Wow, it’s been a while. Not because I’ve done nothing, but because I’ve been stuck. I’m in a post-game slump after Assassin’s Creed Origins. After I finish a good game, it’s hard to pick up something else. I spent a lot of time trying out some games that weren’t up to Origins quality. I went back to Origins and did more leftover side quests. I played more less than great games. I “finished” Tom Clancy’s The Division, and tried to get into Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. Now I’ve got something good, Bayonetta 2 on Switch, and it’s going to take some time to get through it. It’s great, and I’m glad I’m out of the rut.
But while I work through Bayonetta 2, I’m chewing on ways to talk about some of this stuff I played without reviewing it. I’ve touched about a dozen games that either didn’t do anything for me, or just didn’t hold my interest long enough to get to the end. It’s rare that I review a bad game because life’s short and the supply of video games that are worth playing is huge. But there might some value in constructively criticizing these games that I didn’t find great. And then there are games like The Division, where I’m far past prime review time, but I still feel like I have something to say about it. Is that a review? Probably not.
All this is to say I’m still alive even if I don’t have much to say now.