2022 Gaming--A Year in Review

With the end of 2022 looming, it's time to roll out all those end of the year lists.  I'll admit that I'm a sucker for the fun little "wrapped" videos and do find it enjoyable to compare lists with others (*although parents who share Spotify with kids have valid gripes when their lists are tainted by their kids who listen to the soundtrack to Encanto five thousand times).  Steam decided to join the fun and created a personalized "re-play" list (here's mine).  While their list is a fun way to look back at what I played this year, it doesn't necessarily capture what I truly enjoyed...just what I played the most.  So, here are my thoughts and personal picks of the games that released in 2022.

The Game I Played the Most

Ugh, irradiated space rocks are the worst!

Two Point Campus topped my list and there's nothing surprising about this fact.  I love the Two Point games and the release of Campus was a pleasant addition to 2022.  Campus doesn't change the Two Point formula much--the signature goofy humor and semi-serious management aspects from Hospital are still there, but in a college setting.  The Space Academy DLC added in three new campuses and new space themed courses, rooms, and challenges, so I saw myself returning to the game after I had completed the 12 base campuses.  If you enjoyed Two Point Hospital or are just looking for a relaxing, light hearted management sim, give it a try.  (If you haven't played in awhile, it's worth going back to check out the very affordable DLC and the new holiday themed challenges)

The Best Game to Relax To

One of my Dorf Romantik maps.

As I've gotten older, I've definitely lost my desire to come home after work to even more stress.  I'm always on the look out for something that's low stress for times when I just want to throw on a podcast (or some music) and let the stress of the day wash away.  I found myself frequently drawn to Dorf Romantik--even though it has a bit of a strange name, it's a cute little puzzle game about piecing together random tiles to create cities, forests, and other features.  Even though it looks relatively simple, figuring out the best placement for tiles provides challenge.  Ultimately your goal is to keep growing your map, but if you fail it doesn't feel that bad...and you get to start a brand new map!  Each map winds up feeling different--sometimes you build large cities; other times you have sprawling railroads or huge forests.  

Surprising Indies

Even though they didn't crack the top of my Steam re-play list, many of the games that I remember the most are the many unique indie games.  In particular, two of them made a big impact on my 2022.  Strange Horticulture offers up a novel experience in the detective/mystery genre--it's a game where you have to identify and use plants to solve a supernatural mystery.  While it sounds fairly bizarre, it turned out to be a lot of fun (in fact, I need to go back and replay it sometime seeing as how there are multiple endings).

Spending each dice is Citizen Sleeper is a choice.

Citizen Sleeper was another indie that I wound up finding myself truly enjoying.  The gameplay is so deceptively simple--the dice-based system is totally ingenious--but figuring out how to best spend those daily resources and which path you want to pursue...well, it turns out to be a bit agonizing.  Like Strange Horticulture, it's also a game that has many paths and plenty of replayability (in fact, they are still releasing additional content for it).

I would highly recommend checking out both games (and, the good news is that you can buy both of them relatively cheaply).

My Personal GOTY

You can pet the dog (and cats too!) in Pentiment.

When the big sales roll around, I generally find myself taking advantage of those sweet, sweet deals.  The most recent (and currently still ongoing) holiday sale is no exception.  I bought exactly one game...and it turned out to be absolutely amazing!  Pentiment is a point-and-click adventure/mystery game set in a beautifully illustrated, semi-medieval setting.  Being a history teacher, I found the historical setting to be very genuine and the events that shaped the world play out in the game (in a much more personal way than simply reading about it in a history book).  The story is choice based and it's one of those games where your choices are final--there aren't any convenient saves to reload.  It's so well-written and engaging that making those choices is extremely difficult--I constantly found myself torn between the varying factions in the story.  The story plays out beautifully and I immediately wanted to start over and make different choices.  And, the best part, you can pet the dogs and cats!  (I plan on writing up a full review for Pentiment, so look for that in the near future).

Let's hope our 2023's are filled with lots of fun games!  Happy New Year to all!

(**Something weird happened with the formatting on this post and I can't figure out what it is.  Please forgive the weird white background on half the post!)

Murder in a Murder Cult--Paradise Killer

As 2022 wraps up I've been looking back at the games I played this year and reflecting on their shared (or completely disparate) features.  A couple of games stood out on that list for their absolutely bonkers stories and/or settings--one is the game Norco (read about it here) and the other is Paradise Killer.  I became interested in Paradise Killer after genuinely enjoying Citizen Sleeper (another excellent game published by Fellow Traveller).

