Your thoughts on games you played for the first time this year

[Hammerklavier]

I'd like to see what games everybody played for the first time this year.  Most importantly, rather than simply listing them, I'd like to see your thoughts on those games!

I'll follow up with my own list shortly.

[Hammerklavier]

As of this post, I've completed, for the first time, 38 different games this year. It's been a fantastic year for me from a video game standpoint. I found something to admire in almost all of these games, and my opinion on a few of them will probably grow as I spend more time with them in the coming years.

I've increasingly made it a priority to track down most of the more highly regarded games of the 2010's decade, though you'll find a couple here that come from different decades.

Rather than attempting to rank them (too difficult for me, especially with such a high number of games), I've placed them in tiers based on how highly I regarded them.

--Games I Loved--

Outer Wilds (2019)

In having the audacity to meditate on cosmic mysteries pertaining to life and our place in the universe, "Outer Wilds" reminds me of my favorite film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," and is perhaps its closest equivalent in the video game medium even if the former is more concerned with finding a sort of peace with our tiny role in the universe and our inability to control any of it. The mysteries at the heart of this refreshingly earnest and nonviolent adventure were genuinely intriguing.

Alien: Isolation (2014)

I'm rarely excited about movie-based games, but this one proves more than worthy of the original material. How refreshing that it took its cue from the original 1979 "Alien" rather than the more action-packed sequels! As one who typically lacks patience for slow, cautious stealth gameplay, I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It's gameplay systems are masterfully designed, and the xenomorph is truly a marvel of video game A.I. as it responds to your every noise, picks up your scent and methodically searches rooms for you. Between the near-constant stalking by aliens, the human passengers that often shoot on sight, and the androids that are reprogrammed to attack, it left me feeling anxious, underpowered, and overwhelmed at all times. My fiancee and I made a point of turning out the lights and turning up the sound as we played, which definitely added to the experience. Our contrasting approaches (me being more aggressive and on-the-move, her being cautious and hiding a lot) both served us well at times, and not so well at others. The campaign is surprisingly lengthy, often padded with "find the keycard," "re-activate the power," and "turn on the generator" sorts of objectives. Overlong campaigns are a pet peeve of mine, but the monumental length actually worked for me, partly because the game kept finding new ways to vary the gameplay and amplify the tension. I couldn't get enough of the game's fantastic atmosphere and its meticulous recreation of the 1979 film's harrowing mood and style. Even the ending, which felt abrupt in the moment, grew on me the more I thought about it.

What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)

The narrative achieves a strange sort of magic, often by juxtaposing ostensibly contrary emotions in the same moment. Moments of tragic death are portrayed at times with an odd sense of whimsy or fanciful imagination which, rather than feeling like a cruel mockery of its character's fate, come across as a warmhearted acknowledgment of the character's qualities, as understood in the kind of pat stories we tell about people after death in an effort to put a bow on their complicated lives. The vignettes, showing us various members of the unfortunate Finch family in their final moments, are all vivid and haunting, and I'm pretty sure at least a few of them will remain in my memory for a long time. The Finch house is a perfect illustration of the sort of environmental storytelling that distinguishes video games from other creative mediums.

Demons' Souls (2009)

Instead of writing up something new, I'll just repost a list of some observations I'd left on GameFAQS earlier this year. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/954345-demons-souls/79419472

Disco Elysium (2019)

