RIP 2024, 2025 does not announce even better after this year of transition for AAA games. Written with eight hands by JV team newly reinforced by the arrival ofItokiryandNeomantis In our columns, this mood note draws up the diagnosis of the video game and is projected around 2025. There are talk of layoffs in mess, censorship, moral panics on networks, sexuality in video game and vanity of big productions that fail inspiration. Does the video game necessarily have to chase the teraflops? As last year (see ourbalance sheet 2023A record year), it is towards the independent video game that one must turn to see fully the singularities of a media of infinite wealth for little while attarded. You will find a selection of original titles ranging from Russia, Sweden, Taiwan and Serbia. Common denominator of the best games of the year, the gameplay always in honor with a supremacy of the Japanese, masters in their kingdom, even though Chinese logre begins to have appetite for the media. The video game has a grammar that makes it all the more tasty when it does not seek to imitate cinema. The team wishes you a happy New Year. Don't hesitate to give us your feedback on this exciting year and we will find you very soon for new projects for MaG.
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KillerS7ven balance sheet
YOUR WATCH ON THE WORLD OF JEW VIDEO IN 2024
PS5 behind, Switch 2 waiting and Microsoft in PLS
This is not necessarily the craziest video game I've ever seen, certainly because of a PS5 that tames the market without having started the fifth one again. Four years ago the console came out and except the masterpieceReturn (read ourcritical), difficult to find an exclusivity that is worth the cost of investing, in any case for someone who has a hard PC available and a Switch. It is too early to say, but there is an environment in which exclusivity may be an outdated concept and where the platform would not matter. As for Microsoft, that seems far away the time of Xbox 360. It seems today that the American firm has surrendered.
Still remains the Switch that is still driving its way in the margins of the other two manufacturers who have been racing technology for the last twenty years. No promises of teraflops at Nintendo but a solid catalog, very Japanese, and first party DNA games revisited for its queen licenses,Mario andZelda of which we hope thatMetroid Prime 4follow such a noble path. Doubts are allowed after a tumultuous development and a first trailer that looks more like atarget renderthat a real game.
2024 was a less generous year than the previous one, which was sold out by an avalanche of securities:Baldur Gate, Final Fantasy, Zelda, Starfield, Super Mario Wonder, Alan Wake 2, not to mention the wonderful remakes ofSystem ShockandResident Evil 4. 2024 was certainly less gratifying but not exempt from good surprises. The trend towards successful revivalssuvival horrorconfirmed with the remake ofSilent Hill who dipped all fears according to Ummagumma and Itokiry, both unanimous. For my part, as forAlan Wake 2, I still haven't found time to get there but it will be done soon. Forgive me Ummagumma...
Gamescom in dark and moral panic on the networks
2024 is certainly a year of transition. For the Switch it is certain, since its succesful is desired; We should hear about it by March. Let's hope we can test it at Gamescom, a living room that was deserted for the first time in ten years, so much the line up announced was hard to have. And because of this, publishers were absent from this edition, too busy managing their com from A to Z by giving the paw to a few influencers on the road. We cross our fingers so that this rejection of the press by the big stables of the video game is not a fundamental trend.
At Sony, even a bell sound, since we finally saw new licenses at the Game Awards. Enemy bad buzz around dIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophet andThe Witcher IV. A great moment of ridicule that once again demonstrates the toxicity of the networks and the progression of online masculinism carried by an extreme right who gabled on the street on X / Twitter. Awesome moral panic that limits the obsession of an alleged conspiracywokismto the controller, neologism to the tote that m-horipilles and whose concrete reality remains abstract. When I hear this term, I can't help but think about the discussion between Anakin and Q-Gon inThe Ghost Threat :
Yes, or perhaps my memory of the midchlorians derailed, forgive me... Anyway, you understood the concept: we were given a parade of men's comments with pale complexion and upset manhood to write about the plastic surgery that Ciri would have to undergo to respond to their fantasies. A simple search for the word Ciri on Twitter recalls why Musk's platform is now called X. An avalanche of nudes diverted from Ciri in all the most vulgar imaginable positions. Like that, deep fakes even affect virtual aerobics.
Even unpacking for the next Naughty Dog game, where former French journalists were able to offer a look « alternative » Insolent heroinIntergalactic: The Heretic ProphetAs if a Snapshat filter had been applied to it after a foundation spread. Shaved hair and a simple bomber generated a delusional indignation, while references toAlien andAkira Yet it seemed clear. If there is one thing that distinguishes a work from a product, it is the concern for the author's indifference to his audience, something that is recognized in Naughty Dog,Hideo KojimaorShinji Mikamiwhose artistic decisions bear witness to their respective personalities.
Sexualization and temptation of censorship
The video game, more than any other media, seems to be drawn by the question of the representation of women and minorities, no doubt because its hot mode of production too often brings it closer to a product than to a work and that sales should not be upset. Too bad it takes such grotesque turns on both sides of the spectrum. Last year we saw some self-proclaimed sensitive readers calling for a ban onStellar Blade, Korean game whose design of her heroine, certainly very sexualized wayGhost In The Shell, is based on the motion capture of the Korean modelShin Jae-eun who has already been able to express freely on the subject.
If it seems obvious that the developers ofStellar Bladehave never hidden their fantasies (is it a crime here?), the receipt of the title by some m has seemed much more problematic as if the video game was today full of denuded ageries and that it would be systematically a synonym for the degradation of women. Even the warriors of the nanardesque seriesMortal Kombatwear collars today when their male counterparts are in briefs in the arena. Curious indignation with variable geometry...
Moreover, the title is a niche game intended for an adult audience in a completely fanciful universe, where one could at the limit worry about the quality of writing his character rather than the size of his hat. The issue has taken on a hypocritical turn in Japan, particularly prone to censorship when it comes to explicit content of a sexual nature, whereas the country should instead question its society, which has a problematic relationship with women. And it's notStellar Bladewhich should be criminalised. The few hours spent in the company of Eve did not let me see anything shocking, if this is the platitude of the character. Let's be honest for a moment, was history really the priority of this beat them all anyway?
Ubisoft in pain or Disney video game
On the other hand, publishers like Ubisoft are bogged down in smooth and puritan games where the emptiness of all identity reigns in master, always with the aim of rubbing no one on the Disney model that I would never fail to do without. Last example to date, the secondary presence of a black samurai in the nextKillers Creed, a drama that has generated a lifting of shields as ridiculous as the purely mercantile approach.
In adedicated article, Le Monde explains very well his identitarian treacheries of the land of the rising Sun when an American publisher deals with the history margin of the archipelago. In addition to the fact that Ubisoft offers empty shell gameplay, the loss of Ubisoft may be no stranger to its stated taste of sensory readers in addition to a toxic management that limits control freak. All this while we know very well that history and Ubisoft is reduced to architecture. Remember the French revolution according to Ubi and his many inepties of what to defrocate a without-culotte did! Could the giant Ubisoft be stripped and bought by other big fish?
Soon oneVideogame Book Authority?
Caution is needed, as we know how much the US (especially) AAA market is retreating to a form of censorship that should never take place and whose first victims will be the perpetrators. We are still talking about the world's first power where the first amendment can simultaneously defend freedom of expression and where, as with others, mangaKilling Classroomis about to be banned in some key US states. All this because of a complaint from a nine-year-old girl who would have been better off buying an automatic rifle from the local Primark so she wouldn't hurt anyone.
