Top 5 Adventure Games

5. The 7th Citadel

A new one to the list, and yes, I do plan to get back to streaming this. I am loving the adventure nature of The 7th Citadel. The game play is a ton of fun and it’s simple. Plus, one of the things I look for in a campaign game is an enjoyable story. And I think that the different threats do offer solid stories to go with the simple actions and game play. You can watch the videos and see why I like The 7th Citadel so much as an adventure game.

But let’s talk about the simplicity of the actions as well. Everything is based around getting stars. And you just need to figure out how much you want to push to get a star. If you spend a lot of cards, that is shortening what you can do later in the game. And as you get through cards, you spend health to get them back, which means that monster battles are trickier as well. But it is all done through drawing cards and seeing what stars you get on them.

4. Roll Player Adventures

Next up we have Roll Player Adventures. This is one that I had an amazing time playing through it’s whole campaign. Another one where the mechanisms aren’t that complex and the story is great to go with it. I think it is the story that really makes it shine. Though, I will say that the game is probably best as a three player game where there is enough difficulty to start, but it won’t become too easy towards the end. Also, it sounds like the updated rules with Gulpax’s Secret expansion help with that.

The main mechanisms are around dice placement. The original Roll Player game is about creating a D&D character, or an RPG character. This takes some of those mechanisms about matching up dice and optimizing placement to defeat monsters and make skill checks. Combine that with hand management as you try and complete all of those things, it works really well as a not too complex game.

3. Sleeping Gods

Then we have Sleeping Gods. This is another one that I played on Malts and Meeples. So I’ll drop that video below. But this one I think is a bit more intimidating of a game. Though, the complexity is still not all that high in the game. You are lost in another world and you need to try and find your way back to Earth by finding these totems. The trickier bit, I think, is that you play all the characters, or less that you play all the characters more that there is a single action pool. So it’s intimidating to try and keep track of what everyone has for abilities.

This one, though has one of the most unique stories to it. It is not a game where the story comes along linearly. It is an open world sandbox style game. If you want to go west, you go west or if you want to east, you go east. But that is up for the players to decide because the game doesn’t care. You find totems and prompts and that points you in direction. You see keywords and when you stumble across that keyword later, you know where to head back to. It is an amazingly ambitious project that works really well.

2. Stars of Akarios

Next up yet another one that I streamed on Malts and Meeples YouTube channel. This one is Stars of Akarios, so we’re going from fantasy to sci-fi. This is a massive and epic game, and one that gives you a ton of adventure while being more tactical than some of the others. But the story is great, and while I get the feeling of a lot of different sci-fi tropes, I think that it handles them all well to make a massive experience.

One of the things that I love about the game is three parts of the game. Now, one of them is a weaker link. Flying through space to get from story to story or planet to planet, less exciting. But I love the planetary exploration. I get the feel of The 7th Citadel with it. But then you get this whole tactical space combat.

And it is amazing, it’s all about managing your resources and positioning yourself for big hits on the enemy. Or it might not even be about taking out an enemy but instead protecting one of your ships. So there is great variety to the game, and it even has a mission where you can side with no one, go hide in a corner and let them duke it out.

1. Tainted Grail

Finally we come down to Tainted Grail. This is my #2 game of all time, at least in my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition. We will have to see where it lands this upcoming year. But this game, I think, is going to be the one that is hardest for some people to love. But for me, it is an amazing time. And so much of that is because it is the best story that I’ve ever read in a game. The narrative is so deep and it just works.

The downside is that it is more complex than some other games. This is not just an adventure game, but Awaken Realms always sold it as a survival game as well. Now you can play on story mode and that takes that survival down a fair amount. But that doesn’t mean that the game is easy. It just means that some of the resource collection elements are simpler. There is still going to be a lot of combat, especially early campaign where you just look at them and decide to run away.

But with all that said, this game is amazing. The story easily pushes it over the hump for me to my #1 adventure game. And I like the combat and diplomacy mechanisms. They do break up what you do in the game, but I really enjoy that puzzle, working together, and optimizing that you can do.

Final Thoughts

What are some of your favorite adventure games? Let me know which ones they are down int he comment section below. I own a number, Solomon Kane, Isofarian Guard, SHEOL, Agemonia, Divinus, Nova Aetas Renaissance and more that I need to play. Adventure Games are like my dungeon crawlers and boss battlers, it’s hard to get to them all because they take up space and time.

Are there any of the adventure games on the list that you want to try?

