It’s been almost three weeks since I posted my most recent review on Disco Elysium, and just two weeks since we posted Braden Timss’ review of A Play of Bodies. Since then No Escape has been silent. Does that mean we’re done? Have we pulled down the shutters and packed it in? Did No Escape meet its demise??
Well no. And this is a little dramatic, admittedly, since I’ve gone on longer breaks without posting before. The truth is, I’ve actually been playing lots of games! And that’s the problem! I’ve been playing (or at least starting) too many games lately! So I thought it would be nice to do a kind of inventory of what I’ve had on deck in the last month or two. I’ll order it by platform for ease of navigation.
Games I’ve Been Playing on Nintendo Switch
In Other Waters – Jump Over The Age / Fellow Traveller (2020)[1]All dates are measuring when they came to the platform, rather than when they were initially released
The World Ends With You -Final Remix- – Square Enix (2018)
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age – Square Enix (2019)
Astrologaster – Nyamyam / Plug In Digital (2021)
This War of Mine: Complete Edition – 11 Bit Studios (2018)
Wide Ocean Big Jacket – Turnfollow / Tender Claws (2020)
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition – Monolith Soft / Nintendo (2020)
Sea of Solitude: The Director’s Cut – Jo-Mei / Quantic Dream (2021)
Genesis Noir: A Cosmic Adventure – Feral Cat Den / Fellow Traveller (2021)
Fatum Betula – Bryce Bucher, Baltoro Games Sp. z o.o. (2020)
Bravely Default II – Square Enix (2021)
FEZ – Polytron (2021)
Heaven’s Vault – Inkle (2021)
All the Picross S games – Jupiter Corporation (Ongoing)
Games I’ve Been Playing on Xbox One/Series S
Wilmot’s Warehouse – Hollow Ponds, Richard Hogg / Finji (2020)
SUPERHOT/MIND CONTROL DELETE – SUPERHOT Team (2016/2020)
The Falconeer – Tomas Sala / Wired Productions (2020)
Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition – Long Hat House / Raw Fury (2018)
Descenders – RageSquid / No More Robots, Sold Out Software (2019)
Unto The End – 2 Ton Studios, Kittehface Software / Big Sugar (2020)
Elite Dangerous – Frontier Developments plc (2014)
Octopath Traveler – Square Enix (2021)
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – Project Aces, Bandai Namco (2019)
Control – Remedy Entertaiment (2019)
Donut County – Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive (2021)
Before I Forget – 3-Fold Games, Plug In Digital (2020)
Adios – Mischief (2021)
Nier: Replicant ver. 1.22474487139… – Square Enix (2021)
Judgment – Ryu ga Gotoku Studios / SEGA (2021)
Yakuza: The Kiryu Saga – Ryu ga Gotoku Studios / SEGA (2020)
Yakuza: Like A Dragon – Ryu ga Gotoku Studios / SEGA (2020)
Games I’ve Been Playing on PC/Mac[2]Including Apple Arcade
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut – Studio ZA/UM (2021)
NUTS: A Surveillance Mystery – Joon, Pol, Muutsch, Char & Torfi, Jonatan Van Hove, Pol Clarissou / Noodlecake Studios (2020)
The Last Campfire – Hello Games (2020)
Necrobarista – Route 59 / Playism, Coconut Island Games, Active Gaming Media (2019)
Cozy Grove – Spry Fox / The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild (2021)
The Pathless – Giant Squid / Annapurna Interactive (2020)
Hitchhiker: A Mystery Game – Mad About Pandas / Versus Evil (2021)
FANTASIAN – Mistwalker Studios (2021)
Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat – Bandai Namco (2021)
Flipflop Solitaire+ – Zach Gage / Noodlecake Studios (2021)
Looking at this list of games, I think it’s easy to see why I haven’t really been churning content out. Most of these games are long productions in and of themselves, and deserve more thought and respect put into them than “game good/game bad” – something I do not currently have the time or energy to do. While writing the list out, I had a thought to write little blurbs about my experiences with each game, and then felt guilt when I decided not to follow through on that. Seeing the list in its entirety, I’m glad I didn’t.
Playing games is good. And I do genuinely think many of the games I’ve listed here are good, if not downright great (and a few of them I’m even still planning to write about, like Judgment and Nier: Replicant). But by facing the sheer enormity of this list, I’m forced to acknowledge that one person just can’t play all the games and review them sufficiently. I’ve been finding that it takes longer and longer to get into an enjoyment groove with a game, and that kinda sucks. So with this inventory, I’m going to consider the majority of the games I’ve mentioned “reviewed,” and pull myself out of the hole of responsibility I put myself in. I reserve the right to “revisit” any game on the list for a proper reckoning later.