And this kind of movement that is concerned with preserving the mental health of your children also exists in our home. The world of comics has been given the same kind of scandal with Bastien Vivès, a character certainly detestable; for proof,Wretched weaponson social networks speak of themselves, no matter how late he will apologize once caught in the media. A classic of those who know they're guilty. However, did these unglorious facts really justify that he was dedicated to gemonies and assimilated by his work to a child criminal to be interned? That's to wonder howRanxerox would have been welcomed today, while this Trash comic book was awarded in Angouleme in 1983 and the body built of the robot even made the cover of the album coverThe Man From UtopiaAmerican satirist musician Frank Zappa.
In this precursor comic book of the steampunk, Liberatore whom we know for his superb erotic drawings as his illustrations of theFlowers of EvilDraws the story of a killer robot stuck in the ultra-violence mode and dating a crack girl who exploits it sexually. It was after writing this article that I discovered that Liberatore had exercised an immense influence on the works of authors such as Loustal, Bastien Vivès or Jean-David Morvan who entrusted themselves to Telerama in an article entitled evocative:« When I see a Liberatore drawing, it's like I'm looking at a great porno. ».
Let us remember, however, how the Bastien Vivès case took an off-ground turn. At the end of 2022, the Innocent Associations and the Foundation for Childhood each filed a complaint with the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office against the author, as well as against its publishers.SharksandGlénat for« dissemination of child pornography, incitement to sexual assault on minors and dissemination of violent messages to a minor ». As if absurd drawings were of the same order as child pornography videos whose real porn sites are trodden today. Hosters complicit in criminal networks play the map of criminal irresponsibility in near indifference despite real victims. How convenient.
On aurait tort de minorer l’issue du procès à venir pour le monde de l’édition déjà frileux et les répercussions qu’il pourrait générer sur tous les pans de la culture. Combien d’éditeurs et d’artistes oseront encore publier et dessiner sur des terrains sensibles aussitôt instrumentalisés sur les réseaux ? Si ces maisons d’étitions indépendantes pour publics pourtant avertis étaient condamnées, soyez certain que le spectre de ce que l’on peut représenter se verra drastiquement diminué. C’est aussi méconnaître la condition des auteurs qui patinent à trouver un éditeur qui n’hésite pas à « apurer » l’oeuvre de ce qui pourrait heurter son public cible avec pour conséquence directe : l’auto-censure.
Dans le monde voisin du cinéma, l’association chrétienne intégriste Civitas,fraichement dissoutepour des propos antisémites, n’en était pas à ses premiers faits d’arme pour avoir réussi à invisibiliser nombre de films commeNymphomaniac by obtaining the withdrawal of their operating visa. And each time, the same question arises: have these supposed defenders of virtue only read or seen these works before asking for their prohibition or do they want to establish a new social order reactionary? Prudence therefore in a society that increasingly refuses the values of others, especially when they curl the decadence of a drawing lying on paper as a cathartic fulgurance. Criticize rather than ban.
Also show a little second degree in a world that struggles to understand the absurd and irony today. For those who still doubted it, the hypocrisy of #JeSuisCharlie is therefore definitely naked. The world of video game, like any other cultural object, is not alien to these questions and it is necessary to guard because the censors watch the grain. In the video game, sexuality, it remains one of the dead spots of the media with few exceptions as inBaldurs Gate 3where allromances, even inter-species, are conceivable with a writing quality unique to the genius of Larian Studios.
Out of network polarization
All this is all the more regrettable because people forget that the media can also show (when it wants) that it can write female or minority characters who have nothing to envy in cinema. Naughty Dog did it with Ellie without sticking a lesbian stamp on the teenage relationship. Same for Abby who questioned the blind quest for revenge with a character away from the cannons of beauty and the supposed female fragility. Long before Jackie played by bodybuilder Katy OLove Lies Bleeding (read ouranalysis), Abby gave the image of another body carrying new possibilities. These plural representations must exist without it generating moral injunctions or, on the contrary, nudity, two equally unbearable through me.
Fortunately, the scene has been showing itself for decades that it has nothing to envy to other cultural objects such as cinema and literature. Rare are the AAA games authors but they exist. Let us strive to respect the artists' approach, rather than to enhance our values that are narrowed around the world. Are people only able to get out of their algorithmic bubble to suffer from the difference? We can really enjoy it.The Last Of UsandStellar BladeI don't think it's any different. Decidedly the audience and part of the video game are still in the teenage stage.
The video game, new toolsoft powerMiddle Empire?
Another marker of the year, the recent success ofBlack Myth: Wukongthat gives you vertigo. Enjoy yourself: by the end of September the game already exceeded the 20 million copies sold worldwide, only one month after its worldwide release on PS5 and PC. For comparison, games likeCyberpunk 2077andElden RingIt took 21 and 24 months respectively to reach the 20 million copies. AloneGTA Vhad claimed such a success in two weeks. What lessons can be learned from this tsunami? First of all, we should keep our heads cool with these figures, since it would appear that 75% of sales came from China. Nevertheless, this still makes five million sales in just one month, which remains a compressor roller.
Secondly, we must connect this success to China's (very) recent opening to video game, this continent having long been reluctant to sell consoles. Only since 2014 have the inspections of the cultural authorities formally lifted the ban on sales of consoles in its territory. Since the 2000s, China had taken a defensive position because of the supposed negative effects on the mental health of small Chinese. So why change the jam today? No doubt because China has revised its position to open the world to Chinese culture and mobilize its soft power as Americans have always done so far.
Wukong's success should, in my opinion, cause concern to the Americans but not only. While the Japanese market is doing well, Microsoft is clearly lagging behind to be polite and it is no longer forbidden to imagine that the American giant would become a dwarf again when leaving the console race. Japanese publishers who tame the market artistically and in terms of sales should also question themselves. In the animation film sector, for example, it is on China's side that one must turn to see the most ambitious new trends as was the case for the greatThe Kingdom of Abysses (read ourcritical) or forThunderstormwhose director will soon be interviewed Zhigang Yang.
It remains to be seen whether this opening on the market also rhymes with a lifting of feet on Chinese censorship that is known with an iron hand. On this point, it goes without saying that we are more than sceptical. It is enough to see the delusional restrictive conditions of the interviews of Chinese authors that we were able to carry out in Annecy. For the time being, very promising game announcements are multiplying asWuchang orPhantom Blade Zero. The success of free to playGenshin Impact Probably announced color in 2020. Korean games also multiply asStellar Blade (read ourcritical). In general, is this not simply a consequence of what is also observed in the international context, i.e. a shift in the « centre of the world » To Asia leaving the West behind? For the player, it may not be an opportunity to get out of the Manichean prism and its ever-ending Russian, Chinese and Arab enemies at each time.Call Of Duty. The battle of cultural hegemony is just beginning...
WHAT IS YOUR YEAR'S DECEPTION?
I deserted Helldivers II...
Source: Sweden |Developer / Editor: Arrowed Game Studio / Sony |Release date: 8 February 2024 | Critique to readHere
I had started on the wheel hats, jumping like a cabre between the sharp mandibles of these insectoids.Helldivers II had even managed to reconcile me with the on-line game after years tracking the bounty hunters ofHunt Showdown(read ourInterview). Nervous, original and technically impeccable,Helldivers IIBut check all the boxes so you too can join the front. The game is a condensed action in the straight line ofStarship Troopers. Deeply focused on gameplay and the team play, the missions have a great time. If the pleasure of the discovery was great, yet I got out of the game for no reason worth. So my disappointment of the year is notHelldivers IIstrictly speaking but the fact that I have deserted my intergalactic mission to save humanity. Recent updates, however, suggest the best. Arrowhead was overtaken by its success that the studio probably had not anticipated. Just writing these few lines makes me want to go back there to see what became of my fellow wrestlers.