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There is more thought into this list than what’s my Top 10. My Top 10 games of all time, some of them might make the list, but others not because it might seem overwhelming to me as a teenager. Or it might be a theme that I like more now as compared to what I did back then. So there’s taking all of that, or even complexity of rules, into consideration.

Top 5 Board Games I Wish I Had As A Teenager

5. Betrayal at House on the Hill

This just missed me being a teenager and I definitely played it later. But I think that younger me, like older me, would have enjoyed this game a lot. The whole idea of exploring a board that is always changing would have been cool. I was used to playing weird giant games of Catan, so the modular element as you build as you go I think I’d have liked.

Plus I’d have liked the competitive switch of the game. You are working together but really you want to get what is best for you. So how can you do that quickly for when the haunt comes. And while the haunts themselves likely would cause debate, I’d have been cool with the not well written haunt directions.

4. Pandemic Legacy

Pandemic Legacy probably would have blown my mind. A cooperative game would have done that but also then with it being a legacy game. Being able to adjust the board as we go and that changing the game, that’d have blown my mind. It kind of still did when Pandemic Legacy came out as that was my first legacy game.

And I’d have liked the story that went along with the game. I didn’t have games that really had story with them. But I was a teenager who read a lot. Authors like Robert Ludlum were part of what I was reading with all of these crazy political plots and others as well and Pandemic Legacy would have been a lighter version of that with a game and I always loved games.

3. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion/Gloomhaven/Frosthaven

This isn’t my final three games. But I do have all of them on the list. I think as a 15 year old getting Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, I’d have loved it. And then Gloomhaven and Frosthaven are games I’d have saved up money for. But I don’t think I could have jumped into either of the bigger boxes. Instead Jaws of the Lions with it’s tutorial would be an amazing starting place. And I would then want more, which I think would have kept me busy for a long time.

And I’d have played Gloomhaven solo but also, likely at the same time, gone through it with friends. I wouldn’t have had the consistent schedule on the calendar as an adult who can drive. But one Saturday a month have a friend over and my brother as well we’d play probably 4 scenarios in a day and go late into the night. And then more often as I got a drivers license.

2. Ice Cool

Completely different end of the spectrum here, Ice Cool would have been amazing. I’d have messed around with it more to come up with my own builds. I definitely would have wanted to get Ice Cool 2 as well. But this is just a simple flicking game, but that toy factor and fun factor would have made it great for holidays, still does, and playing with my cousins. It’s really the toy factor on this one that would make it great.

1. Dice Throne

Finally we have Dice Throne, so only my Top 2 games out of my Top 10 made it onto the list. And one even with the caveat that it’s only going through the tutorial. Dice Throne would have been amazing, though, it’s battle Yahtzee. I could have put King of Tokyo onto that list as well. But I think I’d have really loved, and clearly still do, that idea that I pick my own unique hero that I get to play with. That’s not something that shows up in a ton of other games, otherwise.

And the one versus one is nice with the game, or bigger groups. I don’t think that I’d have used this as a family game, play 5 people, but it’d have been three player battles a lot. Or I think I’d have played it solo, not as Dice Throne Adventures, but just running two characters to learn them and their strategies really well, because, well, I had time to do that more than I do now.

What Would You Have Wanted To Play?

It’s a fun question to ask. There are so many more board games out there now than when I was a teenager. And I think I could come up with a huge list for it. I only had two campaign games, one pretty standard and one much more complex. But I think if I got into Gloomhaven young enough I’d have started learning and looking at other more complex games.

When I was growing up as a teenager though, the games I played were Catan, Ticket to Ride, and then more classic games like Phase 10, Yahtzee, Skip-Bo, Rummikub and more like that. What games do you think you’d have loved as a teenager?

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Top 5 Board Game Pet Peeves

5. Standees

What, you don’t want grey minis in your game? Standees are better than minis because you get color, let’s go through the hierarchy here.

• Painted Minis
• Acrylic Standees
• Unpainted Minis
• Meeples
• Belly Button Lint
• Pawns
• Standees

I’m talking about those cheap cardboard standees that get jammed into a plastic stand. To store them, you probably need to take them out. Then after you’ve played the game five times the bases are ruins on the cardboard so you need to start putting them in sideways. Then you try figure out if you can play the game with Monopoly pieces, realized you got rid of your copy, and just go straight to belly button lint.

But seriously, they suck, it shows off your artwork in a bad way that looks weird because the the machine can’t cut too closely just in case it’s off slightly. So you got a bulky bit of some color around the outside edge. And yes, they do start to breakdown pretty quickly over time. So stop putting standees in your game.