I'll admit, it took a while for "Disco Elysium" to win me over. Its dismal world of Revachol, painted in muted browns and grays, matching the generally bitter and defeated attitudes of its inhabitants, felt oppressive, as did the lethargic pacing and abundance of seemingly irrelevant text thrown at the player. At some point, as my pitiful amnesiac detective and his straight-laced sidekick began to find momentum toward solving the murder case at the heart of its storyline, I got hooked. I found myself warming to the game's unusual presentation as I came to better understand its innovative RPG systems, and I eagerly sought to guide the protagonist toward escaping his depression, redeeming himself professionally and having a second chance at life. Is it a story of overcoming depression or trauma? A dark comedy about a quirky, bumbling detective? A meditation on what it is to suffer humbling, spectacular failures, find oneself at rock-bottom, and finding the strength to claw one's way back up even as the individual failures continue to pile up? It might be all of these things, but in addition to being a hilarious buddy-cop story in which I relished the opportunity to make my protagonist respond in the quirkiest manner possible so I could laugh at the exchanges between he and his face-palming partner on the case, I saw it as a tale of failure, the degree to which it can haunt and overwhelm a community as well as an individual, and the strength and perspective needed to overcome it. The climax didn't disappoint. It perfectly encapsulated all of the grief, disillusionment, and carrying of the burden of a history of failure that permeates the world and its characters, while still finding a way to leave things on an optimistic note.

--Games I Really Liked--

FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) / Into the Breach (2018)

A pair of roguelike indies by developer Subset Games, I might as well pair them here together, as both are small-scale exercises in meticulously calibrated gameplay. "Into the Breach" is an eminently playable bit of turn-based military strategy, which I enjoyed, but I found myself even more smitten with "FTL." Maybe it had something to do with the celestial imagery and the memorable music. I'm terrible at it (likewise with "Into the Breach"), but managing an ever-expanding crew on an increasingly-upgraded spaceship against tall odds made for an addicting gameplay loop.

Hitman 2 (2018)

As much as I really dig its cool, cinematic vibe and the satisfaction of good planning and execution of the targets, my fondest memories of "Hitman 2" at this point are of the comedy that arose when, under my fiancee and I's often blundering control, our hitman's cover was blown. I loved the frantic attempts to beat people up and take their outfits, and how incompetent and easily confounded our pursuers could be as our hitman calmly walked away from the incapacited, stripped down body wearing different clothing. Clearly, the developers didn't shy away from the inherent humor in their premise, given some of the ridiculous costumes our hitman protagonist can attack people with, not to mention being able to use a fish as a melee weapon. I'm amazed at the details of verisimilitude in these wide-open sandbox stages, and the creativity the game encourages in order to achieve your objectives. I haven't played the other "Hitman" games yet, but they're certainly on my radar now.

Red Dead Redemption (2010)

I had already played the sequel (prequel?) "Red Dead Redemption 2" last year, so I had an idea of what to expect. Both games offer a surprising amount of depth behind their enjoyably punchy, Hollywood-ized old-west style. It's hard to pick a favorite between the two. The first game -- aside from the Mexico portion of the campaign being about 2-3 missions longer than I felt necessary -- is more crisp and compact. The second game, while a bit sluggish and bloated at times, covers a greater variety of themes and features a more conflicted and compelling protagonist in Arthur Morgan. I also enjoyed the "Undead" DLC from the first game, though rescuing towns from zombie attacks got a bit repetitive after a while.

Gris (2018)

Video games have come a long way in terms of finding their own means of poetic expression.  "Gris" offers no words, nor does it offer any real threat the player must overcome.  It relies only on movement, color and music to convey various stages of grief.  The actual tragedy at the center of it remains elusive to the player, though a secret room supposedly provides somewhat of a pat answer.  This strikes me as a bad decision.  Why not preserve a sense of mystery?  Given that most people won't find this room anyway, I guess it's easy enough to ignore it and trust in one's own interpretation.  At any rate, a beautiful game.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