What is it?

An open-world mystery/detective game.  The premise of the game is that you play as Lady Love Dies, an investigator and semi-immortal member of a strange murder cult called the Syndicate.  The Syndicate is ruled by a council of anime-like characters who wind up murdered.  Your job, as Lady Love Dies, is to figure out exactly who murdered the leaders of the Syndicate and bring them to justice.

My full playthrough clocked in at 15.4 hours--I would estimate that if you wanted to try to fully explore and find collectibles it could be closer to 20 hours.

Pros:

+ If you want a unique setting and story, look no further.  The Syndicate is a murder cult that kidnaps humans in order to sacrifice them en masse in order to resurrect a set of lost gods.  Unfortunately, the cult hasn't been very successful and has only managed to bring back one god.  As a result they are continually starting and ending each cycle of murder and seeking to create the "perfect" island.  The game takes place on island #24 which was on the verge of ending when the entire Syndicate council was murdered.  The island is filled with statues to bizarre gods and mundane structures to house the "citizens" (aka--the murder victims) and the strange group of Syndicate members.

+ Exploration based gameplay.  Most of the gameplay consists of wandering around the island and looking for any clues.  There are collectible items to find as well as a type of currency called "blood shards" which can be used to purchase certain items (basically cans of soda) and pay for fast travel.  Each clue you find leads you toward a certain character who might be tied to the clue and requires you to interrogate those characters.  There's some very light puzzling in the form of "Nightmare Computers" which serve as locks to certain areas/items.

+ The log system in the game is very handy and does a great job of keeping track of all the clues, alibis, and information that you find.

+ The music is fun and has a sort of 80's vibe.  One of the collectible items is cassette tapes that play certain music while you're exploring.

+ Strange, anime-style characters.  If that's your vibe, it'll be right up your alley.

+ The ending/solving the mystery is very satisfactory.  I won't spoil anything, but at the end of the game a trial is held and seeing all the pieces fall into place feels good.

Cons:

- It took me awhile to really settle into the game.  I started it up and it just felt too unstructured and strange, so I set it back down and didn't pick it up for quite awhile.  Then, I gave it another go and it finally started to be more enjoyable.

- It can be slightly annoying to continually flit back and forth between characters as you find clues.  However, it is a necessary to befriend the characters because as you build up your relationship with them they will often share valuable clues.  Find plenty of blood shards...you'll need them for fast travel.

- There's no "aha!" moment where you feel like you've really solved the mystery.  Basically, I just tried to clear out all my leads and when I realized there wasn't anyone else to talk to that it was time to hold the trial.  It can feel a bit unsettling, but once you're at that point it's time for the trial.  (Don't worry, if you've been thorough enough everything comes together in the trial)

- For all the "non-readers" out there...there's a tiny bity of voice acting, but it's mostly text-based.

Recommendation:

If you like open-world exploration based gameplay and solving mysteries, you'll probably enjoy Paradise Killer.  Even though it took me a bit to really get hooked into the story, I did find myself wanting to figure it out.  Paradise Killer frequently goes on sale and is definitely worth a play.

Space Rocks!

Two Point Campus dropped its first DLC, the sci-fi/space themed Space Academy, and I've managed to finish up all three of the new campuses (and, to three star level, because I can't make myself accept anything less than three stars).  So, is the new DLC worth dropping $9.99?  Definitely, yes.

Pros:

Humanities ain't about history.

+ Three new sci-fi-tastic levels to master.  Each level/campus introduces the new courses available in the expansion--Astrology (training to be an astronaut, not learning the ins and outs of being a Capricorn); Cosmology (learning to build rockets to reach the cosmos); Space Academy (training for the future leaders of space exploration); Space Knight School (it's kind of like regular knight training...just with laser batons); Cheesemoongery (let's just say that the cheese for all those Cheesy Gubbins has to come from somewhere...and, it's better not to know); and Humanities (it's not about history, but teaching aliens how to act human).  The new courses are silly and add-in the typical Two Point humor.

