Blog: Games of May 2018

I played some stuff I really enjoyed in May, but also felt really unsettled about where I wanted to put my play time. I also found that when I did have time to play, I often didn't have anything I wanted to sit down and play. Also, I often found myself playing things when I really should have been focused elsewhere. So I'm trying to be more mindful again, and to take time to enjoy games after taking time to - you know - get excited and get stuff done.

My top five games (by play time) for May were:

1. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I was hoping to find something new to play when I needed an evening off. I've never actually played a Paper Mario game (I thought it was dumb to have a "2-D" game on the N64, but I had a lot of dumb thoughts back then). I've found Color Splash to be interesting, the world and the characterization are great (as is the dialog), the game play mechanics are pretty good, but the boss fights are really bad and the game is bad about respecting the time you put into it. I will say it's extremely charming and I'll enjoy finishing it.
   
   

   

   The Princess and her fixer.

2. Stardew Valley - As I often do, I've been starting days in May playing a day or two of Stardew Valley. As always, it's a relaxing and gently consuming game.
   
   

   

   A good day on the farm.



3. Cities: Skylines - I drifted back into to Skylines a bit with the Park DLC coming out (although I haven't actually picked it up yet). I enjoy the city building, but I keep kinda feeling unsatisfied a bit when I play. Still very good and very worth poking from time to time.
   
   

   

   The University District.



4. Civilization VI - As I said, May may just have been not the right month for me to really get into and enjoy anything. I played some Civ VI, but I'm finding that my mindset isn't right either to stick it out for the long term, and also to play well the way the game expects (and granted I haven't picked up the DLC for this either).
   
   

   

   So what we built the Hagia Sophia in the tundra.



5. Europa Universalis IV - While I haven't been playing it a ton, I have been enjoying EU4 quite a bit. I like the new mission system they've added in, and this particular play through I feel like I've managed to do a much better job understanding how the game wants me to play to really get the most out of it.
   
   

   

   The center of everything (but the outsides are mighty big).

Here's my total play time chart for May:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month: