Current status with Hollow Knight (August 2024) - Finally knocked it out. Sports!
My top games (console) over time: Age of Empires II Conquerors Edition (PC), Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch), Dominion (Browser), Ghost of Tsushima (PS4), Hollow Knight (Steam Deck).
I will be working on cursing less during these illustrations...
Steam Deck
My initial impression of the Steam Deck has been pretty far impressed 14 hours into my first game on the device: Hollow Knight. This roguelike dungeon crawl has been procedurally satisfying, visually stimulating, and has a fantastic soundtrack. The entire experience has been much more immersive than I would have thought before starting the game.
It probably took longer than I'd care to admit in building familiarity with moving around the levels, fast traveling, etc... but it has been a very enjoyable process. I have also been very pleased with how novelty is introduced in this game as you enter new areas. The attention to detail when it comes to audio/visual changes based on the area is fantastic.
Nintendo Switch
The Switch has been great for party games including Mario Party, Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, and others that have a simple mechanic that's quick to pick up. I have been also quite fond of the local multi player modes when offline (especially while traveling) that make the Switch super enjoyable for more than one person.
PS4
Ghost of Tsushima was my gateway "open world" game before diving headfirst into a few of the Zelda games. I thought the graphics were fantastic and there would be times during gameplay I would get distracted and find myself just staring at the backgrounds. It definitely sets a high bar for anything open world.
PSP
This device felt ahead of its time in the moment, but has not aged very well. It was great playing Medal of Honor or Star Wars Battlefront during family road trips. The screen was immaculate compared to any other handheld gaming setup. It was just very cumbersome to use (especially with the UMDs having to be carried around).
PC
We grew up on Age of Empires II: Conquerors and spent way too much time playing it. Since starting up Steam as an adult, I've put over 2,200 hours into it thoroughly enjoying the new expansion civilizations and some of the mods that have been released.
Game Boy Advance
This was the OG for me. It all started playing on the bean bag chair in the closet so I wouldn't get in trouble for having video games.
