It's a strange thing "aging out"
This year, I decided to change my approach to games - because I recognized the futility of scrolling a 300+ games Steam library or Game Pass on the Xbox to not find something that popped out to me. The ridiculousness of launching Baldurs Gate 3 for the dozenth time and being an hour and a half in the character creation screen frozen with indecision on what I was going to play, what was the right choice. All of this was a love loss, a joy of expression and passage of time that went from "Where did the time go?!" to "I guess I've got an hour to kill"
It's true, with age comes responsibilities, and this isn't Grade 5 when I got my hands on a "Greatest Hits" copy of Metal Gear Solid for the PS1. It also isn't middle school, staying up all night playing SOCOM US Navy seals online with my best friend. My oldest is older than I was when I got that copy of MGS1, I've got boring obligations like a mortage, a car payment - and emotionally fulfilling responsibilities like being a present father and husband. This year I decided I was done chasing what was in my ever expanding games library of untouched never played "one day I'll get to them" games. What changed? Then I considered it more of "What was I expecting" from games. When I had that unrealistic expectation that each game was going to be a pillar or impactful game, suddenly everything felt watered down or superficial. It's like a child who's eaten his candy bar asking for more, and is disappointed when you give them fruits. You can't expect every game to be a candy bar, and if you go into every game expecting it to be a candy bar, you'll be disappointed when it's a carrot stick.
Instead of playing a game to chase something, I decided I'd start playing games I'd never consider or search for, and just play them. For a few bucks on Steam "There are gems to be found".
I started with 1000XResist. As a Canadian, I had heard of this game as it's a Canadian dev team that made it, but had no concept of what to expect. The art style didn't look like my type, and well - I just bought it and started it up. Next thing I knew, eight hours had gone by, I was done the game and I was floored by it. It's not a "masterpiece", or an instant classic, but it was something special.
To the Moon was next - again, there was a time in the 90's I would have been all over pixel art JRPG style games, but the over saturation of that era (not to mention the absolute bangers) has made me dismiss just about any of these games. This game gutted me in a good way. Another short breeze of a playthrough, once again not a "masterpiece" but it was another special experience. That was 2/2
My partner and I then decided (we often will game together) to just dive into Baldur's Gate 3 and not worry about min/max efficiency. Just "play the game". We had an absolute blast and truly it's a great game. Not on my mount Rushmore, but I fully understand why it will be on someone else's. I just can't "replay" games for deviated dialogues, and I'm not a role-player type. Great experience playing, great fun all around. 3/3
Then was a test, something I was dreading and avoiding. Don't ask me how, I'm just good at ignoring hype/discussions on games but I purchased the PC release of The Last of Us Part 2. The first, is most definitely on my Rushmore and my gut told me there's no way that a sequel could surpass that experience. I was also wise enough to steer clear of the TV adaptation. Well - to say the least, I understand why the game caused as much controversy as it has, and when the credits ran I was struck with this "unsatisfied" and unhappy resolution. I honestly wasn't sure what to make of that, and my initial thought was that I wasn't sure if I liked it. But that evening I digested it, pondered it and the next morning recognized that what I was feeling was that same uncomfortable feeling and lack of a "bowtie finish". The subversive and discouragement that the first game made me feel. A masterpiece this time? No, not really - but I do feel like it was a great game. 4/4
While I was playing TLOU:2, my girlfriend had purchased and was trying to get me to play Clair Obscur Expedition 33. I avoided any watching of it, or listening to things as 1) I wasn't sure I'd even want to play it and 2) I hate spoilers. When I was done my Last of Us playthrough, I debated whether I wanted to boot this up, and purchased it on Steam. I played the "intro" and was still relatively uncertain. Given the hype, there was some jank in the animations, and some of the voicework really wasn't great. Especially Charlie Cox. (In hindsight, makes sense). Then the real start the of the game began and I was hook line and sinker. The whole story, the world and the ending were fantastic. Truly, the ending and the overall message conveyed throughout was profound in terms of how close it hit to home personally. While yes, some of the "surprises" were not at all a surprise to me, there were some not so subtle references; the implication was amazing. It's now on my Rushmore list. 5/5
It's a commitment to want to sink 40-70+ hours into a game with uncertainty, and truly I don't always feel like it. So there's always been "comfort" games like Rust (4000+ hours) I can go back to mess around with. But I also started searching for simpler games to kill time with and discovered Roguelikes this year.
Vampire Survivor
Inscryption
Dead Cells
Hades
Hades 2
Slay the Spire
Monster Train
Monster Train 2
All of which I've had great classic fun with - some moreso than others, but truly they're the distilled definition of "games", and I love it for that.
This year so far, as I approach midlife (fuck off) I got closer to the medium I used to love, and found a new love for it - to go into games blind, without expectations and to just see where it leads. They're not all going to be hits, but it's sure made playing through my untouched games library a lot easier when I treat it like we did as kids in a Blockbuster. Game art look cool? Description moderately interesting? Fuck it - give it a shot. Who needs reddit threads and hour and a half Youtube breakdowns on a game to make a choice to experience something.
Just do it, and you may be surprised
“I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now what I’m with isn’t ‘it’ anymore and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary. It’ll happen to you!
Grandpa Simpson”
― Abe Simpson