I’ve been using the site for a few months now just for the list features, but this is my first status post.

As a father of 3, I don’t get much time to play – just a handful of hours a week tops. However, this month, I’ve already completed 3 somewhat shorter games.

• Chaos on Deponia
  

  11 hours playtime

  17 of 34 achievements

I greatly enjoyed this second installment in the trilogy. So much so that I immediately bought the third game, Goodbye Deponia, and it’s on the list to play soon. I didn’t initially click with Rufus in the first game, but he’s definitely grown on me (and as a character). The humor continues to be top notch.

• Oxenfree
  

  8 hours playtime

  7 of 13 achievements

You may notice all 3 games here are story-heavy. I don’t shy away from that, but avoid “walking simulators” or games with deep, implicit lore that you have to seek out. I was a little nervous Oxenfree would be the kind of story game that I don’t like, but it surprised me. Yes, the gameplay is almost exclusively walking at an often too slow pace, but the narrative redeemed it for me. Intriguing and creepy – still a little vague about the events in its world, but not frustratingly so. Despite finishing the story, I haven’t quite set it aside
yet: I’m trying the new game+ to see what happens, while taking a different approach.

• Orwell
  

  12 hours playtime

  18 of 27 achievements

Also almost purely story. I was also a little concerned about this one, that it would be preachy or emotionally manipulative. But for the most part, it presents a gray area and lets the player decide what path to take, save for some frustrating constraints at the ending. A little sour note to finish it off, but the rest hooked me enough that I’m also working on a second play through with a different mindset. About halfway done with that.

So, once I am ready to set Oxenfree and Orwell aside, I need to pick another game to tackle. Something from my SG wins? Something I spent money on? Or revisit something I’ve abandoned? I need a little more time to mull it over, but I have at least a couple more days at my pace.