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Happy 2026! A new year means it’s time for a new thread of all the games I beat this year! I love tracking this in real time as I go. Feel free to follow along! You can also follow my progress over on my podcast’s Patreon if you prefer: www.patreon.com/posts/147431...

1. Ristar - 3 hrs I had always been curious about this & never got around to playing but I'm so glad. Excellent 2D grapple platformer where you grab ledges, enemies, bosses, everything. Gorgeous expressive sprites with some truly unique world design. Music by Tomoko Sasaki was top notch as well.

2. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - 15 hrs 9 min Narratively this is a mixed bag. Mechanically however it's excellent. It's the Metroid Prime combat you know with some new abilities & twists. The exploration & puzzles were fun. The open world ultimately felt unnecessary. Music was top notch as always.

4. Marvel Cosmic Invasion - 3 hrs The folks over at @tributegames.com never miss but this might be my favorite beat 'em up I've ever played. Character variety is excellent. The pixel art & level design is top notch. Easter eggs abound for Marvel fans. A killer 16 bit inspired OST. So fun to play.

Phyla is so damn fun to play as. I’m excited to see where they might take this game in the future, knowing Dotemu and Tribute’s penchant for DLC characters and new game modes

5. Hollow Knight: Silksong - 31 hrs 37 min I mean what else is there to say. I mainlined this game over two weeks. It's all I played till I was done. Incredible world building. Memorable characters. Incredible exploration. Tight & precise platforming & combat. Visually stunning. Phenomenal music.

>me, rolling act 2 credits at almost exactly 90 hours

6. Metal Gear Solid - 12 hrs 15 min Boy my assumptions about this were wrong. I loved it. The camp. The drama. The story. The music. Perfect. Was the writing bad sometimes. Were the boss fights terrible. Were the shooting controls awful. Yes. Did that ruin my good time. Nope. I really enjoyed this.

Another day, another Matt game added to my wishlist. Is there no respite!

Music to my ears. Just wait till you see my full length review 😈

At least I can’t add it to my wishlist twice! Right?