New Years Resolutions are lame and New Years Resolutions about video games are even lamer, but I can't sleep right now and I've been thinking a fair amount about gaming and what I want out of it in the new year. These resolutions are mostly for me to check in on at the end of next year to see whether I stuck to them or deviated and figure out why (did I get undisciplined or did I have good reasons) but if people want to list their own and use this post to sort through their own thoughts about gaming in the futuristic year of 2021 they are, of course, welcome.

1) Play more, spend less.

This is the same resolution I make every year, and last year I did better than I have in the past. My game spending was way down, and I hope to get it down further. Gamepass has been pretty useful for that; giving me stuff I'm interested in for a low subscription price so that I can get through games like Carrion and Monster Train without buying them, and of course all of Microsoft's first party output, which admittedly wasn't a large savings in 2020. I want to continue this trend. I have so many games already that I really don't need to buy new ones unless there's a specific reason.

2) Play more current year games.

My best gaming experiences in 2020 were with 2020 games. I like being part of the zeitgeist a little bit and talking about the newer stuff, and newer games tend to have lots of quality of life improvements that I enjoy. Since 2021 will be the year the new consoles really start to flourish I'd like to play the new stuff that comes out for them, which will also involve getting a PS5 whenever that's a thing that's actually possible to do. This is, of course, somewhat in conflict with item #1 on my list, but with Game Pass on my Xbox and the fact that I have a few hundred dollars in Sony Rewards stuff I can use for PlayStation I should be able to keep up with the newer games without spending much actual cash, which will be even easier if I follow resolution #3

3) Be more selective in the 'big' games I play.

Some of my favorite games of the year were big AAA experiences like Final Fantasy VII Remake and even the much maligned Cyberpunk 2077. But I also played a bunch of middling open world stuff from Ubisoft and some other time sinks that just weren't worth the time I put into them. I get a lot more out of a short but fun smaller game than I do putting endless grindy hours into these huge open world experiences unless those experiences are truly great. This year I played stuff like Marvel's The Avengers and Assassin's Creed III and they just weren't worth the time and effort. I definitely want to play a bunch of AAA stuff in 2021 because I really love some of those games, but I need to choose my spots better and commit to games I really like. If a game like Carrion is a flawed but interesting experience that's only a couple sessions of playing invested. Watch Dogs Legion lasted about 10-12 hours after the point it was no longer fun. That's not good math.

4) Continue doing series marathons.

I've done some series marathons over the last couple years, including God of War, Ratchet & Clank, and Assassin's Creed. Each has been rewarding in its own way, and since I tend to collect all the games from a series when I am interested in the new one I have plenty of series left to play. I haven't even finished Ratchet & Clank or Assassin's Creed. It's easy to burn out playing series games back to back, but there's also a sense of accomplishment and the chance to follow a story and gameplay development closely. I like that.

5) Finish games left over from 2020

I have a few games I did not finish from 2020, including Inversion, which is not a good game but where I am at the final boss so I should just buckle down and beat his face in. I also have some DLC and other stuff to clean up. Since the first couple months of 2021 are looking pretty sparse this is a good time to get through that stuff, and maybe do a couple games in some series I'd like to clear out.

6) Play more games on my treadmill

One good trend of 2020 (one of the few) is that I got an Xbox Series X and hooked up my old Xbox to my treadmill. Most games require too much dexterity to play on it, but turn-based games like Monster Train or adventure/Visual Novel games like Coffee Talk can be played as long as I'm not running, which I mostly avoid to preserve my old man knees. Since I tend to spend over an hour a day on the thing that opens up plenty of time for additional gaming, and I want to experiment more and get through more. It will allow me both to play more games without having to find extra time for them (since using my treadmill is a higher priority) and to be less bored on the treadmill, since a good game can really engage me and make me lose track of time. Win/Win. Not every game works on it but I want to keep experimenting and find the ones that do, then play them that way.

7) Play less overall

I played way too many games in 2020. I finished nearly 20 games released that year alone and an even larger number from my backlog. I played through 8 full JRPGs. I hope that 2021 has a lot more varied activity in store for me and more opportunities to leave the heckin' house. I love video games but 2020 was too much of a good thing. And way too many bad things as well!

That's it for me. Remember to start writing 2021 on your checks if you still write checks. Feel free to write your own resolutions or say mean things about mine, I don't care. And thanks to all you forumites for arguing about The Last Of Us Part II, Cyberpunk 2077, and the weird and messed up Grandia side story I posted about.

You made 2020 a little less horrible and isolated, so, you know, much appreciated. Except for the forum bots. You guys suck!