+ A plethora of new sci-fi themed objects to make your campus feel more...space-y.  I was most excited about the three new varieties of plants, but there are also new decorations, new entertainment items, and many, many others.  The DLC also adds the Time Tourism club--another extracurricular activity for your students to join.  If you want to really spruce up your campus you can create a student union that features the new sci-fi convention booth--a fun event where students can meet their favorite sci-fi characters (including Roderick Cushion).

+ The goals for each campus aren't too difficult, but three starring the last one is a real doozy.  It was slightly annoying, but do-able with some patience and lots of training.  It's nice that it was somewhat more challenging.

+ Holiday events/challenges.  (*This isn't really a part of the DLC, but if you're re-visiting the game you probably haven't checked them out).  There are two Halloween themed challenges and one holiday/Christmas challenge map.  Each challenge has a different set of goals and takes place over a relatively short amount of time.  They're fun, short and actually quite challenging.

Cons:

The tell-tale blue glow of irradiated space rocks.

- Irradiated space rocks are very, very annoying.  A new janitorial task involves falling space rocks.  Initially, the rocks are a good thing as they have a chance to be mined for cash, but then a different kind of rock is introduced that can give students a condition called meteormites which must be treated in the medical room.  The third campus is particularly plagued by irradiated rocks and students are almost constantly infected.  Word of advice--hire a large number of janitors and be prepared to build multiple medical rooms to treat the constant stream of infected students.

- The third star on the last campus is basically an exercise in patience.  The humanities course is listed as "very hard" and graduating 25 A+ students took a very, very long time.  Combine this with the challenges of students being almost constantly infected with meteormites (which does impact their happiness and thus, their learning rate).  I enjoyed that it was challenging, but will admit that I was on the verge of giving up (and, maybe I needed to tweak my strategy more).

- Some players are reporting crashing issues.  I didn't have any and am not sure which platform they are talking about.  The devs did release a statement saying that the Switch release was having some issues.  The biggest issue I had was students getting stuck (something that is also an issue in the base game). I only had a few students who got stuck.

Recommendation:

For only $9.99 you can enjoy more Two Point Campus.  That's a win in my book and, I found the sci-fi theme to be a nice, goofy addition to the base game.  Don't expect anything that's too different from the base experience though.

Spacing Out with Two Point Campus: Space Academy

In what felt like a relatively short amount of time, it was announced that the first DLC for Two Point Campus would be the space themed Space Academy.  As someone who enjoys the Two Point games I would've been excited regardless, but the space academy theme just hits right  I love space and I love Two Point...a perfect combination!

Students wait to check out a time tourism club activity.

The Space Academy DLC adds in several new courses (I'm only on the second campus, so I haven't quite seen all of them yet) including: astrology (in typical Two Point fashion, it's not what it sounds like), cosmic expansion (a sort of rocket building course), space knight school (where armored space knights duel it out with laser batons), and space academy (training the future leaders of all these outer space activities).  There are also a plethora of new items--excitingly, new, fun plants!--and even a new club for students to join--the "time tourism" club which notably features the "yesterizer" from the Two Point Hospital DLC.  New events can also impact your campus--namely falling moon rocks that have different effects depending on the map.  Training your janitors in space rock mining is important to either cash in on the riches contained in the rocks or to quickly clear them (on the second map they can cause students to become ill).

I've been having a good time with the new DLC and the space theme is fun.  The first campus featured frequently falling moon rocks which meant that my janitorial staff was very busy clearing them away.  The upside of these moon rocks is that most of them are valuable and can greatly help supplement your campus income.  Some campus plots can be unlocked by accomplishing a specific set of objectives which is a nice change.  The second campus introduced a new event--the space convention which requires a special, new kind of booth (akin to the stage in the student union).  This means you can either build one huge student union with both a stage and a convention booth or two separate unions.  The second campus is also fairly spread out, but luckily you can research and build a teleporter that allows students to teleport between locations.  There have been a few bugs--namely students becoming stuck (something that can sometimes be a problem in the base game), but for the most part it has worked well.

If you enjoyed Two Point Campus, I would recommend checking out the Space Academy DLC.  It's only $8.99 and it adds in three new maps, lots of new items, new courses, a new club, and new student archetypes.  It's the perfect way to hop back in to one of my favorite franchises.

