HEATHER'S TOP 12 GAMES
in which sega adapts the wachowski sisters' magnus opus, *speed racer*, into a minidvd that might get you high if you boof it. there's sweat pouring down my head and my hands and my asscrack. gamecube controller diehards are still mondo uncool, though i come dangerously close to becoming one every time i jam down the spring-loaded triggers to kick into a drift. good shit. i think the devs knew the dpad and c stick placement were trashy and that's why nothing is mapped to either by default. anyway, this is **the** perfect racer. trying to describe the blistering gamefeel and hype soundtrack of one of the most beloved sega arcade racers 20 years after the fact is a pointless endeavor, so i will instead forego that and just show you this. and a message to my friends: no, i'm not going to shut up about this game. get gx or get out.
i value "unique" moreso than conventional "good". i'd put drakengard up there with killer7 and the quiet man with the most unique games i have ever played. this isn't to say drak isn't also jsut good - in fact, it's phenomenal. the loop of "hour-long slaughtersesh in a field where the same song loops the entire time" to "detached cutscene where weird shit happens" puts me into a trance. i'm like, astral projecting on caim or something. did i use that term right? idk. zoomer shit. anyway, this is the only game that can get away with looping its songs for an hour at a time because nobuyoshi sano was touched by the divine hand of God and as such crafts god-tier compositions. sound design in general is unreal. this game is unreal. it's by CAVIA, the BEST STUDIO of ALL TIME. if you played nier automata and not this, you screwed up big time.
i'd argue the original resident evil trilogy as a whole embodies the platonic ideal of survival horror gameplay, but if i had to pick one game as the "best", it'd be 2. it's a perfect split right down the middle between the clumsy and claustrophobic re1 and the action-packed re3. that said, y'all know gameplay alone is not enough to sell me. luckily re2 comes forth with straight vibes. SECOND ONE of gameplay, you're running down a street ingulfed with bright red flames that contrast beautifully with leon's dark blue uniform. then, you get to explore a gorgeous museum-turned-police-station with arguably the best music of the series before launching into some straight up 80s action movie thrill ride. they could have cut this series off here and i think i'd still be just as massive of a fan. i grew up with the n64 port and i will ride or die it as the best version. i own a real copy too. swag.
the source engine catalog is stuffed with cool distinct environments. not sure what about this old-ass engine gives way to so many unforgettable architecture. anyway, sp:ud (cool acronym) isn't even in the source engine (unlike the og) so idk why i led with that. look up "davey wreden king shit" on youtube if you want to know why this game is good. also kevin brightly's voice makes me feel safe
people who don't have this game in their top 20 should not be trusted.
leave it up to trans women in their 30s to bring back rpgmaker horror stylin except with a more mature story than any of those classics had. all of ada rook's art, no matter the format, has this pervasive earthiness to it that i can't find anywhere else. she can make the harshest song and still include guitar that bring to mind dark, melancholic folk music made by some guy who lives out in a forest and shuns industrial society. fallow's sorta a culmination of that - a game about rejects who live out in a big forest on the outskirts of society, featuring art made solely out of greens browns and greys, as well as a soundtrack that combines what sound like dying analog synths with banjos. i know the story is the main course. the art's what sold me on it though and maybe it'll sell you too.
