Who's got the funk?

May 06, 2022

I’m in a bit of a gaming funk right now. A lack of time and desire have combined to ensure that I just can’t find the motivation to start anything new or to finish off one of my existing half-played titles at the moment. I’m around 20 hours into Horizon: Forbidden West and somehow it still hasn’t grabbed me. Gran Turismo 7 is great from what I've played so far, but I haven't touched it in over two weeks now. And now I've mentioned that, I've just remembered that I've still barely scratched the surface of Forza Horizon 5, a game I'd been looking forward to for a long, long time before its release. It's the same with Halo Infinite and a handful of others.

I imagine most gamers will be familiar with this feeling, and it’s far from the first time that my desire to play has deserted me. The biggest one for me was back in the mid-to-late 2000's, when a seemingly endless wave of drab, grey, shooters and cookie-cutter open-world collectathons threatened to kill my love for gaming altogether.

Back then, it was Mario Galaxy that saved me. A game bursting at the seams with creativity and polish on a scale few but Nintendo at their best can come close to. It reminded me of how I used to play games as a child; without a care in the world. It reminded me that there were still games that could exist for no other reason than to be FUN.

It happened again a few years later, when the first Dark Souls was the game to pull me back in. An experience that completely consumed me in a way I assumed would never happen again in my adult life. I feel as though Elden Ring is the obvious ready-made solution to my problem, but I simply don’t have the necessary time to devote to it at the moment.

So I'm not playing anything at the moment, but my love for the hobby in general thankfully hasn’t waned. I still read about and talk about games as much as I always have, and I am writing about them more than ever before. But it all just feels a little odd when I'm not actually playing anything. I have a PS5, an Xbox and a Switch - complete with all manner of subscription services packed with games both old and new - and I can’t think of a single game I want to play right now.

I know I’ll snap out of it at some point - I always do - but gaming funk isn’t very nice when you’re in the middle of it.

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Has this ever happened to you before? Was there a specific game that pulled you back in, or one you always turn to for just such an occasion? I’d love to hear your thoughts. As always, please just reply to this email directly or catch me on Twitter and I'll be sure to get back to you. You might even see your thoughts in a future issue.

Until next time!

NEWS

  • Brilliant documentary makers Noclip have somehow managed to uncover (and get permission to show!) an hour of footage from "Ravenholm" - a cancelled Half-Life game from Dishonored devs Arkane Studios. Watch it here.

  • Netflix has released a new trailer for its upcoming slate of kids shows, showing a first-look at Sonic Prime in the process.

  • Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger expects the global semiconductor shortage to last into 2024.

  • This year's Summer Game Fest live show has been confirmed for 9th June.

  • There are currently ‘no concrete plans’ for Shenmue 4, says Yu Suzuki.

  • The already-troubled Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time remake has been handed over to the original dev team to, um, re-remake.

  • Square Enix sells off western studios and IP - including Tomb Raider and Deus Ex - to Embracer Group for $300m

  • Tomb Raider studio will continue Perfect Dark work despite being sold by Square Enix.

  • Psychonauts 2's art director Lisette Titre-Montgomery has revealed that Psychonauts 2 is now Double Fine's best-selling game.

  • Reggie Fils-Aimé has distanced himself from the recent Nintendo contract worker reports.

  • Hitman 3 game director Mattias Engström has left IO Interactive and joined Crytek to lead development on Crysis 4.

  • A new report says Meta will release a high-end VR headset this year, and three more in the next two years.

  • Spotify has launched its own island in Roblox. Described as “a paradise of sound where fans and artists from all over the world can explore a wonderland of sounds, quests, and super special merch.” Ok.

  • Streamer Rudeism will soon be starting a run of Elden Ring using a modified Fisher Price Laugh and Learn, Game and Learn controller, originally designed for babies.

NEW RELEASES:

Last week saw Nintendo Switch Sports hit the, um, Nintendo Switch. It shot straight to number one, of course, and the critical consensus was mostly positive. This week, the gorgeous-looking Trek to Yomi hit PlayStation, Xbox and PC. If you're on Xbox, it went straight into Game Pass. Which is nice.

Next week sees the release of former Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime's autobiography Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo.

GamesIndustryBiz have already posted a kind-of-review of the book for those interested.

(PS4, PS5) – May 2

(PS4) – May 3

(Xbox, PC) – May 3  – Read review

(Stadia) – May 5

(PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC) – May 5

(PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch) – May 6

UPCOMING RELEASES:

(Xbox, PC) – May 10

(PS4, PS5, PC) – May 10

(PS5, Xbox) – May 10

(PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC) – May 13

Also worth mentioning this week; the new Frame-A-Game website is now live, with plenty of introductory offers available if you'd like to showcase some of your favourite titles.

GAME OF THE WEEK

A randomly selected game each week! Any and all games are eligible for selection regardless of age, platform, popularity, or otherwise.

This week, the honour goes to…

Crash Bandicoot (1996)

Sony’s answer to Super Mario 64 had no real chance of living up to its revolutionary rival, but Naughty Dog’s brilliant animation and sense of humour meant the game stood out from the crowd and birthed a genuinely popular new gaming icon, despite its rough edges.

As would later be the case with Naughty Dog's Uncharted series, the second entry Cortex Strikes Back saw a huge leap in quality over the first, and is still the best in the series.

GAMING ANNIVERSARIES

Another round of video game anniversaries to make you feel old... Sorry!

Click through the links to see what people had to say about them...

The GameCube released in Europe 20 years ago!

RECOMMENDED READS

This week’s recommended articles see Stacey Henley of The Gamer discuss the infamous 'Nude Raider' myth with two of the original devs, Brendan Sinclair of GIBiz talks Square's sale of its Western studios, and Ed Nightingale of Eurogamer talks to Hitman's voice cast.

Stacey Henley - The Gamer

Two of Tomb Raider's original developers discuss the game's most popular myth; and the time a manager almost made it real.

Brendan Sinclair - GIBiz

Embracer Group acquisition signals an end to Japanese publishers looking to foreign studios in fear of fading relevance.

Ed Nightingale - Eurogamer

An interview with Hitman voice actors Jane Perry and David Bateson as they discuss the series, their characters, and IO Interactive's future with the Bond license.

CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGNS

Dreamcast: Year Two - Unofficial Book

By Andrew J. Dickinson - Late pledges end May 9

Your last chance to make a late pledge and bag yourself a copy of Dreamcast: Year Two!

A Handheld History

By Lost In Cult & Retro Dodo - campaign ends May 9

A high-quality, explorative jaunt through the systems and games that defined the legacy of portable systems.

Gold Project - A karma based Metroidvania

By Dreamirl - campaign ends May 19

The God of Light and the God of Gold are facing off in this dark fantasy metroidvania game, which side will you choose?

Perfect Organism: An Alien: Isolation Companion

By Andy Kelly / Unbound

Calling all Alien superfans! This is the ultimate unofficial guide to Alien: Isolation, considered to be part of the Alien franchise canon

VITURE One - Game & Stream Anywhere, Anytime

By VITURE - campaign ends May 25

Next Gen XR Glasses that enable you to play AAA games or watch movies anywhere, anytime on a 5G/Wifi connection.

GameCycle - The Circular Gaming Economy app

By Martyn Sadler - Campaign ends May 29

Saving the planet by simply reusing and re-enjoying what we have. Creating a circular economy within the multi-billion pound gaming industry.

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