WHAT ARE THE 5 GAMES THAT YOU RETIRED THIS YEAR?
Unicorn Overlord
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Vanillaware, Atlus |Release date: 8 March 2024 | Critique to readHere
The kingdom of Cornia is invaded from the beginning by General Valmore. As a well-respected putschist, this demonic knight self proclaims heir to the lost empire of Zenoira. Following this flash invasion, the young prince Alain, forced to leave his native lands and reduced to wandering became the leading force of the resistance. Objective: to build an army and regain power to avenge his fallen soldiers.Unicorn Overlord Aura owned 80 hours in about ten days... For all his qualities and despite his academicism question narration, Unicorn Overlord can rise without blushing among the best tacticals of the year and even media.
While Vanillaware had announced financial difficulties during development, recent sales figures are very encouraging for the studio. Beautiful, demanding, rich and dense, the last Vanillaware has everything to seduce tactical feruses. Profoundly addictive, the game is based on roded and intelligent mechanics. This grand feeling is carried by the intelligence of the gamedesign. Everything is life-size. Every battle is real size on the map of the world that thus gains coherence. It's simple, you never feel like you're in doll houses like you often do in tacticals. A game to support for an extraordinary studio and certainly my year game!
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Capcom |Release date1 July 2024 | Critique to readHere
Kunitsu-GamiheelUnicorn Overlodin my year selection. The unlikely marriage between the Tower Defense and the Beat Them All, all sprinkled with a touch of strategy,Kunitsu-Gamiopts for an original gameplay, where you have to lead a venerated dancer to the end-level Torii door before dark, where monsters come to attack our convoy. Developed by Capcom Division 1, the game is inspired by a secular ceremonial dance, thekagurawhich means « entertain the gods » in Japanese and where masks occupy a central place.
Resolutely focused on experimentation, freedom and learning by error, the game is a full experience and a pleasure of every moment. Driven by an enchanting artistic direction and a concern for detail that forces respect,Kunitsu-Gamihas benefited from a human-sized development with an out-of-time artisanal dimension for such production, which also requires respect. You are strongly encouraged to try to soak up his atypical universe and his gameplay off the beaten track.
Frostpunk 2
SourcePoland|Developer / Editor: 11 bit Studios |Release date: 20 September 2024 | Critique to readHere
Last fascistoid simulation of 11 bit Studio,Frostpunk 2is a demanding and radical management game in the glacial era, which goes even further than its predecessor with a more assertive political turn. This time, we will have to manage the different factions and try to make sure that the votes in the Plenary Assembly are guided by what makes our National Assembly today ungovernable a child's game. The temptation of power quickly friezes the coup d'état and the game leaves the part to experimentation and the permanent dilemma. A truly captivating stroke that makes us explore the extended, vast territory to colonize that gives a macroscopic dimension to management, like Civilization. Brilliant, addictive and clever. To be consumed without moderation to prepare for fascism.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Grezzo / Nintendo |Release date: 23 September 2024 | Critique to readHere
38 years: that's how long it took Zelda to get her first game as a heroine. For his first solo adventure, The Legend ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom raises the bar very high and does not have to blush his performance. Generous, the game opts for a different approach and that leaves free short to inventiveness, decidedly the common denominator of this cuvée 2024. The echo system makes us collect in a bulimic way the monsters of the universe to solve inspired puzzles or to better return them against theirs.
Despite the technical concessions that do a little work for a Nintendo production of this acabit, Grezzo holds a beautiful alternative to the adventures of the Hylien with the green tunic. We were afraid of a zeldaxploitation, on the contrary we hold a game that abounds with ideas without ever falling into recycling. Forgive us Nintendo for doubting, Grezzo can boast of having made one of the best Switch games in the catalogue.
Indika
Source: Russia |Developer / Editor: Odd Meter / 11 bit studios |Release date2 May 2024 | Critique to readHere
An anti-religious bluish or deep reflection on the vanity of faith, this is the question that tarauds the player in search of meaning in the face of a world in decrepitude. One thing is certain, it is not the patriarch of the Orthodox Church who will give holy anointing to the developers of Odd Meter. Faithful of the Kremlin and the voice of his crusade against so-called Western (so-called satanic) values, the Russian Church has already chosen its side. Write with accuracy,Indika is a brilliant proposition that one would cruelly want to put in the hands of a blessed ass to see it liquefy in the face of the climax of the religious. Express experience that ends in four hours, the adventure is short but mastered from end to end.
In the register of good real actions, they, the developers ofIndikaalso propose to give some of the funds to Ukrainian children victims of the famous « Special military operation » who doesn't say his name. Overtaken by the conflict, it was from Kazakhstan that the developers were able to complete their work. Hide this war that I cannot see and whose indelible traces are read behind the desolate landscapes and mutilated characters ofIndika. The game of Odd Meter shows with panache that belief is only about one thread and that religion exists only when one renounces asking the right questions. Mass is said and we hope to see other Russian productions also engaged in the coming years.
WHAT IS YOUR COUPABLE PLEASURE?
Dragons Dogma 2
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Capcom |Release date: 22 March 2024 | Critique to readHere
In the logic of the famous mention of guilty pleasure, two playful experiences have a very found place. First the return ofDragons Dogmahas not been done without a hitch. Ode to travel and exploration, the game drew its pin from the game in the highly prized circle of the open world. Yet the game failed lamentably on what is easier and excels on what is usually very hard to achieve. At the launch, when I discovered the Capcom title, the main quests were blocked and bugged to the marrow at a level I had never seen from my player experience.
And yet, I took a crazy pleasure in exploring this wilderness, so close to feeling the emotions of a catapulted walker in the middle of the desert. I tookDragons Dogma 2as it is: an introspective journey, a flamboyant wild ride, a challenge against oneself carried by the sole force of will of the traveller. I set myself a single goal: to shoot down the dragon who had challenged me. I picked it up.Dragons Dogma 2is a resolutely anarchic experience but how whole. A game that slices into the so consensual landscape of open world teleguided. As long as you are willing to forgive him for his real flaws and allow yourself to free yourself from his rules, Dragons Dogma 2is in its own way a step game for the open world Japanese.
Dodonpachi Resurrection
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Cave / Live Wire |Release date: 25 November 2021 | Critique to readHere
Second candidate all found guilty pleasure,Dodonpachi Resurrectionm I plunged into the scoring to bleed with eyes. But what a wonderful arcade experience for experienced dolorist. I say it and say it again, Bullet Hell is life. I still dream of his screens saturated with multicolored pellets like a Pollock canvas under acid. These moments of grace when one surfs between waves of enemies to make a way up the screen, to the nearest to death.
It's not a slap that we take at first but a correction, a real beating in rule from which we come cabossed as never before. Yet once we have picked up our snags and bandaged our wounds from the remains of our pride, we have the rage of abhorrent, the reverse of failure. The rage that promises us to touch the gates of the resurrection, the honey rivers, the virgin miles and the whole barda. Jesus,Dodonpachiis like a pizza coming out of the oven. We can't wait until it cools so well that we burn the pain blade but we keep eating it without hesitation. Pure masochism. I let you enjoy my gameplay above if you still have doubts.
WHAT ARE YOUR ATTENTS FOR 2025?
