Blog: Video Games of December 2018

I was super busy for the bulk of December, but I enjoyed what I played and I feel set up to take 2019 on in style.


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

1. Civilization VI - Two months in a row at number one. I guess the game is ok. I think accepting that I'm just not a hard Civ player has really let me love the game as it is.
   
   

   

   Think of the launch filming parties!

   
   


2. Fire Emblem Awakening - I'm not exactly sure why I started playing this, but I did figure it would be something to play during Christmas, especially when I wasn't going to be near my PC or TV. As it turns out I got really hooked and I think this game is quite good.
   
   
   
   via GIPHY
   
   I get bogged down playing Fire Emblem because I won't ever let anyone die, so there are a lot of levels where I'll play for an hour and then reset because I messed something up. Being able to play without losing my fighters each time has been a real relief. That said I'm finding the running a bit hard in the later(?) levels of the game, but it's been a blast.


3. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - A whole year, we still love it and we're still playing.
   
   

   

   Two very dapper players.



4. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - We're not talking about it.
   
   

   

   Yes, yes this is a very old picture. But hey, Link likes that rubber suit.



5. Pokémon Go - I felt a bit like this Christmas wasn't nearly as interesting as years past, but as always fun to play.
   
   

   

   Daaaw, it's cute and pretending to be rare!

Here's my total play time chart for December:

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

Blog: 2018 in Games

Well three times means I mean it, I guess. I’ve now managed to track every game I’ve played (more or less) over the last three years. I’m enjoying the tracking, and I think, generally I’ve been a little more mindful when playing. I’m looking forward to 2019 when my thesis is finished, and I can open up what I’m playing.

This post is a wrap up of 2018, including a look at what I’ve played, what I’ve enjoyed and some thoughts about games I had this year.

Top Games by Time Played

In total I’ve played 42 different games in 2018 and played for a total of 568 hours. The game I played the least was Dragon Fly! on my phone. Mini Metro was in the middle of my pack at just above 3 hours and for the second year running, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was my most played game at 87 hours.

By play time, my top 10 games of 2018 were:

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 87
• Paper Mario: Color Splash - 55
• Civilization VI - 53
• Stardew Valley - 50
• Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - 49
• Pokémon Go - 47
• Europa Universalis 4 - 32
• Final Fantasy XII - 27
• Into The Breach - 25
• Mario Golf: World Tour - 20

I'm interested that compared to last year I definitely played more games. Although that might be that I got stuck in Breath of the Wild. So I played elsewhere a little more than I might have. On the other hand it’s interesting that I’ve still played more than 80 hours bringing me to 302 hours played total (with only the last 40 being me vs the stupid master sword challenge lizalfos). I love that game deeply, and even though at this point there are bits that ring a little hollower than I’d love, it’s still an incredible game.

A lot of the other playing hasn’t been as intentional I’d hoped. I played Color Splash and FFXII mostly as games to relax at the end of the day, but I do know what I’m playing and they’re not quite what I’d hoped for. Also every time I play a Final Fantasy game it drops in my esteem, FFXII is hella slow and my attempt to lean into that has not been as successful as I hoped (he said 27 hours later).

Civ VI and EU 4 were also not as intentional as I hoped, mostly played when my brain wasn’t interested in doing much else (even when there was much else to do) . In 2019, I want to get a handle on that and enjoy them significantly more. I stopped playing Stardew, because I didn’t want to play it the way I was playing Civ and EU 4, and hopefully Mindfullness 2019 (™) will push me back that way as well (although it also deserves a slow drip so you don’t push too hard into the virtual part of the world).

Amiibo Fest is great and part of my weekend ritual. PoGo is also a staple and even a motivation to … actually go outside (results less effective while cold). 

Top Games by My Rating

This year my favourite games were (in alphabetical order):

• Earthbound
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Stardew Valley
• Tetris
• Sunless Sea

As always I don’t look back at my scores from previous years, so this is a subjective view from late 2018. Looking back now I notice that Pikmin 3 dropped a little, but I’m also just mostly hoping that we get a new one. Bastion and Rakuen also weren’t included, but that’s because I didn’t play them this year. Tetris is a new addition, but, seriously, Tetris is good (I’m going to have to try to hunt down Tetris Effect in 2019).

