I want to dive into some gaming today. It's been a while since I was able to completely free up hours to engage with gaming media content properly. A lot of the games I have been trying, with the exception of #Banishers, have been boring and uninspired and just not engaging for me.
Banishers is insanely engaging and easily a kind of masterpiece but it takes a LOT of emotional labor to play it. Story-wise it's a psychological and emotional journey and not casual gaming by a long shot.
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I love games like Banishers and they are rare ... but I don't always have the mental or emotional bandwidth to play them for long periods of time. When you engage with media the way I do, it takes a toll and it does change you. I will finish Banishers but it will take some time.
I've been trying a lot of games that I never would have considered before as well and that has been fun but I'm still not finding anything that definitively ticks all of my boxes. Everything so far has just been OK.
I have over 900 games in my Steam library and I have played ALL of those ... I have played games in every genre there is ... and I have a deep love for unique kinds of gameplay, engaging stories, epic writing, top performances, and even can appreciate the occasional roguelike if it makes sense. I love MMOs, I love RPGs, I love games that challenge me and make me cry because I SUCK at them 🤣 I consider myself a gamer in the sense that I truly love and deeply appreciate game media.
I want to go back and get into #FFXIV which I've been playing since it's beta inception ... but the past few years with that game have been so depressing and painful and plot wise I just didn't have the emotional bandwidth for it. I'm not saying it wasn't good ... but for me it took an emotional toll and I game to RELAX and enjoy my free time ... not to get mauled for 3 years of depressive content. I haven't been back to it, though I continue to pay my subscription ... I miss it sometimes.
I haven't enjoyed #FFXIV since 2017 ... its been downhill into darkness, depression, misery, and just some shit that took its toll in me. Emet-Selch was probably my breaking point ... and it took me weeks to recover from that entire experience. I don't think I've ever been so broken.
That does not mean I didn't enjoy it. I did ... I absolutely can enjoy experiences that break me in some way because that's the power of good, well written media ... Final Fantasy knows how to tell a good story ... how to pull you in and hold you emotionally whether its their single player experiences or the story in the MMOs. #FFXIV just really took a dark, dark turn especially during the pandemic development of Shadowbringers and Endwalker ... just absolutely soul sucking depression ...
I have heard that the newest expansion is a complete reset and new focus for #FFXIV ... a return to form so to speak and the idea of that being true really excites me because I've been playing it since 2014 and I remember the brighter days ... But I'm just barely scratching the surface of Endwalker. I'm 14 quests into a total of 108 main story quests + 47 post main story lines before reaching the end of the current DLC.
I've put 11 years in FFXIV and that's been some of the most amazing growth that I've had in myself. I started playing FFXIV after playing EVERY MMO before that because I love Final Fantasy and I wanted to do something that scared me ... being a tank or being a healer in what was considered a hardcore MMO experience. I ran a HUGE guild in WoW for decades so leading a group of strangers didn't scare me. But running FFXIV dungeons and raids well is a part time job and that terrified me ...
After that I became a healing class and that was harder, more challenging, and even more responsibility than being a tank who relies on others to succeed. Healer has no one to rely on and is responsible for keeping the entire party alive. From my perspective if you're someone who has never played a main healer in FFXIV or any other hardcore raid specific 4-party MMO, you just have no clue what that even means or feels like. It's work and it's on the fly statistics, instinct, and focus.
I grew more as a person in my time being a full time healer than I ever did in any gaming experience especially when it came to managing patience, understanding, dealing with inconsiderate and idiot tanks and DPS, and fielding abuse from players who take no responsibility for their own actions. I was a good healer. I AM a good healer. I once carried a LANCER through a dungeon after everyone disconnected and we beat the boss. A LANCER y'all and I wasn't even a white mage, I was Scholar. IYKYK.
I miss FFXIV. I really do. But I can't go back to something where the content pulls me into depression and doesn't give me anything positive to hold onto ... I am not in a place for that and probably won't be for some time.
On the gaming front lately a few games have been really ticking my boxes:
1. #EXAPUNKS this is a game that not only challenges but teaches me something I never thought I'd be able to learn in a fun and graphically satisfying and clear way
2. #OneMoreGate is just everything I love about a good deckbuilder. Simple. Great graphics, fun mechanics, and unique deckbuilding opportunities.
3. #NewsTower is a game I wish was a tad deeper but it's early access so there is going to be more to come.
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4. #Banishers of course is the masterpiece game of the year ...
5. #GrandblueFantasyRelink is a lot of fun if you enjoyed the first mobile experience. It's a nice upgrade and a wonderful way to continue the story of those amazing characters. It's fun.
6. #Icarus. If you follow me you know my experience with Icarus has been a challenge and a learning experience. I haven't played in a while but I miss it.
7. #GearsTactics is a game I went back to because Rogue Trader was BROKEN AS FUCK.
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8. #DaveTheDiver is another game of the year. Absolutely one of those games that comes out of nowhere (like the original #Syberia) and takes your breath away with the quality, the love, the beauty, and the HEART that went into it. The colab with another favorite experience of mine, #Dredge was epic AF.
9. #RailRoute is probably one of my favorites right now. It is a train dispatcher simulator made by a single developer that takes place in an accurate rail-map of Prague based on a real job.
Speaking of #Dredge ... it was nominated for 4 BAFTA Games Awards on March 7th
🕹️ Debut Game
🐟 Narrative
🎮 Game Design
⛵ New Intellectual Property
If you've never played it but you like casual, angler games with a Lovecraft feel ... Dredge is absolutely for you ❤️ I LOVED every minute of the demo. I played the demo over and over and over until the full game was released. Absolutely GORGEOUS game and wonderful concept.
Congrats to Dredge 🎉
If you like puzzle games with intriguing mechanics and genius ideas and art ... I highly recommend #Viewfinder.
𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢. 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥.
@thewebrecluse
Have you played Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice?
@snyde21 Of course ❤️
@snyde21 They want to make it into a film ... along with Plague Tale and Inside as well. I really don't think games like Senua are passive viewing experiences ... the whole point is that experience that you are a part of 100%.
@snyde21 I talked about that here:
In the early days, before YouTube walkthrus, tank abuse, tank shortages, and healing nerfing .. being a raid leader and being a tank was ... challenging and fun but something that you dedicated yourself to ... learning the mechanics, guiding your party, knowing the ins and outs ... It was work. It was homework. It was a responsibility you took seriously.
Ultimately I did carry my tank to max level at the time ... and it was the scariest thing I ever did but the most rewarding too.