Monthly Top 10s: February 2024

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 03/13/2024

After a small break from writing, I bring to you a brand new section. Basically this is my top 10 games that I played last month, so that means that you can find old and new games alike, depending on what I’ve been playing. This is a way for me to share some thoughts on various games and even make some recommendations without having to write a full review for each of them, considering the fact that sometimes I just don’t have that much to say. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it!

10. Venba.

Starting off with one of the few indies I had left from 2023. Venba is a game that could be described as a cooking simulator, even though I don’t believe this is where the game’s true strength resides in. While cooking traditional Indian recipes is fun, this game finds its footing when it tells the story of a young couple from India that has decided to start a new life from scratch in Canada, facing many difficulties as immigrants in this country.

This comes alongside the conflict that arises when their son finds himself more comfortable with the Canadian lifestyle and culture than with his Indian roots. Both of these conflicts feel like a personal story that comes from the real-life experiences of its writers, which, for me, is the heart of this game and the reason why I recommend it.

9. Unpacking.

Unpacking is a game that I’ve seen many times over the last couple of years in digital stores or recommended in videos of someone playing it on YouTube. Because of this I was always curious and I finally decided to check it out. After playing through it in a few hours I can say that, for better or worse, it’s exactly what you’re expecting.

Apart from a very satisfying and well-made gameplay system in which you’ll be organizing rooms and even entire houses, the game also tells you a story through the items you unpack and the environment you find yourself into at each stage. It’s a simple and short game made for anyone that’s searching for a calm and easy-going experience. If you’re looking for this kind of experience right now, go for it, if you’re looking for something different then you might want to try elsewhere.

8. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India.

My relationship with the Assassin’s Creed series is really complex. The Ezio trilogy is one of the main reasons I started playing games more «seriously» in my teenage years, but it’s also one of the least constant video game series in terms of quality. The three Assassin’s Creed Chronicles titles were released during what was probably the lowest point of the series, which explains why, being disappointed with Unity and Rogue and feeling overwhelmed with the amount of AC games coming out, I decided to skip them until now.

I think Chronicles: Russia is the weakest of the three, and that’s why it’s not on this top 10. With Chronicles: India though, I believe they did a better job. It’s the game that has the most entertaining and compelling chases, parkour sections and mechanics out of the three, even though that just isn’t enough for me to get past a mediocre story and some sections that feel a bit unfair or unpolished gameplay-wise.

7. Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China.

After what I said about Chronicles: India, you may be wondering if I accidentally mixed up their spots on this list, but I have a reason for this decision. Even though I think there are some things in terms of gameplay that India does better, there’s just not that much difference in this regard.

On the other hand, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China manages to pull off a more cohesive and interesting story (even if it’s still not that complex), a better progression in the difficulty of enemy encounters and introduction of new gameplay mechanics and a better use of its setting, both the country and its character and story’s place within the Assassin’s Creed series. With this in mind, you can see that it’s not my favorite of the three just because Ezio makes a cameo (I swear).

6. Dead Cells.

Dead Cells is a game I’ve been putting off for way too long, and considering how much I enjoy other rogue-like titles I felt like this was the right time to finally give it a shot. I can say that I liked this game, but not as much as I expected before I started playing.

It has a great combat and exploration system that makes you constantly choose whether you want to explore to find some better weapons or upgrades at the cost of loosing some time-related rewards. The bosses and different types of enemies are also really fun to fight against. But, even with all of this turning it into a really enjoyable experience, the game was sometimes so obviously forcing you to loose until you had more upgrades (which means you have to play many more runs in order to farm them) and each run was so long that I just didn’t want to keep playing after my first encounter with the final boss.

5. Slay the Spire.

Following up with another rogue-like, Slay the Spire was a bit more enjoyable to me because of its unique approach to the genre. Having to fight with a deck of random cards that you can barely choose makes the experience of each run special, as you have to improvise with what you’re given on a completely different level. I think most rogue-like games play with this idea, but for me Slay the Spire really nails it because there is no other mechanic than using your cards to fight, whereas in other similar games there are some things like the basics of combat, moving or dodging that aren’t randomized.

