I’ve been working through my backlog of games. Sometimes I will accept that it’s not worth finishing. Sometimes I will be stubborn and finish a game, even if I don’t enjoy it so much. Simply to say I finished it. I’ve noticed that while that stubbornness used to result in a sense of accomplishment, these days it’s just another box to tick. I think it is more due to being burned out than living through pandemic days, but I won’t rule out it might be a combination of both. There is a lack of emotion tied to completing a game I wasn’t having fun playing other than I can move on without feeling guilty. But sometimes I can move on without feeling guilty and without completing a game.

Deponia Doomsday – DNF, a lot of the puzzles required some lateral thinking that I don’t exercise often. I found myself more frustrated and at a loss of what to do. I took more pleasure reading through a walkthrough and following along (generally what I do if I get lazy). The story itself wasn’t that gripping so I didn’t feel compelled to finish it.

Cat Quest – this mobile game was a nice distraction during the early lockdown days. Cat puns were cutesy. The combat was a little frustrating at times. I am not a fan of using the touchscreen for attacks; please give me buttons to press. Overall, a nice and low-key game to relax with.

Monument Valley – loved the mind-boggling Escher-like physics. Sometimes it was overload for my brain especially after a long/hard day at work, but the calming approach, much like the ambient games I enjoyed about ten years ago, made it more enjoyable. It’s easy to put down and the stages are short enough for bite-sized breaks.

Kathy Rain – a gem after the disappointment of Deponia Doomsday. Puzzles weren’t too hard to figure out, though it wasn’t always clear that something needed to be done before the next day would be triggered. The story was complex enough to keep me curious about where things were headed. Also, for the first time in years, I actually had to write stuff down!

Yono and the Celestial Elephants – I was not intimidated, but somewhat wary about playing a Zelda-alike. The graphics were cute but the controls, much like the elephant character (Yono) that you play, were a little clunky. There were weird animation artifacts, particularly with edges, that would result in Yono going places you didn’t want him to go and dumped into water or a pit. Nonetheless, for a largely one-man developed game, it wasn’t bad. I could easily see the Zelda-inspired puzzles (e.g., ice block pushing, switch hitting), but I think what is most interesting is the opportunity to use dialog for philosophical musings from the developer.

Avicii Invector – I should know better than to play rhythm games because I either don’t have good rhythm or whoever designed the buttons to press don’t have a good sense of rhythm. Regardless, being a late fan to Avicii’s music, I wanted to give the game a shot. I had to look up what keys were used for various icons because they couldn’t bother to label all of them in the game itself. Sometimes, like the spacebar light gate (a triangle shape that was very easy to miss), the key icon would be gone and if you miss enough of them, it would reappear. Luckily it wasn’t too hard to get through all of the tracks, but I had no interest in going back to get better scores.

Cytus II – DNF, another rhythm game but for mobile. The interface is a little confusing, but I managed to figure out how to start the stages. The mechanics are different from what I’ve played before so it was fun and interesting to adapt. Unfortunately, my case is kinda clunky and my hands are small so it’s not something I can easily play while laying down.

Anna’s Quest – Another game from the developers of Deponia Doomsday. I am not sure if I will finish this one. The puzzles so far aren’t too crazy, though I would have never thought to combine the witch’s hat with the book of magic tricks. What does get to me is Anna’s voice. It has a somewhat whiny undertone and gets annoying to listen to after a while. Yes, I am going to reduce the voice volume very low and see if I can manage that.