The start of the year was focused on a couple of games, but then I branched out a little bit. Work got a little exciting in June so I needed some distractions to avoid ruminating too much on it.

• Valheim (249 hours) – unexpected time sink. Originally started playing with some people on a Discord server while learning on my own in a solo save file, then one of my old-time gaming buddies wanted to play with me but got busy; forced a stop at the beginning of May
• Hades (37.9 hours) – when I didn’t want to deal with naked body runs after dying in Valheim. This was my original start of the year game but took 2nd place after getting into Valheim instead. I did finish the game at least twice.
• Unpacking – chill ambient game
• A Little to the Left – chill ambient game
• Escape Simulator – gift from a friend to play with others on a Discord server (some nausea from camera effects though)
• Faraway 3 (DNF) – horrible nausea effects
• Out of Line – interesting silent story
• Wizard of Legend (DNF) – roguelike that was a nice change of pace, but did not keep my attention
• Silence – story-driven, didn’t play the first game and eventually realized the protagonist was the girl instead of the boy, interestingly she didn’t bother me as small kids usually are written, but story is tragic
• Muck (DNF) – played for a few minutes with friends on a Discord server, haven’t quite figured it out but seems like the same model as Valheim (kill things, farm things, build things to survive the night, etc.)
• Healer’s Quest (DNF) – tried this out and it was humorous, but again didn’t really keep my interest beyond the first session
• Nova Lands demo – this one sucked me in a bit, sort of a Stardew Valley in space but more focused crafting and resource management
• Steamworld Dig 2 – played this series out of order, but platform it wasn’t too bad, a little bit of thinking required to avoid getting stuck in your own tunnels and being unable to get back out
• Steamworld Dig – same concept as the second game but some different tools, much easier to dig yourself into a tunnel and be unable to get back out until later in the game
• The Little Acre – short story-driven game with puzzles that aren’t too hard, but it wasn’t clear when you could explore more of one area
• The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature (DNF) – the art looks very pretty, but it was also hard to get into and difficult to realize where the exits are, did not keep my interest past the second room
• Hammerwatch II demo – sequel to Hammerwatch, arpg/gauntlet style, more focus on outside (so far) vs tower climbing
• Sea of Stars demo – bonus points for guest composer Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross), old school snes jrpg feels but “modernized” (would consider getting this)
• Cuisineer demo – rpg + restaurant management, points for cuteness, melee weapon being a frying pan, and ranged weapon being dishes (would consider getting this)
• Little Kitty, Big City demo – Stray this is not, still cute but the controls were quite annoying, especially the jump mechanic and not sure if the number of things to collect were absurdly high (20+) for the demo or will be lowered later (not sure if I’d go for the full game)
• Moonstone Island demo – stardew valley + pokemon, wish there was a dedicated home base instead of choosing your own (not sure if I’d go for the full game)
• Wizard with a Gun – arpg with home base and crafting elements, supposedly will be co-op with 1 other person, nice guitar-heavy soundtrack (would consider getting this, or the soundtrack..)
• Thronefall – minimalist tower defense but you can join the troops in attacking as well (not sure if I’d go for the full game)