Ranking All 32 Games I Reviewed This Year - 2021

[@draken1991]

Timestamps: [01:11] 32. Gamedec [01:44] 31. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden [02:24] 30. Maneater [02:53] 29. Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [03:35] 28. Icewind Dale [04:35] 27. Torment: Tides of Numenera [05:12] 26. Dragon Age 2 [05:55] 25. Mechajammer [06:50] 24. Dragon Age Origins [08:15] 23. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic [08:35] 22. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords [09:17] 21. Deathloop [09:36] 20. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura [11:05] 19. Planescape: Torment [11:53] 18. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story [12:25] 17. Pillars of Eternity [13:12] 16. Fallout: New Vegas [13:58] 15. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines [15:00] 14. Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG [16:10] 13. Pathfinder: Kingmaker [16:42] 12. Vampyr [17:34] 11. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order [18:05] 10. Dragon Age Inquisiton [18:52] 09. Baldur's Gate 2 [19:22] 08. Baldur's Gate [20:03] 07. The Outer Worlds [21:18] 06. Prey [21:44] 05. Solasta: Crown of the Magister [22:33] 04. Biomutant [23:08] 03. ??? [23:56] 02. ?? [24:18] 01. ? I had originally added Steam/GOG links to all games, but youtube is afraid of links in comments and removed my message, so out they go.

[@chardaskie]

Literally just found your channel and a year review. Good Audio. Great speaking and you 100% RPG games??? Where have you been my whole life

[@karlklein2263]

The biggest disconnect I see people having about the pillars series, and one I admittedly had for myself for a long time, is both games are just focused on different aspects. Pillars 1 had a very strong main plot with little else going on outside. The main plot of pillars 2 isn't eothas, it's factions and world state. Eothas running across the ocean is just window dressing as an excuse to be where you are. The story is really about the deadfire and how each faction is both improving and destroying different parts of it. Realizing that made the narrative come alive to me.

[@adeternitamn2859]

I disagree. Pillars 2 has no main plot . It has sub stories that could have been parts of a main plot but never made it. Its a patchwork of stories that never lead anywhere. You claim the factions are the main plot. They are not, the reason you do run around is to effectively find Eothas. And everything you end up doing for them is not fleshed out well enough. its all vague. They tried to create this background of Deadfire being devastated as these earthy and heavenly powers fought between them , with you and your companions caught in the midst of it. But it was just written badly. PoE1 did a stellar job in doing just that by comparison.. PoE2 is one of the worst cRPG ever made , story wise, IMO, and I have not even touched the graphical and UI aspect of it. Had it not benefited of being a spiritual successor of the master piece PoE1 was, no one would have known of it.

[@karlklein2263]

@@ryanzz1357 it has 4 super bosses though that will kick your teeth in. Doesn't really need a final boss with those

[@8684LYFE]

​@@ryanzz1357 I mean, the Guardian is basically the final boss - and he's decently tough nowadays if you've killed the Megabosses (he gets buffed for each mega boss that is killed). To your point, it's not really a thematic final boss but just a mechanic one.

[@Rane7685]

POE 2 vs POE 1 is a really interesting one. First things first - POE 2 improves on graphics and gameplay in every way and the addition of full voice was incredible. The lore of the world is fantastic and in this respect it is so hard to separate. I absolutely loved how active the gods were in POE2. Chatting with those gods and their personalities was such a highlight. However, I'm not sure I liked the cast of POE 2 that much. While POE 1 didnt have the best cast there were some interesting personalities in there (Durance and maybe Grieving Mother). I can barely remember the cast of 2 other than the carry overs (and picking the most vanilla POE1 characters - Eder and the paladin chick was a bit of an error). I recall liking some goblin like scoundrel but cant even remember his name I think the story was overall better in POE1 and I enjoyed the twist and Thaox as a villain. The White March as an expansion was absolutely fantastic. POE2 at its grandest (Eothas) was pretty great but otherwise was not as good as POE1. I thought the DLC was very disappointing however (especially after that awesome Beast of Winter trailer).

