My patient gaming life has changed since I decided to write stuff down as a hobby.
For me I did it as a blog instead of a private log, which I found really helped. Cosplaying as a games journalist, you have to finish the review so you either complete it or you might look up a let’s play or walkthrough to get what you need.
That’s the key for me, some of them I’ve been bouncing off or just thinking about playing since the NES days and because I didn’t finish them they always stay on the list. But I’ve finally mentally put them to bed!
I highly recommend it to anyone with a backlog, especially if you are in the market for a new hobby, 2 birds with 1 stone!
That’s a nice idea actually, and it actually gets you to consider your thoughts on a game. Quite often I’ll think back to a game I’ve played before and I can’t remember exactly what it was that I liked/disliked about it - or at the very least I’d struggle to put it into words. Instead I just have a general sense of the ‘feeling’ of that game. Considering the game immediately after finishing it would solidify things in your memory and give you a greater appreciation of it. That in turn may encourage you to play more games in your backlog that you’d disregarded previously.
Let me mention a couple of games I’ve finished recently:
Return of the Obra Dinn definitely stands out as one of the most unique games I’ve played. Clouds, explosions and all the little details of the ship rendered in that dithered pixel art style immediately drew me in. And somehow the game makes the admin of identifying and filling out a book of crew members extremely rewarding. There were some moments near the end of the game where I hit a wall - and it’s good to have a friend who’s completed the game if you want some hints. But for the most part you could make logical claims about each character. Coupled with the amazing voice acting and soundtrack, this is an extremely satisfying and intelligently designed game.
It’s a game that completely flew past me when it released, but I’d subsequently heard great things about Dragon’s Dogma. And having played it, I can see why a lot of people recommend it. The combat feels like Monster Hunter meets Dark Souls - very fluid and responsive, and I love the way you can hire other player’s pawns with varying levels of expertise to assist you. Whilst I did enjoy my time playing this one, it did feel like a very empty world. Throughout the story, I was gearing up for the game to lead me to the next big city but that never happened. The ending was actually very interesting, but it felt like it was missing a larger second act which never happened. I hope that the sequel can make the open world a bit more lively.
I enjoyed what I could manage of Obra Dinn, I really wanted to love it but I think it just got too hard for me, did you make it to the end? My memory is terrible which doesn’t help. It does look fantastic though.
Yes I did eventually get to the end. I recommend finishing it - if you get really stuck try a hint website like this. I think that can make the experience a bit more enjoyable, as a few of the clues are really obscure.
Along these lines, I think my favourite puzzle game of all time has to be The Witness. Have you played that?
Thank you, bookmarked in case I do go back to it! I loved the Witness, Myst vibes. I love that abandoned world feeling like not even abandoned location, but abandoned world. I believe I did use the odd hint for that game too but most of it was just really satisfying to figure out.
I’ve actually not played any of the Myst games! But I did buy the collection on Humble Bundle recently, so I look forward to giving them a go :)