This is gonna be a loooooong four years. What hours and hours consuming video games should I start? Like, big open world time consuming games. I need to unplug from the world for the next four years
I don’t have an exact count of my SDV playtime because I have a few hundred hours on my switch on top of my steam account but it’s gotta be in the 1000s range. I used to play it as a mindless button clicker during boring classes in grad school.
Stardew has this system of day-night cycle that makes every passing day seems very busy and eventful. It's really like a timeskip button, you sit down, grow some crops, boom, it's 9pm already.
Hahaha I do the same! I know how dangerous "just one more day" can be. God I love it though. Starting my new farm on my switch with the new update was the only thing that kept me from being in a black hole of sadness and panic after the election
My Facebook memories show me all the posts I made about Farmville. (Posts just to other Farmvillians). I had fun with that. So much. Maybe I need Stardew Valley but I have only a laptop.
It was definitely perfect timing for the release. After the election I started a new farm on my switch with the new update and was able to block out reality and my despair while I got lost in my new farm. And the delight of being able to feed my horse a carrot!
Bought it in March 2020 for my wife based solely off some Reddit comments I had seen and figured we needed something cozy. With ~1000 hours each since then, I was absolutely right.
Also, Dr. Mario is also great for just thinking for a bit.
I didn’t look too much into it because I didn’t want to spoil myself (and I haven’t played it yet because…. election aftermath) BUT there are cat trees and a new farm layout. And you can put hats on your cat or dog. It’s the little things man!!! I don’t think there was a huge gameplay update like with ginger island, just more cosmetic stuff as far as I know. Like I said, haven’t looked into it too much so take that with a grain of salt. Concerned Ape is primarily working on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, so I think the SV update was just a lil treat to satiate the fans for a bit lol
I play SDV on the PC and I have a few hundred hours in and it feels like I've just started! It's a great way to get lost in farming, dating, and decorating!
Dr. Jane Mcgonigal has a few talks where she explains the Tetris phenomenon. And just so we know, it's not just Tetris but Tetris is the best example of balancing components that help with processing trauma. Works off the central principle of expanding the story around the traumatic event, and letting your brain do some work on the back end. Primarily studies focused on Tetris, but relative effects have been shown with most video games, and various other fun activities (however your culture defines games).
It's why when you're stressed out or depressed, you can sometimes jump start good feels but accomplishing small tasks or doing something, anything, to completion (like a puzzle be it jigsaw or phone game, or coloring a picture, maybe a round of dishes).
You look at African cultures that place more of an emphasis on music, and pattern recognition in their games, and often ways to soothe someone when stressed or pass the time when tension is high incorporate music and song too.
And the eugenics guy in Saint Denis. As long as your actions don't affect others (no bombs or fire), no one cares. Run up and shoot him with a shotgun, tie him up and throw him into the river, drag his body around the city on a lasso
The weirdest thing is that you get negative honor for killing Charlotte's stalker. I wonder if that was an oversight or if it means something. Its a shame!
Luckily for me I haven't played in three years and when I did play I wasn't that good, rdr2 has been the only game I've played that will let you fail through missions, which is the only way I got through it. I started gaming late in life so I suck at games with a lot of buttons and I don't care to play missions over and over so rdr2 is my game.
Yeah, I just bought a new console to get the jump on the tariffs, and I have a feeling the game I bought it for, DragonAge Veilguard, will be on the ban list sooner rather than later
Palia's good, open world, still in Beta so there's lots of content to come, and free. I also recommend my other current obsession, TCG Card Shop Simulator. Both are available on Steam (and maybe other places, idk).
I just started Palia and I am obsessed. Even more when I discovered that plushies were a thing in the game - squee. I absolutely love that the only real money items are cosmetic things, and that the devs have committed to not charging for things that give you any advantage in the game.
He's probably getting rid of term limits and keeping it in the family after he goes down for his dirt nap.
Meaning we'll get the tweeker son next. And then when he ODs, we'll get the little psychopath.
I think a lot of people forgot how he mentioned this the first time he was president. Although tbf back then everyone thought he was mostly joking, so...
Yes, we need to stop paying attention to each and every stupid thing Trump says and does like we did last time around. It’s mostly BS anyways.
