My gotys
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Gnosia : Billed as a visual novel, in reality it is RNG Werewolf, utterly impenetrable until it clicks and you dominate it in a way that feels both wrong and very good. Unforgettable characters despite 95% randomized boring dialogue. Killer SFX when your character realizes someone is lying
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SMT5: Real Shin Megami Tensei Shit. I’m very pleased
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Great ace attorney : AA with less cringe, more character, and no supernatural elements, I only got tired of it during the last case of the second game which is MUCH farther than usual for AA. I extremely love Herlock Susato Gina etc and all the animations
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Disco Elysium: It got an atrocious switch port this year, I was mesmerized the entire time despite the constant crashes.
I would have liked to invest more into my favorite skill (Half light) but the game did put enough pressure that I felt real weight to my every choices. -
Sakuna: I’ve experienced the entire Hero Journey Narrative in my head through gameplay alone just with my relationship with rice in that game
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Astalon Tears of the earth: I play a ton of Keyring games, they’re my guilty pleasure and this one was the best in a while. Top notch exploration. I almost missed it too because the art direction did nothing for me, at least at first