Mid-Year Game Placements!

Ah, it's slightly past the midyear mark and I'm sure all of you have had your fair share of anime and video games by now. If you haven't, really, why are you on this blog?

Instead of waiting until the end of the year to give out rankings/ratings, I thought I'd just do it now because honestly, in terms of video games, I don't really have many others to look forward to until the end of the year. The only full fledged title is Etrian Odyssey V and the others would be a Horizon Zero Dawn DLC and a standalone expansion of Uncharted.

Sneak peek into my mind: Megumi Kato has now become best girl. I know! That may be a topic to consider for the future.

Unfortunately, in terms of anime, I haven't really watched anything much for the past few months. I've been busy doing a lot of other things and therefore really skimmed most of what I watched. I'm sure that most people will be screaming "AOT!" and "HERO ACADEMY!" at me right about now but I read the mangas for those two so I'm good on that end. Anyways, that's a conversation for another time.

Back to the games! So far, I've played four games:

Tales of Berseria
Nier: Automata
Horizon Zero Dawn
Persona 5

All 4 behemoths in their own right and honestly, I love them all. But alas, there are some that are better than the others!

(Please don't kill me if your favourite is rated last. As I said, they're all fantastic but some just speak to me more than others)

There are articles about each one of these on this blog and I'll link to them as I list out the rankings. As most of you will already know my number 1 pick, I'll just start from there. There's really no surprise with so few games to rank.

1. Persona 5

Persona 5 obviously takes the number 1 spot! This is my most favourite game series of all time and honestly, the reviews regarding Persona 5 should sell it enough. Or maybe not enough. I really do adore it. While they may have missed out on some opportunities because of the pacing, the game does everything else to true satisfaction. If you own a PS4, you have to play this game.

2. Horizon Zero Dawn

I can tell you now that among all my friends who own a PS4, I'm the only one who has played Horizon Zero Dawn. Most of them apparently still see Horizon as how it was when it was initially teased. Basically a shell of what it is now. Horizon Zero Dawn is near perfect in everything that it does and it really is, quite technically, a right hook out of nowhere. If you own a PS4, you have to play this game.

3. Tales of Berseria

Another Tales game and a fantastic one at that! After the disappointment that was Tales of Zestiria, this is a breath of fresh air. But more so than that, it successfully goes the extra mile to create a name of its own even among other behemoths. It's unfortunate that most people will overlook it simply because of how it looks or how 'anime' it is. I understand that the Tales series can be quite niche but the story and theme presented in Tales of Berseria was certainly very much worth every moment of it. Even if you're not a fan of JRPGs, I recommend it.

4. Nier: Automata

Unlike the other articles, this was written by fellow writer Lance. He has more experience with the series than I, so rest assured that the article is a good read. Nier was definitely a blast playing and it certainly has some great ideas. As Lance said, for the most part, it executes these ideas well and I enjoy it for presenting some really unique takes on what a video game can do. If you're an action fan craving for a unique storytelling experience, I recommend it.

And that's it! These are my rankings. I can guess that most of you are probably surprised that I rated Horizon Zero Dawn higher than a JRPG but really, it's that well made. Anyways, that's all for now! What are your favourite games of the year so far?