The Monthly Question: December 2017
The first Monthly Question was in December of 2015 and I want to thank the writers for their participation over the last two years. This will probably be the last Monthly Question, partially because I am out of questions (well, good questions) and partially because I want to take some time to come up with another monthly feature.
This was an amazing year for games, especially AAA games. Towards the holiday season, it’s hard to find time to play all the big games that were shown off at E3. Unfortunately that usually means there were plenty of great games that got lost in the shuffle of big marketing pushes or simply overlooked due to lack of time.
To shine a light on some great games that everyone should play, I asked the PS Nation writers:
Another underappreciated game this year was Mages of Mystralia. While Zelda clones are pretty common, Mystralia has a unique Magic system where the player gets to craft their own spells using a very intuitive and fun system. While the game isn’t perfect, it’s still a fun time that I think slipped past a lot of people’s radars.
A lot of big AAA games came out this year and now Edith Finch will likely be overshadowed. This tends to happen to indie games, especially those released earlier in the year. I really think though that this is one that should be played by everyone.
It’s a beautiful game that touches on some dark subject matter, but not in any exploitative way. It is a perfectly crafted narrative that has stuck with me since I played it all the way back in May.
However, one of my favorite types of games are the FMV choose your own adventure style games. Earlier this year Late Shift from Wales Interactive was released and it’s a great game to play. The branching storyline and multiple ending variations gave a lot of replay value to the crime thriller.
The acting is very well done and the story is extremely interesting. I would suggest that anyone who wants a break from the norm check this one out as well as their earlier release The Bunker. Both are hidden gems in a crowded AAA world.
What starts as a search for a missing friend turns into a grand adventure full of interesting locales and characters. But the presentation is what’s reminiscent of Snatcher.
Everything from the interface, to that 16-bit art style screams Konami’s Classic Blade Runner-like video game. It’s unfortunate that it may have gotten lost amidst all the higher profile titles out there but this is definitely one to check out if you have time.
While the first game was a unique experiment, Hand of Fate 2 is much more polished and refined. Not only does it fix many of the flaws of the first game, but it expands the game in new and interesting ways. This is one of the best single player Dungeons and Dragons experiences I have ever had.
Thanks as always to John Payant for editing.