A Key to the Arcade on the corner
 

Welcome to 2019 and also welcome to my new and hopefully improved gaming journal. My previous journal had been going since 2015 and I wanted to start over with a clean slate. I'm proud of the arcade journal for lasting as long as it did but I have so many plans for this one that I feel an all new thread is beneficial.

There will be theme months, deep look at, and more.

During the month of January, I'm already going to start with a theme month that will focus on the games I didn't get a chance to play in 2018. And trust me, there's a lot. It was a big year for gaming and while I tried to keep up, there were a lot that I missed. For all the other months, it's yet to be seen, but there will be some cool ****.

So sit tight and enjoy the new and improved "Kiii's Arcade" or now formerly known as "A Key to the Arcade on the corner."

Index For Theme Months, Deeper Look At's, Etc:
January 2019: Video Games From 2018 I Have Yet To Play
February 2019: A Deep Look Into The Beauty and Wonder of Open World Games
October 2022: Video Game Month
November 2022: November 64
December 2022: placeholder

Let's Talk About...Minecraft! (PS4 Edition)
Maps! Maps! Maps! [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]
Boss Fights [Part 1][Part 2]
An In Depth Look - Fallout 3 [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
Buildings in Open World Games [Part 1] [Part 2]
My First Experience @ Pax [Part 1] [Part 2]
Music in Video Games [Part 1] [Part 2]
My Journey With...Runescape

What seems to happen, especially when it comes to video games, is that get myself hyped up for a game amongst other gamers, but then I feel close to no motivation to try out the games I was hyped for. 2018 again was a pretty big year for gaming and I said this prior, but I didn't play nearly as many new releases as I would have liked to. Granted, a lot of the games I did play in 2018 were fantastic even if they weren't released that year. I want to start off this month by going over a long list of games that were specifically released in 2018, but I just never got around to playing. I'm going to be starting with a big one here with...

Sea of Thieves

https://i.imgur.com/frpRckN.jpg

Yeah, while this game has been receiving continuous praise, I've yet to dip my feet into it. Not entirely sure why as I do have the ability to play ot. Plus, sailing across the waters with your friends acting like pirates sounds like an amazing time. Double that with Rare being the developer behind it, again it's something amazing to expect. Thing is though, I'd much prefer to play this game on console but unfortunately I don't own an xbox. However, that may change as my younger brother has an extra one he doesn't want so that could help out. I imagine once I get my hands on this game, I'll not want to put it down. From what I've seen from streams and the like, Sea of Thieves is a game I must play, but I'll just be late to the party.

Octopath Traveler

I'm actually a little bit surprised that there wasn't as much attention brought to this game that I think it deserved. I'm going solely based on what I've seen on streams and Youtube, and to me it seems like a genuine attempt at this genre while also having such a creative art style to push it through the top. Again, this is all based solely on what I've seen of the game.

https://i.imgur.com/gJAcf2k.jpg

I'm not actually entirely surprised that I didn't end up playing this game because well...I didn't buy a Switch. It was either buy a Switch or a PS4 and I went with the one that had far more promising games. But, I'll tell you, the minute I buy a Switch, I will be playing Octopath Traveler. It honestly wouldn't be too surprising if this game ended up on my game of the year list somehow. It definitely looks like the kind of game that I would love to spend hours playing. I haven't actually really heard any of my friends talking about this game either, so I suppose I did sort of forget about it. But yeah, this will be a game that I hopefully eventually play.

Jurassic World Evolution

https://i.imgur.com/9bulfO8.png

I don't know man, I love these kinds of games. The idea that you can manage an entire park with dinosaurs and upgrade as you go seems right up my alley, right? So, why didn't I pick it up? Well, honestly it was pure laziness. I could've picked it up when it had just come out, but I didn't really feel like getting too heavily into management sim game. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love games that fall into that genre category, but sometimes you just need a long break from them to appreciate them again. I had my time with Planet Coaster, and that was quite a fun time. But I still need time to play other games.

