My normal taste in games leans towards arcade and action, but this year has been one where the extra focus to hone in on pinpoint-perfect reflexes just hasn't been as available as I'd like. Instead I've been taking it easy, using gaming as a way to relax and escape into a more manageable world. The game that I'm thankful for this year is SnowRunner, which doesn't have an enemy anywhere in the whole world but instead requires the player to use its tools to complete a huge series of jobs across hostile terrain. While sorting out the controls takes some effort, once learned there are a huge amount of tools available to tackle even the roughest wilderness. Mountain tracks carved by streams, muddy bogs, rivers frozen solid and snowdrifts that even the highest-traction tires can't get a grip on all stand in the way of delivering Cargo to Place. You can tackle the challenges with brute force, careful plotting of the optimal route or relying on the winch to basically drag the truck to the goal, but there's always a way if you're patient enough. Few events are timed and just about everything is optional if you decide that a particular job feels like a bit much. There's pressure in navigating the tougher areas, of course, but otherwise SnowRunner is a game of choosing a task and { tackling it however you like, driving across the beauty of a wilderness that's just barely been touched by humans. It's challenging, sure, but also relaxing and satisfying, and I'm thankful there are games that let me unwind into a simpler, more-focused world.
While there have been plenty of excellent releases this year, it’s still Persona 5: Royal that I’m most thankful for. The changes and additions it made to an already-awesome game all felt natural, as if they were meant to be there all along. Getting to know Kasumi and Maruki was just as interesting as developing friendships with the other characters. The combat was wonderfully spiced-up and the extra endings let me play out a couple of „what-if“ scenarios that’d been bouncing around in my head ever since I finished the original in 2017. It also helped that this came during a big move for me, so it was nice to have a good mix of old and new to help take my mind off it and ease the transition. There may be better games out there, but Persona 5: Royal is hands-down my highlight of 2020 thus far.
While there's a period around ten hours in where the showering of XP, resources and crafting material shrinks to that of a trickle, credit where credit's due. Genshin Impact is not as predatory or as manipulative with progression as this kind of business model may allude towards. Yes, that's not to say that the meager doling out of Primagems (one of the many form of currencies) doesn't eventually devolve from dismissive, to a touch annoying, to downright aggravating. Not least because in-game achievements and challenges also suffer from this same deliberate smidgen of an offering. So little in the way of crucial currency; obviously it's an attempt to further coax players to the in-game shop where everything, including the potential pull of a four-star (maybe even five-star) weapon or new character dangles in front of you. Another ten pulls and you're sure to get it this time.
Diona being a Cryo healer and shielder naturally points to her supporting a Cryo team. Cryo Resonance is extremely strong, providing your team with a 15 percent bonus Crit Rate when attacking an enemy that is Frozen or affected by Cryo. Moreover, every other Cryo character in the game is built as a damage dealer who often needs someone to buff and protect them, which is where Diona comes
(Image: http://www.imageafter.com/image.php?image=b1ground002.jpg&dl=1)Maxed out, the Engulfing Lightning gives Thoma 110 percent Attack boost, which again reinforces his strength in battle, and helps make him effective as either a support role on the team , or the main source of
Though the complexity of physical combat isn't entirely deep, it's the tactical side of things where most of the focus is placed. The continuous push for elemental buffs and certain status ailments on your enemies, made possible when you combine two or more elements in a given situation. Come across foes that are comprised of ice? Best to rid their armor with a character specializing in fire abilities, but not before having that interact with wind and topping it off with a clash of an electric super move that causes you to chain together damage to nearby enemies. While you can mostly get by simply throwing everything but the kitchen sink at things, later on the game does require players to think more strategically about the kind of elemental properties they want to wield. More importantly, when it might be best to use specific abilities – some running on a cool-down, others requiring a slightly lengthier charge up. But even at its most basic level, when taking out the elemental mechanics and the desire to multiply one's damage output, there's a simple pleasure in seeing your character hack-and-slash away. A more satisfying sight when such encounters have you surrounded on all fronts – some enemies even trying to stay back so as to unleash their own area-of-effect or elemental-based ailments.