[@robinmattheussen2395]

Since Mort was doing some hot takes, I will do one of my own. The plot in both POE1 and POE2 is hot garbage. While the actual writing (as in, the writing style) in POE1 was fairly good, I could not possible care less about the overarching story. I remember almost rushing the final part of the game because I thought the story was just so awful. All this drivel about souls and gods really put me to sleep. POE2 has a much more interesting setting I think, but the actual story (as in, the plot you follow) is probably even worse. When the game opened with a giant Eothas golem walking across the world I honestly started laughing a bit out of sheer confusion. What even is this nonsense? Even worse, the writing has honestly developed into fan-fiction levels of incompetence at times. At one point I thought I was about to go insane if I had to read one more line of dialogue with the Huana.

[@Dankong223]

Your channel is probably the biggest reason that I actually picked up WOTR this year. I’m in Act 5 and I’ve seriously never played a better crpg. From the moment I started playing it until now, about a month and a half later, I still watch soooo much WOTR content because the world has me hooked like a damn fish

[@epyjacek]

What is WOTR?

[@Dankong223]

@@epyjacek It stands for Wrath of the Righteous. It’s the new Pathfinder cRPG from Owlcat Games. I highly recommend it if you’re into that sort of thing

[@epyjacek]

@@Dankong223 Oh nice thank you for clarifying. I kinda figured it out by the end of the video. I'm just not great at remembering all the initialisms people use for games. Of course, I know some of the old ones like BG2, because I'm old. However, there are so many games out there that it's starting to get confusing. Like PoE, that could be Pillars of Eternity or it could be Path of Exile.

[@PelaXP]

I simply loved the reason why biomutant is so high on this list. In the end of the day, videogames are trying to provide great experiences and it does not get any better than what you described with Biomutant. It doesn't matter how polished or technically correct it is, fun is the most important aspect. I also had a lot of fun with the game and think people judged it too harshly, even though the game has a lot of flaws.

[@acedemi5229]

Dragon Age 2 is my favorite game in the series - the companions and story are just awesome.

[@royalrugby4869]

I love this list, and I love the fact you have a game to treasure with your kid in top slot, as it should be. As for BG 2, I will just say a large part of this is if you are playing BG 2 when it first came out, after BG 1. Yes, now in a sea of good rpgs it's just kind of there for most people. Now carrying over a character from one game to the next in not a big deal, but back then it was. Now it wasn't Mass Effect or Pillars 2, choices didn't really carry forward, but the fact that you had all these companions you had adventured for hours with, and they were all back for another grand adventure, that was really, to me the thing that makes it a such a nostalgic game for so many of us.

[@Hrafnskald]

Well said, and agreed. It inspired a lot of later games, and holds a special place for many of us.

[@lologoaty]

Binging your year end lists. Quickly becoming one of my favorite gaming channels.

[@Darthus]

Just wanted to say, I caught a couple of your reviews recently (King Arthur, Tyrrany, Outward), just found this ranking of your 2021 games and this solidified my sub for you, just because listening to your reasoning, it echo'ed my own as so much as PC RPG fan (even your comments on what is over-hyped or hard to play). Really looking forward to your other content!

[@zlarez4485]

WOTR is easily one of the best games of all time and they didnt even mention it on Game Awards

[@XoRandomGuyoX]

The game awards aren't real awards. They're just a Mountain Dew/Doritos/Rockstar marketing gimmick. So you'd expect to hear about Halo 'Infinite (Microtransactions)' but not a game like WotR.

[@Voxavs]

Game awards is a joke. They should have called it AAA 3d person action game awards. Think about it, almost every year about the same game wins, last year there was Disco Elysium, but everyone argued which was better TLOU2 or Tsushima, neither of which was especially interesting.

[@wander1027]

@@Baraz_Red totally agree. Nowadays everything slaps rpg onto it. I felt that there was very little in the game awards in terms of what i could relate, and I play rpg vid games practically as a scond job

[@ghostprojekt]

All award ceremonies are glorified circlejerks

[@lamaface]

@@Baraz_Red wait...Cyberpunk got an award? Is this an Emily in Paris thing?

