Random Talk : Video Games and Me

I don’t know how many of you know this fact about me, but I am a gamer. Yeah right, I watch movies, TV series, stage plays, listen to music, read books and comics and now I say that I am a gamer. I’m pretty sure that most of you are now convinced that I never actually get any work done. But who cares about that, let’s get on with the post.

When I first started this blog, one of my first posts was a review for Tomb Raider the 2013 reboot of the classic series. I praised a game for its positives and gave it a score. After that, I stopped writing about videogames. It was definitely not because I stopped playing videogames. It was definitely not because I didn’t have a platform to play it on. And it was also not because of generally bad games. The simple reason behind my choice to stop writing video game reviews was purely from a time to reward standpoint.

You see two years back I was just starting eleventh standard, and I came to realize that the amount of time I spent on a video game review was substantially more than the amount of time I spent on any other post. And even though I put in more time into it, the amount of views I got was pretty much the same as my other post. I could not afford to spend that much time sitting in front of my computer describing the level design of a videogame.

But, now I have graduated from school and I have all the time in the world. I looked back to my review and decided on a few things. I decided that it may be time I gave videogame reviews one more shot. And I also wanted to try and change the format.

So, unlike any of my other reviews, this article will not be clearly structured. It will also not be about a single videogame. In this post I am going to write about three videogames which changed the way I perceived the medium and more importantly the way perceived myself.

Now please do note that these games are not in any particular order, so without stalling anymore, here are the games.

Mass Effect Series

I know I am cheating here, But in my opinion, the Mass Effect Trilogy is the greatest trilogy in the history of gaming. It has amazing visuals, really good game-play, incredible story and amazing Voice Actors to boot.

The Mass Effect games, for those of you who don’t know, follow a choice and consequence type story. The way the story progresses depends on the choices you make. I had a lot of fun with the first Mass Effect even though it is probably the worst of the bunch in terms of game-play. But the game, more than, makes up for it with the spectacular story. You feel like you are a part of the universe and your choice have tangible consequences.

Mass Effect 2 was the game that made me gape at my computer screen with its sheer brilliance in terms of visuals, sound design, story and characters. In the beginning of the game there is a section where you have to do a space walk. As of yet, even with amazing graphics, I have not seen a game give me that sense of visual awe that Mass Effect 2 managed to.

Another huge part of Mass Effect 2 that I loved was the characters you meet. The genuinely felt like real people; instead of just 0’s and 1’s. I came to care a lot about my crew in this game.

Mass Effect 3 was pretty much the perfect conclusion to the series. Yes, I was disappointed with the ending a bit. But in the end it was all fine. The ending didn’t matter. It was the journey I had, the characters I had met and the decisions I had made that stayed with me.

The greatest part of the game though, was the Citadel DLC. It had a way of giving us a chance to say goodbye to all the characters who had accompanied me on an epic journey across the galaxy. This series is truly a masterpiece.

Life is Strange

Life is Strange is similar to Mass Effect in the way that, your choices determine the story. I started playing this game with really low expectations and it blew me out of the water completely. I assumed that all the decisions will be straight forward and I will face the consequences immediately. But I realized that some actions do not have immediate consequences.

I genuinely felt connected to the characters and when I realized that I couldn’t change one of my outcomes, I almost stopped playing halfway through.

This is not by any means a light hearted game. It features a lot of mature themes such as abuse, drug use, euthanasia, same sex relationships and rape. It is a very difficult game which left me at times, staring at the screen desperately hoping that these weren’t my only options.

It is not an easy game to play through and it is definitely a roller coaster. It did manage to make me tear up in certain scenes and that is not an easy task.

Journey

This is one of, if not, the most beautiful games I have played ever in my life. I have been playing videogames for quite some time, rest assured, and not one game has given me the sense of wonder that this game has given. It truly is a visual masterpiece. Almost any second of this game can be framed up and hung on the wall. This is the kind of game which you can show your parents and say, 

“This is why I play Videogames”.

Journey is beautiful in a way which can never be described. There are no dialogues in the game, there is no deep story, just what you learn for yourself, and it has one of the most beautiful soundtracks in history.

From the moment you start the game, you are let free, but without telling you what to do, the game has a way of drawing you to a certain place where you need to go.

But perhaps the most beautiful part of Journey is the way it integrates multiplayer. You never know who you are playing with. There are no name tags and there are no chat boxes. You never know who you are playing with, but you form an inexplicable bond with their cloaked traveler. In my second play-through, I found myself tagging along with another traveler, and we didn’t need to tell each other anything. We knew when to wait and we knew where the other person. I played through someone for three fourths of the game and I never knew who they were.

Finally, Journey is the game which made me break down into tears. The first time I played it, as I reached the end, I found out that the visuals and the music were all overwhelming and there was some part of me that felt so much joy that I could only stare at the screen, unblinking with tears rolling down my face.

It truly was an experience to behold.

Those were my experiences with three games which I hold very close to my heart. Videogames are, at least to me, an art that cannot be appreciated enough. They have a niche following and most of us think that the best examples of good games in candy crush. If that is what you think, I implore you to go on a journey, or experience a strange slice of life. Better yet, captain your own space frigate and explore the galaxy. It will truly be an experience which you will never forget.

Let me know your thoughts on my post and I’ll see you guys next time.

Peace!!!