NieR: Machines. Best RPGs available on GamePass in 2022
Table of Contents
- Release year: 2017
- Developer: PlatinumGames
NieR: Automata is one of those games that are extremely difficult to write about. And this is not because its quality isn't there, but because of the unpredictability of the plot and the fact that for most of the gameplay, it effectively escapes the genre's clichés. It is a times a classic RPG, a times a jRPG, sometimes a slasher, and sometimes a melancholic exploration game. Some technical decisions can be associated with the solutions used in modern adventure games.
The plot gains a new layer with each fragment of the story that's gradually revealed. A bit like a big matryoshka doll hiding a medium that you can unpack for quite a while.I'm not sure how many different levels are there once you strip NieR: Automaton down to its prime factors. Definitely more than in any other RPG on this list (even Tides of Numenera).
To a large extent, that's thanks to Keiichi Okabe's music. He managed to compose a soundtrack which, together with the scenery of an abandoned city, worked like an inseparable whole. Importantly, this happens already at the beginning of the game, when 2B is knocking down enemies or wandering around the military base. And then later, when things get much more complicated.
Darkest Dungeon
- Release year: 2016
- Developer: Red Hook Studios
Before the release, almost no one believed in the success of the game, released by a small Canadian studio, Red Hook. Nevertheless, Darkest Dungeon instantly won the hearts of players around the world. Roguelike mechanics, simple character designs and animations made the Kickstarted game not very accessible to a wider audience, but the amazing atmosphere, high level of difficulty and the sensational narration of Wayne June made DD a hit in 2016. And this was still just the beginning of a journey into the depths of the Darkest Dungeon.
The Canadians did not stop after the release, developing it over the next 5 years. During this time, three great expansions were released. The first of them was Crimson Court, adding to the game an even more atmospheric and story-oriented region. There you could deal with figuratively corrupted and quite literally courtiers, drinking the blood of heroes and spreading a crimson curse. Colors of Madness took us on a journey through some crazy dimensions on a cursed farm (and yes, it's the most Lovecraftian of the locations), and The Butcher's Circus allowed us to compete with other players.
But that's still not all that Red Hook has delighted the world with. Some time after the release, the engine was optimized so that adding mods became as easy as in the case of Skyrim. On Nexusmods, there are only a handful of games that have more mods: those from Bethesda and CD Projekt, the biggest of the single-player RPG games, and a single indie game, Stardew Valley. Importantly, most of them are not cosmetic changes at all. I myself managed to create a new region and several new character classes. And you know what? I had almost as much fun with it as I did with playing.