I will be buying and playing this game at some point. My only problem with management style games is that I'm terrible at continuously playing them. I get bored not easily, but sometimes quickly. Plus, I really have to be in the mood for it. But Jurassic World Evolution will most certainly be the next management style game that I pick up. Everything I've seen about it looks amazing and it doesn't seem like it got horrible reviews, so that's definitely two good signs right there. Plus, dinosaurs. I mean cmon, dinosaurs are ****ing awesome.

Pokemon Let's Go: Eevee / Pikachu

https://i.imgur.com/pWCc4cK.jpg

I'll definitely be one to admit that I wish I had a Switch when this game came out because god damn it looks like so much fun. Everybody who has played it so far have said that it is a genuine part of the main Pokemon series for the Switch. And I mean, c'mon, other than Smash, people were honestly dying to see a Pokemon title on the Switch, and apparently Nintendo delivered.

Again, it's the unfortunate side effect of not owning a Switch which relays to the reason as to why I have not played it yet. But from what I've seen of it, it definitely seems like it's very well deserving of its praise. I remember the day it came out though because when I went on to Twitch, nearly everybody was streaming it, and so I figured I'd check it out. There's definitely a difference between playing the game and watching it. But, I did love that I was experiencing it with other people. At least until I can experience it for myself. This game is definitely on my "play before the end of 2019" list that I just made up. This and Octopath Traveler of course.

Off Topic

https://i.imgur.com/PW2fHCN.png

Back when I was first getting into gaming, I wasn't entirely dead set on the idea of fully completing a game. Mostly because I was completely ignorant of what it means to even try to fully complete a game. Some people will say it feels a lot like a grind and to have to play one game for so long seems so aggravating. Well, the trick is to not just play that one game all the time every time. Split it up. Play other games. While only recently I actually started to try and unlock everything in all the games I've played, I think the first time I ever actually 100% completed a game was with my first playthrough of Ocarina of Time.

I remember just continuously collecting everything as I went through the story and eventually I had done everything I had to do. Including the side quests. The feeling of a full completion was definitely nice. But I hadn't really tried to fully complete a game again up until I played Shadow of War for the very first time. The amount of things you could find in that game really made me want to explore absolutely every little nook and cranny and unlock everything. Which I did, eventually. Would I say it was worth all the time spent? Absolutely! I'm one of those people that doesn't find gaming as a waste of time. Honestly, I find it to be more of a passion. When I play games, I don't just see a game in front of me, I see a piece of art. And to fully complete a game is to fully appreciate what that form of art has to offer. That's what motivates me to complete games. And especially games that I absolutely love. Shadow of War definitely fit that bill, but of course that's not the only game in recent times that I've fully completed.

Remember Spider-Man? Yeah, the game I've been raving about? Well, shy of one trophy, I've fully 100% completed the main story of this game, and am slowly working my way through new game+, which is legitimately a ton of fun. Going through the whole game max leveled and with all your upgraded gear on the hardest difficult is definitely some of the most fun I've had in gaming in recent years. But to be fair, this game on its own merits deserves praise for everything it did to break barriers and create a masterpiece of a game. Although God of War won game of the year, I think this one definitely could have taken it as well.

So, basically when it comes to fully completing a game, as I said, I find gaming to be a passion project, a work of art, something to really truly appreciate. And fully completing a game that I have already come to fully appreciate just adds onto that appreciation. Yeah, sure it can be a grind, but I don't mind that at all. It's some of the best parts because then you get to explore the games in their entirety.

Interesting. I can't say I share that perspective, but I kinda get what you mean and I respect that. But I still want to ask a hypothetical question:

Let's say there's this game coming out that you end up playing and it turns out to be both huge and the greatest game ever in most ways. There's a lot to do in the game, but 100% completion will take at least 100 hours. As it turns out, despite how awesome the game is, about 10% of the tasks needed for 100% completion are unimaginably tedious. Aggravating, tedious, boring as hell. And they'll take a collective 10 hours to get done.
These last 10% are off the main path of the game so playing through the main content is still amazing and flawlessly designed, but those 10% extra tasks are somehow total ass because the studio had to ship early. Or maybe they let their intern design some side missions.

