POLL: UKFF Game of the Year 2023

[RedRooster]

The nominations are in, and the top five games that have made the cut for the UKFF Game of the Year have been confirmed. 

The poll will close on Sunday 21 January 2024 at 8pm.

A total of 34 different eligible games were nominated, showing what a phenomenal year for gaming this has been - and there are other games (eg. Street Fighter VI) that didn't even get a vote, but absolutely could have. 

Several games narrowly missed out on the top five, and these were - Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy XVI (my personal GOTY), F-Zero 99, Pikmin 4, Robocop: Rogue City, Like a Dragon Gaiden, Dead Space and Starfield. 

Edited December 26, 2023 by RedRooster

[RedRooster]

I thought I'd give this thread a bit of a boost by posting my alternative games of the year - that being games you've probably not played or heard of, but are well worth picking up. Starting with...

Suika Game (Nintendo Switch) (£2.69)

For £2.69, this is an absolute must-by. There are no 'modes', there's no progression and there's no multiplayer. All you do is aim to beat your high score. In the game, you drop fruit, and when two fruit match, they 'evolve' into a larger fruit (just like in real life) - the aim is to fit as many fruit as you can in the space in which you're playing, obviously with larger fruit scoring you more points. It's simple, and while it may be extremely limited, it's also extremely addictive with a 'just one more go' factor to it that keeps you playing for much longer than you intended. It's well worth a purchase. 

 

My Friendly Neighbourhood (PC - £18.74 on current Steam sale)

It's Resident Evil, with puppets. Basically, RE, if RE was set in Sesame Street and had a hint of Bioshock to it. It's quite a unique take on the survival horror genre, with a compelling story to go alongside it. Although I think it's best experienced relatively blind, I will give you a few notes of caution. The game has an insane save system - essentially, to heal or save you collect tokens and use them in machines. This means that on all difficulties apart from 'friendly', you have to ration your saves. It's an insane and stupid system, and I hope the developers patch it out, or make it optional. That said, I'm recommending it in spite of that - which should show you how much I enjoyed it. 

 

Meg's Monster (£9.59 on both Switch and Steam sales - also available on other systems)

I picked this up on a recent Steam sale, and I thought it was a lovely little game. It's an RPG where you play as Roy - a near-invulnerable monster, who forms a friendship with a little girl who falls into the underworld. It's a short game, so makes a nice palate cleanser, and while the writing isn't perfect, it's still very good and probably hits harder if you're a parent or guardian. It's definitely worth your time, and there's a lot of heart to it. 

 

Cassette Beasts (£12.56 on current Steam sale - also available on other systems)

I've heard the Switch version of this is - or was - a little buggy. It may be patched, but it's worth checking if this game interests you. I played it on Steam and very much enjoyed it. It's a smart new take on the monster-catching genre, where you capture monsters on cassettes, allowing you to turn into them (as opposed to fighting alongside them) - the story is intriguing, and I found the mystery behind it pretty compelling. The world you explore is also essentially an open world along the lines of classic Zelda games, and this makes the whole experience feel very fresh. I really liked it, and I even considered nominating it for GOTY. 

 

Pizza Tower (£11.24 on Steam sale)

I'm going to assume you have heard of Pizza Tower given the attention it's received throughout the year, but given that it was the best platformer I played all year, I wanted to give it a mention. Plus, I'm assuming console releases are inevitable in 2024 - so perhaps this recommendation will help keep it on your radar if you've not been able to play it. In short, it's like the classic Warioland games, but improves on the formula in every single way. It also has a distinct MS Paint animation style which adds to much life to the characters and makes it feel like a 90s cartoon. It's loads of fun, and I hope it finds a whole new audience when it gets that console release. 

 

Viewfinder (£14.99 on Steam sale - also available on other systems)

I'm actually going to share the trailer here rather than a screen grab as it demonstrates the mechanics involved far better than just reading about it could. It's also attempting to do something new and different, and on the whole, it succeeds. Like Pizza Tower, this is an indie game that you may have heard of, but it holds a fond place in my heart given that it was made in Scotland. In fact, after Googling it, I learned that the game began life as a project by a university student - and given the ambition behind it as a first commercial release, I find that incredibly impressive. But I'm not just mentioning it to give kudos to a young developer - it genuinely merits a mention in any GOTY chat. I think the mechanic could be taken further, and I really hope we get a sequel that expands on the ambition shown here. 

