I’ve run out of clever award names, but I want to make sure this gets in as the last of my Top Pickz for the year. Consider it the “wild card” spot. It was such a nice surprise to play through it and be so consistently entertained.

It’s also been the most inspiring to me to track down other games in the series, at least the ones in the exploration-based “Metroidvania” genre. I’m certainly no design expert, but there was never a dull moment playing this. Exploring, finding upgrades, collecting abilities, it was such a good experience. The character-switching Julius Mode was a great extra, too.