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I've missed a lot of the games this year that many will probably have high up on their lists (KC2, Silent Hill F, Arc Raiders etc.)
My list is something like this
5) Split Fiction
4) Clair Obscure
3) Dispatch
2) Nightreign
1) Hollow Knight Silksong (a game I haven't even finished yet 😅)

I hate that ai exists but as many have said there's no putting that back in the bottle. May as well brace it.
Of course many jobs will become obsolete in the short and long run, we can just hope that new types of jobs are created to replace them.
As for Larians reputation, as the famous quote goes, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain", even if they will do no wrong it's inevitable. The people will turn on them.

Resident evil is the big one for me. The blood of dawnwalker and pragmata are up there too. Fingers crossed for project robot but i wont hold my breath.

@RoomWithaMoose ye a hundred plus hours feels like a lot but I suppose it isn't when you break it down, that's two and a half hours a week if we're going with 120 a year, it's not a huge amount for a hobby.

Expedition 33 took top spot for me, cyberpunk in second. 150 hours in total but i also got a switch 2. But even counting that im doubtful ill be hitting anywhere near 300, im getting old i guess.

@MasterChiefWiggum is there anything a.i. wont make worse?

@orvisbean101 ye thats what i remembered, part of the fun was seeing which games took top spot each month.

Is it just me or does this year's wrap up feel light on stats? Could have sworn earlier years went into more detail about my playtime.

Just picked the deluxe edition up for £20, I thought I'd I could get a few hours out of it I'd say it was worth it.
Three night lords down and I'm still going. Didn't expect to like a online offering from fromsoft but this has really got me excited for what duskblood could be.

Im guessing elden ring isnt here as its cross gen, but its the only game this gen i'd personally give a 10

10/15, I'll take it!

I dont mind sequels, but they take so long and the improvements boil down to slightly better visuals and just simple being bigger. Id rather they just Fallout New Vegas it instead, meaning same engine and assets, and get it done in less time.

The console itself I have no problem with, in fact its very good, from the controller to the ssd's.
But the library which is the most important thing is not the best. Its definately the gen of 7/10's, very little for me went above that which after five years isnt a good sign.

Just finished it yesterday. It was my goty.... until the final episode. They bottled it unfortunately, really felt let down by it.

Not sure what i'm picking up yet. Elden Ring Nightriegn by the way is only £16 on amazon, seriously considering that.
Kingdom come Deliverence 2 is £35, its a game ive been uncertain about for a while, if i'm gonna go for it now seems like the time.
Ive heard mixed things for both silent hill f and outer worlds 2, not sure if theyre current prices are low enough for me personally to take the gamble.

@get2sammyb Loved it. Great vibe and fun light stratagy style gameplay. One of the highlights for the gen for me.

I really liked killzone 2 and Mercenaries (3 wasn't too bad either) but any want from me for that series to continue died with Shadow Fall, when taking into account developer pedigree and budget etc that is the worst game I've ever played and left one hell of a nasty taste in my mouth. I'd rather play a remake of halo now. Wish they added the multiplayer though.

@Rich33 I see, You may have convinced me to give this game a go.

@Rich33 Thanks for the reply and the detailed response. Helped a bit.
Ye the game did look 'well known' as you put it, but the stuff about the side content and flashbacks sounds rather cool. I might have to look into this.

Is the story any good? Hearing mixed things about that aspect of it.
I'm really in the mood for a big AAA game with a great story recently for the first time in ages but there doesn't seem to be any.

Perhaps a controversial take from me; my biggest problem with the Sony story driven games is that the actual story telling is getting simpler and thematically less interesting. And they feel too safe.

I was ready to buy it as I've been craving a story game for a while now. But the price has put me off, I'm not made of money so I'll wait for a sale.

@Quintumply Does the game have online play with split screen?

Nice addition, now I just need split screen and I'll get it but who are we kidding

Too be fair this is one area which Sony has nailed it. Hell I thought Valhalla was better than the main game itself, I was curious why they'd throw that out for free, could have charged at least £10 for it and I don't think I would have complained.
The astro bot levels are nice too, those added levels are something nice to blast through on a rainy day.

I'm glad trigger is back and that this is stand alone, no need to touch the OG that ended perfectly 👌

I'd rank them in order of release, first one = Best one. Last one = Worst one.
It's also one of those series I'm a little afraid to ever return too, despite absolutely loving them in my teens, something tells me they may not have been as good as I remember.

Game pass is killing game s.... Oh wait.....

