I think this is a deceptively easy question. Wouldn’t you just play what you have? Why not just pick a game from your Steam library at random? Isn’t there something you’ve been wanting to play? Shoot, you could even pull up a top games list and just start from there.

That may work for some people, but I have bad habits and a lot of psychological blocks to clearing my catalog.

When I look back at my gaming’s past, I don’t see many tactics games. While my earliest memories consist of sitting on a step-stool next to the family’s computer to watch my dad play Commandos on a CRT monitor, I was swept up into Maplestory and Halo and never turned back. At some point I began to associate tactics games, like XCOM, with a specific “type” of gamer. Those that reveled in the nitty-gritty of dice rolls and strict adherence to DnD protocol. It seemed to suck the fun out of turn-based combat. They also looked annoyingly difficult and niche. So, I poured another thousand hours into Diablo II. In late 2023 as I took on The Video Game Backlog (TM), I decided to boot-up XCOM: Enemy Unknown fully expecting to shut it off in frustration and move onto a more familiar genre.

Release Year: 2019
Reading Year: FA2023
Developer/Publisher: Hidden Layer Games/Chucklefish
Time to Beat: ~3 Hours

Thoughts: A cinematic and atmospheric indie game with incredible pixel art and music/sound design! I found the ambiguity of the story and non-linear vignettes to be quite intriguing. Ending did not stick the landing for me.

Release Year: 1996
Reading Year: WI2023
Developer/Publisher: Square/Nintendo
Time to Beat: 7 Hours

Thoughts: I am not a fan of Mario games, but this one won me over. Somehow Square Enix was able to take the dull and intentionally flat character of Mario and make him funny. I can’t get over how funny this game is. The way the characters use physical humor or impersonation to make their jokes with no dialogue. It feels reminiscent of Scooby-Doo. I was always so surprised each time I would have a long/important dialogue interaction because I would always be cracking up. I can’t overstate how strange, odd, and fun the characters and story are.

Adachi to Shimamura

Backflap Summary

Shimamura’s not really into the social scene at school. So when she cuts class and heads to her usual spot in the gym, the last thing she wants to see is another girl there making herself at home. Somehow, though, the awkward, silent moments they share keep bringing them closer… But when Adachi starts wanting something more, Shimamura finds the line between friends and girlfriends getting thinner and thinner…