At times, given the game's enormous critical reputation, I felt like I was supposed to be enjoying myself more than I did.  I found the combat generally solid, but unremarkable, even frustrating at times.  I don't enjoy picking up plants and flowers, crafting, alchemy, and repairing my equipment, so much so that I set the game's difficulty on the easiest setting so that I could get away with mostly ignoring those gameplay mechanics.  The "witcher sense" moments were too frequent for my liking.  The main quest's sense of momentum was often missing in the first half of the game, particularly in the Novigrad section, as I found myself caught up in layer after layer of "find person C, who can help you find person B, who might have information on finding person A."  Once I set aside the "greatest video game ever" hype and just approached it like any other open-world RPG, I came to appreciate its best qualities.  The world is vast and lovingly fleshed out, full of natural beauty and towns that feel lived-in and believable.  The dialogue is sharp and clever.  Gerault is our protagonist whether we like it or not, but we do have creative control in shaping his words and actions to bring out the best or worst parts of himself, either of which can come across convincingly in the hands of the excellent writing team.  Is it strange that I found the most haunting and memorable moment in the story to be the "bad ending" that I earned (for reasons that seem like BS to me, but given the strength of this ending, I'm not complaining)?  I still feel like I've only scratched the surface of what the game has to offer, as I mostly stayed with the main quest.  I'm looking forward to giving the DLC a look.  I may even give Gwent an earnest try.

Nier: Automata (2017)

Even after spending enough time with it to reach Ending E, which requires completing three separate campaigns, I still have a tough time identifying my real feelings on this game.  There is so much to admire here: its massive narrative ambitions, its willingness to pursue overtly philosophical subtext, the rightly applauded soundtrack, slick blending of several different gameplay genres that reinforce its meta-commentary on video game design, and the use of multiple, relatively succinct campaigns to offer different perspectives and provide revelations that turn our understanding of the narrative events upside down.  This is a game that wants to reach out directly to the player and make them ponder the most basic existential questions, and help them ultimately look beyond the contents of the game and apply its lessons into the real world.  It reaches for the stars and isn't afraid to look a bit foolish at times.  Some of the story beats felt a bit forced or insipid to me, at least in the moment, and the many layers of grief dumped by this narrative eventually started to leave me emotionally numb, though it was fascinating to see just how far this game was willing to push the death and destruction.  Overall, I find the story uneven at times and its thematic exploration somewhat gnarled and inchoate, but I'll take an ambitious, thought-provoking and beautiful, but flawed, masterpiece over a creatively stale and predictable bit of faultless craftsmanship most days.

Hotline Miami (2012)

1980's Miami, neon lights, psychotic hallucinations, mass murder and old-school arcade-esque gameplay make for a strangely intoxicating brew.

Doom (2016)

When I found myself in the proper mood to handle its frenetic pace, it was delirious fun racing around slaughtering demons with the heart-pounding industrial rock pulsating in the background.  It was a blast to see the iconic "Doom" enemies in their modern form, and while I'm not the world's biggest FPS fan, the mechanics of this game are as finely-tuned as any I've experienced in the genre.

Life is Strange (2015)

I was captivated across all five episodes, even as the timelines became increasingly unstable and confusing.  The characters feel believable, the milieu is convincing, and there's a strong heart at the center of it.  I see it not only as a tale of the preciousness of friendship and of appreciating the finer moments in life, knowing that fate may have something else in store for us soon enough, but also as a meditation on the pain of finding ourselves unable to help others or avert disasters, the grief and guilt we carry as a result, and the peace we must make with our limited control over such events.  Trying to find bottles at the dump will, however, probably not be one of my fonder memories of the game.

Control (2019)

I loved the mind-bending premise, the mix of the fantastical and the mundane, and the intriguing and intricate supernatural logic that governs the federal government office that serves as the game's setting.  The otherwise unremarkable third-person-shooter combat is greatly enhanced by the supernatural abilities you acquire as the story progresses.  Being able to literally fly around the room while using telekenesis to hurl large objects at her enemies is quite the rush of power. The story often perplexed me, and it seems like the sort that might benefit from repeat playthroughs to put the pieces together.  I found it difficult to connect with the protagonist, given she was always several steps ahead of me in understanding what was going on, and I felt like I still knew so little about her and her brother by the end of it.  I definitely enjoyed the journey, but I'm not sure where any of it left me, or how much any of it will resonate going forward.

