Video Games I’m Playing: 09/11/20

Time for another check-in on the games that are helping me maintain my sanity in these crazy times! I’ve been getting through a good mix of big budget and indie games, which is always great. Let’s see what’s been keeping me busy, shall we?

SPIRITFARER
This one is pitched as a “cozy management game about death.” That sounds morbid, but it’s actually been fairly relaxing. With bright colors and characters who look like fantastical animals, SPIRITFARER puts you in the role of Stella, a young girl who has taken over for Charon in the role of ferrying souls to the afterlife. But before that, you have to help the souls feel fulfilled. Enter the game’s central conceit: you essentially run a giant houseboat where you craft structures like a loom and a furnace so you can craft personalized houses for the souls you collect as you sail about the map. As someone who has never been drawn to ANIMAL CROSSING, there’s enough direction here to keep me entertained as I go on quests to help out my passengers.

FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE
I FINALLY finished this one, after dragging it out for a few months longer than intended. It’s a game I enjoyed for the most part, though certain sections of fetch quests dragged the pacing a bit. I’m very grateful I had nowhere to be when I sat down to finish it, as I thought “Surely there’s only an hour or two left, I can knock this out,” only to discover that, no, there was five more hours of boss fighting and cut scenes. The ending of REMAKE is a TRIP, but only truly lands if you’re familiar with the original game. If you aren’t, you’re likely to be jumping down a wiki afterwards; I know I did, I played the original in the last five years.

TELL ME WHY
I haven’t played LIFE IS STRANGE, but this new game from the same developer was on Xbox Game Pass, so I decided to give it a whirl. So far I’ve only completed the first chapter of three, and it’s a pleasant experience, though less action-packed than my usual gaming fare. TELL ME WHY is about two twins (one of whom is a trans male) returning to their family home after a tragedy resulted in the death of their mother ten years ago. There’s a light paranormal element as the twins are telepathic, and can also project memories of events that happened in certain locations. At this point, the twins have realized they don’t know the full truth about what happened the night of their mother’s death, and are trying to understand what happened. This is very much a 3D adventure game, where most of the interaction is clicking on items and hearing the twins discuss its significance. It’s not my favorite game, but I’m intrigued enough to keep going.

ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS
With ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA coming out later this year, I’ve been inspired once more to try and catch-up on the series. Yes, I could technically jump ahead without any problems, and yet, here we are. AC ORIGINS is a game that I know I would like a lot more if I would stop going months between playing it. With the pandemic, I’ve been able to finish most of the AAA games I’ve had on my plate, so I’m making an effort to actually dedicate some time to AC: ORIGINS and see if I can get through the main campaign. This world is GORGEOUS, and I’m enjoying being able to explore it more.

And that’s what I’m playing! Any games got you particularly hooked?