Our relationship with games is at risk: is too much of a good thing really that bad?
Back in October I wrote a commemorative piece on Playstation, Sony’s flagship console that was, for many, their first gaming experience. There was the bombardment of platformers where Crash and Spyro were the kings of their genre as well as likes of Lara Croft and Cloud etching themselves into our fond memories.
However, it wasn’t until I read this one comment on a survey I made to get your feedback that something clicked.
Ratchet and Clank. Honestly, so many childhood memories from that trilogy. Yes, trilogy, there were no more after the first three.
Now, before you verbally assault me, I have no problem with the Ratchet and Clank series (in fact its one of my favourite PS2 series) but seeing the “there was no more after the first three” made me worry about nostalgia in gaming.
It’s not surprising that many of us look back at these games fondly. After all, many of our childhood memories are about these games, whether it be 100% completing your favourite adventure game or winning the league title with Liverpool on PES. However, this way of thinking that old = good and modern = bad is doing more harm that you’d realise.
This is for two reasons, the first being that not all old games are actually that good. Some of the worst games of all time happen to be from consoles PS2 prior and whilst some games nowadays like Battlefront infuriate gamers with their robbing tactics, I think I can speak for everyone that gaming as a whole would like to forget certain abominations: ET (which caused the gaming industry crash of ’83), Bubsy 3D, The Simpsons Wrestling.
Secondly, some of the best games of all time have been some of the most recent ones. Take for instance Mass Effect 2, a game that gives Star Wars a run for its money with its epic and interesting lore, amazing story and characters that you feel something for. Then there’s Last of Us, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Portal, Bioshock, the Batman Arkham series. As much as people criticise new games, there’s no denying they’re true testaments to how far gaming has came.
I’m not saying anyone’s in the wrong here at all. The moral of this brief rant is simple: take off the rose tinted glasses, you might stumble upon a new favourite.
Big love, Liam x
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