There’s this particular cadence and pace of game releases that’s only increased over the years that’s made covering games a more selective and less complete experience. Covering everything is a fruitless endeavor that only leads to a jaded outlook on games along with a healthy does of burnout. I bring this up only because I noticed a handful of the games I missed out on last year were on sale, but I had no desire to dip into them now.
It’s weird, right? For one reason or another (usually price), I ended up skipping out on a lot of games that I probably would’ve enjoyed from last year, but I genuinely have no desire to even try them out now. I think the reasons for this are twofold.
My first impulse is to blame my apathy for older games on the fact that I run this website. That isn’t to say that I see this site as some sort of news aggregate like a lot of the bigger gaming sites out there, but I’d like to be able to talk about more recent releases as opposed to older stuff. I gotta think about SEO just a little bit from time to time, but also I just kind of want to always try the newest thing.
This leads me to my second and probably more accurate reason for not looking back at games, and it’s because I really want to try the newest and shiniest thing out. Sure I could go back and finish The Outer Wilds, but I’d rather play the newest Animal Crossing instead.
It’s incredibly rare for me to find a game I stick with for a long time in general. These days my gaming comfort food are the NBA 2K games, and once upon a time it was Overwatch and so on and so forth. But those games only come around every so often, and I’m okay with that.
Some people become intimately familiar with a game and stick with it as it grows and develops over time. That’s great for those players and the developers as well, but it just isn’t something that I’ve ever really done. I like to sample as many games as I can, like some sort of gaming tapas, and move on to the next thing.
Every year I find myself struggling to find the time or energy to power through a particular game for one reason or another. Sometimes it’s because of a glut of releases, other times it’s just the game itself repelling me from it, but more often than not, it’s because something in my life came up. This year I’d like to highlight the games that I just couldn’t bring myself to finish this year for one reason or another.
THE OUTER WILDS
Okay, so I know that The Outer Wilds is probably high up on a lot of Game of the Year lists for a lot of people, but despite the incredible first impression it makes, it never managed to get its hooks in me.
For those who don’t know, The Outer Wilds is kind of a run based adventure game about space exploration. I say “kind of” because there are story justifications for the looping of time that actually build up a pretty intriguing mystery that involves ancient civilizations.
The problems I ran into with the game however, are less the fault of the game itself, and more my own issues with certain styles of game. For instance, while it’s cool, the looping nature of the world didn’t engage me as much as it repelled me. I like to explore things at my own pace, and while I understand that different events happen at different times during the loop, I just never shook this nagging, pressured feeling.
I also felt that controlling the spaceship was way more of an obstacle than it needed to be. It’s just so unwieldy and hard to control with any accuracy. It ends up getting in the way of my desire to actually follow up on the elements of the story purely because of how bad controlling the ship feels.
The other big thing that kept me away from it, was just putting it down for too long. I stepped away from The Outer Wilds for one reason or another when it released back in May, and I haven’t touched it since.
All things considered, The Outer Wilds is the game on this list that I most consider coming back to and might get around to by the time this article gets published.
KNIGHTS AND BIKES
I wrote about Knights and Bikes a while back and how despite being a very charming looking game, the gameplay was lacking. To quickly catch you up: Knights and Bikes is an action adventure game with a focus on cooperative play. It kind of plays a little bit like a top down Zelda game, except it’s nowhere near as fun or interesting.
So why didn’t I stick with Knights and Bikes? Because life is too short to struggle through a game that isn’t doing anything for you. From the combat to the dialogue, nothing really stood out to me about the game. That is of course, with the exception of Captain Honkers, the very good goose in the image above.
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: THE BLACK ORDER
Okay, so let’s just rip this band-aid off. A few months back I wrote a pretty positive Early Impressions article about Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. I stand by that article considering it was about, my early impressions. Unfortunately, what should’ve been a fun beat-em-up with all my favorite superheroes turned into an all out snooze-fest mixed with a healthy dose of grinding.
I really wanted to like Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, but the loop of going to a new level to punch beefier enemies just got really tiresome after a while. The main issue I had with the game that ultimately stopped me from proceeding, was that it never fulfilled the power fantasy of being a superhero. I was always outmatched no matter what combination of heroes I threw at the endless horde of enemies.
And ultimately it just stopped being fun to play. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order felt too long for its own good while never adding enough to shake up the formula to keep things interesting.
REMNANT: FROM THE ASHES
Remnant: From the Ashes is a game that people said was a manageable Dark Souls-esque experience if you were to go at it alone. Those people are clearly better at video games than me and I’m okay with that.
