I first played Bayonetta a few years ago following its initial release. My first impressions were damning. Was it the over the top approach? The gameplay? To be perfectly honest I didn’t even get that far. I didn’t even make it through the prologue. The characters in Bayonetta are excruciating! Fast forward a couple of years, I’m currently on Chapter 10 and thoroughly enjoying it. So what changed? Well, I simply changed the audio to Japanese.

Last month Bayonetta was re-released on the Wii U as part of the Bayonetta 2 fanfare. Once again the internet was lit up by glowing commendations from pundits and fans alike. At the time of writing, Bayonetta 1 and 2 are sitting at 90 and 91 respectively on Metacritic. This is no mean feat. Clearly I hadn’t given the game enough opportunity to shine, and if nothing else, I felt I had to give it another shot.

Upon firing up the game I was instantly reminded of the fantastic artwork and presentation. This game knows exactly what it is and runs with it. There’s something about the supernatural yet biblical set-up that really appeals to me, perhaps harking back to my early Castlevania days. So far so good... Cue the first cut scene.

The opening exchange is one between Bayonetta, the protagonist, and Enzo, a squat, balding, middle age Italian American. Within seconds of it starting I knew my initial reaction had been fair. The voice acting is truly dreadful. It’s enough to make you squirm in your seat, or worse, power down your console. Each character is a poorly delivered cliché and frankly, rather embarrassing to watch. These were not characters I wanted to spend any time with.

Some might point out that the storyline is merely a backdrop to the gameplay and that these scenes can quite easily be skipped. This is true and I do appreciate that many will do just that, however, I’m a sucker for detail. I play games as a form of escapism. I play games to be immersed in a different world. I want to be compelled and recruited to a cause. For me personally, it was all or nothing. Skipping these scenes was not an option.

Before returning to Bayonetta I’d vowed to make it further than I had before. I’d returned to the game to give it a chance so I had to push my prejudices aside and plough on. But as hard as I tried I was pelted with terrible cut scene after cut scene until I’d almost had enough. But then I had a brain wave! I thought of a way around it! Crossing my fingers I dove into the audio menu and there it was. An option to switch the English voice acting to Japanese!

This may sound strange but I cannot convey the difference this has made to my Bayonetta experience. It seems to have glued the whole game together transforming it into a wonderful slice of Japanese fiction. The characters are wacky, playful and hell, even likeable. They now coalesce perfectly into the surrounding game world and it wasn’t until I’d made this change that I was allowed to be taken along for the ride.

Needless to say, Bayonetta 2 is currently sat next to my Wii U and, short of a quick tweak in the options, is ready to roll.

Edit: This morning I saw the news that Dark Souls 2 is going to be released on PS4/XBox One which makes this post even more apt. Even if you don't have the time you used to. Don't let the scope and challenge put you off!

This weekend I put 13 hours and 40 minutes in to Dark Souls 2. In actual fact, and rather embarrassingly, this was in a single session! At 30 years old it’s been a very long time since I’ve had the capacity and inclination to play a game for so long and yet there I was, the equivalent of 2 working days condensed in to a single Saturday. It reminded me of the good old days.

For those that aren’t familiar with the Souls games, they’re notoriously tough! I use that word carefully. ‘Hard’ would be an option you can choose from a main menu at the start of a game to define the difficulty of your adventure. But tough means more than that. As an older gamer I grew up playing some of the ‘hardest’ games developers could conjure up (I was one of the few percentile to make it past the infamous speed bike level on Battletoads for the SNES). Dark Souls 2 is something else. It beats you down at every turn; its environments are bleak, its enemy’s grotesque, and its combat cold and calculated. It is a merciless, frustrating and unforgiving assault on the senses! In short, everything about it is oppressive and hostile.

It’s now Monday. Since my session there’s been a couple of things whizzing around my brain. Firstly, mind maps. As I was unable to play yesterday I’ve been mentally rehearsing my next assault on Drangleic with the finesse and precision of an international art thief. For those who’ve indulged in a proper gaming session you’ll be no stranger to this. It’s only natural that a game will filter in to your subconscious after such prolonged exposure. But the second thing on my mind requires some deeper thought. I’m hooked. How has this happened? Why would I subject myself to a game that has twice caused me to try and roll my 360 controller in to a small ball of plastic by aggressively gripping both thumb sticks and all available buttons? Why on earth (after a brief tea interlude) would I say to myself ‘let’s go again’? And craziest of all, why would I want to rinse and repeat these emotions for approximately 50 more hours? A sad fact of life is as you get older is it becomes increasingly difficult to find time to pursue a gaming habit so for someone that works 9 to 5, 5 days a week, shouldn’t my leisure time be leisurely?

This is an interesting question and I must admit that during my 14 hour playtime there were several moments when I genuinely wanted to give up. But for all its woes Dark Souls 2 has one overriding factor that offers you a foot up back on to the proverbial horse; reward. There is a genuine sense of achievement with each and every victory, no matter how small. You feel a palpable sense of pride for clearing out an area and hitting the next checkpoint. Every time you get flawed by a boss just makes it that much more satisfying when you finally slay the bastard (yes, you will direct involuntary expletives at said oppressors once they’re finally down). Sure, the game is about as accessible as Scrooge McDucks vault but the rewards are equal to it.

There’s been a lot written about this gaming series and whilst most of it is positive there’s still plenty to put a lot of gamers off. There’s certainly an audience out there that meets the challenge head on but for others like myself- the aging gamer should we say- such an investment of time and sanity is daunting. All I can say is that it would be a mistake to avoid this title on such notions alone.

Once upon a time it was only my ability that would prevent me from achieving 100% in a game. Those days are long past. I’ve spent the last few years practically speed running titles just to keep up with the things I want to play. This series has restored my vision of what gaming can be. I’ve missed the art of mastery and immersion that hooked me on gaming in the first place. It’s no wonder then that devoting myself to a deeply layered and rewarding game has proved dividends. I’ve reaped more form this game than numerous ones I played before it. Sometimes it really is about quality rather than quantity.

As you get older you find that you have less and less time to immerse in worlds that are getting larger and larger. But what I’ve found is that this is no longer a daunting prospect. If you give yourself over to these epic titles they have plenty to offer in return. I already have plenty of behemoths lined up over the next few months including Dragon Age, The Witcher 3 and of course Bloodbourne. I would guess that’s a running game time of 200+ hours. 6 months ago I would have stayed clear of these games but now I’m excited to take my time with each and every one of them, the way it was intended.

On a closing note I feel I should tip my hat to Xbox’s games with gold program and others like it. Dark Souls 2 is not my first venture in to the Souls universe. Whilst I upgraded to the current gen platforms a while ago I am still being introduced to last gen titles that passed me by the first time around. Dark Souls 1 (or just Dark Souls) was a free offering in June 2014. It took me a while to pluck up the courage to get stuck in but once I did I never looked back. And whilst it’s still early days in my second outing I feel there’s an inevitability about my lumbering victory.