Edited December 28, 2023 by RedRooster

[DavidB6937]

I went with Mario just because it made me feel like a kid again. It was magical and inventive and I just love seeing what they're able to do by bringing something different to the expected formula. Plus it was the main thing I was able to enjoy with my kids so even better.

[FLips]

Of the ones that made the cut I went for Tears of The Kingdom. I haven’t played Spiderman or Mario and as good as the others are couldn’t justify voting a remake or remaster over an original Zelda game.

Great suggestions there too @RedRooster. I’ll definitely pick up Suika Game at some point as I never realised it was so cheap and the boom it had on Twitch gave me the impression it was just a streamer fad.

My Friendly Neighbourhood looks like something the wife would enjoy as a Resident Evil runner. How does the save system compare to the typewriter system in the OG Resi games?

Edited December 28, 2023 by FelatioLips

[RedRooster]

11 minutes ago, FelatioLips said:

My Friendly Neighbourhood looks like something the wife would enjoy as a Resident Evil runner. How does the save system compare to the typewriter system in the OG Resi games?

So I’ve not actually played the original Resident Evil games - just the remakes from 2 onwards - but as far as I know the original games didn’t limit saving. In certain difficulty levels (all but the easiest) this does, which limits your experience somewhat. I didn’t mind playing on friendly mode, but if I wanted a more challenging experience but also the ability to save, I might find it irritating.

The system - aside from what I’ve outlined - is similar to my experience of RE, in that there are save stations - in this case, wall-bound machines. 

[Merzbow]

They did limit saving with Ink Ribbons to use at the typewriters, although you never ever ran out.

[FLips]

Yeah the original Resident Evils and the remakes on harder modes have limited saves, especially if going for the higher ranks.

We got Suika Game and we’ve been beating each others scores on it for over an hour. Cracking little game which is basically Tetris X Hulk Hogan 2048 which was very popular on here back in the day.

Edited December 28, 2023 by FelatioLips

[Jazzy G]

I saw a video where a guy programmed an AI to play that Suika game which was interesting. 

[RedRooster]

12 hours ago, FelatioLips said:

Yeah the original Resident Evils and the remakes on harder modes have limited saves, especially if going for the higher ranks.

Ah, in that case it’s pretty similar and presumably thats the inspiration. I don’t think it belongs in a game in 2023, at least, not as a default option, but it’s there. Again though, I really enjoyed the game in spite of this so I’d still recommend it.

12 hours ago, FelatioLips said:

We got Suika Game and we’ve been beating each others scores on it for over an hour. Cracking little game which is basically Tetris X Hulk Hogan 2048 which was very popular on here back in the day.

This is a new one on me - what’s this all about? Google hasn’t proved helpful!

[Keith Houchen]

14 minutes ago, RedRooster said:

This is a new one on me - what’s this all about? Google hasn’t proved helpful!

It was Astros version of the 2048 tile puzzle game where each level was a different picture of Hogan in chronological order. Ending with his python, brother. 

[RedRooster]

To add to my alternative games of the year - one that I'd actually have nominated for this thread had I played it sooner...

Slay the Princess (£14.99 on Steam) 

If The Stanley Parable had a baby with Disco Elysium, which turned out to be a visual novel; then this would be it. That's...a bit of a simplification but there are definite similarities. To summarise the game - you're a hero, and there's a narrator; who begins things by telling you that you're on your way to a cabin, where a princess is locked up. You have to kill her, and if you don't - he claims - the world will end. You're not told why, what she's done or given much context at all. Just that you have to do this. And on you go. The game mostly involves you interacting with the narrator and the princess, deciding whether or not to go ahead with this; and - if you want - uncovering who you are, who she is and whether or not this is actually true. There are a lot of potential outcomes/endings depending on the choices you make - and it's a lot of fun uncovering them. It's quite a short game, and the perfect palate cleanser between longer titles (or, in my case, between Claire's story in the Resident Evil 2 Remake and Leon's). Given the nature of what this game is, I don't want to spoil it by saying too much - but what I will say is that it's really unique and I loved the story it tells. But the story it tells is very much the story you create based on what you do - which adds another layer to the whole thing. I'd highly recommend wish listing this one, at the very least. 

Edited January 9 by RedRooster

[RedRooster]

I thought I’d give this one final push before the poll closes this weekend…it’s a tight race at the moment!

Edited January 19 by RedRooster

[Nexus]

I voted for RE4 remake, but then played Spider-Man 2 over Christmas. It was fucking incredible and would've got my vote...