I was just reflecting on games I've played in the last year, and wondering when Steam's year-in-review thing would be happening (probably within the next week).
However, I thought it might be interesting to ask this question before that drops, because I'd expect that people will respond differently before they've seen the data, and I think that subjective aspect of the reflection is interesting. So tell me what games you've played in the past year that have most stuck out to you. I think it's more fun if you try to go by memory, but if you want to go check stuff like whether you first played a game in December 2024 or January 2025, that's fine too; just try to not get too deep into the data, I'm interested in the vibes here.
For me, a recent highlight was Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I didn't expect to be able to play it for a long while because of its cost, but a friend got it for me in November, for my birthday. I like that I'll always associate it with them for that reason. The game is also very me, what with its artsy fartsy themes and the like.
Before that, I played a heckton of Hades 2, which I thoroughly enjoyed, even if it didn't quite scratch the same itch that the first game did. I've not 100%ed it yet, but I plan to. My favourite part of the game is the music — the boss fight that incorporates music in a cool way is so awesome
And before that was Hollow Knight, partly motivated by hearing all the hype in the runup to Silksong's release. I'd been weirdly resistant to playing Hollow Knight for years. I think it's because when something is so universally lauded, it makes me feel oddly anxious. Like, if I don't enjoy it, does that mean I have bad taste? What if it is objectively amazing, but it just doesn't click with me, and I feel sad that I'm missing out on whatever magic everyone else is experiencing? Or what if everyone else is wrong, and the game is way overhyped? They're silly thoughts, but this is fairly common for me (this is why I resisted watching Breaking Bad for years). Fortunately I loved it, and I expect that Silksong will be one of my highlights of 2026. Beautiful soundtrack that I've listened to so much that it was in my Spotify wrapped.
The most interesting part of my year is that I branched out more and played smaller games, outside of the typical stuff I'd play, and for a delightfully silly reason: this Venn diagram(Source).
I stumbled across that when I was voraciously consuming as much Disco Elysium analysis as I could back in 2024, when I played it. I had already played Pathologic 2 (largely due to hbomberguy's video essay on the first one), as well as Planescape:Torment (because so many had cited that as a clear influence on Disco Elysium). This gave me enough points of reference on that venn diagram that I became determined to play all the games included (i.e. Disco Elysium, Pentiment, Felvidek, The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante, Planescape: Torment, Pathologic 2. The middle section is not a game, but a book (which I haven't read): Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose)
I was utterly enchanted by this Venn diagram to an absurd degree. According to it:
- Pentiment = Disco Elysium - Pathologic 2;
- Felvidek = Disco Elysium - Planescape: Torment; and
- The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante = Felvidek + Pentiment Based off the first two statements, I felt like I could approximate the vibe of Pentiment and Felvidek, but I was intrigued to test that, and I played two games I don't think I would have otherwise.
Pentiment was delightful. I played a bunch of it when a medievalist friend was visiting me, and they verified that every weird and wonderful animal drawings were actually drawn from real medieval manuscripts. They worked with multiple historians to ensure the history depicted was accurate, and it made for an incredibly immersive experience. I loved how the text in the speech bubbles were written in a different script depending on how the protagonist perceived them — more educated people speak with a fancied script than peasants, for example. It really grounds the game in the protagonist's subjective perspective, which synergised so well with the historical setting. I learned so much from this game and from analysis content of it. Apparently Josh Sawyer studied history as an undergraduate, and he'd been wanting to make a game like this for years; I'm so glad he got the chance to make it.
Felvidek is a much smaller game than Pentiment — small enough that I would have felt grumpy at its price if not for the fact that it was clearly a labour of love by a small team. It's a JROG based in a psuedo-historical version of Slovakia, which I found cool, because I knew next to nothing about Slovakian culture. I still don't, because it's not really that kind of game, but I felt like I came away understanding more. It's the kind of game where I felt close to the developer, given that it was such a small project. If you were going to try any of the games I mentioned here, I'd recommend this one, because I'd wager you've not heard of it. If it looks like the kind of game you'd play, I'd advise you go in blind to maximise the impact of the generally absurd vibes. The soundtrack was a highlight for me — it really drove home the absurdity.
Having completed these two pillars of the Venn diagram, I was finally able to complete my quest with The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante. However, I find myself running out of steam and unable to write much more, but it was a fun little experience. Not quite as out there as Felvidek, but definitely something I wouldn't have played ordinarily.
Experimenting with new games also encouraged me to push myself out of my comfort zone further, with games like Fear & Hunger, and Signalis. I'm not great with horror, but that's part of why this was fun.
Anyway, what games have been highlights for you guys? Don't feel pressured to write anywhere near as much as I have — I mostly just wrote this much because I appear to be procrastinating making dinner.