Yes, it's a buggy game, but when I first played it back in April, it still wasn't quite as buggy as a few other games that I've played and enjoyed in the past (the PS3 version of Fallout: New Vegas comes to mind). Even with the bugs in the PS4 version, I fell in love with everything about this game...the environment, the characters, absolutely everything. I have never put over 100 hours into a game to beat it, then IMMEDIATELY started up a new game and put in almost another 100 hours to beat it a second time. Usually, especially with a long game, I'm content when the credits roll. With Cyberpunk 2077, even after the second playthrough, I still wanted to go back for more. I just simply do not get tired of walking around and exploring the streets of Night City. It's a shame that it had so many bugs upon release because this really is an amazing game and has easily found itself among my favorites of all-time. I'll gladly be returning to this game over and over again down the road. Heck, I even bought a new laptop this year and specifically made sure that it had the specs could handle this game - it does, and I'm currently playing through it yet again, but this time via Steam - and for the record, the PC version seems to have FAR fewer bugs than the PS4 version. And yes, if you read my rules for this list up at the top of the page, TECHNICALLY it was released last year, but since it released around the time of these lists last year, I'm giving it a pass....because if Cyberpunk 2077 was a food, I'd be eating so much of it that people would probably start to call me Cyberchunk...Yup, that's the best joke I've got. No shame in my game.

I've waited for this game for what seems like eternity. As you'll see lower down, I'm a huge fan of the SMT series, and have been for the last 20 years when I first discovered them. There honestly isn't much that Atlus can do to make me not love this franchise. I enjoyed walking through the devastated Tokyo for the most part...and since I like to explore and find "easter eggs" by nature when I play a game, I really enjoyed the inclusion of 200 Miman to find scattered across Tokyo. My only real complaint with the game is that it seems to end rather abruptly...you kinda just pick a side, fight some fights, and that's that...it didn't feel like it was much of a buildup towards the credits rolling. That complaint aside, I've already started a new game plus, and I've got it at the number 2 spot on this list, so it's probably not too hard to determine that I like this game quite a bit. It's not a perfect game, but I'm a big fan all the same....Although, I did often feel bullied by Amanozako and her yelling. She'd find a treasure, scream in my face about it, and I'd flinch like when I look in the mirror before I put my makeup on...I often flinch in horror at what I see looking back at me. What? I need makeup for my job as a clown at children's birthday parties. I charge $500 and 10% of whatever gifts the kid gets. The kid wouldn't get so many gifts if they didn't have a clown at their birthday party, now would they?

Super Metroid very well may be my favorite game of all-time...so when I heard that a new 2D Metroid game was coming out, I was pretty excited for it. After playing through to the end, I can honestly say that while I did get some of those feelings I got waaaay back when I played Super Metroid as a wee lad, The only thing that I feel holds the game back, in my opinion, is the hide-and-seek sections with the EMMIs. I just felt like it broke up the flow of the game to be exploring, looking for a way to advance...and then you've gotta hide and/or dodge EMMI attacks in certain areas. That said, the EMMI sections aren't awful...they just weren't my cup of tea. In other words, I didn't Dread them like the title suggests......What was I supposed to Dread in this game, anyway? I'll tell you. Rumor has it that it was actually called Metroid Dreads pretty much right before release...but Nintendo thought that Samus didn't look right with dreadlocks, so they demanded that she get remodeled with a more "classic" look before the game started to be printed to cartridges. They still thought Dread sounded cool, so they got rid of the "s" and stuck with the name Metroid Dread. Feel free to let your friends know the story behind this game's name. They'll probably be really impressed with your knowledge on the subject.

One of my favorite games of all-time got an HD remake this year, and it had the misfortune of being the game that I played right after my second Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough...and I was having Night City withdrawls during much of it. That said, Nocturne is still just as wonderful as I remember it being. Of course, the additions of a few bonus "dungeons" to help remove long level grinding were added, but for the most part, this is the same game I popped into my PS2 back in college. Those extra dungeons will likely help reduce some of the difficulty so a new wave of players can enjoy this game, even if it looks intimidating in the challenge department. If you're a newcomer, this game really isn't that difficult - you just need to learn how to play the game - make sure that you've got the right demons in your party to hit the right weaknesses of your foes and try your best to always have a demon on-hand that can buff up your stats and/or debuff your opponent's stats. Once you get those two aspects down, it's really not anywhere near as difficult as some folks make it out to be. Anyway, big fan 20 years ago. Still a big fan today. The protagonist may be a Demi-Fiend to some, but to me, he's a Demi-Friend.

