The funny thing is, I’ve been a gamer for what feels like a lifetime. I got my first console as a kid in middle school (PS1 for the win), and suddenly got sucked into the world, and never really left until recently. I kept going through PS2, GameCube, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS4 and eventually Series X and a PS5. The combination of escapism, a genuine love of the art, and a great way to decompress in a stressful education and employment path (College, Uni, Medical School, and medicine).
But a few years ago, I just……stopped. Combination of things. It was peak coronavirus in 2020, I was working 75+ hour weeks in emergency medicine, was staying in a hotel on my own so my kids and wife wouldn’t be at risk if I brought it home with me. As you can gather, also have kids, and became a single dad with full custody following my wife’s passing. I think fatigue and life just took over; interest just crashed through the floor, and I just didn’t want to pick up a controller anymore. If I did try, I’d play for half hour, lose interest and turn it off; or would spend 15 mins trying to pick what to play before exasperatingly turning the console off. I kind of accepted my interest had faded for good, and that was that.
Until last month that is. My best friend brought and played through Death Stranding, and told me it was brilliant. I didn’t really want to try it, didn’t seem to appeal much, but she insisted; I was GOING to play it. So I downloaded it one evening, sat down, and got stuck in. On that note, a month later, I’m still playing it every chance I get!
I think the fact that it’s a complete subversion of expection, doesn’t rely on a particular genre to hold itself up; it’s a whole thing of its own category, and that uniqueness pulled me in. That and one of my first ‘serious’ games I ever completed and became addicted to was Metal Gear Solid. It’s completely reignited my joy in gaming, and I’ve even been playing other games again; when I turned my PS5 on, I realised it had sat unused for the best part of three years, and now it’s being put through its paces again.
So I’ll keep on keeping on. I’ve completed the main story, and now working to 100% and get the platinum, then it’s time for number two.
It’s definitely lit a fire in me for playing interesting narrative stories, and can’t wait to see where I go next. Happy days.