Steam Year In Review

It's that time again! I love these things. They're like a refresher for all of the wonderful experiences I've had over the course of the year.

Let's take a look at what videogames I sunk time into this year. Judging from the percentages (and my rough estimation of play times) I probably put about 400-ish hours into videogames this year. That's a little over an hour a day. Sounds about right, with how busy my schedule always seems to be.

1. Battletech: Once again, I spent a lot of hours playing video game Battletech (specifically with the Roguetech mod) instead of playing actual physical tabletop Battletech, so I can't help but feel a bit sad (even guilty) about that. Of course, if I'd invested those hours into tabletop Battletech, I would have only managed to play about 10% as many scenarios, so there is that. Also, I probably have spent more hours this year painting Battletech miniatures than I have spent playing the video game, so that's got to count for something!

2. System Shock: Honestly, I was both delighted and surprised that this one was as high on the list as it was. This is the remake that came out this year and it was SUPER addicting. I remember that when I discovered the demo early in the year, I played it all the way through about five times before the full game even came out at the end of May. Of course, once the full version released, I was hooked. I couldn't get enough of it. A beautiful and faithful recreation of the original. Amazing soundtrack in this game too.

3. Sable: This would have been #1 if there had been more content to explore. I LOVE this game. It is absolutely one of my favorite games of all time, and it's one of the few games where I've done literally everything that can be done in it, or nearly so. Hunting down the last few chum eggs was super tedious, so I didn't finish it, but I can safely say that when I get the yen to play this again, I'll track them down and get the achievement.

4. Quake: I have such fond memories of Quake. When the game came out, my then-stepdad picked it up and challenged me to see who could beat the full version of the game first. He was a better player than me, but me being a kid, I had more time on my hands to repeatedly die at the hands of the horrors in the game. These days, the game is actually super refreshing and fun to play, if you can get into the (now considered retro) graphics. The soundtrack is just *chef's kiss*. Also, Bethesda has added a ton of content to the game since they picked it up, so you're not just playing the same old four boring episodes. There are like twenty episodes now, between the level select and the add-ons. I'll definitely be playing this some more in the coming year. I gotta kick Armagon's ass again.

5. Ascent: This game is basically cyberpunk diablo. It's alright. I think it ranked as high as it did because it can be kinda grindy, (and also because it made a decent diversion while my partner was on the console and I had to wait until the weekends to find time to play Cyberpunk.)

BONUS ROUND:

6. Control: Coming in at 5% was Control, a game I had long desired to play but that never seemed to go on sale. Once the full version was available on a Humble Bundle, I snapped it up and started playing. In the end, it wasn't what I hoped it was going to be. It's a beautiful game and I really wanted to like it, but it just isn't my kind of game, playstyle-wise. The lore is great, but the gameplay is punishing and unforgiving and it chews you down and demoralizes you if you make mistakes. I get enough of that at my day job, lmao. I don't need that when I'm trying to relax.

7. Dragon Age Inquisition: Also coming in at 5% was Dragon Age Inquisition. This was another game that I really wanted to like, because it is beautiful and dense and has a lot of interesting stuff to explore, but getting out of the first area and into the wider world quickly became a grindy snooze-fest. I just couldn't keep up with it, even when I got into the beautiful coastal area. The little hole-in-the-wall microdungeons were just so blahhhhhh. In the end, it all just left me wanting to play Skyrim.

8. Skyrim: Dragon Age Inquisition is solely responsible for leaving me with an itch that only Skyrim could scratch, and I spent 3% of my gaming time playing this old classic, exploring new areas added with the power of mods. It's just so darn good!

BONUS ROUND (MK II)

I had a smattering of other games I explored this year that made the 2% or less range. In this category, you'll find old favorites like Doom, Quake II, System Shock II and Starbound as well as newer games I tried but couldn't quite get into, like Gedonia, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Jotun and Neon Chome. XCOM Chimera Squad is in this category too, and I thought it was quite good as its own game, even if it did just make me want to play Xenonauts again, lol.

Also, this total does not include the time I spent playing on the console. I think I probably clocked about 60ish hours on Cyberpunk 2077 and I am currently addicted to Starfield (to the tune of about ~50ish hours.) 

Plus, Void Bastards, which I only started playing after the cut-off date for the Steam Review (about two weeks ago.) At first, I was only half sold on it. Games where you get killed super easily usually put me off pretty quickly, but playing it over the Christmas holiday, it kinda won me over. The more you die, the more stuff the game gives you, which works for a player like me who just isn't invested enough to "get good."