[@josephjensen5176]

Incredible content as always, I remember finding your channel a few months ago, which inspired me to give Pillars of Eternity a good try. Fast-forward and now I've completed Pillars 1, I'm nearly done with my first playthrough of Pillars 2, and I recently bought Wrath of the Righteous. And to think that I was going to give up on so many of these games because I wasn't comfortable with RTWP at the time! Your channel has been a Godsend! I'm so glad that I've been exposed to so many different games through your channel. I honestly think that this modern Renaissance of CRPGs would've totally passed me by if channels like yours weren't there to give this incredible genre the attention and love it needs so much. Thanks again Mortismal!

[@Trace153]

Thank you all the videos this year sir. Loving your channel!!

[@8684LYFE]

You and I have quite different tastes, but always nice to see another person's perspective! Love the video, thanks for the content :).

[@julienbeaudelot5269]

Just found out your channel because I'm playing WOTR again, I didn't fully understand the game on my first play, but with your videos it helps me a lot and I'm finally loving this game. Thanks a lot man, keep being awesome :p

[@Vrindlevine]

Outer Worlds over New Vegas? Like Encased but don't like Fallout? Idk you have some really strange opinions. Overall I agree with most of this though.

[@brianwolfgeher1833]

Mortismal, this comment is a little late but you got a subscribe from me for putting Biomutant so high on your list. Game got destroyed when it came out but the studio did a great job. Love lists like these because you can really tell what's important to someone and story seems to trump gameplay for you as well as newer games trump older games. Fun list and look forward to future content. Also thank you for introducing me to Encased.

[@mattostovitz1098]

I honestly think the story of Pillars of Eternity 1 was fantastic. It kept me interested from start to finish. I thought the reveal was super interesting and well done. I thought the writing was immaculate. The idea of the wheel of Berath and the mystery of the Engwithans was so intriguing to me. I loved it way more than Divinity 2's story (even though they have many similarities.) I also believe that the "end game choice" and subsequent epilogue are 1000x more satisfying and impactful than D:OS 2. I felt fulfilled and thoughtful after Pillars of Eternity 1. After Divinity Original Sin 2 I just felt tired, relieved, and "meh." I love the game but the story is just whatever.

[@nwahally]

In general the Pillars series is Obsidian's magnum opus in my eyes. World building and writing are unmatched. I'm looking forward to Avowed, but I really hoe Obsidian and Sawyer get over their... post-Deadfire depression and continue the CRPG-series.

[@mattostovitz1098]

@@nwahally I agree. The world has endless potential. They need to understand that if something like kingmaker divinity and wotr can become successes so can any pillars game. I really could care less for the "skyrim clone" they are inevitably going to make with avowed.

[@tonykirk8295]

The only thing about Pillars 1 is that it didn’t hook me until mid act 2. I had put 8-10hours into 3 or 4 playthrough a before I finally got hooked enough to get to the end. To be fair, I was playing PoTD so it took me longer to progress.

[@takkik282]

I think pillars show some problems with games development. Pillars 1 was build with Ad&d2 nostalgia in mind, pretty much same system with new classes and feats. But with pillars 2 they switched to a d&d 4e like system (not the most popular, very MMO). Why ? people backed pillars 1 on baldur's gate nostalgia. And they put so many hours balancing pillars 1 system with updates and expansions... they throw away every things for the sequel... the most stupid move ever. And of course deadfire was buggy and unbalanced at release... BG2 or fallout2 were great games because they built on the foundations of the first games! They could focus on telling a better story! And Obsidian has problem with story telling : pillars 1 start was great, very personal story where you get strange powers but cursed with madness so you need to find a cure... but every thing put on side. The synopsis felt close to Planescape Torment. Act 2 was rushed and act3 too long, no urgency. They should have inverted the 2 acts. Ending on the civil war in the capital would have been a better ending I think. Deadfire... I don't mind the pirate theme but chasing the god was sooooo boring.... it's like 90% of the game content is about side quests. And the game try sooo hard to push you to rush (and miss most content). I really think the story would be better with a completely new character, a captain killed on the sea, resurrected by Berath to be her herald... No need to mess with Pillars 1 story. And what's the point to continue the story with the same character when you reset the levels ? At least BG2 & neverwinter nights (1&2) expansions continue the story and progression with epic levels. I think they tried too hard to do something different with Deadfire, to fix what wasn't broken. Pillars 1 expansions were a better iteration of pillars 1. And, on a setting with science & animancers... Why no Animancer class ??? The setting cry for an Artificer class !

