PixlBit

I'll pick up the Shadow remake when it's cheaper, but I already played that game twice, so I'm in no rush. Horizon I liked, but agree on the side quests, they didn't really interest me. When the gameplay got stale for me, the story picked up so I finished it,but it wasn't a GOTY contender for me.

Andromeda was my most hated game since Assassin's Creed 3 and the trilogy is my favorite series. Rime is pretty fun, I'm enjoying it right now. I use an external drive and it's pretty easy, just plug it in and it's easy to set for that to be your main storage.

Crash is my favorite platforming series and the new hitbox really only hurts 1 and even then it's just in the bridge levels. Uncharted: TLL is my favorite in the series after 2, actually liked how it was shorter so there were no parts I hated like every other in the series. 

 I loved TEW2, but I'm also a huge fan of TLOU, so that might be where our differences shine. Still, Julian wasn't as big on TLOU though and still loved TEW2, so it might not just be me. South Park looks fun and while I'm not as big on its humor as I was as a teenager, it's still pretty funny to me.

Yeah, 2016 wasn't exactly a good year for me either. What you described was actually pretty accurate of my situation too. Games wise was kind of bland also. Pokemon Sun/Moon and Doom were great and there were some really good games like Battlefield 1, Overwatch, and Pokken too, but nothing that really blew me away. 2017 was when games really picked up for me.

You know, Stardew Valley is on the Switch and a much better fit for that platform than the PS4. Good pick of games though. I'd also recommend Doom 2016, Bloodborne and Titanfall 2 (which is dirt cheap all the time).

Well I mean in a substantial gameplay sense. You still want 3D on, it'll be there, but those are the games that use it for more than cosmetics. Pokemon, Hey Pikmin, and a few others don't even bother now though. Stopped being a regular thing late 2016.

Bloodborne was probably my favorite game from 2015, but I also really liked Rise of the Tomb Raider. Wasn't a huge fan of this year, better than 2014 (though anything is really), but still most of its best games came close to being great, but missed the mark. This was the year weight lifting and running passed gaming as my biggest time sink.

My favorite 3DS game is probably Pokemon Sun/Moon, with Link Between Worlds at a very close second. I didn't like it as much as the original DS, but it was still a pretty good system.

Not too many and even then you still don't usually need it. Kid Icarus Uprising is the only one I'd say should consistently be played in 3D because it helps with figuring which enemies are a bigger threat due to their distance away. Mario 3D Land uses it for the occasional bonus level to get an extra giant coin, but nothing essential. Link Between Worlds also uses it for one or two puzzles. Other than that, you won't ever be using it.

Ghost Trick was a fantastic game. Animation was especially gorgeous. Twist was a bit ridiculous, but it's in the Ace Attorney universe (Missile is a very minor AA character), so that's to be expected. Sonic CD was great too, but agree 2 and 3 were better. Call of Juarez the Cartel was terrible from what I heard. It garnered almost as much controversy as Duke Nukem Forever, but it was because it felt pretty racist instead of sexist. 

Thought 2011 was a pretty good year for games. My favorites were Dark Souls and Kirby's Return to Dreamland.

Well it's not exploring so much as it it is how the game rewards mastering its levels. The GBA and DS games just meant you'd have a better time, lose less lives, and get a better score at the end. In the Genesis ones and Mania, getting a perfect run means you take a different path, almost to the point where it feels like playing a new level. Sometimes it means more rings, easier access to special stages, or neater setpieces, but I feel rewarded for mastering the game in a way only Genesis Sonics and Mania have accomplished in that series. It's why I can replay those games over and over but was done with all the DS and GBA Sonics the second I beat them. 

Though the games do reward you for exploring with special stages and I felt Mania had by far the best ones in the series. Had a blast with all of them and Super Sonic was much more manageable than the Genesis games. But that kind of level design is why Mania has a better reaction than Colors did, Colors had a more generic, but still good, level design while Mania went back to one of the overlooked elements that made Sonic unique and hasn't really been replicated well. 

Right now I'm playing Kotor and Rime mostly. Need to get back to DB FighterZ. Sonic Mania was my second favorite game of last year after Breath of the Wild.