Like I'm tired of saying I'm waitingHollow Knight Silksong whose silence is worrying (is the Australian developers still alive?), I would start by asking about one of Big N's best first party studios. What has Retro Studios been up to for so long? What the next game ofMasahiro Sakurai, an ardent perfectionist author who quietly revealed that all the videos published on his YouTube channel had been recorded more than two and a half years ago, all realized on his free time for the 90 million yen (nearly 600,000 dollars) , without that he seeks to draw any cent from it. An investment designed solely to inspire and guide creators. My respect for Sakurai San! I also look forward to Shinji Mikami's next game, which no longer ends reborn from its ashes, from studio to studio closure.
I also burn impatience to discoverDoom The Dark Ages And I sincerely hope that Bethesda's passage under Microsoft will not harm him. I confess to being concerned but the talent of the studio and the regressive side of this new medieval Doomslayer m
The Altershas also been pushed back to 2025. Would it seem that the studio which created cruel games from the point of view of civilians asThis War Of MineorFrostpunk he also had to separate some of his artistic talents. A cruel tragedy that erupts men. I cross my fingers so that it doesn't affect this terribly original new simulation where you will have to collaborate and live with yourself to hope to survive on a hostile planet.
Recently announced,The Heretic ProphetI'm curious. Naughty Dog seems to come back to a lighter tone game, but I'm sure, with the same quality of writing. After years working on a postapocalyptic license asThe Last Of Us, I imagine it will do them good, even if – Polichinelle's secret – the three part of the game is certainly already in pre-production. More thanGTA VIof which the sympathetic campaigns have never really embarkedRed Dead Redemption, I particularly expect the nextMafiaplainly entitledThe Old Countryand whose first trailer was very emotional.
On the inde scene, I waitAnimal, the true spiritual son ofLittle Nightmare (or even ourInterviewof Tarsier Studio) whose last opus had conquered. Don't be wrong, the license today was given for the best and probably for the worst. Developed by the original directors of the first two,Animalcan already boast of having an DA in line with the two previous games. He lets me hope the best, unlikeLittle Devil Inside 3which is on the side of the multiplayer. A heresy for a horror game.
It is impossible not to mention the next Playdead project, my favorite development studio to which one already owes the masterpiecesLimboandInside. Always discreet about their communication, I hope they will surprise us with their next game. Finally my love of arcade makes me clumsy for the next game of the studio The game Kitchen (Blasphemous), I appointedNinja Gaiden Ragebound. The first gameplay extracts show a nervous game with 2D licked. I sign my eyes closed. I'm also waitingSilent Hill fto see what the developers released from the originals can do, but is it honest of me when I still haven't touched the remake? Curious to see also what will giveLittle Devil Inside, my last Kickstarter in every sense after years without news. And the seriesDevil May CryI miss Capcom if you read us! And then of course, I expect the PC version ofThe Last Of Us Part 2to restart the two games on my 4K projector with a fluidity at all costs. I'm already glad.
YOUR OST OF YEAR?
I didn't play as much as the rest of the team, that's for sure. But I was nevertheless very sensitive to the work done by the teams ofKunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Capcom seems to have left the cubits straight so as not to be limited to a genre. Good mastery And I recommend you empty-handedly look at the make-off of the game to convince you.
THE GROWTH WORLD WAR, IF YOU HAVE A JEW TO GET IN YOUR BUNKER, WHAT CHOOSE?
This year, with my brother Ummagumma now emigrated to Canada, I was able to remake one of my favorite games, forever engraved in my heart, I namedDino Crisis. It's probably on my CD and PS1's jacket that I'd embark on my bunker. It is on him that I would throw my demise because it is one of my very first games discovered when I was not to be more than seven years old. Despite the years, the title ofShinji Mikami, avant-garde and precursor ofResident Evil 3, did not take a wrinkle. It's my Proust madeleine.
A universe in which I plunge my head first, as bewitched by these musics from the Cretaceous Hospital. Yeah, that doesn't mean anything, but I'm a little confused on an island, no doubt I'd be caught up in madness. If necessary, I would opt forDonkey Kong Jungle Beat story of typing the conga until the early morning and beating my youth records of an unjustly misestimated platform game. It may become tiring in the long run, it's true, even more so with the bunker's sound box. Well... otherwise it will beRetualto prepare me for purgatory in all possible configurations. After all, why live under Earth. Death pays nothing to wait.
Neomantis review
YOUR WATCH ON THE WORLD OF VIDEO JEW IN 2024
AAAs out of inspiration?
The crisis in the video industry is cancer. A protuberance that continues to grow, especially among the largest entities on the market. Despite an effective dominance in the video landscape, breathlessness is evident. In my view, these are the apparent symptoms of this tumor that eat them. The brains of decision-makers divide and see only notes to amass, numbers to grow. The disease calls for a waste. Still more money invested with the hope of getting more and more profit. Always longer, bigger, more beautiful games. Not necessarily better from the videoludic point of view, because this excessive bulimia inevitably leads to neglect aspects of game design. Blinded publishers who are able to muzzle talented teams, refusing any creativity, any attempt at novelty or improvement.
The result is studios that dominate the video landscape thanks to their formatted AAAs, which are in obvious creative breakdown. Finally, with a few exceptions, everything is only copy, copy, copy... And I'm not going to stretch out on the aberrant infantilization of these mastodons. Let's just remember that there was a time not so far away, when 8-year-olds were able to make quarters of circle inStreet Fighter 2. They could come to an endRed Pokemon,Crash Bandicoot orTomb Raider(those of the time), with determination. But continue to put yellow paint on a scale, in addition to futile indicators on the screen, in yet linear softs.
A Playstation vibe
Nevertheless, as I already noticed last year – in view of my personal considerations – my love of the JV, as well as the hope that the industry will come back into question in order to treat its cancer, are strengthened. I had a very good year as a player and the year 2025 seems just as promising. A vibe inherited from the PS1/PS2 era is manifested here and there, whether it is through an aesthetic or a gameplay. A time that forged my identity and my tastes, but equally memorable for the industry as a whole. And that's not because it was necessarily better before. There are formulae, Metroidvania for example, licences also likeDevil May Cry– for gameplay and writing in any case – orGTA, which have become better over time. But, perhaps, there are still too many games and concepts that give the impression of falling back. At least to stagnate, not to be able to totally do better.
These important years for the industry did not only distil great successes, there was a lot of failures. However, it came from all types of studio, small and big, the desire, it seems, to create a good game above all. And that was enough. A period of creative emulsion, euphoria and experimentation. Seeing works claiming to be of this happy period comforts me. This comforts me, because I am no longer afraid to find myself incessantly reviving the same games that are aging, for lack of finding many titles of the same cabit for a decade. Because spending time in experiences without real flavor, too quickly forgotten, I find it hard to bear it.
WHAT IS YOUR YEAR'S DECEPTION?
Dragon Ball : Sparking! Zero
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Spike Chunsoft / Bandai Namco |Release date7 October 2024
Obviously, even if I like the game and amuse myself when I throw it,Dragon Ball : Sparking! Zeroremains a disappointment. Just because I had expectations that were not sufficiently met. There are points that please me and talk to me, there is a recipe of time faithfully transcribed, too. On the merchandise, Bandai did not betray his promises. If it is only by scratching a little, we discover a lot of varnish and a game that convinces less than these illustrious predecessors at various levels. The failure of the history mode remains an important problem for me, as well as the translation worries that hurt the eyes. In fact, the problem with this opus is mainly to have erected it as an incredible game and to have supported it so much without a minimum critical mind. Because it was possible to do better, much better. A very good return of the formulaBudokai Tenkaichi, but which does not achieve excellence yet to carry hands.
