It's a party and you're all invited! Aaron might have not received an invitation by mail, but he's got front row seats to repeatedly die for!

Previous The Sexy Brutale Experience

• Skimmed over reviews from Destructoid and The Jimquistion the day before release.

Initial Expectations, Hopes, Dreams, Fears

• I liked the art design.
• The idea of a story-drive time puzzler intrigued me.
• Would it require perfect timing and become frustrating?
• How smug would the characters/world be, similar to Braid?

What actually happened

Much like the confused masked protagonist who awakens in the middle of a decorated room at noon on a seemingly random Saturday, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from The Sexy Brutale. A strange and oozing woman entered the room and began to explain my abilities to me. Restarting the day at noon. Listening to my surroundings. Leering through keyholes like the literal creeper that I was. That's how I was taught to watch the first victim get shot to death. Back to noon.

The second time, I had a mission. Figure out how to save the victim's life without directly and physically interfering with him or his killer, lest the masks that they were wearing magically levitate off their heads and murder me. Not waiting to try out this "mask death", I listened and peeped my way from room to room until I came upon the murder weapon. Let me just take this gun before the killer does. Seems like the right thing to do. I realize the rifle is bolted down and I've apparently been skipping arm day at the gym. The victim bites the bullet again. Back to noon.

This time, I follow the victim's routine and pocket a blank round that falls from the safe he searches. I insert the blank into the secured rifle with ease and await the attempted murder. The trigger is pulled with a piddly pop, leaving the killer confused and having to ready the real bullet. The victim chucks a candlestick from across the room, knocking the killer out cold. I may not know who the man I just saved was, but I'm feeling pretty good. I'm rewarded with a very important power, then surprise. Back to noon.

Will I keep playing?

More accurately, I've already played it again and completed the story! The Sexy Brutale is a well-crafted experience that put its hooks into me after the first stream and encouraged me to finish what I started.

While the game takes place entirely inside the confines of a mansion with attached casino, becoming increasingly familiar with the layout is necessary to solving the puzzles within it. There are some collectibles I missed and some stones left unturned, but something tells me I'll be visiting the walls of The Sexy Brutale again.

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One of the benefits to growing up in small towns in the midwest is that you don't have to drive very far to get away from it all. When I was stressed out, I used to just pick a direction and a new CD and drive until the album was done (gas was a bit cheaper, then, too). I'd come back feeling like a new person and ready to focus on whatever was in front of me.

Every time Mad Max frustrated me or even made me bored, I could just get in the car and drive... and rip the doors off of other cars to throw the driver out into the wasteland so that he lands just in time to see his ride blow up in a magnificent fiery bloom. Mad Max has the mindless escapism that has kept me coming back to video games for decades. At its best its as fun as anything I've ever played. I'd say the good times are worth remembering, except all I care about when I play Mad Max is making the next one more satisfying. Thanks for a few moments of peace, Mad Max.

Stay tuned for more Games of 2015 this month as we build towards The 2015 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

We've all be coddled by the maturation of various game genres which makes the nostalgic design choices in games like Castle in the Darkness so damn interesting. Older games made a lot of their design choices based on technological limitations. When those limits are gone it is fair to question why some old school tropes are brought back while others are improved upon.

I got lost in Castle in the Darkness in more ways that one. Take away my map and suddenly I'm not quite as adventurous as I thought I was. The branching paths are subtle at first, as I didn't necessarily realize that I was diverging from my original objective until I was confronted by impassable objects or brutally difficult enemies. Castle in the Darkness teaches you the risks of exploring beyond your means. This also means for better and for worse that you will spend a lot of time back tracking as you figure out the correct path to use to make progress. However, getting lost is important for you to know what to come back for once you have the skills you need. Normally, if I had a map I could see exactly where I should stop before turning around, but I found myself exploring a bit further just to find landmarks to make note of for when I was ready to return.

As I was lost, it gave me a lot of time to appreciate how Castle in the Darkness's world comes together. I barely had the energy to worry about where I was going and if I was lost because the moment to moment platforming and combat required my focus and attention. The last thing I wanted to do was figure out the next step in my adventure but not have enough health to survive it or make it to that next save point. Usually, I want to rush through adventures like these as fast as possible so I can get to the next cool moment, but every step in Castle in the Darkness encourages you to play on the screen you are on instead of worrying about screens that may as well be miles away. Thanks, Castle in the Darkness for making me appreciate purposeful pixels again.