Bloodwash could have been a complete mess of a game and I would still probably love it due to its 80's cornball slasher-inspired story. For those not in the know, here's the plot - you're a pregnant lass, and you've got a job interview tomorrow and need to wash your clothes. The washing machine in the building isn't working and the only place you know of that's open late enough for you to finish your laundry is on the edge of town, where the Womb Ripper has been claiming their victims - all of whom are pregnant lady folk. The gameplay won't be for everyone - you literally have to wait for your clothes to wash and dry to advance the game forward, so if you don't like to wander around, explore, and talk to folks, you may get bored out of your mind waiting for each machine to finish before heading into the finale of the game. I absolutely loved every second with this game, though. It's far from perfect, but as a fan of cheesy 80's horror, I was able to look past Bloodwash's flaws and throughly enjoy my time playing this...It's like all of my doubts were blood stains in my clothes and this game was one of those Tide Pods that washed all the blood away. That's why they named it Bloodwash, you know...to set up that comparison that I just made. Go ahead, ask the developer. If they say they've never heard of me, that's code for, "Yes, he is correct about why I named this game Bloodwash." Go ahead, ask away.

I never really got into the Assassin's Creed games. I played the original Assassin's Creed twice, but never stuck with it to the end...until this year. Shortly after completing the first game, I moved onto the second game in the series and fell head over heels for it. Unlike the first Assassin's Creed, and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (which I also completed this year), I did not want this game to end. With the other two games, as I got near the end of the game, it felt like it was time to wrap things up. When I got to the end of Assassin's Creed II, I found myself wandering around, trying to find other things for me to do so I could just keep playing....That means I love Italy and Italian people....Just covering my hiney in case you're Italian and read my Wattam comment down below. But anyway, this game made me invested in the Assassin's Creed series so much that I tracked down all other games in the series and I'm slowly making my way through to the present day releases.....and I just wish they would've stuck with some sort of naming convention so I didn't have to use my Encyclopedia Brittanica to look up what order everything got released in....What? Nobody has used an Encyclopedia Brittanica set in decades? Well, Assassin's Creed made living in the past cool, yo, and I'm as cool as Gary Coleman...or whatever young actor the kids think is all the rage these days.

Nier is a game that I always wanted to play. A friend of mine even insisted that I'd love it since I tend to love bizarre, quirky games. I didn't doubt him, but I just never felt like there was a good time to sit my keister down and play it. This year, while plowing through a bunch of PS3 games, I made the time....and I'm pretty angry at myself for waiting so long to play it. Everything about this game, from the amazing soundtrack, to the likeable characters, to the personality disorder that it seems to have in deciding what type of game it is...I'm a fan of it all. I would have looked both near and far to find a game like this...thankfully, I didn't have to look far....since it's Nier................I'm so sorry.

I had never spent a TON of time with Majora's Mask, honestly. I'd play it here and there, but before I'd get too far into it, I'd move onto something else. This year was the year that I made myself see it through to the end, and I'm glad I did. I like to compare Majora's Mask to Link's Awakening - it's an oddball Zelda game that doesn't take place in Hyrule and doesn't involve Gannon, but it's still absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed using different masks for different tasks, and just stalking the folks around town to see their schedules and such was equally fun. In fact, this game kind of turned me into a digital creeper of sorts. I was taking black and white screenshots of the various townsfolk, printing them out, and making little shrines for each character...Well, one day one of those townsfolk will notice me as much as I notice them....right? RIGHT?! Until then, I'll just do whale calls like the giants in this game do. From all of my research on the subject, making whale calls never fails to bring you attention.

When I see Wattam, I now imagine a stereotypical Italian guy slapping me upside the head, saying, "It took you that long to play this? They should rename this 'Wattamattah wit chu, ah?'" Then I'd ask his mom to cook some spaghetti so he'd shut his yap.....because it's a stereotypical Italian dish for the stereotypical Italian guy.....But you know what doesn't fit a stereotype? Wattam! Phew, glad I got myself out of that one...Anyway, Wattam is a very relaxing, quirky little adventure game that is perfect for young children, but I'd be willing to bet that most adults would enjoy playing through it as well....especially anyone that loves the bizarre stuff, like I do. And no worries, even if you're late to the party and play it now, there won't be anyone slapping you upside the head, asking you what's a matter with you for not playing it yet...Well, there would be, but I don't know where you live.

I bought Rule of Rose at a Gamestop shortly after it released during one of their "Buy 2 used games, get 1 free" sales. It was my free game. Kinda insane since it goes for a hefty chunk of change these days, eh? Anyway, the last time I played Rule of Rose to the end was about a decade ago and while I recognized that it was flawed, specifically with its combat, I absolutely loved it because of the twisted, disturbing story that plays out. Playing through it again this year, I'm still a huge fan. I still enjoy the story, I still love the soundtrack, I still love nearly everything about this game. If I didn't already own a copy, I would be tempted to pay the ridiculous price that it goes for these days just to play it on the original hardware. The developer of this dark, twisted game also made the light, quirky Chulip, which I'm also a huge fan of. The developer, Punchline, made flawed, but quality games, in my opinion....unlike the punchlines found on this list, which are all flawed, but also lacking quality. And thankfully, they're done.