Of course, there is a constant concern about financing the adaptations and the problematic development times for creative teams. Only, that's the fear of being faced with a franchise like Game Freak. A money pump, of course – without a bad word game – but which, qualitatively speaking, has been returning for at least 10 years. More than a formula that doesn't evolve, it's a formula that unwinds and lets itself go. I got off Pokémon, to my great regret. That was it, or become a receptacle of frustration. Keep at leastDragon Ball, although sinceDB Super, not to mention the death of the master, things have already been lost. Anyway, I expect more from the license, fortiori on a video-based experience more focused on solo. As such, Kakarot was already very disappointed, partly because of lack of ambition.
WHAT ARE THE 5 GAMES THAT YOU RETIRED THIS YEAR?
I didn't.Like A Dragon : Infinite Wealth at the moment, or could try the experimentChildren of Sun. Two games I had to mention because, potentially, would be there. From what I could play, the 300 hours onTekken 8They force him to be placed. A rather excellent title, perfect for newcomers. However, as a fan of the first hour –Tekken 2In reality – and with a decent level of play, I consider it as the soft of the franchise that comes with technique, logic, but also in its gameplay. Indeed, the license had never yet reached such depth and richness of play.
However, I also consider it less good than episode 5, and a little less interesting than the 7 on the game philosophy advocated. The franchise still changed, the direction was taken since the questionable 6th tier, except that some things didn't have to be there to sell. Even if the kind needs it furiously. The absence of a competitor in the 3D ring forcedTekkento pee in 2D fighting games to denature, in part. With the aim of evolving without relying on his achievements. There is also a whole reflection on the accessibility of combat games, complicated debate. Besides, in my opinion, T8 proves that it's pretty absurd. At the risk of repeating itself, yesterday as today, children perform Hadoken at the controller or the arcade stick. Without sleeping on the game.
Stellar Bladein my catalogue of the year. I grew up with the beat em allDevil May CryandNinja Gaiden,I still play a lot. And while the soul of FromSowftware, except Bloodborne, don't talk to me, either Elden Ring – the first hours too boring for me –,Stellar Bladehelped to better understand my problems with the formula « soul-like ». More than what Nioh could have made me feel, especially as the Korean soft is much closer to a Beats All than a FromSoftware game. I'm not going to linger, a paper exists. Then comes the caseAce Attorney Investigation Collection, it also already treated on the siteHere. What more can I say? We play Benjamin Hunter, the intrigues cling to the trilogy featuring Phoenix Wright, it's finely written and the fulgurances are notable, especially on the second part. If you like frankness, it would be a crime to ignore.
Continue withUndisputed. Unfortunately, this success has not been relayed, with a million copies in just three months. The very first game of the Steel City Interactive studio celebrates English boxing and reflects an obvious enthusiasm for a portion of the audience. Far from being perfect, Undisputed is no less a game concocted by enthusiasts and whose mere existence on the market does great good to lovers of noble art. The emphasis on leg play makes a significant evolution sinceFight Night, and the generous casting of current boxers and boxers to make fun. If the game follow-up continues and the developers are working to make the necessary improvements, and there is a bit of work, we could have a great soft. Or the birth of a future licence worthy of that name. Case to follow.
Sliterhead. Yes, I must mention that for the atypical proposal. And maybe you don't even know his existence. What I could say about the vibe PS1/PS2, over this period, with the creative and artistic considerations put forward, everything is there, and in the next chosen work. First game of Bokeh Game Studio, headed by the father ofSilent HillandGravity Rush, the baby has a lot of approximations. However, the work on the atmosphere and the reconstruction of the Kowloon citadel, not to mention the singular game design, make it a game to the unique and rather radical proposition. I soon knew that I would not remain indifferent to the creative approach. I got a brain snack. Kowloon's narrow, peaty alleyways, like Akira Yamaoka's scores, will haunt me for a long time. Hard to recommend, but terribly interesting.
To conclude, standing in front of the mirror, I invokeLorelei and The Laser Eyes. Lorelei and the Laser eyes. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes... A funny individual then appears and asks us: «Do you know why monkey-like people need the art of magic?» It doesn't matter whether you know the answer. Buy it!
WHAT IS YOUR COUPABLE PLEASURE?
I like the imperfections of a work. They are likely to give him personality and character. In addition, as outlined earlier, I am in line with my tastes and expectations, « shame » do not cross me and I find myself misqualified as a valued experience « guilty pleasure ». I can't help but see a negative connotation. I guess softs as bad as that.UndisputedandSliterheadmust appear here. Despite my love for these two proposals, it goes without saying that they do not address everyone and do not pretend to impose themselves as the best work in the world.
WHAT ARE YOUR ATTENTS FOR 2025?
Too many games I look forward to. What is certain is that we won't bury until we've playedLike A Dragon Pirate Yakuza, Fatal Fury : City of the Wolves, Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta, norMGS Collection– forMGS 4. The same forPhantom Blade, GTA 6, Spine, Borderlands 4, MafiaandNinja Gaiden: Ragebound. Mention also for the return ofShinobiof Sega, while I hope news ofWuchang, Virtua Fighter 6andPenny Bloodimagined by Matsuzo Machida – kind of spiritual son ofShadow Hearts. Despite all these names,45 Parabellum Bloodhoundis probably one of my greatest expectations. Dark soft developed in the shadow, with no acting release date, but strongly inspired by Parasite Eve. Finally,Children of Sun. Can't make it run on my poor PC, I feed the hope of seeing console versions disembark. I'm already suffocating.
If I move a little away from the games, we will see if the industry, especially the studios confined to the AAA, finally decides to reconnect with the ludism and creativity that are lacking nowadays. If they will be able to raise the level, evolve the medium instead of stupidly singing the cinema and run after the stupid quest for photorealism. To the detriment of the singularities of the video media, especially its interactive dimension and immersive capabilities, which should guide a game design. And then, in all this, if we could all make the effort to better educate, to cultivate empathy and questioning, not to let ourselves go on social networks like emotionally unstable children, maybe the human, the JV industry too, will emerge from it.
YOUR OST OF YEAR?
Because games without music are still rare, little musical moment. If I were to remember that only one OST would be that ofShin Megami Tensei V : Vengeance. Failing to play the game, I found myself unfortunately hearing some notes of music, and the charm opera. Once the OST was launched, the journey could begin. A long journey of several hours. A hearing journey so incredible that I miss words. Still today, I cannot express my feelings. Many melodies come to haunt me at night. I will also mention the music ofStellar BladeandSliterheadwho accompanied me in a beautiful way during their adventures. And how to forgetTekken 8and its myriad of quality pieces, orAce Attorney Investigations Collection worn by talented Noriyuki Iwadare.
THE GROWTH WORLD WAR, IF YOU HAVE A JEW TO GET IN YOUR BUNKER, WHAT CHOOSE?
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Ryū ga Gotoku Studio / Sega |Release date: 25 January 2024
Here's the kind of question that brings out the worst in me. I find it difficult to comply with such restrictive rules, even if it makes it possible to bring a framework and avoid mentioning 300 names. So I would mention only a dozen. Because I am willing to sacrifice a few rations and lose precious pounds in favor of extra games. It's also a good excuse to list heart games. Titles that nourish my passion for the medium and inspire one way or another. So here's a list « reasonable » which, I think, would allow me to stand mentally, without getting tired. A game loop that is one of the most important in my life and that I will not forget.Devil May Cry 3,Ninja Gaiden 2, the quadrilogyMGS, MK 11,Tekken 5, Shadow Hearts, Pokémon Platinum andSoul Reaver, Borderlands 2, Sleeping Dogs, Darkstalkers, Parasite Eve, Bayonetta 2, Astral Chainand oneLike A Dragon andYakuza No doubt...