[@Hrafnskald]

@@takkik282 Pillars is completely different, mechanics-wise, from D&D of any sort: the ability scores were overhauled and changed in focus, the weapons provide differing bonuses, the core source of magic is different. There *is* an Animancer class: Ciphers. They tap into an use Soul Energy directly.

[@yazuki-wolf]

I agree whole heartedly with your hot takes. I started played both Dragon's Dogma and Planescape Torment because of how praised they are, but in both cases the games exist on my hard drive in a half finished state where I think to myself "I can't uninstall that. it's a classic. I'll get around to finishing it one day", but yet no matter how little else I have to play I pretty much always download something new instead of returning to these games simply because, like you said, the game play just doesn't feel as enjoyable as newer games ior other games that just aged better.

[@135791113ab]

One thing I genuinely love about this channel and your approach to it is that you ain't in the business of dunking on stuff for the sake of dunking on it. At no point are you just amping up performative outrage for the sake of it, and pretty much every take on even the lower-ranked games in this list is measured, and above all, fair. It's honestly refreshing.

[@ringemur]

This year you are my favorite youtuber. Keep chasing your dream!

[@bigwig8657]

I agree, VtM is the platonic ideal vampire setting.

[@brentbentKRFP]

Damn, you are a reviewing daemon! 32 games in 52 weeks!! I love seeing shining lights like these on social media where a person took something they loved doing and suddenly were able to quit their mundane job and "work" at their passion as their new career. Don't know anytying about you perosnally so I can't say if you're a graet person or not, but I can say you are a superb reviewer and I hope that partially comes from who you are in your daily life.

[@clifcorcoran9917]

I was surprised with how much you enjoyed wrath to not see kingmaker up there higher but I certainly don't fault your reasoning. Certainly I've enjoyed the reviews and often uncover more games to try out with my best limited free time. Keep up the good content!

[@Kris-cw8hj]

Because of you I gave wo long another whirl. You said the tutorial boss was by far the hardest boss. I struggled more on that boss than Dank Eater Midir. Glad I kept playing, thanks man hahaha

[@DaveVoyles]

This is my new favorite channel. I’ve been cranking through his backlog

[@josephcole2590]

Really nice list. I've got Pillars 1 further up on my personal list because it's the game that got me back into crpgs. I've got a lot of really good memories with it. Enjoy the content, keep up the good work.

[@pathfinder2elatino]

The plot and the companions have back pain of carrying the whole fucking game 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheRealDanEman]

I honestly have to disagree about Dragon Age Origins, I replayed it last year and was really surprised how well it held up. But that's just my 0.02c

[@Hrafnskald]

It's still a popular game, many of us love it :)

[@Hrafnskald]

@@Baraz_Red Which is unusual, because each recruitment quest has serious ramifications on which groups live or die. Kill the elves or the werewolves? Start remaking golems, or destroy the Great Forge? Convince the dwarves to trade and open up with the surface or keep traditional and isolated?

[@TheRealDanEman]

@@Hrafnskald Exactly this, I've beaten the game 3 or 4 times over the years, and I've had a lot of diversity (both in gameplay department, and story consequences). Not to mention that you can continue your story in DA II and DA: I

[@TechnologicZb]

Great content! Glad I found this channel. I have been binging your vids!

[@MrSamsonite23]

I really enjoy how your opinions stray far away from convential and established opinions. Hell, the biomutant one really hit home for me. You like something because your expirience with the game justifies the opinion. Great list!

[@gawaniwhitecrow2731]

Would love a long form director's cut of this list.. Good work sir, have enjoyed your content immensely this year 🙏🏾

[@alexdoerofthings]

Ugh! I really appreciate your view and I was looking for a game list. Now I have to go back and listen again.

[@bobbybee2975]

You 100% almost three games a month? Well done.

[@bigwig8657]

I feel like Dao feels overhyped now, but it was hyped fairly on release because the genre was fairly dead(isometric type rpgs) at that point in the timeline, and it was a huge jump foward in the genre tech wise. So it's greatness is subjective to it's period of release. Because every studio was trying to make an mmorpg because of WoW dominating pc gaming like it never has or probably ever will be again.

