Even though I have over 100 games on my Wishlist and picked up a few games I want to complete this year, I will not complete video games like I am running a marathon. I like to challenge myself, but I know when to be realistic and play games only when I have the energy to play them. So, I have been switching between the following games, reducing my gaming sessions to 1 hour each day. The games I am currently playing are:

Ghost of Tsushima

I enjoy Ghost of Tsushima (2020), a Sucker Punch Production. It’s zenful compared to other samurai games. I would have never picked up this game if my partner had not recommended it. Typically, I don’t like cinematic games, but this game works. It’s beautiful and calming, but tense at certain times! I feel as if I am inside a Kurosawa film!  

Silent Hill: The Message

Far from calming, I am playing Silent Hill: The Message (2024), a Konami franchise. As a survival horror fan, I had to play this game even though I wasn’t in the mood for horror games. So that’s why there is this disconnect between me and the content of this game. The game isn’t bad though. It’s about teenage girls’ suicides and how it links to social media abuse. It’s a grim topic for entertainment, but an important topic to address. That’s why the game is free and it’s a good one too. The message in the game is clear: You’re not invisible. So, there’s no reason to take your life; and please, think before you speak. We like to think we don’t have emotions, but most of us do.

Mandemon

Lastly Mandemon (2023), a visual novel game created by 致意. I picked up purely based on the illustration. So, far the story is okay. The game takes place during the post war in Japan. I didn’t expect much out of it. At $2.99, the price is reasonable for such a short game. The translation made me laugh though: “Is talking behind someone’s back like a man does?” The sentence is odd, but I get it! 😀

I can hardly recommend this game despite enjoying dark visual novels. I find the story’s execution a bit immature. Minamoto, a supernatural villain, is so violently cool for coolness’s sake that she becomes childish. And the most ironic thing is she’s been around for centuries.

What a boring school this is, filled with idiots and imbeciles. It’s hard to believe that after hundred of years, humanity still remains in such a state.”

–Minamoto Hayase

Well, that’s all I have for games. I realized I left my least favorite game toward the end when the post should end on a positive note! I didn’t have a structure in mind when I started writing and I am not sure if I will write full reviews for the games mentioned above. At the moment, I am also tackling my reading list. So, stay tuned for my post about my reading goals!