It had it's moments for certain, I think Ashley's Johnson's performance was an all timer, especially the scene in the theatre where Ellie was shook and trying to hide it. Never had I felt such realism from a video game character.
And ye, that scene early on with Joel was emotional as all hell, for what it's worth if taken in isolation the scene was a masterpiece.
However I felt when I looked at the bigger picture it didn't hold up, especially in the second half as in my opinion, characters started acting unrealistically, and they fell into a bit of a problem where they wanted every character to feel sympathetic, but by the end they all felt a bit irredeemable (in my eyes) so I lost interest.

Expedition 33 is my current goty and will likely be at the end of the year too.
Split Fiction is my no.2.
I still need to play plenty of 2025 releases though like nightreign and blue prince.
As for games that might make my list later in the year, there's Bananza and Keeper

For ps5 I wouldn't say there's a huge amount for me personally in the second half.
Mgs delta looks great but I've played the original to death so I'll probably give it a skip.
Silent hill f looks kinda cool but the series doesn't have the most spotless record. Wait and see.
The premise of Hell is us almost has me sold, if the reviews are good this might be my pick.
Sword of the sea is definitely a type of game that I think there's not enough of, but I can't escape how similar it looks to Journey (art wise), wish it had something a bit more it's own like abzu did.
Outside of the playstation realm, Keeper, Legends ZA and hopefully Splatoon Raiders and Silksong shall keep me busy.

Great news. As a big from software fan this game looks really cool despite being something a bit different (In fact it's nice to see from a big studio).
It's just the three player set up with no split screen or cross play that's keeping me away.
If they keep improving the single player or implement cross play or something I'll hopefully hop in at a later date.

@AndyKazama same could be said for castlevania though, or even Lego, both have great TV shows/movies.
And the lore of elden ring sets up a story very nicely. Got your fantasy world, politics and demi gods, a fight over power. It's rife with conflict which is all you really need for a starting point.

I don't think everything needs a movie but I get it, it's business. A24 in all fairness have a pretty good batting record. I think they where perfect for death stranding and I'd rather them than a lot of the top studios.

I miss the annual playstation experiences they had in December the most, felt like they where for the core ps gamers.
As for a state of play anytime soon I guess I just feel apathetic.

The news that it's linear and story driven changed my mind completely on this game. I actually want it now.

There's a lot of improvements I feel are needed.
Side content of course as most say, make it less repetitive.
Stealth needs a overall to say the least.
I would love a better story/characters like their previous games but it sounds unlikely give how they've set up the game (can take out the bad guys in any order, whilst freedom can be fun, it does limit narrative.)

I played this game at launch and thought it was their best work.... until I watched my brother play it last year and discovered it's aged a lot worse than people remember, more than I remembered certainly.
Stuff like Sekiro, DS3 and Elden Ring have surpassed it. But Yarnam itself remains their best world.

Split fiction and Expedition 33 for me. There is Xenoblade x as well over on switch, but I think I'll wait on that one. Something tells me a better version will be available on the newer switch.

I think the price is a bit high for returning players but not too much that it isn't worth it. Your getting a quality game here, especially if you haven't already played it.

Too be fair as much as I miss sony's AA games, I think they've adapted the right approach: instead of making those games, publish them instead.

I wouldn't say there was much that spoke to me personally, but a few games where shown that I'd like to see more of, Tides of Annihilation being the big one.

The story ended with 3, I wasn't fussed on the way it ended but it ended so I say despite how much I loved the series I'd leave it be and move onto new things.

12 outta 15. Not bad for someone who's only played 1 and a half of its games (definitely wasn't random lucky guesses)

Varies, but usually many months.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Tears of the Kingdom took me over a year with on and off playing, meanwhile I hammered out Cyberpunk over december/early January, so about 5-6 weeks, and Shadow of the Erd Tree was also consumed within a month when that came out. I think rebirth took 3-4 months, so ye a bit all over the place with me.

I've already played it. It's a great game but as I've already played 3 and 4 before it I'm a smidge burnt out on the formula.
I'd still recommend it to any racing game fan.

My hope is for E-Day on ps5 and the MC Collection on Switch 2, pretty cool we're living in this reality for once. Down with exclusives!

@AdamNovice That would have been neat, I actually preferred her to Atrues. Me and my brother often laugh that Thor and Kratos should swap kids as they suit each other more 😅

My two most anticipated games of 2025 (unless Witcher 4 or Project Robot miraculously make it) so that's cool. Don't really need more info on them besides a release date mind you.

@DonkeyFantasy Watch Dogs says hi