I'm simultaneously proud of what I accomplished, and disappointed in what I didn't.
Well, 2024 ended the same way 2023 did if you strictly look at my published gaming goals. Only four out of thirteen finished, which is pretty sad. Tied with my total from last year, which was one of the worst of my adult life. I did, however, have a hand in recording and publishing 60+ podcast episodes, spend lots of quality time with my friends and girlfriend, and avoid lengthy hospital stays in 2024, so I'll call it a much better year overall. I think I can manage my video game playing in 2025 a bit better, so I'm not changing how the blog works. My 2025 gaming goals are equal to my 2024 goals in quantity.
I think I've gotten into a fairly comfortable groove with these goals posts; 13 is a normal-feeling number that is fun to plan around. And I... sometimes come close to completing the goals as long as I don't run into unexpected distractions. That's a condition I rarely surpass, but I still believe in the format; my issue in 2023 was getting sick multiple times, in 2024 it was all the excellent new releases, and in every year since 2016 podcasting took up a huge amount of my time and energy. Thus, my targets are going to be the same as last year in category and number: three 2025 releases, five games in my PlayStation backlog, and five games in my Nintendo backlog.
I've spent the last few months determining what games I want to get to this year - several of them return from previous years, and two of them were in my 2024 plans but I knew by October that it wasn't happening. I'll have slightly more free time in 2025 since I'm retiring from weekly podcasts, so I didn't skimp on including lengthy RPGs. Which could be a choice I regret. As always, games absent from the list below CANNOT count towards my official gaming goals unless there are extenuating circumstances.
So how are my odds? I can't say for sure, but I'm already planning to play through four of these alongside my girlfriend, which should help motivate me a bit. I already have an idea for what two games I'm going to start the year off with! And to make sure the rules are clear: a passing grade is officially 11 games beaten out of 13.
2025 Gamers' Dozen
Assassin's Creed: Origins
Making a return from my 2021 list, I shall once again attempt to play a SECOND Assassin's Creed game with its Egyptian series reboot into RPG-elements territory. I don't know a ton about Origins, other than Bayek is trying to be a good dad, the more recent games tie historical fiction into mythology in a few interesting ways, and those aforementioned RPG systems. But hey, I enjoyed my time with Assassin's Creed II twelve or thirteen years ago, and I own I think eight of these goddamn games. Time to cut into that backlog.
2023's biggest blockbuster RPG sure as hell wasn't Final Fantasy XVI or Octopath Traveler II (the two big 2023 RPGs I played). I'm not a D&D fan, but I enjoy lots of D&D-adjacent games like Dragon Age and Diablo, and BG3's acclaim and excitement were inescapable in late 2023. I received a copy of the game as a gift from a friend a few months ago (thanks, Different Mike!), and I've been saving it for a special occasion like an expensive bottle of wine. My partner and I will run through it together in 2025.
Chained Echoes made such a splash in 2022 that it drew comparisons to Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Trials of Mana. That's extremely esteemed company; and invited further comparisons to cohort retro-styled indie projects like Sea of Stars and CrossCode. All of this certainly piqued my interest and led to me picking the game up on a winter sale in late 2023; I'm intrigued to see how it measures up to its lofty influences.
I've enjoyed my one-From-Software-game-annually strategy so much the last three years that it was never a question if one was going on this year's list, but which one. I landed on Dark Souls II, which is (somehow) slower, bleaker, and deeper than the first Dark Souls, but ultimately less popular for a few technical and layout reasons. Doesn't matter. I'm still going to jump in with some version of a Strength or Faith build and die a lot before eventually triumphing in tragedy.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
In 2023 I rediscovered my Fire Emblem appreciation with Engage, but then failed to relaunch it in 2024 with Three Houses. In 2025 I'm going to try a new tactic and go back to the 3DS to see if this acclaimed remake of the second (!) Fire Emblem can get me excited about battles across square grids once again. Plus I just like the 3DS and feel like popping that old chestnut open.
The Last Guardian is the third game in the Fumito Ueda Sony Japan trilogy (following Ico and Shadow of the Colossus), which is enough of a pedigree for me to wish I had played it ages ago; TLG first appeared on these lists in 2019. My impression of this game is that the title monster follows the protagonist like an uncooperative puppy or kitten, and most of the game's puzzles revolve around interacting with the beast in such a way to navigate through an ancient ruin. That sounds dope!
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
With a premise so silly that fans didn't believe it when it leaked four months early, The second Like a Dragon Gaiden game stars series fan favorite Goro Majima as a makeshift pirate, exploring Like a Dragon 8's Honolulu map as well as some new island spaces sailing ships, battling pirates, and recruiting a crew from every corner of the Yakuza universe. Holy shit. I can't preorder this fast enough.