I really liked my short time with Remnant: From the Ashes, but I just never had the desire to come back to it. I have some friends who have the game, but even that wasn’t enough to keep me engaged.
I genuinely don’t know what’s stopping me from jumping back into Remnant: From the Ashes, but I suspect it has a lot to do with my general lack of enthusiasm for the, “hard” game genre where games like Dark Souls, Sekiro and The Surge live.
I would love to come back to it, but let’s be honest here, it isn’t going to happen. It’s just another example of a game that you spend enough time away from, that going back to it seems like an ordeal.
AFTERPARTY
Lastly on the list is the most recent example of a game that I said, “I’ll get back to that one later,” and never did. Afterparty is a game that I was so excited for ever since it was announced, and then when it finally dropped in late October I found myself strapped for time.
By the time my schedule cleared up, 2018’s game of the year, Red Dead Redemption 2 was released on PC and consumed every free moment of gaming time I had left. Do I regret not playing a new release for a game I beat twice already? A little. Do I care? Absolutely not.
Afterparty as a game didn’t do anything to repel me from it, the problem was that it got buried under the weight of the cowboy simulator. It isn’t a very long game from what I’ve heard, so I might try to bang it out over the winter break.
So there they are, 5 games I didn’t finish this year and probably wont ever. Check back in tomorrow at 3pm ET for another Game of the Year article. And to answer your question, yes, this list exists in an effort to explain why certain games aren’t on my Game of the Year list.
There are tons of different services out there that provide what essentially is, “The Netflix of Games.” With EA’s Origin Access, the upcoming Google Stadia, the recently announced Ubisoft+, Discord’s Nitro offerings and so on and so forth. But let me tell you about what might be the best and most exciting one of all, Xbox Game Pass — specifically, the one for PC.
A few days ago at their E3 conference, Microsoft unveiled their $15 a month Game Pass bundle that includes both Xbox and PC Game Passes, plus an Xbox Live subscription. A few years earlier, they announced their play anywhere initiative, which said that all first party games will be playable on Xbox and PC. Now that both of these announcements have come and gone, and the Xbox Game Pass PC version (what a name) is available for only $5 a month, it leaves little reason for me to ever own another Xbox again.
But that isn’t the point here. What is the point is how good the offerings are on the Game Pass PC. I won’t go through the entire list here, but there are some bangers on here.
ASTRONEER
I really enjoyed Astroneer when it was in early access. Since it released, I shamefully haven’t tried it out, but I recommend anyone who is looking for a chill space, survival game, immediately check out Astroneer.
GEARS OF WAR 4/ULTIMATE EDITION
With the sequel only a few months away, now’s a great time to revisit the incredibly fun yet forgettable, Gears of War 4. Admittedly, I never finished it, but, now I have an avenue to do so should I ever want to.
Also, the remaster of the first Gears of War is on the service too. Just saying.
ORI & THE BLIND FOREST
The incredibly fun and challenging platformer, Ori & The Blind Forest is available too, which is good considering the sequel isn’t too far away and will also be on Game Pass. Also, this game will make you feel things. So watch out.
PREY
Prey was always one of those games that I wanted to try but never got around to. With shades of Bioshock and System Shock poking through, the game offered what many critics considered a fun, yet occasionally terrifying game with a great story.
I won’t attempt to defend Shenmue as a franchise, but it did have some pretty impressive stuff in it for the time. The clockwork world, quick time events, the densely populated areas where you can interact with everyone. All of it was ahead of it’s time and deserves that praise. Was it fun to play though? Not really. But you can experience the infamous hunt for sailors for yourself in preparation for the impending sequel.
STATE OF DECAY 2
While State of Decay 2 wasn’t the game for me, I acknowledge that for a lot of people, the zombie survival/management sim that released, was. It’s a game full of bold ideas, all of which circle around the concept of base building, and personnel management. Also there’s zombies everywhere.
VAMPYR
I really wanted to try out Vampyr for a while now. If I remember correctly, you’re a doctor who has been turned into a vampire, and has to investigate something? I don’t remember. What I do remember though is that you talk to a bunch of citizens, and shoot werewolves a bunch. It’s an action RPG in a setting we just don’t get enough of.
WOLFENSTEIN II
I think we as a people need to once again embrace the idea that eradicating Nazis is cool and not taboo. What better way to remind yourself of that fact, than by playing a game where you go around an alternate history version of America where they lost WW2 and the filthy Nazis took over? Oh, I should mention that you’re killing them with guns and bombs and stuff in order to free America from the Nazi menace. It’s fun and patriotic.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, “eh, none of those games did it for me,” and I get that. But there might be something on the list that might sway you. And look, I’m not doing this cause I want to advertise the service or anything, this was all spurred on because I genuinely enjoy the service. That, and the upcoming titles look great. Let’s take a look, shall we?
