🏆 Rivals of Aether (Aether Studios, 2017) - It's like Smash, but they took out shielding, grabs, and ledges, so now you have to parry and wall jump instead. Getting better at this game over the past year was like going on a journey. I gotta give props to the original over 2...for now.

🥈 Rivals of Aether II (Aether Studios, 2024) - The Smash clone. It's good. It's very good. It's not number 1 good, but it's getting constant updates and I think it'll really reach its true potential over the next few years if it gets the continual love and support the devs say they plan to put in.

🥉 Pseudoregalia (rittzler, 2023) - Now this is what I call a Metroidvania. Crazy movement options, a neat low-poly aesthetic, and a liminal space of a world that you can just run around and parkour in as much as you want for about 8 hours.

4. OneShot (Future Cat, 2016) - Any description I could give would either not do it justice or spoil the heartrending story the devs managed to craft. So I'll just tell you to play it for yourself. An upgraded version with Steam Deck support just came out(like two months after I played it)!

5. Undertale Yellow (Team Undertale Yellow, 2023) - Somehow this fangame managed to capture the magic of Undertale and distill it into a side story with great original characters, bopping tunes, unique battles, and an interesting new story back in Toby Fox's classic world of the Underground.

6. Lone Fungus (Basti Games, 2023) - With a classic, sprawling map with powerups galore, cool movement options that build on each other, and devious hidden challenges, this little hidden Metroidvania doesn't overstay its welcome at around 15-20 hours.

7. Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain (Extremely OK Games, 2024) - There weren't many games I played that scratched the "super hard platformer" itch in 2024, so this game that came out early in the year was a much-needed burst of fun, exploration, and some Mario 64/Sunshine nostalgia. Strawb get!

8. Wario Land II (Nintendo, 1998) - Okay, maybe it's the nostalgia talking, but I really love this game. I can't forgive all of the frustrating design decisions that went along with making Wario invincible, but bashing through walls to find hidden caches of coins never gets old.

9. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (Toys For Bob, 2021) - It managed to really capture and modernize some of the essence from the first three classic PS1 games. But...I'm not gonna play through the same level 3 times except it's got a stupid insta filter over it now for 100%! Horrible padding.

More on my top 10!

10. Spin Rhythm XD (Super Spin Digital, 2023) - I love rhythm games and this one is a super challenging addition that gives me an excuse to use my trackball mouse. I'm still working on trying to figure everything out so I can even play the hardest difficulty consistently!

again i should mention i don't think TOTK is a bad game at all, I just didn't personally enjoy it