. Or maybe it just wasn't the right day to appreciate more of thier stuff. Then today I went with Vertical Horizon's Everything You Want from 99. It's got a few other great upbeat tracks I didn't know about, but their best deeper cuts came years later, on 2009's Burning the Days and 2013's Echoes from the Underground.

As the story goes, year's prior to those albums, Neil Peart - the drummer for Rush, the best drummer period, and one of my biggest idols - found himself adrift on his motorcycle after the death of this wife and daughter, a ghost rider on a cross-country quest to heal.

According to Vertical Horizon's frontman, Matt Scannell, who like me also proclaims Rush to be his favorite band, during that time Neil listened to a lot of pop radio and found a love for Vertical Horizon's hit “Everything You Want.” At a certain point the two of them met, and Neil told him how much he loved the song. It may have very well inspired Neil to return to Rush. The two became friends, and when it came time for Vertical Horizon's Burning the Days in 2009, the two collaborated, with Neil playing on both “Save Me From Myself,” and “Welcome to the Bottom,” along with writing and playing on “Even Now.” A few years later, Neil returned to play again on “Instamatic,” and “South for the Winter.” Now it's near impossible for me to have an unbiased opinion on works of Neil's, but I think some of this work goes toe-to-toe with Vertical Horizon's earlier commercial hits. “Instamatic” and “Save Me From Myself” almost feel like they could be Rush tracks. There's just a certain power on those tracks that elevates them. These inclusions of Neil result in one of those occasions where a band is worth revisiting. Sometimes we write bands off after a lackluster album or two. Sometimes we feel as if a band's direction and our own don't align anymore. But sometimes, just sometimes, a band can come back around to paint themselves in a new light.

Today's albums were 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl and 1995's A Boy Named Goo by Goo Goo Dolls.

My gym, thankfully, has started switching up its playlist periodically. It used to be like 95% pop/rap/hip hop that was repeated everyday, like clockwork, ad nauseam... But they've started including some rock. They seem to favor quite a bit of 90s to early 2000s stuff. It reminds me of how I feel like I have a pretty good grip on artists and albums post-2000 rock (Linkin Park and nu-metal onward) when I started listening to the genre, and classic rock all the way up to the 80s (CCR, The Who, Rush, The Police, Cheap Trick...) but when it comes to the 90s-2000 stuff, I feel like I only know songs that got major radio airplay. In those days of my youth, music didn't play as big of a role in my life. It wasn't as important to me as it is today. So I mainly just listened to whatever was on the radio in the car, or whatever my dad was listening to. But at a certain age, I began to explore the world of music for more than just what was being piped into my ears via FM radio. And I became a rabid fan of rock. Yet I never explored those years much more.

A similar thought occurred to me a few month back when I went to a concert with someone and saw Cold's anniversary show for the album Year of the Spider. She stuck up a convo with this hardcore Cold fan who was about our age. He was so passionate about the band and that album, which I know but a few tracks from. So why do we gravitate towards particular bands or albums? What made him a massive Cold fan and me a massive Linkin Park fan during those years? There's so much music in this world, and practically every single artist means something special to someone. Do we miss great things merely based on the time of or our upbringing, or even just the changing of ourselves over the years? Do we even just overlook things while they're around? That feeling happened again when one of my clients gushed about seeing Breaking Benjamin, another band who has some singles I really love ("So Cold," "Diary of Jane," "I Will Not Bow"...), but I never really gave a deep dive until recently and found the beautiful "Evil Angel."

I know I've certainly missed or underappreciated bands over the years. If you asked me my two favorite bands, they're Rush and Fair to Midland. The first of which, I actually disliked until I really began to understand their music thank to the Rock Band video game. And the latter of which I knew of while they were active, but then kind of stopped paying attention, only to become infatuated with them years after they disbanded.

So I wonder what else I'm missing...

Tonight, my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist started off strong with Chevelle, a band I've always liked conceptually, but never really given enough time to to fully appreciate them. Then later, it introduced me to a 3 Doors Down's deeper cut, "Duck and Run," and boy does it slap! The aggression in it made me double take who it was by, and the message resonates possibly even more today. So then I listened to The Better Life in its entirety. What a strong album!

Now I probably do know most band's singles from that time period. I've always appreciated the singles from bands like 3 Doors Down, Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty, and the non-number bands like Goo Goo Dolls, Our Lady Peace, Smashing Pumpkins, Cranberries, and Vertical Horizon (especially when they worked with Neil Peart). But as for listening to entire albums by any of them, I'm not sure I ever have in any of those cases. Yet two of my favorite songs ever are probably "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls and "Innocent" by Our Lady Piece. But I also feel like they exemplify why I've never taken the time to fully appreciate that phase of rock. When I think of that time, I think of slower tempo songs, and emotional songs. So it was nice to see “Duck and Run” poke holes in that logic.

These last two day, with a tropical storm derailing my plans and work, I decided to jump back into the world of Alan Wake for the third time in anticipation of Alan Wake II releasing October 27th, this time via the remaster on PS5 thanks to it being included in the PlayStation Plus lineup a few months back.

