Today marks this here blog’s eighth anniversary, so it’s yet again time to look back on another year of playing and talking about video games.
In doing so two things of note stand out to me.
One, with only a few exceptions the games I’ve played since my last blogiversary are at least ten years old by now. As a matter of fact I’ve just made my return to a title that was released in fricking 2000 – in its original form, anyway.
I’ve lamented more than once that all too many modern games are designed with maximizing player retention and monetization in mind. Being actually, you know, fun to play seems to be an afterthought at best.
For example, I liked Zenless Zone Zero quite a lot – for about a month and a half, that is. By then I was already burnt out by all the stuff I was expected to do on both a daily and weekly basis, and even then it wasn’t enough to beef up my characters, their skills and weapons and so on to a satisfactory level. I’m sorry, but I’m done playing games that feel like a second job.
Obviously Diablo II is basically ancient at this point, so there’s luckily no trace of “modern gaming” to be seen, and (much to my surprise) they didn’t mess things up with the release of Resurrected either. Quite the contrary, in fact. So, yeah, I’m having a blast once more, killing shit entirely at my own pace while reveling in the game’s unmatched style and atmosphere as I go.
As per usual I also played quite a lot of Warframe, probably for a total of four to five months this past year. Aside from being an absolutely awesome game it’s also one of the poster childs for Free2Play done right as far as I’m concerned, and while there is a lot of stuff to do I never feel pressured to do anything, which, to me, is a very important distinction.
Another playthrough of The Secret World was also on the agenda. I haven’t finished it yet, but I had a hell of a good time once more. As long as they keep the servers up (fingers crossed) I will revisit this gem time and again for sure.
ZZZ aside Helldivers 2 is by far the newest title I’ve played this year, and fortunately the devs have overcome their initial urge to make an otherwise great game harder and less fun with every patch. My group has picked it back up about a month ago, and it’s a hoot every time we play.
The most recent main update, big enough to almost call it an expansion, added not only new enemy types to the Illuminate faction and a new urban biome – the combination of which resulting in the most epic battles I’ve ever seen in a video game – but also a whole new customization system for primary weapons. Want to unlock less recoil or a bigger magazine for your favourite shooter? Chances are you now can. Great stuff!
The second thing of note when looking back on the blog’s eighth year of existence is that, for the first time in quite a while, I had lots of fun playing actual Massively Multiplayer content again.
The catalyst for this was my return to ArcheAge. Not only is the ArcheRage private server rocking a much more player-friendly version of the game when compared to the now defunct official servers, it also has a pretty big and lively community. Participating in the various PvEvP-events and having a really good time isn’t hard at all even without joining a guild and such.
Which is great because, while it really is a lot of fun and all, I’m still not quite ready to commit myself fully to any game’s multiplayer aspect and become a member of a regular gaming-group again – my buddies being the exception, obviously. The drama and toxicity I’ve experienced (or at least witnessed) over the years are still too fresh in my mind, and I just don’t want any of that in my life.
Be that as it may, overall I’m quite satisfied with the state of affairs. There are more games to choose from than ever before, not least because the really good ones tend to hang around or even get remastered, so it was never easier to vote with one’s wallet and outright ignore the bad eggs.
Also, many developers seem to have gotten the memo by now that a lot of gamers do like to play with others, but don’t want it to be a big commitment or take up too much of their limited time. I’m still in awe about how quick and reliable the matchmaking in Warframe works, and Helldivers 2 does a pretty good job with that too.
So, yeah, for me as a consumer gaming is in a pretty good spot right now. Here’s to another year of playing stuff and talking about it.
Mailvaltar 