Kentucky Route Zero (2013-2020)

I think my expectations of what I was getting may have led to some confusion and perhaps even initial disappointment on my part, but I can still acknowledge the painterly images, the intriguing mix of the surreal and the mundane, and the storytelling mechanic of allowing the player to control both sides of the conversation to shape the characters' interaction to their liking.  There is not much in the way of real "plot" or "drama," just a series of interludes and episodes, some more interesting than others.  I began revisiting this later in the year and found I was better prepared to appreciate its idiosyncratic "magical realism" storytelling, its commentary on a struggling, tired and forgotten  post-recession populace, and its dreamlike ambience.

Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)

To some degree, it almost feels like someone entered "Metroidvania," "Artsy," "Eastern Mythology," and "Family Friendly" into an A.I. video game generator and this game was the result.  There's an abundance of beauty and polish, but not much in the way of idiosyncracy to allow this game to forge a unique identity of its own.  Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with it.  I was definitely surprised at the sadistic level of difficulty in some of the platforming challenges, but the controls were fair, and I actually liked the much-criticized save mechanics.

The Witness (2016)

Lovingly crafted and breathtakingly intricate, filled with zen-like puzzles that involve the ostensibly simple task of connecting dots by drawing lines.  But the rules for these puzzles are constantly changing, and the real puzzle is often in discovering those rules.  My fiancee and I, playing through it together, both had moments where we felt like geniuses and others where we felt like idiots.  It's hard to think of a game that blew me away so consistently with its cleverness, from the puzzles themselves to the elaborately designed island that serves as the game's setting.  It's also difficult to think of a game that has demanded so much from me intellectually and provided me with so little in return, other than my own satisfaction and some very pretty scenery on the hauntingly quiet and secluded island.  I found myself searching for some sort of heart or soul at the center of it all, but found it pretty much devoid of those things, being more preoccupied with celebrating our ingenuity and capacity for problem solving.  It is as relentlessly dry as a modern video game experience can be.  Still, "The Witness" impressed me as much as any game I played this year, and there is something truly special here.

Dishonored (2012)

I'm terrible at stealth, so I appreciated the freedom that "Dishonored" gave me to pursue a more aggressive and "chaotic" approach.  I got the "bad" ending, but given my behavior throughout the game, it felt appropriate!  I'm looking forward to playing "Dishonored 2" this upcoming year.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (2015)

My fiancee and I had a blast working together to pilot a spaceship and blast away monsters.  Overcoming some of the game's bosses definitely requires good communication.  We enjoyed working out strategies, watching them fail, then gradually tweaking them and incrementally improving our execution until we did just well enough to find success.    There is so much charm in the graphics, music, and upbeat mood.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (2014)

Compulsively shocking and vulgar, gleefully infantile and nightmarish, the style and imagery of "The Binding of Isaac" is certainly unlike anything else I've ever played, though the actual gameplay is essentially a familiar roguelike mix of "The Legend of Zelda" dungeon-crawling and the bullet hell of "Smash TV".  Even by roguelike standards, there seems to be a lot of luck involved with regard to which power ups are available.  I reached the final boss on my second run due to acquiring some fantastic power ups, then needed another 30+ attempts to get another shot at it.  Playing co-op with my fiancee was also a lot of fun; taking down the final boss together made for one of my fondest gaming memories of the year.

Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

A very clever puzzle game that really challenged my logic and observational skills.  I was drawn into its foreboding tale of a doomed voyage, and the "1-bit" visual style was a nice touch.  I fully admit that I looked up the answers a few times, but given how difficult some of them were to find, I'm not sure I'm all that ashamed of it.  Maybe once I've sufficiently forgotten enough of them, I'll give this game another try and see if I can do it legit.  I loved the premise of this game.  It makes me feel like there ought to be more games like this.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

It offers the basic "power fantasy" fun of creating your own hero, venturing off into a troubled world that only your hero can save, and being as virtuous, evil or maniacal toward the denizens of its realm as you so choose.  I completed the main quest and a handful of sidequests, so I only scratched the surface of the game's content.  I'll fondly remember the rousing music, the excitement of battling the dragons, and the many options for how my character could fight, dress, or treat others.  I'm not a hardcore open-world RPG fan, but I enjoyed my time in Skyrim and may choose to return to it again, perhaps seeking out some of the more highly regarded sidequests.