To say that Alan Wake II is my most hyped game would be an understatement. Never having purchased a 360, I didn't play the original upon release in 2010. But it was on my radar. And sometime later, when a Humble Bundle released that included it and American Nightmare for something like $2, I jumped at the opportunity… Cruelly, my PC couldn't run it. But then, at the tail end of 2013, I bought a new PC… and a few months later I discovered it could run it!

I was astounded! I still vividly remember playing through it that first time, experiencing everything about it that impressed so much back then, and still does to this day. It quickly became one of my favorite games of all time, and I joined the cult of people hoping for a sequel.

Now as for the remasters, I'm not one for them. They often seem like quick cash grabs. So I never intended to buy the remaster when I still had access to the PC version, as well as the Xbox version via backwards compatibility. And in playing the remaster, it does show its age. Animation and dialog are really rigid. The vehicles control like they have ice for tires. And the visuals don't hold a candle to modern games. But it's just such a fascinating romp that I really don't care. What it did well then, it still does well today, even if its no longer in the prettiest of packages.

First off, the combat mechanics are simply sublime. I've also never been a big fan of survival horror games with a few exceptions (pretty much just Alan Wake and the Dead Space franchise - which I think has many parallels in terms of strengths). But the whole "Remove the darkness from enemies with light to make them vulnerable to damage" is so cool. It never gets old, especially thanks to the variety of weapons and tactical advantages that each has. The flashlight, revolver combo is a staple, but firing off the flare gun or tossing a flashbang provides a completely different level of satisfaction.

Second, the narrative despite favoring many cliches, is just so damn good. Even after my third time playing it, I'm picking up on little details. Yet, somehow, I feel as if they only lead me to more questions. I think I understand less now than I did almost a decade ago.

What exactly is real in the world of Alan Wake? Is Bright Falls actually a cursed city where written works become non-fiction? Did Thomas Zane actually exist, or was he just the deus ex machina created by Alan? Does Alan actually exist, or is he just the product of Thomas Zane's poetry? How much of Alex Casey is Alan, or vice versa? Is Alice dead? Is Alan dead? Is he actually in some sort of psychosis or perhaps a coma? Is everything a dream, or work of fiction crafted by the hands of someone else?

Its ambiguity is its strength. It often takes you in one direction, just to contradict itself at a later point. I really have no idea what the actual truth is, yet I love the ride and speculation all along the way.

Another strength: Barry. He's such a great character. Comic relief characters, and comedy in general, are tough to pull off in games. But Barry is just such a likeable character. One of my favorite points from the game is when he shows up draped in Christmas lights as an aid to ward of The Taken. It's such a silly, yet practical, application of the use of light in the world. And it's totally Barry. He's a buffoon, who doesn't seem to have much know-how in terms of survival instincts, yet you root for him. I'm trying not to pay too much attention to Alan Wake II pre-release, but I hope he plays a prominent role again. Another strength of the narrative: collecting the manuscript. They offer all kinds of insight into the world and how everything is interconnected. Sometimes they build backstory. Sometimes they further explain things that have happened. Sometimes, like in the instance of Barry getting separated from Alan, they create tension with other characters as you get to witness events second hand. And sometimes they just foreshadow things to come, even becoming tongue-in-cheek in some situations. They're a really fun way to incorporate collectibles, and they fit the narrative well.

That tongue in cheek nature isn't just limited to documents. There are The Old Gods of Asgard too, two more quirky characters who are either completely insane, or perhaps the only ones who actually know what is going on in Bright Falls. Their stage set piece is another high point in the game. By that point, it feels as if you've got combat mastered, and you can just have fun taking down swarms of The Taken. It's so satisfying. And that leads perfectly into my next point.

Remedy has also had a long history of working with the band Poets of the Fall. I never played their Max Payne games, so the moment when "War" comes on the in-game radio served as my introduction to the band. And that too was one of the standout moments I vividly remember from my first play through. I think collaborations like that are not made enough in the video game industry. One of my other all-time favorites, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (still waiting for that sequel that I sadly know will never come) did this well too, commissioning the band Cold to write a song, "In My Mind" specifically for the game. It's not a well known song of theirs. I saw them a few months back, and knew there was zero chance that they'd play it. But it's the main reason I'm a fan of theirs. Just as Remedy's collaboration with Poets of the Fall is the reason I'm a fan of theirs.

I've got to work my way through the two expansions again, but then I might go back and try to platinum the game. I've never played on Nightmare mode, so there might be a bit more for me to come across that could help provide some clarity within the world… Or just confuse me more… There are so many little details to love about the world. I love the quaint charm of Bright Falls. I love the Twilight Zone parody of Night Springs. I love that Sam Lake makes a small appearance. I love just how weird, and quirky, and mysterious it is!

I'm also enjoying revisiting Poets of the Fall tonight, since I really never gave their more recent albums an abundance of attention. The instrumental "Rogue" just took me by surprise.