HALO INFINITE
Look man, I was gonna play this game one way or another, and knowing that I don’t need to buy a new console to enjoy it is all the better. When Halo Infinite launches next year, I’ll be there.
HALO THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION
What’s that you say? You don’t need Game Pass till the next Halo launches? But what about The Master Chief Collection then? Yeah buddy, you’re gonna get access to that entire package when it begins to roll out in a few months. Hot damn.
AGE OF EMPIRES I, II & III DEFINITIVE EDITIONS
In the past, I’ve heard people go nuts for this franchise. I’m actually curious to see what all the fuss is about. Considering the last actual RTS game I played was Rise of Nations, I’m curious if this will scratch a similar itch.
MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR
Shut up, I think it looks cool and fun. I wanna fly some sick-ass planes and do it in a world powered by Google Maps. I want to fly a plane over my house and go somewhere nicer, so I pretend I’m leaving here. Shut up.
That isn’t all of the upcoming games, that list has a few more on it. But more interestingly is what games they don’t have announced, that they’ll add to the service. Only a few days ago, critically acclaimed new releases like Void Bastards and The Outer Wilds were added to the list, so you never know what new game is going to make the cut.
Out of all of the available services, Xbox Game Pass PC has the best selection of games that I want to play on it. Also, I think it’s the cheapest of the offerings at only $4.99 a month. I’m enjoying Game Pass, and I just wanted to sing it’s praises a bit as we become more and more over encumbered with similar services.
Next week the video game world goes bonkers with announcements and news that tantalize us with all the shiny new things to come in the near future. So before that happens, I wanted to just do one last games roundup before the storm hits and my motivation to continue playing these titles dries up.
THE OUTER WILDS
The Outer Wilds is a game I desperately want to put more time into. The basic premise is that you’re a creature whose people have figured out the most ramshackle way to explore their solar system. They’ve hobbled together spaceships out of wood and glue, and have conscripted you into their space program to have you explore the depths of space and learn about a mysterious race of technologically advanced aliens that have essentially vanished. Or at least that’s what I’m aware of so far.
The game is purely about exploring and learning as you follow the many weaving and winding story threads that bring you to every planet in your solar system. Each planet is hand crafted and has it’s fair share of hidden secrets and stories to uncover. There isn’t much in the realm of gameplay aside from steering your ship and trying not to fall in big holes or run out of oxygen, but the sense of tension this game is capable of instilling is unreal. That and the mystery gets really good after about the first thirty minutes of playing.
I am so excited to see where the game goes from here.
DAUNTLESS
I’ve written about Dauntless before, so my thoughts on the game as an early access product are pretty well documented. But, it did recently get a full release on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, which warrants a little bit of discussion.
Since it released, I’ve only been able to play it once. The servers have been getting hammered by the ridiculously high amount of people trying to play the game. That’s a good sign for the creators I bet, but less fun for me. But from the one session I did play, the game is still good, and something that I’ll be checking in with periodically.
X-MEN DESTINY
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I actively went to the mall the other day to buy this hunk of shit game from 2011. I remember it being bad, and surprise, it didn’t age like fine wine.
It sucks too, because X-Men Destiny has a cool concept, where you basically choose a new mutant to become an X-Man, and go on adventures with them. Unfortunately, everything else in the game sucks shit. The combat requires you to know just how to hit the X button over and over. The art is terrible and the game runs like garbage. Every ounce of “quest design” in the game is lifeless and uninspired. From tip to toe, this entire game is bad… but I still wanted to play it again.
That’s been my past week in video games. High highs, and low lows. But with E3 around the corner, who knows what I’ll be doing with my time outside of just writing things for this website along with the occasional snarky tweet.
THIS IS THE ONLY PICTURE I COULD FIND WITH DING DONGS IN IT!
Oh, and real quick, there’s a game on Steam that’s currently listed as a “top seller” called Bonecraft whose presence on Steam fascinates me. Not because I’m eager to play it, but just how awful it looks. The pictures are of Orcs and elves and stuff just boning down. And I just watched the Steam trailer and it’s worse than anything I’ve ever seen before. There’s penis monsters and people doing George W. Bush impressions, so I think this game is from like 2006 and is meant to parody World of Warcraft… but with dicks and stuff.
I don’t think I’m exited for E3 or even video games in general anymore. Maybe I’ll take up knitting.
The Bonus World 