Over the past year, I've been overwhelmed with videogames to play, books to read, audiobook and podcasts to listen to and TV shows and films to watch. So, over the past several months, I've been using most of my spare time (about a couple of hours before bed each evening) playing videogames. There's been a plethora of amazing AAA games so most evenings would find me working my way through the unholy trinity: Elden Ring (167 hours), God of War: Ragnarok (31 hours) and Horizon Zero Dawn: Forbidden West (18 hours in, when I stopped for my annual videogame detox).
Every year, I abstain from gaming for a period of at least a month. I find it gives me a chance to engage in my other hobbies which may get overtaken by videogames. We've never had it so good, what with the constant sales, discounts, demos and the drip feed of big name and hot-new-indie releases but it can become overwhelming. There's always another game to buy, another 'must play' to experience, a huge discount for a game on the Wish List that would be silly not to buy... always something or another.
This year, I used January as my appointed time away from gaming to read a couple of books, catch up on my pile of gaming and cult TV and film magazines, listen to loads of podcasts and write stuff for this blog. In short, it was a very productive time that lightened my soul and lifted my eyes away from the screen, apart from the film watching and blog writing of course.
As February hit, I worked my way through Horizon and finished the game after a total of 37 hours. It was a great game and I'm glad I played and completed it, but after 2 other open-world games, I was glad to just play a platformer or something more focused. I definitely have open-world fatigue so will use the time from now to Zelda: Kingdom of Tears, to play my shorter titles that have languished in my download pile. First up is Sackboy: A Big Adventure; a great platforming game without huge lore but I love the banging music, including Chemical Brothers, Bruno Mars and David Bowie.
I still have a huge pile, both digitally and physically, of stuff to work through but sometimes time away from it all offers perspective and you realise... does it even matter? No, this is not a feeling of ennui but more a feeling of freedom- it'll still be there when you decide to get around to it y'know. It doesn't all have to be done right now is all I'm saying.
To quote my favourite film, Kieslowski's masterpiece Trois Colors Rouge, ‘Etre.’
LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East
LINK- The Future Starts Here: An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next- Book Review
LINK- Nintendo: My One True Gaming Constant
LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.
LINK- Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends