When I think about games that had lasting effects on me, there’s honestly hardly any.
For starters, I have to give games like Pokémon and World of Warcraft their own category. I’ve played them both for massive chunks of my life, and even if a sequel isn’t great, I’m playing it. They’ve probably both affected me somehow, but in a more longer-term way that’s hard to measure.
I guess I could also say the FIFA and Call of Duty games are similar, in that it’s not really about the quality of the game, the benefit is really the experience playing live with other people.
The game that had the biggest “wow, this is incredible” was Firewatch. It was a really good length, the story had me hooked the whole way through, and the whole gameplay experience was great.
But there is one game that I seem to have a lot of nostalgia for, and that is The Last of Us. I can’t put my finger on the exact reason. Was it the gameplay, the story, or just my life at the time? I don’t know.
But when I think back to playing the game, or see photos on social media, all I can remember is being completely immersed, taking everything one step at a time, never wanting to miss a single second. I really want to play through it again. But I wonder if it just won’t have the same feeling as the first time.
One thing is for certain, I want to start playing more games. And I don’t just mean endless hours on Call of Duty or World of Warcraft. Real games, with enthralling stories, that leave something behind in me.