What, they are the cheapest option, tells me your game is cheap. Why do I want to buy a cheap game that a company won’t put the effort into the pieces. I got no faith that you’ll put the effort into making a good game. And don’t worry, standees aren’t the only thing that tells me your game might not be good. Skip ahead to #1 and see that one as well.

4. Enough Room For Card Sleeves

Yes, I’m going to catch heat for this one. And I’m saying this a bit tongue in cheek. I don’t mind if you put room for sleeves into your box and into your storage solution. In fact, if you want to do that for the sleevers because you’re a deck building game and the cards are the game and get handled a lot, do it. But understand that not everyone sleeves.

So how do you work that balance, give me foam. You aren’t shipping the game sleeved. So all your cards are in one little part of the box. Then if you don’t sleeve the cards are rattle around in the box. That space in the box when you ship it is open, so give me foam in that space. I can cut it down to size, or better yet you’ve planned it out well and it’s about the right amount with just a little wiggle room for the cards.

If you sleeve, you throw it away. If you don’t, you keep it in. It’s the best of both worlds. And while my next one is about not wasting space, this is not a waste of space to account for that.

3. Valley of the Shadow of Death

I’m coming after you with this one Fantasy Flight Games. I love a lot of your games, but your inserts suck. So much so that I generally throw them away. And I get it, this is one I overlap with and I new the reason for this before watching the Quackalope video, you do this to make the game look bigger.

Why does a game need to look bigger? Multiple reasons. Firstly, a larger box means you can maybe sell it for me. You might still sell it cheaply, but a Ticket to Ride size box says $40, even if you don’t get as many components. Also, it stands out on a shelf. When it is a in a bigger box you won’t be as apt to gloss over it.

But make good use of that space if you need to have the larger size. Give me a workable insert, not just some cardboard padding out the side. A spot for the five minis in the game to go and the dice. A well for the tokens once I’ve punched them out. A nice spot for the card. Not some random valley in the middle of the box created by cheap cardboard.

2. No Player Aids

I can’t remember which game this came up in recently for me. I opened it up, I started looking at it, and all I could think was, why isn’t there a player aid. Planet Unknown possibly. And Planet Unknown is a pretty simple game. But it would not be hard to put out a turn order for it. And then the game has 5-10 symbols in it. That’s not a big card, give players a player aid, it won’t take up that much more space on the table.

And your player aid doesn’t need to be the greatest detail. But if you use a symbol and I need to flip to back of the rulebook to look at find that symbol, or heaven forbid in the rulebook, then get a page number and flip to that in the rulebook to get the details, that is player aid thing. And really, if your turns take more than three steps or you have more than three options on a turn, give me a player aid.

Finally, give me enough for the player count. (I remembered the game, Tiny Turbo Cars) But back on topic, if a game plays four players, four player aids. No two player aids. Yes, it might make the production a bit trickier, maybe an extra sheet per game for the cards. If that’s an issue, add more to the player aids. But with Tiny Turbo Cars and Planet Unknown, I might go see if there are player aids on Board Game Geek. That’s not the communities job to make them.

1. NSFW Expansion

If you create one of these for your game it tells me one thing in particular. You don’t have a game. Your goal is to get as close to Cards Against Humanity or whatever party game and make a million dollars. Which, let me just put this out there, you won’t. Cards Against Humanity did and more because it was the first. You are the millionth, you get $1.

But really what it tells me is that you don’t have a good design for a game. The selling point of your game isn’t the game, it’s that you have a not safe for work expansion. It’s that your game is edgy and maybe your base version you can play with grandma, but when you want to get a little edgy and spicy, let’s insult people groups we don’t like. Or make sex jokes because we’re in college. Or make fart jokes because we’re four years old.

Final Thoughts

This is a bit tongue in cheek throughout. Each of them is something that I want to see improved upon, and each of them has exceptions to the rule. Some of them are more annoying than others but easier to overlook than others because it doesn’t inform me as much about how much effort was put into the game.

At the same time, I see a ton of game companies out there creating amazing games that skip or miss all of my pet peeves. So if they can do it, why can’t more. And really, if they can do it as a retail company, it means you’re being cheap.

Yes, there is a desire to keep board games at a good price point. Yes, it can make your game more expensive or cut into your profit margin. But if you can create an experience that doesn’t have frustrations, that will grow the hobby more. A good experience is better for your bottom line and will get your more sales than you game being cheap on a shelf.

