First Impressions
CJ is player, genre is puzzle, flag is win.
Baba is You
Phil: "I can't get very far into it yet either, but man I am having a blast going through it just exploring... the controls are so great, it looks beautiful, the variety of weapons that you can get is outstanding... ...and we've talked about this on the show before where it's kind of a randomly-generated Metroid/Castlevania style game..."
Dead Cells
You all dug this indie gem of a game that draws inspiration from Zelda 2, Megaman, Super Mario 3, Castlevania, et. al.
Shovel Knight
"A Canadian developed game!" -Chris Johnston
"Not just Canadian, specifically Halifax!" -Greg Sewart
"The fact that one guy made it, is pretty impressive."
-Greg Sewart
Tunic
Despite a Wikipedia description that reads to Greg "like Kryptonite", this game drew him in and was in his top 5 for the year after only a few hours of playing it.
Balatro
Greg took umbrage with CJ's initial description of this addictive game as a "bullet hell"
Vampire Survivors
While typically compared with a different game in the genre, Greg likened the difficulty sliders in this turn-based strategy game to the option to turn off perma-death in more recent Fire Emblems.
Wargroove
"It's quite a long story, not quite a long game... ...60 people to figure out... ...I can't put it down, I want to stop the show and go play it." -Greg Sewart
Return of the Obra Dinn
CJ was impressed with the HD rumble and clever writing in this indie hit that concatenates 2 unlikely games into a mashup on par with other early Nindie greats.
Golf Story
CJ was a big fan of this puzzle game that released first on Apple Arcade featuring a "little blue warrior guy"
Grindstone
CJ to Phil "It is a precision platformer, like Meatboy, but I just feel like this is a little more fair and cohesive than Meatboy was. But you're right, it is a punishing platformer in the same vein."
Celeste
"It's really really fun...In still images it kinda looks like every other sorta slapdash indie platformer that's come out... It doesn't look like anything special... the video does a much better job of selling the mechanics" -Phil Theobald
"They should have called this dung hole-in-one"
-Chris Johnston
Yoku's Island Express
Play as a janitor in this colorful(?) adventure game that is "charming as heck" according to Phil.
Chicory
In the annals of P1P lore, this is indisputably a Phil game but alas, CJ was the first to mention this game on the pod which prompted Phil to quip "That is my favorite Star Wars game!"
Rogue Legacy
Much like a certain Italian blue cheese, this puzzle game was hard for Phil to describe on the pod leading CJ to suggest "just say it's like 'Mario's Picross'." (It is not very much like Mario's Picross at all)
Gorogoa
"I don't like it as much as the internet likes it".
-Chris Johnston
"The art style smacked me as a little too 'Hot Topic' for my taste." -Phil Theobald
"It's an interesting reference to the available titles on the PS4; sort of giving you this morsel." -Mike Phillips
Don't Starve
Following a recommendation from Scoop Joey, Greg completed this short puzzle platformer that he described as "chill", "relaxing", "so pretty", and having a "very intuitive" flow.
Gris
Across multiple episodes of the pod, Greg said he could not put this game down. Lauding the game's progression, and its 90s vibes, Greg included it on his top 5 games list that year.
Arcade Paradise
"It's like Sea of Thieves in space!" says you-know-who, and Greg thought it looked like No Man's Sky, but I didn't hear any of the P1P crew compare this game to Majora's Mask or Deathloop.
Outer Wilds
"It felt really grand in the first 2 hours..." -Greg Sewart
"They definitely bring things down at the beginning..." –CJ Johnston
"Dropping a soaking wet towel on a hotel floor. Just a big splat–that's how the ending felt to me." -Phil Theobald
Firewatch