[@magatmilan8925]

I don't know. I feel like it's actually that people started liking it less and less because it became more hyped, not because it doesn't deserve the praise. Gamers in general don't like it when a game that's not their favorite gets "over"hyped. I personally never heard about the hype for DAO, I've never even heard of the game before I played it, I didn't even realise it was a Bioware game, I just saw the title, thought it sounded cool, and decided to play it. By the time I finished it, I was concinced it's my favorite game of all time, so far. And when a game can have that effect on people who've never heard of it before and who don't even know just how popular or hyped that game is, I think that shows the quality of the game.

[@andreventer8973]

I think DAO is a game of its time. If you played it at or soon after release you are going to have nothing but great memories of it. It hasn't aged well though. The world and lore is very good in the series overall and if your introduction to those aspects were DAI, I think that is what would stick. The gameplay loop is mostly garbage in DAI unfortunately.

[@robinmattheussen2395]

It's a good game (the last good game made by BioWare) but it is very, very flawed. My problem is not at all that it is clunky (it plays just fine IMO, aside from the expected technical issues) but more that there are several sequences that are just not very well made (the Fey anyone?), and that the game focuses way too much on thrash encounters instead of interesting combat scenario. Some of its attempts at being "gritty" also come across as pretty silly. I think the narrative is actually kind of overrated, and it uses the usual BioWare plot framework, but it still works fairly well. I agree that some of the insane praise was likely because RPGs were in dire straights in 2009, bu it's still a game I liked, warts and all.

[@Mc76204]

Masterpiece.

[@Mythicalreign22]

I feel like I could have guessed that top 5. Great list Mort!

[@vidoterkk2981]

Great video! In the future, if you are making a list like that, please add name of the game somewhere on the screen, makes it easier to look up later :)

[@melbumelbu]

Thank you man for this and all the review. I really apreciate it🙂

[@robinmattheussen2395]

I think this is the first time I've ever heard an RPG fan say he doesn't really like Fallout 1 or 2. To each his own of course! But those two games are just so damn good, I make a point to play them again every few years. I'm happy you gave Prey 2017 a good spot though, I feel people don't give it nearly enough praise. Then again I am a total Arkane shill.

[@mrdadecounty3056]

Awesome bro love your content excited to see what else u review

[@kristophersouza8104]

Man I love this channel

[@Justin-Trammell]

Cool look back at your past year~ Looks like ive got some videos to go find and watch. Found your channel through Divinity2 after i finally got around to checking it out.

[@nicccandussi865]

Your channel consistantly produces absolute top tier content. Whenever I'm interested in a particular game or system it seems your already there and got me covered. Love you, my guy ❤

[@SuperMufasa92]

Your reviews got me interested in the CRPG genre! I always liked RPGs, but I appreciate the sheer amount of meaningful choices in the games. Are you planning on making videos for newbies to the genre? Something like “which CRPG should you play first” or something akin to that?

[@MortismalGaming]

Potentially can't say I have anything planned though

[@noimageavailable2934]

This is 10 months later but divinity original sin 2 is the obvious pick for newbies

[@roman-270]

So does that mean Wrath has official replaced D:OS2 as your favorite CRPG of all time? I remember you talking about not being sure yet which you preferred a while back

[@TheStormieKnight]

I don’t even have children and the Biomutant placing brought a tear to my eye. That’s a beautiful real world reason to have it ranked so highly.

[@Turnoutburndown]

Dude real glad I found your channel! Have you seen Age of Decadence? That’s a fun one, you can do no combat all talking run throughs, and that game just needs more love and attention in general!

[@88oscuro]

First, great list and Iam very impressed by how many games you managed to not only complete, but 100%. Here is hoping with the rise of crpgs and the star wars license up for grabs..That we actually get a Star wars crpg, that would be so dope.

[@andreventer8973]

Following your channel for a while now, other than your top two, your rankings really surprised me in a good way.

[@orarinnsnorrason4614]

I agree with the #1 spot. For me its game of the year. I also agree with you on Solasta. It was great. I will not however say which games I'd put high or low because it's your list. Let's just say that I agree and don't agree on where some games are. Keep up the good work and have a good one.

