#and yes i do use FamilyJules' word for coroni

[aquamoon33]

GAME CLEARING 2022: The year of severe depression with Coroni on top!

So, I was in a bad place mentally this year, mostly trying to make it through the day without a breakdown. Didn't help that my boyfriend also got fired from work and moved out back home, due to a family tragedy (But on a brighter note, we are engaged now!) Because of this, I didn't play that much this year, and it also didn't help that most of my games were 60+ hours RPGs. I finally got Coroni as well, and I don't know if I've caught it at a con or at workplace or somewhere completely different. All I know is that the virus caused significant damage on my lungs, causing me to be out of breath faster and I still haven't stopped coughing.

Now, the list for this year:

Game 1: YS - Monstrum Nox (Nintendo Switch) 

Got this game for my birthday in 2021, waited for the winter break to put it in and spent 9 days playing this game until I beat it 100%, meaning that I did every quest, uncovered the whole map, got 120 Azure Petals, got every treasure chest and killed multiple gods. It's been a while since I went on an adventure with Adol and gameplay-wise is pretty much the same as YS VIII, with the exception of Gifts, which are similar to Adventurer's Gear, but permanently equipped (example, some gifts enable you to run up walls, grapple to certain objects, glide, etc.), and the story is pretty interesting. I mean, at the start of the game you're escaping from a highly secured prison! And then you get shot.... and turned into a supernatural being.... and then you have to disguise yourself by dying your hair, because your bright red hair is too noticeable. "Raids" make a comeback in the form of Grimwald Nox, a supernatural plane that is full of monsters that threaten to invade the human realm, and you need to stop them. However, that ain't the main plot. There is much to uncover in the Gllia region (Probably YS' version of France, since back in the Roman times, Latin name for Gaul was Gallia).  Tho, I'm sad that there are no references to older games until late game. 

Game 2: Devil May Cry (Playstation 4) 

Had this game on my hard-drive for a while now and this is one of the rare games that I managed to beat in one day, taking me only around a few hours. For those who have never heard about this franchise, it's about a demon hunter named Dante, hacking and slashing demons and devils. The game is fun and I see why people like it very much. I was surprised to see a Resident Evil like camera for a hack n slash game. The story is basic (albeit a bit cheesy towards the end), which isn't surprising when it comes to first games in a new IP and the "great" voice acting shows that the game was made back in the early days of voice acted games. Gameplay-wise you wield a sword, gauntlets and twin guns into fights and while guns stay equipped all the time, you can switch between the fast moving sword or the hard hitting but slower gauntlets. This series is also the birth place of the mechanic called as Devil Trigger, during which your attacks deal more damage and replenish some health.  Now if you excuse me, I have to go fill my dark soul with LAIIIIIGHT!!! 

Game 3: Pokemon Legends Arceus (Nintendo Switch) 

My GOTY 2022 right here, y'all! I had a blast playing this game (obsessively, I might add, to the point my boyfriend almost confiscated my Switch 😅) , but the concept of you writing the "first" ever Pokedex is a phenomenal idea. Yeah, might get tedious, but that is how research works normally (also, kudos to that one guy who 100% all the tasks in the pokedex). Story wise, you, the MC, get isekai'd to the past version of the Sinnoh version, then named Hisui, and get told to be productive to the community or we leave you to die. There are no villain teams this time around, only you, the immigrants from other regions and the 2 native clans, named Diamond and Pearl Clan (Oh, and for some reason, a train guy from BW/B2W2, who has amnesia). Gameplay is basically Breath of the Wild meets Pokemon, you have your crafting, your gliding, your wall climbing etc.  By the way, Arceus? Can you send me and Ingo home now? Or just Ingo? His brother misses him. 

Game 4: Stray (Playstation 4) 

Was hyped for this game back when it was announced. Playing as a cat who, prompts to the devs, acts like an ACTUAL cat! Smart, but also a bit stupid. Gameplay is pretty simple, move, sprint, press X to vault onto nearby accessible ledges, and the most important button, the MEOW button. Story is simple at first, a stray cat living with its brethren in a what seems a post apocalyptic wilderness when a normal scavenger hunt results in your cat falling into an underworld city, populated by robots. There you meet a small drone who translates robot language for you and there are also head cra- sorry, they are Zurks in this game, that chase you around certain areas and devour you if your too slow to shake them of. As the story progresses though, you realize that humanity is gone and that something happened outside the walls that forced humans into this closed off city.  Ending almost made me cry.  

Game 5: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Nintendo Switch) 

It's a Xeno game, and the best one gameplay wise so far, and full of nostalgia for those who played the first two ones. I ranked this my second favorite Xenoblade game tho, since the first one is still my favorite (and the second one gets last place because of the gacha system). I loved how they tied in the other games into this, with both locations, music and some... ermmmm.... spoilery things that I won't mention here. Battles are slow at the beginning but get insane once you unlock d-pad slots, and while the whole job system is pretty deep, you can just press the Y button for the game to optimize for you (not recommended for super bosses tho). Side quests, while not as plentiful as in the first game, we're hit or miss for me. Some were obvious to see on your mini map, some you had stupid requirements to complete first that I wouldn't find on my own without a guide.  Now, Eunie, you may slug that guy, but only once. 