Thoughts

I play games for a lot of reasons. I like to play games for the experience, for the art, for the escape and for the fun. 2018 was not the best year for me in general. I was very stressed and think I really didn’t do a great job of getting myself to the places I wanted to be, in a lot of different ways.

A lot of the games I played were much more for the escape than for anything else. That’s okay, but I’d rather be able to play for a lot of different reasons, rather than just that my brain is too tired to do much else. I liked all of the games in my top 10, to be clear, but a lot of them are good without being outstanding.

I didn’t buy games in 2018, and [as I already mentioned], I didn’t even play a lot of games released in 2018. I have to say that, while I feel like there are a lot of very good games, there aren’t a huge number of games that I really want to go back and play from this year. Celeste sticks in my mind, as do Dragon Quest XI and Octopath Traveler (and Tetris Effect I suppose).

I hope that in 2019 I’m able to play more and play for more reasons. There are a lot of games I’m looking forward to catching up on and I’m also excited to catch up on the Switch (and maybe the PS4) and to dive into a ton of really great games … or maybe I’ll just play the new Animal Crossing all year.

Blog: Games of 2018

This year I’ve played 2 games that were released in 2018. Into the Breach and Graveyard Keeper. I usually divide these posts into categories, but instead I’ll say I thought Into the Breach was good and Graveyard Keeper was okay.

For the record, my low number of 2018 games played is not a comment on the state of games in 2018, but a comment on the state of me in 2018. I will wrap up my thesis in 2019 and I’m hoping to be able to play a more of 2019’s games when they come out and to catch up on all the cool things I’ve missed in 2018.

The Okay

Graveyard Keeper

Graveyard Keeper is okay. I think it has good mechanics, but I just don’t like the world building or the style. Some of that is the bit where it leans into the gross and disturbing. (I’m okay with cutting people’s brains out, but less so with burning witches).

I also found outside of that it’s a little bland. I think that’s to do with the structure of the quests (each can only really be accomplished on one day a week, so if you miss it then you have to wait another week to move the plot ahead). If you’re just in it for the woodworking then this game is great, if you want a little more, then I’m not sure it has it. At least for me.

I did play a little bit recently when I turn it on to get the screenshot for this post. It looks like it has some more stuff added to it which should be fun.

The Good

Into the Breach

Into the Breach is good. As a puzzle strategy game it takes a lot of the guesswork and RNG out of playing and replaces it with your own damned decisions. I like how the missions are structured and how each one lasts just the right amount of time. The style is nice but the “meta-narrative” of the roguelike aspects (Into the Breach is made by Subset Games, who’s other claim to fame is FTL: Faster than Light) is a little light.

The game is always fun to play and there’s enough challenge to keep playing. I especially enjoyed that it lets you adjust the difficulty level without punishment which makes it fun to play however ambitious you’re feeling.

Blog: Video Games of October 2018

October was a pretty head-down month. I didn't get as much done as I wanted, and didn't play that much either. I think my goal for November is to build a routine where I'm getting stuff done and enjoying my play time as well.

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

1. Final Fantasy XII - As with last month, I tried to fit Final Fantasy XII in as a "bed time" game of sorts. This worked out fairly well as the game does lack a certain amount of excitement. I've been thinking back to the train scene from the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, because it feels like XII is kinda lacking that kind of spectacle, let alone the character or charm of Final Fantasy VI. It also suffers from severe hero / protagonist dysphoria (which is a fancy term I just made up for the bit where the game is about Ashe and for some reason you keep playing as Van.)
   
   

   

   An now you will be killed by a bird, unless you remembered to do that side quest.



2. Pokémon Go - Baring a bit of snow at the beginning of the month, it's been nice to be out and about picking up stuff. Now I just want to work somewhere with a slightly higher density of pokéstops.
   
   

   

   You are getting sleepy, and pink.



3. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Friends make the journey, and also working really hard to avoid getting eaten by a large ambulatory jack-o-lantern.
   
   

   

   Winners, but most importantly not eaten. 



4. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I needed more pictures of the game for my post, and so I had to play more. While this game certainly has a lot of issues, it's still a lot of fun to play.
   
