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The Great(?) Video Game Spreadsheet Project: Year 32 Challenge!

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Evan_B:
Week 19: Current Weighted Top Twenty (as of 2/8/2024):
VVVVVV (4.47)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (4.42)
UNSIGHTED (4.41)
Crawl (4.36)
Paper Mario TTYD (4.35)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (4.3)
The Swapper (4.28)
Inscryption (4.25)
Donkey Kong (1994) (4.25)
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Deluxe) (4.23)
Crystal Project (4.23)
Dandara (4.21)
Mr. Driller Drill Land (4.21)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (4.19)
ARMS (4.19)
Skwish (4.17)
Tetris Effect Connected (4.16)
Kirby's Air Ride (4.15)
Pick Pack Pup (4.12)
Toree 2 (4.12)
You thought I’d given up on this wild and crazy ride, didn’t you? Well, as it turns out, I’m still going, though my previous commitments have been… compromised.

I did spend the holiday season getting some eShop credit and using it to pick up some new releases that I had an interest in, so I guess my streak of buying no new games… ah, who am I kidding? It barely lasted a quarter of a year. But I am still doing everything in my power to chip away at old games that have sat in my backlog for far too long, as you’ll see from a number of my completed list for this update.

I once again took a look at my top 20 and did some restructuring, in addition to adding a newcomer that has proven to me that I can still fall in love with something new. I also added more pages to the spreadsheet that are even as of the past week very much outdated. Oh, joy.
Transistor (3.56) - Disliked
Can’t say much about this one, other than the slow unlock of abilities and lack of helpful tutorials made for an uninviting and bland play. I’m sure Supergiant managed to do this thing a bit better with Hades, but I don’t care much for that game’s priorities.

Mortal Shell (3.25) - Liked
The Switch version of this game seems to run better in handheld than docked, oddly enough, but the mechanics are sound enough to make for a decent Soulslike experience. A little harsh with its world traversal, though.

Gone Home  (3.5) - Liked
I don’t see why people were miffed with this game. It’s a very earnest attempt at making a meaningful narrative experience, and I can respect that. Sure, it is a bit ham fisted at points, but I do love how the house is designed.

Kingdom Eighties (3.36) - Meh
Feels the most linear of the Kingdom games, which makes sense for the narrative but isn’t really why I play these games. Beautiful, as usual, but I’m so tired of the eighties and that might have affected my enjoyment.

Everhood (3.31) - Meh
I respect this game’s commitment to being weird, but I can’t really justify its rhythm-oriented combat system for any reason other than “bullet hells are fun.” This is not really a statement I agree with, and I also don’t really think the game does a good enough job with its mechanics to make any of its first half enjoyable. Aesthetically, it’s really quite special.

West of Dead (3.23) - Liked
I like Ron Perlman, I like roguelikes, I like West of Dead. I think its cover system is a bit too sticky at times, but I also think it is very smart about using guns and cover to develop build variety.

Toodee and Topdee (3.4) - Meh
I think there’s a very novel concept here and I respect this developer for following through on their vision, but the cutscenes are overly long and I don’t really need as much writing as what is present here to play a puzzle platformer.

Disjunction (3.45) - Liked
A stealthy action adventure game with a bit of customization of experience and multiple narrative threads. Nice pixel art and solid gameplay that benefits from having concrete choices.

Shadows Over Loathing (3.69) - Loved
It’s more of the Loathing series, which is criminally underrated despite its great writing and pretty solid role-based gameplay. I don’t know what else to say. If you don’t like stick figures, I don’t like you.

Under the Castle (3.75) - Liked
A cute little roguelike about a guy in a hat that I played for Playdate. One of the highest quality games to be released on the system from an aesthetic and playtime standpoint. I thought very highly of it.

Tasomachi (3.16) - Liked
Janky platforming in a sterile, but beautifully rendered world. Weird and charming as a result, I couldn’t possibly recommend this game to anyone, but I did enjoy it.

Undergrave (3.09) - Liked
A crushing strategy/resource-management roguelike with neat mechanics and highly punishing combat. Nowhere near as compelling or replayable as the greats of the genre, but unique enough to worm its way into my heart.

Super Crush KO (3.35) - Liked
Stylish and cute platforming brawler with more of an action vibe than a belt scroller. I don’t have the urge to master it, but it was enjoyable and very charming

Blue Reflection: Second Light (3.41) - Meh
I don’t know if I only consider this a “meh” as its unique premise is enough to make it one of the more memorable JRPGs I’ve played recently. I guess there is a demographic out there that can enjoy slice-of-life anime magical schoolgirls for 30+ hours, but it ain’t me. The combat was very passive, too, which didn’t help things.

