Casual Game Talk

Reflecting on Games I Want to Play

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I can’t believe it is September already. Last year, I made some goals. I reached them. Now, obstacles and challenges await me, which explains my lack of activity on this blog. I did manage to make a list of games I wanted to play now that I’m  mentally recharged. It is so much fun putting this blog together! It’s like catching up with an old friend. Stepping away from video games for several months has revived my passion for games. So, I’d advise you to do the same if burnt out. Sometimes, all we need is a nice break.

Between the two games, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and Tales of Symphonia, I chose the latter. Why? The conversation in the game is humorous, and I feel like accompanying the Chosen One rather than recruiting heroes to go to war!

cheerful characters
I take a field trip than going to war anytime.

Meanwhile, I still need to get through some horror games I bought last year. One of them is Tormented Soul, which I have a hard time playing. It’s not because it’s difficult, but because the atmosphere is too sexual and smothering. I should have done more research instead of just buying it on a whim. Clearly, the game was intended for male demographic. 

Put makeup first because the next scene is Rated R.
standing next to manique showing the inside of a human anatomy
Not this scene…I wonder if the rest of the game is going to be dark and enclosed like this

Toward the end of last year, I did mention in one of my blog posts that horror games burned me out, and perhaps that explained why I was critical of Tales of the Black Forest review. I don’t play enough RPG-maker games to give it a fair assessment, and I am not sure if the style appeals to me either. I do hope I can get back into the spooky groove for fall and play some quality horror games. Right now, I have my eyes on the following games:

In addition to my growing collection of horror games, I still need to play Remothered: Broken Porcelain, Songs of Horror, and Resident Resident Evil 7. Writing down my thoughts about the horror game I am playing might be a therapeutic exercise (I know it sounds counter intuitive). Last year, I wrote a review for Soma as part of the Halloween holiday tradition here.

Despite my rambling of horror games, the game I am enjoying the most (apart from Tales of Symphonia) is an indie puzzle game called Teslagrad Remastered. I randomly picked it up during Steam’s Labor Day sale. It was a pleasant surprise on how much I like it because I normally don’t play platformer games.

Well, I hope you found something fun to play as well. With so many forms of entertainment, it’s hard to get bored. You just have to be in the right mental state to enjoy them.

Note: The AI generated the featured image. How amusing because I have always treated this blog as if I’m talking to friends.

Do You Play Games? Sometimes

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I was notified that my blog turned 6 years old a month ago. I did not realize it had been that long. Perhaps that’s why my passion for blogging seems to die down a bit like everyone else who came before and after me, but that’s not entirely the case with me. There were some drastic changes made to my personal and work life, which prevented me from blogging like I used to. My passion for writing never ceased though!

As mentioned before on this blog, I moved away from publishing weekly, but I did not mention it partially because my passion for games is winding down a bit. I wonder if it’s because of the new environment. Well, to be honest, my health hasn’t been good these past few years.  So gaming hasn’t always been enjoyable, but they do keep me sane. The most recent game I finished is Ghost of Tsushima. I enjoyed it very much. I like the subtleness of the story. There was a lot of room for imagination, learning bits and pieces about the characters. Will I write a review? No. Just take my word for it. It’s a great game! Anyway since then, I have not bought or added new games to my backlog because I find myself increasingly reluctant to play long games. There are several reasons why I do not want to add more games to my backlog: the most important one is the lack of respect for the player’s time. Side quests that have nothing to do with the story and silly repetitive missions can get quite old. I would rather tackle unpleasant errands in life than spend time completing pointless quests just to get a checkmark. Secondly, nihilistic plot. I am so tired of dark, depressing stories. That’s all I see in the news these days. There have to be some good things happening in the world, too. Thirdly, call it maturity, or just emotionally evolved, I don’t care about leaderboard and hi-scores (I’m not going to lie, it’s a nice ego boost when you are good at it). I play because I like the creativity behind the game design, and I also play to unwind (Wow, I just ryhmed!).

standing below the shenmue tree
I like staring at trees in real life and in virtual reality