Would you still do it? And find it worthwhile?

For me, that answer would be a definite no, but I'm curious what you would say.

It really depends on if I get burned out on the game. Im no stranger to getting tired of a big game. Assassin's creed odyssey is a great example as that game is huge. I plan on full completing it but it's possible that I wont. My enjoyment on a game can change but some games can keep me going throughout the whole way.

To answer the question, yeah I probably would at least attempt to complete it.

Console vs PC

This is not really an argument that I get myself involved in when it comes to video games, but now I've got the experience to at least shine my own personal thoughts on this outdated argument about whether PC or Console is better.

I've been solely a PC gamer for quite a long time. I'vw bought over 300 games on Steam alone and while that's slowed down in recent months, I still find the accessibility through Steam to be a beautiful thing. Steam alone, and yeah other companies are starting to make their own services to provide games, but Steam definitely takes the crown for really bringing PC gaming into the spotlight. With time, computers get more powerful, companies start developing more efficient parts and PC gaming just continues to improve. The only thing that can be somewhat intimidating is how many god damn games are on Steam at this point. While I love the fact that Steam gives upcoming devs a platform, it opens up the flood gates for hundreds of titles that deserve no play time. That's sort of the nature of things unfortunately. Every now and again youll find a diamond in the rough, but I find it more satisfying to buy a game you already know of and give it a shot. To be fair, I do buy games and almost never play them. That's Steam for ya.

Now with consoles, I grew up with them. First got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas and since then, it's just been uphill. In fairness, I had the previous Nintendo consoles growing up as well. That time frame was basically the start of what would eventually lead to a wonderful addiction and passion. Moving forward a couple years, I bought myself and Xbox 360. Didn't play it much. Moving forward I got a Wii U, and then finally I got myself a PS4. And I'll safely say that I don't think I've been as impressed with a console before I got a PS4. I'll tell you why: being able to sit comfortably on a couch and play a game on a big TV is so much better than sitting in a computer chair. Yeah I know, I could play my PC like a console, but why? What's the point? It's definitely a lot more relaxing as well as I'm not having to have my hands on the mouse and keyboard all the time. Not gonna lie, it's kind of nice. Now, it has taken some getting used to. I played the previous Fallout games on PC and then I played Fallout 76 on console. Dunno which I prefer but PC with Fallout feels way more natural. That's just my personal take though. It also helps that PS4 has a lot of great games.

So...where do I stand? Well, I'm taking a stand right in the middle. I prefer console a little bit more right now but I genuinely enjoy both immensely. Two separate experiences and it's nice to know that I have the option to play either. I don't think one is necessarily superior seeing as consoles are being built really really well. So, tough to say where this argument will lead in the future, but for now, I'm definitely pro PC and console at this point.

Plus, Dead Cells is on both PC and PS4 so I couldn't possibly choose.

pc is my preference of course but console has it's purpose. recently got a switch and goddammit if mario party with friends isn't still a blast.

Celeste

http://i.imgur.com/626RRK1.jpg

The weirdest coincidence happened last night. I was working on a list of games that I wanna talk about in January and Celeste made the list. Now what's funny about that is when I went on Youtube afterwards, a YouTuber was doing a let's play of this game and the first episode went up that same night. So I checked it out. And, although I'm usually a pretty big fan of indie platformers, I may just pass on this one. At this point in my gaming adventure, indie platformers / 2D platformers really have to go the extra mile to make it impressive. Going based solely on what I've seen through videos of the game, it does genuinely look good. I will say that much. The movement seems fluid and the graphics are cool, though again I feel like the pixel graphics art style is getting a bit overused. I can't blame devs for that though especially since Celeste was developed by a small team. A huge achievement no doubt and the game has been fairly well received from what I can tell. It did receive an award at the Game Awards and although that's impressive, I really just don't have very much motivation to get into another platformer regardless of how it was received. Just not my kind of genre these days but I appreciate Celeste for what it brought.

