There is much to say about whatever the hell happened in the games industry in 2023. Big game good, massive layoff bad. Hopefully someone much smarter than me can put finger to keyboard and write up something of actual value, but in the mean time I'm going to write down my thoughts on some of the games I played in 2023. Nobody wants to work these days!
I don't really care that every website is collecting blood samples from me at all times, it's all part of the agreement of "logging on" these days. As long as they can show me cute little infographics at the end of the year I'm good.
Whoops! That's a lot of Counter Strike.
83 games! Boy howdy that's a lot! Lots of these are games that I've already played in years past. To keep this concise I'll only review new games that I actually care enough about to say something. I guess that's the whole point. Whatever, we begin.
Counter Strike 2 - ⭐⭐⭐
I hopped on the CS:GO train very late, around 2020. While my roommate was learning to bake bread, I locked myself in my room for about a year and learned how to bounce digital smoke grenades off of walls with my friends. Since then Counter Strike has held a special place in my heart. As with practically every Valve game, the rumor mill surrounding a modern remake of the game in their new Source 2 engine was in full swing. I would obsessively follow every leak and rumor I could get my hands on, until Valve finally announced CS2 would be arriving in "summer" 2023. The levels were brighter, more detailed. The smoke was *smokier*. It was everything I could have hoped for. I even got access to the beta! It was... fine. I have many thoughts on the transition that I will save for another time. "But Will, you've hardly even reviewed the game at all!" Shut up!!! Don't care.
Shadows of a Doubt - ⭐⭐⭐
In the heirarchy of needs, being a freaky little detective guy trying to solve a murder is at the tippy top. Above all else, Shadows of a Doubt definitely nails the mood. Walking through the cold, rainy, neon-drenched streets to grab a cup of coffee from a diner while trying to string together a mess of clues is a genuine pleasure. The procedural nature of the cases is where things fall apart for me. Even typing that out kinda puts it into perspective for me. Procedural generation has procedural baked right in there. You start to focus less on the narrative of the case and more on the clue collecting procedures. Scan for fingerprints, look for phone numbers and ID cards. I commend the idea, you technically can never run out of things to do, but once you start squinting at it, it all kinda blurs together. Other detective games have stuck with me much longer due to their incredibly rich narratives or compelling characters, but I liked Shadows of a Doubt for the ✨vibes✨ more than anything.
Lethal Company - ⭐⭐
There is no half-star emoji, so I've settled on 2. Lethal Company is pretty alright! It's always inspiring to see a solo developer find massive success with a game. Turning an extraction-shooter into a cooperative scare-fest with your friends is genuinly a fun idea. In practice it becomes massively repetative imo. There's a lot of good DNA in Lethal Company, but I bounced off of it pretty quickly.
Starfield - ⭐
I'm being a bit dramatic, but I genuinly cannot think of a single enjoyable moment from the 9.7 hours I put into this game. Space has never gripped me the way it has some other people, the promise of the ultimate space game where you can go anywhere and be anyone has never tickled my brain. I'd rather have 1 detailed house to explore than a trillion same-y planets. And dont get me started on base building!!!! I dunno, I'm just not the target audience for Bethesda RPGs anymore.
Babbdi - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Babbdi taught me to love again.