The Grumpy Old Gamers

Another year come and gone here at Grump central, and once again….I have played absolutely 0% of any of the triple A games. Yep. In one of argueably the greatest release years of games….I am still playing remakes of Donkey Kong. Hopefully, that is one of the reasons you continue to check us out….but if you are looking for reviews of hit games, might I suggest…literally any other gaming site!

But what you CAN count on here, is to get Top 5 lists of what WE played and enjoyed each year….even if the games are a little…different. Speaking of which…

Number 5

AEW Fight Forever (Played on PC)

Ok ok ok, before you click away vowing to never come back, hear me out….I have spent the last 20 years or so, desperately wanting a decent wrestling game. I was a huge fan of the genre back in the pre-2k days, and every time I’d try a new one lately, I would be disappointed. 

Like, Shockmaster Disappointed….

So when I heard Yukes was signed to make Fight Forever, I got on board. Is it great? Nope. Is it intricate? Nope. Could I give two rips about anyone at AEW? Heck nope. But does it scratch that 90s rassling game itch? Abso-freaking-lutley. I have put waaaaaaaay too many hours into this, considering what it is. But I have loved every second of it! And if you too yearn for the button mashing good time of yesteryear, I would whole heartedly recommend it too!

Number 4

Hi Fi Rush

Going back on the list of games I played this year, this is the one I was most surprised by. Downloaded initially just because it was on Gamepass and I “wanted to just play something”…I was quickly captivated by its comic book art style and extremely unique game play mechanics. Not just a 3D platforming beat em up, Hi-Fi Rush employs a unique rhythm based combat mechanic that I’ve never seen done in any other game. Difficult at first to pick up (at least for this musically challenged fella) It quickly became intuitive and familiar.

On top of it all, the story is really well done, and you’ll find yourself cheering for the unlikely hero. I can’t praise Hi-Fi Rush enough for being this years out of nowhere success story, and I can’t recommend it enough, especially for Game Pass subscribers.

Number 3

Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Back in 2017, Ubisoft blew most of our minds when they announced that they would be making not only a new Rabbid’s game, but a new Rabbid’s game starring Nintendo’s Golden child, Mario. Comparisons to the last time Nintendo allowed someone else to produce a Nintendo franchise game were aplenty…

Dark times indeed

So, no one was more surprised than me that not only was it not CDI awful, but it was one of the best Nintendo games of the year. Also, as it was not a first party Nintendo…it would actually go on sale once in a while. What a novel idea, right Nintendo??????

Ahem. Since the original was easily one of my favorite Mario games, I was excited to try out the sequel, Sparks of Hope. And not only is it just as good in my humble opinion, it surpasses the original. The combat has some much needed improvements, such as the ability to free move as opposed to being in a grid during combat. The addition of the sparks as well, add combat boosts which allow you to customize your team even more than before.

And ensures a much higher cuteness quotient

Add that to the already deep XCOM style gameplay, and you’ve got a unanimous pick for the highly coveted award of Robs 3rd favourite game of the year! ™

Number 2

That’s So Raven (Game Boy Advance)

Based on the continuing adventures of Raven Symone, That’s So Raven is not only one of the best Game Boy Advance games ever made, it may very well be the game that not only ushers in a new era of peace that will finally heal this world…..

Ahem. Sorry….playing my real choice for number 2 had me a little out of sorts there….lets start again.

Number 2

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

So, I had been sitting on the game for a longtime. Its already made appearances on other Grumps previous top 5 lists, but it was always on my backlog. Then entered the ‘Rona, and I suddenly found myself with a chunk of free time and no excuses.

Remember Coronavirus? Great times!

And boy howdy, as the kids say…this game blew my mind. Right from the beginning of the game, you’re constantly confronted with Lovecraftian voices and themes, as you play the least loveable protagonist ever, waking from a drunken stupor in a hotel and thrust into a murder mystery as an investigating cop.

A point and click Sierra type game, you also have a skill tree system that defines who you are as a character. Broken down into physical, pysche and intellect, these skills will affect all interactions you’ll have in the game, affecting how the story advances. Certain interactions will have dice rolls, with modifiers affected by the aforementioned skill tree.

The art style was one of the most unique I’ve ever seen in a game. It felt like I was was in a greasy oil painting, in a Lovecraftian steampunkish world. The Final Cut version of the game added voice acting, which was extremely well done. The human interactions with our character really brought out the awkwardness of our character, and how he made other characters feel.

No matter what kind of choices I personally made in the game, I never felt like I was steering him into traditional hero territory. And that was a part of the charm of this game, there is no right way to play and choose. You can go really off the deep end end with some choices, and still make it to an ending. You’ll need a shower afterwards, but you’ll have a great time during!

And, without further adieu

Number 1

Octopath Traveller 2

This was a game I had planned on not playing. Not because the previous game wasn’t good….far from it. No, the reason was that I have a job, a wife and three kids…and I just could not afford to lose that time again. I spent so much time playing the original and I thought I couldn’t afford to lose that much time again.

And then Square Enix announced the demo. You could play up to 3 hours, with any one of the heroes. And against my better judgement, I downloaded it and picked up the story of Throne, the reluctant thief who is desperately trying to get out of the Guild she was trapped in. Annnnnnnnd 3 hours later, I was in again.

Octopath Traveller follows 8 heroes stories, and your party will weave in and out of each of their tales. You can have up to 4 people in the party at a time, and the other heroes will always be waiting at the towns tavern that you are currently in. The only rule is that the hero you started with has to stay in the party until their entire story arc is completed, so I’d recommend a little research before starting to make sure you get someone you’re comfortable with.

A HUGE improvement with this sequel, is the voice acting and the characters themselves. I found myself intrigued with all of the characters this time, and throughly enjoyed playing though each of their stories. Previously, there were certain characters that I played through just to get through them….but this time all of the characters are honestly worth playing through, with enthralling story arcs.

Also, the screen shots here don’t even begin to do it justice, but this game has some absolutely stunning 2D graphics. The HD-2D style as its called, adds modern lighting and effects to a SNES style artwork for what can only be called a stunning effect. Water ripples, lights glisten…its truly amazing….especially when you consider that all of this is being squeezed out of a Nintendo Switch, which at this point is a lot closer to an Android box power wise than a PS5.

The game itself is a traditional type RPG with some very interesting gameplay quirks. Each player has a standard attack, with different skills for their character class…hunters can trap and user different animals, scholars are the wizard class, theives can steal etc. Each character type can also use different weapons, which is very important for one of the biggest combat mechanics in the game, enemy vulnerabilities. Each enemy will have a number next to them, and some vulnerabilities which you can figure out as you attack with them. If you hit an enemy with a vulnerability, the number counts down until it hits zero…and then they are broken and stunned for a turn. All attacks during this turn on them will do increased damage. This will also disrupt boss attacks, which becomes a VERY important mechanic later.

Each attack as well, you can also choose to boost your attack or skill, up to 4 times. If you don’t boost an attack, you will earn a boost point that can be used later. This becomes a very important mechanic, especially later in the game when you desperately need to break an enemy before they wipe your party with a super attack.

Add to this one of the most amazing RPG soundtracks I’ve ever heard, and you have an absolute no brainer for my number one game of 2023. Anyone even remotely interested in engrossing RPGs should add this to their play list…just make sure you’ve got 100+ hours to kill!