played loads this year, most recently in terms of new games -
wukong - 9.5. incredible. it has its quirks, but they all pale into insignificance as the game progresses and evolves into something very special. it just keeps getting better and better and it has the perfect level of challenge too, goldilocks style, not too easy, not too hard, just right. nearly everything about it - combat, controls, presentation, lore, secrets etc is immaculate. i absolutely loved it. my goty hands down.
shadow of the erdtree - 9. tough one this. when it's good it's amazing. but it also some meh bits. the beginning is very underwhelming. the first legacy dungeon is as bang average as it gets. looks like shit at night. there's also a hell of a lot of empty areas, it's a big game but the content can be a bit sparse. i feel they could have vacuum packed it and shrunk the overall size down by about a third. but there's a lot of the game which is spectacular and makes up for shortcomings in other areas, so it deserves the 9.
silent hill 2- can't get into this at all. very slow start. the story and premise didn't grab me. dated puzzle and combat gameplay. i'm not going to score it because i can't get past the first few hours due to lack of interest. as the old saying goes - pea soup fog and haunting music alone doth not a scary game make. feels like a nostalgia buzz for those who played the original(s) and not newbies to the series like me.
stalker 2 - 6.5. still early days with this too. perf issues aside, there's some real balancing / economy issues and bugs to iron out. but the potential for a 9/10 is there, you can feel it. and i would much rather have a brave and different game concept like this, especially a non-hand holder, which has flaws that can be ironed out and perf issues that can be patched, than some formulaic assassin's creed wannabe that may be polished but one we've seen a million times before
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