🎶 Mike Minotti... Mike Mike Minotti... 🎶
10. Cocoon
Cocoon reminds me of those indie games from the Xbox Live Arcade days. It has a simple idea that it adds complexity to throughout a short, well-paced journey. And even though this is a game all about puzzles, it somehow also has some of the best boss fights of the year.
I played this on my Switch when I was feeling a bit of handheld RPG fatigue, and it hit the spot better than a Diet Dr. Pepper from the Arby’s soda fountain.
9. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
As much as I like Mario, I’ve always preferred the 3D games to the 2D outings. That’s partially because the New Super Mario Bros. series, while having some good mechanics, always felt aesthetically dull. Wonder has better visuals all around, but it’s really the improved animation that makes this game so much more interesting to look at and play.
Also, you can play as Daisy the whole time.
8. Sea of Stars
A lot of indie games try to recapture the magic of the 16-bit era of RPGs and rarely succeed. Sea of Stars manages it thanks to some of the prettiest pixel art I’ve ever seen. It also smartly adapts Super Mario RPG’s combat system into something a bit more complex. It’s a gorgeous RPG that finds a happy place between nostalgia and new.
And if you haven’t played this studio’s previous game, The Messenger, you’re missing out. That retro 2D action game went under the radar a bit, so it makes me happy to see Sea of Stars get so much recognition.
7. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
There are few things in any video game as fun as swinging New York City in Spider-Man 2, especially with the new wingsuit helping you cover long distances between tall buildings. I’d be happy if the swinging was the whole game, but Insomniac also gave Spider-Man 2 some slick combat and some of the best takes on classic Spidey characters that I’ve ever seen (love ya, Kraven).
The game is so good, it made me smile almost as much as its characters do in every cutscene in the first 3/4s of the game.
6. Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
I had zero experience with Armored Core before this. Like a lot of others, I gave this one shot simply because of FromSoftware’s modern pedigree. Man, I’m glad that I did. While this doesn’t have that much in common with Dark Souls or Sekiro, Armored Core VI is still one of the best action games I’ve played.
It’s also got some of the boosting ever, and I sure do love my boosting. And shoutouts to Rusty! I love you!
5. Pikmin 4
Oh hey, another series I hadn’t played much of before! But, Jeff Grubb bullied me into giving this one a shot, and … well … I’m glad he did. Pikmin 4 was hard to put down until I had explored and collected everything. This was definitely the game that I’d have the hardest time putting down.
Also, those of you who get sad when Pikmin die are weak! They are pawns that must be sacrificed to take down kings!