The PS4 is a system that I feel marks a generation of return to form, at least as close as we can, to the PS2 days. We've got lots of diverse games, a huge indie market, lots of experimentation, accessibility, and devs are just having fun with things. With the diversity, I recognized some familiar and comforting patterns, but it was only this year that I'm scratching my head and thinking it's all coming together in a notion that feels like gaming is pushing me back to my roots. Not in purest of form, but what is that without some nostalgia induced inaccuracies anyway? So let me show you my shopping list of the year, and I'll show you... (* means pre-ordered)
- Gravity Rush 2: (sort of a platformer-ish game)
- Mount & Blade (It was cheap)
- Crypt of the NecroDancer (same time and reason as above)
- Worms WMD (I grew up loving this series)
- Horizon: Zero Dawn (Robo-dino game made by Guerrilla)
- Turok 2 Remaster (Old-school FPS that I used to attempt to play)
- Snake Pass (imitation 3D platformer, David Wise included)
- Zelda: Breath of the Wild (yeah, this one's hard to explain away...)
- *Bulletstorm (Imitation old-school FPS, Duke Nukem included)
- *Yooka-Laylee (do I need to explain this one? Just ordered this right before starting this)
- *Prey (FPS creature horror by Arkane, hell yeah!)
I could be forgetting something, but these are the games I've bought this year. Aside from two and a half (Gravity rush is a weird one), it matches up to things I've always loved. I've also been still gripped by R&C, Turok 1 remastered, and Doom. The only oddballs out of the bunch might be EDF, and Witcher 3 that I still play.
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| With Doom being one of the best games ever, why stop playing? |
This year feels ripe for playing older interests, in a more modern light. Bulletstorm is a modernized old-school shooter that is getting a remaster, with Duke Nukem. What a combo! Turok 2 had a surprise release with NightDive's awesome usual effort. Yooka-laylee, Skylar & Plux, and Snake Pass are all piling around a 3D platformer formation in an indie way, and considering we came right after a R&C release I think it's safe to say we finally have a rush of quality 3D platformers. Beyond this pile of awesome, I can't say there's a lot I know about going on in the year save for some oddball shooters and adventure games, which is still about par for the course.
Maybe this is the wine talking at the moment, but thinking in the now I could care less what happens next. Just continue this, this is good. I may have complained about the idea that maybe 3D platformers are getting stuck with indies, but I'm still glad somebody is doing the job and filling the roll. As long as these games keep rolling out, and I've got the money, I'll be happy. If the 2nd half of the year goes cold, well... I've been meaning to reinstall and look at Dishonored 2's updates. No big loss. Maybe I'll pick up Nier or Nioh at that point to, or finally get around to a copy of Pikimin 3 or Tropical Freeze. Still there's a lot of good games out there right now, calling to the very foundation of what I love in gaming. No more COD bullshit to worry about. Those days of complaining about the stale mechanics made for a bad crowd are no longer around. The games are diverse, there's lots of experimentation and developers, and a ton of games coming out that suit the very core of what I enjoy about gaming, art, and entertainment. 2017 is looking to be a great year. May gaming continue to be awesome, and I look forward to playing some Bulletstorm if it arrives on time in the mail tomorrow. Then, some good 'ol Yooka-Laylee.
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| A familiar but awesome adventure seems to be waiting all around 2017 |
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