Stay tuned for more Games of 2015 this month as we build towards The 2015 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

We get it, games can go hard again. I couldn't be happier that difficult games come in all kinds of flavors these days, but Titan Souls stepped onto the scene quietly and asked all of us, "But can you beat me with one arrow?" Huh. I never thought about that before. 12 year-old Justin would have dominated that challenge while 33 year-old Justin meekly replied, "I'll try..."

The gauntlet being thrown down got me to hit the start button, but then Titan Souls got even cockier and took away the minions so I just had to fight bosses. The Titans themselves are some of my favorite puzzles of the year, and beat me the hell down. I wasn't frustrated though because I just wanted to hug the game and call the Titans, Colossuses, before throwing them in my pocket forever as my new buddies.

In between beatdowns, I was surprised to find how immersive this pixel world really was. This could have very easily been a single gimmick game, but there's a lot of heart to Titan Souls that ties everything together from its soundtrack down to the nuanced controls of firing the single arrow. Thanks for not taking it easy on me, Titan Souls. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Others Agree This was a Game of 2015

Aaron McNeal - "I figured I had merely gone into retirement from games all about big boss beatings since the days of Shadow of the Colossus, but Titan Souls was a call to get off the couch and keep on slaying giants like I was popping Pringles. It was about the 20th death by a man-murdering plant that I realized I had grown soft after years of what can only be described as mobile game conditioning. Yeah, I blame match-three games and shit. At least battles look cool when you're losing them."

Stay tuned for more Games of 2015 this month as we build towards The 2015 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

I actually don't know how Galak-Z ended up on my list of games that I ignored all details about before release, but it just made my jaw go through more floors with each layer I peeled away in its design.

You are immediately hit by the 80's anime presentation that is so well done it's almost unnecessary. As in, it goes so far above and beyond you can't help but be thankful for its existence. I really felt like I was playing episodes of my new favorite space adventure show.

Then, the genres hit you - arcade shooter, roguelike, metroidvania. It shouldn't work, but it does. Once your head stops spinning to grasp how seamless the whole experience is you start to realize that Galak-Z is kicking your ass.

I've never been so intimidated by a cartoon. I also couldn't look away or pry my hands off my controller. Maybe it was the vocal antagonizing of my enemies or my heart rate increasing as I tried to remain as still as possible as a patrol passed by. Galak-Z deceptively hides its depth and intensity, but I can't forget what I've seen. Thanks for burning my brain, Galak-Z.

Stay tuned for more Games of 2015 this month as we build towards The 2015 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

Lust doesn't cut it, but whatever the best word for that raw, dirty, and instantaneous form of love is the only one that can describe how I felt the first time I saw a screenshot of Axiom Verge. The connection I have to it is primal and impales the core of why I play games. Axiom Verge just feels good in my bones. It's all in the details, and having a glitch gun chunk up those pretty pixels as well as those chip sounds made me stop to catch my breath more than once.

That's enough nostalgia porn. Axiom Verge doesn't get by on its familiarity alone as that only appeals to sociopaths like myself. This game is smart, it knows its roots, and it isn't afraid to rip em out and turn 'em upside down. I don't guess when it comes to 2D character action-adventure platformers (Metroidvanias, I'll say it), but Axiom Verge was unpredictable in the best ways possible. I would try to go where I wasn't supposed to in an attempt to break the game, and Axiom Verge would laugh at me to let me know that's exactly what I was supposed to be doing. Every power-up and every new weapon contains a surprising twist that is essentially to finishing objectives and discovering hidden areas. A drone gun? Of course, there's a drone gun. Why hasn't there been a drone gun in a game like this before?

It may not be easy to play or even to look at for some players, but Axiom Verge is unapologetic in its design and unforgettable in its execution. Thanks, Thomas Happ. You're crazy for doing this alone, and I'm thankful Axiom Verge had its way with me.

Stay tuned for more Games of 2015 this month as we build towards The 2015 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.