Ummugumma balance sheet
YOUR WATCH ON THE WORLD OF JEW VIDEO IN 2024
If we focus on the AAA industry, then the large budget JV sector clearly appears to be struggling. I am thinking for example of Insomniac Games which repeatedly realizes with itsSpiderman For Sony, a significant part of its workforce is being transferred to the approach of a fiscal year.Thank you for your resilience and dedication to our companyand the whole tralalala of bitter thanks of which the top leaders of Western companies are fond, with capitalism primarily oriented towards shareholders and which differs a little from the old capitalism still in force (for how long?) in Japan, which moreover was much more spared by dismissals. The time of Satoru Iwata, who reduced his pay during the financial turmoil that Nintendo suffered in the Wii U era, seems far away.
But I am not going to radify what my dear colleagues' feathers above and below are so well explained. And then anyway, when I look at my list of games that I finished in 2024 (40 games, all the same!), I notice that it's not the big budget productions that made me vibrate the most. Indeed, as we divert our magnifying glass from the gargantuas of industry, it is the wonder that prevails with an independent creative offer more vigorous and original than ever.
When I think about all that these tight budget games or AA caliber games made me feel, I really think that it is on these offers that the future of the video game rests, not on a few pixels in addition to Spidey's brief. Be careful, I am not saying that the AAA should disappear, only that a graphic level seems to have been reached and that it would be good time to ask the question of the financial viability of such modernism. What says longer development time means much less creative risk taking, titles likeAlan Wake 2being the exception rather than the rule...
In conclusion, if I were to sum up in two words the industry today the bicephalous JV in 2024, I would say « sick » for the AAA and « more inventive than ever » (Yes is 4 words) for the independent scene.
WHAT IS YOUR YEAR'S DECEPTION?
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Ryū ga Gotoku Studio / Sega |Release date: 25 January 2024
If there is a game that disappointed me this year to the point of dropping it after about thirty hours, it is the last oneYakuza, namelyLike A Dragon : Infinite Wealth. I think I've had my dose, not of this universe, oh that not, but of this constant submission to the grind and the farm, to the point of having lost the new RPG system introduced by the excellentLike a Dragon.
To tell the truth, I found thatInfinite Wealthwas much weaker than his predecessor at all levels. We pat in theYakuzaxploitationTo the neck. Archetypal characters are now caricatural, history drags in length and is much less touching and... DOUX JESUS This grin out of pity I don't WISH MORE to constantly approach all the fights in the same or almost the same way. These repetitive combats, able to lobotomize an inmate in Guantanamo alone, were the only way to accumulate enough experience to be able to defeat an umpteenth boss-sac-à-PV in a non-strategic fight for a penny.
After doingYakuza 0, Kiwami, Kiwami 2, Yakuza 6andLike a Dragon, I regret to write thatYakuzaFor me, it's over: and saying that Kamurocho was the city of my first love. I'll never forget you, Kiryu!
WHAT ARE THE 5 GAMES THAT YOU RETIRED THIS YEAR?
Pacific Drive
Source: USA |Developer / Editor: Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive |Release date: 21 February 2024
At the time of writing these lines strikes me clearly.Pacific Driveis clearly my game of the year. There is a quidam blocked in a huge radioactive zone, and that will have to create a portal to escape the wheel of his car. What's up? The area is infested with aberrations and other physical phenomena that are against you or your vehicle. To escape, you will therefore have to collect resources in the Area and tuning your scrap pile in a garage, the only peaceful place of the game, like the backup room of the firstResident Evil. The goal is to make your car more resistant to the different monsters and electromagnetic phenomena you will encounter on your way.
Each excursion is a source of stress and is carefully planned on a map. InPacific Drive, we spend our time running or driving like a derailment, because the watch plays systematically in our disfavor and death is always on our side. Indeed, past a certain level of instability, a giant storm triggers wayRoyal Battleand forces us to drive as fast as possible to a transport gate that will take us back to the garage. As I roll all around between the trees that decompose and the music, grandiose, rises in intensity, I freak out. I'm afraid I'll lose all my loot and get disintegrated by the storm before I reach the gate. No checkpoint during missions gentlemen: this is your life and, skeletonrogue literequires, part of your progress that is at stake.
Around me, everything burns, flies or cracks; stones arise from the ground and send flirt with the top of the trees several meters high. Then I set off the turbo that I just installed a few hours ago. The vehicle comes back with a crash by sending valdinguer a tire and smashing the windscreen. The battery is almost flat and the engine moans, but you have to believe it. I suddenly realize that I skate in the mud: horror, the tires are flat. Hurry! I open the trunk so quickly that I take it in the middle of a pear. I'm getting the spare tire that I had crafted in case. Always be ready inPacific Drive. The wind now blows so loud that the car starts to move sideways, quickly get back on the wheel at all costs, now! At the price of a final acceleration and as the doors dislodge, I finally finish reaching the transporter. Like the Doc inBack to the Future, I cross the gate that takes me back into the silence of the garage, only disturbed by a thunderstorm that roars away.
My heart is beating so fast, I feel it vibrating in my chest. My hands are all moist and I realize that I haven't blinked from the eyes since what seemed like eternity. My car is ruined and is more than the shadow of itself. I have a lot of work to do, but I did it this time anyway. It should also be noted that the game is graphically sumptuous and adorned with magnificent light effects, among the most beautiful that I could see.
Leave wife and children and playPacific Drive.
Elden Ring : Shadow of the Erdtree
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: FromSoftware / Bandai Namco |Release date: 20 June 2024
What do you mean a DLC in this highly subjective Top 5 of the best JV 2024? Yes, this extension had the merit of reconciling me withElden Ring, whose proposal had bothered to convince me compared to his illustrious predecessors. I was especially disappointed by thelevel design, much weaker and less labyrinth than in the previous From Software, the fault to a structureopen worldwhich favoured open spaces to the more confined environments and mazes of previous productions. Also the fault of the presence of a card, which swore with the mental geography that each player had to produce until then.
Shadow of the Erdtreemanaged to meet almost all my frustrations by delivering perhaps the bestlevel designNever designed by the studio sinceDark Souls. I got lost a lot, I dug my head to fix the map for long periods of time to try to pierce the secrets of its relief. I threw myself an incalculable number of times to always try again and never give up, going from discovery to surprise (by beating too!) until finally reaching the final boss of this majestic epic that could have been a standalone game by itself. A real slap.
Nine Soils
SourceTaiwan|Developer / Editor: Red Candle Games |Release date26 November 2024 | Critique to come
I like when games erect walls of difficulty of insurmountable appearance in front of me. With its very successful level design, its beautiful BD graphic style, its sublime OST to theNier Automataand his full-bodied difficulty that makes him want to be ever more surpassed,Nine Soils, that I'm about to finish in the next few days, makes a bursting entry into this top. A metroidvania for masochists: what does the people demand?
Indika
Source: Russia |Developer / Editor: Odd Meter / 11 bit studios |Release date2 May 2024 | Critique to readHere
How not to quoteIndika, which questions the absurdity of religion, the selfish motivations that often motivate faith in God, war, sexism or sexual impulses, all with a humor mixed with darkness that I had never seen elsewhere, much less in the JV. An insolent and absolutely unique pearl to discover urgently.