Big props to small devs coming out with these amazing games though. Quite an achievement on its own.

I still haven't played smash but I hear it's great. I agree as well. And mario party looks like so much fun. I think I prefer console these days but PC will be my go to if need be.

Is that the game where one dude built a rollercoaster right on the edge of the park, right next to his rival's property, and had the rollercoaster launch the people into his park, where they died horribly, thus lowering the rival's park rating?

Just think Sim City but with Roller Coasters, so maybe? I once made a pretty amazing roller-coaster where the thrill was that you sped down a slope into a crater with no water. It was one of the most popular rides at my park.

I believe that's Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Then there ya go.

Planet Coaster > Rollercoaster Tycoon bc you could build a ride that just launches guests to their deaths and they'll love you for it

Yaaas. Man I wanna play Planet Coaster now but I had plenty of time with it when it came out.

Far Cry 5

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._5_boxshot.jpg

While I'm not entirely too surprised, I have yet to play Far Cry 5. Despite people saying it's amazing and it's definitely worth buying, I've just never really had a taste for the Far Cry games. I get it, they're definitely my kind of game. From what I've seen this game does look amazing and maybe one day I'll just man up and play it. But I played a bit of Far Cry 3 and while the experience was fun, it wasn't fun enough to keep me interested so I just sort of fell away from the series.

What I will say though is from what I have seen of Far Cry 5, it definitely looks like if it's your kind of game, it fits the bill. The graphics are certainly great and the gameplay looks like a lot of fun. I don't really think it's the genre that bugs me, I think it's just the style of game that Far Cry is. I dunno. Could just be me being dumb and maybe I should just play the Far Cry games because god damn who knows, maybe i'll enjoy it.

So, I guess the consensus is, maybe? I mean, anything is possible. I went through this exact same thing with Assassins Creed Odyssey. I fell out of the love for the series as a whole and never really bothered to go back. But then I did and it was great. Maybe Far Cry 5 could have that same effect to where I'll enjoy the game enough to perhaps fully complete it. I don't doubt it, I just find it highly unlikely that I'll be buying the game anytime soon as I've already got enough games to play as it is.

My friend was telling me today about his Game of the Year, Return of Obra Dinn. Have you played it or heard anything about it? If so, what's your opinion?

^that's a funny coincidence because...

https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/stea...g?t=1539954185
Return of the Obra Dinn

Return of Obra Dinn from my understanding is a first person adventure game focusing on exploration and otherwise. While I have seen virtually nothing about this game other than some images, I have to say that the artwork alone looks impressive. I don't think i've seen any other games go this style with their game, but evidently based on people's experiences with the game, it's definitely worth picking up.

This is sort of what I was talking about with developers putting everything they can to make a rich and original experience, and god damn does this game look as if it just oozes with originality. The developers behind this known as Lucas Pope are also known for creating the rich and original experience of Papers, Please, so to see them go in a different direction is really nice. With this and Papers, Please, these guys definitely know what route they wanna take when making their games. It's really neat to see.

Not entirely surprising, this game also won the award for Best Art Direction at the 2018 Game Awards as well as being nominated for Best Independent Game. Though unsurprisingly again, Celeste took the crown for that award.

I will most likely be picking this game up in the near future as it's been getting on a lot of people's game of the year list, and I really want to see what this game holds. I absolutely fell in love with Papers, Please because of the aesthetic and fun gameplay, and I imagine and hope that Return of the Obra Dinn will have much of the same impact.

https://i.imgur.com/pba7bu5.jpg

Frostpunk

Much in the same vein of Jurassic Park World, Frostpunk is a city building strategy game with the aesthetic of futuristic technology, from what I can tell. I have yet to play it and while I was actually legitimately excited for it, I still didn't think I was ready to sink a lot of time into a city builder. However, while it may seem like I'm being a bit silly, Frostpunk may end up being the next game purchase on my list. I've seen streams of it, videos, trailers, etc. I've been looking forward to playing it for a while, and I still really want to play it. Plus, it'll give me a chance to get back into playing on my PC. I've been abandoning it sort of since I got my PS4.

