It's no secret that I'm a lifelong fan of Dragon Quest and given how much I enjoy Minecraft and survival games, the Builders offshoot series is like a dream come true. I was a huuuuge fan of the original game back in 2016 and was really looking forward to this one. While this game is very story-driven like the first one and can feel like a long-winded tutorial at times, I still felt it was a bit more open than the original. You also have an island that you can (mostly) do whatever you want with.

I ended up logging almost 80 hours into this one and it was a blast the entire time. The only reason I stopped was because I had completed all of the side objectives and unlocked the Platinum trophy. I was happy with where my island ended up, so I called it a day. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to it, but I'll be ready for the inevitable sequel!

Now here's one I didn't see coming...at all. I used to love challenging games as a kid, but as I've gotten older, I can't seem to be bothered by games that require a lot of repetition to make any sort of progress. I'm not saying they're bad, I'm saying I'm bad at playing them and I get frustrated. I tried playing the original Dark Souls shortly after it released and I got absolutely NOWHERE. I was way too slow and just couldn't do it. I avoided the sequels, but when Bloodborne came out, I was intrigued by the setting.

It had been sitting on my shelf for a while and I'd always consider playing it, but I was worried it would be too difficult. Well, earlier this year, I said screw it and loaded it up for the first time. My first play session was about 2ish hours and I didn't really get anywhere (much like my experience with Dark Souls), but this time something felt different....I was hooked. I actually felt like I was getting better, ever so slightly. Over the next couple of weeks, I logged nearly 30 hours for a playthrough (ignoring some of the optional bosses that I never found) and while it was certainly a challenging game, I was very rarely frustrated.

It's going to make me feel old, but I've been playing the Tomb Raider games since the original one came out. I purchased it for my Saturn with money I received for Christmas back in 1996. I absolutely loved the first two games, but I really disliked the third one and didn't spend much time with the next few. But starting with Tomb Raider Legend, I was back in. And when the full-blown reboot happened a while back, I was really back in.

This is the third (and final?) of the reboot story arc and while it was my least favorite of the three, it was still an awesome game. It's more of the same, but I really enjoy exploring these worlds, solving puzzles, and yes, raiding tombs!

The original Thief game is one of my all-time favorites. It was unlike anything I had ever played back in the late '90s. I picked the sequel up fairly early on, but for some reason, I just never got into it. Over the years, I've played the original one all the way through several times, but I could never seem to get anywhere in this one. Why? Well, after finally finishing the second one, I can honestly say I have no idea why!

This game is exactly like the first one, just more, more, MORE! As the name suggests, the game throws some metal / robotic challenges at you that change things up a bit. Overall, I still like the first one better as I thought it had some better levels and a stronger narrative. But make no mistake, this is still a fantastic game that's well worth sneaking your way through.

There's not much I can say about this one that hasn't already been said. It was a huge hit for Sony and it's well-deserved as it's a fantastic game. It has a lengthy main story, lots of side activities, tons of moves and gadgets to unlock, and it does all of that with incredibly high production values.

The only thing I didn't like is I thought there were just too many crimes you had to stop in order to get 100% completion. It really felt like the same thing over...and over...and oveeeeeeer. I had to grind them for probably 2-4 hours at the end and I just put on some music and swung around the city mopping them up.

I seem to have a somewhat on-again-off-again relationship with Quantic Dream games. I really enjoyed Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, but I wasn't a big fan of Beyond: Two Souls and I've never been able to get into Omikron: The Nomad Soul. But right out of the gate, Detroit: Become Human hooked me. I liked all three characters and it really felt like your choices / actions mattered in this one.

The original Resident Evil 2 is an absolute classic in my opinion. I had that sucker pre-ordered and counted down the days to its release. It lived up to my own personal hype and then some. It felt so much bigger than the original game, especially with two characters that had so many unique sequences in their respective journeys.

This is a full-blown remake and isn't just some rush-job remaster. The setting and general plot was certainly familiar, but this entry can stand on its own without needing to ride the nostalgia-fueled memories I have of the game it's based upon. To that end, if you're a fan of the original Resident Evil 2 OR if you've never played it, you'll want to put this one on your list sometime.

Another year, another Shining Force game on my list! Last year it was Shining Force III: Scenario 2 and this year it's Shining Force CD. I had planned on playing Shining Force III: Scenario 3, but I took a detour with this one. This game is basically a remake and mashed together version of a pair of Game Gear games. Additionally, an extra "book" was added to the standard narrative, plus a hidden "book" (which is only one battle and sadly, I did not unlock).

The gameplay here is classic Shining Force. If you've ever played one of the Genesis games, you know exactly how this one plays. It doesn't really do anything different from those, but that's not a complaint by any means. I'm a big fan of the series and this was every bit as good as the other games. The story is a little predictable, but the battles are insanely addictive. There are lots of characters to recruit and nothing is more satisfying than building them up and decimating an army of baddies.

This is another game that I have tried to play through many times over the years and I had never managed to stick with it. I would always get through the first world or so and then just stop. This game has such an overwhelming amount of content for the genre and it can get a little tedious at times since you have multiple characters that have to trudge through the same areas since collectibles are exclusive to each character.

My main complaint with this one is that I wish you could change your character on-the-fly, rather than having to return to a barrel. Yeah, I know, it would've broken the game in some respects and certain areas simply wouldn't have worked, but still...that has always bugged me. Otherwise, this is a great 3D platformer with an insane amount of collectibles, huge worlds, lots of special abilities, and fun boss fights.

This one was a total surprise for me. Much like Bloodborne, I had avoided this one due to its supposed difficulty, but I decided to give it a go this year. It really wasn't as difficult as I expected, though it does have some crazy spikes during it's fairly lengthy story. The Dreamcast is an amazing system, but this game will bring it to its knees when you have a screen full of enemies / bullets and you unleash a special attack. Colors (and enemies) explode in an incredible display of carnage as you lay waste to a seemingly endless supply of 2D adversaries.