   

   

   You're a key, Slightly Grumpy Toad.



5. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I'm like a speed runner, but slow, and bad, and kinda unmotivated because the game is hard.
   
   

   

   Who's a good boy? Not Link he's never going to pet that dog.

   
   

Here's my total play time chart for October:

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

Blog: Video Games of September 2018

I've been busy enough, and stressed enough that playing hasn't really been that far forward in my mind. I've played to try to relax at the end of the day and to make a little mental space in my head. I'd like to get a little more mindful again, but honestly I'd also like to get my PhD finished so I can pick up a Switch and a PS4.



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

1. Final Fantasy XII - In his great review of Dragon Quest 11, Tim Rodgers mentions the mentality behind the Dragon Quest series in Japan. They're the games you play at the end of the day when you're ready for a fairy tale. That got me thinking about how I play and how I choose what I play, and it seemed like trying to play something to chill out a little more was a good idea. FFXII is also my current favourite Final Fantasy game (VI was until I actually played it again), and so I figured it was time to fire it up. And yeah, I'm playing the PS2 version for reasons, I was struck by how awful it looked, and how weird it played, but honestly after a few hours that's all faded away and I'm really enjoying it.
   
   

   

   They sent me movies when I asked for games! 

   
   
2. Pokémon Go - September was a pretty good month to be out and walking. That, and the explosion of Gen1 pokémon really pulled me forward. 
   
   

   

   Action in Pokémon



3. Graveyard Keeper - I'm not sure I like this game. I basically picked it up and started to play it because everyone playing it on YouTube was playing it wrong. I think it has a lot of nicely designed mechanics, and an interesting world, but I think it's missing the compelling element to really keep me playing (It really has nothing on Stardew Valley's charm).
   
   

   

   A little shaky, and a little weird, but a solid set of world mechanics.



4. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Yup. It's still nice to play video games in the morning. Played a three player game for the first time and interested that the game played just a little different.
   
   

   

   Forgot to take a photo in September, but now we can enjoy all the options the game gives you for purchasing fireworks.



5. Earthbound - I finally finished Earthbound after trying to finish it for about two years. I liked it, but on its own I'm not sure it was able to overcome being a SNES era game. It has a ton of wonderful concepts and is one of the most charming and well built games I've played, particularly when it comes to the world and the narrative. I'm appreciating the game significantly more watching Chuggaconroy's new Let's Play, as it illuminates a lot of the charm and interesting history of the game.
   
   

   

   It was a long journey, but our heroes stayed true.

   
   

Here's my total play time chart for September:

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

Blog: Games of August 2018

August was a month where I mostly focused on getting my thesis done and on summery things, so I didn't play ton. What I did play, I really enjoyed.

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

1. Pokémon Go - I've played more PoGo in August than I have since I picked it up again (and possibly since before).
   
   

   

   This game really has it's hooks in me and I'm really enjoying it.

2. Earthbound - I pushed forward to get to the end of Earthbound. I didn't quite finish, but I did play a lot. The game definitely has charm, but was also a bit hard to play. Sadly a lot of SNES RPGs (and games in general) feel a little clunky if you don't have the nostalgia to grease the controller.
   
   

   

   How very Earthbound.



3. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I finished Color Splash over the summer. I enjoyed it quite a bit, except for the parts that I didn't. I haven't played a Paper Mario game before, and I loved the charm and the style. Some of the game play didn't quite measure up, but generally I thought my time with this game - and with friends - was well spent.
   
   

   

   Paper Mario: Color Splash, beautiful and willing to acknowledge that you've burned several of your hours on it.



4. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Coffee, brunch and the trials of capitalism, what's not to love?
   
   

   

   I've missed August Fireworks, but got to live many Augusts this year.



5. Mario Golf: World Tour - Hey, four years in and I've just about unlocked some stuff. World Tour is a lot of fun, even with just the basic three courses.
   