Collection of SaGa (3.09) - Meh
I respect this collection very much, but it did a great job of reminding me that my memories of Game Boy RPGs are definitely not what they actually looked like. I was a bit bummed to see a lack of customization/accessibility for these games, as they could definitely use it.

What Remains of Edith Finch (3.74) - Meh
I don’t really know why this story needed to be told. It’s very artful in its presentation and the controls are simple and intuitive, but I don’t think it’s all that thematically rich. I don’t regret playing it- the game was a very brisk hour and a half, or it felt that way, at least. This was actually in preparation for a “video games as literature” unit for my Senior English class.

Crystal Project (4.23) - Loved
Finally, the job system I was promised from Bravely Default mixed with a non-intrusive narrative and meaningful exploration and dungeon design that game lacked. I’m really happy to say that I’m consistently finding new favorites, and I’m also very happy that Crystal Project exists and does what it does. Excellent experience that continues to reward with its substantial NG+.

Born of Bread (3.59) - Liked
Well, here it is. The Paper Mario clone. It’s definitely got its own style, though I find some of its nature and mechanics a bit too squarely rooted in pop culture. The combat lacks a bit of depth and I’m not sure if the swapping system is bugged on Switch or if it’s designed to be bad, but I don’t think the game does enough to escape the shadow of The Thousand Year Door or even Bug Fables.

Super Kiwi 64 (3.69) - Liked
It’s a Siactro game, which means it has a very acute understanding of its source of inspiration, and it’s also bite-sized. This one might take you a bit longer than any of the Toree games due to its expansion, but it’s still a very brisk experience that presents a healthy variety of level designs and mechanics. If anyone ever asks you to sum up the 3D Platformer era, you can point them in this game’s direction. It might not be as bloated as the games from that era, but it has the right mixture of charm and jank to accurately represent it.

Sephonie (3.67) - Liked
Well, this the odd 3D Platformer that feels inspired in its design, and not inspired by any particular classics of the era. Or maybe it is, and I missed them. But Sephonie is a rare 3D Platformer with a STORY. It uses its narrative and setting to show off some pretty crazy visuals, oh, and there’s also a weird puzzle mini game. It’s not perfect, but it’s incredibly unique and the writing is wonderful.

Spooky Ghosts Dot Com (3.22) - Meh
It’s a low-grade Metroidvania that relies on tight, but floaty platforming and punishing damage optimization to make it worth your while. The art style is simple, but cute. The game is simple, but cute. It’s slightly below average.
Once again: the linked spreadsheet.

Evan_B:
Week 24: Current Weighted Top Twenty (as of 3/12/2024):
VVVVVV (4.47)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (4.42)
UNSIGHTED (4.41)
Crawl (4.36)
Paper Mario TTYD (4.35)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (4.3)
The Swapper (4.28)
Inscryption (4.25)
Donkey Kong (1994) (4.25)
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Deluxe) (4.23)
Crystal Project (4.23)
Dandara (4.21)
Mr. Driller Drill Land (4.21)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (4.19)
ARMS (4.19)
Skwish (4.17)
Tetris Effect Connected (4.16)
Kirby's Air Ride (4.15)
Pick Pack Pup (4.12)
Toree 2 (4.12)
Another month, another slow step of progress. I feel like I need to do better than a game a week. This batch of additions has me pondering at what point I can really rank a game- I think it depends on how confident I am in having experienced its "loop," especially since some games long overstay their welcome for the sake of justifying their price. In any case, with no changes on the top 20 list, here's an overview of what I've played:
Firewatch (3.45) - Meh
Wow, with such a strong start and really compelling gameplay, I'm honestly surprised how quickly this game fizzles out in its conclusion. This is a game I'm very curious to replay, as I want to see how changes in behavior affect the dialogue, but knowing the truths behind the narrative, I find it hard to muster any enthusiasm.

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (3.54) - Liked
Now this is a charming adventure. I love the proliferation of short, open-world games with strong narrative theming, and although Alba's controls sometimes get in the way, its environmentalist theming and infectious do-gooder attitude are more than enough to sell the whole experience. Not a great deal of complexity, but a satisfying, short title on the whole.