Still, I also had to stop playing this game because after 25–30 hours and 3 successful runs what the game was asking of me in order to beat the true final boss was so luck-based and time-consuming that I just had to call it a day and move on to other games. So keep that in mind if you consider playing it, which I still highly recommend doing.

4. Brotato.

After two vastly different rogue-likes, I was pleased with finding out yet another game that does something that I’ve barely seen within this genre (the only game I’ve played similar to this was the amazing Vampire Survivors). Fighting waves of enemies in a fast-paced but still somewhat strategic fashion was incredibly addictive and enjoyable for me.

On top of this there are so many characters and different builds you can make that can take you to victory on each of the 6 difficulties the game offers. I thought this was a great game for anyone looking for a rogue-like that doesn’t require at least 10–15 hours of gameplay just to get a grip on how it works and what you need in order to beat it. Brotato is full of simple and fun encounters that still find the time to be challenging when you’re most confident.

3. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Even though I like the first film, I’m not a really big Avatar fan and I found the second movie to be surprisingly underwhelming. I say this so you can understand my surprise when I actually enjoyed my time exploring Pandora and freeing it from its oppressors. I think that, in terms of exploration and world-building, Ubisoft here is the best it’s been in the last 5 years. Even though I enjoy the combat and stealth sections of this game, I think that where this game truly shines is in it’s flora and fauna.

Gathering materials from animals and plants is something I never thought I would find as much fun as I did here, with some conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to get the rarest version of them that have you planning when and where exactly on this huge map you’re going to look for what you need. The fact that you have to discover each species gives way for you to immerse yourself in a world that feels alive and lived in, like it was already there way before you ever started playing. Taking all of this into account, a story that feels «just fine» doesn’t stop me from absolutely recommending this game.

2. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo.

Paranormasight is one of the best visual novels I’ve ever seen. It manages to do SO MUCH in so little time that I can’t help but fall in love with it at every step of the way. It follows a mystery regarding some curses that might have been unleashed in the small town of Honjo in order to fulfill the conditions for a rite of resurrection, with a cast of five playable characters that have somehow found themselves involved in it.

Not only does the mystery unravel spectacularly, with so many twists and interesting turns of events that you’ll never see coming, but it also does so with a clear and satisfying arc for each character, some funny and scary moments, a lot of fourth wall breaks that could only have been done in a video game and some encounters involving different character’s curses that feel like a JoJo’s fight with stands. When it comes to the visual novel genre, this is one of the most refreshing and best written games that you can find, and I urge all of you to play it as soon as you can.

1. Tekken 8.

And finally, my first 10/10 of 2024. Last year I played over 40 fighting games and in my entire life I might have played almost a 100 of them, so you can tell that it’s a genre I really enjoy playing and that I really care for. I say this so you don’t take what I’m about to say lightly: Tekken 8 has become one of my top 5 favorite fighting games of all time.

This game just does everything right, even more than right. It has a lot of offline content, with a lot of different modes to enjoy playing by yourself or with some friend on couch coop and an amazing story mode that is as good as it is insane and over-the-top (in a good way), some things that I found lacking in many modern fighting games and that Tekken 8 proves to be possible. Another thing that this game does better than anyone else right now is its roster. This might be the first time in years where I honestly don’t care if they release any extra characters as DLC, as the main roster of the game is already full of interesting, developed and stunning characters that include as many different fighting styles and approaches as you will ever need.

I think I don’t need to say this but yes, apart from this the online is also THAT good and entertaining. All of these things along with some small details like some crazy character customization or replays that give you hints on how to improve put Tekken 8 in a completely different level and way above any of its competitors. This game has done what Mortal Kombat 9 or X did back in the day, leaving the rest of fighting game series with the almost impossible task of catching up to it.