   

   

   You want to land left of the tree, with enough space to chip up onto the green. (Via Super Mario Wiki)

Here's my total play time chart for August:

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

Blog: Games of July 2018

I was pretty focused on work and watching football in July, so ended up not playing a lot. Also Dan Floyd started playing Kingdom Hearts, ProJared started playing Illusion of Gaia, and Chuggaconroy started playing  Earthbound, so I've suddenly been watching way more than my usual allotment of Let's Plays. All this reduced the usual amount I play, but I've had a lot of fun with what I've played.

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

1. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I'm 100%ing this game (ish*) and so I've ended up putting quite a bit of time into wandering around and hitting things with hammers, when necessary. I've also been playing with my partner watching for the most part, which has been a lot of fun (plus *someone* gets to see all the jokes).
   
   

   

   My research would have gone way faster if I had a science claw. - Wait no, the other thing. Slower. Much. Much. Slower.

   
   
2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I'm still not good enough at the Master Sword Quest (well technically at fighting a pair of Silver Lizalfos) so I'm still just trying to git good.
   
   

   

   Look, I've been on the Sword Trials for a loooong time now.



3. Mario Golf: World Tour - Playing mostly on lunch. I'm surprised at how oddly they have the unlocks structured, none of the playable characters are available until after you unlock all the courses, and to unlock anything you have to complete some fairly tough challenges to get coins. I'm also a little disappointed that they implemented the club house, but then most of the actual content of the game has to be accessed through the main menu, a little more "role play" might have worked nicely.
   
   

   

   Sniper Luigi - Via Super Mario Wiki



4. Pokémon Go - Uh, yeah. Back on this train. Friends help. So does the rebalance in items. I think they've done really good work on this game recently, and I've really been enjoying this.
   
   

   

   Leveling Up



5. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Another month, more coffee, Animal Crossing and Chill. The game has 12 months, which changes the events and the length of the game. We've been keeping ourselves to only playing the current month, which keeps the game fresh and fun (and makes us say "We should play one more time while it's still July".)
   
   

   

   Fancy Brother / Sister Game Day

Here's my total play time chart for July:

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

* I've decided not to get all of the cards as that just seems to be a bit more time than I'd like to spend on this game.

Blog: Games of June 2018

I travelled for 10 days in June and that - along with trying to get enough work done to travel - left me playing a little less than I usually do and it *slightly* modified the games we usually see on this list.

My top five games (by play time) for June 2018 were:

1. Mario Golf: World Tour - Between lunches and evenings on the road, I played Mario Golf on my 3DS a bunch. I'm in a state right now where I'm getting pretty good, and really enjoying it. I will say I think there are some weird game design choices for the game surrounding the actual golf, and I'm disappointed in how the spin is managed since you're limited to hitting the touchscreen without really knowing how much spin you have, or need, - as opposed to Toadstool Tour, where you can plot spin and then have to aim while you shoot.
   
   

   

   Fore! Lunch! Road!

2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I've slowed down a lot because I swore to myself that I would finish all of the Master Sword trials. The problem is that, I'm not nearly as good at this game as I probably should be having played almost 280 hours. Anyway, I've spent the last little while trying to git good, and I'm *slowly* improving.
   
   

   

   Gotcha. (Yes, I need to fix my WiiU's Internet)



3. Stardew Valley - Still love playing this in the mornings, although I'm into spring in my third year and as usually the game feels a little like its starting to run low on content. 
   
   

   

   Feast Season.



4. Europa Universalis 4 - Always easy to drop a few hours into EU4. Playing ironman has felt pretty good. My Ottomans are questing to control the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina, while not getting crushed by the really large Russians and Polish Commonwealth - or the HRE - or Spain which controls most of France - or Portugal which controls the entire west of Africa. (I really like it when the game goes alt-history).
   
   

   

   Getting a little non-traditional. (Or why is Spain so BIG!?)



5. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - As I've said before, this is a weekend morning game for coffee and chill time. That being said, while some of the actual game mechanics are out of your control (think snakes and ladders), the design and charm of the game really stands out. Also, we've accidentally spent a lot of time dropping cats in to the water in the name of "getting more points".
   
   

   

   We're glad you're hosting Punchy. Sorry about the water thing.

   
   

Here's my total play time chart for June:

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

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:

Blog: Games of April 2018

April was a pretty busy month, so most of my playing was turn off brain time.