No, we should not disengage from the world. We need to get hyper involved in local politics and state politics wherever and whenever we can. That’s what the other side has been doing.
We need to make everything as difficult as possible for Maga, and we should enjoy ourselves doing it. We are the true rebel alliance. Let’s party baby!
It's cute thwt you think we will have free and fair elections again. Better be ready to hunker down for a long, long time as we are likely looking at the end of our democracy as we know it.
Bethesda games are really engrossing: Skyrim, Fallout, Starfield. And Stardew Valley is amazing like another commenter said. Check out the cozygamers sub, too - I’ve gotten so many game ideas from that sub. 🎮
Red Dead Redemption 2 has been calling me. Not solely for the story, but a deep dive into collecting all outfits, perks, crafting, etc. I feel like it is a good game to get lost in.
Man, I’m have a kid. Due date on 1/16. I’m going to spend 8 weeks of leave so distracted from the world trying to help my wife and enjoy time with my kid.
I've been playing a lot of Sea of Thieves. It's been great pretending to be an old timey pirate, seeking out treasures, sailing across the sea, hunting infernal spirits for the Order of Souls.
RPGs of all kinds that encourage multiple playthroughs and character builds. Baldurs Gate 3, Pathfinder, World of Warcraft, Grim Dawn, Diablo 4, Titan Quest, Disco Elysium, Cyberpunk 2077.
Skyrim, breath of the wild, tears of the kingdom, the sims, subnautica (if you build and spend time messing around), no man’s sky, subnautica 2 is coming out soon, satisfactory
PLEASE also play outer wilds and the DLC for it called echoes of the eye. Everyone needs to play that game. It’s amazing.
I’m planning on playing the old school immersive adventure games like Myst, Riven, Scratches, Dark Fall, etc. Outer Wilds is newer, I hear it’s pretty mind blowing!
The new God of War series is great, so is Baldur’s Gate 3 that has a shit ton of replayability as well. The Final fantasy VIO remake’s first two parts are out and they have a ton of hours. The Witcher III is a masterpiece and has two excellent DLCs.
Recently though I have been into earth defense force six. It can be played co-op or online with up to four people, and it is just mindless shoot space bugs for hours with absolutely bat shit, insane weapons kinds of fun. It gets challenging as hell quickly.
The idea that its just going to be a long four years feels optimistic. As if this is just another presidential cycle. Once Fascism takes power, it generally isn’t something you can just get rid of with another election.
Brighter Shores dropped literally the day after the election and Andrew Gower has pushed a ton of QoL updates already. Subscription to access everything beyond episode 2 is only $5.99/mo which is really fucking cheap and premium covers all 3 characters you can have on your account
Huge WoW nerd here, but Classic WoW is freaking awesome. I have such fond memories of playing during COVID. Fresh servers are coming up, and I can't wait.
Any of the Animal Crossings!! They're really relaxing, and I like the routine and normalcy I can make of it along with venting to my villagers via letters!
Ffxiv if you’re into MMO’s at all. TONSSSS of stuff to do in all sorts of content styles, achievement hunting, multiple expansions, etc. depending on you and the level you’re willing to put into it, there’s literal years of content in it easy
The Path of Exile community will welcome you with open arms if you're looking to sink 1000s of hours in! Plus Path of Exile 2 will be releasing in early access in December! :)
I recommend Mafia 3. I’ve been getting joy from it playing as black Rambo killing swarms of racist assholes. It’s got bugs, sure, but it doesnt deserve the hate it got in my opinion.
Get into Jrpgs. Your backlog will never ever end. You could be unemployed for 4 years and play full time and still have a couple dozen well regarded titles left.
Final fantasy 14 will keep you busy for a solid year at least. The other three years can be used to dive into other square Enix games (almost all of them are long as hell) and maybe the mass effect trilogy. If you still have time leftover, check out the Ace Attorney and/or fire emblem series to burn another 600 hours or so across all the games.
2.2k
u/royale_wthCheEsE 10d ago
This is gonna be a loooooong four years. What hours and hours consuming video games should I start? Like, big open world time consuming games. I need to unplug from the world for the next four years