Donut County (2018)

Very modest in scope, but a pleasure from beginning to end.  The sort of game well suited for when you're feeling exhausted from a long day, not in the mood to be challenged or frustrated by your game, and just looking for something breezy and simple, with a good number of laughs along the way.

Papers, Please (2013)

Undeniably effective in portraying the oppressive and dehumanizing machinations of an authoritarian regime, I found "Papers, Please" a haunting and impressive experience.  The gameplay, in which one reads through immigration paperwork and searches for discrepancies, sounds a bit like work, and I can confirm that it often felt a bit like work to me as well.

Worms W.M.D. (2016)

My first foray into the "Worms" franchise.  For a few weeks, this was the go-to co-op game for my fiancee and I.  I had a lot of fun with it, though I found the controls a bit unintuitive at times and suffered many worm deaths when my projectiles would bounce off of seemingly invisible bits of terrain and come right back to my worm.  The humor and charm is a big plus as well.

Super Bomberman R (2017)

It's crazy and addictive Bomberman fun, though I was a bit disappointed with a few of the restrictions.  I was a bit disappointed with the A.I., which is too freakishly good on the higher difficulties.  Even on the lower difficulties, it is mostly inhumanly good, but has the occasional lapse where it stands around and waits to get blown up.  Not the most satisfying way to win a match.  Why only four participants in a match?  I fondly recall Saturn Bomberman allowing for up to eight.  The story mode offered some solid gameplay challenge and boss fights.

Among Us (2018)

It probably has more in common with a board game than a video game, as there isn't much actual gameplay or content here.  "Among Us" is about as fun as the people you play it with.  In my experience, playing with strangers online is a waste of time.  There is very little social deduction going on, and most of the people involved don't seem like they even want to be there.  I did have a few games with family with a zoom call and cameras on that were generally more lively and fun, especially when people try to break down each other's poker faces.

--Games I Admired--

Mass Effect 2 (2010)

This being the only "Mass Effect" game I've played to this point, perhaps I won't be in the best position to evaluate its characters or story.  I was impressed at its immersive world building and lore.  I loved the premise of commanding my own spaceship, assembling a crew for a suicide mission, and seeing my decisions have real consequences in the last couple of missions.  That said, I didn't find myself becoming particularly attached to any of these crew members, even after completing their loyalty missions, and the actual gunplay, while fine, never quite drew me in.

Death Squared (2017)

Solid co-op puzzle action with some funny writing and voice acting.  Fairly short, but fun while it lasts.

League of Legends (2009)

For a couple of weeks, this was all I felt like playing.  The gameplay loop is quite addicting.  The learning curve to go from "awful" to "decent" seems pretty steep, and somewhere along the way, I decided I just wasn't committed enough to what this game had to offer to get serious about it.  I'm a filthy casual, what can I say?

Thumper (2016)

When I saw images and read descriptions of this game, I knew I needed to play it.  The nightmarish, otherworldly ambience and pulsating rhythms definitely give it a unique feel and make it worth playing.  I couldn't help but feel like there was a real missed opportunity here.  Though the game's length stretches on for a number of hours, you'll have the gist of it after the first hour.  The mood and imagery could have started off more mild and became increasingly hellish as it proceeded, giving it somewhat of a sense of progression and adventure.  Instead, the visuals and mood remain fairly static to the end.  At least the gameplay adds a few new wrinkles and variations to keep things interesting.