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Top 5 Anticipated Video Games of 2023

5. Hogwarts Legacy

I’m interested in this one, though my interesting in Harry Potter stuff is fading some, hence why it’s #5. But it’s an action role playing game, that sounds un to me. I’m hoping that it’s a good combination of some stuff we know, or at least familiar places, and then a lot of new stuff. I dislike it when a game just retreads what we’ve already know. If it’s a new story in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I’m much more interested in that.

4. Starfield

When it’s described as being like “Skyrim in space” I’m interested in it. Though, that’s another game that I need to play more of, Skyrim. But Starfield definitely sounds interesting for that reason. An expansive game where you can explore, so side quests and still have a main mission to do is what I like. Hopefully they give you enough push to keep going on the main quest so that I don’t forget it.

3. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

It’s a Star Wars game, and I do want to play a Star Wars game. But because it is Star Wars, I also want it to be a really strong and interesting game. I don’t want the IP just slapped on something okay. So the last one I heard solid things about but I didn’t jump into that one, yet. I might at some point in time. But if Survivor gets really good reviews, it might be my first Star Wars game beyond Lego Star Wars.

2. OXENFREE II: Lost Signals

Oxenfree is a small indie game where you can compare what you did versus what other people did. It’s not that complex in what it does, but the story it gave was a ton of fun. It reminded me of Stranger Things, Life is Strange, and Locke & Key all rolled into one. So more in that world, I’m definitely interested in what it might be doing.

1. Diablo IV

I’ve had a lot of fun with Diablo III. The initial release was rough for that one as they tried to balance everything. But when I came back to it recently I had a lot of fun with it. It’s one that I should play more of. And more Diablo, a new story and a new game, that sounds like it should be fun again. I like the look grinding that you do and generally just the simple game play, but engaging game play that it offers. It’s like a fantasy Borderlands for me, a lot of fun, and one that’s easy to pick-up or put down when I need to.

Honorable Mention

Honestly, not too many honorable mentions. My interest is limited. If another Power Star Golf game came out I’d be all over that. Or a new Need for Speed, I’ll keep an eye out for something like that.

Street Fighter 6 is up there because I like that type of game. It’s good for sitting down with friends. I haven’t played any of the Legend of Zelda stuff, but I’m sure my wife will be interested in that. Though, she like me often has trouble finding time to play games. So she still needs to do more Breath of the Wild.

Redfall is probably worth an honorable mention for me as well. Protecting a small town or saving a small town from vampires, I’m definitely interested in something like that. Or maybe Baldur’s Gate III just to finally play a Baldur’s Gate game which do look like a lot of fun.

What are you looking forward to playing in 2023?

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5. The Great Library

One of the book series that I’ve read, I’ve talked about this one before. This is a very solid young adult series. I still need to finish up the last book, but the series as a whole works. The basic concept is cool, when the library of Alexandria was burned, it was rebuilt and became the haven for all books. But it was taken to a logical end of protecting books so much that it started to seek to control knowledge.

It is also a nice book that has a diverse cast of characters where you don’t notice it so much. That sounds odd to say, but fairly often in stories authors will like to call out what they are doing. This is integrated into the story in a way that it all makes sense and it flows together with the narrative. And that adds a depth and richness to the story that you don’t get if the author is pointing it out or if the diverseness of the cast of characters isn’t there.

4. Strange Academy

The first of the Marvel series, and this one is an ongoing series. And I somewhat have a soft spot for it because it’s a magical school. There’s one in The Great Library series, and there’s one in the next item on my list. The idea of kids learning that they have magical abilities or how to use them just works.

And here you have a unique cast of characters from Dormammu’s son to some Asgardians and a Frost Giant, and then just normal people. Plus teachers being Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Baron Voodoo and more, it is goofier than some comics, but works for me. And while it’s been more short little stories, I’ve enjoyed that I don’t need to wait as long to find out what is happening.

3. Keeper of the Lost Cities

Another set in a school, and another person who didn’t know they were magical getting sent to a school. Now, they knew they weren’t normal because they were telepathic, but they didn’t know what that meant. And it’s fun because it means that there is a whole other world around/intertwined with ours where magical creatures, elves, gnomes, and more exist.

This reminds me over Harry Potter, though, I think the early book writing is better done. And I think the series, thus far, hasn’t tried to do too much. The scope feels focused and while the world is big, there are a lot of interesting storylines. It isn’t limiting itself to just one story, but a lot of them that I’m sure will eventually come together. And the characters are fun to be around.

2. House of X/Power of X

This might be the top comic for a lot of people in 2020, when it came out. I didn’t get it on Marvel Unlimited until this year, and it’s really good. This is an X-Men or X reboot. It’s now, I believe, just called X. And it’s about Charles Xavier trying to create a utopia where mutants can live and exist outside of the struggles of the world and what it has provided for them.

