I hear you. I like a healthy mix of different games. I loved What Remains of Edith Finch, but also Breath of the Wild. I think of I only played big open world games I'd be sick of them, but by only doing a couple a year at most, something like Horizon: Zero Dawn is much sweeter.

Also, narrative games are a rad genre. I look forward to playing Tacoma whenever I get the time.

Double also, hope you heal swift from the surgery, duder!

@bryson_shaw: I also discovered Firewatch in similar circumstances. I was recovering from an aneurysm and games like Firewatch and Bloodborne rekindled my love of video games. 1,5 years later I'm a game writer, I abandoned business bullshittery and I've never been happier. So yeah, Fiewatch is pretty special... :P

The common misconception about "walking simulators" is that they represent lazy game design. And while there are games that use the minimal input approach cynically (eg anything the Chinese Room has ever done) a lot of them use it to good effect. Firewatch is a very serene, contemplative experience. If they filled it with bs hiking minigames, Id like it much less. But yes, the not-a-game concept perpetuated by a certain British gentleman on Youtube is extremely misguided but sadly very pervasive and a lot of devs feel obligated to put "gamey" crap in their games just to appease the core audience.

So yes, I wish more people could judge games on their own merits, and not based on their preconceptions of what a game should be.

I make an active effort to not play similar games back-to-back for this specific reason. I find if I gorge on the games I like best, I end up not enjoying them as much as I could. Mixing it up keeps things fresh. Sometimes that means playing something I'm not entirely sure I'll enjoy. Turns out I do enjoy quite a few of them.

I have recently discovered that I have begun really appreciating more pure experiences. So games that focus on a rich story and gives you less gameplay elements or games that are more or less purely gameplay are preferable to games that mix them both because it gives you a lot more points of failure. But also because the mentioned two variant of games seem to be shorter (or shorter per session) games that give me a faster sense of completion than having to invest hours upon hours until I reach some form of completion. Not saying I don't like the latter obviously. But I do agree that mixing it up regarding what type of game to play is a good route to take.

But what is Firewatch?

@john_wiswell: I also want to check out Edith Fitch. I dove deep into Zelda, but fell off after about a month. Appreciate it as well!

@lumpofdeformity: That is really cool to hear that Firewatch had such an effect on you. I felt like I was watching a movie. The writing was really well done, just little things. The second time playing it I picked up on some of the similarities of the dad and son, and Henry and his wife. All around I think a game that did not get enough praise.

@sinusoidal: What was the most surprising genre for you?

@pezen: I agree! As busy as I am it is nice to be able to sit down for 2-4 hours and complete a game. I know the Beastcast has talked about this in depth on the show, but I also have need to finish games, but do not have the time to sink 80 hours into a game.

@jay_ray: Are you really asking me or just messing with me?

@bryson_shaw said:

Two big surprises: I enjoyed Oxenfree much more than I thought I would as I prefer a little more game play in my games than it has to offer. I hated Spelunky much more than I thought I would since 2D platformers and roguelikes comprise some of my favorite games of recent years but Spelunky felt to me to be a little too random and often outright unfair. It sucks to have a great run ruined by circumstances totally out of your control. Rogue Legacy is a much better game in the same vein and I ended up spending 10X as much time with it than I did Spelunky.

It's a GB meme, don't worry about it.

@twolines: sorry I guess I hadn't seen that one. Also sorry if that sounded rude I was legitimately asking.

@bryson_shaw: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PfsY-hkBmh0&feature=youtu.be

Sorry for the no embedded video, I don't know how or if you can with mobile devices

Edit: Embedded the video

Gone Home kind of did the same thing for me. Ever since that game came out I've been hooked on the shorter narrative driven experiences. A game you could finish in one or two sittings without having you learn some intricate mechanics or practice your reflexes or APMs just to keep up. I can still like those types of games, but it's nice to mix it up.