The 25th

 

So here it is, Merry Monday. A time of the year pertaining to some form of magic or some such, I'm really not well versed on the intricacies of it all myself. All I know is that this is the point at which food has been stockpiling as though we're about to embark on a journey through a post apocalypse with nary but the dust bandits to munch on. Seriously, what is the obsession with Christmas and puffing yourself up like a stuffed pig? Am I complaining? Not really, my metabolism had always had mercy on my figure- I just fail to see the correlation. Perhaps the original celebration of Christmas, before Christianity sunk it's paws into the tradition, holds some sway there. Yes, that would make sense- wouldn't it? Medieval villagers stocking up on food in order to survive the winter, gorging themselves on the excesses in a joyous feast. Actually, in that characterisation it sounds more like glamourous suicide. I don't get, it just doesn't make sense.

You know what else doesn't make sense? How this year just turned around and attacked the world with an onslaught of brilliant games that just seemed to fall out of the sky! When this year began all I was really looking forward to was Like a Dragon Ishin- which I still haven't had the chance to get to play! But in it's place we were all pelted with the likes of the surprisingly quality Dead Space, the stand-up (if somewhat po-faced) Resident Evil 4 Remake, the bar raising Baldur's Gate 3, the delightfully complex Rogue Trader- and sitting on a heavenly cloud above them all? The unspeakable majestic face-plant that was Gollum- perhaps the greatest, actually released, disaster of the year. Because what is a good year of gaming without steaming turds to remind us of the effort those great games took to make it? (I'm giving the top slot to Gollum because The Day Before was just a failed scam, no different to any crypto grift rug-pull.)

It really cannot be overstated how good of a year this was for gaming, and I've certainly had my fill of that time. Unfortunately all three of my top 3 played console games aren't worth really writing home about. My most played game is Starfield, which utterly shocked me- but I guess I did blow through 200 hours in about a month. Still, I haven't touched it in the months since, for what that's worth. My second most played? Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Wow. That is 100+ hours of increasingly painful torture that felt like it was never going to end. What a mark of shame! And number 3? Assassin's Creed Valhalla. That one shocked me, because I'm intentionally taking Valhalla at a much slower pace for my own sanities sake- I didn't realise I was only 20 hours behind my Odyssey playtime. Which is worrying both because I don't really feel like Valhalla is winding down anytime soon, and because I haven't even started any of the DLC content! (Gods, I am terrified of what awaits.)

Of course, the majority of my gaming is done on the computer these days, so most of those figures aren't worth a damn anyway. And on the PC my top three are a lot more worthy of print. Baldur's Gate 3, at the top, where it absolutely deserves to be! And below that, a dark horse, Cyberpunk 2077- dominating with that 2.0 comeback story- and really blowing me away in the process! (Although I think it was the building of my new PC which really spurred me to get back into the game. Playing on scuff custom settings versus pure ultra 2.0 ray tracing are totally different beasts.) And thirdly- how surprisingly unsurprising- Skyrim. I dedicated quite some time to my 'ultimate' playthrough, which was so exhaustive I'm not even sure I want to do another. Although that last one was on my scuff PC... and I bet my new one could put that game to task... gah! I really need to learn to put that darn game down! (But it's just so good!)

Using my equipment, my brother has deepened his covenant with the Sonic franchise, having been granted access to the temples of Generations, Origins and Superstars: he has spent the bulk load of his time on my computer- playing Mania. Yes, he still simps of the modern/classic revival, which-to-be-fair, is probably the best Sonic game out so I can't really blame the lad. I just wish I could get him into any of the other dozens of games I've thrown his way! Psychonauts! Bully! Hollow Knight! It's as though he mocks me, remaining staunchly within the small cadre of 2D Sonic games knowing how eager I am to expand his horizons to new genres and franchises! (I'll make him a JRPG fan if it kills me! Which it probably will at this rate...)

In the handheld department, my Nintendo Switch was granted access to the spectacular Tears of the Kingdom, which I never quite got the chance to play because I upgraded my PC to something quality and that has kind of stolen my attention. Still, even though Nintendo do not grant us a 'Year in review' of any sorts, I know well which game I spent the most time playing. Pokemon Scarlet had me gripped in it's vice-like stickerbook collect-athon to literally catch them all. In the past month I found myself utterly bewitched by the possibility of completeing the various Pokedex's of the main game and DLC, likely because I knew the release of The Indigio Disk would be the last time that the in-gen trade scene was still somewhat active. And with all that work I'm happy to declare myself fully done with the game. I literally cannot look at Pokemon Scarlet without suffering waking nightmares of the abysmal capture rates for all 25 legendaries added, not to mention the online BBQ's I had to grind in order to unlock them. (Never once managed to do the 4 star sandwich group quest. I assume it's impossible.)

And in the recluse of my free time between the actual job that I have and the fake job of writing this accursed blog of mine, I find myself keeping these little fingers busy slowly learning some of the tricks of design. Game Design is kind of a casual past time I work on, spurred on by some 3D model photography I decided to teach myself which encouraged something of a resurgence of my interest in Python in order to make use of my rendered pictures. I've also got a few courses burning a hole in the back of my email inbox for proper Unreal Engine projects. Pretty much just enough so that I can dip my toes in the waters and confirm that I have indeed, tried a little bit of game design. Even in some small way, and I find it rather fun.

Which in a macro sense wraps up my look back at the year of 2023 for me. Overbrimming with stuff compared to the usual happenings and with just enough activity to supress the ticking time bomb that is my psychopathy from melting down and sending me screaming down the streets begging anyone who will listen to watch out for them because: "They're already here!" I would call this a good year, but in truth it's been a fine one. Comparison makes fools of us all but I feel better this Christmas than I have on any other since reaching adulthood. And I'm somewhat more confident too, I have medium to big plans for the coming 2024, and I'm eager to see reality kick them in the nuts and break those dreams apart like it's destined to. That's just life afterall, amirite? And finally: 1654 published blogs- four and a half years- how time flies! With 51,000+ views! And no subscribers, but I'll take what I can get and that is just nuts all on it's own. What exactly is it that you all find worth reading here? Maybe we all just like laughing at Fnastic together. I can gel with mutual mockery, for sure.