But of course things don’t work like he expects and there is trial and error. But it’s less of an issue between mutants, he brings all the major players in, but with people as well, with nations. It feels like a side of Xavier that we don’t really see all that often. Him throwing his weight around as a personality and as well as his powers.

1. Secret Invasion

Finally, I read through all of Secret Invasion. I’ve read through the main storyline before, but when you get into the depths of Secret Invasion, there are so many comics. Are they required reading, not really, but it fleshes out the story and world that is being created.

Secret Invasion is one of my favorite storylines with the Skrull infiltrating every part of society, and especially super heroes. And it is fascinating because you are wondering, how is a Skrull. We’re starting to see that get set-up in the MCU and possibly coming up in 2022, late 2022 is my guess, we’ll get a Secret Invasion show. Now not all Skrull are evil, and in the MCU they definitely aren’t, but the question of who is a Skrull is a great on.

So that’s what I’ve read this year. I read some Dr Strange, Fantastic Four, and other comics as well this year. I’ve started on Secret Wars, and I think it was all in 2020, but maybe early 2021 where I read the Age of Apocalypse massive X-Men storyline. And I’m going through Wheel of Time on audiobook, but I’ve done that before.

What is your favorite thing you’ve read this year?

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5. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

This is a slice of life, kind of, isekai anime. It’s a weird one, the basic idea is that a girl gets stuck in a video game, isekai. It’s a secret part of the game, and we have no idea what is happening with her in real life. The world is almost a new game, and she doesn’t know what she is doing. But she has a bear suit that is extremely powerful and extremely adorable. It’s kind of the opposite of fan service for the main character, though there is fan service.

This would be higher on the list, but it falls down with some of the arcs. It’s very slice of life, but there is a whole arc about getting chickens to an orphanage. It isn’t a great arc, but then where it starts out, it starts out strong. If it comes back to adventuring more, I’ll keep watching it. If it’s more chickens, probably not.

4. Edens Zero

This one does have a ton of fan service, and a bunch of reused characters. It’s from the creator of Fairy Tale, and you’d never know because some of the characters look identical and it’s completely absurd. In fact, the whole anime is completely absurd. The main character has grown up on a planet of only robots. And they need to trick him to get him to leave the planet so that he can fulfill his destiny. And there’s this great space being, and space dragons, and it’s a whole thing.

This one has a ton of fan service, so if you’re not okay with that, skip this one. I’m just meh on the fan service, but the story is stupid and fun, it doesn’t try and be serious at all. And I like that about it. There are B-Tubers, basically YouTube celebrities, and planets that have had time rolled back on them, and it’s all in the same universe as a planet where there is a robot amusement park that is defunct.

3. Our Last Crusade or Rise of a New World

Our Last Crusade or Rise of a New World is not my normal type of anime. It is technically a romance anime, but it’s also kind of a political anime or Romeo and Juliet to it as well. The two main characters are on the opposite side of a war that has been going on for generations. And they are very important people to either side. And of course, they fall in love, though, they’ll never admit it.

But they keep on having the unfortunate situation where they are both at the same place at the same time. This is generally in neutral areas, but whenever there is a battle, they’ll be on opposite sides. The whole question of the show is how will these two end the war, and will they ever admit that they are in love (and both survive)?

2. Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town

And the award for longest anime name goes to… well, I’m not typing that out again. This is what it says it is, just a normal kid from a town that guards the last dungeon in this world, it’s a world not a game, decides to move to the starter town. He’s not that special in hiw town and assumes he won’t be here. But of course his power levels are off the charts compared to everyone else.

It’s a good comedy because you have a main character who is self deprecating and too oblivious to everyone around him. It has a bit of a “Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon” vibe to it as well. And it works because the main character is likeable, they can solve everything, but they don’t always do it on their own.

1. Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki

Finally, my number one is an amazing anime. I watched half of this by myself, stopped, and then watched it again and watched it all with my wife. This is a sweet anime about two nerds figuring out how to navigate high school and not just be a nerd who if off to the side and how different they are about it.

Aoi takes Tomozaki under her wings. She’s popular, but she’s the #2 TakFam (think Smash Brothers) in Japan. She finds out that her nerdy classmate who no one talks to and who just hangs out by himself is the #1 player. Aoi doesn’t get how he can put so little effort into the game of life. It’s a fun gamification of high school and to see how they both teach each other.