I have a strange relationship with Metroid. I adore Castlevania games of the 1990s and 2000s, but have only beaten two Metroid games to completion (Super and Fusion), and honestly don't elevate them to the level of esteem that many others do. I think those two games are great, but not all-time classics. I've tried playing a handful of other Metroids (Prime 1 and Zero Mission), but they never stuck. Well, I got a copy of Metroid Dread on sale in 2023, and I want to try it. Maybe I'll come out of it more of a Metroid fan.
I have an... unusual relationship with Monster Hunter. It consumed 300+ hours of my life on three occasions (2008-2010, 2018-2019, and 2021-2022), but even in those gap years I'm entranced by MonHun's design philosophy and monster ecology. Wilds is from the MH World team, and the early trailers and previews look incredible. Time to throw away weeks of my social life! Again!
Pokémon Legends Arceus is one of the best Pokémon games ever made, in large part because it twisted the series formula to an open wilderness concept, recontextualized a specific corner of the Pokémon world, and made the act of throwing a Pokéball more fun than ever before. It's different than the flagship Pokémon RPGs, but that's part of why it was so great. So naturally I'm interested in the sequel, inspired by Kalos of Generation VI. Maybe the Legends treatment can redeem my least-favorite Pokémon setting?
I've owned Graces F on PS3 for over a decade, but now that my PS3 is in semi-retirement and a PS5 remaster is coming very soon, I'm going to buy it again (sigh...) and play it on my main TV in co-op with my girlfriend (HELL YES)! Graces F has appeared on these goal posts multiple times, but I've never played past the opening few hours. With a wonderful partner at my side and some additional modern conveniences (probably) in the remaster, 2025 might be the year.
Another repeat offender on these lists, maybe I'll actually play more than five minutes of Triangle Strategy this year! I adore Tomoya Asano's projects (Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, and the remakes of Dragon Quest III and Live a Live), so a Tactics Ogre-like from his team sounds like a total delight. I've heard Triangle Strategy has great character writing and a story with branching paths, but I know little else. Still more than enough for me to want to play it.
This entry from my 2024 gaming goals list is probably my biggest regret of the year. Xenoblade 3 looks fantastic, I'm pretty sure I'll love it, and I've listened to parts of its soundtrack on YouTube dozens of times, maybe hundreds. As it stands today, the only Xeno-games I've played for more than 5 hours are Xenogears, the first Xenosaga, and the first Xenoblade, and the only one of them I enjoyed enough to actually finish was Xenoblade. I want to expand my Xeno-horizons and make a commitment to XBC3 in 2025.
---
So that's the list! Naturally, these thirteen won't be the only games I attempt to play this year. So here are some additional notes and possibilities:
Contingency Plan: If any of the above games fail to release in 2025 or if my copy somehow becomes unplayable, then they'll be replaced on the list The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. I included Trails from Zero on my list each of the last two years, but I never made it past the first few hours, so maybe I'm not quite feeling Trails-y recently. Anyhow, it gets the first alternate position in case one of the above is compromised (and if it were to happen, my guess would be Pokémon).
Waiting for the End (again)
Final Fantasy XIV: I do own a copy of FF XIV: Endwalker and I'm very intrigued to play it, but also terrified about what relapsing into FFXIV would do for my time and productivity. Thus, I am acknowledging it in this written piece but not committing to play it. And if I get back into FF14 in 2025, then que sera sera.
Living here in Hadestown (again)
2025 Releases: I am definitely buying more than three new video games in 2025, but I only wanted to pick three for my goals so I could at least attempt at addressing my backlog. But just to say their names out loud, here are several games that I might obtain in 2025: Hades II, Dave the Diver: In the Jungle, Shadow Labyrinth, Armed Fantasia, Ghost of Yotei, Marvel's Wolverine, Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, Suikoden I and II Remastered, Lunar 1 and 2 Remastered, Dragon Quest I and II HD-2D Remake, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Carmen Sandiego, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana, Professor Layton and the World of Steam, Mandragora, Mina the Hollower, a few games yet to be announced, and many others I'm probably forgetting.
I'm not certain about Hades II getting a version 1.0 console release in 2025, but if I was surer, it would've been in the main list above. I'm also not putting Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate in any lists, because we know even less about that game's release date, and if that weren't the case I would've slapped it on the main list even faster than Hades. Just about all of the above are possible impulse-buys and time-spent later this year; I make no guarantees.
There it is! I'm going to start 2025 off strong with some more Hades (the first one) and an attempt at some 2024 cleanup before diving into Chained Echoes. I still love video games!
No comments:
Post a Comment