Wot I’m Playing: 2022 (Part I)

So. It’s halfway through the year 2022, and it’s time to look over the current state of my gaming experience. It’s rather full, and I can’t say that I’m not spoiled for gaming choices. Whether it’s PC Games, or console releases, I’m a happy, busy man

When I look at my gaming list, I can easily come up with 10 games that I play at least now-and-then. This is the first half of that list.

BattleTech: Has it really been nearly SEVEN years since the BattleTech Kickstarter? Actually, yes, September 2015. Now, of course it took quite a while to come out (thanks to a lawsuit by HG (Harmony Gold, aka Hideously Greedy). But the game is still very good as a base. The Flashpoint, Urban Warfare and Heavy Metal DLC’s improving the game, and then the Mod Scene is out there for more… ambitious BattleTech Gamers (adding new timeframes, weapons and Mechs to the game’s sandbox mode). I’d LOVE a sequel, but BattleTech creators Harebrained Schemes has announced they’re not currently working on a sequel. Since the game’s release, they’ve been acquired by Paradox Interactive, and since Paradox own some OTHER classic RPG properties, could a World of Darkness game in the vein of their Shadowrun Returns series be a possibility? They did hint at one point they were working on a horror game.

Monster Train: Sometimes, you want to spend hours lost in a game, or spend a ton of time working through a role-playing game. The equivalent of a gaming five-course meal. Other times, you want a self-contained game that takes an hour to play, and that’s if you make it to the end? You know, a quick but nutritious and satisfying meal? That’s Monster Train. If I have a free hour, I’ll load Monster Train, load my favorite factions, and try to win a run through (since I’ve developed a couple good strategies with my chosen factions, so it’s more likely than not). It’s a fun mixture of card-based games like Slay the Spire, and tower defense games (there are three levels that enemies will move through protecting your base.

Solasta: Crown of the Magister: The funny thing is that if past me was guessing about what game based on fifth edition Dungeons and Dragons game I’d be playing in 2022, it wouldn’t be this one. But I’m still waiting on Baldur’s Gate 3 (The game is so huge, that I’m subconsciously waiting for the game’s full release, and I may be waiting a while longer for that) , and Solasta is surprisingly good. It has a 2nd Campaign DLC released, added some classes that were missing on release, and have released a Dungeon Editor. Haven’t quite finished the main campaign however.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: You know a game is good when you are willing to overlook a bug that makes you downgrade your headphones to play. I’m the type of gamer that is right in Pathfinder’s wheelhouse, and the game is very good for those who don’t mind a full conversion of pen and paper rules to a computer game, which can lead to some… interesting interactions. The bug in my case is that for whatever reason, every few minutes while playing Wrath of the Righteous, my wireless headphones will just… shut off. No other game does that, and it happens whether I’m using them in wireless mode, or connected to the PC, so I would guess that it’s a bug in that game. Owlcat Games, who have recently moved their employees out of Russia due to the invasion of the Ukraine, have recently announced that they will be releasing a Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader game (using the game of the same name’s pen and paper rules as a base). Can’t wait.

MLB The Show 22: I don’t know why, but I’ve just fallen out of “Must pre-order every year’s version of every sport” out there. Madden and NBA 2K22 both fell out of the yearly rotation because both games have spent the last five years or so hollowing out the single player game in order to boost their multiplayer lootbox experience. NHL has been gone for a couple years now, so out of the Big Five sports AAA-level releases, only MLB and FM are on the purchase list. While the single player (online and offline) mode is robust, there are some warning signs that they may be giving more attention to the lootbox side of the game. Again, with the short (3 inning) nature of some of the Diamond Dynasty online single player games it’s good for a short endorphin hit or repeated games if I have a lot more time to play, this can adjust to the time I have available.

Well, that’s five, and I’ll have a couple posts up in the next week or so with the second half of this list, and another list, about the games that I’m surprisingly NOT playing. Anyway, check out my past