This is one of those situations where just by the general aesthetic alone, the game can sell you on it. Frostpunk brings together what looks like a futuristic world mixed with cyberpunk, and I gotta say, I'm looking forward to dipping my toes into it. I mean, just take a look at this screenshot of someone's base:

https://i.imgur.com/PCUdS9w.jpg

That to me just looks exciting.

I definitely have an on again off again relationship with city building style games, but it always reminds me of the days that I played Warcraft III and to this day, still remains as one of my top favorite games of all time. The motivation to expand your city and allies is something that I find particularly exciting in video games. The art of progression etc etc. Most times with these types of games, they either do really well, or they lack a few minor things. But overall, I've never really been disappointed with the genre. And while I know I'm talking about Frostpunk in this months theme, I will also be doing a separate entry once I have some time with the game. As I said, it's probably going to be my next game purchase so this will be one of the games I finally get around to. It's got pretty much everything I'd look for in a game like this, and I hear it does hold up to its hype for those that like this style of game. Luckily I do, so I hope this will be a good experience.

Would you ever attempt speedrunning a game? If you haven't already, that is.

What it really boils down to is this: 2018 was an amazing year for video games. Hell, it was an amazing year for a lot of forms of entertainment, but specifically we're talking about video games...obviously. Great release after great release after great release all boiling down to a final Game Awards ceremony where God of War respectfully takes the crown for Game of the Year. Many games had the opportunity and hell, I'd take all of them. But once the year ends, we have to look forward to the next year, and the potential for something truly amazing to happen.

2018 yes was a big year for gaming, but it was also a big year for something else - battle royale. Don't get me wrong, I do like the genre for the boundaries it broke, but I'm starting to feel like the genre needs to come to a hault or maybe just a pause. There's a lot to do with that. One being that Call of Duty's version of battle royale called Blackout is possibly the best version of battle royale out there, or so I've been told. I've not played the game yet but that's for another entry. Games like PUBG, H1Z1, Arma III were all at the forefront of this genre and really allowed it to grow into what it is today. And all the while, Fortnite is taking the crown for the top battle royale game right now. Respectfully so, the game is updated regularly and is a lot of fun. But at some point, it starts to feel monotonous. I've not played many many hours of battle royale games but I've experienced enough to where I feel like it's just not for me anymore. I enjoyed PUBG, H1Z1, and all those. And yes, they're still great games. But for me, I just don't have the necessary attention span. So hopefully, in 2019, we sort of see this genre be pushed aside for another genre to take the mantle for a while. Something fun too.

Another thing that'll be interesting to see is how the evolution of distribution comes into play. It's been noticeable that a lot of companies are starting to use their own game launchers, to sell exclusive games only to that launcher. This is specifically for PC btw so if this doesn't make sense, just think Steam but multiple kinds of Steam from different companies that sell exclusive games. It's interesting because PC gaming is starting to turn into what console gaming has been for a while. For the past couple years, Steam didn't really have any competition as far as launchers were concerned. They were the main one, the one. And yeah, I still use it. It's actually the only launcher I use. But nowadays with Uplay, Origin, Bethesda.net etc, we're starting to see more developers take advantage of the fact that Steam has had no competition for some time, and now they're creating it. Perhaps collectively? I don't know. And will this evolve into something or is just sort of a little ploy for other companies to cash in on PC gaming? I don't know. But it's just interesting to see other companies do what Steam does, and some are actually doing it quite well. I've already seen a couple games that are exclusive to certain launchers that I would love to play. And getting another launcher wouldn't be too big of a deal. I don't think any company other than Valve can handle early access the right way though. I think Valve deserve all the credit for that as many games have been birthed due to that program. Seeing developers grow through Steam is a wonderful thing though I hear the compensation is not that great. So who knows really.