No Man's Sky (2.83) - Meh
Well, I definitely didn't complete an entire run of this game, but I did get pretty deep into an expedition before I realized that, while this game is addictive and contemplative, the moment-to-moment gameplay is better served in something like Minecraft, and no amount of alien lore breadcrumbing or retro sci-fi aesthetic can mask the relatively shallow mechanics. This is also an example of a game being lower ranked thanks to the Switch, which really can't handle the graphics and complexity of this game with any degree of grace. I'd love to give this a more earnest try on better hardware, but I can't imagine that happening.

Tenderfoot Tactics (3.33) - Loved
This game is equal parts bite-sized tactics skirmishes and contemplative, transportive exploration, and it's a great example of a game I love that isn't necessarily highly ranked. I fully acknowledge that this game is a bit bloated and not all that elegant, but honestly, walking through its surreal landscapes and situating myself with the weird in-game maps is more than enough to satisfy me. Do I think it could be done better? Yeah, but I'm not complaining.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince (3.22) - Liked
I have a great deal of nostalgia for the Dragon Quest Monsters games on the Game Boy. So when I picked this up, I was hoping it would update that experience for modern hardware and sensibilities. It does that in the way that Dragon Quest always seems to do things. Take that as a compliment or an insult.

Evan_B:
Week 28: Current Weighted Top Twenty (as of 4/8/2024):
VVVVVV (4.47)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (4.42)
UNSIGHTED (4.41)
Crawl (4.36)
Paper Mario TTYD (4.35)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (4.3)
The Swapper (4.28)
Inscryption (4.25)
Donkey Kong (1994) (4.25)
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Deluxe) (4.23)
Crystal Project (4.23)
Dandara (4.21)
Mr. Driller Drill Land (4.21)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (4.19)
ARMS (4.19)
Skwish (4.17)
Tetris Effect Connected (4.16)
Kirby's Air Ride (4.15)
Pick Pack Pup (4.12)
Toree 2 (4.12)
Small games... good?

I'm really happy to have played a number of smaller titles that have allowed me to feel that I'm still progressing in my goals while also tackling larger projects. I have been working away at an "analysis" article that requires some scrutiny of a previously-played title, so in the meantime, ticking some games off of my backlog thanks to brief gameplay experiences has been a nice balancing act.

With that said, I guess I finally feel confident in saying "here for a good time, not a long time" is an adage that I can get behind, as I've found many of these shorter games to be highly impactful and memorable.
Donut County (3.82) - Loved
Entering into the top 100, Donut County is amazing. It's probably one of the easiest recommendations I could make to a potential game enthusiast of any age. Funny writing, great aesthetics, and novel little twists that keep the experience fresh in addition to brisk and lovely. A quickly digested experience, but absolutely worth it.

Paradise Killer (3.26) - Loved
This is a weird one, because as much as I really, really love the writing and world-building of this game, I think it's a bit of a mess from a design standpoint. If everything means something, this game is actually harmed by its excess- excess in collectibles, in dialogue options, in an open-world that has way too much stuffed inside it, yet still feels a bit too sterile and large for its own good. But man, what a ride. It's so satisfying... except for the one random missable secret that blows the entire plot wide open and is hidden behind heaps of alternative dialogue. Also, amazing soundtrack, but pretty terrible sound mixing, to the point where you're constantly being bombarded by irritating sound effects for doing nothing other than exploring. Such a mixed bag of good and bad, but the incredible amount of personality the game possesses helps it win out in the end.

Sonic Superstars (2.55) - Hated
Hell is playing a Sonic game in 2024.

Oom (3.91) - Loved
Another game entering into the top 100 with ease, this is proof that a simple concept and novel controls can a fun and engaging game make. Oom is rhythmic, but sometimes its exploratory. You don't always need the music in order to find success, but it can help. What also helps is the very granular control options provided by the crank, which is really the selling point of the game overall. It comes together very well even though some rooms feel a little bit redundant. Just a tiny bit.

Evan_B:
Week 35: Current Weighted Top Twenty (as of 6/1/2024):
VVVVVV (4.47)
Paper Mario TTYD Remaster (4.46)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (4.42)
UNSIGHTED (4.41)
Crawl (4.36)
Paper Mario TTYD (4.35)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (4.3)
The Swapper (4.28)
Inscryption (4.25)
Donkey Kong (1994) (4.25)
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Deluxe) (4.23)
Crystal Project (4.23)
Dandara (4.21)
Mr. Driller Drill Land (4.21)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (4.19)
ARMS (4.19)
Skwish (4.17)
Tetris Effect Connected (4.16)
Kirby's Air Ride (4.15)
Pick Pack Pup (4.12)
Well, it's been a doozy. I've got tons of games to talk about, with a whole bunch of positive feelings... and maybe some not-so-positive ones. I have rubber-banded between absolute delight and a bit of confusion in the past two months, but I'm happy to say that I've kept a decent-ish standard of playing a more than a game per week, though with shorter experiences, I guess that might be suspect.
Frogun (2.63) - Disliked
Quite low on the list is Frogun, a game I hoped would be better than it turned out to be. In evoking early 3D platformers, it adopted some of the idiosyncrasies and sluggishness of those games and was ultimately just a bit frustrating from a control standpoint and some tedious aesthetic choices. There are better games that evoke early 3D platformers. Play them instead.