Children of the Sun
SourceGermany |Developer / Editor: René Rother / Devolver |Release date: 1 February 2024
Second position on my personal podium of fun 2024 section « FIRE WEAPONS », right after « fire with Second World War weapons in the woods of a libertarian gunsmith in New Hampshire » ? I have appointedChildren of the Sun Hey! It is a sniper with a rather special ability that would have allowed in the real world not to miss Trump last July: she only needs to shoot once and her ball is able to hit several targets. The result is a puzzle of deaf cradoc violence that pushes the player to choose the best lethal route for his bit of lead, each murder allowing us to redirect him. Really an excellent game with an auragrungewhich recalls the filmMandy And he didn't make much talk about him.
And the others...
We said Top 5, that's true, but I'm also forced to quote in bulk the excellent ones.no-click Midnight Scene : Safe Place, An English Haunting, The Rise of the Golden IdolandHome Safety Hotline. Also thesurvival horrorStill Waves the DeepandConscriptorpower defenseofbeat them allKunitsu-Gami. I would finally quote the beautiful CRPGold school Skald : Against the Black Priory and the very-fast-FPSMullet MadJack.
Note that I have not yet had time to play the following games, which I intend to catch up in the coming months before attacking the 2025 releases:10 Dead Doves, Animal Well, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Mouthwashing, STALKER 2andThreshold. Who knows, one of them might have gotten into my ranking.
WHAT IS YOUR COUPABLE PLEASURE?
I like the horrific nanars of Supermassive Games andThe Casting of Frank StoneTwo beautiful evenings. What do you want? I'm a simple man. Give me somejumpscares, an achievementcheap, script clippings do you want some, a rocky story and dated facial animations and that's enough to make me have a good time.The Casting of Frank StoneIs it objectively a good horror game? Not really no, but he made me laugh despite him dozens of times in addition to chopping me into his scenario that would make passRemember last summerfor a Palme d'Or in Cannes, and that's not annoyed.
WHAT ARE YOUR ATTENTS FOR 2025?
Hibernaculum
Hibernaculumis aDungeon crawlerhorrific at the crossroads of the worlds of Giger and Cronenberg. That's what I think I don't need to say anymore to justify my expectation and now yours if, like any person of good taste, you like the defiled beings, at the border of death and covered with pipes in fusion with their organs.
Project C / Project D
I'm waiting for the next two FMV games of Sam Barlow like the messie, all the more so as he will sign one of the two (unless it's just one game?) in collaboration with Brandon Cronenberg. Almost all his previous works, by the founderHer Storyat its height,Immortality,étaient révolutionnaires et ont redéfini le jeu en FMV et donc, d’une certaine façon, le cinéma. Je n’attends pas seulement sa plongée dans le registre horrifique avec impatience : je suis surexcité.
Tenebris Somnia
Onesurvival horrorwhich mixes real shots and 2D aesthetics. Damn the little lines, tell me where to sign!
YOUR OST OF YEAR?
L’OSTchiptunof theSkald : Against The Black Priorym’a fait vibrer cette année et je l’ai écoutée plusieurs fois alors que j’étais affairé à mes activités quotidiennes. Chapeau bas à son compositeur pour avoir su restituer le souffle épique d’une épopée, ainsi que l’indicible angoisse d’une atmosphère crépusculaire et lovrecraftienne. J’en partage une piste ci-dessus, pour le plaisir des oreilles. Oh, et jouez-y. Il s’agit par ailleurs de ma claque graphique de l’année, tant la DA est somptueuse.
THE GROWTH WORLD WAR, IF YOU HAVE A JEW TO GET IN YOUR BUNKER, WHAT CHOOSE?
J’emporterais probablement le fantastiqueThe Long Dark, dont la rejouabilité du mode Survie est infinie et qui me permettrait de combler mes besoins de neige et de forêt tandis que je suis transi dans mon bunker. J’en ai d’ailleurschanté les louanges ici. À noter que je cacherais aussi une galette deResident Evil 2dans mon slip.
Bilan d'Itokiry
TON REGARD SUR LE MONDE DU JEU VIDÉO EN 2024
Les licenciements dans le jeu vidéo, une hémorragie comme une autre
Si j’ai choisi, il y a quelques années, de m’écarter définitivement de tout réseau social, dont je trouve les techniques de prédation absolument abominables notamment dans le but de nous faire perdre un temps fou dans du vent, c’est avant toute chose parce que l’actualité ne m’intéresse pas. Ainsi, je serais bien incapable de me lancer dans une analyse de ce qui s’est passé cette année au travers du prisme des événements qui l’ont pavé. Licenciements, fermetures de studios, grogne à l’encontre de tel ou tel mastodonte de l’industrie… non seulement je n’en sais rien, mais en plus je m’en tamponne le coquillard. Tous les domaines souffrent, celui dans lequel je bosse aussi, ainsi va la vie, et ce n’est pas parce que l’un utilise mieux les médias à sa disposition pour le faire savoir qu’il est plus à plaindre que les autres. Bien entendu, quelques maigres infos ont réussi à traverser mon opaque filtre à mauvaises ondes, et rien ne semblait aller dans le monde du jeu vidéo. Encore une fois, j’ai probablement sauvé mon moral, et peut-être plus généralement ma santé mentale.
Le survival horror à l'honneur
Ce que je sais en revanche, c’est qu’après avoir sérieusement envisagé de délaisser le jeu vidéo en 2022, 2023 m’a remis sur de bons rails avec ses pépites incroyables, et 2024 continue sur la même lancée. Après le remake deResident Evil 4l’an passé, cette année j’ai découvert celui deSilent Hill 2, que j’ai dévoré en quelques jours, chanceux que j’étais de l’avoir quelques semaines en avance. Bien que je sois un brin déçu de l’absence de la petite extension dédiée à Maria, exclusive à la version Director’s Cut du jeu d’origine, ou du trop-plein de monstres à abattre dans la campagne, j’ai néanmoins une confiance désormais aveugle dans le travail de la Bloober Team, que je ne portais pourtant pas dans mon cœur avant cela. Espérons que Konami fasse les bons choix pour l’avenir de sa série tout juste revenue d’entre les morts. Un remake du premier ou du troisième volet me semble tout indiqué maintenant !
Et puis bien sûr, 2024 c’était l’année des insectes géants.Helldivers II, petit bonbon survitaminé pour lequel j’ai non seulement acheté une PlayStation 5, mais en plus prolongé de deux semaines une période de chômage prévue pour me remettre des fêtes de fin d’année, m’a conquis. Et l’annonce de l’arrivée imminente deEarth Defense Force 6hors archipel nippon m’a rempli d’une joie indéfinissable. Si je pense que ce n’était pas particulièrement indiqué de sortir Earth Defense Force : World Brother 2 seulement huit semaines après ce nouveau classique du shooter débile et décomplexé, je ne peux assurément pas me plaindre de cet étrange calendrier de parutions. Dommage qu’après cela j’ai été pas mal déçu parStarship Troopers : Exterminations. De sérieux arguments, oui, mais trop de problèmes pour me plaire… on essaiera à nouveau dans quelques mois, en espérant que les mises à jour aient corrigé le tir pour de bon.
Une année MaGnifique ?
