The holiday season is upon us, with December 19 marking the start of the annual Steam Winter Sale. It’s nearly impossible to experience a “gamer slump” this time of year – too many great titles flood our discovery queues.
So this week seems like a good time for a quick rundown of the games I’ve been playing lately – the new, the not-so-new, the triple-A, and the indie. I’ve written about a couple of these titles in the past, but there’s always something more to say about interesting games.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
of the Zone in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.
Beyond the incredible story of its development, which makes the game worthy of fan support at full price, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl demonstrates how to do a sequel right.
In spirit, the game is a proper successor to the somewhat janky but unique original game from 2007. In execution, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 delivers moments of exhilaration and suspense that few other shooters can equal.
It’s not perfect. Mutant enemies are bullet sponges, much of the loot is underwhelming or repetitive, and there are several mission bugs. The game features long, linear sections that undercut the majority of the game’s open-world feel. The story is interesting but incoherent, and the characters are well-written but their motives are often opaque (some of this may be translation issues).
Still, 25 hours into the experience, I’d rank S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 at or near the top of my best games of the year. It’s a title that deserves way more praise than I have space to give it this week. I’ll devote an entire blog to a deep dive about exactly why it’s so fantastic soon.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
I continue to grind through Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but the game has worn out its welcome. I’m in the last act now, and I’m ready for the game to be over.
As a developer, I see the hands of designers peeking out from behind the curtain in a way that ruins my immersion. Conversations don’t feel natural; rather, they shove you along a plot thread to the next checkbox. The companions follow cookie-cutter narrative arcs, with on-point dialogue repeatedly driving home the themes of close friendship and the power of groups.
The quests, too, follow a pattern. There are three categories – simple conversations; character-building moments wandering through one of the environments; and then the most common, more meaty exploration and combat sequences, usually ending with a boss fight of some sort.
I want to finish the game, and I’ve heard the ending is strong. But I keep comparing it to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 – a game with a masterful mix of quiet moments and action, where the mechanics take the player on a roller coaster ride.
In Veilguard, outside of the first couple of dragon fights (which have since become more tedious than challenging, once I learned the attack pattern), I’ve rarely felt exhilaration or surprise. It’s all perfectly playable, but it’s not engaging in the way a genuinely great game can be.
There are positives. Veilguard’s mix of action combat and light puzzle-solving is fun, and I’ve seen my character’s skills and gear progress. The bones of the story are interesting enough to see through. Overall, it’s a polished experience set in some great-looking environments.
But as a fan of the franchise, it’s a disappointment for me. I’ll happily replay Baldur’s Gate 3 every few months for the next decade; Veilguard, by contrast, is getting uninstalled immediately after I finish it.
Guys, I have a confession.
I don’t care about your problems.
Quasimorph
A quirky title still in early access, Quasimorph asks the question: “What if Escape from Tarkov were a single-player turn-based roguelike?” Yes, it’s an extraction shooter by way of Jupiter Hell – a romp through procedural levels in a dystopian science-fiction solar system, with a horde of guns and ammo to collect and use to murder enemies.
The game is deep even in its early access state, with multiple interacting mechanics. The wrapper around its lengthy (often too lengthy) procedural missions is a setting reminiscent of The Expanse, with corporations and governments hiring your ship full of clone mercenaries for a variety of missions.
Quasimorph is a game suffering from a dodgy English translation. The mission briefings are often incoherent and the motivations for what you’re doing are confusing. The mechanics, too, become a little repetitive over time.
Overall, Quasimorph is a creative concept built by a small, highly engaged developer, available at a low price. If you like following along as a roguelike title develops through early access, it’s worth a look.
Valheim (Revisited)
My family and I play a lot of co-op games together. Once upon a time, our game of choice was Minecraft; as my son got older, Deep Rock Galactic took the crown.
Valheim periodically crops up in the rotation. It’s got a tiny install footprint so it’s quick to reinstall, and putting up a server is trivial. The game is always a great collective Viking adventure, one that we tend to obsessively burn out on for a weekend whenever we fire it up again.
Still, after several previous dives into the experience, Valheim is feeling a little stale. The core building and combat mechanics are good, but the game has not demonstrated the long-term improvement I’d have wanted to see given its extended early access run. Economy balance issues are rampant; tedious busywork is common. Pointless combat with hordes of enemies you’ve far outclassed is never-ending.
Nevertheless, the core experience is still a good time. A customized server with raids off and the drop rate of resources doubled makes it a less stressful and grindy collaborative experience. But these days, for my family, a new round of Valheim obsession tends to flame out around the third or fourth boss.
deciding if we’re still having fun.
We probably are for now.
Caves of Qud (now 1.0!)
Where to begin with Caves of Qud praise? I previously discussed the game as part of an article on roguelikes, but I’ve fallen entirely in love with the game since – to the point where it occupies a permanent spot on my gaming PC and my Steam Deck.
If you’ve played the game, you know. If you haven’t played, and you don’t know, drop everything right now and go grab one of the best-kept secrets in the game industry – finally released in a complete 1.0 form after fifteen years of development. (First, watch the game’s funny 1.0 trailer.)
Caves of Qud, in screenshots, looks like a traditional roguelike – and it can be played that way. But it can also be played with permadeath off, and in that mode, it’s a story-rich RPG adventure in a fantastically imagined post-apocalyptic world.
The well-realized world sets Caves of Qud apart from its roguelike competition, but the deep, varied mechanics keep me playing for the long haul. Theorycrafters will be in heaven here; there are so many character choices, each with a uniquely viable playstyle, that if you like the game you’ll never run out of options for a fresh run.
Like Dwarf Fortress, Caves of Qud would be an excellent choice for a “desert island” game (the one game you’d bring if you could only bring one). And unlike a lot of roguelikes, it runs great on the Steam Deck!
Happy Holidays!
The five games mentioned above are all worth your time this holiday season, though two (S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and Caves of Qud’s 1.0 release) stand head and shoulders above the rest. As always these days, gamers have a glut of great options to warm them during cold winter nights.
So curl up with a glass of egg nog, roast a chestnut or two, and get your holiday gaming on!
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