2021 Has Taken Marie Pritchard Out of Her Gaming Comfort-zone | Winter Spectacular 2021

Is it a little heavy-handed to say that my 2021 has been a year of growth? Probably, but this year has taken me out of my comfort zone in terms of which genre of games I like. Admittedly, before I started writing about games for a living I was very much someone who stuck to the types of games that were familiar to me. Apex Legends, GTA V and retro platformers - no need to get too adventurous. But now, having a little more time on my hands and starting a brand new career, I have found that I have delved deeper into genres of games that I’d previously bypassed such as indies, FPS and Horror. I am so glad I spent this year pushing my palate, as delving into these genres helped me to find one of my favourite games of the year. 

Old reliable. That is what I call both a quick game of Apex in the evening and a trusty Flatline on a hot-drop.

After the dry spell of game releases back in 2020, this year has been a breath of fresh air with minor and major game releases popping up all over the place. However, it’s the games of yesteryear that are now becoming available to play for free in one way or another (be it Game Pass or just free on a console store) that have drawn me into new places.

I want to kick this off with indie games, it is more than just a genre label, but a sub-industry in the video game-sphere, and I have fallen deeply in love with it. The talent of some of the indie game developers is astounding. I sat down with a cup of tea to list all of the games from this genre that I played and more importantly enjoyed this year. The list ended up being pretty much all of the indie titles I got my hands on, even the ones with major glitches. Some of the glitches I encountered made me like the game more, odd I know considering glitches can be the last straw for some gamers. Even being a ghost that’s possessing a pigeon that gets stuck mid-flight in Boodunnit made me laugh so hard I forgot that glitches typically irk people (aka me).

I spent a long time believing that indie titles were these mysterious, magical games that only the most talented of gamers could play. Yes, they can be wonderfully mysterious, magical and fun games but they are by no means limited to experienced gamers. My first experience with an indie PC game, Boodunnit, was gentle enough for me to enjoy it, while also allowing me to figure out how on earth to coordinate my fingers for a new control system that I wasn’t used to. This was something I found with a lot of the other indies I played this year too. The difficulty levels differ but none of these games were too hard that learning how to play them overrode the excellent stories and gameplay. Whether it was the deeply moving and complex themes in Sky: Children of the Light that made me look deep into my own existence (cue existential crisis) or the comedic rollercoaster of Epic Chef, they were all tremendously fun. 

Just thinking.

Speaking of fun, let’s talk about first-person shooter games. Apex Legends was and still is my go-to game for the most part but I have deviated from it several times to explore new titles.  Before 2021 I was very much a run and gun kind of gamer but games like Splitgate have taught me the benefits of thinking tactically in my shooters.

This game really made the wait for Halo much easier.

Splitgate was a game I didn’t think I’d enjoy because of how slow and tactical it presents itself - you know, placing a portal to jump through and not being shot in the process. However, the portals were the exact reason I found it really fun. Sure, I died a lot because I misjudged where I would end up but popping up like a little jack-in-a-box to surprise enemies was hilarious. On the subject of tactics, another game I didn’t expect to like as much as I did was Battlefield V. I know, I know, it has been out for a while but, “Hey it is on Game Pass. I may as well check it out.”. I confess that I was terrible at thinking about and applying tactics in that game, but being constantly blown up by tanks was motivation enough to get me to learn the ropes of the series. The squad-based planning and forethought that Battlefield forced me to engage in has even made me a better team player when I jump back into Apex. My main point here is that sometimes going outside of your comfort zone to try other games can be beneficial in teaching you new skills that you can use in your favourites. 

Well, Rockstar always did describe Red Dead as being about the death of the wild west, I just never realised they meant literally until now.

I also want to talk about a genre that I actively avoided for most of my life, mainly because I am a self proclaimed scaredy-cat. Horror. I am not saying by any means that I have miraculously become super-brave in the time since my Halloween The House of The Dead rant, but I am starting to understand the appeal of the genre. I think I have figured out that I can enjoy horror games as long as I have an in-game weapon to defend myself with and it’s not overly spooky-fied. One such game is Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. I know that the mode has been out for a long time but the game is still heaps of fun. It’s not exactly “run out of the room in fear while letting my NPC friends perish” horror but the moody zombie-fuelled “nightmare” is enough for me. In addition, I am really starting to see the appeal of being scared by a game because they can be genuinely fun. That being said, I know I have a ways to go - I did a quick exit after watching the gameplay trailer for Dead by Daylight. However, because I had so much fun with smaller and arguably less terrifying horror titles, I want to explore more. 

I wonder what 2022 has cookin’?

2021 has been a year of gaming growth and discoveries for me. I found that I have the urge to become braver and play scarier horror games. I found that indie games are an area I thoroughly love with Epic Chef from developers Infinigon Games and publishers Team 17 becoming one of my favourite games of the year!. With all of the development I have experienced personally in gaming as well as the advancement in many areas of video game technology, I have high hopes for 2022 to be an even bigger and better year for me. Just maybe not playing Silent Hill… We aren’t there yet.