[@dtuitt79]

You had a few games on your list that I have owned for years & never played. I found myself downloading them while watching.🤣

[@Knifedog212]

Hey king! Love all you content, but I’m gonna have to fight you on sight for not being as madly in love with Origins as I am

[@MortismalGaming]

Good luck, I'm on a pretty strict training regimen of fights caused by my Origins opinions. My body is ready.

[@grumpyoldwizard]

Thank you for your efforts. I appreciate it.

[@TheBlueDeath123]

I appreciate Kingdoms of Amalur for what it tried to do. It was mostly successful making a unique world, and fun combat. It was a little buggy and unbalanced, and slow in the beginning imo, but fun

[@00HoODBoy]

Felt like the game equivalent to the movie free guy. Just Fun. Sometimes that's refreshing as hell

[@grrizzzy7]

It was designed as an mmo thats why some areas feel weird or too big

[@kevinhynes95]

Gotta say your videos never disappoint and they seem to always align to what I think about RPGs! For next year let me know if you've already covered any of these but I saw in one of your older videos that you're interested in dark envoy coming out soon and a review on tower of time would fit perfect before it's release! Also Witcher 3 could be fun in the spirit that the Netflix season is about to kick off. Othercide is a good turn based strategy but doesn't have much of a story imo it might be good for a 'between game' break.

[@ZeFourmis]

I love your "hot take" on Planescape Torment. It's my number one favorite game of all time... but I totally agree with you there. I love it for the story. Once I said to a friend about Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate 1/2 and Icewind Dale 1/2 : - Planescape Torment has a great story and poor gameplay - Icewind Dale has a great gameplay and poor story - Baldur's Gate is the middle road.

[@Byeohazard]

The first 2 Fallouts are very special to me. My favorites.

[@Seisachtheia]

Every time I watch a Mortismal video I want to give CRPGs another try. One day. One day I will get into one

[@fantazjo]

funny how many people talk about vampire the masquerade BLOODLINES but it's so rare to find anyone who have played or even heard about REDEMPTION

[@Yarxov]

I forgot you reviewed Cyberpunk last year not this year and was holding my breath the whole video out of shock

[@P9124]

Came here primarily to see where you put Planescape Torment and decide whether or not to ignore your channel in the future. Yes, this is sarcasm.

[@under545]

I predict you may feel silly writing off the Fallout IP without having played the first two. They are masterpieces, and I hope you'll be able to appreciate why fans of them were so disappointed by everything after Fallout 3 (with the possible exception of New Vegas).

[@timbr3104]

I'm finding it funny that you're talking about how hard it is to get into Fallout, while saying that you've not played the only two truly great games with that name.

[@kruk_7279]

That's the poison Bethesda injected into series converting it into TES like game. Most people that first entrance into Fallout was third game don't want to play first two games sadly.

[@Wft-bu5zc]

Great list! Totally agree that WOTR >>> Kingmaker (I HATED kingdom management) and Pillars 2 >>> Pillars 1 (better combat, more classes, better locations, bigger game, better music). Icewind Dale 1 is one of my favorites, it can be a lot of fun but definitely not for everyone, it's tough and very combat focused. Pillars 2 does combat better than the old RTWP games, AND better than Pathfinder, because instead of having to constantly buff everyone in preparation for battle you have to wait for battle to start. This makes combat less annoying and more strategic.

[@chriscangelosi9438]

I need to check out that dungeons and dragons game you mentioned! 😍

[@elblaise5618]

For nearly two years I have believed the Outer Wilds and the Outer Worlds to be the same game. While I feel like a dufus I am grateful to you Mort for clearing things up for me.

