LogFAQs > #977527879

33. Golf Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zufLtHu_m7o

I don't think anyone expected Golf Story to be the incredible hit it was. Legitimately I could not have cared less about golf as a game genre prior to this game, but the gameplay is weirdly addicting. It really plays more like an RPG than a sports game, only its an RPG where all the gameplay is golf. When you're not golfing, you're minigolfing or frisbee golfing or hitting golf balls at targets or people or skeletons. It's way more fun than golfing has any right to be. One of these days I'll go play Sports Story. The Golf Story sequel, but with less golf and more non-golf sports, went from being my most anticipated game to releasing silently without me even realizing, with minimal fanfare and unimpressive reception. It has to be one of the most underwhelming sequel releases I've seen. I have to still assume there's fun to be had though, because Golf Story is legitimately just so good.

32. Firewatch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdUYYnfRdl8

I love these first-person exploration mystery games, but I will fully admit I'm running out of things to say about them. Firewatch doesn't really shake up the gameplay of the genre much, but the real appeal of these games are the stories and how they're presented. One thing that does make Firewatch stand out is the constant development of the relationship between Henry and Delilah. Too often these games are just one person navigating an environment, usually with occasional voice clips or comments here and there. But Firewatch manages to make Delilah truly feel like a real person rather than just a voice in a box, largely due to an excellent performance by her voice actress.

31. Oxenfree
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAhrOoNR4ng

The stuff I said about Oxenfree II? Oxenfree is that but better. Interesting characters mixed with top tier horror lore and scifi time-bending and dimension shenanigans. I really love this kind of personal choice-based storytelling. For most of it, you're not hit with a "choose A or B to determine your ending" kind of choice, but your relationships with your friends will evolve naturally based on the way you speak to them, with consequences that feel extremely by the time the story resolves. The horror it presents keys in to a certain type of recognizable terror tied to its time period, flipping through radio signals to find ones that feel just outside the realm of familiarity. That combined with the overall deepdive into the trauma of loss makes for a hauntingly memorable experience.