Now, one thing to note is that 2018 was a pretty big year for some indie developers because most of the better early access games were made into full releases and released to consoles. Dead Cells and Subnautica were two out of many that made it to a full release to that extent. Both well deserved as well of course. I'm curious to see how 2019 is going to shape up for indie developers and will there be more success stories like the previously mentioned? I sure hope so. Games like Celeste winning an award at the Game Awards is already very telling of the potential success of these smaller indie teams. There's something special there that bigger companies just can't see. Perhaps it's the fact that they don't have as much stake or as much to lose? Maybe. It could also just be a variety of smart minds coming together and being able to work collectively to a specific goal. I think that's more likely. I hope to see more indie games make it to full release, and I sincerely hope some of them are groundbreaking and award winning.

Along all that other boring stuff, there is one big out of this world thing I am also hoping for and I would honestly buy a next gen console for it if it were to be come out. It's probably not even possible due to Sega etc etc, but if we ever got to see a Jet Set Radio Future remake for a next gen console, I would probably call 2019 the best year in gaming. But that's just me being hopeful.

https://i.imgur.com/YEDuoBO.jpg

Along that, I really hope to see a lot of great releases through PC and console because now that I own both a console and a gaming PC, my opportunities for playing great games is now bigger than it was when last year started. Perhaps a lot of great experiences to come, and I'm hopeful for some big surprises. And maybe Bethesda will finally fix Fallout 76, or just ****ing remaster Fallout 3 for the love of god. All the fans want it. You can't possibly **** that one up more than 76. Well, we'd hope anyway.

But yeah, 2019, we'll see how things go.

Apparently because Papers, Please sold so well, Lucas Pope didn't feel any financial pressure to put out a safe game, so he assembled his own team and did the project he wanted to do: Return of Obra Dinn. And it paid off anyway. It has glowing reviews on steam.

Yeah, I'm gonna check it out. It definitely looks like an experience worth going through at least once.

Nah, I don't have the kind of time to dedicate perfecting a game to that level. I have a lot of respect for people that do it, but I wouldn't be able to. my attention span is also not right for it.

I'd watch his playthroughs.

Do Alien Isolation with facecam. Or at least just the medical wing.

I can't play that game man. It's legit terrifying.

lol that's the point just do it

I'm sitting here in the dark because there's no power at my house and probably won't be for a while. I have data on my phone and I was lucky to have been able to charge my phone today. My dad also bought a generator so things aren't as bad. I also was wondering what I could do with my time and I figured a journal entry is a pretty good use of my time. Now, what to talk about. Well, coincidentally there's been a topic I've been wanting to discuss and it was already slightly discussed here. Speedrunning. Yes, it talking about this amazing phenomenon that has grown to extraordinary lengths. So yeah, let's talk about it.

My first exposure to speed running was actually by accident. I was looking for some interesting streams on Twitch and I saw that someone was streaming Super Mario 64. I always love watching this game so I figured why not. However this wasn't just a normal playthrough. This guy was timing himself and attempting to beat the game in less than like...2 hours. And yeah, he got it done. It was impressive to say the least. The maneuvers he had to master, the little things that make the game tick to and break to make the game even faster. It's just incredible to see the amount of detail that goes into doing something like this.

Then I started watching Games Done Quick on Youtube and that's pretty much what I'll watch if I'm looking for a speed run to just watch. They do a variety of games from Pokemon to Outlast. And yeah, the same amount of intricate detail goes into these runs as well. I imagine a bunch of time was put into perfecting every little movement but to see the end result pay off is just amazing.

Personally, I dont think I could do it. I dont have the patience or the attention span to put that much time into perfecting one game. I find the process and the results that come over to just be fantastic and mind blowing to watch. But I wouldn't be able to do it. I respect it for what it is and I respect those that can do it.