While I’ve enjoyed the others, Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki is the one that I’d really recommend. I don’t actually have any honorable mentions. I’ve started That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, but not far enough in to say. And that’s the same case with a few others. I have a list of ones that I want to catch up on. What anime did you watch this past year?

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5. Fate: The Winx Saga

This is an odd one for the list. I almost put Lucifer on the list again because the last season is very good. But I wanted to write about a new show. And it came down to this and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Fate: The Winx Saga beat it out.

Fate: The Winx Saga is just that type of over the top mystery and fantasy that I like for some reason. It has some likeable characters and the premise is fun. Why is this girl from the regular world coming to the Winx school? It’s actually going to be a premise of a book I’ll be talking about as well. It’s most definitely overly teen dramatic, but it works for great entertainment. I’d probably not have it on the list, but anime is it’s own category.

4. What If?

Now, of course there is going to be some Marvel on the list, even if The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t make it. What If? is just a fun show. It does ask the questions What If something small had changed and what that would mean for the Marvel Universe.

And each of the episodes is cannon. It is it’s own portion of the Multiverse where something like T’Challa becoming Star-Lord happens instead of Peter Quill, and you get a funny episode. But what if there was a zombie virus? Or what if when Fury was trying to recruit the Avengers they were all killed? Or what If Christine Palmer had died in the accident that led Doctor Strange to magic?

3. Loki

Another Marvel show, Loki was just so much fun. My one knock on the show is that they took the “evil” Loki from after Avengers and quickly got him back to where he was at the end of Ragnarok. It’s a minor quibble with the show though. Loki is a fun romp through time with a great reveal at the end.

And Owen Wilson, I didn’t know I wanted him in the MCU. But I am really glad that he is here. The show shows off the humor that Marvel can do, while creating a look and feel that is just different than any other show. For some people it seemed pointless, but I disagree, I think it set up a whole lot for upcoming Marvel shows and movies.

2. Shadow and Bone

A non-Marvel show, had to be one. But this is a really close #2 behind my #1. Shadow and Bone is a wonderful fantasy series with some really good characters. While Winx was a bit more of a popcorn sort of show, Shadow and Bone crafts a great world and a great story. It makes me want to read the books, but I’m waiting for more of the show.

The characters are really interesting, and the magic in the world is very cool. Just the whole premise seems different than what you see in a lot of fantasy series. But it’s a show that the characters really drive. And an amazing aesthetic to go with everything doesn’t help, but I want to know what happens to the characters next.

1. WandaVision

Final one on my list shouldn’t be a surprise to podcast listeners because I had it as my #4 MCU property overall. I love WandaVision. The story is compelling, and while there were a thousand theories that were spawned and then proven wrong by the show, I really like what the show did. It told a story of Wanda and her grief from everything she’d been through.

And that story was told with some really interesting characters. Beyond that, it was told in a fascinating fashion as Wanda controlled everything as if it were a sitcom, or did she? And we got to see everything travel through decades and different styles. There is something so wonderful about the familiar story that is being told, but in the weird way it is told.

What were your favorite shows of the year? I have a lot I need to catch up on, even just on Netflix. I’m watching through Locke & Key season 2. I have Arcane I want to see and other shows like Sweet Tooth that came earlier in the year that I want to watch and never got to. It is really a situation where there are so many good shows. And like I said, Hawkeye would be on this list were it done and same, most likely, with Wheel of Time that I’ve been really enjoying.

What are your favorite new or new to you shows of 2021?

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5 – Need for Speed

Need For Speed was one of the first gaming franchises that I really took note of. I’d play it on the computer a lot with and it was always a ton of fun. I like how it’s not that complex a racing game, and they have kept that for the most part. Some of them, more recent ones, try and add in too much story or complexity for kitting out your car, making it more like a Fast and the Furious movies than like original Need for Speed, and it just loses something. I want to go and race immediately, not have to drive around to find the next event, hope it’s a type that I have my car kit ready for. But the game is just a classic at this point, and some of them, Hot Pursuit 2 in particular are just awesome.

4 – Mario Kart

Needless to say, I like racing games. This goes back to what I said in the open, I like games that aren’t going to take multiple sessions that are hours long to play. I can sit down with a group of friends and knock out a Mario Kart tournament in a few minutes, and that has a group of people with it. I like Mario Kart slightly better than Need for Speed because while both are fun, Mario Kart can be more social, and while Need for Speed isn’t highly realistic in damage to your car or it blowing up, Mario Kart is less so, which just makes it that much more fun.