Et puis, 2024 c’est aussi mon arrivée dans les colonnes de MaG, et la réouverture de mon backlog. Trop de sorties tuent les sorties, après dix mois à enchaîner les tests et les nouveautés, j’ai fini par lâcher du leste, et me recentrer sur les titres qui me font du bien (Vanquish andDOOM par exemple) ainsi que la quantité de jeux que j’ai de côté. Mon compte Steam me regardait de travers, de toute façon, quand je passais en coup de vent pour une partie deYu-Gi-Oh! Master Duelsans même prêter attention à toutes les pépites indépendantes qui s’entassaient dans ma bibliothèque. J’ai ainsi pu rattraper mon retard sur des titres assez incroyables commeHades,Faster Than Light, Hollow Knight… Que de pépites. Moi qui ne portais pas le Rogue-like (ou lite) dans mon cœur, me voilà désormais accro àBalatro aussi… Bon, sacrée année, espérons que la prochaine sera moins velue, parce que j’ai définitivement besoin d’une pause, notamment pour me remettre sérieusement àYu-Gi-Oh!andMagicdans la vraie vie. Ça ne ressemble pas à un ressenti dites vous ?
WHAT IS YOUR YEAR'S DECEPTION?
Si je ne devais en retenir qu’une, ce serait sans hésiterAlone in the Dark (voire noterInterview de Mikael Hedberg). Cette série, je l’aime par procuration, la connaissant sans la connaître, y ayant surtout joué très jeune à une époque où la découverte deResident Evilm’assoiffait de découvertes horrifiques… J’étais prêt à tout pour ce reboot qui s’annonçait inspiré, dont j’aimais déjà l’ambiance visuelle et musicale avant sa sortie. Et puis la première prise en mains s’est révélée catastrophique. Bugs en tous genres, ralentissements, gameplay lourd, environnements tantôt très agréables à l’oeil, tantôt parfaitement oubliables, combats abominables et scénario très décevant sur la durée… Que retenir de cette expérience qui semble rater tout ce qu’elle entreprend, sinon queAlone in the Darkest définitivement condamné à demeurer un bon souvenir ? Le précurseur du Survival Horror est mort.
Mais je tiens tout de même à aborder un sujet qui a fait couler trop peu d’encre à mon goût : la sortie d’un jeuStargatesous-titréTimekeepers. Un jeu de stratégie en temps réel mettant l’emphase sur l’infiltration de zones remplies d’ennemis. Concept qui, déjà sur le papier, ne me semble pas bien vendeur, et fonctionne assez peu avec l’ambiance de la série, du film, ou même du roman tant qu’on y est. Et je dois avouer m’y être lancé plein d’espoir, avant de déchanter si vite que j’ai bien failli abandonner avant d’en boucler la première partie. Oui, le jeu a l’audace de sortir en deux morceaux… Qui aura attendu la parution du second ? Excellente question, à laquelle je ne trouve qu’une réponse : des fanatiques frustrés de l’absence totale de jeux Stargate dans le paysage vidéoludique, incapables de refréner leurs pulsions étranges. Quelque part je les comprends, et je les envie un peu aussi. Mais pour ma part, je rangeraiStargate Timekeeperà la place qui lui revient de droit, dans la poubelle la plus proche.
WHAT ARE THE 5 GAMES THAT YOU RETIRED THIS YEAR?
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Ryū ga Gotoku Studio / Sega |Release date: 25 January 2024
J’ai déjà abordéSilent Hill 2plus haut, trop impatient de parler de ce nouveau chef d’œuvre pour attendre plus longtemps, idem pourHelldivers IIandEarth Defense Force… Alors qui reste-t-il ?Like a Dragon : Infinite Wealth, pour commencer, que j’attendais de pied ferme et que j’ai dévoré, comme chaque fois qu’un nouvel opus débarque. Touchant, diablement bien écrit, addictif… un jeu sur lequel j’aurais aimé revenir, mais SEGA et Ryu ga Gotoku semblent décidés à accélérer leur rythme de sorties dans le seul but de m’en empêcher. Je ne peux pas passer à côté deKunitsu Gami : Path of the Goddessnon plus, véritable bouffée d’air frais qui m’a personnellement rendu très nostalgique de l’ère PS2. Ce qui tombe plutôt bien, puisqueStar Wars : Battlefrontet sa suite revenaient dans une version remasterisée, avec des serveurs actifs, pour mon plus grand plaisir. RIP in peace ma vie sociale…
Source: USA |Developer / Editor: Angel Matrix / Annapurna |Release date: 25 janvier 2024 | Critique à lireHere
Et puis ce n’est peut-être pas un jeu de 2024, mais je ne peux pas m’empêcher de parler de NeonWhite, assurément le meilleur produit vidéoludique auquel j’ai touché ces deux ou trois dernières années. Oui, ça sort tout de suite les grands mots, et croyez moi j’ai essayé de ne pas aborder le sujet pour rester dans le thème… mais bon Dieu, quel jeu ! Impossible de décrocher une fois embarqué dans son ambiance singulière. Et ce gameplay hybride, entre plateformer et First Person Shooter, Deck Building et Speedrun… que dire hormis qu’on tient là un véritable coup de génie ? Enfin je pense que mon test parle de lui-même de toute façon : je suis aussi conquis qu’on puisse l’être, et je défendrai corps et âme cette expérience que je laisse désormais s’asseoir à la même table que desVanquishandPokémon Version Bleue. Autrement dit, ma poignée de jeux favoris que je relance régulièrement.
WHAT ARE YOUR ATTENTS FOR 2025?
Je serais tenté de dire que je n’attends rien, trop occupé à dévorer mon backlog resté loin de mon regard pendant longtemps… mais ce serait occulter la vérité. Et la vérité, c’est queMetroid Prime 4m’appelle comme une sirène appelle le marin. QueLike a Dragon : Pirate Yakuza in Hawaïs’annonce immanquable, autant parce qu’il a l’air complètement barré (plus que d’habitude ?) que parce que c’est Goro Majima qui vole la vedette à Kiryu et Ichiban. QueDOOM : The Dark Agesme donne envie de dormir huit mois pour être assez en forme le jour de sa sortie (et surtout pour que le temps passe plus vite). QueProject : Robotm’a déjà conquis, avant même d’avoir vu la moindre parcelle de gameplay, juste parce qu’il me semble impossible que Ueda me déçoive. QueSilent Hill fme donne envie de croire en l’avenir d’une série que j’aime plus que toutes autres. Reste enfinGears of War: E-Day, que je dévorerai comme tous les autres opus de la franchise, probablement en solo pour commencer, puis en coopération. 2025 s’annonce mémorable.
YOUR OST OF YEAR?
Sans hésiter, je diraisNeon White. C’est dynamique, c’est bizarre, c’est étrangement addictif… un peu comme le jeu dont elle est issue quoi. MaisNeon White, c’est pas sorti cette année. Alors si je devais rester dans les clous et citer quelque chose de récent, je partirais surSilent Hill 2 Remake. Quel plaisir de redécouvrir les morceaux de Yamaoka, étendus et retravaillés par Yamaoka… un délice dont je ne me lasse pas, et qui représenterai presque un autre plaisir coupable !
THE GROWTH WORLD WAR, IF YOU HAVE A JEW TO GET IN YOUR BUNKER, WHAT CHOOSE?
SourceJapan |Developer / Editor: Platinum Games / SEGA |Release date: 22 octobre 2010
Il y a trop peu de jeux dont je ne me lasse pas. Alors sans hésiter je diraisVanquish, même si je suis tenté de prendre unPokémon, première ou seconde génération… Mais à bien y réfléchir, pourquoi pasDiablo III? De toute façon, rien ne vaut un bon jeu d’échec, c’est Stefan Zweig qui me l’a appris.
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