[@bloodrunsclear]

I want more games like Encased: RPGs with different genres than the traditional ones

[@Kelty0656]

I'd be curious to hear what you have to say about The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos

[@Xxxkiller101]

my top 3 is almost the reverse 1.POE2 2.PF 3.DOS2 but I'm sill glad poe2 got a chance to shine again :)

[@KarateSnoopy]

great vid. btw you have some bugs in your chapter names Pray => Prey Celasta Crown of the Mage => Solasta: Crown of the Magister

[@MortismalGaming]

KZbin tries to do it automatically if you don't set them yourself sometimes

[@simonclarke8098]

I've never met anyone that rates inquisition above origins

[@matthuck378]

I rarely play games when they come out because I am cheap. My favorites I played this year were (in no particular order): -Call of the Sea -Divinity Original Sin 2 (how I discovered this awesome channel!) -Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -Dragon Quest XI -Child of Light -Last Epoch -Eastshade -Van Helsing: Final Cut -Disco Elysium -Townscaper -Ara Fell -Spiritfarer -Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice -Tales of Arise

[@marcinczyzewski5021]

Great video, some surprises or even shocking picks but it's your list and I respect it :). But with one I can agree for sure 100%, everything you said about Pathfinder:Wrath of The Righteous, this probably new classic something what was Baldur's Gate 2 in its times. I haven't played so many games like you but my top 10 RPG games are: 1. Pathfinder:WotR 2. Pathfinder:Kingmaker 3. Divinity: OS2 4. Dragon Age:Origins 5. Baldur's Gate 2 6. Fallout: New Vegas 7.Witcher 2&3 8. Neverwinter Nights 2 9. Arcanum 10. Tyranny I would like to give a chance Pillars of Eternity 2 , maybe I will , but Pillars of Eternity 1 have bored me unfortunately :(. Even creation of world, thematic experience and main plot were very good.

[@Elgar337]

I hadn't realized your review of DOS2 was this year. In my mind it was like 10 years ago :P

[@dlastkatipunero2185]

Dragon age Origins' best mechanic was the tactics menu... I wish so many games had it, like you target archers, mage or tank with a specific set of skills/spells with a certain hierarchy of options like right clicking in pathfinder but more in quantity and context. I.E. one petrifies/freezes an elite/mage/archer then another reacts to shoot it with a stone fist/charged shot. Choices in the ending like letting you be the king, Alistair be the king or have someones rule with Anora had more deviation in context and cutscenes compared to the fallout 4 endings. Story had a better finesse and flavorful choices regarding race and class in comparison to other two dragon games- because it took way too long in development. Inquisition had such good mechanics in its first reveal but some were cut off like the outpost mechanic, the outpost on release felt empty as dragon age awakening

[@danepatterson8107]

BioMutant discussion is one of the reasons I've discovered that makes you as good as you do. You're willing to put a game higher than an objective review because of what it meant to you and your co-pilot (kid :) )

[@chriscangelosi9438]

Pillars of eternity 2 is soo huge with an engrossing story and character builds same of divinity orginal sin.

[@justanother8862]

Fallen Order was very underrated, though I don't like vampires so I ignored those game :)

[@chriscangelosi9438]

I had a huge amount of fun playing Bio Mutant, it was very different than other games, I love experiencing new things, mechanics/worlds/enimies/stories that I haven't experienced before, I also love that whole "its earth but after some event future/disaster/invasion vibe" like planet of the apes new horizon ect..

[@toottoot3344]

For me the love for BG 2 is because it was the first RPG that felt like a true RPG with the interactions with your party members. This started early on with the death of Khalid and continues throughout. I also think it does it better than nearly all that have come after which excessively focus on romance and little else or turn it in to the entire game whilst here it feels like being in a party. However this is also with my 'loved the game for over 20 years' hat on rather than playing it in the last year. Speaking of which do you think that you may be more negative on some of the games because of the grind for 100% and any repeat plays rather than that first play experience?

[@calloftoons2927]

You cannot blame DAO for not running well in an operative system that didn't even exist when the game launched...

[@Runeforged]

Woooohoooo I knew it would be WotR hehe. Cheers man.

[@XoRandomGuyoX]

I saw Maneater was on sale right now... Kinda tempted to pick it up for mindless shark fun.

[@peterfabell154]

WotR is in a Humble Bundle right now for $20, along with NWN and all of the BG games and PT

[@Moberick21]

Your taste in games is very similar to mine and it makes me want to try some of the games you mentioned that I haven’t played. Maybe try out the mass effect series, (not necessarily the andromeda game) you might like it as much as I did.

[@s.p.q.r195]

Thanks for this video, very interesting. Impressed by your reviews, so much 100% in 1 year is quite amazing a achievement! 😉 How about an all-time RO RPG tierlist? Even if not 100%. And by the way, what about ARPG? Do you play them sometime? Like TW, TES (which is a franchise I hate btw), Mass Effect, Gothic and other PB games, etc.

