This game was destined to be successful when I downloaded the demo and cleared it in 2 hours in 1 session. Pikmin 4 feels like a tribute to the highlights of each game while also doing its own thing. Having the dog doesn't take away from the game. Having the small limit to start and then upgrading it didn't hinder the gameplay at all. The side modes/challenges are fun. ALL the main Pikmin types show up. The caves and treasures from P2 are back, just as fun if not more so. No day limit. Great music, fun and silly characters, and LOTS of strategizing to be had if you wanted to seek it. Plenty of QoL. I know I'm just listing out bullet points but there's just so much good to this game, and it's a MUST try if you have a Switch.

Supraland is one of my favorite games of all-time. It took a unique approach to puzzle-solving, progression upgrades, and Metroid-style secret-finding. SIU does... basically the same, but changes the balance a bit. You still find cool secrets from trying to escape boundaries. You still have puzzles that are arguably more challenging (a couple were obtuse, in my opinion). You still have combat section which takes a backseat, which for a game like this is fine. It's an excellent "sequel" to the first game, and I was cracking up at all the jokes.

Never played a King's Field game (which, fun fact, were developed by FromSoftware). Now I want to. Lunacid takes first person dungeon crawling action and runs with it. The environments are either creepy, cool or both. The music is awesome. Leveling up your character gives you unique buffs like jump height which actually come into a lot of usefulness. The spells are fun to use and the weapons have neat effects. I never found myself bored playing the game; just continuously intrigued by all there was to find. Some solutions were wild, but man is it fun.

I've written about this game multiple times so it feels appropriate that it gets a slot in my top 10 for the year. I remember last year arguing that this wouldn't top Rogue: Genesia; well, jokes on me because HoT is one of, if not THE best VS-likes to come out since everyone threw their hat in the ring. The homage to Diablo is spectacular. The unique classes and playstyles are engaging. The gear system is cool. The synergies between abilities and unlocks are crazy. There's like 500 achievements but there's in-game incentive to get them which is neat. The game is just so much. It's a massive package, for better or worse; but it never really got too boring. I haven't 100%'d the game as of this entry (but if I had a smaller backlog, I would) but I got more than my money's worth. If there's one VS game you should play aside from the one that started it all, please make it this one.

Metroidvania-ish meets Final Fantasy 3/5? For only like $10.49? Heck yeah. The first few hours were smooth, about what I expected knowing how to play FF and such. Then the game's difficulty CURBSTOMPED me. The accessibility options were almost necessary, but the more I played the more I realized how much synergy there is across... everything. Plethora of secrets, nooks and crannies to sneak around and find rewarding treasure. The way the jobs and abilities work with each other, even jobs that look outwardly useless on paper. Some unique/nontraditional stuff like items only being usable in combat with a certain class. I felt like every class was viable somewhat. It's really hard to strike a good balance with that, and this game did a good job. I definitely want to play through it again.

Not really being an RPG guy during the time of the Gamecube is a mistake I'm still kicking myself over to this day, but so much has changed since then and with remasters for games like Tales of Symphonia and this coming out, I feel better. Paper Mario: TTYD is so good and unique for an RPG of its time. I love the characters, the silly bits of humor, the way you can build Mario with the badge system, and the general vibe of the game. The remaster added a LOT of QoL such as better fast travel options, holding up to 9999 coins, and it being easier to know where to find certain collectibles. It's very silly, a cozy game. Definitely made some of my travels more bearable.

Probably the most hardcore but fun of the survival/zombie killing games I've played. The map? HUGE. The gameplay loop? Easy to learn, hard to master, most of it very fun. The 'horror' factor? Not bad, but does a great job making you feel alone and makes you jump when zombies appear by surprise. There's a near-constant struggle for survival and you will always be running out to scavenge for supplies, foraging for more. It's engaging, and the fear of every day possibly being your last is just a great way to handle the realism. It's got hundreds, if not thousands of mods. It's just a great game with a surprisingly addictive gameplay loop, and you can play it in multiple ways. There is no "one" way to play.

It took over a decade but we FINALLY got SoG to release in full! Worth it? By 2024 standards, maybe not so much but I had so much fun playing this back in 2015 and I'm glad to see it through to the end. Definitely has that Mana vibe with some Zelda in terms of the unique puzzle mechanics. I had a lot of fun with it; grinding is optional but fun if you want to get everything. You can build a house. The sidequests are silly, charming, and some just parody. While I'm not a fan of the amount of time it took nor was I in how much time they dumped into the side mode vs finishing the main game and I thought the final boss was unnecessarily brutal and unfair, the journey was just so enjoyable that I finished the game with a high opinion of it.

This game came as a surprise, especially since I got it while I was playing Pikmin 4. It's great, it's all about puzzle solving, collecting things and exploring this giant house. It's so cozy, charming and well-crafted (seems a theme is running on this list). My only complaint is it's just too short and I wish there was more to it, but the experience I had with it was so wonderful that it deserves a spot here. It's like Pikmin, but more focus on solving puzzles and doing platforming rather than duking it out with the bulborbs.

Amazing VR game, probably the best Minigolf game I've played on my computer period. Well-crafted courses. Secrets to find on every hole like extra golf ball variants. Excellent physics. It's just a solid package and only $15 for the base game is well worth it. Belongs on the list of "must-play" VR games along with modded Beat Saber and Synth Riders.

HONORABLE MENTION. This is "We have Sonic Adventure 2 at Home" but more focus on the actual fun aspects of SA2 i.e. the Sonic/Shadow stages with a little bit of combat on the side. Zipping through the huge levels at high speed, trying to max out your score and combos is as fun as it was for me when I played Sonic games as a youth. It's good, though the combat sections can be slightly tedious and the game a little janky. Almost made the cut, but I played so many solid games this year but I wanted to shout it out here.