Signalis (3.38) - Disliked
I respect the hell out of Signalis, but I really can't stand some of its design choices. The inventory limits are frustrating to an absurd extent and while I can understand why access to the map is taken away at certain points, it's frustrating for the sake of obtuseness and doesn't add to the game's horror. I loved the game's aesthetics and some of its ideas, but I don't think it perfectly sticks the landing. Oh well.

Sayonara Wild Hearts (3.93) - Loved
I dared myself to give this game more points, but this is the highest I could push it without feeling disingenuous. It sits at a respectable 52 at the moment, and I love that. This game rocks. It makes me want to play Lorelei. It's not perfect, but it is an absolute thrill ride.

Another Crab's Treasure (3.67) - Loved
Sadly, a bit of my appreciation for this game was hindered by poor Switch performance... but since performance doesn't factor into my ratings all that much, I can still give it a fairly high score while also understanding its flaws. This game pulls a "The Second Game by Aggro Crab" in its credits, and as far as I'm concerned, it earns it. It's pretty astounding to see the bump in ambition this dev has made between Going Under and Another Crab's Treasure, but there's a lot of shared DNA. Fun and tense boss battles, strong environmental design, and neat mechanics make this a very enjoyable ride. If you don't like Dark Souls, you might not enjoy this, but if you do like games with some layers to appreciate, I'd recommend it.

Bleak Sword DX (3.17) - Meh
Speaking of Dark Souls, turning the whole thing into an aesthetics-lite, arcade-style experience is a novel concept, but the twists in environmental design that are used to complicate matters sort of negated my overall enjoyment. The bite-sized levels and their quirks are really the only way the game re-invents its combat, so if you don't find yourself enjoying that element early on, you're likely headed for a lukewarm experience.

Vaporum (3.41) - Liked
I've sat on this real-time, first-person dungeon crawler for too long, and as it turns out, I probably did myself a disservice. I think it's a bit unfortunate that Vaporum works best when it isn't real-time, but rather incredibly methodical, because a real-time grid-based combat system does seem cool in concept. From the look of some puzzles here, the developers are a bit too confident in how universal their own game language is, and the narrative is a bit whack, but it does a fine job.

Astroneer (2.67) - Meh
Wow! What an incredibly badly-designed tutorial! It almost makes me want to disengage with your game entirely!

Paper Mario TTYD Remaster (4.46) - Loved
Well, it took me returning to this game many years since I last played it to find an even greater appreciation for it. I've noted that TTYD Remastered does an even better job of telegraphing how the player can modify the game's difficulty, at least in terms of action commands. But several quality of life changes make what was arguably my favorite JRPG ever even more accessible and replayable, not to mention some added endgame content for the truly unhinged. Since I did an all-BP run of the game, I'm delighting in how impressively it handles a ton of strategies.

WhatTheCrow (3.50) - Liked
A cute score chasing stealth destruction game, which never really plays out the same way more than once due to the weird enemy movement patterns. It's a lot of fun, but it's enhanced by some really slick animations during its opening sequence and an adorable art style.

Evan_B:
Week 45: Current Weighted Top Twenty (as of 8/7/2024):
VVVVVV - (4.47)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 - (4.42)
UNSIGHTED - (4.41)
Crawl - (4.36)
The Swapper - (4.28)
Paper Mario TTYD Remaster - (4.27)
Inscryption - (4.25)
Donkey Kong (1994) - (4.25)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - (4.25)
Crystal Project - (4.23)
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Deluxe) - (4.23)
Dandara - (4.21)
Mr. Driller Drill Land - (4.21)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - (4.19)
ARMS - (4.19)
Into the Breach - (4.17)
Skwish - (4.17)
Tetris Effect Connected - (4.16)
Kirby's Air Ride - (4.15)
Pick Pack Pup - (4.12)
Wow, we are rocketing towards the conclusion of this year-long challenge, which as really just been a year of me recording my thoughts on every game I've played. It has been substantial! If my calculations are correct, I've ranked around 61 new games this year- as in, games I've wiped off of my backlog, except a number of those were new purchases so it doesn't really bump the overall number on my backlog down. Oh, well.