Game 6: Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch) 

I love me some squids and octopuses, but since I've acquired an allergy on sea food, I can only shoot them with ink in Turf Wars. First thing's first when I got the game I only had an hour to play before I had to go to work, so I only tested out the multiplayer and Salmon Run, while leaving the Single Player mode alone for later. When I asked my boyfriend about how he liked the game, he accidentally spoiled a major plot twist in the first part of the story, leaving me a bit (okay, a lot)  bitter (to the point of not talking to him for 2 weeks). And I liked the story mode A LOT. Instead of looking for Sunken Scrolls in the levels, you had to look for them in the overworld, which made the hub world fun and left you to solely focus on the level, instead of worrying if you got everything in it before finishing it. Gameplay is your standard 3rd person shooter, aim and shoot, with the addition of your little Small Fry buddy, who helps you a lot during the levels. The stages themselves are very reminiscent of Octo Expansion, having to pay a fee in certain stages to even attempt it. I won't talk about the story, because as said before, the very beginning has a HUGE plot twist.  Can't believe, they pulled a Fast and Furious 9 move with the final boss. 

Game 7: Here comes Niko! (Nintendo Switch) 

A cozy game for tired people is a perfect comparison for this game. A cute game where you control the titular character Niko, who is on their way to live independently and trying to get a job. A friend of theirs got them set up for a job interview at Tadpole HQ, and the whole game is Niko being put on trial by one of the employees called Pepper, to become a "Professional Friend" as they travel from island to island, solving people's problems. During the travels between Islands Niko gets voicemails from their parents and friend, the former demanding to come home, while the latter supports their decision to get away from their family. Gameplay is very A Hat in Time like, no surprise considering it was co-developed by Gears for Breakfast, and the art style is very Paper Mario 64 like.  Hat Kid also makes a cameo as a tourist, enjoying her vacation. 

Game 8: Return to Monkey Island (Steam) 

I have a confession to make... I have never played a Monkey Island game before. Most I know of it is through Youtube clips and some memes and that's about it. That said, I quite enjoyed the game. The puzzles were clever, the humor was phenomenal (had me laughing a lot) and the story was wacky, for lack of a better term. There is an option in the menu to recap the previous games, but I chose to skip that. There are also in game Spoiler Warnings for previous games in some areas. For the game's story, we have our "lovable" Guybrush Threepwood finally going after The Secret of the Monkey Island (that he apparently didn't find yet???) and is once again competing with his nemesis Le Chuck to get to it. But I don't know how to feel about the ending.  I'm surprised how Elaine can keep up with her husbands bullshit and destruction. 

Game 9: Sonic Frontiers (Nintendo Switch) 

Hands down, one of the best modern Sonic games I have ever played. I loved messing around in the hub world back in Sonic Adventure DX days, and blasting around at the speed of sound in this game felt so satisfying! Sure, there were little hiccups here and there (Sonic YEETing himself off a cliff when I boosted and the camera changed for example) but otherwise it felt like a Open Zone (Not world, ZONE) mixed with a collect-a-ton. I started playing on Normal, heard that there was a secret boss fight if you play on hard, and switched on hard, but it didn't feel overly difficult. The boss fights were phenomenal, story was chef's kiss, which isn't really a surprise, considering that Ian Flynn of Sonic IDW fame had a say in it. I did feel a little weirded out hearing Roger Craig Smith giving Sonic a more deep voice, since I'm more used to Sonic sounding more higher pitched (maybe Sonic is going through puberty in universe 😆)   By the way, how do you guys feel about Ikaruga?  

Game 10: Pokemon Scarlet (Nintendo Switch) 

I have mixed feelings about this one. I was very hyped for this game and even pestered my boyfriend to get it for my birthday (which coincidentally is on November 18th, same day the game was released), but then Twitter happened and people wouldn't shut up about the glitches and bugs, making me feel guilty for enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, I liked playing the game, even thought the whole open worldness is an illusion, as you're still expected to follow a set path, as gyms, titans and Team Star don't level scale. Story wise, I liked having three paths to follow, each one telling it's own tale, the world feels huge and the school side quests ain't that bad either. I still prefer PLA's catching mechanic, being able to just chuck a ball at them and voila. The final act however, hooooo, the area game me massive Xenoblade vibes and the music was phenomenal!  I saved a doggy as well!  

Game 11: RWBY Arrowfell (Nintendo Switch) 

This game was sitting in my backlog for a while, since I didn't have any time to even get to playing it, thanks to both Pokemon Scarlet and Sonic Frontiers. I was however hyped for it, ever since they announced it a year ago. While I would've liked the original gameplay (since it seemed like a 4 player co-op, instead of the single player), it's a good game. The only complaint I have is the lack of a map inside stages. Gameplay is tight and fluid, story is a bit on the short side, since it's implied that this was Team RWBY's first official mission as Licensed Huntresses and fans of the show will already know that the bad guys won't succeed, since the show itself never mentions this incident ever taking place (though, that might also be because this game was in development after Volume 8 already finished). Combat is fun, but it's also easy to get yourself killed if you're not paying attention (I mostly used Ruby since her long range helped keeping enemies away from me). I also liked when bosses made you use all 4 of your characters and their semblances.  Where my Team JNR at tho? 

Sadly, I think this will be the last game clearing post for me since I don't want to write how I beat only 5 games next year. Real life is catching up to me (my mental health is almost N/A) and workplace is a mess right now (Thanks Putin) which leaves me with almost no motivation to play/draw/write/do anything.

So my word of wisdom are, take care of yourselves, take a break from the internet from time to time, and, mostly importantly, STAY SAFE!