I have decided to play a lot of games this year. (What a surprise...right? xD). I have decided to play a lot of new games, games that I have shortlisted over the years and not played for one reason or another.
A few months ago, I watched a YouTube video discussing how gamers often fail to finish 90% of the games they start. The video highlighted how developers design games to keep players grinding and focused on a single title, especially in multiplayer games. But what about single-player games? For example, consider a game with a 15-hour story and an additional 10 hours for side content. What’s our excuse for leaving those incomplete?
One major reason is the sheer variety and accessibility of games today. You no longer need to visit a store for a physical copy. Digital platforms like Steam make it so easy to grab the latest titles. Initially, we’re thrilled to try a new game, but soon enough, our attention shifts to the next hyped release. Sales and discounts don’t help either—they just increase this problem. Many of us have backlogs filled with games we bought on a whim, thinking we’d have time to play them.
Take Forza Horizon 4, for example. When I first got it, I loved it. It’s one of the best-looking racing games I’ve ever played, with plenty of events, solid story progression, and the freedom to chart your path. But then I started playing Minecraft, and gradually, Forza took a backseat. Now, months have passed since I’ve touched it, even though I still love the game. Will I go back to it once I’m bored of Minecraft? Probably not. I still have No Man's Sky to finish, Dredge and Dave the Diver waiting, and let’s not forget my current Balatro addiction. And if something like the new Hollow Knight drops, everything else will be sidelined (not that it’s getting announced anytime soon—when Silksong??).
How did we end up here? Back when I was a teenager, I played NES games with my brother, and we’d spend weeks, sometimes months, trying to beat a single game. I still remember the time we dedicated to conquering Aladdin. Why were we so focused back then? Why didn’t we hop between games?
Anyway, this year I’ve resolved to focus on shorter single-player titles and at least complete their main stories. Ironically, I’ve already picked up another game—old habits die hard.
Time to play some nice indie titles from XBox game pass
I have an Xbox Game Pass, which offers a great selection of games I want to try. I’ve always enjoyed small indie titles with unique graphics or roguelikes with a twist. My current shortlist includes Fe, Spiritfarer, and Inscryption (a bizarre card-building roguelike I’ve been loving).
More Co-op Titles to play this year
There are also plenty of co-op games I’d like to play with Beril. A Way Out might be our next choice. Unfortunately, many good co-op games are either couch-only or suffer from issues when playing online. For instance, we struggled with Broforce due to lag, and even theHunter has its multiplayer problems.
Other Goals
I’ll end this rant here and try to spend more time gaming. Aside from that, I have other plans for the year, including getting back into coding and data analysis. I also want to grow my YouTube channel. I need to get some more time to record videos and edit those and post them to YouTube. Last year, I uploaded a lot of videos, even one of the games got some attention but my hardware kind of stopped me. I was just putting out too many low-quality videos, so I took a break which is still ongoing.
There’s a lot on my plate this year, and I hope it all works out.
Thanks for reading...