In all seriousness, it's been very enlightening to see my personal rankings for these games- not just the score distribution, but also my "impressions" of them. It puts a great deal of my purchase behavior into perspective. 21 of the games I have ranked this year have been a "meh" or worse, which is like... maybe not good? That I'm buying things that I don't enjoy, or don't want to put a lot of time into? That makes me think about how I want to curtail my spending on video games in the future, because... it sure ain't good right now. To be honest, the Switch era has been one of luxury and excess, and it's something that, considering the major life changes coming my way in the near future, looks like it will come to a close. I want to play things that I feel an absolute need to play, not just things I see on sale and swipe absentmindedly. I'll be honest, my Switch has enough content on it to likely last me the rest of my life, hoping that it is long and satisfying. So I'll be cooling it, and second guessing my desire to play stuff in the future. But not just yet!
1000xResist (4.06) - Loved
This is an amazing game because it has insanely high production value, artistic vision, and writing, but its actual interactive elements are not very compelling. It absolutely makes me curious about the developer's future, but I wonder if they'll refine the gameplay elements. Free form exploration is great, the time-shifting mechanics are fun, and the floaty fling things are... there.

Into the Breach (4.17) - Loved
I don't know why this wasn't on the chart sooner. It's great. It is incredibly replayable. It had a content update that terrified and delighted me. I love it.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (3.26) - Meh
Well, a tedious visual novel and mirthless strategy game are propped up by some very impressive writing. But it's not enough to redeem this title entirely.

Master Key (3.62) - Liked
This game is great, and truly chock-full of secrets. It felt like a full-length top-down Zelda even if my playtime was only about 9-10ish hours. The controls are a bit weird, though, and it suffers from being the right game released at the wrong time- if I had more patience for its screen-hunting secrets, it would be above a "meh."

The Pathless (3.38) - Liked
I guess I missed the boat on the discourse of this game, but I really do think it's something special. Lots of great ideas from other exploration and puzzle solving titles with very free-form movement and relatively low stakes that don't make you feel like you're missing something.

Axiom Verge (3.41) - Meh
I have to imagine that this game's reputation comes from "the Metroid drought" and of course, the incredible efforts of Tom Happ. There's no denying the premise is incredibly inventive and the aesthetics are truly impressive. The controls are kind of wonky, though, and the gameplay- that is, these wild and crazy conceptual Metroid bosses- don't really require a lot of interaction or respect. Also, the pacing is hurt by the randomized and poorly-telegraphed elements. Still an incredible passion project.

Live A Live (3.88) - Liked
Hey, I finally got around to this! I think I echo the sentiments of Guillaume when I say I loved the first portion of this game, when it really leaned into the inventive nature of its vignettes. Unfortunately, I think the game does itself a bit of a disservice by having the final two chapters share the same "structure," so to speak, a style of RPG that clashes with the breezy and fun ways the game experimented with conventions prior. I still adore it, and I will probably never stop singing Megalomania in my head.

Post Void (3.22) - Meh
This is a neon-drenched, psychotic roguelike that would probably be way more fun on PC than Switch. I must be getting old, because I felt assaulted when playing this game- and not in a good way. An average execution of the roguelike concept.

Banners of Ruin (2.83) - Meh
There was a time when I was committed to playing as many deck-building roguelikes as I could find. I was young and foolish. This game has all the things I love about the genre and some questionable control mechanics that stop me from getting overly invested.

Road 96 (3.21) - Meh
I hear lots of praise of this game, and I don't understand why. The writing was not particularly good, but the voice acting absolutely butchered what could have been a better experience. Some decent music, and interactive, but hardly ever compelling gameplay.

Cobalt Core (4.04) - Loved
There was a time when I was committed to playing as many deck-building roguelikes as I could find. I was young and foolish. But Cobalt Core is the kind of game that made me want to attempt that challenge- it's inventive, quirky, chill, tactical... it deserves all the points it earned.

Chasm (3.21) - Meh
Again, the discourse of this game must have come from "the Castlevania drought," because aside from some very smooth animations, I don't see what others did in this game. Mind you, I don't think it does anything bad, but it does lack a bit of personality that others of its kind have in spades.

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