If you haven’t already noticed what game I am currently playing based on the featured image, I am re-playing Shenmue III on the PC. I love the Shenmue franchise. It’s one of my all-time favorite games. I have been a fan of martial arts movies/series since my earliest memory. So when there is a game about martial arts, instantly I feel connected. I play Shenmue III casually, though. The mini-games within the game are entertaining: virtual fighting, arcade games, gambling, fishing, QTEs, sparring, collecting items, and exchanging items in the pawn shop. Plus, I like the soundtrack. I feel as if I have been transported into a different country – one that I feel closely connected to, although I have never been to China. I just like learning about its literature and its intriguing culture.

Another reason why my gaming sessions have decreased is largely due to making time for books. In the last few weeks, I have finished three books. Only one book out of three, I genuinely enjoyed. With all of this being said, I do have my eyes on Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and Elden Ring’s DLC as the most anticipated games to play this year. Hopefully, I don’t get too sucked into it. With my new schedule, I don’t want to dedicate a chunk of my time to gaming. I want to make sure I make time for relaxing.

Selecting A New Game to Play

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So far, I’m proud to say I start the year by completing games consistently and they were games I find enjoyable too! By now, like most folks, I know what sort of games I like and what I don’t. For instance, I have never liked FPS and nothing about it appeals to me. It looks boring just shooting people for the sake of shooting. However, I do enjoy third-person shooting games, particularly survival horror games. It’s fun to shoot zombies. Maybe it’s time to switch it up. As I am typing this post, I already finished my 2nd playthrough of the Last Guardian and wonder if I should platinum it. I also wonder whether I should dive into the game a bit deeper. I’ve seen a couple of great analyses and I am beginning to formulate my theory about the game. Then I look at my Wishlist and decided maybe I should just move on. I have seen a few horror titles on my Wishlist going on sale and I am still debating whether I should purchase them.

For those who are new to my blog, my backlog is pretty small because I tend to play everything I purchased. My backlog used to be about 12 now it grew to about 20 titles that I have not played. Oddly, I can hear some people laughing because some people have over 100 titles they haven’t even touched! To me, 20 unbeaten games is a lot since I am the type who likes to play games multiple times. Thanks to the very long games! It doesn’t help that I am a completionist either! I suppose I should not feel guilty about my small list. Many people have a lot of unbeaten games and the list just keeps growing over time. Hopefully we are all accepting adults and can appreciate our differences.

This made me realize how appreciative I am of the Wishlist on Steam, it helps me stay focused and keep track of potential games I eventually want to play. So far, I completed half of the games I purchased on Steam. I thought I would play Dark Souls 1 and 2 again but I have already played enough of it on console! So I guess that doesn’t count as my unbeaten games. Ikaruga is probably the oldest game I have on Steam that I have not beaten. I can see myself spending hours on this game. Arcade games tend to be very unforgiving. There’s no save point. So, you just have to get good at it until you see the credit rolls. Maybe one day I will focus on that game. For now, I just want to focus my energy on story driven, atmospheric games. They tend to be the most relaxing. There’s something about good art that captivate the soul.

Between the horror games I mentioned above, I think I am going to check out PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. Why? Because I’m up for a good supernatural, mystery game. Well that’s what I’m hoping. It will be released on Mar 8th. Right now, it’s currently 20 % off until March 23rd–and maybe if I like it enough I will do a review or if I don’t like it, I probably will drop it but I highly doubt that because I like the art style. Plus a story about ordinary people being thrown into extraordinary events is always a great selling point for me!

And yet I want to revisit Darkengard (PS2) and. Drakengard 3 (PS3). These games I started but did not finish thoroughly because I’m interested in its story more than the gameplay which is monotonously boring. Perhaps, if they’ve been siting on my backlog for awhile, maybe it’s just time to move on. I am not as dedicated as I used to be with completing games unless I really like the game! At the same time, my time is just as valuable or even more so than a game. Time is something I cannot gain back so I have to be selective with games.

So, what game have I decided to play? I suppose you are just going to have to check back at a later time. Don’t we all like some mystery? I know I do!