Bastion (2011) / Hades (2020)

I admire both of these action-adventure indies from SuperGiant games, with their colorful environments, tight controls, great weapon variety and eclectic soundtracks.  As much as I appreciated "Bastion"'s fresh visual style and unique narration, I never quite connected with it. I wanted to enjoy "Hades" more than I did, as it cleverly solves so many of the limitations of storytelling within the rogue-like genre as the player's repeat playthroughs operate harmoniously with the gradually evolving storyline, but I just never warmed up to the combat.  Fighting, especially in rooms with several enemies, often seemed to devolve into a mob of flashing lights, and the relentless pace of the battles often wore on my old-man hands.  My fiancee loved it, and I did enjoy watching her play through it and seeing the likeable cast of characters and their relationships develop over the course of it.

--Games I Was Somewhat Disappointed With--

Borderlands 2 (2012)

Unique and stylish graphics with slick gunplay and plenty of humor, but I got a bit burned out by the end of the main quest.  My fiancee, who couldn't get enough of it, wanted to go full completionist, which we almost achieved before her attention turned to a different game.  My enthusiasm for playing the game had dried up by that point, which may be affecting my overall judgment of it.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)

A milestone back in 2010, but I'll admit I didn't get much out of it.  Perhaps I was waiting for a plot twist that never happened, and I should have appreciated the story for what it was rather than what it wasn't.  The puzzles were solid enough, but the actual horror elements felt rather limited.  There are so few varieties of enemy in this game, and the extremely generous checkpoints meant that there was minimal tension when they did get me in their clutches (could be there was another difficulty level that would have changed this, but I played this back in January, so I'm not remembering at the moment).

[Head_Hunter]

Impressive, you really took your time to explain the good number of games you've played in a year. And I believe all this 38 games you said, you played came this year alone, I guessed right? I've played over 20 games this year. Notably GTA 5, trilogy, FIFA 22, Forza horizon 5, RE village etc. 

[Hammerklavier]

Hey Head_Hunter, thanks for the reply!  Yep, that's 38 just this year, definitely unusually high for me.

I'm curious to see your thoughts on the games you played, especially GTA 5 and RE Village, both of which are on my list to play for next year.

[Kane99]

Oh wow, that was a post. I honestly don't have a whole lot to say myself, as I haven't played a whole lot this year. 

People playground is oddly addicting. Creating fun scenarios to take out the little stick people is fun. Then there's Teardown, which is a vowel style destruction game, which is also addicting. 

I played Among Us for the first time. Like it, but it was too anxiety inducing. 

Wreckers is a decently fun racing demolition derby style game. Really been having a blast with that. 

And I jumped back into fortnite again. And that's been alright. I play it the most. But work has stopped me in these past couple weeks.  

And of course Unpacking is another game I really enjoyed this year. It's just so relaxing for some reason. 

[Hammerklavier]

Hey Kane,

I'm surprised you found "Among Us" anxiety inducing, but didn't have any issue with "Fortnite," a pretty tense game itself as you find yourself one of the last survivors on the island.

My fiancee also enjoyed "Unpacking," but was disappointed when she ended up finishing it in about a day.

 

[Hammerklavier]

With 2021 now officially behind us, I figured I'd give this thread one last bump to see if anyone else wanted to chime in with discussion of the games they played for the first time this year.

I could probably add "Super Mario Maker 2" to my list, having played that thoroughly over the past few weeks.  Highly recommended for Super Mario nerds like me who have always dreamed up their own stages, but never had the means to create them before.

[Reality vs Adventure]

I had a good run with some great horror games in 2021. 

Layers of Fear series- I think I started the first one in 2020 and part 2 in 2021 if I remember. But the series is incredibly brilliant and psychologically/visually artistic. Without the use of blood and gore, they brought fear in the psychological sense. Since I was very much into the series, the use of jump scares gave me some good scares. But what I loved most was taking my time from one scene to the next and seduced with artistic mystery. 

Evil Within series- I have to say both games are probably my favorite horror games. I can definitely say I'd play them again because it's fun and scary. I finished 2, but still playing part 1. The series truly brings horror. Part 2 had everything. Great gameplay and story, artistic displays of murder; adventure and many different atmospheres, and psychologically disturbing. Both games have a place in my horrorful heart. 