3 – Tales from the Borderlands

This is a kind of bigger game, but mainly it’s a kind of silly game. I love the Borderlands franchise and this is obviously completely different than those looter/shooters, but it is still a blast. Tales from the Borderlands tells a good story set in that world, and even ties into the 3rd (4th) Borderlands game. It does a good job of keeping the humor and tells what is a very traditional Borderlands story in a condensed and faster game play. I like that I can pick my story decisions and make changes to the world because of them. It’s not all amazing because there are some quick time events that are just annoying and feel like they are there so you, as the player feel like you’re doing something, if it’s been a bit between choices, but generally, like I said, just annoying. Great story overall though, and a lot of good choices.

2 – Borderlands Series

Next up we have the whole of the Borderlands series, Borderlands, Borderlands: The Pre-sequel, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3. These are just fun looter shooter games. This is a bigger series of games, and the 3rd one has been harder to get through because I just don’t have the time to sit down and play a ton, but I do really like that they are couch co-op and not that difficult to play. They give you a good silly time as you run around, blow up monsters, get crazy guns, blow up bandits, blow up bad guys, get more guns, and did I mention blowing stuff up with guns? That’s basically what the series is about, and the silly humor that it has to go along with it. Such a good time and easy to get into without having to be that good at the game, you can always just go do something else, shoot and blow up something else, and come back when you’re at the right level.

1 – Dragon Age: Origins

Finally, Dragon Age: Origins. I do like the 2nd one as well, but the 3rd one lost me a bit for a few reasons. What I like so much about Dragon Age: Origins is that it’s an “open world” game. By that I mean that you can do stuff in different orders, and explore different sections, but it is a pretty limited open world game. You can’t just wander off in a direction to see what is there, you’ll run up against how far you can go pretty quickly. And you can’t just randomly stumble into a late game quest. This is just an interesting story of a game that is told while giving you a lot of choices but you kind of work in quest batches that you can pick the order of but will always end up at the same ending spot. Now that might seem like your choices don’t matter, they do, some, but the dragon must be slayed no matter what.

Those are some of the top ones for me, a few that just missed the list would be Powerstar Golf, probably my most played game, because I can sit down and play it so fast, and couch co-op. Jazz Jackrabbit, Alpha Centauri and Tony LaRussa Baseball which I grew up with. 1943, a top scrolling flying game, and then stuff like Mortal Kombat and Super Mario, that I can play, but are easy to pick-up and set down.

What are some of your favorite games, with my taste, what games should I checkout?

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5 – Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

This Douglas Adams work is just fun and while I love to get transported into big worlds, sometimes it’s nice to just get thrown into a small and silly world, which is kind of what Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is. Sure, it’s the whole galaxy, but we don’t need to know everything about it, so we don’t. This book is very absurd and silly with a lot of great British humor in it. Douglas Adams does a wonderful job of making all the humor work in my opinion and keep the story moving along as well, which isn’t something that can be said for a lot of comedy where it’ll stop and pause on a joke or an absurd moment.

4 – The Reckoners

Not the only Brandon Sanderson that you’ll see on the list, The Reckoners is a super power story, but everyone with super powers is bad. The main character wants to join a group known as The Reckoners in order to take down one of the villains in particular who had killed his father. Can he find the Reckoners, convince them to let him join and become part of their group? This is a young adult series, but really well written. I’m not always a big fan of bad super powered people, something like The Watchmen and The Boys don’t interest me that much as their current shows, but Brandon Sanderson weaves a really good story with that as a backdrop to it. I think that this story works well for both kids and adults as well, as I didn’t read it until I was out of college and I still really enjoyed it.

3 – IT

I like Stephen Kings work a lot. And IT is probably about the most iconic thing that he’s done. There are others, Carrie and Misery are two that come to mind that would be up there as well. But in terms of the one that I like the best, it is IT. One thing I love about Stephen King is that he does a wonderful job creating two types of characters. The first is the protagonists who have their flaws, they are good, but not perfect people by any mean, and sometimes have some very big flaws. And then he also creates amazing bad guys as well, obviously in IT there is Pennywise, but Henry as well is a great bad guy who doesn’t have redeeming qualities, while King’s good guys might be shades of grey, his bad guys are all bad. I also like that IT lands the ending pretty well. Sometimes Stephen King’s books just kind of fizzle out, but IT is strong through the whole of the book. Including the ending.

2 – Stormlight Archive

I have the newest book in this series just waiting for me to read it. Stormlight Archive is an epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson that just tells and weaves together such an interesting story. There are a lot of moving parts, but they come together really well. And like you’ve probably notices already, I like flawed characters, but I also like how this series has some characters that are paragons of good or honor. It doesn’t mean that they are perfect, but they hold themselves to such a standard that they strive to be. I also like that this book doesn’t shy away from being what it is, a truly massive and epic story. The audio books are 50 hours, and it feels like there’s no wasted space, unlike some epic fantasy series (cough cough Wheel of Time cough cough).

