It was an interesting year of games for me this year. Two of my core franchises had something new, with a third getting… yeah. Of course, the Nintendo Switch 2 released, offering up some great new games for a hybrid machine. Plenty of games on other consoles, too. In fact, I’d say this year has been a year of absolute belters to the point it was difficult to choose what to feature here. So those that are follow some sort of story.
Starting with my cores, it was a very lacking year for Star Wars games. Aspyr provided the only one at the start of the year, and honestly… I wish they’d have gone for a different game. Jedi Power Battles is fun in short bursts, but so many faults bring down the experience. A pretty big one being the rather stilted combat in a very combat focused game.
Much more fun was Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. A lovely kart racer that celebrates the franchise by pulling distinct locations from across its history of games. And a roster full of characters from across the franchise, too. Including everyone from Heroes. Meaning for the first time in a racing game, I could rep Espio. The rival interactions are absolutely one of the best parts of the game, too.
Then the last game from my cores is Pokémon Legends: Z-A. I did enjoy the real-time combat this one provided. It was an interesting change on the regular battling format, and one I hope the Legends games keep. The setting of Lumiose City was perhaps the weakest part, but it still provided a lot of hours of enjoyable exploration. Especially finding out how to get onto various rooftops to see what secrets they held.
That game was played on the new Nintendo Switch 2, released in June. And starting the Switch 2 off was Mario Kart World. An enjoyable new take on the series, what with an expansion on the trick system to include rail grinding and wall riding. And how about that world? Such a great one to be exploring, even if I wish there was more integration between regular racing and the free roam. Something I’ll be talking of early in the new year.
Now, in the GameCube era, there was a trifecta of Nintendo racing games. One that, during the first year of Switch, I said I would like to see repeated. And with the Switch 2, it pretty much has. Along with Mario Kart World launched Fast Fusion, another great high speed racer. And within the first year of this new console, a sequel to Kirby Air Ride released. Which has also been another great game. Such a great start for racing games on this new system.
A few other games released on the Switch 2 that I’ve been enjoying. One of those being Donkey Kong Bananza. At first I was a little apprehensive on it. Would I enjoy it? On its release date, I took a chance and absolutely did. I enjoyed smashing my way through the levels to get down to the core. Utilising the powers gained to platform my way to success. And damn if I wasn’t moved by the ending and that song on the credits.
The one thing I was hoping to see was a Farming Simulator on the Switch 2 that provided the full console experience. And that has happened. Signature Edition might seem a bit weaker than on other consoles, with some blurry visuals and random frame stuttering. But this is still the same experience that I love so much. Just minus any DLC that the other versions are getting.
Fortunately, a different type of farming experience had me hooked, and is one I need to return to. Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar might be a remake of a DS game, but it feels completely new with its redesigned 3D world. Many events to take part in, the bazaar that is pretty much a weekend farmer’s market, and even the characters all make this one of the best Story of Seasons games to lose myself to.
Away from the Switch 2, there were a few games I was wanting to get into. One of the best, and the one I was most waiting for, was The Precinct. A top down, open world game, this one had me playing on the side of the law. It had some easy to use controls, with aiming on the right stick feeling pretty natural after a short while. I enjoyed solving crime and keeping the city safe as the story progressed, which ended on an action-packed final mission and a fateful choice.
Another game I really wanted to get to was Wheel World. A racing game on bicycles. The world was a fun one to explore on the bike, getting into races against various racing gangs to earn enough reputation to take on their bosses. Earning back the legendary bike parts they had stolen in the process. I really did enjoy cycling through all of what this one had to offer, with me enjoying the music so much I bought the soundtrack of it.
Even though I’d got a Switch 2, I was once again considering a Steam Deck. And so, in mentioning it, a friend was ever so generous. One of the first games I played on that Steam Deck was a game I had enjoyed trying out during Tiny Teams. Easy Delivery Co. is a retro-styled delivery simulator, set on a frozen mountain. It was a perfect game to be playing on the handheld, where I enjoyed discovering the mystery it held.
Now with a Deck, I faced a choice of where to get PowerWash Simulator 2. I had absolutely enjoyed the first one on the Switch, playing until the power ran out while in bed. Settling with getting it on the Deck, I enjoyed the second much as I had the first. And what a great expansion on the first it was, with many new and interesting places to clean. And plenty more fun text messages from the people I was cleaning for. I was sad when I’d finished, to the point I bought the first and all its DLC on Steam to continue the washing fun.
The Jingle Jam Games Collection provided some great games to play. My favourite of the bunch had to be Train Sim World 6, and its Jingle Jam Edition that packed two routes in with a Christmas-themed bonus. This is one I tried on the Deck, but some bad performance on it (such as the most distracting motion blur) meant I kept it to my laptop instead. Where I’ve spent quite a lot of time riding the rails on those routes and others, thanks to that generous friend who also got me the full game.
And lastly, another fun one from Tiny Teams was A la Card. A food truck themed roguelike, the aim is to feed the people. Utilising cards for food items, there was a lot of strategy to make sure each person per round was fed. The full game released in December, giving me a reason to put it on the Deck and try out the trackpad for mouse control. Which I found easy enough to use.
As said at the beginning, there have been so many great games released across this year. Wreckfest 2, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment being just a few others. Next year I feel will have just as many great games, with a certain few getting me using my Xbox a lot more than it has been this year. The two 6 games of GTA and Forza Horizon are some of my most anticipated, and will be two I’m going to be most invested in.
Images Taken From:
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | Xbox Series S
Fast Fusion | Nintendo Switch 2 [Handheld]
-Kirby Air Riders | Nintendo Switch 2 [Handheld]
The Precinct | Xbox Series S
PowerWash Simulator 2 | PC
