Another year of experiences: 2022

Time flies. It turns out that it was 5 years ago that I presented you all with my year of experiences. Where I decided to stop buying games and books for the year, and actually play and read what I already have. Last time I did it I was quite low on money, so it was a whole lot easier then, than it probably is going to be now. Yet I’m committed. Mostly because I find that I get distracted by purchasing, rather than experiencing.

That said one of the biggest differences this year, is that I ended up buying a lot to both read and play just before the new year began, because I could envision them in my plan for the year. And probably overestimating how much I’ll get around to experiencing, as in typical ADHD fashion.

All the things meme image, from a comic
All the Experiences!

I will focus on telling you about the game side here, and I may post another post on my other blog about the reading, as I’m very likely to be writing my type of review to books over there rather than here.

Games, what do I want to experience this year?

Well, to be honest it’s a bit of a mix. We got a Playstation 5 in November, so I definitely want to keep an eye on the free games on there with Loa’s subscription to Playstation+ (that’s his subscription not mine, I just need to make that clear). But I did however fill out my library with a lot of old gems. Like some of my favorite games from my teens up until my early twenties before I stopped gaming for a few years and genuinely believed that I would never game again (that’s a story for another time).

I’ve been meaning to make a list, I meant to do it before the end of the year, but a lot of health stuff came up and in the way, as usual. Since I’m one of those disabled gamers, trying to work and make money on gaming feels like it’s a lot harder because of it. And there’s still a few things I need to balance. Different disabilities causes different hurdles. Mine are energy related. You may have read and enjoyed my Minecraft series? I have an unfinished draft, but after that I just stopped, partially because I got sick, and partially because I played something else. And there’s a mix of ADHD hyper focus and energy management which come in the way for me when wanting to and actually achieving any of the projects I want in the meanwhile.

Let’s start with some questions:

  • What do you think were some of me favorite games growing up?
  • What was some of your favorite games growing up?
  • And finally: do they still hold up?

Feel free to take your time with these questions, and respond to me on here or on social media.

The Goal of 2022

I want to play at least one “new” game every month. That’d be 12 games by the end of the year. I will be focusing on non-sandbox games where I can, with a few exceptions (I may have acquired Theme Park, which is one of the very first games I played as a kid outside of solitaire). Though I think there may be a story hidden in there somewhere, of conquering different places and setting up a functional theme park.

I want to complete some stories, that includes games that are half-played in my library that I still keep installed because I’m finishing it soon™, some of which have been there for 5-6 years.

I want to play at least 6 heavy story/narrative focused games. Even if they have good game-play too. My definition of heavy story narrative focused may be different from yours, and I can’t quite wrap my head around it now.

And lastly: I want to re-experience some of my youth, by playing games I loved then.

How am I going to share these experiences?

This is where it’s not entirely clear cut yet. I want to share my experiences in video format, but I don’t have the mental fortitude for streaming atm, because it takes a lot of energy. I am however considering doing a few recording sessions, and see if I can publish it with minimal edits in an enjoyable format. It would reduce work for my disabled ass, and it would still let me show you what I’m doing, and share my thoughts on the fly.

I also want to keep writing about games and my experiencing them. I’m still carving out my little corner of the gaming internet, in a way that’s healthy and sustainable for me. And I hope you’d be willing to join me in that.


Thank you for reading this entire post! And now, before you go there’s one last thing I’d like to ask of you. Consider supporting me on a monthly basis with $1 or more, via ko-fi. There’s only 1 tier, to rule them all, and you can add as much as you want to it. This money is predominantly going towards my student loan this year and the foreseeable future.

The Beauty of Choice in Narrative Gaming: Frostpunk

Frostpunk, the game where you have to make some really tough decisions while leading your colony. I discovered something really beautiful as I began exploring the additional content, the added scenarios, and how much they bring to the story. They both continue the story in the past, present and future sense.

We start with A New Home, where we’re invited to fight out some tough decisions, in a world that is just filled with misery. Some of these decisions we get punished for, and some rewarded for, but we are left to wonder, was it really the right choice, once we finish the campaign. Did we go too far?

If you’ve seen any part of the game, you know that almost always there are choices which are between bad or worst. Like, there’s no winning, even when you “win”, it’s almost anti-climactic because you’re still stuck in this cold landscape and every next challenge could kill everyone in your colony.

As we continue on through the stories, the scenarios, we get a glimpse of what was going on elsewhere in the Frostlands while we were doing our best to survive in New London, we get to see glimpses of a story that never was, because it wasn’t the story we played. They didn’t make the same choices we did. We were continuously creating alternate realities within this universe.

It’s a game full of what ifs, and I feel like the accompanying achievements continue to bring those “what if?”. What if I save all the children from working, on every survivor challenge I run. It may be hard as nails, but it’s got to be possible.

So here I am, after a month of playing this game obsessively, since it became available via Twitch Prime (through GoG.com) writing about it. Writing about how I’m discovering this game, as if for the first time, because it is the first time for me, and I didn’t see many of the other scenarios from other people since they came much later (I don’t know the timelines, it doesn’t matter).

A New Home was a proof of concept, but set in a world rich with possibilities. Where we’ll look for allies best we can, as the world gets harsher and harsher. And I haven’t even touched the endless modes yet. I think this is a game I’ll be playing for a while, and then take long breaks from to come back and figure out more things again. Kind of how I play RimWorld even though it’s a completely different kind of story generator.

I wanted to give you something different in regards to this game, for you to share the experience with me, but I’m unfortunately currently unavailable to do so. Hopefully this post, and these thoughts may offer you a chance to try it out yourself. And maybe I’ll write something else down the line.

In the mean while, good luck, whichever path you choose.


If you’re enjoying reading these little articles or stories, consider throwing some support my way: via ko-fi or alternatives. I’m currently trying to cover my student loan debt payments and that will be my goal going forward too.