The Two Game Solution.

I find myself in a curious state of transitional uncertainty. Not that I’ve undergone some surgical pruning of my gender specific appendage, more that I’m unsure of what game to engross myself in next. This is a familiar position I’ve routinely found myself impeded by. Though time permitting to indulge in my favourite introverted hobby is my usual obstruction, discerning my next addictive distraction is always a difficult choice to make. And though I’m currently engaged with galactic democracy in “Helldivers 2”, adopting the rather envious role of “Ringo” in our rag-tag “Beatles” ensemble, I’ve always found that a companion game that you can jump back and forth between provides a much more compelling gaming experience. Say you’ve been halted by a particularly nasty boss in “Elden Ring” for example, rather than frustration causing you to quit in a heightened stage of irritability, blaming the game, controls and the gradual rotation of the Earth for your failing, you simply transpose from one maddening game to another less exaperating one. Usually a contrasting genre.

So with “Helldivers 2” occupying the majority of my gaming habits, trying to find something to temper the burden of managed democracy is a rather judicious process. It’s easy to just play something safe and familiar. Something I know I’ll enjoy. A game such as Skyrim that has provided historic enjoyment over the years. With an open world that promotes exploration at your own pace and leisure, with a map that is as familiar to me as my hometown. With a difficulty that can be as easy or as challenging as you want it to be. I can jump straight into it’s expansive depths and feel right at home. But do I really want something comfortable? Perhaps my gaming proclivities would be better served by a new title? The sequel to “Dragons Dogma” has really roused my curiosity, with the thought of traversing a new unfamiliar territory igniting a dormant lust for adventure. But what if I don’t like it? “Baldurs Gate 3”, the darling of the gaming community was a previous acquisition that I was never quite enamoured with. Do I really want to risk spending another £60 on another game I’m not going to enjoy?

Purchasing any new game is always a risk. With the economic cost of things only exacerbated by the demise of trading and secondhand gaming. I’ve always trusted my instincts with these kinds of decisions. And more often than not these decisions have proven to be beneficial to my gaming habits, even if the impulsive purchase I have made was not entirely congenial. Finding the right game for you is more complicated than it has ever been.