There is definitely a lot to be said about the impact speed running has had as well. Just watching past videos you can see that they continuously gather donations for charities. Every event they do is for charity. It's amazing that gaming has gotten to such a point that it can have as much of an impact that it is having literally today.

I also respect the amount of skill that must go into mastering the techniques necessary to succesd. I can't imagine the amount of practice and attention to detail that these people have to focus on constantly. Shows a lot of dedication and patience for sure.

So yeah, I'm a fan of speed running. I definitely think it's something worth checking out. You'd be amazed at what some of these people can do.

i always found this one kinda cool

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/kotaku.c...1788534821/amp

dont have anywhere near the patience to speedrun but mad respect for those who do. especially with games like dark souls that make me wanna rip my hair out on normal playthrogh.

That one speedrun of Morrowind where the guy just jumps across the world, glitches into the final dungeon, and kills the main boss mid-monologue while juggling two weapons, is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Edit:

Genres Genres Genres!

So here's the thing, I had a whole post dedicated to this but it unfortunately got deleted. Nobody's fault. Just an accident. But I still want to talk about this because I enjoy this aspect of video games. When it comes to deciding which games to buy, I do go by a variety of different expectations. What's the game gonna be like? Will it help the genre? Perhaps yes perhaps no.

Now, thats not to say I don't have my own favorite genres of video games. I do. And some of which I'm gonna talk about right now. And as it turns out, I still don't have power at home so why wouldn't I try to at least go into a little depth.

It's funny. Growing up, I wasn't always the biggest fan of open world and RPG style games. I understand the open world genre is so jam packed with negativity that people tend to think it's a normie genre. In some ways it is. A lot of the time, open world games tend to feel the same and uninspired. However, with games like Shadow of War, Assassin's Creed, even Spider Man fits the bill, it's hard to really agree with that outlook. Yeah a lot of games don't do it well but when an open world RPG style game is done well, it can be a ton of fun. Now lets just forget about Fallout 76 and it's existence.

Next up, roguelikes! I love em. I love the genre. I love the style of gameplay that can be changed around to make some originality come alive. Roguelikes are probably within the top 3 game genres that I love the most. It's right there with open world RPGs and of course the next one I'm gonna talk about. But when games like Dead Cells, Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necromancer all exist, it's hard to really throw shade at the genre. As a whole, it just gets better and better and more games spark more originality. Slay The Spire is another one and it's card based. It's also one of my favorite games of that year.

Within the top 3 genres that I love, there's one that may or may not surprise you. Simulation / Management style games. I'm talking games like Planet Coaster, SimCity, Oxygen Not Included. Games that make you really think and manage your moves to succeed as long as possible. The infinity possibilities of things that can go wrong is shockingly fun to run into. It's the feeling of constant progression and learning that makes these kinds of games really fun. And I'll admit, I enjoy both Euro Truck Simulator and Farming Simulator. They're relaxing. They're great. I love em.

But of course among those I do have to just slightly mention Strategy style games. I love them probably as close to as much as Simulation style games. A lot of the same mental processes go through both genres. Managing your teams, your cities to make a longer life possible. Games like Civ 5, Warcraft III, Frostpunk. Anything that makes you think about your next move is always a possibility for a great time. It is for me at least.

So yeah, those would be the genres I tend to look out for most but if a game doesn't fit that bill but it looks like my kind of game, yeah I'll buy it. What's the worst that can happen? I at least gave it a shot.

Powers back but still no Internet so I am again too lazy to try and add pictures and stuff. But hey, I try.

There's a lot of back and forths that can take place when talking about something like remasters. Some people think it's a lazy man's way of releasing a new game and some find them to be really great. I fall on more of the side of if the remaster is done well, it can be a real treat. Games like Fable Anniversary and The Crash and Spyro remasters really showcase what a good overhaul can do to an older game. It even happened with Wind Waker with the HD version and it really made an incredible difference. There's plenty of other examples but those ones are noteworthy right now. But, there's several games that have yet to get a full on remaster and I think that's just wrong. I understand why with some tho as certain rights have expired etc. It's still fun to talk about how certain games would work if they did get a new overhaul. I'm here to talk about some that I have definitely talked about in the past.