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

1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 56 hours in 2018, 272 hours in the year and a bit since it came out. I finished all of the shrines, finally and am throwing myself up against the master sword challenge now. My friend and I also had an interesting evening calling all the shrine names to each other (while trying to figure out which one I'd missed), which was also a fun time.
   
   

   

   Wonderful rewards. A simple scene.

   
   
2. Stardew Valley - The capacity this game has for a calm environment is great. I played a day (or two) before getting to work most days, and it's a good start to the day.
   
   

   

   Wonderful rewards. It can be as simple as words.



3. Into the Breach - Into the Breach is not always the most fun. It can be stressful and because the game is so well designed it's stressful because I made a dumb decision.
   
   

   

   Wonderful feelings.



4. Europa Universalis 4 - April was a month of pretty standard games, and so it's not terribly surprising that I ended up sinking some time into EU4. I watched a Let's Play from Gamers With Jobs and, as is often the case that put EU4 higher in my brain. I also think the modifications they made in the most recent patch - restructuring the national missions - has made the game a little more compelling and directed.
   
   

   

   Wonderful worry.



5. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Weekend mornings: coffee and a visit to Festival Town (is that what it's called?). Also a free lesson in the powers of compound interest and exponential growth.
   
   
   

   

   Wonderful welcomes.

   
   

Here's my total play time chart for April:

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

Blog: Games of March 2018

I'm not sure how I feel about what I played in March, this year. In short, I played a bit more than I feel great about, and I feel a bit like I played without as much intention as I'd like to. I also feel like I played more than I should have given that my PC was broken / in the shop for the first part of the month.

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

1. Into The Breach - Wow. Into the Breach is great. It gives me the satisfaction of doing well as a strategy game without being so hard that I grind out and get frustrated. The certainty you have with how the enemy turn will play out is fantastic, and it's nice being able to make decisions (or mistakes) on your own term. I also appreciate its flexibility in challenge, it has three difficulty levels. Playing on easy isn't punished, but you also feel challenged to take on the harder difficulties. I feel like I've been able to learn and improve without just getting clobbered.
   
   

   

   Vek Threat: Kinda stoppable, if you're in the right universe.



2. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I have played 265 hours of Breath of the Wild. I have found all 120 shrines. I've found around 300 korok seeds (so I'm like 600 short). For a little while the game was starting to feel a bit like work. But even then, I can still sit down and disappear into Hyrule for an hour or two, and really enjoy it. I'm still seeing things I haven't seen before and even when I have seen things before the game still keeps things interesting. I might have to play the DLC some time.
   
   

   

   Yes. I am charging towards to Bokoblin riding bears. No. I didn't live much after this.



3. Cursed Treasure 2 - Cursed Treasure 2 has a some things that really recommend it. First, it's available on the Web, so I could play it while my PC was broken. Second, it has an interesting set of challenges that keep the game interesting, and it has a meta game that leaves you with a lot of interesting choices. Finally, it's fairly quick to play so it's nice to have for a break when you need it. I've actually been enjoying it enough that I've been messing around with speed running it a bit, and can now play the first 3 levels in 4 minutes and 51 seconds.
   
   

   

   OK. 5 minutes. Go!



4. Super Mario Maker - I'm actually surprised I played this game this much, but it's kinda easy to get sucked in. I started playing again because I started watching StephenPlays again, and every weekday morning he plays a level from Mario Maker. It's interesting how much level design has changed since I first started playing. Some of it is really good, and I also think some of it doesn't really result in the much fun. Still it's been in my head, and I've been noodling around with a few ideas that I hope are fun.
   
   

   

   Welcome to the doughnut mines.



5. Ogre Battle 64 - In March I finished a play through of Ogre Battle 64. To the best of my recollection, that's the second time I've finished it. Yeah, it *is* probably my favourite game. It's something I've come to a certain amount of peace with, I can love Ogre Battle and think it's pretty flawed  at the same time. I just need to play it however it seems to work. Anyway, it's time to put it away for now and play summer things until the snow rolls around again in October. (**Coughcough** - insert comment about Calgary's unending winter 2018)
   
   

   

   I ... finished.

Here's my total play time chart for March:

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