[@Rogue615]

Love your channel I just can't get into CRPG's even though I have a lot of love for them. Grew up playing those old D&D PC games. I'm talking like 25+ years ago

[@shawngillogly6873]

Now it's my turn for a 🔥 take. I never thought the plot of BG1 made sense. Iron poisoning? No one thought to get their metal from a different source? It's the kind of excuse to adventure problem a young DM would think of. But as a grounded, real-world issue? Nah. Still love the game. But when Sarevok was taunted for his plan in ToB, I agreed.

[@MortismalGaming]

They tried, the bandits in act 3 were in charge of making sure they couldn't import iron from anywhere else.

[@edneragnarok]

What is that image in the thumbnail? Looks so intriguing. Love all your videos my man, keep it up.

[@MortismalGaming]

Stock fantasy art

[@Nr4747]

Hot take about Dragon Age: Origins: It's an absolutely incredible game - *if* you play a mage. Otherwise, it's still very good but not nearly as stellar. In terms of meaningful choices: There are actually a *ton* of them when it comes to how you interact with your companions and how you deal with the main villains. A lot of those choices aren't dialogue-based but depend on what you actually do /don't do in the world and *when*.

[@chriscangelosi9438]

Kingdom's of amalur had me at Tom McFarland lol, I bought the original when it first launched and the re-reckoning versions

[@chriscangelosi9438]

I played the oringal prey when it first came out on PC. It was something special back then.

[@ArtwithBen]

What game is the thumbnail picture from? I did watch the video but missed it.

[@petrivanzyl3106]

Wow, did you really play all of these games this year?!

[@dh7930]

I would love to see some Baldur's Gate 3 content!

[@adeternitamn2859]

I, have a lot of issues with how you ranked some of these games. However, I fully respect this also comes from how much you enjoyed them and there is no contending personal taste. IMO PoE2 has no place in being in the same list as any decent cRPG, but thats cause I value a good story telling and world building more than mechanics ( which makes me like games like Arcanum and Torment infinitely more.). PoE 1 on the other hand I consider a master piece for what it brought to the scene when it launched. I am in full agreement about your top 2 though. They are on a whole other level IMO . DOS2 is the gift that keeps on giving and PWotR is just ... amazing. PS. Thank you for putting all this work, and leaving all these reviews for us. I sometimes feel we get too engrossed in what we like and dislike, that we forget to just appreciate the work being put by some content creators. So thanks again and keep it up like this.

[@CaptnKrksNippls]

While I recognize the greatness of Pathfinder WOTR something about the story just felt a little underwhelming to me when all was said and done. It's hard to put my finger on it but the world and lore of a game like Pillars of Eternity 1 just felt so much more interesting. I know its not as mechanically advanced as Pathfinder but what was there was still enjoyable and I just found myself caring for the characters so much more. I'm also a fan of the more "gritty" artstyle of other crpgs rather than the slightly cartoony nature of pathfinder (which still looks great btw).

[@daniels4385]

For next year, I heartily recommend Wizardry 8!

[@nonkh89]

Dude, pls what's the tune your vids start with? I'm pretty certain I've played that game, but I just don't get it.. ô;ö

[@npcsenpai1185]

Maybe Pillars of Eternity.

[@1invag]

Home alone remix

[@bbbbianco]

I think it's from Pillars of Eternity

[@MortismalGaming]

Its a custom piece made by a viewer, Juan Matos, his music is linked in the description. It was inspired by PoE.

[@nonkh89]

@@MortismalGaming Thank you :)

[@Shikao87]

Some positions did surprise me, but top was pretty predictable. I have been following for about half a year, so I didn't realize you did so many classics this year Fun fact, probably one of the longest videos I saw of yours =P Speaking of classics, Mass Effect? If I see correctly, you haven't covered it.

[@Alister222222]

Dragon Age Origins was a RPG-strategy-style game, and was about tactical thinking and planning. All the Dragon Age games that came after were RSI-inducing action RPGs, which was, basically, a betrayal of everyone who loved the original. I loved Origins, and despised everything that came after.