Gaming is Booming!

Knock on wood, put on your best pair of superstitious underwear or rub that lucky rabbit foot you’ve been holding onto since the 90’s. (Are those even a thing anymore? God, I’m so old) Gaming or video games in general are riding a high that I haven’t seen in a hot minute and it is so dang refreshing to see the positivity crush the news cycle compared to the normal doom and gloom we’ve become so accustomed to. If you’re curious as to what I’m talking about because you’ve just woken from a long-term coma, (Congratulations! You aren’t Rick Grimes and this isn’t the walking dead! Yet!) I’m of course referring to the crazy number of amazing games that seem to be coming one after another. In the last few weeks alone, we’ve seen the likes of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. (PS5 release for Indy. The others are actually new in general) I know I’m probably omitting others that I’ll hopefully recall further along writing this blog, but I honestly want to dive into the first 2 games I mentioned right away.

Until recently, my only experience ever with Oblivion was 17 years ago during my sophomore year of college. My buddy Mike invited me to his room to game and partake in some “refreshing” beverages. (Of course I will not disclose what type of beverages these were. I was a good and law-abiding college student under the age of 21. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it) Now normally game time in college revolved around classics like Mario Kart 64, NFL Blitz or Pokemon Snap but that day, I got my first taste of the Elder Scrolls on Xbox 360 and things did not go well. Within minutes of being handed a controller and told to “figure stuff out”, yours truly was mauled by a virtual grizzly bear. (Strangely enough about a decade later, a similar situation would unfold when I was given a controller and told to fight a bear in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. You think I would just stay away from video game bears at this point?) Naturally, being the young and dumb hothead that I was, my immediate reaction to Oblivion was to write it off and not venture back for another “grizzly” adventure. (Please “bear” with me through the puns) What’s fascinating to me is that even though I held on to that belief for years to come, I threw all judgement out the door when Skyrim arrived and constantly found myself immersed in that game for thousands of hours. (Revisit my previous Skyrim blog for more info) However, one thing always chewed away at me: perhaps I should have given Oblivion the proper chance it deserved and not judge it so harshly from one bad moment. The problem was by the time Skyrim came around, the original Oblivion was so outdated and graphically inept that I couldn’t possibly return to a game like that! Especially where everyone was saying how superior Skyrim was back then. (Interestingly enough, you see fans these days debating about which game is more so superior to the other) So what does Bethesda go and do just last week? They shadow drop Oblivion Remastered at the same time they drop an announcement trailer for the game. (We “bearly” made it through that paragraph, huh? Okay, for real, I’m done now)

In a world with preorder bonuses and waiting lists for the newest and hottest consoles, games and toys, I honestly am blown away when companies and developers decide to surprise launch games. If we’re being honest, a lot of die-hard fans were expecting an Oblivion Remaster at some point due to publicly released documents from court hearings and there was a leak revealed shortly before the game was launched. However, it really is just refreshing to see money not be the only driving force behind an incredible re-release of a beloved game. The way the game was released is beyond amazing as well. Essentially, the game is almost a carbon copy of the same title released back in 2006 but with an eye-popping graphical overhaul, slight quality of life updates and a price tag of 50 dollars. (The 50 bucks price tag is insane to see they didn’t rip off anyone by charging what’s considered full price for the game) Yours truly was one of the most excited about this launch because I’m buying a game that I’ve always second guessed judging the way I did and my biggest gripe about not returning to it is fixed! Seriously, hats off to Bethesda for getting this right and thank you for giving me the ability to finally give this game it’s rightful chance of a playthrough. I sincerely hope more companies and/or developers learn from this positive reaction and I would be overjoyed to see other older games get this type of treatment in the future. Alright, alright. Enough gushing over Bethesda and Oblivion Remastered. Let’s get to a game that wasn’t even on my radar but hooked me almost instantaneously.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Which I will refer to as Ex 33 from here on out) is a game that I recall seeing being announced at one of the game awards or shows from a while back. While I can’t sit here and claim it made me jump out of my chair with excitement, Ex 33 was a game that looked intriguing but promptly vacated my brain the minute other “shinier” games were announced. That was until recently when the gaming forums and YouTube channels started getting a whiff of how spectacular this game was shaping up to be. Before I go any further, I must fully admit that I am still relatively fresh into Ex 33. I haven’t had more than a handful of gameplay hours and it is taking every bit of energy to not just abandon my current writing and jump back into the game. That being said, I will obviously not spoil anything whatsoever about Ex 33 for you, so please, do not stress. (Not that I really could anyway but that’s beside the point) Ex 33 is already on my list for potential game of the year candidates and if I may be so bold to say, on its way to being one of my favorite games ever. The atmosphere, the graphics, the emotional story, the music, the combat and so much more are all so well defined and perfect in the way that Sandfall Interactive (Ex 33’s developer) have constructed and created in this new fantasy setting. I only faced 2 tutorial type battles in combat before the prologue of the game threw an absolute emotional haymaker of a gut punch that I honestly hadn’t felt since playing the introduction of The Last of Us: Part One. (If you know, you know) The scene was so heart wrenching that I actually had to go show Mrs. Prowler how incredibly crafted it was and she normally couldn’t care less about gaming but even she said it was a beautifully sad moment. While I would love to sit here and go on and on about how amazing Ex 33 is, I truly want to write a full review in the future so I will force myself to wrap this up sooner than I’d like. Just know that another unbelievable fact about the game is that it was launched day one, on sale for only 50 dollars. I would have happily paid full price for this game and again, that is only with less than 5 hours of gameplay so far.

So, we got an older Elder Scrolls game remastered for a decent price and a new game (Again at a decent price) is blowing my socks off. Why are we getting all excited about gaming heading down this path of positivity and excitement? Well to put it simply, we as fans are getting wins and it appears that specific (VERY specific) developers and companies are actually listening to our feedback about what we, the consumers, actually want. Heck, I didn’t even dive into Indiana Jones and the Great Circle but the reason I’m so excited about it is because it shouldn’t even be on PS5, (Due to Microsoft owning the developers) but it almost seems like we’re heading towards the death of console exclusivity. (Which would be crazy!) Another game that I was happy to support was Lords of the Fallen. I watched a video that broke down what the developers did in the latest patch for the game and I was so inspired afterwards that I went and purchased the game to play at some point in the near future. (If you like Souls like games, check out Lords of the Fallen. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the latest patch notes. You won’t regret it) It really does bring a smile to my face seeing the trajectory that video games appear to be on with all this awesomeness happening recently and again, I really hope this drum of positivity continues to beat. We, the fans, all will be the better for it and I think gaming will benefit so much more than hearing the constant reports of layoffs, games broken at launch and the never-ending barrage of microtransactions. Now if only we could find the solution to my real problem: how can we get more time in the day for me to game more? I “bearly” have enough! (Dammit, Prowler!)