Outlast- If you want all out mutilation and blood, then this pleases the senses. You literally can lose yourself in blissful prayer with dangling bodies in chains and the beautiful sounds of metal and blood dripping. The use of a flashlight makes it even more horrifying.

TLOU2- Fucking brilliant 

AC Valhalla- Very intriguing game and top notch in the series. Although getting the game new, I dealt with bug issues and lost 150 hours of play. But I'm back in it.

AC 2 and Brotherhood- I can see how AC became big with these games and still looks great to play today.

AC Syndicate- Awesome environment of 1800's London. Every time I play, I almost feel like some dark entity coming from the shadows to assassinate in the beautiful London streets. Just walking around makes me feel like I'm Jack the Ripper.

Detroit Become Human- It's a short game, but intense. It really brought out my freedom cry. You know that movie Braveheart when he is caught and being tortured? Then he cries out "Freeeeeedooooooom!" I was feeling it in that game.

Mad Max- Fun as hell and the story is pretty good. This game put some mad smiles on my face. Very underrated game I have to say. 

There are a few other games that I tried for a little bit and stopped playing. Skyrim was one of those games I stopped because I kept having weight issues with my inventory and I just can't tolerate that. I do want to give it another try and maybe 2022 I'll get the desire. Batman Arkham Knight was another which the only reason I stopped playing was to delete the game for gigabyte space. So that I'll try again in 2022. 

 

 

[Hammerklavier]

Hey Reality vs Adventure,

Thanks for the list and discussion!

I'm very much looking forward to "Last of Us Part II" and "Layers of Fear."  Your praise only makes me want to play them even more.

Regarding the "Skyrim" weight limits, I hear you.  I played it for the first time myself this year.  I made it a bit easier on myself by increasing my light armor attributes and by learning what not to bother picking up.  Eventually, I stopped bothering with shields as well (in favor of magic spells with the other hand), which cleared up inventory space.

 

[Heatman]

4 hours ago, Hammerklavier said:

Hey Reality vs Adventure,

Thanks for the list and discussion!

I'm very much looking forward to "Last of Us Part II" and "Layers of Fear."  Your praise only makes me want to play them even more.

Regarding the "Skyrim" weight limits, I hear you.  I played it for the first time myself this year.  I made it a bit easier on myself by increasing my light armor attributes and by learning what not to bother picking up.  Eventually, I stopped bothering with shields as well (in favor of magic spells with the other hand), which cleared up inventory space.

 

I'm very well going to recommend starting out playing The Last Of Us II as it's definitely going to offer you a lot of things that you would least expect from the game. 

[Boblee]

I haven't played any new games for this year 2022 as I'm still waiting on the release of the postponed God of War Ragnarok that's supposed to be released last year. 

[Heatman]

1 hour ago, Boblee said:

I haven't played any new games for this year 2022 as I'm still waiting on the release of the postponed God of War Ragnarok that's supposed to be released last year. 

There is a very good reason why the game God of War Ragnarok was postponed and hopefully it's going to be released this year!! 

[Justin11]

10 hours ago, Boblee said:

I haven't played any new games for this year 2022 as I'm still waiting on the release of the postponed God of War Ragnarok that's supposed to be released last year. 

Even me too, I'm still playing and enjoying the old games I have in my PS3 backlog. I don't have any intension of getting new games since most of the PS3 games are outdated. 

[Boblee]

9 hours ago, Justin11 said:

Even me too, I'm still playing and enjoying the old games I have in my PS3 backlog. I don't have any intension of getting new games since most of the PS3 games are outdated. 

Sooner or later, some of the proposed games of 2022 would be coming out and I'm not going to miss out on any of them. 

[Heatman]

7 hours ago, Boblee said:

Sooner or later, some of the proposed games of 2022 would be coming out and I'm not going to miss out on any of them. 

It's definitely going to be Elden Ring that I'm going for once it's out. I hope for it to be the first one that comes out. Although, I think God of War Ragnarok might come out first!!