1 – Dresden Files

Such a great series, I talk about it all the time, but with the new books, it’s still the same. I do have a slight knock on the new books, it really feels like it should have been a single book, but it was getting too long for what would be considered a normal Dresden book length so it was split into two. The first of the two books is still great, but it feels almost like the first act for the second book. That said, I love Harry Dresden and the series and how Jim Butcher manages to create such an engaging world and characters with depth. I think he does a great job creating flawed characters who grow and change, and get new flaws over time, or sometimes who know they have a flaw and will still refuse to work on it it. Yes, these are pulpy summer reading books, but there is so much more going on than that as well.

Those are my Top 5, and writing about them really makes me want to dive into all of them again. Thankfully I have done Dresden Files book that I need to read still and the next book in the Stormlight Archive. And as always, I do have some honorable mentions.

Daughter of Smoke and Bones
Stardust
Harry Potter
Wheel of Time

What are some of your favorite books or series? What epic fantasy should I checkout next, I do need to get back to the Runelords series.

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5 – Umbrella Academy Season 2

This is a really good show. I have liked both seasons quite well, I think that the second season is the better season of the two as it is more consistent across the board. All of the stories work well for the characters and it goes deep on issues during the time period they were in and that still linger today. However, it isn’t higher on my list, because I feel like season 1 has higher highs, more memorable moments. In season 2, it is more consistent and good across the board, but the standout moments feel like they are are lacking to me. With that said, I’m ready for Season 3 to come out because it’s a really good show.

4 – Ragnarok

This one was kind of a surprise for me. I thought that the premise looked interesting, kind of a Norse mythology set in modern times and I’ve had solid luck with the European shows on Netflix like The Rain and Dark. This was a very good show. The plot line was interesting throughout all of it, and while not all of the twists were shocking, some of them were very well done. And the story just felt like it had a lot of heart to it that you don’t always get in shows. It’s a short series but it leaves you feeling like they’ve wrapped it up in a solid spot, but also that you could see more story ready to be told.

3 – The Order Season 2

The Order was one of my favorite shows from 2019, so I was glad that it was getting a second season. I will say, I’m not sure that the second season quite lives up to the first season. I think that the plot doesn’t have as focused a bad guy as the first one does. But you still get all sorts of good moments and funny moments in it. Jack Morton is still somehow likeable and unlikeable all that the same time, and the Knights of St Christopher are still a lot of fun in this season. I think that it gets bogged down in trying to play too much with a middle ground and too much with Jack and Alyssa when it would have been better served keeping some of it’s wonder. Overall, really fun still and really such a B movie style for the plot still.

2 – Lucifer

A show that’s been around for a while, but Netflix kept recommending that we check it out, and clearly, I’m glad that I did. Tom Ellis is amazing in this show as Lucifer, and while the theology is all over the place, no one is watching it for that. They are watching it for a snarky Lucifer and his long suffering partner as they solve crimes. There is so much going on throughout the seasons, and all of them are really good. And there’s more of it coming, which is nice. Netflix got this after Fox dropped it, so there is still fun story to tell with a lot of really good characters in it. This would be just another procedural show if it wasn’t for how good the characters are in the show.

1 – Locke & Key

Finally, we have Locke & Key, and I feel like I’m about ready for a rewatch of this. This is one of my favorite shows of all time. It is a young adult show, kind of, but it is more than that, as it delves into a really weird and unique world where there is a magical door and magical keys that can do all sorts of crazy things, however, not everyone wants to use them for good, nor is everything around them good. I feel like they did a very good job of adapting what isn’t a YA comic book into a YA show while still keeping a lot of the sense of whimsy, almost, that comes from the keys in the show and still even keeping some of the horror along with it, it is just tamed down a little bit. Again, a show that really gets it’s casting right and the character development right.

So yes, I was able to come up with five shows, and I realize there are even more. The second season of Disenchanted came out this year, and I watched The Dragon Prince, plus shows like Another Life, Nightflyers, The Witcher, Agents of SHIELD, and Into The Badlands were ones that I watched this year as well, so I had plenty to choose from, could have even done a top 10. But I really like those top 5 and would highly recommend all of them.

What are some of the best new to you shows from 2020 (doesn’t have to be released in 2020, just that you’ve watched for the first time this year)?

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