simpleek

Every year there’s maybe one or two video games that has me anticipating its upcoming releases. You’re counting down the months until you finally get it in your hands (or console with the popularity of digital downloads), and once it finally is, that game becomes your whole world for another few months.

As we near the end of the year and I review the new games I have bought, it actually isn’t much.

The beginning of this year had me largely focusing on last year’s releases or older video games like Neo: The World Ends with You, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and Fire Emblem: Birthright. Around the summer, the only new game that came out this year that I bought was the choice-based narrative game As Dusk Falls. Beyond that I have not bought any other new release.

Sure, there was the new Saints Row which I was very interested in getting but not enough to actually buy it right away. Recently, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet came out, a highly anticipated game for all who have been playing Pokemon since the very beginning, but it wasn’t a game I was particularly hyped about. I have a few of the older Pokemon games from the DS and 3DS era, and while they are cute and fun, I have yet to really beat any of them. Aside from those two games I probably would be more likely to play if I had more time and money to spare, the other new games that came out this year have been very lackluster for me personally.

In many ways it’s a good thing there aren’t a ton of games I have wanted this year. Between moving into a new place and inflation kicking everyone’s asses the world over, it maybe isn’t wise to spend unnecessarily if there’s no need to, though, I did take advantage of a really good Black Friday deal on an Xbox Series S. Other than that personal splurge, I have been more selective about the games I want to buy.

Ever since I got into gaming I have always been content purchasing one or two games I absolutely had to have and then having those be the only ones I played. There are so many older games I have yet to play. Even bothering to buy one new release a year eventually adds up to having too many to play. This is probably why I’m largely not easily swayed to buy every new game that comes out each year. Why keep buying all the new games, no matter how good they are, if you barely have the time to play them? If you manage to buy one really good game, to me, that’s more than enough to experience what developers have worked hard on delivering to the public.

All that glitters isn’t gold, and that saying applies to video games. Thankfully, As Dusk Falls has been the one brilliant video game release to standout for me in 2022 and it was worthy of the money I paid for it.

What new releases have caught your eye this year? Have you bought more or less games in 2022?