Pew-Pew (Laser Noises)--Star Wars: Squadrons

Free games?  Yes, please!  Although, I will be the first to admit that the number of freebies that I've actually played are probably significantly outnumbered by those that are lingering unplayed in my various gaming libraries.  I decided to snag Epic Games' latest big name freebie--Star Wars: Squadrons.  As someone who grew up playing a slew of various Star Wars games, notably including X-Wing and TIE Fighter, I was excited to see Squadrons offered at the sweet $0 price tag.  I've played through the singleplayer story campaign and I've uncharacteristically been tooling around with the multiplayer mode.  I've gotta say, I'm greatly enjoying my time with Squadrons.

*Not my image, but a taste of what being in the cockpit is like.

Pros:

+ It looks amazing.  The graphics are great (and I'm sure they're even better for the leets with 4K) and the environments in the game are unique and very cool.  Unlike the classic flying games, you're not just flying through the vastness of space (though much filled with a conglomeration of enemy and friendly ships), and each zone features plenty of floating hazards to make combat a much less straightforward affair.  There are zones featuring the remnants of a fractured moon--you zip around in your ship with a giant, glowing wreck scattering chunks of planet all over the place or you're buzzing through the many jutting towers of a space station.

+ The singleplayer story is enjoyable and features a storyline that bounces back and forth between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire.  The story itself is a pretty stock-standard Star Wars kind of deal--the Empire is doing something big/bad, the Rebel Alliance is trying to counter them, there's betrayal, there's friendship...you know, right?  The missions themselves have varied goals, so you're not just in a dogfight, but you might be trying to take down a capital ship, or to target special systems on a space station.  One aspect of the story that is fun is the fact that you can chat with your squadmates between missions--it's not like you're clicking dialogue, but it does give you some background about them and both sides feature memorable characters.  All-in-all, the singleplayer campaign probably clocks in around 10-15 hours.

+ Classic Star Wars fighters to choose from.  You've got your Rebel Alliance ships--X-Wings, A-Wings, Y-Wings; and your Imperial fighters--the classic TIE, the TIE interceptor, and the TIE bomber.  In singleplayer you don't always get to choose which ship you're going to be flying and each has its own specific strengths and weaknesses.  You can also personalize your loadout on each ship to fit your own playstyle preferences.

+ Two multiplayer modes to choose from--the Co-Op "fleet battle" mode pits your team against a team from the opposing faction to see who can destroy an enemy capital ship first; or "dogfight" mode which pits two groups of five fighters against each other.  I've steadfastly avoided the "fleet battle" mode but the dogfight option is a lot of fun.  Unlike the singleplayer campaign you can choose your ship before every fight and personalize your loadout.  The multiplayer also offers up a few other options for ships--support ships (U-Wing/Reaper) and specialized ships (B-Wing/TIE Defender).  To win the match teams must be the first to score 30 kills or be ahead when the timer runs out (I think it's 15 minutes, but I have yet to be in a match where the time expires).  Matches are quick and generally enjoyable--even when you're getting stomped.

There aren't any microtransactions and you earn experience for each multiplayer match you complete.  The rewards for levelling up are requisition which allows you to unlock specialized options for your ships (things like different weapon or missile types) and a currency that is used for cosmetics.  There are tons of cosmetic options both for your character and your ship.  The system is not pay-to-win in any way.

And, the best part, you can completely mute all chat!

+ VR!  I don't have VR, but if you do, you can pop on your little headset and blast ships in stunning detail.

Cons:

- Character creation is pretty basic and once you start playing multiplayer you get the feeling you're playing with a bunch of clones.  Luckily, once you start earning enough cosmetic currency you can start to make your pilots more unique.  Character creation consists of choosing from a set list of pre-made faces...and that's really it.

- Matchmaking in multiplayer can be a bit odd.  I've been in matches with players who have a level over 1000 and people who are level 1.  Since it's an older game don't expect for the playing field to always be exactly even (generally, it's still enjoyable though--plus, matches are so short that if you're getting stomped, it's over quickly).

- Nesting launchers.  Yes, you will have to use Origin even when launching through Steam or Epic.  Ick.

Recommendation:

I've had a great time playing Squadrons and as someone who avoids multiplayer like the plague, I've been pleasantly surprised at how much I've enjoyed playing it.  If you were lucky enough to snag it while it was free, awesome!  I'm not sure I would pay the full $39.99 for it, but it does seem to frequently go on sale.  If you're a fan of Star Wars flying games and can grab it on the cheap, give it a go.