Fallout 3 (Anniversary Edition or Remastered)

Whether it's an anniversary remaster or just a standard one, Fallout 3 is in dire need of a remaster. If only just to make the game functional on PC. Right now it's nearly impossible to play unless you know how to work with game files etc. Not only that, but it would be incredible to see how Fallout 3 is improved with modern technology. Unfortunately I kind of doubt Bethesda would do it justice. But hey, modded are getting really really good so perhaps a fan made one?

Jet Set Radio Future Remastered

This is possibly my most wanted remaster. I have time and time again praised this game for really raising the bar for what it means to make a roller skating style game. So good in fact that literally nobody else has tried. If this game got a proper remaster and sold on new consoles, it would do extremely well. There's still a pretty large following for this game but it's not talked about a lot. But most people that have played this game agree that it's a true classic.

Banjo Kazooie / Banjo Tooie

I mean, you can really take any of the great N64 games and remaster them and I'd be happy. But if the Banjo Kazooie games were given a proper overhaul, I'd be able to die somewhat less depressed. Experiencing these games for the first time back in the day was certainly a treat and I think a solid remaster of the both of them would still capture that essence that made the games so good. They can do it with Spyro and Crash, they can certainly do it with Banjo and Kazooie. Up to you Rare.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I & II

There's a solid argument to be made here. Yeah you wouldn't want to ruin the essence that makes this game great and some of it is due to its age. It has held up pretty well but cerain things about its age make the game sometimes pretty funny. Now, I also don't think itd be impossible to make a really good remaster of these two games. It would certainly make the fans happy to be able to play remastered versions of their favorite games. I just think these games are so well made that a good remaster would simply compliment it. Hell they could sell them together as a collectors edition of sorts. I'd buy that in a heartbeat. And I'd probably put many hours into both games as I have with the originals.

Other notable mentions would go to Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Black Ops 1, Yoshi's Story, and of course many others. I just can't think of them right now.

I do genuinely enjoy the concept of remasters because it's basically refining the already existing piece of art. It becomes a collaborative effort to make the game look as good as it possibly can. Some succeed some fail, but I'd say from experience, I've seen more succeed.

Remaster System Shock so the enemies don't look so goofy.

Still no Internet so we're having another discussion here. But hey, I've been enjoying these so why not keep it going? There will still be themed entries. I just want to be able to make them look cool and I can't right now. I wanna talk about something that I personally go through with video games, and that's playing many games and not having just one to focus on.

I like to keep things interesting and I don't want games to become stale. It's like that with anything, too much exposure and you get burned out. It's the same concept. I probably have on average at least 3 games that I play regularly. Whether it's an RPG, a roguelike, whatever. I like to allow a game to breath and take things slow as opposed to trying to beat it in a day. Don't get me wrong, I do have those games that I will just focus on for days on end. I've done it many times. But even while I do that, I still have at least another game to fall back on just in case I want to play something different.

The great thing about games is there's a **** ton to choose from. My Steam library is evident that I like to play a lot of different things. I tend to even enjoy games that are continuous or take forever to beat. It lets me enjoy the game even longer. Sometimes I'll even play through the game several more times, i.e. Divinity Original Sin 2 and most recently Spider Man.

Roguelikes especially are great for people like me because I can rank up 100+ hours in one and still have quite a ways to go. Multiplayer games are also great for this reason. Rocket League is a big one.

Gaming in general is just something I love doing, and to be able to play as many as I can, it's just a treat. So many different kinds to choose from, so many different ways to enjoy them. It really is truly a remarkable artform and it's going to continue to get better.

for the past ~year the only constant games in my life has been league and slay the spire.

i take breaks here and there to play interesting new releases (spiderman, red dead, god of war, etc) or whatever games my friends are digging, but those two are the only ones i keep coming back to.

I'm so glad you're still play in Slay the Spire. Such a fantastic game.