I’m guilty of many sins when it comes to games and I’ll leave it as that as I’m not on trial here. I get angry often while playing games so that’s one sin down. I obsess over many games, buy them and then rarely play them so that counts as lust and greed. I exclusively play on easy so that’s sloth covered. I don’t play online as I’m a sore loser, and resent people being better than me at things, so there’s the envy and pride. That just leaves wrath, and you’ll certainly feel mine if you push me on having to give an example for it.
It’s not all fire and brimstone however and the five following gaming sins make it feel so good to be bad.
I’m terrible for doing this. There are so many games I have started and want to get back to like The Witcher 3, Persona 5 and Watch Dogs 2 but alas I’m more easily distracted by re-visiting a game I’ve played before and know inside and out.
I played Assassins Creed: Origins on Xbox One X and loved it, and following my success in achieving the Platinum for Odyssey, I’ve wanted to replay Origins on Playstation 4 to Platinum that. I recently got round to purchasing it for Playstation 4, but the seller must have been very confused as they sent me Odyssey for Xbox One. Any normal person would probably have sent it back and requested the correct game was sent, but as I loved Odyssey so much (I gave it 3rd best game of the last decade http) I decided I’d just start it again. At time of writing I am ten hours in, playing as Alexios instead of Kassandra this time, and I still love the game as much as I did the first time round.
It’s no crime to replay games we love, but replaying a game I spent almost 170 hours on only last year may be a touch excessive..
I’ve said it a billion times but here I go again, I don’t play video games for a challenge. I love carving through whole armies without taking a scratch on Assassins Creed: Odyssey, and being able to take down a Thunderjaw on Horizon Zero Dawn while all it can do is paw pathetically at Aloy’s vastly impenetrable armour. I will always stand by that my comfort zone is playing video games with no challenge, though some will argue I’m not so much playing the game as I am watching it while occasionally tapping the controller.
It is becoming more apparent as time goes on that well received titles like God of War (2018) and Death Stranding are intentionally welcoming gamers like me into the fold with their ‘Story only’ difficulties. It seems the days are gone of calling it ‘Very Easy’ mode, and we may see an increase in games labelling their easier difficulties as what they are; invitations for people like me to play their games and feel just as fulfilled as someone far more competent than I am. Here’s hoping anyway..
As I’ve aged I find myself doing this less, but I still hold a personal resentment towards From Software for their exclusion of my easy mode coveting kind and I from their franchises. I’ve heard the ‘oh the Soulsbornekiro games aren’t that hard’ many times so to be perfectly clear on this front; if I die more than once attempting any part of any game then that game is dead to me and I move on to the next.
I’ve never accused these games of being bad, as I absolutely love the look of their environments and monsters, as well as what I have heard about their deep lore. I’d love to submerge myself in these worlds, and if I could do that with the same level of ease I play the previously mentioned games, I would be there in a heartbeat.
Even if there was an invincibility mode that disabled trophies I would be totally fine with that, but as I’m not prepared to start PC gaming just for mods for these games it isn’t meant to be. I guess I’ll shuffle off back to YouTube to watch better players than me beat the toughest bosses with one hand, blindfolded and riding a panther.
I’ve recently spent seven hours building roads and making van deliveries in Death Stranding. At the time I was convinced I was having a terrific time, but looking back (now that I’m completely burnt out with the game) I see it only as time spent grinding a part of the game that doesn’t really need to be grinded at all. I know grinding is a common habit in gaming, particularly in RPG’s, but I think I may have discovered a whole new level to the definition.
I love Death Stranding, from its long walks across vast terrain to the general sense of isolation and frequent dread that it springs onto players when navigating BT infested areas. However, my issue came to light once I discovered the game becomes much easier if you have roads, with vans to drive on them. This led to the seven hour grind (across two days mind you, as if that justifies it) in which I built roads connecting two of the games main cities. I was halfway done on my next grand project of roads on the opposite side of the map before I experienced the overwhelming feeling of game fatigue, leading to me taking some annual leave away from my fictional job of post apocalyptic delivery man (and road labourer).
I will certainly be returning to Death Stranding soon, after I’ve had a good cleanse of post-apocalypse playing Odyssey, but this example serves to highlight the absolute menace that is grinding in video games. It’s rarely worth it, and can leave you feeling like you’re entitled to holiday away from a game you’ve paid for with money from your real job.
This article really has turned into a confession for me. I admit it, my eating and drinking tendencies are at their worst while I am gaming. I drink too much energy drink despite the fact I’m not actually moving anywhere, and have been known to work through a two litre of orange Tango in an evening if a game has too many loading screens. I’m also a big fan of drinking beer while gaming online, something I don’t play nearly as much as I used to, and as a result my alcohol intake has greatly dropped as well. Who’d have thought it?
Crisps and chocolate are easier to eat while gaming than a head of lettuce, and while my eyes and brain are enjoying themselves it’s only fair that my tastebuds are too. I’m fully aware how unhealthy this is, but I know I’m definitely not alone in this regard, so let me know what your food and drink of choice while gaming is down in the comments.
Thank you for reading about how I’m a self-confessed sinner when it comes to my gaming behaviour. Feel free to sound off in the comments and on Twitter @RespawningUK about how I’m a filthy casual, everyone else in Respawning does, and I will be back to speak to you again soon no matter how much you hurt my feelings. Thanks again!