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2021 was the year I fell a little less in love with gaming

I began 2021 with a lot of hope when it comes to gaming. We had recently received the PlayStation 5 in for review and made our way through a handful of titles created exclusively for the now current-gen console.

It was a nice amuse-bouche for the smorgasbord of games that was suppose to follow in the coming months, but the year did not pan out as I had expected.

Was I guilty of placing a bit too much importance on a game’s release during a pandemic? Perhaps, but it recently dawned on me while preparing for the last africast recording of the year, that no piece of gaming stuck with me during 2021.

As I was getting ready for the recording, I had to think of my favourite game of the year, and I simply could not do it. I racked me brain for a good 45 minutes thinking what was memorable, even looking at my PlayStation account’s library of titles and delving into the Hypertext archive of reviews to see if anything sparked inspiration… nothing.

I was not alone mind you, with my colleagues agreeing that 2021 was a tad barren, although they did at least find a few honourable mentions.

There were moments though, there are always moments.

The first half of Resident Evil Village for example, but a failure to stick the landing means I could never award it the best game of the year. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was also an impressive feat if execution and a solid showcase of the PS5’s DualSense controller. Returnal also warrants a mention for its sharp gameplay, but ironically, there was not enough on offer to make me want to return.

It’s not all hopeless though, there is light on the horizon, especially if you are PlayStation player like myself. The prospect of Horizon Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok in the not too distant future means we could have two game of the year contenders soon.

That said, if Ragnarok is delayed, the outlook for 2022 looks a little worse.

Despite falling a little less in love with gaming, I am still optimistic that I can fall back in love again.

Titles like Season (featured in header) have piqued my interest, and while there is not a definitive launch date, the prospect of exploring a beautiful digital world on bicycle and capturing fleeting moments on a retro-inspired camera might just be what I’m looking for.

That actually may be where I am at, heading into a third year of a pandemic and lockdowns – my appetite for games is changing. Yes, I will continue to enjoy the action-filled and intensely taxing AAA title from time to time, but in between those releases, something slow and contemplative is what I need.

Either way, something needs to change for me in order to fall back in love with gaming again, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

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