I wrote posts similar to this one about the many games I played in 2020 and 2021 and had a lot of fun with them, so I decided to give the idea another go this year. Please note that I only played some of these games for a few hours. In the case of one game, I put just a single hour into it. I didn't walk away from any of them because I hated them, mind you; rather, they all seemed like "wrong game at the wrong time" experiences. I do plan to return to each of these titles sometime in 2024. (Hopefully I'll be able to share better feedback in next year's write-up.) With all that said, her ..read more

It's been a while since I put more than 100 hours into a game in a single year. I likely would've accomplished that feat in 2023 if I hadn't dropped Pokémon Violet in favor of first World of Horror then Metro Quester in early December, but I can't say I'm sad I decided to change things up as I did. Not only have I since returned to Pokémon Violet, but World of Horror and Metro Quester ended up being among my favorite games of the year, so I think the decision was a good one. World of Horror Also, I still put just over 80 hours into Pokémon Violet, my most-played game of 2023 ..read more

I did more than play games in my free time last year. I also spent a lot of time reading books and watching movies. In fact, I think I devoted more time to reading in 2023 than I did to playing games. The books -- and movies -- highlighted below were my favorites. A Wrinkle in Time I devoured books growing up, but Madeleine L'Engle's YA sci-fi classic somehow never made it onto my radar. Oh, well, better a few decades late than never, right? And, really, I still found it pretty special to experience as an adult. At its heart, A Wrinkle in Time is a good-versus-evil tale, but it feels anyth ..read more

Not all of the games I played and loved in 2023 actually came out in 2023. The three titles covered here -- About An Elf, Dragon Quest Treasures, and Pokémon Violet -- are prime examples. They're also among my favorite games of last year. About An Elf (Switch) Developer and publisher Meringue Interactive describes About An Elf as a "point-and-click-ish, RPG-ish, visual-novel-ish game." Though accurate, it doesn't do this 2022 eShop release justice. About An Elf may be the strangest game I've ever played. Nearly every aspect of it will have you scratching your head -- from the o ..read more

A lot of blockbuster games released in 2023. None of them made it onto my list of favorite games of the year. (Shocking multitudes, I'm sure.) I don't say this to suggest those AAA titles are beneath me or anything of the sort, of course. On the contrary. For various reasons, I either didn't play any of those games or I played them and they just didn't gel with me like they did so many others. Which games did gel with me last year? The handful of indie or otherwise small releases you'll read about starting now. Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society (PC, PS4/5, Switch, Vita) I adored t ..read more

I need more games like I need a hole in the head, yet I can't help but hoping new ones will be announced all the same. Speaking of which, here are 13 games (presented in alphabetical order) I hope are either announced or released at some point in 2023. The Alliance Alive 2 Considering FuRyu went from The Legend of Legacy to The Alliance Alive, I doubt they're going to follow up the latter with a direct sequel. I'd take one, though, and in a heartbeat. I'd also take a direct sequel to The Legend of Legacy, actually, especially if it fixed some of the original game's flaws. Should the loopy ..read more

If you've ever dreamt of playing an old-school action-platformer that has you kiss enemies rather than jump on or otherwise attack them, Uchu Shinshuchu may be the game for you. Or it may not be, as even after conquering 25 of its 51 stages I'm still teetering on the fence as to whether I like or loathe this digital Nintendo Switch title. My main issue with Uchu Shinshuchu, which tasks players with saving the world from an alien invasion using the power of their puckered lips, is that you have to get really close to an enemy to kiss it. That would be fine if the game provided its protagonist ..read more

I know this site is called The Gay Gamer, but I regularly enjoy media other than video games. As such, I thought I'd share some of my favorite books and films from 2022 here. None were actually released in 2022, mind you; I just read or watched and enjoyed them last year. Still, hopefully my musings will either spur folks who happen upon this post to check them out, too, or at least get them to start a conversation about them in the comments section that follows. An American Werewolf in London I long ignored this 1981 film because I erroneously thought it was a goofy 1980s popcorn flick ..read more

I've said a few times before that 2022 was a weird year for me and how I interacted with video games. Not only didn't I play as many games as I did in previous years, but I also didn't spend as much time with those games. A case in point: in 2020, I put more than 80 hours into three different games. In 2021, I put more than 70 hours into two games. This year, I breached the 70-hour mark with just one game. At least my 2022 game stats cover a range of genres and systems. I played platformers, RPGs, visual novels — even a couple of classic arcade titles. Made in Abyss: Binary Star ..read more

The vast majority of the games I played in 2022 were played on my cherished, Splatoon 2-colored Nintendo Switch. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I usually prefer to spread my gaming love among several systems, both new and old. As such, I want to do more than just play Switch games in 2023. I also want to play the following: Another Code: R Another Code: R (Wii) I'm one of those nerds who adored developer CiNG and all of the brilliant games it managed to release during its relatively short lifespan. Or at least I've adored all of its games that I've tried to date ..read more